As the United States moves to take over Mindanao, both the Americans and the Moros invoke the name of the Ottoman Empire—seat of the Caliph—to support their campaigns. But in 1914, an actual Ottoman emissary arrives in Zamboanga. How will the American occupiers react to his visit? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Dwight, H.D. (1915). Constantinople: Old and New. Charles Scribner’s Sons. Inanc, Yusuf Selman. “A...
Jul 04, 2025•17 min•Season 7Ep. 3
In the last decades of Spanish rule in the Philippines, pianos—both foreign and local—provided the tinkling music of the colony’s rising middle class. (Listen to S7E1 before this one.)
Jun 28, 2025•4 min•Season 7Ep. 2
It’s the late 1800s, and all across the Pacific seaboard, in places like Singapore and Yokohama, Medan and Sengalor, the music of town bands drifts across the esplanades. Many of these groups proudly hail from one port of call: Manila. This is their story. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Audio of “Wiener Schwalben Marsch” is from the Discography of American Historical Recordings. References: Affan, Muhammad (2023). “From...
Jun 20, 2025•16 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Lousy pilots? Fierce storms? Rampaging currents? Some of these galleons never stood a chance. (Listen to S6E13 before this one.)
Mar 29, 2025•6 min•Season 6Ep. 29
The route of a Spanish galleon from Manila to Acapulco was littered with the wrecks of ships that sailed before—hit by storms, hammered by tides, preyed on by pirates. Meanwhile, on the filthy decks, hunger and disease stalked the ranks of the sailors, slaves, and passengers. Spanning thousands of kilometers, every voyage of the Galleon Trade was grueling and lethal… but for the investors who bet fortunes on the trade ships, the payoff was worth every dead body. In this episode, let’s sail aboar...
Mar 21, 2025•15 min•Season 6Ep. 28
Costumes, backdrops, dedications—in the 1900s, having your photo taken in a studio and sending prints to loved ones was the hot new thing in the Philippines! (Listen to S6E12 before this one.)
Mar 16, 2025•5 min•Season 6Ep. 27
When the Americans arrive to take over the Philippines, amateur photographers take pictures of every possible inch of their new possession. Snapshots soon emerge from inside the cemeteries of towns and cities, showcasing an eerie and macabre trend. It seems that not even the most private places of the dead would be spared from the camera’s roving, ravenous, pinhole eye. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Additional audio fr...
Mar 07, 2025•16 min•Season 6Ep. 26
Scourge, scientist… and slave owner! Discover the ties of one of England’s most famous mariners to Philippine history. (Listen to S6E11 before listening to this one!)
Mar 01, 2025•5 min•Season 6Ep. 25
In 1719, a book appeared on London shelves—and became an instant bestseller. Its cover featured the now-iconic image of a man, trapped in a deserted island, dressed only in goat skins. Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe , never confirmed nor denied that his massive hit was based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scotsman marooned for years on a tropical island… but the parallels were undeniable. But before Selkirk made his way back to the Western world and became a celebrity, he was roped...
Feb 22, 2025•17 min•Season 6Ep. 23
As he was brutally tortured by the Kempeitai, captured guerilla Gustavo Ingles was moved to different prisons and safehouses. What was his day-to-day life like behind bars? (Listen to S6E10 before listening to this one.)
Feb 14, 2025•6 min•Season 6Ep. 22
When the Japanese invaded the Philippines, young military cadet Gustavo Ingles tried to hitch a ride with the upperclassmen to the front lines in Bataan. But officers told him to go home. Undeterred, he founded a guerilla group called the Hunters ROTC to continue the fight against the new occupiers. Then, in 1943, Ingles was caught by the secret police. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com My voiceover partner-in-crime, Anya,...
Feb 07, 2025•19 min•Season 6Ep. 21
The Royal Philippine Company helped usher in the twilight of the longstanding Galleon Trade that linked Manila and Acapulco! (Listen to S6E9 before listening to this one.)
Feb 02, 2025•5 min•Season 6Ep. 20
In Francisco Goya’s painting Junta de Filipinas , sinister, shadowy figures preside over a stockholders’ meeting of the Royal Philippine Company. What was this Royal Philippine Company—and what was so important about it that Goya made a painting of one of its meetings? And more than that, what was Goya trying to say about this tumultuous period in Spanish and Philippine history? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Additional...
Jan 23, 2025•17 min•Season 6Ep. 19
The sunken gunboats resurrected by the Americans were only a small part of the bloody war waged by the new occupiers against the Meranaw! (Listen to S6E8 before listening to this one.)
Jan 18, 2025•5 min•Season 6Ep. 18
As Spain departed the Philippines, it abandoned four gunboats to a watery grave. For years, they slumbered at the bottom of Lake Lanao, their existence only a rumor back up on the surface. But when the Americans arrive in Marawi, they are determined to bring these ghost ships back to life. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Hitt, Parker (February 1938). “Amphibious Infantry—A Fleet on Lake Lanao.” US Naval Insti...
Jan 10, 2025•17 min•Season 6Ep. 17
Show highlights. Favorite episodes. Behind-the-scenes bits. Think of this as The Colonial Dept. Wrapped. 2024 has been an amazing year for the podcast. I released a book version of the podcast, I've grown to more than 2,000 subscribers, and I've heard from fans from as far away as Spain, Singapore, and France. Thanks for sharing in my love for Philippine history, and for embarking on this project with me. YOU are the ones who made this year great! See you next year!...
Dec 21, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 16
Even as the automobile and the tram change the face of commuting and transportation in Manila, the cocheros persist… and resist. (Listen to S6E7 before listening to this one.)
Dec 14, 2024•7 min•Season 7Ep. 15
Soon after the American takeover of the Philippines, Manila witnesses the coming of its first-ever car—a three-and-a-half horsepower, single-cylinder, wire-wheel Richard-Brasier. From then on, it’s full speed ahead for the wide-scale adoption of the automobile in the capital city and beyond. Packards and Studebakers roar through newly constructed Manila streets, while Stanleys chug up the Benguet highlands to reach Baguio. But what does the coming of the automobile mean for the former kings of t...
Dec 07, 2024•17 min•Season 7Ep. 14
Trade and tensions in the history of our two archipelagoes! (Listen to S6E6 before listening to this one!)
Nov 29, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 13
In a time when both God and gold define the tense relations between Japan and Manila, the galleon San Felipe gets stranded in the land of the rising sun. There, the fate of its passengers now lies in the hands of the most powerful warlord in Japan: Toyotomi Hideyoshi! Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Image: Mural from Cuernavaca, Mexico, published in the Academy of Christian Art. Additional audio from Shogun, © FX. Refere...
Nov 23, 2024•15 min•Season 6Ep. 12
With poor salaries and pidgin commands, American women take charge of their household servants as they move into the Philippines! (Listen to S6E5 before listening to this one!)
Nov 16, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 11
When the guardia civil forced the Intramuros house of Victor Villegas open, they found a trail of blood that led all the way to a bathroom. Inside was the bloody corpse of the señor, his head smashed in, his body stripped to his underclothes. The police’s immediate suspects? The houseboys. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Thumbnail Image: "Panguingue (Natives Playing Cards)." Jose Taviel de Andrade, ca. 1895. In Jose Mari...
Nov 10, 2024•14 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Learn more about one of the most enduring Filipino folktales. (Listen to S6E4 before listening to this one!)
Oct 11, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 9
In the 1600s, a friar chronicled wild stories of titans who carried spears the size of tree trunks, waded all the way to Surigao, got slain by small warriors, or even traveled to Manila. Where did this titanic fascination come from—and what do stories of giants tell us about the world of our colonizers and our ancestors? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Thumbnail art adapted from a map depicting the giant Patagonians of S...
Oct 05, 2024•14 min•Season 6Ep. 8
One of the most fascinating dishes in the Philippines is kare-kare, which has a history as rich as its stew. (You don’t need to listen to S6E3 before listening to this one, but I’d appreciate it if you do!)
Sep 28, 2024•4 min•Season 6Ep. 7
One of the most low-key and long-lived eateries in Makati’s central business district is the humble ‘jolly jeep’ known as SisigSaRada, which, as you can tell from the name, is located inside Rada Street. But who is this “Rada” the road is named after? To answer that, we travel four and a half centuries back in time. What can the story of Fray Martin de Rada tell us about the early history of Christianity in the Philippines? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept ...
Sep 19, 2024•15 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Yay or neigh? In this week’s episode of Extra Credit, join us for a short and sweet exploration of equine history in our corner of the world. (Listen to S6E2 before listening to this one.)
Sep 06, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 5
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to give you this audio recording, straight from the Philippine launch of Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period , which is the book version of this podcast! This event was a long time coming, and I'm happy we finally got to make it happen this August 31. Much love to everyone who took the time out of their Saturday to pick up the book or hear me speak. Special thanks to Everything's Fine , the amazing independ...
Aug 31, 2024•31 min•Season 6Ep. 4
One month after Pearl Harbor, the Philippine army is in tatters after the relentless Japanese assault. The 26th Cavalry Regiment—one of the few cavalry units left in the US army that still hadn’t traded in their horses for tanks or halftracks—had the thankless task of guarding the defensive lines against Imperial flank attacks. In the town of Morong, Lt. Edwin Price Ramsey and the rest of E Troop face off against an invading force… and charge into history in the final mounted cavalry charge in t...
Aug 22, 2024•15 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Before they became dandies, they were students who chafed under a dress code! In this week’s episode of Extra Credit, we take a look at the suits and swag of the scholarly set. (Listen to S6E1 before listening to this one.)
Aug 16, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 2
