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