…13,533, mostly Cantonese in origin, came in 39 ships, from 1853 to 1879
THE first lecture in the Pro-Chancellor Lecture series focusing on the arrival of Chinese Indentured labourers to Guyana was held last Wednesday at the Cheddi Jagan Research Institute, Kingston.
The event formed part of the observances to commemorate Arrival Day, celebrated annually on May 5.
According to the facilitator of the lecture and Pro Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Prem Misir, one of the primary aims of the session, apart from discussing the Chinese arrival, was to show the significant impact the abolition of slavery had on the arrival of immigrants to Guyana.
In this regard, Dr. Misir explained that after the abolition of slavery, the indentured labourers who came, including the Portuguese in 1835, Indians in 1838, the African Indentureship in 1840, and the Chinese in 1853, were influenced by significant economic conditions at that time.
After abolition, planters such as John Gladstone masterminded the creation of a new system of labour, which later became known as indentureship, with the strategy being not to replace the entire labour force, but to diminish the bargaining power of free slaves.
More importantly, the Pro Chancellor emphasized that the Africans who came to this country came not only as slaves, but also as indentured labourers in 1840.
As to the significance of this, he said, “These were important developments in Guyana’s history; it was the ending of slavery that created the ingredients for the arrival of the other peoples.”
University of Guyana lecturer, Ms. Cecilia McAlmont, was invited to give an insight into the factors surrounding the arrival of the Chinese in 1853 and to highlight the influence of this people on formation of Guyanese society.
She noted that the Chinese came in two distinct periods. They came to work as indentured labourers on the sugar plantations (in 1853, 1859-1866, 1874 and 1879) since there was an acute shortage of labour caused by the departure of the ex-slaves after the abolition of slavery in 1834 and the ending of apprenticeship in 1838.
Thirteen thousand, five hundred and thirty-three   Chinese arrived in 39 ships during this period, and then they came as free, voluntary migrants in individual and small group movements from the 1890s.
Most of them were “Cantonese” in origin, and came from a small region in southern Kwangtung (Guangdong) province.
Even though the planters in Guyana had expressed interest in introducing Chinese labourers since Emancipation, it was not until 1851 that such recruitment first began; but initially, Chinese were not recruited since it was cheaper to transport Indians.
“Because of the growing need for labourers for the sugar estates, some planters decided to recruit Chinese, especially during the period between 1848 and 1851, when Indian immigration was suspended,” she said.
In August 1851, the British Guiana Government agreed to pay the planters a bounty of $100 for each Chinese landed in the colony; and in September of 1851, the first shipment of Chinese, including 115 men and 39 boys, were transported from the port of Amoy on the ‘Lord Elgin.’
The ship departed on 23 July 1852, and after a journey of 177, days arrived in Georgetown on January 17, 1853.
After this, the ‘Glentanner’, another ship left Amoy with 305 men and boys, and arrived in Georgetown on 12 January 1853; and in March of the same year, the ‘Samuel Boddington’ also arrived, with 352 men and boys on board.
On March 11, 1860, the fifth vessel to undertake the voyage from China to British Guiana arrived at Port Georgetown, with a cargo that included 372 persons, of which 56 were women. This marked the first batch of immigrants that would include women.
The first batch of Chinese was assigned to Plantation Blankenberg, West Coast Demerara, and to other estates on the West Bank Demerara; those who arrived later were distributed to other estates, including a few in Berbice and Essequibo, Ms. McAlmont added.
During the following years, the Chinese, like many Indians, used their savings to purchase land from African landowners.
They were also astute businessmen; and by the 1880s, had established themselves in business, particularly in grocery stores in the rural villages and also in Georgetown and New Amsterdam. They also established laundries and restaurants.
The final lecture in the series will be held on Thursday, May 19 at 17:00hrs at the National Library, and will feature a discussion on Indian immigration.