Philippine Nationalism Essay Example

Philippine Nationalism Paper - Filipino nationalism Filipino Nationalism  is an upsurge of patriotic sentiments and  nationalistic  ideals in the  Philippines  of the 19th  century that came consequently as a result of more than two centuries of Spanish rule[1]  and as an immediate outcome of the Filipino  Propaganda Movement  (mostly in Europe) from 1872 to 1892. It served as the backbone of the first nationalist revolution inAsia, the  Philippine Revolution  of 1896. [2] - The Creole Age (1780s-1872) The term Filipino in its earliest sense referred to  Spaniards  born in the Philippines or  Insulares  (Creoles) and from which Filipino Nationalism began. Spanish-born  Spaniards or mainland Spaniards residing in the Philippines were referred to as  Peninsulares. The indigenous peoples of the Philippines were referred to as  Indios. Those of mixed ancestry were referred to asMestizos. Traditionally, the Creoles had enjoyed various government and church positions—composing mainly the majority of the government bureaucracy itself. 3]  The decline of  Galleon Tradebetween  Manila  and  Acapulco  and the growing sense of economic insecurity in the later years of the 18th  century led the Creoles to turn their attention to agricultural production. The Creoles gradually changed from a very government-dependent class into capital-driven entrepreneurs. Their turning of attention towards guilded soil caused the rise of the large privatehaciendas. Various government and church positions were transferred to the roles of the  Peninsulares  who were characterized mostly in the 19th  century Philippine history as corrupt bureaucrats. We will write a custom essay sample on Philippine Nationalism specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Philippine Nationalism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Philippine Nationalism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The earliest signs of Filipino Nationalism could be seen in the writings of Luis Rodriguez Varela, a Creole educated in liberal  France  and highly exposed to the romanticism of the age. Knighted under the  Order of Carlos III, Varela was perhaps the only Philippine Creole who was actually part of  European nobility. The court  gazette  in  Madrid  announced that he was to become a  Conde  and from that point on proudly called himself  Conde Filipino. He championed the rights of Filipinos in the islands and slowly made the term pplicable to anyone born in the Philippines. However, by 1823 he was deported together with other Creoles [allegedly known as  Los Hijos del Pais  (English:  The Children of the Country)], after being associated with a Creole revolt in Manila led by the  Mexican  Creole Andres Novales. [4] Varela would then retire from politics but his nationalism was carried on by another Creole Padre Pelaez, who campaigned for the rights of Fi lipino priests (Creoles, Mestizos and Indios) and pressed for secularization of Philippine parishes. The  Latin American revolutions  and decline of  friar  influence in  Spain  resulted in the increase of the  regular clergy  (Peninsular friars) in the Philippines. Filipino priests (Creoles, Mestizos and Indios) were being replaced by Spanish friars (Peninsulares) and Pelaez demanded explanation as to the legality of replacing asecular  with regulars—which is in contradiction to the  Exponi nobis. Pelaez brought the case to the  Vatican  almost succeeded if not for an earthquake that cut his career short and the ideology would be carried by his more militant disciple,  Jose Burgos. Burgos in turn died after the infamous  Cavite Mutiny, which was pinned on Burgos as his attempt to start a Creole Revolution and make himself president or  Rey Indio. The death of Jose Burgos, and the other alleged conspirators  Mariano Gomez  and  Jacinto Zamora, seemingly ended the entire Creole movement in 1872. [4]  Governor-General  Rafael de Izquierdo y Gutierrez  unleashed his reign of terror in order to prevent the spread of the Creole ideology—Filipino nationalism. - - Spread of Filipino Nationalism (1872-1892) But the Creole affair was seen by the other natives (Mestizos and Indios) as a simple family affair—Spaniards born in Spain (Peninsulares) against Spaniards born in the Philippines (Creoles). The events of 1872 however invited the other colored section of the  Ilustrados  (English:  Intellectually Enlightened Class) to at least do something to preserve the Creole ideals. Seeing the impossibility of a revolution against Izquierdo a nd the Governor-Generals brutal reign convinced the  Ilustrados  to get out of the Philippines and continue propaganda in  Europe. This massive propaganda upheaval from 1872 to 1892 is now known as the  Propaganda Movement. Through their writings and orations,  Marcelo H. del Pilar,  Graciano Lopez Jaena  andJose Rizal  sounded the trumpets of Filipino nationalism and brought it to the level of the masses. Rizals  Noli me tangere  and  El filibusterismo  rode the increasing anti-Spanish (anti-Peninsulares) sentiments in the islands and was pushing the people towards revolution. 5]  By July 1892, an  Ilustrado  mass man in the name of  Andres Bonifacio  established a revolutionary party based on the Filipino nationalism that started with  Los Hijos del PaisKatipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan. Ideology turned into revolution and gave Asia its first anti-imperialist/nationalist revolution by the last week of August 1896. - Philippine nationalism Philippine nation alism  is an upsurge of patriotic sentiments and nationalism|nationalistic ideals in the  Philippines  of the late 1800s that came as a result of the Filipino  Propaganda Movement  from 1872 to 1892. It became the main ideology of the first Asian nationalist revolution, the  Philippine Revolution  of  1896. - Spain in the Philippines Spain  already ruled the Philippines for at least 300 years before Philippine nationalism was developed. Towards the 19th century, the bureaucratic centralized government established inManila  had caused widespread discontent in the entire archipelago, but there was yet no united front against the Spanish Regime. Many revolts were caused due to Spanish impositions, but most of these revolts were caused by either personal discontent or territorial defense. From  Diego Silangs revolt in  Luzon  to  Francisco Dagohoys revolt in  Visayas, no united and conscious effort was made against the colonial master. Patriotism was limited to regionalistic tendencies. - Development of native patriotism The belated development of Philippine nationalism was caused by the natives tendency to be regionalistic. The geography of the Philippines did not help. The Philippines is  insular  and the people were divided by waters. In fact, the term Filipino originally means Spaniards born in the Philippines and not the native inhabitants. But certain events eventually led to the development of native patriotism. Things that happened which transcended the cultural and geographical boundaries that had been barriers to the unification of the inhabitants of the archipelago. The first break happened in the early 1830s when Spain, highly influenced by the revolutions in Europe and in Latin America, opened the Philippines to international trade. This led to the rise of a Middle Class from which came the ilustrado elites that soon became the main agitators against the Spanish Regime. The liberalism of Europe arrived through books and other literature. Jean Jacques Rousseaus Social Contract and John Lockes Second Treatise on Civil Government became the primary sources for the development of nationalistic ideals. Such ideals were mostly understood by the ilustradossome became the future leaders of the  Philippine Revolution. In  1869, following a liberal victory in Spain, Carlos Ma. de la Torre was assigned as the Governor-General of the Philippines. He became loved by the people because of his liberal reforms in the government, which include the giving of privileges to military personnel exempting them from forced labor, taxes, and tributes. De la Torre (1869-1871) became the most-loved Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines. His liberal regime gave the natives a point of comparison between a liberal government and the conservative absolutist government (Political absolutism|absolutism) of the past. During de la Torres regime, the native clergy, who were waging a struggle for the Filipinization of the Philippine Church became an ally of the Governor-General. Headed by Father  Jose Burgos, the native clergy wanted to rid the Philippine church of Spanish friars. The Filipinization Controversy was deeply seeded on Spanish racial prejudice against the native priests. The Spanish friars, agitated by Burgos, wanted Burgos out of the picture; but they were not yet presented with an opportunity. The opportunity came when dela Torre was recalled back to Spain in 1871. He was replaced by the brutish, Gov. Gen. Rafael Izquierdo. Izquierdo took back all the privileges and reforms that de la Torre instituted. As a response, the military personnel, headed by a certain Sergeant La Madrid, of the Cavite arsenal staged a mutiny by 1872. The Spanish friars had their chance. They convinced Izquierdo that it was Burgos, together with Fathers Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora, who masterminded the mutiny. Months later, the three priests were executed. The execution of the Gomburza became a spark among the educated ilustrados. That same year, native patriotism was born and the ilustrados launched in Europe the  Propaganda Movement. - edit]  Propaganda Movement and Philippine nationalism The development of native patriotism that resulted from the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora also began the unconsicous formation of the ideological side of patriotismnationalism. The Propaganda Movement (1872-1892) called for the assimilation of the Philippines as a province of Spain so that the same laws will be applied in the Philippines and that the inhabitants of the Philippines will experience the same civil liberties and rights as that of a Spanish citizen. Men like  Marcelo H. el Pilar,  Graciano Lopez Jaena, and  Jose Rizal  bombarded both the Spanish and Filipino public with nationalist literature. Rizals novels  Noli Me Tangere  and  El Filibusterismo  became the bibles of Philippine nationalism. This time, the term Pilipino was not only for Spaniards born in the Philippines but was generically applied to every inhabitants born in the Philippine Islands. The movement ended in a failure, but the literature that resulted from it became the source of what came to be Philippine nationalism. - Katipunan and the Revolution As the movement was failing in Europe, Jose Rizal returned to the Philippines and created his  La Liga Filipina  in 1892. It also failed after his arrest a just few days after the creation of the group. The group split into two: the ilustrado elites formed their own Cuerpo de Compromisarios, while the lowly ilustrados formed the revolutionary  Katipunan. The former disappeared into oblivion, while the latter started the  Philippine Revolution  (1896-1898) by  1896, culminating both the formation of patriotic sentiment and nationalistic ideals. - - - Moro nationalism The Philippine nationalism that emerged after the Propaganda Movement and the Philippine Revolution was only limited to the people of Visayas to Luzon, and may be to some extent, northern portions of  Mindanao. Generally, the islands of  Sulu,  Palawan, and Mindanao had a different story. These islands had been once dominated by two powerful Muslim Sultanates prior to the arrival of the Spaniards: the  Sultanate of Sulu  and the  Sultanate of Maguindanao. Never did the Spaniards take sufficient control of these islands and the people came to clearly distinguish themselves from those from Visayas and Mindanao. For more than three centuries, the people in these islands waged war against the  Spanish Empire. Their nationalism is different since it is deeply rooted in their religionIslam. - Decadence of Philippine nationalism and the Limited Filipino The United States of America replaced Spain in the Philippines after the  Treaty of Paris  of December 10,  1898. The period 1901 to 1910 became known as, what  Teodoro Agoncillo  called, the period of suppressed nationalism. The Filipinos were to be americanized through education. Nationalist essays and literature were suppressed. The raising of the Philippine flag was banned. Any utterances against the Americans and about Philippine nationalism was considered an act of sedition. The nationalism that emerged after this period is a nationalism trapped behind the rhetorics of party-politics. The Filipino that emerged were, in  Renato Constantinos words, Limited Filipinos. Filipinos by name, Spanish-American by heart. Cultural by form, yet a damaged culture by substance. This is what by some is called the decadence, by some the tragedy of Philippine nationalism. - Present struggle for revival and the True Filipino Modern-day Philippine nationalism is highly conceptualized by revolutionary historians. Teodoro Agoncillo  emphasized the role of the people in making their own history. Renato Constantino  emphasized the revolutionary theoretical groundwork for the making of new True Filipino. Someone who can transcend the cultural and geographical boundaries that had been the cause for disunity. Someone who can shed away his western soul and create the New Filipino identity. Other historians, like Rudy B. Rodil, work for the destruction of the boundaries between Moros and Filipinossuggesting that a True Filipino does not live in the prejudices of religious belief. One common theme among all is the recognition of the threat of American intervention and Globalization. As long as there will be no strong leader to help in the development of a new Philippine nationalism, then it can be considered dead, for now.