Controlling the Coolies: Chinese Mineworkers and the Struggle for Labor in South Africa, 1904-1910

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Periodical article

Title:	Controlling the Coolies: Chinese Mineworkers and the Struggle for Labor in South Africa, 1904-1910
Author:	Kynoch, Gary
Year:	2003
Periodical:	International Journal of African Historical Studies
Volume:	36
Issue:	2
Pages:	309-329
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	Chinese contract labour miners labour relations gold mining Labor and Employment History and Exploration Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Ethnic and Race Relations Urbanization and Migration Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3559386
Abstract:	Between 1904 and 1907 some 63,695 Chinese men were imported into South Africa to work as indentured labourers on the gold mines. By 1910, all but a few had been repatriated to China. During their time in South Africa these men struggled against punitive working and living conditions designed to grind them into a compliant labour force. Labour relations were volatile and the workers rioted on a number of occasions. Clashes with the police called in to suppress these protests frequently resulted in fatalities and a number of labourers were executed for murders committed during riots. This article explores the conflicts between management and labour and the tactics and strategies employed by both groups. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]