New Historical Perspectives on Migration S.
1 total work
This volume reappraises existing views of the characteristics of 19th-century Indian indentured migrations, and challenges accepted notions of the post-slavery Indian diaspora in the British Empire. Paying particular attention to Mauritius, the largest recipient of indentured labour, the author utilizes sources including the letters, petitions and depositions of the migrants themselves. These documents highlight the indenture experience: the migrants' perception of their migration, of the community from which they came as well as the one which they had joined, and the huge range of emotions thrown up by their experience - their frustration, their disappointment, the pain of separation from relatives. The Indian indenture experience is shown to have parallels with that of the European migrants who moved to America and Australia, whose histories have been similarly studied through "letters home". In this work, use is made of new sources to show that the differences between Indian and European diasporas may not be as great as the similarities.