This thesis posits that the experiences and emotional strain associated with being a domestic servant gave rise to a culture of anger and violence within the ranks of Indian Domestic
Servants in Colonial Natal during the period 1880 to 1920. These acts of violence, in particular physical and indecent assault and poisoning are explored here not in admiration of their brutality, but for their historical relevance to the study of Indenture, more specifically in the area of servant-master/mistress relations. The study uses these crimes as a window into the social dynamics of the settler home and domestic space in Colonial Natal, since they were created within their own set of orchestrating emotions and situations. The thesis draws on international and local literature around master/mistress-servant relations as well as
relations between domestic slaves and the owners of their labour at the same time in other regions of the world.