Asia-Pacific in the Making of the Americas: Toward a Global History

The Chinese of Manila and Formation of America’s First Chinatown

This essay traces the origins of Chinese and Filipino populations along the transpacific trade route from 1564 to 1660. Navigating the Spanish empire, Spanish galleon fleets roamed the seas and invested in a thriving trade between Spanish Mexico and the newly acquired Spanish Philippines. Later, Chinese chuans (ships) interceded in this transcontinental trade, resulting in the cross pollination of Spanish empire, Chinese enterprise, and the cultures of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Resulting in the start of Chinese Parián (or marketplace) in colonized Spanish areas, including the first Chinatown in Manila, this newfound relationship also threatened to upset the Spanish monopoly of these areas. Focusing on the political landscape and economic development of the Philippines, this paper explicates the rise of Spanish anxieties over Chinese ingenuity and trade using primary source documents from religious secular leader stationed in the area. Taxation and other Spanish imposed oppressive measures spurred Chinese revolt and protest. However, despite a history of discord and contestation, the history of the Chinese in New Spain nevertheless begets a legacy still evidenced today by modern Chinatowns and businesses. 
 

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