Handling of Diversity in Early Modern India

Perception and Evaluation in German Discourse

Bibliographic Data

ID5779636
AuthorsAntje Fluechter (corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume16
Issue2
Pages297-334
Publication date2013-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Medieval History Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0971-9458 • E-ISSN: 0973-0753
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0971945813514900
OpenAlexW2022465634
LanguageEN
References cited27

The notion of plurality amongst the Indian population is one of the most prominent features of early modern German discourse on India. This article combines the concepts 'diversity' and 'transculturality' to analyse how German speaking mercenaries of the Dutch East India Company perceived this plurality. These mercenaries were a specific group of travellers, quite different from the well-known, erudite globetrotter. I analyse the group labels that mercenaries used to describe, understand and categorise India's diverse population. The categories that the mercenaries used reflected their own understanding and fluidity of the terms nation, religion and social status. In contrast to the assumed relevance of religion and social status for early modern societies, the authors predominantly chose the term 'nation' for the different people in India. Moreover, their notion of a 'nation' did not imply a social hierarchy, but rather a juxtaposition. Based on this evidence, this article concludes that the organisation of diversity depended crucially on the individual author and his social position

Relevance · Social hierarchy · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes

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