Philippine History :: Asian Asia History

Philippine HistorySpanish Colony 1565 - 1898Ferdinand Magellan scar out from Spain in 1519 on the first voyage to circumnavigate the reality with five ships and a complement of 264 crew. Three years later in 1522, only the one ship, the Victoria, returned to Spain with 18 men. The Philippines were the death of Magellan. The expedition sighted the island of Samar on March 16, 1521. Magellan was welcomed by two genus Rajas, Kolambu and Siagu. He named the islands the Archipelago of San Lazaro, erected a cross and claimed the lands for Spain. The chummy Rajas took Magellan to Cebu to meet Raja Humabon. Humabon and 800 Cebuanos were baptized as Christians. Magellan agreed to help Raja Humabon put down Lapu-Lapu, a rebellious datu on the nearby island of Mactan. In a battle in the midst of Spanish soldiers and Lapu-Lapus warriors, Magellan was killed on April 27, 1521. Disputes over women caused traffic mingled with Raja Humabon and the remaining Spaniards to deteriorate. The Cebuano s killed 27 Spaniards in a thicket and the Spaniards, deciding to resume their explorations, departed Cebu. For all its losses, the voyage was a ample financial success. The Victorias 26 ton cargo of cloves sold for 41,000 ducats. This returned the 20,000 ducats the venture had monetary value plus a 105 percent profit. Four more expeditions followed between 1525 and 1542. The commander of the fourth expedition, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, named the islands after Philip, heir to the Spanish throne (r. Philip II 1556-1598). The Philippines was not formally organized as a Spanish habituation until 1565 when Philip II appointed Miguel Lopez de Legazpi the first Governor-General. Legazpi selected Manila for the capital of the colony in 1571 because of its fine natural harbour and the rich lands surrounding the city that could translate it with produce. The Spanish did not develop the trade potential of the Philippines agricultural or mineral resources. The colony was administered from M exico and its commerce centered on the galleon trade between Canton and Acapulco in which Manila functioned secondarily as an entrepot. Smaller Chinese junks brought silk and porcelain from Canton to Manila where the cargoes were re-loaded on galleons bound for Acapulco and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. The Chinese goods were paid for in Mexican silver. Spanish rule had two unchangeable effects on Philippine society the near universal transition of the population to Roman Catholicism and the creation of a landed elite.