Indian entrepreneurs tilt economic axis against colonists
Nov 11, 2020
4 minutes
DUNCAN DU BOIS
RGT Watson Tongaati and Killie Campbell Collection
BY THE advent of the third decade of Indian immigration, colonial Natal faced a self-inflicted dilemma: resentment towards the presence of the Indian as a settler was intensifying while demands for indentured labour were reaching new levels of necessity.
Following the renewal of indentured immigration in 1874, labour demands increased significantly with railway construction and coal mining joining the requisition lists.
As a result, the Indian population increased from 12 823 in 1877 to 29357 in 1885, while the white population reached 36 701 in 1885.
Very few labourers opted for second five-year contracts, thereby rapidly
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