NOLI ME TANGERE He wants to revolutionize the country and to be

freed from Spanish oppression.

Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath and
• Filosofo Tacio, known by his Filipinized name
national hero José Rizal first published in 1887 in Berlin.
Pilosopo Tasyo is another major character in the
Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight
story. Seeking for reforms from the government,
(1900) and The Social Cancer (1912), but more recent
he expresses his ideals in paper written in a
translations have been published using the original Latin
cryptographic alphabet similar from hieroglyphs
title.
and Coptic figures hoping "that the future
Rizal finished the novel in December 1886. At first, generations may be able to decipher it" and
according to one of Rizal' s biographers, Rizal feared the realized the abuse and oppression done by the
novel might not be printed, and that it would remain conquerors.
unread. He was struggling with financial constraints at the • Doña Victorina, is an ambitious Filipina who
time and thought it would be hard to pursue printing the classifies herself as Spanish and mimics Spanish
novel. Financial aid came from a friend named Máximo ladies by putting on heavy make-up. The novel
Viola which helped him print his book at a fine print narrates Doña Victorina ' s younger days: she had
media in Berlin named Berliner Buchdruckerei- lots of admirers, but she did not choose any of
Actiengesellschaft. Rizal at first, however, hesitated but them because nobody was a Spaniard. Later on,
Viola insisted and ended up lending Rizal P300 for 2,000 she met and married Don Tiburcio de Espadaña,
copies; Noli was eventually printed in Berlin, Germany. an official of the customs bureau who is about ten
The printing was finished earlier than the estimated five years her junior. However, their marriage is
months. Viola arrived in Berlin in December 1886, and by childless.
March 21, 1887, Rizal had sent a copy of the novel to his • Narcisa or Sisa is the deranged mother of Basilio
friend Blumentritt. and Crispín. Described as beautiful and young,
although she loves her children very much, she
CHARACTERS IN NOLI
cannot protect them from the beatings of her
• Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin, husband, Pedro.
commonly referred to in the novel as Ibarra or • Basilio is Sisa ' s 10-year-old son. An acolyte
Crisóstomo, is the protagonist in the story. Son of tasked to ring the church bells for Angelus, he
a Filipino businessman, Don Rafael Ibarra, he faced the dread of losing his younger brother and
studied in Europe for seven years. the descent of his mother into insanity. At the end
• María Clara de los Santos y Alba, commonly of the novel, Elías wished Basilio to bury him by
referred to as María Clara, is Ibarra ' s fiancée. burning in exchange of chest of gold located on
She was raised by Capitán Tiago, San Diego ' s his death ground. He will later play a major role
cabeza de barangay and is the most beautiful and in El Filibusterismo.
widely celebrated girl in San Diego. • Crispín is Sisa ' s 7-year-old son. An altar boy, he
• Don Santiago de los Santos, known by his was unjustly accused of stealing money from the
nickname Tiago and political title Capitán Tiago church. After failing to force Crispín to return the
is a Filipino businessman and the cabeza de money he allegedly stole, Father Salví and the
barangay or head of barangay of the town of San head sacristan killed him.
Diego. He is also the known father of María • Padre Hernando de la Sibyla is a Dominican
Clara. friar. He is described as short and has fair skin.
• Dámaso Verdolagas, or Padre Dámaso is a He is instructed by an old priest in his order to
Franciscan friar and the former parish curate of watch Crisóstomo Ibarra.
San Diego. He is best known as a notorious • Padre Bernardo Salví is the Franciscan curate of
character that speaks with harsh words and has San Diego, secretly harboring lust for María
been a cruel priest during his stay in the town. Clara. He is described as very thin and sickly. It
• Elías is Ibarra ' s mysterious friend and ally. Elías is also hinted that his last name, "Salvi" is the
made his first appearance as a pilot during a shorter form of "Salvi" meaning Salvation, or
picnic of Ibarra and María Clara and her friends. "Salvi" is short for "Salvaje "
• EL ALFÉREZ OR ALPERES Chief of the developed the town of San Diego. He was
Guardia Civil; mortal enemy of the priests for described as a cruel man but was very clever.
power in San Diego and husband of Doña • SINANG Maria Clara's friend. Because
Consolacion. Crisóstomo Ibarra offered half of the school he
• DOÑA CONSOLACÍON Wife of the Alférez, was building to Sinang, he gained Capitan Basilio
nicknamed as la musa de los guardias civiles (The ' s support.
muse of the Civil Guards) or la Alféreza, was a • CAPITÁN BASILIO Sinang's father, leader of
former laundrywoman who passes herself as a the conservatives.
Peninsular; best remembered for her abusive • PEDRO is the abusive husband of Sisa who loves
treatment of Sisa. cockfighting.
• DON TIBURCIO DE ESPADAÑA Spanish • TANDÁNG PABLO leader of the tulisanes
Quack Doctor who is limp and submissive to his (bandits), whose family was destroyed because of
wife, Doña Victorina. the Spaniards.
• TENIENTE GUEVARA is a close friend of Don • SACRISTÁN MAYOR One who governs the
Rafael Ibarra. He reveals to Crisóstomo how Don altar boys and killed Crispín for his accusation.
Rafael Ibarra ' s death came about.
PLOT SUMMARY
• ALFONSO LINARES is a distant nephew of
Tiburcio de Espanada, the would-be fiancé of • Having completed his studies in Europe, young
María Clara. Although he presented himself as a Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin comes back
practitioner of law, it was later revealed that he, to the Philippines after a 7-year absence. In his
just like Don Tiburcio, is a fraud. He later died honor, Don Santiago de los Santos, a family
due to given medications of Don Tiburcio. friend commonly known as Captain Tiago, threw
• TÍA ISABEL Capitán Tiago ' s cousin, who a get together party, which was attended by friars
raised Maria Clara. and other prominent figures.
• GOVERNOR GENERAL Unnamed person in • One of the guests, former San Diego curate Fray
the novel, he is the most powerful official in the Dámaso Vardolagas belittled and slandered
Philippines. He has great disdain for the friars and Ibarra. Ibarra brushed off the insults and took no
corrupt officials and sympathizes with Ibarra. offense; he instead politely excused himself and
• DON FILIPO LINO Vice mayor of the town of left the party because of an allegedly important
San Diego, leader of the liberals. task.
• PADRE MANUEL MARTÍN linguist curate of • The next day, Ibarra visits María Clara, his
a nearby town who delivers the sermon during betrothed, the beautiful daughter of Captain
San Diego ' s fiesta. Tiago and affluent resident of Binondo. Their
• DON RAFAEL IBARRA father of Crisóstomo long-standing love was clearly manifested in this
Ibarra. Though he is the richest man in San Diego, meeting, and María Clara cannot help but reread
he is also the most virtuous and generous. the letters her sweetheart had written her before
• DOÑA PÍA ALBA wife of Capitan Tiago and he went to Europe.
mother of María Clara, she died giving birth to • Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant
her daughter. In reality, she was raped by Dámaso Guevara, a Civil Guard, reveals to him the
so she could bear a child. incidents preceding the death of his father, Don
• DON PEDRO Y BARRAMENDIA Great- Rafael Ibarra, a rich hacendero of the town.
grandfather of Crisóstomo Ibarra who came from • According to Guevara, Don Rafael was unjustly
the Basque area of Spain. He started the accused of being a heretic, in addition to being a
misfortunes of Elias ' family. subservient — an allegation brought forth by
• DON SATURNINO IBARRA son of Don Dámaso because of Don Rafael' s
Pedro, father of Don Rafael and grandfather of nonparticipation in the Sacraments, such as
Crisóstomo Ibarra. He was the one who Confession and Mass.
• Dámaso ' s animosity against Ibarra ' s father is • With the help of the Governor-General, Ibarra ' s
aggravated by another incident when Don Rafael excommunication was nullified, and the
helped out on a fight between a tax collector and archbishop decided to accept him as a member of
a child fighting, and the former ' s death was the Church once again. But, as fate would have it,
blamed on him, although it was not deliberate. some incident of which Ibarra had known nothing
• Suddenly, all of those who thought ill of him about was blamed on him, and he is wrongly
surfaced with additional complaints. He was arrested and imprisoned. The accusation against
imprisoned, and just when the matter was almost him was then overruled because during the
settled, he died of sickness in jail. litigation that followed, nobody could testify that
• Still not content with what he had done, Dámaso he was indeed involved.
arranged for Don Rafael' s corpse to be dug up • Unfortunately, his letter to María Clara somehow
from the Catholic Church and brought to a got into the hands of the jury and is manipulated
Chinese cemetery, because he thought it such that it then became evidence against him by
inappropriate to allow a heretic a Catholic burial the parish priest, Fray Salví. With Machiavellian
ground. precision, Salví framed Ibarra and ruined his life
• Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the just so he could stop him from marrying María
bothersome weight of the body, the undertakers Clara and making the latter his concubine.
decided to throw the corpse into a nearby lake. • Meanwhile, in Capitan Tiago ' s residence, a party
• Revenge was not in Ibarra ' s plans, instead he was being held to announce the upcoming
carried through his father ' s plan of putting up a wedding of María Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with
school, since he believed that education would the help of Elías, took this opportunity to escape
pave the way to his country ' s progress (all over from prison.
the novel the author refers to both Spain and the • Before leaving, Ibarra spoke to María Clara and
Philippines as two different countries as part of a accused her of betraying him, thinking that she
same nation or family, with Spain seen as the gave the letter he wrote her to the jury.
mother and the Philippines as the daughter). • María Clara explained that she would never
• During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra conspire against him, but that she was forced to
would have been killed in a sabotage had Elías — surrender Ibarra's letter to Father Salvi, in
a mysterious man who had warned Ibarra earlier exchange for the letters written by her mother
of a plot to assassinate him — not saved him. even before she, María Clara, was born.
Instead, the hired killer met an unfortunate • The letters were from her mother, Pía Alba, to
incident and died. The sequence of events proved Dámaso alluding to their unborn child; and that
to be too traumatic for María Clara who got María Clara was therefore not Captain Tiago ' s
seriously ill but was luckily cured by the biological daughter, but Dámaso's.
medicine Ibarra sent. • Afterwards, Ibarra and Elías fled by boat. Elías
• After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a luncheon instructed Ibarra to lie down, covering him with
during which Dámaso, gate-crashing the grass to conceal his presence. As luck would have
luncheon, again insulted him. it, they were spotted by their enemies. Elías,
• Ibarra ignored the priest' s insolence, but when thinking he could outsmart them, jumped into the
the latter slandered the memory of his dead father, water. The guards rained shots on him, all the
he was no longer able to restrain himself and while not knowing that they were aiming at the
lunged at Dámaso, prepared to stab him for his wrong man.
impudence. • It was Christmas Eve when Elías woke up in the
• As a consequence, Dámaso excommunicated forest fatally wounded, as it is here where he
Ibarra, taking this opportunity to persuade the instructed Ibarra to meet him. Instead, Elías
already hesitant Tiago to forbid his daughter from found the altar boy Basilio cradling his
marrying Ibarra. alreadydead mother, Sisa.
• The friar wished María Clara to marry Linares, a • The latter lost her mind when she learned that her
Peninsular who had just arrived from Spain. two sons, Crispín and Basilio, were chased out of
 the convent by the sacristan mayor on suspicions • WHAT? SIGNED AND PRESENTED A
of stealing sacred objects. LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
• (The truth is that it was the sacristan mayor who VALERIANO WEYLER ON DECEMBER 12,
stole the objects and only pinned the blame on the 1888.
two boys. The said sacristan mayor actually killed • SO? M.H. DEL PILAR (WHO WAS IN
Crispín while interrogating him on the supposed BARCELON) ASKED RIZAL (WHO IS IN
location of the sacred objects. LONDON) ON FEBRUARY 17, 1889, TO
• It was implied that the body was never found, and WRITE A LETTER IN TAGALOG TO THESE
the incident was covered-up by Salví). WOMEN. RIZAL SENT THE LETTER BACK
• Elías, convinced that he would die soon, instructs TO DEL PILAR ON FEBRUARY 22, 1889, FOR
Basilio to build a funeral pyre and burn his and TRANSMITTAL TO MALOLOS.
Sisa ' s bodies to ashes.
MAIN POINTS
• He tells Basilio that, if nobody reaches the place,
he comes back later on and dig for he will find • Saintliness is not just about going to church and
gold. kissing the hands of the friars. It is not blond
• He also tells him (Basilio) to take the gold he obedience. It is by reason because thoughts are
finds and go to school. noble and free.
• In his dying breath, he instructed Basilio to • Mother is the first influence of man’s
continue dreaming about freedom for his consciousness. Do not be the women that friars
motherland with the words: “I shall die without created, rather be like the Spartan Woman.
seeing the dawn break upon my homeland. You, • The power and good judgment of Filipinos are
who shall see it, salute it! Do not forget those who well known but now in slavery. European and
have fallen during the night.” American women are educated and strong willed.
• Elías died thereafter. • Mothers are very important in building a strong
• In the epilogue, it was explained that Tiago family. She must teach her children well and love
became addicted to opium and was seen to her husband.
frequent the opium house in Binondo to satiate • If not yet married, she should be honorable and
his addiction. command respect.
• María Clara became a nun where Salví, who has
ANALYSIS
lusted after her from the beginning of the novel,
regularly used her to fulfill his lust. • Patriarchy is perpetuated by friars. Women
• One stormy evening, a beautiful crazy woman should be submissive and saintly.
was seen at the top of the convent crying and • The power of language. A particular friar opposed
cursing the heavens for the fate it has handed her. the idea of educating these women seeing it is a
• While the woman was never identified, it is threat to the rule of the government.
suggested that the said woman was María. • Rizal believed that women should be empowered
because it will lead to a good citizen.
THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS • Be open-minded and use reason for better
judgment. For marriage, find an honorable man.
BACKGROUND
THE PHILIPPINES, A CENTURY HENCE
• WHO? 20 WOMEN FROM PROMINENT
It is an essay written by Philippine national hero Jose
CHINESE-FILIPINO FAMILIES IN
Rizal to forecast the future of the country within a
MALOLOS, BULACAN
hundred years. Rizal felt that it was time to remind
• WHY? REQUESTING PERMISSION TO
Spain that the circumstances that ushered in the
OPEN A NIGHT SCHOOL WHERE THEY
French Revolution could have a telling effect for her
COULD BE TAUGHT THE SPANISH
in the Philippines.
LANGUAGE UNDER TEODORO SANDIKO
 This essay presents the radical prophecy of Rizal of • Keeping the people impoverished also came to no
how the Philippines would be through the Century. avail. On the contrary, living a life of eternal
Rizal presented a clear idea of how the Motherland destitution had allowed the Filipinos to act on the
will end up centuries later proposing hat our country desire for a change in their way of living. They
will end up in either of the three ways: began to explore other horizons through which
they could move towards progress.
• That the Philippines will remain a colony of
• Exterminating the people as an alternative to
Spain but will be in good terms with its
hindering progress did not work either. The
captors.
Filipino race was able to survive amidst wars and
• That the Philippines will try to cut the ties of
famine and became even more numerous after
our Motherland from its captors through
such catastrophes. To wipe out the nation
violent means.
altogether would require the sacrifice of
• That the Philippines will be colonized by
thousands of Spanish soldiers, and this is
another country.
something Spain would not allow.
This essay, published in La Solidaridad in Madrid
Key points in the essay or several issues that concern our
between September 30,1889 and February 1, 1890, starts
country:
by analyzing the various causes of the miseries suffered
by the Filipino people. • Abuse of human rights
• Lack of freedom of speech
• Spain’s implementation of its military policies
• Lack of representation in the Spanish Cortes
– because of such laws, the Philippine population
decreased dramatically. Poverty became more RIZAL'S ANNOTATIONS OF MORGA'S SUCESOS
rampant than ever, and farmlands were left to DELAS ISLAS FILIPINAS
wither. The family as a unit of society was
MEANING OF SUCESOS DE LAS ISLAS
neglected, and overall, every aspect of the life of
FILIPINAS
the Filipino was retarded.
• Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino • Las Islas Filipinas means “The Philippine Island”
indigenous culture – when Spain came with the in English and was named in honor of King Philip
sword and the cross, it began the gradual II of Spain.
destruction of the native Philippine culture. • Sucesos means the work of an honest observer,
Because of this, the Filipinos started losing versatile bureaucrat, who knew the workings of
confidence in their past and their heritage, the administration from the inside.
became doubtful of their present lifestyle, and
eventually lost hope in the future and the ABOUT SUCESOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS
preservation of their race. • One of the important works of the Philippines
• Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish about the colonization of Spain, published by
colonizers – one of the most powerful forces that Antonio De Morga in Mexico 1609.
influences a culture of silence among the natives • Explains the political, social, and economic
were the Spanish friars. Because of the use of aspects of a colonizer and the colonized country.
force, the Filipinos learned to submit themselves
• The book is based on the experience and
to the will of the foreigners.
observation of Antonio De Morga.
Eventually, the natives realized that such oppression in • Annotated by Jose Rizal with a prologue by Dr.
their society by foreign colonizers must no longer be Ferdinand Blumentritt.
tolerated.
INTRODUCTION
• Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant had
To The Filipinos: In Noli Me Tangere I started to sketch
failed. National consciousness had still
the present state of our native land. But the effect which
awakened, and great Filipino minds still emerges
my effort produced made me realize that, before
from the rubble.
attempting to unroll before your eyes the other pictures
which were to follow, it was necessary first to post you on or religion that can claim, or at any rate prove,
the past. So only can you fairly judge the present and that to it has been given the exclusive right to the
estimate how much progress has been made during the Creator of all things or sole knowledge of His real
three centuries of Spanish rule. being.
• The conversions by the Spaniards were not as
Like almost all of you, I was born and brought up in
general as their historians claim. The missionaries
ignorance of our country ' s past and so, without
only succeeded in converting a part of the people
knowledge or authority to speak of what I neither saw nor
of the Philippines. Still there are Mohamedans,
have studied, I deem it necessary to quote the testimony
the Moros, in the southern islands, and negritos,
of an illustrious Spaniard who in the beginning of the new
igorots and other heathens yet occupy the greater
era controlled the destinies of the Philippines and had
part territorially of the archipelago. Then the
personal knowledge of our ancient nationality in its last
islands which the Spaniards early held but soon
days.
lost are non-Christian-Formosa, Borneo, and the
Governor Antonio de Morga was not only the first to write Moluccas. And if there are Christians in the
but also the first to publish a Philippine history. This Carolines, that is due to Protestants, whom
statement has regard to the concise and concrete form in neither the Roman Catholics of Morga ' s day nor
which our author has treated the matter. Father Chirino ' s many Catholics in our own day consider
work, printed at Rome in 1604, is rather a chronicle of the Christians.
Missions than a history of the Philippines; still, it contains • It is not the fact that the Filipinos were
a great deal of valuable material on usages and customs. unprotected before the coming of the Spaniards.
The worthy Jesuit in fact admits that he abandoned Morga himself says, further on in telling of the
writing a political history because Morga had already pirate raids from the south, that previous to the
done so, so one must infer that he had seen the work in Spanish domination the islands had arms and
manuscript before leaving the Islands. defended themselves. But after the natives were
disarmed the pirates pillaged them with impunity,
ANNOTATIONS
coming at times when they were unprotected by
• By the Christian religion, Doctor Morga appears the government, which was the reason for many
to mean the Roman Catholic which by fire and of the insurrections.
sword he would preserve in its purity in the • The civilization of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos in
Philippines. Nevertheless, in other lands, notably regard to the duties of life for that age was well
in Flanders, these means were ineffective to keep advanced, as the Morga history shows in its
the church unchanged, or to maintain its eighth chapter.
supremacy, or even to hold its subjects. • The islands came under Spanish sovereignty and
• Great kingdoms were indeed discovered and control through compacts, treaties of friendship
conquered in the remote and unknown parts of the and alliances for reciprocity. By virtue of the last
world by Spanish ships but to the Spaniards who arrangement, according to some historians,
sailed in them we may add Portuguese, Italians, Magellan lost his life on Mactan and the soldiers
French, Greeks, and even Africans and of Legaspi fought under the banner of King Tupas
Polynesians. The expeditions captained by of Cebu.
Columbus and Magellan, one a Genoese Italian • The term " conquest" is admissible but for a part
and the other a Portuguese, as well as those that of the islands and then only in its broadest sense.
came after them, although Spanish fleets, still Cebu, Panay, Luzon Mindoro and some others
were manned by many nationalities and in them cannot be said to have been conquered.
went negroes, Moluccans, and even men from the • The discovery, conquest and conversion cost
Philippines and the Marianas Islands. Spanish blood but still more Filipino blood. It
• Three centuries ago, it was the custom to write as will be seen later on in Morga that with the
intolerantly as Morga does, but nowadays it Spaniards and on behalf of Spain there were
would be called a bit presumptuous. No one has a always more Filipinos fighting than Spaniards.
monopoly of the true God, nor is there any nation
• Morga shows that the ancient Filipinos had army larger caliber, had its ramparts reinforced with
and navy with artillery and other implements of thick hardwood posts such as the Tagalogs used
warfare. Their prized krises and kampilans for for their houses and called "harigues “, or
their magnificent temper are worthy of "haligui".
admiration and some of them are richly • Morga has evidently confused the pacific coming
damascened. Their coats of mail and helmets, of of Legaspi with the attack of Goiti and Salcedo,
which there are specimens in various European as to date. According to other historians it was in
museums, attest to their great advancement in this 1570 that Manila was burned, and with it a great
industry. plant for manufacturing artillery. Goiti did not
• Morga ' s expression that the Spaniards "brought take possession of the city but withdrew to Cavite
war to the gates of the Filipinos " is in marked and afterwards to Panay, which makes one
contrast with the word used by subsequent suspicious of his alleged victory. As to the day of
historians whenever recording Spain ' s the date, the Spaniards then, having come
possessing herself of a province, that she pacified following the course of the sun, were some
it. Perhaps "to make peace " then meant the same sixteen hours later than Europe. This condition
as "to stir up war." continued till the end of the year 1844, when the
• Magellan ' s transferring from the service of his 31st of December was by special arrangement
own king to employment under the King of Spain, among the authorities dropped from the calendar
according to historic documents, was because the for that year.
Portuguese King had refused to grant him the • Accordingly, Legaspi did not arrive in Manila on
raise in salary which he asked. the 19th but on the 20th of May and consequently
• Now it is known that Magellan was mistaken it was not on the festival of Santa Potenciana but
when he represented to the King of Spain that the on San Baudelio ' s day. The same mistake was
Molucca Islands were within the limits assigned made with reference to the other early events still
by the Pope to the Spaniards. But through this wrongly commemorated, like San Andres ' day
error and the inaccuracy of the nautical for the repulse of the Chinese corsair Li Ma-hong.
instruments of that time, the Philippines did not • Though not mentioned by Morga, the Cebuanos
fall into the hands of the Portuguese. aided the Spaniards in their expedition against
• Cebu, which Morga calls "The City of the Most Manila, for which reason they were long
Holy Name of Jesus, " was at first called "The exempted from tribute.
village of San Miguel." • The southern islands, the Bisayas, were also
• The image of the Holy Child of Cebu, which called "The land of the Painted People " (or
many religious writers believed was brought to Pintados, in Spanish) because the natives had
Cebu by the angels, was in fact given by the their bodies decorated with tracings made with
worthy Italian chronicler of Magellan ' s fire, somewhat like tattooing.
expedition, the Chevalier Pigafetta, to the • The Spaniards retained the native name for the
Cebuano queen. new capital of the archipelago, a little changed,
• The expedition of Villalobos, intermediate however, for the Tagalogs had called their city
between Magellan ' s and Legaspi' s, gave the "Maynila."
name "Philipina " to one of the southern islands, • When Morga says that the lands were " entrusted"
Tendaya, now perhaps Leyte, and this name later (given as encomiendas) to those who had "
was extended to the whole archipelago. pacified" them, he means "divided up among."
• Of the native Manila rulers at the coming of the The word " entrust, " like " pacify, " later came to
Spaniards, Raja Soliman was called "Rahang have a sort of ironic signification. To entrust a
mura “, or young king, in distinction from the old province was then as if it were said that it was
king, "Rahang matanda ". Historians have turned over to sack, abandoned to the cruelty and
confused these personages. The native fort at the covetousness of the encomendero, to judge from
mouth of the Pasig River, which Morga speaks of the way this gentry misbehaved.
as equipped with brass lantakas and artillery of
• Legaspi' s grandson, Salcedo, called the for the Spaniards, it would have been impossible
Hernando Cortez of the Philippines, was the " to subjugate them.
conqueror ' s " intelligent right arm and the hero • Captain Gabriel de Rivera, a Spanish commander
of the " conquest." His honesty and fine qualities, who had gained fame in a raid on Borneo and the
talent and personal bravery, all won the Malacca coast, was the first envoy from the
admiration of the Filipinos. Because of him they Philippines to take up with the King of Spain the
yielded to their enemies, making peace and needs of the archipelago.
friendship with the Spaniards. He it was who • The early conspiracy of the Manila and
saved Manila from Li Mahong. He died at the Pampanga former chiefs was revealed to the
early age of twenty-seven and is the only Spaniards by a Filipina, the wife of a soldier, and
encomendero recorded to have left the great part many concerned lost their lives.
of his possessions to the Indians of his • The artillery cast for the new stone fort in Manila,
encomienda. Vigan was his encomienda and the says Morga, was by the hand of an ancient
Ilokanos there were his heirs. Filipino. That is, he knew how to cast cannon
• The expedition which followed the Chinese even before the coming of the Spaniards, hence
corsair Li Ma-Hong, after his unsuccessful attack he was distinguished as 4" ancient." In this
upon Manila, to Pangasinan province, with the difficult art of ironworking, as in so many others,
Spaniards of whom Morga tells, had in it 1,500 the modern or present-day Filipinos are not so far
friendly Indians from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and advanced as were their ancestors.
Panay, besides the many others serving as • When the English freebooter Cavendish captured
laborers and crews of the ships. Former Raja the Mexican galleon Santa Ana, with 122,000
Lakandula, of Tondo, with his sons and his gold pesos, a great quantity of rich textiles-silks,
kinsmen went, too, with 200 more Bisayans and satins and damask, musk perfume, and stores of
they were joined by other Filipinos in provisions, he took 150 prisoners. All these
Pangasinan. because of their brave defense were put ashore
• If discovery and occupation justify annexation, with ample supplies, except two Japanese lads,
then Borneo ought to belong to Spain. In the three Filipinos, a Portuguese and a skilled
Spanish expedition to replace on its throne a Spanish pilot whom he kept as guides in his
Sirela or Malaela, as he is variously called, who further voyaging.
had been driven out by his brother, more than • From the earliest Spanish days, ships were built
fifteen hundred Filipino bowmen from the in the islands, which might be considered
provinces of Pangasinan, Cagayan, and the evidence of native culture. Nowadays this
Bisayas participated. industry is reduced to small craft, scows and
• It is notable how strictly the earlier Spanish coasters.
governors were held to account. Some stayed in • The Jesuit, Father Alonso Sanchez, who visited
Manila as prisoners, one, Governor Corcuera, the papal court at Rome and the Spanish King at
spent five years with Fort Santiago as his prison. Madrid, had a mission much like that of deputies
• In the fruitless expedition against the Portuguese now, but of even greater importance since he
in the island of Ternate, in the Molucca group, came to be a sort of counsellor or representative
which was abandoned because of the prevalence to the absolute monarch of that epoch. One
of beriberi among the troops, there went 1,500 wonders why the Philippines could have a
Filipino soldiers from the more warlike representative then but may not have one now.
provinces, principally Cagayan and Pampanga. • In the time of Governor Gomez Perez
• The "pacification" of Cagayan was accomplished Dasmariňas, Manila was guarded against further
by taking advantage of the jealousies among its damage such as was suffered from Li Ma Hong
people, particularly the rivalry between two by the construction of a massive stone wall
brothers who were chiefs. An early historian around it. This was accomplished " without
asserts that without this fortunate circumstance, expense to the royal treasury." The same
governor, in like manner, also fortified the point
 at the entrance to the river where had been the who later would be reimbursed from the royal
ancient native fort of wood, and he gave it the treasury. In spite of this promised compensation,
name Fort Santiago. the measures still seemed severe since those
• The early cathedral of wood which was burned Filipinos were not correct in calling their
through carelessness at the time of the funeral of dependents slaves. The masters treated these, and
Governor Dasmariňas ' predecessor, Governor loved them, like sons rather, for they seated them
Ronquillo, was made, according to the Jesuit at their own tables and gave them their own
historian Chirino, with hardwood pillars around daughters in marriage.
which two men could not reach, and in harmony • Morga says that the 250 Chinese oarsmen who
with this massiveness was all the woodwork manned Governor Dasmariňas’ swift galley were
above and below. It may be surmised from these under pay and had the special favor of not being
how hard workers were the Filipinos of that time. chained to their benches. According to him it was
• A stone house for the bishop was built before covetousness of the wealth aboard that led them
starting on the governor-general' s residence. This to revolt and kill the governor. But the historian
precedence is interesting for those who uphold Gaspar de San Agustin states that the reason for
civil power. Morga ' s mention of the scant output the revolt was the governor ' s abusive language
of large artillery from the Manila cannon works and his threatening the rowers. Both these authors
because of lack of master foundrymen shows that ' allegations may have contributed, but more
after the death of the Filipino Panday Pira there important was the fact that there was no law to
were not Spaniards skilled enough to take his compel these Chinamen to row in the galleys.
place, nor were his sons as expert as he. They had come to Manila to engage in commerce
• It is worthy of note that China, Japan and or to work in trade or to follow professions.
Cambodia at this time-maintained relations with • Still the incident contradicts the reputation for
the Philippines. But in our day it has been more enduring everything which they have had. The
than a century since the natives of the latter two Filipinos have been much more long-suffering
countries came here. The causes which ended the than the Chinese since, in spite of having been
relationship may be found in the interference by obliged to row on more than one occasion, they
the religious orders with the institutions of those never mutinied.
lands. • It is difficult to excuse the missionaries ' disregard
• For Governor Dasmariňas ' expedition to conquer of the laws of nations and the usages of honorable
Ternate, in the Moluccan group, two Jesuits there politics in their interference in Cambodia on the
gave secret information. In his 200 ships, besides ground that it was to spread the Faith. Religion
900 Spaniards, there must have been Filipinos for had a broad field awaiting it then in the
one chronicler speaks of Indians, as the Spaniards Philippines where more than nine-tenths of the
called the natives of the Philippines, who lost natives were infidels. That even now there are to
their lives and others who were made captives be found here so many tribes and settlements of
when the Chinese rowers mutinied. It was the non-Christians takes away much of the prestige
custom then always to have a thousand or more of that religious zeal which in the easy life in
native bowmen and besides the crew were almost towns of wealth, liberal and fond of display,
all Filipinos, for the most part Bisayans. grows lethargic.
• The historian Argensola, in telling of four special • Truth is that the ancient activity was scarcely for
galleys for Dasmariňas ' expedition, says that they the Faith alone, because the missionaries had to
were manned by an expedient which was go to islands rich in spices and gold though there
generally considered rather harsh. It was ordered were at hand Mohamedans and Jews in Spain and
that there be bought enough of the Indians who Africa, Indians by the million in the Americas,
were slaves of the former Indian chiefs, or and more millions of protestants, schismatic and
principales, to form these crews, and the price, heretics peopled, and still people, over six-
that which had been customary in pre-Spanish sevenths of Europe. All of these doubtless would
times, was to be advanced by the encomenderos have accepted the Light and the true religion if
 the friars, under pretext of preaching to them, had Islands though he noted that the islands had been
not abused their hospitality and if behind the discovered before.
name Religion had not lurked the unnamed • Death has always been the first sign of European
Domination. civilization on its introduction in the Pacific
• In the attempt made by Rodriguez de Figueroa to Ocean. God grant that it may not be the last,
conquer Mindanao according to his contract with though to judge by statistics the civilized islands
the King of Spain, there was fighting along the are losing their populations at a terrible rate.
Rio Grande with the people called the Magellan himself inaugurated his arrival in the
Buhahayenes. Their general, according to Marianas islands by burning more than forty
Argensola, was the celebrated Silonga, later houses, many small crafts and seven people
distinguished for many deeds in raids on the because one of his boats had been stolen. Yet to
Bisayas and adjacent islands. Chirino relates an the simple savages the act had nothing wrong in
anecdote of his coolness under fire once during a it but was done with the same naturalness that
truce for a marriage among Mindanao " civilized people hunt, fish, and subjugate people
principalia." Young Spaniards out of bravado that are weak or ill-armed.
fired at his feet but he passed on as if unconscious • The Japanese were not in error when they
of the bullets. suspected the Spanish and Portuguese religious
• Argensola has preserved the name of the Filipino propaganda to have political motives back of the
who killed Rodriguez de Figueroa. It was Ubal. missionary activities.
Two days previously he had given a banquet, • Witness the Moluccas where Spanish
slaying for it a beef animal of his own, and then missionaries served as spies; Cambodia, which it
made the promise which he kept, to do away with was sought to conquer under cloak of converting;
the leader of the Spanish invaders. A Jesuit writer and many other nations, among them the
calls him a traitor though the justification for that Filipinos, where the sacrament of baptism made
term of reproach is not apparent. The Buhahayen of the inhabitants not only subjects of the King of
people were in their own country and had neither Spain but also slaves of the encomenderos, and as
offended nor declared war upon the Spaniards. well slaves of the churches and convents. What
They had to defend their homes against a would Japan have been now had not its emperors
powerful invader, with superior forces, many of uprooted Catholicism? A missionary record of
whom were, by reason of their armor, 1625 sets forth that the King of Spain had
invulnerable so far as rude Indians were arranged with certain members of Philippine
concerned. Yet these same Indians were religious orders that, under guise of preaching the
defenseless against the balls from their muskets. faith and making Christians, they should win over
• By the Jesuit' s line of reasoning, the heroic the Japanese and oblige them to make themselves
Spanish peasantry in their war for independence of the Spanish party, and finally it told of a plan
would have been a people even more treacherous. whereby the King of Spain should become also
It was not Ubal' s fault that he was not seen and, King of Japan.
as it was wartime, it would have been the height • In corroboration of this may be cited the claims
of folly, in view of the immense disparity of arms, that Japan fell within the Pope ' s demarcation
to have first called out to this preoccupied lines for Spanish expansion and so there was
opponent, and then been killed himself. complaint of missionaries other than Spanish
• The muskets used by the Buhahayens were there. Therefore, it was not for religion that they
probably some that had belonged to Figueroa ' s were converting the infidels!
soldiers who had died in battle. Though the • The raid by Datus Sali and Silonga of Mindanao,
Philippines had lantakas and other artillery, in 1599 with 50 sailing vessels and 3,000
muskets were unknown till the Spaniards came. warriors, against the capital of Panay, is the first
• That the Spaniards used the word "discover " very act of piracy by the inhabitants of the South which
carelessly may be seen from an admiral' s turning is recorded in Philippine history. I say "by the
in a report of his "discovery " of the Solomon inhabitants of the South" because earlier there
 had been other acts of piracy, the earliest being the homeland helpless even against the
that of Magellan ' s expedition when it seized the undisciplined hordes from the South, so obsessed
shipping of friendly islands and even of those were the Spaniards with the idea of making
whom they did not know, extorting for them conquests.
heavy ransoms. • In the alleged victory of Morga over the Dutch
• It will be remembered that these Moro piracies ships, the latter found upon the bodies of five
continued for more than two centuries, during Spaniards, who lost their lives in that combat,
which the indomitable sons of the South made little silver boxes filled with prayers and
captives and carried fire and sword not only in invocations to the saints. Here would seem to be
neighboring islands but into Manila Bay to the origin of the anting-anting of the modern
Malate, to the very gates of the capital, and not tulisanes, which are also of a religious character.
once a year merely but at times repeating their • In Morga ' s time, the Philippines exported silk to
raids five and six times in a single season. Yet the Japan whence now comes the best quality of that
government was unable to repel them or to defend merchandise.
the people whom it had disarmed and left without • Morga ' s views upon the failure of Governor
protection. Estimating that the cost to the islands Pedro de Acuna’s ambitious expedition against
was but 800 victims a year, still the total would the Moros unhappily still apply for the same
be more than 200,000 persons sold into slavery or conditions yet exist. For fear of uprisings and loss
killed, all sacrificed together with so many other of Spain ' s sovereignty over the islands, the
things to the prestige of that empty title, Spanish inhabitants were disarmed, leaving them exposed
sovereignty. to the harassing of a powerful and dreaded enemy.
• Still the Spaniards say that the Filipinos have Even now, though the use of steam vessels has put
contributed nothing to Mother Spain, and that it an end to piracy from outside, the same fatal
is the islands which owe everything. It may be so, system still is followed.
but what about the enormous sum of gold which • The peaceful countryfolk are deprived of arms
was taken from the islands in the early years of and thus made unable to defend themselves
Spanish rule, of the tributes collected by the against the bandits, or tulisanes, which the
encomenderos, of the nine million dollars yearly government cannot restrain. It is an
collected to pay the military, expenses of the encouragement to banditry thus to make it easy
employees, diplomatic agents, corporations and getting booty.
the like, charged to the Philippines, with salaries • Hernando de los Rios blames these Moluccan
paid out of the Philippine treasury not only for wars for the fact that at first the Philippines were
those who come to the Philippines but also for a source of expense to Spain instead of profitable
those who leave, to some who never have been in spite of the tremendous sacrifices of the
and never will be in the islands, as well as to Filipinos, their practically gratuitous labor in
others who have nothing to do with them. building and equipping the galleons, and despite,
• Yet all of this is as nothing in comparison with so too, the tribute, tariffs and other imposts and
many captives gone, such a great number of monopolies. These wars to gain the Moluccas,
soldiers killed in expeditions, islands which soon were lost forever with the little that
depopulated, their inhabitants sold as slaves by had been so laboriously obtained, were a heavy
the Spaniards themselves, the death of industry, drain upon the Philippines. They depopulated the
the demoralization of the Filipinos, and so forth, country and bankrupted the treasury, with not the
and so forth. Enormous indeed would the benefits slightest compensating benefit.
which that sacred civilization brought to the • True also is it that it was to gain the Moluccas that
archipelago have to be in order to counterbalance Spain kept the Philippines, the desire for the rich
so heavy a-cost. spice islands being one of the most powerful
• While Japan was preparing to invade the arguments when, because of their expense to him,
Philippines, these islands were sending the King thought of withdrawing and abandoning
expeditions to Tonquin and Cambodia, leaving them.
• Among the Filipinos who aided the government simplicity with which they obeyed their natural
when the Manila Chinese revolted, Argensola instincts but much more due to a religious belief
says there were 4,000 Pampangans " armed after of which Father Chirino tells. It was that in the
the way of their land, with bows and arrows, short journey after death to "Kalualhatian, " the abode
lances, shields, and broad and long daggers." of the spirit, there was a dangerous river to cross
Some Spanish writers say that the Japanese that had no bridge other than a very narrow strip
volunteers and the Filipinos showed themselves of wood over which a woman could not pass
cruel in slaughtering the Chinese refugees. This unless she had a husband or lover to extend a
may very well have been so, considering the hand to assist her. Furthermore, the religious
hatred and rancor then existing, but those in annals of the early missions are filled with
command set the example. countless instances where native maidens chose
• The loss of two Mexican galleons in 1603 called death rather than sacrifice their chastity to the
forth no comment from the religious chroniclers threats and violence of encomenderos and
who were accustomed to see the avenging hand Spanish soldiers. As to the mercenary social evil,
of God in the misfortunes and accidents of their that is worldwide and there is no nation that can
enemies. Yet there were repeated shipwrecks of 'throw the first stone ' at any other. For the rest,
the vessels that carried from the Philippines today the Philippines has no reason to blush in
wealth which encomenderos had extorted from comparing its womankind with the women of the
the Filipinos, using force, or making their own most chaste nation in the world.
laws, and, when not using these open means, • Morga ' s remark that the Filipinos like fish better
cheating by the weights and measures. when it is commencing to turn bad is another of
• The Filipino chiefs who at their own expense those prejudices which Spaniards like all other
went with the Spanish expedition against Ternate, nations, have. In matters of food, each is
in the Moluccas, in 1605, were Don Guillermo nauseated with what he is unaccustomed to or
Palaot, maestro de campo, and Captains doesn’t know is eatable. The English, for
Francisco Palaot, Juan Lit, Luis Lont, and example, find their gorge rising when they see a
Agustin Lont. They had with them 400 Tagalogs Spaniard eating snails, while in turn the Spanish
and Kapampangans. The leaders bore themselves find roast beef English-style repugnant and can 't
bravely for Argensola writes that in the assault on understand the relish of other Europeans for
Ternate, "No officer, Spaniard or Indian, went beefsteak a la Tartar which to them is simply raw
unscathed." meat. The Chinaman, who likes shark' s meat,
• The Cebuanos drew a pattern on the skin before cannot bear Roquefort cheese, and these
starting to tattoo. The Bisayan usage then was the examples might be indefinitely extended. The
same procedure that the Japanese today follow. Filipinos ' favorite fish dish is the bagoong and
• Ancient traditions ascribe the origin of the Malay whoever has tried to eat it knows that it is not
Filipinos to the island of Sumatra. These considered improved when tainted. It neither is,
traditions were almost completely lost as well as nor ought to be, decayed.
the mythology and the genealogies of which the • Colin says the ancient Filipinos had minstrels
early historians tell, thanks to the zeal of the who had memorized songs telling their
missionaries in eradicating all national genealogies and of the deeds ascribed to their
remembrances as heathen or idolatrous. The deities. These were chanted on voyages in
study of ethnology is restoring this somewhat. cadence with the rowing, or at festivals, or
• The chiefs used to wear upper garments, usually funerals, or wherever there happened to be any
of Indian fine gauze according to Colin, of red considerable gatherings. It is regrettable that
color, a shade for which they had the same these chants have not been preserved as from
fondness that the Romans had. The barbarous them it would have been possible to learn much
tribes in Mindanao still have the same taste. of the Filipinos ' past and possibly of the history
• The " easy virtue " of the native women that of neighboring islands.
historians note is not solely attributable to the
• The cannon foundry mentioned by Morga as in • "The Spaniards, says Morga, were accustomed to
the walled city was probably on the site of the hold as slaves such natives as they bought and
Tagalog one which was destroyed by fire on the others that they took in the forays in the conquest
first coming of the Spaniards. That established in or pacification of the islands." Consequently, in
1584 was in Lamayan, that is, Santa Ana now, and this respect the " pacifiers " introduced no moral
was transferred to the old site in 1590. It improvement. We even do not know if in their
continued to work until 1805. According to wars the Filipinos used to make slaves of each
Gaspar San Agustin, the cannon which the pre- other, though that would not have been strange,
Spanish Filipinos cast were " as great as those of for the chroniclers tell of captives returned to
Malaga, " Spain ' s foundry. their own people. The practice of the Southern
• The Filipino plant was burned with all that was in pirates almost proves this, although in these
it save a dozen large cannons and some smaller piratical wars the Spaniards were the first
pieces which the Spanish invaders took back with aggressors and gave them their character.
them to Panay. The rest of their artillery
SOBRE LA INDOLENCIA DE LOS FILIPINOS
equipment had been thrown by the Manilans, then
Moros, into the sea when they recognized their • Essay
defeat. • Published in La Solidaridad
• Malate, better Maalat, was where the Tagalog • Madrid, Spain (July 15, 1890 –September 15,
aristocracy lived after they were dispossessed by 1890)
the Spaniards of their old homes in what is now
the walled city of Manila. Among the Malate INDOLENT
residents were the families of Raja Matanda and • Idle
Raja Soliman. The men had various positions in • Lazy
Manila, and some were employed in government
• Little love for work
work nearby. "They were very courteous and
• Lack of activity
well-mannered, " says San Agustin. "The women
were very expert in lacemaking, so much so that Sobre La Indolencia de los Filipinos, more popularly
they were not at all behind the women of known in its English version, "The Indolence of the
Flanders." Filipinos, " is an exploratory essay written by Philippine
• Morga ' s statement that there was not a province national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, to explain the alleged
or town of the Filipinos that resisted conversion idleness of his people during the Spanish colonization.
or did not want it may have been true of the
The Indolence of the Filipinos is a study of the causes why
civilized natives. But the contrary was the fact
the people did not, as was said, work hard during the
among the mountain tribes. We have the
Spanish regime. Rizal pointed out that long before the
testimony of several Dominican and Augustinian
coming of the Spaniards, the Filipinos were industrious
missionaries that it was impossible to go
and hardworking.
anywhere to make conversions without other
Filipinos along and a guard of soldiers. CAUSES OF DECLINE IN ECONOMIC
"Otherwise, says Gaspar de San Agustin, there ACTIVITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES
would have been no fruit of the Evangelic
Doctrine gathered, for the infidels wanted to kill 1. The establishment of the Galleon Trade cut off all
previous associations of the Philippines with
the friars who came to preach to them." An
other countries in Asia and the Middle East. As a
example of this method of conversion given by
result, business was only conducted with Spain
the same writer was a trip to the mountains by two
Friars who had numerous escorts of Pampangans. through Mexico. Because of this, the small
The escort's leader was Don Agustin Sonson who businesses and handicraft industries that
had a reputation for daring and carried fire and flourished during the pre-Spanish period
gradually disappeared. So, galleon trade center of
sword into the country, killing many, including
trading in Asia. It sailed the pacific bringing
the chief, Kabadi.
 spices and porcelain in exchange for new world Rizal admitted that the Filipinos did not work so hard
silver. So, the limitation of galleon trade lured to because they were wise enough to adjust themselves to
the neglection of the agriculture and commerce. the warm, tropical climate. “An hour’s work under that
2. Spain also extinguished the natives’ love of work burning sun, in the midst of pernicious influences
because of the implementation of forced labor. springing from nature in activity, is equal to a day ’s labor
Because of the wars between Spain and other in a temperate climate.”
countries in Europe as well as the Muslims in
CAUSES OF THE INDOLENCE OF THE
Mindanao, the Filipinos were compelled to work
FILIPINOS
in shipyards, roads, and other public works,
abandoning agriculture, industry, and commerce. WARS
3. Spain did not protect the people against foreign
invaders and pirates. With no arms to defend • the inhabitants of the Philippines were dragged to
themselves, the natives were killed, their houses maintain the honor of Spain (thousands and
burned, and their lands destroyed. As a result of thousands of Filipinos were sent but nothing was
this, the Filipinos were forced to become nomads, said if they ever returned to their homes.) great
lost interest in cultivating their lands or in diminution of the natives because the governors
rebuilding the industries that were shut down, and got them as crews for the vessels they sent out.
simply became submissive to the mercy of God. PIRATE ATTACKS
4. There was a crooked system of education, if it
was to be considered an education. What was • Devastation of the terrible pirates
being taught in the schools were repetitive • Reduced more and more the number of
prayers and other things that could not be used by inhabitants of the Philippines.
the students to lead the country to progress. There • Burned down the towns, captured and enslaved
were no courses in Agriculture, Industry, etc., men.
which were badly needed by the Philippines • Disarmed and subjected to tributes so that they
during those times. were left without the means to defend themselves.
5. The Spanish rulers were a bad example to despise
ATTITUDE OF THE FRIARS
manual labor. The officials reported to work at
noon and left early, all the while doing nothing in At that time, the friars advised their poor parishioners:
line with their duties. The women were seen
constantly followed by servants who dressed • to stop work in the mines,
them and fanned them – personal things which • to abandon their industries,
they ought to have done for themselves. • to destroy their looms and point them that heaven
6. Gambling was established and widely propagated is their sole hope.
during those times. Almost every day there were • The friars told them that it is easier for a poor man
cockfights, and during feast days, the government to enter heaven than for a rich man.
officials and friars were the first to engage in all
LESSENING ENCOURAGEMENT TO LABOR
sorts of bets and gambles.
7. There was a crooked system of religion. The • Trade contact or relations between the Borneans,
friars taught the naïve Filipinos that it was easier Siamese, Cambodians and Japanese nations were
for a poor man to enter heaven, and so they being cut off.
preferred not to work and remain poor so that they • The coast wide trade which was flourishing
could easily enter heaven after they died. before disappeared.
8. The taxes were extremely high, so much so that a
huge portion of what they earned went to the MISERLY RETURN FOR ONE’S LABOR
government or to the friars. When the object of Because of selfish, greedy, mean Encomenderos who:
their labor was removed and they were exploited,
they were reduced to inaction. • reduced many to slavery.
• compelled Filipinos to work for their benefit.
 • Made them sell their products at an insignificant • Chemist (competitive examination)
price or for nothing or cheated them with false • Young man won a prize in a literary contest.
measures. • Education of the Filipino.
• Treated them like slaves.
DEPRIVATION OF HUMAN DIGNITY
GAMBLING
• The students have to contend with the daily
The local word sugal (from the Spanish word jugar, means preaching that lowers human dignity, gradually or
to gamble) indicates that gambling was unknown in the brutally killing their self-respect.
Philippines before the Spaniards arrived. • Priests who boldly declared that it is evil for the
Filipinos to know Castilian, that the Filipinos
• Balasa – from the Spanish word barajar, the
should not be separated from his carabao, and that
introduction of playing cards.
he should not have any further ambition.
FIESTAS
FEELING OF INFERIORITY
• Gave their contribution to large number of fiestas,
Constant plucking (pulling, removing) of the soul.
lengthy masses, novenae, processions, rosaries.
• Filipinos were much less lazy before the word • Deadens energy.
miracle was introduced into their language. • Paralyzes all tendencies towards advancement.
CURTAILMENT OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY VICIOUS DRESSING OF THE INTELLIGENCE
AND WILL
• Curtail means to cut off, to cut short.
• Individual liberty is being cut off. • “You can’t do more than old So and So! -
• Accused of being a filibustero (rebel) or a suspect • Don’t aspire to be greater than the curate! You
• Lack of confidence in the future. belong to an inferior race! You haven’t any
• Uncertainty of reaping the fruits of their labor. energy.”
• They say this to the child; and as it is repeated so
often, it has inevitably engraved in his mind and
APATHY OF THE GOVERNMENT thence it seals and shapes all his actions.
• Ridicules with cruel sarcasm.
• No encouragement, aid pertaining to commerce
or agriculture. LACK OF AN IDEAL FOR A GOOD WORKER
• The products coming from the Philippines were
• The Filipinos’ spirits were transformed according
burdened with imposts and duties and have no
to the taste of the nation that imposed upon them
free entry in the ports of the mother country and
its God and its laws.
the consumption of the products are not
encouraged. INSTEAD:

OWNERSHIP OF THE BIG ESTATES BY THE • Ideal and prototype tanned and muscular laborer
FRIARS (who should have brought along with him the
useful iron implements and the hoes to till the
• The best estates, the best tracts of land in some
fields)
provinces were in the hands of the religious
corporations. BUT IT WAS AN:
• The friars have deceived many by making them
• Aristocratic lord who brought along with him
believe that those estates were prospering
stamped papers, crucifixes, bulls and prayer
because those were under their supervision.
books
LACK OF MORAL SUPPORT
AS A RESULT:
• Absence of moral support.
• Absence of help from the government.
 • The imitative people became clerks, devout,
prayer-loving, acquired ideas of luxurious and
ostentatious living without improving
correspondingly their means of subsistence.

LACK OF NATIONAL SENTIMENT

• (expression of emotional ideas, feelings, etc.)

• Scarcity of any opposition to the measures that
are prejudicial to the people and the absence of
any initiative that will redound to their welfare.
• Deprived of the right of association, therefore
they were weak and inert (inactive, unmotivated,
passive).