Consent on Trial: The fascinating case of the Maria Luz Incident (1872)

Abstract

Jn 1872, the fledgling Japanese government found itself embroiled in an international incident when asked to arbitrate whether 230 Chinese indentured 'coolies' on board the Peruvian bark Maria Luz, harboured in the foreign settlement port of Yokohama for repairs, were free laborers or slaves. Matters became even more challenging for the Japanese government when it was accused of tolerating domestic slavery in the institution of licensed prostitution.

In this presentation Dr Bill Mihalopoulos investigates how Japan responded to these challenges that crystallised around the so-called Maria Luz Incident, and uses the incident to investigate the rare moment when consent in contract – a fundamental concept that defines the modern world – was introduced and modelled in Japan.