Sailing the British Empire : The Voyages of The Clarence, 1858-73

Indentured Laborers From Beyond the Indian Subcontinent

While India was by far the largest contributor to the coolie trade, indentured laborers came from multiple areas of origin. In addition to India, China was a significant player in the coolie trade.  The spreading of the coolie trade from India to China began in 1843, when a vessel carried 582 Chinese indentured laborers from Singapore to Mauritius, an island off the coast of East Africa.  Following the success of this voyage, the coolie trade from China escalated.
The following map shows the most trafficked ports of departure in China.
The following map shows the number of Chinese migrants to various destinations from 1841 to 1900.  The size of each bubble represents the proportion of total migrants.  Mouse over each bubble for the name of each destination.

The majority of Chinese migrants arrived in Cuba and Peru over the period 1841 to 1900, with the majority arriving between 1851 and 1870.  In comparison, the most common destinations for migrants from India were Mauritius and British Guiana. 


Source Cited:
1. Northrup, David. Indentured Labor In the Age of Imperialism, 1834-1922. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. 55, 156-157.
 

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