Luis Rodríguez Varela

Luis Rodríguez Varela, also known as "El Conde Filipino" (The Philippine Count), was a pioneer Philippine nationalist in the Spanish Philippines during the early part of the 19th century.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Varela.

A Criollo and an ilustrado who went to school in France, Varela published a series of books advocating social change in the Spanish Philippines, inspired by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. His most important work is El Párnaso Filipino, published in Sampaloc, Manila in 1814.[1]

He advocated the opening of local colleges to teach subjects such as mathematics, medicine, and navigation, as well as free primary schools for the poor. Varela also believed that foreign powers held too much influence over the local economy, and he accordingly worked to limit Chinese intrusion in the region by bolstering the local business associations.[2]

Along with José Ortega, Varela was one of several people expelled from the island by Governor Juan Antonio Martínez on February 18, 1823, when they were accused of conspiring against the local Spanish government.[3]

See also

References
  1. Pedro Ortiz Armengol. Letras Filipinas . Publicado por Ministerio de AA.EE., 1999
  2. Putzel, James (2001). Social capital and the imagined community: democracy and nationalism in the Philippines. In Michael Liefer (Ed.), Asian Nationalism. Routledge (UK), p. 173. ISBN 0-415-23284-8.
  3. Bourne, Edward Gaylord (1903). The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803. A.H. Clark company, p. 47.


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