Indentured Workers

[Terri]

How can I find out when or if my grandmothers ancestors were indentured workers from India? I know they started out in India. My grandmother was 4th generation Indian on her mothers side. Not too sure about her father.

[Dietmar]

Hello Terri,

welcome to the Mauritius Forum of Isla-Mauricia.

It can be thus sometimes difficult to trace back ancestors when coming from Mauritius as there are so many communities and also many have no trace back or document proofs left, the only thing that might help then is the Surname...

I was wondering that maybe this website might be some help for you:
Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Center Mauritius

On the website it says:

The Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund was set up in 2001 under the aegis of the Ministry of Arts and Culture of the Republic of Mauritius. The trust has as objective to carry out research on Indenture Immigration and preserve and restore sites related to Indenture Immigration.

Back then when I was a fellow scholar, we learnt about the Aapravasi Ghat at school, that this was the place where most of the Indian Immigrants had to go through before then starting their new life in Mauritius.

I hope this link might be some help. Would be interested to hear if you got further in your research.

[Terri]

Thank you. That is an interesting site. I will let you know what kind of response I get back. Thanx again.

[Dietmar]

Hi Terri,

you are welcome!

Maybe you can tell us a bit more about the Mauritian community in Canada ?

To my observation, Mauritians are scattered all over the world but there seems to be a trend and some favorite places where Mauritians prefer to emmigrate to like: UK, France, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Whats your opinion on this ?

[Terri]

I really do not know anything about Mauritians in Canada. My great grand parents arrived in Vancouver, B.C. Canada in about 1908. They came with and worked for the GIRODY family. That is who signed their passports as well.
It does not sound like there were very many Mauritians in the area at that time. Nobody understood their french. They spoke French Creole. They were pretty much the only colored people in the area where they lived.

[Dietmar]

Hi Terri,

1908, thats quite far back then. Always interesting to talk and exchange about history, ancestors and those long journeys of travelleing they have made. Often due to various reasons or situations. Its a precious heritage when one can know more about his or her roots. In many cases, also especially for Mauritians, its sometimes quite difficult to trace back the roots...

Many Indians that came to Mauritius also came from Pondicherry located in South East India, in Tamilnadu (Please correct me if thats wrong.). And as far as I know, in Pondicherry they were speaking french as well. And many also came from Madras.

Creole is still very actively spoken in Mauritius.

So, have you ever been to Mauritius ? Do you have contacts to any Mauritian family or relatives or has the connection broken down because it was so long ago ?

In Canada there are quite some Mauritians who emigrated there. But I guess more in the beginning of the 70s. 1908 indeed, your family might have been the very first Mauritians in Canada!