Blackbirding facts for kids

Blackbirding was a sad practice where people were forced or tricked into leaving their homes to work far away. They were often made to work like slaves or for very little money. This happened a lot in the 1800s and early 1900s.

Many people were taken from islands in the Pacific Ocean. These people were sometimes called Kanakas or South Sea Islanders. They came from places like Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Niue, Easter Island, Tuvalu, and other islands.

The ships and their crews who took these workers were called blackbirders.

Why Did Blackbirding Happen?

The main reason for blackbirding was a big demand for cheap workers. European settlers in places like New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, and also in Samoa, Fiji, Hawaii, and New Zealand, needed many workers. Plantations in Peru, Mexico, and Guatemala also wanted cheap labor.

What Jobs Did They Do?

Most of the time, the blackbirded people were forced to work on large farms called plantations. They grew crops like sugar cane, cotton, and coffee. They also worked in other industries.

Blackbirding ships started operating in the Pacific around the 1840s. This continued until the 1930s.

Where Else Did Blackbirding Occur?

Blackbirders from the Americas looked for workers for their large farms, called haciendas. They also forced people to mine guano, which is bird droppings used as fertilizer, on the Chincha Islands.

In Australia, blackbirding also happened in the early days of the pearling industry. Aboriginal Australians were forced to work in places like Nickol Bay and Broome.

Chinese men were also blackbirded from Amoy in the 1840s and 1850s. They were made to work in pearling, gold mining, and farming.