Guideline for Indentured Servitude
Indentured Servants were, for the most part, adult  persons who were bound to labor for a period of years.  There were three well-known classes:  the free-willers, or redemptioners;  those who were enticed to leave their homes out of poverty or who were kidnapped for political or religious reasons; and convicts.

The first class: represented those who chose to bind themselves to labor/use  for a definite/indefinate  period of time to pay for their debts to a land owner or merchant.  It could also be voluntarily entered into for certain training purposes.  This form  had to be contracted with a local authority such as a magistrate, tax assessor, political appointee, etc.  Such contracts could be renewed/redrawn upon the end of the term.

The second class:  those who  were forcibly brought to servitude through kidnap or extortion, was fairly large.  This was one way the inquisition saught those of minor importance, to be "cleansed" for their deviant religious or sexual beliefs.  Their services were profitably sold to land owners or farmers, who indentured them for a period of years. This was also a way for the sexual conduct of those in upper society was satisfied.  Sexual slavery was a term not used but the definition is very similar.

The third class: convicts, were sentenced to be  indentured for minor crimes/offenses.  Seven years was a common term of such service.  This was a legal binding course of action decided by trial.  It was often given as an option to prison.
TREATMENT OF INDENTURED SERVANTS: Indentured servants had few rights. They could not vote. Without the permission of their owners/contract holders, they were not allowed to marry, to leave their houses or travel, nor buy or sell anything.   Female indentured servants were often raped without legal recourse.  Owners/contract holders often whipped and beat their indentured servants.

Servants typically worked four to seven years in exchange for, room, board, lodging and freedom dues.  While the life of an indentured servant was harsh and restrictive, it wasn't slavery.  There are laws that protect some of their rights.  For example, an owner/contract holder that killed their indentured servant could be brought up on charges of murder if the reasons for said slaying are not justified and witnessable.
However their life isnt an easy one, and the punishments meted out to people who wronged were harsher than those for non-servants.  An indentured servant's contract could be extended as punishment for breaking a law, such as running away, or in the case of female servants, becoming pregnant.

The terms of indentured service are regulated, but the treatment of individual servants differed widely.  Some are mistreated; others lived as members of a family.  It was commonly required that they be provided with clothing, a gun, and a small tract of land upon which to establish themselves after their service ended.  These requirements applied especially to those who were unwilling servants. There was no permanent stigma attached to indentured servitude, and the families of such persons merged readily with the total population.  Children born to parents serving their indenture were free.  The terms of an indenture are enforceable in the courts, and runaway servants could be compelled to return to their owners/contract holders to complete their service, with additional periods added for the time they had been absent.
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