coolie
Low-paid carrier
Coolie is a dated and now offensive term for an unskilled Asian laborer, particularly from China or India.
The word was used during the 19th and early 20th centuries for workers brought to build railroads, work plantations, or perform other manual labor: The Pacific railroad was built largely by coolie labor.
Today the term is considered a racial slur.
One who relocates
- workerPerson who toils
- indenturedContracted to serve
- toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
- manualWritten instructions for use
drudge · peon · porter · stevedore · dockworker · farmhand · plantation · menial
Unjust exercise of power
- subjugationForcing into submission
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- servitudeCompulsory labor under masters
- coercionPressured compliance through threats
discrimination · poverty · powerlessness · dehumanization · cheap labor · injustice · bondage · inhumane
Formal binding contract
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- immigrationRelocating abroad permanently
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
British Empire · contract labor · 19th century · cultural identity · heritage · Chinese Exclusion Act · sugar trade · Tamil
Term expressing disapproval
- derogatoryExpressing criticism or disrespect
- racialConcerning ethnic origin
- offensiveCausing displeasure or attack-oriented
- ethnic slurDerogatory term for ethnicity
stereotype · degrading · discriminatory · reclaimed · disparaging · othering · xenophobia · racialized
Spanning an entire continent
- trackPath or monitored route
- constructionProcess of building something
- Central PacificRailroad from California eastward
- Sierra NevadaWestern U.S. mountain range
tunnel · blasting · grading · gold rush · strike · camp · dynamite · summit
migrant
One who relocates
- workerPerson who toils
- indenturedContracted to serve
- toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
manual · drudge · peon · porter · stevedore · dockworker · farmhand · plantation · menial · hireling
oppression
Unjust exercise of power
- subjugationForcing into submission
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- servitudeCompulsory labor under masters
coercion · discrimination · poverty · powerlessness · dehumanization · cheap labor · injustice · bondage · inhumane · trafficking
indenture
Formal binding contract
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- immigrationRelocating abroad permanently
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
diaspora · British Empire · contract labor · 19th century · cultural identity · heritage · Chinese Exclusion Act · sugar trade · Tamil · Cantonese
pejorative
Term expressing disapproval
- derogatoryExpressing criticism or disrespect
- racialConcerning ethnic origin
- offensiveCausing displeasure or attack-oriented
ethnic slur · stereotype · degrading · discriminatory · reclaimed · disparaging · othering · xenophobia · racialized
transcontinental
Spanning an entire continent
- trackPath or monitored route
- constructionProcess of building something
- Central PacificRailroad from California eastward
Sierra Nevada · tunnel · blasting · grading · gold rush · strike · camp · dynamite · summit · snowshed
- Chinese loanwordsdim sum, kung fu, feng shui, tai chi, yin yang
- laborerslaborers, day laborer, day labourer, day laborers, manual worker
- hard workersant, ants, bee, bees, beaver
- 1800s AsiaQing dynasty, Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion, British Raj, Emperor Meiji
- Anglo-Indiansahib, memsahib, wallah, pukka, raj
- Asian ColonialismBritish Raj, British India, Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, East India Company
cooliemaster craftsman
Expert in skilled trade
artisan · craftsman · professional · specialist · expert