The White House of the United States
Puerto Rico , Hawaii, The colonial story of the Philippines : What is the meaning of nation?
Original title: "The Slaves Struggling to Become the First: The Story of Three Colonies" (reprinted slightly abridged)
Author: Er Daye
Summary: In our accustomed thinking mode, a country or nation's pursuit of its own liberation and independence is unquestionably politically correct, and it is also a great cause that applies to all countries. But once this kind of grand, abstract thinking falls into concrete history, it often cannot withstand scrutiny. For ordinary people, no matter how great and glorious the goal is, it must ultimately settle in daily life.
Let’s talk about Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines—the stories of the ceding and non-ceding of the three former American imperial colonies.
1. Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico flag
The history of the Caribbean is not only rich in pirates that we are familiar with, but also various magical island countries. Puerto Rico is just one of them.
To be precise, this Caribbean island country with a population of just over three million is not an independent country in the legal sense - although it always participates in various international organizations and international competitions as a country. It is legally an overseas enclave of the United States, called a "free state", also called an "unincorporated territory", and has a high degree of autonomy. The people here hold US passports . The only difference from Americans is that they can elect their own governor, but they cannot participate in local elections in the United States. The same situation as Puerto Rico is Guam .
In order to truly integrate into the United States, Puerto Rico held a referendum in 2012 - their fifth effort since 1960, determined to become the 51st state of the United States and transform themselves from nationals to citizens. In order to express its determination to "please destroy the country", Puerto Rico's ruling party, the New Progressive Party, was once called the "State Party." Puerto Rico Governor Rosselló even said: "From today on, the U.S. government can no longer ignore the voice of the majority of the Puerto Rican people."
Faced with this persistent confession, the U.S. Congress mercilessly rejected it once again. It's not that easy to mop up too much.
What? Are there really countries in this world that are not willing to be independent, but are bent on becoming slaves to subjugation?
Obviously there are. Except for Puerto Rico, which is still working hard, Hawaii is an example of success, and the Philippines is an example of failure.
2. The Hawaii that hugged the thighs
The flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the current state flag
Hawaii is also an island country. And it was once an monarchy that had 100% sovereignty of its own. In terms of geographical distance, it is 3,700 kilometers away from the mainland of the United States, which is much further than Puerto Rico.
In the 1890s, due to the rapid development of the Pacific shipping industry, Hawaii, as an important relay station on the route, developed extremely rapidly. This small island nation with a monarchy has welcomed a large number of immigrants, mainly Americans and Japanese, but also a small number of Chinese. The arrival of modern immigrants and capital rapidly changed the local demographic structure and social form, and the monarchy was on the verge of collapse. The last queen wanted to restrict foreign investment interests, but was deposed without blood by the Americans.
In 1898, the United States officially annexed Hawaii and invested US$18 billion in the construction of Hawaii, making it a strategic base for the navy and a famous tourist attraction.
The Hawaiians who leapt from slave society into modern civilization have no nostalgia for their homeland. They have no integrity to oppose imperialist oppression and fight for national independence. Instead, they are bent on joining the US imperialism.In 1959, it passed a referendum and officially became the 50th state of the United States. The Hawaiians who lost their country did not become slaves, but eventually became Americans. Relying on the developed tourism industry, Hawaii's economic growth rate has always been higher than the average growth level of the US economy . In 2018, the per capita GDP of was as high as US$64,096, ranking 14th among the states in the United States.
Even today, there are still a very small number of old and young people calling for independence and the restoration of the monarchy, but it will never come to fruition. Life is so good, what kind of kingdom and king do we need?
3. Colonies that defected to the United States
Cuban flag
In 1898, in addition to annexing Hawaii, the rapidly rising United States also did another major thing. That was to start a big fight with Spain, the old colonial empire, known in history as the " Spanish-American War ". This war can be said to be the beginning of American dominance and true American imperialism.
The cause of the war is not complicated. As an old colonial empire, Spain rarely built its colonies and mostly destroyed them. It did its best to exploit and squeeze. It can be said that it is the most infamous among the colonists in history. In the modernization wave after the industrial revolution and , it was successively overtaken by the emerging Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, and it is not surprising that it is increasingly declining. After triggering the Cuban uprising in 1895, Spain brutally suppressed it, and as many as 200,000 Cubans died in concentration camps.
Cuba is the back garden of the United States, where a large number of expatriates and businessmen live and do business. The United States believed that the Spanish's recklessness harmed the interests of the United States, so it sent a warship to protect the overseas Chinese. As a result, as soon as it arrived in Cuba, the warship was bombed for no apparent reason, and 266 American soldiers were killed. The United States was furious, and the war began.
The war started simultaneously in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Luzon (today's Philippines). The United States had a strong industrial base and soon showed strong war mobilization potential. Although the war was declared hastily, both the army and the navy achieved overwhelming advantages, and completely defeated Spain on all battlefields in less than three months. At the end of 1898, Spain, unable to fight anymore, surrendered and ceased war, and the two countries signed the "Paris Peace Treaty" in Paris, France. According to the peace treaty, Spain gave up all of Cuba and ceded its colonies such as Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States.
Puerto Rico and the Philippines have since fallen into the arms of US imperialism, but they have taken completely different paths.
4. The Independence of the Philippines
After the Philippine flag
was transferred to the United States by the Spaniards, Filipinos also fought for independence for 8 years - although they ultimately failed. For this colony, the American emperor not only gave Spain a huge sum of 20 million U.S. dollars (the United States only spent 7.2 million to buy Alaska from Russia), but also paid a heavy price in the death of thousands of soldiers.
In the subsequent colonial rule, the US imperialism spared no effort to invest. In a dozen years, modern roads, railways, telegraphs, and telephone systems were built on this poor island country. The total number of illiterate people dropped from 85% in 1898 to 37% in 1921. The poverty and backwardness of the Philippines changed from the inside out.
However, this colony far away from the mainland of the United States did not bring much benefit to the United States - especially during the Great Depression of the 1930s, a large number of Filipinos poured into the United States. At the same time, preferential treatment for the import and export of Philippine products had to be given, which made the US emperor feel a heavy burden.
At the beginning of the takeover, the US emperor promised to make the Philippines independent when conditions were ripe. In order to speed up the process of shedding the burden, in 1933, the U.S. Congress passed the Act Allowing Philippine Independence. But the Filipinos are spineless this time. After enjoying the rapid progress brought by American colonial rule, they are unwilling to be independent. The Philippine Congress refused to accept the independence bill and demanded that the United States continue to colonize.
The persevering American emperor passed a new bill in 1934 and decided to give the Philippines a 10-year transitional preferential period... Anyway, as long as you agree to leave home, you can say anything. This time the Filipinos finally agreed to independence.
After the twists and turns of World War II, , and amid the tide of independence in colonies around the world, in 1946, the Filipinos approved independence through a referendum, and the U.S. Empire would not hesitate to approve it immediately.
How the Philippines is doing today under the management of its own people is obvious to all. It is not even a third-rate country. If time goes back to 1946, will they still make independent choices?
5. The transformation of Puerto Rico
American flag
Puerto Rico, which now wants to hug its thighs, used to be very backbone.
After the Americans took over Puerto Rico, they established a civilian government as early as 1900 and built schools, roads, railways, hospitals and health facilities on the island. Puerto Rican is also exempt from paying US taxes. In 1917, the U.S. Congress granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship...but apparently the Puerto Ricans did not appreciate it.
In 1937, Puerto Ricans launched an independent uprising and failed; in 1950, they uprising again but failed again; on November 1, 1950, two Puerto Ricans failed in their attempt to assassinate the President of the United States... The so-called "national independence and liberation" is not a lot in this island country.
In 1952, the United States granted Puerto Rico the status of a free commonwealth, implementing a high degree of autonomy. However, from this time on, Puerto Ricans began to stop. After enjoying the benefits brought by various preferential economic policies of the United States, Puerto Ricans have witnessed the earth-shaking changes brought about by the big trees - this poor island country, which once relied on sugar cane cultivation as its main industry, has rapidly transformed under the governance of the United States into a modern region with tourism, manufacturing, finance and insurance, real estate and other service industries as its mainstay. Although the economic level is lower than that of the mainland states in the United States, it is the highest among Caribbean island countries, and its economic competitiveness is second to none.
In 1977, U.S. President Ford proposed to Congress that Puerto Rico be absorbed into the 51st state of the United States, but Puerto Rico refused. Because at that time, Dominica believed that its life was better than that of the United States. Once it became a state of the United States, it was likely to lose the preferential policies provided by the United States, so it firmly opposed joining the United States. But in the 1990s, the United States gradually canceled various preferential policies for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico's economy immediately turned around and continued to decline for many years. The government was even preparing to file for bankruptcy.
At this time, Puerto Ricans remembered where the good life came from, and it was better to join the American empire directly. That’s why there was a referendum that desperately sought to destroy the country. (In 2012, there was a referendum in Puerto Rico. Only 4% of the people wanted to be independent, and the other 96% wanted to become a state of the United States. However, the United States has been unwilling to accept this overseas territory. - Editor's note)
But it is obvious that the US emperor does not want to bear the burden anymore, so it often turns a blind eye to the flirtations that come to its door.
6. Enlightenment to us
Scenery of Manhattan, New York, United States
What enlightenment does the past and present of the three colonies have on us?
In our accustomed thinking mode, a country or nation's pursuit of its own liberation and independence is unquestionably politically correct, and it is also a great cause that applies to all countries. But once this kind of grand and abstract thinking falls into concrete history, it often fails to withstand scrutiny.
For ordinary people, no matter how great or glorious the goal is, it must ultimately settle in daily life. What is the meaning of so-called national independence and national liberation if it does not help people's actual livelihood or even goes backwards? Being independent is more miserable than not being independent, and being liberated is even more miserable than not being liberated. This kind of conceptual honey is no more than actual arsenic to ordinary people.
What is the significance of ordinary people paying taxes and food to support the country? It is to protect the natural rights of individuals. But this right is only determined by the nature of the country, which determines various systems closely related to the lives of ordinary people - these are the fundamental factors that determine the future of the country and the happiness of the people. It has nothing to do with whether the people who govern the country are of the same race or species. So what if slaves and masters are of the same species?
Barbarism conquers civilization, which is 100% tragedy, whether the conquest comes from inside or outside, whether it is called independence or unity; and civilization conquers barbarism, in the long run it is undoubtedly a happy historical progress for everyone, because civilization will eventually eliminate barbarism and move towards a better future together.
If, just if, Hawaii and Puerto Rico follow the politically correct path and become independent, what will be the result?
Obviously, the best is the Philippines. There is no need to say more about whether the Philippines is good or not.
Hawaii is a lost country, but what the people have lost is the shackles of the slave era, and what they have ushered in is the dawn of the civilized era.
For ordinary people, are these things worth thinking about? ■
(This article is reproduced from the public account "Second Uncle View")
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