Narciso José Anastasio Clavería y Zaldúa, 1st Count of Manila ( Catalan: ''Narcís Josep Anastasi Claveria i Zaldua''; May 2, 1795 – June 20, 1851) was a Spanish army officer who served as the

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

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, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, 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 Co., New York. He was given the title Count of Manila. The towns of Claveria in

Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental (; ; ), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province located in the Regions of the Philippines, region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. The provincial capital, as well as its ...

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

, Claveria in

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...

province, and Claveria in

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

province were named in his honor.(2009-03-28)
"Brief History of Claveria"
. Lakay-Lakay, Official Claveria Website. Retrieved on June 3, 2011. His grandson, Narciso Clavería y de Palacios, 3rd Count of Manila, was an architect who designed the Toledo Railway Station.

Early years

Narciso Clavería was a native of the Catalonian city of Girona, 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, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from 1521 to 1844 was one day behind the calendars of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. When Ferdinand Magellan 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 Archdiocese of Manila (; ; ) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Catholic Church in the Philippines, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, ...

, Jose Segui, 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

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

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

First steamships in the Philippines

The first steam-powered 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 pirates 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 valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s of the

Samal Island Samal, officially the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCOS; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it ...

s. He destroyed several towns and forts on the island of Balanguingui, between the islands of

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...

and Jolo, and released one hundred and thirty Filipino and Dutch captives (from

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

) 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. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

of Clavería, and received the Knight Grand Cross of Royal and Military Order of San Fernando from Queen Isabella II, 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 and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

. 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. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

. 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 pesos 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. Men of high position tried to get these places. 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 Ferdinand Magellan was erected on the south bank of the

Pasig River The Pasig River (; ) 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 southern halves. Its m ...

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 literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 poli ...

, '' La Esperanza'' (Tuesday, December 1, 1846), and '' Diario de Manila'' (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 Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in 1850 but died the following year on June 20 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

.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 1795 births 1851 deaths Captains general of the Philippines Counts of Manila People from Girona Members of the Senate of Spain Military personnel from Catalonia