Lascar mutiny in the age of sail, c.1780-1860
This thesis examines the diverse body of seafarers known as âlascarsâ. Scholarship devoted to lascars who were employed during the age of sail has tended to focus on the minority who stayed and settled in Britain. Studying lascars as migrants can have the effect of obscuring the time they spent afloat and often risks casting them in the role of victims. Historians have failed to address fully the issue of how these men resisted the oppressive conditions of their employment whilst at sea. This thesis draws upon a wealth of unused source material â including logbooks, seafaring diaries and judicial records â to reconstruct lascar unrest aboard British merchantmen operating in the Indian Ocean between 1780 and 1860. It uncovers a wide range of hitherto overlooked forms of agency amongst lascars. These include everyday acts of collective protest such as demonstrations, refusals to work, assaults on officers and disorderly religious festivals. Such tactics enabled lascars to exert considerable influence aboard ship by venting anger, resisting unpopular orders and gaining concessions from their superiors. They also serve to broaden our understanding of what constitutes a âmutinyâ and how this could vary
Jaffer, Aaron
DS Asia
Lascar mutiny in the age of sail, c.1780-1860. This thesis examines the diverse body of seafarers known as âlascarsâ. Scholarship devoted to lascars who were employed during the age of sail has tended to focus on the minority who stayed and settled in Britain. Studying lascars as migrants can have the effect of obscuring the time they spent afloat and often risks casting them in the role of victims. Historians have failed to address fully the issue of how these men resisted the oppressive conditions of their employment whilst at sea. This thesis draws upon a wealth of unused source material â including logbooks, seafaring diaries and judicial records â to reconstruct lascar unrest aboard British merchantmen operating in the Indian Ocean between 1780 and 1860. It uncovers a wide range of hitherto overlooked forms of agency amongst lascars. These include everyday acts of collective protest such as demonstrations, refusals to work, assaults on officers and disorderly religious festivals. Such tactics enabled lascars to exert considerable influence aboard ship by venting anger, resisting unpopular orders and gaining concessions from their superiors. They also serve to broaden our understanding of what constitutes a âmutinyâ and how this could vary
mutiny age sail examines diverse body seafarer know scholarship devote employ age sail tend_focus minority stay settle britain studying migrant effect obscure time spend often risk casting role victim historians fail_address fully issue men resist oppressive condition employment whilst sea draw_upon wealth unused source_material include seafaring diary judicial record reconstruct unrest british operate indian_ocean uncovers wide_range hitherto overlook form agency amongst include everyday act_collective protest demonstration refusal work officer religious_festival tactic enable exert considerable influence ship anger resist unpopular order_gain concession superior also_serve broaden constitutes mutiny could vary