indentures
Formal labor contracts
Indentures are formal legal contracts, historically ones where two copies were written on a single sheet then torn apart with jagged edges—the matching indentations proving authenticity when reunited.
The term most often appears in historical contexts: an indentured servant was bound by contract to work for a set period, typically in exchange for passage to the colonies or training in a trade.
In modern use, indentures usually refer to bond agreements specifying terms between issuers and holders.
Shared position between parties
- bindingLegally or morally required
- signatoriesThose who signed officially
- clauseProvision in agreement
- termsConditions of an agreement
execution · legal document · parties · stipulation · provision · deed · signature · notarized
Authority or controller
- journeymanQualified trade worker
- craftsmanSkilled manual worker
- guildProfessional mutual-aid society
- tradeExchange of commodities
artisan · novice · trainee · apprentice · workshop · skill · vocation · hands-on
Involuntary subjugation to another
- bound laborCoerced work under constraint
- colonialOf occupied territories
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- passageSegment of text
debt bondage · term of service · unfree labor · master · transported · bondsman · manumission · redemption
Required moral task
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- pledgeBinding promise given
- covenantBinding formal pledge
- bondBinding tie or connection
liability · promise · binding promise · guarantee · assurance · fealty · allegiance · vow
agreement
Shared position between parties
- bindingLegally or morally required
- signatoriesThose who signed officially
- clauseProvision in agreement
terms · execution · legal document · parties · stipulation · provision · deed · signature · notarized · witness
master
Authority or controller
- journeymanQualified trade worker
- craftsmanSkilled manual worker
- guildProfessional mutual-aid society
trade · artisan · novice · trainee · apprentice · workshop · skill · vocation · hands-on · protégé
bondage
Involuntary subjugation to another
- bound laborCoerced work under constraint
- colonialOf occupied territories
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
passage · debt bondage · term of service · unfree labor · master · transported · bondsman · manumission · redemption · exploitation
duty
Required moral task
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- pledgeBinding promise given
- covenantBinding formal pledge
bond · liability · promise · binding promise · guarantee · assurance · fealty · allegiance · vow · engagement
- historical recordsdiary, census record, annual reviews, letter, government records
- diplomaticscharters, deeds, diplomas, briefs, royal charters
- medieval lawMagna Carta, medieval justice, assize, writ, law codes
- archivesnational archives, state archives, archivist, archive box, national archive
- legal documentscontract, affidavit, deed, will, subpoena
- legal recordscourt orders, court decisions, court filings, court rolls, court reports
indenturesat-will employment
Job without guaranteed duration
freedom · liberty · emancipation · manumission · voluntary service
indenturesdisagreements
Failures to concur
at-will employment · freelancing · casual labor · oral contracts · day labor
- indentured servitudeContractual unfree labor for term
- indentured servantContract-bound unpaid laborer
- indentured laborWork obligation bound by contract
- indentured laborersWorkers bound by contract
- bond indentureContract governing debt securities
- indentured serviceContracted work obligation