Skip to main content

Chinese indentured laborers in Cuba collection

 Collection
Call Number: MS 2117

Scope and Contents

Official documents regarding Chinese indentured laborers, often referred to as “asiático” (Asian), in Cuba in the nineteenth century. The documents include death certificates, new contracts, official petitions to the court, documents outlining the movement of workers, documents concerning fugitive people and imprisoned laborers, arrest warrants, and identification documents.

Dates

  • 1870 - 1881
  • 1870 - 1881

Language of Materials

The materials are in Spanish.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from the Latin American Collection Curator, 2020. Purchased from Kevin Jackson, 2019.

Arrangement

Some materials are arranged into groupings and are arranged chronologically within those groupings. Other materials are arranged in no particular order.

Extent

.42 Linear Feet (1 box)

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.2117

Abstract

Official documents regarding Chinese indentured laborers in Cuba in the nineteenth century. The documents include death certificates, new contracts, official petitions to the court, documents outlining the movement of workers, documents concerning fugitive people and imprisoned laborers, arrest warrants, and identification documents.

Biographical / Historical

During the nineteenth century, around 125,000 Chinese people, predominantly men, were brought to Cuba to work as indentured laborers under conditions similar to, if not actual, enslavement. They primarily worked as laborers in the sugar industry, shipping, mining, and building railroads, among other industries.

Processing Information

Folder titles were supplied by Yale University Library processing staff based on document contents. Processing staff included names of people in the folder descriptions when they were identified in the materials.

Title
Guide to the Chinese Indentured Laborers in Cuba Collection
Author
compiled by Jana Krentz
Date
July 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)

Location

Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours