Inmigración y violencia racial: el caso de los inmigrantes chinos en las Américas (1871-1919)

This article examines racial and xenophobic violence against Chinese immigrants in the Americas between 1871 and 1919, focusing on the cases of California, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru. Its aim is to identify the common features of these episodes of aggression— manifested in their most extreme form as massacres—in order to address the central question: how was violence against the Chinese articulated in different national contexts, and what does it reveal about the region’s social and political dynamics? The analysis adopts a historical-comparative approach, drawing on journalistic and diplomatic sources and, in the Peruvian case, on reports produced by Chinese communities themselves to record damages and losses. Theoretically, the study engages with debates on racism, migration, and violence in modern American history, challenging the notion that racial violence in Latin America was limited to state action. The article’s original contribution lies in demonstrating that, unlike other instances of ethnic or racial violence in the region, attacks against Chinese immigrants were carried out not only by state actors but also by ordinary citizens, where governments adopted an attitude of indifference. This reveals new dimensions in the history of racism in the Americas.