EFFORTS TO KEEP PEACE.
The situation in the archipelago was now very grave indeed, and the
authorities in Manila began to see that something must be done to meet
the ever-growing discontent of the people. A little more liberty given
at this time might have changed that discontent to gratitude. If the
people could have believed that the Spaniards desired their good, they
might have worked with the Europeans for the benefit of the whole
country.
But there was lack of trust and understanding on both sides, and because
of this still harsher laws were made by the Spanish in their efforts to
put down rebellion. One of these laws provided for a rigid examination
of all books printed in the native tongues. Such books as did not please
the authorities were condemned and burned. With regard to all books
printed in the Tagal language, this censorship was kept up until the end
of Spanish rule.
Efforts were also made to keep the islands from closer communication
with the outside world. In 1849 a royal order again forbade foreigners
to go into the provinces. In this year the governor-general, Narciso de
Claveria (när sē´sō dā clä vā´rē ä), organized a police force for Manila
and the provinces. This force was called “The Order of Safety for
Manila.” During Claveria’s term of office a very good reform was made in
trading privileges. The alcalde of a province had before that had the
sole right to trade with the people of his province. Under the new law,
however, any Spaniard or Filipino who wished to do so might trade freely
in the provinces.
The people in the islands still had serious trouble with the pirates
from Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago. These pirates had regular
fleets, and a military force as strong as that of the Spaniards
themselves, and they had become a source of constant danger to commerce
and to the liberty of the people. So great damage did they do, that for
four years the government was obliged to remit all tribute in the island
of Negros, one of the richest of the agricultural islands. The ravages
of these pirates had made the people so poor that they were scarcely
able to procure the necessaries of life.
The danger from this source at last became so great that trade between
the islands was at a standstill. The merchants of Manila therefore took
action in self-defense, and brought steamboats over from Europe. These
were safe, as the pirates, in their slower-going ships, could not
overtake them; but the towns lying along the coast were still subject to
raids. In 1848 Governor-General Claveria sent out an expedition to the
islands of Balanguengui, a group in the Sulu archipelago, where most of
the pirates had their homes. This expedition destroyed the towns of the
pirates, burned their ships, and took many captives.
[Illustration:
PIRATE FLEET ATTACKING A COAST TOWN.
]
Two or three years later Governor-General Urbiztondo (ur bēth ton´dō)
went with an expedition against the pirates, and made a strong attack on
the city of Joló. This expedition consisted of four regiments of
artillery and a native battalion drawn from among the people of Cebu.
This island had suffered greatly from piratic raids, and it is said that
the wives of these Cebuans declared that they would not receive their
husbands back again if they ran away from the foe. This threat may have
had some effect, for the men fought with great bravery and gave the
pirates such a severe punishment that there were no further attacks for
several years.
Some years later, in 1860, when Don Fernando de Norzagaray (nor thä
gä´iī) was governor-general, eighteen steam gunboats were sent out from
Spain. With these the Spanish forces in the archipelago were able
completely to defeat the pirates and to put an end to the outrages that
had cost the islands so much in property and in lives.
In 1854 there was an uprising in Nueva Ecija (nö ā´vä ā thē’hä). This
uprising was headed by a Spanish-Mestizo named Cuesta (kö ēs´tä), a
young man of great ability and promise. He had been educated in Spain,
and while there had been received at court, and had even been shown
great favor by Queen Isabella. He had been much with members of the
Liberal Party, then gaining strength in Spain, and had caught the new
ideas of political freedom and human rights.
Cuesta came home with an earnest desire to help his people. He was made
commandante of carabineros in Nueva Ecija, but before he had been long
in command he incited his troops to rebellion. They attacked the Spanish
officials in the province, and made war upon the friars. The revolt was
put down, however, and Cuesta, with several others, was executed. Still
others, who had been concerned in the uprising, were banished from the
country.
All these things increased the anxiety of the Spanish over the situation
in the Philippines. Young Filipino men were discouraged from going to
Spain; students in the seminarios who desired to leave these schools and
finish their education in Spain were refused permission to do so. The
country was poor and was overrun with bandits. Natives guilty of minor
offenses against the law were treated so severely that they took to the
jungle, becoming outlaws. Everywhere oppression and tyranny ruled, with
all the evils that these bring in their train.
[Illustration:
THE PARIAN GATE.
]
The tobacco monopoly was killing all other agricultural enterprise, and
the Chinese control of the trades and small business industries was
keeping the people from earning money at these. The Filipinos had for
some years realized the evil of allowing the Chinese thus to monopolize
the trades and minor occupations, but they were powerless at that time
to prevent such monopoly. They could not conduct this business for
themselves; the Spanish had never been a trading people, and the
islanders had had no chance to learn business methods from them.
The Spanish government in the islands had always been military, but in
1860 a civil government was formed for the province of Manila. Civil
government is government by laws upheld by civil, or citizen, officials,
instead of by military force. It punishes offenders through the courts,
instead of by armed power.
In this same year, by command of the governor-general, the Parian, the
great building where nearly all the Chinese in Manila were quartered,
was destroyed. This act of the government was bitterly opposed by the
Chinese and by some others; but it was carried out, in spite of great
difficulties. The only reminder of the Parian now left is the Parian
Gate, which gives entrance to the walled city near the point where the
building once stood.
These years were marked, as well, by numerous severe earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions. One or two new volcanoes were formed, and there were
great disturbances in Luzon and the islands near by. In 1863 came the
great earthquake of Manila—the severest that the country has ever known.
Thousands of people were killed in the city and the surrounding country.
The cathedral was destroyed, and the city was reduced to a mere mountain
of ruins. Only the great wall, St. Augustine Church, and a few other
structures withstood the shock.
After this, trouble deepened for the country. The treasury was drained
to rebuild the city; the land was pinched to the last possible limit to
raise tribute for the Crown; and the people were nearly desperate. The
government could not meet its payments, but insisted upon the tobacco
crop being cultivated each year; and great quantities of tobacco had to
be sold to raise money for the needs of the moment. In 1864 lightning
set fire to the general storehouse of tobacco and caused a loss of
$2,000,000 to the colonial treasury.
[Illustration:
RUINS OF MANILA CATHEDRAL AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE.
]
In 1867 the “Guardia Civil” was formed, for the purpose of capturing the
bandits who overran the country. These bandits had come to be as great a
source of danger as the pirates had been, and in 1869 the peril of the
situation was increased by a proclamation made by Governor-General
Torre. This proclamation offered free pardon to all bandits who should
present themselves to the government within three months. This was a
great opportunity for the ill-disposed people of the provinces. Hundreds
of them became bandits and entered upon a three months’ term of robbery
and outrage, sure of pardon at any time they might present themselves
before the governor. It became necessary to organize a special guard,
which was called “Torre’s Guard,” to go against this great mob of
outlaws.
[Illustration:
QUEEN ISABELLA II. AS A CHILD.
]
But in spite of murmurings, discontent, and suffering among the people,
the work of building up the city, and of making improvements in and
about Manila, went steadily on. The palace was rebuilt, work was begun
upon the cathedral, and many public works were undertaken. In 1865 a
municipal school, in charge of the Sisters of Charity, was founded, and
a normal school for teachers was opened in Manila under the charge of
the Jesuits, who had returned to the country in 1859, after an absence
of nearly one hundred years. The civil government, which had recently
been formed in Manila Province, supported this school.
In 1868 Queen Isabella II. of Spain was deposed, and the government that
followed her was of a revolutionary nature, founded on republican
principles. While this government prevailed, an Assembly of Filipinos
and Mestizos was formed in Manila. Its members, who were persons born in
the islands, hoped to bring about certain reforms in the local
government. They had the power of voting reforms for the colony, subject
to the will of the home government. They outlined many reforms which
were needed in the islands, and tried to gain for them the attention of
the home government. But the influence of the conservative party, both
at home and in the colony, prevailed. It was not long before the
monarchy was again in power, and then this Philippine Assembly died.
The Filipinos had had a taste of self-government, and it was hard for
them to go back into bondage. It was not possible that they should again
submit patiently to the oppression which they had borne for so many
years. The spark which Spain herself had kindled no power on earth could
extinguish, and the little fire of liberty burned on, waiting for the
moment when it should burst into a great flame.
_Summary._—The situation in the Philippines was becoming desperate.
There was lack of trust between the Spanish and the Filipinos, and
this kept them from understanding or helping one another. More and
more severe measures were taken by the rulers to keep down revolt. By
the middle of the century the ravages of pirates along the coast had
nearly killed all trade. The merchants of Manila now brought steam
trading ships from Spain, and these, being swifter than the craft of
the pirates, escaped capture; but towns along the coast were still
subject to raids. In 1848 an expedition went against the pirates and
punished them severely. Other expeditions followed up the work of that
one, and at last, in 1860, eighteen steam gunboats were sent from
Spain. With the aid of these the Spanish forces were able to put an
end to piracy in those seas.
In 1854 there was a serious uprising, headed by a young Spanish
Mestizo named Cuesta. This was put down, and a number of Filipinos who
had taken part in it were executed. This uprising greatly increased
the anxiety of the government in the islands. In 1860 a civil
government was founded for Manila Province. In this same year the
Parian, the building where the Chinese lived within the walled city,
was destroyed. In 1863 a great earthquake in Manila killed thousands
of people and reduced the city to ruins. In 1867 the Guardia Civil was
formed, and efforts were made to capture and punish the bandits who
overran the country. Much work was done during this and succeeding
years toward rebuilding the city. In 1865 a normal school for teachers
was opened in Manila. In 1868 Queen Isabella II. was deposed, and for
a time the government in Spain was revolutionary in character. While
this government was in power, the more enlightened Filipinos and
Mestizos in Manila tried hard to bring about reforms at home; but the
new order was short-lived, and the monarchy was soon restored to power
in Spain.
_Questions._—Why were the merchants of Manila forced to bring
steamships from Spain? Give an account of the different expeditions
against the pirates. Who was Cuesta? What was the result of the revolt
which he headed? When was the Parian destroyed? When was the great
earthquake of Manila? For what purpose was the Guardia Civil formed?
When was Queen Isabella II. deposed? What was the character of the
government that succeeded her? What effect had this government on the
Filipino people?
[Illustration]