BRIDGING THE GAP
Iloilo's position under colonial rule
Iloilo's development started long before the coming of the Spaniards in the 16th century. Excavated artifacts found in various archaeological sites in the province, such as Cabatuan, Oton, Dingle, and others, indicate that the early Ilonggos were already engaged in trade with the Chinese and, possibly, Siamese and Vietnamese traders several centuries before the 16th century. Trade items such as porcelain vessels and clay jars of the Tang, Sung and Ming dynasties are palpable proofs of the flourishing commerce between the early Ilonggos and traders from other parts of Asia earlier than the "rediscovery" of the Philippines by the Spaniards.
Ilonggos already enjoyed a certain degree of civilized existence at the time of the Spanish contact. They cultivated several agricultural crops, fabricated various kinds of boats which they used for fishing and transporting their wares, manufactured fishing gears and artistic crafts, and wove textiles from various fibers and embroidered them. Furthermore, they carved sculptures representing their ancestral spirits and worked on precious metals for artistic jewelry and for bedecking their weapons and tools. They had also their own system of writing, music, native dances, folksongs, folk legends and stories.
Because Iloilo is endowed with wide plains that are fertile and crisscrossed by river systems, it was already raising considerable food early in time. Thus, upon the arrival of the Spaniards, Iloilo was already well populated, relatively speaking at that time. This was the reason why the colonizers made Iloilo as the administrative and ecclesiastical capital of the West Visayas region. They realized the strategic and demographic importance of the province.
The major factors that really provided the impetus for Iloilo's modern economic transformation were 1) the development of large-scale commercial weaving in the later part of the 18th century, 2) opening of Iloilo to world trade in 1855, and 3) the rise of the sugar industry.
The early growth of the handicraft weaving industry in Iloilo bought about considerable export of sinamay, piña, cotton and silk fabrics to Manila and foreign countries. This resulted in the earliest recorded capital accumulation among the region's emerging urban middle class. It also produced the province's first substantial concentration of population in Jaro, Molo, and Arevalo.
In the mid-19th century, there was a change in the economic policy of Spain in the Philippines from mercantilism to laizzes-faire. This resulted in the opening of the Port of Iloilo to world trade in 1855. What happened after this was that agriculture and industry in the areas around the town and province of Iloilo were stimulated by access to direct exporting and importing.
It is recognized that Iloilo's major development and greatest prosperity were caused primarily by the growth of the sugar industry beginning with the second half of the 19th century. This was triggered mainly by the opening of the Port of Iloilo to world trade.
Basic to the development of the sugar industry was the opening of lands in Negros, their planting to sugarcane, and the start of the hacienda system. With the opening of large haciendas in Negros and the availability of modern machinery, adequate financing and exporting facilities, the sugar industry in Panay and Negros grew by leaps and bounds. This, naturally, had magnificent consequences in the making of Iloilo city as the entrepot of the sugar trade, considering that Negros did not have the required facilities for such a purpose. Subsequently, the town of Iloilo developed into the most important commercial center in the Philippines outside Manila and was raised to the status of a city in 1889. By the 1890's, it was already referred to as the "Commercial Center and Entertainment Capital of the Visayas."
Under the American administration Iloilo continued to prsoper especially in agriculture, the fishing industry, commerce and trade. It retained its position as a leading port of entry in the Philippines. The period under the Americans up to the Commonwealth, in fact, witnessed Iloilo's continuous growth as a commercial and cultural capital of southern Philippines. In fact, Iloilo by this time was already popularly known as the "Queen City of the South."