19 OCTOBER

Beside the Barasoain Church is the Universidad Literaria

1898 - The Universidad Literaria de Filipinas, the state university of the fledgling Philippine Republic, is established at the convent of Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan four months after Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Southeast Asian archipelago independent from Spain, but four months prior to the Philippine-American War (1899-1914);  offering courses in law, medicine, pharmacy and notary public, with Dr. Joaquin Gonzales and, later, Leon Ma. Guerrero as President, the University's curriculum has a markedly secular and nationalistic orientation but is strongly similar to the Spanish system, what with the Spanish language as medium of instruction and the emphasis on classical European learning over traditional knowledge.

1852 - Queen Elizabeth the II of Spain allows the Catholic religious order Society of Jesus (Jesuits) to return to the Southeast Asian colony, the Philippines, to handle missions in Jolo and Mindanao; more than 85 years earlier on April 2, 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from all dominions of Spain, including the Philippines, with their real and personal properties being confiscated on behalf of the Spanish crown, supposedly because King Charles III did not like the Inquisition that the Jesuits supported; in their heyday before the expulsion decree, the Jesuits amassed great wealth and prestige, building grand churches and convents in quite a number of towns. 


Photo credit:  http://www.bulacan.gov.ph/tourism/touristspotphotos.php?junid=93&id=8