Ricafort also tried to make the Filipinos understand that the Spanish were their friends, and that the government made laws for their help and protection. But the people had become very distrustful. Even the Church seemed no longer able to reassure them, or to keep peace as it had done in the past. There were small revolts, here and there in the islands, which the government was forced to put down. A rebellion in Bohol was only quelled after serious trouble, and at last more troops were sent out from Spain.
It had become necessary for Spain to yield to the demands of other countries, and open the port of Manila to foreign vessels. These could now enter the harbor, but they were compelled to pay double the regular port duties. It was growing harder and harder, in fact, for Spain to rule the islands in the old despotic fashion.
Moreover, in the mother country itself a party had risen that was honestly anxious to give the archipelago a good government. The leaders of this party listened gladly to the reports of educated Filipinos, and tried to learn the true state of affairs. These leaders, however, were almost powerless to bring about reforms, because of dissensions arising among the Filipinos themselves.
Few of the natives could read or speak the Spanish language. This fact alone made it hard to help them; for still fewer Spanish ever took the trouble to learn the native tongues. The people, therefore, were for the most part ignorant even of those laws which gave them rights and privileges. There were always those in power whose interests were best served by this ignorance, and they took no pains to teach the people what the laws were.
QUEEN CHRISTINA.
The country was now sunk in deep poverty, and the condition of the Filipinos was sad indeed. In 1836 the greed and bad government of Queen Christina (kristē´na) of Spain had emptied the royal treasury, and she greatly needed money. She tried to have her officers wring more from the Philippines and her other colonies, but this they could not do. The colonies, richly as nature had gifted them, were almost drained of their wealth.
The queen, therefore, agreed with Louis Philippe (lö´ē fil ēp´) of France to hand over Cuba to France for the sum of 30,000,000 reals. In the agreement to this effect there was also a clause offering to sell Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands to France for 10,000,000 reals more. If this agreement had gone through, it might have made a great change in the history of these islands; but it came to naught.
The queen sent her minister, Comparvano (kom pärvä´nō), to France, to confer with the French king and his advisers, and there the Spaniard learned for the first time of the clause about the Philippine Islands. The French king wanted to bargain over this clause. He said that in view of all the trouble in the archipelago, and for various other reasons, the price named was too high. In fact, he refused to pay more than 7,000,000 reals, and declared that 10,000,000 reals was an outrageous price. Rather than pay it he would put the contract in the fire.
The Spanish minister asked to see the contract. After looking at it, he said quietly, “Your Majesty is right; it is outrageous.” And taking the king at his word, he laid the paper on the fire. He meant that the price was outrageously small—not large, as the king had declared. He did a daring thing, but his courage saved Spain from the disgrace of such a poor bargain as the queen would have made.