Chapter 3, The Spanish Period

The Spanish Period
Chapter 3 for Pol Sci 3

• The Spanish Period
– Reference
• Ariola, Mariano M. Philippine History and
Government. Manila. Purely Books Trading
& Publishing Corporation. 2012

• Aims of Spanish Colonization of the Philippines
– There were four aims of the Spanish colonization in
the Philippines:
1. To spread Christianity, as evidenced by the will and
testament of Queen Isabella, by the laws of the Indians, by
the contributions of the missionaries and by Spain's more
than 300 years of colonial work;
2. To generate wealth to support the Spanish government,
as evidenced by the imposition of taxes, monopolized
agricultural products, forced labor called polo y servicio
where males worked in the construction of roads, bridges,
galleon and churches;

• Aims of Spanish Colonization of the Philippines
– There were four aims of the Spanish colonization in
the Philippines:
3. To acquire territories, as evidenced in the Treaty of
Tordesillas where lands going to the west belong to Spain;
and
4. Acquisition of spices which was very expensive at that
time.

• Magellan's Expedition in Search of the Spice
Island
– Ferdinand Magellan (Magallanes) who was born in 1480 and died
in 1521 was a Portuguese maritime explorer who went to Spain in
1518 to offer his service to King Charles I. He left Portugal for
Spain because he was ignored by the King of Portugal, Manuel I
for his bravery and expertise in expeditions. The Spanish king
agreed to send an expedition to the Moluccas, then known as the
Spice Island (or the Indies or Indonesia), with Magellan as the
commander-in-chief. The expedition consisted of five (5) ships:
flagship Trinidad, Concepcion, Victoria, Santiago and San Antonio.
Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian chronicler, went with Magellan's
voyage. The expedition left Spain on September 20, 1519 and
sailed southward across the Pacific Ocean. After two months of
difficult sailings due to hunger and hardship, the expedition
reached Brazil, then to Rio de Janeiro in the southern tip of South
America. In this place, a mutiny occurred but the mutiny was
suppressed and the participants punished.

Island
– From the tip of South America, the expedition reached the strait in the
Pacific Ocean which bears his name the Strait of Magellan. Then on
March 1521, with only three (3) ships remaining, the expedition reached
the Ladrones Island (Marianas Island), named by Magellan because one
of Magellan's boats was stolen by the natives. After they had rested in
this island, the voyage continued until a mountain was sighted in Samar
on March 16, 1521 (but should be March 17 by adding one day after
crossing the International Dateline coming from America). This marked
the coming of the Spaniards to the Philippines (rediscovery). On March
17, Magellan and his 150 men went to Homonhon and after having
rested, proceeded to Limasawa which was ruled by Raja Kulambo. A
blood compact was held as a sign of friendship. Father Pedro de
Valderama who went with Magellan's expedition celebrated mass at
Limasawa seashore on March 31, Easter Sunday and it was the first mass
celebrated in the Philippines.

Island
– Then a large cross was planted on top of the hill overlooking
the sea. Magellan called this island Archipelago de San Lazaro
because it was St. Lazarus's day when Magellan found this
island. However, in 1542, this island was named
“Philippines”by Ruz Lopez de Villalobos, a voyager, in honor
of the Spanish Prince Felipe who later became King Philip II of
Spain. After staying a week in Limasawa, Magellan proceeded
to Ceby on April 8 and soon a blood compact between him
and King Humabon was made. On April 15, a mass was
celebrated and a cross was erected. Some 800 natives were
christianized. King Humabon was christened as “Carlos” (in
honor of King Charles of Spain) and his wife “Juana” (in
honor of King Charles' mother). Magellan presented “Juana”
an image of the Infant Jesus (Sto. Nino), now the Patron Saint
of Cebu.

• The Battle of Mactan and Death of Magellan
– Raja Sula, one of the chieftains of the neighboring islands of
Mactan (Maktan) asked Magellan's help to defeat his rival,
Rajah Lapu Lapu who refused to pay tribute to Spain. In order
to show his might, Magellan with some sixty (60) men sailed to
Mactan on April 27 (some authors say March 28). Lapu Lapu
and his men armed with spears and kampilan faced Magellan's
men. In that battle, Magellan was wounded in the leg and
seeing him wounded. Lapu Lapu's men killed him with their
spears. With the death of Magellan, his men fled to their ships
and returned to Cebu. In one occasion, while attending a party
tendered by Raja Humabon, they were massacred by the
Cebuano natives because some of them robbed the natives
and raped some Cebuanos.

• The Return of Trinidad and Victoria
– On May 2, the remaining Spanish men left the Philippines with
only 2 ships, Trinidad and Victoria, with Concepcion being
abandoned. On their way to the Pacific Ocean, they reached
Brunei. In Brunei, Rajah Siripada gave the Spaniards 26 tons of
spices (cloves and cinnamon). Trinidad was captured by the
Portuguese soldiers but Victoria set sail via the Indian Ocean
enroute home on December 21, commanded by Juan
Sebastian Elcano. On May 6, Victoria rounded Cape Good
Hope and Cape Verde but many of Elcano's men died of
starvation and sickness. On September 6, 1522, Elcano and his
few men arrived in Spain (3 years after they departed).

• Other Spanish Expeditions.
– Magellan's expedition was significant because it led to
other Spanish expeditions to the Philippines. These were
the Loaysa expedition in 1526, Cabot expedition in 1530,
Sayavedra expedition in 1528. The two famous and
significant expeditions were the Villalobos and Legazpi
expeditions.

– In order to settle the question of ownership of the
Moluccas Island, the monarchs of Spain and Portugal
agreed to draw an imaginary line of the Moluccas Island
and lands west of the line belong to Spain while those of
the east belong to Portugal. Spain was paid by Portugal
in the sum of 350,000 gold ducats (US$800,000 today) to
get the Moluccas. Spain respected the provisions of the
Treaty of Zaragoza for many years but later violated it by
sending Ruy Lopez de Villalobos to an expedition to
Moluccas and reached Mindanaw (Mindanao). It was
here where Villalobos named the islands of Leyte and
Samar as Felipinas to honor King Philip of Spain.
Thereafter, Villalobos sailed for Moluccas but was
captured by the Portuguese.

– Set free, he sailed for Mexico but died later in 1546. In
1556, King Philip II who succeeded his father King
Charles I, sent Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to head another
expedition. Father Andres de Urdaneta, a member of the
Loaysa expedition, became the pilot of the expedition.
With four (4) ships and about 380 men, Legazpi sailed
from Mexico in 1564 and reached Cebu in 1565. With
Panay at his home base, he decided to spread Spanish
rule to the other islands. At almost the same time, Juan
de Salcedo (Legazpi's younger grandson) and Martin de
Goiti captured Manila (Maynila) which was then a
Muslim kingdom ruled by Raja Sulayman.

– After Legazpi took over Manila, he laid the foundation of
a new city and made Manila, the capital of the
Philippines. King Philip II later called Manila as
“Distinguised and Ever Loyal City”. The Augustinians
were the first missionaries to reach the Philippines led
by Father Andres de Urdaneta who was also a member
and the pilot of Loaysa expedition.
– Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founded the first European
settlement in Cebu in 1565. He declared Manila as the
capital of the Philippines in June 3, 1571. He became the
first governor-general of the Philippines. Diego delos
Rios, on the other hand, was the last governor-general
(1889).

• The Central Government
– The head of the Spanish central government in the
Philippines was the governor general or captain general
who was appointed by the King of Spain. The governor-
general was the King's official representative to the
colony. He possessed vast executive, legislative and
judicial powers. There was no legislature or Congress
because laws were either made by the King of Spain
through a Royal Decree or Order of the governor-
general through a superior decree.

• The Audiencia
– Judicial powers were exercised by the Audiencia (the
highest court) and the lower courts. The governor-
general was the president or presiding officer of the
Audiencia. The Audiencia was established in 1854 with
Santiago de Vera as the first president.

• The Provincial Government
– The provincial government was headed by alcalde mayor
who was appointed by the governor-general. His salary
was meager but he was given the privilege to collect
tributes and engage in trade to increase his income.
Because of abuses committed by the provincial governor
(alkalde mayor), the position was abolished in 1844.

• Municipal Government
– Each municipality or town was headed by a gobernadorcillo
(little governor). The gobernadorcillo was assisted by four (4)
tenientes, a chief of police and subordinate officials called
alguaciles. The gobernadorcillo was also called capitan municipal
or simply capitan. Today, he is called Mayor. In the beginning, the
gobernadorcillo was elected for one year by all married men in
each town but in the late 19th century, he was elected by a
board of electors composed of the outgoing gobernadorcillo
and twelve cabeza de barangay heads. The parish priest and the
alcalde mayor presided over the election. The result of the
election had to be approved by the parish priest and the alcalde
mayor. The winning candidate had to be sent to the governor
general for final approval. To qualify for the office of the
gobernadorcillo, he must be Filipino, at least 25 years old, be
able to read and write Spanish, and must be a teniente mayor or
a cabeza de barangay.

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