France was the first country to abolish criminal sanctions in the domestic labor market. However, this feature was limited to some urban trades and industries; rural workers were on the margins of this protection, while all workers were subject to forms of surveillance and subjugation, mostly related to debt (advances on wages and raw materials, consumer credit). The situation of indentured migrants across the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean was even more difficult. Special attention will be paid to Quebec and Canada and to the “King’s Daughters”, a form of extreme institutional coercion of women.