Slavery and Servitude in North America, 1607-1800

A textbook introduction to one of the most important areas of early American history. Kenneth Morgan shows how the institutions of indentured servitude and black slavery interacted in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He covers all aspects of the two labour systems, including their impact on the economy, on racial attitudes, social structures and on regional variations within the colonies. Throughout overriding themes emerge: the labour market in North America, the significance of racial distinctions, supply and demand factors in transatlantic migration and labour, and resistance to bondage. This is an ideal introduction to an area that is crucial for understanding not just Colonial American society but also the later development of the United States.