This is an example of a Sugar Plantation Contract that the Azoreans and Madeirans signed before they went to Hawaii.
Form A.
No.______
THIS AGREEMENT, ENTERED into this ___________________________ day of __________________
in the year of our Lord 1882, by and between ________________________________________________
acting as Agent for the Board of Immigration, a Bureau of the Government of the Kingdom of Hawaii, in the Island of St. Michaels, Azores, of the first part, and the party whose name is hereto subscribed, of the
second part.
WITNESSETH: That whereas the party of the second part is desirous of emigrating to the Hawaiian
Islands, there to be employed as an agricultural labourer under the direction of the said Board of Immigration:
now, therefore, in consideration of a passage to the Hawaiian Islands on board the ____________________ ship or vessel, called the _______________________________and a further undertaking by the party of the first part, that the said Board of Immigration will pay, or cause to be paid, to the party of the second part wages at the rate of ________________ dollars per month, with Board and lodging for himself and children under twelve years of age
For each and every month of 26 days’ service, faithfully performed, during the existence of this Agreement (a day’s service to be ten hours in the field and twelve hours in the sugar house): such wages
to be paid at the end of each calendar month, reckoning from the date of the commencement of such service after arrival at Honolulu.
And in consideration of a further undertaking on the part of the party of the first part, to secure the party of the second part full protection under the Hawaiian Law, as fully as the same is enjoyed by the native born subjects of the kingdom, and likewise in case of sickness that he shall be supplied with proper medical attendance, and that the said children shall be properly instructed in the public schools, the said party of the second part will duly and faithfully perform such lawful and proper labour as he may be directed to perform, under the auspices of the said Board of Immigration for and during the space of Three years, next succeeding the date of the commencement of such service after arrival in the Hawaiian kingdom.
It being always understood that the party of the second part shall not be compelled to labour on Sunday or on any holiday recognised by the Government, and that his services shall not be transferred without his consent; and the party of the first part, in consideration of the agreement hereinbefore expressed, as being entered into by the party of the second part, hereby agrees to the same, and undertakes that the said Board of Immigration will pay, or cause to be paid, the wages hereinbefore set forth, and will keep and perform, or cause to be kept and performed, all the other stipulations hereinbefore set forth.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hand on the day and year first above mentioned.
Witnesses to the Signatures
(Certificate of the Notary) I, ___________________________________________________________, being a duly appointed
Notary Public in this City, hereby certify that the above_________________ signatures were written in my
presence by the proper persons, and that the ______________________________________ were written
at the request of _____________________________________________________________________
also in my presence, which I duly recognise and certify.
Ponta Delgada, St. Michaels, ________________________________ 1882.
Note: The wording is an exact translation from a Portuguese language sugar plantation contract, but the spacing has been changed for easier reading.
