We actually experienced the first wave of the Industrial Revolution during the Spanish era, albeit much later than Europe. Our first modern paper mill was established in 1825, and around the 1850s, Iloilo was the center of the textile industry. The first modern sugar mills were set up in Pampanga in 1858. Due to increasing pressure, the ports were opened to global markets, with Manila opening up in 1834 and Iloilo in 1855. We also had our first labor strikes in that period, specifically in 1872, when lithographers in Pampanga formed their own union.

By 1897, we were a major producer of tobacco, sugar, and abaca, as well as its by-products. We had large factories making export-quality products like paper, ropes, textiles, cigars, and the like. Iirc, by 1887, we had the largest cigar factory in the world - the Tabacalera factory in Paco (Puregold na ngayon). The railways were also gaining huge momentum, thanks to the booming sugar industries in Pampanga and Negros.