The Indentured Archipelago

Book excerpt: This book focuses on the spatial experiences of Indian indentured labourers in Mauritius and Fiji and reveals previously unexplored labour movements across the so-called Indentured Archipelago. It offers a historical geographical perspective of the lives of these labourers in Mauritius and Fiji, situating their experiences in the wider context of spatial mobility and subaltern agency. The concept of re-migration - labourers moving between these colonies, and beyond - is explored, and the scale of this facet of indentured life is revealed, in a way which has not been done to date. It brings to the fore a debate on subaltern agency, and role of geography in exploring the lives of these labourers both within and between colonies. The book also brings to light the numerous proposals for the use of Indian indentured labour across the globe, highlighting the centrality of Indian indenture to the post-abolition labour discourse.