European colonial records show that in 1845 a French ship transported Chinese laborers from Canton to the African island of Reunion; this marked the beginning of Chinese contracted labor.
根據歐洲各殖民地政府的記錄，一八四五年有艘法國船自廣州載運中國工人至非洲留尼旺島工作，是中國輸出契約華工之始。