Transformation of migration strategies from colonial to post-colonial contexts: the cases of Guyana and Suriname

The plantation systems established during colonial times relied on the ongoing supply of free or low cost labour which was provided through the large movements of people from all corners of the world. African enslaved people first and later indentured labourers from India, China and Indonesia were brought to the Caribbean to undertake specific economic functions. As labour needs changed in the region, such as with the construction of the Panama Canal, workers migrated to take advantage of work opportunities outside of the plantation system. Independence marked a shift in migration prospects. If on one hand people’s ability to migrate was constrained as restrictions to movement were introduced, on the other hand the desire and need to migrate may have increased as new independent states were formed. The aim of this paper is to investigate how migration patterns and migration motives changed before and after independence. More specifically, I will investigate how independence may have affected migration opportunities for different segments of the population in Guyana and Suriname, where highly diverse populations may have had held different expectations of their role in the new independent state and pursued diverse migration strategies.