Nineteenth century Philippines is characterized by a significant increase in the attempts of Spain to bring in the forces of modernization to one of its last colonies in the Pacific. In 1866, a new colonial institution was even created in the Philippines to administer the construction of public works (e.g. ...
(Show more)Nineteenth century Philippines is characterized by a significant increase in the attempts of Spain to bring in the forces of modernization to one of its last colonies in the Pacific. In 1866, a new colonial institution was even created in the Philippines to administer the construction of public works (e.g. waterworks system, sewage, roads, etc.). This institution was the Inspección General de Obras Públicas de Filipinas. Many of the public works were projects that intended to solve the problems and challenges of an urbanizing Manila, the colony´s capital.
Using primary sources in the archives in Spain and the Philippines, this paper seeks to answer the following questions. How did the public works in the nineteenth century reflect the Spanish colonial policy of spatial lay-out, sanitation, public health, and social control? How did these projects reflect the colonizer´s ideas of urbanization and space? Finally, how did the colonial public works became sites of contention and negotiation between the colonizer and the colonized.
(Show less)