Life for indentured servants was often a nightmare. If diseases did not kill them, many succumbed to the brutal work routine that harsh masters imposed upon them. When the remaining servants neared the end of their contract, masters would find ways to add time to the contracts. The profitable tobacco crops created an intense demand for land. As more and more colonists settled along the rivers that flowed in Chesapeake Bay, the local Indian tribes retaliated. The murder of an Indian captain triggered a fierce Indian assault that dealt a staggering blow to Virginia. This attack led to the bankruptcy of the Virginia Company. The surviving planters felt they had justified reasons for the destruction of the Indians. As more settlers arrived, more
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