Provincial School
At last he completed the course given in the town school and was ready to enter the provincial school, located in the town of Albay, several miles south of his home. A province in the Philippine Islands is similar to a county in the United States, and each one maintains a high school which any boy or girl living in the province may attend, after he has completed the work of the lower grades and has passed satisfactory examinations. Courses are offered in the history and government of the United States and the Philippine Islands, in literature, in grammar and composition, in mathematics, drawing, music, cooking, sewing, manual training, agriculture, and, when called for, Spanish and other subjects. The high school at Albay contained a very large assembly hall which was used for study when pupils were not in classes. We shall leave Francisco studying in this room, while we find out something of the history and government of these interesting islands.
CHAPTER VIII
WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT
When Francisco entered the provincial school he knew something about local government from seeing local officials and hearing older people discuss matters of politics, but his knowledge did not extend beyond his own barrio and town. As for the history of the Philippines, he knew little more than that the islands had been under the control of Spain and were transferred to the United States. Rizal (Rï-zäl′) Day, which was celebrated on the thirtieth day of each December, was greatly enjoyed by him as a holiday, but he had little idea of the reason for its celebration.
American boys and girls know even less than Francisco about these new possessions of ours across the Pacific. Hence, we shall find it interesting and worth while to follow the outline of Philippine history and government which Francisco studied in the provincial school.
It is now about four hundred years since the Spaniards first discovered the Philippines. An expedition under the command of Magellan set out from Spain in the year 1519, sailed across the Atlantic and down the eastern coast of South America, through the strait at the southern end of the continent, and northwest across the great Pacific, until it finally arrived at the island of Cebu. Here, on the seventh of April, 1521, a landing was made, and the country was claimed for the king of Spain.
The savage customs of the natives whom Magellan found there are shown in the method they followed when drawing up a treaty of friendship between themselves and the Spaniards. Cuts were made in the breasts of Magellan and the native chief, and each one drank some of the other’s blood as a pledge that the agreement should be kept forever. There were priests in the company, and they persuaded many of the Filipinos to accept baptism. The chief was given the new name of “King Charles I of Cebu,” and he agreed to rule under the guidance of the king of Spain.