About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

85 Phil. L.J. 299 (2010-2011)
The Limits of Law in Colonial Settings: A Tsinoy Lessons from 17th Century Manila

handle is hein.journals/philplj85 and id is 313 raw text is: THE LIMITS OF LAW IN COLONIAL SETTINGS: A TSINOY LESSON FROM 17TH CENTURY MANILA* AndrewJ. Harding** In September 1686 Charles II, King of Spain, made a Royal Decree providing that all Chinese should be expelled from Manila. The Chinese had been causing grief to the colonial government. It had been said by the government that there was a danger of a Chinese attack on Manila itself. The Chinese in Manila were a potential danger and had to be shipped back immediately whence they came. There were no ifs and buts, for it is the King who had spoken. They were to be forced out, but there was an exception. Given that the stated mission of the Spanish Empire was to convert its subjects to the Roman Catholic religion, those Chinese who had converted would of course be allowed to stay. It was perhaps predictable that such a drastic decree would encounter difficulty. But colonial powers were wont to leave the problems of implementation to its far-flung representatives who were paid well for solving such difficulties. The first of these was that, communications being very uncertain in those days, it took the decree no less than two years to reach. Gabriel de Curuzealegui y Arriola, the Governor-General in Manila, travelled across the Atlantic to Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, up the mountains to Mexico City, and then down again to Acapulco on the Pacific coast and across the ocean to the capital of that archipelago, which was named for the King's illustrious predecessor, Philip II. The Governor- General arrived in Manila late 1688. It is in the nature of these things that a law deals with the situation at the time it was made rather than the time it was to be implemented. Even in the * This essay was published in a two-part series in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on its issues on January 19 and 20 of 2011. The article is republished here with some minor revisions. The author wishes to acknowledge JOHN E WILLS JR'S 1688: A GLOBAL HISTORY (2002) and the website of the FCBAI. See http://www.fcbai.org/site/index.php Cite as Andrew Harding, The Limits of Law in Colonial Seutigs: A Tsinqy Lessonfrom 17,h Centur Manila, 85 PHIL. L.J. 299, (page cited) (2011). * Professor of Law and Director for Asian Studies, University of Victoria in Canada; formerly Professor of Law and Head of the Legal Department, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; M.A. (Exon), 1974; LI.M. (Singapore), 1984; Ph.D. (Monash), 1987.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most