Las Islas

Legazpi Expedition.- the most successful expedition. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was appointed head of the
expedition. With four ships and about 380 men. Ihe expedition reached Cebu in February, 1565. Later Legazpi
sailed to Cibabao (Leyte) then to Samar. Here he concluded a blood compact with some of the chieftains.
Early on March, he sailed to Camiguin Island, then to Butuan in Mindanao, and then to Bohol. The scarcity of
food in Bohol led Legazpi to order his men to sail for Cebu.

The First Settlement in Cebu. - Legazpi and his men entered Cebu harbor on April 27. The Cebuanos were
hostile to him probably because in the past some white men who looked like Spaniards maltreated them.
Legazpi explained to the Cebuanos that the white men who maltreated them were not Spaniards but
Portuguese. He also told them that he wanted the Filipinos and the Spaniards to be friends. The Cebuano
chieftain, Tupas, did not believe him he fought them in skirmishes. Tupas fled to the mountains after burning
practically all the houses in what is now Cebu city. The day after the skirmish, a Spaniard found the image of
the Infant Jesus which Magellan gave to Juana, Humabon's wife, forty-four years before. The image was
unburned.

Legazpi, invited the Cebuanos to come down from the mountains. He promises not to harm any of them.
Convinced that Legazpi was sincere, Tupas and his men returned to the lowland and entered into an
agreement with Legazpi.

Legazpi was happy to hear from Goiti the news about Manila. He informed his men that he received from the
King of Spain instruction making him governor and captain- general, which is equivalent to governor-general of
the Philippines. Legazpi also intormed them that King wanted him to colonize the rest of the archipelago. At
this time, food became scarce in Panay. Father Diego de Herrera, an Augustinian friar, suggested that they
settle in Luzon. So Legazpi decided to leave for Luzon, with Manila as the object of his expedition. The
Filipinos were defeated and Legazpi took over Manila.

Form of government- Centralized and unitary

Local Government. - Below the central government was the provincial government. Provinces which were
already pacified and recognizing the authority of Spain were governed by Civil provincial governors. Those not
yet fully pacified and conquered were ruled by military. One provincial governor was called alcalde mayor. He
was appointed by the governor-general. His salary was small but he could collect a part or the tributes to
increase his income. That made him rich and powerful. The right given to him to engage in trade. This right is
called indulto de comercio.

In almost all cases. he provincial governor abused this power so that he Committed graft and corruption.
Because this power was so abused as to scandalize even Spaniards, it was abolished in 1844.
Since many abuses were committed by the governor-Judge. The King in 1885 ordered that the provincial
governor should remain as judge only. Another man was appointed provincial governor whose main duty was
to administer the province.

The Dutch Treat to Spanish Rule

The rule of Spain in the Philippines was threatened from the outside by the Portuguese and the Dutch. The
Portuguese threat disappeared only when Portugal was annexed to Spain in 1580. However, the Dutch, the
inhabitants of all small country called Holland, also threatened Spanish rule. At the height of Spain's power
under King Charles I and his son, King Philip, Holland was a part of the Spanish Empire. The Dutch. being a
liberty-loving people, revolted against Spain and proclaimed their independence in 1579. But Spain refused to
recognize Dutch independence. The thirty Years war in Europe, in which Spain was deeply involved, ended
with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. By this treaty, Spain finally recognized Holland's independence. Spain,
however, closed the port of Lisbon to the Dutch in order to discourage them from trading with the Portuguese.
The need for trading posts forced the Dutch to send their ships to the Orient for trading purposes. In the
process, Holland came to colonize Malaya and what is now Indonesia In 1597, Holland sent man expedition to
the Orient under the command of Admiral Oliver van Noort. Reaching Manila Bay van Noort seized Filipino and
Chinese vessels. A Spanish squadron under the command of Antonio de Morga gave battle to the Dutch. In
the first battle of Mariveles, van Noort was defeated and was forced to leave for Holland. The second Dutch
attack occurred in 1610 when they tried to land on Cuyo Island. The Filipinos were, however, hostile to the
Dutch and lought them off. Another expedition was sent a little later. Reaching Manila Bay, the Dutch fleet
blockaded Manila, but the Spaniards aided by the Fllpinos, Tought them and the second battle of Mariveles
took place. In this battle, the Dutch were badly beaten. But the Dutch returned, In 1616. The last attack, which
occurred in 1647, tried to capture Cavite and Bataan, but they were finally driven off. They never again made
any serious attempt to contest Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines.

Spanish Imposed Institutions

The Residencia and the Visita- Because of the abuses committed by many Spanish officials sent to the
Philippines, the King and Ministers of Spain introduced two institutions in their colonies, including the
Philippines. These were the residencia and the visita. These two institutions were introduced in order to stop
the abuses of high Spanish officials in the colonies.

The residencia was the public investigation and trial of outgoing colonial officials in order to ascertain whether
they had committed abuses in the performance of their duties. The procedure was for the incoming governor-
general to conduct the investigation and trial of his predecessor and other officials of the government.

Visita- was done during the official's term of office. 10 days Force Labor The Spanish officials in the Phlippines
compelled the Filipinos to work in the construction of churches, roads, bridges, ships, and in the hauling and
timber-cutting industries. However, some conditions were set for the forced labor, called polo y servicio.

These conditions included:

(1) that Filipinos to be drafted for work must be paid for their work;

(2) that Filipinos laborers should not be made to work in distant places

where they could not return to their families,

(3) that the drafting of laborers should not coincide with the planting and harvest seasons,

(4) that physically incapable men should not be overworked;

(5) that forced labor should be resorted to only in a clear case of

absolute necessity: and

(6) that the number of laborers drafted should be diminished as soon as laborers from other countries
(probably referring to the Chinese) had volunteered to work.

On paper, the forced labor was good, for it protected Filipino laborers from exploitation. In practice, it was
cruel, for the laws regarding forced labor were violated. For example, Filipinos were not paid their wages. They
were separated from their families by making them work in very far provinces. They were not given food, as
required by law, but instead they had to provide their own food. Moreover, they were overworked and as a
result thousands of Filipino laborers died. This was one of the causes of the decrease in the population of the
Philippines during some years in the SIxteenth and the seventeenth centuries. For a Filipino labor to be
exempted from forced labor, he had to pay a fee called falla. This fee was high, which the laborer could not
pay.

Encomienda

In order to reward the Spaniards who helped in the conquest and settlement of the Philippines, the King of
Spain, as early as 1558, ordered that lands be distributed to his loyal subjects. In accordance with this order
Legazpi gave lands to those who had helped in the conquest of the Philippines. The encomienda was not
actually a piece of land, but a favor the King under which the Spaniards receiving the favor was given the right
to Collect tributes or taxes trom the inhabitants of an area assigned to him. The man who received this favor
was called encomendera.

Tribute and Taxes

Administration of the Philippines and, especially, the construction of churches, government buildings, roads,
bridges, and improvements in transportation and communication, the Filipinos were compelled to pay tribute to
the Spanish colonial government. The tribute was a form of recognition of the Filipino's loyalty to the King of
Spain.

Galleon Trade

Even before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Philippines had already been trading with her neighbours. Jolo
and Manila were trading centers of the archipelago. After the Spanish conquest and the settlement of a large
part of the Philippines, Manila became a leading commercial center of the Orient. The early Spanish colonial
officials encouraged trade between Manila and other countries of the Orient because it was so lucrative as to
make them rich within a short time, ships from Japan, China, Slam (Thailand) India, Cambodia, Malacca and
what is now Indonesia, anchored in Manila to discharge their valuable cargoes. These, in turn, were shipped
by Spanish traders to Mexico where they commanded high prices.
INFLUENCES

Position of women

The position of Filipino women under the rule of Spain was a demotion from that which they occupied before
the coming of the Spaniards. While the women before the Spanish conquest were treated almost equally by
men, during Spanish times the women existed only as dependents of men. Their rights over property which
they enjoyed during pre-Spanish times were curtailed. They could not sell the property they inherited from their
parents before their marriage without the consent of their husbands. But their husbands could sell the same
property even without their knowiedge.

The friar-curates taught the Filipino women to be very obedient to their husbands, even if their husbands were
cruel and immortal. The friars taught them to prepare themselves for marriage, which was thought to be the
only function of women. They were taught prayers and how to behave in public. They were taught how to use
the fork, the spoon, and the knife in formal dinner. They were not, however, taught how to be independent, how
to help the husbands in earning more for the family, how to work in order to earn when the husbands were
sick, and they were not taught how to think for themselves. In other words, the women during the Spanish
period existed only in order to raise children.

Religion

The Spaniards introduced Catholicism to the Filipinos who readily accepted it. It is to the credit of the
missionaries and the friar- Curates that in a space of a comparatively short time, they were able to convert a
great majority of the Filipinos to the Catholic religion. A western religion with an oriental background,
Catholicism won the hearts and minds of millions of Filipinos who, to this day, remain in the majority.

Spanish language

While it is true that the Spaniards did not teach the beautiful Spanish language to the Filipinos, nevertheless
this language was learned by many Filipinos who had contacts with the Spaniards. Such contacts led to a
limited use of Spanish among many Filipinos. At the same time, the friar-curates, the missionaries, and the
Spanish civil officials and employees used Spanish words and phrases in their dealings with the people. In the
course of time, the Filipinos came to learn the meaning of the word and other words like it and used them in
their daily life. It was thought this process that Spanish words were incorporated into the Philippine Languages
like Hiligaynon, Sugbuhanon, Bikol, Tagalog, llokano, and olhers. Tagalog was especially influenced by the
Spanish language because the tagalong region was and still in the center of the social, political, cultural and
economic set-up of the country.

Education

Education was not given to majority of the Filipinos However, in the second half of the nineteenth century,
primary and secondary schools were opened to Filipino children of school age. Although many children were
afraid to study because the teachers were oftentimes brutal, many were able to go to colleges like San Juan de
Letran, San Jose, and the Ateneo Municipal. Later, many Flipinos were admitted to the University of Santo
Tomas where they finished their courses in law, medicine, pharmacy, and surveying. It is true that the method
of teaching was very poor.
THE RISE OF FILIPINO NATIONALISM

The Flipinos never had any unity before and after the coming of Legazpi. They were divided into barangays,
but these alliances were loose and not permanent. Filipinos at that time never considered themselves as one
people with a common heritage. They called themselves inhabitants or residents of this or that locality,
baranggay, or area.

Opening of the Suez Cánal

This resulted in the shortening of the distance between Spain and the Philippines. Because of this, many
Spaniards with progressive ideas migrated to the Philippines. Later on, they influence some educated Filipinos
and soon both were asking the government to introduce changes in the administration of the colony. Another
effect of the shortening of the distance between Spain and the Philippines was that the sending of progressive
books and periodicals to the Philippines became easy and cheap. These books and periodicals were read by
the educated Filipinos who learned about democratic practices in Europe, the freedom of the press, the
freedom of speech, and the free exchange of ideas among people. he shortening of the distance between the
Mother Country and the colony also encouraged many educated Filipinos to go to Europe to continue their
studies and to prove that they were the equal of the Spaniards.

Before the opening of the Suez Canal, the voyage from Spain to Philippines or from here to Spain was so long
and dangerous that many FilipinoS who could afford to go to Europe were afraid to undertake the voyage.
Liberalism of the Philippines. In 1868, a revolution took place in Spain. The revolutionist won and Queen Isabel
was forced to flee to France. As a result of this, the Republic of the Spain was set up. The triumph of the
revolutionist in Spain who were for popular suffrage and for freedom of speech, of the press, and of the
religion, led to the sending oft progressive or liberal Spaniards to the Philippines. One of this liberal Spaniards
was Governor- General Carlos Maria de La Torre. When he arived in Manila in 1869, he put into practice the
liberal principles of the revolutionist in Spain. He showed his democratic ways by living Simply, by avoiding
luxury, and by walking the streets of Manila in civilian clothes. This was something new, because in the past
the governors- general wore their military uniforms complete with medals and ribbons,

Campaign for Secularization

Priests are of two classes: the regular and the secular. The regular priests are those who belong to the
religious orders like the Dominican, the recollect, the Augustinian, and the Franciscan. The secular priest is not
a member ol any religious order, the regular priests or simply regulars have a mission to convert non- Christian
people to Christianity. As soon as they have converted the people of a locality to Christianity, they leave and
go to another area to make converts, In the Christianized areas, churches or parisnes are buit. These are
administered by the seculars.

Execution of Gom-Bur-Za.

Before the trial of the priests Gomez,Burgos, and Zamora, they were jailed in Fort Santiago. Priests, regular or
secular, were allowed to see them. During the trial, the government failed to prove convincingly that the
accused seculars were really connected with the January mutiny. The governor-general promised to present
documents to prove that the three priests were connected with the "rebellion", as he called the mutiny. But he
never presented any document. Until the present time, no document has been found to show that Gomez,
Burgos, and Zamora were, in any way, connected with the mutiny. Nevertheless, they were sentenced to death
by garrote.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR REFORMS

The ten years that elapsed after the execution of Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora were peaceful years. It was a
peaceful period because the Filipinos were cowed into silence by the Spanish authorities. There were threats
of persecution of those who would oppose or criticized Spanish rule. There was discontent not only among the
masses of the people, but also among the educated and the well-to-do Filipinos. The people were discontented
because they remained poor and burdened with heavy taxes. The educated and the wealthy were
discontented because of the abuses of the Spaniards and because they could not participate in the
administration of the government.

Graciano Lopez Jaena-in 1889, he founded the fortnightly newspaper La Solidaridad (Solidarity). He became
its first editor. The newspaper became the propaganda arm of the Filipino reformists in Spain. Copies were
sent secretly to the Philippines and distributed to educated Filipinos. Lopez Jaena not only wrote articles
favorable to the Filipinos but he also delivered speeches defending them from the cruel charges of Spanish
writers like Pablo Feced and Wenceslao E. Relana, who were anti-Filipino. In all his speeches, he extolled the
Philippines and called it "Pearl of the orient". He expressed the demands of the Filipino reformists.

These demands included

(1) representation in the Spanish Cortes

(2) the right to vote

() freedom of speech, of assembly and of the press;

(4) freedom of commerce

(5) the removal of the friars from the Phiippines because they constituted an obstacle to progress

(6) the education of the people

(7) reforms in the jails of the country; and

(8) the abolition of the diezmos prediales or the consisting of one-tenth of the produce of the land.

Lopez Jaena suffered from hunger and illness and on 20 January 1896, he died in Barcelona, Spain.

Jose Rizal. The most brilliant of the Filipinos during his time, Rizal was born In Calamba, Laguna, on June 19,
1861. He studied at the Ateneo Municipal the University of Santo Tomas. Later, he went to Europe to continue
his medical studies. He observed early in life how the Spaniards maltreated the Filipinos: He saw, too, how the
Spanish authorities ordered his Old mother to walk from Calamba to the town of Santa Cruz, the capital of the
province because of a false charge made against her by the Spanish provincial officials. He saw all the
injustices being committed against the Filipinos and his young mind and heart rebelled against them. He swore
to work for the freedom of his country.
In 1882, he went to Spain with the help of his elder brother and an uncle. He studied medicine and several
languages such as French and German. At the age of twenty-six, he wrote his first novel Noli Me Tangere,
which means Touch Me Not. In this 'novel, he exposed the defects of the Spanish administration of the
Philippines, the greed and immorality of the friars, and the superstitions of the Filipinos. Next he wrote his
second novel, EL Filibusterismo (The Rebel), which is a continuation of the first novel. In the second novel,
Rizal expressed his political ideas and, in story form, predicted the coming of the revolution. He was, however,
a man of peace. He did not want to have a revolution at that time because the Flipinos were not yet prepared
to fight the Spaniards. He wanted, first of all, to educate the people so that they would know how to discharge
their duties correctly and faithfully.

Rizal wrote poems, essays, and many articles all showing his love of country, his patriotism, and his love of
parents, his happiness and his sorrows. Because of his attacks on the civil and ecclesiastical authorities in the
Philippines, thy hated him and worked for his arrest. He was first banished to Dapitan, in Zamboanga, and later
he was tried by a military court and sentenced to be shot to death. He was executed on Bagumbayan Field on
December 30, 1896.

Marcelo H. del Pilar whom even his Spanish enemies called the "greatest journalist produced by the purely
Flipino race wasborn in the barrio of Kupang, Bulacan, on 30 August 1850. He studied at the College of San
Jose and later at the University of Santo Tomas where he finished his law studies in 1880. In this same year,
he began his campaign against the abuses of the friars and the Spanish civil officials. He spoke in meetings
and especially in the crowded cockpit where the common people heard him criticize the friars. In 1882, he
founded the Tagalog-Spanish newspaper Diariong Tagalog which, although short-lived, published suggestions
on how to improve the administration of the country. It also published mild criticism of the Spaniards because
there was no freedom of the press and of speech during the Spanish times. In 1888, the Spanish friars of
Bulacan persuaded the Spanish officials of the province to arrest del Pilar. But his admirers warned him about
the order for his arrest and del Pilar secretly left for Spain. A year aflter his arrival in Spain, he became the
editor of La Solidaridad. Thereafter he became its guiding spirit.

He not only edited the newspapers, but wrote many articles and editorials. Two of his books in Spanish which
became famous were La Soberania Monacal en Filipinas (friar sovereignty in the Philippines ) and La
Frailocracia Filipina (The friars in the Philippine). Unlike Rizal and other reformists, del Pilar wrote in the
language of the masses. He wrote Caiigat Cayo, Dasalan at Toksohan, Kadakilaan ng Dios, Sagot nang
Espana sa Hibik nang Filipinas, and many others. These writings in Tagalog were enjoyed by the masses. Due
to his heavy work and lack of proper food, Del Pilar contracted tuberculosis. During winter when it was very
cold in Spain, he would pick up cigarette butts in the streets of Barcelona and smoked them to keep him warm.
He wanted to return to the Philippines because he believed that the campaign for reforms was a failure and
that it was time to shift to revolutionary action. But he died on July 4 1896.

Bonifacio and the Katipunan

July 7, 1892- a small group of patriotic men met in a house on Azcarraga Street now CM Recto, Manila. These
men were Andres Bonitacio, Teodoroo Plata, valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, Deodato Arrellano and one or two
others. They organized a society called Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangan na Katipunan nang mga anak
nang Bayan or Highest and Most Respectable Association of the Sons of the People.

Aims of the Katipunan

1. Civic Objective- based on the principle of self -help and the defense of the weak and the poor.

2. Political Objective-was the separation of the Philippines from Spain that is to secure the independence of the
Philippines.

3. Moral Objective- consisted in the teaching of good manners, hygiene, and good moral character.