Virginie Chaillou-Atrous is a doctor in contemporary history. She is a lecturer at the University of Nantes and a researcher at the University’s Research Centre for Atlantic and International History (CRHIA). She coordinates the work of the “Europe, Europeans and the World” research theme of the encyclopaedia EHNE: Writing a digital history of Europe. She is also in charge of research support and is the scientific coordinator of LIPE (The Pedagogical Innovation Laboratory on Europe). She is a specialist in migration flows and forced migration in the Western Indian Ocean, with a particular interest in the history of African and Indian indentured workers in Réunion in the 19th century. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including De l’Inde à la Réunion. Histoire d’une transition, l’épreuve du lazaret 1860-1882 (La Réunion, Océan Éditions, 2002) and Histoire des engagés africains à La Réunion au XIXe siècle, to be published in Les Indes Savantes.