Indentured Servitude

Definition

Indentured servitude was a labor system where people paid for their passage to the New World by committing to work for an employer for a certain number of years.

Analogy

Imagine you want a new video game console but don't have enough money. Your friend buys it for you but in return you must mow their lawn every week for two years. That's similar to indentured servitude - trading labor over time in exchange for something valuable upfront.

Related terms

Headright System: A legal grant of land given to settlers during colonial times; often used as incentive for encouraging indentured servitude.

Debt Peonage: A system where an employer compels a worker into paying off debt with work; similar conceptually but typically more exploitative than indentured servitude.

Convict Leasing: An arrangement whereby private businesses paid state authorities for control over prisoners' labor; another form of forced labor akin to indentured servitude.