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The Chinese Mestizos of Spanish Colonial Manila: Becoming "Filipino" or "Chinese" under American Colonial Rule

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As a result of Spanish efforts to Christianize the Philippines, a “third” ethnic group known as the Chinese mestizo was created in Manila and in many urban centers. These Chinese mestizos were offspring of unions between Chinese men and local women. They identified themselves as largely Hispanic and Catholic, although some were also Sinicized. With the coming of the U.S. colonial masters and the imposition of nation-based identities, Chinese mestizos “disappeared” and became either “Filipino” or “Chinese.” However, intermarriages persisted and the “Chinese mestizo” did not completely disappear. Instead, they appeared in alternative forms of identification that are continuously contested and negotiated. 

This page has paths:

  1. 19th-Century US Pacific Caroline Frank
  2. The Spanish Pacific Elli Mylonas

Contents of this path:

  1. Introduction
  2. History of the Chinese Mestizo in the Spanish Colonial Period
  3. Legal Classification of the Chinese Mestizo
  4. Chinese Mestizo Impact on Philippine Society
  5. Chinese Mestizo Identity Before the Philippine Revolution
  6. Chinese Mestizos Reclaimed
  7. American Colonial Period and the Schurman Commission
  8. Policies of Exclusion
  9. Chinese Mestizo: To Be “Filipino” or “Chinese”
  10. Conclusion
  11. Bibliography