Chinese Labor In Hawai'i

In 1852, 152  Chinese laborers came to Hawai’i to work on the sugarcane plantations (Eric Stinton). "“Directly or indirectly, all individuals in the Territory of Hawaii are ultimately dependent upon the sugar industry. The social, the economic and the political structure of the islands alike are built upon a foundation of sugar.” — From a 1905 US Department of Commerce and Labor report" (“Sugar Cane Production”). The sugarcane plantation article states that The Master and Servant Act “established a harsh contract labor system that made it impossible for workers to unionize or strike, creating almost slave-like conditions” (“Sugar Cane Production”).This happened in Hawai’i on the island of O’ahu and then some workers went to Maui.“The first group of Chinese recruited came under five year contracts at $3.00 a month plus passage, food, clothing and a house. An advance of $6 was made in China to be refunded in small installments” (Center for Labor). “The back-breaking work was 26 days a month and 10 or more hours per day” (Center for Labor).