SA 345 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Chinese Head Tax In Canada, Commonwealth Of Nations, Ethnocentrism

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Sociology and Anthropology
• Course: SA 345
• Professor: Wendy Chan

Document Summary

Main aims of immigration during this period was economic expansion, the desire to increase the population, settle more territory and establish a country with a distinct national identity. Ce(cid:374)tral poli(cid:272)(cid:455) issue (cid:449)as ho(cid:449) to (cid:271)ala(cid:374)(cid:272)e the (cid:272)ou(cid:374)tr(cid:455)(cid:859)s (cid:374)eed for people- to settle the land and fuel the economy with the need for citizens. Notion of british colony that would serve the empire. Door open to any migrants in in theory, but in practice screening of immigrants took place. Policy was implicitly racialized- favoured immigrants from the uk, us and northern europe. Between 1869-1913 nearly 3 million immigrants came to canada and stayed. Large numbers of non-british migrants contributed to the boom. Native blacklash occurred due to the presence of so many foreigners. Led to the focus on ethnicity as the primary criteria for selection. Non-white immigration enforced- chinese head tax of 1904; continuous journey policy of 1908. No way to come to canada with one continuous journey from canada.