Author: Anaise Baez

While watching the video it occurred to me just how much we depended on Asia for the livelihood we have today. It depended heavily on the trade system between the continents. Through the video I was able to learn that many Asians came to different parts through the trade system. I didn’t know why I never connected the dots before, I thought it was out of free will or job related but never realized just how much of that was actually real. What I also found amazing is how they used the Spanish Galleons blueprints, their knowledge of the sea and the native woods such as the Philippine tea wood and lanang. This shows just how knowledgeable they were in their expertise, the sea that it even survived multiple cannonball shots. Yet with every accomplishment someone or a group has there will be people who feel envied by them. In this case what surprised me was that the Spaniards felt threatened by the Chinese and put them in quarters with cannonballs facing them. They did this because they felt outnumbered and threatened. Yet the Chinese also had jobs such as carpenters, merchants, etc which acted as the backbone to the Spanish economy but also blamed for economical hard times. As for the article I found the most interesting how Europeans thought they were “Masculine and conquering” while Asia was “feminized and ripe for conquest”. With each continent having different customs but the way it was described in the article made it seem as if they were alienated. Though the one thing that stood out to me the most was the treatment of Asian and how their treatment is something not many people talk about. I was surprised just how many hardships they had to go through and how many people thought of them as just another place to conquer, though they had amazing accomplishments. It really opened my eyes to how much can be hidden about the treatment of groups unless you decide to do the research yourself. They were mainly just seen as people who were to be conquered and used for trading and a way to get rich within the economy.

These stories have a common theme of hardships when dealing with other countries after migrating. I think many people who came here in the past traveled because they were part of trade system. However, I also think that people could be looking for more work opportunities with better pay since it could be overcrowded in their country. Either way it could be one of two options which is their choice or by force(however I truly hope the second one is the very little minority).

While reading Bahadur’s process into researching her ancestry, it reminded me of how easy written information can be manipulated. While searching the archives she found that many of them were biased and written by men and their perspective. This could also have been because many women were illiterate which left out many women’s thoughts, feelings and perspectives. She overcomes these obstacles by turning to sources such as oral tradition, photographs, visiting her great grandmother village and even using herself as a source based on personal experience. If I were to research my family history, I would first find connections within my families as first-person accounts as well as travel to Puerto Rico to interview my family there as well. Next I would turn to archives that can help me better understand the time period to connect with the first person account of my family. After I would do a history search for traditions and societal views during each time period as a final connection to piece all my information together. 

 

The interview I watched was Sandy Lee. On her mother’s side her great grandfather who worked on the railroad when he came to the West side and was adopted in 1869 by an Indian tribe chief at 16, who lost his son, for two years. She also talks about her father’s side who also had connections with the railroads but was mainly a merchant who got detained from a moth and a half due to frequent visits to China.She also details how her family opened a farm that turned into a grocery store and how through this project of ancestry she became closer to her relatives. This confirmed my belief that Asian Americans always worked hard to get to where they wanted to be despite whatever was thrown their way. It also kind of surprised me that many of Sandy Lee’s family came from doing railroads and farms to high end jobs such as nursing(which is what she studied). I found it amazing because it shows why they worked so hard so that they can follow the passions but also support them. I also found it interesting how closely knitted her family was to Indians. I would love to find out more about the way the great grandfather was treated when he was adopted into the Indian tribe. Also in general I would like to hear more about the mindset of those who struggled when coming here and the motivation they gave themselves to make it through.