Subaltern Lives: Biographies of Colonialism in the Indian Ocean World, 1790-1920

240 Pages·2012·7.71 MB·English

by  Clare Anderson

Subaltern Lives
SubalternLivesusesbiographicalfragmentsofthelivesofconvicts,cap-
tives, sailors, slaves, indentured labourers and indigenous peoples to
buildafascinatingnewpictureofcoloniallifeinthenineteenth-century
Indian Ocean. Moving between India, Africa, Mauritius, Burma,
Singapore,Ceylon,theAndamanIslandsandtheAustraliancolonies,
Clare Andersonoffers freshreadings of thenature andsignificance of
‘networked’ Empire. She reveals the importance of penal transporta-
tionforcolonialexpansionandshedsnewlightonconvictexperiences
of penal settlements and colonies, as well as the relationship between
convictism, punishment and colonial labour regimes. The book also
explores the nature of colonial society during this period and embeds
subaltern biographies into key events like the abolition of slavery, the
Anglo-SikhWarsandtheIndianRevoltof1857.Thisisanimportant
newperspectiveonBritishcolonialismwhichalsoopensupnewpossi-
bilitiesforthewritingofhistoryitself.
clare anderson is Professor of History at the University of
Leicester. She is currently developing comparative work on European
penalcolonies,ontheinterfacebetween‘academic’and‘family’history,
andtherelationshipbetweenhistory,sociologyandanthropology.
CriticalPerspectivesonEmpire
Editors
ProfessorCatherineHall
UniversityCollegeLondon
ProfessorMrinaliniSinha
PennsylvaniaStateUniversity
ProfessorKathleenWilson
StateUniversityofNewYork,StonyBrook
Critical Perspectives on Empire is a major series of ambitious, cross-disciplinary
worksintheemergingfieldofcriticalimperialstudies.Booksintheseriesexplore
the connections, exchanges and mediations at the heart of national and global
histories,the contributionsoflocal as well as metropolitanknowledge, and the
flowsofpeople,ideasandidentitiesfacilitatedbycolonialcontact.Tothatend,
the series not only offers a space for outstanding scholars working at the inter-
sectionofseveraldisciplinestobringtowiderattentiontheimpactoftheirwork;
italsotakesaleadingroleinreconfiguringcontemporaryhistoricalandcritical
knowledge,ofthepastandofourselves.
Afulllistoftitlespublishedintheseriescanbefoundat:
www.cambridge.org/cpempire
Subaltern Lives
Biographies of Colonialism in the Indian Ocean
World, 1790–1920
Clare Anderson
cambridge university press
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,
NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107645448
(cid:2)C ClareAnderson2012
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Anderson,Clare,1969–
Subalternlives:biographiesofcolonialismintheIndianOceanworld,
1790–1920/ClareAnderson.
pages cm.–(Criticalperspectivesonempire)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-01509-8–ISBN978-1-107-64544-8(pbk.)
1.Marginality,Social–IndianOcean–History. 2.Marginality,Social–
Oceania–History. 3.GreatBritain–Colonies–History. I.Title.
HN683.5.A654 2012
365(cid:3).34–dc23[B] 2011049192
ISBN978-1-107-01509-8Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-64544-8Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
Contents
Listofillustrations pagevi
Acknowledgements viii
Listofabbreviations xi
Maps xii
1 Introduction 1
2 Dullah 23
3 GeorgeMorgan 56
4 NarainSing 93
5 LiaquatAliandAmeliaBennett 124
6 EdwinForbes 157
7 Conclusion 187
Bibliography 196
Index 210
v
Illustrations
2.1 FortCornwallis,AndamanIslands,IndianOcean,c.1790.
WatercolourbyRobertHydeColebrooke.RexNanKivell
Collection,NK170.NationalLibraryofAustralia. page24
2.2 Chetoo,anincorrigibleconvictofthefifthclass,inJ.F.A.
McNair,PrisonersTheirOwnWarders:ARecordoftheConvict
PrisonatSingaporeintheStraitsSettlementsEstablished1825,
Discontinued1873,TogetherwithaCursoryHistoryofthe
ConvictEstablishmentsatBencoolen,PenangandMalaccafrom
theYear1797(London:ArchibaldConstableandCo.,1899). 31
2.3 ‘GrandeRivie`re’,inT.Bradshaw,ViewsintheMauritius,or
IsleofFrance,drawnfromnature(London:JamesCarpenter
andSon,1832). 38
3.1 ‘JumpJimCrow’.AmericanAntiquarianSociety,Worcester,
Massachusetts,USA/TheBridgemanArtLibrary. 62
3.2 ConstanceTrudgett.EdwardDukyerpapers,National
LibraryofAustralia,MS9061/3/1. 79
3.3 OriginalHutsforConvicts,Singapore,inJ.F.A.McNair,
PrisonersTheirOwnWarders:ARecordoftheConvictPrisonat
SingaporeintheStraitsSettlementsEstablished1825,
Discontinued1873,TogetherwithaCursoryHistoryofthe
ConvictEstablishmentsatBencoolen,PenangandMalaccafrom
theYear1797(London:ArchibaldConstableandCo.,1899). 80
3.4 VictorDanvin,Groupedeconvictsdansunde´frichement
(Groupofconvictsinaclearing),Tasmania,1837.Allport
LibraryandMuseumofFineArts,TasmanianArchiveand
HeritageOffice. 85
4.1 ‘Convictartist’S.R.Taylor,Settlementsceneshowingpart
ofOboandtheAtaranfromMoulmein,Burma,c.1853.
4759148,NationalLibraryofAustralia. 105
4.2 BhaiMaharajSinghMemorial,SilatRoad,Singapore.
Author’sphotograph. 111
5.1 LiaquatAli,c.1875.Author’scollection. 128
vi
Listofillustrations vii
5.2 LandingPlace.AndamanIslands.XSpotwhereLordMayo,
Gov.Generalwasmurdered.Unknownphotographer,
albumenprint,1870s.95.0004–00046,AlkaziCollectionof
Photography,NewDelhi. 131
5.3 AmeliaBennettasachild,withhersiblings,c.1855.Bykind
permissionofJanetChapman,LucyKallebringandJune
Wilmshurst. 134
5.4 AmeliaBennettasayoungwoman,c.1870.Bykind
permissionofJanetChapman,LucyKallebringandJune
Wilmshurst. 135
6.1 EuropeansailorsoftheIndianNavy,BreachingtheDelhi
Gate,1858.PAD5908,(cid:2)C NationalMaritimeMuseum,
Greenwich. 162
6.2 AndamanIslands:NorthendofPortBlair,withthefirst
buildingerectedthere,ahospital,1857.Unknown
photographer,albumenprint.96.39.0054,AlkaziCollection
ofPhotography,NewDelhi. 164
6.3 AndamanIslands:Foreground–ChathamIsland;
background–RossIsland;ontheright–Aberdeen
Settlement.Mr.NicholsonoftheSurveyDept.whocameto
determinethelongitude.Unknownphotographer,albumen
print.96.39.0056,AlkaziCollectionofPhotography,New
Delhi. 165
6.4 AndamansJack,photographedbyOscarMallitte,1858.The
RoyalCollection(cid:2)C 2011,HerMajestyQueenElizabethII. 174
Acknowledgements
Subaltern Lives has emerged out of fragments collected in archives in
Britainandoverseasforalmosttwodecades.Ioweanenormousdebtof
gratitudetothefollowingorganisationsforsupportingmyresearchdur-
ing this period: the British Academy, the British Association for South-
East Asian Studies in the UK, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities
of Scotland, and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC;
awardno.R000271268).Ihadthegreatprivilegeofholdingtheinaugu-
ral Sackler-Caird Senior Research Fellowship at the National Maritime
Museumduring2007–9,whichgavemethetimeandspacetogathermy
material together and write this book. I am hugely grateful to the cura-
torialandresearchstaffatthemuseum,especiallyMargaretLincoln,John
McAleer and Nigel Rigby, and I hope that the museum will be pleased
withtheoutcome.IwouldalsoliketonotethatthematerialinChapter6
forms part of a larger, collaborative ESRC project called ‘Integrated
HistoriesoftheAndamans’(awardno.RES-000–22-3484).
I would like to thank the many archivists, librarians and counter staff
withwhomIhavehadthepleasuretoworkovertheyears.Theseinclude
colleagues in the Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections and Manuscript
RoomintheBritishLibrary;CairdLibrary,NationalMaritimeMuseum,
Greenwich; Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge;
DepartmentofManuscripts,UniversityofCambridgeLibrary;National
Library of Scotland; The National Archives, Kew; National Archives of
Mauritius; National Library of Mauritius; National Archives of India;
Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library, Duke Univer-
sity; Royal Archives, Windsor Castle; Tamil Nadu State Archives; State
LibraryofTasmania;andtheTasmanianArchiveandHeritageOffice.
Itwouldbeimpossibletonamethemanyscholarswhohaveinfluenced
my work over the years, across and between the disciplines of history,
historical geography and postcolonial studies. However, I would like to
begin by thanking my immensely supportive colleagues in the School
of Historical Studies at the University of Leicester, as well as in the
Department of Sociology, University of Warwick. At Warwick, a special
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