Indentured Servants Essay

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The practice of indentured servitude began in about the mid-17th century. Indentured servants were given the opportunity to go the colonies, work for a few years, then make a life for themselves in the new world. Most indentured servants were typically unskilled; however some were talented as artisans, and domestic servants. Typical indentures lasted an average of four years. Indentures, however, could last anywhere between three and seven years. An indentured servant signed a contract with a ship-owner who agreed to take him to the Colonies, keep in him in labor for a certain amount of years, and then let him go after a few years. Contracts typically sold for £10 to cover the cost of passage, room and board, and certain “freedom dues”. At the end of an indenture, a servant may have received a small parcel of land. Indentured servitude was a form of labor market in Britain. As it was, the system was subject to the colonial court system. Despite what it seemed, employers were not allowed to abuse or fail to deliver on promises. Due to the shortage of the amount of women in the colonies before the Revolution, women under eighteen served almost two years less than males, but after the Revolution, the ratio of men to women evened out. Unlike slaves, Indentured servants were somewhat educated. They felt that since they were like the their employers, they should be treated as equals and eventually, the average indenture turned from four years to nine months, and later, then practice ended totally to make way for slavery. Criminals could be given an indenture in lieu if a sentence. Servitude could also be a result of indebtedness to a person or agent. Working as an indentured laborer was hard, and due the economy at the time, some laborers, after they finished the amount of their original contract, had to take jobs with their old employers. Addition the length of

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