Bondage Dictionary (Part 2)

In this Part 2 of my “Bondage Dictionary” I continue with words which I consider pertinent to the industry of human bondage. The emphasis is on the institution as it existed in the New World.

Immigrant Servant: A general term used to describe all immigrants who came to the colonies as servants; including convict servants, indentured servants and redemptioners.

Indenture: A contract between a master and an indentured servant specifying the length of time required to serve in order to pay for the trans-Atlantic passage. The indenture often would promise free land or money when the contract was terminated.

Indenture Servants: Indentured servants were Europeans, mostly between 18 and 25 years old, who contracted themselves to an employer in the New World for between four and seven years, after which time they were free to work for themselves. The term is also used to describe the practice in other circumstances such as Africans sent to Jamaica in the nineteenth century and Indians exported to South Africa in the nineteenth century.

Indian Servant: A Native American employed by a European as a servant.

Interloper: Slave traders operating in violation of monopoly company privileges.

Journeyman: A competent tradesman who has finished the training period of apprenticeship.

Kidnapped: The forcible seizure of a free people with the intent of selling them into slavery. It applies to both the capture of Africans and European.

Leeward Islands: The Caribbean Islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Antigua, Nevis, St. Kitts, Barbuda, St. Eustatius, St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, Anguilla and the Virgin Islands.

Maid Servant: A female indentured servant and came to mean an unmarried female servant.

Master: In European bondage, it was an individual who owned the labor of an immigrant servant for a number of years. In African bondage it was used to denote the owner of the slaves. For apprentices it was the person who trained.

Men: Generally, African slave traders classified men as taller than four feet four inches older than 13-14 years of age.

Merchant: An individual who purchased immigrant servants in Europe and when the servants arrived in the colonies assigned or sold their contracts to the colonists.

Middle Passage: The trans-Atlantic voyage between Africa and the Americas. The Middle Passage represents both a bridge and a divider between the Old and New Worlds.

Mistress: A female master.

Mortgage Value of Slaves: The collateral value of a slave or group of slaves used to secure a debt.

Outward Passage: The first leg of a slaving voyage, from the port of departure to Africa. Crewmen worked on the outward passage, preparing the vessel to receive human cargo by configuring below-deck prisons.

Overseer: The person on the plantation who was paid to organize and manage the work of slaves.

Plantation: A large estate or farm on which cash crops and provisions are grown, usually by slave workers. Plantations constituted the destination of the majority of enslaved Africans.

Plantocracy: The settlers who developed plantations in the Caribbean into successful businesses; the name combines their local rank and the status to which they aspired.

Political Rebel: A person whose political views were in opposition to the government. Political Rebels were often transported to the colonies as punishment.

Prime Slaves: Healthy slaves, men and women, between the ages of 18 and 30. Slave traders desired prime slaves and paid premiums for them.

Privilege Slave: An enslaved African given to the ship’s officer by the slave ship owner as a special honor or privilege.

Redemptioner: An individual who travelled from Europe to the American colonies without paying. Upon arrival, they would be redeemed by someone for payment. The passage was usually paid for by friends or relatives in the colonies. If the funds were not available then the redemptioner was sold as an indentured servant. Also termed Free-willers.

Runaway Servant: Immigrant servants often ran away from their masters to escape their contract. If caught they were punished harshly with extra years attached to their original contract.

Tomorrow, I conclude my “Bondage Dictionary” with words I consider important in understanding the institution of slavery in all of its forms.