Narciso José Anastasio Clavería y Zaldúa (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: ''Narcís Josep Anastasi Claveria i Zaldua''; 2 May 1795 – 20 June 1851) was a Spanish army officer who served as the

Governor-General of the Philippines The Governor-General of the Philippines (Spanish: ''Gobernador y Capitán General de Filipinas''; Filipino: ''Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas''; Japanese: ) was the title of the government executive during the colon ...

from July 16 1844 to December 26 1849. Clavería is widely recognized as a reformist and modernizing administrator. He traveled through many provinces trying to learn the needs of Filipinos. He encouraged agriculture, improved the streets and suburbs of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, and succeeded in helping the country.Jernegan, Prescott Ford (1905
"A short history of the Philippines: for use in Philippine schools"
pp. 232-234. D. Appleton and Company, New York. He was given the title

Count of Manila Count of Manila (Spanish: ''Conde de Manila'') is a Spanish hereditary title created in 1848 for Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa, Governor-General of the Philippines.

.Real decreto concediendo el título de Castilla con la denominación de conde de Manila, vizconde de Clavería, para sí, sus hijos y sucesores legítimos á D. Narciso Clavería, gobernador y Capitán general de las islas Filipinas

Gaceta de Madrid La Gaceta may refer to * ''La Gaceta'' (Honduras), the official journal of the Republic of Honduras. * ''La Gaceta'' (Tampa), a trilingual newspaper in Tampa, Florida, United States * ''La Gaceta'' (Tucumán), a newspaper in San Miguel de Tucum ...

. no. 4980, 03/05/1848, pg. 2. (BOE-A-1848-2189) The towns of Claveria in

Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Misamis; tl, Silangang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is th ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

, Claveria in

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

province, and Claveria in

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the C ...

province were named in his honor.(2009-03-28)
"Brief History of Claveria"
. Lakay-Lakay, Official Claveria Website. Retrieved on 2011-06-03. His grandson,

Narciso Clavería y de Palacios, 3rd Count of Manila Narciso may refer to: Given name * Narciso Clavería y de Palacios, Spanish architect * Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa, Governor General of the Philippines * Narciso dos Santos, Brazilian former footballer * Narciso Durán, Franciscan friar and missio ...

, was an architect who designed the

Toledo Railway Station The Toledo railway station is a railway station in Toledo, Spain, which was designed by architect Narciso Clavería y de Palacios in the Neo-Mudéjar style. History The railway reached Toledo in 1858. The original station was of functional desi ...

Early years

Narciso Clavería was a native of the Catalonian city of

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

, whose mother was of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

origin. He became a member of Spain's General Staff in 1838, colonel in 1839, and lieutenant general in 1844. He became governor of the Philippines on July 16, 1844.

Acts as Governor-General of the Philippines

Reformation of the Philippine calendar

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 ...

from 1521 to 1844 was one day behind the

calendars A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. When

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...

sailed west around the world, he lost a few minutes every day. He was going the same way the sun was going, so his day ended later than that of the people who remained in Europe. Therefore, he was later in beginning the next day. By the time he reached the Philippines, he was a day behind Europe on his date. This error had been known for centuries. Finally, Clavería and the

Archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

agreed to remove Tuesday, December 31, 1844 from the Philippine calendar. So the day after Monday, December 30, 1844 was called Wednesday, January 1, 1845.

Surnames for Filipinos

From the days of the Spanish conquest, some Filipinos had received

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 ...

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

s. Most people, however, had no surnames, which caused confusion. On Wednesday, November 21, 1849, Clavería issued a decree sending long lists of Spanish and local surnames to the chiefs of the provinces. These were sent out to the different towns, and given to the locals who had no surnames. In many towns, all the names for people in that town began with the same letter of the alphabet. For instance, surnames starting with "A" applies for those who lived in

Alimodian Alimodian, officially the Municipality of Alimodian ( krj, Banwa kang Alimodian; hil, Banwa sang Alimodian; tgl, Bayan ng Alimodian), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...

while those starting "M" apply for those who lived in

Miagao Miagao (also written Miag-ao), officially the Municipality of Miagao ( krj, Banwa kang Miagao; hil, Banwa sang Miagao; tl, Bayan ng Miagao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it ha ...

First steamships in the Philippines

The first

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

warships to sail regularly in Philippine waters were the ''Magallanes'', ''Elcano'', and ''Reina de Castilla''. They were brought from London in 1848. These steamships were of great value because now it was possible to chase and capture the swift boats of the

Moro pirate The Sulu and Celebes Seas, a semi- enclosed sea area and porous region that covers an area of space around 1 million square kilometres, have been subject to illegal maritime activities since the pre-colonial era and continue to pose a mariti ...

s from the South who used to raid the coastal villages north of them.

Spanish expedition to Balanguingui

Clavería organised an amphibious campaign against the

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s of the

Samal Island Samal, officially the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCOS; fil, Pulong Harding Lungsod ng Samal, ceb, Pulong Harding Dakbayan sa Samal) is a 4th class component city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census ...

s. He destroyed several towns and forts on the island of

Balanguingui Banguingui, also known as Sama Banguingui or Samal Banguingui (alternative spellings include Bangingi’, Bangingi, Banguingui, Balanguingui, and Balangingi) is a distinct ethnolinguistic group native to Balanguingui Island but also dispersed ...

, between the islands of

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan ( cbk, Provincia de Basilan; yka, Wilayah Basilanin; tsg, Wilaya' sin Basilan; fil, Lalawigan ng Basilan), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Reg ...

and

Jolo Jolo ( tsg, Sūg) is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has ...

, and released one hundred and thirty Filipino and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

captives (from

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

) in 1848. For this successful military operation he received the titles of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Manila and

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

of Clavería, and received the Knight Grand Cross of Royal and Military Order of San Fernando from

Queen Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

, besides other rewards.

Reforming the governors of the provinces

From the earliest days, the chief of a

had acted both as governor and judge. He also engaged in trade, of which he had a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

. With multiple duties, it was not strange that the governors were often poor rulers. They knew little of the law and therefore they sent all the important cases to Manila. For this reason there were often long delays in processing cases. Sometimes it required years to get justice and this encouraged the strong to oppress the weak. Clavería therefore ordered that the governors be men of two years experience in the law. Clavería mandated that the governors should not engage in

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

. This decree was not fully obeyed for many years after the time of Clavería. At that time there were thirty-one provinces. The governor received a salary of from three hundred to two thousand

Philippine peso The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ce ...

s a year. The most common salary was six hundred pesos. In return for the privilege of controlling the trade of the provinces the governors paid the government as high as three thousand pesos a year. Yet they usually became rich. Men of high position tried to get these places. Sometimes they returned to Spain with fortunes, after a few years as governor. Often these fortunes were made by dealing unjustly or because of the monopoly they exerted in certain areas.

Other acts during his term

A casino called "Sociedad de recreo" (" Recreation Association ") was established on Thursday, October 31, 1844. His proposal to establish military library was approved on Sunday, February 15, 1846. A monument to

was erected on the south bank of the

Pasig River The Pasig River ( fil, Ilog Pasig) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and souther ...

in 1848. The regular clergy were forbidden to alienate property on Monday, January 15, 1849. His term was marked by intense activity, and a number of papers were founded, among them being the first

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

, '' La Esperanza'' (Tuesday, December 1, 1846), and ''

Diario de Manila ''Diario de Manila'' was a Spanish language newspaper published in the Philippines, founded on October 11, 1848, and closed down by official decree on February 19, 1898, after the colonial authorities discovered that its installations were bein ...

'' (1848).Blair, Emma Helen and Robertson, James Alexander (1904)
"The Philippine Islands 1493-1803, Vol.17"
pp. 304-305. The Arthur H. Clark Co., Cleveland, OH.

Return to Spain

In 1849, Clavería requested that he be allowed to retire. After which he left the position of governor-general and returned to Spain. He was a man of culture, probity, and industry. He was made a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1850 but died the following year on June 20 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

.Ruiz, Angel Salcedo (1914)
"Historia de España"
p.715. Saturnino Calleja Fernandez, Madrid.

References

External links

Narciso de Clavería Zaldúa
from Universidad Complutense de Madrid {{DEFAULTSORT:Claveria Y Zaldua, Narciso Captains General of the Philippines Counts of Manila People from Girona Members of the Senate of Spain Military personnel from Catalonia 1795 births 1851 deaths Spanish nobility