[00:08.30]UNIT5
[00:13.98]Yip Sang, a Chinese-Canadian
[00:16.93]The British and Chinese signed
[00:22.85]the Treaty of Nanking in 1842,
[00:25.03]each providing their respective subjects
[00:29.96]with the right to benefit
[00:31.71]from full security and protection
[00:33.89]for their persons and property
[00:36.52]within each other’s boundaries.
[00:39.25]Even though China did not
[00:41.34]openly allow emigration,
[00:43.19]in 1860 a law was passed
[00:46.92]which stated that Chinese,
[00:48.78]seeking to work in the
[00:51.29]British Colonies or other places,
[00:53.37]were at liberty to do so.
[00:56.87]They had only to ship themselves
[00:59.94]and their families on board
[01:01.69]any British vessel at any
[01:03.98]of the open ports in China.
[01:06.93]In 1868, another treaty,
[01:10.76]this one with the United States,
[01:13.39]gave the Chinese the right
[01:16.24]to change their home and loyalty
[01:18.53]from one country to another
[01:21.16]for the purposes of curiosity,
[01:23.23]of trade, or as permanent residents,
[01:27.83]thereby opening the gates
[01:29.80]for emigration from China.
[01:32.87]The gold boom in British Columbia
[01:36.26]in the 1850’s was the beginning
[01:39.54]of Chinese immigration
[01:41.29]from the U.S. into Canada.
[01:43.26]Many of these early immigrants
[01:46.64]sailed from Fujian and Guangdong provinces
[01:50.48] to San Francisco.
[01:53.21]When they heard of
[01:55.40]the gold discoveries in British Columbia,
[01:57.15]many crossed the border into Canada
[01:59.91] by moving overland through Oregon
[02:02.66]or arriving by sea in Victoria.
[02:05.06] When the gold deposits were depleted,
[02:09.32] these early settlers stayed,
[02:11.62]moving into occupations like gardening,
[02:14.91]farming, domestic service, road construction,
[02:18.95]and railway building.
[02:20.70]By 1871, there were
[02:25.73]approximately 3 000 Chinese inhabitants
[02:28.80] in the province,
[02:30.44]only 53 of whom being women.
[02:34.60]Since Chinese workers were known
[02:37.88]to be conscientious and reliable,
[02:40.40]several companies actively recruited them.
[02:45.10]As a result, it was estimated
[02:46.96]that 10 000 workers arrived
[02:49.58] between 1882 and 1884.
[02:54.73]In an effort to restrict
[02:57.02]the entry of Chinese immigrants,
[02:59.65]an act was passed
[03:01.07] in the Canadian Parliament
[03:03.37]confining the proportion to one person
[03:05.78]for every 50 tons of vessel tonnage.
[03:10.05]A head tax was also imposed.
[03:13.99] Records of those who paid
[03:16.39]the head tax are still available
[03:18.25]for viewing in the National Archives of Canada |