【简译】靛蓝起义（Indigo Revolt）
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 年在印度孟加拉辖区（英属印度的一个领土单位，正式名称为孟加拉威廉堡辖区）发生的靛蓝起义（又名靛蓝暴动或蓝色叛乱）涉及靛蓝种植者为抗议工作条件和报酬而举行的罢工。随后发生的暴力事件针对的是欧洲种植园主的剥削，但其原因在期间和之后被反殖民的印度自由主义者视为独立必要性的一个例子。
靛蓝贸易
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.
在中世纪，印度就以棉纺织品闻名于世，到 16 世纪中叶，印度西北部的古吉拉特邦已成为靛蓝的主要产地，靛蓝是一种深蓝紫色染料，用于给棉花和其他材料染色。包括英国东印度公司（EIC）在内的欧洲贸易公司对靛蓝的需求量很大，该公司从靛蓝出口中获得了巨额利润。东印度公司充分利用了印度靛蓝种植者和染色者长期以来积累的专业知识，特别是在古吉拉特邦的Sarkhej和邻近印度东北部拉贾斯坦邦的巴耶纳（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.
靛蓝染料的生产是一个漫长而费力的过程。每年在雨季开始前的六月或七月收割一次靛蓝。然后用小车将它们运到工厂，倒入大桶中放水浸泡。将染色的水和泥浆煮沸，这样靛蓝颗粒的颜色会更浓，然后再将其滤出。随后将靛蓝压成干饼，再将干饼压入桶中，或者将干饼切成方块，装入箱子准备运输。大部分靛蓝被运往加尔各答出售给商人，然后由商人安排运往英国或美洲，用于给纺织品染色。从 18 世纪晚期开始，孟加拉成为靛蓝生产的主要中心，1796 年占伦敦染料进口总量的 67%（约 200 万公斤），在 19 世纪进一步增加。
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.
靛蓝行业波动较大。雨水过多或过少都会极大地影响每年生产的染料的数量和质量，在经济繁荣的年份，生产过剩会导致价格暴跌。不过，对于长期投资者来说，靛蓝业确实是一个利润丰厚的行业。不幸的是，涉及具有巨额利润潜力的作物的金融投机是不稳定的另一个根源。最后，许多靛蓝种植园所处的地理位置使其容易遭受洪水侵袭，这不仅损害了作物，还经常冲毁工厂设施。
种植园主
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.
靛蓝种植园主中的许多人都有在西印度群岛经营种植园的经验，他们是东印度公司允许进入印度领土的少数定居者之一。这是因为印度的农业用地已经人口稠密，但靛蓝贸易利润丰厚，因此靛蓝投资者成为例外。即便如此，与西印度群岛的种植园系统不同，东印度公司控制下的印度靛蓝种植园主不能拥有土地。大多数靛蓝种植园主只是租用农作物和生产设施所在的土地。1837 年以后，随着印度工业产权交易所的规定放宽，一些种植园主开始购买或租赁土地。
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).
种植园主允许当地农民在自己租用的土地上种植靛蓝，这种情况被称为ryots。这些小规模的靛蓝种植者在生产季节到来时负责监督和收割作物，他们不向种植园主支付租金，而是接受种植园主的资本投资。作为投资回报，种植者承诺在未来某个日期以某个价格向种植园主出售一定数量的靛蓝。这种制度特别容易出现上文提到的市场波动问题，这意味着种植园主和种植者之间的关系并不融洽。历史学家 D. Gilmour 将这些“劳资关系”描述为“印度最糟糕的关系”（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.
欧洲种植园主通常居住在偏僻的农场里，在印度仅有约 200 名欧洲种植园主。他们自成一派，住在大平房里，在非收获季节追求安逸的生活。他们打马球、猎野猪、饲养大象，除了午睡外，一天中的任何时间都会频繁饮酒，事实上，骑马奔波数英里到达种植园主同乡或城市地区参加冬季派对也是常有的事。来访的地方行政官杰杰拉尔德·里奇（Gerald Ritchie）对他们的总体特征做了如下总结：“粗鲁、勇敢、务实的定居者……[他们]在自己眼中是伟大的英雄……[带有]令人不快的过度自信和自大”（（Gilmour, 215-16）。旅行作家艾玛·罗伯茨（Emma Roberts，1791-1840 年）也有类似的见解，她指出这些主人远离家乡，生活在“野蛮的壮丽”之中（同上，221 页）。
靛蓝起义的原因
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.
靛蓝产业的问题始于 19 世纪中叶，当时发生的全球经济危机导致靛蓝价格暴跌。为了弥补合同损失的资金，小型靛蓝种植者被迫像往常一样生产染料原料，但价格只有市场价的 30%-50%。此外，代表土地所有者收取合同收入的中间商常常要求自己分成，这进一步增加了种植者的财务成本。抵制价格管制的种植者遭到恐吓、殴打，甚至被赶出种植园。还有人被指控谋杀。农民也不被允许种植大米等食品，因为这些产品只在当地有价值，不能出口到欧洲获取利润。由于欧洲种植园主清楚地知道他们不受当地法院的约束，殖民地法官除了处以微不足道的罚款和警告他们今后不得虐待工人外，通常不会采取任何法律补救措施。另一个问题是，许多种植园主已经赚了很多钱，他们已经退休回到英国，但为了维持收入来源，他们雇用了庄园经理，这些经理通常都是因其不容忍的态度和强硬、威吓性的管理风格而被专门挑选出来的。
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，靛蓝种植者采取非暴力的方式：他们只是拒绝种植更多的靛蓝，拒绝履行合同，或与土地所有者签订新合同。正如一位种植者所说，“他宁愿乞讨也不愿播种靛蓝”（Bhattacharya，14）。另一个策略是确保村民不向种植园主的印度仆人提供必要的食物和服务，从而使他们的生活陷入困境。一些种植园主的对策是起诉种植者违反合同，或派遣武装警卫胁迫种植者，但这通常以暴力冲突告终，甚至连妇女也卷入其中。紧张局势一触即发，1860 年 4 月爆发了暴力冲突，种植者们组织起武装团体或付钱让其他人为他们战斗。在暴乱中，靛蓝作物被毁，种植园建筑被烧毁，种植园主本人遭到袭击，其员工被杀害。暴乱没有得到协调，在很大程度上取决于乡民如何看待他们各自的种植园主。由于这些原因，一些地区几乎没有发生暴力事件，而另一些地区的监狱则人满为患。
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.
靛蓝暴动的真正原因是封建制度的崩溃和经济剥削，但反英媒体和加尔各答的印度中产阶级利用这些事件作为契机，凸显印度普遍的反英情绪。他们希望事件升级，就像 1858 年同样发生在孟加拉辖区的印度民族起义一样，当时不满东印度公司的印度士兵愤而起义，随后各阶层人民和印度王公贵族邦的一些统治者也加入了起义行列。但实际上，靛蓝暴动者只是为了一个问题而战斗，种植其他作物的农民并没有加入他们的行列。暴动者的目标只有一个：种植园主，他们既没有攻击英国殖民政府的代表，也没有攻击英国殖民政府的机构。
反响与支持
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.
当局最终平息了骚乱，并成立了靛蓝调查委员会来调查该行业的失误。孟加拉人没有忘记。迪纳班杜·米特拉 (Dinabandhu Mitra，1830-1873 年)是孟加拉的一名邮政局长兼铁路巡视员，他根据 1860 年的“蓝色叛变”创作了一部戏剧，即《尼尔·达潘》（《蓝色镜子》）。该剧大获成功，被认为是孟加拉戏剧最早和最重要的作品之一。该剧由爱尔兰传教士詹姆斯·朗（James Long）翻译成英文，但朗因当局指控他诽谤靛蓝种植园主而被监禁了一个月。1860 年，《靛蓝法案》获得通过，英国种植园主强迫佃户在其土地上种植靛蓝从此成为非法行为。此外，1866 年制定了一项有关合同的新法律，以涵盖拒绝履行合同的情况，正如靛蓝租户的情况所示。
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.
仅仅十年后，就发生了更多由靛蓝引发的骚乱，尤其是在恒河中游流域的比哈尔邦。靛蓝工人的工作条件似乎注定无法得到改善。早在 1917 年，印度独立运动领袖圣雄甘地（Mahatma Gandhi，1869-1948 年）就强调了靛蓝工人的困境，并在查帕兰（比哈尔邦）开展了“非暴力不合作”运动。当时的靛蓝业已濒临绝境。20 世纪末，德国发明了一种合成靛蓝染料，这种染料的生产成本要低得多，尽管没有真正的靛蓝那么鲜艳。最终，欧洲和欧亚大陆的靛蓝种植园主都搬到了其他地方，种植咖啡、茶叶和橡胶等其他作物，而古老的加工厂和豪宅则任由其腐烂，被丛林淹没。
参考书目：
Gilmour, David. The British in India. Penguin, 2019.
Jon Wilson. India Conquered. Simon & Schuster India, 1970.
Mansingh, Surjit. Historical Dictionary of India . Scarecrow Press, 2006.
Peers, Douglas M. & Gooptu, Nandini. India and the British Empire . Oxford University Press, 2016.
Percival Spear. A History of India Vol. II. Penguin, 2022.
Subhas Bhattacharya . "TheIndigo Revolt of Bengal." Social Scientist, Vol. 5, No. 12 (Jul., 1977), pp. 13-23.
Tirthankar Roy. "Indigo and Law in Colonial India." The Economic History Review, February 2011, Vol. 64, No. S1, pp. 60-75.
原文作者：Mark Cartwright
驻意大利的历史作家。他的主要兴趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神话和发现所有文明的共同思想。他拥有政治哲学硕士学位，是《世界历史百科全书》的出版总监。
原文网址: https://www.worldhistory.org/Indigo_Revolt/
