Sheet (318 x 207 mm.), one side printed entirely in Spanish, the other headed in Spanish with terms of indenture in Chinese. Probably China: 1858.

A remarkable survival. “To supplement a dwindling slave labor force on their sugar plantations, Cuban planters turned to south China’s Fujian and especially Guangdong provinces. From 1847 to 1874 they recruited 141,000 male laborers (125,000 of whom arrived in Cuba alive). Slave-like work and living conditions on plantations, with proximity to large numbers of slaves notwithstanding, Chinese coolies were not permanent or lifelong slaves” (Hu-DeHart, “From Slavery to Freedom,” p. 31). Instead, their eight-year employment... More