Plucking tea c. 1900

Henry William Cave made this photograph of tea harvesters in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, at the height of the British Empire. The photo itself is a product of industrial capitalism. The gelatin silver process allowed for a sharp, reproducible image, ideal for mass distribution. Consider what’s depicted: not the verdant beauty of the tea plants, but the labour required to produce a commodity for global consumption. Notice the large woven baskets, heavy with tea leaves, strapped to the backs of the workers. Their postures suggest long hours spent bent over in the fields, their hands performing the repetitive task of plucking the leaves. Cave’s image, while seemingly objective, is laden with the politics of its time. It prompts us to consider the social relations embedded in every cup of tea and the complex systems of production that connect us to distant lands and often, to exploited labour.