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I would really encourage editors to either make it clear that John's experience was one of slavery and not mere servitude or add a section explaining why some feel it necessary to use the term "servant" rather than "slave" while making clear the differences between John's servitude and the servitude of white folk who volunteered their servitude via contracts they themselves entered into. Without making extremely explicit the difference between white indenture contracts and the involuntary servitude John experienced, referring to John's experience as being a servant and not a slave can misinform people.
John was enslaved and brought to the Americas by slavers who regarded them as a commodity to be bought and sold. To imply, even by omission, that John --or any of the 1619 slaves-- were merely indentured servants is to dialectically construct the misconception that people like John experienced the servitude that white European indentured servants did. Unless "servents" enter their servitude by being enslaved by slavers with the intent of selling them to others who will own them for life, then theirs is not the experience of an indentured servant. These people were enslaved; they did not volunteer to enter into a contract of service, which is what a "servent" does. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:1350:5160:7DFC:C7C2:82CB:3B94 (talk) 23:22, 9 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
