Audiobook The Inhabitants of the Philippines

The book presents a comprehensive survey of the Philippine Islands during the final decades of Spanish rule, written by a British engineer and resident of fourteen years. The author examines the geography, ethnology, and social life of the various native groups, including Tagals, Visayans, and the highland tribes of Luzon and Mindanao. A significant portion of the work evaluates the Spanish administration, highlighting its pervasive corruption in the judiciary contrasted with the patriarchal benevolence of the early legal codes. The religious orders receive a balanced critique, acknowledging their historical role in civilizing and protecting the indigenous population while condemning their later abuses and the agrarian conflicts surrounding their vast estates. The narrative covers the rise of secret societies, the outbreak of the revolutions of eighteen ninety-six, and the subsequent American intervention, culminating in an assessment of the archipelago's agricultural and mineral resources.