The 19th century

By the late 18th century, political and economic changes in Europe were finally
beginning to affectSpain and, thus, the Philippines. Important as a stimulus to tradewas
the gradual elimination of the monopoly enjoyed by the galleon to Acapulco. The last
galleon arrived in Manila in 1815, and by the mid-1830s Manila was open to foreign
merchants almost without restriction. The demand for Philippine sugar and abaca
(hemp) grew apace, and the volume of exports to Europe expanded even further after
the completion of theSuez Canal in 1869.

The growth of commercial agriculture resulted in the appearance of a new class.

Alongside the landholdings of the church and the rice estates of the pre-Spanish nobility
there arose haciendas of coffee, hemp, and sugar, often the property of enterprising
Chinese-Filipino mestizos. Some of the families that gained prominence in the 19th
century have continued to play an important role in Philippine economics and politics.

Not until 1863 was there public education in the Philippines, and even then the church
controlled the curriculum. Less than one-fifth of those who went to school could read
and write Spanish, and far fewer could speak it properly. The limited higher
education in the colony was entirely under clerical direction, but by the 1880s many
sons of the wealthy were sent to Europe to study. There,nationalism and a passion for
reform blossomed in the liberal atmosphere. Out of this talented group of overseas
Filipino students arose what came to be known as the Propaganda Movement.
Magazines, poetry, and pamphleteering flourished. José Rizal, this movement’s most
brilliant figure, produced two political novels—Noli me tangere(1887; Touch Me Not)
and El filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed)—which had a wide impact in the
Philippines. In 1892 Rizal returned home and formed theLiga Filipina, a modest reform-
minded society, loyal to Spain, that breathed no word of independence. But Rizal was
quickly arrested by the overly fearful Spanish, exiled to a remote island in the south, and
finally executed in 1896. Meanwhile, within the Philippines there had developed a firm
commitment to independence among a somewhat less privileged class.

Shocked by the arrest of Rizal in 1892, these activists quickly formed

the Katipunan under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio, a self-educated
warehouseman. The Katipunan was dedicated to the expulsion of the Spanish from the
islands, and preparations were made for armed revolt. Filipino rebels had been
numerous in the history of Spanish rule, but now for the first time they were inspired by
nationalist ambitions and possessed the education needed to make success a real
possibility.
The Philippine Revolution

In August 1896, Spanish friars uncovered evidence of the Katipunan’s plans, and its
leaders were forced into premature action. Revolts broke out in several provinces
around Manila. After months of fighting, severe Spanish retaliation forced the
revolutionary armies to retreat to the hills. In December 1897 a truce was concluded
with the Spanish.Emilio Aguinaldo, a municipal mayor and commander of the rebel
forces, was paid a large sum and was allowed to go to Hong Kong with other leaders; the
Spanish promised reforms as well. But reforms were slow in coming, and small bands of
rebels, distrustful of Spanish promises, kept their arms; clashes grew more frequent.

Emilio AguinaldoEmilio Aguinaldo.Brown Brothers

Meanwhile, war had broken out between Spain and the United States (the Spanish-
American War). After the U.S. naval victory in the Battle of Manila Bay in May 1898,
Aguinaldo and his entourage returned to the Philippines with the help of Adm. George
Dewey. Confident of U.S. support, Aguinaldo reorganized his forces and soon liberated
several towns south of Manila. Independence was declared on June 12 (now celebrated
as Independence Day). In September a constitutionalcongress met in Malolos, north of
Manila, which drew up a fundamental law derived from European and Latin American
precedents. A government was formed on the basis of that constitution in January 1899,
with Aguinaldo as president of the newcountry, popularly known as the “Malolos
Republic.”

Meanwhile, U.S. troops had landed in Manila and, with important Filipino help, forced
the capitulation in August 1898 of the Spanish commander there. The Americans,
however, would not let Filipino forces enter the city. It was soon apparent to Aguinaldo
and his advisers that earlier expressions of sympathy for Filipino independence by
Dewey and U.S. consular officials in Hong Kong had little significance. They felt
betrayed.

U.S. soldiers in a trench near Manila, Phil., during the Spanish-American War, 1898. Hulton Archive/Getty
Images

U.S. commissioners to the peace negotiations in Paris had been instructed to demand
from Spain the cession of the Philippines to the United States; such cession was
confirmed with the signing of theTreaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. Ratification
followed in the U.S. Senate in February 1899, but with only one vote more than the
required two-thirds. Arguments of “manifest destiny” could not overwhelm a
determined anti-imperialist minority.

By the time the treaty was ratified,hostilities had already broken out between U.S. and
Filipino forces. Since Filipino leaders did not recognize U.S. sovereignty over the islands
and U.S. commanders gave no weight to Filipino claims of independence, the conflict
was inevitable. It took two years of counterinsurgency warfare and some wise
conciliatory moves in the political arena to break the back of the nationalist resistance.
Aguinaldo was captured in March 1901 and shortly thereafter appealed to his
countrymen to accept U.S. rule.
Philippine-American War: ManilaPortion of the ruins of Manila, Philippines, after shelling by U.S. forces
in 1899.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

The Filipino revolutionary movement had two goals, national and social. The first goal,
independence, though realized briefly, was frustrated by the American decision to
continue administering the islands. The goal of fundamental social change,manifest in
the nationalization of friar lands by the Malolos Republic, was ultimately frustrated by
the power andresilience of entrenched institutions. Share tenants who had rallied to
Aguinaldo’s cause, partly for economic reasons, merely exchanged one landlord for
another. In any case, the proclamation of a republic in 1898 had marked the Filipinos as
the first Asian people to try to throw off European colonial rule.