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PODCAST

The Colonial Dept.

Welcome to the Colonial Department, the podcast where we take long-lost stories from Philippine colonial history and bring them to life. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept

history

All Episodes

00:16:57

S7E2: An Ottoman Emissary in Mindanao

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/07/04

As the United States moves to take over Mindanao, both the Americans and the Moros invoke the name of the Ottoman Empire—seat of the Caliph—to support their campaigns. But in 1914, an actual Ottoman emissary arrives in Zamboanga. How will the American occupiers react to his visit?Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdeptFollow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdeptEmail us: thecolonialdept@gmail.comReferences:Dwight, H.D. (1915). Constantinople: Old and New. Charles Scribner’s Sons.Inanc, Yusuf Selman. “Abdulhamid

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00:04:26

Extra Credit: Pianos in 1800s Phillippines

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/06/28

In the last decades of Spanish rule in the Philippines, pianos—both foreign and local—provided the tinkling music of the colony’s rising middle class. (Listen to S7E1 before this one.)

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00:15:40

S7E1: Foreign Piano Devils

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/06/20

It’s the late 1800s, and all across the Pacific seaboard, in places like Singapore and Yokohama, Medan and Sengalor, the music of town bands drifts across the esplanades. Many of these groups proudly hail from one port of call: Manila. This is their story.Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdeptFollow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdeptEmail us: thecolonialdept@gmail.comAudio of “Wiener Schwalben Marsch” is from the Discography of American Historical Recordings.References: Affan, Muhammad (2023). “From

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00:05:47

Extra Credit: The shipwrecks of the Galleon Trade, by...

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/03/29

Lousy pilots? Fierce storms? Rampaging currents? Some of these galleons never stood a chance. (Listen to S6E13 before this one.)

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00:17:29

S6E13: If Not Shipwrecks, Scurvy

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/03/21

The route of a Spanish galleon from Manila to Acapulco was littered with the wrecks of ships that sailed before—hit by storms, hammered by tides, preyed on by pirates. Meanwhile, on the filthy decks, hunger and disease stalked the ranks of the sailors, slaves, and passengers. Spanning thousands of kilometers, every voyage of the Galleon Trade was grueling and lethal… but for the investors who bet fortunes on the trade ships, the payoff was worth every dead body. In this episode, let’s sail aboard a

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00:05:00

Extra Credit: On Filipino studio photos from the 1900s

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/03/16

Costumes, backdrops, dedications—in the 1900s, having your photo taken in a studio and sending prints to loved ones was the hot new thing in the Philippines! (Listen to S6E12 before this one.)

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00:15:36

S6E12: The Skull Photographers

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/03/07

When the Americans arrive to take over the Philippines, amateur photographers take pictures of every possible inch of their new possession. Snapshots soon emerge from inside the cemeteries of towns and cities, showcasing an eerie and macabre trend. It seems that not even the most private places of the dead would be spared from the camera’s roving, ravenous, pinhole eye. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdeptFollow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdeptEmail us: thecolonialdept@gmail.comAdditional audio from

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00:05:05

Extra Credit: On William Dampier, privateer of the...

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/03/01

Scourge, scientist… and slave owner! Discover the ties of one of England’s most famous mariners to Philippine history. (Listen to S6E11 before listening to this one!)

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00:16:54

S6E11: Robinson Crusoe Captures a Manila Galleon

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/02/22

In 1719, a book appeared on London shelves—and became an instant bestseller. Its cover featured the now-iconic image of a man, trapped in a deserted island, dressed only in goat skins. Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, never confirmed nor denied that his massive hit was based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scotsman marooned for years on a tropical island… but the parallels were undeniable.But before Selkirk made his way back to the Western world and became a celebrity, he was roped in by

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00:06:04

Extra Credit: On a prisoner’s life in...

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/02/14

As he was brutally tortured by the Kempeitai, captured guerilla Gustavo Ingles was moved to different prisons and safehouses. What was his day-to-day life like behind bars? (Listen to S6E10 before listening to this one.)

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00:18:36

S6E10: A Guerilla’s Torment

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/02/07

When the Japanese invaded the Philippines, young military cadet Gustavo Ingles tried to hitch a ride with the upperclassmen to the front lines in Bataan. But officers told him to go home. Undeterred, he founded a guerilla group called the Hunters ROTC to continue the fight against the new occupiers. Then, in 1943, Ingles was caught by the secret police. Follow us on IG:@thecolonialdeptFollow us on TikTok:@thecolonialdeptEmail us:thecolonialdept@gmail.comMy voiceover partner-in-crime, Anya, is on

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00:05:09

Extra Credit: On the end of the Galleon Trade

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/02/02

The Royal Philippine Company helped usher in the twilight of the longstanding Galleon Trade that linked Manila and Acapulco! (Listen to S6E9 before listening to this one.)

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00:16:47

S6E9: Francisco Goya and the Royal Philippine Dead End

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/01/23

In Francisco Goya’s painting Junta de Filipinas, sinister, shadowy figures preside over a stockholders’ meeting of the Royal Philippine Company. What was this Royal Philippine Company—and what was so important about it that Goya made a painting of one of its meetings? And more than that, what was Goya trying to say about this tumultuous period in Spanish and Philippine history?Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com My voiceover

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00:05:04

Extra Credit: On American campaigns against Lanao

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/01/18

The sunken gunboats resurrected by the Americans were only a small part of the bloody war waged by the new occupiers against the Meranaw! (Listen to S6E8 before listening to this one.)

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00:16:36

S6E8: The Lost War Boats of Lake Lanao

The Colonial Dept. ·

2025/01/10

As Spain departed the Philippines, it abandoned four gunboats to a watery grave. For years, they slumbered at the bottom of Lake Lanao, their existence only a rumor back up on the surface. But when the Americans arrive in Marawi, they are determined to bring these ghost ships back to life. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Hitt, Parker (February 1938). “Amphibious Infantry—A Fleet on Lake Lanao.” US Naval

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00:11:28

Special: The Colonial Dept. 2024 Year in Review

The Colonial Dept. ·

2024/12/21

Show highlights. Favorite episodes. Behind-the-scenes bits. Think of this as The Colonial Dept. Wrapped.2024 has been an amazing year for the podcast. I released a book version of the podcast, I've grown to more than 2,000 subscribers, and I've heard from fans from as far away as Spain, Singapore, and France. Thanks for sharing in my love for Philippine history, and for embarking on this project with me. YOU are the ones who made this year great! See you next year!

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00:06:38

Extra Credit: Carriages and coachmen in Manila’s...

The Colonial Dept. ·

2024/12/14

Even as the automobile and the tram change the face of commuting and transportation in Manila, the cocheros persist… and resist. (Listen to S6E7 before listening to this one.)

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00:16:44

S6E7: Manila, Meet the Automobile

The Colonial Dept. ·

2024/12/07

Soon after the American takeover of the Philippines, Manila witnesses the coming of its first-ever car—a three-and-a-half horsepower, single-cylinder, wire-wheel Richard-Brasier. From then on, it’s full speed ahead for the wide-scale adoption of the automobile in the capital city and beyond. Packards and Studebakers roar through newly constructed Manila streets, while Stanleys chug up the Benguet highlands to reach Baguio. But what does the coming of the automobile mean for the former kings of the

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00:05:18

Extra Credit: Japanese mercs, merchants in colonial...

The Colonial Dept. ·

2024/11/29

Trade and tensions in the history of our two archipelagoes! (Listen to S6E6 before listening to this one!)

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00:14:51

S6E6: A Saint, a Samurai, and a Shipwreck

The Colonial Dept. ·

2024/11/23

In a time when both God and gold define the tense relations between Japan and Manila, the galleon San Felipe gets stranded in the land of the rising sun. There, the fate of its passengers now lies in the hands of the most powerful warlord in Japan: Toyotomi Hideyoshi! Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com Image: Mural from Cuernavaca, Mexico, published in the Academy of Christian Art. Additional audio from Shogun, ©

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