Episode Ep 2 May 19, 2021 18 min 24s

S1E2: The Manilamen Mercs of Shanghai (Remastered Ver.)

During the Taiping Rebellion in the 1860s, Filipino mercenaries form an elite corps of troops to protect the ancient port city of Shanghai. Their leader? The fearless Vicente Macanaya, whom his own men call "bulletproof."

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The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠⁠Purchase here⁠⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠⁠also available in Amazon⁠⁠. Copies are currently available in Kinokuniya Singapore and Book Bar Singapore.)

References:

Mojares, Resil B. (2013). Isabelo’s Archive. Anvil Publishing.

Aguilar, Filomeno V. (2011). “Filibustero, Rizal, and the Manilamen of the Nineteenth Century.” Philippine Studies, 59(4).

Gouzoules, Alex (2008). “The Use of Foreign Soldiers During the Taiping Rebellion.” In Emory Endeavors of World History, No. 2.

Xu, L. Colin and Yang, Li (22 October 2018). “Stationary Bandits, State Capacity, and the Malthusian Transition: The Lasting Impact of the Taiping Rebellion.” The World Bank. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/970791540230641485/stationary-bandits-state-capacity-and-the-malthusian-transition-the-lasting-impact-of-the-taiping-rebellion

Smalarz, Matthew (2019). "Hong Xiuquan and the Subversion of Christianity." The Histories 2(2).