106-425: Leonowens is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Anna Leonowens (1834–1915), Indian-British travel writer, educator, and social activist Louis T. Leonowens (1856–1919), Siamese cavalry officer and trader, son of Anna [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with the surname Leonowens . If an internal link intending to refer to
212-860: A non-commissioned officer in the East India Company 's Corps of Sappers and Miners, on 15 March 1829 in St James's Church, Tannah , Bombay Presidency, British India. Edwards was from London and a former cabinetmaker . Anna was born in Ahmednagar in the Bombay Presidency of Company-ruled India , on 5 November 1831, three months after the death of her father. While she was christened Ann Hariett Emma Edwards, Leonowens later changed Ann to "Anna" and Hariett to "Harriette" and ceased using her third given name (Emma). Leonowens's maternal grandfather, William Vawdrey (or Vaudrey) Glascott,
318-749: A continuous element in the sub-continent. Their presence is not to be considered Anglo-Indian. Similarly, Indians who mixed with Europeans after the British Raj are also not to be considered Anglo-Indian. Historically, the term Anglo-Indian was also used in common parlance in the British Government and England during the colonial era to refer to those people (such as Rudyard Kipling , or the hunter-naturalist Jim Corbett ), who were of British descent but were born and raised in India, usually because their parents were serving in armed forces or one of
424-721: A cowboy"; this version was also banned by censors in Thailand. Leonowens appears as a character in Paul Marlowe 's novel Knights of the Sea , in which she travels from Halifax to Baddeck in 1887 to take part in a campaign to promote women's suffrage during a by-election . Leonowens kept the actual facts of her early life a closely guarded secret throughout her life, and never disclosed them to anybody, including her family. They were uncovered by researchers long after her death; their scrutiny began with her writings, especially following
530-565: A cruel, wicked man". With her granddaughter Anna, Leonowens stayed in Leipzig , Germany, until 1901. She studied Sanskrit and classical Indian literature with the renowned Indology professor Ernst Windisch of Leipzig University , while her granddaughter studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music . In 1901, she moved to Montreal , Quebec, where she lectured Sanskrit at McGill University . She delivered her last lecture at
636-622: A deep metaphor for the explorations of his family and community. The book received critical acclaim The narrative received grants from The Literature Board of Australia and The Victorian Premier's Department of the Arts. Anglo-Indians are adherents of Christianity . Along with their British heritage and English language, the Christian religious faith of Anglo-Indians is one of the things that distinguishes them from other ethnic groups. As such, Anglo-Indians have "been well-represented in all tiers of
742-491: A distinctive part of Indian Christian culture. Over time Anglo-Indians were specifically recruited into the Customs and Excise, Post and Telegraphs, Forestry Department, the railways and teaching professions – but they were employed in many other fields as well. The Anglo-Indian community also had a role as go-betweens in the introduction of Western musical styles, harmonies and instruments in post-Independence India. During
848-493: A few hundred soldiers in the mid-18th century to 18,000 in the Royal and Company armies of 1790. During this time the records of cohabitation and last testaments show that at least a third of all British men in India married an Indian woman or left their inheritance to their Anglo-Indian children. There were also many second generation British officers who were born and raised in India, such as Lieutenant-Colonel James Kirkpatrick who
954-791: A few in Hospet and Hatti Gold Mines . Anglo-Indians also live in the towns of Alappuzha , Kozhikode , Cannanore ( Kannur ) in the South Indian state of Kerala also at Goa and Pondicherry and in some towns of Bihar such as Jamalpur , McCluskieganj and in Uttarakhand such as Dehradun , Jharkhand such as Ranchi , Dhanbad and West Bengal such as Asansol , Kharagpur , Kalimpong . A significant number of this population resides in Odisha 's Khurda and some in Cuttack . However,
1060-594: A historical link to both the British Isles and the Indian sub-continent . Anglo-Indians tend to identify as people of India, mostly in Kolkatta and Chennai , (or Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Pakistan), rather than of a specific region such as Bengal. 2 August is celebrated as World Anglo Indian Day. During the period of British rule in India , children born to unions between British fathers and Indian mothers from
1166-669: A much older man. In 1847, Donohoe was seconded as assistant supervisor of public works in Aden , Yemen . Whether the rest of the family went with him or stayed in India is unsure. On 24 April 1845, Anna's 15-year-old sister, Eliza Julia Edwards, married James Millard, a sergeant-major with the 4th Troop Artillery, Indian Army in Deesa. Anna served as a witness to this marriage. Their daughter, Eliza Sarah Millard, born in 1848 in India, married on 7 October 1864 in Surat, Gujarat, India. Her husband
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#17327985654671272-415: A neighbourhood of Mumbai) that admitted "mixed-race" children whose military fathers were either dead or absent. Leonowens later said she had attended a British boarding school and had arrived in India, a supposedly "strange land" to her, only at the age of 15. Anna's relationship with her stepfather, Donohoe, was not a happy one, and she later accused him of putting pressure on her, like her sister, to marry
1378-483: A new identity as a Welsh-born lady and widow of a British army major. To support her surviving daughter Avis and son Louis, Leonowens again took up teaching and opened a school for the children of British officers in Singapore. While the enterprise was not a financial success, it established her reputation as an educator. In 1862, Leonowens accepted an offer made by the consul in Singapore, Tan Kim Ching , to teach
1484-594: A nominated Anglo-Indian member each in their respective State Legislative Assemblies . In January 2020, the Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Parliament and State Legislatures of India were basically abolished by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019 , but this provision was extended to 2030. Anglo-Indian often only represents Indians mixed with British ancestry during the British Raj. There are many mixed Indians from other European countries during
1590-422: A person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent but who is domiciled within the territory of India and is or was born within such territory of parents habitually resident therein and not established there for temporary purposes only; Between 1952 and 2020, the Anglo-Indian community was the only community in India that had its own representatives nominated to
1696-417: A process he had begun in 1868, and which would end with its total abolition in 1915. Meanwhile, Louis had accumulated debts in the U.S. by 1874 and fled the country. He became estranged from his mother and did not see her for 19 years. In the summer of 1878, she taught Sanskrit at Amherst College . In 1878, Leonowens's daughter Avis Annie Crawford Connybeare married Thomas Fyshe, a Scottish banker and
1802-643: A report of his mission was read at a public meeting held in the Calcutta Town Hall. In April 1834, in obedience to an Act of Parliament passed in August 1833, the Indian government was forced to grant government jobs to Anglo-Indians. As British women began arriving in India in large numbers around the early to mid-19th century, mostly as family members of officers and soldiers, British men became less likely to marry Indian women. Intermarriage declined after
1908-526: A school for girls in the West New Brighton section of Staten Island , and she began contributing travel articles to a Boston journal, The Atlantic Monthly , including "The Favorite of the Harem", reviewed by The New York Times as "an Eastern love story, having apparently a strong basis of truth". She expanded her articles into two volumes of memoirs, beginning with The English Governess at
2014-619: A settlement in Madras. The community identified itself with and was accepted by the British until 1791, when Anglo-Indians were excluded from positions of authority in the civil, military and marine services in the East India Company. During the Indian rebellion of 1857, Anglo-Indians sided with the British and consequently received favoured treatment from the British government in preference to other Indians, serving in large numbers in
2120-747: A shock to the town that had long claimed her as one of its most famous natives. A few months after Anna's birth, her mother remarried. The stepfather was Patrick Donohoe, an Irish Catholic corporal of the Royal Engineers . The family relocated repeatedly within Western India, following the stepfather's regiment. In 1841, they settled in Deesa , Gujarat. Anna attended the Bombay Education Society's girls school in Byculla (now
2226-658: A special payment was made to each soldier who had his child baptised as a Protestant . The concern in London was that if the soldiers at Fort St. George lived with or married the many Portuguese women there the children would be brought up as Roman Catholics rather than Protestants. The Company's officials on the ground were less worried about the religious issue, but more concerned that soldiers should be married "to prevent wickedness". Married soldiers with family ties were thought more likely to be better behaved than bachelors. The British military population in India grew rapidly from
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#17327985654672332-522: A specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonowens&oldid=1016118500 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles Anna Leonowens Anna Harriette Leonowens (born Ann Hariett Emma Edwards ; 5 November 1831 – 19 January 1915)
2438-462: A three-year tour through Egypt and the Middle East with the orientalist Reverend George Percy Badger and his wife. However, recent biographies consider this episode to be fictitious. Anna may have met Badger in India and listened to or read reports about his travels. Anna Edwards's husband-to-be, Thomas Leon Owens, an Irish Protestant from Enniscorthy , County Wexford , went to India with
2544-512: Is dismissed as out of character for the king by some critics. A great-granddaughter, Princess Vudhichalerm Vudhijaya (b. 21 May 1934), stated in a 2001 interview, "King Mongkut was in the monk's hood for 27 years before he was king. He would never have ordered an execution. It is not the Buddhist way." She added that the same Tuptim was her grandmother and had married Chulalongkorn as one of his minor wives. Moreover, there were no dungeons below
2650-533: Is the critically acclaimed true account of a young Englishman's unexpected discovery of his Anglo-Indian relations in the Darjeeling district. The Hammarskjold Killing (2007) by William Higham, is a novel in which a London-born Anglo-Indian heroine is caught up in a terrorist crisis in Sri Lanka. Keith St Clair Butler wrote 'The Secret Vindaloo' (2014, reprint 2016) which used the signature dish of Vindaloo as
2756-545: The 28th Regiment of Foot in 1843. From a private, he rose to the position of paymaster's clerk (rather than the army officer suggested by her memoir) in 1844, serving first in Poona , and from December 1845 until 1847 in Deesa. Biographer Alfred Habegger characterises him as "well read and articulate, strongly opinionated, historically informed, and almost a gentleman". Anna Edwards, who was seven years his junior, fell in love with him. However, her mother and stepfather objected to
2862-593: The Bengal Army in 1784, there were only four Colonels amongst 931 officers. Few young officers in either army managed to avoid debt. It might have cost approximately £50 a year (Rs 24 to Rs 40 a month) to provide for the wants of an Indian companion and her attendants, compared with £600 to support a British wife with any degree of public style. 83 of 217 wills in Bengal between 1780 and 1785 contained bequests either to Indian companions or their natural children, who were
2968-573: The Bhojpur region , would go on to serve prominent roles in the Maratha Army and later Bengal Army where he raised his own regiment called Skinner's Horse . Many children were born to unofficial partnerships: 54% of the children baptised at St. John's, Calcutta between 1767 and 1782 were Anglo-Indian and illegitimate. British women of good social standing were scarce; in 1785 surgeon John Stewart wrote to his brother from Cawnpore : "Many of
3074-1004: The Lok Sabha ( lower house ) in Parliament of India . These two members were nominated by the President of India on the advice of the Government of India . This right was secured from Jawaharlal Nehru by Frank Anthony , the first and longtime president of the All India Anglo-Indian Association . The community was represented by two members. This was done because the community had no native state of its own. Fourteen states out of twenty-eight states in India; Andhra Pradesh , Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Gujarat , Jharkhand , Karnataka , Kerala , Madhya Pradesh , Maharashtra , Tamil Nadu , Telangana , Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand and West Bengal also had
3180-496: The Nang Harm , or royal harem . She emphasised that although Mongkut had been a forward-looking ruler, he had desired to preserve customs such as prostration and sexual slavery that seemed unenlightened and degrading. The sequel, Romance of the Harem (1873), incorporates tales based on palace gossip, including the king's alleged torture and execution of one of his concubines, Tuptim. The story lacks independent corroboration and
3286-707: The Suez Canal was opened and many British women came to India in quick transit. Before the British Raj, the Company, with some reluctance, endorsed a policy of local marriage for its soldiers. The board of directors wrote in 1688 to its Council at Fort St. George : "Induce by all meanes you can invent our Souldiers (sic) to marry with the Native women, because it will be impossible to get ordinary young women, as we have before directed, to pay their own passages, although Gentlewomen sufficient do offer themselves." Until 1741,
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3392-581: The "East Indian Committee" with a view to send a petition to the British parliament for the redress of their grievances. John William Ricketts, a pioneer in the Eurasian cause, volunteered to proceed to England. His mission was successful, and on his return to India, by way of Madras , he received a standing ovation from his countrymen in that presidency; and was afterwards warmly welcomed in Calcutta, where
3498-539: The 1780s, the opportunities for Company servants to make a fortune through trade had gone forever. Most had to live on their Company salaries and few could afford to support a wife. Company officers were paid less than their counterparts in the British Army and promotion might take twice as long, perhaps 25 years to reach the rank of Major in the Company compared to between 12 and 17 years in the Royal Army; and in
3604-442: The 17th century onwards formed the basis of the Anglo-Indian community. This new ethnic group formed a small yet significant portion of the population and became well represented in certain administrative roles. As Anglo-Indians were mostly isolated from both British and Indian society, their documented numbers dwindled from roughly 300,000 at the time of independence in 1947 to about 125,000–150,000 in modern day India. During much of
3710-657: The 1860's; and... re-write it with a wealth of circumstantial detail". Moffat noted in his biography of King Mongkut that Leonowens "carelessly leaves proof of her transposed plagiarism". The fact that Leonowens's claimed birth in Caernarfon was fabricated was first uncovered by W. S. Bristowe , an arachnologist and frequent visitor to Thailand, who was researching a biography of her son Louis. Bristowe failed to locate Louis's certificate of birth in London (as claimed by Anna), prompting further research that led to him identifying her origins in India. His findings were published in
3816-539: The 1976 book Louis and the King of Siam , and later writers have expanded on this line of research, including Leslie Smith Dow in Anna Leonowens: A Life Beyond The King and I (1991) and Susan Kepner in her 1996 paper "Anna (and Margaret) and the King of Siam". More recent full-length scholarly biographies by Susan Morgan ( Bombay Anna , 2008) and Alfred Habegger ( Masked: The Life of Anna Leonowens, Schoolmistress at
3922-572: The 20th century. They felt insecure in an India that put a premium on participation in the independence movement as a prerequisite for important government positions. Many Anglo-Indians left the country in 1947, hoping to make a new life in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the British Commonwealth , such as Australia or Canada . The exodus continued through the 1950s and 1960s and by the late 1990s most had left with many of
4028-955: The Anglo-Indian population has dwindled over the years with most people migrating abroad or to other parts of the country. Tangasseri in Kollam city is the only place in Kerala State where Anglo-Indian tradition is maintained. However, almost all the colonial structures there have disappeared, except the Tangasseri Lighthouse built by the British in 1902. Most of the Anglo-Indians overseas are concentrated in Britain, Australia , Canada , United States , and New Zealand , while some have settled in European countries like Switzerland , Germany , and France . According to
4134-644: The Anglo-Indians who have settled in Australia, integration for the most part has not been difficult. The community in Burma frequently intermarried with the local Anglo-Burmese community but both communities suffered from adverse discrimination since Burma's military took over the government in 1962, with most having now left the country to settle overseas. Article 366(2) of the Indian Constitution defines Anglo-Indian as: (2) an Anglo Indian means
4240-579: The British merchants and traders of the area. In 1868, Leonowens was on leave for her health in England and had been negotiating a return to the court on better terms when Mongkut fell ill and died . The King mentioned Leonowens and her son in his will, though they did not receive a legacy. The new monarch, fifteen-year-old Chulalongkorn , who succeeded his father, wrote Leonowens a warm letter of thanks for her services. He did not invite her to resume her post, but they corresponded amicably for many years. At
4346-647: The British-run administrations, such as its main government; "Anglo-Indian", in this sense, was a geographically-specific subset of overseas or non-domiciled British. There is a significant population of Anglo-Indians in Bangladesh . Anglo-Indians have been present in Bangladesh since the colonial period. Their population decreased to 4,000 in 1947 during the Partition of India . Most of them migrated to
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4452-770: The Commissariat in Perth. The Leonowens family left Australia abruptly in April 1857, sailing to Singapore, and then moving to Penang , where Thomas found work as a hotel keeper. In or before the first week of May 1859, Thomas Leonowens died of " apoplexy " and was buried (7 May 1859) in the Protestant Cemetery in Penang. His death left Anna Leonowens an impoverished widow. Of their four children, two had died in infancy. She returned to Singapore, where she created
4558-473: The Court of Siam , 2014) brought widespread attention to Leonowens's actual life story. Chakri dynasty Kings Viceroys Deputy Viceroy Crown Prince Hereditary Prince Royalty Siamese Foreigners Key events Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry
4664-710: The Grand Palace or anywhere else in Bangkok as the high ground-water level would not allow this. Nor are there any accounts of a public burning by other foreigners staying in Siam during the same period as Leonowens. While in the United States, Leonowens also earned much-needed money through popular lecture tours. At venues such as the house of Mrs. Sylvanus Reed in Fifty-third Street, New York City , in
4770-470: The Hyderabadi elite. Other officials such as William Fraser would similarly assimilate themselves into local Indian culture, even patronizing artists and poets such as Ghalib , and going on to have dozens of children with many women, both Hindu and Muslim. Notable children of these unions such as James Skinner , also named Sikandar Sahib, the son of a Scottish Company officer and an Indian noblewoman of
4876-695: The Indian mother rather than the European father. There was growing disapproval of marriages amongst the Company elite and Anglo-Indian women. The public dances for the female wards of the Upper Military Academy, Calcutta, which had been attended so eagerly fifty years earlier had been discontinued by the 1830s. Public argument against marriages to Indian and Anglo-Indian women skirted the question of race and focused on their social consequences: they did not mix well in British society, lacked education, were reluctant to leave India when their men retired, and - probably most important of all - would handicap
4982-725: The King of Siam (1944), as well as adaptations for other media such as Rodgers and Hammerstein 's 1951 musical The King and I . During the course of her life, Leonowens also lived in Western Australia , Singapore and Penang , the United States , Canada and Germany . In later life, she was a lecturer of Indology and a suffragist. Among other achievements, she co-founded the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design . Anna Leonowens's mother, Mary Ann Glascott, married her father, Sergeant Thomas Edwards,
5088-462: The King of Siam (1961). Moffat donated the Pramoj brothers' manuscript to the Library of Congress in 1961. Landon had, however, created the iconic image of Leonowens, and "in the mid-20th century she came to personify the eccentric Victorian female traveler". The novel was adapted as a hit musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein , The King and I (1951), starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner , which ran 1,246 performances on Broadway and
5194-407: The Rodgers and Hammerstein film and musical were banned by the government. The 1946 film version of Anna and the King of Siam , starring Rex Harrison as Mongkut and Irene Dunne as Anna, was allowed to be shown in Thailand, although it was banned in newly independent India as an inaccurate insult by Westerners to an Eastern king. In 1950, the Thai government did not permit the film to be shown for
5300-418: The Siamese court . Leonowens served at court until 1867, a period of nearly six years, first as a teacher and later as language secretary for the King. Although her position carried great respect and even a degree of political influence, she did not find the terms and conditions of her employment to her satisfaction. And, despite her position at the king's court, she was never invited into the social circle of
5406-405: The Siamese Court (1870), which earned her immediate fame but also brought charges of sensationalism . In her writing, she casts a critical eye over court life; the account is not always a flattering one, and has become the subject of controversy in Thailand , and she has also been accused of exaggerating her influence with the king. There have also been claims of fabrication: the likelihood of
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#17327985654675512-509: The Siamese royal cavalry and a teak trader. From his marriage to Caroline Knox—a daughter of Sir Thomas George Knox , the British consul-general in Bangkok, and his Thai wife, Prang Yen —he had two children, aged two and five years. After the death of his wife, he entrusted them to his mother's care, who took them with her to Canada, while Louis returned to Siam. Anna Leonowens met Chulalongkorn again when both visited London in 1897, thirty years after she had left Siam. During this audience,
5618-507: The United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In 1970, however, almost 9,000 Anglo-Indians had come from India. During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War , almost 1,500 Anglo-Indians died. After the independence of Bangladesh, during 1974–1976 almost 2,800 Anglo-Indians arrived in Bangladesh from India. In 1980, there were 3,750 reported births of Anglo-Indian children in Bangladesh. By 1993, there were 10,371 Anglo-Indians living in Bangladesh. The Anglo-Indian population in
5724-485: The Western Australian coast, the Alibi was almost wrecked on a reef. Ten days later, Anna, Thomas, their newborn son and Glasscott arrived in Perth . Glasscott and Thomas Leonowens quickly found employment as clerks in the colonial administration. Later in 1853, Glasscott accepted a position as government commissariat storekeeper at Lynton , a small and remote settlement that was the site of Lynton Convict Depot . Glasscott became involved in frequent disagreements with
5830-423: The abrasive resident magistrate , William Burges . Within three years, Glasscott had returned to India and taken up a career in teaching, before dying suddenly in 1856. Anna Leonowens – using her middle name of Harriett – tried to establish a school for young ladies. In March 1854, the infant Thomas died at the age of 13 months, and, later that year, a daughter, Avis Annie, was born. In 1855, Thomas Leonowens
5936-430: The age of 27, Louis Leonowens returned to Siam and was granted a commission of Captain in the Royal Cavalry. Chulalongkorn made reforms for which his former tutor claimed some of the credit, including the abolition of the practice of prostration before the royal person. However, many of those same reforms were goals that had been established by his father. By 1869, Leonowens was in New York City, where she briefly opened
6042-421: The age of 78. Anna Leonowens died on 19 January 1915, at 83 years of age. She was interred in Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal . The headstone identifies her as the "Beloved Wife of Major Thomas Lorne Leonowens", despite her husband never having risen beyond the rank of paymaster sergeant. Margaret Landon 's novel Anna and the King of Siam (1944) provides a fictionalised look at Anna Leonowens's years at
6148-415: The argument over slavery, for example, when King Mongkut was for 27 years a Buddhist monk and later abbot, before ascending to the throne. It is thought that his religious training and vocation would never have permitted the views expressed by Leonowens's cruel, eccentric and self-indulgent monarch. Even the title of her memoir is inaccurate, as she was neither English nor did she work as a governess: Her task
6254-455: The better part of half a century. Most Anglo-Indians, even those without much formal education, find that gaining employment in schools is fairly easy because of their fluency in English. Norman Pritchard became India's first ever Olympic medallist, winning two silver medals at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, France. In cricket Roger Binny was the leading wicket-taker during the Indian cricket team's 1983 World Cup triumph. Wilson Jones
6360-419: The career of an ambitious husband. By 1830, the proportion of illegitimate births registered in the Bengal Presidency had fallen to 10%, and British wills in Bengal in 1830-2 record less than one in four bequests to Indian women and their children compared with almost two in five fifty years earlier. For all the social disapproval, however, officers and Company servants continued to marry Anglo-Indian girls, and it
6466-403: The cashier (general manager) of the Bank of Nova Scotia in Halifax , where she resided for nineteen years as she continued to travel the world. This marriage ended the family's money worries. Leonowens resumed her teaching career and taught daily from 9 am to 12 noon for an autumn half at the Berkeley School of New York at 252 Madison Avenue, Manhattan , beginning on 5 October 1880; this
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#17327985654676572-414: The churches, from cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and ministers, and fill a number of educational roles." India constitutionally guarantees of the rights of communities and religious and linguistic minorities, and thus permits Anglo-Indians to maintain their own schools and to use English as the medium of instruction. In order to encourage the integration of the community into the larger society,
6678-456: The colonial era, genres including ragtime and jazz were played by bands for the social elites, and these bands often contained Anglo-Indian members. Around the time of the Indian independence movement , the All-India Anglo-Indian Association was opposed to the partition of India ; its then president Frank Anthony criticized the colonial authorities for "racial discrimination in matters of pay and allowances, and for failing to acknowledge
6784-523: The colonial era. For example, the definition rarely embraces the descendants of the Indians from the old Portuguese colonies of both the Coromandel and Malabar Coasts , who joined the East India Company as mercenaries and brought their families with them. The definition has many extensions, for example, Luso-Indian (mixed Portuguese and Indian) of Goa and Kochi , people of Indo-French descent, and Indo-Dutch descent. Indians have encountered Europeans since their earliest civilization. They have been
6890-447: The destiny of Asiatic women." She joined the literary circles of New York and Boston and made the acquaintance of local lights on the lecture circuit, such as Oliver Wendell Holmes , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Harriet Beecher Stowe , author of Uncle Tom's Cabin , a book whose anti-slavery message Leonowens had brought to the attention of the royal household. She said the book influenced Chulalongkorn's reform of slavery in Siam,
6996-470: The events of the Rebellion of 1857 , after which several anti-miscegenation laws were implemented. As a result, Eurasians were neglected by both the British and Indian populations in India. Over generations, Anglo-Indians intermarried with other Anglo-Indians to form a community that developed a culture of its own. Their cuisine , dress, speech (use of English as their mother tongue ), and religion ( Christianity ) all served to further separate them from
7102-585: The government stipulates that a certain percentage of the student body come from other Indian communities. In a 2013 BBC News feature on Anglo-Indians, journalist Kris Griffiths wrote: "It has been noted in recent years that the number of Anglo-Indians who have succeeded in certain fields is remarkably disproportionate to the community's size. For example, in the music industry there are Engelbert Humperdinck (born Madras ), Peter Sarstedt ( Delhi ) and Cliff Richard ( Lucknow ). The looser definition of Anglo-Indian (any mixed British-Indian parentage) encompasses
7208-488: The king took the opportunity to express his thanks in person, but he also voiced his dismay at the inaccuracies in Leonowens's books. According to Leonowens' granddaughter Anna Fyshe, who had accompanied her, the king asked: "why did you write such a wicked book about my father King Mongkut? You know that you have made him utterly ridiculous". In response, according to Fyshe, Leonowens insisted that she had written "the whole truth" and that Mongkut had indeed been "a ridiculous and
7314-406: The ladies' seminaries in Presidency towns and to England to be 'finished'; and when they returned, they were married off to fellow officers. Some daughters of senior officers became substantial heiresses whose wealth was a marked marital attraction, but many more daughters of impoverished officers, raised in military orphanages after the deaths of their fathers, hoped only to find a suitable husband at
7420-432: The latest being held in 2015 in Kolkata . Several narratives and novels have been published recently. The Leopard's Call: An Anglo-Indian Love Story (2005) by Reginald Shires, tells of the life of two teachers at the small Bengali town of Falakata , down from Bhutan ; At the Age for Love: A Novel of Bangalore during World War II (2006) is by the same author. In the Shadow of Crows (2009) by David Charles Manners ,
7526-405: The likes of cricketer Nasser Hussain , footballer Michael Chopra and actor Ben Kingsley ." Air Vice-Marshal Maurice Barker was India's first Anglo-Indian Air Marshal. At least seven other Anglo-Indians subsequently reached that post, a notable achievement for a small community. A number of others have been decorated for military achievements. Air Marshal Malcolm Wollen is often considered
7632-567: The man who won India's 1971 war fighting alongside Bangladesh . Anglo-Indians made similarly significant contributions to the Indian Navy and Army. One of the most respected matriculation qualifications in India, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education , was started and built by some of the community's best known educationalists, including Frank Anthony , who served as its president, and A.E.T. Barrow , its secretary for
7738-467: The marriage. She gave birth to her first daughter, Selina, in December 1850. The girl died at just seventeen months. In 1852, the young couple, accompanied by Anna's uncle, W. V. Glasscott, sailed to Australia via Singapore , where they boarded the barque Alibi . The journey from Singapore was long and, while on board, Anna gave birth to a son, also named Thomas. On 8 March 1853, nearing
7844-470: The monthly public dances. Save in very few cases, when British men returned home, the Indian companion and any children stayed in India: British soldiers were not permitted to bring them, and many officers and civil servants feared the social and cultural consequences. Originally, under Regulation VIII of 1813, Anglo-Indians were excluded from the British legal system and in Bengal became subject to
7950-455: The native population. A number of factors fostered a strong sense of community among Anglo-Indians. Their English language school system, their strongly Anglo-influenced culture, and their Christian beliefs in particular helped bind them together. They formed social clubs and associations to run functions, including regular dances on occasions such as Christmas and Easter . Indeed, their Christmas balls , held in most major cities, still form
8056-463: The offspring of high and low in British society, and gentlemen of wealth often left substantial bequests and annuities to their Indian partners and children. When Major Thomas Naylor in 1782 bequeathed to his companion Muckmul Patna Rs 4000, a bungalow and a garden at Berhampore , a hackery, bullocks, her jewels, clothes, and all their male and female slaves, he treated her as he might a wife. Where they could, gentlemen sent their Anglo-Indian daughters to
8162-473: The popularity of the musical's 1956 film adaptation. D. G. E. Hall , writing in his 1955 book A History of South-East Asia , commented that Leonowens "was gifted with more imagination than insight", and from 1957 to 1961 A. B. Griswold published several articles and a monograph sharply criticizing her depictions of King Mongkut and Siam, writing that "she would seize on a lurid story that appealed to her... remove it from its context and transpose it to Bangkok in
8268-628: The regular members' course at Association Hall, or under the auspices of bodies such as the Long Island Historical Society , she lectured on subjects including "Christian Missions to Pagan Lands" and "The Empire of Siam, and the City of the Veiled Women". The New York Times reported: "Mrs. Leonowens' purpose is to awaken an interest, and enlist sympathies, in behalf of missionary labors, particularly in their relation to
8374-529: The relationship, as the suitor had poor prospects for gainful employment, and had been temporarily downgraded from sergeant to private for an unspecified offense. Nevertheless, Anna and Thomas Leon Owens married on Christmas Day 1849 in the Anglican church of Poona. In the marriage certificate, Thomas merged his second and last names to 'LeonOwens'. Patrick Donohoe signed the document as well, contradicting Leonowens's account that her stepfather had violently opposed
8480-595: The remaining Anglo-Indians still aspiring to leave. Like the Parsi community, the Anglo-Indians were essentially urban dwellers. Unlike the Parsis, the mass migrations saw more of the better educated and financially secure Anglo-Indians depart for other Commonwealth nations. There has been a resurgence in celebrating Anglo-Indian culture in the twenty-first century, in the form of International Anglo-Indian Reunions and in publishing books. There have been nine reunions, with
8586-529: The reviews of the musical, the characterisation of Mongkut seemed "90 percent exaggerated. My great-grandfather was really quite a mild and nice man." Years later, during her 1985 visit to New York, Bhumibol's wife, Queen Sirikit , went to see the Broadway musical at the invitation of Yul Brynner. The then ambassador of Thailand to the U.S. gave another reason for Thailand's disapproval of The King and I : its ethno-centric attitude and its barely hidden insult to
8692-467: The royal court and develops the abolitionist theme that resonated with her American readership. In 1946, Talbot Jennings and Sally Benson adapted it into the screenplay for a dramatic film of the same name , starring Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison . In response, Thai authors Seni and Kukrit Pramoj wrote their own account in 1948 and sent it to American politician and diplomat Abbot Low Moffat (1901–1996), who drew on it for his biography Mongkut,
8798-421: The rule of Islamic law outside Calcutta , and yet found themselves without any caste or status amongst those who were to judge them. This coincided with the Company officially allowing Christian missionaries into India; and evangelical organisations and popular writers of the time like Mary Sherwood routinely blamed the alleged moral shortcomings or personality defects of the growing Anglo-Indian population upon
8904-474: The second time in Thailand. The books Romance in the Harem and An English Governess at the Siamese Court were not banned in Thailand. There were even Thai translations of these books by Ob Chaivasu, a Thai humor writer. During a visit to the United States in 1960, the monarch of Thailand, King Bhumibol (a great-grandson of Mongkut), and his entourage explained that from what they could gather from
9010-471: The sterling military and civil contributions made by Anglo-Indians to the Raj". Their position at the time of independence of India was difficult. Given their English ancestry, many felt a loyalty to a British "home" that most had never seen and where they would gain little social acceptance. Bhowani Junction touches on the identity crisis faced by the Anglo-Indian community during the independence movement of
9116-544: The strategic services of the railways, the postal and telegraph services, and customs. In 1919, the Anglo-Indian community was given one reserved seat in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi. The English-speaking Anglo-Indians identified themselves with the British against the nationalist Congress Party. During the East India Company 's rule in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it
9222-578: The time that Britain ruled India (the Raj ), British-Indian relationships faced stigma, which meant that the ethnicity of some Anglo-Indians was undocumented or identified incorrectly. As such, many have adapted to local communities in India or emigrated to the United Kingdom , Australia , Canada , the United States , South Africa and New Zealand , where they form part of the Indian diaspora . Similar communities can also be seen in other parts of
9328-527: The whole Siamese nation by portraying its people as childish and inferior to the Westerners. In 1972, Twentieth Century Fox produced a non-musical American TV series for CBS , Anna and the King , with Samantha Eggar taking the part of Leonowens and Brynner reprising his role as the king. Margaret Landon charged the makers with "inaccurate and mutilated portrayals" of her literary property and sued unsuccessfully for copyright infringement. The series
9434-414: The wives and children of Mongkut , King of Siam . The king wished to give his 39 wives and concubines and 82 children a modern Western education on scientific secular lines, which earlier missionaries' wives had not provided. Leonowens sent her daughter Avis to school in England, and took her son Louis with her to Bangkok . She succeeded Dan Beach Bradley , an American missionary, as teacher to
9540-438: The women here are mere adventuresses from Milliners shops on Ludgate Hill and some even from Covent Garden and Old Drury [well known areas of prostitution in late 18th century London]. They possess neither sentiment nor education, and are so intoxicated by their sudden elevation, that a sensible man can only regard them with indignation and outrage." The reforming zeal of Governor-General Lord Cornwallis had ensured that by
9646-573: The world, although in smaller numbers, such as Anglo-Burmese in Myanmar and Burghers in Sri Lanka. The first use of "Anglo-Indian" was to describe all British people who lived in India. People of mixed British and Indian descent were referred to as "Eurasians". Terminology has changed and the latter group are now called "Anglo-Indians". The community originated soon after 1639 when the British East India Company established
9752-676: Was "most likely ... Anglo-Indian (of mixed race ) born in India." Anna's mother, Mary Anne Glascott, was born in 1815 or 1816. For most of her adult life, Anna Leonowens had no contact with her family and took pains to disguise her origins by claiming that she had been born with the surname "Crawford" in Caernarfon , Wales, and giving her father's rank as captain . By doing so, she protected not only herself but her children, who would have had greater opportunities if their possibly mixed-race heritage remained unknown. Investigations uncovered no record of her birth at Caernarfon, news which came as
9858-521: Was Edward John Pratt, a 38-year-old British civil servant . One of their sons, William Henry Pratt, born 23 November 1887 upon their return to London, was better known by his stage name of Boris Karloff ; Anna was thus his great-aunt. Anna Edwards never approved of her sister's marriage, and her self-imposed separation from the family was so complete that, a decade later, when Eliza contacted her during her stay in Siam, she replied by threatening suicide if she persisted. Leonowens later said she had gone on
9964-466: Was India's first ever World Professional Billiards Champion. Today, there are estimated to be 350,000-400,000 Anglo-Indians living in India, most of whom are based in the cities of Kolkata , Chennai , Bangalore , Mumbai , Delhi , Hyderabad , Ratlam , Kochi , Pune , Kollam , Secunderabad , Mysuru , Mangaluru , Kolar Gold Fields , Kanpur , Lucknow , Agra , Varanasi , Madurai , Coimbatore , Pothanur , Tiruchirapalli , The Nilgiris , and
10070-678: Was a suffragist . She initiated a reading circle and a Shakespeare club, was one of the founders of the Local Council of Women of Halifax and the Victoria School of Art and Design (now the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design ). From 1888 to 1893, Anna Leonowens lived with her daughter Avis and her grandchildren in Kassel , Germany. On her way back to Canada, she met her son Louis again, after nineteen years of separation. He had returned to Siam in 1881, had become an officer in
10176-477: Was a new preparatory school for colleges and schools of science and her presence was advertised in the press. On behalf of The Youth's Companion magazine, Leonowens visited Russia in 1881, shortly after the assassination of Tsar Alexander II , and other European countries, and continued to publish travel articles and books. This established her position as an orientalist scholar. Having returned to Halifax, she again became involved in women's education, and
10282-426: Was also a hit in London and on tour. In 1956, a film version was released, with Deborah Kerr starring in the role of Leonowens and Brynner reprising his role as the king. Brynner starred in many revivals until his death in 1985. The humorous depiction of Mongkut as a polka -dancing despot , as well as the king's and Anna's apparent romantic feelings for each other, is condemned as disrespectful in Thailand, where
10388-625: Was an Anglo-Indian or Indian -born British travel writer, educator, and social activist. She became well known with the publication of her memoirs, beginning with The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870), which chronicled her experiences in Siam (modern Thailand ), as teacher to the children of the Siamese King Mongkut . Leonowens's own account was fictionalised in Margaret Landon 's best-selling novel Anna and
10494-512: Was an English-born commissioned officer of the 4th Regiment, Bombay Native Infantry , in the Bombay Army . Glascott arrived in India in 1810, and was apparently married in 1815, although his wife's name is not known. According to biographer Susan Morgan, the only viable explanation for the complete and deliberate lack of information regarding Glascott's wife in official British records is that she "was not European". Morgan suggests that she
10600-482: Was appointed to Glasscott's former position with the commissariat at Lynton, and the family moved there. At Lynton, Anna Leonowens gave birth to a son, Louis . During late 1856, Thomas Leonowens also served briefly as magistrate's clerk under William Burges. Like Glasscott, Thomas clashed with Burges but survived until the Convict Depot was closed in 1857, and he was transferred to a more senior position with
10706-489: Was born in Madras in 1764, wore Mughal style clothing, and spoke Tamil as a first language. Left with a strong affinity for the cultural practices of their childhood homeland, many although nominally Christian would adopt local Hindu and Muslim customs such as shunning pork, beef, and even becoming vegetarians. Kirkpatrick would even go on to converting to Islam in order to marry a Sayyida noblewoman named Khair-un-Nissa in 1800, having two children together, and assimilating into
10812-425: Was common for British officers and soldiers to take local wives and start families, owing to an initial lack of British women in India. Looking at the records of wills from the early 1780s, a third of all British men in India named their Indian wives and children as their inheritors. By the mid-19th century, there were around 40,000 British soldiers, but fewer than 2,000 British officials present in India but by then
10918-553: Was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Anglo-Indian" has also encompassed other European and Indian ancestries. Anglo-Indians' first language is usually English . Prior to 1911, various designations like "Eurasian" or "Indo-Briton" were used to describe this community. The All India Anglo-Indian Association , founded in 1926, has long represented the interests of this ethnic group; it holds that Anglo-Indians are unique in that they are Christians , speak English as their mother tongue, and have
11024-400: Was not a success and was cancelled after only 13 episodes. In 1999 an animated film using the songs of the musical was released by Warner Bros. Animation . In the same year, Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat starred in a new feature-length cinematic adaptation of Leonowens's books, also titled Anna and the King . One Thai critic complained that the filmmakers had made Mongkut "appear like
11130-522: Was thought that in Calcutta alone there were more than 500 marriageable Anglo-Indian girls in the 1820s, compared to 250 Englishwomen in the whole of Bengal. In 1821, a pamphlet entitled "Thoughts on how to better the condition of Indo-Britons" by a "Practical Reformer", was written to promote the removal of prejudices existing in the minds of young Eurasians against engaging in trades. This was followed up by another pamphlet, entitled "An Appeal on behalf of Indo-Britons". Prominent Eurasians in Calcutta formed
11236-420: Was to teach English, not to educate and care for the royal children comprehensively. Leonowens claimed to have spoken Thai fluently, but the examples of that language presented in her books are unintelligible, even if one allows for clumsy transcription. Leonowens was a feminist , and in her writings she tended to focus on what she saw as the subjugated status of Siamese women, including those sequestered within
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