Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Indian Indentured Labourers: Colonial authorities used indirect economic pressure — rising land rents, declining cottage industries, debt — which forced peasants to migrate. Agents also used deception, false promises, and sometimes outright abduction to recruit workers. Once recruited, labourers were bound by contracts with harsh legal penalties for non-compliance.

African Workers: Colonial authorities imposed heavy taxes that could only be paid through wage labour. Inheritance laws were changed to dispossess peasants from land, pushing them into the labour market. The Rinderpest cattle plague (1890s) was further exploited — colonisers monopolised scarce surviving cattle, destroying African livelihoods and leaving people no choice but to work for wages.

Source: Chapter 3, Sections 2.4 (Indentured Labour Migration from India) and 2.4 (Rinderpest, or the Cattle Plague)

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• The question asks for a comparison, so you must address both groups separately and identify the specific methods for each.
• For Indians: focus on economic displacement + agent deception + abduction + contractual bondage.
• For Africans: focus on heavy taxation + changed inheritance laws + Rinderpest exploitation + confinement in compounds.
• Examiners look for at least 2 methods per group to award full marks. Don't mix the two groups' methods together.