The History of The Philippines Under The Spanish Empire (1521 - 1899)

Key Concepts:

• Spanish colonization of the Philippines
• Villalobos expedition
• Legazpi expedition
• Spanish East Indies
• Barangays
• Datus
• Iberian Union
• Eighty Years’ War
• Thirty Years’ War
• Encomienda system
• Seven Years’ War
• British occupation of Manila
• Propaganda Movement
• Katipunan
• Philippine Revolution
• First Philippine Republic

Early Attempts at Colonization:

• Following Magellan's failed attempt, Ruy López de Villalobos led a Spanish expedition in 1542, departing from Mexico with six ships and 400 people.
• Villalobos landed in Mindanao against his navigator's advice, hoping to find Chinese or Malay traders, but found themselves isolated.
• The expedition faced severe supply shortages and illness, eventually leading them to Sarangani, where they claimed the territory for Spain, naming it "Filipinas" after Prince Philip.
• A Portuguese ship confronted them, questioning their presence in Portuguese territory, leading to a brief exchange about treaties.
• The Villalobos expedition was ultimately captured by the Portuguese, with Villalobos imprisoned and the remaining Spaniards sent back to Spain.

The Legazpi Expedition and Establishment of the Spanish Colony:

• In November 1564, Miguel López de Legazpi led a successful expedition from Mexico, reaching Cebu in February 1565.
• Despite local resistance, Legazpi conquered Cebu, marking the establishment of the first Spanish colony in the Philippines.
• In 1568, the Spanish expanded to Panay and encountered conflict with Muslim pirates.
• Conquistador Martin de Goiti was sent to conquer Maynila and Tondo. Tondo surrendered, and Maynila was captured and renamed Nueva Castilla (New Castile), becoming the capital of the Spanish East Indies.
• The Spanish gradually conquered the barangays through force and cultural influence, with colonies growing rapidly due to settlement from Spain and the Americas.
• Spain used the colonies to send "undesirables," including criminals and debtors, and a significant population came from New Spain, creating a Mexican-Filipino subculture.
• Catholic missionaries played a crucial role, building schools and hospitals alongside churches.
• The Spanish built presidios (fortresses) for defense, which impressed the locals.

Resistance and External Conflicts:

• In 1587, local Datus conspired to overthrow the Spanish, seeking support from Brunei, Borneo, and Japan, but the plan was exposed, leading to executions, fines, imprisonment, and exile.
• The Portuguese posed a major challenge until the 1580 Iberian Union, which united Spain and Portugal under one government.
• Chinese pirates were a constant nuisance, and the Japanese occasionally asserted prior control, but trade relations were eventually normalized.
• Muslim states regularly attacked Philippine islands, driven by religious and territorial motives.
• The Dutch were the biggest external threat, stemming from the Eighty Years’ War in Europe, a conflict between the Catholic Spanish Habsburgs and the Protestant Dutch.
• Three indecisive battles were fought between the Spanish and Dutch fleets in Southeast Asia.
• The conflict was eventually subsumed into the Thirty Years’ War.

Consolidation of Spanish Rule and Governance:

• In 1599, King Philip ordered a referendum in the Philippines, which approved Spanish rule.
• The Philippines were integrated into the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which oversaw Spanish colonies in the Americas and the Pacific.
• Unlike the American colonies, the Philippines often cost more to maintain than they contributed, but their strategic value was deemed worthwhile.
• The Spanish imposed the encomienda system, a collective farming system where land belonged to the king, and the people owed a portion of their crops to the Crown.
• The focus was on cash crops like tobacco, coffee, indigo, and sugar, as well as rice.
• Trade was limited to Spain and Spanish holdings.

British Occupation of Manila (Seven Years’ War):

• During the Seven Years’ War, Britain seized the opportunity to attack Manila in 1762, aiming to control a vital trade city.
• A British fleet bombarded Manila for twelve days, eventually capturing the city on October 6.
• Archbishop Manuel Rojo del Rio y Viero surrendered to prevent further violence.
• The aftermath was marked by pillaging by both British soldiers and locals.
• An agreement was made to pay a four-million-dollar ransom, which was only partially paid.
• The agreement assured the protection of the Catholic Church and the property and freedoms of Spanish citizens.
• Spanish colonial officials fled to Pampanga and established a government in exile under Simon de Anda y Salazar, who claimed the position of governor-general.
• Fighting continued until early 1763, even after the official end of the Seven Years’ War, due to a lack of communication.
• After Archbishop Rojo's death, an armistice was agreed upon, and the British received orders to return the archipelago to Spain in April 1764.

Emergence of Filipino Nationalism and Revolution:

• The shift to industrialism in the 19th century made Filipino raw materials more valuable, leading Spain to open ports to the world in 1834.
• The privatization of encomiendas and the opening of private businesses led to the emergence of a Filipino middle class and a wealthy elite.
• Filipino students who studied in Europe and America returned with ideas of freedom and liberty.
• Inspired by independence movements in Spanish colonies in the Americas, a Filipino national identity emerged, uniting descendants of Spanish colonists and indigenous peoples.
• This led to conflict with recent Spanish immigrants who sought to maintain Filipino subordination.
• The Propaganda Movement emerged, advocating for civil rights, equal status, representation in the Spanish Parliament, abolition of forced labor, and secular control over priesthoods.
• The Propaganda Movement ended with the arrest and deportation of José Rizal, leading to the rise of the Katipunan, a revolutionary movement.
• The Philippine Revolution began in August 1898, aiming for an independent Philippines.
• The rebels were successful in the countryside but failed to capture Manila.
• The Spanish-American War, sparked by the Cuban independence movement, led to American intervention.
• The American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, effectively ended Spanish colonial rule.
• Emilio Aguinaldo and the Philippine Revolutionaries established a temporary government in June 1898, leading to the First Philippine Republic on January 21, 1899.
• The US refused to recognize the new state, leading to the Philippine-American War, which resulted in the Philippines becoming an unofficial US territory until 1946.

Synthesis/Conclusion:

The Spanish colonization of the Philippines was a complex and multifaceted process marked by initial failures, eventual success, resistance, external conflicts, and the gradual emergence of Filipino nationalism. The Spanish implemented systems of governance, agriculture, and religion that profoundly shaped the archipelago. While the Philippines were strategically valuable, they often proved to be a financial burden for the Spanish Crown. The seeds of revolution were sown through economic changes, exposure to Enlightenment ideals, and the rise of a Filipino national identity, ultimately leading to the end of Spanish colonial rule and the beginning of a new chapter in Philippine history.