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Agrarian Disputes

The document discusses the agrarian disputes that embroiled Jose Rizal's family in the late 19th century over the Hacienda de Calamba estate. It provides historical context on how the Dominican friars accumulated vast land holdings that led to tensions with tenants over rents and services. This came to a head in the 1880s as Rizal's family was embroiled in litigation with the Dominicans over the Hacienda de Calamba, which greatly affected Rizal and influenced his writing.

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Jen Comia
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2K views30 pages

Agrarian Disputes

The document discusses the agrarian disputes that embroiled Jose Rizal's family in the late 19th century over the Hacienda de Calamba estate. It provides historical context on how the Dominican friars accumulated vast land holdings that led to tensions with tenants over rents and services. This came to a head in the 1880s as Rizal's family was embroiled in litigation with the Dominicans over the Hacienda de Calamba, which greatly affected Rizal and influenced his writing.

Uploaded by

Jen Comia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Agrarian Disputes

Agrarian Disputes

 In 1891 , Jose Rizal was in Hong Kong


when he received distressing news about
his family who were , at that time,
embroiled in a litigation case concerning
the Hacienda de Calamba
Agrarian Disputes

 “ I am following your cavalry step


by step. Do not be afraid, I am
doing all I can … patience, a little
patience. Courage! “
Agrarian Disputes

 Scholars and students of history agree


that the conflict between his family
and the Dominicans over the Hacienda
greatly affected Rizal
Agrarian Disputes

 Terminologies :
 Conquistador – a Spanish conqueror
 Caballeria – a small tract of land included in
a land grant
 Canon – annual rent paid by the Inquilino
Agrarian Disputes
Terminologies
 Hacienda – large estates that were used for raising
livestock and agricultural production
 Cavan – a measure equal to 75 liters
 Inquilino – a tenant who rented land from the
friars and subleased the land to sharecroppers
Agrarian Disputes
 Terminologies :
 Principales – ruling elite class
 Sharecropper ( Kasama ) – an individual
who rented the land from an Inquilino and
worked the land
 Sitio de Granado Mayor – a large tract of
land included in a land grant
Agrarian Disputes

 Spanish Conquistadores – land grants were


given to approximately 120 Spaniards during
the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
 Sitio de granador mayor – measuring 1, 742
hectares
 Caballerias – measuring 42.5 hectares
Agrarian Disputes
 Hacenderos ( land grantee Conquistadores
) – failed to develop their lands for 3
reasons:
 1. Spanish population in the Philippines
was transient
 2. market for livestock products ( hacienda
produce ) remained relatively small
Agrarian Disputes

 3. Galleon Trade that was based in


Manila offered much bigger economic
rewards and attracted more Spaniards
Agrarian Disputes

 Spanish Hacenderos lack of interest to


develop their lands led to religious
orders ( e.g. Dominican Friars,
Augustinians, Franciscans, etc. ) to
take over the task.
Agrarian Disputes

 Religious Orders amassed their vast tract


of lands thru :
 1. Donation by Spanish hacenderos
seeking spiritual benefits
 2. Estates were heavily mortgaged to the
Ecclesiastics, eventually purchased by the
religious orders themselves
Agrarian Disputes

 3. A number Filipino Principales


also donated or sold their estates
to the friars
Agrarian Disputes

 By the end of 19th century the religious


orders’ estates constituted 40 percent in
the Tagalog region comprising the
provinces of Bulacan, Tondo ( presently
Rizal ) Cavite, and Laguna
Agrarian Disputes

 In 16th & 17th centuries the vast estates were


used primarily as cattle ranches and as farms
for subsistence crops
 Later in the 19th century, rice & sugar became
the main commodities produced as they
generated the biggest income
Agrarian Disputes

 Agrarian relations and social structure in the


Haciendas developed overtime:
 Lay brothers served as administrator
 Tenants were expected to work and cultivate the
estates ( tenants usually hire sharecroppers –
kasama – to till the lands )
Agrarian Disputes

 The land owners ( friars ) held


authority over the lay brothers
although the latter are generally free
to make their own decisions
Agrarian Disputes

 Tenants ( inquilinos )are paying an


annual rent which during the earlier
centuries was usually a fixed amount of
harvest and in later centuries, money
Agrarian Disputes

 Aside from the annual rent of fixed


amount of harvest or, later, money, the
inquilinos are expected to render personal
services to their landlords or owners
 Failure to satisfy such requirements could
mean expulsion from the land
Agrarian Disputes

 A three-tiered social structure and land


tenure practices emerged, which would
eventually render the Haciendas as cites of
contestations among the Spanish religious
Hacenderos, the Inquilinos, and the
sharecroppers
Agrarian Disputes

 Leasing the land to inquilinos freed the


land owners from social responsibilities
from a direct interaction with
sharecroppers since it was now the tenants
who dealt directly with the Kasamas
Agrarian Disputes

 The sharecroppers benefitted from the


arrangement because their labor
obligations to the religious estates
exempted them from forced labor
demanded by the Spanish Government
Agrarian Disputes

 It is not surprising that when the


Philippine revolution broke out in
1896, the abuses in the friar estates
were often identified as one of the
main causes that instigated the revolt
Agrarian Disputes
 Hacienda de Calamba Conflict:
chronology
 Several laymen owned hacienda de Calamba
 In 1759, a poor destitute Spanish layman
named Don Manuel Jauregui donated the
lands to the Jesuits in exchange for his
lifetime stay at the Jesuit monastery
Agrarian Disputes
 Hacienda de Calamba Conflict: chronology
 In 1767, King Charles III expelled the Jesuits
from the Philippines through a decree, confiscating
their estate
 In 1803 the government sold the estate to Spanish
layman Don Clemente de Asanza for 44, 507
pesos
Agrarian Disputes
 In 1883, Hacienda de Calamba ( measured
16,424 hectares )was purchased by the
Dominicans for 52,000 pesos
 By this time families from neighboring towns
had migrated to the Hacienda in search of
economic opportunities, among them were
Rizal’s ancestors
Agrarian Disputes
 Much of the wealth of Rizal’s family came
from these lands
 As early as 1883, the conflict began to
manifest and became a serious concern for
the Rizal family
 In 1883 Paciano Rizal wrote that the friars
were collecting rents without issuing
receipts
Agrarian Disputes
 In 1885 the rent increased and market for
sugar declined and prices remained low
 The friars punished the tenants for failing to
pay rents by declaring the estates vacant and
invited residents of other towns to take over
 Because few outsiders responded most tenants
were spared from eviction
Agrarian Disputes
 The conflict reached its climax towards the
end of 1880s when the farmers wrote a
petition to the government detailing their
grievances against the Dominicans and with
the friars retaliating as a result
 The friars began to evict and exile the
tenants, including Rizal’s family
Agrarian Disputes

 The conflict affected Rizal deeply and


was reflected particularly in his second
novel, El Filibusterismo

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