Question

What would attract poor Englishmen and women to work as indentured servants in the colonies?

A. Higher wages for their labor.
B. Lower prices for meat and produce.
C. The possibility of owning land and farming that land for profit.
D. All of the above.

Answer 1

The answer is Option D-All of the above, Poor Englishmen and women worked as indentured servants for all the three basic needs:Higher wages, Low cost of food and possibility of owning land and farming that land for profit.

Origin of the concept of Indentured servants
The concept of "Indentured servants " has a long history in England. As per Ordinance of Labourers, passed in June 1349, all men and women( under the age of sixty) who did not practice a craft must serve anyone requiring their labor.

The idea of indentured servitude came into existence due to need for cheap labor. The earliest settlers soon understood that they had lots of land to care for, but no manpower-no one to care for it. With passage to the Colonies expensive for all, the Virginia Company developed the concept of indentured servitude to attract workers. Soon, Indentured servants became vital to the colonial economy.

Indentured servants included both men and women who used to sign a contract (called indenture or a covenant). As per this contract, they agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for
1. Free Transportation to Virginia and,
2. After transportation, they were given access to food, clothing, and shelter. Usually, Adults served for four to seven years by working in the tobacco fields of colony. With a long history in England, indentured servitude ( especially during most of the seventeenth century) became the primary means by which Virginia planters filled their nearly inexhaustible need for labor. To lure labour, the Virginia Company of London paid to transport servants across the Atlantic. However with the implementation of the headright system in 1618, the company attracted planters and merchants to incur the cost with the promise of giving land. Consequently, large number of servants flooded into the colony.

So, Indentured servants used to work for higher wages, low cost of food and possibility of owning a land.