Sugar Changed the World

Aronson and Budhos begin this part by discussing what it was like to be an Indian recruited to be an indentured servant in the Caribbean. The use of indentured servants from India began with a slave revolt encouraged by Reverend John Smith. The revolt was put down by the British governor of Guyana, John Gladstone, but it sparked a public outcry in Britain. This public response put pressure on the English Parliament to finally outlaw slavery on August 1, 1838. The sugar plantations thus had to turn to cheap labor from India.

India, especially northern India, which was hit by drought and famine, was poor, so there were many Indians eager to seek economic opportunity overseas. Leaving across the ocean, which was called crossing the kali pana (“black water”), was considered a religious crime by traditional Hindus. Still, some Indians were desperate enough to be recruited by agents of the shipping companies. The Indians who went to the sugar colonies for work were called coolies. The recruiters would promise the Indians they would return to India after a five-year contract of service, but some of their promises would be lies.