The Philippines in the 19th Century

Learning outcomes

At the end of the lesson, the students shall be able to:

• Describe what was the political, economic and social life of the Philippines
during the 19th century;
• Discuss why Rizal was the product of his times;
• What were the institutions being imposed by Spain in the Philippines during
the 19th century;
• Elaborate on the life of the Filipinos during that time; and
• Give the importance and relevance of how nationalism was molded in the
heart and mind of our national hero.
The World during the 19th Century

The 19th century is known to be the Age of

Enlighten in Philippine history which can be described as
a colorful part of our history. There were several events
that took shape that had impact in the Philippine soil.
Among these were the ff.:
a.) United States of America - according to the diary of
Rizal was too impressive in the sense of their rapid
industrialization that time and Rizal commented that
America will be the next superpower after Spain. The
racial issue hampered its racial discrimination in the
mainland as described in the book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
written by Harriet Beecher Stowe where negroes are subject to slavery by the
“whites”. When President Lincoln became the president, several reforms took
pace such as the “emancipation of slaves” in response to the racial issue and
enfranchising them as well as awarding them either American citizenship. When
Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, the American Civil War (1861-65) was raging
furiously in the US over the issue of Negro Slavery. This titanic conflict, which
erupted on April 12, 1861, compelled President Abraham Lincoln to issue his
famous Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1863 freeing negro slaves.
b.) England – One of the most powerful nations that colonized America was
England. Under the reign of Queen Victoria (1873 – 1901), England was
transformed into a conqueror and the continent of Africa was their main target.
Several reforms were the Reform Bill of 18677 where voting rights to the labors
were extended, the Education Act of 1870 where free education was awarded to
all British and in 1871 Unions were organized as part of the worker’s rights and
privileges.
c.) Italy – Italy is known for its magnificent churches and plazas became one of
the tourism spots until now. The reign of King Victor Immanuel II worked for
the unification of Italy. Before its unification the country was ruled by several
kingdoms. For example, Giuseppe Garibaldi commanded his troops to
subjugate other kingdom thus, making Italy into one sovereign country.
However, one city was separated, the Vatican City which became a state within
the sovereign territory in Italy that was proclaimed under Lateran Treaty 1929.
d.) Germany – Germany was known as Prussia then which was led by the
military General Otto von
Bismarck. In 1870 Germany attacked France resulting to the military
domination of Germany in the region.
In 1871 William I was crowned the Emperor of Germany.
e.) France – After the French Revolution of 1789, the empire continued
its rise to power under Emperor
Napoleon III. It was later defeated by Germany in 1871 led by Otto von
Bismarck.
f.) India – At that time India was governed by the Mogul empire where Sepoy soldiers
staged a mutiny
and murdered some British commanders of the army. After the mutiny, British
authorities hired loyal
Indian soldiers to quell the Modul Empire and re-establish once again British
colonialism in India.
g.) China – is known to be one of the oldest trading partners of the Philippines. In the
19th century, China
was ruled by a dynasty that was led by the family rulers. Manchu Dynasty ruled China
when the Taiping
Rebellion happened between 1852 up to 1864. China was also fragmented into pieces
by the foreign
powers particularly managed in whole or in part by Italy, France and Great Britain.
Russia also took
advantage of China by taking some of the islands after the Sino-Russian War in the
early 1900’s or latter
part of the 19th century. There were some conflicts also with Mongolia in northern
part of Chinese
Mainland. The Opium War (1856-1860) became one of the economic and political
turmoil of that time
where Hong Kong was surrendered to the British under several treaties and
agreements.
h.) Japan – In 1853 (8 years before Rizal was born), the American Naval Force headed
by Matthew Perry
wanted to established ports for American ships. Japan signed several treaties with
other European countries
particularly France, Russia, Holland and Great Britain. This was the first time the
westerners entered Japan
which has established its Shogunate for a long time.
i.) Singapore – Singapore was known for its ports at that time where merchant and
passenger ships loaded
and unloaded from place to place. It was founded by British Sir Stamford Raffles in
1819 and its complete
independence was established after its separation from the Federation of Malaya
1965.
The Philippines During the 19th Century
As stated in the chapter about the Rizaliana batch of biographers, the history of
the Philippines during the 19th century, was divided into three institutions
namely:
a. Political Institutions
The Political set-up of the Philippines during those times was
headed by the Governor-General. He was appointed by the
King of Spain for an “indefinite” period of time as loyalty was
one of the major qualifications of the government officials. It
was during the time of Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi,
then appointed by King Philip II of Spain that proportions of
Land were awarded. The governor-general performs dual
functions –political and ecclesiastical.
 His political powers include being the chief executive head of the colony
– managing the internal affairs of the state as well as the executer of the laws of
the land. He was also the chief of Real Audiencia or the Spanish Supreme Court
in the Philippines where cases were elevated after the failure of cases in local
courts. He was also the commanding officer of the armed forces particularly the
navy and army. His ecclesiastical power then was to settle Church matter because
there was Union of Church and State. In the 19th century Philippines then the
office of the governor-general was the most powerful position in the land next to
the King of Spain and the Ministry of the Indies.
In order to check the powers of the Gov-Gen. then there were officials being sent by
the King_x0002_the residencia and visitadores. The Residencia are permanent
officials who will scrutinize the
performance of the out-going Gov-Gen. The incoming Gov.Gen. would be probably
coming from the
residencia. Visitadores on the other hand will check the performance of the Gov.-Gen
and they were
temporary and different from the residencia.
In the local set-up then, local government was divided into provinces, cities and
barangays.
The provinces were led by the alcalde-mayor who was the executive of the provinces.
Cities were
called, Ayuntamiento that were headed by a petty governor known as the
“governadorcillo.” The little
towns were called pueblos. During the 19th century the barangays were headed by a
chief known as
the cabeza de barangay and they served as tax collectorsof their constituents.
b. Economic Institutions – the encomienda system or the leasehold system became
one of the main economic programs of Spain in the Philippines. This system however,
was abused by the Spaniards. The 70-30 percentage crop sharing became the most
abused practice to uneducated farmers because it was usurious. Anaother form of
abuse was the monopoly system or known as bandala system where the Spaniards
monopolized the buying and selling of raw materials and middlemen sold them at a
higher cost. The Galleon Trade was another economic activity at that time where
“boletas” or tickets were used to purchase goods from the ships though there were
instances when ships never returned due to typhoons or man-made accidents at sea.
c. Social Institution – the social institution which was imposed by Spain in the
Philippines was divided into social strata wit;
Social Strata in the Philippines during Spanish Period
(Source from Choose Philippines Archives)

The figure above shows the social strata which puts the principalia (the
rich and opulent class) or the peninsulares and insulares at the apex of the
triangle. The lower portion of the apex is composed of mixed races (Spaniard,
Chinese and Austronesian ancestry). The rising middle class or the ilustrados
(composed of the educated class) including Rizal’s family and other
propagandists are not presented in the figure. Almost 60% of the population is
“indio” which belongs to the lower class and uneducated Filipinos. Religious
impositions were very strong that time where Filipinos are subjects under the
Spanish friars. Marcelo H. Del Pilar known to be one of the main propagandists
coined the term, “frailocracy” which prevailed in the Philippines.
Rizal as product of his times

Rizal was the product of his times and he was

also one of the eyewitnesses of the execution of the
triumvirate priests, Gomez, Burgos and Zamora who
were executed on February 17, 1872 after the Cavite
Mutiny on January 20, 1872 which was led by
Sergeant La Madrid. Rizal, being an eyewitness of
the execution, reckoned his historical thoughts in his
letters as revealed by his early biographers. On the
other hand, some points to be considered, to wit;
1. Divine Intervention

Rizal’s vast knowledge and social consciousness are God’s gifts to him.
As a reformer, he was-versed in letters and language. It is a fact that Jose Rizal
possessed a lot of talents and he used his literary and
writing ability to fight the Spanish tyranny. He believed that “the pen is mightier
than the sword”.
2. Environmental Awareness

The 19th century was the Age of Enlightenment and Rizal was the
product of that time. His environment might be one of the very reason why he
fought the Spanish authorities as he was surrounded by several names who
became his advisers and mentors. He witnessed the execution of the triumvirate
priests (GomBurZa) at a young age of 11 which awakened his awareness of the
social injustices of the Spanish authorities. He believed that “tyranny” has no
room in a free society which he envisioned for the country.
3. Educational Factors

Rizal became a young professional who gained his expertise in Ateneo (as
surveyor), University of Santo Tomas (as a medical student) and in Universidad
Central de Madrid (continuing his medical studies).

His expertise became in demand as a barrio doctor serving his less privileged
compatriots. His literary knowledge and observations in the Philippines and his
travels abroad were his inspirations when he wrote his two novels- Noli Me
Tengere and El Filibusterismo.
4. Family Orientation

The Mercado family along with other “middle class families” were Rizal’s first
teachers. Belonging to the ilustrado class, Rizal was sent abroad to continue his
medical studies though there were some objections from his mother.

His family was his source of strength in his flight for social justice from evil
society of that time. Paciano, his brother was his closest adviser and supporter
during his stay in Europe. Rizal’s family has influenced him a lot in inculcating
and developing nationalism in hi consciousness.
Below are political, economic, social life, and institution of the Philippines
during the 19th century that were imposed by Spain. us.
1. Instability of Colonial Administration
2. Corrupt officialdom
3. No Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes
4. Human rights are denied to Filipinos
5. No equality before the law
6. Maladministration of justice
7. Racial discrimination
8. Frailocracy
9. Forced Labor
10. Haciendas owned by the friars
11. Guardia Civil