Well, after an attempt to clean up and sort out my waiting paper stack of collected genealogy research materials, I came across a copy I had made of some early colonial American history of indentured servants, it is a story of an event that happened in 1735. Ive spent the better half of this evening, searching for more history on indentured servants in colonial America, as this part of our countries history, Ive done very little reading up on, actually never even gave it a second thought? I bookmarked several interesting web pages, to refer back to, but for now, Ill share the article from my paper stack, that in turn, set me off on my search to learn more about this part of colonial Americas history: Indentured Servitude in Colonial America An indenture was a legal contract enforced by the courts. Europeans who were displaced from their land or unable to find work signed contracts of indenture and took passage to the Americas . Some indentured servants were deported as punishment for law breaking. Up until the American Revolutionary War, some convicts from the United Kingdom were transported to the American Colonies and served out their time as indentured servants before receiving an official pardon. Labor was in demand in North America and so free persons were also recruited. Those who could not afford to pay their own passage came under indenture, which obligated them to work for no wages until their land and sea transportation and other expenses had been covered. Recruiters abused the system, including lying to recruits and even shanghaiing them. In the 17th century, nearly two-thirds of English settlers came as indentured servants. The following article is transcribed from a previously extracted article, from a column by Webb Garrison, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, from 28 June 1987.~ Ran away from the Subscriber two apprentice boys, legally bound, named William and Andrew. I will pay ten dollars to any person who will deliver the said apprentices to me in Raleigh. That advertisement in North Carolinas Raleigh Gazette, 24 January 1824, is a reminder of a long-forgotten form of bondage. Indentured servants or white slaves played important roles in the colonization and history of America. Thousands of Europeans who wanted to travel to the New World didnt have money to pay for their passage. Clever British lawyers and political leaders, came up with the process of making arrangements for those people to swap years of labor for the cost of the coveted ocean crossing. The practice of using a labor contract as a substitute for cash easily became too popular. The cost of transatlantic passage in steerage was minimal. Most papers of indenture were worth much more than the cost of the voyage. Ships owners, ships masters, and seamen began selling contracts, once they had delivered bound-out servants to their destinations. The indenture scheme brought profits to everyone, except to the helpless victims of the process. The process became a semilegal form of kidnapping. Either people who hadnt given America a thought were persuaded to bond themselves in return for passage,or, people of all ages were seized against their will. Some were drugged, others knocked unconcious. When they awoke, the victims found themselves lying in bilge water in the bottom of a lurching ship, headed for the New World. In Georgia Colony, each white slave was guaranteed 50 acres of land, as a gift from the colony, when their term of service was completed. Several other colonies gave no land and others conferred small tracts. Yet, a person who fulfilled the terms of the bond became a citizen, unlike Black slavery. The term of service was, usually, seven years. A white slave was given a room, food, and clothing, but no cash. Georgias first sensational murder was committed by a white slave, Alice RYLEY, who killed William WISE on 12 May 1734. Ten days later, Alice became the first female in the colony of Georgia to receive the death penalty. When the date of her execution was set, she sent jailors word that she wished to speak with them. The jailors learned that she was pregnant and arranged for her to receive a temporary reprieve. Once she delivered the baby, Alice RYLEY went to the gallows. [ What became of her child ?....answer will be posted seperately from this post, as I discovered this turns out to be just a portion of Alices story! ] As for Andrew, the runaway apprentice for whose return $5.00 was offered, he was never captured. He soon opened a tailor shop in a small frame cottage in Raleigh. Years later, this tailor, and one-time white slave Andrew JOHNSON became the 17th President of the United States. ~ Who Knew???!!! Note: Indentured servitude was a major element of colonial labor economics from the 1620s until the American Revolution.The system declined as the price of indentured agricultural labor increased. The cost of indentured labor rose by nearly 60 percent throughout the 1680s in some colonial regions. Few indentures arrived after 1775, so Southern planters turned increasingly to black slaves for their labor force. Rising prices for English servants made the rather elastic supply of Africans comparatively less expensive and more desirable. Thereafter, Africans began to replace indentured servants in both skilled and unskilled positions. After indentures were forbidden, the passage had to be prepaid, giving rise to the inhumane conditions of Irish coffin ships in the second half of the 19th century. Ive posted 8 photos, hard to find good ones because of the time period:
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 04:20:11 +0000
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