The 1937 Uba riots in Mauritius resulted in 4 deaths after small-scale sugar cane growers protested an unexpected price reduction by sugar mills.
Key Facts
- Date
- August 1937
- Deaths
- 4 people
- Injured
- 6 people
- Trigger
- Reduction in price paid for Uba sugarcane by mills
- Participants
- Small-scale sugarcane growers and labourers
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Small-scale sugarcane growers in Mauritius cultivated the Uba variety of Saccharum sinense and depended on sugar mills for income. An unexpected reduction in the price mills were prepared to pay for the cane created severe economic hardship for these smallholders and labourers, provoking widespread discontent.
In August 1937, the grievances of small-scale Uba sugarcane growers escalated into open riots and civil disturbances across Mauritius. The unrest represented a direct protest against the economic conditions imposed by the sugar milling industry on vulnerable agricultural workers.
The riots resulted in 4 deaths and 6 injuries. The violent disturbances drew attention to the precarious conditions of smallholder cane farmers and labourers in Mauritius, highlighting the power imbalance between independent growers and the sugar milling sector.
Political Outcome
Riots were suppressed; 4 people killed and 6 injured amid unresolved tensions between smallholder cane growers and sugar mills.