Indentured Servitude In The 1600s

1. Indentured Servitude

Indentured servitude was a practice heavily implemented in the 1600s in which a man or woman from England would serve someone usually for a specific, temporary time period. Numerous men and women came to the New World as indentured servants because they wanted to leave their troubles in England and obtain land or make themselves prosperous in various ventures. In addition, indentured servitude lessened the serious labor shortages in the New World. In exchange for their time as a servant, the man or woman would supposedly gain passage to America, food, and housing. However, many indentured people would finish their term, receiving nothing and being unable to earn a living on their own. Though many servants volunteered for their position; countless convicted criminals, Scottish and Irish prisoners, orphans, beggars, and abductees were taken to the New World without their consent. In the Chesapeake area, women made up 25% of the indentured servant population and could normally marry after their servitude ended. On the other hand, men did not usually have the alternative of marriage as women did. As a result, numerous

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; the routes sold rum, slaves, sugar, tobacco, molasses, and manufactured goods among other things. The trade passages were rather complex and not a simple triangle as the name implies. As a result, an unmistakable merchant class arose in society. These men and women had security from foreign competition and access to the market in England for American goods (due to the British Navigation Acts). Still, many of these merchants sold to other countries (which was illegal) where prices were higher and profits were larger. This allowed for the British colonies to have access to other manufactured goods that were not produced by