Rizal in the Context of 19 th

Century Philippines
(POLITICAL AND CULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT)
Political Development
Political Situation in Spain during
19th Century

 There was a struggle between

Liberals and Conservatives.

 Spain lost most, if not all, of its

colonies in South America in the 19th
Century.
Political Development
How did this affect the Philippines? Did it
have a positive or negative effect?

 Constant practice of replacing Governor Generals

(41 in a span of 45 years, from 1853 to 1898).

 Dumping ground for inept bureaucrats.

 Failure to make or achieve consistent policies.

 There was a political instability.

Political Development
By and large, there was
rampant graft and corruption
typified by:

Failure to provide for the

basic needs like public works,
schools, and peace and order.
Taxes were never fully
utilized.
Limited Participation of
Filipinos in government.
 Cultural
Development
The Ilustrados, otherwise know as the
“enlightened ones” , were the educated class in
the Philippine society during Spanish
occupation
They were instrumental in paving the way for
the creation of the Propaganda Movement.
The Rapid Spread of Higher Education among
middle and lower middle class Filipinos
accelerated Filipino nationalism.
 CULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT: ROLE
OF THE JESUITS
 The Jesuits were responsible for the
creation of the Escuela Normal de
Maestros and Ateneo de Municipal.
 They installed among Filipino
students a sense of nationalism
through their Humanistic form of
Education.
- They inculcated in the minds
od students the principles of human
dignity, justice and equality of all
men.
 Cultural Development
The Jesuits were unlike the other friars, who were
educators but did not do too much to educate the
Filipinos.
Instead of being proud of the excellent
performance of their Filipino students, most of
the friars felt quite suspicious with their success
and invariably sought to pull them down.
This was one of the reasons why Rizal left the
Philippines.
 Interest in the Filipino Past
Filipinos instilled in their minds a sense of pride and
national identity.
They used Philippine history to prove that the three
centuries of Spanish rule did not lead to any
progress, only decline.
Rizal averred that Filipinos could have developed on
their own before the coming of Spaniards.
PRIDE OF BEING FILIPINOS.
 CONCLUSION
 The rampant corruption of the government
became one of the reason why Rizal called for
reforms of the church.
 The lack of concern of the government officials
simply motivated Rizal to call for the education
of his fellow Filipinos.
 Education awakened the minds of Filipinos.
 The interest in the Filipino past also led to the
acceleration of Filipino nationalism.