| ID | 114658 |
| Title Proper | Finding lascar wilful incendiarism |
| Other Title Information | British ship-burning panic and Indian maritime labour in the Indian Ocean |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Fisher, Michael H |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | From the 1790s to the 1850s, three dozen major merchant ships burned in India's important ports. Panic-stricken British shipowners, merchants and East India Company officials apprehended disruption of their intercontinental trade, so vital to the burgeoning British Empire. In all these cases, they accused Indian seamen (lascars) of selfish ship-burning. As a context, the lascars had, for centuries prior to European arrival in the Indian Ocean, worked collectively under their own petty officers. They and Indian recruiters in each port had long resisted colonial efforts to appropriate their maritime labour system. Britons used this half-century of alleged arson to finally impose British controls over lascar recruitment ashore and conditions of service aboard ships. |
| `In' analytical Note | South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies Vol. 35, No.3; Sep 2012: p.596-623 |
| Journal Source | South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies Vol. 35, No.3; Sep 2012: p.596-623 |
| Key Words | Lascar ; Arson ; Bombay ; East India Company ; Indian Ocean ; Maritime Labour ; Merchant Shipping ; Ship - Burning |