Philippines during Rizal's Time

Instability of colonial administration

The chaotic Reign of King Ferdinand VII (1808-1833) marked the beginning of  political mayhem in Spain. From 1834-1862, Spain had adopted four constitutions, elected 28 parliaments, and installed not less than 529 ministers with portfolios; followed in subsequent years by party strifes, revolutions, and other political upheavals. The political instability in Spain affected Philippine Affairs because it brought about recurrent periodic shifts in colonial policies and periodic rigodon of colonial officials. Spain’s political instability resulted to the loss of many of her colonies in America.

Spain changed its policies in the Philippines and made periodic replacements of  Spanish officials. These frequent changes of the administration in the Philippines hampered down the economic and political conditions of the country. Philippine economy and politics grew from bad to worse at that time. Corrupt Spanish Officialdom

Corrupt Officialdom was another evil of the Spanish Colonial System. 

Many colonial officials became rich by illegal means or by marrying the heiresses of rich Filipino families.

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Mostly ignorant and profligate, they conducted themselves with arrogance because of their alien white skin and tall noses.

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General Rafael de Izquierdo (1871-73) - was a ruthless governor 

general, aroused the anger of the Filipinos by executing Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora. (GOMBURZA) Martyrs of 1872. Admiral Jose Malcampo (1874-77) - was a good Moro fighter, but was an inept

and weak administrator. General Fernando Primo de Rivera (1880-83) and (1897-98)  – enriched

himself by accepting bribes from gambling casinos in Manila which he operated. General Valeriano Weyler  (1888-91) - was a cruel and corrupt governor 

general. He arrived in Manila a poor man and returned to Spain a millionaire by receiving huge bribes from wealthy Chinese who evaded the anti  – Chinese law. Filipinos called him “tyrant” because of his persecution of the family of Rizal in

Calamba. General Camilo de Polavieja (1896-97) - was an able militarist but a heartless governor general, responsible for Rizal’s exec ution.

 And as early as 1810, some Spaniard, barbers, and lackeys, were appointed provincial governors and soldiers and district magistrates. The Social System

Feudalism was the social structure in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period.

The structure of the Philippine society was pyramidal. And this is consists of  three layers: Topmost layer - Spanish officials, the PENINSULARES Middle Layer - few favored Filipinos, the MESTIZOS and CREOLLOS (those Spaniards born in America) Lowest Layer- INDIOS (the lowest kind) Encomienda System

-this is a system where Spanish monarch granted lands to certain individuals who had rendered great services to Spain. And this individual could take care a certain territory in the conquered lands. -came from the word

“encomendar”

which means to commend or entrust to

one’s care.

-the person in-charge was called

“encomendero”.

Rights of encomendero vested by Spanish Crown: •

the right to collect

tributes .

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the right to use the personal services of the inhabitants.

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required to protect the people and to give them some education.

-greed and cruelty mainly filled up the encomienda system. -proof given by Antonio de Morga :

“They employ the Indians in building houses and large vessels, grinding rice,

cutting woods, and carrying it all to their houses and to Manila and then pay them little or nothing at all for their labor.” TRIBUTE •

Filipinos before paid tribute as a symbol of servitude to Spain.

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it consisted of eight(8) reales , payable in kind or money.

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in 1851, the tribute was increased to twelve reales. But in 1884, the cedula replaced the reales.

The Filipinos hated the tribute for two reasons: •

It reminded them of their bondage to Spain, and

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it spawned Spanish abuses.

Philippine Representation of Spanish Cortes

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Motive of Spain -gain the support of her overseas colonies

1810-1813

Philippine experience her first period of representation in the Cortes Ventura delos Reyes •

Took active part in framing of the Constitution of 1812

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Abolition of the Galleon trade

(1820- 23) and (1834- 37)

Less fruitful because the Philippines delegate were not as energetic and devoted in parliamentary work as Delos Reyes 1837 

it was abolished in 1837 and the Philippine conditions worsened because there was no means b which the Filipino people could expose the anomalies perpetrated by the colonial officials

Garciano Lopez Jaena

One of the patriots who pleaded the restoration of the Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes but plea only ended in deaf ears Human Rights Denied to Filipinos People of Spain enjoyed •

Freedom of Speech

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Freedom of the Press

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Freedom of Assembly

The Spanish authorities who cherished these human rights or constitutional liberties in Spain denied them to the Filipinos in Asia. No Equality Before the Law

Spanish missionaries in 16 th Century taught that all men, irrespective of color and race are children of God and as such they are brothers, equal before God. To the imperialist way of thinking, brown Filipinos and white Spaniards may be equal to God, but not before the law and certainly not in practice. Spanish colonial authorities arrogantly treated the brown-skinned Filipinos as inferior beings, not their Christian brothers to be protected but rather as their  majesty’s subjects to be exploited. Leyes de Indian (Laws of the Indies) •

Promulgated by the Christian monarch’s of Spain

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To protect the rights of natives in Spain’s overseas colonies to

promote their welfare •

But it wasn’t implemen ted by the officials

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Filipinos were abused, brutalized, persecuted and slander by their  Spanish maters.

The Spanish Penal Code •

Enforced in the Philippines

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Imposed heavier native Filipinos or Mestizos

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Lighter penalties on white-complexioned Spaniards.

Racial Discrimination

During Rizal’s time a white skin, high nose and Castilian lineage were a badge of 

vaunted superiority. •

Filipinos were regarded as INFERIOR BEINGS . Racial prejudice is rampant in the Philippines especially in the offices, military, social gatherings and in schools.

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Man’s merit was BASED on the COLOR OF THE SKIN , HAIR, the Shape Of The Nose and of the HEAD. Fr. Jose Burgos lamented the racial

discrimination due by the Spaniards to the Filipinos. Maladministration of Justice •

Corruption characterized the courts in the Philippines during the time of  Rizal. In fact, from the view point of the Filipino victims, these courts were rather rightly called

“COURTS OF INJUSTICE.”

Justice was costly,

PARTIAL and SLOW. •

The poor almost had no access to the court but the rich had. Wealth, prestige and color of skin were the predominant factors of winning a case in the court. The saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied” was true.

 Among the victims were Rizal and his family and the GomBurza. Frailocracy

-is a unique form of government in Hispanic Philippines. -“a government by friars.”

Friars (Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans ) •

They were the ones who controlled the religious and educational life of the Philippines.

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Later in the 19 th Century, they came to acquire tremendous political power, influence, and riches.

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Aside from their priestly duties, a friar: * was a supervisor of local elections, * the inspector of schools and taxes, * the arbiter of morals, * the censor of books and comedias (stage plays), * the superintendent of public works, and * the guardian of peace and order.

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He could even send a patriotic Filipino to jail or denounce him as a filibustero (traitor ) to be exiled in a distant place or to be executed as an

enemy of God and Spain. Manila •

was dependent on the interior part of the land, that is, on the peasants.

Church

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acted as the only link between the small foreign community in Manila and the mass

of the peasants in the countryside.

Governor General •

depended on the friars in reaching the peasants.

Rome •

made the Governor General the vice-patron of the Church and granted him ecclesiastical authority, but the Governor General had no command over the friars.

Forced Labor  •

known as the P o l o   .

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was instituted in 1580

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was the compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish Colonial  Authorities on adult Filipino males ( except chieftains and their sons ) in t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f c h u r c h e s , s c h o o l s , h o s p i t a l s ; b u i l d i n g   and repair of roads and bridg e; the building of ship s in the  shipyards and other public works.

Males 16 – 60 years old

were obliged to render forced labor for  40 days a year  . Polista

the name given to those who performed the forced labor. Polo System

only gave each polista ¼ r e a l w i t h s o m e r i c e p e r d a y  and the worst thing was that the polistas were s e l d o m p a i d   . Harvesting and Planting Seasons

The polistas were not supposed to render services such as public works of non military nature. But this was violated. Instead, the authorities required the polistas to w o r k i n m i n e s a n d t o c u t t r ee s f o r b u i l d i n g s h i p s n e e d e d f o r w a r . Royal Decree of July 12, 1883 •

Implemented by the New Regulations, promulgated by the Council of State of February 3, 1885 increased the minimum age of the Polistas from 16  – 18 and reduced the days of  labor from 40  – 15 .

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Also provided that not only native Filipinos but also all male Spanish Residents from 18  – 60 must render  forced labor, but this was never implemented in the Philippines for obvious reasons.

Falla

 A sum of money paid to the government to be exempted from the polo but the money was just being pocketed by the alcaldes.

Bandala

Governor General Hurtado de Corcuera

Introduced B a n d a l a  in the first half of the 17 th Century. Bandala •

Another exploitative economic device was the annual quota assigned to each province.

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In every province, everyone had to make a compulsory sale of his products to the government.

Divide and Rule

The Spanish Military Force was just small in the country. So, it had to be backed up by the natives. Military

Used the services of the natives for their purposes by employing the d i v i d e - a n d -   rule strategy.

The S p a n i a r d s  recruited the natives in the region to support them but the Military merely used them to put down the revolts in another region.

Haciendas Owned by the Friars

Spanish friars belonging to different religious orders were the richest landlords. •

They owned the best haciendas (agricultural lands) in the Philippines.

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The rural folks (including Rizal’s family) who have been liv ing in the

haciendas and cultivating them generation after generation became tenants. •

Naturally, they resented the loss of their lands which belonged to their  ancestors since pre-Spanish times;

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Legally, however, the friars were recognized as legal owners of said lands because they obtained royal titles of ownership from the Spanish crown.

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One of these bloody agrarian revolts was the agrarian upheaval in 17451746.

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In 1768, Governor Anda strongly recommended to the Madrid government the sale of the friar estates.

Unfortunately, his wise recommendation was ignored. THE GUARDIA CIVIL •

the last hated symbol of Spanish tyranny.

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it was created by the Royal Decree of February 12, 1852 as amended by the Royal Decree of March 24, 1888.

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its purpose is to maintain internal peace and order in the Philippines.

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it was patterned after the famous and well-disciplined Guardia Civil in Spain.

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most of the members of the Guardia Civil were untrained and ignorant. Thus, they turned out to be agents of abuses.

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they maltreated innocent people, looting their carabaos, chickens, and valuable belongings, and raping helpless women.