Spanish Period Reaction Paper

Amelita Florendo-Balderian SPANISH PERIOD

The Battle of Mactan, April 27, 1521, which Lapu-Lapu and his warriors defeated Magellan.
SUMMARY: Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in 1521. Magellan landed on the island of Cebu, claiming the lands for Spain and naming them Archipelago of San Lazaro. He set up friendly relations with some of the local chieftains and converted some of them to Roman Catholicism. However, Magellan was killed by natives, led by a local chief named Lapu-Lapu, who go up against foreign domination.
Over the next several decades, other Spanish expeditions were sending off to the islands. In 1543, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos led an expedition to the islands and gave the name Las Islas Filipinas (after Philip II of Spain) to the islands of Samar and Leyte. The name would later be given to the entire archipelago.
Permanent Spanish settlement was not established until 1565 when an expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Governor-General of the Philippines, arrived in Cebu from New Spain.
Six years later, following the defeat of the local Muslim ruler, Legazpi established a capital at Manila. Manila became the center of Spanish civil, military, religious, and commercial activity in the islands.
Church and state were inseparably linked in Spanish policy, with the state assuming responsibility for religious establishments. One of Spain's objectives in colonizing the Philippines was the conversion of Filipinos to Catholicism. The work of conversion was facilitated by the absence of other organized religions, except for Islam, which predominated in the south, from which the Muslims of Mindanao and the upland tribal peoples of Luzon remained detached and separated.
In 1781, Governor-General José Basco y Vargas founded the Economic Society of Friends of the Country. The Philippines by this time was administered directly from Spain. Developments in and out of the country helped to bring new ideas to the Philippines. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cut travel time to Spain. This prompted the rise of the ilustrados, an enlightened Filipino upper class, since many young Filipinos were able to study in Europe. Decline of Spanish Rule
José Rizal, the most celebrated intellectual and essential illustrado of the era, wrote the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which greatly inspired the movement for independence. The Katipunan, a secret society whose primary principle was that of overthrowing Spanish rule in the Philippines, was founded by Andrés Bonifacio who became its Supremo (leader).
The Philippine Revolution began in 1896. Rizal was concerned in the outbreak of the revolution and executed for treason in 1896. The Katipunan split into two groups, Magdiwang led by Andrés Bonifacio and Magdalo led by Emilio Aguinaldo. Conflict between the two revolutionary leaders ended in the execution or assassination of Bonifacio by Aguinaldo's soldiers. Aguinaldo agreed to a treaty with the Pact of Biak na Bato and Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries were exiled to Hong Kong.
It was the opposition to the power of the clergy that in large measure brought about the rising attitude for independence. Spanish injustices prejudice, and economic oppressions fed the movement, which was greatly inspired by the brilliant writings of José Rizal. In 1896 revolution began in the province of Cavite, and after the execution of Rizal that December, it spread throughout the major islands. The Filipino leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, achieved considerable success before a peace was patched up with Spain. It took 300 years before we are free from the Spanish colony.
REACTION: My opinion about Spanish Period is that through the invasion of Spain to our country we got a new and advance culture from Europe and Mexico. Our cultural traits and customs were influenced by Spain. And through the study of this period I got an idea that the Philippines fell into the Spaniards because of the Filipinos itself they are not united instead of fighting for the nation some fought for Spain. Spaniards taught us some good culture like making our country a centralized government and bringing Christianity to us, which improved the life of people. It stopped the practice of divorce, infanticide, animal and human sacrifices, polygamy and tribal wars. They made us the only Christian nation in Asia.