Throughout a 300-year colonial period, Spain unwittingly caused the diverse native tribes (Tagalog, Visayans, Bicolanos,

Ilocanos, Pampangueños, etc.) to unite into one people - the Filipino nation.

The Carillo. A unique cardboard puppet show, called the carillo, became popular during Spanish times in Manila. It first appeared
in 1879 at Magdalena Street. Within a short time, other carillo shows mushroomed in other places, including San Sebastian (near Bilibid
Viejo), Castillejos Street, and Crespo Street.

Other Amusements during the Spanish Regime. Aside from the religious fiestas and official holidays and the cockfights, horse
races, and bullfights, Filipinos under Spanish rule had other amusements. Many parties were frequent held in the homes of rich and poor
families to celebrate birthday anniversaries, baptisms, weddings, and the siyaman (9th day after the burial of a family member). During
summertime (March to May) there were picnics at the rivers or sea- shores; excursions to scenic spots; pilgrimages to Antipolo, Pakil,
and other holy shrines; and moonlight haranas (serenades) at the homes of the pretty maidens. During the romantic month of May, the
month of flowers, numerous towns in the provinces held the traditional Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan festivals.

Filipinos had their indoor and outdoor games which they played with joyful delight. The popular indoor games during the Spanish
times were the duplo and karagatan, dramatic debates in ver- nacular verse; storytelling of legends and ghost stories; and card games,
such as juego de prenda, pangguingi, manilla, and tres siete. The outdoor games were swimming, boat racing, patintero, juego de anillo
(game of the rings), sipa (native football using a small rattan ball), and kiteflying.

Spain's Contribution to Filipino Nationalism. To Spain, Filipinos are eternally indebted for having given them their identity as a
nation. Because of her three centuries of colonization, the country came to be known to the world as the Philippines (Filipinas) and the
people, the Filipinos. Prior to her coming to the Orient, the country was a mere geographical expression, a nameless archipelago of many
islands, and the people, an unknown people of many diverse tribes.

Throughout a 300-year colonial period, Spain unwittingly caused the diverse native tribes (Tagalog, Visayans, Bicolanos,
Ilocanos, Pampangueños, etc.) to unite into one people - the Filipino nation.

Chapter 10 FILIPINO SERVICES TO SPAIN

THE FILIPINOS HELPED the Spaniards to remain and rule in the Philippines for more than three centuries. Without the
cooperation of the Filipinos themselves, Spain could have not used our country as its base in Asia. Unfortunately, the foreigners got the
best homes, best lands and best jobs. And they made the decisions for us. The Filipinos had to obey them and we were not united or
enlightened enough to break away from Spanish rule until the 19th century.

Why Did the Filipinos Serve Spain? The Filipinos served Spain instead of serving their own countrymen because of three
reasons:
1. The Filipinos were not united. They did not think of themselves as one nation. So the Spaniards divided and conquered them. Spain
played one tribe against another. For example, the Visayans were used to put down a revolt in the Tagalog region. The Christian
Filipinos were used to fight the Filipino Muslims (Moros) and the Pagan minorities.
2. The Filipinos were converted to the Roman Catholic religion, so the Filipinos were taught to be loyal to the Spanish officials and
priests who converted them into that religion. The Filipinos fought on the side of Catholic Spain, against the Muslims and against the
Protestant Dutch and British.
3. The Filipinos were offered rewards and honors by the Spanish rulers. The Spaniards flattered and took care of the loyal Filipinos.
But they punished and killed the Filipinos who disobeyed or revolted. Loyal Filipinos were given positions in the local government as
gobernadorcillos (little governors) and cabezas de barangay (barangay chiefs). Master-of-Camp Francisco Laksamana received the
highest military honor given by Spain to a native. In June 1662, he became the military commander of Fort Santiago for 24 hours
(one day). That was his reward for putting down the Third Chinese Revolt (1662).

How Did Filipinos Serve Spain? The Filipino services to Spain during the Spanish era included the following:
1. Filipinos provided food for the Spaniards.
2. Filipinos worked in industries owned by Spaniards.
3. Filipinos fought on the side of Spain against Portugal.
4. Filipinos joined the military expeditions to Borneo and the Moluccas.
5. Filipinos fought on the side of Spain against the Dutch and British.
6. Filipinos joined the expedition to Indochina.
7. Filipinos joined the expedition to Taiwan
8. Filipinos helped to colonize the Marianas, Palaus and Caroline Islands.
9. Filipinos helped put down the Chinese revolts and to stop the invasion of Lim-Ah-Hong.
10. Christian Filipinos fought with Spain against the Filipino Muslims (Moros).

Filipinos as Farmers. It is not true that the Spaniards took away all the land from the Philippines. The land owned by the religious
orders and foreigners in the Philippines were small as compared to those owned by the wealthy Filipinos. But even in the farms owned
by the Spaniards and other foreigners, the Filipinos became the real farmers.

This was because the Spaniards did not like manual work. They thought it was shameful to be seen working in dirty jobs like
dig- ging, farming, cleaning or carrying heavy loads.

So the Filipinos tilled the land and raised foodstuffs and livestock. All the Spaniards - officials, priests, soldiers, and civilians -
would have died of starvation if the Filipinos had not provided them with food.

Filipinos in Industries. The Filipinos became good builders of ships for the Spaniards during the Spanish era. They constructed
many galleons used in the Manila-Acapulco trade, and numerous galleys and frigates used by the Spaniards to fight their enemies. These
ships were then made of wood, and there were good native forests for shipyards in the Philippines. The shipyards were located at Cavite,
Albay, Camarines, Marinduque, Masbate, and Mindoro.
 Filipinos in the Portuguese Wars. The Portuguese attacked the early Spanish settlements in Cebu in 1568 and 1570. The
Portuguese attacks were led by Governor Pereira from the Moluccas, which was then a Portuguese colony.

But Raha Tupas and his Cebuano warriors remained loyal to Legazpi and fought on the side of Spain in these attacks. If they
had not sided with the Spaniards, the Portuguese would have won and made the Philippines a colony of Portugal. The union of Spain
and Portugal under one king in 1580 ended the colonial wars between the two countries.'

Filipinos in the Expeditions to Borneo and the Moluccas. In March 1578, the Filipinos helped the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Sri
Lela (Sirela), to regain his throne. Sultan Sri Lela had complained to Spanish Governor General Francisco de Sande that his brother had
usurped his throne. So Governor Sande ordered a military expedi- tion to help this sultan regain his lost throne.

With a powerful expedition of 40 ships containing 1,500 Filipinos, 400 Spaniards, and 300 Bornean warriors, they sailed to the
island of Borneo. There they fought and recaptured the city of Brunei. Sultan Sri Lela was returned to the throne. His victory was due to
the courage and fighting ability of the Filipinos.

The military expeditions to the Moluccas in the 16th century were not as successful. But the Filipinos also helped the Spaniards
in this instance. At first, the expeditions were sent to try to capture the rich Moluccas (Spice Islands) from the Portuguese. Later, they
were sent to capture it against the Dutch, who had taken over the Moluccas colony in the 17th century.

These numbers show that on various dates thousands of Filipinos fought in these military wars to colonize the Moluccas
unsuccessfully:
Date No. of Ships No. if Filipinos Spaniards
1580 3 1500 300
1585 24 600 300
1593 100 8400 1000
1606 36 1643 1400
1616 42 3000 2000

Filipinos in the Dutch Wars. Dutch naval squadron attacked various places in the Philippines from 1600-1747. The Dutch wanted
to make us a colony by defeating the Spaniards here. At first, the Dutch ship blockaded Manila Bay. Then, the British became their allies,
and both the British and Dutch ships blockaded Manila from 1621-1622. When those tactics failed, the Dutch landed troops in Cavite and
Abucay to try to capture these towns. They harassed the people in coastal areas. Finally, they tried to win the friendship of the Filipinos.
But the Filipinos remained loyal to Spain and Catholism against the Protestant Dutch and British.

The results of the Dutch Wars were as follows:

1. Victory of the Spaniards against the Dutch. The Philippines remained a colony of Spain because the Filipinos helped the Spaniards
against the Dutch invaders.
2. The Filipinos suffered tremendously. The Filipino popula- tion declined during the Dutch wars because many Filipinos were killed or
ran to the hills.
3. The Philippine economy stagnated. Trade with Mexico, China and other countries was paralyzed. Filipinos their left farms and
industries to fight in the wars or to hide from them. The Filipinos paid the price of these costly wars.

Filipinos in Indochina. It is interesting to note that the Filipinos helped France, another European power, to colonize Indochina
in the 19th century. In 1858-63, about 1,500 Filipino soldiers were sent by Spain to help its ally, France, to conquer the Vietnamese. The
fighting skill of the Filipino soldiers was praised by the Spanish and French commanders.

Many Filipinos remained in Vietnam after these wars. They married Vietnamese women and raised their children in Vietnam.

Highlights of the Dutch Wars

• "Massacre of Abucay" in 1647 when the Filipinos died as they bravely defended the town against the invading Dutch- men.
• Festival of La Naval de Manila (1646) when the Filipinos and Spaniards won the 8-month naval battle off Manila against the invading
Dutch on October 4, 1646. Our Lady of the Rosary (Nuestra Señora del Rosario) was the patroness of the Spa- nish fleet. This naval
victory is still a fiesta celebrated in Manila every October.

Filipinos in Taiwan. When the Spaniards tried to colonize Taiwan (Formosa) in 1626-1642, the Filipinos were also recruited in
these expeditions. Filipino and Spanish troops manned the two Spanish settlements in Northern Taiwan. However, they surrendered
these garrisons on August 24, 1624 when the Dutch took over the Island of Taiwan (Formosa).

Filipinos in the Marianas, Palaus, and Carolines. The Marianas, Palaus, and the Carolines, island archipelagoes in the Pacific
Ocean near Mindanao, were ruled by the Spanish governor in Manila and the Spanish bishop of Cebu during the Spanish era.

The Filipinos helped the Spaniards to make these islands a colony and a Catholic area. Many Filipinos went to Guam to settle
down permanently in that is land. In time, these Filipino immigrants married local women and raised families there. Filipino soldiers also
helped to man the Spanish garrisons and to put down revolts of the local people.

Filipinos Against the Chinese. The Chinese were welcomed in the Philippines because they were excellent artists and
tradesmen. Even during the Spanish era, the Chinese were important to the economy of the country. Unfortunately, the bad treatment
accorded them by the Spanish authorities caused the Chinese to rise in revolt five times in 1603 to 1762 (see Chapter 12).

All these Chinese revolts failed because the Filipinos sided with the Spaniards. The greatest Filipino hero of the Chinese revolts
was Francisco Laksamana, commander of the Pampagueño troops in the Spanish army. He defeated the Chinese rebels in the hills of
Antipolo in June 1662 and saved the city of Manila. As a reward, Laksamana was made commander of Fort Santiago for 24 hours. This
was the highest military honor given by Spain to a Filipino during the Spanish era.

In 1574 when the Chinese pirate Lim-Ah-Hong invaded Manila, the Spaniards saved the city with the help of the Filipinos. Later,
about 1,500 Filipino soldiers including Lakan Dula and his sons, helped Marshal Juan de Salcedo drive away Lim-Ah-Hong from
Pangasinan.

Filipinos and the Moro Wars. The word "Moro" in Spanish means a Muslim. The Filipino Moros in Mindanao and Sulu were not
conquered by Spain. Many times the Moros were defeated in battles, but they won the war in the end (see Chapter 11).

Out of loyalty to Spain and the Cross, the Christian Filipinos in Luzon and the Visayas fought against the Filipino Moros in these
wars. Thousands of Christian Filipinos died in battle. They served as soldiers or seamen in all the Spanish expeditions against the Moros.

The Christian Filipino heroes of these wars were as follows: Juan Aquino, Nicolas Martinez, Cirilo Maypit, and Gerenimo
Sundulin.

In retaliation for these Spanish attacks, the Filipino Moros raided the coastal towns of the other islands as far as north as Ilocos.
They burned the churches, killed the Christians, and took slaves whom they sold in the slave markets of Celebes, Malacca, and Djakarta.

Filipino Role in Spain's Dream of an Asian Empire. Spain had a grandiose dream of carving out a colonial empire in Asia, just
as she had done in Latin America. But for Spain in the East, this proved to be an impossible dream, a Don Quijote venture. This was
because Spain lost her "Invincible Armada" of warships at the sea battle with England in 1588 and was no longer really a sea power.
Furthermore, other colonial powers - the British, French, and Dutch - proved more enterprising in building economic empires in Asia.

The Filipinos, it should be recalled, suffered most in the futile efforts of Spain in early times to carve out a colonial empire in the
Asian world. Thousands of Filipinos were forced to join the Spanish military expeditions as soldiers and rowers and many of them died
in foreign shores. Thousands more of them shouldered the burden of fitting out these costly expeditions, and millions of Philippine
treasures were squandered to finance such imperialist ventures. Thus recounted Dr. Jose Rizal: "Accordingly, the Filipinos... were
plunged to maintain the honor of Spain and to extend the sway of her flag in Borneo, in the Moluccas, and in Indo-China; to repel the
Dutch foe; costly wars; fruitless expeditions in which each time thousands and thousands of native archers and rowers were recorded to
have em- barked, but with no formal announcement of their eventual return to their homes. Like the tribute that once upon a time Greece
sent to the Minotaur of Crete, the Filipino youths embarked on the expeditions, saying good-bye to their country forever: in the horizon
before them the tempest-tossed seas, the endless wars, the headlong expeditons."

Chapter 11 ISLAM IN THE PHILIPPINES

THE MORO WARS in the Philippines were a sequel in a minor scale of the Crusades which were fought by the Christian knights
and Muslim warriors in the Holy Land (Palestine) during the Middle Ages. For three centuries (1578-1898) the Spaniards (aided by
Christian Filipinos) as champions of the Cross, tried to conquer the Moroland (Mindanao and Sulu). The Muslim Filipinos (Moros), as
paladins of the Crescent valiantly resisted and succeeded in preserving their Islamic faith and ancestral heritage.

The Moros. The term Moro is a Spanish term for Moor or Muslim. When the early Spanish conquistadores arrived in the
Philippines, they were surprised to find many Muslim inhabitants in Mindanao and Sulu and in Mindoro, Manila, and Pampanga. Raha
Sulayman's kingdom of Maynilad, it should be recalled, was an Islamic kingdom. Because all Muslims were called Moros (Moors) in
Spain, Legazpi and other Spanish colonizers called the Filipino Muslims by that name.

The Moros are great warriors. They can fight well on land and at sea. An American writer, Vic Hurley, who had lived among
them said: "The Moros are a grand people... Every one of them is valiant. There never was a Moro who was afraid to die. Death on the
field of battle is a privilege, and they guard their privilege zealously."

The main groups of Filipino Muslims are the following: (1) Maranaos of Lanao, (2) Maguindanaons of Cotabato, (3) Samals of
Zamboanga, (4) Sangils of Davao, (5) Yakans of Basilan, and (6) Taosugs of Sulu.

Racially, Muslim Filipinos and Christian Filipinos are brothers. Both belong to the Malay race. They differ in religion and culture.
Notwithstanding their religious and cultural differences, they are one people - Asian in geography and traditions and Malayan in blood
and race.

Contrary to popular misconception, the Muslim Filipinos are not "savage pirates" and "brutal juramentados". They are friendly,
hospitable, kind, brave, and patriotic like their Christian brothers.

Islamic Faith and Muslim Customs. To understand and appre- ciate the Muslim Filipinos, it is necessary to know their religion
and customs. Their religion is Islam, which means "Submission to the Will of God". Their God is Allah, and Mohammad is His Prophet. It
is wrong to call the Islamic religion "Mohammedanism" because Muhammad never claimed to have founded a new religion. The Bible of
Islam is the Qu'ran.

The "Five Pillars of Islam" are the following:

1. The profession of faith, which is summed up in the formula: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet."
2. Praying five times a day facing Mecca. The times for prayer are at (a) daybreak, (b) noon, (c) mid-afternoon, (d) after sunset, and
(e) early part of the night.
3. Giving of alms to the poor. These alms are called zakah.
4. Fasting during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Arabic calendar. During the period of fasting, all Muslims (except the
sick) do not eat, drink, and smoke before sunrise and after sun-set.
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca, the Holy City of Islam. Only those Muslims who had performed this pilgrimage can assume the title of Hadji.