The Spanish friars were the crucial elements in the

Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation, see spelling differences), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt what is considered to be Western culture, in areas such as industr ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and in spreading the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

in that part of the world. Though missionary endeavors played a key role in their project, the Spanish Friars were merely one arm of a broader Spanish colonial endeavor. Journeying with the first

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an explorers to these islands in East Asia, then the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, they came with the intention of establishing

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

under the

Patronato real The ''patronato'' () system in Spain (and a similar '' padroado'' system in Portugal) was the expression of royal patronage controlling major appointments of Church officials and the management of Church revenues, under terms of concordats with ...

of the kings of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. After the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es brought the Filipinos under the rule of the

Spanish crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

, either by peaceful means of

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

and pacts or, alternatively, by

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, Spain did send large

standing armies A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

to maintain its empire in the East. The

apostolic Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

zeal of the

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

followed the efforts of men such as

Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spanish conquistador who financed and led an expedition to conquer the Philippines, Philippine islan ...

, and aided to consolidate the enterprise of Hispanicizing the Philippines. The Spanish missionaries acted as de facto conquerors; they gained the goodwill of the islanders, presented Spanish culture positively, and in so doing won approximately 2 million

converts Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

. Commenting on the very small standing army that protected the Spanish government in the Philippines, an old

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

was quoted: "En cada fraile tenía el Rey en Filipinas un capitan general y un ejercito entero (In each

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

in the Philippines the King had a captain general and a whole army"). French historian Par J. Mallat made a similar observation. He stated: "C'est par la seule influence de la religion que l'on a conquis les Philippines, et cette influence pourra seule les conserver ("It is only by the influence of religion that the Philippines was conquered. Only this influence could keep these slands).

Role of the friars in Hispanicized parts of the Philippines

Because of the scarcity of Spanish officials in the Philippines, most often the

was the only Spaniard in a town. Aside from his religious activities, the friar also had authority in administration of the colony. He supervised the election of the gobernadorcillo and cabeza. He was the keeper of the list of residents of the town. His signature had to be seen on all financial papers of the town. The friars also served as mediators who quelled insurrections. It was because of the friar's spiritual function that people believed and feared him. He was also influential because of his knowledge of the

native language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

and his ordinarily long stay in a town. Contemporary critics labeled this kind of system as "Frailocracy" or "Friarocracy".Philippine Civilization History and Government by Celestina Boncan et.al published by Vibal Publishing House p.114

References

Captaincy General of the Philippines Religion in the Philippines History of the Philippines (1565–1898) Catholic Church in the Philippines Spanish Philippines {{RC-hist-stub