Ilustrado

The Ilustrados (Spanish for "erudite,"[1] "learned,"[2] or "enlightened ones"[3]) 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.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Contents

History

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”.[7][9]

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.”[8][9]

However, in 1872, nationalist sentiment grew strongest, when three Filipino priests, “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.[8] 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.[8] 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.[8]

Notable personalities

In literature

Ilustrado, a novel by Miguel Syjuco[10] is a fictional account of a young Filipino investigating the life of his mentor, Crispin Salvador, 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.[11] Manila-born Syjuco was until recently a copy editor at The Gazette (Montreal).[12]

See also

References

Specific

  1. ^ The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary (2nd ed.)
  2. ^ http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltObtenerHtml?origen=RAE&LEMA=despotismo&SUPIND=0&CAREXT=10000&NEDIC=No#ilustrado.
  3. ^ a b Glossary: Philippines, Area Handbook Series, Country Studies, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, LOC.gov (undated), retrieved on: July 30, 2007
  4. ^ Grimsley, Mark. The Philippine War: 1899-1902, Ohio-State.edu, 1993, 1996, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
  5. ^ Karnow, Stanley. In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines, Ballantine Books, Random House, Inc., March 3, 1990, 536 pages, page 15. - ISBN 0-345-32816-7
  6. ^ The Rise of the Philippine Middle Class (Ilustrados), Mega Essays LLC, MegaEssays.com, 2007, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
  7. ^ a b Philippines: The Spanish Colony, Student Encyclopedia Article, Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., Britannica.com, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
  8. ^ a b c d e History of the Philippines, Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs, PhilippineEmbassy-USA.org (undated), retrieved on: August 1, 2007
  9. ^ a b Salvador, Fr. Emerson, Liberalism in the Philippines, The Revolution of 1898: The Main Facts, Newsletter of the District of Asia, Society of St. Pius X, District of Asia, January - March 2002, retrieved on: August 1, 2007
  10. ^ Biography of Miguel Syjuco at Wikipilpinas
  11. ^ Man Asian Literary Prize 2008
  12. ^ Gazette editor wins Man Asian Literary prize

General