Meaning of Peonage | Babel Free

Definitions

The state of being a peon; the system of paying back debt through servitude and labour; loosely, any system of involuntary servitude.

Equivalents

Examples

“But there was work⟳ to be done down in the Salinas Valley where César Chávez was organizing the grape pickers and lettuce workers out of their state of un-unionized peonage.”

“"It wasn't just the crowds," Luis said softly. "I saw⟳ with my own⟳ eyes that Díaz's México is a Potemkin village, Miguel. The México profundo where the poor are so hungry they eat⟳ grass and bark. I met Indians whose land⟳ is being devoured by Díaz's cronies, entire towns swallowed up, and the people reduced to peonage. I talked to Mexican railroad workers who are paid a fraction of what the American owners pay⟳ their own⟳ countrymen for the same work⟳."”

CEFR level