This thesis is primarily a study of George Baldwin (1743/4-1824), a British merchant and diplomat, and his efforts in developing an overland route through Egypt in the last decades of the...Show moreThis thesis is primarily a study of George Baldwin (1743/4-1824), a British merchant and diplomat, and his efforts in developing an overland route through Egypt in the last decades of the eighteenth century. The significance of the Egyptian overland route in this period has often been overlooked when compared to the later overland mail established by Thomas Waghorn in the 1830s and the Suez Canal. This thesis will provide a reassessment of the overland route’s commercial and geopolitical significance to the British Empire during the period of George Baldwin’s two residencies in Egypt; first as a merchant (1775-1779) and then as the first British Consul-General to Egypt (1786-1798). The growing realisation of the route’s strategic significance by British policymakers, like Henry Dundas, predates the Napoleonic Expedition and will be examined in relation to Baldwin’s consular appointment in 1786. The commercial value of the route will be assessed by looking at the private trade of Baldwin and his associates during both residencies and is something that casts doubt on the traditional view that the Middle East experienced commercial decline in this period. Most significantly, this thesis will focus on the strategic importance of the route to the British position in India. The significance of Egypt increased as the East India Company transitioned into a territorial power in 1770s and 1780s. This meant that Baldwin’s role was a strategic necessity; something shown by a series of case studies on the sieges of Pondicherry in 1778 and 1793 as well as the transfer of Ceylon to the British in 1796.Show less
A microhistorical approach to the history of New Netherland, which dives into the lives of several families and individuals that lived in the colony of New Netherland to, one, determine what their...Show moreA microhistorical approach to the history of New Netherland, which dives into the lives of several families and individuals that lived in the colony of New Netherland to, one, determine what their influence was on the development of the colony, and two, to show that a microhistory of New Netherland can shed new light on the existing historiography.Show less
Exploring postcolonial understandings of magic, narrative, healing and relationality in Egypt shows the Origin story as an untapped resource. Envy theory and colonial narcissism connect reparations...Show moreExploring postcolonial understandings of magic, narrative, healing and relationality in Egypt shows the Origin story as an untapped resource. Envy theory and colonial narcissism connect reparations, colonizers and contemporary Egyptians to the tale of Egyptian gods fighting for the kingdom of Egypt. From artifacts stolen and mummies consumed by colonizers to curses that led to the undoing of famous colonial archaeologists, a postcolonial look at colonial interactions within Egypt reveal many connections between the past, present and future of the country. Ancient Egyptian understandings and uses of magic and science filter through to today, including the interactions of these aspects with colonialism. The lens of postcolonialism will highlight the role that magic and narrative have in providing an indigenous dimension to colonial times, connections with nature and Egyptian experiences of agency over time. Looking at how Orientalist norms are maintained through a dominance of archaeology and Egyptology, and the resulting treatment of Egyptian antiquities will be supplemented with using overlapping disciplines to conduct more holistic research. Narrative, rememory and magic shape and contextualize both past and present efforts to preserve and present Egypt’s internationally valuable heritage. This complex web of interactions and their causes and effects are useful in healing reserves of colonial trauma as well as understanding the context for the country's future development in terms of reparations, museums as colonial curators and legacy safeguarding.Show less
This thesis explores the debate around the application of the law on the separation of Church and State of 1905 from France in Colonial Algeria from 1890 to 1914. The unique status of Algeria made...Show moreThis thesis explores the debate around the application of the law on the separation of Church and State of 1905 from France in Colonial Algeria from 1890 to 1914. The unique status of Algeria made it so that it was legally part of France, the three départements of Oran, Alger and Constantine were all counted as French départements. Thus it seemed logical that law would be applied in Algeria as there would be no exceptions to any French territory at the time from the law. The application of the law in Algeria nevertheless sparked controversy as the context in which the law would operate was not the same as in France. The presence of an indigenous Muslim population and the dependency of the local Catholic Church on state subsidies raised concerns whether applying the law in Algeria was wise. The French administration in Algeria had also created a special form of hierarchised and centralised Islam with which the laic state could interact with and control. This was achieved through the control of the medersas, by censoring what was taught in these and the fatwas issued by the ulamas, and the recruitment of imams, ulamas and muftis which were proven to be apolitical and loyal to the French state. The Catholic Church in Algeria also served as an assimilative institution as many non-French European immigrants, from Catholic Countries such as Italy, Spain, Malta and Poland, came to Algeria. The application of the law in Algeria would on paper force the French authorities to give up the control they exerted over the unique form of Islam they had created in Algeria, but also give up the unofficial partnership with the Algerian Church with whom the colonial administration cooperated. The debate that originated in France and opposed Catholics and republicans made its way to Algeria and opposed these two ideological camps. What this thesis attempts to do through the analysis of newspaper articles, is to understand what the public opinion on this issue was in Algeria, to bring a nuanced perspective on the debate by highlighting differences within these two ideological camps, and differently from the scholarly literature adopt an approach not based on institutional archives.Show less
This thesis seeks to demonstrate how the expansion of Dutch colonial power led to the transformation of the social environment of the region of Sintang. To enrich the historiography of Sintang,...Show moreThis thesis seeks to demonstrate how the expansion of Dutch colonial power led to the transformation of the social environment of the region of Sintang. To enrich the historiography of Sintang, this thesis has focused on tracking the transformation of the social environment under the influence of Dutch colonial power from 1913-1941, after the last documented people's resistance in 1913 and before the Japanese occupation in Borneo in 1941. To conclude, by expanding their power into Borneo Island in the period 1913-1941, the Dutch colonial government established Sintang as the heart of trading access in the Kapuas River region and a strategic place for enabling control the interior area in the western part of Borneo.Show less
Through the process of cultural ruination, the ancestral cult of the Inka was supposedly lost in exchange for Christian funerary practices. Though there is an outward façade of acculturation in...Show moreThrough the process of cultural ruination, the ancestral cult of the Inka was supposedly lost in exchange for Christian funerary practices. Though there is an outward façade of acculturation in relation to the treatment of death during the Colonial Era in Cusco, Peru, all was not lost. This particular study suggests that through the introduction of Western artistic media, the colonial Inka were able to maintain aspects of their pre-Hispanic belief system. Specifically, this thesis argues that there are distinct parallels between the way the Inka mummies and the practice dynastic portrait paintings that was adopted during the late 16th century.Show less
