~hen Fiji became a Crown colony (in 1874), the

The Journal of Pacific Studies, volume 8, 1982: 55- 69

COMMENTARIES "

AN UNCERTAIN JOURNEY:

THE VOYAGE OF THE LEONIDAS

Brij V. Lal It

~hen Fiji became a Crown colony (in 1874), the nascent colonial administration was charged with the urgent responsibility to make it economically self sustaining, and to generate its own revenue to meet the cost of its administration. Economic sol­vency depended upon a ready and reliable source of capital and an assured supply of cheap labour. The establishment in Fiji of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (C.S.R.) alleviated the first prob­lem and Indian indentured immigration solved the second. Attempts had been made since the 1860s to introduce Indian labourers on a contractual basis, but these had foundered until the establishment of a "recognized" government in the colony.

Soon after the decision to import Indian inden­tured labourers had been made, Sir Arthur Gordon, the first substantive governor (1875-1880) authorized his Agent General of Immigration, Charles Mitchell, to arrange the administrative details of immigra­tion with the Government of India. In view of the fact that Indian indentured immigration had been in existence since 1834, the Indian government was prepared to leave the matter to the "ordinary laws of supply and demand"

*This commentary article was originally prepared for another format, and has been rewritten for th e Journal of Pacific Studies on the encouragement of t:le Editor.

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· provided that it is satisfied the terms are generally reasonable, that good arrangements have been made for the protection, medical care, and return to their country of the immigrants, and that full information is afforded to all persons intending to emigrate of the con­ditions under which they will find them­selves during their stay in the colony . .

No problems arose since the ~iji Immigration Ordin­ance was very largely based upon the ones in the West Indian colonies which had been importing Indian labour for some 40 years.

Mitchell assumed duties as the Immigration Agent for Fiji on 23 September 1878, and immediately made arrangements to share Depot 9 at Garden Reach in Calcutta with Jamaica, Trinidad and St Lucia. 2 With the approval of Dr J.G.G. Grant, the Protector of Emigrants, he appointed 37 recruiters to enlist 400 statute adults requisitioned by Fiji. Two licences were subsequently cancelled on account of fraud and misrepresentation.

Altogether, 650 recruits were collected in the Indo-Gangetic plains. After registration at the sub-depots and appropriate medical examination, they were transported to Calcutta on foot and on train. By the time the contingent was admitted to the depot, the number of recruits had been reduced to 597 . Some had absconded, few decided to change their minds and opt out, a few withdrew because their relatives had been rejected, but by far the great majority were simply declared unfit for labour, and returned to their villages. In the depot it­s~lf in the waiting period before embarkation, fur­ther reductions took place: some died because of cholera and smallpox , while quite a few were trans­ferred to other depots . So that when the Leonidas, the first immigrant ship, cleared port on 4 March 1879, there were 498 souls on board: 273 men, 146 women, 47 boys and 32 girls.

Most of the immigrants aboard the vessel, as in­deed the bulk of the indentured migrants around

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this time generally, came from the eastern districts of the United Provinces, hereafter referred to as U.P. The major districts of supply were Basti (13.8 percent), Sultanpur (10 percent), Lucknow (9 percent), with smaller numbers coming from Azamgarh, Fyzabad and Gonda. 3 Basti remained the largest supplier of emigrants to Fiji throughout the 37 years of indentured emigration. Azamgarh, Gonda, Fyzabad and Sultanpur were also important migration districts, the peak years for most of them being after the turn of the century, especially the years 1906-08, when a calamitous famine raged in many parts of the U.P. Lucknow gradually faded away as a migration district, while contributions from Bihar dwindled after the early 1890s.

The 19th century was a period of great social and economic change in North India. The imposition of Pax Britannica was bringing about some fundamental changes in agrarian relations. 4 Severe revenue de­mands, increase in rent, fragmentation of ownership rights and subdivision of property, decline of handi­craft industry due to unfavourable competition with Great Bri t ain ~ and periodic visitation of natural ca­lamities SUCil as droughts, floods, and famines, all c ontributed to a deteriorating situation which left many people in dire straits. But while such adverse conditions af fected everybody, they ' bore heavily part­icularly on thos~ whose position were already marginal : the landless labourers, tenants, petty proprietors, and artisans, and it was from among them that the Leonidas immigrants came.

They cons tituted a representative cross-section of the rural population of North India, including high caste vi llage people. They had fallen on hard t imes , and seeing no respite from constant vulner­abi lity and - dreariness had decided to leave their a ncestral villages to seek their fortune elsewhere. Hard cash was much needed but difficult to come by in the rural areas . Money earned abroad would be used to pay rent, which was rapidly on the increase i n the 19th century, reduce the never ending debt t o the vi llage moneylender, buy a cow, and pay an inevitably exorbitant dowry for the daughters. Some

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of the people in the district had come back from Calcutta and elsewhere with visible signs of pros­perity. Tall tales circulated of glorious opportu­nities abroad, and this provided an added induce­ment to others to move out.

With the exception of those who migrated en iamille, it would seem that an overwhelming major­ity desired migration as a temporary sojourn. Many harboured a deep desire of one day returning to their janmabhumi, to enjoy in old age the fruits of their arduous labours abroad. Few had any no­tion of what their contracts entailed:

. the great distance from India, the relentless, clockwork pace of plantation work under harsh discipline, the inabili­ty to change their employer, the beatings, and the penal sanctions used to enforce their compliance and even to prolong their indentures. 5

Fewer still realized that there would be no coming back, that the umbilical cords with the motherland would be severed for ever.

Thus those who boarded the Leonidas were full of mixed hopes, anxieties and considerable apprehen­sion about what the future held for them. The Leonidas was the first of 87 immigrant ships that transported over 60,000 souls to Fiji during inden­tured emigration. The 1,600 ton vessel, which be­longed to James Nourse, one of the two shipping con­tractors to the Fiji government, had been operating to the West Indies for some years, and was specially fitted for the labour trade. On a hot and humid afternoon, the vessel cleared port amidst much fever­ish bustle, weeping and shaking of hands.

The journey began on a note of despair and tragedy. Only three days after leaving the Hoogly, cholera and smallpox broke out on the vessel. The first case of cholera struck a European sailor, and it soon spread to the immigrants. But quick think­ing on the part of the Surgeon Sperintendent,

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Dr J. Welsh, averted further disaster. The stricken sailor was placed in a tent at the forecastle head, with a man to attend on him. All his clothing and other possessions were thrown overboard, and the forecastle head was constantly washed with carbolic acid. The infected immigrants were kept in the hospital under strict surveillance, while those struck by smallpox were restricted to the only spare place on the ship, in the sail locker. The between decks, hospitals and privies were also thoroughly disinfected, whitewashed and fumigated. The diet for all on board was lowered, and children were dosed with castor oil, laudanum and rum, and fed on arrowroot and sago for four or five days.6 But despite all the precautions, 19 lives were lost, giving a mortality rate of 3.80 percent which was well above the average of one percent for the whole period of indentured labour emigration to Fiji.

For most of the immigrants who had never seen, let alone ever boarded, a sailing ship before, the journey was a traumatic experience. The physical discomfort of crowded, ugly quarters, stench and seasickness was demoralizing. Old standards of con­duct, old guides to action, old values ' that many had imbibed from their ancestors, values of obedience, respect and status, and an appreciation of one's de­fined position in a divinely preordained scheme of life, were all proving inadequate, indeed painfully irrelevant. The more sensitive among the immigrants tried to make sense out of their new predicament, but there was little time for reflection or self­pity. There was work to be done, even on the ship. A typical day began at 6.00 a.m., when the immigrants rose, arranged their bedding and breakfasted between 8.00 and 8.30 a.m. while the between deck was being cleaned by t~azes. Then the male immigrants helped in drawing water for cooking and drinking, while women busied themselves in culinary chores like pre­paring provisions for cooking and other light duties in the kitchen, although food itself was cooked by bhandarries appointed by the Surgeon Superintendent. When not working, the immigrants were encouraged to enjoy themselves by wrestling, pLaying cards, sing-

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ing and playing drums, a useful tactic to keep them away from depression and melancholy.

The voyage fostered a sense of common destiny among all the immigrants, irrespective of their so­cial position in India: they were "coolies" all, if one may be allowed to use that abhorrent word. The sense of comradeship that was formed during the crossing persisted for a long time. Years later after their girmit had expired, the inden­tured labourers would hobble long distances on foot to meet their jahazibhais (shipmates) and reminisce over the shared ordeals of the voyage.

The Leonidas arrived off the port of Levuka on the evening of 14 May, but because of the inexper­ience of the captain with Fiji waters, encroaching darkness and the presence of sharp coral reefs near­by, it was unable .to enter the harbour the same day.7 The news of the arrival of the vessel reached the government within a few hours, but nothing could be done until the next morning. Early the next day, J.B. Thurston, the Colonial Secretary, went in an open boat to warn the captain of the dangerous pas­sage to the harbour, but as he approached the vessel, the Surgeon Superintendent shouted that there had been cholera and smallpox aboard during the voyage. This was alarming news, for only a few years earlier an epidemic of measles introduced by a ship-of-war from Sydney had decimated 40,000 of the 160,000 natives of the islands. Without staying any longer to learn of the exact nature of the disaster, which in any case was difficult because of the deafening noise from the breakers, Thurston returned at once and reported the matter to the acting Governor, George William des Voeux. After hurried consulta­tions, Dr William MacGregor, the Chief Medical Of­ficer, was dispatched to obtain further particulars. He returned with the happy news that the dreaded cholera had disappeared for some time but that some signs of smallpox was still on board, the last cases having appeared just a few days before the vessel had entered Fiji waters.

A delicate situation developed, and it is in-

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teresting to note that the Governor e~en consid~red sending the Leonidas back on to the h1gh sea~ wIth­out unloading the immigrants. He wrote to S1r Michael Hicks of the Colonial office in London:

Had it been possible to ensure that the vessel, if prevented from entering the harbour, would leave the group altogether without touching anywhere or receiving any visits from natives or others, it might have become a question of whether she should not be sent away, even at the imminent risk to 500 lives, rather than that 100,000 lives should be subject to danger scarcely less grave. But having no man-of-war at hand or other means of prevention, it would be almost certain that the ship, if sent away, would put in at one of the many islands lying in any course which could be taken for leaving the Colony, and in that case, while the 500 would perhaps have been sacrificed, the 100,000 would have been in still greater jeopardy.s

The Course of Fijian history might have been dif­ferent had the above action been taken. But it was not to be. The officials agreed that the Leonidas should be brought inside the barrier reef, and be anchored in the harbour to the leeward of the town. As the ship was being brought in through the reef, a further disaster struck: the Leonidas ran aground . Considerable anxiety followed, but it fortunately was shortlived. The tide was rising, and in about two hours the ship floated, and soon afterwards found anchor in more placid waters of Levuka harbour.

As it was vitally important to prevent any con­tact between those aboard the Leonidas and the shore, a large and fully armed schooner was placed between the two. Three other boats each containing three men were stationed at different points in a semi-circular fashion with a radius of about 350 yards, having the reef for a diameter and the Leonidas close to the centre . The guards, drawn

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from the armed constabulary and the police, we r e given express orders to shoot anyone who , after warning, might attempt to break the quarantine. Two more Europeans were employed and provided with a boat and crew to make regular visits to the guards by night and by day to prevent any laxity in vigil-ance. On one occasion des Voeux himself visited the guards, and finding one of them asleep ordered the flogging of the unfortunate culprit!

Meanwhile there arose the question of finding a satisfactory quarantine depot for all the immi­grants. Yanuca Lailai, a tiny island of about 100 acres, had been chosen earlier and i n fact houses had been built on the island to accommodate about 350 people. The problem now was to find some way of accommodating the extra, unanticipated 150 people. The Governor levied the people of Moturiki and Ovalau, and by 20 May, only two days after the order had been given, 700 Fijian men were collected a nd sent to Yanuca Lailai to construct twenty more Fiji a n bures. The necessary materials had already been c o l­lected from the forest and shipped to the island. The Fijians worked with "extraordinary activity" and within three days the assigned task was completed, together with a hospital, storehouse, and quarters for the depot keeper. Later thirty more houses were added for married couples and others with families.

Now the officials were faced with the greatest difficulty of all: transferring the immigrants from the ship to the depot; taking the infected L e onidas to Yanuca Lailai was deemed hazardous. Guards had to be posted all along the coast of Ovalau, espe­cially from Levuka southwards during the period of transference to prevent contact between the immi­grants and the shore. Most of the available forces had already been dep l oyed to keep a watch on the Le onida s, whose crew thought the colonial authori­ties over-zealous and on occasions even refused to cooperate with them. The Governor therefore ap­proached Roko Tailevu (Ratu Abel, the eldest son of Cakobau) for men, and he readily obliged by sending an armed contingent of fifty men. Precautionary

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measures taken, the process of transfer began twelve days after the Leonidas had arrived in Levuka.

That process proved more tedious than anyone had realized. The immigrants had to be transported in rowing boats, which were the only ones available at the time, and each boat could make only one trip a day, since the distance between the Leonidas and Yanuca Lailai was over ten miles. Nevertheless, des­pite tension, fatigue and monotony, the process of transfer continued uninterrupted, and within three days all the immigrants were in quarantine on the island. The Governor breathed a welcome sigh of relief when, by the end of the month, the Leonidas cleared the Fiji waters and headed for San Francisco. Apart from des Voeux himself, Dr William MacGregor played the most important part in coordinating ef­forts t o bring the immigrants to safety. He was handsomely praised by the Governor for his "remark­able presence of mind, combined with fertility and readiness of resource . [and] his untiring energy and sustained exertion". 9 Hcwever, MacGregor's hour of glory was to come five years later, in 1884 when the Syria ran aground on the Nasilai reef.I0

The Fijian people too played their part ungrudg­ingly and with much credit to themse~ves. Although they had reasons to, the natives showed little overt anxiety. Cakobau did make an enquiry to the Governor about the occurrence of the two diseases aboard the Leonidas, though this perhaps was done at the behest of "certain whites passing there [who] had not failed to seize the opportunity for mischief in re­presenting the presence of the smallpox as the nat­ural result of the Government action in introducing coolies. ll The Governor replied that all possible precaution had been taken and pointed out, lest any prejudice develop against the immigrants, that the disease had 6riginated with one of the white sailors, and not with the Indians who "were well on leaving Calcutta". A day before, he had decided on univer­sal vaccination of the Fijians and had sent a long circular on the subject to the Rokos of the dif­ferent provinces urging them to promote the opera­tion.

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The immigrants remained in quarantine until 15 August. 12 During this period, 15 more died, chiefl y from ~iseases such as dysentary, diarrhoea and typhold. In the next 2~ years, 31 more would suc­cumb to death through disease and accident. After the requisite period of convalescence was over, they were brought back to Levuka for allocation among the planters. Paradoxically, however, the planters showed little interest at the arrival of the Indians. Perhaps they were still smarting under the apparent slight of Gordon who, much against their wishes, had prohibited commercial employment of Fijian labour and had imported Indian labour in­stead. The government was naturally disappointed: only one planter, J. Hill, of Rabi had offered to take a total of 52 men, 25 women, and 29 children. Some of the labourers were taken as domestic servants, but by far the gr~atest number - 189 men and 97 wom­en - had to be employed by the government itself on its public works.

In November 18j~, the government temporarily took over the Great Amalgam Estate in Rewa to stamp out a coffee leaf disease which had just appeared in the colony. Consequently it transferred 139 men, 68 women, and 18 children there for a year. This move proved to be the turning point in the employ­ment of Indian indentured labour in Fi;i. The Indians performed so impressively that-four planters, J.E. Mason of Taveuni; J.C. Smith, Sahl and Company, and H.Z. Baillie, all of Viti Levu, applied for im­mediate allotment from this number. The distribu­tion of L e onidas immigrants in 1882 is detailed in Ta bl e 1.

By the time the immigrants reached the planta­tions, they had already resigned themselves to their vulnerability for the future, and were prepared to accept stoically all that lay in store for them. By now they knew that it was foolhardy to hope for easy money; they would have to toil hard for every pit­tance. And they did. The planters could choose between time work or task work (ticca) and at first they tried the former. Soon, however, the overseers were complaining of deliberate time - killing on the

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13 Table 1 Allotment of the Leo nidas Immigrants by Plantation (in 1882)

Name of Employer Name of Estate/ Men Women Children Infan ts Place

J.E. Mason Gila Est. , Taveuni 52 28 8 J.C. Smit.h Viti Est. , Vi ti Levu 43 21 6 Sahl & Co. Muaniwini, Viti Levu 40 20 4 2 CS R Nausori 43 25 7 John Hi 11 Rabi 50 24 21 4 Colon i al Secretary Suva 4 2 Police Rew a 2 Sir John Gorrie Suv a J.B. Hobday Levu ka B. Morris Lev uka Turner & Edgerly Rew a J. Cone11y Le vuka G. Smith Levuk a 2 2 Govt. House Nasova Smith Lev uka

Sou r ce: The National Ar-'Chives of India, April 1882 , Pros. 90-9 3.

part of the labourers, and quickly switched to task work. One ofEicial noted that this change "satis­fied master and men much better" but this assertion is questionable. To be sure, t here were some men of dignity who preferred task work , for in it they saw a fl eet ing sense o f independenc e and self-respect , and lesser chance of having the overseer's whi p crack upon their backs. But this was illusory, for the tasks were tough , and set according to the pleasure of the overseers. Some years later, when the C.S.R. changed from time to task work, it was noted that this had caused "a great dissatisfaction amongst the labourers".

From th~ start, relations between the labourers and the overseers were not particularly good. Mis­understanding, ignorance, prejudice, and sometimes deliberate vindictiveness on the part of those in authority led to conflict. Very early on, things were especially bad on the Vunicibi Cibi Estate on which some Leonidas immigrants were employed. The

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"ma"nager constantly over-tasked his labour force which, coupled with insufficient wages, put the labourers in precarious circumstances. Several complaints were made, as a result of which the manager was called before the district magistrate and fined. But his behaviour did not improve. Soon afterwards, the fed-up labourers took matters in their own hands, set upon him and beat him up very severely. Five of them were sentenced to one year and another five for six months imprisonment. All the labourers were sub­sequently removed from the estate until a new man-ager was appointed.

Tension and violence were not confined to work­ing situations alone; it pervaded the girmitia's social life as well. The absence of institution­alized patterns of interaction and shared values often taxed the patience of the labourers and put considerable strain upon an already tenuous situa­tion. But actual incidents of murder in the early years were confined to quarrels over women, for whom there was keen competition. When husbands sensed infidelity on the part of their wives, they were not averse to wielding the cane knife or the axe. In 1879 on Rabi Island, a Leonidas immigrant hacked his wife's head off with an axe because of an alleged minor moral impropriety on her part. He received 6 years imprisonment. More such gruesome acts would occur in later years.

If girmit was narak (hell) or kasbighar (broth­el) as some of the immigrants later recalled, it lasted for only 5 or at the most 10 years, depending upon whether contracts were renewed or extended for various reasons. Moreover, if it brutalized many, it also provided others with habits of industry and thrift, and an opportunity to improve their lot. Among the most successful of the Leonidas immigrants was Sohun who not only was able to buy his exemption, but was also able to deposit a sum of £40 in the lo­cal bank. Molladeen was another successful case: from the pittance of his wages, he had saved up £35. The ethos of g i rmit was clear for everyone: success was to be earned in the competitive open market;

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it was not going to be divinely preordained as it hau s eemed in India.

The Indians would be better off once they had left the plantation, or so the government of the day thought . Will iam Seed, the Agent General of Immigration wrot e:

There is a grand opening in the colony after the indentures are out as he [the indentured labourer] can set up as a cow keeper, market ga rdener, and poulterer, there being no in­dustries of this description amongst the Fijians, nor ever I imagine likely to be . He will a lso be able to set up as a petty trader, and purvey for his countrymen an occupation much esteemed by old Indian im­migrants in other colonies. I4

Two hundred and ninety of the 450 adults who had come ofi the Leon idas thought differently. At the earliest possible opportunity, they applied for repatriation, and many of them did in fact return to India. Those who stayed behind did so for a variety of reasons. Oppor tunities for social and economic advancement in Fiji were much better than they could ever have been in India, especially since the government had prom­ised leases of up to 99 years, with generous finan­cial assistance to set up new homesteads in the colony . IS The experience of the crossing and life on

. the plantation had forged new bonds which held many back. Some had married across caste lines, and knew that they and their children would never gain so­cial acceptance in the ultra-conservative villages of the Indo-Gangetic plains. In the case of quite a few, it was simple inertia which led them to put off their trip until such time when they had earned enough money to take back.

That day however never came. So time passed and memories of India faded as the girmitias strug­gled with the pressing problems of day-to-day exist­ence. The new life was fraught with difficulties at every turn, at every corner. Ancestral wisdom

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was proving frustratingly irrelevant and well-tried methods of cultivation woefully inadequate. Tools and implements were different, and the soil hard and untamed. Things which had been taken for granted in India - what to plant, when and how -all posed perplexing problems now. There was no biradari (brotherhood) and no village panchayat (village council) to lean on for advice and assis­tance. But most struggled on and many achieved at least a modicum of prosperity. The Leonidas im­migrants would have reason to be satisfied with their effort, and that of their descendants as well. They might be perplexed, though, to see that the uncertainty and sorrow which they had sought to escape continues to be a part of their children's condition after a hundred year's ex­istence in the islands.

Footnot es:

Batten, G.H.M., Secretary to the Government of India, to Agent General of Immigration, Fiji, 4/12/1877 in Fiji ·Royal Gazette, volume iv, 23/3/1878.

2 This and the following paragraphs are based on the Annual Report on Emigration from the Port of Calcutta to British and Foreign Colonies, 1879.

3 Figures are derived from an analysis of the Emigration Passes of the Leonidas immigrants. The percentages are worked out on the total figure of 429, for which number data on the district of origin is available in the Passes.

4 The causes of Indian immigration to Fiji are discussed at some length in my "Fiji Girmitiyas: The Background to Banishment" in Vijay C. Mishra (ed.), Ram~ls Banishment: A Centenary Tribute to Fiji Indians, Auckland 1979. See also my Girmitiyas: The Origin of the Fiji Indians, Canberra in press.

5 Gillion, K.L. 1977. The Fiji Indians, Canberra, p. 5.

6 J. Welsh to Dr William MacGregor, 16 May 1879, in Great Britain Parliament. House of Commons Papers, volume XLIV, 1880, p. 60.

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7 The following description of the incidents relating to the Leonidas and its immigrants upon .reaching Fiji is based on correspondence on th e subject published in the House of Commons Papers. References will therefore be restri cted to direct quotations only.

8 Ibid., p. 54.

9 Ibid., p. 57.

10 This epi sode is described in my "The Wreck of the Syria, 1884" in Subraman i (ed.), Indo-Fijian Experience, St. Lucia, 1979, chapter 2.

11 House of Co mmons Papers, XLI V, p. 62.

12 The data in the following paragraph was obtained from the Department of Revenue and Agriculture (Emigration), April 1882, Pros. 90-93, The Nat iona l Archives of India.

13 Ibid. The name of Baillie is not included in the Table because by 1882 Indian lab ourers had been withdrawn from his plantation due to his bad treatment of them.

14 Ibid.

15 J . B. Thu rs ton to Secr etary of State for Colonies, 20 November 1888 in Depa rtment of Revenue and A9riculture (Emigration), October 1889, Nai.

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