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FILIPINO NATIONALISM, 1872 – 1970 By Teodoro A. Agoncillo I The development of nationalism in the Philippines, as well as in other countries of Asia which had experienced the trauma of colonialism, is necessarily different from that of Europe where the idea germinated. Definitions of the term itself are at best illusive, and any attempt to define it to encompass the whole of human experience, time, and space is a trying task. This is because nationalism has connotations that shift according to time, place, and circumstances. Particularly with reference to the former Asian colonies, it is emotionally charged, and it is rather unfair of some Westerners, especially those who have not experienced the sorrows and tribulations of the colonials, to criticize the colonized Asian peoples for making nationalism as an emotional outlet for their bitterness and disenchantment with the less desirable aspects of foreign rule. Emotion cannot be dissociated from nationalism, for this is a deeply human experience and does not belong to the realm of pure idea. It is, in fact, the distillation of emotion, sentiment, and idea. Consequently, its nature, direction, and development in Asia are necessarily different from those in European countries, for nationalism in Asia has been primarily a response to and a defense against imperialism in any of its manifold forms. I shall, therefore, not make any attempt to philosophize on the subject and to define its broad multicolored perspectives. For my particular purpose, it is enough to affirm that the term, in order to be least misunderstood, must be explained in its proper historical milieu.