Arrest of Jumpa Raygaroo sparks confrontation at Alliance

On 24 September 1884, Hindostani laborers at the sugar plantation Zorg en Hoop protested severe tasks and low payments. A confrontation followed after an overseer judged the assigned work incomplete...

On 26 September 1884, colonial forces fired on resisting workers at Zorg en Hoop. Janey Tetary, a Hindostani woman who helped mobilize other women in the resistance, was shot and killed along with six...

On 9 August 1890, the first recorded Javanese contract workers arrived in Paramaribo aboard the Prins Alexander and Prins Willem II. The experiment placed them at Mariënburg, where they joined an...

The steamship Voorwaarts arrived on 16 June 1894 with the second major recorded Javanese cohort in the National Archives ship chronology. Recruitment from Java was still experimental, but it became...

On 28 June 1902, 137 workers at plantation Alliance—100 Hindostani and 37 Javanese—stopped work and went to Frederiksdorp to present grievances. They objected to excessive tasks, low wages, and the...

On 2 July 1902, workers at Mariënburg were in open conflict with management over low pay and demanding work. Earlier disputes included reduced payment per work task and an unresolved demand for higher...

On 27 July 1902, a group of reed cutters refused a work task paid at 15 cents per bed. Management proposed a higher rate for the longest beds, but workers considered the offer inadequate. Their...

On 29 July 1902, Mariënburg director James Mavor was killed during the escalating labor conflict. The uprising followed months of wage reductions, heavy work, and disputes over task rates. Mavor’s...

On 30 July 1902, after arrests following Mavor’s death, workers moved toward the plantation office. Colonial troops opened fire. Seventeen people died immediately and seven more later died of their...

The Dewa arrived on 24 May 1916 with the final recorded group of Hindostani contract workers from British India. More than 34,000 people had arrived under the recruitment system since 1873. The...