contract slavery

Contract labor involves workers whose freedom is restricted by a contract and enforceable laws, often requiring them to surrender their freedom to quit their job for a specified period. These contracts can include stipulations for repaying transportation, housing, or training costs. Historically, contract labor has been driven by poverty and intolerance, and its terms have often been disadvantageous to the laborer, sometimes approaching conditions of slavery.1

While distinct from chattel slavery, where individuals are treated as property, contract labor can share similarities in its coercive aspects. Deception and coercion have been used to secure contract laborers, and the terms of their agreements can be harsh. Indentured servitude, a form of contract labor common in colonial North America, involved individuals agreeing to work for a set period, often in exchange for passage to the colonies. Some of these contracts were akin to apprenticeships, while others were imposed on criminals.1

Slavery itself, the practice of owning another person as property, has existed globally since ancient times and has taken many forms across different societies and historical periods.23