A tantalizing wind was blowing into the Philippines from Madrid. In its wake was Carlos Maria de la Torre, who seemed determined to shock the entrenched colonial establishment. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @the.colonial.dept. Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Simpson, Renate (1980). “Higher Education in the Philippines under the Spanish.” Journal of Asian History, 14(1), p. 1-46. Smith, Willard A. (July 1950). “The Background of the Spanish Revolution of 1...
Oct 14, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 1
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we head to the frontlines of the information war gripping Manila in World War II. (Listen to S4E13 before listening to this one!)
Aug 26, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 26
Prime minister, general, and future convicted war criminal Hideki Tojo drops by the Philippines to see for himself if their colony is ready for independence. So how does his surprise visit go? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Dery, Luis C. (1984) “Japan’s New Order in the Philippines, 1942-1945: A Blueprint for Asia Under Japan.” Philippine Social Sciences Review 48 (1-4), 291-361. Eisner, Peter (2017). MacArthur's Spies: The Soldier, the Singer, ...
Aug 19, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 26
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, let’s punch our ticket to the Manila Carnival as it takes local sports (and local athletes) to the next level. (Listen to S4E12 before listening to this one!)
Aug 07, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Civilize? Christianize? As the Americans move into their new colony, they pack an unlikely weapon in their mission to take over the Philippines: sports! Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Gems, Gerald R. (2016). Sport and the American Occupation of the Philippines: Bats, Balls, and Bayonets. Lexington Books. Putz, Paul (31 January 2022). “Muscular Christianity and Moral Formation Through Sports.” Faith & Sports. Truett Seminary of Baylor Univers...
Jul 28, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 23
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, take a seat at one of the Philippines' historic pieces of furniture. (Listen to S4E11 before listening to this one!)
Jul 23, 2023•4 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov, uncle to the last tsar of Russia, makes an unexpected pitstop at a sprawling estate along the banks of the Pampanga River. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Kowner, Rotem (15 June 2022). “Time to Remember, Time to Forget: The Battle of Tsushima in Japanese Collective Memory since 1905.” The Asia-Pacific Journal 20 (12, 3). Pyvovarov, Serhii (1 April 2022). “118 years ago, Russia wanted to distract its people...
Jul 15, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 21
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, flip through Spanish-era periodicals to get their take on the "ideal Filipina woman." (Listen to S4E10 before listening to this one!)
Jul 08, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 20
It’s an intercontinental textile trade war, as Spain throws open its colony’s ports to the world, and imported cotton from Britain muscles its way into Philippine markets. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Coo, Stephanie (2019). Clothing the Colony: Nineteenth Century Philippine Sartorial Culture, 1820-1896. Ateneo de Manila University Press. Ladrido, R.C. (27 May 2022) “Piña: The queen of Philippine handwoven textiles.” Vera Files. https://verafil...
Jul 01, 2023•16 min•Season 4Ep. 19
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we take a brief look at why abaca became one of the Philippines' most valuable cash crops. (Listen to S4E9 before listening to this one!)
Jun 24, 2023•4 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Native wood. Native workers. These are the foundations that made the prosperous Galleon Trade between Manila and Acapulco possible. But at what price? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Peterson, Andrew Christian (August 2014). Making the First Global Trade Route: The Southeast Asian Foundations of the Acapulco-Manila Galleon Trade, 1519-1650. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Hawaii at Manoa.] Buhain, Jose M. (1994). “The Recovery of the San Di...
Jun 17, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 17
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we unearth the small but important role of Armenian trade in Philippine colonial history. (Listen to S4E8 before listening to this one!)
Jun 10, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Beginning in the 1670s, the biggest, most rapacious company on earth set its sights on the great trading port of the Pacific. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Dalrymple, Alexander (4 March 2015). “The East India Company: The original corporate raiders.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/04/east-india-company-original-corporate-raiders Fish, Shirley (2003). When Britain Ruled the Philippines, 1762-1764: The Story of the 18th ...
May 13, 2023•16 min•Season 4Ep. 15
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we take a short peek at the daily routine for Bilibid prisoners during the American period. (Listen to S4E7 before listening to this one!)
May 07, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 14
Prisoners from the Philippines get sent to the slammer—serving their sentences inside the military prison of Alcatraz! But what crimes earned them time on The Rock? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Thompson, Erwin S. (2000). The Rock: A History of Alcatraz Island, 1847-1972. U.S. National Park Service. Reed, John S. (1995) "External Discipline during Counterinsurgency: A Philippine War Case Study, 1900—1901." The Journal of American-East Asian Rel...
Apr 29, 2023•16 min•Season 4Ep. 13
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we talk about that other notable exploit of Governor-General Narciso Claveria—one that he'd pulled off a year before his big decree of family names. (Listen to S4E6 before listening to this one!)
Apr 22, 2023•4 min•Season 4Ep. 12
The governor-general of the Philippines just conquered an island in Mindanao. Now, he’s about to do the same to each and every name in the archipelago. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Check out the Catalogo alfabetico de apellidos at issuu.com/filipinasheritagelibrary/docs/catalogo_alfabetico_de_apellidos References: Cojuangco, Tingting (1993). Kris of Valor: The Samal Balangingi’s Defiance and Diaspora . Manisan Research and Pub. Inc. “Tarsila.” (2015). In ...
Apr 16, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 11
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we take a brief look at what everyday life was like for the Jewish refugees who fled Nazi persecution to take shelter in Manila! (Listen to S4E5 before listening to this one!)
Apr 08, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 10
With war looming against the Axis powers, the Nazi party tries to exert its influence on the small community of Germans and Jews who lived in the Philippines. How did we fight back against the antisemitism? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Weston, Nathaniel Parker (2021). Specters of Germany: Colonial Rivalry and Scholarship in the Philippine Reform Movement & Revolution. Ateneo de Manila Press. Ephraim, Frank (2008). Escape to Manila: From Na...
Mar 31, 2023•18 min•Season 4Ep. 9
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we, ahem, cycle through some historical facts about bicycles in World War II-era Philippines! (Listen to S4E4 before listening to this one!)
Mar 26, 2023•4 min•Season 4Ep. 8
From Rizal in Dapitan to Japanese troops on a blitzkrieg, this is a short history of biking in the Philippines. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Severino, Howie (22 June 2020). “Rizal’s Wish for a Second-Hand Bicycle.” GMA News Online . https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/specials/content/160/howie-severino-rizal-s-wish-for-a-second-hand-bicycle/ Herlihy, David (2010). The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disapp...
Mar 18, 2023•16 min•Season 4Ep. 8
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we crack open the book by historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, which was my main resource for the most recent episode. (Listen to S4E3 before listening to this one!)
Mar 11, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Before Magellan crossed the Pacific, headed to the Philippines, and met his end at a Cebu beach, he was tasked with the impossible: sail to the end of their known world. What would he find there? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Reference: Fernández-Armesto, Felipe (2022). Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan. Bloomsbury Publishing. Columbus Day audio from Mel-O-Toons Animation....
Mar 03, 2023•18 min•Season 4Ep. 5
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we give more context about the oppression of the sakadas in Hawaii, which ultimately led to their big 1924 strike... and the Hanapēpē Massacre. (Listen to S4E2 before listening to this one!)
Feb 26, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 4
As Filipino immigrants call for better pay and better treatment in the sugar cane plantations, the histories of Hawaii and the Philippines are about to intersect in a bloody way. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Jung, Moon-Kie (2004). “Symbolic and Physical Violence: Legitimate State Coercion of Filipino Workers in Prewar Hawai'i.” American Studies 45 (3), 107-137. Hill, Tiffany (2009, December 30). “A Massacre Forgotten.” Honolulu. https://www.ho...
Feb 18, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 3
In this week's episode of Extra Credit, we examine the role of religion and religious missionaries in the seventeenth-century Japanese threats to conquer Manila. (Listen to S4E1 before listening to this one!)
Feb 12, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 2
It’s the beginning of the Spanish reign, and Manila is prime real estate in the eyes of the sea-going empires, including Japan. In the Edo court, the Japanese plan the invasion of the Philippines—three hundred years early. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Ka Yin Chan, Caspar (2022). “Revisiting the Battle of Macau in 1622: A Polyphonic Narrative.” The Newsletter (Autumn 2022) , International Institute for Asian Studies. Turnbull, Stephen (2016). "...
Feb 04, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In this week's episode of EXTRA CREDIT, we probe deeper on how this book survived beyond the lifetime of its reclusive writer to become an indelible part of our cultural legacy. (Listen to S3E13 before listening to this one!)
Jan 14, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 25
It was one of the most important scientific texts to emerge from the Spanish colonial period. But who was Father Manuel Blanco, and how did this priest-scientist amass his botanical knowledge? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: “Manuel Maria Blanco Ramos,” in Real Academia dela Historia, Diccionario Biografico . https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/14559/manuel-maria-blanco-ramos Zimmer, Carl (2008, 20 August). “Darwin, Linnaeus, and One Sleepy Guy.” Natio...
Jan 07, 2023•12 min•Season 3Ep. 24
In this week's episode of EXTRA CREDIT, I interview Jill Tan Radovan about her profile of Carmen Apigo, who reunited with her Japanese father decades after the end of the war. (Listen to S3E12 before listening to this one!)
Dec 24, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 23
