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From a Sojourner’s Life to Family Reunification: Reflections on the Experiences of Chinese Immigrants in Newfoundland, 1890s-1950s

Miriam Wright & Robert Hong

Chinese tax

Between the 1890s and 1949, over 400 Chinese men came to the Dominion of Newfoundland, looking to escape economic and political conflict at home. Arriving without female family members, these men put down roots in Newfoundland, opening and working in laundries, cafes and restaurants to earn money to support themselves, and to send what they could to family members back home. This life had many challenges, however, as the Chinese men faced the discriminatory head tax policy of the Newfoundland government, as well as racism from the local white population.

This presentation will cover the experiences of these Chinese immigrants, beginning with their first arrival on the island, and the enactment of the 1906 Chinese Head Tax. It will then highlight the ways they shaped the commercial and business life of the city of St. John’s with their laundries and their cafés, snack bars and restaurants. It will conclude with their path to citizenship after Confederation, which opened the door for them to bring long-separated family members to join them in Newfoundland.

Watch the lecture at: From a Sojourner’s Life to Family Reunification