No account needed to search. A free account saves a match to your tree. Search by name, father's name, ship, year, or indenture number.
No login required for preview
Search by name, father name, or indenture number
Save matches after signup
Preview search
Preview search
Search passenger or father names, indenture numbers, or providers
Genealogy is detective work — each search teaches you something. Try a few name spellings, an ancestor's village, or the ship they arrived on. Rarely is the first search the winning one.
🔒Your searches are private to your account. Records you save or pin as your ancestor stay on your side unless you explicitly share or contribute them — the search itself never sends your ancestor's name anywhere except our own archive lookup.
Preview results
This is a preview of public record data. Create a free account to save matches, attach documents, and link back to India.
Found a match? Sign up free to link this ancestor to your family tree.
No account needed. We will send a private link and an upload link.
Understanding Tamil Indenture Records (1834-1920)
What Are Tamil Indenture Records?
Tamil indenture records are historical documents from 1834-1920 that tracked Indian laborers who migrated to British, French, and Dutch colonies under contract (indenture) labor systems. After the abolition of slavery in 1833, colonial plantations needed workers — over 1.5 million Indians, including approximately 500,000 Tamils, migrated as indentured laborers to sugar estates, tea plantations, and infrastructure projects across the world.
These records include ship manifests, immigration passes, arrival registers, and employment contracts. They typically contain the migrant's name, father's name, age, caste, village of origin (often in Tamil Nadu), physical description, ship name, departure port, arrival date, and destination.
Major Destinations for Tamil Migrants
Mauritius (1834-1910)
241,000+ recordsvia III (Indentured Immigration Index)
Largest Tamil diaspora destination. Ships departed from Madras and Pondicherry every 2-3 weeks during peak migration (1860-1890). Voyage duration: 6-8 weeks.
Fiji (1879-1916)
12,000+ recordsvia Girmitiya Madras
Tamil migrants from Madras Presidency. "Girmitiya" (from English "agreement") refers to indentured laborers. Voyage: 8-10 weeks via Colombo.
Natal sugar estates. The Truro (1860) — the first indentured ship — departed from Madras. Voyage: 10-12 weeks via Cape of Good Hope.
United Kingdom — passenger lists (1890-1960)
6,000+ recordsvia TNA (The National Archives, Kew)
UK outward passenger lists (Board of Trade BT 26/27) — ships leaving British ports for India and the colonies. Catalogue-level: useful for provenance, not per-person names.
Suriname (1873-1916)
Archives in progress
Dutch Guiana plantations. Tamil migrants via British India. Ships departed Madras and Calcutta. Voyage: 8-10 weeks.
Origin Ports and Ship Routes
Madras (Chennai) — Primary Departure Port
The vast majority of Tamil migrants departed from Madras Harbor. Recruitment centers (depots) operated in Madras city where migrants underwent medical examination, received travel documents (immigration pass), and boarded ships. Common routes: Madras → Mauritius (6-8 weeks), Madras → Fiji (8-10 weeks via Colombo), Madras → Guyana/Trinidad (10-12 weeks via Cape of Good Hope).
Pondicherry (Puducherry) — French Territory
French colonial port serving migrants to French colonies (Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique) and some British destinations. Smaller volume than Madras but significant for southern Tamil Nadu districts (Tanjore, Tiruchirapalli).
Notable Ships in Tamil Indenture Migration
Hundreds of ships transported Tamil migrants between 1834-1920. Major vessels include:
Truro
Madras → Guyana (1860s), Natal
Sheila
Madras → Mauritius (1850s-70s)
Hesperus
Madras → Mauritius & Caribbean
Atlas
Madras → Fiji & Mauritius
British Empire
Madras → Natal, South Africa
Ganges
Multiple routes from Madras
Main
Madras → Trinidad (1870s-90s)
Syria
Madras → Mauritius & Réunion
Fath Al Salem
Early ship to Trinidad (1840s-50s)
Ship manifests list each passenger with detailed information, making them invaluable genealogical sources. Search by ship name above if you know your ancestor's vessel.
What Information Do Indenture Records Contain?
Typical fields in Tamil indenture records:
Full name of migrant
Often transliterated from Tamil
Father's name (patronymic)
Critical for Tamil identification
Age at departure
Usually 18-35 years old
Caste / community
E.g., Pariah, Vellala, Naidu
Village of origin
District and taluk when recorded
Physical description
Height, marks, complexion
Ship name
Vessel that transported them
Indenture/pass number
Unique identifier
Departure & arrival dates
Exact dates when recorded
Destination & estate
Colony and employer assignment
Family relationships
If migrating with spouse/children
Note: The level of detail varies by colonial archive, time period, and record type. Earlier records (1840s-1860s) tend to have less information than later ones (1880s-1920).
Free · No credit card
Ready to save matches?
Create a free account to keep your results, add relatives, and build the migration story.