A New Era with the West PDF

A New Era with the West While our ancestors in San Pablo lived in blissful ignorance of the outside world, Europe was awakened by the renaissance and was in the midst of fighting religious wars of the Reformation. Meanwhile, adventurous European sailors were busy pushing the frontiers of knowledge...

A New Era with the West While our ancestors in San Pablo lived in blissful ignorance of the outside world, Europe was awakened by the renaissance and was in the midst of fighting religious wars of the Reformation. Meanwhile, adventurous European sailors were busy pushing the frontiers of knowledge and discovering new continents, which change the world forever. This expansion of world civilization pushed the West to do three things: 1. To search for gold, spices, and the riches of the East; 2. To seek glory and prestige for those who take the risks; 3. To spread Christianity in overseas lands. In the 16th century, the era of western exploration and colonization began, with Portugal and Spain in the lead. After Columbus’ discovery of the New World, Spain sent out conquistadors and missionaries to explore. The Spanish kings had more success than the Portuguese because of their clever business arrangement with explorers. In exchange for the right to establish Spanish colonies, the conquistadors agreed to give the king one fifth (20%) of any land or treasure they discovered. The Greatest Missionary Venture in History The colonization of the Philippines was part of grand vision by Spanish (and later, by American) colonizers to bring the Gospel to the end of the earth. Because of this official policy, they held on to the Philippines, even though the colony proved to be difficult to explore, and expensive to maintain. The coming of Spain (and later, America) sealed the destiny of the Philippines to become the only Christian nation in Asia. Edward G. Bourne of Yale University, the expert on Spanish colonialism noted, “In the light, then of impartial history raised above mere prejudice and religious prepossession, after comparison with the early years of Spanish conquest in America, or with the first generation or two of English settlements, the conversion and civilization of the Philippines in the forty years following Legazpi’s arrival must be pronounced an achievement without parallel in history. The background to the colonization of the Philippines cannot be separated from the reformation, which rocked medieval Europe into wars and colonial zeal. After the reformation began in 1517, many Protestants broke away from the Roman catholic religion. The Spanish kings (Charles I and his son Philip II, became known as “Defenders of the (Catholic) Faith” against the Protestant reformers. To replace the souls that they thought had been lost to Christianity, the Spanish kings began the greatest missionary venture the world has ever known – to take Christianity to the ends of the earth. The best monks in religious orders (Augustinians, Franciscans, Dominicans, etc.) left the monasteri”s and went on missions (or religious wars). Legazpi Expedition (1565) In 1565, Philip II gave instructions to the appointed conquistador of thePhilippines, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, “ to inform the natives that the Spaniards had come not to harm to their person or to their property, but to explain to them the law of Jesus Christ by which they will be saved.” The Spanish expeditionary forces could defend themselves if attacked, but the royal instructions admonished Legazpi to commit no aggressive act which might arouse native hostilities. Of course, the royal instructions were not necessarily followed to the letter by Legazpi and his men, who fought several military campaigns due to subdue the Filipinos. Nevertheless, due to the royal instructions (and the fact that he only had 300 troops) Legazpi was cautious in the use of force. Had the Filipinos been more united and more determined in resisting, they might easily have ousted Legazpi and his men, like they did with Magellan in 1521. Effect of the Bloody Fall of Cainta After the conquest of Manila in May 1571. Legazpi sent out emissaries to the nearby barangay kingdoms of Cainta and Taytay to persuade them to recognize Spanish rule. The inhabitants there were defiant and sent out a challenge to the Spaniards, “Come and fight. Let us see who is stronger – your Christian God or our ancestral gods.” Thus, Legazpi decided to send his best man, his grandson Captain Juan de Salcedo, to subdue the haughty barangays. They were armed to the hilt with three large cannons, medieval rifles, the best Toledo steel lances and swords. On August 15, 1571, Salcedo left Manila on a galley boat with 100 soldiers and two Augustinian monks – Alonso de Alvarado and Diego de Espinar. It was the standard procedure for priests to accompany military expeditions because they were required to administer the last sacraments, in case of casualties, or to baptize the natives, in case of successful entry. The two Augustinians were also chosen because they had acquired some proficiency in speaking the Tagalog language. Captain Salcedo sailed up the Pasig river for three days, and left the big boat at the entrance to Laguna Lake. He marched overland towards Cainta with his troops. The warriors of Cainta had fortified their barangay and positioned their men and native cannons for the fight. Salcedo and his men proceeded to attack Cainta with their superior cannons and weapons. The native defenders fought bravely but the military experience and better technology of the invaders prevailed. The natives were crushed, and four hundred warriors, including women, were slain that day. The bloody fall of Cainta frightened the natives of the neighboring barangay of Taytay. They decided to surrender without a fight. News of what happened in Cainta and Taytay spread like wildfire across the lake to Laguna and the hills of San Pablo. Create me a summary of this without changing words and based it only to this in a bullet form. For my reviewer for my examination The Fall of Laguna Then, Salcedo and his troops marched towards Laguna, whose barangay kingdoms were inhabited by about 25,000 people. In mid-August, 1571 they reached Bae (Bay), then the biggest barangay along Laguna Lake. Bae easily fell to the Spaniards because the chief, like Taytay, also yielded without a fight. The people of Bae did not want what happened in Cainta to happen to them. While in Bae, Captain Salcedo met a native named Masolong, the son of Gat Tayaw of Liliw. Masolong was baptized by Fray Alvarado and given the Christian name of Juan. Salcedo told him to go home to Liliw and inform his father and folks that they were coming to their barangay next. Masolong (Juan) returnedto Liliwand did as he was told. According to the story, he told the people of Liliw that, “The white Castilas are coming. Let us welcome them, for they are very strong and have many guns. They have already conquered the barangays of Cainta, Taytay, and Bae.” Hence, on August 22, 1571, when Salcedo and his men arrived in Liliw, they were warmly received by Gat Tayaw and his people. However, the upland barangays of Nagcarlan and Majayjay were hostile. Their chiefs and people preferred to fight rather than submit to the white strangers Salcedo attacked Nagcarlan. The people resisted bravely under the leadership of their chief, Gat Laquilao. But the spears, bows and arrows, and bolos, were no match for the Spanish weapons. In the end, Nagcarlan also chose to accept Spanish rule rather than to continue fighting. For several days, Salcedo tried to attack Majayjay. But its chief Gat Yantok and his warriors repulsed them. However, Gat Yantok could not continue defending his barangay. Under cover at night, Gat Yantok and his people quietly evacuated their village, and fled to the heights of Mount Banahaw with as much as they could carry. When Salcedo resumed the attack on Majayjay the next morning, he captured an empty barangay. The Peaceful Fail of San Pablo Salcedo was also in search of precious gold and other products to grab. In Bae, the natives had told him about the big upland realm of Sampalok, where Aetas traded gold dust. Forthwith, Captain Salcedo dispatched his aide Gabriel de Montoya, fray Alvarado, and a small contingent to verify the story and go to Sampalok, as San Pablo was then called. By August 1571, the native chieftains of Sampalok had heard stories of the Spaniards, their superior weapons and their determination to conquer. They held council of chieftains, led by Gat Paguil, their supreme leader. The houses of Makopa to Galanum were under the control of Gat Sungayan, a great hunter deer and wild boar. Gat Salakab was the big chief of the houses of Lumot, Palakpakin, Bitin-Ulila and Kukot. None of them really wanted to surrender to the Spanish conquistadors. But they realized that the casualties of a battle may be too much to bear. Gat Paguil and the other chiefs of Sampalok decided to deal with them peacefully. Sampalok as an Augustinian Mission Sampalok proved to be a microcosm of the difficulties of the mission work in the Philippines. From 1571 to 1578, missionary work in this area got off to a very slow start. Linguistic ignorance, the paucity of priest, and the greater attraction of China accounted for their lack of progress. It took seven years before the Augustinians could establish themselves at all in Laguna. On April 30, 1578, Bae, then the capital of Laguna, was organized as the Spanish colonial town in Laguna, with Fray Juan Gallegos, OSA, as the first parish priest. Sampalok was only a temporary visita of Bae. A visita meant that the priest visited occasionally, but did not stay long. For the Spaniards at this time, Sampalok was mainly used for revitalizing rather than as a commercial or religious outpost.  The precolonial “barangay” was renamed as “barrio,” to make it easier for the Spaniards to pronounce. Sampalok was chosen as the cabecera (a central place) to conduct occasional consultations on their mission work by the Tribunal of Ecclesiastical Visitors of Bae. The Augustinians The Augustinians were the vanguards of Christianity in the Philippines. Five Augustinians friars came with Legazpi’s expedition in 1565, led by Fray Andres Urdaneta, the navigator, who also discovered the return route to Mexico. From that date to 1898, a total of 2,368 Augustinians came to the islands, founded 385 towns, and administered two million souls. The Philippine Augustinian organization was called Provincia de SantisimoNombre de Jesus (Province of the Mostly Holy Name of Jesus), and its members bore the initials OSA (Order of St. Augustine). It contributed 57 martyrs recognized as Catholic saints for missions in the Philippines, China, Japan and other Asian countries. The Contributions of the Spanish Missionaries It is estimated that about 12,000 Spanish missionaries from the different orders labored in the mission fields of these islands throughout the 333 years of Spanish rule. The first wave of Spanish missionaries (from Mexico) in the 16 th century evidently did a tremendously successful work in the Philippines. Historical writers, Catholic and Protestant, hail this first wave of monks in the 16 th century for their achievements, not only in religion, but also education, economics, arts and sciences. Their achievements were “without parallel in history.” In postmodern times, the colonial Spanish friars are held in disrepute, and the word “fraile” evokes a negative meaning. Undoubtedly, the friars were responsible for many abuses, especially in the latter part of the Spanish era. But they should also be credited with the attainment of certain results in the civilization of the Filipino people, the credit for which is now denied them. With “cura” for a father-figure, and the “captain” as his adjutant, the Philippine town had a barrier of protection between the weaker and the stronger race, the vanquished and the victor.