The Thief at the End of the World by Joe Jackson

Author:Joe Jackson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2010-11-09T05:00:00+00:00

Although an islander’s service was regulated by the government, the real abuses took place during “recruitment,” far from the public eye. The “blackbirders,” as those employed in the labor trade were called, ranged through the islands recruiting shiploads of workers, and they lied to the natives without conscience. Few carried interpreters, but signed islanders up for their three-year stints based on a little pidgin English, trade goods, and pantomime. “A favorite device,” one contemporary newspaper reported, “was to hold up two or three fingers and to imitate the cutting of cane and grass or the digging of yams. One gentleman with a sense of humour took a yam and bit it three times.” Others impersonated missionaries and promised the gifts the clergymen usually brought. The tribesmen were left with the impression that they were only going for a short cruise to see the wonders of the white man’s world. They were astounded by what they’d bought into and often required what was euphemistically called “breaking in.” Kidnapping was rampant, often at the end of a gun.

The consequences were inevitable. Several genuine missionaries, including an Anglican bishop, were murdered by natives. The biggest story for 1880 in Queensland was the May 30 massacre aboard the trading schooner Esperanza. When the ship was seized by a party of natives, the captain, two white seamen, and four native crewmen were killed and the vessel plundered and burned. Natives were killed during a punitive expedition. The blackbirders were excoriated and moved to virgin territory in the islands east of New Guinea. From 1883 to 1885, nearly seven thousand people were kidnapped or duped and sent to the farms of Queensland.

Since she was the farm’s de facto boss, Violet managed the Kanakas. Apparently she and her neighbors did a good job:The chief Magistrate of the district is the Polynesian inspector and whenever he visits a district he has them all assembled for inspection and to hear complaints. They are well treated as a rule, shed tears in many cases at leaving when their term is expired, often returning for another term after a short time at home. They are provided with clothes, food and a fixed wage which they draw on very sparingly till their time expires, when they spend it all. The two first important things are a gun and trunk, after that knives, tools, shirts, bright blankets.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.