97,000 people paid the Chinese Head Tax when implemented in Canada in 1885. The tax was effectively a discriminatory practice in which only those of Chinese descent would pay a fee when entering Canada. The purpose was to deter Chinese immigrants from coming to Canada. The fee started out as $50.00 in 1885 which was equivalent to 1 year worth of salary, but by 1904 the price had ballooned to $500.00, a modern day equivalent of 2 years salary
In Indonesia, during the 16th century (although various sources of contrasting Islamic documentation state Islamic traders brought Islam to Indonesia in the 8th century), Islam had mass appeal to the general population. Islam strictly forbade discrimination and idolation of any monarchy or royal bloodline, and gave the common people the same opportunity to ascend to paradise as their rulers did. Islam does not have an intermediary when dealing with divine power which further made the religion attractive to the native islanders. These values made Islam more liberating in comparison to Hinduism and Buddhism which were the dominant religions at the time. The most recent mass conversion to Islam was during the fall of communism in Indonesia in 1965. Massive and brutal murders of Communist Party of Indonesia members occurred in the late 1960’s as the accepted convention at the time was that communists were atheists and atheists were therefore communists. The safest method to ensure survival during this turbulent time, especially for the indigenous Javanese who adhered to local indigenous religions, was to declare themselves Muslim so they would not be mistaken for communists and by default, atheists