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Department:

Our Chosen Land

Replica or Original:

Not a Replica

On Display, In Storage, or in a Private Offsite Collection:

On Display

Primary Material:

Paper

Medium:

Certificate

Dimensions:

Classification/Category:

Personal Objects

Specific Classification:

Legal Documents

Notable Signatures,

Inscriptions, and/or Markings:

not available

Donated by:

not available

Accession Number

1993.004.003

!

Artifact Date:

A.D. 1800 - 1899

Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912)

Artifact Era/Dynasty:

Unknown

Creator:

Chinese

Creator Ancestry:

00:00 / 01:29

As China struggled with rapid overpopulation, wage-labour jobs became scarce after China’s defeat in the First Opium War (1839-1842). Lower priced foreign manufactured goods also undercut the Chinese product industry. Law and order broke down when the the Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850 and continued to 1864.  As a result of of massive industrial, political and environmental obstacles, many Chinese residents emigrated.


The first major law that Canada passed to limit Chinese immigration into the country, the Dominion Immigration Act, required Chinese Immigrants to pay a $50 head tax ($1387.50 with today’s inflation). Additionally, no inbound ship could contain more than 1 Chinese Immigrant per 50 tons of cargo. 


This Head Tax was increased to $100 ($3,204.70) in 1900 and $500 ($15,295.17) in 1903. A total of 24 million dollars were paid by Chinese immigrants to the Canadian government for the Head Tax from 1885 to 1923. No other immigrant group was subject to paying such fees when entering Canada.


Our Chosen Land features a Head Tax Certificate required by a Chinese immigrant arriving to Canada.

Artifact Date:

A.D. 1800 - 1899

Artifact Era/Dynasty:

Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912)

Creator:

Unknown

Creator Ancestory:

Chinese

!

Catalogue Entry

Online References:

not available

Department:

Our Chosen Land

On Display, In Storage, or in a Private Offsite Collection:

On Display

Replica or Original:

Not a Replica

A head tax certificate required by a Chinese immigrant arriving to Canada.
抵達加拿大的中國移民所需要的人頭稅證明。

Listen

00:00 / 01:04

Classification/Category:

Personal Objects

Specific Classification:

Legal Documents

Notable Signatures,

Inscriptions, and/or Markings:

not available

Primary Material:

Paper

Medium:

Certificate

Dimensions:

Donated by:

not available

Accession Number:

1993.004.003

Head Tax Certificate 人頭稅證明

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