ABSTRACT
In the second half of the nineteenth century, there was a shortage of labour on the plantations in Suriname due to the abolition of slavery in 1863. In an attempt to resolve this labour shortage, the planter class imported indentured labourers from India. The first group of immigrants arrived in Suriname in 1873, and thus marked the beginning of a Hindustani presence in Suriname. On 9 August 1890, Javanese indentured labourers were also transported to Suriname as contracted labourers on a five year basis and when their contracts expired they could either choose to return to Java or remain.
