American Colony, History 

THE MISMANAGEMENT OF AN AMERICAN COLONY. DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR, ILL-ADVISED STEPS BY COLONIAL OFFICIALS IN THE PHILIPPINE WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COLONY'S FINANCES CREATED A CRISIS WHICH LASTED FROM 1919-1922. THE CIRCUMSTANCES SHOOK THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE AMERICAN COLONIAL COLONY'S FOUNDATION S OF THE AMERICAN COLONIAL STATE AND CONTRIBUTED TO MANUEL QUEZON'S SUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO REPLACE SERGIO OSMENA AS LEADER OF THE POLITICALLY DOMINANAT NATIONALISTA PARTY. THESE EVENTS HAVE GENERALLY BEEN BLAMED ON A CORRUPTION SCANDAL AT THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL BANK, WHICH HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED IN 1916 AS A MULTI-PURPOSE, SEMI-GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY WHOSE PURPOSE WAS TO PROVIDE LOANS FOR THE AGRICULTURAL EXPORT INDUSTRY, TO DO BUSINESS AS A COMMERCIAL BANK, TO ISSUE BANK NOTES AND TO SERVE AS A DEPOSITORY FOR GOVERNMENT FUNDS. BASED ON DTAILED ARCHIVAL RESEARCH, YOSHIKO NAGANO ARGUES THAT THE CRISIS IN FACT RESULTED FROM MISMANAGEMENT OF CURRENCY RESERVES AND IRREGULARITIES IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE OPERATIONS BY AMERICAN OFFICIALS, AND THAT THE NOTION OF A "CORRUPTION SCANDAL: AROSE FROM A COLONIAL DISCOURSE THAT MASKED PROBLEMS WITHIN THE BANKING AND CURRENCY SYSTEMS AND THE U.S. COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION. HER ANALYSIS OF THIS EPISODE PROVIDES A FRESH PERSPECTIV ON THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE PHILIPPINES UNDER AMERICAN RULE, AND SUGGESTS A NEED FOR FURTHER SCRUTINY OF HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS WRITTEN ON THE BASIS OF REPORTS BY COLONIAL OFFICIALS. - from Amzon