Indians in French Guiana

Indians in French Guiana are mostly descendants of Tamil indentured labourers from India who live in the French Overseas Department of French Guiana.

They are often referred to as Indians or East Indians and make up of 4% of the population.

Migration History

Between 1838 and 1917 there were 19,276 Indian immigrants to French Guiana. Labour from India began to enter French Guiana beginning in 1862. By the mid-1880s, however, the British stopped shipments of Indians in response to allegations that the French were ill treating indentured the Indian workers under their employ.

In recent years, immigrants of East Indian origin have been arriving from French Guiana's neighbouring countries such as Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Notable people

• Lotus Vingadassamy-Engel

See also

• Asian Latin American
• Indo-Caribbean
• Indians in Guadeloupe
• Indo-Martiniquais
• Tamil Diaspora