- Anti-Chinese Riots
In 1886, the
Canadian Pacific Railway was finished and thus laid off thousands of Kowloon natives who were thus stranded in Southern BC--somewent to the Cariboo in search of gold, some went to San Francisco, while others came to Vancouver. Brand new interior towns where the railway ran throughwere not keen on having so-called Celestials around. This was the time of Anti-Chinese activists, includingAmor de Cosmos , premier of BC.Asian exclusion acts were passed.In 1886, a few dozen chinese were camped on the shore of Vancouver harbour, near the present north end of Burrard Street. The CPR continued to hire themas contract workers, this time to built the ten mile extension of the line from Port Moody west to
Coal Harbour in the railway's successful gambit toavoid land speculation and build the line to the fine harbour at Burrard Inlet. Chinese were also used to clear the massive fir trees and stumps, then still standingin Vancouver's downtown to build the railway owned town. In January 1886 an angry mob of whites stormed the chinese at night, then camped in their tents. The chinese fled for the water, fallingdown the seacliff, and into the icy tidewater. Several chinese were hurt in the incident.See Also
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Chinese Immigration Act of 1885
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