In statements to Prensa Latina, Sancti Spiritus Historian María Antonieta Jiménez assured that in the mid-19th century the shortage of slave labor, with the prohibition of the slave trade, stimulated Chinese immigration to Cuba.
She explained that in that period, landowners became interested in sugar production, so in 1859, the jurisdiction had 41 sugar mills, 18 of which had steam engines. After three years, this population, which had become submissive, exceeded 220, according to local figures. The rise of the number of Chinese hired, called coolies, on Sancti Spiritus properties, was due to the development of small sugar factories that had steam engines, so they were more modern for their industrial operation.
The distinguished intellectual commented that once the wealth increased among sugar growers, it was necessary to buy new workforce among coolies and Yucatecans, exceeding 1,000 laborers between them.
The Sancti Spiritus press, especially El Fénix, included in its pages advertisements for the purchase and sale of migrants who arrived in the region from the ports of Matanzas and others in western Cuba.
A Chinese was offered for 1,200 pesos, while a corpulent and young African was worth only 30 or 40 pesos. Regarding the higher payment for an Asian laborer, experts consider that it was because they were more disciplined, resistant and obedient to the orders of the masters.
The Chinese were also subjected to exploitation and hard work in the fields, which led them to suffer from respiratory diseases combined with malnutrition, causing a high number of deaths, motivating desertions and escapes.
The 20th century brought new arrivals of Orientals who would offer their knowledge in the commercial network, even though many were associated with groups dedicated to the production of vegetables in the limits of the town founded by the Spaniards in 1514.
According to a document of the time in the Commercial Registry, the first winery is registered: it is described as a small place, one block from the downtown, very neat, tidy and with good service from the owner.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Sancti Spíritus had 25 gastronomic establishments, dry cleaners, wineries, hardware shops and clothing stores, whose names were related to their places of origin: Canton, Republic of China, Young China, Great China, The Asian and The Cantonese.
The historian, who is also known as Ñeñeca, stated that the first Chinese arrived in Havana in 1847 and were taken to the sugar mills in that area, thus beginning another of the most inhumane passages in history, as cruel and merciless as the slave trade, she pointed out.
Even though there is no record of lands in Sancti Spiritus, in central Cuba, English capitalists began to extract huge batches of Chinese to take them to work in the Caribbean as slaves, covered up by the false record of being hired.
Some historians estimate that it was due to the evasion of black captives, while the Asians were skilled in agricultural work so they decided to try their luck in hiring Chinese coolies.
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