Ammuen Pay Daytoy, Sakada

[Photo credit to the owner]

Ammuen Pay Daytoy, SAKADA:
THE FILIPINO SUGARCANE PLANTERS IN HAWAII

History

Filipino immigrants, c. 1906

During the colonial era, the Spanish East Indies, which included the Philippine Islands, were administered as part of New Spain. It is likely, but not documented, that people from the Philippines visited the Hawaiian Islands en route to/from Mexico.

19th century

A few Filipinos, known as "Manila men" settled in the Kingdom of Hawaii during the 19th century. They mainly worked as cooks and musicians in the Royal Hawaiian Band. No deliberate migration existed during this period.

Manila Men

The Manila Men were some of the first Filipino overseas workers. They were the first Filipinos to be documented having come to North America.

Early to Mid 20th century

See also: Sakadas

The importation of Filipinos workers called “Sakadas,” which roughly translates to “Filipino migrant workers” and also referred to the actual importation of these workers, began in 1906 and continued until 1946. 

During that time an estimated 125,000 Filipinos were recruited from the Ilocos and Visayas regions of the Philippines to work in Hawaii.  Initially, Filipino men were recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association (HSPA) from the Philippines to Hawaii to work in the sugarcane fields. Later sakadas were recruited for work in both sugarcane and pineapple fields. Filipino migrant workers were recruited to replace Japanese workers that had been going on strike because of low pay, long work hours and substandard living conditions. These ethnic groups were segregated so that Filipinos would not be influenced by the striking Japanese workers and so the Filipinos could be used as leverage against the striking Japanese. Filipino workers that lacked education and had previous experience in agricultural work were preferred by recruiters because they were perceived to be easier exploit and control. 

Sakadas were 3 year contract workers and did not have the intention to stay in Hawaii. Most wanted to make their riches and go back home with enough money to buy land. This was common practice up until the 1940s. The contracts gave them passage to Hawaii and then back to the Philippines after their contract was over. In the 1940s the perception of working in Hawaii became glorya (glory) and so more Filipinos sought to stay in Hawaii. 

Workers were housed in plantation barracks that they paid rent for, worked long 10-hour days, 6 days a week and were paid 90 cents a day. They were the lowest paid workers of all the ethnicities working on the plantations. Most sakadas were single males; however, over time sakadas would send for relatives or bring families with them.  

The last sakadas in 1946 were notable and different compared to all the sakadas prior and are referred to as the Sakada ‘46. Several factors making the Sakada ‘46 different was that it included more women, children and relatives of previous sakadas. It was also different in that some had an American colonial education, and professionals were included.

Filipino-American World War II veterans during Araw ng Kagitingan memorial ceremony, 2009

Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association

See also: Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association

Many Filipino farm laborers were recruited to go to Hawaii in 1906 by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association (HSPA) to work on the sugar plantations in Hawaii. Albert F. Judd, an HSPA recruiter tried to get three hundred Filipinos to work in Hawaii. Those Filipinos were sent to the Olaa Plantation on the Big Island of Hawaii. The sugar industry was a booming at the time so the newly annexed countries of Hawai’i and the Philippines were used in concert to support the industry for the United States.

By the 1920s there was an average of 7,600 Filipinos arriving in Hawaii annually. Most Filipinos considered themselves temporary residents in Hawaii until around the 1940s. The HSPA preferred Filipinos to work on sugar plantations because they were known to be hard working and were given the lowest wage of all ethnicities working in the plantation.

Impact on Hawaii's working class

Some Native Hawaiians worked alongside Filipinos in the sugar plantations. Since the sugar industry in Hawaii was the main source of income for the working class, there was high demand for these jobs. American sugar plantation owners weren’t able to get Native Hawaiians to work for them so they relied heavily on the importation of other ethnicities.

After 1965

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 allowed more Filipinos to bring family to Hawaii and this allowed more Filipino arrivals, particularly Filipino women, to enter the state. The increase in arrivals also caused some backlash and in the 1970s Filipinos felt discriminated against. They also tended to do more poorly at schools than average in that decade. The reasons why Filipino students underperformed in school in the 1970s is unknown, but discrimination may have contributed. In 1970, of the 93,915 Filipinos living in Hawaii, only 34.4% were high school graduates.

[source: Wikipedia]