What were the aims of Spanish colonization in the Philippines?

Answer 1

It is summed with three words: God, Gold, and Glory.

God: Spanish colonizers actually went to the Philippines to fulfill the deathwish of Isabel I, who said that "she would donate all her wealth for the conversion of the Indies". This was fulfilled by King Philip II. During the early 1600's, Spain considered abandoning the Philippines, but was prolong because a Spanish friar(Fray Fernando Moraga) - so instead of abandoning it, Spain sent notices to all provinces of Spain and Mexico for stevedores and workmen to enlist as priest and undergo training. After they finished training, they were all sent to the Philippines under different orders to serve as religious priests. So now, 85% of the Philippine population is Roman Catholic (......and 35% are partly of Spanish descent).

Gold: It was the dream of then king of Spain, King Charles I (Emperor Charles V), to obtain the Philippines in order to increase his personal fortunes and treasury. In fact, after ordering the soldiers to ransack several Latin American territories for gold, they were sent to the Philippines to discover such too, although efforts were futile - gold was never found by the Spanish in the Philippines because of the hostile mountain tribes. Gold was later discovered by Americans during their occupation of the Philippines. Actually, the Philippines was thought of a colony to be abandoned (as mentioned above) because it was "a drain to Spain's treasury".

Glory: Ultimately, it was not just Isabel's wish which helped the Philippines to be retained by Spain. It was the glory - they would not abandon the Philippines to either British or Portuguese because this would bring shame to Spain. Instead, King Philip II boasted that the sun never sets on his realm (because of the Philippines). When Spain acquired the Philippines, it astonished European nations, such as Sicily and Netherlands, who then surrendered without a fight because of what they thought was the superior forces of Spain. Eventually though, the Spanish were ousted out of the islands by Americans on 1898. This caused the Spanish civil war eventually because of shame for its loss of colonies and paved the way for the eventual downfall of Spanish economy during the 1900's.

Answer 2

The main aims of Spanish colonization in the Philippines were to spread Christianity, exploit the abundant Natural Resources, establish a trade route to China, and expand the Spanish Empire's influence in the region. Additionally, the Spanish Crown sought to convert the indigenous population to Catholicism and establish control over the islands for economic and strategic purposes.