ABSTRACT
When booming sugar production in the nineteenth century Mascareignes met the rising tide of the anti-slavery movement, the legitimate commerce in slaves went underground and diversified into a variety of new and less visible channels. The traditional centres of supply underwent modification: new ports were opened up, and new depots established. Slaving vessels were disguised and alternative routes mapped out. The ingenuity of the evasive tactics adopted was encouraged by the conjuncture of economic necessity and political hostility to the British in the newly conquered islands. The proximity of Mauritius and Bourbon to the major sources of supply and the presence of numerous small islands in the region greatly facilitated the task of the colonists. Ultimately, however, the risks and the costs of illegality propelled the planters and merchants towards the regular, cheap and legal pool of migrants who provided the second stream of sugar workers to the colonies.
