2. The Government Governor General sole representative of the Spanish crown in the country powers: legislative, executive, judicial, military, ecclesiastical (related to the Church) cumplase – power to suspend the implementation of any royal order–if the condition in the colony did not warrant it. The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
3. The Royal Audiencia a council of judges that acted as the Supreme Court in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period check the abuses of the governor general conduct the Residencia: the process of submitting the governor general to a trial before the court for the purpose of punishing corrupt and dishonest officials The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
4. The Royal Audiencia oidores – judges juez de residencia – the person responsible for scrutinizing the acts of the outgoing governor general and for imposing a sentence on him should he be found guilty of committing a crime in his exercise of his powers as head of the colonial government The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
5. The Little Governor Generals encomendero – the holder of an encomienda encomienda – the right over a piece of land granted to a Spanish conquistador (a Spaniard who helped conquer the Philippine islands for Spain) as a reward for his services The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
6. The Little Governor Generals Duties of an encomendero protect the natives from their enemies act as peacemaker among the natives see to it that the natives were provided with religious instruction The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
7. The Little Governor Generals Abuses made by the encomenderos collected taxes from minors, the aged, the poor, the infirmed, the dead and the fugitives arrested, whipped or imprisoned those who cannot pay the tribute The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
8. The Little Governor Generals Abuses made by the encomenderos made the natives to build houses and large vessels, grind rice, cut wood and carry the woods to their houses, even in Manila used the natives for their own work for many days Encomienda– abolished in 1576 The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
9. The Little Governor Generals alcaldesmayores – the heads of the provinces, civil official, appointive alcaldias – the provinces powers: political, financial, judicial, & military The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
10. The Little Governor Generals indulto de commercio – a privilege to engage in trade which gave the provincial governor a monopoly of commerce in the province Abolished in 1844 The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
11. The Little Governor Generals Duties of an alcalde mayor see to it that his region has adequate food supply make sure that the roads and bridges were well-maintained grant licenses and permits to carry on trade supervise town elections The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
12. The Little Governor Generals Duties of an alcalde mayor oversee religious welfare of the people make sure that the tributes were collected see to it that the Church always had enough men and funds The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
13. The Little Governor Generals gobernadorcillos – mayors of the towns or cities pueblos – cities or towns gobernadorcillos – elected by the outgoing governadorcillo and 12 members of the principalia The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
14. The Little Governor Generals principalia – a body of prominent land owners and wealthy citizens of the village who could read, write, and speak Spanish The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
15. The Little Governor Generals Duties of a gobernadorcillo maintain the municipal jail take charge of public works administer justice in the town manage the casa tribunal supervise collection of taxes The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
16. The Union of Church and State friars occupied significant positions in the central government friars dominated the permanent commission on censorship exercised political and economic powers controlled the educational system and public works of the municipalities The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
17. The Union of Church and State supervised the collection of taxes and taking of census certified correctness of cedulas The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
18. Taxation heavy and numerous pocketed by the Spanish officials The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
19. Taxes collected tribute or tributo (1570 – 1884), replaced by the cedula municipal and local taxes episcopal tax (sanctorium) special taxes The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
20. Bandala System the farmers’ produce were sold on a wholesale basis to the government on a compulsory basis not only were the goods or products undervalued but also in many cases they were not even paid for The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
21. Bandala System Annual tax per family 1 Peso Starting 1851 1½ Pesos. in 1884 the "bandala" is replaced by the "cedula" (poll tax) The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
22. Forced labor or polo y servicios forced labor for 40 days of men (16 to 60 years of age) polistas – the laborers falla – payment for exemption for forced labor (one and a half real/day) abolished - 1884 The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
23. Galleon Trade route – Manila to Acapulco benefits: maintain hospitals, orphanages and other charitable institutions allowed modern, liberal ideas to enter the country cultural and commercial exchanges between Asia and the Americas The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
24. Galleon Trade ObrasPias (Pious Works) foundations which invest their money in trade and devotes the profit to charitable works The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
25. Jose Basco y Vargas 44th governor of the Philippines formulated a general economic plan (self-sufficiency of the colony) established SociedadEconomica de los Amigos del Pais The Philippines under Spain Thelma V. Villaflores
alcaldesmayores – the heads of the provinces, civil official, appointive
Low compensation but:Enjoy power and authorityExempted from tribute and forced laborMany opportunities for enrichment
in short, they are the real representatives of the king
To support the colony, several forms of taxes and monopolies were imposed. The buwis (tribute), which could be paid in cash or kind (tobacco,chickens, produce, gold, blankets, cotton, rice, etc., depending on the region of the country), was initially was fixed at 8 reales (one real being 8 centavos) and later increased to 15 reales, apportioned as follows: ten realesbuwis, one real diezmosprediales (tithes), one real to the town community chest, one real sanctorum tax, and three reales for church support.[16]Also collected was the bandalâ (from the Tagalog word mandalâ, a round stack of rice stalks to be threshed), an annual enforced sale and requisitioning of goods such as rice. Custom duties and income tax were also collected. By 1884, the tribute was replaced by the Cedula personal, wherein colonists were required to pay for personal identification. Everyone over the age of 18 was obliged to pay.[17] The local gobernadorcillos had been responsible for collection of the tribute. Under the cedula system, however, taxpayers were individually responsible to Spanish authorities for payment of the tax, and were subject to summary arrest for failure to show a cedula receipt.[18]
The rate was originally set as eight realesbut was raised to ten in 1602 then to twelve reales 1851. One tribute was equivalent to one family consisting of father, wife and minor children. Every unmarried man over 20 years and every unmarried woman over 25 years paid half of tribute. The natives did not like the way collector collect the tribute and they hated it. The encomenderos made great profits and became rich through the collection of tribute.
One could be exempted from polo by paying the falla (corruption of the Spanish Falta, meaning "absence"), a daily fine of one and a half real. In 1884, labor was reduced to 15 days. The polo system was patterned after the Mexican repartimento, selection for forced labor.[19]
The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade was the main source of income for the colony during its early years. Service was inaugurated in 1565 and continued into the early 19th century. The Galleon trade brought silver from New Spain, which was used to purchase Asian goods such as silk from China, spices from the Moluccas, lacquerware from Japan and Philippine cotton textiles.[13] These goods were then exported to New Spain and ultimately Europe by way of Manila. Thus, the Philippines earned its income through the trade of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon. The trade was very prosperous and attracted many merchants to Manila, specially Chinese. However, initially it neglected the development of the colony's local industries which affected the Indios since agriculture was their main source of income. In addition, the building and operation of galleons put too much burden on the colonists' annual polo y servicio. However, it resulted in cultural and commercial exchanges between Asia and the Americas that led to the introduction of new crops and animals to the Philippines such as corn, potato, tomato, cotton and tobacco among others, that gave the colony its first real income. The trade lasted for over two hundred years, and ceased in 1815 just before the secession of American colonies from Spain.OBRAS PIASObrasPias was a charitable foundation during the Spanish period. The word itself means works of piety in Spanish. The Church directed a share of personal fortunes to its charities such as the obraspias. Donors had specified that the funds are to be used for charitable, religious and educational purposes. However, some of the funds were managed by confraternities that invested capital in secular activities like underwriting cargoes for the galleon trade. It was determined that two-thirds were to be loaned at interest for maritime commercial enterprises, until the premiums had increased the original capital to a certain amount. The estimated interest were as follows : Acapulco reached 50 percent, China had 25 percent and India had 35 percent. Then the interests were to be given to the founder or to pious or charitable ends. One-third was usually retained as a reserve to cover chance losses. These reserve funds were long ago claimed by the government as compulsory loans but they are still regarded as existing. By a royal decree, dated November 3, 1854, an administrative council was appointed to take charge of the money of the obraspias. The total capital of five foundations amounted to a trifle less than one million dollars. Since the government disposed the profit obtained from the loans it could no longer be distributed for charitable purposes. Among the biggest obraspias was the Hermanidad de la Misericordoa (Brotherhood of Mercy). It was established in the late 16th century by a Jesuit. The Misericordia was supposed to have given away 5 million pesos in grants to various causes over the course of its century and a half of existence.
OBRAS PIASObrasPias was a charitable foundation during the Spanish period. The word itself means works of piety in Spanish. The Church directed a share of personal fortunes to its charities such as the obraspias. Donors had specified that the funds are to be used for charitable, religious and educational purposes. However, some of the funds were managed by confraternities that invested capital in secular activities like underwriting cargoes for the galleon trade. It was determined that two-thirds were to be loaned at interest for maritime commercial enterprises, until the premiums had increased the original capital to a certain amount. The estimated interest were as follows : Acapulco reached 50 percent, China had 25 percent and India had 35 percent. Then the interests were to be given to the founder or to pious or charitable ends. One-third was usually retained as a reserve to cover chance losses. These reserve funds were long ago claimed by the government as compulsory loans but they are still regarded as existing. By a royal decree, dated November 3, 1854, an administrative council was appointed to take charge of the money of the obraspias. The total capital of five foundations amounted to a trifle less than one million dollars. Since the government disposed the profit obtained from the loans it could no longer be distributed for charitable purposes. Among the biggest obraspias was the Hermanidad de la Misericordoa (Brotherhood of Mercy). It was established in the late 16th century by a Jesuit. The Misericordia was supposed to have given away 5 million pesos in grants to various causes over the course of its century and a half of existence.
Filipino farmers and traders finally had a taste of prosperity when Governor General Jose Basco y Vargas instituted reforms intended to free the economy from its dependence on Chinese and Mexican trade. Basco implemented a “general economic plan” aimed at making the Philippines self sufficient. He established the “Economic Society of Friends of the Country”, which gave incentives to farmers for planting cotton, spices, and sugarcane; encouraged miners to extract gold, silver, tin, and copper; and rewarded investors for scientific discoveries they made.José Basco y Vargas was the 44th governor of the Philippines under Spanish colonial rule, from 1778 to 1787. He was the most economic minded governor-general. He established the SociedadEconómica de los Amigos del País, or the Economic Society of Friends of the Country. He also made the colony independent, by freeing it from the control of New Spain, which is today Mexico.In recognition for his deeds, the town of Basco, in the Philippine province of Batanes group of islands, was named after him. Basco was succeeded by Pedro de Sarrio in 1787.
