 This period of intensive use of Indian labour took place during British rule, with many brutal episodes and a long struggle by the indentured for respect.The term applied to the indentured during this period, and which has since become a derogatory term for Mauritians of Asian descent, was Coolie.The island soon became the key-point in the trade of indentured laborers, as thousands of Indians set forth from Calcutta or Karikal; not only did they modify the social, political and economic physiognomies of the island, but some also went farther, to the West Indies.