Sie sind auf Seite 1von 2

In 1570 the encomienda was introduced in the Philippines when Legaspi, in compliance with the decree issued by King

Philip II in 1558, distributed lands in Cebu to loyal Spanish subjects. These men had helped conquer the Philippines. The encomienda was not actually a land grant but was a favor from the kind under which the Spaniard receiving his favor was given the right to collect tributesor taxesfrom the inhabitants of the area assigned to him. The man who received this favor was called an encomendero. The encomienda was, therefore, a public office. The encomenderos were required by law to perform the following duties: #1. to give protection to the natives #2. to help the missionaries convert the natives to Christianity #3. to promote education Unfortunately, many Spanish encomenderos committed abuses, such as: Brutal treatment of the Filipinos Collecting more tribute than that authorized by law Forcing the people to work for them Seizure of the peoples animals and crops without just compensation Because of the abuses of encomenderos, much bad feeling resulted. First, peace and order, which the colonizers and the early Spanish friars had established, was disturbed. Second, the abuses led to a conflict between the friars and the encomenderos. The early friars observed that the encomenderos neglected their duty of teaching the Christian faith to the Filipinos. They saw that the encomenderos were only interested in enriching themselves instead. The friars tried to protect the Filipinos from the greed and abuses of the encomenderos by; #1. preaching from the pulpits against encomendero abuses #2. writing letters and memorials to the King of Spain in which they reported the abuses of the encomenderos #3. refusing to absolve the encomenderos from their sins. The Filipinos, seeing that the encomenderos were interested only in getting rich, grew lazy. They reasoned that it was useless to work too hard for a living if the fruits of their work would only go to the payment of excessive tributes to the encomenderos. This attitude was encouraged by the friars who told them that the abandonment of their labors would free from injustice. There were three kinds of encomiendas: #1. the Royal Encomiendas, belonging to the King #2. the Ecclesiastical Encomiendas, belonging to the Church #3. Private Encomiendas, belonging to private individuals At first the natives paid eight reales as tribute. This amount was increased to ten reales in 1589 by order of King Philip II. Aside from the tribute expected from the royal encomiendas, the king also received reales from each tribute each encomiendero received from his encomienda. The total amount of the tributes intended for the king was kept as fund to pay the expenses for the countrys defense. This fund was called the situado.

The size of an encomienda was determined in two ways: #1. by the number of people living in it #2. by the value of the land The law limited the number of natives in an area and administered by an encomendero to not more than 300, and the value of the land was limited to not more than P2,000. At first an encomienda could be held for three generations (about ninety years). This was later reduced to two generation. But because of the complaints from encomenderos, the king decided to return the encomienda tenure to three generations in 1635.

Forced Labor (Polo y servicios) The system of forced or corve labor known as polo y servicios evolved from the encomienda system, introduced into the Latin American colonies by the Conquistadores and Catholic priests who accompanied them. Polo y servicios is the forced labor for 40 days of men ranging from 16 to 60 years of age who were obligated to give personal services to community projects. One could be exempted from polo by paying the falla (a corruption of the Spanish falta, meaning "absence"), a daily fine of one and a half real. In 1884, labor was reduced to 15 days. The polo system was patterned after the Mexican repartimento, selection for forced labor.

The Indulto de Comercio or licensed to trade, was issued to the Alcalde Mayor or Corregidor. It was meant to prevent them from using thepolo or taxes from their own personal needs and control the market, although they banned them from engaging in commerce. These people, literally have all the power, so the Spanish government had to think of a solution for the problem.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen