Abstract
The Dutch intercontinental merchant fleet of the nineteenth and twentieth century was manned internationally with diverse crews consisting of Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian and other nationalities. The diversity in social, geographical and cultural background and the rise of class organizations lead to a complex landscape of conflicts and solidarities among the various groups of sailors. This article emphasizes that the resulting conflicts can not be understood by looking at the developments from a perspective of class conflict or racial hatred alone, but rather by looking at the modes of formal and informal group formation and the strategies employed by these different groups of sailors in order to survive on a globalized maritime labour market.
| Original language | Dutch |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 69-76 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Tijdschrift voor Zeegeschiedenis |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |