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A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland or other lands east of the Cape of Good Hope who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the mid-20th century.
Lascars in Britain earned their living by various means: as sailors, if they could, on European Articles; as crossing-sweepers; as peripatetic singers and musicians; as sellers of Indian articles like curry powder or perfume which they concocted themselves; as lodging-house keepers and café and curry-house owners who largely served their ...
The East India Company employed Asian seamen known as 'Lascars' in the 17th century, who served on European ships. The first European use of the word ‘Lascar’ dates back to the Portuguese employment of Asian seamen in the early 1500s.
Feb 20, 2019 · ‘Lascars’ were Indian seamen employed in great numbers in the Portuguese, British and other colonial navies. The word ‘lascar’ itself comes from the Persian word ‘lashkar’ for ‘army’, and the lascars were originally sailors from the west coast of India.
Discover the previously untold stories of the Lascars, the South Asian sailors of Colonial Britain. Find out their hidden histories and the legacies they left behind through our book Scotland’s Lascar Heritage: Investigating the Lives of South Asian Mariners and the premiere of the Lascars and Us film.
The forgotten story of South Asian seafarers - 'Lascars' - who were a mainstay of Britain's merchant navy for centuries.About the Wellington Trust - https://...
Paid one-fifth to one-quarter of a British sailor’s wage, lascars inhabited a world deeply marked by racial division, which determined their pay, treatment and work. They found themselves at the bottom of the imperial hierarchy of maritime labour.