Ilustrado
Encyclopedia
The Ilustrados constituted the Filipino
educated
class during the Spanish colonial period in the late 19th century.
They were the middle class
who were educated in Spanish
and exposed to Spanish liberal and European nationalist ideals. The Ilustrado class was composed of native-born intellectuals and cut across ethnolinguistic and racial lines—Indios, Insulares
, and mestizos
, among others—and sought reform
through “a more equitable arrangement of both political and economic power” under Spanish tutelage.
Stanley Karnow
, in his In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines, referred to the Ilustrados as the “rich Intelligentsia
” because many were the children of wealthy landowners. They were key figures in the development of Filipino nationalism
.
The most prominent Ilustrados were Graciano López Jaena
, Marcelo H. del Pilar
, Mariano Ponce
, Antonio Luna
and José Rizal
, the Philippine national hero
. Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere
("Touch Me Not") and El filibusterismo
("The Subversive") “exposed to the world the injustices imposed on Filipinos under the Spanish colonial regime”.
In the beginning, Rizal and his fellow Ilustrados preferred not to win independence from Spain
, instead they yearned legal equality for both Peninsulares
and natives—Indios, Insulares
, and mestizos
, among others—in the colony
. Among the political, religious and economic reforms demanded by the Ilustrados were that “the Philippines be represented in the Cortes
and be considered as a province
of Spain” and “the secularization of the parishes
.”
However, in 1872, nationalist sentiment grew strongest, when three Filipino priest
s, “charged with leading a military mutiny
at an arsenal
in Cavite
, near Manila
”, were executed by the Spanish authorities. The event and “other repressive acts outraged the Ilustrados. Because of his anti-clerical writings and activities, Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896. His execution propelled the Ilustrados . This also prompted unity among the Ilustrados and Andrés Bonifacio
’s radical Katipunan
. Philippine policies by the United States
reinforced the dominant position of the Ilustrados within Filipino society. Friar
estates were sold to the Ilustrados and most government positions were offered to them.
, after the man’s death. The novel presents Salvador as if he were a real-life writer and thinker, and spans 150 years of Philippine history. In 2008 Ilustrado won the second annual Man Asian Literary Prize
. Manila-born Syjuco was until recently a copy editor at The Gazette (Montreal)
.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
educated
Education in the Philippines
During the period of governance of Spain and the United States, education in the Philippines changed radically, mostly modeled on the system of education in the United States of the time...
class during the Spanish colonial period in the late 19th century.
They were the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
who were educated in Spanish
Spanish in the Philippines
Spanish was imposed as an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish rule since the times of Miguel López de Legazpi in the late 16th century, through American rule and independence, until the change of Constitution in 1973...
and exposed to Spanish liberal and European nationalist ideals. The Ilustrado class was composed of native-born intellectuals and cut across ethnolinguistic and racial lines—Indios, Insulares
Criollo (people)
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
, and mestizos
Filipino mestizo
Filipino mestizo is a term used in the Philippines to describe people of mixed Filipino and foreign ancestry. The word mestizo is of Spanish origin, and was originally used in the Americas to only describe people of mixed European and Native American ancestry.- History :Spanish periodThe Spanish...
, among others—and sought reform
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
through “a more equitable arrangement of both political and economic power” under Spanish tutelage.
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow is an American journalist and historian.After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in Asia during World War II, he graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in 1947; in 1947 and 1948 he attended the Sorbonne, and from 1948 to 1949 the Institut d'Études Politiques de...
, in his In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines, referred to the Ilustrados as the “rich Intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
” because many were the children of wealthy landowners. They were key figures in the development of Filipino nationalism
Filipino nationalism
Filipino nationalism is an upsurge of patriotic sentiments and nationalistic ideals in the 1800s Philippines that came consequently as a result of more than two centuries of Spanish rule and as an immediate outcome of the Filipino Propaganda Movement from 1872 to 1892...
.
History
Graciano López Jaena
Graciano López Jaena was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo, well known for his written work, La Solidaridad....
, Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán , better known by his nom-de-plume Plaridel, was a celebrated figure in the Philippine Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in the Philippines A master polemicist in both the Tagalog and Spanish languages, he helped the Propaganda Movement through...
, Mariano Ponce
Mariano Ponce
Mariano Ponce , was a Filipino physician, writer, and active member of the Propaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders of La Solidaridad and Asociacion Hispano-Filipino...
, Antonio Luna
Antonio Luna
Antonio Luna y Novicio was a Filipino pharmacist and general who fought in the Philippine-American War. He was also the founder of the Philippines's first military academy.- Family background :...
and José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, the Philippine national hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
. Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
("Touch Me Not") and El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
("The Subversive") “exposed to the world the injustices imposed on Filipinos under the Spanish colonial regime”.
In the beginning, Rizal and his fellow Ilustrados preferred not to win independence from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, instead they yearned legal equality for both Peninsulares
Peninsulares
In the colonial caste system of Spanish America, a peninsular was a Spanish-born Spaniard or mainland Spaniard residing in the New World, as opposed to a person of full Spanish descent born in the Americas or Philippines...
and natives—Indios, Insulares
Criollo (people)
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
, and mestizos
Filipino mestizo
Filipino mestizo is a term used in the Philippines to describe people of mixed Filipino and foreign ancestry. The word mestizo is of Spanish origin, and was originally used in the Americas to only describe people of mixed European and Native American ancestry.- History :Spanish periodThe Spanish...
, among others—in the colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
. Among the political, religious and economic reforms demanded by the Ilustrados were that “the Philippines be represented in the Cortes
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
and be considered as a province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of Spain” and “the secularization of the parishes
Secular clergy
The term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or members of a religious order.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, the secular clergy are ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order...
.”
However, in 1872, nationalist sentiment grew strongest, when three Filipino priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s, “charged with leading a military mutiny
Cavite Mutiny
The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was an uprising of military personnel of Fort San Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in Cavite, Philippines on January 20, 1872. Around 200 soldiers and laborers rose up in the belief that it would elevate to a national uprising...
at an arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
in Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, near Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
”, were executed by the Spanish authorities. The event and “other repressive acts outraged the Ilustrados. Because of his anti-clerical writings and activities, Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896. His execution propelled the Ilustrados . This also prompted unity among the Ilustrados and Andrés Bonifacio
Andres Bonifacio
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary. He was a founder and later Supremo of the Katipunan movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution...
’s radical Katipunan
Katipunan
The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...
. Philippine policies by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reinforced the dominant position of the Ilustrados within Filipino society. Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
estates were sold to the Ilustrados and most government positions were offered to them.
Notable personalities
- Marcelo H. del PilarMarcelo H. del PilarMarcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán , better known by his nom-de-plume Plaridel, was a celebrated figure in the Philippine Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in the Philippines A master polemicist in both the Tagalog and Spanish languages, he helped the Propaganda Movement through...
(1850–1896) - Félix Resurrección Hidalgo (1855–1913)
- Graciano López JaenaGraciano López JaenaGraciano López Jaena was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo, well known for his written work, La Solidaridad....
(1856–1896) - Antonio LunaAntonio LunaAntonio Luna y Novicio was a Filipino pharmacist and general who fought in the Philippine-American War. He was also the founder of the Philippines's first military academy.- Family background :...
(1866–1899) - Juan LunaJuan LunaJuan Luna y Novicio was an Ilocano Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century...
(1857–1899) - Mariano PonceMariano PonceMariano Ponce , was a Filipino physician, writer, and active member of the Propaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders of La Solidaridad and Asociacion Hispano-Filipino...
(1863–1918) - José RizalJosé RizalJosé Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
(1861–1896)
In literature
Ilustrado, a novel by Miguel Syjuco is a fictional account of a young Filipino investigating the life of his mentor, Crispin SalvadorCrispin Salvador
Crispin Narciso Lupas Salvador is a fictional Filipino writer and literary hoax created by author Miguel Syjuco.-Literary Character:Created as a figment of the imagination of author Miguel Syjuco, and featuring as a main character in Syjuco's novel Ilustrado, Crispin Salvador's existence has been...
, after the man’s death. The novel presents Salvador as if he were a real-life writer and thinker, and spans 150 years of Philippine history. In 2008 Ilustrado won the second annual Man Asian Literary Prize
Man Asian Literary Prize
The Man Asian Literary Prize, founded in 2007, is an annual literary award given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year...
. Manila-born Syjuco was until recently a copy editor at The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
.
See also
- Filipino nationalismFilipino nationalismFilipino nationalism is an upsurge of patriotic sentiments and nationalistic ideals in the 1800s Philippines that came consequently as a result of more than two centuries of Spanish rule and as an immediate outcome of the Filipino Propaganda Movement from 1872 to 1892...
- Spanish language in the Philippines
- Philippine literature in SpanishPhilippine Literature in SpanishPhilippine literature in Spanish is a body of literature made by Filipino writers in the Spanish language. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpus of Philippine literature . It is slightly larger than the Philippine literature in the vernacular languages...
General
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- Exiles, Motherland and Social Change, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal (Bibliography), Volume 8, Issue 1-2, SMC.org.ph, (undated), retrieved on: August 1, 2007
- Owen, Norman G., Compadre Colonialism: Studies in the Philippines Under American Rule, A Review by Theodore Friend, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Nov., 1972), pp. 224-226, JSTOR.org, 2007, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
- Majul, Cesar A. The Political and Constitutional Ideas of the Philippine Revolution, A Review by R. S. Milne, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Spring, 1969), pp. 98-99, JSTOR.org, 2007, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
- Proclamation of Philippine Independence and the Birth of the Philippine Republic, The Philippine History Site, OpManong.SSC.Hawaii.edu (undated), retrieved on: August 1, 2007
- Rossabi, Amy. The Colonial Roots of Civil Procedure in the Philippines, Volume 11, Number 1, Fall 1997, The Journal of Asian Law, Columbia.edu, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
- Filipino Nationalism, AngelFire.com (undated), retrieved on: August 1, 2007
- Veneracion, Jaime B., Ph. D. (Professor of History, University of the Philippines and Visiting Professor, BSU), Rizal's Madrid: The Roots of the Ilustrado Concept of Autonomy, Diyaryo Bulakenya, Bahay Saliksikan ng Bulakan (Center for Bulacan Studies), Geocities.com, April 4, 2003, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
- Philippine History, Philippine Children's Foundation, PhilippineChildrensFoundation.org, 2005, retrieved on: August 1, 2007