216 | COLONIAL LEGACIES IVA FRAGILE REPUBLIC ‘time or at any place, is utterly revolting to my mind and can never receive any sanction. "105 Perhaps the most egregious variation concerned the writ of habeas corpus. The right to the writ was guaranteed in McKinley's Instructions and the Organic Act. In addition, the colony had been largely subdued, except for Muslim Mindanao, by the end of 1904, Nevertheless there continued to be “men confined in prisons throughout the archipelago arrested without warrant and entirely ignorant why they have been detained." Secretary Root took no notice. In September 1902 he stated that “The policy of the Republican Administration has been. . to give the people of the Islands all the blessings of civil and religious liberty, of ust and equal laws, of good and honest administration.”"0” Fifty years later, two respected US. scholars ‘of Philippine-American political history, who rendered a generally favorable view of the colonial endeavor, proffered an alternative perspective. Summning up the rationale behind the Insular Decisions, they opined that From a constitutional viewpoint, it is not altogether easy to understand how Congress, ‘hich is established under the Constitution and derives it powers from that document, could totally disregard the Constitution in governing the newly acquired territory, From practical viewpoints, however, the decisions were more rational. What advantages were there in an expanding imperialism if the Constitution and its guarantees and protections were to apply #0 the new territory? (Grunder and Livery, 1951, ” 1 Se alo Gros ©, US USR 220388 (1911) (double jopardy/olfenses Aistinguished), = Wis, Our Parr Prosun (1905, 5. 1 Address at Peoria, Minas, Ret (125). CHAPTER NINE COLONIAL DICHOTOMY: ATTRACTION AND DISENFRANCHISEMENT White Men and Indios ‘The term indio applied to indigenes throughout the vast ‘Spanish empire. India was a synonym forall of Asia east of the Indus River. Even after it became apparent that Christopher Columbus had not reached islands lying off the east coast of ‘Asia, the Spanish persisted in referring to all native peoples, ‘within their empire as los indios The term applied to Mayans, ‘Aztecs, Incas, and other American indegenes, as well as to the ‘Malay peoples of insular Southeast Asia. ‘The fist European imagery of los indios came from the writings of Columbus, who, in a widely published letter written during 1493, described the cannibalistic Carrs. The famed cartographer, Amerigo Vespucci, was also instrumental in creating early images of los indios among Europeans. In his most famous narrative, Vespucci described in detail his impressions of Brazilian indegenes. Soon after, the first pictorial allndian scene appeared in woodcuts which illustrated the leters of Columbus and Vespucci? 1 Bosker, Tax Wetrs MANS Inte (1979), 5. The Spanish also employed the pase rated lates natives ofthe land) ree indigo peoples i the Americas Wol 1982151. si, 67 a7218 | Colona LEakoes WA FRAGLE RE “The basic themes that would dominate so much ‘of White thinking ... forthe next centuries were ‘well developed in the literature on the Spanish Conquest and settlement of the Americas. Using the twin criteda of | Chyistanity and ‘civilization’ Spaniards found the Indians wanting in along list of ateibutes: letters, laws, government, clothing, arts, trade, agriculture, ‘marriage, morals, metal goods and above all religion (Bezkhofer, 1979, 10) ‘The twin criteria played an important role inthe Manila Synod debates of 1582. (See Chapter One) many synod participants strove to justify the colonial imposition on the ‘asia of the natives’ alleged cultural inferioritis. From the ‘outset, ‘Both the colonists and the friars were disdainful ofthe cultural level ofthe Filipinos. The area of disagreement was not ‘whether they needed guardians but who should be the {uardians — the Church or the colonists (ncomenderos)> ‘Like their counterparts elsewhere in the Spanish ‘empize, Philippine officials were, from a legal perspective, (generally indiscriminate in their labeling of native peoples. All those with Malay blood were referred to as los indios. Te tem. signified legal status, a6 did ‘Spaniard’ and ‘Chinese’ fourth legal category was established in 1741 as a response to the growing prominence and numbers of Chinese-indio, or ‘mestizos. These categories were merged in recognition of the fact that, at least among the native elites, the mestizos’ and Indios’ social, cultural and politica values and systems had merged. “TMJore important than legal recognition was social By 1900 the indigenous inhabitants of the Philippines, of whatever cultural background, often called themselves and ‘were called "Flipinos’ The abolition of the tibutu, or head tax, in the 1880s, ‘was accompanied by the end of the legal classification as mestizo and indio.’ By that time, too, the ‘unmodified term ‘mestizo’ no longer only referred to Chinese ‘mestizos but had acquired the meaning it has today: Spanish 2 Phelan “elo Aspects ofthe Conquest ofthe Pippin” (1957), 284 ATTRACTION AND ISENFRANCWSEMENT | 219 ‘mestizos or Eurasian: in generals Although numerically insignificant, Spanish mestizos with pale complexions. were sometimes allowed to assume the category of Spaniard even without the benefit of a cedula or royal decree. But this was “only before the eyes of the indio population’ * ‘Spanish legislation regarded the Indios as the ‘equivalent of legal minors or immature watds. This resulted in 2 double-edged patemaliem? Spanish officials had an tfirmative duty to respect native rights and otherwise behave properly. But at the same, time, throughout the Spanish Colonial-era, native peoples could not bring suit against a Spaniard who violated their rights unless another Spaniard ‘sted on their behalf. During the waning yeas of Spanish rule, judgment was passed by native magistrates in sults between natives? [Wyhen one party to a sult was a Spaniard, or ‘when a native was in any way injured in his rights by a Spaniard, the suit was prosecuted under the direction of the Protector de los Indias (Protector ofthe Indies), of the encomendero, or the local curate, according to the requirements cof each case. In this manner Spanish prestige ‘was preserved, inasmuch as it was no longer an Indian who asked for the punishment of one ‘belonging to a superior race, but a Spaniard who took up the Indian's cause and conducted the suit against another Spaniard (Pardo de Tavera, 19083, 335). ‘eg fas Gams Paro im (5) 101 ora duno te chne tf anne mr ekney i Ch Nas bao be fo Mee 1978), 36 Se geal + Aes i, 96S yey 1 ‘Ered ey Hip ais Se ege Repo eae ae se Commission (190) Vol. 3,378. cae ana «po Cp 873 Lo ein Bok Tie “cit einen! acon oe es Sve ropes ine mate te faeiencta can Seams a ena maa + Scan Te tunes G99 (9 pn220 | COLON. LEGACIES INA FRAGLE REPUBLIC In general, Spanish references in the Philippines to los Indios distinguished them from one another mainly by whether cor not they had submitted to Spanish rule. These observations were limited, however, to generic references such as docies (docile) and feroces (ferocious) or binyag and hindi binyag, i, baptized or not. Peoples in the latter grouping were also called los infles (he unfaithful)? Local leaders were intially referred, to as princpala or eacique, although by the nineteenth century these labels alluded, respectively, to former or current officials, and native or Chinese mestizo landlords. ‘A common reference, on Luzon, to the Hispanicized ‘masses was timaoas or elanes, while the elites were sometimes called magingo.®. Mountain people of northern Luzon were often referred to as tribus independientes,2 while the term moro became a reference for the Islamicized populations in the southem portions of the archipelago. ‘The Spaniards’ descriptions of indigenous cultures were universally negative. Spanish officials and priests not only believed in ‘the unquestioned superiority of Hispanic culture’ they were convinced that pre-Hispanic cultures were ‘a manifestation of the devil’ This perception endured WH Scot History of he Inartclate (982), 29. * Buzeta DICCIONARIO (1850, Vol. 1 9, Buzeta physical iferentated ‘adioe pron (pure Indias), mestios, and Negses (Vol. 1, 8-1). In an Sppendis to velume one he provided ting ofthe stzeoypeal features ‘which were onensibly pronounced in each group. 1» Uni 1786 the pines abe refered wo taditonal lenders, From that date unt 1847 ft refered to men of means who collaborated wit and ‘materially contributed tthe colonial enfrs. From 1847 unt the end of {be Spanish regime, memberati in the pcan was legal ite to onner and carentsauncpal and bass afc many of whom were not the actual power brokers in kr communities. Ser Chapter Four. The tac label orginal refered to tadonal leaders in Fat (air and Robertson 19730, VOL 8, 29m) By te nlpetwenth century, thad become Synonymous in the Philippine colony with landowners, See generally {eoy, Praunroe Leb Toves AND Couw (190), 172-201 1 Guerre, Lavon at Wa (1977), 87. "2 WH Scot, Creation of Cltural Minority (98203. "3 Maj Mosune bv To Pars (1978 (ed), 0, Schumacher, The Propandsty’ Reconstruction of the Plippine Past (197, 268. Se also Sulvan, (of American (158), B07; Foreman, Te Pare ss (198, 1 od) 18245 Phelan pra note 3 ‘130; Agocllo and Guerer, His Or Ta FIAr\o PEOr (1986 78 ATTRACTIONANO DSENFRANCHISEMENT | 221 thoughout the Spanish regime. In 1874 the colonial disdain of Indigenous cultures was 20 excesive that one fiar wrote in a ‘pamphlet circulated among the public thatthe indigenes had ‘contributed nothing of what constitutes a civilized society tis the Spanish who have done i alls Unfortunately, the Spaniards had no monopoly on ethnocentrism, Explanations for human differentiation based on skin color were also dominant atthe end of the nineteenth century among other Europeans and white Americans, including socal scentists* The explanations were justified by an elaborate evolutionary social theory that was applied by US. colonial officals, fist to native Americans, then African slaves and only later to Filipino peoples. According to the prevailing theory, “White” people at least in the minds of Caucasians were indisputably at the apex of human evolutionary development. In practice what was presumed desirable for Whites was also supposed by Whites to be desirable for Indians and conversely what [Whites believed] ‘was good for Indians was sen as beneficial for White society aswell’? ‘The colonial attitude virtually excluded any positive consideration of indigenous perspectives and cultures. White attitudes in the United States were “based on America’s Histoical experience and her Protestant tradition, socal Darwinistc theories which were popularized atthe turn of the century substantiated American claims to superiority." One scholar ofthe Phlippine-American War concluded that at the tum of the twentieth century ‘[elolorphobia was a disease of ‘epidemic proportions in the United States’? 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