Final answer:
Besides indentured servants, skilled workers also signed labor contracts in the 1700s, usually within trades. Patterns of labor varied, with white servants and apprentices common in urban centers while slaves often worked on rural farms. Contract labor was also used later in various agricultural sectors.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of the 1700s, aside from indentured servants, contracts for labor were primarily signed by skilled workers. These contracts could be between craftsmen and their apprentices, within industries such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and other trades essential for colonial life. Indentured servants, on the other hand, signed contracts pledging to work for a number of years in return for passage to the colonies and the potential for a new life thereafter. These servants were often poor and saw this as an opportunity despite the hard conditions and the fact that many did not survive their indentured period because of harsh manual labor and diseases.
Different patterns of labor, including contract labor and indentured servitude, varied between urban centers and rural farms. For example, in urban centers, it was common for white servants, including those from Germany and Northern Ireland, to be apprentices and journeymen in trades, while slaves were more commonly used in rural farms. This practice was not limited to the English colonies; other colonial powers and later the United States used contract labor from various countries to meet their labor demands, particularly in agricultural sectors such as sugarcane plantations.