CHAPTER 2

The Philippines in the 19TH Century as Rizal’s Context

Intended Learning Outcomes:

At the completion of this coverage, the students shall be able to:
a. Appraise the link between the individual and society
b. Analyze the various social, political, economic, and cultural changes that
occurred in the nineteenth century
c. Understand Jose Rizal in the context of his times

Specific Instructions in the completion of this Chapter:

1. Student must read and understand the Intended Learning Outcomes specified above
and make it as a checklist of acquired knowledge and skills after completing the
entire chapter. This shall be the basis of the teacher in the formulation of the
Summative evaluation given at the end of the chapter.
2. Students must carefully study the given lecture notes and take note of topics that
were not clearly stated or understood by the student. These areas can be referred to
the subject teacher during consultation hours provided for the students to contact
the teacher.
3. Study the discussions and insights given and follow instructions for activities if there
are.
4. After completely reading all the materials, open the video links of the lessons given
along with this learning package and watch the given videos to supplement your
reading. (please check your USB content).
5. Upon completion of all the lessons and topics presented, answer the self-reflection
questions given to you. Check the instruction of to answer and what to do to comply
with required answers.
6. Compile your outputs in your Learning Portfolio to be submitted at specific date by
your teacher.
7. If the student has any queries or clarifications with the topics, the student should
contact the subject teacher in the given consultation hours which can be found in
the preliminaries of this material.
Key Terms:
 Governor General
 Mestizo
 Indio
 Ilustrado

Overview of the Lesson

The 19th century mark as dynamic and productive age mainly in the
continent Europe and Asia. The essence of the life of Jose P. Rizal is an evidence by
the circumstances that happened during his generation in the Philippines and
throughout the world. Jose P. Rizal is an existing epitome that sets forth a human
pronouncement that all individuals without distinction of any kind are born to be free
and equal in dignity and rights during this period such concepts of liberalism,
industrialism, democracy, social realization, and nationalism. This lesson analyzes the
political, social, and economic condition of the Philippines in the 19 th century.

THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Spanish colonial government in the Philippines ran indirectly through the viceroy of
the Spain in Mexico. The viceroy was the one who appointed the Governor General in the
Philippines. The Governor General was the chief executive in the whole archipelago and the
head of the military. He had the power of cumplace or the power to choose the law that he
implemented. Because the Spanish government gave a lot of power to the Governor General,
they assigned two positions that would check the administration of the Governor General. The
Visitador who visited the country to check the administration of the Governor General and the
Residencia who lived in the Philippines to observe the Governor General.
The whole archipelago was divided into different provinces and each province had the
Alcalde Mayor as the head of the political unit. The Alcalde Mayor had the power and
responsibilities like the Governor General but its power was limited in the province. The
provinces were still divided in a smaller political unit headed by the Gobernadorcillo. The power
and responsibilities of the Gobernadorcillo was the same as the Governor General, however, his
power was limited only in the town or pueblo. He also had the power of Indulto de Comercio or
the power of the Gobernadorcillo to engage into trading. Each town was still divided into
smaller unit called barangay and it was headed by the Cabeza de Barangay. The Filipino was
allowed to assume the position of Gobernadorcillo and Cabeza de Barangay only and only given
to a Filipino male, 23 years old, educated and had a property of 500 pesos.
The power of legislation was on the Consejo de Indias or the Council of Indies which
was also in Mexico. The Spanish Cortes also had the power to enact law that they would
implement in the Philippines, however, the Filipinos had no representative in the Spanish
Cortes.
In term of judiciary, the Royal Audiencia was the highest court in the country and
supervised the other courts but in reality, there was no equality in the Filipino and Spaniard in
the context of law.
The Spanish had the centralized government in the Philippines, however, aside from the
government, there was a highest decision-making body in the country composed mostly by the
friars. So, they had the opportunity to dominate the society and the government.
The System of Government in The Philippines

King of Spain (De Jure Executor, judiciary, legislator)

S [Spanish Empire]

A Council of the Indies (De jure legislator)

[Spanish Colonies]
A

I
Governor General (De facto executor, judiciary, legislator)
A [Philippines (Province of Empire)]

S Governor General (De facto executor, judiciary, legislator)

[Philippines (Province of Empire)]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I Gobernadorcillo
[pueblo or town]
N

O
Cabeza de Barangay
S [Barangay (later disappeared into the barrio)]
 THE RISE OF LIBERALISM IN SPAIN AND THE PHILIPPINES

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN SPAIN

In the early 1800, the Spain was experiencing political instability due to the successive
rise and fall of the leaders brought by the conflict between the Liberals and the Conservatives.
The changes brought by the enlightenment and the territorial disputes made a change in the
perspective of the people towards the government.

In the span of Rizal's lifetime, there were continuous changes in the

monarchy of Spain:

1. The last reign of Queen Isabel II (1861-1868),

2. The rule of Marshall Serrano as Regent of Spain (1868-1871),
3. The reign of Amadeo I (1871-1873),
4. The period of the Spanish Republic (1873-1874),
5. The Bourbon Restoration and reign of Alfonso XII (1875-1885), and
6. The regency of Queen Maria Cristina (1885-1896) (Zafra, 1956).

In 1808-1812, the Spanish people fought against the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte as
the latter appointed himself as the leader of the French and aimed to expand their territory to
the Iberian Peninsula. The war against made the Spanish government suffered from lack of
funds, the economic problems due to the bankruptcy of the business, the collapse of industry
and decrease of population. The difficulty in the economy and the casualties from the war made
the other Spaniards think and insist political reforms. The "Los Afrancesados’ were the well-
educated elite was who asked for liberal reforms in the government and the result of their
struggle was a constitution with a more liberal in the idea of the government.

The Cadiz Constitution of 1812 mandated the transformation of the Spanish government
from monarchy to the constitutional monarchy, the parliamentary free trade, competition and
the divestment of properties held in mortmain system in the creation of law, division of power
in the government, equality or the properties from the church and other institution (De Pedro,
2005), The changes made by the adaptation of the new constitution brought confusion to the
Spanish people and the majority of the population wanted the old system of the government
because their perspective in the new system was just a new version of the absolutism
government of France.

In 1820, Don Fernando VII signed in the midst of the battle between liberal and
absolutism and the rebellion and struggle for independence of their colonies in South America.
The political instability led to the bankruptcy of the government. And when Don Fernando VII
was about to end his term in 1833, the liberal members of the Parliament made a way to
change the law which prohibited women to become the next ruler. And this act made Queen
Isabel, a liberal leader to assume the leadership.

In the context of her leadership, her liberal clique initiated aggressive policies which
harassed the church and in 1935, a law was passed that legalized the confiscation of the
properties of the church by the government and the abolition of the religious orders in Spain
except the religious order in the colonies like in the Philippines because the government
recognized the importance of the church in the administration of the colonies. In 1844, the
moderate liberals and conservatives succeeded to overthrow the government and put Isabell II
to the throne and upon the gaining of the conservatives’ power and influence in the parliament
they worked for the new constitution of Spain. The new laws passed by the government of
Queen Isabel II resurrected the religious orders, introduced a new method of taxation and
helped the government gain their stability. The new period of social order brought economic
expansion and growth but the liberal ideas still continued, their advocate, continued their
principle in Masonic lodges.

The social and political transformation in Spain paved way to the rise or different groups
which later on affected the political situation in the Philippines and influenced Jose P. Rizal as
he ventured to Spain to pursue his studies and to do his mission. The first group was the
Ilustrados (the Enlightened Ones) they were the intellectuals who aimed to introduce reform for
the development of Spanish civil life and chosen by King Carlos IIL, they believed that through
education the society could attain reform.

The second group was the Progresistas, most of them were freemasons who believed
that the hindrance for the attainment of development were the absolutism of monarchy, the
ignorance of the people and the intercession or the friars in the political and social life of the
people. The fourth group was the Carlista, they believed that, to attain stability in the
government and the society the people should follow the tradition and the church. The conflict
brought by the opposite reactions and perspective of the different groups became the basis of
the arguments of the intellectual like Rizal who aimed for the political reforms in the Philippines.
Likewise, the political instability of Spain also affected the political situations in the Philippines.

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The changes in the government of Spain and the independence of the Spanish colonies
in Latin America affected the political and economic life of the Filipino. The constant change of
the governor general in the country became the hindrance of gaining the stability of colonial
government in the Philippines which resulted to the failure of the implementation of the needed
reforms in the country.

In the midst of the changes in the political arena, the liberalization of Spanish
government resulted in the implementation of more liberal policies in their colonies and one of
those policies was the opening of the Philippines in the world trade starting 1820 and in 1855
Sual in Pampanga, lloilo in Western Visayas and Zamboanga in Mindanao were opened for the
world trade. In 1865, Cebu became an open port for trading. The opening of the Philippines in
the world trade brought development in agriculture because the foreign businessmen invested
their capital in the sugar and hemp importation. This material prosperity was enjoyed by the
wealthy Filipino families like the family of Jose P. Rizal. Because of this development, they were
able to send their children to study in Manila and abroad.

In spite of the anti-friar sentiments in Spain, the friars in the Philippines were not
affected because the government recognized the importance of the friars in the establishment
of the colonial government in our country and their influence continuously affected the politics
and the society of the Philippines However, the liberal ideas spiced up the secularization issue
against the regular priest.
THE SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The
Spanish

colonization in the Philippines gave way to the existence of the new social stratification. The
Peninsulares or the Spaniards who were born in Spain and settled in the country occupied the
highest class in the society and the position in the the government. The Peninsulares built their
community in Intramuros (inside the city) and enjoyed all the privileges in the country. The
Insulares or the Spaniards born in the Philippines were the second class. Like the Peninsulares,
the Insulares also enjoyed the luxuries in the Philippines. The third class was the Creoles or
themixture of the Spanish and native.

The Creoles class was the group where Jose Rizal, the Gomburza and other Filipinos
who sought reform in the society during the Spanish colonization belonged. Under the Creoles
was the Illustrado or the well-educated Filipinos because during those times there was no public
education so the wealthy. Filipinos were the ones who could afford to have an education and
the Principalia or the land owner and the lowest class was the natives or indios as the Spaniards
called them.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In the 19th century, the wealthy Filipino families were engaged in the international
trade. The business in line with agriculture attained development because of the opening of
Suez Canal and development in the international trade. However, because most of the lands
intended for agriculture were under the control of the friars, they had the opportunity to
increase. the rent in the land that resulted to the decrease in income of the Filipino elites. For
instance, he father of Jose Rizal, Francisco Mercado was an Inquilino, he rented a big land in
Calamba from the Dominican friars. And when the Dominicans increased the rent in the land,
Francisco refused to increase the rent of the farmers under his administration. So, the family of
Rizal suffered because of the decrease in their income.

The Advent of Nationalism in the Philippines

Definition of Nationalism

Nationalism is a sentiment of a person towards his country. It is a display of loyalty of a

person to his own culture, history and aspiration as a nation. It is a national sentiment that
unites the people towards a common goal for the advancement of the country.

In the Philippines, nationalism could be attributed to growth of national consciousness

brought by the various events which challenged the pride of the people and the rise of the
Creoles and the well-educated Filipinos who wrote different essays articles and novels that
challenged the community to rise and assert their rights and ask for political reforms.

The Factors that Led to the Rise of Nationalism in the Philippines

A. The Opening of the Philippines in the World Trade

The opening of the Philippines in the world trade was one important factor in the rise of
nationalism in the country because two reasons:

First, the international trade brought material progress in the different areas in the
Philippines where the agricultural products included in the trade came from. The increase of the
demand in the agricultural products brought prosperity to the provincial elite and this
development made them capable of sending their children to universities in Manila and in Spain.
The well-educated Filipinos like Jose P. Rizal became the advocate of political reforms in the
country.
 The second reason was that the world trade gave opportunity to the Filipinos to gain
knowledge about the other parts of the world as well as the political events and liberal ideas.

B. The Coming of the Liberal Ideas

1. The Administration of Carlos Maria De la Torre

Carlos Maria De La Torre was a liberal-minded governor general in the Philippines,

during his administration, he encouraged the Filipinos to participate in the government and
expressed their sentiments for the development of his administration. This method of
government became an eye-opener to those who experienced his liberal could also undergo
political reforms and the Filipinos could also have an active participation in the government;
however, as the transition from liberal to conservative monarch in Spain, the liberal
administration of Carlos Maria De La Torre ended and he was succeeded by a conservative
governor general Rafael Izquierdo who imposed rules opposite De la Torre. The sudden shift
from liberal going to conservative gained negative reaction from the Filipinos.

2. The Issue Secularization

The secularization issue started in the times of Arch-bishop Sta. Justa and Governor
General Anda (1767-1776). The problems about the vacancies in the numerous churches were
solved by the appointment of Filipino priests and this decision of the archbishop was supported
by Governor General Anda. This move was criticized by the regular priest who questioned the
credibility of the Filipino priest in leading the church and the controversy was highlighted by the
questions from the standpoint of the general interest of the church and the advancement of the
parochial affairs in the country. The problem reached the Consejo de Indias and in the Royal
Decree in December 1776, the secularization of the parishes implemented by Archbishop Sta.
Justa was suspended.

The Royal Decree which limited the appointment of the Filipino priest in the parishes
was followed by orders which commanded the return of the parishes to the regular priest. The
Filipino priest knew that the policies aimed to eliminate the leadership of the Filipino in the
Philippine churches. This situation in the parishes and the discrimination of the Filipino priest led
to the creation of the secularization movement and Father Pedro Pelaez, the Vicar Capitular of
Manila Cathedral led the movement. This movement sought reform in the policies of the church
towards the Filipino priest and eventually for the Filipinization of the Philippine curacies. The
secularization issues gave birth to the popularity of the spokespersons of the Filipino priest Fr.
Burgos, Fr. Zamora and Fr.Gomez and put them in conflict with the Spanish priest.

3. The Cavite Mutiny

The administration of Rafael de lzquierdo cancelled the benefits enjoyed by the Filipino
soldiers in Cavite like the exemption in tribute and and personal services. This resulted to the
unrest of the laborers in the Cavite arsenal. The event was popularly in known as Cavite
Mutiny; this uprising was of local character and was quickly suppressed. But the mutiny was
used by the Spanish authorities against the Filipino reactionaries like Fr. Burgos, Fr. Zamora and
Fr. Gomes.

4. The Execution of GomBurZa

The three priests were executed because they were accused as the leaders of the
uprisings in Cavite. Francisco Zaldua testified against the three priests-Father Mariano Gomez,
Father Jose Burgos and Father Jacinto Zamora.

Father Mariano Gomez was the head priest of Bacoor, the second richest parish in Cavite
in terms of the tributes collected. He served in the said parish for forty-eight years and was
loved by the people because of his dedication in strengthening not only the spiritual growth of
the people but also the progress in terms of their livelihood. His popularity was known not only
in Cavite but in the nearby town of Batangas and when they needed to collect funds to send a
representative to Rome for their problems about secularization. He initiated the collection of
donations to different parishes in Cavite and Batangas. And because of his popularity, he
became part of the list of the parish priest that they wanted to eliminate. Second was Father
Jacinto Zamora, the head priest of Marikina, he was also part of the secularization movement
and supported the struggle of the Filipino priest for equality and opportunity to lead a church.

The third was Father Jose P. Burgos, the youngest among the three and the friend of
Paciano Mercado, the brother of Rizal. He became the leader of the secularization movement
after the death of the father of secularization, Father Pedro Pelaez and the head priest of the
Manila Cathedral. He wrote essays which contradicted the regular or the Spanish clergies and
his writings and active leadership made him part of the list of the Spanish priest.

On January 24, 1872, an uprising of the soldiers of Cavite arsenal happened and the
three priests were accused as the leaders of the uprising and on February 17, 1872, after the
speedy trial and upon the testimony of Francisco Zaldua, the three priests were executed in
Bagong Bayan (Luneta).

The event became an eye opener among Filipinos specially to those who were well
educated. Paciano Merrado, the brother to of Rizal was really affected since Father Jose Burgos
was his close friend. The said event and the injustices experienced by the three priests was
inculcated to the young Rizal through his brother so the second novel of Rizal, El Filibusterismo
was written in their memory.

C. The Implementation of Different Unjust Policies

1. Polo Y Servicios - All males 16-60 years old were obliged to work for the government
for 40 days every year but the Royal decree in 1883 increased the minimum age of the
males who worked as polista from 16 to 18 years old. The natives were required to do
the work as their service to the colonial government, however, those who could afford
 to pay falla (the amount money paid to the government to be exempted from forced
labor) were exempted to perform the manual labor implemented by the polo.
2. Enconmienda - The land of the natives was confiscated and was given to the
Spaniards who helped for the expansion of the territory Spain. The natives who were
part of the land were subjected to the policies of the enconmiendero and to the
taxation. The farmers were not allowed to work in their land without the permission of
the said officials.
3. Hacienda Owned by the Friars - The hacienda system emerged after the abolition of
enconmienda. The descendants of the enconmiendero transformed the land as their
hacienda. And those enconmienda under the church was transformed as hacienda of
the friars.
4. Bandala - The compulsory sale of the products of the natives to the Spaniards.
5. Tributo - tax obligation to the government in money or in kind.

D. The Maladministration of Justice

The Spanish colonial government in the Philippines had a Penal code as basis for the
justice system in the government, however, in most of the cases the accused was sentenced
without the due process of law.

E. Racial Discrimination

The social stratification made by the colonization of the Spaniards brought racial
discrimination and the usual victims were the creoles and the Indios. In the church, the Filipino
priest (Secular) needed to pass the examination before he could be appointed as a parish priest
while the Spanish priest (Regular) could assume the position of Parish priest even without
examination. In the schools and universities run by the friars. The Filipino students were
considered secondary and inferior compared to the Spanish students. In the position in the
government, the Filipinos were only allowed to be elected in the level of gobernadorcillo or the
leader of the town or pueblo. The highest positions in the government were for the pure
Spanish only. In terms of land, owning the large and rich lands were given to the Spaniards.

F. The Lack of Representative of the Filipinos in the Spanish Cortes

One of the political reforms that Jose P. Rizal asked for was the representation of the
Filipinos in the Spanish Cortes. The laws formulated for the Filipinos were suited in the culture
of the people and a Filipino as representative in the Spanish Cortes could be the way to have
laws that would protect the interest of the Filipinos and could elevate their situation under the
law. And as Jose P. Rizal stated in his essay, The Philippines a Century Hence, the lack of
Filipino representative in the Spanish Cortes and the political reforms in the country would be
the reason why the Filipinos rebelled against the Spanish Colonial government.

Summary of Lesson

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

These events brought the Philippines on where it is today. The Philippines’ economic
condition gave rise to Haciendas or the “cash-crop economy”. Where large parts of