MODULE II
THE CONDITIONS OF EUROPE, AMERICA, AND SPAIN
Rizal’s Century: The 19th Century
The 19th century was a century of change. During the last two decades of the
previous century, the age of enlightenment reached its zenith in France, culminating in
the French Revolution of 1789. In this age, ideas of freedom, liberty and equality, and
the belief in the sovereignty of the people in determining government thundered all
across Europe. The French Revolution resulted in the toppling of the monarchy of King
Louis XVI and the ushering in of the French Republic. Though France was to slide back
to monarchy following the establishment of Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Empire and
the restored Bourbon Dynasty, the ideas of philosopher such as Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, Montesquieu, Francois-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), and Englishman John Locke
spread around the world like a conflagration. The world was never the same again.
The struggle of equal rights has spread over the world. Europe went up in
revolution from 1848, with the regimes of the absolute monarchs in France and Austria
being toppled by people seeking more responsible governments. In 1861, the year of
Rizal’s birth, Tsar Alexander II emancipated Russian serfs. That year, the Italians, under
Giuseppe Garibaldi, threw out the Austrians and took over the papal lands. Italian
nationalism ended the domination of the church and united various Italian states as one
country. Germany, on the other hand, was in the process of unification which lasted until
1871. In the United States, President Abraham Lincoln emancipated the black slaves
but also triggered American Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865. At the south of
the U.S. border, Mexican troops dealt a humiliating defeat on the French-supported
regime of Archduke Maximillian. In France, the regime of Napoleon III was crumbling
after the debacle in Mexico. Later French overthrew the monarchists and established a
republic. At this time, however, most of Spain’s colonies such as those in South and
Central America, such as Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador,
Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and others have won their independence from
Spain through revolution. The Philippines was one of Spain’s remaining colonies along
with Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Spanish Sahara.
The Need for Reforms: Representation
During Napoleon’s time, Spain was part of France’s alliance against Great Britain
in the Continental System. When this alliance faltered, Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808
and installed his brother Joseph as king. The Spaniards registered the French, and
Spanish patriots declared allegiance to their crown prince Ferdinand and gathered in the
city of Cadiz where they crafted a constitution. The Constitution of Cadiz had a novel
feature of allowing colonies to be represented in the Spanish parliament called the
Cortes. The Philippines therefore was given representation for the first time, and Ventura
de los Reyes, a Spaniard born in the Philippines, was selected to represent the colony.
However, after Napoleon was defeated, Ferdinand, who had become King Ferdinand
VII, abolished the Cortes, saying that the body encroached on powers he believed
belonged solely to him. The decision was unpopular as Spain’s American colonies began
to revolt and sought independence.
In 1820, the Spanish people rose up and held the king hostage. They forced him
to reconvene the Cortes and restore representation of the colonies. The restoration of
the Cortes was short-lived as France, under the Bourbons, sent an army which restored
Ferdinand to absolute rule and caused the abolition of Cortes. In 1833, Ferdinand VII
died and the Cortes was again restored. However, at this time, the body held a secret
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session in which it was decided that the Philippines should not be accorded
representation. From the time on, the Philippines had no representation in the Cortes.
Representation in this body was one of the reforms demanded by reformists like Rizal.
It would have given the Filipinos the right to be heard in the body and equal rights with
the Spaniards. After Ferdinand VII died, the country was ruled by his daughter, Queen
Isabela II, whose rule was characterized by decadence and mismanagement. Other
European power such as Great Britain and France became leading powers in the
continent.
Condition in Asia in the 19th Century
In Asia, there were renewed efforts of the European penetration with the
weakening of Spain and Portugal and the rise of Great Britain and France. The British
gained its colony in Hongkong and forced China to open five ports to its traders following
China’s defeat in the Opium War of 1839-1842. China was humiliated with another defeat
in the Arrow war of 1856-1858 when the British, now joined by the French, forced China
to open the whole country to foreigners. Furthermore, Great Britain enlarged its colony
in Hongkong by taking over Kowloon, and Japan was forced to open by the Americans
under Commodore Matthew Perry in 1854.Unlike the Chinese, however, the Japanese
were able to parry western requests to make Yokohama a treaty port .India became a
crown of colony of Great Britain in 1858 following the suppression of the Sepoy Mutiny
in 1857. Burma became a colony of Great Britain after three Burmese Wars in 1824-
1826, 1862-1863, 1885-1886. Near the Philippines, Indo-China became a protectorate
of France following the suppression of the kingdoms of Annam and Cochin-China.
Filipino troops sent from Manila played a role in the conquest of Indo- China for France.
Malaysia became a protectorate and eventually a colony of Great Britain while Indonesia
was conquered by the Dutch of Netherlands.
Activity:
1. List down the events that happened in the 19th century.
2. Get five to 10 sheets of long bond paper. Place the bond papers side by side in a
landscape orientation. Put the tape on the back of each paper so that a long paper
would result. Write on the clean side.
3. On landscape orientation, make a timeline by starting on the top part of the long
paper. Use pictures, drawings, cutouts, and other artistic means to represent the
time period.
4. On the top part, make a timeline of European history, on the middle part, make a
timeline of American history, toward the bottom part, make a timeline of Asian
history.
5. Each group will state a trend that they have noticed during 19th century.
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