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An indentured servant (or in the U.S. bonded labourer) is a labourer under contract to work for an employer for a specific amount of time, usually four to seven years, to pay off a passage to a new country or home. Typically the employers provided little if any monetary renumeration; however, they were responsible for accommodation, food, other essentials, and training. Upon completion of the term of the contract the labourer sometimes received a lump sum payment such as a parcel of land or tools and was free to farm or take up trade of his or her own.