Sample Paper 3

Indira Incognito 0

By an incredible, but unidenfied student (Indira Incognito ??)

Final Paper ECON 40423 John Lovett December 6th, 2018

An Exploration of African Indentured Servitude in the Thirteen Colonies

Abstract: The institution of indentured servitude was an incredibly important economic tool that was used throughout the colonial period of the United States. While most indentured servants that came to the United States were of European descent, there were African indentured servants that worked their way to freedom in the thirteen colonies as well. This paper explores the life, rights, and opportunities afforded to these individuals after they were freed. I have researched and wish to showcase throughout this paper, how the lives of these free blacks differed from the way African slaves were treated less than 50 years after these individuals made their way to the thirteen colonies. I conclude this paper with my speculation on why these two seemingly similar groups were treated so differently.

Indira Incognito 1

An Exploration of African Indentured Servitude in the Thirteen Colonies

By: Indira Incognito

If you were to close your eyes and think about colonial America, what would come

to mind? I’m sure a particular picture of this time period would start to form. Maybe this

picture includes the Pilgrims settling in Plymouth, the Framers of the Constitution writing

up the Declaration of Independence or maybe it includes a hardworking European family

braving the journey to make a better life in the New World. While all these historical events

and groups have significance in American history, this is not a representative picture of the

13 colonies. Of course, this is not your fault. Your picture formed because these examples

have been, more or less exclusively, taught in American history for decades. You have been

primed since your first Thanksgiving with certain images of colonial life, but in reality, Indira Incognito 2

there are many other fascinating aspects of the birth of our Nation that are not focused on.

One of these captivating facets of early American history, is the population of African

indentured servants who lived more or less as free men in what would later become the

Confederate South.

While the most well‐known groups to settle in the New World were religious exiles

from England, like the Pilgrims, Quakers, and Puritans, not all colonial Americans were

from England, or journeyed here for religious reasons. Many immigrants that settled in the

13 colonies actually came because of economic pursuits. A huge portion of the colonial

population, especially in colonies like Virginia, were drawn to the New World by Joint Stock

Companies who offered them expanses of land they never would have been able to acquire in England. Many of these individuals did not have the funds to pay for the trip to the colonies on their own, so they came over as indentured servants. While many of these servants were from England and other European countries, there was a smaller population of African indentured servants who have slipped quietly through history with little historical recognition. In this paper, I wish to collect and present information on this forgotten group and explore how their rights and opportunities compared to white indentured servants of this time period.

Indentured Servitude

Indentured Servitude is an institution that developed with great success in the 13 colonies due to the increasing market for labor in this region. There were many farmers and plantation owners in the New World, but a lack of inexpensive Native labor or available

cheap European labor already located in the colonies. This led to a system called Indira Incognito 3

indentured servitude where importers would pay for the passage of a European worker, through a contract called an indenture, which they would turn around and sell to New

World employers. The worker would come over and be bound to whoever owned their

indenture, until they had paid off the cost of their passage, resulting in a relatively

inexpensive long‐term labor source in the colonies.

The indentured servitude model that gained immense popularity in the 13 colonies was

adapted from the idea of servants in husbandry used in Europe. Many different adaptions

to indentured servitude occurred before a model stuck. At first, Galenson (1984) explains,

The Virginia Company used their own funds to transfer servants from England to the New

World, but many servants ran away once they arrived because the work they were

employed to do was very tedious and the living standards were incredibly poor. “These

difficulties of supervising and motivating the discontented workers led the Company to

seek a new solution to the labor problem” (p. 4). A few more models were tried after this

market failure, and eventually, in 1620, the model of indentured servitude that is

understood today, stated above, took form. “Indentured servitude therefore emerged as the

institutional arrangement that was devised to increase labor mobility from England to

America” (Galenson, 1984, p. 6).

Indentured servants made up a large landscape of the colonial population. Galenson

(1984) writes, “between half and two‐thirds of all white immigrants to the American

colonies after the 1630s came under indenture” (p. 9). Fogleman takes this one step further

stating that about 50% of immigrants to the 13 colonies from 1607‐1699 were indentured

servants (Fogleman, 1998). But not all indentured servants were white. This paper will act Indira Incognito 4

as a case study of the most prominent African indentured servants, hopefully shedding a

light on a topic not often discussed when delving into our nation’s history.

The Forgotten Families

Most Americans believe slavery is the sole reason why Africans made their way to

the 13 colonies. In reality, “Not every black [colonist] was cast into slavery” (Billings, 1991,

54). Africans, albeit not too many, were here before slavery was widely adopted by

colonists which occurred at about the turn of the 18th century. In fact, “[the] history of

Black America began with [the] landing of twenty blacks at Jamestown, Virginia [in 1619]…

the twenty blacks were accorded the status of indentured servants” (Bennett, 1993, p.

475). Fogleman (1998) states that roughly 5% of the colonial population in 1680 was made up of Africans and individuals of African descent although fewer than 10,000 Africans slaves had been imported to the mainland colonies by that time (54). This means free

Africans, or African indentures, had immigrated to the colonies as well. Because each colonies’ laws, statues, and histories are distinct, it is necessary to look at each colony as an individual entity. This paper will focus on the history of African indentured servants in the

Virginia colony because this is where their journey began, and because records from this region are most readily available.

Many free Africans were located in the Virginia colony, which as we know from history, later became a large slave holding state. The African individuals who lived and owned property in Virginia in the early to mid‐1600’s are referred to as the “forgotten

African families” (Brewer, 1955, p. 575). About 300 free Africans called Virginia home by the middle of the 17th century, and their presence, especially in this region of the colonies, Indira Incognito 5

has great historical significance (Brewer, 1995, p.575). The best kept records of this group

detail the individuals living on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. “According to the

Northampton County tax lists in 1664, there were 62 Africans living on the peninsula…

from 1664 to 1677, there were 13 free African householders” (National Park Service).

These forgotten families arrived in the New World by a variety of means. Brewer

(1955) explains how these settlers gained their property, “a few received land grants ranging from 50 to 500 acres, made possible by the head‐rights system. Others acquired their property in chattel; while there were some who came into ownership of land or chattel through grants in the wills of their former masters” (p. 575). The first of these means is the headrights system. According to Nash (1972), “fifty‐acre headrights [were] awarded for every person brought into the colony, black and white” (492). This was great motivation for individuals to pay their own way to the colonies. There are no definitive records that show where these Africans came from, but a large majority of them settled

“along the banks of the Pungoteague River” (Brewer, 1955, 576).

Others of these “forgotten families” gained their land from their freedom dues,

“Former Negro servants… did not always go forth empty‐handed from their masters' services. Many were furnished either land or chattel or both to embark upon their new life as freemen” (Brewer, 1955, p. 579). Not all African indentured servants arrived in the colonies by the same means as European servants. Typically, this journey was not voluntary unlike it was for whites, but once they arrived in Virginia, these Africans were treated like normal indentures. The discrepancy in motivation for immigrating to America has led to historical disagreement about the status of Africans in Virginia. Phillips (1929) Indira Incognito 6

argues, “A few Negros attained freedom in early Virginia because the first comers, imported

before definitive slavery was established, were dealt with as if they had been indentured

servants”. (170) When these de facto servants had fulfilled their indentures, they were

given freedom dues which is how many of the “forgotten families” staked their claim in

Virginia.

Anthony Johnson the Original Black Virginian

There are only a few free Africans that lived in Virginia that we have extensive

record of today. One of these families is the Johnson family. An article by the University of

Chicago states that, Anthony Johnson and his wife Mary were “the first free negros in

Virginia” (University of Chicago, 1971, p. 71). Anthony is believed to have arrived in

Jamestown, Virginia as a servant in 1621. This point seems to be where historians stop agreeing. Some accounts claim Anthony was brought to Virginia after being forced to leave

Angola (National Park Service) while others state that he came to the New World from

England (Bennett, 1993, p.51). Regardless of where he came from, once he arrived in

Jamestown, he met Mary who was already stationed in Virginia as a servant. Just a year later the two married. Anthony was able to pay off his and Mary’s indentures fairly quickly, and with their freedom dues, they went on to own land of their own along the Pungoteague

River (National Park Service).

Anthony Johnson took advantage of the headright system during the 1650s to increase his own landholdings while importing servants. “The first of such grants was made in July 1651, to Anthony Johnson of Northampton County, who received 250 acres of land for the importation of 5 persons into the colony… After Anthony, other free blacks whose Indira Incognito 7

last name was Johnson procured property under the head‐rights system” (Brewer, 1955,

p.576). Of the five individuals Anthony imported, four were white servants from England

(Bennett, 1993, p.51). Interestingly, the fifth servant is thought to be an extended family

member of Anthony’s who may have already been living in Virginia. It is thought, that in

order to assure that the whole Johnson clan could stay together without the threat of being

sold into slavery, each landowning man would claim the other’s as their indentures. For

instance, “1652 John Johnson, who was probably Anthony Johnson’s son, imported eleven

persons”. While most of them were white, records show a Mary Johnson, aka his mother,

included in the transaction (Bennet, 1993, p.52). Then, just two years after he was “brought

to Virginia” by Anthony, “Richard Johnson imported two white indentured servants and

received one hundred acres” compensation (Bennet, 1993, p.52). If he was truly just

another indentured servant and had no familial connection, it is unlikely that Richard

would have been able to pay off his indenture so quickly and have enough money to spare

to buy two servants of his own.

Anthony and Mary Johnson were the founders of one of the first, if not the first, free

African community in the mainland American colonies, but they did not stay in this

community forever. The Johnson’s were successful tobacco farmers, but after they lost

most of their Virginia property to a fire in 1654, they decided to move on from

Pungoteague. They moved north just a little way and became the first free Africans in the

colony of Maryland. They moved to the “Eastern Shore of Maryland settlement late in 1661

or early in 1662 and were the first negroes to come there” (University of Chicago, 1971, p.

73). When they got to Maryland, they did not continue their tradition of owning large tracts

of land. Instead, they leased land from a white man named Stephen Horsey “on August 10, Indira Incognito 8

1666, Stephen Horsey… leased to ‘Anthony Johnson, of Manonoakin,’ a tract of 300 acres of

land called ‘Tonies Vineyard’… the lease was for a term of 200 years” (University of

Chicago, 1971, p. 72). While there is no written record detailing the exact motivations of the Johnson family regarding their move, we can speculate that Virginia politics at the time may have played a role. In 1662, the year the Johnson’s made their move to Maryland,

Virginia enacted a law that stated, “all children borne in this country shalbe held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother” (Sam Houston State University). There was definite pressure to institutionalize slavery in the colony and this led to a series of laws and slave codes being enacted. While this once again, is just speculation, these laws were

probably a bit unsettling for the Johnsons.

While Johnson is often seen in history as a strong, black patriarch who set the tone

for free Africans in America, he was actually the first slave holder in the mainland colonies.

As mentioned earlier, Johnson and his family employed many indentured servants over the

course of the 17th century. John Casor is the most well‐known of these servants. Early in the

1650’s Casor, who had been imported as an indentured servant, is claimed to have

appealed to Johnson’s white neighbor Robert Parker, saying that Johnson refused to let him

go even though he had served out his indenture. (Eschner, 2017) At this time, “Casor

attempted to transfer what he argued was his remaining time of service to Robert Parker…

but Johnson insisted that ‘hee had ye Negro for his life’” (de Valdes y Cocom, 1995). In 1653,

Johnson took Parker to court claiming that he had unlawfully taken Casor. In a momentous decision, the court sided with Johnson. This ruling forced Parker to return Casor, and

legally claimed that Casor was Johnson’s slave for life (Eschner, 2017). This was the first

ruling of this kind in colonial America. Indira Incognito 9

Rights and Freedoms

Free African colonists in Virginia participated actively in colonial economic activity

and had many rights that were later prohibited to African slaves. “[For] a period of forty

years or more, the first black settlers accumulated land, voted, testified in court and

mingled with whites on a basis of equality. They owned other black servants, and certain

blacks imported and paid for white servants whom they apparently held in servitude”

(Bennett, 1993, p.49).

Brewer detail in his article, “Negro Property Owners in Seventeenth‐Century

Virginia”, how these free blacks were treated the same as white men in many ways. For instance, these individuals could own land, and many even acquired large amounts of it through the headrights system. Interestingly, free Africans could even import white servants to serve out indentures as was seen with Anthony Johnson and his family (Bennet,

1993). This right was not offered to all free Africans throughout the history of the colony, however. By 1670, the African population of Virginia had increased fairly dramatically, from 300 in 1650 to almost 2,000 in 1670 (Brewer, 1955, p.575). This dramatic influx made the white population very nervous because it threatened their power and placement

in Virginian society. To keep the status quo alive and well, certain statutes were put into

effect that limited property and rights for blacks. Starting at this time, Africans or anyone of

African decent living in this colony could no longer own white servants (Brewer, 1955).

Free Africans in Virginia were also allowed to file lawsuits, against other black

citizens as well as whites. There are plenty of court records to corroborate this. Most deal

with settling debts or over property disputes. Anthony Johnson, and other Johnsons, used

the courts quite often. In 1651, Johnson lost most of his property to a terrible fire. He “then Indira Incognito 10

petitioned the court for relief” which he was granted. The court ruling states: “be it

therefore fit and ordered that… (during their natural lives) the sd Mary Johnson & two

daughters of Anthony Johnson be disengaged and freed from payment of taxes and leavyes

in Northampton County for public use” (Brewer, 1955, p.578). The court ruling involving

John Casor, which I explained above, is another example of the legal opportunities offered

to free blacks at this time.

Of course, these individuals were not treated entirely equal. Around the time when

Africans lost their right to own white servants, they also lost the right to own any weapons

including firearms. This started with a ruling just effecting slaves and servants, but with

rising racial tensions, white Virginians expanded this legislation to include all black

individuals (Sam Houston State University).

One of the more interesting discrepancies in the way whites and blacks were treated

at this time includes tithable laws. “The term ‘tithable’… came to apply to persons on whom

the colony's tax laws assessed a poll tax or capitation tax” (Gentry). While the only white

population that was considered “tithable” included men over the age of 16, all black

Virginians older than 16 were subject to this tax whether men or women (Gentry). This

meant that a family like Anthony Johnson’s which included himself, at least two sons, two

daughters, and his wife would have to pay the full tax for six people, while a white family

with the same breakdown would only have to pay the full tax for three people. When

Johnson petitioned the court after the fire, stated above, it was the tithable tax that his wife

and daughters became exempt from.

The opportunities afforded to Africans once they had lived out their indentures as

well as the rights, they were granted are important to understand because these were only Indira Incognito 11

offered for a short period of colonial history. After the slave laws were enacted, these same

rights were off the table.

Contrasts with Slavery

While indentured servitude was often restrictive and for many caused excessive

hardship, it was nowhere near as degrading or demeaning as slavery. Prior to the

institution of slavery taking hold in the colonies, African immigrants were treated as

indentured servants. This meant that while they were virtually regarded as property, there

was a light at the end of the tunnel. They were only forced to work for a certain amount of

time and then they were free. No, these freed Africans were not allowed all the same rights

and freedoms as white Virginians, but they were treated much better than the African

slaves brought to the colony just a few years after them.

Planters in the Chesapeake began implementing slave codes in the 1650’s and 60’s

that resulted in a restriction of legal rights of bound Africans including the right to own

property. While slave codes throughout the colonies varied, many of the ideas were

constant from region to region. For instance:

Slaves could not testify in court against a white, make contracts, leave the plantation

without permission, strike a white, buy and sell goods, own firearms, gather without

a white present, possess any anti‐slavery literature, or visit the homes of whites or

free blacks. (PBS)

Clearly, some of these stipulations sound a bit familiar. Free blacks were also not

allowed to own firearms, or any weapon for that matter, but as explained above, it was Indira Incognito 12

common for free blacks to testify in court, as seen by Anthony Johnson and his family.

These individuals also made contracts frequently, they actively participated in the market,

and there were no regulations on who they could gather with, or where they could visit.

The transition from servitude to slavery may have been legally recognized due to

Johnson’s court case regarding John Casor, and therefore would have originally benefited a

black man, but withholding rights from slaves was done so to increase the white standing

not black. Fogleman reports that the big transition from one institution to the other,

occurred around the turn of the 18th century. “From 1680 to 1720… over 50,000 slaves

were imported into the mainland” (Fogleman, 1998, p. 48). He believes this shift is due to,

“opportunities for new planters in the tobacco market… and improving conditions for

workers in England” (Fogleman, 1998, p. 48). By 1720 the population distribution of the

Chesapeake and the Lower South had changed dramatically. The percentage of Africans

living in the Chesapeake had gone from 7% to 25% (Fogleman, 1998). It is clear, that due to

the increasing black population, whites could not afford to grant the same rights to slaves

as they had to African indentured servants if they wanted to keep their position in the top

of society.

This transition from servitude to slavery, and with it the seemingly swift transition

from rights to no‐rights tells an interesting story about the racial biases and prejudices

current at this historical point in time, but also how groups react when they feel their

power is threatened.

Indira Incognito 13

Conclusion

This paper serves as an accumulation of information about African indentured

servants and the free African population in colonial America. This population deserves

recognition in American history and yet has more or less been entirely forgotten. The

rights, opportunities, and freedoms allowed to African indentured servants and free blacks

pre‐slave laws, (aka pre‐ 1670’s), are historically important because they juxtapose how

slaves of the same racial heritage, in the same regions of the country were treated just a

few years later.

The institution of indentured servitude greatly increased the population in colonial

America during the early to mid‐17th century. Indentured servitude gave colonial farmers

and plantation owners a source of labor that was less expensive than the Natives or

Europeans that already resided in the New World (Galenson). It is believed that early

Africans were forced into coming to the colonies, but once they arrived in Virginia, they

were treated as indentured servants because there was no social or cultural precedent of

life‐long slavery in this region (National Park Service). Anthony Johnson and his family of

prominent African indentured servants turned free blacks, highlight the rights and

freedoms afforded by this population. Through this exploration it is clear that “In Virginia…

the first black settlers fell into a well‐established socioeconomic groove which carried with

it no implications of racial inferiority” (Bennett, 1993, p.49). While free blacks were

allowed many of the same freedoms as whites in Virginia, there were a few disparities in their treatment, mainly the taxation policy and ownership laws. Indira Incognito 14

The lives of the Africans who were taken to the colonies just a few years after this

first batch arrived, were tremendously different. By 1680 slavery had become more

accepted in the colonies, and the slave codes that had been put in place, greatly hindered

the rights and freedoms of black immigrants. It is unlikely that there was a huge shift in the way white colonists viewed Africans in such a short time period. If the whites who held the power in Virginian society were okay with Africans owning property, being active in the marketplace, and employing white servants in 1660 but not 1680, new‐found racism in the population was probably not the main factor at play.

It was only about a 40‐year period over which these rights and freedoms were

drastically withdrawn. This is hardly enough time for a new generation of racists to be

raised and become active in society. I believe it is more likely that the racism cited as a

driving force of slavery was actually a façade. White colonists used this notion as a

scapegoat to hide their real motivation‐ their greedy desire to monopolize power in

Virginia. Once this front had been put up, it was only a matter of time before it was adopted

by society and developed into the horrible racism that some may argue is still apparent in

Southern culture today.

Indira Incognito 15

Works Cited

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Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 99(1), 45‐62. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4249198

Brewer, J. (1955). Negro Property Owners in Seventeenth‐Century Virginia. The William

and Mary Quarterly, 12(4), 575‐580. doi:10.2307/1918626

De Valdes y Cocom, M. (1995). The Blurred Racial Lines of Famous Families‐ Johnson. PBS

Frontline. Retrieved from

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Eschner, K. (2017). The Horrible Fate of John Casor, The First Black Man to be Declared

Slave for Life in America. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved from

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180962352/

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Transformation of Immigration in the Era of the American Revolution. The Journal of

American History, 85(1), 43‐76. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2568431 Indira Incognito 16

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Shore. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/

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