1879 TO 1916

Recruitment and the agreement

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What we know

  • “Girmit” comes from “agreement”, the contract the labourers signed; those who came are called Girmitiya.
  • Most were recruited in northern India and sailed from the emigration depot at Garden Reach, Calcutta; from 1903 ships also left from Madras in the south.
  • The contract was for five years; after ten years in Fiji a labourer could claim a free passage home.
  • About 60,000 Indians came to Fiji under indenture between 1879 and 1916.

The story

Girmit was an adaptation of the English word agreement. Contracts generally required five years of indentured service. The promise of work could lead recruits far from home, while many had an incomplete or misleading understanding of the destination and conditions.

More than 60,000 migrants arrived under indenture between 1879 and 1916. The existence of a signed document did not make the relationship equal: colonial rules and employers constrained workers’ freedom. Rights to return passage also depended on conditions, not simply the end of the first contract.

Words in this chapter

girmit and Girmitiya — this chapter is where the museum explains this word. See the whole glossary →

Pictures in this chapter

Sources

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