The term comes from the medieval English “indenture of retainer” — a legal contract written in duplicate on the same sheet , with the copies separated by cutting along a jagged (toothed, hence the term “indenture”) line so that the teeth of the two parts could later be refitted to confirm authenticity (chirograph).
What does the term indentured mean?
To be indentured is to be forced to work by some contract . It started out as a word for a contract between masters and apprentices. Now it describes anyone bound to work, like it or not, because of some deal. Use the adjective indentured to describe someone who’s bound or attached in a legal sense.
What is the difference between slaves and indentured?
A slave is a person who is from Africa is enslaved and worked for people in the colonies. A indentured servant are people who agreed to work for a person in the colonies. They are from Europe. They both had a trip, worked for a period of time, and lived with a family.
What does indenture mean in history?
Indenture refers to a legal and binding agreement, contract, or document between two or more parties . ... Historically, indenture has also referred to a contract binding one person to work for another for a set period of time (indentured servant), particularly European immigrants.
Why is it called indentured servitude?
Indentured servants first arrived in America in the decade following the settlement of Jamestown by the Virginia Company in 1607. The idea of indentured servitude was born of a need for cheap labor . The earliest settlers soon realized that they had lots of land to care for, but no one to care for it.
Did indentured servants get paid?
No, indentured servants did not get paid . In exchange for their labor, they received nominal food and board.
What is indenture example?
A contract wherein someone agrees to work for you for two years if you help him come to America is an example of indenture. ... When you give someone a loan in exchange for him signing a contract to work for you for a given period of time, this is an example of when you indenture him.
What are 3 differences between indentured servants and slaves?
Indentured servitude differed from slavery in that it was a form of debt bondage , meaning it was an agreed upon term of unpaid labor that usually paid off the costs of the servant’s immigration to America. Indentured servants were not paid wages but they were generally housed, clothed, and fed.
Why would plantation owners prefer slaves?
Large plantation owners preferred slaves over indentured servitude since they could harness the work for a longer time .
How were slaves and indentured servants similar?
Indentured servants and slaves were treated in broadly similar ways. They were both brought to the New World in horrible conditions with many dying along the way . They were both subject to physical punishment from their masters. They both worked for no pay and with no control over their working lives.
Why did indentured servitude end?
Servants ran away largely because their lives in Virginia tended to be nasty, brutish, and short . Although they often worked alongside their masters in tobacco fields, they usually lived apart and often under primitive conditions.
What does indenture mean in Old English?
1a(1) : a document or a section of a document that is indented. (2) : a formal or official document usually executed in two or more copies. (3) : a contract binding one person to work for another for a given period of time —often used in plural.
What indentured servants?
Indentured servitude refers to a contract between two individuals , in which one person worked not for money but to repay an indenture, or loan, within a set time period.
What were the benefits of becoming an indentured servant?
What were the benefits of becoming an indentured servant? Housing and Food provided, Learn a skill or trade, [ Cost of trip on ship (passage) to the colonies is paid are the benefits of becoming an indentured servant. ] This answer has been confirmed as correct and helpful.
What is the difference between indentured servitude and chattel slavery?
Indentured servitude differed from chattel slavery because indentured servants are people who were willing to work to get transportation, land, clothes, food, or shelter instead of money . In chattel slavery, people are considered property instead of workers or servants. Slaves don’t get much in return for their work.
What happened to indentured servants?
What happened to indentured servants after they were freed? A. They fled to other colonies to make their wealth . After they were freed, indentured servants were given their own small plot of land to farm.
