Name:

Md Osman Goni ID : 171 5322 051

Spanish Colonization of Philippines and Current scenario of
Philippines


How Spanish Colonization started on Philippines

We can Spanish colonization on Philippines in two periods The first period was 1500s to 1821, it
was ruled by Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) and the Catholic Church. Direct rule from Spain
began in 1821, and lasted until 1898.Spain created the Philippines. It did not exist before Spanish
colonization, prior to Spanish rule it was only a collection of small, undeveloped mostly stone
age tribes and villages perpetually at war with one another. Some tribes were peaceful, but still
lived in horror of constant terror by the many headhunters, cannibals, and slave traders, etc.

How Spanish Colonization shaped Philippines social structure

Spain introduced government, peace and a national identity, civilization. and also Christianity,
and with it the idea that it is not ok to rape, rob, kill, pillage, burn raid, or eat your neighbors, just
because you are stronger or have more spears. Spain modernized the Philippines from mostly
Stone Age, by the end of Spain's rule Filipino society featured roads, bridges, schools, colleges,
hospitals, grand ballrooms and theater. This social progress, and a growing, educated Filipino
middle class, and the industrial era, can be viewed as the ultimate cause of the downfall of
colonial rule. Spain was a traditional colonial monarchy. Power, wealth and control were kept
thru a system of elite titled Spanish aristocracy that ran the country with a few Filipinos included
into the ruling 'class'. The ruling class gained power and wealth thru land grants, positions, and
titles from the King, and in turn gave tribute and loyalty back to the King. Some Filipinos in the
small middle class of merchants, soldiers, skilled services, etc. The majority of 'natives' were just
left alone aside from tax and trade, so long as they did not go 'off reservation' headhunting or
what not. This colonial aristocracy, like those in Mexico and elsewhere, used peons - peasants,
who were like medieval European serfs, to do manual labor. These peons, like serfs, had little
money or power, and a fairly short and miserable life of endless toil for the benefit of their
colonial masters.

Government Structure

When the Spanish people came to the Philippines, they introduced a new type of government -
a centralized type of government. It was divided into 2 parts: CENTRAL GOVERNMENT and the
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. Before the Spanish arrived to the Philippines, we had a primitive type of
governance which was the Barangays in which separated and divided many tribes. It's only
headed by a Datu - the supreme ruler which he controls everything and has absolute power.


This could usually end with the Datu using his people to fight against rivaling tribes for his own
desires. With the new government, this almost removed power of the Datu's and made
Barangays the lowest type of government position.

The Central Government was headed by the Governor-General appointed by the King of Spain.
The Central Government controlled the entire country, and also had a Supreme Court - the Royal
Audencia. With the implementation of the Supreme Court, trials could be done professionally
wherein during pre-spanish era in which they made the accused do rituals ( i.e., putting hand in
boiling water, etc ) to conduct trials. The Royal Audencia made a system that gave fair sanctions
to the
people.

The Local Government was implemented to separate the country into different provinces. These
provinces were given names and regions, which allowed better mapping of the country and
organization. Each province were headed by an Alcadia Mayor and the Corregimiento. These 2
are responsible for administrative purposes, land control and the welfare of the people.

Religion & Education

Before the Spanish came to the Philippines, the natives worshipped Animism, Bathala , and their
Anitos. These were primitive during it's time and many folk tales were born from these religions.
Folk tales are unproven facts and are thus myths. The Spanish introduced CHRISTIANITY
which further deepened the native's knowledge about life and purpose. It also allowed the
Spanish to strengthen their power over the people which made easier for colonization. The friars
together with the Church controlled areas around the Philippines. They also worked with the
government to make Philippines flourish.At present, there are 85 % Filipinos that are believers of


the Church. This shows us that religion can easily conquer people. The church also allowed a
system of life and commandments that many Filipinos use as a way of life.



Education

Education was primitive during pre-hispanic era. The natives did not learn much about Sciences,
Math and deeper advanced subjects ( Astronomy, Biography, etc. ). We only knew how to hunt,
basic language, reading and writing , cooking and carving/weaving. The Spanish introduced a
new type of education. We had grade school and high school and colleges. Ateneo, La Salle and
UST were headed by friars and allowed the Filipinos to experience and understand new
concepts. The Spanish language was also introduced to the Filipinos. The richer Filipinos like
Jose Rizal were allowed to go to other countries to practice professions like medicine, bussiness,
and writters. Education serves as an open gap in which the Filipinos realized many things
possible. This eventually lead to the country's goal of independence.As of now, many colleges
that were built up during the Spanish era are still one of the most prestigious schools in the
Philippines and many are aiming to graduate in these schools. Without these schools and a an
education system , we will be aggressive nomads that only know how to hunt and survive.
Education on the other hand, allows opportunities to discover ones potential.

ECONOMY

Especially before the Independence of Mexico and during the Galleon trade. Philippines at that
time has only one trade outside the country, between Acapulco and Manila, which is the galleon
trade, contrast with the pre-colonial Philippines where they can trade to anyone near them, even
to the Arabs and Indians. On the galleon trade, if someone want to sell something, the space to
rent inside the ship is very expensive, which are only affordable to the Spaniards, wealthy
merchants and royal Filipinos. The profit, if the ship successfully sails, is very high and worth it,
but this trade only happen once or twice a year, and very susceptible to calamities and pirate
attacks. Taxes also are high, even for the rich, and the force labor wasted a lot of precious time
and money for the natives. It is then during the overthrow of Spanish monarchy and opening of
Suez Canal that other nations can establish markets and trade in the Philippines.


Post Colonization Scenario of Philippines

Government

At present, the government adopted many similar structures and foundations to that of the
Spanish government. We now have a president, which could also be connected to a Governor-
General and a Supreme Court to allow justice for the country. What would happen if we still
stick to pre-Hispanic governance? We will be primitive and lose respect from other countries.




Economy

Today, Philippines is addressed as Rising Asian Tigers. The Philippines has quietly emerged as
the region's newest economic darling. At 6.6 percent, the Filipino economy's current GDP
growth rate is the second highest in Asia, behind only China's. That growth is projected to
continue over the next few years, in part because Filipinos are in a "sweet spot"
demographically: The Philippines has the youngest population in East Asia, which translates into
lower costs to support a younger workforce and less economic drag from retirees. Last month,
Fitch Ratings (one of the world's three major credit rating firms) upgraded the Philippines to a
"BBB-" with a stable outlook -- the first time the Philippines has ever received investment-grade
status and a huge vote of confidence in the Filipino economy. And last year, the World
Economic Forum moved the Philippines up ten points to the top half of its global
competitiveness ranking for the first time in its history. These economic improvements are in
part due to President Benigno Aquino, whose steps to increase transparency and address
corruption sparked renewed international confidence in the Filipino economy even during the
global slowdown.

Socio Economic Situation

Meanwhile, overall national poverty statistics remain bleak: 32 percent of children under age
five suffer from moderate to severe stunting due to malnutrition, according to UNICEF, and
roughly 60 percent of Filipinos diewithout ever having seen a healthcare professional. In 2009,
annual reports found that 26.5 percent of Filipinos lived on less than $1 a day -- a poverty rate
that was roughly the same level as Haiti's. And a new report from the National Statistical
Coordination Board for the first half of 2012 found no statistical improvement in national
poverty levels since 2006. Even as construction cranes top Manila skyscrapers and the emerging
beach town of El Nido unveils plans for its newest five-star resort, tens of millions of Filipinos
continue to live in poverty. And according to Louie Montemar, a political science professor at
Manila's De La Salle University, little is being done to destabilize the Philippines' oligarchical
dominance of the elite. Many observers blame the inequality on widespread corruption in local
government, which makes it difficult or impossible for many Filipinos to launch small
businesses. (In 2012, Transparency International, a non-governmental organization that monitors
and reports a comparative listing of corruption worldwide, gave the Philippines a rank of 105 out
of 176, tied with Mali and Algeria, among others.)

Adverse effects of Colonization are still in Philippines

Huge sectors of Filipino industry (such as banking, telecommunications, and property
development) are almost entirely monopolized by a few elite political families, most of whom
have been in power since the Spanish colonial era.The slums of Manila and Cebu are as bleak as
they always were, and on the ground, average Filipinos aren't feeling so optimistic. The
economic boom appears to have only benefited a tiny minority of elite families; meanwhile, a
huge segment of citizens remains vulnerable to poverty, malnutrition, and other grim
development indicators that belie the country's apparent growth. Despite the stated goal of
President Aquino's Philippine Development Plan to oversee a period of "inclusive growth,"
income inequality in the Philippines continues to stand out.In 2012, Forbes Asia announced that


the collective wealth of the 40 richest Filipino families grew $13 billion during the 2010-2011
year, to $47.4 billion--an increase of 37.9 percent. Filipino economist Cielito Habito
calculated that the increased wealth of those families was equivalent in value to a staggering 76.5
percent of the country's overall increase in GDP at the time. This income disparity was far and
away the highest in Asia: Habito found that the income of Thailand's 40 richest families
increased by only 25 percent of the national income growth during that period, while that ratio
was even lower in Malaysia and Japan, at 3.7 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. (And
although critics have pointed out that the remarkable wealth increase of the Philippines' so-called
".01 percent" is partially due to the performance of the Filipino stock market, the growth of the
Philippine Composite Index during that period would not account for such a dramatic disparity
from neighboring countries.) Even relative to its regional neighbors, the Philippines' income
inequality and unbalanced concentrations of wealth are extreme.











Sources :

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/the-grim-reality-behind-the-philippines-economic-growth/275597/
https://infogr.am/Effects-of-Spanish-Colonization-on-the-Philippines
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/the-grim-reality-behind-the-philippines-economic-growth/275597/
https://www.quora.com/History-of-the-Philippines-As-Filipinos-who-do-you-think-were-better-colonial-master-the-Spanish-or-Americans
https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/3cr9np/spanish_colonisation_whats_your_opinion_good_or/