Figure 1: Chinese Railway Camp, mid-1880s, from the Royal BC Museum Archives.
Figure 2: Well-paid engineers with better working and living conditions, 1883, from the Canadian Pacific Archives
As a specific example of the discriminating rules placed upon certain people, Chinese labour was used to build the railroad, and then later to maintain it. After a long and difficult journey across the Pacific ocean to reach British Columbia, the 17, 000 new arrivals came to begin working on the CPR, after being divided into groups of 30 men. Each group were assigned to a different area of work, and included only 2 cooks, a record keeper keeping track of the work done each day, and a Canadian "supervisor" who would oversee the construction at each site.
They encountered a hostile reception in British Columbia, since the province already had a Chinese population due to the gold rush in the late 1850s, and racism towards the Chinese was all around. Newspaper articles and editorial illustrations of the time repeatedly portrayed the Chinese in degrading and disrespectful ways, and many were repulsed by the Chinese culture such as family policies, religion and even funeral rites.
Source(s): http://www.mhso.ca/tiesthatbind/images/work_gallery/casualties_xl.jpg (Figure 1) and http://www.mhso.ca/tiesthatbind/images/work_gallery/pay_discrimination_xl.jpg (Figure 2)
Although these sources did not include any specific information as to where the photographs were taken, you can definitely infer that these camps (usually consisting of almost 1000 men at a time) were located in British Columbia, close to the construction site of the Chinese workers. In Figure 1, a camp of the Chinese labourers, you can observe that their living quarters were situated under no natural shelter (e.g. forest cover), covered in flimsy, cramped tents, and "buildings" that have no walls whatsoever. On the other hand, Figure 2 shows you the ideal overhead forest shelter, sturdy, spacious tents, horses, and stable wooden facilities used by the Canadian "supervisors" who also worked on the CPR. (mainly middle-age men, who are trusted as a reliable engineer)
It is quite clear in the pictures that there is a very easy-going, relaxed mood that is associated with the photo of the well-paid engineer supervisors, and although you cannot see the faces of the Chinese workers, you can predict the weariness the workers must feel to have to work for wages that have a 2% tax rate taken from their already low income.
Being a photograph taken of the different workers involved in the project, it is sure to be one that would be published, perhaps for a newspaper source. Due to the high levels of racism towards the Chinese, I might even guess that the reassurance of the poor-quality of their living quarters will satiate some of the abhorrence that was directed towards them, and also show the public how these foreigners are being controlled/managed.
The building of the CPR was one that had required the energy of many many willing volunteers, which in this case, were Chinese immigrants who were willing to accept low wages. Even though their standards of payment are not high, the Canadian government took advantage of this fact and gave them such little funds and support so that it had forced them to organize strikes to protest unacceptable working conditions. In 1881, there was such a case in Yale, British Columbia where hundreds of workers marched into the headquarters of the Canadian engineers and demanded the 2% tax levied over their wages to be removed.
They encountered a hostile reception in British Columbia, since the province already had a Chinese population due to the gold rush in the late 1850s, and racism towards the Chinese was all around. Newspaper articles and editorial illustrations of the time repeatedly portrayed the Chinese in degrading and disrespectful ways, and many were repulsed by the Chinese culture such as family policies, religion and even funeral rites.
Source(s): http://www.mhso.ca/tiesthatbind/images/work_gallery/casualties_xl.jpg (Figure 1) and http://www.mhso.ca/tiesthatbind/images/work_gallery/pay_discrimination_xl.jpg (Figure 2)
Although these sources did not include any specific information as to where the photographs were taken, you can definitely infer that these camps (usually consisting of almost 1000 men at a time) were located in British Columbia, close to the construction site of the Chinese workers. In Figure 1, a camp of the Chinese labourers, you can observe that their living quarters were situated under no natural shelter (e.g. forest cover), covered in flimsy, cramped tents, and "buildings" that have no walls whatsoever. On the other hand, Figure 2 shows you the ideal overhead forest shelter, sturdy, spacious tents, horses, and stable wooden facilities used by the Canadian "supervisors" who also worked on the CPR. (mainly middle-age men, who are trusted as a reliable engineer)
It is quite clear in the pictures that there is a very easy-going, relaxed mood that is associated with the photo of the well-paid engineer supervisors, and although you cannot see the faces of the Chinese workers, you can predict the weariness the workers must feel to have to work for wages that have a 2% tax rate taken from their already low income.
Being a photograph taken of the different workers involved in the project, it is sure to be one that would be published, perhaps for a newspaper source. Due to the high levels of racism towards the Chinese, I might even guess that the reassurance of the poor-quality of their living quarters will satiate some of the abhorrence that was directed towards them, and also show the public how these foreigners are being controlled/managed.
The building of the CPR was one that had required the energy of many many willing volunteers, which in this case, were Chinese immigrants who were willing to accept low wages. Even though their standards of payment are not high, the Canadian government took advantage of this fact and gave them such little funds and support so that it had forced them to organize strikes to protest unacceptable working conditions. In 1881, there was such a case in Yale, British Columbia where hundreds of workers marched into the headquarters of the Canadian engineers and demanded the 2% tax levied over their wages to be removed.