The experiences of early Hakka immigrants in Guyana –
An account of four families.
Trev Sue-A-Quan
240 E. Woodstock Ave., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5W 1N1
Website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~guycigtr E-mail: Canereapers@Mailcity.com
Summary
Among the more than 13, 000 Chinese immigrants to arrive in Guyana between 1853 and 1879 were a significant number of Hakkas. They were taken there to work on the cane plantations replacing the freed slaves of African origin. The experiences of these Hakka immigrants are exemplified through the stories of four families, describing their recruitment, voyage and transition into settlers.
The Kong family
On 9 January 1860 the 854-ton ship Dora sailed from Hong Kong with 385 Chinese emigrants aboard. The Dora was not the first boat to take Chinese immigrants to Guyana (then called British Guiana) nor was it the first to take female Chinese emigrants, but it was the first to carry a boatload consisting entirely of Hakka families.
Prior to 1860 there had been 5 shipments of Chinese to Guyana. A total of 1,572 men were taken on board, most of them involuntarily, and 1,351 of them survived the long voyage to Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. These Chinese immigrants represented a new batch of labor recruits brought to the colony as replacements for the former slaves of African origin who had gained their freedom in 1842.
Initially, after emancipation, large numbers of laborers were introduced from India and the Portuguese island of Madeira but there was a significant attrition rate caused by disease and the new immigrants were not ideal candidates for plantation labor in the opinion of the sugar estate owners. The Chinese were brought over in 1853 on a trial basis and they proved satisfactory enough that more Chinese immigrants were requested by the managers of the sugar plantations.(1)
[Read more: Chinese in Guyana – Four Hakka families]
Books by Trev Sue-A- Quan
Preview and order Cane Reapers , Cane Ripples and Cane Rovers
Cane Rovers is the third book in the series describing the experiences of the Chinese associated with Guyana. It is a collection of stories describing the experiences of the Chinese-Guyana as migrants to other countries.
Cane Rovers is a 352-page book with 135 illustrations, published by Cane Press.
Comments
Thank you for this interesting post, Trev. This historical overview fills me with memory of the early 1960’s in Canje, Berbice, of the Chinese who settled there.
Thanks for sharing, Cyril. Trev Sue-A-Quan has done an amazing job in researching and preserving the history of the Chinese in Guyana.
Wow wow
History with an update on events…..good history….
As per William S Julius Caesar…rewritten….
The good that men do should live after them
The evil buried with their bones…..bad and ugly also.
Wonderful enlightened read
Congratulations trev…
More…
Kamptan
Cane cutting and punting is no mean task….it should be part and parcel of “national service” ! In CUBA it was introduced as a form of “punishment”
in nationalistic fermentation…today it is history.
BRAZIL cane cutting is becoming more mechanised today….with increased production and yields…..mechanisation industrialisation in tandem with
advancement in technology makes for a more productive world….
hopefully a happier one…
Kamptan
Excellent documentation of the history of Chinese Indentured Immigrants in British Guiana, specifically the four Hakkas families. This article was very informative and gave me a good perspective of the Guyanese Chinese history.
I applaud Trev Sue-A-Quan for his in-depth research in providing a detailed historical documentation. Thanks for sharing your great piece of work which was excellently written.
Hi Trev Sue A Quan,
How are you? Hope you are in good health.
I am Samantha Ming granddaughter to Mr Cyril Wu Ming and niece of Peggy Ann Wu Ming who meet up with you back in 2011 to give you information with regards to the Wu Ming in London.
I understand that you have published a new book on the family history.
Please could you forward the title of the book.
Thank you Samantha Ming.