SETTLING NORTH AMERICA 1497 1732
THE MIDDLE COLONIES NEW YORK DELAWARE NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
slaves for work.
|
|
|
indentured servants for work.
|
|
|
Either A or B
|
|
|
None of the above
|
Detailed explanation-1: -As a carryover from English practice, indentured servants were the original standard for forced labor in New England and middle colonies like Pennsylvania and Delaware. These indentured servants were people voluntarily working off debts, usually signing a contract to perform slave-level labor for four to seven years.
Detailed explanation-2: -European immigrants (primarily indentured servants) tended to concentrate in the Chesapeake and Middle Colonies, where servants could expect to find the greatest opportunities to enter agriculture once they had completed their term of service.
Detailed explanation-3: -Indentures are agreements between two parties about long-term work. The length of servitude might be a specified number of years or until the servant reached a certain age. Some people indentured themselves in order to gain passage to America or to escape debt and poverty.
Detailed explanation-4: -The servant would be supplied room and board while working in the master’s fields. Upon completion of the contract, the servant would receive “freedom dues, ” a pre-arranged termination bonus. This might include land, money, a gun, clothes or food.