what is indentured servitude 
indentured servitude is a form of labor where an individual is under contract to work without a salary to repay an indenture or loan within a certain timeframe indentured servitude was popular in the united states in the 1600s as many european immigrants worked in exchange for the price of passage to america today indentured servitude is illegal in the u s and banned in nearly all countries 1understanding indentured servitudeindentured servitude served as a type of barter system for many immigrants an individual who sought a new life in america but who could not afford the steamship fare from another country may contract with a wealthy u s landowner to perform a type of work for a fixed period in exchange for the price of the boat ticket approximately 300 000 european workers immigrated to the american colonies in the 1600s as indentured servants and indentured servitude continued throughout much of the 1700s indentured servitude in the u s began in the early 1600s in virginia not long after the settlement of jamestown many early american settlers sought cheap labor to help manage their large estates and farms and commonly agreed to fund the passage of european immigrants to virginia in exchange for their labor other parts of the world also engaged in indentured servitude at the same time that it was occurring in the united states many citizens left europe for the caribbean to work as indentured servants on sugar plantations contracts stipulated that the worker would repay the loan to the lender by performing a certain kind of labor for a set period skilled laborers were usually indentured for four or five years but unskilled workers often needed to remain for seven or more years the indentured servitude system allowed landowners to provide only food and shelter for indentured servants as opposed to wages some landowners offered their servants basic medical care but typically labor contracts did not provide for this some indentured servants served as cooks gardeners housekeepers field workers or general laborers while others learned specific trades such as blacksmithing plastering and bricklaying which they often parlayed into future careers most workers who became indentured servants were males generally in their late teens and early twenties but women also entered into these agreements and often worked as household employees or domestic servants although some indentured servants completed their contracts and received land livestock tools and other necessities many others did not live to pay off their contracts because they perished from diseases or work related accidents or fled before completing their terms of service indentured servants enjoyed little personal freedom and some contracts allowed landowners to extend the work period for servants who were accused of behavior that was deemed improper history of indentured servitudeindentured servitude was historically used to pay an apprentice who agreed to work for free for a master tradesman to learn a trade but evolved as a way for an individual to pay the cost of transportation to the american colonies workers were commonly bought and sold when they arrived at their destinations great britain used indentured servitude as a punishment for captured prisoners of war in rebellions and civil wars until the late 18th century indentured servitude was common in america and a common way for europeans to immigrate to the colonies the system was also used to exploit asian immigrants who were used mainly to construct roads and railway systems over one half of all european immigrants to the american colonies between the 1630s and the american revolution came under indentures many young children were taken from england to the american colonies as indentured servants often kidnapped off the streets and sent off as merchandise to be sold as servants in the new world 2both the american and british governments passed laws that helped the decline of indentured servitude the united kingdom s passenger vessels act of 1803 regulated travel conditions aboard ships to make transportation more expensive and an american law passed in 1833 abolished the imprisonment of debtors which made prosecuting runaway servants difficult the 13th amendment to the u s constitution prohibited most forms of involuntary labor except as punishment for a crime although it does not specifically refer to indentured servitude the supreme court has interpreted the amendment to include compulsory labor in repayment of debt 3however informal debt bondage continued in the form of sharecropping and black codes though officially free tenant farmers were unable to leave until they had repaid debts to the owners of the land where they worked since these debts tended to grow over time the sharecropping system effectively replaced chattel slavery with an informal system of debt bondage 4outside the united states indentured servitude was prevalent in the british colonies which relied on migrant labor to staff its sugar plantations after the abolition of slavery around 500 000 indentured laborers were transferred to the caribbean between 1837 and 1917 when the practice was officially abolished 56virginia and maryland operated under the headright system where incentives such as 50 acres of land were provided for planters to import workers this system was used by wealthy plantation aristocrats to increase their land holdings 7indentured servitude vs slaveryimmigrants often entered indentured servitude contracts of their own free will as opposed to slaves who did not both slaves and indentured servants could be sold loaned or inherited the treatment of indentured servants differed greatly from one master to another some masters considered their indentured servants as personal property and made these individuals work difficult jobs before their contracts expired others treated slaves more humanely than their indentured servants because slaves were regarded as a lifetime investment and servants would leave within a few years indentured servants did have limited rights including access to the courts and entitlement to own land however masters retained their right to prohibit their servants from marrying and had the authority to sell them to another master at any time indentured servitude todaya modern form of indentured servitude still exists in the form of debt bondage also known as bonded labor where people work for low or no wages in repayment of a debt this may be for a debt that the worker agreed to work off as a condition for receiving a loan or advance or a debt that was inherited although prohibited by u s law unethical employers may take advantage of a person s migrant status to compel work in repayment of a debt if such conditions violate labor laws or other rights this may be considered a form of human trafficking 8people in debt bondage may endure slavery like conditions like being forced to stay on the employer s premises denied access to the authorities or being subject to physical or psychological abuse there are no exact figures but the u n estimates that around 21 million people are subject to some form of forced labor debt bondage is the most prevalent type 9