Page:The British Empire in the nineteenth century Volume VI.djvu/5

 TRINIDAD COOLIES AT WORK IN A CANE-FIELD. The island of Trinidad, situated near the mouths of the Orinoco, passed from the possession of Spain into that of Britain in 1797. Like many other portions of the British empire whose industry was mainly carried on by means of slave labour, it was profoundly affected by the abolition of slavery throughout the British dominions in 1833. The negroes after their emancipation could no longer be compelled to work, and as a result there arose a scarcity of labour in the island, which the planters set themselves to correct by importing coolies from Bengal and other places. This importation began in 1845, and has gone on steadily since, so that at the present time the coolies constitute about one-third of the population. The imported labourers keep themselves in the main separate from the white men and the negroes, who form the remainder of the inhabitants. They enter into a five years' engagement with their employers, and at the end of that time they are free to return home if they please; but many prefer to remain, and some even go back in order to bring their families and friends. In the illustration the coolies are cutting down the sugar-cane preparatory to its being crushed in the mill.