Slaves, Freedmen and Indentured Laborers in Colonial Mauritius

This social and economic history of the island of Mauritius, from French colonization in 1721 to the beginnings of modern political life in the mid-1930s, emphasizes the importance of domestic capital formation, particularly in the sugar industry. Describing changing relationships among different elements in the society, slave, free and maroon, and East Indian indentured populations, it shows how these were conditioned by demographic changes, world markets, and local institutions. It brings the Mauritian case to the attention of scholars engaged in the comparative study of slavery and plantation systems.

In this wide-ranging social and economic history of the island of Mauritius, from French colonization in 1721 to the beginnings of modern political life in the colony in the mid-1930s, Richard Allen brings out the importance of domestic capital formation, particularly in the sugar industry. He describes the changing relationship between different elements in the society - slave, free and maroon, and East Indian indentured populations - and shows how these were conditioned by demographic changes, world markets and local institutions. Based on thorough archival research, and thoroughly attuned to contemporary debates, this 1999 book will bring the Mauritian case to the attention of scholars engaged in the comparative study of slavery and plantation systems.

1. Introduction; 2. Creating a garden of sugar: land, labor and capital, 1721–1936; Part I. Labor and Labor Relations: 3. A state of continual disquietude and hostility: maroonage and slave labor, 1721–1835; 4. Indentured labor and the legacy of maroonage: illegal absence; desertion, and vagrancy, 1835–1900; Part II. Land and the Mobilization of Domestic Capital: 5. Becoming an appropriated people: the rise of the free population of color, 1729–1830; 6. The general desire to possess land: ex-apprentices and the post-emancipation era, 1839–51; 7. The regenerators of agricultural prosperity: Indian immigrants and their descendants, 1834–1936; 8. Conclusion.

This social and economic history of Mauritius, from French colonization in 1721 to the mid-1930s, describes changing relationships between different elements in the society, slave, free and maroon, and East Indian indentured populations. First published in 1999, it brings the Mauritian case to the attention of scholars of slavery and plantation systems.