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The Philippines / Pilipinas A History of Resistance and Assimilation |
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“If by rebellion you need to hope and desire, to labor and struggle by every peaceful means for the liberties of my country, and if for that you demand the penalty of death, then gladly, willingly shall I die.” -José Rizal (1896)- |
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A Brief Analysis of Another Look at Magellan’s Journey Around the World |
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Superiority and the Archipelago “Little brown brothers,” is the term that President William Taft used when referencing the topic of the United States colonization of its “brother” in the Philippine islands (Rafael, 1). The phrase not only suggests a mood of superiority that the American government felt-a superiority which is non-existent-but reflects the early nationalistic values of colonization. Webster’s English Dictionary defines the word “superiority” as something that is “serenely unaffected or indifferent.” The integration of Christianity into the Archipelago almost 400 years prior to Taft’s assertion, cites early examples of cultures with superior feelings to the Filipino culture. Filipino writer Cecilia Brainard exemplifies this point when referring to the words of Ferdinand Magellan in her essay “Another Look at Magellan’s Journey Around the World.” It his here that Magellan says to King Rajah Humabon of Cebu concerning Christianity, “People of Cebu, burn your idols made of wood hollowed out behind…with bare arms and the feet turned up with bare legs, and a large face, with four teeth as large as boar tusks…painted all over (Brainard, 14).” This in its self shows how even in the 16th century the Philippines were expected to abandon their values and accept those of their colonizers. The use of the word “wood” in Magellan’s speech is also quite intriguing as it references how irresolute the religion of the Archipelago was at the time. Wood is seen as something that is finite; something that over time will wear away and will be destroyed by the elements of life such as rain, fire, and wind. The elements that can ruin the wood in this case are things in life such as war (especially the jihad or crusades) that can destroy a religion and separate its followers. However, Magellan expresses how Christianity is something more solid and unwavering that can withstand all elements of life if you simply believe in it. By using the term “wood,” Magellan is also restating the ideas of The Bible where in 1 Corinthians 3: 12-15 it is stated, “Now if anyone builds on this foundation [faith] with gold, silver, wood, hay, straw…for the day will declare his work and it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one’s work, and what sort it is.” It then goes on to state that, “if anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” This showed how if the Philippine religion at the time would be tested, it would be bound to fail because it is wood and will be burned by the fire. However, Christianity is seen as something finite and indestructible that is more like a piece of gold, something that can never be destroyed by the elements, especially fire. General Sanger of the United States Census Bureau echoed Magellan’s sentiments of the feeling of superiority to the Filipino culture during a speech given in 1903. In this speech, General Sanger explained, “the tribal differences which now exist will gradually disappear and the Filipino will become a numerous and homogeneous English-speaking race, exceeding in intelligence and capacity all other peoples of the Tropics (Rafael, 4).” This attitude of Sanger alone references the very definition of “superiority” because it shows how the United States is a country that is unaffected by other cultures. However, the Filipino culture is on the other end of this spectrum because they represent a culture that is easily permeable. The aspect of this speech that was not realized by Sanger as being incorrect was the position that he takes in saying that “the tribal differences… will gradually disappear.” This can be proven incorrect by once again looking at Cecilia Brainard’s description of Magellan’s landing at the port of Cebu in the Philippines in 1521 (Brainard, 16). Shortly after Magellan stressed the importance of being baptized into Christianity, many of the local tribes in the area began to rally in opposition to Magellan’s beliefs. Even though Magellan succeeded in converting some of Cebu into Christianity, much of Cebu and the villages of Mactan and Lapulapu organized an ambush that eventually led to Magellan’s death (Brainard, 17). However, Brainard points out in her essay, “It was not petty tribal warfare that killed Magellan and drove Spaniards away, but a concerted military effort by people who did not wish to be subjugated.” This is contradictory to what Sanger believed due to the fact that he considered Filipinos an inferior race that would be split their unity if faced with colonization. A picture of the Roman Catholic Church in Cebu. Copyright Creative Commons 2005 Cecilia Brainard’s idea of the Filipinos intellectual inferiority in the journey of Magellan was only supplemented by her chronicles of Magellan’s sailors. This can be seen when Pigafetta (one of Magellan’s crewmembers) described the Filipinos in a condescending manner. He stated, “They go about naked and tattooed, they wear a piece of tree-cloth over their shameful parts (Brainard, 15).” The reference to the Filipinos being “tattooed” not only describes their physical appearance but refers in a way to the permanent mark of inferiority that has been assigned them. Like a tattoo which is a permanent marking that can never be removed, the people of the Archipelago are seen as people who are forever marked by permanent inadequacies. This is supported by Vincente Rafael’s depiction of the Filipinos in his essay “White Love” where he states only “civilized Filipinos were more reluctant, even resistant to the call of benevolent assimilation (Rafael, 5).” This shows how the “superiority” of the American culture is unyielding and can only be rejected only by the rare people of the Archipelago who are considered “civilized.” Not only does this mood seem to be the predominate belief in present day colonialism of the Philippines, but it was a greatly heralded belief dating back to the 16th century. By: Taylor Gould University of Minnesota Bibliography Brainard, Cecilia. "'Another Look at Magellan's Journey Around the World." Pacific Enterprise: A Magazine for Enterprising Filipinos and Friends Fall 1998: 13-17. Rafael, Vincente L. Culture of United States and Imperialism. Durham: Duke University Press, 1993. |
