Good day! Before we start, we pray first the Louisian prayer.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

LOUISIAN PRAYER

O God, wellspring of goodness and blessings, we give you thanks

and praise as one Louisian community. The graces You incessantly
grant upon us and Your divine providence have sustained our
beloved University throughout the years of mission and
excellence.

Having been founded by the Congregation of the Immaculate

Heart of Mary, we pray that You keep us committed and
dedicated to our mission and identity to serve the Church and the
society as we become living witnesses to the Gospel values
proclaimed by Jesus.

For if we are steadfast in our good and beautiful mission, our

works will bring success not only to ourselves but also to those
whom we are bound to love and serve.

Inspired by St. Louis our Patron Saint, who was filled with a noble
spirit that stirred him to love You above all things , may we also
live believing that we are born for a greater purpose and mission
as we dwell in Your presence all the days of our life.

Grant all these supplications through the intercession of Mother

Mary and through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Goodmorning! Today, we discuss Rizal in his experience during the 19 th
Century where he experienced discrimination to race and inequality to
humanity.
One cannot fully understand Rizal’s thought without understanding the
social and political context of the 19th century. Social scientists marked the
19th century as the birth of modern life as well as the birth of many nation-
states around the world. The birth of modernity was precipitated by three
great revolutions around the world: the Industrial revolution in England,
the French Revolution in France and the American Revolution.

A PANORAMIC SURVEY

 The essence of the life of Jose Rizal is marked by the conditions that
existed during his lifetime
 Rizal is a product of his era and his message sets forth a human
declaration that:
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”
Take note: Rizal’s life experienced challenged him to push his ideals and
limits just to obtain justice and equality among mankind. He fought against
slavery, discrimation and manipulation to other nation like the Philippine
people. He served as an advocate of freedom and equality and aimed at
peaceful and harmonious nation.

THE WORLD IN THE 19th CENTURY

The 19th Century stands out as an extremely dynamic and creative age
especially in Europe and the United States.
-Concepts such as industrialism, democracy and nationalism had triggered
revolutionary changes in science, technology, economics and politics.
The Church also took part in the changes of the political condition of the
19th Century.

THE CHURCH IN THE 19TH CENTURY

 In addition to the three great revolutions, the weakening of the grip of the
Catholic Church of the growing secularalized society of Europe and Spain
has implications to the Philippines. Conversely, the Catholic Church in
Europe was a most powerful institution in Europe. The union of Church
State has identified the Church with the monarchy and aristocracy since the
Middles Ages. Since it upheld the status quo and favored the monarchy, the
Church in the nineteenth century had been considered an adversary to the
new Republican states and the recently unified countries. The French saw
the Church as a threat to the newly formed republican state and Bismarck
of Germany also saw it as a threat to the unified German Empire. In Spain,
the liberals considered the Church as an enemy of reforms. Thus they
sought to curtail to influence of the Church in political life and education.
This movement against the Catholic Church called anti-clericalism had
gained strength in the nineteenth century not only for political reasons but
also of the materialistic preferences of the people generated by the
economic prosperity of the period (Romero et al 1978: 17-18).
The declining influence of the Catholic Church in Europe and Spain has little
effect, however, to the control and power of the local Church in the
Philippines. Despite the anti-clericalism in Spain, the power of the friars in
the Philippines in the 19thcentury did not decline; instead, it became
consolidated after the weakening of civil authority owing to constant
change in political leadership. This means that Filipinos turned more and
more to the friars for moral and political guidance as Spanish civil officials in
the colony became more corrupt and immoral. The union of the Church and
State and the so-called “rule of the friars” or “frailocracy” continued during
this period. In the last decades of the 19th century, the Spanish friars were
so influential and powerful that they practically ruled the whole
archipelago. The Spanish civil authorities as well as patriotic Filipinos feared
them. In every Christian town in the country, for instance, the friar is the
real ruler, not the electedgobernadorcillo. He was the supervisor of local
elections, the inspector of the schools, the arbiter of morals, and the censor
of books and stage shows. He could order the arrest of or exile to distant
land any filibustero (traitor) or anti-friar Filipino who disobeyed him or
refused to kiss his hands (Zaide 1999: 209).
One of the aims of Dr. Rizal and the propagandists in order to prepare the
Filipino people for revolution and independence was to discredit the friars.
Exposing the abuses and immoralities of the friars is one way to downplay
their power and influence among the people and thus can shift the
allegiance of the Indiosfrom the friars to the Filipino reformists and leaders.
The strengthening power of the friars in the 19th century has encouraged
the nationalists to double their efforts to win the people to their side.

The 19th century era brought changes to the Philippine setting especially its
political, economic, technological and societal concerns.

THE PHILIPPINES IN THE 19th CENTURY

However, 19th Century Philippines was largely medieval. The inclusivity of
the Church in the Political setting was very powerful.
Its social and economic structure was based on the old feudalistic system.
Abuses and exploitations of the Indio were very rampant. But the treament
of the Indio in the western country was very different in the Philippine
setting. Spanish officials were very opprossive to Indio. This brutal
treatment to Indios made Rizal a fighter against Spanish colonialism,
especially their treatment to us Filipinos.
Its censorship and racial discriminatory practices were oppressive.

Government processes had no respect for the needs of the people.

These conditions that had experienced by many Filipinos led to the
development of:
 Nationhood
 Nationalism
 Patriotism
 Desire for Independence
It made Filipinos strived in uplifting the Filipino spirit and fight for their
rights and freedom.
 Social Structure

Predominantly feudalistic (Spanish land holding system) with the arrival of

conquistadores
-Conquistadores were the elite class that exploited the masses
-Master-slave relationship between the Spaniards and the Filipinos
-Spaniards exacted all forms of taxes and tributes and forced the natives to
manual labor
This conditions of Rizal’s fellow Filipinos triggered him to resist on the
power of the Spaniards. He eagerly encouraged equality and justice in
societal setting where Filipinos must also be respected as part of the
society.
Below is the division of the Philippine political structure. In here, native
Filipinos are seen as the lowest class:
The Pyramid Social Structure

Peninsulares
(Spanish Officials)

Mestizos/Criollos
(Philippine-born Spaniards)

Indios
(Native Filipinos)

In terms of its Political Structure, Spain governed the Philippines through

the Ministro de Ultramar

-Ministry of the Colonies established in 1863

 It helped the Spanish monarchs manage the affairs of the colonies
 Governed the Philippines through a centralized machinery
 Exercising executive, legislative, judicial and religious powers

The Governor General

Appointed by the King of Spain, headed the central administration in

Manila. He served as the King’s representative.
 He issued executive and administrative orders over all government
officials
 Responsible for all government and religious activities
 He was assisted by Lieutenant General (general segundo cabo)

Alcaldes Mayores
 Civil Governors
 Led the provincial government (alcaldias)

Alcaldes en ordinario
 City mayor and vice mayor
 Ruled the city government (ayuntamiento)

Gobernadorcillo
 Town mayor
 Ruled the town government (principalia)

Cabeza de Barangay
 Barangay captain
 Ruled the barrio

The Guardia Civil

 Headed by alferez (Second lieutenant)

 Performed police duties
 Helped in the maintenance of peace and order

The system of courts was a centralized system

 It was a pyramidical organization

 Headed by the Royal Audiencia
 Served as highest court for civil and criminal cases
 Together with the Governor General, they made laws for the country
called autos acordados
Above shows the structure of the Philippine government and its function.
Unluckily, there were abuses of the officials in their power to hold public
office. So, below is the specified sources of abuses and sometimes
corruption by the officials in the administrative system.

SOURCES OF ABUSES IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

The main cause of weakness of the administrative system was the
appointment of officials with inferior qualifications.

Without dedication to duty, no moral strength to resist corruption. The

kind of officials sent in the Philippines were corrupt, abusive and
unqualified officers. They were not equipped to any public office. This was
the reason why instead of focusing on their role as public officers to form a
good and well nation, they focused on getting wealth through corruption.
The worse thing was that, they became brutal and abusive to native
Filipinos to the extent that they executed most of our fellow native Filipinos
who fought and resisted against them.
There was also complication in the situation between the union of the
church and state. The priest or what we call the “Friars” also became
powerful, cruel and corrupt.

The checks adopted by Spain to minimize abuses either proved ineffective

or discouraged
The officials appointed by the King of Spain were ignorant of Philippine
needs. This was the reason behind their bad motives to our Philippine
nation.
The most corrupt branch of government was the alcaldias
Dishonest and corrupt officials often exacted more tributes than required by law and pocketed
the excess collections.

They also monopolized provincial trade and controlled prices and business practices.

The parish priests could checked this anomaly but in many cases they encouraged the abuses in
exchange for favors.

Participation in the government of the natives was confined to the lowest offices

They participate only as gobernadorcillo of a town and cabeza de barangay of a barrio.

The position of gobernadorcillo was honorary entitled to two pesos/month.

The natural and constitutional rights and liberties of the indios were curtailed. Homes were
searched without warrants.

People were convicted and exiled for being filibusteros

Books, magazines and other written materials could not be published without the approval of
the Board of Censors

The Educational System

There was no systematic government supervision of schools.

The teaching methods was obsolet. There was a limited curriculum and poor classroom
facilities. And the was an absence of teaching materials.

The friars inevitably occupied a dominant position in the Philippine educational system. Religion
was the main subject in the schools.

Fear of God was emphasized and obedience to the friars was instilled.

Indios were constantly reminded that they had inferior intelligence and were fit only for manual
labor.

These practices resulted in a lack of personal confidence and a development of inferiority

complex.

Students memorized and repeated the contents of books which they did not understand.
Teacher discrimination against Filipinos was present.

The friars were against the teaching of Spanish in the Philippines

They believed that the knowledge of the Spanish language would encourage the people to
oppose Spanish rule.

Indios might be inspired by the new ideas of freedom and independence, so they isolate
Filipinos in the light of intellectual attainment.

CHALLENGES OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution is basically an economic revolution which started
with the invention of steam engine and resulted to the use of machinery in
the manufacturing sector in the cities of Europe. It has changed the
economy of Europe from feudalism—an economic system which relied on
land and agriculture--to capitalism which relied on machinery and wage
labor. The merchants of Europe who became rich through trade became
the early capitalists of this emerging economy. Farmers from rural areas
migrated to the cities and became industrial workers while their wives
remained as housekeepers at home in what Karl Marx’s characterized as
the first instance of the domestication of women.
The Industrial Revolution that started in Europe had repercussions to the
Philippine economy. A radical transformation of the economy took place
between the middle of the eighteenth century and the middle of the
nineteenth; something that might almost be called an agricultural
revolution, with a concomitant development of agricultural industries and
domestic as well as foreign trade (De la Costa 1965: 159). The economic
opportunities created by the Industrial Revolution had encouraged Spain in
1834 to open the Philippine economy to world commerce. As a result, new
cities and ports were built. Foreign firms increased rapidly. Foreigners were
allowed to engage in manufacturing and agriculture. Merchant banks and
financial institutions were also established. The British and Americans
improved agricultural machinery for sugar milling and rice hulling and
introduced new methods of farming. The presence of these foreign traders
stimulated agricultural production, particularly sugar, rice, hemp, and—
once the government monopoly was removed in 1882—tobacco. Indeed,
the abolition of restrictions on foreign trade has produced a balanced and
dynamic economy of the Philippines during the 19th century (Maguigad &
Muhi 2001: 46; Schumacher 1997: 17).
Furthermore, the fast tempo of economic progress in the Philippines during
the 19th century facilitated by Industrial Revolution resulted to the rise to a
new breed of rich and influential Filipino middle class. Non-existent in
previous centuries, this class, composed of Spanish and
Chinese mestizosrose to a position of power in the Filipino community and
eventually became leaders in finance and education (Agoncillo 1990: 129-
130). This class included the ilustrados who belonged to the landed gentry
and who were highly respected in their respective pueblos or towns,
though regarded asfilibusteros or rebels by the friars. The relative
prosperity of the period has enabled them to send their sons to Spain and
Europe for higher studies. Most of them later became members of
freemasonry and active in the Propaganda Movement. Some of them
sensed the failure of reformism and turned to radicalism, and looked up to
Rizal as their leader (PES 1993:239)
Lastly, safer, faster and more comfortable means of transportation such as
railways and steamships were constructed. The construction of steel
bridges and the opening of Suez Canal opened shorter routes to commerce.
Faster means of communications enable people to have better contacts for
business and trade. This resulted to closer communication between the
Philippines and Spain and to the rest of the world in the 19th century
(Romero 1978: 16).
The French Revolution
If the Industrial Revolution changed the economic landscape of Europe and
of the Philippines, another great Revolution changed their political tone of
the period—the French Revolution. The French revolution (1789-1799)
started a political revolution in Europe and in some parts of the world. This
revolution is a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in
the history of France during which the French governmental structure was
transformed from absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the rich and
clergy to a more democratic government form based on the principles of
citizenship and inalienable rights. With the overthrow of monarchial rule,
democratic principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity--the battle cry of
the French Revolution--started to spread in Europe and around the world.
Not all democratic principles were spread as a result of the French
Revolution. The anarchy or political disturbance caused by the revolution
had reached not only in neighboring countries of France, it has also reached
Spain in the 19th century. Spain experienced a turbulent century of political
disturbances during this era which included numerous changes in
parliaments and constitutions, the Peninsular War, the loss of Spanish
America, and the struggle between liberals and conservatives (De la Costa
1965: 159). Moreover, radical shifts in government structure were
introduced by liberals in the motherland. From 1834 to 1862, for instance,
a brief span of only 28 years, Spain had four constitutions, 28 parliaments,
and 529 ministers with portfolio (Zaide 1999: 203). All these political
changes in Spain had their repercussions in the Philippines, cracking the
fabric of the old colonial system and introducing through cracks perilous
possibilities of reform, of equality and even emancipation” (De la Costa
1965: 159).
Because of this political turmoil in the motherland, the global power of the
“Siglo de Oro of Spain in the sixteenth century as the mistress of the world
with extensive territories had waned abroad in the nineteenth century. Her
colonies had gained momentum for independence owing to the cracks in
political leadership in the motherland. In fact, Cuba, a colony of Spain, was
waging a revolution against Spain when Rizal volunteered to discontinue his
exile in Dapitan to work as volunteer doctor there in order for him to
observe the revolution. The divided power of Spain was triggered by
successive change of regimes due to the democratic aspiration created by
the French Revolution. This aspiration had inspired colonies under Spain
and Portugal to revolt in order to gain independence from their colonial
masters in the 19th century.
The American Revolution
Finally, the American Revolution, though not directly affecting the local
economy and politics of the Philippines in the nineteenth century, had
important repercussions to democratic aspirations of the Filipino reformist
led by Rizal during this period. The American Revolution refers to the
political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which the 13
colonies of North America overthrew the rule of the British Empire and
rejected the British monarchy to make the United States of American a
sovereign nation. In this period the colonies first rejected the authority
British Parliament to govern without representation, and formed self-
governing independent states. The American revolution had given the
world in the 19thcentury the idea that colonized people can gain their
independence from their colonizers. The Americans were able to overthrow
their British colonial masters to gain independence and the status of one
free nation-state. This significant event had reverberated in Europe and
around the world and inspired others to follow. Indirectly, the American
Revolution had in a way inspired 
Filipino reformists like Rizal to aspire for freedom and independence. When
the Philippines was opened by Spain to world trade in the 19th century,
liberal ideas from America borne by ships and men from foreign ports
began to reach the country and influenced the ilustrados. These ideas,
contained in books and newspapers, were ideologies of the American and
French Revolutions and the thoughts of Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire,
Locke, Jefferson, and other political philosophers (Zaide 1999: 214)

1. The Challenge of Industrialization

Industrialization rapidly gained momentum in the 2nd half of the 19th
century
2nd Industrial Revolution had taken its path towards development
3rd: The use of steel, the discovery of oil, gasoline and electricity, invention
of combustion engine triggered the motorized age
Safer, faster and more comfortable means of transportation were
constructed
Faster means of communication like telephone and telegraph enabled
people to have better contacts

3rd: Closer communication between the Philippines and Spain was now
feasible (possible)

The Philippines as a source of raw materials and as market of finished

products was eventually drawn into the orbit of international trade after
1834

1st: With the emergence of development, the Philippines was gradually

opened into the changing world
3rd: This marked a change in the economic and social life of those Filipinos
who came into contact with development in Europe

2. The Altered Position of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Europe was a powerful influential institution in the
19th century
The Church has been identified with the monarchy and aristocracy
3rd: The church therefore was considered an adversary of the young
Republican states and recently unified countries

The French viewed the Church as a threat to their newly established

republican state

In Spain, the liberals considered the Church an enemy of reforms.

3rd: Other countries sought to curtail the Church’s influence, to breakdown
its political power, and destroy its traditional control over education

A movement was established called “anti-clericalism”

To maintain what was left of its power and influence, Pope Leo XIII
accepted the demands of modern society without surrendering its dogmas
(beliefs)
3rd: The Italian Parliamentary curtailed the Papal sovereign authority in the
Vatican

Rizal and other Filipino leaders were exposed to these reforms and
movements

The Philippines was opened to world trade and a new breed of middle class
emerged.
2nd: The once obedient and passive Filipino now became aggressive in his
struggle for his rights
4th: Isolated Philippines activated its citizens into a revolution of change
and economic adjustments

3. The Philippines is Drawn within the Orbit of World Trade

The beneficial effects of economic liberalism in Europe and US convinced

Spain to abandon mercantilism.
3rd: It reluctantly opened the Philippines to world trade

Spain opened the Philippine ports to foreign trades starting with Manila in
1834, followed by Iloilo, Zamboanga, Cebu, Legaspi and Tacloban
2nd: The presence of foreign traders and their investments in the Philippines led to prosperity

3rd: These developments encourage social mobility and interaction among the people
facilitating closer understanding and unity

These conveniences abetted (assisted) the people’s awareness of the changes that would give
them a better life

4. The New Breed of Native Middle Class

The 19th century economic and social motivation affected a marked
improvement in the standard of living of indios and mestizos

2nd: This group became the foundation of a growing middle class

3rd: They were able to send their children to schools in Manila and Europe

By this time, Philippine education began to share the existing liberals in Europe
The Educational Reform Decree in 1859 ordered the establishment of public primary schools

3rd: A normal school to train teachers for the primary grades was also established

The Jesuits opened a secondary school subsidized by the government

2nd: The Jesuits had been influential in disseminating general primary education

3rd: Improving methods of instruction and enriching the curricula for higher education

Natives had gone to school and small group of college students was influenced by modern ideas

Thank you for reading. Please check MIDTERM ASSESSMENT and answer the learning task
given. Thank you and study well!

Let us close this lesson with a prayer.

In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Thank you Lord for the gift of Wisdom. Inspire us more to become responsible children of God.
Give us a sense of focus and disposition as we continue learning through online. Bless our minds
so that we may value every knowledge that we learn. We ask this through your Son Jesus..
AMEN.

In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.