Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 42 ships made 87 voyages, carrying Indian

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...

d labourers to

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. Initially the ships brought labourers from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, but from 1903 all ships except two also brought labourers from

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. A total of 60,965 passengers left India but only 60,553 (including births at sea) arrived in Fiji. A total of 45,439 boarded ships in Calcutta and 15,114 in Madras.

Sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...

s took, on average, seventy-three days for the trip while steamers took 30 days. The shipping companies associated with the labour trade were

Nourse Line Nourse is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan E. Nourse, (1928–1992), American science fiction author and physician *Alice Tisdale Hobart, Alice Nourse (1882–1967), American novelist *Amos Nourse (1794–1877), American me ...

and

British-India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...

. The most important man on these ships was the

Surgeon-Superintendent A surgeon-superintendent was a position, held by a surgeon officer of the Royal Navy, on board convict transport ship and ships transporting indentured labour, with overall authority in all non-nautical matters. Before 1792, authority over convi ...

, who supervised the medical care, ventilation, clothing, cleanliness and exercise of the passengers and his authority extended over the

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He inspected the stores before departure and reported on any defects during the trip. The Surgeon-Superintendent also intervened to prevent passengers from being mistreated by the crew. He was paid a bonus for each labourer landed alive.

List of ships

The table below provides details of the 87 voyages made by the 40 ships that brought Indian Indentured Labourers to Fiji. Of these ships, 27 were sailing ships and 13 were steam ships.

Notes

* The number following the name of the ship denotes the voyage number (to Fiji). * "SS" in front of the name of the ship denotes that it was a

steam ship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ca ...

. * From 1905 all ships were steam ships.

List of ships

Notes

See also