The colonial officials sent by Spain in the 19th century

INSTABILITY OF COLONIAL were a far cry from their predecessors the “Siglo de
ADMINISTRATION Oro” which produced Miguel Cervantes, Lope de
Vega, and other glories of the Hispanic nation of the
It was 19th Century when Rizal lived with a ferment of 16th, 17th, and 198th centuries.
events caused by variant tides of leadership, changes
in government, liberation, violence and war which The Philippines received governance from either the
significantly affected the lives and fortunes of mankind. highly corrupt, incompetent, cruel, or venal.

The Filipino people were unfortunate victims of the General Rafael Izquierdo y Gutierrez (1871 - 1873)
evils of an unjust, bigoted and deteriorating colonial On Jan 18, 1871, King Amadeo of Spain appointed Lt.
power. Gen. Rafael de Izquierdo as Governor- General of
the Philippines.
THE STRUGGLES BETWEEN THE FORCES OF ●​ Spanish military officer, politician, and
DESPOTISM AND LIBERALISM IN SPAIN stateman
King Ferdinand VII of Spain (1808 - 1833) ●​ served as governor-general of the Philippines
●​ His turbulent reign which brought about the from April 4, 1871 to January 8,1873.
instability of Spanish Politics marked the ●​ famous for his use of “Iron Fist” type of
beginning of political chaos in Spain and her government, contradicting the liberal
colonies government of his predecessor, Carlos Maria
de la Torre y Navacerrada.
The Spanish Government underwent frequent changes ●​ Restored press censorship
owing to bitter struggles between the forces of ●​ prohibited all talk on political matters and
despotism and liberalism and the explosions of the secularization of the parishes
carlist wars. ●​ disapproved the establishment of arts and
trades in Manila
From 1834 to 1862 ●​ dismissed natives and mestizos in the civil and
Spain had adopted 4 constitutions, elected 28 military service
parliaments, and installed no less than 529 ●​ caused the Cavite Mutiny in January 1872
ministers with portfolios; followed in subsequent ●​ executed GOMBURZA in Feb the same year
years by party strife, revolution, and other political
upheavals General Valeriano Weyler
●​ arrived in Manila a poor man and returned to
The political instability in Spain brought about periodic Spain a millionaire
shifts in colonial policies and region of colonial officials ●​ he was true tyrant because of his brutal
persecution of the Calamba tenants.
These frequent changes of the administration in the ●​ Accepts bribes and gifts
Philippines hampered down the economic and political
conditions of the country Social Structure
●​ Filipinos in the 19th century had suffered from
From 1853 – 1897 feudalistic and master slave relationship by the
the Philippines was ruled by 50 Governor Generals Spaniards.
with each serving an average term of a year and ●​ Relationship is ranked into 3 groups
three months.
Highest Class
From December of 1853 to November 1854 ●​ Spaniards, peninsulares, and the friars
(which is a period of less than a year) there were four ●​ have the power and authority to rule over the
Governor-Generals. Filipinos and they enjoyed their positions that
enable them to do what they want
In the year 1850 ●​ Peninsulares - spaniards who were born in
●​ a Spanish Jurist, left Madrid with his whole Spain
family and took the longer route, the Cape of ○​ held the most important jobs
Goof Hope, arriving in Manila after their ○​ Small number of population
6-month leisure trip. ●​ Friars - members of any of certain religious
●​ He found out that another Jurist had occupied orders of men: Augustinians, Carmelites,
his position. Dominicans, and Franciscans.
●​ During the span of his trip, the Ministry which Middle class - the natives, mestizos, and the criollos
appointed him fell in Madrid, and the ●​ natives - pure Filipino
succeeding Ministry named his replacement. ●​ Mestizo - indigenous Filipinos with mixed
●​ The new Jurist traveled faster, taking the European or Chinese ancestry
shorter route via The Isthmus of Suez and ●​ criollos - ppl from Spanish South or Central
reached Manila faster. America, especially one of pure Spanish
descent
Corrupt Spanish Officials Lowest class - includes the Filipinos only
●​ indios - poor people having pure Filipino
blood
Costales | BS Psych 3B | Life and Works of Rizal Lecture Notes
 ○​ methods were outdated
Philippine Representation in the Spanish Cortez ●​ limited curriculum
Ventura delos Reyes - first Philippine representation ○​ catholic doctrines, spanish books
●​ Took an active part to represent concerns and ○​ science and math are not taught
issues to the Cortez ●​ absence of academic freedom
●​ achieved to speak on the issue of the galleon ●​ prejudice against Filipinos in schools of higher
trade which he later on managed to abolish learning
●​ representation of the overseas colonies in the ●​ friar control over the system
Spanish Cortez was abolished in 1837. From
there, Filipinos had no way to expose the University of Santo Tomas - where Jose Burgos and
anomalies perpetuated by the colony officials. Mariano Sevilla went
San Juan de Letran - Marcelo Del Pilar, Emilio
Human Rights Denied to Filipinos Jacinto, Apolinario Mabini
-​ In the Catholic doctrine, all men are children of ●​ some institutions were subjected for closure
God, irrespective of color and race (Proposed by Spanish Official Juan Dela
-​ Spaniards regarded the brown -skinned Magna)
Filipinos as inferior ●​ additional problems are the poor classroom
-​ White Spaniards and brown Filipinos were not facilities, absence of teaching materials, and
equal before law and certainly not in practive the neglect of primary education
-​ the Spanish Penal Code, imposed heavier
penalties on native Filipinos or mestizos and Guardia Civil
lighter penalties on white Spaniards. ●​ had rendered meritorious services in
-​ racial prejudice was prevalent everywhere suppressing the bandits in the province
-​ government offices, court of justice, ●​ later became infamous for their rampant
educational institution, enthusiastical abuses
heirarchy ●​ Rizal witnessed this
-​ the whites can easily achieve victory in any
litigation After the Spanish Rule
●​ Americans came in the Philippines and their
Forced Labor regime promised peace, order, and economic
●​ Polo was compulsory labor imposed by growth
Spanish colonial authorities on adult Filipino ●​ the establishment of the American colonial
males government made clear distinctions on who
●​ only the well-off Filipinos were able to escape the reformists, liberals, anticlerical,
this manual labor by paying the falla (the modernizers, and nationalists were
money paid to the governement) ●​ their government gave assurance that their
main goals would achieve modernizing
Frailocracy reforms in government and the economy, and
(Government of the Friars) civil liberties
●​ The friars practically ruled the Philippines
through a facade of civil government. The Rizal opposed the influence of the Friar
colonial authorities, from the governor-general to be free from tyrants
down to the Alcaldes Mayores, were under the devoted to the modernization of the country
control of the friars. center of nationalist movement and inspiration to the
●​ The friars took advantage of the influence and other revolutions
power they had over the weak
●​ Spanish friars owned the best haciendas
●​ the rural folks become tenants
●​ Spanish government used religion to control
the indios
●​ Friars utilized religion not only as a shield but
also as a weapon and protection
●​ These friar haciendas become hotbeds of SHAPING THE PATH TO INDEPENDENCE
revolts
The 19th century
Rizal tried to initiate agrarian reforms in 1887. His
advocacy of agrarian reform ignited the wrath of
Dominican friars, who retaliated by raising the rentals
of lands leased by his family and other Calamba
tenants.

Educational System
●​ lots of criticisms in the educational system in
the Philippines in the late 19th century
●​ overemphasis on religious matters
●​ obsolete teaching methods
Costales | BS Psych 3B | Life and Works of Rizal Lecture Notes
 the way to many present-day agrarian
problems and unrests
○​ as the cacique system grew, it also
became more oppressive

Agrarian-related problems brought many conflicts

during this time.

The major sources of conflict and rebellion were really

the harsh Spanish impositions such as: tributo, polo y
19th Century Philippines as Rizal’s Context servicio, encomienda, etc
AGRARIAN RELATIONS AND During the 19th century
FRIAR LANDS several developments occurred that solidified the land
tenure system, and aroused antagonism over its
Pre-Spanish Era
●​ Land ownership was communal in the sense injustices and inequalities
that the barangay had right to certain territory
●​ the notion of private property was unknown
then Two Royal Decrees issued by the Spanish
●​ individual families had usufruct rights to Government
specific parcels of land as long as they 1.​ Decreto Realenga (1880)
occupied it ○​ ordered the caciques and natives to
secure legal title for their lands or suffer
Spanish Era (1521-1898) forfeiture
●​ one of the major initial policies of the 2.​ Maura Law (1894)
governorship of Legazpi was to recognize all ○​ gave farmers and landholders one year to
lands in the Philippines as part of the public register their agricultural lands to avoid
domain regardless of local customs declaration of it as a state property
●​ as such, the crown was at liberty to parcel out ○​ deprived many Filipino peasants of their
huge tracts of Philippine lands as rewards to own lands through scheming and
loyal civilian and military treacherous ways of both Spaniards and
●​ communal ownership of land gradually and Caciques
slowly took the backseat The Filipino peasants, either ignorant of processes of
●​ private ownership of land was introduced the law or of the Spanish-written instructions, were just
slow to respond
Agrarian-related Policies
Encomienda System The caciques were quick to react. They did not only
●​ began as a result of Royal Order promulgated register their own lands but also took advantage of the
in December of 1503 ignorance of the peasants land adjacent to their lands
●​ by virtue of this Royal Order, encomiendas
were granted to favor Spanish officials and No option was left for those dispossessed because
clerics who were entrusted the responsibility to documented titles to the land prevaled over verbal
look after the spiritual and temporal claims
developments of the natives in a colonied
territory Most Filipino landed peasants become mere tenants of
●​ the encomienderos also enjoyed the right to their own lands.
have a share in the tribute (tributo) paid by the
natives Mortrage System (pacto de retroventa)
●​ the system, however, degenerated into abuse ●​ equivalent of today’s mortrage system (sangla)
of power by the encomienderos. The tribute ●​ landowner (Chinese mestizos) who has loaned
soon became land rents to a few powerful a peasant some money becomes this peasant
landlords. And the natives who once cultivated landlord
the lands in freedom were transformed into
mere share tenants. Friar Lands
In place of encomiendas, the Spanish authorities ●​ another source of land-related conflict by the
began to group together several barangays into late 19th century
administration units ●​ can be traced back to the early Spanish
●​ Pueblos or Municipios colonial period when Spanish conquistadors
○​ governed by Gobernadorcillos were awarded lands in the form of haciendas
●​ Cabezas and gobernadorcillios for their loyalty to the Spanish crown
○​ made up of the landed class known as ●​ The Spanish friars belonging to the different
caciques religious orders the richest landlords, for they
○​ given the prerogative of collecting taxes owned the best haciendas
○​ Caciquism - an institution became deeply ○​ Inquilino - system where natives, who
rooted in the Philippine soil. This paved had been living in these haciendas

Costales | BS Psych 3B | Life and Works of Rizal Lecture Notes

 and cultivating them from generation
to generation become tenants 4 categories:
■​ an inquilino was expected to 1.​ those who did not pay tribute (1 categ)
give personal services to the 2.​ tribute paying class (3 categ)
landlords
■​ could also lease the land they chinese were classified as the Commercially-
were renting form the landlord oriented moneymaker
to a kasama (sharecropper indios- concerns were mainly agricultural
who would be responsible for
cultivaitng the land) the division tended to be two-fold rather than three-fold
■​ three-layered system in general, the mestizos has most of the same rights
●​ landlord as the indios while the chinese usually did not
●​ inquilinos
●​ kasamas in terms of geographic mobility, the chinese were
●​ Gov. Anda, realizing the danger of the usually restricted while the mestizos, like the indios,
friar-owned haciendas to Filipino-Spanish were relatively free to change residence.
relations strongly recommended to the Madrid likewise in the local government, chinese cannot
government the sale of the friar states participate
○​ was ignored that casued Filipino odum but chinese mestizos can individual participate with
towards the friars persisted unabated the indios
util the end of Spanish rule.
●​ Rizal, whose family and relatives were tenant The maintenance of the three categories in orderly
of the Dominical Estate of Calamba, tried to fashion was provided for by
initate agrarian reform -​ the spanish legislation/ legal status
○​ ignited the wrath of the Dominican -​ not a personal orientation or choice
friars and retaliated by rising the -​ status of the parents, (father)
rentals of lands leased by his family
and other Calamba tenants. mobility bw groups was possible
○​ Story of Cabesang Tales in El legal action / intermarriage between chinese and
Filibusterismo indios
■​ underlines an inevitable reality -​ both should be catholic
of the brewing agrarian
conflict during the 19th Rizal = 5th generation chinese mestizo
century that conclude to a
peasant revolt, an integral Chinese merchants
ingredient of the 1896 -​ carries trade between Manila and China coast
separatist revolution -​ establishes themselves at or near Spanish
●​ Acc to Rizal: the firar ownership of the settlements
productive lands contribute to the economic -​ serving them as food provisioners, retails
stagnation of the Philippines during the trader, and artisans
Spanish period
●​ Rizal fully understood that the agrarian Spanish dilemma was quickly apparent, unable to live
problems that surfaced during his time was without the chinese, they were equally unable to live
socio-economic problem because it affected with them
not only the farmers or peasants, including
their families, but its impact also generated Chinese population was many times larger than the
serious circumstances like economic Spanish = Spanish fear of Chinese revolt
dislocation, poverty, and revolt. -​ result: compromising spanish policy bw
●​ Thus, Rizal knew very well that the agrarian economic interest and political security
conflict could ignite a national revolution. -​
-​
Spanish policy: include attempts to convert the chinese
CHINESE MESTIZOS IN THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY ●​ inducements for those who accepted the faith
○​ reduced taxes
Chinese Mestizos - Filipino term for persons with ○​ fewer restrictions on travel and
mixed Chinese native ancestry residence

Since 1898, there has been no legally defined mestizo

class which we may use as a basis for understanding Chinese Mestizo
the Spanish usage of the term -​ rose to prominence bw 1741- 1850
-​ typically famous as landholders and
From the time that the Chinese mestizos became middleman wholesalers of local produce and
numerous enough to be classified separately, the foreign import
population of those parts of the Philippines that were -​ active agent of land and wholeselling in central
controlled by Spain was formally divided into 4 luzon
categories
Costales | BS Psych 3B | Life and Works of Rizal Lecture Notes
 -​ Zuniga pointed the role of central luzon Chinese Mestizos made Cebu wealthy
mestizos as lessees or inquilinos or -​ there were particularly important group of
rice-producing lands Mestizos in Cebu City who are descendants of
-​ inquilinos: labourer indebted to a the chinese inhabitants in the City of Parian
landlord who allows him to form a farm -​ rich, industrious, and active merchants
in parts of his property and who in who boosted the trading economy in
exchange works to pay for the landlord the region
-​ the inquilinos provided power to carry out Social Prestige is attached to being Chinese
tasks like the gathering of livestock and Mestizo
slaughter -​ they were known as wise investors
-​ fond of gambling
Mestizo impact greatest in -​ spent huge sums of money for feast days
●​ luzon (numerical strength was in central luzon:
tondo, bulacan, pampanga) Spaniards fear revolution of the Mestizos
●​ cebu (largest bodies of mestizo in visayas) -​ implemented the strict policy “Divide and
●​ iloilo Rule”
-​ the indios and mestizos must be kept
PACTO DE RETRO (Contract of Retrocession) separated. Or, as he put it, the brains
●​ Zuniga note a pattern of mestizo and money of the mestizos must not
money-lending and acquisition of indio lands in be allowed to become allied to the
Bulacan numerical strength of the indios.
●​ Pacto de Retro was a classic instrument for Why would a mestizo revolt against Spanish rule?
land alienation -​ they enjoy prestige and prosperity under the
○​ the indio landowner pawned his land spaniards however it might make them desire
for ready cash with an option to richer prizes
''repurchase” it at a price equal to the
amount of the loan. The later half of the 19th century (1850-1898)
○​ Since the indio could seldom repay the -​ period of occupational rearrangement for
loan and redeem the land the land mestizos
went by default to the mestizo. -​ brought by the changes in the policies
○​ As an example, he cites Bulacan, of the Spaniards such as allowing free
where the mestizos of Bigaa, San enterprise and immigration with almost
Isidro, Bocaue, Polo and Meycauayan no restrictions
had become owners of some of the -​ Chinese population soared to 100 000 and
best rice-producing lands through use spread all over the country
of the pacto de retro. -​ chinese proved themselves as tough
●​ 1768: there were laws against the use of competitors in terms of trade. they even
Pacto De Retro because of the land alienation brought international trade in the Visayas.
problems concerned by the Spaniards Historians tells us that the periodic system of purchase
●​ Spaniards attempted to replace the mestizo and distribution of the earlier mestizos and indios were
moneylenders by advancing money to growers no match for the chinese sari-sari store. Hence, local
however it was a short-lived experiment. mestizos and indios were overwhelmed which forced
●​ government gave in to the mestizos wishes some to focus on agriculture and others became
craftsmen.
mid 19th century -​ Influx of Chinese lead to occupational
-​ total population of the Philippines: around 5 diversity
million
-​ mestizo: 240 000 (5-6% of the total FILIPINO
population) ●​ traditionally used by Spaniards to refer to a
-​ had the biggest fortunes in the Spaniar born in the Philippines
Philippines ●​ 19th century- societal metamorphosis which
-​ highly commended for wealth lead to the creation of Philippine Society
and strong economic
position
in the 19th century,
-​ there had been substantial land interests
monopolizing trading for important goods and
practically all businesses in town

Chinese Mestizos Landholders

-​ treated indios harshly (giving then little money
for hardwork)
-​ their motto “bread in one hand, stick in the
other”
-​ profit is what they value the most

Costales | BS Psych 3B | Life and Works of Rizal Lecture Notes