SOCIAL CLASSES
PRE-SPANISH ERA SPANISH ERA
Nobles
Peninsulares
Freemen Insulares/
Criolos
Mestizos
Dependents Indio
(Agoncillo, 1990)
The Chinese were already trading with
Filipinos even before the Spanish arrived in
1521 to colonize the Philippines. Most of the
Chinese who opted to settle in the Philippines
came from the provinces of Fujian and
Guangdong in Southern China (Guldin, 1980,
as cited by Pacho, 1986).
According to Wickerberg (1964), when Chinese mestizos
became numerous enough to be classified separately, the
population of those parts of the Philippines that were
controlled by the Spain was formally divided into four
categories
1.Those who did not pay the tribute
(includes Spaniards and Spanish
mestizos) Tribute-paying
classes but the
2.Indios (Malayan inhabitants of the amount of payment
archipelago, who are now called and services
Filipinos) demanded of them
varied.
3.Chinese
4.Chinese mestizos/Mestizo de
Sangley
Chinese mestizos are people of mixed Chinese and
Filipino ancestry. They are also known as Mestizo de
Sangley, Tsinoy, or Chinese Filipinos.
Sangley was the common term for the early Chinese
immigrants in the Philippines. It is said to derive from the
Hokkien seng-li “business” or shang-lu “traveling
merchant” (Mojares, 2020).
Mestizo de Sangley, as a basic fact, is a matter of blood.
In the Philippines, it refers to descendants of the
intermarriage or cohabitation of Chinese (almost
exclusively male, given the absence of Chinese women)
and natives, its distinctness dependent on how
bloodlines are maintained or preserved in the
succession of generations. Beyond biology, however,
the category acquired a cultural, economic, and political
significance in the Philippine context (Mojares, 2020).
Mestizos and Indios shared similar rights, with Chinese
having limited property ownership and geographic
mobility. Chinese mestizos and Indios could change
residence and participate in local government, while
Chinese could never participate (Wickerberg, 1964).
The maintenance of three categories in orderly fashion
was provided for by Spanish legislation. Legal status- as
Chinese, mestizo, or Indio- by the terms of this legislation
- was not ordinarily a matter of personal orientation or
choice. Rather, it was the status of the parents
particularly the father that was most important
(Wickerberg, 1964).
The son of a Chinese father and an India or mestiza mother
was classed as a Chinese mestizo. Subsequent male
descendants were inalterably Chinese mestizos. The status
of female descendants was determined by their marriages.
A mestiza marrying a Chinese or mestizo remained in the
mestizo classification, as did her children. But by marrying
an Indio she and her children became of that classification.
Thus, females of the mestizo group could change status,
but males could not (Wickerberg, 1964).
In 1589, the Spanish king instructed the governor-
general to decide whether to ban Chinese traders
from Manila after the trading season or allow
those who converted to Christianity and who
would settle as artisans and craftsmen, to remain
as residents (Corpuz, 1989).
Corruption led to more Chinese residents in
Manila, as they paid higher fees for residence
permits than native families. Spanish officials
sold permits for more Chinese than prescribed,
profiting from surplus and illegal documents
(Corpuz, 1989).
Another reason for the increasing numbers of
Sangleys was due to the Spaniards' dependence
on Chinese skills and services, leading to
corruption and a Chinese revolt in 1603. The city
council warned only 3,000 Sangleys should
remain, but illegal licenses allowed over 18,000,
including 4,000 from the trading fleet (Corpuz,
1989).
On March 29, 1594, Binondo was created by the
Spanish Governor Luis Perez Dasmariñas as a
permanent settlement for Chinese immigrants on
the condition that they will convert to Catholicism.
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, O.P., “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” (Tan, 1986).
Chinese mestizo proved to be a more significant
element in Philippine society for three reasons: first,
the Chinese mestizo was more numerous as there
was a greater infusion of Chinese blood than any
other blood in the Filipino. In the mid-19th century,
there was 240,000 Chinese mestizos, but only
about 7,000 to 10,000 Spanish mestizos (Tan,
1986).
Secondly, the Chinese mestizos were readily
assimilated into the fabric of the native society.
Thirdly, more than the Spanish mestizo, they were
to assume important roles in the economic, social,
and political life of the nation. By the second half of
the 19th century, they had become so numerous
and their influence so great, that the term mestizo,
as commonly used by the Spaniards in the
Philippines, usually referred to them (Tan, 1986).
Jose Rizal's paternal ancestor, Lam-co, was a native of the
Chinchew district in China. He was baptized in the Parian
church of San Gabriel on a Sunday in June 1697. Lam-co's
age was given in the record as thirty-five years, and the
names of his parents were given as Siang-co and Zun-nio.
The second syllables of these names are titles of a little
more respect than the ordinary Mr. and Mrs. They are
something like the Spanish titles Don and Doña (Pasigui &
Cabalu, 2014).
Purely in terms of his ancestry, Rizal might be
considered a fifth-generation Chinese mestizo. His
paternal ancestor, a Catholic Chinese named Domingo
Lamco, married a Chinese mestiza. Their son and
grandson both married Chinese mestizas. This grandson,
having achieved wealth and status in his locality, was
able to have his family transferred from the mestizo
padron, or tax-census re-gister, to that of the indios.
Thus, Rizal's father, and Rizal himself, were considered
indio (Wickerberg, 1964).
Hereditary Influence: According to biological science, there are
inherent qualities which a person inherits from his ancestors and
parents. From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal, evidently, inherited his
love for freedom, his innate desire to travel, and his indomitable
courage. From his Chinese ancestors, he derived his serious
nature, frugality, patience, and love for children. From his
Spanish ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing, sensibility to
insult, and gallantry to ladies. From his father, he inherited a
profound sense of self-respect, the love for work, and the habit of
independent thinking. And from his mother, he inherited his
religious nature, the spirit of self-sacrifice, and the passion for arts
and literature (Zaide & Zaide, 2014).
REFERENCES
Agoncillo, T. A. (1990). History of the Filipino people.
Corpuz, O. D. (1989). The Roots of the Filipino Nation (Vol. 1). AKLAHI Foundation.
Mojares, R. B. (2020). Sangley, Mestizo Sangley, Chino, Chinese-Filipino. Philippine
Quarterly of Culture and Society, 48(3/4), 156–175.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27230000
Pacho, A. (1986). The Chinese community in the Philippines: Status and conditions.
Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 1(1), 76–91.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41056696
Pasigui, R. E., & Cabalu, D. H. (2014). Jose Rizal: The Man and the Hero (Chronicles,
Legacies, and Controversies) (2nd ed.). C & E Publishing, Inc.
Tan, A. S. (1986). The Chinese mestizos and the formation of the Filipino nationality.
Archipel, 32(1), 141–162. https://doi.org/10.3406/arch.1986.2316
Wickberg, E. (1964). The Chinese mestizo in Philippine history. Journal of Southeast
Asian History, 5(1), 62–100. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20067476
Zaide, G., & Zaide, S. (2014). José Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings of a Genius,
Writer, Scientist, and National Hero. Anvil Publishing, Inc.
Zaldy, C. L. J. (2024). Tracing the Legacy: A historical journey of the Sangleys in the
Philippines. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4721783
