POLITICAL

STRUCTURE
DURING SPANISH
COLONIAL RULE
GROUP 4
 The Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan,
with a mission to discover a western route to the
Moluccas islands, accidentally made a landfall in
Limasawa and found out that that they landed on one of
several thousands of a chain of islands. The Spanish
explorers would later take the islands for the Spanish
king Philip, after whom such lands would be named.
From 1565 to 1571 an expedition led by Miguel Lopez De
Legazpi conquered and consolidated under Spanish rule
these thousands of islands, which came to be known as
the Philippines.
• Spanish rule marked the unification of the thousands of islands under one
rule, with the city of Manila as its seat of power and an appointed Spanish
official from Spain (called Peninsurales as opposed to Spaniards born in the
Philippines who were called Insulares), with the title of Gobernador-Heneral,
as its overall head.
• The Island were subdivided into provinces, known as Alcaldia, and under the
leadership of appointed officials from Spain with the title of Alcalde-Mayor.
If a certain province, however, was not yet completely conquered it was
called Corregimiento, and the official title of its leader was the Corregidor.
• The provinces were subdivided into small governmental units or townships
known as Pueblos and governed by elected officials coming from the local
elites, who were mostly Chinese or Spanish mestizos, and had the title of
gobernadorcillo. This political office of the gobernadorcillo was the only
position to natives or mestizos.
• At the lowest rung of the Spanish political hierarchy were the barangays, the
basic unit of society even before the Spaniards arrived; however, instead of
the hereditary caste of the datu ruling over the barangay, the position
became elective and the title was changed to cabeza de barangay.
Unfortunately for Spain due to the scattered nature of the Philippine
territory, lack of quality leadership, and the mercantilistic or highly
exploitative characteristic of Spanish rule, the islands were never
governed properly; and with the passing of centuries a spirit of
discontent was fomented among the people. With the growth of a class
of mestizos, who were educated in Europe, a desire for reforms was born,
ushering the likes of Marcelo Del Pilar and Jose Rizal. However, the short-
sighted friars opposed and persecuted such individuals which culminated
in the executions of the Gomburza and Jose Rizal himself. Such
executions sparked the spirit of nationalism among the people and
eventually the desire for independence.