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Preface
Preface
Among the many wrongs done the Filipinos by Spaniards, to be charged against their undeniably large debt to Spain, one of the greatest, if not the most frequently mentioned, was taking from them their good name. Spanish writers have never been noted for modesty or historical accuracy. Back in 1589 the printer of the English translation of Padre Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza’s “History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China” felt it necessary to prefix this warning: * * * the Spaniards (following th
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I
I
The Pope’s world-partitive. The Bull issued by Alexander VI, 7 on May 4, 1493, which divided the earth into two hemispheres, decreed that all heathen lands discovered in the eastern half should belong to the Portuguese; in the western half to the Spaniards. According to this arrangement, the latter could only claim the Philippines under the pretext that they were situated in the western hemisphere. The demarcation line was to run from the north to the south, a hundred leagues to the south-west o
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II
II
Discouragements for foreign ships. As, however, the principal wants of the colony were imported from England and abroad, these were either kept back till an opportunity occurred of sending them in Spanish vessels, which charged nearly a treble freight (from £4 to £5 instead of from £1½, to £2 per ton), and which only made their appearance in British ports at rare intervals, or they were sent to Singapore and Hongkong, where they were transferred to Spanish ships. Tonnage dues were levied, moreov
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III
III
Native houses comfortable and unchanged. The unassuming, but for their purposes very practical houses, of boards, bamboos, and (nipa) palm leaves, are supported on account of the damp on isolated beams or props; and the space beneath, which is generally fenced in with a railing, is used as a stable or a warehouse; such was the case as early as the days of Magellan. These dwellings 4 are very lightly put together. La Pérouse estimates the weight of some of them, furniture and all, at something le
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IV
IV
Spanish-Filipino bonds of union. The same religion, a similar form of worship, an existence intermixed with that of the indigenous population, all tend to bring the Europeans and the Indians together. That they have done so is proved by the existence of the proportionately very numerous band of mestizos who inhabit the Islands. Latin races better for colonists in the tropics. The Spaniards and the Portuguese appear, in fact, to be the only Europeans who take root in tropical countries. They are
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Islands between Luzon and Mindanao
Islands between Luzon and Mindanao
Mindanao....
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Distant Islands
Distant Islands
Unreliability of government reports. The statistics of the above table are taken from a small work, by Sr. [Vicente] Barrantes, the Secretary-General of the Philippines; but I have arranged them differently to render them more easily intelligible to the eye. Although Sr. Barrantes had the best official materials at his disposal, too much value must not be attributed to his figures, for the sources from which he drew them are tainted with errors to an extent that can hardly be realized in Europe.
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VI
VI
Calumpit. I reached Calumpit towards evening, just as a procession, resplendent with flags and torches, and melodious with song, was marching round the stately church, whose worthy priest, on the strength of a letter of introduction from Madrid, gave me a most hospitable reception. Calumpit, a prosperous place of 12,250 inhabitants, is situated at the junction of the Quingua and Pampanga rivers, in an extremely fruitful plain, fertilized by the frequent overflowing of the two streams. Mt. Arayat
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VII
VII
Talim island. On my return I paid a visit to the Island of Talim, which, with the exception of a clearing occupied by a few miserable huts, is uninhabited and thickly overgrown with forest and undergrowth. In the center of the Island is the Susong-Dalaga (maiden’s bosom), a dolerite hill with a beautifully formed crest. Upon the shore, on a bare rock, I found four eggs containing fully developed young crocodiles. When I broke the shells the little reptiles made off. M. de la Gironnière. Although
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VIII
VIII
Coasting Luzon. At last one evening, when the storm had quite passed away, we sailed out of Mariveles. A small, volcanic, pillar-shaped rock, bearing a striking resemblance to the Island of the Cyclops, off the coast of Sicily, lies in front of the harbor—like there, a sharp pyramid and a small, flat island. We sailed along the coast of Cavite till we reached Point Santiago, the southwestern extremity of Luzon, and then turned to the east, through the fine straits that lie between Luzon to the n
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IX
IX
An early friar attempt. According to the Franciscan records a couple of monks attempted the ascent in 1592, in order to cure the natives of their superstitious belief about the mountain. One of them never returned; but the other, although he did not reach the summit, being stopped by three deep abysses, made a hundred converts to Christianity by the mere relation of his adventures. He died in the same year, in consequence, it is recorded, of the many variations of temperature to which he was exp
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X
X
Neglect. The profits arising from a large plantation would, therefore, be considerable; yet it is very rare to meet with one. I heard it said that the Economical Society had offered a considerable reward to any one who could exhibit a plantation of ten thousand berry-bearing trees; but in the Society’s report I found no mention of this reward. Damage by storms. The great obstacles in the way of large plantations are the heavy storms which recur almost regularly every year, and often destroy an e
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XI
XI
Arrival of assistance. The day after my arrival the inspector of highways and another man walked into the tribunal, both of them wet to the skin and nearly blown to pieces. My friend the alcalde had sent them to my assistance; and, as none of us could attempt the ascent, they returned with me. As we were entering Bacon on our way back, we heard the report of cannon and the sound of music. Our servants cried out “Here comes the alcalde,” and in a few moments he drove up in an open carriage, accom
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XII
XII
Franciscan friars. Most of the priests in the eastern provinces of Luzon and Samar are Franciscan monks (The barefooted friars of the orthodox and strictest rule of Our Holy Father St. Francis, in the Philippine Islands, of the Holy and Apostolic Province of St. Gregory the Great), brought up in seminaries in Spain specially devoted to the colonial missions. Formerly they were at liberty, after ten years’ residence in the Philippines, to return to their own country; but, since the abolition of t
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XIII
XIII
Nabua. I rode from Batu to Nabua over a good road in half an hour. The country was flat, with rice-fields on both sides of the road; but, while in Batu the rice was only just planted, in Nabua it already was almost ripe. I was unable to obtain any explanation of this incongruity, and know not how to account for such a difference of climate between two hamlets situated in such close proximity to one another, and separated by no range of hills. The inhabitants of both were ugly and dirty, and were
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XIV
XIV
The Bicols. The Bicols are found only in this district and in a few islands lying immediately in front of it. Of their coming hither no information is to be obtained from the comprehensive but confused histories of the Spanish monks. Morga considers them to be natives of the island; on the other hand, it is asserted by tradition that the inhabitants of Manila and its vicinity are descended from Malays who have migrated thither, and from the inhabitants of other islands and more distant provinces
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XV
XV
Strict search in Japan. When Carletti, in 1597, went from the Philippines to Japan, all the passengers on board were examined carefully, by order of the governor, and threatened with capital punishment if they endeavored to conceal “certain earthen vessels which were wont to be brought from the Philippines and other islands of that sea,” as the king wished to buy them all. Prized by Japanese. “These vessels were worth as much as five, six, and even ten thousand scudi each; but they were not perm
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XVI
XVI
A shipwrecked family. The shore from Barceloneta to Cabusao is of the same character as the Daet-Colasi but running north and south; the ground, sandy clay, is covered with a thick stratum of broken bivalves. The road was very difficult, as the high tide forced us to climb between the trees and thick underwood. On the way we met an enterprising family who had left Daet with a cargo of coconuts for Naga, and had been wrecked here; saving only one out of five tinajas of oil, but recovering all the
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XVII
XVII
Christian Mountaineers’ villages. The number of the Igorots of the Isaróg however, been much diminished by deadly battles between the different ranchos, and by the marauding expeditions which, until a short time since, were annually undertaken by the commissioners of taxes, in the interest of the Government monopoly, against the tobacco fields of the Igorots. Some few have been “pacified” (converted to Christianity and tribute); in which case they are obliged to establish themselves in little vi
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XVIII
XVIII
Ascent of Mt. Mazaraga. At Ligao I alighted at a friendly Spaniard’s, a great part of the place, together with the tribunal and convent, having been burnt down since my last visit. After making the necessary preparations, I went in the evening to Barayong, a little rancho of Cimarrons at the foot of the Mazaraga, and, together with its inhabitants, ascended the mountain on the following morning. The women also accompanied us for some distance, and kept the company in good humor; and when, on the
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XIX
XIX
Only the coast settled. The civilized natives live almost solely on its coasts, and there are also Bisayans who differ in speech and manners from the Bicols in about the same degree that the latter do from the Tagalogs. Roads and villages are almost entirely wanting in the interior, which is covered with a thick wood, and affords sustenance to independent tribes, who carry on a little tillage (vegetable roots and mountain rice), and collect the products of the woods, particularly resin, honey, a
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XX
XX
Not the first time for one. But one of the most important parts of Father Clain’s letter has been omitted by Capt. Salmon:—“ The oldest of these strangers had once before been cast away on the coast of the province of Caragan , on one of our islands (Mindanao); but as he found only heathens (infidels), who lived in the mountains or on the desert shore, he returned to his own country.” Yap camotes from Philippines. In a letter from Father Cantova to Father d’Aubenton, dated from Agdana ( i.e. Aga
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XXI
XXI
Tacloban to Tanauan. On the following day I proceeded with the priest of Dagami (there are roads in Leyte) from Tacloban southwards to Palos and Tanauan, two flourishing places on the east coast. Hardly half a league from the latter place, and close to the sea, a cliff of crystal lime rock rises up out of the sandy plain, which was level up to this point. It is of a greyish-green quartzose chlorite schist, from which the enterprising Father had endeavored, with a perseverance worthy of better su
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XXII
XXII
Mountain rice. Mountain-rice culture, which in Catbalogan is almost the only cultivation, requires no other implement of agriculture than the bolo to loosen the soil somewhat, and a sharp stick for making holes at distances of six inches for the reception of five or six grains of rice. Sowing is done from May to June, weeding twice, and five months later it is cut stalk by stalk; the reaper receiving half a real daily wages and food. The produce is between two and three cabanes per ganta, or fif
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XXIII
XXIII
Cebu island. The island of Cebu extends over seventy-five square miles. A lofty mountain range traverses it from north to south, dividing the east from the west side, and its population is estimated at 340,000,—4,533 to the square mile. The inhabitants are peaceable and docile; thefts occur very seldom, and robberies never. Their occupations are agriculture, fishing, and weaving for home consumption. Cebu produces sugar, tobacco, maize, rice, etc., and in the mountains potatoes; but the rice pro
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Export of Abacá (In Piculs).
Export of Abacá (In Piculs).
Large local consumption. The consumption in the country is not contained in the above schedule, and is difficult to ascertain; but it must certainly be very considerable, as the natives throughout entire provinces are clothed in guinara , the weaving of which for the family requirements generally is done at home. Sisal-hemp. Sisal, also sisal-hemp, or, as it is sometimes known, Mexican grass, has for some years past been used in the trade in increasing quantities as a substitute for abacá, which
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XXV
XXV
§ 369. Every collector who consigns from his district 1,000 fardos more than in former years, shall receive for the overplus a double gratuity, but this only where the proportion of first-class leaves has not decreased. § 370. The same gratuity will be bestowed when there is no diminution in bulk, and one-third of the leaves is of first-class quality. The following sections regulate the action of the local authorities:— § 379. Every governor must present annually a list, revised by the priest of
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XXVI
XXVI
Early massacre of Chinese. The archbishop and the priests incited the distrust which was felt against the numerous Chinese who were settled in Manila. Mutual hate and suspicion arose; both parties feared one another and prepared for hostilities. The Chinese commenced the attack; but the united forces of the Spaniards, being supported by the Japanese and the Filipinos, twenty-three thousand, according to other reports twenty-five thousand, of the Chinese were either killed or driven into the dese
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Letter of the Commissary-General of Chinchew to Don Pedro De Acuña, Governor of the Philippines
Letter of the Commissary-General of Chinchew to Don Pedro De Acuña, Governor of the Philippines
“This letter is written by the Visitor-General on the 12th of the second month.” A contemporary letter of the Ruler of Japan forms a somewhat notable contrast:— “To the Governor Don Pedro de Acuña, in the year 1605: “I have received two letters from your Excellency, as also all the donations and presents described in the inventory. Amongst them was the wine made from grapes, which I enjoyed very much. In former years your Excellency requested that six ships might come here, and recently four, wh
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Letter of Daifusama, Ruler of Japan
Letter of Daifusama, Ruler of Japan
1 The Chinese were generally known in the Philippines as “Sangleys”; according to Professor Schott, “sang-lui (in the south szang-loi, also senng-loi) mercatorum ordo.” “Sang” is more specially applied to the travelling traders, in opposition to “ku,” tabernarii . 2 ...... “They are a wicked and vicious people, and, owing to their numbers, and to their being such large eaters, they consume the provisions and render them dear ......It is true the town cannot exist without the Chinese, as they are
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XXVII
XXVII
The feudal “encomiendas.” The whole country at the outset was completely divided into these livings, the defraying of which formed by far the largest portion of the expenses of the kingdom. Investitures of a similar nature existed, more or less, in a territory of considerable extent, the inhabitants of which had to pay tribute to the feoffee; and this tribute had to be raised out of agricultural produce, the value of which was fixed by the feudal lord at a very low rate, but sold by him to the C
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State of the Philippines in 1810
State of the Philippines in 1810
Origin of race. The original race by which the Philippines are peopled, is beyond doubt Malayan, and the same that is observed in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the other islands of this immense archipelago. The Philippine Islanders, very different from the Malabars, whose features possess great regularity, sweetness, and even beauty, only resemble the latter in color, although they excel them in stature, and the good proportion of their limbs. The local population of the capital, in consequence of
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Manila in 1842
Manila in 1842
A Spanish oriental city. The view of the city and country around Manila partakes both of a Spanish and an Oriental character. The sombre and heavy-looking churches, with their awkward towers; the long lines of batteries mounted with heavy cannon; the massive houses, with ranges of balconies; and the light and airy cottage, elevated on posts, situated in the luxuriant groves of tropical trees—all excite a desire to become better acquainted with the country. Surroundings. Manila is situated on an
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Sulu in 1842
Sulu in 1842
By An American Naval Officer. Coral. “ * * * The fine bay of Manila, thirty leagues in circumference, is situated near the middle of the west side of the island, and has good and clear anchorage in all parts of it, excepting on a coral ledge, called the Shoal of St. Nicholas, which is the only visible danger in the bay. The dangerous part of it is, however, of small extent, and with proper attention easily avoided; the least of water found on it at present is eleven feet, but its summit is const
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Manila in 18191
Manila in 18191
The natives are not unapt in acquiring knowledge, neither do they want industry, when efforts are made, and inducements displayed to call their powers into action. They are excellent mechanics and artisans, and, as horticulturists, their superiority over many of the Asiatics is acknowledged. They are polite and affable to strangers, but irascible, and when excited are very sanguinary; their natural bias to this revengeful and cruel character, is strengthened and rendered more intense by the ...
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The Peopling of the Philippines
The Peopling of the Philippines
By Dr. Rudolf Virchow ( Translated by O. T. Mason; in Smithsonian Institution 1899 Report .) Since the days when the first European navigators entered the South Sea, the dispute over the source and ethnic affiliations of the inhabitants of that extended and scattered island world has been unsettled. The most superficial glance points out a contrariety in external appearances, which leaves little doubt that here peoples of entirely different blood live near and among one another. “Negritos and In
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People and Prospects of the Philippines
People and Prospects of the Philippines
“I said ‘almost exceptional’ because rarely is an intra-tropical people a satisfactory one to eye or mind. But this cannot be said of the Philippine Malays who in bodily formation and mental characteristics alike, may fairly claim a place, not among middling ones merely, but among almost the higher names inscribed on the world’s national scale. A concentrated, never-absent self-respect, an habitual self-restraint in word and deed, very rarely broken except when extreme provocation induces the tr
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Filipino Merchants of the Early 1890s
Filipino Merchants of the Early 1890s
F. Karuth, F. R. G. S., (President of an English corporation interested in Philippine mining) about 1894, wrote: “Few outside the comparatively narrow circle who are directly interested in the commerce and resources of the Philippine Islands know anything about them. The Philippine merchants are a rather close community which only in the last decade or so has expanded its diameter a little. There are a number of very old established firms amongst them, several of them being British.... Amongst t
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Corrections
Corrections
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