Islanders in the empire
Subtitle: Filipino and Puerto Rican laborers in Hawai'i
By: JoAnna Poblete
Series: Asian american experience; Asian American experience
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 227
ISBN-13: 9780252038297; 9780252082610
Subjects: Labor mobility; Government policy; Filipinos; Puerto Ricans; Migrant labor; Migrant agricultural laborers; Legal status, laws; History
Description: "In the early 1900s, workers from new U.S. colonies in the Philippines and Puerto Rico held unusual legal status. Denied citizenship, they nonetheless had the right to move freely in and out of U.S. jurisdiction. As a result, Filipinos and Puerto Ricans could seek jobs in the United States and its territories despite the anti-immigration policies in place at the time. JoAnna Poblete's Islanders in the Empire: Filipino and Puerto Rican Laborers in Hawai'i takes an in-depth look at how the two groups fared in a third new colony, Hawai'i. Using plantation documents, missionary records, government documents, and oral histories, Poblete analyzes how the workers interacted with Hawaiian government structures and businesses, how U.S. policies for colonial workers differed from those for citizens or foreigners, and how policies aided corporate and imperial interests. A rare tandem study of two groups at work on foreign soil, Islanders in the Empire offers a new perspective on American imperialism and labor issues of the era"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Defining U.S. Colonial experiences: the long history of U.S. expansionism; title: Letters home: the failure of Puerto Rican recruitment; title: Flexible and accommodating: successful recruitment and retention of Filipinos; title: Indefinite dependence: U.S. control over Puerto Rican labor complaints; title: Tensions of Colonial cooperation: Philippine authority over labor complaints; title: Conflicting convictions: Filipino ethnic minister interactions with the plantation community; title: Limited leadership : roles of Puerto Rican labor agents in the plantation community; title: Conclusion: current struggles against U.S. Colonialism and empire.