WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT
When Francisco entered the provincial school he knew something about
local government from seeing local officials and hearing older people
discuss matters of politics, but his knowledge did not extend beyond
his own barrio and town. As for the history of the Philippines, he
knew little more than that the islands had been under the control
of Spain and were transferred to the United States. Rizal (Rï-zäl')
Day, which was celebrated on the thirtieth day of each December,
was greatly enjoyed by him as a holiday, but he had little idea of
the reason for its celebration.
American boys and girls know even less than Francisco about these
new possessions of ours across the Pacific. Hence, we shall find it
interesting and worth while to follow the outline of Philippine history
and government which Francisco studied in the provincial school.
It is now about four hundred years since the Spaniards first discovered
the Philippines. An expedition under the command of Magellan set out
from Spain in the year 1519, sailed across the Atlantic and down the
eastern coast of South America, through the strait at the southern
end of the continent, and northwest across the great Pacific, until it
finally arrived at the island of Cebu. Here, on the seventh of April,
1521, a landing was made, and the country was claimed for the king
of Spain.
The savage customs of the natives whom Magellan found there are shown
in the method they followed when drawing up a treaty of friendship
between themselves and the Spaniards. Cuts were made in the breasts of
Magellan and the native chief, and each one drank some of the other's
blood as a pledge that the agreement should be kept forever. There were
priests in the company, and they persuaded many of the Filipinos to
accept baptism. The chief was given the new name of "King Charles I of
Cebu," and he agreed to rule under the guidance of the king of Spain.
This Cebu tribe was at war with the Filipinos living on the neighboring
island of Mactan. Magellan undertook to aid his newly made allies
against their enemies, and was killed in battle on the twenty-seventh
of April, 1521. Thus the Spanish expedition lost its brave and able
leader. Of the five vessels that set out from Spain in 1519, only one,
the Victoria, returned three years later, battered and worn by its
long voyage around the world, and carrying only a small fraction of
the company of men who had sailed with the little fleet.
After Magellan's expedition, several other voyages were made to the
new islands, but there were no attempts at a permanent settlement
until 1564. In that year, King Philip II of Spain sent out a company
under the leadership of Legaspi (Le-gas'-pi), a brave and experienced
soldier who had seen years of service in Mexico, and was well known
to the king. It was he who suggested the name "Las Islas Felipinas"
(Läs Ïs'-läs Fe-li-pï'-näs) for the islands, in honor of King Philip,
or Felipe (Fe-lï'-pe), as the name is in its Spanish form. Magellan
had previously named them the San Lazaro (San Lä'-za-ro) Islands,
but this name was abandoned.
Legaspi's company made a landing on the island of Cebu just as
Magellan had done, but about seven years later it was found that the
port of Manila offered a better location for the seat of government;
so Legaspi transferred his capital to that place and began the building
of a strong city. Later, great walls of stone were erected, and a fort
was placed at the point where the Pasig (Pa'-sig) River flows into
Manila Bay. Meantime, various expeditions were sent into the interior
of Luzon and other islands to subdue the natives, make treaties with
the chiefs, and claim all the lands for the king of Spain.
The fortifications which were erected in Manila and at other important
points in the islands were necessary for defense against invaders,
and they witnessed many stirring sieges from the time they were built
until Spain ceded the islands to the United States in 1898. For two
hundred and fifty years, the cities and towns of the Philippines
suffered from the incursions of pirates,--Chinese, Japanese, and
Moros, the last-named being Mohammedan Filipinos from the southern
islands. Numberless towns were attacked and plundered by these
dreaded pirates who, with their swift sailing praos (prä'-os), or
boats, would swoop down upon a town, kill the men, burn the houses,
and carry away the women and children either to be sold into slavery
or held for ransom. The Spanish government used all the powers at
its command to suppress this piracy, but with only partial success.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the people of the
Philippines were greatly troubled by invasions of Dutch and English
fleets, echoes of larger wars in Europe between these countries and
Spain. Commerce was preyed upon, ships were sunk, and rich stores
of precious silks, spices, and gold were seized and carried off as
booty. Such losses were very hard upon the merchants whose property
was stolen, and the taxes, made necessary by the long struggle with
these enemies, laid a still greater burden upon the people. For about
two years, from 1762 till 1764, the English held Manila, but when
peace was finally declared, the British flag was hauled down and the
islands returned to Spain.
Wars with pirates, and with the Dutch and English, were not the only
causes of distress in the Philippines, however. Numberless times in the
history of the islands crops have been damaged and houses destroyed
by terrific storms and earthquakes, cattle have been carried off in
great numbers by disease, while cholera and smallpox have claimed
thousands of human lives, and leprosy has spread itself alarmingly.
Until early in the nineteenth century, the island government was
administered from Mexico rather than directly from Spain, and this
often led to dishonesty and bad management of affairs. Corrupt men got
into power and used their offices to enrich themselves. A system of
taxation was followed for many years, by which the collectors were able
to work great injustice upon the Filipinos. Commerce was so restricted
that the islands, instead of developing their natural wealth, remained
poor. A very strict rule governing the production and sale of tobacco
required that a man's crop be sold only to the government, and at
a price which the government fixed. Schools were few, free speech
was suppressed, and attempts to publish anything in criticism of the
evil conditions was severely punished. A number of Filipinos of great
ability and honesty of purpose, among them the patriot whose memory
is kept alive by a public holiday in his honor,--Dr. José Rizal,--were
executed for conspiring against the government.
Therefore it is not strange that there should have been a constantly
growing spirit of dissatisfaction and rebellion, which broke
out into armed revolution at numerous times during the nineteenth
century. In 1898 the United States and Spain became involved in war,
and when fighting ceased the Philippine Islands were ceded to the
Americans. The Filipinos were displeased at this, for they desired
their independence, and the insurrection was continued for several
years. However, as the people came to see the real purpose of the
United States government,--to stamp out disease and crime, to establish
schools over the islands, to develop the natural resources of the
country, and to train the people for the art of self-government,--the
resistance came gradually to an end, and conditions are now peaceful
throughout practically the whole of the Philippines.
When military rule could be done away with and a civil government be
established, the United States followed the outlines already worked
out by the Spaniards, with such changes as seemed best, keeping the
three divisions,--insular or general government, provincial government,
and municipal or town government.
At the head of all is the governor-general, who is appointed by the
President of the United States. He is assisted by a number of men,
Americans and Filipinos, who are also appointed by the President and
who together make up what is called the Philippine commission. The
laws for the islands are made by the Congress of the United States and
by this commission acting with an assembly of representatives elected
by the people. A supreme court holds its sessions in Manila and tries
cases brought to it from the lower courts. There is a special system
of money for the Philippines, the unit of which is called the peso
(pe'-so), and is worth half a dollar in American money. The post
office system is separate and distinct from that of the United States;
the stamps are different and will carry only mail which is originally
posted in the Philippine Islands. A custom house is maintained for
the collection of duties upon certain goods brought into the islands
from other countries, and taxes are laid upon liquor, tobacco, and
similar articles.
Each province has a governor and various other officers to enforce the
laws, collect taxes, and do the public work. There is a court, called
the Court of First Instance, for trying violations of the law. There
are also an engineer to keep roads and bridges in repair and arrange
for the erection of public buildings, a division superintendent of
schools who, under the director of education at Manila, has charge
of public education in his province, and other legal, financial,
and military officials.
The presidente, who corresponds to the mayor of a city in this country,
is at the head of the town government, and he is aided by a municipal
council, whose members are elected by the voters of the central town
and its barrios. Small cases of law-breaking are tried before justices
of the peace, and order is kept by a municipal police force.
Such, in brief, is the form of government now in force in the
Philippine Islands. The natives play a very large part in the
administration of public affairs, most of the offices are open
to Filipinos of ability, and peace and good order are apparent
everywhere. Much remains to be done before conditions are exactly as
they should be, but the establishment of free public schools from
one end of the archipelago to the other, the decrease in crime and
disorder, the almost complete prevention of the terrible plagues of
cholera and smallpox, and the removal of all lepers to one island
where the disease cannot be given to others, are important results
of the new era in the Philippine Islands, for which the Filipinos
should be grateful to the United States.