|
|
|
Asians
The
Chinese
Although some
Chinese emigrated to Trinidad as early as 1806,
significant Chinese emigration to Trinidad occured
mainly after emancipation. Compared to Indian
immigration, the numbers were small, but the terms
of indentured labor were the same. Indentured
immigration ended in 1866, when the Chinese
government required a return passage as part of the
package.
For a desciption
of a voyage bringing workers to Trinidad from
China, check out "Stress
of Weather"
by Helen Atteck and Philip Atteck. You can find
more info at their site.
After 1866,
Chinese immigrants continued to trickle in, both
from mainland China, and British Guiana, which had
received a much larger share of the indentured
Chinese. The Chinese laborers, like their
Portuguese counterparts, left the plantations at
the earliest opportunity to become shopkeepers,
gardeners, and butchers. Their establishments were
located primarily in rural villages, catering to
the working classes. A further wave of immigration
occurred after the Chinese revolution in 1911, and
remained high through the 1940's.
The Chinese
immigrants came largely from the Hakka and the
Punti communities in the Guangdong Province. These
immigrants, for the most part, abandoned their
language and religions, and any sort of Chinese
culture is now almost non-existent in Trinidad. The
community is, however, is quite influential,
producing the country's first Governor-General,
many successful businessmen and professionals, and
several carnival band leaders.
Some prominent
Chinese families include, Achong, Aleong, Chin,
Fung, Hochoy, Lai Fook, Lee, Lee Hueng, Lee Lum,
Scott, and Wong.
Books
Here is a list of
books that contain information on Chinese
immigration to Trinidad. In some cases I have
provided links to resources where I located them.
Libraries may be able to acquire them for you on
inter-library loan.
|
Caribbean
Asians: Chinese, Indian, and Japanese
Experiences in Trinidad and the
Dominican
Republic,
by Roger Sanjek
|
|
The
Chinese in Trinidad, by Trevor
M.Millett
|
|
The
Chinese in the West Indies, 1806-1995
a documentary
history,
compiled by Walton Look
Lai
|
|
Indentured
labor, Caribbean sugar: Chinese and
Indian migrants to the British West
Indies,
1838-1918,
by Walton Look Lai
|
|
Stress
of
Weather,
by Helen Atteck and Philip Atteck, true
story of one of the voyages from China
to Trinidad.
|
|
