Geographies and Histories of Unfreedom

This chapter examines the continuities and divergences of different forms of labour migration over time and the degrees of unfreedom they manifest. It suggests that levels of (un)freedom can usefully be understood by analysing the various forms of control exercised over the movement of labour. More specifically, it shows how unfreedom can be understood as a particular assemblage of spatial practices that simultaneously compel migration and enforce spatial confinement. Drawing on a study of Mauritius, the chapter argues that the manipulated nature of the transnational movements of indentured labour who are subsequently confined on sugar plantations and the recruitment of Chinese labour migrants whose movements are restricted to garment factory compounds shapes the degree of their unfreedom.