Chapter One
Introduction | Arrival of Islam | Spanish Incursions | 1600-1850 Spanish Occupation
Spanish Rule | Objectives | Significance | Methodology | The Setting
Spanish Rule | Objectives | Significance | Methodology | The Setting
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Though Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet made landfall in the Philippines as early as 1521, actual Spanish colonization of the archipelago did not begin until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565. Establishing his base in Manila, Legazpi sent out his lieutenants (Martin de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo) to establish Spanish authority and presence in various parts of Luzon and in the Visayan islands. Within a very short time Spanish presence was quickly established in most of Luzon and the Visayan islands.
Spanish missionaries established mission centers in these parts. To these centers, they tried to gather as many of the indigenous native population as they could. From such centers, the missionaries would make regular visits to the outlying villages and settlements.
In order to increase agricultural production, the Spanish colonial authorities introduced the encomienda system, granting large parcels of land to the Spanish colonists (caballeros) - colonial officials, religious orders, soldiers, and adventurers from the Iberian Peninsula.
Thus by the 17th century, through the missionaries, the encomienderos, and the military garrisons in certain major centers such as Manila, Cebu, Arevalo in Panay, Spanish presence was an established and noticeable fact in Luzon and in the Visayas islands.
This presence was to give birth to a large Spanish mestizo class in these parts. The mestizos, besides later on playing a major role in the future historical development of the Philippines, were vehicles for the introduction, perpetuation, and more importantly the indigenization of Castilian culture.
Regular and permanent Spanish presence in Mindanao was to take place much later than in Luzon and the Visayas. In the Cotabato Region, such kind of presence came about only during the closing decades of the 19th century when Spanish rule over the Philippines was about to end.
This rather late establishment of stranglehold and hegemony in the southern part of the archipelago was attributed to a number of historical factors and developments.
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Introduction | Arrival of Islam | Spanish Incursions | 1600-1850 Spanish Occupation
Spanish Rule | Objectives | Significance | Methodology | The Setting
Spanish Rule | Objectives | Significance | Methodology | The Setting