"Allen-

You wrote:
"I would respectfully suggest you pick up a book on indentured servitude."

My response is:

If you have one or two titles {or more} of books that you would recommend that I {and anyone else} read on this subject, I would appeciate your posting them.

You also wrote: "There really was no significant difference between a bonded servant and a slave."

My response is:

It seems to me that the one of the most significant differences between systems of bonded servitude and slavery, especially chattel slavery, was that one was time limited, {or, at least, supposed to be time limited [servitude] and one was for perpetuity-not only for the person branded as a slave, but also for their descendants {slavery}.

Furthermore, as I understand it, bonded servants were considered to be human {though a lower 'class' of humans} and in chattel slavery {the form of slavery in the Western world including the USA, South America, and the Caribbean}, slaves were considered to be less than human with no possiblility of evolving {say througn intelligence testing, material accomplishments, or religious conversion} to the 'level' of human}.

****

Allen, while I consider this conversation interesting, I believe that it is a digression from the purpose of this thread which is to provide examples & commentary of secular slave songs that are of {or may be of} African American origin.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I would be interested in you posting in this thread the titles of books that you recommend on this subject.

However, if you feel strongly about engaging in a conversation about the differences-if any- between the institutions of indentured servitude and slavery, may I suggest that you start a thread on the subject.

Perhaps Catters & Guests reading this thread as well as Catters & Guest who may not be interested in the subject of African American secular folk songs will have some comments to make on that subject.


Thank you.


Azizi"

Apologies for the rambling nature of these remarks.
Indentured servitude theoretically was ment to last a few years, but there were plenty of offences (including pregnancy) which could lengthen it.
Criminals were often transported for what in effect was their entire lives. Quite frequently the master would change the contract, leaving the servant with the short end of the stick.
Plenty of people also finished their servitude but had nowhere to go, so things remained much the same.
If you ran you could be picked up and resold, even if you didn't run it sometimes happened.
Kidnapping was a thriving trade in England of the time, children would be stolen and sold to the Colonies.
As to how human or not they were considered, it depends on what period.
The defining point generaly was Christian nad class, not race so much.

Try some of these online to begin with:
http://www.questia.com/library/sociology-and-anthropology/indentured-labor.jsp