79725-Thumbnail Image.jpg

The Chinese Immigrants in Cuba collection includes hundreds of original documents, manuscripts and photos covering the migration of 125,000 Chinese who signed up to be cheap labor in Cuba from 1847 until the later 1890s. The archive continues until the 1970s and records the Chinese community in Cuba and is rich with photos. This massive collection, from the archive of James and Ana Melikian Collection, is probably the largest one in private hands concerning Chinese in Cuba. At present, the physical collection contains over 1,341 records and about 8,000-9,000 pages.

Displaying 1 - 10 of 55
Filtering by

Clear all filters

78262-Thumbnail Image.png

Birth Certificate

Created1876
DescriptionBirth certificate of Lucario Fernando who was born to Solome, a black worker from the Conga and Pedro, a Chinese settler.
78314-Thumbnail Image.png

Runaway Workers

Created1858
DescriptionList of Chinese settlers who ran away from their owners and were later captured. After capture, they were held in the Municipal Slave Deposit in Santa Maria del Rosario. Their names, ages, and nationality are listed along with the dates of their escape and capture.
77361-Thumbnail Image.png

Contract

Created1867
Description
A contract between Lucas, a Chinese settler, and the Grand Sugar Production Society. The contract was to last for a year and lists the legal requirements of both the employee and the employer. Noted Lucas completed a contract with Benitez Diran y Co previously. Signed by Pedro and Lucas, who…

A contract between Lucas, a Chinese settler, and the Grand Sugar Production Society. The contract was to last for a year and lists the legal requirements of both the employee and the employer. Noted Lucas completed a contract with Benitez Diran y Co previously. Signed by Pedro and Lucas, who signed in Chinese.
77387-Thumbnail Image.png

Baptism Certificate

Created1863-03-22
DescriptionTan-Chuy, a Chinese settler, converted to Christianity. Tan-Chuy was originally from Hokom. He chose the name Pedro and his godfather was Sebastian Marques.
77497-Thumbnail Image.png

Identity Record

Created1866
DescriptionAn identity card, or cedula, for Pedro. Pedro was twenty eight years old when this card was issued.
78897-Thumbnail Image.png

List of Runaway Chinese Workers

Created1858
DescriptionList of Chinese settlers who ran away from their owners and were later captured. After capture, they were held in the Municipal Slave Deposit in Santa Maria del Rosario. Their names, ages, and nationality are listed along with the dates of their escape and capture.
78581-Thumbnail Image.png

Death Record

Created1871-07-28
Description
This collection of documents pertains to the death of Zenon Porto; he was a free Chinese settler in Cuba who owned his own fish frying business. The first document in this group is an announcement of his death on July 28, 1971, that was made by a Cuban police official.…

This collection of documents pertains to the death of Zenon Porto; he was a free Chinese settler in Cuba who owned his own fish frying business. The first document in this group is an announcement of his death on July 28, 1971, that was made by a Cuban police official. Within the same document, the official explained that an investigation and interrogation into the matters of his death would take place. Several records of the interrogations are included in this collection. Three Chinese settlers who were familiar with Zenon Porto including his brother Nicolas, and two neighbors- Domingo and Pedro, were interviewed to verify that Zenon Porto had died, and that he owned a fish frying business among other small matters. A subsequent investigation was initiated to learn if Zenon Porto had left a will, and no good leads were found to confirm that he did. Two of Zenon Porto's cedulas are also included in this group of documents. 1871
78589-Thumbnail Image.png

"Runaway" Workers

Created1858
Description

List of Chinese settlers and slaves captured in the municipal deposit slaves. Contains nationality and main characteristics of the slaves and settlers. Santa Maria del Rosario, February 1858.

78590-Thumbnail Image.png

"Runaway" Workers

Created1858
Description

List of Chinese settlers who ran away from their owners and were later captured. After capture, they were held in the Municipal Slave Deposit in Santa Maria del Rosario. Their names, ages, and nationalities are listed along with the dates of their escape and capture.

78591-Thumbnail Image.png

List of Runaway Chinese Workers

Created1858-08-01
Description
This is a list of Chinese settlers and slaves who had fled from their owners, but were subsequently captured in the jurisdiction of Santa Maria del Rosario. The captured settlers and slaves were held in the municipal deposit of slaves of Santa Maria del Rosario while their owners were notified…

This is a list of Chinese settlers and slaves who had fled from their owners, but were subsequently captured in the jurisdiction of Santa Maria del Rosario. The captured settlers and slaves were held in the municipal deposit of slaves of Santa Maria del Rosario while their owners were notified of their capture. Several details of each of the settlers and slaves, including the dates of their escape and capture, name, age, brief description, nationality, name of owner, and address, were recorded in the document. 1858.