Topic: CARIBBEAN STUDIES

east indians INDENTURSHIP

GROUP MEMBERS:

Kimberly oconnor nicKiesha campbell michelle baloo Kilyan oxley matthew Garraway

INTRODUCTION

In defining the term indentureship one can say that it is any deed, written contract, or a sealed agreement, while to many, it is another common example of abuse of power by the white people, namely the British. The indentureship period which included the East Indians, who were also known as Coolies, lasted from 1838-1917. In this presentation we seek to highlight the Causes and the Conditions that these East Indians endured, their attitudes towards indentureship and also the abolishment of the Indentureship in East Indians.

CAUSES:

Many has argued that the reason for the Indian Indentureship was due to the Indians servants willingness to enter into indentureship, to improve the devastating conditions situated in India, this include famine, horrible weather conditions , food prices and crop yields and also to improve the lifestyle of them and their families by providing labor in the household. Other arguments claim that Indian indentureship was an experiment to see if the coolies to which they were called, were tough enough to survive a life of indentureship. Author Jeniffer Mohammed (2007) stated that it was an old idea brought back to alleviate the slave labor problems in the British West Indians after the abolishing of slavery where enslaved were unwilling to stay tied to the plantations resulting in stagnant productivity.

Conditions and attitudes:

India proved to be the most satisfactory source of labor in the 1845 both Trinidad and Jamaica; following the lead of British Guiana, began importing Indian indentured labor. They were under a contract to work in the Caribbean for a period of five to seven years for a minimum wage. They were paid extremely low wages and their accommodation was crowded substandard and unsanitary. On the trip to the Caribbean many died due to such unsanitary conditions and it was the time in which suicide was at an all-time high. Due to the low wages, they were always indebt to the company store where they were forced to buy goods. They were not allowed to move about freely and if they were caught they were charge with vagrancy, flogged and jailed. If they tried to escape they were hunted down and jailed for breach of contract, then returned to the plantation. Many died from poor nutrition; malaria yaws and typhoid and they were also in a continual state of poor health.

The Indians similar to the enslaved Africans engaged in patterns of resistance: They tried to continue to practice their religion, speak their languages and maintain their traditions as best as they could. They engaged in running away or refusing to work. Some also establish small business on the side for example market gardening like rice and sugar cane production. This was a very productive form of resistance as it allowed them to be independent from the plantation and not put in the necessary effort.

Abolition OF INDENTURESHIP

The abolition of Indian Indentureship came about when Nationalist movement in India brought pressure on British authorities to abolish indentureship due to the fact that there were against how their nationals were treated. Others stated that the British government wanted to abolish indentureship because death rates were high due to the Indians not being accustomed to the climate which led to a delimitation of production.