How did plantation owners in Maryland get indentured servants?
There were several ways someone could come to America as an indentured servant. A few were people who were given the choice of staying in jail or becoming indentures in the New World. Some were recruited through wealthy plantation owners already in the New World. But most were poor men, women, and even children whose life in England was a horrible struggle. They willingly signed an indenture contract to have a chance at a better life. Most contracts were 2 or 5 years, but children could be indentured until they turned 21. The indenture contract might be signed with an investment company, like the famous Virginia Company that started Virginia. The company would then sell the indenture contract to a ship’s master, or captain, who was sailing to America. Most indentured servants could choose which colony they wanted to travel to, but little else. They took only what they could carry. Many indentured servants took only the clothes on their back. When the ship arrived in a port – say, St. M
