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Capitalism, Colonial Expansion, And Forced Child Indenture In The British Atlantic, 1618-1776, Angela Austin

History Dissertations

This dissertation examines colonial child servants from the British Isles between the years 1618-1776, illustrating how economic demands, colonial ambitions, and capitalistic drives combined with ethnic and class prejudices to perpetuate the indenture of children irrespective of individual or parental consent. An examination of legislative actions, legal enforcement, and governmental complicity reveals both direct and indirect government involvement in perpetuating involuntary child labor across the British Isles. In fact, the volume of this human trafficking required some level of awareness and support from legislators and officials at both the local and national levels. In some cases, officials removed children from …