Nevertheless, during all these troubled years, a number of useful works were undertaken and carried out by the government. In 1817 a royal decree was issued commanding that schools for Filipino boys and girls should be opened in all the convents. In 1820 the duties were taken off, for ten years, from the natural and manufactured products of the islands sent to Spain, and an effort was made to revive the dying commerce of the country.
A STREET IN MANILA.
In this same year there was a great cholera epidemic in Manila. Many natives, some 30,000, the accounts say, died of it; but only one foreigner, an Englishman. The people got the idea that the foreigners had caused this epidemic by poisoning the water of the wells. They rose against the foreign residents, and killed all the English and French before the authorities could control them. There was a feeling among the Spanish in Manila that Governor-General Folgueras (fol gö ër´äs) had not been as prompt as he might have been in quelling this uprising. It was openly stated that he had made no effort to subdue the mob until the English and the French residents were killed.
To defend himself against this accusation the governor-general made certain criticisms of the Spanish-American forces in the islands. He charged them with disloyalty, recommending that they be withdrawn, and replaced by a larger force to be sent from Spain. He represented to the home government that this was necessary, because the Spanish-American troops could not be depended upon.
In 1822 a new governor-general, Señor Juan Antonio Martinez (än tō´nē ō mär tē´neth), was sent out. With him came many officers and soldiers from the Peninsula. Following the advice of Folgueras, Martinez sent a number of persons to Spain, on the pretext that they had conspired against the government.
All this provoked a revolt of a part of the King’s Regiment, led by Captain Novales (nō väl´ēs), a Spanish-American. A fierce battle was fought in the streets of Manila on the night of June 1, 1823, and Folgueras was slain. However, order was finally restored in the regiment. The leaders of the revolt were executed, and, as usual, the authorities seemed to think that the matter needed no further attention.
Summary.—At the beginning of the nineteenth century Spain was no longer a great world power. The government of the Philippines was full of evil, and the people had but little justice. The tobacco monopoly had become a source of much trouble, and the people were often in rebellion because of it. Ideas of liberty were growing among other nations, and the Filipinos, too, were becoming restless under oppression. In 1811 the last state galleon for Acapulco left Manila. The first newspaper in the Philippines was started in 1811. In 1812 the Spanish Cortes passed the Constitution of 1812, giving Spanish colonies representation in the Cortes. The Constitution was sworn to in Manila in 1813. It was afterwards suspended, but came again into force a few years later, and in 1820 the Cortes again admitted Filipino representatives. In 1837, however, these islands were finally denied representation. The enemies of Spain gave the islands much trouble during these early years of the century, and the Moros and wild tribes of Mindanao were also in arms. In 1817 schools for Filipino boys and girls were ordered to be opened in all the convents. In 1820 duties were taken off, for ten years, from natural and manufactured products of the islands sent to Spain. In that year a great cholera epidemic raged in Manila. In 1823 occurred the revolt of a part of the King’s Regiment in Manila.
Questions.—What were some of the reasons why Spain fell from her early position as a great world power? What effect had the government monopoly of tobacco-growing upon the country? How did the freedom of America affect other peoples in the world? Why were the state galleons to Mexico discontinued? When did the last galleon leave Manila? What was the Constitution of 1812? Give an account of its history in the islands. What led up to the revolt headed by Captain Novales in 1823?
