by Cuba, Chinese
[Slavery and Abolition] Four manuscript documents related to the registration and contractual assignment of Chinese indentured laborers ("colonos asiáticos") brought to Cuba. Havana, Cuba, 1862-67. Two folio-sized ledger pages (each approx. 8.25 x 12.5 inches) listing laborers disembarked from the vessel Suomi, with details including names (both Chinese and Christianized), ages, places of origin, assigned labor roles, contract terms, and the names of Cuban patrons to whom they were assigned. Two additional smaller manuscript documents issued by the Superior Civil Government of Cuba certify the arrival of these laborers from the Portuguese vessel "Alfonso de Albuquerque" and the transfer of these laborers to their new patrons and authorize the issuance of identity documents (cédulas).
These records document the forced migration of Chinese laborers into indentured servitude in Cuba, a system that replaced enslaved African labor following the British suppression of the transatlantic slave trade. The laborers listed, ranging in age from 18 to 30, were contracted for eight-year terms, primarily for agricultural work. The document records how the Chinese servants were stripped of their identity, with "Li Kuong" becoming "Damian" and "Chan Wong" becoming "Angel." The documents name Joaquín Valera and Luis Felipe Thiago as the Cuban patrons to whom the laborers were assigned, with their domicile listed in Havana. Their assignment to individual patrons mirrors the earlier system of enslaved labor, with planters seeking to maintain control over an exploited workforce. Chinese indentured laborers in Cuba often endured brutal conditions akin to slavery, including forced conversions, corporal punishment, and lack of legal recourse. Many resisted their treatment, and international pressure to end indentured servitude in the Caribbean culminated in Cuba's formal abolition of the practice in the late 1870s. Some chipping to edges, moderate foxing and discoloration, but the ink remains legible throughout. Overall in good condition. A rare and significant archive documenting the coerced migration and forced labor of Chinese workers in the Caribbean sugar economy. (Inventory #: 21348)
These records document the forced migration of Chinese laborers into indentured servitude in Cuba, a system that replaced enslaved African labor following the British suppression of the transatlantic slave trade. The laborers listed, ranging in age from 18 to 30, were contracted for eight-year terms, primarily for agricultural work. The document records how the Chinese servants were stripped of their identity, with "Li Kuong" becoming "Damian" and "Chan Wong" becoming "Angel." The documents name Joaquín Valera and Luis Felipe Thiago as the Cuban patrons to whom the laborers were assigned, with their domicile listed in Havana. Their assignment to individual patrons mirrors the earlier system of enslaved labor, with planters seeking to maintain control over an exploited workforce. Chinese indentured laborers in Cuba often endured brutal conditions akin to slavery, including forced conversions, corporal punishment, and lack of legal recourse. Many resisted their treatment, and international pressure to end indentured servitude in the Caribbean culminated in Cuba's formal abolition of the practice in the late 1870s. Some chipping to edges, moderate foxing and discoloration, but the ink remains legible throughout. Overall in good condition. A rare and significant archive documenting the coerced migration and forced labor of Chinese workers in the Caribbean sugar economy. (Inventory #: 21348)
(818) 224-4555
