02-O Rise of The Middle Class

Rise of the Middle Class
End of Tobacco Monopoly
• The tobacco monopoly of 1781 forced the

cultivation of tobacco in under developed land
and those formerly devoted to rice.
• Main tobacco-growing provinces were Ilocos,
Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Ecija.
• It brought adversity to the population but profit
for the government.
• It was fully abolished by Spain in 1883 as a
response to the laissez fare and free trade
policies.
End of Tobacco Monopoly
• The large tracts of land were then sold to private

persons including foreigners.
- Foreign companies were not allowed
- Foreign individuals could hold on to their lands
only while they resided in the Philippines.
- Thus, there were only few investors
- In the end, only the Compania General de
Tabacos de Filipinas was engaged in cultivating,
manufacturing and distributing the higher-grade
Philippine tobacco while the business in lower-
grade tobacco became a Chinese preserve.
The Social Transformation
• Before, the Philippine’s social composition

consisted only of three groups: The Spanish,
the Principalia, and the Indios.
B
E
The
F Spanish
O
R
E PRINCIPALIA
INDIOS
The Social Transformation
• During the 19th century, there were now

five principal social classes in Philippine
society.
19th
C PENINSULARES
E
N
T
U
R
Y
PENINSULARES
Spaniards who came from Spain and

who were given the choice positions in
the government.
19th
C PENINSULARES
E
N INSULARES
T
U
R
Y
INSULARES
a.k.a. Creoles
Spaniards born in the Philippines who
considered themselves sons of the
country.
They were the original “Filipinos.”
19th
C PENINSULARES
E
N INSULARES
T
CLASE MEDIA
U
R
Y
CLASE MEDIA
• Spanish Mestizos – tried to ape their creole

brothers and regarded themselves as the
social superiors of their brown brothers.
• Principalia- Elite; high positions of
leadership
• Chinese Mestizos – occupied a higher
position than the natives.
- found by the Spaniards as indispensible
but had latent animosities between them
19th
C PENINSULARES
E
N INSULARES
T
CLASE MEDIA
U
R CHINESE
Y
19th
C PENINSULARES
E
N INSULARES
T
CLASE MEDIA
U
R CHINESE
Y
INDIOS
Mestizo Progress
• In 1755, most non-Catholic Chinese were

expelled from the country and five thousand
or so remained concentrated in Manila.
• Mestizos were quick to advantage and by
1800, they were replacing the Chinese in
some areas of livelihood and offering them
serious competition in others.
Mestizo Progress
• The development of
Cebu, Iloilo and
other Visayan ports
was largely due to
mestizo activity.
Re-enter the Chinese
• Chinese immigration was allowed again in 1850

as a response to the urgent need to encourage
economic development in the Philippines.
• The thriving export-crop economy (sugar, abaca
and coffee) of the country allowed the Chinese to
gain much profit specifically from coolie
brokerage businesses, monopoly contracting and
by means of the pacto de retroventa.
The Shift to Landowning
• Due to the Chinese competition, Chinese

mestizos were forced to shift to agriculture.
They concentrated on the acquisition of land
and began amassing large land estates,
particularly in Central Luzon
• “Scattered Holdings” – numerous small plots
within a given area but not necessarily
contiguous to one another fell into the hands
of one proprietor.
Pacto de retroventa
• Pacto de retroventa or Pacto de retro –

contract under which the borrower conveyed
his land to the lender with the proviso that he
could repurchase it for the same amount of
money that he had received. (1/3 – ½ value of
the land)
Rise of Haciendas
• Chinese mestizos became very active in the

acquisition of land.
• Onset of Crimean War (1854) and the opening
of the Suez Canal (1869) stimulated
agricultural production.
Land Grabbing
Royal Decree of February 13, 1894 or

Maura Law
• Gave landholders one year within which to
secure legal title to their lands or else their
land will be forfeited.
• Only those who knew the law were able to do
so. Many small landowners were not even
aware of the existence of such law.
• They were forced to accept tenant status.
• Royal Grants, Realengas (purchase of royal
estates), the pacto de retroventa, and land-
grabbing via land laws – these were the
principal ways by which vast estates were
amassed.
Royal grants: Haciend Luisita (Tarlac; given to
the Tabacalera company) and Hacienda
Esperanza (given to a Spaniard)
Social Rearrangements
• Chinese mestizos took leadership of the

emerging Filipino society (they became the
elite of that society). They identified
themselves as members of linguistic or
provincial groups and were accepted as such
by the indigenous inhabitants. From their
ranks came many ilustrados who later took
part in the movement for reform and
revolution.
New Principalia
• The interrelated phenomena of extended

landlordism and commercialization of the
economy modified the class structure of
Philippine society.
• Old principalia succumbed to the pressure of
the Chinese mestizos whose commercial
activities made them a more dynamic force.
- Absorbed by elite through intermarriages
- Became tenants
New Principalia
• Old native names disappeared, Chinese

mestizos assumed Spanish names (Reyes,
Ocampo, de Leon, etc.), others combined the
names of their fathers (Lichauco, Cojuanco,
Yaptinchay.)
New Principalia
• New elite composed of Chinese mestizos and

urbanized natives replaced the old principalia
• The new principalia then began to articulate
its demands as those of the merging national
entity.
Teodoro A.Agoncillo, in a chapter from the Revolt of
the Masses, recognizes the role of the ilustrado in
attaining change. He says,
“In all countries where society is dominated by an

economically superior group, the movement for
reforms toward the improvement of the political,
social, and economical status of the people is
always initiated by the middle class, more
particularly by the intellectual segment.”
The Ilustrados
• articulators who projected

the different grievances and
aspirations of the people.
• class arose as a result of the
developing national
economy
• were able to take advantage
of educational opportunities
(Manila and Spain)
The Ilustrados
• served to project a consciousness of nationhood

among the people
• with their Propaganda work, the ilustrados first
shared, then wrestled the term Filipino from the
creoles and infused it with national meaning
which later included the entire people. From then
on, the term Filipino would refer to the
inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago
regardless of racial status or economic status.

02-O Rise of The Middle Class

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Rise of the Middle Class

End of Tobacco Monopoly

• The tobacco monopoly of 1781 forced the

• The large tracts of land were then sold to private

• Before, the Philippine’s social composition

• During the 19th century, there were now

Spaniards who came from Spain and

• Spanish Mestizos – tried to ape their creole

• In 1755, most non-Catholic Chinese were

• Chinese immigration was allowed again in 1850

• Due to the Chinese competition, Chinese

• Pacto de retroventa or Pacto de retro –

• Chinese mestizos became very active in the

Royal Decree of February 13, 1894 or

• Chinese mestizos took leadership of the

• The interrelated phenomena of extended

• Old native names disappeared, Chinese

• New elite composed of Chinese mestizos and

“In all countries where society is dominated by an

• articulators who projected

• served to project a consciousness of nationhood

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