Hence it will be seen that from the time of the conquest, and for generations following, the Spanish authorities offered encouragement and protection to the Chinese.
Dr. Antonio Morga, in his work on the Philippines, p. 349, writes (at the close of the 16th century): "It is true the town cannot exist without the Chinese, as they are workers in all trades and business, and very industrious and work for small wages."
Juan de la Concepcion writes [47] (referring to the beginning of the 17th century); "Without the trade and commerce of the Chinese, these dominions could not have subsisted." The same writer estimates the number of Chinese in the Colony in 1638 at 33,000. [48]
In 1686 the policy of fixing the statutory maximum number of Chinese at 6,000 was discussed, but commercial conveniences outweighed its adoption. Had the measure been carried out, it was proposed to lodge them all in one place within easy cannon range, in view of a possible rising.
In 1755 it was resolved to expel all non-Christian Chinese, but a term was allowed for the liquidation of their affairs and withdrawal. By June 30, 1755, the day fixed for their departure from Manila, 515 Chinamen had been sharp enough to obtain baptism as Christians, in order to evade the edict, besides 1,108 who were permitted to remain because they were studying the mysteries and intricacies of Christianity. 2,070 were banished from Manila, the expulsion being rigidly enforced on those newly arriving in junks.
Except a few Europeans and a score of Western Asiatics, the Chinese who remained were the only merchants in the Archipelago. The natives had neither knowledge, tact, energy, nor desire to compete with them. The Chinese were a boon to the Colony, for, without them, living would have been far dearer--commodities and labour of all kinds more scarce, and the export and import trade much embarrassed. The Chinese and the Japanese are really the people who gave to the natives the first notions of trade, industry, and fruitful work. The Chinese taught them, amongst many other useful things, the extraction of saccharine juice from the sugar-cane, the manufacture of sugar, and the working of wrought iron. They introduced into the Colony the first sugar-mills with vertical stone crushers, and iron boiling-pans.