Between China and Spain: The Soberana Compensation Case: The Prelude of Treaty on Chinese Laborers in Cuba

A Spanish three-masted sailing vessel, Soberana, encountered a typhoon and ran aground off the coast of northern Taiwan in December 1863, local armed militias looted its cargo, and the remaining crew members were sent by the British consulate to Xia Men. Carlos Antonio submitted compensation requests to the Qing’s Zong Li Ya Men in 1867 and 1874, but neither received a reply. In 1876, when Zong Li Ya Men engaged in intensive contacts and discussions regarding the Chinese laborers in Cuba, the Soberana and its compensation were placed on the agenda as a precondition for signing the Treaty of the Chinese Laborers in Cuba. After weighing the pros and cons, Guang Xu Emperor resolved the compensation issue by agreeing to pay 18,000 silver tales and the treaty was subsequently signed. This was the important thing between China and Spain in the 1870s, through which the Qing central government sought to protect the rights and interests of Chinese people in Cuba, this article draws on materials from the History of the Qing and the Compilation of Historical Archives on Relations between Qing China and Southeast Asian Countries, featuring Guang Xu Emperor, Carlos Antonio, Li Hongzhang, and Ding Richang as the actors, analyzes the relationship between the Soberana compensation case and the treaty. The author’s reflection focuses on the Qing dynasty’s coastal defense system and naval construction. After more than thirty years of flourishing under the Westernization Movement, China’s coastal defense capabilities remained weak in the near-modern historical period: a lack of sustained financial support, a shortage of professional naval personnel, and a defensive strategic posture were evident not only in this compensation case but also in the subsequent Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895.