Part I

Discussing the content of the document:

Encomienda was a formal system of forced labor in Spanish colonies in Latin America and the
Philippines, intended to encourage conquest and colonization. However, the Spanish abandoned the
system by the end of the 17th century due to abusive treatment of local tribute payers, neglect of
religious instruction by encomenderos (tribute collectors), and frequent withholding of revenues
from the crown.

In this document, the governor-general, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi began to appoint his own civil and
military governors to rule directly. In theory, the encomienda system was a feudal-like system in
which Spaniards provided security and education to native populations in exchange for labor and
money/gifts, but in fact, it was a terrifying system of power and primarily slavery. It includes
mistreatment and forced labor in unhygienic conditions, which resulted in the deaths of many
indigenous peoples and laborers.

To summarize, Legaspi's position on the Encomiendas is to provide protection to the natives, assist
missionaries in their conversion to Christianity, and promote education, but it soon becomes
unacceptable, such as brutal treatment of the Filipinos, forcing people to work for them, and
collecting more tribute than the authorized law.

The Date, Time, and Type of document:

On the primary source: The Encomiendas assigned by Legaspi, there was no exact date of when the
document was written, however it was concluded that the written content was composed around
1570-1571 in Filipinas. The author was not mentioned in the text, but the document was derived from
the testimonies of Governor general Miguel Lopez De Legaspi—a Spanish explorer who established
Spain’s dominion over the Philippines that lasted until the Spanish-American war of 1898.

This primary source is a diplomatic source and an oral evidence at the same time. Diplomatic sources
are sources containing official documents, such as bills, reports, cartularies, registers, and rolls.
Meanwhile, an oral evidence is the collection and analysis of historical information about persons,
families, significant events, or ordinary life using transcriptions of interviews, audiotapes, etc.

Part II

Discussing the content of the document:

The Indolence of the Filipinos by our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal is originally titled as “La Indolencia
de los Filipinos.” It is an exploratory essay where he talked about the laziness of the Filipinos during
the Spanish occupation. In his essay, Rizal pointed out the causes and effects on the indolence of the
Filipinos, as well as how the Spanish government and their church contribute to this alleged
indolence, the government’s action towards its effects, and the solution that Rizal has concluded to
stop the symptoms of this indolence. According to Rizal, the Spanish colonization brought a decline
in the status of the economy in the Philippines for certain causes: the trade cut off of the Galleon
trade across all previous associations of the Philippines with other Asian and Middle east countries,
the loss of the natives’ love for work because of the implementation of the forced labor, the lack of
protection by the Spaniards to the natives against foreign invaders, which resulted to their loss of
interest in cultivating their lands and rebuilding their industries, the crooked system of church and
education, the Spanish rulers being a bad example to despise manual labor, the sixth one is the
establishment of gambling, and lastly, the high tax payment. Furthermore, according to Rizal, Filipinos
are not responsible for their misfortunes, as they are not their own masters. We are all aware that we
were enslaved by the Spaniards and by the belief that they are our ways to salvation. Second is that an
illness will worsen if the wrong treatment is given. Third, is that all the causes of indolence can be
reduced to two factors, the limited training and education Filipino natives receive. After discussing of all
of this, Rizal has concluded that the true solution to solve this problem of indolence is a reform, one that
necessitates education and liberty for Filipinos. Rizal stated that Filipinos should not be denied
educational opportunity, and that all policies should be sincere, consistent, and civilizing to all of them.

The Date, Time, and Type of document:

The primary source: The Indolence of The Filipinos by Dr. Jose Rizal was published in La Solidaridad
Madrid, Spain around July 15, 1890, to September 15, 1890. This primary source is a