Historical Roots of an Indian Working-Class Community in London: Lascar Maritime Laborers to the Mid-Nineteenth Century

As tens of thousands of Indian seamen (lascars) entered Britain by the mid-19th century, they formed a transient community in London.  They shared origins in India and maritime working-class male experiences and status.  But they also had internal divisions based on regional, religious, and linguistic identities and  ship-board solidarities.  Their interactions with seamen from other ethnic groups, including not only Britons but also people of Chinese, Arab, Caribbean, and African origins, proved complex.  Further, they had often conflicted and highly class and gender determined relationships with native Britons.  Using original archival evidence from Britain and India, this paper will consider the internal composition of the Indian lascar community as it developed over time in London and its relationships with other maritime laborers and indigenous British communities and classes.