The Mauritius abolition of slavery is celebrated
on every 1 st February; there is even a commemorative stamp for this event. The
slavery has been present in Mauritius once with the colonisation of the island.
The slaves were brought from Madagascar and from the East Indies by the Dutch
settlers, in order to help the island’s development. And before the Mauritius
abolition of slavery, the slaves indeed helped the development of the
agriculture and infrastructure I the 17 th and the 18 th century. In 1715, the
island got into the France’s possession and the French East India Company became
the island’s administrator. They brought slaves from the Africa’s West Coast and
in 1765 the slave trade was developed by the French colonists who imported
slaves from the African East Coast. The Port Louis
construction was possible with the help of the slaves during the time of the
governor de La Bourdonnais, who also brought skilled labourers from India. The
development of the slave trade from the 18 th century has to suffer because of
the Britain reformers. In 1787, was
instituted an abolition society, in England and this was the beginning of the
Mauritius abolition of slavery. In 1892, the British
Prime Minister William Pitt, had to table a motion for the gradual slavery
abolition, as result of many oppositions against the slaves trade.
If in 1807,
the slaves shipping to the British colonies ended, being forbidden, on year
later the prohibition of slavery was a fact.
In 1810, the island was taken over by the British and the
slave trade was already illegal. Still, the complete abolition of the slavery
took place in February 1835, after the Emancipation Bill from July 1833. The
Mauritius abolition of slavery negatively influenced the Mauritius’ development.
The manpower for plantations and
constructions were found in other places. Indian convicts
were brought to work in constructions, in 1816, by the
governor Farquhar.
Other Indian labourers were brought in
1829 to help the sugar industry’s development, by the
planters of Mauritius.
The government and the Indian
labourers’ emigration set up administrative procedures, by
1833. In 1834, on August 1 st, the first important Indian
labourers’ inflow came in Mauritius, with contract.
Since the number of the malpractices was big, the Indian
immigrants’ interests had to be protected by an order in council, issued in
1841. This offered protection to the immigrants that came in Mauritius and also
for the Emigration Agents appointment in India.
The Indian labour importation to Mauritius hadn’t a
continuation in 1909, as the result of the Secretary of
State for Colonies recommendation to give reports about the
emigration general question.
The Mauritius abolition of slavery is commemorated on a
stamp symbolising the hope produced in the Mauritian people
with Indian and African origins through the slavery
abolition and the indentured labour’s termination. The two
images come from servitude’s darkness to the freedom’s
light.
The climbing steps are a
symbol of the difficulties existing before this success.
© Copyrights for all pictures on
this site, it is and remains the property of
www.travelmauritius.info
©
2005 - 2011 www.travelmauritius.info | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
