| | 1587 |
The first Filipinos to set foot in North America arrive in Morro Bay, California on board the Manila-built galleon ship Nuestra Señora de Esperanza under the command of Spanish Captain Pedro de Unamuno. They were called the "Luzon Indios" or Luzon Indians. | |
| | 1763 |
Filipinos in Acapulco cross the Gulf of Mexico to Barataria Bay in Louisiana to establish seven Philippine-style fishing villages. The mahogany-colored Manilamen of Louisiana pioneer the dried shrimp industry in America. This was the 1st wave of Filipino immigration to America.
[See The St. Malo Story, from the Philippine Bahay-Kubo web site of Nestor Palugod Enriquez] | |
| | 1781 |
Antonio Miranda Rodriguez Poblador, a Filipino, along with 44 other individuals, were sent by the Spanish government from Mexico to establish "Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles", now known as the City of Los Angeles. | |
| | 1846 |
Two men "from Manila" apply for Hawaiian citizenship from King Kalakaua. [Today, Ben Cayetano, who is of Filipino descent, sits as the governor of Hawaii.] | |
| | 1903 |
103 Filipino Pensionados are brought to the U.S. to get an American education. | |
| | 1906 - 1935 |
More than 125,000 Filipino Sacadas are brought to Hawaii to work the Hawaiian sugar cane plantations. During this 2nd wave of immigration to America, Filipinos also came to labor in the farms of California and canneries of Alaska. | |
| | 1945 - 1965 |
The 3rd wave of immigration began with the end of World War II. While the Filipinos who served under the U.S. Armed Forces were granted U.S. citizenship under the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1942, the 3rd wave came mostly to join the U.S. Navy as non-citizens. | |
| | 1965 |
With the passing of the Immigration Act of 1965 began the 4th wave of the Filipino immigration to America. As many as 20,000 mostly professionals, such as doctors and nurses, immigrated annually (thus was called "brain drain"). This wave of immigration continues to this day. | |