What is the coolie trade?

The Coolie Trade is the term given to the emigration of hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers to various countries in the middle of the 19th century under a contract labor system. Ostensibly an improvement from the African slave trade, this system of contract labor differed little from slavery in practice and led to the mistreatment and abuse of hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers, or "coolies". During the Coolie Trade, the majority of these laborers went to Peru and Cuba, where a new source of cheap labor was needed on plantations and mines. This large scale international migration has had a significant impact on the cultures of Cuba and Peru as well as the composition of their respective societies.

When did it take place?

The Coolie Trade is traditionally said to have begun in 1847 when the first coolie ship, Oquendo, took ~200 Chinese laborers to Cuba.

The trade ended officially in 1874 when international pressure forced the Portuguese government to end the trade within the city of Macao, the last port in China involved in the Coolie Trade.

what were the causes/motivations?

Due to the end of the African slave trade in the early 19th century, Latin American nations experienced a significant labor shortage that required a new source of cheap labor. Powerful interests like the sugar cane industry in Cuba and the guano mines in Peru led to the importation of coolie laborers from Chinese port cities. These laborers, who worked under a contract system, formed an integral core of the laborer system in their respective destination countries.

Internally within China, there was a massive change in demographics and population that led to a vast migration to the coastal cities and provinces where the Coolie Trade was most active. China's overpopulation led to a lack of opportunities for young Chinese men, which made the chance for a new life in the New World appealing, especially considering many if not most coolies did not understand the terms and conditions of the contracts they had signed.

how did the chinese government react?

This is a question that must be approached within the context of the time period. At the time, the Chinese government (Qing dynasty) faced numerous threats from Western imperial powers who were increasingly taking over control of significant parts of certain Chinese port cities, if not taking full control of cities like Hong Kong and Macao. Additionally, internal problems like the Taiping Rebellion forced the Qing government to focus much of their efforts on quelling the rebellion and reestablishing internal order. Thus, during the early years of the Coolie Trade, the Qing government left much of the responsibility for preventing Chinese from emigrating to local provincial officials who had few resources to stop the trade. Additionally, those Chinese who left the country to find employment in the New World were characterized as traitors or as being unworthy of protection from the Emperor. This view had its basis in the fact that many Chinese emigrant communities in Southeast Asia had been sites of anti-dynastic activities under both the Ming and Qing dynasties.

It was not until the ascension of the Tongzhi Emperor and the appointment of Prince Kung and other "self-strengthening" officials like Li Hongzhang that the Qing government was more active in working to end the abuses of the Coolie Trade. Through the activities of the Tsungli Yamen (foreign office) and leading diplomats, the Qing government pushed back against both the British and French to demand certain restrictions on how coolies were transported. The Qing government even went so far as to send an official and future foreign consul to the US, Spain, and Peru, Chen Lan-bin, to investigate the treatment of coolies in Cuba. His report, titled the Cuba Commission Report, revealed widespread abuse and mistreatment of laborers during their voyage and in Cuba. This unequivocal document, coupled with an active Qing diplomatic effort and international public opinion turning against the trade, helped to bring the trade to its end in 1874. Future Chinese emigrants were considered "free laborers" and were not bound by contracts.

How did the trade end?

Numerous events and political forces led to the end of the trade. There was international pressure from various western governments, most notably the British and American governments who condemned the Coolie Trade as a continuation of the African slave trade that ostensibly ended in the early 19th century. Additionally, the Chinese government worked to end the trade in those provinces and cities that they retained control over and worked through the Tsungli Yamen (foreign office) to negotiate with foreign powers involved in the trade. Various scandals regarding the conditions on the coolie ships and the treatment of the laborers in their destination countries also led to international popular outrage towards the trade, which put pressure on those countries that continued to participate in the trade, most notably the Portuguese and Peru. Eventually, the combined effort of Chinese and international officials helped to end the Coolie Trade in Macao in 1874, bringing the contract labor system to its end.