MODULE 4: THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGIN

Section 1: Pacto de Sangre: Why We Were Conquered

What is a Blood Compact?
Spanish: Pacto de Sangre
Filipino: Sanduguan
 An ancient ritual in the Philippines intended to seal a friendship or treaty, or to
validate an agreement
 A compact between Datu Sikatuna of Bohol, and the Spanish Captain General
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to ensure peace and friendship between the two
nations that they represented
 A solemn ritual and agreement between two equals, constituting a pledge of
eternal fraternity and alliance. It is a symbolic transfusion that wedded Filipinos
to Spanish culture and civilization (Aguilar, 2010)
 Usually done by parties who were former enemies and wished to reconcile or
those who wanted to avoid being enemies
 A political treaty the Philippines and Spain engaged in good faith through their
representatives (del Pilar, 1889)
 Valid but subject to fulfillment of its terms, that is, the Spain would annex the
Philippines and in return the Philippines could be assimilated
 The Philippines satisfactorily complied with such terms but Spain reduced the
Filipino race to an inherent position of inferiority
 Andres Bonifacio insisted that the blood compact was a valid agreement but
Sikatuna was misled by the Spaniards in their promise of enlightenment and
prosperity
 Before the Spaniards came, the Filipinos were living in complete abundance and
were able to trade with other countries
 It was recognizing this deceit that stirred nationalism among the Filipinos
towards the end of the Spanish rule in the Philippines
 Integrated in the founding of Filipino nationhood
 Used by the illustrados in demanding reforms from the Spanish colonial
government, a desire for change fueled by what has been called nationalism
 Considered as the First Treaty of Friendship, based on respect and equality
 Solemn ritual and agreement between the two nations
 The starting point in discussing the Spanish colonization
Section 2: Pre-Colonial Philippines: Rizal’s Annotation of Morga
 Pre–colonial Philippines – the cultural achievements of pre–colonial Philippines
include those covered by the pre–history and the early history (900–1521) of the
 Philippine archipelago’s inhabitants, the indigenous forebears of today’s Filipino
people
 Annotation – a note of explanation or comment added to a text or diagram
 Sucesos – the work of an honest observer, a versatile bureaucrat, who knew the
workings of the administration from the inside
 Las Islas Filipinas – the Philippine Island, named in honor of King Philip II of Spain
 Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas – Events in the Philippine Islands

About Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas

 One of the important works of the Philippines about the colonization of Spain,
published by Antonio De Morga in Mexico 1609
 Explains the political, social and economical aspects of a colonizer and the
colonized country
 Based on the experience and observation of Antonio De Morga
 Annotated by Jose Rizal with a prologue by Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt

 The work consists of 8 chapters

1. Of the first discoveries of the Eastern Islands
2. Of the government of Dr. Francisco de Sande
3. Of the government of don Gonzalo Ronquillo de Penalosa
4. Of the government of Dr. Santiago de Vera
5. Of the government of Gomes Perez Dasmarinas
6. Of the government of don Francisco Tello
7. Of the government of don Pedro de Acuna
8. An account of the Philippine Islands

Antonio de Morga
 Spanish lawyer and a government official during the 17 th century
 Historical Anthropologist and author of Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas
 Wrote the first lay formal history of the Philippines conquest by Spain
 He is a doctorate in Canon and Civil Law

Purpose of Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas

 Chronicle the deeds achieved by our Spaniards, the discovery, conquest, and
conversion of the Filipinas Islands – as well as various fortunes that they have
from time to time in the great kingdoms and among the pagan peoples
surrounding the islands
What lead Jose Rizal to Morga’s work
 Rizal was an earnest seeker of truth and this marked him as historian
 He had a burning desire to know exactly the condition of the Philippines when
the Spaniards came ashore to the islands
 His theory was that the country was economically self – sufficient and
prosperous
 He believed that the conquest of the Spaniards contributed in part to the
decline of the Philippines rich traditions and culture
 Four months of research and writing and almost a year to get his manuscript
published in Paris in January 1890

Why chose Morga

 The original book was rare
 Morga was a layman not a religious chronicler
 Morga is more objective than the other religious writers
 Morga was more sympathetic to the Indios
 Morga was not only an eyewitness but a major actor in the events

How did Rizal know about Morga’s work

 Found the book in London at the British Museum’s reading room
 Laboriously hand copied the whole 351 pages of the book
 First historical work on the Philippines by a Filipino

Three main propositions of Rizal’s Annotation

1. Awaken the consciousness of the Filipinos of their glorious ways of the past
2. Correct what has been distorted about the Philippines due to Spanish conquest
3. Proved that Filipinos were civilized even before the coming of the Spaniards

Ferdinand Blumentritt
 A historical use of hindsight
 Strong anticlerical bias
MORGA’S SUCESOS DE LAS ISLAS RIZAL’S ANNOTATION OF SUCESOS
FILIPINAS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS
LOCATION
 The Philippines was inhabitable  Ptolemy in his geography
 It extends 12 degrees south indicated three (3) islands which
latitude are Sinadae, Gilolo, Amboina and
 their inhabitants, thus, the
Philippines was not deserted and
actually habitable
 It is actually exactly at 25 degrees
and 40 minutes latitude north,
until 12 degrees latitude south
CLIMATE
 Winters and summers are opposite  In Manila, from December to
those of Europe; February temperature goes down
 Rainy weather is from June to more than it does during August to
September, summer is from September
October to May  Thus, with regards to the season,
it resembles Spain as all the rest
of the northern hemisphere
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
A. BODY TATTOO
 Draws pattern first before putting  Rizal agreed; it is same method as
black powder where the blood the Japanese
oozes out
B. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
 Tribes of whom cannot be safe  They will always choose violence
because of violence until the government enters
because of their inhumane ways
as answer to those who do not
submit to friars
C. LIFESTYLE AND MORAL PRICIPLES
 Men and women are money-loving  We find it everywhere in the world,
and in capitals. So, when there is a even in Europe
price, they yield  Indios have hygienic customs
 Bathing their body on rivers or which is the proper way of taking a
streams bath
D. GOVERNMENT
 There were no king or lords to rule  Rizal agreed that there were no
them such kings
 Morga was critical of the  Rizal argued that it was better that
government because there are no way because having a leader that
rulers for myriad communities, knows what the tribe needs and
instead one leader for each tribe what problems they have is more
 effective
E. CLOTHING
 In the middle of their waist, they  Bahag is a rich colored cloth and
wore “bahaque” and their quite often with gold strips and
foreheads wrapped with a potong they put moro style like a turban
FOODS
 They prefer to eat salt fish which  It is called “bagoong” and all those
begin to decompose and smell who have tasted and eaten it
 The ordinary food of the natives is know that it is not or ought to be
a very small fish which they call not rotten
“Laulau”  It seems that Morga refers to
“Tawilis” or “Dilis” which are eaten
by natives in large quantities
F. DRINKING
 Natives drink heavily  In his annotation, Rizal quoted Fr.
 Morga said, they all end up drunk Colin who said it is common
during wedding feasts knowledge that they drink a lot
but no matter how inebriated they
seem to be after the gathering or
a feast, they can always find their
way home
FAITH
A. BELIEF ON CROCODILES
 The natives set traps on the  It is just like how nations have
borders of rivers and streams near their respect to lions and bears,
their settlements to secure them putting their symbols in their
from which they fear and venerate shields and giving them vulnerable
epithet
B. HEALER
 Grave sorcerers and wizards who  Proved through the story of Fr.
deceive the people and Chirino about the case of
communicate to them whatever Amandao who is sick. He often
they wish offers his body to see if he will be
 They believe in omens and cured. But if he was cured, what
superstitions; they could tell could be said now to all who died
whether the sick person would live despite all the masses offered to
or die the different virgins?
C. CUSTOM FOR THE DEAD
 They buried their dead in their  We find it more natural and pious
own houses, keeping their bodies to venerate the remains of our
and bones for a very long time in loved ones that those fanatical
boxes and venerating their skulls martyrs whom we have no
dealings and who probably will
never remember us
ECONOMY
 Cotton is raised through the island  They also have cotton, not just
which they sell and trade as rice
threads
 They weave blankets and garment  Morga must have meant sinamay
which they also sell which was woven from abaca
 The natives of the island sell the  Agreed
artifacts to the Japanese
 Igorot kept their golds buried in  Agreed
the ground
ARTILLERY
 Governor Santiago de Vera, on his  Talked about Panday Pira as an
time, had set up a foundry for the indio who already knew how to
making of artillery under the find cannons even before the
hands of an old indio called arrival of the Spaniards
Pandapira
MARRIAGE, FAMILY, AND HOUSEHOLD
 The groom contributes a dowry,  A Filipino woman helps her
which he received from his husband and is not seen a s a
parents. The bride does not bring burden
anything until she inherits from  In Tagalog, a house is called
her parents pamamahay. It is impossible that
 The house where the parents and bahandin is printed for bahayin
children’s lives are called a  Asawa is the term called for the
bahandin wife of the native man
 Inasawa is a wife married to a
native man
SHIP – BUILDING INDUSTRY
 Described Filipino boats large  Claimed that the country, at one
enough to carry one hundred time, with primitive means, built
rowers on the border (vanda) and ships of around 2000 tons. He then
 thirty soldiers on top (pelea) proceeded by lamenting the
environmental costs of Spanish
boat-building
SYSTEM OF WRITING AND ACCOMPANYING LITERATURE
 Observed that writing was widely  Agreed that there was indeed a
use all over the pre-Hispanic system of writing but went one
Philippines, that all indios, men as step further in assuming that there
well as women, could read and was a great volume of written
write at least properly in their own literature at the time the
language Spaniards arrived in the
Philippines

MODULE 5: RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE

Section 1: Indolence and the Spanish Colonial Rule

La Indolencia De Los Filipinos (1890)
 The Indolence of the Filipino People is the longest essay of Jose P. Rizal
published in La Solidaridad on July 15, 1890, to defend the Filipinos against the
accusation of Mr. Sanciano.
 Rizal acknowledged Gregorio Sanciano’s El Progreso de Filipinas (1881) and
recognized the indolence of the Filipinos. However, he believed that such
indolence was not inherent but was caused by the climate of the Philippines,
both in a physical sense (as a tropical country) and in a socio-political sense (in
relation to the social disorders rooted in the Spanish rule).
 There were the economic policies implemented by the Spaniards that required
Filipinos to pay unreasonable taxes or tributo and render polo y servicio that
mandated forced labor on Filipino males16 to 60 years old for a 40-day period.
 In the essay, Rizal linked two factors to the indolence of the Filipinos. First was
the limited training and education provided to the Filipinos for the Spanish
government feared possible insubordination and retaliation. Second was the
lack of national sentiment of unity among Filipinos caused by the stigma that
Filipino culture was inferior to foreign culture which compelled humble
submission.
 Given these factors, Rizal concluded that the solution to Filipino indolence was
good education and liberty from oppression.

Los Agricultures Filipinos (1889)

  The Filipino Farmers was published in March 25, 1889. Rizal commended the
intention of the Spanish colonizers to develop agriculture in the Philippines as a
means to social and economic advancement. When he was exiled in Dapitan,
Rizal dedicated much of his time tending the farm he bought in Talisay. In his
farm, he used modern agricultural methods he observed in his travels in Europe.
He also urged farmers in Dapitan to use fertilizers and farm machines to
maximize the use of their lands.
 In the essay, Rizal recommended to the Minister of Colonies to consult Filipino
tillers who would be affected by any agrarian problem and to assist them. Rizal
pointed out that calamities were not solely to blame for the poor harvest of
Filipino farmers but rather, the abusive colonial policies, such as polo y servicio,
that minimized the productivity of farmers.
 Rizal also brought to attention the problem of banditry and thievery in rural
farms. The inability of colonial guards to provide adequate protection to the
farmers and their farmlands prompted Rizal to urge farmers to be equipped with
guns to defend themselves against lawless elements. Thus, Rizal demanded
from the Ministry of Colonies urgent solutions these problems.

Section 2: Rizal’s Abandonment of Assimilation

 The lack of significant progress in the campaigns for reform led by the ilustrados
and other propagandists prompted many Filipinos to believe that such
campaigns were futile. This rendered them hopeless and uninterested in
supporting the campaigns.
 Filipinos in Spain were also losing motivation. Others opted to passively
participate in Filipino initiatives while others decided to find their own ways to
take part in more active campaigns against Spain. This had been the scenario
among the Filipino nationalists in Spain. Personal rivalries among Filipinos also
arose and became a hindrance to the formation of concrete plans and actions.
 Graciano Lopez Jaena and Jose Rizal’s withdrawal from La Solidaridad was
caused by disagreement and differences in ideals and aspirations. This left
Marcelo H. del Pilar to manage the newspaper single-handedly. In addition, the
desire of other Filipino nationalists to establish a new organization to encounter
the Spanish rule resulted in setbacks on the efforts initiated by La Solidaridad.
Many believed that it would be better to be part of a new organization with
members united towards one goal instead of being in an organization where
personal rivalries hinder concrete actions toward greater nationalism.
  One of the predominant reforms lobbied by Filipinos was representation in the
Spanish Cortes. This move would have given Filipinos a voice in the Spanish
government, though in a limited capacity. Such representation was previously
granted to the Filipinos but was taken back. The lack of concrete commitment
on the part of the Spanish government only made the representation of Filipinos
barely enough to materialize.
 Around that time, Rizal was also preoccupied with the troubles of hacienderos in
Calamba whose situation he already brought before the courts of Spain. For
Rizal, the lack of Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes and the denial
of justice to the appeal of Filipinos over agrarian problems had proven the
improbability of a campaign for Filipino rights. In a letter to Blumentritt in1887,
Rizal already hinted at such sentiment saying, “The peaceful struggle must
remain a dream, for Spain will never learn from her earlier colonies in South
America. . . But in the present circumstances we want no separation from Spain;
all we demand is more care, better instruction, better officials, one or two
representatives, and more security for ourselves and our property. Spain can
still win the Philippines for herself forever, if only Spain were more reasonable.”
 The situation became more complicated for Rizal after his mother and sister
were arrested in Manila. After several days of imprisonment, they were asked to
go back to the courts in their province on foot before they were finally released.
In a letter sent in1891, Rizal wrote, “If our countrymen hope in us here in
Europe, they are certainly mistaken. . . The field of battle is the Philippines;
there is where we should be.”
 Rizal set the course for his return to Manila after the publication of his second
novel, El Filibusterismo. All copies of the novel were shipped to the Philippines.
Upon his arrival, he established a new organization the La Liga Filipina, a secret
society that embodied the ideas Rizal presented in El Filibusterismo. This
included the calls for the provision of mutual protection, defense against all
injustices, and promotion of instruction and education among Filipinos.

Section 3: El Filibusterismo

 To counter Noli Me Tangere's hopeful and romantic atmosphere, Rizal followed

it up with El Filibusterismo. Rizal started to write his second novel on October
1887, while he was in Calamba and finished it in Biarritz on March 29, 1891
 But just like the fate of Noli Me Tangere, Rizal also had difficulties in the
publication of El Filibusterismo due to the expensive printing costs.
 Rizal had to move to Ghent to look for cheaper ways of printing the book but
still found it too costly. Fortunately, his friend Valentin Ventura offered him
financial assistance which led to the novel's publication in September 18, 1891
at Ghent, Belgium
 El Filibusterismo was much shorter with only 39 chapters compared to Noli Me
Tangere which has 64 chapters. Rizal gave Ventura the original manuscript of El
Filibusterismo as a token of gratitude for his contributions to the publication of
the novel.
 Rizal used his first novel, Noli Me Tangere, to expose to the Filipinos the abusive
ways of the Spanish authorities and friars. Through the characters and plot of
the novel, Rizal was able to bring to light the corruption of the Spaniards.
Through the different characters in the novel, Rizal provided insights regarding
the condition of Philippine society under the Spanish colonial rule.
 In El Filibusterismo, Rizal warned Spain that its corrupt and self-seeking colonial
government would only lead to disaster, such as what happened to Kabesang
Tales and Basilio in the novel. Furthermore, Rizal also condemned the elite
Filipinos, who out of greed, selfishness, complacency, and cowardice, turned a
blind eye on the abuses of the Spanish authorities as long as these did not
affect them.
 Despite presenting a narrative that starkly condemned the Spanish rule, Rizal
was not asking for a revolution to demand immediate independence. Instead,
he proposed that the task of Filipinos was to prepare for eventual independence
once they are proven to be worthy and ready for it. It is through education,
exemplary lives, and willingness to sacrifice that freedom can be achieved
according to Rizal. At the end of the novel, Rizal, through Padre Florentino,
called on the youth to respond to such challenge.
 Today, the two novels remain popular. The original manuscript of Noli Me
Tangere was acquired by the Philippine government in 1911 for 32,000 pesos
from Soledad Rizal de Quintero. The original manuscript of El Filibusterismo was
sold by Valentin Ventur a to the Philippine government in 1928 for 10,000
pesos. Both were kept in Manila City Hall for safekeeping. However, the looting
and pilferage of historical documents became rampant because of their
outstanding monetary value.
 In 1946, most of the lost documents were returned to the National Library under
a “no
publicity-no question policy” arrangement. Through this, the invaluable works of
Rizal were safely kept by the National Library in the Rare Books and
Manuscripts Section. In 1961, as the government prepared for the centennial
 celebration of Rizal’s birth anniversary, the original works of Rizal including Noli
Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, and Mi Ultimo Adios were included in the exhibit
as part of the international conference organized by the Jose Rizal National
Centennial Commission.
 However, on December 8, 1961, the three works were stolen from the glass-
encased-
locked display counter. Upon negotiations, they were returned to the National
Library on Febuary 9, 1962.
 A few years ago, the original copies of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
in the possession of the National Library were reported to be decaying. One
more, the cultural treasures were under the threat of being lost forever.
Fortunately, the German government offered a conservation project in 2011 just
in time for the 150th birth anniversary of Jose Rizal.