Passage from India to El Dorado: Guyana and the Great Migration by David Hollett

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Guyana, the only, English-speaking nation in South America, has a long and fascinating history. In 1832 the planters of this colony were obliged to free one hundred thousand African slaves who worked the plantations on the low-lying coastal strip of Guyana. When freedom came, many refused to remain on the plantations, creating a major labor problem for the landed colonial proprietors, prominent among whom was the Liverpool merchant Sir John Gladstone, father of the great Liberal statesman and social reformer William Ewart Gladstone. At the instigation of William Gladstone, this challenge was met by implementing a controversial plan he had conceived, namely, the recruitment and importation of indentured workers from various places, but primarily from India, then the "jewel in the Crown" of the British Empire. This book is the story of these immigrants, who were transported from one side of the globe to another, almost exclusively in sailing ships. Passage from India to El Dorado will also appeal to those with an interest in shipping history and to many American immigrants of Indian origin. This book is a valuable source for members of the Guyanese-American community seeking to learn more about their heritage. It will also interest Indian people who want to know more about the Indian Diaspora, in itself a legacy of British imperial rule in India, a subject which has hitherto received scant attention from British historians.

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Table of Contents