The History of Bankruptcy: Indentured Servitude

Prior to the invention of bankruptcy, people whose lives had become overburdened with debt had few options. They would often be sent to debtors' prisons as punishment or to work off their debts. In many cultures, debtors were even temporarily made slaves to their creditors until the debt had been paid off. One arrangement that could be used to these ends was indentured servitude, a kind of semi-slavery where one person is required to work for another for a set period of time.

Although indentured servitude has been practiced for a number of different reasons, the basic arrangement is generally the same: a worker signs a contract to an employer to work for a period, usually three to seven years, in exchange for lodging, transportation, and food. In practice this operates essentially as slavery, although the servant is only bound to the contract. Frequently these contracts would be extended for frivolous or arbitrary reasons as a way of getting more labor out of the workers.

Many people went into indentured servitude voluntarily as a way of making money in hard times. For people using servitude a way out of debt, going to work for a fixed period of time could be taken as repayment. In other cases, the debtors might be forced to work at a fixed (usually extremely low) pay rate until their debts were paid off. Either way, the situation was far from ideal for the debtor.

Since that time, we have fortunately worked out other systems for people in serious debt to repair their lives. Bankruptcy protection from the federal government is one such way. By filing for bankruptcy protection, you can reduce and consolidate your debts and structure a repayment plan. This way, you can stay in your same job and keep most of what you have. In the end, you may even find yourself on more solid ground than you had initially.

Contact a Boston Bankruptcy Attorney

The experienced Boston bankruptcy lawyers of Joshua Spirn & Associates are here to help you repair your credit and get your life back on track quickly. To speak to a lawyer about how they can help you restructure and clean up your debts, contact us today at 800-975-5346