SBA Question: Is it fair to say that the Chinese and Indian immigrants solved the labour problem after 1838?

CARIBBEAN SECONDARYCARIBBEAN SECONDARY

EXAMINATION COUNCILEXAMINATION COUNCIL

SCHOOL BASED ASSESMENTSCHOOL BASED ASSESMENT

CARIBBEAN HISTORYCARIBBEAN HISTORY

YEAR 2014-2015YEAR 2014-2015

CANDIDATE NAME: Ryon Whyte

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Is it fair to say that the Chinese and Indian immigrants solved the labour problem after 1838?

The reason for this topic being by the researcher is to better, analyze, interpret and

interpret whether the Indian and Chinese immigration schemes actually solved the labour

problem that faced the Caribbean during the post emancipation period. For the researcher,

History encourages critical thinking, and this topic brought out that opportunity. The Chinese

and Indian immigrants are famous for their contribution to the Caribbean as they helped to shape

the society we have today. Also, this research topic is not a very popular topic and so the

researcher to use his skills as an historian. The topic itself was a very interesting one which

played a big part for the researcher choosing it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, the researcher would like to offer his eternal thanks to the Almighty God who

blessed him with the perseverance and the spirit of hard work to complete this research project.

He is also using this great opportunity to express my haughty gratitude to everyone who assisted

in getting this project done. The researcher is thankful for their guidance and constructive

criticism as this is what shaped the topic of research to what it has become and for that the

researcher is truly grateful.

INTRODUCTION

A law was passed by the British Parliament to abolish slavery throughout its empire in

1834. Following this was the apprenticeship system which began in 1838 and failed prematurely.

The apprenticeship system was designed to provide a smooth transition from enslavement to

freedom by forcing the ex-slaves to remain on their plantations for a period of six years. Its main

purpose was to prevent the immediate desertion of estates by the-slaves, although, in fact, it was

the masters and not the slaves who were awarded compensation for the loss of their property.

The system proved too cumbersome to administer and was prematurely terminated in 1838.

As a result of this West Indian producers began to face severe competition from other

countries like Cuba and countries that produced beet sugar and at that time sugar prices were also

falling. Sugar producers then turned to ex-slaves to solve the labour problems that existed but

was face by the unfortunate as wages and working conditions were a problem as they could not

be negotiated. Hence, to defeat the labour problems James Stephen, a Colonial Office official,

humanitarian and drafter of the 1833 Emancipation Act, was appointed to draw up conditions for

immigrant labour schemes in 1838 which would make it clear that no new slave trade was being

established. And so sugar producers were then encouraged to import alternative labour and

consequently were the arrival of the Chinese and Indians.

As retrieved from Robert Greenwood, S. Hamber and Brian Dyde’s book the first

Chinese immigrants that came to the Caribbean arrived in Trinidad in 1806 from Malaya. They

were to be indentured for five years, with a promise of small plots of land afterwards. They were

extremely unsuitable for estate labor and most were shipped back. Most Chinese immigrants

came during the period 1859-1886 and went to British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad. Chinese

immigration schemes lasted for a long period, but very large numbers did not come to the British

West Indies as far more went to Cuba (see figure 4). Under some schemes Chinese were

deceived as they were not told of the nature of work they were going into and false promises

were made about repatriation.1

There were many problems as a result of Chinese immigration. The Chinese government

was opposed to it as it hurt Chinese pride, but having suffered a succession of defeats by the

European powers since 1839, they were forced to accept it. Also, immigrants would have settled

more happily if Chinese women had been allowed to immigrate. The shortage of women caused

jealousy and resentment between the Chinese and the black populations. Additionally, Chinese

immigration was more expensive than other schemes because of the distance from China to the

West Indies. China was not a British colony and the British government could only try to

persuade the Chinese government to allow emigration. The Chinese, even when they allowed it,

enforced all sorts of restrictions and conditions, such as the use of only certain ports for

embarkation. And lastly, When the Chinese immigrants found that they had been misled about

the kind of work, they frequently refused to work. As soon as they could they tried to obtain land

of their own, or they asked to be repatriated which was a very expensive business.2 Therefore,

1 Robert Greenwood, S. Hamber, Brian Dyde. BK 2 Emancipation to Emigration, Macmillan Education. Published 28 Nov 2011. Date: 14/2/2015

2 http://countrystudies.us/caribbean-islands/9.htm, Feb 1, 2001 . Date: 14/2/2015

the Chinese proved to be unsatisfactory and unreliable as a permanent labour force on sugar

plantations.

Greenwood stated that in 1837 John Gladstone the owner of two plantations in British

Guiana applied to the Secretary of State for the Colonies for permission to import Indian

labourers. In 1838, with the arrival of 396 Indians, the flood of Indian immigration began. It was

immediately proclaimed a success in British Guiana. However, investigations by the Anti-

Slavery Society revealed otherwise that many of the immigrants had died quickly. Some had

been flogged and wrongly imprisoned, while others had not been paid their promised wages.

Therefore, as cited by Parbattie Ramsarran in July 1838, the Indian government

suspended emigration to the Caribbean while a thorough investigation was done in British

Guiana. Immigration resumed officially in 1844 and it lasted until 1917. In the 1840s the

planters’ demand for Indian immigrant labour was very strong, especially in British Guiana

where the government was spending £50 000 per year on immigration. 3As a result of this the

British Guiana government was nearly bankrupt in 1848 because of this. In order to fix this

situation a loan was borrowed from the British government and was put towards immigration,

and the scheme continued. Trinidad and Jamaica were also importing Indians on a large scale,

but the Jamaican government was unwilling to finance the scheme to the same extent as British

Guiana and Trinidad.4 Consequently Jamaica took far fewer immigrants than the other two. In

1848, after giving loans to the governments of British Guiana, Trinidad and Jamaica, she wanted

much stricter supervision over immigration. As it was impossible to oversee the treatment of the

3Parbattie Ramsarran The Indentured contract and its Impact on Labor Relationship and Community Reconstruction in British Guiana Published: December 2008, Vol. 1, No. 2 4 Robert Greenwood, S. Hamber, Brian Dyde. BK 2 Emancipation to Emigration, Macmillan Education. Published 28 Nov 2011. Date: 14/2/2015

immigrants in other territories it was decided in 1876 to stop the transportation of Indians into all

non British colonies except Surinam, Guadeloupe and Martinique. In 1886 Guadeloupe and

Martinique were also banned, and only Surinam continued importing Indians until 1917.

Even though this scheme appears to have been successful, Greenwood noted that in many

ways it did not live up to expectations as it had many failings from a moral point of view. The

indentured servant system in general deprived human beings of freedom for long periods of their

lives as they were sometimes restricted to the states and there was great mortality and suffering

among the immigrants. 5

The Chinese immigration enabled the Chinese to make a contribution to the Caribbean

society. Lee shared the fact that the Chinese were noted for their acumen business and for the

caring and nurturing of their children placing great emphasis on education and family life. To

date, these characteristics have positively impacted the Jamaican society. The Chinese have

added another dimension to the plurality of the cultural heritage of the entire Caribbean. Chen

extended Lee’s point by stating that in 1880, many of those who had remained in Jamaica started

retail businesses trading in grocery items with a few shops set up in Kingston.6 Chinese host

special celebration in the Caribbean that people from almost all ethnic group participate in. For

example during Christmas Caribbean people can always look forward to performances of the

Dragon Dance in the floats in the city (see figure 3).7

Even though Greenwood deemed the Indian immigration scheme a failure she went on to

say that many people of Indian descent in the West Indies today, would not look back on the

5 Robert Greenwood, S. Hamber, Brian Dyde. BK 2 Emancipation to Emigration, Macmillan Education. Published 28 Nov 2011. Date: 14/2/20156 Chen, Julie. The Chinese in   Jamaica. The Daily Gleaner 29 June, .:p15. Date: 14/11/20157 Lee, Easton. Jamaican culture: the Chinese connection. The Observer 31 May 1997 Date: 14/11/2015

scheme as a failure. They now form half the population of Guyana and well over one-third of the

population of Trinidad.8 Indian immigration introduced new cultures and religions into the. A

minority of Indians became fairly wealthy through business. Others joined the peasantry and

introduced crops such as rice, cocoa and coffee because of their knowledge of agriculture

brought with them from India (see figure 2). Some set up villages and grew rice and sugarcane.

Indian immigration introduced new cultures and religions into the British West Indies. During

the late 19th Century, the immigrants consisted of 86% Hindu and 14% Muslim.

In conclusion, the immigration system can be argued to be a failure from a moral point of

view as previously stated by greenwood. This is so as the system was cheated by agents which

resulted in plantation conflict with workers. However the immigrants later made immense

contribution to the Caribbean society. These immigrants have allowed for a diversified

Caribbean society with many cultures prospering without strife. In addition they also aid in the

economy as communication links are made with their presence and this allows for a prosperous

Caribbean community.

APPENDIX

8 Robert Greenwood, S. Hamber, Brian Dyde. BK 2 Emancipation to Emigration, Macmillan Education. Published 28 Nov 2011. Date: 14/2/2015

Figure 1: A Chinese Family Figure 2: Chinese planting rice in Jamaica

Figure 3: Chinese celebration in the Caribbean Figure 4: Chinese immigrants aboard a ship to the Caribbean

Figure 5 :Chinese practicing their religion in the caribbean

Figure 5 :Indian Businesses in the caribbean

Immigration form given to immigrants upon approach and agreement

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lee, Easton. Jamaican culture: the Chinese connection. The Observer 31 May 1997

Robert Greenwood, S. Hamber, Brian Dyde. BK 2 Emancipation to Emigration, Macmillan

Education. Published 28 Nov 2011. Date: 14/2/2015

Parbattie Ramsarran The Indentured contract and its Impact on Labor Relationship and

Community Reconstruction in British Guiana Published: December 2008, Vol. 1, No. 2

http://countrystudies.us/caribbean-islands/9.htm, Feb 1, 2001 . Date: 14/2/2015

Chen, Julie. The Chinese in   Jamaica . The Daily Gleaner  29 June, .:p15

Lee, Easton. Jamaican culture: the Chinese connection. The Observer 31 May 1997

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