To continue, after the colonial government was established, the encomienda system was put in place in

areas already pacified or no longer resisting the Spanish conquest and corrigedores or military
government to areas not yet totally pacified.

The encomienda was actually a grant of reward comprising of large tract of land to loyal and deserving
Spanish generals and conquistadors who had won many battles and found and given

Spain new territories and wealth.

The system was headed by an encomiendero who was also given the responsibility to take care of the
natives within their area by providing them protection and education.

The encomienda however became a systematic cause of oppression because of the burden it gave to the
natives who were used to work in the fields and for the encomiendero.

To this extent, the government opted to abolish the system and installed local governments like the
provinces, municipalities and barangays.

The provinces were headed by alcalde mayores who were usually Spanish appointees with a fixed salary
and a lot of discretionary powers while the municipalities or towns were headed by a gobernadorcillo or
little governor who can be chosen from the local inhabitants but usually coming from a prominent family
or a member of the native nobility, with no fixed salary, and the barangays were headed by a kabesa or
teniente del barrio, who like the gobernadorcillo, had no fixed salary.

The primary duty of these local chiefs was to collect taxes and it was said that they often used their own
money to cover the inadequacy of their collections because they were obliged to reach a quota set up
by the Spanish government.

Their work may not look good but many clung to their positions either by blindly following their superior
or bribing their way because the job carried some perks like being close to the powers that be and
beneficial once the holder of the position was engaged in business and other profitable ventures.

Along with the establishment of the government hierarchy and the administration thereof, the Catholic
religion was also put in place by the Spanish missionaries or Friars.

The Friars were basically missionaries who came to christianize the natives by converting them to
Catholicism by means of drawing the paganistic and Islamic faith of the natives from their primitive way
of thinking by first finding the settlements of these natives which were originally in hilltops and far flung
places.

The friars had the dauntless task of finding the natives by trekking wild areas, crossing dangerous rivers,
facing many difficulties but they were able to gather the natives to settle in pueblos were the
indoctrination or conversion was done.

According to some historians, the process was not automatic because many natives went back to their
usual places and the friars had to regather them until the natives became comfortable with their new
settlements.

The friars were also said to have destroyed the former faith of the natives by outlawing their spiritual
leaders and their former beliefs.
But I want you to note class that not all places in the Philippines were colonized nd Christianized by the
Spaniards. Most of Mindanao and the hinterlands of luzon were the exceptions due to their strong
resistance to Spanish colonial campaign.

And I also wanted to emphasize that the first batch of friars who came were really good according to
many historians due to their many contribution to the development of the quality of life of many
natives.

For example, the first batch brought advance agricultural technology and know how like the plow and
many new species of fauna and flora which greatly improved the farming capabilities in the Philippines.

But as the friars stayed and got replaced by others who were not dedicated fully to their mission, their
roles as spiritual ministers change to masters of the natives especially when they were given by the
government many governmental functions like the collection of taxes, administration of educational and
charitable institutions, supervision of pu lic

Public works and forced labor, and the censorship of all published materials in the islands, among
others.

According to the Spanish government, the friars were given these functions to save on expenses and to
utilize the closeness they established with the natives.

It was even said that n a year alone, the Spanish government can save up to 25 million by letting the
friars handle some governmental duties.

But the set up later transformed the friars into the most influential and powerful people in the
Philippines and by being so, they became highly respected and wielded the true source of colonial
authority in the Philippines.

No wonder, the likes of Marcelo H. Del Pilar, once called the Spanish government in the Philippines as
soberania Monacal or frailicracy which meant government of the friars.

The friars, as they became used to their powers became drunk with authority that many like Rizal, went
to campaign for their expulsion from the Philippines which could be the reason why Rizal's life turned to
worse later in his short existence.

By the way class, since there will be a health break from 11 - 13, I will just load our group chat with our
lessons to catch up with my other classes.