an indentured servant was a worker in a contract with an employer for a certain length of time. usually a laborer or craftsman would have to work three to seven years in exchange for the cost of transportation across the ocean, food, clothing, land, a place to live and other things they needed to live or work during their contract. this kind of contract was called "indenture." indentures were quite common in colonial america in the 17th and 18th centuries. indentured servants were different from slaves in that their captivity was temporary.