History of the church in the Philippines (1521-1898)

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Part of Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas

Title: History of the church in the Philippines (1521-1898)
Creator: Fernadez, Pablo
Language: English
Source: Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas Volume XLIV (No. 490) February 1970
Subject: Catholic Church--Philippines
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Fulltext: 154 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS they veered southwards in the direction of the Moluccas. But on 16 March the coast of Samar unexpectedly arose before the eyes of the weary sailors. Without stopping to disembark, they sailed on, until, on the seventeenth, they reached Homonhon island, where they rested from the fatigue of such a long-drawn out navigation, thanks to the friendly welcome of the natives. Moving farther south to Limasawa island, Magellan struck a pact with Rajah Colambu, and the islanders attended the first mass celebrated on Philippine soil (31 March 1521). On 7 April the fleet entered the port of Cebu. What happened here is too well known for us to detail it. Suffice it to say that on the urging of Magellan, the kinglet of Cebu, Hamabar, accepted baptism, together with his wife and some 800 subjects — a forced conversion it seems, if we may judge from what followed. Indeed, consequent upon Magellan’s ill-fated excursion to Mactan where he lost his life (27 April), the Cebuanos repudiated the alliance with the explorers, even killing twenty of them. The rest withdrew from those shores after burn ing the Concepcion, a boat they could not man for lack of hands. After some time spent in repairing the ships and loading them with spices in Moluccas, the Trinidad sailed in the direction of Mexico However it was forced to return and submit to the Portuguese. The Victoria^ more fortunate under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, succeeded in accomplishing the epic feat of circumnavigating the globe. On 8 September 1522, of the fleet that had set sail three years before, eighteen survivors on board, only one ship anchored at Seville.1 1 Uncilla, Fermin de, Urdaneta y la conquista de Filipinas, 1907, pp. 4-17; Pigafetta, Antonio, Primer viaje en torno del globo, Madrid: EspasaCalpe, S.A., 1927; Braganza, Jose Vicente, The Encounter Manila; Catholic Trade School, 1965, p. 2 ff. 2. Expedition of Loaysa. Encouraged by the partial success of Magellan’s expedition, Charles V ordered the preparation of another fleet for Moluccas, which weighed anchors from La Coruna on 24 July 1525. In command was Juan Garcia Jofre de Loaysa. Off the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, a tempest destroyed one ship, se verely reducing the crew. This storm was the first of a long series of mis fortunes. Loaysa, chief commander of the expedition, died while cros CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 155 sing the Pacific. Elcano, his successor, met the same fate a few days later. Only the capitana, piloted by Martin Iniguez de Carquizano, bypassed the Philippines and headed towards the Moluccas. Faced with the impossible task of breaking the resistance put up by the Portu guese, the leader decided to cast anchor at some point off Tidore island to await reinforcements.2 2 Uncilla, Op. Cit., pp. 25-99. 3 Ibid., pp. 101-108. 3. Expedition of Saavedra. On 31 October 1527, Alvaro Saavedra sailed with a small fleet from the port of Natividad, Mexico, in search of Loaysa. After touching on the Carolines, the fleet reached the Moluccas where it was united with the survivors of the previous expedi tion. Hemando de la Torre, successor to Carquizano, had to fight a long time against the Portuguese for supremacy in the Spice Islands. Both finally agreed to settle the question by force of arms. The Spaniards held their ground, but for lack of men, found themselves obliged to surrender. The victor offered them the means to return to Spain.3 1. Expedition of Villalobos. The unfortunate ending of these ex peditions did not weaken the resolve of Charles V. He instructed Don Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of Mexico, to prepare another armada for the East. This departed from the coasts of Mexico on 1 November 1542, commanded by Ruy Lopez de Villabos, who had received orders to colonize the Western Islands, which he renamed Filipinas in honor of Don Felipe, Prince of Asturias. Due to the unfriendly welcome they leceived from the natives of Mindanao, the fleet sailed northwards to Cebu. But contrary winds blew it to the coast of Leyte, where the islanders met them in a hostile attitude. The enmitv of the Filipinos, the severity of the elements, the lack of supplies and, finally, the oppo sition of the Portuguese forced the Spaniards to abandon for the moment the Philippine Islands. Determined to reach the Moluccas because of the critical condition of the boats and the men, they reached Tidore on 14 April 1544. After suffering from the hostility of the Portuguese, they proceeded 156 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS to Amboina where the leader Villalobos died in the spring of 1546, victim of deep melancholia. The armada fell apart soon after this, with some of the crew staying on in the East, and others returning to Europe on Portuguese boats. Among the latter were four Augustinian fathers, Jeronimo Jimenez, Nicolas de Perea, Sebastian de Trasierra and Alonso de Alvarado.4 4 San Agustin, Gaspar de, Conquistas de islas Filipinas, Madrid, 1698, pp. 19-38. B. The Conquest 5. Expedition of Legazpi, In 1559 Philip II, successor to Charles in the Spanish dominions, ordered Don Luis Velasco, Viceroy of Mexico, to equip an armada for the spiritual and material conquest of the Philippines. The fleet left Mexican waters on 21 November 1564, commanded by the royal scrivener D. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, a nobleman from Vizcaya, who combined in his person great military and administrative talents, as subsequent events proved. The expedition reached Leyte waters in« February and the famous pact between the Spanish leader and Sikatuna was forged in the neighboring island of Bohol. After hearing the opinions of the captains of the fleet, Legazpi went on to Cebu (26 April 1565). By the power of his tact and patience he was able to stave off the open enmity .of the islanders, which could have caused unfortunate results of the expedition. He pre ferred to win the affection of the Cebuanos through a broadminded and equanimous dealings with them. In the end he convinced Tupas, kinglet of Cebu island, to acknowledge the sovereignty of Spain and later to accept Christianity. Soon Legazpi began the reconstruction, the beautification and the reorganization of the city of Cebu, where he had decided to seat the government of this Oriental possession of Spain. In August 1568 Juan Salcedo, youthful grandson of Legazpi, ar rived in Cebu. The natives of Panay had by this time accepted Spanish sovereignty and were paying the tribute regularly. To reduce the island CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 157 of Mindoro some companies of Salcedo, who carried out this gallant soldier began a in possession of some of archipelago.® had to be detached under the command the task to its happy end. In this way brief but fruitful career which put Spain the better provinces of the Philippine 6. Occupation of Manila. AH the time he was engaged in the con quest of the Visayas, Legazpi heard frequent reports of the advantageous location of the city of Manila. Convinced of fixing the royal govern ment there, he sent ahead the Master of the Camp, Martin de Goiti, and his grandson Salcedo (1570). Goiti lost no time in establishing friendly relations with Raja Matanda and Raja Soliman, lords of Manila. This good will lasted only a short time because Soliman, who loved his independence, plotted a surprise attack on the Spanish squadron. But Goiti sensed it and successfully assaulted the entrenchment, cap turing his entire artillery. Immediately after, the conqueror set sail for Panav, where Legazpi, who by this time had already received the title of “Adelantado” awaited him. In the spring of the following year (1571), the Spaniards under the personal command of Legazpi appeared a second time in Manila Bay. Raja Matanda presented his respects to the Spanish commander, begging him to be good enough to pardon Soliman for proving disloyal to his plighted word. Later Soliman also came to offer his vassalage to the king of Spain. In view of all this, the Adelantado debarked all Iris forces to take possession of the city in the name of the crown of Castille.® 7. The Conquest of Luzon. The people around Manila acknowl edged without resistance the supremacy of the Spaniards, except some groups headed by Soliman which suffered a decisive defeat at Bankusav, north of Pasig and near Tondo. Likewise, places like Cainta and Taytay, bordering on Laguna de Bav, refused to accept vassalage under the conquerors; but Salcedo subdued them after breaking their stubborn 5 San Agustin, Op. cit., 51-228; Uncilla. Op. cit.. 193-289. ** Uncilla, Op. cit., 289-296. 158 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS resistance. Elsewhere, Goiti, after a rapid march, reduced the bellicose inhabitants of Betis who still fought to keep their independence. After a daring raid into the mines of Paracale in the Bicol region, Salcedo undertook the exploration of the northern coast of Luzon in 1572. He discovered and explored the mouth of the river Ibanag in Cagayan, the deepest river in the island. On his return, he received the sad news of the death of his illustrious grandfather, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, which took place on 20 August. A malignant fever would also carry off the young Salcedo from the living in 1576, in the city of Vigan, the capital of Ilocos.7 8. Later Conquests. Salcedo has been called the last of the conquistadores for having carried the colors of Spain to remote and vast regions of the Philippines. However, he was unable to subjugate the entire archipelago of the Philippines, for at his death there still remained to be reduced the Cagayan valley, part of the Ilocos, the present Mountain Province, the Babuyan Islands, the Batanes Islands and Zambales; above all, all of Moroland, that is, almost all of Mindanao and the adjacent islands. The task of conquering these lands was reserved for other cap tains, but above all To the missionaries. The northern sector of the actual province of Cagayan was con quered in the year 1581.8 Towards the end of the sixteenth century all of Cagayan and North Isabela acknowledged the sovereignty of Spain. But the southern half of this province did not accept vassalage to the king until about the middle of the eighteenth century. The task of conquering Nueva Vizcaya, started in 1591 by Luis Perez Dasmarinas, did not reach the desired end until the middle of the eighteenth century.0 It took much more effort to subjugate the Igorrots because of the difficulty of their mountains which formed a natural defense that was practically unbreakable, and because of the frequent rains and dampness 1 San Agustin, Op. cit., p. 228 ff. "Ibid., pp. 383-387. 9 Blair and Robertson, VIII, VIII, 250-251; XVI, 281 ff. CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 159 of those heights. And so the expeditions captained by Garcia Aldana de Cabrera in 1620 and by Alonso Martin Quirante in 1624 failed. Others, organized in the years 1633 and 1663, had no better results. And that undertaken in 1756 by the Alcalde of Pangasinan, Manuel Arza, also failed.10 Finally, beginning with the expeditions carried on by Guillermo Galvey in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, and with the foundation of the garrisons and politico-military commands at Benguet and Lepanto, the region of the Igorrots was incorporated to Spain.11 The regions of Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya were pacified first by Don Mariano Oscariz in 1848, and later, more permanently, by Don Valeriano Weyler in 1889 with the establishment of the military commands at Kayapa, Kiangan, Itaves and Apayao.12 The Babuyan Islands did not require any military conquest because the presence of the missionaries was enough for the natives to render obedience to Christ and to the king (1619). The people of Batanes submitted willingly to Spain in 1783.13 We could say that the conquest of Mindanao was nominal rather than effective. All that the Spaniards could do through three long cen turies of merciless war was to establish garrisons in strategic places, like Zamboanga, Jolo, Basilan, Iligan, to hold off Moro piracy and expansion. Even then, they could not stop the Moros from their frequent raids into the Visayas, Mindoro, Manila Bay, the coast of Batangas, and, on occasion, the Ilocos and Cagayan. The conquistadores in general won signal victories over the Moslems, but they.lacked sufficient forces to "’Antolin, Francisco, O.P., Noticia de lot infiebes igorrotcr en lo interior de la isla de Manila, de rus minor de oro, cobre y rti comercio, y de varias enlradar y tentativas y gartoi hechos para st( descubrimiento y pacificacion. Ms in APSR (Archivo de la Provincia del Sancisimo Rosario en Filipinas, Santo Domingo, Quezon City), section “Cagayan” (Montanosa), To.-no 35, Documento 2, p. 22 ff. 12 Gainza, Francisco, MemOria sobre Nueya Vizcaya, Manila, 1849, pp. 18-39; Ocio, Hilario Maria, Monumento doniinicano. MS in APSR, Toino 609, p. 303 ff. 1:,Ocio, Op. cit., p. 134 ff 160 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS subdue them completely. Only towards the middle of the nineteenth century were they able to put an end to Moro piracy, thanks to the steam boats which were speedier than the Moro vintas.14 But we shall return in more detail to this topic when we will speak of the role of the Church with regards to Moslem piracy. On this subject, the reader can find detailed information in the printed sources, among which: Combes, Francisco, S.J. Historia de Mindanao y Jolo, Madrid, 1897; Barrantes, Vicente, guerras piraticas de Filipinas, Madrid, Imprenta de Manuel G. Hernandez, 1878; among-manuscripts,-Gainza. Francico, Resumen de los principales acontecimicntos del sur de Filipinas durante el presente siglo (XIX), Ms in AUST (Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomas), section de folletos, tomo 109, and Memoria sobre Mindanao y demas puntos del sur, in the same Archives, the same section, tomo 117. 15 The supreme authority in the islands was entitled “Governor” in his capacity as the highest administrative arm for civil affairs, “Captain General” in his role as chief of the armed forces, and “Vice-regal Patron” as the repre sentative of the king in affairs that had to do with the Patronato Real. In this last capacity, he was somewhat like the Papal Nuncio of our days. For the sake of the truth, allow us to say that the conquest and the continuance of the Philippines under Spain was rather the work of the missionaries than that of the conquistadores. C. Colonization The colonization of the Philippines consisted in founding cities, like Cebu in 1565, Manila in 1571, Vigan (1572), Nueva Segovia (1581), Villa de Arevalo (1581) and others; in establishing a central government advised by a royal audiencia (founded in 1584 and suppressed in 1863) and the provincial governments for each province administered by alcaldes mayores.1" The gobernadorcillos nominated from the native sector, were the counterpart of the present municipal alcaldes or town mayors. They were advised and aided in their government by some officials known by the names of Juez teniente (deputy judge) and alguacil (constable). The Spaniards preserved the barangay (head of the barangay). He used to be a descendant of the ancient noble class of the Philippines. When CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 161 the gobernadorcillos, their advisers and adjutants, and the cabezas de barangay acted as a body, they were called the Prinapalia!10 10 Bowring, John, A Visit To the Philippines, Manila, Imp. de Ramirez y Giraudicr, 1876, p. 78, note. Ruiz, Jose Maria, O.P., Memoria sobre pobladores aborigines, nsos, y costumbres de lot babitantes de Filipinas, Manila, Imprenta de Sto. Tomas, 1887, pp. 232-237. The encomienda system gradually disappeared, and ceased to exist in the eighteenth century. It consisted in this, that the Governor, in the king’s name, “apportioned” certain land and a certain number of natives to those who had distinguished themselves in the conquest of the islands. Those who were thus favored received the title “encomendero,” with the privilege of collecting tributes to their own and the king’s benefit; but they had the obligation of providing a minister of Christian doctrine for those in the encomienda. Only two generations were benefited by the encomienda: the grantee and his children. Then it reverted to the crown, that is, to the king. Once they were subjects of the king of Spain, the Filipinos were obliged to pay a tribute, until, from 1884, the system of personal cedulas was introduced.
pages: 154-161