It can be shown that large numbers of people decided to venture from the British Isles in the 1600s to colonise the new settlements in Virginia, in most cases believing that they would be bettering their position in life. They used their skills to work a new land where they would eventually (if an indentured servant) be able to own their own piece of land, an amount of typically fifty acres, and if a stockholder of the Virginia Company or not an indentured servant themselves, their fifty acres and as much again for any servants that they might send or bring to the colony. It will also be shown how religious based settlements were formed in the north-east of the country, why they chose to go there and whether it was as good as they would first have hoped. It will be proved, by the use of Bristol shipping records, that the bulk of people that emigrated from Britain to the Americas' went there by means of indentured servitude.
English: source: Immigrant Servants Database autho...
Indenture of apprenticeship binding Evan Morgan, a...
Floating Harbour and Bristol Bridge, BristolThey typically went for a period of four or five years, for those over the age of eighteen years and who were at liberty to do so. It will be concluded that although a hard and perilous existence for those that went, the rewards, either financial or spiritual, would make it a profitable enterprise, for those that survived the hardships of colonising a new land.
A large percentage of colonial immigrants were made up from those who travelled to the Americas under indentured servitude: it is estimated that around one-half of the total initial population entered in this way. Others who went were those sent not of their own will, such as those convicted, who were typically sent for a period of seven years, and unwanted or orphaned children, for their...