Chinese chasing the sweet life
The movement of Chinese to the British West Indies, or the Caribbean, was a major part of an immigration scheme that began in the mid 1800s on a large-scale basis. After slavery was ended in the British colonies in 1834, sugar plantation owners recruited people from southern China. They went to Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago primarily for this purpose.
One study said that the first Chinese arrived in Trinidad and Tobago as early as 1806.
While many traveled in search of better economic opportunities, others were recruited often with the promise of well-paying work that turned out to be more demanding and less rewarding.
Chinese went to Guyana mainly between 1859 and 1867 with the first group arriving in 1853. By 1879, nearly 14,000 Chinese reached Guyana on a contractual basis.
Between 1845 and 1884, nearly 5,000 Chinese arrived in Jamaica as part of the immigration scheme. Others arrived over the years.
During the 1960s, according to one study, the Chinese population in some Caribbean countries was small compared to the overall population. For example, the Chinese population in Guyana was 0.6 percent or 4,800 out of 800,000 people.
In Jamaica, there were 14,642 Chinese with an overall population of 2.2 million. In Trinidad, they made up about 10,000 out of the population of 1 million.
(China Daily 01/16/2008 page18)
