INDENTURSHIP AND THE CARIBBEAN

1573 WD

Slavery was a system of forced labour implemented by the Europeans in the Caribbean. It was the act by which the Europeans brought Africans to the Caribbean on different ships to work on their plantations against their wills. It started in the 1600’s, many slaves committed suicide even before they could reach to the plantations; many of them also fell sick and died. However, after many efforts to overthrow the slavery system in 1830’s the enslaved populations on the plantations were eventually freed. All the slaves knew was how to do gardening so many of the now free slaves started cultivations of their own land.

After the enslaved populations were freed the Europeans were now faced with the problem of lack of labour. When their harvest came around there was no one to harvest it therefore there were great financial losses. The Europeans now were in need labourers and strategized to get them. By 1838 and 1835 Indian indentured labourers were brought into the Caribbean. An indentured labourer is one who works under a restrictive contract of employment for a fixed period in a foreign country in