Captaincy General of the Philippines

The Captaincy General of the Philippines ( es, Capitanía General de Filipinas ; tl, Kapitaniya Heneral ng Pilipinas) was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire in Southeast Asia governed by a governor-general as a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Spain based in Mexico City until Mexican independence when it was transferred directly to Madrid.

The Captaincy General encompassed the Spanish East Indies, which included among others the Philippine Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the Caroline Islands. It was founded in 1565 with the first permanent Spanish forts.

For centuries, all the administrative, political and economic aspects of the Captaincy General were administered in Mexico City by the Viceroyalty of New Spain for the Spanish Crown. However, in 1821, following the independence of the Mexican empire, all control was transferred to Madrid. It was succeeded by the short-lived First Philippine Republic following its independence through the Philippine Revolution.

History

Early explorations

After a long, tolling voyage across the Pacific Ocean, Ferdinand Magellan reached the island of Guam on 6 March 1521 and anchored the three ships that were left of his fleet in Umatac Bay, before proceeding to the Philippines, where he met his death during the Battle of Mactan. Antonio Pigafetta, the expedition's chronicler and one of only 18 original crew members to survive Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, recorded all details of the voyage.

Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Umatac in 1565 and claimed the island of Guam for Spain, before proceeding to the Philippines, where, in a short period of time, they successfully incorporated into Spain's empire Cebu, Samar, Mazaua, Leyte, and Bohol, before conquering Manila.

Later (in 1569), Miguel López de Legazpi transferred the Spanish headquarters from Cebu to Panay, where they found allies, who were never conquered by Spain but were accomplished as vassals by means of pacts, peace treaties, and reciprocal alliances. On 5 June 1569, Guido de Lavezaris, the royal treasurer in the archipelago, wrote to Philip II reporting about the Portuguese attack on Cebu in the preceding autumn. A letter from another official, Andres de Mirandaola (dated three days later, on 8 June), also described briefly this encounter with the Portuguese. The danger of another attack led the Spaniards to remove their camp from Cebu to Panay, which they considered a safer place. Legazpi himself, in his report to the Viceroy in New Spain (dated 1 July 1569), mentioned the same reason for the relocation of Spaniards to Panay. It was in Panay that the conquest of Luzon was planned, and launched on 8 May 1570. Two of Lepazpi's lieutenant-commanders, Martín de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo, conquered Luzon's northern region.

Several Pacific islands were claimed by Spain during the 16th century, including the Caroline Islands by Toribio Alonso de Salazar in 1526, Palau by Ruy López de Villalobos in 1543, Bonin Islands by Bernardo de la Torre in 1543, New Guinea by Yñigo Ortiz de Retez in 1545, Solomon Islands by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa in 1568, New Hebrides by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606, and Marquesas Islands by Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira in 1595, although Spain did not make any serious attempt to establish permanent settlements in them until the 18th century.

Spanish settlement and creation of the Captaincy General

In 1574, the Captaincy General of the Philippines was created as a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In 1584, the Real Audiencia of Manila was established by King Felipe II, who appointed as its president the same governor of the Captaincy General of the Philippines. The Captaincy General had its capital in Cebu from 1565 to 1595, and in Manila from 1595 until 1898.

As part of the extensive governmental reforms during the early Bourbon period throughout the overseas possessions, an Intendencia was established in Manila by Royal Decree of 17 July 1784 that handled issues regarding the government finances and to promote the economy. Ciriaco González Carbajal was appointed as Oidor of the Audiencia of Manila and was instructed to abide by the Royal Ordinance of Mayors of 1782, that had been enacted in Rio de la Plata. Carbajal proposed the establishment of more Intendencias in Ilocos, Camarines, Iloilo and Cebu, and although they were created on 24 November 1786, they were later abolished by the Royal Decree of 20 November 1787. A month earlier, on 23 October, the Intendencia of Manila had been attached to the Captaincy General of the Philippines.

Until 1822, all General Captains were civilians, but after that year they were always chosen among the military. Throughout the second half of the 19th century, there were established many dependent local government offices and military settlements, very numerous due to a large number of islands and the extent of the districts.

Government

Political system

The Spanish quickly organized their new colony according to their model. The first task was the reduction, or relocation of indigenous Filipinos into settlements. The earliest political system used during the ''conquista'' period was the ''encomienda'' system, which resembled the feudal system in medieval Europe. The conquistadores, friars and native nobles were granted estates, in exchange for their services to the King, and were given the privilege to collect tribute from its inhabitants. In return, the person granted the ''encomienda'', known as an ''encomendero'', was tasked to provide military protection to the inhabitants, justice and governance. In times of war, the ''encomendero'' was duty bound to provide soldiers for the King, in particular, for the complete defense of the colony from potential invasions of outside powers such as the Dutch, British and Chinese. The ''encomienda'' system was abused by ''encomenderos'' and by 1700 was largely replaced by administrative provinces, each headed by an ''alcalde mayor'' (provincial governor). The most prominent feature of Spanish cities was the plaza, a central area for town activities such as the fiesta, and where government buildings, the church, a market area and other infrastructures were located. Residential areas lay around the plaza. During the ''conquista'', the first task of colonization was the reduction, or relocation of the indigenous population into settlements surrounding the plaza.

National government

On the national level or social class, the King of Spain, via his Council of the Indies (''Consejo de las Indias''), governed through his representative in the Philippines, the Governor-General of the Philippines (''Gobernador y Capitán General''). With the seat of power in Intramuros, Manila, the Governor-General was given several duties: head of the supreme court, the '' Royal Audiencia of Manila''; Commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and the economic planner of the country. All executive power of the local government stemmed from him and as regal patron, he had the authority to supervise mission work and oversee ecclesiastical appointments. His yearly salary was 40,000 pesos. The Governor-General was commonly a '' peninsular Spaniard'', a Spaniard born in Spain, to ensure loyalty of the colony to the crown.

Provincial government

On the local level, heading the pacified provinces (''alcaldías''), was the provincial governor (''alcalde mayor''). The unpacified military zones (''corregimiento''), such as Mariveles and Mindoro, were headed by the ''corregidores''. City governments (''ayuntamientos''), were also headed by an ''alcalde mayor''. ''Alcaldes mayores'' and ''corregidores'' exercised multiple prerogatives as judge, inspector of ''encomiendas'', chief of police, tribute collector, capitan-general of the province, and even vice-regal patron. Their annual salary ranged from P300 to P2000 before 1847 and P1500 to P1600 after 1847. This could be augmented through the special privilege of "''indulto de commercio''" where all people were forced to do business with him. The ''alcalde mayor'' was usually an ''Insular'' (Spaniard born in the Philippines). In the 19th century, the ''Peninsulares'' began to displace the ''Insulares'', which resulted in the political unrests of 1872, notably the 1872 Cavite mutiny and the Gomburza executions.

Municipal government

The ''pueblo'' or town was headed by the ''Gobernadorcillo'' or little governor. Among his administrative duties were the preparation of the tribute list (''padron''), recruitment and distribution of men for draft labor, communal public work and military conscription (quinto), postal clerk and judge in minor civil suits. He intervened in all administrative cases pertaining to his town: lands, justice, finance and the municipal police. His annual salary, however, was only P24 but he was exempted from taxation. Any native or Chinese mestizo, 25 years old, proficient in oral or written Spanish and has been a ''cabeza de barangay'' of 4 years can be a ''gobernadorcillo''.

Any member of the Principalía, who speaks or who has knowledge of the Spanish language and has been a ''Cabeza de Barangay'' of 4 years can be a ''Gobernadorcillo''. Among those prominent is Emilio Aguinaldo, a chinese mestizo, and who was the ''Gobernadorcillo'' of Cavite El Viejo (now Kawit). The officials of the pueblo were proficient. taken from the ''Principalía'', the noble class of pre-colonial origin. Their names are survived by prominent families in contemporary Philippine society such as Duremdes, Lindo, Tupas, Gatmaitan, Liwanag, Mallillin, Pangilinan, Panganiban, Balderas, Zabarte and Agbayani, Apalisok, Aguinaldo to name a few.

''Barrio'' government

Every barangay was further divided into "''barrios''", and the ''barrio'' government (village or district) rested on the ''barrio'' administrator (''cabeza de barangay''). He was responsible for peace and order, recruited men for communal public works, and collecting the barrio's taxes. ''Cabezas'' should be literate in Spanish and have good moral character and property. Cabezas who served for 25 years were exempted from forced labor.

In addition, this is where the sentiment heard as, "Mi Barrio", first came from.

The ''Residencia'' and the ''Visita''

To check the abuse of power of royal officials, two ancient Castilian institutions were brought to the Philippines: the ''Residencia'', dating back to the 5th century, and the ''Visita'', which differed from the ''residencia'' in that it was conducted clandestinely by a ''visitador-general'' sent from Spain and might occur anytime within the official's term, without any previous notice. ''Visitas'' could be specific or general.

Maura law

The legal foundation for municipal governments in the country was laid with the promulgation of the Maura Law on 19 May 1893. Named after its author, Don Antonio Maura, the Spanish Minister of Colonies at the time, the law reorganized town governments in the Philippines with the aim of making them more effective and autonomous. This law created the municipal organization that was later adopted, revised, and further strengthened by the American and Filipino governments that succeeded Spanish.

Territorial divisions

Until the second half of the 18th century, there were 24 provinces, 19 alcaldías mayores and five corregimientos:

Corregimientos

* Mariveles
* Cavite
* Zamboanga
* Mindanao Moro
* Ogtong ( Oton)

Alcaldías mayores

* Albay