Francisco Villacorta y las relaciones de los agustinos de Filipinas con el Gobierno de España (1818-1844)

Abstract

Francisco Villacorta and the relationships of the Augustinians of the Philippines with the Government of Spain (1818-1844). Francisco Villacorta was an outstanding religious of the Augustinian Province of the Philippines. He held the highest positions within the Order, acquiring special significance as procurator commissar with the Government of Spain (1818-1844) in a time of major changes and challenges to the Hispanic domain in the Islands. His works were directed towards improving the Seminar of Valladolid, place of training of missionaries to the Philippines, increasing the number of missions to the archipelago, the religious exemption of liberal policies, and the legal protection of the parishes and missions of the friars in the Philippines. Their achievements not only benefited the Augustinians of the islands but to all religious orders who worked there.The study of the figure of Villacorta supplies a wealth of knowledge to the history of the Order of St.Augustine in the Philippines in the first half of the nineteenth century, and at the same time contributes to the understanding of the transcendental changes of the next part of the century.