Enter the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) (1834-1853)

In 1834, the King of Spain declared Manila as an open port in order to boost the local economy by wooing in foreign investors. Almost immediately there was a marked increase in commercial activity on the island. It was during this period that a number of multinational businesses were opened in Manila, including an American firm owned by a committed Presbyterian, Mr. D. Olyphant, through which the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) successfully distributed a considerable number of Bibles in 1838. Again in 1853, BFBS sold about a thousand Spanish Bibles through the same firm.