Asian Americans have a long, rich history in the United States. But it’s a story you probably don’t learn too much about in school. The Web site “Ancestors in the Americas” (pbs.org/ancestorsintheamericas/index.html) offers some insight into the heritage of Asians in the Western Hemisphere and fills in gaps that likely weren’t covered in your social studies class.
The site’s centerpiece is a detailed timeline of key events in Asian and American history. The timeline begins by making the connection between Europe’s desire to trade goods with Asian countries and the exploration of the “New World.” It’s a convincing argument–after all, Christopher Columbus landed in the Western Hemisphere because he was looking for a new trade route to India.
Readers may be surprised by what they will learn on the timeline. For example, there is documentation of Chinese barbers in Mexico City as early as 1625. Filipinos established a presence in Louisiana’s bayou country as early as 1763.
After the British ended the African slave trade in 1833, Indian and Chinese laborers were used to work plantations in the Caribbean and South America. The timeline also explores the Japanese-American internment camps the U.S. government used in the 1940s.
The site also allows a few Asian Americans to tell their story in their own words. One of the profiles includes Fabiana Chiu, a Peruvian of Chinese heritage who immigrated to the United States.