Indentured Servitude Dbq Analysis
DBQ
During the 19th and 20th centuries indentured servitude was a very popular form of labor. Indentured labor was when someone borrows money or gets a favor such as a ride to the Americas; they will agree to work for the lender for X amount of time, for low pay and housing. A few causes for the system of indentured servitude were the massive need for labor in the sugar fields as stated in document 2. Also documents 3 and 4 show the high rate of immigrants that were indentured. The effects of indentured servitude were shown in document 6, 7, 8, 9; where the difference between servitude and slavery is shown. There are also poor work conditions, and disgruntled servants. It also leads to an increase in diversity in population in the Americas. …show more content…
In document 2, the editorial explained the need for “importation of foreign labor” mainly in the sugar industry.
The massive demand and supply of the sugar industry required a massive work force to maintain and farm the sugar. On one small island there is 60,000 acres of sugar cultivation, alone. The high need was accommodated by document 3, which showed a large migration of indentured servants to small islands and many other places where manual labor was needed. Document 4 showed the data of document 3 in a table. Mauritius’ need for a massive amount labor was met by the high amount (455,000) of immigrant indentured labor to the island. In document 1, a British secretary attempts to explain the amount of servants by comparing them to slaves. He states that they are not working under the “lash” or working due to force; they are being paid and are being raised. Many are being trained in a way he compared to the
military.
Due to the dependency on indentured labor, there were many long term affects. Document 6 shows that due to the high demand of manual labor, there was a high demand for Male servants. This lead to a big gap in the male to female ratio in Mauritius, with the males being on top at about 5:1. Document 7 is an agreement between servant and master, where the progress and difference between slave and servant is shown. Being a servant you get paid, however you work long hours and 6 day weeks. The laborer in documents 8 is very upset over his agreement because he is a worker who gets low pay and is “overworked”. He says they get no days off, and if they skip a day, they lose pay and have to make it up when their agreement. Document 9 shows the long-lasting effects of servant migration. The document shows the percent of population that are descendants of servants that are in territories where migration of servants was big.
Another document that would help me asses the historical significance of indentured servitude would be a written statement by a labor master, on the benefits or the consequences of indentured servitude. It would give a counter opinion on document 8 by the labor master give his opinion on how the laborer work conditions are. The document would allow for another analysis of POV and better understanding of the impact of indentured servitude.
The large demand for sugar and many other agricultural products lead to a high demand for manual labor. Another reason was because so many people wanted to go to the new world and the only way to go was via indentured servitude. The servitude caused a massive migration from foreign countries, and completely changed the demographics of countries and islands.
During the 19th and 20th centuries indentured servitude was a very popular form of labor. Indentured labor was when someone borrows money or gets a favor such as a ride to the Americas; they will agree to work for the lender for X amount of time, for low pay and housing. A few causes for the system of indentured servitude were the massive need for labor in the sugar fields as stated in document 2. Also documents 3 and 4 show the high rate of immigrants that were indentured. The effects of indentured servitude were shown in document 6, 7, 8, 9; where the difference between servitude and slavery is shown. There are also poor work conditions, and disgruntled servants. It also leads to an increase in diversity in population in the Americas. …show more content…
In document 2, the editorial explained the need for “importation of foreign labor” mainly in the sugar industry.
The massive demand and supply of the sugar industry required a massive work force to maintain and farm the sugar. On one small island there is 60,000 acres of sugar cultivation, alone. The high need was accommodated by document 3, which showed a large migration of indentured servants to small islands and many other places where manual labor was needed. Document 4 showed the data of document 3 in a table. Mauritius’ need for a massive amount labor was met by the high amount (455,000) of immigrant indentured labor to the island. In document 1, a British secretary attempts to explain the amount of servants by comparing them to slaves. He states that they are not working under the “lash” or working due to force; they are being paid and are being raised. Many are being trained in a way he compared to the
military.
Due to the dependency on indentured labor, there were many long term affects. Document 6 shows that due to the high demand of manual labor, there was a high demand for Male servants. This lead to a big gap in the male to female ratio in Mauritius, with the males being on top at about 5:1. Document 7 is an agreement between servant and master, where the progress and difference between slave and servant is shown. Being a servant you get paid, however you work long hours and 6 day weeks. The laborer in documents 8 is very upset over his agreement because he is a worker who gets low pay and is “overworked”. He says they get no days off, and if they skip a day, they lose pay and have to make it up when their agreement. Document 9 shows the long-lasting effects of servant migration. The document shows the percent of population that are descendants of servants that are in territories where migration of servants was big.
Another document that would help me asses the historical significance of indentured servitude would be a written statement by a labor master, on the benefits or the consequences of indentured servitude. It would give a counter opinion on document 8 by the labor master give his opinion on how the laborer work conditions are. The document would allow for another analysis of POV and better understanding of the impact of indentured servitude.
The large demand for sugar and many other agricultural products lead to a high demand for manual labor. Another reason was because so many people wanted to go to the new world and the only way to go was via indentured servitude. The servitude caused a massive migration from foreign countries, and completely changed the demographics of countries and islands.