Chinese Indentured "Coolie" in Matanzas, Cuba, Official Government Contract of an Identified Chinese Man "Melchor", July 1870

Cuba Labor Chinese Indentured Servant

Manuscript & Autographs

[Cuba] [Chinese] [Labor] Cuban indentured servant contract documenting the state administration of Chinese indenture in western Cuba, July 1870, records the municipal enforcement of Cuban contract labor rules for Asian migrants under the post 1860 regulatory system that governed wages, discipline, illness, food, and flight. The form cites the Real Decreto of 6 July 1860 and the circular of 27 March 1861 governing the “introduccion y régimen de colonos asiáticos,” placing the document within the mature legal framework used to renew and regulate Chinese labor contracts in colonial Cuba. Dated 5 July 1870, it records the continued operation of that system in Matanzas a decade after the initial decree, when recontracting, rationing, medical provision, and labor discipline had become standardized through municipal enforcement.
Melchor[?] and Roberto [...?]. 5 July 1870. Single sheet. 1 page. Approximately 8" x 11". Printed and manuscript Spanish contract on a form headed “Jurisdiccion de Matanzas.” The parties are entered as the colono “Melchor[?]” and “Roberto [...?],” with Melchor identified as a native of a town in China and described as having completed an earlier commitment before agreeing to contract anew with Roberto for “un año.” Clause 2 authorizes the patron to assign him to whatever labor his “citado patrono” requires, whether in ingenios, other fincas, or talleres, and the wage clause sets compensation at “20 escudos.” The maintenance provisions specify daily rations including “12 onzas de carne” and “2 libras de plátanos, boniatos ú otras sustancias alimenticias,” together with medical attendance, medicines during illness, and two annual changes of clothing including trousers, shirt, and blanket. The text concludes with the employer’s obligation to pay the twenty-escudo salary by completed months, signatures of the parties and witnesses, and an official Matanzas stamp.
Contracts of this kind show the process by which Chinese labor in Cuba was renewed after a prior term and folded back into a system that combined wages with coercive control over movement, occupation, food, clothing, and bodily maintenance. The references to multiple governing orders, the official jurisdictional heading, and the stamped validation place the document inside the administrative chain that translated colonial labor law into enforceable local practice. Toning and scattered foxing throughout, minor tears to original folds, edge wear, some minor wormholes, and ink offsetting from the manuscript entries; text remains legible and document is in overall very good condition. A strong surviving municipal record of recontracting, rationing, and wage enforcement within the Chinese indenture system in Matanzas.

Item #23145

Price: $1,100.00