SOCIAL STRUCTURE DURING THE

TH
19 CENTURY
 Philippine society was predominantly feudalistic –
the results of the Spanish land holding system
imposed upon the country with the arrival of the
conquistadores.
An elite class exploited the masses, fostered by the
“master-slave” relationship between the Spaniards and
the Filipinos.
The Spaniards exacted all forms of taxes and
tributes, and drafted the natives for manual labor.
Spanish Peninsulares
Spanish Insulares

The Peninsulares exclusively controlled top-level

administrative, civil and ecclesiastical position in the colony and
they were close to the Insulares on the basis of Limpieza de
Sangre.
Indios – native of the country
Indio natural
Plain indios
Infieles
Indio salangye
The most serious criticism the system were the overemphasis
on religious matters, the obsolete teaching lessons, the limited
curriculum, the very poor classroom facilities, the absence of
teaching materials, such as books.
Fear of God was emphasized and obedience to the friars was
instilled in the minds of the people.
The absence of academic freedom in Spain’s educational
system was extended to the schools that the Spaniards
established in the Philippines.
Teacher discrimination against Filipinos was present in some
higher schools of learning, although not at the Ateneo.
At the end of the Spanish period, the college of San Juan de
Letran was the only official secondary school in the Philippines
although secondary education was also offered at the Ateneo
de Manila.
The University of Santo Tomas was the only institution of
University level in Manila.
Another group of schools in the Philippines at that time was
the theological seminaries;
Manila
Cebu
Jaro
Nueva Caceres
Nueva Segovia
By 1855, the Spanish colonial authorities realized the need of
establishing a system of public education for the indios.
The commission completed its work after 6 years and in
1861, the report was forwarded to Spain. Based on this report
and its recommendations, the Educational Decree of 20
December 1863 was issued.
Each major town in the Philippines was to establish at least
one primary school for boys and another for girls.
EDUCATIONAL DEGREE OF1863 –marked a milestone in
the history of education in the Philippines under Spain.
Paradoxically, the friars assigned to implement the
educational decrees from Spain among the most vocal of the
Spanish elements against the teaching of Spanish in the
Philippines.
The government in Spain issued Moret Decree of 1870,
which intended to secularize the higher education in the
colony.
Under such conditions, some Filipinos like Rizal
strongly felt the need to continue their education abroad.
One such instances of student petition led in 1870 by
Felipe Buencamino at the University of Santo Tomas.
THAT’S ALL
THANKYOU!