The emergence of rice, tobacco, indigo, and availability of land in America created a tremendous need for the labor force. Colonial America required people to plant, cultivate and harvest the cash crops since there was no modern machinery. Indentured servitude was the method employed by many wealthy farmers. The servants signed a contract and provided their services in exchange for passage to America. Even though the life of indentured servants was harsh, it was not slavery their rights were protected, and they were much better as compared to those who came into the country freely because they received large lands, corn, and cattle to start their new life (Rainey & Rainey; George & Terri Rainey, 2018) . The paper explains the rise and fall of indentured servants, problems, changes and unintended consequences of using indentured servants.
Indentured servitude first emerged in Virginia by 1620 (Rainey & Rainey; George & Terri Rainey, 2018). The need for indentured servants was realized because of the need for cheap labor, and the colonist had lots of land with no laborers. The passage to America was expensive, and the Virginia Company introduced this system of indentured servitude so that they could attract workers. The idea of new life in America made people move as indentured servants. Indentured servants were people within a system of unfree labor who were bound by the signed contract, and after completion, they received their freedom package of land, corn, and clothing set by the law. With time indentured servitude was replaced by slavery which introduced new servants who were not aware of their rights and served for life ( Emmer, 2012). Also because of the high number of indentured servants they were ready to rebel in demand for the colonist property and this violent rebellion led to the fall of servitude (Rainey & Rainey; George & Terri Rainey, 2018).
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Despite the many benefits that the indentured servants brought to the American economy, they also brought challenges to the colonist and to the servants. The growing demand for labor led the colonist to bring in more servants unwillingly, and therefore, they had to deal with runaways. The master would punish the servants whenever they wronged since the servant was seen as the employer's personal property, and the contract could be sold. The contract of indentured servants could be prolonged if they break the law by running away or if the female servant gets pregnant. There were also high death rates because of exhaustion from work and diseases; therefore, the majority of them were not able to live to the end of their terms (Rainey & Rainey; George & Terri Rainey, 2018). Those who completed their term they received their freedom package ( Emmer, 2012).
However, when the indentured servants were finally free, they posed unintended consequences to the American colonist. First is they demanded land and some moved to indigenous land which was initially inhabited by Indians, therefore, causing trouble to the colony. Landowners also felt threatened by freed indentured servants since they started their own farms which made them acquire their own servants. Indentured servants also demanded their political recognition (Rainey & Rainey; George & Terri Rainey, 2018).
In conclusion, indentured servants played a major role in the development of the American economy. They provided a means to help the farmers provide labor in order to produce cash crops such as tobacco, indigo, and rice in abundance. Although the lives of indentured servants were harsh, it gave them an opportunity to start a new life in America because after contract completion they received land, corn, cattle and clothing and some even became part of the colonial elite.
References
Emmer, P. (2012). Colonialism and Migration; Indentured Labour Before and After Slavery . Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media
Rainey & Rainey; George & Terri Rainey. (2018). INDENTURED SERVITUDE UNCHAINED: White Slavery in America for over 250-Years (Virginia Colony until Emancipation Proclamation 1863 AD) . Nubian Pageant Systems.
