Asian History in Canada Essays

In the early immigration, the Fraser River gold rush is perhaps the largest event. It was an overall positive event, and the Chinese were a large part of the business of the time. They were entrepreneurial and established themselves selling things that were important to the miners, importing goods, growing food, and building infrastructure. Stores similar to the Wong Toy & Co. one would’ve existed then. The head tax period was obviously dominated by the creation of the Chinese Head Tax, similar to other anti-Chinese taxes throughout the world. This was a major step backwards in Chinese Canadian history, and the backwards thinking of it all was best illustrated as they continued to immigrate along the very railroad they helped build. Canada

Following the success of the American Gold rush, the Australian Gold rush attracted many migrants from all over the globe. The Chinese prospectors were perhaps the most controversial and the most interesting nationality to come to the goldfields

I think when Chinese immigrants were hoping to find a new life in Canada it contributes to the Canadian identity because they thought that Canada is a great place to live in and they were willing to be welcome in Canada because they were hoping to have a better life. When they got here, they learned that

The Gold Rush in British Columbia (B.C) marked the beginning of Canada’s multicultural society. It saw the mass immigration of foreign workers (particularly those from China and other Asian nations), dispersion of Native Americans, and intrusion of poor and middle class europeans seeking riches in the rumoured “El Dorado”. The exhibit attempted to argue these points through its much anticipated “Scholarly Insight” panel, titled Why study a gold rush? The panel identifies three key themes regarding the outcome of the B.C. Gold Rush: that it connected Canada to the rest of the world through the Pacific-Rim, it sparked mass immigration which caused conflicts amongst different ethnic groups, and the Gold Rush was the event that truly united Canada coast to coast. These points were also explored in Christopher Douglas Herbert’s article, A New Take on An Old Town. Exploring the impact through the Cariboo Gold Rush, many parallels can be drawn between the two events, particularly among the economic importance of the the territory to the nation of Canada.

The manner, in which these labourers were treated, goes beyond the authentic ideologies of binding a nation and coincides with those of initiating the doctrine of separation instead. With British Columbia having agreed to join Confederation under the condition that a railway be built within ten years, an adequate labour supply was essential to the fulfilment of the obligation. Though the politicians and electorate were in favour of immigration from the British Isles, Sir John A. MacDonald approached a new line of thought. The Prime Minister contended upon the use of Chinese labour to minimize costs for the project, initiating the first paramount of inequality and exclusion. “It is simply a question of alternatives: either you must have this labour or you can’t have the railway.” Accordingly, over 17,000 Chinese labourers migrated to Canada between 1881 and 1884 to aid in the development of Canada’s newfound project. Having arrived in the hopes of a well-nourished future, a large mass of these labourers encountered an inimical reception within British Columbia instead. Although the late 1850s period of the Gold Rush had already passed, the Chinese population was widespread in the region; nonetheless, racism against Chinese individuals remained expansively eminent. They [Chinese] were favoured over Caucasians in terms of employment;

The Canadian Pacific Railway was the first transcontinental railway built in Canada to connect Canada from coast to coast. (Canadian Pacific Para. 9) The construction almost delayed completely because of John A. MacDonald losing power, but it was finally continued with the help of a syndicate. (Canadian Pacific Para. 4) Due to the insufficient amount of adequate workers in British Columbia, Chinese contract workers were imported to help construct the track with minimal pay and harsh conditions. (Canada Para. 1) Chinese-Canadians were discriminated by being given the most

Later, when the gold began to run out, the Chinese were faced with much racial discrimination. This was because they were viewed as competition in the gold mines. Some accused of the Chinese immigrants of stealing jobs and lowering wages. They were eventually forced to live in the inner city ghettos. This was how “Chinatown” was founded. During this time, many Anti-Chinese riots occurred in Chinese areas. According to an issue of the Alta California, 200 hundred Chinese miners were robbed and four were murdered in an area of California called Rich Gulch.

During the time period of 1881 to the year 1885, over 15,000 Chinese labourers travelled to Canada in order to help construct the Canadian Pacific Railway. These immigrants were hoping for a decent if not favorable environment to live, settle, and work. However, the Chinese workers soon came to a realization that they were facing nothing but discrimination and racism. Compared to the Europeans immigrants, the Chinese had fewer rights, fewer earnings from same work, and were in general low in social

The First railroad connecting the original settlements of the east coast to the newly franchised west was created by Charles Crocker in 1869. He was able to obtain this goal by deploying a large force of Chinese laborers to his production that had been previously turned away by mining companies.

Five thousand labourers were sent from China by ship during these contracts and over seven thousand were employed from California. Between 1881 and 1884 there were 17000 Chinese labourers working on Canadian Pacific Railway. Chinese workers got paid "$1.00 a day, and from this $1.00 the workers had to still pay for their food and their camping and cooking gear, [while] white workers did not have to pay for these things even though they were paid more money $1.50-$2.50 per day"(Library and Archives Canada). The Chinese workers had the most dangerous jobs from others, as they had to break off granite and planted explosives that were used to blow up tunnels. While working on the railway, many died due to accidents, fires and dynamite blasts. The Chinese workers lived in tents, but these tents were unsafe as they did not provide protection from falling rocks. When the Canadian Pacific Railway completed in 1885, the Chinese workers needed to find new jobs. Several workers went back to China, while some found a new job as gardeners, cooks and servants. The Chinese moved to east of Canada and settled there, opening restaurants and laundries. When the railway finished, the government passed The Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 charging a

Since 1867, Canada has had laws and regulations governing the admission of immigrants. Immigration legislation has evolved and changed over and over, which shaped by the shifting social, political and economic climate, as well as dominant beliefs about race, desirability and integration. In this essay I will discuss about how effective of both policy “head tax” and Japanese Interment”. Though the “Head tax” the Canadian government make the money and the Canadian government have no intention to keep the Chinese worker from immigration in which result in the discrimination problem. Second I will talk about Japanese internment, how the Canadian government forced relocation subjected Japanese Canadians to government enforced curfews and interrogations. Moreover, their jobs and property were removed and they were sent to internment camps. The “Japanese Interment” and “Head tax “were very effective. it totally change their lives which make them harder to live and not getting the respect.The Canadian government does not allow both Chinese Canadian or Japanese to work for high wage jobs and living without the family. It seems like all the actions are set to protect the country Canada but it some how against the human right the discrimination problem again not only the Chinese but also Japanese.

From 1850 until early 1880’s, the United States sought immigration from China to meet the increasing demands for labor, to help build the railroads, and to help with the mines opening in the west. Nearly 250,00 Chinese came to the United States during this time, however in 1882 Congress would pass the Chinese Exclusion Act which barred all immigration from China and make deportation of those already here easier. The idea behind the Chinese Exclusion Act was that Asian immigrants could not easily assimilate to Chriastin, mostly English-speaking country. Furthermore, Chinese immigrants were willing to work for lower wages thus taking away jobs from earlier generations of immigrants.

One of the major pull factors for Canada was the available jobs. About 10,000 Chinese men came to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway with plans to return to Asia once they made enough money. After the Railway was built, many Asians returned to their homeland, but other made permanent residence in Canada. But, many of the immigrants were discriminated against because they were different than the English.

Gold, a railway the length of a continent, progress, and new beginnings; this was the image of California and the West Coast during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s: the Gilded Age. Consequently, Americans flocked to the West Coast to claim a piece of the prize for their own. But it was not only Americans who heard the story of the wealth of the West. Chinese began to arrive in the 1850’s, but discrimination and racism came too. America was not what the Chinese had been promised or had expected. Poverty, danger, and injustice awaited the Chinese in America. The racism and discrimination inflicted upon the Asians by the Americans was provoked by the behavior exhibited, and jobs performed by Asians in America, and engendered laws limiting

South Asians have long since endured the brunt of intense prejudice at the hands of Canadians and the Canadian government. A most prevalent discrimination against the Chinese was seen in Western Canada, mainly British Columbia. In the mid 1800s, it was the general consensus among Canadians that South Asians could not become part of mainstream culture, nor did they belong