Introduction
Anthropology is best described as the study of people, society, and culture. In the Indo-Pacific context, anthropology would include the study of multiple cultures, societies, and languages who live in a vast area stretching from the shores of modern-day Pakistan and India to the shores of Australia and New Zealand in the East. One possible area of inquiry is the study of the various cultures and how they have developed over thousands of years. The study of these cultures would entail an analysis of customs, beliefs, social practices, and the social and political organization of the people who live in these cultures. Another key area of inquiry that may be of interest when discussing anthropology in the Indo-Pacific context is how different cultures in a region influenced and interacted with one another over time. This discussion of anthropology in an Indo-Pacific context will focus on Individuals who lived in the Bay of Bengal during the domination of the region by the Mughal Empire.
Discussion
The Bay of Bengal or as was traditionally called, the Gulf of Bengal harbored people from various parts of the world, In particular, it was composed of Portugees settlers, a significant population of Christian slaves, Franks, and half-caste Portuguese. Fugitives from other places such as Goa, Malacca, Cochin, and other places from the Indies also found refuge in the Bay of Bengal. Other welcome individuals in the Bay included people who abandoned their monasteries and married two or three wives or engaged in other deliberately malicious crimes. As Francois Bernier notes, the inhabitants of the Bay were Christians in name only because they would engage in the most detestable crimes including but not limited to the assassination, poisoning, and massacring of one another without remorse (Bernier, 1891). Everyone on the Bay including priests observed similar rules and were not afraid of any laws or even the teachings of the Bible despite being majority Christians.
The cultures of these foreigners interacted with the natives who practiced Buddhism and Hinduism. As Francois Bernier notes, the King of Rakan tolerated the behavior of these foreigners because he was terrified of the power of the Mughal empire and its king (Bernier, 1891). Consequently, he permitted them to occupy the seaport of Chatigon as their role would be to act as an advanced guard protecting the frontier. Because they were not restrained by any laws, they engaged in piracy and rapine and wanton destruction of property that could not be stolen by them. They would invade neighboring islands and take people to be sold as slaves. The practice of selling people to slavery was so inhumane that it could not have been compatible with their Christian beliefs. Yet, they pursued it with a level of brutality that was synonymous with Barbarians only. The people subjected to this inhumane treatment practiced Buddhism and Hinduism and could not help but contrast their level of belief.
Careful not to upset the pirates that had settled in Chatigon, Portugal, and other European powers conducted commerce with them. Bernier notes that by mutual understanding, the pirates would wait for the arrival of Portuguese whole cargoes that were cheaper (Bernier, 1891). Other European powers pursued the same strategy with them even after the decline of Portuguese hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region. Unconstrained by local laws and tolerated by European powers, they created a culture based on thievery, murder, and barbarianism. It did not matter to them that the locals would be offended by their conduct, the worst of the worst was welcome in Chatigon as long as the Mughal empire remained a threat to the King of Rahan.
Chatigon was almost exclusively inhabited by people who would confess to being Christians. However, their actions toward one another and towards foreigners were questionable at best and worrisome. All manner of degeneracy was welcome on the Island and crimes that would otherwise make one cringe were a regular occurrence. Bernier highlights actions such as assassinations, and poisoning, among other crimes as being prevalent in Chatigon (Bernier, 1891). Despite being used for mercenary work by the King of Rakan to act as his advanced guard against a possible offensive by the Mughal king, they engaged in piracy, destroyed property, and sold people into slavery. Their crimes were enabled first by the King of Rakan who gave them free rein over the Island and the Portugees and other European powers later who allowed trade with them. Thus, despite their Christian beliefs, the Chatigon populace would regularly engage in activities that violated Christian beliefs and were incompatible with human nature. Their conduct did not exist in a vacuum as compromises by people who had the power to stop their degeneracy tolerated them due to vested interests.
The King of Rakan was not the only ruler who employed such tactics of using non-desirables to protect his interests. In 1760, King George sought to establish a slavery plantation economy in West Florida. In this regard, he signed the “Government of Negroes and Slaves” Act which in effect gave fugitives, runaway slaves, and emigrants the authority to establish a slave society (Rothschild, 2013). However, unlike the King of Rakan, he did not give them autonomy. Instead, the act emphasized the color of one’s skin as a symbol of slavery. Unlike the inhabitants of the Bay of Beghal, they were not free and the Act introduced stricter control over their freedoms. Notably, the inhabitants of West Florida were primarily Black and Brown while the inhabitants of West Beghal were primarily White Portugees. While these groups of people existed thousands of miles away from one another, they portray the different treatment rulers extended to people based on their skin color. In one instance, one group was given autonomy to lure them to act as defenders while the other group was given some economic freedom to prop up a kingdom’s finances.
Conclusion
Anthropology concerns itself with the study of people, culture, and society. While looking at these elements, it analyzes customs, beliefs, social practices, and social-political organizations. Francois Bernier’s work offers insight into Indo-Pacific anthropology by describing people who settled on the Island of Chatigon. Bernier’s description of this group of people indicates that they were Portuguese settlers who could not conform to normal behavior. Thus, they professed they were Christians but only in name only. Their major economic activity was piracy and the slave trade. They welcomed people who had exhibited unsocial behavior. However, their behavior was tolerated by the King of Rakan because they acted as his first line of defense against a possible offensive by the Mughal king. The Portuguese and other European powers also tolerated and traded with them.
Reference
Bernier, F. (1891). Travels in the Mogul Empire. Oxford University Press.
Rothschild, E. (2013). The inner life of empires: An Eighteenth-century history. Princeton University Press.