UNIT 2

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ON
PHILIPPINE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
(Part I)

OVERVIEW
“Let us never negotiate out of fear,
But let us never fear to negotiate.”
-John F. Kennedy-

Formal and official diplomatic relations of the Philippines started when the Philippines
became an “independent” nation and a sovereign state in 1946. Diplomatic ties were then
and are still established with foreign countries. However, prior to her independence,
Philippines already had her external relations and contacts especially with her neighboring
Asian countries, primarily on trade. External relations is best suited for this period. When the
Philippines became a colony, she needed to negotiate with her colonial masters (the
Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese). Negotiations were not as formal and as official as the
conduct of today’s diplomacy and of the diplomats- mostly to forge the cooperation of the
natives with the colonial masters, silencing the natives to better effect the objectives of
colonization, thus diplomacy as a strategy for suppression. But the natives’ voice needed to
be heard and negotiated. This was negotiating reforms, representations, recognition, and
independence.

This module gives the historical overview of Philippine external relations prior to 1946.
Selected but significant undertakings and engagements will be discussed in this module. This
will give you insights on how negotiations through representation was able to achieve the
most-awaited independence which paved way to establishing formal and official Philippine
diplomatic relations. It is then important to understand the dynamics of the conduct of
diplomacy as the Philippines will then prove her part in a wider community- the
international community.

I. LEARNING GUIDE

LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of this module, your group is going to produce an INFOGRAPHIC TIMELINE
highlighting the important diplomatic engagements or external relations of the Philippines
from pre-colonial period until prior to her 1946 independence. As history students, you need
to review some Philippine historical events other than what are discussed or included in the
Readings of this module.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This module will able you to:

a. Trace the early foreign contacts undertaken by the natives and discuss the role of trade
in these pre-colonial contacts
b. Identify foreign policies during the colonial period and present the impact of
colonization in diplomatic relations
c. Discuss the role of diplomacy undertaken by the colonizers to forge cooperation from
the people

GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. How important was trade in the early Philippine contacts with neighboring Asian
countries?
2. What were the treaties signed between the natives and the colonial masters as part of
negotiating their respective objectives and aspirations?
3. How did the American period and the Wartime Republic bring the natives to negotiate
for Philippine independence?
4. How was the diplomatic or external relations of the Philippines being conducted in
the early period?

ACTIVITIES

1. READ! READ!

Read the Notes/Readings for this module. Examine the early

diplomatic and external relations of the Philippines prior to her 1946
independence. This is also a review in your Philippine history wherein
highlighted are the diplomatic engagements of the Philippines as part
in shaping our history. Please refer also to other historical accounts that
present the diplomatic dealings of the Philippines.
2. FORUM

Please share your ideas by discussing the development of

Philippine external relations and diplomatic conduct before
1946. Post your discussion in the FORUM section of this
module posted in your MOLE Classroom. This is an
individual activity. Each forum discussion is worth 25 points.

3. GROUP WORK

After reading the Notes, referring to other sources, and

examining and analyzing the information presented, your
group is expected to produce and submit an INFOGRAPHIC
TIMELINE highlighting the early external relations of the
Philippines prior to 1946, as stated in the Learning Outcome.
To make your timeline attractive and creative, you need to
include graphics or images related or connected to each event.
Include in your output the names of the members of the group
(with contribution) since the grade to be given is for the whole
group.

4. SUBMISSION

You have to submit your module output in the submission bin

provided in the MOLE Classroom. Make sure to click the
SUBMIT BUTTON upon submitting to make sure that your file
submission is submitted for grading. Since this is a group
output, one (1) member may submit the output but other
members may do so (file should be the same).
DEADLINE: DECEMBER 1, 2021 (11:59pm)
But before the deadline of submission, you are going to
PRESENT your output to the class scheduled this
NOVEMBER 29.
 II. NOTES/READINGS FOR UNIT 2 (Part 1)

While diplomatic relations only became official after independence, there is the need to also
cover important foreign relations of the Philippines from the earlier periods. According to
Bonifacio Salamanca, the diplomatic history of the Philippines should not be limited to the
periods when the country was sovereign. There is the need for a diplomatic history that
covers all periods of Philippine history.

In this module, an overview on external relations of the Philippines will be presented and
discussed showcasing that even in the earlier periods, Philippines had already contacts and
engagements with the outside world. Thus, there is the need to cover and examine these
contacts.

Pre-colonial Period: The Islamic World, China, and Trade

The inhabitants of the islands that Spain colonized and named Filipinas in the 16 th century
had had long contacts with their Asian neighbors, dating as early as the tenth century.
Relations with the rest of Asia were mainly in the form of trade, and to a certain extent,
through marriages and tributary ties.

Wenxuan An, the sixteenth-generation grandson of the “East King of Sulu” revealed in 1989
that: “our ancestors are Moros of the Philippines and before they came in the Philippines,
they were the Moors in Africa.” His revelation proved the extent of Philippine relations with
the outside world and further testified to the wealth of external relations in early times when
the Muslims in the Philippines extended diplomatic ties with other peoples as they travelled
to far-flung places and regions in the 15th century.

Contact of the early Philippine inhabitants with Arab merchants and Muslim mystics began
when Southeast Asia became part of the international trade in the 11 th century. It was
facilitated by the opening of the maritime “Silk Route” and was further developed when the
land “Trade route” via Gujerat in Northern India linked Middle East and Africa with the rest
of Asia and the Malay World. When Muslims in Canton were dispersed in 878 due to a local
Chinese rebellion, Arabs and Indian Muslims began to move and settle in Southeast Asia.
This development trickled down to the rest of the Malay peninsula including Southern
Philippines. Since then, Islam made sway in many areas of Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon.
It was propelled by the founding of the Sulu Sultanate in 1450 and the Maguindanao
Sultanate in 1515, and later, the emergence of Muslim settlements in “Manila” and other parts
of Luzon. Cultural, maritime, commercial, and trade ties flourished with Brunei, Bengal,
Macao, Canton, Labuan and Singapore since the 16th century. For some time, Philippine
relations with the Islamic peoples was spurred by intermarriages among royalties of Brunei,
Sulu, Manila and China.

The Sultanate was the first Islamic political institution in the Philippines. As heads of
government, the Sultans had treaty relations with their Asian neighbors including the British,
French, and Americans in varying periods. However, before the establishment of Sultanates,
external relations were opened with Brunei and China and other regional and imperial
powers. In the 15th century, relations continued through trade and commerce including the
practice of marriage. As an instrument of relations, marriage among royalties significantly
characterized the ties of Brunei, Sulu, manila and China. A point of interest was the marriage
of Sultan Bulkeiah with the Sulu princess, Putri Lela Men Chanei, the daughter of Sultan
Batara of Sulu. Another was the marriage of Muhammadul Halim, the seventh Sultan of Sulu
to the sister of Sif ul Rijal, the seventh Sultan of Brunei.

Although the relations between Sulu and Manila in the 16 th century had yet to flourish, the
marriage of Sulu Sultans to the daughters of Sultan Bulkeiah and again, the marriage of Rajah
Sulayman of “Manila” to one of Bulkeiah’s daughters established the close affinity among
the royal houses of Brunei, Manila and Sulu.

Early commercial contact with China dated back to the days of Majapahit and Sri-Vijaya
Empires in the 10th century. According to Chinese sources, Zheng He, a commander of
emperor ChengZu landed in Sulu in 1409. In 1417, a “Moro delegation paid a visit to China,
led by Paduke Patala, Sulk’s East King.” On their way home, Patala died except for his eldest
son, remained in China, it grew and maintained its Muslim identity, using to this day a seal
marked “__th generation grandson of Philippine East King.” It was also this family who
forged strong ties with the Hui community in China.

In the Philippine north, another revealing episode of early Islamic external relations was the
presence, along the palisade of Manila bay, of the fort of Selalila where the present Fort
Santiago stands. According to H. Otley Beyer, it was built by Selalila, the grandfather of Rajah
Sulayman in the early 16th century. Selalila, whose wife was Ysneria, was also the admiral of
Sultan Bulkeiah of Brunei, the 6th Sultan of Brunei. Thus, Islam had its impact in shaping
early Philippine external relations and the transformation and absorption of Islamic external
relations had its role into mainstream Philippine diplomacy.

With China, on the other hand, our pre-colonial relations were characterized by friendly
trade and cultural exchanges. Although Chinese awareness of Southeast Asia dated back to
the period of the Three Kingdoms (222-280 AD), Chinese records show that it was the
Filipinos who travelled to China long before the Chinese themselves made their voyages to
the Philippines. However, regular and active trade between China and the Philippines took
place only in the tenth century. Earlier trade between China and the Philippines was mainly
transacted through the Champa (Vietnam) coast. Economic exchanges with the southern
countries were so lucrative and extensive that in 972 the first emperor of the Sung Dynasty
established offices of maritime trade in Kwangchow, Hangchow, and Minchow with
separate superintendents to deal with all Arab, Achen, Java, Borneo, Ma-i (Mindoro), and
Srivijaya “barbarians.”
The Chinese of the Sung (960-1278) through the Ming (1260-
1368) dynasties were one of the oldest peoples to have
political and economic relations with the precolonial
inhabitants of the Philippines. A tribute mission was the
Chinese concept of appropriate foreign relations with
neighboring countries regarded as inferior or subordinate to
China during this time. The Chinese emperor was wont to
receive a number of such missions from any non-Chinese
country whose king or representatives brought gifts in kind as a token of homage to the
emperor.

By 982, Ma-i (Mindoro) traders who previously went through Champa before proceeding to
China decided to circumvent that country and instead sail directly to Canton. Although to
the Chinese court these Ma-i traders were considered tribute missions, this court did not
deter trade transactions from taking place. The merchandise they brought for sale included
exotic gifts like pearls, incense, myrrh, colorful animals as gifts to the Chinese emperor and
as an acknowledgment of his primacy among all rulers. The Ma-i delegation was treated as
state guests and enlisted as feudatory princes of the empire. They were bestowed with
corresponding seals and patents of office. The ceremonial acknowledgment of Chinese
imperial suzerainty by tributary missions was in turn rewarded by granting these missions
accreditation to engage in commercial activities.

The first Philippine tribute mission was organized by King Kiling of Butuan (P’u-tuan), on
March 17, 1001. The goal of this first mission was to request equal status with Champa
(Southern Vietnam). It was only in 1007 when the King Kiling made the formal request
through a memorial addressed to the Emperor: “Your humble servant observes that the Emperor
has bestowed two caparisoned horses and two large spirit flags on the Champa envoy; he wishes to be
granted the same treatment and to receive the same favors.” King Kiling’s request was however
denied. In 1011, when a new ruler made the same request with a memorial engraved on a
gold tablet and with expensive gifts such as “white dragon” camphor, Moluccan cloves along
with a South Sea slave, the request was finally granted. The emperor was so impressed that
he even included flags, pennants, and armor “to honor a distant land.”

Despite earlier tribute and trade missions, China became aware of other Philippine islands
only after the Visayan raids. According to one account in 1178, from the point of view of the
Chinese, the world came to an end just east of Java. By 1206 China was trading with Mindoro,
Palawan, and Basilan. And by 1225, trade expanded to Babuyanes, Lingayen, Luzon, Manila,
and Lubang Island.

A century thereafter, a direct China-Philippines trade route was established. Filipinos made
use of Chinese junks to ply Fujian and Guangdong ports. Chinese emperors from Ming to
the Ching dynasties encouraged trade and tribute missions from the neighboring countries.
Many Filipino kings responded to Chinese invitations to trade. In 1405, representatives of
Luzon and Mao-li-wu (Marinduque) along with envoys from Java went on a tribute mission
to China. A Pangasinan party (Feng-chia-his-lan) presented tribute for five successive years.
Chinese records of relations with Sulu date back to the Yuan dynasty (1278-1368). Chinese
records show contacts with the Islamic world as early as 651, and by the eighth century
Muslim ambassadors were received almost yearly. During the Yuan dynasty, Wang Ta-yuan,
a traveler, found his way to Sulu. Wang’s interest was the fabled pearls of Sulu, describing
in great detail their superior quality and expensiveness. According to a Chinese record:
“The natural products are laka-wood of middle quality, yellow beeswax,
tortoise-shell, and pearls. theSu-lu pearls, which are better than those produced at
Sha-li-pa-chou, Ti-san-kan (Third port) and other places, are white and round.
Their price is very high. The Chinese use them for head ornaments. Their color
never fades, and so they are considered the most precious rareties. There are some
about an inch in diameter. Even in the place of production the large pearls cost
over seven or eight hundred “ting.” The medium ones cost two or three hundred
“ting”, the small ones ten or twenty “ting.” The little pearls which are worth ten
thousand taels and upwards, or from three or four hundred to one thousand taels,
come from Ti-san-kan of the “West or Western Ocean”; there are none here. The
Chinese goods used in trading here are pure gold, unpure trade silver, Patula
cotton cloth, blue beads, Chu-earthenware, iron bars and such like things.

However, official relations between Sulu and China took place in 1417 and were distinctly
depicted in the Ming Annals. Accordingly, in 1417, the eastern king of Sulu Paduka Pa ha-la
(Batara), the western king Ma-hala-chi’h (Majarajah), and the king of the Mountain Ka-la-ba-
ting called Paduka Prabu, went to China on a tribute mission along with their 340 wives,
relatives, ministers, and retainers. They gifted the Chinese emperor with camphor, pearls,
precious stones, tortoise shell, and a memorial inscribed in gold.

The Ming Annals record the tribute missions sent by three “kings” from Sulu in the early 15 th
century. It is interesting to note that they were treated at the same level with the famous
emporium of Malacca. This signifies the growing importance of Sulu to the burgeoning
China trade. The Chinese tributary system did not really involve actual political
subservience. It merely entailed ritual exchange of gifts where the tribute giving mission
recognizes the supremacy of the Chinese emperor. The emperor then gives the envoys gifts
and invests them and their respective rulers with official Chinese titles.

The most impressive mission was led by Paduka Suli in 1421 when he gave a seven-ounce
pearl to the court and stayed two years in Techow with his nephews and brought Batara’s
concubine back to Sulu. His seven-ounce pearl received much praise in official Ming annals.
The exchange of missions made Sulu and Mindanao the new trading centers and contributed
to Sulu’s growth as one of the hubs in international trade. The tributary missions also led to
direct migration of some Chinese from Fujian to Sulu and other Philippine islands. According
to Majul, Sulu traditions referring to the earliest arrival of Chinese traders, some of whom
married daughters of local chiefs probably refer to this period.

But the Sulu kings were not the only who sought diplomatic and trade relations with China.
Chieftains from Pangasinan and Luzon also organized tribute and trade mission s to China.
Unfortunately, the Pangasinan and Luzon chieftains were not accorded the same titles
accorded to Sulu kings since their gifts were not as fabulous and as varies as those of the Sulu
kings.
Official Ming annals also showed that tribute missions are not necessarily one way tribute
missions, the envoys “were granted the standard price for their goods and products, minus
the tariff duties.” In addition, they were feted with state banquets and supplied with gifts,
food, and maintenance. Since tributary missions were viewed by the Chinese as diplomatic
initiatives, the Butuan missions can be viewed as the beginning of official relations between
the Philippines and China. The residence of Paduka Batara’s heirs in Techow, can in fact be
interpreted as the first Philippine embassy in China. More importantly, from the standpoint
of the Philippine side, the Ma-i trade mission, the Butuan and Sulu missions were attempts
by separate Philippine chieftains or polities not only to bypass Champa as a trade entrepot
but to establish themselves as new centers of international trade. Indeed the Sulu missions
may have convinced the Chinese in viewing Sulu as an equal of Malacca. With Chinese co-
operation, Sulu subsequently became an international emporium.

Luzon ships were also plying the Manila, Fujian, Timor, and Malacca route during this
period. By this time, the tung-yang cehn-lu, the eastern route from the South China Sea to
Sulu, Borneo, and the Moluccas was fairly well established.

Thus by the time of Magellan’s arrival to the Philippines in the 16 th century, regular trade
and cultural contact between China and the Philippines was already well-established.

Spanish Colonial Relations: China, Japan, Europe, the Muslims in the South, and Treaties

Most of these colonial relations centered still on trade. China and Japan played significant
roles in these relations while it was only later part that the Philippines was opened for the
Europeans since the Spaniards restricted contacts with Europeans as extension of Spain’s
external policies. Meanwhile, the Muslim leaders in the South due to the presence of some
Europeans had extended contacts with these Europeans to the extent of signing treaties with
them. On the other hand, the Spanish authorities, though having limited control and access
in Mindanao, had tried to extend contacts and relations with the Muslim leaders for the
purpose of establishing cooperation and most especially for establishing their sovereignty
over the area. Some treaties were signed between the two parties.

China

The colonization of the islands by the Spaniards put an end to much of these early relations,
but some kinds of contacts continued. For instance, while Spain and Mexico dominated
Philippine trade, Chinese and Japanese merchants continued to be active in this trade. When
the Chinese learned of Spanish arrival in the Philippines, they viewed the event as an
excellent opportunity for new commercial possibilities. Yet the first hostile encounters
between Spaniards and Chinese may have defined the pattern of Spanish-Chinese relations
in the Philippines.
Barely four years after the founding of the city of Manila, the “New Kingdom of Castilla,”
Limahong, a Chinese privateer, attacked it and succeeded in stopping Martin de Goiti and
his soldiers from expanding North. Limahong could have taken Manila had it not been for
the reinforcements brought by Juan de Salcedo. Limahong fled to Pangasinan but was
subsequently driven out of the country.

A year after Limahong’s assault, the Viceroy of Fujian sent an emissary named Omocon, to
establish peaceful and friendly relations with the Spanish colonial government. Governor
Levezares honored the emissary and agreed to send two Augustinian friars and two military
officers to Fujian. But no agreements were made. Obviously unaware that Limahong had
escaped, Omocon returned to Manila in October 1575 with the demand that LImahong be
relinquished to him. Levezares was no longer Governor and was succeeded by Francisco de
Sande. Omocon who brought gifts for Levezares did not know of the change of government
and refused to give the gifts to Governor Sande. The latter took this as an insult which may
have precipitated Governor Sande’s anti-Chinese policy which, according to Gaspar de San
Agustin, had endangered the larger interest of the Spanish crown. It was Governor Sande
who planned an armed invasion of China.

Spanish-Chinese relations were further strained in 1593 when Chinese rowers of Governor
Gomez Dasmarinas’ galley mutinied and killed him and his men. When the news of the
killing reached Manila, Spanish anti-Chinese feeling became most bitter. This was
exacerbated by the arrival of several Chinese war junks who asked that certain Chinese
renegades be handed to them so the can be brought back to China. Chinese attempts to
capture and punish the Chinese pirates and renegades were misinterpreted by the Spaniards
aa a Chinese invasion or of an impending uprising by the Chinese in the city.

Early violent encounters, subsequent diplomatic blunders by Omocon, and Spanish

interpretations of the succeeding Chinese mission to extradite Chinese renegades as invasion,
served to shape most of Spanish colonial policies in dealing with the Chinese and the Chinese
residents in the Philippines. The Chinese were suspected of a rebellious motive.

In 1573, Diego de Artiega wrote the Spanish crown for permission to survey China
preparatory to trade and future conquest but the King disapproved of his plan and instead
asked him to win the friendship of the Chinese. Discouraged from their plans of conquest,
the Spanish governors in the Philippines pursued direct trade with China. Antonio de Morga
proposed direct trade and argued that direct trade would not only win Chinese goodwill but
also discourage Chinese threat. Direct trade will in fact give Manila traders control of the
prices of imported Chinese goods.

Unable to pursue plans of conquest and direct trade, the Spaniards settled for the Chinese
traders as the middlemen. This arrangement led to an increased number of Chinese
merchants in and émigrés to the Philippines. It also allowed the Chinese to maintain a
dominant position in the economy of the Philippines.

As a consequence, Spain was forced to pursue a policy of compromise that allowed Chinese
entry to the Philippines and a dominant role in Philippine business activities. This
compromise led to an increase in the number of Chinese in the Philippines. In 1570, there
were about 140 Chinese in Manila, twenty years later, the number had increased to 4,000. In
1603 when the Chinese staged an insurrection, about 24,000 were slaughtered and only 1,500
were left. But during the second Chinese insurrection in 1639, another 23,000 were killed. Ten
years after, the population in the Parian rose to 15,000.

Thus for more than two centuries, despite intermittent massacres, the Spaniards and the
Chinese co-existed albeit, uneasily. Although most Spaniards hated Chinese, they could not
manage the colony’s economy without them. The Spanish bureaucracy relied on trade and
other commercial activities with China and the Chinese as a source of income for the annual
subsidy to the Spanish colonial bureaucracy. Such uneasy interdependence often led to
violence and massacres.

Spanish attitude towards the Chinese turned from mere hostility to savage destructiveness
when the Chinese sided with the English when the latter captured and occupied Manila from
1762-1764. As soon as the English left, the Chinese – whether they collaborated or not with
the British- were massacred and the survivors were ordered expelled. Only Christian Chinese
were allowed to remain.

One reason why Spanish policy to restrict the number of Chinese failed was the fact that
Chinese trade was not confined to Manila. The Chinese continued to ply their pre-colonial
trading routes. Some spread to other provinces of Luzon. Fujian junks moved from northern
to southern Philippine islands. The dispersion of Chinese traders to other ports and islands,
particularly after massive killings and expulsion of the Chinese in Manila and Luzon also
account for the large numbers of Chinese in the Philippines.

The Spanish colonial government exerted much effort to curb Chinese entry and trade in
these areas, particularly between China and Sulu, but to no avail. Sulu sultans placed the
Chinese under their protection and Sulu exports such as mother of pearl, gutta percha, and
almaciga, were not available in export quantities in Manila.

In 1857, foreigners were allowed to participate in government contracts. In 1858 the

Spaniards tried again, after failures in 1820 and 1840, to negotiate with China to facilitate
Chinese immigration to the Philippines and to provide favorable trade arrangements. By
1864, the Chinese entered into a treaty with Spain to allow more favors to Spanish ships at
Chinese ports. In return, Spain granted the most favored nation treatment to Chinese
merchants coming to the Philippines. The Chinese authorities did not ask for a consular office
in the Philippines. Despite the treaty of 1864, trade between the Philippines and China during
the second half of the 19th century saw a decline compared to trade with Great Britain and
the United States.

Agitation for consular protection was initiated by the Chinese in the Philippines only in 1880.
The request was made by a group headed by Tan Quien-sien or Tan Chuey-liong to his close
friends, who founded and became the leader of the Shan-chiu Kung-so. In 1881 when Cheng
Taso-ju, the successor to Ch’en, pursued the question, he was told by the Spanish Foreign
Office that the 1864 Treaty did not provide for a Chinese Consulate in the Philippines. This
meant that a new treaty would have to be negotiated to include the provision for consular
offices.

When the Chinese learned of the Spanish Colonial Office’s resistance to their request for new
treaty and establishment of a consulate in the Philippines, they argued that since Article 50
of the 1864 treaty gave most favored status to Spanish subjects in China, Spain was obliged
by the principle of reciprocity to give the same rights to all Chinese in Spanish territories.

Many Chinese founded several Chinese organizations, charitable associations, schools, and
newspapers, designed to deal with the problems and issue that would have been undertaken
by embassies and consulates. Most of these institutions were organized by the more
successful Chinese business leaders in the Philippines.

It is argued that China’s interest in establishing a Philippine consular office was not intended
mainly to protect the overseas Chinse but for pecuniary reasons. The overseas Chinese were
remitting an annual amount of $20,000,000. Aside from overseas remittances, Chinese
officials valued overseas contributions to famine relief and coastal defense in their homeland.

Spain finally agreed to a temporary consulate in July 1898 when she was about to turn the
Philippines over to the United States. However, the Spanish authorities did not want the
treaty negotiations to be known in the Philippines. Instead, the Spanish queen regent issued
a new regulation regarding consulates in Spanish colonies stipulating that thereafter, the
colonial office and not the foreign office, would have jurisdiction on consulates. Spain left the
final decision regarding relations with China and the overseas Chinese to the United States
when she assumed control. The U.S. agreed to a permanent Chinese consulate and the first
consul was Tan Kang, the son of Tan Quien-sien, who arrived in January 1899.

Japan

Policies of the Spanish governors-general towards the Japanese residents in the Philippines
were situational. They were tolerated during normal times. Sometimes Japanese were
employed to help in military campaigns in the surrounding areas of the Philippine islands,
and in suppressing Chinese uprisings. In the late sixteenth century Governor general
Dasmariñas segregated the Japanese in Dilao, a district outside of Intramuros; stricter
measures were imposed on them when the Japanese shogun Hideyoshi began demanding
tribute from the Spanish colony.

Trade between the Philippines and Japan was affected by mutual suspicion between
Japanese lords and Spanish authorities. The Japanese were afraid that trading vessels might
surreptitiously carry Christian missionaries who, under the guise of the Cross, would try to
colonize Japan. On the other hand, the Spanish authorities never forgot Hideyoshi’s demand
for tributes, and were constantly apprehensive of Japan’s aggressive designs towards the
colony.
Despite this, trade between the two countries continued, bringing to the Philippine Islands
not only goods from Japan but also Japanese men, a few of whom had liaisons with the
women of the islands. Eventually due to a heightened fear of invasion from the outside, the
Tokugawa shogun halted all trade with the Philippines, and finally closed Japan to the world
in 1636. The Meiji government, which succeeded the Tokugawa shogunate, resumed normal
relations with foreign countries. Missions were sent to the Philippines to explore trade
prospects and the possibility of sending Japanese emigrants to the Philippines.

A treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation was signed with Spain in 1868, but trade did
not see much improvement, until the opening of the first Japanese consulate in Manila in
1889, three years after a Spanish consulate was opened in Yokohama. The main mission of
the consulate was to promote trade with the Philippines and to continue exploring the
prospect of sending Japanese emigrants to the Philippines. The Japanese government had
adopted the policy of allowing Japanese farmers to work abroad in order to alleviate the
problems of poverty, but would like to be certain that they will be treated well.

The volume of trade between Japan and the Philippines gradually increased, the balance of
trade being generally in favor of the Philippines. Philippine imports from Japan in 1882,
seven years before the opening of the consulate, were only coal and lumber. From 1887,
Philippine imports from Japan became more varied: different kinds of furniture and paper
were imported. Annual trade between the Philippine and Japan, however, remained less
than one percent of the total trade of Japan from 1889 to 1898. In Manila, the Spaniards,
Germans, British, Americans, Swiss, and to a certain extent, the French, dominated
international trade.

In 1891, there were only five Japanese residents registered in the Japanese consulate. In
November 1893, thirty Japanese electricians were sent by the Yokohama Trading Company,
probably to work on the electrification of Manila. They, however, did not register officially
because the consulate had closed the month before, due to the Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895).
The Japanese consulate in Hong Kong was given temporary charge of Manila. Records of the
consulate in Hong Kong in 1896 listed nine Japanese businessmen in Manila. They were
employees of Japanese trading companies. The Japanese consulate in Manila was reopened
in the latter part of 1896, apparently to observe the Philippine Revolution.

Europeans

Relations with the European continent began with the Philippine colonization by Spain,
which, in the sixteenth century stood as one of the continent’s major powers. Hence, it was
an unequal relationship between the colonial master and the colonized. Politically and
economically, this relationship was repressive.
For two centuries beginning in 1565, Spain
remained as the Philippines’ singular window
to Europe largely because the colonial policy
restricted the entry of foreigners and barred
their participation in commerce. Economic
dealings with the British, French, and Germans
developed during the eighteenth century, with
the relaxation of an otherwise restrictive policy.
Subsequent Philippine dealings with England
and other European powers developed as
extension of Spain’s foreign policy during this
period.

The galleon trade was significant to Philippine-European relations because this provided
Manila with the earliest opportunity to encounter Europeans, whose presence in Asia had
been dominant in the sixteenth century. Manila was crucial to the operations of the galleon
trade that began in 1565 because it possessed the geographical advantage that a good
economic or military base could offer. Manila, therefore provided the port where goods from
the Orient was well as from America or Europe were landed for local consumption or for re-
export.

Manila was an entrepot or a way station re-selling goods that had been brought mainly from
China or the Moluccas, java and Ceylon to Spain’s Latin American colonies through
Acapulco, Mexico. For two hundred fifty years, Manila became involved in this form of
exclusive trade, specifically with China and Mexico and did not have dealings with
Europeans nor with Spain. While it was Spain’s domestic economic activity that prevented
direct contact with Manila, it had been Spain’s restrictions against Europeans that cut Manila
from Europe in the sixteenth century. A prohibition in 1663, for example, specifically banned
the entry of English goods.

Manila’s dealings with European traders in this period were governed by the following
considerations: that the Philippines’ early relations with Europe were an extension of Spanish
external relations; that the Europeans’ encounter with Manila during this period, in the
context of Spain’s restrictive policy, were achieved through illegal means.

It was Manila’s lucrative trading position that attracted the English and the Dutch to this
otherwise restricted trade. Accounts of European writers recognized the importance of
Manila’s location to the trade with China, Japan, Borneo, and the Moluccas and considered
it as one of the world’s best trading places.

Early English interests in Manila were private in origins. Indirect trade was concluded with
Manila between 1675 to 1685. English goods originally brought to Formosa were resold to
Manila. English contact with Manila took place in the seventeenth century with English
merchants utilizing different techniques to secure a hold of the isolated Manila market. By
1708, trade with Manila was considered “regular” because of the connivance of corrupt
Spanish authorities who did not strictly implement royal edicts. In 1708, the Manila-England
trade constituted the exchange of silk, blue cloth, iron, and anchors for sugar, sapan wood,
tobacco, wax, brimstone, and silver.

For the Dutch, access to Manila’s trade was also found to be as lucrative. The Dutch also
wanted to break the Spanish monopoly of the spice trade. Dutch entry into the Philippines
took place in the beginnings of the seventeenth century with the first Dutch circumnavigator
Olivier van Noort moving up to manila and plundering the Visayan peoples along the way.
Subsequent and persistent entries of the Dutch into the Philippines were through military
means.

The French who took notice of the Philippines in the early part of the seventeenth century
had been intrigued by the scope of the Spanish empire covering Latin America and the
Philippines. Between 1701 to 1709, French interests on Manila were also determined by
French-Spanish rivalry. The French, like the British, engaged in maritime strategies in order
to evade the Spanish restrictions against foreigners in Manila.

The Muslims in the South

The British, the Germans, and the Spaniards appeared to recognize the sovereignty powers
of the Sultanate of Sulu by recognizing the treaty-making capacity of the Sultanate and by
negotiating agreements that preserved the sultanate’s independence. Spain was excluded
here in view of her interpretation of the 1836 treaty which considered Sulu as part of the
colonized Philippine archipelago. There was a strong tendency among the Europeans to hold
the validity of treaties and consequently to invoke pertinent treaties entered with the
sultanate as guidelines for future actions.

On several occasions, the beginning contacts between the Sulus and these other European
powers originated from letters of invitation or letters of appeal from the Sultanate, which in
general had been for the purpose of securing trade, obviating piracy and eliminating Spain’s
attempt to colonize Sulu. Correspondence had been mainly directed to the English or
German monarch.

The relations between Spain and the Muslim polities of Mindanao were not always marked
by war. There were occasions when both sides tried to promote their mutual interests. An
example is the “Treaty of 1836 with the Sultan of Sulu.” In this treaty Sultan Jamalul Kiram I
signed a commercial agreement with Captain Jose M. Halcon, the representative of Spanish
Captain-General Salazar. In this treaty, an alliance was made by both parties guaranteeing
general peace and safety to Sulu ships in Philippine waters and to Spanish and Filipino
vessels in Sulu seas. Both parties also agreed to regulate boat licenses by settling duties to be
paid by Sulu boats in Manila and Zamboanga- and by Spanish vessels in Jolo. The Sultan of
Sulu further consented to the construction of a Spanish trading house in Jolo for the safe
storage of merchandise. It would be managed by a Spanish resident agent.
However, the treaties between Spain and the
Muslim polities were not always made
between equals. The Spaniards usually used
them to solidify and expand their territorial,
political, and commercial claims. On April 30,
1851, a treaty formally called the “Act of
Incorporation into the Spanish Monarchy”
stipulated that Sulu should not enter into
agreements with other European powers. The
sultanate also agreed to use Spanish flag and
prohibit piracy. Key members of the Sultanate
were also given annual salaries by Spain.

Around the middle of the 19th century, the introduction and use of steam gunboats in the
Sulu Zone to combat piracy and curtail local trade eventually led to the decline of the Sulu
maritime power. In July 1878, all datus and chiefs of Sulu, with the aim of restoring peace
and order, signed the articles of pacification and capitulation to the Spanish Monarchy. The
treaty stressed the submission of Sulu to Spanish sovereignty and the acknowledgment of
the supremacy of Spain over the territory of the sultanate. Nevertheless, this submission of
the Sultanate of Sulu guaranteed the free exercise of their religion and customs (Article 9),
albeit considering themselves as loyal subjects of the Spanish crown. This was the last treaty
between Spain and the sultanate, which defined the position of Sulu during the final period
of Spanish rule in the Philippines.

Relations between the sultanate of Sulu and the English, were formalized in the eighteenth
century with the signing of a treaty of friendship and commerce in 1761. Also known as the
Bantillan treaty, the objective of this treaty was the extension of free trade of pepper, agar-
agar, sago, trepan, and a factory site to the English in exchange for military protection for the
sultanate.

In 1763, a year after the British occupation of Manila, a treaty ceding to the East India
Company all of the Sultan Alimud Din’s possessions in north Borneo, Palawan, and all the
islands between, as well as Balambangan was signed with Alexander Dalrymple, a British
east India agent. This was supposed to be payment for the liberation of the Sultan from
Spanish captivity in the year of British capture of Manila.

This treaty also sought to affirm the 1761 treaty with the Sulu Sultanate. In the following year,
the two parties forged another treaty of friendship. Due to England’s sensitivity to Spain,
these treaties had not been implemented. A treaty in 1764 between Alimud Din and
Dalrymple selling to the east India Company part of Borneo, the island of Palawan and all
other islands northward of Borneo.

In 1849, a political agreement recognizing the protectorate status of Sulu under British control
and providing free trade and security from pirates was negotiated by the Sultanate with Sir
James Brooke. Spain invoked the 1836 treaty which provided for Spanish sovereignty over
Sulu and therefore prevented the implementation of this treaty.
In 1877, Spain, Britain, and Germany signed a Protocol defining their interests in Sulu
whereby by British and German access to a commerce in Sulu would be guaranteed by the
terms of the treaty. In 1878, the Sulu Sultanate entered into a negotiation that provided for
the cession of Sabah to Austrian Overbeck and Dent, organizers of the British North Borneo
Company.

In the 1885 Protocol, Britain and Germany recognized Spain’s sovereignty over Sulu as long
as Spain guarantees freedom of trade in North Borneo. In 1828, Frenchmen, Dumont
d’Urville and eighteen officers reached Sulu and were welcomed by Datu Molu who had
earlier written the French King regarding the establishment of trade relations. The French
had been later received by Sultan Muhamed Guian loul Kiram who discussed the trade of
mother of pearls, shells, sea cucumbers, and birds nest and of fabrics and knives.

Spain’s limited control of Mindanao made this island more accessible to Europeans other
than Spaniards. The rather advanced state of the Muslim society in Mindanao (which
Laarhoven, has been considered as principalities) permitted a stance or resistance against the
Spaniards and an unperturbed capability to choose its external partners. This is one of the
reasons why early Philippines-European relations in Mindanao took place in a rather
different level compared to the level by which these relations were undertaken in Luzon and
in Visayas during the same period.

There had been instances whereby the sultanates of Maguindanao dealt with the Spanish,
English, and Dutch merchants and officials of government at an advantageous position,
sometimes even to the point of diplomatic manipulations. There had also been instances of
correspondence being exchanged between the sultanate and the English at a diplomatic level
or instances of English merchants serving the sultanate.

The Dutch established its first relations with Maguindanao in 1656 when the former took
adavantage of the opening of the wax trade in Maguindanao and in Butuan. From then,
Maguindanao had imported from the Dutch cloth, iron, chinaware, brass, knickknacks, war
materials, coins, knives, opium, etc. Alternatively, the natives sold to the Dutch wax, rice,
tobacco, paddy, tortoise shells, cinnamon, gold, coconut oil, boats, sago, and ebony.

The relationship between Maguindanao and the Dutch during this period depended on some
external factors. Maguindanao’s relations with the equally independent kingdom of Ternate,
and Maguindanao’s policy of resistance and military protection from Spain. In fact, the early
attempt of Sultan Kudarat to involve the Dutch in the wax trade was an intermediate way of
creating a military alliance. Hence, it may seem that trade with the Dutch was of a secondary
importance. From the side of the Dutch, her interests had been shaped by a foreign policy
challenging Spanish supremacy in the Philippines. The resulting trade in Maguindanao had
been considered as insignificant. Another factor was the strategic utility of Maguindanao.
Maguindanao was not a rich source for the more lucrative commodities such as spices and
gold. Dutch presence, however was a necessary ingredient for it to maintain its position of
control in the Asian trade.
The last buy perhaps most important factor was Maguindanao’s desire to preserve its
independence. This policy had by and large influenced the initiative undertaken by
Maguindanao to deal with the English or any foreigner, for that matter.

English presence in Maguindanao began in 1686 when the English ship under Captain
William Goodlud arrived and presented to the sultan, broad black baftas, needles, iron
cannons, cloth, and bottles in exchange for wax, ebony, and tortoise shells. At this point, a
military alliance had also been proposed. Another proposal of this nature was made before
the Muslims by Captain Charles Swan in the period between 1686 to 1687. In 1688,
Maguindanao Merchant was considered to be the last English ship that was dispatched in
Mindanao. The establishment of trade relations between the English and the Maguindanao
affected the latter’s trade relations with the Dutch who from 1686 until 1706 sent several
missions investigating the nature of English relations with the Sultanate.

The 19th Century Opening to International Trade

The opening of Manila in 1834 was a significant

event that helped shape the history of Philippine
relations with Europe. This event signaled the
advent of a relatively more equal participation of
foreigners in Philippine commerce. The
liberalization of trade and business in Manila and
the subsequent opening of other ports in
Zamboanga, Iloilo, Sual in 1855; in Cebu, 1860, and
in Legazpi and Tacloban in 1873, expanded the
scope and extent of commercial contacts among Filipino and European merchants. This from
of multi-sector trade encouraged the settlement and trade of various Europeans. Economic
and social like in Manila was transformed after it was opened to the British, Americans,
French, and Germans once they were given economic privileges at par with the Spanish
merchants. class signifying their existence in considerable numbers.
 The French pioneered consular relations in Manila in 1829.
The beginnings of the French community were already
visible in the eighteenth century even prior to the opening of
Manila. In 1835 there were only less than ten Frenchmen and
visitors of varied professions. In two decades, the French
population more than doubled. French traders were among
the early visitors. French participation in the agro-industrial
sector had been evident during this period. Paul de la
Gironiere invested in the agricultural industry, specifically
in the production of rice, indigo, sugar, and coffee. He was
medical doctor who established himself in the Philippines in
1820 before he ventured into sugar production.

The notations and observations made by French navigators, professionals, consuls, scholars,
technicians, and missionaries were significant during this period because it contributed to
the developing foreign literature on Philippine colonial life.

The English, on the other hand, constituted the biggest percentage of foreign population in
Manila in the 19th century. Their numbers were translated proportionately to their
commercial interests and investments throughout the country. They established merchant
houses in the 1820s which served as the Philippines’ ink to the international trading system.
Equated to today’s transnational corporations, these merchant houses primarily provided
access for the purchase, transport and distribution of goods for export. The role of the British
merchant houses had been the important in financing the infant abaca industry of Bicol
province.

The British’s major stake and involvement in the commerce of the Philippines led to the
organization of the Manila Chamber of Commerce in 1898. Initially the Chamber catered to
the interests of British firms or British individuals in Manila until the second World War
when the Chamber opened its membership to other nationalities.

While Germany’s relations with Manila antedated the establishment of the consulates of
Hamburg in 1849, Bremen in 1852, and of the German Reich in 1868, these more formal
economic relations were significant in shaping Germany’s participation in Philippine trade
in the 1890s.

In the 17th century, German Jesuits who were pharmacists or

scientists arrived in Manila. Such were Georg Josef Kamel pioneer
on Manila’s drug store business. In this list, German Jesuit Paul
Klein arrived in Manila in 1678. The arrival of Johannes Zobel in
1832 formed an imprint on the development of the country’s
pharmaceutical industry. German presence in pharmaceuticals,
since the founding of the first drug store by Kamel, had been quite
significant.
The share of the German historian, Feodor Jagor in the
development of Philippine-German relations was his recording of
Philippine history from a foreigner’s perspective.

The Russians became interested in the Philippines in the late

seventeenth century, when the former began to devise ways to develop maritime routes in
order to address Russia’s lack of warm water ports. A plan to establish trade in Manila and
to utilize it as a base for providing the food requirements of Russian navigators was devised.

Russia embarked on an active pursuit of this objective but had only been partially successful
in the beginning of the 19th century when it was able to open a Russian consular office in
Manila in 1820. At this point, Russian presence in Manila was indirect in view of the fact the
Peter Dobell, its consular agent, was an American. This was also a short-lived Russian
consular establishment lasting only a few weeks. Nonetheless, this event was evidence of
Russian avid pursuit of her interests in Manila during this said period. It was restored in 1856
and operated until 1880. With the outbreak of the 1898 Revolution, Spain established
consular relations with Russia. During this time, Russian interests in Manila although
relevant could not be seriously maintained in the form of formal diplomatic or consular
relations.

Negotiating Reforms: The Filipinos in Europe

Travel to various parts of Europe took place in the late

19th century when the Filipino ilustrados decided to go
either to France, Spain, England, Belgium or Germany
to seek higher learning or to engage in revolutionary
work in a more liberal setting. A number of these
Filipinos went to Spain to study medicine or the arts.

Travels to Europe during this period had been in some

cases influenced by political developments. It was in
1889 in Spain where the La Solidaridad was born. The influx of liberal ideas in Spain and other
European countries made these parts of Europe conducive for writing such opus and forming
political movements. This resulted in the formation of a number of Filipino groups which in
Madrid in the 1880s was collectively called a “Filipino colony.” There were thirty-nine or so
members of this association. Most of the members were part of the Propaganda Movement
which counted among others Rizal, de Lete, Luna, Ponce, Paterno, del Pilar, etc. The same
group under Eduardo de Lete’s primacy organized the Filipino Circle in Madrid in 1882.
Several other associations were formed towards the end of the 19 th century in Spain. In 1888,
the Hispano-Filipino Association was inaugurated in Madrid. This group embodied the
reforms that called for equal protection of the laws and the right to learn language in schools.
The association between the Filipino expatriates in Europe and the Europeans were varied.
For many expats, these Europeans were their mentors or colleagues. Prof. Miguel Morayta,
a Spanish professor at the Universidad Central de Madrid was fellow of the Hispano-Filipino
Association formed in 1888. Although he was a Spanish, Morayta believed in the necessity
of reforms for the Philippines.

On the other hand, members of the diplomatic corps, politicians and other distinguished
Spaniards sat as audience to Graciano Lopez Jaena who delivered a discourse in 1882 in
Madrid about the necessity of reforms in the Philippines. But the reforms presented by the
Propagandists were not granted by Mother Spain. With the failure of the reforms, eventually
it led to the outbreak of the Revolution in 1896.

Negotiating Recognition of Philippine Independence, Republic, and Sovereignty

The Malolos and Hong Kong diplomacy had been often described by historians as a chapter
in Filipino diplomacy. Much more has been written about the representations made by
Agoncillo of the Philippines in the United States than in Europe. In Europe, diplomatic
initiatives by Aguinaldo and his men had been directed towards Paris, the venue for the
peace settlement between the United States and Spain over claims to the Philippines.

In 1897, the Philippine Commission in Hong Kong sought the support of French consul,
Henry Hannoteaux, against Spanish colonial rule. In the following year, a decree issued by
Aguinaldo authorized the appointments of Filipino resident representatives in key places in
the world to build the Junta’s arms supply, to solicit support for and to promote the
recognition of the Philippine Republic. Pedro
Roxas was appointed representative to Paris
and Juan Luna, representative to London.
Together they were assigned to lead the
committee formed in Paris for the recognition
of the Philippine Republic in 1899. There was
also a Philippine Committee in Europe based
in London, which did not have official
relations with the Hong Kong Junta but which
sent “memorials” to the Paris Peace
Conference in 1898. In Madrid, a Filipino
committee had been formed to disseminate
information regarding the Junta to the Philippines.

Not to be overlooked was Aguinaldo’s diplomatic effort to get international attention on the
Filipino right to self-government in the ongoing Paris negotiations to end the Spanish-
American war. In 1898, Aguinaldo and Agoncillo, who were representatives to the United
States made separate attempts at engaging France to support the cause of the Filipinos.
Aguinaldo presented to a French consul in the United States the terms of the Malolos
government for a final negotiation with Spain in 1898, which did not again capture French
 support. Upholding the position of French neutrality, the
consul declined Aguinaldo’s invitation to attend the
proclamation of the Philippine Republic at Malolos. Don
Felipe Agoncillo ably sought audience in Washington DC but
failed to win the Filipino cause. President McKinley only
promised to study his memorial and, unknown to Don
Felipe, instructed the Paris
Peace Commission not to
entertain the Filipino
diplomat. The snub was an
unmistakable indication
that the only option left for
the Filipino struggle for
independence was war. A
similar mission was
undertaken when
Agoncillo was in Paris in
1900. On December 10, 1898, the United States and Spain
formally concluded the Treaty of Paris, in which Spain ceded
the Philippines to the United States for $20 million. In
January 1899, the First Philippine Commission arrived in the
islands headed by Jacob Schurman to conduct a survey of the
islands in preparation for the establishment of an
appropriate government for the Filipino people.

In 1899, during the outbreak of the Philippine-American war, Antonio Regidor and Sixto
Lopez were noted to have been the only remaining residents in London who corresponded
with the Hong Kong Junta. In 1900, in his bid to negotiate for a settlement with the
Americans, Sixto Lopez congratulated the United States President through the U.S.
Ambassador in London.

Discussions for the Philippine Relations during the American period until Wartime
Republic will be in a separate file.