THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

PHILIPPINE ECONOMY, SOCIETY,

AND THE CHINESE MESTIZOS
CHAPTER 5
Cash Crop - crops cultivated for export.
Decree - an order issued by a
legal authority; a policy
pronouncement.
Galleon Trade - from 1565-1815, this
was the form of trade between the
Philippines and Mexico. The galleons
would sail to Mexico loaded with goods
and return to the Philippines carrying
the payment in silver.
Insulares-pure-bloodedSpanishborn in
thePhilippines.
Mestizo - a person with mixed ancestry
- one parent is Chinese or Spanish and
the other is a native; an important
sector of
the population in nineteenth
century Philippines.
Merchant House - firms established
in Manila and other cities by foreign
traders.
Pacto de retroventa - an agreement
that allowed a landowner to sell his/her
land with the guarantee that he/she
could buy the land back at the same
price.
Parian - Chinese enclave established in
1581 outside the walls of Intramuros.
Peninsulares-pure-bloodedspanishborn in
Spain.
Principalia - wealthy pure-blooded
native said to have descended from
the kodataan class.
Sangley- a term that proliferated in Spanish
Philippines to refer to people of pure Chinese
descent; came from the Hokkien word 'seng-li'
meaning business.
Social Satisfaction - a way by which
people in a society are categorized based
on socio-economic as well as political
standards.

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF

PHILIPPINE ECONOMY, AND SOCIETY
During the nineteenth century, vast economic, By the late eighteenth century, the
political, social, and cultural current were felt. monarchy in Spain experienced a dynamic
 shift from Habsburgs to Bourbons. The first new trade being established between
gobern-general to the Philippines under the
the Philippines and Spain (and Europe)
Bourbon mandate was José de Basco y
Vargas who arrived in the Philippines in as well as the Asian markets. As Basco
1778. pushed for the reforms, he lifted a ban
By the time Basco arrived, the Galleon Trade, the
on Chinese merchants that
main institution existing in the Philippines was reinvigorated internal trade; initialized
already a losing enterprise. As many imperial power the development of cash crop farms;
in Europe and the West were undergoing relaxed certain policies that allowede
industrialization, an increased demand for raw tha gradual opening of Manila to
materials presented an opportunity to look into the
foreign markets, and established the
agricultural potential of the Philippines.
Tobacco Monopoly to maximize the
Basco established the Royal Philippine
production of this export goods.
Company in 1785 to finance
agricultural projects and manage the
And in the beginning of the nineteenth century. By 1810, the Mexican War or Independence rattled the
Spanish empire, as it would eventuallylead to the loss of the precious Latin American colonies. As the
Philippine economy hung balance policies were recalibrated and with the eventual closing of the Royal
Philippine Company, Manila has opened to world trade by 1834. As result, foreign merchants and
traders came and eventuallyresided in Manila and took over the role of financing and facilitating the
burgeoning agricultural cash crop, export-oriented, economy. Some major investments came from
 British and American trader that set up merchant house in Manila.

Bythe first half of the nineteenth century majority of the exports of the Philippines came from cash crops
like tobacco, sugar, cotton, indigo, abaca and coffee. The farmers felt the pressure of the economy
while the hacenderos grabbed the opportunity. For example is when a small landowner needed capital
and money, he would engaged in a pact de retroventa, an agreement of sale guaranteeing that he
could buythe land back at the same price which it was sold. Eventually, they forfeit the land and
would be forced to become tenant farmers or kasama. As the growing economy required better
management of lands, inquilinos emerged, renting land to sublet it to smaller farmers. These factors
would bring change to the social satisfaction in the countryside.

THE CHINESE AND THE CHINESE

MESTIZO
During the height of the Galleon Trade, it was also Chinese
products that comprised most of 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 of movement with the
establishment of the Chinese enclave (the Parian), to actual
policies to expulsion.
 The Chinese, however, prove to be 'necessary outsiders' in the
Philippines colonial economy and society. From the goods
loaded on the galleons to the development of the 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 played an important role in
the economy all throughout the Spanish colonial period. They
influence 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. This demand compelled the issuance of
the colonial government order in 1836 that required all towns to set up
primary schools to reach the population how to read and write. It eventually
led to the passage of an 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 for those wanting to escape the worsening
conditions in the farmland. 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 the
people made tax collection extra difficult. In order 1849 decree of
Government-General Narciso Claveria that urged the people in the colony to
adopt surnames. With the catalogo de apllidos 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 guardi civil was eventually established.

RENEGOTIATION SOCIAL
STRATIFICATION Chino Infiel - non-catholic pure blooded chinese.
Social Strata:

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 with
the following:
A. Peninsular - pure-blooded Spaniard born in the Iberian Peninsula
(i.e. Spain)
B. Insular - pure blooded Spaniard born in Philippines
C. Mestizo - born mixed parentage; a mestizo can
be:
• Spanish Mestizo - one parent is Spanish, the other is a native,
or
• Chinese Mestizo - one parent is Chinese, the other is a native.
D. Principalia - wealthy pure blooded native of the Philippines E.
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 education not only in the Philippines but also that articulations of nationalism would emerge.
cultural capital they also availed themselves to Europe these activities augmented their
the opportunity to obtain higher degrees of relevence in society as it was from these rank

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