Canadian Pacific Railway
The Chinese workers were paid $___ less than the white workers.
$1.00
What does the word "Maroon" originate from?
The word Maroon originated from "Marron" (French), which means "runaway black slave"
Who and when did ____ found the BSCP?
A. Philip Randolph found the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925
When did the Eastern side of the world discover America?
1492
What happened to the Chinese immigrant workers after the Railway was finished?
Most of the workers didn't have enough money to go back to China nor could they pay for their families to come to Canada, so they often died alone and poor
When, and where was the first ever Maroon War?
The first Maroon War was from 1728-40, and took place at Jamaica.
What did Heritage Canada unveil at Windsor Station to honour the African-Canadian railway porters as "nation builders and pioneers in the fight to eliminate discrimination"? (Soulliere 1)
A plaque
How was the British being unfair/unjust to the Indigenous People?
They read the El Requerimiento to the First Nations in Spanish/English, so that the Natives wouldn't understand a word
Nobody wanted to help build the railway tracks on the Rocky Mountains, because of how treacherous and dangerous it was. How did the Canadian Government "solve" this problem?
The Canadian Government hired the Chinese immigrants to do the dangerous work for them
Who are the leaders of the Windward Maroons and Leeward Maroons?
Queen Nanni of the Windward Maroons, and Captain Kojo of the Leeward Maroons
What was one difficulty Sleeping Car Porters faced?
The answer could be any of these 3:
1) They had to work 21 hours a day and only got 3 hours of sleep.
2) They had to sleep in the men's smoking room
3) They were not allowed to apply for any other position in the company and were also not admitted in the Order of Sleeping Car Conductors
Why did the British write the El Requerimiento?
To make their decision look objective and not because they felt superior or wanted control/power over the First Nations and their land
How did the Canadian Government use the positioning of the CP railway against the First Nations?
The railway cut right across the territory of many first nation tribes, and without shelter, the indigenous people were forced to relocate to Government-arranged reserves
How did the first Maroon War end?
After 85 years of conflict, the British gave up their attack and instead, offered the Maroons a peace treaty. Captain Kojo of the Leeward Maroons, and British Governor Edward Trelawny, both signed the treaty, ending the fighting
What and why were the Sleeping Car Porters called ____ by the passengers?
The Black Sleeping Car Porters were called "George", referring to the old tradition of calling slaves by their master's name (The one who came up with the idea of sleeping car porters was George Pullman)
What are the contents of the El Requerimiento?
The contents of the El Requerimiento went something like this: the Indigenous people shall submit and live under the British Empire because God said so, and if they resist, they shall be enslaved or killed.
How does the history of the CP railway affect the present?
The lingering effects of what happened during the construction of the CP railway reveals itself in the form of the poor relationship between Canada and China. Things like Canada criticizing the Chinese government over the Uyghur Genocide and the Hong Kong conflict, and the first variant of the Coronavirus being found in Wuhan, only created more tension between them.
How does the First Maroon War and the valour of Queen Nanni and Captain Kojo influence the events of modern day?
The 2 Maroon leaders worked so hard to fight for their freedom, and when it finally seemed like they succeeded, they were still forced to join the British Commonwealth. This is a huge part of what is fueling the Jamaican government’s decision to potentially leave the commonwealth.
What did George Pullman say that "justified" the fact that the black sleeping car porters were being treated poorly and inferior to the white passengers?
Pullman said that, since the black sleeping car porters were former slaves, there was no need to feel guilty for treating them like inferiors, because they were used to it.
Why didn't the British give the First Nations at least a choice between living under the Empire's rule or slavery and death?
They didn’t give the Indigenous people a choice, because they didn’t see them as equals (and all just because of their skin tone, culture, and language)