The ship’s log displayed shows the names of Chinese people who boarded on one of the Coolie ships as laborers. They were being transported from China to other countries as laborers to be sold, however, unique from African slaves, the coolies were paid low, but reasonable wages. Before the coolies boarded a ship, their personal information was recorded; including age, birth place, height, weight, wages and how much money they were bringing on board. Most of the laborers from China were transported to work in Peru and Cuba, but they also worked in British Caribbean colonies; like Jamaica, British Guiana Trinidad and Tobago, British Honduras (now Belize) and Suriname. The first shipment of Chinese laborers was to the British colony of Trinidad in 1806. They were supposed to receive a certain amount of wages, and not treated like property, however, many were treated as freed slaves.
Credit: Ibrahim Moustapher