Spanish Colonial government

1. LESSON 5.2 – THE SPANISH
COLONIAL GOVERNMENT IN
THE PHILIPPINES AND THE
MALOLOS GOVERNMENT
Unit 5: The Evolution of Philippine Politics

2. The Spanish Colonial
Government
- Spanish settlement began with the founding of Cebu in 1565 and Manila in
1571 and the succeeding placement of numerous barangays under the central
authority of the King of Spain.
- The Philippines was claimed as a colony of Spain and controlled under a
centralized colonial government composed of envoys and a few elite natives
who were given local positions.

3. - Prior to the independence of Mexico in 1821, Spain’s colonies were ruled by the Viceroyalty of New
Spain on behalf of the King. However, when Mexico gained independence, the viceroyalty was
abolished and the Philippines became ruled by the governor-general.
- There are bodies that helped the King oversee the governor-general’s performance – the Council of
the Indies that would regularly send a visitador who would observe the governor-general and report
to the king; and the residencia – a special court tasked to investigate the governor-general’s
performance.

4. - A Real Audiencia was also established in the country to act as the supreme court.
- Local governments were also established.
- Provinces/provincias were ruled by alcalde-mayores who managed the day-to-day operations of
the provincial government.
- Some provincial districts were classified as corregimientos and were ruled by corregidores who
were both civil and military leaders.
- Provinces were subsequently divided into municipalities or pueblos ruled by
gobernadorcillos assisted by several additional officials. Pueblos were further divided into
barangays ruled by cabeza de barangay.

5. Negative features of Spanish Colonial Government
- The pervasive clientelism or the use of government
institutions to reward cronies and groups that served in
favor of the colonial government.
- Friars and church officials exercised sweeping political
influences on the appointment of officials, tax collection,
local law implementation, justice system, and educational
policies.

6. Colonial Life in the
Philippines under
Spain
- The Spanish Colonial forces implemented a system of dividing-and-
conquering the preexisting groups in the Philippines.
- Many Barangays and communities were broken apart and resettled
through the reduccion system. The system enabled colonial
government to split abandonment lands into encomiendas and award
them to ecomenderos.
- Many of the ecomiendas would later develop into agricultural estates
or haciendas.

7. - Colonization also resulted in the formation of racial and socioeconomic inequality in the society.
- The most privilege and richest back then were the peninsulares, followed by the insulares. Beneath
the two classes were the mestizos de español, mestizos de sangley, and tornatras. Lowest in the
social hierarchy were the sangleys, indios, and Negritos.
- The Filipino natives who fled to the mountains to resist living in Spanish-controlled pueblos were
called remontados.
- Indigenous culture was wiped out.

8. Philippine Nationalism
and the 1896 Philippine
Revolution
- As early as 1620s, revolts in resistance to Christianity
had been recorded, usually led by datus and babaylans.
- There were also frequent local revolts regarding foeced
labor and encomenderos and the unfair practices of
friars. These however, were not underpined by the
development of a Filipino national identity.

9. - The most important catalysts for the
development of a Filipino national identity and
nationalism were the illustrados or the wealthy
class of Filipinos who were able to study in
Europe and who introduced liberal democratic
values in the country. Many of them formed the
propaganda movement, and wrote publications
exposing and criticizing the abuses of
government officials.

10. - After gaining key areas nationwide, the Katipunan, led by Emilio
Aguinaldo, declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898.
- On September 15, 1898, the Malolos Congress convened to
write the Malolos Constitution, which, upon its ratification on
January 21, 1899, formally established the First Philippine
Republic or the Malolos Republic.
- Kataastaasang Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng
Bayan was a secret revolutionary society founded in 1892. It
took the forefront and facilitated the country’s armed struggle for
national independence; it was then discovered by the Spanish in
1896 which lead to the famous “ Cry for Balintawak” that marked
the beginning of the Philippine revolution.

11. Philippine
Independence and
the Malolos Republic
- The Malolos Republic was short-lived and was not
formally recognized by colonial powers. It was famous for
being the first constitutional and democratic republic in
Asia.
- Reflecting the liberal education of its drafters, the Malolos
Constitution stipulated an extensive bill of rights akin to
the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and
the Citizen.

12. The 1899
Malolos
Constitution
and Republic
- The l899 Malolos Constitution established a
parliamentary system of government where
the powers of the executive and the
legislative branch were intertwined.
- The Malolos Republic also had local
governments. Article 82 of the Malolos
Constitution called for the establishment of
provincial and popular assemblies with
lawmaking and taxation powers.

13. Factors that
contributed to the
demise of the
Malolos Republic
- The involvement of American colonial
forces.
- The betrayal of elite ilustrados and
government officials to the cause of the
revolution
- Aguinaldo’s overconfidence with American
diplomats
- Aguinaldo’s tolerance for corruption within
his military and elite government officials.

14. END