Reflection:

1. What do you think is the foremost reason of the drastic changes in the 19 th Century?

2. Why did Spain deny Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes when, in fact, it
has granted that right to other colonies namely Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Spanish
Constitution of 1876?

Learning Activities

Analyze the political, economic, social and cultural changes that occurred in the
world and the Philppines during the 19 th century. Using a tabular presentation, describe
the condition of life prior to the 19 th century and the changes that happened in the 19 th
century, then, identify the causes of these changes.

Prior to the 19th During the 19th

Causes
Century Century
POLITICAL
SOCIAL
CULTURAL
ECONOMIC

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The 19th century

By the late 18th century, political and economic changes in Europe were
finally beginning to affect Spain and, thus, the Philippines. Important as a
stimulus to trade was the gradual elimination of the monopoly enjoyed by the
galleon to Acapulco. The last galleon arrived in Manila in 1815, and by the
mid-1830s Manila was open to foreign merchants almost without restriction.
The demand for Philippine sugar and abaca (hemp) grew apace, and the
volume of exports to Europe expanded even further after the completion of
the Suez Canal in 1869.

The growth of commercial agriculture resulted in the appearance of a new

class. Alongside the landholdings of the church and the rice estates of the pre-
Spanish nobility there arose haciendas of coffee, hemp, and sugar, often the
property of enterprising Chinese-Filipino mestizos. Some of the families that
gained prominence in the 19th century have continued to play an important
role in Philippine economics and politics.

Not until 1863 was there public education in the Philippines, and even then
the church controlled the curriculum. Less than one-fifth of those who went to
school could read and write Spanish, and far fewer could speak it properly.
The limited higher education in the colony was entirely under clerical
direction, but by the 1880s many sons of the wealthy were sent to Europe to
study. There, nationalism and a passion for reform blossomed in the liberal
atmosphere. Out of this talented group of overseas Filipino students arose
what came to be known as the Propaganda Movement. Magazines, poetry, and
pamphleteering flourished. José Rizal, this movement’s most brilliant figure,
produced two political novels—Noli me tangere (1887; Touch Me Not) and El
filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed)—which had a wide impact in the
Philippines. In 1892 Rizal returned home and formed the Liga Filipina, a
modest reform-minded society, loyal to Spain, that breathed no word of
independence. But Rizal was quickly arrested by the overly fearful Spanish,
exiled to a remote island in the south, and finally executed in 1896.
Meanwhile, within the Philippines there had developed a firm commitment to
independence among a somewhat less privileged class.

Shocked by the arrest of Rizal in 1892, these activists quickly formed

the Katipunan under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio, a self-educated
warehouseman. The Katipunan was dedicated to the expulsion of the Spanish
from the islands, and preparations were made for armed revolt. Filipino rebels
had been numerous in the history of Spanish rule, but now for the first time
they were inspired by nationalist ambitions and possessed the education
needed to make success a real possibility.

The Philippine Revolution

In August 1896, Spanish friars uncovered evidence of the Katipunan’s plans,

and its leaders were forced into premature action. Revolts broke out in several
provinces around Manila. After months of fighting, severe Spanish retaliation
forced the revolutionary armies to retreat to the hills. In December 1897 a
truce was concluded with the Spanish. Emilio Aguinaldo, a municipal mayor
and commander of the rebel forces, was paid a large sum and was allowed to
go to Hong Kong with other leaders; the Spanish promised reforms as well.
But reforms were slow in coming, and small bands of rebels, distrustful of
Spanish promises, kept their arms; clashes grew more frequent.

Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo.

Brown Brothers

Meanwhile, war had broken out between Spain and the United

States (the Spanish-American War). After the U.S. naval victory in the Battle
of Manila Bay in May 1898, Aguinaldo and his entourage returned to the
Philippines with the help of Adm. George Dewey. Confident of U.S. support,
Aguinaldo reorganized his forces and soon liberated several towns south of
Manila. Independence was declared on June 12 (now celebrated as
Independence Day). In September a constitutional congress met in Malolos,
north of Manila, which drew up a fundamental law derived from European
and Latin American precedents. A government was formed on the basis of that
constitution in January 1899, with Aguinaldo as president of the new country,
popularly known as the “Malolos Republic.”

Meanwhile, U.S. troops had landed in Manila and, with important Filipino
help, forced the capitulation in August 1898 of the Spanish commander there.
The Americans, however, would not let Filipino forces enter the city. It was
soon apparent to Aguinaldo and his advisers that earlier expressions of
sympathy for Filipino independence by Dewey and U.S. consular officials in
Hong Kong had little significance. They felt betrayed.

U.S. soldiers in a trench near Manila, Phil., during the Spanish-American War, 1898.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

U.S. commissioners to the peace negotiations in Paris had been instructed to
demand from Spain the cession of the Philippines to the United States; such
cession was confirmed with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10,
1898. Ratification followed in the U.S. Senate in February 1899, but with only
one vote more than the required two-thirds. Arguments of “manifest destiny”
could not overwhelm a determined anti-imperialist minority.

By the time the treaty was ratified, hostilities had already broken out between
U.S. and Filipino forces. Since Filipino leaders did not recognize U.S.
sovereignty over the islands and U.S. commanders gave no weight to Filipino
claims of independence, the conflict was inevitable. It took two years of
counterinsurgency warfare and some wise conciliatory moves in the political
arena to break the back of the nationalist resistance. Aguinaldo was captured
in March 1901 and shortly thereafter appealed to his countrymen to accept
U.S. rule.

Philippine-American War: Manila

Portion of the ruins of Manila, Philippines, after shelling by U.S. forces in 1899.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

The Filipino revolutionary movement had two goals, national and social. The
first goal, independence, though realized briefly, was frustrated by the
American decision to continue administering the islands. The goal of
fundamental social change, manifest in the nationalization of friar lands by
the Malolos Republic, was ultimately frustrated by the power and resilience of
entrenched institutions. Share tenants who had rallied to Aguinaldo’s cause,
partly for economic reasons, merely exchanged one landlord for another. In
any case, the proclamation of a republic in 1898 had marked the Filipinos as
the first Asian people to try to throw off European colonial rule.

A district of Manila, Phil., set afire during an insurrection, 1899.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

The period of U.S. influence

The juxtaposition of U.S. democracy and imperial rule over a subject people
was sufficiently jarring to most Americans that, from the beginning, the
training of Filipinos for self-government and ultimate independence—the
Malolos Republic was conveniently ignored—was an essential rationalization
for U.S. hegemony in the islands. Policy differences between the two main
political parties in the United States focused on the speed with which self-
government should be extended and the date on which independence should
be granted.
In 1899 Pres. William McKinley sent to the Philippines a five-person fact-
finding commission headed by Cornell University president Jacob G.
Schurman. Schurman reported back that Filipinos wanted ultimate
independence, but this had no immediate impact on policy. McKinley sent out
the Second Philippine Commission in 1900, under William Howard Taft; by
July 1901 it had established civil government.

In 1907 the Philippine Commission, which had been acting as both legislature
and governor-general’s cabinet, became the upper house of a bicameral body.
The new 80-member Philippine Assembly was directly elected by a somewhat
restricted electorate from single-member districts, making it the first elective
legislative body in Southeast Asia. When Gov.- Gen. Francis B.
Harrison appointed a Filipino majority to the commission in 1913, the
American voice in the legislative process was further reduced.

Harrison was the only governor-general appointed by a Democratic president

in the first 35 years of U.S. rule. He had been sent by Woodrow Wilson with
specific instructions to prepare the Philippines for ultimate independence, a
goal that Wilson enthusiastically supported. During Harrison’s term, a
Democratic-controlled Congress in Washington, D.C., hastened to fulfill long-
standing campaign promises to the same end. The Jones Act, passed in 1916,
would have fixed a definite date for the granting of independence if the Senate
had had its way, but the House prevented such a move. In its final form the act
merely stated that it was the “purpose of the people of the United States” to
recognize Philippine independence “as soon as a stable government can be
established therein.” Its greater importance was as a milestone in the
development of Philippine autonomy. Under Jones Act provisions, the
commission was abolished and was replaced by a 24-member Senate, almost
wholly elected. The electorate was expanded to include all literate males.

Some substantial restrictions on Philippine autonomy remained, however.

Defense and foreign affairs remained exclusive U.S. prerogatives. American
direction of Philippine domestic affairs was exercised primarily through the
governor-general and the executive branch of insular government. There was
little more than one decade of thoroughly U.S. administration in the islands,
however—too short a time in which to establish lasting patterns. Whereas
Americans formed 51 percent of the civil service in 1903, they were only 29
percent in 1913 and 6 percent in 1923. By 1916 Filipino dominance in both the
legislative and judicial branches of government also served to restrict the U.S.
executive and administrative roles.

By 1925 the only American left in the governor-general’s cabinet was the
secretary of public instruction, who was also the lieutenant governor-general.
This is one indication of the high priority given to education in U.S. policy. In
the initial years of U.S. rule, hundreds of schoolteachers came from the United
States. But Filipino teachers were trained so rapidly that by 1927 they
constituted nearly all of the 26,200 teachers in public schools. The school
population expanded fivefold in a generation; education consumed half of
governmental expenditures at all levels, and educational opportunity in the
Philippines was greater than in any other colony in Asia.

As a consequence of this pedagogical explosion, literacy doubled to nearly half

in the 1930s, and educated Filipinos acquired a common language and a
linguistic key to Western civilization. By 1939 some one-fourth of the
population could speak English, a larger proportion than for any of the native
dialects. Perhaps more important was the new avenue of upward social
mobility that education offered. Educational policy was the only successful
U.S. effort to establish a sociocultural basis for political democracy.

American attempts to create equality of economic opportunity were more

modest and less successful. In a predominantly agricultural country the
pattern of landownership is crucial. The trend toward greater concentration of
ownership, which began in the 19th century, continued during the American
period, despite some legal barriers. Vast American-owned plantations were
forestalled, but legal restrictions had little effect on those politically well-
connected Filipinos who were intent on amassing fortunes. The percentage of
farmers under share tenancy doubled between 1900 and 1935, and the
frustration of the tenants erupted in three small rebellions in central Luzon
during the 1920s and ’30s.

Nor was U.S. trade policy conducive to the diffusion of economic power. From
1909 the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act allowed free entry of Philippine products
into the U.S. market, at the same time U.S. products, mostly manufactured,
were exempted from tariff in the Philippines. The free flow of U.S. imports was
a powerful deterrent to Philippine industrial growth. Export agriculture,
especially sugar, prospered in the protected U.S. market. Owners of mills and
large plantations profited most, thus reinforcing the political dominance of the
landed elite.

American preparation of the Philippines for democratic self-government

suffered from an inherent contradiction, perhaps not recognized at the time.
Transferring governmental responsibility to those capable of undertaking it
was not consistent with building a social and economic base for political
democracy. Self-government meant, of necessity, assumption of power by
those Filipinos who were already in positions of leadership in society. But
those men came for the most part from the landed elite; preservation of their
political and economic position was incompatible with equalizing opportunity.
Even the expansion of an educated middle class did not necessarily result in a
transformation of the pattern of power. Most middle-class aspirants for
political leadership adjusted to the values and the practices of the existing
power elite.

Filipino leaders quickly and skillfully utilized the opportunities for self-
government that the Americans opened to them. The Filipino political genius
was best reflected in an extralegal institution—the political party. The first
party, the Federal Party, was U.S.-backed and stressed cooperation with the
overlords, even to the point of statehood for the Philippines. But when openly
nationalist appeals were allowed in the 1907 election, the Nacionalista Party,
advocating independence, won overwhelmingly. The Federalists survived with
a new name, Progressives, and a new platform, ultimate independence after
social reform. But neither the Progressives nor their successors in the 1920s,
the Democrats, ever gained more than one-third of the seats in the legislature.
The Nacionalista Party under the leadership of Manuel Quezon and Sergio
Osmeña dominated Philippine politics from 1907 until independence.

More significant than the competition between the Nacionalistas and their
opposition was the continuing rivalry between Quezon and Osmeña. In fact,
understanding this personality conflict provides more insight into the realities
of prewar Philippine politics than any examination of policy or ideology.
In 1933 the U.S. Congress passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, which set a
date for Philippine independence. The act was a fulfillment of the vague
pledge in the Jones Act; it was also responsive to the demands of a series of
“independence missions” sent to Washington by the Philippine legislature. But
this unprecedented transfer of sovereignty was decided upon in the dark days
of the Great Depression of the 1930s—and with the help of some incongruous
allies. The Depression had caused American farm interests to look desperately
for relief, and those who suffered real or imaginary hurt from the competition
of Philippine products sought to exclude those products. They had already
failed in a direct attempt to amend the tariff on Philippine imports but found
that the respectable cloak of the advocacy of independence increased the
effectiveness of their efforts. Tied to independence was the end of free entry
into American markets of Philippine sugar, coconut oil, rope, and other less
important items. That those economic interests were able to accomplish what
they did is partly explainable by the fact that their political clout was great
compared with that of the small group of American traders and investors in
the Philippines.

The Philippine legislature rejected the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, apparently as

a result of the Osmeña-Quezon feud, much to the displeasure of American
officialdom. But, when Quezon came to Washington the following year to work
for a new bill, the same alliance of forces in the U.S. Congress obliged by
producing the almost identical Tydings-McDuffie Act. Endorsed by Quezon
and accepted with alacrity by the Manila legislature, it provided for a 10-year
commonwealth during which the U.S. would retain jurisdiction over defense
and foreign affairs. Filipinos were to draft their own constitution, subject to
the approval of the U.S. president.

A constitutional convention was quickly elected and a constitution (which bore

a strong resemblance to its U.S. model) framed and approved by plebiscite and
by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. The last governor-general, Frank Murphy,
became the first high commissioner, with more of a diplomatic than a
governing role. The commonwealth was inaugurated on November 15, 1935.
The Nacionalista Party patched up its internal quarrels and nominated
Quezon for president and Osmeña for vice president. They were elected
overwhelmingly.
 Manuel Quezon, first president of the Philippine Commonwealth.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The commonwealth period was intended to be devoted to preparation for

economic and political independence and perfection of democratic
institutions. But even before the tragic events of World War II, the transition
did not run smoothly.

World War II

Japanese aggression in China prompted much attention to military

preparedness. Nearly one-fourth of the national budget was devoted to
defense. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, retiring as army chief of staff in
Washington, was called by President Quezon to direct plans and preparations.
Meanwhile, agrarian unrest festered, and leftist political activity grew. Quezon
pushed significant reform legislation through the National Assembly, but
implementation was feeble, despite the rapid accumulation of power in his
hands.
The Japanese attack of the Philippines on December 8, 1941, came at a time
when the U.S. military buildup had hardly begun. Their advance was rapid;
before Christmas, Manila was declared an “open city,” while Quezon and
Osmeña were evacuated to MacArthur’s headquarters on Corregidor Island.
Despite a desire, at one point, to return to Manila in order to surrender,
Quezon was persuaded to leave the Philippines in March 1942 on a U.S.
submarine; he was never to return. Osmeña also went. Filipino and American
forces, under Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, surrendered in May.
An Executive Commission made up of more than 30 members of the old
Filipino political elite had been cooperating with Japanese military authorities
in Manila since January.

The Executive Commission lasted until September 1943, when it was

superseded by an “independent Philippine Republic.” The president, chosen
by the Japanese, was José Laurel, former associate justice of the
commonwealth Supreme Court and the only Filipino to hold an honorary
degree from Tokyo Imperial University. More than half of the commonwealth
Senate and more than one-third of the House served at one time in the
Japanese-sponsored regime. Yet collaboration with Japan was neither as
willing nor as widespread as elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Even before the fall of Bataan Peninsula to the Japanese in April 1942,
guerrilla units were forming throughout the Philippines. Most were led by
middle-class officers and were enthusiastically pro-United States; in central
Luzon, however, a major force was the Hukbalahap, which, under communist
leadership, capitalized on earlier agrarian unrest. Though in a number of
instances collaborators secretly assisted guerrillas, many guerrillas in the hills
were bitter against those who appeared to benefit from the occupation. The
differences between the two groups became an important factor in early
postwar politics.

Soon after the U.S. landings on Leyte in October 1944, commanded by

MacArthur, civil government was returned to the commonwealth, at least in
name. Sergio Osmeña, who had become president in exile on the death of
Quezon in August, had few resources to deal with the problems at hand,
however. Osmeña’s role was complicated by the fact that MacArthur chose to
lionize Manuel A. Roxas, a leading collaborator who had also been in contact
with U.S. military intelligence. As president of the Senate, Roxas became, in
effect, MacArthur’s candidate for president. Roxas was nominated in January
1946 in a separate convention of the “liberal wing” of the Nacionalista Party,
as it was first called. Thus was born the Philippines’ second major political
party, the Liberals.

Osmeña, though he had the advantages of incumbency, was old and tired and
did not fully use the political tools he possessed. In April Roxas was elected by
a narrow margin. The following month he was inaugurated as the last chief
executive of the commonwealth, and on July 4, 1946, when the Republic of the
Philippines was proclaimed, he became its first president.

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©2020 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/The-period-of-U-S-influence
The 19th century Philippines was the period of great economic and socio-cultural changes,
technological advances, and the development of liberal ideas. The participation of the country in
world trade and the introduction of cash crops helped the Philippines prosper agriculturally and
economically. In addition, the emergence of the Middle Class, specifically the Illustrados,
worked to establish the term Filipino, that aided in shaping the National Identity. There were
also improvements in communication and transportation, which is essential in developing an
industrialized society. Finally, the introduction of liberal ideas and the martyrdom of the three
priests paved the way in helping Filipinos realize that they deserve more.

However, with these advances, why did the lives of the Filipinos continued to deteriorate? Sabi
pa nga nila, History repeats itself. It is significant to take a look at the past, reflect what might
have gone wrong, and make changes as to prevent it from repeating.

Moreover, Rizal was a product of his time, as stated by Renato Constantino. Understanding the
changes in the Philippines during the 19th century will help us elucidate how Rizal thought of
wanting for reform and how he planned on addressing this, the Illustrado way.

#PI100TFE2

#DoYouKnowYourHistory?

"Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinangalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan."

This is one of the famous lines of Dr. Jose Rizal, one of the prominent figures of the 19th-
century Philippines. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. During this period, our
country experienced economic flourishing, socio-cultural development, and technological
innovation. However, it was also a tumultuous time for our forefathers who fought for our
country's independence from our Spanish oppressors.

Our history is more than just names and dates. It's a repository of lessons and knowledge from
the past that will help us today in making decisions for our future.
#PI100TFD1

#DoYouKnowYourHistory?

Policies and events in 19th century

1. Spain faces strugle for liberalism. - Spain was influenced by the ideals of both the French
revolution and American revolution. This influence could be seen in the struggles of the people
for constitutionalism which marked the first three quarters of the century. The Spain was beset
by various troubles.
a. Political problem- The liberals (constitutionalists) wanted to limit absolutism so that the
people may enjoy their constitutional and human rights. The conservatives ( reactionaries)
wanted the retention of monarcy. Queen Isabela II fight for constitutionalism, the freedom of
speech, worship, assembly, domicile, suffrage. Constitution continued the monarchial formbof
government (liberal principles)-freedom of worship, the jury system, civil marriage, and other
human rights.
b. The Philippines is affected by the political instability in Spain. - Changes in the Madrid
government were adversely affected the Philippines. Changes in the Madrid government were
followed by constant changes in the political administration in the colony. The common political
dictum that "to the victors belong the Spain's office" was shown in the frequent changes of
governor-generals.
Many Spanish officials in the Philippines were jobseekers and tried to enrich themselves and
later retired to enjoy their wealth by appointment, created mal administration, graft and
corruption, and bribery.
c. The Philippines is affected by the union of the church and the state.
Cardinal policy in Spain->Cardinal Administration of the Philippines->Governor general-
>Archbishop of Manila.
Cause of conflict:
1. The church officials complained to the king of Spain about the harsh treatment given to the
people by the civil officials.
2. The governor complained to the king on the interference of ecclesiastical officials in the civil
and internal affairs of the government.
The king issued various instruction to bring harmony between church and state. It did not bring
about such conflicts. It caused discontent among Filipinos they felt that the friars wielded too
much power in the government which should not be so.
The archbishop excercised religious, judicial, and political functions. He acted as governor
general in case of vacancy in the governatorial office.
d. Philippine representation in the Spanish cortes is justifiable. - The Spanish war of
Independence (1808-1814) against the invading French forces aroused every Spaniard to defend
his country. The government officials thought it was timely to rally the colonies to be loyal to
Spain.
Cortes- Spanish colonies should have national and direct participation in the ancient legislature.

Constituent cortes- it was complying with popular clamor for a constitutional government by
Queen Maria Cristina. It is a draft of new constitution and approved in 1837 which established
parliamentary government.
e. Racial discrimination is offensive to the Filipinos. A general belief then current in Europe was
that the white man was superior to one who was black or brown. This led racism. In the
Philippines, the Spaniards called the natives Indios. The Filipinos could not understand why the
Spaniards who introduced Christianity with the beautiful ideal of brotherhood considered them
inferior on account of the color of their skin.
f. Denial of human rights spurs the Filipinos to fight for them.- Right to life, liberty and security
of persons, thought, religion and expressions, assembly, equality before the law, adequate
standard living and just working conditions, arbitrary arrest, detention or exile, movement and
residencia within border of each state, nationality, take part in the government, form and join
trade union for the protection of ones own interests, just and favorable remuneration, rest and
leisure, education, participate in the cultural life of the community, seek and be granted asylum,
social and international order.
g. Spirit of reform in Spain influences Philippine progress.

2. Although the  Conference discussed Cuba and debt questions, the major conflict

concerned the situation of the Philippines. Admiral Dewey's victory had come as a
great surprise and it marked the entrance of the United States into the Pacific.
Spanish commissioners argued that Manila had surrendered after the armistice and
therefore the Philippines could not be demanded as a war conquest, but they
eventually yielded because they had no other choice, and the U.S. ultimately paid
Spain 20 million dollars for possession of the Philippines. The islands of Puerto
Rico and Guam were also placed under American control, and Spain relinquished its
claim to Cuba. The treaty was signed on December 10, 1898

The pages following, showing a cynical disregard of a solemn treaty by the

Spaniards, a complete exposure of the reasons the Filipinos had for renewing the
war, and the particulars of cases of individual wrongs suffered, as they were made
known in the course of legal investigation, have been received direct trom Manila,
and enable us to complete the story of the Philippines with the testimony that the
depravity of bad faith in regerd to treaties, end incidents of personal cruelties in
Spanish colonial governments, have illustrations in the Philippines an in Cuba, and
demand of the American Nation in the hour of victory that Spain shall lose now in
forever all her possessions in the East and West Indies, and be restricted to the
peninsula and islands - the Canary and Belearic groups - that is, in two words to
home rule. The cirumstances of the treaty between the Philippine Junta - the treaty
of Biyak - and the Spanish authorities, are of great notoriety, but the Philippine story
has not until not reached the English speaking peoples.

By the time that the conference opened on October 1, U.S. President William
McKinley had finally decided that the United States must take possession of
the Philippines. The demand was ultimately accepted with great reluctance by
Spain, with the stipulation that the United States should pay Spain $20
million nominally for public buildings and public works in the Philippines.
The final treaty also forced Spain to cede all claim to Cuba and to agree to
assume the liability for the Cuban debt, estimated at $400 million. As
indemnity, Spain ceded Puerto Rico and Guam (in the Marianas) to the United
States. (An attempt by the U.S. commissioners to secure Kosrae in
the Caroline Islands was successfully blocked by Germany, which had already
initiated purchase of the islands.)

The treaty was vigorously opposed in the U.S. Senate as inaugurating a policy
of “imperialism” in the Philippines and was approved on Feb. 6, 1899, by only
a single vote. Two days earlier, hostilities had begun at Manila between U.S.
troops and insurgents led by Emilio Aguinaldo. For more than three years the
Filipinos carried on guerrilla warfare against U.S. rule.

10 December 1898. despite the fact that the Filipinos

are virtually in control of the entire COootry and the Spanish are hostage in
Manila, Spain signs

the Treaty ofParis ceding the entirePhi1ippines to the U.S. foc $20 million.
Despite demands by

Filipinos to be present at the Paris peace tallcs. their representative is not

allowed to sit in the

discussions transferring colonial control of the Philippines from the Spanish

to the American.
 Political System and the Sources of Abuses in the Administrative System

The Spaniards ruled the Filipinos in the 19th century.

The Filipinos became the Spaniard’s slave. The
Spaniards claimed their taxes and they worked under
the power of the Spaniards. Sources of Abuses in the
Administrative System:
1. There was an appointment of officials with inferior
qualifications, without dedication of duty and moral
strength to resist corruption for material
advancement. Through the power and authority the
Spaniards possess, they collected and wasted the
money of the Filipinos.
2. There were too complicated functions to the unions
of the church and the state.
3. Manner of obtaining the position.
Economic Development and the Rise of Filipino Nationalism

The country was opened to foreign trade at the end of

the 18th century which resulted in the rapid rise of
foreign firms in Manila. This stimulated agricultural
production and export of sugar, rice hemp and
tobacco. The number of families which prospered from
foreign commerce and trade were able to send their
sons for an education in Europe. Filipinos who were
educated abroad were able to absorb the intellectual
development in Europe.
 Social Structure

The Filipinos in the 19th century had suffered from

feudalistic and master slave relationship by the
Spaniards. Their social structure is ranked into three
groups:

 Highest class – the people that belong in this

class include the Spaniards, peninsulares and the
friars. They have the power and authority to rule
over the Filipinos. They enjoyed their positions and
do what they want.
→The Spanish officials 
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→The Peninsulares (Spaniards who were born in

Spain). They held the most important government jobs,
and made up the smallest number of the population.
→The Friars are members of any of certain religious
orders of men, especially the four mendicant orders
(Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and
Franciscans).
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 Middle Class – the people that belongs into this

class includes the natives, mestizos and the
criollos.
→ Natives – the pure Filipinos
 →The Mestizos  are the Filipinos of mixed indigenous
Filipino or European or Chinese ancestry.
REPORT THIS AD

 Lowest class – this class includes the Filipinos

only.
→The Indios are the poor people having pure blood
Filipin which ruled by the Spaniards.