The first Asians in America might not be who you think.
March 31, 1883: Journalist Lafcadio Hearn published an article in Harper’s Weekly documenting San Maló, home of the Manilamen.
Asians were in the Americas before the United States even existed.
The earliest documented arrival of Filipinos in what is now the United States dates to October 1587, when Filipino sailors aboard a Spanish ship came ashore near present-day Morro Bay, California. Many were serving under Spanish command as forced labor, crossing the Pacific with their colonial masters.
But the first known permanent settlement came much later, in Spanish Louisiana.
As early as 1763, Filipino sailors escaping Spanish ships established Saint Malo in the marshlands of Louisiana.
Morro Bay today, where the earliest documented arrival of Filipinos in what is now the United States took place in 1587.
Photo by Rihei Tomishige
Lafcadio Hearn and his wife, Setsu. The perspective Hearn gained through family and lived experience would shape how generations of outsiders came to understand Japan.
Library of Congress
An illustration of one of the oldest houses in Saint Malo, published with Lafcadio Hearn’s 1883 Harper’s Weekly article.
Lafcadio Hearn
In 1883, writer Lafcadio Hearn published what is considered the first known written account of Filipinos in the United States.
His Harper’s Weekly article described the Manilamen, also known as Tagalogs, living in Saint Malo near Lake Borgne in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.
Hearn was still relatively unknown at the time.
He would later move to Japan and become one of the most influential Western writers on Japanese customs and culture.
San Maló
Saint Malo, or San Maló in Spanish, existed along the shore of Lake Borgne as early as the mid-18th century until it was destroyed by the New Orleans hurricane of 1915.
It is widely regarded as the first permanent Filipino settlement in the United States and likely the first Asian American settlement.
The exact founding date is disputed, but historians place its origins as early as 1763 or 1765, formed by Filipino deserters and escaped men from the Spanish Manila galleon trade.
The residents became known as the Manilamen.
The Manilamen at Manila Village, one of the later Filipino fishing communities that carried on their legacy in Louisiana.
Library of Congress
The stilted houses of Saint Malo, depicted in Lafcadio Hearn’s 1883 Harper’s Weekly account of the Manilamen.
The Life of the Manilamen
The Manilamen settled in marshlands where Spanish authorities could not easily reach them. Many had deserted to escape the brutal conditions aboard Spanish ships.
They built small stilted houses over the water, similar to nipa huts in the Philippines.
Fishing and trapping sustained the community. Life in the marshes was harsh, and the palmetto-and-cane homes often had to be repaired or rebuilt.
During Hearn’s visit, there were no women living in the village. The isolation and harsh living conditions made permanent family life difficult. Many of the men formed relationships with Isleño, Cajun, and Indigenous women who lived elsewhere in the region.
The Early End
Saint Malo was destroyed in the New Orleans hurricane of 1915.
What remained of the community gradually assimilated into the greater New Orleans area. But the legacy remained.
Their descendants remain part of Louisiana’s multiracial communities today, and in 2019 a historical marker was installed at the Los Isleños Museum Complex recognizing the settlement.
The Madriaga family, descendants of the Manilamen who helped establish the first Filipino communities in Louisiana.
LSU Special Collections
More Manilamen at Manila Village, where later Filipino fishing communities in Louisiana carried on the legacy of Saint Malo.
Hi Phil, you have again lured me into doing a deeper dive by providing a inviting design layout, and an easy read, with just enough detail to inform a casual reader, and draw in the more curious among us to do a deeper dive. As you know, I’m of the group who should keep a snorkle on hand, if not an oxygin tank. Thanks for introducing me to this history!
Hi Robert! I consider it a great achievement if I can bring a story or two that can stir your insatiable curiosity. Cheers!