British Indo-Caribbean people are residents of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
who were born in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and whose ancestors are indigenous to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The UK has a large population of Indo-Caribbean people.
Background
Indian people were first introduced to the Caribbean as
indentured laborers by the British government beginning in the 1830s after the abolition of slavery and when cheap labour was needed. The majority settled in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
,
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
, and
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
. There are smaller but well established population in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and other
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
countries. The Indian communities in these countries have now become extremely well established and currently have a very successful diaspora. With the strong links between the Caribbean and the UK, as well as the large
Indian community in the UK, it has proven a popular destination for Indo-Caribbean emigrants. In 1990, between 22,800 and 30,400 Indo-Caribbean people were estimated to be living in the UK.
Sub-groups
Indo-Guyanese
Notable Britons of Indo-Guyanese descent include
Waheed Alli, Baron Alli
Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 16 November 1964) is a British media entrepreneur and politician. He is the co-creator of the television series '' Survivor'' and has held executive positions at several television production companies including the ...
,
Shakira Caine
Shakira, Lady Caine, (née Baksh; born 23 February 1947) is a Guyanese former actress and fashion model. She is married to English actor Michael Caine.
Early life
Shakira was born on 23 February 1947 in British Guiana (present-day Guyana) to ...
,
David Dabydeen
David Dabydeen (born 9 December 1955) is a Guyanese-born broadcaster, novelist, poet and academic. He was formerly Guyana's Ambassador to UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation) from 1997 to 2010 and the youngest Memb ...
,
Bishnodat Persaud Prof The Honourable Bishnodat Persaud CHB, Ph.D, FRSA (1933 – 24 July 2016) was a Guyanese economist who served as Alcan Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, and Director of Economic Affairs, Commonwealth S ...
,
Avinash Persaud
Avinash D. Persaud born 22 June 1966 in Barbados, West Indies) is Emeritus Professor of Gresham College in the UK. He was Chairman of Intelligence Capital Ltd., a company specializing in analyzing, managing and creating financial liquidity in in ...
,
Raj Persaud
Rajendra 'Raj' Persaud FRCPsych (born 13 May 1963) is an English consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster and author of books about psychiatry. He is known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media, ...
and
Mark Ramprakash
Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected for England aged 21. A gifted, and one of the heaviest-scoring, English b ...
.
Indo-Jamaicans
A notable Briton of Indo-Jamaican descent is
Lee Gopthal
Lehman Serikeesna Gopthal (1 March 1938 – 29 August 1997), known as Lee Gopthal, was a Jamaican-British record label owner and promoter, the co-founder of Trojan Records.
Life and career
He was born in Constant Spring, Jamaica, into a fam ...
.
Indo-Trinidadians
Indo-Trinidadian people are thought to number well over 25,000, which is even more than the number of people born in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
living in the UK according to the 2001 Census.
Notable Britons of Indo-Trinidadian descent include
Waheed Alli, Baron Alli
Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 16 November 1964) is a British media entrepreneur and politician. He is the co-creator of the television series '' Survivor'' and has held executive positions at several television production companies including the ...
,
Chris Bisson
Christopher Paul Bisson (born 21 July 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the roles of Vikram Desai in ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2002), Kash Karib in '' Shameless'' (2004–2007, 2009), and Jai Sharma in ''Emmerdale'' (2009– ...
,
Vahni Capildeo
Vahni Anthony Ezekiel Capildeo (born
Surya Vahni Priya Capildeo; born 1973) is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British writer, and a member of the extended Capildeo family that has produced notable Trinidadian politicians and writers (including V. S. ...
,
Krishan Kumar,
Krishna Maharaj
Krishna Nanan Maharaj (; born 26 January 1939) is a British Trinidadian businessman. In 1987 he was convicted by a Florida court for the double murders of Chinese Jamaican businessmen Derrick Moo Young and Duane Moo Young, and was sentenced to ...
,
Shiva Naipaul
Shiva Naipaul (; 25 February 1945 – 13 August 1985), born Shivadhar Srinivasa Naipaul in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was an Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian, Indo-Trinidadian and British novelist and journalist.
Life and work
Shiva Na ...
,
V. S. Naipaul
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienati ...
,
Lakshmi Persaud Lakshmi Persaud is a Trinidad-born, British-based writer who resides in London, England. She is the author of five novels: ''Butterfly in the Wind'' (1990), ''Sastra'' (1993), ''For the Love of My Name'' (2000), ''Raise the Lanterns High'' (2004) an ...
,
Avinash Persaud
Avinash D. Persaud born 22 June 1966 in Barbados, West Indies) is Emeritus Professor of Gresham College in the UK. He was Chairman of Intelligence Capital Ltd., a company specializing in analyzing, managing and creating financial liquidity in in ...
and
Raj Persaud
Rajendra 'Raj' Persaud FRCPsych (born 13 May 1963) is an English consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster and author of books about psychiatry. He is known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media, ...
.
Indo-Surinamese
See also
*
Indo-Caribbeans
Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th ce ...
*
British Indians
British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...
*
Indian Canadians
Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The terms ''Indo-Canadian'' or ''East Indian'' are sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of S ...
*
British African-Caribbean people
British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-C ...
*
British Asian
British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Brit ...
*
Indo-Caribbean Americans
Indo-Caribbean Americans or Indian-Caribbean Americans, are Americans who trace their ancestry ultimately to India, though whose recent ancestors lived in the Caribbean, where they migrated beginning in 1838 as indentured laborers. There are la ...
References
{{AsiansinUK
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th c ...
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean