CHAPTER 2: The Philippines in the 19th Century - Jose Rizal's Context PDF

## The Life and Works of Jose Rizal ### Chapter 2: The Philippines in the 19th Century as Rizal's Context #### Overview - Facts of contemporary history are about success and failure of individuals. - To understand history, one must consider the background and context of the time to understand wh...

## The Life and Works of Jose Rizal ### Chapter 2: The Philippines in the 19th Century as Rizal's Context #### Overview - Facts of contemporary history are about success and failure of individuals. - To understand history, one must consider the background and context of the time to understand why people act. - Historians in the future will write about our history today. - They will share the same success and failure of individual men and women who faced the challenges brought about by COVID-19. - They will share how people responded to the context of the time, how students and teachers alike adapted to online learning, how people worked from home, and how using face masks became the new normal. - The pandemic shall be remembered not just by how many people died but how men and women banded together to fight the surge of the pandemic. - Just like what we have today, Rizal was a product of his time. - He did not wake up one day and realized that he wanted to become a hero. - His life's choices were a response to the successes and failures he experienced. - The 19th Century Philippines was not just about people struggling against colonial rule; it was about Filipinos, men and women alike, fighting against political oppression. - It was a period of massive changes in Europe and the world. - The Philippines, as a colony of Spain, suffered from the instability of the Spanish colonial government. - In return, the Philippines also suffered from social injustice and judicial inequality. - The world of Rizal’s time and the Philippines of Rizal’s time shall be examined in this Chapter to assess why Filipinos acted as they did. - We will understand why a corrupt government was overthrown, why social injustice was heavily opposed, and why judicial inequality was massively condemned. - Rizal, together with the Filipinos, fought bravely to change the Philippines' political, economic, and socio-cultural conditions in the 19th century. - His response made him the center of the nationalist movement of his day and the principal inspiration of the Revolution. #### Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to: - appraise the link between the individual and society - analyze the various social, political, and economic changes that occurred in the 19th century - demonstrate understanding of Jose Rizal in the context of his time #### Motivational Activity 1. What was the world like in Rizal’s time? 2. What was the Philippines like in Rizal’s time? 3. How do you think the political, economic, and socio-cultural events of the 19th century shaped Rizal’s ideals for nationalism and Filipino identity? #### Summary of the Chapter - This first part of the chapter discusses the context of the world and the Philippines in Rizal's time. - In the political context, the 19th century was a period of massive changes in the world. - Spain was slowly losing most of its colonies that became a period of colonial instability. - As a result, the Filipino people suffered from the evils of oppressive colonial rule such as mal-administration of justice, no equality before the law, racial prejudice, forced labor, frailocracy, and lack of representation in the Spanish Cortes. - In the economic context, technological innovations brought about by the industrial revolution paved the way for the invention of tools, ships, and other types of machinery. - The opening of the Suez Canal brought trade, countries, and people closer to each other. - It brought Spain closer to the Philippines. - In the socio-cultural context, the industrial revolution also paved the way for the rise of the middle-class or principalias. - Being economically capable resulted in sending children to Europe to obtain western education. - The knowledge and exposure to European ways, laws, and customs formed the Ilustrados in Spain. - In turn, these Ilustrados organized the Propaganda Movement that initiated calls for reforms by exposing the deplorable conditions of the Filipinos in the Philippines. - The second part of this chapter seeks to explain how the social, political, economic, and cultural events of the 19th century shaped Rizal to become a hero. - First, Rizal is a product of the 19th century. #### The World and the Philippines of Rizal's Time - In the 19th century, there were massive changes in the world, particularly in Europe, Spain, and the Philippines. - In this century, Rizal was born and exposed to varying political, economic, and socio-cultural realities. - Rizal witnessed the effects brought by the Industrial Revolution, benefited from the opening of the Suez Canal, gained education in Europe, became an Ilustrado, and took part in the Propaganda Movement. ##### Political Context - The 19th century was marked for its tremendous social change. - Europe prospered like never before and England led the way as the growing imperialist power. - In 1858-1863, France conquered Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. - Later, the Dutch colonized Netherland East Indies (Indonesia). - Other countries soon followed Britain's imperialists' examples. - However, while the 19th century was hailed for its massive social changes, it was not for all imperialists. - While England, France, and the Dutch enjoyed the fruits of their colonial activities, Spain stagnated. - Spain never learned a lesson from the loss of her colonies. - From being considered the "mistress of the world", Spain continued despotic colonial rule in its remaining colonies - Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. - During this time, Rizal witnessed the flowering of Western imperialism and the downfall of the Spanish colonial rule. - In the context of the Philippines, the country suffered from different social issues as a result of the Spanish despotic colonial rule. - The Filipino people were exposed to the evils of colonial rule such as maladministration of justice, no equality before the law, racial prejudice, forced labor, frailocracy, and lack of representation in the Spanish Cortes. - Internally, Spain was suffering from frequent constitutional and governmental changes that led to colonial instability. - In a short span of 28 years (1834-1862), it adopted four constitutions, elected 28 parliaments, and installed 529 ministers. - It also suffered from internal party strife, revolutions, and other political upheavals. ##### Economic Context - The second half of the 19th century was a period of rapid economic growth. - In Europe, the use of increasingly expensive, powerful and productive steam engines resulted in the use of machinery in the manufacturing sector in the cities of Europe. - The benefits arising from these technological innovations paved the way for efficient production. - With more products in place, the countries are looking for more places to trade. - The invention of tools, ships, and other types of machinery brought trade, governments, and people closer to each other. - To remove these external barriers, the Suez Canal was constructed. - The Suez Canal is a waterway that connects Europe to Asia by creating a direct shipping route without having to circumnavigate the African continent. - This new infrastructure brought about by the economic developments in Europe brought Spain closer to the Philippines. - The opening of the Suez Canal also brought several advantages to the Philippines. - The distance of travel between Europe and the Philippines was significantly shortened. - It brought the country closer to Spain. - Before the canal's opening, the travel from Spain to the Philippines would take more than two months. - However, upon the opening of the Suez Canal, it was significantly reduced to 30 days. - What is then the implication of the Suez Canal to the Filipinos during that time? - It is a fact that the outstanding economic developments brought by industrialization then enabled the construction of the Suez Canal. - With travel significantly shortened, the Filipino Ilustrados were able to send their children to universities in Europe. - The education gained by these Ilustrados opened their minds to the opposing conditions that are happening in the colony (Philippines) and the mother country (Spain). - Being enrolled in prestigious universities in Europe, these Filipino Ilustrados witnessed how the mother country enjoyed freedom, free from biases, injustices and racial discrimination. - On the other hand, while Spain enjoyed freedom and rights, the colony suffered from the mal-administration of justice committed by its incompetent and corrupt government officials. - On this notion, the call for reforms had been constantly waged by the Ilustrados abroad like Rizal. - They organized the Propaganda Movement that aimed to expose the deplorable conditions of the Filipinos in the Philippines so that Spain may remedy them. ##### Socio-Cultural Context - The 19th century also brought socio-cultural changes in Spain and the Philippines. - First, there came the rise of the enlightenment period, where people began to rely on human reason rather than faith and religion. - In the Philippines, information through books and print media began to spread across the seas. - The opening of the Suez Canal made these pieces of information readily available to the Filipinos by mail or hand-carried by travelers. - The political and social developments of other countries also reached the Philippines. - Knowing how the French took part in their political revolution and how the Americans engaged in the civil war became an inspiring lesson to the Filipinos, especially the Ilustrados. - The desire for freedom and independence continued to grow among them. - Next, the 19th century Philippines saw the rise of middle-class, the principalias. - With the increasing demand for abaca, and other crops in Europe, there was a need for more Filipino people to cultivate lands. - Manila became a free port in 1834 primarily to European traders. - After several months, provincial ports in the Philippines were also opened to world trade. - The increasing trade resulted to its gradual increase that can be attested to by these numbers: - In 1831, hemp exports amounted to only about 346 tons. - In 1837, it rose to 2,585 tons and in 1858, it rose up to 27,500 tons—two-thirds going to the United States. - Also, in 1782, about 30,000 piculs of sugar were exported. - This increased to 146,661 in 1840. - It became 566,371 in 1854, and in 1857, the amount rose to 714,059. - With an increase of exports (including tobacco, copra, coffee, and rice), many Spaniards and affluent natives began to invest in many of the foreign commercial firms. - To further the economic gain of Spain, the Spanish officials recommended the exploitation and cultivation of the Philippine resources to expand its trade relationship with Asia and Europe. - To enhance their trading capacities, Spain implemented the following measures: - Reformation of the Galleon Trade - Settlement of the Spaniards in the provinces for agricultural and trade purposes - Government expropriation of the landed estates of the friar corporations - With these measures, the Spanish Government was now duty-bound to allow Filipinos to rent and cultivate agricultural lands. - To achieve this, more families had to engage in farming. - Among those principalia families who benefited from leasing the land owned by the Dominican estate was the family of Rizal. - The primary source of income of the family came from leasing and cultivating this wealthy friar estate. - They planted crops like abaca, corn, sugarcane, and others. - They also domesticated animals like turkeys. - Out of the Rizal family's income from the land, they could afford to send Rizal for western education. #### Understanding Rizal in the Context of the 19th Century Philippines - The political, economic, and social conditions of the 19th century shaped the kind of Rizal that we know today in history. - Without an understanding of that milieu, one can scarcely understand Rizal’s enduring importance to the Filipino people nor the relevance of his ideas and ideals today. - To know why Rizal fought for reforms, one must look into the political conditions of the 19th century to understand the political struggles of the Filipinos. - To know why Rizal fought against the Spaniards, one must assess how the Spanish Government exploited the Filipinos through their economic policies. - To determine why Rizal attacked the friars in his novels, one must understand the social realities of the Filipinos during his time. - First, Rizal is a product of the 19th century. - Would Rizal be who he is today if the Philippine context in the 19th century were different? - Definitely, yes. - The kind of Rizal that we know today is a product of his own time. - He was at the right time, with the right people, and with the right context to campaign for nationalism. - We cannot seemingly imagine a 19th century Philippines without someone like Rizal on it. - His life, works, and writings helped shaped our history. - He used his knowledge for the betterment of the Filipino people and the Philippines. - Next, Rizal responded to the needs of the time. - The Filipinos' deplorable political and social conditions paved the way for Rizal to rise against the Spaniards and call out inefficiency, injustice and racial discrimination. - He took an active role through the Propaganda Movement so that Spain may remedy them. - From his study abroad and observance of the European laws, ways, and cultures, he realized that the Philippines could be a better place if only Spain would take proactive steps in protecting its colony. - He did not hesitate to write the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo to showcase the political conditions of the Philippines under the hands of the corrupt friars and inefficient Spanish officials. - Therefore, Rizal came out at a time when he was most needed. - He took an active role in achieving true Filipino identity. - Lastly, Rizal’s idea of a Filipino nation would not be possible without the events of the 19th century. - In the overview of this chapter, we discussed that the facts of contemporary history were also facts about the success and the failure of individual men and women. - Therefore, the success of Rizal and other Filipino people to achieve independence was a response to fulfill their growing desire for justice, equality and freedom. - The world and the Philippine context of the 19th century molded the environment that Rizal lived. - He responded to what the people needed and used his capabilities to achieve Filipino identity. - The independence that we have today is the result of how Rizal, together with other Filipino heroes in history, fought hard to achieve the blessings of independence and democracy.