Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom

by Trumbull White

CHAPTER XLVI.

THE PHILIPPINES, PUERTO RICO, AND OTHER COLONIES OF SPAIN.

The Philippines Another Example of the Shocking Misgovernment of
Spain's Outlying Possessions—Interesting Facts About the
Philippines—Spanish Oppression and Cruelty—Manila, the Capital
of the Islands—Manufactures and Trade of the Eastern
Archipelago—Puerto Rico and Its History—The Products and People
—Spirit of Insurrection Rife—The Colonies Off the Coast of
Africa Where Spain Exiles Political and Other Offenders—The
Canaries, Fernando Po and Ceuta.

From the very beginning of our war with Spain the peninsular kingdom had reason to fear that the loss of Cuba would be but one of the disasters to befall it in the war with the United States. It was recognized in all quarters that the Queen Regent would have been willing to let the Cuban insurrectionists have their island without further protest, had it not been for the fact that giving up probably would have incited an insurrection at home, resulting in a loss of the crown to her son before he should have a chance to wear it.

It was quite well understood as a like probability that the Philippine islands, that splendid colony of Spain in the East Indies, would be lost to Spanish control at the same time, and that the island of Puerto Rico, the last remnant of Spain's great colonial possessions in the Western hemisphere, after Cuba's loss, would gain its freedom too. The Queen Regent having spurned the only course in Cuban affairs which the United States would permit, with American war-ships threatening Manila, it became immediately apparent that the other horn of the dilemma which had been chosen was as fatal to Spanish sovereignty as the first would have been.

Even Cuba, with all its abominations, scarcely afforded so remarkable a picture of Spanish oppression, miscalled government, as may be seen in the Philippines. It is only the remoteness and isolation of these unhappy islands that has prevented the atrocities there perpetrated from arousing the indignation of the whole world. Readers are familiar enough with the shocking barbarities practiced in times of disorder by the Spanish authorities, and they do not need to be multiplied here, but in the Philippines is demonstrated the utter incapacity of the Spanish for the exercise of civilized government over a dependent province even in times of so-called peace.

The Philippines are extremely interesting in themselves, but are seldom visited by tourists, partly in consequence of their lying out of the ordinary lines of travel and partly because of the policy of Chinese seclusion cultivated by the government. The climate, too, is unhealthy, even beyond what is usual in the tropics, and the unsettled state of the country, swarming with exasperated savages and bandits of the worst description, makes excursions beyond the limits of the principal cities very perilous. About 600 islands are included in the group, and the total area is considerable—some 150,000 square miles, three or four times that of Cuba, Exact data, however, are difficult to obtain. There are a multitude of insignificant islets hardly known except upon the charts of navigators; but Luzon almost equals Cuba in extent. Altogether the islands probably contain less than 8,000,000 souls; so that Spanish cruelty finds plenty of raw material to work upon.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION.

And most of it is raw to the last degree—a medley of diverse and hostile races, ranging from the puny and dying remnant of the Negritos, who live like wild beasts in the highlands, subsisting upon the roots which they claw out of the ground, to the fierce and unsubdued Mohammedan tribes that still keep up the bloody war of creeds which raged in Spain itself for so many centuries. These latter are chiefly of Malay origin and many of them are professional head-hunters, well qualified to retort Spanish outrages in kind. There are also Chinese in large numbers and half-castes of all varieties. The proportion of Europeans is small, even in the cities. The resident Spaniards are all soldiers or officials of some sort and are there simply for what they can make by extortion and corrupt practices.

The Philippine islands were discovered in 1521 by Magellan, the circumnavigator, and were conquered by Spain and made a colony in the reign of Philip II., for whom they were named, half a century later. Spanish sway never has extended over more than half of the 1,400 islands of the archipelago, the others remaining under their native wild tribes and Mohammedan rulers. The conjectural area is about 120,000 square miles, and the estimated population about 7,500,000. About half this area and three-quarters of this population are nominally under Spanish rule, but the insurrection has left things in a good deal of doubt. The remainder of the people are governed according to their own customs, by independent native princes. Education is exceedingly backward. The Roman Catholic clergy have been industrious, and probably 2,500,000 natives are nominal converts to the Christian religion; but education has advanced very little among them. There is a Roman Catholic archbishop of Manila, besides three bishops.

The history of the Philippines has included a succession of revolutions against Spanish authority, put down by ferocious warfare and cruelty on the part of the victors. The conversion and subjugation of the islands were not accompanied by quite the horrors that characterized the Spanish conquest of South America, but the record is second only to that. Manila was captured by the English in 1762 and was held by them for two years until ransomed by the Spanish by a payment of 1,000,000 pounds. Contests with rebellious tribes, attacks by pirates, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tornadoes help to break the monotony of the history.

MANILA, THE CAPITAL OF THE COLONY.

Manila, the capital city of the colony and of Luzon, the largest island, lies 628 miles, or sixty hours' easy steaming, southeast of Hongkong, and twice that distance northeast of Singapore. The population of the city is about 330,000, of whom only 10,000— including troops, government officials and clergy—are Europeans, and not more than 500 are English-speaking people. A few American houses have branches in Manila, so that there is an American population of perhaps 100. The city faces a fine bay, into which flows the River Pasig. Most of the Europeans live in Binondo, a beautiful suburb on higher ground, across the river. There are many native dialects, but the social, official and business idiom is Spanish. The army of Spanish civil, religious, military and naval officials is a leech on the people in the same fashion as it was in Cuba. All the places of profit are monopolized by them, appointments to choice offices in the Philippines being given to those whom it is desired to reward for service to the government in Spain. It is quite well understood that such an appointee is expected to gain a fortune as rapidly as he can, by any method possible, so that he may give way for some one else to be brought over from Spain for a similar reward. The policy is the same as the colonial policy of Spain in Cuba was, and the same results have followed.

But, indeed, pillage of the wretched natives is the almost open aim of the government—the sole end for which it is organized and maintained; so why should petty officials be scrupulous? It is the old Roman provincial system, denounced by Cicero 2,000 years ago, but in Spain unforgotten and unimproved. What other use has she for dependencies, except as a source of revenue wrung by torture from the misery of slaves, and incidentally as a battening ground for her savage war dogs? Here the detestable Weyler is said to have accumulated a fortune of several millions of dollars in three years—more than twenty times the whole amount of his salary!

The methods employed in this legalized system of robbery are medieval in character, but often highly ingenious. One of them is the "cedula personal," a sort of passport. Every person in the islands and over eighteen years of age and accessible to the authorities is required to take out one of these documents; even the women are not exempt. The cedula must be renewed annually and the cost is from $1.50 to $25, according to circumstances—the chief circumstances being the victim's ability to pay. This in a country where wages sometimes fall as low as five cents a day! And any one who holds a cedula costing less than $3 is further required to render the government fifteen days of unremunerated labor.

INSTANCES OF PETTY EXTORTION.

But the cedula is only one device out of many for extracting gold from the refractory ore of poverty. A hungry native cannot kill his own hog or buffalo for meat without a special permit—which, of course, must be paid for. He is not allowed to press out a pint of cocoanut oil from the fruit of his own orchard until he has obtained a license, and this also has its price. The orchard itself is taxed; everything is taxed in the Philippines.

The resident Chinese are further subjected to a special tax— whether for existing or for not being something else is not stated. They are not popular and are treated with the most shameless injustice. This the following incident will illustrate:

Fires are very frequent in Manila and very destructive, most of the houses being of wood, while the poorer districts are a mere jumble of bamboo huts, thousands of which are sometimes consumed in a day without exciting much comment. A fire in the business portion, however, arouses more interest; it affords opportunities that are not to be neglected. On one such occasion, where the scene of conflagration was a quarter chiefly occupied by Chinese shops, the street was soon thronged with an eager mob. The poor Chinamen, acting much like crazed cattle, had fled into their upper chambers and locked the doors, apparently preferring death by fire to the treatment they were likely to receive outside. But there was no escape.

The "rescuers"—Spanish soldiers—quickly broke in with axes and after emptying the money boxes, hurled the wretched Mongolians and all their goods into the street, to be dealt with at discretion. It was a mere pretext for robbery and outrage, as many of the shops were remote from the fire and in no danger. The next morning the middle of the street was piled high with soiled and broken goods; and any one who cared to bribe the sentries was allowed to carry away as much as he pleased. All day long the carts went to and fro, openly conveying away the plunder. The owners were not in evidence; what had become of them is not recorded. Such is the "fire department" in Manila.

Taxes are imposed for "improvements," but no improvements are permitted even when backed by foreign capital. The roads remain impassable canals of mud, education is a farce, the introduction of machinery is frowned upon and progress is obstructed.

The natural resources of the Philippines are very good, and under a civilized administration these islands would be rich and prosperous. But the mildew of Spanish misgovernment is upon everything and its perennial blight is far more disastrous than the worst outbreaks of savagery in time of war. His total inability to maintain an endurable government in time of peace is what marks the Spaniard as hopelessly unfit to rule.

Manila has cable connection with the rest of the world, and regular lines of passenger steamers. The European colony has its daily papers, which are, however, under strict censorship, religious and military, and keeps up with the news and the fashions of the day. Until the insurrection of the last two years, the army, except two Spanish brigades of artillery and a corps of engineers, was composed of natives and consisted of seven regiments of infantry and one of cavalry. There was also a body of Spanish militia in Manila, a volunteer corps similar to the one which was always maintained in Havana under Spanish rule, which could be called out by the captain-general in the event of need.

SPAIN'S FEEBLE CONTROL OF THE ISLANDS.

When the latest insurrection began, Spain shipped to its far-off colony all the men who could be spared from service in Cuba, and after a few months of fighting it was announced that the rebellion was crushed. As a matter of fact, however, Spain has control of but a comparatively small part of the islands, and the natives elsewhere are as free from obligation to pay Spanish taxes as they were before the discovery.

Trade restrictions have hampered the commercial progress of the colony, but in spite of that fact their trade with the outside world is a large one. For many years after the conquest but one vessel a year was permitted to ply between Manila and the Spanish-American port of Acapulco. Then the number was increased to five. Then a Spanish chartered company was given a monopoly of the trade of the islands. When that monopoly expired, other houses began business, until finally many large English and German firms shared the trade, while American houses and American ships were by no means at the foot of the list. The total volume of the exports and imports is about $75,000,000 annually.

The manufactures of the Philippines consist chiefly of textile fabrics of pineapple fiber, silk and cotton; hats, mats, baskets, rope, furniture, pottery and musical instruments. Vegetable products of great value are indigo, cocoa, sugar, rice, bamboo, hemp and tobacco. Coffee, pepper and cassia grow wild in sufficient quantity and quality to provide a living for those who wish to take advantage of what nature has provided. Coal, gold, iron and copper are mined with profit. The soil is exceedingly fertile, and although the climate is tropical, with little change except between wet and dry seasons, it has not been difficult for Europeans to accustom themselves to it. The largest island is nearly 500 miles long and 125 miles wide, while others are more than half as large. It must be remembered that the interior of these great islands, and the whole of hundreds of the smaller ones, are unexplored and almost unvisited by travelers from civilized lands, as Spanish exploration has been of little practical value to the rest of the world or to science.

PUERTO RICO.

Puerto Rico, the smaller of the two islands which Spain held in the West Indies, was discovered by Columbus in 1493 and occupied by soldiers under Ponce de Leon early in the sixteenth century. It lies well outside the Caribbean sea, in the open Atlantic, and for this reason it is not at all affected climatically, as Cuba is, by proximity to the continent. Its climate is determined mostly by the ocean, whose breezes sweep constantly over the entire island, tempering deliciously the tropical heat, of the sun.

The surface of the island is equally favorable to excellent climatic conditions. It has no mountains, but it has hills that extend from end to end of it and form a perfect watershed and afford drainage for plains and valleys. Thirteen hundred rivers, forty-seven of them navigable, drain 3,500 square miles of territory, a territory as large as the state of Delaware. All over its extent are, besides the principal range of hills that are by some called mountains, round-topped hills of finest soil, which are nearly every one cultivated. In summer the heat is not excessive in the valleys and in winter ice never forms oil the hills. It is a purely agricultural country and the great majority of the natives are farmers. In the population of 810,000 are 300,000 negroes, who are now free, and since their freedom have gone into the towns and cities and found work in the sugar mills and at similar employments.

The native Puerto Ricans adhere to the soil. Their labors are not severe where the soil is loose and rich, as it is every where except near the seashore, and for reasons already stated the climate is very favorable to a comfortable existence. The only drawback perhaps to this comfort for dwellers on the island is lack of substantial bridges over the many streams and the absence of good roads.

There are a number of extensive forests on the island, and while they resemble in their main outlines those of the other West India islands, certain varieties of trees and shrubs exist there that are not seen elsewhere. Baron Eggers, who in 1883 had a coffee farm of 2,000 acres just coming into bearing, found leisure from his other employments to explore some of the forests and—he being an authority on the subject—the facts he discovered and reported have been regarded of interest by travelers and students. He found palms and a strange variety of orchid, but the palms were not so lofty, nor the orchids so rich as they both are on the Caribbean islands. But he found trees of great beauty and great utility in manufactures that are not abundant on the other islands, if, indeed, they are ever found on any of them.

The Baron describes with rapture the sabino, so called by the natives, but by him called the talauma; it is from fifteen to twenty feet high, with spreading branches, having large silvery leaves and bearing immense white, odorous flowers. The hietella is another tree that has remarkable leaves and yields beautiful crimson flowers. He describes still another tree, without naming it, as having orangelike foliage, large purple flowers, and as having in its neighborhood other trees, different from it, but resembling it and evidently allied to it. This tree, he says, is not found elsewhere. Still another tree, the ortegon, whose flowers are purple spikes a yard long, and whose wood is used for timber, is common on the high lands near the coast. And there are dye woods, mahogany and lignum vitae. Hence it is seen that the forests of Puerto Rico are generally beautiful, and strange in some of their features.

The words Puerto Rico are, when translated, Rich Port, and they are very applicable to this snug spot in the Atlantic ocean, only a short distance off the United States coast. Every variety of soil is adapted to the growth of a particular kind of crop. The highest hills, as the lowest valleys, are cultivated with reference to what they will best produce. On the hills, rice; in the valleys, coffee, cotton and sugar cane; on the rising grounds between the valleys and hills, tobacco. Puerto Rico rice, unlike that of the Carolinas, grows on dry lands, even on the highest hills, without watering. It is the staple food of the laborers. The consular report to Washington for 1897 says the product of coffee that year was 26,655 tons; of sugar, 54,205 tons, and of tobacco, 1,039 tons. The number of bales of cotton is not given, but the consul expatiates on its fine quality. The richness of the sugar lands may be judged from this item in the report: "Three hogsheads of sugar is an average yield per acre, without using fertilizers of any kind."

Puerto Rico is one of the finest grazing countries in the world. Its herds of cattle are immense, and from them are supplied cattle of a superior quality to the other West India islands. Great quantities of hides are shipped to various countries.

Though richly agricultural as the island is, and entitled as it is to be regarded as exclusively agricultural, in past times considerable mining was done there, in gold, copper and salt. Indeed, copper is still mined to a small extent, and salt is still so plentiful that the government finds a profit in monopolizing the sale of it.

Puerto Rico is only 100 miles in length and from fifty to sixty miles in breadth, and as square as a dry-goods box. East and west and north and south its coast lines run almost as regularly as if projected by compass. It is the delight of the sailorman, as its fertile soil is the joy of the agriculturist.

The harbor of San Juan is the chief in Puerto Rico, and one of the best of its size in the Caribbean sea. It is safe and sheltered, large and land-locked, and though the entrance is somewhat "foul," ships drawing three fathoms can enter and find anchorage within, good holding ground being had at any depth up to six fathoms. The bay is broad as well as beautiful, and opens toward the north, so that a vessel laying her course from New York could, if there were no obstructions en route, sail directly into the harbor.

The fortifications which surround the city of San Juan are, like the Spanish pedigrees, ancient, flamboyant, beautiful to look at, but as worthless withal. This city of about 25,000 inhabitants is completely inclosed within imposing walls of stone and hardened mortar from 50 to 100 feet in height. They have picturesque gates and drawbridges, portcullises and demilunes, quaint old sentry boxes projecting into the sea, frowning battlements, and all that; but most of their cannon date back from the last century.

In ancient times the chief fort or castle was called the "morro," or Moorish tower, because it was generally round; and San Juan, like Havana, has its Morro as the most prominent point of its fortifications. It stands on a bluff jutting out from the city walls and has a lighthouse immediately in the rear of it. Against the seaward front of the massive walls the ocean pounds and thunders, but the landward harbor is quiet and safe for any craft. A broad parade ground is inclosed within the walls, westward from the citadel, and not far off is the oldest house in the city, no less a structure than the ancient castle of Ponce de Leon, one-time governor here and discoverer of Florida. His ashes are also kept here, in a leaden case, for Ponce the Lion-Hearted was a great man in his day and cleaned out the Indians of this island with a thoroughness that earned him an exceeding great reward.

Just under the northern wall of the castle is the public cemetery, the gate to it overhung by an ornate sentry box, and the bones of evicted tenants of graves whose terms of rental have expired, are piled in the corners of the inclosure. The prevailing winds by day are from the sea landward; by night, from the inland mountains toward the coast. Far inland rises the conical summit of the great Luquillo, a mountain about 4,000 feet in height, and from whose sides descend streams that fertilize the island.

It is about ninety miles from San Juan to Ponce, the southern port, by a fine road diagonally across the island. The Spaniards generally are poor road-builders, but in this island they have done better than in Cuba, and one may travel here with a fair amount of comfort to the mile. There are several lines of railroads building, a system being projected around the island 340 miles in length.

The city of Ponce is the largest, with a population of about 38,000 and an export trade of vast extent. It is the chief sugar-shipping point, though it has no good harbor, and lies nearly three miles from the sea. It is a rather fine city, with a pretty plaza and a grand cathedral, and its houses, like those of San Juan, are all built of stone.

Other harbors are: On the east coast, Fajardo and Humacao; on the north, besides San Juan, Arrecibo; on the west, Aguadilla and Mayaguez, at the former of which Columbus watered his caravels in 1493, and where the original spring still gushes forth.

Going with Puerto Rico are two small islands called Culebra and Vieque, mainly inhabited by fishermen, but with fine forests of dye and cabinet woods to be exploited. The commerce of the island is mainly with the United States. We gained $1,000,000 a year in exports to this island for the last ten years, and nearly $3,000,000 in imports. With a staple government and under wise control, Puerto Rico will more nearly attain to its full productiveness. The annual sugar yield is estimated at near 70,000 tons; that of coffee, 17,000 tons; bananas, nearly 200,000,000; cocoanuts, 3,000,000, and tobacco, 7,000,000 pounds. Gold was originally abundant here, and copper, iron and lead have been found. With enterprise and protection to life and property they will be profitably exploited.

COLONIAL POSSESSIONS OF SPAIN.

The loss of Cuba and Puerto Rico did not leave Spain without colonial possessions, as the subjoined table will show:

Area—English
Possessions in Asia square miles. Population.

Philippine Islands 114,326 7,000,000
Sulu Islands 950 73,000
Caroline Islands and Palaos 560 36,000
Marianne Islands 420 10,172
———- ————-
Total Asiatic possessions 116,256 7,121,172

Possessions in Africa

Rio de Oro and Adrar 243,000 100,000
Ifni 27 6,000
Fernando Po, Annabon, Corsico, Elobey, San Juan 850 30,000
———- ———-
Total African possessions 243,877 136,000

The Sulu archipelago lies southwest of the Island of Mindanao, and directly south of Manila and the Mindora sea. The chief island gives its name to the group, which extends to the three-mile limit of Borneo. The area of the whole is estimated at 950 square miles; the population at 75,000 Melanesians.

The Caroline and Marianne, or Ladrone Islands, are more numerous, but scarcely as important or as populous as the Sulu group. They belong to what is sometimes known as Micronesia, from the extreme diminutiveness of the land masses. The two groups are east and northeast of the Philippines, and in easy sailing reach from Manila. From east to west they are spread over 30-odd degrees of longitude, and from north to south over 20 degrees of latitude.

The inhabited islands are of coral formation, generally not over ten or twelve feet above high water mark. They are, in fact, heaps of sand and seaweed blown over the coral reefs. Most of these islands are narrow bands of land from a few yards to a third of a mile across, with a lagoon partly or wholly inclosed by the reef. Cocoanuts and fish are the chief reliance of the natives, who are an inferior species, even for Polynesians.

First and most attractive of the African dependencies, both by reason of natural resources and of their advantages as a naval base, are the Canaries, which are regarded as a part of the Spanish kingdom proper, so long and so secure has been the hold of Spain upon them.

More extensive in area, if not more attractive for residence purposes, is the sandy, partially desert stretch bearing the names of Rio de Oro (River of Gold), and Adrar. The imaginary line familiar to schoolboys under the name of the Tropic of Cancer has an especial fondness for this region, passing near the north and south center. The district is close to the Canaries on its northern edge, and it is ruled by a sub-governor under the Governor of the Canaries. There are two small settlements on the coast The only glory Spain gets from this possession is that of seeing its color mark on the maps of Africa.

Of the other African possessions enumerated some are hardly big enough to be seen on an ordinary map without the aid of a microscope. Corisco is a little stretch of coast around an inlet just south of Cape St. John, near the equator. Fernando Po Island will be found right in the inner crook of the big African elbow. Annabon Island is off Cape Lopez.

Another possession or claim of the decadent peninsula monarchy remains to be catalogued—the country on the banks of the Muni and Campo rivers, 69,000 square miles, and containing a population of 500,000. The title to this section is also claimed by France.