Historical Investigation

Was the Spanish Empire Cruel or Fair

When Ruling the Philippines?

Total Word Count: 2048

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Contents Page

Section 1: Identification and evaluation of sources Page 3

Section 2: Investigation Page 7

Section 3: Reflection Page 12

Bibliography Page 13

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Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources
The question of this investigation is “Was the Spanish Empire
Cruel or Fair When Ruling the Philippines?”.

While analyzing the events that happened in the times of Spanish

colonization in the Philippines, a case point here is a set of
questions about how Spanish people treat the Filipino people
during their time of ruling in the Philippines. During my study, I
compiled the most frequently asked questions by the general
public about the said colonization.

Sources of particular relevance are the facts about the Spanish

Period, which will be of great assistance to me in my research.

Source 1

The first recorded sighting of the Philippines by Europeans was on

March 16, 1521, during Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of
the globe. Magellan landed on Cebu, claimed the land for Charles I
of Spain, and was killed one month later by a local chief. The
Spanish crown sent several expeditions to the archipelago during
the next decades. Permanent Spanish settlement was finally
established in 1565 when Miguel López de Legazpi, the first royal
governor, arrived in Cebu from New Spain (Mexico). Six years
later, after defeating a local Muslim ruler, he established his capital
at Manila, a location that offered the excellent harbor of Manila Bay,
a large population, and proximity to the ample food supplies of the
central Luzon rice lands. Manila remained the center of Spanish
civil, military, religious, and commercial activity in the islands. The
islands were given their present name in honor of Philip II of Spain,
who reigned from 1556 to 1598.

This source is really helpful and a first step to answer the question
that my research is trying to answer.

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Source 2

What went on the Philippines was similar to what happened in

Latin America. The Spanish seized land and established huge
plantations which made rich men out of landowners. Some of
the indigenous people mixed with the Spanish, some were
overwhelmed by them. Both groups adopted Catholicism.
Other groups like the Igorot resisted. The Spanish burned
Igorot villages, destroyed their crops and raped their women,
yet in 350 years of Spanish occupation the Igorot were never
conquered. The Spanish were not as harsh on the local
people of the Philippines as they were in Latin America but
they did make an effort to stamp out traditions and customs
they regarded as “works of the devil.” Large Numbers of
people were untouched by the Spanish occupation.

This source only partially answered the question I was looking

for. This is definitely a necessary information to find the
answer piece by piece.

Source 3

Harmonious by nature, the indigenous Filipinos were easy

prey for the Spanish conquistadors who spared no cruelties in
gathering the masses "under the bells". The feudal system
forced on the natives had a drastic impact on their self-
sufficient communities. Under Spanish rule, the indigenous
families had to cultivate, not only enough food and crops for
their own sustenance, but also great portions which they were
forced to hand over to the warlords. Euphemistically, the
Spanish called these forced portions "tributes". Corpuz
explains: "The tributes and labor services of the Filipinos were
the chief economic support of Spanish rule."

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The Spanish religious orders and charitable groups were
originally assigned encomiendas (Spanish for commissions).
The grants gave the Spanish warlords the absolute right to
control all the Filipinos living within the boundaries of the
encomiendas, and the right to force them into labor up to 12
hours a day, six days a week, and collect the resulting
"tributes" (50 per cent of their crops). Under the "share-
cropping" that took place on the vast haciendas throughout
the islands, the indigenous Filipinos were routinely deceived.
Corpuz explains: "In the matter of the payment of the tributes,
the natives were regularly cheated by the Spanish assessors
and collectors." Corpuz goes on to say it was easy "to cheat
the native cultivators through intimidation, arbitrary prices and
the use of crooked weights and measures." Through the tricks
and devices of the Spanish, many indigenous families fell into
a life of bondage with the warlords. "After harvest, the
individual farmer was left with a share that almost invariably
made it impossible to put aside anything for savings" (Corpuz).
The Filipinos would also lose their traditional lands. "The
encomienda grants were for limited periods but were
repeatedly extended for the religious orders ... Somewhere
along the way, probably starting in the late 1700s the
"encomenderos" became owners, and not merely holders of
the plantation-sized tracts" (Corpuz). The Spanish were cruel
and cunning in usurping the traditional lands. Spaniards
considered it legitimate to enslave non-Christian captives from
wars and trade them legally in the past. This is because they
did not consider this as an uncivilized and unchristian act
because they believed that men were not created equal and
the inferior men may be ruled by the superior ones. Christians,
however, were anticipated to show sympathy to the people
suffering and this made some masters free their slaves. A lot
of them apprenticed their slaves so they could still work under
their supervision once they were freed.

This source essentially answered the question I was

attempting to answer.

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Section 2: Investigation

In my investigation, I can say that there really is a presence of

cruelty of Spanish people during their time of colonizing the
Philippines. The Spaniards conquered the Philippines for 333
years. No unity, no proper government, divided tribes. Those
are some reasons on why the Spanish easily conquered our
land. Result of these is, we adapted their culture, traditions,
and even their languages which we used until today. the
Spanish took advantage of the already divided up people in
the Philippines and easily dominated by them. When a Filipino
tribe was planning to have a revolution, the Spanish would
send another group of Filipino tribes to conquer their fellow
Filipinos, which results of creating a stronger sense of division.

Spaniards just basically enslaved the Filipino people for 333

years and that is not easy especially to those who are
members of the indigenous tribes in our country they did it
because they took us ‘Filipinos’ lightly. The Spanish changed
the lives of Filipino. Even though the Spanish was inhumanity
but the Filipino was still lucky because the Spanish people
exerted efforts to implement our country by sharing to us the
way of their living and those things contributed a lot to us
Filipino. The Spanish colonization in the Philippines brought
such poverty, violence, misery to us Filipino. But it also
contributes us a lot of good things. They improved and helped
our country in many ways. Even though the Filipino
experienced the inhumanity of the Spaniards but still they
influenced us the way of their living and until today we still
used and make those influences in our daily lives.

But a question arises in my mind: what are the objectives of

Spaniards towards Philippines? Was the Spanish colonization
of the Philippines a positive event or a negative event in the
history of the Philippines?

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Case 1: What are the objectives of Spaniards
towards Philippines?

Spanish colonial motives were not, however, strictly

commercial. The Spanish at first viewed the Philippines as
a stepping-stone to the riches of the East Indies (Spice
Islands), but, even after the Portuguese and Dutch had
foreclosed that possibility, the Spanish still maintained
their presence in the archipelago.

Spain had three objectives in its policy toward the

Philippines, its only colony in Asia: to acquire a share in
the spice trade, to develop contacts with China and Japan
in order to further Christian missionary efforts there, and to
convert the Filipinos to Christianity. Only the third objective
was eventually realized, and this not completely because
of the active resistance of both the Muslims in the south
and the Igorot, the upland tribal peoples in the north. Philip
II explicitly ordered that pacification of the Philippines be
bloodless, to avoid a repetition of Spain's sanguinary
conquests in the Americas. Occupation of the islands was
accomplished with relatively little bloodshed, partly
because most of the population (except the Muslims)
offered little armed resistance initially.

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Case 2: Was the Spanish colonization of the
Philippines a positive event or a negative event in the
history of the Philippines?

Some of the positive effects were: universities were

opened early. In 1820 only the Philippines have improved
in civilization, wealth, and Populousness. The establish of
schools, many schools were built. They taught them how
to read, write, and speak in English. The population
greatly increased; cultivation was extended. And the
American gradually established the Philippine as an
independent country.

Some bad effects are: lack of equal rights of the Filipinos.

lack of freedom of choosing a religion under the Spanish
rule. Some Filipinos acts like they are Americans, rather
than love their culture. The spread of the imported
products, and foreign companies in Philippines.

In conclusion, the Spanish colonization was bad for the

Philippines, because it took their right, and changed many
things in the country such as the government. It changes
the system of it. Spanish made the Philippines like Saudi
Arabia; a family rules the country. It was the Spanish
monarchy.

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Public Opinion

The public comments are all expressing the same

sentiment. The majority of Filipino inhabitants feel enraged
and find what occurred during the Spanish Period to be
unacceptable, particularly the fact that Spaniards abused
Filipino people and prioritized money, enslaving them and
forcing them to do things they did not desire.

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Conclusion

Finally, the reliability of every site that I used for my research

was alluded to in both of the investigations that I completed.
To some extent, the data I acquired properly mirrored Filipino
public opinion. Most Filipinos are aware of the investigation's
topic because it is taught in school beginning in elementary
school. However, some of us are unaware of it. While some of
us may believe that Spaniards aren't all terrible but still, some
Filipinos still have prejudice towards them.

Reflection

This historical investigation has taught me a lot. I learned the

importance of the methodology of writing an investigation paper. At
first, I thought the process was not necessary. I had believed I had a
better approach to it in my head. However, while researching, writing,
and revising my historical investigation, I realized why we had the
process. My way would not have worked, let alone allowed me to
write this analysis I am quite proud of. It was more challenging than I
had anticipated. I thought it was an assignment I could do in a day or
two. In reality, though it takes much more than that. It takes more
commitment and attention that I ever thought it would. Also, I thought
the research was difficult. I have never researched something as
specifically and thoroughly as this assignment required. Even with
the help of internet, I struggled to find the right sources. Additionally,
this was a new experience for me. It is a different type of paper to
write as opposed to the ones I have been exposed to so far. As a
result, it felt awkward writing some aspects of it as it was rather
different to what I am used to. I constantly questioned whether the
way I was doing something was right or wrong. Due to that I was
constantly checking the description and suggestions packet for
directions. I think that after writing the first paper, I am better
prepared to write the next one. This experience has opened my eyes
to relying and believing on any credible seeming source. One must
realize that different perspectives really limit what a source can offer.
This experience has made me question the validity of sources I used
to confide in unquestionably. However, despite of questioning myself
I am incredibly proud of myself to finally make a historical
investigation for the first time.

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Bibliography

1. http://countrystudies.us/philippines/4.htm
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Spanish_slav
ery_in_the_Philippines
3. https://www.sfu.ca/fuga/history/hist02.html
4. https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/The-
Spanish-period
5. https://factsanddetails.com/southeast-
asia/Philippines/sub5_6a/entry-3836.html
6. https://youtu.be/oY-tehTW-1U
7. https://youtu.be/LJ0OVWnvXNU
8. https://www.quora.com/Are-Filipinos-proud-that-they-
once-were-a-Spanish-colony

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