The Infortunate: The Voyage And Adventures Of William Moraley, An Indentured Servant, by William Moraley

Book Review by Makala Portis

After reading, The Infortunate: The Voyage And Adventures Of William Moraley, An Indentured Servant, by William Moraley, edited and with an introduction by Susan E. Klepp and Billy Gordon Smith, I got the impression that the editor wants to show how important William Moraley was because not a lot of people know who he is. People know who Moraley's contemporary Benjamin Franklin is and William has most of the similar values. William put an impact on how people view the life of an indentured servant. It's not sugar-coated, it's real and he shares his struggles that he had.

William Moraley's autobiography begins in England during the 18th century. William was the only born child to a clockmaker and his wife. William is a very educated man who was taught in Latin, Arithmetic, Music, and Dance. When William's dad died he left all his property to his wife and left his son only with some clock making tools and a little bit of money. After this Moraley travels to North America and becomes an Indentured Servant and serves a five years.

When he gets there he is sold to a clockmaker who lives in Burlington. After a while he gets tired of working for his master and wants to move to Philadelphia. He mentions this to his master but he is not very happy to hear this and is against it. William takes matters into his own hands and runs away. He doesn't get very far until hes caught and sent to jail. After this he is sent back to his master were he finishes his servitude.

He has different views of things that people wouldn't necessarily agree with. One being is that he viewed woman as property. He envied slaves because they were able to have a family and not have to deal with money. William had different views on people with different ethnicity's. He was a very social person and got to know peoples background and their story. He shared his view on slaves and Native Americans.

William returns to New castle after struggling so much. He moves in with his mother who got married three times after his father died. Three years of living with his mother she dies. In 1743 William Moraley publishes his autobiography, and dies in 1762.

William is a very interesting man who had a hard life. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes to get to know about different people and who wants to read a good book. It has its amusing moments and also describes how someone from long ago dealt with certain situations and got through them.