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Before there was a Philippines, there was Mjico (Mexico). The Philippines
would never have been a single political unit, colonized by Spain and later declared
independent, without Mexico. Through Mexico, the Philippines turned up as the first
and foremost Christian nation in Asia. Because of Mexico, the Philippines became a
unique nation, with a cultural heritage from four civilizations Asian, European,
Latin and North American. Connected to Mexico by the galleon trade, the Philippines
won renown as The Pearl of the Orient, the center of the first global maritime trade
for five continents Asia, Latin and North America, Europe, and Australia.1
Most Filipinos know Spain colonized their islands for 333 years (1565-1898).
But not many know that it was actually Mexico for most of those years (1565-1821)
that enabled Spain to rule over the Philippines. After Magellans discovery of the
Philippines in 1521, there were five more maritime expeditions to find the
Philippines: the Loaisa expedition (1525); the Cabot expedition (1526); the Saavedra
expedition (1527); the Villalobos expedition (1542; and the Legazpi expedition
(1564-65).
The expedition of Miguel de Legazpi succeeded not only in exploring the
Philippine islands again, but in establishing the return route to Mexico. The Mexican
Viceroy, on orders of the Spanish king, had organized the Legazpi mission and
subsequent relations thereafter. Thus began a long (256 years) relationship with great
consequences for the religion, economics, politics, and culture of both nations.
This essay is a modified version of sections in the 7th edition of a textbook for Philippine schools,
Gregorio F. Zaide and Sonia M . Zaide, Philippine History and Government (2015). The 6th edition of
the book was published in 2011 (Quezon City: All-Nations Publishing Co. Inc.).
1
averaged 250,000 Mexican silver pesos a year. 3 Sometimes, it was more; at other
times, less. After Mexican independence in 1821, the subsidy could no longer be
sent. Ironically, the self-sufficient native economy improved, gave birth to the
Filipino middle class ilustrados, and sowed the seeds of nationalism in the islands.
The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade (1571-1815). In the early colonial era,
the undeveloped Philippine economy led to the idea of using the supply galleons
for trade. The Mexican-Philippine galleon trade turned up as the most interesting
anomaly of the global economy.
The galleon, a bulky, slow-moving wooden sailing ship, was the worlds first
maritime bulk carrier similar to todays tanker or huge container ship. The Manila
galleons brought the luxury goods of the East to the New World. The trade began
migration to the New World of Chinese coolies and Filipino mariners who
accompanied the galleons.
The returning Acapulco galleons brought to Manila the Mexican silver pesos,
Spanish friars, colonial soldiers, colonial officials, wives of the colonizers, and
provisions from Mexico. The half-empty returning galleons also carried huge ballast
stones. Today, the stones of the walls, paved roads, churches, and old buildings of
Intramuros speak of Mexico, their origin.
The sea journey from Acapulco to Manila was easier and faster because of
equatorial trade winds that propelled sailing ships westwards. Hence, the Acapulcoto-Manila route was called the voyage of the ladies, because of its ease and
because it brought the wives of Spanish officials to Manila.
The Importance of the Chinese to the Philippines and Mexico. The
Chinese played a crucial role in the success of the galleon trade. Chinese junks
brought their luxury goods like silk and porcelain from southeast China to the
galleon port in Aduana (behind todays Manila Post Office Building). After the
Chinese merchants were paid, Chinese laborers (coolies) stuffed the goods onboard
the galleon. It was said that no native Filipino could do the job of the Chinese. Only
the Chinese coolies knew how to pack the goods in such a way that the Spanish
owners could cheat on tonnage and customs rules. Moreover, they were the only
ones who could calculate the payments in different currencies and get away with
bribing customs officials.
As galleon commerce increased, thousands of Chinese laborers and merchants
flocked to Manila and Mexico. A Chinatown Parian was established outside
Intramuros, and in the main plazas of Acapulco and Mexico City itself.
The Chinese became the pillars of the Philippine economy, even during colonial
days. A newly independent Mexico itself recognized the value of Chinese
immigrants. In 1821, the Mexican Independence Junta encouraged Chinese
immigration to Mexico, like thousands of Chinese in the Philippines. The junta
noted, Because of their business acumen, frugality, and industriousness, we should
allow them to enter our country, too, in order to foster economic development
The ocho real coin (the M exican silver peseta) had a content of around 25 grams of silver. In
todays silver prices, the subsidy would have been worth millions of pesos.
The Galleon Trade: A Global Economic Anomaly. The galleon trade was the
heart of Spain's unsuccessful attempt to make money from the colony and its main
business in Asia for over two centuries. However, it is hardly known that the
governments of Spain, Mexico, and the Philippine colony at all did not prosper from
it at all. In reality, the galleon trade was not commerce it was gambling.
The galleon trade only benefited the individual Chinese and European private
traders, the middlemen, and the smugglers. Indirectly, it also gave relief to the poor
masses of Filipino indios, newly emancipated from slavery and awarded small plots
of land. The indio masses, freed from their oppressive datus and colonial
encomenderos, became the vast increments to the tribute payors noted in surveys by
the town friars (who counted the population through the tribute). The former (datus)
had no more say over them, and the latter (colonial conquistadors) were too distracted
by the galleons to mind them.
Strangely enough, through the underground economy of the galleon trade,
wealth actually left all the three governments the Philippines, Spain and Mexico
and went into the pockets of individua ls in China, Mexico, and Manila. The Chinese
went crazy for the Mexican silver peseta, something they had not seen before. Silver
pesos became the informal currency in the Asian continent for a while. Other profits
went to a few private Spanish or European investors, who secretly included the
governor and the religious orders. By the 17th century, the galleon trade averaged 2
to 5 million pesos a year in turnover. However, merchants in Spain went bankrupt
and protested against it. Thus, the king limited the number of galleons from four to
only two a year.
The galleon trade distracted the attention of Spanish encomenderos and officials,
to the utter neglect of the agricultural economy, which were left for the newly
emancipated slaves and a few brave tillers. The Spaniards had no inclination or
incentive to farm and ranch, because they made more money in the galleons. The
contrast between the farmer and the galleon investor is seen vividly in the tale of one
famous investor Madame Ana Gironiere, wife of Dr. Paul de la Gironiere (17971862), a French physician. While her husband labored unsuccessfully to raise coffee,
indigo, hogs, and fighting cocks in their farm at Jala-Jala, Morong, she made a fortune
exporting in the galleons. 4
4
See Dr. Paul dela Gironiere, Twenty Years in the Philippines (London, 1854).
Many galleons sank, or pirates stolen them. Today, black rice grains from a
burned galleon still wash up on shores of Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. The
galleons encouraged smuggling, ship overloading, and speculation. In 1815, the
Mexican Revolution abolished the galleon trade. it was abolished due to the Mexican
Revolution.
Effects of the Galleon Trade. In its first 40 years, the galleon trade grew quickly.
It made Manila the trade center of Asia. The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade became
more profitable than the overland Silk Road, the maritime Spice Route of India and
Holland, and the maritime trade route of Portuguese Macao.
Other European colonial powers Portugal, Holland, and Britain made attempts
to grab the Philippines for themselves. But their attempts were unsuccessful.
However, Britain occupied Manila for two years (1762-64), and successfully grabbed
a southern island (Balambangan) from the Sultan of Sulu for the first British colony
in Southeast Asia.
The galleon trade made the Mexican silver
coin the first international money, similar to
the American dollar today. In the Philippines
and Asia, it was called the peso. The word
"peso" entered the vocabulary.The silver peso
became the most desirable currency in the
world, and gave birth to the American dollar
sign ($).
First Global Trade for Five Continents
(1565-1815). The Manila-Acapulco galleon
trade was the most important maritime trade in the world at the time. According to
historians, the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade was the pioneer of transcontinental or
global maritime trade. Because the galleons carried precious pearls, Manila became
known as the Pearl of Orient, or the trade emporium of Asia. The safe arrival of a
galleon meant a year of prosperity. On the other hand, its loss at sea, or to pirates,
was a year of poverty.
The Manila to Acapulco galleon trade was important to five continents Asia,
North and South America, Europe, and even Australia. The galleons exported the
exotic and luxury goods from the East to the Americas and Europe. Through Mexico,
the goods were brought to Cuba, and from there they reached the West. The Spanish
silver peso (peseta) became the currency of choice in Europe, North and South
America, Asia, and even Australia.
Oakhampton Homestead Farm at Manilla in the
Tamworth region of NSW, Australia. The area is
also known as the Big Sky country.
Not so well-known is the fact that the galleons were important not only to Asia,
Europe, South and North America but also to the little continent of Australia. After
the colonization of Australia in 1788, Australian settlers traded in horses, cattle and
sheep to sell to the Spaniards in Manila.
So happy were Australian ranchers that
they named a town, Manilla (sic) in New South Wales. The Australian traders were
paid in the galleon silver peso. However, the Australian British have a bad memory
of Spanish monarchs (the Spanish Armada, the unpaid British invasion ransom
money, etc.). So, they punched out the emblem of the Spanish monarch from the
silver coins and made a hole in the middle of it. As the galleon trade ended, an
economic depression affected Australia, and, from 1820-25, the holey dollars
became the only money accepted in the continent.5
The most important events of the year in both Manila and Acapulco were the
departure and arrival of a galleon. A galleon's safe arrival in Manila in September to
October, or in Acapulco, was fiesta time. It was celebrated with great joy, masses,
parties, and the traditional feria (fair). In Manila, the officers, crew and crowd
traditionally marched barefoot from the port area to the Ermita Church. Here, they
made thanksgiving masses and offerings to the patron
saint of the galleons, the image of the Nuestra Seora
de Guia.
Intramuros gate
Mariachi entertainers
the capital. Their markets (parians) were centrally located. In Mexico City the
main Plaza de la Independencia, next to the national cathedral (see photo), was the
old galleon market. At these Chinatowns were sold the Asian goods that Mexicans
fondly remember as coming from Manila (porcelain, blankets, clay jars, cigars,
monton shawls etc.).
Mexican contributions to the Philippines. During the two and a half
centuries of Philippine-Mexican relations, the Mexicans enriched Philippine life and
culture. The Spanish way of life in the colony was more Latin American than
Spanish. The Mexican contributions included plants and animals; industries; diet
and dress; music and dances; Catholic images; church architecture; the grid town
plan; customs and traditions; words and language; and the inspiration for
independence.
New plants and animals. Among the new plants from Mexico were abaca
(maguey), achuete, avocado, beans, cacao, calabasa (squash), camachile, cane sugar
(tubo), cassava, chico, cincamas, coffee, corn (mais), guava, guyabano, papaya,
peanut, tobacco, pineapple; potato, sirihuela, tomato, and wheat. Many flowers
were introduced, like the acapulco, azucena, marigold, calachuchi, cadena de amor,
and poinsettia Among the new animals were the horse, cattle, sheep, donkey; oxen,
horses, ducks, geese, pigeons, swans, mayas, and better breeds of chicken and
Texas roosters.
New products and industries . The new products from Mexico bred local
cottage manufacturing. These included straw hats, ships rope, leather, metal stirrup
and armor, shoes and slippers, books, adobe stones, cement; pia cloth; sugar from
sugar cane. In addition, new jobs came through cattle ranching, cigar and cigarettemaking, carving Catholic images and church decor, wooden shoes (bakya) or soft
slippers, and weaving hats and mats. The Philippines became a world center for the
manufacture of rope, which came from the maguey (abaca) plant. For centuries,
shipping rope was known as "Manila rope."
New dress modes were introduced. Men wore loose trousers and a long, loose
shirt called the barong. The Filipino "barong" came from the guayabera. a loosefitting shirt worn in Cuba and Mexico. (See photo)
The Filipino local officials wore a man's coat, the "Americana," which came
from Latin America and not from the United States, as usually thought. Men wore
straw hats.
Women learned to cover their upper torso, and wear undergarments, long
cotton skirts, scarfs or veils. The women's cotton undergarment, naguas, came from
Mexico. Footwear was required of native men and women, and the Pagsanjan
woodcarvers invented the wooden clogs (bakya), thus making their town the capital
of Laguna.
New music and dances. New Latin musical influences came from Mexico,
Cuba, and Brazil. New instruments (violin, guitar, flute, harp, drum, piano, trumpet,
and cymbal) were brought from Mexico and Spain. The kumparsa (group band)
had Cuban origins. Many Philippine songs and dances are of Latin origin for
example, the jarabe and pandango. Filipino music integrated the six-beat Latin
rhythm, and native musicians invented new musical styles, like the kundiman.
Catholic images and churches. Many Catholic images came from Mexico.
These are now famous shrines in the Philippines the Black Nazarene in Quiapo,
Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo, and the Guadalupe in Pagsanjan,
Laguna. Ironically, the Philippine demand for images influenced the Chinese to
make their own. Friars from Manila commissioned Chinese ivory carvers in Fujian
to carve ivories of Marian images. The industry led to Chinese ivories of Guanying,
the Chinese goddess, for the home market in China.
Churches in Spanish Philippines were copied from Mexico because their first
parish priests came from Mexico, for example the old church at Mexico, Pampanga.
The oldest existing stone church is San Agustin Church at Intramuros Manila, built
in 1607. It has survived all the natural
calamities, including bombardment
during WW2. There are hundreds of
other historic stone churches in the
islands. 7
Old photo of church in Mexico, Pampanga
For a va l uable a nd comprehensive survey of a ll the Spanish era churches, see Orti gas Foundation, La
Casa de Dios: The Legacy of Filipino Hispanic Churches in the Philippines (2010).
10
11
Paco cemetery; Nagcarlan underground cemetery; Todos los santos day in a Philippine cemetery
12
Customs and traditions. Many Filipino customs and traditions reveal the
Mexican influence. Examples are the moro-moro play, the town feria, the Moriones
festival in Marinduque, the Santacruzan (May procession), and the Flores de Mayo
(May parade of beautiful girls), the pabitin (party delights hung from a pole), and
the annual celebration of Todos los Santos (November 1) to honor the dead.
Words and language . Mexico enriched the Filipino vocabulary. More than
100 Filipino words came from Mexico, among them are acacia (tree), balsa
(lightwood), chocolate, bayabas (guava), mais (corn), palengke (marketplace),
tiangge (market day), and zacate (grass fodder). The Chavacano language in
Cavite, Zamboanga and certain parts of the Philippines is a mixture of Mexican,
Spanish, and Filipino.
Mexican blood. Filipinos are of admixed racial blood. The mestizo was the
Filipino version of the Latin American criollo (creole), meaning a white person
with native (indio) ancestors. There was no official apartheid (segregation) policy
on persons of indio or mestizo blood; but there was some prejudice and injustice.
Hence, the movements for rights and independence in both the Philippines and
Latin America were begun by the mestizos (criollos).
Many Filipino families are descendants of Spanish Mexican officials and
soldiers who came to live and work in the Philippines. They include the Macabebes
of Pampanga, the Amayas, Carranzas, Cuevas, Hidalgos, Morelos, Zaldivars, and
Zapatas of Manila, Cavite, Pampanga, Masbate, Zamboanga and other places.
Inspiration for independence. When Mexico and other Latin American
countries won their independence from Spain in the early 19th century, the Filipinos
were inspired to seek their own freedom. The first written constitution made by
Felipe Calderon for the First Philippine Republic in 1898 was patterned after the
constitutions of Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
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14
15
16
In the southern part of the continent, another successful liberator, General Jose
de San Martin of Argentina (1778-1850), led the independence movement. San
Martin is the national hero of Argentina. After freeing his country in 1816, he
crossed the Andes to help Bolivar in the liberation of Chile and Peru.
Neither of them alone could finish the task of defeating the last Spanish
strongholds, but if they united their forces, they would be successful. However,
only one commander-in-chief must lead, in order to avoid confusion and rivalry.
Bolivar and San Martin realized this and met in a secret meeting at Guayaquil,
Ecuador on July 26, 1822.
Historians are still debating what happened at that secret meeting. It is only
known that, at the end of the historic unity meeting, General San Martin graciously
turned over all his military forces and resources to Bolivar for the sake of the cause
they both cherished. Then, San Martin voluntarily sailed for Europe, and never
came back home to challenge or to rival Bolivar.
Historians acknowledge the supreme sacrifice of San Martin for the sake of
unity as the key to the success of the final liberation of South America. Otherwise,
these two leaders would have fought each other, like the tragic rivalry of the
Philippine Revolution between Aguinaldo and Bonifacio.
How Latin American Revolutions Influenced the Philippines. Far more
than the American and French revolutions, the liberation of Latin America
intersected greatly with the Philippine Revolution. Historians attribute the
Philippine Revolution to the ilustrado class (bourgeoisie) or to the katipuneros
(masses). But the influence of Mexican mestizos should also be appreciated.
The Latin American independence movements were led by the educated
creoles (mestizos) in Latin America. Their successful revolutions increased tensions
between pure-bred Spaniards and half-blooded mestizos in the Philippines. The
mestizos came from the mixed races of Filipino Spaniards, Mexican Spaniards, and
Chinese Filipinos. They considered themselves as the true hijos del pais (sons of
the land). The mestizos belonged to the upper class, but they suffered inferior
treatment by the pure-bred aristocratic Spaniards. It is little appreciated in
Philippine history that the creole mestizos helped to light the long fuse that led to
the Philippine Revolution of 1896.
After achieving independence, the Mexican Independence Junta established
their provisional government, headed by General Agustin de Iturbide. In 1823, the
Mexican Junta wrote a secret memorandum which vowed to help other Spanish
colonies to obtain their own freedom and independence.8
The Philippines was singled out in this memorandum for special mention.
According to the secret memorandum, the new Mexican government promised that
should the Philippines succeed in gaining her independence from Spain, we
must resume the intimate Mexican-Philippine relations, as they were during the
halcyon days of the Acapulco-Manila trade. The junta sent a secret agent to stir up
trouble in the colony. It is not known if he was successful in his mission.
Nevertheless, Bishop Perez, a member of the Mexican junta, predicted, Someday,
8
The secret memorandum of the M exican independence junta is found in Gregorio F. Zaide (ed.),
Documentary History of the Philippines (Vol. 6, pp. 305-307) (M anila: National Book Store, 1990.
17
in Gods own time, the Filipinos will rise in arms against Spain and win their
independence like our own people.
First Cry of Independence by Mexican-Filipino mestizos. Even before
Aguinaldo and Bonifacio plotted to revolt from Spain, Mexican mestizos raised the
first Cry of Independence in the Philippines. They took their cue from the
successful Latin American revolutions in the early 19th century. After the Latin
American revolutions, tensions increased in the Philippines between the peninsular
Spanish authorities and the Mexican mestizos. Mexican officers in the colonial army
were sent away from the capital and reassigned to provincial duties. For example, one
battalion of the Kings Regiment was assigned to Cavite, and another to the Ilocos.
Mexican officers in the Battalions Reyna Luisa and Principe Fernando, and the elite
valry unit Dragones de Luzon, were dismissed or transferred to provincial garrisons.
For example, an Argentine mestizo, Lt. Col. Juan de San Martin, commander of the
Dragones de Luzon, was sent to Zamboanga. He was the younger brother of
revolutionary general Jose de San Martin, who became the national hero of Argentina.
In turn, the Mexican creoles launched several revolts in the Philippines: the
Bayot brothers (Captains Manuel, Jose and Joaquin) in 1822; the mutiny of Captain
Andres Novales in 1823; and the conspiracy of the Palmero brothers in 1830. 9 The
Bayot brothers were captains in the Kings Regiment in the Philippines. They were
sons of Colonel Francisco Bayot, a prominent mestizo citizen of Manila. Manuel,
Jose and Joaquin Bayot together conspired to rise in arms at dawn of April 17, 1822
and to proclaim the independence of the Philippines, with their father as king.
However, an unknown traitor sold them out to the authorities. The prominent Bayot
brothers were exiled to Spain on the same boat as the mestizos who later conspired
in the Novales revolt.
The Novales Revolt (1823). The Novales revolt was very important because it
was the first Filipino uprising after Mexicos successful independence. The new
governor, Juan Antonio Martinez, field marshal of the Spanish Army, brought many
peninsular military officers and the kings instruction to reorganize the colonial
armed forces. Martinez relieved many Mexican creoles of their military positions
and gave them to the peninsulars. The Mexicans retained in the army were placed
under the command of the peninsular officers or assigned to remote provinces.
To protect their own interests, the Mexican army officers held secret meetings
to discuss their deplorable situation. Many creole residents in Manila, who were
prominent businessmen and professionals, sympathized with their cause. News of
their clandestine meetings reached Governor Martinez.
The spies reported that the the ring-leader of discontented Mexican mestizos was
Captain Andres Novales. Captain Novales was commander of the elite Luzon
cavalry. He was reassigned to Misamis, Mindanao, to fight the Moros.
On the evening of June 1, 1823, Captain Andres Novales was supposed to board
a ship sailing for Mindanao. Instead, he secretly returned to Manila and organized a
revolt. About 800 officers and men of the First Regiment and other military units
joined him. By 11:00 PM, the mutiny erupted. Squads of Novales men, led by their
9
On M exican creoles revolts , s ee Zaide, Documentary Sources, ibid., 308, and Gregorio F. Zaide,
Pageant of Philippine History (Vol. 1, pages 585-591) (M anila, Philippine Education Co., 1079).
18
sargeants, raided the homes of Spanish civil and military officials and took them
prisoner.
Lt. Ruiz, commander of the Intramuros city guards that night, joined the revolt.
Lt. Ruiz and his men rushed to the home of former governor Mariano Fernandez de
Folgeras and demanded to get the keys to the main Intramuros gate. But the latter
resisted, and Lt. Ruiz and his men killed him and got the keys.
Novales himself led his main forces toward Fort Santiago. To his great surprise
and dismay, his own younger brother, Lt. Mariano Novales, refused to give him Fort
Santiago and declared his loyalty to Spain.
Unable to enter the main fort, Novales turned back his forces and seized the
Cabildo (City Hall), the Governors Palace, and the Manila Cathedral. Everywhere
he struck with success, crushing the loyalist defenders.
The victorious mutineers proclaimed their leader as Emperor of the
Philippines. Long live Emperor Novales! they cheered. They were only following
the example of General Iturbide de San Agustin, who was also proclaimed emperor
for a while of independent Mexico.
The incumbent governor, General Martinez, was at his summer palace at
Malacaan, outside the city walls. With his loyal forces the crack Pampanga
Regiment, the Queens Regiment, and the artillery corps he assaulted the
beleaguered city of Intramuros. Furious fighting raged in the streets until Novales and
his rebellious troops were crushed in the morning of June 2nd .
The tragic Captain Novales was captured alive. After a hurried court-martial, he
was found guilty of treason and sedition. At five oclocl in the afternoon of the same
day, he and his brave Sargeant Mateo were shot by firing squad at the Luneta. The
next day, Lt. Ruiz and 14 surviving sargeants were also executed at Luneta. Governor
Martinez pardoned the other survivors, except six more sargeants, who were also
shot.
Thus ended the tragic story of Captain Novales, who had reigned only for a few
hours. As Dr Gironiere wrote, At midnight he was outlawed; at two oclock in the
morning proclaimed emperor, and at five in the evening shot.
Aftermath of the Novales Revolt. After the Novales revolt, many liberalminded and prominent Manila creoles were arrested and exiled abroad. They
continued to intrigue against the colonial government for decades. Among them were
the prominent poet Luis Rodriguez Varela, known as the precursor of political
independence. The others were Domingo Roxas, millionaire industrialist; Francisco
Rodriguez, banking magnate; Jose Maria Jugo, lawyer; and Jose Ortega, director of
the Royal Company of the Philippines.
In 1830, another conspiracy was hatched by the Palmero brothers,
discontented Mexican creoles against the Spanish colonial government. The first
names of the Palmero brothers were not known, and their conspiracy was shortlived. It is only known that they were exiled and imprisoned in Spain.
Other influences of Mexican mestizos in the Philippines. Of those arrested
and exiled after the Novales revolt, Domingo Roxas returned to the Philippines and
became a follower of the religious revolt of Hermano Pule, Apolinario de la Cruz,
in Tayabas Province, 1840-41. The violent seige by Spanish troops of Hermano
Pules religious community in 1841 led to thousands of his followers being
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massacred. Two years later, their relatives in the Tayabas Regiment of the colonial
army waged a mutiny led by Sargeant Irineo Samaniego in Manila on January 21,
1841. The bloody revolt was put down, and Sargeant Samaniego and 80 of his
followers were executed by firing squad. During the furious combat at the gates of
Fort Santiago, the mutineers shouted the word, Independence! According to the
French consul Fabre, in his report to his government, This was the first time that
the word, Independence, had been said in the Philippines as a rallying cry. 10
Meanwhile, Francisco Rodriguez (1790-1857), another Mexican creole, made
his exile in London profitable. He returned to Manila as a wealthy banker and a
secret agent for the British and Foreign Bible Society, the most active mission
society distributing Bibles and bible translations around the world at the time.
He succeeded in providing seed money for British companies. His help was
critical to the growth of British investments (and to the Philippine Revolution).
Among the British investments were the first railway system in the Philippines, the
sugar industry and modern sugar mills in association with the British consul
Nicholas Loney in Iloilo and Negros, and a warehouse for Fleming & Company in
Tondo. In the 1980s, this warehouse employed an alert young checker
named Andres Bonifacio. He recruited many urban workers for the Katipunan
revolutionary society.
Rodriguez and Loney were also instrumental in ensuring that every British
merchant ship coming to the Philippines carried Bibles, which then got into the
hands of local people. It is interesting that Nicholas Zamora, a nephew of Fr.
Mariano Zamora, later became the first Filipino Protestant pastor in the Philippines.
Fr. Mariano Zamora, himself was one of the three priest martyrs (Gomez, Burgos
and Zamora or Gom-Bur-Za) executed after the Cavite Mutiny of 1872.
As a result of Rodriguez successful foray into banking, the Spanish also
created their own banking industry. Thus in 1851 was founded the Banco de las
Islas Filipinos (BPI), the first bank in Southeast Asia. When Rodriguez died in
1857, his own fortune was willed to the British government.
The Latin Revolutions and the Philippine Revolution of 1896. Due to the
discontentment of the Mexican military mestizos against Spain, many of them
deserted and joined the Philippine Revolution of 1896. They fought in the ranks of
the Philippine Independence Army under the leadership of General Antonio Luna,
Emilio Aguinaldos Chief of Staff in 1898.
Among them were Colonels Celso Mayor, Manuel Silyar, Cavestani, and
Queri; Majors Jose Torres Bugallon, Bedel, Blardoni and Hernando; and Captains
A. Costons, R. Leysan, and Zousa. They distinguished themselves in battles,
fighting with gallantry and valor in defense of the Philippines against Spain and,
later, the United States invasion. Interestingly enough, a Mexican-French creole
named Juan Cailles (1871-1951) left his profession as a schoolteacher and joined
Aguinaldos warriors in southern Tagalog region. Later, Cailles became the first
Filipino governor of Laguna Province.
10
See French Consul Fabre to the French M inister of Foreign Affairs, M anila, January 21, 1843,
Archives de Ministre des Affaires Etrangere, Paris, II, pp. 71-72, cited in Zaide, Pageant of Philippine
History, Vol. 1, p. 596.
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