Research On South Africa Contract Laborers In The Late Qing Dynasty

The late Qing Dynasty is a precarious state in the history of China. After the opium war, the Chinese society into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Chinese feudal economic rapid disintegration of self-sufficiency, capitalistic forces to enter the Chinese market, a large number of agriculture and small hand bankruptcy, forced to go out of the country, the phenomenon of Chinese workers going abroad appears. The contract laborers have closely connected with the modern world, in order to develop colonies the western capitalist countries need a lot of laborers in the worldwide after entering the modern world, however, at this time because of the worldwide emancipation made the lack of labor colonies. Through wars of aggression against China, the western capitalist countries gain more benefits in China. Using of the second Opium War, the western capitalist countries forced the Qing government to sign the "Treaty of Beijing". The "Treaty of Beijing" allows the western capitalist countries recruit workers in China; western countries begin large-scale recruitment of legitimate in China. In the late Qing Dynasty, contract laborers abroad have become a universal phenomenon, South Africa contract laborer is just one type of contract laborers.Relations between China and Africa have a long history; however, massive contract labor export to South Africa took place in the late Qing Dynasty. In the end of19th century and early20th century, Britain established colonial in South Africa because of the Anglo Boer War, however, South Africa’s economic depression after the Anglo Boer War, in order to meet the needs of the post-war economic recovery and gold capitalist pursuit of excess monopoly profit, South Africa began actively introducing Chinese contract laborers. In the late Qing Dynasty Chinese contract laborers went to South Africa, not only because of adapting the trend of the world economy development, but mainly caused by overpopulation and civil strife which made people living in extreme poverty and suffering."Paul workers Prospectus" means the start of large-scale recruitment of laborers in South Africa, recruiting a total of more than sixty thousand laborers, a majority of Chinese contract laborers came from Hebei Province and Shandong Province in the late Qing Dynasty, they are living and working in South Africa three years, not only contributing to South Africa’s economic recovery and development, also produces an important impact on South African politics, British politics and the late Qing society. At present, academic circles research on the South Africa contract laborers are not much and seem relatively weak. Therefore, as a people of Shandong Province, it is necessary to continue to explore the South Africa contract laborers on the late Qing Dynasty.Through the study of contract laborers in South Africa, we can not only know the social reality of Late Qing Dynasty, but the truth can restore laborers abroad. We mentioned contract laborers generally linked with cruelty in the past, but today it seems a bit exaggerated. Contract laborers are better than slaves who are looted directly from the coast, contract laborers can get some income. In addition, the late Qing government also began to care about Chinese laborers to actively fight for the rights of laborers, although with limited success, but after all, to protect the majority of Chinese workers returned after the contract expires. Research contract laborers not only for today’s workers living abroad can learn to play the role, but also provides reference for our overseas Chinese affairs and foreign policy.