 These group were called Mestizos (mixed-race individuals), who were born from intermarriages of the Spaniards and merchants with the indigenous Filipino (Austronesian/Malay/Malayo-Polynesian) natives.Some of their descendants, emerged later as an influential part of the ruling class, such as the Principalía (Nobility).The Spanish implemented incentives to deliberately entangle the various races together in order to stop rebellion