Overview

This book explores the lives of individuals who were enslaved, bought, sold, and forcibly transported across continents from the Tamil coast. It argues that the region was deeply entangled in the global slave trade through European commercial networks. Tracing the journeys of Tamil slaves to destinations such as Melaka, Manila, Macao, Mexico City, Colima, Cape Town, Mauritius, Réunion, St. Helena, and beyond – including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Europe, and North America – the study explores their social interactions, labor experiences, and forced migrations. By drawing on underutilized yet richly detailed archival sources, this volume offers new insights into transnational and global history, focusing on merchant networks, global markets, and intercontinental shipping.

Full Product Details

Author:   S. Jeyaseela Stephen
Publisher:   Manohar Publishers and Distributors
Imprint:   Manohar Publishers and Distributors
Weight:   0.600kg
ISBN:  

9789360800758

ISBN 10:   9360800759
Pages:   216
Publication Date:   28 February 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

List of Tables 7 Acknowledgements 9 Abbreviations 11 1. Introduction 13 2. The Slaves in Tamil History and Society 23 3. Portuguese Slave Trade from the Tamil Coast to Goa and Cochin in India and to Melaka and Aceh in South East Asia, 1547-1625 30 4. Slaves from the Tamil Coast to Long Distant Foreign Markets: Portuguese Slave Trade with Manila and Spanish Slave Trade with Mexico, 1616-1704 45 5. Being and Becoming Dutch Company Slave: Transportation from Pazhaverkadu to Jakarta, 1621-1665 61 6. Dutch Slave Trade and Shipping from Pazhaverkadu, Devanampattinam and Porto Novo to Syriam, Jakarta, Aceh and Banten, 1624-1688 75 7. Dutch Slave Trade from Nagapattinam to Colombo, Banten, Jakarta, Melaka, Cape Town and the Social Realities of the Enslaved, 1655-1791 93 8. Slave Trade and Traffic in Tuticorin under the Dutch to Colombo, Cape Town and the Netherlands, 1660-1791 114 9. The English Company Export of Slaves from Madras to St. Helena Colony in South Atlantic (1654-1712) and from Madras to Bengkulu in Sumatra (1682-1748) 135 10. Slavery and the Seascapes of Danish Slave Trade from Tranquebar to Kedah, Aceh, Colombo, Cape Town, Mauritius and Denmark, 1632-1790 144 11. Slaves and Trading Voyages of the French from Pondicherry and Karaikal to Mauritius, Reunion Islands and France, 1687-1792 167 12. Conclusion: Closing the Curtains 186 Bibliography 197 Index 213

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Author Information

S. Jeyaseela Stephen was the Directeur (2013-2023) of Institute pour études Indo-Européennes. He was Professor of Maritime History (2001-13) at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, He has authored numerous books including The Coromandel Coast and its Hinterland: Economy, Society and Political System, 1500-1600 (1997); Expanding Portuguese Empire and the Tamil Economy, Sixteenth-Eighteenth Centuries (2009); Oceanscapes: Tamil Textiles in the Early Modern World (2014); A Meeting of the Minds: European and Tamil Encounters in Modern Sciences, 1507-1857 (2016); History of the Climate Change on the Coromandel Coast, Ninth-Nineteenth Centuries (2023). His books have been translated into Chinese, Danish, German and Tamil. He is the recipient of the best book prize of 1999 from the Government of Tamil Nadu and Thiru Vi Ka award of 2023 of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

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