This a comprehensive study of the Chinese community in Cebu – the largest outside Manila – during the American colonial and early post-colonial periods. The time frame covered corresponds to the shift among members of this community from simple commodities trading during final half-century of Spanish rule (ca. 1840s-90s) to eventual diversification, especially in shipping and manufacturing, around the late prewar and the immediate postwar period, eventually resulting into the formation of a dominant Chinese business elite that persists to this day in Cebu. The study also tackles the role migrant Chinese women played, after immigration rules allowed their entry, resulting in the creation of full-blooded Chinese families that encouraged permanent settlement instead of mere sojourning. The study will also delve into the emergence of Chinese nationalism and the ensuing political and ideological clashes that played out in Cebu as well as other major cities in the Philippines (as elsewhere in Southeast Asia during this period) especially leading to and after the birth of the Peoples Republic of China.

To accomplish all these, I would be looking at ethnic Chinese commerce within the broader context of Cebu’s history, including pre-colonial trade, Spanish colonial influences, the presence of Chinese mestizos, and the transitions under American rule and the early postwar period. This entails a study of primary and secondary sources, including interviews of prominent entrepreneurial Chinese families and their businesses that played a critical role in Cebu's economy during the periods under this study. Finally, an important component of the study is to look at the integration of generations of Chinese immigrants into Cebuano society and their lasting impact on cultural identity, social networks, and their relationships with the latter.