wandering stars

In the immediate aftermath of the riots, Chinese residents were left with over $100,000 (in 1877 dollars) in damage to clean up, including broken windows, burned buildings, and looted stores. Limited to Chinatown for rebuilding and cultivating their business interests, many struggled to recover from the riots. Meanwhile, Chinese labourers hiring out for so-called ‘coolie wages,’ the reduced sums paid by wealthy employers to Chinese staff, were under constant threat from white workers who blamed them for the depression, wage inequality, and high unemployment.