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Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Uploaded by

Jessa Mae Carranza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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GROUP 1

At the end of this Chapter, the students should be able to:

• appraise the link between the individual and


society:
• analyze the various social, political, and
economic changes that occurred in the
nineteenth century;
• and demonstrate understanding of Jose Rizal in
the context of his time.
In the 19th century, there were massive changes in
the world, particularly in Europe, Spain, and the
Philippines. In this century, Rizal was born and
exposed to varying political, economic, and socio-
cultural realities. Rizal witnessed the effects brought
by the Industrial Revolution, benefited from the
opening of the Suez Canal, gained education in
Europe, became an ilustrado, and took part in the
Propaganda Movement.
• Spain’s colonial rule in the Philippines brought numerous
political/social issues that oppressed the Filipino people. These issues
included the maladministration of justice, lack of legal equality, racial
prejudice, forced labor, frailocracy, and the absence of representation in
the Spanish Cortes. Internally, Spain was experiencing political
instability, which further affected its governance of the Philippines.

• In the 19th century, many countries in Europe were expanding their


empires, but Spain struggled to keep control of its colonies, especially
in the Philippines. While countries like Britain and France were
becoming powerful through imperialism, Spain faced many problems
and kept its colonies in a state of oppression.
• Countries like Britain and France thrived through
colonial expansion.
• Spain, however, didn’t adapt and fell behind, leading
to the oppression of its colonies, including the
Philippines.
• Instability in Spain affected how it governed the
Philippines, leading to chaos and unfair practices.
There was this Spanish Judge who was appointed to the Royale
Audencia of Manila (the Supreme Court). He left Madrid with his
whole family and went cruising at sea along the long route via
Cape of Good Hope. After a leisurely voyage of about six months,
they arrived in Manila. To his dismay, he found out that he was out
of a job. Another judge had arrived earlier to fill up his position.
During the six months when he was cruising at the sea, the
Spanish Government fell in Madrid and the new Government sent
his successor. The second judge took the shorter route via the
Suez Canal and reached Manila ahead of him.
• Spanish nobles had more rights and
• Spanish courts favored Spaniards over privileges than Filipinos.
Filipinos, leading to biased decisions.
• Filipinos had to pay taxes and do
• Filipinos faced unfair trials and heavy forced labor, while many Spaniards
penalties compared to Spaniards. were exempt.
• Filipinos were often viewed as unfit
for important jobs, regardless of their
abilities.

• This bias was evident in schools,


churches, and government positions.
“The Filipino by his nature, by his character, by the influence of the climate or the race,
is not good for undertaking lofty offices. It is a common saying that the Tagalog is an
excellent soldier, an ordinary corporal, a bad sergeant, cannot discharge the post of an
officer at all, because he is unfit for it. In the same way, the Filipino who is consecrated
to the service of the altar ordinarily carries out well the discharge of the routine offices
in the church, but he never succeeds in excelling when he is found possessing the
priesthood...”

From the wordings of Fr. Burgos himself, no matter how a native Filipino would exert his
best efforts, he would never succeed. Not because he was unfit or unable to carry out
the role but because preference was given to Spaniards. The said racial prejudice was
happening everywhere-in school, in the church hierarchy, in public offices and, as
previously mentioned, even in the legal system.
• Filipino men aged 16-60 were forced to • There was no separation between the
work for the government without pay. Church and the government.
• Friars, who were often Spaniards, had
• Wealthy Filipinos and government a lot of power and abused their
officials could avoid this by paying a fee, position.
leaving poor Filipinos to bear the burden. • They failed to report the suffering of
Filipinos to the Spanish government.
• The Philippines had little representation
in the Spanish parliament.

• This lack of voice made it hard for


Filipinos to advocate for their rights and
improvements.
• During José Rizal’s time, the economic context of the Philippines was shaped by global
forces like colonialism, trade, and industrialization. The Industrial Revolution and the
rise of global trade networks, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, integrated
the Philippines into a colonial economy that primarily served European interests. The
Philippines remained largely agrarian, with key crops such as sugar, tobacco, and
abaca exported to global markets, benefiting the Spanish colonizers and a small
Filipino elite.

• The imposition of monopolies, forced labor, and the concentration of land ownership in
the hands of religious orders and wealthy families deepened economic inequality.
While a middle class of educated Filipinos (ilustrados) emerged, the majority of
Filipinos, particularly tenant farmers, endured harsh conditions, fueling social tensions.
Rizal’s advocacy for land reform, economic equality, and modernization was rooted in
these economic realities, as he sought to uplift the Filipino people from colonial
exploitation and pave the way for a more just and independent society.
• The 19th century also brought socio-cultural
changes in Spain and the Philippines. First, there
came the rise of the enlightenment period, where
people began to rely on human reason rather
than faith and religion. In the Philippines,
information through books and print media began
to spread across the seas. The opening of the
Suez Canal made these pieces of information
readily available to the Filipinos by mail or hand-
carried by travelers. The political and social
developments of other countries also reached the
Philippines. Knowing how the French took part in
their political revolution and how the Americans
engaged in the civil war became an inspring
lesson to the Filipinos, especially the ilustrados.
• Next, the 19th century Philippines saw the rise
of middle-class, the principalias. With the
increasing demand for abaca and other crops
in Europe, there was a need for more Filipino
people to cultivate lands. Manila became a
free port in 1834 primarily to European traders.
After several months, provincial ports in the
Philippines were also opened to world trade.
The increasing trade resulted to its gradual
increase that can be attested to by these
numbers (Majul, 1978):
• To further the economic gain of Spain, the
Spanish officials recommended the
exploitation and cultivation of the Philippine
resources to expand its trade relationship with
Asia and Europe. To enhance their trading
capacities, Spain implemented the following
measures (Majul, 1978):
• With these measures, the Spanish Government was now duty-bound to
allow Filipinos to rent and cultivate agricultural lands. To achieve this,
more families had to engage in farming. Among those principalia
families who benefited from leasing the land owned by the Dominican
estate was the family of Rizal.

• However, despite these social developments, agricultural unrest


continued to grow. Friars who owned the land exploited the tenants
through flimsily increasing land rentals and taxes. This resulted in
several agrarian unrest and dissatisfaction with the living conditions of
the Filipinos under the friar-owned estates.
The political, economic, and social conditions of
the 19th century shaped the kind of Rizal that
we know today in history. 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 today (Schumacher, 1991).
HOW DID JOSE
RIZAL BECAME
WHO HE WAS?
The facts of contemporary history are
also facts about the success and the
failure of individual men and women
(Wright Mills, 1959).
ALFORTE, REY CHARLES
CARRANZA, MA. JESSA MAE
MORAUDA, MARIAH EUGENE
RUBIO, JOMEL

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