Another exceptional documentary from the BBC. The documentary follows the recruitment of Collies (Indians) from Calcutta India to the Caribbean (Guyana and Fiji) and then to South Africa. Slavery was officially abolished, yet the Empire where the sun never sets found a way to work around the horrors of Slavery with another shameful practice, Indentured Servants. Over a million Indians were taken from their homes and spread across the British Empire to work on the sugar plantations. There are highlights of Gandhi and the work he began in South Africa as a young lawyer. The documentary also include and interview with Gandhi’s great grand daughter, Dhupelia Mesthrie and David Dabydeen whose grandfather was recruited to work on the plantations.
Rick Razack
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Rick, does the word “Coolie” refers to Indians and Africans?Or is it a slur to insult Indians only?
Hi Nina,
I think the word generally refers to Indians, Asians, and people of the Far East. It is referring to unskilled Indian labors who were taken from India to Africa and the West Indies to continue the work of the slaves after slavery was seen as inhumane.
Did you like the documentary?
Love the documentary.However at some point Mr, Dabydeen lenghty speech was getting boring cause i was intrested to see what was happening in the fields with the labourers and their struggles.
Unfortunately i never met my grandparents but stories told that they were from India.Sad how easily one can forget!
Rick i’ve read that the term ‘coolie’ means ‘slave’. Also that they have had Chinese and Africans coolie also,not just Indians/Asians.
expected more … actually I should say I would have liked to see more of what these “coolies” had to go through for all those years. But it was interesting to visit this almost forgotten journey. Seeing this has actually opened my eyes and made me more aware of what my grand parents and great grand parents had to go through to make a better life for themselves and I guess their families. The British was very cleaver though in the way they went about the new way to trade slaves, and this only worked out because they took people who barely if at all didn’t understand English from the poorest villages in India, but you know what look at how far we have come.
Hi Nina, i haven’t come across the word Coolie meaning slave, but it is possible. The word refers to a wide range of people the British Empire found useful, yet beneath their compassionate standard. As SoFlyG35 says, the British Empire is very clever, a clever monarch at exploiting the dreams of the poor. Exploiting the poor is common in any class system, but to exploit it so frequently and to such heights makes it a British trait, it is one of the Empire’s devilish feature.
Rick,is it possible for you or the baiganchoka team to air the Guyana 1838 movie? I went several places but its to no avail.Its suprising that thousands of Guyanese havent seen the movie yet.Please help.Thank You
Reader, I will check it out, that would be a nice addition to the blog.