Laotian American steampunk writer Bryan Thao Worra has a neat post up on his blog, “On The Other Side Of The Eye” about incorporating historical figures in steampunk stories set in Southeast Asia, noting some special difficulties and enumerating a few interesting candidates. One of the reasons I decided to set my “Wooden War” stories (like “High Society“) in the time period that I did (even if it’s earlier than the typical steampunk story) is because there are a lot of interesting historical characters who take the stage at or about this time. Bryan’s post makes for good research, and if you’d like to suggest a few folks from Philippine history (here or there), you’d be more than welcome!