The 1888 shipwreck of the City Of Chester, which was discovered last year under the Golden Gate Bridge, is speaking through the passage of time to tell us about what really happened against what some people have believed for over a century.
The passenger steamship sank after it collided with a boat carrying Chinese immigrants, killing 16 people, and for years people believed that boat, Oceanic, was to blame for the crash. Due to the bigotry still held against Chinese immigrants after California’s gold rush, it was assumed by many that their ship and crew members were responsible for the deaths. However, it was actually the captain of City Of Chester who made an unsafe turn and caused the crash.
“The Chinese crew saved a lot of lives,” James Delgado, director of maritime heritage for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Sanctuaries, said. “They pulled people onto their boats. If not for them, more people would have died.”
Love these kind of stories-windows into history. RT: @NBCNews: 1888 shipwreck rediscovered under Golden Gate Bridge http://t.co/YDEqXYDiAB
— Melissa MarkViverito (@MMViverito) April 24, 2014
It took 126 years to identify a shipwreck near the Golden Gate Bridge as this proud steamer http://t.co/oEIIv9Togg pic.twitter.com/k6C6CdJLV8
— WIRED (@WIRED) April 24, 2014
NOAA has found a 19th century shipwreck below SF Bay. The City of Chester sank in 1888. 16 people died. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/8na31lAuWr
— Chuck Clifford (@chuckclifford) April 23, 2014
According to the San Francisco Museum, many Americans held hatred for the Chinese immigrants who came to the U.S. during the gold rush because there was not as much gold to be found as they had been led to believe. Once the finds began to dry up, American men began to blame those from other countries for “stealing” what was rightfully theirs.
“Governor Bigler suddenly became inspired with the realization of the value of an attack upon them as a political asset. He sent a special message to the legislature in which he charged them with being contract “coolie” laborers, avaricious, ignorant of moral obligations, incapable of being assimilated, and dangerous to the public welfare. The result was a renewal of the foreign miners’ tax, but in a milder form than its predecessor,” wrote Henry Kittredge Norton.
The ship was first found last May during a sweep of the Bay area for potential boat hazards, but new images have been released this week that clearly show the hull and gash on the port side. An attempt to raise it won’t be made, but the find is still important to people like Delgado.
“It’s a tangible link to another time,” he said.
Image via Twitter