The Study Of The Overseas Chinese In The Philippines In The Late Period Of Ming Dynasty

In the 1560s and 1570s, the Empire Ming entered the late stage. In 1567 Ming Dynasty implemented Longqing Opening, and abated the ban of sea partially. Near the Philippines, Yue port in Fujian became official to open and tend to its developmental peak. While the development of the domestic commodity economy and the serious shortage of silver needed the silver and market urgently, the late Ming Dynasty's corruptive reign, constant war and the difficulty of people in living, with the situation both inside and outside deteriorating, further reinforced the people's demand to go abroad for living and making profit. While it was the time of Westerns to the Orient, most of the Philippines was occupied by Spain, bringing the desire for goods and personnel, as well as the strong support from the American market and silver. Under such circumstances, the coastal people, especially the people in Fujian that have out-sea tradition since ancient time went to the Philippines numerously. With a collision between the domestic and foreign factors during the period, the overseas Chinese in the Philippines began to increase rapidly.The overseas Chinese in the Philippines in the late of Ming had multiform occupation and rich life. They worked as businessmen, craftsmen, laborers, and other professionals, doing business and trade, manufacturing, housing construction, helping something in the employment, agricultural production, and other various activities. They formed sizable settled communities, in which Parian as the cradle of the Chinese community became the most prosperous commercial centre and region in the whole Manila and the Philippines. The overseas Chinese began to play an important role in the stage of history. They were under the strict rule of Spanish colonial government. The Government's policy experienced the cycle of touting-restricting-massacre- -touting-restricting-massacre, as the two sides of the government and the overseas Chinese had deeper and deeper contradictions, then the Massacres in the 1603 and 1639 occurred. The Spanish had a complex mentality of need and dread to the overseas Chinese, which was the root of the policies. And corresponding to this, among the overseas Chinese who came for profit, the cycle phenomenon of gather-dropping away-gather-dropping away-gather emerged. In the late period of Ming the overseas Chinese in the Philippines occupied an important position in the economic and social life of the Philippines, who can be said to be the lifeblood of the Philippines and the Spanish of these islands, and also produced far-reaching impacts on the Philippines such as in the habitude and the blood. And for China, the same group produced huge effects, too. They linked China and the vast overseas market, and a large number of silver flowed into China at an prodigious rate, silver-based system established, the domestic commodity economy had developed rapidly, and stimulated the emergence of capitalist sprout. The sweet potatoes, tobacco and other crops flowed into China through overseas Chinese. But at the same time the extravagant ethos also began to prevail, social ethos deteriorated, and there was the excessive reliance on the silver from overseas. However, in general terms, its positive and promoting effects still occupied a dominant position, which must be affirmed.The overseas Chinese in the Philippines in the late period of Ming displayed very differently from the previous generation in the volume and modality under the specific historical factors and background, having the far-reaching and direct tremendous significance for the Philippines and China. They linked China, Spain and even the world. Placing them in the centre of perspective, the study in such as the reasons, the situation of the occupation and living, and the impact, is not only alluring but also meaningful. The overseas Chinese in the Philippines as a group entered the stage of history and was in complex relation with the Spanish all the while, which mixed the Ming Dynasty factors. We placed historical groups into the historical context to analyze the formation of their behavior, and just in the balance of interests , they made their own choice, shaping the status and history of the overseas Chinese in the Philippines in this period.