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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. When Mexico regained its freedom in 1821, the Spanish king ruled the Philippines through a governor general. A special government body that oversaw matters, pertaining to the colonies assisted the king in this respect. This body became known by many names. Council of the Indies (1565-1837), Overseas Council (1837-1863), and Ministry of the Colonies (18631898). It is implemented the decrees and legal codes Spain promulgated although many of its provisions could not apply to condition in the colonies. It also exercised legislative and judicial powers. 1. The Political Structure Spain established a centralized colonial government in the Philippines that was composed of a national government and the local governments that administered provinces, cities, towns and municipalities. With the cooperation of the local governments the national government maintained peace and order, collected taxes and built schools and other public works. 2. The Governor General As the King's representative and the highest-ranking official in the Philippines, the governor general saw to it that royal decrees and laws emanating from Spain were implemented in the Philippines. He had the power to appoint and dismiss public officials, except those personally chosen by the King. He also supervised all government offices and the collection of taxes. The governor general exercised certain legislative powers, as well. He issued proclamations to facilitate the implementation of laws. 3. 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 member, submitted a report of its findings to the King. 4. The Visita The Council of the Indies in Spain sent a government official called the Vistador General to observe conditions in the colony. The Visitador General reported his findings directly to the King. 5. The Royal Audiencia Apart from its judicial functions, the Royal Audiencia served as an advisory body to the Governor General and had the power to check and a report on his abuses. The Audiencia also audited the expenditures of the colonial government and sent a yearly report to Spain. The Archbishop and other government officials could also report the abuses of the colonial government to be Spanish king. Despite all these checks, however, an abusive governor general
often managed to escape stiff fines, suspension, or dismissal by simply bribing the Visitador and other investigators. 6. The Provincial Government The Spaniards created local government units to facilitate the countrys administration. There were two types of local government units the alcadia and the corregimiento. The alcadia, led by the alcalde mayor, governed the provinces that had been fully subjugated: the corregimiento, headed by corregidor, governed the provinces that were not yet entirely under Spanish control. The alcalde mayors represented the Spanish king and the governor general in their respective provinces. They managed the day-to-day operations of the provincial government, implemented laws and supervised the collection of taxes. Through they were paid a small salary, they enjoyed privileges such as the indulto de comercio, or the right to participate in the galleon trade.
7. The Municipal Government Each province was divided into several towns or pueblos headed by Gobernadordcillos, whose main concerns were 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) and the Teniente de Ganados (lieutenant of the livestock). 8. The Encomienda System Spain owed the colonization of the Philippines to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who valiantly and loyally served the Spanish crown. To hasten the subjugation of the country, King Philip II instructed Legazpi to divide the Philippines into large territories called encomiendas, to be left to the management of designated encomenderos. To show his gratitude to his conquistadors, the King made them the first encomenderos in the colony. As the Kings representatives in their respective encomiendas, the encomenderos had the right to collect taxes. However, the encomiendas were not there to own. The encomenderos were only territorial overseers who had the duty to: 1) protect the people in the encomienda; (2) maintain peace and order; (3) promote education and health programs; and (4) help the missionaries propagate Christianity. Continue to The Galleon Trade.
Spanish Expeditions to the Philippines The Magellan Expedition Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese in the service of the Spanish crown, was looking for a westward route to the to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. On March 16, 1521, Magellan's expedition landed on Homonhon island in the Philippines. He was the first European to reach the islands. Rajah Humabon of Cebu was friendly with Magellan and embraced Christianity, but their enemy, Lapu-Lapu was not. Humabon wanted Magellan to kill Lapu-Lapu while Magellan wanted to convert Lapu-Lapu into Christianity. On April 17, 1521, Magellan sailed to Mactan and ensuing battle killed Magellan by the natives lead by Lapu-Lapu. Out of the five ships and more than 300 men who left on the Magellan expedition in 1519, only one ship (the Victoria) and 18 men returned to Seville, Spain on September 6, 1522. Nevertheless, the said expedition was considered historic because it marked the first circumnavigation of the globe and proved that the world was round. Juan Sebastian de Elcano, the master of ship "Concepcion" took over the command of the expedition after the death of Magellan and captained the ship "Victoria" back to Spain. He and his men earned the distinction of being the first to circumnavigate the world in one full journey. After Magellan's death in Cebu, it took 16 more months for Elcano to return to Spain. The Magellan expedition started off through the westward route and returning to Spain by going east; Magellan and Elcano's entire voyage took almost three years to complete. Spain sends other expedition After the Spain had celebrated Elcano s return, King Charles I decided that Spain should conquer the Philippines. Five subsequent expeditions were then sent to the Islands. These were led by Garcia Jofre Loaisa (1525), Sebastian Cabot (1526), Alvaro de Saavedra (1527), Rudy Lopez de Villalobos (1542) and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (1564). Only the last two actually reached the Philippines; and only Legazpi succeeded in colonizing the Islands. The Villalobos Expedition Ruy Lopez de Villalobos set sail for the Philippines from Navidad, Mexico on November 1, 1542. He followed the route taken by Magellan and reached Mindanao on February 2, 1543. He established a colony in Sarangani but could not stay long because of insufficient food supply. His fleet left the island and landed on Tidore in the Moluccas, where they were captured by the Portuguese. Villalobos is remembered for naming our country Islas Filipinas, in honor of King Charles son, Prince Philip, who later became king of Spain. The Legazpi Expedition Since none of the expedition after Magellan from Loaisa to Villalobos had succeeded in taking over the Philippines, King Charles I stopped sending colonizers to the Islands. However, when Philip II succeeded his father to the throne in 1556, he instructed Luis de Velasco, the viceroy of Mexico, to prepare a new expedition to be headed by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who would be accompanied by Andres de Urdaneta, a priest who had survived the Loaisa mission. On February 13, 1565, Legaspi's expedition landed in Cebu island. After a short struggle with the natives, he proceeded to Leyte, then to Camiguin and to Bohol. There Legaspi made a blood
compact with the chieftain, Datu Sikatuna as a sign of friendship. Legaspi was able to obtain spices and gold in Bohol due to his friendship with Sikatuna. On April 27, 1565, Legaspi returned to Cebu; destroyed the town of Raja Tupas and establish a settlement. On orders of the King Philip II, 2,100 men arrived from Mexico. They built the the port of Fuerza de San Pedro which became the Spanish trading outpost and stronghold for the region. Hearing of the riches of Manila, an expedition of 300 men headed by Martin de Goiti left Cebu for Manila. They found the islands of Panay and Mindoro. Goiti arrived in Manila on May 8, 1570. At first they were welcomed by the natives and formed an alliance with Rajah Suliman, their Muslim king but as the locals sensed the true objectives of the Spaniards, a battle between the troops of Suliman and the Spaniards erupted. Because the Spaniards are more heavily armed, the Spaniards were able to conquer Manila. Soon after Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived to join Goiti in Manila. Legaspi built alliances and made peace with Rajahs Suliman, Lakandula and Matanda. In 1571, Legaspi ordered the construction of the walled city of Intramuros and proclaimed it as the seat of government of the colony and the capital of the islands. In 1572, Legaspi died and was buried at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros. In 1574, Manila was bestowed the title "Insigne y Siempre Leal Ciudad de Espaa" (Distinguished and ever loyal city of Spain) by King Philip II of Spain. Why the Philippines was easily conquered Through largely outnumbered, the Spaniards who came to colonize the Philippines easily took control of our country. How did this happen? The best possible explanation is that the natives lacked unity and a centralized form of government. Although the barangays already functioned as units of governance, each one existed independently of the other, and the powers that each Datu enjoyed were confined only to his own barangay. No higher institution united the barangays, and the Spaniards took advantage of this situation. They used the barangays that were friendly to them in order to subdue the barangays that were not. Continue to Spain as Colonial Masters.