The Ilustrados (, "erudite", "learned" or "enlightened ones") constituted the Filipino educated class during the

Spanish colonial period Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain ** Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries ** Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, C ...

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 A ...

(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. C ...

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") , ...

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 (; ; 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 thei ...

'', 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's Association movement ...

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 i ...

" because many were the children of wealthy landowners. They were key figures in the development of Filipino nationalism.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, 2007Philippines: 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

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 ...

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 F ...

, Mariano Ponce,

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 hi ...

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 h ...

, 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".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 stat ...

from

, 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 ...

'' and natives—'' Indios'', '' Insulares'', 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 thei ...

'', 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 ...

and be considered as a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

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 partic ...

José Burgos José Apolonio Burgos y García was a Filipino Catholic priest, accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century. He was tried and executed in Manila along with two other clergymen, Mariano Gomez a ...

, 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 ...

Jacinto Zamora, 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 memb ...

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 mostl ...

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 southw ...

, 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 populated ...

, 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 ...

estates were sold to the ''Ilustrados'' and most government positions were offered to them.

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

History

See also

References

Notes

Sources