Decoding the Past of Chinatowns and Chinese Towns of 19th Century North America/Australia and British Malaya

Authors

Phin-Keong VoonFollow

Abstract

Abstract

Chinese began to migrate to the west coast of North America and Australia and the Malay Peninsula during the gold and tin rushes. The former was recently European-settled territories and the latter was almost unpopulated. The timing of the Chinese arrival and the background of host societies had an influence on the type of Chinese settlements that evolved. In America and Australia, the Chinese were primarily labourers and lived in narrow quarters later known as “Chinatowns.” In Malaya the Chinese were labourers as well as pioneers in areas which they began to transform into townships.

This study is an attempt to decode the origins of the North American and Australian Chinatowns and the Malayan towns. Their background and experiences were strongly identified with the separate territories and were part of the historical tradition and heritage of the respective community. These early Chinatowns were unlike the modern-day versions which are modern and convey a sense of the romantic beloved of tourists. They had in fact passed through an inglorious period of history. The Malayan towns that appeared showed a different trajectory of social and economic transformation. Conceptually and in historical perspectives, the enduring differences between the Chinatown and Malayan towns have remained. Arising from this, one may caution that the Chinatown concept may not be imposed on what are “Chinese towns” so as not to risk misinterpreting their history and that of the Chinese community as a whole.

Recommended Citation

Voon, Phin-Keong (2024) "Decoding the Past of Chinatowns and Chinese Towns of 19th Century North America/Australia and British Malaya," Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies: Vol. 13: No. 2, Article 5.
Available at: https://mjcs.newera.edu.my/journal/vol13/iss2/5