Ethnic Labour and British Imperial Trade: A History of Ethnic Seafarers in the UK

This collection of essays identifies a neglected but significant component of Britain's maritime and labour history, that of ethnic labour drawn from Britain's colonies in West Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The interdisciplinary nature of the volume (with contributors from sociologists, historians and Middle Eastern specialists), has meant that a number of important issues are raised. These include the themes of race and ethnicity, colonialism and migration, social class and the complex nature of racial hostility meted out by organized white labour. Taken together, the contributions highlight the considerable degree of shared and similar experiences that ethnic seamen endured whilst working on British ships (including inferior wages and conditions, racial hostility and a precarious legal status). This ethnic presence in Britain before the Second World War represented an important link with the post-war migrations, both of which were powerful legacies of empire. These essays contribute [...]to the neglected pre-1945 ethnic presence in Britain as well as more 'mainstream' British maritime and labour history.