Between 1836 and 1917, around half a million men, women and children from Africa, India, Europe, North America, China were sent to the British Caribbean to labour, mainly under indenture, on plantations previously worked by enslaved Africans. Students will interrogate whether indentureship was a 'new form of slavery' by identifying the various indentured immigration schemes enacted throughout the region; examining their forced and voluntary journeys, their contractual obligations and living conditions; and assess their cultural impact within the region. Through a critical analysis of primary and secondary sources as well as film, students will also explore intersectional and global approaches to Caribbean history.

1x2 hr seminars per week over 10 weeks.  

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Historiographical Essay (3,000 words): 60%

■ Oral presentation (10 minutes): 30%

■ Seminar contribution: 10%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the essay, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

■ Recorded presentation; a written script of equivalent length; a PowerPoint with substantial notes; or a one-to-one presentation as alternative to oral presentation.

■ Written responses to seminar material in advance or after seminar or they can write a self-evaluation reflecting on seminar contribution as alternative to seminar contribution.

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ Engage with the historiographical debates concerning free and unfree labour in the post-slavery Caribbean;

■ Develop a critical understanding of the backgrounds, experiences and cultural practices of indentured labourers;

■ Enhance skills in analysing, synthesizing and evaluating primary documents and secondary materials and effective communication of findings in oral and written forms.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Assess the economic, social and cultural legacies of indentured labour in the British-held Caribbean;

2. Recognise the various ways bonded peoples sought freedom in the post-slavery Caribbean;

3. Examine how the Caribbean was invented through Orientalist and Africanist discourse;

4. Illustrate the significance of circum-Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and global approaches to the study of the past;

5. Explain how gender, race, sexuality, nationality, and class hierarchies informed the Caribbean space;

6. Engage with the varied historiographical approaches and debates on indentured labour; critically analyse primary documents and relate to key readings; and demonstrate accurate and verifiable referencing.