A Study Of Coolie Trade From China To The Americas1847-1874

Under the profit-seeking of global capital,the gradual abolition of the slave trade and the lack of labor in the undeveloped areas and plantations in the Americas forced the American plantation owners to urgently seek alternatives to slave labor.The British made a series of attempts to introduce Asian indentured laborers and created coolie labor system under the cover of contract system.They turned their attention to China which was in a turbulent period and had a large number of displaced surplus labor force,and started the evil coolie trade.The trade first flourished in Xiamen which on the coast of Fujian Province.In the1850 s,rampant illegal coolie recruitment and the rise of the people’s opposition led to the gradual spread of trade to Shantou,Hong Kong,Guangzhou,Ningbo,Macao and other ports.A series of regulating and restricting coolie recruitment laws made Chinese Macau which was under Portuguese control be a center of coolie recruitment.Coolie merchants of various countries hired local Chinese knaves to abduct and kidnap civilians to baracoons.Then the merchants lured or coerced them into signing a “voluntary” contract to work abroad.Later,shipping companies or captains from relevant countries explored several ocean routes to the American continent to carry out coolie trafficking.Coolies suffered humiliation and abuse on coolie ships called “floating hell on the sea”.And they were transported across the ocean to slave markets of the Americas where they were traded openly like livestock.Finally,they were imprisoned in harsh working conditions for forced labor.Coolie buyers used manipulative contracts and legislation restricting freedom to continuously enslave them.With the competition and cooperation of countries,the trade involved different practitioners from all over the world formed a vast transnational business network which created huge profits for Western businessmen.With the continuous expansion of coolie trade,opinions were divided within Western countries on coolie trade,and the opposition voices gradually gained the upper hand.Britain and the United States respectively issued bans and strengthened normative control to reduce its drawbacks.By the end of the 1860 s,a series of appalling incidents on coolie ships and working places led to an international outcry against coolie trade,and Portugal was pushed to the center of public opinion.At the same time,the Qing government also paid more attention to coolie problem and began to take the initiative to negotiate with Western countries about coolie issues.Ruilin who is the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi carried out a tight inspection and blockade of the coastal port.After that,the Qing government sent delegations to Cuba and Peru for field investigations,which eventually forced the coolie trade to come to an end.This trade effectively promoted the economic development and labor mode transformation of the Americas.And it contributed to the Qing government’s change of attitude towards overseas Chinese and the globalization process in the Pacific region.