That policy existed in Virginia. Only about one in seventeen indentured servants actually lived out his seven year indenture and collected his 50 acres. From the time they stepped of the boat they were worth more dead than alive to their masters since it was the master who collected the 50 acres if the servant died. Most of them died within two years.
The indentured servant model never really flourished in South Carolina. South Carolina, or more precisely "Charles Town", was settled by Englishmen from Barbados who had a generation of slave plantation management under their belts before they got here. They brought their slaves with them.
Well, I’m white, and I’m a descendant of indentured servitude, so I guess I’m one of the fortunate.