Philippine progress prior to 1898 : $b a source book of Philippine history to supply a fairer view of Filipino participation and supplement the defective Spanish accountsCraig, Austin
History
Philippine progress prior to 1898 : $b a source book of Philippine history to supply a fairer view of Filipino participation and supplement the defective Spanish accounts
Craig, Austin
Philippines
(Lochnera rosea Reichb.), for its ornamental flowers; "campanello"
(Thevetia neriifolia Juss. and Allamanda caihartica L.), for ornamental
and medicinal purposes; some species of convolvuli (Ipomoea nil Roth,
Quamoclit pinnata Boj., Colonictyon aculeatum House), for ornamental
purposes, and the "sweet potato" (Ipomoea batatas Poir.), for food;
lantana (Lantana camara L.), for ornamental purposes; "dama de
noche" (Cestrum nocturnum L.), for its fragrant flowers; "tobacco"
(Nicotiana tabacum L.); the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.);
the peppers (Capsicum frutescens L. and C. annuum L.), for condiments
and for food; some ornamental Bignoniaceae (Crescentia alata HBK.,
and Tecoma stans Juss.); (?) the squash (Curcubita maxima Duch.),
for food; some ornamental Compositae (Tagetes erecta L., Helianthus
annuus L., Cosmos caudatus HBK., and C sulphureus Cav.), and "ayapana"
(Eupatorium triplinerve Vahl), for medicine."
(Merrill: Flora of Manila, pp. 198-199.)
[14] On the whole, agriculture was not the chief aim of Spanish
colonization. "How little attention, on the whole, the conquistadores
directed to agricultural colonies, considering their various
services in the transplantation of domestic animals, cereals, and
vegetables from the Old to the New World, is very clearly shown by
Peter Martyr, who condemns the expedition to Florida with the words:
"For what purpose do we need such products as are identical with
those of southern Europe?" It is true that Columbus's second voyage of
discovery had a settlement in view, and for that reason was provided
with domestic animals, seeds, etc. It was a failure, however, owing
to the mutinous spirit of the Spaniards. The regions which were best
adapted to agricultural colonies, as, for example, Caracas, Guiana,
Buenos Ayres, were neglected by the Spaniards for centuries. ("The
Spanish Colonial Policy," Wilhelm Roscher (1904), pp. 2-3.)
"It is a strange thing that the Spaniards who go to those regions
(The Philippines) honestly to make a small fortune do not engage more
in agriculture, in a country where there is so much virgin land and
of such great fertility, where labor is extremely cheap, and the crop
easily and profitably sold." (La Libertad de Comercio en Filipinas,
Manuel Azcarraga y Palmero, p. 27.)
" * * * the Spaniards cared but little for the cultivation of the
lands." (The Ecclesiastical System in the Philippines, Manuel Buzeta,
O. S. A., and Felipe Bravo, O. S. A., Madrid, 1850. From their
Diccionario de las Islas Filipinas. In Bl. and Rb., Vol. 28, p. 285.
[15] Montero y Vidal, "Historia General de Filipinas," Vol. I, p. 67.
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