Name: Tel Aviv E.

Añover
Readings in Philippine History

Discuss how the Spaniards came and colonized the Philippines:

It all began in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan was in search of the Spice Islands but
landed in the Philippine archipelago specifically in Cebu, in a happenstance. Lapu Lapu, a
chieftain in Mactan at the time, with his people, fought out and defended their land from the
invasion, he is now known as the first national hero that defended the Philippines from the first
wave of oppressors. After the failure of Magellan’s expedition was known to the King of Spain at
the time, King Philip II, he sent further expeditions to conquer the archipelago but to no avail,
ended in failure. Until Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who was sent out to the Philippines and
successfully established in 1565, the Villa de San Miguel changed to Ciudad de Santisimo
Nombre de Jesus, after Sto. Niño of Cebu, the first settlement of Spaniards in Cebu. From
Luzon to Northern Mindanao, most of the land was already conquered and under Spanish rule
by the end of the 16th century. The first century under Spanish authority was run with a legal
system called encomienda which was a grant by the crown to a conquistador or a soldier or an
official with a number of Indios to use for labor. But by the end of the 17th century, abuse was
rampant because of the system, which was also causing corruption and withholding of the
profits by the officials and thus, the system was stopped completely. So, the Governor-General,
took matters into his own hands, and appointed hand-picked military, civil, and officials.

Manila was the center of religious authority in the Philippines at the time as the
archbishop and Governor General battled for political supremacy. The Church had so much
power at the time that sometimes, they could undermine the authority of the government. The
friars and priests had so much money because almost all activity happening revolved around
the Church and Christian faith, especially schools and hospitals and other facilities. Spanish
missionaries believed that children were the hope of Christianity and thus, were encouraged to
learn basic education alongside Christian doctrine, customs and tradition. As a medium to to
convert natives to Christians, a second school was founded in 1596, Colegio de Niños, to
produce future cabezas de barangay and gobernadorcillos, or children of native families that will
rule in the future. Every town has had at least two schools, one for the boys and one for the
girls.
There were many changes in the Philippines brought by the Spanish flag, there were those that
benefited the country but there were those that oppressed its people.

What changes were instituted during the Spanish Occupation?

Some of the biggest changes that completely changed the Philippines during the
Spanish period was the faith the Filipinos believed in and the authority that ruled them. First, the
Filipinos, starting from young ages, would learn the Christian doctrine. After some time, most of
the population of the country were baptized Christians and grew to love the faith and practice it
accordingly. The Catholic Church had power to meddle with affairs of the people, it is because
the Church is involved in almost every matter of the Filipinos whether education, the law or
tradition. The Filipino language was also partly altered, as the Spanish language replaced some
basic Filipino words, or some were derived from Spanish. As decreed by Governor Claveria in
1849, the Filipinos were obliged to adopt Hispanic names/surnames based on names of saints,
patrons and even geographical names. Forced labor or polo y servicio sparked many motives of
revolution and rebels, along with heavy taxations, and other kinds of abuses which the Filipinos
were angry with. Cuisine was also affected, normal dishes like adobo and menudo originate
from Spain. Although, it was mostly abuse, Spaniards also helped the Filipinos technological
advancement such as new design of ships, navigational tools and instruments which helped the
Philippines as a trading area for many nationalities which helped bring even more money in the
country.