who were indentured servants?
An indentured servant or indentured laborer is an employee within a system of unfree labor who is bound by a signed or forced contract to work for a particular employer for a fixed time. The contract often lets the employer sell the labor of an indenturee to a third party. Indenturees usually enter into an indenture for a specific payment or other benefit, or to meet a legal obligation, such as debt bondage. On completion of the contract, indentured servants were given their freedom, and occasio