Slavery And Antislavery In Mauritius, 1810-33: The Conflict Between Economic Expansion And Humanitarian Reform Under British Rule Slavery And Anti-slavery In Mauritius, 1810-33

This is a study of a unique slave colony and of antislavery conflicts prior to the Emancipation Act of 1833. In their hostility to a booming slave-based sugar economy, abolitionists produced dubious propaganda and quarrelled bitterly, without moderating the cruelty of the slave regime. Nevertheless the reforming impulse demanded documentation which illuminates the working lives and social interactions of a slave population - drawn from Africa, India, Madagascar and numerous smaller Indian Ocean islands - much more diverse than any in the Americas. Barker (history, U. of Western Australia, Perth) investigates Britain's most unusual slave colony on an island in the Indian Ocean during a short period of economic boom and slump and vigorous anti-slavery campaigns. He reveals how the British governor of the newly conquered island connived with French planters to allow an illegal slave trade, how some abolitionist leaders quarreled among themselves and sensationalized conditions in order to increase their reputation rather than focusing on the plight of the slaves, and how the slave population differed from that in the Americans by being drawn from India and Madagascar as well as from Africa. He draws from the extensive records of the ineffective Slave Protection system and other reform programs. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction: History and Historiography....Pages 1-15 The Abolitionists Discover Mauritius....Pages 16-23 Corruption Concealed: The Farquhar Era 1810–22....Pages 24-42 Reform Pretended: Cole and Telfair 1823–8....Pages 43-52 Slavery in 1826: A Demographic Survey....Pages 53-71 Upheaval and the Failure of Protection....Pages 72-88 The Trauma of Slavery....Pages 89-110 Resistance and Other Responses to Slavery....Pages 111-134 Slavery and Freedom in Port Louis....Pages 135-151 Slaves as Antislavery Property....Pages 152-162 Conclusion....Pages 163-167 Back Matter....Pages 168-225 Anthony J. Barker. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 212-218) And Index.