Chapter 5 Section 2 From plundering Chinese laborers to signing recruitment contracts

After China's gate was blasted open by the colonists, conditions were created for the colonists to directly and openly plunder China's "coolies" in large numbers. The central market for rebuying coolies established for Singapore in Southeast Asia was quickly transferred to China by the colonists. In the mainland, from sporadic human trafficking in the past, a large number of Chinese laborers were abducted and trafficked to the whole of America. On December 7, 1846, Dedi, a British speculator in the coolie trade, arrived in Xiamen and claimed that he was entrusted by the Spanish government to establish a Spanish consulate in Xiamen.Liu Yunke, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, approved his request, and Dedi opened Dadeji Foreign Firm in Xiamen, which operates the coolie trade for Spain - selling people.In order to imprison the abducted Chinese laborers, Dade Kee established a Barracoon (Barracoon, Portuguese, that is, piglet house) near Xiamen Customs. It is also known as the humble one), and there is a piggy ship named "Imigrant" parked on the ocean, which is specially used to accept the "pigies" handed over by human traffickers.

After Xiamen became the center of human trafficking, the colonists took Shantou, which is about 100 miles away from Xiamen, together with Macau and Venus Gate not far from the north of Macau, as important bases for coolie trade.Another center is the so-called "free port" - Hong Kong.After the Second Opium War, human trafficking markets were established in most ports in South China, and the trafficking center has been transferred to Guangzhou. The colonialists who started these human trafficking companies were mainly British, French, Americans and Spaniards.When they plundered the Chinese laborers, they recruited some local ruffians, hooligans and villains in our country as recruiters, and used tricks such as lure and kidnapping in casinos and brothels to deceive many farmers in Guangdong, Fujian and other places into coolies.

After the colonialists set up human trafficking and Chinese labor transfer centers in the southeastern coastal ports of China, they began to use various despicable means to lure coolies, and even openly kidnap coolies.At that time, the working people in the southeast coastal ports were terrified and terrified all day long. Once the coolies are caught by swindlers and catchers, they immediately lose their personal freedom and are escorted to small boats moored on the sea surface of the port.At the Pearl River Port, forty or fifty of these small boats are often lined up in rows, which can be said to be living hells.The boat is commanded by foreign human traffickers.Anyone who was kidnapped on a small boat and refused to "sign" a "contract" to go abroad would be subjected to cruel punishment.For example, some were hung up with their thumbs or toes tied and beaten; some were put into bamboo cages and soaked in water; Put your palms together and tie them tightly, then use a bamboo stick to tap into the two palms, and so on.Until they "agree" to sign the deed.

After the coolies were forced to agree, they were sent by small boat to the "Zhuzai Tunboat" far from the coast. "Zhuzai Tunchuan" is actually a slave trading ship and a special prison.The inside of the ship was dark and there was no light to be seen.Piggy bunks are arranged in long rows, running straight through the entire cabin. Two people cannot stand side by side at the widest part of the cabin, and the air is suffocating.After the coolies were filled, the Zhuzaitun boat left the Chinese sea and sailed to America. The Qing government, which betrayed the country and surrendered, had nothing to do with the "piggy garrison boats" that plundered the Chinese laborers.However, in order to protect their own safety, the peasants in Guangdong stepped forward and waged a resolute struggle against the banditry of the colonialists.They worked hard to catch piglet traders who worked for Western human traffickers, and punished them severely according to local traditional methods in order to uphold national justice.The abducted Chinese laborers also struggled to escape from the tiger's mouth. On August 12, 1858, 87 Chinese laborers on the piggy bank in the United States took the opportunity to riot on the way to Macau, angrily killed the traffickers, and destroyed the boat.Commercial firms from all walks of life in Guangzhou also jointly wrote letters to the British Consulate, exposing the criminal acts of foreign traffickers who robbed children of good families and sold people into slavery.Protests from all walks of life in Guangzhou surged, making the foreign colonists terrified.

In order to continue to obtain high profits from this evil business, the British and French colonialists bribed the Chinese yamen and directed a trick of establishing "free immigration". On April 6, 1859, the magistrates of Nanhai and Panyu counties posted a "Joint Title Announcement", urging the recruited Chinese laborers not to stop them from "going abroad with foreigners".This is tantamount to recognizing the legitimacy of Chinese workers going abroad.Three days later, Baigui, the governor of Guangdong, posted another notice, stipulating that if Guangdong merchants go abroad voluntarily, "there is no need to stop them, and they are allowed to make contracts with outsiders to go abroad at will."On the surface, it promised to "go abroad voluntarily", but in fact it legalized the colonialists' plundering and enslaving people in China.Subsequently, the British government used this as a basis to force the Qing government to recognize this "legal" precedent. On November 10, 1859, Austin, the British Recruitment Commissioner, hung the first "Recruitment Office" sign in Xiguan, Guangzhou, and officially established a "legal" "Recruitment Office". On February 18, 1860, Su Chongguang, who was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi at the time, accepted the suggestion of the commander of the British and French allied forces and promulgated the "Twelve Articles of the Regulations on Recruitment of Foreign Employers". This was the first recruitment regulation issued in the name of an official of the Qing Dynasty.Not only did the statute not guarantee any rights of Chinese laborers, but it also assigned the right to manage recruitment to the Taxation Department, which was headed by an Englishman.So far, officials of the Chinese Qing government have no say in the issue of "recruiting" Chinese laborers, and can only obey the arbitrary mercy of the colonialists.

The legalization of plundering population has led to the establishment of recruitment centers in Guangdong and other places like mushrooms after rain.Forced by life, some working people also began to sign harsh recruitment contracts with recruitment agencies.The following is a recruitment contract signed by Chinese workers. I was born in ____ China.Aged __ years old.Sign a contract with Vargas Company today, the terms are as follows: (1) I promise to go to Havana, Cuba on the ship assigned by the company. (2) I undertake to serve eight years in Cuba at the beck and call of Dolisis, Ferrand, and Dubilis, or whoever they transfer me to.Whether they send me to a field, a village, a private home, a factory, or anywhere, whether they send me to plow the fields, build roads, grow coffee, blacksmith, be a domestic servant, or any other job, I promise to obey.

(3) The calculation of the eight-year working period is: if I am in good health when I arrive in Cuba, it will be counted from the first day when I am taken away by the buyer after arriving in Havana.If you are sick or unable to work immediately when you arrive in Cuba, it will be counted from the eighth day after you leave the hospital. (4) The working hours should be determined by the buyer according to the nature of the work, and sometimes only intermittent rest can be done.But every 24 hours, you can focus on sleeping for a while.Breakfast and dinner times are based on the work and rest time of local workers.

(5) There is no need to work after get off work every day and on Sundays unless you cannot stop for work. (6) I must abide by the rules and regulations set by the factory, workshop, field and family.I must submit to the owner's and supervisor's punishment if I am lazy during working hours or fail to follow the owner's or supervisor's order, but the error is not enough to constitute a criminal offense. (7) During the period of eight years stipulated in the contract, I promise to serve my master consistently under all circumstances, and never find any reason or excuse to run away from him.

(8) If I am sick for more than a week, I agree to stop my wages and pay me wages when I recover and can work again. The following are the provisions that Vargas Company signed with me on behalf of the management. (1) Counting from the first day of the eight-year working period, the employer paid me four yuan in wages. (2) The management provided me eight taels of pickles and two and a half pounds of sweet potatoes every day. (3) When I am sick and hospitalized, the employer will bear all the hospital expenses until I am discharged from the hospital. (4) The management gave me two sets of clothes, a sweater, and a blanket every year.

(5) Travel expenses to Havana and onboard expenses are borne by the company. (6) Before departure, the company paid me eight silver dollars for equipment. (7) Before departure, the company sent me three sets of clothes, bedding and necessities for the journey worth four yuan.Together with the eight yuan mentioned in the previous article, the total amount is 12 yuan.After I arrive in Havana, the employer can deduct one yuan from my monthly salary and return it to the company, which will be deducted within 12 months.After I accept the coins and clothes in the above two articles, I promise to pay back the 12 yuan one after another in Havana according to the above article.Although the wages of Cuban free workers and black slaves are more than four yuan, but because the management provides me with other benefits, I agree to set my salary at four yuan.

In order to ensure the strict implementation of the above provisions, both parties to the contract signed two contracts with the same content. This contract was signed on ______________________________________________________________________________________ who made the contract on ________________. Contracted laborers are generally Chinese laborers who went from Macau to Latin America.All Chinese laborers who went to Latin America generally had to sign such a contract, so the Chinese laborers who went to Latin America were commonly called contracted Chinese laborers.This contract is actually a contract of sale.In the execution of the contract, the plantation owner, mine owner or handicraft factory owner held the control of the contract, so it was difficult to realize various guarantees in favor of the Chinese workers, and the contract obligations were often arbitrarily increased according to the will of the owner. With the different time and place, the cost of going abroad for each contracted Chinese laborer also varies. For example, from 1862 to 1863, the average cost of each Chinese contracted Chinese laborer recruited by British Guiana was 133.70 yuan. The breakdown is as follows: Part of the cost paid in China $64.04 Charter fee, 15 pounds per person, converted to $66.66 at four shillings and six pence equal to one dollar $3.00 for hiring a doctor, etc. Total $133.70 According to statistics, during the climax of contracted Chinese laborers going to the United States, that is, from June 13, 1847, when the British ship "Duke of Argyll" carried the first batch of contracted Chinese laborers from Xiamen to the port of Havana, on July 2, 1874, when the Peruvian ship " The Hella carried the last batch of Chinese laborers to the Port of Callao, and a total of 250,000 to 500,000 contracted Chinese laborers were shipped to Cuba, Peru, Chile, and the Hawaiian Islands. Like Latin America, before 1850, the United States also implemented this contract Chinese labor system.However, as the domestic situation changed, the United States gradually abandoned this outdated form of immigration. In September 1849, California held a constitutional convention that enacted a state constitution that prohibited slavery. In 1850, after intense debate among representatives of the British Congress, the "1850 Compromise" was finally reached, and California was admitted to the United States as a free state.Therefore, to implement the indentured labor system of slavery in this state will inevitably violate the state constitution and be firmly opposed by the local people.What's more, the British Parliament passed a "Passenger Act" in 1855, stipulating that Hong Kong was the only port from China to the United States, and Hong Kong had been declared a free port as early as 1841.Continuing to sell indentured Chinese laborers in Hong Kong is obviously contrary to the status of a free port.Based on the above reasons, a new form of immigration to the United States has emerged-"single work on credit". "Credit order" is Cantonese, which means "credit ship ticket system", and its immigrants to the United States are called "credit single work". "Credit work" refers to those overseas laborers who are unable to pay in cash and have Chinese merchants or foreign companies pay for the ticket.The merchant or company pays for the ticket in advance for the credit worker, and then receives compensation from the relative or future employer of the person going abroad.The fundamental difference between this kind of "single labor on credit" and "contract Chinese labor" is that the "labor service" contract is changed to a "debt" contract.According to regulations, after arriving in the United States, Chinese laborers do not have to serve for a certain period of time, but have to use their own labor income to repay the shipping fee and interest.The minimum boat fare from Hong Kong to San Francisco was about $40 per person, and about $100 had to be repaid on return.This money is stipulated to be deducted from salary every month.Hua Gong must pay off his debts before he can return to China, otherwise, the steamship company will not allow him to sell him a ticket to return to China.Since Chinese workers generally have wives and children in China, and they all want to return to their hometown after working for a period of time, they usually pay off the debt as soon as possible.This method is obviously superior to the contract Chinese labor system, so since the middle of the 19th century, the United States has gradually replaced the contract Chinese labor system with the credit contract system. The implementation of the "single credit" system mainly relied on the Chinese businessmen who went to the United States in the early days and their guild halls (there were also foreign companies).These businessmen followed Chinese laborers to the American mines and opened stores that provided daily necessities and tools.Later, they gradually developed into brokers for American companies to hire Chinese workers.It was these wealthy Chinese businessmen who brought back part of the huge profits they made to China, recruited Chinese laborers for various American companies, and became charterers of American ships, transporting labor to the United States on credit.They generally use the six major halls (Tongzhou, Ningyang, Sanyi, Yanghe, Renhe, and Hehe) in San Francisco as institutions to recruit credit workers in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. recruitment work. In 1868, in order to meet the special needs of developing the western region, the United States signed the "Sino-US Tianjin Treaty Continuation Treaty" (the "Burman Burlingame Treaty") with China through Burlingame.Burlingame was the US Minister to China, and his term expired in 1868.At the suggestion of Chief Taxation Secretary Hurd, the Prime Minister of the Qing government sent him to the United States as an imperial envoy to the United States.After Burlingame arrived in the United States, he arbitrarily overstepped his authority and signed the "Continuation Treaty" with the Secretary of State of the United States in Washington, according to the wishes of the United States. Let them do what they want, don't stop them."After the Qing government was forced to accept this treaty, it "legalized" the recruitment of a large number of Chinese laborers by the United States.As a result, a large number of credit workers went to the United States immediately in China. Generally, credit workers in the United States have to sign credit contracts with Chinese businessmen or foreign companies.The following is a blank contract text of the "credit order system" in those days, which was concluded between a British company "Xiangshenghang" in Shanghai and Huagong.It is kept at the Wells Fargo Museum in San Francisco: The Yinghua Commercial and Civilian Contract was negotiated.Today, there is Xiangshengxing, which specially hires the Citigroup ship, named Yama San, to transport the servants who want to go abroad. Franz Gekou (that is, San Francisco City) is looking for a physiology on his behalf. It sets off from Shanghai, and it provides meals and ships. Banknotes and other fees are all paid by the owner of Xiangshenghang.To get there, you still need to be recommended by your boss.The silver he paid on his behalf should be returned. Once the psychology is confirmed, he will advance to the original owner's family the board and boat bills and water feet of foreign silver, one hundred and twenty yuan per person, and return it to the owner of Xiangshengxing for his own collection.That is to say, it is negotiated with the person who is employed as a worker at the place that a certain amount of wages will be deducted every month, and the monthly payment will only be made after all deductions are cleared.This is two wishes, no objection.If you want to have proof now, make this agreement, each holding a piece of paper as a photo, in the year of Yiyou (1849) month Hitachi Huamin British business According to statistics, before 1848, there were only about 70 Chinese laborers who settled in California, the western United States. After the discovery of gold mines in California in 1848, driven by the dream of gold, the number of Chinese laborers going to California increased sharply, but there were only a few thousand people every year, and only a few years exceeded 10,000.However, during the period from 1868 to 1882 when the "Continuation Treaty of the Sino-US Treaty of Tianjin" was signed, there were nine years in which more than 10,000 credit workers went to the United States, and the total number reached more than 100,000. Chinese laborers who go to Canada usually go to Canada in the form of simple work on credit.From Hong Kong by boat. Before 1858, few Chinese laborers went to Canada.According to historical records, a large number of Chinese workers went to Canada in 1852. "In 1858, explorers and hunters discovered gold sands on the banks of the Fraver River in the southwest corner of British Columbia. Residents from all over the world flocked to pan for gold. The beginning. After the Gold Rush, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company built the Transcontinental Railway, which led to an upsurge of overseas Chinese in Canada. As of 1891, there were 9,129 overseas Chinese in Canada. By 1950, the total number of Chinese in Canada had reached 85,000.

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