Re-envisioning Caribbean Costa Rica

What is it about?

This article examines Chinese-West Indian interaction in Limón, Costa Rica during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While West Indians migrated to Limón en masse during this period, a much smaller, yet visible, Chinese migrant community developed there as well. Both groups formed transnational subcommunities in response to discrimination and the desire to maintain culture and ties to the homeland. Nevertheless, they lived in proximity to each other and crossed paths frequently. While my analysis indeed reveals isolation and conflict, it also suggests regular peaceful interaction and collaboration. In particular, class differences and the marginalization these groups experienced combined to produce this complex relationship. When they did interact, tension and conflict often emerged due to both sides hoping to move up the social ladder and because of the economic power that many Chinese held as shopkeepers and lenders. Nevertheless, as groups experiencing social marginalization, West Indians and the Chinese could find positive social and economic interaction mutually advantageous. Thus, shared social spaces, interracial friendships and unions, and inter-group employment and business dealings were well within the norm as well.

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