jhameia: empanadilladepizza: lareinaana: covenesque: thesmithian: the Chinese presence in Cuba began
jhameia:empanadilladepizza:lareinaana:covenesque:thesmithian:the Chinese presence in Cuba began in the 19th century, when ‘recruiters’ went to cities like Hong Kong…coercing men to sign contracts to work for minimal wages in exchange for eventual freedom. They functioned as a sort of supplement to slave labor, augmenting the African slave population that already existed in the country.more.(they did this in jamaica too. like, i need to get this book asap)This is just one facet of a larger issue of erasure that goes across the Caribbean. We definitely need to be talking about this even more, will find myself a copy.Really though.The Coolie Speaks by Lisa Yun is a great book about the history of coolies in Cuba, too. She has translations of several of their petitions and testaments that they wrote when the Emperor finally sent a commissioner to investigate the working conditions of coolies. All sorts of people were kidnapped; teachers, generals, shopkeepers… they were “technically” paid with “contracts” that should look very familiar to us today. -- source link