An early trade in Asian labourers is believed to have begun sometime in or around the 16th century. Social and political pressure led to the abolition of the slave trade throughout the
British Empire in 1807, with other European nations following suit. Labour-intensive industries, such as
cotton and
sugar plantations, mines and
railway construction, in the colonies were left without a cheap source of manpower.
[8] As a consequence, a large-scale slavery-like trade in Asian (primarily
Indian and
Chinese) indentured labourers began in the 1820s to fill this vacuum. ...
By the 1820s, many Indians were voluntarily enlisting to go abroad for work, in the hopes of a better life. European merchants and businessmen quickly took advantage of this and began recruiting them for work as a cheap source of labour.
[43][44] The British began shipping Indians to colonies around the world, including
Mauritius,
Fiji,
Natal,
British East Africa, and
British Malaya. The Dutch also shipped workers to labour on the plantations on
Suriname and the
Dutch East Indies. A system of agents was used to infiltrate the rural villages of India and recruit labourers. They would often deceive the credulous workers about the great opportunities that awaited them for their own material betterment abroad. The Indians primarily came from the
Indo-Gangetic Plain, but also from
Tamil Nadu and other areas to the south of the country.
[22]