La Indolencia de los Filipinos
Encyclopedia
La Indolencia de los Filipinos, ("Indolence of the Filipino") a socio-political essay published in La Solidaridad
in Madrid
in 1890. It was written by Jose Rizal
in Spanish
as a response to the accusation of Filipino indolence. He admits the existence of indolence among the Filipinos, but it could be attributed to a number of reasons. He traces its causes to factors such as the climate and social disorders. He defends the Filipinos by saying that they are by nature not indolent, because in fact, even before the arrival of Spaniards, Filipinos have been engaged in economic activities such as agriculture and trade. Indolence therefore has more deeply rooted causes such as abuse and discrimination, inaction of the government, rampant corruption and red tape
, wrong doctrines of the church and wrong examples from some Spaniards who lead lives of indolence which ultimately led to the deterioration of Filipinos values. In the end, Rizal sums up the main causes of indolence to the limited training and education Filipino natives receive and to the lack of national sentiment and unity among them. Education and liberty, according to Rizal, would be the cure to Filipino indolence.
La solidaridad
La Solidaridad was an organization created in Spain on December 13, 1888. Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony, the Philippines, and to propagate a closer...
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1890. It was written by Jose Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
as a response to the accusation of Filipino indolence. He admits the existence of indolence among the Filipinos, but it could be attributed to a number of reasons. He traces its causes to factors such as the climate and social disorders. He defends the Filipinos by saying that they are by nature not indolent, because in fact, even before the arrival of Spaniards, Filipinos have been engaged in economic activities such as agriculture and trade. Indolence therefore has more deeply rooted causes such as abuse and discrimination, inaction of the government, rampant corruption and red tape
Red tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making...
, wrong doctrines of the church and wrong examples from some Spaniards who lead lives of indolence which ultimately led to the deterioration of Filipinos values. In the end, Rizal sums up the main causes of indolence to the limited training and education Filipino natives receive and to the lack of national sentiment and unity among them. Education and liberty, according to Rizal, would be the cure to Filipino indolence.