Was immigration a new form of slavery

After Emancipation in 1834 and the failure of the apprenticeship system by august 1st 1838 the shortage of available labour, especially in the larger territories of British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad, led to the introduction of indentured labour. A few different schemes were tried, European labor schemes, Madeirans and Maltese (Portuguese) free labor from Africa, and China and India schemes. However, Joseph Beaumont, a one-time Chief Justice of British Guiana, published a pamphlet in England, in 1871 entitled ‘The New Slavery’, because he saw in practice, immigrant labour schemes was slavery under a different name. In the West Indian colonies especially, conditions similar to those of slavery existed, the voyage to the Caribbean compared to another version of the middle passage suffered by the Africans, the contracts were not much different to slave labour, and immigrants were deceived as to the nature of the work and living conditions. Therefore, most immigrants after five years in ‘quasi-slavery’ wanted their freedom. This resulted in various inducements being offered to persuade the immigrants to extend their bond and eventually to stay in the various lands.

Immigrant Labour Schemes Immigrant labour by definition was not slavery because it was entered into voluntarily. The contract gave rights to the immigrant who was paid for his labour. There was a fixed limit to the period of indentureship, and when it was over, the immigrant was free. However , there existed many conditions that were reminiscent of slavery, for example, it was found that immigrants were dec...

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...le that the indentured immigrants’ schemes were little more that of a new form of slavery to cover labour needs that the abolition of slavery created in the west indies and the Americas, the ship voyage, the boarding depot where they were held for up to three weeks, the deception of the contracts, the living and working conditions, the cruelty and abuses, and lack of family lives all were reminiscence of slavery ,so much so that different investigations were launched and in the end it is arguable if immigration labor solved the labor crises ,for in Barbados where there was no immigrant labor importation , sugar production actually increased ,the Indians in the British west indies would deem it a success ( (greenwood, 1991) but detractors concentrated on the social divisions caused in the host territories for example racial and religious segregation.