French Yanam and the French Slave Trade: Labour Networks Linking India, Mauritius, and Madagascar and the Road to Abolition (17th–19th Centuries)

Ravulapati Venkaiah

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i06.62357

French Yanam and the French Slave Trade: Labour Networks Linking India, Mauritius, and Madagascar and the Road to Abolition (17th–19th Centuries)

Author(s)	Mr. Ravulapati Venkaiah
Country	India
Abstract	The French colonial presence in the Indian Ocean created a vast and interconnected system of labour extraction, maritime mobility, and plantation economies linking French India with Mauritius and Madagascar. Within this network, the small enclave of French Yanam played a disproportionately significant role by providing skilled and unskilled workers, bonded labourers, and maritime personnel required for the functioning of French plantations across the region. This study examines the historical evolution of the French slave trade in the Indian Ocean from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the recruitment structures, contractual coercion, and maritime labour practices that connected Yanam to the wider French colonial world. Through an analysis of archival records, maritime documents, and secondary scholarship, the article traces how labourers from Yanam were integrated into plantation systems in Mauritius and Madagascar under conditions that often paralleled slavery. It also explores the legal and ideological shifts surrounding the abolition of slavery—beginning with the French Revolution’s decree of 1794, its reversal under Napoleon in 1802, and the final, definitive abolition of 1848 under Victor Schoelcher—and evaluates their impact on French India and the broader Indian Ocean labour economy. The study highlights how the abolition of slavery did not terminate exploitative labour systems but instead restructured them through large-scale indentured migration from French Indian territories. By situating French Yanam within the wider framework of oceanic slavery, coercion, and colonial governance, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the transoceanic connections that shaped the economic and social history of the French Empire in the Indian Ocean world.
Keywords	French India; Yanam; Indian Ocean World; French Slave Trade; Mauritius; Madagascar; Plantation Labour; Engagés; Bonded Labour; Colonial Maritime Networks; French Colonialism; Abolition of Slavery 1848; Indentured Migration; Coromandel Coast; Compagnie des Indes.
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 6, November-December 2025
Published On	2025-12-02
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i06.62357
Short DOI	https://doi.org/hbdshk

View / Download PDF File

E-ISSN 2582-2160

doi

CrossRef DOI is assigned to each research paper published in our journal.

IJFMR DOI prefix is
10.36948/ijfmr

Downloads

Research Paper Format Copyright Permission Form and Undertaking Form Cover Page Vol 7 Isu 5 Cover Page Vol 7 Isu 4 Cover Page Vol 7 Isu 3

All research papers published on this website are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and all rights belong to their respective authors/researchers.

CC-BY-SA

About IJFMR Fees & Payment Current Issue Publication Archive	Submit Research Paper Track Submission Status Publication Guidelines Publication Ethics Peer Review & Plagiarism	Join as a Reviewer Editors & Reviewers Reviewer Referral Program Get Reviewer Membership Certi.	Website/Journal Policies Usage Policy Content Policies Privacy Policy

Contact Us		+91-9687-828-838	editor@ijfmr.com

International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

French Yanam and the French Slave Trade: Labour Networks Linking India, Mauritius, and Madagascar and the Road to Abolition (17th–19th Centuries)

Share this