Slavery In The Indian Ocean World

AY2015/2016 Semester 1

Slavery was an important aspect of the social order and political structure of many Indian Ocean societies in the early modern and modern periods. This course examines diverse types of slavery across the Indian Ocean from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. The emphasis in this course is on the everyday lives of slaves at various points in the social spectrum, from powerful slave concubines and slave soldiers, to the drudgery of domestic and agrarian slavery. We will consider issues of identity, community and memory - in particular the efforts of slaves who were separated from their origins to form new communities and identities - and look at instances of slave resistance and rebellion. The latter part of the course turns to abolitionism in the Indian Ocean and the aftermath of the prohibition of the slave trade. We will see that colonial discourses surrounding slavery were highly ambiguous and examine whether new forms of colonial forced labour, like indentured and convict labour, represented new forms of slavery. Analyzing slavery adds to our understanding of historical transnational links and connections within the Indian Ocean region. Moreover, examining the everyday lives of slaves will deepen students' knowledge of the lives of marginalized groups in Indian Ocean societies.