[24] Jagor, (Spanish edition, Madrid, 1874), p. 255.
[25] “From these dates (referring to the opening of the ports) the prosperity of the Philippines advanced steadily and rapidly without interruption until the outbreak of the Philippine revolution six years ago. To this period is due the propagation of the hemp fields of Ambos Camarines, Albay, and Sorsogon; the planting of the innumerable coconut groves; the sugar haciendas of Pampanga and Negros; the tobacco fields of Cagayan and the Ilocos provinces; the coffee of Batangas, and the utilization everywhere of the specially adapted soils for the production of these admirable articles of trade. One thing is to be noticed, and is important in estimating the future development of the islands. The money that was invested here was not brought in by capitalists but was made here. Haciendas arose from small beginnings, and this continued prosperity apparently suffered no diminution or check until it was interrupted by the ravages and desolation of warfare. * * *” (Barrows, Census of the Philippine Islands (1903), Vol. 1, p. 446.)
[26] Bowring, p. 410.
“The Filipinos gave a proof of their intelligence and of their aspirations by sending their children to Manila to be educated, buying furniture, mirrors, articles of luxury for their homes and persons; buying pianos, carriages, objects imported from the United States and Europe which came their way, owing to foreign trade. These articles caused a revelation which produced a revolution in the social mind, thanks to that veritable revolution of an economic character which permitted the only possible development—the material development.” (Tavera, Ibid.)
[27] Jagor, ibid., p. 256.
[28] “The needs of commerce, demanded not by the poor but by the powerful, were attended to; for that reason roads were made, bridges were built, new highways of communication were opened, public safety was organized in a more efficient manner, the abuses of the dominators had greater publicity and, therefore, were fewer and more combated, the mail service was improved, Spaniards and other Europeans penetrated into the provinces, the natives themselves were permitted to go from one pueblo to another and change their residence, and the Filipinos were able to place themselves in contact with the civilized world, emerging from their prolonged and harmful sequestration, thanks to the workings of economic forces.” (Tavera, Ibid.)
[29] “During the previous epoch the so-called natural resources constituting the extractive industries—consisting of the collection of the spontaneous products of nature—were exploited: whereas freedom of trade brought about the development of agriculture which had already been initiated by the Real Compañía. In Ilocos, indigo was made, in Batangas, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna and the Visayas, sugar-cane was cultivated and sugar made; in Albay abaca was produced. Bigan, Taal, Balayan, Batangas, Albay, Nueva Caceres, Cebu, Molo, Jaro, Iloilo began to be covered with solidly constructed buildings; their wealthy citizens would come to Manila, make purchases, become acquainted with the great merchants, who entertained them in their quality as customers whose trade they needed; they visited the Governor-General, who would receive them according to the position that their money gave them; they came to know the justices of the Supreme Court, the provincials of the religious orders; they brushed up, as a result of their contact with the people of the capital and, on returning to their pueblo, they took in their hearts and minds the germ of what was subsequently called, “subversive ideas” and, later still, “filibusterismo.”
“The opening of the Suez Canal brought us nearer to Europe, and, carried along by the current of economical nature, came the ideas and principles of a political character which did no less than to revolutionize the ideas predominant in a country which had existed so completely separated from the nations of the modern world. Already the “brutes loaded with gold” dared to discuss with their curate, complain against the alcalde, defend their homes against the misconduct of the lieutenant or sergeant of the police force; such people were starting to emancipate themselves insensibly as a consequence of their economic independence. Their money permitted them effectively to defend questions involving money first, then, those of a moral character—they were becoming actually “insolent” according to the expression of the dominators: in reality, they were beginning to learn to defend their rights.” (Tavera, Ibid.)
[30] For a good discussion of the growth of population since Spanish conquest down to 1903, see Census of the Philippine Islands, Vol. 1, pp. 442–445.
[31] This principle is stated as follows: “The beginnings of social evolution * * * are always to be found in a bountiful environment. Moreover, density of population follows abundance of food, whether the supplies are obtained from the soil directly, or indirectly, in exchange for manufactures; and other things being equal, the activity and the progress of society depend, within limits, on the density of population.