Project title
Trafficked: Sex, Servitude, and the Slave-trade in the Pacific
Project description
While the role of slavery in the expansion of capitalism and empire in the Atlantic is well understood, Pacific slavery remains largely unknown. The study seeks to recover the forgotten history of slavery and the slave trade in Manila from 1550 to 1850. A time when European powers were attempting to conquer and colonize much of the IndoPacific region. As the capital of the Spanish empire in the Philippines and a significant hub in the intra-Asian trade, Manila played a crucial role in connecting economies and polities from Asia to the Americas.
Kristie Patricia Flannery aims to provide a unique insight into the historical dimensions of bondage in the larger IndoPacific region and how it changes our understanding of slavery, capitalism, and European imperial expansion in the early modern world.