Indentured Servant

...in the 17th and 18th centuries, immigrants from Europe to the British colonies in North America were obligated to do unfree labor for a certain period of time after their arrival. They were an important source of labor, accounting for more than half of the travelers to the North American colonies other than New England. There were three types of immigrants: (1) deferred travelers, (2) kidnapped persons and forcibly deported persons, and (3) criminals. (1) was a system in which the immigrants worked for three to five years for landowners or farmers who had paid for their passage to America after arriving, and repaid the passage fee. This was the most common method for Germans, but many English and Scottish immigrants also immigrated in this way.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "indenture servant" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…17～18世紀，ヨーロッパから北アメリカのイギリス領植民地へ渡った移民で，到着後一定期間の不自由労働を義務づけられた者。ニューイングランド以外の北アメリカ植民地への渡航者の半数以上を占める重要な労働力源であった。これには次の3種類がある。(1)船賃後払い渡航者，(2)被誘拐者と強制的国外追放者，(3)罪人。(1)はアメリカへの渡航費を到着後支払った地主･農民のもとで，3～5年間労役に服して渡航費を返済する制度で，ドイツ人の場合これが最も多く，イギリス人やスコットランド人もこの方法で移民した者が多い。…

※「インデンチュアード・サーバント」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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