Chinese coolies

Chinese coolies had played an important role in the development of California and other western states. They worked in gold mines, helped build the rail tracks of the Transcontinental Railroad and levees in California. They were paid lower wages and worked longer hours compared to workers from other countries.

What made them come halfway around the world to United States? Life was hard in China in the 19^th century. The country was still ruled by the Qing empire, which was corrupt and weak. Ordinary citizens were mostly poor and there were not many opportunities to advance in life. The possibility of finding work that pays more in another country compared to working in China was a big pull factor for the Chinese to volunteer to become coolies.

Chinese coolies did not just go to United States, they were all over Southeast Asia. There were coolies in China too. Coolies in China were known for working along rivers. Steamboats were not available for rivers so coolies would line up on both sides of the riverbanks and pulled on ropes attached to ships upriver against the current. There were pre-positioned points along the rivers where other groups of coolies would take over from the previous group and continued pulling until the ships reached their destinations.

Chinese coolies knew the kind of work they signed up for. That is probably why they were willing to work long hours of hard labor for less pay.

http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/449-coolies.html