Indentured Labour Flashcards
When was slavery abolished in GB?
1833
What did the Abolishment of slavery lead to?
- labour shortages
- high demand for indian “coolie” labour
- Sri Lanka, Mauritius, “West-indies” became destinations for Indian migrant worker, driven by colonial plantation economies (Expansion to secure and expand the production of commodities)
When was the period of the system of indentured labor?
From 1834-1920 - migration of indian worker to plantation island of the British to substitute african slave labor
What was the context and the driving factors of the work migration (indentured labor system)?
Expanding european empires
- driven by the intention to increase the production of specific commodities
What usually characterizes colonial commodities?
labor and land intensive
- can not be produced in Europe
- have physchadelic effects (opium, coffee, sugar…)
–> The demand for these commodities drove the Expansion of Empires
What were the reasons behind the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833?
- Change of discourse in Europe (Enlightment)
- Competition
- Smithian doctrine (A. Smith) - “beneficial potential” of free trade - reducing monitoring costs
- with some crops slave labour “does not really work” - for example wine - neeeds a more intrinsical motivation that can be fostered through share cropping for example
Where were the workers mainly recruted from for indentured labour?
- People living close to ports
- from poor, densly populated areas
Push factors for migration: - Poverty
- frequent Famins…
What is Kala Pani?
The Idea that something terrible happens when crossing the ocean
–> used as an argument for the british public to defend why “criminals” were not sentenced to death but shipped to other colonies to work there
What characterizes the system of indentured labour?
Indentured labour is a system of state-based exploitation
