THE PHILIPPINES UNDER SPANISH RULE

(1600s – 1800s)

REASONS FOR SPANISH COLONIZATION

 When King Charles I decide to send an expedition to the Moluccas his purpose
was primarily commercial.
o Spices was very profitable thus, King Charles was persuaded by
Magellan to send an expedition to Asia for the Spice Islands.
 During the time of Legazpi, the Spanish claim to the archipelago was sealed
based on two reasons.
o First, since the “discovery” of the Philippines was made under the
auspices of Spain, the Philippines, therefore was rightfully owned by
Spain.
o Second, since Spain, being an actual possession of the Philippines, it had
the right to colonize it.
 In other words, Spain claimed the Philippines by right of discovery and by right
of actual occupation or conquest. As such the Philippines was a possession or
property of the King of Spain and, therefore, a crown colony.

POLITICAL CHANGES
 As a crown colony, the Philippines was administered by the Council of the
Indies.
o Council of the Indies – They were councilors appointed by the King of
Spain. The council prepared and issued all legislation governing the
colonies in the king’s name, approved all important acts and expenditures
by colonial officials, and acted as a court of last resort in civil suits
appealed from colonial courts.
o The King of Spain issued Royal orders and decrees dealing with the
proper administration of the colony.
 In 1863, the Philippines, as a colony, was placed under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of the Colonies or Overseas Ministry (Ministerio de Ultramar).
o The Ministry of Overseas or Ministry of Overseas Territories was
the ministerial department in charge of the direction of Spanish
territories between 1863 and 1899.
 In order to make the administration of the Philippines efficient, the Overseas
Ministry was advised and aided in its work by the Council of the Indies.
The Central Government
  The Spanish colonizers organized a highly centralized form of government.
By this, it meant that almost everything had to be done with its knowledge and
consent.
 The central government was headed by the governor and captain- general, or
governor – general, who was appointed by the King of Spain.
o He possessed vast executive, legislative, and judicial powers.
 There were, however, only two branches of government: the executive and the
judicial.
o Superior decrees – orders issued by the governor and captain – general
with the force of law.
o Royal decrees - orders coming from the King of Spain.
 Functions of the governor - general:
o President of the Audiencia
o Vice royal patron in the Philippines
o He could appoint minor officials in the government including parish priest.
o He was also the commander – in - chief of the armed forces.
o The King bestowed upon him the right of cumplase. The usual formula in
exercising the right of cumplase was “I obey but do not comply.”
The Audiencia
The judicial powers of the government were exercised by the Audiencia and the
lower courts. The Audiencia was established in the Philippines in 1583 to administer
justice to the aggrieved people in the colony. Governor Santiago de Vera was its first
president. The Audiencia was the highest court insofar as civil and criminal cases were
concerned. Moreover, political and the administrative matters were brought before the
Audiencia by the governor. In the absence of governor or when he could not perform his
duties, the Audiencia exercised political and administrative powers. It also audited the
finances of the government.
Local Government
Under the central government was the provincial government. The provincial
governor was called alcalde mayor. He was appointed by the governor – general. The
alcalde mayor has the right to trade and this right was called indulto de comercio. It
was later abolished in 1844 because the alcalde mayor abused his power to the extent
of scandalizing the Spaniards. Another anomalous practice was the provincial
governor’s role as judge of the province. In 1886, the King ordered that the provincial
governor – judge, in 1886, the King ordered that the provincial governor should remain
as judge only. Another man was appointed as provincial governor whose main duty was
to administer the province.
Under the provincial government was the municipal government. The town or
municipality, composed of several barrios, was headed by the gobernadorcillo (little
governor), also called capitan municipal or simply captain. Today, he is called mayor.
The gobernadorcillo was elected by thirteen electors who were prominent in the town.
The one selected as gobernadorcillo had to be approved by the Spanish friar – curate.
If approved, his name was sent to the provincial governor who, in turn, submitted his
name was sent to the office of the governor – general in Manila for final approval. The
captain was aided in the administration of the town by deputies called tenientes, a chief
of police, and subordinate officials called alguaciles.
The City and Its Government
During the first century of Spanish rule, there were only two cities: Cebu and
Manila. As conquest and settlement continued, the Spanish officials created one city
after another. By the seventeenth century, the Philippines had six cities: Cebu, Manila,
Vigan, Nueva Segovia (now Lal – lo, Cagayan), Arevalo (now part of Iloilo City), and
Nueva Caceres (now Naga). The city then and now was the center of social,
commercial, religious and cultural life. Its government was different from that of the
town. It was called ayuntamiento, equivalent to today;s city hall, and consisted of two
alcaldes, twelve regidores (now called councilors), a chief of police, a city of secretary,
and few other lesser officials.
Each barrio or barangay of the town was headed by a cabeza de barangay who
did not receive any salary. However, he was given a portion of the taxes collected in his
barrio.
The Union of Church and the State
There was a union of Church and State in Spain. The same union was
introduced in the Philippines, so that the officials appointed by the King and by his
representative in the colony, were also defenders of the faith. Thus, because of this
union, the governor – general had authority to appoint priests to the parishes. The
clergy, on the other hand, were active in the government and had a political power. The
friars became members of some agencies of the Central Government. To the people of
every town, the friar – curate performed many duties. In this way, he became very
powerful.
The Church Organization
To administer the parishes efficiently, the Catholic Church was divided into
districts. In turn, each district was divided into parishes and missions. The districts
represented geographic regions that had different dialects or languages. On the other
hand, the parishes represented villages, while missions represented areas or regions
that were not yet conquered and converted to Catholicism.
In 1578, Manila became a diocese.
Three years later, Father Domingo de Salazar was appointed the first
Bishop in Manila.
 The bishopric of Manila became an archbishopric in 1595 with Father
Ignacio Santibaṅez as the first archbishop. Under the Archbisshopric of
Manila were the bishoprics of Cebu, Nueva Caceres, and Nueva Segovia.
The Ecclesiastical Government was headed by the Archbishop of Manila, who
was appointed by the Pope upon the recommendation of the King of Spain.
The Church, like the civil government, had a court of justice called
Ecclesiastical Court or Archbishop’s Court. Cases dealing with the laws of the
Church and those involving priests were tried by this court.
The Residencia and the Visita
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 to stop the abuses of high Spanish officials in the colonies.\
Residencia: It 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 involved the incoming governor –
general to conduct the investigation and trial of his predecessor and other
officials of the government. The result of the investigation and trial was sent to
Spain for final decision.
The visita, on the other hand, was a secret investigation of an official’s
conduct as a public servant. Its purpose was to ensure that the official will
work honestly and efficiently as he was expected to do. This was done any
time in the duration of the official’s term.
The Plaza Complex
The Plaza Complex can best illustrate this politico – religious structure of the
colonial government of the country under Spain. The houses of the natives were
situated around the plaza or town center to bring them close to the church, the convent,
the municipio, the marketplace, and the cemetery.
This setup allowed the Spaniards to effectively administer and control the
natives. The church easily regulated the activities of the natives, whose
residences were “under the peal of bells” or bajo de las campanas.

ECONOMIC CHANGES
The Encomienda
The King of Spain 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 in principle was not actually a piece of land, but a favor
from a King, under which the Spaniard receiving the favor was given the right
to collect tributes or taxes from the inhabitants of an area assigned to him.
The man who received this favor was called encomendero. The encomienda
was, therefore, a public office.
In exchange for this favor from the King, the Laws of the Indies provided that
the encomendero should teach the natives under his jurisdiction the Christian
doctrine. He was also ordered to protect them from any harm. However, these
humane provisions, like many laws coming from Spain, were not followed.
Instead, the encomenderos, with possibly very few exceptions, abused their
authority and maltreated Filipinos. So many were the abuses committed by
the encomenderos that the King abolished the private encomienda toward the
end of the seventeenth century.
Forced Labor
The Laws of Indies described how to prevent the exploitation of natives in their
employment. While Filipinos were required to render services to the State and the
Church, the same Laws of the Indies provided that the natives, who were ordered to
work either for the State or for the Church, should be paid their wages. However,
some conditions were set for forced labor, called polo y servicio, which included the
following:
1. That the Filipinos to be drafted for work must be paid for their work;
2. That the Filipino 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 men who are physically incapable should not be overworked;
5. That forced labor should be resorted to only cases of absolute necessity;
6. And that the number of laborers drafted should be diminished as soon as
laborers from other countries had volunteered to work.
On paper, the provisions of the policy on forced labor protected Filipino laborers
from exploitation. In practice, however, it was cruel because the laws regarding forced
labor were violated. For a Filipino people to be exempted from forced labor, he had to
pay a fee called falla. This fee was unreasonably high, and oftentimes the laborer could
not afford to pay it.
The Tribute
In order to raise enough money to finance the administration of the colony,
especially, the construction of churches, government buildings, roads, bridges, and
improvements in transportation and communication, the Filipinos were compelled to
pay a tribute in cash or in kind, in full or installment basis, to the Spanish government.
 The tribute was a form of recognition of the Filipino’s loyalty to the King of Spain.
Those who paid tribute were persons above sixteen years and those below sixty.
It was introduced in 1570 and the amount was small at that time. But, in 1589,
the tribute was raised, of which a small portion went to the Church. This was
called sanctorum.
The King abolished it in 1884 and the cedula personal was introduced. This is the
present equivalent of the residence certificate class “A.”
Taxes
Aside from the tribute, the Filipinos also paid other taxes.
Diezmos prediales – a tax which consisted of one – tenth of the produce land.
Donativo Zamboanga – which was introduced in 1635, was a tax specifically
used for the conquest of Jolo.
The Vinta – a tax paid by the people of some provinces along the coast of
Western Luzon for the defense of the coasts from Muslim pirates, who raided the
Visayas and Luzon for “slaves” that they needed in their overseas trading.
The Galleon Trade
The early Spanish colonial officials encouraged trade between Manila and other
countries of the East because it was so lucrative that it could make them wealthy within
a short period of time. Ships from Japan, China, Siam (Thailand), India, Cambodia,
Malacca, and what is now Indonesia, anchored in Manila to unload their valuable
cargoes. These, in turn, were shipped by Spanish traders to Mexico where they
commanded high prices. This trade across the Pacific was called galleon trade.
Not all can engage in the galleon trade because it was a government monopoly.
The galleon trade was so restrictive that the prosperity of the Spaniards in Manila
depended solely on the success of the voyage to and from Mexico.
When commercial liberty was adopted as a European policy, the monopolistic
galleon trade declined.
In 1811, the galleon trade came to an end.
The Economic Society
Governor José Basco y Vargas founded the Economic Society of Friends of
the Country in 1781 to effectively implement an economic policy in the colony. This
was according to the King’s decree which gave him the right to establish a society “of
selected persons who are capable enough to produce useful ideas.” In order to make it
solvet from the start, prominent Spanish traders of Manila gave the Society the sum of
960 pesos a year, a hefty sum during those days. The Society was divided into
sections:
1. Factories and manufactures
2. Industry and popular education
 3. Natural history
4. Domestic and foreign commerce, and
5. Agriculture and rural economy
Under the auspices of the Society, economic subjects were discussed by
government officials, traders, and merchants; pamphlets on the cultivation of indigo,
coffee, sugar, cacao, hemp, and other plants were published and widely distributed;
agricultural implements from the United States were imported to improve agricultural
and thus increase production; and advanced agricultural methods were also introduced.
As a result of these activities, the Society was able to:
The Society was able to export indigo to Europe for the first time and that was
in 1784.
The Society’s activities were not limited to the encouragement of agriculture
and industry. It also founded the Academy of Drawing in Manila in 1824, and
granted scholarships to those who were interested in the art of dyeing.
In 1861, the Society founded an agricultural school of Manila for the purpose
of training farmers in advanced agricultural methods.
The Government Monopolies
Governor Basco was also remembered for his role in establishing government
monopolies, the most important of which was the tobacco monopoly. Consequently,
the King issued a decree in 1780 ordering the establishment of the tobacco monopoly.
The following were the provisions of the decree:
1. The cultivation of tobacco was prohibited except for the provinces selected that
grow it.
2. Contraband sale of tobacco was forbidden.
3. The government had the exclusive right to purchase all tobacco products, to
inspect and classify the tobacco plant, and to prepare and manufacture cigar and
cigarettes;
4. The government had the right to prohibit the exportation and importation of
tobacco by any agency not connected with the government. In other words, the
government had the monopoly of the planting, inspection, sale and purchase of
tobacco and its manufacture into cigar and cigarette.
Basco’s estimate that increased government revenues would result from the
tobacco monopoly was correct. In 1808, the government realized a net profit of about
500,000 pesos. For planting year 1880 to 1881, the net profit to a staggering 3,500,000
pesos.
Furthermore, the monopoly led to the development of agriculture in provinces
where tobacco was grown, like the Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, the Cagayan Valley, and
Marinduque.
 On the other hand, these advantages of the tobacco monopoly were offset by its
bad results.
The Spanish officials in charge of inspection and classification of tobacco
committed abuses like seizing the lands from tobacco farmers who failed to
produce the required quota of tobacco.
Inspectors also searched the house of farmers for alleged contraband
tobacco, but in reality the purpose was to abuse the farmer’s family.
The farmers were not paid the value of the tobacco crop, instead, they
received nothing but paper promises or promissory notes saying that they
would receive the amount due to them.
What was worse was that the tobacco farmers themselves could not smoke
the tobacco they produced.
Many farmers from the Ilocos and the Cagayan Valley left their homes in
disgust and went to Manila. As a result, the population of the tobacco
provinces decreased which led to the neglect of agriculture and,
consequently, to the low income of those provinces.
Thus, because of the anomalies connected with the tobacco monopoly, opposition to it
grew. Consequently, the King, in 1881, ordered its abolition, but it was actually
abolished in 1882 in the Philippines.

The Royal Company

Governor Basco’s administration was also highlighted by the establishment of the
Royal Company of the Philippines in 1785. The aims of the company were to
promote the progress of the Philippines by improving the foreign trade of the colony
with Spain and to develop the natural resources of the Philippines by encouraging
industry, manufacturing, and agriculture.
The encouragement of the cultivation of indigo, sugar cane, pepper, and other
spices by the company, led to increased agricultural production. Moreover, foreign
capital was encouraged to enter Manila thus improving the trade and commercial
relations between other countries and the Philippines. With the influx of foreign capital,
the revenues of the government increased.
The Company’s failure may be attributed to the following causes:
1. The Spanish merchants in the Philippines, who had been accustomed to the
profitable galleon trade, did not cooperate wholeheartedly with the Company.
2. The Company was not able to establish direct commercial contact with Japan,
China and India, so it had to buy commodities from these countries through the
Manila merchants, resulting in paying higher prices for those commodities than in
the other countries where they came from.
3. The Company was not well – managed.
 4. Foreign vessels, instead of the Company’s vessels, brought to Manila such items
as groceries, canned goods, wine and other European products.
As a result of the failure of the Company to implement its program for the Philippines, it
was abolished in 1834.
Economic Development: An Overview
The first one hundred and fifty years of Spanish rule was characterized by a slow
economic development.
 Population decreased
 Uprisings of revolts
Several factors accounted for the slow development of the Philippine economy.
 First, most Spanish officials were lazy, incompetent and inefficient. They wanted
a “white collar” jobs.
 Second, there were frequent quarrels between the Spaniards themselves.
Incompetence was paramount among Spanish officials. It was seldom that one of the
cared for the welfare of the Filipinos. Under these circumstances, the people became
unproductive and seemingly indolent. There was very little economic and social
improvement in the life of the masses, while the colonial officials and the church
hierarchy grew rich.