Frontier Constitutions is a pathbreaking study of the cultural transformations arrived at by Spanish colonists, native-born creoles, mestizos (Chinese and Spanish), and indigenous colonial subjects in the Philippines during the crisis of colonial hegemony in the nineteenth century, and the social anomie that resulted from this crisis in law and politics. John D. Blanco argues that modernity in the colonial Philippines should not be understood as an imperfect version of a European model but as a unique set of expressions emerging out of contradictions—expressions that sanctioned new political communities formed around the precariousness of Spanish rule. Blanco shows how artists and writers struggled to synthesize these contradictions as they attempted to secure the colonial order or, conversely, to achieve Philippine independence.
Frontier Constitutions Christianity and Colonial Empire in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines
About the Book
Reviews
“Blanco keenly addresses the challenges and contradictions presented by Spanish colonialism in the age of enlightenment, modernity, and the birth of liberalism.”—Philippine Studies
“Useful resource.”—Richard Fox Young Journal Of Ecclesiastical History
“[A] delightful reading that brings hope for tying Filipino history and world history into greater affinity.”—James B. Tueller World History Connected"The value of this book's contribution to the comparative history of colonial cultures is indubitable, and its theoretical arguments are richly suggestive beyond its immediate sphere. This will be not only a crucial intervention in Philippine studies, but also one of real importance to the comparative study of colonialism, transnational modernities, and nationalism."—David Lloyd, author of Anomalous States: Irish Writing and the Postcolonial Moment and Ireland After History
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction: Political Communities, "Common Sense," and the
Colonial State
PART 1. SHIBBOLETHS
Chapter 1. Imperial Christendom and the Colonial State
Chapter 2. Special Laws and States of Exception
Chapter 3. Customs/(Ka)Ugali(an)
PART 2. PROJECTS
Chapter 4. Publics
Chapter 5. Aesthetics
Chapter 6. Values/Norms
PART 3. CONCATENATIONS
Chapter 7. Gothic
Epilogue: Colonialism and Modernity
Notes
Bibliography
Index