Post on 25-Feb-2016
description
Today…
The Emergence of Vancouver
The Chinese in BC
Terms to Know
• metropolis: a chief city
• tidal flats: a low-lying marsh
• to undercut: to sell work at a lower price than average
The Emergence of Vancouver
pre- 1870
Slow development…
• Vancouver is the youngest major community within BC
• Vancouver could not develop during the fur trade or the Gold Rush– Burrard Inlet is not fed by a major river– thick forest – there was no travel to the area
Burrard Inlet
Colonel Richard Moody and New Westminster
• Colonel member of the Royal Engineers• Selected for Lieutenant- Governor of BC (while
it was still a colony – pre- 1870)• Moody was one of the first to realize that the
Fraser would FREEZE over during the winter• Ordered for 3 paths to be cut through the ice
(protection strategy)• set aside land for a military reserve
Vancouver – early 1860’s to 1865
• home to Musqueam and Squamish peoples
• 1865: two sawmills opened • Hastings Sawmill, on the south side of Burrard
Inlet• Sewell Sawmill, on the north side of Burrard
Inlet
Hastings Sawmill
Result of Saw Mills
• gained timber rights• took over 19,000 acres • saloons and shops began to pop up• Settlement “Granville” and “Gastown”
1881 - CPR
• Port Moody was named one of the stops for the CPR
• focus shifted to the eastern end of Burrard Inlet
• Speculators bought up land around the CPR route
Changes…
• 3 years later (1884) William Van Horne (remember him?) arrived to Port Moody
• His discovery… the area was made up of tidal flats and therefore not suitable for large vessels to load and un-load cargo.
• Van Horne travelled towards Gastown – the location was right – he named it Vancouver
Challenges…
• Vancouver was slowly building• 1886 brought hot/dry weather • This caused uncontrollable fires that burned
the upcoming city• By 1890 they were re-built with a population
more than 5,000 people
The Chinese in BC – immigration
arrival…
• thousands arrived along with the Americans during the Cariboo Gold Rush
• immediately faced discrimination against their language, religion, dress, and customs
• limited options – re-work land that had previously been mined– less expensive and often produced small amounts
of gold
Helping the economy…
• remained in BC while other miners left• opened restaurants and general stores along
mining routes• became vegetable farmers • some worked for wealthy families
1881 - CPR
• BC section of the railway (west of the Rocky Mtns) was in need of workers
• 17,000 Chinese immigrated to BC to work on the CPR
• they were paid $1/day (half the salary of White workers)
• usually they were required to provide their own food and lodging
Chinese immigration helps build the CPR
Life in the Cities
• post- 1885 • the Chinese immigrants could not afford to
travel back to China• moved to Vancouver and Victoria• racism and discrimination was a large part of
life• “The Knights of Labour” wanted the Chinese
removed from Vancouver
Work...
• Chinese immigrants often did work that others did not want to do
• sometimes they would displace White workers because the Chinese workers could be paid less
Head Tax
• 1885, Chinese immigration now had a limit• Each immigrant had to pay $50 upon entry to
Canada• Ships were limited to carrying only 40 Chinese
people at once• What did this do…– limited immigration – families could rarely arrive together
Head Tax Apology
• June 22, 2006• Stephan Harper offered apology to Chinese
Canadians– Who did Harper offer an apology to in 2008?
• In 2006, approximately 30 original Head Tax payers were still alive
• apology consisted of a $20,000 payment