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Mauritius: The Non-Indian Indentured Labourers in 19th century Mauritius
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L'Express (Port Louis)
31 October 2007
Posted to the web 31 October 2007
By Dr. Satteeanund PEERTHUM & Satyendra PEERTHUM
Port Louis
2nd November 2007 marks the 173rd anniversary of the arrival of the indentured labourers in Mauritius. This historic date must be a day of deep reflection on the great toils and sacrifices of the indentured workers and their contribution in the making of Mauritius. Thus, each year, their achievements and legacy must be honored by the Mauritian people and always live in the collective memory of the Mauritian nation.
However, each 2nd November, the emphasis tends to be on the indentured labourers who came from the Indian subcontinent, while those who came from China, Madagascar, Mozambique, the Comoro Islands, South-East Asia, Reunion Island and Aden (in present-day Yemen) are almost forgotten. It should be remembered that the non-Indian indentured workers consisted around 5%, or more than 20,000, of the number of indentured workers who arrived on Mauritian soil between 1834 and 1924.
The Chinese Labourers
Between 1837 and 1843, more than 3,000 Chinese indentured labourers were introduced into Mauritius. They were adult male labourers between 20 and 40 years old from south eastern China and were embarked at Macao, Penang and Singapore. Between the 1860s and 1880s, hundreds of Chinese labourers arrived in Mauritius and were processed at the Aapravasi Ghat. Eventually, many of them rejected estate labour and left the sugar plantations.
Dozens of these indentured labourers were arrested as vagrants and sent to the Vagrant Depot of Grand River North West. Furthermore, dozens more were deported through the Aapravasi Ghat and sent back to south-east China as incorrigible vagrants. It is interesting to note that each the Wah-Lien, a Sino-Mauritian organization, has a commemoration ceremony in memory of the Chinese indentured labourers at a Chinese pagoda at Les Salines in Port Louis.
The Malagasies and Others
Between 1839 and 1857, 3607 Malagasy indentured labourers were recruited in Tamatave, Tananarive, Mahajunga, and Fort Dauphin to work on the sugar plantations of Mauritius. Between the 1860s and 1880s, several hundred Malagasy indentured as well as free immigrants came to work in Mauritius. During the second half of the 1800s, most of these labourers were Christianized and had Christian names.
The non-indentured workers also came from Aden, in present-day Yemen, and Reunion Island. During the 1850s and 1860s, more than 500 indentured labourers came from Aden, located at the entrance of the Red Sea, was a British Protectorate. Between the 1860s and 1880s, more than 1,000 indentured workers of Indian origin also came from Reunion Island to work on the sugar estates of Mauritius.
The Liberated Africans
Between 1839 and 1857, 320 Mozambican indentured labourers as well as 206 Comorian indentured labourers were introduced into British Mauritius. Between the 1860s and 1880s, hundreds of indentured and free immigrants from the Comoro Islands and Mozambique also came to Mauritius and passed through the Aapravasi Ghat.
Between 1856 and 1869, 2365 Liberated Africans, or ex-slaves from Madagascar, the Comoro Islands and Mozambique, were also processed at the Aapravasi Ghat.
They were given a new status as indentured labourers and served 5-year contracts. Eventually, they became free citizens of the colony of British Mauritius.
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It is important to remember that the bio-data and pictures of these thousands of non-Indian indentured labourers can be found at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute Immigration Archives as well as the Mauritius Archives. Most of them remained in Mauritius and today, there are thousands of their descendants who are Mauritian citizens. Therefore, it is imperative that on each 2nd November, the non-Indian indentured labourers should also be honoured by the Mauritian people.
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