[7]SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS DURING THE SPANISH PERIOD

• The first 150 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines was characterized by slow economic development
• Population increase and uprisings and revolts became problems for the colonial government
• Most Spanish officials were lazy, incompetent and inefficient
• Spanish officials were more interested in enriching themselves rather than improving the colony
• Frequent quarrels occurred among the friars and government officials
• Efficient governor Jose Basco arrived in Manila in 1778 and found the colony's condition unsatisfactory
• Basco's plan was to make the Philippines self-sufficient
• Basco founded the Economic Society of Friends of the Country in 1781 to discuss economic subjects and promote self-sufficiency
• Under the Society, pamphlets on cultivating indigo, coffee, sugar, cacao, hemp, and other plants were published and distributed
• Agricultural implements from the United States were imported to improve agriculture and increase production
• The Society exported indigo to Europe for the first time in 1784
• The Society founded the Academy of Drawing in 1824 and an agricultural school in Manila in 1861
• Basco established government monopolies, including the tobacco monopoly in 1782
• The tobacco monopoly led to the development of provinces like Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, the Cagayan Valley, and Marinduque
• Abuses in the tobacco monopoly included taking lands from farmers who failed to meet quotas and not paying farmers for their crops
• The tobacco monopoly was abolished in 1882
• The Royal Company of the Philippines (1785) aimed to improve foreign trade with Spain and develop industry, manufacturing, and agriculture in the Philippines
• The Company failed due to Spanish merchants' refusal to cooperate and mismanagement
• Spain opened Manila to foreign trade in 1834, leading to the establishment of foreign firms and a decline in Spanish business interests
• The rise of the middle class in the Philippines was a result of economic changes, with segments going into trade or receiving education in Manila and Europe
• The social life in the Philippines revolved around the church, with the church and municipal building symbolizing the union of Church and State
• The capitan needed the friar-curate's knowledge and consent for various activities, including holding fiestas in honor of patron saints
• Baptisms and marriages were celebrated with pomp, leading to significant spending by Filipinos to gain praise from neighbors