A popular meme I have seen a couple of times now states that Mexico City had a Chinatown as early as the 1530's, and that the Viceroyalty of New Spain saw a huge influx of samurai who worked as mercenaries and guards.
Is there truth to any of these claims?
While much more can always be said, /u/drylaw and I wrote relevant posts before in: How interconnected was the world of 16th - 17th century Mexico? Was it possible to encounter destitute Japanese samurai and West African maroons as depicted in 1493 by Charles C. Mann?