The Indolence of the Filipino Highlights

Prepared by Mari Perez (updsamplexes.blogspot.com/ dollupmari.com)

activity, is equal to a day's work in a
The Indolence of the Filipino:
temperate climate
Editors Note
-A hot, climate requires of the
Austin Craig (1913): This was published in la
individual quiet and rest, just as cold
Solidaridad in five installments from July 15 to
incites to labor and action.
September 15, 1890. It was a continuation of
-The Europeans are surrounded by
Rizal's campaign of education in which he
servants to fan them and ride a carriage
sought by blunt truths to awaken his
wherever they go
countrymen to their own faults at the same
-BUT, Rizal argues that people can
time that he was arousing the Spaniards to the
adapt to any climate if he puts his
defects in Spain's colonial system that caused
mind to it, and that more often than not
and continued such shortcomings.
alcohol and not a hot climate is to be
blamed for Europeans troubles
Unwillingness to work when there is nothing in
-Who is actually more indolent? The Indio who
it for them is common to Filipinos and
engages in hours of tough manual or clerical
Americans, for Thomas Jefferson admitted that
labor only to not progress in life, or the
extravagance and indolence were the chief
European who bums around all day but
faults of his countrymen. Labor saving
becomes richer and more successful?
machinery has made the fruits of Americans'
-Man is not a brute, he is not a,
labors in their land of abundance afford a
machine; his object is not
luxury in living not elsewhere existing. The
merely to produce, in spite of
possibilities for the prosperity of the population
the
pretensions
of
some
put the Philippines in the New World, just as
Christian whites who would
their discovery and their history group them
make of the colored Christian a
with the Western Hemisphere.
kind of motive power somewhat
more intelligent and less costly
than steam. Man's object is not
Part 1
to satisfy tile passions of
-Dr. Sanciano: Such Indolence does not
another man, his object is to
exist, and that all said about it does not
seek happiness for himself and
deserve reply or even passing notice.
his kind by traveling along the
-Indolence (dictionary defn)- avoidance of
road
of
progress
and
activity or exertion; laziness; (essay): greatly
perfection.
misused in the sense of little love for work and
lack of energy (contrast these two)
-This misconception paves the way for
Part 2
people who will defend it and people
-This part is all about the analogy of a patient
who will repel it
symbolizing the Philippines, the doctor
-We should be taking the indolence
symbolizing the government and friars, and
NOT as the cause of the countrys
illness symbolizing indolence
backwardness, but instead view
-When things arent going well, the
indolence as the effect of the
doctor blames the patient and the
countrys backwardness
circumstances while the patient
-People have always just agreed or disagreed
blames the doctor for the treatment
with whether we are indolent, but there is a
-Band-aid
solutions
are
need to know the causes
proposed by the doctor (i.e.
-It is true that Pinoys struggle against the hot
taxes, forced labor, reforms)
climate
-Every new arrival proposes a
-An hour's work under that burning
new remedy akin to second
sun, in the midst of pernicious
opinion
influences springing from nature in
-It's nothing, only the patient

The Indolence of the Filipino Highlights

Prepared by Mari Perez (updsamplexes.blogspot.com/ dollupmari.com)
has eight million indolent red
-Forced labor on ships without proper
corpuscles: some few white
food also diminished the natives time
corpuscles in the form of an
to cultivate their lands
agricultural colony will get us out
-The natives who were executed,
of the trouble.
those who lost their wives and
-Indolence is chronic, but not hereditary
children and fled in disgust to the
histories of the first years of colonialism show
mountains, those who were sold into
activity and movement
slavery to pay the taxes levied upon
-Some early Filipinos could actually
them the many who are executed and
speak some Spanish
left to die of hunger and those who eat
-Pigafettas accounts note that the
poisonous herbs
natives were active in merchandising
- How is it strange, then, that discouragement
and had trade relations with other
may have been infused into the spirit of the
countries
inhabitants of the Philippines, when in the
-Islands were so well provisioned that
midst of so many calamities they did not know
when some survivors of Magellans
whether they would see sprout the seed they
expedition captured the chief of the
were planting, whether their field was going to
island of Paragua (in Palawan), the
be their grave or their crop would go to feed
chief even ordered to send more than
their executioner?
the ransom and even forgave the
- Man works for an object. Remove the
pirates after!
object and you reduce him to inaction
-When Legazpis expedition took Cebu
-Recall Dr. Morgas statement -Citizens just
by force through fire, supplies came
could not battle the indolence and thus gave
fast due to the abundance of
up
neighboring towns.
-Dr. Morga (lieutenant governor of Manila for 7
Part 4
yrs): The natives are very far from
-This part is about what else added up or
exercising those trades and have even
exacerbated or maintained the problem...
forgotten much about farming, raising
-When a house becomes disturbed
poultry, stock and cotton, and weaving
and disordered, we should not accuse
cloth AS THEY USED TO DO IN THEIR
the youngest, child or the servants, but
PAGANISM AND FOR A LONG TIME AFTER
the head of it, especially if his authority
THE COUNTRY WAS CONQUERED.
is unlimited, he who does not act freely
-How is it that the Filipino people, so fond of
is not responsible for his action
its customs as to border on routine, has given
-Decrease of encouragement towards
up its ancient habits of work, of trade, of
engaging in labor and lack of aid during
navigation, etc., even to the extent of
unforeseen circumstances added to the
completely forgetting its past?
problem

Part 3
-Decrease in labor was caused by a fatal
combination of circumstances (mix of
controllable and uncontrollable by men), and
instead of facing the issue with mature
reflection, it has worsened to its current state
-Wars, expeditions, and invasions
diminished a lot of the original native
population
(an
estimated
33%
reduction)

-Cutting
communications
with
Bornean, Siamese, Cambodian and
Japanese traders made them cease
trading in the Philippines altogether
(trade with only Mexico and China
limited the Philippines greatly; nothing
from the Philippines is known)
-Piratical attacks killed off coastwise
trade
-Restrictions, passports, unforgiving
taxes and other administrative

The Indolence of the Filipino Highlights

Prepared by Mari Perez (updsamplexes.blogspot.com/ dollupmari.com)
requirements severely hampered
livestock with holy water, drive
trade in the Philippines
away locusts with St. Augustine
-All the Filipinos, as well as all
-It is well, undoubtedly, to trust
those who have tried to engage
greatly in God; but it is better to
in business in the Philippines,
do what one can and not trouble
know how many documents,
the Creator every moment, even
what comings, how many
when these appeals redound to
stamped papers, how much
the benefit of His ministers
patience is needed to secure
-The belief in miracles which
from the government a permit
makes even less reliance on
for an enterprise. One must
self as well as false teachings of
count upon the good will of this
friars
claiming
that
good
one, on the influence of that
harvests are because of them
one, on a good bribe to another
-With a general lack of confidence over the
in order that the application be
future and an absence moral stimulus
not pigeonholed, a present to
means the one without indolence is probably a
the one further on so that he
madman
may pass it on to his chief
-The biggest contributor to the problem is the
-Rulers paranoia towards uprisings
education of the natives
made absurd rules come in place (Why
-While it is to be lauded that the
does a farmer need permission to
Jesuits and some Dominicans
farm?!
Why
deprive
them
of
opened schools, what happens
shotguns?!)
in the schools can only do so
-It was no longer surprising that
much
after all these absurdities
-Students spend more or less
gambling was a more decent
just 150 days per year in school
livelihood for them
-For the rest of the year, for the
-Why work? Why be rich? (if
whole of what their life has
the rich man, according to the
been, and for the rest of their
friars, will not go to heaven and
lives, the natives are under the
be liable for all sorts of trouble?)
cruel system of slavery,
-Times may change and the peoples of the
insult, and violence that they
towns may change, but the evils still remain
lose their dignity
-Governor generals are generally just
-Every
creature
has
its
concerned over wealth generation
stimulus, its mainspring: man's
through
taxes,
anti-competitive
is his self-esteem. Take it away
schemes and monopolization of trade
from him and he is a corpse,
-Gambling (as mentioned) entered
and he who seeks activity in a
the picture (only sabong and tari are
corpse will encounter only
Filipino words, the rest are from
worms.
Spanish or foreign origin)
-The Filipino is convinced that
-This is of course not helping because
to get happiness it is necessary
of the promise of instant wealth and the
for him to lay aside his dignity
extreme appeal to emotions
as a rational creature, to attend
-With no capital and no means to do
mass, to believe what is told
things, the natives are harmed further
him, to pay what is demanded of
by some religious practices
him, to pay and forever to pay;
-Irrigate fields not with canals
to work, suffer and be silent,
but with prayers, preserve
without aspiring to anything,
without aspiring to know or even

The Indolence of the Filipino Highlights

Prepared by Mari Perez (updsamplexes.blogspot.com/ dollupmari.com)
to understand Spanish, without
-Reasons behind lack of national sentiment are
separating himself from his
more lamentable and transcendental
carabao,
as
the
priests
-The poor circumstances of the natives
shamelessly
say,
without
have led them to be susceptible that
protesting against any injustice,
they are easily swayed by anything the
against any arbitrary action,
foreigners say
against an assault, against an
-The natives will like anything
insult; that is, not to have heart,
the foreigners praise and do
brain or spirit: a creature with
anything
they
do
without
arms and a purse full of gold
analysis
............ there's the ideal native!
-The natives changed their
Unfortunately, or because the
religion
brutalization is not yet complete
-This brings the evil of the
and because the nature of man
absence of all opposition to
is inherent in his being in spite
measures prejudicial to the
of his condition, the native
people and the absence of any
protests; he still has aspirations,
initiative in whatever may
he thinks and strives to rise, and
redound to its good
there's the trouble!
-A man in the Philippines is only an
individual, he is not a member of a
Part 5
nation. He is forbidden and denied
-This part will basically sum everything up and
the right of association, and is
try to explain how everything that causes
therefore weak and sluggish.
indolence falls under defects of training
-Education
(and
perhaps
also
the
and lack of national sentiment
abolishment
of
judgment
towards
- Indolence is a corollary derived from the lack
intellectual
pursuit)
is
the
key
of stimulus and of vitality.
-Education that he is not destined to be a
-When people succeed, the people
failure and can succeed in life, and that
around them either rely on them like
things that arent successful arent always
parasites or envy them and try to
his fault
bring them down.
-That his enlightenment will be a gift
-From a young age the natives are
received and not as conquered plunder
already put into mundane, mechanical
-We desire that the policy be at once
forced and imposed routines of learning
frank and consistent, that is, highly
and reciting foreign language prayers,
civilizing, without sordid reservations,
blind acceptance of teachings, and
without distrust, without fear or jealousy,
having protests of reason repressed
wishing the good for the sake of the
-Dont aspire to be greater than the
good, civilization for the sake of
curate! You havent any energy!
civilization, without ulterior thoughts of
-This gets engraved in childrens
gratitude, or else boldly exploiting,
minds, and this is made worse
tyrannical and selfish without hypocrisy or
by living in an environment that
deception, with a whole system wellfrowns upon achievements of
planned
and
studied
out
for
natives
dominating by compelling obedience,
-In order that he may progress it is necessary
for commanding to get rich, for getting
that a revolutionary spirit, so to speak,
rich to be happy. (--Ironic statement)
should boil in his veins, since progress
Source:
necessarily requires change; it implies the
Rizal, J. The Indolence of the Filipino.
overthrow of the past, there deified, by the
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6885/pg
present; the victory of new ideas over the
6885-images.html
ancient and accepted ones.