1864 Archive of Two Incredible Chinese Coolie Trade Ship Arrival Manifests for Passengers of the Portuguese Vessel Luisita’s Sailing from Macau to Havana

On offer is an archive two detailed arrival manifests, recording the names, information and fates of 177 Chinese men who were transported on the October 1863 voyage of the Luisita from the port of Macau to Havana, Cuba to complete their indentured servitude as “coolies”, working for Cuban sugar plantation owners.

These manifests were created upon the arrival of the Luisita in Havana, Cuba, once the coolies on board had their contracts sold to plantation owners. This sailing of the Luisita departed on October 30, 1863 from Macau. It arrived in Cuba on February 21, 1864. 343 Chinese men boarded the ship in Macau and only 283 arrived alive in Havana, for a death rate of 17.49%. The ultimate fates of 177 of those men can be found on these manifests. On each manifest, the coolie’s number (assigned at departure), Chinese name, given Christian name, age, sex, work he is destined to do, length of contract, start date of contract, Cuban patron (plantation owner) and location they will be living are indicated. 

The first manifest identifies 67 coolies whose contract will begin on March 16, 1864. The names are divided into chunks based on the patron who will be overseeing the work of each group and their work destination. The second manifest lists a massive 110 coolies whose contracts will begin March 17, 1864. Again, these names are listed in batches based on the patron and work destination. On the second manifest there are small checkmarks beside the names of the disembarking coolies indicating that they had been accounted for. 

This ship was formerly the Fanny Fern. It was built in Maine, purchased in August of 1863 by Filomena M. de Garcia in Macau, and renamed the Luisita. The ship was overseen on this voyage by American Captain Jordan, though official documents were signed by Joao A. Nunez of Portugal. It took them 75 days to load the 343 coolies and over the 114 day voyage, over 17% of the men on board died. 

The Luisita sailed for the company Alianza y Ferran y Dupierris, a coolie importing business, which seems to have been a collaboration between La Alianza, Marcial Dupierris, and Antonio Ferran. Dupierris and Ferran were two of the four owners of Empressa de Colonizacion, a company that ultimately merged with La Alianza. Both of  the manifests are signed by the Vice Director of Alianza y Cia, Carlos de Zaldo as well as by Ferran y Dupierris. . 

The Chinese coolie trade, a system of indentured labor that targeted young, poor Chinese men, operated from 1847-1874. Throughout this period, African slavery was slowly being abolished around the world. The coolie trade was initiated by Britain and was eventually dominated by both Britain and the United States of America. Chinese coolie laborers were sent to work in British, American and Spanish colonies, and the nature of the trade changed throughout its 27-year operation, due to social and political pressures. The coolie trade took place, in large part, between the shipping port in Macao (now a part of China, then under Portuguese rule) and Havana, Cuba (then under Spanish control). As Macau was under Portugese rule at the time of the coolie trade, they transported coolies on their vessels frequently and many of the manifests were written in Portuguese and/or Spanish. To learn more about the Chinese coolie trade and its importance in world history, click here to read our in-depth research blog on the topic. 

Both manifests measure 13.5x17 inches. The first manifest is one folio leaf with writing on the front and back. The second is two folio leaves with writing on the front of one side and only the front of the other. They display significant signs of aging including age toning, small rips and tears, especially at the centre creases. The one-leaf manifest is ++ fragile and likely to separate at the middle horizontal fold in transit. The two leaf manifest is less fragile. Spanish language. Overall Poor to Fair. 

Citation: