Labor Contracts

Thousands of immigrants contracted themselves for labor to come to the new world, some to the Chesapeake region and others to the West Indies.

London and Bristol, England, contributed the largest numbers by far. Bristol alone registered about 10,000 emigrants and this record has been used to create a database giving all the information available on each emigrant.

Other databases with smaller numbers have also been created for London and Middlesex. Every indentured servant in public records (ca. 15,000) is recorded in these databases.

In addition, a few labor contracts have been made available as they appeared in manuscript to provide an indication of the typical terms of the contract.

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Jamestown Resources is a digital archive of images, artifacts, maps, rare documents, censuses, and other data for teachers, researchers, genealogists, students, and the general public who want to explore the meaning of Jamestown in the American experience.