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STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 2

RIZAL IN HIS TIMES: THE NINETEENTH CENTURY PHILIPPINE

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

MODULE OVERVIEW

This module intends to single out somemajor economic, political, cultural, and religious
developments of the nineteenth century that influenced Rizal’s growth as a nationalist and which has
conditioned the evolution of his thought. 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.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Identify the important events that occurred in the nineteenth century.

2. Analyze the various social, political and economic, and cultural changes during that era.
3. Know the socio-political factors that contributed to the growth of national consciousnees.
4. Identify the sources of discontent of the Filipinos against the Spaniards and friars.
5. Appreciate the influence of 19th century social context to the life and writing of Dr. Jose
Rizal.

MODULE CONTENT

Rizal’s evolving nationalistic thoughts must be studied within the context of his times. It is important
to understand not just his words, but the historical context in which they were spoken and the issues
they have been addressed. Rizal grew up in the 19th century, and one cannot fully appreciate his
thoughts without studying the social and political context of that era.

PHILIPPINES UNDER THE SPANISH RULE

• Manila was the heart of the Spanish colony in the Philippines. Much of the international trade
conducted by Spain in Asia was linked to Manila, and most of the rich and powerful had their
homes here.

• The Spaniards in Manila lived in the walled city of Intramuros. The governor, administrators,
friars, merchants, military officials, priests and soldiers from Spain and some of their families all
resided within the walls. Outside the walls was a polyglot community of Filipinos, Chinese,
Japanese and other foreigners.

• Those that profited the most from trade and other economic activities – primarily the Spanish
elite – wore fine silks, traveled around in elegant coaches, wore gold chains and gem-stubbed
rings and were looked after by an army of servants.

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• The Spanish seized parcels of land and established huge plantations out of landowners which
made them rich. Some of the indigenous people integrated with the Spaniards, some were
overwhelmed by them. Both groups adopted Catholicism. Other groups like the Igorot resisted.
The Spanish burned Igorot villages, destroyed their crops and raped their women, yet in 350
years of Spanish occupation, the Igorot were never conquered. Large Numbers of people were
untouched by the Spanish occupation.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES UNDER THE SPANISH RULE

The Filipinos suffered from feudalistic and master-slave relationship with the Spaniards. Their social
structure was ranked into three groups:

1. Highest class – people who belong to this class are the Spaniards, peninsulares, and the friars.
They have the power and authority to rule over the Filipinos. They enjoyed their positions and they
do what they want.

• The Spanish Officials/Spaniards

• The Peninsulares – these are the Spaniards who were born in Spain. They held the most
important government jobs and made up the smallest number of the population.
• The Friars - are members of any of certain religious orders of men, especially the four
mendicant orders: Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans.

2. Middle Class - people who belong to this class are the natives, mestizos, and the criollos.

• Natives – the pure Filipinos

• The Mestizos - Filipinos of mixed indigenous Filipino or European or Chinese ancestry
• Criollos - people of pure Spanish descent

3. Lowest class – this class refers to the Indios, pure-blooded Filipinos who were poor and have been
ruled over by the Spaniards.

It is difficult to say when Filipinos began to think of themselves as Filipinos and not simply
as Tagalogs, Ilokanos, or Visayans. During the Spanish period, the native inhabitants were called
“Indios” while only the inhabitants with Spanish blood (peninsulares, insulares, or mestizos) were
regarded as Filipinos. Probably the preliminary stage in the development of national consciousness
was reached when Indios realized that they have something in common, that is, a common grievance
against the Spaniards (De la Costa 1965: 213). Our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, was the first to
think the Indios as one nation when he first used the word “Filipino” to refer to all inhabitants in the
country whether they are of Spanish or Filipino blood. Rizal could not have thought of one people
and one nation which include all people in archipelago without the influence of the social milieu of
his time.

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EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM UNDER THE SPANISH RULE

The educational system of the Philippines under the Spanish rule received a lot of criticisms
during its time. The friars controlled the educational system and they owned different schools,
ranging from the primary level to the tertiary levels of education. The missionaries took charge of
teaching, controlling, and maintaining the rules and regulations imposed on the students. As a result,
religious matters have been overemphasized that they deliberately deserted the teachings of some
other matters, in fact, Science and Mathematics were not very much taught even in universities, they
educated Latin to students instead of Spanish. Parts of inadequacies in the system were obsolete
teaching methods, poor classroom facilities, limited curriculum, and the absence of academic
freedom. Learning at every level was largely by rote. Students memorized and repeated the contents
of book which they did not understand. In most cases, knowledge was measured in the ability of the
students to memorize, largely hampering intellectual progress.

In entirety, education during the Spanish regime was privileged only to Spanish students. The
supposed Philippine education was only a means to remain in the Philippines as colonizers. For this
reason, the Filipinos became followers of the Spaniards in their own country. Even auspicious
Filipinos became cronies, to the extent that even their lifestyles were patterned from the Spaniards.

POLITICAL SYSTEM UNDER THE SPANISH RULE

Corruption, unsurprisingly, is a major issue in politics under the Spanish rule. The Spaniards
have the power and authority politically. The appointment of officials into different positions is
obtained by the highest bidder, the Governor-General of the country and shall serve in a particular
office depending on the desire of the King of the country. These officials have been appointed even
when they do have inferior qualifications, no dedication of duty and they lack the moral strength to
resist corruption for material advancement. As a result, the money of the Filipino people is collected
then wasted. They laid personal interest a priority over the welfare of the State. They travel to
various places and the needs of the Philippines were ignored. Concisely, they did not put too much
attention on the needs of their countrymen but on their personal interest and privileges which has led
to inadequate administrative supervision.

UNION OF THE CHURCH AND THE STATE DURING THE SPANISH PERIOD

During the Spanish period, there was a union of Church and State. The Catholic religion
became the State’s religion. Both civil and ecclesiastical authorities served God and king. Thus, the
functions of the government officials oftentimes overlapped with those of the clergy in the Church.
Under the arrangements between the Pope and the Spanish King, called the Patronato Real de las
Indias, civil and Church authorities must coordinate to Christianize the natives in the colony. Since
evangelization of the natives is the only reason, according to the Church, that gave Spain the right to
colonize the Philippines and to extract tribute therefrom, civil authorities should support the material
needs of the missionaries in building Churches and catechizing the inhabitants. Thus, the government

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provided salaries to the Spanish missionaries and the clergy, making them technically government
officials.

The union of Church and State also implies the non-payment of all forms of tribute or taxes
by the Catholic Church and members of its clergy. The Church did not pay any personal or income
tax to the government. Instead, the government contributed a huge amount of the taxes or duties. The
taxes they have collected from the colony was given to the Church for its evangelization work.
Owing to this union, the clergy and friars enjoyed political influence in the country. In the town, for
instance, the parish priest holds immense power compared to the gobernadorcillo or town mayor. He
represented the Spanish King in his area of responsibility. He supervised local elections, education,
charities, morals and taxation. Until 1762, members of the Church hierarchy like bishops and
archbishops acted as governors-general in case of vacancy in the gubernatorial office. Among them
were: Archbishop Francisco de la Cuesta (1719-21), Bishop Juan de Arrechederra (1745-50), Bsihop
Lino de Espeleta (1759-61) and Archbishop Manuel Antonio Rojo (1761-62) (Zaide 1999: 111).

With today’s doctrine of the Separation of the Church and the State introduced by the
Americans, it is unconceivable for bishops and priests to hold public office or exercise government
power. This is this due to the ban imposed by the Pope to the clergy. With vast powers both spiritual
and political in their hands, Spanish friars and the clergy held absolute powers in the colony during
the Spanish period. This had attracted the attention of the reformists and Ilustrados led by Jose Rizal
that resulted to a nationalist desire for reforms in the country and eventually independence from
Spain.

Abuses and Immoralities of the Friars

Although not all friars are bad, abusive and immoral friars became sources of people’s
disenchantment with the Spanish rule. The Filipino reformists led by Dr. Rizal hated the abusive
friars and wanted them to be expelled from the country as attested by their “Anti-Friars Manifesto of
1888”:

The bad friars were portrayed by Rizal in his two novels Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo and by Graciano Lopez Jaena as Fray Botod (Zaide 1999:211). These bad friars were
arrogant, abusive and immoral. They impregnated native women and sire illegitimate children.

The reformist Marcelo H. Del Pilar parodied the Ten Commandments to ridicule the friars:

1. Thou shalt worship and love the friars above all.

2. Thou shalt not cheat them of their stipends.
3. Thou shalt sanctify the friar, Sundays or holidays.
4. Thou shalt pawn thyself to pay for the burial of thy father and mother.
5. Thou should not die if thou hast not the money to pay for thine interment.
6. Thou shalt not covet his wife.
7. Thou shalt not steal with him.

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8. Thou shalt not accuse him even if thou be called a liar.

9. Thou not refuse him your wife.
10. Thou shalt not deny him your property (Del Pilar in Agoncillo 1990:136-137).

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Another area of animosities between Filipinos and Spaniards that led to the discontentment of
the Filipino to the Spanish rule is racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is a form of social
exclusion where people are prevented from having access to public goods by virtue of their physical
traits. It is an abusive behavior of one race against another. In colonization, the white colonizers who
are Caucasians often treat the colonized people or the natives as inferior by virtue of their skin,
height, nose, or physical traits. In the Philippines, the Spanish authorities regarded the brown
Filipinos as inferior people and they have mockingly called them “Indios” or Indians. This racial
prejudice against native Filipinos existed in the government offices, in the armed forces, in the
universities and colleges, in courts of justice, and in high society (Zaide 1999: 211). Although the
laws applied in the colony recognized no difference between various races, documentary evidence on
racism in the Philippines is abundant. A description of Pardo de Tavera illustrates this racial
discrimination in social etiquette:
The townspeople were obliged to remove their hats when a Spaniard passes, and this was especially
the case if he occupies some official position; if the Spaniard happened to be a priest; in addition to
the removal of the hat the native was obliged to kiss his hat. No Indian [i.e.,Filipino] was allowed to
sit at the same table with a Spaniard, even though the Spaniard was a guest in the Indian’s house. The
Spaniards addressed the Filipinos [i.e., Spaniards born in the Philippines] by the pronoun “thou”, and
although many of the Spaniards married pure blood native women, the wives were always looked
down on in society as belonging to an inferior class (de Tavera in Agoncillo 1990: 121).
They maligned the Indios and degraded them as “neither a merchant, nor an industrial; neither a
farmer, nor a philosopher”. The Franciscan Fr. Miguel Lucio y Bustamante opined in his Si Tandang
Basio Macunat (Manila, 1885) that the Filipino could never learn the Spanish language or be
civilized: “The Spaniards will always be Spaniards, and an Indio will always be an Indio. A monkey
will always be a monkey however you dress him with shirt and trousers, and will always be a
monkey and not human” (Ibid).

THE SOURCES OF DISCONTENT OF THE FILIPINOS WITH SPANISH INSTITUTIONS

Spain introduced into the country mechanisms or institutions to enable the colonial government in
the country to comply with its obligations of supporting the Church’s mission of Christianizing the
natives and to contribute to the Spanish King’s economic welfare. These institutions include the
encomienda, the polo or forced labor and the tributo or tribute. The tribute consisted of direct
(personal tribute and income tax) and indirect (customs duties and the bandala), taxes, monopolies
(rentas estancadas) of special crops and items as spirituous liquors (1712-1864), betel nut (1764),
tobacco (1782-1882), explosives (1805-1864), and opium (1847) (Agoncillo 1990: 81). These
colonial systems also became the major sources of discontent of many Indios during the Spanish

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period. Because of the oppressive nature of these systems, many revolts and uprisings erupted in
various parts of the country which contributed to the weakening of the Spanish rule in the 19th
century.

The Tribute or Tributo

As a sign of vassalage to Spain, the Filipino paid tribute to the colonial government in the
island (Zaide 1999: 107). In July 26, 1523, King Charles V decreed that Indians who had been
pacified should contribute a “moderate amount” in recognition of their vassalage (Cushner 1979:
101). In theory the tribute or tax was collected from the natives in order to defray the costs of
colonization and to recognize their vassalage to the king of Spain (Ibid). From the point of view of
the Catholic Church, tribute could be extracted from the natives only if it was used primarily for the
work of Christianization like the building of churches in the colony, support for missionaries, and so
on. But from the point of view of the natives, the payment of the tribute was, however, seen as a
symbol of acceptance of their vassalage to Spain.

Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was the first to order the payment of tribute, both in Visayas and
Luzon. His successors followed this practice. As mentioned above, the buwis (tribute) during this
period consisted of two types: the direct taxes which came from personal tribute and income tax, and
indirect taxes which were collected from customs duties and bandala taxes, monopolies (rentas
escantadas) of special crops and items (Agoncillo 1990: 81).

The tribute or buwis was collected from the natives both in specie (gold or money) and kind (e.g.
rice, cloth, chicken, coconut oil, abaca, etc.). The King of Spain preferred the payment of gold but
the natives paid largely in kind. That was why King Philip II was annoyed upon knowing that most
of the tributes in the colony was paid in kind (Cushner 1979: 104). In the 1570s, the tribute was fixed
at eight reals (1 real=121/2 centavos) or in kind of “gold, blankets, cotton, rice, bells” and raised to
fifteen reals till the end of the Spanish period. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the Filipinos were
required to pay the tribute of 10 reals; 1 real diezmos prediales (tithes), 1 real town community chest,
3 reals of sanctorum tax for church support or a total of 15 reals (Agoncillo 1990: 1-82).

In addition, a special tax called bandala was also collected from the natives. Coming the word
mandala (a round stack of rice stalks to be threshed), bandala is an annual enforced sale or
requisitioning of goods, particularly of rice or coconut oil, in the case of Tayabas. If not paid or if
paid only in promissory notes, outright confiscation of goods or crops will be carried out. This type
of tax is so oppressive that it sparked a revolt in 1660-1661. In November 1782, bandala was
abolished in provinces of Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, Tayabas and Cavite since
natives refused to plant rice and other crops because of this tax (Agoncillo 1990: 82).

By 1884, the tribute was replaced by the cedula personal or personal identity paper which
resembles with the present community or residence tax today. Everyone, whether Filipino or other
nationalities, over eighteen years of age, was required to pay this kind of tax (Ibid.: 83).

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The intended effect of the tribute was primarily to advance the Christianization of the natives
in the archipelago. The unintended effect however was exploitation of the natives at the hands of
some abusive Spaniards in the collection of this tribute. Due to its lack of uniformity and fixed
policy in collecting tribute in the beginning, many natives complained of paying taxes beyond legal
prescription. Says Renato Constantino, “The tribute-collectors—alcaldes, mayors, encomenderos,
gobernadorcillos, and cabezas—often abused their offices by collecting more than the law required
and appropriating the difference” (Constantino 1975: 51).

The Encomienda

Another colonial system that is intimately connected with the tribute is the encomienda
system. The word “encomienda” comes from the Spanish word “encomendar” which means “to
entrust.” The encomienda is the right to control the labor of and collect tribute from an Indian
community, granted to the Spanish colonizers, especially the first conquerors and their descendants,
as a reward for their service to the Spanish crown. It is given by the king of Spain as gesture of
gratitude to those who assisted him in colonizing the Indies. In the strict sense, it is not a land grant
but a grant to exercise control over a specific place including its inhabitants. This includes the right
for the encomendero (owner of encomienda) to impose tribute or taxes according to the limit and
kind set by higher authorities (Agoncillo 1990: 84). In exchange for this right, the encomendero is
duty-bound by law to (1) defend his encomienda from external incursions, (2) to keep peace and
order; and (3) to assist the missionaries in evangelizing the natives within his territory (Ibid).

The encomiendas during the Spanish period were of two kinds—the royal and private. The
royal encomiendas which consisted of big cities, seaports, and inhabitants of regions rich in natural
resources were owned by the king. The private encomiendas were owned by private individuals or
charitable institutions such as the College of Santa Potenciana and the Hospital of San Juan de Dios
(Zaide 1987:76). By 1591, a total of 257 encomiendas with a total population of over 600,000 were
created by the Spanish king in the Philippines (31 royal and 236 private). The encomienda system
lasted a little longer and finally ended in the first decade of the 19th century (Zaide 1987: 77).

Like the tribute, the encomienda system is one of the major sources of discontent of the
natives against the Spanish rule. This system has empowered the Spanish encomiendero to collect
tribute or taxes according to his whim or desire. Because there was no systematic taxation system in
the colony, the encomiendero has the option to collect the tribute in gold, cash, or kind. When gold
was abundant and money was scarce, he demanded cash or reals; when reals were plentiful and there
was scarcity of gold, they asked for gold, even when the poor Filipinos were coerced to buy them.
During bumper harvests, he demanded products like rice, tobacco or even all of the Filipino
possessions, and they were forced “to travel great distances” to try to buy them at high rates. The
encomiendero has indeed become abusive because of his discretionary power to collect taxes within
his jurisdiction. Filipinos who resisted his power were publicly flogged, tortured or jailed. These
unjust collections of taxes within the encomienda system became one of the causes of intermittent
uprisings in the Philippines during the Spanish period (Agoncillo 1990: 84-85).

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The Polo or Forced Labor

In addition to the tribute, the Polo or forced labor is another Spanish colonial system that had
created discontent among the Indios during the Spanish times. The word “polo” is actually a
corruption of the Tagalog pulong, originally meaning “meeting of persons and things” or
“community labor”. Drafted laborers were either Filipino or Chinese male mestizos who were
obligated to give personal service to community projects, like construction and repair of
infrastructure, church construction, or cutting logs in forests, for forty days. All able-body males,
from 16 to 60 years of age, except chieftains and their elder sons, were required to render labor for
these various projects in the colony. This was instituted in 1580 and reduced to 15 days per year in
1884 (Constantino 1975: 51).

There were laws that regulate polo. For instance, the polista (the person who renders forced
labor) will be paid a daily wage of ¼ real plus rice. Moreover, the polista was not supposed to be
brought from a distant place nor required to work during planting and harvesting seasons (Ibid: 52).
Despite restrictions, polo resulted to the disastrous consequences. It resulted to the ruining of
communities the men left behind. The promised wage was not given exactly as promised that led to
starvation or even death to some polistas and their families. Moreover, the polo had affected the
village economy negatively. The labor drafts coincided with the planting and harvesting seasons;
forced separation from the family and relocation to different places, sometimes outside the
Philippines; and reduction of male population as they were compelled at times, to escape to the
mountains instead of working in the labor pool (Agoncillo 1990: 83).

SOCIAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL CHANGES THAT OCCURRED IN

THE 19TH CENTURY

The birth of modernity was precipitated by three great revolutions around the world:
Industrial Revolution in England, the French Revolution in France and the American Revolution. As
a result, political and economic changes in Europe finally began to affect Spain and, thus, the
Philippines. Social Scientists marked the 19th century as the birth of modern life as well as the birth
of many nation-states around the world. This massive change has led to the series of developments:

The Rise of Social Sciences

Aside from the three great revolutions in Europe, the birth of social sciences such as
sociology, history and anthropology, also had a significant influence to the intellectual tradition of
the 19th century. The reliance on human reason and science rather than the dogmas of the Catholic
Church had its roots traced in the intellectual movement called The Enlightenment. The Age of
Enlightenment or simply The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy
and a cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the
primary source and legitimacy for authority.

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Enlightenment philosophers such as Michel de Montaigne, believed that human reason can be
used to combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and to build a better world. Their principal
targets were religion (embodied in France in the Catholic Church) and the domination of society by a
hereditary aristocracy.

The reliance on human reason rather than on faith and religion has paved the way to the birth
of social sciences in the 19th century to study scientifically the changes and conditions of Europe
during this period. The massive changes in society brought about by the three great revolutions has
resulted to dissatisfaction

The Declining Influence of the Church in the 19th Century

In addition to the three great revolutions, the weakening of the grip of the Catholic Church of
the growing secular society of Europe and Spain has implications to the Philippines. Conversely, the
Catholic Church was the most powerful institution in Europe. The union of Church and the State has
identified the Church with the monarchy and aristocracy since the Middles Ages. Since it upheld the
status quo and favored the monarchy, the Church in the nineteenth century had been considered an
adversary to the new Republican states and the recently unified countries. The French saw the
Church as a threat to the newly formed republican state and the Bismarck of Germany also saw it as
a threat to the unified German Empire. In Spain, the liberals considered the Church as an enemy of
reforms. Thus, they sought to curtail to the influence of the Church when it comes to political life
and education. This movement against the Catholic Church called anti-clericalism had gained
strength in the nineteenth century not only for political reasons but also of the materialistic
preferences of the people generated by the economic prosperity of the period (Romero et al 1978:
17-18).

The declining influence of the Catholic Church in Europe and Spain has little effect,
however, to the control and power of the local Church in the Philippines. Despite the anti-clericalism
in Spain, the power of the friars in the Philippines in the 19th century did not decline; instead, it
became consolidated after the weakening of civil authority owing to constant change in political
leadership. This means that Filipinos turned more and more to the friars for moral and political
guidance as Spanish civil officials in the colony became more corrupt and immoral. The union of the
Church and State and the so-called “rule of the friars” or “frailocracy” continued during this period.
In the last decades of the 19th century, the Spanish friars were so influential and powerful that they
practically ruled the whole archipelago. The Spanish civil authorities as well as patriotic Filipinos
feared them. In every Christian town in the country, for instance, the friar is the real ruler, not the
elected gobernadorcillo. He was the supervisor of local elections, the inspector of the schools, the
arbiter of morals, and the censor of books and stage shows. He could order the arrest of or exile to
distant land any filibustero (traitor) or anti-friar Filipino who disobeyed him or refused to kiss his
hands (Zaide 1999: 209).

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One of the aims of Dr. Rizal and the propagandists in order to prepare the Filipino people for
revolution and independence was to discredit the friars. Exposing the abuses and immoralities of the
friars is one way to downplay their power and influence among the people and thus can shift the
allegiance of the Indios from the friars to the Filipino reformists and leaders. The strengthening
power of the friars in the 19th century has encouraged the nationalists to double their efforts to win
the people to their side.

OTHER FACTORS FACILITATING THE GROWTH OF NATIONALISM

The End of the Manila Galleon Trade

Manila galleon, a Spanish sailing vessel that made an annual round trip (one vessel per year)
across the Pacific between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco in present Mexico, during the
period 1565–1815. They were the sole means of communication between Spain and its Philippine
colony and served as an economic lifeline for the Spaniards in Manila. It lasted for 250 years and
ended in 1815 with Mexico’s war of independence.

During the heyday of the galleon trade, Manila became one of the world’s great ports, serving
as a focus for trade between China and Europe. Though Chinese silk was by far the most important
cargo, other exotic goods such as perfumes, porcelain, cotton fabric (from India), and precious
stones, were also transshipped via the galleon. After unloading at Acapulco, the cargo normally
yields a profit of 100–300 percent. On its return voyage, the vessel brings back huge quantities of
Mexican silver and church personnel bearing communications from Spain.

The Spaniards in Manila came to depend on the annual vessel so much that when the ship
went down at sea or was captured by the English pirates, the colony was plunged into economic
depression. The galleon trade had a negative effect on the economic development of the Philippines,
since virtually all Spanish capital was devoted to speculation in Chinese goods.

The importance of the trade declined in the late 18th century as other powers began to trade
directly with China. There had been gradual elimination of the monopoly enjoyed by the galleon to
Acapulco, and Manila was then again, opened to foreign merchants almost without restriction

The Opening of the Suez Canal

Aside from these three great revolutions and the declining influence of the Church during this
period, there were also other factors that facilitated the growth of nationalistic aspirations of Dr. Jose
Rizal and other Filipino Ilustrados. Foremost among them is the opening of the Suez Canal to
international shipping on November 17, 1869. This canal is 103 miles long and connects the
Mediterranean with the Gulf of Suez and hence with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Its
significance could not be underestimated. With the opening of this canal, the distance of travel
between Europe and the Philippines was significantly shortened and brought the country closer to
Spain. In previous years, a steamer from Barcelona had to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, and

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reached Manila after a hazardous voyage of more than three months. With this canal, the trip was
reduced to only 32 days (Zaide 1999: 215).

The opening of the Suez Canal facilitated the importation of books, magazines and
newspapers with liberal ideas from Europe and America which eventually influenced the minds of
Jose Rizal and other Filipino reformists. Political thoughts of liberal thinkers like Jean Jacques
Rousseau (Social Contract), John Locke (two Treatises of Government), Thomas Paine (Common
Sense) and others entered the country (Maguigad & Muhi 2001; 62). Moreover, the shortened route
encouraged more and more Spaniards and Europeans with liberal ideas to come to the Philippines
and interact with Filipino reformists. The opening of this canal in 1869 further stimulated the local
economy which give rise—as already mentioned above—to the creation of the middle class of
mestizos and Ilustrados in the 19th century.

The shortened route has also encouraged the Ilustrados led by Rizal to pursue higher studies
abroad and learn liberal and scientific ideas in the universities of Europe. Their social interaction
with liberals in foreign lands has influenced their thinking on politics and nationhood.

The Democratic Rule of Gov. Gen. Dela Torre / The Influx of European Liberalism

The first-hand experience of what it is to be liberal came from the first liberal governor
general in the Philippines—Governor General Carlos Ma. Dela Torre. Why Govenor Dela Torre was
able to rule in the Philippines has a long story. The political instability in Spain had caused frequent
changes of Spanish officials in the Philippines which caused further confusion and increased social
as well as political discontent in the country. But when the liberals ousted Queen Isabela II in 1868
mutiny, a provisional government was set up and the new government extended the reforms they
adopted in Spain to the colonies. These reforms include the grant of universal suffrage and
recognition of freedom and conscience, the press, association and public assembly. General Carlos
Ma. De la Torre was appointed by the provisional government in Spain as Governor General of the
Philippines (Romero et al 1978: 21).

The rule of the first liberal governor general became significant in the birth of national
consciousness in the 19th century. De la Torre’s liberal and pro-people governance had given Rizal
and the Filipinos during this period a foretaste of a democratic rule and way of life. De la Torre put
into practice his liberal and democratic ways by avoiding luxury and living a simple life. During his
two-year term, Governor De la Torre had many significant achievements. He encouraged freedom
and abolished censorship (Maguigad & Muhi 2001: 63). He recognized the freedom of speech and of
the press, which were guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution. Because of his tolerant policy, Father
Jose Burgos and other Filipino priests were encouraged to pursue their dream of replacing the friars
with the Filipino clergy as parish priests in the country (Zaide 1999: 217).

Governor De la Torre’s greatest achievement was the peaceful solution to the land problem in
Cavite. This province has been the center of agrarian unrest in the country since the 18th century
because the Filipino tenants who lost their land had been oppressed by Spanish landlords. Agrarian

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uprisings led by the local hero, Eduardo Camerino, erupted several times in Cavite. This agrarian
problem was resolved without bloodshed when Governor De la Torre himself went to Cavite and had
a conference with the rebel leader. He pardoned the latter and his followers, provided them with
decent livelihood and appointed them as members of the police force with Camerino as captain
(Ibid).

The Rise Against Discrimination

To prove that Indios were not inferior people, some talented and intelligent Filipinos excelled
in their chosen fields. Juan Luna excelled in painting. Fr. Jose Burgos in Theology and Canon Law.
Jose Rizal, by surpassing the Spanish writers in literary contests and winning fame as a physician,
man-of-letters, scholar, and a scientist, proved that a brown man could be as great or even greater
than a white man (Zaide 1999:211).

The decline of the Spanish rule in the 19th century and the popularity of Rizal and his reform agenda
were products of an interplay of various economic, social, political and cultural forces both in the
global and local scale. The three great revolutions and the liberal ideas had gradually secularized
societies in the 19th century and thereby weakened the influence of religion in people’s mind,
especially the well-educated reformists and ilustrados. The political turmoil in Spain caused by the
rapid change of leadership and struggle between conservatives and liberals had also weakened the
Spanish administration in the Philippines. Although the influence of the Catholic Church in the 19th
century led by the friars had not diminished, the liberal and progressive ideas of Rizal and the
reformists had already awakened the nationalist sentiment of the natives that soon became the
catalyst for political change in the late 19th century.

The Cavite Mutiny and the Martyrdom of GOMBURZA

Two historical events in the late 19th century that hastened the growth of nationalism in the
minds of Rizal, the reformists and the Filipino people is the Cavite Mutiny and the martyrdom of
Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora or popularly known as GOMBURZA. The Cavite Mutiny is a
failed uprising against the Spaniards due to miscommunication. On the night of January 20, 1872, a
group of about 200 soldiers and workers led by Lamadrid, a Filipino sergeant, took over by force the
Cavite arsenal and fort. Before this, there was an agreement between Lamadrid and his men and
other Filipino soldiers in Manila that they would join forces to stage a revolt against the Spaniards,
with firing of rockets from the city walls of Manila on that night as the signal of the uprising.
Unfortunately, the suburbs of Manila celebrated its fiesta on that very night with a display of
fireworks. The Cavite plotters, thinking that the fighting had been started by Manila soldiers, killed
their Spanish officers and took control of the fort. On the following morning, government troops
rushed to the Cavite arsenal and killed many mutineers including Lamadrid. The survivors were
subdued, taken prisoners and brought to Manila (Zaide 1999: 218-220).

This unfortunate incidence in Cavite became an opportunity, however, for the Spaniards to
implicate the three Filipino priests who had been campaigning for Filipino rights, particularly the

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right of Filipino priests to become parish priests or the “Filipinization” of the parishes in the country.
These three priests, especially Father Jose Burgos, the youngest and the most intelligent, championed
the rights of the Filipino priests and were critical of Spanish policies. The Spanish government then
wanted them to be placed behind bars or executed. To do this, it magnified the event and made it
appear as a “revolt” against the government. Thus, after the mutineers were imprisoned, Fathers
Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora (GOMBURZA) were arrested and charged falsely
with treason and mutiny under a military court. To implicate them, the government bribed Francisco
Zaldua, a former soldier, as the star witness. With a farcical trial, a biased court, and a weak defense
from their government-hired lawyers, the three priests were convicted of a crime they did not
commit. Governor Izquierdo approved their death sentence and at sunrise of February 17, 1872,
Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora were escorted under heavy guard to Luneta and were executed
by garrote (strangulation machine) before a vast crowd of Filipinos and foreigners (Ibid.).

The execution of GOMBURZA had hastened not only the downfall of the Spanish government
but also the growth of Philippine nationalism. The Filipino people resented the execution of the three
priests because they knew that they were innocent and were executed because they championed
Filipino rights. Among those in the crowd who resented the execution was Paciano, the older brother
of Jose Rizal, who inspired the national hero to follow the cause of the three priests. Rizal dedicated
his novel Noli Me Tangere to GOMBURZA to show his appreciation to the latter’s courage,
dedication to Filipino rights, and sense of nationalism.

ACTIVITY 1

Summative Activity:

Create a worksheet containing the table illustrated below. Write the changes and developments that
were felt in the nineteenth-century Philippines. After listing the changes, plot them within Rizal's
biography and write which aspects you think had a direct or indirect impact on Rizal while citing
events in his life.

Change and Development Relation to Rizal’s Life

Economic

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Political
Socio-cultural

ACTIVITY 2

19th century vs. 21st century

Instructions:

1. Using the Venn diagram below, compare and contrast the situation (in terms of political,
socio-cultural and economical) of 19th century and 21st century context. Give an explanation
for the overlapping or similarities on the space provided.

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19th Century 21st Century

Explanation for similarities:

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

2. List down eight (5) examples of culture we have inherited from the Spanish colonization.
a. ___________________________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________________________
d. ___________________________________________________________________________
e. ___________________________________________________________________________

3. What is/are the connection/s between an individual and the society?

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

4. If you were born during the time of Jose Rizal, do you think you can be able to achieve his
achievements? Why?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY

The Spanish colonization in the Philippines portrays master-slave relationship between

Spaniards and the Indios. The Spanish governance afforded nothing but ineffective educational
system, corrupt politics, overlapping functions between government officials and the clergies,
abusive and immoral friars, and social exclusion of the Filipinos in their own land.
With the Spaniards long stay in the Philippines, they introduced into the country mechanisms or
institutions to enable the colonial government to comply with its obligations of supporting the

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Church’s mission of Christianizing the natives and to contribute to the Spanish King’s economic
welfare. These institutions include the encomienda,the polo or forced labor and the tributo or
tribute . These colonial systems also became the major sources of discontent of many Indios during
the Spanish period due to the oppressive nature of these systems. The discontent has led to many
revolts and uprisings in the various parts of the country which contributed to the weakening of the
Spanish rule in the 19th century.
The 19th century was the Age of Enlightenment as it was the beginning of nationalistic ideals
of the Filipinos. During this era, political and economic changes in Europe were finally beginning to
affect Spain and, thus, the Philippines. The gradual elimination of the monopoly enjoyed by the
galleon to Acapulco opened Manila to foreign merchants almost without restrictions by the late
1830s. The last galleon arrived in Manila in 1815. The demand for Philippine sugar and abaca
(hemp) grew apace, and the volume of exports to Europe expanded even further after the completion
of the Suez Canal in 1869. Another notable event that occurred in the 19th century was the rule of
the first liberal governor general. Governor-General Carlos Ma. De la Torre’s liberal and pro-people
governance had given Rizal and the Filipinos during this period a foretaste of a democratic rule and
way of life. The various social, political, economic, and cultural changes during that era pave the
way to the growth of national consciousness in the 19th century.
The growth of commercial agriculture in the Philippines resulted in the appearance of a new
class – the Chinese- Filipino mestizos. Alongside the landholdings of the church and the rice estates
of the pre-Spanish nobility there arose haciendas of coffee, hemp, and sugar, often the property of
enterprising Chinese-Filipino mestizos. Some of the families that gained prominence in the 19th
century have continued to play an important role in Philippine economics and politics. The number
of families which prospered from foreign commerce and trade were able to send their sons for an
education in Europe. Filipinos who were educated abroad were able to absorb the intellectual
development in Europe.
Not until 1863 was there public education in the Philippines, and even then, the church
controlled the curriculum. Less than one-fifth of those who went to school could read and write
Spanish, and far fewer could speak it properly. The limited higher education in the colony was
entirely under clerical direction, but by the 1880s many sons of the wealthy were sent to Europe to
study. There, nationalism and a passion for reform blossomed in the liberal atmosphere. Out of this
talented group of overseas Filipino students arose what came to be known as the Propaganda
Movement. Magazines, poetry, and pamphleteering flourished. José Rizal, this movement’s most
brilliant figure, produced two political novels—Noli Me Tangere (1887; Touch Me Not) and El
Filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed)—which had a wide impact in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, there had developed a firm commitment to independence among a somewhat less
privileged class in the Philippines.

REFERENCES

Acibo, L. & Adanza, E. (2006). Jose P. Rizal: His Life Works, and Role in the Philippine Revolution.
Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store. Inc.

A Philippine Institution 10 Experience with the Philippines and Dr. Jose Rizal: A brief history. P.
Jacinto Blog. Retrieved from

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Estrallado, J. (2019). Rizal’s Life, Works and Writing. Retrieved from www.scribd.com

M. Casupanan (2018). 10 reasons why you should study Rizal. The Ugly Writers. Retrieved from
https://uglywriters.com/2018/03/12/10-reasons-why-you-should-study-rizal-hugot-version/

Philippines in the 19th Century. Dimasalang Laong Laan. Retrieved from

https://dimasalanglaonglaan.wordpress.com/philippines-in-the-19th-century/
Republic Act 1425. Official Gazette, Vol. 52, No. 6, p. 2971. Retrieved from
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1956/06/12/republic-act-no-1425/

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