This issue tracks movements of people and ideas around the Indian Ocean region and explores the cultural implications of these contacts and their role in processes of transnationalization and globalisation. The first three articles concentrate on movements of people, ranging from slaves, convicts and indentured workers to prosperous planters, artisans and soldiers. The fourth article addresses the pivotal role played by the textile trade both in motivating cultural contact and in creating an area of negotiation for the manifestation of ethnic identity. The next three papers focus on the circulation of newspapers and literary texts throughout the region and interrogate the way these contribute to changing notions of identity and belonging. The issue concludes with two articles examining Mauritian creolisation from the perspective of a characteristic cultural product, the music of maloya. The last article is translated from French and so provides a valuable counterpoint to Anglophone discourse. The international spread of the contributors – from India, South Africa and Reunion, as well as Australia and the United Kingdom – provides a unique comparative basis for the special issue's examination of international migration, regional connections and cultural identity.