laser on spanish colonial government in the philippines

Spanish Colonial Government

Spain reigned over the Philippines for 333 years, from 1565 to 1898. since Spain was far from the country, the Spanish king ruled the Islands through the viceroy of Mexico, which was then another Spanish colony. When Mexico regained its freedom in 1821, the Spanish king ruled the Philippines through a governor general. A special government body that oversaw matters, pertaining to the colonies assisted the king in this respect. This body became known by many names. Council of the Indies (1565-1837), Overseas Council (1837-1863), and Ministry of the Colonies (1863–1898). It is implemented the decrees and legal codes Spain promulgated although many of its provisions could not apply to condition in the colonies. It also exercised legislative and judicial powers.

The Political Structure
Spain established a centralized colonial government in the Philippines that was composed of a national government and the local governments that administered provinces, cities, towns and municipalities. With the cooperation of the local governments the national government maintained peace and order, collected taxes and built schools and other public works.

The Governor General
As the King's representative and the highest-ranking official in the Philippines, the governor general saw to it that royal decrees and laws emanating from Spain were implemented in the Philippines. He had the power to appoint and dismiss public officials, except those personally chosen by the King. He also supervised all government offices and the collection of taxes.
The governor general exercised certain legislative powers, as well. He issued proclamations to facilitate the implementation of laws.

The Residencia
This was a special judicial court that investigates the performance of a governor general who was about to be replaced. The residencia, of which the incoming governor general was usually a member, submitted a report of its findings to the King.

The Visita
The Council of the Indies in Spain sent a government official called the Vistador General to observe conditions in the colony. The Visitador General reported his findings directly to the King.

The Royal Audiencia
Apart from its judicial functions, the Royal Audiencia served as an advisory body to the Governor General and had the power to check and a report on his abuses. The Audiencia also audited the expenditures of the colonial government and sent a yearly report to Spain. The Archbishop and other government officials could also report the abuses of the colonial government to be Spanish king. Despite all these checks, however, an abusive governor general often managed to escape stiff fines, suspension, or dismissal by simply bribing the Visitador and other investigators.

The Provincial Government
The Spaniards created local government units to facilitate the country’s administration. There were two types of local government units – the alcadia and the corregimiento. The alcadia, led by the alcalde mayor, governed the provinces that had been fully subjugated: the corregimiento, headed by corregidor, governed the provinces that were not yet entirely under Spanish control. The alcalde mayors represented the Spanish king and the governor general in their respective provinces. They managed the day-to-day operations of the provincial government, implemented laws and supervised the collection of taxes. Through they were paid a small salary, they enjoyed privileges such as the indulto de comercio, or the right to participate in the galleon trade.

The Municipal Government
Each province was divided into several towns or pueblos headed by Gobernadordcillos, whose main concerns were efficient governance and tax collection. Four lieutenants aided the Governardorcillo: the Teniente Mayor (chief lieutenant), the Teniente de Policia (police lieutenant), the Teniente de Sementeras (lieutenant of the fields) and the Teniente de Ganados (lieutenant of the livestock).

The Encomienda System
Spain owed the colonization of the Philippines to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who valiantly and loyally served the Spanish crown. To hasten the subjugation of the country, King Philip II instructed Legazpi to divide the Philippines into large territories called encomiendas, to be left to the management of designated encomenderos.
 

To show his gratitude to his conquistadors, the King made them the first encomenderos in the colony. As the King’s representatives in their respective encomiendas, the encomenderos had the right to collect taxes. However, the encomiendas were not there to own. The encomenderos were only territorial overseers who had the duty to: 1) protect the people in the encomienda; (2) maintain peace and order; (3) promote education and health programs; and (4) help the missionaries propagate Christianity.

Economic System Under the Spanish Colonial Government

During most of the colonial period, the Philippine economy depended on the Galleon Trade which was inaugurated in 1565 between Manilaand Acapulco, Mexico. Trade between Spain and the Philippines was via the Pacific Ocean to Mexico (Manila to Acapulco), and then across the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to Spain (Veracruz to Cádiz). Manila became the most important center of trade in Asia between the 17th and 18th centuries. All sorts of products from China, Japan, Brunei, the Moluccas and even India were sent to Manila to be sold for silver 8-Real coins which came aboard the galleons from Acapulco. These goods, including silk, porcelain, spices, lacquerware and textile products were then sent to Acapulco and from there to other parts of New Spain, Peru and Europe.

The European population in the archipelago steadily grew although natives remained the majority. They depended on the Galleon Trade for a living. In the later years of the 18th century, Governor-General Basco introduced economic reforms that gave the colony its first significant internal source income from the production of tobacco and other agricultural exports. In this later period, agriculture was finally opened to the European population, which before was reserved only for the natives.

During Spain’s 333 year rule in the Philippines, the colonists had to fight off the Chinese pirates (who lay siege to Manila, the most famous of which was Limahong in 1574), Dutch forces, Portuguese forces, and indigenous revolts. Moros from western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago also raided the coastal Christian areas of Luzon and the Visayas and occasionally captured men and women to be sold as slaves.

The “encomienda” system created hindrances for the economic development of the masses. This making the elite richer and making the economic situation of the majority under developed. Although the “encomienda” system is designed for governance, its implementation gives negative effects to the people from which the “encomienderos” abuse their power against the people, to whom they are bound to govern. A lot of them use the “encomienda” for their own interest. They tend to abuse their power, collecting taxes more than the real tax value. The “encomiendero’s” abuse their powers which sometimes made people revolts against them.