Comparison of The Life of Slaves and Indentured Servants

In earlier times, it was a common trend for settlers to gain access to the Americans through the head-right system. At this time, indentured servitude was commonly mistaken for slavery, but this was far from the case because it was simply a contract between the servants and the employer. Although, soon after when settlers began the course of not fulfilling their promises of land and money to the indentured servants, this action resulted in the outbreak of an attack against the Virginia government which then caused them to begin importing slaves from Africa. With regards to the readings, the experiences of Elizabeth Sprigs and that of Olaudah Equiano differed based on respect and basic human rights.

Indentured servants were citizens of the English colony at the time. These were individuals who had been promised land and money for whatever labour they might have performed. Which was not a forced labour but a contract as they were free to do as they pleased after a day’s work. As stated from the readings “unlike slaves, servants could look forward to a release from bondage after their period of labour was over and to receiving payment known as “freedom dues”. This quote basically explains how the indentured servants were free to do as they wanted compared to slaves who were stripped of these things since they always had to be at the beck and call of their masters. Furthermore, when it came to basic rights, African slaves were treated way poorly than indentured servants. They were rough handled by their owners and it was a situation of what you see is what you get with regards to their living conditions, clothing and meals. As stated in the readings “when I was carried on board I was immediately handled, and tossed up, to see if I were sound”. This quote simply explains and much they were disregarded as humans and handled unfairly. Through the eyes of Elizabeth Sprigs and Olaudah Equiano, she felt that the indentured servants were living at a loss because the conditions they found themselves in was not befitting enough for them although, their condition was better off compared to that of the African slaves.

On the other hand, this has helped in my understanding of the development of racism as it had long prevailed on the path of Africans and not just the Black individual. Through racism, a system was created where the power of the whites was elevated than that of the black man. African slaves were torn away from their families never to see them again, they could not be seated in more than groups of two because it was viewed by their owners as a means of plotting against them if they were seated in more than groups of two and they were also given English first names at the time. The African slaves had laboured solely for the luxury of their owners, they worked in conditions worse than that of indentured servants yet treated unfairly. As stated in the readings “Many Negroes are better used”. This statement in its form is racism enough. In addition, through understanding the experiences of both indentured servants and African slaves, from my understanding it is seen that the institution of slavery in the English colonies came about as a result of fear of the minorities ruling over them in the long run.

In conclusion, compared to how the servants lived, Olaudah alongside other African slaves struggled to receive the same respect and basic human rights which the indentured servants had.