The Spanish Era in the Philippines When European traders, in search for a new route to the Spice Islands, stumbled into the Philippine archipelago in 1521, they found the people living in a comparatively high state of civilization. Spanish rule for the first 100 years was exercised in most areas through a type of tax farming imported from the Americas and known as the encomienda. Thus, even in the area of religion, pre-Spanish Filipino culture was not entirely destroyed. A novel that dwells on the arrogance of the friars, revealing the dire consequences tied to the marriage between the Spanish and Filipinos. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history and diverse cultures, including a number of different languages, among which Spanish is the majority language and the only one that is official throughout the whole country. The exchange of Chinese silks for Mexican silver not only kept in Manila those Spanish who were seeking quick profit, but it also attracted a large Chinese community. For example, friars often liked to report the abuses committed by the encomenderos, so much so that the encomienda system was largely replaced by administrative provinces by the end of the 17 th century. The governor-general, himself appointed by the king, began to appoint his own civil and military governors to rule directly. By: Adrianne Dianne Isabelle R. Saldua During the pre-Hispanic period, the Philippines had a simple type of culture; the type of education being taught was basic, and it was taught in the standard alphabet, Alibata or Baybayin. It was the first that criticized the Spanish friars and campaigned for the ouster of the religious, including one archbishop from the Philippines (Castro, 1963). Manila dominated the islands not only as the political capital. PACO PARK Paco Park was once a cemetery during the Spanish period and was constructed in the late 18th century and was used to inter victims of the cholera epidemic which ravaged Manila in 1822. The time that the Philippines was under Spanish rule makes up a major part of their history. During this period, friars became the carrier and the new patron of the arts. Augmenting their political power, religious orders, Roman Catholic hospitals and schools, and bishops acquired great wealth, mostly in land. The truth is, the Spanish themselves were divided into differing factions looking for ways to undermine each other. They left their mark probably more so than any other foreign nation to which the Philippines was subjected.Spain was one of the most powerful nations in t… constituted the Filipino educated class during the Spanish colonial period in thelate19th century • They were the middle class who were educated in Spanish and exposed to Spanish liberal and European nationalist ideals. In the first decades of missionary work, local religions were vigorously suppressed; old practices were not tolerated. Agricultural technology changed very slowly until the late 18th century, as shifting cultivation gradually gave way to more intensive sedentary farming, partly under the guidance of the friars. He dominated the Audiencia, or high court, was captain-general of the armed forces, and enjoyed the privilege of engaging in commerce for private profit. In the late 17th and 18th centuries the archbishop, who also had the legal status of lieutenant governor, frequently won. The cultural goal of the Spanish clergy was nothing less than the full Christianization and Hispanization of the Filipino. The friars also served as mediators who quelled insurrections. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership - Now 30% off. Without schools that trained people in Spanish, the Spanish friars had no choice but to say Christian mass and otherwise communicate in the vernacular languages of the Philippines. Without schools that trained people in Spanish, the Spanish friars had no choice but to say Christian mass and otherwise communicate in … This was the period when the Philippine dancers won awards abroad. The Spanish priests, friars of strict orders, come to the islands for aye and good, and with scarcely any exception do their duties faithfully and devotedly.” Is not this testimony, given without any ulterior party motives, of more value than the evil reports poured into the ears of newspaper correspondents by the interested leaders of the Philippine rebels? 19. They Spaniards think of the Filipinos as a Slave “Indio”. Journeying with the first European explorers to these islands in the Far East, they came with the intention of establishing Catholicism under the Patronato real of the Kings of Spain. Friars marched with soldiers and soon accomplished the nominal conversion to Roman Catholicism of all the local people under Spanish administration. The priests and friars had a command of local languages rare among the lay Spanish, and in the provinces they outnumbered civil officials. Instability of Colonial Administration- refers to the unstable appointment of the Governor General assigned in the Philippines. The church, particularly the friars, became the new patron of the arts. The researches done by locals during the Spanish colonial period, even if have been done by heterogeneous ethnic groups, namely, indios, mestizos and criollos, constituted an important corpus of studies done by intellectuals whose relationship with the environment was a clue for their way of interpreting the indigenous tradition. 4. [4], Role of the Friars in Hispanicized Parts of the Philippines, Philippine Civilization History and Government by Celestina Boncan et.al published by Vibal Publishing House p.114, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friars_in_Spanish_Philippines&oldid=941752002, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 February 2020, at 13:08. For more than three centuries of Spanish rule, the missionaries or the friars as they were known at that time played a major role not only in propagating the Christian faith but also in the political, social, economic and cultural aspects of the Filipinos. Attitude of the Spanish clergy in the early phase - Spanish friars were forced to learn the native language of the peoples they sought to convert. As for their living circumstances, they lived in small areas that were spread out called Balangays or Barangays.… During the Spanish colonial mission period, perfect conversion was rare, as was the conversion of an entire tribe or pueblo to Christianity. He supervised the election of the gobernadorcillo and cabeza. Economic and political institutions were also altered under Spanish impact but perhaps less thoroughly than in the religious realm. Previous to and during the controversy, mendicant friars had gone to the islands in considerable numbers, though lacking the proper authorization of the rulers of the church. During the Spanish colonial period, Intramuros was considered Manila itself. Spanish friars and missionaries educated the natives and converted indigenous populations to the Catholic faith. Aside from his religious activities, the friar also had authority in administration of the colony. Such was the state of culture of the Filipinos when Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines at the head of a Spanish expedition searching for the Spice Islands in 1521. Ilustrados • (Spanish for "erudite," "learned," or "enlightened ones"). By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The Chinese, despite being the victims of periodic massacres at the hands of suspicious Spanish, persisted and soon established a dominance of commerce that survived through the centuries. 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. Chapter 22: LIGHTS AND SHADOW Characters: 1) Maria Clara - who came to San Diego for the fiesta 2) Tia Sabel-accompanied her niece to SanDiego 3) Women of San Diego LIGHTS The Opening of the Suez Canal. They replaced the arts that were once done in a communal spirit and community setting for rituals. But as the Christian laity grew in number and the zeal of the clergy waned, it became increasingly difficult to prevent the preservation of ancient beliefs and customs under Roman Catholic garb. The apostolic zeal of the missionaries followed the efforts of men such as Miguel López de Legazpi, and aided to consolidate the enterprise of Hispanizing the Philippines. Spanish historians, writing about the early Filipinos, affirmed that there was hardly a man or woman who could not read and write. Hacienda owned by the Friars- the Friars claim lands that are originally owned by the Filipino Natives. Attitude of the Spanish clergy in the early phase - Spanish friars were forced to learn the native language of the peoples they sought to convert. During the latter years of that century Spain was the scene of a somewhat animated and sometimes bitter controversy regarding the scope and functions of the church in the islands of the East. He was the keeper of the list of residents of the town. After the conquistadores brought the Filipinos under the rule of the Spanish crown, either by peaceful means of treaties and pacts or, alternatively, by war, Spain did not send large standing armies to maintain its empire in the East. The Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan headed the first Spanish foray to the Philippines when he made landfall on Cebu in March 1521; a short time later he met an untimely death on the nearby island of Mactan. Journeying with the first European explorers to these islands in the Far East, they came with the intention of establishing Catholicism under the Patronato real of the Kings of Spain . When the Spaniards ... With the onset of Spanish colonization in 1565, Spanish friars and missionaries arrived. The socioeconomic consequences of the Spanish policies that accompanied this shift reinforced class differences. Since most art produced during the first two centuries of Spanish occupation were for the church, the friars … Attitude of the Spanish clergy in the early phase - Spanish friars was forced to learn the native language of the peoples they sought to convert. Royal grants and devises formed the core of their holdings, but many arbitrary extensions were made beyond the boundaries of the original grants. I can share to you some historical facts about the Spain’s influences in the Philippine setting and many other. During the first decades of Spanish rule, the Chinese in Manila became more numerous than the Spanish, who tried to control them with residence restrictions, periodic deportations, and actual or threatened violence that sometimes degenerated into riots and massacres of Chinese during the period between 1603 and 1762. During this period, physical education occupied a prominent place in school curriculum. He stated: "C'est par la seule influence de la religion que l'on a conquis les Philippines, et cette influence pourra seule les conserver ("It is only by the influence of religion that the Philippines was conquered. Only this influence could keep these [islands]"). The American period also witnessed the re-emergence of women and children already working during the Spanish period. From the beginning, American administrators found the Spanish priests and friars generally opposed to American rule and inclined to throw obstacles in their way. Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance nation native to Spain. According to the 1918 census, 696,699 Filipinas (roughly 26% of the total female workforce which numbered [page-number of print ed. The Suez Canal, which connected the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, was inaugurated in 1869.It was built by a French engineer named Ferdinand de Lesseps. [2] French historian Par J. Mallat made a similar observation. But the dispersed demographic patterns of the old barangays largely persisted. The Spanish missionaries acted as de facto conquerors; they gained the goodwill of the islanders, presented Spanish culture positively, and in so doing won approximately 2 million converts. Spanish Friars in Exodus" (pp. It offers a picture of the period and reactions during it by building up around the figures of these two friars a unified and balanced reconstruction helpful for the understanding of events. Across the islands, ... During this period, the oldest . After King Philip II (for whom the islands are named) had dispatched three further expeditions that ended in disaster, he sent out Miguel López de Legazpi, who established the first permanent Spanish settlement, in Cebu, in 1565. Spanish friars also introduced new art forms to the Filipinos like painting, carving and sculpture. 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. The natives dwelt on houses made of bamboo and palm leaves, and were properly attired at all times. The Secularization of Priests During Spanish Period . Racial Discrimination- discrimination to the Filipino. : 16] 2,690,331), were engaged in … Reaction: During the Spanish period, the friars can accuse and imprison anybody without a fair trial. The governor-general was civil head of the church in the islands, but the archbishop vied with him for political supremacy. But the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu, whom the Spanish called Moros, were never completely subdued by Spain. [1], Commenting on the very small standing army that protected the Spanish government in the Philippines, an old viceroy of New Spain was quoted: "En cada fraile tenía el Rey en Filipinas un capitan general y un ejercito entero (In each friar in the Philippines the King had a captain general and a whole army"). His signature had to be seen on all financial papers of the town. Nevertheless, the datu’s once hereditary position became subject to Spanish appointment. These heirs of pre-Spanish nobility were known as the principalia and played an important role in the friar-dominated local government. During the first decades of Spanish rule, the Chinese in Manila became more numerous than the Spanish, who tried to control them with residence restrictions, periodic deportations, and actual or threatened violence that sometimes degenerated into riots and massacres of Chinese during the period between 1603 and 1762. This would have been a serious state of affairs if the Spaniards had retained any hold upon the natives. 172-201), becomes truly repre-sentative of ideas and attitudes at the turn of the century. There was oral and written literature. The power of the church derived not simply from wealth and official status. They … riddle. Spain had control of the Philippines for more than 300 years, so it’s no surprise that there are many Filipino customs, traditions, and cultural norms that can be traced back to the Spanish. Tradition has it that the missionaries never forced anyone into a mission, but once there, they could not leave. The friars were the judges themselves who accuse, convict and pass judgment as they please. Spanish colonial motives were not, however, strictly commercial. Central government in Manila retained a medieval cast until the 19th century, and the governor-general was so powerful that he was often likened to an independent monarch. The priests tried to move all the people into pueblos, or villages, surrounding the great stone churches. Attitude of the Spanish clergy in the early phase – Spanish friars was forced to learn the native language of the peoples they sought to convert. 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. The impact of Spanish colonization in the Philippines was massive. He was also influential because of his knowledge of the native language and his ordinarily long stay in a town. But abusive treatment of the local tribute payers and neglect of religious instruction by encomenderos (collectors of the tribute), as well as frequent withholding of revenues from the crown, caused the Spanish to abandon the system by the end of the 17th century. Spanish period . 1. The type of government in the Philippines during the Pre-Spanish period. The Spanish Friars were the crucial elements in the Westernizing of the Philippine Archipelago, and in spreading the Christian faith in that part of the world. Painting was introduced by the Spanish friars in the Philippines. There was a definite increased interest and positive attitudes toward physical training with greater number of students participating in various activities. Without schools that trained people in Spanish, the Spanish friars had no choice but to say Christian mass and otherwise communicate in … The Period of the Philippine Republic. Manila was also the ecclesiastical capital of the Philippines. 3. Thus, they were an invaluable source of information to the colonial government. The galleon trade with Acapulco, Mex., assured Manila’s commercial primacy as well. ... the Filipino writing system in the Pre-Spanish period, is derived from the Tagalog word baybay which means: It was because of the friar's spiritual function that people believed and feared him. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Without schools that trained people in Spanish, the Spanish friars had no choice but to say Christian mass and otherwise communicate in … The datus and other representatives of the old noble class took advantage of the introduction of the Western concept of absolute ownership of land to claim as their own fields cultivated by their various retainers, even though traditional land rights had been limited to usufruct. 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