19th Century Philippines as

Rizal’s Context
THE SOCIAL
BACKGROUND
Prepared by: Jennifer E. Cotillon
BTLE IA-4A

Prepared to: Dr. Rebecca M. Mercado

Professor
 Education in the 19th Century
• With the coming of Spanish
colonizers, the European system of
education was somewhat
introduced to the archipelago.
Schools were established and run
by the Catholic missionaries.
• Catholic Church made a
Religion a compulsory subject
at all levels.
• King Philip II Leyes de Indias
(Laws of the Indies)
• Less that one-fifth of those who
went to school could read and
write Spanish.
• First formal school in the land
opened in their parishes by the
missionaries.
• Augustinians, Franciscans,
Jesuits and Dominicans.
• The native children were taught
reading, writing, and arithmetic
• Latin was also taught to the
students instead of Spanish
• The Spanish Friars applying
corporal punishment.
• Colleges (which were the
equivalent of our high school
today) were established for
boys and girls.
• Separate school for boys and
girls
• Subject taught to college
students included History,
Latin, Geography, Mathematics
and Philosophy.
• 17th century – University
opened in the country to the
Spanish
• 19th century – these universities
started accepting native
Filipinos.
• 1863- royal decree called for the
establishment of a public school
system in the Philippines.
• Formerly run totally by religious
authorities administered by the
government during the last half
of the 19 century.
th
• A new Social Class in the
country emerged “the
Ilustrados”
• Opening of suez canal which
made the travel Europe faster,
easier and more affordable.
• Propaganda Management
• The most prominent of the
Ilustrados was Jose Rizal.
The Rise of Chinese Mestizo
 The Chinese Mestizos

• A Group Picture of Chinese Mestizos

• At the beginning of the 19th
century, economic and political
changes in Europe were finally
starting to affect Spain and,
consequently the Philippines.
• Broader trade was the gradual
abolition of the monopoly
enjoyed by the Manila-
Acapulco Galleon.
• Demand for Philippine sugar,
abaca (hemp)
• Amount of export increased of
European countries.
• Opening of Suez Canal in 1869.
• The development of
commercial agriculture in the
archipelago resulted in the
presence of a new class.
• Alongside the landholdings of
the church and the rice estates
of the pre-Spanish nobility,
there emerged haciendas of
sugar, coffee, and hemp.
• The fast rhythm of economic
progress in the Philippines
during the 19th century
expedited.
The Rise of the Inquilinos
The Inquilinos
• At least in modern Spanish, the
term inquilino has the same
meaning as the English
“tenant.”
The Rise of the Inquilinos
• The 19th century inquilino system in the Philippines is better
understood as a qualified system of tenancy or the right to
use land in exchange for rent.
• The elimination of the Galleon Trade and opening of the
Suez Canal gave way for more extensive rice cutivation and
production.
• Many states turned progressively to the inquilino system of
land tenure
• During harvest time, the administration would collect the
rent of the inquilinos
• This system became very profitable.
• As friar estates enlarged, the boundaries that seperated
between estates
and communal lands became a common cause of
conflict.