Indolence of the Filipinos

Overview:
● This article is written by Rizal with the motivation to defend the Filipinos from the charge that
the Filipinos are indolent. The charge of the Spaniards to the Filipinos is actually in the
context that we are born indolent.
● It is originally written in Spanish and was published in the La Solidaridad in five installments,
from July 15 to September 15, 1890
● Problematized whether Filipinos are indolent or not.
Indolence
● Laziness in the sense of little love for work or the lack of motivation to work.
Rizal Analysis
● Rizal did not deny the fact that indolence already exists in the Philippines. Indolence does
actually and positively exist in the Philippines, however when referring to the Filipinos the
term “indolent” used by the Spaniards is always misused. Indolence does exist, only that
instead of holding it to be the cause of the backwardness and the trouble, we regard it as the
effect of the trouble and the backwardness by fostering the development of a lamentable
predisposition.
● Why?: “In the Philippines one’s and another’s faults, the shortcomings of one, the misdeeds
of another, are attributed to indolence.” (Whatever the problem or issue that is happening in
the Philippines is always attributed with the Spaniards to the laziness or indolence of the
Filipinos.)
● Ex. Filipinos are uneducated, instead of looking at the factors why Filipinos are uneducated,
the Spaniards would only say that Filipinos are uneducated because they are lazy.
Furthermore, they said that Filipinos are poor because the Filipinos are lazy or indolent/look
like monkeys or ugly.
● Even if it doesn't match with the situation they would always connect that Filipinos are lazy.
● Rizal’s Analysis: The indolence of the Filipinos is actually the effect of the misgovernment of
the Spaniards. It is brought about with the administration of the Spaniards in the Philippines,
because the Spaniards fostered that development of a lamentable predisposition. He said
that indolence exists in the Philippines, therefore we must bless it, accept it, because it is
part of our natural predisposition.
FACTORS
TROPICAL WEATHER
● We have a natural predisposition to be indolent because we have that natural or latent to
become indolent and is a result of the tropical climate of the Philippines
● Rizal attributes this to the tropical climate of the Philippines.
● He said: “A hot climate requires of the individual quiet and rest, just as cold incites labor and
action”
● The fact is that in tropical countries violent work is not a good thing as it is in cold countries,
there it is death, destruction, annihilation. Nature knows this and like a just mother has made
the earth more fertile, more productive, as a compensation.
● An hour's work in that burning sun is equal to a day’s work in a temperate climate.
● Your environment tells you to work even harder
● Despite and in spite of the fact that we have that natural predisposition to become indolent,
this natural predisposition to become indolent was not awakened before the coming of the
Spaniards.
 ● Pre-colonial Philippine Society: Filipinos engage in extensive trade, not only locally or
inter-baranganic, but also internationally, because we again are part of Maritime Southeast
Asia. This is proof that there was actually movement or industry or activity so that Filipinos in
spite of their natural tendency to become indolent, because of their tropical climate were
actually hardworking and industrious
● (Ex: Pigafetta's account in 1521 also talks about the abundance of the islands in the
Philippines (Samar, Butuan) There is an abundance of gold and other resources. Hence it
proves that people were hardworking and industrious.
● There was an active trade of the Philippines to China- taken from a 13th century Chinese
manuscript.
● They found out that islands maintained relations with neighboring countries and even with
distant ones (Siam)
● In fact, to prove that the islands were abundant, Rizal mentioned the chief of Paragua
(Palawan) who was taken prisoner by the survivors of Magellan’s expedition. The Spaniards
let him ransom himself within 7 days demanding 400 measures of rice, 20 pigs, 20 gold, and
450 chickens. The chief of Palawan took all of that and even more, voluntarily added other
things or items such as coconuts, bananas, sugar cane jars filled with palm wine or tuba.
According to Rizal, his conduct, while it may reveal weakness from a political standpoint,
also demonstrates that there were abundants in the islands and provision.
● Interestingly, Rizal states in his essay that 50 years before the arrival of the Spaniards in
Luzon, in 1521, there were already natives who understood Castillan.
● There was trade, activity, industry, movement. That according to Rizal, our natural
predisposition tendency to become indolent was not awakened. It was only awakened when
the Spaniards started colonizing the Philippines.

FACTORS THAT AWAKENED FILIPINO INDOLENCE

● A fatal combination of circumstances-some of which we cannot do something about; some of

which are stupidity and ignorance; some of which are because of false principles.
● There were 2 main factors: WARS and SPANISH IMPOSED ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL
INSTITUTIONS

1. WARS - INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL

● INTERNAL WARS are those that came about as resistance or revolts against
Spanish occupation; insurrections. It is when Filipinos fought against Spain when the
Spaniards started colonizing the Philippines. When the Spaniards colonized the
Philippines, the Filipinos in fact resisted.
● The only problem is that these resistances were independent from each other and
motivated by different reasons (personal, economic, political, and religious reasons)
● It also consisted of the piratical attacks of the Muslims in the south. Because of the
divide and conquer policy of the Spaniards that divided the Filipinos and let them feel
that they are apart and different from each other, then the Muslims from the South
started attacking the Christians so that the Christians were also duly bound to also
protect themselves and fought back. But the problem was that the Christians were
not given some form of protection by the Spaniards. The fortifications that the
 Spaniards made were only actually for themselves (no weapons) hence, they were
vulnerable to the piratical attacks of the Muslims.
● EXTERNAL WARS: Since Filipinos are subjects of Spain then they all needed to
protect and defend Spain. Filipinos were sent to other countries to fight the dutch.
Effect: depopulation; many died as the result of war, many were executed.
● In the account of Gaspar de San Agustin (Priest), he said; when the Spaniards
reached the island of Panay it is said that there were more than 50,000 families, but
these diminished greatly, and at present they may amount to some 14,000
tributaries. From 50,000 to 14,000 in little over half a century
● Aside from wars, there were also other institutions, Spanish imposed that affected
natives negatively. Encomenderos sold natives to others, there were those who were
flogged to death, many died of hunger.

2. SPANISH IMPOSED ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

● Galleon Trade
- The only active participation of the Filipinos was the construction of the
Galleon, they were not paid because it was part of the institution of forced
labor. This awakened the indolence of the Filipinos because there were no
incentives to work hard.
● Taxation without Representation
- You pay taxes but you don't necessarily see the results of what you've paid in
terms of services. There were no services available.
● Forced Labor or Polo Y Servicio Personal
- Why do you continue to work hard if these are the circumstances or
conditions that you were put into? You are not provided with social and health
services,etc.
● Monopolies
- Economic institution established in the Philippines
- Cash crops (tobacco, abaca, sugar)
- The lands where we are supposed to plant our staple crops like rice and corn
were no longer planted because the Spaniards wanted the Filipino farmers to
plant cash crops, meaning these are crops that will be exported by the Manila
Acapulco Galleon Trade. The demand of the market was tobacco, abaca,
sugar cane, rubber, etc. If we decrease the production of staple crops and
increase the production of cash crops, all of these cash cash crops will be
navigated, maneuvered to the Manila Acapulco Galleon Trade. Hence, we no
longer have staple crops to feed ourselves, increasing the prices of staple
crops even in the Philippines. Because the lands were supposed to plant
staple crops are replaced by cash crops making the Spaniard richer and
have an advantage compared to the Filipinos
- Ilocos (Tobacco Monopoly and Basi (liqour) Monopoly), Negros and IloIlo
(Sugarcane Monopoly)
● Encomienda or Hacienda System in the Philippines
- Farmers are supposed to pay land rents so that they could fill the lands of the
encomenderos but in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the encomenderos or
the facilitators of the Haciendas or the Encomienda System would arbitrarily
 raise taxes to the point where a Filipino farmer could no longer afford to pay
those taxes. So that when harvest time comes, they make the Filipinos pay in
terms of cash and in kind(harvests). Leaving nothing to the Filipino farmers
and their families.
- The question of the Filipinos relies on: Why would I work when I am not even
sure if I will be able to partake from the fruits of my labor?

FACTORS THAT SUSTAINED THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINOS

1. The constantly lessening encouragement that labor has met within the Philippines
● Fearing to have the Filipinos deal frequently with other individuals of their own race,
who were free and independent, (Borneans, Siamese, Cambodians, Japanese), the
government acted toward these others with great severity until they ceased to come
to the country.
● Since there are the people who consumed Philippine products, when all
communication with them had been cut off, consumption of these products also
ceased.
● The only two countries with which the Philippines continued to have relations with
were China and Mexico (New Spain), from this trade only China and a few private
individuals in Manila got any benefit.

2. The introduction of gambling

● There was already gambling and practiced by the Filipinos in the Philippines before
the arrival of the Spaniards: cockfighting
● But the fostering, or encouragement as well as the perfecting of this game, is due to
the government
● The problem of gambling is that it breeds dislike for steady and difficult toil by its
promise of sudden wealth and appeal to the emotions.
● I will become a rich man, as long as I take the risk because of the possibility of
winning instead of working

3. Religion and belief miracles

● Why work when God is there to take care of everything?
● Besides, the friar teaches that the rich man will not go to heaven. That God always
favor the poor, and that it is OK to live poorly on earth because once in heaven, one
will enjoy heavenly luxuries
● Preferential treatment for the poor
● Fatalism: the “Bahala na” attitude

4. Lack of moral stimulus (there was no incentive to work, to study and to develop
oneself)
● What future awaits him who distinguishes himself, him who studies, who rises above
the crowd?
● It will not matter whether you finished with highest honors, for as long as you are an
indio, you will not have a bright future.
 ● Racial discrimination is a reality in the country, and those who occupy all positions of
power are always western colonizers. Prevents social mobility and prevents Filipinos
from working hard. By their own skin, they realized that they will not be successful.

5. Education of the native

● From his birth until he sinks into his grave, the training of the native is brutalizing,
depressive, and anti-human
● While there are some, like the Jesuits and some Dominicans who founded school for
real education, their effects are neutralized.
● Generally, it does not help the Filipinos develop oneself because the education
focuses on the religion, teaches you how to be a good christian, obedient and
compliant to the Spaniards. Rather than teaching you real education (Secular and
Rational)

FACTORS THAT EMANATE FROM THE PEOPLE

1. Defects of training
- Training was such to facilitate communication and nothing more. Pre Colonial
Filipinos had a writing and language system (baybayin). But it was only utilized to
facilitate communication effectively but was not able to enhance the education of the
natives because there was no other formal type of education before the arrival of the
Spaniards.
- The Spaniards were the ones who came up with an education system, schools,
universities, and curriculums.
- In the Precolonial period, our training is defective
2. Lack of a national sentiment
- Pre Colonial period
- This is because of the geographic identity of the philippines. Even before the arrival
of the Spaniards, we were already apart from each other because of our system of
barangays (each barangays was only composed of 60-100 families isolated and
independent from each other). Hence, we were not able to develop a form of national
sentiment.

HOW DO WE REFORM THIS INDOLENT SOCIETY

1. EDUCATION AND LIBERTY
● Real education (Rational, Secular, enhances the individual holistically)
● Liberty in the sense of providing political and civil rights so that they will be
encourage to be hardworking and to prepare for their future
● Sooner or later, the native will become enlightened, whether the government wishes
or not.
● Thus, Rizal asserts, let this enlightenment be a gift received and not conquered to
plunder.
● Do not put obstacles of the natives way of learning so that when the time comes that
the mother country losses her colonies, she would not regret having reared
ungrateful children
Speaker

1880:
Gregorio santiago
● Filipino Lawyer, economist
● Wrote an essay “el progresso de filipinas”
● That essay would have a profound impact on Jose Rizal
● A decade after he wrote that essay
● The essay he wrote greatly influenced Jose Rizal’s Political and idelogical
● Foundations where rizal got his ideas

Which of the ideas that gregorio santiago greatly influenced rizal?

● When santiago wrote the essay decades earlier, he highlighted in a way why the philippines
is a backward area compared to the countries that were conquered and colonized by spain

Why is it that those other countries that have been colonized by spain, why are they progressing at
the momement?
- Where as the philippines was in a backward state
 - While trying to explain the reason why the philippines was in a backward colony, he
highlighted one of the misconceptions that the spaniards have about flipinos:
The idea that filipinos are Indolent
● That critique proved to be influential to rizal
● later on 10 years later as a writer for la solidaridad
● Rizal basically got the idea from santiago
● But, compared to santiago who focused more on economic explanations
● Rizal expanded the theory into a much larger and broader
● Explaining the fallacy of this particular misconception

What rizal was saying: The notion that Filipinos are indolent, if you think about it, is inherently
flawed.
● Its like labeling a particular group of people based on an idea or perception that doesnt really
hold water
● Its like Stereotyoes in the philippines:
- Students from ilocos are kuripot
- All ilonggos are malambing
- All people who live in manila are mayayabang
- All cebuanos enjoy eating danggit or lechon
● There might be some truth to those things in certain levels
● It cannot be applied to the collectivity

Where does this perception come from?

● Stems from racism
● 19th century: Why the spaniards carry this mindset
- There was this popular idea/theory that was peddled among people who live in
europe at that time
- Classical evolutionism: belief that human societies evolve in a linear progression,
evolving from a stage of barbarism, savegery, to civilization
- Europeans feel superior because they began earlier than everyone else
- By 19th century the europeans believed that they already reached the end of that
development
- Compared to people living in Asia, africa was still in first stage of development
- Thats were the perceptions came from

What rizal was arguing:

● The condition of laziness
● The idea that certain people are lazy exist in the phillippines, so does it exist in every other
society
● There is no such thing as a monopoly of laziness
● The state of indolence is not an inherent state
● While laziness does exist in the philippines
● Indolence is a byproduct of something, its like a symptom of a disease:
- For example: when a person is inflicted with malaria, the sympotms are incredibly
high fever, internal bleeding, delirium
- The source of the disease is a bacteria called plasmodium
 - If you want to deal with the disease, you have to deal with the source of the disease
● The indolence of Filipinos is a symptom of an even bigger disease
What was the source of that disease? What is the cause why filipinos are indolent?
Historical context:
- The filipinos are not naturally indolent
- The filipinos are anything but indolent during the barangayanic period
- From historical records of the chinese: they admire the filipinos certain attributes and
characteristics; industriusness, masisipag, makakatiwalaan
- Sun dynasty account: when the chinese are in the philippine area they would go to the
nearest island and offload their cargo on to the beach, leave there temporarily for several
days, when they came back, not a single item was lost
● Rizal found it strange that the spaniards would peddle this idea that filipinos are indolent
We have to take a look at a myriad of factors that this indolence exists in the philippine
society today
Promoted or encourage the indolence of Filipinos:
1. Environment
● Concept of siesta:
- Ex: if you have any business in spain, dont do it after lunch, no one will pay attention
to you, 2pm - 4pm, supposedly the spaniards are utterly useless – siesta period
- Reason: spain is located in europe the central place where Madrid is located, its a
very dry area, hot climate – because of this people are not very active
● Tropical country: Phillippines
- The climate is not conducive for sustained and continuous work
- Explains why Filipino farmers wake up very early in the morning to work (4 am), by
the time it hits 11 am - 2pm, the heat is too punishing, any kind of sustained work is
physically impossible
- When farmers stay in the shade around 11-1pm, its not that their lazy, but because of
the heat, its physically impossible to do sustained work
- Contrast to: European countries where the climate is colder
- In frigid climate/temperatures - if you stay in one area and not move and work,
there's no blood flow – they have to move/work
● Rizal said if you flip it and put Filipinos in a climate similar to that of Europeans and vice
versa then the outcome would be the same
2. Spain’s colonial policy
● Polo Y Servicio: 40 day compulsory work and labour
● The problem with Spain's colonial policy: It doesn't reward quality work
- If working for 40 days - underpaid, overwork
- Even if you work at the best of your ability, you are not rewarded to the work that you
provide
- The atreales that the Spaniards pay are only enough to pay back the taxes that the
Spaniards imposed
● The whole structure of Spain's colonial policy do not reward quality work
3. Spain’s wars against European rivals
● The Spaniards contracted Filipinos to cut down trees so that they could build warships for
Spain (Cavite naval yard)
 ● The problem of the castillas when they were ruling the country is that the entrepreneurial
spirit of the filipinos were gone
● All local trade was put to an end by the spaniards
● China: the only country allowed for filipinos to engage trade in
● Spain, Mexico
● They prevented the filipinos to engage in trade with neighboring countries because they were
freer compared to the filipinos
● The Spaniards wanted to control the movement of the Philippines
4. The role played by the Global Trade Markets
● Galleon trade:
- The problem with the galleon trade was that there were specific goods that the
Europeans were interested in
- The Europeans were specific in what they need
- Asian goods: silk, pearl, Chinese wear, spices
- All the workforce of the Filipinos are channeled towards providing those types of raw
materials
- Imbalance, unfair economic arrangement
- Does not leave any room for any kind of social and economic advancement by the
people who actually provide raw materials
● Free trade environment
- The country that provides the raw materials as compared to the country that exports
back finished goods – there is an imbalance, lugi
5. Role of the church
● The Spaniards utilized religion effectively as a means of societal control
● The friars advocated to the Filipinos to not work hard because “God will provide”
● Fatalism: no matter how bad things are, it will be okay because God will provide
● Discourages initiative, encourage filipinos to have this fatalistic type of attitude/mentality
● Which gives the impression that filipinos are indolent

How do we solve this problem? How do we move away from this problem?
1. Reform of the educational system
- advocacy of Rizal to stop the indolence, wanted the initiative the the Filipinos used to
have before Spanish colonization occurred
- Teach them courses that allow them to compete with the rest of the world
- When Filipinos are taught that way they will be motivated to do more and better
2. Change
- Societal and political reforms in the Philippines
- Reasons why its difficult for Filipinos to excel is because the Spaniards have set
limits on what we can and cannot do – which is unfair
- A Filipino is not allowed to go higher than the position of a lieutenant
- Sergeant: the highest position a Filipino soldier could get
- gobernadorcillo(mayor): the highest position a Filipino could get
- If society is arranged in such a way were you can move up, then you have a group of
people who are motivated
- But if society is gained in a certain way that there is no movement paangat/pataas
theres no reward for good work, how can you expect people to be motivated
3. Unifying vision
- When the Castillans arrived, the correlation between Filipinos (ethnic and linguistic)
vanished – because of the policy of divide and conquer
- The spaniards encouraged enmity between filipinos
- So thats its easier for them to control
- Rizal: we must find a way to have a collective vision, national consciousness
- Once we have that it becomes a motivating factor that rizal believes that could
ultimately put an end to this notion that we are indolent

–45:17–
(questions na after this)