Labor Styles in Colonial America

Beginning as far back as Columbus’ time, the growing economy depended heavily on the dwindling work force. Whether the labor was voluntary or not, it had to be done. There were two types of ways to go about this. Slavery was possibly buying a slave from the trade from traders as far away as France, or there was indentured servitude, which gave the employees certain rights slaves did not have access to such as: marriage and freedom after a certain number of years. These two types differ greatly but began around the same time period.

In 1619 a ship of 100 Englishwomen was sent to the newly established colonies in order to balance an uneven ratio of men to women. These women were to serve as housewives or some as servants to the unaccompanied males of the colony. This is thought to be the beginning of indentured servitude. Also in 1619, a boatload of African Americans was shipped to the colonies to settle labor necessities in the freshly founded colonies. They were not considered slaves, mainly because they were used for a short time than freed as if they were white servants. The time they were held for ranged from four to five years depending on the type of work they were used for. The use of blacks as indentured servants continued up until the 1670’s when it became too expensive. After that, involuntary enslavement began. From then on, the indentured servant population was mainly whites who basically had the same set of rights as a normal citizen, minus the labor they endured. These servants rarely broke from their masters, for there was no need to. There was no need for a new religion or a different language; everything that one needed to survive was provided. The servants were paid in the means of food and shelter; if it was a woman, possibly a husband and a family.

One fourth of the servants in the Chesapeake area were strictly woman and had no choice in being set free after their servitude was up. They were expected to marry their owner regardless of whether or not they wanted to. Women played a very important role in indentured servitude compared to the men. The men next to never had any future after their servitude was up. The women could be settled down with a farm and a family. The women of slavery didn’t have it half as good. Rarely were they married and if they did start a family on the plantation, the members of it could be bought and taken away at any time. The only sort of relations they had with their owners were harsh and abusive, often being raped by their masters or even their farmhands.