{"id":3859,"date":"2020-12-31T11:07:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T11:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girmitiya.girmit.org\/new\/?page_id=3859"},"modified":"2024-05-09T10:37:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T10:37:37","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/girmit.org\/index.php\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"

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History<\/h2><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row bg_type=”bg_color” parallax_content=”parallax_content_value” fadeout_row=”fadeout_row_value”][vc_column width=”1\/2″]
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<\/span>Girmit Event - A Brief History<\/span><\/div><\/div>
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1833<\/h3>
Britain abolishes slavery<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>
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1834<\/h3>
Indenture system, an alternate source of labour for the British Empire, first started with the labourers being sent to work in Mauritius, Uganda and Nigeria for an initial 5 year period. This system became widely known as “Girmit” – a mispronunciation of the word “agreement” by the non-English speaking Indian labourers.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>
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1874<\/h3>
Fiji’s Deed of Cession to Britain.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>
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1875<\/h3>
Fiji’s first Governor Arthur Gordon arrives. He has already served as Governor in Mauritius and Trinidad and has encountered indentured labourers. His preference for indentured labour, as opposed to native labour, stems from his unwillingness to employ native labour on the grounds that it will disrupt village life.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
First indentured labourers arrive in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.<\/span><\/div>
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1879<\/h3>
The ship set sail in Calcutta on March 03 and arrived in Fiji on May 14, with 373 male and 149 female labourers. Cholera, dysentery and smallpox were also onboard – 17 labourers had already succumbed to these diseases.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Fiji's capital moved from Levuka to Suva.<\/span><\/div>
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1882<\/h3>
Colonial Sugar Refining (CSR) company of Australia sets up its first sugar mill in Nausori.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second migrant ship arrives in Fiji.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>

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1884<\/h3>
The fifth emigrant ship to Fiji, Syria, was wrecked on the Nasilai reef, off Nausori, on May 11, killing fifty-six immigrants and three lascars (Indian sailors).<\/span><\/span>
\nThe first lot of labourers complete their five-year contract. Sixty per cent choose to remain in Fiji.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>
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1908<\/h3>
Sizes of “Lines” in which the labourers are housed is changed from 10 feet by 7 feet to 10 feet by 12 feet.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>
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1912<\/h3>
Legislation passed requiring employers of indentured labourers to provide school buildings.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Indenture system is officially abolished by Britain.<\/span><\/div>
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1916<\/h3>
The last shipload of labourers arrived in November aboard the Sutlej V. This is the 87th ship that brought labourers to Fiji. Some 60,553 labourers came to Fiji between 1879 and 1916.<\/span><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div>
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