1853 Exceedingly Rare Cuban Contract for Chinese Doctor to Care for Coolies on the Ships
12082On offer is a rare contract prepared for a Chinese physician who is being contracted to care for Chinese aboard a coolie trade ship who require medical and emotional support.
The contract was prepared for a doctor named Quo Soo. It indicates that he will be paid 15 pesos per month for caring for Chinese aboard frigates that bring them from Macau to Havana. The document is handwritten in Spanish and signed in Chinese in Havana on June 15, 1853. This document provides insight into the system that supported the Chinese Coolie Trade and the men themselves.
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.
The document measures 9.5x7.75 inches. It is written legibly in ink and shows age toning and significant fold lines with some slight tearing at the creases. At some point, the blank backing of the one-page document was glued to a Spanish-language newspaper which also shows signs of toning. This does not interfere with readability or attractiveness of the document. tSpanish language with two Chinese signatures. Fair+.
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