For today

Philippines before and during the time of Jose Rizal

National Heroes Day
 overview
• Spaniards wrought fundamental changes in the lives of the Indio.

• Introduced new customs, religion, practices and institutions

• Influx of Chinese due to presence of Spaniards

• New plants( corn, cassava, sweet potato, cotton, achuete, tobacco, cacao) and animals
(horses, cows, sheep, goats, water buffalos, geese, ducks and swans from China and Japan) –
modified eating habits and economic development
G. Zaide
 1. Instability of Colonial Administration

• Brought about frequent periodic shifts in colonial

policies and a periodic rigodon of colonial officials
• 1835 to 1897: 50 Governor-Generals each serving
an average term of only one year and three months
• Spain during the first three quarters of the 19th century was a country of
instability and chaos.
• Conquered by Napoleon Bonaparte, he made his brother Joseph as king.
• Guerilla warfare against the French ensued
• In 1812 a constitution was made by the Liberal Cortes
• Ferdinand VII was restored to power by 1814, he returned to absolute
government
• Civil war broke out between the
Liberals and Carlists (supporters of
Don Carlos)
• Maria Cristina as regent of her infant
daughter Isabella (successor to the
throne under the terms of Pragmatic
Sanction)
•1868 a revolution against
Isabella took place and she
was forced to abdicate

Alfonso XII of Spain

became king, which finally
brought Spain into a period
of stability and reform
 2. Corrupt Colonial Officials
a. Gen. Rafael de Isquerdo (1875-1883) incompetent and cruel, boastful,
ruthless, executed GOMBURZA in 1872.
b. Gen. Primo de Rivera – accepted bribes from gambling casino which he
permitted to operate.
c. Gen. Valeriano Weyler (1888-1891) – cruel and corrupt received huge
bribes, gifts and diamonds from wealthy Chinese who evaded anti-Chinese
law; persecuted Calamba tenants particularly the family of Dr. Jose Rizal.
 3. Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes

• 1st Philippine Delegate Ventura de los Reyes

• - Representation of Spanish colonies (including the Philippines) was
abolished in 1837
4. HUMAN RIGHTS were denied the to the Indios
- No freedom of expression

5. NO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW

• Filipinos were abused, brutalized, persecuted and slandered
• Leyes de Indias (Laws of the Indies) rarely enforced
- Spanish Civil Code imposed light penalties on Spaniards but heavier penalties to
Indios.
 6. MALADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

• Courts were notoriously corrupt, Judges, fiscals and court officials – inept,
venal and oftentimes ignorant the law.
• Justice – costly, partial and slow. Poor Filipinos had no access to the courts.
• Dona Teodora Rizal was jailed on flimsy ground in 1871; Dr. J. Rizal was
deported in July 1892 without trial; Paciano and several brothers-in-law were
exiled without due process
• GOMBURZA and RIZAL were executed
 7. RACIAL DESCRIMINATION

• Spain introduced Christianity’s egalitarian concept of the BROTHERHOOD OF

ALL MEN under GOD THE FATHER, but Filipinos were regarded as inferior
beings undeserving of rights enjoyed by the Spaniards.
• Filipinos were called brown-skinned and flat nosed Indios
• Lack opportunities for educated young Filipinos to rise in the service of God and
Country
• Spanish missionaries thought that ALL MEN irrespective of color and race are
children of God and as such they are brothers, equal before God and not before the
law… not in practice.
8.) Frailocracy
 8. Union of Church and state

• Friars (Augustinians, Dominicans and Franciscans) – controlled the religious and

educational life of the Philippines and later in the 19th century they came to acquire
tremendous political power, influence and riches.
• Friars controlled government from governor general down to alcalde mayors;
• Friars exercise priestly duties, inspector of books and taxes, arbiter of morals, censor of
books and comedias, superintendent of public works and guardian of peace and order.
• Rizal, del Pilar, Jaena and other Filipino reformists blamed frailocracy/friars for
obscurantism, fanaticism, and oppression in the country.
• Rizal’s Padre Damaso and Jaena’s fray Botod
 9. FORCE LABOR (Polo y servicio)
• compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish colonial authorities on adult Filipino
males in the construction of churches, schools, hospitals, buildings, roads and
bridges, ships etc.
• Wealthy ones were able to evade forced labor by paying falla, a sum of money.
• Spaniards were not drafted to forced labor, contrary to law, while the Filipino
polistas received only a part of two pesetas (50 centavos) or worse nothing at all.
• Disturbed the Indios’ work in the farm and shops and separate them from their
families.
 10. HACIENDA OWNED BY FRIARS

• Friars owned the best haciendas and the folks filling these land even before the
coming of the Spaniards became tenants – resulted in bloody agrarian upheaval in
1745-1746.

• Rizal tried to initiate agrarian reform in 1887 but in vain, ignited the wrath of the
Dominican Friars who retaliated by raising land rentals.

• Rizal in his “Indolence of the Filipinos” in substance opined that Friars ownership
of best agricultural tract of land contribute to the stagnation of economy.
 11. GUARDIA CIVIL
• created by Royal Decree of February 12, 1852;
• Maltreatment, abuse, robbers, rapists.
• Ill trained and undisciplined.
• Rizal’s Noli exposed the guardia civil through Elias as bunch of ruthless
ruffians, good only for disturbing the peace and persecuting honest men.
 (The Colonial Landscape: R.
Constantino, The Philippines A
Past Revisited Volume 1)
 COLONIAL OUTPOST
• The Philippines lacks economic promise for Spain/Crown but was
RETAINED
 COLONIAL OUTPOST
Factors that discouraged serious efforts for economic development:
• Philippines geographic isolation from Europe precluded growth of direct
trade – island to be administered through Mexico
• Philippine ruled by military administrators who received “situado” an annual
subsidy from Mexico; “The rest of their needs had to be extracted from the
Indios”
 ECONOMIC NEGLECT
• GALLEON TRADE – lasted until 1815 – involved only Spaniards
• Trade was essentially between China and Mexico with Manila as trans-
shipment point
• On to QUICK RETURNS from Galleon Trade dissuaded Spaniards from
productive work therefore neglected to develop the agricultural potential of
the Philippines.
 MOVES FOR ABANDONMENT
• Financial and Commercial consideration
- Income from Galleon trade is lower than “situado”
• Chinese silk brought to America by the Philippine Galleons competed with
Spanish export to that region (America) seriously threatening Spanish silk
industry
 Why were we not abandoned?
• CHURCH - Missionary undertaking/substantial material interest
• Philippines as base for future maneuvers in the East
• Philippines as colony of Spain – Prestige of the Crown/Pride of Spanish
Kings
• Profits from Galleon Trade – need to construct walls/buildings, pious
works (Obras pias) – establishment of schools, hospitals and charitable
institutions
 We were not abandoned due to the following considerations:

• Stepping stone to China and Japan

• Staging ground for missionary efforts
• Useful as outpost of Spanish empire for curving out an Oriental Empire
– Philippines to be used as base for the conquest of neighboring nations
• Due to these – Philippines was relegated to the role of a mere missionary
and military way – station
 Economic Stagnation
Galleon Trade
• Native economy- products were not in great demand in either China
or Mexico. Thus, Spaniards did not find it profitable to develop local
products for export – locally oriented/underdeveloped
• Chinese as intermediaries between West and the native economies –
Chinese distributed Chinese imports to the Philippine Village and
gathered in return local products which they sold to the Spaniards.
 Economic Stagnation
• Mid 19th Century while the Spaniards were trying to graft their administrative
institutions onto the indigenous social structures, the Chinese were wrecking
havoc on the primitive economy of the natives.
• Rice production had fallen off and the local textile industry had decline
disastrously in Pampanga and Manila in late 16th century due to movement of
native population to the city to provide domestic service to the Spaniards;
• Indios begun to buy staple food and clothes from the Chinese
REDUCCION
 REDUCCION
• BARANGAY had to be integrated into colonial framework,
few members of friars and scattered population had to be
consolidated into REDUCCION
• policy of resettlement of small villages into one larger village
for easy CONTROL.
 REDUCCION
FRIARS TECHNIQUES
• Offering of gifts like shirts, salt, needles, combs etc.
• free housing
• participation in colorful church rites
• high sounding titles (gobernadorcillo, capitan etc.)and honors for the chiefs.
• THREAT
 REDUCCION
• compromise of friars for Indios that did not join reduccion
• POBLACION – BARRIO – SITIO system with the CHURCH as the nucleus
• This community is called CABECERA
• Friars constructed chapels to say mass in barrio or sitio where Indios chose to settle
away from Cabecera. This is called VISITAS.
 Creation of Principalia
• Friar’s inducement and pressure on Chiefs of Villages and making chieftains or
CABEZAS de BARANGAY insured a measure of Indio’s social continuity which
facilitated ACCEPTANCE of Spanish rule.
• Conversion of Indio Chieftains into willing ALLIES and useful intermediaries (as
cabesa de barangay) formed a reservoir of reliable minor civil servants for the
Spaniards – This is bolstered by colonial recognition evidenced by their title of
PRINCIPALES.
 GOBERNADORCILLOS
• (petty governor) equivalent of MAYOR today
• They were exempted from paying tribute and rendering forced labor but they have the
DUTY to COLLECT TRIBUTES which should tally with census. UNPAID or
DELAYED tribute means FINE or IMPRISONMENT.
• Gobernadorcillos – also responsible for maintenance of municipal guards/jail, feed the
prisoners, provide municipal government with personnel and supplies, also
entertainment of visitors.
 PRINCIPALIA

• PRINCIPALIA
• From Indios concept of COMMUNAL LAND to Spaniard’s individual
concept of land OWNERSHIP and regarded the land itself not merely its
USE as source of WEALTH.
 PRINCIPALIA
• Principalia– by virtue of being FISCAL MIDDLEMEN between
Spaniards and their people (Indios) became aware of EXPLOITATIVE
KIND OF LAND OWNERSHIP and took advantage of it
• CHIEFTAINS (principalia) appropriated the lands cultivated by their
dependents/tillers who were institutionalized as tenants –
sanctioned/allowed by the Spaniards.
 STRATIFICATION
• PRINCIPALIA – perpetuated its dominant status through
INTRA-CLASS MARRIAGE; principalia’s residence in plaza
complex manifest physical expression of socio-economic
ascendancy
• THREE-TIERED hierarchy in rural society
• Spanish Priest, Principalia and the Masses.
The Philippine Society

PENINSULARES
INSULARES

CREOLE
INDIO
(Mestizo/Mestiza)
 The Native Population
• PRINCIPALIA they are the rich landowners; local gov’t officials
• ILLUSTRADO educated middle-class
• Common People/Indio they are the majority of or Masses the
class; workers
Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869