Pila Historical Society Foundation Inc.
7. La Villa de Bacolor (1765)
Although the Spaniards captured the province of Pampanga in 1571, the town of Bacolor, according to tradition, was not organized by the conquistadors themselves but the task was delegated to its former datu Don Guillermo Manabat in 1576. The noble convert offered his land at the center of the high plains (the meaning of Baculud) as the site of the church. In gratitude, the Augustinian missionaries selected his patron saint, San Guillermo Hermitaño (William the Hermit) as the titular of the church and parish.xxx
Among the early Filipinos, the Kapampangans were the most receptive of the Spanish culture and so the Spaniards regarded them as “the Castilians of the Indios.” By 1608, the Augustinians valued Bacolor’s church and convent as second only in magnificence to those of Manila and Cebú. The chronicler Fray Juán de Medina, OSA, singled out Bacolor in 1630 as “the best village not only in Pampanga, but in all the Islands.” With Guagua, it shared the honor of being the center of Pampanga in the 17th century. It began to serve as the sole capital of the province in 1746 and nine years later, it was officially declared as such.xxxi
The climax of Bacolor’s colonial history occurred during the British Occupation of the Philippines (1762-64). The conflict was an offshoot of the Seven Years’ War in Europe between England and France with the latter’s ally Spain. Even before the war, in 1760, there were already forty Spaniards living in Bacolor. Knowing the proven loyalty of the Kapampangans as well as the Tagalogs of the surrounding provinces, the leader of the resistance, Don Simón de Anda, after proclaiming himself the captain general of the Philippines, transferred the capital of the colony from Manila to Bacolor during the entire strife. Both the Gremio de Naturales and the Gremio de Mestizos de Sangley received and supported him with characteristic hospitality and enthusiasm. Anda appointed a prominent Kapampangan Don Santos de los Ángeles as his aide-de-camp. Another Pampango brave, José Manalastás of Candaba joined the Filipino-Spanish assault on an English stronghold in Manila. With a dagger in his hand, he wounded and nearly seized the Commander General William Draper but for the surge of reinforcements in the nick of time. On the other side, the Chinese in Guagua, allied with the enemy, offered a serious threat to the local defenders. But they were promptly repulsed before they could wreak havoc on the populace. The war finally ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763 but the news did not reach Manila until May 31, 1764 whereupon the invaders withdrew.xxxii
It was fitting and proper that with the return of peace, the “enlightened monarch” Charles III of Spain (1759-88) raised Bacolor into the noble level of a villa by his decree of November 9, 1765. The honor came with a coat of arms bearing the motto Pluribus Unum Non Plus Ultra. The villa remained the prestigious capital of Pampanga up to the close of the Spanish Regime. It is noted that, for a relatively small place, Bacolor towers over others for having “produced more illustrious Filipinos than any other town or city in the country.” Sadly, the heroic town was nearly obliterated in the wake of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 – except for the upper part of the venerable church of San Guillermo de Bacolor. xxxiii
Among the early Filipinos, the Kapampangans were the most receptive of the Spanish culture and so the Spaniards regarded them as “the Castilians of the Indios.” By 1608, the Augustinians valued Bacolor’s church and convent as second only in magnificence to those of Manila and Cebú. The chronicler Fray Juán de Medina, OSA, singled out Bacolor in 1630 as “the best village not only in Pampanga, but in all the Islands.” With Guagua, it shared the honor of being the center of Pampanga in the 17th century. It began to serve as the sole capital of the province in 1746 and nine years later, it was officially declared as such.xxxi
The climax of Bacolor’s colonial history occurred during the British Occupation of the Philippines (1762-64). The conflict was an offshoot of the Seven Years’ War in Europe between England and France with the latter’s ally Spain. Even before the war, in 1760, there were already forty Spaniards living in Bacolor. Knowing the proven loyalty of the Kapampangans as well as the Tagalogs of the surrounding provinces, the leader of the resistance, Don Simón de Anda, after proclaiming himself the captain general of the Philippines, transferred the capital of the colony from Manila to Bacolor during the entire strife. Both the Gremio de Naturales and the Gremio de Mestizos de Sangley received and supported him with characteristic hospitality and enthusiasm. Anda appointed a prominent Kapampangan Don Santos de los Ángeles as his aide-de-camp. Another Pampango brave, José Manalastás of Candaba joined the Filipino-Spanish assault on an English stronghold in Manila. With a dagger in his hand, he wounded and nearly seized the Commander General William Draper but for the surge of reinforcements in the nick of time. On the other side, the Chinese in Guagua, allied with the enemy, offered a serious threat to the local defenders. But they were promptly repulsed before they could wreak havoc on the populace. The war finally ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763 but the news did not reach Manila until May 31, 1764 whereupon the invaders withdrew.xxxii
It was fitting and proper that with the return of peace, the “enlightened monarch” Charles III of Spain (1759-88) raised Bacolor into the noble level of a villa by his decree of November 9, 1765. The honor came with a coat of arms bearing the motto Pluribus Unum Non Plus Ultra. The villa remained the prestigious capital of Pampanga up to the close of the Spanish Regime. It is noted that, for a relatively small place, Bacolor towers over others for having “produced more illustrious Filipinos than any other town or city in the country.” Sadly, the heroic town was nearly obliterated in the wake of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 – except for the upper part of the venerable church of San Guillermo de Bacolor. xxxiii