CHAPTER 1

RIZAL AND THE THEORY OF NATIONALISM

INTRODUCTION

Jose Rizal’s literary works led to the awakening of the Filipinos’ sense of nationalism thus, the
Philippines’ achievement of its independence was greatly attributed to him, and therefore, he was
acclaimed as the Father of Nationalism.

A. IMAGINED COMMUNITIES: REFLECTIONS ON THE ORIGINS AND SPREAD OF NATIONALISM

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Understand the idea of nationalism, familiarize, internalize how nationalism came into being in
the Philippines
2. Explain the concept of imagined communities
3. Learn Chinese mestizos role in Philippine society
4. Comprehend the vital role of awit in revolution(s)
5. Know and comprehend the extent of Rizal’s contribution
6. Develop critical thrinking

SUMMARY OF LESSON

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism is a book written
by Benedict Anderson and published in 1991.

In the book, Anderson stated that “to understand nationalism one must look at the manner in
which national identities have formed over time which can account for why they are so meaningful
today”.

The author depicts a nation as a socially constructed community, imagined by the people who
perceive themselves as part of that group. That formation of nations or the imagined communities are
encouraged by the development of printing press. Books, newspapers and pamphlets were printed in a
commonly spoken language giving rise to the people’s (who read said materials) perception that they
have something in common.

In part, the book gives testimonial to Rizal’s role in manifesting aspects of a nation identity. It
acknowledges that Rizal, through his literary works, became an instrument in facilitating a person’s
internal allegiance to the nation, in awakening awareness of citizenship, the creation of a sense of
national kinship and conceptualization of Filipino as a “people” or “the people” – an element of the
‘imagined community’ that constitutes nationalism.

Specifically, Anderson cited, as an example, the opening passage of the novel Noli Me Tangere
(José Rizal, 1887, written in Spanish (the colonial language), in which anonymous people around the
capital Manila (an imagined community) share gossip and the narrator directly addresses future
Filipinos.

The anonymous collective of Manila residents in Rizal’s novel represents a miniature copy of the
Philippine nation—despite never having met one another, they clearly have common interests and are
even imagined as creating a new generation that will share those interests.

By highlighting these aspects of the novel form, Anderson shows that the novel contains the
ingredients of the imagined community, which is likely what makes it such a powerful vehicle for the
formation of nationalist movements.

READINGS

Anderson, Benedict. 1991. Introduction: Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread
of Nationalism, 1-7. Revised Ed. London and New York: Verso. Pasig City: Anvil 2003 PH Edition.

Research Day: No class meeting

GROUP CLASS ACTIVITY:

To submit a group thought paper that:

1. Assesses what characterizes a nation

2. Defines nationalism
3. Elaborates on how Rizal and his works contributed to Philippine Nationalism

B. ASCENDANCE OF CHINESE MESTIZO

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Discriminate the historical conditions that led to the emergence of Chinese mestizos as an
important element of Philippine society
2. Consider the economic, cultural and political implications of their ascendance

LESSON PROPER

Chinese Mestizos (Sangley mestizo, mestisong Sangley, mestizo de Sangley; plural: Sangleys or

Sangleyes) is an archaic term used in the Philippines beginning in the Spanish colonial period to describe
and classify a person of mixed Chinese and Filipino ancestry (referred to as Indio). 

Historical Background

 Chinese predates Magellan’s exploration of the islands (Philippines)

 Some had settled and intermarried with native women but the emergence of Chinese mestizo as
a legally distinct class began only with the Spanish colonial regime
  Known for their entrepreneurial acumen they ply their wares through barter, some became
skilled artisans, carpenters and others; tailors, locksmiths, mason, etc., and were quite
flourishing which threatened the Spaniards
 Equally threatened, the Chinese staged a revolt (Battle of Manila, 1574) led by Limahong (Lim
Hong or Lin Feng) which, unfortunately, was foiled by the Spanish army and their native allies.
 Perceived as politically untrustworthy but economically necessary, the Spanish authority
decided to convert the Chinese into Catholicism.
 Chinese who embraced the faith settled into what is known today as Binondo, married native
women and over time the mestizo de sangley caste developed.
 Those who refused were allowed to stay in a settlement just outside or near the vicinity of
Intramuros which became known as the Parian community

Economy

The Spanish gave the mestizos de sangley special rights and privileges as colonial subjects of the
Spanish Crown and as baptized converts to the Catholic Church.

 preference to handle the domestic trade of the islands

 allowed to lease land from the friar estates through the inquilino or lessee system which
allowed them to sublet those lands
o came to acquire many native lands, chiefly through a legal instrument called pacto
de retro or contract of retrocession.
o through this instrument, a moneylender extended loans to farmers, who in exchange
for cash pawned their land with the option of buying it back. In the event of default,
the moneylender recovered the loan by foreclosing on the land from the farmer
 paid taxes double the amount paid by that of an Indio.
o under the Spanish colonial rule, populations were categorized into four categories:
those who did not pay tribute (Spaniards and Spanish mestizos), indios (Malayan
inhabitants of the archipelago now called Filipinos), Chinese, and Chinese
mestizos. The last three of these groups were considered tribute-paying classes,
but the amount of their tribute payments and the services demanded of them
varied. The indio paid the lowest tribute. Chinese mestizos paid taxes double the
amount paid by that of an Indio given the fact that they earn more than a typical
indio. The Chinese, in turn, paid a much larger tribute than that paid by the
Chinese mestizo because his earning capacity was way larger than a mestizo.
 development of Chinese mestizo as entrepreneur from 1750s to 1850s paved the way for
the emergence of the Philippine middle class
o with wealth, they were able to stay in dwellings larger and much better than the
rest with delicately curved set of furniture, were able to garb themselves with
clothes of finer quality, gayer in color and richer in ornament. They gained the
ability to give their children elite education at the best schools in the islands and
later in Europe.
  The wealth they acquired and the manner they spent it enabled the Chinese mestizos,
finally, to rise from middle class to social prestige.

POLITICS

Following the promulgation of the Cádiz Constitution of 1812, the Philippines was granted the
status of a Spanish Province, with representation in the Spanish Cortes.

 granted Spanish citizenship, thus acquiring legal equality in the Philippines with Spanish-
born Spaniards.
 toward the end of Spanish rule in the 19th century, the mestizos de sangley have been
identified as Filipinos.

 identifying as the "True Sons of Spain", the mestizos de sangley tended to side with the
white Spanish colonists during the numerous Indio revolts against Spanish rule.
 in the late 19th century, José Rizal, a fifth-generation mestizo de sangley, arose as an
intellectual from the relatively wealthy, middle-class, Spanish-educated Filipinos known
as Ilustrados.

o He was among those who called for reforms in the administration of the colony,
integration as a province of Spain, and political representation for the Philippines in
the Spanish Cortes.
CULTURE

The mestizos de sangley synthesized a hybrid culture incorporating Hispanic and European

influences with both indigenous and Asian elements.

 In fashion, cuisine, design and architecture, a distinctive style emerged, especially among
the wealthier segment.
 As the Sangley prospered from trading, they built the first and in many cases the only
stone-and-wood houses in the countryside.
 Like other rising elites, they created forms of conspicuous consumption to signify their
status.
 They have become deeply, if not more, religious compared to others.
 The mestizos de sangley held feasts to commemorate baptisms, weddings, funerals and
processions.

READINGS

Tan, Antonio S. The Chinese Mestizos and the Formation of the Filipino Nationality. In: Archipel, volume
32, 1986. pp. 141-162. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/arch.1986.2316
www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_1986_num_32_1_2316
Wickberg, Edgar. 1964. The Chinese mestizo in Philippine history. Journal of Southeast Asian History
5(1): 62-100.
Wickberg, Edgar. 2000. The Philippine Chinese before 1850. In The Chinese in Philippine life, 1850-1898,
25-36. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
GROUP CLASS ACTIVITY:

According to Wickberg (1964) what were the ethnic racial categories used during the Spanish
colonial period? Elaborate the economic, cultural and political implications of the Chinese mestizos’
presence/ascendance
Fill up a graphic organizer to illustrate the answers. Present in class.

C. AWIT AND REVOLUTION

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Understand how the concept of nationalism was impressed on the minds of the “masses” that
led to their participation in Philippine uprisings
2. Know the importance of awit and learn why it was an integral part in the revolution(s)

LESSON PROPER

At the onset, the Spanish viewed the Philippines as a stepping-stone to the riches of the East
Indies (Spice Islands). Spanish colonial motives, however, proved to be more than commercial that even
after the Portuguese and Dutch had foreclosed that possibility, the Spanish still maintained their
presence in the archipelago. Thus, started the saga of the Philippines languishing under the Spanish
colonialism that lasted for 333 years and eventually ignited a series of revolts by the Filipino people.

 The Philippine revolution, according to Scalice (2009), “has been explained as having been
inspired by the ideas acquired by the ilustrados, the mestizo elite, during their education
abroad”.
 It has always been the lower-middle class, the millenarian peasants, though, that were
in the forefront of the uprisings.

How did the “masses” perceived in terms of their own experience the idea of nationalism and
revolution brought from the west by the illustrados?

 Through awit, Tagalog verse and the sung version of pasyon (the passion and death of Christ)
 Tagalog has been used in written language as far back as 900 CE
 In 1879 , Tagalog was the official language of the Philippine islands
 In 1935, Spanish was established as the national language, halting the use of Tagalog

PURPOSES OF AWIT

The Philippine revolution was accompanied by music: hymns and marches that express love for
the motherland.

1. The Pasyon
  composed with the intention of inculcating submission and passivity into the colonized
populace (Tiongson, 1985), but also contained passages that allowed members of the
populace to identify their suffering with that of Christ (Ileto, 1979).
 It provided the masses an idiom in expressing their understanding of the world.
 Part of the Pasyon told of Christ leaving his mother in response to a call from “high
above”
o highlighting limitations on prevailing values and relationships
o correlating to people leaving their families to join rebel movements
 it showed how Jesus chose his followers from the lowly, common people and was
persecuted by the wealthy and the powerful

MGA AWIT NG HIMAGSIKAN: SONGS OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION, 1896-1898

1. “Alerta, Katipunan!” was one of the songs of the revolution. It was the march used by
the Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK). The piece was
originally a Spanish march, then was adopted by the Katipunan.
2. “Halina” composed in 1898 at Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, is a march that was played during the final
days of the revolution. It encourages visitors to come to the Philippines, the land of love and
freedom.
3. “Kundiman ni Rizal” was written and composed by the Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
According to Rizal’s grandniece, Asuncion Bantug, “His [Rizal’s] first love among the arts was
actually music.” This song, in Rizal’s words and music, expresses inspiring patriotic fervor.
4. “Jocelynang Baliwag,” officially known as “Musica de Legitimo Kundiman Proceddente del
Campo Insurecto” (Music of the Legitimate Kundiman that Proceeds from the Insurgents’ Camp)
was composed in 1898 at Baliwag, Bulacan. A patriotic song in the guise of a hymn of courtship,
its lyrics are dedicated to one Josefa “Pepita” Tiongson y Lara, a beautiful lady from Baliwag. It
earned the title, “Kundiman of the Revolution,” as it was the most popular among the
revolutionaries during the late 1890s.
5. “Sa Magandang Silangan,” or “Sa Dakong Sikatan,” was written by Dr. Jose Rizal and was
arranged into music by Pedro Gatmaitan Santos in 1898 in Bulacan. Said to be a favorite of Gen.
Gregorio del Pilar, the song became part of the celebration following the triumph of the “boy
general” after freeing the town of Bulacan in the province of Bulacan.
6. “Mula nang Mauso ang Damit na Kundiman,” composed in 1872, and originating from General
Trias, Cavite, describes the red clothes worn by the revolutionaries. Sung around the time of the
1872 Cavite Mutiny, the song also relates the fear felt by the common people because of the
sound of gunfire.
7. “Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan”, composed by Julio Nakpil in 1896, was the first National
Anthem of the Philippines. Julio Nakpil was a revolutionary, composer, and musician. It was
eventually replaced by the Marcha Nacional Filipina.
8. “Canto Patriotico De Maria Clara,” was written by Dr. Jose Rizal. It originated from the song of
one of the characters in his novel “Noli Me Tangere.” Rizal instructed Ladislao Bonus, his favorite
composer, to create an arrangement based on Maria Clara’s hymn from the novel.
 In 1893, Julio Nakpil composed another version to the song of Maria Clara, giving it the title
“Amor Patria.”

READINGS

Scalice, Joseph. (2018). Reynaldo Ileto’s Pasyon and revolution revisited, a critique. Sojourn Journal of
Social Issues in Southeast Asia. 33. 29-58. 10.1355/sj33-1b.
Ileto, R. (1998). Quezon City : Ateneo de Manila University Press
Songs of the Revolution. Accessed on 5/15/2020
@ http://malacanang.gov.ph/75729-songs-of-the-revolution/

CLASS GROUP ACTIVITY

To choose 1 song and perform it in the class (with choreography and costume)

CONCLUSION

Think–Pair–Share

Students shall consider a question (pertaining to the chapter) on their own and then will be provided an
opportunity to discuss it in pairs, and finally together with the whole class. They shall then be re-
grouped as a whole class and solicit responses from some or all of the pairs.

This activity will encourage deeper thinking, problem-solving, and/or critical analysis. The group
discussions are critical as they allow students to articulate their thought processes.