FILIPINOS IN THE US (Pre-1898)
When passion meets precision
1587 – First Filipinos in California
In October 17, 1587, a Spanish galleon named Nuestra Señora de Buena Esperanza sailed into Morro Bay, along what we now call California’s central coast. On board were Luzon Indians (Filipinos from the island of Luzon) who were part of the crew and landing party led by Captain Pedro de Unamuno.
These Filipinos didn’t come as settlers or gold seekers. They were sailors and explorers, helping navigate the vast Pacific Ocean. When they stepped onto California soil, they became the first recorded Asians to set foot in what would one day become the United States.
It was a short visit, but a historic one. Their presence marked the beginning of a long and often overlooked Filipino-American story—one that started centuries before the U.S. even existed.
SOURCE:
Borah, E. G. (2023). The Filipino landing in Morro Bay in 1587. Filipino American National Historical Society Journal, 31(1), 11–22. University of Hawai‘i Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/908214
1595 – Shipwreck at Point Reyes
In the fall of 1595, a Spanish ship called the San Agustin was sailing along the rugged coast of what is now California. On board were Filipino sailors, part of a crew led by Captain Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño. Their mission was to deliver precious cargo: porcelain, silk, and other goods from China to Acapulco, Mexico, and to explore new harbors along the North American coast.
Sadly, things didn’t go as planned. On November 6, the ship ran into trouble and wrecked near Point Reyes, just north of today’s San Francisco Bay. The crew barely made it ashore, and the San Agustin became the first known shipwreck on the California coast.
Historian Raymond Aker of the Drake Navigators Guild confirmed that Filipino sailors were part of this dramatic voyage. Though the wreck was a disaster, it marked another early moment when Filipinos helped shape the story of America far before it was called that.²
SOURCE:
Nolte, C. (1995, November 14). 400th anniversary of Spanish shipwreck / Rough first landing in Bay Area. San Francisco Chronicle, p. A13. Retrieved from SFGate
1763 – The Manila Men of St. Malo, Louisiana
In 1763, Filipino sailors (known as Manila Men) established a fishing village called St. Malo in the marshlands of Louisiana, near New Orleans. Isolated and built on stilts above the water, the village became the first permanent Filipino settlement in the United States.
Journalist Lafcadio Hearn vividly described the community in his 1883 article for Harper’s Weekly, portraying their resilience and unique way of life.
Historian Marina Espina later traced eight generations of descendants from these early settlers in her book Filipinos in Louisiana, highlighting their lasting legacy in the region.
SOURCE:
Hearn, L. (1883, March 31). Saint Malo, a lacustrine village in Louisiana. Harper’s Weekly, 27, 196. Retrieved from Library of Congress
1779 – A Filipino Sailor Confirmed by Fr. Junípero Serra
On August 10, 1779, at the Mission San Carlos in Monterey, California, a Filipino sailor named Vicente Tallado was confirmed by Father Junípero Serra (the founder of the California mission system.)
The record describes Tallado as an indio de la Panpangua en Philipinas (a native of Pampanga in the Philippines) who served as a mariner. His presence at the mission shows the early and overlooked role of Filipinos in colonial California, especially within the Spanish maritime and religious networks.
SOURCE:
Temple, T. W. II. (n.d.). Confirmation records, San Carlos de Monte-Rey mission. In Extracts of church records, 1770–1899 [Microfilm]. The Californianos Library. Retrieved from FamilySearch Catalog
1781 – Antonio Miranda Rodriguez, Filipino Founder of Los Angeles
In 1781, Antonio Miranda Rodriguez—a 50-year-old "chino" (reportedly born in Manila and likely Filipino) from Sonora—and his 11-year-old daughter, Juana Maria, were selected to help establish El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles, now known as Los Angeles. Rodriguez was a soldado de cuera, a leather-jacketed soldier in Spain’s frontier forces. He was later reassigned to the Santa Barbara Presidio, where he served as the mission’s ironsmith until his death.
His final resting place is the El Presidio Chapel at El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park. His story, preserved through the research of historian William Mason, highlights the early Filipino presence in California’s colonial history.
SOURCE:
Mason, W. M. (n.d.). Antonio Miranda Rodriguez and the founding of Los Angeles. History Division, Los Angeles County Museum. As cited in FilAm Tribune
1788–1791 – Manila Men in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest
Between 1788 and 1791, Filipino sailors (Manila Men) played key roles in THE early exploration along the Pacific coast of North America. On June 17, 1788, at least one Manila man was aboard the British ship Iphigenia Nubiana, commanded by Captain William Douglas, when it arrived at Cook Inlet in Alaska.
A year later, on June 5, 1789, more Manila men were on the crews of the Eleanora and Fair American, ships led by American fur trader Captain Simon Metcalfe from New York. These ships explored the Pacific Northwest, where Filipino sailors helped navigate and support the booming fur trade.
A notable figure was John Mando, a Manila man who served as cabin steward on the Gustavus III, a ship owned by Captain John Henry Cox. He sailed into Sitka Harbor in both 1789 and 1791, making him one of the earliest Filipinos documented in Alaska.
These voyages show how Filipino mariners were already contributing to North American history long before the U.S. was formed by working aboard ships, surviving harsh conditions, and helping shape the early Pacific frontier.
SOURCE:
Buchholdt, T. (1996). Filipinos in Alaska: 1788–1958. Aboriginal Press.
1789–1794 – Filipinos in the Malaspina Expedition
Between 1789 and 1794, Filipino sailors were part of the Malaspina Expedition, a major Spanish scientific voyage led by Alejandro Malaspina. Historian Donald C. Cutter identified at least four Filipinos who joined the expedition. One of them had already made three trips to Acapulco aboard Manila galleons (large Spanish trading ships that sailed between the Philippines and Mexico) and may have joined the crew in Lima, Peru.
Malaspina recruited new crew members in Acapulco, including Filipino mariners who were there because of the galleon trade. These sailors helped support the mission to explore and document Spain’s colonies across the Pacific and the Americas.
This shows how Filipino seafarers were not just laborers, but were experienced navigators and explorers who contributed to global scientific missions.
SOURCE:
Buchholdt, T. (1996). Filipinos in Alaska: 1788–1958. Aboriginal Press.
Cutter, D. C. (1991). Malaspina & Galiano. University of Washington Press.
1822 – Francisco Flores from Cebu Settles in Texas
In 1822, Francisco Flores, a Filipino from Cebu, arrived in Texas as a cabin boy aboard a freighter. He eventually settled in Port Isabel, Texas, where he started a fishing business and owned two schooners. He married Augustina Gonzales and later moved his family and business to Rockport, Texas.
Francisco Flores lived a long and remarkable life, passing away in Texas in 1917 at the age of 108. His story is one of the earliest known examples of Filipino settlement in Texas, showing how Filipinos were already contributing to local communities nearly a century before large-scale immigration began.
SOURCE:
University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio. (n.d.). The Filipino Texans. UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures. Retrieved from https://texancultures.utsa.edu/exhibit/mabuhay/
1848 – Manila Men in the “Vanished Camp of Tulitos” During the California Gold Rush
In 1848, the California Gold Rush began, drawing people from around the world to search for gold. One of the earliest camps in Mariposa County was called the “Vanished Camp of Tulitos.” According to a December 15, 1934 article in the Stockton Daily Evening Record, Manila men were reported to be the main population of this camp.
The story was featured in the “Mother Lodelets” column by Matthew Hamilton and later cited in The Mariposa Sentinel (Second Quarter 1989), published by the Mariposa Museum & Historical Center. These sources highlight how Filipinos were already part of California’s early mining history.
SOURCES:
Hamilton, M. (1934, December 15). Vanished Camp of Tulitos Is Forgotten by Historians. Mother Lodelets column. Stockton Daily Evening Record, p. 20.
Mariposa Museum & Historical Center. (1989). The Mariposa Sentinel, Second Quarter, pp. 1, 5. Courtesy of the Pinoy Archives, Filipino American National Historical Society, Seattle, WA.
1850s – Manila Men in Alaska’s Whaling Boom
As early as the 1850s, Manila men were part of the crews aboard whaling ships during Alaska’s whaling boom. This boom began in 1848, when whaling off the coast of Alaska became a major industry. Crew lists from whaling ships that sailed the Alaskan Arctic between 1848 and 1910, preserved at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, confirm the presence of these Filipino seamen.
Their inclusion in these voyages shows how Filipinos were already contributing to maritime industries in the far north, long before Alaska became part of the United States. These Manila men were experienced mariners, helping power one of the most dangerous and demanding industries of the time.
SOURCES:
Buchholdt, T. (1996). Filipinos in Alaska: 1788–1958. Aboriginal Press.
New Bedford Whaling Museum. (n.d.). American Offshore Whaling: Crew Lists. Retrieved from https://whalinghistory.org/av/crew/
Timeline adapted from:
Borah, E. G. (1997–2004). Chronology of Filipinos in America Pre-1898. Retrieved February 8, 2012, from Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20120208123432/http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/chronology.pdf