CHAPTER I

JOSE RIZAL AND HIS TIMES (19TH CENTURY)

Key Concepts
Industrial Revolution
French Revolution
American Revolution
Suez Canal
Influx of Liberal Ideas
Twilight of Spanish Rule in 19th Century
Tribute
Encomienda
Polo
Frailocracy
Racial Discrimination
Content
It is difficult to say when Filipinos began to think of
themselves
as
Filipinos
and
not
simply
as Tagalogs, Ilokanos or Visayans.
Probably
the
preliminary stage in the development of national
consciousness was reached when indios realized that
they have something in common, that is, a common
grievance against the Spaniards (De la Costa 1965:
213). Our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, was the first to
think the indios as one nation when he first used the
word Filipino to refer to all inhabitants in the country
whether they are of Spanish or Filipino blood. During
the Spanish period, the native inhabitants were called
Indios while only the inhabitants with Spanish blood
(peninsulares,insulares or mestizos) were regarded as
Filipinos. Rizal could not have thought of one people
and one nation which include all people in archipelago
without the influence of the social milieu of his time.
Rizal was born and grew up in the 19 th century, a
period of massive changes in Europe, Spain and in the
Philippines. During this era, the glory and power of
Spain had waned both in her colonies and in the world.
THE GLOBAL
REVOLUTIONS

CONTEXT:

THE

THREE

GREAT

Conversely, one cannot fully understand Rizals

thought without understanding the social and political
context of the 19thcentury. Social scientists marked the
19th century as the birth of modern life as well as the
birth of many nation-states around the world. The birth
of modernity was precipitated by three great
revolutions around the world: the Industrial revolution
in England, the French Revolution in France and the
American Revolution.
Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution is basically an economic
revolution which started with the invention of steam
engine and resulted to the use of machinery in the
manufacturing sector in the cities of Europe. It has

changed the economy of Europe from feudalisman

economic system which relied on land and agriculture-to capitalism which relied on machinery and wage
labor. The merchants of Europe who became rich
through trade became the early capitalists of this
emerging economy. Farmers from rural areas migrated
to the cities and became industrial workers while their
wives remained as housekeepers at home in what Karl
Marxs characterized as the first instance of the
domestication of women.
The Industrial Revolution that started in Europe had
repercussions to the Philippine economy. A radical
transformation of the economy took place between the
middle of the eighteenth century and the middle of the
nineteenth; something that might almost be called an
agricultural
revolution,
with
a
concomitant
development of agricultural industries and domestic as
well as foreign trade (De la Costa 1965: 159). The
economic opportunities created by the Industrial
Revolution had encouraged Spain in 1834 to open the
Philippine economy to world commerce. As a result,
new cities and ports were built. Foreign firms increased
rapidly. Foreigners were allowed to engage in
manufacturing and agriculture. Merchant banks and
financial institutions were also established. The British
and Americans improved agricultural machinery for
sugar milling and rice hulling and introduced new
methods of farming. The presence of these foreign
traders stimulated agricultural production, particularly
sugar, rice, hemp, andonce the government
monopoly was removed in 1882tobacco. Indeed, the
abolition of restrictions on foreign trade has produced a
balanced and dynamic economy of the Philippines
during the 19th century (Maguigad & Muhi 2001: 46;
Schumacher 1997: 17).
Furthermore, the fast tempo of economic progress in
the Philippines during the 19th century facilitated by
Industrial Revolution resulted to the rise to a new breed
of rich and influential Filipino middle class. Nonexistent in previous centuries, this class, composed of
Spanish and Chinese mestizosrose to a position of
power in the Filipino community and eventually
became leaders in finance and education (Agoncillo
1990: 129-130). This class included the ilustrados who
belonged to the landed gentry and who were highly
respected in their respective pueblos or towns, though
regarded asfilibusteros or rebels by the friars. The
relative prosperity of the period has enabled them to
send their sons to Spain and Europe for higher studies.
Most of them later became members of freemasonry
and active in the Propaganda Movement. Some of
them sensed the failure of reformism and turned to
radicalism, and looked up to Rizal as their leader
(PES 1993:239)

Lastly, safer, faster and more comfortable means of

transportation such as railways and steamships were
constructed. The construction of steel bridges and the
opening of Suez Canal opened shorter routes to
commerce. Faster means of communications enable
people to have better contacts for business and trade.
This resulted to closer communication between the
Philippines and Spain and to the rest of the world in the
19th century (Romero 1978: 16).
The French Revolution
If the Industrial Revolution changed the economic
landscape of Europe and of the Philippines, another
great Revolution changed their political tone of the
periodthe French Revolution. The French revolution
(1789-1799) started a political revolution in Europe and
in some parts of the world. This revolution is a period
of political and social upheaval and radical change in
the history of France during which the French
governmental structure was transformed from absolute
monarchy with feudal privileges for the rich and clergy
to a more democratic government form based on the
principles of citizenship and inalienable rights. With the
overthrow of monarchial rule, democratic principles of
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity--the battle cry of the
French Revolution--started to spread in Europe and
around the world.
Not all democratic principles were spread as a result of
the

French

Revolution.

The

anarchy

or

political

disturbance caused by the revolution had reached not

only in neighboring countries of France, it has also
reached Spain in the 19th century. Spain experienced a
turbulent century of political disturbances during this
era which included numerous changes in parliaments
and constitutions, the Peninsular War, the loss of
Spanish America, and the struggle between liberals
and conservatives (De la Costa 1965: 159). Moreover,
radical shifts in government structure were introduced
by liberals in the motherland. From 1834 to 1862, for
instance, a brief span of only 28 years, Spain had four
constitutions, 28 parliaments, and 529 ministers with
portfolio

(Zaide

changes in

Spain

1999:
had

203).
their

All

these

political

repercussions

in

the

Philippines, cracking the fabric of the old colonial

system

and

possibilities

introducing
of

reform,

through
of

cracks

equality

perilous

and

even

emancipation (De la Costa 1965: 159).

Because of this political turmoil in the motherland, the
global power of the Siglo de Oro of Spain in the
sixteenth century as the mistress of the world with
extensive territories had waned abroad in the

nineteenth century. Her colonies had gained

momentum for independence owing to the cracks in
political leadership in the motherland. In fact, Cuba, a
colony of Spain, was waging a revolution against Spain
when Rizal volunteered to discontinue his exile in
Dapitan to work as volunteer doctor there in order for
him to observe the revolution. The divided power of
Spain was triggered by successive change of regimes
due to the democratic aspiration created by the French
Revolution. This aspiration had inspired colonies under
Spain and Portugal to revolt in order to gain
independence from their colonial masters in the
19th century.
The American Revolution
Finally, the American Revolution, though not directly
affecting the local economy and politics of the
Philippines in the nineteenth century, had important
repercussions to democratic aspirations of the Filipino
reformist led by Rizal during this period. The American
Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the
last half of the 18th century in which the 13 colonies of
North America overthrew the rule of the British Empire
and rejected the British monarchy to make the United
States of American a sovereign nation. In this period
the colonies first rejected the authority British
Parliament to govern without representation, and
formed self-governing independent states. The
American revolution had given the world in the
19thcentury the idea that colonized people can gain
their independence from their colonizers. The
Americans were able to overthrow their British colonial
masters to gain independence and the status of one
free
nation-state.
This
significant
event
had
reverberated in Europe and around the world and
inspired others to follow. Indirectly, the American
Revolution
had
in
a
way
inspired
Filipino reformists like Rizal to aspire for freedom and
independence. When the Philippines was opened by
Spain to world trade in the 19 th century, liberal ideas
from America borne by ships and men from foreign
ports began to reach the country and influenced
the ilustrados. These ideas, contained in books and
newspapers, were ideologies of the American and
French Revolutions and the thoughts of Montesquieu,
Rousseau, Voltaire, Locke, Jefferson, and other political
philosophers (Zaide 1999: 214)
THE RISE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Aside from the three great revolutions in Europe, the
birth of social sciences such as sociology, history and
anthropology, also had a significant influence to the
intellectual tradition of the 19 th century. The reliance on
human reason and science rather on dogmas of the
Catholic Church has its roots in the intellectual
movement called The Enlightenment. The Age of
Enlightenment or simply The Enlightenment is a term
used to describe a time in Western philosophy and
cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century, in

which reason was advocated as the primary source and

legitimacy for authority.
Enlightenment philosophers such Michel de Montaigne,
believed that human reason could be used to combat
ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and to build a
better world. Their principal targets were religion
(embodied in France in the Catholic Church) and the
domination of society by a hereditary aristocracy.
The reliance on human reason rather on faith and
religion has paved the way to the birth of social
sciences in the 19th century to study scientifically the
changes and conditions of Europe during this period.
The massive changes in society brought about by the
three great revolutions has resulted to dissatisfaction
THE CHURCH IN THE 19TH CENTURY
In addition to the three great revolutions, the
weakening of the grip of the Catholic Church of the
growing secularalized society of Europe and Spain has
implications to the Philippines.Conversely, the Catholic
Church in Europe was a most powerful institution in
Europe. The union of Church State has identified the
Church with the monarchy and aristocracy since the
Middles Ages. Since it upheld the status quo and
favored the monarchy, the Church in the nineteenth
century had been considered an adversary to the new
Republican states and the recently unified countries.
The French saw the Church as a threat to the newly
formed republican state and Bismarck of Germany also
saw it as a threat to the unified German Empire. In
Spain, the liberals considered the Church as an enemy
of reforms. Thus they sought to curtail to influence of
the Church in political life and education. This
movement against the Catholic Church called anticlericalism had gained strength in the nineteenth
century not only for political reasons but also of the
materialistic preferences of the people generated by
the economic prosperity of the period (Romero et al
1978: 17-18).
The declining influence of the Catholic Church in
Europe and Spain has little effect, however, to the
control and power of the local Church in the
Philippines. Despite the anti-clericalism in Spain, the
power of the friars in the Philippines in the 19 thcentury
did not decline; instead, it became consolidated after
the weakening of civil authority owing to constant
change in political leadership. This means that Filipinos
turned more and more to the friars for moral and
political guidance as Spanish civil officials in the colony
became more corrupt and immoral. The union of the
Church and State and the so-called rule of the friars
or frailocracy continued during this period. In the last
decades of the 19th century, the Spanish friars were so
influential and powerful that they practically ruled the
whole archipelago. The Spanish civil authorities as well
as patriotic Filipinos feared them. In every Christian
town in the country, for instance, the friar is the real
ruler, not the electedgobernadorcillo. He was the
supervisor of local elections, the inspector of the
schools, the arbiter of morals, and the censor of books

and stage shows. He could order the arrest of or exile

to distant land any filibustero (traitor) or anti-friar
Filipino who disobeyed him or refused to kiss his hands
(Zaide 1999: 209).
One of the aims of Dr. Rizal and the propagandists in
order to prepare the Filipino people for revolution and
independence was to discredit the friars. Exposing the
abuses and immoralities of the friars is one way to
downplay their power and influence among the people
and thus can shift the allegiance of the Indiosfrom the
friars to the Filipino reformists and leaders. The
strengthening power of the friars in the 19 th century
has encouraged the nationalists to double their efforts
to win the people to their side.
OTHER FACTORS FACILITATING THE GROWTH OF
NATIONALISM
The Opening of the Suez Canal
Aside from these three great revolutions and the
declining influence of the Church during this period,
there were also other factors that facilitated the growth
of nationalistic aspirations of Dr. Jose Rizal and other
Filipino ilustrados. Foremost among them is the
opening of the Suez Canal to international shipping on
November 17, 1869. This canal is 103 miles long and
connects the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Suez and
hence with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Its
significance could not be underestimated. With the
opening of this canal, the distance of travel between
Europe and the Philippines was significantly shortened
and brought the country closer to Spain. In previous
years, a steamer from Barcelona had to sail around the
Cape of Good Hope, and reached Manila after a
hazardous voyage of more than three months. With
this canal, the trip was reduced to only 32 days (Zaide
1999: 215).
The opening of the Suez Canal facilitated the
importation of books, magazines and newspapers with
liberal ideas from Europe and America which eventually
influenced the minds of Jose Rizal and other Filipino
reformists. Political thoughts of liberal thinkers like Jean
Jacques Rousseau (Social Contract), John Locke (/two
Treatises of Government), Thomas Paine (ommon
Sense) and others entered the country (Maguigad &
Muhi 2001; 62). Moreover, the shortened route
encouraged more and more Spaniards and Europeans
with liberal ideas to come to the Philippines and
interact with Filipino reformists.The opening of this
canal in 1869 further stimulated the local economy
which give riseas already mentioned above--to the
creation
of
the
middle
class
th
of mestizos and ilustrados in the 19 century.
The
shortened
route
has
also
encouraged
the ilustrados led by Rizal to pursue higher studies
abroad and learn liberal and scientific ideas in the
universities of Europe. Their social interaction with
liberals in foreign lands has influenced their thinking on
politics and nationhood.

The Democractic Rule of Gov. Gen. Dela Torre

The first-hand experience of what it is to be liberal
came from the role modeling of the first liberal
governor general in the PhilippinesGovernor General
Carlos Ma. Carlos Dela Torre.Why Govenor Dela Torre
was able to rule in the Philippines has a long story. The
political instability in Spain had caused frequent
changes of Spanish officials in the Philippines which
caused further confusion and increased social as well
as political discontent in the country. But when the
liberals deposed Queen Isabela II in 1868 mutiny, a
provisional government was set up and the new
government extended to the colonies the reforms they
adopted in Spain. These reforms include the grant of
universal suffrage and recognition of freedom and
conscience, the press, association and public assembly.
General Carlos Ma. De la Torre was appointed by the
provisional government in Spain as Governor General
of the Philippines (Romero et al 1978: 21).
The rule of the first liberal governor general in the
person of General de la Torre became significant in the
birth of national consciousness in the 19 th century. De
la Torres liberal and pro-people governance had given
Rizal and the Filipinos during this period a foretaste of
a democratic rule and way of life. De la Torre put into
practice his liberal and democratic ways by avoiding
luxury and living a simple life. During his two-year
term,
Governor
De
la
Torre
had
many
significant achievements. He encouraged freedom and
abolished censorship (Maguigad & Muhi 2001: 63). He
recognized the freedom of speech and of the press,
which were guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution.
Because of his tolerant policy, Father Jose Burgos and
other Filipino priests were encouraged to pursue their
dream of replacing the friars with the Filipino clergy as
parish priests in the country (Zaide 1999: 217).
Governor De la Torres greatest achievement was the
peaceful solution to the land problem in Cavite. This
province has been the center of agrarian unrest in the
country since the 18thcentury because the Filipino
tenants who lost their land had been oppressed by
Spanish landlords. Agrarian uprisings led by the local
hero, Eduardo Camerino, erupted several times in
Cavite. This agrarian problem was only solved without
bloodshed when Governor De la Torre himself went to
Cavite and had a conference with the rebel leader. He
pardoned the latter and his followers, provided them
with decent livelihood and appointed them as
members of the police force with Camerino as captain
(Ibid).
The Cavite
GOMBURZA

Mutiny

and

the

Martyrdom

of

Two historical events in the late 19 th century that

hastened the growth of nationalism in the minds of
Rizal, reformists and the Filipino people is the Cavite
Mutiny and the martyrdom of Fathers Gomez, Burgos,
and Zamora or popularly known as GOMBURZA. The
Cavite Mutiny is a failed uprising against the Spaniards
due to miscommunication. On the night of January 20,
1872, a group of about 200 soldiers and workers led by
Lamadrid, a Filipino sergeant, took over by force the
Cavite arsenal and fort. Before this, there was an
agreement between Lamadrid and his men and Filipino
soldiers in Manila that they would join forces to stage a
revolt against the Spaniards, with firing of rockets from
the city walls of Manila on that night as the signal of
the uprising. Unfortunately, the suburbs of Manila
celebrated its fiesta on that very night with a display of
fireworks. The Cavite plotters, thinking that the fighting
had been started by Manila soldiers, killed their
Spanish officers and took control of the fort. On the
following morning, government troops rushed to the
Cavite arsenal and killed many mutineers including
Lamadrid. The survivors were subdued, taken prisoners
and brought to Manila (Zaide 1999: 218-220).
This unfortunate incidence in Cavite became an
opportunity, however, for the Spaniards to implicate
the three Filipino priests who had been campaigning for
Filipino rights, particularly the right of Filipino priests to
become parish priests or Filipinization of the parishes
in the country. These three priests, especially Father
Jose Burgos, the youngest and the most intelligent,
championed the rights of the Filipino priests and were
critical of Spanish policies. The Spanish government
then wanted them to be placed behind bars or
executed. To do this, it magnified the event and made
it appear as a revolt against the government. Thus,
after the mutineers were imprisoned, Fathers Mariano
Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora (GOMBURZA)
were arrested and charged falsely with treason and
mutiny under a military court. To implicate them, the
government bribed Francisco Zaldua, a former soldier,
as the star witness. With a farcical trial, a biased court,
and a weak defense from their government-hired
lawyers, the three priests were convicted of a crime
they did not commit. Governor Izquierdo approved
their death sentence and at sunrise of February 17,
1872, Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora were
escorted under heavy guard to Luneta and were
executed by garrote (strangulation machine) before a
vast crowd of Filipinos and foreigners (Ibid.).
The execution of GOMBURZA had hastened not only
the downfall of the Spanish government but also the
growth of Philippine nationalism. The Filipino people
resented the execution of the three priests because
they knew that they were innocent and were executed
because they championed Filipino rights. Among those

in the crowd who resented the execution was Paciano,

the older brother of Jose Rizal, who inspired the
national hero to follow the cause of the three priests.
Rizal dedicated his novel Noli Me Tangere to
GOMBURZA to show his appreciation to the latters
courage, dedication to Filipino rights, and sense of
nationalism.
Discontent with Spanish Institutions
Spain introduced into the country mechanisms or
institutions to enable the colonial government in the
country to comply with its obligations of supporting the
Churchs mission of Christianizing the natives and to
contribute to the Spanish Kings economic welfare.
These institutions include theencomienda, the polo or
forced labor and the tributo or tribute. The tribute
consisted of direct (personal tribute and income tax)
and indirect (customs duties and the bandala), taxes,
monopolies (rentas estancadas) of special crops and
items as spirituous liquors (1712-1864), betel nut
(1764), tobacco (1782-1882), explosives (1805-1864),
and opium (1847) (Agoncillo 1990: 81). These colonial
systems also became the major sources of discontent
of many indios during the Spanish period. Because of
the oppressive nature of these systems, many revolts
and uprisings erupted in various parts of the country
which contribute tod the weakening of the Spanish rule
in the 19thcentury.
The Tribute or Tributo
As a sign of vassalage to Spain, the Filipino paid tribute
to the colonial government in the island (Zaide 1999:
107). In July 26, 1523, King Charles V decreed that
Indians who had been pacified should contribute a
moderate amount in recognition of their vassalage
(Cushner 1979: 101). In theory the tribute or tax was
collected from the natives in order to defray the costs
of colonization and to recognize their vassalage to the
king of Spain (Ibid). From the point of view of the
Catholic Church, tribute could be extracted from the
natives only if it was used primarily for the work of
Christianization like the building of churches in the
colony, support for missionaries, and so on. But from
the point of view of the natives, the payment of the
tribute was, however, seen as a symbol of acceptance
of their vassalage to Spain.
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was first to order the payment
of tribute, both in the Visayas and Luzon. His
successors followed this practice. As mentioned above,
the buwis (tribute) during this period consisted of two
types: the direct taxes which came from personal
tribute and income tax, and indirect taxes which were
collected from customs duties and bandala taxes,

monopolies (rentas escantadas) of special crops and

items (Agoncillo 1990: 81).
The tribute or buwis was collected from the natives
both in specie (gold or money) and kind (e.g. rice,
cloth, chicken, coconut oil, abaca, etc.). The King of
Spain preferred the payment of gold but the natives
paid largely in kind. That was why King Philip II was
annoyed upon knowing that most of the tributes in the
colony was paid in kind (Cushner 1979: 104). In the
1570s, the tribute was fixed at eight reales (1
real=121/2 centavos) or in kind of gold, blankets,
cotton, rice, bells and raised to fifteen reales till the
end of the Spanish period. Until the mid-nineteenth
century, the Filipinos were required to pay the tribute
of 10 reales; 1 real diezmos prediales (tithes), 1 real
town community chest, 3 reales of sanctorum tax for
church support or a total of 15 reales (Agoncillo 1990:
1-82).
In addition, a special tax called bandala was also
collected
from
the
natives.
Coming
the
word mandala ( a round stack of rice stalks to be
threshed), bandala is an annual enforced sale or
requisitioning of goods, particularly of rice or coconut
oil, in the case of Tayabas. If not paid, outright
confiscation of goods or crops if this tax is not paid or
paid only in promissory notes. This type of tax is so
oppressive that it sparked a revolt in 1660-61. In
November 1782, bandala was abolished in provinces of
Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, Tayabas
and Cavite since natives refused to plant rice and other
crops because of this tax (Agoncillo 1990: 82).
By 1884, the tribute was replaced by the cedula
personal or personal identity paper which resembles
with the present community or residence tax today.
Everyone, whether Filipino or other nationalities, over
eighteen years of age, was required to pay this kind of
tax (Ibid.: 83).
The intended effect of the tribute was primarily to
advance the Christianization of the natives in the
archipelago. The unintended effect however was
exploitation of the natives at the hands of some
abusive Spaniards in the collection of this tribute. Due
to its lack of uniformity and fixed policy in collecting
tribute in the beginning, many natives complained
of paying taxes beyond legal prescription. Says Renato
Constantino, The
tribute-collectorsalcaldes,
mayors, encomenderos, gobernadorcillos, and cabezas
often abused their offices by collecting more than the
law required and appropriating the difference
(Constantino 1975: 51).
The Encomienda

Another colonial system that is intimately connected

with the tribute is the encomienda system. The word
encomienda comes from the Spanish encomendar
which means to entrust. The ecomienda is a grant of
inhabitants living in particular conquered territory
which Spain gave to Spanish colonizer as a reward for
his services (Zaide 1987: 76). It is given by the king of
Spain as gesture of gratitude to those who assisted him
in colonizing the Indies. In the strict sense, it is not a
land grant but a grant to exercise control over a
specific place including its inhabitants. This includes
the right for theencomendero (owner of encomienda)
to impose tribute or taxes according to the limit and
kind set by higher authorities (Agoncillo 1990: 84). In
exchange for this right, theencomendero is duty-bound
by law to (1) defend hisencomienda from external
incursions, (2) to keep peace and order, and (3) to
assist the missionaries in evangelizing the natives
within his territory (Ibid).
The encomiendas during the Spanish period were of
two
kindsthe
royal
and
private.
The royal
encomiendas which consisted of big cities, seaports,
and inhabitants of regions rich in natural resources
were owned by the king. The private encomiendaswere
owned by private individuals or charitable institutions
such as the College of Santa Potenciana and the
Hospital of San Juan de Dios (Zaide 1987:76). By 1591,
a total of 257encomiendas with a total population of
over 600,000 were created by the Spanish king in the
Philippines
(31
royal
and
236
private).
The encomienda system lasted a little longer and
finally ended in the first decade of the 19 th century
(Zaide 1987: 77).

Like the tribute, the encomienda system is one of the

major sources of discontent of the natives against the
Spanish rule. This system has empowered the
Spanish encomiendero to collect tribute or taxes
according to his whim or desire. Because there was no
systematic
taxation
system
in
the
colony,
theencomiendero has the option to collect the tribute
in gold, cash, or kind. When gold was abundant and
money was scarce, he demanded cash or reales;
when reales were plentiful and there was scarcity of
gold, they asked for gold, even when the poor Filipinos
were coerced to buy them. During bumper harvests, he
demanded products like rice, tobacco or even all of the
Filipino possessions, and they were forced to travel
great distances to try to buy them at high rates.
The encomiendero has
indeed
become
abusive
because of his discretionary power to collect taxes
within his jurisdiction. Filipinos who resisted his power
were publicly flogged, tortured or jailed. These unjust
collections of taxes within the encomienda system
became one of the causes of intermittent uprisings in
the Philippines during the Spanish period (Agoncillo
1990: 84-85).
The Polo or Forced Labor
In addition to the tribute, the Polo or forced labor is
another Spanish that had created discontent among
the indios during the Spanish times. The word polo is
actually a corruption of the Tagalog pulong, originally
meaning meeting of persons and things or
community labor. Drafted laborers were either
Filipino or Chinese male mestizos who were obligated
to give personal service to community projects, like
construction and repair of infrastructure, church
construction, or cutting logs in forests, for forty
days. All able-body males, from 16 to 60 years of old,
except chieftains and their elder sons, were required to
render labor for these various projects in the colony.
This was instituted in 1580 and reduced to 15 days per
year in 1884 (Constantino 1975: 51).
There were laws that regulate polo. For instance,
the polista (the person who renders forced labor) will
be paid a daily wage of real plus rice. Moreover,
the polista was not supposed to be brought from a
distant place nor required to work during planting and
harvesting seasons (Ibid: 52). Despite restrictions, polo
resulted to the disastrous consequences. It resulted to
the ruining of communities the men left behind. The
promised wage was not given exactly as promised that
led to starvation or even death to some polistas and
their families. Moreover, the polohad affected the
village economy negatively. The labor drafts coincided
with the planting and harvesting seasons; forced
separation from the family and relocation to different
places, sometimes outside the Philippines; and

reduction of male population as they were compelled

at times, to escape to the mountains instead of
working in the labor pool (Agoncillo 1990: 83).
UNION OF CHURCH AND STATE
During the Spanish period, there was a union of Church
and State. The Catholic religion became the State
religion. Both civil and ecclesiastical authorities served
God and king. Thus, the functions of the government
officials oftentimes overlapped with those of the clergy
in the Church. Under the arrangements between the
Pope and the Spanish King called the Patronato Real
de las Indias, civil and Church authorities must
coordinate to Christianize the natives in the colony.
Since evangelization of the natives is the only reason,
according to the Church, that gave Spain the right to
colonize the Philippines and to extract tribute, civil
authorities should support the material needs of the
missionaries in building Churches and catechizing the
inhabitants. Thus, the government provided salaries to
the Spanish missionaries and the clergy, making them
technically government officials.
The union of Church and State also implies the nonpayment of all forms of tribute or taxes by the Catholic
Church and members of its clergy. The Church did not
pay any personal or income tax to the government.
Instead, the government contributed a huge amount of
the taxes or duties collected from the colony went to
the Church for its evangelization work. Owing to this
union, the clergy and friars enjoyed political influence
in the country. In the town, for instance, the parish
priest
holds
immense
power
compared
to
the gobernadorcillo or town mayor. He represented the
Spanish King in his area of responsibility. He supervised
local elections, education, charities, morals and
taxation. Until 1762, members of the Church hierarchy
like bishops and archbishops acted as governors
generals in case of vacancy in the gubernatorial office.
Among them were: Archbishop Francisco Francisco de
la Cuesta (1719-21), Bishop Juan de Arrechederra
(1745-50), Bsihop Lino de Espeleta (1759-61) and
Archbishop Manuel Antonio Rojo (1761-62) (Zaide
1999: 111).
With todays doctrine of Separation of Church and
State introduced by the Americans, it is unthinkable for
bishops and priests to hold public office or exercise
government power owing to the ban imposed by the
Pope to the clergy. With vast powers both spiritual and
political in their hands, Spanish friars and the clergy
held absolute powers in the colony during the Spanish
period. This had attracted the attention of the
reformists and ilustrados led by Jose Rizal that resulted
to a nationalist desire for reforms in the country and
eventually independence from Spain.

Abuses and Immoralities of the Friars

Although not all friars are bad, abusive and immoral
friars
became
a
source
cause
of
peoples
disenchantment with the Spanish rule. The Filipino
reformists led by Dr. Rizal hated the abusive friars and
wanted them to be expelled from the country as
attested by their Anti-Friars Manifesto of 1888:
The bad friars were portrayed by Rizal in his two
novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo and by
Graciano Lopez Jaena as Fray Botod (Zaide 1999:211).
These bad friars were arrogant, abusive and immoral.
They impregnated native women and sire illegitimate
children.
The reformist Marcelo H. Del Pilar parodied the Ten
Commandments to ridicule the friars:
1. Thou shalt worship and love the friars above all.
2. Thou shalt not cheat them of their stipends.
3. Thou shalt sanctify the friar, Sundays or
holidays.
4. Thou shalt pawn thyself to pay for the burial of
thy father and mother.
5. Thou shouldst not die if thou hast not the
money to pay for thine interment.
6. Thou shalt not covet his wife.
7. Thou shalt not steal with him.
8. Thou shalt not accuse him even if thou be called
a liar.
9. Thou not refuse him your wife.
10. Thou shalt not deny him your property (Del
Pilar in Agoncillo 1990:136-137).
Racial Discrimination
Another area of animosities between Filipinos and
Spaniards that led to discontent of the Spanish rule is
racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is a form of
social exclusion where people are prevented from
having access to public goods by virtue of their
physical traits. It is an abusive behavior of one race
against another. In colonization, the white colonizers
who are Caucasians often down on their colonized
people or natives as inferior by virtue of their skin,
height, nose, or physical traits. In the Philippines, the
Spanish authorities regarded the brown Filipino as an
inferior people and derisively called them Indios or
Indians. This racial prejudice against native Filipinos
existed in the government offices, in the armed forces,
in the universities and colleges, in courts of justice, and
in high society (Zaide 1999: 211). Although the laws
applied in the colony recognized no difference between
various races, documentary evidence on racism in the
Philippines is abundant. A description of Pardo de
Tavera illustrates this racial discrimination in social
etiquette:
The townspeople were obliged to
remove their hats when a Spaniard
passed, and this was especially the
case if he occupied some official
position; if the Spaniard happened to
be a priest; in addition to the removal
of the hat the native was obliged to
kiss his hat. No Indian [i.e.,Filipino] was
allowed to sit at the same table with a
Spaniard, even though the Spaniard
was a guest in the Indians house. The
Spaniards addressed the Filipinos [i.e.,
Spaniards born in the Philippines] by
the pronoun thou, and although
many of the Spaniards married pure

blood native women, the wives were

always looked down on in society as
belonging to an inferior class (de
Tavera in Agoncillo 1990: 121).
The friars and some Spanish writers the Filipino race in
their writings. They maligned the indios and degraded
them as neither a merchant nor an industrial, neither
a farmer nor a philosopher. The Franciscan Fr. Miguel
Lucio y Bustamante opined in his Si Tandang Basio
Macunat (Manila, 1885) that the Filipino could never
learn the Spanish language or be civilized: The
Spaniards will always be a Spaniard, and the indio will
always be an indioThe monkey will always be a
monkey however you dress him with shirt and trousers,
and will always be a monkey and not human (Ibid).
To prove that indios were not inferior people, some
talented and intelligent Filipinos excelled in their
chosen fields. Juan Luna excelled in painting. Fr. Jose
Burgos in Theology and Canon Law. Jose Rizal, by
surpassing the Spanish writers in literary contests and
winning fame as a physician, man-of-letters, scholar,
and a scientist, proved that a brown man could be as

great or even greater than a white man (Zaide

1999:211).
The decline of the Spanish rule in the 19 th century and
the popularity of Rizal and his reform agenda were
products of an interplay of various economic, social,
political and cultural forces both in the global and local
scale. The three great revolutions, namely: Industrial,
French and American as well the birth of the social
sciences and liberal ideas had gradually secularized
societies in the 19th century and thereby weakened the
influence of religion in peoples mind, especially the
well-educated reformists and ilustrados. The political
turmoil in Spain caused by the rapid change of
leadership and struggle between conservatives and
liberals had also weakened the Spanish administration
in the Philippines. Although the influence of the
Catholic Church in the 19th century led by the friars had
not diminished, the liberal and progressive ideas of
Rizal and the reformists had already awakened the
nationalist sentiment of the natives that soon became
the catalyst for political change in the late 19th century.