"Blackbirding" - The Slave System's Just-as-Evil Twin?
Reportage
Tags
Description
Journalists from the United States and Australia get inside the post-Civil War practice of recruiting Pacific Islanders to work the world's non-U.S. plantations on extended contracts of indenture.
Media History
The reporting was intended for these media types: Newspaper
Effects and Outcomes
In the case of George Morrison's reporting in 1882 for the Leader, the weekly magazine-style companion to the Age, his follow-up articles in the Age, and the newspaper's own campaign, triggered an investigation by Queensland's premier, Sir Samuel Griffith, that called Morrison's assertions into question. That prompted a further investigation by Queensland's governor, Sir Anthony Musgrave, who reviewed the case and threw his support to Morrison's account. By March 1884, Britain's Western Pacific Commission issued its report, condemning the system and calling for an increase in the naval force and the number of commissioners overseeing the activity.
Articles, Books, Video/Film
I-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
October 21, 1882
The first installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland" about the recruitment of ...II-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
October 28, 1882
The second installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland" about the recruitment of ...III-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
November 4, 1882
The third installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland" about the recruitment of ...IV-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
November 11, 1882
The fourth installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" about the ...V-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
November 18, 1882
The fifth installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" about the recruitment ...VI-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
November 25, 1882
The sixth installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" about the recruitment ...VII-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
December 2, 1882
The seventh and second-to-last installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" ...VIII-"The Contributor: A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" - George Morrison - The Leader
December 9, 1882
The eighth and final installment in George Morrison's undercover series "A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver" about the ..."The Queensland Slave Trade" - George Morrison - The Age | To the Editor of The Age
May 9, 1883
A letter from George Morrison to the editor of The Age decrying the labor recruiting practices he witnessed when on ...Editorial: "Melbourne, Friday, 18th May, 1883" - Unsigned - The Age
May 18, 1883
An editorial by The Age questioning why clergy have been reluctant to openly denounce the labor trafficking in the ..."Exploration of New Guinea" - George Morrison - The Age | No. VIII
February 9, 1884
An example of Morrison's report of his exploration of New Guinea."Is it a Cargo of Slaves?" - New York Tribune | "A Brig with 300 Gilbert Islanders in her hold near San Francisco"
September 8, 1891
The Tahiti, a blackbirding vessel carrying nearly 300 Pacific Island laborers, docked in a San Francisco-area bay ..."The Brig was Bottom Up" - The New York Tribune | She had nearly 300 slaves on board; They were being taken to Mexico to work at starvation wages; All supposed to be lost
November 30, 1891
An account of the shipwreck of the blackbirding vessel the Tahiti, an event that invited national debate on the ..."The Tahiti Carried No Slaves" - New York Tribune | H. H. Leavitt Believed to have Perished with the Passengers
December 1, 1891
An account of the shipwreck of the blackbirding vessel Tahiti providing details about the ship's owner H. H. ...I-"A Sale of Souls" - W.H. Brommage - San Francisco Chronicle | Inside History of the Slaving Cruise of the "Blackbird" Steamer Montserrat; An "Examiner" Reporter Ships on the Slaver and Exposes an Infamous Trade; A Hideous Traffic Conducted Under the "legitimate" Plea of Supplying Laborers by Contract; Ignorant Gilbert Islanders Lured From Their Homes To Die In Fever-Infected Plantation
October 15, 1892
The first part of Brommage's two-part expose of the California blackbirding industry.II-"The Blackbird Cruise" - W.H. Brommage - San Francisco Chronicle | "Further Details of the Slaver 'Mont Serrat’s' Expedition to the Gilbert Islands; A Probable Explanation of the Disaster That Befell the “Black-Birder” Tahiti; The Strange Story of the Pirate Jergerson Rivaling the Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; A Native Execution Described"
October 16, 1892
The second part of Brommage's two-part expose of the California blackbirding practice.I-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Special Investigation by The Argus; A Representative on a Recruiting Schooner"
December 3, 1892
Australian conservative newspaper The Argus sent reporter J.D. Melvin undercover on The Helena, a blackbirding ...II-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Natives Homeward Bound; The Voyage to the Solomon Islands"
December 5, 1892
The first installment of J.D. Melvin's undercover report from on-board the blackbirding vessel The Helena.III-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Reception of Returned Laborers by their Tribes; The First Attempt to Recruit"
December 6, 1892
The second article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...IV-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner;The Natives Shy; Inspection by a Warship"
December 7, 1892
The third article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...V-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D.Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; The Safeguards Against Deception; First Recruits"
December 8, 1892
The fourth article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...VI-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Operations in Port Adam; Additional Recruits Obtained; Refusal of Recruits"
December 9, 1892
The fifth article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...VII-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Death of a 'Return'; A Large Number of Recruits Obtained"
December 10, 1892
The sixth article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...VIII-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Re-engagement of Former Labourers; Two Women Accepted; Death of a Recruit"
December 12, 1892
The seventh article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...IX-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; The Last of the 'Returns' Landed; Brisk Recruiting"
December 15, 1892
The eighth article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...X-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Competition Between Labour Ships; Re-Victualling Necessary"
December 16, 1892
The ninth article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...XI-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; In Missionary Precincts, Large Accession of Recruits"
December 17, 1892
The tenth article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...XII-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; A Full Ship; The Nineteenth 'Boy' Obtained"
December 19, 1892
The eleventh article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...XIII-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Return to Bundaberg; Safe Landing of the Boys"
December 20, 1892
The twelfth article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time spent as a crew ...XIV-"The Kanaka Labour Traffic" - J.D. Melvin - The Argus | "Our Representative on a Recruiting Schooner; Concluding Comments; Stringency of the Regulations; The Cost of a Kanaka"
December 22, 1892
The thirteenth and final article in The Argus' series "The Kanaka Labour Traffic" by J.D. Melvin about his time ..."Experiences of a 'Blackbirder' Among the Gilbert Islands" - Arthur Inkersly and W.H. Brommage - Overland Monthly
June 1, 1894
W.H. Brommage's tales about being a "blackbirder" on a slave ship.