WE all know the history of slavery in America…and how the evils inflicted upon the slaves has followed us into today. My question concerns the pre-slave status of america-apparently, most of the American South was peopled by “Indentured servants”-were these people effectively slaves? I understand that most were poor people, who had their passage paid for by another party. They then had to work,until the debt was paid.After this, they were(presumeably) able to leave the plantation and strike out on theirown.
Given that these indentured servants began to be replaced by slaves (starting in the 1660’s), was this because slaves were so much cheaper? Did any of the indentured servabnts return to England?
I always thought that an important factor drivingimmigration to America, wasthe overpopulation of rural England-is this true?
At any rate, what did these contracts 9or indentures) look like?
Well, I have an indenture contract from the 16th century. I haven’t really tried deciphering it lately. If it comes up with anything really interesting I will let you know. I do not believe it spells out the conditions of the indenture, just that Person A is obligated to Person B for X amount of money and will work until the debt is paid. (Much like today’s mortgage contracts)
One of the reasons for accepting indenture was that it meant one didn’t have to pay up-front to go to America and that one might be guaranteed a minimum amount of land and resources at the end of it as part of the contract. I’m sure that some went back to England, but the whole point was to use labor as a “purchase plan” for American land.
Here is an example of an actual indenture contract:
http://www.iath.virginia.edu/vcdh/jamestown/wbind1.html
My post will be anecdotal, and probably biased by my interest in the person. I don’t mean it to be typical.
John Reich, a German from Furth, Bavaria, was a typical white guy who came to America in or around 1797. He was a skilled die-maker(a guy who engraved dies which were used to stirke medals and tokens and coins) in Germany in the late 1700’s. His passage to the US was paid for by a wealthy Philadelphia citizen. He was an indentured servant to his patron. He worked to repay his debt for about 7 or so years. He was in no way a slave. He went on to be the engraver who designed the US half dollar which was used from 1807-1836.
Around northwest Iowa where I grew up many of the Swedish farmers, or their fathers, came over as indentured workers. Farmers here paid their way and the guy worked off the debt.
The Swedes were thrifty and industrious and succeeded very well indeed becoming some of the most prosperous farmers and land owners in the area.
This led to some resentment among the Anglo-Saxons like my family. Since there was no recourse other than to make fun of the Swedes, I heard every Polish joke there is long before there was any such thing, only with Swedes as replacements.
Back to the OP - as far as I understand it, indentured servants were little more than slaves. The treatment may have been slightly better, only because these same servants could someday become your neighbors.
As far as the overpopulation in Englad contributing to the mass immigration of America - no, I don’t think that’s it. Quite a few Scottish people immigrated after Culloden - their country had been ripped apart by the English, and many with prices on their heads as Jacobean supporters “escaped” to America. Also, with the Industrial Revolution in England - more and more people were flocking to the cities, which was great for awhile, but then the jobs ran out, wages and conditions were bad, and over here in America all was milk and honey and you weren’t supporting the rich. Additionally, lands were being bought up, or taken over, from the tenent farmers and these people were left homeless. If all you know is farming and ther is no more land, you go to where the land is; namely America. While some indentured servants did indeed work off their passage as servants, some worked a number of years in order to be granted land of their own by a patron. Indenturitude (? is that a word) did not carry quite the stigma as slave, because, as mentioned, you would eventually be freed. You could also buy your way out of a contract, something slaves could not do at the time.
That’s true, but if you were wealthy enough to afford an indentured servant, chances are you wouldn’t be rubbing elbows with them on a social basis.
For some indentured servants, treatment was rough, indeed sometimes cruel. There were many lawsuits in early America in which servants tried to compel their masters to adhere to the terms of their agreements. They met with mixed success.
One suit which I remember involved a indentured woman who sued her male master in court. He had seduced her, and now was adding to her term of service the time in which she could not work because of her condition and subsequent recovery time. IIRC, the court ruled in the master’s favor.
Once in a while, the authorities did get involved if the case involved excessive cruelty, especially to children. One such case involved an indentured child who was kept in deplorable conditions, underfed and underclothed in the harsh New England winter. The neighbors complained, and the law stepped in. The woman who had indentured the boy promised to improve hisliving conditions, but records show the boy froze to death not too long afterwards.
The conditions of indentured servitude much depended on the master and mistress’ disposition. If they wanted to, they could make your life a living hell, and servants had few recourses. How stringently the law was enforced often depended on the master’s social status rather than the merits of the case.
Some masters had deep and lasting friendship with their servants, and even helped them to get established once freed. Occasionally, servants married into the family which had indentured them, but generally not if a large social gap existed between them.
Some masters were cruel and merciless-- akin to slave-drivers who ruthelessly exploited and half-starved the indentured. Some masters sexually abused women servants, and sometimes wives were cruel to the woman out of jealousy.
It was a roll of the dice when you signed your indenture papers.