Desencuentro cultural y confrontación armada en la Manila del siglo XVII

When the Castilians settled in Manila in 1571 there were no more than forty Chinese residents. By the end of the century they were around four thousand through the Philippines and in the first decades of the seventeenth century they exceeded twenty thousand, largely outnumbering the few more of a thousand Castilians. Very soon their presence revealed essential for the colony as they provided the basic products, controlled the internal commerce, supplied goods to the Galleon of Manila, and covered practically all the mechanical trades. In return, in Manila they obtained silver that they sent to China and probably also better living conditions. The relations between both groups were structured on a basis of mutual dependence, periodically altered by episodes of disagreement and confrontation that led to several uprisings of the Chinese, harshly repressed and often generating their expulsion from the islands. The objective of this article is to analyze the relations between Chinese and Castilians in Manila during the second half of the 17th century. Specifically, through the events of 1662 resulting from the threat of Zheng Chenggong to the city, by studying the role played by the different actors that were involved in this episode and the main consequences.