And now for a bit of East Indian history...
Between 1860-1880 about 7 ships carrying a total of around 2,450 Indians landed on the shores of St. Vincent. The Indians were brought as indentured laborers to work in the sugar industry. Though they were not slaves, they lived under similar conditions. At one point, they staged a peaceful protest by marching from Argyle to Kingstown, only to be rounded up and jailed, as the law did not allow them to wander more than 2 miles from the compound. Ultimately they were to be sent back to India with fully paid passage, but the St. Vincent government did not uphold this part of the bargain. Apparently, the government had already spent 80,000 pounds to get the Indians here, while a previous batch of Portuguese had only cost them 10,000 pounds, so I guess there were second thoughts about plunking out extra funds to send them back. Interestingly, they never got any Chinese because the Chinese were even more expensive. Some of the East Indians remained and have now become completely immersed in society. There are no remnants of Indian festivals or religion that I can see, so maybe "absorbed" is a better word.
This history comes courtesy of Dr. Adams, a retired optometrist and local history buff. I met him at the Cruise Ship Terminal, where I often go for lunch, as long there are no ships in sight. At those times, it is peaceful and quiet and spacious there. Anyway, I love listening to Dr. Adams tell me about the history of St. Vincent (so much more fun than reading it in a book!) and have made it a habit to harass him at least weekly.
No comments:
Post a Comment