Abstract/Details

(Re-)Imagining Germanness: Victoria's Germans and the 1915 Lusitania Riot

Richards, Arthur Tylor.   University of Victoria (Canada) ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2012. MR94899.

Abstract (summary)

In May 1915 British soldiers stationed near Victoria instigated a retaliatory riot against the local German community for the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. The riot spanned two days, and many local residents eagerly took part in the looting and destruction of German owned businesses. Despite its uniqueness as the city’s largest race riot, scholars have under-appreciated its importance for Victoria and British Columbia’s racial narrative. The riot further signals a change in how Victorians understood Germanness.

From the 1850s onwards, Victoria’s British hegemony welcomed Germans as like-minded and appropriate white settlers. I argue that race and colour shaped German lives in Victoria, for the most part positively. During the war however Germanness took on new and negative meaning. As a result, many Germans increasingly hid their German background. Germans maintained their compatibility with the British hegemony, largely thanks to their whiteness, well after German racial background became a liability.

Indexing (details)


Subject
Canadian history;
Ethnic studies
Classification
0334: Canadian history
0631: Ethnic studies
Identifier / keyword
Social sciences; British Columbia
Title
(Re-)Imagining Germanness: Victoria's Germans and the 1915 Lusitania Riot
Author
Richards, Arthur Tylor
Number of pages
113
Degree date
2012
School code
0244
Source
MAI 52/03M(E), Masters Abstracts International
ISBN
978-0-494-94899-6
Advisor
Lutz, John S.
Committee member
Stanger-Ross, Jordan
University/institution
University of Victoria (Canada)
Department
History
University location
Canada -- British Columbia, CA
Degree
M.A.
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language
English
Document type
Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number
MR94899
ProQuest document ID
1442209482
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1442209482