Before coolies, there were slaves. Slaves were (for example, Africans) captured by local (indigenous) agents and sold / shipped as commodities to foreign slave buyers (for example, in the Americas).
Slaves worked in plantations overseas and also as servants in their masters' homes till death. A slave was considered by law as property of his / her owner / master.
The British abolished slavery in 1833, the French in 1846, followed by the Americans in 1865.
However, the demand for labourers grew unabated to run the booming mines, plantations and ports in British Malaya (as well as gold mines in California, coal mines in French Indochina, etc).
To solve the crunch for cheap labour brought about by the abolition of slavery, the British invented indentured labour (i.e. the coolie trade).
Indentured labourers were recruited in villages by human trafficking agents and the labourers signed on to employment contracts with fixed tenure, often 5 - 10 years. Part of the meagre salary of indentured labourers were deducted to pay for passage, and the agent's service fees.
Indentured labourers or coolies differ from slaves as coolies entered into contracts on their own free will (even though many don't have a choice due to extreme poverty). Unlike slaves who were not paid, coolies received a salary though it was meagre and much of it went into settling of debts incurred for passage and service of agents. It was common for employers and agents to abuse the terms of contract.
The word coolie most likely came from India. Indian coolies were sent to South America, Africa, the Pacific and British Malaya.
The first indentured labourers were 400 "hill coolies" who departed from Calcutta for the sugar plantations of British Guyana in 1838. The "hill coolies" were from Jharkhand state in east India.
Today, in Guyana, people of East Indian descent and others still refer to East Indians as “coolie” without offence intended or construed.
Baggage carriers at market places, train stations, and ports in India are also called coolies.
In Tamil, Urdu, and Bengali languages the word "kuli" means, “daily hire” or “short term". In Urdu, "kuli" can also mean slave.
Coolie is transliterated as 苦力 in Chinese which literary means "hard labourer".
The southern provinces of China, Guangdong and Fujian, were major sources of coolies.
Some coolies willingly signed on to escape their impoverished life and chaos in China's collapsing Qing dynasty. Others were lured and misled by human traffickers giving them false hopes of good jobs and fortune in Nanyang.
Chinese coolies came to Singapore in three major waves:
The first was 1823 to 1891, after Raffles established the Singapore free port.
The second wave from 1910 - 1911 was just before the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, and World War I, which broke out in 1914.
After WWI, a third wave come in 1926 - 1927, but the influx was short lived. Demand was dampened by the Great Depression and World War II hot on its heels.
Trading in Chinese coolies was liken to buying and selling pigs, hence the coolie trade was called 賣豬仔 or literally "piglet trade". Coolie recruitment bosses were called 豬仔頭 which literally means "piglet boss". The coolies were called 豬仔 or "piglets". Coolie lodgings were called 豬仔館. The coolie contracts were known as 卖身契 which literally means bondage contract.
These coolies were also referred as 新客 sinkeh which means "new guests" in Hokkien Chinese. This was to socially differentiate the lowly coolies from Peranakan and Straits Chinese. The latter were local born Chinese whose ancestors emigrated to Malaya earlier, some going as far back as the 1400s and were generally better established with some being wealthy traders.
The coolies who arrived in Singapore had to endure grim living conditions and earned pittance. Coolies were housed in overcrowded, squalid coolie lodging known as "coolie keng". One example is at 58 Pagoda Street.
Pagoda street was known as 廣合源街 Kwong Hup Yuen Kai because the largest coolie agency Kwong Hup Yuen was located on this street. In 1901, Pagoda Street had 12 coolie agencies.
Twenty to thirty men would share a room in the coolie keng.
Rickshaw Noodles 拉車面
Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶
Though the origin of bak kut teh is obscure, there are urban legends that it was originally a herbal tonic concocted for coolies. There are no dates of when bak kut teh was created but the peak of coolie arrivals was between 1820s to 1890s.
Coolies labouring under heavy loads in harsh conditions often fell sick and weak. It is said that either coolies or their employers sought help from traditional herbalists to concoct a dish that would strengthen the coolies' immune system, soothe their pains and strengthen their bodies.
The result was a herbal tonic of meat bones, herbs, spices, and soy sauce known as bak kut teh. This herbal tonic tasted herbal, savoury and was enjoyed by both Hokkien and Teochew coolies in Singapore.
Around the 1950s, a so-called Teochew bak kut teh emerged which was flavoured simply with Sarawak pepper, garlic, soy sauce and premium cuts of pork like the prime rib. This reflects the declining need for a herbal tonic as there were fewer hard labourers and the community had grown more affluent.
Today, the peppery Teochew style of bak kut teh is synonymous with Singapore bak kut teh. On the other hand, Hokkien bak kut teh remained much the same as the original herbal tonic but unfortunately is one of Singapore's vanishing dishes. Today, only a handful of stalls still serve Hokkien herbal style of bak kut teh in Singapore, and they are also in their last legs. You can try herbal coolie bak kut teh here at Maxwell Food Centre.
The Teochew style of bak kut teh is thriving and a few of Singapore established brands have overseas outlets serving this peppery bak kut teh (for example in Taipei).
References:
Image of Pagoda Street courtesy of NAS, image of slave ship courtesy of Wikipedia, image of petition to end slavery courtesy of Wikipedia, mine in Vietnam courtesy of Wikipedia, image of hill coolies courtesy of Getty Museum, image of coolie courtesy of Wikipedia, image of coolie keng courtesy of Flickr, image of coolies courtesy of NAS, image of Chinese coolies courtesy of NAS, image of Chinese coolies courtesy of NAS, image of indentured labourer contract courtesy of Wikipedia.
How the British reinvented slavery
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