| This study is a local history of Ilocos from the onset of Spanish rule in the late sixteenth century to the division of the province in 1818. It traces the transformation of Ilocos from a pre-colonial trade center to a Spanish colony, and explores related themes of pacification and conversion; lowland and upland relations, socio-economic and demographic transformation; and resistance and rebellion.; In the sixteenth century Ilocos was a regional and international port visited by Chinese, Japanese and Tagalog traders. The prosperous commercial arrangement was based on the products obtained by the lowland Ilocanos from the upland Igorots as well as on rice and cotton grown inland. A mutually profitable trade arrangement existed between the Ilocanos who supplied the Igorots with cotton, salt and domesticated animals in exchange for gold and forest products.; Ethnic relations underwent change with the advent of colonialism. A Chinese mestizo community evolved in Vigan and a rivalry ensued between them and the babaknangs, the influential and wealthy Ilocano elites, over power and status in the colonial society. But the babaknangs were themselves divided between the principalia, the native ruling elite, and the ladinos, the educated Ilocanos who spoke Spanish and served as translators. This division was most evident in times of rebellions.; Colonialism fractured Ilocano-Igorot relations. Ilocanos were conscripted in the colonial army that attempted to subjugate the Igorots and exploit their gold mines. Later, the Ilocanos served as catechists in providing religious instruction to Igorots, many of whom had moved and settled in the fringes of Ilocos. Christianity created a permanent hierarchy between the Ilocanos who were the antiguos (old) and the Igorots who were pejoratively called bagos (new). But while there was a hardening of ethnic relations, the familiar ties persisted because of trade. Ethnic alliances based on trade friendships surfaced in times of rebellion.; By the nineteenth century, Ilocos had reached a critical point. Heightened colonial demands, geographical constraints and a population explosion resulted in a series of rebellions. Ultimately, the Ilocanos found a solution in the form of avoidance protest through emigration. |
