Michael Hoffman, in this interview, expands the ground backward from his book. He is loathe to give a figure on the number of white slaves but I have built on his work and will take his ratio of one third of Colonial Americans “having an unfree background,”and agree that one third of the 3 million Americans in 1776 was in fact unfree and of European ancestry. That raw number is 1 million. At this very time there were between 500,000 and 600,000 negroes, mostly slaves for life, but some time slaves and apprentices, some free and some slave owners themselves.

Hoffman’s touching on the American Indian question and the industrial level of white fratricide which was so obviously unnecessary, in the second half of the interview.

I will take this opportunity to lay out the 15 types of unfree folk of white distinction from the bottom of the servile well to the top rung closest to freedom. Typically, all of these types were simply called servants, except for indentured servants, who were called “indentures” or “indentured servants”:

-Incorrigible rogue: face branded, ear notched or removed, shackled for life

-Prisoner of war: to serve for life

-Bastard infant of a maidservant: 31 years

-Orphan boy, under 12 years: serves to age 21

-Orphan girl, under 12 years: serves to age18

-Convict transport: 14 years

-Kidnapped child: 7 years, unless under 12 and then to serve as an orphan according to their sex

-Pressed [Abducted adult or teenager] servant: 7 years

-Vagabond [sold for homelessness] servant: 7 years

-Indentured [voluntary contract] servant: 7 years

-Indentured [contracted by parent or guardian] servant: 7 years

-Apprentice [contracted by father or patron]: variable term, depending on the trade to be learned, but typically 7 years

-Redemptioner [sold by a captain in return for passage] servant: 3-7 years

-County debtor [sold for his grocery bill] servant: typically 3 years

-Rented boy servant: a son who is rented out by his father on a seasonal or even daily basis to pay off debts