Category: Discussion Board 2

After the reading about Lee and watching the documentary, it became apparent how the Europeans viewed Asia as its polar opposite. They viewed Asia as a land full of exotic spices and herbs, silks, and other good which the Europeans had desired. The people, the culture, and civilizations were all different from those of the Europeans. Europe viewed itself as the masculine and Asia as the feminine, which has to be conquered. This desire for Asia’s wealth is what lead to the eventual colonization and imperialism of Asia by Europe. Of course this all benefited the Europeans as they had wrongfully profited from the riches of Asia to fuel their own greed. During this, they had also mistreated the Asian crew members on cargo ships who were working for them, and only paid them half for what they paid the Spanish workers, despite them being very skilled. It was surprising to see how they were so underpaid compared to the Spanish workers, despite them being so skilled, but I guess that could also be due to racism towards Asians. The Europeans had mistreated the people of Asia, disrespected their cultures, and wiped them from their wealth, due to them being greedy for wealth and power. This reading proved how much people are willing to do in the name of acquiring power and wealth, even if means to destroy the others land.

Los Chinos were the first Asian immigrants who migrated to the Americas around the late 1500’s. They had then migrated from the west coast down to the south and settled in Mexico City. They had taken jobs such as merchants and laborers and etc in order to support their families and build their wealth. However due to violence and discrimination towards Asian communities, those communities had eventually lost their opportunities and had to look elsewhere.

Afong Moy was the first recognized Chinese female immigrant. Americans viewed her as an object, and not an actual human. She was seen as a circus freak, and people would buy tickets to watch her. This lead to awful stereotypes of Asians, and lead to them being treated as lower class people, and were very degraded by the White Americans.

In conclusion what can be learned from this reading and documentary is that the Europeans greed for money, power, and riches from Asia eventually lead to the the imperialism of Asia, the looting of the land from its riches, the degradation of its people and their cultures, which all still have terrible impacts on the Asian community to this day. Even today, they are often seen as inferior to the white man, and are often victims of racism and hate crimes.

1.) In the early parts of the reading, I learned lots of my people’s history (the Filipino people) more than I did in other American history books, and through these readings, it gave me a sense of pride knowing that. But at the same time, I am disappointed that in order for so many of these “immigrants” to come that they had no choice and were brought here by the countries that conquered them like American, Spain, and England although this was the reality all those years ago.

2.) These stories differ from the narratives we hear about immigration since these stories are forced and the people had no choice but to go along with it, their freedom was significantly reduced to nothing at all. Compared to today’s narrative about immigration where people still are forced to go or migrate due to the chaotic nature in their country like a civil war or dictator being topped. But for the most part, today’s immigration is a fairly normal process albeit sometimes it gets messy just like here in the U.S. From my personal experience, immigration was smooth due to my mom having migrated to the U.S years earlier and went through the citizenship process. Next, my father came along and since both were citizens, I ended up being eligible after having been in the U.S for 3 or 4 years.

I actually learned quite a lot from the Lee reading and the film about the histories of Asian migration to the Americas. Europeans were extremely interested in Asia. They thought of it as the “polar opposite” of them since they had heard about Asia’s resources, riches, and culture. What really surprised me was that the transcontinental railroad was funded by Asians. Like they said in the video, many knew that an influx of Asians came to this country to work on the railroad, but what was not widely known is that Asians backed the project financially. They were advised to invest in the United States because of how the nation was formed. The nation was won from the tyranny of England, who had imposed their way upon Asian nations. The man most notable from the victory, George Washington, didn’t become emperor of the nation once it was free from British rule. This was new to Asian nations, so one would assume that these nations saw potential in the U.S.’s future. What I believe motivated Asian groups to move to the Americas was imperialism. European influence spread across Asia, as well as Japan trying to compete. Countries such as England, Spain, The Netherlands, and Portugal had traveled to Asia and began taking over. In order to escape this imperialistic influence, many Asians migrated to the Americas. Other Asian migrants were shipped to the Americas as slaves and indentured laborers. These groups of people included those from China and The Philippines. The groups landed in Mexico, Cuba, and Peru after their voyage.

I believe these stories compare very similarly to the stories we here about immigration today. We often hear stories about people of certain nations seeking refuge in other nations. This can be said about many countries, not just those from Asia. The difference is that it is not too often we hear about slaves, indentured laborers, and sex workers. Although, that may be what the media is feeding to us. I think the reason for migration have changed today because those migrating to another country may be doing so seeking what they perceive to be a better life. They may hear stories from people they know who have migrated to another country and believe it is better than the life they are currently living. They may believe that this new land is full of opportunities for them to grow and for their family to live comfortably. What I believe has stayed the same is that people might be migrating in order to escape something. I believe that there are horrible things going on around the world and some people may no longer want to deal with that. The only way to escape that is to leave the only place you have ever known as home.

After reading the Lee chapter and watching the documentary, I’ve learn more about how many countries had a hand in dealing with slavery, specifically of the Asian population. I already knew that Spain invade Philippines and England invade India;however, I did not know that there were Asians in Mexico(New Spain) and many of them had a prominent role in society as a mayor and a religious philanthropist. Another example of Asian mistreatment was the first Chinese immigrant Afong Moy. The Americans would treat Moy like a item or object, not realizing she is a human being and not anyone’s play toy for entertainment. The came to Filipinos came to  America, specifically Louisiana because bayou had excellent fishing and shrimping. The stories today about immigration, does not compare to what early Asian immigration had to go thorough. In present time today, immigration is easier due to the fact they are not being enslaved to travel and have more free will. People will not gawk or treat them like a object when they get here to America. I believed the reason that many of the ways changed was due to the civil rights laws and also human rights laws. Many Asian immigrants were treated unfairly and like trash, it has gotten somewhat better, but its not as harsh as it was in the early days.

Born as an Asian, I have a high degree of curiosity about the views of Europeans. Of course, Europeans are equally curious about how they view Asians. In Lee’s excerpt, it is mentioned that Europeans feel that Asia is a place that contrasts clearly with Europe, where it is full of things and cultures that Europeans have never seen before. Pax Mongolica brought two different continents closer together, and Marco Polo’s discoveries during his travels in the Middle East and Asia inspired him to explore the Pacific Ocean. He also discovered a lot of gold, decoration, silk, spices, and a series of things that can guarantee more than six times the profit, which led to the Europeans gaining benefits during this period. But what surprises me is that Europeans have gained a lot of benefits in Asia, but they still abuse Asians and disrespect Asian culture. And on a cargo ship, no matter how skilled the Asian crew is, they will never get paid as much as the European crew. He has never been paid. It is mentioned in the article that Los Chinos was the first group of Asians to reach Acapulco in 1580. They formed a community and moved from the west coast of Mexico to the east coast. Some of these people are laborers, craftsmen, merchants, hairdressers, and shoemakers. These are their careers to support themselves and their families.

My personal view of immigration is that there are many things that have been found to have changed dramatically. However, the most basic things will not change. For example, facing different cultural differences and languages ​​is a huge challenge. This fact has not changed from beginning to end. However, the way of modern immigration is different. We will not go through the unpredictable dangers and challenges mentioned in the article.

What stood out to me the most from the article and film is how much of a role Asians played in the early development of America. I knew that China was considered to be a highly valuable country for trading goods. While I had known that the original objective of Christopher Columbus was to establish a trade route with China, I had no idea that the Spanish ended up establishing sea routes across the Pacific Ocean to Mexico via the Philippines. What stood out to me (although not very surprising) was how badly the Asian sailors were treated. As the author says in the excerpt, the Asian crewmembers only received half rations, and were sometimes never even given their wages. This and the fact that the journey across the Pacific was so rough that many Asian sailors employed for a two-way trip would just abandon ship once they reached Acapulco. I guess they didn’t necessarily plan on sticking around and starting a new life, but the journey was so bad that restarting their lives in Mexico seemed like the best option. Once they were there, they had the ability to develop their lives through a broad range of occupations, which I’m sure attracted even more immigrants to come. 

I think some things have changed in the immigration process, while some have remained the same. Many of the challenges involved in immigrating to a new place have shifted. For example, modern advancement of technology has enhanced travel conditions to no longer be the extremely dangerous and unbearable conditions described by Lee in the excerpt.  However, there are still many challenges involved in settling down in a new place with a completely different language and culture. Much of the motive has remained the same, as we often hear stories (dating from the present to several hundred years ago) about migrants coming to America for a better life, for a new hope. People strive for opportunity and freedom to do what they want.

The European perspective on Asians and Asia was to me, very intriguing.  The general European perspective saw Asia as the complete opposite of Europe. It was foreign, exotic, alluring and unlike anything they have ever seen or come across. Asia was abundant in jewels, silks, spices and other natural resources which attracted Europe immensely. In Lee’s passage, he mentions, “Western held understanding of a masculine, conquering Europe and a feminized Asia piped for conquest”. Which evidently showcases Europes’s fascination and lust for Asia and what she had to offer. Marco Polo and his enticing tales about his travels throughout Asia and the Middle East captivated Spain. Soon, Europe’s upper class prospered a great thirst for Asian goods. These imports were assured to create a 600% profit. All of which Europeans benefitted from. I was most surprised about the value of Asian imports and the horrible treatment of Asian crew members. I was unaware that Asian crew members were paid only half of what Spanish crew members were given. Asian workers on cargo ships were unequally treated and unappreciated despite of their vast skillsets. After reading, it was clear how much Europe had taken from Asia. Stole their natural resources, mistreated their men, abused their women and gave no credit not respect to the land and the culture. It is clear that Europe did not just conquer Asia. He savagely raped her.

Los Chinos are the first Asians to arrive to Acapulco around the 1580’s. These Asian pioneers forged a strong community and decided to migrate from the west coast to the Mexican east coast finally settling in Mexico City. These pioneers took professions as laborers, craftsmen, merchants, barbers and shoemakers to support the livelihood of themselves and their families. This ultimately meant freedom from the control of Europeans. The film revealed Great Britain colonizing majority of Asia and how the Chinese was negatively impacted by it. A wave of violence eventually washed over the Chinese which forced them to leave and create opportunities of their own.

From the excerpt of Lee, in the reading, “The Making of Asian America” it was interesting to read about the Europeans perspective on Asia and Asians in general. Europeans viewed Asia as the opposite of Europe filled with exotic and new wonders that they thought was very different from their own homes. Spain was motivated by the explorer Marco Polo and his travels throughout Asia and the Middle East. For example, in the article it says, “By the dawn of of the European age of exploration and conquest, in the fifteenth century, wealthy Europeans have developed a growing taste for Asian imports such as spices, silks, and sugar, and the demanded more.” The trip from Asia to America were accompanied by Asian servants who were treated to poor conditions like less pay, half the rations promised by the Spanish crew members, and they even died in the cold weather. It is surprising to find out that Asians traveled and came to Latin America before migrating to North America. According to the text, Los Chinos meant the first Asians to arrive in Acapulco during the 1580’s. They formed a community and migrated from the west coast to the east coast of Mexico City. Some people took jobs as merchants, laborers, shoemakers, barbers, and craftsmen in order to support themselves and their families. In the film, it showed how the British managed to colonize and invade most of Asian countries while different groups like Chinese were negatively affected by it. The presence of Chinese people gave a rise to violence against them including riots which caused them to flee for their own safety. Compared to modern times, Americans are not that different from back then especially when the immigrants are from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

1. Europeans viewed Asia as their polar opposites, in terms of location from each other, way of living, and nature, like Asian animals and plants. Their impressions of Asia and Asians was that they differed completely from Europe and Europeans. For instance, Lee states, “For centuries this difference between East and West was the subject of endless speculation, informing a Western-held understanding of a masculine, conquering Europe and a feminized Asia ripe for conquest” (Lee 1).  Basically, this shows that the major distinction between Europe and Asia was the level of masculinity and femininity that was shown. That brought the idea to Europe that Asian culture is needed there for their influence. The Pax Mongolica brought Europe and Asia closer together. Spain was motivated to explore the Pacific because of Marco Polo and his findings when he traveled throughout the Middle East and Asia. Marco Polo had found that the destination had exotic land, sexual customs, and mountain streams flowing of diamonds, gold, abundant riches, spices, silks, and sugar. With the value of spice, it was guaranteed to make 600 percent profit so Europeans would definitely benefit off of this. What I find shocking is how there was bias towards the Asian crewmembers on the cargo ships and they were underappreciated. In the excerpt, Lee states that “Despite their skill, Asian crewmembers received half the rations provided to Spanish crewmembers or were never paid the wages they were promised” (Lee 21). It seems very unfair that Asia has so much riches to offer Europe and America. Asia does not get a good representation in return, just treated as the lower class or unequal to Spain in the example Lee brought up. These Asian sailors suffered through unfair wages, working conditions, and died off in the freezing weather. The voyage from Asia to America consisted of Asian sailors by ship, Asian servants accompanying their Spanish masters they catered to, and Asian slaves in the trading process. I find it heartbreaking that slaves that were women particularly would be sold as sex slaves and leave the ship in pregnant condition or already bearing a child by the Spanish officials/nobles.
2. Los Chinos means the first Asians that landed in Acapulco in the 1580s. After forming a strong community, they migrated from the west coast to the east coast of Mexico City. In the excerpt, Lee explains the broad list of occupations and opportunities Asians had when moving to Mexico City. For example, some were laborers, craftsmen, dancers, shoemakers, barbers, peddlers merchants, tailors, etc. This evokes the great opportunity of freedom for Asians to be what they want and how they choose to live amongst themselves. That is the reason why they would come to America. Coinciding with migration with families around the world and stories we have heard so far about parents coming for a better life, it also proves that freedom is something that everyone will fight for. Another example is Afong Moy being the first Chinese woman to arrive in the U.S. When she reached the U.S. on a ship with other goods at 19 years old, she was automatically taken for a show that people bought tickets to watch. On display like an object for hours a day, it is disrespectful, even with the Chinese stereotypes we derive from Chinese culture we think we know. In the film, I learned that the British took over most of Asia. One group that was impacted hard was the Chinese. There was a large amount of violence towards the Chinese including riots which led them to flee. As a way of taking back control over their lives, I interpret that Asians started to migrate and go to America because they feared that control.