Polo y servicio was the forced labor system without compensation[1] imposed upon the local population in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period.[2] In concept, it was similar to Repartimiento, a forced labor system used in the Spanish America.[3]
The word polo refers to community work, and the laborer was called polista.[4] The community activities that polistas have to perform may include cutting of trees for timber, and building Galleon trade ships,[5] churches, government buildings, roads, and bridges.[6]
Polo y servicio required males from 16 to 60 years old for a 40-day period per year.[4] The laborers could be placed on any community project, and anyone who refused to follow was fined and imprisoned.[7]
- ^ "The release of a documentary celebrates José Rizal's 160th birth-anniversary". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Ladrido, R. C. (2023-04-04). "Iloilo's Heritage Churches: Sweat, Blood, and Faith". VERA Files. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Newson, Linda A. (2009-04-16). Conquest and Pestilence in the Early Spanish Philippines. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3272-8.
- ^ a b Rey, Maestro Valle (2020-11-04). "What Is Polo y Servicio? About The Spanish Term And Practice". PhilNews. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Romero, Segundo Eclar (2023-05-16). "Manila-Acapulco galleons built by unpaid labor". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Philippine History Module-based Learning I' 2002 Ed. Rex Bookstore, Inc. ISBN 978-971-23-3449-8.
- ^ Galang, Jely. ""Have Them Work Like the Indios": Chinese Polistas in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines". Philippine Association for Chinese Studies. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
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