Interesting facts about The King Kalakaua's trip across the British India subcontinent - A search For Labour

According to a report of the trip Armstrong later filed with the Hawaiian government, any negotiations for Indian contract labour had to be done with the British government in London, so no talks were conducted during their time in India.

Jun 13, 2022 - 14:36
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Several plantation owners in Hawaii favored the importation of coolie labor from the East India region. Henry A. P. Carter and British consul James Hay Wodehouse had already visited England in 1879 to open a door for the process.

They were discouraged by stipulations that Hawaii would be forced to pass legislation that would in essence be a detailed labour contract. There was a further requirement that such a Hawaiian law could not be changed without the approval of the governments of both Great Britain and East India.

The prospect was explored through the end of 1880 when Hawaii's immigration board decided the islands could not import Indian labour within the parameters required. According to a report of the trip Armstrong later filed with the Hawaiian government, any negotiations for Indian contract labour had to be done with the British government in London, so no talks were conducted during their time in India.

They arrived in Calcutta on May 28 and visited the Alipore Zoological Gardens. Kalākaua spent one day sitting in the Calcutta courthouse to observe India's legal process. Their trip across the British India subcontinent was a sightseeing excursion during their last days before sailing to the Middle East, and they stopped to tour the Ellora Caves prior to reaching Bombay.

The King soon tired of the long journey and was bored and restless by the time they arrived at Bombay, where they remained until the departure of their steamship on June 7. There was more in Bombay to interest him: a shopping trip, the Arab Stallion Stables, the Parsi Towers of Silence, and a visit from businessman Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy.

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