Slavery and Indentured Servitude
Indentured Servants
Indentured servitude is an example of free work. Indentured servants are most made up of poor people from England looking for a better life. These people, however, are too poor to pay for a trip from England to the colonies. What to do? These people find employers who are willing to pay for their trip. But! The people applying for this position have to work for the employer for free for 4 to 7 years, although the time can be extended as a punishment for various reasons. However, once time is up, the employees are let go.
Pros:
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New England had more indentured servants than slaves. Many people arrived from England to live a better life. However, indentured servitude lost popularity by 1800.
Slavery
Unfortunately, when indentured servitude lost popularity, people went to buying slaves. In New England, there were slaves. In 1770, there were 14,867 slaves in New England. Slavery in New England, however, was not in high demand. How come? Slavery was most valuable for plantation owners. There were no plantations in New England. New England was the first region to outlaw slavery. Slavery was almost completely gone from New England in 1804.
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