They were accompanied also by a small retinue of indentured male and female servants.
This commission reported in 1909, its general conclusion being that in the interests of Natal the importation of indentured Indian labour should not be discontinued.
Many were only forced into indentured servitude, laboring in apple orchards for large landowners.
The supply of indentured servants from England was soon inadequate to meet the labor needs of the sugar industry.
So at the age of fifteen, he signed up with his father's approval as an indentured apprentice onboard the " Oneida " .