Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University

Masinloc Campus
Masinloc, Zambales

College/Department College of Business Administration

Course Code GEM
Course Title The Life and Works of Jose Rizal
Place Of The Course In The General Education
Program
Semester & Academic Year FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2020-2021

MODULE NO. 2
THE PHILIPPINES IN THE 19TH CENTURY AS RIZAL CONTEXT

INTRODUCTION

The module 2 entitled “The Philippines in the 19th Century as Rizal’s Context”
will help the students to understand Rizal’s life within the larger context of the
nineteenth century. It focused on the economic, social and political development in the
century that shaped the world in which Rizal lived.

The Philippines, being part of the wider Spanish empire, underwent changes when the
Spanish Crown also had a dynastic shift in the eighteenth century. With this came the
Bourbon Reforms that brought new policies of economic reorientation for the colonies.
With the development of the cash crop economy and the opening of Manila and other
cities to world trade, the economy boomed in the nineteenth century.

This development in the economy also had a profound impact on the social and political
landscapes. The new economy resulted in changes in policies about education. And the
nineteenth century saw the ascendance of the Chinese Mestizos that would assert their
relevance in society.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (CILO )

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• Analyze the various social, political, economic, and cultural changes that
occurred in the 19th century;
• Compare the various social, political, economic, and cultural changes that
occurred in the 19th century and the present time; and

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 • Understand Jose Rizal in the context of his time.
DISCUSSION

I. Economic Development

A. End of Galleon Trade

The Galleon trade (Kalakalang Galyon) is also known in New Spain as “La
Nao de la China” (The China Ship) because it carried largely Chinese goods,
shipped from Manila.

When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, our ancestor were always
trading with China, Japan, Siam, India, Cambodia, Borneo and the Mollucas.
The Spanish Government continued trade relations with these countries, and
Manila became the center of commerce in the East. The Spaniards closed the
ports of manila to all countries except Mexico. Thus, the Manila-Acapulco
Trade, better known as the “Galleon Trade” was born. The Galleon Trade was
a government monopoly. Only two galleons were used: One sailed from
Acapulco to Manila with some 500,000 pesos worth of goods, spending 120
days at sea; other sailed from manila to Acapulco with some 250,000 pesos
worth of goods spending 90 days at sea.

The Spanish trading ships which for two and a half centuries linked the
Philippines with Mexico across the Pacific Ocean lasted from 1565 to 1815.

B. Opening of Suez Canal

Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 relatively became an easy passage

between Spain and the Philippines for Spanish trading.

The Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red seas is
inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony attended by French Empress Eugenie,
wife of Napoleon III.

In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the former French consul to Cairo, secured

an agreement with the Ottoman governor of Egypt to build a canal 100 miles
across the Isthmus of Suez. An international team of engineers drew up a
construction plan, and in 1856 the Suez Canal for 99 years after completion of
the work.

Construction began in April 1859, and at first digging was done by hand
with picks and shovels wielded by forced laborers. Later, European workers
with dredgers and steam shovels arrived. Labor disputes and a cholera
epidemic slowed construction, and the Suez Canal was not completed until
1869-four years behind schedule. On November 17, 1869, the Suez Canal was
opened to a canal across the Isthmus of Panama.

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 When it opened, the Suez Canal was only 25 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the
bottom, and 200 to 300 feet wide at the surface. Consequently, fewer than
500 ships navigated it in its first full year of operation. Major improvements
began in 1876, however, and the canal soon grew into the one of the world’s
most heavily traveled shipping lanes.

C. Opening of Ports to World Trade

The growing numbers of foreign merchants in Manila spurred the

integration of the Philippines into an international commercial system linking
industrialized Europe and North America with sources of raw materials and
markets in the Americas and Asia. In principle, non-Spanish Europeans were
not allowed to reside in Manila or elsewhere in the islands, but in fact British,
American, French, and other foreign merchants circumvented this
prohibition by flying the flags of Asian states or conniving with local officials.
In 1834 the crown abolished the Royal Company of the Philippines and
formally recognized free trade, opening the port of Manila to unrestricted
foreign commerce.

By 1856 there were thirteen foreign trading firms in Manila, of which

seven were British and two Americans; between 1855 and 1873 the Spanish
opened new ports to foreign trade, including Panay, Zamboanga in the
western portion of Mindanao, Cebu on Cebu, and Legaspi in the Bicol area of
southern Luzon.
The growing prominence of steam over sail navigation and the opening of the
Suez Canal in 1869 contributed to spectacular increases in the volume of
trade.

D. The Rise of the Export Crop Economy

In 1851 exports and imports totaled some US$8.2 million; ten years later,
they had risen to US$18.9 million and by 1870 were US$53.3 million. Exports
alone grew by US$20 million between 1861 and 1870. British and United
States merchants dominated Philippine commerce, the former in an
especially favored position because of their bases in Singapore, Hong Kong,
and the island Borneo.

By the late nineteenth century, three crops-tobacco, abaca, and

sugardominated Philippine exports. The government monopoly on tobacco
had been abolished in 1880, but Philippine cigars maintained their high
reputation, popular throughout Victorian parlors in Britain, the European
continent, and North America. Because of the growth of the worldwide
shipping, Philippine abaca, which was considered the best material for ropes
and cordage, grew in importance and after 1850 alternated with sugar as the
islands’ most important export. Americans dominated the abaca trade; raw
material was made into rope, first at plants in New England and then in the
Philippines. Principal regions for the growing of abaca were the Bicol areas of
southeastern Luzon and the eastern portions of the Visayan Islands.

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 Sugarcane had been produced and refined using crude methods at least as
early as the beginning of the eighteenth century. The opening of the port of
Iloilo in Panay in 1855 and the encouragement of the British vice consul in
that town, Nicholas Loney (described by a modern writer as “a one-man
whirlwind of entrepreneurial and technical innovation”), led to the
development of the previously unsettled island of Negros as the center of the
Philippine sugar industry, exporting its product to Britain and Australia.
Loney arranged liberal credit terms for the local landlords to invest in the
new crop, encouraged the migration of labor from the neighboring and
overpopulated island of Panay, and introduced stream-driven sugar
refineries that replaced the traditional method of producing low-grade sugar
in loaves. The population of Negros tripled. Local “sugar-barons”--- the
owners of the sugar plantations—became a potent political and economic
force by the end of the nineteenth century.

E. The Rise of the Monopolies

On March 1, 1782, Spanish governor general Jose V. Basco established the

tobacco monopoly as his economic program. Thus, the tobacco production in
the Philippines was under his total control. The provinces of Cagayan Valley,
Ilocos Provinces, Nueva Ecija, and Marinduque were ordered to plant
tobacco.

Only the government was allowed to buy the tobaccos. These tobaccos
were then bought to Manila to be made into cigar or cigarettes.

Why did Basco created the Tobacco Monopoly?

Expenses incurred in running the colony were usually paid for by a yearly
subsidy called real situado sent from the Philippines’ sister colony, Mexico.
This was, however, insufficient. The Royal fiscal, Francisco Leandro de
Vianna, was prompted to devise a plan to be able to a raise revenue on its
own.

Thus, the birth of the Tobacco Monopoly.

However, both King Carlos III of Spain and the colonial officials did not
prioritize it. When Basco became governor-general, he had plans to develop
and to promote agriculture in the Philippines. And when he learned of de
Vianna’s proposal, he liked it.

Basco explained to the Spanish king that the tobacco monopoly would be
able to help the Philippines be financially sufficient.

The King of Spain issued a royal decree on 9 February 1780 setting in

motion Basco’s plan.

Advantages of the Tobacco Monopoly

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 For the first time ever, the Philippines ceased to be an economic drag to
the royal treasury. The government still had 1 320 656 pesos even after the
overdue accounts had been paid. The Philippines became known globally as
the largest Tobacco-producing country in Asia. Filipinos were offered jobs in
cigar and cigarette factories. Thus, more Filipinos became employed.

It triggered where tobacco was best produced became markets for other
products such as rice.

Disadvantages of the Tobacco Monopoly

Tobacco growers were paid through promissory notes and at very low
rates. Abusive inspectors, in search for hidden tobacco leaves, sometimes
entered the house of farmers and took anything of value.

To recover their losses, farmers entered into smuggling and contraband

selling of tobaccos.

Since cigarettes and cigars became known nationally, more people

smoked, endangering not only their health but the health of other people as
well.

The abuses and corrupt practices committed by the officials led to the
abolition of the Tobacco Monopoly in 1882 by Governor-General Primo de
Rivera.

II. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

A. The Education System

A key factor in the emergence of nationalism in the late nineteenth
century was the cultural development consequent on the rapid spread of
education from about 1861.
One of the major influences on the educational development of the
nineteenth century was the return of the Jesuits. Expelled from the
Philippines and the rest of the Spanish empire in 1768, they finally returned in
1859 to take charge of the evangelization of Mindanao. Having escaped,
because of their expulsion, from the general decline that in the early part of
the nineteenth century affected the Philippine church and the system of
education that depended on it, they returned with ideas and methods new to
the Philippine educational system. Asked by the Ayuntamiento to take over
the municipal primary school in 1859 that became Escuela Municipal, later
renamed Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, now Ateneo de Manila
University and opened it to the Filipino students as well as the Spaniards for
whom it had been founded. by 1865, Ateneo Municipal. had been
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transformed into a secondary school that offered a level of instruction
beyond the official requirements and more approximated today's college
than high school. Aside from Latin and Spanish, Greek, French, and English
were studied. Rizal studied at Ateneo Municipal when this school was
located at Intramuros, Manila.
At the same time, such a role was given to the natural sciences that Rizal
has the Filosopo Tasio (Rizal's father, Francisco) say, "The Philippines owes
(the Jesuits) the beginnings of the Natural Science, soul of the nineteenth
century." Under the direction of the Jesuits too was the other new
educational institution, the Escuela Normal Superior de Maestros (Superior
Normal School) for female teachers. It was opened in 1865 to provide
Spanish-speaking teachers for the projected new primary school system.
The Escuela- Normal represented a hope of progress in the mind of the
many Filipinos that just as it would be opposed by those for whom modern
education for Filipinos pose a danger to the continuance of Spanish rule.

Other Schools Opened in the 19th Century

On April 28, 1811, the Universidad de Santo Tomas was founded in
Manila initially as the Colegio de Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario and
later renamed as Colegio de Santo Tomas. UST was first located in
Intramuros, Manila where Rizal took his course in Medicine.
On November 20, 1645, Pope Innocent X elevated it to University. King
Charles III of Spain bestowed the title "Royal Patronage" on 1785, and
Pope Leo XIII "Pontifical" on 1902. Pope Pius XII designated it as La Real y
Pontificia Universidad de Santo Tomas de Aquino Universidad Catolica de
Filipinas (The Catholic University of the Philippines), on.1947.
San Carlos and Santo Tomas maintain a friendly rivalry over the claim to
be the oldest university in Asia. The University of San Carlos makes the claim
of tracing its roots to the Colegio de San Ildefonso founded by the Spanish
Jesuits fathers Antonio Sedeno, Pedro Chirino and Antonio Pereira in 1595.
However, this claim is opposed by the Pontifical and Royal University of
Santo Tomas, which argues that USC only took over the facility of the former
Colegio de San Ildefonso and that there is no 'visible' and 'clear' link between
San Carlos and San Ildefonso.
Notable scholars including Dr. Jose Victor Torres, professor of history at
the De La Salle, Fr. Aloysius Cartagenas STD, professor at the Seminario
Mayor de San Carlos of Cebu, and Fr. Fidel Villarroel, OP, respected historian
and former archivist of Santo Tomas, have also questioned San Carlos' claim
of tracing its roots to the 16th Century Colegio de San Ildefonso.
In 1640, the Universidad de San Felipe de Austria was established in
Manila. It was the first public university created by the Spanish government
in the Philippines. It closed down in 1643.
The Jesuits also founded the Colegio de San Jose (1601) and took over the
management of a school that became the Escuela Municipal (1859, later
renamed Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, now the Ateneo de Manila
University). The Dominicans on their part had the Colegio de San Juan de
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Letran (1620) in Manila. All of them provided courses leading to different
prestigious degrees, like the Bachiller en Artes, that by the 19th century
included science subjects such as physics, chemistry, natural history and
mathematics. The University of Santo Tomas, for example, started by teaching
theology, philosophy and humanities. During the 18th century, the Faculty of
Jurisprudence and Canonical Law was established.
In 1871, several schools of medicine and pharmacy were opened: From
1871 to 1883 Santo Tomas alone had 829 registrations of medical students,
and from 1883 until 1898, 7965 medical students. By the end of the Spanish
colonial rule in 1898. the university had granted the degree of Licenciado en
Medicina to 359 graduates and 108 medical doctors. For the doctorate degree
in medicine its provision was inspired in the same set of oppositions than
those of universities in the metropolis, and at least an additional year of study
was required at the Universidad Central de Madrid in Spain.

Secondary Schools
A Nautical School was created on January 1, 1820 which offered a four-
year course of study (for the profession of pilot of merchant marine) that
included subjects such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry,
physics, hydrography, meteorology, navigation and pilotage. A School of
Commercial Accounting and a School of French and English Languages were
established in 1839.
The Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades (DHVCAT) in
Bacolor, Pampanga is said to be the oldest official vocational school in Asia.
Augustinian Friar Juan Zita and civic leader Don Felino Gil established the
vocational school on November 4, 1861. Other important vocational schools
established were the Escuela de Contaduria, Academia de Pintura y Dibujo
and the seminaries of Manila, Nueva Segovia, Cebu, Jaro and Nueva Caceres.
The Manila School of Agriculture was created in 1887, although it was
unable to open its doors until July 1889. Its mission was to provide
theoretical and practical education by agricultural engineers to skilled
farmers and overseers, and to promote agricultural development by means of
observation, experiment and investigation. It included subjects such as
mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural history, agriculture, topography,
linear and topography drawing. Agricultural schools and monitoring stations,
run by professors who were agricultural engineers, were also established in
Isabela, Ilocos, Albay, Cebu, Iloilo, Leyte and parts of Mindanao.
The Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos del Pais de Filipinas (Royal
Economic Society of Friends of the Philippines) was first introduced in the
islands in 1780, and offered local and foreign scholarships to Filipinos,
professorships and financed trips of scientists from Spain to the Philippines.
Throughout the nineteenth century the Society established an academy of
design, financed the publication of scientific and technical literature, and
granted awards to successful experiments and inventions that improved
agriculture and industry
The Observatorio Meteorologico del Ateneo Municipal de Manila (Manila
Observatory) was founded in 1865 by the Jesuits after an article they
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 published in the newspaper Diario de Manila, describing typhoon
observations made in September 1865, attracted the attention of many
readers who publicly requested for the observations to be continued. The
Spanish government made the observatory the official institution for weather
forecasting in the Philippines in 1884, and in 1885 it started its time service.
Its seismology section was set up in 1887, while astronomical studies began
in 1899. The Observatory published typhoon and climatological observations
and studies, including the first typhoon warnings, a service that was highly
appreciated by the business community, especially those involved in
merchant shipping.

The Public School System in the 19th Century

Free access to modern public education by all Filipinos was made possible
through the enactment of the Education Decree of December 20, 1863 by
Queen Isabella II. Primary instruction was made free and the teaching of
Spanish was compulsory. This was ten years before Japan had a compulsory
form of free modern public education and forty years before the American
government started an English-based public school system in the Philippines.
The royal decree provided for a complete educational system which would
consist of primary, secondary and tertiary levels, finally making officially
available to Filipinos valuable training for leadership after three centuries of
colonization.
The Education Decree of 1863 provided for the establishment of at least
two free primary schools, one for boys and another for girls, in each town
under the responsibility of the municipal government. It also commended the
creation of a free public normal school to train men as teachers, supervised
by the Jesuits. One of these schools was the Escuela Normal Elemental, which,
in 1896 became the Escuela Normal Superior de Maestros de Manila (Manila
Ordinary School for Schoolmistresses). The Spanish government established
a school for midwives in 1879, and Escuela Normal Superior de Maestras
(Superior Normal School) for female teachers in 1892. By the 1890s, free
public secondary schools were opening outside of Manila, including 10
normal schools for women. The Philippines was ahead of some European
countries in offering education for women.
In 1866, the total population of the Philippines was only 4,411,261. The
total public school was 841 for boys and'833 for girls. In 1892, the number of
schools increased to 2,137, 1,087 of which was for boys and 1050 for girls.

B. The Chinese and Chinese Mestizos in the Philippines

The sectors that greatly benefited from the changing economy were the
Chinese and the Chinese mestizos. Since pre-colonial times, the natives of the
Philippines had had trade relations with the Chinese. During the height of
the Galleon Trade, it was also Chinese products that comprised most the
goods being traded. The influx of Chinese settlements in the Philippines
made the Spaniards suspicious of the Chinese. These feelings led to stringent
state policies towards the sangley ranging from higher taxes, the restriction
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of movement with the establishment of the Chinese enclave (the Parian), to
actual policies of expulsion.
The Chinese, however, proved to be "necessary outsiders" in Philippine
colonial economy and society. Although the Spaniards were wary of the
Chinese, they realized the importance that the latter played in sustaining the
economy. From the goods loaded on the galleons to the development of
retail trade, the Chinese enlivened the economy. Eventually and gradually,
they became integrated into colonial society, giving rise to Intermarriages
with indios that gave birth to Chinese mestizos. The Chinese mestizos
assumed an important role in the economy all throughout the Spanish
colonial period.
They influenced the changing economy in the nineteenth century by
purchasing land, accumulating wealth and influence.

Impact on Life in the Colony

The economic developments, as mentioned, precipitated social, political,
and cultural developments as well. For example, the new economy
demanded a more literate population to address the rising need for a more
professionalized workforce to man the trading activities in Manila and other
centers. This demand compelled the issuance of the colonial government
order in 1836 that required all towns to set up primary schools to teach the
population how to read and write. It eventually led to the passage of an
education decree in 1863 that mandated free primary education. Eventually,
the nineteenth century also gave birth to many schools that addressed the
growing demand for more professionals. Schools like Ateneo Municipal were
established during this time. The complex nature of the developing economy
also allowed the government to intensify bureaucratization and to
streamline colonial governance.
As Manila became a trading center, it became a viable destination for
people seeking better opportunities or those wanting to escape the
worsening conditions in the farmlands. The increased rate of internal
migration raised several concerns. One, people flocked the centers of trade
like Manila. Overcrowding implied issues in living quarters, sanitation and
public health, and increase in criminality. Two, the continuous movement of
people made tax collection extra difficult. In order to mitigate these concerns,
one measure implemented was the 1849 decree of GovernorGeneral Narciso
Claveria that urged the people in the colony to adopt surnames. With the
catalogo de apellidos drawn up, the colonial government assigned surnames
to people and forbade changing names at will. Together with more policies
like the registration and possession of a cedula personal bearing one's name
and residence, the colonial government sought to have a better surveillance
mechanism. To help carry out policies better, the guardia civil was eventually
established. As the new economy afforded the colonial state new
oppurtunities, it also prompted the state to be more regulatory and to assert
its authority.

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 Renegotiating Social Stratification
The Philippine society felt the impact of the developing economy. As a
result, social relations underwent redefinitions and the changing dynamics
brought about a renegotiation of social stratification. With the growing
relevance of the mestizo population, new lines were drawn with the following
social strata:

Pure-blooded Spaniard born in the Iberian

Peninsular
Peninsula (i.e., Spain)
Insular Pure-blooded Spaniard born in the Philippines
Born of mixed parentage, a mestizo can be:
Spanish mestizo — one parent is Spanish, the
Mestizo other is a native; or
Chinese mestizo — one parent is Chinese, the
other is a native
Wealthy pure-blooded native supposedly
Principalia descended from the kadatoan class

Indio Pure-blooded native of the Philippines

Chino infiel Non-Catholic pure blooded Chinese

As the Spaniards lost economic power in the nineteenth century, they

asserted dominance by virtue of their race. This issue brought
complications with the rising principalia and mestizo populations who
realized their indispensable position in society as movers and facilitators of
the economy. The renegotiation continued throughout the century as the
mestizos and principalia elite eventually demanded social recognition that
the pureblooded Spaniards had consistently denied them.
These wealthy mestizos and members of the principalia continued to
amass economic and cultural capital. They also availed themselves of the
opportunity to obtain higher degrees of education not only in the
Philippines but also in Europe. These activities augmented their relevance
in society as it was from these ranks that articulations of nationalism would
emerge.

C. The Rise of the Inquilinos (Hacienderos)

The rapidly growing population in the nineteenth century needed
increased amounts of rice. Thus, those who controlled large rice, sugar, and
abaca-growing lands in the Central Luzon, Batangas, parts of Bikol region,
Negros, and Panay profited the mst. These included not only the Filipino
hacenderos of Pampanga, Batangas, and Western Visayas, and the friar
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 orders owning the large haciendas of Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite, but also
inquilinos of the friar haciendas. By this time, many of these inquilinos were
equivalently hacenderos in their own right, pass on from one generation to
the next the lands they rented from the flier hacienda and farming them by
means of their share-tenants or kasama. To the latter, they stood in a semi
feudal relationship little different from that which existed during Rizal's time
in the Nineteenth-Century Context between owner hacenderos and their
tenants. The prosperity which the new export economy had brought to some
may be illustrated by the case of Rizal's Chinese ancestor Domingo Lam-co.
When he had come to the Biñ an hacienda in mid eighteenth century, the
average holding of an inquilino was
2.9 hectares; after Rizal's father had moved to the hacienda, the Rizal family
in the 1890's rented the hacienda over 390 hectares. But on the friar
haciendas, rising prosperity had also brought friction between inquilinos
and haciendas as lands grew in value and rents were raised. A combination
of traditional methods and modernizing efficiency led to disputes, ultimately
over who should 'reap the larger part of the fruits of the economic boom.
Eventually, this would lead to a questioning of the friar's rights to the
haciendas. But it is a gross misnomer to speak of the Revolution as an
"agrarian revolt" in the modern sense. For it would not be the “kasama” who
would challenge friar ownership, but the prosperous inquilinos. And their
motive would be as much political as economic — to weaken the friars'
influence in the Philippine political life.

D. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

The Spaniards ruled the Filipinos in the 19 th century. The Filipinos

became the Spaniard's slave. The Spaniards claimed their taxes and Filipinos
worked under the power of the Spaniards.
There was an appointment of officials with inferior qualifications,
without. dedication of duty and moral strength to resist corruption for
material advancement. Through this power and authority, the Spaniards
possessed, they collected and wasted the money of the Filipinos.
There were too complicated functions to the unions of the church and the
state.
Through the power that the Spaniards possessed, they had the right to
appoint the different positions. The appointment of positions is obtained by
the highest bidder which is the Governor-general of the country.
The term of office which is the length of time a person (usually a
politician) serves in a particular office which is dependent on the desire of
the King of Spain.
The Spanish officials traveled to various places and the needs of the
Philippines were ignored. They did not put too much attention to the needs
of the other people. There were inadequate administrative supervisions,
they were unable to face and" solve the problems regarding the Philippines.
There were also overlapping of powers and privileges of officials which
made them competitive.
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 Personal interest is over the welfare of the State.
They were corrupt during the 19th century and the Alcaldias/Alcalde is
considered as the most corrupt over the other corrupts. The
Alcaldias/Alcalde includes the administrators, judges and military
commandants. They usually have P25/mo. liberal allowances and privileges
to take a certain percentage of money from the total amount of taxes. There
were also monopoly trades or business practices known as indulto para
comerciar.

A. Rise and Gradual Spread of Liberalism and Democracy

The principal ideas of liberalism- liberty and equality- were first realized
successfully in the American Revolution and then achieved in part in the
French Revolution. This political and social philosophy challenged
conservatism in the European continent. -Liberalism demanded
representative government as opposed to autocratic monarchy, equality
before the law as opposed to legally separate classes. The idea of liberty also
meant to specific individual freedoms: freedom of the press; freedom of
speech, freedom of assembly; and freedom from arbitrary arrest.
Democracy became a way of life in many European countries, like Britain,
Belgium, and Switzerland. -Democracy was gradually established thru the
following means: promulgation of laws that advance democracy;
undertaking of reforms thru legislation; abolition of slavery; adoption of a
liberal constitution; providing the citizens the opportunity to propose laws;
adoption of manhood suffrage; and granting of political, economic and social
rights to the people.

B. Impact of the Bourbon Reforms

The Bourbon Reforms (Castilian: Reformas Borbonicas) were a set of
economic and political legislation promulgated by the Spanish Crown under
various kings of the House of Bourbon, mainly in the 18th century. The
strengthening of the crown's power with clear lines of authority to officials
contrasted to the complex system of government that evolved under the
Habsburg monarchs. In particular, the crown pursued state supremacy over
the Catholic Church, resulting in the suppression of the Society of Jesus in
1767 as well as an attempt to abolish ecclesiastical privilege (fuero
eclesiastico).
The reforms resulted in significant restructuring of the administrative
structure and personnel. The reforms were intended to stimulate
manufacturing and technology to modernize Spain. In Spanish America, the
reforms were designed to make the administration more efficient and to
promote its economic, commercial and fiscal development. The crown did so,
hoping that it would have a positive effect on the economy of Spain.
Furthermore, the Bourbon Reforms were intended to limit the power of

12
Creoles and re-establish Spanish supremacy over the colonies such as the
Philippines.
The reforms achieved mixed results administratively but succeeded in
alienating the local elites of the Americas (who called themselves Criollos)
and eventually led to the demise of all overseas dominions of the Spanish
crown.

C. Cadiz Constitution of 1812

A Spanish constitution; adopted by the constituent Cortes in Cadiz on
Mar. 18, 1812, and made public on Mar. 19, 1812, during the Spanish
Revolution of 1808-14.
The constitution declared that "sovereignty resides in the nation, which
retains the exclusive right to establish its own fundamental laws" (art. 3).
Spain was proclaimed a hereditary monarchy (art. 14), with legislative
power vested in the Cortes and the monarch (art. 15) and executive power
represented by the monarch (art. 16). The constitution proclaimed
individual freedom and the inviolability of domicile (arts. 286 and 307) but
declared Catholicism the official religion of Spain and prohibited the practice
of any other religion (art. 12). The constitution proclaimed the equality of
Spaniards of the mother country and those of the Spanish colonies (art. 18)
and established a national militia in the provinces (art. 362). On his return to
Spain, King Ferdinand VII revoked the constitution on May 4, 1814. Restored
at the outbreak of the Spanish Revolution of 18201823 (it was proclaimed by
Riego y Nuñ ez on Jan. 1, 1820, and Ferdinand VII swore to uphold it on Mar.
9, 1820), it was again abolished on Oct, 1, 1823, by Ferdinand VII. On Aug. 12,
1836, the constitution went into effect for a third time in response to the
demands of the masses and remained in force until the adoption of a new
constitution on June 18, 1837.

Related Events Concerning the Cadiz Constitution

Ferdinand VII sometimes called "Ferdinand the Desired" or in Spanish
name Fernando el Deseado was born on October 14, 1784 in El Escorial,
Spain but died on September 29, 1833 at the young age of 49. He became the
King of Spain in 1808 and from 1814 to 1833 at the time of his death.
Between 1808 and 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars, Ferdinand was
imprisoned in France by Napoleon.
Ferdinand was the son of Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma, who
placed their whole confidence in Manuel de Godoy. From 1795 Godoy had
flaunted the title of prince of the Peace for his capitulation to France in the
Peace of Basel. Ferdinand's tutor stirred up his jealousy and encouraged him
to seek the protection of Napoleon. Charles IV was sufficiently alarmed to
arrest Ferdinand but forgave him. When Godoy allowed French troops to
enter Spain, Charles was overthrown by the Revolt of Aranjuez (March 17,
1808), and he abdicated in favour of Ferdinand. However, French troops
13
occupied Madrid, and Napoleon summoned Ferdinand to the frontier and
obliged him to return the crown to his father, who granted it to Napoleon.
Napoleon made his brother Joseph Bonaparte king of Spain and held
Ferdinand in France for the duration of the war.
It was left to the Spanish populace to rise against the French invaders in
the name of the absent Ferdinand, known as "the Desired." In 1812
independent Spaniards adopted the Constitution of Cadiz, but in December
1813 Napoleon released Ferdinand expressly to overthrow it. When
Ferdinand returned to Spain in 1814 he was urged by reactionaries to abolish
the Cortes of Cadiz and all its works, which he did almost immediately. He
resumed his obsolete powers and attempted to recover control of Spanish
America, now partly independent. But his ministers could neither reinforce
his armies in America nor persuade the British government to collaborate or
connive at reconquest. In 1820 a liberal revolution restored the Constitution
of 1812, which Ferdinand accepted, but in 1823 Louis XVIII of France sent the
duc d'Angouleme at the head of a large army to release Ferdinand from his
radical ministers. Ferdinand's new government arrested the radicals or drove
them into exile. By 1826 the Spanish possessions in America were all
independent. Ferdinand's government now depended on a militia, the
Royalist Volunteers, and the French forces of occupation.
Ferdinand, had no children from his three marriages, and his absolutist
supporters looked to his even more absolutist younger brother, Don Carlos
(Carlos Maria Isidro de Borbon), to succeed him. In 1830 his fourth wife,
Maria
/Cristina, gave birth to a daughter, the future Isabella II. Isabella's birth
prompted Ferdinand to revoke the Salic Law of Succession, which prevented
women from acceding to the throne. During Ferdinand’s illness, Don Carlos
tried to persuade the queen to recognize his rights, but Ferdinand recovered,
banished Don Carlos, and looked for moderate liberal support for his young
daughter. When Ferdinand died in September 1833, Isabella was recognized
as the sovereign, but his widow was obliged to lean on the liberals as Don
Carlos asserted his claims from Portugal and thus began the First Carlist War.

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 ACTIVITY

Activity 1.

Direction: Define the following terms based on your personal point of view

TERMS PERSONAL POINT OF VIEW

1. Social Development

2. Political
Development

3. Liberalism

4. Democracy

5. Economic
Development

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Activity 2.

Direction: How do you evaluate the economic development during Rizal’s

time? Give your reason.
Please check:

________Excellent:
Reason:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

________Very Satisfactory:
Reason:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

________Satisfactory:
Reason:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

________Poor:
Reason:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

16