Britannia in Manila

There was the story of an Irish military conscript who fought at the Sack of Manila in 1762. 

 

This Irishman beheld a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Church of Guadalupe and, being a Catholic among Protestant soldiers, his heart went out to the holy object that would be inevitably ruined as the English soldiers pillaged and burned. 

 

The Irish soldier took the statue, and hid it somewhere safe, to prevent it from being desecrated. The tale ends with the soldier returning it to the church when they left the country.

 

This is one of the many stories narrated in the exhibit displayed at the Yuchengco Museum titled “The British Occupation of Manila and Cavite 1762–1764.” The exhibit mainly displays rare maps and other cartographic memorabilia of the little known event that spanned a mere two years, but had a profound effect on Philippine history.   

 

The maps are courtesy of the members of the Philippine Map Collectors Society (PHIMCOS), who made the exhibit possible along with the Embassy of the United Kingdom. 

 

“[This event has] been overlooked a great deal,” said curator Jonathan Best. “We were thinking about what was the best and most neutral way to do it? We didn’t want to condemn the British or the Spanish, so we focused on commerce and trade which is really what the British were after. They wanted to expand the East India Trading Company.” 

 

At the center of the occupation years was the fall and conquest of Manila, specifically Intramuros, which the British military called "the greatest Spanish fortress in the western Pacific." 

 

The fall of the city was bloody and cruel by all accounts. Later known as the first "Rape of Manila," murder, rapine, and pillaging were aptly rampant at the time. The Governor General’s Palace and the contents of the wealthy houses that were housed inside the walls were the first to be looted.   

The book “When Britain Ruled the Philippines 1762–1764” by Shirley Fish describes the looting in vivid terms: 

 

“They committed numerous atrocities, raping many women. From the churches, they took all the chalices, patens, and ornaments, even mockingly playing with the ritual vestments, like tying them to the tails of horses.”

 

Historical records state that the British sent out a ransom asking for US$4 million from the Spanish government to stop their soldiers and conscripts from further damaging the city. The ruling Archbishop later capitulated and paid the huge sum.   

There’s a military map that shows the British strategy of attack for Manila’s siege, including an index to points of interest and ships in the harbor. Yet another showcases the might of British naval power that overlooks the coast of Manila and Cavite (which the British later took), including the position of the HMS Elizabeth and her firing lines.

 

“Of course they took a lot of things from the churches and committed a lot of crimes,” added co-curator Maribel Ongpin. “I don’t think the city suffered as much until World War II. Even during the Chinese Rebellions there was no such chaos or disorder.”  

 

As short as it was, there were many significant things that affected the country through that event. These include the Indian (called “Sepoys”) and French conscripts of the British who volunteered to stay behind and thus became the progenitors of the local mixed race communities and their descendants. 

 

The Brit invasion also clearly illustrated to Filipinos that, hey, the Spanish could indeed be defeated, thus reinvigorating freedom fighters and inspiring people like Diego Silang to spark a revolt in Ilocos. 

 

Perhaps chief among what the British occupation imparted was the clearing of the villages and structures surrounding Intramuros in lieu of redesigning the defensive perimeter of old Manila. Wide open spaces were created around the walls so that anybody attacking would need to cross open ground and be easily crushed by British cannon fire as they tried to take the fort. 

 

If you’ve ever enjoyed the sprawling parts of Lawton, the Post Office, or the Manila City Hall and even the groves, wide avenues, and parks that are scattered around the walled city, then you can thank the Brits for that.  

 

One of the most striking images in the exhibit is a depiction of the sea battle between the British Admiral Anson’s flagship Centurion and the Spanish galleon Nostra Seigniora de Cavadonga off of Samar. 

 

It shows two ships side by side, locked in battle and shrouded with the smoke of cannon fire. You can almost smell the gunpowder mixed with the salt of the sea spray. The Spanish were defeated that day, and the battle ended with the capture of the Cavadonga.

 

So why did the British leave? Sailing away in the first week of April 1764? 

 

Their failure to extend military control beyond Manila and Cavite made their continued occupation a costly one. Especially since continued attacks by local militia (mostly Kapampangan recruits) and Spanish troops hindered any true progress into the other islands. 

 

This prompted Captain Thomas Backhouse to report to the Secretary of War in London that "the enemy is in full possession of the country."

 

Or, to take it form the Spanish side, "… the English never owned any land beyond the range of the cannons in Manila," said Francisco Leandro Viana when he retold the tale to the Spanish King.  

 

Not only is it an education, but a peek into the “what could have been” of an alternate Philippine history. –KG, GMA News

 

“The British Occupation of Manila and Cavite 1762–1764” runs until December 1, 2012 at the Yuchengco Museum (RCBC Plaza, Ayala cor. Gil Puyat Avenues, Makati City). Contact the museum at info@yuchengcomuseum.org or (02) 889-1234.