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 in Asia, the Philippine Revolution of 1896.[2]
[edit] 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 as Mestizos.
Traditionally, the Creoles had enjoyed various government and church positions—composing mainly the majority of the government bureaucracy itself.[3] The decline of Galleon Trade between 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 private haciendas. 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.
The earliest signs of Filipino Nationalism could be seen in the writings of Luís Rodríguez 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 applicable to anyone born in the Philippines. However, by 1823 he was deported together with other Creoles [allegedly known as Los Hijos del País (English: The Children of the Country)], after being associated with a Creole revolt in Manila led by the Mexican Creole Andrés Novales.[4]
Varela would then retire from politics but his nationalism was carried on by another Creole Padre Peláez, who campaigned for the rights of Filipino 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 Peláez demanded explanation as to the legality of replacing a secular with regulars—which is in contradiction to the Exponi nobis. Peláez 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, José 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 José Burgos, and the other alleged conspirators Mariano Gómez and Jacinto Zamora, seemingly ended the entire Creole movement in 1872.[4] Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo y Gutiérrez unleashed his reign of terror in order to prevent the spread of the Creole ideology—Filipino nationalism.
[edit] 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 and the Governor-General's 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 López Jaena and José Rizal sounded the trumpets of Filipino nationalism and brought it to the level of the masses. Rizal's 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 Andrés Bonifacio established a revolutionary party based on the Filipino nationalism that started with Los Hijos del País--Katipunan 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.
[edit] References
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