Imperial Connections: India in the Indian Ocean Arena, 1860-1920 (California World History Library)

285 Pages·2007·1.19 MB·English

by  Thomas R. Metcalf

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The California World History Library
Edited by Edmund Burke III, Kenneth Pomeranz, and Patricia Seed
1. The Unending Frontier: Environmental History of the Early Modern World,
by John F. Richards
2. Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History, by David Christian
3. The Graves of Tarim: Genealogy and Mobility across the Indian Ocean,
by Engseng Ho
4. Imperial Connections: India in the Indian Ocean Arena, 1860–1920,
by Thomas R. Metcalf
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Imperial Connections
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Imperial
Connections
India in the Indian Ocean Arena,
1860–1920
Thomas R. Metcalf
UNIVERSITYOF CALIFORNIAPRESS
Berkeley / Los Angeles / London
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University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing
scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
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visit www.ucpress.edu.
An earlier version of chapter 5 appeared as “Hard Hands and Sound
Healthy Bodies: Recruiting ‘Coolies’for Natal, 1860–1911”in Journal
of Imperial and Commonwealth History, vol. 30 (2002): 1–26. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis, www.tandf.co.uk.
Frontispiece: Sikh sentry, Fort Johnston, Nyasaland, by Harry Johnston.
Courtesy of the Royal Geographical Society, London.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2007 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Metcalf, Thomas R., 1934–.
Imperial connections : India in the Indian Ocean arena, 1860–1920 /
Thomas R. Metcalf.
p. cm. —(The California world history library ; 4)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn978-0-520-24946-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Indian Ocean Region—Colonization—History. 2. East Indians—
Indian Ocean Region—Colonization—History. 3. East Indians—
Employment—Indian Ocean Region—History. 4. Great Britain—
Colonies—Africa—Administration. 5. Great Britain—Colonies—
Asia—Administration. 6. India. Army—Colonial forces—Indian Ocean
Region. I. Title.
DS340.M48 2007
909'.09824081—dc22 2006021611
Manufactured in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on New Leaf EcoBook 50, a 100% recycled Wber
of which 50% is de-inked post-consumer waste, processed chlorine-free.
EcoBook 50 is acid-free and meets the minimum requirements of
ansi/astm d5634–01(Permanence of Paper).
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The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous
contribution to this book provided by the Ahmanson
Foundation Humanities Endowment Fund of
the University of California Press Foundation.
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Introduction: Empire Recentered 1
1. Governing Colonial Peoples 16
2. Constructing Identities 46
3. Projecting Power: The Indian Army Overseas 68
4. Recruiting Sikhs for Colonial Police and Military 102
5. “Hard Hands and Sound Healthy Bodies”: Recruiting
“Coolies”for Natal 136
6. India in East Africa 165
Conclusion 204
List of Abbreviations 223
Notes 225
Bibliography 249
Index 253