173 Years of Chinese Arrival in Guyana: Celebrating resilience, heritage and industry

The first set of Chinese indentured immigrants arrived in Guyana on January 12, 1853. They came as a form of cheap labour to replace the freed slaves. According to the records, plantation owners in Guyana began expressing interest in having Chinese labourers from the onset of emancipation but recruitment formally began in 1851. Because of the long travel distance from China, at first Chinese were not recruited since it was cheaper to transport Indians. While it cost a planter 13 British pounds to transport an Indian labourer from Calcutta or Madras, the cost was 15 pounds to transport a Chinese immigrant from any of the Chinese ports. But because of the growing need for labourers for the sugar estates, some planters decided to recruit Chinese especially during the period between 1848 and 1851 when Indian immigration was suspended.
In August 1851, the British Guiana Government agreed to pay the planters a bounty of $100 for each Chinese landed in the colony. The following month George Booker, one of the sugar estate owners, arranged for the first shipment of Chinese to work as indentured labourers. The 115 men and 39 boys who were recruited were transported on the vessel Lord Elgin from the port of Amoy (now known as Xiamen), then a small settlement off the southern-eastern coastline of Fujian, China. The ship departed on July 23, 1852 and after a journey of 177 days arrived in Georgetown on January 17, 1853. On this difficult voyage 69 of the passengers died. Another ship, the Glentanner, chartered by Hyde, Hodge & Co, left Amoy with 305 men and boys and arrived in Georgetown on January 12, 1853. A total of 51 passengers died on the journey. The same Company recruited another 352 men and boys later in the year and they were shipped from Amoy on the Samuel Boddington on November 25, 1852 and arrived in Georgetown on March 4, 1853, after a voyage which lasted only 98 days during which 52 passengers died. (On this journey, the Chinese mutinied and almost managed to take control of the ship).

Most of the Chinese who arrived during this period were assigned to estates in West Demerara. The first to receive Chinese servants were the plantations of Windsor Forest, Klien Pouderoyen, La Jalousie, Blankenburg, among others. The British Guiana Government expressed concerns about the physical quality of the Chinese who were recruited and also about the large number of boys who were apparently passed off as adults. Subsequently, the Government withdrew the bounty payment to the recruiting planters on August 1, 1853. Earlier that year, James White, who had been the recruiting agent for the British Guiana Government in India, was appointed as Emigration Agent for the British West Indies in China. However, he was dismissed in June of the following year mainly because he failed to recruit any Chinese labourers. In 1853 also, the British Government had decided to support a Government-sponsored recruitment programme, but by May 1854 the British Guiana Government decided to halt immigration from China due to the transportation costs which had increased by over 66 per cent and also because of the failure to recruit women. Chinese women began arriving in 1860, but in small numbers. The period from 1860 to 1866 saw a relatively large influx of immigrants, bringing the local Chinese population to a peak of 10,022 in 1866. Subsequently only two boats arrived with Chinese immigrants, one in 1874 and the other in 1879. After this, Chinese immigrants came of their own free will and at their own expense. The Chinese proved to be good workers on the estates to which they were indentured for a five-year period. The distribution of Chinese labourers to the sugar plantations in the three counties of Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo was made by the Immigration Agent-General, who based his decisions on the quotas submitted by the plantation owners several months previously. Families were kept together in the distribution.
For the period of 1853 to 1879, a total of 13,541 Chinese landed in Guyana. Guyana’s first President was a Chinese descendant, named Arthur Chung. It was on January 6, 2016 that then President Granger assigned January 12, Chinese Arrival Day. As we celebrate Chinese Arrival Day in Guyana, we also celebrate the cultural diversity of our people. Chinese have woven a narrative of unity, resilience, and shared heritage, creating a destination where diversity is embraced and celebrated. (Sources: guyana.org, National Trust of Guyana, Department of Public Information, Guyana Tourism)