Lecture 8: The Context of Spanish Colonization during the 16th Century

There was no such thing as the Philippines before the arrival of the Spaniards. The society of Austronesian descendants grouped into heterogenous chiefdoms, some of which were large enough to dominate smaller chiefdoms and engage in foreign trade. Some, such as the Sultanates of Mindanao as well as the chiefdom of Butuan, had direct connections to larger polities of Southeast Asia (e.g. China, the Srivijaya empire), and became slightly more technologically and culturally advanced than others.

Even during ancient times, Europe already had access to the spices from Moluccas and the silks from China. Even before the Europeans reached that region, Chinese, Indian, and Arab traders brought all of these goods to Europe. Moreover, there was also the silk road from Italy to China which was pioneered by Marco Polo during the 13th century. So, all of these products made their way into Europe even before there was an actual European presence in the far east, but the prices would have been very high. Still, it met the European demand of the European leagues. A lot of trades converges in Constantinople, former capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453

• Now that the turks are controlling that trading port, the Europeans had a problem. The goods from the far east, all of a sudden, their prices increased. Thus, the European powers were motivated to reach the far east by themselves instead of relying on traders who had to go through Constantinople.

By 1488, Bartolomeu Dias (Portuguese mariner and explorer) reached the cape of good hope. Bartolomeu is a rival of their neighbor, Spain. Spain also has an interest in obtaining spices directly from the spice island. But since they were unable to compete with the Portuguese in the route that moved west, an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus offered his services to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to reach the far east by travelling westward. There, they would encounter a huge continental mass along the way. Columbus thought he had arrived in India. Spain ended up colonizing the Americas, exploiting the resources there, torturing, slaughtering the indigenous peoples.

But, there was a concern that the Portuguese might also be interested in this newly discovered land. In order to allay that concern, Pope Alexander VI, a spaniard brokered the Treaty of Tordesillas to divide the world between Spain and Portugal. Brazil is part of the Portuguese sphere of influence. After the treaty was signed, they established a Portuguese trading port in Goa, India. By 1511, Portugal established a trading port in Malacca which used to be the seat of the Sri Giant Empire. So, they have control of a very strategic location there. Because there in Malacca, they would receive goods from China, India, and even spice islands.

• Magellan’s expedition sighted Suluan Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar on 16 March 1521, and landed in Homonhon the following day.

• Mass took place on 31 March 1521 in Limasawa, Southern Leyte (first mass ever held in the Philippines)

• The Santisimo Nombre de Jesus (Santo Nino) was presented as a baptismal gift to Queen Juana in Cebu

  • Magellan went to Cebu that time since it had a larger chiefdom and according to Pigafetta’s notes, he presented a gift to the converted queen of Cebu

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)

• Left for Spain after being denied permission to lead his own expedition to the Spice Islands

• Charles V provided five ships and 270 men; departed from Spain on 20 September 1519

• Magellan killed on 27 April 1521

• 30 survivors slaughtered by Humabon

• Two ships depart in June

Succeeding Expeditions to the Spice Islands

• 1525 - Juan Sebastian Elcano with Jofre de Loaísa and Andres de Urdaneta

  • Since they found their route to the spice islands, the Spaniards persist in collecting spices

  • Elcano was the survivor of the Magellan expedition but he decided to still return to the spice islands

  • Left with 450 men; imprisoned by the Portuguese

  • Both leaders of the expedition perished; only eight returned to Spain in 1536, including Urdaneta

  • Urdaneta was imprisoned by the Portuguese but would eventually be able to return to Spain in 1536, 11 years later.

• 1527 - Alvaro de Saavedra (departed from Mexico / New Spain)

  • From this time onward, the only direct contact between Spain and the far east would come from what is now Mexico

  • Expedition of 110 men never returned

• 1529

  • Because of the encroachment of the Spaniards into the territories of the Portuguese, there was now a need to refine the partition between the two maritime powers.

  • In 1529, another treaty was propered by the pope once again known as the Treaty of Zaragoza

• 1542 - Ruy López de Villalobos

  • Entered Baganga Bay, Davao Oriental in 1543

  • Samar and Leyte named Las Islas Filipinas after the son of Charles I

  • Died in 1544; survivors sailed to Malacca

• 1564

  • Fray Andres de Urdaneta accompanied a Basque explorer, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in an expedition out of New Spain

  • Urdaneta, by this time, became an Augustinian friar

  • The Basques are indigenous peoples in Spain who have more distinct European features than the inhabitants of Spain and Portugal

Miguel López de Legazpi

• He was initially mistaken for Portuguese and greeted with hostility, but eventually forged an alliance with the datus of Bohol, convincing them that they were enemies of the Portuguese

Sikatuna Blood Compact

• Also eventually established an alliance with Rajah Tupas of Cebu

• At first, there was some resistance in Cebu which became a battle

• The Santo Nino was discovered in a house during the battle which took place in Cebu on 27 April 1565, but it was not the one Magellan gave to the queen of Cebu

Andres de Urdaneta (1498-1568)

• Survived the Loaisa expedition (1526)

• Joined Legazpi’s expedition from New Spain (1564)

• Left Cebu 01 June 1565; returned to Acapulco (main port in Mexico) on 08 October 1565

Urdaneta’s Return Journey

• No Spanish expedition has been able to return to Mexico through the same route they took

  • They followed the ocean currents and went in a north eastern direction. That would take them down the coast of California and into Mexico

• There were no spices in the Philippines and the Portuguese controlled the Spice Islands, why did the Spaniards stay?

  • To answer that question, let us look at the primary source written by an Augustine friar named Fray Diego de Herrera

Fray Diego de Herrera (1570)

• Close to Cebu are spacious rich lands which belong to you (Philip II), China, Java, (Japan). We thought we would be ordered to go there and leave these islands which although obsessing gold mines and rivers with gold, and worth little compared with these other places. Besides, the people here are crude and have no lords. But now that we know the will of the king… we will begin evangelization seriously.

• If you are closer to rich islands, there is a huge potential for trade

• They observed that the elites of the Philippine chiefdoms got a lot of gold there

• Despite the lack of economic prospects in the Philippines, the Spanish ruler believed that it was his mission to evangelize the indigenous peoples

Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas

• 1565-1615 by Gaspar de San Agustin (1698)

• The Spanish conquest in the Philippines is divided into two sides, one is to the use of religion and one is to armed force

Challenges to Conquest and Evangelization

• Need to reward soldiers for supporting the religious orders

  • The Philippines had a lot of land and people (“indios”), so what would they gain?

  • They could comprise a tribute population, where the indios would work the land and part of their production would be shared with these soldiers as tribute

    

  • Encomiendas were grants based on tribute populations. They were not territories of land.

  • The encomenderos were obliged to ensure peace and order and prepare the locals for evangelization

  • Encomenderos also mobilized polos y servicios, a system of labor and in order that the Spaniards could construct public works such as roads and bridges

  • Private encomiendas usually lasted for two generations, after which they reverted to the Crown encomienda

• Lack of friars

  • Only 13 in 1576

  • 269 by 1594 (pop. 750,000)

• Pre-colonial chiefdoms located far from each other

  • Patronato real —> Entradas —> reducción —> Creation of pueblos

Patronato Real

• The system in which the pope allowed the monarchs of Spain and Portugal to appoint religious orders in exchange for subsidizing their missionary activities in newly conquered and discovered territories.

• The entradas began with Legazpi’s settlements in Cebu (1565), Panay (had a larger supply of food), Manila (which became the seat of colonial power), Vigan and parts of Southern Luzon

• Rajah Sulayman and Lakandula surrendered Manila to Legazpi in 1571, who was supported by Visayan warriors

Reducción

• Concentration of the indigenous populations to facilitate evangelization, tribute collection and conscription for polos y servicios (required for able-bodied males for 40 days mainly for construction; polistas supposedly received a salary and could pay a falla to get exempted).

• The indigenous population were concentrated in pueblo. Despite the chiefdoms located far from each other, to facilitate evangelization, tribute collection, and polos y servicios, pueblos were established in different areas which they were able to succeed with their entradas. The location of these pueblos are based on the concept of the bajo de la campana (under the church bell)