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By the middle of the 19th century, there was a growing shortage of labour in the plantation system. There are some significant events, which had tremendous impacts on the labour problems. Pre as well as post emancipation events such as slave emancipation, the failure of apprenticeship and the emergence of the tenantry system among others, contributed to the planters' labour woes. It is therefore my intention in the following essay to demonstrate how these events in addition to a few others resulted in the importation of "large numbers of labourers in the period 1838 - 1900." Some historians argue that a "shift in social relations began with emancipation, and was emphasized in the labour problems of the period", however I disagree with this belief to some extent. While I do agree that emancipation played a very important role in the need for the importation of labour from 1838 - 1900, I believe that the true beginning of the labour problems began on January 1, 1807 with the abolition of the slave trade. From the 17th to the 19th century, it is fair to say that African slave labour was the most popular labour force employed by the West Indian planters. The slaves were cheap and easily available, as a result the planters we