In 1619, the Dutch brought nineteen Africans to Virginia. They had converted to Christianity, and under English Law, that means that they could not be enslaved. There were, however, indentured servants. According to historians, and what I learned from this clip, there was not a guarantee that slavery would come to be in America, it evolved. By 1650, only three percent of Virginians were African. Although, a shift was soon going to take place.
Around 1650, it was more economically safe to buy an indentured servant because of the life expectancy; it was only five years back then. In the late 1600s (1680), the colonists had built up immunity to diseases and improved their way of life, that equated to a life expectancy growth to twenty years old. If you bought a slave, you could get around twenty years of service for 1000 pounds. Plus, if the slave you bought had any children, you owned them too. While if you got an indentured servant, it would cost more.
Buying the slave would be much more profitable to the colonists. That is why, according to one theory, that indentured servitude evolved into slavery.
