Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s

Ulrike Freitag, William Clarence-Smith (editors)
Hardback, 392 pages
9789004107717

This volume covers the long neglected history of Hadhramaut (southern Arabia) during the modern colonial era, together with the history of Hadhrami "colonies" in the Malay world, southern India, the Red Sea, and East Africa.

After an introduction placing Hadhramis in the context of other diasporas, there are sections on local and international politics, social stratication and integration, religious and social reform, and economic dynamics. The conclusion brings the story to the present day and outlines a research agenda.

Many aspects of Indian Ocean history are illuminated by this book, notably the role of non-Western merchants in the spread of capitalism, Islamisation and the controversies which raged within Islam, British and Ottoman strategic concerns, social antagonisms in southern Arabia, and the cosmopolitan character of coastal societies.

Contents
• Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora in the Modern Colonial Era: An Introductory Survey
• Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora: Problems in Theoretical History
• Expansion, State Foundation and Reform: The Contest for Power in Hadhramaut in the Nineteenth Century
• Hadhrami Politics 1888-1967: Conflicts of Identity and Interest
• The Hadhrami Role in the Politics and Society of Colonial India, 17505-1950S
• Hadhramis in the Politics and Administration of the Malay States in the Late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
• Dutch Colonial Policy Pertaining to Hadhrami Immigrants
• Hadhramis in International Politics c. 1750-1967
• Hadhramis Abroad in Hadhramaut: The Muwalladin
• Reflections on the System of Social Stratification in Hadhramaut
• Changing Patterns of Hadhrami Migration and Social Integration in East Africa
• The Hadhrami Diaspora in South-Western India: The Role of the Sayyids of the Malabar Coast
• Natural Leaders of Native Muslims: Arab Ethnicity and Politics in Java Under Dutch Rule
• The Cult of Saints and Religious Reformism in Hadhramaut
• Religious Links Between Hadhramaut and the Malay-Indonesian World, c. 1850 to c. 1950
• Islamic Modernism in Colonial Java: The Al-Irshad Movement
• A Hadhrami Religious Scholar in Indonesia: Sayyid 'Uthmãn
• The Impact of Remittances on the Economy of Hadhramaut, 1914-1967
• The Economic Role of the Hadhrami Diaspora in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, 1820S to 1930S
• Hadhrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World, c. 1750 tO c. 1940
• Conclusion: The Diaspora Since the Age of Independence