Exhibition: Indo + Caribbean: Exploring personal stories of intertwined Indo-Caribbean culture

Indian indenture was an exploitative and shockingly cruel system.

Nearly 200 years later, new stories are being uncovered to explore a unique culture that was created as a by-product of the brutal scheme.

A new display at the Museum of London Docklands will tell the underrepresented history of Indian indenture in the British Caribbean.

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of Windrush, the exhibition will draw on family histories to explore personal stories of intertwined Indo-Caribbean culture in London.

Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture, is on display in the museums London, Sugar and Slavery gallery.

Following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, British planters in the Caribbean began to source cheap labour for their plantations by recruiting workers from India to work for three to five years in return for transport, a minimal wage and some basic provisions.

The first indenture ships, Hesperus and Whitby, set sail in 1838. Between then and its end in 1917, about 450,000 Indians undertook the long and difficult journey to the British Caribbean.

The display will explore the transition between enslaved African labour and the start of Indian indenture. These stories will be told through photos, jewellery, film and artwork.

Makiya Davis-Bramble, display co-curator and curator at Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum, said: “Indo-Caribbean culture continued to thrive against Britain’s colonial rule and grew to represent celebration and resistance.

“This display helps us explore the untold stories of indenture and showcases the variety of culture in Caribbean communities today.”

Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture will be displayed at the Museum of London Docklands until November 19.

Entry is free.

Picture: Zainab (Jane) Gani and Mohamed Ismile (Danny) Gani who emigrated to London from Guyana. Indian ship, the Chenab at West India Dock Picture The Gani Family, Museum of London