1866 Pair of Havana Government Manuscripts Authorizing and Publicizing the Chinese Coolie Voyage of the Spanish Frigate Burdeos y Habana 2, Chartered by Hermanos y Watson
12095On offer is an extraordinary pair of interrelated Havana government manuscripts dated June 13, 1866 and June 22, 1866, documenting both the authorization and the ministerial publication order for a single, verifiable coolie voyage being the transport of 240 Chinese laborers aboard the Spanish frigate Burdeos y Habana No. 2, chartered by the Havana merchant firm Caro Hermanos y Watson.
Together these two documents form a complete bureaucratic chain tracing the internal certification and public announcement of a named Chinese coolie voyage, representing one of an iteration of the trans-Pacific indenture system before its abolition in 1874.
The first document, signed “Caro Hnos. y Watson” and issued by the Superior Civil Governor of Havana, confirms compliance with the Reglamento de Colonos Asiáticos and certifies that the firm had chartered the frigate Burdeos y Habana No. 2 to convey 240 colonists from Macao to Havana.
The second document, issued nine days later by the Ministerio de Ultramar and addressed to the Director de la Gaceta de la Habana, orders publication of the voyage details in accordance with Article 4 of the Reglamento de Avisos de Ausentes, thereby making the notice official in the colonial press.
Both manuscripts were written while the ship was still at sea (one as an internal act of compliance, the other as a ministerial act of recordkeeping) revealing the layered bureaucracy that sustained the importation of Asian labor under Spanish rule. According to John Asome’s definitive Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora (1846–1874), the frigate Burdeos y Habana No. 2 departed Macao on March 24, 1866 carrying 242 Chinese men and arrived in Havana on August 27, 1866, disembarking 224 survivors after nearly five months in transit. These documents reflect the precise administrative rhythm of the trade: local verification, metropolitan approval, and public disclosure in the Havana Gazette.
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 Macao was under Portuguese 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 manuscripts are written in an elegant colonial hand in brown ink on watermarked laid paper. The first measures approximately 8 x 12 inches and bears the official green “Sello 8º” revenue stamp; the second, about 12½ x 8½ inches, remains legible with minor toning and wear. Both Good+
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