5 - On the Legal Grounds of the Conquest of the Philippines (1568)

Summary

Abstract

This document sets down a series of arguments to rescind or reject the Treaty of Zaragoza (1529), which had conceded possession and exploitation of the Molucca Islands to the Crown of Portugal. Written by Juan de la Isla (a member of Lepazpi's expedition of 1564 to the Philippines) in 1568, it was fundamental to Philip II's decision to move ahead with “the enterprise of the west,” converting it from a mission of “discovery” to one of “pacification,” or conquest. In effect, the document advanced pragmatic and “political” arguments to support the idea of continuing the Spanish venture in the Pacific. The sketch that accompanied the opinion insisted that the Philippines and Moluccas both belonged to the Spanish zone.

Keywords: geography, conquest, rightful titles, map, treatise

This document deals with the initial phase of the conquest of the Philippines between 1565 and 1572. At this juncture, doubts remained about the form that the Spanish enterprise in Southeast Asia would take. Treaties with Portugal prohibited any Castilian presence in the region, and the question of the “rightful titles” of conquest remained open. An influential party called for the abandonment of the islands, while New Spain experienced difficulties with the conspiracy of Martín Cortés and the fury of the leading colonists or estate holders (the encomenderos).

During the 1560s, the Hispanic monarchy went through a crisis (with the revolt of the Low Countries and that of the Moriscos) that included an American component. The main problem, both fiscal and social, was the revindication by the conquistadores and their descendants of the perpetuity of their encomienda. This period provided a favorable context for the Spanish explorers who ventured from Puerto de la Navidad (Mexico) to the Philippines in 1564. After the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi in the Philippines in 1565, the Spanish had tried to procure by all means—even using violence against the Indigenous peoples—proof of the riches of the archipelago and the opportunities for its settlement. This was no mean feat, as the Philippines were not rich in spices as the Moluccas, where the Portuguese monopolized the production of and trade in cloves and nutmeg. Cinnamon was grown on the island of Mindanao, which would be very difficult to conquer on account of the presence of solid local sultanates.