Settlers, slaves and servants 10

Colonists were often persuaded to migrate to America by promoters like William Penn. Many convicts were offered chances to migrate to colonies instead of serving sentences. Most colonists couldn't afford passage, leading to the use of indentured servants—poor migrants working for passage in exchange for a few years of labor (4 to 7 years). Afterward, they received "freedom dues," sometimes including land. Around half of Southern colonists arrived this way, and many eventually secured land. Unlike indentured servants, African slaves, who arrived in 1619, faced lifetime involuntary servitude as slavery intensified.