Science & Tech Development: Philippines

• Science and technology development is recognized as crucial for socioeconomic progress, especially post-World War II

Dependence in Science and Technology

• It is linked to political sovereignty and economic self-reliance in Third World countries
• A significant imbalance exists, with 98% of research and development in developed countries
• Dependence vs. autonomy in science and technology is a key issue in United Nations conferences

Paper Focus

• Examines the history of science and technology in the Philippines
• Analyzes the impact of geography, colonial trade, economic/educational policies and socio-cultural factors

Core Definitions

• Science involves systematic understanding and explanation of natural laws
• Focus is on research, leading to new knowledge with or without immediate application
• Technology is defined as the systematic knowledge of industrial arts

Technology Specifics

• Technology uses techniques, seen as both knowledge and its application
• Modern technology involves systematic research with concrete outcomes, creating sellable products

Evolution

• Science and technology initially progressed separately
• Modern times show them closely connected with scientific discoveries drive technology and vice versa

Precolonial Era

• Limited reliable written information about Philippine society, culture and technology exists before 1521
• Reconstruction relies on archaeological findings, early traders' accounts, and Spanish missionaries' narratives

Pre-colonial Communities

• Numerous, scattered, thriving, self-sufficient communities existed before Spanish arrival
• Filipinos achieved a simple level of technological development sufficed for their needs versus Chinese and Japanese

Archeological Evidence of Early Filipinos

• Modern humans lived in Palawan and Batangas around 50,000 years ago
• They initially used simple stone tools, later developing sawing, drilling, and polishing techniques

Settlement and Development

• Stone Age inhabitants formed settlements in major Philippine islands
• Production includes adzes, seashell ornaments and pottery by 3,000 B.C.
• Pottery flourished for 2,000 years before declining due to competition with Chinese porcelain

Metallurgy and Agriculture

• Early Filipinos gradually learned to make metal tools like copper, gold, bronze and iron
• The Iron Age lasted from the second or third century B.C. to the tenth century A.D.
• Iron extraction from ore occurred but declined due to imported cast iron competition

Weaving And Farming

• By the first century A.D., Filipinos wove cotton, smelted iron, and made pottery and glass ornaments with agricultural activity
• Lowland rice was cultivated in diked fields, while mountain regions used terraced fields with spring water

Boat Building And Trade

• Highly developed boat building for coastal trade existed by the tenth century A.D.
• Spanish chroniclers noted the refined plank-built warship called caracoa
• Filipinos expertise used by Spaniards for defense and building galleons for Mexico trade

Trade Relations

• Tenth-century trade between Butuan and Champa, and Ma-i (Mindoro) and China, was well-established
• Chinese records contain references to trade relations between the countries from the tenth to fifteenth centuries

Chinese Accounts

• Chao Ju-Kua's account in 1225 described communities and trade in Ma-i (Mindoro) and San-hsu (Palawan and Calamian Islands)
• Traded beeswax, cotton, pearls, tortoise shell, betelnuts, cloth and coconut heart mats for Chinese goods

Trade Goods

• Chinese porcelain, iron pots, lead fishnet sinkers, glass beads, needles, and tin were primary trade items
• Similar commodities were traded when the Spanish arrived two centuries later

Regional Trade

• Filipinos in Mindanao and Sulu traded with Borneo, Malacca, and parts of the Malay Peninsula trade predating Chinese trade
• Marriage strengthened alliances, facilitating cultural and technological exchanges

Cultural Influences

• Hindu-Buddhist, Malay-Sanskrit, and Arab-Muslim influences spread
• Historical evidence of prehispanic references to the Philippines in Japanese literature is lacking

Spanish Arrival

• By 1565, the Spaniards found scattered, autonomous village communities or barangays over the islands were kinship/social units, mainly subsistence economies

Uneven Development

• Coastal settlements exposed to foreign trade attained more sophisticated technology (Manila, Mindoro, Cebu, Mindanao, Sulu)
• Mindoro fortified in 1570 with stone walls, armed Moros and culverins
• Raja Soliman's house had valuable trade items, and a storehouse contained iron, copper, plus culverins/cannons

Artillery Skills

• Filipinos in Manila learned to make and use modern artillery

Everyday Life

• Island-wide growing rice, vegetables, cotton, raising livestock, making wine/vinegar/salt, weaving, and producing beeswax/honey was common
• Mining gold in Panay, Mindoro, Bicol; colorful clothes and gold jewelry usage
• Houses made of wood, bamboo and nipa with personal writing/measurement systems

Interior Settlements

• Mountain settlements engaged in hunting and trading forest products with coastal areas
• Produced iron lance-points, daggers, and transplanting tools

Spirituality and Literacy

• Pre-colonial Filipinos predominantly superstitious, lacking temples or formal worship places
• Knowledge of reading/writing mainly for messages/letters with no written literary tradition

Limited Progress

• Lack of systematic knowledge accumulation hindered science and technology development
• Abundant natural resources and sparse population reduced the need for invention/innovation

Skills Observation

• As observed by governor Francisco de Sande in 1575, Filipinos are content with essential tasks like building houses, fishing, sailing, and farming

Science and Technology During the Spanish Regime

• The Spanish established schools and hospitals, initiated scientific research with consequences for the rise of professions
• Development was shaped by religious orders and colonial economic/trade policies

Core Interactions

• Analyzing the interaction between these forces while resulting in socio-economic and political changes shapes the understanding of science and technology evolution

Religious Conversions

• Spanish conquest used the reduccion strategy, consolidating scattered barangays into compact settlements near churches
• Religious conversion and military force enforced the policy

Effects of Reduccion

• Led to the creation of towns and the foundation of the present local government
• Precolonial ruling class was integrated to serve as heads of barangays
• Expedited centralized political control, tribute tax, labor services, and compulsory sale

Resistance to Reduccion

• Filipinos resisted reduccion due to loss of livelihood sources (fields, streams, forests) and colonial exactions
• Led to socio-economic dislocation, decline in agriculture/crafts, and migration to Manila for convent service/avoidance of labor

Religious Orders Influence

• Played a major role in establishing the colonial educational system, and influenced technological development and scientific research

Education System

• Decrees from Spain regarding establishing the school system in the colony weren't effectively carried out
• Primary education, managed by missionaries/priests, focused on religious instruction due to lack of teachers/materials
• Higher education was provided by religious orders in urban centers, Manila focused

School Access

• Access was limited to elite colonials and select Filipinos with courses that led to a B.A. degree included science subjects by the 19th century

Higher Education Focus

• Higher education focused on priesthood/clerical roles in the colonial administration not in technical/vocational until later 19th century
• The University of Santo Tomas was the highest institution, run by Dominicans, and offered theology/humanities

Curriculum Expansion

• Faculty of jurisprudence/canonical law established in the eighteenth century
• Medicine/pharmacy schools opened in 1871
• Licenciado en Medicina granted to 62 graduates from 1871-1886, plus a doctorate required study in Spain

Pharmacy Education

• Preparatory Pharmacy courses involved natural history/chemistry; five years of study covered pharmaceutical operations
• Later granting degrees of Bachiller en Farmacia, with the degree of licentiate granted after two years of practice

Pharmacy's Pioneer

• Leon Ma. Guerrero, considered the "Father of Philippine Pharmacy," studied medicinal plants
• Total graduates in pharmacy during the Spanish period were 164

Engineering and Maritime Studies

• No engineering schools existed locally; study had to occur in Europe
• Four-year nautical school was created in 1820, teaching merchant marine pilot skills, with commercial accounting/languages schools in 1839

Agricultural Education

• Royal decree established Manila School of Agriculture in 1887 with theoretical and practical education for farmers
• Agricultural stations established which were overseen/funded by the government
• The school was not successful

Education Reform Attempts

• Royal decree in 1863 aimed to reform education by establishing a system of elementary, secondary/collegiate schools, and teacher training centers
• The coming of Americans in 1898 interrupted its implementation

Concerns over Education

• Higher education was viewed with suspicion as encouraging conspiracy/rebellion
• The study of science/medicine was discouraged: they were considered to be materialistic
• Science/medicine were poorly resourced

Science Weakness

• Limited lab equipment which was displayed for visitors with little training in research
• Public instruction was deemed unsatisfactory, with provisions unchanged from "monkish ages"

Limited Education Reform

• The University of Santo Tomas lacked attention to natural sciences, with no educational reforms
• Despite small numbers, Filipino graduates faced unemployment due to government preference for European-trained professionals

Early American Occupation

• A German physician reported UST medical college lacking library facilities and outdated textbooks
• Medical graduates had limited practical experience

Impact of The Suez Canal

• Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 plus improved travel introduced liberal ideas/science
• Increasing PH commerce gave Filipinos advanced study opportunities in Europe

Scholars Abroad

• Jose Rizal studied medicine/ophthalmology in Spain/Germany
• Graciano Apacible also studied medicine in Madrid while Antonio Luna got Ph.D. in pharmacy in Madrid/worked with scientists

Student Advocacy

• These European students set up the Propaganda Movement, for Philippines that eventually led to a Filipino revolution

Religious Orders' Contribution

• Religious orders primarily provided teaching force/institutions, like medieval Europe
• Also innovated technologically and scientifically to meet basic needs/finance colleges/hospitals/orphanages

Infrastructure Development

• The Spanish introduced stone/brick building methods with religious figures leading the projects
• Skilled Chinese builders were imported due to a lack of skilled Filipinos
• Natives were drafted via compulsory labor to construct Manila walls, churches, etc.

Charity Hospitals and Medical Research

• Religious orders established charity hospitals providing public service and rudimentary scientific work
• Research was in pharmacy/medicine, focusing on infectious diseases and remedies
• Spanish missionaries documented Philippine medicinal plants, like Father Fernando de Sta. Maria's manual in 1763

Intensified Medical Studies

• By the mid-19th century, infectious disease studies (smallpox, cholera, plague, etc.) intensified
• Native Filipinos began participation in the research

Scientific Institutions

• The Laboratorio Municipal de Ciudad de Manila was created in 1887 for public health/medico-legal analyses, including a publication Cronica de Ciencias Medicas de Filipinas

Limited Agricultural & Industrial Progress

• Minimal progress occurred in Philippine agriculture/industry in the first two centuries of Spanish rule: this was caused largely by colonial dependence on profits from galleon trade

Galleon Trade Neglect

• Led to agriculture/mining neglect, it also saw a decline in native crafts
• Some officials criticized the trade's effects as early as 1592, but the policy-makers ignored these

Local Commerce

• Only local shipbuilding prospered to build galleons/internal commerce ships - developed well

Chinese in Agriculture

• Agricultural advancement was controlled by Spanish friars/Chinese where Frias saw their lands as a source of wealth for their churches in Intramuros

Limited Technological Advances

• Friars estates benefited greatly with very contribution by friars was quantitative, not qualitative, and profitability rose with local technology

Trade Decline

• Shipwrecks/pirate attacks reduced galleon profits, causing a Manila economic depression in the late 17th century

Bourbon Dynasty

• Early 18th-century Bourbon dynasty's rise in Spain introduced Enlightenment ideas, increasing government focus on Philippine economic development
• Spain exploited mineral wealth, plus they developed the agriculture/industries

Economic Recovery

• Efforts were further supported due recovery promotion need following the British Occupation of Manila between 1762-1764

Research Initiatives

• Founding of Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos del Pais de Filipinas by Gov. Basco y Vargas in 1780
• Focused on cultivating indigo, cotton, cinnamon and pepper and also silk industry efforts

Financial Incentives

• By the 19th century, it provided prizes for patents or experiments plus publications of science literature/scholarships

Trade Expansion

• Manila's was opened to Asian shipping in 1789 which inaugurated exports of rice, hemp, sugar, etc. and also manufactured goods
• Manila was formally opened to all trade in 1814, and local ports soon followed

Foreign Capital

• Foreign capital was allowed operation on good footing against Spanish merchants dating back to 1829 with modernized and accelerated agricultural production
• Weaving, embroidery, and cigar manufacturing flourished

Trade Dominance

• Although the exports rose more, the foreign capital still dominated external trade resulting from colonial trade policies, and a lack of capital from merchants

Manila's Growth

• Increasing word commerce resulted in Manila's swift advancement as cosmopolitan center
• Utilities which included water, trams, electric lights and newspapers were added during the 19th century

Education and Infrastructure

• Universities, plus the Spanish government created agricultural vocational schools and governments
• Diverse commissions and offices were created to research the plant life, and chemical mining in the area

Meteorological Advancements

• Jesuits advanced meteorological research which culminated in the foundation of the Manila Observatory in 1865
• Services helped create a new Typhoon signal in the area

Economic Disparity

• Benefit from progress was uneven, with Manila advancing quicker the poor locations, leading to inequity that resulted in revolution and nationalism
• Inequalities resulted in abuse of the Filipino population by leaders in power