Sangley - Background

Background

Mestizo de sanglay is a term that arose during Spanish colonization of the Philippines because of different circumstances there compared to settlement in the Americas. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, numerous male Spaniards: conquistadors, explorers, missionaries and soldiers, settled there. For years there were almost no Spanish women in the colonies, so most Spanish men made liaisons and intermarried with indigenous women.

In the Philippines however the number of Spanish male settlers was smaller and there were a much greater number of descendants of Chinese workers (and later merchants) and native women. The Spanish government classified the Chinese immigrants as Sanglay if they were pure-blooded Chinese immigrants or Mestizo de sanglay if they were mixed-race persons of sanglay and indio ancestry; They were also known as chino mestizos.

As an example, in the late 19th century, the author and activist José Rizal was classified as mestizo de sangleay due to his Chinese ancestry, although he also had Japanese and Spanish ancestors, and he asked to be classified as indio.