Spanish

Colonial
Government
Spain reigned over the Philippines for 333 years, from 1565
to 1898.

Since Spain was far from the country, the Spanish king
ruled the Islands through the viceroy of Mexico, which was
then another Spanish colony.
KING OF SPAIN

v
VICEROY OF MEXICO

¥
PHILIPPINES
King Philipal of Cr
 When Mexico regained its freedom in
1821, the Spanish king ruled the
Philippines through a Governor
General, (GG).

KING OF SPAIN
King Philigll of Spain Vy
GOVERNOR GENERAL

v
PHILIPPINES
Spain establish a centralized
colonial government in the
Philippines that was
composed of a NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT and the
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
 THE GOVERNOR GENERAL

»The King's representative and

the Highest-ranking official in
the Philippines

» Royal decrees and laws

emanating from Spain were
implemented in the Philippines

»Had the power to appoint

and dismiss public officials,
except those personally chosen
by the King
>» REQUIREMENT:

Must be a PENINSULARES

orA SPANIARD BORN IN SPAIN

 THE GOVERNOR GENERAL

Some important GGs

18: Miguel Lopez de Legazpi

2™4: Guido de Lavezares

(replaced Legazpi)

Last: Diego de los Rios

THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE
THE GOVERNOR GENERAL

The Governor General and other

government officials had so much
power that it was commonly abused.
To investigate the
abuses, there were bodies
created:
THE RESIDENCIA

THE VISITA THE ROYAL AUDENCIA

 THE RESIDENCIA

This was a special judicial court that investigates

the performance of a Governor General who was
about to be replaced.

The Residencia, of which

the incoming Governor
General was usually a
AR, member, submitted a report
(ony f its findings to the King
AAA
 THE VISITA

The Council of the Indies in Spain sent a

government official called the VISITADOR
GENERAL to observe conditions in the colony.

The Visitador General

reported his findings
directly to the King.
 The highest court in
THE ROYAL AUDENCIA the land
»Served as an advisory body to the Governor
General

» Had the power to check and report on his

abuses

>The Audiencia also audited the expenditures of

the colonial government
THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

The Spaniards created Local Government Units (LGU)

for the provinces

There were two types of local government units:

ALCALDIA CORRIGIMIENTO

Alcalde Mayor Corregidor

THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

The ALCADIA, led by the

Alcalde Mayor

governed the provinces that had

been fully subjugated:

UNDER SPANISH CONTROL ALREADY

SALARY: P300 A MONTH

THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

DUTIES OF THE ALCALDE MAYOR:

They represented the Spanish king and the

Governor-General

They managed the day-to-day operations of

the provincial government

Implemented laws and supervised the

collection of taxes
GALLEON TRADE
 THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

Each province was divided into several towns or

pueblos headed by
GOBERNADORDCILLOS (Little Governor)

MAIN DUTIES: Efficient governance and tax

collection.

Four lieutenants aided the Governardorcillo:

the Teniente Mayor (chief lieutenant),
the Teniente de Policia (police lieutenant),
the Teniente de Sementeras (lieutenant of the fields)
the Teniente de Ganados (lieutenant of the livestock)
THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

GOBERNADORDCILLOS

They had SMALL SALARIES but were exempted

from PAYING TAXES

QUALIFICATIONS:
¢ Any NATIVE or CHINESE MEZTIZO
« 25 years old
¢ Literate in ORAL or WRITTEN SPANISH
« Cabeza de Barangay for 4 years

Ex: Emilio Aguinaldo

 THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

CABEZA DE BARANGAY OR
(Barrio Administrator or Barangay
Captain)

-Responsible for the peace and order of the barrio

-Recruited men for public works

QUALIFICATIONS:
* Cabezas should be literate in Spanish
¢« Have good moral character and property
¢« Cabezas who served for 25 years were
exempted from forced labor
 THE CITY GOVERNMENT

Larger towns became cities called:

AYUNTAMIENTO
It became the center of trade and industry.

The ayuntamiento had a city council called the

CABILDO

CABILDO is composed of:

ALCALDE (MAYOR)
REGIDORES (COUNCILLORS)
ALGUACIL MAYOR (POLICE CHIEF)
ESCRIBANDO (SECRETARY)
Economic life under
Spain
Our development during that
time was slow.
Economic Changes by Spain

1. New way of land ownership

2. Encomienda system
3. Tribute
4. Polo of forced labor
5. Abolition of slavery
6. Galleon Trade and annual subsidy from
Mexico
7. Introduction of new plants and animals
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
OF THE PHILIPPINES ON
RIZAL’S TIMES
 Filipinos were
unfortunate victims
of the evils of the
unjust, bigoted and
deteriorating
colonial power.
During the times of
Rizal, the sinister
shadows of Spain’s
decadence
darkened the
Philippine Skies.
• Evils of the Unjust Colonial Power -
Instability of colonial administration

King Ferdinand VIII (1808 – 1833) Frequent

shift of policies owing to struggle
between Liberalism and Despotism;
From 1835- 1897 there were 50 Governors
General.
Corrupt Colonial Officials/
CORRUPT OFFICIALDOM
• Gen. Rafael de Isquerdo -
incompetent and cruel, boastful,
ruthless, executed GOMBURZA in
1872.
• Admiral Jose Malcampo - successor of
Izquierdo who was a good Moro
fighter but was an inept and weak
administrator.
 7 &X;
;
we
Seon

hy

p
he

1874 i
eAdmiral Jose ri1
Malcampo
becomes
governor-general
 1880
fee ° General
Fernando Primo
de Rivera
becomes
Governor
General
 1888
Lj,
«General Valeriano
Weyler becomes
governor-general
 1896|
[ae
«General Camilo de
Polavieja is
appointed governor-
general of the
Philippines
 1897|
|
«General Primo de i

Rivera begins his

second term as
governor-general
» Gen. Primo de Rivera - accepted bribes from
gambling casino which he permitted to
operate.
» Gen. Valeriano Weyler (1888-1891) - cruel
and corrupt; received huge bribes, gifts and
diamonds from wealthy Chinese who evaded
anti-Chinese law; persecuted Calamba
tenants particularly the family of Dr. Jose
Rizal.
>» Gen. Camilo de Polavieja — heartless
givernor; executed Dr. Jose Rizal.
• NO PHILIPPINE REPRESENTATION
IN THE SPANISH CORTES
The representation of the overseas
colonies in the Spanish Cortes was
abolished in 1837. Since then the
Philippines condition worsened
because there was no means by which
the Filipino people could expose the
anomalies perpetrated by the colonial
officials
 1810
¢ Filipinos gain
representation in the
Spanish Cortes

Delegate Ventura de Los Reyes

 1837
Philippine
representation
In the Spanish
Cortes Is
abolished.
The Spanish Parliament
 1876
ePuerto Rico and
Cuba regain
representation In
the Spanish Cortes
• Human Rights Denied to
Filipinos
The people of Spain enjoyed
freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of the association
and other human rights (except
freedom of religion). The Spanish
authorities who cherished these
human rights or constitutional
liberties in Spain denied them to the
Filipinos in
Asia.
• No Equality Before the Law
 Filipinos were abused, brutalized,
persecuted and slandered.
 Spanish missionaries thought that ALL
MEN irrespective of color and race
are children of God and as such they
are brothers, equal before God and
not before the law… not in practice.
 Leyes de Indias (Laws of the Indies)
rarely enforced.
 Spanish Civil Code imposed light
penalties on Spaniards but heavier
penalties to native Filipinos.
• Maladministration of
Justice
 The courts of justice were
notoriously corrupt.Judges,
fiscals and court officials were
inept,venal and oftentimes
ignorant of law.
 Justice was costly, partial and
slow. Poor Filipinos has no access
to the courts. To the Filipino
masses, litigation in court was a
calamity.
 1872
“Execution of
GOMBURZA
 “Listo! | December 30, 1896
ak
1% Apuntar! Dr. Jose Rizal is
~ Ma Fuego!” executed
• Racial Discrimination
 Spain introduced Christianity’s
egalitarian concept of the
BROTHERHOOD OF ALL MEN under GOD
THE FATHER, but Filipinos were
regarded as inferior beings
undeserving of rights enjoyed by the
Spaniards.
 Spaniards derisively called brown-
skinned and flat nosed Filipinos
“Indios” (Indians).
 Lack of opportunities for educated
young Filipinos to rise in the service of
God and Country
• FRAILOCRACY a notorious invisible
government existed in Spanish
Philippines. This government was
called "frailocracy" meaning rule of the
friars. During the last decades of the
19th century the Spanish friars were so
influential and powerful that they
practically ruled the Philippines.
 Union of Church and state
 Friars (Augustinians, Dominicans
and Franciscans) – controlled the
religious and educational life of
the Philippines and later in the
19th century they came to
acquire tremendous political
power, influence and riches.
 Friars controlled government
from governor general down to
alcaldes mayores;
 Friars exercise priestly duties,
supervise elections, inspector of
books and taxes, arbiter of morals,
censor of books and comedias,
superintendent of public works and
guardian of peace and order.

 Rizal, del Pilar, Jaena and other

Filipino reformists blamed
frailocracy/friars for obscurantism,
fanaticism, and oppression in the
country.
 F. =
a oa! Pom| |
wari A “f if ele,

Three friars served as

governors-general:

\ Archbishops Francisco dela Cuesta, Manuel

P
Rojo del Rio and Juan Arrechedera
• Forced Labor (Polo y servicio)
- compulsory labor imposed by
the Spanish colonial authorities
on adult Filipino males in the
construction of churches,
schools, hospitals, buildings,
roads and bridges, ships etc.

- Filipino males from 16 to 60

years old were obliged to
render forced labor for 40 days
a year.
July 12,1883
Royal Decree |»
changing the [|
system of polo
y servicios is
issued
 Wealthy ones were able to evade
forced labor by paying falla, a
sum of money.
 Spaniards were not drafted to
forced labor,contrary to law, while
the Filipino polistas received only
a part of two pesetas (50
centavos) or worse nothing at all.
 Disturbed the Indios’ work in the
farm and shops and separate
them from their families.
• Hacienda Owned by Friars
 Friars owned the best haciendas and
the folks filling these lands even before
the coming of the Spaniards became
tenants – resulted in bloody agrarian
upheaval in 1745-1746.
 Rizal tried to initiate agrarian reform in
1887 but in vain, ignited the wrath of
the Dominican Friars who retaliated by
raising land rentals.
 Rizal in his “Indolence of the Filipinos”
in substance opined that Friars
ownership of best agricultural tract of
land contribute to the stagnation of
economy
1768
«Governor Anda
recommends to
the Madrid
government the
sale of the friar
estates
• Guardia Civil– created by Royal
Decree of February 12, 1852;
Maltreatment, abuse, robbers,
rapists.
 The purpose of maintaining internal
peace and order in the Philippines but
later became infamous for their
rampant abuses.
 Both officers and men were ill-trained
and undisciplined.
 Rizal’s Noli exposed the guardia civil
through Elias as bunch of ruthless
ruffians, good only for disturbing the
peace and persecuting honest men.
References:
https://www.slideshare.net/MarcyTrinidad/spanish-
colonial-government-part-ii

https://www.slideshare.net/MarcyTrinidad/spanish-
colonial-government-part-i-16200712

https://www.slideshare.net/praejames245/economic-
life-under-sp
https://www.slideshare.net/iamclaii/ge-rizal-
the-philippines-of-rizals-time-11-evil-colonial-
power?