Indentured Servants - Wyoming City Schools

Indentured ServantsMain Idea As the European colonies in the New World expanded so didthe need for a strong workforce to build farms and work in the fields. In orderto meet this need, European countries turned to Indentured Servants.Land Owner•Would pay traveling expensesto the colony•Would pay living expensesin the colony•Would pay freedom dues atthe end of the period ofindentureDefine: Indentured ServantIndentured Servant•Would work for the agreedperiod of timeTraveling across the Atlantic was not cheap. As a result, many people chose to becomeindentured servants. An indentured servant was a free person who agreed to work foranother person for a certain period of time. In return for work the indentured servantwould receive payment of travel and living expenses in the colonies. Indentured servantswere expected to remain unmarried during their terms of indenture, which could varyaccording to age, sex, and race. Indentures could be shortened or lengthened butgenerally consisted of seven-year terms. At the end of the indenture, the servant wasgiven a set of clothing and something with which they could start their new life. This wasreferred to as “freedom dues.” Sometimes it was money but more often it was a gun,tobacco or some other commodity.

First English ColoniesVenn Diagram ComparisonJamestownFirst twosuccessfulEnglishcoloniesRoanokeNOT founded bythe Virginia Companyof LondonPlymouthDisappeared without a traceand is still a mysteryFounded for the purposeof making moneyFounded to gain freedomof religionFounded by England inthe New WorldBecame successful bygrowing tobacco