SLAVERY
Indentured servitude was a labor system in which people paid for their passage to the colonies by working for a certain number of years. After the term of their indenture was completed, they were free to go. Slavery, on the other hand, was a permanent, lifelong condition.
In the United States, the transition from indentured servitude to racial slavery began in the late 17th century and was completed by the early 18th century. The first Africans who were brought to the English colonies in North America arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Initially, these people were treated as indentured servants and given the same legal status as Europeans who were also serving indentures.
However, as the number of Africans in the colonies grew, laws were passed that stripped them of their rights and made their status as slaves permanent. One of the key laws that did this was the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705. These codes established a number of rules and regulations governing the treatment of slaves and made it clear that they were the property of their owners and had no legal rights.
