![Ilustrados 1890](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Ilustrados_1890.jpg)
The Ilustrados (, "erudite", "learned" or "enlightened ones"
[) constituted the ]Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
educated
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
class during the Spanish colonial period in the late 19th century. Elsewhere in New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
(of which the Philippines were part), the term ''gente de razón
''Gente de razón'' (, "people of reason" or "rational people") is a Spanish term used in colonial Spanish America and modern Hispanic America to refer to people who were culturally Hispanicized. It was a social distinction that existed alongside t ...
'' carried a similar meaning.
They were middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
Filipinos, many of whom were educated in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
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
In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of Spanish descent born in the colonies. In different Latin American countries the word has come to have different meanings, sometimes referring to the local-born majo ...
'' and ''Mestizos
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ...
'', among others—and sought reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...
through "a more equitable arrangement of both political and economic power" under Spanish tutelage.
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Abram Karnow (February 4, 1925 – January 27, 2013) was an American journalist and historian. He is best known for his writings on the Vietnam War.
Education and career
After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in the China B ...
, in his '' In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines'', referred to the ''Ilustrados'' as the "rich Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
" because many were the children of wealthy landowners. They were key figures in the development of Filipino nationalism
Filipino nationalism refers to the establishment and support of a political identity associated with the modern nation-state of the Philippines, leading to a wide-ranging campaign for political, social, and economic freedom in the Philippines. T ...
.[Glossary: Philippines, Area Handbook Series, Country Studies, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, LOC.gov (undated)]
retrieved on: July 30, 2007
, retrieved on: August 1, 2007[ Karnow, Stanley. '' In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines'', Ballantine Books, Random House, Inc., March 3, 1990, 536 pages, page 15. - ][The Rise of the Philippine Middle Class (Ilustrados), Mega Essays LLC, MegaEssays.com, 2007]
retrieved on: August 1, 2007[Philippines: The Spanish Colony, Student Encyclopedia Article, Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Britannica.com]
retrieved on: August 1, 2007
Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs, PhilippineEmbassy-USA.org (undated, archived fro
on 2007-07-13), retrieved on: August 1, 2007
History
![Filipino Ilustrados Jose Rizal Marcelo del Pilar Mariano Ponce](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Filipino_Ilustrados_Jose_Rizal_Marcelo_del_Pilar_Mariano_Ponce.jpg)
The most prominent ''Ilustrados'' were
Graciano López Jaena
Graciano López y Jaena (; December 18, 1856 – January 20, 1896), commonly known as Graciano López Jaena, was a Filipino journalist, orator, reformist, and national hero who is well known for his newspaper, ''La Solidaridad''.
Philippine h ...
,
Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán (; ; August 30, 1850July 4, 1896), commonly known as Marcelo H. del Pilar and also known by his pen name Pláridel,.''Filipinos in History: Volume II'', National Historical Institute, 1990, p. 101 was a ...
,
Mariano Ponce
Mariano Ponce y Collantes (March 22, 1863 – May 23, 1918) was a Filipino physician, writer and active member of the Propaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders of ''La Solidaridad'' and ''Asociación Hispano-Filipino''. Among his ...
,
Antonio Luna
Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipino army general who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination in 1899.
Regarded as one of the fiercest generals of his ...
and
José Rizal
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...
, the Philippine
national hero
The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...
. 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".
[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
In the beginning, Rizal and his fellow ''Ilustrados'' preferred not to win independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
from Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, instead they yearned legal equality for both ''Peninsulares
In the context of the Spanish Empire, a ''peninsular'' (, pl. ''peninsulares'') was a Spaniard born in Spain residing in the New World, Spanish East Indies, or Spanish Guinea. Nowadays, the word ''peninsulares'' makes reference to Peninsular Sp ...
'' and natives—'' Indios'', ''Insulares
In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of Spanish descent born in the colonies. In different Latin American countries the word has come to have different meanings, sometimes referring to the local-born majo ...
'', and ''mestizos
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ...
'', among others—in the economic reforms demanded by the ''Ilustrados'' were that "the Philippines be represented in the Cortes
Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to:
People
* Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador
Places
* Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of N ...
and be considered as a province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of Spain" and "the secularization of the parishes."[
However, in 1872, nationalist sentiment grew strongest, when three Filipino ]priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
s, José Burgos
José Apolonio Burgos y GarcÃa was a Catholic Church in the Philippines, Filipino Catholic Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest, accused of mutiny by the Spain, Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century. He was t ...
, Mariano Gomez and friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
Jacinto Zamora
Jacinto Zamora y del Rosario (14 August 1835 – 17 February 1872) was a Filipino Catholic priest, part of the Gomburza, a trio of priests who were falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th centu ...
, who had been charged with leading a military mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...
at an arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
, near Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, were executed by the Spanish authorities. The event and "other repressive acts outraitings and activities, Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896. His execution propelled the ''Ilustrados'' . This also prompted unity among the ''Ilustrados'' and Andrés Bonifacio
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (, ; November 30, 1863May 10, 1897) was a Filipino Freemason and revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippine Revolution", and considered one of the national heroes of the Philippines ...
's radical ''Katipunan
The Katipunan, officially known as the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK; en, Supreme and Honorable Association of the Children of the Nation ...
''.[ Philippine policies by the ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
reinforced the dominant position of the ''Ilustrados'' within Filipino society. Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
estates were sold to the ''Ilustrados'' and most government positions were offered to them.
See also
* Spanish Filipino
Spanish Filipinos ( es, español filipino / hispano filipino / castellano filipino; cbk, español filipino / hispano filipino / conio; Filipino/ tl, Kastilà / Espanyól / Tisoy / Konyo; ceb, KatsÃlà / Ispaniyul; hil, KatsÃlà / Espanyà ...
*Filipino Mestizos
In the Philippines, Filipino Mestizo ( es, mestizo (masculine) / mestiza (feminine); Filipino/ tl, Mestiso (masculine) / Mestisa (feminine)) or colloquially ''Tisoy'', is a name used to refer to people of mixed native Filipino and any forei ...
* Mestizos de Sangley (Chinese Mestizos)
* Assimilados
* Ladino people
The Ladino people are a mix of mestizo or Hispanicized peoplesLadino' en el Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (DRAE) in Latin America, principally in Central America. The demonym ''Ladino'' is a Spanish word that is related to ''Latin ...
** Black Ladino
Black Ladinos (Spanish: ''negros ladinos'') were Hispanicized black Ladinos, exiled to Spanish America after having spent time[Évolué
''Évolué'' (, "evolved" or "developed") is a French label used during the colonial era to refer to a native African or Asian who had "evolved" by becoming Europeanised through education or assimilation and had accepted European values and p ...](_blank)
s
* Affranchi
Affranchi () is a former French legal term denoting a freedman or emancipated slave, but was a term used to refer pejoratively to mulattoes. It is used in the English language to describe the social class of freedmen in Saint-Domingue, an ...
s
* Emancipados
Emancipado () was a term used for an African-descended social-political demographic within the population of Spanish Guinea (modern day Equatorial Guinea) that existed in the early to mid 1900s. This segment of the native population had become ass ...
*Filipino nationalism
Filipino nationalism refers to the establishment and support of a political identity associated with the modern nation-state of the Philippines, leading to a wide-ranging campaign for political, social, and economic freedom in the Philippines. T ...
*Spanish language in the Philippines
Spanish was the official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish rule in the late 16th century, until sometime during the Philippine–American War (1899-1902) and remained co-official, along with English, until 1973. It was ...
*Philippine literature in Spanish
Philippine literature in Spanish ( es, Literatura filipina en español; fil, Literaturang Pilipino sa Espanyol) is a body of literature made by Filipino writers in the Spanish language. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpu ...
* PrincipalÃa
The ''principalÃa'' or noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the ''pueblos'' of Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called the c''apitán municipal'' and had functions similar to a town mayo ...
* Gente de razón
''Gente de razón'' (, "people of reason" or "rational people") is a Spanish term used in colonial Spanish America and modern Hispanic America to refer to people who were culturally Hispanicized. It was a social distinction that existed alongside t ...
References
Notes
{{reflist
Sources
Republic of the Philippines, Microsoft Corporation, Encarta.MSN.com, 2007
(
2009-10-31), retrieved on: August 1, 2007
retrieved on: August 1, 2007
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/2053260 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
retrieved on: August 1, 2007
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070618190303/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/asiaweb/v11n1Rossabi.htm 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
retrieved on: August 1, 2007
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070813052804/http://www.philippinechildrensfoundation.org/history.shtml Philippine History, Philippine Children's Foundation, PhilippineChildrensFoundation.org, 2005 retrieved on: August 1, 2007
History of the Philippines (1565–1898)
Philippine Revolution
Latin American caste system
Captaincy General of the Philippines