Iberian Dreams, Philippine Colonial Realities

Revisiting the Spanish Literary Heritage of the 19th century Archipelago

Abstract

The colonization of the Philippines was a complex and lengthy process that led to the emergence of Spanish-language non-fiction and fiction literature in the archipelago. Filipino intellectuals, emerging from the Spanish-imposed education system, became a force against colonialism by producing Spanish fiction and non-fiction. Despite the shift to English during American colonization, Spanish-language literature continued to evolve, reflecting Filipino resilience. The Catholic Church significantly shaped Filipino society through the Spanish education system. This article focuses on themes of identity, colonialism, and aspirations for freedom found in Spanish-language works published in the Philippines or Spain, and the Filipino intellectuals who contributed to this narrative. Theoretical frameworks by Benedict Anderson and Partha Chatterjee provide insights into how Filipino authors used Spanish to articulate a collective identity, fostering a unique national consciousness even within the colonial power's language. The University of California, Berkeley’s location on the Pacific Rim has prompted the library to collect these works for scholars and students. The author provides insights into the subject matter of Spanish-language print books from the Philippines and demonstrates how digital humanities tools like Meta AI, ChatGPT, and Voyant can be utilized to offer additional insights from the Spanish-language narratives written by Filipino intellectuals in the 19th century, deepening our understanding of colonial-era literature.