Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines PDF

University of Michigan Press Chapter Title: Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines: Interactions and Ruptures Chapter Author(s): María Dolores Elizalde Book Title: (Post-)colonial Archipelagos Book Subtitle: Comparing the Legacies of Spanish Colonialism in Cuba, Pue...

University of Michigan Press Chapter Title: Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines: Interactions and Ruptures Chapter Author(s): María Dolores Elizalde Book Title: (Post-)colonial Archipelagos Book Subtitle: Comparing the Legacies of Spanish Colonialism in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines Book Editor(s): HANS-JÜRGEN BURCHARDT, JOHANNA LEINIUS Published by: University of Michigan Press. (2022) Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.11747103.18 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Funding is provided by Knowledge Unlatched. University of Michigan Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to (Post-)colonial Archipelagos This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Chapter 14 Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines Interactions and Ruptures María Dolores Elizalde The Philippine archipelago was part of the Spanish Empire for 333 years, from 1565 to 1898. During this time, the metropolis established different colonial models and economic regimes depending on the domestic state of affairs, the international context, economic circumstances, and the utility that the Philippines was deemed to have within the imperial structure. This necessarily influenced the political, economic, social, and cultural reorga- nization of the islands’ inhabitants, conditioned by the new governmental and organizational norms imposed by the colonizers. All of this was clearly reflected in the archipelago’s social organization and the formation of dif- ferent and changing population groups. Much depended on the policies pursued by the colonizers, as well as the reactions experienced and provoked by the autochthonous population. The metropolis designed an organizational and relationship model in accor- dance with its own standards and imposed its own terms of power, organi- zation, hierarchy, and separation. The colonized societies in turn acted in response to these impositions and contributed in shaping their future. One cannot consider the actions taken by the colonizers without contemplating the reactions of the colonized. The Philippines should not be considered only divided and characterized by these two vectors of the colonizers and 238 This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 239 the colonized. The reality was far more complex, and we can’t disregard the processes nor the reasons behind the collaboration and conflict among various groups, the hybridizations and blends that took place, the impact of other external influences, and the initiatives that came from the islands’ population, all of which contributed to shaping the development of the Philippines. In any case, the colonial relationship held undeniable weight in the Philippines’ evolution and left an unquestionable legacy, which will be ana- lyzed in the following pages.1 The chapter seeks to answer a series of ques- tions: What colonial models did the Spanish establish in the Philippines? How was the exercise of power and participation in political and economic life organized? To what extent did the established models shape the forma- tion of elites and the organization of the population? How were relations between distinct groups codified? Political Models and Economic Regimes during the Spanish Governance of the Philippines The First Centuries: Pact, Governance, and Imposition The Spanish arrived in the Philippines while exploring new routes to the East Indies and Spice Islands. In 1521, the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan took possession of the islands in the name of the then king of Spain, Charles I, during the voyage that became the first circumnavigation of the world, completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano. This expedition was fol- lowed by various others directed at measuring the riches that these archi- pelagos could offer, studying the possibility of a Spanish settlement in the area, and exploring maritime routes that would allow for communication among the viceroyalties of the Americas, the Pacific islands, and the Asian coasts. In 1565, these efforts culminated in Miguel López de Legazpi’s voy- age to the Philippines with King Philip II’s explicit mandate to establish a stable settlement on the archipelago. After examining several islands, the Spanish decided to settle in Manila, the head of the archipelago’s principal island, Luzon, which was already the commercial center where Chinese, Indian, and Japanese merchants and other peoples traded with Filipino res- idents. The island also had a well-­protected bay that could serve as a secure refuge when facing a possible external attack, a constant fear in these early times (Cabrero 2000). To settle in this spot, Legazpi negotiated the signing of a peace and This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  240 ( post-)colonial archipelagos friendship treaty with the two main population groups. On one side, the Muslims, from the converted Islamic communities in the south of the archi- pelago, established on both banks of the mouth of the Pasig River. And, on the other side, the populations of Malay descent organized in autonomous barangays—­decentralized, scattered groups made up of between 30 and 100 families, headed by a hereditary principalía, or noble class.2 In the early days of its colonization, the Philippines was believed to be the coveted platform that would lead to Spanish presence in Asia, pro- mote commercial trade, and facilitate the evangelization of the area. The actual capabilities and power of the neighboring populations, Spain’s scarce resources, and the end of the rivalry between Spain and Portugal following the union of the two Crowns in 1580 led to the abandonment of plans for greater conquests and the decision to concentrate energies in the Philip- pine archipelago, endowing it with a meaning and utility for the Spanish Empire as a strategic border against Asia and a defensive bastion in the Americas (Ollé 2000). Following this approach, it was decided that the Philippines would be integrated into the Spanish monarchy as an additional territory of the Crown, administratively connected to the viceroyalty of New Spain. A basic colonial administration was established, made up of soldiers, civil servants, and clergy, who delegated most of their duties to the encomen- deros, religious orders, and indigenous authorities (Fradera 2005; Elizalde 2003, 2009; Sánchez 2010). The Spaniards established their administra- tive seat in the walled city called Intramuros, located at the mouth of Manila’s harbor. This was the residence of the islands’ principal author- ity, the governor-­general, and the officials in charge of the different offi- cial institutions—­political, military, economic, judicial, educational, and religious—­that the provincial delegates depended on. In these early days, there would have been no more than 3,500 Spaniards, in addition to the religious missionaries. A work and farming system was organized based on the encomienda, which required the limited presence of the Crown’s representatives and the Spanish metropolis. The encomienda model established that the encomen- deros had to provide a return on the land that they had been accorded, com- mitting them to protecting and evangelizing the inhabitants in exchange for receiving the taxes paid by that territory’s residents. The encomenderos put the indigenous principalía in charge of organizing work among its own subjects and collecting fees that would eventually end up in the pockets of the encomenderos. In this way, a limited number of Spanish representa- tives were sufficient for the supervision of this procedure (Hidalgo 1995). This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 241 Among the Spaniards who resided throughout the archipelago, the religious orders—­primarily Augustinians, Franciscans, Jesuits, Domini- cans, and Recollects—­were of particular note. They spread through the native towns in accordance with the territorial distribution of differ- ent geographic, ethnic, and linguistic areas. To facilitate their mission, instead of spreading Spanish, they learned the autochthonous languages. Through living together daily and their evangelizing and educational work, they acquired a great degree of influence over the Christianized indigenous population. They became advisers in local governments, act- ing as spokespeople and intermediaries between the islands’ inhabitants and the colonial authorities, and thus became an important instrument for the maintenance of order and control over the population (Elizalde and Huetz de Lemps 2015). To defray the costs of management, defense, and evangelization of the islands, once the existence of spices and precious ores—­gold and silver—­ was ruled out, agricultural production was boosted, the cultivation of lowlands was increased, and the irrigated cultivation of rice, which didn’t require large extensions of fallow land, was encouraged. Taxes were also imposed on the population, and Filipinos were required to offer their per- sonal labor. This encouraged the concentration of the population in towns under the rule of those who wielded greatest control.3 In this manner, facing extensive terrain where colonial regulation was unknown, colonial authorities established a concerted partnership with leading local groups that accepted the Spanish administration. In the spots where the new regime was recognized and new population associations were formed, local politics was left in the hands of the traditional rulers, respecting the original power structure. A gobernadorcillo, or captain, elected from among the hereditary barangay heads that made up the principalía, was appointed head of every town. These gobernadorcillos held political and judicial power. They also enjoyed great economic power, given that they controlled the land, distributed the workforce, meted out bandalas, orga- nized the provision of obligatory personal labor—­the zones and services—­ and charged taxes, from which they could reserve a part for themselves. Furthermore, these authorities were themselves exempt from taxes and were not required to provide their own personal services. This incorporation of the indigenous principalía into the colonial administration consolidated Spanish presence in the archipelago. Thanks to the new colonial authorities’ collaboration and the recognition they gave to the role the principalía played, the power of the indigenous elites over their subjects was reinforced. The system also favored the preserva- This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  242 ( post-)colonial archipelagos tion of Filipino political, social, and economic structures, since, within the colonized areas, the majority of the population, despite having to adjust to the Spaniards’ requirements and tax payment, were able to maintain their traditional organization and way of life, still in function of the native elites’ directives. Since the early period of colonization, a Chinese population also had settled on the island. Originally associated with trade, little by little they took over other economic activities until they became a fundamental pil- lar of island society. Relations between the Chinese emigrants and colo- nial authorities—­and at times also with the autochthonous population—­ weren’t easy, as evidenced by frequent uprisings, repressions, and expulsion orders. However, their presence became a fixed feature on the islands to the point of requiring legislation and taxes specific to the Chinese and the Chinese mestizos, who were continually growing in number (Wickberg 2001; Wilson 2004; Chu 2010; Félix 1966). The Manila Galleons: Transpacific Trade and the Rise in Inequalities The last decade of the 16th century witnessed a decline in agricultural pro- duction in the Philippines (Alonso 2003). This favored a rise in the inflow of Chinese food products, which came with other valuable Asian commodi- ties. The Spanish realized that these articles held far greater value than the old Filipino export goods—­textile fibers, cotton blankets, and wax—­and could generate large profits if they were brought back in the galleons that regularly connected New Spain and the Philippines. In this way, commer- cial trade began in which products from China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia, brought to Manila by Chinese junks (the only ones authorized to do so), were exchanged for silver from the Americas, which was in high demand in the Chinese economy and ended up becoming the fundamental exchange value. Commercial traffic was thus organized through the gal- leons, which linked Manila with Acapulco, from which products were then redistributed to the rest of the world. In this manner, the Philippines was transformed into an intermediary economy between Asia, the Americas, and Europe at an essential stage in this new transpacific trade route, and Manila acquired concrete relevance as a port and bridge for trade with Asia. This consolidation of the Philippines as the central point of commercial intermediation between Asia and the Americas was made possible thanks to the island economy’s capacity to provide the necessary infrastructure This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 243 for the galleons’ operation, even if it was secured through fiscal coercion. Thanks to obligatory labor and the forced sale of food, the provinces sup- plied the ships with a workforce; with wood for the construction and repair of hulls and masts; with cotton fabric and abaca needed to make sails and rigging; with cord to wrap around merchandise sent to Acapulco; or with food and various essential supplies for the crossings and also for sustaining the growing floating population—­Spanish, New Spanish, and Chinese—­ who worked in Manila for the galleons. In this process of intermediation between the capital and the provinces, essential for the system’s organiza- tion, the work carried out by the colonial authorities was of key importance, as was the role played by the indigenous principalía that was in charge of organizing the Filipinos’ obligatory personal services. There was thus a close relationship and interdependence between the internal and external economy (Alonso 2000). In this manner, a strictly regulated economy was organized around the galleons and the transpacific exchanges, which largely benefited the traders involved, generally Spanish residents of the Philippines, who were theoret- ically the only ones able to participate in this traffic, as well as the traders and storekeepers in New Spain, who were in charge of the sale and distri- bution of the incoming products. The Manila galleons also allowed for cus- tom duties that contributed to the colonial administration’s upkeep for a long period of time. It also gave the colony new prosperity and interest and the Philippines a new status within the Spanish Empire. It advanced the archipelago’s insertion in international trade and its integration into the global economy. However, it did not strengthen the islands’ internal devel- opment, given the limited presence of the native population in this trade, nor did it drive the islands’ production, given that that it was generally not based on the trade of goods produced in the archipelago. Furthermore, the main beneficiaries of this commercial traffic were the Spanish residents of the islands and the sectors with whom they maintained close relations for guarantee of the correct functioning of the system, while the islands’ population—­with the exception of those directly involved in the galleons’ operations—­obtained few benefits, thus increasing inequalities among the different groups that lived in the Philippines. Even so, the galleons’ com- mercial traffic persevered until 1815, and efforts were even made by private traders to prolong it through budgets promoting free trade that the islands’ population could participate in until the independence of the Americas’ republics made it unfeasible (Schurtz 1939; Yuste 1984; ­Bernabéu and Martínez Shaw 2013; Pérez Lecha 2014). This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  244 ( post-)colonial archipelagos The Bourbon Reforms Era: Reorganization and Resistance In 1700, a new dynasty succeeded the Habsburgs who were in charge of the Spanish Crown. The Bourbons, originating in France and from a different political culture based on more centralist and interventionist directives, promoted a deeply reformist policy during the time of the Enlightenment, in accordance with the requirements of the time. The colonial authorities in the Philippines had been warning for years that the territorial organization through encomiendas, mayors, gobernador- cillos, and religious orders entailed an excessive delegation of powers and frequently led to abuses and resulted in a large part of the Philippines’ taxes and output never reaching the Crown, which hurt the interests of the metropolis. In addition to this, new international circumstances required the strengthening of the Philippines’ defenses against British ambitions—­ since in 1762 the English invaded Manila, as well as Havana, as part of the Seven Years’ War. The taking of Manila demonstrated Spain’s weak posi- tion in the Pacific and made clear the indispensable need for undertaking urgent reforms in the archipelago. Since the middle of the 17th century, the governors-­general, alarmed by frequent conflicts, had begun to reconsider the advantages of chang- ing the provincial, municipal, and native towns’ organization. To this end, they drew up successive ordinances on good governance to better coordi- nate colonial society’s relations, revive economic activities, enable Spanish settlement in indigenous towns, improve the state of the provinces, and promote the teaching of Spanish to make direct dialogue possible between the islands’ population and the colonial authorities. In the last decade of the 18th century, the reforms process was imple- mented with particular success. At the political level, this was reflected in the adoption of a centralized government model, in which the governor-­ general’s prominence was reinforced and the archipelago’s local adminis- tration was transformed in order to get rid of the old imperial practices of delegated powers. At the military level, new regulations focused on the reorganization of the army, the growth of the navy, and the strengthen- ing of Manila’s defenses and the archipelago’s most strategic points. At the economic level, income generation was considered fundamental in order to undertake the reforms and secure Spanish presence in the islands without having to seek help from the metropolis. To this end, the indigenous tax was extended and increased and new control mechanisms were created, like the Intendencia de Hacienda, which, from that moment on, was in charge of the direct collection of taxes. It was also decided to establish a This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 245 state-­run monopoly over the cultivation and selling of tobacco and the local nipa and coconut liquors that in the following decades came to pro- vide important support to the colonial administration (see Fradera 2005, 439–­533; De Jesús 1980; García de los Arcos 1983). A charter company, la Real Compañía de Filipinas, was also created with the aim of boosting the islands’ agriculture and, for the first time, of driving direct trade between the Philippines and the peninsula. The smooth operation of a strong, centralized government model, the tobacco monopoly, and the thorough collection of taxes imperatively required a more complex government apparatus than the one developed up until that point, as well as greater control of certain parts of the archipelago in which the Spanish administration had little more than theoretical sov- ereignty. In this context, a powerful colonizing offensive was launched into the country’s interior. This entailed the transition from a lax government system, which did not demand direct control over the provinces or their inhabitants beyond tax collection and a few obligations that the indigenous principalías took charge of, to a new model in which Spanish officials’ con- trol of territory and population was indispensable, which created resistance among the different colonial administrative agencies as well as within the Filipino population. 19th-­Century Transformations: Changes, Collaborations, and Conflicts Nevertheless, the Bourbon Reforms led to the successful handling of a del- icate juncture. In the first decades of the 19th century, when the republics of the Americas were gaining independence, the Philippines maintained an administration and economy capable of guaranteeing the colonial regime’s continuation and sustaining the archipelago´s financing. This allowed rela- tions between Spain and the Philippines, carried out from then on across the Indian Ocean, to survive the breakdown of the empire in the Americas and to be upheld another 100 years longer. This shift in position coincided with new international demand for tropical products that could be cultivated in the Philippines, such as sugar, cotton, indigo, tobacco, and abaca. The Filipino economy progressively transformed into an agro-­exporting economy geared toward international markets. Producers, industrialists, traders, and investors from different backgrounds were involved in this economy: Creole and peninsular Span- iards, native and mixed Filipinos, and Chinese, British, and other foreign- ers (Legarda 1999; Larkin 1993; Owen 1984). This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  246 ( post-)colonial archipelagos In 1789, a partial opening of Manila’s port took place. It was officially opened to international traffic in 1834. Years later, it was followed by the opening of other ports and the adoption of increasingly pro–­free trade policies. In 1863, the state-­run tobacco monopoly was abandoned, since the operating costs came to exceed the profits that were generated (Fradera 1999). This led to significant increases in taxes, trade, business creation, and investments in the archipelago, within the larger context of growing international interest in the Pacific, Western penetration into Asian mar- kets, and the forced opening of China and Japan. It also was a time marked by the opening of new communication routes—­particularly the Suez Canal in 1869—­and of technological advances. All this favored the Filipino econ- omy’s progress (see Legarda 1999; Elizalde 1998, 2017a; Rodrigo 2003; Delgado 1996). These economic transformations were accompanied by the continued rethinking of forms of government. In the Cortes de Cádiz (1810–­14), the Trienio Liberal (1820–­23), and the period of the Royal Statute (1834–­37), the Philippines and the other overseas territories were given parliamentary representation, in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1812, which established political and civil equality for Spaniards in both hemispheres. This fostered increased Creole control of the levers of power in the Philip- pines, the assertion of indigenous gobernadorcillos in local politics, and the growing prominence of Chinese-­Filipinos and the rise of new sectors that demanded greater participation in the archipelago’s political life. In 1837, however, the metropolitan government, overwhelmed by the numeric weight the overseas territories could reach in parliament, curtailed their capacities, put an end to their representation in the Cortes, and remit- ted them to special laws adapted to the circumstances of each territory. Cuba and Puerto Rico regained parliamentary presence in the century’s final decades, but the Philippines remained forever excluded from the rep- resentative chamber. To promise equality and then take it away inevitably had severe repercussions in the archipelago’s evolution. This change also led to a painful reprisal process, first, to the creation of alternative national projects and, later, ultimately, to an unstoppable independence movement (Fradera 2016; Llobet 2011). Despite these circumstances, activity was still taking place on the politi- cal level. Since the 19th century, the colonial authorities were conscious that, in order to maintain sovereignty over the archipelago in the face of imperial pressures, other powers, and internal unrest, it was necessary to invest energy into introducing reforms and modernizing the administra- This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 247 tion. It proved not to be an easy road, due to the dissent it provoked among the colonial regime’s representatives regarding the reforms’ reach and the prominence it gave to the Filipinos in the process, which led to compli- cations in the islands’ development. The government wanted to reform and modernize the administration, while at the same time reinforce the mechanisms of colonial control and avoid secessionist movements. As such, the modernizing process of the administration and economy was applied by the colonial authorities following highly restrictive guidelines for fear of encouraging pro-­independence movements. Some reforms were imple- mented: governance mechanisms were modernized; the provincial and local regimes were modified; education and a new sanitary policy were promoted; new professional bodies were created; and infrastructures were renovated in accordance with the new era’s requirements of technical and economic progress. All this permitted a slightly greater opening of the political playing field and a rise in the population’s expectations. But these efforts led above all to reinforcing the metropolis’s position, keeping Fili- pinos as far away as possible from the political and economic power struc- ture, only giving them responsibility over determined advising or local administration assignments, which over time exacted a heavy cost. The tension between the measures put in place by the metropolis and the strength of the Filipino population eager to take on political power and end sec- ular abuse brought about a growing number of protests and grievance demands. The proliferation and deepening of discontents resulted in the organization of different types of movements from various origins against the colonial regime. These movements increasingly radicalized their positions until they came to consider the fight for independence the only possible formula through which they could attain their aspirations, leading to the 1896 revolution. Social Structure and Population Groups The Population’s Legal Division The Laws of the Indies, which also extended to the Philippines, divided imperial society into a República de Españoles, on one side, and, on the other, a Republic de Indios, each with its own institutions and governance mecha- nisms. Respecting a strict social and ethnic hierarchy, each group had dif- ferent duties but also rights guaranteed by the Laws of the Indies and the possibility to request protection from the monarch, a commonly used mea- sure throughout the centuries.4 This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  248 ( post-)colonial archipelagos Following this setup, during the colonial period, the Philippines’ popu- lation was divided into four basic categories, according to legal status and racial differentiation: first, the Spanish, which included those of peninsu- lar origin and those of Spanish descent on their father’s side, who didn’t pay taxes or provide free obligatory labor; second, the “Indios” or native Malayo inhabitants, who paid a reduced tax and were required to offer their personal services; third, the Chinese-­Filipino mestizos, who paid around double the indigenous tax rate, based on their perceived greater ability to generate wealth, and who also had to provide their personal labor services; and fourth, the Chinese, who paid the highest tax rate for the same per- ceived reason but were not obligated to carry out any type of work, given the difficulty of forcing this population to comply with this last obligation. This highlights the importance the Chinese world had in the Philippines, to the point of meriting two levels in the population’s classification system. In addition to these four categories, two others existed on the mar- gins of colonial society. First were the infidels, who were Moors—­Muslim residents who inhabited the archipelago’s southern islands—­as well as the blacks or “savages,” who had gone up into the mountains to free themselves from the Spanish and who, whether enslaved or not, lived outside the colo- nizers’ rules or were in constant battle with them. For many years, it was understood that the colonizing process was incapable of assimilating these populations and commanding their respect to comply with certain laws and pay taxes. In the second position was the foreign population (excluding the Chinese). Up until the first decades of the 19th century, subjects from other countries could not officially settle on the islands. However, once they received authorization to do so, they had a notable impact on the archipelago’s evolution, particularly in respect to economic activity. Each of the categories outlined, in addition to differential tax rates and personal work obligations, implicitly designated different rights to par- ticipate in colonial institutions, local governments, choice and change of residency, the purchasing of land, the ability to carry out certain activities, or the application of different laws. In this manner, the colonial taxonomy imposed on the archipelago’s inhabitants assigned a certain hierarchical position to each individual, imposed obligations, and established certain limits on non-­ Spaniards’ rights and aspirations, reinforcing inequality among the different population groups. However, while this division was never completely overturned in the Filipino archipelago, with time, it came to be blurred, opening up new directions for social classification. This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 249 Social Structure In the 19th century, colonial Filipino society was formed by different groups, all of whom contributed to the archipelago’s evolution. The first group of note was the peninsula-­born Spaniards, who generally were on the islands due to their posts in the colonial administration. They were officials in different administrative branches, military men in the army and navy, members of religious orders, professionals in different technical and sanitary bodies, partners and representatives of investor companies and businesses, small-­business owners engaged in carrying out necessary activi- ties for the colony’s proper functioning, and employees. In many cases, they only stayed for the time their post stipulated, enough to complete the duties they were entrusted with or to obtain desired administrative and economic advantages. Then there were the Spanish Creoles and mestizos, who had a peninsu- lar background but had been born in the Philippines, many of whom would remain forever in the Filipino archipelago, becoming part of its popula- tion. As Spanish descendants, they held the same legal status as Spaniards and thus the same rights and privileges. The difference between Spanish Creoles and mestizos was founded on the theoretical basis that the for- mer were peninsular descendants on both their father’s and mother’s sides, while the latter were of mixed blood, usually from a Spanish peninsular origin father and a native or Chinese mestiza mother. Nonetheless, the dif- ferences between the two did not always depend on strictly racial criteria; rather, in many cases, the determination of a person’s status was influenced by more arbitrary factors like belonging to certain social or family net- works, levels of wealth, or duties performed (Elizalde 2017a, 2017b; Huetz de Lemps 2017). Together with the population of peninsular origin, throughout the 19th century the contours of the new Filipino society would come to be defined. It was an especially complicated task, given that the popula- tion was made up of more than 50 ethnicities and different languages, cultures, and religions. Among the native population, pride of place was held by the indigenous principalía, which, thanks to its secular control of the levers of political, economic, fiscal, and legal power in local govern- ment, maintained its superior position at the top of native society. Once the post of gobernadorcillo ceased to be hereditary in 1789, confronta- tions took place between the old representatives and the new sectors that This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  250 ( post-)colonial archipelagos aimed to gain power, at times with the support of a Spanish adminis- tration representative, like the friars who lived in the villages (Inarejos 2015). Throughout the 19th century, the Filipino population did not let up in their demands for greater capacities in political and economic areas. They also expressed an increasingly critical position against the religious orders’ interference in community life. On the other hand, among the autochthonous elites, differences were accentuated between rural principalías, nearly always indigenous; the pro- vincial elites, natives, and mestizos, who governed important towns or pro- vincial heads and held important rural properties; and the urban elite of Manila, Cebu, or Iloilo, mainly mestizos, Creoles, or those of multiethnic heritage, who were often involved in the agro-­export economy, hacienda and urban property owners, and were increasingly involved in trade in col- laboration with traders and investors from different backgrounds (McCoy and De Jesús 1982; Cullinane 2003). Alongside these often interwoven groups, an educated class was form- ing who attended Filipino universities and often completed their education in Spanish peninsular or foreign institutions. This group played an essen- tial role in the formation of a Filipino national consciousness. Initially, its demands did not question relations with Spain, but the lack of answers in response to their claims gradually led to the call for self-­governance and independence (see Schumacher 1997; Mojares 2006; Thomas 2012). Throughout the 19th century, a class of Filipino farmers was also reaf- firmed. They were less economically powerful but equally aware of the need for the recognition of their rights in the face of the colonial admin- istration, the religious orders, and the native and mestizo owners of land who hired them under harsh work conditions. Alongside these classes, an incipient working class emerged in the cities, who worked in the growing number of factories, trading houses, and service enterprises. Another fundamental sector in the formation of a Filipino identity was the native clergy, who clashed with the colonial administration. This was due to the administration’s attempts, since the first decades of the 19th cen- tury and at the insistence of religious orders, to counter the influence the native clergy could have on the population, progressively limiting the par- ish action that it could develop (Schumacher 1981; Blanco 2013). Various populist native religious movements were also of importance and played a valuable role in certain contexts in defending the most disadvantaged Fili- pino populations (see Ileto 1979; Blanco 2009; McCoy 2017). This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 251 Ruptures and Interactions in the 19th Century The 19th century was a time of ruptures and the opening of new channels in the social structure. It was clear that the Filipino society was subject to a colonial regime, in which the colonial authorities determined the poli- cies and the rules of the game. There were laws that established different population categories and determined their respective rights, obligations, and opportunities. Inequality among the different population groups was evident and deliberate (Kramer 2006; Thompson 2010, 2017; Anastacio 2016). However, several factors led to the blurring of these divisions. On the one hand, it was necessary to reach a level of equilibrium and pro- vide compensation to ensure acceptance of the colonial regime in order to maintain power and avoid rebellions in different local environments, which meant that some benefit went to the oppressed and checked upris- ings. On the other hand, the barriers proved more permeable than had been imagined. In numerous occasions the established limits were trans- gressed. There were arbitrary and subjective features that united different population types and facilitated their integration, such as the level of His- panization; family; marriage and inclusion within different family dynas- ties; the instruction received; the practice of Catholicism; social status and belonging to distinguished networks; economic status; shared business and interests; responsibilities and participation in associations and organiza- tions; social traditions; and the possession and visibility of certain phe- notypic traits susceptible to assimilation to fit standard features. All these traits could open pathways to inclusion and permeability between distinct population groups. Additionally, in the final decades of the 19th century, categorization among different population types was affected by different circumstances. First, in 1884, the implementation of a new personal documents model was approved that marked the elimination of the old system of ethnic and physical categories for tax payment. From then on, it was ruled obligatory that personal documents be acquired that corresponded to the individual’s class—­first, second, third, and so on, until fifteenth, depending on their activities—­for all individuals living in the Philippines, “regardless of race, nationality, or sex, starting at the age of 18,”5 even if they were Spanish—­ including all categories, from peninsular Spaniards to “Indios”—­or for- eigners with over a year of residency. In this way, from that moment on, This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  252 ( post-)colonial archipelagos distinctions were made among the population at the time of paying taxes that were based not on ethnic or national origin, which was only under- scored in censuses or in certain official documents, but on wealth, the income received, and the economic activities carried out. Furthermore, in these final decades of the 19th century, a somewhat more assimilative policy was adopted and the application of new laws was approved in the Philippines, such as the extension of the peninsula’s civil and penal code to the archipelago; a greater separation between executive and judicial power; the adoption of a new code of trade; the approval of new taxes on economic activities; and the modification of provincial and local governments, which spelled the end of alcaldes mayores and led to the creation of civil or political-­military governors in the provinces and the formation of new local governments that opened up new possibilities for upward mobility for natives and mestizos. None of these things made the differences between the different population groups disappear—­native, Chinese mestizo, and sangley courts remained, for example—­but they opened up a broad and continuous debate over which laws applied to whom and who was exempt from these regulations (always according to the metropolis’s and colonial authorities’ interests), which enabled greater discretion when the time came to decide each person’s place, relaxing in some cases the boundaries between the population categories (Huetz de Lemps 2017). Additionally, the relative frailty of the Spanish colonization’s admin- istration, economy, and migration allowed for the emergence and ascent of autochthonous elites—­“Indios” and mestizos—­as well as the settling of foreign communities, who played a more active role than in other Euro- pean colonies. What’s more, the possibility that existed in the Philippines of the 19th century to receive primary-­, secondary-­, and university-­level instruction on the islands themselves allowed for the formation of population groups with an advanced educational level, which enabled their upward social and professional mobility and their inclusion in a shared Hispanic culture, blurring certain barriers. In this manner, the emergence of economic and professional solidarities that transcended the old colonially imposed cat- egories was assisted. There was thus a certain margin of maneuvering in mobility among population groups. A complementary factor also influenced the Spanish Philippines’ social classification, which was the practice of Catholicism, to the point that the indigenous population was divided into believers and infidels, with the This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 253 unbelievers remaining on the fringes of colonial society. Religion and the fact of sharing the same faith became essential elements for acceptance in colonial society. A properly baptized “Indio” or Chinese mestizo, Hispan- ized in customs and traditions and with good economic and social standing, could be more easily assimilated if there were the interest and reasons to do so. Catholicism was always a powerful instrument not only for evangeliza- tion but also for Hispanization. In the Philippines of the 19th century, there were frequent interactions among population groups that went beyond legal status and racial traits. To keep power in the hands of peninsular officials and the like and to remove groups from posts that could allow them to challenge Spanish sovereignty, the political level was where the different population categories were most strictly marked. On the social level, the line between differentiation and assimilation was somewhat arbitrary due to the malleability of the criteria used for social acceptance, ascent, or exclusion. On the economic level, synergies were of particular importance. Alliances, clashes, and the forma- tion of interest groups did not depend on ethnic or national background or on legal status but instead on the existence of common interests and strategy plans that would enable profit, as was reflected in businesses like the San Miguel brewery, the Tramway Company of the Philippines, the Maritime Company and other shipping lines, sugar haciendas, abaca and textile fiber enterprises, construction, oil and alcohol companies, numerous loan agreements, and the multitude of small businesses made up of mul- tiple stakeholders (Legarda 1999; Elizalde 2017a). Conclusion It is clear that more than 330 years of colonial relations between Spain and the Philippines without a doubt left its imprint on the archipelago. In that sense, a series of traits can be highlighted that are linked as much to the colonial legacy as to the islands’ subsequent evolution: first, the persistence of a population structure presided over by several political and economic elites who continue to shape the archipelago, the importance of a limited group of families and family dynasties that controlled important levers of power, the existence of a vast gulf between these main elites and the rest of the population, and the worsening of inequality; second, a clear differen- tiation and imbalance between life in the cities and life in the rural world of the provinces; third, the continued relevance of the Catholic religion in Filipino society, alongside the existence of significant autochthonous reli- This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  254 ( post-)colonial archipelagos gious movements; fourth, the magnitude of the Chinese influence and the population of Chinese descent, which has now become an essential and unbreakable pillar of Filipino society; fifth, the consolidation of an open, inclusive, mestizo society, which was the product of multiple influences; sixth, although it appears to contradict the previous point, the persistence of the view of Muslims as a world apart, largely withdrawn to the archipel- ago’s south and possessing very specific characteristics; seventh, a country with an Asian makeup but in which influences from Europe and the Ameri- cas could be perceived, as well as Hispanic cultural traits, which accord special consideration to the islands throughout Asia; eighth, the weight of various successive colonial administrations in the archipelago, each of which left its own legacy and exerted an influence on the previous admin- istration’s decisions in order to justify its own existence—­and, finally, as a result of all this, the formation of a Filipino society that fights to defend its own identity, resolve its contradictions, reach more egalitarian conditions, and claim, in the face of all this, national independence with support from the regional organization ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which contributes to its international relevance, always navigating between Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Notes 1. The work was conducted as part of the research project “La modernización de Filipinas, 1868–­1898” (HAR2015–­66511-­P), financed by the Plan Nacional de Investigación (Spain, MINECO-­FEDER). It is also part of the shared work carried out by the Unidad Asociada CSIC-­UPF “Estudios sobre Asia y el Pacífico.” 2. As specialists have highlighted, once having acquired firsthand experience in the Americas, the metropolitan authorities insisted that the Philippines be settled by avoiding violence to the greatest degree possible and seeking peace accords and pacts with the autochthonous population in which Spanish presence would be accepted in exchange for a number of benefits, such as defense against foreign attacks or rival tribes. As Luis Alonso, for example, stated: “Legazpi ended up choosing a distinct conquest model from the American one, in which violence was largely substituted for peace accords and pacts with the natives” (Legazpi acabó optando por un modelo de conquista distinto al americano en donde la violencia fue sustituida, en gran medida, por acuerdos y pactos con los naturales) (Alonso 2000, 190–­91). 3. Additionally, a “situado” was sent from New Spain to provide financial assis- tance when necessary (see Alonso 2009). 4. Of the many examples of this type that have taken place throughout the cen- turies, I will just mention two cases that I have directly studied: first, the missive that the Creole Domingo Roxas wrote to the kingdom’s regent in 1842 after having This content downloaded from 112.203.137.15 on Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:28:40 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms  Colonial Government and Social Organization in the Spanish Philippines 255 been accused of participating in the unrest at the Cofradía de San José and the riot in Tayabas (National Historical Archive, Madrid [AHN], Ultramar, leg. 2153, exp. 39); and second, the letter sent in 1888 to the Queen Regent María Cristina by 476 liberal-­leaning Filipinos, including many gobernadorcillos, requesting the protection of Emilio Terrero in the wake of conflicts that took place after various reforms were introduced during his time of governance (Archivo Histórico Nacional [AHN], Madrid, Ultramar, leg. 5258, exp. 53). 5. 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