First to own a black slave for life

[L Verge]

(01-18-2015 12:21 PM)brtmchl Wrote:  Not sure, but I believe an indentured servant could have been classified as felons doing time. Regardles of the wording. They were often treated just as horribly depending on their "Master." I have come to believe it is a more softer word for slavery. The PC movement of the 18th and 19th century.

I believe that the original intent of indentures related to the colonization of the English holdings in North America was to provide access for the poorer classes to leave Europe and seek adventure/new life while providing a labor force for the "owners" of the colony (such as the Lords Baltimore in Maryland, a proprietary colony).

It was designed as a contractual agreement much like signing personnel papers is today, and the intent was to set limits as to how long the person would be held in "servitude." The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. A catching point, however, was that most of the people who signed indentures did not read in order to find out how long that indenture was truly for. They had to take the word of the person witnessing the signing (the "X") as to the terms.

As for slavery - no papers, except for the sales receipt given to the buyer by the slave trader, and no promise of eventual freedom. Depending on the buyer, that freedom might come via manumission or the slave being allowed to buy his own freedom.

As for the penal aspect of relieving the overcrowded prison conditions, I am not sure if either indenture or slavery applies here (will have to check further). In the case of colonizing Georgia, sending felons there also added a degree of protection from hostile forces that were holding Florida. Pardon this crude analogy, but it was sort of like sending junkyard dogs to protect the property?