The overseer state : slavery, indenture and governance in the British Empire, 1812-1916 / Sascha Auerbach.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Auerbach, Sascha, author.

Series:

Critical perspectives on empire.

Critical perspectives on empire

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Forced labor--Great Britain--Colonies--History--19th century.

Forced labor.

Indentured servants--Great Britain--Colonies--History--19th century.

Indentured servants.

Slavery--Great Britain--Colonies--History--19th century.

Slavery.

Labor policy--Great Britain--Colonies--History--19th century.

Labor policy.

Great Britain--Colonies--History--19th century.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 370 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

In this compelling work, Sascha Auerbach offers a bold new historical interpretation of late-stage slavery, its long-term legacies, and its entanglement with the development of the modern state. In the wake of abolition, from the Caribbean to southern Africa to Southeast Asia, a fusion of government authority and private industry replaced the iron chains of slavery with equally powerful fetters of law and regulation. This 'overseer-state' helped move, often through deceptive and coercive methods, millions of Indian and Chinese indentured laborers across Britain's imperial possessions. With a perspective that ranges from Parliament to the plantation, the book brings to light the fascinating and terrifying history of the world's first truly global labor system, those who struggled under its heavy yoke, and the bitter legacies left in its wake.

Contents:

Introduction: Paper Chains for Iron Chains

"Not Fit for the Enjoyment of Freedom": Amelioration and the Origins of the Overseer State, 1812-1834

"To Go and Look for Law:" Early Responses to the Overseer- State, 1823-1836

"A Most Imperfect Act of Abolition": Apprenticeship and Early Indenture in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean Worlds, 1834-1842

"A System Entirely Favourable to the Poorer Class of Natives": Health, Moral Reform, and Coercion in the Indenture System, 1840-1864

"Man, in his Natural State ... Must Either be Led by Conviction, or by Force": Magistrates, Workers' Agency, and State Violence, 1840-1873

"They Must Know Their Master, and He Must Know Them": Labor Governance and Sovereignty on the Imperial Frontier in Southeast Asia, 1867-1890

"They Have Made the Government Arbitrary Enough": the Decline of the OverseerState, 1870-1904

Conclusion: The Persistent Legacies of the Overseer-State.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Mar 2025).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781009315753

1009315757

9781009315784

1009315781

9781009315777

1009315773

OCLC:

1514635178