he servant, but to the man who paid for the servant's transportation to America".
             Servants were not allowed to marry without their master's consent, they could not steal from their masters, they were not allowed to play dice or cards, and they were not allowed to visit a Victual House.
             Men and women with little active interest in a new life in America were often induced to make the move to the New World by the skillful persuasion of promoters. William Penn, for example, publicized the opportunities awaiting newcomers to the Pennsylvania colony. But few colonists could finance the cost of passage for themselves and their families to make a start in the new land. In some cases, ships' captains received large rewards from the sale of service contracts for poor migrants, called indentured servants, and every method from extravagant promises to actual kidnapping was used to take on as many passengers as their vessels could hold.
             In other cases, the expenses of transportation and maintenance were paid by colonizing agencies like the Virginia or Massachusetts Bay Companies. " The servant provided physical labor for a period of years in exchange for the cost of transportation to the New World and maintenance during the time of service." In return, indentured servants agreed to work for the agencies as contract laborers, usually for four to seven years.
             Almost half the settlers living in the colonies south of New England came to America under this system. Although most of them fulfilled their obligations faithfully, some ran away from their employers. Nevertheless, many of them were eventually able to secure land and set up homesteads, either in the colonies in which they had o
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