Chinese Overseas Labour and Globalisation in the Early Twentieth Century

Chinese labourers were contracted in large numbers – over 140,000 of them – by the French and British governments for war-related work on the Western front. This book examines how this came about; and it explores the experiences of the Chinese workers involved. It discusses the wider extent of the use of Chinese labour worldwide, and considers the attitude of the French and British governments. It outlines the kind of work the Chinese labourers were involved in, and portrays their lives and conditions in detail. It shows how Chinese labourers continued to be used in the aftermath of the war, and places this use of Chinese labourers in the wider context of globalisation in the period.