In 1845, a small, ageing ship named the Fatel Razack set sail from the port of Calcutta, its hull filled with 231 passengers—Indian men, women, and children—bound for the sugar plantations of Trinidad. These passengers were the first of over 140,000 Indians who would be shipped across the oceans under the British system of indentured labour, a system designed to replace the labour force lost with the abolition of slavery in the colonies.
They were promised wages, land ownership, and the opportunity to return to India at the end of their contracts. For many, the journey began with dreams of a new life—a chance for growth and prosperity in a foreign land. But as the Fatel Razack departed, bound for distant shores, the promises of opportunity would begin to unravel, and the passengers would soon realise that they had been sold a lie.
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