Sison, Johann D.

Rizal and the Ilustrados in Spain QAQC

“The prolonged colonization of Spain gave birth to a backward society. Education was weak and

stagnant, since, according to a Franciscan friar, the Filipino Indio did not need it because it was not

important for the attainment of glory in heaven.”

The effect of the Spanish on the country has mostly been viewed as negative overall, but

undeniably great in its scope and the longevity of its effects, most of which are still observable

today. The Spanish forced the hand of numerous Filipinos, who left the country, outcasted and

exiled, preferring to live the hardship of being chased out of their own country over remaining

under the tyrannical rule of the conquistadors, who had the potential to further the development

of a country they’d originally made peace with, or even add to the territories of Spain without

having to resort to using force or violence. And yet the events that transpired were very different,

with progress stunting under Spanish rule. Every step forward that Filipinos took as a result of

Spanish influence, particularly with regards to infrastructure, government and religion, we took

two more steps backward, a product of their oppressive, authoritarian rule. The Spanish would

suppress the Filipino people, taking away opportunities for industry, for freedom of choice, for

linguistic and idealistic advancement, for cultural development, for a future that would’ve been

the Filipinos’ own making. The article seems to emphasize the idea that the Spanish completely

derailed Filipino progress, and this necessitated all the events that took place in Spain that are

detailed in the very same Article. The emphasis is on the problem caused by the Spanish
colonizers, and the campaign of suppression they had begun. The slow-burning fire within the

would-be Filipino revolutionaries at the time led the way for change.

The article greatly details the negative actions that the Spanish had undertaken, from the

attempts to keep the Filipino people docile and stupid, to the forced censorship they’d

implemented as an additional measure to keep the Filipinos down. However, due to the work of

these Ilustrados who managed to escape from Spain, change became possible. These Ilustrados

put much work into correcting the racist and derogatory propaganda spread and advocated by the

Spanish, fighting for social and political change including demands for assimilation and equal

treatment, proper and fair governing of the country and its people, and representation in the

courts. The basis for all of this, however, was the attempts by the Spanish to keep the Filipinos

down. The Spanish played a great role in sparking the rebellion that eventually led to Philippine

independence, and the existence of the article detailing the experiences of the people that helped

make this all possible only highlight how essential these events were in shaping the Philippine

landscape as it is today. The question, nevertheless, could be asked, how would things have

changed, had Spanish strategy been more sound, and the rebellions quelled? How would giving

Filipinos free reign to seek out an education and freedom shape the country as it is known today?

How much would change, and how much would stay the same? Would the Spanish still be in the

Philippines today? Would the Philippines even still exist?