Chapter III

, note 37.

[37] The oficiales reales consisted of the tesorero (treasurer), contador (accountant) and factor (disbursing officer and supply agent). See Recopilación, 8-4-34, 35; 8-2-5, 6.

The laws of March 2, 1618, and of November 17, 1626, ordered that in colonies having audiencias the acuerdos de real hacienda should be attended by the president (governor or viceroy), fiscal, senior oidor, and oficial real, respectively. In case there were no audiencia, the session should then consist of all the oficiales reales and the governor, and then the votes of the treasury officials should be final (Recopilación, 8-3-8, 11, 12). Under certain circumstances the factor was assisted by a veedor and a proveedor. The duties of the latter officials were largely administrative (ibid., 8-4-38 to 39).

Bancroft (History of Mexico, III, 520) states that "the provinces of royal officials [oficiales reales] were merely revenue districts whose heads received their appointment from the king, and administered their office under a certain supervision from the viceroy and governors attending their councils; yet they were responsible only to the tribunal of finance in the viceregal capital, and this again reported direct to Spain." See also Priestley, José de Gálvez, 76-82.

[38] Bull of the Santa Cruzada, the apostolic bull by which the popes conceded certain indulgences to those who went to the conquest of Jerusalem, and later to the Spaniards who contributed alms to aid in the war against the Africans. It was called cruzada because the soldiers wore crosses as emblems (Escriche, Diccionario, I, 462). Funds for this purpose were raised in the Philippines, paid into the insular treasury and deducted from the subsidy at Acapulco (Recopilación, 1-20-24). As noted above, an oidor acted as asesor of these funds (ibid., 2-16-23).

[39] Solórzano y Pereyra, Política Indiana, II, 271-279.

[40] The first attempt at the codification of the laws for the governing of the colonies was made in New Spain in 1545, when the ordinances for the government of that viceroyalty and audiencia were printed. This collection was given the royal approval in 1548. A similar compilation was made in Perú in 1552 by Viceroy Mendoza. The first intimation of a universal code is to be found in the recommendations of the fiscal of the Council of the Indies, Francisco Hernández de Liebana, in 1552. On September 4, 1560, Luís Velasco, viceroy of New Spain, was ordered to print a compilation of laws for the Audiencia of Mexico. This commission was given to Oidor Puga of that tribunal and executed in 1563. In 1569 Viceroy Francisco Toledo was ordered to make a similar compilation for Perú, but the work was not completed at that time. The first volume actually printed by authority of the Council was accomplished in 1593. This was the beginning of the code of the Indies, but the volume which was published pertained only to the regimen of the Council of the Indies itself, and made no regulations for the colonies. A more extensive collection of provisions, letters, orders and cédulas was published on the authority of the Council by Diego de Encinas, a clerk of that tribunal, in 1596. In 1603, the Ordenanzas reales para la Casa de Contratación de Sevilla y para otras cosas de las Indias were printed in the same city. Another ordinance was published for the regulation of the contaduría mayor.

Various compilations were made by the oidores from time to time, either for their own use, or in compliance with the royal commands. Among the latter, perhaps the most famous and certainly the most useful was that of Juan de Solórzano y Pereyra, oidor of the Audiencia of Perú and later a member of the Council of the Indies. This collection was made at Lima in compliance with the commission of Philip IV, issued in 1610. The work, consisting of six volumes, received the stamp of royal approval on July 3, 1627. In 1623 León Pinelo published a Discurso sobre la importancia, forma, y disposición de la recopilación de leyes de Indias. On April 19 of that year Pinelo was ordered to make an examination of all the existing laws and cédulas relative to the government of the colonies, printed or in manuscript, with a view to codification. A magistrate named Aguilar y Acuña was ordered to collaborate with him. The result of these proceedings was a Sumario de la Recopilación General, which continued under process of compilation for a half century. It was finally perfected and published in 1677. In 1668 Pinelo's work was issued as the Autos acordados y decretos de gobierno del Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias.

Although the collection was practically ready by 1677, it was not officially accepted until May 18, 1680. On that day it was promulgated by Charles II, king of Spain. On November 1, 1681, the work was ordered published by the India House, and the Recopilación de los Reynos de Indias was issued at Madrid in four volumes. Subsequent editions were printed in 1754, 1774, 1791 and 1841. The last-mentioned contains in its index reforms down to 1820. A Recopilación Sumaria was published in Mexico in two volumes in 1787. The compilations of Zamora y Coronado, Rodríguez San Pedro and Pérez y López, cited repeatedly in this work, contain later laws, and serve in the place of the Recopilación for the more recent periods.

Authorities: Solórzano y Pereyra, Política Indiana, I, Introduction; G. B. Griffin, "A brief bibliographical sketch of the Recopilación de Indias" in Historical Society of Southern California, Publications, 1887; Fabié, Ensayo histórico de la legislación española; Puga, Provisiones, cédulas, (1563); Garcia Icazbalceta, Bibliografía Mexicana del siglo XVI, (1886), 25-26; Bancroft, History of Mexico, III, 550-551; History of Central America, I, 225-288; Antequera, Historia de la legislación española, 480-483.

[41] Altamira, Historia, IV, 165-166.

[42] Recopilación, 5-2-2, 3, 7, 15, 19, 28. In this case a local military functionary.

[43] Ibid., 37, 39, 41; Moses, Establishment of Spanish Rule in America, 83-84; Vander Linden, L'expansion coloniale de l'Espagne, 345-361.

[44] Repartimientos or polos; referring to the forced labor of natives on public works, such as ship and road-building. The provincial officials exercised supervision over this obligatory service, and were held responsible for the proper execution of the laws appertaining thereto (Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands [hereinafter cited as Blair and Robertson], XIX, 71-76).

[45] Cartas y expedientes de gobernadores de Durango, (1591-1700), Archivo de Indias, Sevilla, [hereinafter cited as A. I.,] 66-6-17, 18 (these numbers refer to archive place); Cartas y Expedientes del Virrey de Mégico que tratan de asuntos de Guadalajara (1698-1760), A. I., 67-2-10 to 13. These two series contain hundreds of letters on this subject, as do other series, relating to Nuevo León, Nueva Galicia, Nueva Vizcaya, and New Mexico.

[46] This was true of San Luís Potosí and Guadalajara in New Spain. See Bancroft, History of Mexico, III, 520; History of Central America, I, 297; Moses, Establishment of Spanish rule in America, 83.

[47] Bancroft (History of Central America, I, 297) defines the corregidor as a magistrate with civil and criminal jurisdiction in the first instance, and gubernatorial inspection in the political and economic government of all the towns of the district assigned to him. There were corregidores letrados (learned in the law), corregidores políticos (political and administrative), de capa y espada (military) and políticos y militares (administrative and military). When the corregidor was not a lawyer by profession, unless he had an asesor of his own, the alcalde mayor, if possessed of legal knowledge, became his advisor, which greatly increased the importance of the last-mentioned official. The alcalde mayor was appointed by the king. It was required that he should be a lawyer by profession, twenty-six years of age, and of good character. Practically, in cases of this kind, when the governor was not a letrado, civil, criminal, and some phases of military authority devolved on the alcalde mayor; the first two ex-officio, and the latter as the legal advisor of the military chief. In new colonies this officer was invested with powers almost equal to those of the governor.--See Recopilación, 5-2.

[48] The first encomiendas in the Philippines were granted by Legaspi in 1572 (Montero y Vidal, Historia general, I, 42-43). The encomenderos ruled the Indians in their care with little interference from alcaldes mayores, corregidores, or governors. Vander Linden especially emphasizes the fact that the encomenderos were not supposed to act as the private masters of the Indians on their holdings, but were to act as the representatives of the king (Vander Linden, L'expansion coloniale de l'Espagne, 345-346). The laws of the Indies specified that the encomenderos were to protect, aid and educate them, seeing particularly that they were taught the Catholic Faith (Recopilación, 6-8, 9, 10, 11; esp. tit. 9, laws 1-4).

The encomenderos, in the guise of benefactors, guardians and protectors of the Indians, supervised the labor of the latter on the encomiendas, drawing remuneration therefrom, collecting tribute from them, and retaining a share of that. Aside from the very intimate relationship of the encomenderos as the guardians of the Indians in spiritual and temporal things, they were not considered as officials in the same sense as were the alcaldes mayores and corregidores.

Dr. Pardo de Tavera characterizes the duties and relations of the encomenderos to the Indians as follows: "The encomenderos were the first Spaniards after the conquest and pacification of the colony who represented the civil authority of Spain in the Islands: they were obliged to maintain order and secure the well-being of the Indian residents of their encomiendas or holdings, and to defend their tenants against any encroachments on their rights by the Spaniards, soldiers, alcaldes, and judges; and to endeavor to bring their tenants together in towns and furnish them with opportunities to be converted to the Christian religion, and to help them build churches and convents ... encomenderos were charged with the succor and support of the people on their holdings in case of any calamity, famine or public disaster, and they were prohibited from charging tribute in bulk against the various barangayes, that is to say, they should not make the chiefs of a family or tribe responsible for the payment of tribute by the various members, nor were the encomenderos allowed to use force to secure the payment of a tribute. When an encomendero received a tribute from his people, he thereupon was considered to have assumed the duty of acting as their protector" (Pardo de Tavera, Philippines census [1905], I, 330). Suffice it to say that, theoretically, the encomenderos were the fatherly protectors and benefactors of the helpless, childlike natives, and their every act was to be for the good of their wards.

[49] Antequera, Historia de la legislation española, 486-487; Bourne, "Historical introduction," in Blair and Robertson, I, 56.

[50] Recopilación, 6-8-38 to 39; 8-9-20 to 24. It seems that the oficiales reales merely supervised the collection of tribute, which was really accomplished in the provinces by the alcaldes mayores and corregidores, who acted as their agents. Martinez de Zúñiga, An historical view of the Philippine Islands, I, 2; Ordinances of Good Government, Blair and Robertson, L, 191-264; Recopilación. 6-5-64; Montero y Vidal, Historia general, I, 380-385.

[51] The Relación of Miguél de Loarca, alcalde mayor of Arévalo, Panay, gives us a good idea of the rapidity with which this institution spread within ten years in the Philippines. It indicates the extent to which the encomienda was utilized as a means of opening up and settling the country. This report is dated June 12, 1582. At that time there were three principal centers of administration in the Islands: Manila, Cebú and Arévalo. About thirty encomiendas were located close to Manila, ten were near to Cebú, and fifteen near to Arévalo under the jurisdiction of Loarca. The latter group consisted of about 20,000 Indians. Encomiendas varied in size from 250 to 1500 natives, but the ideal encomienda was supposed to contain 500 souls. By cédula, of August 9, 1589, royal authority was extended for the increase of the size of encomiendas in the Philippines to 800 or 1000 persons, if necessary, in order to bear the greater expenses of instruction and defense. This was bitterly opposed by the churchmen on account of the additional missionary labors incumbent on the priests assigned to these larger encomiendas (Cédula of August 9, 1589, A. I., 105-2-11). Philip II, on November 30, 1568, had ordered that no encomienda should yield more than 2000 pesos (Recopilación, 6-8-30).

Loarca states that there were also encomiendas in the Camarines provinces in southeast Luzon and in IIocos, in the north of the same island. These encomiendas were under the jurisdiction of the alcaldes mayores and corregidores governing those provinces. (Relation by Loarca, Blair and Robertson, V, 35-187.)

[52] Report of Governor Dasmariñas on the encomiendas of the Philippines, May 31, 1591, in Blair and Robertson, VIII, 96-141.

[53] Blair and Robertson, VII, 269-294, Salazar to the Governor, January 25, 1591; Reply of the Governor [no date], ibid., 294-300; Carta del Obispo de Manila sotre la muerte de Ronquillo y los excesos que este cometió..., A. I., 68-1-32; Memorial de las cosas ... dignas de remediar en la Isla, Zulueta Papers. Place numbers not given. These are examples of the hundreds of complaints, mostly by churchmen, against the abuses of the encomenderos. It would be impossible to cite them all.

The Zulueta Papers are transcripts from the Archive of the Indies of Seville, the National Library of Madrid, and the British Museum. They were copied under the direction of a Filipino scholar, Señor Zulueta. These Papers are now in the Philippines Library at Manila.

[54] On June 4, 1620, the governor of the Philippines was authorized to bestow encomiendas, with the provision that if he neglected to do so for a period of sixty days the vacant holdings should be bestowed by the audiencia. On October 24, 1655, Philip IV ordered that acting viceroys and acting governors should be limited to the faculty of providing encomiendas ad interim, subject to the subsequent ratification of the Council of the Indies (Recopilación, 6-8-8, 1-4, 5, 8, 11, 22).

[55] Blair and Robertson, III, 304-306.

[56] In this connection may be noted the distinction between the two classes of encomiendas which was made for purposes of administration. Private encomiendas were those which had been granted to private persons, conquerors, discoverers, soldiers, or persons who paid a regular rent, usually a third of the gross tribute collected. These were originally granted for life, and might be held for two subsequent generations. Later (after 1655), the usual period of confirmation was ten years, for persons who rented encomiendas as a business proposition. The royal encomiendas were situated near cities or ports and the income from them was reserved for the expenses and necessities of the royal estate, the payment of salaries, and other governmental expenses. Private encomiendas became royal on the death of an incumbent if he had no heirs, or on the expiration of the contract. The tribute from royal encomiendas was collected by the royal treasury. Morga's Sucesos, Blair and Robertson, XVI, 157; also ibid., VIII, 27; see Bourne, "Historical introduction," ibid., I, 39-40.

On June 7, 1597, the king, as a suggestion for the increase of funds for the maintenance of the government, wrote to the audiencia that a greater number of royal encomiendas should be established, and that the governor should not be permitted to assign so many to private persons (King to the Audiencia, June 7, 1597, A. I., 105-2-1). On February 16, 1602, the king again addressed the audiencia on the subject of the royal encomiendas, desiring to know why the tribute from them had so materially decreased, it having reached the low mark of 2500 pesos. In answer, the same reason for this falling off was suggested as in the letter above quoted, namely, that the governor had assigned many encomiendas to his friends (King to the Audiencia, February 16, 1602, A. I., 105-2-1). Francisco de la Misa, factor of the royal treasury of Manila, in a letter to the king, dated May 31, 1595, stated that the royal encomiendas, which had been established to provide revenue for the payment of the salaries of alcaldes mayores, tenientes, oficiales reales, and even that of the governor, had diminished greatly in number, so that not enough revenue was derived from them to meet the expenses for which they had been created. Misa concluded with a recommendation that eight royal encomiendas of the value of 8000 pesos a year should be established out of the first private encomiendas that were vacated (Misa to the King, May 31, 1595, A. I. 67-6-29).

[57] Salazar to the Council of the Indies, June 20, 1582, A. I., 68-1-32.

[58] Ronquillo de Peñalosa to the King, July 15, 1582, A. I., 67-6-6.

[59] Morga's Sucesos, Blair and Robertson, XV, 59-60; Carta del Obispo de Manila sobre la muerte de Ronquillo, y de los excesos que este cometio, ... A. I., 68-1-32.

[60] Ibid.

[61] The cédula of March 1, 1551, had forbidden the bestowal of encomiendas on ministers of justice, treasury officials, viceroys, ecclesiastics, and governors. According to the terms of the appointment of Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa as proprietary governor, he had been allowed an encomienda in each principal town. See Recopilación, 6-8-12.

[62] Op. cit.

[63] Including the two principal Spanish historians of the Philippines, Martínez de Zúñiga (Estadismo, I, 243) and Montero y Vidal (Historia general, I, 88).

[64] These letters, dated June 18, 1583, are among the Zulueta Papers at Manila.

[65] A procurador, according to Escriche (Diccionario, II, 759), "is one who, by virtue of power or faculty conceded by another, acts in his name." There were in later times several procurators representing different interests of the Philippines at the Court of Madrid. The associated merchants had one or more, the consulado, each religious order, etc. These procuradores were usually lawyers, not infrequently men who had been in the islands. An interesting parallel might be noted between the procuradores and the American colonial agents of prerevolutionary days. Zúñiga here gives Rivera entire credit for the bringing of the audiencia to Manila--op. cit., I, 175. See note 16, supra.

[66] The alcabala (al que vale, "according to value") was a percentage tax levied on goods (movable and immovable) sold or exchanged. Merchants were held accountable for the payment of this tax, and for this purpose their accounts were examined by royal officials at regular intervals (Escriche, Diccionario, I, 143). It was first introduced into the Indies by Philip II in 1574, having been levied in Spain as early as 1079, though not in its perfected form. In accordance with the tariff of November 1, 1591, it was exacted from merchants, apothecaries, encomenderos (having farms and cattle-ranches), ragpickers, cloth-makers, silversmiths, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and shoemakers. An alcabala was paid on wine. By the cédula of June 7, 1576, the rate of alcabala was fixed at two per cent. In Perú it was raised to four per cent during the administration of the Conde de Chinchón as viceroy and was collected at that rate there until the cédula of July 26, 1776, raised it to six per cent. This rate was paid thereafter in the Spanish colonies (Recopilación, 8-13-1 to 14, notes, 2 and 4), except for an increase in the rate to 8 per cent in 1782, to meet the added expenses of war. The old rate of 6 per cent was restored in 1791 (transcripts of these cédulas exist in A. I., 87-1-20).

Exemptions from this tax were made in favor of churches, monasteries, and prelates when they bought or sold goods not for profit. When they engaged in commerce for its own sake they were obliged to pay the alcabala in the same way as laymen (Recopilación, 8-13-17). Goods belonging to the Santa Cruzada, provisions bought, sold or stored which were destined for the poor, and munitions of war paid no alcabala (ibid., 18-23). Indians were also exempted under certain circumstances (ibid., 24; see entire Title 13 of Book 8, Recopilación, for further specifications regarding the payment of this tax). In 1568 Philip II exempted the Philippines for thirty years. As noted above, the alcabala was not introduced regularly into the Indies until 1574, though it was levied in individual cases as early as 1558. Even earlier than this Pizarro had obtained the right to levy it in Perú for a period of a hundred years (ibid., 8-13-1; note 1), but Philip II ordered it paid in the Philippines on August 9, 1589 (ibid., 9-45-66).

The almojarifazgo, like the alcabala, had been utilized early in the history of the Peninsula and because a productive source of revenue, it was introduced into the Indies. The earliest law dealing with this tax in New Spain was promulgated by Charles V on October 18, 1553, exempting cargoes which had already paid the tax in Spain. On June 24, 1566, and on December 28, 1568, Philip II ordered a five per cent export tax on all goods leaving Seville for the Indies (the ordinance of December 28, 1562, having fixed it at two and a half per cent) and an import tax in the Indies on these same goods of ten per cent, making in all a tax of fifteen per cent. Wine was to pay a ten per cent import and export tax respectively, making a total of twenty per cent paid on that commodity (ibid., 8-15-1, 2, 8). The law of April 21, 1574, ordered a two and a half export and a five per cent import tax on goods shipped between colonies (ibid., 10). On August 9, 1589, a three per cent almojarifazgo was authorized in the Philippines, with exemptions on provisions, munitions, and other specified articles brought to the Islands by the Chinese, Japanese, Siamese, and Borneans (ibid., 22, 24). The tax on Chinese merchandise was raised from three to six per cent on November 20, 1606 (ibid., 23). Chinese goods from the Philippines paid a ten per cent almojarifazgo at Acapulco. This tax was also paid on leaving the Philippines or other New Spain ports and on entrance at Acapulco (ibid., 21). For exemptions see Recopilación, 8-15-26 to 30.

[67] Rivera to the King, February 16, 1582, A. I., 1-1-2/24.

[68] A legal defender of the Indians was wanted in this case to serve them in the courts. The bishop, at this time, was protector of the Indians and in that capacity had protested against the abuses of the encomenderos. The bishop, of course, could not enter the courts and defend the Indians in litigation.

The law of March 17, 1593, which ultimately established a defender of the Indians in Manila, filled the need voiced by Rivera. The law referred to read as follows: "The protection and defense of the Indians in the Philippines was entrusted by us to the bishops there, but having recognized that the latter cannot conform to the demands, autos and judicial summons which require their personal presence, we order that our president-governor shall name a protector and defender of the Indians, assigning to him a sufficient salary from the taxes levied pro rata upon the Indians who are under the royal jurisdiction and on private encomiendas, without touching the revenues of our royal hacienda which are for other purposes. And we declare that this does not signify that it is our intention to deprive the bishops of the superintendence and protection of the Indians in general" (Recopilación, 6-6-8).

Philip II, on January 10, 1589, restored the office of protector or defender of the Indians in the Indies generally. It was stated in this law that as a result of the earlier abolition of the office many inconveniences and injustices had arisen. The law authorized the appointment of a person of good character and morals to the office (ibid., 1). The reform of April 9, 1591, required that the appointee should be a lawyer, and that there should be a defender of the Indians attached to each audiencia (ibid., 3). The reform of March 11, 1784, provided that the fiscales should name these protectors in the future. (Ibid., note 1.)

[69] The Audiencia of Guadalajara was at that time subordinate to the Viceroy of New Spain in matters of war, government, and finance (hacienda). Ibid., 2-15-47, 49 to 54.

[70] Rivera to the King, June 26, 1583, A. I., 1-1-2/24.

[71] Foundation of the Audiencia, Blair and Robertson, V, 274-318; VI, 35-43; also in A. I., 1-1-3/25, the latter being the original cédula, signed by the king and ministers.

[72] Ibid.

[73] Permission had been granted by Philip II on July 4, 1570, to enslave Mindanaos. A second cédula permitting the Spaniards in the Philippines to do this was promulgated by Philip III on May 29, 1620. This act was rendered justifiable in the eyes of the Spaniards by the fact that they were dealing with semi-savages who were of the Mohammedan faith, and accordingly the ceaseless enemies of the Spaniards. Recopilación, 6-2-12.

[74] Recopilación, 3-10-13, 14; see