An Uneasy Alliance: Traders, Missionaries and Tamil Intermediaries in Eighteenth-Century French ...

317 Pages·2011·5.48 MB·English

An Uneasy Alliance: Traders, Missionaries and Tamil
Intermediaries in Eighteenth-Century French India

by
Danna Agmon

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Anthropology and History)
in The University of Michigan
2011

Doctoral Committee:

Associate Professor Diane Owen Hughes, Co-Chair
Professor Sumathi Ramaswamy, Co-Chair, Duke University
Professor Dena Goodman
Professor Webb Keane
Professor Ines G. Županov, Chargée de Recherche, CNRS
Copyright: Danna Agmon
2011
Acknowledgments

A list such as this often refers to debts acknowledged; but the word “debt” does
not come close to conveying my pleasure at being able to thank the mentors, friends and
family who have made the process of researching and writing this dissertation so
fulfilling, meaningful and – more often than not – fun.
The members of my committee have been unfailingly and uncommonly generous
with their time, ideas, and enthusiasm. My co-chairs, Diane Owen Hughes and Sumathi
Ramaswamy, serve as my model for a scholarly life. Collectively and individually, their
curiosity, energy, creativity and empathy (for both their students and the subjects of their
research) are exceptional and inspiring. They responded to long and rambling reports
from the archives, read multiple drafts of chapters, and encouraged me through the years
to follow my fascination with the stories told here. I could not have completed this work
without their unflagging support. Having Dena Goodman as a reader was a blessing and
an education: she continually and productively pushed me to make my work sharper and
more nuanced, generously digging deep into the text again and again. Webb Keane was
my first and most important guide to anthropology. His trademark question – what are the
stakes? – is never far from my mind. I am especially fortunate to have Ines Županov as a
mentor and guide. Her warm welcome in Paris to an unknown student and her expertise
on all things Jesuit, Pondichéry, and Nayiniyappa have been a gift. I also wish to thank
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Gadi Algazi and Aviad Kleinberg in Tel Aviv University, who were my first guides to the
pleasures of the historical chase.
Several institutions have made possible the research and writing of this project. A
Bourse Chateaubriand allowed me to spend precious time in France, and research in
France and in India was supported by the Council for European Studies, and the
University of Michigan’s International Institute, Center for Medieval and Early Modern
Studies, and Center for World Performance Studies. The archivists and other staff I met
in Aix-en-Provence, Paris and Pondichéry were uniformly kind and helpful; special
thanks is due to the staff at the wonderful Centre des archives d’outre-mer in Aix-en-
Provence, Mme. Brigitte Appavou of the archives of the missions étrangères de Paris,
Mme. Cécile de Cacqueray of the Bibliothèque Francisicane des Capucins in Paris and
Père Robert Bonfils of the Jesuit archives in Vanves. I am grateful to the American
Institute of Indian Studies and especially to Purnima Mehta in Delhi for her assistance,
which made possible my time at the archives of the Record Centre, Pondicherry. Once
there, Assistant Archivist Mr.Murugesan was exceptionally helpful.
The writing stage of this dissertation was supported by the University of
Michigan’s Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, the Rackham Graduate School, and
most significantly, the Institute for the Humanities. The year I spent as a fellow at the
Institute, under the directorship of Danny Herwitz, was uniquely meaningful. The sense
of community and engagement that was created by the fellows of 2008-2009 made that
year a joyous one, and turned writing into an immeasurably less solitary pursuit. Special
thanks to Eva-Marie Dubuisson, Amy Rodgers, Monica Kim, Joshua Cole, Paul
Christopher Johnson, and Susan (Scottie) Parish.
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I have had opportunity to present portions of this work in many settings, and
careful commentators have offered me insightful suggestions. For this I am grateful to
Emma Anderson, Dan Birchok, Adriana Chira, David William Cohen, Paul Cohen,
Héloïse Finch-Boyer, Daniel Hershenzon, Maya Jasanoff, Paul Christopher Johnson,
Bhavani Raman, Natalie Rothman, Robert Travers, and Gary Wilder. The organizers of
the Séminare collectif du groupe de recherches sur les missions religieuses in Paris
invited me to present work at a crucial stage of the development of this project. Anwen
Hughes took time from a busy schedule to let me grill her about interpreters in courts.
Caterina Guenzi welcomed me in Pondichéry, and made my time there a pleasure. Dr.
Parasuraman of the Pondicherry Institute for Linguistics and Culture met with me daily
and good-naturedly endured endless questions.
Friends around the world have been my fellow-travellers on intellectual and
physical journeys. The Doctoral Program in Anthropology and History provided an
unusual and exciting space, and I feel privileged to have been educated by my fellow
students. For their willingness to read multiple drafts, talk about Big Ideas and make
nerdy but funny jokes, special thanks to my dear friends Federico Helfgott, Nafisa Essop
Sheik, Stephen Sparks, and Dan Birchok. I am particularly grateful to Héloïse Finch-
Boyer for first suggesting, when I was still finding my way into a project, that I might
want to look around in French India. Minayo Nasiali was in Marseille while I was in Aix,
and provided a real sense of camaraderie and lots of food as we found our way in the
archives. Tal Zalmanovich and I took our first steps in historical research together in Tel
Aviv, and though we have had all too little time in the same town since those days, she
has remained the person I turn to for the stellar combination of deep and abiding
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friendship and incisive commentary on work. My friendship with her and with Iris
Kashman has now been going strong for fifteen years, and is a continual source of love
and laughter. During the final few months in Ann Arbor, Xochitl Ruiz provided daily and
much-appreciated support. I can’t imagine the last two-year stretch without the critical
help of my writing partner, Bridget Guarasci, who offered thoughtful and incisive
comments on every single chapter and offered sage advice on how to get it done.
My parents, Ora and Tamir, to whom this work is dedicated, are exemplars of
how to lead a life motivated by passion and curiosity, and I hope I have learned their
lessons well. Their love and that of my sister, Tal, has nourished me over the years and
across the seas. To Eli, who introduced so much unanticipated joy, laughter and delight
into my life, at just the right time, I am grateful. And above all, to Dan, to and for whom I
am thankful beyond words.
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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................ii
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................... viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................. ix
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1
CHAPTER II
“FULL LIBERTY OF COMMERCE AND CONSCIENCE”: THE
PONDICHÉRY DESERTIONS OF 1701-1715 ................................................ 46
CHAPTER III
L’AFFAIRE NAYINIYAPPA: A COLONIAL SCANDAL ............................. 99
CHAPTER IV
FAMILIES IN THE MIDDLE: THE EFFECTIVE POLITICS OF KINSHIP
............................................................................................................................. 141
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CHAPTER V
MEDIATING A POLYGLOT COLONY: FRENCH, TAMIL AND
PORTUGUESE IN PONDICHÉRY AND IN L’AFFAIRE NAYINIYAPPA
............................................................................................................................. 190
CHAPTER VI
INTERMEDIARIES ON THE MOVE: MOBILITY, STABILITY AND
THE FOREIGN CONDITION ........................................................................ 231
CHAPTER VII
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 273
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................. 286

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List of Figures

Figure 1: The Indian Ocean……………………………………………. ……….17
Figure 2: India in 1707…………………………………………………………...18
Figure 3: The Disputed Temple in Pondichéry…………………………………..68
Figure 4: Fort St. Louis, Pondiochéry………………………………………..…106
Figure 5: A Timeline of the Nayiniyappa Affair…………………..………...…139
Figure 6: Pillai Family Tree…………………………………………………….148
Figure 7: Ananda Ranga Pillai’s Mansion………………………………...……274
Figure 8: A Statue of Ananda Ranga Pillai………………………………..……275
Figure 9: An Eighteenth-Century Portrait of Ananda Ranga Pillai………….…276

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List of abbreviations

AN: Archives nationales, Paris
BNF: Bibliothèque nationale française, site Richelieu, Paris
C²: Sous-Série C². Inde et Compagnie des Indes (1649-1808)
CAOM: Centre des archives d’outre-mer, Aix-en-Provence
Capuchins: Bibliothèque franciscaine des Capucins, Paris
DPPC: Dépôt des papiers publics des colonies
FM: Fonds ministériels
MEP: missions étrangères de Paris
NAF: Nouvelles acquisitions françaises
NAIP: National Archives of India, Pondicherry Record Centre
Vanves: Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus, Vanves

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