The success of Plymouth Colony depended on hard work and cheap labor. For the Colonists in Plymouth, cheap labor came in the form of indentured servants. Twenty of the 104 Plymouth Colony to arrive on Plymouth Colony were servants (Stratton 1986: 179). Within the first year of the settlement twelve of these servants had died.
Where were indentured servants located?
Indentured people were numerically important mostly in the region from Virginia north to New Jersey. Other colonies saw far fewer of them. The total number of European immigrants to all 13 colonies before 1775 was about 500,000; of these 55,000 were involuntary prisoners.
Was there slavery at the Plymouth Colony?
In the later years of the Plymouth colony, slavery was by no means widespread, but it was present and seemingly accepted. The families of the colony did not possess the wealth to own slaves, though records from 1674 onwards show the presence of slaves in some households.
Which colonies had indentured servants?
As a carryover from English practice, indentured servants were the original standard for forced labor in New England and middle colonies like Pennsylvania and Delaware. These indentured servants were people voluntarily working off debts, usually signing a contract to perform slave-level labor for four to seven years.
Were there indentured servants in the Massachusetts colony?
Within a decade of importing its first enslaved Africans, Massachusetts had chosen enslaved labor over imported White, indentured servants.
How can you tell if someone was an indentured servant?
American sources identifying indentured servants include church registers, court records, deeds, servant contracts, journals and other personal narratives, land patents, merchant account books, newspapers, passenger lists, and probate records.
Which region had the most indentured servants?
Chesapeake
European immigrants (primarily indentured servants) tended to concentrate in the Chesapeake and Middle Colonies, where servants could expect to find the greatest opportunities to enter agriculture once they had completed their term of service.
What type of settlers were in Plymouth?
Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of English Puritans who came to be known as the Pilgrims.
Were there any black Pilgrims?
The list said: ”Abraham Pearce, blackamoor. ” Other records indicate that he came to Plymouth as an indentured servant aboard the Anne, a ship that sailed from England in 1623. Researchers believe that Pearce was born in the West Indies and was brought to Jamestown, Va., as a slave in 1619.
Who were the people who settled in Plymouth Colony?
‘Pilgrim’ became (by the early 1800s at least) the popular term applied to all the Mayflower passengers – and even to other people arriving in Plymouth in those early years – so that the English people who settled Plymouth in the 1620s are generally called the Pilgrims.
What were the three types of indentured servants?
Indentured servants were men and women who willingly signed a contract in which they agreed to work for a certain number of years to compensate for their voyage to America. Three different types of indentured servant agreements existed in the 18th century: free-willers, King’s passengers, and redemptioners.
Where did most indentured servants emigrate?
In the 17th century, most indentured servants were of English origin and migrated to the Chesapeake and West Indies.
When was indentured servitude abolished in England?
Servitude then remained in legal use until its abolition in 1917.
How many pilgrims were indentured servants?
For the Colonists in Plymouth, cheap labor came in the form of indentured servants. Twenty of the 104 Pilgrims to arrive on the Mayflower were servants (Stratton 1986: 179). Within the first year of the settlement twelve of these servants had died.
Did indentured servants become slaves?
Despite some similarities to enslavement, indentured servants ultimately attained their freedom once they completed their contract, while enslaved people were permanently denied their freedom unless they could obtain the means to purchase themselves or successfully escape.
Which colony received the most slaves?
In fact, throughout the colonial period, Virginia had the largest slave population, followed by Maryland.
What was the average age of indentured servants?
Indentured servants were mostly young men between the ages of 15 and 25 years, who signed contracts in England to work in the colonies without wages.
Were indentured servants male or female?
Indentured servants were men and women who signed a contract (also known as an indenture or a covenant) by which they agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation to Virginia and, once they arrived, food, clothing, and shelter.
Were indentured servants allowed to marry?
Indentured servants could not get married until after their term of service, which was usually seven years. Many indentured servants were in their teen years or early twenties when they began their contract, and so they tended to marry later than free people, usually around the age of thirty.
What part of England did indentured servants come from?
When slavery ended in the British Empire in 1833, plantation owners turned to indentured servitude for inexpensive labor. These servants arrived from across the globe; the majority came from India where many indentured laborers came from to work in colonies requiring manual labor.
What did female indentured servants do?
Indentured women were used as household servants and dairy maids; they did spinning, weaving, and even field labor. Male identured servants who were skilled artisans such as tail- ors, cobblers or carpenters, were in great de- mand on Southern plantations as well as in workshops throughout the colonies.