Bound (25 page)

Tomorrow, Alice thought, she might write the widow a letter, a better letter than the last had been. She knew some of what she might say but not all; the rest must come as she discovered it. Why, she might write to Nate too, if she wished it, now that she knew he was back at the college! She knew well enough what she would say there: That she’d been freed of her indenture. That her time
was
her own. That she was no one’s slave. Perhaps the writing down of the words would make them feel real. Of course Nate might not wish to get any letter of hers, but if Alice wanted to write down the words she could write them; Nate could answer or not, as he wished it. Yes, Alice decided, tomorrow she would write to the widow. Perhaps to Nate. She would have the time, once the family left for the orchard, while she stayed behind with her feigned illness.

But there a curious thing happened; for a minute Alice couldn’t remember why she’d planned to feign an illness. For a minute she forgot about that other day, that other orchard. She imagined the Dolbeare children spilling out of the cart into the fine day that Mr. Dolbeare had predicted; she imagined herself spilling out with them; she imagined the children running, laughing, Alice running after them, the sun warm on her skin, the grass cool on her ankles. Perhaps it was time for another orchard. Perhaps it was time for Alice to make another story for herself.

Alice rolled away from the slashing rain, pulling the blanket over her ears. Would it clear? Yes, it would; she was sure of it. She closed her eyes. She slept.

The first “slaves” brought to America were in fact white indentured servants; when chattel slaves from Africa arrived, they worked side by side with white indentured servants in similar working conditions. The first indentured servants arrived in Massachusetts in 1620 aboard the
Mayflower
; soon afterward Massachusetts legalized chattel slavery, the first colony to do so, and the word
servant
was frequently used to describe both chattel slave and indentured servant, but the distinction was a significant one. The master of an indentured servant owned that servant’s labor for a restricted period of time, usually in exchange for payment of a debt or in exchange for training or education; the master of a chattel slave owned the slave’s person for life. Within the period of an indentured servant’s bondage, however, his “time” could be freely bought, sold, or traded.

The indentured servant held certain advantages over the chattel slave, including the limited time of service, the right to own property, and, because an actual contract existed, better protection via the courts. But to the indentured servant’s disadvantage was the fact that his master often worked him harder and fed him less than he did a slave, especially near the end of the indenture, having no long-term investment in keeping his “property” in working order.

In the case of the indentured servant who voluntarily immigrated to America, his debt was usually incurred in exchange for his passage money, sometimes fraudulently inflated with extra charges to insure that on his arrival in America he carried a hefty financial obligation that would require extended years of work. Some indentured servants were forcibly immigrated to America: convicts, prisoners of war, or poor or orphaned children spirited off the city streets and essentially sold into a slavery that would not terminate until their adulthood.

But not all indentured servants were immigrants. An American-born young male might be put under contract to a tradesman by his parents in order to learn that trade or receive an education; on Cape Cod where Christian missionaries had a marked effect, an Indian or mulatto girl might be bound out by her parents “to learn the English Bible” in exchange for her labor. In fact, children could be bound out by their parents, or by the town fathers if they deemed their care inadequate at home. In the latter case, Massachusetts law declared that the selectmen or overseers of the poor, with the assent of two justices of the peace, could bind out any child seven years of age whose parents should be thought “unable to maintain them,” males until the age of twenty-one, females until the age of eighteen. Provision was made for the education of such children: males were to be taught to read and write; females were to be taught to read as they “may be capable.” The selectmen were themselves bound by law to inquire from time to time after the welfare of any child they bound out and to “endeavor to defend them from any Wrongs or Injuries.” The law further stated that any “servants that have served diligently and faithfully to the benefit of their masters seven years, shall not be sent away empty.” In Massachusetts, the standard for not being sent away empty was a gift of two suits of clothes.

An indentured servant could not marry without his or her master’s permission; any misbehavior on the part of an indentured servant, such as running away, fornicating, or bearing a child, legitimate or otherwise, would allow the master to add to the servant’s contract for the time missed. A runaway might receive an additional seven days for each day absent. A pregnant woman might receive an additional year to make up for her diminished productivity during pregnancy and child care, as well as a “fine” of added time for the act of fornication.

Estimates indicate that through the middle of the eighteenth century between 150 and 250 foreign-born indentured servants arrived in the port of Boston each year. During the revolution the influx of immigrants fell off and the practice began to die out, at least for a time; according to twenty-first-century reports, the recruitment and exploitation of indentured workers is now on the rise. In fact, according to John Berger, CEO of The Emancipation Network, an organization whose mission is to end human trafficking by promoting economic self-sufficiency for survivors and at-risk groups, there are more people living today in indentured servitude, or debt bondage, than in any time in history, it being one of the most common forms of slavery worldwide, including in the United States. Currently, there are an estimated twenty-seven million people living in slavery.

The historical references needed for this book came my way through the gracious help of Kathleen Remillard and Nina Gregson at Brewster Ladies Library, Suzanne Foster and Teresa Lamperti at Brewster Historical Society, Lucy Loomis at Sturgis Library, Mary Sicchio at Cape Cod Community College, Elizabeth Bouvier at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Jennifer Fauxsmith at the Massachusetts Archives, and Stephen Farrar, archival consultant for
History Preserved
, who donated his time on behalf of Barnstable Historical Society.

My brother David Carlson reminded me about the “white slaves.” Susan Carrick sent a valuable article from
The Highlander
on the “Scottish Slaves.” Author Evan J. Albright shared some useful resources on colonial crimes and misdemeanors. Captain Steven Brown and Rusty Rice answered any number of annoying questions during a thrilling sail on the Revolutionary-era sloop
Providence.
Maureen Leavenworth taught me to cook over an eighteenth-century open hearth at the 1772 Caleb Nickerson House in Chatham. Heather Mangelinkx of Kristal Sunny-side Wools in Brewster shared her sheep as well as her spinning skills and threw in some extra-yard research in response to the question “how many bags full?” Susan Kelley took time out of her duties at the 1736 Josiah Dennis Manse in Dennis to demonstrate the great wheel. Jennifer Leaning and Ruth Barron assisted with the medical issues. Ellen Davies helped me sort out seating arrangements in an eighteenth-century church. Arlyn Whitelaw went above and beyond and then kept on going, unraveling the legal knots over a span of three centuries.

My agent, Andrea Cirillo, saw everything I didn’t and was, as usual, always there when I needed her. My editor, Jennifer Brehl, simply put, made it better. Associate editor Kate Nintzel made it happen. Publicists Dee Dee DeBartlo and Seale Ballenger fueled me with their enthusiasm. My family of readers, Jan Carlson, Nancy Carlson, John Leaning, and Carol Appleton, provided the ever-important early insight and encouragement. My husband, Tom, did all of the above and everything else, many times over.

My heartfelt thanks to all.

Jacket design by the Design Works Group

Jacket painting by P.A. Rotari/akg-images