The Cargo Rebellion

The Cargo Rebellion tells a true story of mutiny on the high seas in which four hundred indentured Chinese men overthrew their captor, the Connecticut businessman and slave trader Leslie Bryson, taking a stand against an exploitative global enterprise.

The laborers learned that Bryson’s claimed destination of San Francisco was a lie to trick them into deadly servitude in the dreaded guano islands of Peru. Reaching a dramatic tipping point, the mutineers rose up and killed Bryson and several of the ship's officers and then attempted to sail back to China.

This book's centerpiece, a deft graphic account of the rebellion in the context of the “coolie trade” and the struggle to end traffic in human “cargo,” is supported by essays that spotlight the rebellion itself, how the subject of indentured Asian workers is being taught in classrooms, and how Chinese workers shaped the evolution of American music, particularly in the making of the first drum set. The Cargo Rebellion is a history from below that does justice to the memory of hundreds of thousands of indentured workers and demonstrates how Asian migration to the Americas was rooted in slavery, colonialism, and the life-and-death struggle against servitude.

Jason Chang received his Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 2010, his Masters in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2005, and his B.A. in Latin American Studies and Political Economy from Prescott College in 2002. He is currently Associate Professor of History and Asian and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut, where he directs the Asian and Asian American Studies Institute.

Benjamin Barson received his Ph.D. in Music from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020, and his B.A. in African American Studies from Hampshire College in 2010. He is currently an adjunct professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh, teaching courses on jazz improvisation and history.

Alexis Dudden received her Ph.D. (with distinction) in History from the University of Chicago in 1998, and her B.A. in East Asian Studies, magna cum laude, from Columbia in 1991. She is currently Professor of History at the University of Connecticut, specializing in modern Japan, modern Korea, and international history.

Kim Inthavong is a visual artist. She received her BA from the University of Madison, Wisconsin and is engaged in numerous arts projects.