chinese immigration in peru

8/3/2019 Chinese Immigration in Peru

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Chinese Immigration in Peru

In the mid 19th century, sugar and cotton were in great international

demand. Landowners from the coast of Peru saw their opportunity to make

millionaire profits by growing and exporting these products. The landowners,

however, had a great problem, lack of manpower to work in the fieldsbecause President Ramon Castilla had abolished slavery in 1854.

In order to overcome this, the President issued a law promoting the

immigration of Asian workers, giving financial rewards to investors who

brought Chinese coolies , or unskilled peasants, to Peru.

Immediately, foreign and Peruvian investors began trafficking with

Chinese peasants. Between 1849 and 1874, about 90 thousand extremely

poor Chinese coolies arrived in Peru, devoting themselves to various

activities that ranged from working in farms and plantations to working in

the guano islands off the coast of Chincha, in the Pacific Ocean. Guano , theremains of sea gulls and other sea birds, was an excellent fertilizer and

exporting it became a great source of income for the Peruvian economy.

Sugarcane

Cotton

Working in sugarcane andcotton plantations



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Why did the Chinese peasants leave their homeland? During the first

half of the 1800s, the Chinese Empire had begun to fall. The economy was in

crisis. The government, formed by corrupt elite, stripped the peasants of

their property and left them living in extreme poverty and ignorance. There

weren’t enough crops to feed an ever increasing population. Therefore,migrating to Peru (among other countries) was an opportunity to get jobs,

have a better way of life, and change and improve their status and that of

their families. They left China from the ports of Hong Kong (British colony)and Macao (Portuguese colony). This is why the term “macacos” began to be

used to refer to Chinese people.

From 1850 to 1853, the coolies signed an 8-year

contract in China by which the cost of the trip, their

clothing and their food was subtracted from theirsalaries, which were already very low. They were

considered 'indentured servants' who could even be

sold to other people. After the eighth year, they were

given a document proving they were "Free Asians."

Due to the extremely bad conditions of the 120-day trip from China

to Peru, many coolies died on the way; sometimes, more than half died or

committed suicide. Once in Peru, they were treated as slaves, working in the

coastal plantations, in the guano islands and, later on, building the Central

Railway across the Andes Mountains. They worked ten or twelve hours a day,

seven days a week, were not paid for extra hours and were very poorly fed.

Furthermore, they were physically punished in the stocks, the bar, by

Chinese workers’ huts in the

guano islands of Chincha

Working contractsigned in China



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whipping, imprisonment and daily confinement in sheds, for any ‘violation’

they committed. In extreme cases, they were executed.

Although in general they worked in a state of semi-slavery, the worst

working conditions were those in the guano islands, where many coolies died

or committed suicide on a daily basis.

Wherever Chinese coolies worked, there was an increase in production,

so export of sugar, cotton and guano also increased. In other words, Chinese

work greatly contributed to improve the Peruvian economy.

In 1873, England protested against the mistreatment of Chinese

peasants, forbidding Chinese to leave from Hong Kong to go to Peru. In 1874

the Portuguese did the same, forbidding ships with coolies from leaving the

port of Macao to go to Peru.

On June 26, 1874, the Treaty of Tientsin

between China and Peru was signed. It stated

that Chinese workers had to receive the sametreatment as Peruvian ones, with the right to

rest on Sundays, to receive additional pay for

working extra hours and to get proper food.

It also forbade physical punishment.

Nevertheless, many plantation owners

continued mistreating their Chinese workers.

Sugarcane plantation:Chinese coolie with stockson his feet

Location ofTientsin (Tianjin) in China



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The Treaty of Tientsin also forbade migration of Chinese coolies to

Peru, something that greatly worried the landowners. However, they soon

found a way out, the re-contract or enganche. This meant that Chinesecoolies already working in Peru received the amount that had previously beenpaid to the ‘middle man’, who was no longer needed. Many Chinese continued

working in the fields after the eighth year because this increase in their

salary allowed them to save money to open small businesses in nearby towns

once their contracts were over.

From 1904 to 1909, Chinese immigration in Peru increased due to

political unrest in China. Western countries, especially Great Britain and the

United States, had practically colonized China. The ruling Empress DowagerCiXi opposed western domination at first, supporting Chinese anti-foreign

movements such as the Boxer Rebellion.

Later on, after the Chinese rebels were defeated, she supported the

western countries because she wanted to continue ruling China. This caused

great fear among Chinese educated people, for they didn't know what to

expect.

Empress Dowager CiXi

The Boxer Rebellion



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Many prosperous and educated

Chinese families, especially from Guangzhou,looked for other places to settle down.They sent family members to other

countries, among them Peru, where they

could escape to in case the situation

worsened. Because there were already

Chinese people in Peru, it was considered

one of the key countries to migrate to.

This new wave of Chinese immigrants led to new anti-Chinese feelings

in some sectors of the Peruvian population because:

a) Many were afraid of Asian diseases

b) The new immigrants didn't go to plantations in the countryside. They

settled in cities and engaged in trade and commerce; they opened shops

and restaurants, so they were in full view of the city people.

Many sociologists believe that the real cause for these anti Chinese

feelings was intolerance and fear of different customs. In May 1909, the

Peruvian Workers Party accused the government of bringing Chinese people

to take away their jobs. They beat the Chinese they found on their way and

destroyed Chinese businesses.

Guangzhou

Protest movements againstChinese people



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Despite this, these new kind of Chinese immigrants established

themselves in Peru, opening businesses, stores and restaurants. These new

business owners wanted to hire Chinese workers, so they paid for more tocome to Peru. This way, the Chinese population continued to increase.

In 1922, anti-Chinese feeling grew; some people even wrote newspaper

articles criticizing Chinese immigrants. This time, however, the Chinese

community in Peru defended itself. They published letters, notices and

articles describing the benefits the Chinese had brought to Peru: how

Chinese commercial activities had contributed to modernize the country,

promoted international commerce, provided jobs and inexpensive products to

poor people, and promoted the development of agriculture, not to dominatePeru like other foreign companies did, but to improve its economy.

Gradually, the Chinese people started to emerge and improve in everyarea, and their ability to work was recognized. The Peruvian population

realized that the spirit of Chinese immigrants had always been to integrate

themselves to society, not only in education but also in customs, activities

and culture. At the same time, they have maintained their Chinese valuesand heritage; for example, in 1920 there were two Chinese schools, a

theater and many Chinese temples in Lima.

Chinese people have lived in Peru for 160 years now, and they make up

the largest ethnic group of the population. Sociologists believe 10% of the

Peruvian population has Chinese blood.

The word ‘chifa’ comes from chiu-fan ,which means ‘to eat’ in Chinese

In conclusion, Chinese peoplebrought to Peru their ability to work, and their diligence and willingness to

produce were recognized. We could even say that Peru would not be the

Lima Chinatown



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same without the effort, hard work, sacrifice and, in general, without the

contributions of the Chinese population.

Wong Supermarkets, the largest supermarket chain in Perú

China = PPeerrúú == 秘秘鲁鲁

chinese immigration in peru

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