Thanks. I would suggest the reading of White Cargo.
Before I go on I am not implying that the effects of white slavery and black slavery are comparable nor am I subtracting from the history of black slavery. Only that white slavery existed.
In short, indentured servitude for the most part is a myth. The first white "indentured servants" imported were of those that Britain deemed "surplus" people which included criminals, unemployed, homeless, street children, the then 'dehumanised' Irish and they were treated as slaves. Hundreds of thousands were purchased (much cheaper than the African slave), abused and many died. Life expectancy was less than two years. Very few indentured servants completed and received the fulfillments of their contracts.
Basically it was the greed/labor needs of British companies, such as the Virginia Tobacco Company, that drove the importation of white slaves and they satisfied those needs by paying judges per "criminal" received and "Spirits" (underground kidnappers) per worker. Britain wanted to clean out the criminals or lowlifes and the Tobacco companies needed labor.
Only 1 or 2 percent of British Americans were slave owners. It is much more likely for a white guy to be a descendant of a slave than a slave owner especially if they are of Irish heritage.
The similarities between black and white slavery for the most part end there. The assimilation into a free society has been exponentially tougher for a descendant of an African slave.
