Wissen und koloniale Herrschaft. Ideen, Strategien und Folgen der frühen Amelioration in den British West Indies, 1780–1830
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2024-06-28
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Abstract
This study investigates the colonial patterns of interpretation that have been influenced by abolitionist endeavors in the context of the challenge of restructuring an inherently colonial system in the British Empire. This system was characterized by the systematic, racially legitimized reduction of individuals to their economic utility by the colonial power. In the context of discussions regarding the future of plantation agriculture in the West Indies, a novel and distinct perspective on enslaved people was developed, specifically in relation to their physical appearance and conduct. In the early days of Caribbean plantation slavery, plantation owners and scientists had already classified enslaved people based on their health and, consequently, their capacity to work. Nevertheless, the impending abolition of the slave trade resulted in a decrease in the number of individuals from Africa who were permitted to be transported to the Caribbean. Consequently, strategies of "improvement and reproduction" were adopted. These discourses and measures were collectively referred to as amelioration. The topic of amelioration was long neglected in historiography on slavery and abolition in the British Empire, but it has recently gained attention because the years 1780–1830 were seen as a pivotal time in the Empire's history, when discussions about Great Britain's imperial future intersected with plans and ideas for restructuring colonial economies. The issue at hand was the organization of labor in the 19th century, whether workers would be enslaved or free, or be replaced by cheaper wage laborers. The phase of amelioration was a multifaceted colonial restructuring process that did not only commence with legislative changes, such as the Amelioration Act in the early 19th century. A key, action-determining factor in this process was colonial knowledge. Knowledge dictated the form and content of colonialism, which was characterized by the exploitation of resources and people, trade, conquest, and colonization. This knowledge was derived from the temporal and spatial conditions of the Empire, as it was formed in response to the factors that influenced British colonialism around 1800. The generation, transformation, and, in particular, instrumentalization of colonial knowledge that emerged on the plantations in the British Caribbean, therefore, had a significant impact on processes that were essential for the development of differentiating and ultimately racist patterns of thought and discourse. The origin of these patterns can be traced through a variety of temporal trajectories and from a variety of perspectives. One central element that united them was the purported otherness of Africa, its climate, and its people, which was scrutinized, emphasized, and discursively constructed. In this manner, people were subjected to unique scientific, social, and political interpretations. By conducting a critical examination of the discursive manifestations of colonial knowledge, the study investigates the diverse political, ideological, and scientific conceptions of the "other" that the empire generated. Moreover, the functions, as well as the fragility, of imperial processes are revealed through an examination of colonial knowledge repertoires and their action-related manifestations.
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Issued: 2024-06-28
Faculty
FB06:Geschichte und Kulturwissenschaft
Language
de
Keywords
British EmpireAbolitionismusKolonialismusSklavereiAmeliorationcolonial knowledgeWest Indies
DFG-subjects
102-03 Neuere und Neueste Geschichte (einschl. Europäische Geschichte der Neuzeit und Außereuropäische Geschichte)
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Turmann, Karina: Wissen und koloniale Herrschaft. Ideen, Strategien und Folgen der frühen Amelioration in den British West Indies, 1780–1830. : 2024-06-28.
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Except where otherwised noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 3.0 Germany