To win the battle of hearts and minds in their newly conquered colony, both the Americans and Japanese use a terrifying new weapon: cinema.

From the coves of Spanish California, to the jade courts of the Qing Dynasty—and in the middle, the great port city of Manila. This is the story of the Philippine otter fur trade.

Even as a new war swept the fledgling republic, one final, furious ember of the Spanish Empire still burned in Baler. And try as Spain, the US, and the Philippines might, this stronghold would not surrender. Part 2/2

As the empire crumbled around them, a detachment of Spanish troops transforms the church of Baler into a fortress... one that would outlast the Spanish surrender. This is the story of the Siege of Baler. Part 1/2

From May to December 1754, all of Taal was ash, and tremor, and hell, as the deadly volcano's eruption changed the face of Southern Luzon forever.

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Email us: [email protected]

The book version of this podcast, entitled Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946, is now available. Visit my publisher’s website for availability. (An ebook version is also available on Amazon.)

Additional audio from GMA and the BBC.

References: 

Alanis, Paul K. B; Yamaye, Yusuke; Takeuchi, Akihiro; Sasai, Yoichi; Okada, Yoshihiro; Nagao, Toshiyasu (2013). “A large hydrothermal reservoir beneath Taal Volcano (Philippines) revealed by magnetotelluric observations and its implications to the volcanic activity.” Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences, 89(8), p. 383-389.

Bartel, Beth A.; Hamburger, Michael W.; Meertens, Chuck M.; Lowry, Anthony R.; Corpuz, Ernesto (2003). “Dynamics of active magmatic and hydrothermal systems at Taal Volcano, Philippines, from continuous GPS measurements.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 108(B10). 

Delos Reyes, P. J., Bornas, M. A. V., Dominey-Howes, D., Pidlaoan, A. C., Magill, C. R., & Solidum, Jr., R. U. (2018). “A synthesis and review of historical eruptions at Taal Volcano, Southern Luzon, Philippines.” Earth-Science Reviews, 177, pp. 565-588.

“TIMELINE: Taal Volcano’s January 2020 eruption” (16 January 2020). Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/249503-timeline-taal-volcano-eruption-2020/

Ramos, Emmanuel G. (2002). “Origin and geologic features of Taal Lake, Philippines.” Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 5(2). 

Fox, Robert B. (1967). “The Archeological Record of Chinese Influences in the Philippines.” Beyer Memorial Issue On: The Prehistory of the Philippines, 15(1), p. 41-62.

Blair, Emma H. and Robertson, James A. (eds.) (1903-1907). The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume III: 1569–1576. In The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, 55 Vols. Arthur H. Clark Company. 

 Hargrove, Thomas R. (1991). The Mysteries of Taal. Bookmark. 

Buhay Batangas (real name unknown) (2 March 2018). “The Legend of the Miraculous Holy Crosses of Alitagtag and Bauan.” Batangas: History, Culture & Folklore. https://www.batangashistory.date/2018/03/miracle.html

Aldor, Joel (17 July 2020). “Saving Grace: How Caysasay Shrine, the first stone church, withstood the test of time and disasters.” BluPrint. https://bluprint-onemega.com/caysasay-shrine-first-stone-church/

“A Brief History of Our City” (undated). Tanauan City Government official website. https://tanauancity.gov.ph/history/

Born in 1931, Frank Ephraim grew up under the shadow of Nazi tyranny. But after the horrors of Kristallnacht, his family decided to flee to the Philippines—a country that was opening its borders when many others were closing theirs.

Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept

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Email us: [email protected]

The book version of this podcast, entitled Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946, is now available. Visit my publisher’s website for availability. (An ebook version is also available on Amazon.)

References: 

Sunga, Ria (14 June 2021). Personal communication (Zoom interview).

Sunga, Ria (20 November 2018). “The Philippines: A haven for Jewish refugees, 1937 to 1941?” Refugee History. http://refugeehistory.org/blog/2018/11/20/the-philippines-a-haven-for-jewish-refugees-1937-to-1941

Frank Ephraim [interviews]. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Kotlowski, Dean J. (2009) “Breaching the Paper Walls: Paul V. McNutt and Jewish Refugees to the Philippines, 1938-1939.” Diplomatic History, 33(5), pp. 865-896.

Martin, Jocelyn (2015). “Manilaner’s Holocaust Meets Manileños’ Colonisation: Cross-Traumatic Affiliations and Postcolonial Considerations in Trauma Studies.” Humanities 4(4), pp. 818-833.

Quezon, Manuel L. (15 February 1939). Statement: President Quezon on Jewish Settlement in Mindanao, February 15, 1939 [transcript]. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1939/02/15/statement-president-quezon-on-jewish-settlement-in-mindanao-february-15-1939/

Museum of Tolerance (undated). “Eyewitness Accounts and Reminiscences.” Simon Weisenthal Center. https://www.museumoftolerance.com/education/archives-and-reference-library/online-resources/kristallnacht/eyewitness-accounts-and-reminiscences.html

Anxious? Depressed? Fatigued? Slowly losing your mind? In their new colony, American colonial officers began succumbing to a strange mental disorder that they could not explain.

Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept

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Email us: [email protected]

The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠Purchase here⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠also available in Amazon⁠.)

References:

Rizal, Jose P. (1913). “Sobre la indolencia de los filipinos” (Austin Craig, trans.) Original work published in La Solidaridad, 1890.

“They Get ‘Philippinitis’: White Persons Suffer From It If They Stay Too Long in the Islands” (26 December 1908). Mariposa Gazette, LIV(31).

Anderson, Warwick (2007). Colonial Pathologies: American Tropical Medicine, Race, and Hygiene in the Philippines. Ateneo de Manila Press. 

Roosevelt, Nicholas (1926). The Philippines: A Treasure and a Problem. J.H. Sears & Company.

Pringle, Yolana (2016). “Neurasthenia at Mengo Hospital, Uganda: A Case Study in Psychiatry and a Diagnosis, 1906–50.” The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 44(2), p. 241-262.

Wang, Wen-Ji (2014). “Tropical Neurasthenia or Oriental Nerves? White Breakdowns in China.” Psychiatry and Chinese History (Howard Chiang, ed.), p. 111-128.

Tam, Louise (2014). “Neurasthenia Revisited: Psychologizing Precarious Labor and Migrant Status in Contemporary Discourses of Asian American Nervousness.” Disability and the Global South, 1(2), p. 340-364. 

Anderson, Warwick (1997). “The Trespass Speaks: White Masculinity and Colonial Breakdown.” The American Historical Review, 102(5), p. 1343-1370.

The Japanese called it Z Sakusen: Operation Z, a last-ditch plan to turn the tide of the war. And then, in 1944, on the Cebu coast, a copy of the plans was lost.

Follow us on IG: ⁠⁠⁠@thecolonialdept⁠⁠⁠

Follow us on TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠@thecolonialdept⁠⁠⁠

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Purchase here⁠⁠⁠⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠⁠⁠⁠also available in Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠. Copies are currently available in Kinokuniya Singapore and Book Bar Singapore.)

References:

Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA) Research Unit (2015, November 18). “Timeline on the Acquisition and Use of the Japanese Imperial Navy Z Plan.” Japanese Americans Veterans Association. ⁠https://java-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1.pdf⁠

Bradsher, Greg (2005). “The Z Plan Story.” Prologue, 37(3).

De Viana, Augusto V. (2013). Stories Rarely Told: The Hidden Stories and Essays on Philippine History. New Day.

The Americans bring professional sports to the archipelago, and in 1914—during Philippine baseball's golden age—a match is fought between an all-Filipino team and an all-Black team. 

Follow us on IG: ⁠⁠@thecolonialdept⁠⁠

Follow us on TikTok: ⁠⁠@thecolonialdept⁠⁠

Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]

The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. Purchase here. (An ebook version is also available in Amazon.)

References:

Kennedy, Richard. “Rethinking the Philippine Exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.” 

Gems, Gerald R. (2016). Sport and the American Occupation of the Philippines: Bats, Balls, and Bayonets. Lexington Books.

Stradley, Don (25 June 2008). “A look at the history of boxing in the Philippines.” ESPN. https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3458707

Franks, Joel. S. (2008). Asian Pacific Americans and Baseball: A History. McFarland.

Beer, Jeremy (2019). Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Player. University of Nebraska Press.

Strecker, Geri (2012). “Indianapolis’ Other Oscar.” In Trace of Indiana and Midwestern History, 24(3). 

Department of Commerce and Labor (1905). Census of Manufacturers: 1905—Earnings of Wage Earners. Government Printing Office.

“Brownies Trim 24th Infantry While Manila and Army Tie,” (9 February 1914), Manila Times.

During the Taiping Rebellion in the 1860s, Filipino mercenaries form an elite corps of troops to protect the ancient port city of Shanghai. Their leader? The fearless Vicente Macanaya, whom his own men call "bulletproof."

Follow us on IG: ⁠@thecolonialdept⁠

Follow us on TikTok: ⁠@thecolonialdept⁠

Email us: ⁠[email protected]⁠

The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠⁠Purchase here⁠⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠⁠also available in Amazon⁠⁠. Copies are currently available in Kinokuniya Singapore and Book Bar Singapore.)

References:

Mojares, Resil B. (2013). Isabelo’s Archive. Anvil Publishing.

Aguilar, Filomeno V. (2011). “Filibustero, Rizal, and the Manilamen of the Nineteenth Century.” Philippine Studies, 59(4).

Gouzoules, Alex (2008). “The Use of Foreign Soldiers During the Taiping Rebellion.” In Emory Endeavors of World History, No. 2.

Xu, L. Colin and Yang, Li (22 October 2018). “Stationary Bandits, State Capacity, and the Malthusian Transition: The Lasting Impact of the Taiping Rebellion.” The World Bank. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/970791540230641485/stationary-bandits-state-capacity-and-the-malthusian-transition-the-lasting-impact-of-the-taiping-rebellion

Smalarz, Matthew (2019). "Hong Xiuquan and the Subversion of Christianity." The Histories 2(2).