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Indian indenture system
The Indian indenture system was a system of indentured servitude, by which more than 1.6 million workers from British India were transported to labour in European colonies as a substitute for slave labour, following the abolition of the trade in the early 19th century. Although described by colonial authorities as "free" migration, many recruits were deceived, coerced, or kidnapped, leading historians such as Hugh Tinker to characterise the system as a "new form of slavery". The system began with the Atlas voyage to Mauritius in 1834, but early journeys were marked by mortality rates of over 17%, prompting British authorities to impose stricter shipping regulations. The system expanded after the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833, in the French colonies in 1848, and in the Dutch Empire in 1863. British Indian indentureship lasted until the 1920s. This resulted in the development of a large South Asian diaspora in the Caribbean, Natal (South Africa), Réunion, Mauritius, and Fiji, as well as the growth of Indo-South African, Indo-Caribbean, Indo-Mauritian and Indo-Fijian populations. This migration resulted in the formation of large Indian diasporas, including Indo-Caribbean, Indo-Mauritian, Indo-Fijian, and Indo-South African communities. While many descendants celebrate their cultural resilience, historians emphasise the trauma and displacement caused by the indenture system.
Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Myanmar had a similar system, known as the Kangani system. Indo-Lankan Tamil, Indo-Malaysian, Indo-Burmese and Indo-Singaporean populations are largely descended from these Kangani labourers. Similarly, Indo-East African are descended from labourers who went primarily to work on the Kenya-Uganda Railway, although they were not part of the indentured labourer system.
On 18 January 1826, the Government of the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion laid down terms for the introduction of Indian labourers to the colony. Colonial regulations required each laborer to appear before a magistrate and declare that they were migrating voluntarily. However, historians have shown this was often a formality rather than genuine consent. Many migrants were misled by false promises of prosperity or were kidnapped outright by recruiters. Hugh Tinker argues that the supposed voluntariness was a legal fiction, as extreme poverty and systemic coercion left workers with little real choice. Women were especially vulnerable: Bahadur documents widespread sexual coercion during recruitment and voyages, which discouraged families from allowing women to migrate, creating a severe gender imbalance. This agreement is known as girmit and it outlined a period of five years labour in the colonies with pay of 8 rupees per month (about $4 in 1826) and rations, provided labourers had been transported from Pondicherry and Karaikal.
The first organized transport of Indian labourers took place in Mauritius. In 1834, the ship Atlas departed Calcutta with 36 Indian labourers under a trial scheme. This experiment was deemed successful, and within four years over 25,000 labourers had been shipped to the island to work primarily on sugar plantations. Early voyages were extremely hazardous. On some ships, mortality rates exceeded 17%, largely due to cholera, dysentery, overcrowding, and poor rations. Frequent outbreaks of disease and cases of suicide among labourers generated public outcry in Britain and India. In response, the colonial government imposed new shipping regulations, requiring medical officers on board and minimum space standards for passengers. These changes laid the foundation for a standardized indenture system that was later exported to the Caribbean, where the first ships carrying Indian labourers arrived in British Guiana and Trinidad in 1838. The Indian indenture system was put in place initially at the behest of sugar planters in colonial territories, who hoped the system would provide reliable cheap labour similar to the conditions under slavery. The new system was expected to demonstrate the superiority of "free" over slave labour in the production of tropical products for imperial markets.
The East India Company's Regulations of 1837 laid down specific conditions for the dispatch of Indian labour from Calcutta. The would-be emigrant and his emigration agent were required to appear before an officer designated by the Government of British India, with a written statement of the terms of the contract. The length of service was to be exactly five years, renewable for further five-year terms. The emigrant was to be returned at the end of his service to the port of departure. Each emigrant vessel was required to conform to certain standards of space, diet etc. and to carry a medical officer. In 1837 this scheme was extended to Madras.
As soon as the new system of emigration of labour became known, a campaign similar to the anti-slavery campaign sprang up in Britain and British India. On 1 August 1838, a committee was appointed to inquire into the export of Indian labour. It heard reports of abuses of the new system. On 29 May 1839, overseas manual labour was prohibited and any person effecting such emigration was liable to a 200 Rupee fine or three months in jail. After prohibition, a few Indian labourers continued to be sent Mauritius via Pondicherry (a French enclave in South India). However, immigration was authorised again in 1842 to Mauritius, and in 1845 to the West Indies.
Further suspensions of Indian immigration happened during the 19th century. For example, between 1848 and 1851 Indian immigration was stopped towards British Guiana because of the economic and political unrest due to the Sugar Duties Act 1846.[citation needed]
European planters in Mauritius and the Caribbean worked hard to overturn the ban, while the anti-slavery committee worked just as hard to uphold it. The Government of the East India Company finally capitulated under intense pressure from European planters and their supporters: On 2 December 1842, the British Government permitted emigration from Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras to Mauritius. Emigration Agents were appointed at each departure point. There were penalties for abuse of the system. Return passage had to be provided at any time after five years when claimed. After the lifting of the ban, the first ship left Calcutta for Mauritius on 23 January 1843. The Protector of the Immigrants in Mauritius reported that a ship arrived every few days with a human consignment and a large number of immigrants were causing a backlog in processing and he asked for help. During 1843, 30,218 male and 4,307 female indentured immigrants entered Mauritius. The first ship from Madras arrived in Mauritius on 21 April 1843.
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Indian indenture system
The Indian indenture system was a system of indentured servitude, by which more than 1.6 million workers from British India were transported to labour in European colonies as a substitute for slave labour, following the abolition of the trade in the early 19th century. Although described by colonial authorities as "free" migration, many recruits were deceived, coerced, or kidnapped, leading historians such as Hugh Tinker to characterise the system as a "new form of slavery". The system began with the Atlas voyage to Mauritius in 1834, but early journeys were marked by mortality rates of over 17%, prompting British authorities to impose stricter shipping regulations. The system expanded after the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833, in the French colonies in 1848, and in the Dutch Empire in 1863. British Indian indentureship lasted until the 1920s. This resulted in the development of a large South Asian diaspora in the Caribbean, Natal (South Africa), Réunion, Mauritius, and Fiji, as well as the growth of Indo-South African, Indo-Caribbean, Indo-Mauritian and Indo-Fijian populations. This migration resulted in the formation of large Indian diasporas, including Indo-Caribbean, Indo-Mauritian, Indo-Fijian, and Indo-South African communities. While many descendants celebrate their cultural resilience, historians emphasise the trauma and displacement caused by the indenture system.
Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Myanmar had a similar system, known as the Kangani system. Indo-Lankan Tamil, Indo-Malaysian, Indo-Burmese and Indo-Singaporean populations are largely descended from these Kangani labourers. Similarly, Indo-East African are descended from labourers who went primarily to work on the Kenya-Uganda Railway, although they were not part of the indentured labourer system.
On 18 January 1826, the Government of the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion laid down terms for the introduction of Indian labourers to the colony. Colonial regulations required each laborer to appear before a magistrate and declare that they were migrating voluntarily. However, historians have shown this was often a formality rather than genuine consent. Many migrants were misled by false promises of prosperity or were kidnapped outright by recruiters. Hugh Tinker argues that the supposed voluntariness was a legal fiction, as extreme poverty and systemic coercion left workers with little real choice. Women were especially vulnerable: Bahadur documents widespread sexual coercion during recruitment and voyages, which discouraged families from allowing women to migrate, creating a severe gender imbalance. This agreement is known as girmit and it outlined a period of five years labour in the colonies with pay of 8 rupees per month (about $4 in 1826) and rations, provided labourers had been transported from Pondicherry and Karaikal.
The first organized transport of Indian labourers took place in Mauritius. In 1834, the ship Atlas departed Calcutta with 36 Indian labourers under a trial scheme. This experiment was deemed successful, and within four years over 25,000 labourers had been shipped to the island to work primarily on sugar plantations. Early voyages were extremely hazardous. On some ships, mortality rates exceeded 17%, largely due to cholera, dysentery, overcrowding, and poor rations. Frequent outbreaks of disease and cases of suicide among labourers generated public outcry in Britain and India. In response, the colonial government imposed new shipping regulations, requiring medical officers on board and minimum space standards for passengers. These changes laid the foundation for a standardized indenture system that was later exported to the Caribbean, where the first ships carrying Indian labourers arrived in British Guiana and Trinidad in 1838. The Indian indenture system was put in place initially at the behest of sugar planters in colonial territories, who hoped the system would provide reliable cheap labour similar to the conditions under slavery. The new system was expected to demonstrate the superiority of "free" over slave labour in the production of tropical products for imperial markets.
The East India Company's Regulations of 1837 laid down specific conditions for the dispatch of Indian labour from Calcutta. The would-be emigrant and his emigration agent were required to appear before an officer designated by the Government of British India, with a written statement of the terms of the contract. The length of service was to be exactly five years, renewable for further five-year terms. The emigrant was to be returned at the end of his service to the port of departure. Each emigrant vessel was required to conform to certain standards of space, diet etc. and to carry a medical officer. In 1837 this scheme was extended to Madras.
As soon as the new system of emigration of labour became known, a campaign similar to the anti-slavery campaign sprang up in Britain and British India. On 1 August 1838, a committee was appointed to inquire into the export of Indian labour. It heard reports of abuses of the new system. On 29 May 1839, overseas manual labour was prohibited and any person effecting such emigration was liable to a 200 Rupee fine or three months in jail. After prohibition, a few Indian labourers continued to be sent Mauritius via Pondicherry (a French enclave in South India). However, immigration was authorised again in 1842 to Mauritius, and in 1845 to the West Indies.
Further suspensions of Indian immigration happened during the 19th century. For example, between 1848 and 1851 Indian immigration was stopped towards British Guiana because of the economic and political unrest due to the Sugar Duties Act 1846.[citation needed]
European planters in Mauritius and the Caribbean worked hard to overturn the ban, while the anti-slavery committee worked just as hard to uphold it. The Government of the East India Company finally capitulated under intense pressure from European planters and their supporters: On 2 December 1842, the British Government permitted emigration from Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras to Mauritius. Emigration Agents were appointed at each departure point. There were penalties for abuse of the system. Return passage had to be provided at any time after five years when claimed. After the lifting of the ban, the first ship left Calcutta for Mauritius on 23 January 1843. The Protector of the Immigrants in Mauritius reported that a ship arrived every few days with a human consignment and a large number of immigrants were causing a backlog in processing and he asked for help. During 1843, 30,218 male and 4,307 female indentured immigrants entered Mauritius. The first ship from Madras arrived in Mauritius on 21 April 1843.