HSTORY

The Historians task in the Philippines John Schumacher

Introduction: Political / religious controversy 1949 - Catholic Bishops - opposed the use of government funds to publish Rafael Palmas biography of Rizal because of the books anti-Catholiscism Historical Imagination/ interpolation a tool for historians that is important in telling stories Jose Rizal insistent on the need for Filipinos to have an understanding of their past if they were to effectively shape their own future > having an acquired understanding of our past, we would be able to judge the present so that we all together might dedicate ourselves to studying the future interrupted his work on El Filibusterismo1, and made a prologue to his edition of Antonio de Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas2 (one must unveil the history which had been hidden from the eyes of Filipinos by neglect or distortion) showed his countrymen that, from a Filipino POV3, Spanish rule had failed to fulfil its promises of progress for Filipinos knowledge of the past provided moral legitimation for the struggle to come, and nurtured a sense of belonging, of being a people with common origin and common experience constituting a national identity around which a nation could arise lamented in his letters to his friend Ferdinand Blumentrit despite all the things the Spanish had done, Spanish rule is not a complete disaster> Rizal was the best proof of that shared a sense of national identity > impels a nation to do great things -JR Revolutionary: found inspiration in the works of Rizal

Goals: understanding our past, cultivation of a national identity, inspiration for the future

Recovering the Past Rizal - Spanish chronicles can be mined for the preHispanic and Hispanic history of Filipinos, taking out the Hispanocentric outlook of these sources William Henry Scott Cracks in the Parchment Curtain (book) There is a documentary curtain of parchment which, at first, conceals from the modern view the activities and thought of Filipinos and reveals only the activities of Spaniards. But many cracks allow perceptive investigator to glimpse Filipinos acting in their own world. the main subjects of the Spanish documents might have been primarily about the Spanish exploits but they cannot help but speak indirectly about the sixteenth century Filipinos unintended references vs. explicit analyses of Filipino society: the latter often reveals as much of the writers views and biases as they do of the people they profess to describe

The Formative Century The total research of Philippine history has been devoted to Revolutionary and American colonial periods Problem: to lay the necessary foundation for the understanding of the Revolutionary period hasnt been done Examples: 1. Friar lands explored, but not the growth of nonfriar lands (Filipino and Spanish) and the impact on Filipino life of the general nineteenth-century commercialization of agriculture 2. Negros hacenderos embracing the American rule as typical of elite betrayal of the Revolution but even the Recolecto mission work in Negros makes it clear that the regions was one of the most atypical of Philippine regions > Christianization of the island took in the second half of the nineteenth-century, along with organization of the island into fixed settlements. Hence, whether Negros 1

His work to point toward the problems he exposed in the Noli me Tangere 2 His edition of Morga served as an interpretation on individual points and illumination as he recaptured the events with such acuteness 3 POV- point of view

elite are typical or not, Negros society was quite different. The Iloilo elite were close relatives and associates of the counterparts, many of them went over to the Americans. But the war in Panay continued long after the Negros was flying the American flag. The differences in response was not due to the elite but the society below them -the provincial principales, the wider population Problem: A real history must be written about the Revolution must include all the regions of the Philippines showing the diff. degrees in response of nationalist response in diff. regions the variations in diff. socioeconomic classes of regional societies and political, economic, religious, cultural reasons for these differences.

has a greater effect than economic factors in moving people to a revolutionary action. Nationalist History History written by a nationalist expected from a historian who loves his country

Pedro Paterno obstructed, instead of promoted, the natl cause through his eccentric and ingenious lucubrations supposed pre-Hispanic past he tried to show that everything good that he found in the nineteenth century was the fruit of some mythical inborn qualities unfortunately, his books were not without influence to the later textbook writers distorted genuine documents

Method in History Question: Can history be objective? It is always written from a point of view. Documents not self-interpreting > need a human interpreter the historian. Human has his biases and prejudices Historian should rid himself of these, once he recognizes them Valid use of critical historical method: requires historian to base himself on documentations and to draw the evidence for his assertions or interpretations from the facts found in the documents What constitutes a facts and document needs a definition. From effectively bridging the documentation and conclusion, a historian arrives at the facts Documents: memoirs or letters, government docs, folk art, literary works and books of prayers >less self-interpreting, but it also depends on the historian, if he asks the right questions Knowing how to put questions will make a difference in interpreting a document. Example: one might say that religion is irrelevant. so, he will not put to questions in his documents the things that might reveal that religious values

More harmful were: Jose Marco on pre-Hispanic Philippines, the Povedano and Pavon manuscripts, with the infamous Code of Kalantiyaw > perversely creative minds were not only accepted but commented by respectable American and Filipino historians William Henry Scott Pre-Hispanic Sources For the History of the Philippines (book)> exposed the Code of Kalantyaw in 1968

But still, some colleges republished it during the 1970s. In 1979, they even republished Marcos pseudohistory further distorting pre-Hispanic past. Marco: wrote supposed works of Padre Jose Burgos, one was La Loba Negra4. These undigested misinformation and anti-Catholic diatribes continued to be published even after the forgeries has been proved. Reconstruction of Filipino past, however glorious, on false pretenses can do nothing to build natl identity Nationalist history in 1970s rejects colonialist and elitist approaches, but finds inadequate objective studies of recent professional historians because these
4

An alleged account of Burgos trial, and more than two dozen other pseudohistorical and pseudoethnograohic works, all furnished with forged signature of Burgos

allegedly do not involve themselves in the total effort to free Filipino from his colonial mentality True Filipino history involves the masses and their struggles Investigate the real effects of colonial experience to free historiography from colonial myths. Nationalist historiography allows one dimensional consideration of the issues. Framework: historians task is an analysis of how history fits into a presumed general historical process > a new myth; its source is philosophical construct rather than the events themselves The masses (peoples history) do not always think, feel, and express themselves within this constricting framework

acknowledge what is valuable and what is harmful in the Filipino past

Historical research and writing - should aim to undergrid the formation of a society that provides justice and participation of every Filipino. Historys contribution: to present the Filipino past that really was. **Not all past will provide inspiration for a better and more just society. But by depicting the whole of reality, history will make it possible to reform and reshape the society toward a better future.

Imagination in History Teodoro Agoncillo

Imagination - as important and necessary in writing history as it is in the writing of fiction, drama or poetry. George Bernard Shaw in the Philippines, there is a view that imagination in history is something to be deplored since history deals primarily and supremely with facts.

True peoples history must see Filipinos as the primary agents in their history not just objects oppressed by theocracy or by exploitative colonial policies expected to find Filipino people, individually and collectively: o have not merely acted upon, but have creatively responded to the Spanish and American regimes; o have assimilated the good as well as the bad o have been moved to action and to progress by their creative interaction with other cultures and not simply have been the victims of cultural imperialism religious values have not simply led to docility and submission, but also to resistance to injustice and to the struggle for a better society take seriously peoples movements that articulate their goals in religious terms, and not merely those that speak in Marxist accents able to recognize, and criticize when needed, the role of religion both official and folk varieties of Christianity and Islam - have played in forming Filipino society refuse to treat the people as an abstraction manipulated by deterministic forces try to understand all aspects of experience of all Filipino people, as they themselves understood it

Without imagination, history will degenerate into mere cataloguing. History properly looked upon, is not a matter of reciting or compiling facts, and allowing them to speak for themselves as if facts fan speak a recreation of the past in such a manner as to provide not only the bones, but also the flesh and blood of those moments which once were here but are now only memories. conceived as a creative endeavour, requiring a disciplined imagination and the ability to write with lucidity and with literary freshness. through careful use of data and as much as the facts allow, can approximate the past if the historian has lively imagination to recapture the color, the atmosphere, and the action of past actuality.

Historical Imagination the historian reviews his facts and tries to visualize them in such a way as to fit each of them into its proper place or setting in the narrative 3

Historians imagination conditioned by facts and facts conditioned by historians are inseparable > however, his imagination is, unlike literary imagination, is restrained by facts of the actual events. Any deviation from actuality transmute history into imaginative literature Actuality can only be recaptured partially because it is absurd to write every event that happened to every man every day of his life no complete history because no man will read it. So one must choose the facts out of innumerable facts. Stupid: most complete history

The beauty, not necessarily the validity, varies on their ability to write effectively and clearly. Validity cannot be argued for the validity of interpretations depends on the given or stated facts > each generation has their own history 2. Interpolation (called by R.G. Collingwood) - insertion of statements between those made by a historians authorities or sources - reconstructs for example what happened between Aguinaldos stay in Cavite on a certain day and his arrival at Biyak-na-Bato on another day - not arbitrary because interpolated materials are natural consequence of the evidence Interpolation: Aguinaldo travelled on foot because horses and ships were not an option because Aguinaldo wanted his departure to be kept secret Literary Imagination: Aguinaldo conversed with a man for an hour or so. There is no evidence for this. 3. Recreation of atmosphere or setting - does not rely so much on available documents but the experience or the knowledge of the historian of a particular scene in history, not at a particular time; but at subsequent times Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (by Teodoro Agoncillo) described the Tejeros Convention of 22 Marc 1897 using interpolation: hot and sultry, from prior knowledge to Philippines summer season, March is the beginning. Pigafetta chronicler of Magellan expedition Dull and uninspired history books - unread and unreadable caused by absolute accuracy and narrow specialization, they forgot the element of art in history - it tends stifle the creative spirit of the student whose minds are drowned by facts and facts yet more facts without being allowed to weave them into an artistic whole History more humanities than science Ernest Renan - History is not one of those studies antiquity called umbratiles, for which a calm mind and industrious habits suffice. It touches the deepest problems of human life; it requires the whole man with all his passions. Soul is as necessary to it as to a poem or work of art, and

Aspects of Historical Imagination: 1. Imaginative Understanding - needed in order for the historian to communicate with his subjects, and to understand the mind and character of the person he is to write about if he is to make a portrait of the man as close as possible - not anchored by fantasy or whim, but upon reasoning that issues from the nature of the subject under study Cambridge Prof. E. H. Carr. - history cannot be written unless the historian can achieve some kind of contact with the mind of those about whom he is writing Example: Situation: Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, after negotiating, through Pedro Patero, with Governor General Fernando Primo de Rivera, which is called Truce of Biyak-na-Bato, continued to have revolutionary ideas and kept the money for such because he did not trust Spanish promises. The conclusion is arrived at through imaginative understanding of Aguinaldos psychology, antecedent, and surrounding circumstances. Question: there may be two or more interpretations by the use of historical imagination. no two historians - have the same background, personality and mental makeup no two interpretations are the same.

the individuality of the writer should be reflected in it. George Macaulay Trevelyan - The poetry of history does not consist of imagination roaming at large, but of imagination pursuing the fact and fastening upon it. Just because it really happened, it gathers around it all the inscrutable mystery of life and death and time. Let the science and research of the historian find the fact, and let his imagination and art make clear its significance.

source of revenue, and was extended as a requirement to all, Spaniards and Filipinos They also reduced duration of forced labor from 40 to 15 days a year and made Spaniards liable to it equally with Filipinos Noted the rights of Filipinos as Spanish subjects

Nascent Philippine Nationalism, 1872-1896 - Horacio dela Costa

1872 Cavite mutiny - Important consequence: deportation of prominent Filipinos whom the authorities suspected of having fomented them - Some went to Hong Kong (British colony). Others in Spain, where they found their freedom of expression. - Filipino colony formed in Madrid and Barcelona - They tried to call attention to the shortcomings and abuses of the administration of the Philippines and for the government to adopt the necessary reforms they wanted through: a. Befriending the liberal persuasion b. Writing books c. Publishing articles in journals d. Speeches and informal discussions Gregorio Sancianco y Goson (from Manila, 1892) - One of the earliest propagandist, lawyer - Gathered Philippine laws into a book (El progreso de Filipinas, Madrid, 1881), he pointed out: - Make no distinction between Spanish subjects whether peninsular or insular, white or colored (what the law says) Filipinos Spaniards orced labor Exempted Natives pay tribute Landowners are Exempted laziness as congenital - Filipinos were deprived of natural incentives and normal rewards of labor. - Told the brutalizing effect of the tobacco monopoly on Cagayan Valley farmers - Alfonso XII ministers > abolished the tobacco monopoly, substitute cedula personal as a

Graciano Lopez Jaena (Iloilo, 1856-1895) - Come to Spain originally to study medicine, instead he devoted his attentions and energies to propaganda reforms - One of the principal organizers of La Solidaridad (Barcelona) - First editor of the fortnightly journal - Attributed the backwardness of the Filipinos to the fact that the government was far more interested in repression than in stimulation - Spaniards did nothing to prevent the disastrous monetary situation in the country but allow merchants to drain good money from the country and replace it with debased Mexican dollars. - They were busy putting down imaginary rebellions. - Education was focused on catechism, and neglected arts and trade. - A common language, which could be Spanish, would be helpful for multilingual islands, but the clergy, for their reasons, opposed its use as a medium of instruction for educating the natives - Upper ranks: open to natives in theory, but often prevented because of incompetent beneficiaries. - Lowest level of local government: available for Filipinos - To remedy this deplorable situation: 1. extend freedom of speech and the press, freedom of assembly to natives instead of depriving them the capacity to think and act for themselves> The knowledge would be useful to produce goods that could compete in the world market 2. Filipinos be permitted to trade with each other and travel the islands 3. The policy of dividing Filipinos the better to dominate them be abandoned. 4. Filipinos must possess and develop their countrys natural resources - Noted the natural rights of Filipinos as Filipinos. 5

Marcelo H. del Pilar (Bulacan, 1850-1896) - Studied law in UST - Exiled because he had a conflict with a friar over reforms which the latter opposed as savouring too much liberalism - Edited liberal newspaper in Tagalog active in collecting funds for the propaganda campaign - After 1888 (anti-friar demonstration he took part in) left the colony and go to the metropolis, and he put his talents at the service of the reformist cause - principal obstacle of Philippine progress: Spanish clergy used their dominance in towns and access to high councils to prevent liberal reforms - Solution: expel the friars altogether - Filipinos should seek to better their condition in a nonviolent way - Reforms same as those of Gracy and Cianco - Saw the possibility of separatist revolt if denied refors - The disappointing results of propaganda campaign turned his thoughts towards revolution Jose Rizal (Laguna, 1861-1896) - Father and brother well-to-do inquilinos of the Dominican estate of Calamba, but got into a dispute with the admin, lost their case and evicted - Took his B.A. in Jesuit Ateneo Municipal - Began med in UST, continued in Madrid - Sacrificed med for the improvement of the condition of his people - Wrote a lot of articles in La Sol - Known for his Noli Me Tangere (Berlin, 1887) and El FIli (Ghent, 1891) - Fundamental change between the relationship of the mother country and colony, the dominant and the subject - Change inevitable, but can be directed - 2 directions: 1. Reform 2. Revolution - Jos interpretation of Philippines before Spaniards arrived: 1. Filipinos had their own culture 2. Had forms of social and economic organizations 3. Governed by their own laws

4. Worshipped their own gods 5. Spoke and wrote in their own languages, had literature and arts 6. Maybe it was primitive but it was in the process of normal development - It could have developed if only it were left to itself, yet the Spaniards came and overwhelmed it Filipinos - abandoned their culture for an alien one, one which they never completely understood nor assimilated - lost confidence in their past; faith in their present, and hope in their future - under Spanish rule for 3 centuries - deprived yet they remained passive and apathetic - there were outburst but they were not for the reason to fight against Spaniards for a nation because they were not yet conscious of nationality -- During the time of Rizal, this was no longer true. What happened? According to Rizal, it was because the Spaniards added insult to injury 1. At first, colonial govt demanded much of Filipinos, but it did not despise them. 2. It treated them as subjects but not inferiors 3. It exploited them, but it also recognized their essential humanity and hence their essential equality with the conqueror 4. Filipinos were drafted into the colonial army, but they were also given positions of command in that army. 5. The government insisted on obedience, but it also listened to the complaints and occasionally did something about them. 6. Injustice, even committed by white, was sometimes punished; wrongs, even those suffered by brown were sometimes redressed. However, in the latter phase, in Rizals words They affirmed and took for granted what they wanted to believe. They made the race as an object of insult. They professed themselves unable to see in it any admirable quality, any human trait. Certain writers and clergyman surpassed themselves by undertaking to prove that the 6

natives lacked not only the capacity for virtue but even the talent for vice. AMOR PROPIO the Spaniard wounded this. - self-esteem, personal dignity, most sensitive part of his spiritual being - because it was not directed to any particular Filipino, but common to every Filipino , the Filipino nation found itself Construction on an entirely new principle: the principle of equality between Spaniards and Filipinos > assessment of Rizal Liberalists while they might be for liberty, equality and fraternity, they did not seriously entertain the introduction of liberal reforms - In Spain, they could be liberals; but in Philippines, they were Spaniards Rizal thought the four ways how Spain propose the stop of progress: 1. Keeping the Filipinos ignorant. 2. Keeping them poor 3. Not allowing them to increase in numbers 4. Dividing them against themselves - shared Lopezs opinion on education as his principal grievance against friars. But Filipinos finding ways of enlightening themselves by self-instruction and travel abroad - Where there is wealth and abundance there is less unrest and fewer grievances, and the government, since it derives greater revenue, is better able to maintain itself - did not prefer revolution because it costs blood and treasures - it would severe the bond that the Philippines and Spain had yielded for 3ooyrs> ought to be preserved. - Way to keep Filipinos loyal to Spain: equal citizenship - Realized that two reforms must be done: one undertaken by Spaniards, the other by Filipinos - There were no masters if there were no slaves - Blamed also the Filipinos for their complacency over their grieve situation - Filipinos to fit themselves the responsibilities of freedom 1. need the slow and painful process of selfdiscipline: making a determined and sustained effort, individually and collectively, to lift

themselves out of ignorance, apathy, and indolence. 2. Devote some time and effort in cultivating themselves in the virtues that enable a people to govern themselves Virtues: a. Economia- prudent husbanding of limited resources so that they would produce the maximum benefit for the greater number b. Transigencia the spirit of give and take, willingness to compromise. Democracy governed by discussion, to find a compromise, needs self-restraint and discipline Assessment on the Interpretations of Rizal: - Hemay have oversimplified that the Spanish destroyed the natives culture and replaced it with their own. Cultures are not destroyed in so many fashions. - He overrates the culture of pre-Spanish culture of the Philippines Facts: - Spanish rule modified Philippine culture and added to it, like Christianity - Spanish rule is not a kind of Dark Age, which contributed nothing to the country. - Philippines debt to Spain because of Christianity is as obvious as it is profound. Take note: Spanish rule developed Filipino nationalism, which eventually put an end to colonial rule - Through Spain, ideas of human equality, civic freedom and rule of law, ideas Hellenic and Christian in origin, became an integral part of Philippine culture - Fruit of Spanish conquest: Rizal, and the leaders of propaganda movement Rizal, banished to Dapitan on 1892 - Founded La Liga Filipina - Purposes: 1. To unite the whole archipelago into one compact, vigorous and homogenous body 2. Mutual protection in every want and necessity 3. Encouragement of instruction, agriculture and commerce 4. Defense against all violence and injustice 5. Study and application reforms

Andres Bonifacio - warehouse worker, one of the most active - giving out that La Ligas object was revolution - then, La Liga was dissolved - made a new society on the very night of Rizals departure (7 July 1892), called Katipunan - 1896: 20,000-120,000 members - They decided it was time to take up arms against the government - Dr. Pio Valenzuela, dispatched to Dapitan, to ask Rizal to head the revolution and consented to arrange for his escape Rizal - refused because the uprising was premature - He volunteered as a surgeon for Spanish in Cuba. His offer was accepted. - Before he got to Manila, the Katipunan was discovered Teodoro Patino - typesetter, betrayed it to Fr. Mariano Gil, the Augustinian friar of Tondo, who immediately reported it to the police (19 August 1896) Bonifacio escaped, gathered his followers just outside the city, and tear up their cedula personal, and cried Long live Philippine freedom! Rizal -

almost always the leader of the revolution becomes the principal hero Washington US, Lenin Soviet Union, Bolivar Latin America, Sun Yan Sen and Mao TseTsung China, Ho Chi Minh Vietnam

Rizal -

Not leader of Revolution placed himself against Andress and those people who for fighting for liberty He volunteered his services for Spain to go to Cuba

Rizal and the Revolution - From the very beginning, when I first had noticed of what was being planned, I opposed it, fought it, and demonstrated it absolute impossibility... was against it because of the useless misfortunes that it might bring to the country - His refusal to the revolution is an embarrassment to the Rizalists - The Revolution has been underrated because the reputation of Rizal overshadowed it - Because we refuse to analyze the significance of Rizals repudiation, our understanding of Rizal and his role in our national development remains superficial - Such appraisal is dangerous American-Sponsored Hero - Took in two forms: 1. Encouraging a Rizal cult 2. Minimizing the importance of other heroes or even of vilifying them - 1901, Gov. William Howard Taft: suggested to the Philippine Commission that the Filipinos be given national hero - Free Press of 28 Dec. 1946: Rizal was chosen - Theodore Friend said in his book (Between Two Empires): Rizal was chosen over other contestants Aguinaldo too militant, Bonifacio too radical, Mabini unregenerate. - Act No. 137 named the province of Rizal - Act No. 243 for the monument of Rizal at Luneta - Act No. 345 set aside anniversary of his death as a day of observance - Gov. W. Cameron Forbes said in his book, The Philippine Islands 8

on the way to Cuba, was sent to court because of the discovery of the Katipunan he pleaded not guilty and said that he actually counselled against the uprising offered to do so again in public manifesto but the court found him guilty -30 Dec 1896, he was executed by a firing squad killing him strengthened the resolution of revolutionists Lopez and del Pilar died on the same year Rizals prophecy came true: the leadership of the country will be passed from the men of peace to the men of violence

Veneration Without Understanding Renato Constantino

Revolution the peak of any nations history - people are most united and decisively active for the fight of freedom

The American administration has lent every assistance to this recognition Rizal never advocated independence... nor armed resistance to the government. He urged reform within, by publicity, by education, and appeal to the public conscience. Americans desired a hero that would run against the gain of American colonial policy Sedition Law: prohibits advocacy of independence and the display of Filipino flag Rizal was dead, so no embarrassing American quotations could be attributed to him. The Filipino members of Philippine Commission who chose the national hero were ilustrados, the class Rizal belonged to. Because of the humiliation of a second colonizer, we felt the need for a national hero that is accepted by the colonizers There should be a re-evaluation of heroes Rizals weaknesses and errors have been underplayed and his virtues grossly exaggerated Questions abt his role in history: would the course of revolution be different had not Rizal been killed?

to the peoples cause in his own time as evidenced by his life and deeds, the more heroic he becomes, as a leader of men. Innovation and Change - Rizal lived in a period of great economic changes - The country was undergoing grave and deep alterations which resulted in a national awakenin - European and American financing were vital agents in the emerging export economy - Abaca and sugar were prime exports - Steam-powered mills increasing sugar production from 3,000-2M piculs in 40yrs. - These developments led to improvement in communications and functional road systems - Steamship for internal and external linkages, postal service improved, telegraph was inaugurated in 1873 - 1880, we are connected to the world by a submarine cable to Hong Kong - Water system modernized 1870 - Street cars, telephone and electric lights in 1881 - Material progress set the stage for cultural changes > cultivation of cosmopolitan attitudes and heightened opposition of clerical control - Liberalism invaded the country due to reduction of Spain-Manila voyage 30 days after the opening of Suez Canal The Ideological Framework - Economic prosperity evoked the ideas of equality with peninsulares - Hispanization conscious manifestation of economic struggle and the desire to realize the potentialities offered by the economic progress - Equality with Spaniard meant equality in opportunity Anti-clericalism ideological style of the period - Rizal voiced the goals of his class and the aspirations of the entire people - He did not transcend his class limitations, for his cultural upbringing was such that affection for Spain and Spanish civilization precluded the idea of breaking the chains of colonialism - His writings was a contribution in the realm of Filipino nationhood the winning of our name 9

The Role of Heroes - Without these specific individuals who we call heroes, there will still be developed talents that would have produced nationalist movement - Rizal possessing particular talent was accidental - And his death only added more drama - Rizal may have given form and articulation and color to the aspirations of the people. But even without him, the nationalist struggle would have occurred. - We must also appreciate the extent of collective forces that played in history - Rizal is a hero because he observed the problems, and discerned the solutions required. - He is not a hero in the sense that he could have stopped and altered the course of events. - He saw more clearly what others could not have seen but his viewpoint was delimited because of his upbringing and status - History is made by men who confront the problems of social progress and try to solve them in accordance with the historic conditions of their epoch - The closer the mans perception to reality, the greater the man. The deeper his commitments

as a race, the recognition of our people as one, and the elevation of the indio into a Filipino. Concept of Nationhood - The term Filipino originally referred to creoles the Spaniards born in the Philippines the Espanoles- Filipinos or Filipinos, for short. - Natives were called indios. - Spanish mestizos claimed to be creoles - In 1880, after the abolition of tribute lists, both indios and mestizos called themselves Filipinos - Not all the Filipinos in Spain were indios - The original Circulo Hispano-Filipino was dominated by creoles and peninsulares - The Filipino community in Spain was a conglomerate of creoles, Spanish mestizos and sons of urbanized indios and Chinese mestizos - Espana en Filipinas their organ, first issue in 1887 sought to take place earlier Revista Circulo Hispano Filipino founded by Juan Atayde composed of Spaniards and Spaniard mestizos Baldomero Roxas, the only non-Spaniard - Lopez-Jaena commented that they are becoming like the Azcarragas, who have their sympathy to the peninsulares - It is fortunate that the streets, which was once named after one of them, is now renamed Claro M. Recto - Genuine Filipinos indios bravos (indios in Paris called themselves) transforming an epithet into a badge of honor - La Solidaridad - Lopez-Jaena, first editor, next Marcelo H. del Pilar - espoused the cause of liberalism and fought for democratic solutions to the problems that best the Spanish colonies - reformism of Rizal: we do not want separation from Spain.. All that we ask is greater attention, better education, better government employees, one or two representatives, and greater security for our persons and property. - Rizals intellectual excellence paved the way for winning of the name for the natives of the land, indios as Filipinos

The Limited Filipinos - the users of the term were limited based on education and property - the next stage for the growing concept of national identity should be the recognition of the masses as the real nation and their transformation into real Filipinos - but he must through decolonization Rizal - Although he contributed to the term Filipino, as ilustrado, he was speaking on behalf of a nation he was separated by culture and even by property - His hero in Noli was a Spanish mestizo, Ibarra. - represented with mastery the Spaniard, the creole, the mestizo, and the wealthy Chinese, but only a hazy description of the masses condemned the Revolution because as an ilustrado, he underestimated the power and talents of the people believed that freedom was not national right but as something to be deserved, like a medal for good behaviour - Liberty was not equated with freedom - Liberty equated to the demands of rights of elite for their economic progress - Political independence as a prerequisite for freedom - He wanted to wait for Spain to abandon us - In his El Fili, Fr. Florentino said: I do not mean to say that our liberty will be secured at the swords point, for the sword plays but little part in modern affairs, but that we must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it, by exalting the intelligence and the dignity of the individual, by loving justice, right and greatness, even to the extent of dying for them and when people reaches that height God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, the tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and liberty will shine out like the first dawn. - The martyr of the people, who recognized his labors although they knew he was already behind them in their forward march - Rizal, Educator and Economist (a book) stated that Rizals priority was education, and until Filipinos were educated enough to appreciate the importance of freedom, its blessings, and until the Philippines was economically selfsufficient, the Filipinos be granted freedom 10

For Constantino, Filipinos will attain their highest potential only if they are masters of their own destiny The Precursors of Mendicancy - Rizal and the propagandists chose Spain as the arena of struggle instead of working among their own people - Elite disrespect for the ability of the people to move on their own, and felt that education gave them the right to speak for the people - proposed an elitist form of leadership - failed to realize that people will decide for their own what they want and what they want to do - today, ilustrados are shocked that people are moving without waiting for their word -the ilustrados were the Hispanized sector of our population, hence, they want to prove that were as Spanish as the peninsulares Ilustrados and Indios - Contrast to the ilustrados was the Katipunan of Bonifacio - Bonifacio, not Hispanized, saw in peoples action the only road to liberation - Rizal and propagandists were a consciousness without a movement - It was Bonifacio and the Katipunan that embodied the unity of revolutionary consciousness and revolutionary practice Indio Ilustrado Rose in arms Waiting in Spain to dispense justice and reforms With Revolutionary Surpassed by Indio ardor Legitimate claim to Purveyors of ideas, which were being Filipino seized upon by masses as because he was weapon liberating himself Proclaimed Wanted Reform separatist through Katipunan Rizals ideas may be necessary for the moment of evolution. But he was only a moment, we cannot say that his ideas should be the yardstick for our aspiration He provided the model of a form of heroism that culminated martyrdom

Rizal has no monopoly of patriotism; he is not the zenith of our greatness; neither are all hi teachings of universal and contemporary Blind Adoration - we must be conscious of the historical conditions and circumstances that made an individual a hero, and we must always be ready to admit at what point that heros applicability ceases to be of current value. - we must view Rizal as an evolving personality within and evolving historical period - we must realize that the period crowned by his death is only a moment in the totality of our history Limitations of Rizal - he cannot be used as a determinant today because he was not conversant with economic tools of analysis - he was capable of seeing the myths woven by the oppressors of his time - but he would have been at loss to see through the more sophisticated myths and to recognize the subtle techniques of present-day colonialists, given the state of his knowledge and experience at the time - There is no need to extend Rizals meaning so that he may have contemporary value - A true appreciation of Rizal would require that we study these social criticisms and take steps to eradicate the evils he decried - In his time, his reformist ideas were undoubtedly a progressive force. - Today, his ideas could still be a force for salutary change - But Rizal cult is such that he is being transformed into an authority to sanction status quo by a confluence of blind adoration and widespread ignorance of his most telling ideas The Negation of Rizal - Today, we need heroes who can help us solve our pressing problems - We must discard the belief that we are incapable of producing heroes, that heroes are exceptional beings, accidents of history who stand above the masses - A true hero is one with the masses, not apart or above them 11

A whole people can be heroes given the proper motivation and articulation of their dreams When the goals of the people are achieved, Rizal, the first Filipino, will be negated by the true Filipino by whom he will be remembered as a great catalyzer in the metamorphosis of the decolonized indio

Rizal in the Context of Nineteenth-Century Philippines John Schumacher

Often Rizals words have been invoked, rather than his thoughts, without any consideration of the historical context in which they were spoken or of the issue they addressed

Economic Development 1830 Growth of export economy - brought into the Philippines both machinery and consumer goods which the industrialized economies of the West could supply Year Exports (million pesos) Imports (million pesos) 1825 1 1.8 1875 18.9 12.2 1895 36.6 25.4 - gricultural products for export - quilinos (those who rent friar lands) - asama (share-tenants) - acenderos (those who own the land) Domingo Lam-co Chinese ancestor of Rizal - average inquilino holding is 2.9 hectares in (mid 18th century) - after Rizals father moved to Calamba , the Rizal family owned 390 hectares (1890) - there were disputes because of the ownership of land between friars and inquilinos Political Developments - In Spain: Liberals succeeded the Conservatives at irregular intervals as one or the other proved incapable of coping with the problems governing the nation - inconsistency of the two made it impossible to develop consistent policy for the overseas colonies - they made the Philippines a dumping place for job seekers every change of government in Spain - so Filipinos were deprived of the position they have so long seek for, and governed by people

who have no knowledge whatsoever about the country the opening of Suez Canal made it possible for Spaniards to go to the Philippines to fill their pockets and leave when it is full worse effect of corruption: inability to provide for basic needs of public works, schools, peace and order, and other prerequisites to even a semi-modern economy high protective tariffs forced Filipinos to buy expensive Spanish textiles, than the traditional British ones exploitative and incapable of producing benefits for the colony reason for the liberal nationalists and conservative upper-class Filipinos to think of the Spanish regime is ineffective

Cultural Development - rapid spread of education - key factor in emergence of nationalism - higher education, and communication in Spanish made it possible for the first time in history a regional and movement 1. Education (cultural factor) Jesuits - took charge the evangelization of the Mindanao - major influences of educational developments - they returned with ideas and methods new to the Philippines - asked by Ayuntamiento to take over the municipal primary school - they renamed it to Ateneo Municipal and became a secondary school, which standards fit for college - taught Latin, Spanish, Greek, French, and English - Filosofo Tasio : The Philippines owes [the Jesuits] the beginnings of the Natural Siciecen, soul of the nineteenth century. - Escuala Normal de Maestros (another school directed by the Jesuits) open to provide Spanish-speaking teachers for new primary school system, represented a hope of progress for the minds of Filipinos - Franciscan Fr. Miguel Lucio y Bustamante said that the new teachers of the Normal is a danger, especially if the indios learn Spanish - Ideas of nationalism awake in the secondary school 12

Rizal (college) writes in his Memorias that through literature, science, and philosophy, the eyes of my intelligence opened a little, and my heart began to cherish nobler sentiments. - Rizal writes to Ferdinand Blumentrit that the Jesuits educated almost all, and that they have shown what is beautiful and what is best, which is why Rizal does not fear discord for it can be prevented - Jesuits imparted ideas of nationalism, principles of human dignity, equality, and injustice, which undermined Spanish colonial regime - But there were Nationalist leaders who were from UST: Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr. Mariano Sevilla - Juan de la Matta said that these institutions were nurseries... of subversive ideas. - But Spain was the avenue which stirred nationalism inside the Filipinos - They saw the opportunities the liberties have given in the Peninsula and became more aware of the servitude their people suffered - umasa sa sariling lakas Rizal, and he would turn his back to Europe and go back to help his motherland 2. Interest in Filipino past (cultural factor) Rizal - saw the need for historical investigation of the Philippines - Rizal learned from Fr. Burgos that there is a need for Filipinos to look at their heritage - He had an annotated version of Antonio Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas his greatest historical work - Showed that there is Filipino civilization before the Spaniards - There is decline, not progress because of intervention of Spaniards Religious Developments - There were less abuses from the friars Gov. Valeriano Weyler- religion should be taken advantage of, and is necessary Rafael Izquierdo (anticlerical but said as a confidential memorial for use of his successor) two factors of church which makes it important (from a political pov) are: 1. unshakable devotion to Spain 2. influence on the natives Juan Alaminos (successor) friars are important because they convinced Filipinos that no one

can save them in the next life except the Spaniards Rizal, in helping Filipinos take stand against friar hacenderos, emphasized equality among Spaniards (even if he is a friar)and Filipinos It is to nullify the friars influence that the Spaniards emphasized as a means of control Paciano wrote to Rizal the rumor : Archbishop Nozaleda proposed friar support to end the anti-friar campaign of the La Solidaridad Father Herrero told a story of when he came down to arrange a surrender with the Filipinos: The Filipinos said Viva and Santisimo Sacramento, salamat sa Dios! Becausein spite of our continuous fire, the Father is unharmed. But the ilustrados in Spain thought that the Catholic practice was childish and incompatible with modern ideas Elias said in Noli: Do you call those external practices faith? IOr that business in cords and scapulars, religion? Or the stories of miracles and other fairy tales that we hear every day, truth? Is this the law of Jesus Christ? A god did not have to let Himself be crucified for this, nor we assume the obligation of eternal gratitude. Superstition existed long before this; all that was needed was to perfect it and to raise the price of the merchandise. Rizal said to Blumentrit: I wanted to hit the friars but they are always making religion... God must not serve as a shield and protection of abuses, nor must religion Burgos passed to the next generation: a clear assertion of Filipino equality with the Spaniard Archbishop Basilio Sancho de Sta. Justa subjected Filipino clergy to overnight creation to take the places of the Spanish priests The chief victims of this power was the Filipino clergy, whose slow but steady growth had been accelerated in expense of quality When the crash program produced unworthy priests, Filipino had been a joke to Spaniards Pedro Pelaez wanted to redeem the Filipino clergy after this embarrassment His disciple Jose Burgos continued his cause to raise the name of Fil. Clergy In his Manifesto, Burgos said that the Filipinos will not succeed not because of race rather 13

because of the discouragement to the youth, the obscurity and indifference of the Spaniards. \Those who were exiled to Guam were Toribio H. del Pilar (older brother of Marcelo) and Fr. Mariano Sevilla, in whose house Marcelo lived. The propaganda movement would be the heir of the Filipino clergy but they were also modernizers who desired to bring economic progress Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Redgidor some of the creols who did not want to be separated from Spain but wanted liberties Carlos Ma. De la Torre (new governor 1869), welcomed with enthusiasm because he was one of the clerical liberals who made the Revolution in Spain He introduced reforms to the government, the reformists and clergy were rejoicing but they were deceived, for they were under secret police surveillance de la Torre was replaced by Izquierdo, who suppressed the reformists Cavite mutiny broke out when they found opportunity, but they had been arrested GomBurZa killed by garote, their allies exiled in Guam Principle: those who wanted equality between Spaniards and Filipinos must be crushed Fr. Pedro Dandan (an exile) when he came back to the Philippines, died fighting in the mountains Fr. Mariano Sevilla (an exile) again exiled to Guam during American regime During the guerrilla resistance when the American arrive, the clergy remained a powerful source in the Revolution and the major factor in keeping the masses loyal

Modernization was the desire of the liberals, as it would be of nationalists was for economic goals and personal interests T. H. Pardo de Tavera one of the conservative modernizers who sought after positions when the Philippine Republic emerged, and among the first to accept a position in the American government one of the members of the Philippine Commision, had been named Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jose Ma. Basa promoted the exile of the friars main source of writings of Rizal, Del Pilar, and others in the Propaganda Movement Doroteo Cortes former head of the Comite de Propaganda, supported Del Pilar and La Sol Among the first to petition the American consul in Hong Kong for an American protectorate over the Philippines American goal: modernizing reforms in government and the economy, civil liberties, and the elimination of theocratical control over the Philippine society Aimed the creation of national consciousness Favoured reforms Opposed influence of friars for they are obstacles Devoted to modernization of his mother country so that she might take her place in the proud nations His country should be free free from tyrants because Filipinos would not allow themselves to be slaves His goal was the growth of a free people, proud of its past, working for its future, united in a common set of ideals These made him the center of nationalist movement and principal inspiration of the revolution

Rizal -

Main Currents of the Nationalist Movement - Different currents that went into the movement: the reformist, the liberal, the anticlerical, the modernizing, and the strictly nationalist - All suffered from: antiquated and contradictory laws, inability of the government to maintain peace and order, exploitation of the Philippine treasury by the mother country - Liberals are also reformists, for whoever wanted freedom, wanted reform in the government reform for freedom of speech, freedom of press, etc

The Noli Me Tangere as Catalyst of Revolution

Nolis conclusion: ultimate separation from Spain Since Spain would not grant independence, revolution was the only choice 14

Amado Guerrero (in his book Philippine Society and Revolution): Rizal failed to state categorically the need for revolutionary armed struggle to effect separation from Spain. Renato Constantino: the demands of the ilustrado reformists [among whom he includes Rizal] were necessarily deliminated by their class position, and Rizal was a reformist to the end Wenceslo E. Retana: denied that Rizal had been enemy of Spain William Howard Taft, and W. Cameron Forbes: Rizal never advocated independence nor did he advocate armed resistance to the government. He urged reform from within, by publicity, by public education, and appeal to the public conscience. As early as 1886, Rizal thought that there was no future for the Philippines in union with Spain The other writers didnt see this because: 1. The failure to distinguish between what Rizal (and other Filipinos who shared his ideas) were able to say publicly and what they felt privately 2. The failure to read Rizals Noli and his other writings within the context of his personal correspondence at the time he was publishing 3. The failure to see the Noli not simply as an independent work but as a part of a wellthought-out long-range plan. 4. The failure to see the connection between the three major books: annotated edition of Morga, Noli and El Fili, pointing the way to the future independence of the Philippines

originally intended to write his book in French, but he chose the universal language of educated Europe wrote to Ferdinand Blumentrit that the book was intended for his fellow Filipinos I must wake the spirit of my country.. I must propose to my countrymen an example with which they can struggle against their bad qualities... He demands reforms from Filipinos rather than Spaniards in his Noli Noli is for the Filipinos to regain his worth, to return to the heritage of his ancestors, to assert himself as equal of the Message: 1. For the Filipinos to be cognizant of the problems their society is facing 2. For the Filipinos to know their failures as well Rizal said to Blumentrit that what he wants is not independence but reform in the present circumstances we want no separation from Spain Rizal to Blumentrit: Quioquiap (Pablo Feced) ... wants separation and he is correct. The Filipinos have long desired Hispanization and have been wrong. Spain should desire this Hispanization, not the Filipinos. Now we receive this lesson from the Spaniards, and we express our thanks to them.

Noli as Charter of Nationalism Rizal - expressed his hope for reforms from Spain in his speech at a banquet honouring Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo for their prizewinning paintings - spoke of two equal races - warns that there is nothing with guns and cannon if there is no love and affection between two races, no agreement on principles, and no harmony of opinions - implication on him: Paciano wrote that his mothers illness was due to her fears that Jose would never be able to return

Noli and FIli: Action with Vision Noli meant to stand alone Evaristo Aguirre mentioned in his letter to Rizal the sequel to his Noli - the other novel, based on history, which you have in mind" Rizal said that his Noli is a sketch of the present state of the country at the time, and it will serve as an awakening in Filipinos the consciousness of their past Morga would show them their roots as a nation the last moments of our ancient nationality. El FIli showed the course for the future - armed violence (Simoun) - nonvioelent resistance (Padre Florentino) Retana (biographer of Rizal) says that Ibarra represents Rizal, and Elias, Bonifacio or the revolutionary Leon ma. Guerrero (another biographer) corrects this by saying that Elias tries to dissuade Ibarra from 15

violence, urging that he will lead his countrymen into a bloodbath - the Noli presents a problem without a solution, perhaps purposely, for either Rizal was not clear in his own mind or was prudent enough not to openly favor independence and revolution. Rizal - had decided on separating from Spain so Guerrero was not correct for saying that Rizal was not clear. - Did Morga for a solid historical foundation of the consciousness he wanted the Filipinos to have - Kills Simoun in his El Fili because it is the wrong one - Simoun asked Padre Florentino why a God of justice and freedom had forsaken him - Florentino said: Because you chose a means of which He could not approve... hate only creates monsters; crime, criminals; only love can work wonders, only virtue redeem. If our country is one day to be free, it will not be through vice and crime; will be trhough virtue, sacrifice, and love. - Simoun asked if its Gods will for the Phil to continue their miserable condition. Florentino: God is justice and he cannot abandon his own cause, the cause of freedom without which no justice is possible. Rizal -I do not mean that our freedom is to be won at the point of the sword; the sword counts for little in the destinies of modern times. But it is true that we must win it by deserving it, exalting reason and dignity of the individual, loving what is just, what is good, what is great, even to the point of dying for it. When people rises to this height, God provides the weapon, and the idols fall, the tyrants fall like a house of cards, and freedom shines in the first dawn. - he places the responsibility to the Filipino people: what is the use of independence if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And no doubt they will, because whoever submits to tyranny loves it! Rizal: Reformist or revolutionary? Marxist: reformist futile tinkering with the political and economic structures of society

through parliamentary means, or even by political bargaining and intrigue Revolutionary to take up arms against the government, the establishment, those in power Padre Florentino: revolution not primarily an armed struggle to shed other peoples blood, but a willingness to risk shedding ones own blood for the sake of the people Filipinos who have clearly understood the preconditions by which that independence from Spain would mean true freedom and justice The speeches of Padre Florentino idealistic Marcelos comment on Rizal to his brother-inlaw Arellano Deodato The fact is that my man [Rizal] has been formed in libraries, and in libraries no account is taken of the atmosphere in which one must work 1891 Rizal was in Hong Kong, ready to go back to Philippines, and remained to put Padre Florentinos ideals into action In his return, he activates La Liga Filipina.

16