[Cuba]. [Chinese Labor]

Lista de los Colonos Que Fueron Embarcados en China a Bordo de la Barca Francesca Nombrada Ephrem Su Capitsan Boucand Llegado a Este Puerto el Dia 2 del Presente Mes... [caption title]

Havana: August 3, 1867. [7]pp. on pre-printed folio forms completed in manuscript. Later staple. Moderate tanning and edge wear, short separations along some folds. Good. Item #3977

A manuscript manifest listing of 285 Chinese field hands, who undoubtedly signed up as indentured laborers in their quest to escape the hardships of China in the vain hope of a better life in Cuba. The document begins "Lista de los colones que fueron embarcados en China...," with the name of the French ship on which they were transported ("barca francesa nombrada Ephrem") filled in, and the captain noted as Boucand. The Chinese name of each "colono" (settler) is given, and also their adopted Christian name, as well as age (ranging from 18 to 35), sex (all men), and profession, all field laborers ("campo"). Seven of the listings have an "X" next to them, along with "Falleco" (passed away) written in the column headed "Defuncion." Among those who died on the voyage is a 26-year-old man named Ping Chiong, given the Christian name of "Angel."

Formal slavery persisted in Cuba until 1886, but from the mid-19th century it was accompanied by a significant population working in indentured servitude. Cuba's massive sugar industry had consumed huge imports of African slaves in the 18th century. The abolition of the slave trade in 1808, vigorously enforced by the British Navy, meant that a new source of labor was necessary. Indentured servitude became the predominant source for labor in the region. Unlike the earlier waves of European immigrants who travelled to the New World as indentured servants, Asia was now the primary source. Between 1848 and 1874, 125,000 Chinese indentured servants arrived in Cuba alone - a figure outstripped only by the number who indentured themselves in California. A high percentage of these laborers were kidnapped from their homeland, with many unable to survive the long passage from China to Cuba, as the present document illustrates in sad detail. If these Chinese indentured laborers were fortunate enough to survive the voyage to Cuba, these men quickly found out that their working life in the coffee and sugar fields was tantamount to slavery.

Price: $4,000.00