.
GOLONlALlSM AND TRADITIONS
(J521-’t898)
CHAPTER
V But perhaps more explicit were the rcli ious aspects‘ of
A. The Co/onia/ System
Thc kind of colonial system 5pain cstablished in the
Philippincs following the successful takcover of Manila from thc
Muslims dependcd on thc broad aims of Spanish colonialism.
j’ These may be summarized undCr the headings: God, Gfoty, and
Géfd. The aims which were not neccssarily mutually exclusive
were clearly expresscd in the written instructions to the
cxpcditions from Magellan to Lcgaspi as wcll as from thc
numerous rcports, mcmorials› and corrcspondcnccs of the
religious orders to and from the Philippi rlCS. It is now CSSCrlti«l
to deal bricfly with thcsc aims:
1. Colonial Aims! The portrait of 5pain xs a colonial power
would be incomplete without the rcligious color givcn to its
murch to cmpirc. Equally «mphasized by the Grown was the nccd
to spread Christianity throughout the Spanish dominions. This was
in the New World or in the «,ri ,$ a w<n x i•a•r»1iprinc•
Thc cxpcditions from 152) to 1565 were accompanied by
religious missionaries who were as much prepared to preach thc
Christian faith as thcy were ’to cxplorc and exploit the material
resources of the colonies. In particular, when Magellan landed
THE RISE OF CO74MUNITIES
on Limasawa or Butuan, the first significant act taken, besides
the procurement of nccdc‹1 pri visiorls, was the cclebration of
the Mass, and upon landing in Gbu, the conversion of Rnjah
Humabon and his people was effected:L
Legaspi°s cxpedition in 1565. Fivc Augustinian friars ‘labored in
harmony with Lcgaspi" and won converts. Their religious zeal
and tirclcss efforts wcrc moved by an almost obsscssivc desire to
cftcck thc “slowly-advancing tide of Mohammedans”. The process
of Christianization in Gcbu startcd with the conversion of King
Tupas’ niccc. This was followed by thc conversion of a Muslim
intcrprctcr, King Tupas and his son. The effect of such a
breakthrough in the ruling level of native society was to hastcn
the process of Christianization among the people for ‘the example
of Tupas had great weight.‘ Thus, with the aid of Christianized
Gcbuanos, the Muslim stronghold of Manila was taken by Spanish
troops and Christianity planted in the city. The subsequent work
of evangelism by the different religious orders from Manila to
thc outlyiqg areas and islands, including thc hinterlands, received
such attention and priority that it is logical to relate it to the
more important task of pacification. In the words of Edward
”. Gaylord Bourne, ‘The Philippine Islands in situation and
inhabitants belong to the Asiatic world, but, for the first thrcc
centuries of their recorded history, they were in a sense a
dcpendency of America, and now the whirling of time has restored
them in their political relations to the Western Hemisphere. As a
dependency of New Spain they constituted the extreme Western
verge of the Spanish dominions and wcrc commonly known as
the Western Islands (ler ir4éi W pnnirnii). Their discovery and
conquest rounded out an empire which in geographical extent
far surpassed anything the world had then sccn. ‘
Consequently, King Philip II boasted that the sun never set
in his cmpirc because while the sun rosc in Madrid it was still
early afternoon in Manilx of the preceding day. In this regard,
the Pni1ippines was just a link of the Spanish impcrial sway
which, in a sense, would trigger the move to extend Spanish
conquest not only to the islands south of the archipelago but also
north t$
 4 HISTORY OF THE PfiIMPlHES
Japan and China. This dream of an ‘Oriental Empirc‘ placcd
the Philippincs stratcgically in the hcart of Spanish imperial
design.
But inhcrently involvcd in the idca of impcrial conqucst
and expansion was the aim to obtain matcrial bcnefits room
rcsources and people. This was qui te cxplicit in the 5panish
efforu to mcguire the Philippines notw’ithstanding the fact that
the islande had
• bccomc a part of Portugucsc territorial rights following the
signing of the Trcaty of Zaragosa in 1529. In this trcaty King
Charles of5pain rclinquished clairrts to thc Philippines in
cxchangc for 350,000 gold ducats. The prcparation of an
cxpedition undcr Ruy Lopcz dc Villalobos from Mexico in
1542 charly conñ rmcd the dctcrmination of 5pain to lay hands
on the islands. The reason for this Spanish brushing aside of
Portugal's rights was carlier cxprcssed by Fray Andrcs dC
Urdancta who had gone. to the
Moluccas with Lpaisa in 1525 and had informcd the 5panish
King of l°ortiiga1's rights undcr the Zaragosa Trcaty. Hc bclicvcd •„
that för Spain to contravcnc such trcaty agrccmcnt, some
“lcgitimatc or pions reason for the cxpcdition should bc assigncd,
such as the rescuc of sailors who had been lost on thc is1an‹1s in
prcviou-s cxpeditions or the dctcrmination of the longitudc of
the Dcmarcation line." The real motive for ignoring Portugal’s
xights charly surfaced in King Philip’s own proposal to ignotc
all provisions of the trcaty rcgarding islands othcr than thc
Moluccas whcrc expéditions were prohibitcd from going. But to
islande likc the PhilippiflCS, the vcnturcs must go bccausc of the
spiccs. In fact, the rcason for the scarch for spiccs was alrcady
strcsscd earlicr by King Charles to Magellan: ‘Jnasmuch as you
bind yourself to discover in the dominions which belong to us
and arc ours in the Ocean Sea within the limits of our
dcmarcation, iyznds and mainlands and rich spiccrics, etc.‘
Thus, the systcm of colonial rulc Spaln cstablishcd in the
Philippines was dctermined by cartons colonial aiiTlS. To help
rcalizc such alms thc political, cconomic, social, and cultural
aspccts of administratiO,n had to bc effcctivcly designcd to insurc
that power, wcalth, and statue in the colony were convcnicntly
and cxclusivcly cnjoycd by thc Spaniar‹1s as a mattcc of
YHE RISE OF COMMUNITIES
2. te‹miir barrett 5panish colonial aime nccessiratcd
thc establishmcnt of dcfinite institutions to bring in the cconomic
and matcrial bcncfi ts cxpcctcd from the colony. The institutions
would involvc thc cffcctivc ose of the componcnts of the national
economy rcprcscntcd by incomc or bcncfits dcrivcd from land,
trade and commercc, and labor. Harncssing the potcntials of
thèse economic rcsources would thcrcforc form the thrust of
colonial policier and practiccs which also conscqucntly
cncoiiragcd abitses
and oppression. Certain institutions bccame the hallmarks of
Spariish colonialistri: rnro›Sirii4ei, flanc t& , taxation, rrloriopolies,
galleon trade, andpofnzJ screicios (forccd labor).
Although the ra‹»nizm was not a land grant Arr «, it was
however a syste m of land distribution that brought grcatcr
benefits to the colonial officials and institutions involved. The
system allowed the cncomcndcros or institutions certain rights
and privilcgcs over a piece of territory including the inhabitants
thcrcin for a certain pcriod of time, usttally up to two or three
gencrations. Thc shafing of land producc and thc collection of
ducs were dctcrmincd by thc ra‹xmtrz krar although, theoretically,
royal instructions should govcrn rcladons in the raca›niende. 5incc
the system was a way of rccognizing and rcwarding pcraons and
- irtStitutiOrtS fOr tÏlcir COfitribtltiOriS tO COlOrlial pt2fpoSeS, Ölc natiVc
inhabitants, whose welface was cnjoincd by the Crown ware
exploitcd in many ways for the personal bcncfi ts of the
cncom endcros. Evcn the religious corporations like the
Augustinians, Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jcsui ts who
r rccived or acquircdÇnroinirndm or baciindas wcrc not frced
from the tcmptation to profit from the ignorance and
weakncists of the nativcs who were brought under the
cffectivc control
of the religious authorities. The cvcntual abolition of the
cncomicnH system, while cradicating the abuscs essociated with
thc r2p;ptftr jdrroy, did not eÏÏ°cct Ecligiotls ordcrs. In fact, it ectually
allowed such orders to enlarge, by purchasc or donations, their
birthriQt.
landed intcrcsts which would be reflected, to a ccrtain marked feature of agratian development in the archipclago in
extent, in what is called *temporalities‘. Understandably, which the religions was the central focus. This kind of role or
the rise of landed estates callcd buried became the position the rcligiouf
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