Labourers on the Plantations

This chapter deals with the experiences of the labourers on the plantations. It has been overlooked that the labourers’ experience on the plantations varied, but for the majority of them, it was a push factor. Hence, the Girmitiyas settled en mass as peasants when conditions were favourable. The argument is structured as follows. Section two outlines the centrality of the tasks on the plantations, their allocation and the restrictions imposed on labourers. The tasks had direct effects on health and family formation, which is the subject of Sect. 3.3. This triptych of tasks, health and family formation determined, given the plantation regime, the labourers’ earning capacity. Actual earnings are also a major bone of contention and are discussed in Sect. 3.4. Where one author speaks of scandalous exploitation, another talks about large amounts of savings. Since the issue of savings is part of the controversy over wages, that issue is addressed in Sect. 3.5. Finally, in Sect. 3.6, the cultivation of crops for personal consumption and sale, i.e. the entrepreneurship of plantation labourers is discussed.