American history: overview and key events

American Indentured Servitude

Frethorne probably decided to come to Virginia for his servitude because it was the most advanced colony in the country. The town where he lived was ten miles outside of Jamestown, Virginia, which was like the big city of the time. It certainly was an exciting place because it had one of the biggest and most active ports of the country at the time. As he writes his family, Jamestown is where all the ships come in and there are numerous deliveries of all sorts of goods. Therefore, Jamestown seemed like an exciting new place with lots of promise for a new future and a fresh start. What Frethorne experienced upon arrival and stay in Virginia is not what he expected. He implores his family over and over to have pity for him. People who enjoy their work do not need the pity of others; therefore, readers can infer that Frethorne is quite miserable. He did not expect harsh conditions and miserable feelings as part of his journey in Virginia. He tells his family that his strength has diminished and he is not eating as often as he did in England. American life has made him weak and sick. He says he lives in constant fear of the enemy, and yet cannot fully trust his mates as one of his friends stole his only cloak and continues to lie about it to his face. Frethorne is very poor, has little clothing, no money to speak of, and lives a fearful lifestyle. Surely, he envisioned some difficulties in transitioning into his life in Virginia, but his expectations of indentured servitude in America did not adequately prepare him for the reality of the experience.

Frethorne experiences a great deal of hardships as a result of his life in America. The greatest hardship for him is his extreme poverty. He is extremely poor and lives from day-to-day with uncertainty. Other hardships for him are a lack of trust and a lack of freedom. He is a servant of course, but he mentioned how even the servants are not allowed to hunt certain kinds of animals. He speaks of how much water gruel he must eat. Stereotypically gruel is served in places such as austere orphanages, prisons, and mental facilities. There is a direct connection between the consumption of gruel and some kind of imprisonment. There are Indian attacks in the area and really throughout all of the colonies at this point in American history. As aforementioned, there is no trust or honor among Frethorne and the other servants. Therefore another hardship for Frethorne is loneliness. His family is across the Atlantic which during that time was a very long journey with moderate possibility of survival. He survived the dangerous trip to America only to live a dangerous life in America.