LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE RIZAL

The Development of Filipino

Consciousness and Nationalism

Welcome to the second lesson on the course on the Life and Works of
Jose Rizal. This lesson is about the development of Filipino
nationalism. It discusses the historical context of the development of
Filipino nationalism. It also discusses the events that have shaped or
influenced it and its repercussion on the Spanish colonial regime and
the Filipinos.

Objectives:
The following are the learning outcomes we are expected to achieve at
the end of the lesson:

• Discuss the development of the meaning or connotation of ‘Filipino’;

• Identify the factors that have led to the evolution of the Filipino
consciousness;
• Discuss Filipino nationalism;
• Discuss the relevance and significance of the development of
Filipino consciousness at present
• Analyze the factors and reasons which lead to the development of
Filipino consciousness
• Examine the role of Jose Rizal and other propagandists in the
development of Filipino consciousness

Activities/Exercises

Accomplish the module exercises. Watch a documentary about the

development of Filipino consciousness and nationalism.

Manual Title 1
X.X Module Title

I. The concept of Nationalism and Filipino Nationalism

Nationalism, in its broadest sense, is the 'love' of one's country. It is a
consciousness, a feeling or sentiment of belongingness to a particular
community, group, or race resulting from having a common or shared
language, religion, tradition, history, and values system. It could manifest as
the attitude the members of a nation have when they care about their national
identity and the actions they take to attain or sustain self-determination or
independence.

Filipino nationalism is a product of social, economic, and political changes

during the 19th century. Before the 19th century, there was no national
consciousness hence, no Filipino nationalism. As historian Teodoro
Agoncillo puts it, "Although united as one geographical unit called Las Islas
Filipinas during the Spanish colonial rule, the people called Filipinos applied
only to the Spaniards born in the Philippines (insulares), and the indigents
were derogatorily called Indios. The Indios were not united in words and in
deeds, as the Spanish church and state officials, mainly the friars, divided and
ruled the natives. Thus, the "Indios" became "Filipino" only during the last
years of the Spanish regime. (Agocillo, 1990)

II. Events that have influenced the emergence/evolution of

Filipino nationalism
Filipino nationalism, as many historians would say, is a product of
Spanish colonization and the struggle of the Filipinos to create their own
identity. Before the coming and colonization of Spain, the Filipinos, despite
having a common Austronesian ancestry, were divided geographically. Thus,
there was no concept of a nation nor of Filipino race and identity. The
Spaniards took advantage of this disunity and successfully pacified them.
Hence, a country was formed out of separate and sovereign islands of the
archipelago. They named these islands "Filipinas" in honor of King Philip of
Spain.

It was only at the last century of Spanish rule that Filipino consciousness
emerged. The development of Filipino nationalism was a conglomeration of
social, economic, and political phenomena that happened in the world and in
the Philippines.

2
LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE RIZAL

1. Opening of the Philippines in the World Trade

The opening of the port of Manila to international trade in 1834
resulted to tremendous socio-economic changes on the Philippines after
decades of economic stagnation brought about by Spanish monopolistic
policies.
Despite economic restrictions, foreign investors flocked to the
Philippines, resulting in the booming of different economic establishments
and institutions.
The opening of the Philippines to world trade generated a great
demand for export goods such as rice, sugar, abaca, tobacco, and indigo.
This gave Filipino mestizos and Chinese merchants huge profits.

• Transportation and communication system was also improved.

• 1839 – mail service between Cavite and Manila started
• 1846 – the first daily newspaper appeared
• 1852 – the Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel II and two British banks
began to issue paper money
• 1880s – the Hotel de Oriente in Binondo, the first hotel in the
The Philippines began its operations.

2. The Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869

• The travel between Europe and Asia (Spain to the Philippines) was
shorter, faster, and safer, which led to the influx of liberal ideas from
Europe to the Philippines. The ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity
that were legacies of the French Revolution and the democratic ideals
of the United States have penetrated the minds of the Filipinos in the
Philippines.

3. Liberal administration and educational reforms

• As a result of the victory of the liberals in the Spanish revolution of
1868, Carlos Maria Dela Torre was sent to the Philippines to serve as
Governor-general from 1869-1871. He was different from his
predecessors and had implemented reforms such as the abrogation of
flogging as a punishment for Filipino deserters in the Spanish army,
abolished press censorship, and encouraged freedom of speech.
• In education, a decree was passed in 1863 instructing the
establishment of schools in different places and admitting Indios,
allowing them to learn Spanish as the national language. Eventually,

Manual Title 3
X.X Module Title

this led to the development of national identity when insulares,

Chinese mestizos, and Indios began to identify their selves as
Filipinos.

4. Rise of the middle class

• As a result of great economic transformations in the life of the Filipinos, a
middle class (media clase) of Asian and Eurasian mestizos emerged in the
Philippines' social pyramid. They formed the town principalia – an elite
social group composed of former gobernadorcillos, minor native
bureaucrats, decorated personnel, and schoolmasters.
(Agoncillo, 1990)
• The wealth of the pricipalia, particularly the Inquilinos, came from the
profits generated from owned or rented lands (Gripaldo et al., 2009).
• The Ilustrados ('the enlightened') emerged from the principalias or middle-
class families and were educated in universities in the Philippines and in
Europe. They rallied for reforms in the Philippines.

5. Secularization Movement
• Secularization of the parishes was the transfer of ministries established and
run by regular clergy [Spanish friars] to the secular priests [Filipino
priests]. By the middle of the 19th century, the secularization movement
was transmuted into a political and separatist movement that exploded in
the Filipinization of the church and culminated in the separation of the
church from Rome during the Philippine revolution (Agoncillo 1990).
• The secularization was organized secretly by Padre Mariano Gomez and
Padre Pedro Pelaez. The conflict between regular and secular priests arose
when the regular priests (friars) attempted to seize the control of parishes
from the secular priest and the rampant abuses and discrimination made by
the friars against the seculars (Gripaldo et al., 2009).

6. The Cavite Mutiny in 1872

• On January 20, 1872, 200 Filipino soldiers joined by some laborers in the
arsenal of artillery led by Sgt. La Madrid waged a revolt because of unjust
deductions in their wages, high taxes, and discrimination against Filipino
soldiers from Spanish soldiers.
• The Spanish authorities viewed the event as overturning the colonial rule in
the islands, even considering it as part of a greater national movement to
liberate the Philippines from Spain. (Agoncillo, 1990)

4
LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE RIZAL

• It was abruptly abrogated or pacified, and all those who participated were
either executed or exiled. After the 'containment' of the mutineers, the
Spanish authorities initiated a crackdown on those who had connections to
the mutiny, which ended up in the implication of the GOMBURZA.
• The 1872 Cavite Mutiny is considered the first workers' strike (welga) in
the Philippines and Asia.

7. The Execution of GOMBURZA

• Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora were prominent
figures in the secularization movement. They were implicated as leaders of
the Cavite Mutiny. To instill fear among Filipinos, they were publicly
executed on February 07, 1872, in the Bagumbayan.
• Fathers Gomez and Zamora served as the spiritual adviser of the soldiers
and workers who joined the mutiny.
• Their execution was witnessed by many Filipinos and has left them with an
incredible feeling of indignation and injustice. They considered it a way for
Spanish authorities to silence the secularization movement. This has also
fueled the hatred of Filipinos for the Spaniards, which ignited nationalistic
sentiments in the Filipinos.
• The execution of the GOMBURZA also inspired the Propaganda
movement and the Philippine revolution.

8. The Propaganda Movement (1880- 1892)

• Due to abuses of Spanish authorities and clergies and the curtailment of
freedom of expression, Filipinos, specifically the IIustrados, campaigned
for the assimilation of the Philippines to Spain by becoming a province of
Spain so that the Filipinos and Spaniards would be equal and Filipinos
would enjoy the liberties enjoyed by the Spaniards.
• The Ilustrados organized the Propaganda Movement, which exposed the
condition of the Philippines under Spanish rule and campaigned for
reforms that the country needed. They also campaigned for representation
in the Spanish Cortes (legislature), freedom of the press, economic
liberalization, secularization, and equality before the law of Filipinos and
Spaniards.
• The Propaganda movement expressed its campaigns in the La Solidaridad
– the official newspaper of the movement. The Propagandists did not only
expose the social conditions of the Philippines and ask for reforms, but they
also wrote about Philippine history, culture and identity.

Manual Title 5
X.X Module Title

• According to Zeus Salazar, one legacy of the Propaganda movement is the

tripartite view of Philippine history. They propagated the idea that the
Philippines, contrary to the accounts of the Spaniards, had a culture and
civilization before the coming and colonization of Spain.
• Reasons for the failure of the Propaganda movement:
➢Spain was too busy resolving her internal problems and the friars remained
powerful and influential; thus, no tangible reforms were implemented.
➢The Propaganda movement also suffered financial problems to continue its
publication.
➢Internal conflicts arose among the members of the Propaganda movement
caused by ‘petty jealousies’ (e.i. Rizal –del Pilar conflict).
“Most of the members. of the Propaganda movement were
conservative and lacked the courage and the vigorous hope necessary
to continue an unequal struggle.” (Agoncillo, 1990)

• Despite the Propaganda movement's failure, it successfully exposed the abuses

and incompetence of Spanish authorities. It also served as an eye-opener for the
Filipinos' common experiences and struggles, which catalyzed the emergence of
Filipino consciousness and nationalism.
• The disbandment of Jose Rizal's La Liga Filipina marked the end of the
Propaganda Movement. An unintentional effect of the failure of the Propaganda
movement was the founding of the Katipunan, which aimed for freedom and
independence through an armed struggle.

III. Implications of Filipino Nationalism

The development of Filipino consciousness and nationalism has
fuelled the struggle of Filipinos for freedom and emancipation from Spain. It
has also shaped our national identity and our history as a nation. Because of
it, the Philippines became the first Asian country to wage a revolution and
won its freedom from a European power.

6
LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE RIZAL

References
• Abrera, Ma. Bernadette, et. al. 2005. Kasaysayan ng Bayan: Sampung Aralin
sa Kasaysayang Pilipino.Pilipinas: ADHIKA ng Pilipinas at National
Historical Institute
• Agoncillo, T.A. (1990) History of the Filipino People . Lungsod Quezon:
Garotech Publishing.
• Constantino, Renato, A Past Revisited ( Vol. 1).
• Gripaldo, E.M. et. al. (2003) Kasaysayan ng Filipino at mga Institusyong
Filipino. Lungsod Quezon: Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, Unibersidad ng
Pilipinas.
• Schumacher, John SJ. 1996. The Making of a Nation. Quezon City: Ateneo de
Manila Press
• Salzar, Zeus A. 1983. A Legacy of the Propaganda: The Tripartite View of
Philippine History. in Z. A. Salazar (Eds.) The Ethnic Dimension: Papers on
Philippine Culture, History and Psychology. Cologne: Caritas Counselling
Center for Filipinos, 1983, pp. 107-126

• Internet sources:
• http://nhcp.gov.ph/the-two-faces-of-the-1872-cavite-mutiny/
• xiachua.net

Manual Title 7