Concubinage, Race and Law in Early Colonial Bengal

Bequeathing Intimacy, Servicing the Empire
1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-1-032-32282-7
Verlag: Routledge India

Buch, Englisch, 208 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 485 g

This book analyzes the domestic relations which British men came to establish with native Indian women in early colonial Bengal. It provides a fresh look into the history of imperial expansion and colonial encounters by studying the large number of wills left by the British men who came in an official or economic capacity to India. It closely engages with these wills, considering them as unique personal records. These documents, where the men penned down details of their native mistresses, give a glimpse of what their lives, interpersonal relationships, household objects, and everyday affairs were like. The volume highlights how commonplace such non-marital cohabitation was and constructs the social history of these connections. It looks at issues of theft, violence, rape, bequeathment, and property rights which the women had to contend with, and also studies some of the early experiences of the mixed-race children who were a product of these relationships.

A unique look into the asymmetrical but fascinating history of interracial households in early colonial Bengal, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of history, women’s studies, gender studies, colonial law, colonial travel writing, minority studies, colonialism, imperialism, and South Asian studies.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sharma, Ruchika

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Kolonialismus, Imperialismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Minderheiten, Interkulturelle & Multikulturelle Fragen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie von Migranten und Minderheiten
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Rechtssoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kolonialgeschichte, Geschichte des Imperialismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtssoziologie, Rechtspsychologie, Rechtslinguistik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: Reading Wills, Retrieving Native Woman, 2. Beyond The Purdah – ‘Constructing’ The Native Woman, 3. Forging Intimacies, 4. Legality – Property, violence, and discord, 5. Interracial Progeny, 6. Concluding Remarks

Über Autor(innen)

Ruchika Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Gargi College, University of Delhi, India.