Cravats. Top hats. Barongs. Striped pants. Wide, wide waistbands. Well-dressed men are on the prowl in Luneta, turning heads and inciting whispers. Let’s meet these fashionable fops, shall we?

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Audio from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me from New Line Cinema.

References:

Coo, Stephanie (2019). Clothing the Colony. Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Silvestre, Ma. Patricia Brillantes (2018). “The Manila Tertulia in the Spanish and American Periods: From Private to Public Sphere.” In Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, 1880-1941 (Arwin Q. Tan, ed.), University of the Philippines Press.

Arias, John Manuel (25 June 2020). “Like the Salons It’s Named For, ‘Tertulia’ Is a Political Meeting Disguised as a Party.” Electric Lit. https://electricliterature.com/like-the-salons-its-named-for-tertulia-is-a-political-meeting-disguised-as-a-party/

Ayala Museum [@ayalamuseum] (9 December 2020). “This painting is called Un Indio de Manila bestido de gala after Damian Domingo…” X.com. https://x.com/ayalamuseum/status/1336545689757646849/photo/1

Uler, Gulsun (1 July 2022). “Tertulia: The Spanish Word for Social Meetings with Literary or Artistic Flavors.” Words of the World. https://wordsoftheworlds.substack.com/p/tertulia-a-spanish-word-for-a-social

Simpson, Mark (July 2002). “Meet the Metrosexual.” Salon.com.

Simpson, Mark (29 July 2022). “Meet the Metrosexual—Twenty Years On.” MarkSimpson.com. https://marksimpson.com/2022/07/29/meet-the-metrosexual-twenty-years-on/

Are you ready to plunge into the archives of Philippine history?

Last weekend, the book version of this podcast, 'Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves', was launched in a small event at Book Bar SG along Duxton Road in Singapore. Of course, I got into a funny little accident right before it happened. Listen to scenes from the Singapore book launch here! My publisher and I talk about how the book came into being, how The Colonial Dept. tries to teach history, and what my process is for writing episodes and essays.

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The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠⁠Purchase here⁠⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠⁠also available in Amazon⁠⁠.)

Special episodes take you behind the scenes at The Colonial Dept.! In this bonus bit, I walk you through the book version of this podcast, which is entitled Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. What's inside? How did I make it? How can you get it? Hopefully, I get to answer all your questions here.

P.S. Tap here to read Peter Gordon's review on the Asian Review of Books.

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Find out more about the book on ⁠Faction Press.

Special episodes take you behind the scenes at The Colonial Dept.! In this bonus bit, we talk a bit about my book Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves (order here). I also announce our new remastered episode initiative—take a listen at the teaser inside!

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Find out more about the book on Faction Press.

Let’s take a look at the other side of the Galleon Trade. In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we track the exchange between the Philippines and Minnan—as well as the Chinese who made it happen. (Listen to S5E13 before listening to this one!)

The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠Purchase here⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠also available in Amazon⁠.)

From 1762 to 1764, the British invaded and occupied Manila. When they left and returned the capital to Spain, the Castilians turned their wrath on the Chinese community, calling them traitors, apostates, and collaborators. But what was the real score? 

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References:

Flannery, Kristie Patrice (2016). “Battlefield Diplomacy and Empire-building in the Early Modern Pacific World.” Itinerario, 40(3). p. 67–488. 

Eng Sin Kueh, Joshua (2014). The Manila Chinese: Community, Trade, and Empire, c. 1570-1770 [doctoral dissertation]. Georgetown University.

Escoto, Salvador P. (1999). “Expulsion of the Chinese and Readmission to the Philippines: 1764-1779.” Philippine Studies, 47(1), p. 48-76.

Escoto, Salvador P. (2000). “A Supplement to the Chinese Expulsion from the Philippines, 1764-1779.” Philippine Studies, 48(2), p. 209-234.

Wickberg, Edward (1964). “The Chinese Mestizo in Philippine History.” The Journal of Southeast Asian History, 5(1), p. 62-100.

Ruiz-Stovel, Guillermo (2009). “Chinese Merchants, Silver Galleons, and Ethnic Violence in Spanish Manila, 1603-1686.” Mexico y la Cuenca del Pacifico, 12(36), p. 47-63.

McCarthy, Charles J. (1970). “Slaughter of Sangleys in 1639.” Philippine Studies, 18(3), p. 659-667.

Wilson, Andrew (2004). Ambition and Identity: Chinese Merchant Elites in Colonial Manila, 1880-1916. University of Hawaii Press. 

“Journal of the Proceedings of His Majesty’s Forces On An Expedition Against Manila.” In Beatson, Robert (ed.),(1972) Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, From 1727 to 1783, Vol. 2, Greg Press.

Fish, Shirley (2003). When Britain Ruled the Philippines, 1762-1764: The Story of the 18th Century British Invasion of the Philippines During the Seven Years War. Authorhouse.

In California, sympathetic judges allow a Filipino man to marry a white woman—at least until a new state law arrives. In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we check out the Roldan v. Los Angeles County case. (Listen to S5E12 before listening to this one!)

In the early decades of the 20th century, scores of young Filipino men began migrating to the United States to work. In their spare time, they dressed in their best suits and nattiest shoes, then hit the clubs. But when these dance-hall romances blossomed into marriages with white women, the law stepped in to stop them. Central to the plaintiffs’ legal arguments was a dazzling trick question of pure pseudoscience: Was the Filipino a Mongolian… or a Malay? 

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Email us: [email protected]

The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠⁠Purchase here⁠⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠⁠also available in Amazon⁠⁠.)

References:

Strandjord, Corinne (2009). “Filipino Resistance to Anti-Miscegenation Laws in Washington State.” Great Depression in Washington State. 

https://depts.washington.edu/depress/filipino_anti_miscegenation.shtml

Volpp, Leti (1999-2000). “American Mestizo: Filipinos and Antimiscegenation Laws in California.” UC Davis Law Review, 33, 795-835.

Baldoz, Richard (2004). “Valorizing Racial Boundaries: Hegemony and Conflict in the Racialization of Filipino Migrant Labour in the United States.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 27(6), 969-986.

Aguilar, Filomeno V. (2011). “Filibustero, Rizal, and the Manilamen of the Nineteenth Century.” Philippine Studies, 59(4), 429–469.

Johnson, Stefanie (2005). “Blocking Racial Intermarriage Laws in 1935 and 1937.” The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project. https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/antimiscegenation.htm

Wilkerson, Isabel (2020). ‎Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Random House

Desmond-Harris, Jenée and Caswell, Estelle (13 January 2015). “The myth of race, debunked in 3 minutes.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/2015/1/13/7536655/race-myth-debunked

“Filipino Contract Laborers in Hawaii.” 1926. Monthly Labor Review 24(4), 4-9.

After publishing Noli Me Tangere, Jose Rizal gets red-tagged… er, German-tagged by the Spanish authorities! In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we check out the accusations against Rizal, and how he responded to them. (Listen to S5E11 before listening to this one!)