em)
that die now, whereas heretofore not one of five escaped the first
year."[3-3] This improvement was brought about by the use of Peruvian
bark, a clearer understanding of sanitary matters and the selection of
more healthful sites for plantations. At the time when Sir William wrote
it is probable that 80 per cent or more of the indentured servants
survived the dangers of the tobacco fields, completed their terms of
service and, if they remained in the colony, became freedmen with the
full rights of Englishmen and Virginians.

In the period from 1660 to 1725 there was, as we shall see, an exodus of
poor whites from Virginia. This, however, was chiefly the result of the
influx of slaves which marked the end of the century, and it is safe to
assume that prior to the Restoration there was no extensive movement
from Virginia to other colonies. The servant, upon attaining his
freedom, usually remained in the colony and sought to establish himself
there.

Although it is impossible to determine accurately the average length of
service required by the indentures, there is reason to believe that it
did not exceed five years. In cases of controversy between masters and
servants who had come in without written contracts as to when their
terms should expire, it was at first required by law that the period be
fixed at five years if the age was in excess of twenty-one.[3-4] In
1654, however, a new act was passed by the Assembly, making it necessary
for those who had no indentures, if over sixteen to serve six years, if
less than sixteen until the twenty-fourth year had been reached.[3-5]
This was found to work to the disadvantage of the colony by discouraging
immigration, and in 1662 the law was changed so that in all doubtful
cases the legal term should be five years for persons over sixteen.[3-6]
Since the Assembly, which was so largely made up of persons who
themselves held servants, would certainly not fix the legal term for a
period shorter than that normally provided for in the indentures, we
may assume that usually the servant secured his freedom within four or
five years after his arrival in the colony.

Thus it is evident that the bulk of the population could not have been,
as is so often supposed, made up of large landed proprietors with their
servants and slaves. Such a conception takes no account of the annual
translation of hundreds of men and women from bondsmen into freedmen.
The short duration of the average term