European wives and local concubines: Women on board English country trader vessels in the Malay Archipelago and beyond,from the 1770s to the 1830s,with some reference to life on board other contemporary sailing vessels

Abstract

Though the officers and crews of the British ‘country’ ships that operated in association with the English East India Company in the waters of the Malay Archipelago, the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea were all men, there are occasional references to women on board. These women fall into two categories: European wives and local concubines. This article provides examples of these elusive women, examines the reasons for their presence on board, assesses their social status and makes some comparisons between the two categories.