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Indentured Servants Dbq

Decent Essays

Under the “Questions To Think About” Section of the reading, on page thirty-five, it discusses how historians have become greatly divided based on the questions on why slaves were slaves, and why indentured servants were indentured servants. Historians argue that Europeans were indentured servants and Africans were slaves because of race or racism. Other historians argue that Europeans were indentured servants and Africans were slaves based on the availability and price of the laborers. When asked which statement makes the most sense, one must consider all of the information provided. After reading and analyzing the eight documeents, I can form an opinion that Europeans were indentured servants and Africans were slaves because of racism in …show more content…

The two ideas have several similarities, but they also have differences. Indentured servants during the 1600 and 1700s were Europeans, whereas slaves were from Africa. The indentured servants willingly signed contracts to work for colonists in return for basic living needs like food, shelter, clothes, etc. Needless to say, the type of treatment given to the indentured servants depended on the colonists they were working for. Slaves, on the other hand, were taken away from their African homeland and put on ships to America unwillingly. When the slaves got here, usually the work was harsh, and the colonists were not forced to provide anything to their slaves. All eight summaries discuss how Europeans were indentured servants and Africans were slaves. The argument that Europeans were indentured servants and Africans were slaves based on the availability and price of the laborers is irrelevant because we see a straight divide between the two laborers. That division is race. If race was not the deciding factor for the laborers and price was, then there would be more Africans as indentured servants and Europeans as …show more content…

The documents state that the slaves were not able to eat, and were overwhelmed by fatigue. The author of the eighth document discusses how she lived the entire journey on the ship in fear of being killed. The source is filled with awful images of how the slaves were treated in the 1700s. The reasoning behind these experiences was once again because of race. The Africans were seen differently; therefore, they were treated differently in comparison to the European indentured servants. The fifth document is a selection of Virginia laws that discusses how indentured servants were better off in comparison to the slaves between the 1600 and 1700s. The source provides evidence on how people were treated based on the color of their skin, and their religion. Law IV states that people who were not Christians, then they would be forced to be slaves. This is unfair considering the Christian religion was not well-known in Africa. This fact is still true in today’s

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