ministration of the Philippines in the olden time; and
a general survey of some of the more striking results of the system
as a whole may now be made. This is especially necessary on account
of the traditional and widely prevalent opinion that the Spanish
colonial system was always and everywhere a system of oppression
and exploitation; whereas, as a matter of fact, the Spanish system,
as a system of laws, always impeded the effectual exploitation of the
resources of their colonies, and was far more humane in its treatment
of dependent peoples than either the French or English systems.

If, on the one hand, the early conquistadores treated the natives with
hideous cruelty, the Spanish government legislated more systematically
and benevolently to protect them than any other colonizing power. In
the time of the first conquests things moved too rapidly for the home
government in those days of slow communication, and the horrors of the
clash between ruthless gold-seekers and the simple children of nature,
as depicted by the impassioned pen of Las Casas and spread broadcast
over Europe, came to be the traditional and accepted characteristic
of Spanish rule. [116] The Spanish colonial empire lasted four hundred
years and it is simple historical justice that it should not be judged
by its beginnings or by its collapse.

The remoteness of the Philippines, and the absence of rich deposits
of gold and silver, made it comparatively easy for the government to
secure the execution of its humane legislation, and for the church to
dominate the colony and guide its development as a great mission for
the benefit of the inhabitants. [117] To the same result contributed
the unenlightened protectionism of the Seville merchants, for the
studied impediments to the development of the Philippine-American
trade effectually blocked the exploitation of the islands. In view of
the history of our own Southern States, not less than of the history
of the West Indies it should never be forgotten that although the
Philippine islands are in the Tropics, they have never been the scene
of the horrors of the African slave trade or of the life-wasting
labors of the old plantation system.

Whether we compare the condition of the natives of the other islands in
the Eastern Archipelago or of the peasants of Europe at the same time
the general well-being of the Philippine mission villagers was to be
envied. A few quotations from unimpeachable witnesses, trave