EXERCISE NO.

1
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING ESSAY QUESTIONS.
1. Discuss how the significance of the following revolution to the world and to the Philippines in
the 19th century:

A. Industrial Revolution
- The importance of the Industrial Revolution enables the Philippines and other countries,
drastically improve the agricultural industry and domestic as well as the foreign trade because of
the economic opportunities that created by the Industrial Revolution in other countries like
Europe that results the opening of the Philippine economy to world commerce. As the result, it
create new cities, ports, bridges, and other establishments were built and improve the businesses
of the other countries that results in terminating of restrictions on foreign trade has produced a
balance and dynamic economy in the Philippines in 19th century.
B. French Revolution
- French Revolution changed the connection between the rulers and those they
administered and to redefine the nature of political power that started to spread in Europe and
around the word but not all democratic principles were spread as a result of this revolution.
However, the political disturbance caused by this revolution has also reached Spain in 19th
century because of this the Spain experience uproar century of political disturbance during the
era that includes changes in their parliaments and constitution because of these political changes
in Spain that affects the Philippines, results in cracking the old colonial system and resenting
through breaks risky conceivable outcomes of change, of equity and even liberation.
C. American Revolution
- The American Revolution is not straightforwardly influencing the neighborhood
economy and governmental issues of the Philippines in the nineteenth century, had significant
repercussions to popularity-based desires of the Filipino reformist drove by Rizal during this
period. This revolution had given the world in the 19th century the idea that colonized people
can gain their independence from their colonizers that inspired the Filipino reformist like Rizal to
strive for opportunity and freedom. At the point when the Philippines was opened by Spain to
world exchange the nineteenth century, liberal thoughts from America borne by boats and men
from unfamiliar ports started to arrive at the nation and affected the ilustrados. The ideas
contained in books and newspapers, were ideals of the American and French Revolution and the
opinions the political philosophers.
2. Discuss how the following problems and institutions contributed to the growth of Filipino
nationalism and weakening of the Spanish rule:

A. Opening of the Suez Canal

- The launch of the Suez Canal worked with the importation of books, magazines, and
papers with liberal thoughts from Europe and America which ultimately influenced Jose Rizal
and other Filipino reformists. Political thoughts of liberal thinkers like Jean Jacques Rousseau
(Social Contract), John Locke (/two Treatises of Government) and others entered the country.
Moreover, the abbreviated course empowered an ever-increasing number of Spaniards and
Europeans with liberal plans to go to the Philippines and communicate with Filipino reformists.
The opening of the suez canal in 1869 further stimulated the other economy countries which give
ascend to the making of the working class of mestizos and ilustrados in the nineteenth century. It
is also encouraging the ilustrados driven by Rizal to seek after higher investigations abroad and
learn liberal and logical thoughts in the colleges of Europe. Their social association with
nonconformists in unfamiliar grounds has affected their thinking on governmental issues and
nationhood that gives them the first step of planning to disobey and fight the Spanish rules.
B. Discontent with Spanish Institutions
- The Spanish institutions and their members abused their powers by abusing the human
right of the Filipinos, no equality, racial discrimination, forced labor, and other systems that led
into the major sources of discontent of numerous indios during the Spanish era. As a result of the
harsh idea of these systems, many rebellions and uprisings emitted in different pieces of the
country which contributed the debilitating of the Spanish principle in the 19th century.
C. Abuses and Immoralities of the Friars
- Some Friars are good, some are bad, abusive, and immoral but because of some Friars
that has bad traits, it became the source of Filipinos realizations with the Spanish rule. The
Filipino reformists led by Dr. Rizal detested the harmful ministers and needed them to be ousted
from the country by make a petition that is called “Anti-Friars Manifesto of 1888” and it is also a
recipe to the plan of ruining the Spanish rule.
D. Racial Discrimination
- Racial Discrimination is another hostility of the Filipinos and Spaniards that became the
source of discontent of the Spanish rule because of this abusive behavior that leds to the
inequality and downgrading the treatment of the Filipinos. As the result of this discrimination,
some talented and intelligent Filipinos excelled in their chosen fields by proving to the Spaniards
that the indios are not inferior people like Juan Luna excelled in painting. Fr. Jose Burgos in
Theology and Canon Law. Jose Rizal, by surpassing the Spanish writers in literary contests and
winning fame as a physician, man-of-letters, scholar, and a scientist, proved that a brown man
could be as great or even greater than a white man. The decline of the Spanish rule in the 19th
century and the fame of Rizal and his change plan were results of a transaction of different
financial, social, political, and social powers both in the global and local scale.
EXERCISE NO. 2

REFLECTION PAPER

1. Is Rizal’s nationalist ideal still applicable to the Philippine situation today? Why or why not?
- Yes, I believed that nationalist ideals of Rizal is still relevant because his ideals gives
lessons and realizations that we can use to our country’s situation and helps us understand the
causes of modern political and social problems and why they are still present and why it never
really went away, and we may be able to find concrete solutions to alleviate our county’s illness.

2. Like Rizal during 19th century, what would you do today to address our country’s problem on
corruption and abuse of power?
- I would use my social platforms to address these problems and present some evidence
to support my claims and opinions because we have a law that gives us freedom to say what we
want to say, so what’s the use of it if we’re not going to use it for good that can help to our
country to be free by these problems. So that the people who uses these platforms have idea
about what’s going on our country’s problem, and to make them realize that the government
making us blind for the things that we can’t see, and they have the choices, if they believe it or
not at least I have done my part in spreading what is the truth about our country’s problems and
giving them realization about it.