Chinese Merchants of Binondo in the Nineteenth Century

by Richard T. Chu

Switching identities, believing in different religions, dispersing family members -- these were but some of the flexible strategies that prominent Chinese merchants in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Manila employed to take advantage of or evade policies created by colonial authorities. In reconstituting individual biographies and family histories, Chu demonstrates not only how people in their everyday lives negotiate and utilize power but also how a micro-historical approach to the study of Philippine history can enrich knowledge of the country's society and culture.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Galatea · Rating 4 out of 5]

a short essay looking at the ways Chinese-Filipinos negotiated identity and culture in the late Spanish Philippines, taking as case studies two individuals: Carlos Palanca Tan Quien-Sien, and Ignacio Jao Boncan.

This work has largely been superseded by his later work, Chinese and Chinese Mestizos of Manila
Family, Identity, and Culture, 1860s-1930s, but this is still a fast enough read that it serves to highlight some of that work's main points, and can be seen as an introduction of sorts.