Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my parents for their continued support in my education. Thanks to
all the students who took the time to answer my questionnaire. Thanks to Ms. Keely Flowers for
guiding me. Thanks to my teacher Ms. Guzman for her support and guidance. Thanks to all those
who helped in any way. To my brothers thanks for the patience throughout this research.

My name is Patrick Garcia a student of Independence High School. I am a fourth form student in
the Arts department and I am asking you to kindly help me complete this questionnaire for my
History School Based Assessment. Please take your time and answer these questions. The topic
is Do you believe that the indentured servants system in the Caribbean was a fair alternative for
immigrants coming to the Caribbean?
_____________________________________________________________________________

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Class:

ethnicity:

Age:

religion:

Do you know what the indentured system is?

Yes
No
A little
Do you believe the indentured system was a benefit to immigrants? Yes
No
Do you believe the indentured system benefited the plantation owners mostly? Yes
no
Is there any form of indentured ship occurring in your community? Yes
No
Would you work under indentured ship? Yes
no
Was indentured ship a better alternative from slavery? Yes
No
Do you believe that the indentured ship is still benefiting Belize? Yes
No
Why do you believe that Africans were not given the indentured ship and instead went straight
into slavery?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________.
9. What do you believe would be a better alternative for indentured ship at that time?
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.

Procedure
A total of thirty handouts were distributed and twenty eight were received back. Students
were very responsive. For the papers received all the questions were properly answered and
handed up timely. Students were given and entire day to answer questions after which I
personally received them back. I also conducted personal research on the internet to allow myself
to obtain better knowledge on the topic. I also did one on one interview with several students in
my class to see others outside of the questionnaire knowledge on the topic. This research was
beneficial to me and those who were a part of it.

Aim

To see students opinion on the indentured ship system.

Rational
Using the topic Do you believe that the indentured servants system in the Caribbean was a fair
alternative for immigrants coming to the Caribbean, will allow students to see the benefits and
disadvantage of the indentured system in respect to immigrants and plantation owners. It will
also enhance their knowledge on how the indentured system works.

Introduction
Indentured ship is the working for someone and receiving passage to a new country
instead of an income. This was an alternative for slavery, that for some it benefited but for others
it was still a form of slavery. This topic will enlighten students knowledge on the indentured
ship and allow them to be aware of the struggles our ancestors had to face in order for us to have
the lives that we have today.

Findings
I received back ninety percent of the questionnaires that were distributed to the students
of Independence High School. I was able to learn that students believed that the plantation
owners benefited mostly from the indentured ship system. Figure 1.1 depicts a circle graph
showing that sixty percent agreed that plantation owners were the main benefactors and forty
percent said the immigrants benefited.
The questionnaire also found out that students felt that indentured ship was a better
alternative from slavery. Even though they taught that indentured ship was not very beneficial as
plantation owners made it seem they still would rather have some sort of benefit instead of not
having any. Figure 1.2 shows display of the findings.
This survey also built students knowledge on indentured ship. A large percent had
previous knowledge about but there was a small percent that had little to no knowledge on the
topic. This questionnaire allowed students to broaden their horizon and learn a little about the
history of their ancestors. Figure 1.3 shows a display of the findings.

Fig 1.1
Who the indentured ship mostly benefited

indtured servants; 40%

plantation owners ; 60%

indtured servants

plantation owners

Fig 1.2

which system is better

100
90
80
70
60
favoured labour percent 50
40
30
20
10
0

slavery

indentured ship

systems

Fig 1.3
familiarity about indentured ship
70
60
50
40

knowledge about indentured ship 30

20
10
0
yes

no

students response

a little

Conclusion
At the end of this research I was able to educate myself and those around me. The
indentured system has left its trademark in our history and I believe that it still continues to affect
our country today. Many people have had to suffer in order for us to live this comfortable life
that we live today. We must ensure that we do not take anything for granted.

Reference
1. http://www.ushistory.org/us/5b.asp
2. http://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/2012/07/white-servants-incaribbean.html