Indian Indentured Servitude, 1844-1917

• Indian immigration officially resumed in 1844 and lasted until 1917.

Recruitment Areas in India

• Bihar
• Calcutta
• Bombay
• Agra
• Oudh
• Bengal
• Madras
• Lucknow

Locations of Indentured Service

• Guyana
• Trinidad
• Jamaica
• St. Kitts
• Nevis
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent
• Suriname
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• Belize

Reasons for Leaving India

• Economic distress
• Famine
• Hope for higher wages
• Escape from debt
• Escape oppressive marriages (for women)

Recruitment Methods

• Kidnapping
• Tricking women at bazaars, markets, and temples
• False promises
• Recruiters were paid 25 rupees for a man and 35 rupees for a woman, as women were harder to recruit.

Living and Working Conditions

• Laborers lived in barrack ranges, which were long buildings divided into rooms, with dirt floors
• Cooking utensils were provided
• Trousers were made from Osnaburgh for men, and shirts were made from Fabric striped Holland
• Females' clothing was made from Brown Calico and striped Holland

Food

• For the first 3 months, employers provided rations, after which laborers had to buy their own food

Medical Treatment

• In 1870, official Government Medical Officers were assigned to care for sick indentured Indians in Trinidad
• Trinidad was divided into districts with one doctor assigned per ward, but the doctor to patient ratio was low, and each estate doctor only visited twice a week
• Several Ordinances from Trinidad's Legislative Council from 1866 onwards dealt with hospital provisions on estates for indentured Indians
• Indentured Indians were treated for diseases at estate hospitals including:
  • Dysentery
  • Malarial fever
  • Rheumatism
  • Anemia
  • Ankylostomiasis
  • Respiratory diseases
  • Digestive diseases
  • Parasites
  • Skin diseases
  • Malaria
• Malaria was the most common disease treated, followed by skin diseases, ankylostomiasis (hookworms), digestive diseases, and dysentery
• Trinidad was a British colony in the early 20th Century with prevalent malaria, especially in low-lying, swampy estates
• Malaria and hookworm infections were widespread among the Indian indentured population, weakening them and making them prone to other illnesses
• The prevalence of hookworms and mosquitos indicated poor sanitation in estates

Work Details

• Indians worked on sugar plantations, also on banana plantations in Jamaica, and on cocoa and coconut estates in Trinidad
• Work schedule was 9 hours a day, 6 days a week
• Laborers worked alone, or in gangs based on age, gender, and physical condition
• Men prepared the land, planted, and reaped
• Women weeded and manured.

Wages

• Wages varied across territories
• Trinidad and Colonial Guyana paid the highest wages at 2 shillings and one pence a day
• Men were paid more than women
• Wages were paid in cash, but not in kind

Contract Terms

• Immigrants had to obey the terms of their contract
• Each indentured laborer signed a 'girmit' or indenture contract, agreeing to work for a plantation owner for five years as a 'free laborer' with 'mutual consent' in return for accommodation, food, and medical attention

Length of Service

• Immigrants were contracted for five to ten years to work on estates, primarily sugar, cocoa, and coconut plantations
• Repatriation was offered after 10 years of continuous stay for those imported after January 1, 1854
• After the first 5 years, laborers could sign a new contract with the same or another employer

Employer Responsibilities

• Employers were responsible for providing:
  • Rations (food)
  • Housing
  • Medical care
  • Wages
  • Paying for repatriation

Immigration Laws

• Officials were appointed to supervise the system as Protectors or Inspectors of Immigrants
• In Trinidad, the main law was passed in 1854
• Breaking the law resulted in a jail term, with the time spent in jail added to the contract period

Laws and Conduct

• Laborers should not drink liquor while on the estate
• Laborers should be respectful to employers
• Laborers must obey all orders from the landholders
• Laborers were forbidden from resisting or rioting
• Laborers must complete work to the satisfaction of employers
• Laborers needed 'tickets of leave' to leave the estates

Economic and Social Contributions

• East Indian indentured laborers contributed to Caribbean/Trinidadian society
• Sugar industry revived
• Indians successfully changed their economic condition

Farming

• Indians were land owning farmers who grew crops for sale, leading to diversification
• They grew (Rice, corn, peas, ochro, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, plantains, yams, cassava, sweet potatoes and eddoes)
• Cocoa cultivation for export
• Retail Merchants opened stores in San Fernando and Princes Town

Careers

• Teachers in Canadian Mission Schools (Presbyterian Schools)
• Doctors and Lawyers (studied in Great Britain)

Impact on Plantation Economy

• The migrants helped to push production levels up in both Trinidad and British Guiana, despite the difficult economic situation