What role did indentured servants and the development of slavery play in colonial america? in the english colonies, everyone who worked for a landowner was considered a slave. indentured slaves were treated the same as life-long slaves, but sometimes the indentured servants were allowed to go free after about fifteen years of service. in the english colonies, indentured servants were common through the american revolution. there were so many indentured servants, in fact, that slavery was unnecessary until after the revolutionary war was over and the economy expanded?