THE SPANISH SOLDIER AND THE SPANISH MISSIONARY.
History of the Philippines as a Part of the History of the Spanish
Colonies.--We have already seen how the Philippines were discovered by
Magellan in his search for the Spice Islands. Brilliant and romantic
as is the story of that voyage, it brought no immediate reward to
Spain. Portugal remained in her enjoyment of the Eastern trade and
nearly half a century elapsed before Spain obtained a settlement
in these islands. But if for a time he neglected the Far East, the
Spaniard from the Peninsula threw himself with almost incredible
energy and devotion into the material and spiritual conquest of
America. All the greatest achievements of the Spanish soldier and
the Spanish missionary had been secured within fifty years from the
day when Columbus sighted the West Indies.
In order to understand the history of the Philippines, we must not
forget that these islands formed a part of this great colonial empire
and were under the same administration; that for over two centuries
the Philippines were reached through Mexico and to a certain extent
governed by Mexico; that the same governors, judges, and soldiers held
office in both hemispheres, passing from America to the Philippines
and being promoted from the Islands to the higher official positions of
Mexico and Peru. So to understand the rule of Spain in the Philippines,
we must study the great administrative machinery and the great body
of laws which she developed for the government of the Indies. [21]
Character of the Spanish Explorers.--The conquests themselves
were largely effected through the enterprise and wealth of private
individuals; but these men held commissions from the Spanish crown,
their actions were subject to strict royal control, and a large
proportion of the profits and plunder of their expeditions were
paid to the royal treasury. Upon some of these conquerors the crown
bestowed the proud title of "adelantado." The Spanish nobility threw
themselves into these hazardous undertakings with the courage and
fixed determination born of their long struggle with the Moors. Out
of the soul-trying circumstances of Western conquest many obscure men
rose, through their brilliant qualities of spirit, to positions of
eminence and power; but the exalted offices of viceroy and governor
were reserved for the titled favorites of the king.
The Royal Audiencia.--Very early the Spanish court, in order
to protect its own authority, found it necessary to succeed the
ambitious and adventurous conqueror by a ruler in close relationship
with and absolute dependence on the royal will. Thus in Mexico,
Cortes the conqueror was removed and replaced by the viceroy Mendoza,
who established upon the conquests of the former the great Spanish
colony of New Spain, to this day the most successful of all the states
planted by Spain in America.
To limit the power of the governor or viceroy, as well as to act as
a supreme court for the settlement of actions and legal questions,
Spain created the "Royal Audiencia." This was a body of men of noble
rank and learned in the law, sent out from Spain to form in each
country a colonial court; but their powers were not alone judicial;
they were also administrative. In the absence of the governor they
assumed his duties.
Treatment of the Natives by the Spanish.--In his treatment of
the natives, whose lands he captured, the Spanish king attempted
three things,--first, to secure to the colonist and to the crown
the advantages of his labor, second, to convert the Indians to the
Christian religion as maintained by the Roman Catholic Church, and
third, to protect them from cruelty and inhumanity. Edict after
edict, law after law, issued from the Spanish throne with these
ends in view. As they stand upon the greatest of colonial law-books,
the Recopilacion de Leyes de las Indias, they display an admirable
sensitiveness to the needs of the Indian and an appreciation of the
dangers to which he was subjected; but in the actual practice these
beneficent provisions were largely useless.
The first and third of Spain's purposes in her treatment of the native
proved incompatible. History has shown that liberty and enlightenment
can not be taken from a race with one hand and protection given it
with the other. All classes of Spain's colonial government were
frankly in pursuit of wealth. Greed filled them all, and was the
mainspring of every discovery and every settlement. The king wanted
revenue for his treasury; the noble and the soldier, booty for their
private purse; the friar, wealth for his order; the bishop, power
for his church. All this wealth had to come out of the native toiler
on the lands which the Spanish conqueror had seized; and while noble
motives were probably never absent and at certain times prevailed,
yet in the main the native of America and of the Philippines was a
sufferer under the hand and power of the Spaniard.
"The Encomenderos."--Spain's system of controlling the lives and
the labor of the Indians was based to a certain extent on the feudal
system, still surviving in the Peninsula at the time of her colonial
conquests. The captains and soldiers and priests of her successful
conquests had assigned to them great estates or fruitful lands with
their native inhabitants, which they managed and ruled for their own
profit. Such estates were called first "repartimientos." But very
soon it became the practice, in America, to grant large numbers of
Indians to the service of a Spaniard, who had over them the power
of a master and who enjoyed the profits of their labor. In return
he was supposed to provide for the conversion of the Indians and
their religious instruction. Such a grant of Indians was called an
"encomienda." The "encomendero" was not absolute lord of the lives
and properties of the Indians, for elaborate laws were framed for the
latter's protection. Yet the granting of subjects without the land
on which they lived made possible their transfer and sale from one
encomendero to another, and in this way thousands of Indians of America
were made practically slaves, and were forced into labor in the mines.
As we have already seen, the whole system was attacked by the Dominican
priest, Las Casas, a truly noble character in the history of American
colonization, and various efforts were made in America to limit the
encomiendas and to prevent their introduction into Mexico and Peru;
but the great power of the encomendero in America, together with
the influence of the Church, which held extensive encomiendas, had
been sufficient to extend the institution, even against Las Casas'
impassioned remonstrances. Its abolition in Mexico was decreed in
1544, but "commissioners representing the municipality of Mexico and
the religious orders were sent to Spain to ask the king to revoke at
least those parts of the 'New Laws' which threatened the interests
of the settlers. By a royal decree of October 20, 1545, the desired
revocation was granted. This action filled the Spanish settlers with
joy and the enslaved Indians with despair." [22]
Thus was the institution early established as a part of the colonial
system and came with the conquerors to the Philippines.
Restrictions on Colonization and Commerce.--For the management of all
colonial affairs the king created a great board, or bureau, known as
the "Council of the Indies," which sat in Madrid and whose members
were among the highest officials of Spain. The Spanish government
exercised the closest supervision over all colonial matters, and
colonization was never free. All persons, wares, and ships, passing
from Spain to any of her colonial possessions, were obliged to pass
through Seville, and this one port alone.
This wealthy ancient city, situated on the river Guadalquivir in
southwestern Spain, was the gateway to the Spanish Empire. From this
port went forth the mailed soldier, the robed friar, the adventurous
noble, and the brave and highborn Spanish ladies, who accompanied their
husbands to such great distances over the sea. And back to this port
were brought the gold of Peru, the silver of Mexico, and the silks
and embroideries of China, dispatched through the Philippines.
It must be observed that all intercourse between Spain and her colonies
was rigidly controlled by the government. Spain sought to create and
maintain an exclusive monopoly of her colonial trade. To enforce and
direct this monopoly, there was at Seville the Commercial House, or
"Casa de Contratacion." No one could sail from Spain to a colonial
possession without a permit and after government registration. No one
could send out goods or import them except through the Commercial House
and upon the payment of extraordinary imposts. Trade was absolutely
forbidden to any except Spaniards. And by her forts and fleets Spain
strove to isolate her colonies from the approach of Portuguese, Dutch,
or English, whose ships, no less daringly manned than those of Spain
herself, were beginning to traverse the seas in search of the plunder
and spoils of foreign conquest and trade.
Summary of the Colonial Policy of Spain.--Spain sought foreign
colonies, first, for the spoils of accumulated wealth that could be
seized and carried away at once, and, secondly, for the income that
could be procured through the labor of the inhabitants of the lands she
gained. In framing her government and administration of her colonies,
she sought primarily the political enlightenment and welfare neither
of the Spanish colonist nor the native race, but the glory, power,
and patronage of the crown. The commercial and trade regulations were
devised, not to develop the resources and increase the prosperity of
the colonies, but to add wealth to the Peninsula. Yet the purposes of
Spain were far from being wholly selfish. With zeal and success she
sought the conversion of the heathen natives, whom she subjected,
and in this showed a humanitarian interest in advance of the Dutch
and English, who rivaled her in colonial empire.
The colonial ideals under which the policy of Spain was framed were
those of the times. In the centuries that have succeeded, public wisdom
and conscience on these matters have immeasurably improved. Nations no
longer make conquests frankly to exploit them, but the public opinion
of the world demands that the welfare of the colonial subject be
sought and that he be protected from official greed. There is great
advance still to be made. It can hardly be said that the world yet
recognizes that a stronger people should assist a weaker without
assurance of material reward, but this is the direction in which
the most enlightened feeling is advancing. Every undertaking of the
white race, which has such aims in view, is an experiment worthy of
the most profound interest and most solicitous sympathy.
Result of the Voyage of Magellan and El Cano.--The mind of the
Spanish adventurer was greatly excited by the results of Sebastian
del Cano's voyage. Here was the opportunity for rich trade and great
profit. Numerous plans were laid before the king, one of them for
the building of an Indian trading-fleet and an annual voyage to the
Moluccas to gather a great harvest of spices.
Portugal protested against this move until the question of her
claim to the Moluccas, under the division of Pope Alexander, could be
settled. The exact longitude of Ternate west from the line 370 leagues
beyond the Verde Islands was not well known. Spaniards argued that
it was less than 180 degrees, and, therefore, in spite of Portugal's
earlier discovery, belonged to them. The pilot, Medina, for example,
explained to Charles V. that from the meridian 370 leagues west of
San Anton (the most westerly island of the Verde group) to the city
of Mexico was 59 degrees, from Mexico to Navidad, 9 degrees, and from
this port to Cebu, 100 degrees, a total of only 168 degrees, leaving
a margin of 12 degrees; therefore by the pope's decision the Indies,
Moluccas, Borneo, Gilolo, and the Philippines were Spain's. [23]
A great council of embassadors and cosmographers was held at Badajoz
in 1524, but reached no agreement. Spain announced her resolution to
occupy the Moluccas, and Portugal threatened with death the Spanish
adventurers who should be found there.
The First Expedition to the Philippines.--Spain acted immediately
upon her determination, and in 1525 dispatched an expedition under
Jofre de Loaisa to reap the fruits of Magellan's discoveries. [24]
The captain of one vessel was Sebastian del Cano, who completed the
voyage of Magellan. On his ship sailed Andres de Urdaneta, who later
became an Augustinian friar and accompanied the expedition of Legaspi
that finally effected the settlement of the Philippines. Not without
great hardship and losses did the fleet pass the Straits of Magellan
and enter the Pacific Ocean. In mid-ocean Loaisa died, and four days
later the heroic Sebastian del Cano. Following a route somewhat similar
to that of Magellan, the fleet reached first the Ladrone Islands and
later the coast of Mindanao. From here they attempted to sail to Cebu,
but the strong northeast monsoon drove them southward to the Moluccas,
and they landed on Tidor the last day of the year 1526.
The Failure of the Expedition.--The Portuguese were at this
moment fighting to reduce the native rajas of these islands to
subjection. They regarded the Spaniards as enemies, and each party of
Europeans was shortly engaged in fighting and in inciting the natives
against the other. The condition of the Spaniards became desperate
in the extreme, and indicates at what cost of life the conquests of
the sixteenth century were made. Their ships had become so battered
by storm as to be no longer sea-worthy. The two officers, who had
successively followed Loaisa and El Cano in command, had likewise
perished. Of the 450 men who had sailed from Spain, but 120 now
survived. These, under the leadership of Hernando de la Torre, threw
up a fort on the island of Tidor, unable to go farther or to retire,
and awaited hoped-for succor from Spain.
Relief came, not from the Peninsula, but from Mexico. Under
the instructions of the Spanish king, in October, 1527, Cortes
dispatched from Mexico a small expedition in charge of D. Alvaro de
Saavedra. Swept rapidly by the equatorial trades, in a few months
Saavedra had traversed the Carolines, reprovisioned on Mindanao,
and reached the survivors on Tidor. Twice they attempted to return
to New Spain, but strong trade winds blow without cessation north and
south on either side of the equator for the space of more than twelve
hundred miles, and the northern latitude of calms and prevailing
westerly winds were not yet known.
Twice Saavedra beat his way eastward among the strange islands of
Papua and Melanesia, only to be at last driven back upon Tidor and
there to die. The survivors were forced to abandon the Moluccas. By
surrendering to the Portuguese they were assisted to return to Europe
by way of Malacca, Ceylon, and Africa, and they arrived at Lisbon
in 1536, the survivors of Loaisa's expedition, having been gone from
Spain eleven years.
The efforts of the Spanish crown to obtain possession of the Spice
Islands, the Celebes and Moluccas, with their coveted products of
nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper, were for the time being ended. By the
Treaty of Zaragoza (1529) the Emperor, Charles V., for the sum of
three hundred and fifty thousand gold ducats, renounced all claim
to the Moluccas. For thirteen years the provisions of this treaty
were respected by the Spaniards, and then another attempt was made
to obtain a foothold in the East Indies.
The Second Expedition to the Philippines.--The facts that disaster
had overwhelmed so many, that two oceans must be crossed, and that
no sailing-route from Asia back to America was known, did not deter
the Spaniards from their perilous conquests; and in 1542 another
expedition sailed from Mexico, under command of Lopez de Villalobos,
to explore the Philippines and if possible to reach China.
Across the Pacific they made a safe and pleasant voyage. In the
warm waters of the Pacific they sailed among those wonderful coral
atolls, rings of low shore, decked with palms, grouped in beautiful
archipelagoes, whose appearance has never failed to delight the
navigator, and whose composition is one of the most interesting
subjects known to students of the earth's structure and history. Some
of these coral islands Villalobos took possession of in the name of
Spain. These were perhaps the Pelew Islands or the Carolines.
At last Villalobos reached the east coast of Mindanao, but after
some deaths and sickness they sailed again and were carried south by
the monsoon to the little island of Sarangani, south of the southern
peninsula of Mindanao. The natives were hostile, but the Spaniards
drove them from their stronghold and made some captures of musk,
amber, oil, and gold-dust. In need of provisions, they planted the
maize, or Indian corn, the wonderful cereal of America, which yields
so bounteously, and so soon after planting. Food was greatly needed
by the Spaniards and was very difficult to obtain.
The Naming of the Islands.--Villalobos equipped a small vessel and
sent it northward to try to reach Cebu. This vessel reached the
coast of Samar. Villalobos gave to the island the name of Filipina,
in honor of the Spanish Infante, or heir apparent, Philip, who was
soon to succeed his father Charles V. as King Philip the Second of
Spain. Later in his correspondence with the Portuguese Villalobos
speaks of the archipelago as Las Filipinas. Although for many years
the title of the Islas del Poniente continued in use, Villalobos'
name of Filipinas gradually gained place and has lived.
The End of the Expedition.--While on Sarangani demands were made by
the Portuguese, who claimed that Mindanao belonged with the Celebes,
that the Spaniards should leave. Driven from Mindanao by lack of
food and hostility of the natives, Villalobos was blown southward
by storms to Gilolo. Here, after long negotiations, the Portuguese
compelled him to surrender. The survivors of the expedition dispersed,
some remaining in the Indies, and some eventually reaching Spain;
but Villalobos, overwhelmed by discouragement, died on the island of
Amboyna. The priest who ministered to him in his last hours was the
famous Jesuit missionary to the Indies, Saint Francis Xavier.
Twenty-three years were to elapse after the sailing of Villalobos'
fleet before another Spanish expedition should reach the
Philippines. The year 1565 dates the permanent occupation of the
archipelago by the Spanish.
Increase in Political Power of the Church.--Under Philip the Second,
the champion of ecclesiasticism, the Spanish crown cemented the
union of the monarchy with the church and devoted the resources of
the empire, not only to colonial acquisition, but to combating the
Protestant revolution on the one hand and heathenism on the other. The
Spanish king effected so close a union of the church and state in
Spain, that from this time on churchmen rose higher and higher in the
Spanish councils, and profoundly influenced the policy and fate of
the nation. The policy of Philip the Second, however, brought upon
Spain the revolt of the Dutch Lowlands and the wars with England,
and her struggle with these two nations drained her resources both on
land and sea, and occasioned a physical and moral decline. But while
Spain was constantly losing power and prestige in Europe, the king
was extending his colonial domain, lending royal aid to the ambitious
adventurer and to the ardent missionary friar. Spain's object being
to christianize as well as to conquer, the missionary became a very
important figure in the history of every colonial enterprise, and
these great orders to whom missions were intrusted thus became the
central institutions in the history of the Philippines.
The Rise of Monasticism.--Monasticism was introduced into Europe from
the East at the very commencement of the Middle Ages. The fundamental
idea of the old monasticism was retirement from human society in the
belief that the world was bad and could not be bettered, and that men
could lead holier lives and better please God by forsaking secular
employments and family relations, and devoting all their attention
to purifying their characters. The first monastic order in Europe
were the Benedictines, organized in the seventh century, whose rule
and organization were the pattern for those that followed.
The clergy of the church were divided thus into two groups,--first,
the parish priests, or ministers, who lived among the people over
whom they exercised the care of souls, and who, because they were of
the people themselves and lived their lives in association with the
community, were known as the "secular clergy," and second, the monks,
or "regular clergy," were so called because they lived under the
"rule" of their order.
In the early part of the thirteenth century monasticism, which had
waned somewhat during the preceding two centuries, received a new
impetus and inspiration from the organization of new orders known
as brethren or "Friars." The idea underlying their organization was
noble, and above that of the old monasticism; for it was the idea of
service, of ministry both to the hearts and bodies of depressed and
suffering men.
The Dominicans.--The Order of Dominicans was organized by Saint
Dominic, an Italian, about 1215. The primary object of its members
was to defend the doctrines of the Church and, by teaching and
preaching, destroy the doubts and protests which in the thirteenth
century were beginning to disturb the claims of the Catholic Church
and the Papacy. The Dominican friars did not live in communities, but
traveled about, humbly clad, preaching in the villages and towns, and
seeking to expose and punish the heretic. The mediaeval universities,
through their study of philosophy and the Roman law, were producing
a class of men disposed to hold opinions contrary to the teachings
of the Church. The Dominicans realized the importance of these great
centers of instruction and entered them as teachers and masters, and
by the beginning of the fifteenth century had made them strongholds
of conservatism and orthodoxy.
The Franciscans.--A few years after this organization, the Order of
Franciscans was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi, of Spain. The aims
of this order were not only to preach and administer the sacraments,
but to nurse the sick, provide for the destitute, and alleviate the
dreadful misery which affected whole classes in the Middle Ages. They
took vows of absolute poverty, and so humble was the garb prescribed
by their rule that they went barefooted from place to place.
The Augustinian Order was founded by Pope Alexander IV., in 1265,
and still other orders came later.
The Degeneration of the Orders.--Without doubt the early ministrations
of these friars were productive of great good both on the religious
and humanitarian sides. But, as the orders became wealthy, the friars
lost their spirituality and their lives grew vicious. By the beginning
of the sixteenth century the administration of the Church throughout
Europe had become so corrupt, the economic burden of the religious
orders so great, and religious teaching and belief so material, that
the best and noblest minds in all countries were agitating for reform.
The Reformation.--In addition to changes in church administration,
many Christians were demanding a greater freedom of religious thinking
and radical changes in the Church doctrine which had taken form in
the Middle Ages. Thus, while all the best minds in the Church were
united in seeking a reformation of character and of administration,
great differences arose between them as to the possibility of change
in Church doctrines. These differences accordingly separated them
into two parties, the Papacy adhering strongly to the doctrine as
it was then accepted, while various leaders in the north of Europe,
including Martin Luther in Germany, Swingli in Switzerland, and John
Calvin in France and Geneva, broke with the authority of the Pope
and declared for a liberation of the individual conscience.
Upon the side of the Papacy, the Emperor Charles the Fifth threw the
weight of the Spanish monarchy, and to enforce the Papal authority
he attacked the German princes by force of arms. The result was
a great revolt from the Roman Catholic Church, which spread all
over northern Germany, a large portion of Switzerland, the lowlands
of the Rhine, and England, and which included a numerous and very
influential element among the French people. These countries, with
the exception of France, have remained Protestant to the present day;
and the great expansion of the English people in America and the East
has established Protestantism in all parts of the world.
Effects of the Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church.--The reform
movement, which lasted through the century, brought about a great
improvement in the Roman Catholic Church. Many, who remained devoted
to Roman Catholic orthodoxy, were zealous for administrative reform. A
great assembly of Churchmen, the Council of Trent, for years devoted
itself to legislation to correct abuses. The Inquisition was revived
and put into force against Protestants, especially in the dominions
of Spain, and the religious orders were reformed and stimulated to
new sacrifices and great undertakings.
But greater, perhaps, than any of these agencies in re-establishing
the power of the Pope and reviving the life of the Roman Catholic
Church was the organization of a new order, the "Society of Jesus." The
founder was a Spaniard, Ignatius Loyola, The Jesuits devoted themselves
especially to education and missionary activity. Their schools soon
covered Europe, while their mission stations were to be found in both
North and South America, India, the East Indies, China, and Japan.
The Spanish Missionary.--The Roman Catholic Church, having lost a large
part of Europe, thus strove to make up the loss by gaining converts
in heathen lands. Spain, being the power most rapidly advancing her
conquests abroad, was the source of the most tireless missionary
effort. From the time of Columbus, every fleet that sailed to gain
plunder and lands for the Spanish kingdom carried bands of friars
and churchmen to convert to Christianity the heathen peoples whom
the sword of the soldier should reduce to obedience.
"The Laws of the Indies" gave special power and prominence to the
priest. In these early days of Spain's colonial empire many priests
were men of piety, learning, and unselfish devotion. Their efforts
softened somewhat the violence and brutality that often marred the
Spanish treatment of the native, and they became the civilizing agents
among the peoples whom the Spanish soldiers had conquered.
In Paraguay, California, and the Philippines the power and importance
of the Spanish missionary outweighed that of the soldier or governor
in the settlement of those countries and the control of the native
inhabitants. Churchmen, full of the missionary spirit, pressed upon
the king the duties of the crown in advancing the cross, and more than
one country was opened to Spanish settlement through the enthusiasm
of the priest.