Indentured Servants In The 17th Century

During the period 1607s and 1800s, as transatlantic trade opened up to the English colonies in North America, the primary purpose of creating Virginia was making money not for the desire of freedom. With the introduction of marketable tobacco before 17th century, indentured servants were the early affordable/cheap labor sources for colonies tobacco plantations. They were the poor English landless peasants contracted and recruited to work on the colonies’ tobacco plantations. After they worked for a period of time, they were able to gain their freedom and claim fifty acres lands, including the small amount of black servants. The Europe market demand for tobacco increased during the 1640s, the demand of tobacco field labor were also increased. In the factor of increasing longevity rate in Virginia and more indentured …show more content…
This resulting land became scarcer as more released indentured servants by 1640s. To the land-owning elites, who’s large productive property—land, was the basis for their freedom was threatens by more freed indentured servants and the price of tobacco already affected by the overproduction because more freedman farmers can access land. Their property might give more freed indentured servants, which means servants were stealing freedom from them. Many elites might keep their indentures in service for a longer period. This not only allowed elites avoid this political threat of labor class, but also allowed they keep the tobacco in higher prices. Therefore, the “head-right” system of 1660 no longer guarantee freed indentured servants claimed land, they had to claim untitled land from India or rent lands from planters in the coastal areas. However, the law limited