Indian indenture ships to Fiji

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Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 42 ships made 87 voyages, carrying Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. Initially the ships brought labourers from Calcutta, but from 1903 all ships except two also brought labourers from Madras and Mumbai. A total of 60,965 passengers left India but only 60,553 (including births at sea) arrived in Fiji. A total of 45,439 boarded ships in Calcutta and 15,114 in Madras. Sailing ships took, on average, seventy-three days for the trip while steamers took 30 days. The shipping companies associated with the labour trade were Nourse Line and British-India Steam Navigation Company.

Indenture Form of legal contract

An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercial debt or real estate transaction.

Fiji Country in Oceania

Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec Islands to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island is Ono-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the total population of 898,760. The capital, Suva, on Viti Levu, serves as the country's principal cruise-ship port. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry—or Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is paramount. Due to its terrain, the interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited.

Mumbai Megacity in Maharashtra, India

Mumbai is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. As of 2011 it is the most populous city in India with an estimated city proper population of 12.4 million. The larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region is the second most populous metropolitan area in India, with a population of 21.3 million as of 2016. Mumbai lies on the Konkan coast on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2008, Mumbai was named an alpha world city. It is also the wealthiest city in India, and has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires among all cities in India. Mumbai is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and the city's distinctive ensemble of Victorian and Art Deco buildings.

Contents

The most important man on these ships was the Surgeon-Superintendent, who supervised the medical care, ventilation, clothing, cleanliness and exercise of the passengers and his authority extended over the Captain. He inspected the stores before departure and reported on any defects during the trip. The Surgeon-Superintendent also intervened to prevent passengers from being mistreated by the crew. He was paid a bonus for each labourer landed alive.

List of ships

The table below provides details of the 87 voyages made by the 40 ships that brought Indian Indentured Labourers to Fiji. Of these ships, 27 were sailing ships and 13 were steam ships.

Name of Ship Date of Arrival Registered Numbers Number of Arrivals
Leonidas 15 May 18791–463 463
Berar 29 June 1882464–887 424
Poonah 17 September 1882888–1364 477
Poonah 19 June 18831365–1860 496
Bayard 20 August 18831861–2354 494
Syria 14 May 18842355–2792 438
Howrah 26 June 18842793–3287 495
Pericles 3 July 18843288–3748 461
SS Newnham 23 July 18843749–4323 575
Main 30 April 18854324–5048 725
Ganges 27 June 18855049–5571 523
Boyne 26 April 18865572–6108 537
Bruce 21 May 18866109–6566 458
Hereford 24 April 18886567–7105 539
Moy 3 May 18897106–7782 677
Rhone 15 May 18907783–8367 585
Allan Shaw 17 June 18908368–8940 573
Danube 15 June 18918941–9531 591
Jumna 27 June 18919532–9978 447
British Peer 23 April 18929979–10505 527
Avon 5 May 189210506–11025 520
Hereford 15 June 189211026–11504 479
Moy 14 April 189311505–11971 467
Jumna 23 May 189311972–12281 310
Ems 20 April 189412282–12851 570
Hereford 28 June 189412852–13362 511
SS Vadala 26 March 189513363–14109 747
SS Virawa 26 April 189514110–14786 677
Erne 24 April 189614787–15343 557
Elbe 13 June 189615344–15958 615
Rhone 11 May 189715959–16611 653
Clyde 1 June 189716612–17281 670
Moy 1 June 189817282–17849 568
Avon 25 July 189917850–18316 467
Ganges 3 September 189918317–18780 464
Ganges 21 June 190018781–19334 554
Elbe 26 July 190019335–19938 604
Arno 23 July 190019939–20565 627
Rhine 30 August 190020566–21056 491
SS Fazilka 28 March 190121057–21860 804
SS Fultala 12 May 190121861–22669 809
SS Fazilka 18 June 190122670–23445 776
SS Virawa 26 April 190223446–24163 718
SS Fazilka 20 June 190224164–25003 840
Mersey 13 June 190325004–25588 585
Elbe 5 August 190325589–26178 590
Arno 4 September 190326179–26812 634
Arno 3 May 190426813–27443 631
Ems 30 July 190427444–27969 526
SS Fultala 10 April 190527970–28796 827
SS Virawa 17 July 190528797–29411 615
SS Wardha 28 July 190529412–30303 892
SS Fultala 17 August 190530304–31093 790
SS Fazilka 17 April 190631094–31974 881
SS Fultala 28 April 190631975–32775 801
SS Wardha 28 June 190632776–33609 834
SS Fazilka 28 January 190733610–34484 875
SS Virawa 23 March 190734485–35243 759
SS Fazilka 25 April 190735244–36039 796
SS Sangola 18 March 190836040–37171 1132
SS Sangola 6 June 190837172–38257 1086
SS Sangola 1 February 190938258–39409 1152
SS Sangola 21 April 190939410–40076 667
SS Sangola 7 March 191040077–41002 926
SS Santhia 22 April 191041003–42023 1021
SS Sangola 5 June 191042024–42892 869
SS Santhia 8 July 191042893–43922 1030
SS Mutlah 22 May 191143923–44756 834
SS Sutlej 25 June 191144757–45606 850
SS Ganges 22 July 191145607–46466 860
SS Mutlah 18 August 191146467–47329 863
SS Sutlej 4 October 191147330–48140 811
SS Sutlej 27 April 191248141–48997 857
SS Indus 8 June 191248998–49801 804
SS Ganges 18 July 191249802–50644 843
SS Ganges 8 November 191250645–51490 846
SS Ganges 21 February 191351491–52261 771
SS Sutlej 11 April 191352262–53069 808
SS Ganges 29 May 191353070–53917 848
SS Ganges 9 September 191353918–54701 784
SS Chenab 24 March 191454702–55556 855
SS Chenab 16 June 191455557–56273 717
SS Mutlah 7 May 191556274–57125 852
SS Ganges 21 June 191557126–57971 846
SS Mutlah 1 August 191557972–58783 812
SS Chenab 1 September 191658784–59665 882
SS Sutlej 11 November 191659666–60553 888

Notes

See also

The Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) began operations in Fiji in 1880 and until it ceased operations in 1973, had a considerable influence on the political and economic life of Fiji. Prior to its expansion to Fiji, the CSR was operating Sugar Refineries in Melbourne and Auckland. The decision to enter into the production of raw sugar and sugar cane plantation was due to the Company's desire to shield itself from fluctuations in the price of raw sugar needed to run its refining operations. In May 1880 Fiji's Colonial Secretary John Bates Thurston persuaded the Colonial Sugar Refining Company to extend their operations into Fiji by making available 2,000 acres (8 km²) of land to establish plantations.

The Indian indenture system was a system of indentured servitude, by which 2 million Indians were transported to labour in European colonies, as a substitute for slave labour, following the abolition of the trade in the early 19th century. The system expanded after the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 in the British Empire in 1833, and in the French Colonies in 1848, and continued until the 1920s. This resulted in the development of a large Indian diaspora in the Caribbean, Natal, Réunion, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, to Fiji, as well as the growth of Indo-Caribbean and Indo-African populations.

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The Leonidas was a labour transport ship (schooner) that played an important role in the history of Fiji. She had been earlier used to carry indentured labourers to the West Indies, having transported 580 Indian indentured labourers to St Lucia in 1878. Captained by McLachlan, the ship departed from Calcutta, India on 3 March 1879 and arrived at Levuka, Fiji, on 14 May that year. The indentured labourers who disembarked were the first of over 61,000 to arrive from the Indian Sub-continent over the following 37 years, forming the nucleus of the Fiji Indian community that now numbers close to forty percent of Fiji's population.

<i>Syria</i> (ship) ship

The Syria was a 1,010 ton, iron sailing ship with a length of 207.7 feet, breadth of 34.1 feet and 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.

The Berar, named after a region in western India, was a sailing ship of 902 tons, owned by Tyser & Haviside and was built in 1863 by William Pile at Sunderland.

The Poonah, named after the city of Poonah in western India, was a three masted sailing ship of 1199 tons, owned by Tyser & Haviside and was built in 1867 by William Pile at Sunderland.

Newnham was the first steamship to bring Indian indentured labourers to Fiji, arriving at Suva on 23 July 1884 carrying 575 passengers. The 1296 ton steamer took only 38 days to reach Fiji as it was able to take the shorter route through the Timor sea.

Elbe, was a 1,693 ton, three-masted, iron sailing ship with a length of 257 feet, breadth of 38.2 feet and depth of 23.1 feet. She was built by Russel & Company in Glasgow for the Nourse Line, named after the River Elbe the longest river in Germany and launched in July 1887. She was primarily used for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:

The Howrah was an iron hulled sailing ship of 1,098 tons, built at Sunderland in 1864 by Pile, Spence and Company. She arrived in Fiji on 26 June 1884 carrying 575 passengers.

Ganges was the first of three Nourse Line ships named for the Ganges river in northern India.

SS Sangola was a merchant ship of 5,149 gross register tons launched in 1901. She was owned by the British India Steam Navigation Company

Boyne was a 1,403 ton, Nourse Line sailing ship that T.R. Oswald of Southampton built in 1877. She was referred to as the "Hoodoo Ship" for the number of mishaps that occurred to her. She wrecked in 1886.

Hereford was a 1456-ton iron sailing ship with two decks and one cemented bulkhead which was built in 1869 by J. Elder & Company at Glasgow for the Merchant Shipping Company of London. She was chartered by the New Zealand Shipping Company in the 1870s and made three voyages to Lyttelton, New Zealand with approximately three hundred emigrants each time. The first voyage in 1874 took 87 days, and the second took 80 days, arriving in Lyttelton on 19 January 1878. In 1881, she was stranded on Ingleby Reef near Port Phillip Heads, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and towed off on 12 March 1881 by a tug.

The Moy was a 1,697 ton, iron sailing ship with a length of 257.6 feet (78.5 m), breadth of 38.3 feet (11.7 m) and depth of 23.2 feet (7.1 m). She was built by Russel & Company for the Nourse Line, named after the River Moy in northwest of Ireland and launched in May 1885. She was primarily used for the transportation of Indian indenture labourers to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:

The Nourse Line was a shipping company formed by Captain James Nourse in 1861. After taking delivery of his first ship, the Ganges, in 1861, Nourse went on to build up one of the last great fleets of sailing ships.

The SS Vadala was a 3,334-long-ton (3,388 t) Steamship with a length of 340 feet (100 m), breadth of 43.1 feet (13.1 m), and draught of 26 feet (7.9 m). She was built by William Denny and Company, Dumbarton, for the British-India Steam Navigation Company (B.I.S.N.) in 1890. She had quadruple expansion, 315 nhp, steam engines. She was one of the early B.I.S.N. ships to use telemotor steering gear.

SS Virawa was a 3,334-ton steamship. She was built for the British-India Steam Navigation Company in 1890. She was one of the early B.I.S.N. ships to use telemotor steering gear.

SS Fazilka was a 4,152 GRT steamship with a length of 366 feet (112 m), breadth of 48.2 feet (14.7 m) and draught of 26.5 feet (8.1 m). She was built by William Doxford and Sons for the British-India Steam Navigation Company (B.I.S.N.) in 1890. She had triple expansion, 462 nhp, steam engines with a top speed of 12.5 knots.

SS Ganges was the third Nourse Line ship to be named Ganges. The first Ganges was built in 1861 and wrecked in 1881. The second Ganges was built in 1885 and sold to Norway in 1904. SS Ganges was a 3,475 ton steam ship, built by Charles Connell & Company of Glasgow and launched on 9 March 1906. This ship made seven trips carrying Indian indentured labourers from Calcutta and Madras to Fiji, ten trips to Trinidad and also trips to Surinam as shown in the table.

SS Santhia was a 5,544 GRT steam cargo liner built for the British-India Steam Navigation Company in 1901 by William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton. She was sold to Japan in 1923 and was in service until 1935, when she was scrapped.

Between 1879 and 1916, tens of thousands of Indians moved to Fiji to work as indentured labourers, especially on sugarcane plantations. Repatriation of indentured Indians from Fiji began on 3 May 1892, when the British Peer brought 464 repatriated Indians to Calcutta. Various ships made similar journeys to Calcutta and Madras, concluding with Sirsa's 1951 voyage. In 1955 and 1956, three ships brought Indian labourers from Fiji to Sydney, from where the labourers flew to Bombay.