Chinese vendor serving noodles to the Filipinos Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Many foreign powers threatened the Spanish colony during the early years of settlement, mainly the Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese. The Spaniards successfully resisted Portuguese efforts to drive them from Cebu. Later the Spanish King annexed Portugal to Spain, closing Portuguese ports to the Dutch traders, who then sought new trading centers in the East Indies. Soon the Dutch were plundering Spanish vessels in the Philippines. In the first half of the 17^th century, repeated Dutch attacks were made on Manila, but all were successfully dealt with by the Spaniards with the help of Filipino warriors.

The Spanish colonization of the Philippines required more skilled laborers and they recruited Chinese immigrants. The Chinese community was vital to the welfare of Manila, as the city surrounding Intramuros came to be known. The economy became highly dependent upon the Chinese…