Lascars were seamen from the Indian subcontinent and other areas of the Indian Ocean region who were employed aboard European ships from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. They experienced difficult working conditions and came from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds,...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Jaffer, Aaron ca. 20./21. Jh (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Suffolk Boydell & Brewer 2015
Series:	Worlds of the East India Company 12
Subjects:	Sailors / India / History / 18th century Sailors / India / History / 19th century Seafaring life / India / History / 18th century Seafaring life / India / History / 19th century Mutiny / India / History / 18th century Mutiny / India / History / 19th century
Online Access:	BSB01 UBG01 Volltext
Summary:	Lascars were seamen from the Indian subcontinent and other areas of the Indian Ocean region who were employed aboard European ships from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. They experienced difficult working conditions and came from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, which created considerable scope for friction between them and their European officers. This book, based on extensive original research, examines the role of lascars employed aboard country ships, East Indiamen and other British sailing vessels. The focus is on protest in its various forms, from mild unrest to violent acts of mutiny in which lascar crews murdered officers, seized ships and then sought refuge with local rulers. It is only through descriptions of such events - found in logbooks, seafaring diaries and the East India Company's judicial records - that many aspects of lascar life at sea become visible and lascar voices can be heard. Through the study of mutiny and other forms of protest, the book provides a detailed insight into shipboard conditions amongst lascars employed during this period. Aaron Jaffer completed his doctorate in history at the University of Warwick
Item Description:	Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 07 Apr 2022) Introduction -- Lascars ashore and afloat -- Motley crews -- What is 'mutiny'? -- Reconstructing shipboard life -- 1. Causes of Mutiny -- Abusive officers -- Welfare and wages -- Religious issues -- 2. Mutiny and Protest -- Non-mutinous forms of protest -- Ceremonies, festivals and demonstrations -- Collective refusals to work -- Attacks on officers -- 3. The Role of Intermediaries -- Spheres of responsibility -- Serangs, tindals and shipboard protest -- Manipulating mutiny -- 4. Seizing the Ship -- Reading crew testimony -- White mutineers -- Mutineer regimes -- Women aboard commandeered vessels -- 5. Mutiny, Politics and Diplomacy -- Staging mutiny -- Mutineers, chiefs and rajahs -- Apprehending mutineers -- Punishing mutineers -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Selected shipboard uprisings involving lascar crews -- Bibliography -- Index
Physical Description:	1 Online-Ressource (xi, 237 Seiten)
ISBN:	9781782045939
DOI:	10.1017/9781782045939