Peonage (noun)

1. A system of labor in which a person is forced to work for an employer, typically without pay, as a result of a debt or other obligation.
2. The state or condition of being a peon.

Origin:

The word "peonage" comes from the spanish word "peón" meaning "day laborer" or "unfree laborer" and was first used in english in the late 19th century.

Examples:

1. The abuse of peonage was widespread in the southern United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
2. The workers on the farm were subjected to peonage and forced to work long hours without pay.
3. The abolition of peonage was an important goal of the civil rights movement in the United States.
4. The peonage system in the sugarcane fields of Louisiana was finally abolished in the 1940s.
5. The workers on the plantation were trapped in a cycle of debt and peonage, unable to escape their situation.