Lineage, Life and Labors of Jos Rizal, Philippine Patriot | Page 9

of the best-made articles he used were of
American manufacture, gave the name "Americano" to a godchild. As
Americans, Filipinos were joined with the Mexicans when King
Ferdinand VII thanked his subjects in both countries for their loyalty
during the Napoleonic wars. Filipino students abroad found, too, books
about the Philippines listed in libraries and in booksellers' catalogues as
a branch of "Americana."

Nor was their acquaintance confined to Spanish Americans. The name
"English" was early known. Perhaps no other was more familiar in the
beginning, for it was constantly execrated by the Spaniards, and in
consequence secretly cherished by those who suffered wrongs at their
hands.
Magellan had lost his life in his attempted circumnavigation of the
globe and Elcano completed the disastrous voyage in a shattered ship,
minus most of its crew. But Drake, an Englishman, undertook the same
voyage, passed the Straits in less time than Magellan, and was the first
commander in his own ship to put a belt around the earth. These facts
were known in the Philippines, and from them the Filipinos drew
comparisons unfavorable to the boastful Spaniards.
When the rich Philippine galleon Santa Ana was captured off the
California coast by Thomas Candish, "three boys born in Manila" were
taken on board the English ships. Afterwards Candish sailed into the
straits south of "Luçon" and made friends with the people of the
country. There the Filipinos promised "both themselves, and all the
islands thereabouts, to aid him whensoever he should come again to
overcome the Spaniards."
Dampier, another English sea captain, passed through the Archipelago
but little later, and one of his men, John Fitzgerald by name, remained
in the Islands, marrying here. He pretended to be a physician, and
practiced as a doctor in Manila. There was no doubt room for him,
because when Spain expelled the Moors she reduced medicine in her
country to a very low state, for the Moors had been her most skilled
physicians. Many of these Moors who were Christians, though not
orthodox according to the Spanish standard, settled in London, and the
English thus profited by the persecution, just as she profited when the
cutlery industry was in like manner transplanted from Toledo to
Sheffield.
The great Armada against England in Queen Elizabeth's time was an
attempt to stop once for all the depredations of her subjects on Spain's
commerce in the Orient. As the early Spanish historian, Morga, wrote
of it: "Then only the English nation disturbed the Spanish dominion in

that Orient. Consequently King Philip desired not only to forbid it with
arms near at hand, but also to furnish an example, by their punishment,
to all the northern nations, so that they should not undertake the
invasions that we see. A beginning was made in this work in the year
one thousand five hundred and eighty-eight."
This ingeniously worded statement omits to tell how ignominiously the
pretentious expedition ended, but the fact of failure remained and did
not help the prestige of Spain, especially among her subjects in the Far
East. After all the boastings of what was going to happen, and all the
claims of what had been accomplished, the enemies of Spain not only
were unchecked but appeared to be bolder than ever. Some of the more
thoughtful Filipinos then began to lose confidence in Spanish claims.
They were only a few, but their numbers were to increase as the years
went by. The Spanish Armada was one of the earliest of those
influences which, reënforced by later events, culminated in the life
work of José Rizal and the loss of the Philippines by Spain.
At that time the commerce of Manila was restricted to the galleon trade
with Mexico, and the prosperity of the Filipino merchants--in large
measure the prosperity of the entire Archipelago--depended upon the
yearly ventures the hazard of which was not so much the ordinary
uncertainty of the sea as the risk of capture by English freebooters.
Everybody in the Philippines had heard of these daring English
mariners, who were emboldened by an almost unbroken series of
successes which had correspondingly discouraged the Spaniards. They
carried on unceasing war despite occasional proclamation of peace
between England and Spain, for the Spanish treasure ships were
tempting prizes, and though at times policy made their government
desire friendly relations with Spain, the English people regarded all
Spaniards as their natural enemies and all Spanish property as their
legitimate spoil.
The Filipinos realized earlier than the Spaniards did that torturing to
death shipwrecked English sailors was bad policy. The result was
always to make other English sailors fight more desperately to avoid a
similar fate. Revenge made them more and more aggressive, and

treaties made with Spain were disregarded because, as they said,
Spain's inhumanity had forfeited her right to be considered