The Birth of Globalization: The World and the Beginnings of Philippine Sovereignty, 1565-1610.

摘要

In this dissertation, I argue that early Philippine sovereignty developed not only as a consequence of Spanish imperialism, but in a fuller sense, in relation to a convergence of global forces emanating out of the early modern Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and East Asian worlds. Before 1565, the place now known as the Philippines was an undefined extension of the Malay archipelago, populated by dozens of ethnic groups, living in a myriad of independent villages, scattered over thousands of islands. By 1610, however, a hybrid system of early modern power had unified hundreds of these villages into a blended network of colonial authority. This transformative process marked both the beginnings of the modern Philippine nation and also the completion of the birth of globalization.;I describe this dual process through three intersecting micro-histories: one of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, a Spanish conquistador, another of Miguel Banal, a Tagalog chieftain, and the third of Eng Kang, a Chinese merchant. In relation to globalization, each of these leaders---and the populations they represent---was a direct participant in a word-wide convergence, and each also engaged in the convergences of the other two. The first of these convergences was that of Spain and Portugal, the second was of Islam and Christianity, and the third was of Chinese silk and American silver. Collectively, these convergences finalized the birth of globalization by completing the first full-circle global network of power, culture, and commerce.;As these convergences stabilized, they also incorporated the emerging Philippine colony into three external systems of authority: the European imperial system, the Southeast Asian Moro system, and the Chinese tributary system. Meanwhile, Legazpi, Banal, and Eng Kang were also involved in three interrelated conquests: the conquest of Cebu, the conquest of Manila, and the conquest of the Parian. Together these conquests created a blended form internal authority over the newly unifying colony, a blended structure of power that included elements of authority drawn from each of these men's native cultures. This blended internal structure of power complemented the above mentioned external systems of authority to form the beginnings of Philippine sovereignty, beginnings that were thus intertwined with the creation of the final link in the birth of globalization.