The Ascendance of

Chinese Mestizo
I. The Chinese Before 1750
II.The Chinese During 1750-1850
III.The Development of Chinese
Mestizos
IV. Conclusions
I. BEFORE 1750

A. The Arrival of the early chinese to the Philippines

(Sung Dynasty Era in China 960-1279)
• Barter System
• Socio-Cultural Exchange

B. Intensified its relations to the Filipinos (The Ming

Dynasty Era 1368-1644)

• Chinese junk trading system appeared

• Established the eastern route of the chinese junk
trading system (tung-yang chen-lu
C. New Opportunities for the Chinese in the 1560’s

• The Manila Galleon trade from Manila to

Mexico

D. Economic Development in the early of 17th Century

• Western Economy
• Native Economy
• Chinese Economy
E. Spanish Religious Policy

3 Objectives:

• Extension of the Faith

• Inculcation of Loyalty
• Encouragement of eventual assimilation
F. Binondo as Chinese Town (1594)
• A community of Married Catholic
Chinese
G. Chinese Organization
• The Catholic Chinese
• Gremio de Chinos de Binondo
• Gremio de Mestizos de

H. The Chinese Mestizos

• Meaning
• Some Features/Activities
Guide Question:

What were the historical condition that led to

the emergence of Chinese Mestizo as an
important Philippine Society? What were the
implication of their ascendance? Why is the
mestizo important in the Philippine society?
Describe their roles in the present economy.
Confusion about mestizo – since 1898 there has been no
legally defined mestizo class which we may use a basis for
understanding the Spanish usage of the terms

Human Relations Area Files – a study which an assumption

that mestizo refers to Spanish Mestizo – mixed spanish-native
ancestry rather than Chinese Mestizos. But when Chinese
became numerous, it was formally divided into four
categories.
 It is very important element of Philippine
Society in the 19th century.
 Filipino with Chinese blood have occupied
important position in the highest levels of
Government.
 During 20th century Vice President Sergio
Osmena is a Chinese mestizo.
A number of Chinese mestizo
become president:
 Jose P. Laurel
 Elpidio Quirino
 Ramon Magsaysay
 Ferdinand Marcos
Other in public services

 Prime Minister Cesar Virata

 Minister Carlos P. Romulo
 Roberto Ongpin
 Arturo tangco
 Jesus Tanchanco (NFGA)
 Dr. Serafin Quiason (Director of National Library)
 Justice Claudio Teehankee (Supreme Court)
Controlled by Spain civil status are divided into
four categories:

✓ Spaniards and Spanish mestizos

✓ Indios (Malayan inhabitants of the archipelago
who are now called us Filipinos
✓ Chinese
✓ Chinese mestizos
 The last three (Indios, Chinese And Chinese Mestizos
)were considered tribute paying classes, but the
amount of their tribute payments and the services
demanded of them varied.

 The Chinese Mestizos paid double the tribute paid by

the Indio- reason is that they have assumed to have
approximately double capacity of the Indio

 The Chinese – paid a much larger tribute than that paid
by the Chinese Mestizos- on the ground that his
earning capacity was larger than that of the mestizo
The CHINESE was first and last – A COMMERCIALLY-ORIENTED
MONEY MAKER

✓ What he could be best supply is MONEY

The INDIO

✓ Concerns were chiefly agricultural

✓ Supply labor

The CHINESE MESTIZO

✓ Engage in agriculture
✓ Commerce
✓ Or both
 Rights of Indios, Chinese Mestizos and Chinese

❖ The mestizos had most of the same rights as the INDIOS while the
CHINESE usually did not (the case of property ownership is not
clear)

❑ In matter of geographic mobility, the CHINESE were usually

restricted

❖ The MESTIZOS and the INDIOS were relatively free to change

residence.
❖ The CHINESE could never participate in local government
❖ The CHINESE MESTIZOS individually and corporately could and did
participate with the INDIOS.
IN TERMS OF LEGAL STATUS; (Chinese, Mestizo and Indio

• Not ordinarily a matte r of personal orientation or choice – but rather it was the
status of the parents particularly the father
➢ The son of Chinese father and an Indio or mestizo mother was
classified as Chinese Mestizo
➢ Subsequently male descendants were inalterably Chinese mest izos
• The status of female descendants was determined by their marriages.
➢ A mestizo marrying a Chinese of mestizo remained in the mestizo
classification as well as her children
➢ But a mestizo marrying an INDIO she and her children became in that
classification as INDIO
➢ HENCE, FEMALE of the me stizo group can change status but
MALE could not
Spanish Government = POLICY OF SOCIAL DIMENSION
✓ Mobility between groups was possible for individuals or families, by
legal actions such as intermarriage that intermarriage was that both
parties be catholic
–

In the nineteenth century the- Chinese mestizos had become numerous and greater
influence . .. so that the term. .
POPULATION

Spaniards and Spanish Mestizos – 4,000

Chinese – 7000

Chinese Mestizos- 120, 621

Reason of Mestizo has significant
element in Philippine Society
 Chinese blood was numerous than any other
blood in Filipino.
 Chinese mestizo were readily assimilated into the
fabric of the native society.
 Spanish mestizo, they have important roles in
economic, social and political life of the nation.
The evolution of chinese mestizo

 After the Spaniards founded the city of Manila in 1571, a

large chines colony evolved.
 They are traders, artisans and domestic servants.
 Jesuits is similar to Chinese mestizo and they established
a community of Catholic Chinese in the district of Santa
Cruz.
 In northern Luzon, the marriage between chinese and
lowland native had taken place.
The chines mestizo as middle class
 The development of Chinese mestizo as an entrepreneur from the
1750 to the 1850 paved the way for the emergence of the
Philippine middle class.
 In the absence of Chinese traders, Chinese mestizo became the
provisioners of the colonial authorities, the foreign firms and resident
of manila.
 By the early 1800’s, Chinese mestizo in south manila are engaging a
landholding and wholesaling.
 In north manila they involved in rice growing as lessees of estates
and as a middle man traders between manila and laguna.
The rise of the Middle class to Social
Prestige
 The Chinese mestizo economic wealth had a great
effect in increasing their standards of living and their
social prestige.
 Because of these some of mestizo’s families provide
education for their children.
 During the colonial period, as higher education
remained the privilege of a wealthy families, economic
and political leadership constituted the intellectual elite
as well.
Activity:

Reflection Paper: Describe and analyze the social,

political, economic and cultural changes that occurred
in nineteenth-century in the Philippines and compared
it to the present situation? Make a graphic diagram
that compares past and present situations.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!