Arrival of Indian Indentured Labor To Fiji

The Commencement of Indian Immigration

After the acceptance of the British Government of the cession of Fiji from the Fijian Chiefs in 1874, the possibility of obtaining an indentured workforce from India became available. the British government stipulated that the colonies were expected to live on their own resources, and not of the British taxpayer.

Since 1837, the contracts were regulated by the authorities in India, with a view to preventing irregularities in recruiting and ensuring good treatment in transit to the colonies.   Recruiters gave prospective girmitiyas agreement forms (pdf), which detailed the conditions of employment in English as well as the vernacular languages of India (Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, etc) depending on the recruitment region.

Specifications outlined in the agreement were, the type of work, number of hours of work to be completed per day, remunerations, availability of accommodation, medical resources, and other facilities.

‘Indian immigration differed from most European migration in that the immigrants were not expected, and were unable to become integrated into a common pattern of roles and values in their new country. Their role was intended to be purely economic; they were to form one sector of an economically pluralistic society, and nothing more’ (K.L.Gillion, 1958)

Fiji had to nominate an Emigration Agent to reside at the port of embarkation, to monitor and maintain an Emigration Depo, this would be the destination a recruit after being officially registered, would be escorted, typically via rail, would be housed fed, medically checked and monitored.  The Protector of Emigrants, Medical Inspector of Immigrants, and an official government official supervised the general sanitation, accommodation, food, water supply, clothing, latrines, hospital arrangments, and vaccinations of emigrants twice a week.

The Medical Inspector of Emigrants inspected all emigrants before departure and certified that they were “fit to emigrate” and “free from all bodily and mental disease”. The final stage was after enough recruits had been collected to fill a ship the protector countersigned each emigration pass, and his duty was complete.

The Passage to Fiji

Every year tenders were called by the Crown Agents for the Colonies, acting under the instructions from the Colonial Office and in communication with the Emigrations Agents in India, for the conveyance (Transport) of Indian emigrants to Fiji, there were two maritime companies that dominated the industry, these were James Nouree and the British India Steam Navigation Company.

The ships were fitted according to the requirements of the Government of India laid down in minute detail, a typical floor plan was: The Main deck would house a rudimentary hospital, dispensary, galley, and toilet facilities at the rear of the vessel. The Between decks – was divided into three compartments, one for the single men in the bow (The most forward part of the hull of a ship), one for the married couples, and one for the single women in the stern (The stern can be defined as the backmost section of a vessel), with sleeping platforms stretching from end to end, each ‘statue adult’ (emigrant) had to have at least 72 cubic feet of space (this is equivalent to stand up 3 door refrigerator you see at the supermarket). With cargo stored in the bottom of the hull.

The average voyage from India to Fiji was, 72 days on a sailing ship and only 30 days on a steamship, apart from the means of propulsion other factors that created this time differential were the time of year the voyage would commence, weather patterns, the additional cargo it was holding, and more importantly the experience of the crew and captain.

On the last day of departure, the emigrants were inspected for the last time by the Protector of Emigrants and issued blankets and clothing. The vessel’s crew were not allowed to fraternize or communicate with the emigrants on the vessel, the only officer of the ship who should have any contact with emigrants was the third mate, who had charge of stores.

There were three essential positions appointed by the Emigration Agent on the Indian emigration ship these being:

The Surgeon-Superintendent – Who had charge of and responsibility for the welfare of the emigrants,  The Instructions to Surgeons Superintendents of Government Emigration Ships (1866) lay out the extensive rules for how a surgeon should appropriately act and what came with the job.

‘belonged to a distinct Indian emigration service under the authority of the Crown Agents and were recruited from experienced medical men in England’ Usually undertaking only one trip a year and paid handsomely ‘ They were required to report in great detail on the voyage, ‘Their principle routine duties were to watch the medical care, ventilation, clothing, feeding, cleanliness, and exercise of the emigrants, and their authority on the ship extended to all matters connected with their welfare; (K.L.Gillion, 1958),

‘The duties of the ship surgeon ranged from inspecting the emigrants before boarding (he had to sign a certificate attesting to their good health), to ensuring that there was efficient air circulation throughout the ship.  Surgeons were required to keep a detailed journal and record of the voyage and patients as well as visit the decks at least two to three times a day to ensure cleanliness and preserve dryness (no laundry, washing, or anything that required water was allowed on the decks).  (The University of Pennsylvania, 2015)

Compounders – Assisting the Surgeon-Superintendent in caring for the Emigrants, normally 2-3 in number depending on the size of the vessel.

‘They were Indians or Anglo-Indians. The senior compounder looked after the hospital and dispensary, and the junior the galley, cleaning arrangements, and discipline.’ (K.L.Gillion, 1958), ‘responsible for receiving and organising the labourers on board ship’ (British Library, 2022).

Sirdars – Normally of High Caste responsible for the well-being of 25 emigrants

Other positions appointed by the Emigration Agent include:  Banharries (Cooks) are usually of (High caste), Cleaners, and sweepers (Low caste), One female nurse appointed to every 25 female emigrants,  two Barbers, two hospital attendants, and two Tailors. these numbers would vary upward depending on the size of the vessel.

Diet and Recreational

Food, clothes and other provisions were provided as part of the contract of indentureship during the sea voyage (that also extended to the first 6 months on the plantations).

In 1864, when the colonial government was revising the Emigration Act, they identified that the majority of the mortalities on the ships occurred because of poor foods with low nutritional content, a change in diet for the emigrants from their culinary habits and tastes of home,  sanitary conditions on board the ships, the shipment of germ-laden water, as well as the inexperience of medical officers, as a result of these revisions; all kinds of foodstuffs were introduced and sourced from different districts in India to accommodate the dietary needs of different Indian cultures and religious castes, as a passage to Fiji was for most, the first opportunity for lower-caste Indians to dine with those of higher caste.

Typically in Indian society, the high and low castes have been defined by the food they consume, one’s purity being contingent on the purity of one’s diet. High castes enjoy refined dishes while low castes live on sustainable and simple food.  Higher castes do not eat food prepared by the lower castes, and both high and low castes cannot share dining or sit together to eat.

Detailed ration scales were laid down for emigrants, articles such Rice, Salt, Tabacco, Salt Fish, Black Pepper, Coriander Seeds, Dhal, Turmeric, Chillies, Firewood, Mustard Seeds, Ghee, Onions, Turmeric, Chillies, Tamarind with the addition of flour, different kinds of daal (dhal) or pulses (Dried Lentils, peas or beans) such as yellow pigeon Peas (moog) and gram daal, and vegetables such as pumpkin, potatoes and yams were incorporated into the diet plan.

Mutton one day every week, and to that end, six sheep or goats per every 100 men were taken aboard for the voyage.  Special additions for nursing women, young children, and convalescents a daily allowance of a pint of preserved milk were given to breastfeeding mothers and any child under the age of two years without a mother. To this, a stock of suji (cream or wheat), oatmeal, and arrowroot was added.

For recreational periods of the day, the emigrates were given musical instruments and played cards to relieve boredom and pass away the time.

A typical day onboard an Indian emigrant ship 

‘On board a typical indian emigrant ship, the emigrants day began at 6 am.  They rose, tied their blankets in bundles and hung them on bamboo poles.  They went on deck, performed their ablutions and breakfastd on deck (unless the weather was bad) between 8 and 8.30 am.  Then, the between decks were cleaned by the topazes and the emigrants went below while the topases cleaned the decks, at which the emigrants also took a hand, under the roster system.  They were brought up again and, in fine weather, except in the hottest zone, had the run of the deck until dinner at 3.30 pm.  Emigrants ate in long rows, sitting on the deck.  The men took their share in pumping water for drinking and cooking, keeping the two decks clean and drawing provisions.  The women were generally employed in grinding curry and other light kicten work.  Emigrants would excercised for an hour and encouraged to sing to drums, play cards and wrestle.  At 8pm, all wer below decks, except in very hot weather.

‘There were regular days for bathing and washing blankets and deck  Bathing in hot water was enforced once a week and oiling twice a week.  There daily inspection of skins, conducted, in the case of the women by the nurses.  Every Sunday there was a thorough examination of emigrants.’ (K.L.Gillion, 1958),

Historic Voyages

A total of 87 voyages to Fiji from various parts of India were made between 1879 to 1916 with only a 1 percent average mortality rate across this period  (This percentage of fatalities today would be regarded as a high cost to pay, but during the late 1800s, this was exceptionally low, owed primarily to the policies and procedures established by the Indian government at this time, Indian Emigration Act and Colonial Emigration Rules, Chapter 9 Emigrant Vessels)  thou there were two disastrous exceptions, the Leonidas the first indentureship to arrive in Fiji, upon her arrival the Surgeon-Superintendent declaring an outbreak of cholera and smallpox onboard, bringing fear amongst the Fijians, the nation had just started to recover from the measles epidemic of 1875 which had killed an estimated 40,000, and the second vessel named Syria ran aground and left foundering on the Nasilai reef resulting in many lives lost.  Below are some of the press releases detailing the incidents.

Leonidas (Ship) – First indentureship to Fiji

First indentureship to Fiji – Leonidas (named after king Leonidas I of Sparta) was a labour transport ship (111-tonne schooner) – Captained by McLachlan, the ship departed from Calcutta, India on 3 March 1879 and arrived at Levuka, Fiji, on 14 May that year.

‘The Leonidas passed up the harbour, passed Vagadaci, and when off Waitovu through some stupidity touched the reef, but with the rising tide floated off and dropped anchor in Waitovu passage, or as far away from the shore as she could be conveniently anchored without touching the outer reef.

So soon as communication was made with the ship, it was ascertained that cholera had been on board together with smallpox and that 11 coolies had died of cholera arid six of dysentery; cholera seeming to predominate, while little seems to be known of smallpox. Every precaution, under the unfortunate circumstances of the case, appears to have been adopted by the Government. A cordon of four police boats has been arranged at suitable distances round the Leonidas, and the schooner Elizabeth (lately the Samoan navy) has been sailed down from Nasova and anchored off Waitovu, as relieving, or guard ship, that the boats’ crews may be relieved every four hours.

Dr. McGregor (the Chief Medical Officer of the Colony) has devised a very ingenious method of effectually preventing the contagion from being conveyed to the shore, during the process of sending stores, letters, etc, to the ship. A staging has been erected on the outer reef, with a moving platform., stores necessary to the ship are placed on this platform at low tide and taken off by the ship s boat.

The whole staging is then demolished and allowed to float until the next low tide; when it is re-erected.

All letters are placed in a carbolic acid bottle and are of course fumigated before delivery. Communication with the vessel under these circumstances is of course slow, but from what we learn there are 373 male and 149 female coolies on board, independent of children, all of whom are under the charge of Doctor Welsh. We also hear that two buffaloes are on board.

It is sincerely to be hoped that all officers of the Government will, under the trying and unfortunate circumstances, be at their post and duty and that any and every assistance will be rendered by one and all to prevent any contagion reaching these shores.’  (Fiji Times, May 17 1879)

Syria (Ship) – Sixth indentureship to Fiji

Syria was a 1,010-ton, iron sailing ship with a length of 207.7 feet, a breadth of 34.1 feet, and a depth of 20.8 feet. She was built by William Pile of Sunderland for the Nourse Line, named after the Syria River in Karnataka, India, and launched in 1868. She was primarily used for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies.

‘At 8.30 pm on Sunday, 11 May 1884, the Indian immigrant ship Syria – the fifth to reach Fiji – was wrecked on the Nasilai reef. By the time the shipwrecked passengers were brought to safety, fifty-six immigrants and three lascars (Indian seamen) had drowned.

The Syria, carrying 497 indentured adults, children, infants, and a crew of forty-three (including thirty-three lascars) left Calcutta on 13 March 1884. Its journey to Fiji seems to have been remarkably uneventful except for a minor storm off the Cape of Good Hope in which both the Captain and the Second Mate allegedly lost their Certificates of Competency. The mortality rate of 0.8 percent on the voyage compared favourably with the overall average of one percent for the entire period. But perhaps the most astonishing feature of the trip was its length – fifty-eight days – a record well above the average for sailing ships of seventy-two days.

On Sunday, 11 May, the combination of inexperience and simple incompetence of the crew and the poor navigational facilities took their toll.

Many more would have lost their lives but for the prompt and efficient rescue operation mounted by Dr. William MacGregor, then the Chief Medical Officer and Acting Colonial Secretary of Fiji. Later, Dr. MacGregor wrote this emotional and vivid account of the tragedy: “When the first boats reached the scene, the majority of the Indians were in the water on the reef, making as far towards the land as they could, but a considerable number were still in the wrecked vessel, chiefly women and children. The ship lay on her port side. The masts were all broken into fragments, and spars, sails, ropes, and debris of all kinds were mixed up and thrown about in the breakers in wild confusion.

The scene was simply indescribable, and pictures of it haunt me still like a horrid dream. People falling, fainting, drowning all around one; the cries for instant help, uttered in an unknown tongue, but emphasised by looks of agony and the horror of impending death, depicted on dark faces rendered ashy grey by terror; then again the thundering, irresistible wave breaking on the riven ship, still containing human beings, some crushed to death in the debris, and others wounded and imprisoned therein; and all to be saved then or never; … (Some sacrificed their lives to save others; some, such as the strong lascar crew thought only of themselves) and rushed into the boats surrounded by dying women and children. One of these lascar seamen I took out of the wreck paralysed with terror; afterward by brute force I threw him twice out of a boat to make room for drowning children … in spite of everything that could be done the loss of life was fearful. At 2 pm I was almost faint with despair, and I did not then think that a hundred or so could be saved.

The loss of the Syria was one of the worst maritime disasters in the history of Fiji, but similar losses of life, though perhaps not always as dramatic, were not uncommon in the history of overseas Indian migration. Indian immigrant ships were, by the standards of the times, much better equipped and looked after and took less payment in human lives than ships engaged in labour traffic in other parts of the world; but even so, severe losses of life could not always be contained.

Cholera, fever typhoid, and dysentery were the most frequent and indeed the most dreaded killers, and when they struck, lives were lost in great numbers.

The subsequent story of the surviving Syrian immigrants cannot be told with any certainity. However, from the available records it appears that after two weeks of rest from the exhaustion suffered during the ordeal, the indentured labourers and their children were taken from the Nukulau Depot to Suva, where they were sorted out and allocated to various plantations.’ Lal , B. V. (1979, May 12).

Nukulau Quarantine Station

All Indian immigrant ships went to the port of Suva. where the immigrants were transferred to barges and towed by steam launch or tug to the islet of Nukulau (Image above) (Map). most of them remained there for about a fortnight to be processed and allocated to their individual planters.  They were medically examined, to classify their capabilities of performing a full task, three-quarter task, or half task.  The really unfit were returned to India or detained in the center for medical treatment.

Care was taken to not split up husbands and wives, or families, with equitable distribution of the women and children and workers not capable of performing a full task.

It was the employer’s responsibility to collect the immigrants and this was usually done through an agent in Suva. They were taken away by barge and steamer.

Plantation Labour

The great majority of immigrants served on sugar plantations, cultivating coffee, coconuts, tobacco, rubber, tea, and other staple crops.  Thou there were exceptions, some became domestic servants, watchmen, water carriers, gardeners, and even policemen, the hours were long but less strenuous and sometimes better pay that the plantation workers

A typical day on the sugar plantation 

A typical day would start around 3 or 4 am, the sirdars would arrive at the lines and awaken the immigrants, they would make themselves some breakfast and prepare lunch, bathe, and start collecting their tools for the day.  The immigrants were expected to walk to work and arrive at the field between 5 and 6 am.  The sirdars would allocate groups of immigrants to work specific tasks for the day, thou working together the immigrants were assessed separately and expected to reach their task worked quota.  Depending on your physical condition, the strongest members of the group would finish their work around 1 or 2 in the afternoon,  with others finishing around 3-4 in the afternoon.  Some much later…

Every effort was made to induce immigrants to finish their tasks. Lazy or weak ones were urged on by overseers and sirdars. This was not always a gentle matter. It was frequently accompanied by abuse. Immigrants were often struck, and not infrequently they were beaten up, especially where there was a provocation.

The initial few months were hard work, for the immigrants, as they were not used to the amount of work or the continued physical muscular effort, this was the main justification for the 6 months of meals provided, as the start of their indentureship, providing them with the nutritional content, to sustain the work.  Not all immigrants served the full term of five years of indentured service. Those who broke down physically were returned to India as “incapables’. Others commuted part of their service for a money payment.

Sunday a religious day in Fiji was the one day of a week immigrants could not be made to work without their consent, with Christmas Day, Good Friday, Moharram, and Holi as religious holidays, these days allowed the immigrants to leave the plantation under the permission of the planter, they visited Indian settlements, Fijian villages, collect wild fruits and purchased necessities.

Plantation Life

On the highest piece of ground, amid trees for shade, stood the bungalow of the planter or overseer. From there, the overseer could see the whole plantation; the sugarcane, the land lying fallow or in food and fodder crops, the stables and shed where the horses, the tools and provisions were kept, and the black, lines where the immigrants lived.

For five years, the plantation was the immigrant’s world. Most sugar plantations were alike in their appearance and in the way of life of their occupants.

On a standard plantation, there would be two or three ‘lines’, each housing forty or fifty immigrants, they were long elongated buildings, with a corrugated iron roof, a wooden or bare earth floor, and communital latrines set aside away from the accommodation.  Each line housed sixteen rooms eight on each side. The original dimensions were no more than ten feet by seven feet (10 ft x 7 ft), with later constructions imposed by the law and by government regulations they increased to ten feet by twelve feet (10 ft x 12 ft).

Each room housed three single men, or a couple with children, the partitions that separated each room stopped short of the ceiling to assist ventilation across the whole of the line, as there were no windows, the doors were the only cross ventilation available. Privacy was not a top priority when designing the buildings.

Inside each room, three bunks were placed, with all the immigrant’s possessions, cooking utensils, and clothing, when the immigrants rested for the night, there was very little room.  Before separate kitchens were standard, they had to cook as well in these confined spaces, leading to a smoke-filled environment, a haven for flies and mosquitoes. Living conditions were as can be imagined very uncomfortable.

Several indentured immigrants leased land or lived in a Fijian Bure or tin shed, as long as they turned up to work regularly, this was permitted.

Medical Facilities – Typical Illnesses

Every plantation with more than five indentured immigrants was required to have a medical facility, followed by a central hospital at the mill centers, and generally one other hospital in each of the C.S.R, Company’s districts.

Most of the complaints treated in the plantation hospitals were caused by drinking contaminated water, undernourishment, and a lack of sanitary environments. With the most debilitating being ankylostomiasis (hook-worm), only diagnosed by the medical institutions very late into the indentureship period in Fiji, the effects caused directly or indirectly thousands of lives and severely weakened many others during this period. Children fatalities were also very high within the plantations, caused by improper feeding (lack of milk), poor sanitation, and the improper care of the child by untrained nurses.  As the instances were identified, regulations and proper policies were implemented, though as stated sometimes the cause of the sickness was sometimes a long time in diagnosing.

Settlement

When an Indian Immigrant had finished his five years of service under the indentureship scheme, the government provided them with a certificate of industrial residence (example above) detailing their official number, time served, and the vessel in which they had arrived.  The person’s physical description height and bodily marks, with the signature of the Sub-protector of the Immigrants, were used to help authenticate/verify, the legal document.

Upon receipt of the document, an Indentured person is officially a free man, with four main options open to them:  Firstly, they could re-indenture for another 5 years, this option was preferred by the planters and government, as the immigrant was experienced and acclimatized creating a more stable and reliable workforce, additional pay per world load and free passage to India at the end of the second indentured period was provided at the expense of the government an incentive to serve an additional term.  Secondly, he could continue to work for an employer as a free laborer or under the Masters and Servants Ordinance, although this provided greater freedoms it did not guarantee regular and reliable work. thirdly they could take a trade or craft and settle on a plot of land within Fiji, slowly establishing a home and community and the fourth option was to return to India at their own expense.

The recruitment of Indian laborers to work in overseas colonies was suspended on 12 March 1917 due to the military requirements of the First World War (under India’s Defence of India Act 1917), but never resumed after the war.  The Steamship Sutlej carrying 888 indentured persons was the last vessel to dock at Suva, arriving on 11 November 1916.   The anti-indentureship protests that started before the war by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi continued throughout India until the British Imperial Government and the Government of India had to give in to the pressure to end the system and on 1 January 1920 it was abolished completely.

References 

• Australian National University (1948). Loading cane, Nausori [Photograph].
• Girmit (2020). List Of Ships To Fiji. Girmit.org. https://girmitiya.girmit.org/new/index.php/history-draft/list-of-ships-to-fiji/
• Girmit (2021). List Of Ships To Fiji 1,2,3 [Photograph]
• Kumar, A. (2016). Feeding the Girmitiya. The University of California Press, 16(1), 41-52. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26362319?read-now=1&seq=5
• List of Indian indenture ships to Fiji. (2020, March 10). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_indenture_ships_to_Fiji
• Swiggum, S. (2006, May 3). Nourse Line. The Shipping LIst. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/nourse.shtml
• U.P (2015, February 2). The Most Powerful Man On Board. The University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-voyages-of-the-clarence/overview-of-the-surgeon?path=the-ship-surgeon