READINGS in Philippine History

Chapter Three: Filipino Experience of Spanish Colonial

Rule

The Spanish expansion is a result of various forces. Aside from the Philippines,
the Spaniards already colonized parts of South, North, and Central America. The
inclusion of the Philippines resulted out of the attempts of Spaniards to control the
spice trade in the Moluccas islands. Aside from the interest in spices, Spain had been
motivated by its mercantilist nature or accumulating wealth in the form of gold. This
was simultaneous with the invention of new technologies needed for exploration like
the compass and sextant. Maps were also refined at this time that greatly aided the
explorers.
Before Spain actually decided to occupy the Philippines, two noted voyages
already reached the Philippines. This was the Magellan voyage in 1521 and the
Villalobos voyage in 1543. These did not start Spanish colonialism although they
provided information and fed the interest of the Spanish government to finally take the
islands. In 1565, Legaspi carried the Spanish flag and set up in the Philippine islands
another colony for Spain. This commenced the Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines.
Spanish colonies, 1600

https://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/spain/ibmaps.html

Philippines was managed directly by a Governor-General based in the country.

He was, however, responsible to the King through a body based in Mexico called
Council of Indies. At provincial level, the country was initially organized according to

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the encomienda system. This was headed by an encomendero, who acted as local
administrator and tax collector at the same time. Eventually, the encomienda gave way
to the Alcadia, or a regular province. This covered the conquered territories, though, as
the unconquered territories were referred to as Corrigimiento. While the alcadia was
headed by an Alcalde Mayor, the Corrigimento was under military rule. Under this
provincial organizations are the towns, or pueblo, headed by a gobernadorcillo. A city,
like Intramuros, was called Ayuntamiento, and run by a council called the Cabildo. At
the bottom of the political organization were the barrios and headed by cabeza de
barangays. Throughout the Spanish rule, Filipinos were appointed as cabezas, and a
limited number were made gobernadorcillo.
The Filipino experience of Spanish rule can be understood based on the Filipino
encounter with the government and church officials. Antonio de Morga1 describes this
in his “Report of the Conditions in the Philippines”. On the government he has the
following to say:

Activity (5 points): Give a sentence of conclusion2 about the cited

evidence above.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

1 Antonio de Morga was a Spanish lawyer and a high-ranking colonial official in

the Philippines (1594 to 1604), He was also a historian. After being reassigned to Mexico, he published
the book Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas in 1609, considered one of the most important works on the early
history of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines.
2 a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration and reasoning. It is

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READINGS in Philippine History

About the giving of justice, Morga observes:

Activity (5 points): Give a sentence of conclusion about the evidence

above.__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Of encomenderos, whose important function was tax collection, De Morga has

the following descriptions and comments:3

3 Indians refer to Filipinos.

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Activity (5 points): Give a sentence of conclusion about evidence
cited.__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

As a result of Encomendero’s failure to perform efficient tax collection, as well

as neglect in the administration of government warehouses, the royal treasury suffered.

Activity (5 points): Give a sentence of conclusion about the cited

evidence above.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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READINGS in Philippine History

On the other hand, church administrators, or friars are described in the

following:

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Activity (10 points): Give 2 conclusion about friar/priests behavior
based on the evidence above.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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READINGS in Philippine History

Confronted with the transformations brought about by Spanish colonialism, and

especially because of exploitations that accompanied Spanish administration, revolts
occurred in many parts of the country. The case of Sumuroy of Samar, written by
Spaniards and found in Blair and Robertson, illustrates this widespread reactions of
many Filipinos.

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READINGS in Philippine History

The Spaniards sent military contingents to stop the revolts and it was not until
a prolonged campaign against Sumuroy by Don Gines de Rojas, using a combination
of amnesty, divide and rule, as well as military attack, to finally end the Sumuroy
revolt.

Activity (5 points): Give a sentence of conclusion about the nature of

Filipino revolts based on Sumuroy’s story cited above.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Similar rebellions occurred in various p arts of the country, with practically
similar reasons: forced labor, tribute collection, economic hardship, and the abuses
committed in the course of church and government administration. The revolts were
widespread but were short-lived. Except for Dagohoy who stood his ground from 1744
to 1829, most of the revolts lasted for very short periods.
Other areas of conflict occurred in territories that were not subjugated by the
Spaniards. The biggest of these resistances occurred in Muslim Mindanao and in the
Cordillera. The Muslims in Mindanao resisted the Spanish colonizers continuously,
aided by a better political organization in the Sultanate. In the Cordillera, the Igorots
avoided Spanish interests in their territories. Such interests included the Spanish
interest for gold, proselytization campaigns, expansion of conquered territories, and the
punitive expeditions of the Spanish military. All these were generally denied in various
ways, so that by the end of Spanish rule, only a number of Commandancia-Politico-
Militares (CPM)4 were established in Benguet, Tiagan, Bontoc, and Kiangan.

4 Military posts
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