CHAPTER 3 (ASSIMILATION OF THE PHILIPPINES INTO THE SPANISH RULE)

Keno: Para ma sabtan natu ang lesson kailangan sabton sa natu ang title
una .ASSIMILATION refers to the process through which individuals and groups of differing
heritages acquire the basic habits, attitudes, and modes of life of an embracing culture.
Keno: Spain colonized the Philippines from 1565 to 1898. The Spaniards ruled the Filipinos
for 333 years. Spanish influence on the Philippines and the Filipino inhabitants was
immediately visible following the imposition of Castilian colonial sovereignty. Castilian
means Castile or a former kingdom comprising most of modern Spain. The Spaniards
transplanted their social, economic, and political institutions halfway across the world to the
Philippine archipelago. The colonial masters required the native Filipinos to swear allegiance
to the Spanish monarch, where before they only had village chieftains called "datus;" to
worship a new God, whereas before they worshipped a whole pantheon of supernatural
deities and divinities; to speak a new language, where before they had (and still have) a Babel
of tongues; and to alter their work habits, where before they worked within the framework of
a subsistence economy. The Spanish landholding system based on private ownership of land
replaced the Filipino system of communal land ownership. (That is all my part so carl will be
the one to continue the discussion.)
Carl: To administer the Philippines, the Spaniards extended their royal government to the
Filipinos. This highly centralized governmental system was theocratic. The Roman Catholic
Church was equal to and coterminous with the State. In the process, the Spanish Catholic
missionaries helped in the implantation of Castilian culture and civilization. The imposition
of the Roman Catholic faith upon the Filipino population permanently influenced the culture
and society of the Philippines. This is due to the fact that the Spanish friars who undertook
the immense task of evangelizing the Filipino natives looked at their missionary work and
endeavor as involving more than simple conversion. By Christianizing the Filipinos, the
Spanish Catholic missionaries were in effect remodeling Filipino culture and society
according to the Hispanic standard. (That is all my part so James abuyog will discuss more
details.)
James: They would be Hispanizing the Filipinos, teaching them the trades, manners, customs,
language and habits of the Spanish people. This influence is evident even in the way we tell
time ("alas singko y media"), in the way we count ("uno, dos, tres"), and in the family names
we carry ( De la Cruz, Reyes, Santos, etcetera). Filipinos embraced Spanish Roman Catholic
Christianity almost unquestioningly. The Spanish authorities congregated the scattered
Filipino population into clustered village settlements. This paved the way for the emergence
of the present system of politico-territorial organization. Some scholars claim that the
Spaniards only superficially Christianized the Filipinos. Prior to the imposition of Castilian
rule, the Filipinos practiced slash-and-burn agriculture. This farming technique involved
clearing a hillside or patch of land, cutting down trees, and burning them. Missionaries taught
them horticultural techniques requiring intensive cultivation of land through better irrigation
and water management.

Chapter 4 (The Philippines Under Spanish Colonial Regime)

The Spanish colonial policy was essentially geared not just to maintain complete control over
the Philippines, but also to utilize her abundant natural riches. The onerous taxation system,
arbitrary and unfair forced labor, monopolistic galleon commerce, and stringent trade and
agricultural policies all contributed to a distorted and unbalanced economy.
: On taxation, One of the laws of the Indies promulgated by the Spanish Crown was to
require conquered inhabitants to pay tribute in recognition of Spanish sovereignty. For so
many years, the Filipinos paid tribute to Spanish authorities amounting to eight reales or one
peso, payable in cash or in kind. All residents about eighteen years of age regardless of
nationality or sex were required to pay the new tax. This burdensome tribute paid to the
Spanish sovereign covers taxes for the support of the church, and the coastal areas for the
protection of the natives from looters, burglars, and marauders. There was a lot of direct form
of taxes the natives had to bear that were not sanctioned by the Spanish government policy on
taxation. A big amount of taxes extracted from the inhabitants went to the pockets of corrupt,
arrogant, and indolent Spanish civil officials. To make the mode of taxation worse was that a
big portion of taxes collected was spent on Spanish expeditions outside the Philippines.

: On Forced Labor, The dehumanizing labor where the Spanish government required all
males, healthy and physically able between the ages sixteen and sixty to render service for
forty days virtually exploited the colony`s human resources. The laborers were called
politics, the natives who rendered forced labor. The policies that were engaged in
backbreaking hard labor under the scorching heat of the sun were not paid daily wages and
food rations during their working days. There were some Filipinos exempted from rendering
forced labor upon payment of a certain fee called falla. The negative effect on Filipino
psychology about manual labor could be attributed to the Filipino's preference for "white
collar jobs. " The Filipinos were not indolent if given the proper working conditions. The
increase in revenues of the government through the cultivation of tobacco and its export
became a profitable venture that provided additional income to be financially viable and
independent of Mexico. While the tobacco monopoly brought considerable profit to the
government in terms of revenues and placed undeveloped lands for cultivation, the Filipino
economic difficulties remained the same.
In some designated areas, food production miserably declined because the government
compelled the natives to produce tobacco only. The tobacco planters were forced Because of
this unjust condition, the tobacco farmers were forced to engage in widespread bribery and
smuggling to evade the strict regulations of the monopoly and to secure a better price for their
tobacco.

: The Gallon trade, Spain imposed stringent restrictions upon the galleon trade because of
pressure exerted by the Servile merchants who were afraid that Chinese goods would flood
the American markets, putting Spanish export products at a disadvantage. The galleon trade
virtually disrupted the growth and development of the Philippine economy because Spain
barred other European ships to embark their products to Manila and to other ports of the
Philippines.
: On the Encomiendas, The encomienda was a right granted by the king to a Spaniard who
assisted in the settling of a territory. By implication, it was a public office, and the person was
known as an encomiendero, a holder of the encomienda with the authority to collect taxes
from the people within his jurisdiction. In exchange, he was obligated by the rules of the
Indies to protect and defend the people under him against hostility and danger, and he
assisted in the conversion of the Indians to Catholicism.
: Economics Retrogression, The Spaniards attributed the colony's economic decline to the
indolence inherent in the Filipino character, their incapacity to learn, and their presumed
congenital inferiority of the Indios. Nonetheless, Fathers Pedro Chirino and Antorio de
Morga quickly discredited the Spaniards' charge by attesting to the natives' notable growth
and development of agriculture, trade and industry, skill, and inventiveness. The
government's imposition of multiple levies, as well as its absolute insensitivity to providing
the service for which money was extracted, constituted economic retrogression.
: The Abolition Of Slavery, The elimination of slavery might be regarded as one of Spain's
administrative achievements for the colony's people. This was undoubtedly based on the
fundamental human right of every individual with human dignity. This change came about as
a result of Bishop Domingo Salazar and other religious leaders petitioning King Juan Carlos
to abolish slavery.
: On Cultural Development, Language, art, and religion were all adopted by culture. The
colonial masters made Spanish the lingua franca of the colony, but did not make a concerted
effort to spread the language "for fear of the country becoming Hispanized and ceasing to be
a monastic colony"; thus, the natives would understand better and might question arbitrary
and questionable aspects of Spanish rule. Only the well-to-do and well-educated middle-class
Filipinos learned to write and speak Spanish.
: On Religion, The promotion of Christianity was an essential goal of the Spanish colonists.
Without a doubt, the Spanish missionaries' concentrated efforts advanced the foundation of
pax hispanica in the Philippines. The missionaries readily captured colonial areas and
converted the people to Christianity with the support of soldiers.
: On Social Result, The adoption of the Fiesta as a socio-religious celebration celebrating the
feast day of a patron saint of a Catholic Town as an act of thanksgiving for a bountiful crop
and other blessings resulted from the Filipino conversion to Christianity. The religious fiesta
includes devotions and rituals that build an individual's personal belief system that never dies.
The colorful Ati-atihan Moriones celebration and the Obando, Bulacan fertility dance are
examples of this.
: On Architecture, The Spaniards brought Western architecture to the region, with certain
changes to suit the climate. Many Philippine churches exhibit baroque influences, such as
towering walls and sturdy buttresses, spiral motifs, intricate sculpture façades, and beautiful,
curving and balustrades. San Agustin Church is the Philippines' oldest church.

: On Education, During the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, education was not
available to all Filipinos. The Spanish administration had no intention of preparing the
indigenous people for ultimate independence and self-governance. During this time, various
schools were built solely for the education of particular Spanish nationals in the archipelago.
They were exclusively open to those from society's elite social and economic classes.
: On the Economy, The abolition of the galleon trade in 1815 and the separation of Mexico
from Spain made it necessary for the Spanish government to engage in trading relations with
other countries. Spain opened its ports in Manila and other parts of the country. The opening
of the Philippines to world trade and the emergence of multifarious forces, e. g., scientific
and technological, industrial, economic, social, and political, resulted in economic changes
and prosperity, that improved the quality of life of the Filipinos.

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