The high lIfe '/ The Ghost of Architecture Past IV
Shoreditch, City of London.
"There's winners and losers in life "
- Charlie Mullins ( Pimlico Plumbers )
" Money is the root of all evil " is a common adage, but what is the root of money besides the exploitation and suffering of others?
As in a good part of the wealth generated in the 17th and 18th centuries - and which is tightly kept in the same families today - had its roots in enterprises such as the South Sea and the East India Companies which openly indulged in mass slave trading and oppression of millions. *
Link to others in the series;
londondada.art/2016/03/07/work-no-834-ghosts-of-archictec...
__________________________________________
* The East India Company (EIC), both British and Dutch,
was extensively involved in slavery and violence, including murder, as integral parts of its commercial operations and colonial rule from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
Slavery
Direct Involvement: The EIC was directly involved in the slave trade and the use of enslaved labour. The British EIC's involvement began at least as early as the 1620s, with a specific order in 1684 to transport 250 enslaved people from Madagascar to St. Helena. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) also used a global network to source enslaved people for its extensive commercial empire.
Source and Location: EIC slavery was largely concentrated in the Indian Ocean region rather than the transatlantic trade. Enslaved people were sourced from various Asian societies and Madagascar to work as domestic servants, labourers in factories (trading posts), and on plantations in company settlements like Bencoolen (Sumatra) and the Cape Colony.
Conditions: The conditions for enslaved people were brutal, involving physical abuse, high mortality rates from disease, and a lack of legal protection.
Abolition Pressure: The EIC eventually ended its involvement in the slave trade in 1834 due to increasing pressure from the British government and the abolitionist movement, though slavery as an institution persisted in some forms in British colonies until later.
Murder and Violence
Company Policy and Law: Violence, including murder, was a pervasive feature of EIC rule. The company's administration of justice often prioritised its commercial interests and the maintenance of authority over the protection of the enslaved and local populations.
Violence against Enslaved People: Enslaved individuals faced extreme violence. For example, some were murdered by their masters or suffered severe punishments. In one incident on the VOC ship Meermin in 1766, half the crew and nearly 30 enslaved Malagasy captives died during a mutiny.
The high lIfe '/ The Ghost of Architecture Past IV
Shoreditch, City of London.
"There's winners and losers in life "
- Charlie Mullins ( Pimlico Plumbers )
" Money is the root of all evil " is a common adage, but what is the root of money besides the exploitation and suffering of others?
As in a good part of the wealth generated in the 17th and 18th centuries - and which is tightly kept in the same families today - had its roots in enterprises such as the South Sea and the East India Companies which openly indulged in mass slave trading and oppression of millions. *
Link to others in the series;
londondada.art/2016/03/07/work-no-834-ghosts-of-archictec...
__________________________________________
* The East India Company (EIC), both British and Dutch,
was extensively involved in slavery and violence, including murder, as integral parts of its commercial operations and colonial rule from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
Slavery
Direct Involvement: The EIC was directly involved in the slave trade and the use of enslaved labour. The British EIC's involvement began at least as early as the 1620s, with a specific order in 1684 to transport 250 enslaved people from Madagascar to St. Helena. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) also used a global network to source enslaved people for its extensive commercial empire.
Source and Location: EIC slavery was largely concentrated in the Indian Ocean region rather than the transatlantic trade. Enslaved people were sourced from various Asian societies and Madagascar to work as domestic servants, labourers in factories (trading posts), and on plantations in company settlements like Bencoolen (Sumatra) and the Cape Colony.
Conditions: The conditions for enslaved people were brutal, involving physical abuse, high mortality rates from disease, and a lack of legal protection.
Abolition Pressure: The EIC eventually ended its involvement in the slave trade in 1834 due to increasing pressure from the British government and the abolitionist movement, though slavery as an institution persisted in some forms in British colonies until later.
Murder and Violence
Company Policy and Law: Violence, including murder, was a pervasive feature of EIC rule. The company's administration of justice often prioritised its commercial interests and the maintenance of authority over the protection of the enslaved and local populations.
Violence against Enslaved People: Enslaved individuals faced extreme violence. For example, some were murdered by their masters or suffered severe punishments. In one incident on the VOC ship Meermin in 1766, half the crew and nearly 30 enslaved Malagasy captives died during a mutiny.