What is Cultural Materialism?

Anthropology is the study of humans. Cultural materialsm is an anthropological school of thought (or "research
strategy") that says that the best way to understand human culture is to examine material conditions - climate, food
supply, geography, etc.

Marvin Harris explained it this way in his preface to his CULTURAL MATERIALISM - The Struggle for a Science of Culture:

"Cultural Materialism is the strategy I have found to be most effective in my attempt to understand the causes of
differences and similarities among societies and cultures. It is based on the simple premise that human social life is a
response to the practical problems of earthly existence.... In its commitment to the rules of scientific method, cultural
materialism opposes strategies that deny the legitimacy of the feasibility of scientific accounts of human behavior...
Cultural materialism, with its emphasis upon the encounter between womb and belly and earth and water, also opposes
numerous strategies that set forth from words, ideas, high moral values, and aesthetic and religious beliefs to
understand the everyday events of ordinary human life. Aligned in this regard with the teachings of Karl Marx, cultural
materialism nonetheless stands apart from the Marx-Engels-Lenin strategy of dialectic materialism. Condemned by
dialectical materialists as "vulgar materialists" or "mechanical materialists," cultural materialists seek to improve Marx's
original strategy by dropping the Hegelian notion that all systems evolve through a dialectic of contradictory negations
and by adding reproductive pressure and ecological variables to the conjunction of material and conditions studied by
Marxist-Leninists."

You can read the entire preface here

Rival Theories

Today there are two main rivals to the materialist approach: idealism (sometimes called "cultural" in opposition to
"materialist") which says that human ideas have a stronger effect on culture than material conditions; and the biological
approach - often known by the current most popular school of biological thought, evolutionary psychology, which says
that human culture can best be explained through human biological evolution.

R. Brian Ferguson wrote an excellent paper that illustrates the differences between cultural materialism and its rivals:
"Materialist, cultural and biological theories on why Yanomami make war."

From the paper:

Materialist explanations see war as following self interest, an effort to maintain or improve material conditions, as
argued in varieties of ecological theory and conflict-oriented approaches to sociocultural evolution... Cultural
approaches hold that war is the acting out of values and beliefs characteristic of a particular group, with explications
ranging from simple listings of elicited goals to dense hermeneutic deconstructions. Biological perspectives assert that
war is chosen because in our species’ evolutionary history a penchant for collective violence enhanced the likelihood of
passing along genes, directly, beyond any considerations of material well-being and regardless of cultural values.
Persistence of such divergent answers for so long might lead to despair about prospects for theoretical advance, for
providing some firm answers to the big question. But it is not that theoretical alternatives cannot be compared and
evaluated as explanations, just that they usually are not. Much more commonly, a scholar presents one theory and
dismisses or ignores the alternatives. The different theoretical currents then continue in their own, self-enclosed way.

Infrastructural Determinism
While cultural materialism recognizes the importance of ideas and Darwinian principles in human behavior, it insists that
material living conditions are more important than either in explaining cultural evolution. This is called the principle
of infrastructural determinism.

Marvin Harris and others

The leading proponent of Cultural Materialism was the late Marvin Harris (1927-2001), who came up with the name, and
wrote classroom textbooks, scholarly books, and popular works about cultural materialism throughout his career. His
best known general-reader books are Cows, Pigs, Wars & Witches andCannibals and Kings. He was a strong advocate for
a scientific view of culture, as reflected in the title ofCultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture,
published in 1979.

Cultural materialism lives on in the work of anthropologists, archeologists, and other scientists. Many are former
students of Harris. Working cultural materialists include Maxine Margolis, Jerry Milanich, R. Brian Fergusson, Martin F.
Murphy, Allan Johnson, Orna Johnson, Eric Ross, Conrad Kottak, Gerald Murray, Ken Good, David H. Price, Russ
Bernard, Barbara Price, Anna Lou Dehavenon, Niles Eldredge and Roger Sanjek

Different type of cultural materialism

The term "cultural materialism" was used by British media critic Raymond Williams to describe a Marxist theory of
literature. The literary version of cultural materialism has very little to do with the anthropological version.

At the end of his rambling speeches before mesmerized crowds, presidential candidate and preelection poll frontrunner
Rodrigo Duterte touches the Philippine flag that is brought to him on cue. He brings it to his lips, and solemnly
proclaims: “Together let’s fix this country.” As he raises his clenched fist, the audience breaks into ecstatic applause.

No other presidential candidate in Philippine political history has used the nation’s highest symbol so deliberately and to
such effect. This melodramatic patriotic gesture seems to work. Instead of explaining his political program, Duterte
regales his listeners with stories of his frustrating encounters with a dysfunctional national government and how he
deals with these to produce tangible results in Davao City. He himself admits he has no program of his own to offer, and
that he intends to copy some of the good plans of his rivals.

What is urgent, he says, is that we restore order and respect for authority. He laments the fact that criminals, drug
peddlers, and corrupt public officials have been able to act with impunity by exploiting the weaknesses of the judicial
system. In this manner, he articulates the exasperation and desperation that the people experience in their daily lives.

But more than this, he unleashes a torrent of aggressive and resentful impulses not previously seen in our society,
except perhaps in social media. For now, the explicit targets are the drug syndicates, criminals, and government
functionaries who spend more time making money for themselves than in serving the public. In the future, they can be
any group that is perceived to stand in the way of genuine change.

Never going into specifics, Duterte promises just one thing: the will and leadership to do what needs to be done—to the
point of killing and putting one’s own life on the line. “If you are not prepared to kill and be killed, you have no business
being president of this country,” he has said on more than one occasion.

This is pure theater—a sensual experience rather than the rational application of ideas to society’s problems. Observing
the same phenomenon in Europe in the 1920s, the Marxist critic Walter Benjamin interpreted the events that saw the
rise of Hitler and Mussolini as the transformation of politics into aesthetics. In Germany, this phenomenon came to be
known as Nazism; in Italy, it was called Fascism.
It would probably be appropriate to call its Philippine incarnation “Dutertismo.” Calling Duterte a fascist would probably
not mean anything to the average Filipino. If at all, it might focus inordinate attention on the man himself and the dark
charisma he projects, when what is needed is to understand the movement he has given life to and the collective anger
and despair it represents.

It would be instructive for all of us, in this election season, to take a moment to step back from the political personalities
that today occupy center stage, and view the broader picture that seems to be upon us in the light of the history of
other countries. A book titled “The anatomy of fascism” written by former Columbia University professor Robert O.
Paxton and published in 2004 has proved to be an eye-opener for me.

Fascism is neither a distinct ideology nor a coherent philosophy of government. Therefore, it would be hard to locate it
in the political spectrum between Right and Left. Its agenda changes as it moves, rejecting what it regards as the
flabbiness of existing moral and political institutions.

It draws its base from all social classes, from the cities as well as the countryside, attracting support from businessmen
as well as former soldiers, workers and peasants, intellectuals and artists, statesmen and shopkeepers. Paxton quotes an
entry from the diary of the novelist Thomas Mann in March 1933, shortly after Hitler became Germany’s chancellor.
What Mann saw was a revolution “without underlying ideas, against ideas, against everything nobler, better, decent,
against freedom, truth and justice.”

As puzzling as it might appear, this complex phenomenon can be explained, Paxton writes.  “Fascism rested not upon
the truth of its doctrine but upon the leader’s mystical union with the historic destiny of his people…. Fascist leaders
made no secret of having no program.  Mussolini exulted in that absence.”  Hitler had a 25-point program but he also
declared it to be changeable, staunchly refusing to make “cheap” promises. Indeed, what this really signified, says
Paxton, is that “the debate had ceased.”

Fascists dismissed modern liberal politicians as “culpably incompetent guardians” against the enemies of the state. They
had nothing but contempt for humanist enlightenment values. The supreme irony is that the typical bearers of these
values—the educated middle classes—found themselves cooperating with, if not actively supporting, the movement.
Unable to appreciate the complexity of the problems facing modern society, and seeing only the unpalatable choices
before them, they primed themselves for a “brutal anti-intellectualism” that reduced everything to the “will and
leadership” of the strongman.

Reading Paxton’s book while watching Digong Duterte speak before the Makati Business Club gave me goose pimples.
These captains of industry came to listen to his economic program. The man started by reading the scanty notes before
him with undisguised indifference. He then put these notes aside and used up the time telling them about how he dealt
with criminals, and how he was more honest about his libido than any of them in the room. As it turned out, he was the
program they came to hear.

***

The Count and His Friends

Edmond Dantès (alias the Count of Monte Cristo; his other aliases are Sinbad the Sailor, Abbé Busoni, and Lord
Wilmore)Dantès is the dashing and romantic hero of the novel; at the age of nineteen, he is falsely imprisoned for a
crime which he did not commit and is kept in the horrible dungeon of the Chateau d'If, where he undergoes
unbelievable hardships and sufferings that would destroy an ordinary man. While imprisoned, Dantès hears a fellow
prisoner digging a tunnel, and so he too begins digging. When the two men finally meet, the other prisoner turns out to
be a learned Abbé, who teaches Dantès many languages, sciences, history, and other subjects. They become as father
and son, and when the Abbé is about to die, he reveals to Dantès the hiding place of a long-secret buried treasure,
consisting of untold wealth in gold coins, diamonds, and other precious jewels.

After fourteen years of bitter imprisonment and hardships, and after a very daring and miraculous escape, Dantès is able
to discover the buried treasure on the island of Monte Cristo, and so he buys the island. He becomes the Count of
Monte Cristo and dedicates himself to becoming God's avenging angel. The rest of his life is spent, at first, performing
acts of goodness and charity for the good people whom he has known. Then he devotes his life to bringing about God's
retribution against the evil people who were responsible for his imprisonment. The largest portion of the novel deals
with his unique methods of effecting this revenge against his enemies, who became, during Dantès' fourteen years of
imprisonment, very powerful and very wealthy people.

Monsieur Dantès, Pere Edmond Dantès' old father, for whom he has a deep devotion — so deep, in fact, that part of the
revenge which he takes against his enemies is due to the fact that their treatment of his father caused him to die of
starvation. Likewise, those people, like Monsieur Morrel, who treated Dantès' father kindly when he was in despair,
come into the good graces of Monte Cristo and are rewarded by him.

Monsieur Morrel, a shipbuilder and shipowner This is a kindly man interested only in doing good for others and for his
family. At the beginning of the novel, when the captain of one of his ships dies en route home, Monsieur Morrel is so
impressed with the way that the young, nineteen-year-old Edmond Dantès takes over the captainship of
the Pharaon that he makes him captain of the ship. This act causes the antagonism of others. Likewise, when Dantès is
imprisoned, Monsieur Morrel risks his reputation by continually applying for Dantès' release, even though politically it is
an extremely dangerous thing to do. When he learns of the death of Edmond Dantès' father, Morrel arranges the proper
ceremonies. Later, upon learning about these facts, the Count of Monte Cristo is able to return the favors triple-fold, for
not only does he save Monsieur Morrel's life, but he is able to recover Monsieur Morrel's fortune.

Julie Morrel Herbault Monsieur Morrel's daughter, who first meets the Count of Monte Cristo as "Sinbad the Sailor"; he
sends her on an errand to obtain monies which will save her father's business.

Maximilien Morrel The son of Monsieur Morrel who will later become not merely a close young friend of the Count of
Monte Cristo, but because of his nobility of soul and his devotion and loyalty, he will become the Count of Monte
Cristo's spiritual "son" and the recipient of a great deal of the Count's fortune. Thus, virtue is highly rewarded.

Cloclès A long-time employee in the Morrel firm who remains loyal to the firm, despite its financial difficulties.

Abbé Faria The wise, learned, and lovable political prisoner in the Chateau d'If; he is a remarkable and ingenious person,
capable of creating some digging tools out of virtually nothing. He writes the life history of a noble Italian family, the
Spada family (who possessed such great wealth that, after the family suffered poisoning, their fabulous treasure
remained hidden for centuries until the Abbé Faria was able to decipher the secret message giving the location of this
treasure, which Faria, in turn, reveals to Dantès). Faria becomes Dantès' spiritual "father" and teaches Dantès not only
worldly matters of languages, science, and mathematics, but also spiritual matters. His death in the Chateau d'If provides
Dantès with his daring means of escape.

Cesare Spada A member of the Spada family living in Italy in the fourteenth century; he amassed such a huge fortune
that the expression "rich as Spada" became a common saying, thus evoking much envy for such great wealth. Spada was
poisoned — but not before he secretly buried his great wealth on the island of Monte Cristo. Centuries later, the Abbé
Faria worked as secretary to the last surviving member of the family, Cardinal Spada, who still possessed a breviary with
some papers dating back to the fourteenth century. When Abbé Faria was writing a history of the family, he discovered
the clues which led him to the whereabouts of the secret treasure that later becomes the source of great wealth for
Dantès, the Count of Monte Cristo.

Haydée This is the daughter of the Ali Pasha, whom Fernand, alias Baron de Morcerf, betrayed and sold into slavery. She
became the "property" of the Count of Monte Cristo. At Morcerf's trial, she is able to testify as to Morcerf's villainy and
thus convict him. Eventually, Monte Cristo begins to fall in love with her and at the end of the novel, they sail off into the
horizon: "On the dark blue line separating the sky from the Mediterranean," the white sail carries the Count and Haydée
away.

Bertuccio Early in his life, Bertuccio had been betrayed by Villefort, when he requested punishment for the murderer of
his brother, and Villefort, having no respect for Bertuccio's Corsican heritage, ignored Bertuccio's request. This refusal
prompted Bertuccio to swear a vendetta against Villefort. Some years later, Bertuccio traced Villefort to the Chateau of
the Saint-Mérans, where Villefort was burying alive his and a lady's child (the lady will later be revealed to be the
Baroness Danglars). After stabbing Villefort and thinking that he killed him, Bertuccio took the box, assuming that it
contained money or gold or something else valuable. To his dismay, a live infant was inside, whom Bertuccio took home
to his sister-in-law. The woman raised the child and called him Benedetto; later, his alias is Andrea Cavalcanti.

Bertuccio was involved in a smuggling ring which used Caderousse's inn as a hiding place. One time, Bertuccio was hiding
in Caderousse's inn when he overheard the story about Abbé Busoni (alias Monte Cristo) giving Caderousse a diamond;
Caderousse sold the diamond, then killed the diamond merchant and his own wife. Bertuccio was falsely arrested for the
murders, and he pleaded with the judge to find Abbé Busoni, who could verify his story.

A search was made and eventually, Abbé Busoni came to the prison, listened to Bertuccio's confession, including the
details about his alleged murder of Villefort. Abbé Busoni managed to free Bertuccio and recommended that he enter
the employment of the Count of Monte Cristo. Thus, when the Count takes Bertuccio to the Chateau of the Saint-
Mérans, he knows from Bertuccio's confession to Abbé Busoni that this is the place where Bertuccio attempted to
murder Villefort, and therefore, he extracts yet another confession, which is identical to the first. For Monte Cristo, this
is proof that he has Bertuccio's total allegiance.

Luigi Vampa Chief of a large gang of bandits, whose headquarters are in the ancient catacombs outside of Rome. Some
years earlier, Monte Cristo met Vampa when the bandit was still a young shepherd, and they exchanged gifts which
should have made them lifelong friends, but apparently Vampa forgot because he later tried to capture the Count only
to be captured by the Count. The Count could have turned Vampa over to "Roman justice," which would have quickly
snuffed out his life, but instead, the two men parted friends, with the condition that Vampa and his band would always
respect the Count and all of the Count's friends — this is how the Count was able to so easily rescue Albert de Morcerf.
Of course, there is always the suspicion (or knowledge) that the Count "arranged" the kidnapping in the first place, so as
to make Albert indebted to him, because it is through Albert's obligations that the Count will be introduced to all of his
enemies in Paris, including Albert's father, who betrayed Edmond Dantès many years ago. Vampa also serves the Count
by kidnapping Monsieur Danglars at the end of the novel and holding him prisoner until the Baron is forced to spend all
of the five million francs that he embezzled from charity hospitals. Again, every indication points to the Count of Monte
Cristo's arranging the kidnapping, thus effecting his final revenge against Danglars.

Signor Pastrini The owner of the Hotel de Londres in Rome who arranges for the meeting between the Count of Monte
Cristo and Albert de Morcerf, a meeting which the Count anticipates so that his introduction to his enemies can be
effected.

Peppino An agent of Luigi Vampa, he is deeply indebted to the Count of Monte Cristo for saving his life. Peppino was
sentenced to death, and the Count used his wealth (he gave one of the three enormous emeralds from his treasures to
the Pope, who installed it in his tiara) and his influence to buy a pardon for Peppino, just minutes before Peppino was to
be executed.

ALI, the Count's mute Nubian valet He serves virtually no function in the novel except to lasso Madame de Villefort's
runaway horses, thus obligating the Villeforts to the Count.

Jacopo Dantès first meets Jacopo when he escapes from the Chateau d'If. Swimming toward a ship which he hopes will
rescue him, he is approaching the vessel when his strength gives out. He is pulled out of the water by Jacopo, who then
lends him a pair of pants and a shirt. Thus, Monte Cristo is indebted to Jacopo for saving his life and is symbolically
aligned with him by sharing Jacopo's clothes.

Later, when Monte Cristo pretends to be wounded on the island of Monte Cristo, Jacopo proves his devotion and loyalty
to the Count by volunteering to give up his share of the smuggling bounty in order to look after his friend. Thus, Monte
Cristo now knows that he has found a loyal and devoted friend whom he can fully trust to help him once he has
recovered the treasure of the Spada family. Later, Jacopo is fully rewarded for his loyalty to the Count by being made,
among other things, the captain of Monte Cristo's private yacht.

Enemies of the Count (and Their Families and Friends)

Gaspard Caderousse He is one of the original conspirators who falsified facts in a letter and thereby framed Edmond
Dantès. He never came to Dantès' aid when he was imprisoned, and later, the Count of Monte Cristo comes to him
disguised as the Abbé Busoni and learns about the entire nature of Caderousse's conspiracy against Dantès, as well as
Caderousse's rampant duplicity. Busoni rewards Caderousse for his narration, hoping that Caderousse will become an
honest man. However, Caderousse's greed is too strong, and he continues to rob and murder until one evening, while
attempting to rob the Count's house, he is killed by an accomplice, just as the Count reveals that he is Edmond Dantès.

Monsieur De Villefort Villefort is described early in the novel as the type of person who "would sacrifice anything to his
ambition, even his own father." And throughout the novel, whenever political expediency demands it, he denies his own
father, who was a Bonapartist and therefore opposed to the ruling royalty. When it is discovered that Edmond Dantès
has a letter from the island of Elba, where Napoleon is confined, to be delivered to Villefort's father (Monsieur Noirtier),
Villefort, in order to protect his own interest, has Dantès imprisoned in the impregnable fortress of the Chateau d'If,
from which there is no escape. (Villefort is the prosecuting attorney, with great powers of life and death.) In addition,
Villefort closes his ears to the entreaties of the elder Dantès, as well as to Monsieur Morrel, who tries on several
occasions to plead for Dantès' release.

Because of his political ambitions, Villefort is willing to have an innocent man imprisoned for life. Thus, he becomes the
central enemy against whom the Count of Monte Cristo effects revenge. During Dantès' fourteen years of imprisonment,
Villefort uses all sorts of conniving means to achieve the powerful post of Deputy Minister of France; he becomes the
most powerful law enforcement man in the nation. He has also made a politically advantageous marriage to the
daughter of the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Méran and has one daughter, Valentine, by that marriage. He later takes
a second wife and has one son, Edouard, by her. He also has had an affair with a woman who becomes the Baroness
Danglars, and Villefort uses his wife's family mansion (Monte Cristo later purchases this mansion) to conceal his mistress
(the woman who will become Madame Danglars) while she is pregnant. When the child is born, Villefort announces that
the child is stillborn and takes the child in a box to the garden, where he plans to bury him alive. However, an assassin
who has a vendetta for Villefort stabs him and, thinking that the box contains treasure, he takes it, only to find that it
contains an infant who is ultimately raised by him and his sister-in-law. The boy is named Benedetto, and he will later be
brought back to Paris by Monte Cristo as Prince Cavalcanti and will accuse his own father, Villefort, of all of his dastardly
deeds. This is part of Monte Cristo's revenge: A son whom the father tried to kill as an infant becomes the instrument of
Divine Justice and accuses and destroys the evil father.
Renée, the first Madame de Villefort, née Mademoiselle Saint-Méran The mother of Valentine. Her marriage to Villefort
was "politically" arranged, and she does not appear in the novel.

Valentine De Villefort Valentine is the daughter of the first Madame de Villefort and is, therefore, the granddaughter of
the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Méran, whose fortune she is due to inherit. This fortune causes extreme envy in her
stepmother. Valentine, like her brother, Edouard, and Albert de Morcerf and Eugénie Danglars represent the innocent
persons who are trapped by the evil machinations of one or both parents.

Valentine's mother, as far as we know, was an innocent person, and Valentine herself represents the absolute purity of
young womanhood who will attract the pure love of the noble Maximilien Morrel. She unknowingly also attracts the
enmity of her wicked stepmother, who tries to poison her. Since it is the Count of Monte Cristo who recognizes the
stepmother's envy and greed and because he instructs her in the use of poison, the Count undergoes his greatest
change as a result of his exposure to some of the children of his enemies. Prior to the realization that his beloved friend,
Maximilien, loves Valentine, The Count had begun his revenge with the biblical philosophy that the sins of the father will
be visited upon the later generations, even unto the fourth generation. Therefore, he is not concerned that Valentine's
stepmother might poison her; this would be proper punishment for the wicked father. It is only when Maximilien Morrel
reveals that Valentine is his true love that the Count undergoes a significant change of heart, and because of the Count's
love for Maximilien, he sets a plot in motion that will save the life of the daughter of his most hated enemy. To do so,
however, he must ask her to undergo such tremendous terrors as being entombed alive, until she is reborn into
happiness with Maximilien at the end of the novel.

Héloise, the second Madame de Villefort Early in the novel, in Paris, the Count of Monte Cristo became acquainted with
Madame de Villefort, and in an intimate conversation, he discussed with her his extensive knowledge of poisons,
particularly a poison known as "brucine" which, taken in small doses, can cure a person but which, taken in larger doses,
will kill one. Since Madame de Villefort has a child named Edouard, she becomes insanely jealous of the large fortune
which her stepdaughter, Valentine, will inherit from the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Méran. Likewise, Valentine is to
inherit most of Monsieur Noirtier's fortune, making her one of the wealthiest heiresses in France. In Madame de
Villefort's desire to possess the wealth that Valentine is to inherit, she poisons both the Marquis and the Marquise (and
during the process, one of the servants, Barrois), and then she believes that she has also successfully poisoned
Valentine. Later, when her husband accuses her of the poisonings and demands that she commit suicide or else face
public execution, she poisons both herself and their nine-year-old son, leaving Villefort totally distraught. Thus, the
Count's revenge is complete against the cruel and inhuman Monsieur de Villefort.

Edouard De Villefort The young nine-year-old son of the second Madame de Villefort and her husband. He is merely an
innocent pawn caught in a vicious power struggle. The death of this innocent young boy causes the Count of Monte
Cristo to re-evaluate his belief in the rightness of the "sins of the father being visited upon the son." The Count feels
deep remorse over the death of the young boy, and he tries to save his life, but on failing to do so, he places the
innocent, dead boy beside the body of his dead mother.

Monsieur Noirtier Villefort's very strong-willed father, who is the source of great embarrassment to Villefort and a
threat to his ambitions. Monsieur Noirtier was one of France's leading Bonapartists (supporters of Napoleon), and his
political views, his power in the Bonapartist party, and his influence make him a thorn in the side of his son, an
opportunist who is willing to support whichever political party is in power. It is because of a letter carried by Edmond
Dantès and addressed to Monsieur Noirtier and sent from someone on the Isle of Elba (probably Napoleon himself), that
Villefort is persuaded to imprison Edmond Dantès so that no royalists (supporters of the king) will ever know that
Villefort's father is so intimately associated with Napoleon. Later in the novel, when Monsieur Noirtier is paralyzed, he is
able to communicate only with his servant, Barrois, and with his beloved granddaughter, Valentine, whom he tries to
warn about the intricate plots surrounding her because of her pending inheritance.
Monsieur Danglars, later Baron Danglars When we first meet this envious and devious man, we are immediately aware
that he has a jealous hatred for Edmond Dantès simply because Dantès is younger, more capable, more assured, and
self-confident and because he is a thoroughly good-natured young man of nineteen, with complete openness, honesty,
and frankness. Danglars is the one who conceives of the conspiracy against Dantès, and he is the one responsible for
writing the treacherous, anonymous note which sends Dantès to prison for fourteen years.

The note and the handwriting are permanently engraved in Dantès' eyes, and years later he is able to confirm Danglars'
evil duplicity by another sample of his handwriting, in addition to the somewhat reliable testimony which Caderousse
tells to the Abbé Busoni, an alias for the Count of Monte Cristo. By various illegal means, Danglars first ingratiates
himself into the family of a prominent banker, later marries the banker's widow, and by using illegal banking methods,
he quickly becomes an extremely wealthy man. The Count of Monte Cristo, however, is even more clever, and he
gradually involves himself in Danglars' finances to the point that Danglars eventually goes bankrupt. But he does manage
to confiscate five million francs in bank notes, and he flees to Italy, hoping to have them cashed. He is captured by the
bandit chief Luigi Vampa, an old friend of the Count of Monte Cristo, and then he is gradually stripped of all his five
million francs. He is finally freed by the bandits, but he is now an old and broken man, and, worst of all, he is penniless.
The Count's vengeance has at last been effected.

Baroness Danglars She is the wife of Danglars, but they have lived separate lives for over seven years, and both have
their own separate lovers. At present, her lover is Lucien Debray, an officer in Baron Danglars' banking establishment,
who is collaborating with her to manipulate stocks and bonds so that they can accumulate large sums of money. When
their scheme is over, because Danglars is on the verge of bankruptcy, young Lucien divides the money and then drops
Madame Danglars as his mistress. Madame Danglars also figures prominently in another aspect of the plot. Earlier, she
had an affair with Monsieur Villefort, the Count's archenemy, and she retired to Villefort's wife's family estate to have
their child in secrecy. The estate is later purchased by the Count of Monte Cristo, and her son, whom she thought to be
dead, is paid by the Count of Monte Cristo to pretend to be the wealthy Prince Cavalcanti. As such, her illegitimate son
becomes engaged to her own legitimate daughter, Eugénie.

Eugénie Danglars The daughter who is first engaged to Albert de Morcerf and then, in another arranged marriage, to the
bogus Prince Cavalcanti, alias the criminal Benedetto, who is actually her mother's illegitimate son. She abhors the idea
of marriage and bondage and wants to live as a liberated woman in charge of her own destiny. When her fiancé is
exposed as a fraud and a murderer, she and a girl friend escape; they hope to reach Rome by a circuitous route. Her
disappearance is one of the final blows to the pride of her villainous father.

Fernand Mondego, alias the Count de Morcerf In his youth, Fernand was a simple fisherman and a sometime smuggler
who was in love with the woman whom Edmond Dantès was engaged to, Mercédès Herrera. Because Mercédès loved
Fernand as a brother, Edmond Dantds trusted him. However, it is Fernand who actually mailed the letter condemning
Dantès, hoping all the while that if Dantès was arrested, he would then be able to marry Mercédès. By evil means, he
was able to use his smuggling skills and his treachery in warfare to eventually be made a Count and awarded an
immense sum of money. Sometime during his rise to power, he married Mercédès, who had waited a long time for
Dantès, but finally abandoned hope. Fernand gained most of his wealth by betraying a high authority named Ali Pasha,
whose daughter he sold into slavery, and who is now the paramour of the Count of Monte Cristo. When all of his
treachery is exposed and he discovers that his wife and son have deserted him, Fernand shoots himself.

Mercédès Herrera, later the Countess de Morcerf She is the innocent victim of many of the above machinations. She
loved only Edmond Dantès, and when he seemingly disappeared forever, she attempted to care for his father. When the
elderly Dantès died, she had no place to go, and so she succumbed to pressure and married Fernand. As the Countess de
Morcerf, she became an educated and distinguished but unhappy woman. She is the only person who knows that the
Count of Monte Cristo is really Edmond Dantès. When she discovers the full extent of her husband's treachery, she
leaves his house without any of his wealth (giving all her money to charity hospitals), and she returns to the small house
which once belonged to Edmond Dantès' father, there to live out her life in deep prayer.

Albert De Morcerf When the young Viscount Albert was visiting Rome, he happened to be staying in the same hotel
where the Count of Monte Cristo was staying. They became close acquaintances, and when Albert was kidnapped by a
gang of bandits, whose chief was Luigi Vampa, a man deeply indebted to the Count of Monte Cristo, the Count was able
to rescue Albert before the bandits put him to death. Thus, young Albert was indebted to Monte Cristo forever for
saving his life. Because of Albert's obligation to him, the Count was later able to be introduced to all of his enemies in
Paris, including Albert's father, Count de Morcerf (alias Fernand), who betrayed Dantès many years ago. Albert,
however, apparently inherited all of his mother's goodness and none of his father's treachery. Eventually, Albert wins
the love and respect of the Count of Monte Cristo, and even though the Count is on the verge of killing Albert in a duel
after he is challenged and insulted by Albert, the Count's willingness to recognize Albert's goodness is another example
of "an exception" to his belief in the "sons of the father rightly inheriting their father's guilt."

Benedetto, alias Andrea Cavalcanti Being the illegitimate son of the immoral Madame Danglars and the corrupt,
ambitious, and despicable Villefort, Benedetto represents almost pure evil. It is only by luck that he was not buried alive
as an infant, but as his father, Villefort, was about to bury him, Bertuccio saw the box that Benedetto was in and
mistakenly believed it to be filled with treasure. Bertuccio hoped to revenge himself on Villefort, and so he stabbed him
and took the baby to his sister-in-law. Benedetto lived with her and made her life miserable. Then one day, he tied her
up, beat her, and stole all of her money. Later, he was caught and found himself in prison, with Caderousse as a
cellmate. By the time of the story, Monte Cristo has tracked him down and has paid him to disguise himself as a wealthy
Italian nobleman so that he can use Benedetto in his larger, ultimate plan for total revenge against the traitorous Baron
Danglars (by having him become engaged to Eugénie Danglars) and by exposing Villefort as the would-be murderer of
his own infant son.

The Marquis And The Marquise De Saint-Mèran The first in-laws of Villefort, whose granddaughter, Valentine, will be the
sole inheritor of their fortune, thus arousing the envy of the second Madame de Villefort, who poisons both the Marquis
and the Marquise so that Valentine can inherit their fortune immediately and she can then poison Valentine, insuring
that Edouard, Valentine's half-brother, will come into an immense fortune.

Monsieur De Boville He is the Director of Prisons, from whom Dantès buys financial notes which are invested in
Monsieur Morrel's shipping firm. Dantès is also able to secretly extract Villefort's note condemning him to what Villefort
believed would be a life of isolated imprisonment. Boville is also involved in devastating financial transactions with
Danglars.

Doctor D'avrigny The attending physician to the Villeforts, who is convinced that the Marquis and the Marquise de Saint-
Méran were poisoned. After the death of Barrois, whom the doctor is certain was the victim of the same poison, he
threatens Villefort with a police investigation, but is persuaded to keep the matter quiet. With Valentine's "seeming"
death, d'Avrigny joins Maximilien in demanding punishment for the "supposed" murderer.

Lucien Debray A young man in Monsieur Danglars' office who is having an affair with Madame Danglars; Debray and
Madame Danglars are using certain information to destroy Danglars' fortune while increasing their own fortune
tremendously.

Franz D'epinay One of the many men about town; he is a friend of Albert de Morcerf. Franz accompanies Albert to
Rome, where he acts as an emissary between the bandits and Monte Cristo after Albert is captured by the bandits.
Emmanuel Herbaut
Emmanuel Herbaut (ehr-BOH), a clerk in Morrel’s business establishment. He marries Julie Morrel.
Assunta
Assunta (ah-sew-TAH), Bertuccio’s sister-in-law. She claims Villefort’s child from the foundling home where Bertuccio
had placed it.
Benedetto
Benedetto (bay-nay-DAY-toh), also known as Andrea Cavalcanti (kah-vahl-KAN-tee-), the illegitimate son of Villefort and
Mme Danglars. He does not know who his parents are, and they believe him to be dead. He is a forger, a thief escaped
from the galleys, and the murderer of Caderousse. He discovers that Villefort is his father and reveals this fact at the
trial. It is implied that the court will find “extenuating circumstances” in his new trial.
Baptistin
Baptistin (bah-tees-TAN), the servant of Monte-Cristo.
Hermine Danglars
Hermine Danglars (ehr-MEEN), Danglars’ wife and the mother of Benedetto and Eugénie.
Noirtier de Villefort
Noirtier de Villefort (nwahr-TYAY), the father of Villefort and a fiery Jacobin of the French Revolution. Completely
paralyzed by a stroke, he communicates with his eyes.
The Marquis Bartolomeo Cavalcanti
The Marquis Bartolomeo Cavalcanti (bahr-toh-loh-may-OH), the name assumed by a man pretending to be Andrea
Cavalcanti’s father.
Barrois
Barrois (bah-RWAH), a faithful servant of old Noirtier, poisoned by drinking some lemonade intended for Noirtier.
Louise d’Armilly
Louise d’Armilly (dahr-mee-YEE), the governess to Eugénie Danglars. They run away together in hopes that they can go
on the stage as singers.

Annotations to Dr. Antonio Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1609) (Translated by Austin Craig)
As a child José Rizal heard from his uncle, José Alberto, about a ancient history of the Philippines written by a Spaniard
named Antonio de Morga. The knowledge of this book came from the English Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John
Browning, who had once paid his uncle a visit. While in London, Rizal immediately acquainted himself with the British
Museum where he found one of the few remaining copies of that work. At his own expense, he had the work
republished with annotations that showed the Philippines was an advanced civilization prior to the Spanish conquest.
Austin Craig, an early biographer of Rizal, translated into English some of the more important of these annotations.

To the Filipinos: In Noli Me Tangere ("The Social Cancer") I started to sketch the present state of our native land. But the
effect which my effort produced made me realize that, before attempting to unroll before your eyes the other pictures
which were to follow, it was necessary first to post you on the past. So only can you fairly judge the present and
estimate how much progress has been made during the three centuries (of Spanish rule).

Like almost all of you, I was born and brought up in ignorance of our country's past and so, without knowledge or
authority to speak of what I neither saw nor have studied, I deem it necessary to quote the testimony of an illustrious
Spaniard who in the beginning of the new era controlled the destinies of the Philippines and had personal knowledge of
our ancient nationality in its last days.

It is then the shade of our ancestor's civilization which the author will call before you. If the work serves to awaken in
you a consciousness of our past, and to blot from your memory or to rectify what has been falsified or is calumny, then I
shall not have labored in vain. With this preparation, slight though it may be, we can all pass to the study of the future.

José Rizal
Europe, 1889
Governor Morga was not only the first to write but also the first to publish a Philippine history. This statement has
regard to the concise and concrete form in which our author has treated the matter. Father Chirino's work, printed in
Rome in 1604, is rather a chronicle of the Missions than a history of the Philippines; still it contains a great deal of
valuable material on usages and customs. The worthy Jesuit in fact admits that he abandoned writing a political history
because Morga had already done so, so one must infer that he had seen the work in manuscript before leaving the
Islands.

By the Christian religion, Dr. Morga appears to mean the Roman Catholic which by fire and sword he would preserve in
its purity in the Philippines. Nevertheless in other lands, notably in Flanders, these means were ineffective to keep the
church unchanged, or to maintain its supremacy, or even to hold its subjects.
Great kingdoms were indeed discovered and conquered in the remote and unknown parts of the world by Spanish ships
but to the Spaniards who sailed in them we may add Portuguese, Italians, French, Greeks, and even Africans and
Polynesians. The expeditions captained by Columbus and Magellan, one a Genoese Italian and the other a Portuguese,
as well as those that came after them, although Spanish fleets, still were manned by many nationalities and in them
were negroes, Moluccans, and even men from the Philippines and the Marianes Islands.
These centuries ago it was the custom to write as intolerantly as Morga does, but nowadays it would be called a bit
presumptuous. No one has a monopoly of the true God nor is there any nation or religion that can claim, or at any rate
prove, that to it has ben given the exclusive right to the Creator of all things or sole knowledge of His real being.
The conversions by the Spaniards were not as general as their historians claim. The missionaries only succeeded in
converting a part of the people of the Philippines. Still there are Mohammedans, the Moros, in the southern islands, and
Negritos, Igorots and other heathens yet occupy the greater part territorially of the archipelago. Then the islands which
the Spaniards early held but soon lost are non-Christian -- Formosa, Borneo, and the Moluccas. And if thre are Christians
in the Carolines, that is due to Protestants, whom neither the Roman Catholics of Morga's day nor many Catholics in our
own day consider Christians.
It is not the fact that the Filipinos were unprotected before the coming of the Spaniards. Morga himself says, further on
in telling of the pirate raids from the islands had arms and defended themselves. But after the natives were disarmed
the pirates pillaged them with impunity, coming at times when they were unprotected by the government, which was
the reason for many of the insurrections.
The civilization of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos in regard to the duties of life for that age was well advanced, as the Morga
history shows in its eighth chapter.
The islands came under Spanish sovereignty and control through compacts, treaties of friendship and alliances for
reciprocity. By virtue of the last arrangement, according to some historians, Magellan lost his life on Mactan and the
soldiers of Legaspi fought under the banner of King Tupas of Cebu.
The term "conquest" is admissible but for a part of the islands and then only in its broadest sense. Cebu, Panay, Luzon,
Mindoro, and some others cannot be said to have been conquered.
The discovery, conquest and conversion cost Spanish blood but still m ore Filipino blood. It will be seen later on in Morga
that with the Spaniards and on behalf of Spain there were always more Filipinos fighting than Spaniards.
Morga shows that the ancient Filipinos had army and navy with artillery and other implements of warfare. Their prized
krises and kampilans for their magnificent temper are worthy of admiration and some of them are richly damascened.
Their coats of mail and helmets, of which there are specimens in various European museums, attest their great
advancement in this industry.
Morga's expression that the Spaniards "brought war to the gates of the Filipinos" is in marked contrast with the word
used by subsequent historians whenever recording Spain's possessing herself of a province, that she pacified it. Perhaps
"to make peace" then meant the same as "to stir up war." (This is a veiled allusion to the old Latin saying of Romans,
often quoted by Spaniard's that they make a desert, calling it making peace. -- Austin Craig)
Megellan's transferring from the service of his own king (i.e. the Portuguese) to employment under the King of Spain,
according to historic documents, was because the Portuguese King had refused to grant him the raise in salary which he
asked
Now it is known that Magellan was mistaken when he represented to the King of Spain that the Molucca Islands were
within the limits assigned by the Pope to the Spaniards. But through this error and the inaccuracy of the nautical
instruments of that time, the Philippines did not fall into the hands of the Portuguese.
Cebu, which Morga calls "The City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus," was at first called "The village of San Miguel."
The image of the Holy Child of Cebu, which many religious writers believed was brought to Cebu by the angels, was in
fact given by the worthy Italian chronicler of Magellan's expedition, the Chevalier Pigafetta, to the Cebuan queen.
The expedition of Villalobos, intermediate between Magallan's and Legaspi's gave the name "Philipina" to one of the
southern islands, Tendaya, now perhaps Leyte, and this name later was extended to the whole archipelago.
Of the native Manila rulers at the coming of the Spaniards, Raja Soliman was called "Rahang mura", or young king, in
distinction from the old king, "Rahang matanda". Historians have confused these personages.
The native fort at the mouth of the Pasig river, which Morga speaks of as equipped with brass lantkas and artillery of
larger caliber, had its ramparts reinforced with thick hardwood posts such as the Tagalogs used for their houses and
called "harigues", or "haligui".
Morga has evidently confused the pacific coming of Legaspi with the attack of Goiti and Salcedo, as to date. According to
other historians it was in 1570 that Manila was burned, and with it a great plant for manufacturing artillery. Goiti did not
take possession of the city but withdrew to Cavite and afterwards to to Panay, which makes one suspicious of his alleged
victory. As to the day of the date, the Spaniards then, having come following the course of the sun, were some sixteen
hours later than Europe. This condition continued until the end of the year 1844, when the 31st of December was by
special arrangement among the authorities dropped from the calendar for that year. Accordingly Legaspi did not arrive
in Manila on the 19th but on the 20th of May and consequently it was not on the festival of Santa Potenciana but on San
Baudelio's day. The same mistake was made with reference to the other earlyl events still wrongly commemorated, like
San Andres's day for the repulse of the Chinese corsair Li Ma-hong.
Though not mentioned by Morga, the Cebuans aided the Spaniards in their expedition against Manila, for which reason
they were long exempted from tribute.
The southern islands, the Bisayas, were also called "The land of the Painted People (or Pintados, in Spanish)" because
the natives had their bodies decorated with tracings made with fire, somewhat like tattooing.
The Spaniards retained the native name for the new capital of the archipelago, a little changed, however, for the
Tagalogs had called their city "Maynila."
When Morga says that the lands were "entrusted (given as encomiendas) to those who had "pacified" them, he means
"divided up among." The word "entrust," like "pacify," later came to have a sort of ironical signification. To entrust a
province was then as if it wre said that it was turned over to sack, abandoned to the cruelty and covetousness of the
encomendero, to judge from the way these gentry misbehaved.
Legaspi's grandson, Salcedo, called the Hernando Cortez of the Philippines, was the "conqueror's" intelligent right arm
and the hero of the "conquest." His honesty and fine qualities, talent and personal bravery, all won the admiration of
the Filipinos. Because of him they yielded to their enemies, making peace and friendship with the Spaniards. He it was
who saved Manila from Li Ma-hong. He died at the early age of twenty-seven and is the only encomendero recorded to
have left the great part of his possessions to the Indians of his encomienda. Vigan was his encomienda and the Illokanos
there were his heirs.
The expedition which followed the Chinese corsair Li Ma-hong, after his unsuccessful attack upon Manila, to Pangasinan
province, with the Spaniards of whom Morga tells, had in it 1,500 friendly Indians from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Panay,
besides the many others serving as laborers and crews of the ships. Former Raja Lakandola, of Tondo, with his sons and
his kinsmen went too, with 200 more Bisayans and they wre joined by other Filipinos in Pangasinan.
If discovery and occupation justify annexation, then Borneo ought to belong to Spain. In the Spanish expedition to
replace on its throne a Sirela or Malacla, as he is variously called, who had been driven out by his brother, more than
fifteen hundred Filipino bowmen from the provinces of Pangasinan, Kagayan and the Bisayas participated.
It is notable how strictly the early Spanish governors were held to account. Some stayed in Manila as prisoners, one,
Governor Corcuera, passed five years with Fort Santiago as his prison.
In the fruitless expedition against the Portuguese in the island of Ternate, in the Molucca group, which was abandoned
because of the prevalence of beriberi among the troops, there went 1,500 Filipino soldiers from the more warlike
provinces, principally Kagayans and Pampangans.
The "pacification" of Kagayan was accomplished by taking advantage of the jealousies among its people, particularly the
rivalry between two brothers who were chiefs. An early historian asserts that without this fortunate circumstance, for
the Spaniards, it would have been impossible to subjugate them.
Captain Gabriel de Rivera, a Spanish commander who had gained fame in a raid on Borneo and the Malacca coast, was
the first envoy from the Philippines to take up with the King of Spain the needs of the archipelago.
The early conspiracy of the Manila and Pampangan former chiefs was revealed to the Spaniards by a Filipina, the wife of
a soldier, and many concerned lost their lives.
The artillery cast for the new stone fort in Manila, says Morga, was by the hand of an ancient Filipino. That is, he knew
how to cast cannon even before the coming of the Spaniards, hence he was distinguished as "ancient." In this difficult
art of ironworking, as in so many others, the modern or present-day Filipinos are not so far advanced as were their
ancestors.
When the English freebooter Cavandish captured the Mexican galleon Santa Ana, with 122,000 gold pesos, a great
quantity of rich textiles -- silks, satins and damask, musk perfume, and stores of provisions, he took 150 prisoners. All
these because of their brave defense were put ashore with ample supplies, except two Japanese lads, three Filipinos, a
Portuguese and a skilled Spanish pilot whom he kept as guides in his further voyaging.
From the earliest Spanish days ships were built in the islands, which might be considered evidence of native culture.
Nowadays this industry is reduced to small craft, scows and coasters.
The Jesuit, Father Alonso Sanchez, who visited the papal court at Rome and the Spanish King at Madrid, had a mission
much like that of deputies now, but of even greater importance since he came to be a sort of counselor or
representative to the absolute monarch of that epoch. One wonders why the Philippines could have a representative
then but may not have one now.
In the time of Governor Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, Manila was guarded against further damage sch as was suffered from
Li Ma-hong by the construction of a massive stone wall around it. This was accomplished "without expense to the royal
treasury." The same governor, in like manner, also fortified the point at the entrance to the river where had been the
ancient native fort of wood, and he gave it the name Fort Santiago.
The early cathedral of wood which was burned which was burned through carelessness at the time of the funeral of
Governor Dasmariñas' predecessor, Governor Ronquillo, was made, according to the Jesuit historian Chirino, with
hardwood pillars around which two men could not reach, and in harmony with this massiveness was all the woodwork
above and below. It may be surmised from this how hard workers were the Filipinos of that time.
A stone house for the bishop was built before starting on the governor-general's residence. This precedence is
interesting for those who uphold the civil power.
Morga's mention of the scant output the scant output of large artillery from the Manila cannon works because of lack of
master foundry workers shows that after the death of the Filipino Panday Pira there were not Spaniards skilled enough
to take his place, nor were his sons as expert as he.
It is worthy of note that China, Japan and Cambodia at this time maintained relations with the Philippines. But in our day
it has been more than a century since the natives of the latter two countries have come here. The causes which ended
the relationship may be found in the interference by the religious orders with the institutions of those lands.
For Governor Dasmariñas' expedition to conquer Ternate, in the Moluccan group, two Jesuits there gave secret
information. In his 200 ships, besides 900 Spaniards, there must have been Filipinos for one chronicler speaks of Indians,
as the Spaniards called the natives of the Philippines, who lost their lives and others who were made captives when the
Chinese rowers mutinied. It was the custom then always to have a thousand or more native bowmen and besides the
crew were almost all Filipinos, for the most part Bisayans.
The historian Argensola, in telling of four special galleys for Dasmariñas' expedition, says that they were manned by an
expedient which was generally considered rather harsh. It was ordered that there be bought enough of the Indians who
were slaves of the former Indian chiefs, or principals, to form these crews, and the price, that which had been customary
in pre-Spanish times, was to be advanced by the ecomenderos who later would be reimbursed from the royal treasury.
In spite of this promised compensation, the measures still seem severe since those Filipinos were not correct in calling
their dependents slaves. The masters treated these, and loved them, like sons rather, for they seated them at their own
tables and gve them their own daughters in marriage.
Morga says that the 250 Chinese oarsmen who manned Governor Dasmariñas' swift galley were under pay and had the
special favor of not being chained to their benches. According to him it was covetousness of the wealth aboard that led
them to revolt and kill the governor. But the historian Gaspar de San Agustin states that the reason for the revolt was
the governor's abusive language and his threatening the rowers. Both these authors' allegations may have contributed,
but more important was the fact that there was no law to compel these Chinamen to row in the galleys. They had come
to Manila to engage in commerce or to work in trades or to follow professions. Still the incident contradicts the
reputation for enduring everything which they have had. The Filipinos have been much more long-suffering than the
Chinese since, in spite of having been obliged to row on more than one occasion, they never mutinied.
It is difficult to excuse the missionaries' disregard of the laws of nations and the usages of honorable politics in their
interference in Cambodia on the ground that it was to spread the Faith. Religion had a broad field awaiting them in the
Philippines where more than nine-tenths of the natives were infidels. That even now there are to be found here so many
tribes and settlements of non-Christians takes away much of the prestige of that religious zeal which in the easy life in
towns of wealth, liberal and fond of display, grows lethargic. Truth is that the ancient activity was scarcely for the Faith
alone, because the missionaries had to go to islands rich in spices and gold though there were at hand Mohammedans
and Jews in Spain and Africa, Indians by the million in the Americas, and more millions of protestants, schismatics and
heretics peopled, and still people, over six-sevenths of Europe. All of these doubtless would have accepted the Light and
the true religion if the friars, under pretext of preaching to them, had not abused their hospitality and if behind the
name Religion had not lurked the unnamed Domination.
In the attempt made by Rodriguez de Figueroa to conquer Mindanao according to his contract with the King of Spain,
there was fighting along the Rio Grande with the people called the Buhahayenes. Their general, according to Argensola,
was the celebrated Silonga, later distinguished for many deeds in raids on the Bisayas and adjacent islands. Chirino
relates an anecdote of his coolness under fire once during a truce for a marriage among Mindanao "principalia." Young
Spaniards out of bravado fired at his feet but he passed on as if unconscious of the bullets.
Argensola has preserved the name of the Filipino who killed Rodriguez de Figueroa. It was Ubal. Two days previously he
had given a banquet, slaying for it a beef animal of his own, and then made the promise which he kept, to do away with
the leader of the Spanish invaders. A Jesuit writer calls him a traitor though the justification for that term of reproach is
not apparent. The Buhahayen people were in their own country, and had neither offended nor declared war upon the
Spaniards. They had to defend their homes against a powerful invader, with superior forces, many of whom were, by
reason of their armor, invulnerable so far as rude Indians were concerned. Yet these same Indians were defenseless
against the balls from their muskets. By the Jesuit's line of reasoning, the heroic Spanish peasantry in their war for
independence would have been a people even more treacherous. It was not Ubal's fault that he was not seen and, as it
was wartime, it would have been the height of folly, in view of the immense disparity of arms, to have first called out to
this preoccupied opponent, and then been killed himself.
The muskets used by the Buhayens were probably some that had belonged to Figueroa's soldiers who had died in battle.
Though the Philippines had latakas and other artillery, muskets were unknown until the Spaniards came.
That the Spaniards used the word "discover" very carelessly may be seen from an admiral's turning in a report of his
"discovery" of the Solomon islands though he noted that the islands had been discovered before.
Death has always been the first sign of European civilization on its introduction in the Pacific Ocean. God grant that it
may not be the last, though to judge by statistics the civilized islands are losing their populations at a terrible rate.
Magellan himself inaugurated his arrival in the Marianes islands by burning more than forty houses, many small craft
and seven people because one of his ships had been stolen. Yet to the simple savages the act had nothing wrong in it but
was done with the same naturalness that civilized people hunt, fish, and subjugate people that are weak or ill-armed.
The Spanish historians of the Philippines never overlook any opportunity, be it suspicion or accident, that may be
twisted into something unfavorable to the Filipinos. They seem to forget that in almost every case the reason for the
rupture has been some act of those who were pretending to civilize helpless peoples by force of arms and at the cost of
their native land. What would these same writers have said if the crimes committed by the Spaniards, the Portuguese
and the Dutch in their colonies had been committed by the islanders?
The Japanese were not in error when they suspected the Spanish and Portuguese religious propaganda to have political
motives back of the missionary activities. Witness the Moluccas where Spanish missionaries served as spies; Cambodia,
which it was sought to conquer under cloak of converting; and many other nations, among them the Filipinos, where the
sacrament of baptism made of the inhabitants not only subjects of the King of Spain but also slaves of the
encomenderos, and as well slaves of the churches and converts. What would Japan have been now had not its emperors
uprooted Catholicism? A missionary record of 1625 sets forth that the King of Spain had arranged with certain members
of Philippine religious orders that, under guise of preaching the faith and making Christians, they should win over the
Japanese and oblige them to make themselves of the Spanish party, and finally it told of a plan whereby the King of
Spain should become also King of Japan. In corroboration of this may be cited the claims that Japan fell within the Pope's
demarcation lines for Spanish expansion and so there was complaint of missionaries other than Spanish there. Therefore
it was not for religion that they were converting the infidels!
The raid by Datus Sali and Silonga of Mindanao, in 1599 with 50 sailing vessels and 3,000 warriors, against the capital of
Panay, is the first act of piracy by the inhabitants of the South which is recorded in Philippine history. I say "by the
inhabitants of the South" because earlier there had been other acts of piracy, the earliest being that of Magellan's
expedition when it seized the shipping of friendly islands and even of those whom they did not know, extorting for them
heavy ransoms. It will be remembered that these Moro piracies continued for more than two centuries, during which
the indomitable sons of the South made captives and carried fire and sword not only in neighboring islands but into
Manila Bay to Malate, to the very gates of the capital, and not once a year merely but at times repeating their raids five
and six times in a single season. Yet the government was unable to repel them or to defend the people whom it had
disarmed and left without protection. Estimating that the cost to the islands was but 800 victims a year, still the total
would be more than 200,000 persons sold into slavery or killed, all sacrificed together with so many other things to the
prestige of that empty title, Spanish sovereignty.
Still the Spaniards say that the Filipinos have contributed nothing to Mother Spain, and that it is the islands which owe
everything. It may be so, but what about the enormous sum of gold which was taken from the islands in the early years
of Spanish rule, of the tributes collected by the encomenderos, of the nine million dollars yearly collected to pay the
military, expenses of the employees, diplomatic agents, corporations and the like, charged to the Philippines, with
salaries paid out of the Philippine treasury not only for those who come to the Philippines but also for those who leave,
to some who never have been and never will be in the islands, as well as to others who have nothing to do with them.
Yet allof this is as nothing in comparison with so many captives gone, such a great number of soldiers killed in
expeditions, islands depopulated, their inhabitants sold as slaves by the Spaniards themselves, the death of industry, the
demoralization of the Filipinos, and so forth, and so forth. Enormous indeed would the benefits which that sacred
civilization brought to the archipelago have to be in order to counterbalance so heavy a cost.
While Japan was preparing to invade the Philippines, these islands were sending expeditions to Tonquin and Cambodia,
leaving the homeland helpless, even against the undisciplined hordes from the South, so obsessed were the Spaniards
with the idea of making conquests.
In the alleged victory of Morga over the Dutch ships, the latter found upon the bodies of five Spaniards, who lost their
lives in that combat, little silver boxes filled with prayers and invocations to the saints. Here would seem to be the origin
of the anting-anting of the modern tulisanes, which are also of a religious character.
In Morga's time, the Philippines exported silk to Japan whence now comes the best quality of that merchandise.
Morga's views upon the failure of Governor Pedro de Acuña's ambitious expedition against the Moros unhappily still
apply for the same conditions yet exist. For fear of uprisings and loss of Spain's sovereignty over the islands, the
inhabitants were disarmed, leaving them exposed to the harassing of a powerful and dreaded enemy. Even now, though
the use of steam vessels has put an end to piracy from outside, the same fatal system still is followed. The peaceful
country folk are deprived of arms and thus made unable to defend themselves against the bandits, or tulisanes, which
the government cannot restrain. It is an encouragement to banditry thus to make easy its getting booty.
Hernando de los Rios blames these Moluccan wars for the fact that at first the Philippines were a source of expense to
Spain instead of profitable in spite of the tremendous sacrifices of the Filipinos, their practically gratuitous labor in
building and equipping the galleons, and despite, too, the tribute, tariffs and other imposts and monopolies. These wars
to gain the Moluccas, which soon were lost forever with the little that had been so laboriously obtained, were a heavy
drain upon the Philippines. They depopulated the country and bankrupted the treasury, with not the slightest
compensating benefit. True also is it that it was to gain the Moluccas that Spain kept the Philippines, the desire for the
rich spice islands being one of the most powerful arguments when, because of their expense to him, the King thought of
withdrawing and abandoning them.
Among the Filipinos who aided the government when the Manila Chinese revolted, Argensola says there were 4,000
Pampangans "armed after the way of their land, with bows and arrows, short lances, shields, and broad and long
daggers." Some Spanish writers say that the Japanese volunteers and the Filipinos showed themselves cruel in
slaughtering the Chinese refugees. This may very well have been so, considering the hatred and rancor then existing, but
those in command set the example.
The loss of two Mexican galleons in 1603 called forth no comment from the religious chroniclers who were accustomed
to see the avenging hand of God in the misfortunes and accidents of their enemies. Yet there were repeated shipwrecks
of the vessels that carried from the Philippines wealth which encomenderos had extorted from the Filipinos, using force,
or making their own laws, and when not using these open means, cheating by the weights and measures.
The Filipino chiefs who at their own expense went with the Spanish expedition against Ternate, in the Moluccas, in 1605,
were Don Guillermo Palaot, Maestro de Campo, and Captains Francisco Palaot, Juan Lit, Luis Lont, and Agustin Lont.
They had with them 400 Tagalogs and Pampangans. The leaders bore themselves bravely for Argensola writes that in the
assault on Ternate, "No officer, Spaniard or Indian, went unscathed!"
The Cebuans drew a pattern on the skin before starting in to tatoo. The Bisayan usage then was the same procedure that
the Japanese today follow.
Ancient traditions ascribe the origin of the Malay Filipinos to the island of Samatra. These traditions were almost
completely lost as well as the mythology and the genealogies of which the early historians tell, thanks to the zeal of the
missionaries in eradicating all national remembrances as heathen or idolatrous. The study of ethnology is restring this
somewhat.
The chiefs used to wear upper garments, usually of Indian fine gauze according to Colin, of red color, a shade for which
they had the same fondness that the Romans had. The barbarous tribes in Mindanao still have the same taste.
The "easy virtue" of the native women that historians note is not solely to the simplicity with which they obeyed their
natural instincts but much more due to a religious belief of which Father Chirino tells. It was that in the journey after
death to "Kalualhatiran," the abode of the spirit, there was a dangerous river to cross that had no bridge other than a
very narrow strip of wood over which a woman could not pass unless she had a husband or lover to extend a hand to
assist her. Furthermore, the religious annals of the early missions are filled with countless instances where native
maidens chose death rather than sacrifice their chastity to the threats and violence of encomenderos and Spanish
soldiers. As to the mercenary social evil, that is worldwide and there is no nation that can "throw the first stone" at the
other. For the rest, today the Philippines has no reason to blush in comparing its womankind with the women of the
most chaste nation in the world.
Morga's remark that the Filipinos like fish better when it is commencing to turn bad is another of those prejudices which
Spaniards like all other nations, have. In matters of food, each is nauseated with what he is unaccustomed to or doesn't
know is eatable. The English, for example, find their gorge rising when they see a Spaniard eating snails, while in turn the
Spanish find roast beef English-style repugnant and can't understand the relish of other Europeans for beef steak a la
Tartar which to them is simply raw meat. The Chinamen, who likes shark's meat, cannot bear Roquefort cheese, and
these examples might be indefinitely extended. The Filipinos favorite fish dish is the bagong and whoever has tried to
eat it knows that it is not considered improved when tainted. It neither is, nor ought to be, decayed.
Colin says the ancient Filipinos had had minstrels who had memorized songs telling their genealogies and of the deeds
ascribed to their deities. These were chanted on voyages in cadence with the rowing, or at festivals, or funerals, or
wherever there happened to be any considerable gatherings. It is regrettable that these chants have not been preserved
as from them it would have been possible to learn much of the Filipinos' past and possibly of the history of neighboring
islands.
The cannon foundry mentioned by Morga as in the walled city was probably on the site of the Tagalog one which was
destroyed by fire on the first coming of the Spaniards. That established in 1584 was in Lamayan, that is, Santa Ana now,
and was transferred to the old site in 1590. It continued to work until 1805. According to Gaspar San Augustin, the
cannon which the pre-Spanish Filipinos cast were "as great as those of Malaga," Spain's foundry. The Filipino plant was
burned with all that was in it save a dozen large cannons and some smaller pieces which the Spanish invaders took back
with them to Panay. The rest of their artillery equipment had been thrown by the Manilans, then Moros, into the sea
when they recognized their defeat.
Malate, better Maalat, was where the Tagalog aristocracy lived after they were dispossessed by the Spaniards of their
old homes in what is now the walled city of Manila. Among the Malate residents were the families of Raja Matanda and
Raja Soliman. The men had various positions in Manila and some were employed in government work nearby. "They
were very courteous and well-mannered," says San Agustin. "The women were very expert in lace-making, so much so
that they were not at all behind the women of Flanders."
Morga's statement that there was not a province or town of the Filipinos that resisted conversion or did not want it may
have been true of the civilized natives. But the contrary was the fact among the mountain tribes. We have the testimony
of several Dominican and Augustinian missionaries that it was impossible to go anywhere to make conversions without
other Filipinos along and a guard of soldiers. "Otherwise, says Gaspan de San Agustin, there would have been no fruit of
the Evangelic Doctrine gathered, for the infidels wanted to kill the Friars who came to preach to them." An example of
this method of conversion given by the same writer was a trip to the mountains by two Friars who had a numerous
escort of Pampangans. The escort's leader was Don Agustin Sonson who had a reputation for daring and carried fire and
sword into the country, killing many, including the chief, Kabadi.
"The Spaniards," says Morga, "were accustomed to hold as slaves such natives as they bought and others that they took
in the forays in the conquest or pacification of the islands." Consequently in this respect the "pacifiers" introduced no
moral improvement. We even do not know if in their wars the Filipinos used to make slaves of each other, though that
would not have been strange, for the chroniclers tell of captives returned to their own people. The practice of the
Southern pirates, almost proves this, although in these piratical wars the Spaniards were the first aggressors and gave
them their character.
“Black Skin, White Masks” (1952) is a book about the mindset or psychology of racism by Frantz Fanon, a Martinican
psychiatrist and black, post-colonialist thinker. The book looks at what goes through the minds of blacks and whites
under the conditions of white rule and the strange effects that has, especially on black people.
The book started out as his doctoral thesis that he wrote to get his degree in psychiatry. So it is written for white French
psychiatrists and speaks mainly about Martinique and France in the early1950s.
That makes it a hard book for the general reader to understand. Every now and then he says something wow that keeps
you going, but it requires rereading and a good deal of thought to understand a given chapter. And even then you do not
fully understand it – you just understand it better.
Yet it is well worth reading since his understanding of White French racism in the early 1950s helps you to understand
White American racism in the 2010s.
I have written a post on each chapter:
Fanon: The Black Man and Language – if you do not learn the white man’s language perfectly, you are unintelligent. Yet
if you do learn it perfectly, you have washed your brain in their universe of racist ideas.
Fanon: The Woman of Colour and the White Man – these women look down on their own race and deep down want to
be white
Fanon: The Man of Colour and the White Woman – these men want to be white too – or at least prove they are equal to
whites
Fanon: The So-Called Dependency Complex of the Colonized – argues against Mannoni’s view that people of colour have
a deep desire for white rule, that those who oppose it do not have a secure sense of self – that they have a chip on their
shoulder. From this chapter I came to understand that the stereotypes of Happy Darkies, Uppity Negroes and White
Saviours all come from the need of white people to feel that their power in society is good and not racist.
Fanon: The Lived Experience of the Black Man – always black, never fully human. No matter how much education you
have or how well you act. Yet shouting your blackness is a dead end too.
Fanon: The Black Man and Psychopathology – why white people fear black men. Partly it has to do with white men’s
repressed homosexuality and their strange hang-ups about black men’s penises. More generally, black men are viewed
as bodies, which makes them seem like mind-less, violent, sexual, animal beings. Add to that all the bad meanings that
the word “black” had even before Europeans set foot in Black Africa.
Fanon: The Black Man and Recognition – how different styles of white rule shaped black people in America and
Martinique.
Fanon: By Way of Conclusion – escaping the prison of one’s past and one’s race