2. Brief Timeline
1521 was the year the Spanish
colonizers came
◦ the start of the rule of the “cross and the
sword”
◦ Half a century later, colonization and
evangelization, through Miguel Lopez de
Legaspi and Fray Andres Urdaneta
respectively
3. Brief Timeline
1834
◦ International trade opened
1869
◦ Opening of the Suez Canal
Event leads to burgeoning of agricultural
industry
◦ Carlos Ma. De la Torre, a sympathetic
governor-general, was
appointed, opening up a movement led by
middle class for reforms
4. Brief Timeline
1593, the year when Doctrina
Christiana, was printed, first book ever
printed in the country
5. Notes on Spanish
Colonization
The use of faith (Christian) to supplant
the existing native, local belief
◦ Politics and religion were already mixing
at that time!
Colonial strategy was to undermine
oral tradition
The Spaniards eventually hired
translators for the instructional
materials, marking the beginning of
“Indio” literacy
6. Colonial Writers of Philippine
Literature
Francisco de San Jose, Fernando
Bagong Banta and Gaspar Aquino de
Belen
◦ Translators of Spanish texts
◦ The most famous is de Belen, a poet
translator who wrote the Tagalog version
for the Passion of Christ
7. Colonial Writers of Philippine
Literature
Jose dela Cruz
◦ The foremost proponent of komedya
◦ His appeal to the non-literate was
universal
8. Colonial Writers of Philippine
Literature
Francisco Baltazar
◦ Also known as “Balagtas”
◦ Acknowledged master of traditional poetry
◦ Was a child of the global bourgeois
revolution, thanks largely to the Industrial
Revolution
◦ Best known for his work, Florante at Laura
about tyranny in Albania
9. Colonial Writers of Philippine
Literature
Pedro Paterno
◦ Wrote Ninay, first Filipino novel and
written in Spanish
10. Colonial Writers of Philippine
Literature
Jose Rizal
◦ chose realistic novel as his medium
◦ Chose prose over poetry, challenging
figurative tradition set by Balagtas
◦ Famous for his works Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo
11. Colonial Writers of Philippine
Literature
Graciano Lopez-Jaena and Marcelo
Del Pilar
◦ Liberal Reformists
◦ Formed the Propaganda Movement, and
printed works that were considered
subversive
12. Colonial Writers of Philippine
Literature
Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto
◦ Writers and social critics
REVOLUTIONARIES!
