What was the role of Britain’s imperial and trade projects in bringing racialised people to the UK?
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The role of Britain’s imperial and trade projects in bringing racialized people to the UK was driven by a desire to recreate the “Indian sentiment” in England. They brought back racialized folks to make their voyage back home more manageable. They considered Ayahs (Women who were forced to care for the English children) as experts in childcare, particularly during hardships, such as the trip back home to England.
In England, these domestic workers became a source of cheap labor. By the eighteenth century, having Indian servants in one’s household became a trend. “With ‘full-blooded’ Asians available, there was no longer any need to dress African servants in Oriental costumes.” These inhumane practices stemmed from the fact that African slaves were more expensive in India than local servants, which led many English families to prefer Indian laborers. Upon returning to England, these families were often reluctant to relinquish the “commodity” of their Indian servants, bringing them back but often abandoning them once they were no longer helpful. These Asian servants, however, had no security in England. Despite promises of passage back home, many were left stranded, with no employment contracts, pay, or guaranteed return.
Furthermore, “In 1688, the London Gazette offered "a guinea reward" for a “black boy, an Indian, about 13 years old, run away the 8th inst. from Putney with a collar about his neck with this inscription:" This advertisement reminds me of the podcast Canada’s Forgotten Slaves: Two Centuries of Bondage, where we discussed how Canadian newspapers served as one of the few primary sources documenting runaway slaves. As you mentioned in class, these newspapers remain one of the only surviving records of enslaved people resisting their captivity and fleeing from their owners.
In addition, the song “Debris” encapsulates the aftermath of this imperial project. “We're only here 'cos you were there” underscores how one of the reasons for migration in the UK is a result of colonization and treating their motherland as one big plantation. This song tells the story of the “debris” left from this imperial project and trade, it captures the irony of British complaints about migrants, pointing out that the colonization and enslavement that brought these people to the UK. “They are only here 'cause you were there” points directly to Britain’s responsibility for this migration, echoing the exploitation of Indian laborers who were brought back only to be abandoned, fueling a wave of migration. “The fruits of our labor were used to build your nation” is a clear reference to how Britain’s wealth was built on the backs of the colonized.