The Butcher, the Baker, and the Carpenter: Chinese in Fujian and the Spanish Philippines, 16th-18th Centuries

The chinese who settled permanently or sojourned briefly in the Philippines in the early Spanish colonial period came from Fujian Province in southeast China. What was the impact on southern Fujian (Minnan) of the trade with and migration to the Spanish Philippines? What happened to all the silver that flowed into China as a result of this trade? By examining the links of the Chinese there with their native places, we come to see that their story is an important part of both the interAsian-and global--history of the time, as well as of the migration of Chinese both within China and overseas.