Spanish Colonial Rule
The Spaniards defined the Philippine nation geographically and introduced a centralized political and administrative system. In the absence of a language common to the entire archipelago, Spanish clerics translated the Christian doctrine into the various local vernaculars, thereby preserving, albeit with changes; the myriad indigenous languages. In turn, Philippine ethno-linguistic identities have persisted, competing with a national identity.
Although Spanish rule had vast cultural implications, its most important impacts were on the locus of social control and patterns of Philippine land tenure. As the most remote of the Spanish colonies, and in the absence of obvious mineral or other treasured resources, the principal roles of the Philippines in the Hispanic colonial order were as a transshipment point for galleon trade between Mexico and China and as a military outpost. Apart from Catholic missionaries, few Spaniards settled in the Philippines, and those who did were prohibited from residing outside of Manila until 1768. For much of the Spaniards period, there was no appreciable colonial development of domestic industries or agricultural resources. Nonetheless, the Spaniards were to have a profound influence on the evolution of land-tenure patterns.
The Spaniards sought to minimize the administrative costs of colonial governance in the Philippines, Spain’s most distant and poorly endowed colony. Colonial rule outside of Manila was founded on a limited bureaucracy, Catholic missionaries, a native constabulary, and the collaboration of traditional datus (village chiefs). In the position of pre-colonial datu, we see the historical origin of leadership tied to reciprocity and indebtedness. The datu was the “one most capable of securing the surplus with which to engage in a series of reciprocal exchanges with others in the community.” Other villages evidenced their deference to the datu through various behaviors, including contributing labor for cultivation, ritual, or military activities. For colonial convenience, the datus were accorded appreciably greater political status than had been their traditional right. With Spanish rule, the village social system was resituated in a complex bureaucracy, the authority of which was premised on royal and in turn divine patronage.
As part of the encomienda system—an arrangement whereby individual Spaniards were granted administrative jurisdiction over specified regions—the datus (renamed cabezas de barangay or more generically, caciques) were made responsible for local collection of the tribute, organization of conscript labor, and administration of justice. Encomenderos and caciques frequently abused these powers for purposes of personal gain, in turn occasioning continual peasant resistance and periodic peasant rebellion. These abuses were at odds with the idealized Spanish ideology of domination, providing a basis fo peasant radicalism linked to criticism of that ideology in its own terms. For their part, the colonial and local authorities repeatedly turned to the military for enforcement of the objectionable practices. In the absence of a large Spanish military force, these “police” actions were conducted by local constabularies consisting of native mercenaries from other regions of the country. This hiring practice both reflected and reinforced regional identities at the expense of national or class identities.
To Be Continued
The Spaniards defined the Philippine nation geographically and introduced a centralized political and administrative system. In the absence of a language common to the entire archipelago, Spanish clerics translated the Christian doctrine into the various local vernaculars, thereby preserving, albeit with changes; the myriad indigenous languages. In turn, Philippine ethno-linguistic identities have persisted, competing with a national identity.
Although Spanish rule had vast cultural implications, its most important impacts were on the locus of social control and patterns of Philippine land tenure. As the most remote of the Spanish colonies, and in the absence of obvious mineral or other treasured resources, the principal roles of the Philippines in the Hispanic colonial order were as a transshipment point for galleon trade between Mexico and China and as a military outpost. Apart from Catholic missionaries, few Spaniards settled in the Philippines, and those who did were prohibited from residing outside of Manila until 1768. For much of the Spaniards period, there was no appreciable colonial development of domestic industries or agricultural resources. Nonetheless, the Spaniards were to have a profound influence on the evolution of land-tenure patterns.
The Spaniards sought to minimize the administrative costs of colonial governance in the Philippines, Spain’s most distant and poorly endowed colony. Colonial rule outside of Manila was founded on a limited bureaucracy, Catholic missionaries, a native constabulary, and the collaboration of traditional datus (village chiefs). In the position of pre-colonial datu, we see the historical origin of leadership tied to reciprocity and indebtedness. The datu was the “one most capable of securing the surplus with which to engage in a series of reciprocal exchanges with others in the community.” Other villages evidenced their deference to the datu through various behaviors, including contributing labor for cultivation, ritual, or military activities. For colonial convenience, the datus were accorded appreciably greater political status than had been their traditional right. With Spanish rule, the village social system was resituated in a complex bureaucracy, the authority of which was premised on royal and in turn divine patronage.
As part of the encomienda system—an arrangement whereby individual Spaniards were granted administrative jurisdiction over specified regions—the datus (renamed cabezas de barangay or more generically, caciques) were made responsible for local collection of the tribute, organization of conscript labor, and administration of justice. Encomenderos and caciques frequently abused these powers for purposes of personal gain, in turn occasioning continual peasant resistance and periodic peasant rebellion. These abuses were at odds with the idealized Spanish ideology of domination, providing a basis fo peasant radicalism linked to criticism of that ideology in its own terms. For their part, the colonial and local authorities repeatedly turned to the military for enforcement of the objectionable practices. In the absence of a large Spanish military force, these “police” actions were conducted by local constabularies consisting of native mercenaries from other regions of the country. This hiring practice both reflected and reinforced regional identities at the expense of national or class identities.
To Be Continued
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