Anti-Oriental Riots of 1907
Coordinates: 49°16′50″N 123°05′59″W / 49.28056°N 123.09972°W The Vancouver Anti-Oriental Riots occurred over three days September 7–9, 1907, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At about the same time there were similar anti-Asian riots in San Francisco, Bellingham, Washington and other West Coast cities. They were not coordinated, but instead reflected common underlying anti-immigration attitudes. Agitation for direct action was led by labour unions and small business. No one was killed but the damage to Asian-owned property was extensive. One result was an informal agreement whereby the government of Japan stopped emigration to Canada.
The 1907 Vancouver riot was the second act of anti-Oriental violence in the history of Vancouver; the first incident took place in the area of Coal Harbour, in 1887. In the early years of the twentieth century race relations on the Pacific Coast of Canada were strained. There were some sixteen thousand Chinese in the province; in a city of one hundred thousand people or around 8% of the population. There were also 8000 Japanese and around 5000 South Asians. The Chinese had come to Canada to build the railways; the Japanese to fish; and Indians to farm and log.
At this time, other ships with more migrants were turning up—the Suian Maru [300 Japanese], SS Kumeric [1177 Japanese] SS Tartar [600 Indians] and the SS Monteagle [901 Indians, further 100 in 1908]. Meanwhile, the Panic of 1907, caused by the failure of Augustus Heinze's brother's bank in New York. exacerbated the labour market and brought racial tensions to the fore. White people perceived Asians as taking "their" jobs. Australia had enacted "White Australia" legislation in 1899 to eliminate Asian immigration. The Asian Exclusion League in Canada lobbied for Canada to do the same.
A riot targeting East Indian lumber workers in Bellingham in 1907 started the events. Soon tensions flared north and angry mobs stormed through Powell Street in Vancouver's China town breaking windows and assaulting Chinese in the streets. The riot lasted 3 days in September 1907, finally the Vancouver police closed the streets and calm slowly returned. Many windows were broken and the population terrified. The second day of the riot turned against the Japanese community. There were similar actions in Steveston in Richmond against the Japanese.
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