As English adventurer Francis Drake and his contemporaries opened up seaborne trade with Asia and the East, so dreams of untold wealth fuelled the appetites of European nations. A new form of co-operation arose between governments and entrepreneurs - the merchant company. Vital to the entire commercial and colonial endeavour, part of the story of Empire lies in the outposts they established."The Company's Island" focuses upon one such company colony - St Helena. With no indigenous population on the island, the East India Company had to establish a society from scratch but far from settling 'in love and amity' a repressive and turbulent regime ensued. The civilian population rebelled, the garrison mutinied, assassinating the governor, and a rebellion by black slaves was savagely punished. The result is a vivid, compelling tale involving issues of race, morality, gender, trade and defence within the context of Empire. Drawing on new archival material, the author sheds fresh light on an important yet little known aspect of the colonial endeavour.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Figures - vii
Tables - ix
Acknowledgements - xi
1. Trading Companies and the Colonial Endeavour - 1
2. 'The Honourable English East India Company Doe Take Possession of the Island and with Drum and Trumpett Proclaim the Same': St Helena and the East India Company - 11
3. 'Carry Free Planters to St Helena (If Any are Willing to Go)': Peopling the Company Colony - 44
4. 'Uncivil Actions, Attempting to Breach Her Chastity and Being Guilty of Horridble Swearing': Law and Morality on St Helena - 56
5. 'You May Kiss There': Gender Relations on St Helena - 73
6. 'Ye Assistance and Labour of Negroes': Slavery on St Helena - 84
7. 'Tending Even to Sedition': Resistance, Riot and Rebellion - 103
8. 'I Bestowed a Broadside on Them': Defence and the Imperial Imperative - 127
9. 'The Duties and Obligations Inherent in the Exercise of Sovereignty Cannot Be Borne by a Private Company': The Failure of Company Colonies - 156
Appendix 1. 'Exhortation, Admonition or Reproof': Sources for the Study of Early St Helena - 163
Appendix 2. St Helena Timeline - 167
Appendix 3. Tables - 169
Notes - 191
Index - 219
