NEGRITOS IN A PRAHU.
Later, however, when Legaspi and Salcedo were gone, many evils crept in. The great chiefs were put out of power, and little by little self-government was taken from the people. They came at last to have no voice in the ordering of their own lives, and no one to speak for them to their unknown ruler in Spain.
Summary.—The Philippine Islands are believed to be part of a great continent that once lay in the South Pacific Ocean. This continent sank. Afterwards a slow upheaval brought the islands up from the sea. The Aetas, or Negritos, were the earliest inhabitants of the country. The Indonesians of Mindanao are also aborigines. The Igorrotes are a wild tribe of Luzon and the Visayas, who have from the first been enemies of Spain. The Spanish treated them cruelly and won their hatred. The civilized Filipinos are of Malay origin, and came here from the Malay Peninsula. Those who settled in Mindanao were converted to the Mohammedan faith in the twelfth or thirteenth century by Arabian missionaries; and they are called Moros. The people of the islands are broken up into many tribes, and this has hindered their becoming a united people. The tribal form of government was simple, and so well suited to the country that Legaspi made little change in it. The Spanish who came after him, however, took all self-government from the people.
Questions.—What are we taught of the origin of the Philippine Islands? Who are the aborigines? What is the origin of the civilized Filipinos? How did the Moslem faith come into the country? Describe the early form of government.
Chapter IV.
EARLY TROUBLES.
Until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Mexico became independent of Spain, the Philippine Islands were governed for Spain by that country. This worked great hardship in the islands. Mexico herself was a dependency of Spain, and so the Philippines really became a dependency of a dependency. All laws for the country were made in Mexico, and in this way the islanders were removed one step farther from the foreign ruler who was their king.
The High Court of Mexico appointed the governor-general, and at the same time that it did so named the man who should succeed him. This it did in order that there might be no time lost in filling the office when it became vacant. When Legaspi died, therefore, his successor was already appointed, and at once took up the duties of his office.