The Virginia Killing Fields

James McCloskey and Teyonna Hopson

The Virginia Killing Fields

• They were not actually fields at all

• The name referrers more to the burden of plantation society and harsh conditions

• They lead to most deaths of indentured servants

                   

• 15,000 of about 120,000 indentured servants who settled in Virginia and Maryland in the seventeenth century died

• That is a 1 in 8 chance of surviving as an indentured servant

Living & Working Conditions

• The conditions were brutal and horrible

• Very unsanitary

• Most of the  indentured servants were adult and white

• They were treated worse than slaves more often than not

• Many females fell victim to sexual abuse

• Females were given only the food they needed to survive

• More often than not, not even that much was given

• Indentured servants who attempted escape had their term extended much longer than expected.

Climate's Influence

• Indentured servants had work through snow, heat , rain, or  any other kind of weather

• They were not used to the difference in weather than in England

• They were often so tired and weak some died while working in the fields

Disease

• Unsanitary working/living conditions and the climate all contributed

• Many diverse diseases came about that the indentured servants weren't used to

• Settlers couldn't treat the condition they were in

• Malaria, dysentery, and typhoid were the most prominent

• These diseases took  10 years off the life expectancy of all of the settlers