Indentured Servants

In the 1600's and 1700's about half of the people coming to the American colonies were indentured servants. Most of them were from Britain with some from Germany or other places. The indentured system sought to relieve the shortage of labor in the colonies. The time of service could range from 4 to 7 years, but most contracts were for 7 years. The death rate among these servants ran much higher than the general population. Penalties for those who ran away ranged from being put to death in some areas to having their servitude doubled in others.

Although there have been many stories written of much younger indentured servants, Dale Taylor in Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America says an immigrant couldn't be indentured until the age of 21. Then they became the property of their master until their indenture was over. They could not marry during this time or do anything without the master's permission. He had absolute power over them and could rent them out or sell their indenture to someone else. For all intents and purpose, they were slaves, except their servitude would end, while the slaves' and their children's didn't. 

A person usually agreed to become indentured in order to pay for his/her passage to the colonies. The price for an indentured servant was about 17 pounds, while a similar slave sold for around 35 pounds. Some were prisoners transferred out of England. The system continued until as late as 1917, but it began a slow decline after the Revolutionary War.

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