Review of Related Literature and Studies on Philippines-China Encounters How Manila’s Chinese in the 17 th to 19 th Centuries Were Ostracized and Yet     Considered as Essential Outsiders      The early Chinese traders have reached the Philippine islands as early as 4 th Century in Mindanao. They inter-marry with locals in which established and strengthen their allegiance within the community creating a new sense of identity due to interracial marriages in areas such as in Zamboanga and Sulu. From the southernmost tip of the Philippines, these early Chinese traders and even missionaries find their way northward until such time that they have reached the areas of Binondo situated in the Spanish colonial capital, Manila. Mario Alvaro Limos in 2019 examined how the Chinese was treated during under the colony of Spain despite their contribution in the Philippine society. They were businessmen yet they were seen as outcasts in the community. ...