Filipinos justifiably take pride int he fact that their nationalistic and revolutionary traditions are the oldest in south east asia, particulary from the standpoint of overt systematic efforts designed to expel the colonial rulers and attain independence. Thus the fact that there has been a resurgence of Philippine nationalism during the past decade in one sense should not have been unexpected in view of its relatively long history. Nonetheless, because of the pragmatic and moderate nature of the nationalism prior to the 1960s, many observers of the Philippine political scene were surprised both by the rapidity in which resurgence ocurred and by the extent to which it came to reflect the impact of radical interpretations of Philippine society generally and of the Philippine-American relations specifically.
Yet the nationalist movement undoubtedly would have developed even more rapidly and more radically than it has, but for the fact that a number of fundamental issues divided the ranks of its adherents in the 1960s. We need to describe the nature of those divisions by examining the social dynamics underlying the nationalist revival in the Philippines. We also need to focus on the principal societal sectors and groups involved in the nationalist movement, with emphasis on the factors that have hampered their efforts to achieve unity, both internally and externally.
Philippine nationalism reached unprecedented heights of intensity during the last years of Spanish control, as manifested in the revolutionary movement in teh late 1890s, and remained strong throughout the American occupation. After World War II, however, it declined considerably as a political factor. In part the decline can be attributed to the impact of the war, which compelled Fiilpinos to contrast the treatment they recieved from the Japanese and the Americans. More positively, the comparatively benign American colonial policy, at least was contrasted with that of Spain, had served to win Filipino loyalty and gratitude. Additionally, it was only natural for nationalistic sentiment to die down after the Philippines gained its independence in 1946.
The revival of nationalism following the relatively quiescent period of the 1950s is the result primarily of the emergence of the new generation of Filipinos. This generation, since it did not mature during the American period, has a background and outlook quite different from those of its predecessors. These differences have been reflected in the rise of new issues that dominate the concerns of nationalists, perhaps the chief one being an intense and emotional search for a national identity. This takes the form of a desire for closer ties with Asians; coversely, it is manifested by growth of so called 'Anti-Americanism', which is amed not only at gaining economic as well as political independence but also at demonstrating to Asian nations that the Philippines is not the American puppet that somet think it is. Finally, the resurgent Filipino nationalism can be explained by the improvement in economic conditions of the Philippines since WWII, Moro Wars, 97 financial crisis, which in turn has helped lessen the extent of the country's economic dependence upon the United States.
The nature and significance of thse changes first became clear insofar as their political implications were concerned, during the period from mid 1964 to mid 1965, at which time a series of unprecedented anti-American demonstrations occurred. The intensity of the nationalistic feeling that ensued shook the previously complacent American assumption that the "special relationship" between the two countries would continue indefinitely with minimum friction. The events that took place during the mid 1960s were not the usual incidents or irritants of sonly limited import; not only did they occur within the three most sensitiev areas of contact between the two countries- trade, investment and military relations-but their cumulative impact further magnified their reprecussions. One result was that the potential support for nationalism on the part of certain key sectors of the urban Filipino society (labor, business, students and intellectuals) for perhaps the first time was activated simultaneously on behalf of the nationalist cause.
***To be continuedr***
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=5473.0
Topic: Colonialism, Social Structure and Nationalism (Read 836 times)