Rise and Fall of Indentured Servitude

Economic History Association

The Rise and Fall of Indentured Servitude in the Americas: An Economic Analysis Author(s): David W. Galenson Reviewed work(s): Source: The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Mar., 1984), pp. 1-26 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2120553 . Accessed: 02/04/2012 19:44

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THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY

VOLUMEXLIV MARCH1984 NUMBER I

The Rise and Fall of Indentured Servitude in the Americas: An Economic Analysis

DAVID W. GALENSON

Indentured servitude appeared in Virginia by 1620. Initially a device used to

transportEuropeanworkersto the New World, over time servitudedwindledas black slavery grew in importancein the British colonies. Indenturedservitude reappeared in the Americas in the mid-nineteenthcentury as a means of transporting Asians to the Caribbeansugarislands and South Americafollowing the abolitionof slavery. Servitudethen remainedin legal use until its abolitionin 1917. This paper provides an economic analysis of the innovationof indentured servitude, describes the economic forces that caused its decline and disappearance from the British colonies, and considers why indenturedservitude was revivedfor migration the West Indiesduringthe...