“A Mild Despotism, Tempered by Sugar”: the Rise of the Overseer State in Britain’s Post-Slavery Empire
- 👤 Speaker: Dr. Sascha Auerbach (Lecturer in Modern British and Colonial History, Department of History, University of Nottingham)
- 📅 Date & Time: Tuesday 23 February 2021, 18:00 - 19:00
- 📍 Venue: Wolfson College Zoom webinar
Abstract
This paper examines the indentured labour system that, in the wake of emancipation, replaced slavery across Britain’s archipelago of plantation colonies. Far from becoming an “abolitionist state,” as the traditional narrative of British history has claimed, what emerged after emancipation in 1834 was an “overseer state” where colonial governments colluded with plantation owners to keep millions of Indian and Chinese immigrant labourers in a position of subordination.
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Series This talk is part of the Wolfson College Talks & Events series.
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Dr. Sascha Auerbach (Lecturer in Modern British and Colonial History, Department of History, University of Nottingham)
Tuesday 23 February 2021, 18:00-19:00