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THEOXFORDHISTORYOFTHEBRITISHEMPIRE COMPANIONSERIES THEOXFORDHISTORYOFTHEBRITISHEMPIRE COMPANIONSERIES
BritishNorthAmericaintheSeventeenthandEighteenthCenturies StephenFoster
IndiaandtheBritishEmpire
DouglasM.PeersandNandiniGooptu
Britain’sExperienceofEmpireintheTwentiethCentury AndrewThompson
ScotlandandtheBritishEmpire
JohnM.MacKenzieandT.M.Devine
BlackExperienceandtheEmpire
PhilipD.MorganandSeanHawkins
GenderandEmpire
PhilippaLevine
IrelandandtheBritishEmpire KevinKenny
MissionsandEmpire
NormanEtherington
EnvironmentandEmpire
WilliamBeinartandLotteHughes
Australia’sEmpire
DeryckSchreuderandStuartWard
SettlersandExpatriates:BritonsovertheSeas RobertBickers
MigrationandEmpire
MarjoryHarperandStephenConstantine
ArchitectureandUrbanismintheBritishEmpire
G.A.Bremner
THEOXFORDHISTORYOFTHEBRITISHEMPIRE COMPANIONSERIES
Wm.RogerLouis,CBE,D.Litt.,FBA
KerrProfessorofEnglishHistoryandCulture,UniversityofTexas,Austin andHonoraryFellowofStAntony’sCollege,Oxford Editor-in-chief
OxfordHistoryofthe BritishEmpire CompanionSeries IslandsandtheBritishEmpireintheAge ofSail editedby
DOUGLASHAMILTONANDJOHNMcALEER GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom
OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries
©OxfordUniversityPress2021
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PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica
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Foreword Thepurposeofthe fivevolumesoftheOxfordHistoryoftheBritishEmpirewas toprovideacomprehensivesurveyoftheEmpirefromitsbeginningtoend,to explorethemeaningofBritishimperialismfortheruledaswellastherulers,and tostudythesignificanceoftheBritishEmpireasathemeinworldhistory.The volumesintheCompanionSeriescarryforwardthispurpose.Theypursuethemes thatcouldnotbecoveredadequatelyinthemainserieswhileincorporatingrecent researchandprovidingfreshinterpretationsofsignificanttopics.
Wm.RogerLouis
THEOXFORDHISTORYOFTHEBRITISHEMPIRE VolumeI.TheOriginsofEmpire editedbyNicholasCanny VolumeII.TheEighteenthCentury editedbyP.J.Marshall VolumeIII.TheNineteenthCentury editedbyAndrewPorter VolumeIV.TheTwentiethCentury editedbyJudithM.BrownandWm.RogerLouis VolumeV.Historiography editedbyRobinW.Winks
Contents Acknowledgements ix
ListofMaps xi
ListofFigures xiii
ListofContributors xv
1.Introduction:IslandsandtheBritishEmpireintheAgeofSail1 DouglasHamiltonandJohnMcAleer
2.Islands,VoyagingandEmpiresintheAgeofSail18 StephenA.Royle
3.Britain’sEuropeanIsland-Empire,1793–181535 JamesDavey
4.IslandsofSettlement:Britain’sWesternNorthAtlanticIslands intheAgeofSail,1497–183555
MichaelJ.Jarvis
5. ‘Sailingonthesameuncertainsea’:TheWindwardIslands oftheCaribbean77 DouglasHamilton
6.TheRoutetotheEast:AtlanticIslandsandBritain’sMaritime Empire97 JohnMcAleer
7.Britain’sWesternIndianOceanIsland-Scape117 SarahLongair
8.IslandsandtheAgeofRevolutionsintheIndianandPacific Oceans137
SujitSivasundaram
9.EmpireinOceania:KnowingtheSeaofIslands157 AlisonBashford
10.IslandsofIncarcerationandEmpireBuildinginColonialAustralia172 KatherineRoscoe
11.Afterword.IslandsandtheBritishEmpire:FromtheAgeofSail totheAgeofSteam192 H.V.Bowen
Acknowledgements Thechaptersinthisvolumearosefromaseriesofworkshopson ‘Anempireof islands:concepts,contextsandcollections’.TheeditorsthanktheArtsand HumanitiesResearchCouncilforawardingusaResearchNetworkgrant(AH/ N003225/1),whichmadethempossible.Wearegrateful,too,forthesupportof colleaguesattheUniversityofWinchester,theUniversityofSouthampton, SheffieldHallamUniversity,andtheNationalMaritimeMuseum,Greenwich, eachofwhichhostedoneofourgatherings.WeareespeciallyobligedtoRobert BlythoftheNMMforhiswisecounsel,andtohiscolleagues,SallyArcherand LizelledeJager,fortheircontinuingsupport.
Alltheessayshereareimmeasurablystrongerforhavingbeendiscussedina researchnetworkandweoweadebtofgratitudetoallthosewhoattendedthe workshops.WereceivedinvaluablecontributionsandcommentsfromClare Anderson,ReshaadDurgahee,KateHodgson,AndrewMackillop,Margaret Makepeace,JenniferNewell,ColinVeach,andJamesWilson.Theanonymous externalreaderforOxfordUniversityPressmadeaseriesofimportantobservations,forwhichwearegrateful.
DouglasHamilton,SheffieldHallamUniversity JohnMcAleer,UniversityofSouthampton
1.IslandsintheAtlanticandIndianOceansxvii
2.TheCaribbeanxviii
3.AustraliaandPacificOceanislandsxix
ListofFigures 8.1. ‘Tuki’ smap ’,NationalArchives,Kew,MPG1/532.140
8.2.Bugisnauticalmap,1816,[1231],UniversiteitsbibliotheekUtrecht, KAART:VIII.C.a.2(Dk39-8).142
ListofContributors AlisonBashford (UniversityofNewSouthWales,Sydney)istheauthormostrecentlyof TheNewWorldsofThomasRobertMalthus (2016,withJoyceE.Chaplin),andeditormost recentlyof OceanicHistories (2017,withDavidArmitageandSujitSivasundaram).In2021, shewontheDanDavidPrizeforherworkinthehistoryofhealthandmedicine.Shehas taughtworldhistoryandthehistoryofscienceattheUniversityofSydney,Harvard University,andtheUniversityofCambridge,whereshewasVereHarmsworthProfessor ofImperialandNavalHistory.AlisonBashfordhasalsoservedasTrusteeofRoyal MuseumsGreenwich.
DouglasHamilton (SheffieldHallamUniversity)isahistorianoftheBritishEmpireinthe eighteenth-centuryAtlanticworld,withaparticularfocusontheCaribbean.Heisa ProfessorofHistoryandheadoftheHumanitiesResearchCentreatSheffieldHallam. Hispublicationsinclude Scotland,theCaribbeanandtheAtlanticWorld (2005),and(as editor) Slavery,MemoryandIdentity (2012)and Jacobitism,EnlightenmentandEmpire (2014).
H.V.Bowen,formerlyofSwanseaUniversity,isaspecialistonBritisheconomic,imperial, maritime,andpoliticalhistory,withaparticularinterestinBritain’scommercialrelations withAsiabetween1600and1850.Hismanypublicationsinclude: RevenueandReform:The IndianProbleminBritishPolitics,1757–1773(1991); WarandBritishSociety,1688–1815 (1996);and TheBusinessofEmpire:TheEastIndiaCompanyandImperialBritain, 1756–1833 (2007).HuwBowenisthefoundingeditoroftheresearchmonographseries ‘TheWorldsoftheEastIndiaCompany’,publishedbyBoydell.
JamesDavey (UniversityofExeter)isahistorianofBritainanditsmaritimeworld, focusingontheRoyalNavyintheseventeenth,eighteenth,andearlynineteenthcenturies. Hismostrecentpublicationsinclude: InNelson’sWake:TheNavyandtheNapoleonicWars (2015); ANewNavalHistory (2019,ed.withQuintinColville);and TheMaritimeWorldof EarlyModernBritain (2020,ed.withRichardBlakemore).
JohnMcAleer (UniversityofSouthampton)isahistorianoftheBritishencounterand engagementwiththewiderworldintheeighteenthandnineteenthcenturies,situatingthe historyofempireinitsglobalandmaritimecontexts.Hisrecentmonograph, Britain’ s MaritimeEmpire:SouthernAfrica,theSouthAtlanticandtheIndianOcean,1763–1820 (2016),focusedontherelationshipbetweenBritain’smaritimeempireandthecrucial strategiclocationsatthegatewaytotheIndianOceanworld.Heiscurrentlyworkingona historyoftravellers’ experiencesofthevoyagetoAsiaintheageofsail.
KatherineRoscoe (UniversityofLiverpool)isaLeverhulmeTrustEarlyCareerFellowin theDepartmentofSociology,SocialPolicyandCriminologyattheUniversityofLiverpool. Shespecializesinhistoriesofpunishment,empire,andmaritimegeographies.Hercurrent
project, ‘HowConvictsConnectedtheWorld:UnfreeLabouronBritishandImperial Dockyards’,mapsthelife-geographiesofconvictsforciblymobilizedtoworkondockyards inAustralia,Bermuda,andGibraltar.HerPhDthesis,whichwontheBoydell&Brewer doctoralprizeinmaritimehistory,examinedtheincarcerationofAboriginal,European, andotherimmigrantprisonersoncarceralislandsincolonialAustralia.
MichaelJ.Jarvis (UniversityofRochester,NewYork)istheauthorof IntheEyeofAll Trade:Bermuda,Bermudians,andtheMaritimeAtlanticWorld,1680–1783 (2010),winner theAmericanHistoricalAssociation’sJamesA.RawleyBookPrizeinAtlanticHistory.His researchinterestsinvolveintercolonialnetworksofmigration,trade,andcommunication intheearlymodernAtlanticworld.Hislatestbookisentitled IsleofDevils,IsleofSaints:An AtlanticHistoryofBermuda,1609–1685.
SarahLongair (UniversityofLincoln)isaSeniorLecturerintheHistoryofEmpire.Her workexploresthehistoryoftheBritishEmpireinEastAfricaandtheIndianOceanworld, inparticularthroughmaterialandvisualculture,andarchitecture.Sheistheauthorof CracksintheDome:FracturedHistoriesofEmpireintheZanzibarMuseum,1897–1964 (2016).Shehasresearchinterestsinthehistoryofmuseumsintheempire,maritimeand oceanichistory,andthehistoryofislands.
StephenA.Royle (Queen’sUniversityBelfast)isEmeritusProfessorofIslandGeography andafoundingmemberoftheInternationalSmallIslandStudiesAssociation.Hehas servedasDeputyEditorof IslandStudiesJournal andhehasexplorednolessthan907 islandsovermanyyears.Hisnumerouspublicationsinclude: TheCompany’sIsland:St Helena,CompanyColoniesandtheColonialEndeavour (2007), Islands:NatureandCulture (2014),and Anglo-KoreanRelationsandthePortHamiltonAffair,1885–1887 (2017).
SujitSivasundaram (UniversityofCambridge)isahistorianoftheIndianandPacific Oceansinthelateeighteenthandearlynineteenthcenturies.HeisProfessorofWorld HistoryattheUniversityofCambridgeandFellowinHistoryatGonvilleandCaius College,Cambridge.Hisworkfocusesontheintersectionofempiresandglobalization withtheenvironment,theoceans,culture,science,andmedicine.Heistheauthorof NatureandtheGodlyEmpire:ScienceandEvangelicalMissioninthePacific,1795–1850 (2005), Islanded:Britain,SriLanka,andtheBoundsofanIndianOceanColony (2013),and WavesacrosstheSouth:ANewHistoryofRevolutionandEmpire (2020).Hewasthe NationalMaritimeMuseumSacklerCairdFellow,2015–17.Theresearchforhislatestbook aswellasforthischapteralsobenefitedfromtheawardofaPhilipLeverhulmePrizefor Historyin2012.
Map2. TheCaribbean
Migration to Australia and Peru Migration from Australia, New Zealand, India, China, SE Asia, Europe 1906 (Anglo-French Condominium) 1892 (Protectorate, 1916 colony) 1892 (Protectorate, 1916 colony, with Ellice Is) 1893/1900 (Protectorate) 1887/98 (colony) 1900 (Brish Protected State) 1881 (transferred to New Zealand 1901) 1884 (transferred to Australia 1902–06)
Inter-island migration
Equator
180 j Line Is
Pukapuka Rakahanga Niue Atoll Takutea Atlu Rarotonga Mangaia Mauke Mitiaro Aitutaki Palmerston COOK ISLANDS Suwarrow Manihiki Nassau Penrhyn (NZ) Niue (NZ) Western Samoa Tokelau Is (NZ)
High Commission of the Western Pacific 1877 British dependencies 1874 (colony) Fiji Is Wake Is International Date Line Marshall Is Cook Islands New Guinea Tonga Fiji Islands New Hebrides Pitcairn group Solomon Islands Ellice Islands Gilbert Islands Guam Marianas Is
NEW GUINEA New Hebrides Solomon Is Phoenix Is Ellice Is Gilbert Is Tonga Cook Is Pitcairn Is French Polynesia
Norfolk Is (NZ) Kernadec Is (NZ)
Hong Kong Caroline Is Nauru Is Ocean Is NEW
180 j Chatham Is (NZ)
Introduction IslandsandtheBritishEmpireintheAgeofSail DouglasHamiltonandJohnMcAleer
Intheageofsail,themaritimeroutesofsailingships,thevictuallingrequirements oftheirsailors,andthestrategicdemandsofseaborneempires aswellastheir intrinsicvalueassourcesofrarecommodities meantthatislandsacrossthe globeplayeddisproportionatelyprominentpartsinimperialconsolidationand expansionintheearlymodernperiod.
Islandshavefrequentlybeenregardedasmicrocosmsandmini-continents, steppingstones,entrepôts,andnavigationallandmarks.Theirinsularitycaused themoftentoberepresentedasbothedenicandutopianspaces,waitingtobe developedandexploited,ordiscoveredandemulated.JohnGillishasarguedthat islandsformedacrucialpartoftheimaginationof ‘westerncivilization’ in particular,inwhichtheywereprofoundlyentwinedwithEuropeanideasofutopia andtheirvisionof(andfor)theworldbeyondEurope.¹Inthisrespect,for instance,theislandsoftheAtlanticOceanwereasubjectoffascination,anticipation,anddisappointmentforearlymodernEuropeansailorsmakingthe first tentativevoyagesbeyondEuropeanwaters.²
Islandsarenotjustpiecesoflandsurroundedbywater,however:theyareplaces ofgreatpracticaluseandmetaphoricalpower,whosesignificancestemsfromthe humanactivitiesandhistoricaleventsassociatedwiththem.Theirimportanceand versatilityhavelonginfluencedthewaysinwhichpeoplehavethoughtand writtenaboutthem.³Islandrealitiesneedtobeseen,inotherwords,inthecontext ofislandimaginaries.TheirimpactonEuropeansailorswasboundupwithmyth,
¹JohnR.Gillis, IslandsoftheMind:HowtheHumanImaginationcreatedtheAtlanticWorld (NewYork:PalgraveMacmillan,2004),pp.5–7.Formoreonthissubject,specificallyinrelationto earlymodernempires,seeAndrekosVarnava(ed.), ImperialExpectationsandRealities:ElDorados, UtopiaandDystopias (Manchester:ManchesterUniversityPress,2015).
²HenryStrommel, LostIslands:TheStoryofIslandsthathavevanishedfromNauticalCharts (Vancouver:UniversityofBritishColumbiaPress,1984);AlbertoVieira, ‘TheFortuneofthe Fortunates.TheIslandsandtheAtlanticSystem’,inHorstPietschmann(ed.), AtlanticHistory: HistoryoftheAtlanticSystem,1580–1830 (Göttingen:Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht,2002),pp.199–248; WilliamD.Phillips, ‘AfricaandtheAtlanticIslandsMeettheGardenofEden:ChristopherColumbus’ ViewofAmerica’ , JournalofWorldHistory 3,no.2(1992),pp.149–64.
³RodEdmondandVanessaSmith(eds), IslandsinHistoryandRepresentation (London:Routledge, 2003);ThurstonClarke, Islomania:AJourneyamongtheLastRealIslands (London:Abacus,2002).
DouglasHamiltonandJohnMcAleer, Introduction:IslandsandtheBritishEmpireintheAgeofSail,In: Islandsandthe BritishEmpireintheAgeofSail.Editedby:DouglasHamiltonandJohnMcAleer,OxfordUniversityPress(2021).
©OxfordUniversityPress.DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198847229.003.0001
asAlexanderMackrabie’saccountofMadeiraillustrates.MackrabiesailedtoIndia in1774inpursuitofpersonalfortuneandprofessionaladvancementintheservice oftheEastIndiaCompany.Duringhisvoyagehetooktimetoreflectonthe Portugueseislandandtheaccountshehadreadofitsdiscovery.Heacknowledged thattheseaccountswere ‘various’,andtherewaslittleconsensusonthefacts. AccordingtoMackrabie,however,alloftheseaccountshad ‘verymuchthe appearanceoffable’ :
SomesupposeittohavebeenknowntotheAncients,thatthePhoeniciansand afterthemtheGreeksvisitedit,thattheirFortunateIslandswerenootherthan thisandtheneighbouringoneofPortoSanto,thattheseweretheirHesperides, theInsulaeAttantiae.Indeedthefaceofthisislandissobeautifullyromantic,its airsopure,itsfruitsandwatersodeliciousthatthereisnowondertheyshould placetheirfanciedElisium[sic]here.⁴
Theseamlesstransition,inMackrabie’saccount,fromnarrativeofhistorical discoveryandrepresentationofmythicalEdenontheonehand,tothepractical usevalueoftheislandontheother,typifiesmanyEuropeanattitudestowards islandsintheperiod.Formanyvisitorsto2Madeira andindeedmanyequivalent mid-oceanicislandslocatedinthetrackofvesselsplyinglong-distancemaritime tradeintheperiod thedescriptionofthephysicallandscapesofislandsasoneof easyabundancewentintandemwiththeirrepresentationasplacesofhealth, healing,andwell-being.⁵
Islandsarenotasisolatedorunconnectedastheymightinitiallyappear.For somescholars,islandsneedtoberegardedas ‘multifacetedentities ’ and ‘metaphoricalconstructions’,whichcansimultaneouslyevoke ‘notionsoffreedom andcaptivity,paradiseandinhospitality,wealthandpenury,isolationand connection’ . ⁶ Theyare,asJamesHamilton-Patersonpointsout, ‘infinitely flexible’ whenitcomestorepresentation: ‘atoncesafeandadventurous,constrainingand boundless’ . ⁷ Inthisunderstanding,islandsarebothconfiningandliberating. Indeed,aprominentthemeinthestudyofislandsistheirparadoxicalnature, ‘simultaneouslyopenandclosed,exclusiveandinclusive,insularandatthesame timeembeddedwithincomplexmulti-relationalsystems’ ⁸ Thisshouldalertusto
⁴ BritishLibrary(hereafterBL),IndiaOfficeRecords(IOR),MssEurE25,AlexanderMackrabie, ‘JournalofaVoyagetotheEastIndies,begun20March1774[inthe EarlofAshburnham]’,p.6.
⁵ AislingByrne, Otherworlds:FantasyandHistoryinMedievalLiterature (Oxford:Oxford UniversityPress,2016),p.149.
⁶ SebestianKroupa,StephaneJ.Mawson,andDoritBrixius, ‘ScienceandIslandsinIndo-Pacific Worlds’ , BritishJournalfortheHistoryofScience 51,no.4(2018),pp.541–58,542.
⁷ JamesHamilton-Paterson, Seven-Tenths:TheSeaanditsThresholds (1992;London:Faberand Faber,2007),p.77.
⁸ JonathanPugh, ‘TheRelationalTurninIslandGeographies:BringingtogetherIsland,SeaandShip RelationsandtheCaseoftheLandship’ , SocialandCulturalGeography 17,no.8(2006),pp.1040–59,1042.
thefactthattheimageofislandsasboundedplacesofexclusionandisolationis onlyoneaspectoftheirnature,andsomethingthatneedstobeseeninthewider contextofinterdependenceandconnectednessthatcharacterizeslocationslike islands,peninsulas,andarchipelagos.⁹ Insularity,asBurkhardSchnepelreminds us, ‘isnotdetrimentaltoglobalitybutintegraltoit’.¹⁰ Islandsexist,asKathleen Wilsonsuggests,inrelationtootherthings,suchasseas,continentallandmasses, andotherislands.Farfrombeing ‘insular’—inthecommonlyacceptedsenseof beingcutoff,isolated,anddetached theexamplesconsideredinthisbookwere insteadvibrantentrepôtssittingattheheartofcomplexoceanicnetworksthat linkedpeoples,polities,andcultures.¹¹Intheprocessofmediatingthese flowsof people,goods,andideasbetweencontinentsandacrossseasandoceans,many islandsbecamehistoricallycontestedlocations.
Beyondthespecifichistoricalcontextsofindividuallocations,islandsoffer methodologicalspacesforinterrogatingtheimpactsandlegaciesofglobalizing forces,suchasimperialism,migration,andlong-distanceoceanictrade.¹²The specialnatureofislandsmakesthemparticularlyinterestingandusefulunitsof scholarlyanalysis.Theycanbeapproachedfrommanydifferentperspectives. Harnessing ‘islandness’ as ‘anexplicitempiricalandmethodologicalissue’ is becomingmorecommonamongscholarsacrossarangeofdisciplines.¹³ Regardedintheseterms,then,islandsallowustoassesshowlarge-scaleprocesses ofhistoricalchangeaffectparticularlocations.ByvirtueofwhatKathleenWilson describesastheirimportanceas ‘generatorsofcolonisation,capitalistproduction andecologicalthinking’,islandsandconceptsofinsularityareincreasinglyrecognizedascrucialsubjectsforscholarsandstudentsofglobal,transnational, imperial,oceanic,andmaritimehistory.¹ ⁴ Inasimilarvein,RoxaniMargariti hassuggestedthat ‘insularityshapestheconductoflong-distancetrade,the flow ofhumanmigration,theformationofnetworksofknowledge,andthepracticesof humanpilgrimage’.¹⁵
Inotherwords,islandscanplayacentralroleinadvancingourunderstanding andanalysisofallthemajormodesofconnectivitythatcharacterizedtheearly
⁹ HannahWeissMuller, ‘TheGarrisonRevisited:GibraltarintheEighteenthCentury’ , TheJournal ofImperialandCommonwealthHistory 41,no.3(2013),pp.353–76.
¹
⁰ BurkhardSchnepel, ‘Introduction’,inBurkhardSchnepelandEdwardA.Alpers(eds), ConnectivityinMotion:IslandHubsintheIndianOceanWorld (London:PalgraveMacmillan, 2018),pp.3–31,24.
¹¹KathleenWilson, TheIslandRace:Englishness,EmpireandGenderintheEighteenthCentury (Abingdon:Routledge,2003),p.5.
¹²Kroupa,Mawson,andBrixius, ‘ScienceandIslandsinIndo-PacificWorlds’,p.541.
¹³PeterHay, ‘APhenomenologyofIslands’ , IslandStudiesJournal 1,no.1(2006),pp.19–42; SchnepelandAlpers(eds), ConnectivityinMotion,p.xix.
¹⁴ Wilson, TheIslandRace,pp.5,207–8,note20.
¹
⁵ RoxaniMargariti, ‘AnOceanofIslands:Islands,Insularity,andHistoriographyoftheIndian Ocean’,inPeterN.Miller(ed.), TheSea:ThalassographyandHistoriography (AnnArbor:Universityof MichiganPress,2013),pp.198–229,199.
modernworld.Oneoftheforemostmeansofconnectingpeopleandplacesinthe period bothforciblyandvoluntarily wasthroughstructuresandprocessesof maritimeandimperialpower.Inthatrespect,theearlymodernBritishEmpire standsasanexampleofaglobalandglobalizingphenomenoninwhichislands playedafundamentalpart.
IslandsandEmpires Islandshavelongplayedacatalyticroleinmaritimeempires.Sinceatleastthe timeofthePhoenicians,seaborneempires ormoreprecisely,theships,sailors, andmerchantsthatestablishedandextendedsuchempires usedislandsas strategicbasesandstopoverlocationsforshipsseekingtorefuelandresupply.¹⁶
EdwardAlpershashighlightedtheimportanceofthe ‘islandfactor’ inthelong historyoftheIndianOceanasamaritimespace,inwhichislandsservedasvital hubsinthemovementandcirculationofpeople,goods,andideas.¹⁷ Islandswere equallycrucialforthedevelopment,maintenance,andconsolidationofEuropean maritimeempires.Europeanshadlongimaginedtheworldininsularterms,as onegreatislandsurroundedbymanysmallerisles.¹⁸ Andastheybegantomove beyondthelittoraloftheirowncontinentandtoexplorethegreatoceans,manyof their firstsettlementswereonislands.
Whatwasdistinctiveabouttheroleofislands(orgroupsofislands)inthe shapingofBritain ’smaritimeempire?TowhatextentcanwedescribetheBritish Empireasanempireofislands?Thisvolumeexaminesthevariouswaysinwhich islands(andgroupsofislands)contributedtotheestablishment,extension, andmaintenanceofthatempireintheageofsail.Althoughmanyoftheseislands werelittlemorethanisolatedrockyoutcrops,theyactedascrucialnodal points,providingcriticalassistanceforshipsandsailorsembarkedonthelongdistancevoyagesthatcharacterizedBritishoverseasactivitiesintheperiod. Intercontinentalmaritimetrade,colonialsettlement,andscientificexploration andexperimentationwouldhavebeenimpossiblewithouttheseoceanicislands. Furthermoretheyalsoactedassitesofstrategiccompetition,contestation,and conflictforrivalEuropeanpowerskeentooutstripeachotherindevelopingand maintainingoverseasmarkets,plantations,andsettlements.
Islandshelpedbothtoimagineandfacilitateempire.MaeveMcCuskerand AnthonySoaresremindusofthespecialplaceofsmallislands,inparticular,in
¹⁶ OntheearlyMediterraneanandtheuseofislands,seeLincolnPaine, TheSeaandCivilization: AMaritimeHistoryoftheWorld (NewYork:Knopf,2013),pp.70–136.
¹⁷ EdwardA.Alpers, ‘IndianOceanAfrica:TheIslandFactor’ , Emergences:JournalfortheStudyof MediaandCompositeCultures 10,no.2(2000),pp.373–86.
¹⁸ JohnR.Gillis, TheHumanShore:SeacoastsinHistory (Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress, 2012),p.83.
imperialandcolonialendeavours.Hereagain,however,theirrolewasoften ambiguousormultifaceted.SomeEuropeansconceivedofislandsas ‘inferior, marginaloreasilydominated ’ spaces,asobvioussitesfor ‘subjugationandorganisationbythecolonizer’.Theislandwasconsideredas ‘anideallocale,even laboratory,inwhichtomaterializethecolonialwill’.¹⁹ Inthisunderstanding, suchislandsalsofulfilledbasicbutcrucialfunctionssuchassupplyingfresh food,water,andotherprovisions.Atothertimes,asJohnMcAleerand KatherineRoscoebothnotebelow,theyplayedananalogousroleinencouraging andfacilitatingscientificexperimentationandthegatheringofempiricaldata, becomingplaceswherescientific,agricultural,andhorticulturaltrialswere conducted.²⁰ Justasislandswereintegraltothefunctionofempires,sotoowere theytransformed.Europeans,foralltheirfascinationwithislandidylls,alsowanted tomakeempirespay.Islandsacrosstheglobe,asbothRoyleandHamiltonsuggest inthisvolume,wereoftenquicklyandbrutallydisrupted.ImaginedEdensoccupied byindigenouspopulationswerereplacedbyplacesofproductivecapacity.Inthe process,thedemographiesandecologiesofislandswerefundamentallyrecast.²¹
Inspiteoftheutilityoftheseislands,theseaborneempiresofearlymodern Europeweresometimesmoreinterestedinprotectingaccesstothemthanacquiring outrightpossession.Strategiclocationwasprizedaboveterritorialburden.Thatis nottosay,however,thataggressivepoliciesofacquisitionwerenotpursuedby Europeanpowerswhenitsuitedtheirinterests.FurtherintohisvoyagetoIndia, andwritingabouttheislandofAnjouan(Nzwani),inthewesternIndianOcean, AlexanderMackrabieestablishedaclearconnectionbetweenoceanicislandsand thebenefitstheybestowedontheonehand,andthedevelopmentofterritorial empireontheother.Herecognizedthattheadvantagesofferedbyislandswere directlyproportionaltotheirpoliticalandstrategicinteresttoEuropeanmaritime empires.AlthoughitwasanindependentSultanatethroughouttheperiod, Anjouan ’slocationmadeitacrucialpartofthesystemofsupplythatsustained thecommercialconnectionsonwhichimperialbusinessthrived.Asaresult,the islandwassubjecttocovetousglancesfromrapidlyglobalizingEuropeanpowers: ‘Consideringtheuseandconvenienceofthisisland,IwonderthattheEnglish... shouldhaveleftitsolonginthehandsoftheoriginalowners’.Britishpoliticians andpolicy-makerswerenotusually ‘subjecttosuchmistakes’,Mackrabieadded
¹⁹ MaeveMcCuskerandAnthonySoares, ‘Introduction’,inMaeveMcCuskerandAnthonySoares (eds), IslandedIdentities:ConstructionsofPostcolonialCulturalInsularity (Amsterdam:Rodopi,2011), pp.xi–xxviii,xi.
²⁰ Ontheimportanceofislandsandscience,seePatrickArmstrong, Darwin’sOtherIslands (London:Continuum,2004).
²¹RichardLigon, ATrueandExactHistoryofBarbadoes (1657;London:FrankCass,1976);Stephan Palmié, ‘TowardSugarandSlavery’,inStephanPalmiéandFranciscoA.Scarano(eds), TheCaribbean: AHistoryoftheRegionandItsPeople (Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,2011),pp.131–48.
