POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

STA. MESA, MANILA

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Computer Engineering

LIBRE, MARIA ANGELA P.

BSCOE 2-3
Life and Works of Rizal – GEED 10013
Prof. Jacinto R. Valila Jr.

Examine how Rizal keenly observed the effects of colonialism on Filipino creativity,
industriousness, perseverance, and other virtues.

Rizal on the Effects of Colonialism

Spaniards think of Filipino people as lazy. Filipino people have an image of being indolent.
With what the Spaniards said, Jose Rizal wrote the essay “La Indolencia de los Filipinos” also
known as “The Indolence of the Filipinos”. This essay is intended to explain the statement of the
Spaniards about the laziness of the Filipinos. According to Jose Rizal, Filipinos were way more
hardworking and industrious even before Spaniards came to colonize the Philippines. Jose Rizal
gave the reasons why and defended the Filipinos. Rizal said Filipino people are not lazy.

It is because of the Spanish Galleon Trade. Galleons are the ships that travels to Mexico
to monopolize the trade. This Galleon trade resulted to the closing of the small business of the
Filipino people. Filipino people were forced to work for the Spaniards. They left their own old life
to work for them. It’s the forced labor not laziness.

As they were forced to work with building their ships their roads, work for their industry
without even payment, Filipino people’s love of work were gone because of the forced labor done
to them by the Spaniards. Even I would not work hard for them not only because they are forced
but also because they get nothing from it. Spaniards get all the benefits of their hard works. If I
were in their place, I would not work diligently to the people and country who took away my
freedom.
 When the Filipino natives got invaded by the foreign invaders and pirates, they did not
defend them. Spaniards did not protect them. They were killed with no resources and weapons
to fight back for themselves. This resulted to deaths, loss of house and lands. Because of this,
Filipino people became homeless. It’s not literally homeless, but the had to move places and don’t
have permanent places. Also, they are being forced to do labor in different places. Filipino people
do not have a control on their own life. Of course, they can’t work for themselves.

During the Spanish colonialism, there were so called education but only teaches repetitive
prayers and other useless things. They should be teaching things that is useful for the Filipino
students. Useful for the progress of the Philippines. Of course, Spaniards would not provide a
better education. They can’t afford Filipino people being educated. Because once they give them
better education system, they will be knowledgeable and if they are educated, they can fight
against the Spaniards. The Spaniards are like cutting the ability of the Filipino people to
industrious. They are teaching things that aren’t even useful for the Philippines and the Filipino
itself. What the Filipino people need are education courses like Agriculture and Industry. They call
the Filipino people lazy, but they take away their ability to be able to learn and work.

According to Jose Rizal, Filipino people are not the lazy one. It was actually the Spaniards.
They show a not good example of how they work. They work in a lazy manner. They go to work
late at noon but leave early. Imagine how can they do something if they only lend few hours of
their time in work and the rest not in line with their work. Jose Rizal also observed that women
were always followed by their servants who dress and fan them. These things they let other people
do for them when they have the full ability to do it themselves is like the act of laziness. Having a
servant to do things they can do themselves but don’t just because they don’t want to do it is the
act of laziness.

Gambling is the problem too that time. Spanish normalized gambling. They like influenced
Filipino people to do gambling more. The Filipino people uses their moneys for gambling like the
Spaniards instead of spending it wisely. I know Jose Rizal said that it is from the influenced of the
Spaniards to continue gambling but I don’t side with the Filipino people in this case. Just because
they see the upper officials normalizing it, doesn’t mean it is okay to copy them and use their
money in a useless thing. I believe that people decide for themselves whether they will let
themselves to be influenced. It is all about their own decisions after all.
 Their system of education focuses on religion and other things that aren’t useful for the
Philippines. They have a crooked system of religion. Filipino people were uneducated and were
naïve and was taught by the friars that poor people can go to heaven easier. This mindset that
the Spaniard is teaching is the one who made the naïve Filipino lazy. These Filipino people
decided not to work so they can remain poor and can go to heaven easily when they die. Imagine
the nonsense teachings of these friar and they have the gut to say that the Filipinos were lazy. It
is not the Filipino people’s fault that they are learning from a wrong way in this case because first
of all, they don’t know. They don’t know that they were naïve, and it is the religion that made them
decided to stay poor till they die.

According to Jose Rizal, the taxes that time were so expensive. The Filipino people’s
earnings went mostly to the government or to the friars. I believe that laziness doesn’t depend on
a race or the country. I believe it’s one’s personality. There are lazy Filipino people and lazy
Spaniards too. I bet all countries have lazy people too. It depends on so many things and laziness
depend on so many reasons and different circumstances.