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In this chapter, Egerton makes the claim that labor and labor systems in the Atlantic world relied on bound labor and that bound labor was an integral aspect of the creation of the Atlantic world. Egerton points out that even systems that had not previously relied on bound labor became intrinsically tied to its concept. Indians, which had previously used their own labor system, became completely entrenched in bound systems, overwhelmingly not by their own choice. Egerton backs this point up by discussing the Spanish’s conquest of the Indians (Page 151). The Spanish slowly forced Indians in many different geographic locations into slavery, until it was banned; they then turned to other methods of bound labor, such as the requirement of tribute (Page 152). By forcing Indian groups to partake in this foreign form of labor, Europeans were radically changing both the labor systems and the tribes and populations themselves in Indian territories.
While Indians were the primary group affected by bound labor, Europeans themselves were heavily affected as well. Indentured servitude became very widespread in the earlier days of the formation of the Atlantic world, and continued to be popular (Page 162). The system allowed for the migration of thousands of Europeans, which significantly altered the populations of European settlements in the New World (Page 162). Groups that otherwise would not have been able to migrate on their own were allowed to do so due to indentured servitude, which Egerton argues changed the structure and politics of many different colonies.
Egerton also makes it clear that bound labor was integral in the economic success of the Atlantic. Bound labor of some sort consistently drove the plantation, beginning with the use of indentured European servants, and progressing to captured and enslaved Indians (Page 177). It is through success of the early model using these two laborers that Egerton argues the creation of the slave trade occurred.
My colleague Marissa Cervantes argues that the interaction that occurred between the various peoples in the Atlantic helped to create a coherent region, however, I disagree. While I absolutely agree with her assessment that the labor, migration, and settlement changed the fabric of the Atlantic world, I believe that the interaction led to instability in the entirety of the Atlantic world. It is also clear that one of the primary driving forces behind these changes was the use of bound labor, which Egerton again argues was critical in the development of the Atlantic world.