Coolie ships of the Chinese diaspora (1846-1874)  Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora (1846-1874) 

• Product Details

  Product #

  2581123B

  Author(s)

  Asome, John

  City

  Hong Kong 

  Country

  Hong Kong 

  Language

  English 

  ISBN

  9789888491988 

  Date of Publication

  2020 

  Publisher

  Proverse Hong Kong  

  Cover Type

  Soft cover 

  Pages

  464 

  Subject

  Ethnic Studies / Ethnology

  Subject

  History, 19th Century and Earlier

   

• Product Details in Original Language

  Author

  Asome, John

  Publisher

  Proverse Hong Kong  

• Description

  Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora (1846-1874) Between 1846 and 1874, over 290,000 CHINESE were embarked as indentured laborers destined mainly for Peru, Cuba and the British, French and Dutch West Indies. Of these, 15.13% did not reach their destination. The demand for labour was high. Among the poor, penniless and destitute of southern China, the search for remunerated work was also high. When demand outran the initial willing supply, trickery and misrepresentation, even kidnapping, came to be used in obtaining recruits. These were among the several factors contributing to onboard suicides, attempted insurrections and successful mutinies when captains and some crew were killed or tortured, ships set on fire and sometimes entirely destroyed. There were also occurrences when recruits signed on, intent on piracy, which was occasionally successful. Authorities in the ports of departure introduced legislation to counter abuses. Receiving countries also introduced legislation related to imported labor. In this study, John Asome provides data on 732 voyages and commentary on a good number of these. As an expert in the field, Walton Look Lai, says, John Asome has filled, “an enormous gap in our knowledge of the Chinese coolie trade....He has enabled readers and future scholars to distinguish fact from myth, reality from exaggeration, in the understanding of this vast and complex experience.”