Control and Resistance: The Untold Story of Indentured Labor in Suriname

In this episode, we are joined by Professor Rosemarijn Hoefte, a historian specializing in the history of Suriname after 1873. She is a professor at the University of Amsterdam and a researcher at the Royal Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies in the Netherlands.

Professor Hoefte discusses her article, "Control and Resistance: Indentured Labor in Suriname," offering an in-depth look into the period following the abolition of slavery. She explores the origins of indentured laborers, mainly from British India and Java (present-day Indonesia), and the significant impact they had on Suriname's society and economy.

The episode delves into the mechanisms of control imposed by colonial authorities and plantation owners, including penal sanctions and restricted movement, as well as the various forms of resistance employed by the laborers. From open rebellions to subtle acts of defiance, the laborers' struggle for justice is brought to light.

We also discuss the long-term cultural and economic consequences for the laborers and their descendants, and the importance of preserving and respecting this often-overlooked chapter in Suriname's history. Professor Hoefte emphasizes the need for broader recognition and understanding of the entire colonial history of the Netherlands, including the indentured labor system.

Tune in to gain a comprehensive understanding of the control and resistance dynamics within Suriname's indentured labor system and its lasting legacy.

BIO:

Rose Marie Adelheid Leonie (Rosemarijn) Höfte is a Dutch historian and Surinamist . She publishes under the name Rosemarijn Hoefte .

Professor Hoefte  studied history at Leiden University and at the University of Florida in Gainesville . She received her doctorate from this institution in 1987 with a dissertation on British Indian and Javanese contractlabor in Suriname , Plantation labor after the abolition of slavery: the case of plantation Marienburg (Suriname), 1880-1940 . An adaptation of this was published as In Place of Slavery (1998).

Rosemarijn Hoefte was head of the Caribbean Department and subsequently head of Collections at the KITLV in Leiden and editor-in-chief of the Nieuwe West-Indische Gids/New West Indian Guide . She is a member of the editorial board of the journal for Surinamistics , Oso , on behalf of the KITLV . In addition to the journals mentioned, she has published articles in Latinamericanist , Boletín de estudios latinoamericanos y del Caribe , Hemisphere: a magazine of Latin American and Caribbean affairs , Intermediair , Internationale spectator: journal for international politics , Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Slavery & abolition: a journal of comparative studies , International labor and working-class history , the women's history journal Historica and Wadabagei: journal of the Caribbean and its diaspora , and in various volumes. She was co-