2. Originally Africans were treated as indentured servants; But by 1700, slavery was a racial norm…
Indentured servitude and slavery existed in the ‘New World’ primarily for economic and population growth. In the book, Going to the Source, Slavery was defined as “hereditary” and “a lifetime status” and the slave must serve for life, however, on the other hand indentured servitude was “contractual” and “voluntary” although the servant is forced to serve for a fixed amount of years. Indentured servitude and slavery are strikingly parallel to each other from the fact that both parties participate in physically demanding labor and endure severe punishments induced by their master, nevertheless, the contractual agreement to each party is quite different, plus the primary skin color of the of party heavily impacts the treatment and escape punishments…
Landless Europeans agreed to work under a form of contract labor for several years to pay off travel costs. During that time (indentured period) they received no compensation but food, room, and clothing were provided. The Masters could administer punishment and otherwise abuse to them, similar to the owners’ treatment of their slaves. The servants lack full political and civil rights. The indenture servant can sue when planters failed to fulfill their parts of the bargain. Servants who completed their years of labor became free and most indentured servants became landowners.…
* In Virginia, there comes a time when blacks are indentured servants, can become farmers, ect. Then rules begin to change based on color. In the 16th century a slave code is adopted, the status of the children follows the status of the mother, one of the most famous ones. In the 17th century there is more white indentured servants than black slaves. Racism doesn’t explain why slavery becomes to dominate form of labor.…
Gary Nash discusses the impact of black people in a white peoples colony. The first negro people to come to America in Virginia were probably indentured servants who would receive some type of reward after their time of service was over, until 1660. After 1660 though many of the “Negros” that came to America were slaves, purchased as property. By the 1800’s every colony in America had “slave codes” which stripped black people of every right they had and made them property. His biggest claim was his stating of, “More than anything else it was sugar that transformed the African slave trade.” The slave trade became an extremely profitable enterprise for European nations once the sugar plantations reached the New World. Many of the New World colonies sought to buy slaves to work on the sugar plantations. It wasn't until the last third of the seventeenth century were the English involved with the slave trade and since it was their royal colonies that were buying most of the slaves they saw a new opportunity to get more money from their colonies. Once the English started to get involved it caused most European nations to war over who dominated the slave trade since it was such a profitable enterprise. pg 38-39.…
Slavery is recognized when people of higher power forcefully put other people into forced work. This is the same definition used to describe coerced labor. Throughout the 17th through 19th century slavery and other coerced labor system, such as indentured servitude, were very common between across the globe. However, the Americans saw the most forced labor during this time with the Europeans bring thousands of slaves to the New World. Although slavery and indentured are different there are many more similarities that outweigh the differences.…
Slavery and indentured servitude differentiated because of how they operated and the way the workers were treated. Indentured servants found work by offering their services for a number of years in exchange for a ride to the colonies. They were treated with a lot more respect than slaves because once their term of service was over, they were free to live how they wanted in the colonies. Slaves, on the other hand, were forced to work for their entire lives and were passed down from generation to generation of the colonist families. They were treated like objects, they had no citizenship and were denied basic human rights. Slavery eventually replaced indentured servitude because it was less costly and the slaves had to work for their entire lives…
White Americans always ruled Black Americans; racial uneasiness was always around after 1526 when the Spaniards brought the first African slaves to the Pee Dee River. The relationships established between the Blacks and Whites encouraged the formation of the Republican political party and ended the…
It began more like a socialist nation where everyone worked for the good of the village and all products were shared with the whole community (Schultz 2010).…
After this slavery began appear in Jamestown. In the 1700 slavery increased once the need for labor in growing tobacco was need. That ultimately started and grew the slave trade. Wait hasn’t slavery been around for a long time? Well that’s correct African kings would go into battle with each other. These kings would send their strongest warriors to capture the other tribe and bring back the other tribes people. What the king would do with those people is basically turn them into slaves and either let them work for him or sell them Europeans in trade of guns, gold and other goods. Johnson states, “The white man did not introduce slavery to Africa . . . . And by the fifteenth century, men with dark skin had become quite comfortable with the…
The first law to discriminate blacks from the Europeans was created in 1640 where all blacks except freeholders were banned from bearing arms. Not being able to bear arms meant that in no way were the black able to fight against their unfair treatment. The black indentured servants were also treated unfairly when it came to punishments. This can be seen with the case of John Punch. He and two other white servants tried to escape to Maryland but ended up being caught. The two white servants only had to serve 3 extra years while John Punch was sentenced to serve for life. (Film Slavery and the Making of America) To push racial slavery further, a law was implemented that banned nonwhites from purchasing whites. This ensured that whites could never be servants under blacks; blacks were always of a lower class to whites. Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 was another case where we see unfair punishment being handed out to the blacks. When Nathaniel Bacon died suddenly, the enslaved had no where to go and were captured by the new army England had sent. The leader of the army said that those whites that surrendered would get a few extra years of service but blacks that surrendered got service for life instead of death. (C.D.) More unfairness followed with the act in 1687, “Speedy Prosecution of the Negros and Other Slaves.” This law saw differences in how the black and white that committed capital crimes were prosecuted. Blacks were prosecuted in the county they committed the offense whereas Whites were sent to the capital for trial. The Slave Code in 1705 also stated that Blacks were…
1619, European settlers travelled to North America. They’ve found people that are not like them, different coloured skin, work differently, etc. The European settlers were stunned, due to the fact they have never seen people unlike them. The “new” people were coloured people, most likely Africans. The European settlers took them back to Jamestown, Virginia. Coloured people were now considered slaves, who had to do free labour for the white people. Some jobs they had were, cotton picking, weaving, railroad making, etc. Slavery lasted for many years, but stopped in 1865. Although the slaves were free, the white people were panicked that the coloured people will come back to them and attack them. So, they have decided to segregate, the white…
Indentured servitude and slavery were part of American history for many years. It was introduced in the first settlement, Jamestown, which utilized these groups to help in the economic start of this new nation. Although these two terms seem similar they also have significant differences which will be discussed.…
Today I will be talking about Indentured Servitude and Slavery. I am going to explain what they are, how they originated, and how they are different. Your every day life brushing your teeth, combing your hair and outing on fresh new clothes .Back in the 1300s slaves and servants had to work for their whole day, had to get up early, farm and groom animals their whole day. You have to get up, go to work or school and go home and do your regular routine. This essay will help you understand the ways servants have had to deal with their with their lives back in the 1300s and so on.…
An indenture was a legal contract between a servant and master enforced by the courts. Men would sign these indentures to come to the new world and work for a master for up to seven years, to pay for their journey over, and then were set free. Also, if they paid a sum of money within a certain timeframe from his or her arrival, they would be set free. Servants were shipped over by the boatload and then advertised for sale when they arrived. They were barely given enough food to survive the trip over, and many died before they even got to the new world. A buyer would sign the indenture and agree to provide all of their necessities until they were set free. The system proved to be much less desirable than first advertised though as many masters exploited their power.…