Early History by L. V. Finster

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 27, 1913

Early History

By L. V. Finster

The Philippine Islands—No. 1

Early History

L. V. FINSTER

[On the last Sabbath in March, our Sabbath-schools direct their special offerings to establish suitable headquarters for the Philippine Islands and to provide better hospital and school facilities for Korea. Four articles on the Philippines by Brother Finster, the first of which we present herewith, will be read with growing interest.—Ed.]

In the year 1519 began a voyage which was destined to prove of great historic importance. The discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa had stimulated numerous adventurers to search for the passage which was believed to connect it with the Atlantic, but their efforts had ended in failure, and it was reserved for Fernando Magallanes, or Magellan, as he is called, to win enduring fame by overcoming all obstacles, and pushing on to success.

On the tenth day of August, 1519, the little fleet set sail from Spain, and on the thirteenth day of the following December it arrived safely at Rio de Janeiro, South America. Its course was then turned southward; and after overcoming the many obstacles that met him,—a mutiny, and determined effort of some of his officers to return home,—Magellan reached the southern part of South America and discovered the strait that bears his name. By this time his five ships were reduced to three, one being wrecked and another having deserted. Magellan now sailed to the west, and on the sixteenth day of March, 1521, discovered the Ladrone Islands. The next land reached was Mindanao, one of the southern islands of the Philippine group. He soon sailed north to the island of Cebu. Here he landed and built a hut on the shore and celebrated mass, to the great awe of the simple natives. Members of the royal family, chiefs and other influential men of the island, after only a few days, received baptism. One can quite understand the extent of their conversion.

Soon after, Magellan perished in a tribal war, in which he had taken part, on the little island of Mactan.

Trouble soon arose between his followers and the natives, and twenty-seven of the Spaniards were slain at a banquet to which they had been invited. Only one hundred men were now left to man the three ships, so they destroyed one of the vessels and started homeward with the two remaining ships. One of these soon sprang a leak and had to be forsaken. The other continued its journey, and after adventures and fearful hardships finally reached home, being the first to circumnavigate the globe.

The next attempt to take possession of the Philippine Islands was by Philip II, in whose honor they have been named. He was inspired by religious zeal in his efforts to conquer and Christianize the islands. The army of invasion consisted of four hundred soldiers and six monks, under the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legazpe. In due time he reached the islands and decided to land on the island of Cebu. The ruling prince was much surprised at so many formidable ships, and sent one of his bravest subjects to spy on the Spaniards and report. His report was: “The ships are manned with giants with long, pointed noses, dressed in magnificent robes. They eat stones [hard biscuit], drink fire and blow the smoke out of their mouths.” The prince thought it best to make friends with such powerful strangers. This was in 1565. In 1570 Legazpe’s grandson, Salcedo, subdued Luzon, the largest island. Manila was chosen as the capital of the archipelago, and within a very few years all the islands submitted to the yoke of Spain. No attempt was made to explore the natural resources of the country or improve the condition of the people. Mere greed of conquest was apparently the chief motive of the invaders.

But the Spaniards were not long to remain undisturbed in their new, easily acquired territory. Limahong, a Chinese pirate, soon appeared with sixty-seven armed boats, and four thousand men and fifteen hundred women, to take possession of the country. He made two determined attacks on Manila, but was finally forced to abandon his design.

About this time began the long series of dissensions between the church and the state, as supremacy was claimed by each. From that time till the American occupation, these bitter dissensions disturbed the tranquillity by turmoil after turmoil.

In the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Dutch made an attack on Manila, but were repulsed with heavy loss.

The year 1662 records the first of the terrible massacres of the Chinese. The governor, without any just cause, gave out that they were forming a conspiracy, and a general massacre followed.

The war of 1761 between England and Spain, invaded the Philippine Islands also. On the twenty-second of September, 1762, the British fleet reached Manila. The city was bombarded, and after stout resistance, it was forced to surrender. Terms of peace were signed in Paris, one of the conditions being that the British should leave the islands.

Now follows a long list of revolts of the natives against the Spanish rule; they had learned to hate it. Some of the most important are: The revolt on Bohol in 1622, the cause which led to it being the tyranny of the church; the revolt in Mindanao in 1629; the revolt in Samar in 1649. In 1660 the natives of Pampanga revolted. In 1744 the despotism of a Jesuit priest caused a revolt in Bohol. The priest ordered his parishioners arrested when they failed to attend mass, and in some cases he refused burial and caused the bodies to be left to rot in the sun, if the people were not there in time for mass. In 1823 a body of native troops revolted in Manila. Cebu revolted in 1827, and Negros in 1844. The most formidable revolt before that of 1896 was in Cavite in 1872. Hostility to the Spanish friars was at the bottom of this uprising. The revolt of 1896 was cut short by the sudden arrival of Admiral Dewey, and his victory over the Spanish fleet. In the terms of peace, the islands passed over to the control of the United States.