The Virginia that we know today could not have existed without the help of the early settlers who constructed the building blocks of a developing colony. Through trial and error they learned a lot from their surroundings such as the peaceful and not so peaceful whom they lived around with. They also learned about the vast amount of land that encompassed them and with hard work and dedication. Many came from England to work on the land and started a plantation. The first labor forces were servants, but overtime a shift occurred where slaves became the main source of labor. Virginia shifted from indentured servitude to slavery in colonial Virginia because of the mortality rate, economical usage, and the rising population of free men.

To begin with, many of the new immigrants who landed on the settlement were faced with alarming mortality rates. In the book American Slavery, American Freedom by Edmund S. Morgan he stated that, “For these 99 persons identified (all but three of whom were male) the average age at death was 48” (Edmund S. Morgan 160). Slavery was used to entitle a master with someone who would serve him for a lifetime. Masters initially chose servants over slaves because servants were bound to them for four to seven years which was approximately the amount of time they had to live.

Next, servants were being brought from England to Virginia anytime possible due to the demand of more workers. Edmund S. Morgan said in his book, “If a Virginia planter could import a man from England, the cost of his passage to the colony was about six pounds sterling; his provisions and clothes for the voyage and to start him out in the New World might run another four to six pounds” (Morgan 106). It was more economical to buy servants rather than slaves because slaves cost twice as much. Both servants and slaves lived about the same amount of years. However, by late 1600’s and early 1700 the average life span rocketed which enabled workers to live longer. This was a period where servitude was replaced by slavery. Masters found it more practical to buy workers to work for a lifetime. Although it was more expensive, it paid off in the long run.

Finally, over the years the number of freemen slowly rose. They came to the new world to seek a new life and to become successful. The free men became a threat because they would have to compete with them in selling tobacco. Many of the successful masters responded with buying out as much land as they could to force the free men to grow somewhere else. This angered the free men very much and seemed that another rebellion would occur similar to Nathaniel Bacon’s unless something was done. By bringing slavery to the settlement, it stopped/slowed down the increasing population of free men. Slavery helped ease the tension and stopped an incoming rebellion.

           The transition from servitude to slavery took many years. As the time went by and death rates decreased, slavery became a new necessity for masters which would guarantee a life time of work. Servants were no longer used as much which led to a revolution where free men gained new rights. Slavery saved the colony from chaos and helped benefit everyone who lived in it.