A written agreement between the issuer of a bond and his/ her bondholders, usually specifying interest rate, maturity date, convertibility, and other terms. Also called indenture.
This is because any change to the bond's indenture or terms and conditions is "technically" a default, especially when it concerns the delayed payment of funds.
Depending on the terms of the convertible bond, also known as the indenture, the bond could convert into a significant number of shares.
The indenture system offered huge profits to the masters of the vessels which dumped their human cargo on american shores