A manual laborer, especially one who carries loads or does heavy work. Historically used for Asian laborers, though now considered offensive in many contexts.
From Hindi कुली (kulī) and Tamil கூலி (kūli), both meaning 'wages' or 'hired laborer'. The word may ultimately derive from the name of the Koli people, a community in Gujarat. European colonizers adopted this term in the 17th-18th centuries to refer to Asian laborers, particularly those working in plantations, railways, and ports across the British Empire.
This word traveled the entire British Empire route - from Indian ports to Caribbean plantations to American railroads! What started as a simple word for 'wages' became a label for an entire system of indentured labor that shaped global migration patterns.
Colonial-era term for indentured Asian laborers, often gendered masculine in historical documentation while erasing women's unpaid labor in the same systems. The term itself carries dehumanization tied to gendered exploitation hierarchies.
Avoid in contemporary usage; use 'indentured laborer' or specific historical context with analysis of gender erasure in colonial labor systems.
["indentured laborer","colonial-era worker","bonded laborer"]
Women constituted significant portions of colonial labor systems but were often invisible in records and terminology. Acknowledging this erasure honors their uncompensated contributions.
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