Indentured Servants

Definition

Indentured servants were individuals who signed a contract, or "indenture", agreeing to work for a certain number of years in exchange for passage to America. After their period of service, they would be granted freedom.

Related terms

Slavery: This is a system where individuals known as slaves are treated as property and forced to work without consent or pay.

Middle Passage: This was part of the trade where Africans, densely packed onto ships, were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies.

Emancipation: This is the act or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberation. In this context, it often refers to when an indentured servant's period of service ended and they gained their freedom.