Chapter 7 Chapter Three: The Significant Contributions of Early Chinese Laborers to the Development of America

During the Opium War, Western colonialists opened the door to China with foreign guns and cannons, and forced the corrupt and fatuous Qing government to agree to "immigrate" overseas to meet America's needs for Chinese workers. From 1790 to 1826, the people of Latin America set off a vigorous independence movement, overthrew the colonial rule of Spain, Portugal, France and other suzerain countries in most areas, and established a series of new countries.However, during and shortly after the independence movement, various countries formed a political situation of "driving wolves out of the front door and tigers in through the back door". The old colonialists were driven out, and the new colonialists such as Britain, the United States, France, and Germany took advantage of the vacancy. , Latin American countries soon became the capitalist powers' agricultural products, suppliers of mineral raw materials, industrial product sales markets and investment places.In order to meet the capitalist market's demand for Latin American agricultural products and mineral raw materials, Latin American manor owners, plantation owners and foreign capitalists need to vigorously develop local agricultural and mineral production.However, it was not easy to vigorously develop agriculture and mineral production when machine production was extremely underdeveloped at that time.Latin America is vast and sparsely populated. Before independence, it mainly relied on importing a large number of black slaves from Africa for mining and planting production.By the time of the Sino-British Opium War, the situation had undergone fundamental changes. During and shortly after the independence movement in Latin America, all countries had announced the abolition of slavery, or promulgated laws prohibiting the sale of black slaves and the prohibition of importing black slaves. This led to the depletion of the source of black slaves.Therefore, in Latin America, especially Cuba, Peru and British Guiana, the only way to develop agriculture and mining is to rely on importing a large number of Chinese laborers from China.

In the middle of the 19th century, the United States was also an emerging country.The United States declared independence in 1776, and it was only in 1783 that Britain was forced to sign a treaty recognizing American independence.The victory of the American Revolutionary War opened the way for the rapid development of the capitalist economy.In the 60s and 70s after independence, the United States carried out the "Westward Movement", expanding the US territory from the 13 states along the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast westward to realize its "natural boundaries". From 1835 to 1845, the United States incorporated the Mexican territory of Texas into its territory by force. In 1848, the United States forced Mexico to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.According to this treaty, the United States acquired a large territory from Mexico, including all of today's California, New Mexico, Arizona and other states, as well as parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and other states. In 1853, the United States acquired the Mercia Valley area from Mexico.All told, the United States looted 918,000 square miles during this period, equal to more than 95 percent of Mexico's total territory at the time.With the continuous expansion of borders and the development and utilization of new territories, a large number of labor forces are urgently needed.The rapid increase of foreign immigrants, especially European immigrants, formed an unprecedented wave of immigration.In the century since 1815, about 30 million people immigrated to the United States from Europe. More immigrants entered the United States between 1815 and 1860 than the entire population of the United States in 1790.Chinese laborers were also swept in by this wave of immigration to the United States.

Now, about Canada.Beginning in the 16th century, British and French forces successively invaded Canada. The Seven Years' War between Britain and France ended in 1763, and Canada became a British colony according to the Treaty of Paris signed in the same year.The immigration of Chinese laborers to Canada was directly related to the British colonists’ intensified development of the coastal areas in western Canada. In 1776, the British claimed to occupy an area of ​​nearly one million square kilometers in western Canada called New Caledunia. In 1858, New Caledonia and Vancouver Island were officially named British Columbia and became a British Crown Colony.At that time, the area had a small population and a shortage of labor force. It was urgent to import cheap labor force to develop this vast virgin land.Therefore, after the Sino-British Opium War in 1840, the British gradually moved Chinese laborers into this area.

In short, judging from the period after the Sino-British Opium War, whether it is Latin America, the United States, or Canada, with the continuous expansion of territory and the needs of the world market, a large number of cheap labor is needed to develop these areas.It is this need that caused the wave of European immigrants and Chinese laborers being trafficked to the Americas.