In 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars, Mauritius passed to British hands , as confirmed in the Treaty of Paris, at a time when the British Empire was expanding its influence in the Indian Ocean region. British commercial interest led to the rise in the production of sugar, which became the most valuable commodity in European trade beginning in the mid-18th century throughout the empire in general, leading to the development of infrastructure for Port Louis as a free port in particular. 320px|Activities during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 mostly took place in the northern part of India. The abolition of slavery in European colonies in 1834, however, posed a problem for sugar plantations as their operations were highly dependent on slave labour.World history: a new perspective. 2000, p. 353. There was a demand for cheaper intensive labour, as the now emancipated slaves were negotiating for higher wages and better living conditions. As a result, the government of the British Empire conceived of a plan to replace the former enslaved Africans with labourers from other parts of the world. The first wave of new plantation workers were labourers from the Portuguese island of Madeira, freed African slaves from America and impoverished Chinese seeking greener pasture . Even though the ethnicity of the plantation workers had changed, the poor working conditions and low living standards remained. These labourers, in the end, could not withstand the manioc root and subsistence cultivation. At the time, India had been experiencing a depressed economy. This was further aggravated by the Indian Rebellion of 1857 which devastated the northern part of the subcontinent. The hard-working but indigent Indians seemed suited to agricultural labour to the British , able to work hard for low wages, providing a potentially massive source of cheap labour. The 'Great Experiment', as the indentured program came to be known, called for these prospective labourers, under a contract labour scheme, to be transported to plantations across the empire to supply the necessary agricultural manpower. This was a system whereby the prospective labourers agreed to work for a determined period of time in return for their cost of passage, basic accommodation and a small wage. Mauritius's sugar industry thumb | 220x124px | right | Modern painting by Mauritian artist Raouf Oderuth, portraying the first Indian labourers seeing the island from a ship in 1834 Mauritius's local sugar plantations,  devastated by the emancipation of the slaves, were given a new lifeline with the establishment of the Immigration Depot. The high number of indentured labourers passing through the facility, to be transported to the various territories of the British Empire, proved to be an endless supply stream of cheap labour. In the period of 1834–60, 290,000 Indian labourers arrived. The global system of indentured laborers 250px|A gathering of Indian coolies in a plantation in Trinidad and Tobago. 250px|Newly arrived Indian labourers in the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Mauritius was not the pioneering site for the use of indentured labour. In the 17th century, substantial numbers of indentured servants, of European origin, arrived in America, in what were then the British Thirteen Colonies. By the 18th century, it has been estimated that over half of the population of white immigrants in the English colonies of North America may have been indentured servants. However, the scale of the system that was put into operation in Mauritius was unprecedented. It immediately spread throughout the colonies of the British Empire, and was imitated by other European powers, while the Indian labor force was also employed beyond the sugarcane fields, in such workplaces as mines and even railways.
In 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars, Mauritius passed to British control , as confirmed in the Treaty of Paris, at a time when the British Empire was expanding its influence in the Indian Ocean region. British commercial interest led to the rise in the production of sugar, which became the most valuable commodity in European trade beginning in the mid-18th century throughout the empire in general, leading to the development of infrastructure for Port Louis as a free port in particular. 320px|Activities during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 mostly took place in the northern part of India. The abolition of slavery in European colonies in 1834, however, posed a problem for sugar plantations as their operations were highly dependent on slave labour.World history: a new perspective. 2000, p. 353. There was a demand for cheaper intensive labour, as the now emancipated slaves were negotiating for higher wages and better living conditions. As a result, the British government conceived of a plan to replace the emancipated Africans with labourers from other parts of the world. The first wave of new plantation workers were labourers from the Portuguese island of Madeira, freed African-Americans from the U.S. and impoverished Chinese seeking greener pastures . Even though the ethnicity of the plantation workers had changed, the poor working conditions and low living standards remained. These labourers, in the end, could not withstand the manioc root and subsistence cultivation. At the time, India had been experiencing a depressed economy. This was further aggravated by the Indian Rebellion of 1857 which devastated the northern part of the subcontinent. The hard-working but indigent Indians seemed suited to agricultural labour on the plantations , able to work hard for low wages, providing a potentially massive source of cheap labour. The 'Great Experiment', as the indentured program came to be known, called for these prospective labourers, under a contract labour scheme, to be transported to plantations across the empire to supply the necessary agricultural manpower. This was a system whereby the prospective labourers agreed to work for a determined period of time in return for their cost of passage, basic accommodation and a small wage. Mauritius's sugar industry thumb | 220x124px | right | Modern painting by Mauritian artist Raouf Oderuth, portraying the first Indian labourers seeing the island from a ship in 1834 Mauritius's local sugar plantations, economically devastated by the emancipation of the slaves, were given a new lifeline with the establishment of the Immigration Depot. The high number of indentured labourers passing through the facility, to be transported to the various territories of the British Empire, proved to be an endless supply stream of cheap labour. In the period of 1834–60, 290,000 Indian labourers arrived. The global system of indentured laborers 250px|A gathering of Indian coolies in a plantation in Trinidad and Tobago. 250px|Newly arrived Indian labourers in the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Mauritius was not the pioneering site for the use of indentured labour. In the 17th century, substantial numbers of indentured servants, of European origin, arrived in America, in what were then the Thirteen Colonies. By the 18th century, it has been estimated that over half of the population of white immigrants in the British colonies of North America may have been indentured servants. However, the scale of the system that was put into operation in Mauritius was unprecedented. It immediately spread throughout the colonies of the British Empire, and was imitated by other European powers, while the Indian labor force was also employed beyond the sugarcane fields, in such workplaces as mines and even railways.
R
hands
control
R
government of the British Empire
British government
R
former enslaved
emancipated
R
African slaves from America
African-Americans from the U.S.
R
pasture
pastures
R
to the British
on the plantations
A
economically
D
British
R
English
British