Date & Time: Sunday, June 27, 1999 13:30-18:30

Location: The University of Tokyo, Institute of Oriental Culture, Large Conference Room

Lectures:

HANEDA, Masashi: The Aim and Perspectives of "Cross-cultural Conacts and Exchanges" Research Group

FUJII, Mari: French Settlements in Senegal in the Eighteenth Century: Fluvial Traffic for Slave Trade

KUROKI, Hidemitsu: Aleppo at the Time of Bonaparte's Expedition to Egypt: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Frictions Seen in Ottoman and French Documents

 (1) The presenters for this workshop began with the following three premises:

a.) A cultural area should be defined using not only terms related to political boundaries such as "territorial state" or "nation state", but also using cultural terms related to language, religion, ethnicity and technology. In addition, we should try to clarify the concrete aspects of how areas have interacted and conducted exchanges.

 

b.) We should not only examine areas which consist of physical planes, but also the many layers within an area (vertical areas). We must recognize that an area is far more than a 2-dimentional surface. Neither is an area a closed-off space.

 

c.) We should pay careful attention to how past exchanges between areas have influenced the modern world.

 

(2) Our researchers will focus on the following two subjects:

a.) Research on locales where exchanges (of people, goods, money and information) take place such as port towns, conveyance and travel stations, markets and roads, etc. We would like to focus especially on port towns. Using Marseille, Genova, Izmir, Beiruit, Bandar-i Abbas, Surat, Malacca, Ningbo and Nagasaki as examples, we would like to approach this issue from many angles. These approaches include the structure of port towns, the people who work there, business, land ownership, taxes, languages used, settlements of foreigners, missionaries and their activities, intermarriage between different ethnic groups, prostitutes and political power, as well as the relationships between these factors. By investigating and comparing the physical, social and cultural aspects of port towns located in different areas, in addition to finding general characteristics common to port towns, we believe that it will be possible to clarify the distinctive characteristics of each particular area.

 

b.) We will study groups of people who form ties accross borders. We hope to be able to obtain clear images of exchanges between areas by examining mobile individuals and groups, such as networks of business people (for example, Armenians, Indians or Iranians), sailors and their social networks, pirates, bandits, caravans, pilgrims and missionaries.

(3) The most important objective of our research is to hold an international workshop during our third year and publish the results as part of the IAS series, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge in this field.

(1) Introduction

• Using papers regarding settlements and reports on inland explorations, we would like to confirm the routes on which people, goods and information traveled. In doing this, we hope to be able to understand the structure and functions of port towns, as well as construct clearer images of social groups, their points of contact, and their technologies.

(2) Settlements

• Since the second half of the 17th century, settlements such as Saint Louis at the mouth of the Senegal River, Saint Joseph upriver and Gole on the coast south of Saint Louis have been established. In 1734, the Conseil Superieur de Direction du Senegal was established in Saint Louis and the creation of management organizations has continued.

• In 1659, after the completion of the Saint Louis trading house, the goodwill and cooperation of the native Africans of the area was maintained by the payment of taxes and trade tariffs.

• From June to October, 2 or 3 transport ships of approximately 25 tons each traveled upstream from the Saint Louis trading house to the Saint Joseph trading house, where 80-120 slaves boarded each ship. These ships then returned to Saint Louis, where the slaves were transferred to larger 300-ton class ships.

 

(3) A West African merchant group known as Soninke traded in the vicinity of the Saint Joseph trading house, which was in direct contact with the inland trading networks. The Soninke formed a caravan (Saate) which included between 600 and 800 slaves.

• The Saint Joseph trading house paid a fee to the people in charge of the local marketplaces: a special tax for slave trafficking and a fee to the leader of the caravan.

• The interpreters first described the French goods and the exchange rates and then described the goods carried by caravan leader and his exchange rates. If a contract was mutually agreed upon, the slaves were handed over to the French side after a physical examination by a French medical doctor.

(4) Summary

• Port towns: Local technology was employed in accordance with the natural conditions in West Africa. This was in accordance with the systems in the African Kingdoms.

• Social Groups: Caravans & caravan leaders, people in charge of marketplaces. Orderly trade.

• There may be historical materials which the presenter has not yet discovered which will assist in constructing a more complete description of trade in the settlement areas over a longer period of time.

 

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(1) Introduction

• We hope to expose exchanges that had been occurring at a more basic level. These may include exchanges other than those between nation states, or exchanges on a deeper level which form the basis for exchanges on the state level.

• We will explore the various exchanges and conflicts between areas, as part of the small-scale migrations occurring in Aleppo at the time of Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt.

 

(2) Imprisonment, confiscation of property, emancipation

• In September of 1798, all of the French settlers (36 people) were put under house arrest along with Khan al-Gumuluk. They were then transferred to the fortress at Aleppo and arrested.

• That same month, an ordinance ordering the confiscation and recording or property of all French nationals and patrons was recorded in the Islamic court in Aleppo.

• In January of 1799, the torture of the French and sale by auction of their property began.

• In November of the same year, an ordinance was issued ordering the release of the imprisoned French to the custody of the English consul in exchange for a ransom of 100,000 piastres.

• In January of 1800, the French were released.

• In September of 1802, an ordinance was issued protecting the rights of French settlers to own property.

 

(3) Locations where French people lived in the city

• The French were settled in 5 separate sections in the center of the city.

 

(4) Identity issues of the consul interpreters

• The 6 interpreters residing in Aleppo (Christian missionaries) and the 12 people making use of their services quickly attempted to regain their status as subjects of the Ottoman Empire.

 

(5) Concrete example of the business activities of the French

• The losses suffered by the once wealthy merchants were estimated by the Ottomans to be approximately 330,000 piastres. According to the merchants themselves, the losses amounted to approximately 460,000 piastres.

• These merchants were active in wide-ranging areas of business, from North and Central America to India.

 

By HANEDA, Masashi