The Spanish Colonial System

SPAIN WAS THE first European country to rise as a great colonizing power in
modern times. At the zenith of her glory and grandeur during the 16th century,
her siglo de oro (golden century), she had far-flung colonies in Africa, the New
World (Latin America and Asia history the first global colonial empire in so that
King Philip II was the first monarch to justly boast that the sun never set on his
realm. To rule such extensive possessions, Spain compiled the first code of
colonial laws, called Leyes de Indias, which modern authorities on colonialism
acclaim as "one of the most humane and one of the most comprehensive codes
published for any colonial empire. However, because of the distance of the
Philippines from Spain and the corruption and decadence of Spanish officials and
friars, especially in the 19th century, these colonial laws were unevenly applied or
failed to benefit the colonies.
Aims of Spanish Colonization. Spain's aims in colonizing overseas lands (including
the Philippines) may be keynoted by three G's God, Gold and Glory. The first and
chief aim of 1 her colonization was the propagation of Catholic Christianity, which
is attested by the Testament of Queen Isabel the Catholic (1479-1504) and the
Christian spirit of the Leyes de Indias. This is the reason why every expedition of
discovery, exploration and conquest was accompanied by Christian missionaries.
As Dr. Wilhelm Roscher, noted German authority on Spanish coloniza- tion,
affirmed: "The principal aim of Spanish colonization was the conversion of the
heathen peoples to Christianity."
The second aim of Spanish colonization was the desire for gold or economic
wealth. This aim sprang from the struggle among European powers to monopolize
the spice trade of the Orient and to acquire riches. At that time (as it is today),
material wealth was a measure, of greatness among nations.
The third aim of colonization arose out of Spain's ambition to be the greatest
empire in the world. By acquiring colonies (including the Philippines), Spain
realized her imperialist ambition.
By and large, the first colonial aim (propagation of Christ. ianity) was the most
successful and enduring. All the colonies which Spain had colonized are now
Christian nations. Spain had failed to become rich by colonizing the Philippines
and other countries. And her glory in acquiring so many colonies did not last
forever, because in the 19th century her glory vanished and she declined as a
world power.
Spain Retains the Philippines Despite Economic Loss. As a colony, the Philippines
was a financial burden to the Spanish treasury. For this reason, the advisors of
King Philip II recom- mended the abandonment of the Philippines. The king
spurned their advice. He told them that the chief objective of the Spanish
colonization was the propagation of Christianity, and that for the conversion of
the Filipino people he would gladly spend "all the riches of the Indies".
In 1619 the question of abandoning the Philippines was revived by the court
advisers. Upon hearing this news, Fr. Fernando Moraga, despite his advanced age
and feeble health, journeyed to Spain. He threw himself at the feet of Philip III,
imploring him not to abandon the Philippines for the sake of Christianity. Deeply
touched by the padre's pleading, the king replied: "Depart with God, Father
Moraga, and be assured that I will not give up what my father had conquered and
left me".
The Philippines as Crown Colony. The Philippines was a crown colony in the
sense that she belonged to the Spanish king. From the beginning of Spanish rule
to 1821, she was a dependency of Mexico, being administered directly by the
Mexican viceroy in the name of the Spanish king. After Mexico's separation from
Spain in 1821, the Philippines came to be directly ruled from Madrid, and this
arrangement lasted until 1898. The king appointed the governor general and
other colonial officials and issued royal decrees governing the Philippines.
The Council of the Indies. To help the king rule the colonies, the Council of the
Indies was created by King Charles I (concur rently Emperor Charles V of
Germany) in his Royal Decree of August 1, 1524. This council was a powerful
body, for it handled all matters pertaining to the colonies of the Spanish empire. It
consisted of a president, four councilors who were either lawyers or clergymen, a
secretary, a fiscal (crown attorney), a treasurer, a historian, a cosmographer, a
professor of mathematics and an usher. The first president of the council of the
Indies was Fray Garcia Jofre de Loaisa, Father General of the Dominican Order and
Archbishop of Seville.
Later the Council of Indies was dismantled by Queen Isabel II in 1863. This queen
issued Royal Decree of May 20, 1863 replacing it with the Ministry of Colonies
(Ministerio de Ultramar), which was headed by the Minister of Colonies, assisted
by the Council of the Philippines (Consejo de Filipinas). This Council was
composed of the Deputy Minister of Colonies, the directors of the Ministry of
Colonies as ex-officio members and twelve regular members appointed by the
king because of their knowledge of Philippine affairs.
The Laws of the Indies. The numerous laws governing the colonies of Spain were
compiled and published into a convenient colonial code entitled Recopilación de
Leyes de las Indias, popu- larly known as simply Laws of the Indies (Leyes de
Indias).
The Governor General. The chief executive of the Philippines during Spanish
times was the Governor and the Captain-General. This was his official title. He
was, however, commonly called governor general. As chief executive, he enforced
the king's royal decrees and other laws from Spain. He was the commander- in-
chief of the colonial armed forces. He appointed and removed colonial officials,
except those who were appointed by the king. Until 1861, he served as president
(chief justice) of the Royal Audiencia (Supreme Court). As the king's
representative in the colony, he served as vice-royal patron with the power to
recom- mend priests for appointment as parish priests and to intervene in
controversies between religious authorities.
Because of the great distance of the Philippines from Spain, the governor general
exercised the powers of a monarch. He could declare war or peace with China,
Japan, Siam and other countries in the Orient. He-appointed ambassadors to, and
received ambassadors from, these countries. He administered not only the
Philippines, but also the Marianas, the Carolines and the Palaus (archipelagoes in
the Pacific). These islands were considered a part of the Philippines during
Spanish times.
Finally, the governor general could veto any royal decree or law from Spain. This
veto power was called cumplase.
Checks to Gubernatorial Powers. The great powers of the governor general were
checked by the following: (1) the Royal Audiencia which was the Supreme Court
during the Spanish period; (2) the archbishop and the clergy who were influential
in the king's court; (3) the complaints which subordinate public officials and
private citizens sent directly to the king; (4) the residencia, the trial of an outgoing
governor general and other Spanish officials, during which they were called to
account for their acts while in office; and (5) the visitador, an investigator which
the king or Mexican viceroy sent to the colony to investigate conditions in the
Philippines.
The Royal Audiencia. This was the Supreme Court in Spanish times. Created by
the Royal Decree of May 15, 1583, it held its first session in Manila on June 15,
1584. The first president of the Royal Audiencia was Governor Santiago de Vera.
Owing to certain frictions between the governor and the oidores (jus- tices), it
was abolished in 1589 only to be reestablished in 1595.
The Royal Audiencia tried all criminal and civil cases appealed to it by the lower
courts. Aside from its judicial function as the highest court of the land, it
performed executive and legislative functions.
Until 1719, the Royal Audiencia acted as governor general whenever the
governorship was vacant due to the death or incapacity of the incumbent
governor general. Six times during the Spanish period, the Royal Audiencia
governed the country in 1606-08, 1616-18, 1632-33, 1677-79, 1689-90 and 1715-
17.
The Royal Audiencia also promulgated certain laws for the colony. These laws
were called autos acordados (acts agreed upon) because they were enacted upon
agreement between the governor general and the members of the Royal
Audiencia. Examples of the laws passed by the Royal Audiencia were those
restricting Chinese immigration, fixing the prices of prime com- modities and
ordering the people to comply with their religious duties.
Furthermore, the Royal Audiencia served as auditor general of the colonial
government. It audited the annual expenditures of the government. The
Residencia. The residencia was a peculiar judicial institu- tion introduced by Spain
in the Philippines. It was a trial of an outgoing governor general and other Spanish
officials who were obliged to give an accounting of their acts during their term of
office. This trial was conducted by their successors or by a special judge appointed
for this purpose. The first Spanish governor general who was subjected to a
residencia was Governor Guido de Lavezaris (1572-75). He was found guilty by his
successor, Governor Francisco de Sande, who presided over the residencia. As
penalty, Lavezaris was ordered by Sande to return the encomiendas of Betis and
Lubao, which Lavezaris assigned for himself during his governorship. However,
Lavezaris appealed his case to the king. The king, in recognition of Lavezaris'
services during the conquest of the Philippines, pardoned him and restored to
him the two encomien- das. Governor Sande himself met the same fate at the
end of his term (1575-80). At this residencia, he was found guilty by his successor,
Governor Ronquillo de Peñalosa, for enriching himself while in office. Accordingly,
Sande was sentenced to pay a heavy fine. Other Spanish governors were
convicted at their residencia for enriching themselves while in office or for
abusing their power. Among them were Hurtado de Corcuera (1635-44), who was
sentenced to five years imprisonment and a fine of P25,000; Juan de Vargas
(1678-84), who was condemned to stand daily at the doors of the churches,
dressed in the sack cloth of a penitent and with a rope around his neck; and
Berenguer de Marquina (1788-93), who was fined P40,000. The Visitador.
Another check to the great powers of the Spanish governor general of the
Philippines was the visitador or investigating officer, which the king of Spain or
the viceroy of Mexico sent to Manila at certain times to investigate Philippine
conditions and the complaints against the governor general and other Spanish
officials. In 1629, during the administration of Governor General Niño de Tabora
(1626-1636), King Philip IV sent a visitador, Francisco Rojas, an oidor (member) of
the Royal Audiencia of Mexico, to Manila to investigate the quarrel between
Governor Tabora and the Royal Audiencia of Manila over the authority of the
governor in permitting a Chinese merchant to bring arms and ammunitions to
Manila for the use of the colonial troops. The Audiencia accused the governor of
exceeding his authority and ordered the Chinese merchant to stand trial for arms
smuggl ing. Rojas, after mature study of the case, decided the dispute in the
governor's favor on the ground that the governor had the military power to
import armaments to strengthen the colonial defense. Aside from exonerating
the governor, Rojas suspended two oidores of the Audiencia for persecuting the
innocent Chinese merchant.
In 1738 the viceroy of Mexico sent a visitador to Manila. This visitador was Jose
Ignacio Arzadun, a member of the Royal Audiencia of Mexico. During his
investigation of Philippine conditions, he discovered the abuses of the Spanish
alcalde mayor in Cagayan Province. This alcalde mayor enriched himself by
extorting money from helpless natives. He punished this corrupt Spanish official
by condemning him to return the money to the victims and disqualifying him
forever from holding government office.
The Encomienda System. The encomienda was a grant of inhabitants living in a
particular conquered territory which Spain gave to a Spanish colonizer as a
reward for his services. It included only the tribute collected from inhabitants. It
did not include the land, the natural resources and the services of its inhabitants.
What the encomendero (owner of the encomienda) received were the tributes of
the inhabitants.
In exchange for the encomienda, the encomendero was obliged by law to
promote the welfare of the inhabitants. His duties were (1) to protect the
inhabitants from enemies, (2) to assist the missionaries in Christianizing them and
(3) to promote the education of the people.
The encomiendas were of two kinds - royal and private. Royal encomiendas were
exclusively owned by the king and they consisted of cities, seaports and
inhabitants of regions rich in natural resources. Private encomiendas were owned
by private persons or charitable institutions, such as the College of Santa
Potenciana and the Hospital of San Juan de Dios.
At the beginning, the encomienda was granted for two generations, after which it
reverted to the Spanish Crown. Later, the Royal Decree of February 1, 1636 by
King Philip III extended its tenure to three generations,
The first encomiendas in the Philippines were given to the early Spanish
colonizers in Cebu on January 1, 1571 by Adelan- tado Legazpi, upon orders of
King Philip II. In subsequent times, more encomiendas were granted to other
Spaniards. By 1591, there were 257 encomiendas in the Philippines (31 royal and
236 private) with a total population of over 600,000.
The encomienda system ended in Mexico, Chile, Peru and other Spanish colonies
in Latin America at the end of the 18th century. In the Philippines the encomienda
system lasted a little longer and finally ended in the first decade of the 19th
century.
The Tribute. As a symbol of vassalage to Spain, the Filipinos paid tribute. One
tribute corresponded to one family consisting of husband, wife and minor
children. An unmarried man or woman paid one-half tribute. At the beginning, a
tribute amounted to eight reales (one peso), payable in money or kind. Later, in
1851, it was increased to twelve reales (one peso and a half). The tribute was
finally abolished in 1884 and was replaced by the cedula tax.
The Filipinos hated the tribute because (1) it reminded them of their bondage to
Spain and (2) it spawned Spanish abuses. They had no objection to the amount,
for it was not high and they could afford to pay it, but what angered them were
the abuses committed by the tribute collectors.
According to law, the tribute was payable in money or in kind (rice, honey, corn
and other products). The encomenderos forced them to pay in rice or in honey,
appraising it at a low price, and later resold it to them at a very high price. In the
town of Dagami, Leyte, for instance, the encomendero cheated the people by
using a tampered weight so that the people actually paid more than the true
value of the tribute. In many places, the encomenderos, while collecting the
tribute, cruelly treated the people, torturing them and plundering their household
goods and stealing their chickens, pigs and even carabaos.
No wonder, in 1589 the people of the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley rose in, revolt
against the tribute.
The Polo. Aside from paying the tribute, all male Filipino from 16 to 60 years of
age were obliged to render forced called polo. This labor lasted 40 days, later in
1884 it was to 15 days It took various forms, such as the building repairing of
roads and bridges, construction of public building and churches, cutting timber in
the forest; working in and serving as sailors and soldiers in military expeditions.
A person who rendered the forced labor was called polista He could be exempted
by paying the falla, which was a sum of money.
The Filipinos hated the polo, like the tribute. They were mestizos and Chinese
were exempted. What really aroused their opposition were the abuses connected
with it.
The polistas (Filipinos who rendered forced labor) their working days. They never
received these. And worse, they were compelled to cut logs in the forests and
drag them to the shipyards where they were made into ships for the Spaniards.
Because of this hard labor, many polistas died. Often they were forcibly taken
away to work in the shipyards and served rowers in Spanish expeditions during
planting and harvesting seasons.
Some of the early Filipino revolts against Spain were caused by the polo. One of
these revolts was the Sumoroy Rebellion in Samar in 1649-1650.
Abolition of Slavery. One of the good things which Spain had done for the people
was the abolition of slavery. The early Spanish missionaries urged the king to
abolish slavery in the Philippines.
On October 17, 1581, Bishop Domingo Salazar and the heads of different religious
orders met at the Augustinian convent in Tondo, Manila. After due deliberation,
they signed a document denouncing to King Philip II the Spaniards in the
Philippines who kept slaves contrary to the law of God and in violation of the
Laws of the Indies.
King Philip II, heeding the complaint of Bishop Salazar and the religious fathers,
issued the Royal Decree of August 9, 1589 emancipating all native slaves.
Pope Gregory XIV reinforced the king's decree by promul- gating the Papal Bull of
April 18, 1591 threatening to excommuni- cate those who would not liberate their
slaves.
Provincial Government. For administrative purposes, the Philippines was divided
into provinces and special districts. The provinces were known as alcaldias, each
governed by an alcalde mayor. The special districts, representing unpacified
regions, were known as corregimientos, each under a corregidor, usually an army
officer.
The alcalde mayor of the province exercised both executive and judicial functions.
He received a low salary, but his office was lucrative because of his privilege to
engage in trade. This privilege was greatly abused so that it was abolished by law
in 1844. Finally, in 1886, the alcalde mayor was made simply a judge, and a civil
governor was appointed chief executive of the province.
Municipal Government. The provinces were divided into pueblos (towns). Each
pueblo was administered by a gobernador- cillo (petty governor). He was
popularly called capitan and his wife, capitana. At first, he was elected annually by
all married males of the town; later, in the 19th century, he was elected by 13
electors headed by the outgoing gobernadorcillo. Other town officials besides the
gobernadorcillo were the teniente mayor (chief lieutenant), juez de sementeras
(justice of the fields), juez de ganados (justice of cattle) juez de policia (justice of
police) and the directorcillo (municipal secretary).
Every pueblo was divided into barangays (barrios), each under a cabeza de
barangay. Like the gobernadorcillo, the cabeza served annually, without salary.
The Cities. Several large towns in the Philippines were organized into cities.
Among them were Manila, Lipa, Jaro, Cebu, Albay, Arevalo, Naga and Vigan. The
city government was called ayuntamiento. The city council, known as cabildo, was
composed of the alcalde (mayor), regidores (councilors), alguacil mayor (chief
constable) and the escribano (secretary).
Missionaries and Spanish Colonization. The missionaries played a significant role
in the colonization of the Philippines. They came with the conquistadores. They
bravely penetrated the uncharted mountains and unexplored jungles, enduring
great hardships and not infrequently suffering a martyr's Ideath in the were the
course of their evangelical labors. Their only arms crucifix, the rosary and their
virtues. By the sign of the Cross, they conquered, winning the Filipinos to accept
Christianity Spanish rule. and
The first missionaries to reach the Philippines were the Augustinians under Father
Urdaneta. They came with Legazpi in 1565. In subsequent times more and more
missionaries arrived, such as the Franciscans in 1577, the Jesuits in 1581, the
Domini. cans in 1587, the Recollects in 1606 and the Benedictines in 1895.
Ecclesiastical Organization. intimately organi- of of associated with the civil
government was the ecclesiastical Parallel to and Archbishop zation. At the top of
this organization was the Manila, who was appointed by the Pope upon
recommendation of the king. Below him were the bishops, who were heads
dioceses (bishoprics). And below the bishops were the parish priests, who
administered the parishes.
The church had its own court, called the Archbishop's Court, which tried cases
involving Canon Law and cases clergy.
The Bishopric of Manila was established in 1578 by Pope Gregory XII. The first
Bishop of Manila was Most Rev. Domingo de Salazar. In 1595 Pope Clement VIII
elevated Manila into an archbishopric, with Cebu, Nueva Segovia and Nueva
Caceres as suffragan bishoprics. Bishop Salazar who was visiting Spain was named
archbishop. But he died before he could assume his new office, so that Rev.
Ignacio de Santibañez, a Franciscan prelate of Mexico, was named by the Vatican
as the first Archbishop of Manila.
Union of Church and State. During the Spanish times there was union of Church
and State in the Philippines. Catholic Christianity was the state religion. Both civil
and ecclesiastical authorities served God and the king. Owing to the union, the
clergy enjoyed political influence in the colony.
In the town, the parish priest was the real power. He represented the majesty of
Spain. He supervised local elections, education, charities, morals, and taxation.
Until 1762, bishops and archbishops acted as governors general in cases of
vacancy in the gubernatorial office. Among them were: Archbishop Francisco de la
Cuesta (1719-21), Bishop Juan de Arrechederra (1745-50), Bishop Lino de Espeleta
(1759- 61) and Archbishop Manuel Antonio Rojo (1761-62).