Sugar and Sacrifice: How the EIC's Slave System Built the Caribbean

In this episode, we explore the East India Company's brutal but often overlooked involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and its plantation system in the Caribbean. After the Charter Act of 1833 abolished slavery in British colonies, the EIC turned to a system of indentured labor to supply sugar plantations in Demerara (now Guyana). We trace the journey of Indian laborers from Calcutta to the West Indies, the conditions aboard ships, and the legacy of this diaspora. We also discuss the EIC's own slave-trading past, including its early role in transporting slaves from Madagascar to the East Indies, and the contradictions between its abolitionist rhetoric in India and its economic reliance on slavery elsewhere. Key figures include John Gladstone, a wealthy planter who petitioned for Indian labor, and the colonial officials who regulated this new system. This episode sheds light on a dark chapter of corporate colonialism that continues to shape Caribbean societies today. #EastIndiaCompany #IndenturedLabor #SugarPlantations #TransatlanticSlaveTrade #Demerara #JohnGladstone #Calcutta #Guyana #CaribbeanHistory #CharterAct1833 #SlaveTrade #Madagascar #BritishEmpire #CoolieTrade #Mauritius #Diaspora #History #FexingoHistory #RobertClive #BattleOfPlassey Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo