on the Pacific route brought large numbers of migrants from East Asia to the Americas, especially the United States, which continued despite successive laws restricting Asian immigration to the United States; the journey typically took three weeks, with many impoverished migrants travelling in steerage class conditions. Some of the finest ships on the route, such as RMS Empress of Japan of Canadian Pacific Steamships which operated out of Vancouver, and Hikawa Maru of Nippon Yusen, became known as 'Queen of the Pacific'. Other National symbol The construction of some ocean liners was a result of nationalism. The revival of power of the German navy stemmed from the clear affirmation of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to see his country become a sea power. Thus, the of 1900 had the honor to bear the name of its mother country, an honor which she lost after ten years of a disappointing career. and of 1907 were built with the help of the British government with the desire that the United Kingdom would regain its prestige as a sea power. of 1952 was the result of a desire by the United States government to possess a large and fast ship that is convertible into a troop transport. and of 1932 were constructed at the demands of Benito Mussolini. Finally, the construction of 1961 was a result of Charles de Gaulle's desire to build on French national pride and was financed by the French government. Some liners did gain great popularity. Mauretania and Olympic had many admirers during their careers, and their retirement and scrapping caused certain sadness. The same was true of Île de France, whose scrapping aroused strong emotion from her admirers. Similarly, Queen Mary was very popular with the British people. Maritime disasters and incidents Some ocean liners are known today because of their sinking with great loss of lives. In 1873, struck an underwater rock and sank off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, killing at least 535 people. In 1912, the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which took approximately 1,500 lives, highlighted the overconfidence of the shipping companies in their ships, such as the failure to put enough lifeboats on board. Safety measures at sea were reexamined following the incident. Two years later, in 1914, sank in the Saint Lawrence River after colliding with the . 1,012 people died. Among the other sinkings are the torpedo sinking of the