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【簡(jiǎn)譯】靛藍(lán)起義（Indigo Revolt）

2023-11-16 10:50 作者:神尾智代 0人讀過(guò) | 我要投稿

The Indigo Revolt (aka Indigo Riots or Blue Mutiny) of 1859-60 in Bengal, India, involved indigo growers going on strike in protest at working conditions and pay. The subsequent violence was aimed at exploitative European plantation owners, but the cause was, during and after, taken up by anti-colonial Indian liberals as an example of the necessity for independence.

? ? ? ? ? 1859-60 年在印度孟加拉轄區(qū)（英屬印度的一個(gè)領(lǐng)土單位，正式名稱(chēng)為孟加拉威廉堡轄區(qū)）發(fā)生的靛藍(lán)起義（又名靛藍(lán)暴動(dòng)或藍(lán)色叛亂）涉及靛藍(lán)種植者為抗議工作條件和報(bào)酬而舉行的罷工。隨后發(fā)生的暴力事件針對(duì)的是歐洲種植園主的剝削，但其原因在期間和之后被反殖民的印度自由主義者視為獨(dú)立必要性的一個(gè)例子。

靛藍(lán)貿(mào)易

India was known for its cotton textiles through the Middle Ages, and by the mid-16th century Gujarat in northwest India was major a source of indigo, the deep blue-violet dye used to colour cotton and other materials. Indigo was in high demand by the European trading companies, including the British East India Company (EIC) which made large profits from its export. The EIC used well the long-standing expertise of Indian indigo growers and dyers, particularly in centres such as Sarkhej in Gujarat and Bayana in neighbouring Rajasthan, both in northeast India.

? ? ? ? ? 在中世紀(jì)，印度就以棉紡織品聞名于世，到 16 世紀(jì)中葉，印度西北部的古吉拉特邦已成為靛藍(lán)的主要產(chǎn)地，靛藍(lán)是一種深藍(lán)紫色染料，用于給棉花和其他材料染色。包括英國(guó)東印度公司（EIC）在內(nèi)的歐洲貿(mào)易公司對(duì)靛藍(lán)的需求量很大，該公司從靛藍(lán)出口中獲得了巨額利潤(rùn)。東印度公司充分利用了印度靛藍(lán)種植者和染色者長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)積累的專(zhuān)業(yè)知識(shí)，特別是在古吉拉特邦的Sarkhej和鄰近印度東北部拉賈斯坦邦的巴耶納（Bayana）等中心。

The making of indigo dye was a long and labour-intensive process. The plant cuttings were harvested once a year in June or July before the onset of the rainy season. These were then taken to a factory by cart where they were emptied into large vats to steep in water. The dyed water and mash was then boiled as this brought out a richer colour in the indigo grains, which then had to be strained out. The grains were next pressed into dried cakes, which were in turn pressed into barrels or, alternatively, the mass was cut into cubes and packed into chests ready for transportation. Most indigo was shipped to Calcutta (Kolkata) for sale to merchants who then organised shipment to England or the Americas where it was used to colour textiles. From the late 18th century, Bengal became the major centre for indigo production, accounting for 67% of London's total imports of the dye in 1796 (around 2 million kilograms) and then rising further into the 19th century.?

? ? ? ? ? 靛藍(lán)染料的生產(chǎn)是一個(gè)漫長(zhǎng)而費(fèi)力的過(guò)程。每年在雨季開(kāi)始前的六月或七月收割一次靛藍(lán)。然后用小車(chē)將它們運(yùn)到工廠(chǎng)，倒入大桶中放水浸泡。將染色的水和泥漿煮沸，這樣靛藍(lán)顆粒的顏色會(huì)更濃，然后再將其濾出。隨后將靛藍(lán)壓成干餅，再將干餅壓入桶中，或者將干餅切成方塊，裝入箱子準(zhǔn)備運(yùn)輸。大部分靛藍(lán)被運(yùn)往加爾各答出售給商人，然后由商人安排運(yùn)往英國(guó)或美洲，用于給紡織品染色。從 18 世紀(jì)晚期開(kāi)始，孟加拉成為靛藍(lán)生產(chǎn)的主要中心，1796 年占倫敦染料進(jìn)口總量的 67%（約 200 萬(wàn)公斤），在 19 世紀(jì)進(jìn)一步增加。

The indigo industry was a volatile one. Too much or too little rain greatly affected the quantity and quality of the dye produced each year, and in boom years, overproduction brought a crash in the price. Still, for the long-term investor, indigo could be a very lucrative industry indeed. Unfortunately, the financial speculation that resulted in such a crop with potential for large gains was another source of instability. Finally, the location of many indigo plantations made them prone to flooding, which not only damaged the crop but often swept away the factory facilities.

? ? ? ? ? 靛藍(lán)行業(yè)波動(dòng)較大。雨水過(guò)多或過(guò)少都會(huì)極大地影響每年生產(chǎn)的染料的數(shù)量和質(zhì)量，在經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮的年份，生產(chǎn)過(guò)剩會(huì)導(dǎo)致價(jià)格暴跌。不過(guò)，對(duì)于長(zhǎng)期投資者來(lái)說(shuō)，靛藍(lán)業(yè)確實(shí)是一個(gè)利潤(rùn)豐厚的行業(yè)。不幸的是，涉及具有巨額利潤(rùn)潛力的作物的金融投機(jī)是不穩(wěn)定的另一個(gè)根源。最后，許多靛藍(lán)種植園所處的地理位置使其容易遭受洪水侵襲，這不僅損害了作物，還經(jīng)常沖毀工廠(chǎng)設(shè)施。 ???

種植園主

Indigo plantation owners, many of whom had experience of running plantations in the West Indies, were one of the few categories of settlers the East India Company allowed into its territory in India. This was because the agricultural land was already densely populated but indigo was such a lucrative trade that indigo investors became an exception. Even so, unlike in the plantation systems seen in, for example, the West Indies, indigo plantation owners in EIC-controlled India could not own the land. Most indigo plantation owners merely rented the land upon which their crops and production facilities were situated. After 1837 and the relaxation of EIC regulations, some plantation owners began to buy or lease land.

? ? ? ? ? 靛藍(lán)種植園主中的許多人都有在西印度群島經(jīng)營(yíng)種植園的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，他們是東印度公司允許進(jìn)入印度領(lǐng)土的少數(shù)定居者之一。這是因?yàn)橛《鹊霓r(nóng)業(yè)用地已經(jīng)人口稠密，但靛藍(lán)貿(mào)易利潤(rùn)豐厚，因此靛藍(lán)投資者成為例外。即便如此，與西印度群島的種植園系統(tǒng)不同，東印度公司控制下的印度靛藍(lán)種植園主不能擁有土地。大多數(shù)靛藍(lán)種植園主只是租用農(nóng)作物和生產(chǎn)設(shè)施所在的土地。1837 年以后，隨著印度工業(yè)產(chǎn)權(quán)交易所的規(guī)定放寬，一些種植園主開(kāi)始購(gòu)買(mǎi)或租賃土地。 ?

The plantation owner permitted parcels of the land he himself rented to be cultivated for indigo by local peasant farmers, known in this case as ryots. These small-scale indigo growers, who would oversee and provide the crop when the production season came around, did not pay rent to the owner but received his capital investment to grow the crop. In return for the investment, the grower promised to sell to the plantation owner a certain quantity of indigo at a certain price at a future date. This system was particularly prone to the volatile market problems mentioned above, and it meant that relations were not particularly good between owners and growers – the historian D. Gilmour describes these 'industrial relations' as "the worst in India" (217).

? ? ? ? ? 種植園主允許當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)民在自己租用的土地上種植靛藍(lán)，這種情況被稱(chēng)為ryots。這些小規(guī)模的靛藍(lán)種植者在生產(chǎn)季節(jié)到來(lái)時(shí)負(fù)責(zé)監(jiān)督和收割作物，他們不向種植園主支付租金，而是接受種植園主的資本投資。作為投資回報(bào)，種植者承諾在未來(lái)某個(gè)日期以某個(gè)價(jià)格向種植園主出售一定數(shù)量的靛藍(lán)。這種制度特別容易出現(xiàn)上文提到的市場(chǎng)波動(dòng)問(wèn)題，這意味著種植園主和種植者之間的關(guān)系并不融洽。歷史學(xué)家 D. Gilmour 將這些“勞資關(guān)系”描述為“印度最糟糕的關(guān)系”（217）。

Typically living on isolated farms, there were only around 200 European plantation owners in India. They were a breed all on their own, living in huge bungalows and pursuing a life of ease when not harvest time. They played polo, went boar hunting, kept elephants, and took frequent drinks at all times of day except siesta, indeed it was not uncommon to ride many miles on horseback to reach a fellow planter or urban area for one of the many parties that brightened up the winter season. The visiting magistrate Gerald Ritchie gives the following summary of their general character: "rough, daring, practical colonists…[they were] great heroes in their own eyes…[with] an unpleasant note of excessive self-assertion and bravado" (Gilmour, 215-16). The travel writer Emma Roberts (1791-1840) gave a similar insight, noting the "barbaric grandeur" (ibid, 221) in which these owners lived far from home.

? ? ? ? ? ?歐洲種植園主通常居住在偏僻的農(nóng)場(chǎng)里，在印度僅有約 200 名歐洲種植園主。他們自成一派，住在大平房里，在非收獲季節(jié)追求安逸的生活。他們打馬球、獵野豬、飼養(yǎng)大象，除了午睡外，一天中的任何時(shí)間都會(huì)頻繁飲酒，事實(shí)上，騎馬奔波數(shù)英里到達(dá)種植園主同鄉(xiāng)或城市地區(qū)參加冬季派對(duì)也是常有的事。來(lái)訪(fǎng)的地方行政官杰杰拉爾德·里奇（Gerald Ritchie）對(duì)他們的總體特征做了如下總結(jié)：“粗魯、勇敢、務(wù)實(shí)的定居者……[他們]在自己眼中是偉大的英雄……[帶有]令人不快的過(guò)度自信和自大”（（Gilmour, 215-16）。旅行作家艾瑪·羅伯茨（Emma Roberts，1791-1840 年）也有類(lèi)似的見(jiàn)解，她指出這些主人遠(yuǎn)離家鄉(xiāng)，生活在“野蠻的壯麗”之中（同上，221 頁(yè)）。 ??

靛藍(lán)起義的原因

Trouble in the indigo industry began in the mid-19th century when there was a global economic slump which caused the price to plummet. To recoup money lost on contracts, the small-scale cultivators of indigo were now squeezed into producing dye material as they had always done, but at 30-50% of the market price. In addition, middlemen who collected the contract revenues on behalf of owners often asked for their own cut, further increasing financial costs for the growers. Those cultivators who resisted the price controls suffered intimidation, beating, and even eviction from the plantation. There were also accusations of murder. Neither were growers permitted to cultivate more lucrative food crops like rice since these were only valuable locally and could not be exported for profit to Europe. There was often no legal redress as the European plantation owners knew full well that they were not bound by the local law courts and colonial magistrates seldom went beyond giving out paltry fines and a warning not to maltreat their workers in the future. Another problem was that many of the plantation owners had made so much money, they had already retired to Britain but to keep their source of income going they had hired estate managers, typically picked specifically for their intolerant attitude and tough, intimidatory style of management.

? ? ? ? ? 靛藍(lán)產(chǎn)業(yè)的問(wèn)題始于 19 世紀(jì)中葉，當(dāng)時(shí)發(fā)生的全球經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)導(dǎo)致靛藍(lán)價(jià)格暴跌。為了彌補(bǔ)合同損失的資金，小型靛藍(lán)種植者被迫像往常一樣生產(chǎn)染料原料，但價(jià)格只有市場(chǎng)價(jià)的 30%-50%。此外，代表土地所有者收取合同收入的中間商常常要求自己分成，這進(jìn)一步增加了種植者的財(cái)務(wù)成本。抵制價(jià)格管制的種植者遭到恐嚇、毆打，甚至被趕出種植園。還有人被指控謀殺。農(nóng)民也不被允許種植大米等食品，因?yàn)檫@些產(chǎn)品只在當(dāng)?shù)赜袃r(jià)值，不能出口到歐洲獲取利潤(rùn)。由于歐洲種植園主清楚地知道他們不受當(dāng)?shù)胤ㄔ旱募s束，殖民地法官除了處以微不足道的罰款和警告他們今后不得虐待工人外，通常不會(huì)采取任何法律補(bǔ)救措施。另一個(gè)問(wèn)題是，許多種植園主已經(jīng)賺了很多錢(qián)，他們已經(jīng)退休回到英國(guó)，但為了維持收入來(lái)源，他們雇用了莊園經(jīng)理，這些經(jīng)理通常都是因其不容忍的態(tài)度和強(qiáng)硬、威嚇性的管理風(fēng)格而被專(zhuān)門(mén)挑選出來(lái)的。

At first, the indigo growers pursued a non-violent approach – they simply refused to grow more indigo, deliver on their contracts, or sign any new contracts with owners. As one planter stated, he would "rather beg than sow indigo" (Bhattacharya, 14). Another strategy was to make life difficult for the Indian servants of plantation owners by ensuring villagers did not supply them with essential food and services. Some owners responded by suing the growers for breach of contract or by sending in armed guards to coerce the growers, but this typically ended only in violent clashes where even women were involved. Tensions rose to such a fever pitch that there was an explosion of violence in April 1860 as the growers organised themselves into armed groups or paid others to fight for them. In the rioting, indigo crops were wrecked, plantation buildings were burnt down, and plantation owners themselves were attacked and members of their staff killed. The riots were uncoordinated and much depended on how ryots viewed their individual plantation owners. For these reasons, some areas saw little violence while in others the prisons were packed.

? ? ? ? ??起初，靛藍(lán)種植者采取非暴力的方式：他們只是拒絕種植更多的靛藍(lán)，拒絕履行合同，或與土地所有者簽訂新合同。正如一位種植者所說(shuō)，“他寧愿乞討也不愿播種靛藍(lán)”（Bhattacharya，14）。另一個(gè)策略是確保村民不向種植園主的印度仆人提供必要的食物和服務(wù)，從而使他們的生活陷入困境。一些種植園主的對(duì)策是起訴種植者違反合同，或派遣武裝警衛(wèi)脅迫種植者，但這通常以暴力沖突告終，甚至連婦女也卷入其中。緊張局勢(shì)一觸即發(fā)，1860 年 4 月爆發(fā)了暴力沖突，種植者們組織起武裝團(tuán)體或付錢(qián)讓其他人為他們戰(zhàn)斗。在暴亂中，靛藍(lán)作物被毀，種植園建筑被燒毀，種植園主本人遭到襲擊，其員工被殺害。暴亂沒(méi)有得到協(xié)調(diào)，在很大程度上取決于鄉(xiāng)民如何看待他們各自的種植園主。由于這些原因，一些地區(qū)幾乎沒(méi)有發(fā)生暴力事件，而另一些地區(qū)的監(jiān)獄則人滿(mǎn)為患。

The Indigo Riots were really about a broken feudal system and economic exploitation, but the events were soon latched on to by the anti-British press and Indian middle classes in Calcutta, who saw an opportunity to highlight anti-British sentiment in India in general. They hoped for an escalation like the Sepoy Mutiny of 1858, also in Bengal, when disgruntled Indian soldiers of the East India Company had risen in anger and then been joined by people of all classes and some rulers of the Indian princely states. In reality, though, the indigo rioters were fighting about a single issue and they were not joined by other peasants growing other crops. The rioters had one target only – the plantation owners – and they did not attack either representatives or the institutions of the British colonial government.

? ? ? ? ? 靛藍(lán)暴動(dòng)的真正原因是封建制度的崩潰和經(jīng)濟(jì)剝削，但反英媒體和加爾各答的印度中產(chǎn)階級(jí)利用這些事件作為契機(jī)，凸顯印度普遍的反英情緒。他們希望事件升級(jí)，就像 1858 年同樣發(fā)生在孟加拉轄區(qū)的印度民族起義一樣，當(dāng)時(shí)不滿(mǎn)東印度公司的印度士兵憤而起義，隨后各階層人民和印度王公貴族邦的一些統(tǒng)治者也加入了起義行列。但實(shí)際上，靛藍(lán)暴動(dòng)者只是為了一個(gè)問(wèn)題而戰(zhàn)斗，種植其他作物的農(nóng)民并沒(méi)有加入他們的行列。暴動(dòng)者的目標(biāo)只有一個(gè)：種植園主，他們既沒(méi)有攻擊英國(guó)殖民政府的代表，也沒(méi)有攻擊英國(guó)殖民政府的機(jī)構(gòu)。

反響與支持

The authorities eventually quashed the riots, and an Indigo Inquiry Commission was established to investigate the failings of the industry. The Bengalese did not forget. Dinabandhu Mitra (1830-1873), a Bengalese postmaster and railway inspector, wrote a play in 1860 based on the 'Blue Mutiny', his Nil Darpan ('The Blue Mirror'). This play was a great success and is considered one of the earliest and most important works of Bengali theatre. The play was translated into English by James Long, an Irish missionary, but Long was imprisoned for one month as a result – the authorities claiming he had slandered indigo plantation owners. In 1860, the Indigo Act was passed, and it was now illegal for British plantation owners to oblige tenants on their land to grow indigo. On the other hand, in 1866, a new law concerning contracts was devised to cover such refusals to fulfil contracts as had been seen by the indigo ryots.

? ? ? ? ? 當(dāng)局最終平息了騷亂，并成立了靛藍(lán)調(diào)查委員會(huì)來(lái)調(diào)查該行業(yè)的失誤。孟加拉人沒(méi)有忘記。迪納班杜·米特拉 (Dinabandhu?Mitra，1830-1873 年)是孟加拉的一名郵政局長(zhǎng)兼鐵路巡視員，他根據(jù) 1860 年的“藍(lán)色叛變”創(chuàng)作了一部戲劇，即《尼爾·達(dá)潘》（《藍(lán)色鏡子》）。該劇大獲成功，被認(rèn)為是孟加拉戲劇最早和最重要的作品之一。該劇由愛(ài)爾蘭傳教士詹姆斯·朗（James Long）翻譯成英文，但朗因當(dāng)局指控他誹謗靛藍(lán)種植園主而被監(jiān)禁了一個(gè)月。1860 年，《靛藍(lán)法案》獲得通過(guò)，英國(guó)種植園主強(qiáng)迫佃戶(hù)在其土地上種植靛藍(lán)從此成為非法行為。此外，1866 年制定了一項(xiàng)有關(guān)合同的新法律，以涵蓋拒絕履行合同的情況，正如靛藍(lán)租戶(hù)的情況所示。

There were more indigo-inspired riots just a decade later, particularly in the Bihar state in the middle Ganges valley. The indigo workers seemed destined for never-improving working conditions. As late as 1917, the plight of indigo workers was highlighted by the leader of the Indian independence movement Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) who conducted one of his non-violent satyagraha (civil disobedience) campaigns at Champaran in Bihar specifically in response to the plight of indigo growers there. The indigo industry was by then already a severely endangered one. At the end of the 20th century, a synthetic indigo dye had been invented in Germany, and this was much cheaper to produce, even if less brilliant than the real thing. Ultimately, the European and Eurasian indigo plantation owners moved on elsewhere to grow other crops like coffee, tea, and rubber, while the old processing plants and mansion houses were left to decay and be reclaimed by the jungle.

? ? ? ? ? 僅僅十年后，就發(fā)生了更多由靛藍(lán)引發(fā)的騷亂，尤其是在恒河中游流域的比哈爾邦。靛藍(lán)工人的工作條件似乎注定無(wú)法得到改善。早在 1917 年，印度獨(dú)立運(yùn)動(dòng)領(lǐng)袖圣雄甘地（Mahatma Gandhi，1869-1948 年）就強(qiáng)調(diào)了靛藍(lán)工人的困境，并在查帕蘭（比哈爾邦）開(kāi)展了“非暴力不合作”運(yùn)動(dòng)。當(dāng)時(shí)的靛藍(lán)業(yè)已瀕臨絕境。20 世紀(jì)末，德國(guó)發(fā)明了一種合成靛藍(lán)染料，這種染料的生產(chǎn)成本要低得多，盡管沒(méi)有真正的靛藍(lán)那么鮮艷。最終，歐洲和歐亞大陸的靛藍(lán)種植園主都搬到了其他地方，種植咖啡、茶葉和橡膠等其他作物，而古老的加工廠(chǎng)和豪宅則任由其腐爛，被叢林淹沒(méi)。