Chinese Nicaraguans

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Chinese Nicaraguans
Total population
14,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Bluefields, Puerto Cabezas, Managua
Languages
Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, others
Religion
Buddhism and Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Chinese Cubans, Overseas Chinese

Chinese Nicaraguans (simplified Chinese: 尼加拉瓜华人; traditional Chinese: 尼加拉瓜華人; pinyin: Níjiālāguā huá rén; Spanish: Sino-nicaragüenses) are Nicaraguans of Chinese ancestry who immigrated to or born in Nicaragua. They are part of the Chinese diaspora.

Chinese people first arrived in Nicaragua's Caribbean coast in the latter part of the 19th century and most of them settled in cities such as

Laguna de Perlas and Puerto Cabezas.[2] The Chinese immigrants dominated the commerce of the main coastal towns on the Caribbean coast prior to 1879. Then in the late 19th century, they began migrating to the Pacific lowlands of the country.[3]

History

The

R.A.A.N. department was formed not only by the Miskitos, but by communities of Jamaicans, Germans and also Chinese in 1925.[5] Also, the community of Chinese immigrants in Bluefields was thought to be the largest in Central America.[6] The first Chinese consul came to Nicaragua in 1930.[7]

Many Chinese in Nicaragua committed themselves to the commerce industry and opened businesses.[5] They also dedicated themselves to the candy, soap, and clothing industries. They dominated the commerce of the main coastal towns on the Caribbean coast prior to 1979.

Immigration

A California Gold Rush handbill listing Nicaragua as a shortcut

Although information about when the Chinese first arrived in Nicaragua is scarce, Fernando Centeno Chiong, a Nicaraguan historian, journalist and university professor of Chinese descent, published an article in

California Gold Rush, in which people from all over the world traveled to California to mine for gold, tens of thousands of whom travelled by steamboats operated by the Accessory Transit Company, whose director was Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt.[9] The steamboats' course went up the San Juan River, a site that had been proposed for the Nicaragua Canal
, Chiong wrote:

"...It is possible that between the thousands of passengers who made that passage there were Chinese citizens who remained in Nicaragua, attracted by the natural beauty and the hospitality of a country that continues maintaining those same characteristics to the immigrants of different nationalities that have already made Nicaragua their second mother country."

— Fernando Centeno Chiong[8]

During that time, there were restrictions that prohibited the entrance of Asian citizens in the country,[5] in spite of which, many of them defied the prohibition and settled in what is thought to have been the first Chinese presence in the Americas, perhaps before the arrival of these citizens to Peru or Panama.[8]

Shortly after

Sandinista revolution, many fled to nearby Honduras, Costa Rica, and the United States.[10]

Migration to the Pacific Coast

The Chinese had begun heading to the Pacific side of

Leon, and Masaya at the end of the 19th century. The majority of them were men, many of whom converted to Christianity, and married Nicaraguan women,[5] introducing the country to last names such as: Lau, Sujo, Chang, Cheng, Siu, Law, Quant, Chow, Chiong, Kuan, Wong, Samqui, Saint and Loyman, all of which represent the descendants of the first immigrants.[8] It is approximated that the Taiwanese are descendants of 15 families.[11] Also, there are an estimated 7,000 people who speak Chinese.[12]

Clubs and associations

Chinese Club and the Chinese Nicaraguan Association

The first club founded for Chinese Nicaraguans, Club Chino (Chinese Club), was conformed in the

economic power that the Chinese represented in the nation.[13]

Chinese Nicaraguan Association after the Sandinista revolution

During the

Republic of China's Double Tenth Day (双十节).[13]

Other active clubs/associations include the Club de Jóvenes Chinos de Nicaragua (Club of Chinese Teens of Nicaragua).

Notable persons

  • Sandinista revolution

See also

Further reading

  • Pineda, Baron (October 2001). "The Chinese Creoles of Nicaragua: Identity, Economy, and Revolution in a Caribbean Port City". Journal of Asian American Studies. 4 (3): 209–233.
    S2CID 144355584
    .

References

  1. ^ "Nicaragua: People groups". Joshua Project. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  2. ^ Bolívar Juárez, Orient. "Bluefields, rostro de Nicaragua frente al Caribe". La Prensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  3. ^ Vásquez, Trinidad. "Fundación Cultural-Nicaragua-China promueven en rasgos de la mileria Cultura China". El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-03-15. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  4. ^ www.bvsde.org.ni Archived May 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Los Chinos, ¶-2
  5. ^ a b c d Pardillo Gómez, Mayra (2005-04-10). "Los primeros chinos en Nicaragua". ARGENPRESS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2007-03-26. [dead link]
  6. ISBN 1-903471-14-1
    .
  7. ^ Vargas, Gerardo. "La Asociación China Nicaragüense celebra Año del Cerdo de Fuego". Bolsa de Noicias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  8. ^ a b c d Centeno Chiong, Fernando. "Sobre la presencia de los chinos en Nicaragua". La Prensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  9. ISBN 0-521-84096-1
    .
  10. ^ "Nicaragua: International Religious Freedom Report; Section I. Religious Demography". U.S. State Department. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  11. ^ "Embajada de la República de China (Taiwán) en Nicaragua". Archived from the original on 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  12. ^ "Languages of Nicaragua". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  13. ^ a b Wong Valle, Michell. "Comunidad China celebra día nacional". La Prensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-08-17.

External links

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