RIZAL AND THE

DEVELOPMENT OF
NATIONAL CONCIOUSNESS
CHAPTER TWO

“A PANORAMIC SURVEY”
 The life of Jose Rizal was marked by the
conditions that existed during his lifetime in
the Philippines and Europe.

 Rizal is a product of his era and his message

forth a human declaration that “All human
beings without any distinction of any kind are
born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
• In 19th century, it stands out as an
extremely dynamic and creative age
especially in Europe and United States.
During this time, such concepts of
industrialism, democracy and nationalism
gained ascendancy and triggered
revolutionary changes in science,
technology, economics and politics.
• However, the 19th century Philippines was
largely medieval. Its social and economic
structure was based on the old feudalistic
patterns of abuse and exploitation of the Indio.

• During this time, censorship and racial

discriminatory practices were oppressive.
• Intellectual decadence prevailed and
government processes had no respect for
the need of the people

• Educated members of the middle class who

went abroad stepped right into the currents
of modern liberalism, dynamism and
creativity of the new era of western
European continent.
• These foreign contacts and the medievalistic
Philippine conditions deeply influenced the
development of a sense of nationhood among
the Filipinos.
The Philippines in the nineteenth century

• SOCIAL STRUCTURE- Philippine society

was predominantly feudalistic - the results
of the Spanish land holding system
imposed upon the country with the arrival of
conquistadores. An elite class exploited the
masses, fostered by the “master-slave”
relationship between the Spaniards and the
Filipinos.
• The Spaniards exacted all forms of taxes and
tributes, and drafted the natives for manual
labor. Consequently, the poor became poorer
and the rich wealthier.

• The pyramidal structure of 19th century

Philippine society favored the Spaniards . The
apex was occupied by the Spanish officials,
the peninsulares, and the friars;
• its base, by the Filipino majority, the indios;
and its middle area, by a small middle class
which consisted of natives, mestizos and
criollos.

• Racial discrimination was prevalent as the

Spanish born peninsulares were given the
highest offices and positions in society.
• Meanwhile, criollos, the Philippine-born
Spaniards, the half-breed or mestizos,
enjoyed second priority, and the native or
indios were looked down upon.

• POLITICAL SYSTEM- Spain governed the

Philippines through the Ministro de Ultramar
(Ministry of Colonies) established in Madrid
in 1863.
• The Ministro de Ultramar helped the
Spanish monarchs manage the affairs of
the colonies and govern the Philippines
through a centralized machinery exercising
executive, legislative, judicial and religious
powers.
• The Governor General appointed by the
Spanish Monarch headed the central
administration of Manila. He was the king’s
representative in all state and religious
matters and as such he exercised
extensive powers.
• He issued executive orders and
proclamations and has supervision and
disciplinary powers over all government
officials.

• He was the commander in chief of the

armed forces of the Philippines.
• The Governor General had supreme
authority in financial matters until 1784,
when he began to share power with the
Intendant General.

• He also exercised legislative powers with

his cumplase by which he could disregard
or suspend any law or royal decree from
Spain.
• The religious duties gave the Governor
General prerogative to nominate priests to
ecclesiastical positions to control the
finances of the missions.

• His supervisory and disciplinary

prerogatives often gave him the opportunity
to reward his favorites and relatives to
penalize those who had displeased him.
• The Governor General was assisted by the
Lieutenant Governor (general segundo
cabo) and advisory bodies such as the
Board of Authorities, Council of
Administration and in 1874 Secretariat of
the Central Government. A larger body, the
Directorate of Civil Administration, was
organized later.
• Next to the central government in the
hierarchal structure were the provincial
governments or alcadias led by alcaldes
mayores (civil governors); and the city
governments called Cabildo or
Ayuntamiento administered by two alcaldes
en ordinario (mayor and vice mayor).
• The gobernadorcillo, fondly called capitan
by his constituents, was the chief executive
and chief judge of a town. He was elected
at the beginning of every year by a board
composed of members of the town
principalia, a body of citizens of high
standing usually made up of the incumbent
or ex-cabezas de barangay.
• The smallest unit of government was the
barangay/barrio and was controlled by a
cabeza de barangay, usually a Filipino or
Chines mestizo whose main responsibility
was to maintain peace and order and to
collect tributes and taxes.

• The guardia civil and cuadrilleros

performed police duties.
• The alferez (second liuetenant) ,usually a
spaniard headed the corps of guardia civil
in each town.

• The system of courts in the Philippines in

the mid-19th century was a centralized
system. It was a pyramidical organization
headed by the Royal Audiencia, the highest
judicial body.
• This body served not only as the highest
court of appeals for civil and criminal cases
but also as the high council to which
important government affairs were referred.

• The Governor General and Royal

Audiencia may act separately or together,
occasionally made laws for the country
called autos acordados.
• These laws covered broad fields, ranging
from tribute collection to the control of
corruption in the provincial government.

• No regular body took charge of enacting

laws in the Philippines. Laws originating
from various sources were applied to the
Philippines. One of these was the Law of
Indies (Leyes de Indias).
• For three brief periods, the Philippines was
represented in the Spanish Cortes
(Spanish legislature) : from 1810 to 1813;
1820 to 1823; and from 1834 to 1837. The
Filipinos and their Spanish sympathizers
failed to restore our representation to the
Spanish lawmaking body after 1837.
Sources of Abuses in Administrative
System.

• The main cause of the weakness of

administrative system was the appointment
of officials with inferior qualifications, and
without dedication to duty, and moral
strength to resist corruption for material
advancement.
• These officials were given many powers
and privileges. The functions of the central
administrative officials overlapped and
inevitably resulted in confusion and friction.

• Complicating the situation was the union of

church and state.
• The principal officials of the administrative
system obtained their position royal
appointment, while the rest of the positions
were either filled by the government nor
General himself or were sold to the highest
bidder.

• The term of office of the royal appointees

depended on the King’s whims.
• And often the king’s appointees were
ignorant of Philippine needs.

• Besides they were subjected to many

restrictions and were frequently shifted
form one assignment to another to prevent
them from establishing a following among
the natives and perhaps causing the
secession of the colony from the empire.
• The distance of the colony, the inadequate
administrative supervision, the overlapping
of powers and privileges of these officials,
contributed to the perpetuation of
anomalies in the government service.

• After spending so much time and money to

obtain their royal appointment, many
officials exploited their office to recover
expenses and enrich themselves.
• When a conflict of interest arose in the
performance of duties, the officials
inevitably favored their personal interests
over the welfare of the state.

• The insecurity of their term of office made

them more unscrupulous and determined to
recover their financial losses through
devious means.
• The most corrupt branch of the government
was the provincial administrative system
where the alcalde was the administrator,
judge, military commandant, all rolled into
one, with a monthly salary of 25.00 pesos
but with liberal allowances and privileges.
• One of his privileges was collecting a
certain percentage from the total amount of
taxes levied on the provinces.

• Unscrupulous officials often exacted more

tributes than required by law and pocketed
the excess collections.
• Another privilege which was a pernicious
source of abuse which was the license to
engage in trade, known as indulto para
comerciar

• The provincial governors monopolized

provincial trade and controlled prices and
business practices.
• The parish priests could check anomalies
in these practices but in many cases they
encouraged the abuses of the governors in
exchange of favors.

• Nobody dared to complain to the court

because the alcalde was also the provincial
judges.
• Abuses multiplied because the higher
officials were indifferent to the anomalies.
There was no effective effort to check these
abuses and the people despaired knowing
that there would be no hope for change.
• The continuing complaints lodged by the
more responsible officials in Spain finally
resulted in the issuance of two reform
decrees, one in 1844 and the other In
1866.

• The first decree fixed the provincial

governor’s salary at 1,500.00 pesos and
1.600 pesos to rank;
• And provided that only lawyers or persons
with two years of legal experience in some
law office were qualified for provincial
governorship.

• The decree also abolished the privilege to

engage in trade. The judicial and executive
duties of civil officials were permanently
separated by the reform decree of 1866.
• Civil governors were appointed to assume
the administrative duties.

• Participation in the government of the

natives was confined to the lowest offices
in the administrative hierarchy as the
gobernadorcillo of a town and cabeza de
barangay of a barrio.
• The position of gobernadorcillo was honorary. No salary was expected with the
position although the gobernadorcillo was entitled to two pesos a month and a small
amount was given to the clerks.

• This harassed official was largely responsible for such municipal expenses such as
maintenance of cuadrilleros;
• the care of the town prisoners; the
purchase of desks, paper and ink by the
town officials; and the construction of the
town bridges.

• To pay for the necessary expenditures,

tributes, taxes, and fees were collected
from the natives, but most of the accounts
collected were not used for improvement.
• Unscrupulous gobernadorcillos made
considerable amounts of money from the
income of prosperous towns. Honest men
shunned the position because he took care
of collecting taxes and he had to pay with
his own money the uncollected amount that
feel short of the quota prescribed. He was
punished with fines and imprisonment.
• The Governor General tried to protect the
gobernadorcillo with the issuance of the
Ordinance of Good Government which
among others, provided for a more
respectable treatment.

• The central government neglected to make

provisions to aid the towns-people who
were directly taxed with an amount
arbitrarily decided by Spaniards.
• The system of collection was another
source of abuse that raised many bitter
complaints from the natives.

• The natural and constitutional rights and

liberties of the indios were curtailed.

• Homes were searched without warrants;

people were convicted or exiled for being
filibusteros;
• Books, magazines and other written materials
could not be published and introduced into
the country without prior approval of Board of
Censors; and meetings and assemblies for
Political purposes were prohibited.

• The judicial system was not properly

implemented because many judges were
incompetent and corrupt.
• Many cases were settled not according to
the merit of the case but on the basis of
such considerations as race, money and
certain personal advantages.

• Legal proceedings were costly affairs and

only those who had personal and financial
backing could afford trials and legislations;
• An interesting case that illustrates an
instance of injustice was the imprisonment
of Rizal’s mother. The story started with a
family trouble. While Jose Alberto, Dona
Teodora’s brother, was in Europe, his wife
abandoned her children and eloped with
her lover. Don Jose Alfonso found his erring
wife and readied a petition for legal action.
• But Dona Teodora pleaded for an amicable
solution. He decided to forgive his wife and
took her back to Binan.The family problems
were settled but the faithless wife had not
reformed. A few days later, she connived
with a lieutenant of the guardia civil, and
accused her husband trying to poison her
with Dona Teodora as his accomplice.
• Dona Teodora was promptly arrested. As
the prosecutor and the judge, the Kalamba
mayor intimidated Dona Teodora into
admitting the charge. She was promised
immediate freedom and speedy reunion
with her family if she complied with his
instructions. “Deceived and terrorized, she
submitted to the will of her enemies.”
• Dona Teodora appealed her case to the
Royal Audiencia. The court found
insufficient evidence and ordered her
immediate release. However, her freedom
was shortlived. She was arrested anew for
contempt of court. Her appeal to the Royal
Audiencia this time was turned down and
considered an insult by the local judges.
• Dona Teodeora languished again in prison
for two and a half years.

• She was finally released by acting

Governor General Manuel Blanco
Valderama. Such exercises of justice
dependent on the whims of one official was
a clear example of Spanish justice.
• Another anomalous situation was the
indivisibility of church and state in the
Philippines. The spread of Christianity was
one of the most important of Spain’s
motives in colonizing people.
Consequently, the friars were used by the
government as instruments of colonial
control.
• The archbishop of Manila, together with
other church officials, shared in the
extensive powers of the civil authorities.
While the term of office of the officials were
limited, those of the friars were not; hence,
they became powerful and abusive in the
areas they were stationed.
• The religious corporations acquired vast
tracts of lands and enriched their coffers at
the expense of the people’s ignorance. The
friars often played politics to suit their
purposes.

• Political Authority was usually placed in the

hands of a parish priest. This made him the
religious and state representative of town.
• His advice was sought in all important
matters. “He was a constant political factor for
a generation.”

• Conflicts between church and state were an

inevitable outcome of the intrigues and
jealousies of some of the friars and officials.
These intrigues and more became a clear
impediments to the administration of justice.
• Conflicts with the friars also involved the
Filipinos. Many such troubles included
Filipino land titles which the religious orders
gradually acquired for themselves. Most of
the lands were arable and were leased to
tenants on terms profitable to religious
orders.
• Wide antagonism developed between
friars and tenants because of unfair
practices adopted by friar landlords.

• The Educational System- Intellectual

disintegration was keenly felt by the
growing middle class towards the middle of
the 19th century. The intellectual decadence
was caused by an inadequate educational
system imposed on the people.
• For almost three hundred years since the
Spaniards established the first settlement in
the Philippines, there was no systematic
government supervision of schools.

• The schools were free to administer their

own curricula and prescribe the
qualifications of their teachers.
• The most serious criticisms against the
system were: the overemphasis on
religious matters, the obsolete teaching
methods, the limited curriculum, the very
poor classroom facilities, the absence of
teaching materials, such as books.

• Primary education was neglected; the

absence of academic freedom;
• the prejudice against Filipinos in the
schools of higher learning, and the friar
control over the system were also reported.

• The friars inevitably occupied a dominant

position in the Philippine education system
for religion was the main subject in schools.
• Fear of God was emphasized was
emphasized and obedience to friars were
instilled to the minds of people.

• Over centuries, these practices resulted in

lack of personal confidence and a
development of inferiority complex.
• The absence of academic freedom in
Spain’s educational system was extended
to the schools established in the
Philippines.

• Learning in every level was largely by rote.

Students memorized and repeated
contents of books which they did not
understand.
• In most cases knowledge was measured in
terms of the ability of a student to
memorize , largely hampering intellectual
progress.

• Teacher discrimination against Filipinos was

present in some higher schools of learning.
These schools were not open to natives until
the later decades of Spanish era.
• The Spaniards hesitated to consider indios
as educable as themselves, and often
times the Filipino students were subjected
to humiliation and discrimination.

• At the end of the Spanish period, the

College of San Juan de Letran was the only
official secondary school in the Philippines
that has private colleges and Latin schools.
• Up to the end of Spanish regime, the
University of Santo Tomas was the only
institution of university level in Manila.

• Another group of schools in the Philippines

at that time was the theological seminaries
found in Manila, Cebu, Jaro, Nueva
Caceres, and Nueva Segovia, maintained
by Jesuits, Paulists and Agustinians.
• The training of Filipino dioscesan priests
was generally geared toward their roles as
assistant only to Spanish priests. This was
part of Spanish colonial policy which did not
attempt to train the Filipinos for ultimate
independence.
• By 1855, the Spanish colonial authorities
realized the need of establishing a system of
public education for the indios.

• That year, Governor Crespo organized a

commission to study and recommend
remedial measures to improve elementary
education in the Philippines. On 1861, the
commission was completed and forwarded to
Spain.
• The educational Decree of 20, December
1863 was issued.

• In compliance with this decree, each major

town in the Philippines was to establish at
least one primary school for boys and
another for girls. Teachers of primary
schools were trained at a normal school for
men opened in 1865.
• Placed under the supervision of Jesuits,
this school started as the Escuela Normal
Elemental and by 1893 it was training male
teachers for work in the secondary schools.
Spanish was to be the medium in all
schools.
• The educational decree of 1863 marked a
milestone in the history of Philippines
education under Spain. For the first time,
provisions were made for the establishment
of teacher training schools and for
government supervision of the public
school system.
• An enlightened people cannot be kept long
in subjugation. The Filipinos must therefore
be kept in the dark so that they would
remain isolated from the intellectual
ferment of times; otherwise, they might be
inspired by the new ideas of freedom and
independence.
• Moret Decree of 1870, which is intended to
secularize higher education in the colony.
The friars strongly opposed the idea of
government control over higher education
in the Philippines. The bitter opposition
coupled with the political developments in
Spain made the implementation of the
Moret decrees impossible.
• Under such conditions, some Filipinos like
Rizal strongly felt the need to continue their
education abroad. One such instance was
the student petition led in 1870by Felipe
Buencamino at University of Santo Tomas.
Undoubtedly inspired by the Moret decree;
• under students circulated anonymous
letters that criticized the Dominican
methods of instruction, clamored for better
professors, demanded government control
of the University, and suggested keeping
the University abreast with academic
developments in Spain.
Spain in the Nineteenth Century

• The price of Political Instability- Spain

was reluctant to accept scientific and
technological advancements while her
neighbors, England and France became
industrialized and powerful nations. She
hesitated to a point of inertness, refusing
any change.
• As the 19th century drew to a close the
principles of freedom advocated by the
leaders of the French Revolution and the
American declaration of Independence had
become the political guidelines for the
watching world.
• Spain could no loner ignore the principles
of the inalienable rights of man, universal
suffrage and popular sovereignty.

• The celebrated motto of French Revolution,

“Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” and the
pronouncements of philosophers like
Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu
eventually influenced Spanish intelligentsia.
• A long period of struggle for
constitutionalism followed from 1814 to
1875.

• The efforts of the Spaniards to establish

new institutions after the war of
independence were thwarted by several
factors.
• One factor was the succession of
monarchs like Ferninand VII and Isabela II
who were unfit to rule. There was also split
into two irreconcilable camps, the
conservatives and liberals. As a result, the
events following the war of independence
led to a more disorganized Spain.
• The leaders offer the crown to Amadeo of
Savoy. In spite of Amadeo’s noble
intentions, he was unable to reconcile the
two opposing camps and was forced to
abdicate after two years. This ended the
threats of monarchy and ushered in the
birth of the Spanish Republic.
• The republic was born at a considerably
difficult period in history. Its six years of
existence saw bitter party strife, frequent
changes of presidents and ministers, and
eventually a new Carlist war.

• A new cortes, convoked with a new

constitution in 1876, remained in force until
1931 with the establishment of new republic.
• A parliamentary monarchy was set up.
Legislative power and the power to change
the constitution were given jointly to the king
and the cortes.

• During this period of political setbacks, the

great economy of the country suffered
greatly Constant change in power resulted
in confusion and insecurity.
• After the war of independence (1804-
1814), however, a slow economic recovery
began. The initiative of the middle class,
the flow of foreign capital, and the efforts of
the government quickened this phase of
Spanish development.
• However, the Spanish masses lived in
poverty and social misery so that in later
part of 19th century, leaders demanded
protection of economic and social rights.
The doctrine of socialism and anarchism
gradually spread in Spain.

• Utopian socialism penetrated Cadiz and

Andalucia;
• communistic ideas found supporters in
Barcelona and Catalonia, and anarchism
prevailed in Madrid, Andalucia and
Barcelona.

• “Spanish misery offered fertile grounds for

revolutionary doctrines” and by 1868,
concepts of labor, antimilitarism, hatred of
the wealthy and atheism were widespread.
• In the last quarter of the century, the
church organized clubs to counteract
revolutionary socialism. The government
haltingly tried to improve working
conditions.

• Provisions were made for low-cost and

healthy housing for the workers and for the
protection women and children,
• from exploitation, establishment of
hospitals, and formation of a Commission
of Social Reform to supervise the
implementation of reforms.

• The uncertainty of the Spanish political

situation affected her remaining territorial
possessions.
• The last decades of the 19th century
witnessed the popular unrest in Spanish
colonies, particularly the Philippines and
Cuba.

• Social and economic discontent deepened

as Spain floundered from absolutism to
republicanism incapable of retaining a
stable atmosphere.