Weathering the Storms: The Compania General De Tabacos de Filipinas

Abstract

The history of Spanish colonial Philippines is replete with impressions that all the economic activities of this regime served to benefit only the colonial investors. Although it is true that many of these enterprises eventually ended right after Spanish colonial rule due to unfavorable factors, one Company, the Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas, which began its relationship with its Pacific cousin in 1882, managed to establish and expand its business interests for over a century, surviving insurrections, world wars, domestic upheavals and myriad other challenges. The reasons for its survival can be attributed to its unique style of management, which benefited the localities all over the country in which these businesses were based. This paper aims to provide a balanced understanding of our history by examining an aspect of our nation's colonial past from an alternative perspective, one that views the ongoing past as a continuing process of cross-cultural contacts and exchange among people.