coolie-ships-of-the-chinese-diaspora1846-1874 — Page 1

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��Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora (1846-1874)
John Asome
Proverse Hong Kong
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Coolie Ships of The Chinese Diaspora
1846-1874
John Asome
Proverse Hong Kong
 

Proverse Hong Kong fully supports freedom of artistic expression. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this work as a whole are those of the author alone. The views and opinions expressed in the Foreword are those of the Foreword writer alone. In neither case, does the content represent the stand of Proverse Hong Kong, any person related to Proverse Hong Kong, or that of any other person named in this text.
Care has been taken to respect the rights of all. If there has been any omission, remedy will be made in any revised edition in due course if information is received.
JOHN ASOME was born in Hong Kong and educated in Hong Kong and Australia. His working life has been spent in the UK and Australia, with many years at sea. His first position as a Radio Officer for the China Navigation Company-took him throughout East Asia, from China and Japan to Thailand and Indonesia, as well as to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Later, after some years spent in different positions in the UK, he had four years in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service (RFA)-the civilian arm of the Royal Navy and served on ships based in Malta and Singapore as well as on patrol duties in the West Indies and both East and West Africa. When he retired, John pursued his interest in the Chinese diaspora stirred first by finding Chinese people in many of the places he visited and the related topic of the indentured trade to Cuba, Peru and the West Indies. This has taken him to various archival collections in the UK, and to many online encounters. He has communicated with many scholars in the field and been published on the subject in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong.
BETWEEN 1846 AND 1874, OVER 290,000 CHINESE were embarked as indentured labourers 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 kidnappeing, 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 labour.
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."
2 Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
COOLIE SHIPS
of the
CHINESE DIASPORA
1846-1874
John Asome
A Proverse Prize Finalist 2019
B@
Proverse Hong Kong
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 1846 - 1874 by John Asome.
Proverse Prize Finalist 2019.
First edition published in paperback in Hong Kong by Proverse Hong Kong, under sole and exclusive licence,
November 2020.
ISBN: 978-988-8491-98-8 Copyright � John Asome, 2020
Distribution (Hong Kong and worldwide) The Chinese University Press of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR. Email: [email protected]; Web: www.cup.cuhk.edu.hk Distribution (United Kingdom) Stephen Inman, Worcester, UK. Distribution and other enquiries to:
Proverse Hong Kong, P.O. Box 259, Tung Chung Post Office, Lantau, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Email: [email protected]; Web: www.proversepublishing.com
The right of John Asome to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Cover design by Artist Hong Kong. Cover photo, American clipper ship, Kate Hooper, courtesy the Dacre Smyth family.
Picture research: John Asome and Gillian Bickley.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or publisher and author. The book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the author's prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent owner or purchaser. Please contact Proverse Hong Kong (acting as agent for the author) in writing, to request any and all permissions (including but not restricted to republishing, inclusion in anthologies, translation, reading, performance and use as set pieces in examinations and festivals).
4
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record is available
from the British Library
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships
of the Chinese Diaspora
List of Tables
(1846-1874)
John Asome
CONTENTS
Table of Illustrations and Figures
Acknowledgements
7
10
11
Foreword by Walton Look Lai Preface
13
15
Introduction
19
In Search Of Labour
31
Peruvian Migration: The First Phase
59
Britain Enters The Trade
79
Cuban Allocations
109
Spanish Free Importation
151
Canton Becomes An Emigration Port
173
Ships For The West Indies
193
Peruvian Focus On Macao
221
Cuba Overwhelms Macao
253
The Final Years
273
Coolie Shipping In Review
319
359
II. Summary of Macao Regulations
365
401
405
V. Departures for the West Indies
417
420
VII. Departures for other Destinations Glossary
421
422
Abbreviations
424
Appendices
I. The coolie master's log on the Forest Eagle
III. Departures for Peru
IV. Departures for Cuba
VI. Departures for Australia
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 5
Editorial Practices
Bibliography Notes Index
Picture Acknowledgements
425
Tables
427
438
447
10.1
Macao recruits (and brokers punished).
11.1
Gillian and Verner Bickley collection for 'Guano Bed Mining, Chincha Islands, 1875. By T Taylor. Fx Barbant, J.C.' and 'Loading lighters with guano from chutes'; both photographed by Gardner, Washington, D.C.; Grace's Guide to British Industrial History for 'Auxiliary steamer, Glensannox'; HSBC for 'General View of Hong Kong', photograph by William Pryor Floyd; Macao Museum of Art for 'Inner Harbour, Macau'; Martyn Gregory Gallery, London for photographs of the following paintings: Amoy c. 1865. Chinese artist'; 'Hong Kong, c. 1850. Chinese artist'; 'Macao: Praya Grande, early 1870s. Chinese artist'; 'Whampoa, c. 1850. Chinese artist'; National Library of Australia for the section from 'Chart of the World'; National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, for 'Callao harbour'; State Library of Victoria, Australia, for British ship, Blenheim (David Little Postcard Collection H27568/40); and British clipper ship, Light Brigade (Brodie Collection LaTrobe Picture Collection 92220 1982).
The following are in the public domain: 'Swatow Harbour', photograph by Lai Afong; Challenge (Library of Congress); Labourer's contract in Chinese and Labourer's contract in Spanish (both courtesy Kathleen L�pez); Amoy Harbour', photograph by John Thomson; Dolores Ugarte (Wikicommons); 'Barracoons at Macao' and 'Embarking, 1864' (Harper's New Monthly Magazine. v. 29 (June-Nov 1864)); 'Whampoa from Dane's Island', c. 1843, drawn by Thomas Allom, from a sketch by Lieut. White, Royal Marines. Engraved by William Pryor Floyd (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whampoa_from_ Danes_Island.jpg); Havana harbour, Cuba; Kingston harbour, Jamaica; Port of Callao, Peru.
11.2
11.3
11.4
303 Shipments from various departure ports, 319 together with the numbers embarked and landed.
Shipments from Amoy, 1846-1869, showing the number of shipments, numbers embarked and landed and the percentage who died.
320
Shipments from Swatow, 1852-1866, showing 321 the number of shipments, numbers embarked and landed, the percentage who died and notes on mutinies and shipwrecks.
322
Shipments from Cumsingmoon, 1849-1854, showing the number of shipments, the numbers embarked and landed the percentage who died, with notes on mutinies, etc.
"
11.5
Shipments from Whampoa,
1852-1873,
323
showing the number of shipments, the numbers embarked and landed, the percentage who died, with notes on mutinies, etc.
324
11.6
11.7
11.8
11.9
Indentured coolie labour shipments from Hong Kong, 1848-1870, showing the number of shipments, the numbers embarked and landed, the percentage who died, with notes on mutinies, etc.
Shipments from Macao, 1851-1874, showing the number of shipments, the number of Agents involved, the numbers embarked and landed, the percentage who died, with notes on mutinies and shipwrecks.
325
Ship arrivals from various ports, the number embarked, number of agents used, number and percentage successfully landed. Shipments to Cuba, 1847-1873, showing the number of shipments, the numbers embarked and landed, the percentage who died, the
327
329
6
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 7
11.10
11.11
passengers per ton ratio and the average number of days per voyage.
Active years of Cuban consignees and their principal agents, 1852-1873, the number of shipments undertaken, the numbers embarked and landed and the percentage who died. Shipments to Peru, 1849-1874, showing the number of shipments, the numbers embarked and landed, the percentage who died, the passengers per ton ratio and the average number of days per voyage.
331
11.20
11.21
334
11.12 Active years of Peruvian consignees and their principal agents, 1849-1874, the number of shipments undertaken, the numbers embarked and landed and the percentage who died. 11.13 Shipments to the West Indies, 1852-1873, showing the number of shipments, the numbers embarked and landed, the percentage who died, the passengers per ton ratio and the average number of days per voyage.
11.14
11.15
11.16
11.17
11.18
11.19
Active years of West Indian principals and their agents and the numbers each recruited. National flags used by ship type with minimum, maximum and average tonnages. Dedicated coolie ships, their tonnages and number of voyages undertaken, the numbers embarked and landed and the percentage who died.
336
339
340
343
344
Successful mutinies, showing ships' flags, 347 departure ports and dates, intended destinations and notes on the fate of captains and vessels. Unsuccessful insurrections, showing ships' 348-9 flags, departure ports and dates, intended destinations and notes on causes, results and times of occurrence.
Longest serving Captains, the number of 351 voyages undertaken, their primary ship, the numbers they embarked and landed together
8
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
with the average mortality rate over all voyages. National flags of vessels used for voyages to Cuba, Peru, the West Indies and other ports. Mortality by national vessel flag, showing the number of voyages undertaken, average tonnages, total numbers embarked, passengers per ton ratio, average days per voyage and average mortality.
353
356
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 9
Illustrations and Figures
Hong Kong. Departure port, 1848-1870. Departure ports of the Chinese coolie trade.
18
20
Acknowledgements
Amoy harbour. Departure port, 1846-1869. Blenheim
"Barracoons at Macao."
Swatow harbour. Departure port, 1852-1866. Labourer's contract in Chinese.
30
58
Macao inner harbour. Departure port, 1851-1874. Callao harbour. Destination port, 1852-1866.
78
78
108
150
171
Labourer's contract in Spanish.
172
Whampoa. Departure port, 1852-1873.
192
Light Brigade
220
Dolores Ugarte
251
Guano bed mining, Chincha Islands.
252
Loading lighters with guano from chutes.
252
Challenge
272
Peru
318
Embarking, 1864.
357
Glensannox
437
PLATES
Chart of the World. Section, showing Hong Kong, Macau, 1 Callao, Cuba, the West Indies.
Hong Kong. Departure port, 1848-1870.
23456
4
Macao Praya Grande. Departure port, 1851-1874.
Whampoa. Departure port, 1852-1873.
Amoy. Departure port, 1846-1869.
Havana harbour, Cuba. Destination port, 1847-1873.
6
Kingston harbour, Jamaica. Destination port, 1852-54; 1858-1884.
7
Port of Callao, Peru. Destination port 1852-1874.
8
10
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
T
he unsung heroes of researchers must be those anonymous people who laboriously transcribe illegible handwriting of original documents into clear typeset. Their contribution must be acknowledged with deep gratitude. I know how much time can be spent in trying to read hand-written script in the old style, especially on a dull microfilm reader with little or no desktop space to place your notes.
The National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection was a major source of valuable material. Anya Dettman so kindly waded through the massive Braga Collection on matters pertaining to Macao. Anya was responsible for the Library acquiring new copies of the Macao Government's official Boletim, and then ensuring that I had access to both the hard copy and microform collections by way of the wonderful Inter Library Loan system in Australia.
The National Archives at Kew expanded on the Colonial Office microform collections held by the Central Library in Hong Kong. How one could go through the Colonial Office files without Elizabeth Sinn's comprehensive Index of CO 129 is incomprehensible to me. Many thanks must be paid to her.
After Jardine Matheson gave permission to peruse their archives at Cambridge University, the Library Manuscript Collection provided interesting backgrounding into how shipping was conducted in early Hong Kong. My thanks go to Betty Schopmeyer of the Penobscot Marine Museum who kindly had the coolie master's Log of the Forest Eagle copied for me. Picture credits are also due to the Dacre Smyth family for use of the painting of the Kate Hooper.
In my many attempts to gather information on the internet, Andreas von Mach of Munich has been most generous in sharing his deep knowledge of, and web links to, merchant shipping of the 1850s. They have been invaluable
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 11
in verifying details of the ships mentioned in this book. Thank you Andreas. Many thanks also to Tony Yip for his helpful advice on the texts in Spanish and Chinese of a Cuban indendtured contract.
Of all the people who have encouraged me along the way, I especially thank Helen Atteck in St Catharines, Ontario. Her faith in my attempts to become an author has been my sustenance. Through her kind intervention, the preeminent authority on the Chinese in the West Indies, Walton Look Lai, has very kindly favoured me with his sage advice and patient guidance. I will always be indebted to Walton.
This book would still be languishing in a bottom drawer without the strong and continuous support of my publishers, Verner and Gillian Bickley, and the support also of the Ride Fund for accepting it into the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series. My sincerest thanks to Gillian for her meticulous editorship.
Any and all errors which may remain are of course mine alone.
12
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
S
Foreword
Walton Look Lai
retired History Lecturer University of the West Indies St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago
cholars of the nineteenth century Chinese migrations have justifiably seen the "coolie trade" to Latin America and the Caribbean (1846-1874) as the dark side of the diaspora experience. Organised and operated mainly by Western plantation and shipping interests, its cruelties and contradictions at the embarkation and destination ends have been described and analysed by contemporary official reports as well as by diaspora scholars. From the 1874 Cuban Commission Report compiled by the Chinese delegation of Chen Lanpin and others, to modern studies by Yen Ching Hwang and Arnold Meagher, supplemented over the years by a variety of single country studies, we have learnt all about the mechanics and motivations of this ethnic version of the worldwide indentured labor experiment, as well as about official Chinese state responses to it while it was happening.
A missing ingredient of these studies until now has been the voyages themselves, the story of what actually transpired on these seven hundred plus vessels traversing the long journey from the China coast to the Western Hemisphere. Conventional doctoral research would normally shy away from this task, not only because of the difficulties involved in amassing this vast material, but also because of what many would consider its dubious value in helping us to understand the totality of the trade itself.
Unshackled by these academic inhibitions, John Asome, a retired seaman and Australian economics graduate with his ancestral and family roots in Trinidad-Tobago, England, Hong Kong and Australia, has spent the better part of twenty
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
13
years going where others dared not go before, and in the process has succeeded in filling an enormous gap in our knowledge of the Chinese coolie trade, the "transportation" dimension to supplement the "recruitment" and "work experience" dimensions of this unique diaspora story. Here, described in great detail, is the story of what actually happened on a good many of these seven hundred or so voyages to Cuba, Peru, the British, French and Dutch West Indies over the almost thirty years of its lifespan. In the process of chronicling these voyages, John Asome has enabled readers and future scholars to distinguish fact from myth, reality from exaggeration, in the understanding of this vast and complex experience. The concluding chapter-"The Coolie Trade in Review' is an especially valuable summation. Whatever minor inconsistencies may inevitably emerge in this vast assemblage of data, all will be inspired by this brave project, all the more so because it is the result of one man's single-minded devotion over the years, rather than the work of a collective body.
March 2020
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
I
Preface
was born in Hong Kong and watched as hundreds of ships came in and out of that beautiful harbour each year. When I eventually went off to sea, I travelled the world. I was so surprised to find that there were Chinese just about everywhere I visited. In places such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Guinea and even Trinidad as well as British Guiana, as it was known then, they spoke Chinese, but not in the Cantonese that I could understand. However, it was not until I retired that I succumbed to the niggling notion that I needed to know more about those overseas Chinese, and in particular, the controversial indentured labour trade.
Three books sparked my interest in the Chinese diaspora of the mid 1800s. The first was Walton Look Lai's The Chinese in the West Indies 1806-1995, and then it was Trev Sue-A-Quan's Cane Reapers: Chinese Indentured Immigrants in Guyana. Trev then introduced me to Helen and Philip Atteck who were completing their Stress of Weather, which documented the voyage which brought Philip's grandparents to Trinidad in 1862.
I initially followed the traditional path of perusing hard copy, but over time have found that many books are now available on-line and there is less need to visit a library. Many libraries have digitised their collections and made them available on the internet. Most are free, but unfortunately, some now require a subscription for access.
With patience and asiduous selection of key search words, almost anything can now be found on the World Wide Web. I commend this form of research to everyone, but with the caveat that some of the information not contained in accredited books and journals may not be authentic and should be verified by a second source, whenever possible. I only wish I could understand Spanish and Portuguese.
14
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
15
Exploring those websites will lead to far more information than I have included in this book.
to
I have found it very
difficult
standardise Romanisation of names for Chinese towns and villages, not to mention identifying the Portuguese and Spanish variations for those places. I have used names as I came across them. When citing a place for the first time I endeavour to add the Pinyin spelling too.
1
Similarly, I have not always been able to determine the value of the various currencies cited.' The Mexican silver dollar was roughly equivalent to the Spanish dollar, but I am not sure why pesos were sometimes mentioned. Sterling was the accounting standard until the introduction of the Hong Kong dollar in 1862. The latter was on a par with the Mexican dollar and worth about four shillings and two pence. An American gold dollar was also in circulation, nominally also on a par with the Mexican silver dollar but often traded at a discount. Unless otherwise mentioned, or implied by the context of the topic, the national origin of the dollars mentioned is unknown. The local population would not have had any understanding of what a dollar was or what it was worth. The vast majority would have been happy if they had a few "cash". An agricultural worker could expect to earn 100 cash for a day's work. This was equivalent to sixpence. His assistant could earn 80 cash, or thruppence per diem.' The amount of four dollars a month all found could therefore have been readily touted as a very big inducement to emigrate.
Writers in the English language, contemporary with the period under study, generally use the term "coolie" to denote an indentured labourer who was taken to the destinations mentioned in this book. Other writers refer to them as "kulies" or similar variations. I understand it was first used by the British to describe the indentured Indian labourers they recruited for Mauritius and then for the British West Indies. The word, "coolie", is used in this book in the same sense; but in order to avoid over-use, or when sources indicate otherwise, I refer to "emigrants" in the context of their leaving China and "immigrants" when arriving at their destinations.
Cuban planters and entrepreneurs preferred to refer to them as "asiaticos" while the Peruvians usually spoke of "colonos". Portuguese authorities seem to have preferred the term, "settler". In this book, the usage of the primary sources is followed. As is well known, the word, "coolie" was also used as a derogatory term, liberally used when protesting against Chinese sojourners to other parts of the world.
To me, as a seafarer, a passenger is a person, other than a crew member, travelling from one port to another port. No distinction is made between a voyager paying his own fare or not. All the persons on the many ships described in this narrative were passengers. To avoid excessive use of that word when stating the number of persons on board a vessel I have mostly described them variously as Chinese, coolies, "asiaticos" or "chinos". Unless absolutely certain, I have tried to avoid using "men" as there may been women and children on some of those vessels who were not separately identified, or even counted.
It has taken me some fifteen years to complete my study, but I have enjoyed the journey immensely. I hope you will
too.
John Asome Melbourne January 2020
16 Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 17
Introduction
General View of Hong Kong, c. 1867-74. Departure port, 1848-1870. Photograph by William Pryor Floyd.
The early story of indentured emigration from China
T
was fraught with danger for all concerned, due to the lack of proper legislation and controls. The need for unskilled labour to replace or supplement slave labour in various countries, especially the Spanish colonies of the New World, commenced in 1846 with much loss of life and loss of ships. It was not until the British government entered the arena and undertook to implement their Chinese Passengers' Act in 1855 that many of the abuses of the early days were corrected.
The coolie trades were stigmatised throughout the period of indentured migration by detailed stories of horror ships and cruel captains; of extremely high death rates due to opium deprivation, inappropriate food, and suicide. Cruelty accounted for most of the mutinies that occurred in the early stages of the Chinese diaspora.
Deception also was a reason for mutiny with many tricked into going on ships believing they were going to destinations in Australia or California. In the latter part of the migration, the mutinies were being more accurately classified as piracies. Many a captain faced well-planned attacks at inappropriate times.
Chinese indentured labour was mainly sourced from the southern provinces of Fukien (Fujian) and Kwangtung (Guangdong). Fukien is approximately 53,480 square miles with a population of about 14,777,410 people in 1850. There were 276 persons per square mile. Kwangtung is of approximately 79,446 square miles with a population of about 19,147,030 in 1850. The population density was 214 persons per square mile. Canton (Guangzhou) is the provincial capital of Kwangtung.
18
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 19

To the south of Canton the three counties of Nanhai, Panyu and Shunde, known as the Sam Yup, were at the centre of this migration. Further out to the south and west the four counties of Xinhui, Taishan, Kaiping and Enping, which constituted the Say Yup, were no less important.
In this study of the indentured labour coolie trades between 1846 and 1874, 732 voyages have been identified; 358 to Cuba, 274 to Peru, 63 to the main colonies of the West Indies-British, French and Dutch-and 37 shipments to various other destinations. Some 113,911 Chinese were despatched to Peru, 146,643 to Cuba, 21,845 to the West Indies, and 9,085 to other destinations, a total of 291,484. Arrivals amounted to 247,407, which represented 84.87% of the number placed onboard. The numbers shown are as complete as possible, but figures may not always be correct, with conflicting numbers sometimes reported in newspapers and even official documents. Five ports and a safe anchorage in the Pearl River Delta, just to the north of Macao, were seriously involved in the coolie trade.
Canton
FUKIEN
Not Crown to Scale
FORMOSA (TAIWAN)
Departure ports of the Chinese coolie trade.
Amoy (Xiamen) in Fukien province was the traditional port of departure for sojourners to the Nanyang, the littoral states
20
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
of the South China Sea-particularly Singapore, the Straits Settlements, and the Dutch East Indies. As one of the five original Treaty Ports it became the first to ship indentured labour further afield, with French Bourbon (Reunion) initiating the trade in 1846. Benefiting from their trading links between the Philippines and Amoy, Spanish interests undertook two experimental shipments to Cuba in 1847. Australian pastoralists first began taking Chinese in small numbers from Hong Kong in 1847 but then turned to Amoy, taking their first major shipment in 1848.
As the supply of willing emigrants in Amoy dwindled in 1852, Swatow (Shantou) not a Treaty Port until 1858- became the centre of shipping. Swatow is in Kwangtung province close to the border with Fukien.
As Canton is on the shallow Pearl River, vessels could get only as far as Whampoa (Huangpu) some 12 miles downstream. It was a safe and commodious, picturesque anchorage surrounded by low wooded hills. The village on its banks was of dilapidated and decaying tenements erected on piles along the shore.
Cumsingmoon (Junxingmen) in the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) delta just north of Macao served as a safe anchorage for opium ships coming from India. Away from officialdom, it was Peru's preferred place of departure when the country entered the coolie trade in 1849.
Macao at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta became the major port of embarkation for indentured labour from 1857. Like Canton, it suffered from lack of water depth, and ships. had to stand many miles off at an unsafe anchorage.
China ceded Hong Kong to the British in 1841. The strict provisions of the Chinese Passengers' Act of 1855 effectively stopped British shipping from participating in the indentured labour trade, but enabled Hong Kong to become the primary port for departing fare-paying emigration to America and Australia. As Hong Kong grew in prominence, the importance of Canton and Macao declined significantly. Macao would have ceased to be a trading port altogether had it not been for the coolie trade.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 21
The demand for labour was not consistent. There were two distinct phases of Chinese departures to Peru, the first between 1849 and 1857, peaking in 1855. The second phase between 1860 and 1874 featured two pauses before rising to a final peak in 1872.
Cuba began trialling Chinese labour from Amoy in 1847, but regular shipments did not begin until 1852. In its first phase, shipments rose to a high in 1857 before falling to just two in 1862. Demand then climbed to a peak in 1866 before falling off with the advent of the 1868 Ten Years' War against Spain. A consequence of that war was the cessation of Chinese labour from 1873.
When compared with Cuba and Peru, the British West Indies demand for Chinese labout was never great. The British requirement for the West Indian colonies was also characterised by two waves. The first between 1852 and 1854 ended with the colonials complaining of the high costs involved. Inferior alternative labour from India, however, forced a recommencement of Chinese recruitment from 1858. It all but ceased when the commonly termed 1866 Kung Convention banned contract labour without guaranteed return passages. There were four final voyages (two to British Guiana in 1874 and 1879, and one each to Antigua and Jamaica in 1882 and 1884). There were small shipments to Martinique and Guadaloupe in the French West Indies in the 1850s and to the Dutch colony of Surinam (Dutch Guiana) in 1858 and after 1865.
Four classes of indentured emigrants were soon distinguished.
22
Firstly, there were those who willingly went abroad, having been ruined agriculturists, fugitive criminals or greatly burdened gamblers.
Then there were those who were intimidated by lies warning them that unless they did as they were told they would be killed.
The next class were probably the most unfortunate, being captured by actual physical violence.
The fourth class were the connivers who embarked with the premeditated intent of plundering the
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
The Ships
coolie ships, irrespective of what could happen to themselves or their fellow passengers
The ships involved in the Chinese coolie trades varied considerably in type and size, from tiny brigs to fast clipper ships. Steamships were used early in the Cuban trade, but were about to be introduced to the Peruvian trade only when the trade was banned in 1874.
The ships first employed were small and ill equipped for the transportation of passengers on voyages sometimes in excess of four months. High mortality rates that exceeded 50% in some instances, were mainly from overcrowding, poor food and the frailty of the opium addicts. These factors improved over time, but high mortality was always a concern throughout the period.
A sailing ship is a vessel with three or more masts, square rigged on all. A square-rigged mast can be readily recognised by the horizontal booms extending out from it on both sides. Each mast carried four, five, six, or even seven booms that swivelled around it. They were perpendicular to the deck with sails tied securely to the yards as they are also called. The sides of the trapezoidal sail were dropped, or furled, to adjust the amount of sail required. The bottom ends of each sail were then secured to the ship's rail on deck. Furling of a sail was a laborious matter; with between six to eight seamen required to climb up the ratlines, then across the boom, before reaching down to secure the wrapped sail to the yard.
The number of crew on a sailing ship could vary from 16 to 44 or more. In this study of 732 vessels, 391 were classed as ships, with another 54 also known as clipper ships. The smallest ship used was of 342 tons, with the largest, of 2,078
tons.
A barque on the other hand is a vessel of three or more masts, square rigged on all except the aftermost mast, which is fore and aft rigged. The fore and aft rig was a much simpler sail. At the bottom was a single boom, which swivelled around the mast. A tapering sail was placed on this boom, the
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 23
top of which was simply hoisted to the top of the mast. Where a greater sail area was required, a short spar extending outwards from the top of the sail could be added. When speed was not an important factor, the simpler sail plan of a barque, requiring a smaller crew, was preferred. The number of crew on a barque ranged from 15 to 33. Of the 240 barques identified here, their tonnage ranged from 191 to 1,278.
In the early years of the coolie trade smaller vessels, such as brigs and schooners, were also employed. A brig is a vessel with two masts, square rigged on both, while a schooner usually has two masts, fore and aft rigged on both. Larger schooners may have three or more masts. When regulations were introduced, limiting the number of passengers that could be carried based on the vessel's tonnage and available space, these smaller vessels fell into disfavour. Two schooners and 19 brigs were used to carry coolies. The brigs ranged from 168 tons to 391 tons.
Early steamships were sailing ships or barques with a small engine for use when the ship was becalmed. As these engines were not the primary means of propulsion, these ships were usually classified by their sailing rig. The first steamships were equipped with side paddles which were not very efficient in bad weather. It was not until the advent of the screw propeller that steamers began to surpass traditional sailing vessels. Of the 26 voyages undertaken by steamers, ten were ship rigged while two were barques. Tonnages ranged from 1,081 to 2,134.
The main criterion in determining the number of passengers that a ship could carry was its tonnage. The British benchmark as promulgated in their Passengers' Acts was of one person for every two tons burthen. This standard was generally adopted by other nations. For a short period, Macao accepted the initial Spanish standard of one person per every one and a half tons, but this was later replaced by a space allocation of up to three cubic metres per person depending on the ventilation of the vessel.
A ship mainly used in the emigrant trade would have more than the ordinary height in the between decks, together with good side and deck ventilation. There was usually a
24
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
hospital in the forecastle and a large deckhouse divided into compartments, one with the ship's cooking equipment, while another contained the food preparation area. Water was kept in wooden casks before the advent of the fresh water condenser.
Most ships of the time were built with one upper deck and a deck part way up from the bottom of the hold, known as the between deck; more commonly referred to as the 'tween deck. On larger ships, an upper 'tween deck was sometimes added. Passengers could be carried on both these decks. The notional spacing between the decks was six feet, but this was not always so.
In the first ships employed in the coolie trade, the passengers simply slept on the deck. As the trade grew, ships began constructing bunks for the long voyage. The shelves were six feet wide with an eight inch footboard secured to the outside to prevent the men from slipping off. Each bedspace was then measured and marked off, allowing each person a breadth of from 20 to 24 inches; the average seldom exceeded 21 inches. There was no division between the sleepers, each shelf simply representing 150 bed spaces.
The Ticonderoga was employed for one voyage as an emigrant ship from England to Australia in 1852. She had two 'tween decks, an upper and a lower. The heights were 7ft ten inches and 6ft eleven inches respectively. The accommodation plan shows bunks consisting of two rows of shelves running the whole length of the ship on both sides, as well as down the centre of the hold. The central tables and benches shown would have been replaced by bunks when she was employed as a Chinese coolie ship in 1857.
Fittings for the Chinese coolie ships were generally made in Hong Kong. In most cases three planks would be cut away at regular intervals along the whole length of the deck which were then reinforced with strong surroundings and a hinged cover eight inches above the deck. Through each of the poop and forecastle decks two enormous bell-mouthed ventilators would be mounted and two additional large pipes placed at each end to carry off the foul air below. These were
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
25
additional to the original three large and two small hatches on the main deck.
As well, as many as 32 side-ports would be cut for additional ventilation. Over each hatch rain cloths were fitted, such that in rainy or wet weather they could be drawn over and laced down the sides, avoiding the necessity of having the heavy hatch covers put on.
In response to mounting insurgencies, special fittings were erected to protect the ship. Through the centre of each opening a strong iron bar would be placed to prevent coolie egress from the hold. Across each hatch were bars with opening just sufficient for single ingress or egress. The hatches leading to the provisions in the hold were encircled with trucks of strong iron bars secured to both decks so as to protect the provisions from being looted.
In case of an insurrection, an armed force could be positioned in them, firing on the masses if order could not be maintained. These fittings, made in Hong Kong, together with four pieces of strategically mounted artillery, a double stand of arms and boarding spikes placed in and around the pilot house on the poop could be fitted only in Macao as they were prohibited items in Hong Kong.
The crew was normally housed in the fore cabin behind an eight foot high barricade of strong iron bars with spike tops, running from rail to rail and securely placed forward of the poop front. On each side would be a gate, constantly manned, with another guarding the main hatch gratings and a third walking the forecastle.
As the trade matured, standard procedures were commonly adopted by masters, with separate sets of instructions for the chief mate, the doctors and interpreters and the guards, as well as for the coolies, and the coolie master. These included the requirement to ensure the sleeping spaces were cleaned out once a week and the 'tween decks fumigated and disinfected twice a week. The 'tween decks were to be dry-sanded each morning and swabbed and scraped each week. The coolies were to bathe at least once a day, weather and health permitting, and clothes were to be washed once a week.
26
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
The organisation on board a coolie ship depended on the number on board but was usually based on the capacity of the rice cookers, normally large enough to feed 50. To each, a cook with some experience would be appointed. They arose at 5.30 each morning to carry up the provisions for the day under the direction of the third mate. While this is was being done, a gang would be detailed by the Third or Fourth Mate to pump the day's water supply from below into the tanks on deck. When the meal was ready, the cooks and their assistants filled rice baskets and large plates which were then placed outside the cookhouse. When the bell sounded, the representative of each group of ten would gather a basket and plate, and take them to his mess. To assist in overall control, constables were appointed to assist in the supervision of the men. The scale was roughly one for each fifty men on board.
The person in command of a ship is the Master. The laws of all traditional maritime nations required Masters and Mates to undergo an examination and possess certificates of qualification before they were eligible to be in charge of a merchant vessel. The British government did not require this prerequisite until 23 March 1847 with a transitional period until it became compulsory from 1 January 1851.
The title of Captain is conferred only on one who has served a defined period at sea, passed the appropriate examinations and assumed command of a vessel. In the British Merchant Navy, promotion to Captain may be from the rank of seaman, or through a period of apprenticeship. The normal progression is from the attainment of a Second Mate's Certificate, to a Mate's Certificate and then a Master's Certificate.
There may be more than one captain on a ship, but only one master, who is in command. Where the master is not the owner of the vessel, he is responsible to the owner(s) for all matters pertaining to the ship under his command. This includes seeking cargo for his ship in ports where an agent has not been appointed. His authority on board is absolute, and his every command is to be obeyed without dissension. In the days of unruly seamen, many captains did not hesitate to use physical force to maintain discipline. His authority
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 27
extended to all on board, including passengers, and when this caused discontent, he would treat them in the same manner as his crew. The callousness of some captains led to the many mutinies in the initial years of the Chinese diaspora.
On ships of traditional maritime nations, the captain would have been a national. Under the flags of emerging nations, nationals were not always available, and foreigners were often employed as Masters. Where laws did not allow this, a national with little or no seafaring experience would be appointed as the Master to sign and lodge official documents. A foreigner would then be engaged to command the ship. A less senior officer might also be engaged as Pilot to navigate the vessel should the Master not be familiar with the trade
route.
A sailing ship would normally have a complement made up of a chief mate, second mate, third mate, carpenter, cook and steward, about nine able bodied seamen (AB) and seven or more ordinary seamen (OS) depending on how many sails the ship carried. On emigrant ships a Fourth Mate might be engaged, together with a coolie master and additional guards.
When ships of the traditional maritime nations left their home ports, they usually had a full complement of their own nationals. As voyages were normally in excess of one year, many of the men had to be replaced in the course of the voyage. Some would have become ill, others deserted their ships, usually because of a cruel captain, and some may have died. The captain or his agent then recruited new men as the need arose. In other circumstances, where a captain was unable to secure immediate employment for his ship, he would simply pay off as many of the crew as were surplus to the essential maintenance of a ship idle in port. Such men were thus stranded in strange ports, and left to their own devices to find their own way home. Waiting for new employment, they had to find accommodation in the seamen's boarding houses found in most of the main ports around the world.
An American ordinary seaman could be paid $6 or $7 a month, while an able bodied one would be paid $12. British rates would be lower than that, while locally recruited
28
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Lascars or Manilamen could expect $5 a month. A carpenter or cook received $20, as did the third mate. The Steward received $25, the second mate was paid $30, and the chief mate $45. The Master would receive about $125, and on a coolie ship a bonus of about $10 for each passenger landed."
The life of a seaman was not an easy one. The British Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 attempted to regulate conditions for seafarers, but unscrupulous owners easily circumvented such attempts. Conditions on board were atrocious. The accommodation allowance was 12 superficial feet with six feet from deck to deck giving a total of 72 cubic feet clear of stores and goods other than the property of the crew. In practice, this was seldom achieved, with some seamen even sleeping in hammocks slung over the tables where they had their meals.
While the forecastle was normally set aside for the seamen's accommodation, they could be displaced should that space be required for other purposes. There was no heating or cooling in those spaces. A sailor could be called out at any time of the day or night, in rain or in sunshine. He was often soaked to the skin and often went to sleep with damp clothing. He was offered very little sympathy when he took sick; and often made to continue working when hardly able to stand.
Each crew member had a daily allowance of three quarts of water for cooking, drinking, and washing his face. His body and clothes would have been washed in sea water. The food was inevitably bad, with the meat either pickled or salted. Seldom was there fresh meat, and a pint of peas per week was the only vegetable prescribed in the Merchant Shipping Act. Ships' biscuit, hard enough to break your teeth, was the main food when cooking was not possible due to weather conditions.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 29
1
In Search Of Labour
Swatow harbour (1860-1880). Departure port, 1852-1866. Photograph by Lai Afong (1839-1890).
V
oluntary free emigration to the Nanyang, the littoral
states of the South China Sea, was an established practice long before China was opened to foreign trade. Traditional emigration was usually financed by sponsors from the home villages or by recruiters already based overseas. Hopeful emigrant sojourners had their passage paid by local brokers in Amoy or Swatow, or even in the Straits Settlements with the money advanced, then repaid with interest by an agreed period. Instalment monies were collected by the brokers or their representatives in the destination countries. These brokers accepted only men who were fit and healthy and when work was assured.
Each shipping season, brokers travelled to Amoy to engage men in China. Despite the higher cost, the greater reliability of square-rigged foreign vessels influenced a number of Chinese merchants in Singapore to begin chartering these ships rather than the traditional junk. In 1846, there were 27 Chinese recruiters from Malaya, most of whom held British passports.
The Voyage of the Sophia Fraser
Nightfall was rapidly approaching. Captain Duncan McKellar was tired; and so was his crew. They had slaved away through the day, and all the previous night, desperately trying to keep their ship from sinking. All had gone well for the first few days, but then a severe typhoon caught the ship just as she was approaching the notorious Parcels. A position fix on 26 November 1846 put her at 15 13N 112 26E. The 1pm entry in the ship's log read that it was blowing a strong gale with every appearance of increasing with thick cloudy weather and the barometer falling. Captain McKellar first
30
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
31
furled the mainsail, then the topsails, but with the barometer still falling, hove to at midnight when it stood at 28 inches.
The gale continued to blow for the next 48 hours until about 9pm on the 29th when the clouds began to break, the barometer began to rise, and the wind to abate. In attempting to set a sail, the boom broke and a sailor was thrown overboard. Happily, he was saved. The mizzen sail was eventually set at 4am on the 30th, and then the fore and main sails at 8am.
The 292-ton Sophia Fraser had left Amoy on 23 November 1846, bound for Penang. She had $5,433 worth of sundry goods on board, but Captain McKellar had another reason for fighting so desperately. He also had 310 Chinese coolies crammed into the 'tween deck of the hold.
When the hatches were opened, about thirty badly bruised and mangled Chinese were found dead; with many more severely wounded. Seven casks, each containing 250 gallons of water were found stove in, and piles of firewood were strewn all over the deck. The Chinese supercargo threw the dead over the side while the captain attended to the wounded.
Whereas the crew had managed to survive on dry biscuits, there was no food for the passengers. The Chinese headman who was responsible for feeding them had made no provision for emergency food. In the turmoil of the typhoon, the hungry men turned on each other, first with words, but then with whatever implements they could find. In the ensuing m�l�e, many were killed or seriously wounded.
The Sophia Fraser finally arrived at Singapore on 9 December 1846. At the Police Office in Singapore on the 10th, Captain McKellar testified that he had no doubt that many of the men died from seasickness and exhaustion. He declared that four had died on the voyage before the typhoon struck. As there were now only 275 left to answer the muster, 31 must have died during the storm."
8
It also reported that Koo Hang Leng affirmed that he was the supercargo who had shipped 310 men from Amoy to Singapore and Penang. They were from 30 kampongs (villages), but were all friendly, and it was only from hunger
32 Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
during the gale that they were like drunken people through weakness and sickness. It was not disputed that some of the poor wretches died from positive inanition, which a supply of dry grain would have prevented.
Lee Shun Fah was a visiting broker from Singapore. A stranger to the area, he had been unable to find sufficient men to fulfil his contract. In his anxiety to fill the Sophia Fraser on her second voyage that year, Lee resorted to Francis Darby Syme for assistance. Syme was one of the first foreign (British) merchants to establish offices in Amoy after it had become an open port in 1842. As Syme had already rounded up all the beggars in the immediate neighbourhood of Amoy for French shipments to Bourbon, he needed to look further afield. Despite a warning of clan fighting around Amoy, Syme canvassed the nearby villages, and found enough men agreeing to migrate. They were from several rival villages, but Syme was not to understand the significance of that.
On hearing of the great tragedy, relatives of the dead men were adamant that the Chinese contractor Lee was to blame. They maintained that by mixing men from two rival villages, he caused the friction leading to their deaths. He was seized by the Chinese authorities and not released until after long negotiations with the British Consul. Lee, entitled to British protection, was eventually awarded $605 in compensation.
The plight of the Sophia Fraser brought the public's attention to what had been generally known in official and trading circles for some time. Emigration from China was banned, but had been quietly practiced with impunity for decades.
British investigation
For Britain, the serious search for labour began with the Act of Emancipation of 1833 following public demand for the right of African slaves to live in a free society. With the implementation of emancipation, the Government was to compensate West Indian planters for the economic losses they were to suffer. It introduced a six-year period of "apprenticeship" to train freed slaves in the responsibilities of
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
3333
freedom. The transition period was terminated in 1838 with
all slaves freed, because the planters had continued to treat them as slaves,
Substitute labour from Madeira and elsewhere in Europe was tried with little success. In desperation, the British Government again turned to Africa in 1841, authorising the importation of labourers from the Kroo Coast. The scheme was doomed to failure, given the stringent safeguards against any hint of slavery.
In 1843, French sugar planters on the Indian Ocean island of Bourbon-known as Reunion since 1848-began sourcing Chinese labour from Penang for their plantations.
When the British planters in Mauritius heard of this initiative, they thought they should do the same. Early in 1843, Gignet & Co. arranged with Brown & Co. of Penang, for Chinese to be sent to Mauritius on the brig Leswick. When a member of the West India Committee (WIC) learned of this, he urged the Committee to lobby the British Government to allow similar shipments to the West Indies. This lobby group had been formed in the 18th Century by London merchants and absentee owners of West Indian estates. Not having succeeded in their opposition to the abolition of slavery, they then shifted their focus to the encouragement of substitute labour to the region.
The submission led to much discussion within the Government, which then gave the task of determining the feasibility of such a migration to the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission (CLEC). The Commission, within the Colonial Office, had been created in 1840; taking over functions of the Colonisation Commissioners for South Australia, and the Agent General for Emigration. Initially its duties were to manage the British emigration to North America and Australia, but following the abolition of slavery, it became responsible for the orderly migration of substitute labour, first from West Africa and the Atlantic basin, then India and now, possibly, Chinese labour.
In seeking further information, the Emigration Commissioners turned to John Crawfurd (1783-1868), an expert on Chinese matters in the Straits Settlements.
34
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Crawfurd was told that the Government had resolved that, should Chinese immigration into the West Indies be permitted, the people would, for the present, only be from the British settlements in the Straits of Malacca. It knew of the surplus of labour in China, but was also aware that Chinese law prohibited their nationals from emigrating. The questions posed reflected the Government's desire to appreciate the feasibility of transplanting Chinese into a strange environment halfway around the world and whether they would settle there. The Commissioners included an "Extract of Letters" to help him in his analysis.
10
Even though John Crawfurd had been away for nearly 20 years, he displayed his immense interest in the current Chinese migration. In his reply, which was formulated within two days, he drew attention to the earlier, unsuccessful, experiment in 1806 when a shipment of Chinese was taken to Trinidad, and then remarked on current developments, including the Mauritius trial shipment, of which he was obviously well aware.
He estimated that there were then about 50,000 Chinese in the Straits Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang as well as an unknown number, possibly about 20,000, in the Dutch settlements on the Rhio islands nearby. He quoted figures for the last two seasons, showing a significant increase in the number of junks with immigrants arriving from as many as 19 different ports in China. While many emigrants came from Amoy in the Province of Fukien, the greater majority came from the maritime ports of Canton, and even as far south as Hainan.
During his time in the East, about twelve junks only made the passage each year, and while European vessels occasionally brought Chinese immigrants, their numbers were not of great significance. However, in the shipping season from December 1842 to April 1843, 111 junks totalling 17,000 tons brought 6,391 immigrants to Singapore. In the previous season, 88 junks of 14,580 tons in total, had brought 6,156 Chinese. Crawfurd was able to say he knew of one junk alone carrying 800 passengers. He believed that the large numbers then being experienced were a direct result of the
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 35
British occupation of Kulangsu, in the bay of Amoy. (The occupation of Amoy in 1841 was effected during the Opium War of 1839-42.)
Crawfurd set the scene by claiming that there would be no difficulty in getting labourers in the prime of their life from the teeming population of China. In what was to become a contentious issue, Crawfurd stated that children and women never left China, and in fact not even their own localities. The Chinese settlers simply formed matrimonial connexions wherever they went in the Nanyang, but the resultant children were not considered as industrious as pure Chinese. While Chinese were very moneywise, they did not horde excessively, and were prepared to pay for a comfortable life- style. They expected to be paid the full value of their labour, and if not treated fairly could become "discontented, disorderly, and roguish .
,, 11
Crawfurd also expressed his doubts as to the expediency of hiring Chinese labourers on the basis of apprenticeship. His notion of Chinese people was that they were industrious and diligent only when working for themselves. If they found they could earn more that way they would readily forsake any form of contract labour.
Within days of its receipt, Lord Stanley wrote to the WIC agreeing that the Chinese would set a good example of continuous and industrious application, but that political considerations meant that they could be recruited only from Straits ports. Following consultations with the WIC, the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners then promulgated a set of Bounty Rules for Chinese emigration to the West Indies, together with Explanatory Notes. For the guidance of interested parties, additional information, substantially drawn from the Passengers' Act in force for the carriage of emigrants from Britain, was provided.
As soon as the Bounty Rules were promulgated, applications for licences were received from representatives of estates in Trinidad, British Guiana, and Jamaica. Further applications brought the total number of labourers sought to 2,850. But the WIC wanted changes to the Bounty Rules; and when further representations were rebuffed by Lord Stanley,
36
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
no Chinese labourers were shipped to the British West Indies in the 1840s.
The British Government exacerbated the situation again when it passed the Sugar Duties Act of 1846 abolishing preferential tariffs for British sugar producers. The less efficient British planters in the West Indies faced ruin. Many estates simply closed, while the remaining ones amalgamated and dramatically reduced their recruiting from India. The British Guiana intake alone dropped from 11,519 in 1846 to 550 the next year. It recovered to 918 in 1848.
Once again, the WIC had to seek justice for its members. Despite the abundance of Indian coolies, greater productivity was needed if British plantations were to compete with slaveholding Cuban and Brazilian cane farmers; and the new sugar-beet producers in Europe. With a history of traditional migration to the Nanyang, China was beckoning.
French Initiatives
On 13 April 1844, the ship, Suffren landed in the harbour of Saint-Paul, and 54 Chinese got off. They would have been the first Chinese to set foot in R�union and they would have come from Pulo-Pinang. That same year, the ships Palladium and Nouveau Tropique transported more Chinese to R�union. They arrived without luggage, without money, some with a tin of sardines in their pocket. 12 When China signed commercial treaties with the United States of America and France in 1845, the French decided to recruit their labour directly from China. Among the first French callers at Amoy in 1846 was the 250-ton Nouveau Tropique, which arrived on 13 May with a cargo of rice from the Straits Settlements. There is no record of what she carried when she sailed for Bourbon on 1 June 1846.
In 1845, Marseilles merchants commissioned Captain Montfort to take the 304-ton French barque Joseph et Claire on a voyage to China. 13 A four-voyage veteran of the seas around China, Montfort was responsible for the mission, while his friend Captain Caillet sailed as Master on the vessel. Montfort was to proceed to Bourbon to receive instructions. He left St Denis, the capital of Bourbon, on 6
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 37
February 1846, bound for Amoy by way of Penang, Singapore and Macao. The British Consul recorded her arrival at Amoy on 12 June 1846 with a cargo of rice from Penang.
Captain Montfort's account of the voyage does not go into great detail, but he explains his prolonged stay in Amoy as necessary for the enlistment of voluntary workers who were to take the place of negro slaves in Bourbon. Again, Montfort does not elaborate on his contacts, but describes his recruiting agent as a Spanish-speaking Chinese Christian, named Vincent, who each night took thirty of his countrymen for examination on Kulangsu, an island directly opposite Amoy.
The pitiful appearance of those poor workers was miserable, with inveterate diseases, and devoured by scabies. Their poverty was extreme, most having had nothing to eat for days. Only the healthiest five or six could be chosen, and then held and fed in abandoned houses until departure. They were to be paid three dollars a month, and were given eight dollars as an advance. Montfort did not explain how that money was to be spent, as the men were then placed on board and constantly watched over in case they tried to abscond. No strangers were allowed on board in case of the unlikely event of a mandarin wishing to check on the men.
The British Consul listed the Joseph et Claire as having cleared Amoy on 6 July 1846 with an unspecified number of coolies for Bourbon. Captain Montfort says he left Amoy three months later, on 7 October 1846, having taken four months to enlist the 90 Chinese he had been charged with. Among them was a Chinese woman whom his crew-master, Sidore Vidal, had married in Canton. To keep her company, Montfort also took on a few other women. The Joseph et Claire did not arrive back at St Denis until mid January 1847.
The British Consul's returns report that the 290-ton l'Avenir, also under the French flag, departed from Amoy on 1 December 1846, with a second contingent of 200 coolies, again sailing for Bourbon. Francis Darby Syme took credit for the shipment of these coolies. The French shipments did not attract any significant interest from either the British
38
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Consul or the local Chinese mandarins, but the shipping of Chinese emigrants was soon to come to the attention of the foreign community.
The Chinese trials were not continued as the local Bourbon Administration quickly banned further shipments of coolies, on the plea that they were unruly and uncontrollable. Apparently, the first settlers were too cunning, and most had abandoned their contracts as soon as they became familiar with conditions on the island.
Cuban trial shipments
While Spain did not officially abolish slavery until 1886, it was under considerable pressure to do so. Anti-slavery patrols by British and American vessels intercepted suspected slave ships heading for Cuba. With access to slaves severely restricted, Spain initially looked to the Indians of the Yucatan to supplement the slaves that still existed on the Cuban plantations. Spain found the Yucatan natives insufficient and unsuitable for plantation work. Driven by increased demand for sugar from the United States and the opening of the British market to Cuban sugar, the requirement for cheap labour increased considerably not only for the plantations, but also for the building of the railways, which the plantation owners quickly realised were necessary in order to increase the amount of cultivatable land inland.
14
A Spanish Royal Order was passed on 3 July 1847 permitting Asian immigration in Cuba. The Real Junta de Fomento was entrusted with this task, which then commissioned Julian Zulueta y Cia to bring the first colonists to the island. He was to be paid 170 pesos per head." The London office of the company was run by Zulueta's cousin Pedro, who then enlisted Matia Menchacatore in Manila and James Tait in London to carry out the task.-Tait was an Englishman whose company had traded in Spain.
The 350-ton Spanish brig Oquendo under Captain Osollo arrived in Amoy on 7 December 1846 carrying James Tait as a passenger. As Spain, like France, did not then have Consular representation in Amoy, Tait arrived bearing a commission from the Governor of the Philippines to become
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
39
consular agent for Spain in Amoy. This was with the apparent approval of Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary.
The Oquendo created no great interest when she arrived on that occasion. But the British Consular staff, along with the rest of Amoy, could only look on in wonder as she sailed on 23 January 1847, loaded with 212 coolies bound for Havana. The Oquendo flew Spanish colours, and hence was not within the jurisdiction of the British Consul. It had taken James Tait, a forceful man, only a month to demonstrate his business skills in recruiting the required numbers.
The first contracts were hand-written, a laborious task as this 400-word document would have had to been produced over 642 times by a very conscientious clerk unfamiliar with Spanish. Matia, Menchacatore y Cia of Manila was named as the recruiting agent on behalf of the Junta. On arrival on 3 June 1847, "many of the men were sick and skinny, covered with parasites, sullen, almost moribund".
15
They were taken to the barracks that were used to process African slaves, and there sold for the advertised price of 70 pesos. Buyers included Fevjo Sotomayor, and Pedro and Fernando Diago. Julian de Zulueta, Martin Pedroso and Ignacio de Arieta were among the planters buying for their plantation. Others were bought as servants. The Capitan- General (the Governor) was given a gift of two Chinese labourers.16
Following the success of the Oquendo, Tait went on to find another consignment of Chinese for Havana; this time on the Duke of Argyll, a British vessel. He then simply provided Captain Frank Bristow with a certificate allowing him to sail his ship with 430 Chinese coolies for Havana on 6 March 1847. British Consul Temple Hilliyard Layton considered it his duty to question the legality of the 629-ton vessel to carry Chinese passengers in excess of the 314 allowed under the British Passengers' Act. Tait simply retorted that the Act did not apply in Amoy.
Layton asked for advice from Hong Kong, but Governor Sir John Davis, unsure of himself, referred the request on to London. There it provoked alarm because it brought back the spectre of slave-trading. One hundred years earlier a British
40
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
slave ship, also named Duke of Argyll, had been actively involved in the Middle Passage shipping of African slaves to the Caribbean.
The eventual response, long after the Duke of Argyll had sailed, was that it was not a breach of British law, and that there was no legitimate reason to detain the ship's papers. The Home Government had determined that the Passengers' Act did not apply to ships sailing from China.
Australian shepherds
Even as the French and Cuban coolie shipments were being undertaken from Amoy, an Australian adventurer was in China ascertaining the prospects of trade with that country. While in Amoy, he was taken in by the dense population of the city, and the great poverty of the inhabitants. Despite the poverty, he was impressed with their general demeanour and the tractability of their nature. On his return to Sydney, Adam Bogue wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 March 1847, offering his services to anyone wishing to learn more about importing Chinese labourers into the Colony.
The matter of shipments from Amoy arose again in 1848, when the 234-ton British barque Nimrod under Captain Espinasse arrived from Hong Kong on 12 June, ready to receive coolies. This was to be her second trip to Sydney, but the first with passengers. Nimrod created a lot of speculation in Amoy, causing a frustrated Layton to write a forceful, pleading, despatch on 17 July 1848 to the Superintendent of Trade in Hong Kong, the new Governor, Sir George Bonham.
17
Layton enclosed copies of the indenture agreement made between James Tait on the one hand and 100 Chinese coolies and 20 Chinese boys on the other hand, for the account of Captain J. Thomas Larkins." The agreement was to serve Larkins or his assigns for five years in New South Wales, at a monthly rate of $2.50 for the men and $1.50 for the boys. They were to receive weekly provisions of 10 pounds of meat and wheat, a quarter of a pound of tea, and one pound of sugar, or such other provisions as might be mutually agreed. The $8 advanced was to be repaid through a deduction of 50 cents per month after arrival.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 41
Layton warned that, with the coolies coming from the lowest and poorest, and in some cases from the most vicious classes in Amoy, the transaction had already become known as "buying men". The shipments were contrary to Chinese law but the mandarins showed no intention of interfering, with the Taontae18 (Chief Mandarin) reportedly observing, "I cannot talk about emigration, for when that word is pronounced, my head assumes a very awkward position, and might chance to tumble off".
But what did the deeply concerned man receive in reply? Three months later, all Bonham could say was that he had referred the matter to Her Majesty's Government, and that in the meantime he was to adhere to previous instructions, and leave the matter to the Chinese. He voiced disapproval of Layton having permitted his Interpreter to explain the terms of their agreement to the coolies and what they were about to sign. He insisted Consulate staff were to desist from interfering in all questions of that description.
The 338-ton ship London under Captain Williamson first sailed from Hong Kong on 14 December 1847 with seven Chinese passengers and general cargo including matting, cigars, and almost 1,000 cases of tea. The London called at Manila on her way, where she loaded 4,654 bags of sugar and 30 cases of cigars. On her second voyage, again without any fuss or comment from the officials in Hong Kong, she loaded 149 coolies, and sailed on 25 November 1848 for Sydney, arriving on 22 February 1849. But as with the Nimrod, there was insufficient interest in employing the Chinese and on 28 February, she transferred 50 of those labourers to the Elizabeth Jane, which then sailed for Moreton Bay.
There were only two more Australian shipments from Amoy, and another waiting to load, when Layton died in 1850, after a long and intermittent illness that had lasted over two years. He left a distressed wife and young family to fend for themselves until their repatriation home.
The 465-ton barque Cadet was entered by the Amoy Consul as having loaded about 150 coolies on 4 November 1849 for Sydney. Like most other Australian ships, the Cadet
42
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
called at Manila en route to load nearly 6,800 bags of sugar, as well as coffee, rope, and cigars.
Whereas the Nimrod and London did not suffer any loss of life, the Cadet was not so fortunate. She suffered 12 deaths during the voyage, which had been an unusually long one, taking four months from Manila. Battered by storms, she was forced to return to Manila for repairs. Again buffeted by further storms, the Cadet did not arrive off Moreton Bay, where she had hoped to put in for supplies, until 11 April. But she fell in with strong westerly gales and a current setting to the southward. She eventually arrived at Sydney on 23 April 1850.
With Adam Bogue's encouragement, Amoy became the centre for Australian shipments. The Amoy Consulate recorded the 241-ton British brig Gazelle as having sailed for Adelaide on 22 February 1850. Captain Ramsay sailed via Manila, where she loaded 3,695 bags of sugar. Of the 134 Chinese embarked at Amoy, 131 arrived at Sydney, not Adelaide, on 14 May 1850.
The 498-ton British barque Duke of Roxburgh was the next ship for Australia. She loaded 258 Chinese coolies, together with a cargo of sugar and sugar candy; and sailed on 8 November 1850, calling at Singapore where she loaded more sugar, coffee, tin, and coir rope on her way to Sydney. She arrived on 6 February 1851. Besides the chief officer who died from injuries suffered when he fell down the hold on an earlier voyage, 16 Chinese died on the voyage, ostensibly from cold and dysentery. The remaining 242 passengers were landed in Sydney, where 180 of them were subsequently transferred to the barque Emma as Captain Devlin prepared to sail for Moreton Bay on 18 February.
The Duke of Roxburgh undertook a second voyage the following year. On 16 August 1851 she left Amoy with 240 Chinese bound for Brisbane. This time Captain Kirsopp took the eastern route via Ascension Island (later known as Ponape, and now Pohnpei). He lost 13 men on her 85-day
voyage.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
43
The recruiting process
In 1851, some 1,478 men, in six ships, were recruited in Amoy for Australia alone. With criticism mounting against this migration, and the methods by which they were recruited, the Sydney Morning Herald began a series on Chinese Emigration. James Tait was more than happy to host their journalist, Paul Pax. In his feature on 13 March 1852, Pax described the process of recruiting Chinese for Australia in a detailed account. But he made no mention of how the men were enticed to sign up, and the increasingly aggressive methods required to coerce them.
Pax presented the Tait hong as being one of the greatest and most respectable English houses in China. He wrote that whenever Tait received an order from a ship's master, he would immediately apply to the headman among the Chinese brokers who invariably had many hundreds of men on his hands wishing to emigrate. The headman, in this instance named Bi-sente, would gather about double the number of the emigrants required, and feed and shelter them until the morning of a given day, when they were assembled in a large yard in front of his premises. There they would undergo an examination by the surgeon superintendent.
As they advanced to be examined, some would come up with amazing assurance, seeming to say "find a fault if you can". Others would come up with a degree of hesitation, having been previously rejected by other parties, but still hoping. Yet others, with disease having stamped them with outward marks, were quickly rejected by the medical examiner. With all hope gone, and with downcast eyes, they went off, waiting to die.
Then there was the instance of a reluctant man being brought up by two or three men who pushed him along unceremoniously. He was accepted by the surgeon knowing nothing of his objections. But then the man shook his head, indicating that he did not want to go in the ship. He was then seized by the tail (queue) and forced into the crowd of the accepted. On realising his mistake, the medical man immediately put a stop to that, telling the Chinese interpreter
44
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
that on no account was any man to pass except of his own free will.
The work went on for three or four mornings, until the required number was made up, and a date nominated for receiving the emigrants on board the ship. On that day, they came, and with them an army of brokers and friends, cramming the ship to suffocation point: the Chinese clerks, the members of Messrs Tait's house, the commander of the vessel, the surgeon superintendent, and the leading Chinese brokers, all in their places on the poop. The emigrants on the main deck were again individually examined, and when finally accepted passed to the advances table.
There every man then signed the agreement if he could write. He then received $6.00, which nearly all of them handed over to the broker who had fed and clothed him. Sometimes three or four would turn restive and in the ensuing scuffle, escape into the ship's 'tween decks with their money. The broker seldom dared venture below to extract his fee.
Tait and the other recruiters always planned to ship all the men in one day, as the men, now having obtained perhaps two suits of clothes, tobacco, sweetmeats, and other little delicacies for the voyage, had been known to try to escape to the shore. Some of them may have had good reasons: their brothers were refused, or their friends were rejected: but vigilance was necessary to prevent the discontented from carrying out their intentions. But that was not to say that those tricks were not sometimes winked at by the brokers themselves, as even among the higher classes of the Chinese, trickery of every kind was not only encouraged, but also practiced.
Last shipments to Australia
Following the riots in Amoy (discussed in Chapter 3), the British 518-ton Royal Saxon managed to sail from Amoy on 25 November 1852 without incident. Captain C. Robinson took 327 Chinese on board and 72 days later landed 304 of them in Melbourne.
The 480-ton Brtish barque Eleanor Lancaster made her first voyage to Australia on 1 January 1852 with 240 Chinese
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 45
without incident. On her second voyage, she arrived at Amoy on 10 October 1852, and was immediately redirected to Swatow due to increasing unrest at the port. She was to be the first to load at the quiet opium anchorage of Namoa, and sailed for Newcastle on 11 November 1852 with 255 men without incident. After a speedy passage, she arrived at that port on 8 February 1853. While approaching her berth a misunderstanding over water resulted in a skirmish with the crew. Captain M'Leod called for the police, who responded immediately without any further trouble.
The 364-ton British barque Spartan under Captain Thomas Marshall did not sail from Amoy until 8 January 1853 after arriving there on 8 October 1852. The 254 coolies had signed an agreement to go to Australia, whose terms were explained to them by the Chinese interpreter, and by the captain's agent, Robert Jackson, who spoke fluent Chinese. The men agreed to serve Captain Marshall or his assigns for a period of five years for four dollars a month as well as certain stipulated rations. Wages were to commence fourteen days after arrival at their destination. The $8 advance made was to be deducted by four quarterly instalments of two dollars each.
The men appeared to be content, and were allowed as much liberty as the size of the vessel would permit. They had more than a sufficient supply of rice, with the excess either fed to the fowls or thrown overboard after each meal.
On the morning of the 9th day, the captain and second mate were in the 'tween decks looking after the sick. Nearing Pulo Sepatu, a prearranged signal was given by the Chinese, when several of them rushed at the man at the wheel, and tried to throw him overboard, but he escaped by quitting the helm and taking to the mizzen rigging. At the same time, others rushed into the cuddy and the captain's cabin where they armed themselves with bayonets. They then proceeded to the pantry, where a large carving knife was taken from a Chinese lad who was cleaning it.
By this time the captain, the chief mate and the second mate had returned to the after-part of the ship. The second mate rushed towards the captain's cabin only to be met by the man with the carving knife, which was run through him. The
46
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
second mate fell lifeless at the door of the captain's cabin. The captain and chief mate were also attacked, and both were severely wounded, the latter falling senseless at the cuddy door. The captain seized hold of a bayonet thrust at him and made his way out of the cuddy.
Armed with sticks etc., the crew managed to force their way aft. When the firearms were secured and discharged three or four times, the coolies were forced below, and the hatches closed over them. Ten of the coolies were either shot dead, or jumped overboard and were drowned. Three bodies were thrown overboard, and one man died the following day. When the American clipper Witch of the Waves appeared soon after, she kept company with the Spartan until they reached Singapore on 22 January 1853.
Nineteen of the Chinese were then taken into custody, and the Sitting Magistrate then committed them for trial at Penang on a charge of piracy and murder. The trial took place on 21 February. One of the accused was found guilty of murdering the second mate, and the others of aiding and abetting in the crime. From the evidence of the cruelties practiced on the coolies by the crew, the Pinang Gazette mounted a strong plea for mitigation for them. Of the eleven that were found guilty, nine were given five-week terms, and two only were transported for life. With the captain remaining to give evidence, the Spartan left Singapore on 6 February 1853 under Chief Mate Allen now promoted to captain, and arrived at Melbourne on 7 April with 180 Chinese on board.
The Spartan was the last ship to carry Chinese emigrants to Australia under an Agreement of Indenture. Henceforth emigration to Australia was conducted, mainly from Hong Kong, under what was to become known as the credit-ticket system" of voluntary emigration.
Peruvian interest
The first Peruvian ship to visit Canton was the Lambayeque under the command of Captain William Manoel Robinet in April 1847. He and his family stayed on to become the Consul for Peru. In 1852 there were at least two Peruvian-
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
47
flagged vessels trading in China. One was the 350-ton Carmen under the Italian patriot Guiseppe Garibaldi. He held a Master's Certificate and while spending a period of exile in Peru was asked to undertake a voyage to China. There was much speculation that he participated in the coolie trade but there was no evidence of any Chinese on board when he returned to Callao.
The 290-ton Peruvian barque Miceno, under Captain B. Gonzales, was also in China in 1852. The Peruvian Consul listed her as having taken coolies on at Cumsingmoon, but as only five Chinese men were involved, it is debatable whether they had actually signed indentures or are more likely to have boarded at Whampoa.
Domingo Elias (1805-1867) was a slave owner. He bought and sold slaves to work on his Peruvian plantations as required. Peru did not abolish slavery until 1854 but by 1847 slaves were already becoming difficult to come by, and Elias began looking for other sources of labour. On hearing of surplus labourers in China, Elias sought to recruit some of them.
Elias approached Robinet for assistance. Wary of British superintendence in Amoy, Robinet looked to prominent Macao shipowner and agent Jos� Vicente Jorge (1803-1857) to assist in recruiting the men. Jorge recommended a sheltered anchorage just 20 miles north of Macao. Cumsingmoon came into favour when Whampoa, the port for Canton, became too dangerous for ships coming from India laden with the controversial opium. Situated in a wide bay, it was sheltered from the strong easterly winds by Kee-ow Island, yet still allowed passage from both the north and the south.
Cumsingmoon was nothing more than a collection of makeshift buildings and a population of 3,000 to 4,000 petty traders who had established themselves there by 1846. Europeans spent the day ashore, but with few facilities apart from a billiard room, returned to their ships to pass the night. Opium was cheap and available in plentiful quantities. It became a pool of addicts and destitute men seeking solace with the drug.
48
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
The first trial shipment of Chinese was made when Elias chartered Captain N. Paulsen's 430-ton Danish barque Frederick Wilhelm for one voyage to Callao. She sailed from Cumsingmoon on 7 June 1849 with 75 Chinese and arrived at Callao on 24 October without incident and without any fatalities.
Even as his speculative shipment was arriving, Domingo Elias, together with a fellow planter, Juan Rodriguez, succeeded in having a law passed to promote immigration into Peru. When the legislation was passed on 17 November 1849, it decreed a payment of 30 pesos for each person between the ages of one and forty brought to Peru. This law was intended for European immigrants, but as it did not specifically exclude Asians, Elias was able to claim the payment for his coolies. With this concession, it soon became known as the "Chinese Law".2
That same year Elias and Rodriguez were given the exclusive right to import labour for four years into the Departments of Lima and La Libertad. Elias immediately returned to China for his labour.
Among the many British ships roaming the world. seeking cargoes in the late 1840s was the 763-ton Lady Montague. On 22 April 1848, she left Southampton bound for Aden with coals for the P&O Steam Packet Co. While the ship was off Trinidad, Captain Wells took sick and died. The chief mate, James Robinson Smith, then took charge of the vessel. After discharging her cargo at Aden, the ship went to Bombay where she loaded cotton for Whampoa, the port for Canton. She then traded on the China coast for the next 18 months, a period very much longer than planned.
On announcing that the ship had just been chartered to take Chinese emigrants to Callao, her owner, John Vaux, declared that Captain Smith was keeping the ship in China without his permission. But he didn't complain too loudly. Captain Smith had negotiated a lucrative charter, said to be worth $60 or �12 a day, from the day the emigrants came on board until the vessel returned to Hong Kong.
The Lady Montague was to carry the first full shipment of Chinese. She left Cumsingmoon on 17 February 1850 with
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 49
a crew of about 44, including Lascars and three of their wives. Amongst the crew were five apprentices. The 440 emigrant Chinese had signed indentures for four years, at four dollars a month, with three months' pay in advance. They believed they were going to the gold diggings in California, but it was with horror and fright when they learned it was for Callao that they were destined.
Three days after they left Cumsingmoon, dysentery set in, and deaths occurred daily. Some of the sickness amongst the Chinese was caused from withdrawal of their opium supply. The Chinese supercargo refused to provide the coolies with the drug, as he expected to receive a higher price for it on the Chinchas. The vessel touched at Sumatra in the beginning of March, where she took on water, but a few days after her departure the water proved sour and bad, and the fish became putrid. The death of the doctor did not help. It was reported that the coolies tried to revolt but this was stopped by the interference of the Chinese interpreter.
One day, one of the Chinese, in despair, slid into the water. When nearly drowned he was secured, and recovered after some difficulty. Another jumped overboard a few days later, and a boat was sent after him, but he kept diving, to prevent being saved, and at last re-appeared no more. Four others, in fits of madness and despair, successfully jumped overboard. The last they saw of another was as he was swimming away from the ship, making for land, which loomed a long way in the distance.
Before the Lady Montague reached Hobart on 13 April, 142 Chinese and two Lascar seamen had died. The second mate and steward had also succumbed to the fever just as the ship arrived. She was immediately placed in quarantine where a further five Chinese and two Lascars died.
It was alleged that this cruel, unfeeling Captain was drunk every morning and could be seen walking about the deck with a drawn sword. One day he flogged two of the wives of the Lascar seamen for some trifling offence. An apprentice had been made to hold a torch to enable the captain to see what he was doing.
In all, the voyage took four months, with the Lady Montague finally arriving at Callao on 26 June 1850. She was immediately placed in quarantine off the island of San Lorenzo directly opposite Callao until 9 July. There the Governor of Lima boarded the vessel when the number of deaths was stated as 245, with 201 remaining. The exact number of deaths is indeterminate as the ship's log was said to record that 171 Chinese, 17 Lascars, and seven of the crew had died on the voyage. The British Consul in Lima reported that the Lady Montague left with 440 men and landed 241, having lost 199 on the voyage from Cumsingmoon.
John Vaux, received a letter from Captain Smith, dated 13 July 1850, advising of the most awful passage-with dysentery and fever taking 274 souls, including 26 of his crew. He went on to say, "for weeks and weeks I had no more than four to six men to assist in navigating the ship in the cold stormy weather of the far South Pacific". The captain claimed he was also struck down, but recovered.
When the Lady Montague returned to Hong Kong on 15 February 1851, twelve months after she left Cumsingmoon, James Robinson Smith was replaced by Captain Le Shaw. When Smith attempted to take ashore a large box of money, he was prevented from doing so by the new captain, who proved to be just as cruel as Captain Smith.
The 446-ton Peruvian barque Empresa arrived at Hong Kong from San Francisco on 20 April 1850. Jesus Elias was a passenger, and on landing was accredited as the Vice Consul for Peru in Hong Kong. But his real purpose was to supervise the recruiting of coolies for the Empresa. Under the command of British Captain Thomas Blenkinsop White, she embarked 300 coolies at Cumsingmoon on 13 June 1850, but lost 48 on the voyage to Chincha. She arrived with 252 coolies to be placed in the service of his father Dom Elias. Empresa made a subsequent voyage from Amoy on 12 July 1852 with a loss of 27 lives, mainly from dysentery, and on a further voyage from Cumsingmoon the next year, the ship was wracked with fever, killing 96 men as well as Captain White.
50
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
51
T
Horror ships
The fourth vessel to load at Cumsingmoon, Albert, a 292-ton French barque, registered in Dieppe, under Captain Jean Paine, took on 180 coolies and departed on 24 September 1850. None of them reached Peru. These coolies had been shipped for Dom Elias through the firm of A.A. Ritchie & Co. They had each received a sum of $8, repayable out of a salary of $4 per month, commencing from their arrival at Lima. The contract was for general services as servants for a period of five years.
Whereas Captain Smith of the Lady Montague was castigated as being cruel to his crew, this French captain was said to have exercised his cruelty on the Chinese. He demanded that the Chinese keep themselves clean, but had difficulty in enforcing that requirement. It was claimed that he had cut off the pigtails of some of the men for insubordination. At around 6.30am on 7 September in position 32N 139E, Captain Pain was in the lower deck using his cane when he was set upon by the coolies. He managed to escape back up to the round-house on deck, but was then caught and had his throat cut, before being thrown overboard. The cook and third mate suffered the same fate, while the chief mate was chased up into the rigging. Seeing no escape, the chief mate descended and managed to kill one and seriously wound another before he too was killed and thrown overboard.
The second mate and the boatswain, Luis Argentine, were ordered down from the rigging where they were hiding, and directed to steer back to Canton. He accordingly altered course from NNE to S by W. Five days later, in position 28N 133.37E, a severe gale brought down the top-gallant masts. Approaching Canton, the Chinese hailed fishing boats and some 130 of them disembarked, but not before stealing the captain's barometer, chronometer, and compass. The coolies ransacked the cargo, scattering packages of silk shawls, tea, lacquered ware, medicines, etc., and sharing them among themselves. Forty more left the day before the ship arrived at Hong Kong on 28 September 1850.
The remainder decamped before news of her distress was known, but four of them were captured by the police as they were boarding a Macao-bound ferry. Amongst their baggage were items from the Albert as well as the agreements they had signed.
The Albert also had two cabin passengers-brothers- sailing as supercargoes. John Elias was killed at the same time as the cook, but Jesus Elias hid in his cabin. When he was discovered, he was severely beaten up, but his life was spared. They were the sons of Dom Elias, and revenge for this atrocity only added to the cruelty inflicted on any Chinese who landed on his little fiefdom. The Chinese were regarded as no better than slaves.
The 376-ton French barque Chili first sailed from Cumsingmoon on 12 September 1850, ostensibly bound for California. Within days, she had to put back to Hong Kong, having sprung leaks in her hull. Captain J. Vermial subsequently returned to Cumsingmoon, then sailed on 7 October 1850 with 300 coolies now bound for Callao, but was caught in a typhoon and lost her masts. She had to put back again, this time to Macao, arriving on 22 November. She was condemned and discharged her passengers, before being auctioned off on 10 February 1851.
A week later, on 14 October 1850, yet another French barque, the 150-ton Manuelita, left Cumsingmoon with another 180 Chinese for Callao. She too was severely damaged when she encountered the same typhoon soon after her departure. Captain Las Casas just managed to get to Manila, where the ship was condemned and the coolies had to be transhipped to the Orixa, another French vessel.
These five ships in 1850 were all for the account of Dom Elias. His expectations of cheap labour would not have materialised. Of the 1,400 Chinese he recruited, only 669 actually landed in Peru. The mortality rate on the Lady Montague amounted to 45.23%-on the Empresa it was 16.00%. However,
However, 176 of the Manuelita's original complement of 180 were landed from the Orixa a mortality rate of 2.22%.
52
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
53
3333
The tragedies continued in 1851. The 579-ton British barque Victory, under Captain William Lennox Mullens, left Cumsingmoon on 5 December 1851, bound for Callao with 350 coolies. Captain Mullens was born in 1804 and held a Masters Class 2 Certificate issued in 1848.-Each coolie had been given a quilt, some clothes, and a dollar. There was no report of cruelty to the passengers, so it was with surprise that on the afternoon of 10 December, the coolies rushed the cabin and seized the ship's arms. The captain was on the poop at that time and another group tried to seize him. One of the crew went to his assistance, but he was cut down and his mutilated body thrown overboard. Captain Mullens then climbed up into the mizzen rigging, closely followed by a Chinese armed with a cutlass. The captain then slid down one of the topmost backstays. On reaching the deck, he was attacked with knives, cutlasses and iron bolts and then thrown overboard. The second mate, James Arauso, and the cook, Edward Bailey, were also killed.
When the Chinese spotted Chief Mate Vagg, who had been aloft on the foretopsail yard looking for land, they beckoned him down. When he did, he was led to the wheel, and directed to steer for land on pain of death. He shaped a course for Point Kamboja. On reaching the coast, some of the Chinese went ashore but returned when they discovered the area was uninhabited. They then endeavoured to beat up the coast to Cochin China.
The mutineers continually fought among themselves over their gambling debts. The ringleader, named Ah Meng, even had his hands and feet cut off before being thrown overboard. The crew lived in fear of their lives. One day they saw a large junk and the Chinese sent the Europeans, in two boats, to capture her, but they were too slow to catch up. The Europeans then attempted to land at several places, but each time they were repulsed by natives. Exhausted and without provisions, they returned to the vessel. Although the Chinese must have been aware of the crew's attempt to escape, they received them back on board without comment.
They then directed the chief mate to steer for Pulo Ubi on the coast of Cambodia. During this time, the Chinese
54
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
destroyed the ship's papers and logbook. On finding a convenient place to anchor, they took ten days to unload the ship's cargo of tea, silver-plate, silk and jewellery. They continued to fight among themselves, but being unable to handle the ship, they allowed the crew to steer the Victory for Singapore, dropping most of the men along the Cambodian coast. She arrived on 26 January 1852.
Ho-aming and his brother had signed on to emigrate on the Victory after "being in distress" in Canton. The 17-year- old Ho and his brother had been promised $4 a month for work "in a foreign country" with the prospect of $30 a month after five years. The two brothers were left at Pulo Ubi with others to guard the treasure, but over the next two months some of the others were forcibly returned by the local authorities. On 21 February, several of them secured passage on a passing junk taking all the plunder with them, leaving only Ho-aming, his by-now dying brother, and three others to remain at Pulo Obi."
21
Later that same day, HMS Salamander arrived at Pulo Ubi from Singapore with members of the Victory's crew. Ho was identified by the crew as having taken part in the revolt. When his brother died, Ho became the sole coolie to stand trial in Hong Kong for revolt, assault, and piracy. He proclaimed his innocence, pointing out his willing assistance in searching for the escaped men. "If I had been one of the head men, I would not have been left destitute on the island, but would have escaped like them with money. I had my pigtail cut off by the Europeans; they might as well have cut off my head, for now I will be taken for a thief. Had I killed one person I deserve the same fate, but I am no thief, and had no hand in the matter." Against the sworn statements of two Englishmen, Ho didn't stand a chance, and was convicted and sentenced to 15 years transportation, and taken to Singapore.
Hawaiian servants
The first sugar plantation was established in Hawaii in 1835. It was only a small operation, but the owners had great difficulty in encouraging native labour to work the land. The
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 55
islanders preferred to be self-sufficient with their own plots of land.
The Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society was founded in August 1850. Among its list of correspondents was one John Bowring, the then British Consul in Canton. He undoubtedly advised the Society of the abundance of labour in China. With a dire need for labour, the Society looked to China.
Within a month of being formed, the Hawaiian Royal Agricultural Society entered into a contract with George F. Hubertson in September 1850, for the importation of two hundred Chinese coolies." Captain Hubertson first arrived at Honolulu in 1849 in command of the British ship Amazon, but was then in command of the British brig Corsair, which had arrived in Honolulu from Shanghai on 22 August 1850. He had brought along his family to establish himself as a merchant in Hawaii. With his recent residence in China, Hubertson was considered the best person with whom to make the contract for Chinese servants.
The Society had understood Hubertson to be the owner of the Amazon. He did not seem to have told the Society he was not the owner, but would enter into a Charter Party to secure the vessel. The charge for the passage was fifty dollars per coolie, which together with two months' advances to the coolies and the purchase of rice supplies for a year, brought the sum to $71 for each coolie. To facilitate the voyage, between nine and ten thousand dollars nearly two thirds of the total cost of the voyage-was advanced to Hubertson.
The 370-ton British ship Amazon was first reported by the British Consul in Shanghai as having left Shanghai on 22 July 1849 with 200 Chinese bound for San Francisco via Honolulu. The Weekly Alta reported the Amazon under Captain Hubertson as having arrived at San Francisco on 15 October 1849 with 101 passengers from China. It did not mention the possibility of this being the first large group of Chinese to arrive from China.
The Amazon then left San Francisco on 5 November for Singapore via Honolulu and Hong Kong. She was returning to San Francisco, now under Captain Vincent, in June 1850,
56
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
when she had to call into Hong Kong in a leaky condition, before arriving in Honolulu on 14 August 1850.
The Amazon remained in Honolulu until November 1850 before returning to Amoy on 23 December 1850. She had begun loading her consignment of coolies but then they had to be taken off when the charter party terms could not be agreed with Captain Vincent.
Captain Vincent was still in command of the Amazon when she eventually sailed for Sydney on 12 December 1851 with 303 men. Three men were reported to have jumped overboard, in addition to the ten that died on that voyage. The Amazon continued to be involved in the coolie trades and was the first ship to sail for Callao from Swatow in February 1854. William Robinet, in the capacity of recruiting agent, had guaranteed that the 250 men he embarked would not go to the Chinchas. There were two deaths only on that 91-day voyage, still under Captain Vincent.
After waiting more than nine months without any sign of the Amazon, the Society turned to Captain John Cass of the Thetis. It is unclear whether Hubertson refunded any of the money advanced by the Society.
Like the Amazon, the 460-ton barque Thetis first called at Honolulu, on 27 April 1851, carrying Chinese passengers for San Francisco. On her way back to Hong Kong, members of the Royal Agricultural Society were successful in negotiating an agreement with Captain Cass to bring 200 Chinese to Hawaii. He was to receive $50 for each man landed.
The shrewd thirty-nine-year-old captain made a handsome profit when he landed 175 labourers and 23 houseboys in Honolulu on 3 January 1852. It was understood that he had paid $3 for each coolie. However, it had taken him a long time to collect his men; he had arrived in Amoy on 22 September and did not sail until 13 November 1851.
Even though Cass had initially intended sailing for Hong Kong, he headed instead for Amoy, knowing that that was where labour was readily obtainable. The only disappointment to the Hawaiians was that the men were from Amoy, and not Hong Kong as expected. But that did not
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 57
prevent them from seeking a second shipment. This time Cass did head for Hong Kong, probably to take on additional provisions, then on to Amoy, arriving on 9 May 1852. Having established his credentials, the stay this time was much shorter, departing Amoy on 5 June 1852 with 101 men. Cass landed 99 men in Honolulu on 31 July. Two men had died on the first voyage, and two on the second.
2
Peruvian Migration The First Phase
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Labourer's contract in Chinese.23
T
The first phase of the Peruvian recruitment of Chinese labour was disastrous. Of the 47 shipments undertaken, eight were marred by mutinies, three vessels were dismasted and two were shipwrecked. High mortality was a worrying factor, twelve shipments suffering casualties in excess of 20%.
Jos� Sevilla
Dom Elias had a high profile as the instigator of Chinese
labour. However, the main shipper to Peru in this period was Jos� Sevilla. Starting life as a seaman, he quickly became a shipowner and entrepreneur. Even before he gained the right to import labour into other Departments (administrative regions) in February 1851, he had arranged with two Frenchmen, Messrs Guillon and Durand, to ship Chinese from Macao.
Situated at the mouth of the Pearl River about 40 miles west of Hong Kong, Macao was ideally located, close to the over-populated districts along the West Coast of Kwangtung. However, although Macao may have been a safe haven for ships when it was first occupied by the Portuguese, but by the 1850s alluvial silt had caused the inner harbour to become inaccessible to ships of any significance. Ships were therefore obliged to anchor at least three miles from shore, and most times even further. As they were not there sheltered from the prevailing easterlies, captains had to be continuously alert to any changes in the weather. When there was little prospect of an immediate cargo, most ships bided their time in the safer waters of Hong Kong, where they could dispense with most of their crews until sailing time.
3
ERRARIANSEZONETER�CESSANAKIR
SEKRE
58
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
59
Sevilla spoke English and utilised British ships whenever Peruvian ships were not available. On 31 January 1851, Captain Harland of the 685-ton British ship Mariner took 121 days to reach Callao, where he landed 400 of his 409 passengers, while Captain T. Brown left three weeks later, on 21 February 1851, on the 663-ton British barque Coromandel. Brown required 127 days to land 400 of the 404 he had embarked. In sharp contrast to the disastrous Elias shipments from Cumsingmoon, both ships arrived without incident. Sevilla subsequently employed the 797-ton Eliza Morrison and the 1,006-ton Nepaul in 1853, without any problems.
The Peruvian ships that Sevilla used all had British captains. Thomas White was still in command when he took the Empresa for two further voyages in 1852 and 1853. When Captain Thomas Beazley was transferred to the newly bought 866-ton Catalina, he took 500 Chinese from Swatow on 6 April 1855 and successfully disembarked 492 of them in Callao 110 days later. Catalina made a second voyage the following year with Captain C.J.H. Wilson in command. There were 13 deaths only among the 500 taken onboard.
The 514-ton British vessel Susannah attracted the attention of the Lords of the Privy Council after she arrived at Arica, on the border with Chile, on 27 May 1852. The Charg� d'Affaires in Bolivia claimed that the Susannah cleared from Hong Kong in ballast and sailed, not for South America, but for Cumsingmoon, where she took on board 325 coolies. On her arrival at Arica, her passengers had been openly offered for sale, and Captain Lukey and his agent had sold some of them for $112 each, with a promise to pay the men $4 monthly. The Susannah sailed on to Callao where the Peruvian Foreign Ministry recorded her arrival on 15 June with 319 Chinese still on board. They were bought by Dom Elias for use on his mainland estates as well as on the Chinchas.
It would appear that after obtaining his Port Clearance from Hong Kong Captain Lukey set sail for Cumsingmoon where he took on board Chinese coolies for Peru. Robinet, the then Consul for Peru, stated that she sailed on 2 February
60
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
1852 with 325 coolies contracted for five or eight years. Contract No. 286 between a 15-year-old boy named Cow-hoy and J. Sevilla, as agent for Don Domingo Elias, was witnessed by Richard Pollard.
Mutinies
The Susannah was then bought by Jos� Sevilla and renamed Isabel Quintana. (Dom Elias's wife was Isabel de Quintana y Pedemonte.) She
She undertook her
her first
voyage from Cumsingmoon under this name on 26 January 1853, losing nine of her complement out of the 325 who had embarked. British Captain Thomas Beazley was in command.24 Beazley undertook a second voyage on 20 February 1854 with another 325 men, landing 278 of them after a 190-day voyage. She was the last ship to load at Cumsingmoon.
E. Gurney Wooldridge was in Hong Kong in 1853 looking for a berth as chief mate after working in the opium trade for three years.25 He was accosted by an elderly man crippled by paralytic stroke, who asked if he would undertake the duties of sailing master on a 500-ton ship, then lying in the Boca Tigris in the Pearl River Delta bound for Callao. He was met by a sentry with a drawn sword, and noticed that the ship did not seem very loaded and that the hatches were off but with closely crossed iron bars secured to the coamings. The next morning 20 Chinese were embarked and he was asked to question each man as to their willingness to go to South America. They all eagerly answered that they did, but he found out later that the Chinese interpreter did not ask that question, but rather one that elicited the positive responses.
When some 500 miles down the China Sea, they rose against the crew, intending to kill them all except him. He was to be spared and forced to return before being killed too. There were six Englishmen on board and 25 Lascars. Many lives were lost with the Chinese jumping overboard on being overpowered. The Isabel Quintana put into Anjer, but the Dutch Governor refused to take the ringleaders, fearing the presence of so many Chinese in the settlement.
They then sailed on with the intention of leaving them on Christmas Island, but the captain realised that he was to
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
61
1
1
receive $500 for each Chinaman landed and the owner would
be at a great loss on the voyage. The ringleaders were then put in irons while the rest had free range of the 'tween decks, but under barred hatches. When off Swan River in Western Australia, the Chinese began to die off, the captain treating them for yellow jaundice, but later it was confirmed that the ship had had yellow fever. The Isabel Quintana made calls at various Chilian and Peruvian ports to try to sell the men.
Wooldridge left the ship at Coquimbo, Chile, and took command of an English vessel going to the Chinchas for a cargo of guano. There he saw about 70 of the poor wretches who had been on the Isabel Quintana.
He said that the captain was given a larger ship and the second mate was made Master. He did not identify the captain, who would have been Captain Beazley, who indeed was given the 866-ton Peruvian ship Catalina for his next voyage. The second mate (who was possibly named Smith) was made Master and was in command when the Isabel Quintana called at Honolulu on 23 September 1854 on her way back to China. However, she did not undertake another voyage and was offered for sale in January 1855.
In John Bowring's 1851 Annual Report on Trade, the Canton British Consul reported that some men were so desperate to leave China, that, "the letter C painted on his breast, designating him for California, P for Peru, or S for the Sandwich Islands, is really a matter of indifference to him". Bowring did not say if he personally saw those men, or where.
The Chili had initially sailed from Cumsingmoon supposedly for California, but after putting back, set sail again, this time openly for Callao. There was no report on whether the Chinese knew their true destination. However, the Robert Bowne mutiny did not appear to substantiate Bowring's assertion that the men would have been indifferent as to where they were going.
The 504-ton Robert Bowne, an American ship of New York, under Captain Leslie Bryson, left Amoy on 21 March 1852, with a crew of 14 and 410 coolies ostensibly for San Francisco but strongly believed to be for Callao and the
62 Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Chincha Islands. The vessel was wholly owned by the captain. She was fitted up in the most compact manner for an emigrant ship, but the sanitary conditions were grossly inadequate. Coolies began to die almost immediately after leaving port, from opium withdrawal and cholera.
26
Some of the crew gave an account of this gruesome incident.20 Approaching the Loochoos, when only the captain, the man at the wheel, and a lad were on deck, about thirty of the coolies rushed on the captain, stabbing him with a bayonet. He was cut to pieces and thrown overboard. A guard was placed over the helmsman, while others went to the Mate's cabin and literally beat him to pieces. The thirty ringleaders, joined by many others, then marched forward driving and murdering the watch on deck.
When the second mate, who had been out on the jib boom, found the captain murdered along with some of the crew, he rushed down the forecastle to warn the watch below. With three muskets, they went back on deck, shooting one coolie in the leg. The second mate fought desperately, killing five coolies with an axe, but was eventually overpowered, and thrown overboard. The remaining men then took refuge in the forepeak.
The ringleader was an Amoy man, who had recently left the Flying Cloud and acted as the interpreter. He stood on one of the deckhouses, with a six-barrel revolver in one hand and a flag in the other, giving orders. He had lieutenants and quartermasters; one standing over the American at the wheel with a long knife in his hand. It was later found that the thirty who rose first all belonged to one society or one village, seventy to another, and so on.
After anchoring the ship at Ishigaki to the north of Formosa (Taiwan), 380 of the mutineers went on shore making the remainder of the crew take them in the ship's boats. Just as the sailors rowed back to the ship, a breeze sprang up, and the crew shipped the anchor, and stood out to sea. The Robert Bowne struck on a coral reef, but the sailors managed to jump the ship over it. With patient negotiation, the crew succeeded in winning over the 21 Chinese guards still on board. The remaining crew, consisting only of six
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 63
Americans and three Kanakas (Pacific islanders), then brought the ship back to Amoy.
The China Mail went on to comment that they were not satisfied that there was no more to be told, or that it was altogether without provocation that the captain and his officers were murdered. If it be true that they wantonly cut off the men's pigtails, the provocation was equivalent to cropping the ears or slitting the noses of so many Europeans; and were the experiment tried upon a shipload of Irish emigrants, for example, who would be surprised at the outrage being similarly avenged?"
The China Mail was yet to be convinced that, in the frightful tragedies on the Albert, the Victory, and now the Robert Bowne, the outrages had been unprovoked; or that they would have occurred, even had the treatment been different. It was necessary to show a probability that under different management they would have made the voyage without a murmur and without crimes, "at which civilized humanity shudders".
Jos� Sevilla continued his relationship with Elias when he bought another British ship, the 233-ton Sarah, and named her Rosa Elias after the daughter of Dom Elias. She left Cumsingmoon on 8 March 1853, bound for Callao. The Rosa Elias had 200 coolies on board, including 45 boys under the age of 12, and a Chinese doctor. Most of them had been kidnapped and then forcibly carried on board, or were enticed by Chinese coolie brokers on various pretexts to see the vessel, from which they were then not allowed to leave.
At first all was well, but within a month of departure, the water ration was cut by nearly half, with the resultant dissatisfaction starting a riot. This was suppressed by the crew, but the strong antagonistic feeling that was displayed meant that firearms were kept in constant readiness. On 6 April, the vessel passed Anjer, where supplies of water and supplies could have been obtained, but no water was procured.
Santos Roymundi, a servant on the Rosa Elias, was quoted as saying, "all had gone well until the vessel was abreast of Anjer when the coolies made a rush for the round
64
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
27
house while the Captain and crew were at dinner". On the alarm being given, the captain and the chief mate fired pistols, shooting two of the assailants. They then retreated to their cabins, but when the coolies began pouring boiling water into the cabins, they escaped through the ports into the sea. Several of the Chinese, having armed themselves with cutlasses, lowered a boat, pursued the Master and Mate, and butchered them in the water. Some of the crew, most of whom were Manilamen, jumped over the side and held on by ropes, while others mounted the rigging. The carpenter succeeded in swimming to shore, a distance of between three and five miles, and reached Batavia.
The coolies, now in control of the ship, then compelled one of the crew to navigate to China. He steered in the direction of Singapore instead, and this was discovered by the Chinese only when about 40 miles from port. During the night, most of the crew escaped and reached Singapore. On hearing of the mutiny, the brig, Rival, under Captain Franklyn, sailed with a large party of Europeans, quickly falling in with the Rosa Elias, and succeeded in bringing her in. Ten of the ringleaders were taken into custody to await instructions from the Peruvian Consul at Canton.
In September 1855, James Tait & Co. of Amoy chartered the 749-ton American ship Waverly from her owner, Thomas Curtis of Boston, for worldwide trading for a period not exceeding 30 months. In turn, Tait chartered her to Robinet & Co. of Canton for a voyage from Amoy and Swatow to Callao. Extracts from the log kept by Chief Mate French show she took on board 353 coolies in the outer roadstead of Amoy on 27 September 1855 and sailed for Swatow on 2 October, arriving on the 4th. On 8 October, the Waverly took on another 97 coolies but one immediately escaped by swimming ashore during the night. Even before the ship sailed on 12 October, two more had jumped overboard and drowned."
28
Within a day of departure, a fight lasting half an hour had broken out between the Amoy and the Swatow coolies. Then two coolies jumped overboard and drowned before a boat could be lowered. On 15 October, Captain Wellman took
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 65
sick and died two days later. In the ship's log, Chief Mate French recorded that many of the coolies were sick and the "remainder nothing else than a set of pirates and thieves".29
Chief Mate French decided to head for Manila. As they passed Corregidor on 24 October and as provisions were being served, a great number of the coolies made a rush towards the barricade, demanding opium. Not able to control the coolies, French conceded. That evening they again rushed the barricade. On 25 October, the cooks refused to cook, demanding wages to be paid every month. The others continued fighting among themselves, almost killing one of the Swatow cooks. They also demanded to be fed three times a day and paid a dollar before they went back to sea.
On arrival at Manila, the Mate alerted the health authorities about the sanitary condition of the ship, which he considered caused the death of the captain, and one of the coolies. The next morning the coolies again demanded more opium and French once again obliged and also provided bread as requested.
When ordered to proceed down the bay to Cavite the crew refused, claiming they were not safe. The Waverly eventually proceeded to Cavite on 27 October, but on arrival, the coolies once again rushed the barricade. This time the crew resisted and shot four of the men before driving them below. Venturing below for water at 3pm, the crew found that the lock to the provisions area had been broken. Before returning on deck, Chief Mate French shot one of them for being impudent. Several of them tried breaking off the hatch but were repulsed.
After attending the captain's funeral, French then spent the rest of the day ashore. After midnight of the 28th, the hatches were removed only to discover that the coolies had murdered one another. They had broken the bar off the hatches, and broken up two or three of the bunks to use as weapons. "Some were hanging by the neck, some had been shoved down into the tanks; some had their throats cut, many were strangled to death." Of the 150 survivors, 16 were classed as sick.
66
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
:
The mate and crew were imprisoned on board by the Spanish authorities. On 17 December, at Manila, lighters were brought alongside and the captain of the Port offered to take the Chinese ashore, but they refused, indicating they would die first. They had armed themselves with capstan bars and knives, refused food, and took only water.
By 20 December, the Spanish Government still had done nothing further, so the crew of the Waverly took it upon themselves to remove the 138 remaining Chinese. The coolies had bars, knives etc. for their defence, but the crew acted so fast that they were useless. By noon all were delivered to the barque Louise. This 284-ton German barque, identified by Mario Castro de Mendoza as the 216-ton Lamsa, arrived in Callao in April 1856 from Manila with 110 Chinese, 34 of the original 144 having died on the voyage. The mortality rate was 75.56%, the highest rate of this Chinese diaspora.
30
Robinet sued Tait for the loss of the voyage, provisions and advances to the coolies, alleging that it was the fault of the ship and officers. Tait paid $17,000 in damages, and the ship was released and sent on another voyage. When Curtis pursued Tait for the charter money, Tait counter-claimed alleging that the loss of the voyage was due to the incapacity and misconduct of Acting Master French, and to there being no second navigator on board. The owners were thus to be held responsible for those breaches.
Another mutiny involving an American vessel at Namoa occurred on the clipper Winged Racer which left on 24 December 1855 with 900 men. After a speedy voyage of 68 days, 730 were able to land, a loss of 170. The coolies mutinied even before the ship had left, but Captain Gorman simply flogged sixty of them, putting down the insurrection, and the ship sailed on without further mishap. Among the 450 Chinese on board were seven girls.
The 414-ton Peruvian barque Carmen left Swatow on 1 March 1857 with seven cabin passengers and 260 men. On 5 March, when off the Great Natamas, the interpreter warned the captain that the coolies were intending to take the ship. He immediately confined the coolies below, and all was quiet until the next morning, when the coolies were permitted to
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 67
come on deck. Whilst the crew were at breakfast the Chinese went forward and set fire to some straw, upon which the officers and crew armed themselves, and forcibly drove the coolies below again, and fastened down the hatches. The explosives were thrown overboard as the crew fought the flames, but in vain, as they spread over the whole ship in a few minutes, so quickly that they hardly had time to lower the boats. Without water or provisions, and without a chart or compass, the captain returned to the Carmen to retrieve these and a sail which could not be found in the boat. He was not seen again. The Chinese had forced open the hatches, and climbed the rigging, but not for long, as the masts soon fell over. It is supposed that the captain's boat went down with the ship, which soon sank. Most of the Chinese were suffocated by the smoke. All of them perished except the interpreter, from whom it was ascertained that it was the intention of the Chinese to murder the officers and crew, and to beach and plunder the vessel.
In addition to the six mutinies there were three others which did not reach their destination.
William Robinet continued using Cumsingmoon for Sevilla when Elias lost his Chincha concession. But his first venture on his own account was not a success. The Peruvian ship Beatrice, of 376 tons, sailed from Cumsingmoon on 2 February 1852 bound for Callao. The ship became leaky, and the captain bore up for Singapore. While at anchor in the roads, riots broke out with affrays marked by instances of stabbing, and even an attempt to wound the captain. Small parties escaped from the vessel almost nightly, and two days before the Chinese New Year, the coolies seized the life- boats and went ashore. With no coolies left, the voyage was aborted.
The 650-ton Grimaneza was a Peruvian-flagged ship under the command of British Captain M.H. Penny. She left Namoa on 25 April 1854 with 648 coolies consigned to Sevilla & Co. in Callao. Following one of the several routes used by ships destined for South America, the Grimaneza headed to the north of the Philippines then south towards New Guinea. She went aground on Brampton shoal in the
68
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
I
Coral Sea on 4 July. The loss of the Grimaneza provided an insight into the indifference and callousness of ship captains to the lives of their charges, and their sometimes contempt for fellow seafarers.
The second mate and carpenter deposed that when the ship struck, the captain, doctor, and four of the crew put a case of wine and other things into the gig and left the ship. They believed that they ultimately took the chief mate with them. But before this, they secured all the Chinese men under hatches and left them so. There were some 648 Chinese, and 50 crew on board at the time.
The Chinese had been left battened down to perish, but they managed to burst open the hatch. About an hour after they got on deck, the ship floated off the reef. The ship made water very fast, but they baled and pumped. After scudding to the west for three days, the ship foundered when some of the Chinese would not continue to bale the ship. Before she went down, many made small rafts, and some embarked on single planks, clinging to them till exhaustion and the sharks put an end to their frightful existence.
Twenty-three of the crew and coolies escaped from the wreck. Some of the crew took to the long boat, and the second mate, along with 11 others, then took to a small boat, the only one left, after trying to back the ship off the weather shore. They sailed with their blankets before the wind to the eastward before being picked up by the Scotia. That day they had agreed to kill a little Calcutta boy, who was about twelve years old, for food. That was fortunately prevented. The Eliza Warrick of Boston had also picked up 17 men, six of whom Captain Thomas Strickland subsequently took on board the Scotia, as the Eliza Warrick was short of water and provisions.
After Captain Penny abandoned the Grimaneza in one of the quarter-boats, he landed on New Ireland after 25 days, and met up with a friendly tribe who took them to the whaler Australia. Captain Wiles was totally unsympathetic and uncouth, swearing that he was not bound to take them on, and wondered how he was to feed them. After three hours in his soaking clothes, Penny asked for a change of clothing, which
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 69
��
I
was grudgingly thrown at him. He went on to say he was refused a glass of wine on the excuse there was none. In refuting the subsequent allegations, Captain Wiles said he took them onboard, clothed and fed them, as well as he could.
31
Captain Lewin Wiles returned to Sydney on 7 March and gave an account of the wreck of the Grimanesa to the Sydney Morning Herald the next day. Captain Strickland, who had returned to Sydney earlier, followed with his account on 10 March 1855. At the same time Captain Penny wrote to the Melbourne newspaper, Argus, accusing Captain Wiles of being a heartless man. Captain Wiles's immediate rebuttal, countersigned by some former members of his crew, then appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald. This in turn provoked a letter to the Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald from someone using the penname of "Neptune , very critical of Captain Penney whom he declared had abandoned his charges. He called on Wiles to defend himself, and praised Captain Strickland for his humanitarian actions.
32
On 1 June 1854 the 482-ton British ship Topaz under Captain Sevinton left on a voyage from Hong Kong to Callao with 408 Chinese bound for Callao. When news reached Hong Kong that she had been wrecked on the Pratas reef, a small schooner, the Victoria, set off on 13 June 1854 to look for survivors. On arriving at the reef, the Victoria was able to take on board only 147 men, leaving some 300 others to lie in the burning sun with no food or water. On returning to Hong Kong, the authorities tried to get a steamer to pick up the remaining survivors, but no offers were forthcoming unless an amount of �1000 was paid. However, Captain Lukey of the British barque Cassiterides did eventually bring 261 of those stranded on the Pratas reef to Hong Kong.
High mortality
In the testing years between 1852 and 1857 there were eleven sailings for Peru which resulted in mortality rates above 20%.
There was only one sailing from Amoy for Callao in this period. The 560-ton American ship Dalmatia suffered a loss of 24.77% after taking on 331 Chinese on 31 August 1855. Captain Hunter was able to produce only 249 of them 154
70
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
days later. Of the two sailings from Cumsingmoon, the Empresa on her third voyage suffered a mortality loss of 22.59%. There were 425 coolies placed on board on 19 March 1853 with 329 able to disembark.
An American ship to be involved in the coolie trades was the barque Ohio which arrived at Whampoa on 7 November 1852. She was reported by the US Consul at Canton as having been cleared for San Francisco on 2 December 1852. However the Ohio had actually been chartered by Macao Emigration Agent Alson for a voyage from Cumsingmoon to Callao. The Danish Captain Raupach loaded 300 men on his 373-ton vessel and sailed from the anchorage for Arica in Chile on 24 November 1852. She arrived after a 174-day voyage with 228 of them. After landing some of the men she then went on to Callao and landed the remaining 195 of them there.
There were four sailings from Swatow with high rates of mortality. The Buenaventura suffered a loss of 24.30% in 1855. When the American 272-ton brig Ernani, flying the Chilean flag, took on board 202 Chinese on 1 February 1856, only 155 of them disembarked, reflecting in part a disregard of the tonnage rules.
The 489-ton Chilean barque Francisco left Swatow on 1 May 1855, with 350 Chinese. Captain Haas took 123 days to reach Callao, but only 201 men were left to go ashore. The mortality rate was 42.57%, one of the highest recorded. No cause was identified.
The 415-ton Peruvian ship Amalia was another vessel to cause concern. Sailing from Swatow on 1 August 1855, she took more than 153 days to arrive at Callao, losing 130 of her 415 complement, a loss of 31.33%. There was serious overcrowding on this ship, with a ratio of one person for each registered ton of the vessel. The notional number for the time was one person for two, but seldom enforced.
Macao was only slightly better. In 1855 William Robinet secured the charter of the Peruvian Cora for at least two voyages. This 1,297-ton ship, previously the American Gazelle, left Macao on 14 October 1855 under British Captain E. Vincent with 710 coolies bound for Callao. She
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 71
�
��
��
passed Anjer on 9 November, and after a 109-day voyage, landed only 480 of those men. The loss of 230 was attributed to foul ballast. The mortality rate was 32.39%.
The 1,110-ton American clipper Indiaman sailed from Swatow on 14 June 1855 with 565 Chinese, including the first known shipment of women, 93 in all. She arrived at Callao on 24 September 1855 after a voyage of 102 days. The disturbing factor was that 129 coolies had died before reaching land. The mortality rate for this Lomer & Co. charter was 22.83%.
Apart from the Carmen, mentioned earlier, the only other shipment in 1857 was by the 730-ton Peruvian ship JCU, with another severe loss of life as 278 men only were disembarked out of 450 taken on in Macao on 21 March 1857. The mortality rate was 38.22%. This was the last ship to bring coolies under the "Chinese Law .
The Chincha Islands
The Chinchas are a group of three islands some 13 miles south of Lima near the town of Pisco. The two main islands are about one mile square and steeply rise to a plateau about 100 feet above sea level. These plateaux provide nesting sites for thousands of birds, whose droppings form guano, a rich form of fertilizer.
The "Chinese Law" of 1849 had been introduced to satisfy the demands of planters, but many Chinese were employed by the owners of haciendas as house servants, cooks, bakers, and gardeners. They had also been employed as porters and general handymen in mercantile houses.
The many abuses perpetuated on the Chinese, particularly on the guano fields of the Chincha islands, were becoming a cause of concern, and this led to calls for the repeal of the "Chinese Law". The multiple abuses gave rise to sharp criticism, forcing the Government to issue decrees, dated 3 March 1853 and 9 July 1854, designed to improve the condition of coolies, but with little effect.
To forestall any attempt to abrogate this law, Elias had a pamphlet published in which 100 employers gave their opinions of their Chinese labourers. Those employed in
72
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
factories were said to work well, but those in the fields were weak and lacked intelligence. Nevertheless, they performed their tasks with exactitude.
Surprisingly, Elias allowed the publication to report the state of the Chinese, working guano on the Chinchas, as being particularly bad. He was said to have employed 600 coolies on the islands, along with 50 slaves and 200 natives of Chile and Peru. The coolies were made to dig the dusty guano, then wheel the fertiliser to a holding depot as much as a mile away. Their quota was five tons per day, seven days a week.
On 27 June 1854, the captains of nine British ships which had recently returned from the Chinchas sent a Memorial to the Lords of the Privy Council for Trade. The masters drew their Lordships' attention to the murderous cruelty practised on the Chinese labourers brought to those islands, mostly, if not solely, in British vessels.
In a vivid description of the atrocities being practiced on the Middle island, they named Don Elias and his negro foreman Kossuth as the perpetrators. Floggings "by a lash of four plaits of cowhide laid in the form of what seamen call 'round sennet', five feet in length, an inch and a half in diameter, tapering to a point, and such as we, who have never been in slave countries without witnessing flogging, could not have thought could be applied to human beings without causing death, and can only compare to the Australian stockwhip".
This cri de coeur touched the Lords who asked Lord Clarendon to intervene. He immediately ordered Consul Sulivan in Lima to request that some person accompany a Peruvian officer to ascertain how the orders of the Government were executed.
The Earl of Clarendon then wrote to Governor Bowring in Hong Kong instructing him to prevent fresh shipments of Chinese emigrants to the Chincha Islands. Bowring issued a Proclamation prohibiting British subjects from engaging in that trade on 11 September 1854. That proclamation brought a strong response from the Consul for Peru in Canton. But Consul Robinet was already well aware of the atrocities at
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 73
�]
Chincha. On 11 February 1854, he had written to his Foreign Minister saying the Guano Islands were seen to be prisons where Chinese were maltreated. He said that it would be difficult to deny this, as the captains of Peruvian vessels themselves gave such information. The captain of the Victoria had told him, in presence of another person, that the Chinese in the Chincha Islands were treated worse than slaves.
Despite frequent promptings from British Consul Sulivan, Gomez Sanchez, the Peruvian Foreign Minister, did not reply until 12 December 1854. He admitted that the Peruvian Government had known of the accusations, and had instigated an inquiry. On receipt of that despatch from Lima, Clarendon instructed Bowring that it was unnecessary to continue the prohibition against the conveyance of Chinese emigrants to the Chincha Islands in British vessels.
The stigma of the Chinchas remained long after the last Chinese had left the islands. Whenever a Chinese coolie ship to Peru was mentioned, it was inevitably referred to as a slave ship bound for the guano pits on the Chinchas.
Peruvian Decrees of 1854
On 15 September 1854, President Ramon Castilla of Peru issued a Decree declaring that the Chinese were to receive 8 dollars a month, that they not be ill treated and that good provisions were to be supplied. In a later statement, the Peruvian Government had resolved that any person who embarked in Asia for Peru should be young, moral, healthy, and industrious. Care had to be taken to ship them in good, sound vessels, in condition to perform the voyage, and provided with sufficient wholesome food. The number to be received on board was no more than that allowed according to the tonnage of the vessel. Thirdly, that at the foot of every contract with emigrants, there must be appended the certificate and seal of the Peruvian agent or Consul, who was to certify to the free and voluntary agreement made between the emigrants and contractor, and witnessed by two persons.
Then, on 3 December 1854, Castilla decreed that all slaves were forever free. As this was appreciated to cause a
74
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
shortage of labour, special licences were available to those who could show they needed Chinese workers.
Lomer & Co. were quick to take advantage of these special licences, advertising extensively that they were going to use only fast American clipper ships which would make the journey faster than steamships, thereby allowing for healthy and happy labourers. He sought only robust and healthy people with strong constitutions.
The first and third charters, both previously mentioned, were the Indiaman with high casualties and the Winged Racer which suffered a mutiny. The second Lomer charter was incident free. The Westward Ho, a 1,633-ton American clipper built in 1852, sailed from Whampoa on 27 October 1855 with 830 Chinese. After a 100-day voyage Captain S.B. Hussey landed 728 of them. The Westward Ho was subsequently bought by the Compania Maritima del Peru which utilised her for seven coolie voyages before she was wrecked in Callao.
The 1,283-ton British ship Zetland supposedly cleared from Amoy on 28 April 1855. Her 400 Chinese coolies had actually been taken on at Camboy near Swatow. After a 156- day voyage, Captain Flavin was able to see only 336 of them go ashore in Callao. The 643-ton Dutch barque Delfshaven left Whampoa for Callao on 22 May 1855. Captain P. Van Calcar had a good voyage delivering 340 of the 342 he had taken onboard.
34
The 1,704-ton clipper ship Bald Eagle of Boston made the 15,662 mile voyage from Swatow to Callao in 83 days. She averaged 188 miles a day, with the last 37 days averaging 203. Carrying royal sails, her longest run was 346 miles. She left on 6 September 1855 with 650 men under Captain Treadwell but landed only 550 of them. The mortality rate was 15.38%.
The 581-ton Peruvian ship Maria Natividad under Captain Sullivan made her second voyage in the coolie trades on 28 January 1856, sailing from Whampoa to Callao wih 350 men, 330 of whom were landed. The Maria Natividad's first voyage had been with free emigrants from Hong Kong to Melbourne in 1855.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 75
�
,
0
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"
I
In October 1855, Captain E.M. Jefferson left Callao as Master of the Peruvian 198-ton brig Theresa Terry on a voyage to China via Manila. Jefferson had sailed for 16 years on American ships mainly out of New Orleans. The chief mate was Francisco Duble whom Jefferson soon considered incompetent and stood down, but with freedom to roam the ship. Duble incited the crew to refuse to take orders from the captain, and eventually held him captive, first in his own cabin, then chained and manacled in the ship's hold. The owner, John Terry, joined the ship on 15 March 1856 in Manila when she sailed for Ningpo and Hong Kong. Terry did not release Jefferson from captivity in the hold and appointed Duble master of the Theresa Terry. In April, while the ship was at Whampoa, Jefferson was able to have a letter smuggled off the ship and taken to the British Consul at Whampoa. On receipt of the message, Vice Consul Sampson alerted Captain Jenkins of HMS Comus who boarded the ship and released Jefferson into the care of the British Consul.
The Theresa Terry and her sister ship, the 1,069-ton Peruvian Antonia Terry, caused great speculation in local circles as the two ships shuffled about the China coast, seemingly without purpose. On 28 May 1856, both the Theresa Terry and the Antonia Terry arrived at Macao from Whampoa, then sailed the next day for Peru.
The Antonia Terry was off the north coast of Formosa when she was dismasted in a typhoon. She was struggling to make Shanghai when she was caught in another storm. She eventually did arrive at Shanghai and sailed on 28 July 1856, still with her original complement of 550 who had boarded in Whampoa. When she eventually arrived at Callao in November 1856, Captain Geycour was able to disembark 486 of those men.
35
Meanwhile, the Theresa Terry may have escaped the storms but had to call at San Francisco for water on 5 August 1856. Many years later, Captain J.M. Shotwell recalled the visit." He had been consigned the vessel (which he described as a barque) and had to go out to her in the middle of a gale. He found that the seamen were deserting one by one and the Chinese clamouring to be put ashore. He had the Chinese
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
battened below deck. The captain was helpless and the crew openly laughed at him.
Back on shore he told the agents of the situation who in turn informed him that the Chinese merchants of San Francisco were getting out writs of habeas corpus for all the coolies onboard. That would ruin the owners and he had to get the vessel back to sea again. The only tug in the bay was being overhauled, but Shotwell managed to persuade Captain Charles Goodall of the urgency. With the promise of no expense to be spared he got an extra gang and the tug was ready to sail by nightfall. The stevedore Bill Nye promised to have all the water casks filled by 3 o'clock and the boarding master agreed to ship a new crew on time. Boarding the Theresa Terry at daybreak, Shotwell found the captain hiding among the casks to avoid arrest should any Revenue Officer go onboard.
The Revenue cutter Martin L. White had a harrowing time beating down to the vessel. The officer however could not board as he was met by 20 men armed with cutlasses. He left and when he returned the next morning the ship had gone. The Teresa Terry eventually arrived at Callao in October with only 145 Chinese on board.
Peruvian "Chinese Law" abrogated
The Peruvian "Chinese Law" was abrogated on 5 March 1856, on the ground that it had not fulfilled its purpose. and was degenerating into a kind of slave trade. The proclamation also highlighted the crowded conditions on board the emigrant ships, and the poor quality of the food which at times accounted for one third of those embarked dying, and the remainder arriving with dangerous diseases. The abrogation was to come into effect four months from that date. However, the traffic did not cease completely with the publication of this decree.
"On October 1 of the same year, the government made a contract with an English company for the short railway linking Lima with Chorrillos, a coastal residential town, and inserted a clause which permitted the introduction of 700 Chinese under the former system of contracts". This
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 77
shipment was identified as being on the Westward Ho, which sailed from Whampoa on 17 March 1857 with 770 Chinese. The 723 who landed were consigned to J. Ugarte.
37
3
Britain Enters The Trade
Macao: The Inner Harbour, c. 1840. Chinese artist. Departure port 1851-1874.
Macao Museum of Art.
Callao harbour.
Destination port, 1852 -1874.
O National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
F
ollowing representations from the West India Committee in 1850, the Colonial Secretary, Lord Grey,
agreed to consider again the possibility of Chinese labour. He wrote to Governor Bonham of Hong Kong, "to ascertain and report on the practicability of inducing Chinese labourers to proceed from China". His reply was in the form of a Memorandum, dated 3 October, from James D. Muir, the Hong Kong partner in Syme, Muir & Co., a merchant house engaged in recruiting emigrants from Amoy, where the other partner, Francis D. Syme was based.
Muir gave a general overview of the emigration scene and listed the destinations to which labourers had been sent to date. He considered the French Bourbon emigration to have been successful, but the British Mauritius experiment not so, from Penang. He did not know much about the Havana recruitment, but thought that it had been a financial failure, as was the Nimrod shipment to Australia.
Impatient at the slow progress of agreement, the Court of Policy of British Guiana decided to take things into their own hands. They induced Governor Barkly to recommend to the Home Government that James Thomas White should be nominated for the post of Emigration Agent in India. White had been the proprietor of three sugar plantations recently placed in receivership, and was in the process of returning to England. They considered his practical experience would be ideal in selecting the proper type of coolie.
Earl Grey agreed in September 1850; but as the incumbent Emigration Agent Caird had only just been re- appointed, White would be given the opportunity only of seeing for himself the conditions in India; and to assist in the selection of migrants. But James White was free to go to
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 79
China at the end of the season, to gather information on the means of procuring labour from that source. With that approval, White embarked on the P&O mail liner Erin, on her maiden voyage from Calcutta, arriving in Hong Kong on 26 May 1851. He carried letters of introduction from the Colonial Secretary, Earl Grey, and the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston.
One of his first contacts in Hong Kong was the James Muir who had supplied Governor Bonham with his evaluation of the prospects of Chinese emigration in 1849. Muir offered his firm, Syme, Muir & Co. as the supplier of Chinese emigrants from Amoy. Syme Muir was experienced in the business and knew exactly what was required.
They would land the migrants for �18 a head, or �7 shipped on board. The Chinese contracts would be for five years, for two to four dollars a month, with two suits of clothing each year. Their passage would be found, as also their provisions, medical expenses, and housing. While a return passage had not previously been included in earlier contracts, he suggested that a bonus for renewal of contract after the initial term would be preferable. He thought the Chinese would prefer to be paid by the task rather than on a daily basis of nine hours work, if it grossed a higher figure than that originally agreed to.
White went on to Canton, where he met the colourful John Bowring (1792-1872). A one-time Member for Bolton, his membership of the Select Committee on Commercial Relations with China led, in 1847, to his appointment as British Consul at Canton. Bowring had settled in quickly, adding Chinese to his list of languages. He was interested in his surroundings and was very eager to enlighten White on the characteristics of the Chinese people. Bowring's enthusiasm was so infectious that after a single visit to the countryside observing men toiling away in the fields, White was moved to describe one Chinese as equal to five Bengalis.
In his first letter to Governor Barkly of British Guiana, dated 21 June 1851, White proposed four possible courses of recruitment. First was the use of houses of high character and established repute such as Dent & Co. and Russell & Co. His
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
second option was to utilise agents already procuring recruits for Manila and Peru, paying a commission for placing them on board, with the British West Indian colonies (in this instance, British Guiana and Trinidad) taking the risk of transportation. He then suggested the free market approach, whereby a bounty would be paid for every migrant landed, and his fourth course was to appoint an emigration agent to undertake the whole task. He did not indicate his preferred
option. 38
In his second letter, of 19 July 1851, White went to great length describing the difficulty of recruiting women, and suggested that boys could be more readily obtained. Given the greater shipping distance involved, he estimated the cost from China would be �2 more than from India.
Four days later, James White's third letter contained propositions from an elder from the sugar-growing district of Tung Wan, and from Teo Cheo (from where many Chinese had already emigrated to Singapore and the Straits Settlements). The propositions were very clearly laid out. Hawa, from Teo Cheo, promised only strong and hale men who did not smoke opium, headmen who were conversant with English, and who would also have Chinese medical qualifications. But these points were not to be appreciated by White until he himself became involved with the recruiting process.
While James White's despatches were full of promise, it was John Bowring who convinced the West Indian plantation owners. In his
In his Annual Report on Trade, as already mentioned, Bowring wrote of the abundance of suitable labour available in China, and the apparent eagerness of the men to migrate irrespective of destination.
Without waiting for any further reports from James White, the Court of Policy of British Guiana resolved, on 25 August 1851, to bring Chinese immigrants to the colony as soon as possible. The Court resolved to provide a $100 bounty for each effective Chinese immigrant engaged to labour for five years, and allocated �50,000 as a guaranteed loan for the importation of Chinese.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 81
�
39
So great was the excitement in Georgetown, following this resolution, that George Booker, a prominent plantation owner on the Court of Policy, continued to discuss it with his fellow members and planters. This led to a letter to J. Gardiner Austin, the Acting Government Secretary, on 2 September, offering his ship, the Lord Elgin, to sail for Hong Kong to begin the recruitment programme as early as possible.
Governor Barkly was more circumspect, but not wishing to go against the influential planters, sought clarification as to what exactly they wanted. He then wrote to Earl Grey on 31 October 1851 explaining how this proposal came about. In defending his granting of licences for both the outward and return voyages for the Lord Elgin, Barkly mentioned only that the vessel had been approved, and that Dr David Shier, the brother and assistant to the Agricultural Chemist, had been engaged as surgeon. The licences had been based on the requirements imposed on ships already under contract for the carriage of Indians. He concluded by hoping that he did not exceed his authority, but considered that the undertaking could prove beneficial to the colony, with little prospect of profit to Mr Booker.
This British Guiana resolution led to Hyde, Hodge & Co. announcing that they would be sending two or three ships to China in order to claim the bounty from the Government. James Hyde came from a long-established family with mahogany plantations in British Honduras. Hodge was a London merchant. Their company employed their own vessels to carry their mahogany to Britain, then to ship liberated Africans from Sierra Leone and St Helena to the West Indies.
The Trinidad planters were not nearly as enthusiastic. With a smaller crop, their needs were not nearly as acute, but they did not want to be left out of this possible migration programme. As the British Guiana Government had already taken steps to satisfy their immediate needs, the CLEC called on Hyde, Hodge & Co. to divert one of their bounty ships to Trinidad instead of British Guiana, and as a reward offered them a charter for two additional ships.
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
On White's return from China, the Court of Policy pressed the government for him to be appointed as the Government agent in China. When White accepted the position, he returned to China in August 1852, spending less than two months in England.
40
Meanwhile, on 12 June 1852, new Foreign Secretary Malmesbury directed Acting Superintendent of Trade John Bowring to enquire of the British Consuls their opinions on the prospects of Chinese emigration. Adam Wallis Elmslie was Bowring's replacement as Canton Consul, and the first to reply to Malmsbury's questions on 25 August 1852. He provided statistics on the number of emigrants from Whampoa, Cumsingmoon, Macao, and Hong Kong. He stated that placards were openly distributed all over the country notifying the departure of vessels for California, with the Chinese authorities not interfering in any way with the emigration. Elmslie was the first to alert the Government to the misery and suffering endured by the Chinese sent to dig guano on the Chincha islands of Peru but added that the traffic appeared to be at an end with no ships prepared to accept charters for what could be a dangerous voyage marred by insurrections.
Harry Smith Parkes (1828-1885) was Interpreter, then Vice-Consul at Canton. Greatly impressed with the young man, Bowring asked Parkes to comment on the Malmesbury questionnaire. In describing the Chinese character, Parkes generally concurred with John Crawfurd's views. "The absorbing aim of the Chinese emigrant is to better his condition. Of this object he never loses sight; and as he often continues to retain it, even after he has gained the competency for which he first commenced to strive, it frequently follows that he finally adopts as his permanent home the locality in which he has reaped his profits, if adapted, by climate and the presence of others of his countrymen, to his native habits and mode of life."
Parkes argued, "China sanctions by law the emigration of its subjects for purposes of trade, or as hired labourers; but it is necessary that each person should be furnished with a pass on leaving his country, as without one he is liable to
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 83
heavy punishment, graduated according to the extent of the intercourse he may have held with the foreigners whom he visited without permission. But the law in this respect, involving as it does even capital punishment, is far too severe for a weak government to carry into execution; and thus a pass from the authorities is the last thing that a Chinese emigrant ever thinks of procuring; not because it would be refused him, but on account of the cost of the application, perhaps ten or twenty dollars, by which sum may be estimated the extent of the risk incurred by the omission."41
Parkes had noted that emigration from Canton, both in junks and foreign vessels, continued to increase each year. For deck-passages in foreign vessels, which they preferred to their own junks, they paid from five to ten dollars, and always provided their own food. The great majority of the emigrants were relations or friends of planters or tradesmen, and were proceeding under contract to join them. They generally travelled in small parties of twenty or thirty, sometimes in charge of a man of respectability, who had perhaps come from the south specifically to engage them. Terms differed considerably. That was the traditional emigration pattern.
Parkes then identified a different form of emigration that was emerging. In the hope of finding gold, or participating in the high remuneration paid for labour of any kind, Chinese who flocked to California went merely as sojourners for one or two years. Many started with the expectation of returning as soon as they had amassed two or three hundred dollars, exclusive of expenses. The dispatch of those men was largely undertaken by moneyed parties purely as a matter of speculation. They paid the passage of the coolies, which rose as high as $50, and other expenses amounting to about $20 more, on condition of receiving the sum of $200 upon their return. Parkes surmised that emigration to the gold fields of Australia would probably be conducted in a similar manner.
Parkes ventured the view that a wholly different system would have to be pursued in obtaining coolies for the West Indies. He thought that passengers, rather than coolies, would be the better term for any Chinese emigrating under these circumstances the former being reserved to denote
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
labourers who are engaged to serve for a number of years at a uniform rate of pay. Chinese of this class contracted by Europeans had been shipped to Callao. That they were men of bad character, and others in most indigent circumstances, was evident from the harshness of the terms on which they consented to engage, as well as the frequent tragedies which occurred on board the vessels transporting them.
42
Charles Alexander Winchester was another "old China hand" who impressed Bowring with his understanding of the Chinese character. Winchester was the doctor in the Amoy Consulate and was convinced, "that it was a fiction that no child of the Great Emperor could withdraw himself from the parental rule , but he was unable to be as specific as Parkes. While prohibition of emigration flowed from the common law, no mandarin would interfere when they knew that emigration relieved the pressure of surplus population on food supplies, and wild and lawless vagabonds were better out of the country. It was also true however that only the poorest and refuse of the population had so far volunteered to emigrate. Winchester was adamant that the Chinese never emigrated with their families, and one reason for their frequent return to the homeland was their anxiety to form matrimonial connexions and to leave descendants in their native villages to maintain an unbroken chain of reverential honours paid to the ancestral tombs. No Chinese ever left without the hope of eventually returning.
Winchester drew attention to the employment of crimps, politely called coolie brokers, used by the English merchants of Amoy. He said that no respectable Chinese would engage in a trade in what was regarded as, "the selling of men to an English merchant". The reputation of those coolie brokers was very low. They distributed printed bills containing the terms of the contract and acted as general touters, offering food and lodgings to anyone willing to be mustered. While they undoubtedly practised all the arts of recruiting, the men were not ill treated as the crimps received 50 cash daily for each man mustered, and a dollar for each coolie ultimately shipped. Competition was strong with rival brokers given to frequent quarrels. Kidnapping had so far not been practised.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
85
In conclusion, Winchester quoted the late Consul Layton as estimating that 10,000 coolies could be recruited. A merchant of great experience had put the figure at 12,000, with Winchester declaring that neither figure was exaggerated. He however thought that such numbers would eventually require spacious roomy barracks to accommodate the coolies awaiting shipment. Present facilities. adequate for 6,000 labourers.
British Bounty Ships
were
James White arrived back in Hong Kong on 10 October 1852. With no new instructions, he sailed that same evening for Canton in order to learn from Turner & Co., the agents for Hyde, Hodge & Co., what progress was being made. He learned that two ships, the Lord Elgin and the Glentanner had already loaded at Amoy and departed for British Guiana before his arrival.
The first ship to sail for the British West Indies with Chinese passengers was the Lord Elgin, owned by the Booker family of British Guiana. Built in 1847 in Hampton, New Brunswick, she was 111ft long and had a breadth of 25ft. From her upper deck to the bottom of her keel, her measurement was 18ft. Under the new measurement rules that came into effect in 1846, her new registered tonnage of 351 tons allowed her to carry 110 passengers under the British Passengers' Act of 1852.
The Lord Elgin arrived at Hong Kong on 1 June 1852, and departed for Amoy ten days later. With no specific orders, Captain M'Clelland decided to place his ship in Tait's hands to arrange a complement of coolies. James Tait's interpretation of the Passengers' Act of 1849, then in force, was that it allowed one passenger per two tons of the ship's burthen. By this calculation, the Lord Elgin was permitted to carry 170 coolies, but Tait was able to place only 154 emigrants on board when she sailed for Demerara.
Demarara was one of three districts which were merged to form the colony of British Guiana and was the name most frequently used when referring to the colony. Georgetown was the capital and main port of the colony, but again ships
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
were
invariably cleared for Demerara rather than
Georgetown.
The Passengers' Act would not have given Tait any guidance as to the appropriate stores for the voyage to the West Indies. In what would have been a sincere effort to provision the ship, he supplied the Lord Elgin with the following items.
Invoice of Stores for the voyage to Demerara
350 bamboo pillows
10 choppers 200 brooms
33 cooking places 100 rice ladles
12 rice measures 14 guitars
2 bundles playing cards
8 large water tubs 90 jars sour pickles 20 piculs salt fish 2 tubs vinegar 50 tubs cabbage
5 piculs garlic 160 white waistcoats 160 yellow jackets
350 sleeping mats 500 rice bowls
250 combs 10 iron pans 50 baskets 50 large plates 12 flutes
6 bottles mustard
50 catties tobacco 15 piculs biscuits 20 piculs potatoes 2 piculs tea 22 tubs, salt beef 320 sheets 160 yellow trousers 160 black jackets
100 razors
250 tea cups
100 fireplace bricks 4 baskets soup pickles 50 mess lids
6 gongs
500 bales chop sticks 20 piculs pumpkins 50 catties sulphur 10 piculs dried fish 10 piculs salt 10 piculs sugar 12 piculs tea oil 295 pairs of shoes 200 wooden shoes 160 black trousers
Note: A picul was equivalent to 100 catties, or 60.5 kg, 133 1/3 lbs.
By the time the Lord Elgin sailed on 23 July 1852, it was already well into the season of the southwest monsoon, and with adverse winds she took 62 days to reach Singapore where she took on provisions and firewood along with 45 tons of water. Four Chinese died on that first passage. The Lord Elgin left Singapore two days later, and as was the custom of sailing vessels, headed southeast to the Straits of Sunda. It took 23 days for her to reach Anjer on the western tip of Java, a distance of about 500 miles. It was a useful port of call for provisions or emergency assistance. Captain M'Clelland had not intended to call there, but because of the already extended length of the voyage, he decided to stop for more supplies.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 87
Three days after leaving Anjer, she sprang a leak, probably caused by her grounding on a shoal known as Brower's Bank just two days before Anjer. She refloated without taking water then, and the captain thought all was well, but the ship had a cargo of rice in the lower hold which began to ferment. The ship was enveloped in a cloud of sulphurated hydrogen gas, which persisted for many days. Lingering smells persisted for most of the 46 days it took the ship to arrive at Cape Town with a loss of a further 41 Chinese.
More fresh food, including eight sheep and a carcass of mutton, as well as more medicines were taken on board before the Lord Elgin set sail for the 39-day voyage to Demerara. A further 19 Chinese died, making 69 deaths out of the 154 emigrants shipped at Amoy. After a voyage totalling 177 days, the ship arrived at Demerara on 17 January 1853 with 57 adults and 28 boys. The mortality rate was a horrendous 44.81%.
This sorry outcome from a brave attempt at importing new labour from China invoked the inevitable inquiry, which was chaired by Adriaan van der Gon Netscher, with members R.G. Butts, and Daniel Blair, the Surgeon-General. They found that poor water quality was partly to blame, but also the poor ventilation from the small hatches, and the closeness between decks did not help. The fact that 154 Chinese had been embarked meant that fewer than 11 superficial feet had been provided for each person.
Their conclusions were that the long confinement in foul air was the primary cause of the deaths; that the crankiness of the vessel did not allow for sufficient exercise, and the lack of fresh food did not help. They recommended that the Passengers' Act be the basis on which immigrants should be carried, and that no vessel of fewer than 1,000 tons be used. Despite the great mortality on his vessel, George Booker put in his claim for the bounty on the 85 immigrants landed. Despite some reservations, the bounty was eventually paid.
The 615-ton Glentanner was the first Hyde, Hodge & Co. bounty ship. She sailed from Amoy on 1 September 1852. As with the Lord Elgin, Tait calculated that she could
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
carry 307 passengers. He accordingly provided her with 305 Chinese emigrants who had signed his form of agreement. The Glentanner arrived at Demerara on 12 January 1853, five days before the Lord Elgin. She arrived with 262 Chinese, suffering a loss of 43 emigrants. These first two ships for Demerara were completed without any form of government supervision, and without any recruiting problems.
White returned to Hong Kong on 14 October and had a long meeting with John Bowring, now Acting Governor. Warned of potential trouble, James White went on to Amoy on 17 October to find that Syme, Muir & Co., together with Tait & Co., held the Spanish contracts for Cuba, while Robert Jackson held two of the three contracts for Australia. Hyde, Hodge & Co. in London had appointed Turner & Co. of Canton as their agents, but as Turner's did not have an office in Amoy, they appointed Tait & Co. as their sub-agents there. White considered this an exceedingly objectionable position as Tait & Co. were already working for the Spaniards.
At this critical time, Tait had to find an additional 1,800 men in order to honour his contracts. Amoy and the surrounding countryside had already been scoured for willing, and not so willing recruits, and desperate measures were being taken by his Chinese brokers and their crimps to gather the required numbers. Tait himself went to Swatow seeking to organise a recruiting base in that quiet opium out- station.
Riots in Amoy
A peanut seller in a village some two days away from Amoy was accosted by a coolie broker who promised the man more rewarding work if he joined him in Amoy. Having agreed, he was taken to the Syme Muir receiving station. When he was not allowed out again, the coolie escaped through an opening in the water closet on 18 November 1852. The man took refuge in the servants' quarters of the Rev. Elihu Doty, an American missionary, when he was pursued by Syme's employees.
This incident was the spark that ignited the growing agitation of the local population against the unsavoury
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
89
methods utilised by the coolie brokers. In the afternoon of Sunday the 21st, they cornered the broker, Lin Hwan, proceeded to beat him up, and then handed him over to the local police where the beating continued. On hearing this, Francis Syme took his assistant William Cornabe with him to the police station to demand his release. They left on being told the man was not the person they wanted. However, they returned when they learned that their man was indeed at the station. Securing his release, they were returning to their hong when the mob pounced on them. They were able to escape to their premises, together with Lin Hwan. But the crowd was not to be appeased and turned on three Europeans who were walking nearby. Arthur Walthew, a passenger on the ship Australia, resembled Syme, and was, together with Richard Vallancey, the mate of the Australia, returning to their ship. The third man was Aeneas Mackay of Tait & Co. In the ensuing scuffle, Vallancey was severely hurt.
The shops in Amoy remained closed the next day, and there was a feeling of great tension. The Acting Sub-Prefect at Amoy issued an Official Notice, warning that, "Kih-Tows (brokers), who deluded poor people to exploit them, committed a serious breach of the law. Strict orders had been given to the police for the apprehension of those guilty persons".
On Wednesday the 24th, the crowd gathered in front of the Syme hong demanding the broker. Syme immediately summoned the mandarins who took him away. But when the crowd was not to be pacified, Syme called for assistance from HMS Salamander, which was stationed at Amoy. As the sailors and marines dispersed along the street to protect British properties, the crowd began to throw brickbats, injuring several persons. After their commanding officer had twice been knocked down, the sailors opened fire, killing twelve, including a baby, and wounding about sixteen others.
The next day, Sub-Prefect Wang issued another Proclamation, "to reassure the native population, to calm all foreign merchants, and rigorously to prohibit ill-disposed persons from seeking occasion to foment disturbances". He advised that the broker Lin Hwan had now provided a
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Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
deposition in which he confessed, "I am a broker; I have deceived and entrapped people. Because that day I had entrapped a man in Chuh-tsae Street, I was seized by the people who took and gave me over to the Chung-ting. Foreigners from the Ho-ke and Tih-ke hongs with their clerks came to claim me. A riot then took place on this account; I took this opportunity to escape into the Ho-ke hong; on the 24th of November I was removed from the hong to the magistracy".
But there was still disquiet, and placards appeared, some anonymous, and some attributed to scholars and merchants, exciting the multitudes, causing Wang to issue a further Proclamation dated 27 November calling on the populace to report such matters to him, and he would punish the parties concerned with the "utmost penalty of the law, and without a particle of mercy".
In a despatch, dated 26 November 1852, Bowring said. that Commander Fishbourne of Her Majesty's steamer Hermes had just returned from Amoy and told him that coolies were penned up, ten to twelve, in a wooden shed, like a slave barracoon. In a space 120 by 24 feet, about 500 nearly naked and very filthy men had sufficient room only to lie on the bamboo floor. Many of the men had been induced to come into the town by Chinese crimps and then confined. While some escaped when they could, and others objected to the treatment, many stated that anything was better than starvation. A few who refused to embark were allowed to leave, but those who were not allowed to do so, had begun to take things into their own hands. Bowring also said that Amoy could no longer offer an adequate supply of labour to match the immense demand. It was reported that the captain of one of the opium ships at Namoa provided 1,000 coolies to the account of the Demerara contract.
Acting Consul John Backhouse, in poor health, had not been able to send his despatches until the 27th. When Bowring received them, he immediately sent Frederick Harvey, the Secretary to the Superintendency of Trade, to Amoy on HMS Hermes to investigate and report further. Harvey, together with Commander Fishbourne of HMS
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Hermes, determined that a formal investigation would be appropriate. The Court of Inquiry commenced on Monday 13 December 1852.
With the great numbers that Tait controlled, an ordinary barracoon was not big enough to accommodate his gathered coolies. An expensive ship was his solution. It was also a very useful method of imprisonment, as the coolies could not easily escape from a ship several miles from shore. The 569- ton British barque Emigrant arrived at Amoy on 28 July 1852 where she was chartered by James Tait to become a coolie receiving ship.
Richard di Bois-Agett, the chief mate of the Emigrant, testified that he was not aware of any coolie on board his vessel being detained against his will, and had been instructed to release any who asked to do so. Seven coolies from the Emigrant were also interrogated. Each testified that they had been offered work in Amoy, taken to the ship on various pretences, and confined against their will. They declared they did not wish to emigrate.
Robert Jackson, originally a partner in the firm, Mitchell & Co. of Hong Kong, now engaged in recruiting coolies, was next to give evidence. Able to speak Chinese, Jackson produced a Notice expressing his desire to recruit labour for foreign lands at rates far higher than obtainable in Amoy. In Jackson's second Notice, he appealed to any person who did not have any relations dependent on him to come forward, and again promised that any victim of abduction should call on him, and he would be returned to his home.
Francis Syme then testified that he did attend the police station with the intention of freeing his broker Lin Hwan, while Cornabe would not admit to the practice of sending cards to the mandarins demanding certain things. John Connolly of Tait & Co. admitted to sending such cards; but only after having approval from the previous Consul, George Sullivan.
During the hearings, the broker Lin Hwan was produced, but he was in such a terrible state that he could only nod his head, acknowledging that he was the broker. He did not have much longer to live.
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The result of the Inquiry was that Syme was fined $200, and Cornabe $20 for unlawfully visiting a police court and subsequently causing a riot. The gravely injured Vallancey made an extravagant claim for $5,000 compensation, which Backhouse arbitrarily dismissed as excessive. Pending an appeal, he put the claim aside and it was never followed up. But Bowring did question the existence of the claim.
But even as this was being finalised, relatives of the Chinese killed in the riots were petitioning the British Government to bring the Chinese brokers to trial and thus effect compensation. This of course was not within the British bailiwick, and the upshot of this was that the fines were given to the families of those innocently killed.
Perhaps it was due to the mild proclamation by the Scholars and Merchants of Amoy, and the Proclamation by the Inhabitants of the Eighteen Wards (of Amoy) threatening brokers with death, should they be found working for Syme or Tait, that no more coolies could be found. Backhouse then confirmed that the traditional Chinese migration to Singapore was still active with one ship sailing for that destination with cargo as well as 100 passengers.
The 669-ton British vessel Samuel Boddington arrived at Amoy on 12 September 1852 to load for British Guiana. She lay at anchor for 59 days before she received her first batch of 95 coolies. The weather had turned cold and some wished to go ashore, saying that they were deceived by Tait's brokers. Two men endeavoured to swim ashore on some small boards, a distance of two miles, but the gig was lowered, and they were picked up exhausted. Two days later another 104 coolies, were sent on board, more than half of them unfit for the purpose they were intended.
On 22 November, Tait & Co. said that in consequence of the city and country being "much disturbed" they could get no more coolies, and that those collected must either be taken, or they would throw up the charter. The next day 147 coolies were brought alongside. Those already on board commenced heaving wood, pieces of iron bolts, belaying pins, etc. at the Europeans and coolie brokers, because they had been "kept so long without clothes or proper food".
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When things quietened down and the coolies allowed to board, Dr Ely examined the men rejecting six of every ten men as not of the kind to make good labourers.
Captain Hurst and Dr Ely were told in plain terms that they had but one of two things to do; either take the complement, or lose any recompense for a short shipment. With that ultimatum, they could do nothing but accede to the 352 coolies already on board; 150 of whom had previously been rejected.
On 24 November, Amoy was in a state of great confusion and alarm. Captain Hurst was given a clearance certificate for 352 adults signed by Tait & Co. There was no demur from the British Consul even though the Samuel Boddington had been measured as having 4,144 superficial feet, which would have equated to 276 passengers at 15ft per person, or 345 at 12ft per person. She sailed from Amoy the next day, bound for British Guiana, without all of their supplies.
The first few days were uneventful, with many seasick. After a fight on 7 December over the theft of opium, there were signs of a mutiny among the coolies. This was highlighted when Captain John Hurst wrote to the Shipping & Mercantile Gazette from St Helena on 6 February 1853.
"On 9 December 1852, while persevering to get the ship through the narrows of Gaspar Strait during rain squalls, I received information that the coolies were making arrangements to murder myself and crew, and run the ship on the isle of Pulo Leat this afternoon. I at once gave directions to let run sheets and halliards, down helm, and down bower anchor, 20 fathoms water; ship took 90 fathoms of chain. I then put all hands under arms and went to work to pick out the ringleaders of this diabolical plot, and without shooting a man, I secured the ringleaders on the poop, with an exception of six who jumped overboard and perished. We then searched for arms, and found enough to arm 200 men, consisting of sharp ground axes, Malay cresses, dirks, knives and a variety of other murderous weapons. We have secured all, and no question this prompt stop has saved the ship."
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The British Guiana Health Officer, John M. Johnstone, reported the ship's arrival after the 98-day voyage, during which 52 Chinese had died; another 27 being sent immediately to hospital. He conveyed the Captain's and Dr Edward Ely's remarks on the troublesome voyage which was chiefly due to the "quarrelsome disposition and vile habits" of the Chinese. Governor Barkly reported to the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, the Duke of Newcastle, on the number of deaths, and then referred to certain delicate matters in Dr Ely's diary, which confirmed the urgent necessity of procuring a certain proportion of Chinese women for the Colony.
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The 1,170-ton ship Australia was chartered by Hyde Hodge & Co. in China. British Emigration Agent White had no direct responsibility for the ship, but with the turmoil in Amoy, he agreed to have her load at Namoa, the opium anchorage off Swatow. She left on 15 December 1852 with 445 coolies for Trinidad. White reported that the Australia loaded a, very fine set, the best who have yet emigrated", without any bother. According to White, the Australia was admirably adapted for the service, having a great height between decks.
The Australia arrived at Port of Spain on 4 March 1853 after a voyage of 78 days with 432 adults on board and 31 crewmembers. Thirteen had died on the voyage and eight were sent to hospital. Thos Anderson, Inspector of Health of Shipping, reporting to the Acting Colonial Secretary, said the accommodations of the ship were good, with the exception of deficient aeration between decks. Additional ventilating tubes and side ports were wanting. Nevertheless, with the comparatively small mortality among the immigrants, and their satisfactory condition, he considered it a credit to the officers of the ship.
>
But Trinidad's Governor Lord Harris, not nearly as enthusiastic, chose to find fault. In his despatch to the Duke of Newcastle on 22 March 1853, he believed the cost of shipping was too high, and drew attention to the form of contract used, which though altered in one place was left incorrect in another. He observed that the English Consul in
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 95
Amoy refused to sign the ship's papers because he had no authority to do so from his own Government.-Harris did not understand that Swatow was a non-Treaty Port over which the Amoy consul had no authority.
Despite the Governor's negative feelings, the Trinidad Legislative Council resolved that a further 300 Chinese should be imported during the next year. They also wished that at least half that number should be women.
Emigration Agent White had agreed to have the 550-ton British barque Clarendon also load at Namoa, but this veteran of the East India Co. had already spent 56 days getting to Hong Kong from Singapore, and would have been excessively delayed beating up to Namoa. She accordingly was directed to load at Whampoa. Turner & Co. was confident of finding sufficient labourers for this new venture. They utilised a Mr Hunt at Whampoa, who in turn used Chinese brokers.
In his report of 8 January 1853 to Secretary Stephen Walcott at the Emigration Commission, White advised that the Clarendon left Whampoa on 2 January 1853 with a full complement of 257 adults. He said that the people were so eager to go that they remained in boats alongside for three or four days rather than stay ashore. Another 40 others had to be rejected to remain within the legal limit. They had been given a $10 advance and two suits of clothing. They were a cheerful lot and perfectly happy to board the Clarendon in the same manner as the ships taking migrants to California. He had explained through an interpreter how long it would take to Trinidad, and the type of work they would be expected to do, the wages they could earn, and a list of daily provisions they could expect. He was disappointed that he was unable to find any interpreters at either Amoy or Namoa, but hoped that some could possibly be found in Hong Kong. He also mentioned that it would have been possible to procure a few women, but the captain objected on the grounds of possible disturbances during the voyage.
The Clarendon arrived at Port of Spain on 23 April 1853. Captain George Bilton declared he departed Whampoa on 29 December 1852, which was four days earlier than
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reported by White. There were 254 emigrants at the commencement of the 114-day voyage, with only three deaths on passage, one being from dysentery, which also took the life of the chief mate.
White was aware that the unscrupulous coolie brokers at Amoy originally came from Canton. In order to overcome any strong public feeling against emigration, White had notices and instructions printed in English, and Chinese, for distribution throughout the region. In this endeavour, White enlisted the services of William Scott who had been the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in Canton, and well versed in the habits of the Chinese. The Notices advertised for healthy able-bodied Chinese coolies to work in the English settlements in the West Indies. It described how far away the islands were and the expected suitability of the climate. The terms of the contract were carefully set out and explained.
American Fears
It is not known if the Notices had any bearing on the only shipment from Whampoa in 1853, but it drew the attention of Humphry Marshall, the first United States Commissioner with the Legation based in Canton. A southerner concerned with the question of slaves, he worried about Chinese competition. When a Chinese version of White's notice found its way to the Legation and the re-translated version brought to Marshall's attention, he immediately became alarmed. He wrote to Edward Everett, his Secretary of State on 8 March 1853.
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He drew attention to the British Government's pursuit of Chinese emigration and the effect it would have on the United States. He contended that a strong British colony in the geographical position of British Guiana would command the Amazon valley and the entrance to the Caribbean Sea, and all the trade from the south with the Windward Islands. He wanted to know if the President contemplated a stop to prevent the use of American shipping in the furtherance of this emigration. He suggested the President send an order to the American consuls to refuse clearances to any ship under
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American papers and colours when carrying coolies from China.
It was only after the Australia had loaded and left on 15 December 1852 that James White learned that Swatow was not a Treaty Port and that trade conducted there was illegal. White had also agreed to have the Lady Flora Hastings load at Namoa, but on learning of the breach of Treaty terms asked for the ship to revert to Amoy. Tait refused claiming it was too late to change arrangements. The ship was to complete the season's complement for Trinidad and had been chartered at �10 5s for every adult landed in the West Indies. She had taken on an English surgeon for �200 for the voyage.
The 674-ton Lady Flora Hastings departed from Namoa on 11 March 1853 with 314 Chinese emigrants under Captain W. Wild. When she arrived at Port of Spain on 28 June after a 108-day voyage, 9 men had died. On her arrival, 13 men had to be sent to hospital suffering from scurvy, complicated with rheumatic pains. The passengers, all aged between 14 and 40 were tended by two Chinese doctors, in addition to G.W. Nichols, the Surgeon.
Just as it appeared that no further shipping would become available, and White was preparing to return home, Turner & Co. was able to charter the Emigrant. This British vessel of 753 tons was rigged as a ship, and was not to be confused with the 594-ton barque Emigrant, also of British registry, had been used by Tait as his receiving ship at Amoy the previous year. William Pedder (1801-1854), the Hong Kong Harbour Master, surveyed the ship on 23 March and provided a certificate showing that the number of passengers allowed was 320. There were two stern ports, and twelve scuttles on each side; three hatchways, two large deck ventilators, and windsails. She had sound water casks, and four boats.
White left Hong Kong before the Emigrant sailed from Whampoa on 24 April 1853 bound for Demerara with 350 coolies, some 70 to 80 of whom were opium addicts. The next morning, the doctor found that one of the passengers had died of fever, and that there were several cases of typhoid. By
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the time the ship arrived at Hong Kong on 27 April, 30 cases had been recorded, and two more died soon after arrival.
A Commission of Enquiry, made up of the Chief Magistrate, the Harbour Master, the Colonial Surgeon, and two other medical men, was appointed on 5 May. The Commissioners reported within four days that the last captain had been sacked for drunkenness, and this was the first command for the new captain, James Elder, who had a Second Class Master's certificate. The Surgeon, John Livingston, RCS Edinburgh, had admitted to being drunk since Whampoa, and had died of the delirium tremens within days of the voyage being abandoned.
They found that the medicine chest was poorly stocked, and no medical checks had been conducted on the coolies. While they found that the provisions on board were of good quality, they would have been insufficient, especially the water supply, for the probable length of the voyage, which the master estimated could be of five months.
The coolies themselves attributed much of their predisposition to sickness due to cold water. Each man had to cook his own allowance, but there was insufficient fuel. There was sufficient room for 350 coolies at 12 feet per person, with three men allocated to a bunk. However, there was insufficient ventilation. Water closets were at the waist of the ship, abaft the forecastle. They were cleaned several times a day, but the waste did not flow out properly.
The Commissioners believed healthy coolies had boarded initially, but were swapped off before the ship sailed. They repeated the oft-mentioned warning that such a system of collection, which was probably the only practicable one, required very great watchfulness, a strict examination of every candidate for emigration; a full identification of him, and a perfect understanding on his part of the agreement by which he has consented to become bound.
This Commission of Enquiry confirmed all that had been generally acknowledged as conditions on board emigrant vessels, and more importantly, documented the profiles of the coolies and the reasons they chose to emigrate. The Commissioners had asked Daniel Caldwell, the acting
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Superintendent of Police, and General Interpreter, to enquire of the passengers their circumstances. He drew up an extensive questionnaire, tabulating the responses. This first analysis of the composition of a shipment of Chinese coolies provided the benchmark from which later shipments can be compared.
The ages of the coolies ranged from 19 to 39, and they came mainly from Poon Yu in the Department of Kwang Chow, and Kwei Sheen in the Department of Weichow. The occupations listed included being a boatman, barber, in agriculture, a vegetable seller, a weaver, as well as candle maker, distiller, bricklayer, lacquer worker, rice pounder, chandler, carver, hawker, carpenter, paper maker. One claimed to be an accountant in a rice shop, but only one admitted to not having a job.
Caldwell noted that when he asked if they were quite willing to go to Demerara as coolies, most of the men stated that they were willing, but he felt that they said so only because they believed that having once come on board and signed the agreement, it would be useless to say that they were unwilling. Here are some of their replies:
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"
I was told by a man named Alok that he would give me $5.
When I got on board, he told me that he had bought clothes for me, but I did not get them, and he left me and ran away with the money.
If I am really to be sent back in 5 years, I won't mind going.
I want to save money to support my mother.
The agreement says 5 years, so I must work that time. I was told that if I went I should receive $5 a month and $2 would be passed to my family. I found this is false and I don't want to go.
I am sorry I engaged to go. I can get no opium.
If I don't get opium, I shall die.
I was told I could return when I pleased. The agreement says 5 years but I only want to go for 2 years.
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora
" I am too sick to go. I think I shall die.
Most were not married, and did not have family other than mother or father. Many admitted to smoking opium, for varying amounts and periods. These first remarks are indicative of the early reasons why such men volunteered to leave home.
In concluding their report, the Commissioners recommended that messes should be matched to the 16 cooks appointed, with the cook and headman to be given a gratuity. Men should be given special duties such as to get provisions, check beds rolled up, deck cleaned. The men should be made to wash daily, with a special wash day, and barbers to shave each week. Then they suggested that more rice and provisions be supplied, and two suits be issued per man. Surprisingly, they thought a promise to mail letters was an important factor, and finally that the master was to be humane. On receiving the Medical Officer's report, Turner & Co. agreed that the voyage be aborted and the remaining coolies sent back to their villages. The Emigrant remained in Hong Kong until she was sold to Portuguese interests in Macao in 1854.
Female dilemma
White arrived back in England while Bowring and Winchester were on home leave. The Emigration Commissioners convened a series of meetings in June 1853 where the question of Chinese emigration was discussed. Governor Barkly had also completed his term in British Guiana and was then also on home leave awaiting re- assignment to Jamaica. He was asked to attend some of the meetings in order to provide his assessment of the
programme.
The meetings in London were at times acrimonious. White espoused the view that female emigration was a possibility, but both Bowring and Winchester strongly opposed this idea. While they did not object to the emigration of females as wives by some special bounty, they did not think that any attempt would lead to much result, as female emigration (except of the least creditable kind) was
Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora 101
unprecedented. They maintained that it could result only in the wholesale purchase and shipment of prostitutes, and that it would be in violent opposition to Chinese law and custom.
But White was not without hope that such an emigration could be gradually set on foot through Hong Kong. He recalled his report of 23 July 1851, where the proposal of Hawa of Teo Cheo included the offer to provide females, and on this, the Commissioners thought that White should be authorised to try, even though a considerable increase in the customary advance to male emigrants would be necessary. Bowring was especially appalled and from then on offered no further assistance to White.
White was re-appointed for another year after strong representations from the WIC. He arrived back in Hong Kong on 11 November 1853, only to find that there were no vessels open for charter anywhere along the coast. He reported to the CLEC on 10 December that, with the fierce competition for ships, Tait & Co. would only contract to take up any shipping on the condition that the ship load at Namoa. This was to allow Tait to obtain a commission. Although this was contrary to his express wish that the emigration should be conducted from Hong Kong, White acceded, fearing that if he rejected the proposal he would lose the chance of any vessels that might arrive at Amoy.
White also came to the conclusion that if emigration was to be carried on from Hong Kong, it was absolutely necessary to have a depot there. This would enable emigrants to be collected and prepared for embarkation without delay when a vessel was ready to receive them. He suggested a hulk that would cost from �3,000 to �4,000, could serve as a depot afloat. He also advised that some disused lots could be had for �300 a year, but that they could not be made available until the Governor, who was residing in a house adjoining the lot, had moved into the new Government House.
On Boxing Day 1853 White reported that only a few vessels had arrived, and all under previous engagements. On 10 December, an unscrupulous Captain Hubbert had written saying he was informed that James White was ready to pay very liberally, and was offering his ship, the Jamestown. She
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was already marked out for Manila, but he was prepared to abandon the latter on receipt of the best offer from White. The offer had to be very clear; so much per head for 500, or as many more as the ship could take in her 'tween decks. Freight was to be paid on the number shipped, less two percent, in the event of any mortality amounting to more than that percentage.
White then raised the contentious issue of procuring women by purchase, directly or indirectly. Girls of ten to fifteen years of age, of respectable connexion, could be obtained for about forty dollars, and he proposed to pay this amount to a few of the more respectable emigrants, leaving them to make their own arrangements, as long as they were married before the departure of the vessel. The information he was given was that there was no probability of obtaining women without purchase, for that was the universal custom of the country.
The Commissioners approved of the White proposal to obtain women, on the understanding that the intention was that, as wives were in fact obtained by purchase in China, he would furnish the means of effecting marriages in this, the usual manner, to some of the emigrants procured by him. He was to take care that the connection was as legitimate and obligatory as the law and usage of China rendered possible.
But the Commissioners would not sanction the expenditure of money for a depot. Emigration from Hong Kong was experimental. The Commissioners then drew White's attention to his instructions which authorised him to despatch emigrants only from Hong Kong, or from Amoy. The Commissioners reminded White that emigration from Namoa was in direct violation of their treaties with China, and when emigration was set on foot from that port in 1852, it elicited an immediate remonstrance from the Foreign Office.
The only ship to sail in 1854 was also the first ship to load indentured labour for Jamaica. It was the 619-ton British ship Epsom which departed from Hong Kong on 1 April 1854 with 310 emigrants. White enthusiastically reported that the vessel got under way amid the firing of crackers and the uproar of gongs and drums. The emigrants were all fine able-
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bodied agricultural labourers with a few who had a slight knowledge of English.
White did not explain how he had recruited the men, merely saying that being unsure of the vessel's readiness, measures to procure emigrants did not commence until 10 March, when they had come forward in considerable numbers, and were sent straight out to the ship. He did not have a depot ashore to accommodate them. When it was discovered that they would not receive any money until the ship was ready to sail, the contractors claimed that the ship was going to take them away as slaves without paying advances. In the confusion that followed, many of them went away in the boats that had come alongside, taking articles that had been put on board for their use.
When the vessel moved further offshore, the people remaining on board were paid, and a bumboat sent alongside with articles they were likely to require. For several days no emigrants came forward, but with the favourable account given by the people on board, men came to the office to make inquiries, and finally to offer themselves as emigrants. After this, matters went on smoothly, and the number required was completed without difficulty.
Learning from the experience of previous departures, White appointed twelve cooks, six headmen, and two barbers, amongst the coolies. If they conducted themselves to the satisfaction of the captain, they were to be entitled to $2, $3, and $2 per month respectively, payable in Jamaica.
Frustrated with his inability to procure ships, and the rebuke over Namoa, White had written personally to Commissioner Rogers advising that he was leaving Hong Kong in April; and that he had no expectation of returning. The heated debates with Bowring and Winchester over female emigration still rankled, and now John Bowring was going to become Governor of Hong Kong.
An unidentified passenger on that voyage wrote as follows.
"Dear Grandpa, Uncle, Grandma, Dad, Mum and my friends, "I am leaving for a period of time. I am sorry that I cannot fulfil my filial duties. As a rover, I have to leave my siblings and
friends, and being separated from parents. I introspect myself every night, feeling contrite for my unfilial behaviour.
"The journey began on 4 March from Hong Kong and will be arriving Jamaica by 6 July. That is a completely different country from where I lived. Hopefully I can adapt to the place. I have had a hard time on the ship. There are always huge waves that surge like mountains, not to mention the other difficulties. Fortunately thanks to the blessings, I am safe throughout the ship. I always pray to keep my family safe. That is my only wish in my life.
"After arriving Jamaica, a local officer will provide guarantee for me. A five year contract will be made. The salary is $8 each month. Once the contract is ended that company will send me back to Hong Kong. I dare not stay in Jamaica and will definitely come back at that time.
"I have much more to say, but words cannot express all my feelings.
"Best wishes"
,,45
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The Epsom arrived 118 days after leaving Hong Kong.** It was an uneventful voyage until 14 days before arrival when more than 40 died from scurvy and beriberi. Another 12 died after her arrival in Kingston on 30 July 1854.
Shipments to Panama
The 1,600-ton American clipper Sea Witch departed Namoa on 27 January 1854 with 719 coolies consigned to the Panama Railroad Company. She had been chartered in New York after a Director and agent, Samuel W. Comstock, tried unsuccessfully to arrange a charter for the similar sized Williamsburgh which proceeded to San Francisco instead.
The Sea Witch, owned by Howland and Aspinwall, was 192 feet long with a 140-foot mainmast so tall it was able to carry five tiers of sails. Captain Fraser had her upper deck housed over from the mizzen (aftermost mast) forward, so that she could carry nearly as many passengers on that deck as on her 'tween deck. After a 65-day passage in which some 14 Chinese died, the Sea Witch arrived in Panama on 29 March 1854 with 705 coolies. From a 1861 speech by the President of Manhattan Life Insurance Company, he related how the ship's owners had sought to take insurance on the lives of the coolies which they valued at $120 each. In one of the first Group policies written by an American Life

coolie-ships-of-the-chinese-diaspora1846-1874 — Page 1

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