Webinars & Presentations
Robert Wells Discusses “Voices from the Bottom of the South China Sea”
In this webinar author Robert Wells will discuss his book, "Voices from the Bottom of the South China Sea" which tells us a story that reveals the early links between U.S. and China. President Abraham Lincoln authorized the building of massive steamships to link the U.S. and Asia. Chinese laborers came to the U.S. to earn money and in 1874 hundreds were on their way back home when their ship sank off the China coast. In this deeply researched book, Wells tells of the recruitment of workers, their lives in the American West, the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment, the tragedy that befell them on their return journey and salvage operations. Join author and retired U.S. Navy Captain Robert Wells in discussing this vital story of the contribution Chinese made to the building of America and the sad end of hundreds of lives aboard the world's largest ship. Wells shares useful primary text and visual sources that can be used with students.