Pirates, Anamites and Trafficking: A study on worker engagement in 19th century Macau

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-9222.2023.e92374

Keywords:

Indentured labor, Portuguese Empire, Macao

Abstract

In the third quarter of the 19th century, Macau, a Portuguese enclave in Chinese territory, became an important departure port for indentured labores. Official documents testify to the concern of the Portuguese metropolis with the growing flow of Chinese, the types of contracts, recruitment, transport conditions and the conditions of the barracks where they awaited shipment, in addition to the external repercussions involving the English, French and Chinese. This article studies the forced emigration of a group of Annamites kidnapped at sea by Chinese pirates and then sold as emigrants to emigration agents in Macau. A case study revealing some of the minutiae of the capillary business network with the aim of recruiting individuals and transforming them into indentured labores to supply the world's demand for cheap and disciplined labor.

Author Biography

Paulo Cesar Gonçalves, Unesp - Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho"

Doutor em História Econômica pela Universidade de São Paulo (USP) e professor Livre-Docente em História Contemporânea pela Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Realizou estágio de Pós-Doutorado junto à Cátedra Jaime Cortesão (USP). É professor do Departamento de História e do Programa de Pós-Graduação da Faculdade de Ciências, Humanidades e Letras – Campus de Assis (Unesp), Bolsista de Produtividade em Pesquisa do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) – nível 2, pesquisador colaborador da Cátedra Jaime Cortesão (USP) e do Centro de Pesquisa Transdisciplinar “Cultura, Espaço e Memória” (CITCEM – Universidade do Porto). Suas investigações centram-se na relação entre os movimentos migratórios transoceânicos e os “mundos do trabalho” na segunda metade do século XIX.

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Published

2023-05-26

How to Cite

GONÇALVES, Paulo Cesar. Pirates, Anamites and Trafficking: A study on worker engagement in 19th century Macau. Revista Mundos do Trabalho, Florianópolis, v. 15, p. 1–22, 2023. DOI: 10.5007/1984-9222.2023.e92374. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/mundosdotrabalho/article/view/92374. Acesso em: 19 may. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 15 (2023)

Section

Artigos

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