East Indians
- The British government turned to India to find a new source of cheap labour for the Caribbean plantations, beginning with British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1838
- Between 1838 and 1917, over 238,000 indentured labourers from India were transported to the Caribbean
Chinese
- The Chinese were also recruited as indentured labourers in the Caribbean, with the first group arriving in Trinidad and Guyana in 1853
- Between 1853 and 1880, over 150,000 Chinese labourers were brought to the Caribbean
Both the East Indians and Chinese endured harsh working conditions and were subjected to discrimination and prejudice on the plantations. After their indentureships ended, many of them chose to remain in the Caribbean and became an important part of the cultural and social fabric of the region.
