Gottlieb Mittelberger, The Passage of Indentured Servants (1750)

Gottlieb Mittelberger was an indentured servant from Germany whoworked in Pennsylvania, where he served as a schoolmaster andorganist. After only four years, he returned to Germany. Thefollowing is a detailed and graphic account of the trans-Atlanticjourney and the fate that awaited indentured servants upon arrivalin North America..

Both in Rotterdam and in Amsterdam the people are packed densely, like herrings soto say, in the large sea-vessels. One person receives a place of scarcely 2 feet widthand 6 feet length in the bedstead, while many a ship carries four to six hundred souls;not to mention the innumerable implements, tools, provisions, water-barrels and otherthings which likewise occupy such space.

On account of contrary winds it takes the ships sometimes 2, 3, and 4 weeks tomake the trip from Holland to . . . England.But whenthe wind is good, they get therein 8 days or even sooner. Everything is examined there and the custom-duties paid,whence it comes that the ships ride there 8, 10 or 14 days and even longer at anchor,till they have taken in their full cargoes. During that time every one is compelled tospend his last remaining money and to consume his little stock of provisions which hadbeen reserved for the sea; so that most passengers, fmding themselves on the oceanwhere they would be in greater need of them, must greatly suffer from hunger andwant. Many suffer want already on the water between Holland and Old England.

When the ships have for the last time weighed their anchors near the city of Kaupp[Cbwes] in Old England, the real misery begins with the long voyage. For from therethe ships, unless they have good wind, must often sail 8, 9, 10 to 12 weeks before theyreach Philadelphia. But even with the best wind the voyage lasts 7 weeks.

.From Gottlieb Mittleberger, Journey to Pennsylvania in the Year 1750 and Return to Germany in the Year

1754, trans. Carl Theo Eben (Philadelphia: John Jos. McVey, n.d.). .

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But during the voyage there is on board these ships terrible misery, stench, fumes,horror, vomiting, many kinds of sea-sickness, fever, dysentery, headache, heat,constipation, boils, scurvy, cancer, mouth rot, and the like, all of which come from oldand sharply salted food and meat, also from very bad and foul water, so that many diemiserably.

Add to this want of provisions, hunger, thirst, frost, heat, dampness, anxiety, want,aftlictions and lamentations, together with other trouble, as . . . the lice abound sofrightfully, especially on sick people, that they can be scraped off the body. The miseryreaches the climax when a gale rages for 2 or 3 nights and days, so that every onebelieves that the ship will go to the bottom with all human beings on board. In such avisitation the people cry and pray most piteously.

Children from 1 to 7 years rarely survive the voyage. I witnessed. . . misery in noless than 32 children in our ship, all of whom were thrown into the sea. The parentsgrieve all the more since their children fmd no resting-place in the earth, but aredevoured by the monsters of the sea.

That most of the people get sick is not surprising, because, in addition to all othertrials and hardships, warm food is served only three times a week, the rations beingvery poor and very little. Such meals can hardly be eaten, on account of being sounclean. The water which is served out of the ships is often very black, thick and fullof worms, so that one cannot drink it without loathing, even with the greatest thirst.Toward the end we were compelled to eat the ship's biscuit which had been spoiledlong ago; though in a whole biscuit there was scarcely a piece the size of a dollar thathad not been full of red worms and spiders' nests. . . .

At length, when, after a long and tedious voyage, the ships come in sight of land,so that the promontories can be seen, which the people were so eager and anxious tosee, all creep from below on deck to see the land from afar, and they weep for joy, andpray and sing, thanking and praising God. The sight of the land makes the people onboard the ship, especially the sick and the ;half dead, alive again, so that their heartsleap within them; they shout and rejoice, and are content to bear their misery inpatience, in the hope that they may soon rc!achthe land in safety. But alas!

When the ships have landed at Philadelphia after their long voyage, no one ispermitted to leave them except those who pay for their passage or can give goodsecurity; the others, who cannot pay, must remain on board the ships till they arepurchased, and are released from the ships by their purchasers. The sick always farethe worst, for the healthy are naturally preferred and purchased first; and so the sick

- and wretched must often remain on board in front of the city for 2 or 3 weeks, andfrequently die, whereas many a one, if he could pay his debt and were permitted' toleave the ship immediately, might recover and remain alive.

The sale of human beings in the market on board the ship is carried out thus:Every day Englishmen, Dutchmen and. High-German people come from the city ofPhiladelphia and other places, in part from a great distance, ~ay 20, 30, or 40 hoursaway, and go on board the newly arrived ship that has'brought and offers for sale.passengers from Europe, and select among the healthy persons such as they deemsuitable for their business, and bargain with them how long they will serve for theirpassage money, which most of them are still in debt for. When they have come to an

32 AMERICA THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS PEOPLE

agreement, it happens that adult persons bind themselves in writing to serve 3,4,5 or 6years for the amount due by them, according to their age and strength. But very youngpeople, from 10 to 15 years, must serve till they are 21 years old.

Many parents must sell and trade away their children like so many head of cattle;for if their children take the debt upon themselves, the parents can leave the ship freeand unrestrained; but as the parents often do not know where and to what people theirchildren are going, it often happens that such parents and children, after leaving theship, do not see each other again for many years, perhaps no more in all their lives. . . .

It often happens that whole families, husband, wife and children, are separated bybeing sold to different purchasers, especially when they have not 'paid any part of theirpassage money.

When a husband or wife has died a sea, when the ship has made more than half ofher trip, the survivor must payor serve not only for himself or herself but also for thedeceased .

When both parents have died over half-way at sea, their children, especially whenthey are young and have nothing to pawn or pay, must stand for their own and theirparents' passage, and serve till they are 21 years old. When one has served his or herterm, he or she is entitled to a new suit of clothes at parting; and if it has been sostipulated, a man gets in addition a horse, a woman, a cow. When a serf has anopportunity to marry in this country, he or she must pay for each year which he or shewould have yet to serve, 5 or 6 pounds.

Richard Frethorne, Letter to His Parents (1623)

This is a letter written by Richard Frethorne, an indentured servantin Virginia, to his parents in England..By 1623, Jamestown was wellestablished. Frethorne lived about ten miles from Jamestown, inMartin's Hundred. Whatever their contract promised, mostindentured servants could expect poor food, scant clothing, andoverwork. Many did not live out their period of service..

Loveing and kind father and mother my most humble duty remembered to youhopeing in God of your good health, as I my selfe am at the makeing hereof, this is tolet you understand that I your Child am in a most heavie Case by reason of the natureof the Country is such that it Causeth much sicknes [including scurvy and "the bloodyflux"] . . . and when wee are sicke there is nothing to comfort us; for since I came outof the ship, I never at anie thing but pease, and loblollie (that is water gruell)[.] as for

. Richard Frethorne, "Letter to his Parents, March 20, April 2, 3, 1623," in The Records of the Virginia

Company of London, vol. IV, ed. Susan M. Kingsbury.

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INDENTURED SERVANTS AND SLAVES 33

deare or venison I never saw anie since I came into this land there is indeed somefoule, but Wee are not allowed to goe, and get yt, but must Worke hard both earelie,and late for a messe of water gruell, and a mouthfull of bread, and beife[.] a mouthfullof bread for a pennie loafe must serve for 4 men which is most pitifull if you did.knowe as much as I, when people crie out day, and night, Oh that they were in Englandwithout their lymbes and would not care to loose anie lymbe to bee in England againe,yea though they beg from doore to doore. . . . I have nothing at all, no not a shirt to mybacke, but two Ragges nor no Clothes, but one poore suite, nor but one paire of shooes,but one paire of stockins, but one Capp, but two bands, my Cloke is stollen by one ofmy owne fellowes, and to his dying hower would not tell mee what he did with it[although some friends saw the "fellowe" buy butter and beef from a ship, probablypurchased with Frethorne's cloak]. . . . but I am not halfe a quarter so strong as I wasin England, and all is for want of victualls, for I doe protest unto you, that I have eatenmore in a day at home than I have allowed me here for a Weeke. . . .

a that you did see may daylie and hourelie sighes, grones, and teares, andthumpes that I afford mine owne brest, and rue and Curse the time of my birth withholy Job. I thought no head had beene able to hold so much water as hath and dothdailie flow from mine eyes.

Elizabeth Sprigs, Letter to Her Father (1756)

This letter was written by Elizabeth Sprigs, an indentured servant inMaryland, to her father in England., It is clear than conditions forindentured servants had not improved much in the more than 100years since Richard Freethorne wrote from Virginia to his parents.Note how Sprigs compares her treatment to that of "Negroes.'"

Maryland, Sept'r22'd 1756

Moored Father

My being for ever banished from your sight, will I hope pardon the Boldness Inow take of troubling you with these, my long silence has been purely owning to myundutifullness to you, and well knowing I had offended in the highest Degree, put a tieto my tongue and pen, for fear I should be extinct from your good Graces and add afurther Trouble to you, but too well knowing your care and tenderness for me so longas I retain'd my Duty to you, induced me once again to endeavor if possible, to kindle

.From Elizabeth Sprigs, "Letter to Mr. John Sprigs in White Cross Street near Cripple Gate, London,"September 22, 1756. Reprinted by permission of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Society ofColonial Dames of America.

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34 AMERICA DIROUGH THE EYES OF ITS PEOPLE

up that flame again. 0 Dear Father, believe what I am going to relate the words of truthand sincerity, and Balance my former bad Conduct my sufferings here, and then I amsure you'll pity your Destress Daughter, What we unfortunate English People sufferhere is beyond the probability of you in England to Conceive, let it suffice that lone ofthe unhappy Number, am toiling almost Day and Night, and very often in the Horsesdrudgery, with only this comfort that you Bitch you do not halfe enough, and then tiedup and whipp'd to that Degree that you'd not serve an Animal, scarce any thing butIndian Com and Salt to eat and that even begrudged nay many Negroes are better used,almost naked no shoes nor stockings to wear, and the comfort after slaving duringMasters pleasure, what rest we can get is to rap ourselves up in a Blanket and ly uponthe Ground, this is the deplorable Condition your poor Betty endures, and now I beg ifyou have any Bowels of Compassion left show it by sending me some Relief, Clothingis the principal thing wanting, which if you should condiscend to, may easily sendthem to me by any of the ships bouna to Baltimore Town Patapsco River Maryland,and give me leave to conclude in Duty to you and Uncles and Aunts, and Respect to allFriends

Honored Father

Your undutifull and Disobedient Child

Elizabeth Sprigs

Olaudah Equiano, The Middle Passage (1788)

This is a selection from the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano (orGustavus Yassa), who was brought to Barbados, Virginia, and,later, England from his home West Africa in the early eighteenthcentury. He was able to purchase his freedom in England andbecame an abolitionist. His autobiography was written to describethe inhumanity of slavery as part of his abolitionist activities. Thesepassages describe the middle passage and Equiano's experiencesas a slave in Virginia..

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. . . The ftrst object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, anda slave ship, which was then riding at anchor, and waiting for its cargo. These ftlled mewith astonishment, which was soon converted into terror when I was carried on board.I was immediately handled and tossed up to see if I were sound by some of the crew;

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by Himse/f(New York, 1791).

INDENTURED SERVANTS AND SLAVES 35

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nod I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that theywere going to kill me. Their complexions too differing so much from ours, their longhair, and the language they spoke, (which was very different from any I had everheard) united to confmn me in this belief. Indeed such were the horrors of my viewsand fears at the moment, that, if ten thousand worlds had been my own, I would havefreely parted with them all to have exchanged my condition with that of the meanestslave in my own country. When I looked round the ship too and saw a large furnace ofcopper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description chained together,every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubtedof my fate; and, quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on thedeck and fainted. When I recovered a little I found some black people about me, who Ibelieve were some of those who brought me on board, and had been receiving theirpay; they talked to me in order to cheer me, but all in vain. I asked them if we were notto be eaten by those white men with horrible looks, red faces, and loose hair. They toldme I was not; and one of the crew brought me a small portion of spirituous liquor in awine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take it out of his hand. One of theblacks therefore took it from him and gave it to me, and I took a little down my palate,which, instead of reviving me, as they thought it would, threw me into the greatestconsternation at the strange feeling it produced, having never tasted any such liquorbefore. Soon after this the blacks who brought me on board went off, and left meabandoned to despair. I now saw myself deprived of all chance or returning to mynative country or even the least glimpe of hope of gaining the shore, which I nowconsidered as friendly; and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to mypresent situation, which was filled with horrors of every kind, still heightened by myignorance of what I was to undergo. I was not long suffered to indulge my grief; I wassoon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation in my nostrils as

, I had neverexperiencedin my life:so that, with the loathsomenessof the stench,andcrying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the leastdesire to taste anything. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon,to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables; and, on my refusing to eat, oneof them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass, and tied myfeet, while the other flogged me severely. I had never experienced anything of thiskind before; and although, not being used to the water, I naturally feared that elementthe first time I saw it, yet nevertheless, could I have got over the nettings, I would havejumped over the side, but I could not; and, besides, the crew used to watch us veryclos~ly who were not chained down to the decks, lest we should leap into the water:and I have seen some of these poor African prisoners most severely cut for attemptingto do so, and hourly whipped for not eating. This indeed was often the case withmyself. In a little time after, amongst the poor chained men, I found some of my ownnation, which in a small degree gave ease to my mind. I inquired of these what was tobe done with us; they gave me to understand we were to be carried to these whitepeople's country to work for them. I then was a little revived, and thought, if it were noworse than working, my situation was not so desperate: but still I feared I should beput to death, the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner;for I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruellty; and this not

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36 AMERJCA THROUGH THE EVES OF ITS PEOPLE

only shewn towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves. One whiteman in particular I saw when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged sounmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; andthey tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute. This made me fearthese people the more; and I expected nothing less than to be treated in the samemanner. I could not help expressing my fears and apprehensions to some of mycountrymen: I asked them if these people had no country, but lived in this hollow place(the ship): they told me they did not, but came fToma distant one. "Then," said I, "howcomes it in all our country we never heard of them?" They told me because they livedso.very far off. I then asked where were their women? had they any like themselves?"and why," said I; "do we not see them?" they answered, because they were leftbehind. . . .

The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome,that it was dangerous to remain there for any ti~, and some of us had been permittedto stay on the deck for the fTeshair; but now that the whole ship's cargo were confinedtogether, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the place, and the heat ofthe climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each hadscarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copiousperspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, fTom a variety ofloathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died,thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers.This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now becomeinsupportable; and the filth of the necessary tubs, into which the children often fell,and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying,rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. Happily perhaps for myselfI was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me almost alwayson deck; and fTom my extreme youth I was not put in fetters. In this situation Iexpected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of whom were almostdaily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon putan end to my miseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep muchmore happy than myself. I envied them the fTeedomthey enjoyed, and as often wishedI could change my condition for theirs. Every circumstance I met with served only torender my state more painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of thecruelty of the whites. One day they had taken a number of fishes; and when they hadkilled and satisfied themselves with as many as they thought fit, to our astonishmentwho were on the deck, rather than give any of them to us to eat as we expected, theytossed the remaining fish into the sea again, although we begged and prayed for someas well as we could, but in vain; and some of my countrymen, being pressed byhunger, took an opportunity, when they thought no one saw them, of trying to get alittle privately; but they were discovered, and the attempt procured them some verysevere floggings. . . .

. . . I and some few more slaves, that were not saleable amongst the rest, fTomverymuch fTetting,were shipped off in a sloop for North America. . . . While I was in thisplantation [in Virginia] the gentleman, to whom I suppose the estate belonged, beingunwell, I was one day sent for to his dwelling house to fan him; when I came into the

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I,"Jillwhere he was I was very much affrighted at some things I saw, and the more so.1-, I had seena blackwomanslaveas I camethroughthe house,whowas cookingthedJllllcr,and the poor creature was cruelly loaded with various kinds of iron machines;-,lie had one particularlyon her head,which lockedher mouth so fast that she could-l;lrcely speak; and could not eat nor drink. I was much astonished and shocked at this, ,'nlrivance, which I afterwards learned was called the iron muzzle. . .

Alexander Falconbridge, The African Slave Trade (1788)

An Account of the African Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa byAlexander Falconbridge gives a precise description of theinhumanity of the middle passage to the New World. Falconbridgeserved as a surgeon on slave ships at the end of the eighteenthcentury. Note his description of the relationships between the whitesailors and African women.'

AS soon as the wretched Africans, purchased at the fairs, fall into the hands of thehlack traders, they experience an earnest of those dreadful sufferings which they aredoomed in future to undergo. And there is not the least room to doubt, but that evenhcfore they can reach the fairs, great numbers perish from cruel usage, want of food,Iravelling through inhospitable deserts, etc. They are brought from the places where[hey are purchased to Bonny, etc. in canoes; at the bottom of which they lie, havingtheir hands tied with a kind of willow twigs, and a strict watch is kept over them. Theirllsage in other respects, during the time of passage, which generally lasts several days,is equally cruel. Their allowance of food is so scanty, that it is barely sufficient tosupport nature. They are, besides, much exposed to the violent rains which frequentlyI"allhere, being covered only with mats that afford but a slight defense; and as there isusually water at the bottom of the canoes, from their leaking, they are scarcely everydry.

Nor do these unhappying beings, after they become the property of the Europeans(from-whom as a more civilized people, more humanity might naturally be expected),find their situation in the least amended. Their treatment is no less rigorous. The menNegroes, on being brought aboard the ship, are immediately fastened together, two andtwo, by handcuffs on their wrists, and irons riveted on their legs. They are then sentdown between the decks, and placed in an apartment partitioned off for that purpose.The women likewise are placed in a separate room, on the same deck, but withoutbeing ironed. And an adjoining room, on the same deck is besides appointed for theboys. Thus are they placed in different apartments.

.From Alexander Falconbridge, An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa (London: 1788).

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AMERICA THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS PEOPLE

INDENTURED SERVANTS AND SLAVES

rough and the rain heavy, it becomes necessary to shut these, and every otherconveyance by which the air is admitted. The fresh air being thus excluded, theNegroes' rooms very soon grow intolerably hot. The confined air, rendered noxious bythe effluvia exhaled from their bodies, and by being repeatedly breathed, soonproduces fevers and fluxes, which generally carries off great numbers of them.

. . . One morning, upon examining the place allotted for the sick Negroes, Iperceived that one of them, who was so emaciated as scarcely to be able to walk, wasmissing, and was convinced that he must have gone overboard in the night, probably toput a more expeditious period to his sufferings. And, to conclude on this subject, Icould not help being sensibly affected, on a former voyage, at observing with whatapparent eagerness a black woman seized some dirt from off an African yam, and putit into her mouth, seeming to rejoice at the opportunity of possessing some of hernative earth.

From these instances I think it may have been clearly deduced that the unhappyAfricans are not bereft of the fmer feelings, but have a strong attachment to their nativecountry, together with a just sense of the value of liberty. And the situation of themiserable beings above described, more forcibly urges the necessity of abolishing atrade which is the source of such evils, than the most eloquent harangue, or persuasivearguments could do.

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pcrhaps they will themselvc5 make up he Nomber (or their owne safetie.!

Theis I doubr are the Cogiradons q( rme o( our worthier men. II

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This reconstruction or Vitginia so~ie.y, rtOttl!the Dnty boy at the ~.tom to the richer planters at th,e ~opl indicates that all along !he ~~elabor had become a valuabl~ and ide~perately sought commodity. S

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tiers who were not in a position to ~rotect themselves found that t eeconomy put constant pressure on. th~m. Their status as free men lasalways in danger of debasemeilt:i planters bought, sold, and trad~dservants without their consent, and' od occasion they even used them lasstakes in gambling games. There. hdd been "many complaints," ~~c-

knowledged John Rolfe, "against the \Governors, Captaines, and O~c-ers in Virginia: for buying and selling' men arid boies," something that"was held in Englarid a thing ",ost i~tolerable:' One Englishman p~t

the indignity quite succinctly: "MY f\1aster Atkins hath sold me forI

' a£ 150 sterling like a damnd slav~." '

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Indeed, quite a few of the ingredient of slavery are there: the feveri~heconomic boom that sparked an insatia, Ie demand for human labor, t~emortality rate that encouraged survivors to become callous about hum,nlife, the servants who were being bo

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1ht and sold, treated as property;

treat~d, almost, as sl~ves. If we wer«1' king, in the ab.stract, to construtta socIety where sOCIaland economic Iressures co~bl?e.d to encoura~ethe development of human slav~ry" boom-town VIfglnla would fit tHemodel neatly . Yet the actual recotds dolnot quite confirm the hypothesi~.

The first record of blacks being im~rted to Virginia wasJohn Rolfe!soffhand report in 1619 that" About ,the last of August came in a dutchman o( warre that sold us twenty N,egJrs." Sold, yes. But sold as slavJsor as servants? Rolfe doesn't say. Hi~torians have combed the spar~~records of early Virginia, looking at c~urt records, inventories, letters,wills, church records-anything that ,might shed light on the way blac~swere treated. Before 1640, ther~ is,virtually nothing in the survivingrecords; before 1660, bits and pieces of evidence do' indicate that someblacks were held as slaves for life, but some definitely as servants. Otherblacks were either given their freedom or were able to purchase it. Onlyduring the 1660s did the Virginia assembly begin to pass legislation thatseparated blacks from whites, that defined slavery, legally, as an institu-tion. Blacks, in other words, lived with white Virginians for over forty

.SERVING TIME IN VIRGINIA

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....

..Abour rhe last o( Augu5t came in a dutch man of warre that sold us twentNellars." So wrote Joh:n Rolfe in 1619. Yet the status of these and other earlblacksremainsundearf Court records indicate that in the 1640Sat least sornoblackshadbeenfreed a'ndwere purchasing their own land. One black, AnthonJohnson, even owned his own slave. The illustration is by Howard Pyle,Popular nineteenth.century artist whose meticulous research made his sceneaccu .

rale In terms o( costume and setting.

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rears before their status had become fully ~nd lefally debased. The facts, 1 the records force us to turn the initial questio,naround. If the 1620S~ith its boom economy was such an appro~riate ~imefor slavery to havedeveloped, why didn', it? I. . .

flere the talents of historians are stretched t thear hmns. They canexpect ~o obvious explanations from con:tem raries like John Rolfe,Captain Smith, or William Capps. The devc:tlo~m nt of slavery was some-thing that snuck up on Virginians. It was 'pa~t f the "inner dynamic"of the society, as sociologists would say-t1idd~ from the awareness ofthe social actors in the situation. Even the reco ds left by the c;lerks of

society are scant help. Th~ best that can be ~o~~ i intelligent conj~cture,based on the kind of soclet~ that has ~ee?,. r~c nstructed. "

Was it a matter of the simple avallabl'l,ny 0 slaves? Yerh~ps. The

African slave trade was still in its infancy, ~~~~ ,n if V~rginians.wantedslaves, they may have found them hard to cc;>mey. During the tune thatVirginia was experiencing its boom of the 162,9S the West Indian islands

like Barbadoes and St. Kius were bein~ sett,I,ed:1Jhere,where the cultiva-tion of sugar demanded even more Intensiv~ Ijabor thlln tobacco, thedemand for slaves was extremely high, and slavery developed morerapidly. If traders sailing from Africa could <:a

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rrv only so many slaves,

and if the market for them were better in the a~r~adoes than in Virginia,why sail all the way up to Chesapeake Bay? ThF slave traders may nothave found the effort worth it. That is the conjFcture of one historian,Richard Dunn. "

, Edmund Morgan has suggested another possi ility, based on the con-tinuing mortality rate in Virginia. Put yourself i the place of the planter

'searching for labor. You can buy either serv.ants r slaves. Servants come" I I

cheaper than slaves, of course, but you only get to work them fpr sevenyears before they receive their freedom. Slav~s re more expensive, butyou get their labor for the rest of their liv~s, as well as the labor 'of anyoffspring. In the long run, the more expensl'\oe slave would h~v~ beenthe better buy. But in Virginia? Everyone is dyi g anyw~y. What are thechances that either servants or slaves are, goin to liv~ for m{>rethanseven, five, even three years? The chanct!s ar not particularlY good.Wouldn't it make more sense to pay le~s an1 buy shvants; on theassu~ptio~ tha~ whoev~r is bought. may ~ie s,h?rdy anyway?' I j

It ISan ingenious conjecture, but n musuem~1n that~for the presentat least. No plantation records or letters have',been found indicating thatplanters actually thought that way. Availab!e evi'dence does suggest that, ,the high death rate in Virginia began to drop only in the 1650s. If thatwere the r"se, it makes sense that only then, when slaves became a. 8

SERVING TIME IN VIRGINIA 25

profitablecommodity, would lawscome to be passed formallyestablish-ing their chattel status. Whatever the reasons may have been, one thing

: seemsclear: Slaverydid not flourish markedly along with the boom of1620.

Sometime betWeen 1629 and 1630, the economic bubble popped.The price of tobacco plummeted from 3 shillings to 1 penny a pound.Virginianstried desperately to prop it up again, either by limiting pro-ductionor by simple edict, but they did not succeed. Tobacco prices inthe 1630Soccasionallyfloated as high as sixpence, but more often theystayedat three. That meant planters still could make money, but thechancefor a quick fortune had vanished-Uinto smoke," as Sandys orone of his disillusioned investors would no doubt have remarked. TheVirginiaCompany's experiment in social reconstruction had failed, butthe records of their investments, their wranglings, and the fortune'hunting survived them. Not all the records survived, by any means.Manyof them were lost, many more burned with the capture of Rich-mond during the Civil War. But enough survived in Richmond, inLondon,in the estates of English lords and 'gentry to piece together thestoryof the early Virginians, rich and poor, and the socialstructUrethatbound them together. It is much to the credit of historians that thefeverish world of the ChesaPeake has nOt, like its cash crop, entirelyvanishedinto smoke.

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