The Spanish Philippines

A Requirement Presented to the

Faculty of College of Arts and Sciences
San Beda University, Mendiola, Manila

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For Readings in Philippine History

Submitted by:
DIZON, Catherine M.
2 AIA/AIS

Submitted to:
Dr. James Loreto Cabilin Piscos

May 2020
 I. Marriage of the Church and State during the Spanish Period in the Philippines.

Figure 1. Venn Diagram of Church and State.

CHURCH
The church The church had a command of
advocates social local languages rare among the
justices, human lay Spanish, and in the
rights, and other provinces.
movements.
Ownership and Because of their
Administration of the privileges, the state took
The church has been advantage by forcing
associated with elitism, Philippine estate natives to work in their
exploitation, at various businesses and trade.
point in its history. Colonization and
Evangelization
There is an abusive
treatment of the local
tribute payers and neglect
There is a growing dominance of religious instruction
of the state in social and by encomenderos.
economic life in the country.

STATE
The Spaniards reigned in the Philippines for than 300 years. That length of time is more
than enough to show how well the Spaniards had learned of the Filipino culture and values. They
had learned how to handle and control the Filipinos and how to easily motivate them. Before the
Spaniards came, the Philippines already had a government.

The history of the Philippines between 900 and 1565 was known as the pre-colonial
period or pre-Hispanic era. During that era, the land was divided into small political units called
the barangay which was headed by a datu and his advisors. A datu enjoyed the executive,
legislative and judicial powers. Prior to the Spanish conquest, the Philippines was also composed
of different kingdoms and sultanates. Each sultanate was headed by a sultan. The natives of the
island traded with traders coming from as far as China, Arabia, and India.

The Spanish rule in the Philippines began when Ferdinand Magellan discovered the
archipelago in 1521. After Lapulapu killed Magellan in a battle in Mactan, several other
expeditions followed which brought the land totally under the Spanish rule for more than three
centuries. Little by little the monastic orders had secured possession of large tracts of some of the
best cultivated lands, which were leased out to tenants on terms profitable to the orders. One of
the most important was the possession of these large tracts of land and the hold it gave the friars
over their numerous tenants. Gradually, also, the friars had come to exercise almost all the
functions of civil government within the limits of their parishes. They Christianized the Filipinos
and had made Spanish friars not only religiously influential but also politically powerful that
even political leaders bowed to them. They became abusive of their power. Such lead to the birth
of many but unsuccessful revolutions against the Spanish government.

When the Spaniards came in the island, they found the lowlanders past the clan stage.
Fees were recovered by seizing the property of the vanquished party and of the witnesses. While
trial by jury was unknown, trial by ordeal was practiced in all cases of doubt about the guilty.
Punishment was imposed without restraint, and it was not uncommon to reduce the guilty to
practical servitude. Theft was sometimes punishable by death, and verbal insults incurred severe
penalty. The bulk of the people in the lowlands was intelligent but the practice of slavery was
extensive. Warring is an inevitable result of many divisions of tribes. Such was the case in the
Philippines.

In the view of some historians, the actions of the Church and Spanish colonial authorities
during the Spanish colonial period led to tensions and social upheavals in the Philippines.
However, the Spanish authorities and Catholic officials feared that more education would lead to
Filipino independence and loss of the Church’s control over the populace and revenue for the
Church and the Spanish Crown. Filipino reformists in the likes of Illustrados such as Jose Rizal,
Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena and others founded the Propaganda Movement
Filipino revolutionists such as Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo and many others were
believed to be influencers and initiators of Philippine revolutions. They organized movements
which aimed for reform and to regain independence. Due to lack of unity, persistence, and
weapons, all the revolts were unsuccessful. Their efforts were futile, hence the Spaniards enjoyed
their three-century regime in the Philippines.
 Whatever its methods may have been, no fair-minded person could underrate its
achievement in dealing with the disunited, warring factions and tribes which it found inhabiting
the Philippine Islands in 1565 and in giving them a unity of thought which comes from a
common religion to which they are devoted.
 II. The Social and Economic Life of the Country in the Spanish Era.

The peninsulares were the group of people who came directly from the Iberian Peninsula
in Spain to the colonies in the Americas. They were Spaniards born in Spain but migrated to the
Philippines during the Spanish era. They belonged to the highest racial class. Insulares was the
specific term given to criollos or full-blooded Spaniards born in the Philippines or the Marianas.
Insulares were part of the second highest racial class in Spanish hierarchy below the
peninsulares. Mestizos were reproduced in an intermarriage between a Spanish father and a
Filipina mother.

The Galleon Trade was a government monopoly which involved two galleons. One sailed
from Acapulco to Manila with some 500,000 pesos worth of goods, spending 120 days at sea and
the other sailed from Manila to Acapulco with some 250,000 pesos worth of goods spending 90
days at sea. The Manila Galleon trade route was inaugurated in 1565 after Augustinian friar and
navigator Andrés de Urdaneta. The first successful round trips were made by Urdaneta and by
Alonso de Arellano that year.

A Galeon’s departure and arrival was a great feast because nobody knew if it could sail
safely back again because of the immense peril that awaited them in the ocean. Nevertheless,
government officials joined the galleon trade due to the large profit they could make from it.
Their duties as government officials were adversely affected it truly improved the economic
status of those engaged in the trade. However, galleon trade benefited only a very small coterie
of privilege Spaniards – the Spanish governor, merchants with consular duties and rights usually
insulares, and Spanish residents in Manila. Indios and Natives did not benefit from it because
they did not have the capital required for the trade. The Galeon Trade between Mexico and
Manila ended on September 14, 1815 after 250 years of existence.
 III. Spanish Colonization and Evangelization as two sides of the coin.

Spanish colonization and evangelization are two sides of the coin because they were two
strong forces that perfectly worked together to put the Philippines under the Spanish rule. The
strong influence of politics and the church worked hand in hand to achieve success. Spaniards
converted natives into Christians and made them believe that if we they would not listen and
obey the friars God would punish them. Such was the reason why they revered the friars and
took his words as laws and that worked to the advantage of the Spanish government whose main
purpose was to colonize the Philippines.

The natives then were peace-loving and friendly; hence they became easy prey for the
predators. They won the trust of many datus. They treated the Spanish colonizers as brothers to
the extent of having blood compact with them. After Christianizing the leaders, it was a lot easier
for them to make the natives follow. Christianity became an Indispensable factor because it
enhanced the process of colonization. However, the Spaniards failed to win the trust of the
Muslims.

A large number of Muslims refused to be baptized into Christianity. They even raged war
against the colonizers, hence the death of Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan. Many
Muslims fled to the mountains to isolate themselves from Christianity and from the Spanish
government, hence Islam exists in the land up to this day. There was nothing wrong with
Christianity. I am a Christian. We are Christians. It was how it was presented and the purpose of
bringing it that was wrong. Using God for selfish objective of oppressing and manipulating
people is evil. If there is one thing we should be thankful to the Spaniards for, it for teaching us
about the living God.
Reference:

Steven Shirley, Guided by God: The Legacy of the Catholic Church in Philippine

Politics (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004)

Diamonon, V. D. (1919). A study of the Philippine government during the Spanish regime.
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.5t89oqj0

Piscos, J. L. (2017). Human Rights and Justice Issues in the 16th Century Philippines.
http://scientia-sanbeda.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2-piscos.pdf

William, C. F. (1928). THE CHURCH AND THE STATE. The Philipine Island, 50–66.
http://www.philippinehistory.net/1928forbes.htm