But to be clear: Chinese involvement with the Spanish colonizers was not quite so rosy as it might appear. The Chinese community that had coexisted and intermarried with the local Tagalog population was in place before the Spanish arrived, and they were considered a threat.

In order to make sure they were kept in line and under control, they were gathered into districts called pariáns, where they were strictly monitored. These communities would later evolve into the world’s oldest Chinatowns, with the parián of Manila eventually becoming the district of Binondo.