The Philippines Exposition ( es, Exposición de las Filipinas, links=no; full name: ''Exposición General de las Islas Filipinas'') was a

colonial exhibition A colonial exhibition was a type of international exhibition that was held to boost trade. During the 1880s and beyond, colonial exhibitions had the additional aim of bolstering popular support for the various colonial empires ...

held in El Retiro,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, in 1887, in order to boost commercial and economic relations between the archipelago of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and the metropolis.

History

The exhibition was inspired by the colonial exhibition held in 1883 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The organizing committee in mainland Spain, presided by

Víctor Balaguer Víctor is a Spanish masculine given name, equivalent to Victor in English and Vítor in Portuguese. Notable people with the given name include: *Víctor Cabrera (Argentine footballer) *Víctor Cabrera (Chilean footballer) * Víctor Hugo Cabrera, ...

(Overseas Minister), was tasked with receiving, classifying and studying all the items sent by the Central Committee in the Philippines. 8 sections were created: * 1st. ''Naturaleza en los territorios españoles en la Oceanía'' ('Nature in the Spanish territories in Oceania') * 2nd. ''Población'' ('Population') * 3rd. ''Ejército e institutos armados auxiliares de la Administración'' (' Army and auxiliary armed institutes of the Administration') * 4th. ''Marina de Guerra'' ('Navy') * 5th. ''Geografía botánica del Archipiélago, su flora, la forestal y fauna'' ('Botanical geography of the Archipelago, its flora, forest and fauna') * 6th. ''Agricultura, horticultura y riqueza pecuaria'' ('Agriculture, horticulture and livestock wealth') * 7th. ''Industria, movimiento, comercial, tráfico'' ('Industry, commercial movement, traffic') * 8th. ''Cultura general, instrucción pública, ciencias y artes'' ('General culture, public instruction, sciences and arts'). Upon the advertising of the project, the latter was met by

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

commentary from sectors of the local press. The main venues were the

Palacio de Velázquez Palacio de Velázquez, or Velázquez Palace (sometimes referred to as Palacio de Exposiciones) is an exhibition hall located in Buen Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain. Originally known as the Palacio de la Minería, it was built in 1881-3 for the Expos ...

and the

Palacio de Cristal The Palacio de Cristal ("Glass Palace") is a conservatory located in the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain. The Palacio de Cristal, in the shape of a Greek cross, is made almost entirely of glass set in an iron framework on a brick base, which ...

. Insofar the exhibition aimed for a holistic representation of the Philippines, natives from different ethnic groups, fauna, flora and Philippine craftmanship were brought to Madrid. 43 natives (''naturales'') arrived to Madrid to be exhibited as samples in a

human zoo Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the sup ...

(reportedly including "some

igorots The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines are often referred to using the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples. There are nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ar ...

, one

negrito The term Negrito () refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, the O ...

, several tagalog,

chamorros The Chamorro people (; also CHamoru) are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, signif ...

, '' carolinos'', Jolo moros and a group of

visayans Visayans (Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...

"). Another 12 natives arrived later to Madrid. The intellectual author behind the exhibition of the ''naturales'' was , Archbishop of Manila. The

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...

of the natives was studied and they were measured up. The natives were distributed in two villages: the "ranchería igorrote", destined to display "uncivilized" natives and the so-called "Pueblo indio de Santiago", for the Christianized and "civilized" ones (''indios''). Locations outside the two villages displayed female ''indias'' weaving fabrics and rolling cigars. It was inaugurated on 30 June 1887 in El Retiro by the Queen Regent Maria Christina, accompanied by the infanta Isabel. It closed on 30 October 1887.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * {{authority control Colonial exhibitions Fairs in Spain 1887 in Spain 19th century in Madrid Racism in Spain