Coolies: The Empire's Indentured Indians
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- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- After the British Empire abolished slavery in its colonies in 1833, it created a system of indentured servitude, drawing labourers from India across the seas to work on sugar plantations. This video is about the story of these labourers, known as coolies.
MUSIC
Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.fi...
License: filmmusic.io/s...
Empire of Light by Siddhartha Corsus
creativecommon...
Ta-da! by Siddhartha Corsus
creativecommon...
SOURCES
Gaiutra Bahadur, COOLIE WOMAN (2014)
Walton Look-Lai, INDENTURED LABOR, CARIBBEAN SUGAR (1993)
Ashutosh Kumar, COOLIES OF THE EMPIRE (2017)
“Becoming Coolies” www.coolitude....
Wow! It is facinating how most of us are now learning and making the connection to words and habits that we grew up with but never knew much about...Coolie was/is commonly used in Jamaica but not in a negative way...Thanks for this breakdown...One❤
I'm from Trinidad. My heritage is African and Indian. The plantations were wicked to people both slaves and indentured labourers. The difference is that Indians were lucky to be able to own some of the land
I know they had to buy it
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule
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I wish modern day americans would watch this and understand that their empire was also built on slavery, the toil of other peoples. We are all immigrants of one kind or another in this world, our life spans are just the blink of an eye on a cosmic scale and yet greed rules! We come empty handed into this world and we leave it the same way so why all the strife? Here is a superb quote “ Globalisation had created deregulated commerce and unleashed limitless greed, which was leading to economies of ecocide and genocide. Electoral democracy financed by billionaires and corporations had transformed democracy from being of the people, for the people, by the people into a political system run of the corporations, for the corporations, by the corporations. And by creating scarcity and competition, it had created culture wars (Dr Vandana Shiva, eco activist) - definition of Trumpism! Well done for your effort to show some forgotten history.
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule
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Really good video. Exactly what I was looking for on the topic of indentured laborers from the British Raj. Liked and subscribed
Thanks a lot, I'm glad you liked the video - and thank you for subscribing! My channel has been quiet for a while but with the new year I'll be making more videos! Happy new year to you.
the Dutch also brought Indian laborers to Suriname, in South-America. In 1873, the first ship, Lalla Rookh, arrived. About 34000 Indians came that way to Suriname. When Amitabh Bachan visited the Netherlands in the 70s/early 80s, he was surprised to see a small India in the Netherlands. He didn't know this community existed. Unlike the Indians in Guyana, the Surinamese Indians kept their language (Bhojpuri and Awadhi and Hindi), and also their culture and religion.
Yes ,Jai Hind!
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...IMPORTANT VIDEO
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I am Guyanese one side ofmy g/p was abducted by d British...2 guyana ...we want justices from british
There is also a film called Suriname 1834.
Which tells the history of all the Coolies that came over.
@Huzaipha1 there is actual documentation in London that says Indians were kidnapped between 1812 and 1816 way before the Indian indenturship and were sent to Mauritius 🇲🇺
I didn't realise they did the same thing in Guyana.
So glad to see this ! Love to see and hear more !
"Me ; a coolie 'baie'."
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...IMPORTANT VIDEO
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great work Sanj
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...IMPORTANT VIDEO
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I'm studying my hertiage and this is my Grandmothers cultural history her family was indentured to Jamaica my father's Mother. It's really sad like my mother's and grand father on my Dad side African history both were slaves.😢😢😢 It rolled over to my father who came to America on the same kind of visa farm work on a sugar cane field in the Everglades of Florida.
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule
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My mom's is black and pops is cooley from svg
You’re really allowing people to use that word in the comments? Why are you even using it? A lot of us aren’t even okay with it!!
Hi - thank you for your comment and sorry for the late reply. I have seen a lot of people (including descendants of indentured people who have published on the topic) reclaim the word as a badge of honour rather than a pejorative, but it was only after making this video that I realised how a lot of people still strongly feel it is offensive, and its sting cannot be easily taken away.
Interesting videos… Guyanese don’t find the word offensive… it’s just a phrase to identify our heritage… Guyanese are very proud of their ancestors for their endurance during British imperialism… however we don’t hate the British…Guyanese are very tolerant and inter marry across race and religion… don’t feel sorry for us. We are very proud to be Guyanese.
Hmmmm we don't feel offended 2 b clal coleeeee in guyana then why ...d amerianadian""" and d African get offended when they cal d local name ....like buck and n.........
The very first Coolies were shipped to Mauritius 🇲🇺 as an experiment.
As it worked, they were then shipped to Guyana 🇬🇾 and the rest of the Caribbean.
Indians were also taken from Mauritius on the way to the Caribbean, too.
I'm so happy my ancestors got on that ship....
I hope I see more content... I'm born and raised in NY my parents are both Indo-Guyanese it's only recently that I have realized that INDENTURED servants was just another reinvented name for slavery and it has shattered a huge part of my world bc for so long that's what I believed... I'm now finding out the horrors my forefathers indured and the lies that were told and we believed. I have tried to look for my family I've obtained my great great great grandmother and grandfather's contracts as well as their death certificates and wills but I have not been able to find out what village I am from in India a lot of information has been displaced or destroyed. It brings this taunting gloom to me that I can't even trace it back and it hurts knowing that a lot of it has slipped away from us but I'm trying to turn my helplessness into a drive to educate my people. NY has a HUGE coolie community and that's where I'm going to start. Thank you for doing this... I don't know you but may God keep you safe and help you to continue this
Thank you for watching and for sharing your story. Good luck with your search for information and your plan to share what you're learning with the people around you.
How did u start .....I also want 2 know my family in India
Trust the british to entrap and enslave poor, ignorant,illiterate and gullible indians,promising the earth and delivering hell..The fact that most of the indentured laborers contract had a thumb impression and not a signature almost immediately gives the game away as a massive con job.These poor ignorant and trusting people were brutalised and treated as slaves, never to see their friends, family or country again..The criminal behavior and mindset of the british never ceases to amaze the world ,they now spout human rights and human dignity to the entire world What absolute humbugs and charlatans they turned out to be
Well done, Sanj! Quite interesting. I never knew or even heard of coolies before your wonderful script came along.
When I was young, living in Jamaica, we used to tease each other by calling out Nigga and Coolie. We did not even know about racism. Now that I am older and living in the USA, I realize that those words are much deeper than childish play. Knowledge is truly increasing. Hope this world will become a more peaceful place for all people.
3:04 Famines manufactured by the British
Thank you so much.
Hi.Coolies in India are railway porters.
Yes in South Africa during the apartheid we were called coolies.I didn't know all Indians in the diaspora were called coolies. Came here to plant sugarcane.
Take care lots of love from South Africa.
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...IMPORTANT VIDEO
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Yes we in guyana r call cooleeeee
What an interesting video - I had thought that the term simply meant "an Asian labourer" till I watched this. The distinction between slavery and indentured labour seems to be a subtle one, but from this video I´ve formed the view that the chief difference seems to be the fact that a period of indentured service had a defined length - otherwise, the plantation owner still felt entitled to employ violence and to generally abuse the workers.
IMPORTANT VIDEO -- Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...
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We're Here 🇬🇾 Because They 🇬🇧Were There 🇮🇳
IMPORTANT VIDEO -- Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...
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Coolies are people working in railway stations in India picking up luggage.
IMPORTANT VIDEO -- Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...
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Bravo!!!
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...IMPORTANT VIDEO
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We were playing when we called the straight hair Jamaicans "Coolie" and the wooly-haired Jamaicans " Nigga". These terminology was past down from the adults to children who did not suspect the cruelty of calling each other those byword. Let us start using loving words towards each other.
Coolie ppl were betrayed by they own ppl who lied to them n rounded them up n helped load them up on big boat to cross Kala pani.
Thanks so much for this video Sanj! Where can I see more of your screenplay?
Thanks for watching, Rubin! I'm working on turning it into an animated series. Will post updates on this channel!
The topic that you're discussing is known as 'Trans Indian-Ocean Slave trade', and you lost your legitimacy by delivering "Caste" divide in between and trying to fit the Christian narration of "Caste" system, even the word "Caste" is not a Sanskrit word, the Portuguese/Spanish/English colonizers had a caste hierarchy by birth and ethnicity, "Hinduism" or formerly known as Sanatana Dharma mentions 'Varna' social occupation system in its scriptures, and which is also not pre-decided by birth, as people grow and mature, the Gurus identify their talent, interests and accordingly and give them the social position. Also, the life of a Brahmin was not easy at that time either, there were many harsh restrictions specifically placed for brahmins/Gurus too, there are many such examples where a so-called "lower class" became "upper class" or Guru upon merit.
Thank you if you are reading this, and please don't judge Dharmic (Indian) Faiths with your abrahamised lense. 🙏
Agreed - these are fair points. From the reading I did on the experience of indentured Indians, it sounds like caste had taken on a rigid form under British rule. So I agree the consequences were not intrinsic to the dharmic faith, but it seemed to play a role of social hierarchy under the colonial administration.
The original name 'Coolie' emanates from days of the British armed invasion of Asian. Asian persons were forced to sit outside an occupied cabin for the purpose of operating the cabin's cooling flap, via a length of string. This method of cooling can be seen in many TV sitcoms/movies..... ☀☀☀
slavery went from black to brown
Coolies very offensive and should NOT be used today. It's the name used to insult Indians by the British. Shame on you for being so disrespectful.
Hi. In the video I address this question. The word originally was a South Indian term for wage labourer. Although it absolutely has been used in insulting ways because the indenture system under the British was so unjust disempowering (although I am not familiar with it being a general insulting term for all Indians under the British - whereas I do know that it is sometimes used this way today in Caribbean countries), more recently the descendants of indentured Indians have reclaimed the term and given it a more empowered meaning - that it reflects the resilient pioneering spirit of those Indians who went abroad, endured hardship and injustice but forged lives and communities through it all. I certainly mean no disrespect here.
@@inclusivemagic it is offensive/derogatory. It seems some Guyanese people are more ok with the term but I'm Indo Trinidadian and it is just as offensive as the n word... so each time you said it, some of us cringe. It is not acceptable. *cringe* and although it is not your intention, the impact is there and I urge you to acknowledge that. I couldn't even finish watching this.
@@ArianneLane Thank you for this comment and for educating me about how it remains hugely offensive for many people even if others have sought to reclaim it. I will try address this in some way as you suggest.
Hey, My family is Indian from Fiji, I'm not so sure why, but the word 'Coolie' isn't popular with them, in fact for them coolie would mean the bag porter seen in bus stations or train stations. Regardless, I liked our video and would encourage you to visit Fiji sometime soon. Unlike the other British Colonies, in Fiji the caste system is very slightly present and there is a huge divide in the muslim and hindu folk though they do come together as they are severely oppressed by the government there which is quite blatantly racist towards non-Fijians. Which is why I'd say visit 'soon'! Over the past few decades the Indian majority Fiji has become a minority as they are moving abroad for better lifestyles. Moreover, unlike the other colonies, Fiji is a bit more i'd say "India oriented" as the schools there still teach Hindi and Urdu and to a lesser extent South Indian languages and the folk there tend to be quite religious in thier respective religions. The people also speak 'Fiji-Hindi/Hindustani' which is a merger of various North Indian languages and they do vary slightly when traveling to the two main islands and the cities within them. I really appreciate your video!
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule
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@Siddhartha dash Sid watch the above recommended video. I am unable to understand your Question
Oh wow that’s the name that’s still used in Jamaica today to describe people of Indian descent
It is as derogatory as using the n word
@@shivahari5916 yeah that’s true but Afro Jamaicans don’t care about that.
@@shivahari5916I think people in Jamaica are starting to see it as derogatory my father is Indian and African from Jamaica and calls himself that I don’t know that a lot of people agree it’s as offensive as the n word
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... Am I the only one who noticed the colour change of his shirt? wtf?
LOL that was a bit of fun. Thank you for noticing.
🇹🇹
coolie pride
I'm trying to find out what ship my 3x great grandparents Samuel Erskine and Julian Escoe came on when they arrived in the Caribbean in the 1860s. I don't know what their original names were before being baptized or where in India they came from still
1:38 Let’s get it straight! Everyone in the world had terrible working conditions.
5:45 You think the English weren’t under these same conditions?
@@HerbsActuallyWork that's a fair point. This is the era of Victorian workhouses and the grotesque Poor Laws. I'm not denying that. But the story of these indentured Indians is not well known, and what's unique is that they went (often being bamboozled into going) to the other side of the world, away from everything and everyone they knew.
Thank you so much for this. Really appreciate this to be reminded of my past. Is there a reason why you did not include the Tamil coolies who went to Malaya to work in the rubber plantations?
Thanks for watching. The answer to your question is, I didn't actually know about the Tamil coolies in Malaya. I learned about coolies only a couple of years ago, and did a fair amount of research while writing a script, but it was far from exhaustive and focused on sugar plantations. So thanks for bringing this to my attention - I'm interested to go and read about Malaya.
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule
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Dr.Krishnan .So true about coming muti bandkar, hath pasare duniya chor jate hai. They used our forefathers as slaves.Literally .They slogged.Up until now we are minority in population. So still get pushed around. Kya kare lekin our children are doing well. I'm old now ,kuch hi din baki hai.
South Africa.
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...IMPORTANT VIDEO
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Raspberries 😂😂
Curry flavoured labourers
We're thatfoolish name come from cooleeeee.....yet ppl in India fetching ppl baggage r cal colleeeee.
a coolie is one who lift goods on his head . all asians were coolies---japanese, chinese, burmese, thai , vietnamese, cambodians, laotians, taiwanese, indian, afghan, nepalese, tibetans, sikkimese, bhutanese etc. africans were also coolies as can be seen in tarzan movies
lies ok my family got 40 hectare ground after 5 yeear ok
It Depends. I am Indo-Guyanese. If Indo Guyanese people use the term its not racist. But if another race uses the term, I find it to be offensive.
Thank you so much.
Slavery and Indenture of Indians During the British Rule ...IMPORTANT VIDEO
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