Lascar Heritage

The history of Lascars, South and Southeast Asian, Arab, and East African seamen recruited into European merchant service, chiefly British, from the 17th century. The East India Company employed them under distinct “lascar agreements” or articles, and their numbers grew under steam: by the early 20th century tens of thousands crewed British ships, paid less than European ratings and concentrated in the stokehold. Many settled in port sailortowns such as London, Cardiff, and South Shields, forming some of Britain’s earliest South Asian communities. The term derives from the Persian and Urdu “lashkar.”