First British Indian contract workers arrive in Suriname

On 1 July 1863, the Dutch law emancipated enslaved people in Suriname. The National Archives estimates roughly 45,000 people were freed across the Dutch Caribbean that day. In Suriname, adults aged...

On 8 September 1870, the Netherlands and Britain signed an agreement for recruiting workers from British India to Suriname. Its terms described voluntary contracting and return passage after five...

The treaty enabling recruitment of workers from British India was ratified on 10 February 1872, allowing recruitment to proceed. Workers were promised return passage, medical care, and limits on...

On 10 February 1872, the Netherlands ratified its 1870 agreement with Britain governing the emigration of so-called free workers from British India to Suriname. This legal framework made it possible...

The ship Lalla Rookh left Calcutta on 26 February 1873 carrying the first group of British Indian contract workers and their families bound for Suriname. Their migration followed Dutch planning to...

The ship Lalla Rookh reached Suriname on 5 June 1873. The official account states that 410 people departed and 11 died during the voyage; 399 arrived, comprising 279 men, 70 women, 32 boys, and 18...

On 1 July 1873 the state-supervision period ended and formerly enslaved people gained full civil rights under colonial law. During the interval after formal emancipation, adults aged 15–60 were...

The Bengal arrived on 8 July 1873 with the next recorded group of Hindostani contract workers. The colonial immigration registers assigned the arrivals serial contract numbers, connecting people to...

On 25 August 1873, the Yorkshire brought another group of contract workers from British India. The National Archives ship list associates this arrival with hundreds of contract numbers. Read together,...

The Mangalore arrived in Suriname on 8 November 1873 with a further group of Hindostani workers. Their registration numbers became an enduring administrative identity, and records continued to be...