Agrarian Relations and

Friar Lands
Navarro, Noga, Nosares, and Perez
Agrarian Relations
 History of Agrarian Reform in the
Philippines
Pre-Spanish Period
Filipinos lived in villages or barangays ruled by chiefs or datus before
the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines. Then came the maharlikas
(freemen), followed by the aliping mamamahay (serfs) and aliping
saguiguilid (slaves).
Spanish Period
When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, they brought the idea
of encomienda (Royal Land Grants).
The system, however, degenerated into encomienderos abusing their
power.
The Dominican Order, which owns the Hacienda de Calamba,
prioritizes their own interests by raising rental prices, causing the
inquilinos' income to plummet.
Ownership
Land is acquired at Hacienda De Calamba by going into a
leasing contract with the landowners, who are Dominican friars,
known as the Inquilinato system. The Inquilino Structure is a three-
tiered system that includes the landowners, who are Dominican
friars, the Inquilino, and the Kasama or sharecroppers.
Production
For the purpose of establishing rents, the lands of Hacienda de
Calamba were divided into three categories, each with its own set of
products.
1. Tierras Palayeras - a land suited for rice farming, this land
produces palay.
2. Tierras Cañadulzales- (sugar land) , this land produces
sugar cane.
3. Tierras Catijanes- includes fishing ground and garden plots.
History of the Friar Lands
Estate Formation

▪ The friar estates began with

land grants handed to Spanish
conquistadors.
Estate Formation
▪ Spaniards received grants
within a 100 km radius of
Manila
▪ Some were given larger grants
that cover 2-3 sitios and some
had smaller units
Estate Formation

▪ Philip II issued a decree

prohibiting future illegitimate
claims
Estate Formation

▪ The Spanish Hacienderos

were reluctant and unable to
use their lands.
 Early Period
▪ The Spaniards made use of their land ownership knowledge. They
were gradually adapting and testing the waters. Although stock was
still traded, it was overshadowed by
Sugar Rice Tropical Fruits
 Early Period
▪ Sugar was originally planted on restricted plots that were worked by
laborers or tenants.
▪ Rice fields were rented to laborers, who were charged by the friars
in two ways
a. irrigated haciendas- fixed no. of cavans (44kg) for
each unit of land.
b. unirrigated lands- in terms of money but in
accordance with the price of palay at that harvest time.
Exempted Labor

▪ Invested thousands of pesos

in the improvement of their
estates
Exempted Labor

▪ The Filipino peasant living in

one of the provinces near
Manila allot a month each year
for the state.
 Exempted Labor
▪ The Hacienderos developed another method of acquiring work as a
result of their desire to escape these unpleasant labor, and an
institution known as an indirect repartimiento was formed.
Repartimiento is a Spanish word for “partition” or
“distribution”. It is a system which colonists recruit people for
forced labor.
▪ The casas de reservas (exempted households) could then be full
time workers on the haciendas.
 Exempted Labor
▪ The colonial government granted a specific number of exemptions
to a hacienda in the 17th century, in which the original grant was
sometimes followed by other which increased the number of
exemptions.
▪ The Jesuits rented property to tenants but also maintained certain
land, referred to as a demesne in medieval Europe, that was
cultivated under their control.
Demesne legal possession of land as one's own.
 Exempted Labor

▪ The institution of exempted labor generally achieved its principal

goal of populating the estates and making them reliable agricultural
producers for the Spaniards in Manila.
Biñan and Santa Rosa
grew and prospered as a
result of the liberal policy
of exemption and quickly
became the Dominican’s
most profitable
properties.
 The Revolt of 1745
▪ The peasantry of the Philippines reacted to the economic hardships
and cultural confusion imposed by Spanish rule. In 1745, an
agrarian revolt emerged in five regions around Manila, expressing
Filipino rage against the estates.
▪ Two basic issues in the revolt:
1. Land usurpation by the haciendas
2. The closing of the haciendas’ land to common use for
pasturage and forage.
Development and Dispute
in the Hacienda de
Calamba
References:
StuDocu (2020). Agrarian Relations and Friar Lands. Retrieved August 23,2021,
from https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/university-of-san-carlos/bachelor-of-
science-and-accoutancy/agrarian-relations-and-the-friar-lands/9682904
Britannica (2010). Repartimiento. Retrieved August 23, 2021, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/repartimiento
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Demesne. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved
August 23, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demesne
Department of Agrarian Reform. (n.d). Agrarian Reform History. Retrieved August
23, 2021, from https://www.dar.gov.ph/about-us/agrarian-reform-history/
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