Labor on the Fringes of Empire: Voice, Exit and the Law

343 Pages·2018·2.67 MB·English

by  Alessandro Stanziani (auth.)

PALGRAVE SERIES
IN INDIAN OCEAN
WORLD STUDIES
LABOR ON THE
FRINGES OF EMPIRE
Voice, Exit and the Law
Alessandro Stanziani
Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies
Series editor
Gwyn Campbell
McGill University
Montreal, Canada
This is the first scholarly series devoted to the study of the Indian Ocean
world from early times to the present day. Encouraging interdisciplinarity,
it incorporates and contributes to key debates in a number of areas includ-
ing history, environmental studies, anthropology, sociology, political sci-
ence, geography, economics, law, and labor and gender studies. Because it
breaks from the restrictions imposed by country/regional studies and
Eurocentric periodization, the series provides new frameworks through
which to interpret past events, and new insights for present-day policymak-
ers in key areas from labor relations and migration to diplomacy and trade.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14661
Alessandro Stanziani
Labor on the Fringes
of Empire
Voice, Exit and the Law
Alessandro Stanziani
EHESS-PSL and CNRS
Paris, France
Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies
ISBN 978-3-319-70391-6 ISBN 978-3-319-70392-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70392-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017961111
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
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This book is devoted to all those who did not give up their
fights for freedom.
A
cknowledgements
This book benefited from the many discussions and assistance from col-
leagues, friends and students. In India, I found the help and benevolent
criticism of organizers of the biannual meeting at the Association of Indian
labor History—Rana Behal, Chitra Joshi, and Prabhu Mohapatra, as well
as from the participants to these workshops that I had the great pleasure
to see growing over time from a small event to a huge world conference.
A special thanks also to my colleagues and friends interested in global
labor history—Andreas Eckert (Re-work, Berlin), Marcel Van Der Linden
(IISG Amsterdam), and Ulbe Bosma (IISG, Amsterdam). I also benefited
from the comments of specialists in African history—Frederick Cooper
(NYU), Gareth Austin (Cambridge University), Babacar Fall (University
Cheik Anta Diop, Dakar), Richard Roberts (Stanford). Gwyn Campbell
(McGill) and Claude Markovits (CNRS, Paris) provided valuable insights
in discussions of the Indian Ocean World. Global History specialists
helped me in connecting the different chapters. First of all, friends with
whom I have shared joint projects for several years: Jeremy Adelman
(Princeton), Sven Beckert (Harvard), Sebastian Conrad (Freie University,
Berlin), Sheldon Garon (Princeton), and Masashi Haneda (Tokyo
University). Also: William Gervase Clarence Smith (SOAS, London),
Patrick O’Brien (LSE), Giorgio Riello (Warwick), and Thirtankar Roy
(LSE). In Paris, Paul-André Rosental (Sciences-Po), and Gilles Postel-
Vinay were constant readers of my efforts. I also benefited from discus-
sions with colleagues at the EHESS: Corinne Lefèvre, Natalia Muchnik,
Xavier Paulès, Antonella Romano, Silvia Sebastiani, Larissa Zakharova,
and Ines Zupanov.
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In addition, I greatly benefited from the valuable suggestions of two
anonymous referees.
However, the best insights and suggestions came from my students at
the EHESS: discussions during and outside my seminars strongly contrib-
uted towards improving my efforts.
c
ontents
1 Introduction: Progress and (Un)Freedom 1
Labor and Freedom: Perspectives from the “Old World” 3
Abolitionism in India 5
Mauritius Island: Immigrants and the Limits
of Contractualism 7
French Abolitionism 9
Sources and Power 11
References 22
2 Coercion, Resistance and Voice 31
Economic Theories of Coercion 31
Power, Labor and the Colonial State 34
Rights and Legal Status 36
Resistance: Exit and Runaways 40
Resistance: Voice and the Use of the Law 43
Rights, Labor and Inequalities 48
References 59
3 Utilitarianism and the Abolition of Slavery in India 67
Introduction 67
From Pre-colonial to Colonial Slaveries 69
Utilitarianism, Abolitionism and Indian Slavery 77
ix
x CONTENTS
India, Britain and the Empire: Slavery and Sovereignty
1830s–1840s 85
Abolition in Practice 94
General Rules of Labor 99
Conclusion 113
References 128
4 Slavery, Abolition and the Contractarian Approach
in the Indian Ocean: The Case of Mauritius 137
From Slavery to Indentured Immigration in the Indian
Ocean: An Overview 137
Indentured Immigrants in the Indian Ocean 141
Indentured Immigrants in Mauritius:
The Overall Picture 145
Living Conditions and Abuse by Planters 147
What Were the Laborers’ Complaints? 153
Resistances 155
Penalties and Inducement 157
Savings, Repatriation and Contract Renewal 161
Conclusion 164
References 172
5 How Do You Say “Free” in French? 177
Abolitionism in France and the French Empire 178
Rules of Labor and Rights: Slaves vs. Domestic Servants 182
The Multiple Abolitions of Slavery 186
Empire on a Rock: Immigrants and Coercion on Reunion
Island—From Slavery to Indentured Immigrants 197
Engagisme After Slavery 200
Labor, Violence, and the Use of the Law 203
Feeding the Immigrants: Abuses, Benevolence,
and Colonial Welfare 208
Conclusion 218
References 236