CIVICS 5

REDUCCION AND THE

CHRISTIANIZATION
OF THE NATIVES
 Because the barangays were scattered and far from each other, there
was a need to put them together in one place in order to make them
accessible to the Spaniards. Through this, colonization and Christianity
could be spread easier and in an orderly manner. Fr. Juan de Plasencia
proposed the idea of establishing the reduccion which was approved by
all the religious orders. On April 27, 1534, King Philip II of Spain ordered
Governor-General Luis Perez Dasmarinas to carry out the reduccion.
The religious orders were assigned places to lead and supervise.
Augustians – the Tagalog provinces, Pampanga, Ilocos,
Cebu, and Panay
Dominicans – the whole provinces of Cagayan and
Pangasinan
Franciscans – the whole Bicol Region
Jesuits – Samar, Bohol, Leyte, and some parts of Mindanao
Augustians Dominicans
Franciscans Jesuits
Reduccion is derived from the
Spanish word “reducer” which
means “to control” or “to conquer.”
The reduccion was arranged in such
a way that the plaza became the
center of the community. The
church, convent of the missionaries,
municipal hall, and stone houses of
the principalia formed a square since
they were located at the sides. The
church became the center of all the
activities in the reduccion from a
person’s birth until death.
 The Spanish soldiers were not allowed to live with the
native peoples in the reduccion. This was because of the
bad behavior that was shown by the soldiers which
cause harm to the native peoples. Except for the clergy,
no other Spaniard stayed with the native peoples. They
had to stay either in Manila or Cebu to concentrate on
the small forces of the islands.
Ordinary Filipino families lived outside the center of the community. The
arrangement was introduced to the native peoples including the blocks
and streets. The reduccion was structured in such a way that the native
peoples could easily go to the church at the tolling of the bells (bajo de
campanas).
Not all the places in the Philippines were placed under
the reduccion. The mountainous areas of the country
were difficult to reach; thus, most of the indigeneous
peoples who lived in the mountains were not
indoctrinated to the Christian faith.
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
 The reduccion was the first step of the Spaniards in their aim to spread
Christianity. As part of this pursuit, the missionaries lured the native
peoples through various ceremonies and practices such as church
songs, extravagant processions with images of saints garbed in colorful
and expensive clothing, the Santacruzan and Flores de Mayo, lighting of
candles, praying the rosary, wearing of medals and scapulars, staging
of senakulo – a play about the life sufferings of Jesus Christ, and the
tolling of the church bells. Some of the celebrations that became
important to the native peoples were the Semana Santa or Holy Week,
Corpus Christi, and the town fiesta which commemorates the feast day
of their patron saint.
After their baptism, the native peoples were given Christian
names based on the names of their town’s patron saints.
This practice helped the Spaniards during census and
collection of tributes.

E O CARLOS M A R IA
M A T
IS A B E L F E L I P E
D R E S
A N JOS E
AN
The missionaries taught the rudiments and teachings
of the Christian faith. The children were taught
verses, songs, and prayers. They also attended mass
every day. After lunch, the children returned for their
religious lessons until 5 o’clock in the afternoon that
was followed by a procession after their lessons.