Spanish Colonization (1521 - 1898)
In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan set sail for the east in search of
an alternate path to the spice islands of Southeast Asia. During
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Arabs controlled the Middle
East and Mediterranean trade routes from Asia to Europe; as a
result, the Spanish and Portuguese were seeking other routes that
would give them direct access to the profitable Southeast Asian
spice trade. Magellan set foot on the Philippines on March 17,
1521, at Limasawa, Leyte. On March 31, the first Catholic mass
was celebrated, followed by the baptism of a local chief and about
800 of his subjects. On April 27, 1521, however, Magellan's visit
was cut short when a local chief named Lapu-lapu killed him in
battle. Magellan had departed Spain with five ships and 237 crewmembers;
one ship and eighteen men would survive the trip back to Spain.
Despite the high cost of the voyage, the Spanish spent the next
forty years trying to establish an outpost in the Southwest Asian
Spice Islands. In 1542, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, commander of
the fourth voyage back to the archipelago, named the islands for
Prince Philip, heir to the Spanish throne - the West has known
the islands as the Philippines ever since. Despite making several
voyages back to the Philippines, Spain didn't establish a permanent
foothold in the islands until 1565, when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
established a settlement at Cebu. In 1572, Legazpi moved his base
of operations to Manila.
The Catholic Church played a critical role in allowing Spain to
gain a foothold in the Philippines. Spanish missionaries were
quick to learn local languages, and Catholic rituals were interpreted
in accordance with natives' indigenous beliefs and values. As
a result, a kind of folk Catholicism developed in the Philippines;
80% of the Philippine population still practices Catholicism.
While Catholic missionaries were able to spread Spanish authority
throughout the archipelago, Islam continued as the primary religion
in southern Mindanao.
In order to support their colonial venture in the Philippines
the Spanish collected a head tax, imposed forms of forced labor,
and mandated the compulsory sale of agricultural products to the
government. Since subsistence agriculture was the norm in the
Philippines, these measures had an adverse impact on the population;
rebellions were common, but the Spanish used "divide and
conquer" techniques to prevent the emergence of a widespread
revolutionary movement.
The Spanish also used Manila as a trade port, connecting markets
in China with their colonies in Mexico and South America. Because
of these contacts with China, the Chinese population of the Philippines
increased rapidly. Chinese immigrants played a vital role in the
archipelago's economy, acting as mid-level merchants and moneylenders.
Since the non-Christian Chinese were viewed as "infidels"
by Spanish authorities, they were forced to live in segregated
ghettos in Manila. Through the centuries, however, the Chinese
eventually intermarried with Spanish or indigenous peoples, adding
even more diversity to the Philippines' cultural mix.
As Spain's colonial possessions in the Americas gained independence
in the early nineteenth century, the Spanish were forced to re-evaluate
their economic policies in the Philippines. In 1834, the port
of Manila was opened to world trade. In addition, the production
of cash crops increased greatly during the nineteenth century.
As a class of wealthy landowners and merchants emerged, young
Filipinos began traveling to Spain and other parts of Europe to
complete their studies. These expatriate scholars soon formed
the core of a new reform movement called the Propaganda Movement,
which lasted roughly from 1880 to 1895. This movement called for
the annexation of the Philippines, Filipino representation in
the Spanish legislature, freedom of the speech and the press,
and Filipino equality before the law. Intellectuals such as Jose
Rizal and Marcelo del Pilar became the leading figures in this
reform movement.
When calls for reform were ignored by Spanish officials, a secret,
revolutionary group called the Katipunan gained popularity. The
Katipunan was founded by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto in
1892. The group was especially adept at recruiting peasants and
members of the working class. While Jose Rizal, a key figure of
the Propaganda Movement, opposed the Katipunan's calls for Philippine
independence, the Katipunan viewed Rizal as the key figure of
Philippine resistance; Rizal's imprisonment in 1892 and subsequent
execution in 1896 emboldened the resolve of the revolutionary
group. As the war for independence gained momentum, members of
the Philippine elite became active in the Katipunan. This became
significant when General Emilio Aguinaldo, a wealthy landowner,
took control of the Katipunan and had Andres Bonifacio executed.
Aguinaldo modified the goals of the group to include the possibility
of Philippine integration into the Spanish empire in exchange
for church lands. This move prompted some to suggest that Aguinaldo
and other elites were willing to betray the original goals of
the Katipunan as long as the elites' self-serving interests were
met. The war against the Spanish continued, however.
