British Plantations Create Indentured Labor System

Subject

Indian National Movement

Chapter

Advent of the Europeans

  • Plantation crops in British colonies required massive workforce after slavery abolition
  • Indentured labor system emerged in 1843 as five-year work contracts with return passage
  • System operated in Ceylon, Mauritius, Fiji, Malaya, Caribbean, Natal and South Africa
  • Poor peasants and weavers signed up hoping to earn money but faced slave-like conditions