4 pp, single sheet folded. Printed in Spanish and Chinese, filed out in ink with notations in Spanish and Chinese characters. 32.5x21 cm (12¾x8¼").
Very rare document from mid-nineteenth century Cuba, reflecting the reach for cheap labor to keep the sugar industry and other agricultural enterprises alive. The document lists in Chinese characters minimal allowances (clothing etc.) afforded the Chinese indentured servant - really barely enough to survive - and dictates that he be forced to stay where he was working. Historically the Chinese were treated worse than black slaves in Cuba and suicide rates amongst the Chinese in Cuba were multiple times that of a black slave.
