The eighteenth-century expulsion edicts had given the…

The eighteenth-century expulsion edicts had given the Chinese mestizos in the Philippines the opportunity to enter retailing and the skilled craft occupations formerly dominated by the Chinese.

The removal of legal restrictions on Chinese economic activity and the competition of new Chinese immigrants, however, had drive a large number of mestizos out of the commercial sector in mid-nineteenth century.

As a result, many Chinese mestizos had invested in land, particularly in Central Luzon.

The estates of the religious orders are concentrated in this region, and mestizos have become inquilinos (lessees) of these lands, subletting them to cultivators; a portion of the rent is given by the inquilinos to the friary estate.

Like the Chinese, the mestizos are moneylenders and acquire land when debtors default.