The divergence between China and Brazil on chinese immigration: diplomatic negotiations in Paris during the special mission to China (1893)

Abstract

In March 1893, in order to solve the problem of labor shortage in Brazil, a Special Mission was organized and sent to China, to negotiate Chinese immigration to Brazil. The preparation of this negotiation began in February 1892, when Gabriel Piza, the minister of Brazil in Paris, and Tching Tchang, the Chinese diplomate of the Chinese Legation in Paris, held talks on the dispatch of the Mission from Brazil. In the end of 1892, Baran of Ladário (José Costa de Azevedo) was nominated extraordinary and plenipotentiary minister of the Mission. In Paris, the Baran also held meetings with Tching Tchang, and drafted a memorandum about the free migration of Chinese labor to Brazil. This article addresses the results of the negotiations and specifically the impact of the negotiations on the fate of the Mission. This paper uses the archival sources of Tsung-Li Yamên (The Qing government ministry specialized in dealing with foreign affairs) and the report delivered to Itamaraty by José da Costa Azevedo, allowing us to understand the different views about the same event.