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First Group of Filipinos in California
In 1781, Antonio Miranda Rodriguez Poblador led 44 others to California on an expedition. This was the first group of Filipinos to expedite to California. The Filipinos chose to come here because they wanted to lead better lives for themselves and their children. -
Philippine American War
In 1899, There was a Philippine American war that lasted 3 years ending in The U.S. victory. This war caused the dissolution of some Philippine territory. -
Second Wave of Filipino Immigrants
In the early 1900’s the Chinese and Japanese farm workers were lagging and not fulfilling their jobs to the fullest extent and Filipinos agreed to take over those jobs. They were harder workers and they didn’t require as much pay as the Japanese. They worked in sugarcane plantations in San Diego and agricultural fields in Salinas, Stockton, Escondido, El Centro, and Hayward. The few that weren’t field workers worked other low paying jobs like waiters or busboys. -
Tydings-Mcduffie Act
In 1934, the Tydings-Mcduffie Act was passed limiting Filipino immigrants to only 50 per year. The act neglected big waves of Filipinos coming to California because many White Americans didn’t like Filipinos. -
Third Wave of Filipino Immigrants
In 1945, another wave of Filipinos immigrated to California. Most of them came to become U.S. Navy servicemen, but were moved down to cooks and cleaners on the ships. Although they held this status, they still did all that they could to help the soldiers gain independence from the Japanese. -
Warbrides
In 1965, more Filipinos immigrated to California to become war brides. This was seen as a big opportunity for them and their children to live in the U.S. on a non-quota visa. -
Fourth Wave of Filipino Immigrants
Right after the wave of war brides arrived in California, another wave arrived which were called the “Brain Drain”. They were professional doctors, lawyers, nurses, etc. They became Navy workers, athletes, inventors, movie stars, directors, etc. Many Filipinos are known greatly now because of the history they made when they immigrated to California.
