ADOLPHE DE PLEVITZ AND SIR ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON: BRITISH JUSTICE, RACE, AND INDIAN LABOR IN MAURITIUS AND FIJI, 1871-1880

Authors

Loretta de Plevitz, Queensland University of Technology

Abstract

This paper follows the relationship between the first substantive governor of Fiji, Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon, and Adolphe de Plevitz, a Frenchman by birth, who held strong beliefs about the supremacy of British justice and equality. The setting is two tiny British colonies, Mauritius and Fiji, in the latter part of the nineteenth century. In Fiji, Gordon encouraged the importation of indentured Indian workers to develop Queen Victoria’s newest colony; yet in Mauritius, his previous posting, he had reluctantly initiated a Royal Commission into the inequitable treatment of Indians who remained on the island after their period of indenture had ended. The catalyst for the Royal Commission, which made Gordon immensely unpopular, was a pamphlet written by Adolphe de Plevitz alleging systemic maltreatment of the Indians. Forced to leave Mauritius and unaware of the governor’s antipathy toward him, de Plevitz followed Gordon to Fiji. In the contest of tropical labor, race, governance, and ambition, Gordon’s character—obdurate, unforgiving, and autocratic—was bound to clash again with de Plevitz’s—outspoken, impetuous, and a defender of the underdog.

Recommended Citation

de Plevitz, Loretta (2010) "ADOLPHE DE PLEVITZ AND SIR ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON: BRITISH JUSTICE, RACE, AND INDIAN LABOR IN MAURITIUS AND FIJI, 1871-1880," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 33: No. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol33/iss1/2