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Title: Philippine Progress Prior to 1898 - A Source Book of Philippine History to Supply a Fairer - View of Filipino Participation and Supplement the Defective - Spanish Accounts
Author: Various
Language: English
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A Source Book of Philippine History
To Supply a Fairer View of Filipino Participation and Supplement the
Defective Spanish Accounts
PHILIPPINE PROGRESS PRIOR TO 1898
By AUSTIN CRAIG and CONRADO BENITEZ
Of the College of Liberal Arts Faculty of the University of the
Philippines
Philippine Education Co., Inc., Manila, 1916
The following 720 pages are divided into two volumes, each of which,
for the convenience of the reader, is paged separately and has its
index, or table of contents:
VOLUME I
I. The Old Philippines' Industrial Development
(Chapters of an Economic History)
I.--Agriculture and Landholding at the time of the Discovery
and Conquest. II.--Industries at the Time of Discovery and
Conquest. III.--Trade and Commerce at the Time of Discovery and
Conquest. IV.--Trade and Commerce; the Period of Restriction. V.--The
XIX Century and Economic Development.
By Professor Conrado Benitez
II. The Filipinos' Part in the Philippines' Past
(Pre-Spanish Philippine History A. D. 43-1565; Beginnings of Philippine
Nationalism.)
By Professor Austin Craig
VOLUME II
III. The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes
(Jagor's Travels in the Philippines; Comyn's State of the Philippines
in 1810; Wilkes' Manila and Sulu in 1842; White's Manila in 1819;
Virchow's Peopling of the Philippines; 1778 and 1878; English Views
of the People and Prospects of the Philippines; and Karuth's Filipino
Merchants of the Early 1890s)
Edited by Professor Craig
Made in Manila--Press of E. C. McCullough & Co.--The Work of Filipinos
EDITOR'S EXPLANATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is pre-requisite to the needed re-writing of Philippine
history as the story of its people. The present treatment, as a chapter
of Spanish history, has been so long accepted that deviation from
the standard story without first furnishing proof would demoralize
students and might create the impression that a change of government
justified re-stating the facts of the past in the way which would
pander to its pride.
With foreigners' writing, the extracts herein have been extensive, even
to the inclusion of somewhat irrelevant matter to save any suspicion
that the context might modify the quotation's meaning. The choice of
matter has been to supplement what is now available in English, and,
wherever possible, reference data have taken the place of quotation,
even at the risk of giving a skeletony effect.
Another rule has been to give no personal opinion, where a quotation
within reasonable limits could be found to convey the same idea, and,
where given, it is because an explanation is considered essential. A
conjunction of circumstances fortunate for us made possible this
publication. Last August the Bureau of Education were feeling
disappointment over the revised school history which had failed to
realize their requirements; the Department of History, Economics and
Sociology of the University were regretting their inability to make
their typewritten material available for all their students; and
Commissioner Quezon came back from Washington vigorously protesting
against continuing in the public schools a Philippine history text
which took no account of what American scholarship has done to
supplement Spain's stereotyped story. Thus there were three problems
but the same solution served for all.
Commissioner Rafael Palma, after investigation, championed furnishing
a copy of such a book as the present work is and Chairman Leuterio of
the Assembly Committee on Public Instruction lent his support. With
the assistance of Governor-General Harrison and Speaker Osmeña,
and the endorsement of Secretary Martin of the Department of Public
Instruction, the Bureau of Education obtained the necessary item
in their section of the general appropriation act. Possibly no one
deserves any credit for conforming to plain duty, but after listing
all these high officials, it may not be out of place to mention that
neither has there come from any one of them, nor from any one else
for that matter, any suggestion of what should be said or left unsaid
or how it should be said, nor has any one asked to see, or seen,
any of our manuscript till after its publication. Insular Purchasing
Agent Magee, who had been, till his promotion, Acting Director of the
Bureau of Education, Director Crone, returned from the San Francisco
Exposition, and Acting Auditor Dexter united to smoothe the way for
rapid work so the order placed in January is being filled in less than
three months. Three others whose endorsements have materially assisted
in the accomplishment of the work are President Villamor of our
University, Director Francisco Benitez of its School of Education, and
Director J. A. Robertson of the Philippine Library. And in recalling
the twelve years of study here which has shown the importance of
these notes there come to mind the names of those to whom I have
been accustomed to go for suggestion and advice: Mariano Ponce,
of the Assembly Library, Manuel Artigas, of the Filipiniana Section
of the Philippines Library, Manuel Iriarte of the Executive Bureau
Archives, Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera and Epifanio de los Santos,
associates in the Philippine Academy, Leon and Fernando Guerrero,
Jaime C. De Veyra, Valentin Ventura, of Barcelona, J. M. Ramirez, of
Paris, the late Rafael del Pan, José Basa, of Hongkong, and Doctor
Regidor, of London, all Filipinos, Doctor N. M. Saleeby, H. Otley
Beyer, Dr. David P. Barrows, now of the University of California,
along with assistance from the late Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt,
of Leitmeritz, Dr. C. M. Heller, of Dresden, and the authorities of
the British Museum, Congressional Library, America Institute of Berlin,
University of California Library, and the Hongkong and Shanghai public
libraries and Royal Asiatic Society branches.
It is due the printer, Mr. Frederic H. Stevens, manager of
E. C. McCullough & Co.'s press; Mr. John Howe who figured out
a sufficient and satisfactory paper supply despite the war-time
scarcity; and Superintendent Noronha, that after the first vigorous
protests against departures from established printing-house usages,
they loyally co-operated in producing a book whose chief consideration
has been the reader's use. Paper, ink, special press-work and the
clear-cut face chosen for the hand-set type have combined to get
a great deal more matter into the same space without sacrifice of
legibility; putting minor headings in the margin has been another
space-saver which as well facilitates reference, while the omission of
the customary blank pages and spaces between articles has materially
aided in keeping down unnecessary bulk. Printed in the usual style
this book should have run over twelve hundred octavo pages as against
its under two-thirds that number of a but slightly larger page.
And finally, my colleague, Professor Conrado Benitez, besides
furnishing promptly his part of the manuscript has been chief adviser
and most zealous in carrying out our joint plan.
Austin Craig.
University of the Philippines,
March 27, 1916.
CONTENTS
Page
I.--The Old Philippines' Industrial Development,
by Conrado Benitez 1
II.--The Filipinos' Part in the Philippines' Past:
Pre-Spanish Philippine history, A. D. 43-1565.
(Introduction, by Austin Craig) 77
Pre-historic civilization in the Philippines,
by Elsdon Best 79
A thousand years of Philippine history before the coming
of the Spaniards, by Austin Craig 91
Translation by W. W. Rockhill of a Chinese book of 1349 102
Spanish unreliability; early Chinese rule over Philippines;
and reason for indolence in Mindanao; from Salmon's
"Modern History," 1744 104
Bisayans in Formosa, by Dr. Terrien de Lacouperie 105
The Tagalog Tongue, by José Rizal 106
Philippine tribes and languages, by Prof. Ferdinand
Blumentritt 107
Beginnings of Philippine Nationalism (Introduction,
by Austin Craig) 118
The Friar Domination in the Philippines, by M. H.
del Pilar 119
Archbishop Martinez's secret defense of his Filipino
clergy 121
Nineteenth century discontent 128
The liberal governor-general of 1869-1871, by Austin
Craig 132
The rebellion in the Philippine Islands, by John Foreman 133
Filipinos with Dewey's squadron, from the Hongkong
Telegraph 136
A prediction of 1872 136
Reproductions of twelve early maps relating to Further India
and the Philippines. Following page 136
PHILIPPINE PROGRESS PRIOR TO 1898
THE OLD PHILIPPINES' INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Chapters of an Economic History
by Conrado Benitez, A. M. (Chicago)
Assistant Professor of Economics and Sociology in the University of
the Philippines
I. Agriculture and Landholding at the time of the Discovery and
Conquest.
II. Industries at the Time of Discovery and Conquest.
III. Trade and Commerce at the Time of Discovery and Conquest.
IV. Trade and Commerce; the Period of Restriction.
V. The XIX Century and Economic Development.
PHILIPPINE EDUCATION CO., INC., MANILA, 1916
FILIPINO WRITERS QUOTED IN "THE OLD PHILIPPINES' INDUSTRIAL
DEVELOPMENT":
Citizens of the Philippine Islands, "Memorial to the Council,"
Manila, 1586.
Gobernadorcillo Nicolas Ramos, "Affidavit for Governor Dasmariñas,"
Cubao, 1591.
Chief Miguel Banal, "Petition to the King of Spain," Manila, 1609.
Governor Manuel Azcarraga y Palmero, "La Libertad de Comercio en las
Islas Filipinas," Madrid, 1872.
Gregorio Sangclanco y Gozon, LL. D., "El Progreso de Filipinas,"
Madrid, 1884.
Dr. Jose Rizal Mercado y Alonso, "Annotations to Morga's Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas," Paris, 1890.
Rizal's La Indolencia de los Filipinos, Madrid. 1889.
T. H. Pardo de Tavera, M. D., "Philippine Census, Volume I, History,"
Manila, 1903.
Tavera's Resultados del Desarrollo Economico de Filipinas, Manila,
1912.
Antonio M. Regidor, D.C.L., (with J. Warren T. Mason), "Commercial
Progress in the Philippine Islands," London, 1905.
Made in Manila--Press of E. C. McCullough & Co.--The Work of Filipinos
INTRODUCTION
Need of more study of Philippine Economic Development.
The Spanish writers, and with them the Filipinos as well as, to a
great extent, writers of Philippine treatises in other languages,
have over-emphasized the political history of the Philippines. The
history of this country has been regarded but as the history of the
Spaniards in it, and not of its people, the Filipinos. [1] Hence
arises the need of studying our history from the point of view of
the development of our people, especially to trace and show the part
played by them in Philippine social progress as a whole. [2]
The study of the economic history of a country is important also
because economic forces play a great part in the development of any
people. Indeed, some claim that all history may be explained in terms
of economic motives. This is known as the economic interpretation
of history. [3] Without going into the controversy centering around
this theory, we can readily see that what we know as civilization
has a two-fold basis, the physical and the psychical. And it is only
after the physical basis is secured, that further psychical advance
is possible. "Among all species, and in every stage of evolution,
the extent of aggregation and its place or position are determined
by external physical conditions. Even when men have become united by
sympathies and beliefs, the possibility of perpetuating their union is
a question of the character and resources of their environment. The
distribution of food is the dominating fact. Animals and men dwell
together where a food supply is found, or may be certainly and easily
produced. Other physical circumstances of the environment, however,
such as temperature and exposure, surface and altitude, which make life
in some places comparatively easy, in others difficult or impossible,
exert an influence not to be overlooked." (Franklin Henry Giddings,
The Principles of Sociology, p. 82. New York: 1911.)
We need not trace the history of early civilizations to show the
influence exerted by physical factors. We need only to recall the
motives, familiar to all, which led to the discovery of America,
namely, the closing of the trade routes to the East through the
conquest of the Turks. And the history of this country itself furnishes
many illustrations. Both ancient and modern writers have had a good
deal to say about the strategic position of the Philippine Islands
in relation to the countries bordering around the Pacific Ocean. [4]
It was that central geographical position which explained the marked
predominance of Manila as a trade depot over all the other ports in the
Orient, at one time in our history. That was, furthermore, the reason
why the Spaniards kept the country; they wanted to use it "as a means
to be nearer, and to reach more quickly, the rich country of spices,
and then the continent of Asia, Japan, and the Orient in general." [5]
Finally, we should distinguish the various causes that explain
historical events. For example, a good deal of what has been known
as the religious question in this country, is not concerned with
religion at all, but chiefly with economics. It is not always easy to
distinguish these various causes; a fact which only goes to explain
the one-sided point of view which has prevailed till the present. But,
that the questions connected with the means of getting a living were
considered paramount, even long before the formal exposition of the
economic interpretation of history, may be seen from the words of
the provincials of the religious orders in a remonstrance addressed
to the governor and captain-general of the Philippines, wherein they
depicted the deplorable conditions in the Islands:
"Third, all the Christian Indians would be more steadfast and rooted
in the holy faith, and would become effective and most suitable
instruments for (gaining) new conversions of infidels (and) apostates,
the infidels themselves beholding the abundant wealth and profit,
and other benefits, of the Christian Indians; FOR IT IS THE TEMPORAL
WELFARE EVIDENT TO THEIR SENSES WHICH, AS EXPERIENCE TEACHES US,
STRONGLY INFLUENCES BOTH CLASSES OF INDIANS, TO BE CONVERTED OR TO
MAINTAIN THEMSELVES IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH." [6]
Divisions of present work.
The present work is built around a group of ideas briefly summarized
as follows: The first three chapters portray the industries and
commerce at the time of the coming of the Spaniards; and explain
the causes that led to their decline; the fourth chapter dwells
upon the era of restriction, and the Manila-Acapulco trade, which,
for over two centuries, dominated this country, and has had such
depressing effect upon economic growth; the last chapter takes up
the era of liberalism, during the nineteenth century, and shows how
the opening of the Philippines to foreign influence resulted in the
development of its natural resources. Any attempt to trace Philippine
economic development in the past three centuries must necessarily
start, not so much with a detailed account of how the industries
developed as with an exposition of how they were not developed. On
the other hand, the remarkable social progress of the last half of
the nineteenth century, following the opening of the markets of the
world to Philippine products, is an encouraging indication of probable
social advance yet to be attained.
I. AGRICULTURE AND LANDHOLDING AT THE TIME OF THE DISCOVERY AND
CONQUEST
Agriculture.
At the time of the arrival of the Spaniards, agriculture in the
Philippines was in a comparatively prosperous condition. [7] The
Filipinos cultivated rice, which, as today, formed their chief article
of food. They grew also sugar-cane, coconuts, indigo, sweet potatoes,
and other tubers, various kinds of bananas, the betel-nut palm, the
tamarind, lansone, and several varieties of legumes, [8] The hemp
plant was likewise grown, and as we shall see later on, was used
at the time for making the so-called "sinamay" cloth. [9] Cotton
was cultivated, and furnished the material for weaving. Among the
native fruits mentioned by Morga are: "sanctors, mabolos, tamarinds,
nancas, custard-apples, papaws, guavas, and everywhere many oranges,
of all kinds--large and small, sweet and sour; citrons, lemons, and
ten or twelve varieties of very healthful and palatable bananas." [10]
With the coming of the Spaniards, very many plants which are commonly
considered to be indigenous in this country, were introduced. [11]
The most important economic plant imported since Spanish discovery
was the tobacco, which today forms one of the staple crops, though
it took many years before it came to anything like its present
position. The cacao nut also was imported. Among the most commonly
known of the others are; maize, peanut, papaya, and, also pineapple,
and sweet potato. [12] All of these plants came from Mexico. [13]
Coffee was introduced from Europe. [14]
Live stock.
The Filipinos at the time of discovery had domestic animals, dogs,
cats, pigs, goats and buffaloes, i.e. carabaos. [15] "There were no
horses, mares, or asses in the islands, until the Spaniards had them
brought from China and brought them from Nueva Espana." [16]
The Kings of Spain in their instructions to the governors-general
of the Philippines were solicitous about this matter of supplying
this country with sufficient live stock to carry on farm work. [17]
The early accounts of expeditions to find food for the Spaniards show
that chickens were raised by the Filipinos. [18]
It has been truly said that the Filipino has been affected by the
centuries of Spanish sovereignty far less on his material side than
he has on his spiritual. [19] For as we read the early accounts
about agricultural life at the time of discovery and conquest,
and compare it with that of a decade ago, we do not find any marked
change or advance. [20] The early Filipinos knew how to construct
implements for the cultivation of their rice, such as for hulling
and separating the chaff from the grain; and they had wooden mortars
and pestles for pounding and whitening rice. Then, the women did most
of the work of pounding the rice for use, whereas today, the men do
it. [21] Furthermore, in the early days, the system of irrigating
the rice fields that is used today was known and practiced. [22]
Of course, the so-called caingin method of cultivation prevailed,
but the considerable amounts of rice which at various times were
contributed by the Filipinos for the support of the Spanish conquerors
could not have been produced under such a crude system of cultivation,
but only by the more advanced one, which closely resembled that of
the present time. [23]
Land holding.
The lands of the ancient Filipinos were divided among the whole
barangay, so that each one had his holding and no resident of one
barangay was allowed to cultivate lands in another barangay unless he
had acquired them by inheritance, gift, or purchase. In some barangays
the lands belonged to the chief through purchase from the original
owners. In some localities the chiefs or principal personages also
owned the fisheries, and their rights were respected. [24]
With the coming of the Spaniards, lands were assigned to the colonists,
of which they were to have perpetual ownership after four years'
residence. [25] Encomiendas of the Indians were also granted to
the discoverers and conquerors. [26] It is in connection with the
administration of these encomiendas that we find in the annals of the
Philippines many accounts of abuses and extortions practiced on the
natives, and the consequent revolts. It must not, however, be supposed
that the Filipinos were actually dispossessed of their lands by the
king; for, although according to the constitutional law of the Indies
the land and the soil in all colonies were the domain of the king [27]
and, therefore, could be assigned to deserving persons, there were
royal decrees intended to protect the natives in their time-honored
possession. [28] The question of land ownership has, however, from
earliest times been the source of conflicts between the religious
orders and the people. Without going into the technical,--and perhaps
today, academic,--question of which side had the better legal argument,
the fact cannot be denied that the Filipinos had always protested,
throughout the various centuries of contact with the Spaniards,
against what they considered to be usurpation of their lands. [29]
II. INDUSTRIES AT THE TIME OF DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST
Shipbuilding.
One of the most important industries in the Philippines during this
period was shipbuilding. We would naturally expect this industry to
be developed among the Filipinos, for they belong to a seafaring race
that for centuries had been pushing their way northward and taking
possession of the islands of this part of the Pacific; furthermore,
once settled in this country, they had abundant supply of good timber
for building purposes. [30] Morga described the various kinds of
ships and boats used by the Filipinos. [31] There seems to be no
doubt that the Filipinos have forgotten much of what they knew about
shipbuilding. [32]
The Spaniards took advantage of the abundance of materials in this
country, and engaged in shipbuilding on a large scale. Shipyards
were established at various places, [33] and to them the Filipinos
were compelled to go and work. To the honor and glory of Spain,
some of the largest ships in the world at that time were built in
the Philippines. [34]
When the role played by the Filipinos in the history of Spanish
achievement in the Philippines comes to be finally written, their
share, in the form of service, direct--and indirect--and suffering of
different kinds, will occupy a considerable part of the account. [35]
First of all, the many lives sacrificed in connection with the
building of ships should be considered. [36] Then, the effect on
the industries of the country was disastrous. [37] Besides, very
frequently the laborers were not paid their wages. [38] And worse than
the physical cruelties practiced on them, the Filipinos were not only
helping the King in the extension of his empire, but also those who
actually abused them [39] to get rich. It is not strange, therefore,
that we should find good intentioned persons, among them the early
religious men--who wrote to the King and prayed for redress. [40]
In this connection, it is of interest to add that the Filipinos who
served as seamen in the galleons suffered as much as their brethren
who built the ships. [41]
It is clear now why it is that the shipbuilding industry caused many
revolts. [42] An interesting effect of the hardships suffered by the
Filipinos was the migration of many of them to New Spain, and their
settlement there. [43]
Fishing.
As, next to rice, fish formed an important part of the diet of the
Filipinos, we find them engaged in the fishing industry at the time
of discovery and conquest. Magellan and his party saw many fishing
boats near the coasts of the islands passed by them. "All the shores
of this bay (Manila) are well provided with abundant fisheries, of
all kinds." [44] The other islands were described to have many large
fisheries also. [45] The inland waters, too, furnished the inhabitants
with abundant fish supply.
Most of the devices used today for catching fish were known then to
the ancient Filipinos. "The natives' method of catching them is by
making corrals of bejucos. They catch the fish inside these corrals,
having made the enclosures fast by means of stakes. They also catch the
fish in wicker baskets made from the bejucos, but most generally with
atarrayas (a species of fishing net), esparaveles (a round fishing
net, which is jerked along by the fisher through rivers and shallow
places), other small barrederas (a net of which the meshes are closer
and tighter than those of common nets, so that the smallest fish may
not escape it), and with hand lines and hooks." [46] The salambao
was also used. [47]
Fishing for pearl oysters and other precious products of the sea was
also a developed industry at the time of discovery and conquest. These
products were exported to other countries. [48]
Mining and metal work.
The early accounts abound in glowing descriptions of the mining
wealth of this country. "In many (indeed in most) islands are found
amber and civet, and gold mines--these especially in the mountain
ranges of Pangasinan and Paracale, and in Pampanga. [49] Consequently
there was hardly any Filipino who did not possess chains and other
articles of gold, according to the chroniclers. Indeed, many of the
early settlers in the country saw no other evidence of wealth but
the mines and metals. [50]
The early Filipinos did not only know how to work mines, but also
knew the art of metal working. From the precious metals they made
jewelry and all kinds of ornaments. [51] They also used metal for
some of their weapons. [52] And the most noteworthy evidence of their
progress in working metals was their use of firearms. [53]
Chief among the industries connected with the various kinds of palms
found in the Philippines was the distillation of the sap into alcohol,
a process known to the Filipinos long before Spanish arrival. "They
draw a great quantity of wine from the palm-trees; one Indian can
in one forenoon obtain two arrobas of sap from the palm-trees that
he cultivates. It is sweet and good, and is used in making great
quantities of brandy, excellent vinegar, and delicious honey." [54]
"Their drink is a wine made from the tops of coco and nipa palm,
of which there is great abundance. They are grown and tended like
vineyards, although without so much toil and labor. Drawing off
the 'tuba,' they distilled it, using for alembics their own little
furnaces and utensils, to a greater or less strength, and it becomes
brandy. This is drunk throughout the islands." [55]
Other uses similar to those of today were made of the different parts
of the coconut and other palms. [56]
Textile industries.
Weaving was one of the industries well-known to the Filipinos long
before the coming of the Spaniards. Contemporary writers all speak
of the great quantity of cloths, especially cotton, woven in the
country. [57] Says Sande: "All know how to raise cotton and silk,
and everywhere they know how to spin and weave for clothing." [58]
Besides cotton, the fibers of the abacá or hemp plant was also used
for weaving; in fact, the latter must have been used even before
the former. [59] They wove cloths also from Piña, and from silk
imported from China. [60] The women knew the art of making lace and
of embroidery. [61]
Miscellaneous industries.
That the Filipinos first seen by the Spaniards were not wandering
savages, as commonly assumed by later day writers, is shown by the
manner in which they built their houses--which very much resembled
those of today [62],--and fixed their settlements. [63] It is from
such and other similar facts that Rizal, [64] and other writers,
[65] claimed for the early Filipinos a higher degree of culture than
they were given credit for.
Among the other industries at the time of discovery and conquest
were: the manufacture of gun-powder; hunting for edible birds' nests,
and exporting them to China; preparing hides, especially of deer,
for export to Japan. [66] "As they possess many civet cats, although
smaller than those of Guinea, they make use of the civet and trade
it. [67] They also carved the statues of their anitos." [68]
Conclusion.
To quote Rizal, "All the histories of those first years, in short,
abound in long accounts about the industry and agriculture of
the natives. Mines, gold-washings, looms, farms, barter, naval
construction, raising of poultry and stock, weaving of silk and
cotton, distilleries, manufactures of arms, pearl fisheries, the civet
industry, the horn and hide industry, etc., are things encountered
at every step, and, considering the time and the conditions in the
islands, prove that there was life, there was activity, there was
movement." [69]
Other evidences could be presented to strengthen the conclusion
advanced here. [70]
The only question that remains to be answered is that asked by Rizal:
"How then, and in what way, was that active and enterprising infidel
native of ancient times converted into the lazy and indolent Christian,
as our contemporary writers say?" In connection with the discussion
of ancient industries we had occasion to see that the Filipinos had
neglected and even forgotten many such industries. Of this fact there
is plenty of reliable proof. [71]
What were the causes that led to the decay of these old
industries? "First came the wars, the internal disorders which
the new change of affairs naturally brought with it." [72] Then, as
already pointed out, the effect of shipbuilding was fatal to the very
lives of the people. [73] Add to these the abuses practiced by the
encomenderos, and it is easy to understand the reason for the decline
of the industries at the time. [74] However, in this connection, the
benefits arising out of Spanish conquest should not be forgotten. [75]
III. TRADE AND COMMERCE AT THE TIME OF DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST
Centuries before Spanish discovery the Filipinos were in regular
intercourse with the neighboring countries of China, Japan, Borneo,
and others. In the work of Chao Ju-kua, a Chinese geographer of
the thirteenth century, there is a chapter on Philippine trade,
from which we learn that the "foreign traders import porcelain,
commercial gold, iron vases for perfumes, leaden objects, glass,
pearls of all colors, iron needles," [76] black damask, and other silk
fabrics, fish nets, and tin, and also silk umbrellas, and a kind of
basket woven from rattan. In exchange, the Filipinos exported cotton
(perhaps the "kapok" or tree cotton), yellow wax, strange cloth
(foreign cloth: sinamay, a light fabric made from abacá,--and other
textiles of the country.--Blumentritt's note), coconuts, onions,
(camotes?--Blumentritt's note), and fine mats; also pearls, shells
(i. e., tortoise-shell.--Blumentritt's note), betelnuts, and jute
(yuta) textiles. (Yu-ta seems to be the abacá.--Blumentritt's
note). [77]
Domestic trade.
The first Spaniards who came to the Philippines observed a lively
commercial intercourse, not only among the peoples of the different
islands, but also with the near-by countries. [78] The chief method
of exchange was by means of barter, [79] though oftentimes gold dust
was used.
With the coming of the Spaniards, domestic trade was upset. First
of all, restrictions were imposed upon trade; communication between
the villages was restrained. [80] Though later ordinances allowed
freedom of commerce between villages and provinces, [81] the spirit
of restriction predominated until modern times. [82]
Then, the government officials, though in many decrees and ordinances
prohibited to engage in trade, [83] used their position as a means
of gaining profits in trade. [84] This evil prevailed till later
days. [85] However, as seen by Dr. Tavera, trading by the officials
was not without its good effect. [86]
Trade relations with oriental countries.
The coming of the Spaniards opened a new market to the products of
the Orient, and Manila soon became the great distributing center of
the East. [87] "The merchants and business men form the bulk of the
residents of the islands, because of the great amount of merchandise
brought there--outside of native products--from China, Japan, Maluco,
Malacca, Siam, Cambojia, Borneo, and other districts." [88]
From China, from thirty to forty ships sailed every year usually
in March, and reached Manila in fifteen or twenty days; here the
traders sold their goods, and, with the exception of some of the
larger dealers, returned towards the end of May or during the first
days of June, in order to avoid the stormy season. Morga gives a
detailed list of the goods imported from China. [89]
The merchandise brought by the Chinese were unloaded into champans
(bancas), and taken to the Parian (Chinese quarter), or to other houses
and magazines outside of the city, and there freely sold. No Spaniard,
Sangley (Chinese trader), or any other person was allowed to go to the
ship to buy or trade merchandise, food, or anything else. The purchase
price was paid in silver and reals, for the Sangleys did not want gold,
or any other articles, and would not take other things to China.
From Nagasaki, Japan, came Japanese and Portuguese merchants, who
brought excellent wheat-flour and highly prized salt meats. [90]
The bulk of the merchandise was used in the country. Returning to
Japan, during the months of June and July, they carried with them
raw Chinese silk, gold, deerskin, and brazil-wood for their dyes;
also honey, manufactured wax, palm and Castilian wine, civet-cats,
large tibors in which to store their tea, glass, cloth, and other
curiosities from Spain.
From the Moluccas, Malacca, and India, the Portuguese imported many
articles, [91] and in return took with them to the Moluccas rice,
wine, crockery-ware, and other wares needed there; to Malacca, gold
and money, besides a few special trinkets and curiosities from Spain,
and emeralds.
Smaller vessels belonging to natives of Borneo also came to Manila,
bringing well-made palm-mats, a few slaves, sago, and tibors; large
and small jars, and excellent camphor; these articles were bought
more by the Filipinos than by the Spaniards. The Borneans took with
them wine and rice, cotton cloth, and other wares of the Philippines.
"Very seldom a few vessels came from Siam and Camboja, carrying
'benzoin, ivory, and cotton cloth; rubies and sapphires, badly cut
and set; a few slaves; rhinoceros horns, and the hides, hoofs, and
teeth of this animal; and other goods.'" [92]
It was the goods that were imported into Manila by the Oriental
traders, especially the Chinese, that formed the bulk of the
commerce between the Philippines and New Spain. The only products
of Philippine industry dealt with in the so-called galleon trade
were gold, cotton cloth, mendriñaque, and cakes of white and yellow
wax. [93] By buying from the Oriental traders their merchandise, and
sending them to Mexico, the Spaniards in the Philippines made fabulous
profits. It is due to this trade that those engaged in it amassed
great wealth in a short time, and Manila became a great distributing
center of the East. [94] The prosperity of Manila during the first
years after the conquest is attributed to the fact that commerce was
then unrestrained. [95] To the same cause was due the settlement of
many Chinese and Japanese and other Orientals in the country. [96]
To say, however, that the later restrictions upon commerce killed
off all prosperity, would not be justified. [97]
IV. TRADE AND COMMERCE: THE PERIOD OF RESTRICTIONS
Hardly had wealth been created by the commerce of the first years
after the conquest, when the policy of restriction found its strong
supporters in the merchants of Cadiz and Seville, who, accustomed to
monopolize the trade with America, looked with jealous eyes upon the
rapidly growing prosperity of Manila, the new center of trade. The
cotton and silk cloths from China were underselling in Mexico those
coming from Spain and Peru, and a good deal of the silver was going,
not to Spain, but to the East; hence, the long drawn-out rivalry
between Manila, on the one hand, and Cadiz, and Seville, on the other,
with America as a third party, also working for her own interest. This
commercial activity was the phenomenon which dominated the Philippines
for over two centuries, and had such marked influence upon its whole
economic development.
Before giving the various decrees passed from time to time to
regulate this commerce, it is advisable to discuss the arguments
advanced by the two sides. The Spanish merchants contended that
the competition of goods coming from the East would destroy the
manufactures on the Peninsula; and, further, that the sending of
silver to the Orient, would drain the supply available for Spain, and,
therefore, in accordance with the mercantilist doctrine, should be
prevented. Manila answered by saying that the goods that she exported
to New Spain were different from those coming from Spain; therefore,
there was really no competition between them. In other words, the
demand for either kind of goods was separate from, and independent
of, the demand for the other. [98] Other arguments were advanced to
prove that Manila should be treated with consideration; the driving
out of the Dutch from the Moluccas by the Philippine government,
[99] the preservation of the missionary conquests in the Far East,
[100] and the maintenance of the prestige of the Spanish crown, [101]
all of these would result from the maintenance of the Philippines,
by making it possible for her to support herself with the galleon
trade. These, added to the fact that the trade with New Spain was
not so profitable as commonly reported [102] on account of the many
perils involved in it, entitled Manila to a more liberal treatment.
Restrictions.
The continued protests of the Spanish merchants finally led to the
prohibition of the shipment from New Spain to Perú or Tierra-Firme
of Chinese cloths brought from the Philippines. [103] "And in order
that what was prohibited in one way might not be obtained in another,
decrees were despatched on February 6 and December 18, 1591, ordering
the total cessation of commerce between the islands and Perú. That
was later extended to Tierra-Firme and Guatimala, by decrees of
January 12, 1593, and July 5, 1595, forbidding the trade of China
and its merchandise to all the Indias, except to Nueva España, which
was left open to the Philippines." [104] In 1593 a decree absolutely
limited the trade between Mexico and the Philippines to 250,000 pesos
annually for the exports to Mexico, and to 500,000 pesos for the
imports from Mexico, [105] to be carried in two ships not to exceed
three hundred tons burden. [106] It was also decreed that "no person
trade or traffic in the kingdom or in any part of China, and that
no goods be shipped from that kingdom to the Philippine Islands, on
the account of the merchants of those islands. The Chinese themselves
shall convey their goods at their own account and risk, and sell them
there by wholesale." [107] Further, it was ordered that "the Chinese
merchandise and articles which have been and shall be shipped from
Filipinas to Nueva España, can and shall be consumed there only,
or shipped to these kingdoms after paying the duties. They can not
be taken to Perú, Tierra-Firme, or any other part of the Indias,
under penalty of confiscation...." [108]
"Fortunately," says Azcarraga, [109] "that tyrannical provision,
meeting with the opposition of the private interests, which it
so greatly injured, and among which were included those of the
authorities and officials who were called upon to enforce it--was
prevented from being carried in force, and thus, in reality, the
Acapulco trade continued unlimited until the year 1604, when, by
another decree the enforcement of previous laws was ordered." [110]
However, evasion of the law was a common practice, and the galleons
usually carried very much more cargo than was allowed. The abuses
became so apparent that in 1635, at the instigation of the merchants
of Cadiz and Seville, a special commissioner was sent to Manila, [111]
who strictly enforced the law. And, in order to prevent all evasions
of the law, it was decreed in 1636 to the viceroys of Perú and New
Spain "to prohibit and suppress, without fail, this commerce and
trade between both kingdoms, by all the ways and means possible." [112]
The rest of the seventeenth century found Manila still engaged in a
great commercial controversy with the merchants of Spain; the endless
number of petitions sent from the Philippines to the king bears ample
testimony to the magnitude of the problem. [113]
Further petition from Manila resulted in the decreeing in 1702 that in
the Philippine Islands two ships should be built, each of 500 toneladas
burden, which should transport the goods permitted to that trade; that
the citizens should be authorized to convey in these to Nueva España
the amount of 300,000 pesos in their products and other commodities,
and on the return to the Philippines to carry 600,000 pesos in silver,
allowing 100 per cent gain minus the duties and expenses. [114] It was
further provided in the decree that in the enumeration of the traders
should be included the Spaniards in the country, and the military men
stationed in the port of Cavite, excluding, however, ecclessiatical
ministers, whether secular or regular, and foreigners. [115] And
he who had no goods to lade was not allowed to give up his right in
favor of a third person, but a new distribution was made. [116]
Induced by protests by Cadiz and Seville based on the ground that the
galleons carried more cargo than allowed, and that the great abundance
of silk in America had caused the decrease of the textile industry,
thus causing the decline of factories in Toledo, Valencia, Seville,
and Granada, a royal decree of January 8, 1718, prohibited the carrying
in the galleon of silk, woven or raw, from China. [117] The only trade
which could be carried on was in linen goods, porcelain, wax, cinnamon,
cloves, and other goods which were not brought from Spain. [118]
More petitions came from Manila, and, finally, a royal decree of
June 17, 1724, repealed that of 1720, and allowed once more the
importation of Chinese silk. [119] An attempt on the part of the
Viceroy of Mexico to put a stop to the importation of Chinese silk
resulted in the royal decree of April 8, 1734, which, besides allowing
trade in silk, increased the amount of the trade permitted to Manila
to 500,000 pesos of investment and 1,000,000 of returns. [120]
The galleon trade continued during the rest of the eighteenth century,
until 1811 when the last galleon sailed from Manila, and 1815, when
the final return voyage was made. The next period in the history of
Philippine commerce is characterized by the opening of the country
to foreign influence.
Before, however, going into the next period let us see who were
entitled to participate in the galleon trade. The right to ship was
known as boleta or ticket, and there were as many boletas as divisions
in the ship. On the average there were 1,500 such divisions, each
worth from 200 to 225 pesos, a good portion of which were given to
the governor-general, the religious corporations, the regidores, the
favorites and privileged, and the widows of retired Spaniards. Those
who had no capital to invest in merchandise sold their boletas to the
merchants, and in spite of prohibition, this practice continued with
impunity. The cargo consisted chiefly of Chinese and Indian silk and
cotton cloths, and gold ornaments, and were sold at one hundred per
cent profit in New Spain. [121] Almost all the merchants secured
loans from the "Obras Pias," [122] which were funds donated for
pious purposes, and two-thirds of which loaned at the following rate
of interest: for Acapulco, fifty per cent; for China, twenty-five
per cent; for India, thirty-five per cent; the rest of the funds
formed the reserve. Besides the merchandise and silver the galleons
transported the official correspondence, arms, troops, missionaries,
and public officials. The officers of the galleon were highly paid. The
commander, who had the title of general, made 40,000 pesos per voyage,
the pilot about 20,000, [123] and the mates, 9,000 each. Most of the
crew were natives. [124]
Effects of the galleon trade
What were the effects of the Manila-Acapulco trade upon the economic
growth of the Philippines? There are two answers to this question. On
the one hand, those who believe that the policy of restriction was
necessary in order to protect the industries of Spain, of course,
say that such policy was beneficial. Furthermore, it is alleged
that no other economic activity could have been possible during the
early part of Spanish domination because, at the time, there were
no products of the country which would serve as the basis of a rich
and flourishing commerce; there was no capital sufficient to exploit
the natural resources of the Philippines. And to show that Manila
was benefited by acting as a distributing point of Oriental goods,
the prosperity of Singapore and Hongkong is cited; what prosperity
would these cities enjoy if it were not for the fact that they act
as entrepots of the East? [125] The very retention of the Philippines
depended upon its ability to support itself in part, and the profits
from the trade as a whole made that possible.
On the other hand, the galleon trade absorbed too much of the attention
of the Spaniards, [126] and caused the neglect of Philippine extractive
industries, especially agriculture. [127] It attracted the Spaniards
into Manila, and, thus, left the rest of the country without the
benefit of whatever good they could have done; and in Cebu, the point
was reached when, at one time, there was not a sufficient number of
persons to fill the offices of alcalde and regidores, and it was
necessary to assign to the city a few boletas from Manila. [128]
Lastly, it enriched only the few, [129] and the resulting economic
depression checked the growth of population. [130]
Not everything, however, is to be attributed to the influence of the
galleon trade; a good deal of the neglect of the country's natural
resources was due to Spanish dislike of industrial activity. Azcarraga
explains that characteristic by saying that the eight centuries
of continuous struggle to drive out the Moors from Spain created a
chivalrous spirit and a love of risky undertakings; the discovery of
the New World furnished a wide sphere of action to that adventurous
spirit, and the resulting emigration to the newly discovered lands
depopulated the Peninsula to such an extent that labor could be
had neither for the factories nor for agriculture. "The current of
precious metals flowing into Spain from the mines of Mexico and Perú
fascinated the Spaniards; created easy-going and indolent habits;
held them off the mechanical arts, formerly called servile, and all
desired to gird the word and enjoy the spoils of conquest." [131]
This was the real cause of the decadence of Spanish industries, and
not, as alleged by the monopolists of Spain, the competition of the
Manila-Acapulco trade. With such causes operating to check development,
it is no wonder that Philippine industries were in a primitive state
down to the last years of Spanish domination.
V. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Towards the close of the eighteenth century there were events which
indicated the coming of greater liberty. Direct communication was
established in 1765 between Manila and Spain by means of a warship
which was to sail annually from Cadiz, with European goods, and to
come back loaded, not only with the products of the Philippines,
but also with Oriental merchandise, including goods from China and
Japan. However, the innovation was not well received in Manila, due
perhaps to the monopolistic habit of the merchants, and, in 1783,
these annual voyages were discontinued. [132]
The coming of Governor José de Basco y Vargas marked a new era in the
economic history of the country, for two important events happened
during his term: the establishment of the Sociedad Económica de
Amigos del Pais, in 1781, and of the Real Compañía de Filipinas,
in 1785. These may be considered to be the most serious attempts
of Spain throughout her rule, to develop the natural resources of
the Philippines.
The Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País.
Basco's idea was to make the Philippines economically self-sufficing,
and not dependent on Mexico. For this reason, he encouraged the
development of agriculture by offering prizes to those who would
excel in the cultivation of cotton, spices, sugar and silk; those who
would open up the various kinds of mines; those who invented useful
things, and those who excelled in the arts and sciences. Likewise, he
issued circulars and pamphlets explaining the method of cultivating
the different Philippine crops. In order to get the community's
co-operation in carrying out his economic plan, he induced the King
to issue a decree establishing the Economic Society. In spite of
serious opposition on the part of many, the society was auspiciously
inaugurated in 1782. It seemed, however, as if Basco's ideas were
too advanced for his time, for the society led a declining life up
to 1822. A memoir published by the Society [133], and containing
a list of its achievements, shows its activity to have consisted of
discussions of economic subjects; the publication of pamphlets dealing
with the cultivation of coffee, sugar, indigo, silk, gutta-percha,
hemp, cacao, and other plants; the offering of prizes to persons who
succeeded in weaving cloths, making dyes, inventing hemp-stripping
machines, and contributing other useful things to agriculture;
and the introduction of agricultural implements of various kinds
from the United States. The Society lived for over a century, till
1890. Another means resorted to by Basco to free the Philippines from
its dependence on Mexico was the establishment of the tobacco monopoly
by the government. This proved to be a good source of revenue, and,
at the same time, was instrumental in bringing into cultivation
large tracts of land. However, the evils attending it were many;
the abuses of the government officials in enforcing the regulations,
and in trying to make profits for themselves; the lack of incentive
on the part of the producer to improve the quality of his tobacco;
the existence of smuggling and bribery, and the poverty of the farmer;
all these were attributed to the tobacco monopoly. [134]
The Royal Company.
The second important event during Basco's rule was the establishment
of the "Real Compañía de Filipinas" by royal decrece of March 10,
1785. The capital of the company was fixed at eight million pesos
divided into 32,000 shares of two hundred and fifty pesos each;
the king bought four thousand shares, and the citizens of Manila
were allowed three thousand. The chief object of the company was
to establish commercial relations among the different colonies,
and also between the colonies and Spain; to supply Manila with the
products of Europe, and, in return, to carry to Spain not only the
products of the Philippines, but also the merchandise coming from the
Oriental countries. The second important object was the encouragement
of Philippine agriculture, as shown in section four of the charter,
which required the company to invest four per cent. of its net profits
in some extractive industries, chiefly agriculture. In order to help
the company, all the laws and decrees which prohibited the importation
of Oriental cloths into Spain, were repealed, and the products of the
Philippines were exempted from all kinds of duties both in Manila and
in Spain. Furthermore, the merchants of Manila were allowed to go
to the Asiatic ports for trade, and the Chinese who came to Manila
were allowed to trade freely without subjecting themselves to any
restrictions. However, the old Manila-Acapulco trade was not to be
disturbed, for the company could not send ships to Acapulco.
The company encouraged the production of silk, [135] indigo,
[136] sugar, [137] cotton, [138] and especially of pepper and other
spices. For this purpose it bought lands, established posts in Ilocos,
Bataan, Cavite, and Camarines, and offered prizes. It also gave
stimulus to manufacturing by establishing textile factories.
In spite of the special protection and privileges granted to the
company, it declined from year to year. In 1805 it was rechartered,
and given fifteen years of life and the same privileges as before;
its capital was fixed at twelve and a half million pesos divided
into shares of two hundred and fifty pesos each; foreigners were
allowed to own shares; and the ships were allowed to sail directly
from the Asiatic ports without stopping at Manila; and finally the
three-year privilege, [139] allowed to foreigners at the request
of the company in 1789, of importing into Manila Asiatic goods, and
exporting the products of the country, was made perpetual. In 1830
its privileges were revoked, and Manila was left open to foreign
commerce and navigation.
What were the causes that led to the ill success of the Royal
Company? Among the minor causes mentioned was the indifference
of the residents of the Philippines; for, as Zuñiga says, [140]
"taught to gain in New Spain what is necessary for their comfort,
without any more work than sending a memorial once every year, it is
hard for them to engage in a commerce which is servile and vexatious;
and, accustomed to exorbitant profits, they cannot adapt themselves
to the gradual profits in a store; * * *. Furthermore, the company
neglected to import the goods from Europe, such as wines and groceries,
which the foreign ships brought at great profit."
It also failed to establish direct trade relations with China and
India, but depended solely on buying the goods which were brought
there by the Chinese and other foreign traders; hence, it had to pay
higher prices for the Oriental goods it sent to Europe. The company,
too, overestimated the importance of certain Philippine products,
especially spices, which were produced much more cheaply in Sumatra and
Java. Though allowed to invest only four per cent of its net profits in
agriculture during the first years of its existence, it invested great
sums in buying lands, made advances to the producers; in other words,
it engaged in much speculation, which proved disastrous. It also gave
premature attention to the development of manufacturing. The chief
cause, however, of the failure of the company was the fact that it
was not given control of the Manila-Acapulco trade, which continued
to absorb the attention of the very men, who, because of experience
in the country, would have helped the Company during its formative
years. [141]
According to Dr. Tavera, the Royal Company introduced capital, which
was essential for economic development. [142]
The opening of the ports.
Even before the coming of Basco, the taking of Manila by the English
in 1762 had a good economic effect, for it acquainted England with
the natural resources of the Philippines, and the possibilities for
material development. [143] Perhaps as a result of the information
thus gained, we find an English commercial house obtaining permission
to establish itself in Manila in 1809. And in 1814, probably due to
the liberalizing influence of the war of independence just closed in
Spain, it was stipulated that all colonial ports still restricted
should be opened to foreign traffic, and that foreigners should be
allowed to enter, and engage in commercial activities; thus was swept
away the restrictive colonial policy, which had prevailed among the
European nations, and which Spain was the very last to abandon. In the
beginning, however, there was need of special royal permission for each
foreign house established. Later on the permission of the Governor
General only sufficed. [144] An earlier edict of the Philippine
government, repeated in 1828 and again in 1840, forbade foreigners to
sell at retail or to enter the provinces to carry on business of any
kind. [145] In 1842 there were in Manila thirty-nine Spanish shipping
and commercial houses, and about a dozen foreign houses, of which seven
or eight were English, two were Americans, one was French, and another
Danish, while consuls of France, the United States, Denmark, Sweden,
and Belgium resided there. [146] By about 1859, according to Bowring,
there were in Manila seven English, three American, two French, two
Swiss, and one German commercial establishments; and in the other
ports, there was no European business house, except one in Iloilo,
where there was an English firm of which the British vice-consul was
the directing partner. [147]
Once Manila was opened, the advocates of greater freedom did not rest
content with only one free port, because there were great difficulties
in connection with the exportation of products from the places far
from Manila. The products of the Ilocano provinces, southern Luzon,
and the Visayas, and even Mindanao, had all to be taken to Manila,
and from there, exported. Thus, the system entailed unnecessary risks,
waste of time, and extra expense. [148] Accordingly, at the request
of the government of the Philippines, Royal Order of September 29,
1855, approved the opening of the ports of Sual (Pangasinan), Iloilo,
and Zamboanga. And lastly, by Royal Decree of July 30, 1860, Cebu,
which up to that time was obliged to send her products for exportation
either to Manila or Iloilo, was opened.
Effects of the opening of the ports.
Taking the increase of exports as an indication of greater agricultural
and commercial activity, we find that, with the opening of the ports,
exports increased; and these now consisted of the products of the
country, instead of manufactured goods brought from elsewhere in the
Orient. [149] By 1839, the Philippines exported 2,674,220 pesos of her
own products, as against 500,000 pesos in 1810. [150] Sugar in 1782,
was the only product which was attracting any attention, because at the
time, thirty-thousand piculs of it had been exported; in 1840, 146,661
piculs were exported; in 1854 the amount had increased to 566,371,
almost four times greater than in 1840; and in 1857 the amount reached
714,059 piculs. [151] Similarly, the amount of hemp exported increased,
in spite of the fact that it found its way in the world's market for
the first time only in the early part of the nineteenth century. [152]
The same effect that was observed in connection with the opening of
Manila followed that of the other ports. The production of the regions
around the new ports increased as shown by export statistics, and
commercial activity was stimulated, as shown in the greater movement
of ships. For example, Sual in 1857 sent abroad twelve ships with rice,
and two hundred and twenty-five ships to Manila, also loaded with rice;
in 1860, sixty ships went abroad, and one hundred and seventy-two
to Manila, loaded mostly with the same cargo. Again, although in the
first three or four years there were no marked increase in her exports,
Iloilo by 1859 began to show signs of increasing productivity. [153]
Its total value of exports, which in 1858 amounted to 82,000 pesos,
had increased to 1,000,000 pesos in 1863.
Furthermore, the opening of Iloilo encouraged production in the
island of Negros. Previous to the new era the conditions there were
described thus: "... before the happy event that we are considering,
that island was uncultivated, thinly populated, and above all, without
any kind of production to keep commerce alive; besides the Governor,
the Alcalde mayor, and the curates sent by the religious orders,
there were no other Spaniards; only one European, a French doctor by
the name of Gaston, had settled there, cultivating sugar cane, and
now and then sending some cargoes to Manila. [154] Again, Jagor tells
us that in 1857 there was not one iron mill to be found on the island;
and that in working with the wooden mill, about 30% of the sap remained
in the cane, even after it had been thrice passed through. However,
the old wooden presses were disappearing, and were being supplanted
by iron mills run by steam or carabao. These mills the natives had no
difficulty in obtaining because they could get them on credit from
the warehouses of the English importers. Instead of the old Chinese
cast-iron pans which were in use, far superior articles had been
imported from Europe; and many large factories worked by steam power
and with all modern improvements had been established. In agriculture,
likewise, great progress was noticeable. Improved plows, carts, and
good farming implements generally were to be had in plenty. [155]
After the opening, the 4,000 piculs of sugar produced in Negros in
1856 had increased to 100,000 in 1864 for exportation; there were
25 Europeans in the same year, 7 machines run by steam in the towns
of Bacolod, Minuluan, and Bago, and 45 run by animal power. Similar
advance characterized the other parts of the islands. [156]
The increased production, due to the improved methods of cultivation,
had a great effect on the inhabitants of the islands, for, not only did
it bring about greater welfare because of more adequate satisfaction
of their necessities, but also because it developed a demand for other
necessities; hence, raising the standard of living. Referring to the
same phenomenon in Iloilo Mr. Loney in a report as vice-consul of Great
Britain, said that the current testimony of all the elder residents
in the province was that during the last few years a very marked
change had taken place in the dress and general exterior appearance
of the inhabitants of the large pueblos, owing in great measure to
the comparative facility with which they obtained articles which
were formerly either not imported, or the price of which placed them
beyond their reach. In the interior of the houses the same change was
observable in the furniture and other arrangements, and the evident
wish to add ornamental to the more necessary articles of household
use. [157]
And since the opening of the ports, a great many people, especially
mestizos, who before traded in manufactured goods purchased in Manila,
abandoned their business, and, unable to compete with the Chinese
dealers, had betaken themselves to the raising of sugar, and other
products to the great benefit of the country. [158] And, thus, the
greater exploitation of natural resources gave rise to the demand for
better means of communication, [159] and other material improvements.
The material progress of the Filipinos wrought great changes in
the social population, mind, and structure. Though not affecting
the majority of the people, economic advance paved the way for
the development of the spirit of independence and criticism, which
characterizes an independent and stable middle class. It was that
class, which, because of contact with the new ideas brought by the
newcomers, and of increasing material power, first questioned the
abuses of the government, and demanded social reforms. [160]
Furthermore, the law that all the energy in the growth and activity of
a population is derived from the physical world, and hence, density of
population is dependent on material progress, is well illustrated by
the increase of population in this country during the last century,
especially its first half. [161] In turn, density of population made
possible further social progress. [162]
Conclusion.
Why is it that writers attribute great significance to the coming of
the foreign business men, especially the American and British? [163]
Why was it that the opening of the ports, and the coming of the
foreigners, resulted in the material progress of the country? Two
circumstances are of prime importance in considering the growth of
new settlements, and the conditions determining their economic and
social progress. The first is whether or not they possess markets
for commodities which their natural resources enable the people to
produce easily. This condition is important for, without markets in
other communities new countries can possess no material advantage over
old ones in the production of wealth. Now, the opening of Philippine
ports to foreigners brought our products in contact with the world's
market, without which it would have been useless to attempt to produce
any more than what was required by the local demand. In other words,
the world's demand for the commodities we produce easily, served as
an effective stimulus to further production.
The second circumstance affecting the growth of a new country is
the extent to which the people are able to secure the co-operation
of capital from older communities to assist them. There are several
ways by which capital may co-operate in the development of a new
territory. The first is, where capital in the form of stocks of
commodities of all kinds is advanced or sold upon credit by the
commercial houses. This has been used in this country. The example of
Mr. Nicholas Loney, an Englishman, agreeing to be paid for his sugar
machineries with the increased earnings due to the use, by the Filipino
planters, of such machines, is a good illustration of how foreign
capital could be utilized to advantage by all parties concerned. On
the one hand, the planter improved his method of cultivation,
thereby increasing his produce, and, on the other, the foreign
merchant sold more of his imported machineries, and exported more of
the products of the Philippines to his country. [164] Furthermore,
labor is not without some benefit, for the payment of higher wages is
then possible. The second way by which capital may co-operate is by
providing transportation facilities to connect a new country with the
markets, and especially with those so necessary to its prosperity;
for example, by organizing steamboat companies, building important
roads, and, above all, constructing railroads. This also was done
in this country; the building of the Manila-Dagupan railroad, for
example, has had a remarkable influence upon the economic progress
of the provinces through which it passed.
Thus is explained why it is that the opening of the Philippines to
the outside world caused great social changes.
II. THE FILIPINOS' PART IN THE PHILIPPINES' PAST
Pre-Spanish Philippine History
A. D. 43-1565
Pre-Spanish Philippine History during the first years of the
conversion-conquest was tabooed because of its pagan and infidel
associations. Whatever had to do with the past, the many records
there must have been in a land where literacy is reported to have been
general, was religiously destroyed by the missionaries. Likewise the
converts, and it was almost an unanimous conversion, were exhorted
to banish from their memories all traditions and recollections as
they valued their immortal souls. Thus was repeated, on a much larger
scale and more effectively, the Christianizing of England's Saxons.
The possibility of classical references to the archipelago had at
first to be generally ignored, even had the early European comers
been educated men, which for the most part they were not. Spain's
occupation was based on discovery from the New World and it would
have been considered like championing Portugal's rival claims to
circulate accounts of earlier Asiatic associations.
The contempt in which the Chinese were held acted to prevent much
mention of their former knowledge of the islands though scanty
references, apparently unwittingly, have occasionally crept into some
of the first chronicles.
Similarly a prejudice consequent upon the 1762-3 occupation of Manila
banned English histories of the Indian Archipelago. Then during the
last decades of Spain's final century of rule her apologists sought to
minimize the lamentable lack of progress since the first few decades
by ascribing savagery to the people Legaspi found.
A suggestion of the antagonism to historical research appears in the
frequent assertions of Spanish writers from 1888 to 1898 that the
only Philippine history was the chapter of Spanish history dealing
with Spain in the Philippines. More emphatic proof is the bitter
criticism of the early Spanish historian Morga whose 1609 "Events
in the Philippines" Doctor Rizal was blamed for republishing. That
Spaniards were not ignorant of the Philippines' past may be proved by
Raimundo Geler, who, in a book issued in Madrid during the liberal
régime of 1869, made a brief summary of what foreign writers had
gleaned from Arabian sources about the early Filipinos, but with the
return of the Bourbon dynasty to power he had to withdraw his work from
circulation till the claim is made that only a single copy remains.
Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt, the Austrian professor, seems to have
pioneered in applying modern critical methods to extract the
true narrative from conflicting early authorities, in the later
1880s. Isabelo de los Reyes, a Filipino born in the Ilocos provinces,
tried to make deductions to fill out this narrative and supplemented
it with materials from folk-lore. Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera, another
Filipino, sought the aid of philology, dealing with the considerable
Sanscrit element in the local dialects. To Juan Luna, also a Filipino,
belongs the credit for the first essays in Philippine historical
paintings, for he availed himself of European museums to depict his
characters in the real costumes of their times. And Mariano Ponce,
in the Filipino students' Madrid review La Solidaridad, popularized
the chief events and prominent personalities of the conquest period.
Dr. José Rizal, greatest of all Filipinos, however, excelled all
the rest. His is the first history from the Filipino view point (to
be found in The Philippines a Century Hence, The Indolence of the
Filipinos, and his annotations to Morga's History). His was the first
systematic work by a Filipino in zoology, philology, and ethnology as
aids to history; and as well his was the earliest Filipino interest
in the Chinese records referring to these Islands. It was in 1887,
in Dresden, Germany, that Rizal conferred with Dr. A. B. Meyer and
Professor Blumentritt on the Chua Ju-Kua account of Manila in the
middle of the thirteenth century which had just been translated
by Dr. Friedrich Hirth, an extract from the work begun in 1885 and
continuing over ten years.
PRE-HISTORIC CIVILIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES
By Elsdon Best
(Polynesian Society, Journal, Vol. 1)
When a powerful and highly civilized nation comes in contact with
a barbaric and isolated people, who have nevertheless advanced many
steps on the road of progress, it would naturally be thought that the
superior and conquering race would endeavor to collect and place on
record information concerning such people: their manners, customs,
language, religion, and traditions. Unfortunately, in the case
of the Spanish conquests of the XVI century, that nation appears
never to have considered it a duty to hand down to posterity any
detailed description of the singularly interesting races they had
vanquished. As it was with the Gaunches of the Canaries, the Aztecs
of Mexico, and the Quichuas of Peru, so was it with the Chamorro of
the Ladrones, and the Tagalog-Bisayan tribes of the Philippines. The
same vandal spirit that prompted the conquistadores to destroy the
Maya and Aztec literature also moved them to demolish the written
records of the Philippine natives, and but few attempts were made to
preserve relics or information concerning them. The Spanish priests,
as the lettered men of those times, were the persons we should look
to for such a work, but in their religious ardor they thought only
of the subjugation and conversion of the natives, and so, with the
sword in one hand and crucifix in the other, they marched through
that fair land ignoring and destroying the evidences of a strange
semi-civilization which should have been to them a study of the
deepest interest. Fortunately, however, there were a few in that
period who were interested in such matters, and who wrote accounts
of the state of culture of the islanders of that early date. Some
of these MSS. have been preserved in the archives of Manila and have
lately attracted the attention of Spanish scholars.
Such is the article from which the greater part of these notes is
taken. In the volume for 1891 of the Revista Ibero-Americana, published
at Madrid, there appeared a series of papers contributed by the Bishop
of Oviedo, and entitled La antigua civilización de las Islas Filipinas,
in which he gives a very interesting description of the natives and
their mode of life. The source of this information is an old folio
manuscript written on rice-paper in the year 1610 from data collected
at the period of the Spanish conquest of the Philippines by Legaspi. It
is extended to the year 1606, and relates minutely the condition of
the islanders prior to the arrival of the Spanish. The codex is divided
into five books, and these again into 183 capitulos, or chapters. The
writer lived in the group for twenty-nine years in order to complete
his work, which is authorised by authentic signatures of responsible
persons. Extracts have also been made from Miguel de Loarca's account
of the Philippines written in 1583, Dampier's voyage in the Pinkerton
collection, and Antonio de Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.
The first historical existence of the Malay proper is traced to
Menangkabau in the Island of Sumatra, from whence they have spread
over the islands of the East India Archipelago, and by their vigor,
energy and skill have made themselves masters of the original
inhabitants. At an early period they probably received instruction
from Hindoo immigrants in the arts of working metals, spinning,
weaving, etc. As to the whence of the various Malayan tribes of
the Philippines, it is most probable that they originally reached
the Archipelago from Borneo, or the Malay Peninsula. From northern
Borneo the Sulu islands form a series of stepping stones across
to Mindanao. As the Tagalog language is looked upon as one of the
purest of Malay dialects, and contains the least number of Sanscrit
words, it may be inferred from this that the race has occupied the
islands from an early date. It is possible that the first settlers
were carried thither by ocean currents, and that the Kuro Siwo, or
Black Current, which sweeps up past Luzon, is also responsible for
the existence of the Kabaran (a Malay tribe) in Formosa. From ancient
times boats and men have drifted up from the Malay Islands to Japan,
and W. E. F. Griffis, in his "Mikado's Empire," states that Shikoku
and Kiushiu were inhabited by a mixed race descended from a people who
had come from Malaysia and southeast Asia. It is most probable that
Micronesia was settled from the Philippine Group, which thus became
the meeting ground of the northern migration of Polynesians from Samoa,
and the Micronesians proper. The Spanish codex before mentioned states
that the Tagalog-Bisayan tribes were thought to be derived from the
coast of Malabar and Malacca, and that, according to tradition, they
arrived at the islands in small vessels called barangayan under the
direction of dato or maguinoo (chiefs or leaders), who retained their
chieftainship after the landing as the basis of a social organization
of a tribal kind, and that every barangay (district or tribal division)
was composed of about fifty families. Nothing definite appears to
have been obtained from their traditions as to the original habitat
of the race, and this may be accounted for by the supposition that
the migration occurred at a remote period, and that all knowledge of
their former home was lost. When a migratory race takes possession of
new regions it maintains little or no correspondence with those left
behind; thus in time they forget their old habitations, and their
geographical knowledge is reduced to obscure and fading traditions.
On arriving at their new home the invaders must have ejected the
indigenous Aieta from the low-lying country, and driven them back
into the mountains. Juan de Salcedo, the Cortes of the Philippines,
in his triumphal march round the island of Luzon, was unable to
conquer many of the hill tribes, both Aieta and Tagalog, some of
whom have remained independent until the present time. The Spanish
Government forbade all intercourse with these mountaineers, on pain
of one hundred lashes and two years' imprisonment, and this edict
had the effect of preserving the ruder, non-agricultural hill-races.
This invading race of Malays was divided into many different tribes,
the principal ones being the Tagalog of Luzon and the Bisayan of the
southern isles. The Tagalog, or Ta-Galoc, were the most numerous,
and were endowed with all the valor and politeness which can be
expected in a semi-civilized people. The Pampangan and Camarine tribes
were noted for their generosity. The Cagayans were a brave people,
but easily civilized. The Bisayans were also called Pintados, or
"painted ones," by the Spanish, from their custom of tattooing the
body. Within this community of tribes there are numerous differences
of dialects and customs, clothing, character, and physical structure,
which in many cases indicate obvious traces of foreign mixture.
As a race, the Philippine natives of the Malayan tribes are of moderate
stature, well-formed, and of a coppery-red color, or, as Morga quaintly
describes them, "They were of the color of boiled quinces, having
a clever disposition for anything they undertook: sharp, choleric,
and resolute." Both men and women were in the habit of anointing
and perfuming their long black hair, which they wore gathered in a
knot or roll on the back of the head. The women, who were of pleasing
appearance, adorned their hair with jewels, and also wore ear-pendants
and finger-rings of gold. The men had little or no beard, and both
sexes were distinguished for their large, black eyes. The Zambales,
or Beheaders, shaved the front part of the head, and wore on the
skull a great lock of loose hair, which custom also obtained among
the ancient Chamorro of the Ladrones. Most of the tribes filed their
teeth, and stained them black with burnt coconut shell; while among
the Bisayans the upper teeth were bored, and the perforations filled
with gold, a singular custom observed by Marco Polo in China, and which
was also practised in ancient Peru and Egypt. Many of the tribes are
spoken of by the early Spanish navigators as being endowed with fair
intellectual capacities, possessing great powers of imitation, sober,
brave, and determined. The Tagalog character, according to some later
writers, is difficult to define: the craniologist and physiognomist
may often find themselves at fault. They are great children, their
nature being a singular combination of vices and virtues.
The costume of the men consisted of a short-sleeved cotton tunic
(chinina), usually black or blue, which came below the waist, a
colored cotton waistcloth, or kilt (bahaque), extending nearly to
the knee, and over this a belt or sash of silk a handbreadth wide,
and terminating in two gold tassels. On the right side hung a dagger
(bararao) three palms long, and double-edged, the hilt formed of
ivory or gold, and the sheath of carabao-hide. They wore a turban
(potong) on the head, and also leg-bands of black reeds or vines
such as are seen among the Papuans of New Guinea. Chains, bracelets
(calombiga), and armlets of gold, cornelian and agate were much worn,
and he was reckoned a poor person who did not possess several gold
chains. Hernando Requel, writing home to Spain, stated: "There is
more gold in this island of Luzon than there is iron in Biscaya."
The Tinguianes had a peculiar custom of wearing tightly-compressed
bracelets, which stopped the growth of the forearm, and caused the
hand to swell. Women wore the tapis, a bordered and ornamented cloth
wrapped round the body, which was confined by a belt, and descended
to the ankles. The bust was covered with a wide-sleeved camisita,
or waist (baro), to which was sometimes added a handkerchief. The
women of Luzon were without headdress, but made use of a parasol of
palm leaves (payong). Among the Bisayans the women wore a small cap
or hood, and in the northern isles they were permitted the luxury
of being carried on the shoulders of slaves. Both sexes wore the
same dress among the Ilokanos, the chief article of attire being a
loose coat (cabaya) similar to those of the Chinese. The dress of
the Chief's wives was more elegant than that of women of the common
people (timaguas). They wore white robes, and others of crimson
silk, plain or interwoven with gold, and trimmed with fringes and
trinkets. From their ears were suspended golden pendants of excellent
workmanship, and on their fingers and ankles were massive gold rings
set with precious stones. The timaguas and slaves went barefooted,
but the upper class wore shoes, the women being daintily shod with
velvet shoes embroidered with gold. "Both men and women were very
cleanly and elegant in their persons and dress, and of a goodly mien
and grace; they took great pains with their hair, rejoicing in its
blackness, washing it with the boiled bark of a tree called gogo,
and anointing it with musk oil and other perfumes. They bathed daily,
and looked upon it as a remedy for almost every complaint. On the
birth of a child the mother repaired to the nearest stream, and bathed
herself and the little one, after which she returned to her ordinary
occupation. Women were well treated among these people, and had for
their employment domestic work, needle work, in which they excelled,
the spinning and weaving of silk and cotton into various fabrics,
and also the preparation of the hemp, palm, and banana fibers.
The Philippine natives, with the exception of some of the hill tribes,
were diligent agriculturists, this being their chief occupation. In
some mountainous regions they adopted a system of terrace cultivation
similar to that of China, Peru, and Northern Mexico in bygone times,
and which may also be seen in Java. They cultivated rice, sweet
potatoes, bananas, coconuts, sugar-cane, palms, various vegetable
roots and fibrous plants. They hunted the wild carabao, deer and wild
boar. The flesh of the carabao, or water buffalo, was preserved for
future use by being cut into slices and dried in the sun, when it
was called tapa. Rice was prepared by being boiled, then pounded in
a wooden mortar and pressed into cakes, thus forming the bread of the
country. They made palm wine (alac or mosto) from the sap of various
species of palms. Food was stored in raised houses similar to the
pataka of the Maori. The first fruits of the harvest were devoted
to the deified spirits of ancestors, called anito. The Bisayans,
when planting rice, had the singular custom of offering a portion
of the seed at each corner of the field as a sacrifice. The ordinary
dainty among the islanders was the buyo or betel quid, consisting of
a leaf of betel pepper (tambul or siri) smeared over with burnt lime
and wrapped round a piece of areca nut (bonga).
"The Filipinos," says the old Spanish padre "lived in houses (bahai)
built of bamboo six feet from the ground." These dwellings were
supplied with cane screens in the place of divisions and doors. The
elevated floor, where they ate and slept, was also made of split
cane, and the whole structure was secured by reeds and cords for
want of nails. They ascended to these houses by a portable ladder,
which was removed when the inmates went out, a sign that no person
might approach the dwelling, which was otherwise unsecured. The house
was surrounded by a verandah, and in one apartment were the household
utensils, dishes and plates of earthenware, and copper vessels for
various purposes. They had, moreover, in their houses some low tables
and chairs, also boxes, called tampipi, which served for the purpose of
keeping wearing apparel and jewels. Their bedding consisted usually of
mats manufactured from various fibers. The houses of the chiefs were
much larger and better constructed than those of the timaguas. Many
of their villages were built on the banks of rivers and the shores of
lakes and harbors, so that they were surrounded by water, in the manner
of the seaside dwellings of New Guinea and the Gulf of Maracaibo. Among
the Tinguianes tree houses were made use of. In these they slept
at night in order to avoid being surprised by enemies, and defended
themselves by hurling down stones upon the attacking party, exactly
in the same manner as the natives of New Britain do to this day.
The external commerce of the Tagalog tribes was principally with
China, of which nation there were vessels in Manila on the arrival of
the Spanish. They are also said to have had intercourse with Japan,
Borneo, and Siam. They had no coined money, but to facilitate trade
they utilized gold as a medium of exchange in the form of dust and
ingots, which were valued by weight. Magellan speaks of their system
of weights and measures. These people were skilful shipwrights and
navigators. The Bisayans were in the habit of making piratical forays
among the isles. Their vessels were of various kinds, some being
propelled by oars or paddles, and others were provided with masts and
sails. Canoes were made of large trees, and were often fitted with
keels and decks, while larger vessels, called virey and barangayan,
were constructed of planks fastened with wooden bolts. The rowers,
with paddles (busey) or oars (gayong), timed their work to the voices
of others, who sung words appropriate to the occasion and by which
the rowers understood whether to hasten or retard their work. Above
the rowers was a platform (bailio) on which the fighting men stood
without embarrassing the rowers, and above this again was the carang,
or awning. They sometimes used outriggers (balancoire) on both sides
of the vessel. The laip and tapaque were vessels of the largest kind,
some carrying as many as two hundred and fifty men. The barangayan,
a type of vessel used from the earliest times, was singularly like
those of the ancients described by Homer.
Society among the Tagalog-Bisayan tribes was divided into three
classes, the chiefs and nobles, the common people (timagua), and
the slaves. The principal of every group, styled maguinoo among
the Tagalogs, bagani by the Manobos, and dato by the Bisayans,
was the only political, military, and judicial authority. These
chieftainships were hereditary, and the same respect was shown to
the women as to the men of the ruling families. Their power over
the people was despotic, they imposed a tribute upon the harvests,
and could at any time reduce a subject to slavery, or dispose of
his property and children. The slaves were divided into two classes:
the sanguihuileyes, who were in entire servitude as also were their
children, lived and served in the houses of their masters; while the
namamahayes lived in houses of their own, and only worked as slaves
on special occasions, such as at harvesting and housebuilding. Among
this latter class there obtained a peculiar half-bond system, which
may be explained thus: In the event of a free man marrying a slave
woman, and their having only one son, that child would be half free
and half enslaved--that is, he would work one month for his owner and
the next for himself. If they had more than one child, the first born
would follow the condition of the father, the second of the mother,
and so on. If there were uneven numbers, the last born was half free
and half bond. Slaves were bought, sold, and exchanged like ordinary
merchandise. In their social manners these people were very courteous,
more especially the Luzon tribes. They never spoke to a superior
without removing their turban. They then knelt upon one knee, raised
their hands to their cheeks, and awaited authority to speak. The hongi,
or nose-pressing salutation of the Polynesians, was an ancient custom
in the Philippine Group, and on the island of Timor. It also obtained
among the Chamorro of the Ladrones, who termed it tshomiko. The
Philippine natives addressed all superiors in the third person, and
added to every sentence the word po, equivalent to Sir. They were
given to addresses replete with compliments, and were fond of music
of the cud, a guitar with two strings of copper wire. In regard to
judicial matters, all complaints were brought before the dato of the
barangay (district) for examination. Though they had no written laws,
they had established rules and customs by which all disputes were
settled, and the chiefs recovered their fees by seizing the property
not only of the vanquished party, but also of his witnesses. Trial
by ordeal was common, the usual mode being that of plunging the arm
into a vessel of boiling water and taking out a stone off the bottom;
or a lighted torch was placed in the hands of the accused, and if
the flame flickered towards him he was pronounced guilty. Theft was
sometimes punished by death, in which case, the condemned was executed
by the thrust of a lance. In some cases the punishment was by being
reduced to slavery. Loans with excessive interest were ordinary, the
debtor and his children often becoming enslaved to the lender. Verbal
insults were punished with great severity. It was also regarded as a
great insult to step over a sleeping person, and they even objected to
awakening one asleep. This seems to refer to the widespread belief of
the soul leaving a sleeping body. Their worst curse was "May thou die
sleeping." The male children underwent a species of circumcision at
an early age, which was but preparatory to further rites. Their oaths
of fidelity, in conventions of peace and friendship, were ratified by
the ceremony of bloodbrotherhood, in which a vein of the arm being
opened, the flowing blood was drunk by the other party. Among these
people was sometimes seen that singular mania for imitation called
by the Javanese sakit latar, on the Amoor olon, in Siberia, inuira,
and in the Philippines malimali. This peculiar malady, presumably by
the result of a deranged nervous system, manifests itself as far as
I can gather, in the following manner, the afflicted person is seized
with a desire to copy or imitate the action and movements of others,
and will do the most extraordinary and ridiculous things to attain his
object. The despair induced by this strange mania and its consequent
ridicule, urges the unfortunate to end his life in the dreaded
Amok. These unfortunates were sometimes attacked by the amok frenzy.
It is certain that gold and copper mines have been worked in the
islands from early times. The copper ore was smelted, and worked
into various utensils and implements, and the gold was formed into
ornaments, or used, as a medium of exchange. The ruder mountain
tribes brought much gold from the interior and traded it to the
lowland people in exchange for various coveted articles. Several of
the tribes were in the habit of tattooing the body, the Bisayans being
the most noted for the practice. The Catalangan Iraya used for tattoo
patterns, and as decorations for sacred places, certain marks and
characters which appeared to be of Chinese or Japanese origin. The
Iraya proper used only straight and simple curved lines like those
of the Aieta. The Ysarog (Issaro), a primitive race of mountaineers,
who have been isolated for centuries, are said by later writers to
resemble the Dyaks of Borneo. Time was reckoned in former days by
suns and moons, and feasts were held on the occurrence of certain
astronomical phenomena. Brass gongs were much used at these feasts,
and also on war expeditions.
Such are some of the notes collected in reference to this interesting
race. These Tagalogs, Bisayans, Pampangans and Cagayanes were despised
by their Iberian conquerors as being ignorant savages; but, as the
good old padre says in his MS., they were worthy of being placed
on a superior level to certain ancient people who possess a more
illustrious fame. And who shall say it was not so?
The various tribes of the Philippines were frequently at war with each
other, as seems to be the invariable rule where a race is broken up
into many separate divisions. The weapons used in former times were
the bow and arrow, the lance, long curved knives, and in the southern
isles the blow pipe (sarbacan), for propelling poisoned darts. The
arrows and lances were pointed with iron and bone, or were simply
hardened with fire. Their defensive armour consisted of carved wooden
shields (carans), inlaid with tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl,
which covered them from head to foot, and also cuirasses formed of
bamboo. It is not clear whether they manufactured artillery, but they
certainly used cannon of iron and bronze before the advent of the
Spanish, at which time the Mindanao tribes held strongly fortified
positions--defended with cannon. These fortifications consisted of
earthworks and stockades, sometimes surrounded by morasses. Such
were the defences of the town of the Chief Rahamora when Legaspi
attacked it. This town consisted of four thousand houses, and,
having destroyed it, the victorious Spaniards built on its site, in
1571, the city of Manila. The poison used for the sarbacan darts was
either derived from certain trees, or, it is said, from the saliva of
a green lizard (chacon). The natives are said by Morga to have used
this poison in order to kill the Spanish, for whom they had conceived
a most bitter hatred.
The Manobos and Zambals were the most savage tribes. The Manobos
surprised their enemies while asleep, slaughtered the men, and enslaved
the women and children. The priest opened the breast of the first
victim with the sacred knife, took out the heart, and ate it. This
tribe also sacrificed slaves to the god of war, to whom the color red
was sacred. They were also head-hunters, and hung these trophies to
the roofs of their houses. The Zambals, a fierce and savage tribe,
were also head-hunters, as their name signifies, and were in the
habit of extracting and eating the brains of slain enemies. Among
the Ifugaos the lasso is said to have been used as a weapon.
In regard to marriage customs, there was one peculiar form worthy
of observation. When a man wished to marry he went to live with his
prospective father-in-law, thus becoming a member of the household,
and as such he worked at whatever duties were imposed upon him. This
lasted sometimes for several years. If the family became dissatisfied
with him he was dismissed, but if all went well he paid over to the
parents what was known as "the price of the mother's milk"--that is,
a compensation for the rearing of his wife. During the probationary
period the young man assumed the name of bagontao, and the girl
that of dalaga. They were much given to the practice of divination
during the period of the wedding festivities, which lasted for several
days. Although polygamy did not exist in a legal sense, yet concubinage
was common. The first woman married, however, was the only legitimate
wife (inasaba). To the inferior wives were assigned the various
domestic labors, the milking of the carabao-cows, and the rearing of
ducks, swans, geese, and pigeons. The women, in paying visits or in
walking abroad, were attended by a following of maids and slaves. In
various tribes the Assuan, an evil deity, was supposed to exercise an
evil influence over women in labor, and at such a time the husband
mounted the house-roof, or stationed himself, before the door, and,
with lance or dagger in hand, cut, and slashed vigorously at the air
in order to drive away the dreaded spirit. Among these people also
obtained that strange and world-wide custom known among anthropologists
as the couvade the origin of which it is difficult to conjecture. In
China and Africa, in Egypt and South America, in Malabar and Corsica,
among the Basques, Caribs, Burmese, and many other races, this singular
custom of simulated maternity seems to have originated independently.
The language of the Philippines was divided into many different
dialects, of which the Tagalog, an abundant and copious tongue,
was the most perfect specimen. These, together with the languages
of various outlying groups, can be traced to the same origin by
unequivocal marks of affinity, both in word formation and grammatical
construction. In spite of various linguistic changes it has been
noted by Le Gobien that the language of the Carolines bears a
strong resemblance to the Tagalog, and the same may be said of the
ancient Chamorro tongue. The Battak speech of Sumatra is said to be
closely allied to the Tagalog. Prichard states that the Malagasi
resembles Tagalog more than it does any other Malayan tongue. The
Tagalog-Bisayan-languages are said by several writers to be the most
highly developed of this family, and are in a transition state between
the agglutinative and inflective stages. Von Humboldt considered
the Tagalog to be the parent language of the Malay type, but this
was denied by Crawfurd. In the Javanese, one hundred and ten words
per thousand are Sanscrit, in Malay fifty, in the Bugi, seventeen,
in Tagalog one and a half, and in Malagasi there are none. It might
be inferred from this that the Tagalog-Bisayan migrations from the
southwest took place prior to, or about, the sixth century of our
era, about which time the Hindu religion was introduced into the East
Indies, bringing with it many Sanscrit terms. The native languages
hold their own in the Philippines. Pickering, in his "Races of Man,"
states that the Tagalog is still the chief language of Luzon, being
in general use in all the interior towns.
In respect to religion, the more advanced of the tribes appeared
to have arrived at the stage of intellectual progress when Nature
worship begins to give place to a dim idea of a Supreme Being, a
Maker of all things. This protecting genius, to whom they offered
sacrifices, was called Bathalang Meicapal. These people had a vague
conception of a future state in which the good were rewarded and
the wicked punished. Among the Bisayans, Ologan was the term for
Heaven in their ancient religion, and their Hell was Solad. The
souls of their dead were said to pass to the mountain of Medias in
the Oton district. Tigbalan was the name of a forest demon among
the northern tribes, who was treated with great respect. In passing
beneath a tree a native would invariably say "Tavit po,"--that is,
"By your leave, my lord." They practised fire worship and fetishism
and paid homage to the Sun, Moon, rainbow, to animals, birds, and
even to trees, and to rocks of peculiar appearance. The worship of
birds appears to have been confined to two species, the bathala,
a small blue bird, and the maylupa, a species of crow or kite. The
trees, rocks, and headlands which were close to contrary currents,
or places dangerous to navigation, were objects of veneration and
dread, and the deities of these places were propitiated by offerings
of food, or were supposed to be quelled by a flight of arrows being
discharged against them. Influenced by terror, they venerated the
crocodile, calling it nono, or grandfather, and it was sometimes
tamed and cherished by the priests. These huge saurians were extremely
dangerous, and many natives lost their lives by them, for which reason
they constructed enclosures for bathing purposes. The Manobos revered
the lightning, and believed thunder to be its voice. The Bisayans held
that all who perished in battle or were killed by crocodiles became
divata. The divata or anito were guardian spirits, and among some
tribes were represented by idols of gold, ivory, or stone. There were
anito of the cultivations, of the rains, of the sea, cocoanut trees,
also of newly-born children, and of children during the period of
lactation. Again there were family anito, a species of household
gods, who protected the family, and who were principally deified
ancestors, having, it is said, ascended to heaven on the rainbow
(balangao). Images representing these were kept in the houses, or in
the vacant space beneath them, and slaves were sometimes sacrificed
in their honor. It has been denied by some writers that the Philippine
natives had any idols or images, or any places set apart for religious
ceremonies, but the account of Cavendish, the adventurous English
navigator, who visited the Philippines in 1588, states: "These people
wholly worship the Devil, who appears unto them in divers horrible
forms, and they worship him by making figures of these forms, which
they keep in caverns and special houses, offering to them perfumes and
food, and calling them anito or licha." The MS. which we quote says:
"These people lacked capacious temples, neither had they sacred days
set apart for religious practices, but they had at the entrances to
their towns, and even close to their houses, small chapels or rooms
consecrated to the anito, and to the offering of sacrifices. In
these places were deposited offerings of food to sustain the souls
of the dead in their journey of three days which divided death from
the re-incarnation which ensued. Before the figures also were placed
small braziers burning perfumes, and plates of sago and fruits."
The priests of these tribes were known as catalona in the north,
and as babailan among the Bisayans. They were the sorcerers, or
"medicine men," and rude beyond measure was their art in curing,
consisting generally of the imaginary extraction of pebbles, leaves,
or pieces of cane from the affected part. The priests possessed great
authority among the people. In their invocations to the anito they
sometimes deceived the spectators by a peculiar sound produced by
burning the kernels of the cashew (casuy); "and at all times," says
the padre, "they were assisted by the devil." The secret of these
frauds was transmitted by inheritance, or was sold to the highest
bidder, and after being consecrated the priests did no other work
than net-making or weaving cloth.
As to their sacrifices, the object of them in many cases was to gain a
knowledge of the future. Among other modes, they practised divination
by an examination of the victim's entrails, and also by the stars,
both widely spread customs. In the case of prolonged illness a new
house was built, and the patient removed to it. The priestess being
summoned, she sacrificed according to the wealth of the offerers,
sometimes a tortoise, and sometimes as many as three slaves. The house
was filled with small tables, on which were placed refreshments, and
which correspond with the number of guests. The priestess performed a
sacred dance, purified and sacrificed the victim, and with the warm
blood sprinkled the most distinguished of the guests, distributing
to the remainder small copper bells. After repeating an incantation
the entrails were examined after the manner of the Roman augurs, by
the priests, who were often seized with convulsions, made grotesque
contortions, foamed at the mouth, and finally announced the sentence
of the death, or recovery of the patient. If the omen was of health,
a revel was held, and the valor of the patient's family and ancestors
celebrated with songs. If the omen was of death, they diverted the
mind of the patient by dancing, drinking, singing his praises,
and persuading him that the gods removed him from this world in
order to elevate him to the dignity of anito. At the close of the
proceedings the priest received presents of gold and food from
the guests. Sacrifices which were offered before undertaking a war
or assault were conducted in a similar manner. Others, which were
arranged by the chiefs, and dedicated to the principle of good, were
celebrated with feasting and dancing to the sound of their primitive
music. The best dancer was invited by the priest to give the fatal
thrust, and the flesh of sacrificed hogs was distributed among the
guests, who looked upon it as sacred food.
The Philippine natives had a firm belief in omens and superstitions
of many kinds. Thus, in the house of the fishermen, new nets
were not spoken of until they had been tested and found reliable,
and among hunters the merits of dogs recently acquired were not
discussed until they had been successful in catching game. A belief
in the invulnerability (anting) of certain persons was a common
superstition. A pregnant woman was not allowed to cut her hair for fear
the infant should be bald. Much importance was attached to dreams, of
which they were anxious to divine the meaning. In order to navigate
their seas with safety it was not permitted to carry in the vessel
either animals or land birds, nor even to name them; and in like
manner, when travelling by land, they did not mention things which
pertained to the sea. Before embarking on a voyage they caused the
boat to oscillate and observed carefully to which side it inclined
the most. If to the right, it was accepted as a good omen, but if to
the left, it was an evil omen. They also tied together many cords,
and one end being made fast, would rub the other between the hands,
and by observing the manner in which the cords became entangled, they
inferred the good or evil fortune which fate had in store for them.
The geogony of primitive and semi-civilized races always contains an
element of interest, and that of the Philippine natives was certainly a
singular belief. The creators of the earth were the sky and the kite,
and the sea. After the bird had flown many times across the ocean,
and found nothing to alight upon, the sky, in quarreling with the sea,
caused the bird to throw huge rocks with the aim of subduing it. These
rocks became islands, and the earth generally.
The tradition of the origin of man is as follows: "Two logs of bamboo,
impelled by the waves, were cast on shore at the feet of the bird,
which becoming enraged, began to pick them to pieces, when there
appeared from the first log a man, and from the second a woman,
thus proving the monogeny of the human species." The man succeeded in
gaining the affections of the woman, and from them are descended the
whole human race. The dispersion of the race throughout the world was
caused by a family quarrel. The many children of the primal couple
lived independent in the house of the parents, which displeased the
father, who belabored them with a cudgel, and expelled them from
the house. Some concealed themselves in the house, and from them
are descended the maguinoo, or chiefs. Others went out openly from
the house, and these were the fathers of the timagua (timawa) or
freemen, and yet others took refuge in the cooking-sheds and beneath
the house. From these last sprang the slaves. Finally, those who were
banished, and never returned, became the ancestors of distant people,
and remote tribes. It is worthy of note that, on the arrival of the
Spanish, they were supposed by the natives to be the descendants of
the last-mentioned migration. The various animals are also said by
tradition to have been derived from other logs of bamboo; and the
fact that the monkey came from one close to that which contained man,
explains satisfactorily the resemblance between them.
Respecting their idea of a future life, the belief was, that preceding
the state of happiness after death, there was a series of incarnations
or purifications of the soul, which successive transmigrations took
place in a cluster of one and fifty islands, on which were sheltered
the souls of the dead. In those beautiful isles departed spirits
enjoyed perpetual youth. In this paradise there were trees always
loaded with ripe fruits, and fastened to the earth by chains of gold,
which served as roots. Of gold also were the ornaments, the bells,
ear-rings (panica), the cloths (isine), and many other things. The
shores of the sea were formed of pure rice, and there was also a
sea of milk, and another of linogao, which is rice boiled with milk
or fat. Yet another sea was of blood, and on the bank of this grew
plants, whose flowers had petals of flesh ready for eating.
These people held primitive notions concerning original sin, and
also cherished a belief in the punishments and rewards of a future
life. They accounted for the coming of death into the world in the
following manner: Far back in the very night, the god Laon possessed
a most beautiful fish which was his delight, also a tree which bore
the most luscious fruits. The offenders killed the fish and plucked
the fruit. For this offence Laon caused men to die in all ages.
Such was then the state of civilization among the Tagalog-Bisayan
tribes at the time when the Malay Mohammedans, and the Spanish
conquistadores attempted, from opposite points, to introduce their
religions into the archipelago. The Moros of the Sulu Islands were
beginning to overrun the Philippines on the arrival of the Spanish,
and would eventually have Mohammedanised the entire group. The
Philippine natives at this time were in a singularly interesting stage
of intellectual progress. They had lived through the crude fetishism
of savagedom, and were emerging from the second stage of religious
feeling, during which they had evolved, out of the contemplation of
Nature, one of those wonderful mythologies which are met with among so
many nations. They were beginning to renounce the old Nature worship,
of which the central figure was a Supreme Maker.
It has been truly said that nothing requires such calm and impartial
judgment as the inquiry into the moral and religious condition of
uncivilized races. The co-evolution of religion and civilization
is an extremely interesting subject to the student of anthropology,
when he notes the gradual refinement of the national religion as the
culture of the race improves, and the degradation of that religion
when a race retrogrades in civilization. It is one of the many grand
problems, based on the retributive laws of Nature, which confront the
enquirer into that great and wonderful mystery--the development of the
human race. Well it is for him who can learn from the savage Aieta,
or the semi-civilized Tagalog, a lesson in the evolution of the human
intellect; but, unfortunately, so many who have golden opportunities
of studying the intellect and works of uncultured man are careless of
those matters, and look with contempt upon the noblest of studies. They
cannot interest themselves in the struggling intellect of primitive
man; they no longer understand the craving of youth for advancement;
they disdain to look upon the dawn of intellectual day.
These are the most interesting points procured from the aforementioned
works on the Philippine Islands, a land which we call new, but in
which the events of the Tagalog-Bisayan migrations were but as of
yesterday. Here, as elsewhere, the rude savage retreats before a
superior race, but the receptive Tagalog attaches himself to the
civilization of his conquerors. He had already advanced himself to
the difficult highway that leads from barbarism to a higher culture,
and was thus enabled to receive the teachings of his Iberian invaders;
but he who would seek the indigenous Aieta must look for him in the
distant recesses of the primeval forest, or in the dark and gloomy
cañons of the great ranges.
A THOUSAND YEARS OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY BEFORE THE COMING OF THE
SPANIARDS
By Austin Craig
The Philippine History of which one is apt to think when that subject
is mentioned covers hardly a fourth of the Islands' book-recorded
history.
These records are not the romantic dream of a Paterno that under
the name Ophir the Philippines with their gold enriched Solomon
(10th century B. C.). There are solider grounds than any plausible
explanations that Manila hemp (abaká) was Strabo's (A. D. 21) "ta
seerika," the cloth made of "a kind of flax combed from certain barks
of trees." The shadowy identification of the Manilas with Ptolemy's
Maniolas (c. A. D. 130) is not in their class. Nor, to accept them,
is recourse needed to farfetched deductions like Zuñiga's that the
American Continent received Israel's ten lost tribes, and thence,
through Easter Island, Magellan's archipelago was peopled. Their
existence saves us from having to accept such references as how
Simbad the sailorman (Burton: The Arabian Nights, Night 538 et
seq.) evidently made some of his voyages in this region, though it
would not be uninteresting to note that the great Roc is a bird used
in Moro ornament, the "ghoul" of the Thousand and One Nights is the
Filipino Asuang and that the palm-covered island which was believed to
be a colossal tortoise because it shook might well have been located
where the Philippine maps indicate that earthquakes are most frequent.
The records hereinafter to be cited are for the most part of the
prosaic kind, all the more reliable and valuable because they are
inclined to be dry and matter-of-fact. They make no such demand
upon imagination as Europe's pioneer traveller's tales, for instance
the sixteenth century chart which depicted America as inhabited by
headless people with eyes, nose and mouth located in the chest.
The British Museum's oriental scholar (Douglas: Europe and the Far
East, Cambridge, 1904) states that by the beginning of the Chou dynasty
(B. C. 1122-255) intercourse had been established at Canton with
eight foreign nations. Duties as early as 990 B. C. were levied,
and among the imports figure birds, pearls and tortoise shell,
products of the Philippines, but the origin of these has not been
investigated. "Reliable history," says Dr. Pott (A Sketch of Chinese
History, Shanghai, 1908), "does not extend further back than the
middle of the Chou dynasty (B. C. 722). * * * After the time of the
Chou dynasty we come to more solid ground, for at the beginning of
the Han dynasty (B.C. 206) the custom originated of employing Court
chroniclers to write a daily account of governmental proceedings. These
diaries were kept secret and stored away in iron chests until the
dynasty they chronicled had passed away; then they were opened and
published, and so form the basis of our knowledge of the events that
had transpired while the dynasty was in existence."
Philippine history, however, has attracted only incidental interest
in the translating of these voluminous chronicles so that while
the first three mentions hereafter to be cited are well within the
reliable history period they have not been verified and are valuable
only as suggesting more definitely where to investigate.
Dr. von Moellendorf, a sinologist, formerly German consul in Manila,
states that the Philippines were once called "Gold" in China,
because of their considerable export thither of the precious yellow
metal. This parallels the Malay province named "Silver" (Perak or
Pilak). Further he refers to Becker's Geology of the Philippines where
(on page 90 of the reprint) F. Karusch gives a former German Consul
in Manila as authority for gold having been exported to China during
the third century. If the Chinese authority for this can be found it
will destroy the value of Dr. Groeneveldt's observation (Notes on the
Malay Archipelago and Malacca compiled from Chinese sources; Batavia,
1876, p. 4) on his quotation from the history of the Liang dynasty
(Book 54, p. 1):
"In the time of Sun Ch'uean of the house of Wu (A. D. 222-251)
two functionaries, called Chu-ying and K'antai, were ordered to
go to the south; they went to or heard from a hundred or more
countries and made an account of them."
The commentator admits that "what these countries were is not stated,"
but believes the "Malay islands were not amongst them, otherwise their
name would have appeared at that time already in the annals of China."
Since only a beginning has as yet been made in studying the voluminous
records of China, a little further investigation may easily result
in establishing this early date.
The last of the early three possible references to the Philippines,
classed only as introductory because of their uncertain character,
is from the narrative of Fahien, the details of whose home voyage
seem to suggest that he passed in the vicinity of, if not through,
this group of islands. This Buddhist priest in A. D. 400 went
overland to India (Groeneveldt, Notes, p. 6) in search of Buddhist
books and fifteen years later came back by sea in Indian vessels
via Ceylon and Java. Shortly after his death a book was published,
written from his narratives, giving "an account of Buddhist countries"
(Fo Kuo Chi). After staying five months in Java where "heretics and
Brahmans flourished but the law of Buddha hardly deserved mention,"
Fahien embarked in May, 414, on a large merchant vessel with a crew
of over two hundred and provisioned for fifty days. Steering a north
east course for Canton, when over a month out they struck a typhoon,
"a sudden dark squall accompanied by pelting rain." The Brahmans
felt that the priest of the rival religion was a Jonah and wanted
to land him on one of the neighboring islands but were dissuaded by
a trader representing the danger that would be to all on coming to
China. The weather continued very dark and the pilots did not know
their situation. Finally on the 78th day, with water almost gone
and provisions short, they determined to change their course since
they had already exceeded the usual fifty days for the run. So on
a northwest route in twelve days more they reached not Canton but
Shantung, nearly thirteen degrees farther north. Now this voyage
on a map works out that they passed the Philippines about the time
that marooning the priest on an island was under discussion, and, as
St. John notes (The Indian Archipelago, London 1853, Vol. I, p. 103),
"The Philippines * * * occupy the only part of the Archipelago liable
to hurricanes." Apparently the land was then unfamiliar to these
early navigators.
No voyages of discovery were attempted by the Chinese but,
creeping along the coast, they finally came to the Malay
Peninsula and they worked from one island to another in the Indian
Archipelago. (Groeneveldt, p. 1.) By this roundabout course in
connection with the great island of Borneo, then called Polo and
noted to have sent envoys to China in 518, 523 and 616, we find the
Sulu islands suggested. The reference reads "at the east of this
country is situated the land of the Rakshas (or lawless persons, or
pirates.)" These were stated to have the same customs as the Poli
people, unerring in throwing a saw-edged (wooden) discus knife,
but using other weapons like those in China, in ways resembling
Cambodia and with products like Siam's. Murder and theft were
punished by cutting off the hands and adultery by chaining together
the legs for a year. In the dark of the moon came the sacrifices,
bowls of wine and eatables set adrift on the surface of the water,
as Bornean tribes supposed to be akin to the Bisayans and Tagalogs
now are doing. The Polans collected coral and trained parrots to talk,
and so probably did the men of Sulu. In their ears were the teeth of
wild beasts and a piece of home-made cotton cloth was wrapped about
their waists, sarong fashion. Their markets they held at night and
they were accustomed to keep their faces covered.
Next in point of time is a reference through Southern Formosa,
called by the Chinese P'i-sho-ye, which the author of "China before
the Chinese" (De Lacouperie) believes is only a miscalling of Bisaya,
and former Consul Davidson of Formosa corroborates this both on Chinese
authority (Ma Touan-lin) and from local traditions. (Davidson: The
Island of Formosa Past and Present, New York, 1903).
"Bands of uncivilized Malays" from the south drove into the interior
the Formosans with whom the Chinese earlier had been familiar. So on
the next expedition from the mainland, in 605, the Chinese leader was
surprised to find on the coast strange inhabitants with whom he could
not communicate. His surmise that the newcomers were Malays led the
next expedition to take with it interpreters from different southern
Malayan islands, of whom at least one made himself understood. The
immigrants kept up communication with Luzon and on their rafts raided
coast towns of China, as will be later seen.
Pangasinan once extended much farther north in Luzon and Mr. Servillano
de la Cruz, a University of the Philippines student specializing in
the history of that province, describes rafts of bamboo bound together
with vines, of a size which two men can lift, yet used on rivers and
by people venturing as far as four miles from the coast upon them.
The chronological order takes us again to the south.
A "Ka-ling" mentioned in the old Chinese history of the T'ang dynasty
(618-906) has been, it seems to me, wrongly identified by the Dutch
scholar Groeneveldt (Notes on the Malay Archipelago, p. 12) as Java
on the assumption that Pali or Po-li was Sumatra. Since it is much
more probable that Poli is only an older form of Poni, Brunei, our
Borneo (Hose and McDougall: Pagan Tribes of Borneo, London, 1912,
Vol. I), Kaling rather should be looked for as an island off the
eastern side of Borneo, Cambodia to the north, the sea to the south,
and on the western side of the island of Dva-pa-tan, which might have
been the old, and more extensive, district of Dapitan on the northwest
of Mindanao. Directions are so general that the fixing of the spot
is only guess work, yet the probability puts it within the southern
(Sulu) part of the Philippine Archipelago.
The walls of the city were of palisades as were those enclosing Fort
Santiago's Moro predecessor. The king's palace was a two-story affair
thatched with coir from the abundant coco palms and the throne of
the monarch was an ivory couch. Using neither spoons nor chopsticks,
food was handled with that manual dexterity of which the Tondo tribune
has recently been complaining as contributory to cholera. The palm
wine was obtained just as tuba is now prepared.
The older history was considered vague and in its revision, called "the
new history," fuller details appear, among them another name (Djava,
Djapa or Dayapo (Dva-apo?)). The larger houses were covered with palm
leaves and like the king's equipped with ivory couches. Bamboo mats
are also mentioned and the exports are given as tortoise shell, gold
and silver, rhinoceros-horns, and ivory. The ivory might have been
white camagon, since it was used for furniture, and the rhinoceros
horns could have been imported. The rapid intoxication from the
native drink is emphasized and, contrary to the American traveller
(Rev. Arthur J. Browne) who attributed the introduction of vice here to
his soldier-countrymen, a virulent venereal disease is mentioned. The
alternative name of the island turns out to belong to the place on it
where the king resided and he is said to be a descendant of Ki-yen
who had lived more to the east in the town of Pa-lu-ka-si. Of his
thirty-two high ministers Datu Kan-liung was chief and twenty-eight
small neighboring countries owed him allegiance, as the twenty-eight
islands would to a powerful Sulu sultan. (As to number of islands,
see Saleeby's History of Sulu, Manila, 1908, p. 15.)
A royal mountain resort overlooking the sea was Lang-pi-ya, a name
for which, like the others, Groeneveldt finds it difficult to name a
counterpart in Java, in this case noting "we think it advisable not
to insist upon the above identification." The latitude would seem
to have been in the Sulu neighborhood for at the summer solstice an
8-foot gnomon cast, on the south side, a 2.4-foot shadow.
Between 627 and 649 envoys to China accompanied the tribute bearers
from Dva-ha-la and Dva-pa-tan (Dapitan?), receiving acknowledgments
under the Chinese Emperor's great seal. Dva-ha-la also asked for good
horses, and got them.
Then in 674 there was an ideal ruler, a woman named Sima, of whom a
story is told similar to one remembered in Korea, and somewhat like
the tales of China's Golden Age, that a foreign king (prince of Arabs)
to test the reports he had heard sent a bag of gold to be left in the
road. There it remained undisturbed till the heir apparent happened
to step over it. The incensed queen was dissuaded by her ministers
from killing him but, saying his fault lay in his feet, insisted
on cutting these off, finally, however, compromising on amputating
the toes. Not only was this an example to the whole nation but it
so frightened the Arab king that he did not carry out his planned
attack. This variation of the Queen of Sheba-Solomon anecdotes is
common in Chinese history, and its extensive use was probably due
to the same sort of local adaptation as later made an orientalized
Dido story of land-measurement trickery spread so quickly after the
coming of the Europeans. Groeneveldt suggests the Arab prince might
have been one of the Arab chiefs in the Archipelago, which would by
our identification nicely fit with Bornean conditions.
Between 766 and 779 three Ka-ling envoys visited China and in 813
four slaves (Groeneveldt thinks negroes), assorted colored parrots,
"pinka-birds"--whatever these may have been, and other gifts were
presented to their powerful neighbor. A title of "Left Defender
of the office of the Four Inner Gates" came to the ambassador who,
by cleverly seeking to relinquish this title to his younger brother,
secured imperial praise and the coveted honor for two members of his
family instead of one.
In 827 and 835 were two embassies, and between 837 and 850 an envoy
presented female musicians as the tribute gift. (Account summarized
from Groeneveldt, pp. 12-15.)
"The great sea southwest of Hainan," says he, "* * * has in it
Triple-joint currents (Shan-ho-lin). The waves break here violently,
dividing into three currents: one flows south and is the sea which
forms the highway to foreign lands; one flows north and is the sea of
Canton (and Amoy) * * * one flows eastward and enters the boundless
place, which is called the Great Eastern Ocean Sea.
"Ships in the southern trade, both going and coming, must run through
the Triple-joint currents. If they have the wind, in a moment they
are through it. But if on getting into the dangerous place there is no
wind, the ship cannot get out and is wrecked in the three currents. *
* * It is said that, in the Great Eastern Ocean Sea there is a long
bank of sand and rocks some myriads of li (705 yards or 2-5 mile) in
length. It marks the gulf leading to Hades (Wei-lu). In olden times
there was an ocean-going junk which was driven by a great westerly wind
to within hearing distance of the roar of the waves falling into Wei-lu
of the Great Eastern Ocean. No land was to be seen. Suddenly there
arose a strong easterly wind and the junk escaped its doom. (Hirth
and Rockhill, Chau Ju-Kua, note 3, p. 185.)
Such superstition, like that of the Pillars of Hercules, in the
Strait of Gibraltar, naturally restrained explorations so that the
first voyages across the China sea came from Manila.
The earliest account of Filipino traders comes through a brief
mention in a French ethnologist's notes on foreigners in China
(Henry St. Denis, Ethnographie, II, 502, according to Rockhill)
that in 982 merchants from Manila visited Canton for trade. They
probably were not pioneers as it is related that they came with
valuable merchandise. This was about the time (between 976 and 983)
when the Canton trade was declared a state monopoly. Over two centuries
a maritime customs service had existed in that port, reorganized in
971 because of the greatly increased foreign trade.
From 1174 to 1190 (Chau Ju-Kua's account, Hirth and Rockhill, p. 165)
the Formosan Bisayan chiefs were in the habit of assembling parties of
several hundreds to make sudden raids on villages of the neighboring
Chinese coast. There murders innumerable and even cannibalism were
charged against them, though perhaps there should be some discount
upon these unfavorable statements as even today enemies are not always
reliable authorities upon their adversaries.
They placed great value upon iron, even to the extent of attaching
ropes, of over a hundred feet in length, to their spears so that
these might be recovered after each throw.
Such was their fondness for all forms of iron that those surprised
by them would throw away spoons or chopsticks of that metal so
while the pursuers were stopping to pick these up they could gain
a start. Once in the house the door had only to be closed and they
would be distracted from the attack by sight of an iron knocker which
they would wrench off and then immediately depart with it.
The soldiers decoyed them with mail-covered horsemen and in their mad
struggle to strip off the armor they would meet their death without
being sensible of their danger. Bamboo lashed into rafts conveyed
them over the waters and when hard pressed facilitated their escape
for these, folded up like screens, were easy to lift and swim off with.
A collector of customs (the Chau Ju-Kua before quoted) of Chinchew,
the port in the Amoy district later made famous by Marco Polo, from
personal investigation obtained data as to the Philippines which he
published in a geography written between 1209 and 1214 (B. Laufer,
Relations of Chinese to the Philippines, Washington, 1907, p. 24).
Under "Mai," an island north of Borneo, he is supposed to include
Western Luzon, and the Island of Mindoro, which Blumentritt thinks
(Versuch einer Ethnographie der Philippinen, 65) had the name
"Mait," or black, from the former negrito population. The opening
description, now held to be of Manila, tells of about a thousand
families who occupied both banks of a water-course. Some people wore
only waist-cloths while others draped themselves in a sort of cotton
sheet, getting presumably much the same effect as may be seen among
the feminine bathers on the Tondo beach any Sunday morning.
Little bronze idols of unknown origin were to be found in the grassy
region outside the village, for Mr. Rockhill is careful to translate
"idols" instead of "Buddhas," holding that the word has the more
general meaning often. Yet because the later idols of the country
were of wood and clay one wonders where bronze idols would be made at
that time if not in a Buddhist land. Manila was a peaceable community
then, and peaceful too, for the fierce pirates of the south had not
yet gotten into the habit of coming there, still less had settled,
as they were to do two centuries later.
The traders' ships anchored in front of the quarters of the chiefs,
to whom they presented the white silk parasols which these dignitaries
were accustomed to use. There the market was held, and the shore
people at once went on board, mixing in friendly fashion with the
newcomers. Nor was there fear of loss, for such then was the Manilans'
honesty that even when some one helped himself and took away goods
without being seen he could be relied on in due season to faithfully
account for them. The period was usually eight or nine months so that,
though not travelling the greatest distance, those trading to Manila
were among the latest in getting back to China.
The trade was without money, a barter of the country's yellow wax (a
medium grade), cotton, pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betel nuts,
and native cloth, for imported porcelain, trade gold, iron censers,
leads, colored glassbeads and iron needles. Names of other settlements
in this region may be what we now call the Babuyanes islands, Polillo
island, off the East coast, Lingayen in Pangasinan, Luzon perhaps used
of East Luzon and (according to Luther M. Parker, a graduate student
in the University of the Philippines, 1913-14) Lian in Batangas.
For the group called "the three islands," Calamianes, Palawan and
Busuanga are the closest resemblances to the curious names of the
Chinese narrative, though B. Laufer in his notes to Fay Cole's Chinese
pottery in the Philippines (Field Museum Bulletin) suggests another
for Calamianes.
Local customs were said not to differ particularly from the ways of
Mai. The country, grand in its scenery, had many ridges and ranges
of cliffs rose from the shore, steep as the walls of a house.
Each tribe had about a thousand families (which seems to be only
another way of saying that the tribes were large rather than an
effort at statistics) and they lived in wattled huts in commanding
situations difficult of access. The sight of women bringing water
from the streams in jars gracefully and easily carried on the head,
two or three being borne one above another, still amazes and interests
us as it did the Chinese geographer's informant.
In more remote valleys lurked the negritoes, nesting in the trees
the author alleges. They were stunted in stature, with eyes round
and yellow, curly hair, and teeth exposed by their parted lips. In
groups of three or five they would ambuscade some unwary wayfarer and
many fell victims to their cunning and deadly arrows. But throwing
a porcelain bowl would make them forget their murderous purpose and
off they would go, leaping and shouting in joy.
The country folk evidently did not inspire in the traders the same
confidence these felt toward the Manilans. Their ships would anchor
in midstream and none went ashore till there had been sent one or
two hostages to be retained till the trading was over. Drum beating
announced their arrival, when the local traders raced for the ship
carrying, evidently as samples, cotton, yellow wax, and home made
cloth, and coconut heart mats, whatever this last may have meant. In
case of disagreement over prices the chiefs of the traders came
in person, when, after a mutually satisfactory settlement had been
reached, there would be presents given,--silk umbrellas, porcelain
and rattan baskets, probably the first two from the visitors and the
last from the people. Then the barter was concluded ashore. Three
or four days was the usual stop in each place when the ships sailed
to another anchorage, for each of the settlements was independent
of its neighbors. The Chinese goods were porcelain, black damask,
and other silks, beads of all colors leaden sinkers for nets, and tin.
Polillo, on the Pacific coast, was also, but less frequently,
visited, to obtain two prized varieties of coral. There local
customs and commercial usages were the same as on the other side of
the archipelago, but though the settlements were more populous the
coral was hard to get and so there was little trade. The coast, too,
was dangerous, with the sea full of "bare ribs of rock with jagged
tooth-like blasted trees, their points and edges sharper than swords
and lances." Ships tacked far out from shore in passing to avoid
these perils, and besides the people were "of cruel disposition and
given to robbery."
Northern Formosa, during this period, was not visited by Chinese for
there were no goods of special importance to be gotten there while the
people were also given to robbery, but Formosan goods,--yellow wax,
native gold, buffalo tails, and jerked leopard-meat, were brought to
the Philippines for sale.
For 1349, in an unpublished translation by Mr. Rockhill of "A
Description of the Barbarians of the Isles (Tao-i-chih-lio) by Wang
Ta-yuan is mentioned the "three archipelagoes," if that is the proper
way to distinguish between Chao-ju-kua's Sanhsu and the present
San-tao. Islands were for the Chinese merely places distant by a
sea route from each other rather than our "bodies of land completely
surrounded by water."
This author's region was to the east of a very curious range of
mountains if one may translate the name "taki-shan." It was divided
by a triple peak and there was range upon range of mountains which
suggests to Mr. Rockhill the Pacific coast of Luzon south of Cape
Engaño.
As now, the soil was poor and the crops sparse, while the heated
climate was variable.
The old question of a lost white tribe, attributed so often to
Mindoro, is raised by mention of "some males and females," being
"white." Perhaps the breeding principle that a second cross sometimes
reverts to the original type may be the explanation. Chinese mestizos
have seemed to me whiter here than European blends with Filipinas
where no Chinese strain was present. Their delicate beauty suggests
the Caucasians from whom the earliest Chinese may have taken wives
in the remote past before they came to the "eighteen provinces." The
first Spaniards comment also on exceedingly fair Filipinas and as
the Caucasian type is the European ideal of beauty it probably
resulted that such mixed marriages as occurred were with these
Chinese mestizas. The prejudice of new converts against pagans,
linked with the humiliation to which the Chinese residents in the
Philippines were subject during Spain's rule here, led to covering
up and ignoring all Chinese relations and is a very good reason why
even where known there is today reluctance to admit descent from the
oldest of civilized races. Yet before the Spaniards came both in the
Philippines and in the lands from which successive immigrations of
Filipinos have come, the Chinese traders ranked with the aristocracy
and Chinese wives were sought by royalty.
A trait by no means died out was a fondness for jewelry shown by
stowaways on board junks for Chinchew. When their money was all
expended on personal adornments they returned home, there to be
honored as travelled personages, the distinction of having visited
China raising them above even their own fathers and the older men.
The 1349 account of Mai, or Manila, credits the people with "customs
chaste and good." Both men and women wore their hair done up in a
knot and clothed themselves in blue cotton shirts. Since the earlier
notice, within the century and a quarter interval, Hindu influence
had become manifest for a sort of suttee is related. New widows with
shaven heads would lie fasting beside their husband's corpses for seven
days. Then if still alive they could eat but were never permitted to
remarry and many when the husband's body was placed on the funeral pyre
accompanied it into the flames. The region must have been populous for
on the burial of a chief of renown two or three thousand slaves would
be buried in his tomb. The imports show more luxuries; red taffetas,
ivory and trade silver figuring in the later list.
Sulu comes in for mention with fields losing their fertility in the
third year of cultivation. Sago, fish, shrimps and shell fish made up
the diet and the people, with cut hair, wore black turbans as may now
be seen in parts of Borneo, and dressed in sarongs. Boiling seawater
for salt, making rum and weaving were their occupations ashore, and
dyewoods of middling quality, beeswax, tortoise-shell and pearls,
surpassing in roundness and whiteness, were their exports.
Laufer (Relations of Chinese to the Philippines, p. 251) gives 1372
as the date of the first tribute embassy to China from the Philippine
peoples under their present name of "Luzon-men," then designating
principally Manilans (Ming Chronicles chap. 323, p. 110 according
to his reference). Luzon was then stated to be situated in the South
Sea very close to Chinchew, Fukien province.
The ruler of the great Middle Kingdom in return sent an official to
the king of Luzon with gifts of silk gauze embroidered in gold and
colors. The commentator adds a well founded caution against accepting
the word "first" as meaning anything other than that the chronicler
was unfamiliar with previous notices.
Laufer quotes from the Ming Chronicles of the Malayan tribe
F'ing-ka-shi-lau whom he concludes are the Pangasinanes, inhabitants of
the western and southern shores of Lingayen Bay, Luzon, but in earlier
days apparently extending further north. Early in the XV century they
had a small realm of their own, sending an embassy to China in 1406
and presenting the emperor as gifts "with excellent horses, silver
and other objects" and receiving in return paper money and silks. In
1408 the chief was accompanied by an imposing retinue of two headmen
from each village subject to his authority and these in turn each
accompanied by some of his retainers. This time the imperial gifts
were paper money for the sub-chiefs and for each hundred men six
pieces of an open-work variegated silk, for making coats, and linings.
Besides a 1410 embassy from Pangasinan there was another tribute
party from Luzon headed by one Ko-Ch'a-lao who brought products of
his country, among which gold was most prominent. This last party
came because in 1405 the Emperor Yung-lo had sent a high Chinese
officer to Luzon to govern that country. Here is definite political
identification with the Chinese empire. In 1407 it is probable this
moral force of respect for the superior culture of what was the Rome of
the Orient witnessed also a physical demonstration, for in that year
the eunuch Cheng-ho set sail, with his 62 large ships bearing 27,800
soldiers, on the expedition which explored as far as the Arabian Gulf
and required the nominal allegiance of the numerous countries visited
during repeated voyages extending over thirty years.
Ian C. Hannah states in his "Eastern Asia: A History" that outside
the North of Toh Chow, in Shantung province, by a little mosque,
is yet marked the burial place of a former sultan of Sulu who died
on a visit to the Emperor Yung-lo in 1417.
In the same year, Sulu's eastern, western and village rajahs with
their wives, children and headmen all came to the Chinese court with
tribute, and another tribute mission from Sulu arrived in 1420.
About the middle of the XV century, Doctors Hose and McDougall
in their history of Borneo (Pagan Tribes of Borneo, London, 1912,
chap. 1) assert, a Bisayan was king of Brunei. This Alakber Tala,
later to be called Sultan Mohammed, introduced Arabic doctrines
into his kingdom and the use of Arabic writing made his reign the
beginning of Brunei's local recorded history. His great grandnephew,
Makoda Ragan, had Arab and Chinese as well as Bisayan blood, a fact
remembered to this day by having representatives of these three races
officiating at the king's coronation, and the fourth official on these
occasions is dressed in ancient Bisayan costume. Makoda Ragah, also
called Sultan Bulkiah, is spoken of as the most heroic character in
Bornean history and conquered the Sulu islands, and sent expeditions
to Manila, the second time seizing the place. His wife, the first
queen of the Philippines of whom we know, was a Javan princess. This
great king was accidentally killed by his wife's bodkin. It was this
monarch or his son who died in 1575 that so impressed the chronicler
of Magellan's expedition.
Corroboration for this considerable historic association comes in
the Chinese jars found in the oldest burial caves as well as prized
among the more remote hill tribes as ancestral possessions, handed
down from so remote an antiquity that their origin has long been
forgotten and they are now venerated as objects that came from heaven
(Fay Cole: Chinese Pottery in the Philippines). The four-toed dragon
claw designs place them among the Chinese manufacture of not later
than the last of the XIV century.
Legend is not lacking, either, for a tradition of Tapul (Saleeby: The
Origin of the Malayan Filipinos, p. 1) relates that a Chinese rajah who
anchored his boat at the south of their island had his daughter stolen
in the night by the "dewas." She was hidden in a bamboo stalk and there
found by the solitary male who had hatched out of a roc's egg. Their
daughter, the earliest recorded Chinese mestiza, was, according to
Doctor Saleeby again, the grandmother of the Chiefs of Sulu.
The very name Luzon is not the time-honored rice mortar, La-sung,
but Luzong of which John Crawfurd (History of the Indian Archipelago,
vol. 1, p. 324) says: "The term, I have no doubt, is Chinese, for the
Chinese, who destroy the sound of all other native names of countries,
or use barbarisms of their own, apply the word Lusong familiarly and
correctly." They even associate it with their famous dynasty of that
name and have a joke of their own at the expense of the Spaniards
(B. Laufer: The Chinese in the Philippines).
Naming in pairs is common enough by Chinese to make it seem more
than a mere coincidence that these islands are called "Liu sung,"
while their neighbors to the north were originally "Liu Kiu."
(Translation, by Hon. W. W. Rockhill, of a Chinese book of 1349,
by Wang Ta-yuan, Description of the Barbarians of the Isles
(Tao-i-chih-lio).)
San-tao.
It is to the east of Ta-ki-shan. (1). It is divided by a triple peak,
and there are range upon range of mountains. The people live along
the roadsides. The soil is poor and the crops sparse. The climate
is of varying degrees of heat. Among the males and females some
are white. The men knot their hair on the tops of their heads; the
women do it up in a chignon behind. They wear a single garment. The
men frequently get on board junks and come to Ch'uanchou (in
Fu-kien). When the brokers there have got all the money out of
their bags for ornaments for their persons, they go home, where
their countrymen show them great honor at which even fathers and old
men may not grumble, for it is a custom to show honor to those who
come from China. The people boil seawater to make salt, and ferment
sugar-cane juice to make liquor. They have a ruler (or chief). The
natural products are beeswax, cotton, and cotton stuffs. In trading
with them use is made of copper beads, blue and white porcelain cups,
small figured chintzes, pieces of iron and the like. Secondary to them
there is T'a-p'ei, Hai-tan, Pa-numg-ki, Pu-li-lao, Tung-liu-li. They
are only noted here as they have no very remarkable products.
1) The San hsü of Chao Ju-kua were Kia-ma-yen (Calamian), Pa-lao-yu
(Palawan?), and Pa-ki-nung (Busuanga?). The San-tao of our author
seems to be a more restricted area, presumably the coast south of
Cape Engano, which may be his Ta-ki shan. The San hsü of Chao were
dependencies of Ma-i which probably included all of the northern and
western portions of Luzon, if not all the island.
2) Chao Ju-kua states that in San hsü were "many lofty ridges and
ranges of cliffs which rise steep as the walls of a house."
3) T'a-pei defies identification. Hai-tan is found already
in Chao's book, it is the Aeta, the Negrito aborigines of the
Philippines. Pa-nung-ki must be an error for Pa-ki-nung; Pu-li-lao
is Chao's P'u-li-lu (Polillo island) and Tung Liu-li is also in all
likelihood an error for Tung Liu-hsin and may mean "Eastern Luzon." See
Hirth and Rockhill, op. sup. cit., 160, where these names are wrongly
divided; we should read Li Kin and Tung Liu-hsin.
In reference to what our author says of white colored natives in
the Philippines, I have been assured that such is the fact; I,
unfortunately, cannot now recall on which island they have been
found. (Mindoro, probably albinos.--A. C.)
Ma-i.
The island is flat and broad. It is watered by a double branched
stream. The soil is rich. The climate is rather hot. In their customs
they are chaste and good. Both men and women do up their hair in a
knot behind. They wear a blue cotton shirt. When any woman mourns her
husband, she shaves her head and fasts for seven days, lying beside her
husband. Most of them nearly die, but if, after seven days, they are
not dead, their relatives urge them to eat. Should they get quite well
they may not remarry during their whole lives. There are some even who,
to make manifest their wifely devotion, when the body of their dead
husband has been consumed, get into the funeral pyre and die. At the
burial of a chief of renown they put to death two or three thousand
slaves to bury with him. The people boil sea-water to make salt,
and ferment treacle to make spirits. The native products are cotton,
beeswax, tortoise-shell, betelnuts and chintzes. The goods used
in trading are caldrons, pieces of iron, colored cotton stuffs, red
taffetas, ivory, sycee shoes and the like. The natives and the traders
having agreed on prices, they let the former carry off the goods and
later on they bring the amount of native products agreed upon. The
traders trust them, for they never fail to keep their bargains.
Cf. Chu-fan-chih Hirth and Rockhill, op. sup. cit., 159-162. It refers
to the custom of the people building their dwellings along the banks of
streams and not in villages. It refers also at length to the honesty
of the natives in their dealings with the Chinese traders. The custom
of suttee was evidently introduced into the islands subsequent to Chao
Ju-kua's time (1225), brought there of course, from India or Java,
otherwise the earlier writer would probably have noted it.
Su-lu.
This place has the Shih-i island as a defense. The fields of the
island of three years cultivation are lean; they can grow millet
and wheat. The people eat shahu (sago), fish, shrimps, and shell
fish. The climate is half hot. The customs are simple. Men and women
cut their hair, wear a black turban, and a piece of chintze with a
minute pattern tied around them. They boil sea-water to make salt,
and ferment the juice of the sugar-cane to make spirits. They earn
a living by weaving chu pu. They have a ruler. The native products
include laka-wood of middling quality, beeswax, tortoise-shell,
and pearls. These Su-lu pearls are whiter and rounder than those
got at Sha-li-pa-tan (Jurfattan of the Arabs, on Malabar coast),
Tisan-kiang (gulf of Manár), and other places. Their price is very
high. The Chinese use them for head ornaments. When they are off-color
they are classed as "unassorted." There are some over an inch in
diameter. The large pearls from this country fetch up to seven or
eight hundred ting. All below this are little pearls. Pearls worth
ten thousand taels and upwards, or worth from three or four hundred
to a thousand taels, come from the countries of the western Ocean and
from Ti-san-kiang (near Ceylon); there are none here (in Su-lu). The
goods used in trading here are dark gold, trade silver Pa tu-la
cotton cloth, blue beads Chu (choufu) china-ware, pieces of iron,
and such like things. Hsi-yang chao-kung tien-lu, 1.20 (Su-lu) says,
"this country is in the Eastern Sea. Its trade centre is the island of
Shih-ch'i. In 1417 its eastern raja Pa-tu-ko pa-ta-la, its western raja
Pa-tu-ko pa-su-li, and its village raja Pa-tu-ko pa-la-pu came with
their wives, children, and headmen to court with tribute. Again in 1420
there came a tribute mission from Su-lu. See Rouffaer, op. sup. cit.,
IV., 391. He gives us the equivalents of these names, Paduka Bohol,
Paduka Suli, and Paduka Prabu. Duarte Barbosa, 203, says of the Sulu
(Solor) islands that "all around this island the Moros gather much
seed pearl and fine pearls of perfect color and not round."
SPANISH UNRELIABILITY; EARLY CHINESE RULE OVER PHILIPPINES; AND REASON
FOR INDOLENCE IN MINDANAO
Mr. Salmon's "Modern History," London, 1744, Vol. I, pp. 92-93.
The Portuguese were no sooner in possession of Malacca, but they
discovered the Moluccas or Spice islands; at which time Magallanes
returning home and not being rewarded according to his expectations,
as has been hinted above, offered his service to the Emperor Charles
the Fifth, proposing to discover a passage to these very Spice islands
by sailing westward, which he apprehended would bring them within the
Emperor's share, according to the agreement above mentioned, that all
countries which should be discovered westward should belong to Spain,
as all the discoveries eastward were to belong to Portugal.
The Spaniards who lived to return home again, gave a very extravagant
account of the inhabitants which has since appeared to have little
truth in it. They afterwards sailed into the 50th degree of South
latitude, where they pretended to meet with a monstrous race of
giants, which have never been heard of since; and, among other
improbable stories, tell us that their way of letting blood there
was by chopping a great gash in their arms and legs with a hatchet,
instead of using a lancet; and the way of vomiting their patients
was by thrusting an arrow a foot and a half long down their throats.
So little credit is to be given to some discoverers, especially where
they happen to be people of no judgment, and who have little regard
for truth, as it happened in this case where the commander, Magellan,
and most of the officers died in the voyage, and very few besides
the common sailors returned to give an account of the expedition.
Magellan was killed in a skirmish with the natives; having a little
before his death received intelligence that the Molucca islands,
which he came out in search of, were not far distant; and his ships,
afterwards pursuing the voyage, arrived at Tidore, one of the Moluccas,
on the 8th day of November, 1521. In these islands they were kindly
received by the respective Princes and suffered to build a fort and
erect a factory at Tidore; they also left one of their ships which
was leaky there to be refitted, which the Portuguese afterwards took
as a prize and ruined their factory.
These islands were probably first peopled from the continent of China,
being formerly under the Emperor of China's government; who deserted
them, it seems, on account of their being too remote from the rest of
his dominion; but their religious rights, as well as several other
customs they retained when the Spanish came thither, show that the
people were of Chinese extraction.
The Mindanayans are said to be an ingenious, witty people and active
enough when they have a mind to it; but for the most part very lazy
and thievish, and will not work unless compelled to it by hunger; but
our author attributes their want of industry chiefly to the tyranny
of the government, which will not suffer them to enjoy the wealth
they acquire, and therefore they never endeavor to lay up anything.
BISAYANS IN FORMOSA
(Dr. Terrien de Lacouperie, Formosa Notes; Hertford, 1887, p. 39.)
There are other evidences of importance, which show that the Chinese
were acquainted with the dark-skinned occupiers of Formosa as
originated from the Philippine Archipelago. The Yang tchou wen Kao
(v. Geo. Kleinwachter, The History of Formosa under the Chinese,
p. 345) says that "the island of Tai-wan (or Formosa), which was
formerly called Ki-lung, was originally a part of the Liu-Kiu state,
which was founded by some descendants of the Ha-la. The author
does not say what the Ha-la are, assuming that his readers are
acquainted with that name, so that we must look elsewhere for the
wanted explanations. I find it in the Miao Man hoh tchi (k. III,
ff. 6-7), "A Description of the Miao and Man Tribes," by Tsao
Shu-K'iao of Shanghai. The entry about that people is amongst those
of the South. They are described as "dark, with deep-set eyes,"
a peculiarity which the Chinese stated to be that of the kun-lun
men, as we have seen above. The author of the Miao Man hoh tchi says
also that the Hala do not know the practice of chewing betel and he
proceeds with some details on their clothes and customs in so far
as they are peculiar to themselves, but they are unimportant. Now
these Ha-la of the Chinese are simply the Gala, commonly Ta-gala,
with the usual Ta [165] prefix of the Philippine Islands and the
statements agree entirely with the inferences of ethnologists deduced
from travellers' reports as to the parentship of several tribes of
aborigines of Formosa with the Tagal population of the Philippines.
The Chinese ethnographical notices of the Sung Dynasty on the Liu
Kiu islands, including as it does all the islands from Japan to the
Philippines, states that next to Liu-Kiu lies the country of the
P'i-she-ye [166] in which we must I think recognize the Bisayas,
the most diffused population of the Philippines, and next to the
Tagalas in importance.
They made a raid on the coasts of Fuhkien at Tsiuen-tchou during the
period A. D. 1174-1189 and caused a great deal of havoc. They are
described as naked savages with large eyes, greatly covetous of iron
in any shape, using bamboo rafts and a sort of javelin attached by a
long string and which they throw on their enemy (cf. Ma Tuanlin, Wen
hien t'ung K'ao; d'Hervey de St. Denis, Ethnographie de Matouanlin,
Vol. 1, p. 425). These people travelling on rafts could not have
come from afar, and therefore may be supposed to have come over to
the Chinese coast from Formosa. In which probable case, this ought
to have resulted from an emigration of them to the great island.
THE TAGALOG TONGUE
By Jose Rizal
Tagalog belongs to the agglutinative branch of languages. For a long
time it was believed to be one of the dialects of Malay, through that
language having been the first of the family known to Europeans. But
later studies, by comparing the Malay-Polynesian idioms with one
another, have succeeded in showing how slight is the basis for this
supposition. The conjugation of the Tagalog verbs, far from being
derived from the Malay verbs, contains in itself every form of that's
and besides some from other dialects.
Although in Tagalog as at present spoken and written (slightly
different from ancient Tagalog), there are to be found many Sanscrit,
Spanish and Chinese words, nevertheless the structure of the language
still retains its own distinctive character. These foreign words are
stitched to the fabric much as gems are set in jewels; they could
come off and something else be substituted without the framework
losing its form.
Like every other language, Tagalog has its alphabet; composed of five
vowels and fourteen consonants.
The vowels are: A, E, I, O, U.
A is pronounced clear and full as in all other languages. The same
may be said of I and U.
E and O only are found in the last syllable, or in the next to the
last when that begins with the same vowel. In these cases E or O can
be likewise represented by I or U, since the sounds of these final,
or penultimate, vowels partake of both sounds. For example, in mabuti
or mabute, the final I or E sounds like the final Y of the English
words pity and beauty, where Y has a sound intermediate between E and
I; leeg or liig is pronounced with a vowel which resembles E as much
as it does I.
In the same way, O in the words dulo, ubod, look, has the value of
a vowel intermediate between O and U.
The consonants are: B, D, G, G, H, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, Y.
PHILIPPINE TRIBES AND LANGUAGES
By Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt.
Notwithstanding the rich literature concerning the peoples and
languages of the Philippine Archipelago, there is no book or
publication in which are catalogued the names of the tribes and the
languages, and this appears the more inexcusable, since both Spanish
and Philippine writers, with few exceptions, handle these names very
carelessly, so that great confusion must ensue. The prevailing bad
form in the Philippines, of transferring the name of one people or
family (Stamm) to another, who possess similarities of any kind with
the first, either in manner of life, or even only in culture grade
in the widest sense of the term, has its counterpart in a second
bad fashion of making several peoples out of one by replacing the
folk name with the tribal names. Only with the greatest pains and
thought is it possible to extricate one's self from this labyrinth of
nomenclature. After thorough search, I am convinced that many names
reported to me must be eliminated, since they owe their existence to
mistakes in penmanship or printing, to ridicule, misunderstanding,
or error, as I have proved in single instances. However, I have
been convinced that by a closer and intelligent exploration of the
archipelago, it would not only be possible to make many corrections,
particularly in orthography, but that new names would also be added,
especially from northern Luzon and from the interior of other islands.
I have introduced into this catalogue all the variations of published
names known to me, and briefly the description of tribal locations and
reports on their culture grades, especially their religion. Besides
the Negritos, I differentiate only Malay peoples (Stamme) in
general, because here regard for different principles of grouping
and subdividing of the Malay race would appear to serve no good end
and perhaps prove troublesome. Obsolete forms of names are carefully
marked with a cross. Where I, as with the Talaos, Mardicas, and Cafres,
take note of foreign peoples or castes on the islands, it is because
Spanish authors have erroneously set them down as Philippine. On the
other hand, in order to draw attention to a few names customary in
the country for races and castes, I have included the following, not
belonging here in strict accordance with the title of this article:
Castila, Cimarrones, Indios, Infieles, Insulares, Mestizos, Montaraz,
Peninsulares, Remontados, and Sangley:
Abacas.--Heathen Malay people, who lived in the dense forests of
Caraballo Sur (Luzon). Warlike, probably head-hunters. In the last
century they were Christianized, and in their territory the parish
of Caranglan (province of Nueva Ecija) was founded, where their
descendants lived as peaceful Christians. They have a language of
their own, but appear now to be thoroughly Tagalized.
Abra-Igorots, Igorots of Abra.--Collective title for the head-hunters
living in the province of Abra (Luzon). Belong for the most part to
the Guinaanes.
Abulon.--The name of a group of wild peoples living in the mountain
regions of Zambales. They are perhaps identical with the Zambales
and Igorots.
Adang.--A folk with a language of their own, who dwell about a mountain
of the same name in the province of Ilocos Norte. According to the
Augustians P. Buzeta and P. Bravo, they are a mixture of Malays
and Negritos. But the first-named element is more prevalent than
the second. Their customs resemble those of the Apayaos, their next
neighbors; still they do not appear to be head-hunters.
Aeta, see Negrito. (Variants: Aheta, Eta, Aita, Aigta, Ita, Atta,
Agta, Inagta, Até, Atá, etc., from the Tagalog, ita, itim, Malay itam,
Bicol, ytom, black).
Agutainos.--Name of the natives of Malay race in the island of Agutaya,
in the Cuyo archipelago (province of Calamianes). They have their
own dialect, called Agutaino; are Christianized and civilized.
Alibaon, Alibabaun.--Not the name of a people, but, it seems, a title
of the Moro chief, settled on the bay of Davao.
Alimut.--This name is cited in the form Igorots of Alimut. Supposed
to be the tribe of head-hunters who lived in June, 1889, in the lately
erected comandancia Quiangan and on the banks of the river Alimut. In
this case they should belong to the Mayoyao or Ifugao family (Luzon).
Altasanes or Altabanes.--In both forms a head-hunting people of
northwestern Nueva Vizcaya (Luzon) is known. The correct spelling of
the name should be decided. They appear to have no language of their
own and perhaps belong to the Mayoyaos and Ifugaos.
Apayaos.--Warlike head-hunters, having their own language and dwelling
in the northwestern portion of the province of Cagayan (Luzon) and the
adjoining portions of Ilocos Norte and Abra. Buzeta and Bravo report
that they are not full-blood Malays, but mixed with Negritos. It must
not be forgotten, however, that the Spanish authors have such mixtures
ready made. Dark hair is a mixture of Negrito blood; clear skin or
yellowish is the result of crossing with Chinese or Japanese. They
are partly Christianized. Some Spanish authors declare their language
to be Mandaya, but this is improbable.
Variants: Apayos, Apoyaos. (Consult also Vol. VIII, folio series
of the Royal Ethnographic Museum in Dresden, by A. B. Meyer, with
A. Schadenberg.)
Aripas.--A Malay language, spoken by a peaceable people. They live
near Nacsiping and Tubang (Luzon). They are heathen, but a portion of
them have been converted to Christianity. With these new Christians
the village of Aripa has been founded.
Atas (also Ataas, Itaas).--(1) A powerful people of unknown origin, who
occupy the head waters of the rivers Davas, Tuganay, and Libaganum,
and their country extends in the eastern portion of the province
of Misamis (Mindanao) to the home of the Bukidnones. Little is
known about the Atás; they appear to be a mixture of Negritos and
Malays. They have a language of their own. Their name means "dwellers
in highlands." Variants: Ataas, Itaas. (2) A mixture of Bicols and
Negritos in Camarines Sur. [On the confounding of Atás with Aetas,
consult A. B. Meyer, 1899, p. 18. The Atás are not pure Negritos.--Tr.]
Até.--Name which the Tagbanuas of Palawan (Paragua) give to the
Negritos.
Atta.--Dialect spoken by the Negritos of the province of Cagayan
(Luzon).
Baganis.--No people is known under this name, as Moya erroneously
asserts; it is the title conferred on every Manobo warrior who has
slain seven enemies.
Bagobos.--A heathen and bloodthirsty people of Malay derivation and
with an idiom of their own. Their home is at the foot of the volcano
of Apo (Davao, in Mindanao). There are detached Christian settlements
of them.
Balugas.--(1) Collective title for dark mixed people of Malay and
Negrito race, derived from the Tagalog word baloga, "black mixed
one." Balugas are to be found in several portions of central Luzon. (2)
Some authors identify Aetas with Balugas. Camarca calls the black,
woolly savages of the mountains in Camumusan "Negros Balugas," so it
seems that in certain regions more or less pure-blooded Negritos were
called by this name.
Banaos.--[In northern Luzon. See A. B. Meyer, with A. Schadenberg, in
Vol. VIII, folio series of the Royal Ethnographic Museum, in Dresden.]
Bangal-Bangal.--The Dulanganes are so called by the Moros.
Bangot.--A name conferred on various bands of Manguianes in Mindoro,
for the place and mode of life. So called are (1), by the Socol and
Bulalacao, those Manguianes who inhabit the plains; and (2) those
Manguianes of Mongoloid type who have their dwelling places on the
banks of the streams south of Pinamalayan.
Banuaon.--Name of the Manobos tribe from which the Christian settlement
of Amporo, in the district of Surigao (Mindanao), was formed.
Barangan.--Name borne by those Manguian hordes who occupy the most
elevated stations in the Mangarin Mountains (Mindoro).
Batak.--Another name for the Tinitianos, especially those that dwell
in the neighborhood of Punta Tinitia and the Bubayán Creek, on the
island of Palawan.
Batan.--The inhabitants of Batanes Island were and are enumerated
by Spanish authors among the Ibanags or Cagayanes. According to
Dr. T. H. Pardo this is incorrect, for their idiom differs not only
from the Ibanag but from all others in the Philippines, having the
sound of "tsch," unknown elsewhere in the archipelago, and a nasal
sound like that of the French "en." They are therefore to be separated
from the Cagayanes.
Bayabonan.--Name of a supposed Malay people with a language of their
own, living as neighbors to the Gamunanges on the mountain slopes
eastward from Tuao, in Cagayan (Luzon). They are heathen and little
is known of them save the name.
Beribi.--Manguianes domiciled between Socol and Bulalacao, living on
the mountains. (Compare Bangot.)
Bicol.--Autonym of those natives of Malay race who inhabit the
peninsula of Camarines in Luzon and some outlying islands. On the
arrival of the Spaniards they were somewhat civilized and had a
kind of writing. They are Christians, still a section of them live
under the names Igorots, or Cimarrones, mostly mixed with Negrito
blood, in the wilds of Isarog, Iriga, Buhi, Caramuan, etc., wild,
and plunged in the deepest heathendom. The official spelling of
the name is Vicol. This is clear, since in Spanish the letter v,
especially before e or i, is sounded like German b.
Bilanes.--A Malay people occupying, according to latest accounts, a
larger area than I have attributed to them in my ethnographic chart
of Mindanao, here thoroughly penetrated also by other stocks. The
Sarangani islands, lying off the southern point of Mindanao, are
inhabited by them. They are heathen, of peaceable disposition. Their
language is characterized by the possession of the letter f. The
proper form of their name ought to be Buluan, so that they have the
same title as the lake. They must then at first have been called
Tagabuluan (Taga = whence, from there). (Compare Tagabelies.)
Variants: Buluanes, Buluan, Vilanes, Vilaanes.
Bisayas.--Officially written Visayas. A Malay people who, on the
arrival of the Spaniards, had a culture and an art of writing of
their own. They inhabit the islands named after them, besides the
northern and the eastern coast of Mindanao, with small intrusions of
heathen populations that have become Visayised since the converted
tribes--Manobos, Buquidnones, Subanos, Mandayas, etc., have been taught
the Visaya language in the schools. Also Zamboango and Cottobato show
Visaya settlements. Among them are to be counted the Mundos. At the
time of the discovery they painted (or tattooed) their bodies, on
which account they received from the Spaniards the name of Pintados,
which stuck to them even till the eighteenth century. They are
Christians. Their language is divided into several dialects, of which
the Cebuano and Panayano are most important. (Compare Calamiano,
Halayo, Hiliguayna, Caraga. Blumentritt places their number at
2,500,000 and upward. Globus, 1896, LXX, p. 213.)
Bontok-Igorots.--Collective name of the head-hunting peoples living
in the province of Bontok, to whom also the Guinaanes belong.
Bouayanan.--A heathen folk in the interior of Palawan. The name
appears to mean "crocodile men."
Buhuanos, Bujuanos.--A heathen folk related to the Igorots
(head-hunters?), dwelling in the province of Isabela de Luzon. They
are warlike in nature.
Bulalacaunos.--A wild people of Malay race (without Negrito mixture?),
having its own (?) idiom. It is to be found in the interior of the
northern part of the island of Palawan (Paragua) and in Calamianes
islands.
Buluanes, see Bilanes.
Bungananes.--A warlike, head-hunting (?) people, who live in the
provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela de Luzon. Except the name,
almost nothing is known of them, and in my view this is not certain.
Bukidnones, Buquidnones.--A heathen Malay people living in the
eastern part of the district of Misamis (Mindanao), from Ibigan to
Punta Divata (the coast is settled chiefly by Visayas), and along
the Rio de Tagoloan. Lately they have been partly Christianized. The
Spaniards conferred on them the name of Monteses, "dwellers in the
mountains," which is a translation of their name.
Bukil, Buquil.--Name of different Manguiana tribes of Mindoro:
(1) the Manguianes mixed with Negrito blood, whose homes are in the
vicinity of Bacoo and Subaan; (2) those that dwell on the spurs of the
mountains between Socol and Bulalacao, and show a pure Malay type;
(3) in Pinamalayan they are called Manguianes of Mongoloid type,
who inhabit the plains; (4) the Manguianes who dwell on the banks
of the rivers are named Mangarin. In view of the fact that Bukil is
identical with Bukid, and can be applied only to tribes living in
mountain forests, it appears to me that the settlements given under
3 and 4 are incorrect.
Buquitnon.--A "race" by this name, on the island of Negros, until
recently unknown (used in La Oceañía Española, Manila, August 9,
1889, copied from the Provenir de Visayas.) The Buquitnon are said
to be a heathen tribe of about 40,000 souls that has its homes on the
mountains of Negros, not massed together and not to be distinguished
from the Visayas living on the coast. Whether the Carolanos are
identical with them is hard to say. The name Buquitnon and also
Buquidnon in Mindanao means mountaineers, upland forest dwellers,
yet are the Buquitnon, of Negros, and the Buquidnon, of Mindanao,
to be strongly distinguished from each other.
Buriks.--Under this name figures a pretended Igorot people in all
publications devoted to the Igorots, but Dr. Hans Meyer found that
Burik applies to any Igorot who is tattooed in a certain manner. I did
not believe this until a Philippine friend, Eduardo P. Casal, wrote
that the Igorots in the Philippine Exposition in Madrid, in 1887,
had confirmed the statement of Dr. Meyer.
Busaos.--From Spanish accounts the Busaos are a separate division
of Igorots. Dr. Hans Meyer has reported that the Basaos, or Bisaos,
through manner, costume, and custom, are to be numbered rather with
the Guiaanes and Bontok-Igorots than with the Igorots proper.
Cafres.--No native people by this name. The Papuan slaves brought to
Manila by the Portuguese at the end of the sixteenth and the beginning
of the seventeenth century were so called. (The abolition of slavery
under Philip II arrested this traffic.)
Cagayanes.--A Malay language group. Their dwelling places are the Rio
Grande de Cagayan (Luzon) from Furao to the mouth, the Babuyanes and
Batanes islands, although the people of the last named are by some
authors made an independent stock. (Compare Batan.) The Cagayanes
had at the time of the Spanish discovery a civilization of their
own. They are Christians. Their language is Ibanag. From them are
to be sharply discriminated the people of Cagayan, in Mindanao,
belonging to the Visayan stock.
Calaganes.--A small Malayan people who live on the Casilaran Creek
(Bay of Davao, Mindanao). Partly converted to Christianity.
Calamiano.--Buzeta and Bravo understand by Calamiano a Visaya dialect
which was made up of Tagalog mixed with Visaya and spoken by the
Christians of northern Palawan (Paragua) and Calamianes islands. Pere
Fr. Juan de San Antonio has preached in Calamiano and composed in it
a catechism. The existence of the Calamiano language should therefore
be unassailable, but A. Marche has declared that it does not exist.
Calauas (pronounced Calawas).--A Malay people, heathen and
peaceable. They live near Malauec, in the valleys of the Rio Chico
de Cagayan (Luzon), and on the strip of land called Partido de
Itavés. Their language is called Itavés also, but others declare their
speech to be identical with the Malauec. The portion of the Calauas
who hold the Itavés land are by some authors called Itaveses. I am
not sure whether there may not have been a misunderstanding here.
Calibuganes.--So are called in western Mindanao the mixtures of Moros
and Subanos.
Calingas.--(1) In northern Luzon, Calinga is the collective designation
for "wild" natives, independent heathen, as, in northwestern Luzon,
the word Igorot is applied. (2) This term is specially attached
(a) to that warlike people of Malay descent who live between Rio
Cagayan Grande and Rio Abulug, and are marked by their Mongoloid
type; (b) according to Semper, also the Irayas. (See Die Calingas,
by Blumentritt, in Das Ausland, 1891, No. 17, pp. 328-331.)
Camucones, Camocones.--Name of the Moro pirates who inhabit the little
islands of the Sulu group east of Tawi-Tawi, and the islands between
these and Borneo; but on the last the name Tirones is also conferred.
Cancanai, Cancanay.--Igorot dialect spoken in the northwest of Benguet.
Caragas.--In older works are so named the warlike and Christian
inhabitants of the localities subdued by the Spaniards on the east
coast of Mindanao, and, indeed, after their principal city, Caraga. It
has been called, if not a peculiar language, a Visaya dialect, while
now only Visaya (near Manobo and Mandaya) is spoken, and an especial
Caraga nation is no longer known. I explain this as follows: Already
at that time newly arrived Manobos and Mandayas were settled who spoke
Visaya only imperfectly. This Visaya muddle and the mixture of Visayas
and newcomers are to be identified with the Caraga, if in the end,
under the first, the Mandaya is not to be directly understood.
Variants: Caraganes, Calaganes (to be distinguished from Calaganes
of Davao), Caragueños (now the name of the inhabitants of Daraga la
Nueva and Caraga.)
Carolanos.--Diaz Arenas so designates the heathen and wild natives
who inhabit the mountain lands of Negros, especially the Cordillera,
of Cauyau. They appear to be of Malay stock, transplanted Igorots
from Negros. Practically nothing is known concerning them. Compare
Buquitnon.
Castilas.--Native name for Spaniards and other Europeans in the
Philippine Islands.
Catalanganes.--A Malay people of Mongoloid type. They live in the flood
plain of the Catalangan river (province of Isabela de Luzon). They are
heathen and peaceable, and have the same language as the Irayas. (Half
Tagala and half Chinese, Brinton, American Anthropologist, 1898, XI,
p. 302.)
Cataoan.--A dialect spoken by the Igorots of the district of Lepanto,
living in the valley of the Abra River.
Catubanganes, or Catabangenes.--Warlike heathen, settled in the
mountains of Guinayangan, in the province of Tayabas (Luzon). Through
lack of available information nothing can be said about their race
affiliations, whether they be pure Malay or Negrito-Malay. They are
probably Remontados mixed with Negrito blood and gone wild.
Cebuano.--Dialect, Visaya.
Cimarrones.--This characterization ("wild," "gone wild") is given to
heathen tribes of most varied affiliations, living without attachment
and in poverty, chiefly posterity of the Remontados. (See note by
A. B. Meyer, 1899, p. 12.--Translator.)
Coyuvos.--The natives of Cuyo archipelago (province of Calamianes),
with exception of those who belong to the stock of Agutainos. According
to A. Marche, the Coyuvos appear to be Christianized Tagbanuas. For
that reason would the idiom called official Coyuvo be the Tagbanua.
Culamanes.--Another name for the Manobos, who live on the southern
portion of the east coast of Davao Bay, the so-called coast of Culaman.
Dadayag.--A Malay people, who occupy the mountain wilds in the western
part of Cabagan (province of Cagayan). They have a language of their
own and are warlike heathen as well as head-hunters.
Variant: Dadaya.
Dapitan (Nacion de).--Title conferred in the sixteenth century on the
Visayas of the present comandancia of Dapitan (province of Misamis,
Mindanao).
Dayhagang.--According to S. Mas, before the arrival of the Spaniards,
the progeny of Borneo-Malays and Negrito women were so called.
Dulanganes.--This heathen people occupy the southern part of the
district of Davao. The name signifies "wild men." It is not known
whether they are pure bloods or Malays with infusion of Negrito
blood. I believe that the Malay type predominates. Since they
also bear the name of Gulanganes, perhaps, more properly, it is
to be suspected that they form with the Mangulangas, Manguangas,
and Guiangas (q. v.) a single linguistic group, or at least a stock
closely related to them. This is merely a conjecture. By the Moros
they are called Bangal-Bangal.
Dumagat.--A name conferred on the Negritos of the northeast coast
of Luzon and by older non-Spanish writers on coast dwellers of
Samar, Leyte, and Mindoro. Latterly it has come about that the Tagal
name Dumagat (from dagat, "sea," "dweller on the strand," "skillful
sailor," etc.) has been taken for the name of a people. (A. B. Meyer,
1899, p. 11, calls the Dumagates Negrito half-breeds of the island
of Alabat, quoting Steen Bille, Reise der Galathea, 1852, Vol. I,
p. 451.--Translator.)
Durugmun.--The Manguianes of Mongoloid type are so called who
occupy the highest portions of the mountains around Pinamalayan
(Mindoro). They are called also Buchtulan.
Etas, see Negritos.
Gaddanes.--A Malay head-hunting people, with a language of their own,
settled in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan, but especially in
the comandancia of Saltan (Luzon). The Gaddanes of Bayombong and
Bagabag are Christians; the rest are heathen.
Gamungan, Gamunanganes.--A Malay people having their own idiom, and
inhabiting the mountain provinces in the eastern and northeastern
portions of Tuao (province of Cagayan, Luzon). They are heathen.
Guiangas, Guangas.--A Malay people in the northeastern and northern
part of Davao (Mindanao). They are heathen and do not differ greatly
from the Bagobo, their neighbors; on the other hand, according to the
accounts of the Jesuit missionaries, their speech differs totally
from those of the heathen tribes near by, and for that reason it
is difficult to learn. On account of their wildness they are much
decried. The variants, Guanga and Gulanga, which mean "forest people,"
give rise to the bare suspicion that they are a fragment of the
little-known tribe who, according to location, lived scattered in
southern Mindanao under the names: Manguangas, Mangulangas, Dulanganes.
Guimbajanos (pronounced Gimbahanos).--The historians of the
seventeenth century, under this title, designated a wild, heathen
people, apparently of Malay origin, living in the interior of Sulu
Island. Their name is derived from their war drum (guimba). Later
writers are silent concerning them. In modern times the first mention
of them is by P. A. de Pazos and by a Manila journal, from which
accounts they are still at least in Carodon and in the valley of the
Loo; it appears that a considerable portion of them, if not the entire
people, have received Islam.
Variants: Guinbajanos, Guimbanos, Guimbas, Quimpanos.
Guinaanes (pronounced Ginaanes).--A Malay head-hunting people
inhabiting the watershed of the Rio Abra and Rio Grande de Cagayan
(Luzon), as well as the neighboring region of Isabela and Abra. They
are heathen; their language possesses the letter f.
Variants: Guianes, Ginan, Quinaanes, Quinanes. (See A. B. Meyer, with
A. Schadenberg, Volume VIII, folio series, Royal Ethnographic Museum,
Dresden, 1890.)
Gulanga, see Guianga.
Gulanganes, see Dulanganes.
Halaya.--A Visaya dialect spoken in the interior of Panay.
Haraya.--A Visaya dialect spoken in the interior of the island of
Panay, nearly identical with the foregoing.
Hiliguayna.--A Visaya dialect spoken on the coast of the island of
Panay. Variants: Hiligueyna, Hiligvoyna.
Hillunas, Hilloonas, see Illanos.
Ibalones.--Ancient name of Bicols, especially those of Albay.
Ibanag.--Name of the language spoken by the Cagayanes. They possess
the letter f.
Idan, Idaan.--The Idan, sought by non-Spanish authors on the islands
of Palawan (Paragua) and Sulu, have not been found.
Ifugaos.--A dreaded Malay head-hunting people who inhabit the provinces
of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela and the lately formed comandancia of
Quiangan. To them belong the Quianganes, Silipanos, etc. They are
heathen. Their language possesses the sound of f.
Ifumangies.--According to Diaz Arenas, this name applies to a tribe
of Igorots who were then (1848) in the province of Nueva Vizcaya. The
f in their name leads to the suspicion that they are Ifugaos.
Ibilaos.--A Malay head-hunting people, having also apparently Negrito
blood in their veins. They are heathen and inhabit the border lands
of Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija.
Igorots.--With the name Ygolot the first chroniclers characterized
the warlike heathen who now inhabit Benguet, therefore the pure
Igorots. Later, the name extended to all the head-hunters of northern
Luzon; still later it was made to cover the Philippine islanders
collectively, and to-day the title is so comprehensive that the
name Igorot is synonymous with wild. According to Hans Meyer, the
name applies only to the Igorots of Lepanto and Benguet, who speak
the dialects Inibaloi, Cancanai, Cataoan, and a fourth (Suflin?),
that of the Berpe Data.
Variant: Ygolot, Ygulut.
(A Chinese-Japanese Tagala group. Brinton, Amer. Anthropologist,
1898, XI, p. 302. Consult A. B. Meyer, with A. Schadenberg,
in Vol. VIII, folio series of the Royal Ethnographic Museum, in
Dresden, 1890; and Die Igoroten von Pangasinan, F. Blumentritt,
in Mittheil. T. K. K. Geogr. Gesellschaft in Wien, 1900. hft. 3 u. 4.)
Ilamut.--Name of an Igorot tribe always mentioned together with that of
Altsanes. If this tribe really exists, its home is in the Cordilleras
which separate Benguet from Nueva Vizcaya, and is to be sought,
indeed, in the last-named province, especially in Quiangan. They may
be identical with the Alimut.
Ilanos, Illanos.--The Moros dwelling in the territory of Illano,
Mindanao. Their name should be connected with Lanao, "lake,"
since their land incloses Lake Dagum, or Lanao. This conjecture is
strengthened through the names Lanun, Lanaos, Malanaos, existing in
the neighborhood. (Consult A. B. Meyer, 1899, p. 18, on the Hillunas,
"Correcting Quatrefages and Hamy Crania Ethnica," 1882, p. 178,
where they are called Negrito.--Translator.)
Ileabanes.--According to Diaz Arenas there existed an Igorot tribe
of this name (1848) in the province of Nueva Vizcaya.
Ilocanos.--A Malay people, with language of their own. At the discovery
they had their peculiar culture and an alphabet. They inhabit the
provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Union, and form the civic
population of Abra, whose Tinguian peasants they Ilocanise. Since
they are fond of wandering, their settlements are scattered in other
provinces of Luzon, as Benguet, Pampanga, Cagayan, Isabela de Luzon,
Pangasinan, Zambales, and Nueva Ecija. They are to be found as far
as the east coast of Luzon. They are Christians and civilized. (The
Ilocanos of the northwest are markedly Chinese in appearance and
speech. Brinton, Amer. Anthropologist, 1898, XI, p. 302. Consult
A. B. Meyer, with A. Schadenberg, in Vol. VIII, folio series, of the
Royal Ethnographic Museum in Dresden, 1890.)
Ilongotes.--A Malay people of apparent Mongoloid type, inhabiting
the borders of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Principe, and known also
in Nueva Ecija. They are bloodthirsty head-hunters. (In the eastern
Cordillera, a rather pure but wild Tagala horde. Brinton, American
Anthropologist, 1898, p. 302.)
Indios.--Under this title the Spanish understand the non-Mohammedanized
natives of Malay descent, especially those Christianized and civilized.
Infieles.--Heathen, uncivilized peoples of Malay descent; were so
named by the Spaniards.
Inibaloi.--Name of the dialect spoken by the Igorots Agnothales.
Insulares.--Spaniards born in the Philippine Archipelago.
Irapis.--After Mas, a subdivision of Igorots.
Irayas.--A Malay people mixed with Negrito blood, who dwell south of
the Catalanganes and in the western declivities of the Cordillera of
Palanan (Luzon). They speak the same language as the Catalanganes,
and are likewise heathen. Their name seems to mean "dwellers on the
plains," "owners of plains." To them the collective name Calinga is
applied. (Consult A. B. Meyer, with A. Schadenberg, in Vol. VIII,
folio series, of the Royal Ethnographic Museum in Dresden, 1890.)
Isinays (Isinayas, Isinay).--In the eighteenth century the heathen
population of the then mission province of Ituy were so called,
which includes the present communities of Aritao, Dupax, Banibang,
Bayombong (Nueva Vizcaya, Luzon). It is not certain whether they are
a separate people or are identical with Gaddanus, Italones, or Ifugaos.
Italones.--A head-hunting Malay people who inhabit the mountain wilds
of Nueva Vizcaya (Luzon). They are heathen, only a small part of them
having embraced Christianity.
Ita, see Negritos.
Itaas, see Atas.
Itanegas, Itaneg, Itaveg. See Tinguianes.
Itaves.--So used the language of the Calauas to be called; still
there are authors who affirm that these two are different. Nothing
certain is known concerning this name, which is also written Itaues,
Itanes. From latest accounts, this is a dialect of Gaddan.
Itetapanes (Itetapaanes).--According to Buzeta and Bravo, a
head-hunting Malay people mixed with Negrito blood, living on the
western borders of Isabela de Luzon and perhaps also in Bontok.
Ituis.--According to Mas, a subdivision of Igorots. Nothing more is
known. Compare Isinays.
Ivanha.--Form of Ibanag.
Joloanos.--The Moros of Sulu.
Jacanes, see Yacanes.
Kianganes, see Quianganes. (Meyer has Kingianes, 1899.)
Jumangi, see Humanchi.
Humanchi.--Heathen people of central Luzon (?); written Jumangi.
Latan.--Another name for the Manguianes who inhabit the plains of
Mangarin (Mindoro).
Lanaos, see Illanos and Malanaos.
Lanun, see Illanos.
Laut, see Samales-Laut.
Lingotes, see Ilongotes.
Loacs.--Not a separate people, but the name of a very poor Tagacaolo
tribe who dwell in the mountain forests of San Augustin Peninsula
(Mindanao).
Lutangas.--A Mohammedan mixed race of Moros and Subanos, who inhabit
the island of Olutanga and the adjacent coast of Mindanao.
Lutaos, Lutayos.--Moros of the district of Zamboanga and frequently
called Illanos. It appears to be the Hispanicized form of the Malay
Orang-Laut.
Maguindanaos (Mindanaos).--Another of the Moros who inhabit the valley
of the Rio Palangui or Rio Grande de Mindanao. To them belong also
the Moros of Sarangani Islands and partly those of Davao Bay. (See the
Maguindanaos, by Blumentritt, Das Ausland, 1891, No. 45, pp. 886-892.)
Malanaos.--Common name of those Moros, specially of Ilanos, who
inhabit the shores of Malanas Lake (Mindanao).
Malancos.--A tribe alleged to be settled in Mindanao, but the name
is plainly an error for Malanaos.
Malauec.--In an anonymous author of "Apuntes interesantes sobre
las islas Filipinas," (Madrid, 1870), and quoting V. Barrantes,
the common language of commerce of Malaneg (province of Cagayan) is
so called; but on the last named also (only) Ibanag is spoken. Other
authors understand by this the language of the Nabayuganes or that of
the Calaluas. The suspicion is also well founded that by Malauec is
meant a lingua franca made up from various tongues. It is difficult
to extract the truth from these conflicting accounts.
Mamanuas.--A Negrito people inhabiting the interior of Surigao
Peninsula (northeast Mindanao). Semper and others have called them a
bastard race, but the Jesuit missionaries, who have turned a great
number of them to Christianity, call them "los verdaderos negritos
aborigines de Mindanao." (On the Mamanuas consult A. B. Meyer,
Distribution of the Negritos, Dresden, 1899, p. 17.--Translator.)
Mananapes.--A heathen people alleged to dwell in the interior of
Mindanao, possibly a tribe of Buquidnones or Manobos.
Mandaya.--In some authors this is the name of the Apayas language,
which is somewhat doubtful.
Mandayas.--A bloodthirsty Malay and bright-colored head-hunting people
in the comandancia of Bislig and the district of Davao (Mindanao). They
are heathen, partly converted to Christianity by the Jesuits.
Mancayaos.--Not a separate people, but merely the warriors among the
Manobos, who carry lances.
Manguangao.--Under this name the Jesuits near Catel (comandancia
Bislig, east Mindanao) characterized the heathen inhabitants. By the
same authors the heathen living on the upper tributaries of the Rio
Agusan, Rio Manat, and Rio Batutu are called Manguangas and Mangulangas
(forest people). Pere Pastells identifies Manguangas and Mangulangas
and says that they inhabit the head waters of the Rio Salug (which
does not agree with Montano's communications). From all which it
results that Manguangas is a collective name and stands in connection
with that of the Dulanganes and Guiangas. Perhaps all the folk named
belong to one people. They are heathen and of the Malay race.
Manguianes.--The heathen, unaffiliated natives inhabiting the
interior of Mindoro, Romblon, and Tablas. Manguian (forest people)
is a collective name of different languages and races. According to
R. Jordana, the Manguianes of Mindoro are divided into four branches,
one of which, Bukil or Buquel, is a bastard race of Negritos, while a
second in external appearance reminds one of Chinese Mestizos, and on
that account it is to be regarded as a Mongoloid type. The other two
are pure Malay. To the name Manguianes (which calls to mind Magulangas)
specially belong only (1) those Manguianes who live in the mountains
near Mangarin and (2) only those between Socol and Bulacao who dwell
on the river banks. The remaining tribes bear different names--Bangot,
Buquil, Tadianan, Beribi, Durugmun, Buctulan, Tiron, and Lactan. The
Manila journals speak of Manguianes of Paragua (Palawan). These have
naught to do with those of Mindoro, since on Paragua this title in
its meaning of "forest people" is applied to all wild natives of
unknown origin.
Mangulangas, see Manguangas.
Manobos.--A Malay head-hunting people, sedentary, chiefly in the
river valley of middle Rio Agusan (district of Swigao), as well as at
various points in the districts of Davao (Mindanao). A considerable
portion have been converted through Jesuit missionaries; the rest
are heathens. The correct form of the name is Manuba, or, better,
Man-Suba; that is, "river people." The name in earlier times was
frequently extended to other heathen tribes of Mindanao. (On the
relationship of Manobos with Indonesians, an allophyllic branch of
the white race, see remark of Brinton on Quatrefages and Hamy in
American Anthropologist, 1898, Vol. XI, p. 297.)
Mardicas.--In the war between Spain and Holland (seventeenth century)
the mercenaries from the Celebes, Macassars, and the Moluccas were
so called.
Maritimos.--The Remontados, who inhabit the islands and rocks on the
north coast of Camarines Norte. (The island of Alabat, on the east
coast of Luzon, is peopled by Negrito half-breeds, called Dumagat
and Maritimos.--A. B. Meyer.)
Mayoyaos.--A Malay head-hunting people, who inhabit the southwest
corner of Isabela and the northwest angle of Nueva Vizcaya. The
Mayoyaos belong, without doubt, to the Ifugao linguistic stock.
Mestizo.--Mixture. Mestizo Peninsulo, Mestizo Español, Mestizo
Privilegiado, mixture of Spaniards and natives; Mestizo Chino, Mestizo
Sangley, Mestizo Tributante, or mixture of Chinese with natives.
Mindanaos, see Maguindanaos.
Montaraz, Montesinos.--Collective name for heathen mountain peoples
and also for Remontados.
Monteses.--(1) Collective name in the same sense as Montaraz; (2)
Spanish name for Buquidnones and Buquitnon.
Moros.--Mohammedan Malays in the south of the archipelago, southern
Palawan, Balabac, Sulu Islands, Basilan, western and partly the
southern coast of Mindanao, as well as the territorio illano and the
Rio Grande region and the Sarangani islands. Various subdivisions
have been recognized: Maguindanaos, Illanos, Samales, Joloanos, etc.
(In the sixteenth century, 1521-1565, the Moros of Brunei (Borneo)
propagated Islam among the brown race of the Philippines.)
Mundos.--Heathen tribes inhabiting the wilds of Panay and Cebu. Buzeta
and Bravo regard them as Visaya Remontados gone wild. Baron Huegel
says that their customs resemble those of the Igorots. This is a
contradiction, in which more stress is laid on the testimony of the
two Augustinians, that Mundos is misused as a collective name, like
Igorots, Maguianes, etc.
Nabayuganes.--A warlike, head-hunting people of Malay origin, dwelling
westward from Malaneg or Malanec (province of Cagayan). They appear
to be related to the Guinaanes.
Negrito.--(Native names: Aeta, Até (Palawan), Eta, Ita, Mamanua
(northeast Mindanao), old Spanish name, Negrillo, Negros del País). The
woolly-haired, dark-colored aborigines of the land who, in miserable
condition, live scattered among the Malay population in various
parts of Luzon, Mindoro (?), Tablas, Panay, Busuanga (?), Culion (?),
Palawan, Negros, Cebu, and Mindanao. There are supposed to be 20,000
of them. They are also spoken of under the word Balugas. The Negrito
idiom of the province of Cagayan is called Atta.
("It may be regarded as proved that Negritos are found in Luzon,
Alabat, Corregidor, Panay, Tablas, Negros, Cebu, northeastern Mindanao,
and Palawan. It is questionable whether they occur in Guimaias
(island south of Panay), Mindoro."--A. B. Meyer, 1899, p. 19.
Upon the Negritos, consult A. B. Meyer: The Negritos of the
Philippines, publications of the Royal Ethnographic Museum of Dresden,
1893, Vol. IX, 10 pl., folio; also, The Distribution of the Negritos,
Dresden, 1899; Montano, Mission aux Philippines, 1885; Marche, Lucon
et Palaouan, 1887.--Translator.)
Palauanes.--Another name for Tagbanuas, perhaps their original
name, from which the island of Paragua got the name Isla de los
Palauanes. The u in these names equals the German w and the English v.
Pampangos.--A Malay language group who, at the arrival of the
Spaniards, possessed a civilization and method of writing of its
own. The people inhabit the province of Pampanga, Porac, and single
locations in Nueva Ecija, Bataan, and Zambales. They are Christians.
Panayano.--Dialect of Visaya.
Pangasinanes.--A Malay language group which already at the time of
the conquest had its own civilization and writing. The people inhabit
the larger part of Pangasinan and various localities of Zambales,
Nueva Ecija, Benguet, and Porac (?). They are Christians.
Panguianes, see Pungianes.
Panuipuyes (Panipuyes).--A tribe of so-called Igorots. Their dwellings
were to be sought in the western portion of Nueva Vizcaya or Isabela
de Luzon.
Peninsulares.--European Spaniards.
Pidatanos.--In the back country of Libungan, therefore not far from
the delta of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, dwell, as the Moros report,
a heathen mountain people bearing the name of Pidatanos. Probably
they have not a separate language, but belong to one of the well-known
families, perhaps the Manguangas.
Pintados, see Visayas.
Pungianes.--Tribe of Mayoyaos.
Quianganes.--(Pronounced Kianganes). A head-hunting people, settled
in 1889 in the comandancia of Quiangan (Luzon), for that reason
belonging to the Ifugao linguistic family. (See Die Kianganes (Luzon),
by Blumentritt, Das Ausland, Stuttgart, 1891, pp. 129-132.)
Quimpano, see Quimbazanos.
Quinanes, see Guinaanes.
Remontados.--Name of civilized natives who have given up the civilized
life and fled to the mountain forests.
Samales.--(1) A small Malay people living on the island of Samal in
the Gulf of Davao (Mindanao). They are heathen, but they are partly
converted to Christianity. (2) Another name for the Moros who inhabit
the islands lying between Basilan and Sulu.
Samales-Laut.--The Moros who inhabit the coasts of Basilan. Compare
Samales (2).
Sameacas.--Some authors speak of them as the aborigines of Basilan
pushed back into the interior by the Moros. According to Claudio
Montero y Gay, they are heathen.
Sangley.--A name borne in early times by Chinese settled in the
Philippines. Going into disuse.
(It is thought that the Chinese were not numerous on the islands
until the settlement of the Spaniards had established commerce
with Acapulco, introducing Mexican silver, greatly coveted by the
Celestials.--Translator.)
Sanguiles.--(1) Until most recent times by this name was understood
a people in the little-known southern part of the district of Davao
(Mindanao). The Jesuit missionaries have found no people bearing this
name; it seems, therefore, that Sanguiles was a collective title for
the Bilanes, Dulanganes, and Manobos, who occupied the most southern
part of Mindanao, the peninsula of the volcano Sanguil or Saragana. (2)
Moros Sanguiles means those Moros who dwell in the part of the south
coast of Mindanao (district of Davao) lying between the Punto de Craan
and the Punta Panguitan or Tinaka. They also appear to have received
their name from the volcano of Sanguil.
Silipanes.--A heathen head-hunting people having its abode in the
province of Nueva Vizcaya (and comandancia Quiangan). It belongs to the
Ifugao linguistic family. (Consult A. B. Meyer, with A. Schadenberg, in
Vol. VIII, folio series, Royal Ethnographic Museum in Dresden, 1890.)
Subanos.--(Properly Subanon, "river people.") A heathen people of
Malay extraction, who occupy the entire peninsula of Sibuguey (west
Mindanao), with exception of a single strip on the coast. (See Die
Subanos (Mindanao), by Blumentritt, Das Ausland, Stuttgart, 1891,
pp. 392-395.)
Suflin.--An Igorot dialect. The f in the name would hint at Guinaanes
or Ifugaos. The official nomenclature in 1865 so characterizes a
dialect spoken in Bontok.
Tabanus, see Tagbanuas.
Tadianan.--Another name for those Mongoloid Manguianes who live in
the mountain vales of Pinamalayan (Mindoro).
Tagabaloyes.--In a chart of the Philippines for 1744, by P. Murillo
Velardi, S. J., this name is to be seen west of Caraga and Bislig
(Mindanao). English authors speak of the Tagabaloyes, Waitz mentions
their clear color, and Mas calls them Igorots. Others add that they
were Mestizos of Indians and Japanese, and more fables to the same
effect. Their region has been well explored, but only Manobos and
Mandayas have been found there. The last named are clear colored,
so Tagabaloyes seems to be another name for Mandayas. The name sounds
temptingly like Tagabelies.
Variants: Tagbalvoys, Tagabaloyes, Tagobalooys, etc.
Tagabawas.--Dr. Montano reports that this is not a numerous people
and that it is made up of a mixture of Manabos, Bagobos, and
Tagacaolos. Their dwelling places are scattered on both sides of
Davao Bay (Mindanao), especially near Rio Hijo.
Tagabelies.--A heathen people of Malay origin, living in the region
between the Bay of Sarangani and Lake Buluan (Mindanao). Since they
call themselves Tagabulu (people of Bulu), it is suspected that
they, like the Buluanes or Bilanes, derive their name from the lake
mentioned.
Tagabotes.--A people of Mindanao mentioned in the Ilustración Filipina
(1860, No. 17).
Tagabulu, see Tagabelies, also Tagabuli.
Tagacaolos.--A Malay, heathen people. Their settlements are scattered
among those of other tribes on both sides of the Gulf of Davao
(Mindanao). Compare also Loac. Their name Taga-ca-olo would mean
"dwellers on the river sources."
Variant: Tagalaogos.
Tagalos, Tagalog (elsewhere Tagalas).--A Malay people of ancient
civilization, possessing already an alphabet in pre-Spanish times. They
are Christians, and inhabit the provinces and territory of the
following: Manila, Corregidor, Cavite, Bataan, Bulacan, Batangas,
Infanta, Laguna, Mindoro; in less degree, Tayabas, Zambales, Nueva
Ecija, Isabela, and Principe. They form, with the Visayas and Ilocanos,
the greater part of the native population, as well by their numbers
as by their grade of culture. Their language is called Tagalog. (See
Brinton, American Anthropologist, 1898, XI, pp. 303-306.)
Tagbalvoys, see Tagabaloyes.
Tagbanuas.--A Malay people mixed with Negrito blood. They are heathen,
with exception of the Calmianos, and appear to have formerly stood
on higher culture grade, for A. Marche found them in possession
of an alphabet of their own. They inhabit the island of Palawan
(Paragua) and the Calamianes. The Moros of Palawan are partly
Tagbanuas. Variant: Tabanuas. (See Dean Worcester, Philippine Islands,
1898, p. 99.--Translator.)
Tagobalooys, see Tagabaloys.
Talaos.--This newly christened name belongs to no Philippine people,
but is the Spanish title of the inhabitants of the Dutch island
Talaut. They come to southern Mindanao to purchase provisions.
Tandolanos.--Wild natives living on the west coast of Palawan, between
Punta Diente and Punta Tularan. As they are also called Igorots they
appear to belong to the Malay race.
Teduray, see Tirurayes.
Tegurayes.--A variant form of Tirurayes.
Tinguianes.--A heathen people of Malay origin and peaceable
disposition. Their home is the province of Abra and the bordering
parts of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. They have also villages in
Union (Luzon). The Tinguianes converted to Christianity are strongly
Ilocanised. Variants: Itanega, Itaneg, Itaveg, Tingues. (See
Brinton's note on the identification of Tinguianes with Indonesians, an
allophyllic branch of the white race, by Quatrefages and Hamy. American
Anthropologist, 1898, Vol. XI, p. 297. Consult A. B. Meyer, with
A. Schadenberg, in Volume VIII, folio series, Royal Ethnographic
Museum, in Dresden, 1890.)
Tinitianes.--A heathen people, probably of Malay origin. They inhabit
a strip of land north of Bubayan Creek, Palawan. (A. B. Meyer, 1899,
pp. 9, 19, quotes Blumentritt's The Natives of the Island of Palawan
and of the Calamanian Group (Globus, Braunschweig, 1891, Vol. LIX,
pp. 182, 183), to the effect that the Tinitianes are probably only
Negrito half-breeds.--Translator.)
Tinivayanes.--Moros (?) or heathen (?). Said to live along the Rio
Grande de Mindanao.
Tino.--Name of the language of the Zambales.
Tiron.--Separate name of those Manguianes of Mindoro who inhabit the
highest mountain regions in the surroundings of Naujan.
Tirones.--The Moro pirates of the province of Tiron in Borneo and
the islands near-by are so called.
Tirurayes.--A peaceable heathen people of Malay origin. They live in
the district of Cottabato, in the mountains west of the Rio Grande
de Mindanao. The Christian Tirurayes live in Tamontaca. Variants:
Teduray, Tirulay.
Vicol, see Bicol.--(Vicol is preferable.)
Vilanes, see Bilanes.--(Vilanes is preferable.)
Visayas, see Bisayas.--(This spelling is preferable to Bisayas.)
Ygolot, see Igorots.
Ycanes--According to P. P. Cavallería, S.J., the Moros dwelling in
the interior of the island are so called. (Compare Jacanes, Sameacas,
and Samales-Lautes.)
Yvgades, see Gaddanes.
Zambales.--A civilized, Christianized people of Malay origin,
living in the province of the same name. Those called by different
writers Igorotes de Zambales, Cimarrones de Zambales, are posterity
of Remontados. Their language is Tino.
THE BEGINNINGS OF PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM
The third of a thousand years during which Spain misgoverned the
archipelago that Magellan had discovered for her was a period of
Philippine preparation.
Divided already so each town was jealous of its neighbors and anxious
to enlist the Europeans in waging war upon them, the Filipinos were
an easy conquest for soldiers whose first military maxim was Rome's
"Divide and Conquer."
The conquest might better be called a conversion for the cross did much
more to establish and maintain Spain's authority than the sword. And
the new religion formed a bond of union, perhaps the only one which
could have brought together such diverse elements.
Spanish catholicism was not merely a Spanish church, the church was
Spain. There was therefore no humiliation over subjugation, rather
exultation in having found salvation.
The people were seafaring folk with the sturdiness such a life
gives. Their chiefs were their captains, and, in waters that are
the home of the typhoon, leadership, if in no other way than by the
survival of the fittest, came to the most capable.
Women held high position, for with their husband so much away not only
the household but all the family affairs were under their control,
a condition still notable. Thus the home influence in which the
children grew up was not that of the Orient, a shut-in Zenana with,
for the child's first model, a mother who had been a slave and now
as mistress was a tyrant, but the youth of the Philippines earlier
saw the real world and had training from mothers who knew its ways.
There were gradations of rank, but people were constantly falling from
the higher to the lower so that these had ambitious persons among
them seeking to regain their former estate and arousing ambition
among their fellows. And the condition of even the lowest was not
hopeless. So well ordered was society that even slaves had rights and
knew them; had too the civic courage to stand up for them against
their masters. Witness the story of the surprise of the Spaniards
who heard slaves saying to their masters, "What is there in it for
me in this?", when orders were given them.
Nor should it be thought that the wholesale conversion betrayed
weakness of character. The islands had had a nature religion, the
belief of an artistic people, that their Gods would delight in and
frequent the most beautiful spots. Then came the religion of Mahomet
with a system which reason readily recognized as superior, but before
it was fairly established there arrived another religion which not
only commended itself to reason but appealed to the artistic sense,
both in larger measure than either of its predecessors.
Those who had felt exalted in the glory of the tropical sun, found
comfort in the moonbeams' softer radiance, had sought the leafy
recesses of the forest for reflection and were soothed and sustained
by the musical murmurs of mountain cascades found greater comfort
and a higher gratification in the rites and ceremonies of a church
which has ever been the patron of art and consecrates all that is
beautiful in music, painting and sculpture to adorn its sanctuaries
and dignify its worship.
THE FRIAR DOMINATION IN THE PHILIPPINES
By "Plaridel" (Marcelo H. del Pilar).
Three centuries have passed since the blood of Legaspi and of Sikatuna
mingled in a cup of which both partook in token of eternal friendship,
thus ratifying their oaths to fuse thenceforward into a single
ideal the aspiration of Spain and the Philippines. But the passage
of time, instead of making firmer this fusion, has only strengthened
the predominance of the religious orders who have turned the islands
into a colony exploited by friars.
No one is ignorant of the rebellion of the friars against the highest
political and religious authorities of the archipelago; nor is anyone
ignorant of the violent death of some, the coercion exercised on
others and the vexations visited upon all those who in governing the
country have dared to place the interests of the motherland of the
Catholic religion before the convents.
The immunity of those implicated and the predominance of the rebellious
elements compel the unhappy belief that Spain has already abdicated
the sovereignty in favor of Philippine friarism.
So it is worth while to dissipate this erroneous impression. Sad is it
to think that the planning of Charles V and Philip II, the efforts of
Magellan and Elcano, the sufferings of Villalobos, the prudence and
the valor of Legaspi, the sacrifices of Salcedo, Lavezares, Goiti,
and the others, only served as a stepping-stone for enthroning the
friar orders.
The Filipino people are passing in these moments through an interesting
period. Already they have manifested their aversion to the friars,
and I believe the time has come to draw attention to the aspirations
which palpitate in their bosoms.
On the one hand their future and on the other the attitude of China,
Japan and other nations which from Europe and Asia have fixed their
gaze on the map of Oceanica, offer to the thoughtful man problems of
deep seriousness which perhaps may be resolved in time to forestall
and smooth out future difficulties.
Luna's palette has revived the recollection of the "Blood Compact"
between Legaspi and Sikatuna, and the Filipino cannot view without
regret the powerful intervention of the friar interests which,
blocking every tendency toward fraternity between Spain and the
Philippines, are creating a difficult situation by increasing the
former's unfriendliness and the latter's burdens. For this they rely
on the difference of language between the governing and the governed
classes; and to maintain that difference, to impede popular instruction
and to prevent at all cost that the people and their government shall
come to understand each other is the best way to maintain them in
perpetual antagonism.
How far this plan has already gone can be estimated by analyzing the
relations of the friarocracy with the official institution which makes
up the organization of the towns of the Philippines. As everywhere
else, in the Philippines the relation of residents to the municipal
officers is of the utmost importance. The petty governor, or chief of
the village, in each locality constitutes the channel of communication
and the agency for carrying out the ideas of the government, and
according to the activity or inertness of this element the plan of
the higher authorities works out effectively or suffers sad shipwreck.
The parish priest has no vote in these elections, but controls them
because in his hands is the veto power. In forwarding the returns for
the ratification of the election result, the parish priest makes two
reports: one is public in character and is limited to setting forth
the grade of instruction of the candidate in the official language;
the other is confidential and under no restrictions whatever.
The candidate who has no legal impediment, unless he is of the
priest's following, will turn out disqualified in some other way,
thanks to the confidential report. He will be anti-Spanish, an agitator
(filibustero), separatist, and if this report cannot be controverted
the candidate of the town meeting will be thrown out. The parish
priest, in the final result, is master of the situation.
In carrying on their municipal duties, the local authorities are
dependent upon the parish priest. For a report on the conduct of a
resident, a hundred of the principal men are not enough; the vital
point is having the "O. K." of the parish priest. In turning in the
tax rolls of the neighborhood, his signature is necessary. For the
calling to the colors of the young men to whom the lot has fallen
to serve as soldiers, the parish priest's "approved;" to validate
accounts and other official documents, the parish priest's "approved;"
in everything and for everything there is demanded as the essential
requisite the approval of the parish priest.
In exchange there exists no corrective provision which regulates the
conditions under which the parish priest may grant or withhold this
approval. He grants or withholds it according to his own free will or
as he is directed by his ecclesiastical superiors. The chief local
authority is the only one on whom falls this burden of regularizing
his acts with the indispensable approval of the parish priest. If
the parish priest refuses it, then the chief incurs the discipline
of his superiors.
Manifold are the functions of the chief local authority in the
Philippines. Aside from his judicial duties, he has charge of the
administration, of the tax collecting, of the port, etc., and, given
the dependence upon the parish priest in which he finds himself,
it is not to be wondered at that the latter controls even to the
official correspondence, in fact retaining the right to authorize
its transmission.
Orders from above are complied with when it so pleases the Most
Reverend Parish Priest. If the higher authority attempts to impose
and require energetic compliance with his commands, the parish
priest communicates it to one of the superiors of his order, and this
obtains the overthrowing of the official. For it he has an argument
incontrovertible and of magic effect, to wit, that it endangers
the national indivisibility. If it is an effort to open a road and
the parish priest doesn't want it, then it endangers the national
indivisibility. Or if the public health requires that dead bodies
should not be taken into the church, still it is no reason,--it would
imperil the national indivisibility.
And in everything, the same tendency.
ARCHBISHOP MARTINEZ'S SECRET DEFENSE OF HIS FILIPINO CLERGY
(Translated from a copy obtained from the Manila Executive Bureau
Archives)
Your Serene Highness: The undersigned archbishop respectfully addresses
your highness, impelled by a true love of country as well as from a
sense of the duty incumbent upon him of working for the tranquillity
of his archdiocese. Frequently has it been disturbed and altered by
the turning over of the curacies of the secular clergy which some
years since were granted to the friar orders. This has been the cause
of an antagonism between the two branches of the clergy each time
more marked, and is taking a turn which sooner or later can become
untoward for our beloved Spain.
Merely to fix the time of the beginning of this antagonism do I
mention the royal decree of July 8th, 1826, by which there were
restored to the religious communities the curacies in charge of the
secular clergy since the second period of the governorship of Don
Simon de Anda y Salazar. Just as this measure, as the native priests
had those parishes for over half a century and considered them then
theirs, they felt it a great hardship each time when, on the death or
transfer of one of their number, a friar was put in to replace him. On
the death of the parish priest of San Simon, in this present year,
the last of the provisions of said royal order was carried out.
One may cite, as another cause contributing to the growing antagonism,
the royal order of March 9th, 1849, which takes away from the secular
clergy and gives to the friars seven more parishes in Cavite, namely:
Bacoor, Cavite Viejo, and Silang to the Recollect Augustinians;
and Santa Cruz and San Francisco de Malabon, Naic and Indan to the
Dominicans. By reason of their having become vacant five of these
have already been turned over.
But what brought the antagonism to a crisis and filled the native
priesthood with indignation was the royal order of September 10th,
1861, to which and to its results the subscriber has in mind especially
to call the exalted attention of your Highness.
Article 13 of the royal decree of July 30th, 1859 (relative to the
establishment of a government for Mindanao), arranged that the Jesuit
priests should take charge of the parishes and religious duties of
that island then held and attended to by the Recollect Friars of
the Province of San Nicolas de Tolentino. It thus became necessary
to have some workable plan for carrying the arrangement into effect,
and the above mentioned royal order of September 10th was given for
this purpose, besides indemnifying the Recollects by assigning to
their administration curacies in Cavite Province or elsewhere (in
the archdiocese of Manila according to a later provision) which had
been under the native clergy. The circumstances under which this
royal decree was issued deserve careful examination. In the first
place, there was then no archbishop, a condition under which the
sacred canons enjoin and counsel prudence, when no innovation of
any kind shall be introduced; secondly the opinion of the customary
ecclesiastical authority was not asked, though here on matters of
much less importance numerous endorsements are the rule; thirdly,
your Highness is already aware how the priest nominated to the mitre
of Manila knew nothing of the anomalous ecclesiastical administration
nor of the usages and customs (the reason why he would have renounced
such a heavy responsibility and only did accept after strong urging)
and so there had to elapse considerable time before he could learn
enough of the matter to cause him to complain of it. The foregoing
facts are respectfully submitted to Your Highness.
When, toward the close of May, 1862, the writer took possession of his
archbishopric, he found the native clergy extraordinarily excited and
on every hand was urged to request the revocation of the September
10th royal order aforesaid. Unconvinced by petitions and appeals,
rather, then in his heart persuaded that the Supreme Government could
give him good and sufficient reason for taking so serious a step,
the archbishop was disposed to comply as he has complied, cheerfully
and to the letter. If he courteously declined to award the Antipolo
curacy to the Recollects, it was because he understood this was a
request not warranted by the royal order, and he could not have been
far out of the way when the State Council formally upheld his judgment
as appears in the royal order of May 19th where the formula used is
"Having listened to the State Council," one indicating action against
their advice. Moreover now, after long residence in the country, with
some knowledge of the church conditions and of its running and of
affairs and persons, each time I see with greater clearness that the
complaints of the native clergy are not without foundation, that there
ought to be some effort to conform the royal order of September 10th,
1861, to the rules of propriety and equity, and that if one observes
its results, one must conclude that it does not conform entirely to
those of wise policy. Briefly I shall explain these assertions.
The Supreme Government was within its rights in entrusting to the
recognized zeal of the Jesuit Fathers the curacies and missions of
Mindanao, the law on the Royal Patronship in the code of the Indies
authorizing such action. Worthy, too, of praise is it that there should
be recognition of the Recollect Fathers' services and compensation
for the loss of their Mindanao religious establishments, because,
although many of these were founded by the early Jesuit Fathers,
yet the Recollects were then in possession of them and had made them
theirs by right of prescription. But if it had been taken into account
that likewise the native priests' services merited appreciation (for
under unfavorable vicissitudes they have always borne themselves as
faithful subjects of Spain and in the parochial ministry as coadjutors,
theirs is even the hardest part of the charge), then by no means
would so deserving a class have been wronged to reward any other,
and there would have been sought some gentler and equitable way of
carrying out the wishes of the Government. The very diocese of Cebu,
within whose borders at that time belonged the island of Mindanao,
in fact offered no obstacle since it would have been only justice to
have not compensated the Recollects with the parishes of other friars,
for to them had been previously granted all the curacies of the Island
of Negros, which belonged to the native clergy, for want of persons
of that class.
The curacies of the aforesaid diocese were two hundred and
thirty-seven, of which forty-eight belonged to the secular clergy. The
scant resources of Cebu's theological seminary, its lack of professors
and the students' ignorance of the Spanish language, knowledge of
which is indispensable in the study of Latin and moral theology, not
only prevented the preparation of a sufficient number of priests for
the control of the above-mentioned parishes, but also detracted from
the success of those needed as coadjutors to aid the parish priests in
the administration of the sacraments and the care of the sick. That
seminary rightly should be called a college because the natives go
to it for the purpose of learning Spanish, and most of them leave
when they only have half learned the language. Suffice it to say
that there have been, and still are within the former boundaries
of the Bishopric of Cebu towns (not compact but confined to distant
and scattered barriers) seventeen thousand and more souls where the
spiritual administration rests on a single friar priest, usually
advanced in years, too. For this reason it cannot be doubted that its
zealous prelate would have welcomed the assistance of twenty-seven
friars who could have taken charge of that number of parishes, because
manifestly this would have improved the parochial administration,
and still there would have been left him twenty-one curacies with
which to reward those coadjutors who were distinguished among their
scanty number for virtue, learning, and hard work.
Though the Archdiocese of Manila lacked ministers to attend to all
the spiritual necessities of the faithful (for the force scarcely
suffices under normal conditions to respond to the most urgent calls),
nevertheless it formed a striking contrast in this matter to the
Diocese of Cebu.
The Archbishopric had at the time approximately one million four
hundred thousand inhabitants, with one hundred and ninety-one parishes
served by both classes of clergy. Deduct from this number assigned to
the secular clergy those which had to be returned by order of the Royal
Decree of 1826, those which the Royal Order of 1849 commanded to be
given the Recollects and the Dominicans, and the twenty-seven which,
by the order of September 10th, 1861, the parishes and missions they
had had to surrender to the Jesuits in Mindanao, and there are only
twelve left to reward deserving coadjutors. The priests of this class,
comparing them with those of Cebu, are very numerous, for there are
not four cases where coadjutors are not provided on the scale of
one for parishes of 4,000, two for 8,000, three for 12,000, and so
on up to Taal, which has seven coadjutors. But let us continue the
comparison of the two dioceses.
Though the diocese of Cebu has few who understand the Spanish
language, there are many in Manila and adjacent provinces who speak
it; and in contrast to the limited facilities of the Cebu seminary,
the archdiocese has the University of Sto. Tomas and the colleges
of San Juan de Letran and of San José, where numerous students
are studying Latin, philosophy, theology and the sacred canons. Nor
should one omit the seminary of San Carlos in spite of the fact that,
because of difficulties elsewhere enumerated, it is not of a standard
commensurate with the importance of the capital of the Philippine
Archipelago, a land conquered and held by Spain primarily for religious
reasons. Do not the foregoing facts prove that the losses suffered
by the Recollects should be compensated with curacies in the diocese
of Cebu, and not with those of Manila?
The spirit inspiring the Royal Order of September 10th, 1861, seems
no more in conformity with policy and equity, when the native priests
compare the missions and curacies relinquished by the Recollects
with those they received in exchange in this Archbishopric. If Your
Highness will have the goodness to glance over the accompanying table,
perhaps you may agree with them and also may observe, as they do,
that if to the term "indemnization" (which should only mean making
good the actual loss) there is to be given the broader meaning that
the present result suggests, then there will be many who will want to
be damaged in order to get back ten-fold the value of what they lose.
It is worthy of especial note that, despite the Antipolo parish having
few parishioners, such is the devotion on the part of the towns toward
the image of the Virgin venerated there, so great are the crowds who
from even more remote provinces during the month of May repair to
this celebrated shrine, and so many and so large are the largesses
for masses ordered that this is considered the pearl of the curacies,
one of the fattest parishes in all the Archipelago. So it is not
at all to be wondered at that the secular clergy have especially
regretted its loss, and there is good reason for asserting that the
Royal Order of May 19th, 1864, is far from harmonizing with the order
of September 10th, 1861.
Besides the facts above set forth, which have created and continued
antagonism and animosity between the secular and regular clergy, it
is necessary to add another for your Highness' better understanding
of the discontent of the native priests.
To fill a vacancy in the curacy of San Rafael, Bulacan Province,
occasioned by the death of its parish priest, seventy days' notice was
given of a competition, the time expiring February 17th, 1868. The
examinations were held in the manner prescribed by Pope Benedict
XIV on the 21, 22 and 23rd, and seventeen candidates presented
themselves. Their papers were already graded and the highest three
eligibles selected to be certified to the Vice Royal Patron on March
2nd, but the day previous the Diocesan prelate received a communication
from him transmitting a brief by the Provincial of the Augustinian
arguing that the said curacy should be adjudged theirs.
I at once replied begging the Vice Royal Patron not to disturb the
course of the competition because the secular clergy were already in
possession of the curacy and the candidates had acquired a right to
it by the holding of the competition while the objection had not been
made at the proper time. This was to be without prejudice to later
going fully into the claim raised by the Reverend Provincial, which
turned upon the question of ownership. The reply denied this just
petition on the ground that would prejudice the question grievously,
conferring the right to possession with the title of ownership. I
made clearly apparent the error which had been incurred, and received
a reply that "the Vice Royal Patron was not in the habit of changing
a decision once it had been decreed."
The question of ownership resulted equally unsatisfactorily. To the
case were attached the original canonical order for the creation issued
in 1746 at the instance of the Vice Royal Patron and in conformity
with the canonical custom and the laws of the Indies. Likewise there
were submitted certified copies of the nomination of the parish priest
who served the parish from the last named date to 1808, since which
date as the Provincial admitted "it had been bestowed on competition
and appointment by the Vice Royal Patron on secular priests." Against
its having been a canonical foundation, the most legal and strongest
of claims, and to a continuous, undisturbed, unquestioned and clear
possession for one hundred twenty years, the Provincial offered
that his order had claimed the curacy within a few days of its
establishment. He did in fact submit two documents which were written
by the Provincial of San Juan de Dios, to which order the hacienda
of San Rafael had belonged. But in one hundred and twenty-two years
it had not been found convenient to push the claim, possibly because
at first the curacy had only some eighty poverty-stricken natives,
herders and laborers, while now it has over three thousand souls.
Likewise it was argued that since the Royal warrant of July 8th, 1826,
monastic orders had been returned to their charges in the state and
conditions they had when these were secularized by the Royal Warrant
of December 11th, 1776, the curacy of San Rafael must be included
because of the situation within the territory ceded to them. One must,
however, remember that this curacy could not be secularized, because
from its foundation it had been secular, and the two Royal warrants
mentioned are not applicable except by making the laws retroactive,
since the curacy was created thirty years before the Royal Warrant
of 1776 was issued.
These arguments, with others of the weakest character, were set forth
in a lengthy and hazy brief fathered by the Administrative Council,
and as the Vice Royal Patron endorsed it without changing a letter,
the matter was closed, because, although the undersigned petitioned
the Vice Royal Patron to submit the case to the Supreme Government's
decision, enclosing an opinion from two attorneys, he could not gain
this point and out of respect to the highest authority of the Island
(whose prestige he has ever endeavored to sustain) he desisted from
further effort. This result produced a real scandal among the native
priests and greatly enhanced their grief over so great and repeated
losses.
The chief cause of the obstacles which in every direction the clergy
of the country encounter is a public sentiment in vogue for some
years back, which unreasonably opposes having any native parish
priest. Those who think thus entirely forget the facts, allowing
their imagination to freely rove in the realm of imagination. Certain
is it that if the ecclesiastical establishment of the Archipelago
were being for the first time set up and it were possible to bring
from Spain enough priests to attend to the spiritual needs of its
populous parishes, scarcely would there be found a Spaniard of any
intelligence to whom such an arrangement would not seem the politic
course. But the question is not theoretic, on the contrary it is
eminently practical, and before it is settled there is no escape from
the previous examination of others which offer serious difficulties,
for example, considering the present cooling of religious ardor, what
likelihood is there of obtaining a considerable number of young men
willing to abandon their home country and go to lend their services in
spiritual ministrations in so distant a clime, especially one which
is reputed bad for the health? Could the public treasury without
difficulty meet the expenses necessary for establishing colleges and
maintaining professors and students, and for fitting out and paying
the fares of so many persons from the Peninsula to the Philippine
Islands? And even if this offered no difficulty and putting aside
present conditions, is there nothing to fear from keeping the native
clergy in their present growing bitterness? Let anybody put himself
in their place and reflect upon the series of measures heretofore
mentioned and he cannot but recognize how enormous have been the
damages they have suffered, and that those with which they are
still threatened give over-sufficient and powerful motives that,
notwithstanding their timidity, should change to hostility their
former fidelity and respect for the Spaniards.
Formerly the native priests controlled the curacies of the provinces
of Zambales, Bataan, and Pampanga. Of these they were dispossessed
and when they felt that with the taking away of these parishes all
their ills had ended, they received fresh, ruder shocks which renewed
and inflamed the wound. Consequently it is no longer possible to
characterise as class hatred their resentment against the friars,
though that was the proper term while the natives attributed their ill
fortune to the ambition and power of the monastic order. Now, after
repeated proofs, they are convinced that the government is assisting
the friars' immoderate aspirations; and that in the opinion of these
same priests of the country there has been adopted the policy of
reducing them to insignificance, they pass over the ancient barrier,
direct their glances higher, and what was formerly only hostility to
the friars is changing into anti-Spanish sentiment. I do not hesitate
to assert that if the Anglo-Americans or the English were to possess
themselves of the Philippine Archipelago they surely would show the
natives more consideration than they are receiving at the hands of
the Spaniard. And so, Your Royal Highness, to escape an imaginary
risk there is being created a real and true danger.
It will be readily understood that for the full carrying out of the
Royal Order of September 10th there will have to elapse a period
as long as that (from 1826 till the present) taken for completing
the turning over of the curacies assigned the friars under the Royal
Warrant before mentioned. And likewise it must be understood that as
the resentment of the natives is renewed each time that they lose
a curacy (as has just happened with the loss of Rosario parish in
Batangas province and of Cavite of which the Recollects are going
to take charge by way of compensation for the parish of Dapitan and
Lubugan mission, which they relinquished to the Jesuit fathers last
July) their hearts are filled with bitter grief, and so far from its
finding any relief, it is embittered, as seeing themselves without
any assistance at all while on the other hand the influence of their
adversaries is increasing on every hand. It is more urgent to furnish
prompt relief for their discontent and exasperation since if the
effervescence which I noticed in them on my return from the Vatican
council continues for any considerable length of time it will give an
opportunity for the sentiments of the native clergy spreading among
their parents, relatives, and the entire Filipino people, with whom
they are in closer touch than are the friars, and so the evil might
take on grave proportions.
It will not be hidden from the exalted acumen of Your Highness that
it is highly desirable and even necessary to put out this small fire
which might by mischance change itself into a formidable conflagration,
which perhaps in the first stage of slight apprehension might serve
the purpose of those who are trying to spread vain terrors, and I say
vain, because in spite of the strictest investigation, until now there
has been no positive proof to justify the accusation latterly directed
against the secular clergy, for the reason set forth that the writer
is of the opinion that the Royal Order of September 10th, and the
explanation thereof insofar as they affect the Archbishopric of Manila,
should be changed restoring matters by prompt and effective measures
to the conditions and state in which they were when the Mindanao
curacies and missions were turned over by the Recollect friars to
the Jesuit fathers; that the Recollect should be compensated with
other parishes in the Diocese of Cebu and the Jaro Diocese, which
was taken from them in 1867, according to the number of parishes
supplied in each of them by the secular clergy, to make up for the
lack of native priests which is experienced in both; and, lastly,
that there be ordered the reference to the Minister of Ultramar of the
original case instituted at the suggestion of the Provincial (now the
Procurator) of the Calced Augustinians (i. e., Recollects), regarding
the holding of the parish of San Rafael, Bulac province, in order that
it may be investigated and reach a solution in accordance with justice,
which in the judgment of the secular clergy it is now far from being.
The writer earnestly implores Your Excellency so to adjust the matter,
with full confidence that it will not only calm the inquietude of
their minds, but also that, reenforced by the gratitude of the never
tarnished loyalty of the Filipino native clergy, it may tighten
more and more the ties that unite this fruitful Archipelago to our
beloved Spain.
May God preserve for many years the life of Your Highness and grant him
amplest wisdom and favor for the well-being of the Catholic religion
and of our beloved fatherland.
GREGORIO,
Archbishop of Manila.
Manila, December 31, 1870.
HIS SERENE HIGHNESS
The Regent of the Kingdom.
NINETEENTH CENTURY DISCONTENT
(In Madrid review: "La Politica de España en Filipinas" in a
series. "Las Insurrecciones de Filipinas," beginning with Vol. I,
p. 44.)
1807.--The political troubles and intrigues of the Court between Godoy,
Maria Luisa and Ferdinand VII reached the Philippines (as had the
errors of Carlos III and those of a celebrated American archbishop,
a great reformer).
In spite of the vigilance of the authorities an outbreak occurred in
Ilokos, at first controlled by the missionaries, who put themselves
at the head of the loyal towns, but soon it broke out again, the
insurgents making themselves masters of the town of Pigdig and
conquering the king's forces there. An Augustinian friar (parish
priest of Batac) preached obedience to the sovereign but a woman
immediately made a speech in opposition, saying not to believe the
priest for they all were deceivers who in the name of God, of the
Gospel and of the King only beguiled them so the Spaniards might
despoil them and suck their blood; that the friars were Spaniards
like the rest. The priest preached again next day and got the people
to take arms, cheering for the king, march to the mountains of Patae
where he maintained them all at his own expense.
1811.--In this same region, there was another uprising to change
the religion, setting up a new God called Lingao. The principales
(former town-chiefs--C.) and cabezas de barangay (vice-chiefs for
wards--C.) conspired with the igorots and other persons, madmen and
savages of Cagayan, to exterminate the Spaniards, but they were found
out by the friars who informed the Government in time to thwart so
terrible a plot.
1814.--At the beginning of the year, against the advice of the friars,
General Gardoqui set out to publish the Constitution of 1812 and the
Indians took so seriously the equality between themselves and the
Spaniards that they began to rebel, refusing to pay the tribute and
slight taxes placed upon them. They would not recognize the authority
of the principales and barangay chiefs and in some towns of Ilokos
they went so far as to set free the prisoners.
Ferdinand VII abolished the Constitution of 1812, which had so pleased
the Indians, and then arose a conspiracy because the Indians believed
the abolition of the Constitution was due to the intrigues of the
Spaniards and the missionaries to deprive them of the equality over
which they had gotten so enthusiastic. With the organic law of 1812
they had thought themselves free, happy, and independent, with no
tribute to pay nor any authority to obey.
Other insurrections followed in 1820, 1828, 1837, 1844, 1854, 1863,
1869, 1872, 1883, and 1888. (Also in 1896 and 1898--C.)
The fatal consequences of the imprudent proclamation of the
constitution of Cadiz in the Philippines produced a certain lack
of social discipline and led to uprisings. A pitiable one was the
catastrophe of 1820, when, with excuse of cholera, the Indians
assassinated countless Chinese and many foreigners who were in
Manila. The hatred against the French (from Napoleon's attempt to make
his brother King of Spain in place of Ferdinand VII.--C.) the pretext
which caused the American conspiracies--had come even there. Let us
cover with a veil the horrible picture, only saying that the ones
chiefly guilty of this international crime were the acting Captain
General Folgueras, weak and not far-seeing, and the Alcalde of Tondo
(a position corresponding to the later Governor of Manila) who was
a Spaniard of the country (creole) named Varela, more ignorant,
impressionable and of worse and bad faith than any Indian.
The archbishop and all the clergy sallied forth in procession
through the streets of Binondo, yet nevertheless did not succeed in
pacifying the insurgents, who now commenced to attack by word the
same missionaries until the peninsulars united with the friars, in
obliging Folgueras, who had shut himself up in the walled city, to
display energy and military skill. For the affair was not alone with
the foreigners and Chinese, but was taking very serious proportions.
The political events happening in the Peninsula from 1820-1823,
likewise had in the Philippines their echo. A vast conspiracy was
discovered by various native women who denounced it to the friars,
so there were exiled to Spain several persons, among whom figured
officers of the army. But there was great laxity by the authorities
because they left there other conspirators, among them a creole captain
named Novales who gathered up the scattered threads of the conspiracy.
The Auditor de Guerra (Judge Advocate--C.) asked that Novales be
likewise exiled and watched very closely, even in exile, but General
Martinez, a goodhearted fellow and more than goodhearted, simple,
and unsuspecting, was content to order him to Mindanao to chase
pirates in the province of Cagayan de Misamis.
Mr. Gironiere relates that Novales went to see him on the morning
that he received the order to embark and told him that the Spanish
Government had repented of having distrusted him. According to Estado
de Filipinos he did not embark because of bad weather. According to
Mr. Gironiere he returned to Manila that same night. This was June
2. On guard at the palace of the Captain General was Lieutenant Ruiz,
a mestizo and a conspirator like Novales, and Novales' brother was
in Fort Santiago, the only fort of Manila. Fortunately for Spain and
for General Martinez the Governor resided outside the walled limits
of Manila in Malacañang Palace, as it was then the season of greatest
heat. The mutineers (free from all difficulty, for the authorities,
despite the warnings of the friars, did nothing to prevent the
rebellion) assassinated the Teniente del Rey, Folgueras, who so
expiated his weakness of the year 1820, and it was not without labor
that the Coronel del Rey, Sta. Romana, escaped death, deserting his
poor wife, for she then was in the family way. However the Indians,
more humane than their bloodthirsty leaders were not anxious to
assassinate her, and they made prisoners and kept safe many Spanish
officials who had scorned and ridiculed the predictions of the
patriotic missionaries.
Although it was in the late hours of the night, the shouts of "Long
Live Emperor Novales" awoke the Mayor de Plaza, Duro, who bravely ran
to the Parian gate and taking the guard that was there, entered with
it into the barracks of the mutineers. The one who opened the door
was Novales' own brother for he was too accustomed to discipline
to refuse obedience. Thus the Spanish party was organized in the
artillery barracks.
The friars preached to the multitude submission and due obedience to
the King and of the grave sin committed in rising against the generous
Spanish nation.
Novales, who had returned to the barracks, found the door shut by
his own brother and with his plans upset, took possession of the
cathedral. Some unknown persons kept him out of the Government Palace,
where he could have maintained himself for some time, and finally he
was abandoned by his own troops. This was through the efforts of the
Spanish friars, for the rebels threw down their guns, fearful of the
wrath of God, and cried "Long live the king." Novales was captured
at the Real Gate and Ruiz made prisoner and manacled, by the Indians
themselves, in the district of Tondo. The other mutineers were easily
apprehended and shot, to the number of 23.
So fell the most astute of the Filipino conspirators who, helped
on by unwise reforms, tried to raise the country against the mother
fatherland. At midnight he was banished, at 2 proclaimed Emperor of
the Philippines, and at 5 in the afternoon shot in the back.
1828.--Had another conspiracy. Two army officers, brothers, like
the Novales brothers, put themselves at the front of a separatist
movement which broke out in Manila in consequence of the excitement
which there was in the country because of the famous interpretations
which the Indians anew were making of the Constitution of Cadiz. That
was suppressed too, not without first reenforcing the army with Spanish
troops which till then had not regularly and permanently existed in
the country.
In 1836-1837 the Acting Governor, Salazar, had not a little to do with
the consequences of the uprising of La Granjo and the uncloistering
of the Religious orders in Spain.
The Indians were divided into two factions, one wanted that the
friars should leave the Islands and as well the other Spaniards
(castilas). The other said it was better that the other Spaniards
should go away and leave the friars in charge of the Government. The
missionaries appeased the trouble, saying that they and the other
Spaniards were in the islands in the name of God and of the King and
one and all sought only the Indians' happiness and well being.
The imprudence of a few Spaniards of high position very quickly
produced a new conflict, because while some wanted that the
Constitution should be sworn to, others believed it perilous to
introduce political reforms of such great importance. The excitement
was increased by the appointment of General Camba who had been
there before and was favorable to certain Filipinos. The relief
of the general, with great scandal, came after sixteen months of
administration. This was because of the suspicion of the Government
of Maria Cristina who realized his undesirability and the perils
which the conduct of Camba could bring to the archipelago.
A stormy passage was made, and shortly after their arrival, a
meeting of the commanders of the different vessels was convened by
Commodore Dewey on board the flagship Olympia, and the plans for the
operations of the fleet were discussed. The bombastic proclamation
of Governor-General Basilio Augustin y Davila was read over to the
commanders, and occasioned much merriment. It was resolved to have
copies made of the proclamation, to be read out to the men on the
different ships. Mr. Williams' narration of the position of affairs
in Manila, and the hasty but ineffective measures for the defence,
more especially the extinguishing of lights on the coasts and the
instructions issued to neutral vessels entering Manila harbor to take
a pilot at Corregidor Island to avoid dangers from mines, torpedoes,
etc., were somewhat lightly regarded, the latter instruction being
received with much laughter as an antique dodge to frighten the enemy.
The conference concluded, the commanders departed to their
respective vessels, with orders to get ready to steam off
immediately. Mr. Williams, late United States Consul at Manila, went
on board the Baltimore and the rebel leader Alejandrino was berthed on
the transport Zafiro. Consul Rounsevelle Wildman and the two rebels
who accompanied Alejandrino to the fleet then boarded the Fame. The
commanders having made known their orders, the ships were weighed,
and amidst great enthusiasm the fleet steamed out of Mirs Bay. The
fleet left in double line, the Olympia and Baltimore leading.
THE LIBERAL GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF 1869-1871
By Austin Craig
In July of 1869 a new Governor-General arrived in Manila. He was a
soldier who could prove his valor by wounds gained in many successful
battles which had brought him to the rank of Lieutenant General. The
nobility of his family, almost as distinguished as royalty, gave him
precedence among aristocrats. Wealth, too, he had. Yet he was Manila's
first democratic governor.
Unusual were the circumstances of his coming and epoch-making were
the events of his administration.
The Philippines had been loyal to the royal family of Spain during
the Napoleonic wars and the withdrawal of their representation in
the Cortes, which occurred at intervals for a third of a century, had
not disturbed that loyalty. Yet now there had come a governor-general
who represented a government in power through the expulsion of their
sovereign. It was revolutionary, and the excitement over the news
was increased by De La Torre's reversal of all precedents.
The stately guard of halberdiers was dismissed and the highest official
of the land mixed in society unceremoniously. A proclamation announced
him to be at the people's service at all hours for whatever complaints
they might have, and deeds promptly followed his words.
The alleged outlaws, who were really persons who had been wronged in
the land troubles, were pardoned and from their number under their
former chief was organized a corps of rural guards which speedily
brought a theretofore unknown tranquillity.
No wonder the Filipinos gave to the new administration an honor unknown
to his predecessors, the spontaneous tribute of a popular serenade.
Twenty-one months passed and De La Torre was replaced by Izquierdo, for
whom he conscientiously compiled an explanation of his administration
that the new authority might intelligently carry on the work. But
reaction came, those who had applauded De La Torre for that reason
found themselves in disfavor.
As a precaution Governor De La Torre had had all foreign mail examined
and the list of men of liberal ideas thus obtained was the basis of
the persecutions which followed the executions and wholesale exiling
nominally connected with Cavite.
An old man, he retired to his family estates, once broad but sadly
shrunken through his years of liberality. There from Pozorubio he
wrote his defence against the charge of being responsible for the
uprising of Cavite.
Contrast the brave words of the Governor-General upon his first coming
to the Philippines, and his expressions after the conclusion of his
office when he was upon the defensive.
"As good, honored and loyal, you are recognized as our brothers. * * *
I shall indicate to you the salient features that will characterize my
administration, which I hope will be as my character dictates, foreign
to all kinds of repression, because command is more pleasant when it is
chosen by those who are under the necessity of being affected by it."
And on the defensive: "I have governed, with justice and, honesty,
conformably to the special laws of that country, without consenting
or permitting the slightest alteration in them, and what is more,
without permitting in the newspapers of Manila any discussion nor
even any allusion as to whether or no it were desirable to alter or
modify those laws."
Yet that was the most liberal period of Philippine history under
Spanish rule. Twenty odd years later another liberal Governor of the
Philippines defended himself against the charge of too great humanity
by telling of how many men he had ordered shot.
Sorry indeed was Spain when a De La Torre had to save himself with his
countrymen in the Peninsula by exaggerating his despotism and a Blanco
found his only defense in magnifying his brutality. There's a contrast
with the present régime which marks 1898 as the beginning of different
days, and the men of the old era are entitled to the charitable
consideration which belongs to those who come out of great tribulation.
Biographical details and incidents of De La Torre's administration
would detract from the one great lesson which paints the past
in its true colors and reveals how the Filipino people found
themselves without hope and came to resort to the weapon of despair,
insurrection. The outcome of the events of 1869 was the origin of
the events of 1896.
THE REBELLION IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
(A British magazine article of 1896, by John Foreman.)
At this crisis, when the development of Japan is attracting public
attention, the following paragraph in a recent issue of the St. James
Gazette would be highly instructive were it based on real facts. That
journal says:--
"This revolt, in fact, is really a consequence, to some extent,
of the rising power of Japan in Far Eastern waters. Having acquired
Formosa and become ambitious of a territorial and commercial empire,
the eyes of the Japanese have lately been eagerly directed towards
the next islands to the south; and the weakness of Spain is regarded
as the opportunity of Japan. But it is quite another matter whether
the European powers will take the same view."
Those who have been long resident in the Far East and are well informed
on the subject do not take that view at all. From the facts which
I am about to give regarding this rebellion it will be clearly seen
that the above statement is merely a hypothetical conjecture.
A plot was formed, at the instance of rich Chinese half-breeds,
to murder all the Europeans. The priests choose to call this secret
society "freemasonry," whilst the conspirators themselves style their
body the "Katipunan," which simply means the "League." Each member,
on being sworn in, made the "blood compact," which consists of an
incision in the arm or leg whence the blood was taken to inscribe
the roll of brotherhood. The general massacre of whites was to have
taken place on the night of the 20th of August last, but at almost
the last hour a woman came to Father Mariano Gil, the parish priest of
Tondo--a suburb of Manila--and paved the way for a repentant member of
the League to make his full confession of the plot under a promise of
immunity from punishment. The promise was given and the confession
made. An hour afterwards the civil guard was on the track of the
principal leaders of the movement. Three hundred known malcontents
were arrested in a few hours in the capital and adjacent provinces of
Bulacan and Pampanga and further arrests having since been effected
daily, the Manila prisons are overcrowded with suspects and proved
delinquents. Room for more is being made by the periodical shipping
off of batches of prisoners to the Caroline Islands, Mindanao Island,
Fernando Po, and other distant possessions. I have just learnt from the
secretary of the military court that at this moment there are 4,377
individuals awaiting trial by court-martial. Many of the richest men
in the colony, the leaders of Manila society, such as it is, figure
amongst the promoters of this conspiracy. Pedro Rojas, a wealthy
Chinese half-caste and popularly supposed to be the prime mover of
the rebellion, accepted the hospitality of the Governor-General
in his palace only forty-eight hours before the hour destined to
witness the general massacre. The most curious fact--which no one
dares to discuss in public--is that this man, denounced by all,
was allowed to quietly leave the colony. He embarked in a steamer,
ostensibly for Spain, but left it at Singapore and is supposed to
be residing in some Asiatic port to watch events. The arch-agitator,
José Rizal, who had been purging himself of his former misdemeanors
by a two years' banishment to the south, was sent as a prisoner to
Spain, where he was confined in the Catalunian fortress of Montjuich
for a few days and then shipped back to Manila for trial.
It appears that some months ago a deputation of Philippine natives went
to Japan and presented a petition to the Mikado, praying his Majesty
to annex these Islands. The petition was signed, it is said, by 5,000
natives and half-breeds. The Japanese Government, far from regarding
the troubled condition of Spanish affairs as their opportunity,
forwarded the petition to the Spanish Government, thus the names
of 5,000 disaffected persons became known to the authorities here
and were inscribed in their Black Book. No measures, however, were
taken until the storm was about to burst. Intense excitement prevailed
amongst the Europeans as the names of the 300 arrested were disclosed,
for they were not mostly individuals known to us personally or by
repute. But since then three months have lingered on, with the daily
arrests of so many men of position that we are prepared to meet the
most startling event with perfect equanimity.
On the 23rd of August the leading newspaper of Manila published
a stirring article, ringing with high patriotism, which concluded
with an appeal to the Spaniards to go en masse to Government House
the next day to discuss a proposal for extraordinary measures. They
closed their offices and shops and went. It looked like a Sunday or
a three-cross saint day. The Governor-General refused to receive
them, and fined the newspaper $500, which was raised at once by
public subscription. Indignation was openly expressed. A cablegram
was sent to the Home Government asking for one thousand troops,
etc. The reply came advising the immediate dispatch of 2,000 men,
two millions of cartridges, 6,000 Remington rifles, and the gunboats
Isla de Luzon and Isla de Cuba. Every fortnight, indeed, has brought
fresh supplies of troops, which now make a total in the colony of
about 10,000 Spanish regulars under arms.
On the 26th of August one thousand rebels appeared at Caloocan,
four miles from Manila. They murdered some Chinese and took others
prisoners. They were held back by the gendarmerie until reinforcements
of cavalry came from the capital, but just before the squadron of
troops arrived the rebels fled. The cavalry scoured the district
and returned to Manila the next day. I saw them pass over the Bridge
of Spain. There was tremendous excitement. Groups formed about the
Escolta--the principal business street--discussing the situation. For
days no one met another without having some news, real or imaginary,
to disclose. Business was, and still is, much interrupted. Market
people, washmen, traders of all sorts from outside, were afraid to
venture along the approaches to the city. Two days passed--three days
passed, there was really no fresh event. The nervous tension of the
amazed population began to slacken. A reaction set in, and whilst
precautions were discussed and everybody was prepared to say what he
should do, the Caloocan onslaught began to be talked of as a mere
filibustering expedition which would break up at the first smell
of powder, and simply go to swell the ranks of the ever-existing
brigand bands. The Governor-General refused to proclaim martial
law. The circumstances were declared to be not sufficiently grave to
warrant that measure being taken, and the public were settling down
into a state of acquiescence with that view when, like a bombshell,
the news of a far more serious raid fell upon Manila. On Sunday,
30th of August, before daybreak, the rebels again concentrated at
San Juan del Monte, four miles from the city walls. An artilleryman
was murdered, and an attempt was made to seize the powder-magazine,
whilst several of the loyalists were wounded.
FILIPINOS WITH DEWEY'S SQUADRON
(Hongkong Telegraph, April 28, 1898.)
The United States Asiatic Squadron left Mirs Bay yesterday afternoon
for the Philippines. It was previously arranged that the fleet should
have left on Tuesday, but the departure was delayed to await the
arrival of Mr. O. F. Williams and several officers who had stayed
behind for dispatches. As we have already intimated, Mr. Williams
and the officers were stormstayed on Tuesday and had to return to
Hongkong. * * * * * * Meanwhile Mr. Rounsevelle Wildman, United
States Consul at Hongkong, and Mr. Williams had had interviews with
several of the Philippine rebel chiefs who were deported to Hongkong,
and arrangements were made that one of their number, J. Alejandrino,
should accompany the squadron, and act as the intermediary between
the Americans and rebels. Yesterday morning, about eight o'clock,
Mr. Wildman, Mr. Williams, the United States officers, newspaper
representatives, and J. Alejandrino, accompanied by two rebel friends,
started in the Fame to make their way to the fleet.
A PREDICTION OF 1872
(From the London and China Telegraph of March 22, 1872,
retranslated.) Reviewing the Cavite uprising, it concludes:
"The magnificent resources of these Islands have been neglected
too long, whatever has been done toward their development is due
to Anglo-Saxons whose efforts have been impeded by every possible
means through the indifferent and indolent ideas of the Spanish
government. As to the future government of the Philippines, could our
government, or the American, be induced to accept any responsibility no
one would benefit more than they from a change in affairs so necessary
to the due development of the rich and magnificent products of that
soil. Therefore the best thing that the inhabitants there could do
would be to establish their independence under a republican form of
government, making use in this of some of the Anglo-Saxons who now
reside among them.
"The local government would be acting with practical wisdom did it
not oppose a peaceable revolution. That a separation has to take
place is inevitable. The power of Spain to govern distant colonies
has disappeared, never to return.
"We cannot, however, end this article without paying a merited
tribute of respect to the gallant Governor and Captain-General. His
proclamation, which we published in the last issue of the London and
China Telegraph, is worthy of the most exalted patriotism. He had
the duty of stifling the revolution, but now it will be found that
its spirit is like the fabled seven-headed serpent."
NOTES
[1] "This modest work, which does not pretend to be without mistakes,
and perhaps other flaws, has a special interest in that it treats of a
matter about which the historians of those islands had hardly occupied
themselves. The chronicles written by the laborious ecclesiastics, the
only books of history which may be consulted about the Philippines,
contain nothing but descriptions of the campaigns against the Dutch,
the wars against the infidels--in the Archipelago as well as on the
continent of Asia--the rebellions of the natives in some provinces,
so easily suppressed, the bloody encounters with the Chinese settled
in the islands, portentous miracles, progress of the missions in
China, Annam and Japan, famous conflicts between the ecclesiastical
jurisdiction and the civil power represented by the Governor General
and the Real Acuerdo, great crimes, other notable events of different
kinds and changes in the personnel and form of administration of
the country.
"But in all these works, though useful and important, there is
observed, among others, the absence of antecedents relative to
economic and mercantile legislation, the scarcity of data to show the
development of wealth of the country and of its commercial movement,
the lack of a critical analysis of the legal provisions concerning
such activities, and of their influence on the decadence or progress
of production and commerce." (Manuel Azcarraga y Palmero, Gobernador
civil cesante de Manila, Alcalde mayor que ha sido de Cagayan y de
Bulacan, Auditor honorario de Marina, etc., La Libertad de Comercio
en las Islas Filipinas.--Madrid, 1872, pp. 9-10.)
[2] " * * * The result is that Spanish writers, with them the
Filipinos, and to a great extent the writers of Philippine treatises
in other languages (drawing hastily upon Spanish sources), have over
emphasized the political history of this Philippine record. Of course,
in Spain and the Spanish countries long-standing habit makes it the
tendency to look to government for everything, and to think of all
amelioration of evils and all incitements to progress as coming from
above; while social and economic conditions in the Philippines are such
as to emphasize this tendency, the aristocracy of wealth and education
standing apart from the masses and being, to the latter, identified in
the main with the government, with the "powers above." Nevertheless, it
is to be insisted that social and economic progress in the Philippines
during the last half-century should be considered separately and
studied more practically than they have been thus far." (Le Roy's
Bibliographical Notes.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 52, 134.)
[3] For detailed discussion of this theory, see The Economic
Interpretation of History, by E. R. A. Seligman. Also, History
of Civilization in England, by H. T. Buckle, Vol. I, Chapter II,
Influence Exercised by Physical Laws over Organization of Society and
the Character of Individuals. This chapter is reprinted in Sociology
and Social Progress, by T. N. Carver.
[4] "In many ways the next decade of the history of the Philippines
may resemble the splendid development of the neighboring country
of Japan. Both countries have in past times been isolated more or
less from the life and thought of the modern world. Both are now
open to the full current of human affairs. Both countries promise
to play an important part in the politics and commerce of the Far
East. Geographically, the Philippines occupy the more central
and influential position, and the success of the institutions
of the Philippines may react upon the countries of southeastern
Asia and Malaysia to an extent that we cannot appreciate or
foresee." (Dr. D. P. Barrows, A History of the Philippines, pp. 9-10.)
"Manila was also the commercial center of the Far East, and the
entrepôt through which the kingdoms of eastern Asia exchanged
their wares. Here came great fleets of junks from China laden with
stores. Morga fills nearly two pages with an enumeration of their
merchandise, which included all manner of silks, brocades, furniture,
pearls and gems, fruits, nuts, tame buffalo, geese, horses and mules,
all kinds of animals, 'even to birds in cages, some of which talk and
others sing and which they make perform a thousand tricks; there are
innumerable other gewgaws and knickknacks, which among Spaniards are
in much esteem.'
"Each year a fleet of thirty to forty vessels sailed with the new moon
in March. The voyage across the China Sea, rough with the monsoons,
occupied fifteen or twenty days, and the fleet returned at the end of
May or the beginning of June. Between October and March there came,
each year, Japanese ships from Nagasaki which brought wheat, silks,
objects of art, and weapons, and took away from Manila the raw silk
of China, gold, deer horns, woods, honey, wax, palm-wine, and wine
of Castile.
"From Malacca and India came fleets of the Portuguese subjects
of Spain, with spices, slaves, Negroes and Kafirs, and the rich
productions of Bengal, India, Persia, and Turkey. From Borneo, too,
came the smaller craft of the Malays, who from their boats sold the
fine palm mats, the best of which still come from Cagayan de Sulu
and Borneo, slaves, sago, water-pots and glazed earthenware, black
and fine. From Siam and Cambodia also, but less often, there came
trading-ships. Manila was thus a great emporium for all the countries
of the East, the trade of which seems to have been conducted largely
by and through the merchants of Manila." (Ibid., pp. 173-174.)
"Their position, whether in a political or a commercial point of view,
is strikingly advantageous. With India and the Malay Archipelago
on the west and south, the islands of the fertile Pacific and the
rising empires of the new world on the east, the vast market of
China at their doors, their insular position and numerous rivers
affording a facility of communication and defence to every part of
them, an active and industrious population, climates of almost all
varieties, a soil so fertile in vegetable and mineral productions as
almost to exceed credibility; the Philippine Islands alone, in the
hands of an industrious and commercial nation, and with a free and
enlightened government would have become a mighty empire--they are--a
waste!" (Bl. and Rb., Vol. 51, pp. 74-75, Remarks on the Philippine
Islands, 1819-22, by "An Englishman.")
[5] " * * * No one who has studied this subject with care can get
rid of the idea that the religious aim was not the chief basis of
the activities connected with the occupation of the Philippines. It
was purely commercial. It was only later that the religious element
acquired greater strength. * * * "
" * * * In such mercantile activities, the Philippines played the
role of a central market for the distribution of products between
the West and East,--a work which was of greatest importance. * * *
These Islands were not only a great commercial market, but also a
great religious center. * * * "
" * * * No one who has followed the opportunities offered to these
Islands, can doubt the importance that they will have, due to their
geographic position, in the modern commercial market which is opened
to them with the establishment of their new means of communication
with the world. (Referring to the Panama Canal.) These Islands,
and not Japan, or Hongkong will bind the East with the West." ("The
Importance of the Study of Philippine Geography,"--Lecture delivered
by Dr. J. A. Robertson, before the Asociación Geográfica de Filipinas,
November 27, 1912.)
[6] Manila, October 7, 1701. (The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898--Blair
and Robertson, Vol. 44, p. 139.)
[7] "Historia General de Filipinas," Jose Montero y Vidal, Vol. 1,
p. 66.
[8] "Purposely introduced species comprise those of various other
tropical countries that, for reason of their economic importance,
have been introduced either in prehistoric or within historic
times. Naturally the first plants introduced were those of the Malayan
region that were familiar to the original invaders or their successors
in western Malaya, and these include such species as Job's tears (Coix
lachryma-jobi L.), the more common form of use for ornamental purposes,
another form cultivated for food; sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum
L.), as a source of sugar; lemon grass (Andropogon citratus DC),
used as a condiment; vetiver (Andropogon zizanioides Urb.), for its
aromatic root; sorghum (Andropogon sorghum L.), for food; Italian
millet (Setaria italica Beauv.), for food; rice (Oryza sativa L.), for
food; bamboos (Bambusa vulgaris Schrad., and B. blumeana Schultes),
for purposes of construction; coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), for food
(this species is unquestionably of American origin, but reached the
Orient long before the advent of Europeans); betel-nut palm (Areca
catechu L.), for its stimulating properties; sweet flag (Acorus calamus
L.), medicinal; taro (Colocasia esculentum Schott), food; yam, "ubi"
(Dioscorea alata L.), for food; garlic (Allium sativum L.), for food;
various varieties of the banana (Musa paradisiaca L.), for food;
various zingiberaceous plants (Kaempferia galanga L., Curcuma zedoaria
L., C. longa L., Zingiber zerumbet Sm., and Z. officinale Rosc),
for condiments, etc.; betel-pepper (Piper betel L.) for use with the
betel-nut for chewing; bread fruit (Artocarpus communis Forst.),
and the jak fruit (A. integrifolia L. f.), for food; amaranths
(Amaranthus gangeticus L., A. caudatus L.), for ornamental purposes
and food; "libato" (Basella rubra L.), for food; champaca (Michelia
champaca L.), for its fragrant flowers (this may have been introduced
later by the Spaniards); siempre viva (Bryophyllum pinnatum Kurz),
for medical purposes; horse radish tree (Moringa oleifera Lam.),
for food and medicine; sappan (Caesalpinia sappan L.), for dyeing;
the tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.), for food; indigo (Indigofera
tinctoria L.), for dye; "caturay" (Sesbania grandiflora Pers.),
for its edible flowers and its resinous exudation; the pigeon pea
(Cajanus cajan Merr.), for food; the cow pea (Vigna sesquipedalis L.),
for food; the asparagus pea (psophocarpus tetragonolobus DC.), for
food; "batao" (Dolichos lablab L.), for food; the mungo (Phaseolus
radiatus L.), for food; various citrus fruits, such as the pomelo
(Citrus decumana Murr.), the lime (C. lima Lunan.), and varieties
of the orange (C. aurantium L.), for food; the santol (Sandoricum
koetjape Merr.), for food; the lansone (Lansium domesticum Jack),
for food; some euphorbias (E. tirucalli L.), for medicine; "iba"
(Cicca disticha L.), for food; crotons (Codiaeum variegatum Blume),
for ornamental purposes; castor oil plant (Ricinus communis L.), for
medicine; croton oil plant (Croton tiglium L.), for medicine and for
poisoning fish; balsam (Impatiens balsamina L.), for medicine and for
ornamental purposes; cotton (Gossypium sp.), for textile purposes;
silk cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra Gaertn.) for its fibrous floss;
various Eugenias (E. jambolana Lam., E. malaccensis L., E. jambos L.,
and E. javanica L.), for food; "papua" (Nothopanax fruticosum Miq.),
for medicine and for ornamental purposes; jasmine (Sasminum sambac
Ait.), for its fragrant flowers; "solasi" (Ocimum basilicum L., and
O. sanctum L.), for condiments; sesame (Sesamum orientale L.) for its
oily seed; the bottle gourd (Lagenaria leucantha Rusby), for food;
the sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica Roem. and L. acutangula Roxb.),
for food; the "condol" (Benincasa hispida Cogn.), for food; and the
"ampalaya" (Momordica charantia L.) for food.
From an examination of the above list it will readily be seen that
a great number of species were purposely introduced in prehistoric
times from various parts of the East, chiefly through Malaya, for one
reason or another, usually for their food value or for other reasons
of economic importance. It is quite certain that none of the species
enumerated above are natives of the Philippines, and it is equally
certain that none reached the Archipelago without the aid of man. Again
it is equally certain that, with possibly very few exceptions, all
these species were introduced by the early Malay invaders, by their
successors, or by peoples of various other nationalities with whom
they came in contact, long before the advent of the Europeans in the
Orient."--"Notes on the Flora of Manila with special reference to the
Introduced Element. E. D. Merrill. The Philippine Journal of Science,
Vol. VII, No. 3, Sec. C. Botany, pp. 192-194.
[9] "If we exclude the abacá plant (Musa textilis Née) and the various
trees yielding timbers, gums, and resins, a few palms, some bamboos,
the rattans, etc., it will be found that practically all the species
now found in the Archipelago that are of the greatest importance
in the economy of the native, whether for food, for condiments,
for clothing, for dyes, for ornamental purposes, and very many for
medicinal purposes, have originated outside of the Philippines, and
have purposely been introduced at one time or another." (The Flora
of Manila, E. D. Merrill, Ibid.)
[10] Sucesos de las Islas Filipinos, Antonio de Morga, Chap. 8. In
Blair and Robertson Vol. 16, p. 87.
"Instead of olives and other pickled fruit, they have a green fruit,
like walnuts, which they call "paos." (Pahó.) Some are small,
and others larger in size, and when prepared they have a pleasant
taste. They also preserve "charas" in pickle brine, and all sorts
of vegetables and greens, which are very appetizing. There is much
ginger, and it is eaten green, pickled, and preserved." (Ibid. p. 97).
[11] Merrill: Flora of Manila.
[12] However, both Dr. Tavera (Census of the Philippine Islands,
Vol. I, p. 329), and Montero y Vidal (Historia General de Filipinas,
Vol. I, p. 66.), state that the sweet potato was being cultivated here
at the time of the conquest. Pigafetta also mentions it in his account.
[13] The American element in the Philippine flora is of peculiar
interest as showing the effect of commerce on the vegetation of a
country. Even with the limited communication between the Philippines
and Mexico, it is surprising to consider the number of American forms
introduced here through the medium of the galleons in the years
when all communication between Spain and the Philippines was via
Mexico. From the time of the Spanish conquest up to the year 1815,
a period of nearly 300 years, the government galleons sailed annually
for Manila, first from Navidad and later from Acapulco, on the western
coast of Mexico. These galleons carried not only the civil, military,
and ecclesiastical authorities between Spain and the Philippines via
Mexico, but also other travellers, merchants, etc., as well as large
quantities of merchandise.
At an early date various Spanish officials, but, apparently, chiefly
the priests, introduced here the various species of economic value,
food plants, medicinal plants, fruits, etc., that were familiar to
their countrymen in tropical America, most often bringing seeds,
but in some cases most certainly living plants. Undoubtedly many
species were introduced at that time that failed to become established
here. Among the American species purposely introduced from Mexico may
be mentioned the following: "Maize (Zea mays L.), introduced for food;
the "pineapple" (Ananas sativus Schultes), for its edible fruit and
its fiber; maguey (Agave cantula Roxb.), for its fiber; the tuberose
(Polianthes tuberosa L.), for its fragrant flowers; the spider lily
(Hymenocallis tenuiflora Herb.), for ornamental purposes; the canna
(Canna indica L.), for ornamental purposes; arrowroot (Marania
arundinacea L.), for food; "aposotis" (Chenopodium ambrosioides
L.), for medical purposes; four o'clock (Mirabilis jalapa L.),
for ornamental purposes; "libato" (Anredera scandens Moq.); various
species of Anona (A. muricata L., A. reticulata L., and A. squamosa
L.), for their edible fruits; the avocado (Persea americana Mill.),
for its edible fruit; the Mexican poppy (Argemone mexicana L.), for
ornamental purposes or for medicine; "camanchile" (Pithecolobium
dulce Benth.), for its tanbark and its edible fruit; "aroma"
(Acacia farnesiana Willd.) for its fragrant flowers; "ipel-ipel"
(Leucaena glauca Benth.), as a hedge plant; the sensitive plant
(Mimosa pudica L.), for ornamental purposes; "cabellero" (Caesalpinia
pulcherrima Sw.), for ornamental purposes; "acapulco" (Cassia alata
L.), for medicinal purposes; the "peanut" (Arachis hypogaea L.), for
food; indigo (Indigofera suffruticosa Mill.), for dye; "madre cacao"
(Gliricidia sepium Steud.), for hedges and for ornamental purposes; the
lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.), for food; the yam bean (Pachyrrhizus
erosus Urb.), for its edible root; the bilimbi and carambola (Averrhoa
bilimbi L., and A. carambola L.), for their edible fruits; physic nut
(Jatropha curcas L.), for medicine, as well as J. multifida L. for
ornamental purposes; cassava (Manihot utilissima Pohl), for food;
the cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.), for its edible fruit;
"ciruelas" (Spondias purpurea L,.), for its edible fruit; "cotton"
(Gossypium braziliense Macf.), for textile purposes; "cacao"
(Theobroma cacao L.), the source of chocolate and cacao; acheute
(Bixa Orellana L.), for dye; the "papaya" (Carica papaya L.), for
its edible fruit; various species of cacti (Nopalea and Cereus), for
ornamental purposes; the guava (Psidium guajava L.), for its edible
fruit; the "chico" (Achras sapota L.), for its edible fruit; the "chico
mamey" (Lucuma mammosa L.), for its edible fruit; the "sapote negro"
(Diospyros ebenaster Retz.), for its edible fruit; the temple flower
(Plumeria acutifolia Poir.), for its fragrant flowers; the periwinkle
(Lochnera rosea Reichb.), for its ornamental flowers; "campanello"
(Thevetia neriifolia Juss. and Allamanda caihartica L.), for ornamental
and medicinal purposes; some species of convolvuli (Ipomoea nil Roth,
Quamoclit pinnata Boj., Colonictyon aculeatum House), for ornamental
purposes, and the "sweet potato" (Ipomoea batatas Poir.), for food;
lantana (Lantana camara L.), for ornamental purposes; "dama de
noche" (Cestrum nocturnum L.), for its fragrant flowers; "tobacco"
(Nicotiana tabacum L.); the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.);
the peppers (Capsicum frutescens L. and C. annuum L.), for condiments
and for food; some ornamental Bignoniaceae (Crescentia alata HBK.,
and Tecoma stans Juss.); (?) the squash (Curcubita maxima Duch.),
for food; some ornamental Compositae (Tagetes erecta L., Helianthus
annuus L., Cosmos caudatus HBK., and C sulphureus Cav.), and "ayapana"
(Eupatorium triplinerve Vahl), for medicine."
(Merrill: Flora of Manila, pp. 198-199.)
[14] On the whole, agriculture was not the chief aim of Spanish
colonization. "How little attention, on the whole, the conquistadores
directed to agricultural colonies, considering their various
services in the transplantation of domestic animals, cereals, and
vegetables from the Old to the New World, is very clearly shown by
Peter Martyr, who condemns the expedition to Florida with the words:
"For what purpose do we need such products as are identical with
those of southern Europe?" It is true that Columbus's second voyage of
discovery had a settlement in view, and for that reason was provided
with domestic animals, seeds, etc. It was a failure, however, owing
to the mutinous spirit of the Spaniards. The regions which were best
adapted to agricultural colonies, as, for example, Caracas, Guiana,
Buenos Ayres, were neglected by the Spaniards for centuries. ("The
Spanish Colonial Policy," Wilhelm Roscher (1904), pp. 2-3.)
"It is a strange thing that the Spaniards who go to those regions
(The Philippines) honestly to make a small fortune do not engage more
in agriculture, in a country where there is so much virgin land and
of such great fertility, where labor is extremely cheap, and the crop
easily and profitably sold." (La Libertad de Comercio en Filipinas,
Manuel Azcarraga y Palmero, p. 27.)
" * * * the Spaniards cared but little for the cultivation of the
lands." (The Ecclesiastical System in the Philippines, Manuel Buzeta,
O. S. A., and Felipe Bravo, O. S. A., Madrid, 1850. From their
Diccionario de las Islas Filipinas. In Bl. and Rb., Vol. 28, p. 285.
[15] Montero y Vidal, "Historia General de Filipinas," Vol. I, p. 67.
[16] "Beef is eaten, cattle being raised abundantly in stockfarms in
many different parts of the islands. The cattle are bred from those
of China and Nueva España. The Chinese cattle are small, and excellent
breeders. Their horns are very small and twisted, and some cattle can
move them. They have a large hump upon the shoulders, and are very
manageable beasts. * * * There is abundance of flesh of wild game,
such as venison, and wild boars, and in some parts porcupines. There
are many buffaloes, which are called carabaos, which are raised in the
fields and are spirited; others are brought tame from China; these are
very numerous, and very handsome. These last are used only for milking,
and their milk is thicker and more palatable than that of cows. Goats
and kids are raised, although their flesh is not savory, because of the
humidity of the country. These animals sicken and die for that reason,
and because they eat certain poisonous herbs. Ewes and rams, although
often brought from Nueva España, never multiply. Consequently there
are none of these animals, for the climate and pasturage has not as
yet seemed suitable for them. There were no horses, mares, or asses,
in the islands, until the Spaniards had them brought from China and
brought them from Nueva España. Asses and mules are very rare, but
there are many horses and mares. Some farms are being stocked with
them, and those born (mixed breeds for the most part) turn out well,
and have good colors, are good tempered and willing to work, and
are of medium size. Those brought from China are small, very strong,
good goers, treacherous, quarrelsome, and bad-tempered. Some horses
of good colors are brought from Japan. They have well-shaped bodies,
thick hair, large fetlocks, large legs and front hoofs, which make them
look like draft-horses. Their heads are rather large, and their mouths
rather hard. They run but slowly, but walk well, and are spirited and
of much mettle. The daily feed of the horses consists throughout the
year of green provender, besides rice in the husk, which keeps them
very fat." (Morga's Sucesos, 1609, Bl. and Rb. Vol. 16, pp. 89-91.)
[17] "The islands, as I am told, need stallions, mares and cows,
and other domestic animals. In order that they may be bred there
in numbers, I am writing to the viceroy of Nueva España, to send
to the said islands twelve mares, two stallions, twenty cows,
and two bulls. You shall ask him for these as you pass there, and
shall take them with you in your vessels as you go upon your voyage;
and whatever you think needful for the animals can be brought from
China and Japan. You shall order those farmers who are about to go
to the said islands, and the chiefs, to tame and breed buffaloes, so
that with all these animals there may be sufficiency to carry on the
farming, and for other needful services." (Instruction to Dasmariñas
of Felipe II, Aug. 9, 1589;--Bl. and Rb. Vol. 7, p. 156.).
Also, Instructions to Tello, 1596, Bl. and Rb., Vol. 9, p. 236.
[18] "There are plenty of fowls like those of Castilla, and others
very large, which are bred from fowls brought from China. They are
very palatable, and make fine capons. Some of these fowls are black in
feather, skin, flesh, and bones, and are pleasant to the taste. Many
geese are raised, as well as swans, ducks, and tame pigeons brought
from China."
(Antonio de Morga, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinos, Chap. 8.--Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 16, p. 90.)
[19] "The material surroundings of the Filipino before the arrival of
the Spaniards were in nearly every way quite as they are today. The
"center of population" of each town today, with its great church,
tribunal, stores and houses of stone and wood, is certainly in marked
contrast; but the appearance of a barrio of little distance from
the center is today probably much as it was then. Then, as now,
the bulk of the people lived in humble houses of bamboo and nipa
raised on piles above the dampness of the soil; then, as now, the
food was largely rice and the excellent fish which abound in river
and sea. There were on the water the same familiar bancas and fish
corrals, and on land the rice fields and coconut groves. The Filipinos
had then most of the present domesticated animals,--dogs, cats, goats,
chickens, and pigs,--and perhaps in Luzon the domesticated buffalo,
although this animal was widely introduced into the Philippines from
China after the Spanish conquest. Horses followed the Spaniards and
their numbers were increased by the bringing in of Chinese mares,
whose importation is frequently mentioned.
"The Spaniards introduced also the cultivation of tobacco, coffee,
and cacao, and perhaps also the native corn of America, the maize,
although Pigafetta says they found it already growing in the Bisayas.
"The Filipino has been affected by these centuries of Spanish
sovereignty far less on his material side than he has on his spiritual,
and it is mainly in the deepening and elevating of his emotional
and mental life and not in the bettering of his material condition
that advance has been made." (Dr. D. P. Barrows, A History of the
Philippines, pp. 106-107).
[20] "The planters keep working the soil almost as they used to
do three centuries ago." Memoria sobre los Montes de Filipinas,
Sebastian Vidal y Soler; Madrid, 1874, p. 74.)
[21] Antonio de Morga, "Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas,"
chap. 8. Rival's note to this says: This work, although not laborious,
is generally performed now by the men, while the women do only the
actual cleaning of the rice. (Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 79).
[22] "The lands which they inhabited were divided among the whole
barangay, especially the irrigated portion, and thus each one knew his
own." Customs of the Tagalogs, Juan de Plasencia, O. S. F.; Manila,
October 21, 1589. Blair and Robertson, Vol. 7, p. 174.
[23] See Chapter II, as to evidences of prosperity of the Filipinos
at the time of the coming of the Spaniards.
Caingin system described: "They reported that the country was so
fertile that when natives desired to plant their rice they only burn
a part of the mountain and, without any further plowing or digging,
they make holes with a stick in the soil, and drop some grains of
rice in them. This was their manner of sowing; and, after covering the
rice with the same earth, they obtained very heavy crops." (Historia
de la Provincia del Santo Rosario de la Orden de Predicadores, Diego
Aduarte, O. P., Manila, 1640.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 32, p. 199.)
[24] "Customs of the Tagalogs," Juan de Plasencia: "* * * * The lands
on the 'tingues' or mountain-ridges, are not divided, but owned in
common by the barangay. Consequently, at the time of the rice harvest,
any individual of any particular barangay, although he may come from
some other village, if he commences to clear any land may sow it, and
no one can compel him to abandon it. There are some villages (as, for
example, Pila de la Laguna) in which these nobles, or maharlicas, paid
annually to the dato a hundred gantas of rice. The reason of this was
that, at the time of their settlement there, another chief occupied the
lands, which the new chief upon his arrival, bought with his own gold;
and therefore the members of his barangay paid him for the arable land,
and he divided it, among those whom he saw fit to reward. But now,
since the advent of the Spaniards, it is not so divided. * * *
"The chiefs in some villages had also fisheries, with established
limits, and sections of the rivers for markets. At these no one could
fish, or trade in the markets, without paying for the privilege,
unless he belonged to the chief's barangay or village." (Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 7, pp. 174-175.)
Also, T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Census of the Philippines, 1903, Vol. I,
p. 325.
[25] Expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos. (Résumé of Contemporaneous
Documents, Talavera, July 6, 1541.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 2, p. 54.)
[26] The origin of the encomienda "was in the REPARTIMIENTO, which
at first (1497) meant a grant of lands in a conquered country;
it was soon extended to include the natives dwelling thereon, who
were compelled to till the land for the conqueror's benefit. In 1503
ENCOMIENDAS were granted, composed of a certain number of natives,
who were compelled to work. The word ENCOMIENDA is a term belonging
to the military orders (from the ranks of which came many officials
appointed for the colonies) and corresponds to our word commandery. It
is defined by Helps (practically using the same language of Solorzano,
the eminent Spanish jurist), as a right conceded by royal bounty,
to well-deserving persons in the Indies, to receive and enjoy for
themselves the tributes of the natives who should be assigned to
them, with a charge of providing for the good of those natives in
spiritual and temporal matters, and of inhabiting and defending the
provinces where these ENCOMIENDAS should be granted to them." (Note,
Bl. and Rb., Vol. 2, p. 54.)
[27] "According to the constitutional law of the Indies the
land and the soil in all colonies were the domain of the king;
therefore the encomiendas, which were granted only to discoverers
and other men of conspicuous merit, were to be considered not so
much as landed estates as public offices. (Compare "Recopilación,"
'IV 8, 9, 11.) The encomendero was appointed and sworn (law of 1532)
for the express purpose of giving his natives military protection
(law of 1552) and of promoting politically and religiously their
conversion to civilization (laws of 1509, 1554, 1580). Whoever
neglected to do this lost his encomienda (laws of 1536, 1551). It is
characteristic that the Spaniards so readily combined the functions
of discoverers, pacificators, and founders of settlements; as a
matter of fact most of the Indian races were led to civil life,
in our sense of the word, by them. In order to prevent extortion
no encomendero could own a house in his village or stay there more
than one night (law of 1609, 1618). Not even his nearest relatives
or his slaves could enter the encomienda (law of 1574, 1550, and
often). He was forbidden to maintain any industrial establishment
in the encomienda (law of 1621), or to take into his house any
of the inhabitants (law of 1528). That the natives were free men,
that they could not be sold by an encomendero, was recognized in
many laws. ("Recopilación," VI, 2, I, II). After the legislation of
1542 some of the natives were the immediate subjects of the king,
and the rest dependents attached to the encomiendas. The former paid
three-fourths of their taxes to the treasury, and the latter the same
proportion to their landlords. The right of holding an encomienda was
granted, regularly for two generations, except in New Spain, where,
on account of the very unusual services rendered by the conquerors,
it was granted for three and even four generations. (Ibid. VI, 11,
14.) During the 18th century many of the families of the landlords
died out and their possessions were not again granted. The authorities
always interested themselves in the cause of the natives, until at
length Charles III abolished the encomiendas." (W. Roscher (1904)
"The Spanish Colonial System," pp. 4-5.)
[28] "Let such allotments be made without prejudice to the natives,
retaining for them their arable lands, gardens, and pastures, so
that all shall be cared for." (Foundation of the Audiencia of Manila,
Felipe II; Aranjuez, May 5, 1583.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 5, p. 292.)
"I was petitioned on behalf of the said islands, to order that
encomiendas be granted with the condition and obligation upon the
encomenderos that some patch of ground should be cultivated, and that
the farmers and natives should be aided so that they also may till
and cultivate. I charged Gomez Perez strictly in his instructions with
this, and now I charge you too. You shall grant lands and homesteads,
cattle and horses for breeding and farming, both to the natives,
and to the settlers and farmers. Inasmuch as the execution of this
is important, you shall advise me of the conditions of former days
and what ordinances you shall enact, so that what is advisable may
be done during your term." (Instructions to Tello, Felipe II, Toledo,
May 25, 1596.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 9, p. 237.)
(To the same effect, Instructions to Dasmariñas, Felipe II, San
Lorenzo, August 9, 1589. Ibid., Vol. 7, p. 157).
[29] On July 25, 1609, Don Miguel Banal, a Filipino chief of Quiapo,
sent a petition to the King, for redress against what he considered a
usurpation of his lands. The petition begins thus: "Sire:--In former
years the archbishop of these Philippine Islands, on petition of the
natives of the village of Quiapo, which is near the city of Manila,
wrote to your Majesty, informing you that the fathers of the Society
of Jesus--under pretext that the former dean of this holy church
of Manila, whom your Majesty has lately appointed archbishop, had
sold them a garden lying back of our village--have been insinuating
themselves more and more into our lands and taking more than what was
assigned them by the dean; and that we had scarcely any land remaining
in the village for our fields, and even for our houses. The petition
begged your royal Majesty to remedy this and protect us under your
royal clemency, since we are natives, who cannot defend ourselves
by suits, as we are a poor people, and it would be a matter with a
religious order. (Nothing was heard from the King, and in the meantime,
petitioner was forcibly ejected from his own lands, and a house built
by him thereon, destroyed.) For I fear that I can find no one to
aid me in the suits that the fathers are about to begin against me,
or who will appear for my justice, since I have even been unable to
find any one who dared to write this letter for me. This letter is
therefore written by my own hand and in my own composition, and in the
style of a native not well versed in the Spanish language. Also in the
meanwhile will you order the fathers not to molest me in the ancient
possession that I have inherited from my fathers and grandfathers, who
were chiefs of the said village." (Bl. and Rb., Vol. 14, pp. 327-329.)
A letter from Felipe III to Silva, refers to above petition and
orders thus: "Having examined it in my Council for the Yndias, it has
appeared best to order and command you, as I do to inform me of what
has occurred in this matter, and is occuring, and in the meantime to
take such measures as are expedient. Madrid, on the 7th of December,
1610." (Bl. and Rb., Vol. 17, pp. 151-152.)
[30] "For the above reason there is a large supply of lumber, which
is cut and sawed, dragged to the rivers, and brought down, by the
natives. This lumber is very useful for houses and buildings, and
for the construction of small and large vessels. Many very straight
trees, light and pliable, are found, which are used as masts for
ships and galleons. Consequently, vessels of any size may be fitted
with masts from these trees, made of one piece of timber, without its
being necessary to splice them or make them of different pieces. For
the hulls of the ships, the keels, futtock-timbers, top-timbers, and
any other kinds of supports and braces, compass-timbers, transomes,
knees small and large, and rudders, all sorts of good timber are easily
found; as well as good planking for the sides, decks, and upper-works,
from very suitable woods." (Antonio de Morga, Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas.--Chapter 8, Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 84-87.)
[31] "Their ships and boats are of many kinds; for on the rivers and
creeks inland they use certain very large canoes, each made from one
log, and others fitted with benches and made from planks, and built
up on keels. They have vireys and barangays, which are certain,
quick, and light vessels that lie low in the water, put together
with little wooden nails. These are as slender at the stern as at
the bow, and they can hold a number of rowers on both sides, who
propel their vessels with 'bucceyes' or paddles, and with 'gaones,'
on the outside of the vessels; and they time their rowing to the
accompaniment of some who sing in their language refrains by which
they understand whether to hasten or retard their rowing. Above the
rowers is a platform or gangway, built of bamboo, upon which the
fighting men stand, in order not to interfere with the rowing of
the oarsmen. In accordance with the capacity of the vessels, is the
number of men on these gangways. From that place they manage the sail,
which is square and made of linen, and hoisted on a support or yard
made of two thick bamboos, which serves as a mast. When the vessel
is large, it also has a foresail of the same form. Both yards, with
their tackle, can be lowered upon the gangway when the weather is
rough. The helmsmen are stationed in the stern to steer. It carries
another bamboo framework on the gangway itself; and upon this when
the sun shines hot, or it rains, they stretch an awning made from
some mats, woven from palm-leaves. These are very bulky and close,
and are called 'cayanes.' Thus all the ship and its crew are covered
and protected. There are also other bamboo frameworks for each side
of the vessel, which are as long as the vessel, and securely fastened
on. They skim the water, without hindering the rowing, and serve as
a counterpoise, so that the ship cannot overturn nor upset, however
heavy the sea, or strong the wind against the sail.
"It may happen that the entire hull of these vessels, which have
no decks, may fill with water and remain between wind and water,
even until it is destroyed and broken up, without sinking, because
of these counterpoises. These vessels have been used commonly through
the islands since olden times. They have other larger vessels called
'lapis,' and 'tapaques,' which are used to carry their merchandise,
and which are very suitable, as they are roomy and draw but little
water. They generally drag them ashore every night, at the mouths
of rivers and creeks, among which they always navigate without going
into the open sea or leaving the shore. All the natives can row and
manage these boats. Some are so long that they can carry one hundred
rowers on a side and thirty soldiers above to fight. The boats commonly
used are barangays and vireys, which carry a less crew and fighting
force. Now they put many of them together with iron nails instead
of the wooden pegs and the joints in the planks, while the helms and
bows have beaks like Castilian boats." (Antonio de Morga, Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas.--Ch. 8, Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 82-84.)
[32] "The Filipinos, like the inhabitants of the Marianas, who are
no less skilful and dexterous in navigation, far from progressing,
have retrograded; since, although boats are now built in the islands,
we might assert that they are all after European models. The boats
that held one hundred rowers to a side and thirty soldiers have
disappeared. The country that once, with primitive methods, built
ships of about 2,000 toneladas, today (1890) has to go to foreign
ports, as Hongkong, to give the gold wrenched from the poor, in
exchange for unserviceable cruisers. The rivers are blocked up, and
navigation in the interior of the islands is perishing, thanks to the
obstacles created by a timid and mistrusting system of government; and
there scarcely remains in the memory anything but the name of all that
naval architecture. It has vanished, without modern improvements having
come to replace it in such proportion as during the past centuries has
occurred in adjacent countries." (Rizal's note to Morga.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 16, p. 84.)
[33] "The shipyards of the galleons built during Don Juan de Silva's
term were thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, and eighty leguas from
the city of Manila, in different places; namely, on the island of
Marinduque, where the galleon San Juan Bautista was built, which is
forty leguas from Manila; in the province of Camarines at Dalupanes
were built Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, and the Angel de la Guardia
(i. e. Guardian Angel), fifty leguas from Manila; in the province of
Ibalon at Bagatan were built San Felipe and Santiago, eighty leguas
from Manila; in Mindoro was built the galleon San Juan Bautista, fifty
leguas from Manila; in Marinduque was built the almiranta San Marcos,
forty leguas from Manila; in Masbate was built the royal flagship
Salvador, seventy leguas from Manila, in the point where the fleets
anchor; in the port of Cavite, six galleys; in the city of Manila,
two." (Sebastian de Pineda; Mexico, 1619.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18,
pp. 173-174.)
[34] "Governor Don Diego de Salcedo, considering the many oppressions
that were experienced by the provinces near Manila from the continual
cutting of timber and building of galleons--a necessary evil and
one in which the wrongs that are committed in it can be obviated
only with great difficulty--very prudently determined to build the
galleon Nuestra Señora del Buen Socorro in the province of Albay. He
entrusted its execution to the commander Diego de Arévalo who was
most experienced in maritime matters. He appointed him alcalde-mayor
of the adjoining province of Camarines for the better expedition
of the timber-cutting, putting him under greater obligations (to
do well) by the future reward of commander of the galleon which
he was about to build. In order that that galleon might be built
more quickly and finished sooner, he sent as chief overseer his
lieutenant master-of-camp, Don Agustin de Cepeda Carnacedo, who was
then master-of-camp of the army of these islands for his Majesty,
in order that he might live in the port of Albay. He did that with
so great care that in little more than one year the largest and best
galleon that had yet been seen in the islands was built--and very
few so large have been seen in European seas, and extremely few that
are larger. For that purpose the woods of Filipinas are the best that
can be found in all the universe." (Casimiro Diaz, O. S. A.; Manila,
1718. Conquistas, in Bl. and Rb., Vol. 37, pp. 250-251.)
[35] "Those who cut these woods and build these ships and galleys
are Indian natives of the said islands. They are carpenters, who are
called cagallanes or pandais, in their language. Those Indians who
are no more than woodcutters, and serve only as hewers and planers
of wood, are paid each seven or eight reals a month, and are given
daily rations of one-half celemin of rice. Those of better trades than
the latter generally earn ten to twelve reals a month. Those who are
masters--the ones who lay out, prepare, round, and make the masts,
yards, and topmasts are each paid three or four pesos of eight reals
a month, and double rations." (Philippine Ships and Shipbuilding,
Sebastian de Pineda (1619).--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18, p. 174.)
[36] "When a fleet was being prepared in Cavite there were generally
one thousand four hundred of these carpenters there. Just now there
are very few, for when the Mindanao enemies burned one galleon and
two petaches in the past year, one thousand six hundred and seventeen,
which were being built in the shipyard of Pantao, sixty leguas from the
city of Manila, they captured more than four hundred of the workmen,
and killed more than two hundred others; while many have died through
the severe work in the building. And because they have been paid
for five years nothing except a little aid, many have fled from the
land; and so few remain that when the last ships sailed from the
city of Manila last year, six hundred and eighteen, there were not
two hundred of those Indians in Cavite." (Ships and Shipbuilding,
Sebastian de Pineda, 1619.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18, pp. 174-175.)
"As above stated, it will be necessary for Governor Don Alonso Fajardo
to devise immediate means for building galleons and to repair the six
at Manila. I regard the present building of ships in that country
as impossible. For with the former ships and fleets and with the
depredations and deaths caused by the enemy in those districts the
natives are quite exhausted; for, as I said above, in the former
years of six hundred and seventeen the Mindanao enemy captured four
hundred native carpenters and killed more than two hundred others. The
year before that, six hundred and sixteen, in the expedition made by
Don Juan de Silva to the strait of Cincapura, where he died, it was
found from lists that more than seven hundred Indians, of those taken
as common seamen (of whom more than two hundred were carpenters),
died on that expedition. Before that, in the year six hundred and
fourteen, the said Mindanao enemy captured in the islands of Pintados
nine hundred odd Indians, of whom but few have been ransomed. In the
shipbuilding and in the hauling of wood many have died. Consequently,
on account of all combined, there is a lack of natives for the above
works. Therefore your Majesty must order the said Don Alonso Fajardo,
governor and captain-general of the said islands, that in case galleons
are to be built, it should not be in the islands--on the one hand,
on account of the short time that those woods last, and on the other
because of the lack in that land of natives (occurring through the
above-mentioned causes, and because those natives in the islands
are serving in the fleets as common seamen and carpenters)." (Ibid.,
pp. 182-183.)
[37] "The shipbuilding carried on in these islands on your Majesty's
account is the total ruin and death of these natives, as all tell
me. For, in addition to the danger caused by it in withdrawing them
from the cultivation of their lands and fields--whereby the abundance
of foods and fruits of the country is destroyed--many of them die from
severe labor and harsh treatment. Joined to this is another evil,
namely, that every Indian who takes part in the shipbuilding is
aided by all the neighborhood where he lives with a certain number
of pesos, on account of the small pay that is given them in behalf
of your Majesty. Hence many are being harassed and worn out by these
methods, and a great expense is being caused to your Majesty's royal
treasury." (Letter to Felipe III, Alonso Fajardo de Tenza, Cavite,
Aug. 10, 1618; Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18, pp. 130-131.)
[38] "Item: That the governor be warned to endeavor to avoid, as far
as possible, the injuries inflicted upon the natives in the cutting of
wood and in personal services; for they sometimes draft them in the
planting season or at harvest, so that they lose their fields, as I
have seen. In addition to this, many times they do not pay the Indians,
because there is no money in the treasury, which is continually short
of funds. This often arises from the fact that they do not estimate
and consider the needs of the Indians with the amount of money that is
available; and consequently all the Indians complain. Finally, when
the said Indians are paid, it is done by the hand of the chiefs or
cabezas de barangay, who generally keep the money." (Reforms Needed
in Filipinas, by H. de los Rios Coronel.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18,
pp. 315-316.)
[39] "The loss of so many ships caused us great sadness of heart. The
greatest hardship fell to the Indians, for they cannot live without
ships. When one is lost it is necessary to build another, and that
means the cutting of wood. Six or eight thousand Indians are assembled
for that task, and go to the mountains. On them falls the vast labor
of cutting and dragging the timber in. To that must be added the blows
that are rained down upon them, and the poor pay, and bad nourishment
that they receive. At times, religious are sent to protect and defend
them from the infernal fury of some Spaniards. Moreover, in the timber
collected for one ship there is (actually enough) for two ships. Many
gain advantage at the cost of the Indians' sweat, and later others
make a profit in Cavite, as I have seen." (D. F. Navarrete, O. P.;
1676, from his Tratados Históricos.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 38, pp. 42-43.)
[40] "* * * I must remind your Majesty that the islands are at the
end of their resources, as far as the Indians in them are concerned;
for it is they who bring the timber from the forests for the said
shipbuilding. I have thought of an expedient for this, in order not to
complete the destruction of the Indians; it is, to ask the viceroys
of your Majesty in Nueva España and Pirú to send vessels here. * *
*" (Letter to Felipe IV, by Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, Cavite,
July 11, 1636.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 26, p. 289.)
[41] "Item. That it be ordered that the common seamen who serve in
the said ships, who are always Indian natives, be all men of that
coast, who are instructed how to navigate; and that they be made to
wear clothes, with which to shelter themselves from the cold; for,
because they do not, most of them die in high latitudes, of which he
(the writer) is a witness. Inasmuch as the factor enrolls other Indians
who live in the interior, and who do not know the art of sailing,
and as they are a wretched people, they are embarked without clothes
to protect them against the cold, so that when each new dawn comes
there are three or four dead men (a matter that is breaking his heart);
besides, they are treated inhumanly and are not given the necessaries
of life, but are killed with hunger and thirst. If he were to tell in
detail the evil that is done to them, it would fill many pages. He
petitions your Majesty to charge your governor straitly to remedy
this." (Reforms Needed in Filipinas, Hernando de los Rios Coronel,
1619-1620.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18, pp. 299-300.)
[42] "This has been the cause of tumults and insurrections, such as
that of Palapag in 1649, and that of the province of Pampanga in 1660;
and, in the time of Governor Don Juan de Silva, that of 1614, because
of the considerable felling of timber which was occasioned by so much
shipbuilding as was caused by the undertaking against the Dutch. Then,
most of the provinces of these islands mutinied and almost rose in
insurrection; and there was danger of a general outbreak, had not
the religious who were ministers in the provinces reduced the minds
of the natives to quiet; for they, overburdened by so heavy a load,
were at the point of desperation." (Casimiro Diaz, O.S.A.; Manila,
1718, Conquistas.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 37, p. 212.)
[43] "Those islands have so few natives, that if your Majesty does not
expressly order no vessels to be constructed in them, not any of their
people will be left, for as a result the events that have happened in
those islands for the last eight years, both murders and captivities,
many of those who have been left, who are constantly coming to Nueva
España, every year as common seamen in the vessels that regularly sail,
remain in Nueva España. In the galleon Espíritu Santo which came last
year, six hundred and eighteen, were seventy-five native Indians as
common seamen, but not more than five of the entire number returned
in the said galley. If your Majesty does not have that corrected,
the same thing will occur every year, and should your Majesty not
correct it, the following things will occur. The first is the great
offense committed against our Lord, for many (indeed most) of those
native Indians of the Filipinas Islands who come as common seamen
are married in those said islands; and, inasmuch as they are unknown
in Nueva España, they remarry here. Another wrong follows which is
very much to the disservice of your Majesty and your royal treasury,
which is caused by the said Indian natives of the Filipinas Islands
who come as common seamen and remain in Nueva España; and if it
is not checked in time, it will cause considerable injury to these
kingdoms. This consists in the fact that there are in Nueva España
so many of those Indians who come from Filipinas Islands who have
engaged in making palm wine along the other seacoast, that of the
South Sea, and which they make with stills, as in Filipinas, that it
will in time become a part reason for the natives of Nueva España,
who now use the wine that comes from Castilla, to drink none except
what the Filipinos make. For since the natives of Nueva España are
a race inclined to drink and intoxication, and the wine made by
the Filipinos is distilled and as strong as brandy, they crave it
rather than the wine from España. Consequently it will happen that
the trading fleets (from Spain) will bring less wine every year,
and what is brought will be more valuable every year. So great is
the traffic in this (palm wine) at present on the coast of Navidad,
among the Apusabalcos, and throughout Colima, that they lead beasts
of burden with this wine in the same way as in España. By postponing
the speedy remedy that this demands, the same thing might also happen
to the vineyards of Piru. It can be averted, provided all the Indian
natives of the said Filipinas Islands are shipped and returned to
them, that the palm groves and vessels with which that wine is made
be burnt, the palm-trees felled, and severe penalties imposed on
whomever remains or returns to make that wine.
"Incited by their greed in that traffic, all the Indians who have
charge of making that wine go to the port of Acapulco when the ships
reach there from Manila, and lead away with them all the Indians who
come as common seamen. For that reason, and the others above mentioned,
scarcely any of them return to the said Filipinas Islands. From that it
also results that your Majesty loses the royal revenues derived from
those islands, inasmuch as all those Indians are tributaries there,
and when absent pay nothing." (Ships and Shipbuildings, by Sebastian
de Pineda, 1619.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18, pp. 183-185.)
[44] Antonio de Morga, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinos,
Chap. 8.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 108.
[45] Relación de las Islas Filipinas, Miguel de Loarca; Arévalo,
June, 1582.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 5, p. 73.
[46] Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, Antonio de Morga,
Chap. 8.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 96.
[47] Report of Conditions in the Philippines, Antonio de Morga,
Manila, June 8, 1598.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 10, pp. 85-86.
"The fishing is done with salambaos, and with fine-meshed nets; with
which they block up the bay and kill the small fish. These nets ought
not to be employed, and the size of the mesh should be regulated so
that the supply of fish will not be exhausted; for already experience
has demonstrated that they are not so abundant as formerly."
Night fishing was also practiced. "What we call pitch in this
region is a resin from which the natives make candles in order to
use in their night-fishing, and is the same as the copal of Nueva
España, or at the most differs from it very little in color, smell,
and taste." (Expedition of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. [Résumé of
Contemporaneous Documents, 1558-68.]--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 2, p. 153.)
Artificial fish-culture seems to have been introduced by the Japanese
before the Spanish arrival. "The greatest of the Japanese industries,
which they taught the natives, was breeding ducks and fishes for
export. The rivers and coast waters of the Archipelago provided
splendid feeding grounds for numerous varieties of fish and fowl, and
the Japanese assisted nature's breeding process, particularly in the
case of fishes in a manner followed by present day experts. The roe
were transported to safe places for development, tanks were used to
guard small fish from harm, and various other precautionary measures
were adopted properly to rear the fish. To the early Spaniards, the
pisciculture of the Filipinos was regarded almost as a new art, so much
more advanced it was than fish breeding methods in Europe." (Commercial
Progress in the Philippine Islands, Antonio M. Regidor and J. Warren
T. Mason, 1905.)
[48] In some of these islands pearl oysters are found, especially
in the Calamianes, where some have been obtained that are large
and exceedingly clear and lustrous. Neither is this means of profit
utilized. (By the Spaniards, he means, as is clear from the preceding
paragraph, which states that, "if the industry and efforts of the
Spaniards were to be converted into the working of the gold, as
much would be obtained from any one of these islands as from those
provinces which produce the most in the world. But since they attend
to other means of gain rather than to this, as will be told in due
time, they do not pay the proper attention to this matter.") In all
parts, seed pearls are found in the ordinary oysters, and there are
oysters as large as a buckler. From the (shells of the) latter the
natives manufacture beautiful articles. There are also very large
turtles in all the islands. Their shells are utilized by the natives,
and sold as an article of commerce to the Chinese and Portuguese,
and other nations who go after them and esteem them highly, because
of the beautiful things made from them.
"On the coasts of any of these islands are found many small white
snail shells, called siguei. The natives gather them and sell them by
measure to the Siamese, Cambodians, Pantanes, and other peoples of the
mainland. It serves there as money, and those nations trade with it,
as they do with cacaobeans in Nueva España." (Antonio de Morga, Sucesos
de las Islas Filipinas, Chap. 8.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 103.)
[49] Description of Filipinas Islands, Bartholome de Letona,
1662.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 36, p. 201.
"All these islands are, in many districts, rich in placers and mines
of gold, a metal which the natives dig and work. However, since the
advent of the Spaniards in the land, the natives proceed more slowly
in this, and content themselves with what they already possess in
jewels and gold ingots, handed down from antiquity and inherited
from their ancestors. This is considerable for he must be poor and
wretched who has no gold chains, calombigas (bracelets), and earrings.
Some placers and mines were worked at Paracale in the province of
Camarines, where there is good gold mixed with copper. This commodity
is also traded in the Ilocos, for at the rear of this province,
which borders the seacoast, are certain lofty and rugged mountains
which extend as far as Cagayan. On the slopes of these mountains,
in the interior, live many natives, as yet unsubdued, and among whom
no incursion has been made, who are called Ygolotes. These natives
possess rich mines, many of gold and silver mixed. They are wont to
dig from them only the amount necessary for their wants. They descend
to certain places to trade this gold (without completing its refining
or preparation), with the Ilocos; there they exchanged it for rice,
swine, carabaos, cloth and other things that they need. The Ilocos
complete its refining and preparation, and by their medium it is
distributed throughout the country. Although an effort has been made
with these Ygolotes to discover their mines, and how they work them,
and their method of working the metal, nothing definite has been
learned, for the Ygolotes fear that the Spaniards will go to seek
them for their gold, and say that they keep the gold better in the
earth than in their houses.
There are also many gold mines and placers in the other islands,
especially among the Pintados, on the Botuan River in Mindanao,
and in Sebu, where a mine of good gold is worked, called Taribon. If
the industry and efforts of the Spaniards were to be converted into
the working of the gold, as much would be obtained from any one of
these islands as from those provinces which produce the most in the
world. But since they attend to other means of gain rather than to
this, they do not pay the proper attention to this matter." (Antonio
de Morga, Sucesos; Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 101-103.)
[50] Memorial to the Council by Citizens of the Philippine Islands;
July 26, 1586.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 6, p. 223.
"In this island, there are many gold mines, some of which have been
inspected by the Spaniards, who say that the natives work them as
is done in Nueva España with the mines of silver; and, as in those
mines, the vein of ore here is continuous. Assays have been made,
yielding so great wealth, that I shall not endeavor to describe them,
lest I be suspected of lying. Time will prove the truth."
Las nuevas quescriven de las yslas del Poniente, Hernando Riquel y
otros. Mexico, January 11, 1574.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 3, p. 243.
[51] "They are the best and most skilful artificers in jewels and gold
that we have seen in this land. Almost all the people of Los Camarines
pursue this handicraft." Letter from Guido de Lavezaris to Felipe II,
Manila, July 17, 1574.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 3, p. 273.)
"During these five days, the Moros had, little by little, given two
hundred taels of impure gold, for they possess great skill in mixing
it with other metals. They give it an outside appearance so natural
and perfect, and so fine a ring, that unless it is melted they can
deceive all men, even the best of silversmiths." (Relation of the
Voyage to Luzon, 1570.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 3, p. 81.)
"There are some chiefs in this island who have on their persons ten
or twelve thousand ducats' worth of gold in jewels--to say nothing of
the lands, slaves, and mines that they own. There are so many of these
chiefs that they are innumerable. Likewise the individual subjects
of these chiefs have a great quantity of the said jewels of gold,
which they wear on their persons--bracelets, chains, and earrings
of solid gold, daggers of gold, and other very rich trinkets. These
are generally seen among them, and not only the chiefs and freemen
have plenty of these jewels, but even slaves possess and wear golden
trinkets upon their persons, openly and freely." (Reply to Fray Rada's
'Opinion,' Guido de Lavezaris and others; Manila, June, 1574.--Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 3, p. 267.)
[52] "About their necks they wear gold necklaces, wrought like spun
wax, and with links in our fashion, some larger than others. On their
arms they wear armlets of wrought gold, which they call calombigas,
and which are very large and made in different patterns. Some wear
strings of precious stones--cornelians and agates; and other blue and
white stones, which they esteem highly. They wear, around the legs some
strings of these stones, and certain cords, covered with black pitch
in many foldings, as garters." (Antonio de Morga, Sucesos.--Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 76-77.)
[53] "The people are the most valiant yet found in these regions;
they possess much good armour--as iron corselets, greaves, wristlets,
gauntlets, and helmets--and some arquebuses and culverins." (Letter
from Guido de Lavezaris to Felipe II, Manila, July 17, 1574.--Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 3, p. 273.)
"At the waist they carry a dagger four fingers in breadth, the blade
pointed, and a third of a vara in length; the hilt is of gold or
ivory. The pommel is open and has two cross bars or projections,
without any other guard. They are called bararaos. They have
two cutting edges, and are kept in wooden scabbards, or those of
buffalo-horn, admirably wrought."
(This weapon has been lost, and even its name is gone. A proof of the
decline into which the present Filipinos have fallen is the comparison
of the weapons that they manufacture now, with those described to us
by the historians. The hilts of the talibones now are not of gold
or ivory, nor are their scabbards of horn, nor are they admirably
wrought.--Rizal.)
(Morga's Sucesos, Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 81 and note 65.)
"Since they have seen the Spaniards use their weapons, many of the
natives handle the arquebuses and muskets quite skilfully. Before
the arrival of the Spaniards they had bronze culverins and other
pieces of cast iron, with which they defended their forts and
settlements, although their powder is not so well refined as that of
the Spaniards." (Ibid., p. 82.)
"This intercourse and traffic had acquainted the Filipinos with many
of the accessories of civilized life long before the arrival of the
Spaniards. Their chiefs and datos dressed in silks, and maintained
some splendor of surroundings; nearly the whole population of the
tribes of the coast wrote and communicated by means of a syllabary;
vessels from Luzon traded as far south as Mindanao and Borneo, although
the products of Asia proper came through the fleets of foreigners;
and perhaps what indicates more clearly than anything else the
advance the Filipinos were making through their communication with
outside people is their use of firearms. Of this point there is no
question. Everywhere in the vicinity of Manila, on Lubang, in Pampanga,
at Cainta and Laguna de Bay, the Spaniards encountered forts mounting
small cannon, or lantakas. The Filipinos seem to have understood,
moreover, the arts of casting cannon and of making powder. The first
gun-factory established by the Spaniards was in charge of a Filipino
from Pampanga." (Dr. D. P. Barrows, A History of the Philippines,
pp. 101-102.)
[54] (Relación de las Islas Filipinas, Miguel de Loarca; Arévalo,
June, 1582.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 5, p. 169.)
[55] Antonio de Morga, Sucesos, Chap. 8.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 80.
[56] "The coconuts furnish a nutritious food when rice is scarce. From
the nut-shells they make dishes, and (from the fibrous husk)
match-cords for their arquebuses; and with the leaves they make
baskets." (Relación, Miguel de Loarca; Arévalo, June, 1852.--Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 5, p. 169.)
See also First Voyage Around the World, Antonio Pigafetta.--Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 33, p. 105, for description of how the palm sap was obtained,
oil made, and of other uses of the coconut.
[57] Relación, Miguel de Loarca; June, 1582.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 5,
pp. 34-188.
Conquest of the Island of Luzon. Manila, April 20, 1572.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 3, p. 171.
[58] Relation and Description of the Philippine Islands, Francisco
de Sande; Manila, June 8, 1577.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 4, p. 98.
"Cotton is raised abundantly throughout the islands. It is spun and
sold in the skein to the Chinese and other nations, who come to get
it. Cloth of different patterns is also woven from it, and the natives
also trade that. Other cloths, called medriñiques, are woven from
the banana leaf." (Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, Antonio de Morga;
Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 106.)
Cotton was woven into sail. "The canvas (lienzo) from which the sails
are made in the said islands is excellent, and much better than what is
shipped from España, because it is made from cotton. There are certain
cloths (lienzos) which are called mantsa from the province of Ilocos,
for the natives of that province manufacture nothing else, and pay
your Majesty their tribute in them. They last much longer than those
of España." (Philippine Ships and Shipbuilding, Sebastian de Pineda,
1619.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 18, p. 178.)
[59] Relation of the Western Islands called Filipinas, Diego de
Artieda, 1573.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 3, p. 203.
Fray Rada's Opinion, Guido de Lavezaris and others, Manila, June,
1574.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 3, p....
"The island of Zubu produces a small quantity of rice, borona, and
millet and little or no cotton; for the cloth which the natives use
for their garments is made from a kind of banana. From this they make
a sort of cloth resembling colored calico, which the natives call
medriñaque (Relación, Miguel de Loarca, June, 1582.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 5, pp. 43-45.)
[60] T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Census, 1903, Vol. I, p. 329.
[61] Ibid. "The women have needlework as their employment and
occupation, and they are very clever at it, and at all kinds of
sewing. They weave cloth and spin cotton, and serve in houses of
their husbands and fathers. (Antonio de Morga, Sucesos.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 16, p. 79.)
[62] "Their houses are constructed of wood, and are built of planks
and bamboo, raised high from the ground on large logs, and one must
enter them by means of ladders. They have rooms like ours; and under
the house they keep their swine, goats, and fowls." (Antonio Pigafetta,
First Voyage Around the World.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 33, p. 153.)
"The houses and dwellings of all these natives are universally set
upon stakes and arigues (i. e., columns) high above the ground. Their
rooms are small and the roofs low. They are built and tiled with wood
and bamboos, and covered and roofed with nipa-palm leaves. Each house
is separate, and is not built adjoining another. In the lower part
are enclosures made by stakes and bamboos, where fowls and cattle are
reared, and the rice pounded and cleaned. One ascends into the houses
by means of ladders that can be drawn up, which are made from two
bamboos. Above are their open batalanes (galleries) used for household
duties; the parents and (grown) children live together. There is
little adornment and finery in the houses, which are called bahandin.
"Besides these houses, which are those of the common people, and those
of less importance, there are the chiefs' houses. They are built upon
trees and thick arigues, with many rooms and comforts. They are well
constructed of timber and planks, and are strong and large. They are
furnished and supplied with all that is necessary, and are much finer
and more substantial than the others. They are roofed, however, as
are the others, with the palm-leaves called nipa." (Antonio de Morga,
Sucesos.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 117-118.)
[63] "The edifices and houses of the natives of all these Filipinas
Islands are built in a uniform manner, as are their settlements;
for they always build them on the shores of the sea, between rivers
and creeks. The natives generally gather in districts or settlements
where they sow their rice, and possess their palm trees, nipa and
banana groves, and other trees, and implements for their fishing and
sailing." Ibid., p. 117.)
[64] Especially in La Indolencia de los Filipinos, in "La Solidaridad,"
1890, which develops the idea advanced by Sangcianco y Gozon.
[65] "* * * As already seen, we must reject so often reiterated of
late years that the early missionaries found nomadic or half-fixed
clans and taught them the ways of village life. Village life there
was already, to some extent, and it was upon this that the friars
built. Doubtless they modified it greatly until in time it approached
in most ways as closely to European village life as might be expected
in tropical islands whose agricultural resources are not as yet
well developed. From the first there would be a tendency to greater
concentration about the churches, beginning with the rude structures
of cane and thatch, which are replaced before 1700 in all the older
settlements by edifices of stone, frequently massive and imposing,
especially, so as they tower over the acres of bamboo huts about them,
from the inmates of which have come the forced labor which built
them. From the first, too, it was to the interest of the Spanish
conquerors, lay and priestly, to improve the methods of communication
between the communities which formed their centers of conversion or
of exploration and collection of tribute. Yet to represent either
the friars or the soldiers as great pathfinders and reconstructors
of wilderness is the work of ignorance. When Legaspi's grandson,
Juan de Salcedo, made his memorable marches through northern Luzon,
bringing vast acres under the dominion of Spain with a mere handful of
soldiers, he found the modern Bigan a settlement of several thousand
people; his successors in the conquest of the Upper Kagayan Valley,
one of the most backward portions of the archipelago to-day, reported
a population of forty thousand in the region lying around the modern
Tuguegarao, and so it was quite commonly everywhere on the seacoasts
and on the largest rivers. Some very crude deductions have been made
as to the conquest period by writers of recent years who assume that
the natives were at the beginning mere bands of wandering savages,
and that all the improvements visible in their external existence
to-day were brought about in these early years." (James A. LeRoy,
The Americans in the Philippines, Vol. I, pp. 8-10.)
"The friar missionaries did not bring about the first settlement and
conquests under Legaspi; they did not blaze the way in wildernesses
and plant the flag of Spain in outlying posts long in advance of
the soldiers, the latter profiting by their moral-suasion conquests
to annex great territories for their own plunder; they did not find
bloodthirsty savages, wholly sunk in degradation, and in the twinkling
of an eye convert them to Christianity, sobriety, and decency, * * *;
they did not teach wandering bands of huntsmen or fishermen how to
live peacefully in orderly settlements, how to cultivate the soil,
erect buildings (except the stone churches), and did not bind these
villages together by the sort of roads and bridges which we have today,
though they had considerable share in this work, especially in later
time; they did not find a squalid population of 400,000 to 750,000
in the archipelago, and wholly by the revolution wrought by them in
ways of life make it possible for that population to increase by ten
or twenty times in three centuries." (Ibid., pp. 10-11.)
[66] Relación de las Islas Filipinas, Pedro Chirino, S. J., Roma
1604.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 12, p. 188.
[67] Morga's Sucesos.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 105.
[68] Census of the Philippine Islands, 1903, Vol. I, p. 329.
[69] In La Indolencia de los Filipinos, Rizal continues thus:
"And if this, which is deduction, does not convince any minds imbued
with unfair prejudices, perhaps of some avail may be the testimony of
the oft-quoted Dr. Morga, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Manila for
seven years and after rendering great service in the Archipelago was
appointed criminal judge of the Audiencia of Mexico and Counsellor
of the Inquisition. His testimony, we say, is highly credible, not
only because all his contemporaries have spoken of him in terms that
border on veneration but also because his work, from which we take
these citations, is written with great circumspection and care, as well
with reference to the authorities in the Philippines as to the errors
they committed. 'The natives,' says Morga, in chapter VII, speaking of
the occupations of the Chinese, 'are very far from exercising those
trades and have even forgotten much about farming, raising poultry,
stock and cotton, and weaving cloth AS THEY USED TO DO IN THEIR
PAGANISM AND FOR A LONG TIME AFTER THE COUNTRY WAS CONQUERED.'"
"The whole of Chapter VIII of his work deals with this moribund
activity, this much-forgotten industry, and yet in spite of that,
how long is his eighth chapter!
"And not only Morga, not only Chirino, Colin, Argensola, Gaspar de
San Agustin and others agree in this matter, but modern travelers,
after two hundred and fifty years, examining the decadence and misery,
assert the same thing. Dr. Hans Meyer, when he saw the unsubdued
tribes cultivating beautiful fields and working energetically, asked
if they would not become indolent when they in turn should accept
Christianity and a paternal government.
"Accordingly, the Filipinos, in spite of the climate, in spite of
their few needs (they were less then than now), were not the indolent
creatures of our time, and, as we shall see later on, their ethics
and their mode of life were not what is now complacently attributed
to them."
Rizal has the following, to say about the abundance of wealth in
this country:
"Wealth abounded in the islands. Pigafetta tells us of the abundance
of foodstuffs in Paragua and of its inhabitants, who nearly all
tilled their own fields. At this island the survivors of Magellan's
expedition were well received and provisioned. A little later, these
same survivors captured a vessel, plundered and sacked it, and took
prisoner in it the chief of the Island of Paragua (!) with his son
and brother.
"In this same vessel they captured bronze lombards, and this is the
first mention of artillery of the Filipinos, for these lombards were
useful to the chief of Paragua against the savages of the interior.
"They let him ransom himself within seven days, demanding 400 measures
(cavanes?) of rice, 20 pigs, 20 goats, and 450 chickens. This is the
first act of piracy recorded in Philippine history. The chief of
Paragua paid everything, and moreover voluntarily added coconuts,
bananas, and sugar-cane jars filled with palm-wine. When Caesar
was taken prisoner by the corsairs and required to pay twenty-five
talents ransom, he replied: 'I'll give you fifty, but later I'll
have you all crucified!' The chief of Paragua was more generous: he
forgot. His conduct, while it may reveal weakness, also demonstrates
that the islands were abundantly provisioned. This chief was named
Tuan Mahamud; his brother, Guantil, and his son, Tuan Mahamed. (Martin
Mendez, Purser of the Ship "Victoria": Archivos de Indias, Ibid.)
[70] I have already said that all of it is thickly populated, and
that it has a great abundance of rice, fowls, and swine, as well
as great numbers of buffaloes, deer, wild boars, and goats; it
also produces great quantities of cotton and colored cloths, wax,
and honey; and date palms abound. In conclusion, it is very well
supplied with all the things above mentioned, and many others which
I shall not enumerate. It is the largest island which has thus far
been discovered in these regions. As I say, it is well populated and
very rich in gold mines. There is much trade with China. That part of
it which has thus far been conquered and pacified, the governor has
begun to allot to the conquerors." Conquest of the Island of Luzon,
Manila, April 20, 1572. (Bl. and Rb., Vol. 3, pp. 171-172.)
"This province (Pampanga) possesses many rivers and creeks that
irrigate it. They all flow and empty into the bay. This province
contains many settlements of natives and considerable quantities
of rice, fruits, fish, meat, and other foods." (Antonio de Morga's
Sucesos, 1609.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 108.)
(Rizal's Note:--"This province had decreased so greatly in population
and agriculture, a half century later, that Gaspar de San Agustin
said: 'Now it no longer has the population of the past, because of
the insurrection of that province, when Don Sabiniano Manrique de
Lara was governor of these islands, and because of the incessant
cutting of the timber for the building of his Majesty's ships, which
prevents them from cultivating their extremely fertile plain.' Later,
when speaking of Guagua or Wawa, he says: 'This town was formerly
very wealthy because of its many chiefs, and because of the abundant
harvests gathered in its spacious plains, which are now submerged by
the water of the sea.'" (Ibid.)
"In reply to the fourth question he stated that, before the coming
of the Spaniards, all the natives lived in their villages, applying
themselves to the sowing of their crops and the care of their
vineyards, and to the pressing of wine; others planting cotton,
or raising poultry and swine, so that all were at work; moreover,
the chiefs were obeyed and respected, and the entire country well
provided for. But all this has disappeared since the coming of the
Spaniards." (Testimony of Nicolas Ramos, chief of Cubao village
and governor of same, under oath, in compliance with order of
G. P. Dasmariñas "forbidding" the Indians to wear Chinese stuff;
April 9, 1591.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 8, p. 87.)
[71] "* * * Many islands and villages are devastated and almost wiped
out, partly by the Spaniards or because of them, and partly by famines
of which, or at the beginning of them, the Spaniards were the reason;
for either by fear or to get rid of the Spaniards the natives NEGLECTED
THEIR SOWING, and when they wished to sow then anguish came to them,
and consequently many people have died of hunger." (Augustinian
Memoranda, 1373.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 34, p. 279.)
"After the end of the war the need of the city began, for, because
of not having Sangleys who worked at the trades, and brought in
all the provisions, there was no food, nor any shoes to wear,
not even at excessive prices. The native Indians are very far from
exercising those trades, and have even forgotten much of farming,
and the raising of fowls, cattle, and cotton, and the weaving of
cloth, which they used to do in the days of their paganism and for
a long time after the conquest of the country. In addition to this,
people thought that Chinese vessels would not come to the islands
with food and merchandise, on account of the late revolution. * * *"
(Antonio de Morga's Sucesos, 1601.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 42-43).
[72] In La Indolencia, Rizal further says:
"It was necessary to subject the people either by cajolery or force;
there were fights, there was slaughter; those who had submitted
peacefully seemed to repent of it; insurrections were suspected,
and some occurred; naturally there were executions, and many capable
laborers perished. Add to this condition of disorder the invasion of
Limahong, add the continual wars into which the inhabitants of the
Philippines were plunged to maintain the honor of Spain, to extend
the sway of her flag in Borneo, in the Moluccas and in Indo-China;
to repel the Dutch foe: costly wars, fruitless expeditions, in which
each time thousands and thousands of native archers and rowers were
recorded to have embarked, but whether they returned to their homes was
never stated. Like the tribute that once upon a time Greece sent to the
Minotaur of Crete, the Philippine youth embarked for the expedition,
saying good-by to their country forever: on their horizon were the
stormy sea, the interminable wars, the rash expeditions. Wherefore,
Gaspar de San Agustin says: 'Although anciently there were in this
town of Dumangas many people, in the course of time they have very
greatly diminished because the natives are the best sailors and most
skillful rowers on the whole coast, and so the governors in the port
of Iloilo take most of the people from this town for the ships that
they send abroad. * * * When the Spaniards reached this island (Panay)
it is said that there were on it more than fifty thousand families;
but these diminished greatly; * * * and at present they may amount
to some fourteen thousand tributaries.' From fifty thousand families
to fourteen thousand tributaries in little over half a century!
We would never get through, had we to quote all the evidence of the
authors regarding the frightful diminution of the inhabitants of the
Philippines in the first years after the discovery. In the time of
their first bishop, that is, ten years after Legaspi, Philip II said
that they had been reduced to less than two-thirds."
[73] La Indolencia de los Filipinos:
"In order to make headway against so many calamities, to secure their
sovereignty and take the offensive in these disastrous contests, to
isolate the warlike Sulus from their neighbors in the south, to care
for the needs of the empire of the Indies (for one of the reasons why
the Philippines were kept, as contemporary documents prove, was their
strategical position between New Spain and the Indies), to wrest from
the Dutch their growing colonies of the Moluccas and get rid of some
troublesome neighbors, to maintain, in short, the trade of China with
New Spain, it was necessary to construct new and large ships which,
as we have seen, costly as they were to the country for their equipment
and the rowers they required, were not less so because of the manner in
which they were constructed. Fernando de los Rios Coronel, who fought
in these wars and later turned priest, speaking of these King's ships,
said: 'As they were so large the timber needed was scarcely to be
found in the forests (of the Philippines!), and thus it was necessary
to seek it with great difficulty in the most remote of them, where,
once found, in order to haul and convey it to the shipyard the towns
of the surrounding country had to be depopulated of natives, who get it
out with immense labor, damage, and cost to them. The natives furnished
the masts for a galleon, according to the assertion of the Franciscans,
and I heard the governor of the province where they were cut, which
is Laguna de Bay, say that to haul them seven leagues over very broken
mountains 6,000 natives were engaged three months, without furnishing
them food, which the wretched native had to seek for himself.'
"And Gaspar de San Agustin says: 'In these times (1690), Bacolor has
not the people that it had in the past, because of the uprising in
that province when Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara was Governor of
these islands and because of the continual labor of cutting limber
for his Majesty's shipyards, WHICH HINDERS THEM FROM CULTIVATING THE
VERY FERTILE PLAIN THEY HAVE'."
[74] "The Indians, upon seeing that wealth excited the rapacity of
the encomenderos and soldiers, abandoned the working of the mines,
and the religious historians assert that they counseled them to a
similar action in order to free them from annoyances. Nevertheless,
according to Colin (who was 'informed by well-disposed natives'),
more than 100,000 pesos of gold annually, conservatively stated,
was taken from the mines during his time, after eighty years of
abandonment. According to a 'manuscript of a grave person who had
lived long in these islands,' the first tribute of the two provinces
of Ilocos and Pangasinan alone amounted to 109,500 pesos. A single
encomendero, in 1587, sent 3,000 taheles of gold in the 'Santa Ana,'
which was captured by Cavendish." (Rizal's Notes to Antonio de Morga's
Sucesos, 1609, Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 101.)
"If this is not sufficient to explain the depopulation of the islands
and the abandonment of industry, agriculture and commerce, then
add 'the natives who were executed, those who left their wives and
children and fled in disgust to the mountains, those who were sold
into slavery to pay the taxes levied upon them,' as Fernando de los
Rios Coronel says; add to all this what Philip II said in reprimanding
Bishop Salazar about 'natives sold by some encomenderos to others,
those flogged to death, the women who are crushed to death by their
heavy burdens, those who sleep in the fields and there bear and nurse
their children and die bitten by poisonous vermin, the many who are
executed and left to die of hunger and those who eat poisonous herbs *
* * and the mothers who kill their children in bearing them,' and you
will understand how in less than thirty years the population of the
Philippines was reduced one-third. We are not saying this: it was said
by Gaspar de San Agustin, the preeminently anti-Filipino Augustinian,
and he confirms it throughout the rest of his work by speaking every
moment of the state of neglect in which lay the farms and fields
once so flourishing and so well cultivated, the towns thinned that
had formerly been inhabited by many leading families!
"How is it strange, then, that discouragement may have been infused
into the spirit of the inhabitants of the Philippines, when in the
midst of so many calamities they did not know whether they would see
sprout the seed they were planting, whether their field was going to
be their grave or their crop would go to feed their executioner? What
is there strange in it, when we see the pious but impotent friars of
that time trying to free their poor parishioners from the tyranny
of the encomenderos by advising them to stop work in the mines,
to abandon their commerce, to break up their looms, pointing out to
them heaven for their whole hope, preparing them for death as their
only consolation?"--(La Indolencia.--Rizal.)
[75] "* * * Doubtless if we could see the whole character of the
Spanish rule in those decades, we should see that the actual condition
of the Filipino had improved and his grade of culture had risen. No one
can estimate the actual good that comes to a people in being brought
under the power of a government able to maintain peace and dispense
justice. Taxation is sometimes grievous, corruption without excuse;
but almost anything is better than anarchy.
"Before the coming of the Spaniards, it seems unquestionable that the
Filipinos suffered greatly under two terrible grievances that afflict
barbarous society--in the first place, warfare, with its murder,
pillage, and destruction, not merely between tribe and tribe, but
between town and town, such as even now prevail in the wild mountains
of northern Luzon, among the primitive Malayan tribes; and in the
second place, the weak and poor man was at the mercy of the strong
and the rich.
"The establishment of Spanish sovereignty had certainly mitigated,
if it did not wholly remedy, these conditions. 'All of these
provinces,' Morga could write, 'are pacified and are governed from
Manila, having alcaldes mayores, corregidors, and lieutenants,
and dispense justice. The chieftains (principales), who formerly
held the other natives in subjection, no longer have power over
them in the manner which they tyrannically employed, which is not
the least benefit these natives have received in escaping from such
slavery.'" (Dr. D. P. Barrows, History of the Philippines, p. 166.)
[76] Chao Ju-kua's Description of the Philippines.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 34, pp. 183-191.
Rizal, La Indolencia. (All quotations from this work are taken from
the Derbyshire translation.):
"Indolence in the Philippines is a chronic malady, but not a
hereditary one. The Filipinos have not always been what they are,
witnesses whereto are all the historians of the first years after
the discovery of the Islands.
"Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Malayan Filipinos carried
on an active trade, not only among themselves but also with all the
neighboring countries. A Chinese manuscript of the 13th century,
translated by Dr. Hirth (Globus, Sept. 1889), which we will take
up at another time, speaks of China's relations with the islands,
relations purely commercial, in which mention is made of the activity
and honesty of the traders of Luzon, who took the Chinese products
and distributed them throughout all the islands, traveling for nine
months, and then returned to pay religiously even for the merchandise
that the Chinamen did not remember to have given them. The products
which they in exchange exported from the islands were crude wax,
cotton, pearls, tortoise-shell, betelnuts dry-goods, etc."
[77] The method of trading is thus described by Chao Ju-kua:
"When (Chinese) merchantmen arrive at that port they cast anchor
at a place (called) the place of Mandarins. That place serves
them as a market, or site where the products of their countries are
exchanged. When a vessel has entered into the port (its captain) offers
presents consisting of white parasols and umbrellas which serve them
for daily use. The traders are obliged to observe these civilities
in order to be able to count on the favor of those gentlemen.
"In order to trade, the savage traders are assembled (the Chinese
call all foreigners savages except the Japanese, Koreans, and people
of Anam.--Blumentritt) and have the goods carried in baskets, and
although the bearers are often unknown, none of the goods are ever
lost or stolen. The savage traders transport these goods to other
islands, and thus eight or nine months pass until they have obtained
other goods of value equivalent to those that have been received
(from the Chinese). This forces the traders of the vessels to delay
their departure, and hence it happens that the vessels that maintain
trade with Ma-yi are the ones that take the longest to return to
their country." * * *
"When foreign traders come to one of their villages, they must not
touch the ground, but must remain aboard their vessel, which is
anchored in the middle of the current, and announce their presence
by beat of drum. Thereupon the savage traders approach in their
light craft, in which they carry cotton, yellow wax, strange cloth,
coconuts, onions, and fine mats, and all those things they offer
for sale in exchange (for the articles of the Chinese). In case of
misunderstanding in the price of the goods, it is necessary to summon
the chief of the traders of that place, so that he may present himself
in person, and arrange the tariff to the satisfaction of all." * * *
[78] The first thing noticed by Pigafetta, who came with Magellan in
1521, on arriving at the first island of the Philippines, Samar, was
the courtesy and kindness of the inhabitants and their commerce. "To
honor our captain," he says, "they conducted him to their boats where
they had their merchandise, which consisted of cloves, cinnamon,
pepper, nutmegs, mace, gold and other things; and they made us
understand by gestures that such articles were to be found in the
islands to which we were going."
Further on he speaks of the vessels and utensils of solid gold that he
found in Butuan, where the people worked mines. He describes the silk
dresses, the daggers with long gold hilts and scabbards of carved wood,
the gold sets of teeth, etc. Among cereals and fruits he mentions rice,
millet, oranges, lemons, panicum, etc.
That the islands maintained relations with neighboring countries and
even with distant ones is proven by the ships from Siam, laden with
gold and slaves, that Magellan found in Cebu. These ships paid certain
duties to the King of the island. In the same year, 1521, the survivors
of Magellan's expedition met the son of the Rajah of Luzon, who,
as captain-general of the Sultan of Borneo and admiral of his fleet,
had conquered for him the great city of Lave (Sarawak?). Might this
captain, who was greatly feared by all his foes, have been the Rajah
Matanda whom the Spaniards afterwards encountered in Tondo in 1570?
In 1539 the warriors of Luzon took part in the formidable contests
of Sumatra, and under the orders of Angi Siry Timor, Rajah of Batta,
conquered and overthrew the terrible Alzadin, Sultan of Atchin,
renowned in the historical annals of the Far East. (Marsden, Hist. of
Sumatra, Chap. XX.)
At that time, that sea where float the islands like a set of emeralds
on a paten of bright glass, that sea was everywhere traversed by junks,
paraus, barangays, vintas, vessels swift as shuttles, so large that
they could maintain a hundred rowers on a side (Morga); that sea bore
everywhere commerce, industry, agriculture, by the force of the oars
moved to the sound of warlike songs of the genealogies and achievements
of the Philippine divinities. (Colin, Labor Evangelica, Chap. XV.)
Legaspi's expedition met in Butuan various traders of Luzon with
their boats laden with iron, wax cloths, porcelain, etc. (Gaspar de
San Agustin), plenty of provisions, activity, trade, movement in all
the southern islands.
They arrived at the Island of Cebu, "abounding in provisions, with
mines and washings of gold, and peopled with natives," as Morga says;
"very populous, and at a port frequented by many ships that came
from the islands and kingdoms near India," as Colin says; and even
though they were peacefully received discord soon arose. The city was
taken by force and burned. The fire destroyed the food supplies and
naturally famine broke out in that town of a hundred thousand people,
as the historians say, and among the members of the expedition,
but the neighboring islands quickly relieved the need, thanks to the
abundance they enjoyed. (La Indolencia, Rizal.)
Dr. J. A. Robertson in a note to the English translation of this
work says:
"There is no doubt of the frequency of interisland trade among the
peoples of the Philippines at an early period. Trade was stimulated
by the very fact that the Malay peoples, except those who have been
driven into the mountainous interiors, are by their very nature a
seafaring people. The fact of an interisland traffic is indicative
of a culture above that possessed by a people in the barbarian stage
of culture. Of course, there was considerable Chinese trade as well
throughout the islands."
[79] "Their customary method of trading was by bartering one thing for
another, such as food, cloth, cattle, fowls, lands, houses, fields,
slaves, fishing-grounds, and palm-trees (both nipa and wild). Sometimes
a price intervened, which was paid in gold, as agreed upon, or in metal
bells brought from China. These bells they regard as precious jewels;
they resemble large pans and are very sonorous. They play upon these
at their feasts, and carry them to the war in their boats instead
of drums and other instruments. There are often delays and terms for
certain payments, and bondsmen who intervene and bind themselves, but
always with usurious and excessive profits and interests." (Antonio
de Morga, Sucesos; Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 128.)
[80] "The natives are free to move from one island to another, and from
one province to another, and pay their tribute for that year in which
they move and change their residence in the place to which they move;
and to move from a Christian village that has instruction to another
village possessing it. But on the other hand, they may not move from
a place having instruction to one without it, nor in the same village
from one barangay to another, nor from one faction to another. In
this respect, the necessary precautions are made by the government,
and the necessary provisions by the Audiencia, so that this system
may be kept, and so that all annoyances resulting from this moving
of the settled natives of one place to another may be avoided.
"Neither are the natives allowed to go out of their villages for trade,
except by permission of the governor, or of his alcaldes-mayores
and justices, or even of the religious, who most often have been
embarrassed by this, because of the instruction. This is done so that
the natives may not wander about aimlessly when there is no need of it,
away from their homes and settlements." (Morga's Sucesos.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 16, pp. 162-163.)
[81] "17. (Commerce is to be free to all Indians of whatever
jurisdiction they be, throughout the Philippines; and no license is
required, nor can any fee be charged. This will ensure a good supply
of provisions and other necessities, and promote the cultivation of
the land. Good treatment must be shown to them, and their passage
from one place to another facilitated, under penalty of a fine of 100
pesos, and a charge in the residencia of the one who transcends this
order.)" (Ordinances of Good Government by Corcuera, 1642, and Cruzat
y Gongora, 1696.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 50, p. 203).
[82] "70. (Interprovincial trade of the various products shall not be
prohibited, as such prohibition is in violation of law vii, título
xviii, book iv and law xxv, título i, book vi, in accordance with
which laws trade is to be encouraged. The Indians may cut timber in
accordance with law xiv, título xvii, book iv. The desire to gain,
however, shall not be allowed to cause the Indians to send out of
any province the products necessary for its conservation. This may
be prohibited with the consent of the father minister, from whom the
alcalde-mayor shall ask a certification for his own protection. Without
the certification, he shall not make such prohibition, under penalty
of the penalties of the preceding ordinance. The natives shall pay
no fees for the privilege of interprovincial trade; and, if any
alcalde-mayor violates this, he shall incur a fine of 100 pesos,
besides the responsibility of making good all the loss occasioned
by his action. This shall be a charge in the residencia.) (Raon's
Ordinance, February 26, 1768.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 50, pp. 250-251.)
This is one of the reasons adduced by Rizal to explain the decay of
agriculture in this country:
"Of no little importance were the hindrances and obstacles that from
the beginning were thrown in the farmers's way by the rulers, who were
influenced by childish fear and saw everywhere signs of conspiracies
and uprisings. The natives were not allowed to go to their labors,
that is, their farms, without permission of the governor, or of his
agents and officers and even of the priests as Morga says. Those who
know the administrative slackness and confusion in a country where
the officials work scarcely two hours a day; those who know the
cost of going to and returning from the capital to obtain a permit;
those who are aware of the petty retaliations of the little tyrants
will well understand how with this crude arrangement it is possible
to have the most absurd agriculture. True it is that for some time
this absurdity, which would be ludicrous had it not been so serious,
has disappeared; but even if the words have gone out of use other
facts and other provisions have replaced them. The Moro pirate has
disappeared but there remains the outlaw who infests the fields and
waylays the farmer to hold him for ransom. Now then, the government,
which has a constant fear of the people, denies to the farmers even
the use of a shotgun, or if it does allow it does so very grudgingly
and withdraws it at pleasure; whence it results with the laborer,
who, thanks to his means of defense, plants his crops and invests
his meager fortune in the furrows that he has so laboriously opened,
that when his crop matures, it occurs to the government, which is
impotent to suppress brigandage, to deprive him of his weapon;
and then, without defense and without security he is reduced to
inaction and abandons his field, his work, and takes to gambling as
the best means of securing a livelihood. The green cloth is under
the protection of the government, it is safer! A mournful counselor
is fear, for it not only causes weakness but also in casting aside
the weapons strengthens the very persecutor!"--(La Indolencia.)
[83] There were other earlier decrees to the same effect as the
following:
"6. (Alcaldes-mayor and corregidors are not to accept any presents,
even of food, during the term of their office, as their hands
will be bound thereby. They must pay a just price for what they
purchase. During the term of their office they are not to purchase a
ranch or any lands in the territory of their jurisdiction; neither are
their secretaries or alguacils-mayor to buy them: for many evils follow
therefrom. They are to build no sailing craft under any consideration,
'under penalty of loss thereof and two hundred pesos, applied half to
fines for the treasury and fortifications, because of the great harm
caused to the natives by such constructions. For when you need any
vessel, you can charter one.' Likewise they are forbidden to engage
in any trade with the natives and citizens of their jurisdiction,
either directly or through agents.") (Ordinances of Good Government,
by Corcuera, 1642.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 50, p. 195.)
[84] "106. The chief aim of the alcaldes-mayor, corregidors, and
assistants, is trade. They buy up by wholesale the products of the
land, especially rice and other food supplies, exactly as is said above
concerning the religious of certain curacies, and their interpreters
and helpers.
"111. It is not advantageous for these alcaldes-mayor and corregidors,
or their assistants or friends, to receive the royal collections,
for they perpetrate the numberless frauds and cheats, both against
the royal treasury and against the Indians; and there is no remedy for
this, as they themselves administer justice. They hold the collections
in their possession for a long time, trading with them, and the royal
treasury is the loser." (Report of Conditions in the Philippines,
by Antonio de Morga; Bl. and Rb., Vol. 10, pp. 94-95.)
Referring to the religious men, Morga says in the same report:
"2. They trade and make a profit in their districts, from rice, wax,
wine, gold, boats, fowls, cloth, and deerskins, to the great detriment
of the Indians, as well as that of the entire country.
"3. They deal openly in merchandise of the above-mentioned articles,
as well as in those of China, in the trade with Nueva España."
"Before the governor Don Gonzalo Ronquillo came, there were not more
than three or four alcaldes-mayor in all these islands; but now there
are sixteen and most of them are men who came with him. As they came
poor, and as the salaries are small, they have taken the Indians--as
all affirm, and it is common talk--at the time for harvesting rice;
and they buy up all other provisions, and many profit by selling them
again. In this way everything has become dear, because, as they have
forbidden the Indians to trade and traffic, they sell at whatever
price they wish. Formerly the Indians brought their products to the
gates, and sold it at very low prices; for they are satisfied with
very little gain, which is not true of the Spaniards." (Affairs in the
Philippine Islands, Fray Domingo de Salazar. (Manila, 1593).--Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 5, p. 217.)
[85] Rizal, La Indolencia.--"We will not cite our own experiences,
for aside from the fact that we do not know which to select, critical
persons may reproach us with partiality; neither will we cite those
of other Filipinos who write in the newspapers; but we shall confine
ourselves to translating the words of a modern French traveler who
was in the Philippines for a long time:
"'The good curate,' he says with reference to the rosy picture a
friar had given him of the Philippines, 'had not told me about the
governor, the foremost official of the district, who was too much
taken up with the ideal of getting rich to have time to tyrannize over
his docile subjects; the governor, charged with ruling the country
and collecting the various taxes in the government's name, devoted
himself almost wholly to trade; in his hands the high and noble
functions he performs are nothing more than instruments of gain. He
monopolizes all the business and instead of developing on his part
the love of work, instead of stimulating the too natural indolence
of the natives, he with abuse of his powers thinks only of destroying
all competition that may trouble him or attempt to participate in his
profits. It matters little to him that the country is impoverished,
without cultivation, without commerce, without industry, just so the
governor is quickly enriched!"
[86] Resultados del Desarrollo Económico de Filipinas; in "Revista
Económica," November, 1912:
"In imposing a tax payable in articles of food or dress, the
foundations of the Philippine industry were unwittingly laid. It is
natural for a person manufacturing a piece of cloth for the purpose
of paying tribute with it to have an interest in making another like
piece to sell or to exchange for some other needed object. At the same
time, as the encomendero and alcaldes mayores engaged in trade sold
the articles received as tribute, a market for industrial products
was in this wise created which provoked a demand for such merchandise."
[87] Azcarraga, La Libertad de Comercio de Filipinas, p. 40.
"To this abundance and fertility was added the proximity of China,
India, Japan, Malacca, and Maluco. From China they not only began to
ship their riches in silks and glazed earthenware, as soon as they
learned of our wealth of four and eight real pieces: * * *." (Relación
de las Islas Filipinas, Pedro Chirino, S. J.; Roma, 1604.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 12, p. 191.)
[88] Morga's Sucesos.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, p. 176.
[89] "These vessels come laden with merchandise, and bring wealthy
merchants who own ships, and servants and factors of other merchants
who remain in China. They leave China with the permission and leave of
the Chinese viceroys and mandarins. The merchandise that they generally
bring and sell to the Spaniards consists of raw silk in bundles, of
the fineness of two strands ("dos cabezas"), and other silk of poorer
quality; fine untwisted silk, white and of all colors, wound in small
skeins; quantities of velvets, some plain, and some embroidered in
all sorts of figures, colors, and fashions--others with body of gold,
and embroidered with gold; woven stuffs and brocades, of gold and
silver upon silk of various colors and patterns; quantities of gold
and silver thread in skeins over thread and silk--but the glitter
of all the gold and silver is false, and only on paper; damasks,
satins, taffetans, gorvaranes, picotes (coarse stuff made of goat's
hair, or a glossy silk stuff; probably the latter is intended in
the text. Gorvaran or gorgoran is a sort of silk grogram), and other
cloths of all colors, some finer and better than others; a quantity
of linen made from grass, called 'lencensuelo' (handkerchief). (This
fabric is now called Piña); and white cotton cloth of different kinds
and qualities, for all uses. They also bring musk, benzoin, and ivory;
many bed ornaments, hangings, coverlets, and tapestries of embroidered
velvet; damask and gorvaran of different shades; tablecloths, cushions,
and carpets; horse-trappings of the same stuff, and embroidered with
glass beads and seed-pearls; also some pearls and rubies, sapphires
and crystal-stones; metal basins, copper kettles, and other copper and
cast-iron pots; quantities of all sorts of nails, sheet-iron, tin and
lead; saltpetre and gunpowder. They supply the Spaniards with wheat
flour; preserves made of orange, peach, 'scorzonera,' pear, nutmeg,
and ginger, and other fruits of China; salt pork and other salt meats;
live fowls of good breed, and very fine capons; quantities of green
fruit, oranges of all kinds; excellent chestnuts, walnuts, pears, and
'chicueyes' (both green and dried, a delicious fruit); quantities of
fine thread of all kinds, needles, and knick-knacks; little boxes and
writing-cases; beds, tables, chairs, and gilded benches, painted in
many figures and patterns. They bring domestic buffaloes; geese that
resemble swans; horses, some mules and asses; even caged birds, some
of which talk, while others sing, and they make them play innumerable
tricks. The Chinese furnish numberless other gewgaws and ornaments
of little value and worth, which are esteemed among the Spaniards;
besides a quantity of fine crockery of all kinds; canganes, (this
must be the cloth and not the porcelain of Kaga, which even today
is so highly esteemed.--Rizal), sines, and black and blue robes;
'tacley,' which are beads of all kinds; strings of cornelians, and
other beads and precious stones of all colors; pepper and other spices;
and rarities--which, did I refer to them all, I would never finish,
nor have sufficient paper for it." (Ibid., pp. 178-180.)
[90] "They also bring some fine woven silk goods of mixed colors;
beautiful and finely-decorated screens done in oil and gilt; all kinds
of cutlery; many suits of armor, spears, catans, and other weapons,
all finely wrought; writing cases, boxes and small cases of wood,
japanned and curiously marked; other pretty gewgaws; excellent fresh
pears; barrels and casks of good salt tunny; cages of sweet-voiced
larks, called "fimbaros;" and other trifles." (Ibid., p. 183.)
[91] "* * * They take merchandise consisting of spices--cloves,
cinnamon, and pepper; slaves, both black and Cafres; cotton cloth
of all sorts, fine muslins (caniquies), linens, gauzes, rambuties,
and other delicate and precious cloths; amber, and ivory; cloths edged
with pita, for use as bed covers; hangings, and rich counterpanes from
Vengala (Bengal), Cochin, and other countries; many gilt articles
and curiosities; jewels of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, topazes,
balas-rubies, and other precious stones, both set and loose; many
trinkets and ornaments from India; wine, raisins, and almonds;
delicious preserves, and other fruits brought from Portugal and
prepared in Goa; carpets and tapestries from Persia and Turquia, made
of fine silks and wools; beds, writing-cases, parlor-chairs, and other
finely-guilded furniture, made in Macao; needle-work in colors and
in white, of chain-lace and royal point lace, and other fancy-work
of great beauty and perfection. Purchases of all the above are made
in Manila, and paid in reals and gold. The vessels return in January
with the brisas, which is their favorite monsoon. They carry to Maluco
provisions of rice and wine, crockery-ware, and other wares needed
there; while to Malacca they take only the gold or money, besides a
few special trinkets and curiosities from España, and emeralds. The
royal duties are not collected from these vessels." (Morga's Sucesos,
1609.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 184-185.)
[92] Ibid., pp. 185-186.
[93] Ibid., p. 186.
[94] "All of these things (referring to the trade of the Philippines)
make life in that region pleasant and an object of desire to men; and
indeed it seems a copy of that Tyre so extolled by Ezequiel." (Relación
de las Islas Filipinas, Pedro Chirino.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 13, p. 192.)
"The capital of our colony was, therefore, a few years after the
conquest, an emporium of wealth which, by its commercial activity,
gained in those seas the title of Pearl of the Orient." (La Libertad
de Comercio, Azcarraga, p. 41.)
"The commerce of these islands began with their second discovery and
the first settlement, which was in the year 1565. However, it was at
the first scanty and of little weight, until during the government
of Guido de Labazarris, in the year 1576, the trade of China was
introduced, and with it considerable profits, which extended it freely
to Nueva España, Guatimala, Tierrafirme, and Perú, by a royal decree
of April 14, 1579." (Informatory Memorial addressed to the king, Juan
Grau y Monfalcon; Madrid, 1637.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 27, pp. 157-158.)
[95] "For thirty years after the conquest the commerce of the
islands was unrestricted and their prosperity advanced with great
rapidity." (Historical Introduction, E. G. Bourne.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 1, p. 61.)
"As for the second point, the amount of the commerce, this was formerly
without any limitation; and during the time (which was short) while
that condition lasted the islands acquired what strength and wealth
and grandeur they now possess." (Juan Grau y Monfalcón in Extracto
Historial by Antonio Alvarez de Abreu; Madrid, 1736.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 30, p. 50.)
This is the point of view taken by Azcarraga in his La Libertad de
Comercio en Filipinas.
[96] "In 1603, that is, when our colony had only thirty-two years
of existence, there were already in the capital 25,000 Chinese,
and the number of Japanese must have been also quite considerable,
since they formed a colony which occupied the barrios of San Anton
and San Miguel, at present inhabited by natives and a great portion
of the white population." (Azcarraga, La Libertad de Comercio, p. 44.)
[97] "37. Accordingly the commerce of this city is extensive, rich,
and unusually profitable; for it is carried on by all these Chinese
and their ships, with those of all the islands above mentioned and
of Tonquin, Cochinchina, Camboja, and Siam--four separate kingdoms,
which lie opposite these islands on the continent of Great China--and
of the gulfs and the numberless kingdoms of Eastern India, Persia,
Bengala, and Ceilan, when there are no wars; and of the empire and
kingdom of Xapon. The diversity of the peoples, therefore, who are
seen in Manila and its environs is the greatest in the world; for
these include men from all kingdoms and nations--España, Francia,
Inglaterra, Italia, Flandes, Alemania, Dinamarca, Suecia, Polonia,
Moscobia; people from all the Indias, both eastern and western; and
Turks, Greeks, Moros, Persians, Tartars, Chinese, Japanese, Africans,
and Asiatics. And hardly is there in the four quarters of the world
a kingdom, province, or nation which has not representatives here, on
account of the voyages that are made hither from all directions--east,
west, north, and south." Description of Filipinas Islands, Bartholomé
de Letona, O. S. F.; La Puebla, Mexico, 1662.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 36,
p. 205.)
[98] "Number 96. Distinctions in products from the islands, and their
qualities with respect to those of España.
"All these products that are trafficked from the islands are
divided into six (sic) classes. The first is of silk, in skeins,
thread, and trama. The second, the silk textiles. The third, the
cotton textiles. The fourth, the products of the islands. The fifth,
other small wares and articles that are brought. Of these, the last
class amounts to but little, and is not harmful to the commerce
of España, as it is composed of rarities and foreign products. The
fourth class, namely, that of the products of the islands, by that
very fact ought to be exported--a claim that is founded on justice;
since it is not usual to prohibit to any province its own trade, and
the exportation of its products wherever they may have a sale, even
though foreign commerce be denied to it. Besides, this sort has the
characteristic of the third, namely, that these wares are so cheap
that their like cannot be supplied from España, as has been said,
on account of the great difference of their prices. (In the margin:
"In number 95.") Hence, the wares of these kingdoms would not be
used any more, even did those of the islands fail; nor less, even if
there were an over-supply. For the Indians and negroes care only for
the linens of China and Filipinas, and, if they do not have them,
they get along without them; for they have no wealth to give eight
reals for what costs them one and one-half reals. One thousand bales
of linen which is shipped from Sevilla in each trading fleet always
finds a sale, and no more can be carried (to Nueva España)--because
that would create a lack in España, and it would, moreover, be too
advantageous to the foreigners, to whom almost all this commodity
belongs. Two thousand bales of cotton textiles exported from Manila
are also consumed (there); and the fact that there is less or more does
not cause any considerable loss in the linen made from flax and hemp,
nor does it involve much money; for the two thousand bales of cotton
are worth one hundred and fifty thousand pesos, while one thousand of
fine linen are worth more than one million." (Informatory Memorial
addressed to the King, Juan Grau y Monfalcon, Procurator General;
Madrid, 1637.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 27, pp. 200-201.)
[99] Ibid., pp. 98-104.
[100] Ibid., pp. 115-116.
[101] Ibid., pp. 120.
[102] Ibid., pp. 186-197.
[103] Ibid., p. 158.
[104] Ibid.
[105] Recopilación de Leyes, Lib. IX, Tit. XXXV, Ley VI. In Bl. and
Rb., Vol. 17, pp. 30-31. Jan. 11, 1593.
[106] Ibid., Ley XV.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 17, pp. 31-32. Jan. 11, 1593.
[107] Ibid., Ley XXXIV.--Bl.and Rb., Vol. 17, p. 32. Jan. 11, 1593.
[108] Ibid., Ley LXVIII.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 17, p. 33. Jan. 11, 1593.
[109] La Libertad de Comercio, p. 49.
[110] Recopilación, Lib IX, Tit. XXXV, Leyes LXXIV, LXXV, and
LXXVI.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 17, pp. 42-44.
[111] Pedro Quiroga.
[112] Recopilación, ibid., Ley LXXVIII.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 17,
pp. 44-45.
[113] As to the effect of these restrictions Azcarraga says: "* * *
thus, at the end of that century, there was nothing but poverty and
discontent in the city; the white population had hardly increased;
commerce, confined within the narrow sphere of periodic voyages
to Acapulco, was languishing, without attempting to engage in any
other kind of traffic; and poverty was reflected even in the very
troops stationed in the city, who did duty unshod and without uniform
(camisa), frequently committing robberies at the Chinese stores. * * *"
(La Libertad, p. 54.)
[114] Extracto Historial, Antonio Alvarez de Abreu.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 44, p. 231.
[115] Ibid., p. 236.
[116] Ibid., p. 232.
[117] Ibid., pp. 256-258.
Also Azcarraga, La Libertad, pp. 58-59.
[118] Royal decree of October 27, 1720, enforcing that of 1718,
provides further that: "The values of the lading which the said ships
are to carry from the Philippines to the port of Acapulco may be up
to the amount of 300,000 pesos, which must come invested strictly
and solely in the following kinds of merchandise: gold, cinnamon,
elephants, wax, porcelain, cloves, pepper, cambayas, and linens
woven with colors (lienzos pintados), chitas, chintzes, gauzes,
lampotes, Hilocos blankets, silk floss and raw silk spun, cordage,
and other commodities which are not silks." These ships are prohibited
from carrying silken fabrics, "satins, pitiflores, velvets, damasks,
Pekin silks (Pequines), sayasayas, brocades, plain satins, grograms,
taffetas; silver and gold brocades; embroidered pieces of silk stuff
for (covers of) beds, the (hangings for) drawing-rooms (estrados),
and women's petticoats; silken gauzes flowered with gold and silver;
pattern pieces for petticoats, figured or embroidered; dressing-gowns,
chimones, or made-up garments; hose, ribbons, or handkerchiefs;
or any fabric which contains silk." (Commerce in the Philippines
with Nueva España, 1640-1736, by Antonio Alvarez de Abreu; Madrid,
1736. (From Extracto Historial.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 44, pp. 266-268.)
[119] Ibid., p. 306.
[120] Extracto Historial, Antonio Alvarez de Abreu.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 45, pp. 57-59.
[121] For a detailed list of the goods sent to Mexico, and as to what
was done with them there, see Informatory Memorial addressed to the
King, Juan Grau y Monfalcon, 1637.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 27, pp. 198-200.
"Number 95. Trade of the islands necessary in Nueva España, because
of their goods.
"In regard to the first part, which pertain to the merchandise,
the trade of the Filipinas is so necessary today in Nueva España,
that the latter country finds it as difficult as do the islands to
get along without that trade; and its lack cannot be supplied with
merchandise from these kingdoms. The wares taken to Acapulco are
plain and figured velvets, satins, and damasks; grograms, taffetas,
and picotes; headdresses and stockings; silk, loose and twisted, in
skeins, that reeled on spindles, and woven; thread; tramas, plushes,
and other silk stuffs and textiles. Of cotton, there are sinavafas,
fine glazed buckrams (bocacies), glazed linen (olandilla), fine
muslins (canequies), and semianas; and of cotton and silk, beds,
curtains, coverlets, quilts, and other pieces. (They also carry)
civet, musk, and amber; gold and pearls; crockery-ware, cabinets,
and articles made of wood and other things; and the products of the
islands themselves, of which mention has been made (in the margin:
"In number 15"). But the bulk of the commerce is reduced to the silk
and cotton textiles; for there is but little else that is rare or
elegant, or that has much export. From the skeined silk, and the silk
thread, and trama are manufactured in Nueva España velvets, veils,
headdresses, passementeries, and many taffetas, which were taken to
Perú when there were ships that went to Callao, and to other parts
of the Indias--where the black, brown, and silver-colored goods that
are sent from Sevilla do not arrive in good shape, because the sea
rots them. It is known that the skein silk of China is more even and
elegant for delicate and smooth fabrics than is the Misteca which is
produced in that kingdom; besides that, there is less of the latter
kind than is necessary in the country. By this trade and manufacture,
more than fourteen thousand persons support themselves in Mexico, La
Puebla, and Antequera, by their looms, the whole thing being approved
by royal decrees. Of the cotton textiles, linens (lienzos) are used
in Nueva España more than any other stuff, as they are so cheap that
they sell for one and one-half or two reals per vara. Therefore, they
are desired by the Indians and negroes; and when these are lacking,
even though there should be an over-supply of the linens of Europa,
they do not want them or use them, as those are dear and not so much
used by them; and they get along with their own cloths from Campeche
or La Guasteca, and others that they weave."
[122] "The basis of it was, and is, the funds called "Obras Pías"
(Pious Works). These are funds under various denominations, whose
origin was the piety of well-meaning Spaniards, who dying rich have
bequeathed large sums for the purpose of lending to deserving traders
to commerce or continue their career with. The administration of
these is confided to various religious and charitable institutions,
or to civil associations--the trustees forming a board, at which
the sums to be lent, etc., are determined. Their statutes differ
in many unessential points; but their general tenor is the same,
viz., that sums not exceeding two-thirds of the fund shall be lent on
respondentia at certain rates of interest, which are fixed according
to the risk of the voyages; and these, when repaid, shall be added,
principal and interest, to the original fund. The interests are 25 per
cent. to Acapulco, 15 to Bengal, and so in proportion. The total of
the capitals of these establishments (there are 12 or 14 of them),
amounted to about three millions and a half of dollars in 1820,
of which about two millions are due to the funds on various risks,
principally those of New Spain: of this the major part is considered
as lost by those best qualified to judge of the subject.
"The principal employ of these funds has been in the commerce to
Acapulco; and from the facility with which capital was procured,
the excessive gambling spirit which this introduced, as well as the
system of mutual accommodations from the trustees of different funds,
and the utter absence of the wholesome restraint of public examinations
of their accounts, it has resulted that more harm than good has been
done by these establishments. The original intentions are entirely
perverted, a few small sums being lent to young adventurers (when they
have powerful friends), but far the greatest part is employed by the
trustees themselves under the name of a relation or friend." (Remarks
on the Philippine Islands, and their capital Manila, 1819-1822,
by an Englishman.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 51, pp. 148-149.)
[123] Zuñiga, Estadismo de las Islas Filipinas.
Historia General de Filipinas, José Montero y Vidal, Chapter XXVIII.
[124] It is represented that the seamen are allowed to carry each
30 pesos' worth of goods as a private investment, in order to
encourage Spaniards to enter the marine service; but this ought
to be increased to 300 pesos (the allowance made to the men on the
fleets that go to the Indias), for more Spaniards are needed on the
Acapulco trade-route--hardly one-third of the men on the galleon
being of Spanish birth, the rest being Indians--and on the rivera of
Cavite." Extracto Historial, Antonio Alvarez Abreu, 1736.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 44, Pp. 307-308.
[125] Azcarraga, La Libertad, pp. 81-95.
[126] "This trade and commerce is so great and profitable, and
easy to control--for it only lasts three months in the year, from
the time of the arrival of the ships with their merchandise, until
those vessels that go to Nueva España take that merchandise--that
the Spaniards do not apply themselves to, or engage in, any other
industry. Consequently, there is no husbandry or field-labor worthy of
consideration. Neither do the Spaniards work the gold mines or placers,
which are numerous. They do not engage in many other industries that
they could turn to with great profit, if the Chinese trade should fail
them. That trade has been very hurtful and prejudicial in this respect,
as well as for the occupations and farm industries in which the
natives used to engage. Now the latter are abandoning and forgetting
those labors. Besides, there is the great harm and loss resulting
from the immense amount of silver that passes annually by this way
(of the trade), into the possession of infidels, which can never,
by any way, return into the possession of the Spaniards." (Morga's
Sucesos.--Bl. and Rb. Vol. 16, p. 187).
"When, without risking any capital of his own, the merchant might
thus share the enormous profits of this trade, with no more exertion
than signing the invoices and letters (they were written by Indian
clerks), and receiving the treasure on the return of the vessel, it
is not surprising that for nearly two centuries they neglected all
the other commercial advantages which surrounded them, or that such
a commerce produced such merchants; the history of it and of them for
that period may be confined to a few words:--they were agents of the
merchants of Madras and Bengal, receiving and shipping their goods,
and returning their proceeds, while their profits were confined to
a large commission on them." (Remarks on the Philippine Islands and
on their capital Manila, 1819-1822, by an Englishman.--Bl. and Rb.,
Vol. 51, p. 150.)
[127] "... This I say, then, Sire, that it is a most pitiable thing
that there is not a man in all these Philippine Islands--Spaniard, or
of any other nation--saving some religious, who make their principal
aim and intent the conversion of these heathen, or the increase of
the Christian faith; but they are only moved by their own interests
and seek to enrich themselves, and if it happened that the welfare
of the natives was an obstacle to this they would not hesitate,
if they could, to kill them all in exchange for their temporal
profit. And since this is so, what can your Majesty expect will
happen if this continues? From this inordinate greed arises the
violation of your Majesty's decrees and mandates, as everyone is
a merchant and trader--and none more so than the governor, who has
this year brought ruin upon the country. There comes each year from
Nueva España a million in money, contrary to the mandate of your
Majesty, all of which passes on to the heathen of China. From here,
in violation of your Majesty's decrees, cargoes are loaded for the
Peruvians and the merchants of Mexico, without leaving room for those
of this country--especially the poor, who are unable to secure any
interest therein except for a wretched bundle which is allowed them
as a cargo. If I were to go into the multitude of evils which are
connected with this, I should have to proceed ad infinitum." (Letters
from the archbishop of Manila to Felipe II; Ignacio de Santibañez;
Manila, June 24 and 26, (1598);--Bl and Rb. Vol 10, p. 145.)
[128] Azcarraga: La Libertad, p. 68.
[129] "By this system for two centuries the South American market for
manufactures was reserved exclusively for Spain, but the protection did
not prevent Spanish industry from decay and did retard the well-being
and progress of South America. Between Mexico and the Philippines a
limited trade was allowed, the profits of which were the perquisites
of the Spaniards living in the Philippines and contributed to the
religious endowments. But this monopoly was of no permanent advantage
to the Spanish residents. It was too much like stock-jobbing, and
sapped all spirit of industry. Zúñiga says that the commerce made a
few rich in a short time and with little labor, but they were very
few; that there were hardly five Spaniards in Manila worth $100,000,
nor a hundred worth $40,000, the rest either lived on the King's pay
or in poverty. 'Every morning one could see on the streets of Manila,
in greatest poverty and asking alms, the sons of men who had made a
fine show and left much money, which their sons had squandered because
they had not been well trained in youth.' The great possibilities
of Manila as an entrepôt of the Asiatic trade were unrealized; for
although the city enjoyed open trade with the Chinese, Japanese,
and other orientals, it was denied to Europeans and the growth of
that conducted by the Chinese and others was always obstructed by
the lack of return cargoes owing to the limitations placed upon the
trade with America and to the disinclination of the Filipinos to
work to produce more than was enough to insure them a comfortable
living and pay their tributes. That the system was detrimental to the
economic progress of the islands was always obvious and its evils were
repeatedly demonstrated by Spanish officials. Further it was not only
detrimental to the prosperity of the islands but it obstructed the
development of Mexico." (Historical Introduction, by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 1, pp. 67-68.)
[130] "Trade between America and the Far East all passed for a time
through the port of Manila. This commerce was greatly desired by the
Spanish colonists of Mexico, Perú, and Chile, but the selfish and
rapacious merchants of Spain so influenced the policy of the mother
country as to throttle this trading and prevent for more than two
hundred years the legitimate development of the islands. From the
early part of the seventeenth century until 1837 the Philippines
were in the grasp of a protective monopoly, which not only prevented
the productive development of the soil, but kept the Filipinos down
to those necessarily restricted numbers which attend a population
that raises nothing in excess of its daily needs. If there is one
thing to be learned from this and every other study of increase of
population in a fertile and tropical country it is that population
increases in exact proportion to the agricultural production and
export." (Dr. D. P. Barrows, in Philippine Census, 1903, Vol. 1,
p. 247.)
[131] "* * * All thrifty activity was regarded as despicable. No
trader had a seat in the Cortes of Aragon. As late as 1781 the
Academy of Madrid was obliged to offer as the subject for a prize
essay the proposition that there was nothing derogatory in the useful
arts. Every tradesman and manufacturer sought only to make enough
money to enable him to live on the interest of it or to establish a
trust fund for his family. If he was successful he either entered a
cloister or went to another province in order to pass for a noble. In
Cervantes we find the maxim: 'Whoever wishes to make his fortune
seeks the church, the sea (i. e., service in America), or the king's
house.' The highest ambition of the nation in its golden age was to
be to Europe just what the nobility, the clergy, and the army were
to single nations. Consequently there was an enormous preponderance
of personal service in the industrial organism, and much of this
was purely for ostentation. Nowhere in the world were there so many
nobles, so many officers, civil and military, so many lawyers and
clerks, priests and monks, so many students and school-boys, with
their servants. But as truly, nowhere in the world were there so
many beggars and vagabonds." (The Spanish Colonial System, by Wilhelm
Roscher, pp. 3-4.)
[132] Azcarraga, pp. 117-118.
[133] See Bl. and Rb., Vol. 52, pp. 307-322. Also Vidal, Historia
General de Filipinas, Vol. 2, pp. 285-297; Mas, Informe Sobre el
Estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842, part II, pp. 28-31; and the
Boletin de la Sociedad Económica for the different years.
[134] Jagor, Travels in the Philippines, chapter 25.
Memoria Sobre el Desestanco del Tabaco en las Islas Filipinas, José
Jimeno Agius, Manila, 1871.
[135] "* * * at the time of Basco there were in Camarines four and
a half million mulberry trees, and this was one of the results of
the industrious administration of that famous governor, and of the
first patriotic attempts of the Economic Society, so ably aided by
the alcalde mayor, Don Martin Ballesteros, who later became factor of
the Company in said province. At the request of the Society the first
seeds were sent to Manila in 1780 by an Augustinian by the name of
Fray Pedro Galiano; the director of the Company decided at all cost
to stimulate this production, by advancing big sums * * (and) thought
of introducing Chinese laborers for this purpose, and even proposed to
bring over families from Granada, Valencia, and Murcia, well acquainted
with this kind of industry; and, according to report of those agents,
the first crops gave good results because of the continuous sprouting
of the leaves, possibly the harvesting of even nine crops in each
year. They were assured too, that according to Chinese experts, the
silk of the country was inferior to that of Nanking, but very much
superior to that of Canton." (Azcarraga, p. 133.)
[136] "The cultivation of the indigo had already been encouraged
and improved by another Augustinian, Fray Matias Octavo, with the
generous aid of a worthy merchant of Manila, Don Diego Garcia Herreros,
applying the method then used at Guatemala; (thus) it was possible
in 1784 to make a shipment, by the warship Asuncion, which found a
good market in Cadiz. With these antecedents, the Company did not
have to do much to exploit this product, and limited itself to making
advances to the farmers for the purchase of implements needed * * *,
and buying everything that was offered for sale; thus in 1786 it was
able to export one hundred and forty quintals of this valuable article,
and double that in 1788." (Ibid., pp. 133-134).
[137] "With the same eagerness the Company devoted itself to promote
the cultivation of the sugar cane, and very soon began to reap the
harvest of its well-calculated attempts, and shipped for the Peninsula
in 1786 eight hundred and sixty arrobas, and in 1788, nine thousand
six hundred and sixty three arrobas for the same place, and for China
and India; and thus this article continued to progress, always heading
the list of exports from the country, since in a memorial or report
sent to the king in 1790 by Governor Don Felix Berenguer de Marquina,
it is stated that the amount of sugar exported the year before was
between forty and fifty thousand piculs." (Ibid., pp. 134-135.)
[138] Azcarraga says that upon cotton, which--at different times,
especially during the revolutionary war in the United States--had
been recommended to the chiefs of the provinces as an article to
whose cultivation they should especially devote themselves, the
company placed a great deal of hope, because of its good quality;
it could compete with what the English exported from the coasts of
Malabar, and thus, by promoting its cultivation in great scale, at
the same time that the projected textile factories of the country
would be supplied with raw materials, it would supply the constant
demand of China; these expectations were confirmed by the good sale
which the first shipment of one hundred and fifty sacks to China had,
and thus the directors adopted this article as the chief commodity
for its trade. (Ibid.)
[139] Text of decree is given in Montero y Vidal, Historia, Vol. 2,
pp. 302-303.
[140] Estadismo, Vol. 1, p. 273.
[141] Azcarraga, Chapters 9, 10, and 11; Mas, Part II, pp. 31-35;
Vidal, Historia, Vol. II, pp. 297-307.
[142] In this way a new element was introduced which was essential
for economic development: capital. Up to that time money had
been scarce and it was all derived from local sources: owing to
the conditions to which we have heretofore referred our community
was obliged to furnish its own capital. It was necessarily small,
first, on account of the slight productive forces, second, because
of the easy destruction of acquired property, which was dissipated
in fires and storms principally. In those first days of our history,
the preservation and transmission from one generation to another
of created and inherited wealth was, as it is even now, a problem
almost impossible of solution. The general construction of houses,
manufactured from such weak and transient elements as cane and nipa,
does not leave us in a condition to conserve: it leaves us rather
in a condition of easy destruction, as may be readily understood. So
it is, that we get the benefit of only a small part of the property
acquired by the generations that have gone before us. Where will
you find even the trace of so many millions of cane and nipa houses
which have absorbed the money earned by past generations? Destroyed
by fire and storms. In their destruction was also involved all the
industrial production, all the labor converted into capital represented
by furniture, books, manuscripts, cloths, jewelry, coins, articles, of
practical utility, religious, artistic and every sort of objects which
ran the same precarious risk and had the same ephemeral existence as
our flimsy cane and nipa houses."--Results of the Economic Development
of the Philippines.
[143] "The taking of Manila in 1762 by the English had subsequently
great influence on our future. They, during the occupation of Manila,
had an opportunity to know the natural resources of this country,
the condition of abandonment and neglect of agriculture and commerce,
and the contempt that was felt for them, and realize the possibilities
that existed for material development as understood by the British. As
a result of such contact with the Filipinos English commerce was able
to understand the conditions of our archipelago until then entirely
unknown, owing to the conditions of their tutelar sequestration,
and, on their part, the authorities and prominent persons of Manila
had occasion to observe, during the short period of the occupation
of Manila, what the English were who had been reputed as the enemies
par excellence of the Roman Catholic Apostolic religion. It is said
that they appropriated to themselves the money that they found in the
treasury, which, on the other hand, we must assume, was found empty,
both because Anda y Salazar took with him what he could find there
to organize the war, and because private persons concealed their
treasure. From whatever source it may have come, either brought by
them as was really the case, or taken from the Filipinos, the fact
was, that in order to maintain themselves, they spent a great deal
of money and placed in movement the dormant activity of all whom they
found within their reach." (Ibid.)
[144] Azcarraga, pp. 151-152; also Mas, under Comercio Exterior, p. 2.
[145] "The first result was the collision of the new arrivals with
the exploiters of the old order, whose peaceful possession of a
livelihood which suited them--because nobody questioned it or disturbed
it--was suddenly threatened by the competition of more active, more
industrious, better prepared and richer individuals, supported by firms
located in the most important centers of the commercial world. In the
same manner as, by arrival of the Spaniards, the old Filipino caciques
were subjected to the Spanish officials, now the caciques who dominated
during the period of tutelar sequestration found themselves immediately
supplanted and converted into something lower than the new caciques of
the economic order. They (the former) understood that such supremacy
would give them (the latter) supremacy in everything. To defend their
position they had recourse to the anti-foreign sentiments of the entire
community; foreigners had always been regarded as the enemies of Spain
and God; they must be the enemies of the Filipinos, too. The crusade
was not new; it had been used before with excellent results at the
time of the English domination. This campaign was hardly started when
the cholera for the first time made its appearance in Manila. Taking
advantage of that event, which was also called providential, the rumor
was started that the foreigners had poisoned the waters of the Pasig,
with the results that in 1820 the people of Manila exterminated the
foreigners who were then residing at the capital." (Tavera, Ibid.)
[146] Le Roy, The Americans in the Philippines, Vol. 1, p. 33,
Diccionario Geográfico-Estadistíco-Historico de las Islas Filipinas,
Manuel Buzeta and Felipe Bravo, (Madrid, 1850-1851).
[147] Bowring, A Visit to the Philippines (London, 1859), p. 301.
[148] Mas, under Comercio Exterior, pp. 28-29; also Azcarraga,
Chapter 13.
[149] "The merchants and even all the residents of Manila during the
epoch of the Acapulco (trade), firmly believed that the interruption
of its voyages would be the infallible and total ruin of the colony,
and that upon them depended even the maintenance of the inhabitants
of the farms. However, experience has demonstrated the error in which
they were." (Mas, Ibid., pp. 2-3.)
After giving a table of imports and exports for 1810, Mas says:
"From this statement it is seen that at that epoch the commerce of the
Philippines was reduced mostly to receiving funds from New Spain, and,
in return, remitting articles of China and India; that the importation
of foreign goods consumed in the Philippines amounted to 900,000 pesos,
and the exportation of the products of the country, such as sugar,
indigo, hide, etc., did not amount to 500,000 pesos. The gains,
therefore, from that traffic, for which Manila was only a port of
exchange, were divided between the merchants who had the monopoly
of the galleon, but the wealth of the territory received but small
advantages from it." (Ibid.)
[150] Mas, Ibid., p. 4.
[151] Azcarraga, p. 18.
[152] An item in the memoir published by the Sociedad Económica de
Amigos del País (Manila, 1860), containing a list of its achievements,
is to the effect that on August 8, 1834, "abacá" was exported for
the first time. (See Bl. and Rb., Vol. 52, p. 317.)
Azcarraga (p. 19) gives the following figures for hemp:
Piculs
exported.
1840 83,790
1845 102,490
1850 123,410
1853 221,518
1857 327,574
1858 412,502
[153] Azcarraga (p. 167) gives the following figures for Iloilo:
Foreign Countries. Manila.
Piculs of Sugar. Piculs of sugar.
1859 9,344 77,488
1860 40,176 72,592
1861 44,256 29,312
1862 102,464 98,912
1863 170,832 80,000
[154] Azcarraga, pp. 168-169.
[155] Jagor, (Spanish edition, Madrid, 1874), p. 255.
[156] "From these dates (referring to the opening of the ports) the
prosperity of the Philippines advanced steadily and rapidly without
interruption until the outbreak of the Philippine revolution six
years ago. To this period is due the propagation of the hemp fields of
Ambos Camarines, Albay, and Sorsogon; the planting of the innumerable
coconut groves; the sugar haciendas of Pampanga and Negros; the tobacco
fields of Cagayan and the Ilocos provinces; the coffee of Batangas,
and the utilization everywhere of the specially adapted soils for
the production of these admirable articles of trade. One thing is to
be noticed, and is important in estimating the future development of
the islands. The money that was invested here was not brought in by
capitalists but was made here. Haciendas arose from small beginnings,
and this continued prosperity apparently suffered no diminution
or check until it was interrupted by the ravages and desolation of
warfare. * * *" (Barrows, Census of the Philippine Islands (1903),
Vol. 1, p. 446.)
[157] Bowring, p. 410.
"The Filipinos gave a proof of their intelligence and of their
aspirations by sending their children to Manila to be educated,
buying furniture, mirrors, articles of luxury for their homes and
persons; buying pianos, carriages, objects imported from the United
States and Europe which came their way, owing to foreign trade. These
articles caused a revelation which produced a revolution in the
social mind, thanks to that veritable revolution of an economic
character which permitted the only possible development--the material
development." (Tavera, Ibid.)
[158] Jagor, ibid., p. 256.
[159] "The needs of commerce, demanded not by the poor but by the
powerful, were attended to; for that reason roads were made, bridges
were built, new highways of communication were opened, public safety
was organized in a more efficient manner, the abuses of the dominators
had greater publicity and, therefore, were fewer and more combated,
the mail service was improved, Spaniards and other Europeans penetrated
into the provinces, the natives themselves were permitted to go from
one pueblo to another and change their residence, and the Filipinos
were able to place themselves in contact with the civilized world,
emerging from their prolonged and harmful sequestration, thanks to
the workings of economic forces." (Tavera, Ibid.)
[160] "During the previous epoch the so-called natural resources
constituting the extractive industries--consisting of the collection of
the spontaneous products of nature--were exploited: whereas freedom of
trade brought about the development of agriculture which had already
been initiated by the Real Compañía. In Ilocos, indigo was made, in
Batangas, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna and the Visayas, sugar-cane was
cultivated and sugar made; in Albay abaca was produced. Bigan, Taal,
Balayan, Batangas, Albay, Nueva Caceres, Cebu, Molo, Jaro, Iloilo
began to be covered with solidly constructed buildings; their wealthy
citizens would come to Manila, make purchases, become acquainted with
the great merchants, who entertained them in their quality as customers
whose trade they needed; they visited the Governor-General, who would
receive them according to the position that their money gave them;
they came to know the justices of the Supreme Court, the provincials
of the religious orders; they brushed up, as a result of their contact
with the people of the capital and, on returning to their pueblo,
they took in their hearts and minds the germ of what was subsequently
called, "subversive ideas" and, later still, "filibusterismo."
"The opening of the Suez Canal brought us nearer to Europe, and,
carried along by the current of economical nature, came the ideas
and principles of a political character which did no less than to
revolutionize the ideas predominant in a country which had existed so
completely separated from the nations of the modern world. Already the
"brutes loaded with gold" dared to discuss with their curate, complain
against the alcalde, defend their homes against the misconduct of
the lieutenant or sergeant of the police force; such people were
starting to emancipate themselves insensibly as a consequence of
their economic independence. Their money permitted them effectively
to defend questions involving money first, then, those of a moral
character--they were becoming actually "insolent" according to the
expression of the dominators: in reality, they were beginning to
learn to defend their rights." (Tavera, Ibid.)
[161] For a good discussion of the growth of population since Spanish
conquest down to 1903, see Census of the Philippine Islands, Vol. 1,
pp. 442-445.
[162] This principle is stated as follows: "The beginnings of social
evolution * * * are always to be found in a bountiful environment.
Moreover, density of population follows abundance of food, whether
the supplies are obtained from the soil directly, or indirectly,
in exchange for manufactures; and other things being equal, the
activity and the progress of society depend, within limits, on the
density of population.
A sparse population, scattered over a poor soil, can carry on
production only by primitive methods and on a small scale. It can
have only the most rudimentary division of labor; it cannot have
manufacturing industries, or good roads, or a rapid interchange
of intelligence; all of which, together with a highly developed
industrial organization and a perfect utilization of capital, are
possible to the populations that are relatively dense.
A highly developed political life, too, is found only where population
is compact. Civil liberty means discussion, and discussion is dependent
on the frequent meeting of considerable bodies of men who have varied
interests and who look at life from different points of view. Movements
for the increase of popular freedom have usually started in towns.
Education, religion, art, science, and literature are all dependent on
a certain density of population. Schools, universities, churches, the
daily newspaper, great publishing houses, libraries, and museums come
only when the population per square mile is expressed by more than one
unit, and their decay is one of the first symptoms that population is
declining. * * *."--Franklin H. Giddings, The Principles of Sociology,
(New York, 1911), pp. 366-367.
[163] "These changes show how important it was to establish at
different points, extending over two hundred miles of the Archipelago,
commercial centers, where it was desirable that foreigners should
settle. Without these latter, and the facilities afforded to credit
which hereby ensued, the sudden rise and prosperity of Iloilo would
not have been possible, inasmuch as the mercantile houses in that
capital would have been debarred from trading with unknown planters
in distant provinces, otherwise than for ready money." Jagor, Travels
in the Philippines. (London, 1875), p. 304.
Azcarraga, pp. 168-177; 197-198.
Le Roy, Bibliographical Notes, 1860-1898.--Bl. and Rb., Vol. 52,
pp. 112-114.
[164] Jagor gives credit to the two American houses in the Philippines
for the development of the abacá into an important article of
export. These American houses in the first years sank large sums
of money in advance loans, and were only able to get the business
on a paying basis when, in 1863, they were permitted to establish
warehouses and presses in the provinces at the principal points where
the crop was produced, and to deal directly with the producers. Jagor
(Spanish edition, p. 264); Le Roy, The Americans in the Philippines,
Vol. 1, pp. 33-34.
For an interesting discussion of the struggle between England and
the United States for supremacy in the Philippines, and the role
played by the English banks in that struggle, see a pamphlet entitled
Commercial Progress in the Philippine Islands, by Antonio M. Regidor
and J. Warren T. Mason, (1905).
[165] This prefix does not seem, however, to be genuine in the
language, so that the Chinese have mistaken the first syllable Ta for
their own word (adjective preposed) ta "great", and dropped it with
their usual contempt for foreign nations. But all this is conjectural.
[166] apparently Sanskrit ... some such sound as ... Vaisadja.--Parker
(China, London, 1901.)--C.
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