On the Path to Slavery: Indentured Servitude in Barbados and Virginia during the Seventeenth Century

This is an investigation and analysis of the institution of indentured servitude in the English colonies of Virginia and Barbados in the first half of the seventeenth century. It argues that the system of indentured servitude contributed to the development of property rights in individuals and thereby provided early examples of treating people as property that would ultimately lead to the rise of chattel slavery in both colonies. It investigates servitude in law, politics, and practice providing examples of the treatment, trade, and resistance of servants throughout this period. Included are chapters examining the trade in servants and a statistical breakdown of the servant population, a comparison of the practice of servitude in both colonies, and a description of the factors that led to the eventual transition to black slavery.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Department dc:contributor.department

History

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2000

Author dc:creator

• Grady, Timothy Paul

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Shifflett, Crandall A.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Thorp, Daniel B.
• Ekirch, A. Roger

• Servants
• Chesapeake
• Colonial British America
• Indentured Servitude
• Barbados
• Slave
• Virginia
• Colonial West Indies
• Colonial Chesapeake

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-02252000-09590007

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31346