Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Philippine 19th Century
Philippine 19th Century
People with
Chinese Mestizos Chinese and
Indio parents
Pure
Indios Filipinos
From the beginning of Spanish rule to
1821, the Philippines was
administered by the Viceroy of
Mexico, in the name of the Spanish
monarch.
When Mexico gained independence
in 1821, Spain governed the
Philippines through the Ministro de
Ultramar (Ministry of the Colonies)
based in Madrid.
Gobernador General
Central
(Governor General)
Government
Alcalde Mayor
Alcaldia
(Provincial Governor)
(Provincial Level)
Corregimentos Corregidores
Pueblo Gobernadorcillo
(Town Mayor)
Gobernadorcillo or
Kapitan For municipal government
For municipal
government Cabeza de Barangay
or
Cabeza del Barrio
Judicial and
Legislative
System
Royal Audiencia – the highest
judicial body
o This body served as the highest
court of appeals for civil and
criminal cases but also as the high
council to which important
government affairs were referred.
o It also acted as auditor of the
finances of the government.
Spanish Cortes – the Spanish legislature; for three brief
periods, the Philippines was represented in the Spanish
Cortes
Ferdinand VII
restored to the
Spanish throne
after the defeat of
the France
Isabella II
•The daughter of
Ferdinand VII
• who were unfit
to rule.
The split among the
intellectuals – the
conservatives and the liberals
The attitude of indifference
and political ignorance of the
people
The 35- year reign of Isabella II
was marked by political chaos
Five military politicians from
various political leanings
succeeded premiership
The Spanish Constitution was
modified thrice
The Carlist Wars
(1833-1839) were
the continuous
struggles between
the Liberal party
(called Carlista
headed by Don
Carlos, brother of
Ferdinand) and the
Don Carlos Conservative Party
(who wanted to
retain the monarchy)
Isabella II became extremely
unpopular and ineffective
Her despotic reign ended in a
revolution in 1868
The Spanish Republic was born
at a difficult period in history
Its six years of existence saw
bitter party strife, frequent
changes in government and a new
Carlist war
The republic ended as a result of
another civil war
The monarchy
was restored in
1875 with
Alfonso XII as
King
His conservative
minister, Canovas
del Castillo,
strengthen the
monarch and
suppressed the
Carlist movement
When Alfonso died in 1885 and left an
infant heir, a Canovite system was
implemented – it came to be known as
rotativism wherein two factions must
alternate in the administration of the
country’s affairs – to save Spain from
the disastrous effects of bitter political
disunity
But the will of the monarch prevailed
and the sovereignty of the people under
the Constitution was only a farce
Spanish masses lived in poverty and
socialism misery that in 19th century,
leaders demanded protection of
economic and social rights
The revolutionary doctrines of
socialism and anarchism spread in
Spain
The government tried to improve the
conditions of the people, but it also
undertook outright repression
Spain lost its colonies while
fighting with the French, except
Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the
Philippines
But the last decades of the 19th
century witnessed popular unrest
in these colonies, particularly in
the Philippines and in Cuba
A change of government in Spain was
followed by changes in the top colonial
administrators of the Philippines
The colony became the convenient dumping
ground for favorites and followers of
politicians in Mother Country
When Spain finally abandoned mercantilism
and adopted laissez faire after more than
two hundred years, the Galleon Trade
ended and the Philippines was opened to
world trade, thus ending its economic
isolation from the rest of the world.