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Indentured Servitude Research Paper

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American Slavery and indentured servitude were important marks that would help define the growth of America from a British colony to its own nation. It has also been marked as major human rights violation in history. This document is an excerpt from historical colonial newspaper,
Pennsylvania Gazette, published in the month of July in the year of 1738. This excerpt contains a harsh historical viewpoint of the reality at the time for colonial (British) expansion, with advertisements regarding runaway slaves and servants. Slavery, as we refer to it in modern American historical events, was enforced by European nations looking to colonize in the Americas and also in other parts around the world. There were also practices of indentured …show more content…

Appearances disclosed in this type of way could resemble modern sketches of police wanted lists. However, the way the people were disclosed are comparisons to more of an object or a rabid animal then a human being. An example being the description of the appearance of Peter, who was called at first as “...a Negroe Man named Peter,” (VoF 71) was described as being “middle Stature, well set, talks notably.” (VoF 71) There was also the description of a runaway slave named Edward Farmer who was described as “A stout lusty Mollatto” (VoF 71) This comparison of the runaway slaves and servants to objects or animals advances when specific lines after each final description mentions a type of reward. This section of the Pennsylvania Gazette was not just an advertisement of runaway slaves and servants, but also served as a bounty list for the subscribers of this newspaper. These bounty lines can be seen at the tail end of Peter's and the servants' descriptions with “Whoever secures the said Servants and Negroe, so that their Masters may have them again, shall have Thirty Pounds Reward.” (VoF 71) The lines of “so that their Masters may have them again” in my mind strips away the humanity for the six people who ran away, and brands them like wild dogs who need to be controlled by “actual

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