Gabat Devine Grace C. (Activity 2)

Activity 2: The Rise of the Chinese and Chinese Mestizos
1. State in one paragraph some eventualities that the Chinese were already doing
business with the Philippines even before the occupation of the Philippines by the
Spaniards.
Answer: The channeling of the trade between China and New Spain through Manila
brought Chinese entrepreneurs to Manila. In the first decades after the creation of the
Spanish colony in the Philippines there were more Chinese in Manila than Spanish. The
Spanish severely restricted the Chinese population but ultimately had to accept them as
essential to the functioning of the colonial economy. After a number of years there was
a new population group in Manila, the mestizos. These were the offspring from the
marriage of Chinese men and Filipino women. The mestizos could function as Filipinos
and were exempt from the restrictions placed by the Spanish on Chinese businessmen
and yet had the cultural ties to the Chinese community.
2. Identify some material or physical evidence that proves the Chinese were already
trading with the Philippines even before the Spanish Regime. Explain how this evidence
could prove the theory.
Answer: For Scott, the Chinese only came, at least, in the Visayas in 1569 when Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi captured a Chinese vessel and its crew somewhere off Panay Island.
It could be true but it could also be that the Chinese were in the Visayas in 1521 but
were just elsewhere among the many islands. The Spaniards were also not that many
to observe the whole Visayan Sea. It could be true that some of the porcelain ware
recovered in many parts of Cebu, for instance, which date back to the Sung and the
early Ming dynasties, were brought by other traders such as the Annamese and the
Siamese. But it was also possible that a majority of these were brought by the Chinese
themselves. Accounts of the presence of Chinese traders in the Philippines before 1569
may be found in Chinese archives and just waiting to be uncovered. But for now, the
abundance of porcelain ware used as grave goods by our ancestors may indicate that
they had been in the country for a long time. The recovery of many Chinese porcelain
wares in Cebu, being an ancient place, could show that the Chinese traded with
Cebuanos even as early as the 12th century.
3. Do you believe that the Chinese and Chinese Mestizos have a significant role in
terms of?
a. Economic development of the Philippines? Why?
Answer: Yes, because a large number of mestizos out of the commercial sector in mid-
nineteenth century. As a result, many Chinese mestizos invested in land, particularly in
Central Luzon. The estates of the religious orders were concentrated in this region, and
mestizos became inquilinos (lessees) of these lands, subletting them to cultivators; a
portion of the rent was given by the inquilino to the friary estate. Like the Chinese, the
mestizos were moneylenders and acquired land when debtors defaulted.
b. Nation-building? Why?
Answer: Yes, because the late nineteenth century, prominent mestizo families, despite
the inroads of the Chinese, were noted for their wealth and formed the major
component of a Filipino elite. As the export economy grew and foreign contact
increased, the mestizos and other members of these Filipino elite, known collectively as
ilustrados, obtained higher education (in some cases abroad), entered professions such
as law or medicine, and were particularly receptive to the liberal and democratic ideas
that were beginning to reach the Philippines
4. Using a Venn diagram, compare the Chinese and Chinese Mestizos in terms of their
business activities in the Philippines.
Pure Chinese Chinese Mestizos
Most big corporations ran by In the Visayas, Chinese mestizos

the Chinese are usually family handled wholesale trading between the
corporations, where the islands. The opening of the port of
children occupy the top Manila in the 1830s followed by those
executive positions. of Sual, Iloilo and Cebu stimulated
The new generation of Filipino-Chinese is
fond of luxury items and branded stuff. coastline trade among the various
Filipino-Chinese are the big buyers in luxury islands in Manila.
Both
stores and can afford regular vacations business-
abroad. Still, humility and prudence, while minded They do inter-island trade and other
no longer widely practiced, is still evident in economic activities, the Chinese
the life of the younger generation Filipino- mestizos effectively linked each of
Chinese. the local economies of the
The Philippine economy cannot deny that the main Philippines.
influencer of growth is the Chinese or their Filipino-
Chinese peers or even the pure Chinese second-
generation owners. In the 2017 Forbes List of
billionaires, eight of the top 10 billionaires were
either Chinese or Filipino-Chinese.

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Activity 2: The Rise of the Chinese and Chinese Mestizos

a. Economic development of the Philippines? Why?

Pure Chinese Chinese Mestizos

Most big corporations ran by In the Visayas, Chinese mestizos

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