The Netherlands and Britain ratify the migration agreement

The archive records George Frits Prix, born in 1841 and the son of Louisa, as manumitted on 9 April 1863. J.H. Kruse acted “for freedom,” and the record lists George as a house servant. This...

On 22 May 1863, Jacquelina Henrietta Grave was manumitted from plantation Barbados in Beneden Cottica. Born in 1855, she was eight years old and the daughter of Elisabeth Louisa Grave. J. Bronner...

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...

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...

On 5 June 1873 Lalla Rookh arrived with 399 surviving passengers, including men, women, and children, who were assigned to plantations. Their arrival helped form the Hindostani Surinamese community....

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...