Indian indenture system

This guide will tell you how to find records of Indian indentured labourers at The National Archives. Please note that the terms used in historical records reflect attitudes and language at the time and may now be considered derogatory or offensive. Under colonial rule, India’s population provided the British Empire with a ready source of cheap and mobile labourers. Many Indians agreed to become indentured labourers to escape the widespread poverty and famine in the 19th century. Some travelled alone; others brought their families to settle in the colonies they worked in. The demand for Indian indentured labourers increased dramatically after the abolition of slavery in 1834. They were sent, sometimes in large numbers, to plantation colonies producing high value crops such as sugar in Africa and the Caribbean. Many of the records contain only the first names of the labourers, not their last names. Most of the records have not been digitised, so you may need to consult original documents. The records at The National Archives are mainly concerned with how governments generally administered different indentured labour systems. They contain very little personal information about the labourers themselves. Whilst these papers may contain sample records on how the labourers were contracted, transported, and employed, they do not hold information on how local administrations managed labourers on a day-to-day basis. The archives of former colonies may hold records relating to the local management of Indian indentured labourers. Try contacting them directly for information about surviving records. Use the original correspondence for the relevant colony to find details of the indentured labour system. The correspondence consists of letters coming into London from the colonies. For example: You’ll need to use entry books or registers to find particular items within these collections of original correspondence. Use the Land Board and Emigration Department’s correspondence in CO 384 for information about indentured labour practices and systems. Browse the Land and Emigration Commission correspondence in CO 386 for information on Indian indentured migration to the West Indies. Use the Colonial Office General Department’s original correspondence on immigration in CO 571 for information about the entry of Indian indentured labourers into Mauritius and the West Indies. Many Indian indentured labourers were sent to work for the colonies of foreign countries, such as the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and France. Discussions in Parliament can be found in Hansard, which is available online on the Parliament website . Please note there are some volumes missing from the online data. The term ‘coolie’ is of disputed origins: some believe it derives from an aboriginal tribe in the Gujarat region of India, and others believe it comes from the Tamil word ‘kuli’, meaning ‘payment for occasional menial work’ (Oxford English Dictionary). The labourers were mostly young, active, able-bodied people used to demanding labour, but they were often ignorant of the places they agreed to go to or the challenges they were going to face. Before 1840 a large proportion of the labourers were so-called ‘Hill coolies’, aboriginal people from the plains of the Ganges. Later many others signed indentured labour contracts, including Hindus, Brahmins, high castes, agriculturists, artisans, Mussulmans, low castes (untouchables) and Christians. Over 41,000 Bengali labourers were sent to Mauritius in 1834, but the Indian government banned ‘coolie’ shipments in 1838 because there were reports of repression and abuse. In 1842 the British Prime Minister Robert Peel directed the Indian government to re-open these lines of emigration under proper safeguards. A Protector of Emigrants was appointed to ensure that the labourers had adequate space, food, water and ventilation on the journey. Emigration to Jamaica, British Guiana and Trinidad was legalised in 1844. Em