Immigration, Intoxication, Insanity, and Incarceration in British Guiana

The transition from slavery to freedom in British Guiana was a gradual process, taking place through a period of apprenticeship for the formerly enslaved which came into effect in 1834. Emancipation produced a series of rapid challenges for the colonial state as it attempted to retain dominance over ex-slaves without the extensive coercive powers that had been allowed under slavery. The introduction of indentured labourers from 1835 further added to these complexities as workers from India, China, Portugal, and Africa generated significant flows of migrants to the region. In this post-emancipation period, the colonial state expanded its powers through the establishment of new laws and institutions of confinement to consolidate its control over an ethnically diverse population. This article interrogates the ways in which punishment and coercive techniques were part of both larger imperial calculations and broader political, economic, and cultural shifts in the colony.