ACTIVITY

A. Write True if the statement is correct, otherwise, write False .

___True_____ 1. The 19th Century was marked for its tremendous social change. Europe prospered like
Never before and England led the way as the growing imperialist power.

___False____ 2. In polo y servicio, the workers were called polo while the mandatory labor was termed
Polistas.

___True_____ 3. The members of the principalia were exempted from forced labor by paying the falla.

___False____ 4. Farilocracy also means “government ruled by the Filipino people”.

____False___ 5. The Philippines had a representative to the Spanish Cortes named Ferdinand
Blumentritt.

B. Identify what is being describe in the following sentences.

__Ilustrados______ 1. The middle-class Filipinos educated in Spain who were exposed to nationalistic
ideas.

_ Principalias_____ 2. The middle-class families who were given opportunities to administer friar
estates during The Spanish colonial era.

__ Falla______ 3. The payment given by wealthy Filipinos for them to be exempted form forced
labor.

___ Frailocracy_ __ 4. A government ruler by the friars.

__Polo Y Servicio__ 5. The mandatory labor rendered by the Filipinos during the Spanish colonial era.

C. Answer the following and explain each.

1. Discuss the different evils brought about by the Spanish despotic colonial rule in the
Philippines.
 • Maladministration Of Justice - During Rizal’s time , Given the unequal treatment of
Filipinos in the court, Justice was often denied because justice was costly, partial and
slow. Judges were mostly ignorant and inept .

• No equality before the law – The Spaniards considered themselves as the highest in
the social hierarchy and the Spanish penal code was stricker with Filipinos , this made
their court hearings unfair and it was impossible to win a case especially if you are living
under the poor conditions.

• Racial Prejudice – During spanish colonial era racism is prevalent, radial discrimination
against native Filipino became prevalent From the wordings of Fr. Burgos himself, no
matter how a native Filipino would exert his best efforts, he would never succeed. Not
because he was unfit or unable to carry out the role but because preference was given
to Spaniards. The said racial prejudice was happening everywhere-in school, in the
church hierarchy, in public offices and, as previously mentioned, even in the legal
system.

• Forced labor – Also known as “Polo”or “Polo Y Servicio” . Was impose to Filipino males
with ages ranging from 16-60 were required to render forced labor by the Spanish
Government . The workers were called polistas, while mandatory labor itself was called
polo. They were tasked to perform general public and building works by constructing
churches, schools, roads, bridges and even ships. Some people in the community were
exempted from rendering forced labor such as the aristocracy or principalia, well-off
Filipinos, government officials like the gobernadorcillos or cabeza de barangay and
school teachers. The well-off Filipinos and principalia shall be exempted by paying the
falla, amounting to seven pesos. Moreover, the government oficials and teachers were
considered legally exempt due to their services to the community. Therefore, poor and
uninfluential Filipinos had no choice but to render forced labor.

• Frailocracy – Also called as “government rule of the friars.” The friars became so
powerful that it resulted to the abuse of Filipinos. These friars contributed to the rise of
agrarian unrest, the secularization movement and Filipino abuses in many forms. Since
these friars are Spaniards and can communicate pretty well with the Spanish
Government through their native language, they were tasked to report whatever is
happening in their parishes and friar estates.

• Lack of representation in the Spanish Cortes - The Philippines suffered from a lack of
representation in the Spanish Cortes. The Spanish Cortes was abolished to hide the
corruption and abuse happening in the Philippines thus our country was poorly
represented and resulted various atrocities of the Spanish colonizers.

2. Describe how the industrial Revolution shaped the 19th Century Philippines especially
Rizal.
 • Just like what we have today , Rizal was also a product of his time. He did not wake up
one day and realized that he wanted to become a hero. His Life’s choices were a
response to the success and failures he experienced. The 19th Century Philippines were
not just about people struggling against colonial rule; it was about Filipinos, men and
women alike, fighting against political oppression. The economic opportunities created
by the industrial Revolution had encourage Spain in 1834 to open the Philippine
economy to world commerce. As a result, new cities and ports were built . Foreign firms
increase rapidly . Foreigners were allowed to engage in manufacturing and agriculture.

3. Explain the rise of the middle-class called principalias and how this political status
shaped Rizal in the 19th century.

• With the increasing demand for abaca and other crops in Europe, there was a need for
more Filipino people to cultivate lands. Manila became a free port in 1834 primarily to
European traders. After several months, provincial ports in the Philippines were also
opened to world trade. The increasing trade resulted to its gradual increase that can be
attested to by these numbers. The economic gain of Spain, the Spanish officials
recommended the exploitation and cultivation of the Philippine resources to expand its
trade relationship with Asia and Europe. To enhance their trading capacities, Spain
implemented the following measures: Reformation of the Galleon Trade, Settlement of
the Spaniards in the provinces for agricultural, and trade purposes; and Government
expropriation of the landed estates of the friar corporations. With these measures, the
Spanish Government was now duty-bound to allow Filipinos to rent and cultivate
agricultural lands. To achieve this, more families had to engage in farming. The primary
source of income of the family came from leasing and cultivating this wealthy friar
estate. They planted crops like abaca, corn, sugarcane and others. They also
domesticated animals like turkeys. However, despite these social developments,
agricultural unrest continued to grow. Friars who owned the land exploited the tenants
through flimsily increasing land rentals and taxes. This resulted in several agrarian
unrest and dissatisfaction with the living conditions of the Filipinos under the friar-
owned estates. Most of the lands rented by the Filipinos from these friar estates were
reduced due to several factors Such as: land reform, church donations, inheritance,
revolt, or misfortune.

4. How do you think the political, economic and socio-cultural events of the 19 th century
shaped Rizal’s ideals for nationalism and Filipino identity?

•First, Rizal is a product of the 19h century.

Next, Rizal responded to the needs of the time.
Lastly Rizal’s idea of a Filipino nation would not be possible without the events of the
19h century. The success of Rizal and other Filipino people to achieve independence
was a response to fulfill their growing desire for justice, equality and freedom. The
world and the Philippine context of the 19th century molded the environment that Rizal
 lived. He responded to what the people needed and used his capabilities to achieve
Filipino identity.
The independence that we have today is the result of how Rizal, together with other
Filipino heroes in history, fought hard to achieve the blessings of independence and
democracy.

5. Why do you think it is important the context of Rizal’s time?

• Yes, I think it’s important the context of Rizal’s time for us to know what lives of our
ancestors for the duration of that time and how the Spanish colonial regulate the
country. It is additionally a proof that there had been a man who led the Filipinos to
begin revolution in opposition to the Spanish authorities to obtain the freedom and to
obtain manage of the country. Rizal fought for our freedom thru writing through
revealing the inhumane manipulation of the Spanish government in the Philippines.
After all, Rizal had his incredible contributions. He certainly a man who can be idealist
and admirable. The quality aspect I’ve analyze from him is to have nationalism and
patriotism for our country.