Understanding the sociopolitical and socioeconomic conditions of Spain, France, and Hong Kong during Rizals time

Spain

Political condition

During 1890 and 1891, the same years Rizal had experienced a lot of misfortunes during his stay in Madrid, the colonies of SpainCuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippineswere still in her hands.

Moreover, this particular period of time in Spain was called as the period of Restoration also, where it aimed to have a stable political system in the country.

This goal was accomplished by the Spanish authorities through the so-called El Turno Pacifico, a system where only two parties would have alternating power over the country. These two parties are between the conservatives and the liberals. This was successfully achieved through electoral fraud. Meaning to say, the votes of the people were manipulated or even affected out of fear due to the influence of people who are more powerful than they were, particularly the landlords. In other words, there were limited voting rights back then.

As many writers and historians put it, this period in Spain was a period of instability.

Social and economic condition

Known for its introduction of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines, the former was still at its peak at that time. Furthermore, the country was gradually changed by the Industrial Revolution. Indeed, there was already an attempt to modernize Spain by building railways and introducing iron and steel industries. In addition, small palaces were built by authorities, a case in point was in Madrid. The country still remained to be agricultural primarily.

France

Social condition

This period in France was called as the Belle Epoque, which is translated as beautiful era in English. Indeed, it was a beautiful era for the French people.

It was a period of optimism, peace, and prosperity in France. A number of technological and medical innovations were embraced by the country, too. It was a period of enjoyment after the tumults of the past.

All of these things happened after the Franco-Prussian War, also referred to as the France-German War. In the said war that started in July 19, 1870 and May 10, 1871, the victory was achieved by Germany.

A number of sources of entertainment had been built in the country, the most famous among them was the Casino de Paris, where the elite of the social class of the city used to spend their leisure time. For the less affluent French people, affordable cabarets and bistros were their usual go-to.

Of course, it was during this period that the construction of the infamous Eiffel Tower named after engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was opened to the public. Up to this day, Eiffel Tower is still seen as an iconic landmark in France. It attracted and is still attracting a lot of tourists and visitors from all over the globe.

Fashion also began to move in French. Exotic feathers and furs were seen as the most sophisticated material for dresses and the like. Female of the elite class started to appreciate haute couture, which is the art of dressmaking that is time-consuming, expensive, and effortful.

Also, arts began to flourish in the country. The style of painting of impressionism was embraced by painters and artists alike. Masterpieces of Vincent Van Gogh, although a Dutch, became popular. Along with him were Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, and Claude Monet.

Economic condition

It was a period characterized by drastic changes in the economy of France as well. There was an impressive improvement of the transportation system, like when railways were expanded. Not only that the transportation system improved but the modes of communication, too. They had the telephone and the telegraph.

Moreover, the agriculture industry was also modernized through the adaption of machines and fertilizers.

Political condition

Unlike in Spain, this beautiful era in France proved to be really beautiful when the country saw a stable political system in it. There were minimal bureaucratic regulations that allowed freedom for individuals to just go inside and outside France. On top of these things, the concept of diplomacy was also upheld through the signing of treaties of protection between countries.

Hong Kong

Social and economic condition

The social condition in Hong Kong suffered mainly because it was a colony of the British Empire, and its ideals in philosophy and culture were really different from that of its Western colonizer.

In terms of trade, it was the main supplier of native tea to British, making it accumulate wealth.

Hong Kong was notable for seizing the opportunity of being one of the first countries in Asia to undergo industrialization. It was evident with its, as mentioned, trade between Britain in exchange for clocks, watches, and musical boxes. Furthermore, a free port in Hong Kong enabled the latter to be a center of trade between countries from all parts of the world.

Many writers and historians say that Hong Kong was a rich country in this particular period of time. It was sudden by sudden modernizing its country by employing new technologies and machines, such as the telegraph, electricity, and lightbulbs.

Political condition

The condition of politics in Hong Kong can be summed up in four wordspolitics, propaganda, panic, and riot. Hong Kong served as the main go-to of Chinese refugees when the country of the aforementioned individuals was in conflict.

References

British Broadcasting Corporation. (2015). Hong Kong profiletimeline. Retrieved from http://www.csudh.edu/global_options/375Students-Sp96/Spain/HISTORY.HTML

Green, J. (n.d.). Brief history of Spain. Retrieved from http://www.csudh.edu/global_options/375Students-Sp96/Spain/HISTORY.HTML

History World. (n.d.). History of Spain. Retrieved from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=aeec

Lambert, T. (2015). A brief history of Spain. Retrieved from http://www.localhistories.org/spain.html

Schenk, C. (2008). Economic history of Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://www.csudh.edu/global_options/375Students-Sp96/Spain/HISTORY.HTML

Sunday Morning. (n.d.). How the 19th century hi-tech boom transformed Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1723757/how-19th-century-hi-tech-boom-transformed-hong-kong

The European Belle Epoque. (n.d.). The breeding ground. Retrieved from http://www.la-belle-epoque.de/beintroe.htm

Wilde, Robert. (n.d.). The Belle Epoque. Retrieved from http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/france/a/belleepoque.htm

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