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Debt bondage or bonded labor is a means of paying off a family's loans via the labour of family members or heirs. It is either a kind of indenture or truck system, and is therefore also a form of unfree labour. Historically, in the USA, it is also sometimes called peonage. (Note, however, that the word peon has broader implications and usage in Latin America.)

1 Historical evolution of various forms of bonded labor

The feudal system was a political and economic system based on the holding of all land in fief or fee and the resulting relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service of tenants, and forfeiture. It originated in Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century, and was established in some Latin American countries, as well. Serfdom refers more literally to the afore-described system.

A modernization of the feudal system was "peonage", where debtors were bound in servitude to their creditors until their debts were paid. Technically, peons are only obligated to the feudal lord monetarily, although from a practical perspective, the resultant disadvantageous relationship of a peon to the feudal lord is nonetheless disenfranchising to basic personal autonomy within the society.

2 Historical peonage

Peonage means an unfree labour system where laborers are bound in servitude until their debts are paid in full. Those bound by such a system are known, in the US, as peons.

Employers typically force laborers to buy from employer-owned stores at inflated prices in order to keep them in debt. This is also a variation on the truck system (or company store system), in which workers are exploited by being paid only in minimal amounts of goods and/or services.

Such systems have existed in many places at many times throughout history. Some examples are:

2.1 Historical examples

The American South - Such a system was often used in the southern United States after the American Civil War where African-American and poor white farmers, known as sharecroppers, were often forced to purchase seed and supplies from the owner of the land they farmed and pay the owner in a share of the crop.

In Peru a peonage system existed from the 1500s until land reform in the 1950sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Years: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb.. One estate in Peru that existed from the late 1500s until the end of peonage had up to 1,700 peons employed and boasted its own jail. Peons were expected to work a minimum of three days a week for their landlord and more if necessary to complete assigned work. Workers were paid a symbolic 2 cents per year. Workers were unable to travel outside of their assigned lands without permission and were not allowed to organize any independent community activity.

3 Modern views

According to Anti-Slavery InternationalAnti-Slavery International is a charity and lobby group, based in the United Kingdom. It was established to campaign against the modern practice of slavery. It is the UK affiliate of Free the Slaves. External link ., "A person enters debt bondage when their labour is demanded as a means of repayment of a loan, or of money given in advance. Usually, people are tricked or trapped into working for no pay or very little pay (in return for such a loan), in conditions which violate their human rights. Invariably, the value of the work done by a bonded labourer is greater that the original sum of money borrowed or advanced."

3.1 At international law

Debt bondage has been defined by the United Nations as a form of "modern day slavery" [1] and is prohibited by international law. It persists nonetheless especially in developing nations, which have few mechanisms for credit security or bankruptcy, and where fewer people hold formal title to land or possessions. According to some economists, for example Hernando de SotoHernando de Soto (born 1941 in Arequipa) is a Peruvian economist, author of The Other Path (1986) and The Mystery of Capital (2000). He is the director of Peru's Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD), located in Lima. The main thesis of De Soto's book, this is a major barrier to development in those countries - entrepreneurs do not dare take risks and cannot get credit because they hold no collateral and may burden families for generations to come.

Despite the UN prohibition, Anti-Slavery International estimates that "between 10 and 20 million people are being subjected to debt bondage today."

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Topics: Debt Bondage System Student Peonage Loans Feudal Credit Form...

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