The beginning of the twentieth century contained many themes of racism, ignorance and devious politics in Canadian history. While many of these themes although may be routed in the British Empire, Canadian discrimination and injustice are of its own creation. Hugh Johnston’s The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: The Sikh Challenge to Canada’s Colour Bar tells a tale of how Canadians closed the door to Asian immigration and manipulated a system to which foreigners were not meant to succeed. In May of 1914, 376 South Asians attempted to come to Canada by sea, only to be rejected, contained to their ship and ultimately intimidated into returning home after 6 long weeks. Johnston’s novel attempts to bring light to this infamous Canadian, race-based
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Discouraging policies such as head taxes for Chinese immigrants of $50 rose to $500 in British Colombia. In 1906, to quench the thirst of angry Canadians and Prime Minister Laurier decided to fully restrict all Chinese immigration. Indian immigrants were also heavily discouraged from arriving in Canada. Laws were put into place that required Indian immigrants to come directly from India to Canada, even though in practice this was an unrealistic service not offered by any ships. Ultimately, Johnston explains the 6 weeks the Komagata Maru was refused to land and the Canadian government that ensured it never would. Much of the second half of the monograph focuses on policy as Johnston raises questions as to how far devious politicians would go to prevent South Asians from the Port of Vancouver.
The Sikh challenge to Canadian policy and discrimination was a symbol of resilience and a revolt. While The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: the Sikh Challenge to Canada’s Colour Bar vaguely deals with racial discrimination, its presentation of material is not ideal. Hugh Johnston’s work is an effective recount of the voyage of the Komagata Maru, but he sacrifices significant arguments for the glamor of dramatic writing. Coupled with the lack of explanations, one could even say Johnston’s monography similarly resembles Queen Victoria’s 1852 proclamation as they both were not entirely understood by their
Discouraging policies such as head taxes for Chinese immigrants of $50 rose to $500 in British Colombia. In 1906, to quench the thirst of angry Canadians and Prime Minister Laurier decided to fully restrict all Chinese immigration. Indian immigrants were also heavily discouraged from arriving in Canada. Laws were put into place that required Indian immigrants to come directly from India to Canada, even though in practice this was an unrealistic service not offered by any ships. Ultimately, Johnston explains the 6 weeks the Komagata Maru was refused to land and the Canadian government that ensured it never would. Much of the second half of the monograph focuses on policy as Johnston raises questions as to how far devious politicians would go to prevent South Asians from the Port of Vancouver.
The Sikh challenge to Canadian policy and discrimination was a symbol of resilience and a revolt. While The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: the Sikh Challenge to Canada’s Colour Bar vaguely deals with racial discrimination, its presentation of material is not ideal. Hugh Johnston’s work is an effective recount of the voyage of the Komagata Maru, but he sacrifices significant arguments for the glamor of dramatic writing. Coupled with the lack of explanations, one could even say Johnston’s monography similarly resembles Queen Victoria’s 1852 proclamation as they both were not entirely understood by their