The maritime sector between global and local: indigenous labour, entrepreneurship, and imperial statehood in the African Indian Ocean, 1880s-1930s

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K02999
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Historical studies in general
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Krozewski Gerold 大阪大学, 先導的学際研究機構, 教授 (20772982)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: maritime

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the early twentieth century “coloured” seamen became part of a globalizing maritime labour market for European steamships. The study investigated the recruitment, voyages, and ethnic composition of engine crews from East Africa. Especially Somali seamen were employed as firemen shoveling coal into the steam engines. The research concluded that Somalis occupied a niche market for engine crews in British tramp shipping. The propensity of Somali seafarers for employment in this market to some extent reflects an ethnic stigmatization by employers. However, the research also showed that Somali seamen were not bound by their ethnic origins and operated as individuals in a globalizing labour market. Somali seamen not only worked on the route through the Suez Canal to Asia, but also on voyages across the Atlantic to North and South America in ethnically diverse crews.

Free Research Field

history

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来「有色人種」船員の機関士は,インドのラスカール船員の研究としてのみ注目されてきた。しかし,アジアの他の地域やアフリカの船員もまた,ヨーロッパの海上労働市場に参入していた。本研究は,グローバル化するヨーロッパの交易における東アフリカ出身の機関士に焦点を合わせることで,グローバル化する労働市場における民族性の役割と個人の主体的活動の重要性を明らかにするものである。英仏独の船会社は,スエズ運河を介してアフリカとアジアに向かう航路を運航していた。1920～30年代には日本人船員も現れており,日本にとっても関係の深いテーマである。資料としては、英仏独の政府や自治体の記録、航海日誌等を幅広く用いた。