THE BACKDROP ON

RIZAL'S TIME
Divine Right Theory - a theory which holds that
the state is of divine creation and the ruler is
ordained by God to govern the people.
- was the basis of absolute monarchy in Europe and
in Asia
John Locke:

Social Contract Theory contends that while rulers have

the obligation to look after the general welfare of the
people, the latter have the obligation to support their ruler .
However, when the government becomes oppressive and
arbitrary, it is the right of the people to overthrow a
despotic ruler.

-legitimizes revolution as a powerful weapon against an

oppressive and decadent government
Jean Jacques Rousseau: People’s consent alone
legitimizes a government and the processes of
decision-making must be participated by all.

He prescribed eternal vigilance on the part of the

governed against their rulers.
Locke and Rousseau: It is right to stage civil
disobedience or to take up arms when a
government breaks its covenant with the people.
Locke and Rousseau espoused the theory that
God endowed man with natural rights, such as
right to life, liberty and property and by entering
into a social contract, man formed a civil society to
protect his rights.
Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire):

“Pen is mightier than sword.”

Mikhael Bakunin espoused anarchy. He hated all
forms of authority believing that society must be
organized from the bottom upwards by
spontaneous cooperation or association
G.W.F. Hegel advocated destruction of the old
set-up for the creation of a new one, ascertaining
that the new set-up will be better than the previous
one.

As progress takes place, conflicts are inevitable.

Thomas Hobbes:

Man by nature is selfish, cruel, and always seeking

self 
Imperialism – a policy of extending the rule
or authority of a nation over foreign countries
or acquiring colonies and dependencies.
In 1843 Pope Alexander VI assigned half of the world’s
hemisphere to Spain and the other to Portugal for colonization

Pacto de Pardo – a contract/compromise between the

Conservatives and the Liberals to alternate in the control of their
colonies
Consejo de Indias (Council of the Indies) – a body which exercised
executive, legislative, and judicial powers through which Spain administered
the Philippines

The Council of Trent endeavored to legislate moral reforms among the

clergy, to deny the wonder-working powers of images, to tighten the church
bureaucracy, and to officially recognize the absolute authority of the pope as
the earthly vicar of God and of Jesus Christ.
THE PHILIPPINES IN
THE 16 CENTURY
TH
 THE PHILIPPINES IN THE 16TH CENTURY

Reformation in the 16th century was a religious

movement against abuses in the Roman Catholic Church,
influenced by economic and political factors. It sought
to restore Christianity to its early purity by subordinating
ecclesiastical tradition to the test of scriptural authority.
Spearheaded by Martin Luther King, a German monk.
Secularism – an advocacy that religious influence should be
restricted in education, morality, politics and economics.

Liberalism – a political philosophy apparent in Europe in the 19th

century characterized by progressive rather than conservative
attitudes.
Freemasonry
Ascetism
- Abandonment of worldly pursuits
- Self-denial
Deism
- Rejection of clerical authority, miracles, and mysteries
- “God is best served by the people serving others justly.”
Humanism
- Geared towards the total development of man: to cultivate one’s
self, to write well, to speak well, to live well, and to use these
knowledge and skills for the public good.
Humanitarianism
- Advocates respect and protection of human basic rights
- Condemns the barbaric way of treating prisoners**

Individualism
- A precept which opens avenues for fulfillment of ambitions,
talents and expression of self and individuality
Pantheism
– a belief or theory that God and the universe are identical
- Synonymous to worship of nature

Frailocracy - a form of government run by the friars.

THE PHILIPPINES IN
THE 19 CENTURY
TH

RIZAL’S CENTURY
 THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL SYSTEM UNDER SPAIN

- Terms
A. Pacto del Pardo – conservatives and liberals made a compromise
to alternate in the control of the government, which later resulted to
the frequent changes of governor general.
B. Consejo de Indias (Council of Indies) – it was a body which
exercised executive. legislative and judicial powers.
 THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL SYSTEM UNDER SPAIN

C. Recopilacion – Laws of the Indies

D. Las Siete Partidas – Spanish legal code
E. Friars – they played a very important role in
the process of bringing about peace in the islands.
 THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL SYSTEM UNDER SPAIN

F. Cumplase – a wide discretionary powers on the

imposition or withholding of the Royal orders by the
Governor General, who was the sole representative of
the Spanish crown.
G. Royal Audiencia – the supreme court of the colony an
advisory body to the governor – general.
THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL SYSTEM UNDER SPAIN

H. The Residencia – a body composed of the Audiencia and the

incoming governor – general that investigated one’s predecessor
for acts of graft and corruption.
I. The Visitadores – a body commissioned by the Crown of
Spain to conduct secret investigation on graft and corrupt
practices of the government officials.
J. Spanish Cortes – the lawmaking body of Spain
THE PHILIPPINE SOCIAL SYSTEM UNDER SPAIN

• The Rise of the Chinese Mestizo and inquilinos

Mestizo de Sangley or Chinese mestizo is a term used in the
Philippines beginning in the Spanish Colonial Period to describe and
classify a person of pure Chinese ancestry. The Spanish used the term
mestizo de sangley to refer to a person of mixed Chinese and
indigenous/Indio (Filipino) ancestry (the latter were referred to as Indio)
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• The Chinese immigrants and their descendants played important

roles in the Philippines, contributing to trade, culture and
politics.
• The Chinese had entered the Philippines as traders prior to
Spanish colonization. That development increased some work
and business opportunities. Many migrated to the Philippines,
establishing concentrated communities first in Manila, then in
other cities.
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• In 16th to 19th century Spanish Philippines, the term mestizo de

sangley differentiated ethnic Chinese from other types of island
mestizos (such as those of mixed Indio and Spanish ancestry,
who were fewer in number. Their Indio ancestry (generally on
the maternal side) made the Chinese mestizos be granted the
legal status of colonial subjects of Spain, with certain rights and
privileges denied to the pure-blooded Chinese immigrants
(sangleys).
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• As an example, in the late 19th century, the author José

Rizal was classified as mestizo de sangley due to his
partial Chinese ancestry. But he also had indigenous
and Spanish ancestors, and classified as Indio.
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• From the time the Chinese mestizos became numerous enough to be

classified separately, the population of those parts of the Philippines that
were controlled by Spain was formally divided into four categories.
1. Spaniards and Spanish Mestizo – who did not pay the tribute
2. Indios - (Malayan inhabitants of the archipelago who are now called
Filipinos).
3. Chinese
4.Chinese Mestizos
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• The last three of these groups were considered tribute – paying classes,
but the amount of these tribute payments and the services demanded of
them varied.
• Normally, the indio paid the lowest tribute.
• The Chinese mestizo paid double the tribute paid by the indio. The stated
reason being that he was assumed to have approximately double the
earning capacity of the indio.
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• The Chinese. in term, paid a much larger tribute than that paid
by the Chinese Mestizo, again, on the grounds that his earning
capacity was larger than that of the mestizos.
• It would seem, therefore, that in Spanish thinking and
economics had certain correlation.
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• Spanish policy may have been grounded more in economic and

social reality. Throughout most of the Spanish period the Indio
and the Mestizo also had to supply a fixed amount of forced
labor every year, an obligation that did not fall upon the Chinese
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• This posed a problem for mestizos who wished to be

considered Indios or Chinese, or for the Indios of mestizo
heritage on their mother’ side who might wish to be
considered mestizo. But there is evidence that the system
was not inflexible and that there were procedures by which
one could change his status.
 THE RISE OF THE CHINESE MESTIZO AND INQUILINOS

• The lineage history of Jose Rizal, as given by Austin Craig, is to the point
here, purely in terms of his ancestry. Rizal might be considered a fifth
generation Chinese mestizo. His paternal ancestor, a catholic Chinese
named Domingo Lamco. Married a Chinese Mestiza. Their son and
grandson both married Chinese Mestizas. This grandson, having achieved
wealth and status in his locality, was able to have his family transferred
from the mestizo pardon or tax census register, to that of the indios. Thus,
Rizal’s father, and Rizal himself, were considered Indio.
 THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC SYSTEM UNDER
SPAIN

A. Tribute, Buwis or Tax - to be paid in cash and in

kind by the Filipinos during Spanish period.
B. Polo y Servicio Personal or Forced Labor -
Filipino men aged from 16 to 60 years old were
required to render a forced labor annually.
C. Bandala System - an annual requisitioning
of goods by the Spaniards from the
Filipinos.
D. Galleon Trade
E. Suez Canal

F. Opening of Ports

G. The Rise of the Export Crops