CA 470 2.11.doc

Philippine National Revolution CA 470: Outline ? 2/11/10 I. INtroduction Larger questions: How did ideals of racial equality and national sovereignty, articulated in novels and newspapers, inspire the Philippine Revolution? What did Rizal mean by the following: ?If Burgos at his death had shown the courage of Gómez, the Filipinos of today would be [other than they are]? ? José Rizal, Epistolarío Rizalino. Pre-revolution conditions in the Philippines included: relative prosperity, stability, equitable land ownership, unclaimed frontier, growing integration into world market Why seek independence? One recurring colonizer argument had tended to be the colonies were not yet economically ready to have independence. However, in the Philippines, things were economically good. In the age of nationalism: Why should a prosperous colony not become an independent nation? Also, prosperity not shared by all ? (Spain was greedy)ff E.g., in key provinces on Luzon, where the rebellion begins. In these densely populated provinces surrounding Manila: 1) Spanish Church estates own of 80 percent of arable land 2) Friars extracting high rents + land contractors extracting heavy share of harvests Impact on tenants - upward vs. downward mobility II. The Ilustrados ?young ?Western-educated ?most from independently wealthy, land-owning families ? key: dual identities (able to move between two worlds): Defined the Philippines as a singular nation ? bilingual ? bi-national (in writings note feeling racially Filipino but culturally Spanish) ?both qualities lead to sense of dual-loyalty How and why does this change? Failures to secure reforms and representation lead them to begin to define selves only as ?Filipino? Transition from reform rhetoric to national rhetoric III. Role of nationalist rhetoric ? Imagining/defining Filipino national identity ? Identifying and demanding specific reforms (e.g., representation in Spanish parliament and freedom of speech) ? Awakening sense of national identity in Filipinos ? empowering in ways similar to, and different from, the articulation of nationalism in Common Sense IV. context for winning independence Little coherence through shared culture and native language (compare to new European nation-states) Only widely-shared foundations for unity: Spanish language Religion and the Roman Catholic Church ?instruments of Spanish control, but both double-edged swords (where we left off last lecture) Repression following 1872 executions: martyrs? 150 Filipino reformers exiled to Guam in the Marianas Filipino priests continued to lose parishes Colonial rule increasingly rigid and any sign of agitation met with arrest & imprisonment * Father Gomez: older, not as well-known, but he was calm * Father Burgos: young and loved, weeped. V. The Ilustrados & The Propaganda Movement (1860s-1900) Ilustrados galvanized by repression following 1872 executions Many sent sons to Europe to be educated While studying overseas: 1) Exposed to ideas & benefits of European nationhood ?> leads to idea of Filipino nationhood 2) Invent a common Philippine identity based on Malay heritage, distinctive culture, shared history and an archipelagic homeland 3) Formulate critique of Spanish friars (political & economic power) 4) Challenge European constructions through art and exposition: Madrid ?Exposición de Filipinas? (1887) ? what does display demonstrate? Display of Igorots demonstrates ?backwardness? of all Filipinos Ilustrados protested publicly Juan Luna and Spolarium ? why subversive? ? compare to Jean León Gérôme?s paintings, e.g., Pollice Verso themes and success were subversive of the Europeans? self-image competes among European artists & winning showed the civilization of the Filipino race implicitly critical of Spanish ?Spolarium? metaphorical for what Spain has done to the Philippines parallel to the men carrying off dead gladiators - earned Ilustrados sympathy and support from liberals in Europe - eventual impact on funding parliament would grant for putting down the revolution 5) Fashion a new national mythology (more detail in discussion of Rizal) José Rizal ? Martyr & Catalyst (born into a wealthy family) Noli me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and La Solidaridad Read by as many as 1 in 10 Filipinos between 1887 and 1896 (est. pass-on-factor ? 10 people/copy) Published 2000 copies in Berlin with the help of another friend in exile Elias: outlaw Talks about the choices faced by the natives Rizal was not a revolutionary at the beginning, but what about at the end? 1890 ? Rizal discovers and publishes annotated version of writings of Antonio de Morga?s ethnography of Filipino society near time of first contact with Spain. Morga writings show: Show 17th century Filipino civilization on par with European society at time of writing Like a literary remains of the Filipinos before the coming of the Spanish Refutes Spain?s claims saying that they uplifted the Filipinos (role in creating new national mythology?) 1892 ? Rizal organizes reform group (La Liga Filipina) ? banished to Mindanao Exile ? 4 years More radical members of La Liga Filipina launch Katipunan secret society (led by Andres Bonifacio) ? advocate violence (Rizal disavowed) 1896 ? Rizal plans trip to Cuba to join Spanish army to put down José Martí?s revolution 1896 ? Rizal arrest and execution ? refusal to die face down Significance: Dying for a crime he did not commit. Willingness: sacrifice for a greater cause. Rizal walked calmly to the execution grounds. Twists around and falls face upward. A Christ-like image. Showed people that they would have to have courage during fighting Also write ?My Final Farewell? ? the second sign of willingness VII. Rizal?s Last Farewell (mi última adiós) Rhetorical genre: epideictic Subgenre: eulogy Produces a testament of extraordinary political power Offers eloquent testimony in stanza after stanza that he is a willing martyr ID passages that show willingness for mid-term Writing a double eulogy For himself For his colonized nation God gave us paradise; the Spanish made it hell. It is in our power to recover our birth right. With the demand for recovery, he places pressure on his audience. Eulogy- Purposes: honor & praise the dead mark passing console the living inspire the living to move on new meaning I n revolutionary context responsibility to bear witness to give meaning to the martyr?s sacrifice kind of action required depends on the martyr?s own ideals. Rizal only 35 years old Talks about the Philippines and how Spanish appropriated it so Philippines ( a lost Eden Recover Philippines to lost glory Rizal?s death doubled determination of rebel movement June 1898 ( independence By then the US was involved Filipinos fought us for independence for another 3 years only to lose what they had so recently won Purposes (different in a revolutionary context?): vIII. Brief epilogue