WEEK 2

II. EVENTS THAT HAVE

Development of Filipino Nationalism INFLUENCED THE
EMERGENCE/EVOLUTION OF
FILIPINO NATIONALISM
I. THE CONCEPT OF
NATIONALISM AND FILIPINO
Filipino nationalism, as many
NATIONALISM
historians would say, is a product of Spanish
colonization and the struggle of the
Nationalism, in its broadest sense, is
Filipinos to create their own identity. Before
the love of one’s country. It is a
the coming and colonization of Spain, the
consciousness, a feeling or sentiment of
Filipinos, despite having a common
belongingness to a particular community,
Austronesian ancestry, were divided
group, or race resulting from having a
geographically.
common or shared language, religion,
tradition, history, and values system. It could
Thus, there was no concept of a
manifest as the attitude the members of a
nation nor of Filipino race and identity. The
nation have when they care about their
Spaniards took advantage of this disunity
national identity and the actions they take to
and successfully pacified them. Hence, a
attain or sustain self-determination or
country was formed out of separate and
independence.
sovereign islands of the archipelago.

Filipino nationalism is a product of

They named these islands
social, economic, and political changes
“Filipinas” in honor of King Philip of
during the 19th century. Before the 19th
Spain.
century, there was no national consciousness
hence, no Filipino nationalism. As historian
It was only in the last century of
Teodoro Agoncillo puts it, “Although
Spanish rule that Filipino consciousness
united as one geographical unit called Las
emerged. The development of Filipino
Islas Filipinas during the Spanish colonial
nationalism was a conglomeration of social,
rule, the people called Filipinos applied only
economic, and political phenomena that
to the Spaniards born in the Philippines
happened in the world and in the
(insulares), and the indigents were
Philippines.
derogatorily called Indios.

The Indios were not united in words and in

deeds, as the Spanish church and the state
officials, mainly the friars, divided and ruled
the natives. Thus, the “Indios” became
“Filipino” only during the last years of the
Spanish regime. (Agoncillo, 1990).
 A. OPENING OF THE
PHILIPPINES IN THE WORLD
TRADE
The opening of the port of Manila
to international trade in 1834 resulted in
tremendous socio-economic changes in the
Philippines after decades of tremendous
socio-economic changes in the Philippines
after decades of economic stagnation 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–mall service between Cavite
and Manila started;
● 1846–the first daily newspaper
appeared;
● 1852– the Banco Espanol–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
Philippines began its operations,
B. 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.
C. 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, this led to the
development of national identity
when insulares, Chinese mestizos,
and Indios began to identify
themselves as Filipinos.
D. 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 principalia,
particularly the Inquilinos, came
from the profits generated from
owned or rented lands (Gripaldo et
al., 2009).
● The Illustrados (‘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.
E. 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).
F. THE CAVITE MUTINY IN 1872
● On January 20, 1872, 200 Filipino
soldiers joined 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 leaders.
● The Spanish authorities viewed the
events as overturning colonial rule in
the islands, even considering it as a
part of a greater national movement
to liberate the Philippines from
Spain. (Agoncillo, 1990).
● 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.
G. THE EXECUTION OF
GOMBURZA
● Father Mariano Gomez, Father 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 had 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.
H. THE PROPAGANDA
MOVEMENT (1880–1892)
● Due to abuses of Spanish authorities
and clergies and the curtailment of
Freedom of expression, Filipinos,
specifically the Illustrados,
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 Illustrados 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.
● 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
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
PM were conservative and
lacked 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 fueled
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.