At intervals of about four years between each other, three separate expeditions were fitted out from Spain and America for these islands, which were named ”Las Felipiñas” by Villalobos, commander of the last of these squadrons, in honour of the then Prince of Asturias, afterwards better known as King Philip the Second of Spain.
In the meantime the Portuguese, jealous of the vicinity of such powerful neighbours as the Spaniards, to their empire of the East which Vasco de Gama and Albuquerque had so brilliantly founded for their country, took advantage of the financial distress of the Spanish king, who was then arming against France and Germany, and for an inconsiderable amount purchased his right of conquest over all the Philippines.
But they did not long retain them; for on Prince Philip of the Asturias becoming King of Spain he regained the islands by breaking through the treaty which confirmed their sale. Having, in 1564, appointed Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi commander of an expedition fitted out for the purpose of reacquiring them, and having made him Governor and Adelantado of all the countries he could conquer,—which now-a-days appears to be rather a vague commission, but was then a custom of that venturous time,—that dignitary reached the Philippines, which had been altogether neglected by the Portuguese, and without difficulty re-established Spanish supremacy over the group, of which he may be considered as the first governor.
Their favorable reception by the natives rendered the acquisition altogether, or nearly, a bloodless one, for the warriors who gained them over to Spain were not their steel-clad chivalry, but the soldiers of the cross:—the priests, who, going out among a simple but somewhat passionate people, astonished and kindled them by their enthusiasm in the cause of Christ; while the novel doctrines they taught so enthusiastically, aided by the usual splendid accompaniments of that religion, captivated their senses, and took possession of their imaginations.
Manilla was founded on the island of Luzon, the most important of all the islands in the group; and the situation of the new capital on the shore of a long bay, into which flow numerous rivers, bringing down from the interior of a fertile country through which they run, its varied and valuable produce, has secured for it prosperity and commercial importance. A trade with China sprang up, and its commencement was soon followed by many emigrants from that densely-peopled country, whose habits of industry and prudence very soon began to increase and develope the natural fertility of the soil, and whose numerous descendants have mingled with the native character some of those useful virtues which it seems scarcely probable they would possess but for this slight mixture of blood.
Alas, that priestly ambition and the desire of domination should in time usurp the place of those laborious, enthusiastic, and pious missionaries who, so happily for the natives, had managed to revolutionize their minds, and so spared their country those scenes of blood which blot with a fearful stain the history of Spanish power in America. But the influence of churchmen, as usual, in the Philippines, was not always to be well directed; for the merciless Inquisition having established itself at Manilla, commenced its terrible career. No one was safe, none were exempt from its powers; its emissaries penetrated even into the palace of the Governor. Moderation in religion, or remissness in its strictest observances, became crimes, punishable by the severest discipline of that fearful and cruel establishment. All attempts, even when aided or directed by the authority and influence of the highest officials, to lessen its power, proved unsuccessful; and frequently a Bishop was chosen to occupy the Governor-general’s place, to perform his civil and military duties! Everything was in the hands of the churchmen, the subsequent effects of which were demonstrated to the world by the easy success of the British expedition of 1762, which they permitted to enter the bay without opposition, having passed the fortified island of Corregidor at its entrance without a shot being fired to prevent them. And the same effects caused but a feeble resistance to be opposed to their arms, and the speedy surrender of Manilla by its priest-ridden and effeminate defenders.
CHAPTER II.
The Government of Spain has, ever since the period of their acquisition, shown itself ignorant or neglectful of the commercial importance of these islands, the commerce of which has long been subjected to regulations and restrictions as injurious in their tendency as can well be imagined,—they being framed, apparently at least, more for the purpose of smothering it in its earliest existence than with any kindly or paternal views of nourishing and increasing it.
But a change having at length once begun, a new era may be said to have commenced with regard to them, and it is to be hoped that increasing wisdom and liberality of ideas may clear away some of the remaining obstacles which for so long encumbered, and even yet impede and circumscribe within a very narrow circle, the natural course of their commerce. For the Spanish Government are far from following a similar policy to that of the great Henry the Fourth of France, who, as an encouragement to the manufacturing industry of the country, rewarded those silk manufacturers who had carried on business for twelve years, with patents of nobility, as men who by doing so not only benefited themselves, but deserved well of their country for their enterprise and commercial spirit. Don Simon Anda was about the first person who showed any desire to augment the trade of the islands; and his election to the highest offices of the colony, after its restoration by the English, was a most fortunate event for Manilla. Although, unluckily, many of the steps he took with the best intentions, notwithstanding being infinitely in advance of those of his predecessors in office, were not always in the right direction, and consequently unattended by the highest degree of success which he aimed at, partial good results were obtained by them, and a beneficial change began to regulate affairs.
The expulsion of the Jesuits from the Philippines in 1768, by throwing their immense estates out of cultivation, and also the wars and disturbances subsequent to the French Revolution, being felt even in this remote part of the world, were attended with the worst effects to the trade and agriculture of the islands. On the peace of 1814, the condition of the country was truly deplorable, as, during a long period of isolation and inactivity, abuses had multiplied to an alarming extent, and the minds of the Indian population especially had become divided between superstition and sedition, from each of which a sanguinary catastrophe resulted. Public opinion at the time fastened on the priests the guilt of the massacre of the Protestant foreigners at Manilla in 1820, and the growing discontent of the people blew into open rebellion in 1823, under a Creole leader, who then rose and attempted to shake off the Spanish authority.