Factors that led to the Spanish Colonization of the Philippines

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Factors that led to the Spanish Colonization of the Philippines

Economic Interests

• Development of banking and accumulation of capital in Europe
  • Rise of lending houses
  • Expansion of trade beyond Western Europe
• Desire for spices
  • The primary motivation for Portugal and Spain to explore Asia
  • Increasing demand for improvement of European food and preservation
  • Exposure to spices from the east changed their taste preferences
• Portugal and Spain search for new trade routes
  • Three principal silk trade routes carried European and Asian trade
  • Due to geographic location, Portugal and Spain found it easier to meet the challenges of maritime expansion compared to the rest of Western Europe
  • Vital missionary purpose accompanied new trade routes

Political and Religious Concerns

• The Crusades (1096-1272)
  • Originally a religious adventure to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims
  • Later developed into an enterprise
• The Fall of Constantinople to the Muslim Turks (1453)
  • May 29, 1453
  • The City of Constantinopole fell into the hands of Sultan Mohammad II and his Ottoman warriors
  • Trade routes to Asia were blocked driving the creation of new ones
• The Reconquista and Spain’s desire to spread Catholicism
  • Reconquista - the movement to destroy Muslim power in the Iberian Peninsula
  • Ended with the capture of Granada (1492)
  • Manifested in the attempts of Portugal and Spain to convert pagans into catholics
• Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
  • Divided non-Christian lands into two spheres
  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • A demarcation line was drawn 370 leagues west of Cape Verde Islands.
  • East of the line - for Portugal
  • West of the line - for Spain
  • It Influenced Magellan to sail westward, allowing him to reach the Philippines.
• The leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal
  • Inspired the maritime explorations of the 15th century
  • Gathered the best geographers and sailors of Europe
  • He established an observatory, a chapel, and a nautical school
  • He sent out an expedition to uncharted waters of the African coast

Scientific and Secular Pursuits

• Renaissance - the revival of learning
  • Aristotle’s theory of the sphericity of the Earth
  • 17-volume geography compilation by Strabo
  • Ptolemy’s work on world geography, Greek geographer in Alexandria
• Humanism
  • Dominating philosophy of the 16th century
  • Eroded the binding power of religion and stressed the development of the mind and heart, rather than the soul
  • The discovery and invention of more technologically-advanced navigational instruments
  • Mariner’s Compass - used by Italian navigators at the beginning of the 13th century
  • Astrolabe - sailing charts made available by the invention of the printing press
  • Quadrant - a device for measuring altitude
  • Portolani - sailing charts made available by the invention of the printing press
  • Quadrant - device for measuring altitude
  • Sextant - an instrument for determining the latitude and longitude

Other Factors

• Travels to the east
  • Caprini and the Franciscan fathers (1192-1252)
  • William (1215-1270)
  • Odoric to Asia (1286-1331)
  • Increased the interest in the orient and its fabled treasures
  • Travel of Ibn Batuta (1304-1378)
  • Sheik of Morocco (1325-1353)
  • Travels to India, Malaya, and China
  • Travels of Marco Polo in China and Southeast Asia
• Early Portuguese and Spanish voyages
  • Discovery of the Cape of Good Hope by Bartholomew Diaz (1487)
  • Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (1492)
  • Discovery of a route going to Calicut, India by Vasco da Gama (1498)
  • Capture of Goa, India by Albuquerque (1510)
  • Exploration and conquest of the Moluccas and the Malay Peninsula by the Portuguese (1511)
  • Missionary exploits of St. Frances Xavier in Southeast Asia, Japan and China
  • Discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa (1513)
• Improvements in military and ship-building technology
  • More seaworthy ocean-going vessels and warships were built
  • Enabled European colonizers to organize a well-equipped military force
  • It eased the conquest of natives through the use of firearms and cannons
  • Encouraged more European expeditions to Asia

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