#spanish colonialism

[arkipelagic]

The Spanish surnames of many Filipinos have often misled foreigners here and abroad, who are unaware of the decree on the adoption of surnames issued by Governor-General Narciso Clavería in 1849. Until quite recently in the United States, the Filipinos were classified in demographic statistics as a “Spanish-speaking minority,” along with Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexicans, and other nationals of the Central or South American republics. The Philippines, as is well known, was a Spanish colony when Spain was mistress of empires in the Western Hemisphere; but the Americans were “hispanized” demographically, culturally, and linguistically, in a way the Philippines never was. Yet the Spanish surnames of the Filipinos today—García, Gómez, Gutiérrez, Fernández—seem to confirm the impression of the American statistician, as well as of the American tourist, that the Philippines is just another Mexico in Asia. Nor is this misunderstanding confined to the United States; most Spaniards still tend to think of “las Islas Filipinas” as a country united to them through the language of Cervantes, and they catalogue Philippine studies under “Hispano-America.” The fact is that after nearly three-and-a-half centuries of Spanish rule probably not more than one Filipino in ten spoke Spanish, and today scarcely one in fifty does. Still the illusion lives on, thanks in large part to these surnames, which apparently reflect descent from ancient Peninsular forbears, but in reality often date back no farther than this decree of 1849.

Somehow overlooked, this decree, with the Catálogo Alfabético de Apellidos which accompanied it, accounts for another curiousity which often intrigues both Filipinos and foreign visitors alike, namely, that there are towns in which all the surnames of the people begin with the same letter. This is easily verifiable today in many parts of the country. For example, in the Bikol region, the entire alphabet is laid out like a garland over the provinces of Albay, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes which in 1849 belonged to the single jurisdiction of Albay. Beginning with A at the provincial capital, the letters B and C mark the towns along the coast beyond Tabaco to Tiwi. We return and trace along the coast of Sorsogon the letters E to L; then starting down the Iraya Valley at Daraga with M, we stop with S to Polangui and Libon, and finish the alphabet with a quick tour around the island of Catan-duanes. Today’s lists of municipal officials, memorials to local heroes, even business or telephone directories, also show that towns where family names begin with a single letter are not uncommon. In as, for example, the letter R is so prevalent that besides the Roas, Reburianos, Rebajantes, etc., some claim with tongue in cheek that the town also produced Romuáldez, Rizal, and Roosevelt!

Excerpt from the 1973 introduction to Catálogo de Alfabético de Apellidos by Domingo Abella

[hussyknee]

People declaring the Pope should excommunicate Joe Biden for genocide has me like??? Bro...what do you think the Catholic Church was built on...

[irithnova]

Notes on Anitismo - The Ancient Religion of the Philippines by Isabelo de los Reyes.

Keep in mind - this was written a while back.

Ancient Chronicles written by the Jesuit hispanic Friars state that at the that the first spaniards set foot in the Philippines from the coast of visayas to Manila there was a considerable population of Muslim converts

This was especially true for Mindanao due to conversion by Islamic  teachers from Borneo

De los Reyes argues that because of this, to find native Filipino religion at its purest, we must look to the North

Distinguishing native religion without outside influence such as from Islam, Hinduism, Christianity etc can be tricky

However he argues that the traces of Native Filipino religion can be found in the stories superstitions and advice that belong to various Filipino ethnic groups (Tagalogs, Bicolanos, Zambalenos etc)

From the South of the country in Mindanao to the extreme North like Luzon, De los Reyes argues then native Filipino religion was consistent

This religion was Anitism or the Cult of Anito, meaning souls of the ancestors.

Anitism is not a monolithic religion and hosts a broad pantheon ranging from Gods to animals, nature, elements and space.

The Philippines had its own modern spiritism and De los Reyes argues this may have been the origins of the cults of "Romanist Saints" (Catholic saints) in the Philippines. By this I think he means that Filipino spirituality influenced how Filipinos proceeded with Catholic worship.

The oldest chronicles about the Philippines can be found in various museums and libraries (such as the National Library of Madrid, Covenant of St Augustine in Manila)

We can follow these chronicles, from when the Jesuit Pedro Quirino provided news of religion in the Philippines in 1604, followed by reproductions by others like the Jesuit Colin in 1663 and others such as Fr. Morga, Gonzalez de Mendoza, Aduarte etc.

Fr Morga said that Filipinos practised Anitism in certain regions like Camarines and Cagayan.

Some traditions would say that Manila and its regions were not originally native to the island - they were from Malayan islands and other remote areas.

Before the Spaniards arrived, Islamic teachers from Borneo came to preach and interacted with the locals 

Their teachings and beliefs spread quickly throughout the Philippines 

Fr. Grijalva writes that they (Filipinos) started adopting their traditions and took on their names.

De Los Reyes argues that Spanish conquistadors' arrival/conquest was delayed because Filipinos were already familiar with various religions and beliefs and also because of the hands of Datu Lapu Lapu. What I believe he is arguing is that Datu Lapu Lapu and the previous exposure Filipinos had to different religions at first delayed Spanish influence from spreading so quickly.

Other islanders who weren't under the control of the government in the Philippines has their beliefs influenced by religious preachers who travelled to them from the Straits of Malacca and the Red Sea.

An account, dated April 20th 1572 (preserved in the archives of India) which is from the conquest of Luzon details "In these towns, closest to the sea, they do not eat any pork, which the moors taught them. But if you ask them, they say they do not know Muhammed or his law." This account was reproduced by Wenceslao Retana.

In actuality, very few Filipinos could understand/read the teachings of the Koran despite the Islamic influence.

In Filipino traditions, reverence and worship was given to nature and the elements, and this was usually consistent throughout the islands.

Native Filipino religion beliefs include elements, animals, stars and ancestors.

Filipino religion in Manila and nearby areas was a mixture or Anitism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam brought by the Malays of Borneo.

Vocabulary included Sanskrit and Malay terms such as Bathala, meaning Lord.

However these terms are not used in Northern provinces.

De Los Reyes argues that Itnegs and other mountain tribes conserved and maintained the purest form of Filipino religion

In the Ilocos, Cagayan, Isabela and other provinces of Northern Luzon, native Filipino religion was more prevalent 

Hindus and Buddhists converted many in Java and Malaysia.

However Muslim influence became dominant in 1478 - 60 years before the Dutch invasion.

According to Javanese legends, Hindus arrives in Java 78 years before Christ.

The first Malays came from the Minangkabau river region to establish cities in Malacca , Ojohor and Singapore in the 12th century, as per Malacca records.

In the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, there were various Malaysian emigrations reaching the Philippines 

De Los Reyes argues that Filipinos may have also populated the islands of Malaysia, and emigrations could have originated from strong winds coming down from the North.

The first Spaniards found the son of Lakandula, King of Manila, when they went to Borneo.

The emperor's master of ceremonies from Japan (Mr Fujita) argued that emigration likely came from the north and that Filipinos may have some relations to the Japanese.

According to Geographers and Historians of the Mariana Islands, what De Los Reyes calls the "know it all Spanish" - had no idea about interesting ruins found in Oceania, one of which was a prehistoric statue that was being held in the British museum.

He argues there may be hidden megaliths, artefacts, and remnants of lost civilisation in the Philippines, as seen in various locations such as : Butacan caves, Pangibalon Hill, Madias de Iloilo and Nasso.

[nmnomad]

San Geronimo de Taos. This was (at least) the third mission built in Taos. At least one version was destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt in 1680. There may have been others before that, because Taos resisted conversion from the moment the Franciscan priests arrived. Another was destroyed during the Taos Revolt, an uprising during the Mexican-American war.

[sleepydross]

If you're not aware, all fascists need to be put down. If you play Ecumene Aztec, you are a racist, and a fascist. There is no alternative. First, you were an aztec warrior fighting the spanish, and then fascists got to work. Now look at it. First image is just context about fascists stealing their domain, then them bending to those very fascists.

All Fascists must be stopped.

[philosophika]

(*Painting depicting Spaniard and Native American from Peru. From these unions were born mestizos, children of mixed Native and European ancestry.)

Due to an investigation my family is currently conducting to try to establish a Portuguese ancestor (for possible citizenship purposes), we have discovered that we likely descend from Beatriz de Torres y Moyachoque, the daughter of "Catalina" of Moyachoque (her real name having been erased during the Conquista), sister of the Muisca Cacique ("Chief," "Prince," or "Lord") of Tumerqué (in modern day Colombia), and the conquistador, Juan de Torre(s), who was commissioned to oversee the region of Tumerqué by the infamous Conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada (the man obsessed with finding El Dorado.) Sadly, we don't have much information about Beatriz other than the fact that she married (or was married to) a former catholic priest, but there is a lot of information about her brother, Diego de Torres y Moyachoque, who became Cacique of Tumerqué upon the death (execution?) of their uncle, the former Cacique, and who went on to denounce the maltreatment of his people to the King of Spain on two occasions. Indeed, Diego de Torres y Moyachoque is considered the most important figure of 16th-century Colombia, and one of the first defenders of (what we would now call) human rights in Latin America.

(*Muisca raft, depicting the possible origin of the El Dorado legend; El Dorado being a Cacique covered in gold dust during his coronation, and not a city.)

Juan de Torre(s), Diego and Beatriz's Spanish father, had two other children (also a boy and a girl) by a previous (or still standing) marriage in Spain. When Juan discovered that he was dying, he sent for his Spanish son, Pedro, to whom he gave the inheritance of his position in Tumerqué. This resulted in a very uncomfortable situation where the two half-brothers, Diego and Pedro, one a Mestizo Cacique, and one a Conquistador Overseer, were both concurrently presiding over the region. From what I've read, Pedro who, as it turns out, was a bit of a shit, had his brother declared illegitimate and stripped of his title of Cacique (which makes no sense, because ‘illegitimate’ by spanish standards or not, Muisca titles are passed on the female line, which makes Diego Cacique through his mother). In any case, it seems Diego recovered his title afterwards (because obviously???). There also seems to be some situation where, failing to find and punish Diego for sedition, the Spanish authorities took it out on Pedro, who lost “his” lands (and maybe his life?) as a result? I don’t know, the details seem hazy. In any case, the authorities did eventually catch up with Diego during a trip to Spain. There they accused him of undermining Spanish rule and imprisoned him. By the time they pardoned and released him, several years had gone by. At that point, he was so impoverished he could not afford to go home. Thus the last Cacique of Tumerqué, whose birthright it was to dress in the riches depicted in the image below, died in abject poverty.

(*Ceremonial Muisca Gold on display in the Museo de Oro in Bogota, Colombia.)

How And Why I Am Able to Trace This Line: The reason I am able to trace my ancestry back this far, to Beatriz, is due to the fact that mestizo women like her, who were daughters of high-ranking conquistadors, were often married to men of similar rank within the Spanish Hierarchy. Given the lack of Spanish women around at the beginning of the Conquista, these women ended up forming a part of the 'elite' class, for which we have extensive documentation (land deeds, marriages, inheritances, postings, governorships etc.) High-ranking Mestizo men, like Beatriz's brother, Diego, would have had a harder time being integrated into the Spanish hierarchy, given that Spaniards would have been less likely to allow their daughters to enter into marriages with them (mestizo men were seen as "corrupting" the line and lowering the status of the women they married, as opposed to Spanish men.) That said, Diego did marry a Spanish woman when he was in Spain entreating the King, and had three children with her.

*It’s worth mentioning that Beatriz and Diego’s position was not the norm. Most mestizos, the children of other Spaniards and Native Americans, were not afforded any of the comforts, privileges or protections that these siblings were able to enjoy.

Note on Beatriz's Mother, "Catalina:" Since inheritance of titles and land in Muisca culture went through the female line (matrilineal), I suppose that the Conquistador Juan de Torre took Catalina, sister of the current Cacique, as his partner because it also placed him, a Spanish man, and their half Spanish children (Diego and Beatriz), in the direct line of succession by Muisca tradition. How better to secure the "legitimacy" of your rule and also diminish the traditional structures of a people than to make cultural "others" of their current and future leaders? The twist of fate was that unlike most high-ranking Mestizo sons, who tried to hide their native ancestry so as to better integrate with the Spanish, Diego embraced his Muisca birthright and took the title of Cacique. By this tradition, however, the title of Cacique would not have passed to Diego's children, but to Beatriz's (to her son but not to her son’s children; rather, to her daughter’s son; then to her daughter’s son’s nephew by a sister, etc.)

Oh and to add insult to injury, before the spanish decided to turn the Andes into the Alps (why???), the area around bogota was covered in purple flowering trees now known as Siete Cueros (”Seven Barks”) or Glory Tree. Can you imagine what that must have looked like? A purple valley? ((Source for this was a botanist at the Jardín Botánico in Bogota))

[reasoningdaily]

The Mulattos & Zambos of the Americas Part 2| Caribbean, Central/South America

The Mulattos & Zambos of the Americas are a result of the colonialist plan to build a workforce for each crop and location. Sugar was one of the largest demands. this meant the caribbean and south america were tasked with this crop. plantations sprung up on islands and ships rolled in.

This is a very clear plan as we look at the location of the decendents of these first mixed blood people. 

[juliancallejo]

Martínez Campos es con mucha probabilidad uno de los mayores cerdos que han habitado la Historia de España. Su monumento en el Retiro es un monumento a la guerra y a la muerte. Lo dice bien claro: retuvo lo que quedaba del Imperio español, África, a sangre y hierro. Destrozó el liberalismo y el republicanismo español, y frustró uno de los muchos intentos de convertir este país en un lugar de personas iguales: la primera república. Un cabrón con todas sus letras.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This 1926 Spanish Colonial in Los Angeles, California looks like a fairy tale house. 3bds, 4ba, $2.2M. Love everything but the taxidermy.

Isn't this amazing? The red ceiling is a stunner. Love the fireplace and shelving, too.

It has a large dining room with fairy tale cottage windows.

The kitchen is large, and look at the cute Dutch door. Love the floor.

The primary bedroom is so cozy. It doesn't look big enough to fit a piano, but it's deceiving.

You don't see many red bathrooms. Very nice. I can't decide if I like the uneven tile look.

Cute alcove is a great place to read, but the small desk looks good in here.

Absolutely love the library. It reminds me of a treehouse.

Bedroom #2 is a child's room. It's pretty big, b/c it accommodates some large furniture pieces.

This bath is cool- burgundy subway tiles.

Bedroom #3 with large sliders to the garden, is being used for an exercise space.

The house has several Juliet balconies and a turret tower.

This is a lovely roof top deck.

The garden is so pretty.

Interesting waterfall and pond.

Not much of a driveway, but there's a double garage. The property is very angular and small, 5,299 sq ft lot, but it's in the expensive Hollywood Hills.

[arkipelagic]

Asian slaves, indigenous Americans, and identity in colonial era Mexico

The Spanish Philippines had a diverse slave population for local labor and export, including Filipino Indians [i.e. natives; indios], Muslim war captives (moros), and foreign slaves from as far away as Portuguese India.

… Upon their arrival, chino slaves [i.e. any Asian slave, not just Chinese] were absorbed by the urban economy of Mexico City, where they mainly worked as domestic servants or in textile mills (obrajes) … For their part, working in the city provided chinos with some possibilities for manumission. Chinos in domestic service were especially apt to embrace the limited opportunities available to them and to experience some social mobility. In the obrajes, chinos had few of the freedoms given to domestic servants, but they did benefit from government oversight of the industry. During official visits, chino slaves appealed for protection from overt exploitation by claiming that they were Indians (even if they were from Portuguese India). Remarkably, visiting inspectors listened to their complaints, and they often responded by liberating individual chinos under the assumption that they were indeed native vassals and could thus not be held in bondage. The overall experience of chinos in the viceroyal capital confirms the benefits of living close to the center of colonial power.

The presence of free indigenous immigrants from the Spanish Philippines in Mexico reinforced the idea that all chinos were Indians. The complex governing structure of colonial Mexico involved two republics or political communities (the república de indios and the república de españoles); this organization separated the indigenous majority from everyone else to facilitate the collection of tribute and the ministry of the Catholic Church … [N]ative immigrants from the Philippines purposely sought to confirm their membership in the Republic because corporate status provided personal advantages. They asked to be tallied in tribute rolls in Mexico to benefit from concomitant privileges, such as trading rights and legal representation through the General Indian Court. At the same time, free Filipinos were frequently confused with chino slaves - a situation that had serious consequences for Filipinos' relations with colonial institutions and enslaved individuals. Some immigrants resented having their indigenous identity questioned and sought to maintain a sense of their Indian-ness by keeping their distance from chino slaves. The majority, however, expressed solidarity with chino slaves. Filipino artisans, for example, took on chino slaves as apprentices and taught them marketable skills. Similarly, Filipino traders incorporated chinos into their own credit networks to facilitate self-purchase.

Individual chinos who were manumitted also embraced an Indian identity, regardless of whether they were from Goa, Macau, or other places in South and Southeast Asia. In this way, chinos challenged official attempts to define them solely as former slaves. Instead, they sought to join the free republic. The possibility for this kind of social integration caused widespread concern among slave owners. To defend their property rights, masters started to brand chino slaves on the face, rather than on the chest or arm as they did with Africans, in order to dissuade them from fleeing and "passing" as free Indians. This horrifying development shows that Indian communities welcomed runaway chino slaves and, by extension, that slave owners sought visible markers of their slaves' status.

Excerpt from the Introduction to “Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico: From Chinos to Indians” (2014) by Tatiana Seijas

[thoughtportal]

Stunning Codex Documenting Aztec Culture Now Fully Digitized The 16th-century “Florentine Codex” offers a Mexican Indigenous perspective that is often missing from historical accounts of the period.

{read}

[mapsontheweb]

Spanish Empire, c. 1785.

by onceuponamap_

[xertel]

fanart chibis :D

designs by sucker7puncher (instagram)

[blueiskewl]

A Rare Spanish Colonial Silver-Gilt Two-Handled Cup from the Atocha Shipwreck Bogotá, Colombia, circa 1620

Nuestra Señora de Atocha was a Spanish treasure galleon and the most widely known vessel of a fleet of ships that sank in a hurricane off the Florida Keys in 1622. At the time of her sinking, Nuestra Señora de Atocha was heavily laden with copper, silver, gold, tobacco, gems, and indigo from Spanish ports at Cartagena and Porto Bello in New Granada (present-day Colombia and Panama, respectively) and Havana, bound for Spain. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was named for the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Atocha in Madrid, Spain. It was a heavily armed Spanish galleon that served as the almirante (rear guard) for the Spanish fleet. It would trail behind the other ships in the flota to prevent an attack from the rear.

Much of the wreck of Nuestra Señora de Atocha was famously recovered by an American commercial treasure hunting expedition in 1985. Following a lengthy court battle against the State of Florida, the finders were ultimately awarded sole ownership of the rights to the treasure.

[cheesy-cryptid]

I really crammed mermay this year didnt i? 😭

Anyway enjoy two cuties finding love in the middle of the 1800s in the Philippines 💖