In this blog, Lucy Wray discusses her first archival trip for the lascars strand, where she visited the British Library to explore records relating to the Stranger’s Home for Asiatic, held within the India Office papers.
On the week of beginning 15th May, I embarked on my first research trip to London to explore collections relating to the lascar strand of the Mariners’ project. While I concluded my week in the National Archives at Kew, I spent the majority of my time at the British Library. A trip to the British Library is a delight for any researcher, but I was particularly excited as this was my first visit to the site since my doctoral placement, undertaken at their visual arts department in 2020. Despite being in very familiar surroundings, this was my first experience using these archives to research lascars and my first venture in using the India Office Papers .
What was I looking for?
Working alongside Dr Sumita Mukherjee, I conduct research for the ‘lascar’ strand of the Mariners project. Lascar is a term often used for non-European seafarers who worked on British ships. Lascars were predominately from Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean and employed in large numbers by the British Merchant Marine from the nineteenth century. In addition to facing myriad difficulties and injustices relating to pay and conditions aboard ship, Lascars often struggled to secure accommodation at UK ports. For most of the nineteenth century, voluntary religious societies and missions were key providers of support and accommodation for these men. I aim to use visual and print sources to explore gendered and racialised ways missions and lascars interacted across the century.
The British Library is the UK’s National Library and one of the largest in the world, boasting around 200 million items. A researcher’s greatest obstacle is not a scarcity of sources but deciding where to begin. To get the ball rolling and hone my scope, I began by exploring sources relating to one of the best-known and most influential homes that interacted with lascars: Strangers’ Home for Asiatics, Africans and South Sea Islanders. Opened in London’s West India Dock in 1857, the Home provided accommodation, support and mission activity for lascars.
Most sources relating to the Stranger’s Home are held in the East India Office Papers. This is due to two key reasons: The East India Company provided regular revenue to the Home, and a large percentage of lascars were natives of India. Most of the records were, therefore, correspondence between the Home and the Indian Office relating to the finance and running of the Home and the cases of specific individuals from India.
What are the India Office Papers?
The India Office Records are the archives of the administration in London of the East India Company and the pre-1947 government of India. The British Library collection guide for this collection states, ‘The 14 kilometres of shelves of volumes, files and boxes of papers, together with 70,000 volumes of official publications and 105,000 manuscript and printed maps, are public records comprising the archives of the East India Company (1600-1858), of the Board of Control or Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India (1784-1858), of the India Office (1858-1947), of the Burma Office (1937-1948), and of a number of British agencies overseas which were officially linked with one or other of the four main bodies’.[1]
The India Office Papers and Private Papers archive is immense, rich and diverse, revealing details of commerce, politics and migration. They give insight into the lives of many individuals, including civil servants, medical staff, chaplains, missionaries and, of course, mariners.
What did I view?
On this trip, I focused my search on the ‘Public and Judicial Departmental Papers: Annual Files’ IOR/L/PJ/6. These records cover the period 1880-1930 and amount to a whopping 2,024 volumes. I also examined some records from the Economic Department Records, IOR/L/E (1786-1950), comprised of approximately 4245 volumes/files and 960 boxes. Given the volume of these records, it’s safe to say this will be the first of many trips.
Here is an example of a volume of the Public and Judicial papers. Records are organised in Volumes, usually relating to one year, and each ‘item’ is indexed with a reference number. When leafing through these volumes, it’s difficult not to get distracted by other intriguing records along the way.
Have you encountered any interesting sources?
I am in the process of transcribing the material I viewed and photographed during my visit. Lots of these sources will be essential in understanding the relationship between lascars and organisations like the sailors home for Asiatics. This includes fascinating correspondence between the Stranger’s Home for Asiatics and the India Office in 1902.[1]
Addressing his letter to Mr Wylie of the India office, Mr Chamier of the Stranger’s Home asked if deserters should be admitted. He expressed his view that only ‘the worst of the lascars’ dessert due to their difficult financial positions and provided an anecdotal example of a ‘Goa boy’ who deserted and was currently staying at the Home. Chamier also asked, ‘How long is a destitute of India to receive free board’ suggesting it should be at least one month.
A second letter records Mr Wylie forwarding these queries to Sir Charles Lyall of the India Office, requesting his observations. Here, Wylie states, ‘Deserters have no claim to admission to the Home but if they become destitute after deserting what is to become of them? Are they to be allowed to die in the street? The Home is the only place perhaps where they can be understood’.
In a third letter, Lyall responds to Wylie, Stating, ‘The treatment of Lascar seamen is one for the revenue department, not for the Judicial and public department’. He continues to state his opinion that there was no risk involved in a native of India dying in the street upon refusal to the Home, as the workhouse was ‘always open’ to them, and Indians could be found there in ‘large numbers’.
Lastly, Chamier stated that he had no objection to ‘one month being fixed’ for the lodging of destitute men, provided the case was reported immediately to the India office. (see IOR/L/PJ/6/610, File 1733)
While short, this exchange is telling. It points to the close relationship between government bodies and mission organisations, shows a spectrum of stances regarding empathy and aid extended to lascars and even the lack of clarity regarding which governmental departments dealt with specific matters relating to these mariners. It also references other institutions that housed lascars, such as workhouses.
I look forward to returning to the British Library in July to look at more records.
References
[1] ‘Question of admitting deserters into the Strangers’ Home for Asiatics’ IOR/L/PJ/6/610, File 1733: 15 Aug 1902, British Library, London.
[1] https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/india-office-records