Why Do People Mistake Indentured Servants

Reasons people would mistake indentured servants for slaves was because both were considered low in society, did not own many belongings, were not given much food or clothes, were shipped and both looked very similar in standards/appearance. Some see indentured servants as glorified butlers and people don’t realize that indentured servants had to go through a lot of the same trauma that slaves had to endure. Indentured servants and slaves had to be transported on ships. The voyage was often a horrible experience for all the passengers. On the ships the inmates had to sleep side by side each other with not much room to move. The best way to describe the sleeping arrangements are that they slept in compartments so the crew could fit more people in the ship. The prisoners were given only enough food to survive and

I have nothing at all–no, not a shirt to my back but two rags.” Another account from a slave named William Henry Singleton, stated a similar experience. He told of his experience when he was sold to a new master. He said that “Of course I had hardly any clothes, but then I did not need many clothes to keep me warm.” Both of these experiences indicate that indentured servants and slaves did not own much. Not only that but indentured servants and slaves were only fed twice a day so they could stay alive to work. Frethorne also writes about this in his letter. He stated “And when we are sick there is nothing to comfort us; for since I came out of the ship I never ate anything but peas, and loblollies (that is, water gruel).” Another example from William Singleton was when he stated “I had all I wanted to eat. Of course I had hardly.” This shows that indentured servants and slaves were given minimal food. Indentured servants and slaves were alike in standards, treatment, and status, but they were also very much