The relationship between imperialism and slavery has been variously told. The usual narrative tells of the de-humanizing of conquered populations, especially in Africa, into commodities that could be bought and sold, and from whose trade colonizing powers benefitted greatly. In this presentation, I tell a different story of the relationship between imperialism and slavery. Inviting my listeners to the Naga hills in what is today Northeast India I shall show how it was not the perpetuation of slavery that, in a way, sustained imperial rule but that imperial rule sought to sustain itself through abolishing forms of slavery that existed among the communities the British Raj sought to conquer and subdue. I trace, with the help of historical accounts and archives, how the imperial government dealt with the Naga hills during the nineteenth century.
The Imperial Politics of Slavery in the Naga Hills
26.03.2021 14:00 - 16:00
Organiser:
CIRDIS | ISTB
Location:
https://zoom.us/j/92958979711?pwd=dE51T1pxK1VUMUVjdW8waTFZR1VrZz09
