Photographic Practices in 19th- and 20th-Century Mauritius

Between 1826 and 1920, more than one million Indian indentured workers traveled to remote corners of the British, French, and Dutch empires to labor on various plantations. The largest contingent, that is more than 450,000 workers, settled in Mauritius. The colonial government of Mauritius used various photographic measures to identify, control and immobilize Indian indentured immigrants. Often, if the latter did not carry their photograph tickets, which indicated their status in the colony, they were arrested. Plantation colonies of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds that received Indian indentured labor experienced new photographic practices that could be equated with colonial predilection for record-keeping. By the late nineteenth century, Indian indentured immigrants and their descendants eventually became long term residents of the colony. Many sought greener pastures by remigrating to other colonies while others maintained their economic, familial, and social links with India. By the mid-twentieth century, Indian immigrants and their descendants had become the demographic majority of the colony. Many of these descendants routinely flocked to photography studios to have their pictures taken. Photography was no more the handmaiden of the colonial state. Families of Indian descent used photography to memorialize the moments of their everyday lives. Using colonial and family photographs, this poster examines the changing practices of photography in nineteenth and twentieth century Mauritius. My poster shall have three sections. The first section examines the purpose and practices of colonial anthropological portraits in the mid to late nineteenth century. The second section studies the factors that led to recurring practices of family photographs amongst descendants of Indian indentured immigrants in the twentieth century. The last section of the poster highlights the agency of families in pursuing family portraits.