the first indentured servants came to america in 1630s.
the first indentured servants came to america in 1630s.
when did the first indentured servants came to america?
1630s
between one-half and two-thirds of european immigrants to the thirteen colonies between the 1630s and the american revolution came under indentures. the practice was sufficiently common that the habeas corpus act 1679, in part, prevented imprisonments overseas; it also made provisions for those with existing transportation contracts and those "praying to be transported" in lieu of remaining in prison upon conviction. in any case, while half the european immigrants to the thirteen colonies had been indentured servants, at any one time, indentured servants were outnumbered by workers who had never been indentured (including those born in the colonies), or whose indenture had expired. free wage labour was more common for europeans in the colonies. indentured persons were numerically important mostly in the region from virginia north to new jersey. other colonies saw far fewer of them. the total number of european immigrants to all 13 colonies before 1775 was about 500,000-550,000; of these 55,000 were involuntary prisoners. of the 450,000 or so european arrivals who came voluntarily, tomlins estimates that 48% were indentured. about 75% were under the age of 25. the age of legal adulthood for men was 24 years; those over 24 generally came on contracts lasting about 3 years. regarding the children who came, gary nash reports that, "many of the servants were actually nephews, nieces, cousins and children of friends of emigrating englishmen, who paid their passage in return for their labour once in america."
indentured servitude in the americas
moreover, the origins and "types" of servants changed over time. whereas indentured servants in late-17th and early-18th centuries migrated predominantly from england, scotland, and wales (great britain after 1707 acts of union), a majority of those in the mid-to-late 18th century consisted of (northern) irish and german/palatinate immigrants. with this "transition" in the national compositions of indentured servants came a shift in the particular "form" of the institution. in the 1720s the "redemptionist system" began to replace the older structure, a subject to be discussed below. this type of indentured servitude provided the greatest source of labor by the end of the 18th century.
indentured servitude in pennsylvania