[Ian]

For those unfamiliar with Spanish colonial social systems, here is what I have gleaned from my travels to the Philippines and readings of the country's history under Spanish rule. Please correct any errors.

The caste system in the Philippines under Spanish rule

From highest to lowest social standing:

1. Peninsulares. Those born in Spain (the Iberian Peninsula) but subsequently lived in the Philippines were top of the system
2. Insulares (Criollos). Those born in the Philippines to Spanish parents were below the Peninsulares but ahead of everyone else (see also Creoles in American cultures)
3. Mestizos. Those born to a Spanish and an Indigenous parent (Spanish mestizos). There were also Chinese mestizos.
   
4. Indios. Those born to Indigenous parents in the Philippines

Only Peninsulares could hold the highest positions in the Philippines. They commanded most of the wealth of the country, in combination with the Insulares, and occupied key positions in the military, national and local government, banking, commerce, religious organizations (down to local priests), trading, education, health care, etc.

Mestizos, having one Spanish parent, were next on the social scale. They were entrusted with lower positions of authority, such as minor Government officials, junior officers and NCOs in the military, adminstrators and clerks in industry, lawyers, teachers, accountants, farming overseers, etc. In this regard, they competed with the less powerful or wealthy Insulares for such positions.

Indios were the native indigenous groups, who comprised the substantial majority of the population and had little authority or control over their lives. Not all were poor (although many were). Some were landholders and quite wealthy. Some managed to get an education but most did not. Relatively few achieved positions of influence or authority.

Principalia (pl. Principales) were Indios who came from the old elite ruling class and nobility that pre-dated Spanish colonization, and they filled positions as mayors of towns and local chiefs of the barrios (barangay).