During the 19th century, many things happened in the Philippines.

These events brought the Philippines

on where it is today. During the 19th century, the Philippines’ economic condition gave rise to Haciendas
or the “cash-crop economy”. Where large parts of lands would be used for crops considered as  cash-
crop. Some cash-crops are: Sugar, Tobacco, Abaka, and Coffee. Being open to world trade and having
these products abundant in the Philippines, the Philippines became a major exporter for these products
and became well-known in other parts of the world. By these events, there was a shift from barter
system to moneyed economy. The 19th Century gave birth to the middle class, the lands became the
primary source of wealth because of the cash-crops, and being able to afford constructions; it gave rise
to technological interconnections among the separated islands of the Philippines. The Philippines’
regional diversity became interconnected by railroads, steam ships, and advance in communication.
Literacy was also considered a weapon by the Filipinos – a weapon for decolonization.