The experiences of an orphan in India, son of an exiled Chinese father and a Tibetan mother.

The Sultanate of Oman occupies the southeastern part of the Arab Peninsula. The country is beautiful and is full of unspoiled nature. The sun shines almost every day. The temperatures are pleasant during winter, but it is often unbearably hot during summer. The country is as large as Italy but sparsely populated. It has oil, gas, and a variety of minerals. The rapid development of Oman takes place with respect for its cultural heritage. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and the people of Oman are admired for having transformed Oman from a backwards, non-unified country into a modern, homogenous state with a high standard of living dominated by tolerance and growing democracy. It is blessed with a ruler, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who has what may be called absolute power, which he uses with great care and wisdom. He is a true servant of his people.

Examining the role of Asian and indigenous male servants across the Asia Pacific from the late-19th century to the 1930s, this study shows how their ubiquitous presence in these purportedly 'humble' jobs gave them a degree of cultural influence that has been largely overlooked in the literature on labour mobility in the age of empire. With case studies from British Hong Kong, Singapore, Northern Australia, Fiji and British Columbia, French Indochina, the American Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, the book delves into the intimate and often conflicted relationships between European and American colonists and their servants. It explores the lives of 'houseboys', cooks and gardeners in the colonial home, considers the bell-boys and waiters in the grand colonial hotels, and follows the stewards and cabin-boys on steamships travelling across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This broad conception of service allows Colonialism and Male Domestic Service to illuminate trans-colonial or cross-border influences through the mobility of servants and their employers. This path-breaking study is an important book for students and scholars of colonialism, labour history and the Asia Pacific region.