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Difficulty: HardEffects of Global Migration

"The Indian population now constitutes the majority of the inhabitants of this colony. While their labor has preserved our sugar estates from ruin following the abolition of slavery, their settlement has introduced new social complexities. The extreme disproportion of the sexes among the immigrants has led to frequent domestic disputes and social instability, while the tendency of those who have completed their industrial residence to acquire land and enter retail trade has excited the jealousy of the creole population and European merchants, who call for stricter vagrancy laws and restrictions on licenses."

— Report of the Protector of Immigrants in Mauritius, 1878

The social and economic tensions described in the passage most directly contributed to which of the following responses by colonial and national governments in host societies during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?

  1. A
    The direct annexation of South Asian territories by host societies to ensure a centralized, state-controlled supply of plantation labor.
  2. B
    The reliance on voluntary European migration to resolve the labor shortages caused by the abolition of the slave trade.
  3. The enactment of restrictive laws and licensing policies intended to limit the economic competition and mobility of immigrant laborers.Answer
  4. D
    The adoption of state-sponsored assimilation programs guided by contemporary scientific theories of natural selection.

Answer

The enactment of restrictive laws and licensing policies intended to limit the economic competition and mobility of immigrant laborers.
The correct answer is correct because host societies frequently responded to the economic success and integration of indentured immigrants (such as Indians in Mauritius, Natal, or the Caribbean) by passing discriminatory legislation, such as vagrancy laws, poll taxes, or licensing restrictions, to protect the economic interests of European and local dominant groups.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus to determine the context and specific issues described.
The stimulus describes Indian indentured laborers in Mauritius after the abolition of slavery, highlighting the gender imbalance and their economic mobility (acquiring land and entering retail trade) which caused friction with European and Creole residents.
Understanding the source is crucial to identifying the historical trends and government responses related to global migration.
2
Connect the local friction in the stimulus to broader global trends in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Globally, host societies in the Americas, Africa, and Oceania faced similar demographic and economic shifts from migration, leading to local demands for state intervention.
AP World History requires linking specific primary sources to global developments and patterns.
3
Identify the primary policy response of governments to these migration-induced tensions.
Governments enacted discriminatory laws, such as exclusionary acts, licensing restrictions, poll taxes, and vagrancy laws, to limit the rights and economic competition of immigrants.
This directly matches the historical pattern of state responses to global migration effects during the consequences of industrialization.

Key Concept

The social, demographic, and political effects of global migration, including the rise of nativism and discriminatory legislative responses in host societies.
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Topics

Effects of Global Migration

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