Notes

Chinese people had begun arriving in Canada before 1867, the year of Confederation. These early Chinese immigrants came from one tiny area of southern China and they spoke the dialects of that region. Their experience differs greatly from those who have immigrated to Canada in more recent years. At the same time, the Chinese in Canada have a proud history here. They helped to build and develop our economy. As well, they formed communities to support and protect their fellow immigrants who arrived from China. The first wave of Chinese immigrants to arrive in Canada were motivated by various push and pull factors. The push factors, such as floods and wars in China, made it hard for people to grow crops for food, live in safety and peace, or make a living.
Pull factors for Canada were related to the young nation's pace of growth. New settlements and new industries often had a shortage of workers. British Columbia's distance from Europe and eastern North America meant that China was the closest large source of low-cost labour. Decisions on where to migrate were also shaped by other factors, such as the efforts of labour recruiters, and influence of family and village networks. Poor living conditions led to a peasants' revolt in 1851. The Taiping Rebellion, which ended in 1864, claimed 20 million lives across the country. Other peasant wars in southern China claimed 150,000 lives between 1854 and 1868.
During these unstable years, farmers were dragged into armies, crops were ruined and bandit gangs raided villages. The central Chinese government could not maintain law and order in the region. For many years, European countries had been moving into China to sell their products. After losing the Opium Wars to Great Britain in 1842 and in 1860, China was forced to open more of its port cities to trade with Europe. When trade moved to these newly opened ports, less cargo passed through the port of Guangzhou. The result was that porters, warehouse hands and boat crews lost their jobs.
After the Opium Wars, a condition of China's surrender was a massive payment to Great Britain, an amount which was one-third of the annual intake of China's treasury. This cost was passed on to the ordinary Chinese citizens who had to pay higher taxesLong before North America's gold rushes in the 1850s, men from the Guangdong region of China knew about overseas work. While they were away, the clan (a network of related families) helped their wives and children who had been left behind. The men working abroad were expected to send money back to their families and clans waiting at home.
Merchants from southern China working in faraway cities or countries would set up clubs to help fellow traders. These groups provided shelter, business contacts and small loans. Such services made it easier for the southern Chinese to travel far away.
When Chinese people came to Canada, they set up similar groups to help one another.