INDOLENCE AND

THE SPANISH
COLONIAL RULE
Reporters

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Shortly after Rizal published his first novel,
Noli Me Tangere, he became an active
contributor to the biweekly newspaper, La
Solidaridad. Two of his essays published on
the newspaper were Sobre La Indolencia de
los Filipinos (1890) and Los Agricultores
Filipinos (1889)
■ Aka “The indolence of the
■ Aka” The Filipino farmers”
Filipino”
THE INDOLENCE OF THE
FILIPINO
One famous Filipino
folktale is the story of
“Juan Tamad” which
narrates the extreme
laziness of a character
with such name. Juan Tamad
• In Sobre La Indolencia de los
Filipinos, Rizal acknowledged
Gregorio Sancianco’s El
Progreso de Filipinas (1881)
and recognized the evident
indolence of the Filipinos.
However, he believed that such
indolence was was not inherent
but was caused by the climate of
the Philippines, both in a
physical sense (as a tropical
country) and in a sociopolitical
sense (in relation to the social
disorders rooted in the Spanish
rule).
He pointed out in his essay that
it was imperative to study the
causes of such indolence so that
a proper solution could be
conceptualized.

Rizal compared it to an illness

by saying that the indolence of
the Filipinos must be properly
diagnosed before a prescription
could be made.
 CAUSES OF THE
INDOLENCE OF FILIPINO
• Pirate Attacks
•
• Crooked System of Education
•
• Spanish Rule set a Bad Examples Gambling and Fiestas
•
• Crooked System of Religion
•
• Taxes were extremely high

• Implemention of forced labor

• In the essay, Rizal linked two
factors to the indolence of the
Filipinos. First was the limited
training and education provided
to the Filipinos for the Spanish
government feared possible
insubordination and retaliation.
Second was the lack national
sentiment of unity among
Filipinos caused by the stigma
Filipino culture was inferior to
foreign culture which compelled
humble submission. Given these
factors, Rizal concluded that the
solutions of Filipino's indolence
THE FILIPINO FARMERS
• In Los Agricultores Filipinos,
Rizal commended the intention
of the Spanish colonizers to
develop agriculture in the
Philippines as a mean to social
and economic advancement.

• When he was exiled in Dapitan.

Rizal dedicated much of his
time tending the farm he bought
in Talisa. In his farm, he used
modern agricultural methods he
observed in travels in Europe.
He also urged farmers in
Dapitan to use fertilizers and
• Rizal pointed out that calamities
were not solely to blamefor the
poor harvest of Filipino farmers
but rather, the abusivecolonial
policies, such as polo y servicio,
that minimized theproductivity of
farmers.
• Rizal also brought to
attention the problem of
banditry and thievery in rural
farms.

• The inability of colonial

guards to provide adequate
protection to the farmers and
their farmlands prompted
Rizal to urge farmers to be
equipped with guns to defend
themselves against lawless
elements. Thus, Rizal
demanded from the Ministry
of Colonies urgent solutions
 END OF
REPORTING
THANK YOU!