Скачать или смотреть Chinese Workers & the Pacific Salmon Canning Industry

In 1852, 19-year-old William Hume traveled from Maine to California by way of Panama. Unlike most young men of the time, he did not come to prospect for gold. Instead, he made a living by fishing in the Sacramento River, later founding the first salmon cannery on the west bank of the Sacramento River. In 1870, Hume and his brothers hired 15 Chinese workers, beginning four decades of Chinese dominance in the labor market of the salmon canning industry along the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska.

Speakers Jim and Philip Chiao spent three summers working in Alaska canneries during their college years, personally experiencing the life of cannery workers during the early 1970s. Recently, they have documented their Alaska experiences in a blog on their website. Jim and Philip will take the audience on a guided historical tour of Chinese American and Chinese workers in the canning industry. They will trace 150 years of Chinese workers in the canning industry, starting with the founding of the industry, the expansion and dominance of Chinese workers in the labor market, and its eventual demise. Along the way, they will highlight the major events that shaped the industry and affected the Chinese workers.

The Chinese Historical Society of America collects, preserves, and illuminates the history of Chinese in America by serving as a center for research, scholarship and learning to inspire a greater appreciation for, and knowledge of, their collective experience through exhibitions, public programs, and any other means for reaching the widest audience.

www.chsa.org