Spanish Colonization Of Filipino Analysis

In 1512, a watershed moment in history occurred: the Portuguese became the first European power to come across the Indonesian Archipelago. What had been found could not be unfound; European contact with the East Indies and mainland Southeast Asia would be a defining force in shaping the region for the last half of the millennium. In the next century, the British East India Company (EIC) and Dutch East India Company (VOC) were established to facilitate trade between Europe and Asia. Around the same time as the "discovery" of modern-day Indonesia, Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines and declared it a colony on the behalf of the Spanish Crown. Prior to European arrival, the people of Southeast Asia were no stranger to sea trade. Trade

When the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, the diverse population of inhabitants were either animistic or Muslim. With the exception of Manila, the periphery of the islands had little economic value and returned relatively poor profits. Therefore, "[Spanish monarchs] resolved early that religious conversion of Filipinos was to be the only justification for holding the islands." Due to conflicts with the Dominican and Jesuit orders that did the missionary work in the Philippines, the Spanish appointed and trained Indios, those who were of fully Filipino descent, and Mestizos, those of half-Iberian, half-Filipino descent, to be priests. These Mestizos and Indios were on the lower end of the racial hierarchy of the Philippines, so the fact that they were able to gain prominent roles in the clergy show a very high level of commitment to proselytization by the Spanish. With efforts focused almost solely on Catholic conversion, the Spanish were successful in turning the Philippines into "the only Asian country with a Christian majority population" during its rule from 1571 to

As European powers became more wealthy, powerful, and influential in Southeast Asia, indigenous people were increasingly mistreated became and discontented with European rule. Though many faced the brutal aspects colonialism before Europe began consolidating political rule over Southeast Asia, the new policies that were instituted during the 18th and 19th centuries significantly worsened the quality of life of the average person living in Southeast Asia. Redistribution of land away from peasants, a lack of access to education, high taxation, a racial hierarchy motivated by the doctrines of social Darwinism, and the revocation of political power made the experience of living in a colony as a non-European very poor. To remedy this, many colonies started seeking their independence in the late 19th century. To some Southeast Asians, it seemed that they had been failed by the illusion of liberal ideals that Europeans had imported when they started ruling over their colonies. Thus, they started looking elsewhere, such as toward the doctrines of Karl Marx, as a means of undoing the damage that Europe had inflicted upon their