Remembering the struggles of our ancestors

ON May 5 every year, all Guyanese celebrate Arrival Day. This day has been set aside to celebrate the arrivals of our indentured ancestors to British Guiana.

On May 3, 1835, the first set of Portuguese arrived in British Guiana on the ship “Louisa Baillie”. It is estimated that about 32,216 Portuguese were brought into British Guiana between 1835 and 1890 (i). The scheme was suspended because of high mortality among the Portuguese.
On May 5, 1838, the first set of Indian Indentured Immigrants arrived in British Guiana. However, this trade in Indian Indentured Immigrants was suspended on July 11, 1838 when the governments of Bengal, Madras and Bombay withheld permission for ships to depart with emigrants. A law, Act XVI, followed this on May 29, 1839, which prohibited overseas emigration for manual labour. This ban was subsequently lifted, and the ship,

“Lord Hungerford”, left Calcutta on January 29, 1845 with the first batch of emigrants for British Guiana. It was then continued from 1845 to 1917, and over this period, it is estimated that 238,909 East Indians came to British Guiana.
During the suspension of the “Coolie Trade”, alternative sources of labour was sought. From 1840 to 1841, the Voluntary Subscription Society imported about 2,900 African indentured workers from Barbados and other islands in the West Indies. During the period 1840 to 1847, about 6,718 Indentured Africans came from the West Coast of Africa, which number eventually grew to about 14,060 persons in subsequent years.

Attempts were also made to recruit Africans from the Southern United States (ii); it is estimated that through this scheme, about 70 Americans came to these shores.
With labour shortage on the plantations, the planters started to import Chinese indentured immigrants. The first set of Chinese indentured immigrants arrived on the ship, “Glentanner” on January 12, 1853. During the period of Chinese immigration, it is estimated that about 13,533 Chinese came to British Guiana.
As slavery came to an official end, many felt that the British instituted a new form of slavery by introducing indentureship. East Indian immigrants were targetted for this new system. In fact, the first batch of Indian immigrants were sent to Reunion as early as January 18, 1826. Eventually, for the next 100 years, about 1,194,957 Indians were relocated to 19 colonies around the world.
It is estimated that 429,623 came to the Caribbean between 1838 and 1918. Of this number, 238,909 came to British Guiana; 66,140 were later repatriated to India.
Indentureship established a system of control over the lives of the immigrants. As Mangru is quoted as saying, “it was geared to primarily stabilise the workforce and to reduce indentured workers to a state of utter helplessness and overwhelming dependence on estate management.” (iii)
Plantation life for immigrants was harsh. Immigrants entering the colony were immediately put to work without any period of acclimatisation. The planters felt the need to immediately exploit the immigrants because they wanted to get the most out of the five-year contract. This greed unfortunately led to high rates of morbidity and mortality among the indentured immigrants.
The indentured immigrant on the plantation was entitled to pay. On average, they were supposed to receive approximately 5s per week. Unfortunately, very few of these immigrants were able to get their full pay. This was because the planters used various ploys to underpay them. One favourite ploy was to give the immigrant task work; however, the task to be completed was so much, that the indentured immigrant would fail to complete it. When this ultimately happened, he would not be paid for that day, on the basis that he did not complete the assigned task. Some diligent workers, in a bid to save that day’s pay, worked for 15 and more hours to complete the task.
But even when they did complete their task, on some plantations they practised a system of deferred payment. This meant that the planters would withhold the immigrant’s pay for months without paying them. In some extreme cases, pay was withheld for as much as a year.
Another ploy that was employed by the planters was to deduct pay for work stoppage. The sole arbitrator of what is a work stoppage is the planter or his overseer. So, based on their assessment of work stoppages, they would deduct pay. It was common for two days work that a worker would receive one day’s pay, with the planter claiming that the deductions were due to work stoppages. The British Guiana Commission of 1871 found that a gang of men had their pay stopped for three months to repay for a fork.
The “Double Cut” was another ploy used to exploit the workers. The logic of this system was to prevent absenteeism of the workers. So if you were absent one day, the planters would deduct two days pay from you. By this system, if you were hospitalised, you can end up owing the planter by the end of the month for not showing up at work.
Indentured immigrants were also severely punished, with offences ranging from coming late to work, refusing to carry out orders, to insolence or for leaving the plantation without permission. In some cases, just as during slavery, the immigrant was flogged and placed in the stocks. In other cases, monetary fines were imposed, and failure to pay resulted in various jail terms. So, for example, if an indentured immigrant is absent from work or refuses to work, a fine $10 or one month in jail was imposed.
Absence from the plantation for three days saw the imposition of a fine of $24 or two months in prison. And if an immigrant refused to produce documents of identification, a fine of $5 or 14 days jail was imposed. The ease with which large amounts of indentured immigrants were jailed turned a large portion of the indentured population into criminals. For example, in 1874, with an indentured population of 34,360, there were 10,336 convictions (30.1% of the population) and 874 desertions (2.6% of the population) from the estates.
These harsh conditions of labour, in addition to the oppressive social conditions in which they lived, caused the Indian Indentured Immigrants to start fighting back against this system. During the period of Indenturedship, there were a number of revolts against the system; most notably, in July 1869 at Leonora, 40 indentured workers overtly protested against low wages and poor working conditions. This protest was followed in 1870 by similar protests at Plantations Hague, Uitvlugt, Mon Repos, Non Pariel, Zeelugt, and Vergenoegen.
In October 1872, Indentured immigrants protested at Plantation Devonshire Castle on the Essequibo Coast. During the protest, the colonial police shot and killed five indentured immigrants, namely, Maxidally, Beccaroo, Kaulica, Baldeo and Auckloo.
In 1903, when indentured workers at Plantation Friends, in Berbice, protested over poor wages, again the colonial police opened fire, killing Dowlat, Nisar Ahmad, Rami, Lachwan, Harpal, and Ramsahai, and wounding seven others.
In 1913, at Plantation Rose Hall in Berbice, another tragic incident took place, when the colonial police killed Bholay, Badri, Hulas, Motey Khan, Sohan, Sarjoo, Sadulla, Jugai, Gafur, Juggoo, Roopan, Durga, Lalji, Nibur and Gobindei. Gobindei was the first woman to be killed in these clashes of immigrants against colonial authorities. This latter incident was to help bring international attention to this despicable system, and was used by many advocates to show the cruelty of the system. Their efforts succeeded in bringing an end to the indentureship in the 1917.
However, while the system officially came to an end, conditions of the workers on these estates did not improve significantly. Another major clash between workers and colonial authority occurred on April 3, 1924 at Ruimveldt, in Georgetown. During this protest, colonial police killed 13 persons, namely James Green, Agaday, Gangaya, Ramharak, Jasodra, George Somra, Badri, Boodnie, Gobin, Umrai, Baput, Beeput, Rampaul and Ori.
Unrest on the plantations continued. On June 16, 1948 at Enmore, colonial police again killed five sugar workers. According to Dr Jagan, “Thirty-year-old Lalla Bagi was shot in the back; nineteen-year-old Pooran had a bullet through his leg, and a gaping three-inch wound above his pelvis; Rambrarran died from two bullet wounds in his leg; Dookhie died in hospital the same day; Harry died the next day from spinal injury. This whole sordid and tragic episode could have been avoided. But the plantocracy was contemptuous of the workers, whose lives were regarded as expendable.” (iv)
Dr. Jagan went on to say, “…the Enmore tragedy affected me greatly. I was personally acquainted with all the young men killed and injured. The funeral procession, which was led by my wife, other leaders and myself to the city,16 miles away, became a tremendous mass protest demonstration. At the graveside, the emotional outbursts of the widows and relatives of the deceased had been intensely distressing, and I could, with difficulty, restrain my tears. There was no turning back. There and then I made a silent pledge; I would dedicate my entire life to the cause of the struggle of the Guyanese people against bondage and exploitation.” (v)
Dr. Jagan made good on that promise, with the formation of the People’s Progressive Party, and mobilising the Guyanese people to fight for independence against Great Britain. And even when he was cheated out of government, he continued the fight for democracy, and to end the PNC dictatorship. Eventually, he prevailed, with the return of democracy on October 5, 1992.
As we look back across time, we have come a far way as a nation, because of the sacrifices and resistance of our ancestors, men and women who died fighting for a better life in Guyana. We must not squander their contributions; we must be inspired to defend the freedoms that we have, to sustain the rights that we have gained, and to work to open up new opportunities for all our people.
Happy Arrival Day to all Guyanese!

SOURCES:
i A History of East Indian Resistance on Guyana sugar Estates 1869 to 1948 by Basdeo Mangru. Page 28.
ii Inducements to the Colored People of the United States to Emigrate to British Guiana. Compiled from Statements and Documents furnished by Mr. Edward Carbery, Agent of the “Immigration Society of British Guiana,” and a Proprietor in that Colony. 1840.
iii A History of East Indian Resistance on Guyana Sugar Estates 1869 to 1948 by Basdeo Mangru. Page 66.
iv The West on Trial- My Fight for Guyana’s Freedom – Cheddi Jagan. Page 90.
v The West on Trial- My Fight for Guyana’s Freedom – Cheddi Jagan. Page 98.

(By Dr. Frank Anthony)