CARIBBEAN HISTORY

SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT

Was Indian Indentureship in post-emancipation British Caribbean a new form of
slavery between 1844-1917?

Candidate Name: Asaiah Yankey

Candidate Registration Number: 0700040870

Centre: Portsmouth Secondary School

Centre Number: 070004

Territory: Commonwealth of Dominica

Year of Examination: 2021

Teacher: Mrs. S. Matthew

Submission Date: 23. 04. 2021

 Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
AREA OF RESEARCH..............................................................................................................................4
RATIONALE..............................................................................................................................................5
ANALYSIS OF DATA...............................................................................................................................6
APPENDIX.................................................................................................................................................9
BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................................13

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 CARIBBEAN SECONDARY EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL
CARIBBEAN HISTORY (SBA)
RESEARCH PROPOSAL

NAME OF CANDIDATE: Asaiah Yankey CANDIDATE NUMBER:070004870

NAME OF TEACHER: Ms. S. Matthew NAME OF SCHOOL: Portsmouth Secondary School

YEAR OF EXAMINATION: 2021 SCHOOL CODE: 070004

AREA OF RESEARCH: Theme 5 – Adjustments to Emancipation

BASIC OUTLINE OF STUDY

(a) What is the rationale or aim of your study?

To investigate whether Indian indentureship in the post-emancipation British West Indies
1844-1917, was a new form of slavery.

(b) How will you obtain your data?

I intend to obtain data through historical texts, both online and print.

(c) How do you intend to present the data?

I intend to present my data in essay format.

TEACHER’S SIGNATURE: Mrs. S. Matthew CANDIDATE’S SIGNATURE: A. Yankey

PRINCIPAL’S SIGNATURE: Mr. R. Austrie DATE: 23. 04. 2021

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 INTRODUCTION

Indentureship was a system established by the British government in the post-emancipation West

Indies. It involved the contractual employment of East Indians for work on sugar plantations. As

many as 416, 000 indentured workers came to the region between 1837 -1917.Dyde, Greenwood,

and Hamber (2008) writes that British Guiana, Trinidad, and Jamaica were the main destinations

of these immigrants. This system, moreover, was largely appreciated by the planter class, and

colonial governments, as it filled the gaping labor void created by the emancipation of slaves

(1838), and subsequent departure from the plantations.

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 AREA OF RESEARCH

The research topic sprouts from section B, theme 5 “Adjustment to Emancipation 1838 – 1876”.

This theme centered on the post-emancipation era illustrates the decline of the sugar industry, the

post-emancipation problems faced by the freed Africans as well as the arrival of the indentured

laborers.

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 RATIONALE

After coming across a comparison between Indian indentureship and African slavery, a desire to

truly establish their similarity arose. The researcher’s previous knowledge of African slavery and

East Indian indentureship system, caused me to be particularly skeptical of this assertion. This

uncertainty fueled the chosen area of research as it would allow for a thorough investigation into

the topic and conclusions. As a history student, the researcher’s critical thinking and research

skills will be sharpened. My reading and attention skills would be improved being exposed to

varied academic sources on the topic.

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 ANALYSIS OF DATA

African slavery (1660 – 1834) and Indian indentureship (1845 – 1917) were two consecutive

labor systems employed in the British Caribbean. While these two systems had some similarities,

the idea that Indian indentureship was a new form of slavery is misleading. Some of the reasons

include the voluntary nature of indentureship, renumeration, cultural suppression, and the

guarantee of freedom.

A logical gap lies between African slavery and Indian indentureship as by definition and practice

African slavery involved forced labor, whereas Indian indentureship was based on choice. Dyde,

et al (2008), writes that African slaves were obtained through tribal wars, village raids, and

kidnapping. They were assembled in a coffle, chained at their ankles and necks, and sold like

cattle (see figure 2 and 5appendix). Such a denial of choice cannot be paralleled with Indian

indentureship where voluntary contracts and admissions were characteristic. Interested

indentureship applicants submitted requests to their local immigration office (Ashdown and

Humphreys, 1988). Advertisements for recruitment were also a common feature of the Indian

indentureship system and the signing of contracts before disembarkation further separates this

system from slavery (see figure 4 appendix).

Another fact that partitions indentureship from being a form of slavery is renumeration.

According to Dyde et al (2008), in British Guiana under the indentureship system, daily wages

were as high as 1s 6d for a man over 16, and 8d per day for a woman or boy under 16. In the case

of African slavery, wages only existed outside of the plantations where jobbing slaves were paid

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for their work as skilled laborers. In the plantation system however, renumeration did not exist

until the implementation of apprenticeship in 1834 and even then they only received payment

after 45 hours of free labor per week.

The cultural suppression present in African slavery is another differentiating aspect. British slave

laws banned marriage, religious ceremonies, and cultural activities and their practice was

severely punished. Dyde et al 2008, writes that the beating of drums, singing of songs, and the

assembling of the slaves was strictly forbidden. The indentureship system, was far more

accommodating than this. Marriage was not only allowed in this system but encouraged.

Religious services could be held, and cultural activities could be practiced (Taylor-Kanarick,

2010). The Indian indentureship system fostered an environment that allowed for the

preservation of the laborers’ culture, such was unheard of in African slavery.

Freedom, quintessential of indentureship was far from achievable in African slavery. Dyde et al

2008, writes that indentureship contracts ran for an average of 3 years in colonies like Trinidad

and 5 in British Guiana. Males were granted half of a return passage to India and women two

thirds. This is polar to African slavery as countless generations of African slaves across the

British West Indies were born enslaved and died enslaved (Palmie,2011). Any avenue for

freedom during a slave’s lifetime was not dependent on a mutual contractual agreement, but

entirely up to the will of the slave’s owner. By virtue of this, African slaves had no hope for

freedom or return to Africa.

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African slavery and Indian indentureship were two systems which differed as much as their

names suggest. The former was characteristic of forced labor, unpaid servitude, cultural

suppression, and indefinite subservience while the latter involved voluntary labor, wage-earning

service, cultural rights and respects, and a freedom that was certain. Such practical distinctions

between the two systems make the assertion that Indian indentureship was a new form of slavery

hyperbolic.

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 APPENDIX

Figure 1 East Inidians arriving in Natal harbour, Kala Pani

[https://indenturedindian.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/indentured-indians-arriving-in-natal-harbour/]

Figure 2 Slaves assembled in a coffle before sale

[http://104.200.20.178/s/slaveryimages/item/2729]

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 Figure 3 Indentured servants’ barracks in British Guiana

[http://www.georgetownsvgrevisited.co.uk/indentees-who-were-they.php]

Figure 4 Indentureship recruitment advertisement

[https://svgihf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/th.jpg]

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 Figure 5 Slave ‘for sale’ poster

[https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/slave-sale/]

Figure 6 Ports/towns of embarkation for the Indian immigrants

[https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-981-13-2898-5_100]

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 Figure 7 Indian cultural wedding

[https://www.aligstudios.com/blog/6-reasons-why-black-and-white-photos-make-your-wedding-album-pop]

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ashdown, P. Humphreys, F. (1988), Caribbean Revision History for CXC.

90 Tottenham Court Road, London, United Kingdom:

Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Dyde, B. Greenwood, R. and Hamber, S. (2008), History for CSEC Examinations

Amerindians to Africans. Book 1 3rd Edition. Between towns Road, Oxford, United

Kingdom: Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Dyde, B. Greenwood, R. and Hamber, S. (2008), History for CSEC Examinations Emancipation

to Emigration. Book 2 3rd Edition. Between towns Road, Oxford, United Kingdom:

Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Palmie, S. (2011), The Caribbean: A History of the Region and Its Peoples.

1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL, United States:

University of Chicago Press.

Taylor-Kanarick, Y. (2010), Caribbean History, Core Course for CSEC.

49 High Street, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago:

Caribbean Educational Publishers.

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