history: Phil-Am
There was a time in America when restaurants and other establishments actually had signs that said “Filipinos and dogs not allowed” on their windows and doors. I bet most of you didn’t know that.
After the US effectively bought the Philippines from Spain for $20 million through the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, Filipinos came to the US in droves as cheap labor, picking crops in the West, manning fish canneries in Alaska, working on sugar cane plantations in Hawaii. The idea still resonates: work abroad, earn money, come home richer than when you left. Only they never really got rich enough, and a lot of them were never able to go back home.
In the 1920s-30’s, the ratio of Filipino men to women in the US was about 20:1, at least. Obviously, some of them would have to marry outside their race. Unfortunately, it was a less enlightened time, and the harsh economic landscape of the age only contributed to tensions between Filipinos and whites. In 1934, the Tydings-Mcduffie Act was passed, finally limiting the Filipino immigration to 50 a year. During much of this period, up until 1946, Filipinos were expressly forbidden to marry white women in the state of California.
Attitudes started to shift during World War II. Filipinos were never recognized as citizens, but as a territory of the United States, we were considered “American Nationals”. This meant our men would have the privilege of fighting for an America they would never get to see, or really be a part of. The Philippines became America’s base in the Pacific.
Not such a surprise then, that we were also very heavily targeted by the Japanese during the War. Few realize that Manila was one of the most destroyed cities of World War II, coming in only after Warsaw, Poland. Manila’s urban infrastructure was devastated - universities, newspaper presses, factories, government offices, everything was gone.
A bit of trivia. While America made reparations to Japan for the bombing of its cities, recompense on anything approaching a similar scale was never paid to the Philippines. Oddly enough, the US helped its “enemy” get back on its feet, but let the little brown men who fought for her, and the country that was devastated on her altar, simply fade into shadow.
My grandfather was a World War II veteran. His first language was Spanish, and I daresay he loved Spain as much as a country could be loved [Spain’s Instituto Cervantes even gave him a plaque of appreciation for all he’s done for Spanish-Filipino relations], but he believed in America, and he enlisted to fight for her. He was promised residency and citizenship, a piece of the proverbial American dream.
My grandfather was one of the lucky ones, because he did eventually go to the US. He was one of those pensionados [consolatory government scholars], and got himself a law degree from Georgetown. He was sent back home after graduation though, and never set foot in America again. The embassy rejected succeeding applications for a visa.
Another bit of trivia:
To this day [2010], Japan is the Philippines’ top donor of so-called official development assistance. Japan is also the Philippines’ top foreign investor, as well as one of the top countries in the world in sponsoring the education of Filipino scholars, while its cultural diplomacy is among the most extensive.
Perhaps guilt is just better at motivation.
Philippine-American History, Points of Interest:
From 1565 to 1815, during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, Filipinos were forced to work as sailors and navigators on board Spanish ships. [Oh yes, this marine fixation of ours goes a long way back.] Filipinos were arguably the first Asians to cross the Pacific Ocean, doing so in 1587 [earliest documented], fifty years before the first English settlement of Jamestown was established.
They arrived in Morro Bay, California. A landing party consisting of Filipino seamen, namely “Luzon Indios ("Luzon Indians”), were sent to the California shore to claim the land for the Spanish king…
In 1763, Filipinos made their first permanent settlement in the bayous and marshes of Louisiana. As sailors and navigators on board Spanish galleons, Filipinos – also known as “Manilamen” or Spanish-speaking Filipinos – jumped ship to escape the brutality of their Spanish masters. They built houses on stilts along the gulf ports of New Orleans [nipa-style!] and were supposed to be among the first in the United States to introduce the sun-drying process of shrimp [citation for this is sketchy, however].
In 1812, Filipinos from Manila Village (near New Orleans) were among the “Batarians” who fought against the British with Jean Lafitte in the Battle of New Orleans…
Someone should really write a book.
Originally published on Tumblr, September 2010.