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Indentured servants could not marry without the permission of their master, were frequently subject to physical punishment, and did not receive legal favor from the courts. Female indentured servants in particular might be raped and/or sexually abused by their masters. If children were produced the labour would be extended by two years. [14]
But unlike slaves, servants were guaranteed to be eventually released from bondage. At the end of their term they received a payment known as "freedom dues" and became free members of society. [47] One could buy and sell indentured servants' contracts, and the right to their labor would change hands, but not the person as a piece of property.
Before the passing of the 1705 Virginia Slave Code Act, African Americans served as indentured servants. [citation needed] [clarification needed] This law, after being passed, transformed servitude into slavery, turning many African Americans from extended servitude to a bonded and forced lifetime commitment to slavery.
It is the first documented case of a black man sentenced to lifetime servitude and is considered one of the first legal cases to make a racial distinction between black and white indentured servants. [136] [137] After 1640, planters started to ignore the expiration of indentured contracts and keep their servants as slaves for life.
Complete: The use of the word complete in a slave advertisement indicated a high level of competency, meaning the person had especial capability and/or the necessary training to "adeptly" perform certain work. [5] Dower slaves: Slaves brought into a family unit through the wife's previous ownership. [6]
Punishment and killing of slaves: Slave codes regulated how slaves could be punished, usually going so far as to apply no penalty for accidentally killing a slave while punishing them. [9] Later laws began to apply restrictions on this, but slave-owners were still rarely punished for killing their slaves. [ 10 ]
In other cases, some slaves were reclassified as indentured servants, effectively preserving the institution of slavery through another name. [ 119 ] Often citing Revolutionary ideals, some slaveholders freed their slaves in the first two decades after independence, either outright or through their wills.
The latter prolonged Key's servitude beyond the indenture's original term. At the death of the second owner of her indenture, his estate classified Elizabeth Key and her mixed-race son (who also had a white father, William Grinstead) as "Negro slaves" who were the personal property of the deceased.