Schedule
Nov. 27, 2024 | 12:30–2:00 PM
Room
Rm 2, Center Ballroom
Moderator
Ariel Lopez
University of the Philippines Diliman
A2.1
The Spanish Colonial Philippines and the Kingdom of Siam under King Narai (1656-1688): A Globalized History
Piemsak Hongjamrassilp
Thammasat University
Throughout the 417-years history of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya (1351–1767), the mainstream historiography of Thailand has depicted the reign of King Narai of Siam (r. 1656–1688) as the golden age of diplomatic relations with Western nations (France, Vatican and England in particular) due to the scarcity of contemporary documents in Thai language and the need to rely on European sources. For this reason, this qualitative research aims to shows that, by analyzing and discussing data from Spanish Archives and other sources under the frameworks of global history and polycentrism, the 17th-century colonial Philippines also played significant roles in the development of Ayutthaya Kingdom, albeit a faraway archipelago of the Spanish Empire in the Orient. As a result, historical data from this research have shed light on various types of unexplored relations and historical agents (monarch, merchants, priests, etc.). For instance, the dispatches of native Filipino and Iberian missionaries from Manila to evangelize Siam and the intraregional Manila-Ayutthaya trade route. These historical phenomena contribute not only to transnational diaspora among Filipinos, Siameses, Spaniards and other nationalities; but also to socio-economic impacts from intercultural encounters. In addition, the study also emphasizes the global identity of the Philippines as cultural and economic entrepot of the Spanish Empire in Asia, and her importance to the Early Modern History of Southeast Asia.
A2.2
The Representation of Third Groups in Spanish Colonial Writings About the Philippines
Katharina F. Pohl
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Spanish writings about the Philippines from the 16th to 18th centuries cover a very broad spectrum of text types, ranging from official royal chronicles, missionary reports, logbooks, travel reports, but also novels and letters via codices. These texts were written by a wide variety of authors, from academically educated individuals to simple travelers with little education, who represent very diverse perspectives.
Research often analyzes the opposition between colonizers and colonized, but this in no way reflects the complex historical realities and is therefore problematic. Rather, the Philippines must be seen as a place characterized by a diversity of cultural and ethnic contacts and dynamics. The Philippines, which had sophisticated trade relations with China and Malaysia, among others, is therefore a place where Europeans met with many different ethnic and cultural groups. The situation is thus much more complex than is often portrayed.
The focus of the presentation will be on the representation of third groups and thus draw attention to the cultural entanglements in the Philippines from a postcolonial view. To this end, some of the texts—which will be published in an anthology (2025)—will first be presented and a broad view of historical realities in the Philippines, characterized by a variety of cultural and ethnic contacts and dynamics, will be taken into consideration. The aim is to go beyond the binary of colonizers and colonized and to broaden the perspective on historical realities, while at the same time making these texts, some of which are unknown, visible.
A2.3
Spanish Travel Literature to the Philippines (19th and 20th Century) in the Post-Colonial Context
Roger Friedlien
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Spanish travel narratives (relatos de viaje) from the 19th and 20th centuries cover a wide range of text types, from scientific reports to personal and intimate diaries. After the scientific expeditions of the 18th century, the reports of the 19th and 20th centuries come from individual travelers: they include colonial officials, missionaries, soldiers, cruise tourists, legation travelers and journalists. Some of these texts—such as the reports by Alvarez Guerra, Blasco Ibáñez or Gil de Biedma—are known to the public in Spain, but most are unknown to a wider audience. Despite the blossoming of the study of travel literature since the 1980s, an anthology of these texts is only now being produced (2024) in the context of a larger programme for Philippine Studies in Germany. In this lecture, the travel narratives will first be presented in an overview. In addition to the fact that the texts are written in Spanish or Catalan, they are probably only exceptionally received in the Philippines today because many of them prove to be problematic from a postcolonial reception perspective. Racial bias is not the only reason for this problem; the aesthetics of “costumbrismo,” which characterizes 19th century travel literature, also plays a role that shall be explained. The aim of this project is to consider how travel texts to the Philippines should be presented in order to give them a place in Hispanic cultural studies and ensure adequate visibility for the Philippines in this context.
A2.4
The Philippines in the U.S. Pacific Empire: Early Formation, 1784–1898
Paul V. Adams
Shippensburg University
There can be no doubt that the connections between the Philippines and the United States are paramount to globalization and global history, each to the other and by extension to the rest of the world. It is likewise well recognized that U.S. control of the Philippines after1898 represented a significant expansion of the U.S. empire, not its inception, and an important landmark to its eventual global hegemony. Less understood is how U.S. seizure of the Philippines culminated over a century of U.S. expansion throughout the Pacific after 1784.This expansion derived from massive economic and demographic growth that sent Yankee merchants and sea hunters throughout the Pacific c. 1784-1898. After a lag of a few decades, the U.S. government followed as diplomats and military personnel. These phenomena are a kind of longue duree trend usually neglected in event-driven narrative histories.
The full-length essay details these ventures throughout the Pacific islands—Hawai’i, Guam, the Philippines, et al.—the coastal mainland, and the East Asian archipelagoes. It also indicates how U.S. traders and whalers sailed through Philippine seas, stopped for repairs and supplies, and among other items bought great quantities of abaca. These are subjects that deserve globally minded historical research. A key point: long before the Spanish-American war the Philippines was well known to many Americans who recognized its commercial value, and to at least some inspired lofty dreams of Manifest Destiny in the Asian Pacific (e.g. Theodore Roosevelt).
A2.5
More than a Taker: The Philippines as a Maker of Regional Mechanisms in Cold War Asia
Chae Kyoun Ha
University of Cambridge
This research reviewed diplomatic activities of the Philippines during the early Cold War where Manila was a leading norm entrepreneur in Asia. Under the context of the global Cold War divide, Asia, comprised of several newly independent states, was facing severe internal and external challenges. Since officially gaining independence in July 1946, the Philippines sought to secure domestic and regional security through active diplomacy. At the time, regional security was greatly unstable with continuing conflicts that followed the Pacific War in the form of independence revolutions against returning Western colonizers in different parts of Southeast Asia, or due to domestic ideological conflicts as demonstrated in mainland China and the Korean Peninsula.
Despite limited capacity and resources, Manila called for regional mechanisms that would ensure the security and prosperity of the region. From the late 1940s to the end of the 1960s, the Philippines called for institutions in the region that would help ensure peace and prosperity and played a significant role in the establishment of a number of regional mechanisms. These mechanisms include the Pacific Pact, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), the Asian and Pacific Council (ASPAC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which established its headquarters in Manila. Meanwhile, Southeast Asian regionalism was developed through the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), MaPhilIndo (Indonesia, Malaya, Philippines), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
By studying archival materials from the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea, and the Philippines, this research sought to take a closer look into active diplomacy that Manila pursued during the early Cold War period where it demonstrated leadership in actively engaging with its neighbors to formulate regional mechanisms that support regional security and economic development.