ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the regional nature of migration processes. The focus is upon the Cantonese-speaking regional migration system around the Pacific in the last two hundred years, referring specifically to migration networks of Chinese in East Asia, Oceania, and Western North America, through multiple generations and dispersed networks. In the chapter, I address some pertinent questions related to the formation of regions: how did one set of migrant networks have such a long-standing effect in shaping the history of the entire Pacific region? How did they both facilitate the growth of European colonialism in the Pacific, as well as shape the rise of post-colonial nations in the aftermath of empires?
