Question

Morga:
            In the rivers and streams there are ver large and small scorpions and a great number of very fierce and cruel crocodiles which frequently get the natives from their bancas on which they ride... However much the people may trap, catch and kill them, these reptiles hardly seem to diminishin number. For this reason, the natives build on the border of their rivers and streams in their settlements where they bathe, traps and fences with thick enclosures and bars of bamboo and timber within which they do their bathing and washing, secure from these monsters which they were somehow superior to them.

question:how did Morga portray the Filipinos?

Answer 1

Antonio de Morga Sánchez Garay was a Spanish soldier, lawyer and a high-ranking colonial official in the Spanish colony of Philippines for 43 years. Despite having a colonial lens, Morga does reveal a lot about the culture and practices about the native people of the Philippines. Morga also discusses the various social classes among the natives whom he knew, details their arts, crafts, industries, their skill in metal-work, weaving, agriculture, boat building, their high rate of literacy and fluency and ease in writing. Morga is quite critical when he explains how the colonial invasion of Spain led to the loss of several of the native’s skills as the Spanish government failed to protect them from exploitation by Chinese commercial interests nor did it sufficiently encourage or incentivize them enough to pursue them. He also laments the introduction of vices to the natives because of the Spanish and Chinese settlers which they did not indulge in before the invasion. Morga describes the Filipinos as noble savages who engaged in horrific practices such as wife murdering whilst praising their culture. Morga shows admiration for the Filipino warriors and fighters for being brave and valiant despite opposing the Spanish invasion. There is also an account of traditional methods of government, the legal system, marriage and sexual customs, religious beliefs and burial practices.