Ascendance of Chinese Mestizos in The Philippines - RZL110

I.
INTRODUCTION
Spaniards belief that a healthy society is when people of different cultural backgrounds are
separated and were not allowed to live together.
II. CLASSIFICATION OF CHINESE MESTIZO

A. Definition of Mestizo
(literal meaning of mestizo)
B. Chinese Mestizo Origin
(refer sa book)
- Chinese Father & India or Mestiza Mother
- Male – Chinese Mestizo (whoever he marries)
- Female – (if married an Indio) – India (if married a mestizo) – Mestiza
Chinese mestizas can change status while mestizos could not.
III. RISE OF CHINESE MESTIZOS IN THE PH

A. Significance of Chinese People in the Philippines
(contributions sa society, bat dependent ang Spaniards sa China)
B. Chinese as a Threat to Spaniards
(bakit threat sa Spaniards)
The Chinese population was many times larger than that of the Spanish, making fears of
Chinese revolt. Spaniards tried to address by converting Chinese people to Catholicism. The
Spaniards aim to develop a mission field in China to spread Catholicism. In order for the Chinese
not to resist, the Spaniards offered marriage and permanent resettlement in the Philippines. This
forces almost all the Chinese to make a marriage to the Filipinos resulting in the rise of Chinese
mestizos. These mestizos gave way to a community in Binondo, Manila.
C. Origin of Chinese Mestizos

(saan nagmula ang mga mestizos, anong lugar, at bakit dun)
90% of Chinese mestizos in the Philippines lived in Luzon. This is because Manila was always the
port-of-entry for new arrivals from China. Many never left beyond that.
Additionally, Chinese mestizos can also be found on Spanish communities like in the Cebu City,
the first Spanish resettlement in the Philippines. Meaning, in Visayas, the largest bodies of
Chinese mestizos can be found on Cebu.
D. Significance of Chinese Mestizo in the Philippines (Lanreb)

(ano yung contributions nila sa society that time, ano mga ginagawa nila)
The develop of Chinese mestizos in the Philippines can be understood by studying the history of
Chinese in the Philippines.
By 1741, Chinese mestizos had been recognized as a distinct element in the Philippine society.
Most of the profits of Chinese mestizos came from lending loaned tools and equipment for indios
to work. These have high interest rates which quickly gave them money.
Another way of gaining profits of the Chinese mestizos is the “pacto de retro”, which means that
the indio will pawned his land to the Chinese mestizo for cash with an option to repurchase in
the future. Since the indio cannot pay the loan, the land will went by default on the Chinese
mestizos.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Chinese mestizos have the strongest position as
ever, only second to the provincial governors. They have acquired much of lands in the
Philippines, second only to the religious orders and their friar estates.
According to Bowring, Chinese mestizos are the most industrious, persevering, and economical
element in the Philippine population.
It was the Chinese mestizos who made Cebu wealthy. These people have purchased local
products from neighboring towns like Samar and Leyte to sell to the foreign merchants which led
to the prosperity of Cebu. The City of Cebu could not have thrived without the Chinese mestizos.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
Where did the Chinese mestizos get the capital for trading operations and moneylending?
Why did they have such aptitude and interest for these kind of matters?
: They gained this from the legacy of their Chinese fathers. Chinese people have the money and
driven by this passion. The commercial skills of Chinese mestizos came from their ancestors.
What about the Chinese as competitors of the mestizos?

: The mestizos’ success were on 1750-1850 which in time were the Chinese people are prohibited
to enter the Philippines in large groups because of the Spanish law.
The success of Chinese mestizos was achieved primarily because of the lack of Chinese people in
the Philippines.
IV. CHINESE MESTIZO AS A SOCIAL PRESTIGE
A. Mestizo defined as Rich

The term “mestizo” is associated with rich people. There is a social prestige attached to being
considered a Chinese mestizo. An example of this is Capitan Tiago from Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.
He is an indio who wished to be regarded as a Chinese mestizo and was able to purchase a place
in the wealthy and famous Gremio de Mestizos de Binondo.
V. FALL OF CHINESE MESTIZOS
A. Chinese Mestizos as a Threat to Spaniards (Lanreb)
With the rise of the mestizos to a position of affluence and prestige, their relations with the indios
became a matter of increasing concern to the Spanish.
The Chinese Mestizos have the money and brain and have a close relationships with the indios,
while the indios have strength in their numbers. This poses a great threat for the Spaniards.
B. Rise of Chinese in the Market
In 1844, the Spanish government revoked the indulto de comercio and this forbids the Spanish
officials to involve themselves in trading. This should have removed the obstacle for complete
dominance of the Chinese mestizos over trade but it wasn’t. The Chinese came back as the
Spanish policy pushed aside the barriers to Chinese immigration and residence.
By 1880s, the Chinese population had soared to 100,000, and were found in every corner of the
Philippines.
The Chinese mestizos were widely forced out of business by Chinese competition and shifted
their attention to agriculture.
The advantage in trading of the Chinese mestizos are now gone as there is now a direct
international trading in the Philippines which eliminated the role of middle-man interisland
traders of the Chinese mestizos.
The Chinese mestizos lost one of their specialties which is commerce in the face of the Chinese
competition. The Chinese methods of buying raw materials and distributing imports were
superior to the methods used by mestizos.
VI. THE CHINESE MESTIZO IN THE FORMATION OF FILIPINO IDENTITY

(book)
VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
The Chinese mestizo played an important part in the creation and evolution of what is now
called the Filipino nation. According to Fr. Jesus Merino, The Filipino nationality, no matter how
Malayan it may be in its main ethnic stock, no matter how Spanish and Christian it may be in
its inspiration, civilization and religion, no matter how American it may be in its politics, trade
and aspiration, has been historically and practically shaped, not by the Chinese immigrant, but
by the Chinese mestizo.
Performing multiple services as traders, artisans and domestic servants, the Chinese became
indispensable to the needs of the capital. Encouraged to come and settle, the Chinese population
increased by leaps and bounds. But the Spaniards could only see in this rapid increase a
potential threat to their own rule. They feared that the Chinese, being an ethnic group with roots
in China, would be far less loyal to the Spanish regime than the Christianized natives whom the
Spaniards called Indios throughout their colonial rule.

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I.

II. CLASSIFICATION OF CHINESE MESTIZO

Chinese mestizas can change status while mestizos could not.

III. RISE OF CHINESE MESTIZOS IN THE PH

C. Origin of Chinese Mestizos

D. Significance of Chinese Mestizo in the Philippines (Lanreb)

What about the Chinese as competitors of the mestizos?

IV. CHINESE MESTIZO AS A SOCIAL PRESTIGE

A. Mestizo defined as Rich

V. FALL OF CHINESE MESTIZOS

A. Chinese Mestizos as a Threat to Spaniards (Lanreb)

B. Rise of Chinese in the Market

VI. THE CHINESE MESTIZO IN THE FORMATION OF FILIPINO IDENTITY

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