San Jose Community College

SanJose, Malilipot,Albay
S.Y2022-2023, 2nd Semester

Chapter2

ChapterII
ChapterII
ChapterII

The Philippines in the 19th Century as Rizal’s Context

OVERVIEW!!!!
 The facts of contemporary history are also facts about the success and the failure of
individual men and women (Wright Mills, 1959). In understanding history, one must consider the
background and context of the time to understand why people act. Suppose historians in the future
will write about our history today. In that case, they will be sharing the same success and failure of
individual men and women who faced the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. They
will share how people responded to the context of the time, how students and teachers alike adapted
to online learning, how people worked from home, and how using face masks became the new normal.
Thus, the pandemic shall be remembered not just by how many people died but how men and women
banded together to fight the surge of the pandemic.

Just like what we have today, Rizal was also a product of his time. He did not wake up one day
and realized that he wanted to become a hero. His life's choices were a response to the successes and
failures he experienced. The 19th century Philippines was not just about people struggling against
colonial rule; it was about Filipinos, men and women alike, fighting against political oppression. It was a
period of massive changes in Europe and the world. The Philippines, as a colony of Spain, suffered from
the instability of the Spanish colonial government. In return, -the Philippines also suffered from social
injustice and judicial inequality. Therefore, the world of Rizal's time and the Philippines of Rizal's time
shall be examined in this Chapter for us to assess why Filipinos acted as they did. We will understand
why a corrupt government was overthrown, why social injustice was heavily opposed and why judicial
inequality was massively condemned. Rizal, together with the Filipinos, fought bravely to change the
Philippines' political, economic, and socio-cultural conditions in the nineteenth century. His response
made him the center of the nationalist movement of his day and the principal inspiration of the
Revolution (Schumacher, 1991).

Learning Objectives: At the end of this Chapter, the students should be able to:
▶ appraise the link between the individual and society;
▶ analyze the various social, political, and economic changes that occurred in the nineteenth
century; and
▶ demonstrate understanding of Jose Rizal in the context of his time.

The World and the Philippines of Rizal's Time

In the 19h century, there were massive changes in the world, particularly in Europe, Spain, and
the Philippines. In this century, Rizal was born and exposed to varying political, economic, and
socio-cultural realities. Rizal witnessed the effects brought by the Industrial Revolution, benefited
from the opening of the Suez Canal, gained education in Europe, became an ilustrado, and took part in
the Propaganda Movement.

 Political Context
The 19th century was marked for its tremendous social change. Europe prospered like never
before and England led the way as the growing imperialist power. In 1858-1863, France conquered
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Later, the Dutch colonized Netherland East Indies (Indonesia). Other
countries soon followed Britain's imperialists ‘examples. However, while the nineteenth century was
hailed for its massive social changes, it was not for all imperialists. While England, France and the Dutch
enjoyed the fruits of their colonial activities, Spain stagnated. Spain never learned a lesson from the
loss of her colonies (Zaide, 1999). From being considered the "mistress of the world", Spain continued
despotic colonial rule in its remaining colonies Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. During this time,
Rizal witnessed the flowering of Western imperialism and the downfall of the Spanish colonial rule.

In the context of the Philippines, the country suffered from different social issues as a result
of the Spanish despotic colonial rule. The Filipino people were exposed to the evils of colonial rule such as
maladministration of justice, no equality before the law, racial prejudice, forced labor, frailocracy and
lack of representation in the Spanish Cortes. Internally, Spain was suffering from frequent
constitutional and govermmental changes that led to colonial instability. In a short span of 28 years
(1834-1862), it adopted four constitutions, elected 28 parliaments, and installed 529 ministers. t also
suffered from internal party strife, revolutions and other political upheavals (Zaide, 1999).

Due to the instability of Spain as a government, it directly affected the Philippines as one of its
colonies. One example is given by Zaide (1999) in his book "Jose Rizal Life, Works, and Writings”.
 The constant shift of these political policies also disrupted the way Spain governed the
Philippines. First, there was maladministration in the delivery of justice. In usual disputes that involved
a Spanish or a Filipino, the court would often favor a Spaniard. Usually, an influential Spaniard got the
most favorable court decision. Most Filipinos have to suffer from the costly, unfair and partial trial.
This condition could be attributed to their skin color, political affluence and economic affluence in
society. Second, there was no equality before the law. In the Philippine context in the 19h century, the
native nobles and pure-bred Spaniards enjoyed legal preference (Zaide, 1999) both in law and social
duties. In law, the Spanish Penal Code imposed heavier penalties on Filipinos. In social responsibilities,
the Filipinos were tasked to render forced labor and paid tributo or taxes to the colonial Government.
However, most Spaniards were exempted either from rendering forced labor or paying tribute. This
unequal social divide became the root of resentment to most Filipinos. Third racial prejudice against
native Filipinos became prevalent. As evident by the words of Father Burgos, who is known for taking
an active part in the Secularization Movement, he provided unequivocal evidence of how racial
discrimination was prevalent even among the native clergies (Schumacher, 1999).

From the wordings of Fr. Burgos himself, no matter how a native Filipino would exert his
best efforts, he would never succeed. Not because he was unfit or unable to carry out the role but
because preference was given to Spaniards. The said racial prejudice was happening everywhere-in
school, in the church hierarchy, in public offices and, as previously mentioned, even in the legal system.

Fourth, the mandatory exercise of forced labor oppressed the Filipinos further. Also known as
polo y servicio, all Filipino males with ages ranging from 16-60 were required to render forced labor by
the Spanish Government. The workers were called polistas, while mandatory labor itself was called polo.
They were tasked to perform general public and building works by constructing churches, schools,
roads, bridges and even ships. Some people in the community were exempted from rendering forced
labor such as the aristocracy or principalia, well-off Filipinos, government officials like the
gobernadorcillos or cabeza de barangay and school teachers. The well-off Filipinos and principalia shall
be exempted by paying the falla, amounting to seven pesos. Moreover, the government oficials and
teachers were considered legally exempt due to their services to the community. Therefore, poor and
uninfluential Filipinos had no choice but to render forced labor.

Firth, the existence of frailocracy or the "government rule of the friars." In tne 19m century,
there was no separation between the Church and the state. The friars became so powerful that it
resulted to the abuse of Filipinos. These friars contributed to the rise of agrarian unrest, the
secularization movement and Filipino abuses in many forms. Since these friars are Spaniards and can
communicate pretty well with the Spanish Government through their native language, they were
tasked to report whatever is happening in their parishes and friar-estates. In short, they were
supposed to act as a mediator between the Spanish Government and the Filipino people. However,
instead of reporting the deplorable conditions of the Filipinos, they chose to close their eyes, cover
their ears, and open their purse. Such was the sad reality of the Spanish colonial policy in the Philippines.

Lastly, the Philippines suffered from a lack of representation in the Spanish Cortes. Ideally,
the colonial government should open its parliament to colonial representation. This is one way of
hearing and improving the conditions of its colonies. It was on year 1811 that the Philippines was
represented by a 71-year-old Filipino-Spanish merchant named Ventura de los Reyes. However, his
diligent representation was one reason why the galleon trade was abolished for its reported abuses.
These examples are proof of how representation would benefit the country by communicating the
needs of the colony. Despite its emerging advantages, it was only short-lived. Thus, social injustices
continually oppressed and marginalized the Filipinos during the 19th century Philippines.

 Economic Context

The second half of the 19th century was a period of rapid economic growth. In Europe, the use
of increasingly expensive, powerful and productive steam engines resulted in the use of machinery in
the manufacturing sector in the cities of Europe (Odense, 2006). The benefits arising from these
technological innovations paved the way for efficient production. With more products in place, the
countries are looking for more places to trade. The invention of tools, ships, and other types of
machinery brought trade, governments, and people closer to each other. To remove these external
barriers, the Suez Canal was constructed. The Suez Canal is a waterway that connects Europe to
Asia by creating a direct shipping route without having to circumnavigate the African continent. This
new infrastructure brought about by the economic developments in Europe brought Spain closer to
the Philippines.

The opening of the Suez Canal also brought several advantages to the Philippines. First, the
distance of travel between Europe and the Philippines was significantly shortened. Second, and it
brought the country closer to Spain. Before the canal's opening, the travel from Spain to the
Philippines would take more than two months. However, upon the opening of the Suez Canal, it was
significantly reduced to 30 days. What is then the implication of the Suez Canal to the Filipinos during
that time?

It is a fact that the outstanding economic developments brought by industrialization then

enabled the construction of the Suez Canal. With travel significantly shortened, the Filipino ilustrados
were able to send their children to universities in Europe. The education gained by these ilustrados
opened their minds to the opposing conditions that are happening in the colony (Philippines) and the
mother country (Spain). Being enrolled in prestigious universities in Europe, these Filipino ilustrados
witnessed how the mother country enjoyed freedom, free from biases, injustices and racial
discrimination. On the other hand, while Spain enjoyed freedom and rights, the colony suffered from
the maladministration of justice committed by its incompetent and corrupt government officials.

On this notion, the call for reforms had been constantly waged by the ilustrados abroad like
Rizal. They organized the Propaganda Movement that aimed to expose the deplorable conditions of
the Filipinos in the Philippines so that Spain may remedy them.

 Socio-Cultural Context

The 19th century also brought socio-cultural changes in Spain and the Philippines. First, there
came the rise of the enlightenment period, where people began to rely on human reason rather than
faith and religion. In the Philippines, information through books and print media began to spread
across the seas. The opening of the Suez Canal made these pieces of information readily available to
the Filipinos by mail or hand-carried by travelers. The political and social developments of other
countries also reached the Philippines. Knowing how the French took part in their political revolution
and how the Americans engaged in the civil war became an inspiring lesson to the Filipinos, especially the
ilustrados. The desire for freedom and independence continued to grow among them.

Next, the 19th century Philippines saw the rise of middle-class, the principalias. With the
increasing demand for abaca and other crops in Europe, there was a need for more Filipino people to
cultivate lands. Manila became a free port in 1834 primarily to European traders. After several
months, provincial ports in the Philippines were also opened to world trade. The increasing trade
resulted to its gradual increase that can be attested to by these numbers (Majul, 1978):
 To further the economic gain of Spain, the Spanish officials recommended the exploitation and
cultivation of the Philippine resources to expand its trade relationship with Asia and Europe. To
enhance their trading capacities, Spain implemented the following measures (Majul, 1978):
1. Reformation of the Galleon Trade:
2. Settlement of the Spaniards in the provinces for agricultural and trade purposes; and
3. Government expropriation of the landed estates of the friar corporations

With these measures, the Spanish Government was now duty-bound to allow Filipinos to rent
and cultivate agricultural lands. To achieve this, more families had to engage in farming. Among those
principalia families who benefited from leasing the land owned by the Dominican estate was the family
of Rizal. The primary source of income of the family came from leasing and cultivating this wealthy
friar estate. They planted crops like abaca, corn, sugarcane and others. They also domesticated
animals like turkeys. Out of the Rizal family's income from the land, they could afford to send Rizal for
western education.

However, despite these social developments, agricultural unrest continued to grow. Friars who
owned the land exploited the tenants through flimsily increasing land rentals and taxes. This resulted
in several agrarian unrest and dissatisfaction with the living conditions of the Filipinos under the
friar-owned estates. Most of the lands rented by the Filipinos from these friar estates were
reduced due to several factors Such as: land reform, church donations, inheritance, revolt, or
misfortune (Zaide, 1999). Rizal fought heavily alongside the farmers. They contended that the corrupt
motives of the friars heavily oppressed the social conditions of the Filipinos.

 Understanding Rizal in the Context of the 19h Century Philippines

The political, economic, and social conditions of the 19h century shaped the kind of Rizal that we
know today in history. Without an understanding of that milieu, one can scarcely understand Rizal's
enduring importance to the Filipino people nor the relevance of his ideas and ideals today (Schumacher,
1991). To know why Rizal fought for reforms, one must look into the political conditions of the 19h
century to understand the political struggles of the Filipinos. To know why Rizal fought against the
Spaniards, one must assess how the Spanish Government exploited the Filipinos through their economic
policies. To determine why Rizal attacked the friars in his novels, one must understand the social
realities of the Filipinos during his time.

For this reason, this Chapter seeks to answer how the political, economic and socio-cultural
events of the 19h century shaped Rizal's ideals for nationalism and Filipino identity.

First, Rizal is a product of the 19h century. Would Rizal be who he is today if the Philippine
context in the 19h century were different? Definitely, yes. The kind of Rizal that we know today is a
product of his own time. He was at the right time, with the right people, and with the right context to
campaign for nationalism. We cannot seemingly imagine a 19h century Philippines without someone like
Rizal on it. His life, works, and writings helped shaped our history. He used his knowledge for the
betterment of the Filipino people and the Philippines. Next, Rizal responded to the needs of the time.
The Filipinos' deplorable political and social conditions paved the way for Rizal to rise against the
Spaniards and call out inefficiency, injustice and racial discrimination. He took an active role through
the Propaganda Movement so that Spain may remedy them. From his study abroad and observance
of the European laws, ways and cultures, he realized that the Philippines could be a better place if only
Spain would take proactive steps in protecting its colony. He did not hesitate to write the Noli Me
Tangere and the El Filibusterismo to showcase the political conditions of the Philippines under the
hands of the corrupt friars and inefficient Spanish officials. Therefore, Rizal came out at a time when
he was most needed. He took an active role in achieving true Filipino identity.

Lastly Rizal's idea of a Filipino nation would not be possible without the events of the 19h century.
In the overview of this Chapter, we discussed that the facts of contemporary history were also
facts about the success and the failure of individual men and women (Wright Mills, 1959). Therefore,
the success of Rizal and other Filipino people to achieve independence was a response to fulfill their
growing desire for justice, equality and freedom. The world and the Philippine context of the 19th
century molded the environment that Rizal lived. He responded to what the people needed and used
his capabilities to achieve Filipino identity.

The independence that we have today is the result of how Rizal, together with other Filipino
heroes in history, fought hard to achieve the blessings of independence and democracy.
 A. Write True if the statement is correct, otherwise, write False.

________ 1. The 19th Century was marked for its tremendous social change. Europe prospered like
never before and England led the way as the growing imperialist power.

________ 2. In , the workers were called while the mandatory labor was termed

________ 3. The members of the were exempted from forced labor by paying the .

________ 4. also means “government ruled by the Filipino people”.

________ 5. The Philippines had a representative to the Spanish Cortes named Ferdinand
Blumentritt.

B. Identify what is being describe in the following sentences.

________ 1. The middle-class Filipinos educated in Spain who were exposed to nationalistic ideas.

________ 2. The middle-class families who were given opportunities to administer friar estates during
the Spanish colonial era.

________ 3. The payment given by wealthy Filipinos for them to be exempted form forced labor.

________ 4. A government ruler by the friars.

________ 5. The mandatory labor rendered by the Filipinos during the Spanish colonial era.

C. Answer the following and explain each.

1. Discuss the different evils brought about by the Spanish despotic colonial rule in the Philippines.

2. Describe how the industrial Revolution shaped the 19th Century Philippines especially Rizal.

3. Explain the rise of the middle-class called and how this political status shaped Rizal in
the 19th century.

4. How do you think the political, economic and socio-cultural events of the 19th century shaped
Rizal’s ideals for nationalism and Filipino identity?

5. Why do you think it is important the context of Rizal’s time?