THE 19TH CENTURY

PHILIPPINE ECONOMY,
SOCIETY, & THE
CHINESE MESTIZOS

Prepared By: Group 5
Bulaso, Allysa
Palumar, Charsty
Magia, Ralph Daniel
 Introduction

 In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,
deep-seated Spanish suspicion of the Chinese gave
way to recognition of their potentially constructive
role in economic development. Chinese expulsion
orders issued in 1755 and 1766 were repealed in
1788. Nevertheless, the Chinese remained
concentrated in towns around Manila, particularly
Binondo and Santa Cruz. In 1839 the government
issued a decree granting them freedom of occupation
and residence
Learning Objectives

 Locate Rizal’s life in the Philippines within the wider
context of the developments in the nineteenth
century;
 Explain the important role of the Chinese mestizos
and their ranks within the changing Philippine
economy and society; and
 Discuss the interplay of several factors that
contributed to the changing landscape of Philippine
society and economy.
 Vocabulary

 Galleon Trade - refer to the trade route itself between Acapulco and
Manila, which lasted from 1565 to 1815. The Manila galleons sailed
the Pacific for 250 years, bringing to the Americas cargoes of luxury
goods such as spices and porcelain in exchange for New World
silver.
 Pacto de retroventa – an agreement that allowed landowners to sell
their land with the guarantee that they could buy the land back at the
same price.
 Peninsular -pure -blooded Spaniards born in the Iberian Peninsula
(i.e. Spain)
 Insular - pure-blooded Spaniard born in the Philippines.
 Mestizo - born of mixed parentage, a mestizo can be:
 Spanish mestizo – one parent is Spanish, the other
 Chinese mestizo – one parent is Chinese, the other
Vocabulary

 Principalia - wealthy pure-blooded native
supposedly descended from the Kadatoan class
 Indio - pure-blooded native of the Philippines
 Chino Infiel - non-Catholic pure blooded Chinese
 Bourbons and Habsburgs - two of the most
powerful dynasties in Europe during the 18th
century. The Bourbons ruled France, while the
Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire, which
included Austria, Hungary, and much of Central and
Eastern Europe.
 Cash crops – crops cultivated for export.
 The Changing Landscape of the
Philippine Economy and Society

 Late 18th century, the monarchy in Spain experienced a
dynastic shift from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons.
 Jose de Basco Y Vargas was the first governor-general to
the Philippines under the Bourbon mandate in 1778.
When Basco arrived, the Galleon Trade was already a
losing enterprise.
 Basco established Royal Philippine Company in 1785 to
better facilitate the envisioned reorientation of the
economy and to finance agricultural projects and
manage the new trade being established between the
Philippines and Spain (and Europe) as well as other
Asian markets.
 The Changing Landscape of the
Philippine Economy and Society

 Basco pushed for the reforms:
- lifted a ban on Chinese merchants that
reinvigorated internal trade
- initialized the development of cash crop farms
- relaxed certain policies that allowed the gradual
opening of foreign markets
- established the Tobacco Monopoly to maximize the
production of this export good
 The Changing Landscape of the
Philippine Economy and Society

 In 1810, the Mexican War of Independence rattled
Spanish empire and eventually led to the loss of the
precious Latin American colonies. Galleon Trade
ended.
 Manila opened and joined in world trade by 1834,
as foreign merchants and traders came and
eventually resided in Manila.
 First half of the 19th century, majority of the exports
of the Philippines came from cash crops like tobacco,
sugar, cotton, indigo, abaca, and coffee.
 The Changing Landscape of the
Philippine Economy and Society

 Cash crops became major source of revenue in the
colony. Provinces shifted to cultivating cash crops,
land ownership and management began to be a
concern. The farmers felt the pressure of the
economy while the hacienderos grabbed the
opportunity.
 PHILIPPINE
ECONOMY:

Rizal’s Era vs. Present
Day
Philippine Economy During Rizal’s Era

 Rizal wrote at length about corruption in the 19th
century, a malaise that ailed the country, and
described it in terms of its perpetrators: friars, whose
ubiquitous presence made them a fixture in daily
life; Spanish secular officials at the top of the
colony’s hierarchy; and local officials, Filipinos
among them. Corruption in the Philippines is not a
20th Century invention. Rizal wrote lengthily of it, in
rich details, he mentioned this in his works and
writings.
Philippine Economy: Present Day

 The Philippines ranked 113th in 2019 (highly
corrupt country rankings).
 “Efforts to control corruption in the Philippines
appear mostly stagnant since 2012 (The Philippine
Star).”
 Unsurprisingly, it looks like nothing has changed in
terms of our country's corrupt image to the world.
When we think of the Philippines at the moment, we
can't help but mention the stink of corruption in all
levels of our bureaucracy.
 The Chinese and Chinese Mestizos

 Chinese and Chinese mestizos were greatly benefited
from the changing economy since pre-colonial times, the
natives of the Philippines had trade relations with the
Chinese
 The Chinese proved to be “necessary outsiders” in Philippine
colonial economy and society.
 The Chinese mestizos assumed an important role in the
economy all throughout the Spanish colonial period. They
influenced the changing economy in the 19th century by
purchasing land, accumulating wealth and influence.
 Impact on Life in the Colony

 The economic developments precipitated social,
political, and cultural developments.
 Manila became a trading center, it became a viable
destination for people seeking better opportunities or
those wanting to escape the worsening conditions in
the farmlands. Increased rate of internal migration
raised several concerns.
 As the new economy afforded the colonial state new
opportunities, it also prompted the state to be more
regulatory and to assert its authority.
 Renegotiating Social Stratification

 Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of
its people into rankings based on factors like wealth,
income, education, family background, and power.
 The Philippine society felt the impact of the developing
economy. Social relations underwent redefinitions and
the changing dynamics brought about a renegotiation
of social stratification. With the growing relevance of
the mestizo population, new lines were drawn:
Peninsulars

 Insulars


Source: https://everipedia.org/
 Spanish Mestizo


Source: www.reddit.com
 Chinese Mestizo


Source: https://www.pinterest.co.kr/pin/319403798544431447/
 Principalia


Source: The FILIPINO GENEALOGY Channel

 Indio


Source: https://www.19cphoto.com
 Chino Infiel


Source: https://www.alamy.com
 Renegotiating Social Stratification

 In 19th century, Spaniards lost economic power so they
asserted dominance by virtue of their race. This issue brought
complications with the rising principalia and mestizo
populations who realized their indispensable position in
society as movers and facilitators of the economy.
 The renegotiation continued throughout the century as the
mestizos and principalia elite eventually demanded social
recognition that the pure-blooded Spaniards had denied them.
These wealthy mestizos and members of the principalia
continued to amass economic and cultural capital.
 Renegotiating Social Stratification

 They also availed themselves of the opportunity to
obtain higher degrees of education not only in the
Philippines but also in Europe. These activities
augmented their relevance in society as it was from
these ranks that articulations of nationalism would
emerge.