Stories from Deli

Pickering, 1870-80s

Over decades Chinese laborers came by the millions to help make the Dutch dream of record profits a reality. Chinese coolies—poor, illiterate, and usually among the most forlorn of “voiceless” populations—spoke into the official record, usually in the courts. This selection memorialized by the “Protector of Chinese” in Singapore shows these forces at work.

“Cheah Sin Ng”:

I am manager to Mr. Hermann, a proprietor of tin mines at Siak. . . . I had chartered three tongkangs to take the coolies to Siak as my boat is undergoing repairs. This morning about 9:30 . . . eighteen coolies had gone on board, the remainder said, “we won’t go” . . . “you will sell us as little pigs to another country.”

“Lim Shit”:

I am from the . . . province of Canton, and am a farm labour: I was induced . . . to leave my home, they told me that if I would follow them to Singapore, they would find me good employment as a sawyer or brickmaker. … From our village, nine men besides me were induced to come away, and on the 15th of the 12th moon we were put on a Hainan junk . . . this morning I asked Chin-Sam for money to send to China, but he said we should get no money till we arrived at the place we were going to. Hearing that we were being taken away from his country, we refused to go on board the boat; Hiap-tye’s man attempted to force me, so I ran away, as I had seen others beaten.

“Chew Ah Nyee”:

Chaing-See and Kuai-leong told me they could get me plenty of work at Singapore as a clerk, and that wages here were very good; I believed them, and was put on board a junk and brought to this place, where I was sold to a shop . . . there were ninety men from my district, the strong men were sent to sawyards I believe, but I was sold as a “little pig,” being weak. This morning I was being taken to a boat with many others. I don’t know where they were taking us to, but we heard that the place is eleven or twelve days’ sail from this end, and that we had to work in tin-mines.

“Hang Ship Ug”: We were all locked up within three doors, and never allowed to go out,—we were told that we should be locked up in the timber-yards.

“Leong Ship Sam”: We were kept in ignorance and could not see the sky, until to-day, when we were told that we must work in some tin mines. . . . I and fourteen others were sent on board a boat, and if the gentlemen had not come and delivered me, I should have been stolen away in ignorance.

“Lew Ship Yit”: I was being taken on board a boat with a lot of others, and if any refused to go they were beaten by the Kheh-tows, there was a row and I got a blow during the struggle. I don’t wish to go past Singapore, this is the place I agreed to come to.

William Pickering, Chinese Coolies to Sumatra. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822392279-035