The Spanish government created schools and colleges run mostly by religious Orders, including the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, the Ateneo Municipal, the Universidad de Santo Tomás in Manila, or the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Cebu, that were opened to all types of students, regardless of race, gender or financial status in case of primary instruction.
Binondo is also considered a historic centre of the mestizo de sangley community; famous residents include St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the Filipino protomartyr, and Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, founder of the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.
After the destructive raids of various ports and towns including the newly Spanish-established Manila by Chinese pirate Limahong, the colonial government saw the Chinese as a threat and decided to curb the Sangley in the colony by racial segregation and immigration control.