Principalía

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Typical dress of a Principalía family of the 19th century. Exhibited in the Villa Escudero Museum, San Pablo, Laguna.

The Principalía or noble class[1] was the ruling and, usually, the educated upper class in the towns of colonial Philippines, composed of the Gobernadorcillo (who had functions similar to a Town Mayor), and the Cabezas de Barangay (Chiefs of the Barangays) who governed the districts.[2] The distinction or status of being part of the Principalía is a hereditary right.[3] But it could be acquired also, as attested by the Royal Decree of December 20, 1863 (signed in the name of Queen Isabel II of Spain by the Minister of the Colonies, José de la Concha).[4][5]

This distinguished upper class was exempted from tribute (tax) to the Spanish Crown during the colonial period.[6] It was the town’s aristocracy, which could be roughly comparable to the Patrician class of Ancient Rome. The Principales (members of the Principalía) traced their origin from the pre-colonial royal and noble class of Datu of the established Kingdoms, Rajahnates, Confederacies, and Principalities, as well as of the smaller ancient social units (Barangays) in Visayas, Luzon, and Mindanao.[7] The members of this class enjoyed exclusive privileges: only the members of the Principalía were allowed to vote, be elected to public office, and be addressed by the title: Don or Doña.[8]

For most part, the social privileges of the nobles were freely acknowledged as befitting their greater social responsibilities. The Gobernadorcillo during that period received a nominal salary and was not provided government funds for public services. But more often, the Gobernadorcillo had to maintain government of his municipality by looking after the post office and the jailhouse, and by managing public infrastructure.[9]

The Principales also provided assistance to parishes by helping in the construction of church buildings, and in the pastoral and religious activities of the priest, who was usually the only Spaniard in most colonial towns. (The Clergy were often the sole representatives of Spain in many parts of the Archipelgo.[10] Under the Patronato Real of the Spanish Crown, these Spanish Churchmen were also the King's effective ambassadors,[11] and promoters [12] of the realm).

Contents

[edit] History and evolution

[edit] Pre-colonial Principalities

Portrait of a pre-conquest Filipino noble couple depicted in Boxer Codex.

From the beginning of the colonial period in the Philippine, the Spanish government built on traditional pre-conquest socio-political organization of the barangay and co-opted the traditional Indigenous princes and their nobles, thereby ruling indirectly.[13] The barangays in some coastal places in Panay,[14] Manila, Cebu, Jolo, and Butuan, with cosmopolitan cultures and trade relations with other Countries in Asia, were already established Principalities before the coming of the Spaniards. In other regions, even though the majority of these barangays were not large settlements, yet they had organized societies dominated by the same type of recognized aristocracy and Lordships (with birthright claim to allegiance from followers), as those found in more established, richer and more developed Principalities.[15] The aristocratic group in these pre-colonial societies was called the Datu Class. Its members were presumably the descendants of the first settlers on the land or, in the case of later arrivals, of those who were Datus at the time of migration or conquest.

The duty of the Datus was to rule and govern their subjects and followers, and to assist them in their interests and necessities. What the chiefs received from their followers was: to be held by them in great veneration and respect; and they were served in their wars and voyages, and in their tilling, sowing, fishing, and the building of their houses. To these duties the natives attended very promptly, whenever summoned by their Chief. They also paid their Chief tribute (which they called buwis), in varying quantities, in the crops that they gathered.[16] The descendants of such Chiefs, and their relatives, even though they did not inherit the Lordship, were held in the same respect and consideration, and were all regarded as nobles and as persons exempt from the services rendered by the others, or the plebeians (timawas).[17] The same right of nobility and chieftainship was preserved for the women, just as for the men.[18]

Some of these Principalities and Lordships have remained, even until the present, in unhispanized [19] and mostly Lumad and Muslim parts of the Philippines, in some regions of Mindanao.[20]

With the end of the Spanish rule in the Philippines and with the change of the form of government from monarchy to democracy (under the United States of America), the Principalía and their descendants lost their legal powers and social privileges.

[edit] Pre-colonial Principalities in the Visayas

A golden vestment worn by the Hindu Brahmin Caste, found in Butuan Archeological Digs.

In more developed Barangays in Visayas, e.g., Panay, Bohol and Cebu (which were never conquered by Spain but were accomplished as vassals by means of pacts, peace treaties, and reciprocal alliances),[21] the Datu Class was at the top of a divinely sanctioned and stable social order in a "Sakop" (elsewhere referred to as Barangay). This social order was divided into three classes. The members of the Datu Class were compared by the Boxer Codex to the titled Lords (Señores de titulo) in Spain.[22] As Agalon or Amo (Lords),[23] the Datus enjoyed an ascribed right to respect, obedience, and support from their "Oripun" (Commoner) or followers belonging to the Third Order. These Datus had acquired rights to the same advantages from their legal "Timawa" or vassals (Second Order), who bind themselves to the Datu as his seafaring warriors. "Timawas" paid no tribute, and rendered no agricultural labor. They had a portion of the Datu's blood in their veins. The above-mentioned Boxer Codex calls these "Timawas": Knights and Hidalgos. The Spanish conquistador, Miguel de Loarca, described them as "free men, neither chiefs nor slaves". In the late 1600s, the Spanish Jesuit priest Fr. Francisco Ignatio Alcina, classified them as the third rank of nobility (nobleza).[24]

To maintain purity of bloodline, Datus marry only among their kind, often seeking high ranking brides in other Barangays, abducting them, or contracting brideprices in gold, slaves and jewelry. Meanwhile, the Datus keep their marriageable daughters secluded for protection and prestige.[25] These well-guarded and protected highborn women were called "Binokot",[26], the Datus of pure descent (four generations) were called "Potli nga Datu" or "Lubus nga Datu",[27] while a woman of noble lineage (especially the elderly) are addressed by the Pintados (of Panay) as "Uray" (meaning: pure as gold), e.g., Uray Hilway.[28]

[edit] Pre-colonial Principalities in the Tagalog Region

The different type of culture prevalent in Luzon gave a less stable and more complex social structure to the pre-colonial Tagalog barangays of Manila, Pampanga and Laguna. Enjoying a more extensive commence than those in Visayas, having the influence of Bornean political contacts, and engaging in farming wet rice for a living, the Tagalogs were described by the Spanish Augustinian Friar Martin de Rada as more traders than warriors.[29]

The more complex social structure of the Tagalogs was less stable during the arrival of the Spaniards because it was still in a process of differentiating. A Jesuit priest Francisco Colin made an attempt to give an approximate comparison of it with the Visayan social structure in the middle of the seventeenth century. The term Datu or Lakan, or Apo refers to the chief, but the noble class to which the Datu belonged or could come from was the Maginoo Class. One maybe born a Maginoo, but he could become a Datu by personal achievement. In the Visayas, if the Datu had the personality and economic means, he could retain and restrain competing peers, relatives, and offspring.[30]

The term Timawa came into use in the social structure of the Tagalogs within just twenty years after the coming of the Spaniards. The term, however, was being applied to former Alipin (Third Class) who have escaped bondage by payment, favor, or flight. The Tagalog Timawas did not have the military prominence of the Visayan Timawa. The warrior class in the Tagalog society was present only in Laguna, and they were called the Maharlika Class. At the early part of the Spanish regime, the number of their members who were coming to rent land from their Datus was increasing.[31]

Unlike the Visayan Datus, the Lakans and Apos of Luzon could call all non-Maginoo subjects to work in the Datu’s fields or do all sorts of other personal labor. In the Visayas, only the Oripuns were obliged to do that, and to pay tribute besides. The Tagalog who works in the Datu’s field did not pay him tribute, and could transfer their allegiance to another Datu.[32]

The Visayan Timawa neither paid tribute nor performed agricultural labor. In a sense, they were truly aristocrats. The Tagalog Maharlika did not only work in his Datu’s field, but could also be required to pay his own rent. Thus, all non-Maginoo formed a common economic class in some sense, though this class had no designation.[33]

The civilization of the Pre-colonial societies in the Visayas, Northern Mondanao, and Luzon were largely influenced by Hindu and Buddhist cultures. As such, the Datus who ruled these Principalities (such as Butuan, Cebu, Panay, Mindoro and Manila) also share the many customs of royalties and nobles in Southeast Asian territories (with Hindu and Buddhist cultures), especially in the way they used to dress and adorn themselves with gold and silk. The Boxer Codex bears testimony to this fact. The measure of the prince's possession of gold and slaves was proportionate to his greatness and nobility.[34]

[edit] The Noble Class during the Spanish Dominion

A Mestizo (mixed-race) woman belonging to the Principalía.

The Principalía was the First Estate of the four echelons of Filipino Society at the time of contact with the Spaniards, as described by Fr. Juan de Plasencia, a pioneer Franciscan missionary in the Philippines. Loarca,[35] and the he Canon Lawyer Antonio Morga, who classified the Society into three estates (ruler, ruled, slave), also affirmed the preeminence of the Principales.[36] All members of this First Estate (the Datu class) were Principales, whether they ruled or not.[37] San Buenaventura's 1613 Dictionary of the Tagalog Language defines three terms that clarify the concept of this Principalía:[38]

1. Poon or Punò (chief, leader) - principal or head of a lineage.

2. Ginoo - a noble by lineage and parentage, family and descent.

3. Maguinoo - principal in lineage or parentage.

The Spanish term Seňor (Lord) is equated with all these three terms, which are distinguished from the nouveau riche imitators scornfully called Maygintao (man with gold or Hidalgo by gold, and not by lineage).[39]

The First Estate was the class that constituted a birthright aristocracy with claims to respect, obedience, and support from those of subordinate status.[40]

To implement a system of indirect rule in the Philippines, King Philip II of Spain ordered, through a law signed on 11 June 1594, that the honors and privileges of governing, which were previously enjoyed by the local royalties and nobilities in formerly sovereign principalities (who later accepted the Catholic faith and became subject to him), should be retained and protected. He also ordered the Spanish Governors in the Philippines to treat these native nobles well. The King further ordered that the natives should pay to these nobles the same respect that the inhabitants accorded to their local Lords before the conquest, without prejudice to the things that pertain to the king himself or to the encomenderos (trusteeship leaders). The royal decree says: “It is not right that the Indian Principales of the Philippines be in a worse condition after conversion; rather they should have such treatment that would gain their affection and keep them loyal, so that with the spiritual blessings that God has communicated to them by calling them to his true knowledge, the temporal blessings may be added, and they may live contentedly and comfortably. Therefore, we order the governors of those islands to show them good treatment and entrust them, in our name, with the government of the Indians, of whom they were formerly Lords. In all else the governors shall see that the Principales are benefited justly, and the Indians shall pay them something as a recognition, as they did during the period of their paganism, provided it be without prejudice to the tributes that are to be paid us, or prejudicial to that which pertains to their Encomenderos.” [41]

Through this law, the local Filipino nobles became encomenderos (trustees) also of the King of Spain, who ruled the Country indirectly through these nobles, under the supervision of the Spanish colonial officials. This system of indirect government helped in the pacification of the rural areas, and had institutionalized the role of an upper class, referred to as the "Principalía" or the "Principales", until the fall of the Spanish regime in the Philippines in 1898.

The Spanish dominion brought serious modifications to the life and economy of the indigenous society. The shift of emphasis to agriculture marginalized, weakened, and deprived the hildalgo-like warriors of their significance in the Barangay, especially in the trade-raiding societies in the Visayas (which needed the Viking-like services of the "Timawas"). By the 1580s, many of these noblemen found themselves reduced to leasing land from their Datus. Their military functions were eclipsed by farming. Whatever remained would quickly be disoriented, deflected, and destroyed by the superior military power of Spain.[42]

By the end of the 16th century, any claim to Filipino royalty, nobility, or hidalguía had disappeared into a homogenized, hispanized and Christianized nobility - the Principalía.[43] The Principalía was larger and more influential than the pre-conquest Indigenous nobility. It helped create and perpetuate an oligarchic system in the Spanish colony for more than three hundred years.[44] The Spanish colonial government's prohibition for foreigners to own land in the Philippines contributed to the evolution of this form of oligarchy. In some provinces of the Philippines, many Spaniards and foreign merchants intermarried with the rich and landed Malayo-Polynesian local nobilities. From these unions, a new cultural group was formed, the Mestizo class.[45] Their descendants emerged later to became an influential part of the government, and the Principalía. .[46]

[edit] Certain class symbols

At the later part of the Spanish period, this class of elite Christian landowners started to wear a distinctive type of Salakot, a Philippine headdress commonly used in the Archipelago since the pre-colonial period.[47] Instead of the usual headgear made of Rattan or Reeds or various shells such as Capiz shells, which common Filipinos would wear, the Principales would use more precious materials like tortoise shell and precious metals like silver or, at times, gold. The ornate Salakots of this upper class were usually embossed with these precious metals and sometimes decorated with coins of value or pendants that hang around the rim of the headgear.[48]

[edit] Gallery

  • A salakot, typically used by a Gobernadorcillo or a Cabeza de Barangay.

  • A depiction of Rajah Lakan Dula, Lord of Tondo, whom the Spaniards met during the colonisation of Manila in 1571.

  • Relatively recent bronze statue of Philip II in Intramuros, Manila.

  • The Recapitulación de leyes, showing Philip II's Law on the Principalía, Library of Estudio Teologico Agustiniano de Valladolid, Spain.

  • An 1885 municipal election report in the towns of Banate, Ajuy, Barotac Viejo and Anilao, Iloilo, which the Principales exclusively participated in.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVII, p. 331.
  2. ^ In 1893, the Maura Law was passed to reorganize town governments with the aim of making them more effective and autonomous, changing the designation of town leaders from gobernadorcillo to capitan municipal in 1895. Cf. Wikipedia article: Emilio Aguinaldo, n. 1 (Early life and career).
  3. ^ Durante la dominación española, el cacique, jefe de un barangay, ejercía funciones judiciales y administrativas. A los tres años tenía el tratamiento de don y se reconocía capacidad para ser gobernadorcillo, con facultades para nombrarse un auxiliar llamado primogenito, siendo hereditario el cargo de jefe. Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624.
  4. ^ Article 16 of the Royal Decree of December 20, 1863 says: After a school has been established in any village for fifteen years, no natives who cannot speak, read and write the Castilian language shall form part of the Principalía unless they enjoy that distinction by right of inheritance. After the school has been established for thirty years, only those who possess the above-mentioned condition shall enjoy exemption from the personal service tax, except in the case of the sick. Isabel II, Royal Decree of December 20, 1863, Art. 16 in The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XLVI, p. 85. The Royal Decree was implemented in the Philippines by the Governor General through a circular signed on August 30, 1867. Section III of the circular says: The law has considered them very carefully and it is fitting for the supervisor to unfold before the eyes of the parents so that their simple intelligence may well understand that not only ought they, but that it is profitable for them to send their children to school, for after the schools have been established for fifteen years in the village of their tribes those who cannot speak, read, or write Castilian: Cannot be gobernadorcillos; nor lieutenants of justice; nor form part of the Principalía; unless they enjoy that privilege because of heredity... General Gándara, Circular of the Superior Civil Government Giving Rules for the Good Discharge of School Supervision in The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XLVI, 133.
  5. ^ The increase of population during the colonial period consequently needed the creation of new leaders, with this quality. The emergence of the mestizo culture (both Filipinos of Spanish descent and Filipinos of Chinese descent) had also necessitated this, and even the subsequent designation of separate institutions or offices of Gobernadorcillos for the different mestizo groups and for the Indigenous tribes living in the same territories or cities with large population. Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVII, pp. 324- 326.
  6. ^ The cabezas, their wives, and first-born sons enjoyed exemption from the payment of tribute to the Spanish Crown. Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XLII, p. 326.
  7. ^ Durante la dominación española, el cacique, jefe de un barangay, ejercía funciones judiciales y administrativas. A los tres años tenía el tratamiento de don y se reconocía capacidad para ser gobernadorcillo. Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624.
  8. ^ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XL, p. 218. Also cf. Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624.
  9. ^ Cf. H. de la Costa, S. J., Reading in Philippine History, Manila 1973, pp. 182-183. Also cf. Gregorio F. Elizalde, Pageant of Philippine History, Vol. I, p. 294. Also cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVII, p. 326.
  10. ^ There were only a very small standing army to protect the Spanish government in the Philippines. This ridiculous situtation made an old viceroy of New Spain to say: "En cada fraile tenía el Rey en Filipinas un capitan general y un ejercito entero." ("In each friar in the Philippines the King had a captain general and a whole army.") Par J. Mallat, Les Philippines, histoire, geographie, moeurs, agriculture, industrie et commerce des Colonies espagnoles dans l'oceanie, Paris: 1846, p. 389.
  11. ^ "Of little avail would have been the valor and constancy with which Legaspi and his worthy companions overcame the natives of the islands, if the apostolic zeal of the missionaries had not seconded their exertions, and aided to consolidate the enterprise. The latter were the real conquerors; they who without any other arms than their virtues, gained over the good will of the islanders, caused the Spanish name to be beloved, and gave the king, as it were by a miracle, two millions more of submissive and Christian subjects." Tomas de Comyn, State of the Philippine Islands in 1820, William Walton, trans., London: 1821, p. 209.
  12. ^ "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 Philippines was conquered. Only this influence could keep them.") Par J. Mallat, Les Philippines, histoire, geographie, moeurs, agriculture, industrie et commerce des Colonies espagnoles dans l'oceanie, Paris: 1846, p. 40.
  13. ^ For more information about the social system of the Indigenous Philippine society before the Spanish colonization confer Barangay in Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624. The article also says: Los nobles de un barangay eran los más ricos ó los más fuertes, formándose por este sistema los dattos ó maguinoos, principes á quienes heredaban los hijos mayores, las hijas á falta de éstos, ó los parientes más próximos si no tenían descendencia directa; pero siempre teniendo en cuenta las condiciones de fuerza ó de dinero...Los vassalos plebeyos tenían que remar en los barcos del maguinoo, cultivar sus campos y pelear en la guerra. Los siervos, que formaban el término medio entre los esclavos y los hombres libres, podían tener propriedad individual, mujer, campos, casa y esclavos; pero los tagalos debían pagar una cantidad en polvo de oro equivalente á una parte de sus cosechas, los de los barangayes bisayas estaban obligados á trabajar en las tieras del señor cinco días al mes, pagarle un tributo anual en arroz y hacerle un presente en las fiestas. Durante la dominación española, el cacique, jefe de un barangay, ejercía funciones judiciales y administrativas. A los tres años tenía el tratamiento de don y se reconocía capacidad para ser gobernadorcillo, con facultades para nombrarse un auxiliar llamado primogenito, siendo hereditario el cargo de jefe. It should also be noted that the more popular and official term used to refer to the leaders of the district or to the cacique during the Spanish period was Cabeza de Barangay.
  14. ^ In Panay, the existence of highly developed and independent principalities of Ogtong (Oton) and Araut (Dumangas) was well known to early Spanish settlers in the Philippines. The Augustinian historian Gaspar de San Agustin, for example, wrote about the existence of an ancient and illustrious nobility in Araut, in his book Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565–1615). He said: "También fundó convento el Padre Fray Martin de Rada en Araut- que ahora se llama el convento de Dumangas- con la advocación de nuestro Padre San Agustín...Está fundado este pueblo casi a los fines del río de Halaur, que naciendo en unos altos montes en el centro de esta isla (Panay)...Es el pueblo muy hermoso, ameno y muy lleno de palmares de cocos. Antiguamente era el emporio y corte de la más lucida nobleza de toda aquella isla." Gaspar de San Agustin, O.S.A., Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565-1615), Manuel Merino, O.S.A., ed., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas: Madrid 1975, pp. 374-375.
  15. ^ "There were no kings or lords throughout these islands who ruled over them as in the manner of our kingdoms and provinces; but in every island, and in each province of it, many chiefs were recognized by the natives themselves. Some were more powerful than others, and each one had his followers and subjects, by districts and families; and these obeyed and respected the chief. Some chiefs had friendship and communication with others, and at times wars and quarrels. These principalities and lordships were inherited in the male line and by succession of father and son and their descendants. If these were lacking, then their brothers and collateral relatives succeeded... When any of these chiefs was more courageous than others in war and upon other occasions, such a one enjoyed more followers and men; and the others were under his leadership, even if they were chiefs. These latter retained to themselves the lordship and particular government of their own following, which is called barangay among them. They had datos and other special leaders [mandadores] who attended to the interests of the barangay." Antonio de Morga, The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  16. ^ Antonio de Morga, The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  17. ^ Antonio de Morga, The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  18. ^ Antonio de Morga, The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  19. ^ Historians classify four types of unhispanized societies in the Philippines, some of which still survive in remote and isolated parts of the Country: 1.) Classless societies; 2.) Warrior societies, characterized by a distinct warrior class, in which membership is won by personal achievement, entails privilege, duty and prescribed norms of conduct, and is requisite for community leadership; 3.) Petty Plutocracies, which are dominated socially and politically by a recognized class of rich men who attain memebrship through birthright, property and the performance of specified ceremonies. They are "petty" because their authority is localized, being extended by neither absentee landlordism nor territorial subjugation; 4.) Principalities. Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 139.
  20. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 127-147.
  21. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 4. Also cf. Antonio Morga, Sucessos de las Islas Filipinas, 2nd ed., Paris: 1890, p. xxxiii.
  22. ^ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 102 and 112
  23. ^ In Panay, even at present, the landed descendants of the Principales are still referred to as Agalon or Amo by their tenants. However, the tenants are no longer called Oripon (in Karay-a, i.e., the Ilonggo sub-dialect) or Olipun (in Sinâ, i.e., Ilonggo spoken in the lowlands and cities). Instead, the tenants are now commonly referred to as Tinawo (subjects)
  24. ^ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 112- 118.
  25. ^ http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/pssr/article/viewFile/1274/1630 Seclusion and Veiling of Women: A Historical and Cultural Approach
  26. ^ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XXIX, pp. 290-291.
  27. ^ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 113.
  28. ^ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XXIX, p. 292.
  29. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 124-125.
  30. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 125.
  31. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 125.
  32. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 125.
  33. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 125.
  34. ^ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XXIX, p. 281.
  35. ^ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. V, p. 155.
  36. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 99.
  37. ^ The Real Academia Espaňola defines Principal as a "person or thing that holds first place in value or importance, and is given precedence and preference before others". This Spanish term best describes the First Estate of the society in the Archipelago, which the Europeans came in contact with. Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 99.
  38. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 99.
  39. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 100.
  40. ^ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 100.
  41. ^ Felipe II, Ley de Junio 11, 1594 in Recapilación de leyes, lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. The English translation of the law by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson can be found in The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVI, pp. 155-156. The original text in Spanish (Recapilación de leyes) says: No es justo, que los Indios Principales de Filipinas sean de peor condición, después de haberse convertido, ántes de les debe hacer tratamiento, que los aficione, y mantenga en felicidad, para que con los bienes espirituales, que Dios les ha comunicado llamándolos a su verdadero conocimiento, se junten los temporales, y vivan con gusto y conveniencia. Por lo qua mandamos a los Gobernadores de aquellas Islas, que les hagan buen tratamiento, y encomienden en nuestro nombre el gobierno de los Indios, de que eran Señores, y en todo lo demás procuren, que justamente se aprovechen haciéndoles los Indios algún reconocimiento en la forma que corría el tiempo de su Gentilidad, con que esto sin perjuicio de los tributos, que á Nos han de pagar, ni de lo que á sus Encomenderos. Juan de Ariztia, ed., Recapilación de leyes, Madrid (1723), lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. This reference can be found at the library of the Estudio Teologico Agustiniano de Valladolid in Spain.
  42. ^ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 117-118.
  43. ^ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 117-118.
  44. ^ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVII, p. 331; Ibid., Vol. XL, p. 218.
  45. ^ Cf. also Encomienda; Hacienda.
  46. ^ Cf. The Impact of Spanish Rule in the Philippines in www.seasite.niu.edu.[1]
  47. ^ Blair and Robertson mentioned the Salakot as part of the usual attire of the Principalía. They call the headress "mushroom hat". They say: Their (Principalía) usual dress is black jacket, European trousers, mushroom hat, and colored (velvet) slippers; many even wear varnished shoes, such as high quality leather shoes. The shirt is short, and worn outside the trousers. The Gobernadorcillo carries a tassled cane (baston), the lieutenants wands (varas). On occasions of great ceremony, they dress formally in Frock coat, and high crowned hat... Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVII, p. 331.
  48. ^ Alfredo R. Roces, et al., eds., Ethnic Headgear in Filipino Heritage: the Making of a Nation, Philippines: Lahing Pilipino Publishing, Inc., 1977, Vol. IV, pp. 1106-1107.

[edit] Cross References

  • Regalado Trota Jose, The Many Images of Christ (particularly in the section: Spain retains the old class system) in Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People, Jose S. Arcilla, ed, Philippines: Asia Publishing Company, Limited, 1998, Vol. III, pp. 178–179.
  • Alfredo R. Roces, et al., eds., The Ruling Class in Filipino Heritage: The Making of a Nation, Philippines: Lahing Pilipino Publishing, Inc., 1978, Vol. V, pp. 1155–1158.

[edit] External links

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