The Indented Servitude System Created By The British

Indented servitude was a system that created by the British, in which poor white were able to be transported and employed in the “new world” now known as America. This system enabled both whites and blacks who arrived on ships to America to serve their masters for a certain amount of years, in hope that one day they will earn their freedom, earn some wealth, and acquire some land from their masters to start their own lives. This system seemed to work for everyone, but begin to shift slowly overtime for several reasons. The first reason for the shift in indented servitude to slavery was because indented servants began to rebel against masters; the rebellion stroke fear among slave-owners who were reluctant to recruit indented servants to avoid any chances of rebellion. As indented servants declined in numbers, due to rebellion, the regrowth of England’s economy, the slave trade in Africa began to bloom and slowly but eventually more and more Africans became enslaved and were viewed as an inferior race who lacked intellect and therefore incapable of making decisions for themselves. The shift also occurred because of economic reasons; it was cheaper to purchase an African off-sea that was to offer a life-time of servitude
56). The rebellion was led by Nathaniel Bacon, a white indented servant who formed an army full of poor whites to challenge the government, due to limited life opportunities that were barely provided for them. The rebellion burnt down an entire town and forced the governor to run for his life. The aftermath of the rebellion turned Jamestown into ashes and left a lot of fear in white planters, who were now less inclined in recruiting white indented servants due to the fear of rebellion. Fear was not the only reason for the decline, England’s economy had improved overtime which meant that there were less people willing to sign themselves into