The Chinese Diaspora in South-East Asia

As Qing Dynasty China disintegrated, economic hardship and civil disorder led to millions of Chinese men and women seeking their fortunes abroad, many journeying south into French Indochina. These emigres settled into tight-knit communities called huiguan: organisations which closely mirrored the religious, social and economic constitution of their own places of origin. Here, Tracy Barrett sheds light on the overseas Chinese communities in French Indochina and the interactions between them and French colonial authorities. She also addresses the nature, scope and effectiveness of the congregation system - an institution designed by the French to control Indochina's overseas Chinese but eventually extended across the greater French empire as a means of monitoring 'foreign Asiatics'. Including a close analysis of French colonial law and of the economic and social networks between Chinese settler communities across Indonesia, "The Chinese Diaspora in South East Asia" provides an important insight into the characteristics of Chinese migration.