Cacique democracy
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Cacique democracy is a term that has been used to describe what has been observed as the feudal political system of the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, where in many parts of the country local leaders remain very strong, with
warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
-like powers. The term was originally coined by Irish-American political scientist
Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book '' Imagined Communities'', which e ...
.


History

The Philippines was a colony of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
from the late sixteenth century until the Philippine Revolution of 1898. But the United States, despite promising independence like
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, bought the country and wrestled control, succeeding by 1902. The U.S. administration subsequently introduced many commercial, political and administrative changes, trade limits, agricultural and immigration sanctions, and machine importation restrictions. They were sometimes quite progressive and directed towards the "modernization" of government and commerce in the Philippines. However, the local traditional Filipino elites, being better educated and better connected than much of the local population, were often able to take advantage of the changes to bolster their positions.


Etymology

The
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
word ''cacique'' comes from the
Taíno The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...
word ''kassiquan'', meaning "to keep house." In
Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' imperial era between 15th and 19th centuries. To the e ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, and Portugal, the term also has come to mean a
political boss In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous of ...
or leader who exercises significant power in the political system known as ''caciquismo'', and is sometimes translated as "Bossism." In various Austronesian languages, ''
datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especial ...
'', along with its cognates, is a title similar to ''cacique'', and had historically been conferred upon the ruler of a '' maṇḍala'' or precolonial fiefdom.


See also

*
Kedatuan ''Kedatuan'' (ancient or Sundanese spelling: ''kadatuan''; Javanese romanization: ''kedaton'') were historical semi-independent city-states or principalities throughout ancient Maritime Southeast Asia in present-day Indonesia, Malaysia, and th ...
* Maṇḍala


References

Philippine political catchphrases Feudalism {{polisci-stub