Mapping Marginalized Histories: The Complex Circulation of the "Madras Handkerchief"

Deepthi Murali, George Mason University

This paper examines the methodological challenges of digitally mapping historical textile flows through the case study of the "Madras Handkerchief." This vibrant checked cotton textile illuminates the complexities of tracing non-Western commodities that traversed global trade networks during the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite its name, the "Madras Handkerchief" predates the British Madras Presidency, originating as "Pulicat" textiles from the eponymous port town. These products underwent multiple nomenclature shifts: called "Indienne" when manufactured by the French in Pondicherry, and later produced across southeastern India in centers like Masulipatnam, Narasapur, and Vizag. Their primary market was among free and enslaved Black women in the Caribbean and southeastern United States. The archival record of these textiles presents significant mapping challenges. Documentation typically records either the port of origination or destination—rarely both for the same shipment. Many textiles first passed through European or American ports before reaching their final destinations, creating fragmented datasets. Historical place name changes further complicate this research: Madras is now Chennai, and was previously Channapattinam before the 1740s. Our research as part of an international collaborative project titled “Connecting Threads” confronts these historiographical complexities by developing innovative digital mapping methodologies that can visualize fragmented data while acknowledging historical erasures. This approach aims to recover and represent the histories of marginalized places and objects that were central to early global commodity networks but remain elusive in conventional cartographic representations. Through this case study, we explore how digital humanities tools can be adapted to address the unique challenges of mapping non-Western historical trade networks.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 65. HGIS for the Public