Our Plantation Is Very Weak

        “Our Plantation Is Very Weak”:  The Experiences of an Indentured Servant in Virginia, 1623, is a letter written to Richard Frethorne’s Mother and Father, by Richard himself, to explain the conditions he had suffered in Virginia since his arrival.  This document served as a plea to his Mother and Father to buy out his indenture, so that he could become a free man once again.  In this letter, Richard asks that his Mother and Father send whatever form of payment they can, even foods to sell for profit to then pay off his indenture.  Through this letter, Richard depicts the horrific life he leads as an indentured servant.  He describes the miniscule food rations, his lack of proper clothing, and his fear of the Native Americans who pose a threat to the survival of the people on his plantation.  

        This letter was written during a time of tense relations with the Native Americans.  The Native Americans in this area were organizing attacks on the English settlements, in attempts to curb English expansion into native lands.  The Indian’s attacks pushed the English back towards Jamestown, where disease and death were becoming increasingly common. The areas surrounding Jamestown were overcrowded, making the spread of illness and disease nearly impossible to avoid.

        Richard shed light on his fear of the “enemy”, or the Native Americans, in this letter.  He spoke of his fear of them every hour, and how the plantation was too riddled with sickness and death to put up any kind of fight against them.  He compares the thirty-two people on the plantation who are well enough to fight to the more than three thousand Indians they would be in combat with, should the Indians choose to attack.  Under these circumstances, the Indians would have easily taken the plantation Richard was a servant on. Richard spoke highly of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, who would be assumed the plantation owners.  He speaks of them like family, comparing them to a loving Mother and a loving Father.  He attributes his current health at the time of the letter, although not the greatest, to the Jackson’s.  Without their mercy, he would have been in much worse shape.  Richard did not fear the Jacksons, as most would expect.  Instead, he feared the ever present threats from the Native Americans.

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