Class, White Women, and Elite Asian Men in British Courts during the Late Nineteenth Century

Yahaya, Nurfadzilah

doi:10.1353/jowh.2019.0016

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 44 publications

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“…Historians have seen no simple pattern. Racial "others" certainly had disadvantages in the criminal courts (Seal and Neale 2020;D'Cruze 2007), but well-off and prominent men of color in the empire enjoyed more success in civil litigation, particularly against poor women (Yahaya 2019). Bias in criminal courts also emerged after the riots of 1919, since white perpetrators received little punishment for attacking people of color (Evans 1980;Jenkinson 1985;Jenkinson 2009, pp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Vindictiveness on Account of Colour’?: Race, Gender, and Class at the English Divorce Court, 1872–1939

Frost

2020

Genealogy

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This article uses 116 divorce or separation cases involving people of color between 1872 and 1940 to interrogate the role of the state in adjudicating racially mixed marriages in Britain. These examples demonstrate the rising population of imperial subjects within the U.K., but also that marital cases could reverse in-migration, due to embarrassment and expense for all parties. In addition, gender and class factors limited the impact of race in the court. Men’s advantages in bringing cases overcame some racial prejudices, and rich men, whatever their color, could hire effective representation. Race only impacted divorce cases when women could play on stereotypes of violent men, or when men of color were co-respondents and thus broke up homes. Still, the number of undefended cases limited the influence of race in most divorce suits.

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