The interlacing of disease, death, and colonial discord: San Lazaro Crematorium, Manila, the Philippines

Abstract

ABSTRACT American colonization of the Philippines restyled local civilization’s character. One notable transition prompted by American colonial rule was the adoption of new public health conventions. In spite of these practices being introduced to elevate the well-being and life expectancy of the Filipinos their implementation was met with resistance. Accordingly, this paper focuses upon the creation of the Philippines’ first crematory facility, namely the San Lazaro Crematorium (opened in 1903, in Manila). The work, thus, grants an overview of how Filipinos responded to a societal modernization project initiated by the American colonial regime. The paper discusses three matters: first, what American colonial policymakers sought, with reference to public health, to accomplish; second, how the American colonial framework directly challenged Filipino culture with regard to disease prevention and death management; and, third, why the construction of the San Lazaro Crematorium offers a unique entry point to grasp the nature of America’s initial governance of the Philippines. Such clarification has twofold value: it helps to deepen comprehension of the administration’s operation and, in association, native opposition to it; plus, given that the crematorium is presently derelict this paper can underscore its value as a dark heritage object worthy of preservation.