American Period: Moro Province & Moro Wars

The American Period

• The lesson explores the roles of indigenous peoples, Moro communities, and settlers in shaping Mindanao's history.
• It focuses on the key events and policies of the American colonial period in Mindanao, specifically the establishment of the Moro Province and the Moro Wars.

The Moro Province and the Moro Wars

• Moro refers to various Muslim peoples in Mindanao, Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and other southern Philippine islands, constituting about 5% of the Philippine population.
• There are 10 linguistic subgroups of the Moro people. Some of these groups are Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug, Samal, Bajau, and Yakan.
• The Moro have remained outside the mainstream of Philippine life due to their Islamic faith, introduced in the 14th century from Borneo and Malaya.
• Moro conflict has a long history of resisting ruling powers, including Spanish colonialists and U.S. occupation troops.
• Moro groups did not ever form a collective historical entity, and they often clashed.
• After World War II, traditional grievances of religious and economic outcasts were exacerbated by the migration of northern Christian Filipinos, leading to alleged attempts to Christianize schools and institutions.
• In 1971 the Manila Times estimated that 800,000 Muslims became refugees.
• The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), founded in 1968, led a terrorist insurgency that resulted in 50,000 deaths and drove 20,000 Muslim refugees to Sabah, East Malaysia, before a ceasefire in 1976.
• In 1976-77, the Ferdinand Marcos administration offered regional autonomy, but MNLF president Nur Misuari demanded total independence in 1977, gaining support from Libya and Iran.
• The Moro Wars (1901-1913) involved American troops and Muslim bands in Mindanao, Philippines.
• The Moro fought for religious rather than political reasons. These actions were unrelated to the Filipino revolutionaries during the Philippine-American War (1899-1902).
• When the United States gained sovereignty over the Philippines in 1898, its policy aimed to assimilate the Moro into the Philippine nation and curb feudal practices.
• Sporadic fighting occurred in 1901 and resumed in 1903 with attacks on American troops near Lake Lanao in Mindanao.
• In March 1906, a battle on Mount Dajo in Jolo led to the death of 600 Moro refugees by troops under Gen. Leonard Wood.
• Because women and children were killed at Mount Dajo, U.S. Congress heavily criticized Wood, but President Theodore Roosevelt absolved him of all wrongdoing.
• Renewed hostilities occurred in September 1911 and June 1913. Fighting ceased thereafter, but Moro separatist movements continued into the 21st century.

Policies of Assimilation and Resistance Movements

• Democracy is considered the greatest legacy of the American period.
• The government has three branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary.
• Public schools were established, and the first teachers were called Thomasites.
• English was the medium of instruction.
• Established schools include University of the Philippines, Philippine Normal College, and other agricultural schools.
• Protestantism was introduced, with approximately 300,000 Filipinos becoming Protestant.
• There was separation of church and state and freedom of religion.
• American-built roads, streets, and bridges were part of Transportation and Communication improvements.
• New infrastructure facilitated the movement of products and services.
• American architecture is present in certain historical landmarks and buildings.
• Boulevards, zone districts, and centers of leisure were establishd as a result.
• Hollywood movies became more popular.
• Dance and music genres such as rock n roll, boogie, jazz, tango, chacha, polka, and rhumba were introduced.
• Filipinos began to watch and play sports like table tennis, basketball, volleyball, boxing, and football.
• Filipinos learned about the value of cleanliness and healthy practices, and were taught proper hygiene to avoid diseases.
• New hospitals and clinics were established and public hospitals for lepers were instated.
• Modes of dressing changed, men wore suits, polo shirts, ties, and jeans, while women started to wear dresses, high-heeled shoes, and handbags.
• New foods such as ice cream, cakes, beef steak, hotdog, hamburgers, sandwiches, cookies, and donuts were introduced.
• The Philippine economy improved
• There was an increase in agricultural production and development of new industries.
• Filipinos became more frank and humorous, adopted stronger beliefs in rights and freedom.
• The customary “Pagmamano” was replaced by kissing the cheeks of parents and elders to show respect.
• The English language was widely taught, and became part of the vocabulary.
• American names became more widely adopted, like Charlie, Anna, Francis, and Cherry.

Land Policies and the Introduction of New Settlers

• The objective was land redistribution to tenants in 25 years.
• The Torrens Title System made the title legally binding against the world, including the government once a deed of transfer was issued.
• Title becomes used for proof of possession, and security.
• The Public Land Act (Commonwealth Act 141) of 1936 classified public domain lands into timberlands, mineral lands, and agricultural lands.
• Methods of land disposition included homestead settlement, open bidding, and lease
• The practice of selling subdivided lots, American real estate, became more common, leading to the conversion of rice paddies, zacate fields, and fishponds.
• American land policies intended to alleviate social unrest by improving the conditions of tenant farmers by widening land holdings and land distribution.
• The Philippine Bill of 1902 allowed individual ownership of 16 hectares of land and corporate holdings of 1,024 hectares, also extending rights to Americans
• Native farmers did not have titles at the start, approximately 400,000, and had inaccurate recordkeeping. To solve this the Tarrens system was introduced to replace the previous Spanish records.
• The Homestead Program of 1903 allowed tenants to acquire a 16 hectare farm and cultivate the land if they could. It was not fully implemented nationwide and was only available in parts of Mindanao and Northern Luzon.
• Landholdings had no limit on their size, and were consolidated in the hands of a few due to costs to maintain which forced tenant farming.
• Widespread peasant uprisings were led by groups known as Colorum and Sakdalista of Luzon and Northeastern Mindanao from social disorder in the 1920's and 30's. Collective worker and peasant organizations developed, and advocated against unjust landowners.