Convicts in the Indian Ocean: Transportation from South Asia to Mauritius, 1815–53

203 Pages·2000·3.131 MB·English

by  Clare Anderson (auth.)

Convicts in the Indian Ocean
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Convicts in the
Indian Ocean
Transportation from South Asia
to Mauritius, 1815–53
Clare Anderson
Lecturer in Economic and Social History
University of Leicester
First published in Great Britain 2000 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-41427-7 ISBN 978-0-230-59654-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230596542
First published in the United States of America 2000 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Anderson, Clare, 1969–

Convicts in the Indian Ocean: transportation from South Asia to Mauritius, 1815–53 /

Clare Anderson.

p. cm.

Originally presented as the author’s thesis (doctoral—University of Edinburgh)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Prisoners, Transportation of
—East Indians—History—19th century. 2. Penal

colonies—Mauritius—History—19th century. 3. East Indians—Mauritius—History—19th

century. I. Title.

HV8960.I4 A53 1999
364.6'8 21—dc21 99–044579
© Clare Anderson 2000
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-76112-0
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written
permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained
forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
For Rowell and Madeleine Anderson
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Contents

Preface ix

List of Abbreviations x

Glossary xi

1. Introduction: Convict Labour and Colonial Expansion 1

2. `The Most Desperate Characters in all India'?The

Origins of Transportation in the South Asian Context 12

3. Punishment, Labour and Reform: the Organisation

of the Convict Workforce 34

4. Violent and `Everyday' Forms of Resistance: Convict

Responses to Transportation 59

5. The Socio-economic Integration of Convicts 85

6. The End of Transportation and the Liberation of the

Convicts 111

Appendices
A. Convict Ships Embarked for Mauritius 127

B. Socio-economic Origins of the Convicts 129

C. Convicts in Mauritius: Demographic Data 135

Notes 138

Bibliography 177

Index 188

vii
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Preface

This book originated as a PhD thesis in the Department of History,
University of Edinburgh, under the supervision of Ian Duffield and
Crispin Bates. I cannot thank them enough for all their advice and
support. The British Academy and Carnegie Trust for the Universities
of Scotland were also extremely generous in their financial support of
my research in London and Mauritius. My PhD examiners, Rosalind
O'Hanlon and Peter Young, suggested a number of ways in which
I could take my thesis further. Tony Barker, Crispin Bates, Clive Dewey,
Ian Duffield, Hamish Maxwell-Stewart and Satadru Sen all read and
commented extensively on drafts of this manuscript in its various
stages. I thank them and all those who made suggestions and comments
at those research seminars and conferences in which I was involved. I am
particularly grateful to Megan Vaughan for raising certain issues.
Additionally, Patricia Jeffery and Roger Jeffery assisted me in the com-
pilation of the glossary.
This thesis draws on a particularly wide range of source material and I
am grateful to the libraries and archives in which I have worked. In
Britain, the staff at the National Library of Scotland, British Library,
Public Record Office and India Office Library were extremely helpful.
I would also like to express thanks and gratitude to the directors and staff
of various institutions in Mauritius: the Mauritian Archives, Supreme
Court Library, Mauritius Institute and Royal Naval Museum. Marina
Carter was a wonderful host on the island, both through her expansive
knowledge of the archives and her friendship. Tristan Breville, Joe Chan,
the de Chazal family, Khalil Mouty and Raymond d'Unienville also
assisted me in various ways.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my parents ± Rowell and
Madeleine Anderson ± for all their help. Gabriel Milland also knows far
more about convicts than he ever wished to. This book is for them all,
with love.
Clare Anderson
Leicester
ix