i A Sea of Debt In this innovative legal history of economic life in the Western Indian Ocean, Bishara examines the transformations of Islamic law and Islamicate commercial practices during the emergence of modern cap- italism in the region. In this time of expanding commercial activity, a mélange of Arab, Indian, Swahili, and Baloch merchants, planters, jurists, judges, soldiers, and seamen forged the frontiers of a shared world. The interlinked worlds of trade and politics that these actors created, the shared commercial grammars and institutions that they developed, and the spatial and socio-economic mobilities they engaged in endured until at least the middle of the twentieth century. This major study examines the Indian Ocean from Oman to India and East Africa over an extended period of time, drawing together the histories of com- merce, law, and empire in a sophisticated, original, and richly textured history of capitalism in the Islamic world. FAHAD AHMAD BISHARA is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in History from Duke University in 2012, and holds an M.A. in Arab Gulf Studies from the University of Exeter. His research, in the fi elds of legal history and the history of capitalism, has been supported by the Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies. He was also previously a Prize Fellow in Economics, History, and Politics at the Center for History and Economics at Harvard University. Published in association with the Muhammad Alagil Chair in Arabia Asia Studies, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:50:21, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 ii ASIAN CONNECTIONS Series editors Sunil Amrith, H arvard University Tim Harper, U niversity of Cambridge Engseng Ho, Duke University Asian Connections is a major series of ambitious works that look beyond the traditional templates of area, regional or national studies to consider the trans- regional phenomena which have connected and infl uenced various parts of Asia through time. The series will focus on empirically grounded work exploring circulations, connections, convergences, and comparisons within and beyond Asia. Themes of particular interest include transport and communication, mercantile networks and trade, migration, religious connections, urban his- tory, environmental history, oceanic history, the spread of language and ideas, and political alliances. The series aims to build new ways of understanding fundamental concepts, such as modernity, pluralism or capitalism, from the expe- rience of Asian societies. It is hoped that this conceptual framework will facilitate connections across fi elds of knowledge and bridge historical p erspectives with contemporary concerns. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:50:21, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 iii A Sea of Debt Law and Economic Life in the Western Indian Ocean, 1780– 1950 Fahad Ahmad Bishara University of V irginia Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:50:21, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 iv University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 4843/2 4, 2nd Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, Delhi – 110002, India 79 Anson Road, #06-0 4/ 06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: w ww.cambridge.org/9 781107155657 DOI: 10.1017/9 781316659083 © Fahad Bishara 2017 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2017 Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1 - 107- 15565-7 Hardback ISBN 978-1-316-60937-8 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-p arty internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:50:21, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 v Contents List of Figures and Tables page v i Acknowledgments vii Prologue 1 1 A Geography of Obligation 24 2 L ife and Debt 58 3 P aper Routes 81 Interlude 107 4 T ranslating Transactions 125 5 M aking Africa Indian 150 6 M uslim Mortgages 169 7 C apital Moves 190 8 U nraveling Obligation 217 Epilogue 246 Bibliography 258 Index 275 v Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:51:18, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 vi Figures and Tables Figures 1 A map of the Western Indian Ocean page 2 2 An iqra(cid:2)r of debt between a freed slave and an Indian moneylender 72 3 A khiya (cid:2) r sale waraqa 85 4 A page from a registry at the Zanzibar Consulate showing transcribed w araqas 134 5 Musabbah’s w araqa 143 6 Ratansi Purshottam 205 7 One of Ratansi’s w araqas 206 8 A debt iqra (cid:2) r on a state-i ssued waraqa from Muscat 242 9 The new Zanzibar registered debt deed 243 Tables 1 Number of Land Transfers in Zanzibar, 1925–1 933 224 2 Number of Land Transfers in Pemba, 1926–1 933 224 vi Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:51:44, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 vii Acknowledgments When I fi rst began to conceive of this project as a graduate student at Duke University, I benefi ted from learning under the shade of two great masters of the craft: Ed Balleisen, to whom I owe my appreciation for all things legal and economic; and Engseng Ho, who showed me how to navigate the stormy waters of Indian Ocean history, but also taught me how to read and how to imagine. If I have done anything well in this book, it is because of the two of them. I also benefi ted from the guidance of a number of other teachers, both at Duke and beyond. Bruce Hall asked the right questions at the right time; Timur Kuran guided me through the thickets of economic his- tory while including me in his own work; Janet Ewald took a chance on me when I still had not yet found my sea legs; and the late Jonathan Ocko read and encouraged my work with his usual cheer and sense of humor. Sebouh Aslanian read the manuscript, gave me his usual sharp insight, and continues to support me in ways that I can only call hum- bling. Barbara Welke pushed me to refi ne my thinking from early on, but also showed me how to strike a balance between rigor and generosity. And Michael Gilsenan read, asked questions, wondered, exclaimed, and prodded; I am lucky to know him. Over the course of the last decade or so, I got to know people who would forever change the way I think, read, and write. Daniel Bessner, Jatin Dua, Mitch Fraas, Paul Johstono, Ameem Lutfi , Robert Penner, Serkan Yolacan, and many others have left more of an imprint on this project – and on my life – than they could possibly know. Andrew Byers, Tamara Extian-B abiuk, Julia Gaffi eld, Doug Leonard, and Willeke Sandler all endured more of my work than anyone should ever have to, and their company made the writing process much more enjoyable than it would have otherwise been. At Harvard University, the Prize Fellows’ program at the Joint Center for History and Economics furnished me with a group of interlocutors, collaborators, and friends that helped me make the transition from being vii Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:51:45, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 viii viii Acknowledgments one kind of student to being another. My fellow fellows – especially Alexia Yates – kept me on my toes, helped me sharpen my thinking, and broadened my intellectual horizons. And though we were called the Prize Fellows, it is to Emma Rothschild that the real prize goes: Emma is the extraordinary architect behind it all; her vision, foresight, and generosity helped bring such a remarkable program into being. Crucial fi nancial support for this project came from the JCHE, but also the Social Science Research Council, and the American Council of Learned Societies. My colleagues at the College of William and Mary were perhaps the best that anyone could hope for. They shared in my enthusiasm as I worked through different readings and chapter drafts, kept up their sense of humor as I struggled through different course experiments, and took me out to celebrate or to hear me complain. And at the Omohundro Institute, Nadine Zimmerli helped me become a better writer; the book is leaner and sharper because of her editing. Of course, I could not have completed this project without the help of a number of individuals from around the Indian Ocean. At the Zanzibar National Archives, Omar Sheha ensured that I received the kind of access I sought, but also integrated me into his family; our friendship is perhaps the best thing to have come out of this project. In Muttrah, Vimal and Dhruv Purecha opened up their family library to me, took me out to different meals, and met me in various parts of the world. I am grateful to them for their hospitality and to Calvin Allen for putting us in touch. In Manama, Ali Akbar Bushihri shared his family documents, put up with my questions, and regaled me with stories and cheesecake; I only regret that I wasn’t able to use the Bahrain material here. And fi nally, I am grateful to the archive staff at the British Library, the Maharashtra State Archives, and the Zanzibar National Archives, who put up with my endless requests but also dragged their feet enough to make sure that I would sometimes leave them alone and fi nd someplace to eat, think, and spend time with fellow researchers. During my research travels, I met a number of people who quickly became my friends and interlocutors. Among others, Simon Layton and Johan Mathew made for excellent company while I was away from family and friends. Walks with Abdul Sheriff around Zanzibar allowed me the chance to become more intimate with my surroundings while learning at the hands of one of the masters of the craft of oceanic history. Ahmed Al- Dailami and Noora Lori immediately became some of my closest friends and most engaging conversation partners; I consider our meeting a blessing. And Thomas (Dodie) McDow – well, what can I say? There has been nothing better than getting to know him and his family, and researching and thinking alongside him in Zanzibar, Mumbai, Muscat, and the United States. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:51:45, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083 ix Acknowledgments ix In Kuwait, my mother, my sisters, and my relatives all encouraged me to keep working and continued to put up with my interminable absence without knowing exactly what it was that I was doing and why. And my friends, most of whom I have known for at least twenty years, kept me anchored, even as I drifted from one city to another, degree after degree, and project after project. I cannot begin to imagine what life would be like without these people, even though they have gone through as many years without me around as they have with me there. And of course, there has always been Rose, who has been there from the fi rst proposal to the fi nal draft. She has seen us through countless moves, made sure that our home was always in order, and that I always made time for my family, often taking time away from her own work to do it. Her love, her patience, her support, and her enthusiasm are what made this book possible; her unyielding dedication to our family is what keeps us all alive. Writing would have also been impossible without the constant help of my mother-i n- law, Rosemary. I dedicate this book to my son, Jossem, who made it just in time for the fi rst draft to be completed, and to my father, Ahmad Bishara, who left us too soon to see this book in print. My father pushed me from early on to read, to learn, and to explore, and was the only family member who ever understood what I was trying to do; his departure has left me bereft of words. Thankfully, my son carries on his grandfather’s bound- less curiosity. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Teachers College Library - Columbia University, on 07 Oct 2017 at 02:51:45, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316659083