ID No: S11171457

Student Name: Shikha Shehal Chand

Number of words: 799

Video Title – Coolies: How British Reinvented Slavery

The history of Indentured systems is seen as a means of remembering one’s ancestors.

However, people often fail to acknowledge the suffering and struggles faced by those laborers.
The above titled video took me on a frightening yet very educational journey of how
enslavement was re-established through indentured system. This video very precisely
presented the historical indentured system events in a chronological order. The documentary
film made by Deep Sehgal intents to inform people about the slavery encountered by
indentured laborers and also highlights the difficulties and sacrifices made by them.

In the early 1800’s, a reform of the system was required by British people as they feared they
would lose African laborers in 5 years. This reform needed laborers who could settle for a low
wage rate. Eventually, Indian laborers were seen as the only option to work on the fields.
Somewhere around 1833 Indians had signed contracts with the British people to work on fields
in British colonies. Little did they know that their lives were about to change after they leave
their motherland. After Fiji was ceded to the Great Britain in 1874, the Indian indentured
laborers were sent to Fiji to work on sugarcane plantations in the year 1879. In the process of
watching this video, I realized the amount of pain and trouble they went through. It was
emotional as well as disheartening for me because my ancestors were also a part of the system.
At some places I felt angry especially at the way the system was operated and on the people
behind the system.

1
Firstly, I feel the problem was in the system which was unsuccessful in providing the workers
with good working conditions. This was proven by one of the indentured laborers’ who was
interviewed in the video. The India born man of the age of more than 100 years told Professor
Brij Lal that they used to work whole day starting from 3am in the morning when overseers on
horseback used to come and wake them up. They used to pack roti and eat in the fields as there
was no time in the morning to sit and eat because they were required to work continuously
(Sehgal, 2012). Secondly, I think the contracts were illegally and forcefully signed by the Indians
because they were not informed of the consequences or the treatment they would receive in
the foreign nation. According to me, the vital factor which could have influenced their decision
was money. Indians back then in India wanted employment at any cost and wanted to
experience a living which could have been better. Unfortunately, this couldn’t happen for them
as they experienced horrible incidents like being beaten up as slaves. The only factor which
could have helped the laborers to make an informed decision is education. If for instance, the
laborers were educated they might not have signed the contract.

Furthermore, one issue which I found very disturbing was child labour as it was illustrated in
the video. The last surviving witness of indentured system in Guyana, South America was a 90
years old lady who was born in the indentured condition. While talking to David she told that
she was only 3 years old when she came to Guyana and from an early age she also worked as a
“coolie”. She further said that as a child she worked in the fields by bundling up the cane trash
and putting it on the bank (Sehgal, 2012). All these suggests me that the system snatched the
childhood and happiness from the children. Those children deserved education and the right to
be happiness but they were forced to work and some lost their lives. According to Sehgal
(2012), from the indentured laborers in Fiji 62% of babies died due to bad living conditions.

Furthermore, I can relate to some issues highlighted in the video and one such issue is
education. As a student I feel education is part of my life because the learning process is
lifelong. However, some students are not interested in studying when they are provided with
free education and other facilities. Such facilities and education was not provided back then
when our ancestors were small.

2
To conclude, the video has impacted my views on the indentured system as well as how cruel
the British people were towards laborers. I have learnt that my existence is because of the
sacrifices and struggles of my ancestors. The luxurious lifestyle which we are independently
living today is only possible because of our hardworking forefathers. I have also learnt that the
challenges we face are nothing when compared to their challenges. I highly recommend
everyone to watch the video because it shows slavery encountered by some brave hearts which
I feel should not be lost in the mists of time.

Bibliography

Sehgal, D. (2012). Coolies: How British Reinvented Slavery [Video]. Pacific: BBC Four Corners
Documentary.