The Chinese
Long before the foundation of Manila by Legaspi in 1571 the
Chinese traded with these Islands. Their _locus standi_, however,
was invariably a critical one, and their commercial transactions
with the semi-barbarous Philippine Islanders were always conducted
afloat. Often their junks were boarded and pillaged by the natives,
but, in spite of the immense risk incurred, the Chinese lacked nothing
in their active pursuit. Their chief home port was Canton.
Legaspi soon perceived the advantages which would accrue to his
conquest by fostering the development of commerce with these Islands;
and, as an inducement to the Chinese to continue their traffic,
he severely punished all acts of violence committed against them.
In the course of time the Chinese had gained sufficient confidence
under European protection, to come ashore with their wares. In 1588,
Chinese were already paying rent for the land they occupied. Some
writers assert that they propagated their religious doctrines as well
as their customs, but nothing can be found to confirm this statement,
and a knowledge of Chinese habits inclines one to think it most
improbable. In their trading junks they frequently carried their
idols, as a Romish priest carries his missal when he travels. The
natives may have imitated the Chinese religious rites years before the
Spaniards came. There is no evidence adduced to prove that they made
any endeavour to proselytize the natives as the Spaniards did. On the
other hand, there is reason to believe that some idols, lost by the
Chinese in shipwreck and piratical attacks, have been, and still are,
revered by the natives as authenticated miraculous images of Christian
Saints (_vide_ "Holy Child of Cebu" and "Our Lady of Cagsaysay").
The Chinese contributed, in a large measure, to bring about a state of
order and prosperity in the new Colony, by the introduction of their
small trades and industries; and their traffic in the interior, and
with China, was really beneficial, in those times, to the object which
the conquerors had in view. So numerous, however, did they become,
that it was found necessary to regulate the growing commerce and the
_modus vivendi_ of the foreign traders.
In the bad weather they were unable to go to and from their junks,
and, fearing lest under such circumstances the trade would fall off,
the Government determined to provide them with a large building called
the _Alcayceria_. The contract for its construction was offered to any
private person or corporation willing to take it up on the following
terms, viz.:--The original cost, the annual expense of maintenance,
and the annual rents received from the Chinese tenants were to be
equally shared by the Government and the contractor. The contract was
accepted by a certain Fernando de Mier y Noriega, who was appointed
bailiff of the _Alcayceria_ for life, and the employment was to be
hereditary in his family, at a salary of 50 pesos per month. However,
when the plan was submitted to the Government, it was considered
too extensive, and was consequently greatly reduced, the Government
defraying the total cost (P 48,000). The bailiff's salary was likewise
reduced to P 25 per month, and only the condition of sharing rent
and expense of preservation was maintained. The _Alcayceria_, was
a square of shops, with a back store, and one apartment above each
tenement. It was inaugurated in 1580, in the Calle de San Fernando,
in Binondo, opposite to where is now the Harbour-Master's Office,
and within firing range of the forts. In the course of years this
became a ruin, and on the same site Government Stores were built in
1856. These, too, were wrecked in their turn by the great earthquake
of 1863. In the meantime, the Chinese had long ago spread far beyond
the limits of the _Alcayceria_, and another centre had been provided
for them within the City of Manila. This was called the _Parian_,
which is the Mexican word for market-place. It was demolished by
Government order in 1860, but the entrance to the city at that part
(constructed in 1782) still retains the name of _Puerta del Parian_.
Hence it will be seen that from the time of the conquest, and for
generations following, the Spanish authorities offered encouragement
and protection to the Chinese.
Dr. Antonio Morga, in his work on the Philippines, p. 349, writes
(at the close of the 16th century): "It is true the town cannot exist
without the Chinese, as they are workers in all trades and business,
and very industrious and work for small wages."
Juan de la Concepcion writes [47] (referring to the beginning of
the 17th century); "Without the trade and commerce of the Chinese,
these dominions could not have subsisted." The same writer estimates
the number of Chinese in the Colony in 1638 at 33,000. [48]
In 1686 the policy of fixing the statutory maximum number of Chinese
at 6,000 was discussed, but commercial conveniences outweighed its
adoption. Had the measure been carried out, it was proposed to lodge
them all in one place within easy cannon range, in view of a possible
rising.
In 1755 it was resolved to expel all non-Christian Chinese, but a term
was allowed for the liquidation of their affairs and withdrawal. By
June 30, 1755, the day fixed for their departure from Manila, 515
Chinamen had been sharp enough to obtain baptism as Christians,
in order to evade the edict, besides 1,108 who were permitted to
remain because they were studying the mysteries and intricacies of
Christianity. 2,070 were banished from Manila, the expulsion being
rigidly enforced on those newly arriving in junks.
Except a few Europeans and a score of Western Asiatics, the Chinese who
remained were the only merchants in the Archipelago. The natives had
neither knowledge, tact, energy, nor desire to compete with them. The
Chinese were a boon to the Colony, for, without them, living would
have been far dearer--commodities and labour of all kinds more scarce,
and the export and import trade much embarrassed. The Chinese and
the Japanese are really the people who gave to the natives the first
notions of trade, industry, and fruitful work. The Chinese taught them,
amongst many other useful things, the extraction of saccharine juice
from the sugar-cane, the manufacture of sugar, and the working of
wrought iron. They introduced into the Colony the first sugar-mills
with vertical stone crushers, and iron boiling-pans.
The history of the last 150 years shows that the Chinese, although
tolerated, were always regarded by the Spanish colonists as an
unwelcome race, and the natives have learnt, from example, to despise
them. From time to time, especially since the year 1763, the feeling
against them has run very high.
The public clamoured for restrictions on their arrival, impediments
to the traffic of those already established there, intervention of
the authorities with respect to their dwellings and mode of living,
and not a few urged their total expulsion. Indeed, such influence
was brought to bear on the Indian Council at Madrid during the
temporary Governorship of Juan Arechedera, Bishop of Nueva Segovia
(1745-50), that the Archbishop received orders to expel the Chinese
from the Islands; but, on the ground that to have done so would have
_prejudiced public interests_, he simply archived the decree. Even up
to the close of Spanish rule, the authorities and the national trading
class considered the question from very distinct points of view;
for the fact is, that only the mildest action was taken--just enough
to appease the wild demands of the people. Still, the Chinaman was
always subject to the ebb and flow of the tide of official goodwill,
and only since 1843 were Chinese shops allowed to be opened on the
same terms as other foreigners. There are now streets of Chinese shops.
The Chinaman is always ready to sell at any price which will leave him
a trifling nett gain, whereas the native, having earned sufficient
for his immediate wants, would stubbornly refuse to sell his wares
except at an enormous profit.
Again, but for Chinese coolie competition, [49] constant labour
from the natives would have been almost unprocurable. The native
day-labourer would work two or three days, and then suddenly
disappear. The active Chinaman goes day after day to his task
(excepting only at the time of the Chinese New Year, in January or
February), and can be depended upon; thus the needy native was pushed,
by alien competition, to bestir himself. In my time, in the port
of Yloilo, four foreign commercial houses had to incur the expense
and risk of bringing Chinese coolies for loading and discharging
vessels, whilst the natives coolly lounged about and absolutely
refused to work. Moreover, the exactions of the native create a
serious impediment to the development of the Colony. Only a very
small minority of the labouring class will put their hands to work
without an advance on their wages, and will often demand it without any
guarantee whatsoever. If a native is commissioned to perform any kind
of service, he will refuse to stir without a sum of money beforehand,
whilst the Chinese very rarely expect payment until they have given
value for it. Only the direst necessity will make an unskilled native
work steadily for several weeks for a wage which is only to be paid
when due. There is scarcely a single agriculturist who is not compelled
to sink a share of his capital in making advances to his labourers,
who, nevertheless, are in no way legally bound thereby to serve the
capitalist; or, whether they are or not, the fact is, that a large
proportion of this capital so employed must be considered lost. There
are certain lines of business quite impossible without the co-operation
of Chinese, and their exclusion will be a loss to the Colony.
Taxes were first levied on the Mongol traders in 1828. In
1852 a general reform of the fiscal laws was introduced, and the
classification of Chinese dealers was modified. They were then divided
into four grades or classes, each paying contributions according to
the new tariff.
In 1886 the universal depression, which was first manifest in this
Colony in 1884, still continued. Remedies of most original character
were suggested in the public organs and private circles, and a renewed
spasmodic tirade was directed against the Chinese. A petition, made
and signed by numbers of the retail trading class, was addressed to
the Sovereign; but it appears to have found its last resting-place
in the Colonial Secretary's waste-paper basket. The Americans in the
United States and Mexico were in open riot against the Celestials--the
Governments of Australia had imposed a capitation tax on their entry
[50]--in British Columbia there was a party disposed to throw off
its allegiance to Great Britain rather than forego its agitation
against the Chinese. Why should not the Chinese be expelled from the
Philippines, it was asked, or at least be permitted only to pursue
agriculture in the Islands? In 1638, around Calamba and along the
Laguna shore, they tilled the land; but the selfishness and jealousy
of the natives made their permanence impossible. In 1850 the Chinese
were invited to take up agriculture, but the rancorous feeling of the
natives forced them to abandon the idea, and to seek greater security
in the towns.
The chief accusation levelled against the Chinaman is, that he comes as
an adventurer and makes money, which he carries away, without leaving
any trace of civilization behind him. The Chinese immigrant is of the
lowest social class. Is not the dream of the European adventurer, of
the same or better class, to make his pile of dollars and be off to
the land of his birth? If he spends more money in the Colony than the
Chinaman does, it is because he lacks the Chinaman's self-abnegation
and thriftiness. Is the kind of civilization taught in the colonies
by low-class European settlers superior?
The Chinaman settled in the Philippines under Spanish rule was quite
a different being to the obstinate, self-willed, riotous coolie in
Hong-Kong or Singapore. In Manila he was drilled past docility--in six
months he became even fawning, cringing, and servile, until goaded
into open rebellion. Whatever position he might attain to, he was
never addressed (as in the British Colonies) as "Mr." or "Esqre," or
the equivalent, "Senor D.," but always "Chinaman ----" ("Chino ----").
The total expulsion of the Chinese in Spanish times would have been
highly prejudicial to trade. Had it suited the State policy to
check the ingress of the Chinese, nothing would have been easier
than the imposition of a P50 poll tax. To compel them to take up
agriculture was out of the question in a Colony where there was so
little guarantee for their personal safety. The frugality, constant
activity, and commendable ambition of the Celestial clashes with the
dissipation, indolence and want of aim in life of the native. There
is absolutely no harmony of thought, purpose, or habit between the
Philippine Malay native and the Mongol race, and the consequence of
Chinese coolies working on plantations without ample protection would
be frequent assassinations and open affray. Moreover, a native planter
could never manage, to his own satisfaction or interest, an estate
worked with Chinese labour, but the European might. The Chinese is
essentially of a commercial bent, and, in the Philippines at least,
he prefers taking his chance as to the profits, in the bubble and risk
of independent speculation, rather than calmly labour at a fixed wage
which affords no stimulus to his efforts.
Plantations worked by Chinese owners with Chinese labour might nave
succeeded, but those who arrived in the Colony brought no capital, and
the Government never offered them gratuitous allotment of property. A
law relating to the concession of State lands existed ("_Terrenos
baldios_" and "_Colonias agricolas_"), but it was enveloped in so
many entanglements and so encompassed by tardy process and intricate
conditions, that few Orientals or Europeans took advantage of it.
History records that in the year 1603 two Chinese Mandarins came to
Manila as Ambassadors from their Emperor to the Gov.-General of the
Philippines. They represented that a countryman of theirs had informed
His Celestial Majesty of the existence of a mountain of gold in the
environs of Cavite, and they desired to see it. The Gov.-General
welcomed them, and they were carried ashore by their own people
in ivory and gilded sedan-chairs. They wore the insignia of High
Mandarins, and the Governor accorded them the reception due to their
exalted station. He assured them that they were entirely misinformed
respecting the mountain of gold, which could only be imaginary, but,
to further convince them, he accompanied them to Cavite. The Mandarins
shortly afterwards returned to their country. The greatest anxiety
prevailed in Manila. Rumours circulated that a Chinese invasion was
in preparation. The authorities held frequent councils, in which
the opinions were very divided. A feverish consternation overcame
the natives, who were armed, and ordered to carry their weapons
constantly. The armoury was overhauled. A war plan was discussed and
adopted, and places were singled out for each division of troops. The
natives openly avowed to the Chinese that whenever they saw the
first signs of the hostile fleet arriving they would murder them
all. The Chinese were accused of having arms secreted; they were
publicly insulted and maltreated; the cry was falsely raised that
the Spaniards had fixed the day for their extermination; they daily
saw weapons being cleaned and put in order, and they knew that there
could be no immediate enemy but themselves. There was, in short,
every circumstantial evidence that the fight for their existence
would ere long be forced upon them.
In this terrible position they were constrained to act on
the offensive, simply to ensure their own safety. They raised
fortifications in several places outside the city, and many an
unhappy Chinaman had to shoulder a weapon reluctantly with tears in
his eyes. They were traders. War and revolution were quite foreign to
their wishes. The Christian rulers compelled them to abandon their
adopted homes and their chattels, regardless of the future. What a
strange conception the Chinese must have formed of His Most Catholic
Majesty! In their despair many of them committed suicide. Finally,
on the eve of Saint Francis' Day, the Chinese openly declared
hostilities--beat their war-gongs, hoisted their flags, assaulted
the armed natives, and threatened the city. Houses were burnt, and
Binondo was besieged. They fortified Tondo; and the next morning
Luis Perez Dasmarinas, an ex-Gov.-General, led the troops against
them. He was joined by 100 picked Spanish soldiers under Tomas de
Acuna. The nephew of the Governor and the nephew of the Archbishop
rallied to the Spanish standard nearly all the flower of Castilian
soldiery--and hardly one was left to tell the tale! The bloodshed was
appalling. The Chinese, encouraged by this first victory, besieged
the city, but after a prolonged struggle they were obliged to yield,
as they could not provision themselves.
The retreating Chinese were pursued far from Manila along the Laguna
de Bay shore, thousands of them being overtaken and slaughtered or
disabled. Reinforcements met them on the way, and drove them as far
as Batangas Province and into the Morong district (now included in
Rizal Province). The natives were in high glee at this licence to shed
blood unresisted--so in harmony with their natural instincts. It is
calculated that 24,000 Chinese were slain or captured in this revolt.
The priests affirm positively that during the defence of the city
Saint Francis appeared in person on the walls to stimulate the
Christians--thus the victory was ascribed to him.
This ruthless treatment of a harmless and necessary people--for up
to this event they had proved themselves to be both--threatened to
bring its own reward. They were the only industrious, thriving,
skilful, wealth-producing portion of the population. There were
no other artificers or tradespeople in the Colony. Moreover, the
Spaniards were fearful lest their supplies from China of food for
consumption in Manila, [51] and manufactured articles for export to
Mexico, should in future be discontinued. Consequently they hastened
to despatch an envoy to China to explain matters, and to reassure
the Chinese traders. Much to their surprise, they found the Viceroy
of Canton little concerned about what had happened, and the junks of
merchandise again arrived as heretofore.
Notwithstanding the memorable event of 1603, another struggle was
made by the Chinese 36 years afterwards. In 1639, exasperated at the
official robbery and oppression of a certain doctor, Luis Arias do
Mora, and the Governor of the Laguna Province, they rose in open
rebellion and killed these officials in the town of Calamba. So
serious was the revolt that the Gov.-General went out against them in
person. The rebels numbered about 30,000, and sustained, for nearly
a year, a petty warfare all around. The images of the Saints were
promenaded in the streets of Manila; it was a happy thought, for 6,000
Chinese coincidentally surrendered. During this conflict an edict
was published ordering all the Chinese in the provinces to be slain.
In 1660 there was another rising of these people, which terminated
in a great massacre.
The Spaniards now began to reflect that they had made rather a
bad bargain with the Mongol traders in the beginning, and that the
Government would have done better had they encouraged commerce with
the Peninsula. Up to this time the Spaniards had vainly reposed on
their laurels as conquerors. They squandered lives and treasure on
innumerable fruitless expeditions to Gamboge, Cochin China, Siam,
Pegu, Japan, and the Moluccas, in quest of fresh glories, instead of
concentrating their efforts in opening up this Colony and fostering
a Philippine export trade, as yet almost unknown, if we exclude
merchandise from China, etc., in transit to Mexico. From this period
restrictions were, little by little, placed on the introduction
of Chinese; they were treated with arrogance by the Europeans and
Mexicans, and the jealous hatred which the native to this day feels for
the Chinaman now began to be more openly manifested. The Chinaman had,
for a long time past, been regarded by the European as a necessity--and
henceforth an unfortunate one.
Nevertheless, the lofty Spaniard who by favour of the King had
arrived in Manila to occupy an official post without an escudo too
much in his pocket, did not disdain to accept the hospitality of
the Chinese. It was formerly their custom to secure the goodwill and
personal protection of the Spanish officials by voluntarily keeping
lodging-houses ready for their reception. It is chronicled that these
gratuitous residences were well furnished and provided with all the
requisites procurable on the spot. For a whole century the Spaniards
were lulled with this easy-going and felicitous state of things, whilst
the insidious Mongol, whose clear-sighted sagacity was sufficient to
pierce the thin veil of friendship proffered by his guest, was ever
prepared for another opportunity of rising against the dominion of
Castile, of which he had had so many sorry experiences since 1603. The
occasion at last arrived during the British occupation of Manila in
1763. The Chinese voluntarily joined the invaders, but were unable
to sustain the struggle, and it is estimated that some 6,000 of them
were murdered in the provinces by order of the notorious Simon de Anda
(_vide_ p. 93). They menaced the town of Pasig--near Manila--and Fray
Juan de Torres, the parish priest, put himself at the head of 300
natives, by order of his Prior, Fray Andres Fuentes, to oppose them,
and the Chinese were forced to retire.
On October 9, 1820, a general massacre of Chinese, British,
and other foreigners took place in Manila and Cavite. Epidemic
cholera had affected the capital and surrounding districts; great
numbers of natives succumbed to its malignant effects, and they
accused the foreigners of having poisoned the drinking-water in
the streams. Foreign property was attacked and pillaged--even ships
lying in the bay had to sail off and anchor out afar for safety. The
outbreak attained such grave proportions that the clergy intervened
to dissuade the populace from their hallucination. The High Host was
carried through the streets, but the rioters were only pacified when
they could find no more victims.
Amongst other reforms concerning the Chinese which the Spanish
colonists and Manila natives called for in 1886, through the public
organs, was that they should be forced to comply with the law
promulgated in 1867, which provided that the Chinese, like all other
merchants, should keep their trade-books in the Spanish language. The
demand had the appearance of being based on certain justifiable
grounds, but in reality it was a mere ebullition of spite intended
to augment the difficulties of the Chinese.
The British merchants and bankers are, by far, those who give most
credit to the Chinese. The Spanish and native creditors of the Chinese
are but a small minority, taking the aggregate of their credits, and
instead of seeking malevolently to impose new hardships on the Chinese,
they could have abstained from entering into risky transactions with
them. All merchants are aware of the Chinese trading system, and none
are obliged to deal with them. A foreign house would give a Chinaman
credit for, say, L300 to L400 worth of European manufactured goods,
knowing full well, from personal experience, or from that of others,
that the whole value would probably never be recovered. It remained
a standing debt on the books of the firm. The Chinaman retailed
these goods, and brought a small sum of cash to the firm, on the
understanding that he would get another parcel of goods, and so he
went on for years. [52] Thus the foreign merchants practically sunk
an amount of capital to start their Chinese constituents. Sometimes
the acknowledged owner and responsible man in one Chinese retail
establishment would have a share in, or own, several others. If matters
went wrong, he absconded abroad, and only the one shop which he openly
represented could be embargoed, whilst his goods were distributed
over several shops under any name but his. It was always difficult
to bring legal proof of this; the books were in Chinese, and the
whole business was in a state of confusion incomprehensible to any
European. But these risks were well known beforehand. It was only then
that the original credit had to be written off by the foreigner as a
nett loss--often small when set against several years of accumulated
profits made in successive operations.
The Chinese have guilds or secret societies for their mutual
protection, and it is a well-ascertained fact that they had to
pay the Spanish authorities very dearly for the liberty of living
at peace with their fellow-men. If the wind blew against them from
official quarters the affair brought on the _tapis_ was hushed up by
a gift. These peace-offerings, at times of considerable value, were
procured by a tax privately levied on each Chinaman by the headmen of
their guilds. In 1880-83 the Gov.-General and other high functionaries
used to accept Chinese hospitality, etc.
In December, 1887, the Medal of Civil Merit was awarded to a Chinaman
named Sio-Sion-Tay, resident in Binondo, whilst the Government for
several years had made contracts with the Chinese for the public
service. Another Chinaman, christened in the name of Carlos Palanca,
was later on awarded the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic, with
the title of Excellency.
Many Chinese have adopted Christianity, either to improve their
social standing, or to be enabled thereby to contract marriage with
natives. Their intercessor and patron is _Saint Nicholas_, since the
time, it is said, that a Chinaman, having fallen into the Pasig River,
was in danger of being eaten by an alligator, and saved himself by
praying to that saint, who caused the monster to turn into stone. The
legendary stone is still to be seen near the left bank of the river.
There appears to be no perfectly reliable data respecting the number of
Chinese residents in the Archipelago. In 1886 the statistics differed
largely. One statistician published that there was a total of 66,740
men and 194 women, of whom 51,348 men and 191 women lived in Manila
and suburbs, 1,154 men and 3 women in Yloilo, and 983 men in Cebu,
the rest being dispersed over the coast villages and the interior. The
most competent local authorities in two provinces proved to me that
the figures relating to their districts were inexact, and all other
information on the subject which I have been able to procure tends to
show that the number of resident Chinese was underrated. I estimate
that just before the Rebellion of 1896 there were 100,000 Chinese
in the whole Colony, including upwards of 40,000 in and around the
capital.
Crowds of Chinese passed to these Islands _via_ Sulu (Jolo), which,
as a free port, they could enter without need of papers. Pretending
to be resident colonists there, they managed to obtain passports to
travel on business for a limited period in the Philippines, but they
were never seen again in Sulu.
In Spanish times the Chinaman was often referred to as a _Macao_ or
a _Sangley_. The former term applied to those who came from Southern
China (Canton, Macao, Amoy, etc.). They were usually cooks and domestic
servants. The latter signified the Northern Chinaman of the trading
class. The popular term for a Chinaman in general was a _Suya_.
In Manila and in several provincial towns where the Chinese residents
were numerous, they had their own separate "Tribunals" or local
courts, wherein minor affairs were managed by petty governors of
their own nationality, elected bi-annually, in the same manner as
the natives. In 1888 the question of admitting a Chinese Consulate
in the Philippines was talked of in official circles, which proves
that the Government was far from seeing the "Chinese question" in the
same light as the Spanish or native merchant class. In the course
of time they acquired a certain consideration in the body politic,
and deputations of Chinese were present in all popular ceremonies
during the last few years of Spanish rule.
Wherever the Chinese settle they exhibit a disposition to hold their
footing, if not to strengthen it, at all hazards, by force if need
be. In Sarawak their Secret Societies threatened to undermine the
prosperity of that little State, and had to be suppressed by capital
punishment. Since the British occupation of Hong-Kong in 1841, there
have been two serious movements against the Europeans. In 1848 the
Chinese murdered Governor Amiral of Macao, and the colonists had to
fight for their lives. In Singapore the attempts of the Chinese to defy
the Government called for coercive measures, but the danger is small,
because the immigrant Chinaman has only the courage to act in mobs.
In Australia and the United States it was found necessary to
enact special laws regulating the ingress of Mongols. Under the
Spanish-Philippine Government the most that could be said against
them, as a class, was that, through their thrift and perseverance,
they outran the shopkeeping class in the race of life.
The Insular Government "Chinese Exclusion Act," at present in
operation, permits those Chinese who are already in the Islands
to remain conditionally, but rigidly debars fresh immigration. The
corollary is that, in the course of a few years, there will be no
Chinese in the Philippines. The working of the above Act is alluded
to in Chapter xxxi.
Under a native Government their lot is not likely to be a happy
one. One of the aims of the Tagalog Revolutionists was to exclude
the Chinese entirely from the Islands.