Country: China
Group: Maonan
Date finalized: November 23, 2020
Team: Vianney Mancilla (lead), Zeenat Hammond, Rebekah Kamer
Content Warning: forced labor; slavery
Approximate Time Period: 1644-1911
The Maonan in China have likely been subjected to forced labor. The data quality is rated as a 1. The two sources found were consistent, however, they lacked specific details and were not journal articles.
The Maonan ethnic group have a history of being oppressed by the ruling class (China Internet Information Center Staff, n.d.). Consequently, the Maonan developed at a slower pace with poor farming equipment, which perpetuated their vulnerability and reliance on the ruling class. (China Internet Information Center Staff, n.d.). During the Qing Dynasty which spanned the years 1644-1911, the Maonan were exploited for labor by “brutal landlords” (Deason, 2018). The landlords took advantage of the farm laborers through land rent and usury (China Internet Information Center Staff, n.d.). Not only were the Maonan subject to exploitation for labor, but the Maonan women and girls were bought as slaves by landlords in exchange for unpaid rent or debts (Deason, 2018). Thus, in the nineteenth-century civil war, the Maonan joined the Taiping Rebellion to overthrow the ruling Manchu (Deason, 2018).
Sources
- China Internet Information Center Staff (n.d.). The Maonan Ethnic Minority. Retrieved from http://www.china.org.cn/e-groups/shaoshu/shao-2-maonan.htm on November 20, 2020
- Deason, R. (2018). An Introduction to China’s Maonan People. Retrieved from https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/an-introduction-to-chinas-maonan-people/ on November 20, 2020