Indentured Servants in the U.S
What is indentured servitude?
Why was the switch made from indentured servants to African slaves in the 1600s?
Indentured servitude was the answer for cheap labor. Settlers realized that they had tons of land to attend to, but they didn’t have anyone to take care of it. The passage to the Colonies affected the poor or lower class, but not the wealthy. The Virginia Company came up with a system called indentured servitude to attract workers for the land. This system became an important aspect of the colonial economy. Because The Thirty Year’s war left Europe in an economic decline, many skilled and unskilled laborers had no work. This system gave these workers a sense of hope. One half to two thirds of the immigrants who came to the American colonies arrived as indentured servants. They typically worked 4-7 years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedom dues. Although this life was harsh and restrictive, it wasn’t equivalent to slavery. They had laws protecting some of their rights.
Initially, in 1619, the first black Africans came to Virginia and since no slave laws were in place, they were treated similarly to indentured servants. They were also given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. Eventually these slave laws were passed in 1641 and 1661 and any small chance of freedom that might have been available to blacks were soon taken away. Demands for labor grew and so did the cost of indentured servants. Landowners felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land. The colonial elite soon realized the problems that came with indentured servitude. This, in turn, led landowners to rely on African slaves as a more profitable and long lasting source of labor and this how the shift from indentured servants to racial slavery began.
Why was the switch made from indentured servants to African slaves in the 1600s?
Indentured servitude was the answer for cheap labor. Settlers realized that they had tons of land to attend to, but they didn’t have anyone to take care of it. The passage to the Colonies affected the poor or lower class, but not the wealthy. The Virginia Company came up with a system called indentured servitude to attract workers for the land. This system became an important aspect of the colonial economy. Because The Thirty Year’s war left Europe in an economic decline, many skilled and unskilled laborers had no work. This system gave these workers a sense of hope. One half to two thirds of the immigrants who came to the American colonies arrived as indentured servants. They typically worked 4-7 years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedom dues. Although this life was harsh and restrictive, it wasn’t equivalent to slavery. They had laws protecting some of their rights.
Initially, in 1619, the first black Africans came to Virginia and since no slave laws were in place, they were treated similarly to indentured servants. They were also given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. Eventually these slave laws were passed in 1641 and 1661 and any small chance of freedom that might have been available to blacks were soon taken away. Demands for labor grew and so did the cost of indentured servants. Landowners felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land. The colonial elite soon realized the problems that came with indentured servitude. This, in turn, led landowners to rely on African slaves as a more profitable and long lasting source of labor and this how the shift from indentured servants to racial slavery began.