Guiana 1838: The Arrival

Guiana 1838: The Arrival (2004)

Genres - Drama  |   Sub-Genres - Historical Epic, Political Drama  |   Release Date - Sep 24, 2004 (USA - Limited)  |   Run Time - 120 min.  |   Countries - Guyana, United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Jason Buchanan

Set just four short years after slavery in the British Caribbean was officially abolished, Director Rohit Jagessar earnest period drama finds plantation overseer James Bullock desperately plotting new ways to get slaves back in the sugar cane fields. In order to fill the great void that was opened up by abolition, the Gillanders, Arbuthnot & Company in Calcutta (part of the East India Company) recruits ambitious small-timer Sinha to draw in unsuspecting Indians by exploiting their dreams of the elusive El Dorado. Signed to five year contracts as indentured servants, the so-called "Coolies" board a British slave ship and endure a grueling 112 day trip to British Guiana. Upon arriving at their destination, the helpless "Coolies" are brutally enslaved on the colony. One year later, British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society representative John Scoble arrives at British Guiana to discover an insidious new brand of slavery that was forged on the backs of trusting Indians.

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Keywords

British, Caribbean, Guyana, India (subcontinent), labor [work], lies, plantation, slavery, voyage