Introduction
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"The
Heathen Chinee in British Columbia."
The Canadain Illustrated News, April
26, 1879
National Archives c-72064
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Behind the peaceful
facades of Kootenay towns in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
the forces of prejudice and intolerance were an everyday occurrence. The
Chinese, Italians, and British Remittance Men who came to this country looking
for a new life, knew this first hand. Theirs were lives plagued by discrimination.
However, each group dealt with it and went on to become an integral part
of Canadian society.
Although we have
chosen to study the example of the Kootenay region, intolerance toward
ethnic groups during this period was not unique to this portion of British
Columbia. Prejudice and discrimination were to be found in the attitudes
generally held by the majority of Victorian society. To look at the Kootenay
region is merely to look at a mirror of that time.
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"Chinese
labourers on board ship."
Vancouver Public Library VPL-12866
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This site will transport
you back in time to the nineteenth century and you will see and read about
the lives of Chinese, Italian and Remittance men. You will also learn
a little about the Sikh and First Nations populations of one hundred years
ago. You will take a virtual tour of the historical site of the mining
community of Wild Horse Creek or scan through the virtual exhibit of artifacts
the ethnic groups used in the past. Students and teachers may wish to
visit the pages that ask fun and fascinating questions. We hope you find
this visit educational…
Timeline
1864-65: Wild
Horse Creek gold rush brings gold miners from throughout North America
and beyond. Chinese miners come among this crowd, but do not get their
chance on Wild Horse until the white miners have "exhausted"
the claims and decided to move on.
1880's: British
Remittance Men begin arriving in British Columbia, drawn by stories of
the wide open and romantic west. Areas such as Windermere and Nelson in
the Kootenays are of particular interest, since they are promoted to Remittance
Men as being just like the places they left behind.
1885: The
Canadian Pacific Railway is completed providing the country with its first
transcontinental railway link. The majority of Chinese labourers, who
have been so vital to the project's success are summarily let go by the
company. These Chinese remain in the towns along the railway, many, finding
no work, end up destitute.
1885: First
Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration is held to investigate movement
of Chinese into Canada and their employment situation, once arrived. One
result of this commission was the establishment of a head tax of $50 on
every new Oriental immigrant. This was a blatantly discriminatory law,
since it applied to no other immigrants besides Orientals.
1898: Construction
of the Crowsnest line of the CPR begins, prompting a mass migration of
Italian and other ethnic workers from eastern Canadian and abroad. Although
working conditions and pay are not ideal, many of these workers will take
any work available to them.
1899: Large
mining and smelting operations in Trail and the Elk Valley regions of
the Kootenays are consolidated. Almost immediately diverse ethnic groups
including many Italians are attracted to these towns, to mix with the
established population. This pattern will continue over the next thirty
years, with strong Italian communities being drawn by the secure employment
offered in these towns.
1902: Royal
Commission to Investigate Chinese and Japanese Immigration into British
Columbia is established to address British Columbia's complaints of the
rising tide of Oriental immigration into the province. Sittings of the
committee are held in the Kootenay, at which time white citizens are invited
to give opinions on Oriental people and solutions to the "problem.
Head tax on Chinese immigrants raised in 1901 to $100 remains in place.
1907: "Passing
of the Blooming Englishmen" is published by The Golden Star on January
12. The piece is a venomous attack on British Remittance Men in the region,
decrying their implied stupidity and pompousness.
1908: Royal
Commission regarding Oriental Workers is established under then Minister
of Labour, W.L.M. King. The commission is established in order to examine
the labour competition that Oriental people are presenting to white workers
in British Columbia. The major impact is that the head tax on Chinese
workers raised in 1904 to $500 remains in place; it is a sum that many
can never afford to pay. This measure effectively stops Chinese immigration
to Canada.
1910-1920:
New Italian migration from Europe helps to build and solidify Italian
communities in the company towns of the East and West Kootenay. This immigration
is brought about by word of mouth of pioneer Italians describing the opportunity
for steady work in the mines and smelter. Despite strikes, labour disputes
and unfair treatment at the hands of the company, Italian immigrants continue
to locate to the Kootenays.
1914: World
War I begins in Europe with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
of Austria. Many British Remittance Men answer the call to arms, heading
off to what is seen by all as a glorious and heroic adventure. Many of
these individuals will never return.
1923: The
Oriental exclusion act is passed by the Liberal government under Prime
Minister W.L.M. King. The act stops full scale immigration from the Orient
in favour of more "desirable" immigrants. The act will remain
in place until 1947.
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