the other is a native; an ipmortant sector

3.1 The Nineteenth Century of the population in nineteenth century

Philippine Economy, Society, Philippines

and the Chinese Mestizos merchant houses- firms established in

MAnila and other cities by foreign
Good day everyone before we discuss traders
our topics lets have identify
our Intended Learning Outcomes: pacto de retroventa- an agreement that
allowed a landowner to sell his/her land
1. Explain the important role of with the guarantee that he/she could by
the Chinese Mestizos and the land back at the same price
their ranks within the Parian-Chinese enclave established in
changing Philippines 1581 outside the walls of Intramuros.
economy and society. The Chinese were forced to live in the
Prian
[Link] the interplay of several
factors that contributes to the changing peninsulares- pure-blooded Spanish
landscape of Philippine society and born in Spain
economy.
principalia- wealthy pure-blooded
3. Investigate the Rizal’s life in natives said to have descended from the
the Philippines within the kadatoan class
wider context of the sangley- a term that proliferated in the
developments in the Spanish Philippines to refer tom people
nineteenth century; of pure Chinese descent; came from the
Hokkien word " seng-li" meaning
business

Vocabulary social stratification- a way by which

people in a society are categorized
cash crop - crops cultivated for export based on socio-economic as well as
political standards
decree- an order issued by a legal
authority; a policy pronouncement
Galleon trade- from 1565-1815, this Introduction
was the form of trade between the
Philippines and Mexico. The galleons To fully appreciate the details of
would sail to Mexico loaded with goods Rizal's life related in the previous
and return to the Philippines carrying the module, one needs to locate him within
payment in silver. the wider context of the Philippines in
the nineteenth century. This module will
insulares - pure-blooded Spanish born discuss the changing landscape of and
in the Philippines Philippine economy in the nineteenth
mestizo- a person with mixed ancestry- century and describe how these
one parent is Chinese or Spanish and developments had an impact on the
society in which Rizal grew up, matured
, and eventually was martyred. It will and manage the new trade as
begin by looking at the tremendous well as other Asian market.
economic development starting in the • Some of the major
late eighteen century as a product of investments came from British
multiple factors. The module will then and American traders.
map the effects of economic • The first half of the
developments on Spanish policies on nineteenth century , majority
education, social life, and the people of of the exports of the
the Philippines. The role of an important Philippines came from cash
population, the Chinese mestizos, in crops like tobacco, sugar,
Philippine life and economy will also be cotton, indigo, abaca, and
noted. These Chinese mestizos will be coffee.
locked in the context of the changing • The provinces shifted to
social stratification in the Philippines. cultivating cash crops, land
ownership and management
Presentation began to be a concern .
• Farmers felt the pressure of
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF
the economy while
PHILIPPINE ECONOMY AND
the hacenderos grabbed the
SOCIETY
opportunity. For example,
when a small landowner
• Late eighteenth century, the
needed capital and money, he
monarchy in Spain
would engage in a pacto de
experienced a dynatic shift
retroventa, an agreement of
from the Habsburg to the
sale guaranteeing that he
Bpurbons
could buy the land back at the
• Spain recalibrated colonial
same price at which it was
policies that would have an
sold.
effect on the Philippines.
• They would forfeit the land
• With the goal of invigarating
and would be forced to
the profatibility if the colonies
become tenant farmers , or
like the Philippines
kasama
, Bourbon policies and
• As the growing economy
reforms were carried out.
required better management
• First governor -general to the
of lands, inquilinos emerged,
Philippines under the Bourbon
renting land to sublet it to
mandate was Jose de Basco
smaller farmers.
y Varga
• Pre-colonial times , the
• Galleon Trade as main
natives of the Philippines had
economic institution existing
had trade relations with the
in the Philippines is already
chinese.
losing enterprises during the
• Height of the Galleon Trade- it
time of Jose de Basco y
was also Chinese products
Vargas.
that comprised most the
• Basco established the Royal
goods being traded.
Philippine company in 1785 to
finance agricultural projects
 • The influx of Chinese • The influx of Chinese
settlements in the Philippines settlements in the Philippines
made the Spaniards made the Spaniards
suspicious of the Chinese. suspicious of the Chinese.
• Stringent state policies • Stringent state policies
towards the sangley ranging towards the sangley ranging
from higher taxes, the from higher taxes, the
restriction of movement with restriction of movement with
the establishment of the the establishment of the
Chinese enclave ( the Parian), Chinese enclave ( the Parian),
to actual policies of expulsion. to actual policies of expulsion.
• Chinese , however, proved to • Chinese , however, proved to
be "necessary outsiders" in be "necessary outsiders" in
Philippine colonial economy Philippine colonial economy
and society. and society
• Spaniards were wary of the • Spaniards were wary of the
Chinese, they realized the Chinese, they realized the
importance that the latter importance that the latter
played in sustaining the played in sustaining the
economy. economy.
• The goods loaded on the • The goods loaded on the
galleons to the development galleons to the development
of retail trade, the Chinese of retail trade, the Chinese
enlivened the economy. enlivened the economy.
• The Chinese became • The Chinese became
integrated into colonial society integrated into colonial society
, giving rise to intermarriages , giving rise to intermarriages
with indios that gave birth to with indios that gave birth to
Chinese mestizos. Chinese mestizos.
• The Chinese mestizos • The Chinese mestizos
assumed an important role in assumed an important role in
the economy all throughout the economy all throughout
the Spanish colonial period. the Spanish colonial period.

THE CHINES AND CHINESE IMPACT ON LIFE IN THE COLONY

MESTIZOS
• The new economy demanded
• Pre-colonial times , the a more literate population to
natives of the Philippines had addess the rising need for a
had trade relations with the more professionalized
chinese. workforce to man the trading
• Height of the Galleon Trade- it activities in Manila and other
was also Chinese products centers.
that comprised most the • This demand compelled the
goods being traded. issuance of the colonial
government order in 1836 that
 required all towns to set up to have a better surveillance
primary schools to teach the mechanism.
population hoe to read and • Guardia civil established.
write.
• The passage of an education RENEGOTIATING SOCIAL
decree in 1863 that mandated STRATIFICATION
free primary education.
• The nineteenth century also PENINSULAR - Pure blooded Spaniard
gave birth to many schools born in the Iberian Peninsula (i.e.,
that addressed the growing Spain)
demand established during INSULAR- Pure-blooded Spaniard born
this time. in the Philippines
• Manila became a trading
center, it became a viable MESTIZO- Born of mixed parentage, a
destination for people seeking mestizo can be: 1. Spanish mestizo- one
better opportunities or those parent is Spanish, the other is a native
wanting to escape the ;or 2. Chinese mestiz0- one parent is
worsening conditions in the Chinese, the other is a native
farmlands.
• Increased rate of internal PRINCIPALIA- Wealthy pure-blooded
migration raised several native supposedly descended from the
concerns. 1, people flocked kadatoan class
the centers of trade like INDIO- Pure-blooded native of the
Manila . Overcrowding implied Philippines
issues in living quarters,
sanitation and public health, CHINO INFIEL- Non-Catholic pure
and increase in criminality. 2. blooded Chinese
the continuous movement of
people made tax collection
extra difficult., in order to
mitigate these concerns, one
measure implemented was Summary
the 1849 decree of Governor-
General Narciso Claveria that This module aimed to situate Rizal's
urged the people in the colony within the larger context of the
to adopt surnames. nineteenth century, It focused on the
• Catalogo de apellidos drawn economic and social developments in
up, the colonial government the century that shaped the world in
assigned surnames to people which Rizal lived. The Philippines, being
and forbade changing names part of the wider Spanish empire,
at will. underwent changes when the Spanish
• Policies like the registration Crown also had a dynastic shift in the
and possessions of a cedula nineteenth century. With this came the
personal bearing one's name Bourbon reforms that brought new
and residence, the policies of economic reorientation for the
colonial government sought colonies. With the development of the
cash crop economy and the opening of
Manila and other cities to world trade , hacienda - large estates that were used
the economy boomed in the nineteenth for raising livestock and agricultural
century. production
This development in the economy inquilino – a tenat who rented land from
also had a profound impact on the social the friars and subleased the land to
and political landscapes. The new sharecroppers
economy resulted in changes in policies
about education and heightened the principales - ruling elite class
surveillance and regulatory
mechanism of the state . Furthermore , sharecropper ( kasama) - an individual
the nineteenth century saw the who rented the land from an inquilino
ascendance of the mestizo and and worked the land
principalia classes that would assert
sitio de ganado mayor - a large tract of
their relevance in society.
land included in a land grant

3.2 Agrarian
Introduction
Disputes
In 1891, Jose Rizal was in Hong Kong
Hello everyone we are now in module 3 when he received distressing news
these are our : about his family who are, at that time,
embroiled in a litigation case concerning
Intended Learning Outcomes: the Hacienda de Calamba . He heard
that the Spanish authorities were
1. Explain how the Hacienda de summoning his mother , Dona
Calamba issue as an Teodora and two younger
exemplary illustration of sisters Josefa, and Trinidad, for
agrarian conflicts in the late further investigation . In a show of
nineteenth century; and support , he wrote to his family, " I am
2. Describe the interplay of following your cavalry step by step. Do
several factors that contribute not be afraid , I am doing all I can ....
to the changing landscape of Patience , a little patience. Courage!"
Philippine society and
economy. Scholars and students of history agree
that the conflict between his family and
Vocabulary the Dominicans over the hacienda
greatly affected Rizal.
Conquistador - a Spanish conqueror
caballero -a small tract of land included
Presentation
in a land grant Jose Rizal was in Hongkong when he
canon - a measure equal to 75 liters received distressing news about his
family who were, at that time, embroiled
in a litigation case concerning the the latter parts of
Hacienda de Calamba. Scholars and the Spanish colonial
students of history agree that the period.
conflict between his family and the 3. The Galleon Trade
Dominicans over the hacienda greatly that was based in
affected Rizal. Manila offered
bigger economic
rewards and
BRIEF HISTORY OF FRIARS ESTATES attracted more
IN THE PHILIPPINES Spaniards.
• Spanish hacenderos lacked the
• The origin of the friars estates interest and inclination to
can be traced back to land develop their lands, the
grants awarded to the early religious orders soon took
Spanish conquistadores who over the task.
arrived in the Philippines • Land was acquired by the
during the late sixteenth and religious orders through
early seventeenth centuries. various means.
• 120 Spaniards were given • The lands were donated by
grants that were often Spaniards seeking spiritual
composed of a large tract of benefits.
land known as sitio de ganado • There were cases, too, in
mayor (measuring 1,742 which estates that had been
hectares) and smaller tracts of heavily mortgaged to the
land known as caballerias ( ecclesiastics were eventually
measuring 42.5 hectares). purchased by the religious
• The Spaniards hacenderos orders themselves.
failed to develop their lands • A number of
for three reasons: Filipino principales also
1. The Spanish contributed to the formation
population in the of the friar estates through
Philippines was donations and sales.
transient. It was a • Despite these methods , there
common practice persisted a commonly held
for Spanish belief among the Filipinos that
administrator to the religious orders had no
return to Spain titles to their lands and that
after having served they had acquired these lands
in the country. through usurpation or other
2. The market for dubious means.
livestock products, • Religious estates in the
which haciendas Tagalog region continued to
offered, remained grow that by the nineteenth
relatively small until century, they constituted
approximately 40 percent of
 the provinces of Bulacan • A three - tiered system
,Tondo (presently Rizal), emerged with the landlords at
Cavite ,and Laguna. the top, the inquilinos at the
• Agrarian relations in middle,and the sharecroppers
the haciendas developed in at the bottom.
the time. • The religious hacenderos
• The sixteenth and freed themselves from the
seventeenth centuries,the social responsibilities borne
social structure found in from a direct interactions with
the haciendas was primarily the kasama.
composed of lay brother • The sharecroppers, on the
administrators were under the other hand, benefitted from
direct authority of the heads the arrangement because their
of their religious orders, they labor obligations to the
were relatively free to make religious estates allowed them
their own decisions on to be exempted from the
administrative affairs. responsibilities of forced labor
• Tenants on the other hand, demanded by the Spanish
were expected to work the government .
land and pay an annual rent, • The inquilino paid his rent to
which was usually a fixed the religious hacenderos and
amount of harvest and in later deducted his own share, the
centuries, money. remaining amount of income
• Mid-eighteenth century, an would then be divided among
expanding economy based on all the sharecroppers.
exporting agricultural crops • Change in the social structure
ushered in change and and land tenure practices
gradually put into place and would eventually render the
inquilino system. haciendas as sites of
• An individual rented land for a contestation among the
fixed annual amount, known Spanish religious hacenderos
as canon. ,the inquilinos ,and the
• The inquilino or lessee was sharecroppers.
also expected to render
personal services to his
landlords.
• The inquilino failed to satisfy HACIENDA DE CALAMBA CONFLICT
these requirements, he could
• 1759- Hacienda de Calamba
face expulsion from the land.
owned by several Spanish
• The inquilino,in turn would
laymen
sub-lease the land to a kasama
• 1759, a destitute Spanish
or sharecropper who could
layman, Don Manuel Jauregui,
then take on the task of
donated the lands to the
cultivating the soil.
 Jesuits on the condition that not paying the rent, the
he would be allowed to live in Dominicans declared the lands
vacant and invited residents
the Jesuit monastery for the rest of his of other towns to take over
life. the tenancies.
• Only few outsiders responded
• 1803 - the government sold to the Dominican’s invitation,
the property to a Spanish the friars weakened their
layman, Don Clemente de positions.
Azansa, for 44,507 pesos. • Most tenants, except for four
• When Don Clemente died or five, were spared from
1883 the Hacienda de Azansa eviction.
which measured 16,424 • Charges against the friars
hectares was purchased by continued with Rizal’s
the Dominicans for 52,000 brother-in-law, Mariano
pesos Herboso, specially
• Many families from complaining about the yearly
neighboring towns had increase in rentals, faulty
migrated to the hacienda in irrigation systems, and failure
search of economic to issue receipts.
opportunities • Coupled with these problems
• Among the families that was the fact that at this time,
arrived at the hacienda were the price of sugar continued
Rizal’s ancestors, who to decline in the world market.
eventually became one of the • Paciano at one point,
principal inquilinos in the considering giving back his
hacienda. lands to the friars and clearing
• Rizal’s family rented one of land elsewhere
the largest leased lands, • Problem continued to escalate
measuring approximately 380 when in 1887, the colonial
hectares. government demanded from
• Sugar was a main commodity the tenants of the hacienda a
planted in the hacienda as report on the income and
there was a demand for the production of the state
crop in the world market. because they suspected that
• 1883- Paciano Rizal wrote the Dominicans were evading
that the friars were collecting payment of their taxes.
rents without issuing the usual • The tenants complied and
receipts. submitted a report, but they
• Two years later, the tenants also attached a petition
failed to pay their tenants authored by Jose Rizal.
because the rent had • The petition presented a list
supposedly increased while of grievances against the
sugar prices had remained hacienda owners including a
low. To punish the tenants for
 complaint on the increasing
amount of rent. 3.3 Emerging
• Some of the tenant began to
withhold rents.
Nationalism
• As a form of retaliation, the
Hello!! This is the last topic for module 3
friars began to evict tenants
, the Intended Learning Outcomes are:
who refused to pay rent in
1891 1. Examine the causes and
• Those who persisted still in effects of the Cavite Mutiny;
resisting the friars were and
eventually expelled 2. Explain the conflict between
• They were exiled to remote the Filipino secular priests and
areas in the country were
the Spanish regular priests.
Rizal’s parents, brother, and
sisters
• Rizal had worked on reversing
the decision of the Philippine Vocabulary
courts, his family’s exile would
only be lifted upon the piscopal visitation- an official pastoral
issuance of a decree from the visit conducted by the bishop on a
another governor-general diocese to examine the conditions of a
• The experience affected Rizal congregation; often done once every
deeply and the increasing three years
despair he felt from the event garrote- an apparatus used for capital
would be reflected in his punishment in which an iron collar is
second novel, El tightened around a condemned person’s
Filibusterismo neck
polo- system of forced labor that
required Filipino males from 16 to 60
Summary years old to render service for a period
of 40 days
This module presented a brief history
of the hacienda from its beginnings a regular clergy- priests who belong to
royal land grant rewarded to Spaniards religious orders
who had rendered to Spaniards who had
rendered exemplary service to the secular clergy- priests who do not
Spanish Crown. Later, these lands came belong to religious orders and are
into the possession of the friars by way engaged in pastoral work
of purchase or donation. Also pointed tribute- system of taxation imposed by
out this module was the in landlord- the Spanish colonial government on the
tenant to a three-tiered one with Filipinos in order to generate resources
landlords, inquilinos, and sharecroppers. for the maintenance of the colony.
 from the Governor General
Rafael de Izquierdo.
• Izquierdo replaced Governor
Introduction General Carlos Maria de la
Torre some months before in
When Rizal published El Filibusterismo 1871 and immediately
in 1891, he dedicated the book to the rescinded Torre’s liberal
three martyred priest, Mariano Gomez, measures and imposed his
Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora. In his iron-fist rule. He was opposed
dedication, he wrote: to any hint of reformist or
nationalistic movements in the
I have the right to dedicate my Philippines. He was in office
work to you as victims of the evil which I for less than two years, but he
undertake to combat. And while we await will be remembered for his
expectantly upon Spain someday to restore cruelty to the Filipinos and the
your good name and cease to be barbaric execution of the
answerable for your death, let these pages three martyr-priests blamed
serve as a tardy wreath of dried leaves over for the mutiny: Fathers
your unknown tombs, and let it be Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos,
understood that everyone who without and Jacinto Zamora, later
clear proofs attacks your memory stains his collectively called
hands in your blood! “Gomburza.”
Rizal was 10 years old when the three • The mutineers were led by
priest were executed, the events of Sgt. Fernando La Madrid; they
1872 would play a decisive role in seized the Fort and killed the
shaping Rizal’s ideas and decisions. Spanish officers. Fearing a
general uprising, the Spanish
Presentation government in Manila sent a
regiment under General Felipe
The 1872 Cavite Mutiny Ginoves to recover the Fort.
The besieged mutiny was
• One hundred and forty years quelled, and many mutineers
ago, on January 20, 1872, including Sgt. La Madrid were
about 200 Filipino military killed. Later, others were
personnel of Fort San Felipe sentenced to death or hard
Arsenal in Cavite, Philippines, labor.
staged a mutiny which in a • Izquierdo used the mutiny to
way led to the Philippine implicate Gomburza and other
Revolution in 1896. The 1872 notable Filipinos known for
Cavite Mutiny was their liberal leanings.
precipitated by the removal of Prominent Filipinos such as
long-standing personal priests, professionals, and
benefits to the workers such businessmen were arrested on
as tax (tribute) and forced flimsy and trumped-up
labor exemptions on order charges and sentenced to
 prison, death, or exile. These when he can vision no future
include Joaquin Pardo de for himself but obscurity?”
Tavera, Jose Basa, and • Father Zamora, 37, was also
Antonio M. Regidor. It was Spanish, born in the
said that the Cavite mutineers Philippines. He was the parish
got their cue from Manila priest of Marikina and was
when they saw and heard known to be unfriendly to and
fireworks across the Manila would not countenance any
Bay which was really a arrogance or authoritative
celebration of the feast of the behavior from Spaniards
Lady of Loreto in Sampaloc. coming from Spain. He once
• When the Archbishop of snubbed a Spanish governor
Manila, Rev. Meliton Martinez, who came to visit Marikina.
refused to cooperate and • Father Gomez was an old man
defrock the priests, the in his mid-’70, Chinese-
Spanish court-martial on Filipino, born in Cavite. He
February 15 went ahead and held the most senior position
maliciously found Fathers of the three as Archbishop’s
Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora Vicar in Cavite. He was truly
guilty of treason for nationalistic and accepted the
instigating the Cavite mutiny. death penalty calmly as
Two days later, the three though it were his penance for
priests were put to death by being pro-Filipinos.
garrotte in Bagumbayan, now • The three priests were
known as Luneta. (Garrote stripped of their albs, and with
was a barbaric Spanish chained hands and feet were
method of execution in which brought to their cells after
an iron collar was tightened their sentence. They received
around the prisoner’s neck numerous visits from folks
until death occurred.) coming from Cavite, Bulacan,
• Father Burgos was of Spanish and elsewhere. Forty
descent, born in the thousand Filipinos came to
Philippines. He was a parish Luneta to witness and quietly
priest of the Manila Cathedral condemn the execution, and
and had been known to be Gomburza became a rallying
close to the liberal Governor catchword for the down-
General de la Torre. He was trodden Filipinos seeking
35 years old at the time and justice and freedom from
was active and outspoken in Spain.
advocating the Filipinization • In the dedication page of his
of the clergy. He was quoted second book, El
as saying, “Why shall a young Filibusterismo, published in
man strive to rise in the 1891, Dr. Jose Rizal wrote, “I
profession of law or theology dedicate my work to you as
 victims of the evil which I work already laid down by the
undertake to combat…” regular clergy.
• It is well to remember that the • In the Philippines, the regular
seeds of nationalism that was clergy remained
sown in Cavite blossomed to administrators of the parishes
the Philippine Revolution and well into the nineteenth
later to the Declaration of century.
Independence by Emilio • Conflict began when the
Aguinaldo which took place bishops insisted on visiting the
also in Cavite. As for me, the parishes that were being run
1872 Cavite Mutiny bolstered by regular priests. It was their
the stereotypical belief that duty, they argued, to check on
Caviteños were the most the administration of these
courageous of my fellow parishes. But the regular
Filipinos. priests refused these visits,
saying that they were not
SECULARIZATION MOVEMENT under the bishop’s jurisdiction.
They threatened to abandon
• Two kinds of priests served their parishes if the bishops
the Catholic Church in the persisted.
Philippines. These were • In 1774, Archbishop Basilio
the regulars and the seculars. Santa Justa decided to uphold
• Regular priests belonged to the diocese’s authority over
religious orders. Their main the parishes and accepted the
task was to spread resignations of the regular
Christianity. Examples were priests. He assigned secular
the Augustinians, Discalced priests to take their place.
Franciscans, Dominicans. Since there were not enough
Jesuits, Augustinians seculars to fill all the vacancies
Recollects, the Archbishop hastened the
• Secular priests did not belong ordination of Filipino seculars.
to any religious order. They A royal decree was also issued
were trained specifically to on November 9, 1774, which
run the parishes and were provided for the secularization
under the supervision of the of all parishes or the transfer
bishops. of parochial administration
• Secular clergy, on the other from the regular friars to the
hand, were priests who “live in secular priests.
the world”. They were under • The regulars resented the
the authority of bishops and move because they
not members of a religious considered the Filipinos unfit
order. The primary task was for the priesthood. Among
the management of the other reasons they cited the
religious communities and Filipinos’ brown skin, lack of
ideally, the continuation of the
 education, and inadequate the soldiers and workers who
experience. joined the mutiny.
• The controversy became more • Their execution was
intense when the Jesuits witnessed by many Filipinos
returned to the Philippines. and have left them a great
They had been exiled from the feeling of indignation and
country because of certain injustice. They considered it as
policies of the order that the a way of Spanish authorities
Spanish authorities did not to silence the secularization
like. movement. This has also
• The issue soon took on a fueled the hatred of Filipinos
racial slant. The Spaniards for the Spaniards which
were clearly favouring their ignited nationalistic
own regular priest over sentiments of the Filipinos.
Filipino priests. • The execution of the
• Monsignor Pedro Pelaez, GOMBURZA had also inspired
ecclesiastical governor of the the Propaganda movement
Church, sided with the and the Philippine revolution.
Filipinos. Unfortunately, he The Propaganda Movement
died in an earthquake that (1880- 1892)
destroyed the Manila • Due to abuses of Spanish
Cathedral in 1863. After his authorities and clergies and
death, other priests took his the curtailment of freedom of
place in fighting for the expression, Filipinos,
secularization movement. specifically the IIustrados
Among them were Fathers campaigned for the
Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos assimilation of the Philippines
and Jacinto Zamora. to Spain by becoming a
province of Spain so that the
EXECUTION OF GOMEZ, BURGOS, Filipinos and Spaniards will be
AND ZAMORA equal and Filipinos will enjoy
the liberties enjoyed by the
• Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Spaniards.
Burgos and Jacinto Zamora • The Ilustrados organized the
were prominent figures in the Propaganda movement which
secularization movement. exposed the condition of the
They were implicated as Philippines under the Spanish
leaders of the Cavite Mutiny. rule and campaigned for
To instill fear among Filipinos, reforms that the country
they were publicly executed in needed. They also campaigned
February 07, 1872 in the for representation to Spanish
Bagumbayan. Cortes (legislature), freedom
• Fathers Gomez and Zamora of the press, economic
served as spiritual adviser of liberalization, secularization
 and equality before the law of man whose testimony had
Filipinos and Spaniards. convicted them, a former
• The Propaganda movement artilleryman called Saldua,
expressed their campaigns in would die.
the La Solidaridad – the • The three priests followed
official newspaper of the Saldua: Burgos ‘weeping like a
movement. The Propagandists child’, Zamora with vacant eyes,
did not only expose the social and Gomez head held high,
conditions of the Philippines blessing the Filipinos who knelt
and ask for reforms but they at his feet, heads bared and
also wrote about Philippine praying. He was next to die.
history, culture and identity. When his confessor, a Recollect
friar , exhorted him loudly to
A French writer-journalist named accept his fate, he replied:
Edmund Plauchut gave an account of “Father, I know that not a leaf
the execution falls to the ground but by the
will of God. Since He wills that I
• Late in the night of the 15th of should die here, His holy will be
February 1872, a Spanish court done.”
martial found three secular • Zamora went up the scaffold
priests, Jose Burgos, Mariano without a word and delivered
Gomez and Jacinto Zamora, his body to the executioner; his
guilty of treason as the mind had already left it.
instigators of a mutiny in the • Burgos was the last, a
Cavite navy-yard a month refinement of cruelty that
before, and sentenced them to compelled him to watch the
death. The judgement of the death of his companions. He
court martial was read to the seated himself on the iron rest
priests in Fort Santiago early in and then sprang up crying: “But
the next morning and they were what crime have I committed? Is
told it would be executed the it possible that I should die like
following day… Upon hearing this. My God, is there no justice
the sentence, Burgos broke into on earth?”
sobs, Zamora lost his mind and • A dozen friars surrounded him
never recovered it, and only and pressed him down again
Gomez listened impassively, an upon the seat of the garrote,
old man accustomed to the pleading with him to die a
thought of death. Christian death. He obeyed but,
• When dawn broke on the 17th feeling his arms tied round the
of February there were almost fatal post, protested once again:
forty thousand of Filipinos (who “But I am innocent!”
came from as far as Bulacan, • “So was Jesus Christ,’ said one
Pampanga, Cavite and Laguna) of the friars.” At this Burgos
surrounding the four platforms resigned himself. The
where the three priests and the executioner knelt at his feet and
 asked his forgiveness. “I forgive Summary
you, my son. Do your duty.” And
it was done. The Cavite Mutiny and the
subsequent execution of the three
Although the public execution of the priests- Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez,
three priests was a meant to instill fear and Jacinto Zamora-marked 1872 as a
in the Filipinos, it had the opposite significant year in Philippine history.
effect. In his work, La Revolucion Filipina, Although the clamor for a more liberal
Apolinario Mabini stated: administration during this time was
temporarily silenced , nationalism was
• The friars wanted to make an gradually awakened , culminating in
example of Burgos and his more decisive events towards the end of
companions so that the the nineteenth century.
Filipinos should be afraid to go
against them from then on.
But that patent injustice , that
Module 3 Summary
official crime, aroused not fear This module aimed to situate Rizal's
but hatred of the friars and within the larger context of the
the regime that supported nineteenth century, It focused on the
them, and a profound economic and social developments in
sympathy and sorrow for the the century that shaped the world in
victims. The sorrow worked a which Rizal lived. The Philippines, being
miracle: it made the Filipinos part of the wider Spanish empire,
realize their conditions for the underwent changes when the Spanish
first time. Crown also had a dynastic shift in the
• Conscious of pain, and thus nineteenth century. With this came the
conscious of life, they asked Bourbon reforms that brought new
themselves what kind of a life policies of economic reorientation for
they lived. The awakening was the colonies. With the development of
painful, and working to stay the cash crop economy and the opening
alive more painful still, but one of Manila and other cities to world trade
must live. How? They did not , the economy boomed in the nineteenth
know, and the desire to know, century.
the anxiety to learn,
overwhelmed and took This development in the economy
possession of the youth of the also had a profound impact on the social
[Link] curtain of and political landscapes. The new
ignorance woven diligently for economy resulted in changes in policies
centuries was rent at last: fiat about education and heightened the
lux, let there be light, would surveillance and regulatory
not be long in coming, the mechanism of the state . Furthermore ,
dawn of a new day was the nineteenth century saw the
nearing. ascendance of the mestizo and
principalia classes that would assert their
relevance in society.
 This module presented a brief history Cortes - the legislative or lawmaking
of the hacienda from its beginnings a body of the Spanish government
royal land grant rewarded to Spaniards
who had rendered to Spaniards who had Creole - a Spaniard born in the
rendered exemplary service to the Philippines
Spanish Crown. Later, these lands came Mestizo - an individual born of mixed
into the possession of the friars by way ancestry; may refer to a Spanish mestizo
of purchase or donation. Also pointed or a Chinese mestizo
out this module was the in landlord-
tenant to a three-tiered one with Propaganda - information used to
landlords, inquilinos, and sharecroppers. promote or publicize a particular cause
or point of view
The Cavite Mutiny and the
subsequent execution of the three Restoration - refers to the Spanish
priests- Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, restoration; a period in Spanish history
and Jacinto Zamora-marked 1872 as a spanning the years 1874 - 1931 the saw
significant year in Philippine history. the restoration of the monarchy under
Although the clamor for a more liberal Alfonso XII together with the
administration during this time was establishment of a bicameral legislature.
temporarily silenced , nationalism was
gradually awakened , culminating in
more decisive events towards the end of
the nineteenth century.

Introduction
4.1 Imagining a Towards the end of the nineteenth
century economic conditions in the
Nation Philippines had improved in such a way
that it was possible for many creole and
Hop in and let's begin learning! mestizo families to send their sons to
school not only in Manila, but also in
Intended Learning Outcomes: Europe. The young Filipino students'
sojourn to the Peninsula would awaken
1. Discuss the Propaganda in their minds ideas about progress and
Movement. love for their motherland .
2. Distinguish Rizal’s
involvement ; and Presentation
3. Explain how propaganda
At the end of the 19th century, economic
works.
conditions had improved in the
Philippines.

Vocabulary:
• Creole and Mestizo family can Filipinos, creoles, and
send their children to Europe meztizos in Madrid.
to study. • The newspaper was short-
• Filipino students learned the lived due to glaring diffences
virtue of progress and love for and internal feuding among its
their motherland through their staff.
sojourn in the Peninsula. • La Solidaridad
• In Europe, Filipino students • It released its first issue on
learned how to think, February 15, 1889.
question, and imagine what a • The staff defined its program
nation is. as:
• Circulo Hispano-Filipino was • to combat all reactions;
the earliest attempt to unite • to impede all retrogression;
Filipinos studying in Spain. • to applaud and accept every
• It is an organization under the liberal idea;
leadership of a creole, Juan • to defend all progress.
Atayde. • Reforms sought:
• It had the support of • Philippine representation in
Spaniards who were the cortes
sympathetic towards the • Freedom of the press
Filipinos. • End of the practice of exiling
• It published a bi-weekly residents without due process.
newspaper titled Revista del • It ran articles dealing with
Circulo Hispano-Filipino in Spanish politics, attacks on
1882. friars, and reforms for the
• The newspaper and Philippines.
organization lasted until 1883. • Article contributors:
• In 1883, Los Dos Mundos came • Jose Rizal
out with the intention of • Dominador Gomez
demanding for the overseas • Jose Maria Panganiban
Hispano Colonies equality of • Antonio Luna
rights and equal opportunities • Ferdinand Blumentritt
for progress. • Del Pilar gradually took on the
• Graciano Lopez Jaena and active role of running the
Pedro Govantes y Azcarraga paper.
were staff members. • Lopez Jaena was the editor in
• Rizal and Eduardo de Lete name and known to be
were article contributors incapable of sustained work.
concerned with socio-political • Del Pilar decided to move to
and economic reforms in the Madrid and the paper went
Philippines. with him.
• Another newspaper • The first issue printed in
titled Espana en Madrid came out on
Filipinas started its publication November 15, 1889.
through the support of
• A month later, Del Pilar took Summary
the helm of editorship.
• In 1890, Rizal and Del Pilar Early efforts to unite the Filipino
had differences with regard to community in Spain began as early as
Philippines affairs. 1882 and reached its height with the
• Rizal believes that to serve the emergence of the newspaper La
country better, one had to Solidaridad in 1889. Journalism became
bring the issues closer to a means for Filipino to engage the
home. Spanish-reading public on
• Del Pilar was a skillful issues concerning the Philippines.
politician who felt that efforts Among the reforms they sought
at persuading the Spanish were representation in the Spanish
leaders and officials needed to Cortes, freedom of the press, and the
be continued and that this end of the practice of exiling Filipino
was the best way to achieve residents without due process. By the
the reforms Filipinos were mid-1890s, internal feuding and lack of
seeking. funds would end the Propaganda
• At New Year’s Eve banquet in Movement while a few Filipinos, like
1891, Filipinos in Madrid Rizal, would bring the struggle closer to
proposed that they elect a home.
leader to unite their

•
community.
Rizal agreed with the proposal
4.2 Noli Me Tangere
while Del Pilar expressed At the end of the lesson you must be
initial misgivings; nevertheless, able to:
the voting took place.
• Rizal won the election, but 1. Appreciate the importance of
upon learning that he won due Rizal as a thinker; and
to the manipulation of his 2. Relate the issues raised in the
friend, Mariano Ponce, he felt novel to the changing
a shallow triumph so he left landscape of the
Madrid. contemporary world.
• The newspaper released its
final issue on November 15,
1895.
• Marcelo H. del Pilar wrote his Vocabulary:
final editorial saying, ‘’We are
novel- a long written story most often
persuaded that no sacrifices are
about fictional events and characters
too little to win the rights and
the liberty of a nation that is setting ( in a novel) - the context in
oppressed by slavery.’’ which the events take place; covers
geographical areas in particular periods
of time
plot - the flow of the narrative in a story
 • In a meeting with the
ilustrados in 1884, he
proposed to write a book
Introduction project to be done
collaboratively with his fellow
Jose Rizal’s first novel, Noli Me Tangere, writers, the project did not
is considered one of the most important materialize
written outputs by the national hero at • He decided to write a novel
the height of his intellectual endeavors on his own
in Europe. • Rizal influenced in the writing
of the Noli: 1. Juan Luna’s
Rizal mustered his academic acumens as painting Spolarium which
he tapped his knowledge of various depicted the sufferings faced
fields and wove a narrative that aimed to by humanity in the face of
represent, if not expose, the realities of inequalities 2. Uncle Tom’s
nineteenth century colonial life in the Cabin, a novel by Harriet
Philippines Beecher Stowe that dealt with
Through the eyes of its characters, one slavery in America.
journey of love and deception, struggles • Rizal finished the first half of
and triumphs; and in the process, the novel in Spain, supposedly
presents pressing questions about power the other half in France, then
and social inequalities. completed the draft in 1886.
The novel was published the
Presentation following year in Germany.
Luck of funds delayed the
The Publication of the Noli Me Tangere book’s publication until a
fellow ilusrado, Maximo viola,
• Rizal participated in the insisted on lending him 300
movement of the ilustrados to pesos for the printing of the
utilized propaganda to first 2,000m copies
campaign for reforms in the • March 29, 1887- Rizal, in
Philippines . Utilizing their token of his appreciation and
intellectual prowess, the gratitude, gave Viola the
ilustrados released various galley proofs of the Noli
written outputs from news carefully rolled around the
bits, to feature articles, and pen that he used in writing it
commentaries. and a complimentary copy,
• Rizal’s exemplary mastery of with the following inscription:
words was clearly evident in “To my dear friend, Maximo
one of his most celebrated Viola, the first to read and
works, his first novel, Noli Me appreciate my work—Jose
Tangere Rizal”
• The idea of publishing a book
was not alien to Rizal
Motivations behind Writing the Noli policy, the misdirected ardor,
the people strangled as a
• The title Noli Me Tangere is a result of these all
Latin phrase which means • The novel Noli Me Tangere
“Touch Me Not”. It is not contains 63 chapters and an
originally conceived by Rizal, epilogue
for he admitted taking it from • Antonio Ma. Regidor- Filipino
the Bible patriot and lawyer who had
• Rizal, writing to Felix Hidalgo been exiled due to his
in French on March 5, 1887, complicity in the Cavite
said: “Noli Me Tangere, words Mutiny of 1872, read avidly
taken from the Gospel of St. the Noli and was very much
Luke, signify “do not touch impressed by its author
me” but Rizal made a mistake,
it should be the Gospel of St. Plot
John (Chapter 20 Verses 13 to
17) • Having completed his studies
• Rizal dedicated his Noli Me in Europe, young Juan
Tangere to the Philippines— Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin
“To My Fatherland” came back to the Philippines
• The cover of Noli Me Tangere after a 7-year absence. In his
was designed by Rizal. It is a honor, Don Santiago de los
ketch of explicit symbols. A Santos, a family friend
woman’s head atop a Maria commonly known as Captain
Clara bodice represents the Tiago, threw a get-together
nation and the women, victims party, which was attended by
of the social cancer. One of friars and other prominent
the causes of the cancer is figures. One of the guests,
symbolized in the friar’s feet, former San Diego curate Fray
outsized in relation to the Dámaso Vardolagas belittled
woman’s head. The other and slandered Ibarra. Ibarra
aggravating causes of brushed off the insults and
oppression and discrimination took no offense; he instead
are shown in the guard’s politely excused himself and
helmet and the iron chains, left the party because of an
the teacher’s whip and the allegedly important task.
alferez’s scourge. A slight • The next day, Ibarra visits
cluster of bamboo stands at María Clara, his betrothed, the
the backdrop; these are the beautiful daughter of Captain
people, forever in the Tiago and affluent resident of
background of their own Binondo. Their long-standing
country’s history. There are a love was clearly manifested in
cross, a maze, flowers and this meeting, and María Clara
thorny plants, a flame; these cannot help but reread the
are indicative of the religious letters her sweetheart had
 written her before he went to to throw the corpse into a
Europe. Before Ibarra left for nearby lake.
San Diego, Lieutenant • Revenge was not in Ibarra’s
Guevara, a Civil Guard, reveals plans, instead he carried
to him the incidents preceding through his father’s plan of
the death of his father, Don putting up a school, since he
Rafael Ibarra, a rich hacendero believed that education would
of the town. pave the way to his country’s
• According to Guevara, Don progress (all over the novel
Rafael was unjustly accused of the author refers to both
being a heretic, in addition to Spain and the Philippines as
being a subservient — an two different countries, which
allegation brought forth by form part of a same nation or
Dámaso because of Don family, being Spain the mother
Rafael’s non-participation in and the Philippines the
the Sacraments, such as daughter). During the
Confession and Mass. inauguration of the school,
Dámaso’s animosity against Ibarra would have been killed
Ibarra’s father is aggravated in a sabotage had Elías — a
by another incident when Don mysterious man who had
Rafael helped out on a fight warned Ibarra earlier of a plot
between a tax collector and a to assassinate him — not
child fighting, and the former’s saved him. Instead the hired
death was blamed on him, killer met an unfortunate
although it was not deliberate. incident and died. The
Suddenly, all of those who sequence of events proved to
thought ill of him surfaced be too traumatic for María
with additional complaints. He Clara who got seriously ill but
was imprisoned, and just was luckily cured by the
when the matter was almost medicine Ibarra sent.
settled, he died of sickness in • After the inauguration, Ibarra
jail. Still not content with what hosted a luncheon during
he had done, Dámaso which Dámaso, gate-crashing
arranged for Don Rafael’s the luncheon, again insulted
corpse to be dug up from the him. Ibarra ignored the priest’s
Catholic church and brought insolence, but when the latter
to a Chinese cemetery, slandered the memory of his
because he thought it dead father, he was no longer
inappropriate to allow a able to restrain himself and
heretic a Catholic burial lunged at Dámaso, prepared
ground. Unfortunately, it was to stab him for his impudence.
raining and because of the As a consequence, Dámaso
bothersome weight of the excommunicated Ibarra,
body, the undertakers decide taking this opportunity to
persuade the already-hesitant
 Tiago to forbid his daughter letter he wrote her to the jury.
from marrying Ibarra. The friar María Clara explained that she
wished María Clara to marry would never conspire against
Linares, a Peninsular who had him, but that she was forced
just arrived from Spain. to surrender Ibarra’s letter to
• With the help of the Father Salvi, in exchange for
Governor-General, Ibarra’s the letters written by her
excommunication was mother even before she,
nullified and the Archbishop María Clara, was born. The
decided to accept him as a letters were from her mother,
member of the Church once Pía Alba, to Dámaso alluding
again. But, as fate would have to their unborn child; and that
it, some incident of which María Clara was therefore not
Ibarra had known nothing Captain Tiago’s biological
about was blamed on him, and daughter, but Dámaso’s.
he is wrongly arrested and • Afterwards, Ibarra and Elías
imprisoned. The accusation fled by boat. Elías instructed
against him was then Ibarra to lie down, covering
overruled because during the him with grass to conceal his
litigation that followed, presence. As luck would have
nobody could testify that he it, they were spotted by their
was indeed involved. enemies. Elías, thinking he
Unfortunately, his letter to could outsmart them, jumped
María Clara somehow got into into the water. The guards
the hands of the jury and is rained shots on him, all the
manipulated such that it then while not knowing that they
became evidence against him were aiming at the wrong
by the parish priest, Fray Salví. man.
With Machiavellian precision, • María Clara, thinking that
Salví framed Ibarra and ruined Ibarra had been killed in the
his life just so he could stop shooting incident, was greatly
him from marrying María Clara overcome with grief. Robbed
and making the latter his of hope and severely
concubine. disillusioned, she asked
• Meanwhile, in Capitan Tiago’s Dámaso to confine her into a
residence, a party was being nunnery. Dámaso reluctantly
held to announce the agreed when she threatened
upcoming wedding of María to take her own life,
Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with demanding, “the nunnery or
the help of Elías, took this death!”[2] Unbeknownst to
opportunity to escape from her, Ibarra was still alive and
prison. Before leaving, Ibarra able to escape. It was Elías
spoke to María Clara and who had taken the shots.
accused her of betraying him, • It was Christmas Eve when
thinking that she gave the Elías woke up in the forest
 fatally wounded, as it is here Tiago became addicted to
where he instructed Ibarra to opium and was seen to
meet him. Instead, Elías found frequent the opium house in
the altar boy Basilio cradling Binondo to satiate his
his already-dead mother, Sisa. addiction. María Clara became
The latter lost her mind when a nun where Salví, who has
she learned that her two sons, lusted over her from the
Crispín and Basilio, were beginning of the novel,
chased out of the convent by regularly used her to fulfill his
the sacristan mayor on lust. One stormy evening, a
suspicions of stealing sacred beautiful crazy woman was
objects. (The truth is that, it seen at the top of the convent
was the sacristan mayor who crying and cursing the
stole the objects and only heavens for the fate it has
pinned the blame on the two handed her. While the woman
boys. The said sacristan mayor was never identified, it is
actually killed Crispín while suggested that the said
interrogating him on the woman was María Clara.
supposed location of the
sacred objects. It was implied
that the body was never
found and the incident was MAJOR CHARACTERS
covered-up by Salví).
• IBARRA
• Elías, convinced that he would
die soon, instructs Basilio to
Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin,
build a funeral pyre and burn
commonly referred to the novel as Ibarra
his and Sisa’s bodies to ashes.
or Crisóstomo, is the protagonist in the
He tells Basilio that, if nobody
story. Son of a Filipino businessman,
reaches the place, he come
Don Rafael Ibarra, he studied in Europe
back later on and dig for he
for seven years. Ibarra is also María
will find gold. He also tells him
Clara’s fiancé. Several sources claim that
(Basilio) to take the gold he
Ibarra is also Rizal’s reflection: both
finds and go to school. In his
studied in Europe and both persons
dying breath, he instructed
believe in the same ideas. Upon his
Basilio to continue dreaming
return, Ibarra requested the local
about freedom for his
government of San Diego to construct a
motherland with the words:
public school to promote education in
• “ I shall die without seeing the
the town.
dawn break upon my
homeland. You, who shall see In the sequel of Noli, El filibusterismo,
it, salute it! Do not forget Ibarra returned with different character
those who have fallen during and name: he called himself as Simoun,
the night.” ” the English mestizo.
• Elías died thereafter. In the
epilogue, it was explained that
 • MARÍA CLARA • PADRE DÁMASO

María Clara de los Santos y Alba, Dámaso Verdolagas, or Padre Dámaso is

commonly referred to as María Clara, is a Franciscan friar and the former parish
Ibarra’s fiancée. She was raised by curate of San Diego. He is best known as
Capitán Tiago, Binundok’s cabeza de a notorious character who speaks with
barangay and is the most beautiful and harsh words and has been a cruel priest
widely celebrated girl in San Diego. In during his stay in the town. He is the
the later parts of the novel, María Clara’s real father of María Clara and an enemy
identity was revealed as an illegitimate of Crisóstomo’s father, Rafael
daughter of Father Dámaso, former Ibarra. Later, he and María Clara had
parish curate of the town, and Doña Pía bitter arguments whether she would
Alba, wife of Capitán Tiago. In the end marry Alfonso Linares or go to a
she entered local covenant for nuns convent.[13] At the end of the novel, he
Beaterio de Santa Clara. In the epilogue is again re-assigned to a distant town
dealing with the fate of the characters, and is found dead one day.
Rizal stated that it is unknown if María
Clara is still living within the walls of the In popular culture, when a priest was
covenant or she is already dead. said to be like Padre Dámaso, it means
that he is a cruel but respectable
The character of María Clara was individual. When one says a child is
patterned after Leonor Rivera, Rizal’s “anak ni Padre Damaso” (child of Padre
first cousin and childhood sweetheart. Dámaso), it means that the child’s
father’s identity is unknown.
• CAPITÁN TIAGO
• ELÍAS
Don Santiago de los Santos, known by
his nickname Tiago and political title Elías is Ibarra’s mysterious friend and
Capitán Tiago is a Filipino businessman ally. Elías made his first appearance as a
and the cabeza de barangay or head of pilot during a picnic of Ibarra and María
barangay of the town of Binundok. He is Clara and her friends.[14] He wants to
also the known father of María Clara. revolutionize the country and to be
freed from Spanish oppression.
In the novel, it is said that Capitán Tiago
is the richest man in the region of The 50th chapter of the novel explores
Binondo and he possessed real the past of Elías and history of his family.
properties in Pampanga and Laguna de In the past, Ibarra’s great-grandfather
Bay. He is also said to be a good condemned Elías’ grandfather of burning
Catholic, friend of the Spanish a warehouse which led into misfortune
government and was considered as a for Elías’ family. His father was refused
Spanish by colonialists. Capitán Tiago to be married by his mother because his
never attended school, so he became a father’s past and family lineage was
domestic helper of a Dominican friar discovered by his mother’s family. In the
who taught him informal education. He long run, Elías and his twin sister was
married Pía Alba from Santa Cruz. raised by their maternal grandfather.
When they were teenagers, their distant Her husband assumes the title of
relatives called them hijos de bastardo or medical doctor even though he never
illegitimate children. One day, his sister attended medical school; using fake
disappeared which led him to search for documents and certificates, Tiburcio
her. His search led him into different practices illegal medicine. Tiburcio’s
places, and finally, he became a fugitive usage of the title Dr. consequently
and subversive. makes Victorina assume the title Dra.
(doctora, female doctor). Apparently, she
• PILOSOPO TACIO uses the whole name Doña Victorina de
los Reyes de de Espadaña, with double
Pilosopo Tacio, known by his Filipinized de to emphasize her marriage
name Pilosopo Tasyo is another major surname. She seems to feel that this
character in the story. Seeking for awkward titling makes her more
reforms from the government, he “sophisticated.”
expresses his ideals in paper written in a
cryptographic alphabet similar from Summary
hieroglyphs and Coptic figures hoping
This module discussed Noli Me Tangere
“that the future generations may be able
, tracing its publication and Rizal's
to decipher it” and realized the abuse
motivation behind its writing. Noli Me
and oppression done by the conquerors.
Tangere was part of a publication
His full name is only known as Don agenda conceived by Rizal in the hopes
Anastacio. The educated inhabitants of of awakening his countrymen and the
San Diego labeled him as Filosofo Tacio wourld about the colonial conditions in
(Tacio the Sage) while others called him the Philippines. On the pages of the Noli
as Tacio el Loco (Insane Tacio) due to his Rizal's genius shone through as he
exceptional talent for reasoning. assembled and harnessed his intellect to
paint a picture of nineteenth century
• DOÑA VICTORINA Philippines. The plot provided a story of
hope and struggle against the backdrop
Doña Victorina de Espadaña, commonly of an elaborate setting filled with equally
known as Doña Victorina, is an complex characters . Through the novels'
ambitious Filipina who classifies herself characters, varied points of view were
as a Spanish and mimics Spanish ladies gleaned from colonial life and through its
by putting on heavy make-up.[12] The plot, an allegory of colonial society was
novel narrates Doña Victorina’s younger created.
days: she had lots of admirers, but she
didn’t choose any of them because Module 4 Summary
nobody was a Spaniard. Later on, she
met and married Don Tiburcio de Early efforts to unite the Filipino
Espadaña, an official of the customs community in Spain began as early as
bureau who is about ten years her 1882 and reached its height with the
junior. However, their marriage is emergence of the newspaper La
childless. Solidaridad in 1889. Journalism became
a means for Filipino to engage the
Spanish-reading public on
issues concerning the Philippines.
Among the reforms they sought
were representation in the Spanish
Cortes, freedom of the press, and the
end of the practice of exiling Filipino
residents without due process. By the
mid-1890s, internal feuding and lack of
funds would end the Propaganda
Movement while a few Filipinos, like
Rizal, would bring the struggle closer to
home.
This module discussed Noli Me
Tangere , tracing its publication and
Rizal's motivation behind its writing. Noli
Me Tangere was part of a publication
agenda conceived by Rizal in the hopes
of awakening his countrymen and the
wourld about the colonial conditions in
the Philippines. On the pages of the Noli
Rizal's genius shone through as he
assembled and harnessed his intellect to
paint a picture of nineteenth century
Philippines. The plot provided a story of
hope and struggle against the backdrop
of an elaborate setting filled with equally
complex characters . Through the novels'
characters, varied points of view were
gleaned from colonial life and through its
plot, an allegory of colonial society was
created.