HISTORY 40A Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Indentured Servant, Royal African Company
3 Nov 2016
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Transformation of labor in virginia: from white to black (servants to slaves, death rate (mortality) declines, supply of servants decreased, competition from freed servants, royal african co. loses monopoly -- 1698. Toward race and racism: slave codes (laws, about the behavior of masters, justified the harshness of slavery, legalized racism. Virginia colony -- 1607: barely survived, highly mortality rate, invented the system of indentured servitude: men from england worked for the virginia. Company for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation. Tobacco saves the colony: land everywhere, key to success laborers to grow tobacco. C. system of indentured labor changed as demand for servants grew. Came to the colony to serve a master. No court system yet in place to protect servants. Served 4--7 years, brought by boat load, sold to masters. The more servant masters could buy, more tobacco he grew. Could be bought and sold at any time, masters began to treat servants as property.
