CHAPTER TWO MADRID AND MANILA: SECULAR SPANISH PARTICIPANTS An Insular Overview y The Philippine Islands never occupied

a central place on the colonial agenda until the 19thcentury y The major concerns of the relatively small number of colonial officials were to ward off other potential European predators and make money, initially through the galleon trade and the land and labor of the natives y Catholic clerics pursued a more spiritual paradigm y Both religious and secular officials of the Spain were handicapped by shortage of Spanish personnel o There were never may full-blooded Spaniards in the archipelago, nor were there mestizos o An overwhelming majority of the population were full-blooded Malay o Malay-Chinese mestizos eventually grew in number and political and economic prominence y The Hispanic mode of indirect rule, or Indirect Hispanization, was more limited than its foreign counterparts (i.e. British-Malaysia, Dutch-Indonesia) o Spanish officialdom never relinquished the right to determine and enforce substantive policies in each and every Christian village o Legal impact was muted not because of respect for indigenous laws and cultures but rather to the shortage in Spanish personnel y Shortage did not prevent the colonial government from extracting tributu(taxes) o In the mid-1700 s, roughly were still being paid in kind o Funds were raised by duties on exports and imports, anchorage fees, government monopolies and the sale of government properties o Regime was subsidized up to 1815 by a situado, or allowance, from the viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico) y Madrid s appreciation for the colony s economic potential of the colony s arable land resources grew as a result of o British Occupation (1762-1764) o Rise of monocropping and production for export o Independence of the American colonies during the first decades of the 19th century o Shorter travel time an lower transportation costs between Europe and the Pacific after the opening of the Suez Canal o CONSEQUENCE: overhaul of the colony s legal and bureaucratic apparatus during the last four decades of the 19th century Castillan/Spanish Monarchy

The Spanish Crown established the Philippine colony to promote four objectives o Break the Portuguese spice trade monopoly by means of establishing a military base in the archipelago o To establish and maintain direct contacts with China and Japan to further trade and missionary endeavors o Traditional economic ambitions inherent in every colonial endeavor o Duty to Christianize the archipelago under the Declaration of Alexander An elaborate system of laws and legal institutions were created to further these objectives o Many of the laws were promulgated by the Spanish monarchs themselves o Some were designed to protect the natives o Some sanctioned schemes for enhancing the colony s self-sufficiency and profitability o Both resulted in legislative and bureaucratic contradictions o Spanish legal machinery failed to deliberately effect the division of powers Ascendancy of the Bourbon Monarchy in 1700 o Before its ascension, little effort or capital was invested in promoting agribusiness and resource-extraction o French Enlightenment redefine culture as that which leads to happiness here and now, and place economic development on a scientific basis o Late 18th century characterized expansion of monocropping and an intensified competition for arable lands Political developments in Spain (i.e. deposition of Queen Isabela) were felt in Manila, changing the political atmosphere of the islands. o Prompted some of the informed and formally educated native elites to awake from their state of contemplative acquiescence in which up to that time they had accepted the established system, and which until then had appeared to be eternal and immutable

Council of the Indies/Overseas Ministry y Council of Indies/ Consejo de Indias o Established in 1524 o Exercised enormous and largely undifferentiated executive, legislative and judicial powers o Comprised of 14 high-level officials, a large number of functionaries all of whom served as political conduits through which various institutions and individuals with colonial interests vied for official favors and rewards  Encouraged the council to interfere with minor details of colonial administration  Encouraged appeals of no great importance and undermined the authority and responsibilities of officials in the far-off colonies o Legislated an internally contradictory, but nevertheless uniform, legal framework across the Spanish empire

y y y

Uniform legal framework = same laws, regulations, powers and functions governed all colonies (i.e. Philippines, Mexico) o Before formal colonial establishment in the Philippines, laws defining the powers and functions of overseas officials were already in place o Because of different conditions in the colonies, laws enacted for Mexico and Madrid had little relevance to the Philippine colony o Retarded the progress of the government and gave colonial laws the effect of detachment from the actual conditions they were supposed to remedy o Abolished in 1812 Ministerio de Ultramar (Overseas Ministry) assisted by the Consejo de Filipinas (Council of the Philippines o Assumed jurisdiction in 1863, it was vested with the authority to remove and appoint officials in the colony o Assisted by a Consejo de Filipinas (Council of the Philippines) which was created in 1870 o Membership was limited to individuals who had served in the Philippines at least two years in a senior administrative capacity o The Council sat permanently in Madrid (but members should have served in the colony at least two years) Codification of colonial laws started in 1545 and given royal sanction in 1548 SietePartidas o 13th century compilation contained additional laws pertaining to colonies Laws of the Indies El Recopilacion de Leyes de los Reynos de los Indios o First major empire-wide codification of laws, May 18, 1680 o A digest complied to regulate colonial regimes, essentially ambiguous and often contradictory o Was not a complete code, nor were its provisions always enforceable o Book Four laws of ownership and legal rights to natural resources o Book Six legal rights of natives (i.e. taxes, liberties, tributes, good treatment) o Since the laws of the Indies are not a constitutional code but a compilation there results a confusion of jurisdiction, the fatal fount of eternal discord. o

Governors/Captains-General y Colonial authorities in the Philippines enjoyed a great deal of discretion and autonomy o Authority and autonomy exploited by the colonial governor y Philippine Office of the Governor/Captain-General o Created by a Royal Cedula in 1567 o Official title was Governor, Captain-General, President of the Royal Audencia, though shortened to Governor-General in 1874 o Personally selected by the King, from the names submitted by the Council of Indies

Spain s policy of hiring Governor-Generals ignorant of the Philippine (and its accompanying duty and responsibilities) prevented officials from developing close intimacies and personal relationships

Governor-General o Personal representative of the Spanish Crown o His direct superior was the viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) o Viceroy was, in turn, obliged to aid the Philippine Governor-General in matters pertaining to war o Governor-Generals obliged to seek the advice of viceroy on important issues o Despite supervisory and financial (situado) leverage of the viceroy of Mexico, the Philippine colony was largely independent o He was in charge of the colony s civilian administration: appointment of local officials, collecting revenues, establishing gov t monopolies, nominatingencomenderos, and (as vicepatron of church) selecting people for ecclesiastical positions below that of bishop o As captain-general, he was in charge of all military forces and campaigns  First two centuries required GG s to spend much time fightingthe Moros and other foreign powers (i.e. Dutch, China, Japanese)  Vested with the authority to invoke armed might against those who challenged or resisted the colonial regime o Empowered to suspend effectivity of laws  Lengthy delays in the appeals allowed his decisions to prevail, although his decisions could be overruled by Madrid o Possessed the right to allot boletasor tickets, entitling cargo space for the Acapulcobound Galleon trade  The galleon trade was the only means of communication, trade and enriching oneself in deficit-ridden colonial enterprise o As president of the Royal Audencia he exercised two important powers:  1st power - Control of actual functions of the judicial body y Divide the tribunal into salasor divisions, order members to try cases, undertake inspections in the provinces and other administrative matters  2nd power Authority to determine the judicial, governmental, military or ecclesiastical character of a particular dispute and assign it to a particular tribute y This power made him the supreme arbiter of conflicting colonial authorities o Residencia primary restraint against abuses by the governor and other colonial officials  Judicial examination or trial at the end of the term or at any time in cases of alleged malfeasance  Merit of investigation was determined by the audiencia and the governorgeneral, as president of the audencia y Governor-general designated the judge to conduct a residencia  Residencias involving governor general often accomplished little y Clearly understood, that governor was too profit personally, provided he did not plunder too grossly. y Undermined any vision of progress on the part of the governor-general

Placed in difficult situation, distant from Spanish court, compelled to rely on Mexico for economic support, the focus of jealousy and contention, balked by ecclesiastical rivals and conscious ofgrim reckoning at the end of the term (residencia), the governors sank in character. Caliber of governors improved in the latter half of the 18th century, but deteriorated in early 19th century  From Legazpi s time, there were 116 administrations with average tenure of two years and ten months  Appointments: eight years, though it was shortened to three years in the latter part of the 19th century y Average term actually served: one and a half years (1806-1898) y Average dropped to 13 months after 1853  Underscored the rapidly weakening position of Spain in the Philippines y

Real Audiencia of Manila/Oideres y Audiencias o Established to relieve colonial governors of judicial duties and check alleged excesses o Provided a generally reliable backchannel for assertion of royal authority o Although patterned after judicial institutions in Spain, they exercised greater functions and autonomy o Santo Domingo, Lima and Mexico provided territorial nuclei from which most other audiencias were established y Audiencia of Manila o Established in May 5, 1583 o Governor sat as president o Oidores investigated and decided disputes, performed other administrative and judicial functions; accompanied Governor o Fiscal assisted the oidores, prosecuted on behalf of the Crown, was obliged to serve as el protector de los Indios o Possessed limited legislative capacity o Promulgated real acuerdos or royal resolutions decrees, authoritative domestic legislation compiled and referred to as the autos acordados (judicial agreements) o Responsible for protecting customary property rights of natives (set aside two days a week for hearing suits involving Indians)  Hampered by competing juridical claims from other courts  Problem was alleviated by a reorganization of the judicial system in the 1860s which paved the way for its judicial supremacy o Also monitored provincial bureaucrats by annual appointments and first-hand inspection tour of various local governments o An oider/visitador possessed an extraordinary array of powers  Part of duty was to inquire about the indigenes conditions and punish oppressors

Criticism of the oideresand fiscals was widespread: regarding commissions as authority to engage in profitable measures, unmerited (nepotistic) appointment of positions, while they ignored plight of poor Spaniards and increasingly marginalized natives (to their benefit) y Conflict between oiders and governor generals erupted almost immediately because of this  Audiencia charges are replete with charges against governors  Governors meanwhile exercised power to exile oidores; only effective limitation was the legal requirement that there should always be at least one oiderof royal appointment o Audiencia of Manila was unable to curb excesses  Members often contributed or surpassed these excesses  Any official response from Madrid came only after years of delay, it it arrived at all  Preservation of harmonious relationship between the officials was much more important than good governance 1860 s onwards -- Problems were alleviated by a judicial system reorganization o Royal Cedula of January 30, 1855 established uniform rules of judicial procedure and reorganized the court o In 1861, the Audiencia was divested of executive and administrative function, and became simply the Supreme Court of the Archipelago o January 5, 1891 Organic Law of Judicial power in the colonies beyond the sea According to Cayetano Arellano (1901):  Everything, absolutely everything in reference to the organization and exercise of judicial power is regulated by this law which remained in force until the beginning of the US colonial period 

The Philippine Bureaucracy y All colonial offices, privilege, appointments, emoluments were personal property/grant of the crown grants of royal favor or Mercedes y The monarch appointed viceroys, governors, and audiencia members y Governor General appointed alcaldemayos, corregidores, officials of royal exchequer and all other colonial officials o Subject to confirmation but rarely overturned y By late 17th century, all important colonial offices were virtually sold to the highest bidder o Many who secured office by making the highest bid viewed positions as private investment, o This led to more abuse and lesser (if any) sense of responsibility to subjects. y Insular bureaucracy was highly centralized and concentrated in Manila o Officers and prelates were required to report to Spain concerning conduct of all officers

Although the Spaniards tried to maintain a faade of solidarity [n]obody s character was safe from the denigrations and attacks of those who sought employment or advancement in the bureaucracy. th Late 18 century A series of reforms were instituted o Creation of an array of bureaucratic institutions, which undermined power of high officials, primary of which was the Intendencia de Ejerto (Intendancy of the Army) and Superintendencia de Hacienda (Superintendent of Finance)  This new system removed responsibility of financial management from governor and subordinates  The separation of powers was hard to maintain, and this institutions were eventually abolished and reestablished many times.  By the end of the Spanish regime, it approximated the executive department Colonial institutions were also hampered by a confusion of functions and duplication of administrative positions o 1861, Overlapping executive and judicial powers and responsibilities of the governor and audiencia were separated.  Civil registry offices were set up in each municipality Royal Order no. 250  Catholic Church was officially integrated as a component part of the Department of Grace and Justice o Arrays of laws were enacted in Madrid  Courts of First Instance  Local justice-of-the-peace courts  Educational Decree of 1863 launched program for widespread education  1867 first compilation of taxation laws  1887 Civil Code of Spain was extended of the colony  1888 Code of Civil Procedure  1889 Code of Commerce and Notorial Law  Municipal reforms o Ultimate legal and bureaucratic framework for allocating natural resource rights were established  Inspeccion General de Montes established jurisdiction over land and forests  Inspeccion General de Mina legal authority over mines and mineral deposits  Law of Waters of August 3, 1866  Mining Law of May 14, 1867  Definitive Forest Laws and Regulations for the Philippine Forest Service  Colony-wide land registration law in 1880  Law on Mortgage and Registration of Property 1889  Opportunities to register property rights were terminated by the Maura Law o Laws enacted in Madrid during the final years were ostensibly designed to modernize general and local administration  Hampered by shortage of professional personnel o

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A growing number of Chinese mestizos and natives were groomed in professional apparatus  UST was the only educational institution authorized to offer college-level education to lay students Legal reforms based on increasing reliance on native professionals failed to correct colonial bureaucracy as a result of internal moral corruption Efforts to upgrade quality of colonial civil service (Royal Decree of June 3, 1866) failed.  Cumulative sins of colonial bureaucrats  Colony s position as dumping ground of people unfit for service in Spain  Rapid turnover of colonial personnel  Recurrent political instability in Madrid