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Chapter 8 End of Isolation

In 1624, Francis Bacon had commented on the brittle State of the Greatness of Spain and prophesized this greatness w/c rested more

on treasure that was the Indies would be but an Accession to such as are Masters by Sea.

England developed a merchant marine that successfully challenged that of Holland, her rival sea power. They acquired important

footholds in Asia, Africa and America.

Aggressive trading efforts allowed English to conquer new lands.

Satellization of Spain

By 1700, England was no longer a producer of raw materials for export. She decreased raw wool exports and built her own textile

industry. In fact, she imported wool and dyestuffs for internal consumption.

Spanish gold and silver flowed to England to compensate for Spains unfavorable balance of trade. England proceeded to undercut Spanish empire by:

1) by exporting goods to Spain for domestic consumption2) by trading with the West Indies and thus penetrating the Spanish colonies in America

Industrial Revolution transformed England into the foremost capitalist nation of the world. Their economic imperatives produced a new

ruling class consisting of the old aristocracy, the merchants, and the manufacturers.

The rising commercial hegemony of England forced the Spanish empire into a subordinate role. England became a world power due to

the rapid strides in trade and manufacture.

Spain had suffered ever since the defeat of Spanish armada in 1588. The wars of Spanish succession and diminution of her population

contributed to the erosion of her power and her economic contraction. Thus, Spain became a dependent empire, a satellite ofBritain, the mistress of seas.

Anglo-Chinese Colony

In these colonies, the English were becoming the main trading partner because of their superior manufacturing techniques and control

of seas.

The Philippines was linked to the world capitalist system by Britain and in effect became, an Anglo-Chinese colony flying the Spanishflag.

Early Spanish economic hegemony was confirmed mainly to the City of Manila and its environs. The Philippines was an outpost of

empire administered through Mexico.

The main activity of the colony was the galleon trade. The beneficiary of this trade was the Spanish colony in Manila. Since Manila

was a transshipment port, the galleon trade had no effect on the colony.

Solvent of Baranganic Society

Spanish colonization became a potent stimulus for Chinese immigration to Philippines. Since Spaniards found galleon trade and

colonial government more profitable, trade and artisanry quickly became dominated by Chinese. The natives had no competition forthey had no capital and little experience in trading ventures.

Chinese became the solvent of baranganic society. They were able to develop new consumption tastes among people. These early

ventures paved way for specialization in agriculture.

Europeans in neighboring countries depended on Chinese for purchase of goods from native producers. John Crawfurd in his History

of the Indian Archipelago describes: They are generally speculative, expert and judicious. The world is conducted by them.

English Penetration Increasing commercialization in the Philippines was the handiwork of Chinese who did business with native producers.

British trade may be dated from the visit of the Seahorse to Manila in 1644.

English commercial penetration began in earnest with the Madras-Manila trade. The trade aims to acquire for the British a great

proportion of what had previously been an exclusive preserve of the Chinese. The China trade had been characterized by movement ofluxury items to Acapulco via galleons.

Indian cotton materials or piece goods began to figure importantly as item of shipment to Acapulco after the trade between the

Coromandel coast and Manila had been established. By 1708, the prospects were inviting enough to attract the participation of the

powerful East India Company. By 19th century, English had attained commercial primacy in Manila.

Evidence of importance attached to the trade with Manila is the fact that the East India Company financed and directed the British

invasion of the Philippines and its brief occupation from 1762 to 1764. Directors of the company in London ordered that a civilestablishment take over as soon as the capture of Manila was accomplished.

Gen. William Draper turned over the govt to the East India Company.

British exports occupied a larger share of lading spaces in galleons but had no significance in Phil. economy. Since British ships

carrying goods for the galleon voyages a variety of native products, this activity was responsible for economic changes. British brought Madras pearls, skins, tobaccos, leather. Chinese middlemen gathered these goods. Inevitably, the became conduits for

distribution of cheap English textiles.Infiltrating the Mercantilist Curtain

British penetration was initially clandestine. Spaniards could not sanction foreigners horning on their preserves.

Various techniques were used in order to circumvent prohibitions. Since Asian traders were the only allowed entry to Manila, English

loaded their goods on vessels owned by Armenians, Moslems of Hindus.

Spaniards feared Dutch, English and French; they had no cause to be apprehensive of the Portuguese or Armenians.

Some ships were named after Catholic saints and the saints names rendered in Portuguese to fit the captains nationality. Thus, the

Nos Senhora de Boa Vista, Sao Paulo and Nos Senhora Rosario concealed their provenance.

Another technique was to consign goods to some well-known Hindu merchant in Manila to make it appear as his own import.

Circumvention was facilitated by corrupt officials in Manila. Colonial officials and religious orders were deeply involved in the illicit

trade with British. Every vessel was supplied of gifts for city officers. It was customary for the captain.

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Economic Rethinking

Various economic theories were propounded to serve ends of capitalist enterprise. Free trade was in concept.

Spain did not escape the profound material and ideological changes that were sweeping Europe at the time. The growing English

penetration, dependence of Spain on England, the Peninsular wars, the loss of Spanish colonies in Latin America were developments offar-reaching significance w/c resulted in various internal political disturbances.

The ferment in Spain could not but affect the colony, thus making the 100 years between 1750 and 1850 a most significant period for

Philippine. The fabric of colonial society suffered drastic changes as a result of revisions in Spains outlook.

Changes in colonial policy produced more or less systematic efforts to develop the agricultural resources of islands and attempts to

widen the commercial contacts of colony.

Simon de Nada y Salazar and followed by Jose de Basco y Vargas, the governors of Philippines instituted a series of economic reformswhich contributed to the alteration of the economic landscape of the country.

The Spaniards were now discovering the possibility of utilizing the products of the colony. Whereas the Philippine government had

hitherto derived most of its revenue from tributes and from customs duties on the China-Manila trade and on the galleon trade withMexico, using the situado to meet the balance of its expenses, cash crops provided new sources of revenue. Financial independence ofthe Mexican colony was accomplished with tobacco monopoly in 1761.

The objective of reorienting the commercial system of the country spurred the establishment in 1785 of the Royal Philippine Company.

This company envisioned itself as the principal investor, producer and carrier of Philippine agricultural products. A more important

development was the opening of direct trade between Spain and Philippines.

Before, trade with China had been limited to junks from Amoy and Chuanchow in Fukien province which supplied the galleon trade

by 1785 Spanish ships were being sent to Canton for Chinese goods. By 1789, Spaniards removed the restriction on the entry ofEuropean ships provided they carried only Asian trade goods, a proviso designed to protect the Royal Philippine Company.

Emergence from Isolation

A greater liberalization of commerce was achieved with the termination of galleon trade in 1813 and the abolition in 1834 of the Royal

Philippine Company was monopolistic in character.

Laissez faire had won the day even in the court of Spain. The Philippines became a participant in world commerce.

Prior to the 1820s, the principal exports of the country were birds nests, beche-de-mer, wax, tortoise shells, sea shells, dried shrimps

and sharks fins.

British were pioneers in this line; they entrenched their position with the formal opening of Manila port. British imperialism was

penetrating Asia, particularly China. British and American firms regarded Manila only as a base for their business operations in China

but as Philippine trade grew in volume, it became important. By importing needed machinery and offering advances on crops, theseforeign firms stimulated production.

Economic Transformation

Philippines had emerged from isolation. The capitalist linkage led to the dissolution of natural economy of may regions. This process

was aided by the establishment of banking houses which promoted the monetization of the economy and regional specialization ofcrops. Church and rich families deposited in these banks which then loaned them out as crop advances. The merchant banks were able

to control both purchasing power and sources of supply for the export trade.

There was hue and cry about English domination when it was discovered in 1841 that an English firm was trying to buy the Dominican

hacienda in Calamba, Laguna. The government refused permission for the sale. In 1851, Spaniards tried to participate in the lucrative

banking business by establishing theBanco Espaol-Filipino de Isabel II. Its declared purpose was to encourage the use of savings forcommercial purposes. But most of the funds came from obras pias and government.

The colonial government tried to check the expansion of foreign companies by such means as the prohibition to own land and the

imposition of corporate taxes and different tariff duties.

A fundamental transformation of Philippine economic life took place during the period from 1820 to 1870. The development of an

export-crop economy finally produced an economic system w/in which the still distinct Western, native and Chinese economiesbecame part of an interrelated whole. A national market was emerging; internal prosperity was noticeable. The economic unification ofthe country further fostered the regionalization of production.

Tobacco became the main crop of North, sugar of West Visayas and abaca in the Bicol region.

Manila Hemp

Abaca began to be produced for export only after 1820 when U.S navy discovered that it made excellent marine cordage.

United States became the principal importer ofPhilippine abaca which became known as Manila hemp.

By 1842, Sturges and Company and T.N. Peale and Company, had monopolized the export of abaca.

These firms gave crop loans to the growers.

Ynchausti y Compania planted to abaca virgin lands in Sorsogon to supply its rope factory on Isla de Balut in Tondo.

Hemp was also grown in Leyte, Samar and Cebu.

By 1850, enterprising Chinese began to enter the picture. Chinese buyers did not give crop advances. Their method was to establish

stores in abaca growing regions and to barter rice and other goods for abaca.

Some Chinese leased for a short period small plantations that had already been planted to abaca, waited for the crop to be ready for

harvesting, had it stripped, and then sold it to exporters. Other Chinese owned abaca lands which they rented out to native producers.

The opening in 1873 of the ports of Legazpi in Albay and Tacloban in Leyte to international shipping was another stimulus to abaca

industry.Beginnings of the Sugar Bloc

Before 1850, sugar cane was planted only in small plots of native landowners in such provinces as Pampanga, Batangas, Pangasinan,

Cebu and Panay. The alcaldes of these provinces acted as commercial agents and gave crop advances to farmers.

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Refining was done by Chinese who then sold sugar to foreign exporters in Manila. This pattern changed with the rise of Iloilo and

Negros as leading sugar producers of the country.

Nicholas Loney transformed these provinces into a region of sugar haciendas

- had been an employee of British firm of Ker and Company in Manila- British consul in Iloilo when the port was opened to foreign shipping in 1855

- An open port in Visayas was a great opportunity for expanding export trade in the region- Ker and Company imported 159 centrifugal iron mills and eight steam mills for Iloilo and Negros

The following figures attest to the phenomenal rise of sugar production in Negros: from a mere 14,000 piculs in 1859, the harvest rose

to 618,120 piculs in 1880 and 1,800,000 piculs in 1893.

The 1st sugar barons of Negros were Agustin Montilla, an Espaol-Filipino who had his hacienda in Bago and Dr. Ives Germaine

Gaston, a Frenchman whose sugar estate was in Silay.End of the Tobacco Monopoly

Tobacco monopoly established in 1781 compelled the cultivating of tobacco in hitherto undeveloped lands as well as in acreage

formerly devoted to rice. Ilocos, Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Ecija were designated as the main tobacco-growing provinces. Thisproved highly profitable for the government.

Foreign companies were not allowed to buy lands and individual foreigners could hold on to their lands only while they resided in the

Philippines. Only the Compania de Tabacos de Filipinas was engaged in cultivating, manufacturing and distributing the higher-grade

Phil. tobacco.The Social Transformation

Five principal classes in Phil. society:

1) peninsulares Spaniards who came from Spain and who were given choice positions in government

2) creoles or insualres Spaniards who were born in Philippines who considered themselves sons of the country3) Spanish mestizos aped their creole brothers and regarded themselves as social superiors of their brown brothers

4) Chinese mestizos occupied a higher position than the natives

5) Chinese at the bottom of the social scale Intermarriages occurred. Economic/ social ascendancy of Chinese mestizos is the most significant social phenomenon of 1750 to 1850.

Chinese Mestizos

One of the ways of attaining assimilation of Chinese was to encourage intermarriage with native women. This resulted in creation of

special communities of mestizos. Later, they broke their own gremios or guilds and competing with the Chinese. Mestizos had

advantage of greater mobility. They blended with natives. They were allowed to settle and do business. Spaniards inflicted on theChinese infidels.

By 1750, mestizos were already a recognized and distinct element in Phil. society.

Spanish legislation had 3 categories of tribute payers: Indios, Chinese and mestizos. Out of 2.5M people, 120,000 were Chinese

mestizos. Over 60% of them lived in Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga. In Tondo, 15% were mestizos; Bulacan, 11%; Pampanga, 11%; inBataan, 15%; Cavite, 12%. They were retail merchants or artisans. Others were landowners, wholesalers.

Mestizo Progress

In 1755 and 1769, most non-Catholic Chinese were expelled from Phil. and 5000 or so allowed to remain were concentrated in Manila.

They took over business of supplying Manila and encroached into traditional Chinese monopoly of retailing and artisanry. They bought

produce in provinces and sold it to exporting firms in Manila. They also become money-lenders. The development of Cebu, Iloilo and other Visayan ports was largely due to mestizo activity. By the middle of the 19 th century, they

were so firmly in the saddle that Sinibaldo de Mas could prophesy that they would become a threat to Spanish power.

Out of 4 million people, there were 240,000 Chinese mestizos, 20,000 Spanish mestizos and 10,000 Chinese.

Re-enter the Chinese

In 1850, Spanish government rescinded its restrictions and allowed free Chinese immigration. By this time the Philippines had a

thriving export-crop economy based on sugar, abaca and coffee.

The export-crop economy provided many opportunities for Chinese business acumen and experience. It created a demand by foreign

firms for Chinese stevedores and warehouse laborers.

Coolie labor was used in Manila even for public works projects. The result was a profitable coolie brokerage business for Chinese

businessmen in Manila.

By means ofpacto de retroventa, Chinese money-lenders began acquiring lands in Cagayan, subsequently renting them out to their

former native owner-cultivators. After the abolition of tobacco govt in 1881, Chinese concentrated more on tobacco purchasing,buying

up the cheaper grades left by the Compania General de Tabacos, or Tabacalera. Chinese were able to corner the market of lower-grade

tobacco because they established stores in the farm areas and agreed to barter store goods for tobacco.The Shift to Landowning

Chinese competition forced Chinese mestizos to shift to agriculture. The export-crop economy made landholding a status symbol and

new means of wealth. The mestizos concentrated on acquisition of land and began amassing large landed estates, particularly in CentralLuzon.

Many haciendero owed much of his property to that notorious contract know as the pacto de retroventa. In other words, numerous

small plots within a given area but not necessarily contiguous to one another fell into the hands of one proprietor via the pacto deretroventa.

Pacto de retroventa or pacto de retro was a contract under which the borrower conveyed his land to lender with the proviso that he

could repurchase it for the same amount of money that he had received. The borrower usually became the tenant or lessee of the lender.An unscrupulous money lender could deny that he ever had such an option. Thousands of landowners lost their lands in this way. It was

to the advantage of the money-lender that the borrower be unable to exercise his right to repurchase.

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The background of Chinese mestizos made their shift from commerce to agriculture a natural one. When most Chinese abandoned rice

retailing in Central Luzon inn 1755, mestizos took over the business. They were encouraged to acquire rice lands by means of pactos deretroventa and to lease other lands from religious estates. As inquilinos, many mestizos prosperedand eventually graduated tolandowners.

Mestizo power was growing apace with the development of the economy. Their objectives were to find expression first and second, in

the growing resentment against friar estates which would reach its peak in the Revolution. Thus, mestizo became more native thanChinese because of economic compulsion.

Rise of Haciendas

Chinese mestizos were noew active participants in acquisition of land.

The growing capitalist linkage with the world which created a demand for cash crops made landowning very attractive.

The onset of Crimean War (1854-1856) which caused a steep rise in price of sugar and the opening of Suez Canal in 1869 stimulated

agricultural production. Machines in agriculture and improved means of communication also made plantation agriculture profitable.

Population increase from 667,000 in 1591 to 6,000,000 in 1885 spurred cultivation of hitherto idle lands.

Land-grabbing

Land laws of 1880 and 1894 provided easy way of registering land and obtaining title thereto. Unfortunately, it gave legal sanction to

land-grabbing.

The Royal Decree of February 13,1894 (Maura Law) gave landholders only one year within which to secure legal title to their lands.

After the deadline, untitled lands were deemed forfeited. Only those cognizant of the law were able to register their lands. The situationwas ready-made for land-grabbing.

According to Donald E. Douglas, at least 400,000 persons lost their lands because they failed to acquire title to them. They were thus

reduced to tenancy.

Royal grants, purchase of royal estates or realengas, the pacto de retroventa, and land-grabbing via land laws these were principal

ways by which vast estates were amassed. These became the foundation of hacienda system as we know it today. Royal grants wereresponsible for 2 haciendas in Luzon: Hacienda Luisita and Hacienda Esperanza. Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac which encompassedterritory in the towns of Tarlac, La Paz, Concepcion and Capas was given as a royal grant to Tabacalera Company in 1880. Hacienda

Esperanza encompassed territory in Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Mountain Province.

Hacienda system was a new historic form of exploitation to meet the needs of new period. Its practices having been inherited from

original religious estates which had in turn adopted in modified form the ancient practice of share-cropping, growth of hacienda systemwas an offshoot of capitalist development.

Social Rearrangements

There is evidence that the mestizos in many instances displaced the traditional cabezas as community leaders and even acquired the old

communal lands that the native heads had appropriated. When many of haciendas had passed into the hands of Chinese mestizos, theyhad already been assimilated into native society and had become elite of that society. They are members of linguistic or provincial

groups.

Schemes of Spaniards resulted in unifying nation into an economic whole. National consciousness emerged in this time.

Natural economies constantly reproduced their status in the same form until after the qualitative multiplication of ties which slowly led

to creation of a totality that emerged as nation. The impact of commerce was superficial, especially in labor. Early traders could buy all

commodities but not labor.

18th century developments led to qualitative changes. Communications were improved, national market became stable.

The New Principalia

Economic transformation of Philippines saw the development of new classes and alteration of old ones. Extended landlordism and

commercialization of economy modified Phil. society structure.

From administrators of communal lands of autonomous baranganic communities they became brokers of colonial rulers and exploiters

of people. There emerged an entrepreneurial class composed mainly of Spaniards, Chinese and Chinese mestizos with some urbanizednatives.

Old principalia succumbed to the pressure of Chinese mestizos whose commercial activities made them amore dynamic force.

Members of old principalia were either absorbed by new rising elite through intermarriage or depressed as tenants.

Marshall S. McLennan and John Alan Larkin turned up evidences of this development in gobernadorcillo lists where old native

names disappeared in late 18 th and 19th century.

Other mestizos Hispanized their surnames by combining the names of their fathers.

Thus, new elite composed of Chinese mestizos and urbanized natives had already taken over from the old principalia. The old

principalia was barrio-based while new principalia became a provincial and a national force. The new principalia began to articulate itsdemands as emerging national entity.