The Chinatown War: Chinese Los Angeles and the Massacre of 1871In October 1871, a simmering, small-scale turf war involving three Chinese gangs exploded into a riot that engulfed the small but growing town of Los Angeles. A large mob of white Angelenos, spurred by racial resentment, rampaged through the city and lynched some 18 people before order was restored. In The Chinatown War, Scott Zesch offers a compelling account of this little-known event, which ranks among the worst hate crimes in American history. The story begins in the 1850s, when the first wave of Chinese immigrants arrived in Los Angeles in the wake of the 1849 California gold rush. Upon arrival, these immigrants usually took up low-wage jobs, settled in the slum neighborhood of the Calle de los Negros, and joined one of a number of Chinese community associations. Though such associations provided job placement and other services to their members, they were also involved in extortion and illicit businesses, including prostitution. In 1870 the largest of these, the See-Yup Company, imploded in an acrimonious division. The violent succession battle that ensued, as well as the highly publicized torture of Chinese prostitute Sing-Ye, eventually provided the spark for the racially motivated riot that ripped through L.A. Zesch vividly evokes the figures and events in the See-Yup dispute, deftly situates the riot within its historical and political context, and illuminates the workings of the early Chinese-American community in Los Angeles, while simultaneously exploring issues that continue to trouble Americans today. Engaging and deeply researched, The Chinatown War above all delivers a riveting story of a dominant American city and the darker side of its early days that offers powerful insights for our own time. |
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The Chinatown War:Chinese Los Angeles and the Massacre of 1871: Chinese Los ... Scott Zesch No preview available - 2012 |
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17th Judicial District 1871 testimony accused Adolfo Celis Ah Choy Ah Wing Alta California San American Angelenos Angeles City Angeles Star Angeles’s arrest brothel California San Francisco Charles Nordhoff China Chinaman Chinatown Chinese immigrants Chinese women citizens Coronel adobe Coronel building Crenshaw criminal December Emil Harris Express Los Angeles February February 18 hanged Hing Hing’s Hong Chow Horace Bell Hubert Howe Bancroft huiguan indictment jail Jesús Bilderrain Judge Widney Judicial District Court jurors jury Justice kill LAACR Lachenais Latinos lawmen Los Angeles County Los Angeles Star los Negros lynch March Minutes murder Negros Newmark newspaper night Nin Yung non-Asians November o’clock October 27 October 30 officers Otis Gibson Peace Gray Peace Still/Gray pistol police Policeman prostitute reported riot rioters sheriff shot Sing Lee Sing Yu Southern California tong fighters town town’s victims vigilance committee vigilantes Wing Chung store witnesses woman Yo Hing Yuen Yup Company