governing of the colonies was made in New Spain in 1545, when the
ordinances for the government of that viceroyalty and audiencia
were printed. This collection was given the royal approval in
1548. A similar compilation was made in Perú in 1552 by Viceroy
Mendoza. The first intimation of a universal code is to be found
in the recommendations of the fiscal of the Council of the Indies,
Francisco Hernández de Liebana, in 1552. On September 4, 1560, Luís
Velasco, viceroy of New Spain, was ordered to print a compilation
of laws for the Audiencia of Mexico. This commission was given to
Oidor Puga of that tribunal and executed in 1563. In 1569 Viceroy
Francisco Toledo was ordered to make a similar compilation for Perú,
but the work was not completed at that time. The first volume actually
printed by authority of the Council was accomplished in 1593. This
was the beginning of the code of the Indies, but the volume which was
published pertained only to the regimen of the Council of the Indies
itself, and made no regulations for the colonies. A more extensive
collection of provisions, letters, orders and cédulas was published
on the authority of the Council by Diego de Encinas, a clerk of that
tribunal, in 1596. In 1603, the Ordenanzas reales para la Casa de
Contratación de Sevilla y para otras cosas de las Indias were printed
in the same city. Another ordinance was published for the regulation
of the contaduría mayor.
Various compilations were made by the oidores from time to time, either
for their own use, or in compliance with the royal commands. Among
the latter, perhaps the most famous and certainly the most useful was
that of Juan de Solórzano y Pereyra, oidor of the Audiencia of Perú
and later a member of the Council of the Indies. This collection
was made at Lima in compliance with the commission of Philip IV,
issued in 1610. The work, consisting of six volumes, received
the stamp of royal approval on July 3, 1627. In 1623 León Pinelo
published a Discurso sobre la importancia, forma, y disposición de la
recopilación de leyes de Indias. On April 19 of that year Pinelo was
ordered to make an examination of all the existing laws and cédulas
relative to the government of the colonies, printed or in manuscript,
with a view to codification. A magistrate named Aguilar y Acuña was
ordered to collaborate with him. The result of these proceedings was
a Sumario de la Recopilación General, which continued under process of
compilation for a half century. It was finally perfected and published
in 1677. In 1668 Pinelo's work was issued as the Autos acordados y
decretos de gobierno del Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias.
Although the collection was practically ready by 1677, it was not
officially accepted until May 18, 1680. On that day it was promulgated
by Charles II, king of Spain. On November 1, 1681, the work was ordered
published by the India House, and the Recopilación de los Reynos de
Indias was issued at Madrid in four volumes. Subsequent editions were
printed in 1754, 1774, 1791 and 1841. The last-mentioned contains in
its index reforms down to 1820. A Recopilación Sumaria was published in
Mexico in two volumes in 1787. The compilations of Zamora y Coronado,
Rodríguez San Pedro and Pérez y López, cited repeatedly in this work,
contain later laws, and serve in the place of the Recopilación for
the more recent periods.
Authorities: Solórzano y Pereyra, Política Indiana, I, Introduction;
G. B. Griffin, "A brief bibliographical sketch of the Recopilación de
Indias" in Historical Society of Southern California, Publications,
1887; Fabié, Ensayo histórico de la legislación española; Puga,
Provisiones, cédulas, (1563); Garcia Icazbalceta, Bibliografía
Mexicana del siglo XVI, (1886), 25-26; Bancroft, History of Mexico,
III, 550-551; History of Central America, I, 225-288; Antequera,
Historia de la legislación española, 480-483.
[41] Altamira, Historia, IV, 165-166.
[42] Recopilación, 5-2-2, 3, 7, 15, 19, 28. In this case a local
military functionary.
[43] Ibid., 37, 39, 41; Moses, Establishment of Spanish Rule in
America, 83-84; Vander Linden, L'expansion coloniale de l'Espagne,
345-361.
[44] Repartimientos or polos; referring to the forced labor of natives
on public works, such as ship and road-building. The provincial
officials exercised supervision over this obligatory service, and were
held responsible for the proper execution of the laws appertaining
thereto (Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands [hereinafter
cited as Blair and Robertson], XIX, 71-76).
[45] Cartas y expedientes de gobernadores de Durango, (1591-1700),
Archivo de Indias, Sevilla, [hereinafter cited as A. I.,] 66-6-17,
18 (these numbers refer to archive place); Cartas y Expedientes del
Virrey de Mégico que tratan de asuntos de Guadalajara (1698-1760),
A. I., 67-2-10 to 13. These two series contain hundreds of letters
on this subject, as do other series, relating to Nuevo León, Nueva
Galicia, Nueva Vizcaya, and New Mexico.
[46] This was true of San Luís Potosí and Guadalajara in New Spain. See
Bancroft, History of Mexico, III, 520; History of Central America,
I, 297; Moses, Establishment of Spanish rule in America, 83.
[47] Bancroft (History of Central America, I, 297) defines the
corregidor as a magistrate with civil and criminal jurisdiction in
the first instance, and gubernatorial inspection in the political
and economic government of all the towns of the district assigned
to him. There were corregidores letrados (learned in the law),
corregidores políticos (political and administrative), de capa
y espada (military) and políticos y militares (administrative and
military). When the corregidor was not a lawyer by profession, unless
he had an asesor of his own, the alcalde mayor, if possessed of legal
knowledge, became his advisor, which greatly increased the importance
of the last-mentioned official. The alcalde mayor was appointed by
the king. It was required that he should be a lawyer by profession,
twenty-six years of age, and of good character. Practically, in cases
of this kind, when the governor was not a letrado, civil, criminal,
and some phases of military authority devolved on the alcalde mayor;
the first two ex-officio, and the latter as the legal advisor of the
military chief. In new colonies this officer was invested with powers
almost equal to those of the governor.--See Recopilación, 5-2.
[48] The first encomiendas in the Philippines were granted by
Legaspi in 1572 (Montero y Vidal, Historia general, I, 42-43). The
encomenderos ruled the Indians in their care with little interference
from alcaldes mayores, corregidores, or governors. Vander Linden
especially emphasizes the fact that the encomenderos were not supposed
to act as the private masters of the Indians on their holdings,
but were to act as the representatives of the king (Vander Linden,
L'expansion coloniale de l'Espagne, 345-346). The laws of the Indies
specified that the encomenderos were to protect, aid and educate
them, seeing particularly that they were taught the Catholic Faith
(Recopilación, 6-8, 9, 10, 11; esp. tit. 9, laws 1-4).
The encomenderos, in the guise of benefactors, guardians and protectors
of the Indians, supervised the labor of the latter on the encomiendas,
drawing remuneration therefrom, collecting tribute from them, and
retaining a share of that. Aside from the very intimate relationship
of the encomenderos as the guardians of the Indians in spiritual and
temporal things, they were not considered as officials in the same
sense as were the alcaldes mayores and corregidores.
Dr. Pardo de Tavera characterizes the duties and relations of the
encomenderos to the Indians as follows: "The encomenderos were the
first Spaniards after the conquest and pacification of the colony who
represented the civil authority of Spain in the Islands: they were
obliged to maintain order and secure the well-being of the Indian
residents of their encomiendas or holdings, and to defend their
tenants against any encroachments on their rights by the Spaniards,
soldiers, alcaldes, and judges; and to endeavor to bring their tenants
together in towns and furnish them with opportunities to be converted
to the Christian religion, and to help them build churches and convents
... encomenderos were charged with the succor and support of the people
on their holdings in case of any calamity, famine or public disaster,
and they were prohibited from charging tribute in bulk against the
various barangayes, that is to say, they should not make the chiefs of
a family or tribe responsible for the payment of tribute by the various
members, nor were the encomenderos allowed to use force to secure the
payment of a tribute. When an encomendero received a tribute from his
people, he thereupon was considered to have assumed the duty of acting
as their protector" (Pardo de Tavera, Philippines census [1905], I,
330). Suffice it to say that, theoretically, the encomenderos were
the fatherly protectors and benefactors of the helpless, childlike
natives, and their every act was to be for the good of their wards.
[49] Antequera, Historia de la legislation española, 486-487; Bourne,
"Historical introduction," in Blair and Robertson, I, 56.
[50] Recopilación, 6-8-38 to 39; 8-9-20 to 24. It seems that the
oficiales reales merely supervised the collection of tribute, which
was really accomplished in the provinces by the alcaldes mayores
and corregidores, who acted as their agents. Martinez de Zúñiga, An
historical view of the Philippine Islands, I, 2; Ordinances of Good
Government, Blair and Robertson, L, 191-264; Recopilación. 6-5-64;
Montero y Vidal, Historia general, I, 380-385.
[51] The Relación of Miguél de Loarca, alcalde mayor of Arévalo, Panay,
gives us a good idea of the rapidity with which this institution spread
within ten years in the Philippines. It indicates the extent to which
the encomienda was utilized as a means of opening up and settling the
country. This report is dated June 12, 1582. At that time there were
three principal centers of administration in the Islands: Manila,
Cebú and Arévalo. About thirty encomiendas were located close to
Manila, ten were near to Cebú, and fifteen near to Arévalo under the
jurisdiction of Loarca. The latter group consisted of about 20,000
Indians. Encomiendas varied in size from 250 to 1500 natives, but
the ideal encomienda was supposed to contain 500 souls. By cédula,
of August 9, 1589, royal authority was extended for the increase of
the size of encomiendas in the Philippines to 800 or 1000 persons,
if necessary, in order to bear the greater expenses of instruction and
defense. This was bitterly opposed by the churchmen on account of the
additional missionary labors incumbent on the priests assigned to these
larger encomiendas (Cédula of August 9, 1589, A. I., 105-2-11). Philip
II, on November 30, 1568, had ordered that no encomienda should yield
more than 2000 pesos (Recopilación, 6-8-30).
Loarca states that there were also encomiendas in the Camarines
provinces in southeast Luzon and in IIocos, in the north of the same
island. These encomiendas were under the jurisdiction of the alcaldes
mayores and corregidores governing those provinces. (Relation by
Loarca, Blair and Robertson, V, 35-187.)
[52] Report of Governor Dasmariñas on the encomiendas of the
Philippines, May 31, 1591, in Blair and Robertson, VIII, 96-141.
[53] Blair and Robertson, VII, 269-294, Salazar to the Governor,
January 25, 1591; Reply of the Governor [no date], ibid., 294-300;
Carta del Obispo de Manila sotre la muerte de Ronquillo y los excesos
que este cometió..., A. I., 68-1-32; Memorial de las cosas ... dignas
de remediar en la Isla, Zulueta Papers. Place numbers not given. These
are examples of the hundreds of complaints, mostly by churchmen,
against the abuses of the encomenderos. It would be impossible to
cite them all.
The Zulueta Papers are transcripts from the Archive of the Indies of
Seville, the National Library of Madrid, and the British Museum. They
were copied under the direction of a Filipino scholar, Señor
Zulueta. These Papers are now in the Philippines Library at Manila.
[54] On June 4, 1620, the governor of the Philippines was authorized
to bestow encomiendas, with the provision that if he neglected
to do so for a period of sixty days the vacant holdings should be
bestowed by the audiencia. On October 24, 1655, Philip IV ordered
that acting viceroys and acting governors should be limited to the
faculty of providing encomiendas ad interim, subject to the subsequent
ratification of the Council of the Indies (Recopilación, 6-8-8, 1-4,
5, 8, 11, 22).
[55] Blair and Robertson, III, 304-306.
[56] In this connection may be noted the distinction between
the two classes of encomiendas which was made for purposes of
administration. Private encomiendas were those which had been
granted to private persons, conquerors, discoverers, soldiers, or
persons who paid a regular rent, usually a third of the gross tribute
collected. These were originally granted for life, and might be held
for two subsequent generations. Later (after 1655), the usual period
of confirmation was ten years, for persons who rented encomiendas
as a business proposition. The royal encomiendas were situated near
cities or ports and the income from them was reserved for the expenses
and necessities of the royal estate, the payment of salaries, and
other governmental expenses. Private encomiendas became royal on the
death of an incumbent if he had no heirs, or on the expiration of the
contract. The tribute from royal encomiendas was collected by the royal
treasury. Morga's Sucesos, Blair and Robertson, XVI, 157; also ibid.,
VIII, 27; see Bourne, "Historical introduction," ibid., I, 39-40.
On June 7, 1597, the king, as a suggestion for the increase of funds
for the maintenance of the government, wrote to the audiencia that a
greater number of royal encomiendas should be established, and that
the governor should not be permitted to assign so many to private
persons (King to the Audiencia, June 7, 1597, A. I., 105-2-1). On
February 16, 1602, the king again addressed the audiencia on the
subject of the royal encomiendas, desiring to know why the tribute
from them had so materially decreased, it having reached the low mark
of 2500 pesos. In answer, the same reason for this falling off was
suggested as in the letter above quoted, namely, that the governor
had assigned many encomiendas to his friends (King to the Audiencia,
February 16, 1602, A. I., 105-2-1). Francisco de la Misa, factor of
the royal treasury of Manila, in a letter to the king, dated May 31,
1595, stated that the royal encomiendas, which had been established to
provide revenue for the payment of the salaries of alcaldes mayores,
tenientes, oficiales reales, and even that of the governor, had
diminished greatly in number, so that not enough revenue was derived
from them to meet the expenses for which they had been created. Misa
concluded with a recommendation that eight royal encomiendas of the
value of 8000 pesos a year should be established out of the first
private encomiendas that were vacated (Misa to the King, May 31,
1595, A. I. 67-6-29).
[57] Salazar to the Council of the Indies, June 20, 1582, A. I.,
68-1-32.
[58] Ronquillo de Peñalosa to the King, July 15, 1582, A. I., 67-6-6.
[59] Morga's Sucesos, Blair and Robertson, XV, 59-60; Carta del
Obispo de Manila sobre la muerte de Ronquillo, y de los excesos que
este cometio, ... A. I., 68-1-32.
[60] Ibid.
[61] The cédula of March 1, 1551, had forbidden the bestowal of
encomiendas on ministers of justice, treasury officials, viceroys,
ecclesiastics, and governors. According to the terms of the appointment
of Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa as proprietary governor, he had been
allowed an encomienda in each principal town. See Recopilación, 6-8-12.
[62] Op. cit.
[63] Including the two principal Spanish historians of the Philippines,
Martínez de Zúñiga (Estadismo, I, 243) and Montero y Vidal (Historia
general, I, 88).
[64] These letters, dated June 18, 1583, are among the Zulueta Papers
at Manila.
[65] A procurador, according to Escriche (Diccionario, II, 759),
"is one who, by virtue of power or faculty conceded by another,
acts in his name." There were in later times several procurators
representing different interests of the Philippines at the Court
of Madrid. The associated merchants had one or more, the consulado,
each religious order, etc. These procuradores were usually lawyers,
not infrequently men who had been in the islands. An interesting
parallel might be noted between the procuradores and the American
colonial agents of prerevolutionary days. Zúñiga here gives Rivera
entire credit for the bringing of the audiencia to Manila--op. cit.,
I, 175. See note 16, supra.
[66] The alcabala (al que vale, "according to value") was a
percentage tax levied on goods (movable and immovable) sold or
exchanged. Merchants were held accountable for the payment of this tax,
and for this purpose their accounts were examined by royal officials
at regular intervals (Escriche, Diccionario, I, 143). It was first
introduced into the Indies by Philip II in 1574, having been levied in
Spain as early as 1079, though not in its perfected form. In accordance
with the tariff of November 1, 1591, it was exacted from merchants,
apothecaries, encomenderos (having farms and cattle-ranches),
ragpickers, cloth-makers, silversmiths, goldsmiths, blacksmiths,
and shoemakers. An alcabala was paid on wine. By the cédula of June
7, 1576, the rate of alcabala was fixed at two per cent. In Perú it
was raised to four per cent during the administration of the Conde
de Chinchón as viceroy and was collected at that rate there until the
cédula of July 26, 1776, raised it to six per cent. This rate was paid
thereafter in the Spanish colonies (Recopilación, 8-13-1 to 14, notes,
2 and 4), except for an increase in the rate to 8 per cent in 1782, to
meet the added expenses of war. The old rate of 6 per cent was restored
in 1791 (transcripts of these cédulas exist in A. I., 87-1-20).
Exemptions from this tax were made in favor of churches, monasteries,
and prelates when they bought or sold goods not for profit. When they
engaged in commerce for its own sake they were obliged to pay the
alcabala in the same way as laymen (Recopilación, 8-13-17). Goods
belonging to the Santa Cruzada, provisions bought, sold or stored
which were destined for the poor, and munitions of war paid no alcabala
(ibid., 18-23). Indians were also exempted under certain circumstances
(ibid., 24; see entire Title 13 of Book 8, Recopilación, for further
specifications regarding the payment of this tax). In 1568 Philip
II exempted the Philippines for thirty years. As noted above, the
alcabala was not introduced regularly into the Indies until 1574,
though it was levied in individual cases as early as 1558. Even
earlier than this Pizarro had obtained the right to levy it in Perú
for a period of a hundred years (ibid., 8-13-1; note 1), but Philip II
ordered it paid in the Philippines on August 9, 1589 (ibid., 9-45-66).
The almojarifazgo, like the alcabala, had been utilized early in the
history of the Peninsula and because a productive source of revenue,
it was introduced into the Indies. The earliest law dealing with
this tax in New Spain was promulgated by Charles V on October 18,
1553, exempting cargoes which had already paid the tax in Spain. On
June 24, 1566, and on December 28, 1568, Philip II ordered a five
per cent export tax on all goods leaving Seville for the Indies
(the ordinance of December 28, 1562, having fixed it at two and a
half per cent) and an import tax in the Indies on these same goods
of ten per cent, making in all a tax of fifteen per cent. Wine was
to pay a ten per cent import and export tax respectively, making a
total of twenty per cent paid on that commodity (ibid., 8-15-1, 2,
8). The law of April 21, 1574, ordered a two and a half export and
a five per cent import tax on goods shipped between colonies (ibid.,
10). On August 9, 1589, a three per cent almojarifazgo was authorized
in the Philippines, with exemptions on provisions, munitions, and
other specified articles brought to the Islands by the Chinese,
Japanese, Siamese, and Borneans (ibid., 22, 24). The tax on Chinese
merchandise was raised from three to six per cent on November 20,
1606 (ibid., 23). Chinese goods from the Philippines paid a ten per
cent almojarifazgo at Acapulco. This tax was also paid on leaving
the Philippines or other New Spain ports and on entrance at Acapulco
(ibid., 21). For exemptions see Recopilación, 8-15-26 to 30.
[67] Rivera to the King, February 16, 1582, A. I., 1-1-2/24.
[68] A legal defender of the Indians was wanted in this case to serve
them in the courts. The bishop, at this time, was protector of the
Indians and in that capacity had protested against the abuses of the
encomenderos. The bishop, of course, could not enter the courts and
defend the Indians in litigation.
The law of March 17, 1593, which ultimately established a defender
of the Indians in Manila, filled the need voiced by Rivera. The
law referred to read as follows: "The protection and defense of the
Indians in the Philippines was entrusted by us to the bishops there,
but having recognized that the latter cannot conform to the demands,
autos and judicial summons which require their personal presence,
we order that our president-governor shall name a protector and
defender of the Indians, assigning to him a sufficient salary from
the taxes levied pro rata upon the Indians who are under the royal
jurisdiction and on private encomiendas, without touching the revenues
of our royal hacienda which are for other purposes. And we declare that
this does not signify that it is our intention to deprive the bishops
of the superintendence and protection of the Indians in general"
(Recopilación, 6-6-8).
Philip II, on January 10, 1589, restored the office of protector or
defender of the Indians in the Indies generally. It was stated in
this law that as a result of the earlier abolition of the office
many inconveniences and injustices had arisen. The law authorized
the appointment of a person of good character and morals to the
office (ibid., 1). The reform of April 9, 1591, required that the
appointee should be a lawyer, and that there should be a defender of
the Indians attached to each audiencia (ibid., 3). The reform of March
11, 1784, provided that the fiscales should name these protectors in
the future. (Ibid., note 1.)
[69] The Audiencia of Guadalajara was at that time subordinate to
the Viceroy of New Spain in matters of war, government, and finance
(hacienda). Ibid., 2-15-47, 49 to 54.
[70] Rivera to the King, June 26, 1583, A. I., 1-1-2/24.
[71] Foundation of the Audiencia, Blair and Robertson, V, 274-318; VI,
35-43; also in A. I., 1-1-3/25, the latter being the original cédula,
signed by the king and ministers.
[72] Ibid.
[73] Permission had been granted by Philip II on July 4, 1570,
to enslave Mindanaos. A second cédula permitting the Spaniards in
the Philippines to do this was promulgated by Philip III on May 29,
1620. This act was rendered justifiable in the eyes of the Spaniards
by the fact that they were dealing with semi-savages who were of
the Mohammedan faith, and accordingly the ceaseless enemies of the
Spaniards. Recopilación, 6-2-12.
[74] Recopilación, 3-10-13, 14; see Chapter VIII of this book.
[75] Recopilación, 2-15-55, promulgated November 4, 1606; see also
6-18-5 and 5-3-24.
[76] Dávalos to the King, July 3, 1584, A. I., 67-6-18.
[77] Audiencia to the Council of the Indies, June 26, 1586, A. I.,
67-6-18.
[78] The Recopilación is singularly indefinite regarding the rate or
amount of tribute to be assessed in New Spain. Beyond the stipulation
that tribute levied under the supervision of viceroys, presidents,
and audiencias should be moderate and just, practically nothing is
said as to the amount that should be collected (See cédulas of June 19,
1536, and September 29, 1555, Recopilación, 6-5-21), excepting certain
increases as stipulated in the law of November 1, 1591 (ley 16).
According to the laws just cited, the rate was to be fixed by the
officials mentioned above. By cédula of December 19, 1534, the
oficiales reales were empowered to fix the rate of tribute (ibid.,
28). Reductions in the rate of tribute were to be authorized by
the fiscal and oficiales reales (ibid., 29). Apparently the rate
varied according to the locality (ibid., 1 to 5, 16, 17), and in the
cédulas of 1536 and 1555, cited above, consideration was given to
the rate formerly paid by the Indians to their caciques. Fonseca y
Urrutia (Historia de la real hacienda, I, 417 et seq.) tell us that
the tribute paid in the province of Tlascala in 1572 was 13 reales;
in 1564 the rate for New Spain was fixed at two pesos, and in 1600 it
was reduced to one peso of eight reales. (Bancroft, History of Mexico,
II, 586-9.) Humboldt (Political Essay, II, 431-2) states that there
had been a gradual diminution of tribute paid by the Indians during
the hundred years preceding his visit. In 1601, he states, Indians
paid 32 reales tribute and 4 reales additional, de servicio, in all,
about 23 francs. It had been reduced, little by little, till the
amount actually paid was from 5 to 15 francs, and, "in the greater
part of Mexico," he states, "the head-tax amounts to 11 francs."
Archbishop Benavides, of Manila, writing in 1600 (Zulueta Papers,
date and place number not given) pleaded for the abolition of the
tribute in the Philippines, stating that while the collection of
tribute in New Spain was justifiable because the natives had been
accustomed to paying tribute before the Spaniards came, the custom was
entirely new in the Philippines, since the native princes had never
levied tribute. On the other hand, various persons writing from the
Philippines at different times urged that the tribute there should
be increased to the rate imposed in New Spain.
The money value of the tribute in the Philippines was fixed at eight
reales by Legaspi. It could be paid either in gold or in kind. De
Morga tells us that the encomenderos made great profit by receiving
the payment in rice, cotton, cloth, fowls, and other commodities, at
a cheap rate, selling those same articles later to the improvident
natives at greatly increased prices (Morga's Sucesos, Blair and
Robertson, XVI, 159). When Dasmariñas arrived as governor in 1590,
the tribute was raised from eight to ten reales (cédula of August 9,
1589, Recopilación, 6-5-65, also A. I., 105-2-11). While the eight
reales were to be appropriated by the encomenderos, the additional
two reales were to be distributed between the religious and military
governments in proportions of one-half to one and a half (Blair and
Robertson, XVI, 160).
In the instructions of May 23, 1593, to Governor Dasmariñas, reference
was made to a current rate of eight reales (ibid., IX, 249), so it
would seem that the local rate had been reduced from ten to eight
reales at some date between 1589 and 1593. On February 16, 1602,
the rate was restored at ten reales (Recopilación, 6-5-65), and was
so continued until a subsequent regulation made optional on the part
of the natives the payment of the ten reales or four reales and a
fowl. On August 19, 1623, Fray Juan de Balmaseda complained that the
encomenderos were making the natives pay ten reales in addition to
the fowl and that the above law was thus resulting in the payment of
sixteen reales tribute (A. I., 68-1-63). Accordingly, on November 21,
1625, a cédula was issued which eliminated the substitution of the
fowl, and the rate was restored at ten reales, payable in gold or
silver (A. I., 105-2-1). The king, in response to complaints against
the collection of tributes in the provinces of Camarines and Albay,
issued a cédula on September 25, 1697, ordering the observance in
the Philippines of Book 6, Title 5, of the Recopilación de Indias,
which meant the correction of the abuse above referred to (A. I.,
68-4-12). It would seem that the rate of ten reales was levied
throughout the seventeenth century.
[79] Audiencia to the Council of the Indies, June 26, 1586, A. I.,
67-6-18.
[80] Dávalos to the King, June 20, 1585, A. I., 67-6-18.
[81] Pereyra to Santiago de Vera, July 10, 1597, A. I., 68-1-33.
[82] This involves the real patronato, which will be dealt with in
Chapter X of this book.
[83] Dávalos to the King, June 20, 1585, A. I., 67-6-18.
[84] Memorial of Salazar, June 24, 1590, A. I., 67-6-67.
[85] Ibid.
[86] Memorials of the organization and officials of Manila for the
removal of the royal audiencia, June 26, 1586, A. I., 68-1-33.
[87] Dávalos to the King, June 20, 1585, A. I., 67-6-18.
[88] Santiago de Vera to Contreras, June 20, 1585, Blair and Robertson
VI, 67-68.
[89] See Recopilación, 9-45, for regulations of the galleon trade
between Acapulco and Manila. By these laws, promulgated from 1583 to
1636, the governor of the Philippines was given authority in Manila
over the dispatching, manning, lading, and control of the galleon
(see Recopilación, 9-45-3, 4, 20, 24, 29, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 59). He
retained these powers until the latter part of the eighteenth century,
when the abuses resulting from his control were eliminated (Martínez
de Zúñiga, Estadismo, I, 268).
[90] Montero y Vidal, Historia general, I, 94-95; Martínez de Zúñiga,
An historical view, I, 183-186; see Ortega's Memorials to the King,
Blair and Robertson, IX, 95-119.
[91] Memoria y consultas de Fr. Alonso Sánchez (no date given),
A. I., 67-6-27; see also Juan de la Concepción, Historia general
de Filipinas [cited hereinafter as Concepción, Historia general],
II, 103-184. These agreements are interesting because they show
how intensely nationalistic were the respective sentiments of the
Spaniards and Portuguese with regard to their Asiatic colonies,
notwithstanding the fact that since 1580 the home governments of
the two nations had been united. This correspondence illustrates
the fact that the Portuguese regarded their former colonies as still
distinctively their own.
[92] Royal cédula for the restoration of the Audiencia of Manila,
November 25, 1595, A. I., 106-4-19.
[93] Morga's Sucesos, Blair and Robertson, XV, 65-66.
[94] Suppressed Audiencia to the King, June 20, 1590, Blair and
Robertson, VII, 208-211; also Recopilación, 2-15-181.
[95] Salazar to Felipe II, June 24, 1590, Blair and Robertson,
VII, 252.
[96] Morga's Sucesos, Blair and Robertson, XV, 75.
[97] Dasmariñas to Felipe II, June 20, 1591, Blair and Robertson,
VIII, 142-168, passim.
[98] Salazar, on reaching the Spanish court, was made first archbishop
of the Philippines. He died on December 4, 1594, before he could
assume his new post.
[99] Cédula of January 17, 1593, Blair and Robertson, VIII, 315.
[100] Ibid.; see also cédula of same date in Recopilación, 6-6-8.
[101] Morga remained in the Philippines throughout a period of
eight years and during this time distinguished himself as a lawyer
and judge, administrator, soldier, and later as a historian. It was
due to his energies as senior magistrate that Van Noordt, the Dutch
free-booter, was defeated at the entrance of Manila Bay. Morga, in
his Sucesos, already quoted several times, has left us a scholarly
view of conditions as they existed at the time of his residence in the
Islands. Morga left the Philippines on July 10, 1603, with a promotion
to the Audiencia of Mexico; he served in New Spain for several years
and in 1616 he was again promoted to the post of president of the
Audiencia of Quito.
[102] Dasmariñas to the King, December 6, 1595, A. I., 67-6-18.
[103] Misa to the King, May 31, 1595, A. I., 67-6-29.
[104] The amount legally permitted to be taken to the Philippines
at this time was 500,000 pesos (subsequently 1,000,000 pesos). The
galleon, on the voyage from Manila to Acapulco, could carry merchandise
to the registered value of 250,000 pesos (later 500,000 pesos). This
regulation was first enacted January 11, 1593 (Recopilación 9-45-6,
9). On the same date residents of New Spain were forbidden to trade
in the Philippines and the entire Philippine and Chinese trade was
expressly reserved to subjects in the Philippines. The latter were
given the exclusive privilege of sending goods to New Spain (ibid.,
1). They were permitted to buy only from the Chinese merchants who came
to Manila (ibid., 34).--See Martinez de Zúñiga, Estadismo, I, 266-270.
[105] Cédula of January 11, 1593, Recopilación, 9-45-44.
[106] Morga to Philip II, July 6, 1596, Blair and Robertson, IX, 271.
[107] Ordinance for the re-establishment of the Audiencia of Manila,
November 26, 1595, A. I., 106-4-19; also in Blair and Robertson,
IX, 189-191.
[108] The Archbishop of Manila, in a letter to the king, on August 15,
1624, stated that the principal motive which influenced Philip II to
re-establish the audiencia at the time of Governor Tello, was that in a
district so remote and distant from his royal presence the governors
might not be so absolute, but that there might be a superior arm
to check them, and to prevent their extortions from innocent people
(Blair and Robertson, XXI, 95). It is certain, too, that the audiencia
was also destined to champion the royal prerogative in the face of
the encroachments of the higher officials of the church. This need
was especially urged by Morga.
Grao y Monfalcón, the procurator of the merchants of Manila at the
court in 1636, wrote on June 13 of that year: "In the year 590 the
royal Audiencia of Manila was suppressed ... and its suppression
must also be reckoned among the hardships of that city ... because
of those which it suffered until the year 597, when the Audiencia
was reëstablished (sic)." (Blair and Robertson, XXVII, 189).
[109] Pancada, the wholesale purchase of the goods brought to Manila
by the Chinese. These goods were bought by a committee of two or
three persons, acting for the governor and ayuntamiento, then sold
or apportioned among the merchants of the city in proportion to the
amount of money which they were able to invest. This arrangement
was designed to give all the merchants a chance to buy and at the
same time to prevent the Chinese from selling at exorbitant prices
(Cédula of January 11, 1593, Recopilación, 9-45-34.)
[110] Cédulas of May 5, 1583, and May 25, 1596, Recopilación,
2-15-11. It will be noted that this authority was granted to the first
audiencia established in Manila. This same faculty was conferred
by the Ordenanzas nuevamente formadas para el régimen y govierno
de la audiencia nacional de Manila, Art. I, Chap. 1, Sec. 1 (A. I.,
106-4-19).
[111] Martínez de Zúñiga has this to say concerning the work and
purpose of the tribunal: "The royal audiencia was established to
check the despotism of the governor, whom it has never impeded,
because its learned members were always the weaker, and the governor
may send them as prisoners to Spain, exile them to the provinces to
take census, or imprison them in Fort Santiago, as has been done"
(Martínez de Zúñiga, Estadismo, I, 244).
[112] Recopilación, 2-15-32.
[113] Ibid., 34-36, 44.
[114] Ibid., 41.
[115] Certain phases of these questions remained within the
jurisdiction of the church courts.
[116] Recopilación, 2-15-53.
[117] Parián, a market-place; the name given to the quarter set aside
by the government wherein the Chinese were confined. This restriction
was imposed in 1603, to give added security to the city of Manila,
endangered by a Chinese uprising at that time.--See Montero y Vidal,
Historia general, III, 146-148; Recopilación, 2-15-55; 5-3-24; 6-18-5.
[118] Ibid., 2-15-64; 2-16-16 to 20.
[119] Ibid., 2-15-180.
[120] Ibid., 70. See Chapter I of this book.
[121] Ibid., 71.
[122] Ibid., 3, 5, 67. See Chapter I, note 20, for distinction between
oidores and alcaldes del crimen.
[123] Ibid., 68; 2-19-2.
[124] Ibid., 1, 3.
[125] Ibid., 2-15-63, 71.
[126] Ibid., 2-15-74 to 85.
[127] Ibid., 90-91.
[128] Ibid., 93.
[129] Exemption from the jurisdiction of the civil authority having
been claimed by the military and religious orders of Santiago,
Calatrava, and Alcántara, Philip IV, on April 1, 1635, gave
jurisdiction over these orders to the audiencias.--Ibid., 96.
[130] Ibid., 5-10-1.
[131] Ibid., 2.
[132] According to the Recopilación, 5-13-1 (laws of October 20,
1545, February 13, 1620, and the Ordinance of Audiencias [1563]),
the value of the peso was fixed at 450 maravedís.
[133] Recopilación, 2-15-88.
[134] Ibid., 5-12-20.
[135] Ibid., 5-12-29.
[136] Ibid., 5-10-3.
[137] Ibid., 5-13-8.
[138] Ibid., 4, 7.
[139] Ibid., 5-10-4.
[140] Ibid., 5-13-1.
[141] Ibid., 2-15-97.
[142] Ibid., 88.
[143] Ibid., 103, 107, 108. Magistrates were forbidden to sign
decisions during office hours--valuable time which should be devoted
to hearing cases (ibid., 109).
[144] Ibid., 105.
[145] Ibid., 117. Pesquisidores were special investigators with
extraordinary executive and judicial powers who were sent out by
the home or central government when need arose to correct abuses in
colonial or provincial administration. Visitadores (visitors) were
sent regularly to inspect the government of a province or colony. The
governor was supposed to dispatch visitors to examine the work of
alcaldes mayores and corregidores every three years.
[146] Ibid., 118.
[147] Ibid., 178.
[148] Recopilación, 5-15-21. Acuerdo, the joint consultative action
of the governor and audiencia. See Chapter VI of this book and note
78 of the same chapter.
[149] Ibid., 5-13-3. The periods of validity of cases appealed from
the audiencias of Ultramar varied with the distance and the time
necessary for the transmission of autos to the Council. The time
assigned by the laws of the Indies was as follows: Chile, one and
a half years, Tierra Firme, New Granada, Santo Domingo, New Spain,
one year, and the Philippines, two years. This law was promulgated
first on September 24, 1621, and again on March 30, 1629.
[150] Recopilación, 2-15-123 to 133.
[151] Ibid., 133 (1563). Helps (Spanish conquest, I, 102, 103-104)
states that the repartimiento system was originated in 1496, from
the requirement of Columbus that the natives of Hispaniola should pay
him a certain quantity of gold as tribute. In view of the inability
of the natives to meet the demands of the Spaniards in regard to
the precious metal, "the villagers were ordered to make (and work)
the farms in the Spanish settlements. This may be considered as the
beginning of the system of repartimientos, or encomiendas, as they
were afterwards called."
In a subsequent chapter the same author tells of the difficulty which
Ovando had in compelling the Indians to live among the Spaniards, to
pay tribute and accept religious teaching. Ferdinand and Isabella,
in a letter dated December 20, 1503, directed Ovando to compel the
Indians to deal with the Spaniards, to work for wages, to go to mass,
to be instructed in the faith, and further, that they should do all
these things "as free persons, for so they are." ... "Ovando adopted
the following system," says Helps; "he distributed Indians amongst
the Castillians, giving to one man fifty, to another a hundred; with
a deed that ran thus: 'to you, such a one, is given an encomienda
of so many Indians, with such a Cacique, and you are to teach them
the things of our Holy Catholic Faith'. The word encomienda ... was a
term belonging to the military orders, corresponding to our commandery
or preceptory; and this term naturally enough came into use with the
appointment, as governors in the Indies, of men, who held authority
in those orders, such as Bobadilla and Ovando." (See also Bancroft,
History of Central America, I, 262.) "With respect to the implied
condition of teaching the Indians 'the Holy Catholic Faith' it was
no more attended to from the first than any formal clause in a deed,
which is supposed by the parties concerned to be a mere formality."
"We have now arrived," continues Helps, "at the climax of the
repartimiento system. That which Bobadilla did illegally, was now done
with proper formalities on parchment: ... We may notice again that the
first repartimientos made by Columbus ... apportioned to any Spaniard,
whom he thought fit, such and such lands, to be worked by such a
Cacique and his people--a very different procedure to giving men--a
feudal system, not a system of slavery."--Helps, Spanish conquest,
I, 138-139.
[152] Recopilación, 2-15-129.
[153] Ibid., 127.
[154] Ibid., 5-15-181.
[155] Francisco de la Misa to the King, May 31, 1595, A. I. 67-1-29.
[156] In this and in other letters of officials in the Philippines
we find the amount frequently referred to as 1000 pesos, although in
the Recopilación (2-15-129 [1609]) the jurisdiction is fixed at 1000
ducats. According to law 181 (1589), the authority of the governor (the
audiencia had been suppressed) was extended to cases of the same value.
[157] It is probable that Misa meant that there was not sufficient
distinction between the governor's asesor and the teniente de
gobierno. This combined post was filled by Pedro de Rojas until
1593 and then by Antonio de Morga. These officials were the private
advisers of the governors in legal matters, and active magistrates
at the same time.
[158] Memorial of Antonio de Morga, July 6, 1596, Blair and Robertson,
IX, 271 et seq.
[159] Cédula of May 26, 1596, A. I., 106-4-19.
[160] Pardo de Tavera, in Census of the Philippine Islands, I. 335.
[161] Recopilación, 1-1, 2, 3; 5-1.
[162] King to the President and Oidores, February 16, 1602, A. I.,
105-2-1; Cédula of October 25, 1870; Colección legislativa de España,
CV, 449-463; Cédula of April 12, 1875, ibid., CXIV, 516-524.
[163] Recopilación, 2-15-81, 83.
[164] Tondo is now a district or ward of the city of Manila. At the
time referred to here, the barrio of Santa Ana (small district under a
teniente of a corregidor or alcalde mayor) was within the jurisdiction
of the corregimiento of Tondo.
[165] Recopilación, 2-15-71, which forbade the trial of alcaldes and
provincial officials before the audiencia.
[166] Council of the Indies to the Fiscal, A. I., 105-2-10.
[167] Recopilación, 5-2-3; 2-15-81, 83.
[168] This decision conforms with the Recopilación, 5-2-3, 4, and
2-15-68; 117. These laws give to the audiencia and the governor
jurisdiction over excesses of the provincial judges and executives,
and over cases appealed from them. Ibid., 2-16-44 gave jurisdiction
to the viceroy over criminal charges against oidores and alcaldes.
[169] Council of the Indies to Audiencia, December 16, 1687, A. I.,
105-2-1. The facility with which witnesses may be procured is from
one point of view a great aid to the administration of justice in
the Philippines today. See Elliott, The Philippines to the end of
the military règime, 246-8.
[170] Royal decree on Usurpation of Indian Lands, November 7, 1751,
Blair and Robertson, LXVII, 27-34. See Cunningham, "Origin of the friar
lands question in the Philippines" in Political science review. X,
465 480.
[171] Fuero mixto, in this case a fuero or concession to the
ecclesiastical government of jurisdiction over secular matters. See
note 53, Chapter XI, of this volume.
[172] Audiencia to the King, September 27, 1617, A. I., 67-6-20. Three
of these friars were hanged at once, and one, Juan Ocádiz, escaped
to New Spain. He was said to be the illegitimate son of Doña Ana of
Austria (see Blair and Robertson, XVIII, 82-88).
[173] Recopilación, 2-15-134 to 153; 2-16-15; 2-18-29, 30; 1-4-3,
20; 1-6-26, 39, 57; 1-7-18, 29 to 31; 2-15-146, 147, 149. See note 3,
Chapter XI, of this volume.
[174] Recopilación, 2-15-129.
[175] This case and the others dealt with in this section involving
encomiendas are to be found in the Inventario de los pleytos en la
real audiencia de Manila que se hallen en el rl. y supremo consejo
de las Indias y remiten al rl. archivo en Sevilla según rl. orden
de Julio de 1787. The key to the above exists in the Inventario de
autos de la Essma. la Cámara de Indias, IV, 453, A. I.
[176] Recopilación, 6-2-1. This prohibition was first imposed by
Charles V on the above date and subsequently by Philip II and Philip
III (see laws 1 to 14, same title).
[177] Ibid., 6-9-11, 13.
[178] The laws of the Indies (Recopilación, 6-19-6) authorized the
governor of the Philippines to assign encomiendas ad interim for
the period of six years (promulgated August 25, 1646). By the laws
of May 1, 1774, and June 8, 1792, the period was made five years
in all the colonies except Perú; in the latter it was six years
(note to Recopilación, 8-22-1). We have record of the extension of an
encomienda in the Philippines to the Hospital of San Juan de Diós for
four years by Governor Marquina on July 10, 1789. The cofradía had
held this encomienda for ten years, and on its petition the governor
made this additional concession, subject to royal confirmation (A. I.,
107-5-18). The above episode is at variance with the statement of
Bancroft (History of Central America, I, 264) that the encomienda
system came to an end in 1721. Helps states that the encomienda system
"remained in full force until the reign of Charles The Third of Spain,
at which period, it appears, it was annulled."--See Helps Spanish
conquest, IV, 240.
[179] Expedientes are defined in Blair and Robertson, LII, 72, note
28, as "all the papers belonging to any matter, judicial, legislative,
or executive, consisting of orders, opinions, reports, and all other
measures." A testimonio is a duly attested and certified statement or
number of statements submitted as proof or evidence concerning a given
matter. Testimonios include transcripts of letters, cédulas, autos,
and expedientes on a particular subject, usually bound together. They
may extend over a period of a hundred years or more, showing step
by step the factors leading up to the formulation of any auto,
or cédula, or given as reasons for a particular action taken by an
official or tribunal. Testimonios form a large part of the material in
the Archive of the Indies. They are of the same value as originals,
and they are certainly more available and legible because frequently
more recently written.
[180] Inventario, op. cit.
[181] Note the appeal of a case involving less than 6000 pesos,
which was contrary to the laws of the Indies. (Recopilación, 5-13-1).
[182] Martínez de Zúñiga, Estadismo, I, 245.
[183] Decree for establishment of the Consulado, in Manila, December
13, 1769, A. I., 108-3-17.
[184] The consulado was an organization of the merchants of certain
authorized cities of the Spanish empire. A consulado had to be
established by royal authorization. The tribunal of the consulado was
composed of two consuls and a prior, who were chosen for terms of two
years and one year respectively. They were chosen by twelve electors
who in turn were designated by the members of the consulado. The
tribunal de alzadas was composed of an oidor and two merchants. The
latter constituted the final court of appeal in the colony in
commercial cases and exception to their decisions could be taken only
in the Council of the Indies.--Martínez de Zúñiga, Estadismo, 245-246.
[185] Council of the Indies to the Audiencia, January 21, 1808,
A. I., 105-2-18.
[186] Recopilación, 9-46-40.
[187] Ibid., 9-46. This section of the laws of the Indies establishes
the consulados of Lima and Mexico, and lays down regulations for them.
[188] This was before the time of the Consulado of Manila.
[189] Inventario, op. cit.
[190] The Junta de Guerra, was the committee of the Council of
the Indies with jurisdiction over military and naval affairs. When
questions of this nature came to the Council they were referred to the
Junta, where decision was made and referred back to the Council. See
notes 17 and 36, Chapter VII of this book.
[191] Inventario, op. cit.
[192] Ibid.
[193] Recopilación, 2-1-14; see also 9-27-35, 37, 2-2-39, also 9-27-3,
5, 13, 28, 29, 40, 47. These laws forbid the entrance of foreign
ships and individuals to the ports of the Indies.
[194] Real Acuerdo de 17 de Julio, 1656, A. I., 67-6-22. (The final
action of the Council is indicated without date on the margin of the
auto of the Audiencia.)
[195] Recopilación, 9-46-28; 9-45-13.
[196] Ibid., 2-15-111.
[197] Ibid., 71.
[198] Foreman, Philippine Islands, 241. The laws regulating the trial
of cases on appeal may be noted in Recopilación, 5-9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
[199] The following figures have been taken from various reports of
the audiencia to the Council of the Indies, and they show the number
of criminal cases tried in the tribunal in the years designated:
1710--51 cases ... report dated December 11, 1711; A. I., 105-2-9.
1774--34 cases ... report dated December 25, 1776; ibid.
1776--48 cases ... report dated March, 1778; ibid.
1779--53 cases ... report dated July 30, 1780; ibid.
1786--99 cases ... report dated May 1, 1778; A. I., 105-2-10.
1789--51 cases ... report dated June 4, 1790; A. I., 105-2-10.
1795--38 cases ... report dated April 4, 1798; A. I., 105-2-10.
1822--641 cases ... report dated July 3, 1823; A. I., 106-4-21.
According to Desdevises du Dezert ("Vice-rois et capitaines généraux
des Indes espagnoles," in Revue historique CXXVI, 59, 60) the
Audiencia of Lima decided 89 civil cases on appeal from February
11, 1788, to January 5, 1789. At the end of this period there were
122 cases waiting on the docket. In the chamber of first instance
of the same audiencia 72 cases were tried and 124 remained to be
tried at the end of approximately the same period. In the criminal
sala during the year 1788, there were 7 death sentences rendered,
16 sentences for robbery, 14 cases tried involving personal injury,
15 for carrying arms in face of the prohibition of the law, and 6
cases of adultery. The magistrates excused themselves for this rather
contemptible showing by alleging that the membership of the tribunal
had not been complete, to which the king made answer that there would
have been sufficient judges had not the latter continually absented
themselves on the smallest pretexts. The charge of indolence was also
frequently brought against the magistrates of the Audiencia of Manila.
[200] See Colección legislativa de España, LXIV, 105-147 (Royal
Decree of January 30, 1855). Cédula of December 6, 1858, in Rodríguez
San Pedro, Diccionario de legislación ultramarina, VII, 69. Cédula
of March 10, 1857, ibid., VIII, 39. Royal Decree of July 4, 1861,
Colección legislativa de España. LXXXVI, 1-45. The basic principle of
these reforms are to be found in the Constitution of 1812, Martínez
Alcubilla, Diccionario, III, 408-458, and in Las Ordenanzas Nuevamente
Formadas para el Régimen y Govierno interior de la Audiencia Nacional
de Manila en cumplimiento de la Ley de 9 de Octre de 1812, sobre
arreglo de tribunales. A. I., 106-4-19.
[201] Blair and Robertson, XX, 35-43, 147, 168, 196-198.
[202] Recopilación, 8-10-16.
[203] Cédulas of October 6, 1783, and of November 19, 1805, A. I.,
105-2-18.
[204] See Cunningham, "Residencia in the Spanish colonies," in the
Southwestern historical quarterly, XXI, 253-278.
[205] Ibid., 2-33, 1, 6; literally, a report on character of services.
[206] Ibid., 5-11.
[207] Ibid., notes 1 to 4.
[208] Ibid., 2-31-1.
[209] Ibid., 5-12-9.
[210] Ibid., 5-11-6; see also, 5-12-14.
[211] Ibid., 5-15-36 to 39; 7-1-10 to 13.
[212] Ibid., 5-12-7 to 9.
[213] Bancroft, History of Central America, I, 250-1. Special emphasis
should be placed upon the last clause of the above definition. The
periodical residencia was not the sole means for the removal of
officials in the Spanish colonies. The conclusion seems to have been
reached by many historians that officials were permitted to conduct
themselves carelessly, running their offices to suit their own personal
convenience from the date of their appointment, in the assurance that
their tenure was sure until the termination of a specified term,
and that the periodical residencia was the only occasion on which
they might be held to answer for their sins. Only the most scant
attention has been given by modern writers to the residencia. See
Bourne, "Historical introduction," in Blair and Robertson, I, 50-52;
Moses, Establishment of Spanish rule in America, 172; Vander Linden,
L'expansion coloniale de l'Espagne, 349.
[214] Bourne, "Historical introduction," Blair and Robertson, I,
51-52; see De Pons, Voyage, II, 25; Churchill, Voyages, IV, 427-428;
see also Barrows, "The governor general of the Philippines, under
Spain and the United States," in The Pacific Ocean in history, 246.
[215] Recopilación, 7-1; 2-15-117.
[216] Ibid., 5-15-19.
[217] Ibid., 20.
[218] A receptor was a clerk of court, who on special authorization
or commission of a tribunal was dispatched to institute judicial
proceedings on behalf of the court.--Escriche, Diccionario, II, 794.
[219] Recopilación, 7-1-16.
[220] Ibid., 5-15-21.
[221] Ibid., 7-1-14.
[222] Ibid., 5-12-31.
[223] Ibid., 5-15-38.
[224] Fajardo to Felipe III, August 10, 1619; Blair and Robertson,
XVIII, 276.
[225] The Marianas were the islands of the Ladrone Group situated
1200 miles east of the Philippines.
[226] Expedientes relativos á la residencia de Don Antonio Pimentel,
Governador de las Marianas, A. I., 68-4-17 and 18.
[227] Recopilación, 5-15-3, 4, 8, 10-18.
[228] Ibid., 5-15-11, 24.
[229] Having been excused by the cédulas of July 7, 1789, and January
15, 1795, A. I., 105-2-5.
[230] Recopilación, 5-15, notes 4, 11. When the residencia of a viceroy
or president was taken, the oidores were also held responsible for
all opinions given conjointly with him in the acuerdo.
[231] Sinibaldo de Mas, the able Philippine critic of the nineteenth
century, says in regard to the above characteristic of the Recopilación
and its laws: "Since the Leyes de Indias are not a constitutional
code, but a compilation made in the year 1754 [a footnote amends this
statement with the information that the Recopilación was first made
in 1681] of royal orders despatched at various epochs and by distinct
monarchs, ... there results ... a confusion of jurisdictions."--Mas,
Internal political condition of the Philippines, Blair and Robertson,
LII, 70.
Dr. James Alexander Robertson, in his article on "Legaspi and
Philippine colonization" (see American Historical Association,
Annual report, 1907, I, 150 and note), characterizes the laws of
the Indies as "that mass of contradictory legislation," largely
"ecclesiastical in tone," ill-digested, and "utterly at variance with
one another." Dr. Robertson also states that "it is from a too close
following of these laws and a too great neglect of actual conditions
that writers on the colonial policy of Spain have at times fallen into
error." On the other hand, it may be said, that not enough use has
been made by modern writers of the laws of the Indies, and there is
need of such investigation as will test that oft-repeated statement
that the laws of the Indies were not enforced. Up to the present,
Latin American scholarship has been content with a rehashing of Helps
and Prescott, for the early periods, omitting the seventeenth century
and the greater part of the eighteenth altogether, and fixing on
Juan y Ulloa, Robertson, and Humboldt as the great all-determining
authorities for the latter periods of Spanish colonization. These,
indeed, have been supplemented by a few ecclesiastical histories, each
of which has been written to prove a particular thesis. The present
writer dares to believe, after some attempt to harmonize the laws
of the Indies with actual practice, that these laws were actually
used as a basis of colonial government, and that, while not always
effectively enforced, they were by no means a dead-letter until Spain
actually lost her colonies and are not today, for it is easy to see
in the laws of the Indies the fundamentals of the institutions of
present-day Spanish America.
[232] Recopilación, 5-15-1.
[233] Cédula of August 24, 1799, in Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación
ultramarina, III, 280-281.
[234] Papeles relativos á la residencia del gobernador
Salcedo. Inventario, op. cit.; also A. I., 67-6-10, 67-6-11, 67-3-4.
[235] Since all legal advice was furnished the governor by his asesor,
Coloma would be examining his own acts.
[236] Recopilación, 2-18-27.
[237] Cédula of June 17, 1671, A. I., 82-6-10. In view of these
proceedings, Salcedo's letter of June 25, 1665, in praise of the
services of Coloma and Montemayor is interesting (A. I., 67-6-9).
[238] Recopilación, 5-12-8; 2-16-46, provided for appeal of cases
carrying death penalty.
[239] Ibid., 5-12-31.
[240] Ibid., 5-15-38.
[241] Ibid., 39.
[242] Ibid., 2-2-58.
[243] Ibid., 64.
[244] Ibid., 5-15-3.
[245] There were two kinds of bonds, those posted at the beginning
of a term of office, and special bonds of residencia, given at the
time of that investigation. The last-mentioned were not required
if the office were not a responsible one or if the charges were not
sufficiently serious.
[246] Recopilación, 5-15-3; this cédula was annulled by that of May
21, 1787; see note to law 3 of the same title.
[247] King to Basco y Vargas, December 30, 1776 (A. I.,
107-5-20). These annual deductions of one-fifth were first authorized
on August 26, 1757, on the recommendation of the Council of the
Indies. They were discontinued by the consulta of March 2, 1773,
it being ordered that governors should only post the customary bonds
with the president of the Council of the Indies. We see here that the
practice was restored on December 30, 1776. This requirement seems to
have been confined to governors of the Philippines (A. I., 105-2-21).
[248] Recopilación, 8-19; see notes 11 and 13, Chapter V of this book.
[249] Recopilación, 8-26-17.
[250] Ibid., 5-15-42.
[251] Ibid., note 12.
[252] Royal decree of November 20, 1841, in Rodríguez San Pedro,
Legislación ultramarina, I, 282; see also royal order of December 3,
1844 (for Cuba), ibid., 287.
[253] Officials, desirous of ingratiating themselves into the favor
of the new executive, frequently journeyed by land and sea from Manila
as far as the Straits of San Bernardino. The privilege thus gained of
returning to Manila in company with the new governor, gave them the
unrestricted or unqualified opportunity to poison his mind with tales
of the misdeeds of the incumbent, and insinuations as to the wealth
which the latter had heaped up for himself through the exercise of
dishonest methods.
[254] The residencia of a governor presented a splendid opportunity
to his enemies for revenge. A governor was always in a fair way to
make enemies; consequently any such awaited the residencia of their
former oppressor with great eagerness. In case a governor did make
fair profit out of his office, and there were many opportunities for
profit, commercial and otherwise, legitimate and illegitimate, his
enemies gave him no rest at the time of his residencia. (According to
Martínez de Zúñiga [Estadismo. I, 242] the emoluments of the governor,
aside from his salary, aggregated 20,000 pesos a year.) It is probable
that most of the governors were dishonest, as the opportunities for
corruption were numerous, and the temptations offered by the position
were too powerful to be resisted by any human being. Thousands of
miles from Spain, in an age of slow communication, entrusted with
the assignment of all sorts of lucrative offices, encomiendas, and
commercial privileges, and having friends, relatives, and special
interests to serve, a governor was surrounded by countless officials
who were eagerly awaiting their share of booty, and who were ready
at a moment's notice to turn traitor if they could gain by such an
act. It may be said of the Spanish colonial governor as was said of
Verres of old, that in stealing, one must steal threefold, once for
himself, once for his judges, and once to pay the penalty.
[255] Chapter II of this book.
[256] Montero y Vidal, Historia general, II, 253-258. Anda, as it will
be noted later, spent an earlier term of service in the Philippines. He
first came to the Philippines during the administration of Governor
Arandía, as oidor of the audiencia. He had therefore been obliged
to submit to residencia on a previous occasion; in 1764 a review was
made of his official conduct as oidor, and especially of his acts in
defiance of Archbishop Rojo, in setting up claims to the governorship
of the Islands and resisting the British. His conduct was approved,
and he received high honor and promotion at the court, being advanced
to membership in the Council of Castile. On November 19, 1769, he was
granted an annual pension of 3000 pesos for life. On September 8, 1777,
this pension was continued in favor of his eldest son (A. I., 106-4-4).
[257] Anda had more than the usual number of residencias to supervise
at the beginning of his term. Owing to some misapprehension on the
part of his predecessor, Governor Raón, no residencia was required
of La Torre, the teniente del rey who took over the government in
1764. Owing to the anarchical condition in Manila consequent upon the
invasion of the British, and the ecclesiastical rule preceding that
event, neither Arandía, Espeleta, nor Rojo had given residencia. The
audiencia and Raón in acuerdo on October 26, 1768, voted that
governors' residencias should be dispensed with, and apparently
believed that this action settled the matter. On November 9, 1770,
the Council of the Indies disapproved of this stand, fined Raón (who
had died the preceding July), and ordered Anda to take the residencias
of Arandía (governor, 1754-1759), Espeleta (archbishop-governor,
1759-1761), Rojo (archbishop-governor, 1761-1764), Oidor Villacorta,
and Governor Raón. These orders he complied with, conducting the
investigations with his characteristic thoroughness, though Rojo
and Raón were dead. Villacorta was imprisoned and heavily fined. The
sentences against Arandía, Raón and Villacorta were moderated by the
Council of the Indies on September 9, 1772.--A. I., 105-2-31.
[258] As we shall note in another chapter, José Basco y Vargas
inaugurated the reforms of the intendancy in the Philippines,
retaining the post of governor, while Ciriaco Gonzales Carvajal
was first intendente de guerra y real hacienda.--A. I., 105-3-5 and
107-5-19; see Chapter V, note 20, of this work.
[259] This residencia was held under the same laws that had prevailed
throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A feature common
to them all, particularly, was the fact that the regent, or some other
colonial magistrate conducted the investigation and gave sentence,
which might be appealed to the Council of the Indies. This gave an
opportunity for great injustice to be done to the governor by his
enemies, and it did not give him an impartial hearing. The laws of
1799 still permitted a local magistrate to collect the evidence,
but the decision was rendered by the Council of the Indies.
[260] Audiencia to the King, June 28, 1791, A. I., 108-4-18.
[261] Instructions to Amparán, February 19, 1792, A. I., 105-2-10.
[262] Instructions were also given at the same time for investigations
of the official conduct of numerous persons who had been identified
with the government of Marquina. Among these were Helarión
Pastor, fiscal de la real hacienda. Manuel de Sota, contador de
cuentas. Francisco Múñoz, teniente del rey. Rufino Suárez Rivera,
asesor, and Miguel Formento, clerk of the treasury. A separate
commission was made for the residencia of each of these.
[263] The just and honorable conduct of Marquina's successor on this
occasion may be contrasted with that of his various predecessors,
whose unfairness, bigotry, and stupidity had caused governors
Corcuera, Silva, and Torralba, victims of residencia, to be seized,
imprisoned, and exiled without opportunities for defense, while
their investigations were being conducted. This case serves well to
illustrate the fact that by the close of the eighteenth century the
residencia had grown more humane.
[264] He was charged with having entered into a conspiracy with an
Armenian merchant to secure trade which should have gone to Spanish
merchants. In this particular venture he had made a profit of 16,000
pesos and in so doing he had not only violated the laws of the Indies
which forbade officials to trade (Recopilación, 2-16-54, 62), but he
had connived at the infraction of another law which forbade trade to
foreigners (ibid., 9-27-1, 5, 7 and note 2).
[265] It is an interesting commentary on Spanish methods that,
notwithstanding Marquina's misgovernment in the Philippines, he was
promoted to the post of viceroy of New Spain, which position he held
from 1800 to 1803.
Desdevises du Dezert, in his article on "Vice-rois et capitaines
généraux des Indes espagnoles" (Revue historique, CXXV, 241), shows
that Marquina continued his peculations while viceroy of New Spain,
engaging in the smuggling trade with Jamaica, and enriching himself
to the extent that in thirty-two months he was able to send twelve
million pesos on his own account to Spain. Desdevises du Dezert
inadvertently refers to Marquina as having come from the Marianas to
Mexico. He came from the Philippines and not from the Marianas.
[266] Recopilación, 5-15, notes 4 and 5.
[267] Reales resoluciones del Consejo, 4 de Marzo, 1794, A. I.,
106-4-18; Royal Order of January 18, 1848, Rodríguez San Pedro,
Legislación ultramarina, I, 290.
[268] These discounts were "considered subversive of their authority
[that of the governors]; ... the best guarantee of their acts is not
a discount of some thousands of pesos, which is always penurious
when compared with the honor and dignity of the persons called,
on account of their elevated character and distinguished services,
to hold these posts, and if, in former times, this practice had some
foundation in the tardiness of communication between the Peninsula
and these provinces, it does not exist today in view of the frequency
of communication which enables said authorities to consult with
the government of Her Majesty in all the steps which are considered
necessary in the territory of their command."--Royal order of July 7,
1860, in Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación ultramarina, I, 287.
[269] Recopilación, 5-15-20.
[270] Ibid., 4.
[271] Ibid., 5-2-1, 2, 7.
[272] Ibid., 5-15-19.
[273] Ibid., 7-1-16; 5-15-21.
[274] Ibid., 2-15-69; see 2-2-58, 64.
[275] King to the Fiscal, September 29, 1788, A. I., 105-2-10.
[276] King to the Audiencia, October 6, 1806, A. I., 105-2-18.
[277] Recopilación, 2-18-27.
[278] Ibid., 5-15, note 4.
[279] Ibid., 5-15-27 to 49.
[280] Ibid., 8-1-28; 5-15-35. Heavy penalties were prescribed for
those who offered insecure financial guarantees (ibid., 5-15-33 to 36).
[281] Ibid., 34.
[282] Ibid., 39, 40.
[283] Expediente de Don Frco. Fernández Zéndera, alcalde mayor
y capitán de guerra de la provincia de Ilocos. ... su residencia
pendiente de informe de la audiencia, 1794, A. I., 106-5-4 and 5. The
papers relating to this trial easily aggregate 4000 pages.
[284] It was said that he had shown favoritism in his dealings with
some of the barangay (district) chiefs, allowing them unbridled
license in the collection of tribute and in the enforcement of
compulsory labor, most of which they utilized for their own, or for
his, benefit. One chief was said to have gone so far as to forcibly
take carabaos from the natives when the latter were working them
in the fields. Zéndera had, of course, extended favors to these
barangay chiefs in exchange for reciprocal advantages. (The alcaldes
mayores ruled the native population through these chiefs at this
time. Later they utilized the gobernadorcillos, who were native or
mestizo governors of the small towns.--See Malcolm, The government
of the Philippine Islands, 64-72.)
It was also charged that he had allowed cock-fights whenever
requested, instead of restricting these to holidays and Sundays
as the law prescribed. On these occasions he collected two reales
from each entrant, and in addition he took the slain birds, alleging
that they were for the consumption of the inmates of the provincial
prison. Testimony was produced to show that the prisoners had never
eaten fowl.
[285] In taking the residencias of corregidores and alcaldes mayores
the audiencia frequently took great responsibility upon itself. On
July 10, 1800, on taking the residencia of Luís Rodríguez Varela,
alcalde mayor of Pangasinán, the audiencia suspended the decoration
of the pequeña cruz, which had been conferred upon this official by
the royal authority. The deprivation, in this case, was tentative,
pending the investigation of the charges which had been made of
shortages in the finances of his province.--Audiencia to the King,
July 10, 1800, A. I., 106-4-18.
[286] The original sentence probably denied to Zéndera the privilege
of holding the office of alcalde mayor only, since he occupied the
post of regidor of the city of Manila, pending the appeal of his
case to the Council of the Indies. It is evident, therefore, that
the sentence which was pronounced upon Zéndera did not apply to all
positions of honor and trust.
[287] Cédula of August 24, 1799, Recopilación, 5-15, notes 4 and 5;
see also Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación ultramarina, I, 282.
[288] Escriche, Diccionario. I, 578; see also royal order of November
20, 1841, and of January 18, 1848, in Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación
ultramarina, I, 282; 290. When the Intendancy was established in
1784-7, an effort was made by the newly created officials to escape
the residencia. The entire term of the first intendant, Carvajal (or
Carbajal), had been devoted to an assertion of his independence of
the governor and audiencia. Carvajal interpreted the law requiring all
officials of the government to give residencia every five years to the
Department of Justice as not applying to him or his subordinates. He
pointed to the stipulation in the ordinance which created his
department, and established its independence of the executive and
judiciary. The king disapproved of his attitude and ordered that
henceforth the officials of real hacienda should give residencia
in the same manner as other officials, in accordance with the laws
of the Indies. (King to Carvajal. July 29, 1788, A. I., 107-5-19,
citing Recopilación, 2-15-69; 5-15-15 and Ordenanza de Intendentes
de Buenos Ayres, Art. 305.) This decree ordered that the residencias
of the intendants and their assistants should be submitted to the
audiencia. The cédula of August 24, 1799, so frequently cited in this
chapter, gave final jurisdiction to the audiencia over the residencias
of intendentes-corregidores, but it decreed that superintendents
should give residencia directly to the Council of the Indies.
[289] Martínez Alcubilla (Diccionario, XI, 477) and Escriche
(Diccionario, II, 819) state that the cédula of August 24, 1799,
abolished the residencia. The latter states that the residencia
was eliminated because of the corruption of judges, and as the
judges of residencia had proved to be a grave infliction on the
towns, mistreating witnesses and defendants on many occasions,
it was thought advisable to discontinue the practice of holding
these investigations. Escriche also quotes extracts from the laws
of August 24, 1799, September 26, 1835, and November 20, 1841,
wherein were provided regulations for the future continuance of the
residencia. Cases involving viceroys, captains-general, and presidents
of audiencias were to be tried in the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in
first instance. Alcaldes mayores, corregidores, military and political
governors who were not presidents were to be tried in the audiencias
which exercised jurisdiction over their districts.
[290] See Cédula of July 7, 1860, in Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación
ultramarina, III, 287; royal order of July 25, 1865, ibid., X, 99;
royal order of October 25, 1870, Colección legislativa, CV, 442-465.
The eminent authority, Manuel Bernáldez Pizarro, writing from Manila
on April 26, 1827, deplored the laxity which was characteristic
of the method of conducting trials of residencia, and recommended
that they be made more effective and just. He criticized especially
the prevailing system of holding the alcaldes mayores to a strict
accountability; who, he wrote, "as they have permission to trade,
are more tempted to evade or infringe the laws; and many persons are
appointed to that office 'who lack all the qualifications necessary
for any public office whatever,' ... not only have they used their
authority to possess themselves of the property of the Indians
... and defrauded the Indians with unjust exactions; but they have
humiliated the religious, stolen moneys from the king ... [and]
have thrown the provinces into a condition of effervescence and of
conspiracy against the government." (Blair and Robertson, LI, 212,
212-213.) Pizarro recommended a more stringent residencia as a means
of remedying these defects.
[291] Recopilación, 5-15-17 and 18; 9-45-42.
[292] Governor to Council of the Indies, January 4, 1710, A. I.,
68-4-15.
[293] Concepción, XI, 132-234 (Anson's depredations).
[294] Recopilación, 2-16-40; see also 7-1-15.
[295] Law of November 10, 1818, A. I., 106-4-19; see Real instrucción
dada á los regentes de las audiencias, 20 de Junio de 1776, in
Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación ultramarina, VII, 22-28; Zamora y
Coronado, Apéndice. 19-33.
[296] A tax on silver, gold and other metals (as well as on pearls)
mined in the Indies. This tax was first authorized on February 5, 1504
(Recopilación, 8-10-1). Philip II conceded a commutation of this tax to
ten per cent in favor of adelantados, their successors and other early
settlers (ibid., 4-3-19). A draft of a letter exists in A. I., 106-6-6,
written about 1585 by Governor Sande of the Philippines, asking for
an extension of this dispensation.--See Blair and Robertson, IV, 87,
par. 114 and note. On August 8, 1609, the king inquired of the Manila
audiencia whether the tax was a fifth or a tenth.--A. I., 102-2-1.
[297] Ibid., 2-16-19 to 22.
[298] Ibid., 23.
[299] Ibid., 24. This junta is to be distinguished from the real
contaduría, which was composed of the oficiales reales. See Martínez
de Zúñiga, Estadismo, 246.
[300] This was the junta superior de la real hacienda, created
for Manila by the law of July 24, 1784. It was one of the reforms
of the intendancy. It cannot be said, however, that these reforms
became effective until 1787, though the cédulas of July 17 and 24,
1784, which ordered them, were received in Manila on December 5,
1785. These cédulas ordered the formation of a government locally,
which would conform to the general principles of the intendancy and
which were laid down in the cédulas referred to. These plans had
to be referred to Spain on appeal. Subsequently the Ordinance of
Intendants of Buenos Ayres was applied to the Philippines.--A. I.,
107-5-14. Until January 11, 1791, all appeals from the junta superior
were heard in the Audiencia of Manila. The cédula of that date,
received in Manila on June 30, 1793, ordered that such appeals should
be carried to the Council of the Indies.--A. I., 107-5-22. The junta
superior de real hacienda did much toward relieving the audiencia of
its advisory functions as in matters of finance and commerce. Many
evidences of this may be noted in the reports and correspondence of the
superintendente de real hacienda de Manila.--A. I., 107-5-14; 107-5-15
to 31; 107-6-1 to 31; 107-7-1 to 21. Priestley (José de Gálvez,
338-9) shows that even after the establishment of the intendancy in
New Spain, the audiencia retained the administration of crown lands,
notwithstanding the provisions of the new laws which ordered that
they should be controlled by the junta superior. See also ibid., 302-3.
[301] Recopilación, 2-16-34.
[302] Ibid., 2-15-169.
[303] Ibid., 2-31-1 to 3.
[304] Ibid., 8-19 (general subject of medias anatas). Holders of
ecclesiastical benefices were subsequently obliged to pay the media
anata, although they were especially exempted by the cédula of
June 2, 1632. The media anata (civil and ecclesiastical) was paid
until December 28, 1846, when this tax, together with the lanza (a
tax formerly paid by the nobility, but subsequently required of all
classes in lieu of military service) was abolished (Martínez Alcubilla,
Diccionario, I, 407).
[305] Ibid., 8-19-1 and 2.
[306] The cédula of July 3, 1664, reorganized the system of medias
anatas, authorizing their division into two separate allotments,
one payable at the court on the appointment of the official
concerned, and the second within or at the end of eighteen months
after his appointment, at the capital of the district wherein he
served. Guarantees had to be given that the second payment would be
made when due, and interest was charged at the rate of eight per cent
a year on the amount remaining to be paid (ibid., 4).
[307] Cédula of December 14, 1776, A. I., 105-2-16.
[308] The extensive use of the betel-nut by the natives of the
Philippines encouraged the Spanish government to monopolize its
production and sale, and a considerable revenue was derived from it. In
1786 the profit from the sale of betel was 16,770 pesos (Report of
Intendant, January 8, 1788, A. I., 107-5-15), and the next year the
sum collected was 15,207 pesos (Report of Intendant, June 21, 1789,
107-5-18). Other monopolies during the same period yielded as follows:
Tobacco, 258,743 pesos; wine, 73,636 pesos; cockpits, 8,375 pesos;
tributes, 174,494 pesos (Report of Intendant, June 21, 1789).
[309] Juez conservador (civil), a judge named por privilegio del rey,
with private jurisdiction over the civil affairs of some community
or guild, for the protection of its interests and estates or the
collection of its rents (Escriche, Diccionario, II, 260).
[310] Recopilación, 3-3-35.
[311] Report on the establishment of the Intendancy in Manila,
December 5, 1785, A. I., 107-5-19.
[312] Testimonio and transcript of the royal cédula of November 23,
1787; King to Marquina, June 15, 1791, A. I., 105-2-10.
[313] The first intendant, Ciriaco Gonzales Carvajal, was given
the title of intendente de guerra y real hacienda, by virtue of the
cédulas of July 17 and 24, 1784. By the reform of November 23, 1787,
the duties of his office were united to those of the governor, whose
title, under the new arrangement, was gobernador y capitán general
y superintendente de la real hacienda (A. I., 105-3-5 and 107-5-19;
see Chapter IV, note 55, of this work.)
[314] Recopilación, 3-3-35.
[315] Basco y Vargas to the King, May 9, 1786, A. I., 107-5-19.
[316] Cédula of March 20, 1790, A. I., 107-5-19.
[317] Recopilación, 3-3-35.
[318] Marquina to the Audiencia, August 16, 1791, A. I., 107-5-19.
[319] Recopilación, 3-3-35, cited in notes 21 and 24 of this chapter.
[320] Ibid., 2-32-1.
[321] Ibid., 7 and note; 8.
[322] Ibid., 43.
[323] Ibid., 42, note 4; 47, note 7. These cases may be noted in
A. I., 68-4-12.
[324] Ibid., 44. The cédula of July 16, 1776, ordered the
confiscation of property left by foreigners, forbidding that it
should be sent outside of the realm either by the juez de difuntos
or by the testamentary executor. In accordance with this regulation
the superintendent, in 1800, seized the property of a Spaniard who
had married a lady of Madras. The Spaniard had left a will providing
for the transfer of his property to his wife, naming an executor
to administer the will. This was opposed by the juez de difuntos,
but when the case was appealed the action of the superintendent was
approved (Aguilar to Soler, July 8, 1800, A. I., 107-5-24).
[325] See Recopilación, 2-32-42.
[326] A case appealed to the Council of the Indies on June 4,
1806, involved the property of Antonio Rodríguez de la Peña,
deceased. Rodríguez had bequeathed 35,875 reales to his father; the
Augustinians claimed 11,875 reales, or one-third of the entire estate,
for prayers said in behalf of the soul of the departed one. The
contaduría general in Madrid refused to allow payment (Aparici to
the Council of the Indies, June 4, 1806, A. I., 107-3-8).
[327] Recopilación, 2-32, note 7.
[328] Ibid., 10.
[329] Ibid., 32-33, 40, 60.
[330] Ibid., 16, 32, 33.
[331] Ibid., 16-18, 27-29, 31.
[332] Ibid., 46, and note.
[333] Ibid., 48-56, 59.
The report to the Council of the Indies of Pedro Aparici, general
superintendent of real hacienda, on July 8, 1805, shows in detail the
method of settlement in Spain. This report was submitted to cover the
administration of the property of Alberto Reyes, who died in Manila
in 1803. The statement was as follows:
Total property left 123,700 r.
Executor's commission 741 r. 16 m.
Administration 1,237 r.
Expenses 123 r. 18 m.
Total deductions 2,102 r.
Balance to be distributed among heirs 121,598 r.
Two-thirds left to brother as per will 81,066 r.
One-third left to parents as per will 40,532 r.
Another illustration of the disposal of money left under slightly
different circumstances may be noted in the Royal Order of February
14, 1800, to the juez de arribadas at Cádiz. The king ordered the
transmission of 8024 pesos to the royal treasury because of the
impossibility of finding the heirs of Antonio Manuel Pereda, who
died at Manila in 1767. By the terms of his will, 2000 pesos had been
left to the Third Order of St. Francis, 200 pesos to poor widows and
orphans, and the balance was left to his mother. The lady had died,
however, and as there were no heirs apparent, the money was ordered
transferred to the royal treasury (A. I., 107-3-9).
These large sums, constantly on hand, intact and available, were always
a source of grave temptation to governors and treasury officials. Loans
were frequently taken from this fund for ordinary or unusual expenses
of the government. At first the juez de difuntos objected forcibly to
the governor's seeming disregard of the royal instructions regarding
these funds. The laws of the Indies had commanded that they should be
held inviolable (Recopilación, 57, 70). As noted above, the practice
had arisen of making deductions from the subsidy equivalent to the
amount of bienes de difuntos produced in the Philippines, and of
retaining the money in Acapulco. This practice worked havoc with the
fulfillment of the law which had ordered that these funds be preserved
intact. The governor and the treasury officials had fallen into the
practice of appropriating such available funds as existed in the caja
de difuntos for purposes of local administration, with the assurance
that the money would be properly accounted for in Mexico. Governor
Anda seems to have been a leading offender in this matter. In 1767 he
borrowed 19,729 pesos from the juez de difuntos and in 1768 another
sum of 30,000 pesos was taken (Landazurri to the Council of the
Indies, May 22, 1770, A. I., 107-3-9). By the cédula of October 9,
1777, the king approved the action of Governor Anda in borrowing
from these funds on three other occasions to the extent of 25,000,
14,206, and 24,477 pesos, respectively, for the fortification of the
city. It was ordered that this should not be done again, however,
except under extraordinary circumstances (A. I., 107-3-9).
After being permitted for a long period of time, the practice which the
Manila authorities had followed of making these deductions was finally
disapproved by the home government. In 1806, because of the non-arrival
of the galleon with the subsidy, the governor (and superintendent)
authorized an advance of 54,049 pesos from the bienes de difuntos,
which sum constituted the entire amount on hand. On April 25, 1815,
the fiscal of the contaduría general de las Indias handed down an
adverse opinion on this action (A. I., 107-3-9). Although the practice
of allowing small loans from the funds of deceased persons had been
practiced in the Philippines in case of exceptional circumstances,
it was his opinion that the whole proceeding had been contrary to
the laws of the Indies (Recopilación, 2-32-57). He advised that in
the future there should be no interference with this money until the
deduction had been authorized by the juez de difuntos in Mexico,
and the judge should act only after he had received the report of
the corresponding official in the Philippines.
If the above advice were followed, at least a year would pass before
the report of the Manila judge could reach Mexico, and be returned. It
was not to be supposed that the officials in the Philippines would
wait for any such formality when in need of money for the current
expenses of government. This is another example of the cumbrousness
and lack of expedition of Spanish colonial administration, as affected
by time and distance. It will be noted, also, that this practice
had been going on since the time of Anda (1768), and the Council of
the Indies did not pronounce against it decisively until 1815. The
particular litigation which brought about its condemnation arose in
1806 and continued throughout a period of nine years.
[334] Ibid., 60. See the articles on the Philippine situado by
E. G. Bourne and James A. Leroy in the American historical review,
X, 459-461, 929-932; XI, 722-723.
[335] Cédulas of November 26, 1776, September 9, 1778, October 13,
1780, June 12, 1783, February 17, 1786, A. I., 107-3-9.
[336] Aparici to the Council of the Indies, July 19, 1797, A. I.,
107-3-9.
An examination of a few typical accounts of this department will
show that the sums involved were always considerable. On June 6,
1767, the juez de difuntos in Manila had 45,563 pesos on hand;
on June 17, 1781, 31,009 pesos; on June 29, 1783, 27,636 pesos;
on July 28, 1801, 40,827 pesos (see reports of various jueces de
difuntos. A. I., 107-3-9). The total receipts of the office of juez
de difuntos in Manila for the year terminating January 25, 1819, were
10,750 pesos. Payments against the fund that year were 27,747 pesos,
which were made possible by a balance on hand at the beginning of the
year of 52,900 pesos (Report of Vicente de Posadas, Juez de Difuntos
de Manila, January 25, 1819, A. I., 107-3-9). On March 31, 1828,
the funds of this department amounted to 32,657 pesos (A. I., 107-3-9).
[337] The last state galleon left Manila for Mexico in 1811, and
the last ship sailed from Acapulco to Manila in 1815 (Foreman,
Philippine Islands, 243; and Montero y Vidal, Historia general, II,
413, note). The galleon service was suppressed by decree of the Cortes,
September 14, 1813.--Ibid., 412.
[338] Recopilación, 2-32-7.
[339] Villacorta to the Council of the Indies, July 6, 1757, A. I.,
106-4-15. The evidence of this case also exists in A. I., 107-3-9,
and is cited in connection with a later dispute of the same character.
[340] Marquina to the Council of the Indies, June 18, 1790, A. I.,
107-5-18.
[341] Recopilación, 2-32, note 2.
[342] Ibid., 5-12-14. Basco y Vargas to the King, June 6, 1778,
A. I., 105-2-9.
[343] Cédulas of April 23, 1770, October 13, 1780, and May 4, 1794,
A. I., 105-2-10.
[344] Recopilación, 2-32-28.
[345] Ibid., law 25.
[346] Cédula of May 4, 1794, A. I., 105-2-10.
[347] A. I., 106-4-17; 108-3-17; 105-2-10 to 32. See Bibliography under
"Manuscripts used."
[348] The author has at his disposal abundant data for each subject
covering each decade and century, showing that the powers mentioned
were characteristic throughout. It is to be hoped that the reader
will appreciate the impossibility of giving more than a few citations
for each case, not because they are not available, but because there
is not room for them. It was the writer's original plan to write two
additional chapters, one on the commercial duties of the audiencia,
and another on the financial powers. Because of a lack of space these
chapters have been omitted.
[349] A. I., 106-4-18.
[350] As noted in the preceding chapter.
[351] King to the Audiencia, August 8, 1609, A. I., 105-2-1.
[352] Marquina to the King, January 18, 1790, A. I., 105-2-10.
[353] King to the Regent of Manila, January 24, 1794, ibid.
[354] See, Plan económico del gobernador de Filipinas José Basco y
Vargas, 1 de Septre, 1779, y carta que lo acompaña, No. 157, de 11
de Dicre de 1779 (printed); A. I., 106-1-14; see Barrows, History of
the Philippines, 242.
[355] Memorial of July 20, 1757, A. I., 106-4-15.
[356] See Moses, South America on the eve of emancipation, 27-31,
for an account of the festivities and formalities at the installation
of the viceroy at Lima. It will be noted that the audiencia played
an important part in the ceremonies. Professor Moses here utilizes
a description contained in Juan y Ulloa, Voyage, II, 46-50.
[357] Recopilación, 1-24-1 to 15.
[358] Ibid., 1 and 2.
[359] Ibid., 3; 15. The cédula of October 10, 1752, gave to the
audiencia the right to authorize the publication of legal treatises,
ordinances and enactments. The regent was given control over this
matter by the Instrucción of June 20, 1776 (A. I., 106-212). See
Montero y Vidal, Historia general, III, 304 and 485, with reference
to the publication of the autos acordados of 1866.
[360] Ibid., 7 and 12.
[361] Ibid., 8.
[362] Ibid., 1 and 2.
[363] See Lea, The Inquisition in the Spanish dependencies, 70, 204,
265; 444-446.
[364] Acuerdo of January 26, 1816, A. I., 106-4-19.
[365] The constitutional reforms of 1812 included the separation of
the governorship from the presidency of the audiencia. In 1814 the
governor was again made president, and the offices were not entirely
separated until 1861. The governor's intervention in matters of
justice was merely nominal, however, after the creation of the office
of regent, in 1776.--Cédula of March 11, 1776, A. I., 106-2-12; Royal
Instruction to Regents, June 20, 1776, in Rodríguez San Pedro, VII,
22-23; Ordenanzas para el gobierno de la Audiencia de Manila, 9 de
Octubre, 1812; A. I., 106-4-19; Acuerdo de 15 de Enero, 1814, ibid.
[366] Montero y Vidal, III, 30.
[367] Ibid., 251.
[368] Recopilación, 2-15-156 to 166.
[369] On the basis of this the governor compiled and sent to Spain
a yearly report on the work of the magistrates, prosecutors, and
subalterns of the audiencia, setting forth the salaries paid and
character of services rendered, making recommendations for promotion
or complaints against these officials. Vacancies in the tribunal were
reported at the same time and in the same manner.
[370] Recopilación, 2-15-11. Note the brief discussion of this
relationship in Smith, The viceroy of New Spain, 152-156. Dr. Smith
shows that the chief purpose of the Spanish government in establishing
the viceroy and audiencia together was to guarantee a check and
balance of one upon the other. Quoting Revilla Gigedo (Instruction,
Article 20), he says: "The presidency of the audiencia places the
viceroy at the head of that body but not to give orders to it, as
even his acts in matters of justice are subject to it; and although
he is present at its sessions, which is very difficult, considering
the grave and continuous occupations which so vast a command imposes
upon him, he does not have a vote in matters which are regularly
dealt with there--that is, matters of justice." Dr. Smith shows (162)
that the effect of the later laws of the eighteenth century was to
deprive "the viceroys absolutely of any part in the procedure of the
administration of justice, either alone or in company with the other
judges, voting with them in the audiencia" (from Revilla Gigedo,
Instruction, Article 64). The limitation of the governor of the
Philippines in legal matters is discussed further on in this chapter.
[371] See Moses, Establishment of Spanish rule in America, 70-71.
Philip III ordered the viceroy of New Spain to "give aid to the
governor and captain-general of the Philippines in whatever may occur,
and above all ... to send him on demand whatever may seem necessary
of arms, men, munitions, and money for the conservation of those
Islands, salaries, and presidios, and other matters under his care
(Recopilación, 3-4-13)." The viceroys also exercised a certain degree
of authority over the despatch of the galleons from Acapulco (ibid.,
9-45-25 to 31, 47, 74 to 76). Aside from the points indicated, the
Philippines were normally as independent of New Spain as the latter
was independent of the Philippines.
[372] Bourne, "Historical introduction," Blair and Robertson, I, 49-50.
[373] Delgado, Historia de Filipinas, 212-215.
[374] Delgado illustrates this statement as follows: "The legitimate
King of Borney, who had been dispossessed of his kingdom ... begged
for help from Don Francisco Sande, Governor of these Islands. Governor
Sande went with his fleet, fought with and drove away the tyrant, and
put the legitimate king in possession; the latter rendered obedience
to the governor, appointed in the place of the King of España, and
subjected himself to this crown as vassal and tributary." Further on
he writes, "His Majesty also ordered Sande, by a decree of April 9,
1586, to sustain friendship with China, and forbade him to make war;
for, as some authors say, Sande had the intention of conquering
that Empire, ... although it may be said that the idea was simply
speculative; the Council forbade it, and ordered him thenceforth to
observe what was prescribed" (ibid., see Blair and Robertson, XVII,
317-320, whose translation differs slightly from the above).
[375] Recopilación, 3-3-2; 63, 64; 3-14-1, 33.
[376] Instructions to Acuña, February 16, 1602, Blair and Robertson,
XI, 273-4.
[377] Recopilación, 3-3-55; 3-2-33.
[378] Ibid., 3-3-56; 2-15-159.
[379] King to the Audiencia, December 4, 1777, A. I., 105-2-9. It
was seen in the preceding chapter, that the audiencia reported to
the Council of the Indies on the finances of the colony.
[380] Recopilación, 3-3-57.
[381] Ibid., 2-15-76 and 77.
[382] Ibid., 3-2-1 to 6; 2-15-172. Governors and viceroys were
authorized by the cédula of April 20, 1776, to make permanent
appointments to offices whose salaries did not exceed 400 pesos
(ibid., 3-2, note 2).
[383] Ibid., 3-2-67.
[384] Ibid., 3-2-1, 10 to 12, 47, 48; 8-4-24.
[385] Ibid., 3-2-8.
[386] Villacorta to the King, July 6, 1767, A. I., 106-4-15.
[387] Recopilación, 3-2-3, 4 and note, 21, 22, 47, 70; 5-2-5, 7, 8-4-1.
[388] Ibid., 3-2-1, 2, 3, 8-4-1.
[389] Ibid., 51. After February 20, 1785, this regulation applied
only to offices yielding more than 2000 pesos a year.--Ibid., note 17.
[390] Ibid., 27.
[391] Ibid., 33, 38.
[392] King to the Audiencia, August 9, 1609, A. I., 105-2-1.
[393] Fajardo to the King, December 10, 1621, Blair and Robertson,
XX, 138-140.
[394] Recopilación, 2-15-34; 5-12-24; 2-16-29.
[395] Ibid., 2-2-70.
[396] Ibid., 3-2-45; 2-16-29.
[397] Although a sufficient number of oidores were usually present
in Manila to suffice for the judicial needs of the audiencia, on
many occasions there were only two or three available. When but
few cases were before the tribunal, the junior oidor could easily
be spared to act as fiscal. However, when a magistrate was needed,
owing to the multiplicity of cases to be tried, or the absence of two
or more magistrates on special commissions, the need was very urgent,
and the fiscal was then liable to be called upon to serve.
[398] Recopilación, 2-16-30.
[399] Ibid., 3-2-67.
[400] Ibid., 2-15-173 and 174.
[401] Ibid., 3-3-70.
[402] Ibid., 3-14-6, 7; Felipe III to Fajardo, December 13, 1620,
Blair and Robertson, XIX, 174-175.
[403] Recopilación, 3-14-5, 6, 8.
[404] Ibid., 2-16-59, 62 to 64; 3-3-39. A confirmation of the latter
was so often reported that it seems to have been expected, and nothing
was done about it. It would seem that practically every official in
the colony conducted a mercantile business as a side-issue.
[405] Felipe IV to Fajardo, October 9, 1623, Blair and Robertson,
XX, 259; Recopilación, 2-16-66, 67.
[406] Recopilación, 2-15-36, 39, 40.
[407] Ibid., 2-16-82 to 84.
[408] Ibid., 87.
[409] Ibid., 82, note 20 (Cédula of January 23, 1754).
[410] Cédula of July 13, 1789, A. I., 107-5-20. On June 21, 1784,
the Council of the Indies recommended that permission to marry within
his district be accorded to Oidor Ciriaco Gonzales Carvajal (A. I.,
105-3-2); the same concession was recommended in the case of Oidor
Felipe Cisneros, June 30, 1788 (A. I., 105-3-4), and again to Francisco
Xavier de Mendieta, January 22, 1791 (A. I., 105-3-5).
[411] Royal order of April 3, 1848; Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación
ultramarina, VII, 79.
[412] Royal order of December 2, 1804, A. I., 106-4-18.
[413] Royal decree of October 13, 1806, A. I., 106-4-18.
[414] Laws of May 3, 1605 and September 5, 1620, Recopilación,
2-16-43 and 44.
[415] This was done, for example, by governors Fajardo and Bustamante,
while this law was still in force (1618-1624 and 1717-1719,
respectively). The observation of this law in Chile was commanded in
a royal order expedited to the president of the audiencia there on
September 22, 1725; see Recopilación, 2-16, note 13.
[416] Ibid., note 14.
[417] Ibid., 2-16-51.
[418] Discussed in Chapter IV of this treatise.
[419] Governors, captains-general, and viceroys were assisted by
an asesor, or legal adviser, who gave his opinion in all matters
of law that came up for solution. The necessity for this official
developed through the fact that as most governors were soldiers,
they were incapable of rendering judgment on legal and administrative
questions. As counselor to the governor, this official bore the same
relation to the executive as the fiscal did to the audiencia. The
asesor was held responsible in the residencia for all decisions
rendered by the governor in matters of justice, and in governmental
affairs the governor and asesor were jointly responsible. Frequently
the asesor was able to block completely the work of the audiencia and
his opinion nullified the judgments of magistrates who were as learned
in the law and as well qualified, if not better, than he. Martínez de
Zúñiga (Estadismo, I, 224) discusses the influence of the asesor in the
following terms: "Expedientes are sent to one of the two royal fiscales
to ascertain their legality; afterwards they are sent to the asesor
whom the governors must consult; the latter place (of asesor) is a very
good one, ... besides 2000 pesos as salary it has its private revenues
in addition to 500 pesos yearly from each of the royal monopolies
(discussed in Chapter V of this volume). There are many persons in
Manila who are exempted from ordinary justice through their military
connections or on account of being employed in the royal monopolies,
and as they depend on him, he exercises great power; ... there are few
who desire him for an enemy, for when they least think of it they are
in need of his favorable opinion in some expediente which they have
brought before the government." The laws of the Indies forbade that an
oidor should act as the governor's asesor if any other appointee with
the requisite qualifications were available (Recopilación, 3-3-35,
and note). See cédula (and accompanying expedientes) of September 26,
1756, A. I., 106-4-16.
[420] Recopilación, 2-15-61 to 63, 169; 2-16-12, 31, 32.
[421] Ibid., 2-15-38.
[422] Ibid., 3-3-36, 38.
[423] Ibid., 3-3-60. Relative to the relations of the viceroys and
audiencias of the Spanish colonies, Robertson (The History of America,
IV, 19-20) says: "The Spanish viceroys have often attempted to intrude
themselves into the seat of justice, and with an ambition which
their distance from the controul (sic) of a superior rendered bold,
have aspired at a power which their master does not venture to assume
... the viceroys have been prohibited, in the most explicit terms,
by repeated laws, from interfering in the judicial proceedings of the
courts of Audience, or from delivering an opinion, or giving a voice
with respect to any point litigated before them. In some particular
cases, in which any question of civil right is involved, even the
political regulations of the viceroy may be brought under review of
the court of Audience, which in those instances, may be deemed an
intermediate power between him and the people, as a constitutional
barrier to circumscribe his jurisdiction. But as legal restraints
on a person who represents the sovereign, and is clothed with his
authority, are little suited to the genius of Spanish policy; the
hesitation and reserve with which it confers this power on the courts
of Audience are remarkable. They may advise, they may remonstrate;
but in the event of a direct collision between their opinion and the
will of the viceroy, what he determines must be brought into execution,
and nothing remains for them, but to lay the matter before the king
and the Council of the Indies."
[424] Recopilación. 3-3-27, promulgated July 19, 1614, conferred
general pardoning power on the viceroy.
[425] Regent to the King, July 9, 1793, A. I., 106-4-18; Cédula of
October 24, 1803, A. I., 105-2-10.
[426] Royal decree of July 4, 1861, Colección legislativa, LXXXVI,
1-45.
[427] Recopilación, 3-3-65. It is to be noted that the New Laws
of 1542 conferred on the audiencias the duty of protecting the
Indians. Professor Moses, in his Spanish dependencies in South America,
I, (212-3), says: "The audiencias were commanded to inquire into the
treatment which the Indians had received at the hands of governors
and private persons; and, in case of excesses and ill-treatment, the
guilty parties should be punished.... While it was acknowledged that
some persons had a sufficient title to hold Indians, it was ordered
that when the number held was excessive, the audiencia should gather
the necessary information and reduce the allotments made to the said
persons in a fair and moderate quantity 'and place the rest under
the Crown'."
[428] Ibid., 53.
[429] Ibid., 3-3-61; 3-4-7. We have a notable illustration of this in
the banishment of Archbishop Poblete by Governor Salcedo (1663-1668) as
a result of the resistance of the former to Salcedo's intervention in
ecclesiastical matters on the basis of the royal patronage. Salcedo did
not solicit the aid or intervention of the audiencia in this matter.
[430] Ibid., 2-16-8.
[431] Ibid., 3-3-58; King to Audiencia, March 6, 1781, A. I., 105-2-9.
[432] Instruction to Tello, May 25, 1596, Blair and Robertson, IX,
229, 232-233, 238-239.
[433] Recopilación, 1-14-29 to 31.
[434] Ibid., 31.
[435] King to the Audiencia, March 6, 1781, A. I., 105-2-9.
[436] Recopilación, 3-3-45.
[437] This is treated in the first chapter of this book. See Solórzano,
Política Indiana, II, 271-279.
[438] Recopilación, 2-15-11.
[439] Constitution of 1812, Martínez Alcubilla, III, 408 et seq.;
Acuerdo for the promulgation of the Constitution of 1812, Montero y
Vidal, III, 404; Acuerdo of January 15, 1814, Ordenanzas, etc., A. I.,
106-4-19; Cédula of September 26, 1835, Zamora y Coronado, Apéndice,
41-138; Royal Decree of January 30, 1855, Colección legislativa,
LX, 105-147; see also Royal Instruction to Regents, June 20, 1776,
and Cédula of April 8, 1778, in Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación
ultramarina, VII, 22-28.
[440] Ordinances enacted by the Audiencia of Manila, June 13 to
December 19, 1598, Blair and Robertson, X, 293-316; Ordinances etc.,
January 7, to June 15, 1599, ibid., XI, 1-81. Reference may also
be made to the five volume Colección de autos acordados de la real
audiencia ... de Manila, 1861-1866; see also Estadísticas de las causas
y expedientes de gobierno despachadas por la audiencia de Filipinas
durante el año de 1876. For New Spain we have the Recopilación sumaria
de algunos autos acordados de la real audiencia de Nueva España,
Mexico, 1787. Of similar import and character was the well-known
collection of Puga, cited in the bibliography of this volume. See
also Solórzano, Política Indiana (2 vols.).
[441] Blair and Robertson, L, 191-264; see, also, Montero y Vidal,
Historia general, I, 380-385, also correspondence relative to the
modifications of these ordinances by Raón in A. I., 105-4-5. Marquina's
efforts along this line may be noted in A. I., 105-4-6.
[442] Acuerdo of January 15, 1814, A. I., 106-4-19; see also Montero
y Vidal, Historia general, III, 404; 430.
[443] Carvajal to the King, December 5, 1785, A. I., 107-5-14;
Carvajal to the Audiencia of Manila, December 29, 1787, A. I.,
107-5-15; Testimonio del expediente sobre poner la real jurisdicción
y el gobierno y policía de estas islas en el ser y estado que tenían
antes, December 20, 1788, A. I., 107-5-18, 105-3-5.
[444] King to the Audiencia, August 13, 1793, A. I., 105-2-10.
[445] Recopilación, 3-2-70 (after 1680), 67.
[446] Rodríguez San Pedro, Legislación ultramarina, VII, 67.
[447] Mas, "Internal political condition of the Philippines," in
Blair and Robertson, LII, 70-73. Mas was a Spanish diplomatic official
stationed in China, who visited the Islands in 1842 on a semi-official
mission. This writer was not favorably impressed with the effectiveness
of the acuerdo. He wrote: "Whatever difficulty occurs in the fulfilment
of an order, it must be solved by means of a conference and advice
[consulta], from which a reply is not obtained until from twelve
to fourteen months." Instead of governmental matters being referred
to the acuerdo, Mas stated that they were referred to Spain, hence
there was great delay. He stated that the governor scarcely decided
any question by himself, and those which were solved in the colony
were referred to the asesor, and "from this practice," he continued,
"arises the system of expedientes, which reigns, and which is so fatal
to the prosperity and good government of the country, since very often
the arrangement that appears good to some, is contrary to the opinions
or interests of others.... Thus much valuable time is lost and the
expedientes result in only a waste of paper, besides great injury
to the islands. The governor often has to conform to the opinions
expressed in the expediente, although he knows they will be the cause
of injustice. On the other hand, the governor is often directly at
fault, because he enforces his own opinion on his assessor (sp.), who
has often obtained his position through favoritism and is not a lawyer,
and decides questions according to the will of the governor.... The
chiefs of the various departments carry on correspondence with the
directors-general of their respective departments in Madrid, without
the knowledge of the governor, a fact that increases the confusion
and disorder." (See also Revilla Gigedo's description of the evils of
the expediente in New Spain [1790]. Smith, The viceroy of New Spain,
190-191.)
This description of the Philippine government in 1842 would seem
to indicate that aside from the limitations imposed upon his rule
by the audiencia, the governor was obliged to contend with a number
of other officials, departments, and regulations, which effectively
prevented him from exercising absolute power, even at the sacrifice
of efficiency. We note in this description, moreover, that tendency
of Spanish colonial government which has been emphasized so often in
this treatise--namely, the failure of the home government to leave
to the colonial officials sufficient scope of action or authority
to deal adequately with the ordinary problems of government. Up to
the end of the eighteenth century the audiencia was the only civil
authority or tribunal present to exercise any check on the executive
in administrative affairs. However, in the last century the importance
of the audiencia in this regard was diminished by the creation of
other departments, ministries, and offices, by the elimination of
time and space, due to the progress of invention, which brought the
colonies nearer to Spain, and finally by the fact that the tribunal
itself was more and more confined to judicial affairs.
[448] Governor Torres to the Queen, March 18, 1835, A. I., 106-4-21.
[449] Colección legislativa de España, LXXXVI, 1-45. Elliott, in
his Philippines to the end of the military regime, p. 242, states
incorrectly that this reform took place in 1865. Mr. Elliott did not
make use of the sources. It is to be noted, too, that Dr. Barrows
in his article on "The governor general of the Philippines," in The
Pacific Ocean in history makes contradictory statements relative to
this matter. On page 242 he asserts that the governor was president
of the audiencia till 1844, and on page 248 the statement occurs that
"a further specialization of 1861 deprived the governor-general of
his judicial powers."
[450] Instruction of the King to Governor Acuña, February 16, 1602,
Blair and Robertson, XI, 263-88.
[451] Fray Sánchez, in his memorial of July 26, 1586, stated that
the audiencia had stopped the practice of conceding encomiendas
(A. I., 67-6-27), which the governors had followed prior to its
establishment. Nevertheless the governor's authority to bestow
encomiendas was recognized by the royal instructions to Governor
Dasmariñas, issued May 25, 1593 (Blair and Robertson, IX, 232). The
statement of Sánchez may be interpreted to mean that the audiencia
had stopped the abuses which had been perpetrated by various governors
in bestowing encomiendas on their friends. Encomiendas were conceded
by different governors in the Philippines throughout the eighteenth
century. This matter has been discussed in an earlier note.
[452] Mas, "Internal political conditions of the Philippines, 1842,"
Blair and Robertson, LII, 69-70 and note. The keen observations of this
official on social and governmental conditions in the Philippines are
peculiarly pertinent, and they are as true in many regards today as
they were seventy-five years ago. He recommended a regency to govern
the Philippines, consisting of the governor as president, a military
commander and an intendant of finance. The audiencia, according to his
plan of reform, was to be limited to judicial affairs, with appellate
jurisdiction over civil, criminal, and commercial cases. Instead of
the audiencia as a court of appeals against the governor, the regency
was to entertain appeals from the audiencia. Many of his ideas were
incorporated into the new laws of the last half of the nineteenth
century (ibid., 78-85).
[453] Recopilación, 5-12-22; 2-15-35; 36, 41.
[454] Ibid., 3-3-51.
[455] Ibid., 2-15-35, 36, 41; 3-3-2, 34, 42; 3-14-1; 5-12-22.
[456] Acuña to Felipe III, July 15, 1604, Blair and Robertson,
XIII, 235. Acuña stated that the soldiers and military officials
were "discontented and grieved at the ill-treatment which the said
auditors accord them; and at seeing that they are hindered by them,
an auditor commanding at his will the arrest of a captain, official, or
soldier, without cause or reason, and interfering in all the details of
service--even going so far as to inspect their quarters, and send them
to the public prison, for very trivial affairs, against all military
precedents." The governor said that when affairs went on in a peaceful
and orderly way, it was because the oidores were not interfering with
them. He stated that it was the opinion of all right-thinking men
that soldiers were of more use in the colony than judges (ibid., 237).
[457] The terms of these governors were as follows: Fajardo, 1618-1624;
Corcuera, 1635-1644; Vargas, 1678-1684; Arandía, 1754-1759; Anda,
1762-1764, 1770-1776.
[458] Rios Coronel to the King, June 27, 1597, A. I., 67-6-19; see also
Bourne, "Historical introduction," in Blair and Robertson, I, 53, note.
[459] These arguments are noted in detail in Chapter II of this volume.
[460] Viana to Carlos III, May 1, 1767, Blair and Robertson, L,
126-135.
[461] Delgado, 212-215, reproduced in Blair and Robertson, XVII, 316.
[462] "But," he continued, "if a man come to these islands with the
intention of escaping his natural poverty by humoring the rich and
powerful, and even obeying them, the wrongs accruing to the community
are incredible" (ibid., 317).
[463] Reforms in Filipinas, April 26, 1827, by Manuel Bernáldez
Pizarro, Blair and Robertson, LI, 219; see 213-218.
[464] Montero y Vidal, Archipiélago Filipino, 162-168. "The Spanish
régime in Filipinas lasted 333 years.... During that time there were
97 governors--not counting some twenty who served for less than one
year each, mostly ad interim, and the average length of their terms of
office was a little less than three and one-half years, a fact which
is an important element in the administrative history of the islands"
(Blair and Robertson, L, 74, note 46).
[465] Recopilación, 3-3-3.
[466] Ibid., 3-11-1 to 3.
[467] Ibid., 3-11-1, 2, 3 to 10; 3-10-3, 11; 5-10-15.
[468] Ibid., 2-2-72, 74, 77; Consulta de 18 de Febrero de 1673 sobre
atribuciones de la Junta de Guerra de Indias, A. I., 141-5-8.
[469] Auditor de guerra, "the juez letrado, who has jurisdiction
in first instance over cases under the military law, subordinate to
the captain or commandant-general of an army or province" (Escriche,
Diccionario, I, 369).
[470] Royal order of January 30, 1855, Colección legislativa de España,
LXIV, 105-147.
[471] Royal order of January 22, 1787, A. I., 107-5-16.