Following the abolition of slavery, which nation's workers were contracted to replace the freed slaves?

Following the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833, a significant labor shortage emerged, particularly in the sugar plantations of the Caribbean and other colonies. While abolishing slavery was a moral victory, it created a practical problem: who would do the work? Plantation owners turned to a system called indentured servitude, essentially contracting workers from other parts of the world for a fixed period, often five years. India and China, with their large populations and existing economic hardships, became key sources of this labor. Millions of Indians and Chinese were recruited, often under harsh conditions, to work in plantations and mines across the British Empire. So, when we think about who replaced the freed slaves, it wasn't workers from Russia or Australia, but rather the contracted workers from India and China who filled this labor void. This history highlights a complex period of social change and global labor migration within the British Empire.