You know you’re on to something if you make it to a collage (’tis me directly in front of ye olde fireplace). This image is in All Things Beautiful, who has a massive update on the debates sparked by the launch of Open Source Media. Her caption: [Pajamas] Open Source Media Launch, Left to Right: Jeff Goldstein, Ed Driscoll, Glenn Reynolds, Larry Kudlow, Jane Hall, Roger L. Simon, Manuel L. Quezon, Michelle Malkin, Claudia Rosette, Charles Johnson, Clifford May, Michael Barone and Eugene Volokh.
Ah, all things little brown brother like, beginning with Rudyard Kipling’s exhortation to Americans to Take Up The White Man’s Burden, to William Howard Taft’s proclamation of “The Philippines for the Filipinos” and incidentally, that the Filipinos were the little brown brothers of Americans; to the phrase being celebrated in modern art and in modern poetry, made the title of influential books, and there is even a Wikipedia article that says,
The term was coined by William Howard Taft, the first Governor-General of the Philippines (1901-1904) and later the 27th President of the United States.
The term wasn’t intended to be derogative, nor an ethnic slur; instead, in the words of historian Creighton Miller, it is a reflection of “paternialist racism”, shared also by Theodore Roosevelt.[1]
Taft told Predisedent McKinley that “our little brown brothers” would need “fifty or one hundred years” of close supervision “to develop anything resembling anglo-Saxon political principles and skills.” “Fillipinos are moved by similar considerations to those which move other men.”[2]
Indeed, Taft’s comments were enlightened for his times, and he went up against many other American imperialists to pitch for an eventual autonomy for Filipinos. The ones who hooted down Taft’s phrase were not the Filipinos, but Taft’s fellow Americans, the kind who liked to sing:
“The Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga.” Click above to listen. It’s from the World War II film, “They Were Expendable,” and was meant to foster sympathy for the Philippine cause. John Wayne is among the singers. Taft himself was considered, as far as American colonial officials go, a friend of the Philippines.
Now the reactions of Dean Jorge Bocobo to a recent Inquirer editorial have been vehement. He calls it racist, and cowardly (because, it is an unsigned editorial: which is to ignore the nature of an unsigned editorial as the collective position of a paper; though he does more properly object to its tone and content, and to what he considers a violation of the paper’s own ethics, which he has every right to do as a reader). He says it inspires the lust of a lynch mob.
(William Howard Taft, from the Michigan Historical Collection)
However, it seems to me this comment gets the context of the editorial’s title best. There really isn’t any countering possible to DJB’s position, which is internationalist, and comes from a perspective that cherishes two nationalities, and views nationalism as outmoded. My personal view is that the problem isn’t the Americans, who do what they can to defend their own. The problem is with Philippine officials more concerned with being obsequious to Americans instead of their obligations to one of their own.
MLQ3,
Thank you for this. It is far better than I could have wished for, or deserved, for using up so much of your bandwidth without so much as a Hat Tip to a gracious Host.
Perhaps two points of subtle nuance needs to be restated clearly:
1. The editorial was racist, not because they were calling Sec. Gonzales a “little brown brother” — (for how could that have a racial content?). It was racist because they were using the term “little brown brother” to remind Filipinos that at one time racism was a major mental illness of Americans and by such reminder, PDI was inciting the lust for revenge and implanting hatred in Filipinos for the American servicemen as living symbols of that past prejudice.
2. You have called me an internationalist, for which again I must graciously thank you, since you might have caved in to a common urge, also incited by such cretinous thinking as displayed by PDI, and called me a running dog of U.S. imperialism or some such choice epithet. Still you are both right and wrong. I do cherish both Filipino and American nationalities, but I wish you would not force upon me two nationalisms when you have already correctly appraised my feeling that one nationalism is outmoded. I would prefer to think that it is not the two nationalism that I cherish, for I am a globalist, and so it is their one HUMANITY that I truly cherish and will defend against all attacks by mean spirited, and demoralized people.
My citizenship is HUMANITY. My republic is the whole world. There is no turning back. No more than if anyone said we should break up into Tagalog, Pampango and Ilocano tribes. Some may try, as PDI, but if we do not evolve, we shall surely PERISH.
My Respects,
Dean Jorge Bocobo
Nice start of the commenting exchange of ideas
to bad nothing can top it but no one said that commenting is… top this you creep
what is the opposite of thesis ,antithesis but what is the term when you agree? I don’t know is it subservience
,obedience..hell no for there is someone higher…
I always liked this globalism
I even heard in school about think global act local….
potayto potato
how can you just think it but do something else
maybe that is the problem for some
they do not do what’s on their mind because they always have to please someone…..
Figured out my question to self….
When something nags you and you can’t recall what lesson in school you’ver heard that from…
Always go back to Sesamee Street….
That’s called Cooperation!
I agree with the Dean 100%. The Inquirer was making references to Gonzalez being a brown “Uncle Tom”. It is abhorrent when any person, institution or organization resorts to blanket accusations against any race or nation. They should deal with the issues as they come, calmly and in clinical fashion. Xenophobia is the hallmark of people with inferiority complex. That is what is so disgusting about the Communist movement.
Filipinos with an internationalist outlook are the Filipinos of tomorrow. They are multicultural and are at home anywhere in the world. They have no inferiority complex and will find ways to succeed, never mind if the previous generations made a mess of their homeland.
What’s interesting is that even as there are people who look outward and forward, there are many others looking inwards. Even as, for example, Dan is looking at the Philippines of tomorrow, there are those who want to partition the Philippines or who doubt that there should continue to be one, and point to their dying local languages as the reason why.
By the way, for those who think that the present government in the U.S. is rotten, go to the Google web page. Type in the word failure and press the “I feel lucky” button. Democrats should get a good laugh out of the result.
Mlq3
In the previous blogs someone if the University of Asia and the Pacific has invited you about love of the Philippines …Cant recall exactly its a Nov. 30 event….
If ever it is worth it would you mention it even in passing in your future blogs…
I keep on remembering the India , Israel balikbayans and our Alis bayans
and that joke I said that the Filipinos are coming! Watch out …
If the jews are in the Us bureacracy as in some comments the Chief of staff of Karl Rove is a Fil Am
lets not focus on the chef although we remain proud of her
and that if inventors are unwanted here that they would rather move out I hope they partner themselves with enterprising domestic workers and the works and expand our global supply chain
of course beyond our lifetime..the war on terror would end
when something happens that will unite us….Hopefully not a tsunami…
Here’s a curious story regarding stretching the limits of nationalism. It happened in Mexico. Maybe we are more Latin than Asian, after all. Here’s the story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051118/ap_on_bi_ge/mexico_soda_nationalism
My dad wrote something for the National Defense College on essays on National Interests
For those who may have to drop by the NDCP one reson or the other you want to have a look at it…
Don’t worry his writing style is very unlike mine and I hope it is worth your while….
the author is Plaridel C. Garcia
Title: Essays on National Interests
Read the article Tocayo
I always thought we have the largest soft drink drinkers…
but I was not taking the point of view of an
internationalist…..
In his first reply comment above, Manolo made, I believe, a very subtle reference to principles manifested quite well in David Matrinez’ recent book A Country of Our Own – Partitioning the Philippines.
I am half-way through it and I must say it is affecting my thinking on this matter .
visited the Country of Our Own website. found it rather ironic that in the sample chapter, the author quotes quite liberally from the founding fathers of Imperial Manila (Rizal, Mabini) to advance his own aims. kind of makes me wonder though, just how prevalent is his viewpoint? and if it’s more widespread than we thought, is federalism enough to take the wind out of their sails? partition seems rather extreme, and it’s not as if Manila has been sending pukka sahibs to run roughshod over the colonies.
I think that in the cyber age, and also because we have to develop quicker responses, the concept of “Imperial Manila” will become irrelevant.
There will ultimately be much more autonomy and flexibility for the provinces. For example, Cebu could establish links (trade, travel, commerce and even diplomatic)with Hong Kong or Tokyo without having to go through Manila. Mindanao could establish direct links with Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and even Australia.
The pattern of evolution points to a less Manila-centric Philippines. Which makes sense, because centralized bureaucracies are a thing of the past. This was, to some extent, experimented with during the term of Fidel Ramos when he established the East Asean Growth Area, linking Mindanao with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The idea was to link these areas for trade, tourism and industry. Travellers from Mindanao, for example, could fly directly to Singapore and, from there, go to the U.S., Europe or Australia without having to pass through Manila. Shipping would likewise be linked with Singapore or Jakarta, bypassing Manila. Progress was made, albeit slowly. But this was neglected during the terms of Estrada and GMA.
We do not know what Rizal or Mabini may or may not say regarding the evolution of the Philippine government into its present form. However, it was young idealists from Manila during the 1950’s, like Raul Manglapus, who led the first popular denunciation of the overconcentration of wealth and power in Manila. Their concept of “decentralization” may have been ahead of their time, but I believe it took deep roots in the provinces.
it is a good thing i was raised tyo have free thoughts
but I see things from every vantage point…
I mentioned national interest becaue my father always asked me what I want because it seems that I never run out of problems…
By a fresk of events he was assigned by the Strategic Studies board to delve into the National Intersests
which only until a few minutes ago is just like that
What does out country want? What is our National Interest…
its too bad I dont have a soft copy I could have shared or highlighted tidbits about it
but the bottomline is it is figuring out what does the country really want
i cant remember how we yes we finished it because it seemed like it is impossible….
With the new things I am learning here everyday
There really is no finish to that book
maybe a first chapter out of ad infinitum
Read the country of our own
about the may 2007 though would be postponed till all lobby groups are out of our midsts
shall I go back to it again
Northrail,NAIA3,MRTS,Eastern luzon corridor,Enrile’s company logging ceteris ceteris
and yes the Bataan Nuclear Powerplant
The National Interest project was for the strategic Studies have a problem statement
problem definition
but it seems that we still don’t know the problem and will never know till kingdom come
so the problem statement always gets skipped and will ghet back to you… lets propose solutuions first and recommend
and conclude…
as long as there are alternative courses of action that would do
I just see the picture of 90 % of all written papers
submitted to institutions
art bell a syndicated media personality in the u.s.a. looks on filipinos as non asians and even goes to the extent in writing that filipinos have not contributed anything significant…this guy is pure racist, perhaps dean bocobo can address and put his “citizenship of humanity” into use on this issue.
mlq3, nice picture on all things nice and beautiful.. finally, i did get to see michelle malkin, pinay na pinay talaga very typical, ordinary, just like one of those faces
one gets to see on a sunday when most domestic helpers get their day off.
i do agree however on the issue on our leaders concern towards nationalism is that most of our leaders today are less/ not concerned with their obligations to one of their own and their country’s interest.
Am still waiting for the sunday edition entertainment part
as far as I am concerned that is my interest
i am one with the nation
only the interesting matters
what national interest
antay ako ng antay iclick ko lang pala link All things beautiful solved na pala
Nice!
David Martinez-that asshole it trying to rewrite history. He says English should be National Language. What’s wrong with Tagalog? He’s a Tagalog hater that’s why. He points out that Malay is used in Indonesia even though the Javanese are the majority population. But he couldn’t accept that Tagalog should be used even though Cebuano’s are the majority population in the Philippines. Why??? Because he thinks Tagalog was an “imposed” language even in the face of actual historical facts that Tagalog has been the Lingua Franca in the Philippines even in the 16th century just as Malay has been the Lingua Franca of Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia. From Blair and Robertson:
“It must be noted that there are in this island many races and kinds of people, such as the Camarines, Camintanes, Tagalos, Panpangas, Sanbales, Ilocos, Cagayanes, and many others. They differ noticeably not only in language and in physical characteristics, but also in disposition and customs. But the Tagala dialect, that of Manila and the surrounding country, is a common language. It is spoken and
understood everywhere, not only by the above-mentioned natives of the island of Luzon, but by the natives of all the islands. From this fact those who know something concerning the past of these people infer that the other nations of the archipelago have long carried on trade
and commerce with Manila. Because the island is the center of an infinite number of nations and barbarous people, some heathens and some Mahometans; and because of its nearness to and trade with the rich and powerful kingdoms of Japon and China, as well as for other reasons that might be mentioned, Manila is considered of greater importance in this governmental district than can here be indicated.”
-The PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 1493-1898 Volume XVIII  1617- 1620 page 101
David Martinez also doesn’t realize the context of why a local language was chosen instead of English as the National Language in 1935. The reason for this is that we our nationalists were a couple of years into having an independent Philippines. It wouldn’t have been prudent to make the language of the former colonialist the national language. So they chose Tagalog, which is reasonable considering that Tagalog has been the historical lingua franca of the island as seen above and that the Tagalogs are the groups who had a modicum of success in kicking out the Spaniards, not the Cebuanos.
He points out that Singapore uses English as National Language, but that was in the 1960’s-a full 20 years after we chose Tagalog. Times were different. And Singapore has a trilingual language policy. For the most part Filipinos have been trilingual since the coming of the non-Malay colonialist, being able to speak the local language, Tagalog, and the non-Malay colonialist language. Now he wants to do away with Tagalog. Such hatred and jealousy. Such talangaka mentality. Strip away Tagalog coz his cebuano language is not the national language. Who’s the groups that kicked out the Spaniards? The Tagalogs! Which language has been spoken for hundreds of years before the imposition of the national language in the 1935? Tagalog! Keep trilingualism in the Philippines! don’t believe the lies of David Martinez!
Correction, it wasn’t the Tagalogs who kicked the Spanish colonizers out. The Tagalogs were on the ropes. It was the Americans who kicked the Spanish out and made a treaty with them. And Aguinaldo accepted P800,000 as bribe money from the Americans to keep his mouth shut.
maybe just maybe what he meant was that even if the Treaty of Paris is a fact..The Filipinos that were recorded in history books to make a stand where The Cavitenos, The Batanguenos,Bulacenos,From Tondo who made a semblance enough for them to be called heroes. Which must never be taken away from them….no matter what we know about the treaty of Paris…
It is not denial…that is not taking away the fact that we have our national heroes…
Carl,
Are we supposed to forget that there are still those who died for this country notwithstanding the fact that the Treaty really was the reason for the Spanish getting out not only in the Philippines but also in Mexico and the Latin Americas……
Just stating facts. It wasn’t the Tagalogs who ousted the Spanish colonizers. They were too busy killing each other off (Aguinaldo vs. Bonifacio, read mlq3’s column today in the Inquirer). It was the Americans who ousted the Spanish and the proof of it is the treaty, otherwise why sign a treaty with a force that had already been ousted?
And, as a matter of fact, Gen. Aniceto Lacson and his rag-tag band of militia did manage to get the Spanish forces in Negros Island to surrender. So it was in the Visayas where the locals did prevail against the Spanish.
This is not to diminish the heroes who died for the country, especially Jose Rizal, but to put things in perspective.
“It was the Americans who ousted the Spanish and the proof of it is the treaty, otherwise why sign a treaty with a force that had already been ousted?”
Didn’t they interfe in the revolution? I wouldn’t call bribing Spain with 20,000,000 and staging a mock battle as “kicking out” the enemy. That was bribery pure and simple. And I wonder why 500,000 Filipinos died after the bribers bought the islands? Can you enlighten me Carl as to why they died?
Putting these things in perspective, this was more reason why the framers of the 1935 constitution didn’t want the language of the butchers to be the national language. And if our politicians then didn’t want English, what’s the most logical language to chooose from these 80 plus languages? Wouldn’t it be Tagalog, the lingua franca for of the islands for more than 300 years and the language of the group that organized the Katipunan, sent the Ilustrados to Europe, inspired the other ethnic groups to rise up against the Spanish colonial government?
Carl,
Thanks for another daily dose of knowledge…..
As I said I always get two sides of the coin .
I know this is already irrelevant but I would like to correct my self for mentioning Mexico
was only trying to relate it somehow with your shared article on softdrinks….
Spanish american war was due to the the effect of cuban unrest on American investment,and provoked by the blowing up of USS maine in Havana harbour,the USA declared war on Spain. Spain was forced to give up the Philippine,Guam and Puerto Rico. Cuba became independent lo so they say..only Fidel castro achieved that so called independence……..
Just don’t want you to forget our heroes though like Gregorio del Pilar..whom I always see because he has a painting here in my houe….(Tirad Pass):)
Thanks to MLQ3
we never forget to look back …..
even when the Filipinos coverup the whole world…..
Again not being a contrabida
on hatred,integration and separation……
what happened to USSR and Yugoslavia when they were integrated then separated…
what’s happening in Palestine for the past 5000 years
my so called war on terror theory the crusades only happened during 1095…
though the crusades went westward
palestine still wants seccession
and as I say what goes around comes around
The Mindnaso Seccession is still in our midsts
How I wish that the ideals of JDB would be seen in our lifetime
Lingua Franca
Did you follow the wire tapping on ANC where a partylist rep was being interpelated by a non tagalog speaking cong or vise versa what did cong say…..
Speak in English I don’t understand Tagalog
just a penny for your thoughts
Tagalog was the lingua franca of the islands for over 300 years? That’s news, perhaps history is being revised. As a matter of fact, the Philippines, as we know it, is a creation of the colonizers. Pre-colonial Philippines was composed of self-sustaining communities, quite independent of each other. They had different languages and cultures. When the Spaniards came, the Catholic religion became their common link (it may well have been Islam if not for the Spanish intervention). Mindanao and Palawan, historically and culturally, make a better fit with Borneo and Malaysia. But the colonizers had the power and they willed these islands to be a part of the Philippines. And so it was. The Visayans also had their own language and culture. During the Spanish period, it was Spanish that was the common language, not Tagalog. And during the American period, English was the language. As a matter of fact, Cebuano, as a first language, is spoken by more people than Tagalog.
I am not putting down Tagalog. But it does no good to be jingoistic about the Tagalog language and culture either. Besides, it would be healthy and polite to respect the regional cultures and dialects, too.
Again I point out to historical accounts of the Spanish friars who noticed that Tagalog is a lingua franca in the philippines. You can check out the link for yourself:
“It must be noted that there are in this island many races and kinds of people, such as the Camarines, Camintanes, Tagalos, Panpangas, Sanbales, Ilocos, Cagayanes, and many others. They differ noticeably not only in language and in physical characteristics, but also in disposition and customs. But the Tagala dialect, that of Manila and the surrounding country, is a common language. It is spoken and
understood everywhere, not only by the above-mentioned natives of the island of Luzon, but by the natives of all the islands. From this fact those who know something concerning the past of these people infer that the other nations of the archipelago have long carried on trade
and commerce with Manila. Because the island is the center of an infinite number of nations and barbarous people, some heathens and some Mahometans; and because of its nearness to and trade with the rich and powerful kingdoms of Japon and China, as well as for other reasons that might be mentioned, Manila is considered of greater importance in this governmental district than can here be indicated.â€Â
-The PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 1493-1898 Volume XVIII  1617- 1620 page 101
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=and%20because%20of%20its%20nearness%20to%20and%20trade%20with%20the%20rich%20and%20powerful%20kingdoms%20of%20Japon;rgn=full%20text;idno=AFK2830.0001.018;didno=AFK2830.0001.018;view=image;seq=00000105
“what did cong say…..Speak in English I don’t understand Tagalog”
Just because one congressman in denial “claims” he doesnt’ speak tagalog makes tagalog not a lingua franca? check it: the 6’o clock news in tagalog. the soaps are tagalog. the movies are in tagalog. whenever i go to north, central, and south of the philippines and speak to bus drivers, magbabalot, tindera, peddlers, hotel receptionists, peddlers, etc. etc. it’s in tagalog. overseas when i speak to ilocanos, pampangos, cebuanos, ilonggos, and even second generation immigrant kids it’s in tagalog.
the lingua franca is tagalog. those that who say it’s not are either in denial or have an agenda.
as to why it’s the tagalogs who sparked the revolution, it’s because they had the most oppressed middle class in the 19th century. when the dominicans started to steal the lands of the elite in manila, the parents sent their kids to petition the spanish government to kick out the friars but keep the spanish autonomy on philippines. rizal is the epitorme of this class (his family lost their land to dominicans). but in europe they learnt about the enlightenment and revolution. i’m not saying they’re superior, i’m just saying their circumstances (the oppression of their middle class) gave them more impetus to kick out the spaniards.
“Pre-colonial Philippines was composed of self-sustaining communities, quite independent of each other. They had different languages and cultures. When the Spaniards came, the Catholic religion became their common link (it may well have been Islam if not for the Spanish intervention). Mindanao and Palawan, historically and culturally, make a better fit with Borneo and Malaysia.”
I think the picture you paint is missing in some parts or is an incorrect theory. i suggest you check out laura lee junker’s “raiding, trading and feasting, the political economy of philippine chiefdoms”. it has the most reasonable interpretation of pre-hispanic philippines. she based her theories on early 16th to 17th century spanish accounts as well as archieological artefacts. the barangay communities were had more relationships and economic and political ties than you think.
Absolut was just asking to spark thoughts
I am right…I sense that the two of you have points that are principled and with conviction….
I love intelligent exchanges pero soetimes I resirt to elementary school thinking kasi minsan mas madali sapol agad
but concerning the topics above I had excellent two side of the coin from both of you….
I am not moderating anything..I just enjoy intelligent views..
One friar’s account doesn’t history make. The next thing we know, revisionists will be claiming Lapu-Lapu spoke Tagalog, along with Francisco Dagohoy and Diego Silang. And the fact is that Tagalog is imposed on the rest of the country-as a subject in schools, which many chafe at. It is not being in denial not to be able to speak Tagalog. The fact is that a large number of Filipinos cannot speak it fluently.
Strangely, Tagalogs were not known to be a seafaring people. Perhaps Tausug may have been more plausible as a lingua franca, but not Tagalog.
As for trade and interaction between the tribes, it was the Moslems from Mindanao that were the more aggressive seafarers. They roamed the islands, but were notorious for being plunderers.
As for the ilustrados, Lopez Jaena was Ilonggo and the Luna brothers were Ilocano. So there was representation from other regions. But the fact remains that the Katipuneros were too bitterly focused on internal rivalries to be effective as a revolutionary force. In the end, there was simply a switch of colonizers and the remnants of the Katipunan, including Manuel L. Quezon, were coopted by the Americans.
Interestingly, among the fiercest to resist the Americans were the people of Samar. It was in Samar where many Filipinos were killed, as it was turned by the Americans into a “howling wilderness”.
Again, this is not to belittle the Tagalogs, who are a noble people. But let us not forget the nobility and the pride of the other regions as well.
“One friar’s account doesn’t history make…Tagalogs were not known to be a seafaring people. Perhaps Tausug may have been more plausible as a lingua franca, but not Tagalog.”
Between a first hand 16th century account and your baseless opinion 400 years later, I’m sorry, but I’m inclined to believe the first hand account.
It’s still only one account and cannot be established as fact. And there is no logic for its being so. How many accounts were proven to be erroneous or fake? The fact is, the Bangsamoro were more ubiquitous all over the archipelago than were the Tagalogs.
And the fact is that the Philippines is an artificial country that was put together by the Spanish and American colonizers. It never came together on its own. Because of force of circumstances, it is a country, but not a nation. And Manila’s elite rode on the coattails of the colonizers in order to effect the internal colonization of the Philippines.
So the demarcation was passed on from the Spanish design? Do you want to go back to the pre-hispanic form? The prehispanic form was that you can’t even go to the next Barangay without paying a tribute. Otherwise they’ll kill you with an arrowhead.
The demarcation was not even by ethnic affiliation as David Martinez would have you believe. The demarcation is by clan. Even fellow Tagalogs or Cebuanos or Kapampangans clans were having turf wars within their ethnic groups.
You really want to replace a Philippines, where people are allowed to travel freely and since the dawn of Spanish era intermarriages and migration between ethnic lines has occured, with a model delineating our country by ethnic geography? That’s retrogressive my friend. I wanna be able to travel freely to Ilocos where my grandparents on my mother side came from, to Pampanga where my father’s father came from, and to Bohol where my father’s mother came from.
Don’t believe the lies of David Martinez. Think of the implications of his racist agenda.
“The fact is, the Bangsamoro were more ubiquitous all over the archipelago than were the Tagalogs.”
So what? The Tagalogs didn’t have to travel to the rest of the archipelago. The rest of the archipelago went to Manila to trade. Why? Because the Tagalog Rajahs were able to win the concession for distribution of luxury Chinese goods. They were able to do this by dispatching trade mission to China. The Chinese and Japanese then set up trading posts in Manila (parts of which became Binondo). The other Rajah’s of the islands, seeking luxury goods like China wear, then dispatched their traders to Manila to trade, including the Bangsamoro.
The area in Manila Bay was a strategic trading post for the rest of Luzon. Because the goods from Pangasinan, Ilocos, Cordillera, and Kapampangans where distributed via the Abra-Pampanga River link which emptied on Manila Bay. If there’s something superior about the Tagalogs, it’s that they were able to occupy this crucial port territory.
Read all about it in Lauara Lee Junker’s Rading, Trading, and Feasting, the Political Economy of Philippine Chiefdoms.
And guess why did the Spanish prioritize Manila instead of Cebu? Because that’s where all the crucial and voluminous trade with China passes through!
“…and because of its nearness to and trade with the rich and powerful kingdoms of Japon and China, as well as for other reasons that might be mentioned, Manila is considered of greater importance in this governmental district than can here be indicated.â€Â
That’s what the galleon trade was all about my friend. Spanish silver flowed into china and chinese goods went to the galleons on to Mexico. The Kapampangans served as the shipbuilders for the Spaniards. When the Spaniards failed to pay the Kapampangans, (because of numerous shipwrecks of the galleons) what did the Kapampangans do? Woodcutters revolt of 1661-1662!
So tagalog was a stock in trade of merchants, particularly those plying the Manila route. So what? It’s similar to Chabacano being spoken by those presently engaged in the barter trade, be they Maranaos, Maguindanaos or Tausogs. It still represents a tiny fraction of society at that time. The fact remains tagalog was not spoken by most inhabitants of these islands. Today it is, admittedly, widely understood due to its imposition in schools and because the media and entertainment industry is established in Manila (The magnet effect of an overcentralized government and bureaucracy causes business and industry to be concentrated in the capital). But Tagalog is still not the first language of most Filipinos despite all the efforts to impose it.
Re the galleon trade, it only confirms the fact that centralized governance from Manila was a colonial legacy. It was not just proximity to japan and China, but the fact that Manila Bay could be more easily secured from marauders or invaders. Basically, the same centralized arrangement persists.
And the fact remains that places like Mindanao do not fit in naturally with the rest of the country. The Philippines, as we know it, is not a coming together of different nations. It was a creation, or even an imposition, by colonial forces. Because the bonds that tie the country are artificially imposed, the bonds are weak. The only solution is to give the regions greater self-determination.
“Re the galleon trade, it only confirms the fact that centralized governance from Manila was a colonial legacy.”
But the centralized Spanish governance from Manila was a legacy of the fact the Manila has been the center of trade this side of the South East Asian archipelago possibly for hundreds of years before the Spaniards came.
“The Philippines, as we know it, is not a coming together of different nations. It was a creation, or even an imposition, by colonial forces. Because the bonds that tie the country are artificially imposed, the bonds are weak.”
But the coming together of the different ethnic groups, this was not the doing of Spaniards. In fact, it was the conquistas and the subsequent Spanish governors’ policy to divide and rule the formerly economically homogenous ethnic groups. It was also the policy of Friars that Filipinos not be taught the Spanish or any common language, again to divide and rule.
To follow David Martinez’s racist policy is colonial. The Philippines was not brought together by the Spaniards. We were divided during their time. It was the hatred of this arrangement that made our forefathers come together, not the will of the Spaniards.
And like it or not, there are now a class of Filipinos with multiple ethnic backgrounds, such as myself, who will be opposed to this division of ethnic groups. Our problems don’t stem from the fact that ethnic groups are unmotivated because they’re a part of something “artificial”. Our problem is corruption, my compatriot. Dividing the nation won’t solve corruption. When you kill corruption, or make inroads into reducing it, you’ll find that people will stop thinking along ethnic lines, such as Malaysia does. Philippines and Indonesia will always be ethnically divided because they’re both very, very, corrupt.
The Philippines is a artifcial country! Why do you think its made of 7,107 islands? And also have huge amount of languages(171). The history books of the philippines are written by filipinos who study in AMERICA.
I just don’t get it when historian say the spaniards “discover the philippines” when fact the spaniards were the ones that created the modern day philippines(islas Filipinas).
Tagalogs had their own Civilization
Cebuanos had their own Civilization
so did the other groups.
“Tagalogs are the groups who had a modicum of success in kicking out the Spaniards, not the Cebuanos.” LMAO
Negros and Bohol were independent before the KKK even started their revolution. Unfortunely these islands were made into a province of the philippines. These two islands were more succesfull compared to those from luzon.
Francisco Dagohoy and army holds the distinction of having led the longest revolt in the Philippines (1744-1829).
Cebu had its own revolt…