Spanish

Colonialism
in the
Philippines
(1521-1898)
Ferdinand Magellan
arrived in the
Philippines in 1521.
Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan
successfully led the
European expedition to
Philippines in the
service of the King of
Spain.
On March 17, 1521, Magellan
and his crew first came
into contact with
inhabitants of the Homonhon
Island, which would later
become part of the
archipelago known as the
Philippines. They soon
proceeded to Limasawa,
where the first Catholic
mass in the Philippines was
celebrated.
On March 31, 1521 at
Limasawa Island, Southern
Leyte. Magellan solemnly
planted a cross on the
summit of a hill overlooking
the sea and claimed for the
King of Spain possession of
the island he had seen
naming them Achipelago of
Saint Lazaro (Islas de San
Lazaro)
Antonio Pigafetta (1480-1534),
an expedition member, wrote in
“
A Narrative Account of the Fir
st Circumnavigation
” that two indigenous leaders
participated in the mass:
Rajah Colambu, ruler of
Limasawa, and Rajah Siagu,
ruler of Butuan, both of whom
kissed the cross and prayed
with the crew.
● Magellan, then navigated to
Sugbo.
● Sugbo is now known as Cebu.
They discovered the mouth of the
cove of Cebu called Mandawe at
noon of April 7, 1521.
● Magellan met Sugbo’s ruler,
Rajah or Datu Humabon/Hamabar.
The two later sealed their
friendship with a blood compact
in a traditional ritual
called sandugo (“one blood”).
The friendship set into
motion the first baptism
held in the islands, and
the
gifting of the image of t
he Santo Niño de Cebu to
Humabon’s
wife, Cebuano queen, Que
en Juana.
Christianizing the
Filipinos
 Rajah Humabon and his friend, Datu
Zula later convinced Magellan to kill
their native enemy which is Datu Lapu-
Lapu on Mactan. Magellan wanted
Datu Lapu-Lapu to convert to
Christianity but Lapu-Lapu rejected the
invitation. On April 27, 1521, Magellan
sailed to Mactan. But unfortunately, the
battle against them began.
During the battle, Magellan was
struck by a bamboo spear
through his unarmored legs by
one of Lapu-Lapu's troops and
was later finished off with
other weapons.
Basically, Magellan was not
actually killed by Lapu-Lapu
but since he was the leader of
the troops, then he was
automatically raised as a hero.
 The Battle of Mactan (
Filipino: Labanan sa
Mactan; Spanish: Batalla
de Mactán) was fought on a
beach in Mactan Island
(now part of Cebu,
After Magellan’s death, the survivors, in
two ships, sailed on to the Moluccas and
loaded the hulls with spice. One ship
attempted, unsuccessfully, to return
across the Pacific. The other ship,
the Victoria, continued west under the
command of the Basque navigator Juan
Sebastian de Elcano. The vessel sailed
across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape
of Good Hope, and arrived at Seville on
September 9, 1522, becoming the first ship
to circumnavigate the globe.
Four expeditions were sent:

Loaisa (1525),

Cabot (1526),

Saavedra (1527),

Villalobos (1542), and

Legazpi (1564) by Spain.

The Legazpi expedition
was the most successful
as it resulted in the
discovery of the
“tornaviaje” or return
trip to Mexico across
the Pacific by Andrés de
Urdaneta. This discovery
started the Manila
galleon trade, which
lasted two and a half
centuries.
 Philippine economy depended on the
Galleon
Trade which was inaugurated in 1565
between Manila and Acapulco, Mexico.
Trade between Spain and the Philippines
was via the Pacific Ocean to Mexico
(Manila to Acapulco), and then across
the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to
Spain (Veracruz to Cádiz). Manila became
the most important center of trade in
Asia between the 17th and 18th
The Spanish city of Manila
was founded in 1571, and by
the end of the 16th century
most of the coastal and
lowland areas from Luzon to
northern Mindanao were under
Spanish control. But the
Muslims of Mindanao and
Sulu, whom the Spanish
called Moros, were never
completely subdued by Spain.
 Spanish
Colonial
Administratio
n
Spanish reigned over the
Philippines for 333 years.
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

Viceroy of
Mexico

Philippines
King Philip II
The foremost aim of Spanish
colonization was for

- Spreading Christianity
(conversion of natives to
Christianity)
-Gold (for wealth)
-Glory (supremacy of Spain)
For over 333 years, the Philippines was
a crown colony of the Spain. Until 1821
when the Mexicans revolted and won
independence in Spain, the Philippines
was dependency of Mexico. From 1821 to
1898, the country was distinct
government unit under the direct control
of the home government in Madrid. The
king issued cedulas for the
administration of the colony and
appointed a governor general, member of
royal audiencia and other high
officials.
This is similar to the cedula
torn by the Katipuneros
Political Structure
Spain established a centralized colonial
government in the Philippines that was
composed of a National Government and Local
Government that administered Province,
cities, towns, and municipalities.

National Government:
-maintained peace and order
-collected taxes
-build schools and public work
The Governor General

 The King’s representative

and the highest ranking
official in the
Philippines
 Had the power to appoint
and dismiss public
official.
 Supervised all government
offices and the
collection of taxes.
The Provincial Government

The Spaniards created Local Government Unit (LGU) for

the provinces.
There were two types of local government unit

ALCALDIA (Alcalde Mayor) CORRIGIEMENTO (Corregidor)

The Alcaldia, led by Alcalde Mayor govern the provinces.

Duties:
-They represent the Spanish king and the Governor
General.
-They manage the day-to-day operations of the provincial
government.
The Provincial Government

The Corregimiento, headed by Corregidor,

governed the provinces that were not
yet entirely under Spanish control.

The ALCADIA and the CORREGIMIENTO though

they were paid a small salary, they
enjoyed privileges such as the INDULTO
DE COMERCIO or the right to participate
in the GALLEON TRADE.
THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

Each province was divided

into several towns or
pueblos headed by
GOBERNADORCILLOS (Little
Governor)

DUTIES: Efficient governance

and tax collection
THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

CABEZA DE BARANGAY
(Barangay Captain)

DUTIES:
Responsible for the
peace and order of the
barrio
Recruited men for public
works.
THE CITY GOVERNMENT
Larger towns became
cities called “AYUNTAMIENTO”.
It became the center of trade
and industries. The
ayuntamiento had a city
council called the “CABILDO”.
CABILDO is composed of:
Alcalde (Mayor)
Regidores (Councilors)
Alguacil Mayor (Police Chief)
Escribando (Secretary)
Himagsikang 1896
August 23, 1896 Katipuneros led by
Andres Bonifacio tore their
“CEDULAS”. This event, called
the "Cry of Pugad Lawin", officially
marked the beginning of the
Philippine Revolution against Spain.
The revolt eventually
grew in strength and
spread to eight
provinces - Manila,
Bulacan, Cavite,
Pampanga, Tarlac,
Laguna, Batangas, and
Nueva Ecija - which
were later
represented by the
eight rays of the sun
in the present
Filipino flag.
After the
death of Bonifacio on May 10, 1897 in
Maragondom, Cavite, General
Emilio Aguinaldo continued the
revolution and declared Philippine
independence from Spain on June 12,
1898 at Kawit, Cavite.
Filipino historians offer differing
accounts on the date and place of the
Cry of Pugad Lawin. From 1908 until
1963, this event was officially
recognized to have occurred on August
26 in Balintawak. In 1963 the
Philippine government declared a
shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin,