The Shackled Sailors of the Karoo
A federal judge in Tacoma intervenes to protect a crew 'inveigled' onto a British ship, exposing a brutal system of forced labor and maritime exploitation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Judge Hanford of the United States District Court today charged the captain of the British ship Karoo with shanghaiing several members of his crew and kidnapping one young man who came aboard to assist a Rio de Janeiro boarding master. For several reasons, this decision will attract the attention of shipping masters and ship owners at all shipping centers. The crews of vessels touching at this port have from time to time accused captains of irregularities, such as cruelty, lack of proper food, and non-payment of wages. Judge Hanford assigned three reasons why he took jurisdiction of the sailors' action for wages. First, there was no British consul at Tacoma. Second, two of the libellants were American citizens. Third, all of the libellants except two were brought to this country without having been lawfully bound by any contract and are therefore free to leave the vessel and sue for wages. It appears that the captain employed a shipping or boarding master at Rio de Janeiro to secure a crew. The men were not given an opportunity to sign the articles; they were not asked to consent to the terms, but were taken down into the cabin of the vessel where the shipping master wrote their names. They were not bound to perform the voyage or enter the service of the ship; they were detained against their will. The court says they were scantily fed on coarse and poor food, which was badly cooked. The captain is deemed an unreliable witness, charged with artful misstatement, and the sailors are entitled to recover the reasonable value of their services.
“These men, by the writing of their names on the ship's articles by the boarding master, were not bound to perform the voyage or enter the service of this ship; they were not bound by the articles; they have the right to leave the vessel at any time.”
This 1892 case highlights the long history of labor exploitation at Washington's maritime ports, where the power of ship captains often went unchecked by international oversight. It echoes modern concerns regarding the vulnerability of migrant workers and global maritime labor rights, where jurisdictional gaps continue to leave workers stranded without legal recourse.
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