An indenture was a legal contract between a servant and master enforced by the courts. Men would sign these indentures to come to the new world and work for a master for up to seven years, to pay for their journey over, and then were set free. Also, if they paid a sum of money within a certain timeframe from his or her arrival, they would be set free. Servants were shipped over by the boatload and then advertised for sale when they arrived. They were barely given enough food to survive the trip over, and many died before they even got to the new world. A buyer would sign the indenture and agree to provide all of their necessities until they were set free. The system proved to be much less desirable than first advertised though as many masters exploited their power.
In the late 1500s, an economic depression hit England, and thousands of farmers went out on the streets. They wandered the streets unemployed and mostly became beggars. England saw this as a “surplus......

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Title: Indentured Servitude
Approximate Word Count: 1208
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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