ボンベイ・アフリカンの「アフリカ」経験 : 19 世紀インド洋西海域における救出後の元奴隷たちに関する一考察

Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB), vol. 50, pp. 147–174

Abstract

This study focuses on the Bombay Africans, who were a particular group of rescued slaves in the western Indian Ocean in the 19th century. Based on archival sources, this historical research examines their experiences after rescue, particularly those of being educated in India and then sent to the African continent to be used for exploration and missionary work. The context in which their experiences were created and its implications for them is also considered. Generally, such experiences are seen as a return, based on the a priori assumption that they were “African.” Nonetheless, considering their circumstances based on archival sources, they were inculcated with such a consciousness in their post-rescue education by the missions. Furthermore, the missions and the empire sought to return them to “Africa” and utilise them for the benefit of their own projects. Against their will, however, Bombay Africans were forced to live within the networks created by the empire and missions, ultimately associating themselves with the lifestyles and customs they have developed in India, and sometimes finding themselves in strong opposition to them. This study reveals these processes by foregrounding the experiences of Bombay Africans. This approach enables a deeper connection between the issue of rescued slaves and those of empire and missionary, while also allowing for a re-consideration of the relationship between the slavery and its aftermath.

Authors 1

1. Hideaki Suzuki corresponding Aachen National Museum of Ethnology

   National Museum of Ethnology · National Museum of Ethnology

   Affiliation as printed

   National Museum of Ethnology