In the early 1900s, workers from new U.S. colonies in the Philippines and Puerto Rico held unusual legal status. Denied citizenship, they nonetheless had the right to move freely in and out of U.S. jurisdiction. As a result, Filipinos and Puerto Ricans could seek jobs in the United States and its territories despite the anti-immigration policies in place at the time.
JoAnna Poblete's "Islanders in the Empire: Filipino and Puerto Rican Laborers in Hawai'i" takes an in-depth look at how the two groups fared in a third new colony, Hawai'i. Using plantation documents, missionary records,...