|
The livret system: a unique accounting
artifact in the history of indentured labor
Thomas N Tyson,
St. John Fisher College
Shanta S.K. Davie, University of Newcastle Business School
ABSTRACT. Between 1838 and 1920, over 200,000 Indians immigrated to British Guiana (BG) as indentured workers on sugar plantations (estates). BG sugar estates present a distinctive environment to examine accounting practices during the transition from slave to free workers, in part, because a variety of labor types co-existed on the same estates. In 1873, the BG legislature introduced the livret (i.e., book of work) system to instill positive incentives and provide tangible rewards to indentured workers. A livret was to be kept by each worker and contain the wages earned during their indenture. In theory, livrets would mitigate pay disputes and enable immigrants to end their indenture in less than five years. In reality, livrets were never widely used and essentially abandoned by 1880. This paper describes the livret system and speculates on its demise. It also evaluates this accounting artifact from the perspectives of economic rationalism and Marxist theory.
Full-Text is no longer available online. Please contact the author(s) for more information about this manuscript.
Back to Session Listing
|