Caballero, Jean Mari Prudence L.

Section II
Ateneo de Manila University

SHORT ESSAY
Compare and contrast the ideas, perspectives, and claims of the Jose Rizal and William Henry Scott about
precolonial Philippines. Provide context to the goals of the two authors. What does Rizal want to do
when he wrote his essay. What does Scott try to prove? Your essay must answer by providing contexts
about the authors.

Why did the Philippines experience colonization under the Spaniards? That is one of the
questions answered by writers like William Scott and Jose Rizal. There are opinions and curiosities as to
what made Filipinos kneel to the Spanish Crown. Thus, the two aforementioned writers offer two
different perspectives to determine the cause. Scott’s text illustrated the social structure of Luzon and
Visayas in the pre-colonial Philippines. He pointed out the goal of translating and understanding Filipino
terms in Spanish terms. On the other hand, Rizal pointed out that it was not just the indolence of the
Filipinos that brought them to their downfall, but also the events and colonization that have hindered
them from prospering. Though both analyses show varying perspectives of the Pre-colonial Philippines,
both texts would explain how the Philippines established their own society before the changes due to
the Spanish colonization.

In Scott’s Filipino Class Structure in the 16 th Century, the author illustrates and explains the
Spanish accounts that attempt to understand the Filipino terms and class structure of the pre-colonial
Philippines. The emphasis on such social structure was relevant for the Spaniards to, later on, study and
think about how to govern the communities. With this emphasis, readers like the Spaniards can identify
the dynamic of Filipinos from Luzon and Visayas. First, in Luzon, Father Plasencia would classify Filipinos
into estates based on their social conditions: principales, hidalgos, pecheros and esclavos. The
principales or the “first estate” includes the “maginoo” which means “principal in lineage or parentage”.
Addtionally, the Spanish accounts would give emphasis to datus (who are also part of the principales).
The power and reputation of a datu depends on their skill as a warrior and their popularity. Then, the
“second estate” consists of timawas, which means common people or plebeians. The timawas are free
to either be slaves’ masters or to render services to a lord. Unlike slaves, they are not obligated to work
under a lord by birthright but can work under a contract. This estate also includes the hidalgos who, like
the maharlikas, are the “comrade-at-arms” of the datus in exchange for a good amount of shares.

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However, it is harder for a hidalgo to leave his datu wherein to leave, he must pay gold or throw a feast.
Lastly, the third estate consists of the alipin, which can be translated to esclavos and the pecheros.
There are two types of alipins: alipin namamahay and alipin saguigilid. Alipin namamahay has rights to a
land, while alipin saguigilid does not. Alipins would serve masters, especially when they have debts;
however, to prevent abuse, Father Plasencia introduced the concept of “pecheros” who pay a particular
amount of tributes to his lord as an fixed payment. On the other hand, in the Visayas, the people are
divided into datus, timawas, oripun negroes and overseas aliens. They share common characteristics of
having upperclassmen, middleclassmen, and lowerclassmen. For example, in the first order, they consist
of the datu class. Datus are leaders of barangays and have followers. They lead wars and they marry
people of the same blood or descent. As leaders, they can get land and possessions of followers and
they can be judges over conflicts. Then, under the first order, there is a second order called the timawas
who are warriors for their datus. They are also associated with being “knights and hidalgos” (The Box),
men who are free and not slaves (Loarca), and “third rank of nobility” (Alcina). They are under the datus
wherein they fight, and risk their lives for their datus. Finally, there is the third order, which consists of
the oripun who are the slaves. Both social structures illustrate the concept of three groups which are the
leaders, the ones fighting, and the others. However, Scott also mentioned a perspective wherein the
society is divided into two: the ones who get the resources and the ones who do not. With this analysis,
Scott highlights a structure that already existed wherein some were well-off while some were poor. 1

While Scott’s text pointed out the already existing social structure, Rizal argued that
circumstances and colonization have played a role in the Philippines’ loss of identity. Using medical
situations as a metaphor, Rizal would consider the Spaniards, Filipinos, and external factors like the
environments that would contribute to the colonization of the Philippines. In “The Indolence of the
Filipino Rizal would point out that before the Spanish Colonialization, the Philippines had good economic
relations, especially with the Chinese. A Chinese manuscript of the 13 th Century would talk about how
the Chinese would trade goods with the Filipinos in Luzon which the Filipinos would distribute among
the people in other islands. These goods include crude wax, cotton, dry goods, pearls, tortoise shells,
and so on. Filipinos would also welcome the Spaniards. Morga would point out that Filipinos forgot how
to do skills like farming during their “paganism” after the country has been colonized. It was important
to note that pirates have affected the agriculture and the resources have been ruined when Cebu was

1
Scott, “Filipino Class Structure in the 16th Century”, pp. 142-175

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taken.2 Aside from this, in “The Philippines A Century Hence”, Rizal would highlight how, during the
Spanish colonization, the Filipinos would slowly lose their culture. The Spaniards would think that
Filipinos were mere savages. Aside from this, Rizal would point out the sensitive nature of the Filipinos
wherein they would give up their freedom for a promise. The natives thought that the Spaniards were
friendly and were attracted by their kindness when they arrived in the country. However, when they
were colonized, they lost their freedom. Countrymen, who saw hope through the noble Spanish men,
would be part of their armies and be leaders under the Spanish government. Filipinos would even listen
to priests. With this attachment to the Spanish government, the Philippines finds itself losing its
identity3. The essays would provide proof that it was not just the indolence of Filipinos that lead to their
loss of identity but also the colonization and the circumstances that have affected the way Filipinos
progressed.

Both Scott and Rizal have different approaches to explaining the established Pre-colonial Philippine
society. Scott analyzes Spanish accounts that assess social structures in pre-colonial Luzon and Visayas.
Furthermore, though the explanation of the structures presents classism, it also became an account
proving that the Filipinos had a structure in the society. It also showed that not all Filipinos were mere
pagans. On the other hand, Rizal’s essays explain that Filipinos did thrive (ex. economically) yet fell
victim to the illusion of nobility presented by the Spaniards. Though they have different perspectives of
the pre-colonial Philippines, they presented a point that the Filipinos were capable to establish their
own structure and trade. Scott presented the pre-colonial Philippines structure wherein it both showed
a separation between rich and poor yet a designation of roles in the community, while Rizal explained
how (before Spanish colonization) the Filipinos were able to conduct trade before they grew attached to
the Spanish government.

2
Rizal, The Indolence of the Filipino
3
Rizal, The Philippines A Century Hence

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REFERENCES

Primary Sources

Rizal, Jose. The Philippines A Century Hence, ed. by Austin Craig and trans. by Charles Derbyshire, Project
Gutenberg EBook (2011).

Rizal, Jose. The Indolence of the Filipino, ed. by Austin Craig and trans. by Charles Derbyshire, Project
Gutenberg EBook (2003).

Bibliography

Scott, William Henry. “Filipino Class Structure in the 16 th Century” Philippine Studies 28 no. 2, Quezon
City: Ateneo de Manila University (1980): 142-175.