BRIDGING THE GAP
Influx of businessmen, traders and workers in Iloilo, 19th c.
In the middle part of the 19th century, Iloilo was opened to world trade and this led to the development of the sugar industry in Western Visayas. To assist the increase in commercial activity and the expansion of the town of Iloilo, support facilities were put into place. Banks, import-export houses, department stores, machine shops and foundries, printing presses, and commercial firms were established in the town. Even educational institutions and medical services were put up because they were needed by the burgeoning population.
Moreover, streets connecting various sections of theexpanding town to the waterfront were also built. Bars, cabarets, restaurants, red light houses and even gambling places were available. What happened was that sugar produced in Negros and in other parts of Panay had to be shipped to the town of Iloilo where the necessary support infrastructure and services were available. These infrastructure and support services served as magnet in attracting people to come to the town.
In 1873, Iloilo already surpassed Manila in sugar exports and, by 1885, Iloilo had gotten far ahead of the latter in the volume of sugar sent out to other countries (Foreman 1899). Manila at that time exported only 1,050,848 piculs whereas Iloilo had 1,753,744 piculs, a difference of 702,846 piculs. Cebu, another sugar-producing province, had only 451,120 piculs of sugar exported that year.
Before 1847, there were no foreigners, other than Spaniards, who were permanently residing in the town of Iloilo. There was, however, a French firm in Manila that had an agency in Iloilo for the sale of jewelry, musical instruments, clocks, etc. (Loney to Farren 1857). With the establishment of the British vice-consulate in the town in 1856 under the charge of Nicholas Loney, it was put in charge of business transactions for the majority of foreign firms in Manila (Loney to Farren 1861).
In 1869, the foreign element in the population of the town of Iloilo was still scantily represented, consisting of one American and two British subjects only (Loney to Farren 1860). This was not to remain so. Aside from Great Britain, other countries soon recognized the importance and potential of Iloilo as a trading center. For example, in 1862, U.S. Consul Jonathan Russell wrote to his government in Washington from Manila recommending that an American vice-consulate be opened in Iloilo. This necessity was brought about by the fact that several American ships had already been calling at the Iloilo port. Consequently, in 1864, the U.S. vice-consulate was opened with Wright Loring, the only American resident in Iloilo, as the first vice-consul (120th Port of Iloilo Anniversary 1975). The example of Great Britain and the United States was followed later on by other countries.
Also worth pointing out was that traders in the neighboring town of Molo later on transferred their operations to Iloilo. This was done because the coasting vessels that used to sail to Molo could no longer do so due to the fact that the drawbridge through which they had to pass had gotten out of repair (Loney to Farren 1857). Also, they found it more profitable to have their businesses operated in the town of Iloilo.
Moreover, the town maintained a substantial population of resident and migratory stevedores to move the sugar from the "lorchas" or boats into bodegas or warehouses and from the bodegas into the foreign vessels. During September and October, as the sugar mills began grinding in Negros and elsewhere in Panay, thousands of seasonal stevedores migrated into the town to handle cargo. These stevedores were paid daily in cash and were active consumers. Their wages injected a substantial flow of cash into the town's economy and supported its commercial and recreational establishments.
Not to be ignored were the hacienderos in Negros and their families who usually spent their weekends in the town of Iloilo to do shopping or to enjoy the amenities found only in an urban center. Their presence in Iloilo was greatly augmented by the hundreds of sacadas or sugar workers who flocked to the town of Iloilo to spent whatever meager pay they had in exchange for a day of abandoned gaiety. Then, back to the sugar fields in Negros or elsewhere in Panay for another week-long round of back-breaking labor.
Indeed, the town of Iloilo by the latter part of the 19th century was getting to be one of the most populous urban centers in the Philippines. The presence of businessmen, traders, sugar-planters, and laborers was an indication of the leading role that Iloilo played in the economic history of the Philippines.