During the Taiping Rebellion in the 1860s, Filipino mercenaries form an elite corps of troops to protect the ancient port city of Shanghai. Their leader? The fearless Vicente Macanaya, whom his own men call "bulletproof."

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References:

Mojares, Resil B. (2013). Isabelo’s Archive. Anvil Publishing.

Aguilar, Filomeno V. (2011). “Filibustero, Rizal, and the Manilamen of the Nineteenth Century.” Philippine Studies, 59(4).

Gouzoules, Alex (2008). “The Use of Foreign Soldiers During the Taiping Rebellion.” In Emory Endeavors of World History, No. 2.

Xu, L. Colin and Yang, Li (22 October 2018). “Stationary Bandits, State Capacity, and the Malthusian Transition: The Lasting Impact of the Taiping Rebellion.” The World Bank. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/970791540230641485/stationary-bandits-state-capacity-and-the-malthusian-transition-the-lasting-impact-of-the-taiping-rebellion

Smalarz, Matthew (2019). "Hong Xiuquan and the Subversion of Christianity." The Histories 2(2).