Early Period of Spanish Colonization

 March 16, 1521- first recorded sighting of the Philippines by Europeans.

 Ferdinand Magellan- Portuguese navigator and explorer headed the first Spanish foray
to the Philippines when he made landfall on Cebu in March 1521.
 King Philip II of Spain- for whom the Philippines were named. He reigned from 1556 to
1598.
Reasons for Colonization: 3Gs
 GOD-The conversion of Natives to Christianity
 GOLD- Accumulation of gold or wealth
 GLORY- Supremacy of Spain over Portugal as a superpower.

 After Magellan’s voyage, subsequent expeditions were dispatched to the islands:

1. Loaisa (1525)
2. Cabot (1526)
3. Saavedra (1527)
4. Villalobos (1542)
5. Legazpi (1564)

 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi- who established the first Spanish permanent settlement in
Cebu, in 1565.
 1571- Spanish city of Manila was founded.
 End of the 16th century- most of the coastal and lowland areas from Luzon to northern
Mindanao were under Spanish control.
 Spain’s three objectives in its policy towards Philippines:
1. To acquire a share in the spice trade
2. To develop contacts with China and Japan in order to further Christian
missionary efforts there
3. To convert the Filipinos to Christianity
 Only the third objective was eventually realized, and this not completely because
of the active resistance of both the Muslims in the south and Igorot, the upland
tribal peoples in the north.
 Church and state were inseparably linked in carrying out Spanish policy

 Dominicans, Franciscan & Augustinians (friars) & Jesuits-was assigned to several

religious orders.
 Principalia/principals (principal ones)-rural areas of Filipino upper class. This group had:
 local wealth
 high status and prestige
 certain privileges (exemption from taxes, lesser roles in parish church,
appointment to local offices)
  Among the most significant and enduring changes that occurred under Spanish
rule was that the Filipino idea of communal use and ownership of land was
replaced with the concept of private, individual ownership and the conferring of
titles on members of the principalia.
 For the first 100 years of Spanish rule, a type of tax farming was exercised.

 Encomienda- was not actually a land grant but was a favor from the land under
which the Spaniard receiving his favor was given the right to collect tributes or taxes
from the inhabitants of the area assigned to him.
 Encomendero- collector of the tribute

 But abusive treatment of local tribute payers and neglect of religious

instruction by encomenderos, as well as frequent withholding of revenues
from the crown, caused Spanish to abandon the system by the end of 17 th
century.
 Agricultural technology changed very slowly until the late 18 th century, as
shifting cultivation gradually gave way to more intensive sedentary farming
partly under the guidance of the friars.
 Until the 19th century, central government in Manila retained a medieval cast
and governador general was so powerful that he was often likened to an
independent monarch.
 The galleon trade with Acapulco Mexico assured Manila’s commercial
primacy as well.
 Manila- ecclesiastical capital of the Philippines
 Economic and political institutions were also altered under Spanish impact
but perhaps less thoroughly than in religious realm.

References:
http://countrystudies.us/philippines/4.htm
https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/The-Spanish-period