A History of the Philippines

by David P. Barrows

The Manila Normal School.—To prepare Filipino teachers to do this work of primary instruction, a decree of 1863 established the Manila Normal School. In charge of the Jesuits, this school was inaugurated in January, 1865. And about the same date the government decreed the foundation of the Jesuit “Ateneo Municipal” for higher instruction in the classics and sciences that should conduct the student to the degree of bachelor of arts. The influence of these institutions upon the development of the Filipino has been remarkable. In one or the other of them have been trained nearly all of those young men who in recent years have stirred the Filipino people to wide ambitions and demands. At the same time the excellent Jesuit observatory, which has done such important work in meteorology, was established in charge of Padre Faura.

Increase in Spanish Population.—The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought immense changes to the Islands. Previous to this date Spanish residents had been few. Almost the only class deeply interested in the Islands and permanently established here had been the friars. But with communication by steamer in thirty days from Barcelona to Manila, a new interest was felt by Spaniards in the Philippines, though unfortunately this interest was greatest among the politicians. Some of the projects planned and decreed can only be regarded as visionary and beyond the point of serviceability, and others, more unfortunately still, had for their purpose the creation of offices and emoluments for Peninsula politicians; but they all contributed to bring to an end the paternal government under which there was no prospect of further enlightenment or progress for the Filipino.

Increase in the Number of Wealthy, Educated Filipinos.—The Filipino had now become embarked upon a new current of intellectual experience—a course of enlightenment which has been so full of unexpected development, and which has already carried him so far from his ancestor of one hundred years ago, that we can not say what advance another generation or two may bring. Throughout all the towns of the Islands a class was rapidly growing up to which the new industries had brought wealth. Their means enabled them to build spacious and splendid homes of the fine, hard woods of the Philippines, and to surround themselves with such luxuries as the life of the Islands permitted. This class was rapidly gaining education. It acquired a knowledge of the Spanish language, and easily assumed that graceful courtesy which distinguishes the Spaniard.

The only misfortune, as regards this class, was that it was very small. It could embrace but a few families in each populous town. Some of these had Chinese and Spanish blood in their veins, but other notable families were pure Filipinos.

Attitude of the Spanish and the Friars toward Filipino Education.—The great mistake committed by the Spaniard was that he rarely welcomed the further progress of the native population, and the center of this opposition to the general enlightenment of the race was the friars. Thus those who had been the early protectors and educators, little by little, because of their extreme conservatism and their fear of loosening the ties that bound the Filipino to the church and to Spain, changed into opponents of his progress and enemies of his enlightenment; but the education which the church itself had given to the Filipino, and which had been fostered by the state and especially in recent times by the Jesuits, had made the Filipino passionately ambitious for more enlightenment and freedom.

The Rule of Governor Torre.—Liberal Reforms.—In 1868, Queen Isabella II. of Spain was deposed, and a little later a revolutionary government, the “Republic of Spain,” was founded. It was the brief triumph of that reforming and liberal spirit which for so many years had been struggling to free Spain from the burdens of aristocracy and ecclesiasticism.

The natural consequence was the sending of a liberal governor to the Philippines and the publication of liberal principles and reforms. This governor was General de la Torre. He was a brave and experienced soldier and a thorough democrat at heart. He dispensed with the formality and petty pomp with which the governors of Manila had surrounded themselves; he dismissed the escort of halberdiers, with their mediæval uniforms and weapons, which had surrounded the governor-generals since 1581, and rode out in civilian’s clothes and without ostentation. His efforts were directed to encouraging the Filipinos and to attaching them to Spain. In the eyes of the Spanish law, for a brief period, Spaniard and colonists had become equal, and La Torre tried to enforce this principle and make no distinction of race or birth. While Filipinos were encouraged and delighted, it is impossible to describe the disgust of the Spanish population and the opposition of the friars. La Torre was attacked and opposed, and the entire course of his governorship was filled with trouble, in which, naturally, liberal ideas gained wider and wider currency among the Filipinos.

Effect of the Opposition of the Friars.—The friars, being the most influential opponents of the Filipino, naturally came to be regarded by the Filipinos as their greatest enemies, and the anti-friar spirit daily spread and intensified. A party was formed which demanded that the friars vacate the parishes, and that their places be filled by secular priests, in accordance with the statutes of the Council of Trent. This party was headed by a native priest, Dr. José Burgos.

A Filipino Movement for Reform.—After the fall of the republic in Spain and the restoration of the monarchy, the administration in the Philippines attempted to extirpate the rising tide of liberal thought; but these ideas had taken root and could not be suppressed. The Filipino party, if so we may call it, continued to plan and work for reform. It numbered not only those of Filipino blood, but many of Spanish descent, born in the Philippines. There is no certain evidence that they were at this time plotting for independence, or that their actions were treasonable; but the fear and hatred felt by the Spaniards resulted frequently in the exile and punishment of known advocates of reform.

The Cavite Revolt.—In 1872 there occurred an important outbreak known as the Cavite Revolt. Two hundred native soldiers at the Cavite arsenal rose, killed their officers, and shouted “Death to Spain!” They had fellow-conspirators among the troops in Manila, but owing to mistakes in their plans these failed to rise with them and the revolt was easily suppressed.