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diff --git a/38748.txt b/38748.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..31860ad --- /dev/null +++ b/38748.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8922 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume +29 of 55, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 29 of 55 + Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the + Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of + the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books + and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial + and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their + Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of + the Nineteenth Century + +Author: Various + +Editor: Emma Helen Blair + James Alexander Robertson + +Release Date: February 1, 2012 [EBook #38748] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILIPPINE IS., 1493-1898, VOL 29 *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project +Gutenberg. + + + + + + + + + The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 + + Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and + their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, + as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the + political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those + islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the + close of the nineteenth century, + + Volume XXIX, 1638-40 + + + + Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson + with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord + Bourne. + + + The Arthur H. Clark Company + Cleveland, Ohio + MCMV + + + + + + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXIX + + + Preface 9 + + Documents of 1638 + + Events in the Filipinas, 1637-38. [Unsigned; probably + written by Juan Lopez, S.J., at Cavite, in July, 1638.] 23 + + Letter to Felipe IV. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; + Manila, August 21. 50 + + Letter to Felipe IV, from the treasurer at + Manila. Baltasar Ruiz de Escalona; Manila, August 31. 52 + + Relation of the Filipinas Islands. Hieronimo + de Banuelos y Carrillo; Mexico, 1638. 66 + + Glorious victories against the Moros of Mindanao. Diego + de Bobadilla, S.J., and others; Mexico, 1638. 86 + + Royal orders and decrees, 1638. Felipe IV; Madrid, March + 15, and September-December. 102 + + Fortunate successes in Filipinas and Terrenate, + 1636-37. [Unsigned; published in Madrid, 1639.] 116 + + Value of Corcuera's seizures in Jolo. [Unsigned and + undated; probably 1638.] 135 + + Documents of 1639-1640 + + Events in the Philipinas from the year 1638 to that of + 1639. [Unsigned; probably Juan Lopez, at Cavite, 1639.] 141 + + Letters to the Holy Misericordia. Sebastian Hurtado de + Corcuera; Manila, December 4, 1637, and October 26, 1639. 172 + + The university of Santo Tomas. Felipe IV; Madrid, + November 9, 1639. 175 + + Royal orders and decrees. Felipe IV; Madrid, 1639. 178 + + Events in the Filipinas Islands from August, 1639, + to August, 1640. [Juan Lopez?]; Cavite, August, 1640. 194 + + Relation of the insurrection of the Chinese. [Unsigned + and undated; probably in March, 1640.] 208 + + Ecclesiastical and Augustinian affairs, 1630-40. Casimiro + Diaz; Manila [1718?]. [From his Conquistas.] 259 + + Relation of the Filipinas Islands. [Diego de Bobadilla, + S.J.; 1640.] 277 + + Bibliographical Data. 313 + + + + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + View of city of Manila; photographic facsimile of engraving in + Mallet's Description de l'univers (Paris, 1683), ii, p. 127; + from copy in the Library of Congress. 67 + + View of one of Ladrones Islands; photographic facsimile of + engraving in Hulsius's Eigentliche und wahrhaftige Beschreibung + (Franckfurt am Mayne, M.DC.XX), p. 66; from copy in library of + Harvard University. 169 + + Portus Acapulco (view of harbor of Acapulco, Mexico); + photographic facsimile of engraving in Arnoldus Montanus's + Nieuwe en onbekende Weereld (Amsterdam, 1671), p. 246; from + copy in library of Harvard University. 188 + + Archipelagus orientalis, sive Asiaticus (Eastern or Asiatic + archipelago); photographic facsimile of map by Joannis Blaeu + (Amsterdam, 1659); from original map in Bibliotheque Nationale, + Paris. 279 + + + + + + + +PREFACE + + +The present volume (1638-40) is largely occupied with the annals +of those years, and the hostilities of the Moro pirates. This +period is a troublous one; "wars and rumors of wars," conspiracies +(among both Chinese and natives), storms, shipwrecks, and disease, +disquiet the colony. The Chinese revolt of 1639 is described at +length. Corcuera administers the government with a high hand, and +arouses many enmities. Two interesting descriptions of the islands +are furnished, by a Spanish officer and by a Jesuit. + +The Jesuit annalist at Manila contributes (1638) the news of the past +year--apparently the contents of his note-book or diary, as written +therein at each occurrence or arrival, and free from the "improvements" +of any official editor, in which fact lies its especial value. This +document strongly resembles in this respect, and in its scope, the +famous Journal des Jesuites of Quebec. To some extent, the same remarks +are true of all the annals written, actually or presumably, by Juan +Lopez; but the present document is unusually fresh and primitive in +style. He relates the depredations committed by the Dutch on Spanish +and Portuguese commerce, especially about the strait of Malaca. The +Dominican faction of "Barbones" has been suppressed. The Chinese +at Manila present a large sum of money to Corcuera, with which +a gift for the king is purchased. Information is given regarding +several priests and other persons. The settlement at Formosa is +being abandoned, and the missionaries there are going to China. The +Camucones have attempted to raid the Visayas, but are repulsed by +the Indians and Spaniards. The Jesuit Mastrilli has been martyred in +Japan, and funeral honors are paid to him in Manila. Corcuera has +gone to punish the Joloans. The Jesuit church at Cavite, and that +of the Dominicans at Manila, have been entered by thieves. There +are a few slight encounters with the Dutch. In China, persecutions +of the Christians have begun, due largely to the imprudence of the +friars. The missions in Siam and adjoining countries are endangered +by the machinations of the Dutch. The Joloan stronghold is captured +by Corcuera; two of his best officers are sent home to regain their +health, but are slain by their Chinese crew. Jesuits are conducting a +successful mission in the island of Hainan. The Japanese are growing +weary of their persecutions against the Christians; only three +Jesuits are left there of all the missionaries and nothing certain +is known of these. Corcuera arrives at Manila on May 23; he brings +back many captives, of whom a considerable number died en route, but +"it is a cause of great consolation that no Moro has died without +baptism." A triumphant entry is made into Manila by the victorious +army. In Mindanao Moncay is killed, and Corralat is no longer aided +by the Ternatans; the Moros generally are in wholesome fear of the +Spanish power. The missions in China are doing well, and are aided +by the emperor. Lopez notes many little items of news, of all sorts, +about matters civil, ecclesiastical, and foreign, with various gossip, +some of the cloister, some of his seaport. + +A short letter from Corcuera to the king (August 21, 1638) states that +he has appointed Luis Arias de Mora "protector of the Sangleys;" +this man (a lawyer) also acts as counselor for the archbishop, +exercising a wholesome restraint upon that prelate. + +A letter from the royal treasurer at Manila to the king (August 31, +1638) laments the injuries and losses caused to the royal estate +by Corcuera's reckless and extravagant management. He is blamed for +refusing to send the trading ships to Mexico, for establishing a force +for the nightly patrol of the city, for forming several companies of +Indian soldiers, for paying certain salaries which are claimed to be +needless, and for building a church for the soldiers. Escalona declares +that the trade of the islands with Mexico is neglected and unregulated, +and thus the colonists are being financially ruined. He asserts that +the expeditions against Mindanao and Jolo had cost much unnecessary +expenditure of both money and lives; and that Corcuera has attempted +to cover up these expenses under specious pretexts. The treasurer +complains that the governor has spent too much on the royal hospital, +and has interfered with the duties and rights of the royal officials; +and entreats the king to see that he is restrained within due bounds. + +An interesting description of the Philippine Islands is furnished +(Mexico, 1638) by a Spanish admiral, Hieronimo de Banuelos y Carrillo; +it is addressed to the president of the Council of the Indias; the +original is, so far as known, no longer extant, and it is found only +in the French version by Thevenot. Banuelos finds life in Manila +"altogether delightful," as it has abundance of all supplies and +comforts. He describes the Parian, and praises the ability of the +Chinese; but he asserts that they are injuring the islands by their +illicit connection with the Mexican trade. The condition and character +of that trade are here presented, in a description very different +from that furnished by Grau y Monfalcon. This writer objects to the +silk trade between Filipinas and Nueva Espana, which only benefits +the Chinese, the Portuguese of Macao, and the Mexicans. Moreover, +"the encomiendas are ruined," while the natives are not instructed in +religion, and are hostile to the Spaniards. The Malays of Ternate and +other outlying islands are in league with the Dutch, and the trade +with them is going to ruin. Banuelos proposes a new plan for the +Filipinas commerce; he would (still limiting its amount) restrict +it mainly to raw silk and cotton, which could be manufactured in +Mexico; he enumerates the advantages that would result from this +course. The Japanese trade need not be considered in this question, +as it is closed to the Spaniards on account of religious persecution; +of this last and its effects Banuelos gives some account. He again +urges that the trade in Chinese stuffs be suppressed; and makes +recommendations as to the manner in which it should be conducted, +describing various abuses and scandals which he has discovered therein. + +The Jesuit Bobadilla published (Mexico, 1638) a "Relation of the +glorious victories ... against the Mahometan Moros;" it contains +Mastrilli's letter of June 2, 1637 (published in VOL. XXVII of this +series), and other matter obtained from letters which the editor had +received from Manila; we present here such part as is new. Bobadilla +prefaced this compilation by a short address to Governor Corcuera's +brother Inigo (a military officer in Mexico), in which he takes +occasion to eulogize the virtues of both in glowing terms. The first +section of the book is occupied by a relation (here only briefly +outlined) of the miraculous cure wrought upon Father Mastrilli, and his +entrance into missionary work; then follows "an account of the great +island of Mindanao," partly descriptive and partly historical. The +piratical raids of the Mindanaos upon the Spanish settlements and the +Visayan coasts are briefly recounted, with mention of the establishment +of Spanish missions and forts in Mindanao; also the raids made by the +Camucones, Joloans, and Borneans. Then follow a description of the +naval battle at Punta de Flechas, Mastrilli's letter describing the +Mindanao campaign, and Lopez's account of Corcuera's triumph--all of +which we have previously published. + +Various royal orders and decrees issued in 1638 are here +presented. Corcuera is warned (March 15) to proceed cautiously in +regard to the free negroes whom he has removed from the city, and to +obtain royal permission henceforth for any important measures that +he may contemplate. A decree of September 2 imposes restrictions +on the religious orders in the islands, and permits the governor to +use secular priests as missionaries. The king orders him (October 2) +to appoint to new missions native secular priests instead of friars; +also to treat the nuns of St. Clare with more consideration, and +to pay them for certain inconveniences that he has caused them. He +is authorized (November 8) to take such measures as are necessary to +maintain the seclusion of the inmates of Santa Potenciana. The viceroy +and Audiencia of Mexico are ordered (December 8) to report whether it +will be best to increase the amount of trade allowed to the citizens +of Filipinas with Nueva Espana; and other decrees of the same date +give the officers of the galleons authority to punish any infractions +of law committed by their men while in port, and require stricter +enforcement of the regulations in regard to lading those vessels. + +A printed pamphlet, "Fortunate successes in Filipinas and Terrenate" +(Madrid, 1639), gives a brief outline of the Moro raids into the +Philippines during several years, and Corcuera's successful campaign +against those pirates; it is evidently written by a Jesuit, or largely +compiled from Mastrilli's letter. At the end is a description of the +encounter between Spanish and English ships at Malayo. We append a +short document enumerating the spoils seized in the Jolo campaign by +the Spanish forces, with the value assigned to each item; the expenses +of the expedition are covered thereby mainly by the proceeds from +the sale of Moro captives. + +"Events in the Philipinas during the year 1638-39" are recorded, as +before, by a Jesuit, presumably Juan Lopez. The news from Mindanao +and Jolo is not encouraging; the Moros are revolting, and in Jolo a +plague and epidemic is feared; besides, the commandant there has proved +unfit. A letter from the Jesuit Gutierrez relates events in Mindanao; +these relate mainly to the measures taken by the Spanish commandant +to control and pacify the disaffected Moros. Spanish friars exiled +from China have arrived in Formosa, but hope to reenter China. The +Jesuits of Macao also indulge the hope of gaining foothold anew in +Japan. The writer gives various interesting news items about the +arrival and departure of the ships at the port of Cavite; and the +escape, on several occasions, of Moro captives held at Manila, and +the recapture of many of them. A letter from Father Alejandro Lopez +describes the attempt of the men of Jolo to recapture by treachery +their stronghold from the Spaniards, and the severe punishment +inflicted by Pedro de Almonte upon the rebels. Chinese pirates commit +depredations on the Luzon coasts; and plots of the resident Chinese +against the Spaniards are discovered and punished. A revolt by the +Indians of Nueva Segovia is also quelled. Recent news from Mindanao +and Jolo tells of increasing Spanish ascendency, but at a fearful +cost to the Moro natives--slaughtered people, devastated lands, and +consequent deaths by famine. One of the trading ships to Mexico has +been wrecked, which is a great blow to the colony. A fierce hurricane +causes great damage at Cavite and in its vicinity; and there have been +epidemics of disease in Luzon, in which many persons have died. It +is feared that both of the Acapulco galleons have been lost at sea; +and all these things fill the people with sadness. The small remnant +of the crew of a Spanish galleon wrecked the preceding year among +the Ladrones Islands arrive at Manila. + +Letters from Corcuera to the confraternity of Santa Misericordia +ask (December 4, 1637) their prayers for the success of his Jolo +expedition; and (October 26, 1639) that they will take into their house +two Moro hostages, to train them in the Christian doctrine. Letters +from Felipe IV to Rome (November 9, 1639) ask that the college of +Santo Tomas at Manila be erected into a university. + +A group of royal decrees issued during 1639 is presented. The +governor's action in stationing religious ministers in Mindanao +is approved. The municipal authorities of Manila are ordered to +retain Grau y Monfalcon as their agent at the royal court. The +newly-appointed governor of the islands, Diego Fajardo, is ordered to +correct (but with mildness and prudence) the Augustinians in trading +and in oppressing the Indians; and to restore to the secular priests +Quiapo and other districts assigned to the Jesuits by Corcuera. The +bishop of Camarines is ordered to return to his diocese, and the royal +officials to withhold his salary until he shall do so. Directions +are given to the viceroy of Nueva Espana regarding the inspection +of Philippine vessels at Acapulco, and the necessity of sending more +colonists to the islands. Answer is made to various points in a former +letter from the archbishop; and the Audiencia are commanded to treat +the Indians more justly. + +Events in the Filipinas Islands from August to November, 1639, are +recorded by the Jesuit annalist of former years (presumably Juan +Lopez). The arrivals and departures of ships form the chief of these +events, and the writer furnishes much interesting news in connection +with them. A fierce storm delays the galleon to Nueva Espana, and +wrecks two Chinese junks, drowning many of their men. The two Acapulco +galleons arrive, about this time, at Nueva Segovia, and are wrecked in +that port, with much loss of life. The recent conquest of Jolo is being +completed. The king of Macasar is friendly, and has sent provisions +to the Portuguese colony at Malaca. A Dutch squadron sent against +the city of Goa has been almost destroyed by the Portuguese. The +people of Tidore and Ternate are leagued together, which causes the +Spaniards to fear a revolt against their control. The Moro chiefs +in Mindanao are plotting together against the Spaniards. Nearly +half of this document is occupied with an account of the Chinese +insurrection late in November, 1639; it is soon quelled, with the +slaughter of many Sangleys. A detailed account of this episode, +presumably the one mentioned in the last note on Lopez's record, is +here presented; it is a valuable if not altogether edifying document, +especially for its revelations of human nature. Lopez's statement that +the revolt was soon over was premature; it lasted nearly four months, +and caused great loss of property to the Spaniards, and of lives to the +insurgents. Most of the Chinese population in Luzon was exterminated, +thanks to their lack of cannon and firearms and "the special protection +of our Lord over our army," which lost not even fifty men. It is a +sickening record of slaughter--not only in so-called battle, but in +the cold-blooded, deliberate, and systematic butchery of unarmed men, +taken by surprise or lured by treacherous promises. The most striking +instance of this is the cruel slaughter, caused by a blind and panic +fear, of the house-servants and other Chinese in Manila; another is the +burning of the Parian, with all the rich merchandise stored therein; +while in Cavite several hundred Chinese are deliberately taken out +by tens and beheaded. In both cases, however, opportunity is kindly +provided for the wretched victims to receive baptisms, if they were +infidels, or to make their confessions, if Christians. Peace is finally +made with the small remnant of the insurgent force, who are taken to +Manila and carefully guarded within a stockade. The writer describes +their method of warfare; and enumerates the villages burned by them, +and other damages committed, during the revolt. + +The history of the Augustinian order in the Philippines, presented in +VOLS. XXIII and XXIV of this series from Medina's Historia, is here +continued for the decade 1630-40 by an extract from Diaz's Conquistas +(written about 1718), partly in synopsis and partly in translation. He +relates the contest over the vacant see of Manila, finally settled +(1630) in favor of Fray Pedro de Arce; the election of Geronimo de +Medrano as provincial in 1632; the persecutions in Japan, the lives +of martyrs there, the controversy between Corcuera and the bishop, +biographies of noted Augustinians, and various secular matters (all +of which we omit). There is an interesting relation of the life and +labors of a useful missionary, Alonso de Mentrida, among the Indians +in Panay Island; he wages unceasing war against the devil and his +agents, the native priests of idols--the former often appearing in +visible and hideous form. A similar account is given of the life +of Juan de Medina (above cited). In 1638 Fray Martin Errasti is +elected provincial. The Visayas Islands have been, of late years, +harassed by the Moro pirates; but a notable expedition is undertaken +(1639) against those of the Lake Lanao region, in which the Recollect +missionary known as "Padre Capitan" is a prominent figure. For the +time, those Moros are awed and warned. Diaz recounts the main events +of that time--Corcuera's expedition to Jolo and the insurrection of +the Chinese. Errasti dies in 1639, and his vacant office is assumed +by Fray Juan Ramirez, the past provincial. + +In 1640 the Jesuit Bobadilla writes a description of the Philippines +and their people. The former is but a brief outline; most of the +document is devoted to the Indian natives, and the natural products of +the islands. The father writes of the custom of slavery among them; +their religious beliefs, customs, and superstitions; the practices +of their priests; their physical appearance, and dress; their customs +of tattooing, filing the teeth, and bathing; their language, writing, +and music. He describes their marriages, houses, occupations, boats, +and weapons; and their medical practice and mortuary customs. Then he +considers the climate of the islands, the culture and uses of rice, +and the natural products--animals, minerals, and fruits, especially +the palm and bamboo. He describes the buyo, so commonly used there; +also various peculiar animals. Bobadilla then mentions the manner in +which the Spanish colony is governed; their garrisons in the islands; +and the bishoprics therein. He describes briefly the city of Manila, +the trade of Filipinas, the relations of the Spaniards with the +Chinese and other peoples, and the voyage between Manila and Acapulco. + + + The Editors + July, 1905. + + + + + + + +DOCUMENTS OF 1638 + + + Events in the Filipinas, 1637-38. [Unsigned; probably written by + Juan Lopez, S.J., in July, 1638.] + Letter to Felipe IV. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; August 21. + Letter to Felipe IV, from the treasurer at Manila. Baltasar Ruiz + de Escalona; August 31. + Relation of the Filipinas Islands. Hieronimo de Banuelos y + Carrillo; 1638. + Glorious victories against the Moros of Mindanao. Diego de + Bobadilla, S.J., and others; 1638. + Royal orders and decrees, 1638. Felipe IV; March 15, and + September-December. + Fortunate successes in Filipinas and Terrenate, 1636-37. + [Unsigned; published in 1639.] + Value of Corcuera's seizures in Jolo. [Unsigned and undated; + probably 1638.] + + + +Sources: The first and seventh of these documents are obtained from +MSS. in the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid; the second and third, +and two of the decrees in the sixth, from MSS. in the Archivo general +de Indias, Sevilla; the rest of the sixth, from the Archivo Historico +Nacional, Madrid; the fourth, from Thevenot's Voyages curieux, t. i, +part ii--from a copy belonging to the library of Harvard University; +the fifth, from a book in the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar, Madrid; +the eighth, from Pastells' edition of Colin's Labor evangelica, iii, +pp. 528-533. + +Translations: These are made by James A. Robertson--except the second +and part of the sixth, by Emma Helen Blair; and the fifth, by Arthur +B. Myrick. + + + + + + + +EVENTS IN THE FILIPINAS, 1637-38 + + +The patache for Espana left here August 24. It had a propitious season +[for departure], and therefore it has apparently enjoyed favoring +vendaval blasts. [1] A short time before that, the patache had left +for the island of Hermosa; its commander was Don Alonso de Alcocer, +and the governor of that island, Sargento-mayor Pedro Palomino, +sailed in it. On the fifth of September, a xalea arrived from Yndia +on its way to Macan, which had been obliged to put in here on account +of the weather. It left Malaca August 16, in order to advise the +inhabitants of Macan to be on the lookout, for there were many Dutch +in the strait. Now they are going in the galleon "San Juan Baptista" +under command of Juan Lopez de Ariduin, to buy materials of importance +for his Majesty's fleets. The xalea remains here to be used for the +expedition to Xolo, for which it seems well fitted. They report as +news that Goa was almost surrounded by Dutch vessels. Six galleons +went out to attack them and sank three of the Dutch vessels. The +latter retired after three days of fighting, with the intention of +returning to Jacatra and getting a larger force. On the way they met +eleven Portuguese fustas, which took shelter in a river. The Dutch +employed strategy in fighting them, and captured seven of the fustas, +while four escaped. One of the latter was an excuse for a galley. In +consequence [of that victory], the enemy are now committing great +depredations in the strait. + +It is also reported that the Malabars with seventeen paroos [i.e., +praus] attacked last year a ship from Macan with a crew of thirty +Portuguese, and carrying great wealth, a thing never before seen. It +is reported that the Dutch there have shown great anger at what +the relief galleons did this year with their ships and the fort of +Malayo; and that, for the coming year, they are intending to send +out a squadron to punish the jest that was played on them. + +It is reported that a Portuguese, named Antonio Carnero, has taken +up arms together with others, and that they have adopted the calling +of pirates, and are committing depredations on Moros and Christians. + +When the king of Achen was about to go to attack Malaca with a fleet, +he died. The kingdom was inherited by the king of Paon, an old-time +friend of the Portuguese. He has renewed friendship with them--a +great piece of news. + +Fray Antonio del Rosario, the ancient of Macan, of [the Order of] +St. Dominic, bishop-elect of Malaca, died on the way [to that city] +before being consecrated. + +The fathers who accompanied Father Marcelo, who were captured last +year by the Dutch, together with that famous Polish father, are now +at liberty. Father Antonio Magallanes, procurator of the province of +Goa, whom I saw at Roma and Madrid, was to conduct Father Marcelo and +his companions; but he remained in Espana to finish some business, +has been elected bishop of Japon, and they are awaiting him in Yndia. + +Among the Portuguese of that xalea is one who is a lay-brother of +St. Francis. He came last year from Lisboa as companion of a bishop, +the friar Francisco Froan de Benavides, who was once in the mission +of Nuevo Mexico. He died on his arrival at Goa, and this religious is +trying to pass to Espana by way of these islands, with papers left him +by the bishop. This is the principal news brought by the Portuguese. + +On the morning of the seventh of this month, Fray Juan de Subelco [2] +came here from the province of the Rosario, to ask assistance by virtue +of an order that he brought from the governor. This was given to him +[by the authorities], and he entered the convent, took possession of it +for his province, and sent to Manila the father rector, Fray Francisco +Pinelo, who surrendered the house peaceably and quietly. The day +before, with the same aid, they had taken possession at the same time +of Minondo, the hospital, and the Parian, and conveyed Father Collado +and the other fathers to their convent. The community received them +at the door of their church, amid the chiming of bells, the playing +of organs, and with candles lighted on their altars; thence they took +the fathers to their cells. As a thank-offering they began a novena, +on November 7, of masses and Salves, accompanied by fine music, the +chiming of the bells, and a goodly crowd. All the people rejoiced +because they were at peace. Your Reverence will be pleased to know +how this happened. Collado wrote bits of satire against the governor, +calling him filius diaboli flagellum dei et alia hujus modi. [3] +His original letters were returned to hands that placed them in +those of Don Sebastian. Finally the governor allowed the claims of +the province of the Rosario to stand. That province had made Fray +Andres del Santisimo judge-conservator, who summoned Collado to show +his despatches that had been passed by the Council [of the Indias], +but he did not answer. The judge-conservator cited him for the second +time, but there was no answer. The judge-conservator proclaimed the +cause at an end, and sentenced his province to be suppressed. Aid +was asked for the execution of the order and was given, etc. + +On Saturday, the twelfth of this month, excommunications were read +here in four churches against those who had or knew of moneys, +clothing, books, or other things of the bearded fathers, [4] unless +they gave them up to those of the Rosario. Almost two thousand pesos +were declared here belonging to Pinelo, who had deposited them with +a friend. He came to Manila instantly, and begged protection from Don +Sebastian, saying that they were his--five hundred pesos received from +a berth on ship, given him by his Lordship for Mexico, and which, with +his Lordship's permission, he sold when he remained; one hundred and +seventy pesos from a pay-warrant which his Lordship had ordered to be +paid to him; and he had been given one thousand or more pesos, which +his nephew the reader Ochoa (whom he brought with him as a witness) had +given him. All this did he state, for even as he left here, he tried +to go to Espana in this galleon by way of Macan, which was conceded to +him. The governor wrote to Fray Juan de Subelco to let him have that +money, which was proved to belong to Pinelo. He gave him another and +very stringent letter for his provincial in Manila that declared the +same thing. Father Fray Juan, who narrated the matter to me, went to +talk with him, and told him that the books showed that the expense was +more than eight hundred pesos ahead of the receipts; and that, besides +this, he had just received two hundred pesos belonging to a deceased +man, and one hundred and seventy pesos belonging to another, and that +he will have to give account of this--besides which, in any event, +it all belonged to the order, and nothing was his. He answered that +they should have it there, and that he would write to his provincial; +and that, notwithstanding his letter, Fray Juan should do his duty, +in conformity to the rules of his order. I have now learned that they +gave up all the money to Pinelo, which he carried away. The galleon +sailed September 19. + +Of their own accord the Sangleys offered the governor [5] a gift of +six thousand pesos, giving the following reasons for so doing: first, +because he had redeemed thirty-one of their people from the captivity +of Corralat; second, because he had made the seas free and secure +for their ordinary trade; and third, because he maintained them in +peace and justice. Consequently, the expense of the war of Mindanao, +taking into account the artillery, and the pillage which pertained +to his Majesty, and the above-mentioned six thousand pesos, was not +only covered, but there were also one thousand five hundred pesos +left over, as I was told by his Majesty's accountant. The latter +also adds that the golden water-jug and plate that had belonged to +Auditor Alcaraz were bought for the king our lord with those one +thousand five hundred pesos; and the governor Don Sebastian added to +that sum more than two hundred pesos as a gift from his own purse, +in order to make up the cost of the said water-jug and plate. Dated +at Cavite, September 15, 1637. + +September 27, sentence was declared in favor of the Augustinian +fathers of Castilla, and that sentence makes a complete end to the +alternative. A sentence was also given in which the will of Espinosa +el Tuerto [i.e., "the one-eyed"] was declared null and void. The +property has been delivered to the fund belonging to deceased persons, +and those who have any right to it are to demand their justice. + +I had a letter from Father Melchor de Vera, [6] in which he says that +the people who escaped alive from the six large Javanese ships which +were at Lamitan were accommodated in one caracoa, and passing before +Basilan, full of fear of the Spaniards in the fort of Sanboangan, +talked with the chief men [of Basilan], and told them that they were +those who had been driven from the hill, and that many more than they +had thought had been killed; and that there was no one in Mindanao +who did not mourn a person of very near kin--the father for his son, +the son for his father, etc. + +I shall add here what occurred last year in the month of September, +and which I did not learn until the same month of this year 1637. The +captain and commandant of Caragan was then Juan Nicolas Godino. He +went with a fleet to commit depredations on the tributaries of +Cachil Corralat. He met six caracoas at sea, which he attacked and +conquered--although most of the enemy escaped to land, as they were +near the shore. However he killed some of them and captured others. He +also did much damage in a village that he attacked. He returned +to his fort laden with plunder and with one hundred and twenty +captives. Among the dead was one Dumplac, who had formerly killed +Alferez Blas Gonzalez, and had done great damage to the Christians +of our missions and those of Caragan. Among the captives was a very +famous chief, who was regarded as a brave man, and who killed Captain +Pedro Baptista in the insurrection of Caragan. + +October 24, the patache from the island of Hermosa entered the port, +and it brought back most of the people in those forts. They say +that the Franciscan friars are all going to China, as are all the +Dominicans, except one who remained there. It is reported that they +are suffering famine, and that no ships from China go there. + +The day before, the twenty-third, Sargento-mayor Don Pedro de Corquera, +the governor's nephew, died at Manila. The governor had reared him from +childhood in Flandes. He was well liked and respected in these islands, +for his affable manners had obtained for him much popularity. Three +or four days before, a galley-captain, named N. Ramos, and some +other discontented Spaniards had deserted in a boat with a topmast, +for their provision robbing two Sangley champans. + +The master-of-camp, Pedro de Heredia, died at Manila November 5. He +left all his property to charity. But the Audiencia sequestered it +all immediately, until the end of his residencia. Captain Don Diego +de Miranda also died from an accident, which carried him off in +thirty hours. + +News was received on November 15 that the enemy were passing the +Mindoro coast. That same day, Don Sebastian despatched some vessels +to attack them. Alferez Arexica went from this place to attack +them with fifty firearms in the xalea and two brigantines. He also +despatched his company from Manila in champans, to pursue and punish +them. Shortly after, Father Hernando de Estrada [7] arrived here +from Marinduque. He states that he met some champans which had been +pursued by the enemy, whom they thought to have been Camucones. The +two brigantines returned on the night of November 24. On account of +the wind and rain they had lost the xalea, which was the flagship, +the night that they had left. They went to Balayan, where they learned +that the Camucones had attacked Lobo, but that they had done no damage, +for the Indians resisted them; whereupon the pirates had taken their +course toward their own country by way of the sea side of Mindoro. The +xalea returned November 29, without having met the enemy. Then came +news that one night the flagship and one other of the champans that +had sailed from Manila had collided. The shock was more severe on +the flagship, which sprang a leak and went down. Only one Spaniard +and one Sangley were drowned. + +The champan that carried Father Marcelo Mastril did not go to China, +but to the Lequios, which are subject to the king of Saxuma. Some +Japanese accompanied the father. Accordingly they made use of the +following stratagem. Those of the champan talked with the Lequians, +whom they told that those Japanese had been wrecked on an island, +and that they had rescued them; and that, if the Lequians would give +them some provisions, they would leave the Japanese there; but, if +not, that the latter would return [to Manila]. The Lequians gave them +some food, and immediately despatched the father and the Japanese, +as they wished, in a funea, while the champan returned here. They +learned there that the Dominican fathers who had tried to go to Japon +last year by way of the Lequios had been seized, and sent to the king +of Saxuma by the tono of that land. + +Yesterday, December 9, Don Sebastian set out from Manila for Xolo. He +sailed in the galley flagship. With him went the xalea, brigantines, +champans, and the two galleons for Terrenate, under the command of +Geronimo Enriquez; and as admiral Don Pedro de Almonte, the same as +last year. The second galley was launched yesterday, and the commander +of the galleys, Nicolas Gonzalez, will leave here in it in a week, +in order to follow Don Sebastian. Admiral Andres Lopez de [word partly +illegible; Nozadigui?] will govern this port in his absence. + +A patache arrived at Manila on December 27 from Macan, laden with +five thousand arrobas of iron for Captain Juan Lopez de Ariduin. It +was bought from some English, who were near Macan with three galleons +and this patache. It brought news of the remarkable martyrdom of Father +Francisco Marcelo Mastril, who reached Japon September 19. Having left +Manila on July 10, he landed at the kingdom of Saxuma with only one +companion. He immediately went inland to go to the emperor's court. But +he was seized October 4, and, having suffered most cruel tortures, +he was beheaded October 17 with his aforesaid companion. Since I +translated the relation from Portuguese into Castilian, and enclose +it herewith, I shall only add that the bells in our church and others +were rung as soon as the news arrived. In the afternoon a notable Te +Deum laudamus was sung. The dean again put on his clerical robes. The +archbishop came, as did the royal Audiencia, and a great crowd of +people, and the orders, as well as the master-of-camp, Don Lorenco +de Olaso, and the flower of the soldiery. From our house they went +to [the church of] St. Dominic to sing another Te Deum for three +martyrs of that order. At night there was also a chiming of bells +and an illumination. The entire city celebrated the glory and virtues +of the holy father Marcelo, with tender tears; for he was generally +loved and regarded as a saint. + +Among the Dominican fathers died a mestizo of Binondo, son of a Chinese +and a Tagal woman. He was prosecuted by justice, in order to hang him +for his crimes; and he embarked with the fathers, in order to escape +with his life. Arriving at the Lequios, and his other companions +remaining in the boat, he refused to return, but wished to continue +with the fathers. They tell and do not finish telling of the valor, +fervor, and courage of that holy mestizo, who suffered cruel tortures +with a rare constancy, ever preaching the Divine law of God. + +It was learned, at the coming of that patache, that those fathers +who had accompanied the holy father Marcelo who went with the +captain-general of Macan had arrived safely; and that the champan +which had fled hence with eighteen sailors had made port at that +city. It was also reported that the Portuguese have not been well +received in Japon either this year or last, and all that is because +of the preachers who go. It is learned also that Father Alberto de +Polonia was brought to Cochinchina, and that he is now in Macan, +where for some time he suffered from a most severe illness. + +A champan, which had sailed from the island of Hermosa some years +ago with a load of people, and had been given up as lost, made port +at Sian because of the violence of the wind. That king treated them +well, and gave them the means with which to return. Afterward they +were driven upon the coast of the kingdom of Patani by other fierce +tempests--where, having been supplied and sailing near the strait of +Sincapura, the Dutch followed them. They landed, and at length made +port at Macan, whence some of the men have come, while the others will +come in the galleon "San Juan Baptista." It is said by those who come +in this patache, who had gone in the galleon "San Juan Baptista," that, +on discovering the English ships, lanchas came from them to reconnoiter +them; and the English, having heard that it was a galleon belonging +to the king of Espana, threw up their caps into the air joyfully, +and eagerly cried out, "Hurrah for the king of Espana!" Then they took +the news to their own ships, which fired many salutes, and by way of +toasting the health of the king our sovereign, fired a hundred pieces +of artillery. They told our men that the daughter of their king [8] +was in Espana for all her lifetime. + +Father Fray Francisco de Pinelo and other religious who went from +here to pass to Espana embarked in these English ships, on condition +that there should be no disputes on matters of religion. + +News came through the fathers of St. Augustine at Panhay on January +15, 1638, that one of the champans which left Manila to attack +the Camucones became separated from the others. It fell in with +the Camucones, and did them great damage, sinking their flagship +and almiranta. Twelve Borneans were captured, and six Christians +were freed. The enemy's loss was a hundred counting drowned and +killed. Sargento-mayor Pedro de Fuercios was commander of that champan. + +Almost all the month of January and that of February was taken +up with prayers in various churches, for the fortunate success of +Don Sebastian. Now we are not the only ones to offer them, as we +were last year; but all make them, both the secular clergy and the +friars. The Sangleys have said very solemn prayers in their Parian +church, of their own accord, as an expression of thanks for the peace +and justice in which the governor maintains them. + +Don Sebastian had sent those Borneans and Camucones from Otong to +Manila, ordering them to serve the various orders and hospitals, +so that they might be carefully catechized and made Christians. When +they reached Maribeles, an old Morabite [9] persuaded the others, and +they rose against the Spaniards who were bringing them. There were two +Spaniards in the champan who were wounded, but they killed the Morabite +and wounded some of the others. Some of them were thrown into the sea, +where they were drowned, and with this fortune they reached Manila. + +On the night of February 10, robbers entered the church of this +residence at Cavite, and stole two silver lamps. They set a trap in +the stairway, so that the first one who should descend, if the robbers +were perceived, would undoubtedly be killed. It has been impossible to +find any trace of the robbers. A week later, about two thousand pesos' +worth of jewels were stolen in Manila in [the church of] St. Dominic, +Nuestra Senora del Rosario. But the thief (who was a Spaniard) was +discovered, and most of it has been recovered. + +Letters were received March 19, announcing the governor's arrival at +Sanboangan and Jolo. The news therein contained is in a separate paper. + +A despatch was received from the governor in the middle of April from +Jolo, from which it was learned that he was pressing as closely as +possible the siege of the stronghold, which the Macasars and Joloans +were defending with great obstinacy. There are things worthy of +history, which will go [in a letter] by themselves. + +It was learned from the same despatch that the Terrenate galleons +had already returned to Sanboangan, and that they had arrived safely +with their reenforcements, without the Dutch enemy having shown them +any resistance, although the latter had vessels of great burden. Six +Dutchmen deserted to our men; the three who were aboard the flagship, +where Father Pedro Hernando de Estrada was, were converted to our +holy Catholic faith by his efforts. One of them is a fine student, +and very talented. He knows Latin and Greek, and had studied the +whole course of arts, and some years in law, in Flandes. + +A patache which left Macan some days after our galleon "San Juan +Baptista," arrived from that city on May 4, and they expected to find +the galleon here; however, experienced persons say that it is not +late. There are six brothers in the galleon--students who are to be +ordained--and Father Bartolome is coming with them as superior. That +patache brings two Franciscan friars, Castilians, who have been driven +from China. They say that the Chinese have driven them away through +love of us, saying that Ours preach Christ risen, and those fathers +Christ crucified--a reason that I do not understand. The statement of +the pilot of the patache is that they have been driven out because they +proceeded in the preaching with but little caution, and I regard that +as true. Some nine months ago, I heard a prudent and experienced man +say that a great persecution was feared in China, because of the little +caution of the preachers. One week after the arrival of the patache, +I received a letter from Father Antonio Cardin, [10] commissary of +the Holy Office for Macan and China, who gives me the following news: + + + "Section of a letter from Father Antonio Cardin, dated Macan, + April 15, 1638 + + "I shall relate here the news of the missions that your Reverence + desires to know. Japon is a thing of the past if God do not, in + His mercy, aid it. China was increasing greatly in Christianity + during these years, but with the entrance of the friars, it is + being thrown into confusion; for all the religious have been exiled + in Chincheo, and the churches destroyed, where they and we were + [laboring] in a flourishing Christian church. For as the friars + treat of conquests, saying openly that China can be conquered + with four thousand Spaniards, such talk can have no good effect + on the natives, who immediately tell it to their mandarins, + and we are all lost. + + "The fathers have been restored to their former liberty in + Cochinchina. The old king died, but his son has given the Dutch a + factory, and they are doing as much harm as possible. In Tumquin + that Christian church is increasing greatly; but the Dutch are now + there, and, although the king has not conceded them a factory, + they say that they will do us as much harm as possible in order + that we may be exiled. Father Raymundo de Govea is arranging + matters in Tumquin, in order that he may go to the Laos. There + is no news from Siam. They killed Father Julio Cesar there, and + until now they have been at war with Malaca. They now send to + ask for peace, and they also tell me that they will ask it from + Manila. It is said that they are doing this through fear of the + Dutch, who they fear are going to seize their kingdom. Father Lope + de Andrada was ordered to retire from Camboja, on account of ill + health, and Father Antonio Capechi was sent there. The sending + of a large ship directly to Lisboa is being discussed here, but + this is so great a blessing that I doubt whether it will be done." + + +At the closing of the hour of prayer on May 13, the day of the +glorious ascension of our Lord, news arrived of the capture of the +[fortified] hill of Jolo. It is a matter of the greatest consolation +for all nations; at least, all joined in the festival with great +appearances of rejoicing. The bells of all the churches were rung, +and the Te Deum laudamus, so due to God, was sung in some of them as +a thank-offering. There was a great illumination at night, and more +ringing of bells. I refer to the history for particular. + +The above news was received on the occasion of the arrival of five +or six ships from Great China, laden with merchandise, which was +needed in the islands. They give as news that eleven other and more +powerful ships have been given chapas. That has been of the greatest +consolation, for in the last two years those ships have had so little +custom, because of the small amount of silver that had been sent +from Mexico, that it was feared that the Chinese would not come this +year. [11] + +The commander of the galleys, Nicolas Goncalez, and Captain Carranca, +who was general of the artillery, having fallen very sick at Jolo +almost at the beginning of the siege, were sent away by Don Sebastian +so that they might recuperate. They arrived at Octong safely more +than two months ago, and this their delay was already causing +anxiety. Today, May 17, I have been told that the Chinese of the +champan in which they were coming [to Manila] killed them through +greed, in order to rob them, and five other Spaniards with them. One +they cast into the sea badly wounded, where some Indian fishermen +rescued him, to whom he related what had happened. Scarcely had they +reached land before he died. + +Some influential men were killed in the assaults on Xolo, among whom +were Sargento-mayor Melon, Captain Juan Nicolas, Alferez Aregita, etc. + +Yesterday, May 16, while talking with the commandant of Macan, +a very honorable Portuguese, of the Order of Santiago, I asked him +some questions, the replies to which I shall state here, as they have +some interest. He says that the kingdom of Tumquin is a part of Great +China, but has a different king; and it differs in language from China, +as does Galicia from Castilla. He asserts the same of Cochinchina, +although there is a greater difference in language. Tumquin is ninety +leguas from Macan, and is reached by traveling between the island +of Ainao [i.e., Hainan] and the mainland of China. Cochinchina is +one hundred and twenty leguas [from Macan], and is reached by going +outside that island. One of four ships that sailed recently from Macan +to various kingdoms, which was en route to Macasar with two hundred and +fifty persons, was wrecked on this island of Ainao, but only fourteen +persons were drowned. The commandant added that the Society of Jesus +is now preaching in that island, and that the people are rapidly +embracing Christianity. The fathers had brought six boys, sons of +the most influential men, to Macau to be educated better, and they +show signs of great ability. When I asked him about the exile of the +preachers from Chincheo, he only replied that the Castilians, as they +are prepared to hold subject all the Indians of their conquests--as +Mexico, Peru, and these islands--enter into other kingdoms with great +bragging and boasts, which is the occasion of their ruin. + +I have learned from some fathers of St. Dominic and the cura of Nueva +Segobia (which is, one hundred and thirty leguas away from here) that +Fray Diego Collado wrote a paper to Don Sebastian, after the reunion +of the fathers of St. Dominic, which was entitled "Deceits, tricks, +and plots of Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera," in which he made +disgraceful remarks to him. His Lordship sent it to his provincial, +and the latter retired the father to the house of Nueva Segobia. He +remained some months in prison, where he could neither hear nor say +mass; and he is now locked up where he can hear it through a church +gallery. + +Today, May 20, at two o'clock, quite without our expecting it, +and without the fires in Maribelez having announced it, the galleon +"San Juan Baptista"--which had taken fifty days to come from Macan, +a voyage which the patache made in nine--arrived. God delivered them +from a great danger on some shoals, to which the currents were taking +them swiftly during a calm. The fathers assert that they invoked the +holy father Marcelo, the martyr of Jesus Christ, with great faith +in the greatest danger. Thanks to the Lord, who has allowed them +all to arrive safe and happy! Father Bartolome Roboredo has told +us glorious things of the Christendom of Tumquin--where, this year +alone, nine thousand have been baptized. He says that there are some +fathers and a bishop even in Etiopa; and that the rulers do not molest +the Catholics. The fathers of Jentafee, Tibet, and the kingdoms of +Potente and Siranagar, have suffered various fortunes. In the court +of the Megor [i.e., Mogul], the church was destroyed, and the fathers +seized by those Moros, because they were confirming in the faith those +Christians who had been taken captive from Bengala. But now affairs +have begun to brighten; they have been granted liberty, and are aiding +the Christians. By that means it is to be hoped that there will be at +some other time a gateway into Tibet and Siranagar, the way to which +must necessarily lie through [the country of] the Megor. It has been +learned from Japon, from the very ones who are in power, that they +are now tired and weary of killing Christians; and that they are not +well satisfied with the Dutch and their trade. He adds that, because of +what the holy father Marcelo declared to them in his martyrdom--namely, +that they were rendering their nation infamous and obscuring their fame +by the tortures that they were inflicting upon the private parts of +Christians--the Japanese are generally angry, and do not wish that to +be done. All the priests in Japon at present are three of the Society +of Jesus, all Japanese. It is not known where they are wandering, +and no letters have been received from them, because of the severity +of the persecution. There is one other father, a European, named Juan +Baptista Porro. They do not say that he is alive, for, although his +death is not known, it is presumed that he is dead; for he was very +old and worn out with labors, and it is several years since letters +have been received from him. It is also said that there are hopes that +that persecution will soon cease. Would to God that it might be so! + +Yesterday, May 23, the day of the Holy Ghost, Don Sebastian arrived +at this port, having left Tanaguan that morning--a distance of ten +mortal leguas. He came in the Terrenate galleons, which, as the +weather was bad, he left at the landing at Mindoro. He, as well as +Father Juan de Barrios, was fatigued, which we could see was from the +hardships that they have suffered; but, thanks to God, these have +been well recompensed in service to God and to the general welfare +of these islands. The chaplain Don Pedro de Francia died of fever in +the ship, and, six days later, Captain Don Lope de Barahona, of the +same sickness. Upon the arrival of Don Sebastian, the bells in our +house were rung for a long time, as a mark of rejoicing. Later the +bells were rung in the cathedral church, and that night there were +illuminations in all the houses and convents. + +Yesterday, May 27, the galleons of the Terrenate relief expedition +anchored at this port. Father Hernando de Estrada says that twenty +persons of various nations (for the galleons carried Joloans, Basilans, +and the Bisayans who were freed from the captivity of Xolo) have +died in the flagship since their departure from Sanboangan, and that +sickness was caused by their close quarters; and that a goodly number +have died in the almiranta and the patache; but it is a cause for great +consolation that no Moro, male or female, has died without baptism. + +Yesterday, May 31, Don Sebastian made his triumphant entrance into +Manila, in the same manner as he had done, the year preceding, upon +his arrival from Mindanao. I wrote concerning it, by the patache; +and will only state here the number of pieces--namely, eleven of cast +iron and one bronze culverin, these being large pieces. Among the +medium-sized pieces and falcons there were fifteen. The best falcon +had the arms and name of King Don Sebastian [of Portugal]. There were +eleven smaller versos. The crowd of people in the windows and streets, +the illuminations of the night, and the masquerades of the city, +were the same as I wrote last year. + +June 3, Corpus Christi day, the procession of thanks for the victory +was united with that of the most holy sacrament, as I wrote last +year. That same day the xalea which had been left in Xolo arrived. It +brings news that the king and queen, who had fled from the stronghold +with the other Joloans, have sent to say that they desire to settle +in whatever place may be assigned to them, and to pay tribute to +his Majesty. They promise to obey the conditions imposed on them by +Don Sebastian. + +Monday, June 7, the honors for those killed in war were performed in +the soldiers' church with the same solemnity as those of the past +year. The father rector, Francisco Colin, preached to a generally +appreciative audience. + +Friday, June eleven, the flagship galley entered this port with a +round sail, but no bastard; for a flash of lightning, which struck it, +had torn it from top to bottom and killed two men. It brought some +bronze artillery of the pieces captured at Jolo, in addition to what +I mentioned in the triumph--as was told me by a man who comes from +there, and who is well versed regarding artillery. The pieces with +ladles mounted in the stronghold numbered in all eleven of cast iron, +and eleven of bronze; also eleven other large falcons, besides the +ordinary versos. + +He says of Dato Ache, who is the greatest pirate, and the one who +has done most damage to the Christians of all those of Jolo--and +who is the one who persuaded the king and the others to fortify +themselves, and to refuse to surrender to the Spaniards--that a +mine which exploded and killed fifty Joloans, also caught him, so +that he was completely buried. With only power to move one hand, he +beckoned imploringly for help; his men hurried to his assistance, +and got him out, much hurt. He recovered afterward, and when the +others descended from the stronghold, he, with some other Malays, +who were steadfastly of the opinion that they should not surrender, +escaped, and left the island in great dudgeon at the king. + +Sunday, June 20, when we celebrated the feast of the most holy +sacrament, Father Francisco Rangel chanted his first mass in this +college. He was one of the six who came from Macan to be ordained, +and since his residence here has told us some remarkable things that +happened four or five years ago, and, as I believe that very few +there have any knowledge regarding them, I shall relate them here. + +First, he says that the island of Ainao is as large as the island of +Cicilia; and that it has its own natives, who are white-complexioned, +and have a different aspect from that of the Chinese. The latter +conquered the seacoast many years ago, and the natives retired to +the mountains, whence it is their custom to descend to harry the +Chinese--who are scattered, and have never subjected the natives to the +payment of tribute. While Father Bento de Matos was in that island, +two remarkable things occurred to him. In a city of the Chinese, +where no means have yet been found whereby to make an entrance to +instruct the natives--both because the language is special, and +because they are always at war--it happened that the father, having +no lodging, learned that there was a good unoccupied house, for, +because of fear at I know not what noises that had been heard in it, +no one would live in it. The father determined to enter and to live +in that house, although his friends dissuaded him and told him their +fears. He lived there quite a number of days, at the end of which, +in the darkness of the night, a dead man appeared to him in the habit +of a mandarin. The dead man told the father to look well at him, +and note well his marks, and to go to the mandarin So-and-so, who +was his brother, and tell him to disinter his body, which was buried +in such and such a place near the altar; for it was the will of God +that there should not be the body of a condemned heathen in a place +where the holy body of His son Jesus Christ was offered to Him in +acceptable sacrifice. The father gave the marks to the mandarin, who +recognized that it was his brother. They dug in the place noted, and +found the body entire in a casket and preserved with precious spices, +with which it had been embalmed, and carried it to a separate place. + +The other circumstance is, that every day when the said father said +mass there, it was heard by a devout Christian, who, after rising +suddenly, appeared so joyful and happy that the other Christians +came to consider and even to believe him as mad. They resolved to +censure him, and to advise him to have more moderation and modesty in +the presence of so great a Lord. He answered them that he could not +do otherwise than he had; for, on rising from the eucharist, he saw +two most beautiful youths kneeling before the most holy sacrament, +amid such lights and splendors that they bathed his soul in joy so +great that it overflowed in its abundance to his body, and he could +not restrain himself from manifesting it. + +It happened to that same father that, while on a mission to Chincheo, +some literati suddenly entered a chapel in which he was, to make a jest +of him and of the God whom he was adoring. He kneeled down before a +crucifix and said "Lord, do not abandon me among thine enemies." The +holy crucifix answered "No, son, I shall not abandon thee; but I am +always with thee to aid thee." Thereupon the literati, thunderstruck +and full of fear, left the father, and went out of the chapel. + +In one of these recent years, during a great baquio or typhoon, +eighteen Dutch ships were wrecked on the coast of Chincheo. The Chinese +beheaded some of those who escaped alive, and, having seasoned those +heads with salt, took them with the other men whom they left alive to +the court of Paquin, where they were all beheaded. For the aversion +of the Chinese to people with blue eyes is great; and the reason is +that it is said that there is an ancient prophecy that men with eyes +of that color will conquer their kingdom. + +About two years ago, six out of seven ships that left Olanda with +reenforcements for India were sunk in the open sea, and only one +arrived. + +The king of China is commonly regarded by his vassals as a Christian: +1st, because he has only one wife; 2d, because he only adores the God +of heaven; 3d, because he has tried to exterminate the bonzes. Among +other plans [for the accomplishment of that], he employed that +of having six thousand bonzes enlisted for the war against the +Tartars. He sent them under the command of a great war mandarin, +and all the six thousand died in the war. The captain alone escaped, +and he was shortly after baptized; he is a very devout Christian, and +is known as Doctor Miguel. The manner in which the king [12] became +a Christian is said to have been that the famous Doctor Pablo (who +is now dead), having free entrance into the palace, often conversed +with the king, whom he converted and baptized. The king has shown +Ours favor by giving them a large convent of the bonzes in Paquin, +and has given them lands for their support. + +July 6, Father Melchor de Vera passed by way of this college, en +route from Sanboanga. He gives us some particulars which it is well +to know. Cachil Moncay attacked the new village which Cachil Corralat +had built. He killed or captured about one hundred of his men, but +Corralat escaped. Afterward when Dato Siqui brought his customary +tribute to Corralat from the island of Little Sanguil, he attacked +Moncay and killed him and others, so that the number of killed and +captives reached eighty. + +Father Vera met on his way here a champan from Terrenate, which +tells him that Corralat, seeing himself expelled [from his towns] +by Don Sebastian, sent messengers to the Moros of Terrenate, to beg +for aid; but that the latter had refused it to him, as they had enough +of their own affairs to attend to. The men of that champan also told +him that the petty king of Great Sanguil talked with them, and said +that he wished peace with the Spaniards, and would pay tribute to his +Majesty. For greater security he gave them the young prince his son, so +that they might give the boy to the governor as a token of peace. All +these are the results of the two victories of Mindanao and Jolo. + +Today, July 11, a large champan, which had sailed from the port of +Macasar at the beginning of Lent, arrived at this port. They relate +many acts of affection and favor which the king has shown to the +Spaniards. Those aboard the champan assert that the king will be +very glad of whatever ill-treatment Don Sebastian accords to the +Macasars of Jolo, because they have taken arms against the vassals +of his brother the king of Castilla. + +Today, July 18, the patache sails with the reenforcements for the +island of Hermosa, under the command of Don Pedro Fernandez del Rio. + +Yesterday, July 23, at dawn, a Macan patache anchored in this +roadstead. It comes from Camboja laden with rice, camanguian or +benzoin, and other drugs. + + + + + + + +LETTER FROM CORCUERA TO FELIPE IV + + +Sire: + +Last year I informed your Majesty that I had appointed Don Luis +Arias de Mora as protector of the Sangleys in the Parian; he is a +lawyer well known in this royal Audiencia, a man of virtue and of +excellent abilities. On this account, with the salary of that office +of protector (which he draws from the communal treasury of the said +Sangleys), he is obliged to act as counsel for the archbishop in +affairs of justice, in order to prevent the troubles that the friars +brought upon him last year--inducing him to issue acts against the +Order of the Society, and excommunicating the royal Audiencia and +the governor of Filipinas. Since he promised that he would issue +no mandates without the signed approval of this counselor, we have +lived in peace, without there having been the least annoyance, or +any interruption of our harmony; for the said counselor will not sign +any act or document which the said archbishop causes to be drawn up +if it contravenes the patronage and jurisdiction of your Majesty, +or encroaches in any way upon your rights. For these reasons, and on +account of the said Luis Arias de Mora's long service as advocate +in this royal Audiencia, and his excellent reputation for learning +and talent, I entreat that your Majesty will be pleased to grant him +the favor of confirming him in the said office of protector of the +Sangleys, until some greater favor be bestowed upon him; any office +will be well served, if conferred upon him. May our Lord protect the +Catholic person of your Majesty, as Christendom has need. Manila, +August 21, 1638. Sire, your vassal kisses your Majesty's feet. + + +Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera + + +[Endorsed: "February 26, 1639; provision is made for this."] + + + + + + + +LETTER TO FELIPE IV FROM THE TREASURER AT MANILA + + +Sire: + +If my so great obligations to your Majesty--not only since you +are my king and natural sovereign, but since you have honored me +so generously in these islands by employing my person in the post +of official judge-treasurer of your royal estate--necessarily and +strictly did not oblige me to inform your Majesty of the manner in +which the said royal estate is administered here, its condition, +and the so great ruin that it has suffered and is suffering since it +was your Majesty's pleasure to have Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera +come to govern these islands in the year thirty-five, I should have +to arouse myself and take courage to place before the pious eyes of +your Majesty this memoir of disasters; for no other title or name can +be given to the calamities that have rushed pellmell both on the said +royal estate, and on us afflicted ministers who have it in charge, +to the so great peril and discredit of our persons. The matter, Sire, +is a very long drawn out one, and hence it is impossible to compass +it in a few lines; and I in my rashness will weary your Majesty's +ears. But the love and zeal which move me will perhaps avail to remove +from me censure for my boldness. + +Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera entered this city in the latter part +of June, 635, to assume this government. He showed apparent signs of +an endeavor to excel, in his honest and careful attitude toward your +royal estate; but we were soon undeceived by his so unexpected and +inconsiderate resolution not to despatch the ships which your Majesty +has ordered, by so many decrees and ordinances, to be sent annually +to Nueva Espana with the property of the inhabitants of this city--so +that the usual situado might be sent back in them to these islands +from the proceeds of your royal duties, and serve as a help to the +great and numerous expenses which your Majesty is incurring annually +in the increase and preservation of so many of the faithful as have in +these regions deserved to receive the holy water of baptism. Yet it +was a fact that Don Juan Cereco de Salamanca (who was concluding his +governorship, to which he had been appointed by the viceroy of Nueva +Espana), had prepared two ships, and their cargoes were aboard--the +lading-space having been allotted, in accordance with the orders +given by your Majesty, among the inhabitants of this city. The losses +and damage that have resulted, both to your royal estate and to the +property of the merchants of these islands, are so considerable and +momentous that I would not dare to name them. Your Majesty's ministers +in Mexico, in whose charge is the management of your royal estate, +will have already reported them to you, for they will be able to do +it with more accurate knowledge and certainty; and, consequently, +I think that they will already have come to your Majesty's ears. + +A few days ago the governor introduced in this royal camp of Manila a +cavalry company of twenty-nine men or soldiers, with their captain, +one lieutenant, one alferez, one standard-bearer, and one corporal; +each soldier was to receive 168 pesos' pay per annum, the captain +1,200, the lieutenant, 480, the alferez, 380, the corporal, 216, and +one trumpler, 120--the total amounting to 7,248 pesos. It was for the +sole purpose of being employed nightly in squads to close the gates of +the city and to patrol it; and it was all to spare the infantry from +fatigue, although the latter had until then been employed in that +duty with much more security to the city, and with the correction +of many lawless acts which we have been experiencing here since, +and which have been committed by the very men who are deputed to +obviate them. When the said governor ordered us to inscribe that +new order in the royal books, and to furnish the papers to the said +soldiers with pay so increased, we, seeing of how little importance +and effectiveness the said company was, and that there was no order +from your Majesty for its creation, warned him of that--besides giving +him other reasons which will already have been seen by your Council, +for we enclosed a copy of both of them in the letters that we wrote +in the year 1636. Still, notwithstanding that, the governor ordered +the command to be obeyed. Accordingly we did so, and the command has +been, and is being, observed; and the governor refuses to recede +in so pernicious a decision as is the increase of [expenses with] +pay so large as this, and so unnecessary, and, moreover, when your +royal treasury in these islands has so many and so great necessities. + +Although there was, upon the arrival of the said governor, as much +infantry in this city and these presidios, as in the times of previous +governors, and even more, inasmuch as he had brought in those ships +a very large and fine consignment of men (for they numbered more than +five hundred men)--a considerable reenforcement, and sufficient to have +garrisoned and manned your Majesty's forts--he raised two companies +of ninety-six Pampango Indians apiece, on his own counsel alone, +and unnecessarily, so that they might take part with the Spaniards in +the guard and watch of this city. The following pay [was assigned]: +the captain, 240 pesos per annum; two drummers, each 24 pesos; the +alferez, 120 pesos; his standard-bearer, 24 pesos; the sergeant, 84 +pesos; the four corporals, 60 pesos apiece. Hence, both companies have +an annual expense of 10,728 pesos, for those two companies are paid +monthly the amount of their pay. Not only are those companies still +kept up, but they have also been augmented since the past year, 637, +by two other companies--one for this camp, which is here at present; +and the other in the new presidios of Jolo and Camboja--besides 72 +other Pampango Indians, who are stationed in the fort at the port of +Cavite. All together mean an expense of 25,092 pesos per year to the +royal treasury. I assure your Majesty that this matter ought to be +looked at with the greatest attention, in order that things might +not be so managed; for it is a useless and needless expense when, +as I have said, your royal treasury suffers so great losses as it +does, by the so terrible and irreparable damage which the province +from which those Indians are drafted has suffered, as they are all +tillers of the soil, and tributaries of your Majesty. Many losses to +your royal estate follow, because they and their wives are exempted +from paying the tribute during the time while they serve in their +posts as soldiers. Besides, as this province [of Pampanga] abounds +so plentifully in rice, and your Majesty needs so much of it for the +rations of so great a number of persons as are employed in the building +and repairing of the vessels in the port of Cavite, and for the sailors +and soldiers, it is obvious that the said province will be diminished; +for it is necessary to allot the vendalas and repartimientos upon the +few who remain, instead of on the many, so that with a few exactions +of this sort the poor Indians will be driven to the wall, and will +find it necessary to desert their huts and take to the woods. That +would mean the total ruin and destruction of that district, which is +the support of this colony. + +As the governor immediately undertook to despatch the usual +reenforcement and situado to the forts of Terrenate, he appointed a +chief commander with 3,000 pesos, and an admiral with 2,000--although +until then there had been no such officers as commander-in-chief and +admiral; but only one commandant, who received 60 ducados of eleven +reals per month, while those who were placed in command of the other +pataches received very moderate pay. We remonstrated, as we were bound +to do, warning the governor that there was no order from your Majesty +for the creation of such salaries. He referred the decision of this +matter to the treasury meeting, where we found two auditors and Doctor +Juan Fernandez de Ledo (who was exercising the duties of fiscal), and +the factor and treasurer. All except the said Doctor Juan Fernandez +de Ledo, who was of the governor's opinion, opposed the said pay, +giving very powerful and cogent reasons therefor. Notwithstanding that, +the governor ordered the said salaries to be made good, and said that +he would report the matter to your Majesty. Hence, Sire, he will by +no means listen to any proposition which is made for the benefit and +use of the royal treasury, if it is contrary to his opinion. + +The same thing happened in the said meeting when they were assigning +the salaries to the chaplains whom he appointed in the said galleons +of Terrenate, and in all the others that sailed from these islands +for any place. It was an expense as avoidable as the others which he +has introduced, for it is a fact that religious are always ready to +serve those posts because of the accommodations that they receive in +the galleons, especially in those that sail to Nueva Espana. For when +the religious sail in them as passengers they must obtain permission, +and the accommodation of a berth, and, as this costs money and trouble, +it is found to be no little convenience to give them the posts as +chaplains; and they have not claimed or demanded any pay, and they +have been employed in this ministry in all the past. Therefore one +can understand how superfluous is that expense. + +There are five convents of religious within the walls of this city of +Manila, and one of nuns; the church of La Misericordia, the seminary +of Santa Potenciana, the cathedral church, and the hospital for +the Spaniards or soldiers. That makes ten churches in all, and they +are so near and close to one another that the divine offices can be +heard from one to another, if one pays moderate attention. So small +and narrow> is the district of the city, and so few the people in the +churches, that if there was no more than one convent of religious and +the cathedral church, they could be sufficiently taken care of and +without too great fatigue [to the priests]. Although this was the fact +of the case, the governor, a very few days after his arrival, began +to build a church for his soldiers, saying at the beginning that the +expense for the building was to be taken from the soldiers' own pay, +and that no expense would be incurred by the royal treasury. But he +did not keep his word, although the said church was fully built, +together with some barracks and quarters for the said soldiers to +live in. In the erection of it, more than eighty thousand pesos have +been already spent, while the amount charged to the infantry is not in +excess of sixteen thousand pesos. Consequently, it has been necessary +that the remaining funds should be supplied from the royal treasury, +although it would be more proper to expend that sum in building +galleons to carry the goods of this city to Nueva Espana. For with +galleons the royal treasury will be increased, and thereby will the +governor obey the many and urgent orders which your Majesty has been +pleased to issue in this regard; and the vassals and inhabitants of +these islands would not be so ruined, and so hopeless of returning to +their former state. It was all occasioned by the governor's resolution +not to despatch any ships during the year of 635 and that of 637; and +even next year, 639, there is little assurance that he will despatch +them, for there is no money with which to prepare them. If that were +done, we could entertain stronger hopes; because, as I write this, the +usual succor from Mexico has not yet arrived, as only one very small +patache was despatched last year, and there is doubt that it was able +to reach port. On that account we are so perplexed and afflicted that +it is even a special providence of God that we are able to breathe. + +The ships which are being despatched this year are sailing without a +register; for, as yet, the inhabitants have not registered a shred of +cloth with which to lade them, as they do not know the condition of +their property in Nueva Espana. As they are so ruined as regards their +capital, they are, according to my way of thinking excusable. But +I have been unable to find any excuse in any way for the governor, +who has, by his so extraordinary and unadvised resolutions, placed +this city in the last straits; and has paid no attention to those who, +with foresight, have represented to him these great damages, besides +those which have followed and will follow to the royal estate of your +Majesty. For this year alone (and I do not speak of former years), +more than one hundred and fifty thousand pesos have been spent on +these ships, both for the preparation that has been necessary, and +for the pay of the commanders, pilots, and other seamen and other +officials who sail in them, and for the food. Your Majesty will +never be reimbursed for that sum, for, as no cargo goes in the ships, +there can be no duties collected; and it is from these duties that +the funds for these expenses must be obtained, as your Majesty has +ordered and commanded. Hence, Sire, it becomes necessary to say that +it seems as if your Majesty had sent the governor to these islands +to ruin and destroy your royal estate, rather than to increase and +preserve it. This conclusion, if relief does not come speedily, will +be seen to be verified with the great loss of all, and the special +sorrow of us who, as your Majesty's faithful ministers and servants, +are bound to strive for the increase of your royal estate. + +In the past year, 637, because these coasts were being infested by +the kings of Mindanao and Jolo, with great loss and damage to the +Christian Indians and your Majesty's vassals, the governor left this +city with two fine large fleets--the first on February two, and the +second on December eight. Both were despatched against the advice of +all the soldiers who were experienced in this country--both because of +the risk to which the governor exposed his person, and because of the +so heavy expenses that it was necessary to incur; and furthermore, +since there are very honorable soldiers in these islands, to whom +these expeditions can be entrusted with the hope that they will give an +excellent account of them. And thus he would have avoided a very large +part of the expense, and even of the loss of very brave soldiers who +died in both expeditions; for more than four hundred Spaniards died, +among whom were many persons of high standing [in this colony]. That +is a loss which ought to be wept with many tears, because of the lack +that they will create when they will be most necessary. In the first +expedition, 9,867 pesos were spent from your royal estate; and in the +second, 47,171 pesos. He has tried and is trying to cover the expense +of both expeditions by the value of the slaves, and other things of +little account, which he took as booty in both expeditions; and by +other communications, which will be seen in your Council, according +to the relations or certifications which he has given to us. Most +of it can have but little foundation, as there is nothing more than +what the governor has been pleased to give. But it will be well to +consider that although the fifth part of any booty taken belongs +to your Majesty (as is a fact), he has ordered all the artillery, +and other war supplies and ammunition to be valued and adjudged as +part compensation for the expense incurred. That is a thing which, +according to my understanding, could not be done; for he is attempting +to persuade your Majesty that he is giving you something. Since that +is clearly yours by law, there is no reason for [thus] adjudging it, +under any of the pretexts of which, [to judge] from appearances like +these, he always avails himself to accredit his own actions. + +Beside the building of the church, barracks, and quarters for the +soldiers, he has constructed other buildings of not inconsiderable +extent, and of the same necessity and importance as the aforesaid, +at the royal hospital of this city. He has bought some houses that +are near it for eight thousand pesos, in order that the chaplain, +apothecary, and physician may live in them. Your Majesty has +assigned them a very sufficient remuneration, and they have always +been contented with it, and have not asked for houses in which to +live. The governor has also added a room to the said hospital (where +the religious of St. Francis had their living apartments before his +arrival), without sense or reason. He has spent a great sum of pesos +in its building; and a great sum has also been and is being spent +in the support of the sick of the said hospital--although they were +supported most abundantly in past years with two thousand five hundred +or three thousand pesos at the most. Now seven thousand pesos and +upward are spent, and we cannot see in what this increase consists, +although we are not ignorant that the sick are less carefully attended +and nursed than before. + +A Portuguese nobleman, an inhabitant of Macan, by name Don Diego de +Miranda Enriquez, came from that city to this during the former year of +636, with a quantity of arquebuses, muskets, nails for the ships, and +rough iron. Having sent for us that we might bargain and pay for it, +we did so, availing ourselves for that purpose of the recent example +that we had for it in the previous year, 1635, which was accredited +and approved by the said governor. Nevertheless, after several months +the governor fined the factor and me (for we were the ones who made +the said contract and rendered payment, as the accountant was then +living in the port of Cavite) without our knowing what crime we had +committed, in the sum of two thousand one hundred and thirty-three +pesos, five tomins; for he said that we had not observed his orders +in the said contract. After he had conferred over the matter with +your auditors, and they being of the opposite opinion, nevertheless, +holding his own even to the end, he had us notified of the act imposing +the said fine. We appealed from it to your Audiencia, where we were +freed from the prosecution. The said governor was indeed very angry +at that; and he even gave your auditors to so understand, and that, +in matters of justice, he even was trying to tie their hands. + +At the very beginning of his governorship, the said Don Sebastian +Hurtado de Corcuera tried to change the inferior employees of the +tribunal of your royal officials. Among the others whom he appointed +was the weigher of coins, notwithstanding that we opposed that. For +your Majesty has been pleased to honor us with your special decrees, +in which you order that we ourselves choose our employees, so that +they may be to our satisfaction; and that your governors give their +titles to those whom we should thus propose to them. [We also opposed +it] because the said governor ordered us to admit the said weigher +to the enjoyment and exercise of his office without bonds, although +all those who had thus far exercised that office had given bonds +in the sum of four thousand pesos for the security of your royal +estate, as it is an office that requires great faithfulness because +of the many and continually-recurring opportunities that present +themselves for him to make considerable thefts without your royal +officials being able to put a stop to it. That has been proved to us +by experience, for, notwithstanding all our efforts in watching him, +at the end of a year and slightly more (for so long a time did he +hold the said office) we found that he had stolen more than three +thousand five hundred pesos from your royal treasury. We began +a prosecution in your royal Audiencia. The said governor, seeing +that the weigher was proved to be a criminal by what was enacted, +and by his confession and deposition, in order that he might not +be completely exposed, had a memorial presented [to the Audiencia] +through a father of the Society of Jesus--in which it is stated that +a man had declared in confession that he was the thief, and that +the said weigher was not guilty; and had given him a certain number +of pay-warrants with which to satisfy, by way of restitution, the +[claim for] three thousand five hundred pesos. The said governor +ordered that this reparation should be accepted; and although the +pay-warrants had no justification--as their owners had been dead for +many years, and the papers contained no cessions or powers by virtue +of which receipts should be given and signed--we had to receive them, +because, as they had been examined before the auditor of accounts, +and attested by him, they were [technically] entirely sufficient, and +could and ought to be received. Thereupon, the said weigher went scot +free from prison. The said governor immediately sent him to Macan, in +order to remove him from the danger that might meet him at any time +in this city. In this manner, Sire, was so serious a crime as the +aforesaid punished; and in this wise does the governor protect his +henchmen, for there is no human strength which can oppose his. This +is a consideration that causes not a little sorrow to your Majesty's +servants and ministers; for only that name is left us, for we have +been stripped, for the sole purpose of being able to depreciate +and even disaccredit us, of all the power and authority which your +Majesty was pleased to give us in our titles, and in the ordinances +and many other decrees. However, I think and trust, God helping, that +that will not be attained, however vigilant the governor may be; for +we are and shall be always in your Majesty's service, and hope that, +as our pious king and sovereign, you will always examine our causes, +and that you will pity us for the calamities and miseries that we are +suffering for the sole reason of being so far from your royal presence, +and that you will take what corrective measures are most pleasing to +you. With that hope we receive new courage, although in the midst of +so many perils, to fulfil our obligations, as faithful and grateful +vassals and ministers of your Majesty, whose royal person may our Lord +preserve, with the increase of greater and more extensive empires, +as is necessary to us all. Manila, August 31, 1638. + + +Don Baltasar Ruiz de Escalona + + + + + + + +BANUELOS Y CARRILLO'S RELATION + + +Relation of the Filipinas Islands, by Admiral Don Hieronimo de Banuelos +y Carrillo [13] + + +The city of Manila is the chief city of the islands of Lucon, or the +Filipinas. It lies in a latitude of fourteen degrees thirty minutes, +is fortified on one side by the sea, and on its land side has a castle +called Santiago, although that castle furnishes no great defense. The +artillery of that castle points seaward, in order to prevent the +entrance of [hostile] vessels--which can, however, enter there, +without the cannon doing them any great damage. The chief port of +these islands is called Cavite, and there the ships from Nueva Espana +are anchored. That port of Cavite serves as a refuge for our sailors; +it is sheltered from the heavy winds, and very secure. Manila, on the +contrary, is an open bay, beaten by the north winds. The anchorage +there is very poor, and the entrance very difficult; but, on the other +hand, it is very well supplied with all that is necessary for commerce +and for war. One may say that it serves as a magazine for the richest +commerce in the world. There is abundance of bread, flesh, and wine +there; and although the wine is not so good as that of Espana, those +of the country who are accustomed to it do not hesitate to prefer it +to that of Goa, or that of Mexico--although those are used only for +the mass, and that of Espana for the tables of the richest men. The +Portuguese of Goa also send abundance of provisions there, so that +they can be bought in Manila at a very good bargain. There are one +hundred and fifty fires [i.e., households] in Manila. The houses of +the city are so suitable and those of the country so charming that +life in those islands is altogether delightful. At one musket-shot +from the city can be seen the Parian, the lodging of the Sangleys +or Chinese merchants. There are about twenty thousand of them, +all merchants whom business has attracted to that place. It is a +very curious place to see, because of the fine order in which they +live. Every kind of merchandise has its own separate quarter, and +those goods are so rare and curious that they merit the admiration +of the most civilized nations. [14] + +Although that Parian is built only of wood, and the Chinese who +live there have no weapons, we do not fail to keep a strong guard on +that side. We even have some pieces of artillery pointed toward that +city, for the Chinese are a very spirited and bold nation. We have +experienced that heretofore, and are still threatened [with danger] +in that hour that we are not so closely on our guard. There is no +Spanish house where nine or ten of these merchants cannot be seen +every morning, who take their merchandise there; for all the traffic +passes through their hands, even all that is used for the sustenance +of the Spaniards. There are some men who say that they mix a slow +poison in our food, which works its effect chiefly on the women. It +is a fact that a woman who reaches the age of twenty-six years is +seldom seen. Those persons add that their intention in doing that is +to prevent the Spaniards from fortifying themselves more strongly in +that island, and that the Chinese would drive them out entirely. That +would be very easy for them, by employing such means, if it were not +for the interest that they have in the commerce of the silver of Nueva +Espana. These people have a subtle and universal intelligence. They +imitate whatever one presents to them, and they make the article +as well as do those who invented it. The riches of Manila, and the +felicity of existence there, are steadily decreasing. I shall relate +here the causes for it, having regard only to the service of God and +of the king. + +The chief cause for the ruin of these islands is the great trade that +the Sangleys carry on. The king has permitted the inhabitants of the +Manilas to export a portion of their capital to Nueva Espana. in the +merchandise of that country. The Spanish inhabitants daily lend their +names to those Sangleys and to the Portuguese of Macao, so that they +may enjoy the freedom of that commerce. These people do not attempt +to hide the fact that they are acting as agents for the inhabitants of +Mexico; and these last years they sent such a quantity of merchandise +to Peru and to Nueva Espana that no sale could be found for it. That +is a hindrance to the voyages of the trading fleet. The king of +China could build a palace with the silver bars from Peru which have +been carried to his country because of that traffic, without their +having been registered, and without the king of Espana having been +paid his duties, as has been well shown by Dom Pedro de Quiroga y +Moya. That silver was sent at the account of influential persons, who +do not reside at the Manilas. The two vessels which left in his time +paid more duties to the king than all the other ships put together +which had made that voyage before; that clearly shows the neglect +of the other officials commissioned to receive the duties from his +Majesty. They have attempted to conceal this truth, by saying that +those ships were richer than the others because Dom Sebastian Hurtado +de Corcuera had written, in the preceding year, that he would not send +the vessels that year; and that he had even detained and caused the +unlading of those that had been on the point of sailing on the voyage +to Acapulco. I do not know his reason for so doing, but I know well +that he wrote that resolution at the Embocadero of Manila--that is to +say, eighty leguas from the city--and that without having consulted +the inhabitants of the Manilas. Those of the country are agreed that +that delay has been their ruin; for they all know that they cannot +maintain themselves against the Dutch or against the Mahometans except +by means of the regular succor that is sent them from Nueva Espana. + +The marques de Cadereta [15] came at that time to act as viceroy +of Nueva Espana. He sent a large reenforcement to the islands very +opportunely, under command of General Don Andres Cottigllo. The +latter brought news that Don Pedro de Quiroga had arrived at Mexico to +inform against the officials of his Majesty, and that he would go to +Acapulco to inspect the ships and regulate the Chinese commerce. The +inhabitants of the Manilas and the factors of the Portuguese tried +to get back their merchandise that they had already laded on the +vessels, being fearful of that news and that name of visitor. But +having finally recovered courage, they laded the two vessels that +the governor had detained the preceding year, which were worth about +five millions in gold. Nevertheless those of the country affirmed +that they were not so richly laden as those which had sailed before, +for one of the chief merchants [16] had not put a single box aboard. + +They report another reason for obscuring so apparent a truth. They +say that Don Pedro de Quiroga had specified among the orders that +he had drawn up as a remedy for the disorders of the past, that for +those ships; and that it was he alone who prevented their sailing. But +he himself says that that is false, and that he had heard that those +who had encomiendas [Fr., commanderies], and the merchants of Mexico, +had resorted to entreaties to Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera (for I +cannot believe that they were in compact with him); and that they had +represented to him the great quantity of Chinese merchandise then in +Mexico, and declared that, if new vessels were sent there, a market +could not be found for that merchandise, and that the merchants of +Mexico and Nueva Espana would lose a great amount by it. + +Don Pedro de Quiroga adds that having learned that the governor of +the Filipinas had given his word not to have any new vessels sail, +in order to better carry out his Majesty's service, he had employed +this expedient--namely, that if they entered the port that year, +they would enjoy the benefit of the rules which had been made during +that time; but that, if they came only the following year, they +would not enjoy these, and that they would pay the king's duties +in all strictness. That plainly showed that he was advised of the +promise which the governor of the islands had given to the merchants +of Mexico, to detain the vessels and the merchandise that ought to +have been sent that year. The transaction was, in truth, greatly to +the interest of the inhabitants of Mexico, and of the Spaniards who +have encomiendas--although to the great prejudice of the islands, +which cannot get along without the reenforcement which they ought +to have annually from Mexico; and to the decrease of his Majesty's +duties, which are an aid in the discharge of the expense for that +succor. In fine, if the marques de Cadereta had not reenforced the +islands as powerfully as he did, they would have fallen into extreme +need. It would be easy for me to show here other consequences of +that delay of the vessels which Don Juan Cereco y Salamanca had +prepared to sail that year, as is done every year; and it will not +be more difficult for me to demonstrate the other damages that we +suffer in that commerce. The inhabitants of the Manilas have nothing +on those vessels; their cargoes belong entirely to the Chinese, to +the Portuguese of Macao, or to the Mexican merchants. If the king +does not put a stop to it, the Chinese will absorb all the riches of +Peru, and the subjects of the king in those islands will be forced to +abandon them. I will go on to represent to your Excellency the other +disorders in the government of those islands, as far as I have been +able to learn them in the short time that I have spent there. + +The encomiendas are ruined. Formerly the king rewarded soldiers +with them, and now the islanders, who were formerly assigned under +those encomiendas, have become our enemies. There has been failure to +instruct those innocent people in the Catholic faith, and that is the +only title under which the king of Espana holds that country, which +does not belong to his patrimony. Instead of making them our friends +and brothers, we have made them our domestic enemies. We have received +the Sangleys in their place, with whom the profit of the traffic always +embroils us. Let one consider what damage has been committed since +by the inhabitants of the island of Mindanao. They have overrun the +shores of these islands with their caracoas or little boats, and the +governor was forced to leave the city in the hands of the Sangleys, +in order to leave the island and to go to make war on them, where he +lost more than one hundred and thirty Spaniards, without being able +to bring the war to a successful end. In this it cannot be said that +he was not greatly to blame; for one of his officers named Nicolas +Gonzales, at the first war cry, forced one of their best positions +without the loss of a single man, whence the governor had been unable +to drive them with all his forces. [17] + +We have also as enemies the people of Jolo and those of Terrenate, +who are also more to be feared on account of the help that they get +from the Dutch. They declare themselves neutral, but they help the +Dutch underhandedly on all occasions. The chiefs of those Indians take +the title of kings, but they are among the kings who go quite naked +and who live by their labor. True, those of Macassar, of Cochinchina, +and of Cambaya, are more powerful. But for all that, it would be enough +for us, for the little help that we can get out of them, to become the +arbitrator of their differences, and thus to keep them favorable to our +side. But since they have seen that we have made this friendship with +the Sangleys, with the inhabitants of Martavan, of Borneo, and other +neighboring islands, they have broken off all trade with us, and have +begun to take all the products of their country to the Dutch, so that +they do nothing except at their orders. If for that reason also the +king does not prevent the trade with the Sangleys, the Filipinas are +lost. I come now to the remedy that can be applied to this disorder. + +Among all those one hundred and fifty families who are settled +at Manila, there are not two who are very rich. My plan would be +to allow those inhabitants to export Chinese merchandise to the +value of two hundred and fifty thousand escudos, the greater part +of which should be raw silk and cotton bolls, so that they could +be manufactured in this country [i.e., Mexico]. For there is less +[chance for] trickery in that sort of merchandise than in the stuffs +manufactured in China, which ought never to be allowed to be taken to +Manila. The permission of trade to that sum would also be proportioned +to the ability of the Manila merchants; and they would get more than +five hundred thousand escudos in return for it, for the profits of +that trade are exorbitant. Today even, when there is so much of +this merchandise, four hundred per cent is gained on the poorest +quality exported. By that means the Spaniards could be employed in +manufacturing that silk, the textiles would be better, and they would +secure innumerable other advantages. Accordingly, the inhabitants +of the Manilas would not charge themselves with the commissions of +Mexico, and they would get all the profit derived from those islands, +which is now quite universally in the hands of foreigners. Further, as +their affairs in the country became more prosperous, they would become +more interested in its conservation; and they would be more careful +to have the Indians, who have been assigned to them in encomiendas, +instructed and held in subjection. They would save what they give +to their agents in Mexico, who often ruin them. They keep their +merchandise two or three years, and it has a poor sale in Mexico, +because of the great quantity that is taken there; and trading only at +Acapulco, and conducting their own business, they alone would enjoy, +and that every year, the profits of that traffic. + +Fifty thousand escudos could be employed in white mantas, unbleached +[crues] and of excellent quality; that is a kind of merchandise +very largely used among the Indians, and Mexico has great need of +it. That would be the right commerce that ought to be carried on +by pilots and sailors; for some of it can always be sold, and those +people are obliged to sell it quickly. Care must be taken that only +that quantity be carried, and that any surplus be confiscated; and +the governors and other officials should be very careful in this. In +order that your Excellency may see that I am not trying to weaken the +commerce of those islands, as some might believe, I will state here +that the inhabitants of the Manilas should be allowed to export as +many shiploads as possible of the products of their country--such as +wax, gold, perfumes, ivory, and lampotes. Those they would buy from +the natives of the country, thus preventing them from carrying those +goods to the Dutch. Thus would the people become friendly, and would +supply Nueva Espana with that merchandise; and the silver taken to the +Manilas would not be exported thence. I may be told that the king of +China does not use that silver to make war on us; but even if it is +used only to swell his treasury, it is as lost to us as if it were +at the bottom of the sea. Your Excellency should consider that one +and one-half millions in gold are sent annually to China. If what I +have just said be closely observed, the merchandise of the Manilas +will be sold to good advantage, and the natives of the country will +become our friends; while their neighbors will leave the Dutch, who +are deriving heavy profits from them; for there is scarcely a place in +those islands where the Dutch do not possess a factory. Thus have they +become the masters, and they give arms to the natives to make war on +us. Add to all these considerations that the Spaniards inhabiting the +islands will not be obliged to be continually on their guard because +of twenty thousand Sangleys or enemies, whom they have in a corner +of the world where the Spaniards can muster scarcely eight hundred men. + +Perhaps your Excellency will be told that, if we break with the +Sangleys, they will go to live in the island of Formosa, or in some +other place among the Dutch, and will carry to them the trade that +they have with us; and that, having enjoyed the trade of Japon as +conveniently as we have that of the Western Indias, they will still +carry their merchandise to Nangazaki, the chief port of Japon, from +which they will also obtain silver. To that I will reply that the +kingdom of China is so full of merchandise, and the Sangleys are +so shrewd in commerce, and so keen after gain, that they know what +quantity of that merchandise is needed by the English, how much by +the Dutch, and what quantity ought to be sold in all of Japon--and +that with so great exactness that a tailor, after once seeing the +figure of a person, decides how much goods is necessary to clothe +him. They do the same in regard to us, and, knowing that only two +ships sail annually to Nueva Espana, they generally have in the Parian +the quantity necessary to lade those ships. If the inhabitants of the +Manilas had trade with Japon, they would derive great profit from it; +but a secret judgment of God has broken the communication that we had +with those islanders, and has given it into the hands of the heretics, +after having permitted them to destroy our churches there, and their +having put to fire and sword all the Spaniards or Japanese Christians +there. Hence we do not believe that a single religious is now left in +all the country; and the people are compelled, under pain of death, +to come to denounce those whom they know to be Christians. Our +religious go there no longer, for it means certain death to them to +go to Japon. The following is the manner in which that persecution +was reported. + +A Vizcayan captain, named Sebastian, [18] having sailed from the +port of Acapulco for an island called Ricca doro, [19] was blown by +a heavy gale to the latitude of that island; and, not being able to +anchor, put in at Japon, and with the curiosity of a seaman sounded +the ports of that kingdom. That novel proceeding made the Japanese +suspicious. They asked an Englishman who was then allied to them what +could be the design of that Spaniard. He told them that the Spaniards +were a warlike nation, who were aiming at universal monarchy; that +they always commenced their conquest by means of the religious; that +after the religious of that nation had been permitted to preach there, +and to build churches, they considered the conquest of that kingdom +as secure; that that vessel had come to reconnoiter the country, and +the entrance of the ports, and that it would be followed by a great +army, which would complete that design. At that juncture a tono [20] +or prominent lord of the country died. The emperor had formerly tried +to buy from him a house built for recreation; but that lord, who was +fond of that place, refused to sell it. He was a Catholic, and left it +at his death to the Jesuits, whereupon the latter thought it best to +pay their respects to the emperor by offering it to him. That prince +reflected that what an emperor could not accomplish, the Jesuits his +subjects had compassed. Putting that reflection with the advice of the +Englishman, he determined to exterminate the Catholics. That resolution +was so executed that there are no Christians in Japon, except only the +Portuguese from Macao. I am too much ashamed to name the conditions +to which they submit, in order that they may be received there. + +Since that time all the trade of that island has fallen into the +hands of the Dutch, English, Portuguese, and Sangleys, although the +king of China has forbidden the last named to have any communication +with the inhabitants of Japon, under penalty of death, because the +Japanese had formerly revolted against China, of which they had +formed a part. But for all that, their greed for silver makes them +go there as they do to the Manilas, so that Japon does not lack any +of the goods that pass through the hands of those peoples. As for the +silver, the Dutch do not carry any more to China or to Japon, because +those countries get all the amount that they can buy by means of the +Sangleys who live in the Manilas. It would be very advantageous to +the inhabitants of the Manilas and to his Majesty to break off that +commerce with the Chinese, and it is unnecessary to say that by that +means advantageous disposition may be made of the silver of Peru and +the silks of the Filipinas--for in truth the king does not find there +his account; the silks would come to Mexico with greater advantage, +and the islanders and his Majesty would get more profit from it, and +that at the admission of all informed persons. As for the governor, +he should possess the following qualities: he should be discreet; +his distance from Madrid, and his authority as governor, should not +make him presumptuous, but should serve rather as a check than as +a cause for vanity; he should be a fine seaman, and very sedulous +in despatching and making the ships sail every year. All the exports +should be registered. In order that the islands be better reenforced, +the ships should be of five hundred toneladas, and they should have +two decks, better equipped than they have as yet been; for if they are +poorly equipped they take much time in making their voyage, and have +been the cause of great expense to his Majesty. Besides, the viceroy of +Nueva Espana has been unable to make them depart by the first of April, +as would be necessary. Those vessels ought only to carry seamen. The +offices of the ships ought not to be sold to merchants, but given +as a reward to those who have served well at sea. Great disorders +have happened from that, which was the former custom, and because +the offices of pilot, boatswain's mate, and steward have been sold. + +In the year 1637, when I was about to set out as admiral of the +vessels that were to take the reenforcements to those islands, I went +to the port of Acapulco. There I found the vessel "San Juan Bautista," +which had come that year from those islands, and which had lost its +mast on the way. I endeavored to get Don Pedro de Quiroga to advise +the marques de Cadereta of the poor condition of the masts and other +rigging of the vessel. He refused to permit it, and compelled me to +embark, telling me that if we failed to embark by the first day of +the month of April, we would run the risk of losing our voyage. While +at sea, I asked the boatswain's mate for an inventory of the sails +and rigging. I found that there were no spare sails, but one single +cable, and one other old cable, which was used to make fast the +pieces of artillery that were rolling about the ship. Ordering him +to bring me also the inventory of what there was when they left the +islands, I found that it had been equipped with three spare sails, +five cables, and a quantity of rigging. He answered me that the sea +had carried away the sails and that the ship had lost its cables as +they left San Bernardino. Without pressing him further, he confessed +to me that he had used the money that had been given him for that +purpose in buying merchandise, in order to discharge a debt of three +thousand escudos that he had paid for his post of boatswain, but +that he had not found his account in that merchandise. I endeavored +to punish him. He appealed to the commander-in-chief, and the latter +ordered me not to prosecute him until I should have arrived at the +Manilas. At the Manilas he was excused, because they said that he had +paid three thousand escudos, although he had made the king lose more +than sixty thousand. Those who furnish the provisions for the crew put +in food of poor quality. The pilots cram their room at the stern with +merchandise, thus endangering the vessel. Had I encountered a capful +of wind during that voyage, I could scarcely have finished it. I had +to take a capstan at Maribeles to lift my anchor, and to make the port +of Cabite, which is three leguas from that place. Thus for the twenty +thousand escudos that is drawn from the sale of those offices, thirty +thousand are lost, and the fleet is in danger of being lost--which +means, of losing those islands. It is not sufficient to give the +offices to sailors who deserve them; it is not at all necessary to +compel them to perform the functions of soldiers when they have no +inclination for it, or to punish them when they gamble, as is done. + +It is of great importance to have galleys on these coasts; that is +the means of keeping away from them the Dutch, and the Indians from +Mindanao and Jolo--who do not cease to be hostile to the Spaniards, +although they have neither courage nor discipline; for one Spaniard has +been seen to put twenty of their caracoas to flight with only one shot +from his musket. The enemy most to be feared are the Dutch, who have +taken possession of that sea. It is easy to manage the oared vessels +of that country, and they have been used in several emergencies to +tow the vessels, which otherwise would have been in danger of being +wrecked. Besides, those boats are more suitable for a sea like that, +full of islands, than vessels with high freeboard. It would also be +very much to the point to have work done in Camboya in the building of +new vessels, as the wood of those parts, and that of Angely, resist +the seaworms and decay better than other woods, and especially those +of the Filipinas. + +In the year 1637, when I arrived at the islands, there were no +vessels ready for Nueva Espana. They were obliged to send a small +vessel of one hundred toneladas to advise the marques de Cadereta +of their wretched condition, and to entreat him to send the usual +reenforcement--notwithstanding the prohibition of the commerce with +Peru, and their knowledge that there were no vessels at Acapulco. That +showed how important it is to be continually building vessels for the +Filipinas, and for the governor to be a seaman rather than a soldier +of the Low Countries. It is also important for the governor and the +archbishop to live in harmony. The spiritual government in these +countries is the one thing of greater consequence than the political +government, because of the scandal that the Indians receive from it. It +is also important that those sent by the viceroy be men of merit and +service, and that they be well treated in the islands. The observation +of all the above points will be of use to us in keeping off the Dutch, +who are the most terrible enemy that we have; and who will become +absolute masters of the Manilas, if they can attain their ends. Espana, +by observing those things, will triumph over its enemies. For my part, +I will fulfil my duty as a subject by doing my utmost for the service +of my master, and for the welfare of my country; and at the same time +I shall discharge my obligation toward your Excellency of serving you. + + + + + + + +GLORIOUS VICTORIES AGAINST THE MOROS OF MINDANAO + + +To the master-of-camp, Don Inigo Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the +Order of Santiago: [21] + +The despatch-boat which this year arrived from the Filippinas Islands +at Acapulco, a port of this Nueva Espana, was destitute of the silks +and other costly goods that the ships are accustomed to bring each +year from China, for it carried nothing of that sort. Nevertheless, +it came richly laden, with the news of the happy and fortunate +successes of the arms of Spain in that archipelago, directed by the +valor and prudence of Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, governor and +captain-general there for his Majesty, and a worthy brother of your +Grace. I received in all many different relations--although all of +them agreed, for truth is always one--from different persons, well +worthy of confidence, both ecclesiastic and secular. Every one--not +only the citizens of this great City of Mexico, the capital of this +kingdom, but those of all the other cities and towns--desired to see +these letters, and made urgent requests for them. To satisfy the +desires of so many, and give them pleasure, it was the opinion of +many that they should be printed. The truth is, that I was perplexed +and in doubt as to which one to use, because, as I have said, there +were several. After careful consideration I decided to print one by +Father Marcelo Francisco Mastrillo, a letter written to Father Juan +de Salazar, provincial of the Society of Jesus in those islands, +signed by Father Marcelo himself and sent to me. It gives a detailed +account of every event. No one could give a better account than the +father himself, for he was a witness of everything that happened, as +he always accompanied Don Sebastian with the standard of St. Francis +Xavier. In the simplicity and sincerity with which he recounts these +things, the truth shines more resplendent; so it seemed best not +to alter his style. In order that it may be better known who this +servant of God is, we will describe the miracle wrought upon him by +our father St. Francis Xavier in the city of Naples, and the occasion +of his journey to the Filipinas and his stay in Mindanao. We shall give +some information about the latter island, of the hostility which those +Mahometans have displayed for so many years to the Spaniards, and of +the friendly and subject Indians. We shall also give a description +of the naval battle which preceded the expedition to Mindanao. Then +we shall insert the letter of Father Marcelo, and conclude this +document with a description of the triumphal demonstration with +which Don Sebastian Hurtado was received in the city of Manila, +the rejoicings in that city, the thanks rendered to our Lord, and +the honors paid to those who died in the war, so that there will +be a complete account of everything. Besides the aforesaid reasons, +I was impelled to this on account of the obligations of our Society +of Jesus to Don Sebastian Hurtado (and especially by my own); for we +are always sensible of these, and our hearts will always keep them +alive, with perpetual acknowledgments. Besides, it seems to me that +one could not give your Grace a richer present, a more precious jewel, +an ornament of greater worth, than the exploits and triumphs of such +a brother, in whom one finds zeal for religion and the service of +God, appearing in all he does. The prudence with which he governs +his province, the unwearied solicitude with which he orders affairs, +the disinterestedness with which he serves the king our lord--well +worthy of the favor which his Majesty has shown him (in making him a +member of his Council of War, and sending him two [appointments in] +orders for his two nephews), and of those which I expect his Majesty +will yet grant him; the valor with which he defends those islands, the +grand courage with which he exposes himself to the greatest perils, +although his person is of such importance: all these are especially +praiseworthy, to say nothing of the admirable example by which he +encourages his soldiers to great undertakings, and the compassion +with which he watches over the Indians who were so harassed by so +many enemies. In short, your Grace will see in Don Sebastian Hurtado a +copy of your own holy zeal, prudence, care, disinterestedness, valor, +magnanimity, and many other virtues conspicuous in your Grace's own +heart. In him your Grace will see a true brother--as Tulio [22] said +(book 3, epistle 7), Frater quasi fere alter, "a brother is naught +else than a counterpart of the other brother;" so that they are hardly +two, but rather one soul divided between two bodies, as Quintilian +said (Declamation 321), [23] Quid est aliud fraternitas quam divisus +spiritus? [i.e., "What else is brotherhood but a divided soul?"] So +that your Grace's own valor, prudence, piety, and religion and Don +Sebastian Hurtado's are one; from that which God inspired in you, +may be inferred that of Don Sebastian; and in the virtues of this +great cavalier and captain-general shine those of your Grace, to whom +I offer a thousand congratulations on the triumphs of so glorious a +brother, whose exploits I offer to your Grace, and humbly place in +your illustrious hands. May our Lord watch over your Grace as this +your humble chaplain and servant desires. Mexico, February [25, 1638]. + + +Diego de Bobadilla + +[Folios 1-9 of Bobadilla's work are occupied with a long and detailed +account of a miraculous cure experienced by Father Mastrilli, and its +result in sending him to labor in the foreign missions. Its substance +is as follows: In 1633-34, Mastrilli was in Naples, and assisted, as +a priest, at one of the altars erected for a solemn feast in honor +of the Virgin Mary. After the ceremonies were over, Mastrilli was +accidentally wounded in the head by a hammer dropped from a workman's +hand. His life was despaired of; but an image of St. Francis Xavier, +miraculously endowed with speech, promised to restore his health if he +would go to the Indias. Mastrilli vowed to do this, and to renounce +country, friends, and all else that he held dear, for the sake of +that employ; and the next morning found him cured and sound. In +fulfilment of his vow he went to Spain, and set out for Japan; but +(as related in previous documents) he was obliged to land at Manila, +and accompanied Corcuera to Mindanao.] + + + + + + + +AN ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT ISLAND OF MINDANAO, AND THE HOSTILITIES +COMMITTED BY THOSE MOHAMMEDANS IN THE FILIPPINAS ISLANDS. + + +The great island of Mindanao is one of the largest in the archipelago +of the Filippinas Islands, which seem to be almost innumerable; and it +has even been said that there are over eleven thousand of them. [24] +I believe that if one counts islands large and small, inhabited and +desert, the above estimate is not far from the truth. In size, Mindanao +rivals the island of Manila, the chief and head of the others, for it +is almost three hundred leguas in circumference. Esteban Rodriguez de +Figueroa, one of the first leaders in the conquest of those islands, +and one of the most valorous soldiers who has been in them, made an +agreement with his Majesty to conquer this island at his own cost and +charges, and subject it to his royal crown--his Majesty awarding him as +tributary vassals, ten thousand of the first Mindanaos whom he should +subdue and choose for himself, and granting him other favors which +he sought. His Majesty accepted the agreement; and, with the title of +governor and captain-general, Don Esteban assembled at his own cost a +goodly army of Spaniards, which (as I have heard) numbered about four +hundred, and over four thousand Indians. They were all embarked in a +fleet of caracoas, which are oared vessels much used in the Filippinas, +carrying from fifty to one hundred rowers apiece. There are larger +ones, which are called juangas, and carry from one hundred and twenty +to one hundred and thirty rowers. They sailed from the island of Oton, +where the fleet was fitted out and collected. They reached Mindanao +and the army disembarked. When the enemy saw such a force, they began +to flee, and a victory was declared for Espana; but our satisfaction +was soon disturbed, for a wretched Mindanao audaciously resolved--it +is said, after he had taken opium, with which these people intoxicate +themselves--to assassinate our captain-general, even though he should +die in the attempt. The deed was to be done with his campilan, a +weapon something like a cutlass, with a lead weight at the hilt. The +weight makes its blows so terrible that it will cleave a man through +the middle. He hid in some bushes near the road on which our men +were marching in triumph. When General Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa +reached a place abreast of the bush where the Mindanao was hidden, +the latter leaped out unexpectedly and struck the general so fierce a +blow on his head with his campilan that it cleft his skull from ear to +ear. I can account myself a witness of this, because, although I did +not see that event, and did not go to the Filippinas until many years +after, yet in 1632 I saw the skull, when they disinterred the bones +of this famous but unfortunate captain from the old church of our +college at Manila (which he founded, and where his body was brought +for burial), to transfer them to the church which we have recently +built. The skull shows very plainly the cruel blow of the campilan, +so that even I said, as I held it in my hands, with great grief, +"Our founder will not deny the blow of the campilan." Those who +accompanied our general killed the Mindanao on the spot, without much +difficulty. They sounded the retreat, and abandoned their pursuit of +the enemy. This was the origin and the beginning of the misfortunes +and calamities which for so many years have caused us so much sorrow in +the Filippinas. Our army, having lost its leader and captain-general, +did nothing further. The Spaniards retreated, and fortified themselves +in a place on that river, where they remained in garrison; and Father +Juan del Campo, a fervent man and a great minister of the gospel, +gave instruction to several villages, until he died there. Many of +the Indians along this river had rendered obedience, and were paying +tribute to his Majesty. Afterward the garrison moved to another place, +called La Caldera, where the Spaniards remained several years. Although +they made no conquest of that country, they served as a check to +the enemy, because the latter could not sail out with their fleets +on plundering expeditions. As Don Pedro de Acuna afterward decided, +when he was governor in the Filippinas, this garrison was withdrawn +from La Caldera, which resulted in the utter ruin of the islands, +because land and sea remained in the possession of the enemy. + +At that time the island was ruled by a Moro named Buysan who claimed +the entire seacoast as his. Another Moro, named Silongan, ruled the +well-populated district along the river. These two Moros conspired +together, and called to their aid other friends, and even in certain +ways their subjects--as those of the island of Sanguil and Sarragan; +and the Caragas, who inhabit the further [i.e., from Manila] shores of +this same island of Mindanao, which from that side faces our islands +of Pintados. They gathered great fleets of caracoas and jungas, +which at times numbered over one hundred and even one hundred and +fifty vessels--arming them with several large guns, many culverins, +a large number of arquebuses and muskets and many other arms; and +manning them so heavily, that they could land six to eight thousand +soldiers. In this way masters of the land and sea, they infested the +high seas, capturing all our ships that navigated those waters, robbing +and burning towns, sacking churches, carrying off the ornaments and +consecrated vessels, committing a thousand desecrations on the sacred +images, breaking them into pieces and insulting them, and capturing +Christian Indians in so great number that it would break one's heart +to tell of it; for one time those whom they carried away numbered over +two thousand and five hundred. The Spaniards had no better fortune; for +some were killed, and others carried away as slaves. In the year 1616, +they set sail with a powerful fleet, after effecting an alliance with +the Dutch, who came with ten galleons, and entered the bay of Manila +on All Saints' day. They were, however, defeated and destroyed in the +following April, 1617, by our fleet under the leadership of General +Don Juan Ronquillo. While the Dutch aided the Mindanaos, the latter +worked dreadful havoc, capturing, massacring, robbing, and burning +everything there was. They came as far as Balayan, a large and rich +town on the island of Manila, and not far from the city itself. They +attacked the shipyards at Pantao, where a galleon and a patache were +in process of construction, and indeed almost finished. These they +burned, and murdered almost thirty Spaniards--among them Captain +Arias Giron and Captain Don Juan Pimentel, who were in command of +the yards. Others, besides many Indians, they made prisoners. They +captured from us a large quantity of firearms and some artillery, +and inflicted on us great damage. Even the fathers and ministers of +the gospel have not been exempt; for, on the last occasion of which I +have spoken, they captured and murdered two Franciscan fathers. Before +that, on other occasions, they captured Father Hurtado, who was kept +a long time in captivity in Mindanao, and Father Pasqual de Acuna, +who was a prisoner at Caraga and still lives. Before and since the +time of his captivity, he has labored gloriously for the space of +almost forty years in the islands of Pintados--teaching those Indians +until his great age and his failing strength obliged him to retire, +and end his life in the fulness of his years, devoting himself to +God alone. The other fathers and ministers crossed the mountains +to escape the cruelty of these Mahometans, enduring great hunger, +hardship, and distress. + +To King Buysan succeeded Cachil Corralat, his son, who with +great sagacity and cunning set about making himself much more +powerful. Several times he made peace with the Spaniards, but his word +was ever a Moro's. It was soon known that he could not be trusted, +for he made and broke treaties with equal readiness. He infested the +seas with his fleets, sending out his own as he did in the year 1633, +when he sent out a large fleet which plundered and burned several large +and wealthy cities on this very island of Manila. But where he did most +harm was in our island of Pintados; for in the town of Ogmuc alone +he slew or made prisoners more than two hundred people--children and +women, as well as men. They captured the minister there, Father Juan +del Carpio of our Society, and cut him into pieces, of which his head +was the smallest. Cachil Corralat gave orders to his followers not to +carry to him a single father alive, but to slay them, in fulfilment +of a vow which he had made to Mahomet during a serious sickness, +not to leave a father alive if his health were restored. God, in His +just judgment and to punish us, chose to grant his prayer. + +Other Mahometans, their neighbors, joined the Mindanaos--tribes from +the island of Jolo, who at one time paid tribute and then rebelled, +killing all the Spaniards. Although that island is very small, +and there cannot be more than three thousand men able to bear arms, +yet they are very valiant, and they have very plainly proved it to +us when they have sailed forth to scour the high seas--especially +one chief, called Dato Achen, who can be compared with the most +destructive African pirates. This man once attacked a shipyard which +we had established in the province of Camarines, in which several +galleons were being built. After the usual robbery and burning, he +slew or made prisoners many Spaniards and Indians. He carried away +artillery and firearms, with which he strengthened his defenses in his +own country. He overran the Pintados Islands and did a great deal of +damage there. At Cabalian he captured Father Juan Domingo Vilancio +of our Society, a native of Luca--a holy man, and known as such by +Indians and Spaniards, and even by the Moros themselves. As such, +the latter revered him and did not ill-treat him in their own country, +where they carried him. While efforts were being made for his ransom, +it was our Lord's pleasure to give him complete liberty by freeing +him from the prison of this [earthly] body, and giving him in heaven +his reward for his faithful labors. He toiled thirty years or more in +the conversion of the pagans, to the remarkable edification of all; +and he displayed heavenly sincerity, which secured him the love of +God and men. The Moros buried him on their island of Jolo. Although +we have asked for the body, they will not give it up, saying that +they would rather keep it because it is holy (for sanctity and virtue +are pleasing even to Moros and infidels). They allege other things +in proof of his sanctity, which I shall not refer to, because they +are not thoroughly investigated. The Lord will make them clear later, +to His own glory. Returning, however, to the Joloans, they are grown +insolent with their fortunate successes, no less on land than on the +sea; for, although we have gone there three times with powerful fleets, +they have come off with credit and singing victory. In short, we have +returned without accomplishing anything. There was one time, however, +when Don Christobal de Lugo, lieutenant for the captain-general in +the Pintados Islands, went there with a fleet, and sacked and burned +the principal town, and did considerable damage; but they have always +escaped, and repaid to us their losses. They put their trust in a +hill very difficult of access, which they have well fortified with +artillery, to which they retreat whenever they are attacked. + +The evils that are suffered at the hands of these two enemies, the +Mindanaos and the Joloans, never were avenged, because, although +the governors sent out fleets after them, they did not encounter +the pirates on account of the great multitude of islands in the +archipelago; or else, if our ships did meet them, the Moros escaped, +for their vessels are remarkably swift and so have a great advantage +over ours. Then, to remedy so grievous injuries, Don Juan Cereco +Salamanca, who was then governor of the Filippinas, in the beginning +of the year 1634, overcoming remarkable difficulties which arose, +with a holy zeal for the service of God and of the king our lord, +ordered a position to be occupied on the island of Mindanao, at a +place which they call Samboangan. There he began to raise a fort which +should be a check to the Mindanaos and the Joloans, who came past +that place when they sailed forth on plundering expeditions. Although +they could pass us by standing out to sea, or in the darkness of the +night, without being seen from our fort, they would not so lightly +dare to leave behind their houses and lands with the Spaniard so near +a neighbor--for the latter could do them great injury by carrying +off their children and wives, and all their possessions, if their +towns were left unprotected when the men went away in their fleets; +or at least the Spaniards could await them on their return and knock +them in the head. The Moro king, Cachil Corralat, was much disturbed +at the proximity of the Spaniards; since now he could not make raids +in safety, as before; and he called upon the Joloans, the Borneans +and the Camucones to sail from various points to plunder our island, +which they did. + +The Camucones are a nation inhabiting some islands subject to the king +of Burney. Sometimes alone, and sometimes in company with the Borneans, +they have infested our seas with their fleets, pillaging our islands, +capturing many Indians, and killing all the Spaniards whom they took, +because they did not wish to carry these alive to their own country; +accordingly they granted no Spaniard his life. They are a base and +very cruel people. These robbers began as petty thieves, with a few +small vessels; but with the captures which they have been continually +making, they have grown so powerful that they send out great fleets +upon the sea, and do a great deal of damage. In the year 1625, while +the archbishop Don Francisco Miguel Garcia Serrano was visiting the +district of Bondoc, these Camucones attacked the town one morning, and +the archbishop had no little trouble in escaping over the mountains; +they stole whatever they could carry away, with the silver and the +pontifical vestments. That same year, they captured Father Juan de +las Missas of our Society, who had come from Tayabas to preach and was +returning to the island of Marinduque, which was in his charge. They +killed the father, and captured all who were aboard his ship, except +perhaps some one who escaped by swimming. They did much more damage, +continuing their depredations up to the year 1636, when, as I said, +they sailed with a large fleet, at the solicitation of the king Cachil +Corralat. They entered so far among the islands, that from them they +sailed out upon the high sea--an act of great daring. They arrived +at and plundered Palapag, a mission of our Society. They rounded Cape +Espiritu Santo, and captured over a hundred Christians at Baco. There +they divided into two bands. One passed over to Albay, on the island +of Manila, where they were met by the alcalde-mayor, Captain Mena, +of the Order of St. George, with several Spaniards and six Franciscan +friars. The Spaniards pressed the Camucones so hard that seven of +their caracoas went ashore on the island of Capul, where many of their +Christian captives were set free. The natives of the said island slew +some of the Camucones. Three of their caracoas they abandoned on the +sea, going aboard others to make their escape more easily. Not one +of our men was killed in this encounter, except that one Franciscan +father was wounded by a musket-bullet, and afterwards died of his +wound. The other band went out to sea again, coasting the island of +Ybabao. They entered a town called Bangahun and made prisoners there +more than one hundred other Christians. This troop fought a battle with +a caracoa full of soldiers from the city of Zebu, who inflicted some +injury upon the Moros, killing and capturing some. These Camucones, +returning afterward to their own country, while they were coasting the +island of Panay, were overtaken by a sudden storm, which drove three of +their caracoas ashore. Those who escaped with their lives were captured +by the natives, and many of them are now on galleys at the port of +Cavite. Other caracoas stealthily ventured to the Calamianes Islands, +where some Spaniards came out to meet them, and captured two of their +ships, and set free twenty captives from the island of Mindoro who +were among their prisoners. Fifteen other caracoas were coasting the +island of Paragua in company; and, two days before arriving at Borney, +they encountered thirty caracoas of Joloans, who had recently quarreled +with the Borneans. The Joloans attacked the Camucones and Borneans, +captured their fifteen caracoas, and made prisoners many Camucones and +more than one hundred of the Christians carried off by the Camucones; +these latter were ransomed at Samboangan, at a moderate rate. + +After these pirates Cachil Corralat sent his fleet, which did +considerable damage in our islands. In order to stop it and check +all these enemies, the governor, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, +decided to go forth in person and make an expedition to Mindanao, to +begin the punishment of this enemy, because they were most powerful--as +we shall soon see, describing first the naval victory given us by +our Lord over the fleet despatched hither by Cachil Corralat. + +[The next part of this compilation is an account of the naval +victory over Tagal's fleet in December, 1636; it is practically +the same as that which we have already presented in our VOL. XXVII, +although rewritten and much abridged for publication. Then follows +Mastrilli's letter to his provincial (June 2, 1637) which also we +have published; Bobadilla states that he reproduces it verbatim, save +for the correction of "a few words which are not quite in accord with +our ordinary language, as he was a native of the city of Naples." The +document ends with a description of Corcuera's triumphal entry into +Manila, evidently compiled (with some additional details) from Juan +Lopez's letter on that subject, already presented to our readers.] + + + + + + + +ROYAL ORDERS AND DECREES, 1638 + + +REMOVAL OF NEGROES FROM MANILA + +The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of +Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, +and president of my royal Audiencia resident therein. In a letter +which you wrote me on the last of June, 1636, you declare that shortly +after your arrival at those islands, that city petitioned you to have +the free negroes and the freedmen, who number about four hundred or +five hundred, removed from it, because of the disorders that they +were creating within the city, as well as the thefts that they were +committing in union with the slaves--the former receiving and taking +to other places to sell what these said negroes had stolen. You +declare that that city demanded that the negroes should go to live +nine leguas away from there, but that that measure has not seemed +advisable; and the fathers of the Society gave you an islet which they +possess in the middle of the river, in order that they might settle +the negroes there, with the obligation to give them instruction--but +there would be no obligation to give the fathers any stipend for +that purpose beyond what is given them from the communal fund of the +Sangleys whom they have in Santa Cruz. Those Sangleys also render me +aid by giving me six reals per annum, besides the general license, +so that they may be allowed to live there with the fathers. They +number from about eight hundred to one thousand Chinese. The fathers +minister to those who have become Christians from this number, as +well as to the negroes--the latter being separated from the former +by an arm of the river. Also the Chinese pay all his salary to the +alcalde-mayor from their communal fund, which has been a saving to +my royal treasury. You declare that, in your desire to economize +and avoid so heavy expenses, you have deemed it best to give the +commander of artillery, who receives seven hundred pesos monthly +salary for his duties, the office of alcalde-mayor of the Parian; +for during the time while he should hold that office, there would +be an annual saving of seven thousand two hundred pesos to my royal +treasury. You also ordered the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso, +to go to live at the port of Cavite with his company, and to serve +there as castellan, chief justice, and governor of that port, with the +same salary as at present, as you say that the sargento-mayor would +be sufficient for you in that city. The above you reported to me, so +that I might understand it; and you say that by the aforesaid measures +and your method of governing, and provided that no one steals from +my royal treasury, you will entirely clear my royal treasury of debt, +and govern those islands from the proceeds of them. The matter having +been examined in my Council, it has been judged best to tell you that +it is thought that you will have given careful consideration to the +removal of the free negroes and freedmen from that city and their +settlement on the islet which was given you by the brethren of the +Society of Jesus; and the rest that you mention in the said letter +touching the said matter is neither approved nor rejected here, +for the present. It is to be feared, however, that those negroes, +having been removed from the city, and settled with the Chinese on +an uninhabited island, may commit more serious damage. Consequently, +you shall watch carefully so that you may remedy what needs correction; +and you are to note that in the matter of government, the best is not +[always] the easiest to execute, nor its results satisfactory. Hence, +for that reason, no new thing can be entered upon suddenly; and you +will, therefore, not carry out the execution of these new measures +until you shall have first reported to me all the things that you shall +see to be for my service, so that orders as to your course of action +may be issued to you. In the meanwhile, you shall not carry out your +proposed change of the persons of the commander of artillery and of +the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso; and I charge and order you, +that, jointly with the session [of the Audiencia], you shall inform +me, both in this regard and in others, of what changes should be made +from the past government, so that in everything decision may be made +as to what measures may be taken. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +RESTRICTING THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS + +The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of +Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, +and president of my Audiencia therein: your letter of June 30, 636, +touching ecclesiastical matters, has been examined in my royal Council +of the Yndias, and answer is [hereby] made you. + +You say that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine need to be +reformed, for they pay no heed to the bulls of his Holiness, or the +decrees despatched in regard to the rotation; and that it would be +advisable not to give them any more religious for eight years--both +because they have many, and because of the causes that you mention for +such measure. I have thought best to charge you to have the rule for +rotation put in force strictly, without allowing more religious in each +mission station [doctrina] than, in accordance with my royal patronage, +shall be necessary for it; and that the others be occupied in missions +[misiones] and in preaching, for which purpose they were sent. + +In regard to what you write me concerning the advanced age of the +archbishop of those islands (who is so aged that his hands and head +tremble), namely, that it would be best to give him an assistant; +and that you are arranging to give such assistant an income of two +thousand pesos in addition to the four thousand pesos enjoyed by the +said archbishop, without taking that sum from my royal treasury, or +from my vassals: I charge you to explain to me the method or means by +which you can get that money without damage to my royal treasury and +the vassals who serve me, so that, if it be worth while to allow it, +you may execute it. + +So that the Order of St. Dominic, and the other orders resident in +those islands, may live with the regulation and good example that +is proper, and so that they may not increase the number of mission +stations granted them by my decrees, you shall allow no new elections +in them, which shall not be in harmony with my patronage. With +the advice of the archbishop, you shall endeavor to unite some of +the stations; and in those that shall be newly founded, you shall +endeavor likewise to have secular priests introduced, if you find +them intelligent and competent. Madrid. September 2, 1638. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +APPOINTMENT OF SECULAR PRIESTS TO MISSIONS + +The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of +Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, +and president of my royal Audiencia therein: in one of the sections of +a letter which that city [of Manila] wrote to me on June 27 of 636, it +is stated that there are two colleges in that city--one that of Santo +Tomas, with religious of the Order of St. Dominic; and the other that +of San Josef, with religious of the Society of Jesus--both of which +have possessed, for several years past, authority to confer degrees +in all the sciences. It is also declared that, with this opportunity, +many students have excelled in those studies, and especially various +sons of poor citizens, who have graduated in all the degrees; but +that, since they have no beneficed curacies on which they can depend +for support, their studies bring them no advantage. It is said that +this is caused by certain religious orders, who have acquired from +the archbishop, bishops, and governors the aggrandizement of their +orders with many benefices which formerly were administered by secular +priests; and that this might be remedied if I would decree that all +the benefices which have been annexed to the religious orders during +the last twenty years should be restored to the [secular] clergy, and +that edicts should be issued in the form which I have ordained. This +matter having been considered in my royal Council of the Indias, I +have thought it best to issue the present, by which I command you that +in the new missions that shall be established, you shall--except when +they are in a territory assigned to the religious--it being understood +that there are virtuous secular priests, take pains to appoint them +to such missions; for such is my will. [Madrid, October 2, 1638.] + + +I the King + +By command of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +COMPENSATION TO NUNS OF ST. CLARE + +The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of +Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, +and president of my royal Audiencia therein: in a letter which the +abbess and nuns of the convent of St. Clare in that city wrote me +on the thirtieth of June, 636, they make the following statements: +That the said convent was established so that they could live in it, +with all decorum and humility, with certain alms from the citizens; +and their house and church were built close to the wall of the said +city that lies next the river--a place that seemed most separated from +the business quarter, and so closely shut in that little save the +sky could be seen. That in front, on the other side of the street, +is the royal hospital for the Spaniards, which from the time of its +foundation has been administered by the religious of St. Francis; +and that in the hospital the religious who was vicar of the said +convent [of St. Clare], and administered the holy sacraments to the +nuns, had a cell, and they helped to support this religious out of +the alms bestowed upon them. That you, without any occasion or just +cause, drove out the religious from the said hospital by force and +violence, with armed soldiers--saying that the hospital should be +managed by a secular priest whom you took thither with you. That the +said vicar was thereby compelled to find shelter in the convent of +St. Francis, which is at a great distance from that of St. Clare; +and consequently, with the inconveniences of the excessive heat +and the violence of the rains in the wet season, he cannot go to +hear confessions and administer the holy sacraments at St. Clare, +especially at night. That their greatest annoyance is, that you are +constructing in the hospital a ward for convalescents, on the side +that faces the said convent; and that it is so high that it looks +down upon the convent, notwithstanding the enclosure of the latter, +and from the windows of that ward may be seen the beds of the nuns +in their infirmary and dormitory--a matter which requires thorough +reparation. They say that on the other side of their house is a +space between the houses and the wall (which was formerly a street), +which is a passage to the convent, and is useful to it; but that you +have closed this way, and are building another house, which abuts +upon their own ground-plot, for barracks and stables for the cavalry +troops. They entreat me that I will be pleased to command that a check +be placed upon this undertaking, and that, considering their poverty, +I order you to pay them the amount of one hundred and twenty pesos +in certified pay-warrants on the treasury there, which they hold, +which sum will be a great benefit and charity to them. The complaint +of these nuns has been considered in my royal Council of the Indias, +and the damage which they say has been caused to them by closing up +the street and by their being in sight of the ward that was built in +the cells [at the hospital], and by the stables and barracks that have +been placed so close to their house. I have therefore thought it best +to ordain and command you, as I do, that you shall not in any way cause +injury or inconvenience to the said nuns; and that the pay-warrants +which they say they hold, you shall cause to be paid--provided they +are duly certified--in their due value and at such time as the said +nuns desire; for such is my will. [Madrid, October 2, 1638.] + + +I the King + +By command of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +REGULATING THE SEMINARY OF SANTA POTENCIANA + +The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia resident +in the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands: it has been reported in +my royal Council of the Yndias that there is in that city a seminary +named Santa Potenciana, of which I am patron; that it was established +for orphan girls, and for the reception of married women when their +husbands are occupied in my service in various parts; and that for +some years the custom has been introduced of sheltering in the said +seminary certain women who live scandalously. [I am also told] that, +since this is of so great service to God our Lord, you, my president, +have given orders to the mother rector of the said seminary not to +receive in the seminary any woman sent by the archbishop of that +church, or by his provisor; and that no one of its inmates may +leave it. It has been judged best to order you (as I do hereby) +to take what measures appear to you most advisable in this matter, +considering all ends. Given in Madrid, November eight, one thousand +six hundred and thirty-eight. + + +I the King + + +Countersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon, and signed by the +members of the Council. + +[Endorsed: "To the royal Audiencia of Manila, in regard to the order +given by the president of the Audiencia to the mother rector of the +seminary of Sancta Potenciana of that city, that she should not receive +therein any woman sent by the archbishop or his provisor." "Ordering +that the president take what measures appear most fitting, considering +all ends."] + + + + +COMMERCE OF THE ISLANDS WITH MEXICO + +The King. To my viceroy, president, and auditors of my royal Audiencia +resident in the City of Mexico, of Nueva Espana: Don Juan Grau +Monfalcon, procurator-general of the Filipinas Islands, has reported +to me that the permission possessed by those islands of two hundred +and fifty thousand pesos of merchandise, and five hundred thousand for +the returns thereon, is very small, as that was conceded thirty-four +years ago, when the citizens and inhabitants were fewer, the duties +and expenses not so great, and the islands less infested by their +foes. Because of this latter, their needs have increased so greatly +that, if the said permission be not increased, it will be impossible +to maintain them, or for their citizens to support themselves. He +tells me that some illegal acts may have resulted from the present +narrow limit of the permission, both in the lading of the merchandise, +and in the returns of the silver. In order that those violations may +be avoided, and those islands and their inhabitants maintained in a +less straitened manner, he has petitioned me to have the goodness to +concede an increase of the two hundred and fifty thousand pesos of the +merchandise to four hundred thousand, and also of the five hundred +thousand pesos of silver to eight hundred thousand. For, besides +the above-mentioned advantages, my royal duties will thus increase, +to supply the expenses of the said islands; illegalities and frauds +will cease; and the inhabitants will increase in wealth. The matter +having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, inasmuch as +I wish to know what permission the said islands enjoy, and that of +the count and duke of San Lucar, and whether it will be advisable to +enlarge the permission of the said islands; and considering their +needs and expenses, and other advantages: I order you to inform me +very minutely in regard to it all, so that, after examination, the +advisable measures may be taken. Given in Madrid, December eight, +one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight. + +I the King + +Countersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon, and signed by the +members of the Council. + +[Endorsed: "Don Juan Grau Monfalcon. To the viceroy, president, and +auditors of the Audiencia of Mexico, ordering information as to the +permission [of trade] for the Filipinas Islands, and that conceded +to the count and duke; and as to the advisability of increasing the +amount permitted to the islands."] + + + + +JURISDICTION OVER SEAMEN + +The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of +Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, +or to the person or persons in whose charge that government shall be: +in a letter which I wrote to you on the second of last September, +on various matters, there is a section of the following tenor: "I +have considered the arguments that you bring forward for its being so +expedient that the commander and the admiral of the ships shall have +authority and jurisdiction in the port of Acapulco, when he is not on +shore, to punish his sailors and soldiers; and that the warder of the +fort there shall not interfere with them by undertaking to punish them +on shore (regarding them as his subordinates, as hitherto they have +been) as they are persons of ability and good qualifications--since +from the time when the ships cast anchor, during all the time while +they remain in port, the men do not respect or obey, as it is right +they should, the said commander or admiral. Desiring to avoid +this difficulty, so that those officers may punish the culprits +in such cases, I have decided that what you propose may be done, +with the conditions that you mention; and, by a decree of the same +date as this letter, I am sending to the viceroy of Nueva Espana +advices to that effect. [I have told him] that as this seems to be +a general complaint, to judge from the instances [reported] here, +he must give the necessary orders for the execution of this decree, +unless some difficulty shall arise that may oblige him to defer it; +for when those men commit any disorderly acts on shore complaint can +be made against them, and the matter referred to the said commander +and admiral." And now a report has been made to me, on the part of +Don Juan Grao Monfalcon, procurator-general of that city of Manila, +that it is very advisable that the said commander and admiral of +the ships possess all necessary jurisdiction for punishing the men +aboard them--as is done at Cartagena, Portovelo, and other places; +and he entreats that I be pleased to command that this be accordingly +done. The matter having been considered in my royal Council of the +Indias, I have thought it best to issue the present, for such is my +will, that the usage which I have mentioned be put in practice in the +islands, as well as in Nueva Espana, since that is advisable for my +service. [Madrid, December 8, 1638.] + + +I the King + + +By command of the king our sovereign: + + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +ON THE LADING OF THE GALLEONS + +The King. Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the +Philipinas Islands, has reported to me that certain citizens of those +islands, to whom were allotted toneladas in the amount [of lading] +permitted, have, for lack of means to ship the goods, sold that +space--which has thus been secured by the merchants of Nueva Espana +and Peru, who for that purpose have their agents in Manila. He states +that this practice is overlooked [by the officials], although, after +the first distribution of the permitted lading space has been made, +and the toneladas allotted, the citizens who through poverty or other +causes are unable or unwilling to lade the goods which belong and +are allotted to them cannot give, sell, or transfer that space to +any other person, unless they again declare the toneladas before the +bureau of allotment. The bureau again shares the space which was thus +declared among such citizens as ask for it, or who can occupy it to +better advantage; and these must pay for it, giving for each tonelada +the amount appraised, according to the season and the circumstances, +by the bureau itself. The proceeds from the said toneladas shall be +given and paid to the owners who had declared them. Thus poor persons +will obtain relief, and the citizens [of the islands] will have the +benefit of the entire amount of trade permitted to them, while those +of Nueva Espana will be excluded from it. [The said procurator] +entreats me to issue a decree in accordance with these facts, +including therein adequate penalties to secure its execution. The +matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and +the above statements carefully considered, I have approved [the said +procurator's request]. I command my governor and captain-general of +the said Philipinas Islands who now holds or shall in future hold +that office, and the auditors of my royal Audiencia therein, and other +persons who shall have in charge the allotment of the said toneladas, +and the bureau for the said allotment, that they observe and fulfil, +and cause to be observed and fulfilled, exactly and inviolably, +what is ordained in this my decree, without in any way contravening +or exceeding its tenor or form. And those who disobey this decree +are warned that such act will be charged to them in the visitations +and their residencias, and they will be punished according to law; +for such is my will. [Madrid, December 8, 1638.] + + + + + + + +FORTUNATE SUCCESSES IN FILIPINAS AND TERRENATE, 1636-37 + +Fortunate successes which our Lord has given by sea and land to the +Spanish arms in the Filipinas Islands against the Mindanaos, and in +the islands of Terrenate against the Dutch, in the latter part of +the year 1636 and the beginning of 1637. + + + + +FILIPINAS + +These Filipinas Islands, subject to the Catholic king our sovereign +for the past thirty years, have been so harassed and terrorized +by invasions, robberies, and fires caused by the Moros (Mindanaos, +Joloans, Burneyans, and Camucones), that one could not sail outside +the bay of Manila without manifest danger. Not a single village was +now safe, nor could an evangelical or royal minister perform his +duty undisturbed. These pirates--some at one time, others at another, +and sometimes all together--set out every year from their own lands, +and at first attacked the islands which are called the Pintados, +for these were the nearest; and afterward, becoming more impudent, +they came to coast along the island of Manila itself, and once they +even came to the suburbs of this city (although without making their +presence known). The Christians captured by them on these raids were +numberless; some were Spanish but the majority were natives, who, sold +afterward either among the enemies themselves, or among more distant +unbelievers, either abandoned the faith, or suffered living death in +a wretched slavery. The villages which they had ravaged were pitiful +to see, being either burned to the ground or abandoned and deserted; +for those inhabitants who were able to escape from the hands of the +enemy hid themselves in the thickets of the mountains, among wild +beasts and venomous serpents, without other food than a few roots +and wild fruits. And what is impossible to relate without shedding +tears, the gospel ministers were compelled to flee in this same way, +to endure the same calamities, and suffer the inclemencies of sky and +ground, in order not to fall into the hands of Mahometan cruelty. Even +thus they were not always able to flee, for some, cut to pieces, fell +into their hands; others were captured and ransomed at great cost, +or died of ill-treatment in their captivity. Those barbarians did not +spare the churches, but rather plundered them with an infernal fury; +burned them, and trampled under foot the ornaments; broke the images +and profaned the vessels; and impiously clothed themselves with the +sacred vestments. The most unbearable thing of all was to see all +those evils unchecked, our friends disheartened, the enemy unresisted, +and the villages defenseless. For, although the governors sent fleets +in pursuit of the enemy, nothing was effected--partly because the +latter hid themselves from our men among the numerous islands, and +partly because of the great speed of their boats, in which respect +they had great advantage over us. + +Finally, in the year 1633, the king of Mindanao, named Cachil Corralat, +sent out a very large fleet which did signal damage in the islands. To +put an end to this, Don Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, who was governor of +the islands at that time, surmounting many difficulties, commanded a +certain position to be taken and a fort to be begun in Samboangan, +on the island of Mindanao, and occupied by a Spanish garrison; for +that point was well suited to the purpose of restraining from there +the Mindanaos and Joloans, as they were forced to sight it when they +went forth to pillage. Soon the enemy Corralat felt the damage done +him by the new post of the Spaniards, and since he could no longer +sally forth at his safety, he called upon the Burneyans, Joloans, +and Camucones to set out in various directions to pillage--which they +did. He himself sent out after them, in the beginning of April, 1636, +a large fleet in command of a Moro chief named Tagal. This fleet, +as our garrison was but recently established, was able to proceed to +our islands, and attacking many places, to make many captures--among +them three Recollect religious of the Order of St. Augustine, and a +Spanish corregidor of the island of Cuyo; to pillage much property, +and to plunder the churches. They carried away the ornaments and +vessels, and destroyed the images, and especially the cloth of a +sacred crucifix, from which Corralat made himself a cape. Thereupon +he became arrogant, and boasted that he was carrying away the God of +the Christians a prisoner, because he had taken from among the sacred +vessels a monstrance and a lunette with the most holy sacrament; +and he returned to his own land, where they were already mourning +him as lost, because he had been absent from it for eight months. + +This last invasion, more than all the previous ones, afflicted Don +Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who at that time had been proprietary +governor of the islands for a year. Inflamed with a zeal for the honor +of God and his king, he determined, after surmounting the numerous +difficulties and oppositions, to avenge in person the insolent acts +of those barbarians. But first of all he sent out, as governor of the +presidio at Sanboangan, Sargento-mayor Bartolome Diaz Barrera, and, +under his orders, Sargento-mayor Nicolas Goncalez, so that they might +be making preparations and sweeping the seas of those corsairs--a very +important matter, as will be seen subsequently. He then fitted out a +good fleet of champans (sailing vessels of moderate size, which are +used by the Chinese); and, embarking in one of them, made sail on the +day of the Purification of our Lady, the second of February, of this +year 1637. At Oton (which is about half-way) he received definite +information that Tagal was returning to his own country with eight +very well laden ships. The commander of the garrison at Sanboangan +was informed of that; and, preparing in two hours a squadron of five +caracoas (which are swift craft with oar and sail, which are used +by these Indians) and placing in command thereof Nicolas Goncalez, +the sargento-mayor of that presidio, he set out to round a very steep +cliff, in which a small mountain terminated, projecting out into the +sea, and distant about thirty leguas eastward from our fort. It was +necessary for the enemy to stop there, in order to discharge numerous +lances and arrows at the cliff (for it was their custom to sail by +that point when either outward or homeward bound)--a superstitious +custom of those barbarians. On account of this the place was known as +"the point of arrows" [punta de flechas]. The result was that which +our men desired for on the morning of the day of St. Thomas, the +twenty-first of December (at the time when prayer was being offered +up within the fort), the enemy was sighted; and both then and on the +following night our men made such an attack upon the enemy that, in +spite of a desperate defense, they surrendered. Of the eight ships +only one worthy of mention escaped, and that one in such a condition +that in order to escape, they cast overboard all its merchandise and +slaves. The other ships, heavily laden with merchandise, fell into the +hands of our soldiers and were plundered. There were not many firearms, +but they contained the vases and sacred ornaments, which were declared, +in order to be returned to their rightful owners. There died Tagal, the +commander of the enemy, with more than three hundred other Moros--so +obstinate and furious that they preferred death rather than surrender, +although they were offered their lives. Better was the course of one of +Tagal's brothers, who, when badly wounded, surrendered, protesting that +he had always regarded the faith of the Christians as the true one, +and begging for baptism, after receiving which he died. His example +was followed by fourteen other Moros, who surrendered and besought +baptism. Thus also there were recovered a hundred and twenty Christian +captives and among them a Recollect father, one of those whom the +Moros were taking away with them; but he was so badly wounded that he +soon died, although greatly consoled to have seen with his own eyes +the bravery with which our captains had punished the insolence of +the barbarians, obtaining so signal a victory as that, to the honor +of Jesus Christ and of the Spaniards, without its having cost even +a single man to our side. In that we began to enjoy the benefits of +the fort of Sanboangan; for if it had not been there, we could not +have encountered the enemy--who were none the less frightened by a +miracle which occurred on the very night on which the victory was +won. For having commenced by a terrific trembling of the earth and +sea, with a great noise of groans and screams, which were heard by +some, and which terrified all, that cliff--which we have mentioned +as an infamous place, both on account of the superstitious rite of +shooting arrows at it and many other things, and because there was +a tradition among the natives that the devil had been actually seen +there--became loosened from the land and fell with a great crash into +the sea, our Lord giving to understand thereby that the impiety so +strongly intrenched in that island was to fall and give place to our +holy religion, as events are constantly demonstrating. The shore has +already been consecrated to God with the name of Point San Sebastian, +so that the superstitions by which that place was contaminated may +be transformed by His holy arrows. + +The governor was highly elated with these tidings, and still more +when he received the ornaments, sacred vessels, and images which had +been recovered; and was moved to deep pity by the maltreated holy +crucifix, which had been made into a cape. [25] He ordained the latter +as thenceforth a standard for that expedition, as he did also with the +miraculous painting of St. Francis Xavier which was carried by Father +Marcelo Mastrillo, well known in the greater part of the world for the +so great mark of favor shown him by the Lord through the agency of +that great apostle of India. This father, while passing from Malaca +to Macan, a port of China, in fulfilment of the vow which he made at +Napoles, met with the Dutch corsairs, from whom the Lord delivered him +by a sudden wind which, while it turned him from the course which he +was pursuing, miraculously carried him, without a pilot who knew those +regions, into the bay of Manila. They anchored at the port of Cavite, +on the day of St. Ignatius of last year, for the signal consolation +and edification of all these islands, and for the good success of +this expedition (in which consisted the complete relief and remedy of +all)--especially to the benefit of the sick, of whom he took charge +during the entire course of the expedition. Our fleet reached the +port of Sanboangan on February 22, of this year; and all the men in it +having been confessed and having received communion, and having been +so encouraged (as they made evident to the father) by seeing from the +pulpit, the outraged image of the Crucified One, they cried out that +they would attack the whole world; and that the mothers were fortunate +who had employed their sons in so glorious an undertaking. Then the +soldiers returned to their vessels; they were divided into three +companies of Spaniards, and one of Panpango Indians. Without awaiting +the Spaniards and the volunteer Bisayan Indians they began to lay +their course toward Lamitan, on the fourth of March, in order not to +allow the enemies time to prepare themselves. At that place Corralat +had his principal village. The governor preceded the entire fleet, +with only four boats--both because the weather was contrary, and +because he had heard that there were some Moro merchantmen on the +sea from Java Major, very full of Christian slaves. Without the loss +of an instant's time, by sailing night and day, he came within sight +of Lamitan, on March thirteen. There the same man, in company with +only six musketeers as a guard, personally reconnoitered the coast +and river, with great valor and risk. Having fully ascertained that +the beach and the low grounds were safe, he disembarked with the men +of his four boats, as well as those of two others, that had already +come up at that time--in all, about seventy soldiers. He placed +these in battle-array, and marched with them to attack the village, +without knowing that it was so well fortified as was the case, as he +understood that all their force was about one and one-half leguas +inland on a high hill. It was an especial providence of our Lord, +and a brilliant stratagem, to leave an open road along the beach +(on which, as was afterward seen, the enemy had planted all their +artillery), and to deceive the enemy by taking another road on the +opposite side. This was very difficult and dangerous, both because of +the ambuscades which the enemy had prepared in the thickets (which were +quickly cleared by our men, by means of two field-pieces which were in +the vanguard), and by the swamps and river--which the soldiers forded +twice, with the water up to their breasts, with incredible valor. They +were encouraged by the example of their captain-general, who was the +first in all these hardships, as he was also later, when attacking two +large stockades, one after the other. Those stockades, notwithstanding +the fierce resistance made by the Moros in their defense, he entered +with his men, ever proving himself not less prudent in commanding +than spirited in attacking--personally encountering several Moros, +who set upon him with extraordinary spirit. Thereupon, they caught +sight of the fort with which Corralat had defended his village. It +was exceedingly well fortified with a new ditch, with eight pieces +of artillery, twenty-seven versos, many muskets with rests, and other +lighter arms, and with more than two thousand warrior Moros. But that +was of little use, for so gallant was the assault of the Spanish, +notwithstanding their small number, that they instantly gained +possession of the fort, killing a goodly number of Moros--among whom +was their castellan, who obstinately fought to the death--while the +others fled very badly wounded. From that place a portion of our men +went on ahead to a stockade which, with one piece [of artillery], +defended the house of Corralat, and it soon fell into our power; +for after the commander who had charge of it (and who until then had +kept them in good spirits by his vain and superstitious promises) +had been killed, those who accompanied him lost heart and fled, while +many of them were left there dead. The other body [of the Spaniards] +attacked the river at the same time, and, putting the Moros to flight, +captured more than three hundred craft, great and small. Of these they +sacked some large Javanese merchantmen which were heavily laden with +goods, and set free their Christian slaves. Some boats which were +suitable for our men were kept, and the others were burned, without +a single one being left. Had the fleet that left Sanboangan been all +together on that day, they would have finished matters with the Moro +king Corralat, who, with as many men as possible, withdrew to the hill +which he had fortified, disguised and borne on the shoulders of slaves. + +The governor after having given the village over to sack, having +gathered all the arms of the enemy--which, as aforesaid, consisted +of eight bronze pieces with ladles, one swivel-gun of cast iron, +twenty-seven versos, and more than one hundred muskets and arquebuses; +besides a very great number of cannon-chambers, and iron, balls, +and powder; campilans (what the Indians call by this name resemble +certain cutlasses), lances, javelins, and many other kinds of poisoned +missile weapons; and also after having repaired the fort which the +enemy had (now called San Francisco Xavier) with new and suitable +fortifications, which he planned, and himself commenced with his own +hands to execute; and having lodged his men without the loss of even +one (for only two servants deserted): he retired to a large mosque, +where he established a bodyguard. He first had the mosque blessed, +and a chair and some Arabic books of the cursed Koran burned. Quite +necessary was the garrison and watch set by the vigilant governor +during the days of his stay there, while awaiting the rest of his +fleet, in order to drive away some false and pernicious embassies, and +to defend themselves from the continual surprises which the defeated +Moros sprang upon them, especially at night. Our men did not receive +much hurt from them; on the contrary, various bodies of troops, +leaving their posts, overran the country, burning the villages, and +committing other damage on the enemy. Many Christian captives fled from +the enemy on this account, and were immediately sent to Sanboangan. + +On the sixteenth of the same month, Sargento-mayor Nicolas Goncalez +came to join the governor with the rest of the fleet, which sailed +from Sanboangan. The governor immediately began to prepare his men +with all temporal and spiritual equipment with which to invest the hill +on the next day. There was well seen the military prudence and skill, +and the zeal for the divine honor, of the captain-general, in the so +well arranged and efficacious address which he made to his soldiers, +and in the so definite orders that he issued. He divided his men; and, +committing about one hundred and twenty Spaniards, thirty Pampango +Indians, and some other Bisayans as carriers, to Sargento-mayor Nicolas +Gonzalez, ordered him to surprise the enemy by the rear of the hill, +first sounding his trumpets, so that he himself might attack the +front at the same instant by this means dividing the enemy's forces, +and weakening their defense. In accordance with these orders, the +sargento-mayor began his march. The governor, with the rest of the army +(after leaving a sufficient defense of soldiers in the fort and boats), +marched toward the hill at six o'clock the following morning. At its +brow was a very fine deserted village, where the governor fortified +a good house, and had a piece of artillery planted and a garrison +of Pampangos established, to be used as a place of refuge for his +men. Commencing to ascend the hill by the road which the Moro who +was guiding them showed him, he stopped near where there was another +road; and, having asked the guide whether that road also led to the +hill, and which of the two was the better, the Moro replied in the +affirmative, and said that both were poor. "Then if both are poor," +said the governor in reply, "let us go by the other, and not by the +one along which the Moro is guiding us." That was the inspiration of +Heaven, and very good military counsel, and so did the outcome declare +it; for that first road was taking them point blank into a cavalier, +garrisoned with three pieces, one of which was of bronze. It was +found afterward that, besides a double charge of powder, the piece +was loaded with two plain artillery balls, two crowbars, and more +than three hundred musket balls--with which, no doubt, at least all +the vanguard would have been swept away. Now freed from that danger, +and marching with great difficulty up the hill, the governor sent +some of the vanguard with orders to reconnoiter only the road, +and to halt at some fitting place in order to await the signal of +those who were to attack the enemy in the rear. In truth the road +was so difficult that it could be ascended in some places only with +great difficulty, by clambering up and laying hold of the shrubs with +their hands. It was narrow and very steep, and had precipices in all +parts, so that they could not mount upward except one at a time. And, +above all, it was so well commanded at the top by three forts--which +were inaccessible, both by the great height of their location, and +by the defenses of ditches, very stout stockades, and a very large +supply of weapons--that very few of the enemy, without receiving +any hurt, could with the use of only stones kill a million men who +might attack them in that part. Notwithstanding this, those who were +sent to reconnoiter the road were so blinded by their overweening +valor and spirit (truly Spanish) that, thinking that they could +easily gain all, they went ahead to attack one of the three forts, +without heeding the order that the general had given them; thereby +they encountered, for themselves and the rest of the vanguard, great +damage from the three forts, without doing anything to the enemy. More +than twenty [of the Spaniards] were killed and more than eighty badly +wounded. Much greater would have been the destruction of our men--for, +not considering those who were falling, they continued to involve +themselves and the others further, with false rumors of victory--had +it not been that the governor, placing himself in the greatest danger, +where the balls were raining down, and where they wounded his squire +(and others who were very near him fell dead), and recognizing that +victory was impossible in that part, and prudently hiding the disorder +which had happened, in order not to discourage his soldiers, caused +them all, both whole and wounded, to retire. This he did with so great +ease and gallantry on one side, while on the other he confronted the +enemy with so great valor, with sword in hand; had he not done that not +a single man would have remained alive, since the enemy were numerous, +the road full of precipices, and our men badly impeded with the wounded +and more than two hours of fighting. That night the governor passed, +with those who remained unhurt, in the retreat at the brow of the +hill--at the greatest risk of perishing, if the enemy had made a sally, +however vigilant our men had been. But God delivered them from that +danger; for the enemy did not make a sally, because they made a great +feast that night over the good result of having, as they imagined, +killed the governor. Already by this time the sick were in the camp, +in which miraculous cures of very deadly wounds occurred. One had +been shot through the head from temple to temple; another was shot +through the mouth by a ball that passed up through the stomach; +another had several poisoned dart-points (here called sompites) +left sticking in his throat; and both those and all the others, +excepting two or three who did not allow themselves to be treated, +are today alive and well. They, and all, attribute their miraculous +health to the special favor with which God chose to repay the holy +zeal with which all risked their lives for His Divine Majesty. + +On the following day, the eighteenth of the same month, while the +governor was hearing mass, the rattle and roar of artillery and +musketry was heard on the hill, which increased his anxiety. Suspecting +that Nicolas Gonzalez was fighting, he sent him, as a reenforcement, +a company of soldiers under command of Captain Don Rodrigo de +Guillestigui. And it was so that, the said sargento-mayor, Nicolas +Gonzalez, not having been able to arrive the day before at the assigned +place because of the great difficulty of the road, it was our Lord's +pleasure that, after conquering many difficulties and great obstacles, +he gained possession of an eminence which dominated the enemy's forts +in the rear. Thence he started to invest them, with such intrepidity +that, although the king, leading his men in person, began to resist him +furiously, he could not however withstand our charges. Consequently, +they were compelled to abandon their three forts, one after the other, +leaving an infinite number of dead Moros, who perished partly by the +balls, and partly through falling over precipices in escaping, as +the way was narrow. Among those who escaped by flight was Corralat; +he fled, badly wounded, to some small villages that he owned, which +were four leguas distant from the hill. The queen his wife, and many +others of his servants threw themselves over the precipices of their +own accord, in order to avoid falling into our hands. Many of the enemy +were captured and the Christian captives there freed. Among the latter +was found alive one of the Recollect fathers, who, as he had been +badly mangled, was judged to have lived as by a miracle until the day +following, when he died as a saint in the camp, after receiving all the +sacraments with great consolation. The third [Recollect religious] was +killed through the fury of the Moros, and it is not known where they +threw his body. The three forts, then, with all their arms (namely, +four pieces of artillery, and other numberless weapons of other kinds), +having fallen into our hands, as well as a great quantity of food, +and a quantity of wealth, and a suitable guard having been placed, the +governor was advised of everything. He was waiting anxiously in camp; +rejoicing over the good news, and more that no one of our soldiers +had been killed, he ascended the hill. In two days' time having taken +down to the camp with very few men the pieces which it had taken the +enemy six months to take up with more than two thousand Indians; +collecting many sacred vases and ecclesiastical ornaments which +were found; giving the house of the king over to sack, and others, +very large and full of riches, by which many Spaniards were greatly +advantaged; and having burned the buildings, and leveled the forts: +as he was no longer able to endure the stench which arose from the +[dead bodies of] the enemy who had been slain and those who had fallen +over the precipices, the forces returned to camp--leaving the Moro +king entirely ruined, as a chastisement for the many outrages which +he had impiously committed on the true God, on His priests, and other +Christians. From there, after having given thanks to our Lord with +a mass, and a solemn procession with the most holy sacrament on the +day of the Incarnation, they set sail for Sanboangan. + +When they left, the governor sent Sargento-mayor Pedro Palomino +with one hundred Spaniards to Cachil Moncay (the legitimate king, +although he had been oppressed by the tyranny of his uncle Corralat), +in order to tell him that, if he wished to be protected by the +Spanish arms of his Majesty, he must render homage and pay tribute +to the Catholic king our sovereign, wage war by fire and sword on +Corralat and his allies, free the Christian captives, and admit +gospel ministers. The king offered in person to do all that, and +afterward through his ambassador and brother-in-law, at Samboangan, +to the governor. The latter having issued the fitting orders in that +presidio, and having received the homage offered to our sovereign +by many--especially by the inhabitants of the island of Basilan, +to whom he immediately assigned gospel ministers, as they asked for +them--he entrusted one hundred Spaniards and more than one thousand +volunteer Indians (who had now arrived, although after the battle), +with orders to coast along the island, doing all the harm possible +to the enemy, and helping the Spaniards' friends. The said captain +performed all the aforesaid excellently, coasting along the island from +Sanboangan to Caraga. And although the Moros had retreated inland, +being terrified by the news of the victory, still the captain did +them considerable damage. He burned as many as sixteen villages, and +many other collections of houses, laid waste the fields and gardens, +destroyed more than one hundred ships (counting large and small), +and seized others for the use of the fleet, whose need he abundantly +supplied with many provisions which he collected. He also beheaded +seventy-two spirited Moros, who defended themselves against him, +whose heads he placed on pikes, in various places along the beach, +in order to terrorize the others. He made prisoners some others, +whom he took alive, with which the whole land became fearful. While +that was being done, as has been said, the governor set sail toward +Manila. He entered that city in triumph on the twenty-fourth of May, +with his four companies in battle-array, with the prisoners in their +midst, and with fourteen wagons heavily laden with many important +arms of the enemy, together with the banners which had been captured +dragging in the dust. There was general applause and rejoicing by the +Spaniards and natives. That was an affair well calculated to inspire +fear in the numberless infidels by whom we are surrounded. + +Finally, his Lordship, having shown certain very splendid honors to +those who had so gloriously perished in the war, and having ordered +a great number of masses to be said for their souls, ended the +celebration most happily on the seventh of June (the Sunday of the +Trinity), by a very solemn procession of the most holy sacrament as +an expression of thanks. In front marched the ransomed Christians, +very handsomely clad, carrying candles and rosaries. Four long paces +behind them were many sacred vases and ecclesiastical ornaments, +which were recovered from the possession of the barbarian. By that +sight the hearts of Catholics were moved to great compassion; and the +people gave many thanks to our Lord for the sight of that which they +had desired for so many years. They entreated Him that the work might +progress until, the enemies who remained in those regions having +received the faith of Jesus Christ, they and the other long-time +Christians might enjoy the desired peace and quiet. + + + + +TERRENATE + +The governor's great care and vigilance in preparing and arranging the +fleet of Mindanao did not cause him to forget the other enemy--infested +posts that his Majesty possesses in this archipelago. At the same +time, he despatched another very good fleet, consisting of two large +ships, one patache, and one galley, under command of General Geronimo +Henriquez, as a guard to a number of champans which were taking the +succor to the forts of Terrenate. Two excellent ships of the Dutch +enemy were awaiting them at the entrance. When they saw the courage +of our men the enemy retired in flight to the shelter of their fort +of Malayo, without daring to await them. The Spaniards were so keen +for fighting that, hastily leaving in safety the aid which they were +taking, they started in pursuit of the hostile galleons, and did +not stop until they met these under the enemy's fort, where they had +gone. There they fired so many volleys, both at the ships and at the +fort and village, that (as was learned afterward from some who took +refuge with our ships) very considerable damage was done, without +the Dutch daring to sail out, or being able to do us any damage of +importance. That was a very great cause for scoffing against the enemy, +and they lost as much reputation among those Moros, as was gained by +the Spaniards, especially with the king of Tidore, our friend, who very +joyfully thanked the commander Henriquez and the admiral, Don Pedro de +Almonte, with presents for that action of so great valor and gallantry. + +One month after that fleet had returned to Manila, Don Pedro de +Mendiola, governor of Terrenate, heard that two Dutch ships were +becalmed not a great distance from there. He instantly despatched +two galleys, which together spiritedly attacked the better of the two +ships. After it had been entirely defeated, and our men were about to +board it, a strong wind which suddenly arose snatched it from their +hands, although it was badly crippled by the discharges from our +galleys. The latter received no considerable damage. Thereupon that +enemy were greatly terrified; the Moro natives received a very exalted +idea of the Spaniards, while the latter were very joyful at beholding +the arms of the king our sovereign, even in these most remote bounds +of the earth, shine with the luster and splendor that they merit. + +With license. In Madrid. Printed by Diego Diaz de la Carrera, in the +year 1639. + + + + + + + +VALUE OF CORCUERA'S SEIZURES IN JOLO + + +[Under date of Manila, August 2, 1638, the city cabildo of Manila write +the king a detailed account of Corcuera's campaign in Jolo, which +was begun in December, 1637. Inasmuch as this letter covers ground +sufficiently treated in documents already presented in this series, it +is not here given. The original is conserved in the Archivo general de +Indias with pressmark, "est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32;" and it is presented +by Pastells in his edition of Colin (iii, pp. 528-532). Pastells +(iii, pp. 532, 533) follows this letter by a document showing the +value of the artillery and other things seized from the Joloans, +and the money value of the captives who were sold as slaves. This +document is conserved in the same archives and has the same pressmark +as the above. It is as follows:] + +The relation of the expense incurred on his Majesty's account during +the expedition made to the kingdom of Jolo by Don Sebastian Hurtado +de Corcuera, in December, 1637; also the value of what was seized +and gained from the enemy; and the net gain. Subtracting the one from +the other, the result is as follows: + + + pesos tomins granos + + Gained from the enemy, 28,345 7 0 + Expenses of the expedition, 26,314 5 4 + + Net remainder of gain, 2,031 1 6 + + +The value of what was gained from the enemy can be analyzed in the +following form: + +[A list, partially duplicate, of the artillery taken from the Joloans +follows, of which we present only the final summary, in order to +avoid such duplication. It appears that the artillery when taken to +Manila was appraised by one Melchor Perez, royal chief of artillery +and artillery-founder.] + + +Bronze artillery, useful + +Pieces Weight in quintals and libras + Make Weight of ball in libras + Value of one quintal in pesos + Total value in pesos + +1 English 11 3 30 330 +1 falcon of King Don + Sebastian of Portugal 11 4 28 308 +2 of King Don Sebastian of + Portugal 15 10 26 390 +1 Manila, of the time of + Tavora 26,80 10 26 670 +21 camaras [26] 124 + +Bronze artillery, useless, appraised merely at the value of the copper + +1 English 11 3 12 132 +1 Siamese 4 1 12-1/2 54 +10 versos 14 12 168 + +Cast-iron artillery + +1 English 7 35 3 12-1/2 91 +1 Macao 12-1/2 4 12 156 +1 English 11 4 12-1/2 137 +1 Dutch 10 88 12-1/2 136 +1 English 12 25 5 12-1/2 153 +1 Dutch 12 25 5 12-1/2 153 +1 English 10 45 5 12-1/2 130 +1 English 14 63 7 12-1/2 182 +1 Dutch 18 9 12-1/2 225 +1 English 21 33 9 12-1/2 266 +1 Dutch 24 97 11 12, and + 1 tomin 312 +1 iron base [roquero] 4 + + +Firearms + + pesos + +3 Vizcayan arquebuses 12 +10-1/2 Macao muskets 31 +11 Vizcayan field muskets 66 +1 Dutch arquebus 4 +19 Macao arquebuses 57 +16 Dutch muskets 64 +1 musket de pinote of Macao 4 +2 Vizcayan arquebuses 10 +7 arquebuses from Macao 21 +7 Japanese small guns [escopetillas] 21 +2 Vizcayan field muskets 12 +5 Dutch arquebuses 15 +10 Dutch muskets 50 +1 bit of a Vizcayan gun [escopeta] 1 + + +Besides the above, in cloth or money, 2,866 [pesos]; in small darts +and blowpipes, 50 [pesos]. + +Lastly, from 192 captive Indians--men, women, and children--sold as +his Majesty's slaves at royal auction, 20,815 pesos. Of this amount +10,375 pesos were in cash, in coin; and the 10,440 remaining were +charged to the pay due the infantry and seamen. + + + + + + + +DOCUMENTS OF 1639-1640 + + + Events in Philipinas, 1638-39. [Unsigned; probably Juan Lopez, + 1639.] + Letters to the Holy Misericordia. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; + December 4, 1637, and October 26, 1639. + The university of Santo Tomas. Felipe IV; November 9, 1639. + Royal orders and decrees. Felipe IV; 1639. + Events in the Filipinas Islands, 1639-40. [Juan Lopez?]; August, + 1640. + Relation of the insurrection of the Chinese. [Unsigned and + undated; probably in March, 1640.] + Ecclesiastical and Augustinian affairs, 1630-40. Casimiro + Diaz; [1718?]. [From his Conquistas.] + Relation of the Filipinas Islands. [Diego de Bobadilla, S.J.; + 1640.] + + + +Sources: The first of these documents is obtained from a MS. in the +Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid; the second, from a MS. volume +in the library of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago; the third, and the eighth +decree in the fourth, from the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; +the fourth (except the above-mentioned decree), from the Archivo +Historico Nacional, Madrid; the fifth and sixth, from the Ventura +del Arco MSS. (Ayer library); the seventh, from Diaz's Conquistas, +pp. 267-444; the eighth, from Thevenot's Voyages curieux, t. i, +part ii--from a copy belonging to the library of Harvard University. + +Translations: These are made by James A. Robertson--except the fifth, +sixth, and seventh, and two decrees in the fourth, by Emma Helen Blair. + + + + + + + +EVENTS IN THE PHILIPINAS + +FROM THE YEAR 1638 TO THAT OF 1639 + + +Today, August 14, I learned that thirteen Macasars and Basilas, +of those who had been sold as slaves, had fled in a small boat, +and that they had been furnished with arms. Some suspected that the +Lascars aided them. A few days before, six of them had fled, but they +were captured and brought to this port by the Indians of Maragondon. + +At the end of September Nuestra Senora del Rosario [i.e., our Lady +of the Rosary] was robbed. Only three jewels were taken from her--a +diamond of the value of one thousand two hundred pesos; a cross of +smaller diamonds; and a gold rosary. The holy image was found in a +prostrate condition. It is said that there are some indications of +the robber. A portion of the robe was found in the possession of a +soldier; but he says that he found it on the ground, and it has been +impossible to prove anything else. + +In the beginning of October came a despatch from Sanboangan, in which +it is declared that although the Spaniards tried to constrain Cachil +Moncay to make his men pay the tribute, he replied that he would +not do so, but that he would take arms and declare war. In fact, +he retired to the mountains and took captive Father Francisco Angel; +but another chief, his opponent, had the boldness to take the father +from him and deliver him to the Spaniards. + +We are advised from Jolo that many of our men have been killed; and +that the islanders who have remained there have suffered great famine, +and consequently, an epidemic and plague is feared. It is also said +that Panguian a cachil, together with Dato Ache, has retreated with +almost all the brave men of Jolo to the island of Tabitabi, [27] +where they have fortified another hill, and are preparing ships to +go out to pillage our tributaries. The king and queen are in Jolo +without anyone paying any attention to them; and Panguian Cachil is +trying to make himself king of the Joloans. + +Three ships left this port for Macan: the Macan patache, on the +thirteenth of October; on the fourteenth, that from Camboja; and on +the sixteenth, that which came from India. It has to return here to +collect its goods which it left here [for sale] on commission [fiada], +and will go hence to Goa. + +October 26, a champan from Sanboangan arrived, in which was Father +Gregorio Belin, seeking the reformation that is especially demanded +by affairs in Jolo, whose commandant [28] has prevented many good +results and been the cause of many evils, by his bad government and +scandalous conduct. Don Sebastian [Hurtado de Corcuera] removed him, +as he was already well informed of what has taken place there. Father +Pedro Gutierrez informs us about Mindanao in a letter which he writes +to the father provincial, as follows. + + + + +Letter from Father Pedro Gutierrez + +"These three posts of Sanboangan, Jolo, and Mindanao, were left +so destitute, for lack of the little fleet that was here at the +beginning, that I am surprised that the commandant, Don Pedro de +Almonte, has been able to attend with so great promptness to the +necessities that have arisen. The time when the [lack of the] fleet +began to be felt was when a soldier and a Pampango were brought +badly wounded from Basilan. In order to remedy the damages that +might ensue from not inflicting punishment, it was necessary to +equip a caracoa with Pampangos and servants of the Spaniards. The +matter was entrusted to Adjutant Cristoval de las Eras, who had the +two evildoers shot in Basilan. Then, seeing that the Spaniards who +were in Basilan were poorly accommodated, and without any defense, +he advised the commandant, Don Pedro; and, by virtue of the order +sent him, he built a fortified house in a very good position. After +the people of the mountain (some of whom had absented themselves +through fear) had calmed down, he returned to this port. + +"During that time the commandant, Don Pedro, was already getting ready +a small fleet among the Lutaos, in order to attack the Joloans who had +gone to Tabitabi and other islands. That he might accomplish this, he +requested a good juanga which was at Dapitan, whence it was brought +with fifty Indians. With one that he procured from those that his +Majesty had here, and those which he had made by the Lutao chiefs, +he had five caracoas with four pieces of artillery, besides three +other small boats called pilanes, all of them excellently equipped +with infantry and ammunition. + +"While the fleet was on the point of being despatched, news arrived +from Mindanao of various acts of treachery which Moncay, chief of +Buayen, had attempted against the Spaniards; and that he had seized +Father Angel; and that after the said father had escaped from them, +they fell upon the food and the household effects that the father left, +thus declaring themselves. But the commandant, Don Pedro, seeing the +danger in delaying help, and knowing that if Corralat and Manaquior +were to unite with Moncay much damage might be done, determined to +send the fleet that was prepared for Jolo to Mindanao. For greater +abundance, he added a champan with food and ammunition for the +said fleet, and as an aid to the fort at Buayen. He charged Adjutant +Cristoval de las Eras with all this, on account of his experience as a +good soldier, and his knowledge of wars with the Indians. In addition +he charged me to go in the fleet, so that I might see Corralat and +Manaquior; and as that was my affair, and the Spaniards were not to +meddle in it, it was made certain that those chiefs would not unite +with Moncay. We came near to Lamitan, where Corralat was living, and +I found Father Carrion, who was with Corralat, and who was coming to +Sanboangan to ask for an order to make peace with Manaquior, to make +war on Moncay, to talk to Corralat, in order that he should not unite +with Moncay, and to request succor in some things. I told him that +the commandant Don Pedro had already prepared for all that he wanted, +and more; and that he was sending that fleet, collected as if by a +miracle. The father was very much surprised by that, and even told +me that if they saw what had been done, they would not believe it +in Buayen; for, as they know the limited resources in Sanboangan, +they had not dared to ask for a single soldier. + +"I landed alone, and the fleet went to await me at La Zabanilla. I +talked to Corralat, and he promised me all that I wanted. For greater +security, he told me that he would give two caracoas to guard me. He +offered me four, but I did not desire more than two, which he sent +after me. It was diverting to hear the Mindanaos say that on no account +must they separate from my caracoa; and when I told them, as we were +returning, to stay behind and look for food, that did not avail, for +they told me that they were not to leave me until I should return, +and they kept their word. + +"We arrived at the fort. I informed Adjutant Eras of the condition of +affairs. According to his orders, Manaquior was summoned; and he made +a treaty of peace with Captain Marquez. For a beginning, he offered +an iron piece that uses a ball weighing three libras, which he handed +over to the said adjutant Eras. We continued to ascend the river to +quiet the villages that the hostile Moncay had taken from Manaquior, +and which he had fortified. But when they learned that the Spaniards +were coming, they discarded their foolish ideas, and, as sensible men, +abandoned the village, which was excellently fortified. They set fire +to a part of it, but were unable to burn it all because of their haste +in escaping. They went to join those who were fortified in a village +higher up the same river, which was the village which prevented those +who could have done so from carrying refreshment to the fort of the +Spaniards. The Spaniards went up the river, and before they arrived the +natives deserted that village also, and that so hastily that they were +unable to burn more than one house. We went up as far as the village +of Manaquior, where we were well received. We took five days to reach +that place from the fort. Manaquior said that the inhabitants of the +two villages had united with a third, in order to fight, and that +they were on an arm of the river. The adjutant with his fleet, and +with Manaquior, who had always accompanied him, descended the river; +and, arriving at the entrance of the said arm, as one of the caracoas +was large, the adjutant left it there (it was the one in which I was +embarked), and ascended with the rest. Before his arrival, the enemy +also fled and said that all those who had abandoned the other villages +were going to fortify themselves in another position farther up the +river. Thereupon, those who accompanied Adjutant Eras tried to persuade +him not go any farther, since those Moros did not await them, and the +river was becoming narrower. The adjutant refused to do anything else +but pursue them, and did so for two days by that arm of the sea. He +reached the last site, where the enemy were fortifying themselves +with an excellent stockade. There must have been a great force of men, +since they had done so much in so few hours. They did not hold their +ground there, either, but according to the track that they left went +to the mountains in two divisions. Thereupon we returned to Samboangan, +after having reenforced the fort with food and ammunition. + +"Two bronze versos were found at that last site, which had been +hidden in the river. The adjutant seized them, and is sending them, +I believe, to Don Sebastian. I have been in various fleets, and +have seen in none of them what I have seen in this one--namely, +that although those people had never encountered Spaniards before, +there was not a single soldier who ill-treated any Indian, while the +latter came very willingly. Perhaps the cause for it was the speech +that Adjutant Eras made to the Spaniards--who, as they know that he +treats them with great courtesy, and that for that reason he will +stand no nonsense, did not wish to give him cause for anger. As we +were returning, I saw Corralat, and tried to ascertain from him his +intentions. He does not wish to fight with the Spaniards; but, on the +other hand, he makes impertinent demands--namely, that the country +from Sibuguei to near Catel (a region about two hundred leguas in +circuit), and the lake of Malanao, be left to him. As my intention +was not to make any agreement with him, except that he should not +unite with Moncay, I told him that I was writing to Don Sebastian, +as I did, whose letter I am despatching now. + +"All the Mindanaos fear the Castilians, especially Don +Sebastian. Corralat's whole anxiety was lest he might come here, and +he asked why he should come, when it would be sufficient to send a +captain; and he said other things in this manner. May our Lord arrange +matters as is most fitting to His holy service; and may He preserve +your Reverence, to whose holy prayers and sacrifices I earnestly +commend myself. Sanboangan, September 30, 1638." + + + + +Section of a letter written in Manila + +"Father Belin took with him about eighty Christian captives of those +who have come to our soldiers--both in that entrance which was made in +the villages, and of those who have been escaping from the Moros since +the time of the arrival of Don Sebastian, who exceed one hundred and +fifty Christians. Among them, at times, were some Moros who requested +holy baptism. The eighty who arrived here were disembarked at the gate +of Saint Dominic, where the sargento-mayor was awaiting them with the +captains and adjutants and the company of the governor, who marched +them down in their midst. When the procession or march was ended, +the alcaldes and Father Belin went through the street which leads to +[the house of] the master-of-camp and [the convent of] St. Augustine, +to the palace. Having gone round by the parade-ground, they went up to +the governor, where Father Belin thanked his Lordship for the liberty +that had been obtained through his mediation. His Lordship ordered +them to be lodged in the city; and directed the father to bring the +chiefs to the palace next day, as he intended to clothe them as he +had those whom he sent to Basilan. Among them is a Moro who is a +Christian, who is accompanied by more than twenty persons of his +relatives and household. All of them have resolved to be baptized, +and to live among Christians in Cabuyao. [29] That was the chief who +brought Father Angel to the fort, and withdrew him from captivity +when he came to our people. The fact was that that chief captured a +girl about twelve years old in that village of Cabuya, whom he has +married during this time, with the intention of making her his chief +wife until his death. She, having seen the love that he showed her, +told him that if he wished her to live in his company willingly, +not only was she to be a Christian, but he was to become one also, +in order to be her true husband and live among Christians. In short, +she won him so that he determined to come with her to her village. He +persuaded his men to do the same, and in accordance with that they +have come. In the champan, he told his Tagal wife that she should +not tell the Castilians that he had captured her, lest they kill him +or do him some harm; but that she could say that she was bringing +him and all his people to captivity, as was a fact. Don Sebastian, +influenced by reasons of expediency, orders that that family return +to live in Mindanao." + +October 31, the patache from the island of Hermosa entered this +port. It brings as news that five or six Franciscan and Dominican +friars are there, who have been exiled from China; and that they +hope to be able to reenter that country. The report that the Dutch +had occupied the post of Tanchui, which we had left, is said to +be false. On the contrary, the inhabitants of Tanchui came to beg +friendship and Spaniards, to which the only answer given was that +they should come with safety to the fort with their drugs, which +would furnish them a safe passage. + +A champan also arrived from Terrenate at the end of October. It brought +news that the sargento-mayor, Francisco Hernandez, made an important +raid into the country of the enemies, with good result. He found in +Macasar the Spaniards who deserted from this place last year with +Captain Ramos, whom they had already killed through anger. Francisco +Hernandez begged the king for permission and aid to arrest them; and, +being given it, arrested them and placed them in the galleys. + +A small vessel, called a cho, came from Macan November 2. It brings +more authentic news of the conversion of the king of China, than what +I wrote by the ships. The fathers say of him that he is earnestly +considering becoming and living as a Christian. Word is also received +that the fathers of the province of Macan, which is the same province +as that of Japon, formed a congregation; and that, because they +have strong hopes of the opening of the door for the conversion of +that kingdom, in which the faith has been so severely persecuted, +they have elected two procurators to go to Europa by two different +ways--Father Antonio Cardin, in the first place, who goes by way of +Goa; and Father Reymundo de Gouca, who is about to come to Manila in +order to go by way of Mexico. + +At midnight on November 10, so fierce a gale of wind came from the +south that it broke five of the moorings of the flagship "San Luis," +which was about to set sail to Terrenate, having been already laden +and with its artillery aboard. The wind carried away its shrouds, +and grounded it in the sand near Palanaque, but in such a manner +that it could be floated off after five days. The wind also drove +the second galley ashore, but without doing it any damage. + +At dawn on the morning of the eleventh, the ship from India, which was +the last to go to Macan, anchored in the bay. It lost most of its masts +by the fierceness of the storm, and the others were disabled. That +storm struck them after they had already anchored. Had it struck them +outside, all think that no one would have escaped, to judge from the +way in which the ship is disabled. + +News arrived on the night of November 20 that the second patache, +which was going to Octong to get a cargo of rice for Terrenate, +was driven ashore some leguas from here by the gale of wind above +mentioned, but that all the crew were saved. + +Early on the night of November 21, the two galleons, "San Luis" +as flagship and "San Juan" as almiranta, left for Terrenate. The +commander-in-chief is Don Pedro de Almonte, and the admiral Don Alonso +de Alcocer, although with the title of governor of the almiranta +galleon. The commander of the flagship as far as Sanboangan is +Don Pedro Fernandez del Rio, who is captain and sargento-mayor for +the voyage. + +A despatch [-boat] arrived from Sanboangan on the last of November, +which carried some Joloan captives. It happened in this wise. The +king of Jolo, desiring to recover his hill, and to fortify himself +anew with the arms that the Spaniards had there, set a snare for +them with this bit of treachery. He caused an Indian (who was a +clever leader of the fishermen), called Cahapitan, and his men to +become very friendly with the Spaniards and to sell them fish--a +thing that our men, not knowing his intentions, valued very highly, +because of the privation that they were suffering. After some days +he came with a message from the king, to the effect that he wished +to submit and to pay tribute, and that he was sending Indians to be +registered. In the meantime the fathers [30] were warned by a certain +Capot, a Christian, who had escaped, that the king was beyond all +question plotting treason, and they advised the commander of those +forts of it. He replied that the fathers were entertaining fears, +and that no attention was to be paid to it. He allowed Cahapitan, +as well as those who were to be registered, to enter the fort with as +much security as if they were in Old Castilla. Eight hundred Indians +having registered, a day was assigned for many more to come. The +Moros chose that day for the execution of their treachery. Cahapitan +arrived, with the word that he was bringing three hundred more, who +should be allowed to enter with him in order to be registered. By +that time there were already about two thousand Moros in ambush, +while others were in ships on the sea, in order that they might, +on seeing the signal, do their part--namely, kill the Spaniards, +and seize the fort. And that would have happened just as they wished, +if God in His ineffable providence had not obstructed it; for, at the +time agreed upon, the commandant caught a high fever, and accordingly +answer was sent them to return on another day, as he would not register +them [that day]. The Moros urged strongly that they be registered, +and their urging caused suspicion. Accordingly, a resolute answer was +sent that he would not register them until next day. Seeing themselves +frustrated in their principal intent, they went to the stone-quarry, +where the force of twenty-three galley negroes and some Sangleys were +getting stone, being guarded by only five Spaniards. Alleging peace, +they landed; and, attacking them, killed two Spaniards, three negroes, +and one Sangley, and wounded two Spaniards, who, with the other one +that was unhurt, escaped; and they captured the others--to the number +of thirty-eight persons, counting dead and captured. The commandant, +having learned of the treachery through those who escaped, sent a +despatch to Sanboangan asking for help. It was God's pleasure (and +that was another of His wonderful providences), that the commander Don +Pedro de Almonte should have determined of his own accord to visit +Jolo with a small fleet, which he had difficulty in collecting. He +was met at sea by the despatch-boat. He made haste and arrived at so +opportune a time that he met Cahapitan and all his men. Cahapitan, +hiding his treason, went to meet him with a white flag. The commander +Don Pedro received him cordially, but told him that he should follow +him to the fort, in order to be well assured that he was free from +guilt. He followed the commander very securely with thirty-six +persons; for he had so deceived the commandant at Jolo that he was +persuaded that Cahapitan was guiltless, and thus he assured the +commander Don Pedro. That deceit was brought about by his having +entrusted to Cahapitan a quantity of goods in order to trade them +for drugs of the country. Yet the commander, Don Pedro, although he +freed Cahapitan and two old men at the persuasion of the commandant, +in order that they might carry a letter to the king of Jolo (for the +commandant petitioned the commander, saying that he would advise that, +and the traitor [i.e., Cahapitan] desirous of performing another act +of treachery, facilitated it), detained all the other men. Cahapitan +went straight to a place where he had three negroes and two Sangleys, +who had fallen to his share as the principal author of the deed. He +ordered them to be killed, and his men killed four more of them; but +one, a Sangley, attacked him, and killed him with his own dagger. The +Sangley came all bloody to the fort, and disclosed the whole evil +plot. Thereupon the commandant awoke as from a profound slumber, in +which his self-interest had buried him. Afterward he confessed that he +had done wrong in not believing the fathers; thereupon the commander, +Don Pedro de Almonte, sent his boats under Captain Gaspar de Morales, +to overrun the island. In that raid much harm was done to the enemy, +to the profit of their allies, who secured rich pillage. Almost all +the people escaped; but those people who were captured, together with +those of Cahapitan, were made slaves. They numbered in all fifty, +besides three who were killed. That punishment made them tremble, +and many have concluded to settle quietly and to give hostages. All +the above I have taken, in summary, from a very long letter of Father +Alexandro Lopez, who took part in the whole affair; and was in the +fleet that went round the island. + +At Christmas came news that the Chinese pirates were pillaging these +neighboring coasts. A fleet was sent to attack them, under command +of Captain Maroto, which returned on the second of January, 1639. The +report he gives is, that some Chinese of the Parian of Manila fled in +a champan. They attacked another champan on the sea beyond Mariveles, +pillaged it, and sent it to the bottom. They attacked another anchored +in a port, and pillaged and burned it. After that they put out to sea, +in order to cross over to China. Our men brought in the Chinese who +had escaped from both champans. + +Later, at the beginning of January, news came that the same men were +pillaging, although in more remote districts where they had captured +some boats and killed many Spaniards and Indians, who were sailing +quite unsuspicious of danger. Consequently, a few champans under +command of Don Pedro Bermudez were again sent against them. + +January 15, General Don Geronimo de Sumonte took possession of [the +post of] castellan and other offices at this port. + +On January 18, news was received that the fleet of our champans +encountered the pirates in the entrance of Mindoro, eight in +number. They were pursuing a boat of the Augustinian fathers. The +Spaniards attacked the pirate's flagship, a champan, which, after our +men had damaged it considerably, escaped, with one other vessel. The +rest were either sunk entirely, or driven ashore with the loss of all +their men. Of those driven ashore, some Chinese were captured alive, +and they were executed by various rigorous modes of punishment. [31] +Our men did not follow the two other champans, as it was already +night. The latter returned toward the coasts of this island of Manila, +where other of our boats were sailing, and committed some depredations. + +January 27, a violent north wind sunk a boatload of Joloan captives +who were fleeing from Manila, six of whom were captured. + +February 24, an advice-boat arrived from Macan with news that the +Portuguese had done a thriving business in the fairs of Japon, but +that the Japanese were very particular that no priests should go +there. Accordingly they came to request that the fathers in these +islands wait patiently, and that no priests go there until God gives +a better opportunity. + +March 4, the father provincial arrived from the visit to Pintados. Two +days previous they had been attacked by two champans of Chinese +pirates--who were beaten off, however, because our vessel had +sufficient defense. Later however, they saw that the pirates were +pursuing another champan, and that of the father provincial hastened +to aid the latter, with which aid that vessel escaped safely--which, +had he not aided it, would infallibly have been captured. + +March 20, came tidings that large pieces of planking, masts, and the +ribs of a vessel which had suffered shipwreck had been found on the +coast of Paracali, opposite Manila. From appearances, it is thought +that it is the almiranta "San Ambrosio," which sailed for Mexico from +these islands last August, quod Deus avertat ["which may God forbid"]. + +In the middle of March, the ship from India set out for Goa. It was +the one which had come from Goa, and after setting out for Macan had +returned disabled to put in at this port. The cho from Macan returned +to its city by November. The four fathers of the Society who belong +to that province are going. Don Pedro Bermudez sailed once more, with +three champans, to attack the Chinese pirates who were harassing the +coasts of this island, and had committed depredations. They attacked +the flagship champan, which was a large vessel; they killed sixty +Sangleys in it, and seized and sent to Manila the others. These men +have disclosed extensive treacheries that the Chinese were plotting +in order to stir up the country. The authorities have been making +arrests and investigations, and they are still doing so; and in +the middle of April they hanged six of the Sangleys. They declared +that they were building two champans on the Pangasinan coast, of the +heaviest planking, and suitable for fighting. The Spaniards went for +these vessels, and brought them to Manila with the carpenters who +were working on them. God had great pity for these islands. + +On April 18 came the flagship and patache of the Terrenate relief +ships; they say that the almiranta was driven to leeward of them +near Macasar. The soldiers remained with the commander Don Pedro +de Almonte, in order to make an expedition in Mindanao, together +with other squadrons of ships that have sailed from Caragan and +Bisayas. From Xolo they write that the inhabitants have attempted to +plan other acts of treason like the past. The leaders have either +been killed or are in the galleys. Father Melchor de Vera writes +of the Moros near Sanboangan that some of them are being baptized, +and that there are hopes of a great conversion. + +On May 30 arrived the almiranta from Terrenate. They have suffered +many hardships, especially of thirst, which was so great that some of +them even drank salt water. They bring as news from Mindanao that our +men are building a fort at La Zavanilla, in the country of Corralat; +and that he, as well as Moncay, has retreated. Manaquior is daily +becoming more friendly. With the ships of Terrenate came one hundred +and fifty Siaos and fifty Terrenatan Christians, to take part in this +war. They were already about to enter the lands of the enemy. The +commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, also sent a portion of a fleet to +coast about the island of Xolo; for a report was current that Dato Ache +was getting ready to go out to pillage. To Mindanao had already come +one hundred and twenty valiant Caragas, who had always accompanied +Corralat from the time when they killed the priests in their land, +[32] and to whom Don Sebastian had sent a pardon. + +News of a new revolt came from Nueva Segobia. The natives killed +seventeen persons, counting soldiers and their wives. They did not +wish to kill the father who instructed them, as he was a mild-mannered +man. Don Marcos Zapata went to attack them, and killed thirty and +captured thirty others. The rest retreated to the mountains. + +It is learned from a ship from Macan, that the second patache, in which +were two of the recently-ordained fathers, and which sailed from here +in November, has not arrived at that city. During the last few days +the report has been current that both it and the vessel from India +(which sailed again from here in March) have been pounded to pieces +on the shoals of Paragua, and that great bits of wreckage have been +washed up at Calamianes, whence they write this. These losses will +be a great calamity. + +News came on May 23 that, our men having arrived overland at the +lake of Malanao, [33] in the island of Mindanao, two thousand five +hundred armed Indians were waiting for them in battle array. They +could not sustain the discharge of our firearms, and retired to the +lake. Our men had carried six boats in pieces, to fit them together +and navigate in them. When the Malanaos saw them on the water, they +gave themselves up as lost. Some five thousand of them fled, while +more than one thousand remained and offered homage and tribute to the +king our sovereign. They were all registered, and began immediately +to render allegiance. They admitted ministers of the gospel, and +gave hostages and security in everything. Doubtless those who fled +and hid will soon appear and submit. + +The fathers write from Jolo that Dato Ache has been entirely unable to +do anything since the occurrence at Lami, in which he was buried. [34] +It is added that since these things are so, all the Joloans are +perishing from famine. They will never humiliate themselves or +give signs of surrendering. In some raids that have been made, the +Spaniards have killed and captured some of their chiefs. Among them +was a pirate who captured the beneficed priest Francisco Vazquez, +and refused to give him up for less than two thousand pesos. Now he +is paying it in the galleys, where he has been put at the oar. + +Father Alexandro Lopez writes from Jolo that the commandant of that +island [i.e., Xines Ros] begged pardon in public from God and the +fathers for the insults that he had uttered, and for the injuries +that he had done them; and that he was building the church for them +with much fervor, before his successor should arrive. + +A champan arrived here on May 30, with fifty arrobas of nails which +had been taken from the wreckage of the ship which, as I said, had run +aground on the coast of Paracali. Those whose opinion is most accurate +in that matter have examined it, and believe that it is all from the +almiranta "San Ambrosio." On that account the profound sadness that +was general in April and May has ceased; for it had been reported +that indubitable signs were found that the flagship had been wrecked. + +On June 17 arrived a despatch from Sanboangan. The news brought by it +will be told by a letter from Father Pedro Gutierrez. "On setting out +for Terrenate, the commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, left an order that, +when the boats of the volunteers arrived at Samboangan, they were to +skirt the coast of Jolo. Six caracoas did that, as well as six other +boats from Basilan, under command of Adjutant Cristoval de las Heras, +and manned by some Spaniards. Inside of a fortnight, they coasted about +the island of Jolo and came to another small islet near by. They burned +many boats, killed some Joloans, and brought back a goodly number of +captives, without having lost any of our men. They did not delay longer +because a fixed time had been assigned to them. The said commander Don +Pedro came back from Terrenate on the sixth of March. As the almiranta +had not arrived, he despatched Sargento-mayor Don Pedro del Rio to La +Zabanilla with most of the fleet, so that he might fortify himself +in La Sabanilla and reduce a village of Caragas who had formerly +come to Corralat, when fleeing from the Spaniards. Thereupon, as +soon as the said sargento-mayor arrived at La Zabanilla, he began to +build the fort, which was finished in good shape, and he reduced the +Caragas; and, when the general arrived, he was already holding them +in La Zabanilla. As the almiranta did not arrive, the commander Don +Pedro came with the rest of the fleet. While he was in La Zabanilla, +a despatch from Captain Don Francisco de Atensa was brought. It gave +advices that he had arrived at the lake of Malanao, [35] having entered +by the gulf of Pangi [i.e., Panguil] with the Spaniards whom he had +in Caraga, as well as with Caragas and Butuanes; and having fought +with those of the lake, the Moros fled, and immediately, on the next +day, the chiefs began to come in to submit to the Spaniards. They +all did that except one, named Mancaya. In order to accomplish that, +the commander sent Sargento-mayor Don Pedro del Rio, with his company +and about five hundred Indians. They all reached the lake where they +found it unnecessary to stop, as Captain Don Francisco de Atensa +had pacified all the inhabitants of the lake, and Mancaya; and they +had given hostages and firearms, and had registered themselves to +pay tribute to the number of one thousand tributes. They promised to +receive fathers. Thus those villages of the lake were already reduced, +and had also given up some Christian captives whom they had taken. The +lake of Malanao is of a cold rather than a warm temperature, and the +people have plenty of rice and native fruits. Between the lake of +Malanao and La Zabanilla there are three chiefs who were related to +Borongon; those chiefs proceeded to some very rough mountains near +the lake. It is said that they have about three thousand warriors, +who are devoted to Corralat; and as he was not a declared friend of +the Spaniards, they gave us plenty to suffer on the return. For, as +the road was in such shape that it was necessary to go single file, +some of the Indians who accompanied the Spaniards were wounded. But +although the enemy made several ambuscades, they could not inflict +more damage, because of the care with which the march was made--until +Holy Saturday, when it began to rain; when a great number of them +attacked us from ambush and killed one Spaniard, who was without +[fire: crossed out in MSS.] arms, as he was sick. They also killed +four Indians, and wounded four others. It was our Lord's pleasure +that, notwithstanding the rain, the arquebuses of the Spaniards, +who were near, were not without effect. With that, no more damage +was done us; the enemy fled, dropping about thirty shields in their +flight, and they received some damage. The troops of Sargento-mayor +Don Pedro del Rio arrived at La Zavanilla, where Captain Pedro Navarro +had been left in command of the infantry, which was in the fort. The +commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, had gone to Buayen with the rest of +the fleet; and, having sent a message to Moncay, the latter answered +that he would fight. In order to seize the posts of the enemy, the +commander, Don Pedro, sent two boats to the mouth of a creek, by which +reenforcements could be taken, so that they could not reach Moncay by +that way; and also to a lake which was up the river of Buayen, which +was not only an entrance to Buayen, but also where the enemy had their +retreat in an excellent fortification. The best fortification was in +a swamp. On that undertaking, the commander, Don Pedro, sent Captain +Juan Lopez Lucero with his company, and our ally Manaquior and his +men. That was all very necessary, because of the great number of men +that the enemy had. They fought for three days, at the end of which, +it was our Lord's pleasure to let our men dislodge the enemy with +heavy loss. Of our men only one Spaniard was wounded and one or two +of Manaquior's men were killed, and one or two others wounded. Our +men burned all the houses and fortifications. + +"At that same time the commander, Don Pedro de Rozas, marched from +the Spanish fort to that of Moncay, which was very strong; for, +besides being surrounded by swamps and water, and by a dike that +had been made, and besides the fort (which was built long ago) of +stone, there had been added ditches, terrepleins, and stockades with +their bulwarks. Having reached it, our men planted two bulwarks upon +fascines with which they could bombard the enemy's fort. At the end +of three days, a white flag was displayed; and there was a cessation +in the hostilities, for the time being. Moncay, having declared +that he wished to become a friend, abandoned the fort that night, +after setting fire to some of the houses. Next day our men finished +burning what was left. Not a little wonder was caused, and thanks +to our Lord, at seeing that so strong a fort had been gained with +the loss there of one Spaniard and two wounded, one of whom died +afterward; and four wounded Indians, of whom one died. Besides that, +they burned many fortified houses, and destroyed palm-trees and sago +plantations. Some days afterward, the commander sent Don Agustin de +Cepada to reconnoiter the creeks. The latter came upon a well-fortified +house, which he burned. He sent Sargento-mayor Pedro de la Mata to +coast along the shores, and do all the damage possible to the enemy. He +found a fortified hill also, and it was regarded as a miracle that it +was taken without any loss of our men. It is thought that the chief +man in the post was one who was in the bulwark; for as soon as he was +laid low by a volley from the Spaniards, all the enemy fled, and the +Spaniards burned all the fortifications and the neighboring houses. + +"The commander, Don Pedro, also sent Captain Don Francisco del Castillo +to an islet which was situated opposite the bar of Buayen. He captured +some Lutaos, destroyed a great number of boats (and the same was done +by Adjutant Don Albaro Galindo, who destroyed some boats); but found +no people. He sent the chief Manaquior to discover whether there were +any means of finding Moncay, and returned at the end of fourteen or +fifteen days. As there was no way of being able to pursue Moncay, +and as the season was advanced, and many were falling sick, and as +he had to go to Jolo, the commander, Don Pedro Almonte, went with +the rest of his fleet to La Zabanilla, after having planned that the +Spaniards who remained in the fort of Buayen, and the men of Manaquior, +should continue to pursue Moncay--all being under the order of Captain +Juan Lopez Lucero, castellan and captain of the said post. + +"The inhabitants of Basilan, who had gone to Jolo to do all the damage +possible to the Joloans--in company with six Spaniards, under command +of Alferez Juan de Ulloa--returned with seventy-seven captives and +some of our Bisayans, who had been seized by the enemy. They destroyed +about two hundred boats, counting large and small, first selecting for +themselves fifteen of the best. They reported that a Lutao chief of +Jolo, named Lohon, had taken to the fort of Jolo fifty other captives, +with which, necessarily, the [forces of the] Joloans must be exhausted. + +"The commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, coming from Buayen, reached +the passage of the river of Sibuguei; and Datan, the chief of the +river, registered eight hundred tributes, and handed over the arms +and Bisayan slaves that he had there." + +We received news here, on the twenty-fifth of June, that the sea +of Camarines is continually floating ashore more fragments of the +wrecked ship, which some think that they recognize as belonging +to the flagship. Consequently, it has begun to be rumored again +as more probable that, if only one ship has been wrecked, it is +the flagship. But others are of the opinion that the wreckage shows +unmistakable signs of the two ships, both flagship and almiranta. That +casts a gloom over all the land. If that has happened (which may God +not have permitted), it is thought that it will be impossible for +these islands to recover in many years. + +June 27, a destructive hurricane came down upon this port from the +northwest, and veered about to almost all points of the compass. It +overturned some houses, and did great damage in all the others and in +the churches. It blew the tiles through the air as if they were bits +of paper. The galleons along the shore were a great cause for anxiety; +and the commander, Don Geronimo de Sumonte, and Captain Pedro Munoz +hastened to them quickly, with the prominent men of this port, all of +whom worked valiantly. That was very necessary; for the galleon "San +Juan Baptista," although held by eleven cables, came dragging upon "La +Concepcion," which was being made ready to sail to Mexico. They would +infallibly have been dashed to pieces, had they not been attended +to so carefully and diligently. Of the other smaller craft, some +have been wrecked; and some men were drowned. It was God's pleasure +to allow the wind's fury to last only four hours. Had it blown with +the same violence during all the twenty-four hours while it lasted, +no ship would have escaped, and not a house or church would have been +left standing. Two hundred houses were overthrown in the village of +the Indians. But what caused most fear to those natives (and the old +men say that they have never seen such a thing, or heard it told by +their ancestors), is that the hurricane carried into the air the small +boats that they use, which are called bancas and resemble canoes. It +is said that they were blown about like paper, and that when they +fell again they were broken to pieces. The hurricane blew with the +same violence in all the surrounding villages, and caused the same +damage; it blew down one hundred and seventy houses in Palanaque. + +Since July 7 there have been very severe storms of wind and rain. On +the nineteenth the passage boat [36] was wrecked in the bay and +it is said that eighteen persons were drowned. Many illnesses have +occurred during that time, in which a great number of people of all +nations have perished. Because of this, and because many have been +persuaded that the two ships of the past year have been wrecked--not +only because of the signs that the sea has thrown up, but because +news of their arrival is so belated--there is a universal gloom and +sorrow over all the country, such as it has never had before. May +God in His mercy console the land. + +On July 19, a letter was received from the alcalde-mayor of Nueva +Segovia, which states that two English galleons had anchored in a +port of that coast, and that they are coming to this port of Cavite +to trade; if the weather permits them to reach this place, their +intentions will be known. + +In the afternoon of July 24, six of the men who had sailed in the +flagship of last year, which was wrecked September 20, 1638, by the +fury of a tempest in the Ladrones Islands--on an island thirty-five +leguas away from the islands where our ships generally land on the +voyage--arrived here. Besides those who were drowned, many were killed +by lance-thrusts from the natives. Those who escaped went from island +to island to those of Uan and Harpana, [37] where they have been +well treated. The reason alleged for that was, that the Spaniards +are good men, and leave them iron when they pass there. From the +island of Uan the natives despatched six Spaniards and two Indians +in two boats, furnishing them with food from what they had. They +commended themselves to God, crossed the open stretch of more than +three hundred leguas, which they did in but one fortnight--a wonderful +thing, if one will but consider those small boats which are of much +less burden and steadiness than pirogues and canoes, and even smaller +than they. They arrived almost dead with hunger, thirst, and lack of +sleep. Our fathers of the Society of Jesus received them in Palapag, +and cared for them for several days; after that they recovered, +and immediately set out in a champan with a good supply of food. The +Indians of Uan sent those Spaniards, so that they could give the news +and send a boat for the other twenty-two Spaniards who are there alive, +with some Indians and negroes, and carry them iron, etc. + +As soon as the tidings were told in this port of Cavite, the sobs +and cries were so many that all were stunned, for there is no one +who has not lost a son, a father, a brother, a brother-in-law, +a father-in-law, a son-in-law, or a husband. The loss has been one +of the greatest that has ever visited these islands, because of the +loss of men and the poverty of the islands. [38] + +Good news is received of the almiranta, for they say that they saw it +but shortly before they were wrecked, sailing on a good tack; and that +it was a swift sailer, and seaworthy. Consequently it is thought that +it has arrived at Nueva Espana. May God grant that it has so happened. + + + + + + + +LETTERS FROM CORCUERA TO THE HOLY MISERICORDIA + + +Gentlemen of the financial board of holy Misericordia: Although +we must always have recourse to God in our troubles, the necessity +for so doing that offers itself to me at present, in the expedition +that I shall commence on the day of our Lady of the Conception, is +very urgent; and obliges me to avail myself not only of the regular +and ecclesiastical communities, where we are all friends, but also +of that holy house. [39] Therefore, I beg your Graces, with all the +persuasion in my power, that you cause God to be petitioned with all +earnestness in your holy Confraternity of La Misericordia and in your +residence, to give me favor and good success in this expedition; for, +besides its being for the common service of God and of the king our +sovereign, I shall, in so far as pertains to me, if it be the will +of His Divine Majesty that I return with life, demonstrate my thanks +and favor to that holy house, as far as may be possible to me. And +in order that this petition may carry some merit, I send to that +house one hundred pesos in alms, as an aid in the many alms that it +distributes among the poor. I would be very glad were I more wealthy, +in order that my affection and good-will might be seen. May our Lord +preserve your Graces as I desire. The palace, December 4, 637. + + +Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera + + + + +To the purveyor and deputies of the financial board of the holy +Misericordia: Of the hostages brought from Jolo by General Don Pedro +Almonte, twenty-odd Moros with their servants live here, and the +others are going [back] with the conditions for the peace that they +have made and the tribute which they are to pay. I have thought it +best to petition your Graces to be pleased to receive two of those +chiefs in the house of the holy Misericordia, in order that they may +be instructed in the Christian doctrine, and be gradually converted +and become Christians. This is a work that is befitting to that house, +until the time when all the other inhabitants of Jolo become quiet and +are reduced to obedience. Two or three will be assigned in the same +manner to the orders. If any needs arise with the lapse of time, I +beg your Graces to have me advised, so that I may have them supplied; +and also to entrust the instruction of those chiefs to a careful +person. May our Lord preserve your Graces as I desire. The palace, +October 26, 1639. [40] + + +Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera + + + + + + + +THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS + + +Letter to the Spanish ambassador at Roma + +The King. To the illustrious Marques de Castel Rodrigo, my cousin, +member of my Council, and ambassador in Roma: the bearer, Fray Mateo +de Villa, of the Order of Preachers, procurator of the province of +Santo Rosario of the Filipinas Islands in my Western Yndias, has +informed me that his province has a college called Santo Tomas in +the city of Manila, of which I am the patron, where there are thirty +secular collegiates; that for some years past that college has been +a university through royal permission; that bulls have been conceded +twice for its conservation; and that grammar, rhetoric, the arts, +and moral and scholastic theology are studied there, with especial +profit to the children of that community. He petitions me to issue +a royal decree authorizing the said college to become a university, +with the same qualifications and [right of] perpetuity as the others +of his order in the convents of Santo Tomas in Avila and Santiago at +Pamplona, in these same kingdoms. The matter having been examined +by the members of my royal Council of the Yndias, in consideration +that the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands is more than three +thousand leguas from the nearest universities--namely, those of Lima +and Megico--and that the said university suffers some restriction, +I have considered it fitting to lend my royal consent for this case; +and this concession shall continue, for the present. Consequently, +if in the future there should be a disposition to found a separate +university, it may be done, as in the cities of Lima and Megico, +so that it may be a general university, in order that students may +be graduated from it in all branches, and that its degrees may be +recognized everywhere. Accordingly, I charge and order you in my name, +and in virtue of the letter of credit that I am writing, to supplicate +his Holiness to be pleased to concede a bull, so that the said college +may be a university with the same qualifications and [right of] +perpetuity as those of Avila, Santiago, Lima, and Megico; for there +is not a university of that rank in those islands and provinces, and +this is therefore expedient for my service and the general welfare of +those regions. You shall give the matter the care that I expect from +you, so that the said bull may be immediately drawn up; and therein +you will render me a service. Madrid, November nine, 1639. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Graviel de Ocana y Alarcon + +Signed by the members of the Council. + + +[Endorsed: "Duplicate. College of Santo Tomas of Manila. To the +ambassador at Roma, ordering him to petition his Holiness to concede +a brief so that the college of Santo Tomas of Manila of the Order of +Preachers may become a university."] + + + + + + + +LETTER FROM FELIPE IV TO URBAN VIII + + +Most Holy Father: + +I am writing to my ambassador, in that court, the marques de Castel +Rodrigo, to petition your Holiness in my name to concede a bull, so +that a college of the Order of Preachers in the city of Manila of the +Philipinas Islands, in my Western Yndias, may become a university, with +the qualifications and [right of] perpetuity of the others which that +order possesses in Avila and Pamplona in these my kingdoms, as well +as those of Lima and Megico; and so that, if there be a disposition +to found a separate university in the city of Manila, it may be done, +because there is a distance of three thousand leguas to the other +nearest universities, which are Lima and Megico. I petition your +Holiness to grant him audience, and to give entire credit to what +he shall say about this matter and propose in my name; and that you +order his affair to be despatched with all promptness and with entire +fulfilment [of the petition]. Thereby I shall receive a special favor +from your Holiness, whose very holy person may our Lord preserve, +and may He increase your life for the good and prosperous government +of His universal Church. Madrid, November nine, 1639. + +[Endorsed: "College of Santo Tomas of Manila. To his Holiness, +petitioning him to concede a brief so that the college of +Santo Tomas of Manila of the Order of Preachers may become a +university. Duplicate."] + + + + + + + +ROYAL ORDERS AND DECREES, 1639 + + +MISSIONS IN MINDANAO + +The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of +Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, +and president of my royal Audiencia therein: a letter of August 21, +637, has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, in which +you advise me that you have stationed ministers of the gospel in the +islands of Mindanao and Bacilan--not only for the instruction of the +infidels who are in those islands, but for administering the holy +sacraments to the Castilian soldiers whom you leave there--and that +you have assigned them such stipends as you considered necessary. I +approve what you have done in this matter. Moreover, to provide for +future increase [in the number of infidels converted], the necessary +mission stations [doctrinas] will have to be established; but in this +you must avoid unnecessary expense, and, conformably to my royal +patronage, confer regarding such establishments with such persons +as you should consult. I trust in you that you will carry out my +intentions. [Madrid, February 3, 1639.] + + +I the King + +By command of his Majesty: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +IN BEHALF OF GRAU Y MONFALCON + +The King. To the council, magistracy, and municipal body of the +city of Manila in the Philipinas Islands: Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon +has reported to me that in the past year, one thousand six hundred +and thirty, you appointed him as your procurator-general; and that +during all that time he has attended to your business affairs, +with the utmost intelligence, personal attention, friendly interest, +and promptness (as is generally known). He states that you assigned +him a salary of a thousand pesos a year, paid in that city, which +was to come here, invested, at his account and risk; but that, even +when it arrives in safety, he can realize very little from it that +remains free from the costs. He regards a thousand pesos as a very +small salary for his continual occupation [in your affairs], and on +this account claims that it be increased. Moreover, besides the many +negotiations that he has despatched, he has been occupied nearly +two years in preparing and composing the printed memorials which +he has presented, and which have been examined in my royal Council +of the Indias; and has given them much labor and solicitude, since +they embrace so many, so diverse, and so important considerations +for the conservation of those islands and their commerce, in order +that they may be presented clearly and distinctly. He has furnished +from his own funds all the money that has been spent for these books, +and has never received one real on account of that expense. This sum +amounts to much more in times so straitened as these, and should be +highly esteemed. It would be a great disappointment to him if, after +he had proceeded in all matters with the greatest tact and discretion +possible (as is proved by the many negotiations which he has concluded +for the benefit of that city), the powers which he has held from the +city should be revoked--as usually happens, and as has been done with +others, his predecessors, solely through interested motives and for the +personal ends of some of the governors who go to that country. They, +being well-affectioned to the correspondents whom they leave here, +urge that city to entrust its affairs to those persons--for which +no opportunity should be given, since that advice is influenced by +various motives and considerations. To obviate this, and because it +is not right that some other person should secure that for which he +has toiled and incurred expense with so much zeal and solicitude, he +has entreated me that I would be pleased to command you not to revoke, +without legitimate cause, the powers that you have given him; and that +you shall, before enforcing such revocation, state what reasons you +have for doing so. The matter has been examined in the said my Council, +where have been and are very evident the personal care, interest, and +solicitude with which he has been and is attending to your affairs +aforesaid--as also you will have understood by my decrees of the +ninth of October in the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-six, +and the twenty-first of October in six hundred and thirty-seven, +to which I refer you for all this; together with what you wrote me +in regard to this in a letter of the fourteenth of June, six hundred +and thirty-six. In that letter you express your satisfaction with the +promptness and care with which he furthers your affairs, and ask me to +confirm the salary which you assign him of the said thousand pesos a +year, from the funds belonging to that city. I have thought it best to +issue the present, by which I approve and confirm the salary which you +have assigned to the said Don Juan Grau as your procurator-general, +in order that it may be paid to him from the day when it was voted +to him. And it is my will that this salary be not revoked, either +now or at any time, while he shall attend to your affairs at this +my court, unless there be legitimate and sufficient cause for doing +so; also that the said my Council be first notified of such cause, +so that, having considered it in their sessions, they may declare +whether or not it is legitimate; and the said salary shall always be +paid to him, until some other decision be made. I also command my +governor and captain-general of those Philipinas Islands, both him +who now is and those who shall hereafter be in that office, and the +president and auditors of my royal Audiencia which resides there, +and yourselves, that you all observe and execute, and cause to be +observed and executed, exactly and inviolably, the commands contained +in this my decree, without contravening or exceeding its tenor and +form in any manner; for such is my will. [Madrid, March 29, 1639.] + + +I the King + +By command of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +RESTRAINING THE AUGUSTINIANS + +The King. To Don Diego Faxardo, whom I have appointed as my governor +and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my +royal Audiencia therein. It has been reported in my royal Council +of the Yndias that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine are +trading in merchandise with whomever they please; and that they make +use of the natives of the regions and districts wherever they are and +reside, for whatever they need, without paying the poor men who work +in their service, or giving them anything else (employing violence +for this), and thus obtain great wealth for [their houses in] these +my kingdoms. This is all considered to merit severe correction, both +because of the traffic and trading that they openly engage in, and +because of the oppression that many of the said natives receive. I have +thought best to tell you to be very careful in this, and to provide, +by the most gentle and prudent measures, all that may be necessary for +the correction of those transgressions. You shall regulate yourself +by the decrees and orders that have been issued in this regard; and +you shall cause those decrees and orders to be observed according to +their tenor. Madrid, June 2, 1639. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + +[From another transcript made from the copy of this decree in the +Archivo general de Indias--its pressmark, "Audiencia de Filipinas; +registros de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas a las autoridades del +distrito de dicha Audiencia; anos 1635 a 1672; est. 105, caj. 2, +leg. 2, libro 4, folio 122 verso" we take the following endorsement: +"To Don Diego Faxardo, whom your Majesty has appointed governor of +the Filipinas Islands, advising him of certain things touching the +religious of the Order of St. Augustine, which require a remedy; +so that he may know them, and take what measures are advisable, in +accordance with the orders and decrees that have been issued regarding +it." This transcript states also that the decree was signed by the +members of the Council.] + + + + +REGARDING ECCLESIASTICAL DISTRICTS + +The King. To Don Diego Faxardo, knight of the Order of Santiago, whom +I have appointed as my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas +Islands: report has been made to me, on the part of the archbishop +of that city of Manila, that Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, +your predecessor, gave the district of Quiapo (which belonged to the +seculars), and the Indians who were reserved for the service of the +cathedral and of the archiepiscopal house (which was the sustenance +of the cathedral), to the fathers of the Society of Jesus, because +of the great pressure that they exerted on him for it, on account of +the advantages that would follow to them, as they have many estates +of importance near that district. One of the conditions of their +removing the said archbishop's exile, was that he must consent to +have that district given to the fathers of the Society. In order to +relieve himself from his distressed condition, the archbishop feigned, +under compulsion, assent to this--regarding it as certain that, as +such action was to the prejudice of my royal patronage, I would not +consent to it. He also petitioned that I would be pleased to have +my royal decree issued, ordering that the fathers of the Society be +despoiled of the said district of Quiapo, and that it be restored +to the seculars, together with the adjoining districts of San Anton +and Santa Cathalina--which the bishop of Camarines separated from +the said district, in the time while he governed the archbishopric +during the exile and absence of the said archbishop; and which he +gave to the cura of Santiago, who was his creature; also the district +of Nauhang, on the island of Mindoro, which has always belonged to +seculars. By negotiations effected by the fathers of the Society, +those districts have been set aside for them, to the prejudice of so +many poor seculars. The matter having been examined by my royal Council +of the Yndias, as well as what was written to me concerning the same +matter by the said archbishop, I have considered it fitting to issue +this my decree. By it, I order you, immediately upon its receipt, +to place those districts, exactly, and without admitting any excuse +or other reason, in the same condition that they always had and have +had, notwithstanding the contract signed by the said archbishop, at +the instance and petition of the said my governor and of the auditor +then in my Audiencia. You shall advise me at the first opportunity +that you have carried out my order. Madrid, July 8, 1639. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Acana y Alarcon + + + + +REBUKING THE BISHOP OF CAMARINES + +The King. To the reverend father in Christ, bishop of the church +of Camarines of the Filipinas Islands, and member of my Council: +I have been informed that you are not living in your bishopric, [41] +and that you are residing in the city of Manila, where your free life +is giving offense; and that you have attempted to erect a tribunal of +appeals, without leave, declaring yourself to be an apostolic judge +by a brief from his Holiness. Inasmuch as your residence outside of +your church may occasion troubles, besides your necessary obligation +to live there, I have decided to charge you (as I am doing), to leave +the city of Manila or any other place where you are residing, as soon +as you receive this decree, and to go to govern your church. If you do +so, I shall consider myself well served by you. In order that you may +not offer any excuse in this matter, I am ordering the royal officials +of my royal treasury not to pay you any of your stipend from my royal +treasury so long as you do not comply with what I here order you. I +have been surprised that you should have attempted to hold a tribunal +in the said city of Manila, under pretext or title of appeals. Madrid, +July 8, 1639. + + +I the King + +By order of his Majesty: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + +The King. To the officials of my royal treasury of the Filipinas +Islands: inasmuch as it was reported in my royal Council of the Yndias +that the bishop of Camarines resides in that city of Manila, where he +attempts to hold his court under pretext of certain appeals, I charge +him, by another decree of the date of this, to go immediately to his +own church, because of the deficiency that his person may cause in +its government. In order that he may offer no excuse in this matter, +I order you to grant him nothing from my royal treasury on his +salary, unless he shall obey my orders; for so is my will. Madrid, +July 8, 1639. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +INSPECTION AT ACAPULCO + +The King. To Marques de Cadereita, my relative, member of my Council +of War, and my viceroy, governor, and captain-general of the provinces +of Nueva Espana: in a letter written to me by the royal officials of +the port of Acapulco under date of last February 24, of this year, +[they stated] that you sent the auditor [contador], Christoval de +Medina, to that port with a salary of twenty-three ducados which +was distributed among himself, the constable, and the notary, to +investigate the merchandise that came from Philipinas this year in +the patache that was sent from those islands; and that my royal +duties scarcely amounted to four thousand ducados. Since I have +three satisfactory and trustworthy officials in the said port, they +have petitioned me to have the above three men removed from that +place. They say that by the going of such judges they themselves +serve only as witnesses of what is public, since no other thing is +permitted them; and that such an action deprives them of the authority +and exercise of their offices, and they are disaccredited and left +without respect and reputation, as all think and believe that you +did it because of some incapacity in them. The matter having been +examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, together with what you +wrote me in regard to it, I have considered it fitting to issue +the present. By it I give you authority to send such ministers to +Acapulco whenever any extraordinary causes shall arise; but that, +if there are no such causes, this may be dispensed with, because of +the expenses that are incurred by my royal estate, especially since +Don Pedro de Quiroga was there so short a time ago. Inasmuch as the +commerce of those islands has been reported to be in great distress, +I charge and order you to try to encourage and aid it by all possible +means. Since some change has been made in the amount permitted to +them, you shall see what can be done for their greater relief, until +the arrival at those kingdoms of Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, [42] +of my royal Council of the Yndias, to whom the settlement of those +matters is committed. Madrid, September 16, 1639. + + +[I the King] + + + + +COLONISTS NEEDED IN THE ISLANDS + +The King. To Marques de Cadereyta, my relative, member of my Council +of War, and my viceroy and governor and captain-general of Nueva +Espana, or the person or persons vested with its government: in a +letter written to me by the city of Manila, under date of August two +of the past year, six hundred and thirty-eight, in regard to various +matters, and which has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, +there is a section of the following tenor: + +"This kingdom finds itself in great need of inhabitants at the present +time, as a result of the said campaign; for they are dying off, and +it is many years since people have come to live in these islands +as citizens. That has been understood to arise from the loss that +the citizens have experienced, both in the affairs of this commerce +and in the execution of the favors and rewards that his Catholic +Majesty Phelipe Second, our king and sovereign (who is in heaven), +was pleased to grant to such citizens. For at present, with those of +account in this community, the citizens do not number ninety. This +is very pitiful, and it is fitting that your Majesty please to have +it corrected by ordering the said viceroy to use all possible and +effective efforts in sending as many citizens as possible every +year. They should be persons of good standing and ability, both for +the service of your Majesty and for the greater renown and authority +of this kingdom." + +And inasmuch as it is proper that you attempt to relieve such +necessity, I order you to try to procure this by all possible ways +and plans, and with all the mildness and prudence that is fitting. By +so doing I shall consider myself well served by you. Given at Madrid, +October three, one thousand six hundred and thirty-nine. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + +Signed by the members of the Council. + + +[Endorsed: "To the viceroy of Nueva Espana, ordering him to endeavor +by all the means possible to send to Filipinas every year as many +citizens as possible who should be of good standing and ability."] + + + + +DIRECTIONS TO THE ARCHBISHOP + +The King. To the very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the +metropolitan church of the city of Manila: your letter of July 31 +of the past year, 1638, has been examined in my royal Council of the +Yndias, and I shall answer you in the present in regard to some points +that have been decided. + +You state that, although the mode of the presentations for the missions +has been resolved upon and determined, the decrees are not obeyed; +that there is a very great need of seculars for those missions, and +those who are there are but youths who do not understand the language +[of the natives]; and that hence you have deemed it advisable not +to assign any mission to seculars: You state that having conferred +on this point with the Audiencia, they resolved that no innovation +should be made until the arrival of the governor, who had gone on +the Jolo expedition. It has been deemed best to tell you that when +the governor shall arrive, and shall come to a decision, you shall +advise me of the results of it. In the meanwhile you shall observe +the decrees, unless serious troubles result from doing the contrary. + +The prebends that you state are vacant in that church have been +provided with incumbents, as you will have heard. My royal Council +of the Yndias will take care of the names which you present to me, +for the occasions that arise. + +In regard to the property of Don Fray Francisco Zamudio, bishop +of Nueva Caceres, who died on the twenty-seventh of last April, +you shall cause the orders that have been issued to be observed, so +that his creditors may be heard and paid, in accordance with justice, +and upon legal proof of their claims. + +I have read what you wrote about the great exhaustion and distress +experienced by the natives of those islands through the many +assessments that are made continually, throughout the year, on all the +products of the country. I am writing to the governor and Audiencia +not to make any innovation in these matters, so that this evil may +be corrected; and under no consideration to load any new troubles or +burdens on the Indians. Madrid, December 16, 1639. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + +OPPRESSION OF THE INDIANS + +The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the +city of Manila: in a letter written to me by the archbishop of that +church, July 31 of the past year, 638, he states that the natives +of those islands are greatly exhausted and burdened by the many +assessments made on them every year, in all the products of the +country, by my governors. The latter take the products from them +at a loss, gathering and collecting them with great trouble to the +natives, and no money is given them; while they are seized and beaten, +and thrust into prison for many days, because they do not give what +they do not possess--although the goods can be bought at a somewhat +higher price in the market-place. On account of this, and by the +hardships consequent on sending them to the forests to cut wood, the +natives are being exterminated, and are dying off. The matter having +been examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, I have considered +it fitting to issue the present. By it I order you not to make any +innovation; and you shall not, under any consideration, cause new +troubles or burdens to the Indians. Madrid, December 17, 1639. + + +I the King + +By order of the king our sovereign: + +Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon + + + + + + + +EVENTS IN THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS + +FROM AUGUST, 1639, TO AUGUST, 1640 + + +On the fourth of August, 1639, orders were given that the ship +"Concepcion," built in Camboja, should leave the port for her voyage +to Nueva Espana; and in the afternoon of that day began a furious +vendabal, which lasted three days. This compelled the ship to ask +for aid by firing two cannons, as its people feared some danger; +but when the storm was over, the ship began its voyage. + +At that very time, five large ships had sailed from Manila, on +their return to Great China; and two of these were driven ashore by +the great force of the wind, four leguas from Manila. Six hundred +China-men were drowned, although a still larger number escaped [to +land]; for, on account of the lack of succor in these two years, +[43] many were returning, leaving their houses and shops deserted. + +On the seventh came the unexpected news of the relief-ships; their +arrival was celebrated with the utmost joy, and all the bells were +rung. The people were revived by this news, all the more because +these ships were the almiranta of last year, and the patache of two +years ago--which, with so great injustice and excessive harshness, +had been detained at Acapulco--the [sort of] injury of which this +country has complained to God and to the king for many years. Wives +who had put on mourning for their husbands took off those garments, +giving thanks to God and receiving from His hand their husbands, +as it were, restored to life. The Chinese, who learned the news on +board their ships, disembarked, and returned to their shops and their +trading. There was also a circumstance in this coming of the ships, +in which God displayed the providence that He exercises over this +country; for they arrived at the port of Nueva Segovia, from which +had just departed two hostile Dutch galleons, who had pretended that +they were English and friendly [to us]. + +On the eleventh of August arrived from Maluco Father Manuel Carballo, +rector [there] of the Society; he came on behalf of the governor, +Don Pedro de Mendiola, to ask for aid, because the kings of Tidore and +Terrenate had formed an alliance--a thing which we had never expected, +because those peoples were more hostile to each other than dogs and +cats. The reason which the king of Tidore gives for this unfriendly +act against the Spaniards is, that the present which the governors [of +Filipinas] were wont to send every year, in the name of his Majesty, +to the kings of Tidore his ancestors, has not been sent to him for +the last four years. The father rector of Maluco says that this may +be true, and is perhaps the ostensible reason; but that the king has +other and hidden reasons, which go deeper and give more cause for +anxiety. Now Francisco de Figueroa is going [there] as proprietary +governor, and he will aid in soliciting the proper assistance for +any emergency. + +On the fifth of August, Captain Cristobal Marquez set out for Hermosa +Island; he is going as successor to Sargento-mayor Pedro Palomino, who +is governor there. The warder of this port of Cavite is Sargento-mayor +Alonso Garcia Romero, of the Order of Santiago; [he fills that office] +to the great satisfaction of all. + +On the twenty-first of August, at daybreak, a Spaniard arrived here +from Nueva Segovia; he says that the two relief ships from Mejico +were wrecked at that port, and one hundred and fifty persons were +drowned, which has been a severe punishment from God upon the past; +[44] and with this news the people have returned to their former +sadness. The ships were lost on the fifth of August. It was afterward +learned that the succor despatched by the king had been taken out +of the ships before they were wrecked; but that the property of the +citizens that has been lost will amount, in luxuries [45] and money, +to five hundred and fifty thousand pesos. + +At the end of September, General Don Pedro de Almonte arrived from +Jolo, where our affairs have been steadily improving. The natives of +the island remain subdued; almost all their chiefs who would undertake +to defend themselves are dead; and even those who never paid tribute +to the king of Jolo are now registered and are our subjects. All +the pirates have fled, and the king is hiding in the mountains; and +our men have taken more than three hundred captives during the last +three months. + +On the sixth of October, the cho (craft) which came last year arrived +here from Macasar. It came loaded with slaves, and pepper, and various +kinds of cotton cloth. Its people say that the king was sorry that +he had not put to death those of his vassals who fought against +the Spaniards in Jolo; and that if any of them should go there, +the king would take his life. Knowing that Malaca was expecting +to be blockaded by the Achenese and the Dutch, and that the city +had not sufficient provisions, the king had ordered his people to +collect a quantity of rice--two hundred coyos, each coyo containing +thirty-two fanegas--and had sent it [to Malaca] in his galleys; it +is not yet known what success they had. Those people say, moreover, +that in Macasar they have heard the English and the Dutch themselves +say that in the independence and strength of Holanda there are solid +foundations for believing that that state will make strong efforts +to extend its power from the year 1640 on. + +They also relate, as news, that the Dutch were at the entrance to Goa, +with fourteen ships; and the Portuguese came out in staunch galleons +to fight them, sending eleven of the Dutch vessels to the bottom; +while two of their own were sunk. It is also stated that the patache +which was purchased at Macao from the English, and despatched from +here for Yndia, was seized by the Dutch in the strait of Sincapura; +its captain, one Carballo, remained in Macasar, and it was he who +related this misfortune. + +Ytem: [it is said] that a man named Caldeira went from Malaca as an +envoy to the king of Achen, regarding himself as quite safe; but that +the king gave orders that his men should arrest the envoy as soon as +he should enter the palace. When they tried to carry out this command, +this man and the other Portuguese placed themselves on the defensive; +all the men on the ship hastened to their aid with fire-balls, [46] +and with these they killed many Achenese; and the palace was set on +fire, being entirely consumed. They estimate the losses of the king +at five millions. All the Portuguese there were killed. + +On the last day [of October], a ship from Terrenate arrived at +Manila. Its people say that the Tidorans and Terrenatans, aided by +the Dutch, had put to death Cachil Naro, the former king of Tidore--a +very regrettable event. He was deposed by the master-of-camp Pedro +de Heredia; and recently had come an order from his Majesty that our +people should restore Naro to power, because he had given more evidence +of friendship to us than had the present king. Indeed, the authorities +were endeavoring to accomplish that change, even if this order had +not arrived. Extensive revolts are feared there; and on this account +reenforcements are being sent, together with galleys, which are very +effective in those islands. It is also said that the Dutch will lie +in wait for these reenforcements; so, in order to circumvent them, +we shall endeavor to send the relief earlier than ever before. + +By this ship comes some news from Mindanao: that Moncay had +captured a brigantine from our then and slain all the Spaniards +(who defended themselves bravely)--except their commander, who was +soon laid low by them, and remains a captive. Ytem: they say that +Moncay is making great efforts to form an alliance with Corralat; +who has answered Moncay that he must try to gain over Manaquior, and +that, if the latter shall declare himself against the Spaniards, he +[i.e., Corralat] will garrison his forts against them. Those chiefs +have assailed Manaquior with their entreaties, urging him to desist +from aiding the Spaniards; and it is reported that he already shows +himself lukewarm in his friendship to us. + +From Jolo we are informed that the islanders are in such haste to be +enrolled for paying tribute that now very few of them are missing +from the list. The rest of the news will be told by extracts from +the following letters. + +In one from Father Alejandro Lopez, of the Society of Jesus, dated +at Jolo on August 9, 1639, sent to Father Luis de Pedraza of the same +Society: "On the second of August, I baptized two women--one a Lutao, +the other the slave of another Lutao," etc. + +In one from Father Andres de Zamora, of the Society of Jesus, in +Mindanao, at La Sabanilla, August 13, 1639, to the same father Pedraza: +"In Buhayen, thanks to our Lord, our affairs are prospering. On the +occasion of an expedition which Lucero made to Taulan, the Spaniards +obtained by a clever plan and stratagem a crowd of captives, both men +and women. Part of them are going in this champan, and the rest will +go with the brigantine--which Captain Lucero sent, in order that some +reparation might be made to them; I baptized them all. The Spaniards +who were with Manaquior went down to the lake with the dato; and +Balatamay was there with five hundred Moros, waiting for the Spaniards, +to fight against them. But they did not remain there, recognizing that +our troops were stronger than they. Our men killed twenty-five of +the Moros, and carried five to the fort. One man, who came mortally +wounded, asked for baptism, and died within twenty-four hours. On +the eighth of October, Captain Don Pedro Bermudez set out with fifty +Spaniards, in two champans, to be stationed in the presidio at the +lake of Malanao in Mindanao; Father Gregorio Belin goes with him. At +the same time, Don Pedro will pursue the Camucones, who have appeared +on a piratical expedition with sixty boats. It is known that they +have captured some vessels and the licentiate Raymundo de Quinones." + +In this month of October came from Hermosa Island Sargento-mayor +Pedro Palomino, who was governor there and goes with the same office +to Samboangan. Of the two champans that went with Captain Cristobal +Marquez, one foundered in mid-ocean, with its men and the money. On the +return voyage of those who came with Palomino, one was separated from +the rest by a storm, and up to this time has not arrived at Manila. + +The patache "San Nicolas" is going with the relief for Terrenate; +its chief pilot is Captain Machado, a pilot of long standing and +great experience. This vessel has orders to go, on the return voyage +from Terrenate to the Ladrones Islands, in order to carry away the +Spaniards and other people from the wrecked ship who are there. + +On the fifth of November the relief for Terrenate left this port; +it carries an abundant supply of men and provisions, and is under +the command of Captain Andres de Urbina. On the same day we learned +of the depredations committed by the Camucones; and it is believed +that Dato Ache is coming, who was in Borney, urging the king to send +a large armed fleet against these islands. + +On the twenty-first of November, in the morning, confused reports +reached us that the Sangleys had revolted at Calamba; and all the +rest of the day they spent in strengthening their forces. They +killed the alcalde-mayor and two priests, and burned the church; +and destroyed other churches in neighboring villages. Don Sebastian +received the news on the twentieth, at night; he had the gates of +Manila opened, although keeping them under close watch, in order +that the people living outside the walls might take refuge within, +with their goods. That very night, he despatched by land Captain +Pedro Martin de Aduna with his company of horsemen, in order to find +out how the matter stood, and punish the insurgents. On the morning +of the twenty-first, they encountered the Sangleys, who, they said, +amounted to three thousand men, while the Spanish cavalry numbered only +thirty. The captain and three others carelessly advanced into a marshy +place, where they could neither extricate themselves nor be aided, +and were slain. The rest, after killing some Chinese, retreated, +as they were so few and their horses were tired out, to Paranaque, +to await the orders of the governor; and this was the condition in +which affairs remained yesterday. It is said that the Sangleys attack +like mad dogs, and that the weapons that they carry are the sickles +with which they cut their rice, fastened to poles, and some lances. + +At this port of Cavite the Chinese have remained peaceable, and with +the Indians and Japanese they very willingly dragged out some pieces +of artillery, with which Sargento-mayor Alonso Garcia Romero, who is +in command of the port, armed two small forts, which are at the end of +the village. With these and other precautions of an excellent soldier, +we all consider ourselves very safe. The natives, although they have +not forsaken their village, have sought shelter, as far as possible, +with the religious orders. The Japanese, blacks, and Indians are +full of courage, whatever be the outcome; I believe that they will +rejoice, if the opportunity arise, to satiate themselves for once +with killing Chinese. + +In order that the origin of this disturbance may be understood, it +must be noted that Don Sebastian, desirous of augmenting the estate +of his Majesty, set a great number of Chinese at work in some large +meadows which are watered and rendered fertile by certain rivers, +and are called Calamba. Many of these men were levied by force, +and entirely against their will; many of them fell sick during the +past months, and it is said that more than three hundred of them +died. Accordingly, they became desperate; and it is well known that +the season is an unwholesome one. The time came for the Chinese to pay +their license money and rent, which in all was more than twenty-five +pesos for each one. The officials harassed them for the pay, and they +had not the means to pay what was due; accordingly they have broken +loose in this revolt. The rents from the lands, too, have proved to +be unprofitable, from the manner in which they have been let; while, +if they belonged to individuals, they would be a source of gain. + +Since the twenty-second of November, when I wrote the above, I have +purposely omitted to write an account of current events, for along with +the facts were reported a thousand lies; but today, the twenty-eighth +of the same month, everything is now known and manifest. + +After the Chinese killed Captain Martin de Aduna, they came close to +Manila, rousing to revolt all the Sangleys whom they encountered. They +arrived at San Pedro de Macati, the novitiate's residence of the +Society of Jesus. As the church there was strongly built, and vaulted, +Father Francisco Vicente and the brothers Esteban de Oliver and +Raimundo Alberto, who were the only inmates of the house at that time, +went up into it. Some mulattoes and house-servants had also taken +refuge there, as well as over one hundred persons from the native +village. These made some resistance to the enemy, but, as they had +no other weapons than tiles and bricks, finally the multitude of the +Sangleys (who numbered more than three thousand) broke down the doors +of the church and the house, and set fire to the buildings. Those +who were in the church, tormented by the smoke and flames, within +twenty-four hours came to an agreement with the insurgents, who +assured them of their lives and kind treatment. Some of the mulattoes +and natives came out with the father and the brethren; the Chinese +treated the father well, and manacled the brethren, but they killed +all the rest (fifteen in number), on the spot. At this sight, those +who had not come out of the church held back, and refused to leave +it; and this saved their lives, for at that time the sargento-mayor, +Don Juan de Arceo, arrived, with two hundred Spanish infantry and +eighty horsemen. He also had a hundred Pampango and four hundred Tagal +Indians, all carrying firearms; and two field-pieces. These began to +do damage to the enemy, but only for a short time; for the Sangleys +asked for a truce, which was granted them. The Sangleys sent Father +Francisco Vicente to negotiate a peace for them with the Spaniards. By +a special providence of Heaven, at that very time arrived, by way of +the river, Adjutant Benavides with twenty-five men. He dashed upon +them like a lion, and with his men made so fierce an attack upon +the crowded Sangleys that many of the enemy were slain. The Sangleys +who were engaged in discussing a peace sent Brother Alberto to tell +the Spaniards who had come from the river not to do them any harm, +because they were already making an agreement for peace. Arriving, he +saw that some of the enemy were beginning to make some resistance, and +he called aloud, "Spaniards, at those who are fleeing!" But they had +no need to do so, for the enemy were already in flight; the Spaniards +followed them and dislodged them from the church, and all the Sangleys, +in confusion, began to disperse. In this confusion, Brother Esteban +was able to make his escape, and those who were in the church could +now leave it. The troops of Don Juan de Arceo seized their weapons, +and also fell on the conquered ones; and the latter were quickly +dispersed through the fields, leaving some three hundred Sangleys +dead. The mulattoes and Indians from Manila killed many, and captured +more than three hundred; most of these are here in the galleys. More +than a thousand Sangleys must have been killed in these encounters. + +Don Juan de Arceo, thinking that most of the enemy would go back +toward Calamba, went after them. At this time Don Fernando Galindo, +who was then at Los Banos, assembled five hundred Indians, to fall +on the Sangleys. But the sargento-mayor arrived, and learned that +fifteen hundred Sangleys had fortified themselves on a lofty hill +[47] that is above Calamba; and they agreed that their men should +ascend this hill, the Indians on one side, and the Spaniards on +the other. This was accordingly done; the Spaniards reached the top +first, and overcame the enemy, killing more than thirteen hundred +Sangleys. The rest broke away on the side where the Indians were, +and have been driven into the mountains; a company of Spaniards and +some Indians have gone in pursuit of them. With this encounter, which +was on Saturday, the whole affair has come to an end; and therefore on +yesterday, which was Sunday, the Te Deum laudamus was sung in Manila. + +Among those who distinguished themselves in this last combat were Juan +de Montoya, Lezcano, and Ugalde. This last one came here this year; +although he had received three lance-thrusts, he pursued the enemy, +fighting valiantly. Don Fernando Galindo, moreover, did valuable +service in urging forward the men to the attack. + +Among those whom we mentioned above as being killed with Aduna in the +marshes of Vinan was Alferez Don Antonio Tornamira, who fell senseless +when they attacked him with clubs, and they left him for dead. Later, +he came to himself, and while he was looking for some place where +he could hid himself he came upon a Sangley, who also had hidden in +a thicket; he did not wish to go with the insurgents. They agreed +together to seek for some way of escape, and the Sangley advised the +Spaniard to dress himself in Chinese garb; he did so, and finally +the two reached Manila. The governor, Don Sebastian, gave Alferez +Tornamira a suit of his own garments; and to the Sangley he granted +an exemption [from tributes?] for several years. The latter declared +that he wished to be baptized. + +Yesterday and day before yesterday, the entire revolt was regarded as +suppressed and ended, without there having been any disturbance on the +other side of the river. This morning, the twenty-ninth of this month, +we saw many large fires toward Manila; we knew not what to think, until +we received a letter in which we were informed that from the other side +of the river from the river San Mateo, many new insurgents had come, +who were burning everything; and the fires that we saw were Meyhaligue +[48] and Santa Cruz, on opposite sides of the river. From the Parian +alone different troops of soldiers, both foot and horse, have sallied +out against them; we are hoping for their entire success. We are +informed that people are talking very earnestly of taking steps to +prevent such things from ever happening again; for this purpose there +was held yesterday a general conference of all the civil, military, +and religious. [49] + + + + + + + +RELATION OF THE INSURRECTION OF THE CHINESE + + +Its causes and beginning + +Desires for the increase of the royal revenues, which Don Sebastian +Hurtado de Corcuera, governor of those islands, always tried to carry +out, with greater exactitude in intention than success in the outcome, +gave occasion to the Chinese of the city of Manila and its environs +to attempt an insurrection, the destruction of that country, and +the complete extermination of the Spaniards there. I do not mention +other causes, [50] in order to reduce them to those that have existed +and those which the Sangleys have tried to assign as a pretext for +their insurrection. That which surpassed the others, as being the +greatest in their estimation, was that many laborers saw that they +were obliged to live in a new village which the governor built in the +lands of Calamba, [51] for certain advantages to the royal service; +the object was, to produce there the rice sufficient for the presidios +of these islands, by which his Majesty would be spared a great expense, +and the government employees the neglect and difficulty [usual] in its +provision. The good intention of the one who made this arrangement was +recognized, if it had also been so on the part of those on whom its +fulfilment depended. Its execution was not without hardships, which +occasioned all the more resentment the more the comforts experienced +in their old villages, attracted them. The exemptions promised by +the government, with the desire of keeping the Chinese contented, +because of the advantage that accrued to his Majesty in obtaining +the necessary food from those lands--by which the Chinese could gain +greater profits, and the Indians, being exempted from such burdens, +could make extraordinary gains--were sufficient to overcome those +difficulties. Attention was given to both of those peoples in the +change. But as it caused many of them to fall sick in a short time, +and more than three hundred died because of the unhealthful climate, a +great disturbance was caused in their minds--which was greater because +they were oppressed by the alcalde-mayor with continual extortions and +punishment. Consequently, desirous of lifting so heavy a yoke from +their necks, they rushed on to the last risk, whether to themselves +or to others; and determined to kill him who ruled them there, and +to go ahead, committing all the damage possible in all the Indian +villages, and on the possessions of the Spaniards, until they came +in sight of Manila, where they would call out the other Chinese from +the Parian and the villages round about--if they did not rise before, +of which it has not been possible to gain certain information; for, +the cause being their own, they all would force the governor, who +had but few infantrymen, to pardon their deed; and, if they did not +succeed in this, confident in their multitude, they would go forward +to besiege the city. Then, in conformity with the resolution adopted, +they assaulted the house of the alcalde-mayor [52] on November 19. He +was entirely unguarded, the more for [having no] fears of so fatal +an outcome. They treacherously killed him, manifesting their cruelty +against him, as in revenge for the cruelties that they were shortly +before lamenting as caused by him on themselves. They burned the +village, ordering their wives to hide in the mountains, while they +went to try their fortune--saying that, if they found a good one, and +gained the victory over the Spaniards, they would return for them; +or, in case of adverse fortune and their own defeat, their families +would remain alive and safe in their place of retirement. + + + + +Advice is given in Manila. First assault of the enemy, and its result + +News of the insurrection reached this city on the night of November +20; and warning was given to the entire city and its environs by two +cannon that were fired. The gates were opened, although with care +and caution, so that those outside could seek shelter, and those +who wished could guard their property. Inasmuch as the importance +of the matter did not admit of any delay, the governor despatched +Captain Martin de Aduna that same night overland, so that with his +company of cavalry, he might go to see what was being done, and mete +out the suitable punishment to the enemy, since people here were on +the outlook because of the news with warning. The governor also sent +advices to the castellan and chief magistrate of the port of Cavite, +namely, Sargento-mayor Alonso Garcia Romero, so that he might be on +the watch. Captain Aduna left Manila immediately, and taking thirty +horsemen with him, he came within sight of the enemy on the morning of +the following day, to the number of more than three thousand. All were +armed with spears, or with bamboos hardened in fire, and on these were +fastened the blades with which they harvest their rice. They defied +the Spaniards to come on and fight. Their own guilt, the number of +men, and the fortified position that they were occupying--which was +certain swamps in the lands of Vinan, whose houses and churches they +had burned--caused them to be bold. Our captain attacked them with +greater valor than prudence, for, not heeding the danger, [53] he +advanced into the swamp, where, finding it impossible to manage his +horse, he and three others who followed him in the same enterprise +were killed. The others having killed more than two hundred Chinese, +and being but few in number, retreated (since the horses were tired, +and they were in a position where they could not be aided) to the +village of Paranaque, to await the governor's orders to whom a +father of the Society, who had accompanied the captain to confess +and encourage our men, went to give advices. + + + + +The enemy advance to San Pedro. They are pursued, and are defeated +in Calamba + +The news of the death of Captain Martin de Aduna caused disquiet and +sadness in the city, for he was well liked there. Greater damages +were feared if they did not immediately summon all their forces, +in order to deprive the enemy of their strength and hobble their +feet. In order to do that the governor sent out his sargento-mayor, +Don Juan de Arceo, with two hundred infantrymen, eighty cavalrymen, one +hundred Pampangos, and four hundred Tagal Indians, all with firearms, +and two pieces of cannon. They were being prepared with all possible +rapidity in Manila, when the enemy began to march toward San Pedro, +the house of the novitiate of the Society of Jesus, doing all the +harm possible along the way. They had about four thousand men, +and were joined, either through force or willingly, by those of +Calamba and the farm-lands round about. That same day, November 21, +they reached San Pedro, where a father and two brothers were then +living. The father confessed all the people of Pasay, a village +whose people had, in order to escape the danger, taken refuge in +that house. The brothers, with some of the more courageous Indians, +tried to put themselves in a state of defense; and, although with only +tiles and bricks, they wounded many Sangleys, and killed some. However, +the fury of the multitude was greater than that of the resistance; and +accordingly, the doors of the church having been battered down, the +Sangleys entered it, whence they penetrated into the house, to which +they set fire. Thereupon those above, in sore straits, surrendered +after twenty-four hours with assurance of their lives and of good +treatment--although, not trusting to the promises of the enemy, many +remained upon the vaulted roof of the church. On account of the fire, +in a short time these could not descend, nor could the insurgents +climb to the roof; consequently the former escaped with their lives, +which [otherwise] they would have lost through the barbarous cruelty of +the infidels. This was further displayed [by the Chinese] in breaking +the promise that they had given; for they put to death those who had +descended with the father and the brothers, who numbered some fifteen +persons. They bound the father securely, carrying him to their own +camp, and manacled the brothers--the chief leaders of the Sangleys +not daring to treat them more severely, as others claim, in order +not to provoke further the anger of the governor and the Spaniards +against themselves. By this time the Spanish forces, not only troops +of infantry but horsemen, had reached the enemy's camp, and began to +skirmish with them; the Chinese lost some men on their side, but we +none. An entire stop was put to this presently, by the arrival of a +great number of Sangleys from Manila to treat for peace. In order +to settle the terms of peace, the insurgents sent to the governor +the father of the Society. The suspension of hostilities lasted but +a short time; for the adjutant Benavides (now captain), having no +knowledge of it, or of the discussion that was going on, arrived +at San Pedro by way of the river, with twenty-five Spaniards. These +attacked with such fury that, suddenly falling upon the Chinese where +they least expected it, the latter immediately fled; the Spaniards went +in pursuit of them, and the enemy left three hundred dead [scattered] +through the fields, while as many more were captured by the Indians +who were scouring the country, and were taken to the galleys at the +port of Cavite. On account of the Chinese being surprised by this +unexpected attack, the brothers of the Society who were their prisoners +had an opportunity to regain their liberty; they took refuge among the +twenty-five Spaniards, and coming with them reached that same night +their college at Manila, both wounded, although not dangerously. When +the governor knew that the enemy were marching back to Calamba, +he ordered the sargento-mayor to go there with his men in pursuit +of them. By this time Admiral Don Fernando Galindo, who was at Los +Banos, seeing how the country was disturbed, collected five hundred +Indians to attack the Sangleys. But when the sargento-mayor arrived, +and learned that two thousand of the latter had fortified themselves +on a hill, in the ruggedness of which they placed their main hope +of defense, [the two Spanish leaders] determined to attack them in +various places [at once]--sending by some paths troops of Indians, +by others Spanish infantry and Pampangos, and horsemen with both +these parties. As soon as our men came in sight of the enemy, they +saw how difficult was the task; but Spanish valor conquered it. The +Spaniards arriving first, with the Pampangos, began to climb the hill +so courageously that the Chinese, although at first they thought to +beat back our men with stones and lances from the ascent, finally, +losing courage and judgment, rushed down from the hill, those who +escaped from our infantry encountering our horsemen. Thus some one +thousand five hundred of them were killed in a short time; and those +who remained alive tried to escape into the most hidden ravines and +passes of the mountains, but even there they did not find themselves +safe from the Spaniards and the courage of the Indians. This was the +first victory that was obtained over that enemy; and it was generally +understood that it had put an end to the insurrection, and taken away +the courage of those who had caused these first disturbances. It +was proposed to sing the Te Deum at Manila, by way of thanksgiving +that a fire which threatened so great destruction had been so easily +extinguished, by means of the company and soldiers of Sargento-mayor +Don Juan de Arceo, to whom the Lord had given so brilliant a victory +without any cost. This result was greatly aided by the experience and +courage of Don Fernando Galindo and of the captains who took part in +the combat--Don Rodrigo de Guillestegui, Juan de Montoya, [Francisco] +Lezcano, [Esteban] [54] Ugalde, and Don Martin de Ocadiz. The Pampangos +behaved nobly and courageously. [55] + + + + +The Chinese of Sagar and Santa Cruz rebel + +In proportion to the satisfaction which the news of this victory +caused in Manila was the resentment of the Sangleys when they heard +of the death of their comrades. Eager for revenge, those on the lands +of Sagar [56] rose in arms, and hurried that establishment; and then +they summoned [to join them] the Chinese who were scattered among +the other estates, as far as Manila. A large number of them arrived +at daybreak on Tuesday, November 29, at the residence of Meyhaligue, +to which they set fire. At the same time when we heard of this new +enemy, we learned of the arrival of Sargento-mayor Don Juan de Arceo, +victorious, with all his men; and orders were immediately given to +him that, without entering Manila, he should proceed to Santa Cruz, +to occupy that post and check any commotions among the Sangleys who +were there or those of the Parian--preventing them from joining and +uniting their forces by way of the river. + +In order to be ready for everything, the governor also went to Santa +Cruz with Master-of-camp Don Lorenzo de Olaso, on the possibility that +the enemy (who were running, not marching) would attempt an entrance +by way of Santa Cruz--as they actually did, not having had warning of +the arrival of our troops, or knowing how ready the city was to resist +them without the soldiers. The Chinese at Santa Cruz who were friendly +were told that they might go down the river, with their vessels, to +the shelter and protection of the fort; and those who were not were +told to do as they pleased, so that they might be thoroughly aware how +little importance was attached to their revolt. Many others went on +board their boats, to the number of some two hundred; professing to be +loyal, they asked permission to go out and fight their own countrymen, +in order to drive them back. Those who had charge of them had strong +suspicions of their undertaking and intentions, but the governor gave +his consent; and in his very sight those Chinese approached and joined +the traitors, and began with them to take possession of Santa Cruz--now +declared enemies to us, although they had a little while before been +pretended friends. Half the street they held as their own, the careful +arrangements of the governor giving them all this space so that our men +might manage their guns more safely. The Spaniards began to fire these +so skilfully, and to oppose the enemy so valiantly that, many of the +Chinese being killed, they found themselves compelled by the force +of our resistance to turn and run, displaying no little swiftness +in their flight. The governor left their punishment to General Don +Juan de Esquerra and his brother, Admiral Don Francisco--the first +with some horsemen, the second with his infantry company and some +other footmen, who intercepted the enemy on the rear--at the same +time ordering the master-of-camp to fortify himself in the church of +Santa Cruz, planting in it some strong artillery, so that he might +be well prepared for resisting the insurgents, and for checking +the designs, suspected although not manifest, of the Chinese in the +Parian. Immediately all that company [of infantry] fell apart, so as +to give room for the free handling of the cannon; and, the village of +Santa Cruz being set afire, the Spaniards and Indians pillaged it. [57] +In it were the troops from Manila; and when they reached the lands of +Meyhaligue the horsemen, infantry, and Japanese attacked the Sangleys; +the latter fighting with barbarous desperation, were aided by the +great number of their men in stations and ambuscades. They killed +some of our men, among these Captain Agustin Tenorio, Captain Juan +Martin[ez] de Avendano, Adjutant Cristobal de Saldado, and Alferez +Pedro de Soria; and others were wounded. Thirteen [58] Japanese +were killed, who could not be relieved [in time] by the valor of our +horsemen--which, although great on all occasions, in this one even +surpassed itself. Those who died sold their lives dearly, and those +who survived risked their lives nobly. The danger was alike for all, +and their courage equal; but their fate was not the same. Finally, +those who remained alive thought themselves fortunate that they could +retreat, considering the great number of those who attacked them, +the exhausted condition of their horses, little used to such raids, +and the advantage of position which the insurgents had over them. The +latter, although they saw many of their men stretched on the field, +held that loss as gain--since they were so numerous, and constantly +saw more men joining them--on account of the decrease of the Spaniards' +number by death, of which they made haughty boasts, cherishing hopes of +greater successes. The governor commanded that the troops and artillery +that were in Santa Cruz should that night be withdrawn to the city, +in order not to leave Manila in danger from a sudden insurrection +in the Parian, which was momently feared; also to leave the enemy +in perplexity--having seen that fortification by day, and not being +aware of the [Spanish] retreat so that they might not dare to approach +the river, or attempt to pass it, in the night. He commanded that the +bridge over it should be removed, and the boats that were there broken +up, so that the Chinese [of Santa Cruz and the Parian] might not cross +to each other; at the same time he gave orders that, if there should be +any tumult in the Parian, it should be demolished by the artillery on +the city walls. The whole city remained in suspense and uncertainty, +which was greatly increased by seeing how numerous grew the forces +of the insurgents. These, made arrogant by their recent exploit, +roamed through all the [surrounding] districts, nothing escaping their +cruelty. Several times they attacked the church and convent of Tondo, +[59] which was fortified; but our people in it were prepared for them, +so that, having lost many men, they saw themselves obliged to desist +for the time from their intention. They undertook to make themselves +masters of the church at Binondo, [60] but with the same result; +for the Sangley mestizos who were in the church, desirous of giving +proof of their loyalty, resisted the enemy, who accordingly regarded +their attempt as impracticable, or [at least] exceedingly difficult. + + + + +The Sangleys of the Parian revolt + +From the twenty-sixth of November to the second of the following +month the insurgent Sangleys continued to be so elated that every +day we saw them from Manila, on the other side of the river, with +many little banners which they proudly waved, daring the bolder of +our men to fight; for they thought that even if every Spaniard cost +them fifty of their own men, they would finally remain conquerors, and +masters of the country, on account of the smallness of our numbers, +the many men in their camp, and the accession of those who were +continually joining them. Our artillery quickly made them disperse +and retreat; but the decision was reached that it was not expedient +to sally out against the enemy, on account of the little confidence +that was felt in the Sangleys of the Parian, and because our army +could not hold these in check [no les cogiesen por las espaldas] +if it were engaged in a campaign. But on the second of December, +the day of the great apostle of India, St. Francis Javier, between +ten and eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the suspense came to an +end, and our uncertainty regarding the fidelity of the Parian was +cleared up. For those Sangleys, seeing that the insurgents had more +troops than on former occasions, and that they were more daringly +undertaking to make an attack at one side, also raised the banner +of revolt, and sallied out from the shops in which they were; and +they killed some negroes and Indians, and a few soldiers who were +stationed near the church of the Parian itself. They raised an outcry, +"For the bridge!" and "To arms against the Spaniards!" desiring to +join their countrymen by way of the bridge, which for this purpose +had been replaced. The sargento-mayor went out against them with the +infantry which were in garrison on that side, and made them turn back, +retreating toward the church of the Parian; and because the greatest +danger was at the bridge, the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso, +went to defend that passage. Although his men were few, with gallant +defiance he repulsed the main body of the enemy; but he saw that he +was in great danger, and his very courage extricated him. Immediately +they began to demolish the Parian, and to throw down their houses on +the land side. The governor went to the walls, to give orders as to +what must be done in view of the present necessity; and, since there +was so great need of men, all the ecclesiastics and religious were +obliged to go with arms to guard the walls, as it was suspected that +the enemy might attempt to scale them. At that time the city was full +of confusion and tumult; for as there were even in the [Spanish] houses +so great a number of Sangleys, the people within these saw that they +were in danger if the Sangleys escaped outside. To free themselves +from this, the cry was made, I know not by whose order, that, under +penalty of treason all should kill the Sangleys whom they kept, [61] +which immediately rendered active the indignation or the hatred against +them. Through all the streets the Sangleys were seen lying dead; and +everywhere were heard their outcries or their weeping, causing in all +natural compassion, [even] in the midst of the general danger. In the +fort were many Sangleys who had been seized in various sallies, who, +seeing death so near, tried to escape it, defending themselves even in +the place where they were imprisoned; but they all died there, slain +by arquebus-balls. The artillery continued its fire from the walls, +killing thus a great number of the Sangleys. Others flung themselves +into the river, but immediately fell into the hands of some of our +men who were guarding it in boats, and perished miserably. Fire was +set to the Parian; it immediately began to burn, and a great quantity +of wealth was reduced to ashes by the flames. [62] Many persons who +had concealed themselves were burned to death; others, who thought +it a less evil to be the object of our men's harshness than to become +the prey of the flames, rushing from the buildings, threw themselves +upon the sharp swords. Thus in a few hours the costly structure of the +Parian [perished], and its beautiful church alone was left [63] as a +memento of what had been there--the pillars of stone which remained +standing being monuments, as it were, which proclaimed, "Here stood +Troya." The number of those who died that day in the city and fort, +in the Parian, and in the river, amounted to three thousand, according +to the statement of those who make the most moderate estimates. On the +morning of the following day, some two hundred traders came out from +some marshes and miry places that were behind the Parian; they had +buried themselves in the mud there, in order to preserve their lives +in the general misfortune of their countrymen. All came with crosses +in their hands, entreating mercy; this could not be denied to them +by Christian charity, all the more when it was known that these men +were not accomplices in the insurrection. Command was therefore given +that they be conveyed to the fort, where they were kept under guard; +and they were aided with their support in a time of so great need, +in which they were utterly destitute. Many of those who died had time +[allowed them] to become Christians first, and those who already +were such, to make their confessions; others were deprived of this +by their own obstinacy, or by the sudden anger of our people. + + + + +Events at the port of Cavite and other places at this time + +There was anxiety at the port of Cavite when they heard the cannon +from Manila, and saw the clouds of smoke from the Parian; then news +of the result arrived, with an order to the warden of the fort, +Sargento-mayor Alonso Garcia Romero, to put to the sword all the +Sangleys who were in that port. [64] Hardly was this information +guessed at when all the people--Spaniards, Indians, Japanese, Sangleys, +and mulattoes ran in dismay through the streets; all suspected one +another, and all tried to secure their own safety. The women and the +more valuable articles of property were collected in the churches; +and there prayers were offered aloud, entreating God for mercy. In +the present tumult, the prudence with which the warden acted was of +great value; for he restored tranquillity among all, especially the +Sangleys, who were most disturbed. Within half an hour he gathered +about a thousand of them in the royal buildings, making it known that +this was for the purpose of securing them from the public fury. They +were satisfied with this, closed their houses, and proceeded to take +refuge in the buildings assigned to them. While the Ave Maria was +ringing, the warden went to all the religious orders, requesting that +priests should go to baptize the infidels and hear the confessions +of the Christians, since all of them must die. They went immediately; +and the warden commanded that the Chinese should be taken out by tens, +on the pretext that the governor had summoned them to Manila. In this +way, they cut off the heads of as many as three hundred Sangleys, +many of them receiving the sacrament of baptism, and many who were +Christians that of penance. At this time a Spaniard made the mistake +of cutting off the purses which the Sangleys always carry with them; +this was seen by some, who immediately called out that they were +taking the Chinese away to kill them, and that the rest would better +put themselves on the defensive, and either save their lives or sell +them dearly. The Spaniards who were inside at once tried to escape, and +did so, although with some wounds from stones, taking the precaution to +close the gate of exit--a prudent act of great importance, because the +rest of the Spaniards, running up to that place, began to fire their +arquebuses wherever they could. The Sangleys then set fire to the royal +building, close to the gate, in order to make an opening by which they +could escape; others, climbing above, began to throw stones and tiles +at the Spaniards, and broke in pieces an ivory image of the blessed +Christ, with which they wounded some of our men. Many Indian women +had been sheltered in these buildings the day before, thinking that +they would there be safe, and seeing themselves suddenly in extreme +danger. Only three of these, with one child, died on this occasion, +at the hands of the Sangleys; another woman and another child flung +themselves down from the windows, but, falling upon some dead Sangleys, +they received no injury of importance. Nor did the rest of these women, +who, seeing their danger, did the same; they threw themselves down +and remained safe, although bruised by the fall. The fire was now +seizing on the entire building; [65] and those within, with death +so near and in their sight, broke down the wall on two sides, and as +many as four hundred flung themselves through this opening, the rest +remaining among the flames. Here they were opposed by the Spaniards +and Japanese, whom the Sangleys confronted with such mad fury that, +although armed only with stones and clubs, they strove to make way +for themselves, wounding some of our men (among these the warden), +and killing two Japanese. Finally they took the road to the beach, +and, being pursued thither, many of them continued to fall until, +being hindered by a fishing corral in which they were crowded together, +they were a mark for the bullets of our soldiers, and for the balls +from a blunderbuss which was fired from the fort of La Magdalena, +and thus thirty of them died. Those who remained alive went out into +the country, continually pursued by our soldiers at short range, +so that few escaped; and most of those were caught next day by the +ranchmen. Others hanged themselves from the trees; and, according to +the best information that can be obtained, only twenty three were left +who could carry the news to those in Manila. The slaughter continued +on the following day, since there were many who were hidden in the +houses. This success was a great mercy of God; for it was afterward +known that the Sangleys of the port had agreed upon an uprising +for that very night; they had planned to set fire to the village in +all parts of it, which they could have executed all the more easily +because their houses were very near to those of the Spaniards. In the +house of a rich Chinese Christian was found the banner to which they +were to rally. Many kept hidden in the fireplaces pincers with which +they intended to torture certain Spaniards by tearing away their flesh +piecemeal, in revenge for the Sangley pirates who were punished by that +torture in Manila in the past year. [66] The number of those who died +in the port of Cavite reached one thousand three hundred. Immediately +afterward all the Sangley laborers on the lands in that district +revolted, of whom some five hundred perished at the hands of the +Indians and ranchmen--not to speak of others who were scattered in +Maragondon and Silan, probably four hundred and fifty. Many were also +killed in the neighboring jurisdictions: in Bulacan, three hundred; +in Pampanga, six hundred; in Pangasinan, two hundred; in Taal and +Balayan, five hundred. Besides this, the corpses of more than six +hundred Sangleys have been encountered in the villages and coasts of +Zambales, the coasts of Maderas, and other places. [67] + + + + +Encampment of the insurgents; damages which they inflict; levies of +men to oppose them + +The damages which the Sangleys continued to commit--which were +especially seen among the recent arrivals in the Parian--have been very +heavy. They set fire to many houses of Spaniards and of religious; +and they burned the villages, with the churches, profaning all +that was sacred [68]--hacking the images with knives, wearing the +chasubles, and making from the altar-coverings garments to cover +themselves, and flags. Some of these articles were taken from them, +in encounters which the Spaniards had with them. The villages which, +with their churches, were burned were: Santa Cruz (although they did +not entirely destroy it), Quiapo, Meyhaligue, Sampaloc, San Sebastian, +San Francisco del Monte, and part of San Juan de la Penitencia. They +also burned the ranches of Santiago Castelu (or Gastelu), General +Asaldegui, Admiral Ezquerra, and others; and a large part of the +villages of Tondo and Binondo. + +They arrogantly continued these forays, and they were further +confirmed in their notion that they were masters of the field by +having therein more than twenty-six thousand fighting men, and knowing +that the Spaniards who could be assembled hardly amounted to three +hundred. Accordingly they formed their encampment opposite Manila, +with fortifications at intervals, where they remained about twenty +days, without our men crossing the river to attack them--the Spaniards +contenting themselves with depriving the Sangleys of boats, so that +the latter might not cross from the other side; and they waged war on +us in two directions. It was our prudent decision, and its importance +was recognized by the insurgents, not to let our force of soldiers be +weakened; and they exerted all their strength to overcome it, sparing +no effort in order to carry out their intention, and in one case +almost succeeding. Only by their great [number was it] [69] possible, +and their natural ingenuity; they undertook to intercept the river, +although it was so broad and deep, with a causeway of stone--a work +which they were able to complete in a short time, by each Sangley +carrying only one stone. With this they were masters of the river +as regards its passage, which they prevented to the boats which were +coming down with provisions from Laguna de Bay; but they were checked +in this by the diligence of those who had in charge the safety of +those supplies. These were General Asaldegui and Captain Ugalde, who +had various skirmishes with the Sangleys to keep them back from the +passage of the river, killing many of them without serious loss of our +men. By that time, recognizing the dangerous character of the war, +and that it would apparently be a long one, the governor continued +to make provision of all sorts of munitions and food; and raised +levies of men from Pampanga [70] and other jurisdictions--not only +arquebusiers, but Indians armed with arrows, lances, and shields. At +this summons, all showed their fidelity to the king, their affection +for the Spaniards, their hatred to the Chinese, and their promptness +in obedience. The Pampango Indians quickly rallied, constrained +not only by their ancient loyalty but by the present need; in this +they were not a little encouraged by seeing the spirited conduct of +their women whom they left behind, who offered to come with them to +fight. As it was impracticable to accept this offer, they were ready, +even at the cost of their lives, to defend their homes and villages, +in case the insurgents should undertake to enter these. + + + + +The enemy are dislodged, and pursued as far as Bocaue + +The new soldiers who had come to the succor of Manila, desirous +of encountering the enemy--for which there was not yet opportunity, +according to the arrangements of the governor--made forays through the +open country, in small bands, always with good success. [71] They were +encouraged to these sallies by the reward which the governor offered +to any one who should bring in the head of an enemy; as a result, +many heads came in to the city every day. A large number of men having +been collected, the governor resolved to post troops close to the very +camp of the insurgents, in order to surround them; and although they +tried to prevent this, they were unable to do so. Instead, they found +themselves, in all the attacks that they made, compelled to retire with +losses always of many men--although on one occasion, when the governor +with the master-of-camp and some Spaniards undertook to reconnoiter a +position, the Sangleys came about them, placing them in such evident +danger that they were very fortunate in being able to escape. This was +secured by the coming, with succor, of Captain Sebastian de Gastelu, +who was stationed at a neighboring post, with his men. Some took +the governor for the master-of-camp. The sargento-mayor, Don Pedro +de Jara, and Captain Gastelu peppered them well with the artillery, +which caused them so great loss that even within their very camp +they were not safe. Preparations were now made [on our side] for +attacking them on a set day; but it seems that the enemy, guessing +this plan, and the disastrous result which they might expect from +it, since they were surrounded on all sides by towers and redoubts, +concluded to take flight. This they did on Thursday, December 29, +at night, with so much silence (since the [word in MS. missing] was +so great) that there was no indication or suspicion of their resolve +until, on the morning of the next day, certain knowledge of their +departure was furnished by our noticing that they did not sally out +into the open country. The governor, who was in our camp, immediately +commanded that the enemy's camp be delivered over to pillage; in it +they found more than ten thousand fanegas of rice, by which not only +the Spaniards but the negroes and Indians of the surrounding villages +profited. The governor went in pursuit of them with his men, and got +sight of them between the villages of Pasig and San Mateo, to which +they had gone with the intention of crossing the river on rafts, for +which purpose they had cut there twenty thousand bamboos. They were +prevented from this, and our people prepared to give them battle on +Saturday, December 31; but the Chinese did not wait for them, but took +to flight that night also. Our troops continued to pursue them, [72] +and reached them at nightfall, finding them encamped in the village of +San Jose, a visita of Bocaue, which is a mission village of the fathers +of St. Francis. When the governor was asked there where our men were +to be lodged, he replied, "Where the enemy are." Our soldiers were +so honorably obedient that, crossing a stream that separated the two +forces, they dislodged the Sangleys from their camp, compelling them +to flee; the enemy left behind the supper that they had prepared, as +spoils [for our men, disregarding] the opportunity, and its importance +for the hungry and needy condition in which they were. [73] + +On the first of January, 1640, in the morning, the Sangleys were +attacked by our men, and forced to do as they had done the night +before--although with greater loss, since many in their flight rushed +head-long into the river, where they perished. The rest took the road +to Pampanga, intending to secure through that province a passage to +that of Pangasinan; but, after fighting their way, and receiving damage +on all sides, they fell back to Bocaue. This move caused anxiety among +our people, who feared that the Sangleys did this with the intention of +again crossing the river of Manila, in which case they would destroy, +as they had already done on the side opposite [Manila], the churches +and villages on the other side. Seeing, then, the danger at this time +of need, and considering that the soldiers were with the governor +and the citizens acting as garrison, and that in no place could the +forces be divided, since everywhere they were so small, father Fray +Juan Ramirez, the Augustinian provincial, offered to keep guard over +the river with his religious, and asked the other religious orders to +help him in this with such men as they could spare. All willingly gave +their aid, and the governor also sent the commander of the galleys, +Andres Lopez de Asaldegui, for the same purpose; and, aided by so many +religious, he kept the river safe for our trade, and prevented the +enemy from crossing it. At Bocaue the governor was confronting the +enemy, and having various skirmishes with them, being sometimes the +attacker, sometimes the attacked; and although usually these occasioned +loss to the enemy, sometimes also our people lost--especially one day +when a large troop of Indians, with a number of Spaniards, sallied out +against the Sangleys. The latter resorted to the artifice of setting +fire in all directions to the patches of sedge (or rather the fields +of cogon [74]), which were a great cause for fear; and the Indians, +unexpectedly surrounded by fire, took to disorderly flight. This was +the cause of some few Spaniards being left there dead; their firearms +were seized by the Sangleys, who with these did considerable damage +to our men. On this occasion the governor was in notable danger; for +he, considering that the enemy's encampment was in an advantageous +location, convenient to food-supplies, and having plenty of water +(which our camp lacked), determined to dislodge them from it. For +this purpose, on the night of January 9 he erected a tower near the +enemy's camp, defended by ditches, spikes driven into the ground +[empuyados], and a stockade, and well furnished with artillery. He +appointed as its commander the chief captain of the artillery, Juan +Bautista de Molina, with Captain Gastelu [as second]; and placed in +it two artillerists, twenty soldiers, and a hundred Indians armed with +arrows and arquebuses. When the Sangleys, in the morning, saw the new +fort, so unexpected to them, they rushed with great fury to carry it +by assault; but those within defended it valiantly, making great havoc +among the enemy. Hearing the report of the cannon, the governor and +the master-of-camp hastened to give them aid. Before they could arrive, +the enemy turned their backs and fled to their camp; the governor and +those who accompanied him therefore returned to their quarters. At one +o'clock the Sangleys again endeavored to seize the fort; they found +the same resistance and valor among our men as in the morning, and +many of their people were killed, without any loss to us, except that +a bullet wounded Captain Gastelu in the knee. At the time, this injury +was not considered dangerous or likely to last long; but finally, +at the end of five months it caused his death, to the sorrow of +every one that his Majesty should lose in him a valiant and energetic +officer. The governor and the master-of-camp came, as in the morning, +to the aid of the fort; but the enemy were now retreating, and, the +governor sending four men on horseback to reconnoiter their course, +God inspired such fear in those who were retreating that they began +to flee in a disorderly crowd, leaving in their camp their weapons +(lances and arquebuses) and a large quantity of provisions. Some of +our men followed them for the distance of half a legua, and in that +space killed more than one thousand five hundred of them; and when +the soldiers of our force were called together, the affair could +be considered by them all as concluded. It was regarded as a great +victory, on account of the great fear which had filled the minds of +the Sangleys, the utter disorder and confusion with which they fled, +and our having gained from them an encampment so convenient, with the +death of so many and the booty of so many weapons; and the news of it +was sent to Manila at ten o'clock that night. It was received with +general satisfaction and the ringing of bells; and on the following +day in all the churches solemn masses were said before the most holy +sacrament, by way of thanksgiving for so fortunate a success, and in +supplication to that same Lord that He would continue that favor to +our forces. + + + + +The enemy return to Sagar and San Mateo + +The governor had no information of the road that the enemy took +in their flight; accordingly, while he was waiting for this, +he endeavored to have his army take some rest in the village of +Bocaue. But little rest did the insurgents have; for, seeing the +misfortunes that pursued them, and so many of their men (in whose +numbers they were trusting to make themselves masters of the country) +dead, or wounded, or disheartened, they resolved to remove from [the +vicinity of] our camp. Returning to their familiar haunts of Sagar and +San Mateo--which is a visita of the village of Pasig, belonging to the +fathers of St. Augustine--desirous of avenging their defeats and the +loss of their dead, and feeling safe on account of our troops being +so far away, they sent some bands of their people to burn the church +and village of Pasig, which they did. Other Sangleys, roaming through +the hills, found among them some tiny hamlets of the natives, where +they had concealed their valuables, and their children and wives, to +save them from the common danger; and these were in very great danger +of falling into the hands of these enemies. Our Lord delivered these +people, although the Sangleys took possession of what they found in +the huts. Then their scattered bands being reunited with those whom +they had sent to hunt for provisions, they formed their camp on a hill, +and the various bands built shelters for themselves. + +As soon as the governor knew where the enemy were now encamped, he +went in pursuit of them, and on the twelfth [of January] he halted +on the river San Mateo. The next day he went in person, with some +few horsemen, to reconnoiter, and on the way encountered a troop of +about a hundred Sangleys; fifty of them were armed, and the rest +were laden with rice and other provisions. Our men attacked them +and killed twenty or more of the Sangleys, without any loss on our +side--although Captain Juan Fiallo found himself in great danger. On +this as on other occasions he displayed honorable proofs of his valor; +for, having wounded a Sangley in the forehead with a lance-thrust, +and felled him to the ground, the latter, suddenly raising himself +from between the horse's feet, slashed at him with a Japanese catana, +with which at one thrust he wounded both the captain and the horse. The +captain quickly turned his horse about, and securing room for using +his lance, ran it entirely through the Sangley's body, at one side; +it pierced so deeply that it was impossible to pull out the weapon, +so he had to leave it sticking in the body. But the Sangley, with the +anguish or the desperation of death, eager to avenge it rather than +endure it, with his own hands drew out the lance, and, bracing himself +with it on the ground, attempted to attack the man who had wounded +him. But at this moment he was himself attacked by a lay religious +belonging to the Society of Jesus, who rendered good service in the +war throughout its active period--and at this time with especial good +fortune, since he freed the captain from danger by completing the +killing of the Sangley. All the rest of the Sangleys fled, and the +governor returned to his camp, to give orders for the attack on the +enemy, who during all the time while they remained in the hills never +ceased from inflicting damages. They burned the church of San Mateo, +and that of Taytay, a house and church of the Society of Jesus, and a +visita of Antipolo; also Santa Cruz and Mahayhay. According to what +many of them said, their chief incentive to setting these fires was +what happened to a certain Sangley. Desiring to become a Christian, he +buried an idol which he had, of which they relate fables very similar +to those about Mars, calling it "the god of battles." This Christian +Sangley was one of the insurgents, and, desiring to appease this god, +managed with others to disinter it, entreating its protection on the +present occasion. They say that the idol spoke to them, saying that +it considered itself appeased and satisfied for the previous injury +done to it; and promising them, besides this, its favor, provided +that they would burn all the churches, profane all that was sacred, +and inflict on the Christians all the harm that they possibly could. + + + + +Success of our troops, and defeat of the enemy in Antipolo + +The enemy, not regarding themselves as safe in the mountains where +they had hidden, managed to retreat to those of Antipolo, as being more +suitable for the fortified post which they built there. On account of +the extent of the place, the greater part of their people had gone +into it, after burning the village and the residence of the Society +of Jesus; they attempted to do the same with the church, but could +not accomplish this, as it was built of stone. Some remained behind, +and, desirous of reconnoitering the place, and doing the enemy some +damage, Captain Juan Fiallo went out with as many as thirty horsemen, +and a large number of Indians with lances and bows. The roads were +exceedingly rugged, and both footmen and horsemen had to trust to their +own exertions for success. They commenced to make their way through +the mountains, with more spirit than reflection, for at the middle of +their journey they found themselves unable to go on. The enemy were on +their rear, and at either side were precipices and deep ravines--all +the fault of ignorant guides. It was impossible either to advance or +to retreat; and so they fell in death, one after another, their courage +ineffectual, and without room in which to make resistance. Accordingly, +they rushed to fling themselves down the precipices, abandoning some +their horses and some their weapons, and all in this danger losing +their presence of mind. The enemy had the opportunity to put an end +to all of our men, if God had not blinded their eyes. Five or six +Spaniards, with their arms and horses, returned to the camp and gave +news of this disaster; and within a few days some others returned, +unarmed and on foot; as for the rest, the Sangleys disposed of them +as we shall see later. + +The governor, grieved at this result, collected more horses from the +neighboring ranches, and, sending to Manila for saddles, equipped his +men anew, all eager for vengeance. This consumed much time, which gave +the enemy leisure to fortify themselves in four places, in the village +of Antipolo and in the mountain region thereabout; but it deprived +our troops of [the opportunity of] marching against the enemy until +they arrived in sight of the new fortifications. The difficulty of +the attack was very evident, for the enemy held the heights, and had +stones with which they had built their enclosures, by hand-work, very +strong and well-arranged, as was remarked by our men. In this work, +the great number of their men, and their strenuous efforts, had made +up for the lack of time. No less active were our men in making ready +[for the attack]; and the more difficult the undertaking, the more +their courage rose. The Indians displayed great gallantry, with a +few Spaniards making themselves masters of the first two strongholds +or intrenchments--from which the enemy retreated with the loss of +some of their men; the rest, a crowd of armed men, taking refuge in +the other two defences, at the highest part of the fortification, +regarded these as impregnable, and accordingly kept in them provisions +of all kinds, enough to last a long time. There they awaited our men, +who marched in good order, and attacked the first intrenchment on +three sides. They were everywhere preceded by Indian shield-bearers, +in order that these might with their shields stop the stones and +other missiles that the Sangleys were throwing; the Indians did this +valiantly, being thus very helpful to the rest of the army; for the +Spaniards, being able to use their firearms without hindrance, with +them everywhere drove back the enemy. The latter, discouraged at the +death of so many of their number, and seeing our soldiers ascending +the hill, took to flight. This gave new energy to our victorious men, +who in order to complete their conquest at once continued their +march, with the same good order and precaution, to the innermost +fortification, the strongest and most difficult of all, and the most +skilfully built and best provided with supplies. Nothing withstood +the perseverance of our men, flushed by their recent success, and +stimulated by the sight of their governor, who was present throughout +the action; they eagerly attacked the enemy, who valiantly resisted, +replying with their firearms to the volleys from our arquebuses, and +with stones to the javelins and arrows [of our Indians]--relying on +these weapons alone, as they had the advantage in position. But their +courage alone could not equal that of our men; and, seeing that ours +were now pressing them hard, and, almost on their hands and knees, +steadily gaining possession of their last height, the Sangleys, +having little strength to defend it, turned their backs and began +to flee. Our men kept up the pursuit of the enemy for more than a +legua, until they drove out the fugitives from their hiding-places, +and many of the latter flung themselves over the cliffs in those +mountains--where the enemy, although at the outset he had been well +defended, was on this occasion thoroughly defeated. + +Those [of the Spaniards] who were killed in this combat and assault +were about twenty; and as the victory had been so glorious, not only +by the strength of the enemy but by the valor of our soldiers, all the +bells were rung in Manila, and on the following day, at the governor's +request, solemn mass was said in all the churches, and the most holy +sacrament was exposed, in thanksgiving for so fortunate a success. + +In the enemy's camps were found large quantities of supplies and +arms; and on the ground were many books which they had taken from the +religious houses that they burned; from these they made breastplates +and other defensive armor. In the cemetery of Antipolo, which was the +quarters of their leaders, were found several of their proclamations, +in Chinese characters; these were fastened to the trees, to serve +for the proper government of their forces. There were twenty dead +horses who had fallen into the ravines, with their saddles broken; +and three Spaniards were found whose heads had been cut off. These +were part of those who had flung themselves from the precipices; among +them was a lay religious of the Augustinians, who had accompanied +the soldiers on that expedition. These bodies, although they were +putrid, were so tightly bound that the cords had cut into the flesh, +all indicating the cruelty of the Sangleys. Although this moved our +men to deserved compassion and just indignation, they felt much more +keenly the discovery of many fragments of holy images that lay on +the ground. In especial, there was found a carved figure of the holy +Christ, three palmos in height, among the embers and ashes of a house +which the Sangleys had undertaken to burn; the fire had been content +to blacken the image a little, in order that it might testify to the +miracle--since all regarded it as such, that the image should remain +unhurt in the midst of so hot a fire. The soldier who found the image +presented it to the governor, who at sight of it was deeply moved, +as were the army also when it was raised on high, [made] by him who +had abased it more glorious than before; and all entertained hopes +that the army which should fight under such a banner would annihilate +the enemy by a signal victory. + + + + +Injuries which the enemy committed during their flight + +It is characteristic of cowards to affect courage when they meet no +opposition or do not fear resistance; the enemy did not encounter +this in the ranch of Antipolo, whither he went when he emerged +from the mountains and hollows in which he had taken refuge from +our attacks and the slaughter which he could not make among our +troops. For the latter were marching accompanied by the governor, +who was desirous of catching the enemy in the flat country that he +might offer them battle there, when they would not be able to avail +themselves of the ruggedness of the mountains or the depth of the +ravines; the armies faced each other, now ready to come to blows, and +the enemy were almost surrounded by our troops on all sides. Although +without realizing how little they could depend upon their hands, they +trusted to their feet; they now placed their main defense in flight, +burning the village and church of Baras--valiant for only such acts +of cowardice. Our men kept at the heels of the enemy, although it was +one of the greatest hardships of this war to have to march so long +through very rough roads amid the inclemencies of heat and rain. The +insurgents pursued the route toward the village of Tamar, whither also +our army proceeded, in order to compel them to give battle, or else to +harass and disturb them by never allowing them opportunity to have any +rest. Our men reached the flat top of a hill, and halted on the summit, +without having any knowledge of the enemy--who were so near that even +their voices could soon be heard. When our men perceived the enemy, +and saw how few they were (for at that time they did not number two +thousand), they began to surround the Sangleys in order to attack them; +and the battle began with such fury that the enemy, in desperation, +came close to the mouths of the Spanish arquebuses. Our men defended +themselves valiantly, at little cost to themselves but with much +loss to the enemy; since, although the battle began with great risk +[to us] on account of their multitude, our weapons were well plied +on both sides [of them]. When the enemy had attacked our position and +would have gained the advantage, Don Rodrigo de Guillestegui arrived, +whom the governor had sent with a company of horsemen and five hundred +Indians, sounding the alarm to them through the rearguard. At the sound +of the drums, and when the enemy saw themselves attacked on both sides, +and knew that the rest of our army (which had been absent) was there, +they already used their weapons with less spirit; and, their hopes of +gaining the victory being dashed, they began to retreat, so as not +to give it to our men--but with much loss of their own--and as they +were in a place where the cavalry could range freely. The damage that +they received was much greater [than what they inflicted], and was +sufficient to enable those of their number who had more prudence to +urge more strenuously, from that time on, negotiations for peace--of +which they had begun to talk a few days before, but with little, +if any, effect. + + + + +Garrisons are placed in the churches, and peace is discussed + +When the governor saw the destruction that the enemy had wrought in +the churches, and that he could not check it because the army that was +fleeing always had the start of the other, he determined to put the +churches in a condition of defense, and accordingly assigned to each +one a number of soldiers who should confront the Sangleys--so that, +since the people of the villages could not deliver themselves from +the enemy's fury, the temples and the dwellings of the religious, +which were most important, might be saved. The governor also sent +them word, threatening that he would put all the Sangleys that were +left in the country to the sword, if they did any more damage to the +villages or the churches, since it was a token of cowardice to wreak +vengeance on him who was not to blame, or who made no resistance. They +replied that they did no harm where they were not harmed, and that +they would leave the villages in peace if the roads were left free +to themselves by which they were intending to pass to Los Limbones, +in order to build champans there to make ready for [their return to] +China. This reply was less haughty than the tone of their earlier +bravado. From that time they did not burn any church, although they +burned the village of Santa Maria and that of Siniloan, with a visita +of Pangil, because the Indians had been stationed there and many of +the Sangleys slain. After this, they continued their march to Cainta, +and the governor in pursuit of them to the post of Mahayhay--a place +through which the enemy must necessarily pass if they would go to Los +Limbones--in order to fight there with the enemy the battle which +was impossible in the mountains which the enemy had selected for +their encampment. Many from the enemy's camp came every day to ours +asking for mercy, alleging [that they had been coerced by] violent +measures on the part of their leaders in the revolt. They readily +found mercy, and with this and kind treatment they were sent back to +Manila. The opinions of the rest were as vacillating as their courage, +many of them lacking confidence in the governor. Thinking that they +did not deserve pardon for their offences, they preferred to persist +in these obstinately, rather than to yield to the governor's mercy +and surrender; and although there were embassies from one side to +the other, this intercourse was carried on with little confidence +on either side. On ours, negotiations for peace were carried on by +a father of the Society of Jesus, [75] who was a minister to the +Sangleys, and General Geronimo Enrriquez, their alcalde-mayor of +the Parian, for whom they had the utmost affection; on their side, +by some of their leaders, with the mandarin--although not with so +much privilege, [76] on account of having been created for their +purpose--the lieutenant-commander of the Sangley forces. He was a +boastful and audacious man, who resisted the negotiations for peace, +and had with his own hand killed several men because he was suspicious +of their being concerned therein. But the father of the Society, +anxious that peace should be secured, in order that the shedding of +so much blood might be stopped--especially for the sake of the many +Sangleys who were there more because they trusted others than to +carry out their own purpose--laying aside any consideration of his +own life, went many times, at the evident risk of death, to confer +with the mandarin and the leaders, assuring them, on the part of the +governor, of pardon and kind treatment to those who laid down their +arms and surrendered themselves to him. He answered their complaints, +the chief of these being that the governor had commanded that their +comrades who were scattered through the provinces should be slain, +when they had committed no offence. The answer was that the very +people in their own camp who had been caught by our men had revealed +that those others were accomplices in their guilt, and cognizant of +the revolt; for they had confessed that it was general throughout the +provinces. He said that there was therefore no wisdom in leaving some +of the Sangleys free while we were fighting others in the field, since +the former would take up arms against us at the first opportunity; and +finally that they should avail themselves of the present opportunity, +as being invited to make peace, and should not constrain the governor +to an extreme demonstration of his anger, as that would result in +the entire destruction of them all--as they themselves could see by +the few who had been killed on our side, and the thousands that had +fallen on theirs. Persuaded by these arguments, they undertook to +hold another council and give an answer on the following day. + + + + +Peace is concluded, and both armies return to Manila + +After thorough reflection, while those of our camp were waiting for +the enemy to submit and give up their arms, the latter saw that the +conditions demanded for making peace did not depend on him whose +strength had been broken, but on him who was able to boast of his +advantage and superiority; and how, if the negotiations for peace +arose more from the needs of the case and from our strength than from +mercy and compassion, the governor would have closed, as it were, +the gates of mercy with the determination to destroy them, if he had +not checked his anger, and given to the religious in whose hands was +this affair time for endeavoring to convert them to a more prudent +decision. Finally, they agreed that all should surrender themselves +and give up their weapons. A place was appointed at a little distance +from our camp, between which and theirs was a river; at its crossing +stood our men in two ranks, before whom the Sangleys passed, laying +down the weapons that they carried. As soon as all of them, some +eight thousand in number, had reached their station, arrangements +were made for their return to Manila, the governor charging the +master-of-camp to set out with the two armies. This was done, and +they marched until they arrived in the parade-ground at Bagumbayan, +opposite the city, on the evening of Friday, March. 15. The governor +arrived that same evening, and the two armies encamped there for the +night. At dawn of the following day, the drums sounded for the march, +which was conducted in this order. In the vanguard went Captain +Juan Fiallo with the cavalry, to the sound of trumpets; next some +companies of Pampango infantry, those of the Cagayan Indians, the +Zambal archers, and the Indians who carried javelins and shields in +the battalion. Next came all the Sangley forces, and in the rearguard +the Spanish infantry, with the master-of-camp. The halberdiers of +the governor followed, and in their midst was one on horseback, who +carried as a standard the image of the blessed Christ from Antipolo, +mounted on a staff. Last of all came the governor, accompanied by his +suite, and by many volunteer horsemen who had gone to the war. In this +order they proceeded along the causeway to the bridge over the river, +and across it to Tondo; and there our troops left the Sangleys inside a +stockade which they had built as a precaution, with soldiers guarding +them on all sides. The governor went thence to his palace by water, +and the master-of-camp marched with his soldiers to the city. The +people received them with great joy at seeing the war ended, as it +had caused them so much anxiety and lasted so long a time--for it +began on November 20, 1639, and came to an end on March 15, 1640. + + + + +The slain in both armies; the enemy's weapons and mode of warfare; +and the damage committed by them. + +Those who make the most careful estimate of the deaths on both +sides state that the number of Spaniards who died in the war, +from its beginning to its end, were about forty or forty-five, and +of Indians three hundred; and it was always the main care of the +governor to watch over his men. On the side of the enemy, they make +the number of deaths approximate twenty-two thousand to twenty-four +thousand--including therein those who died in the provinces. [77] +Thus is made very evident, by the unequal and disproportionate number +[of deaths] on both sides, the special protection of our Lord over +our army--a fact acknowledged even by the very infidels. + +The weapons that the Sangleys collected, besides some few firearms, +were: javelins and Japanese catanas, fastened to poles (and some were +made in Manila), some of these weighing more than an arroba, which +will indicate the force with which they could be used; sickles and +pruning-hooks, also fastened to poles; iron tridents; and bamboos with +sharp points hardened in fire, four or five brazas in length. They +also carried away the iron from the houses and churches that they +burned, and whenever they were left undisturbed in any encampment, +they set up their forges and made weapons, in order that no one might +he unprovided with them. The men were divided into tens, like [the +Roman] decurias, so that the exact number of their men was known; and, +of each ten, six fought, and four were responsible for their food, +in order that the fighting men might be entirely relieved from that +work. [78] They did not fight all at one time, but only three from +each decuria, in order that while these were fighting the others +might rest, and thus always they could have men who could enter the +battle in fresh condition. They employed stratagems in fighting--in +the beginning, when they had not so many arms, they made sham weapons, +covering these with cloth, so that they looked like steel. In their +camp near Sanpaloc, [79] in some towers that they built they placed +straw figures of Sangleys, so that our infantry might fire at these +and use up their bullets, and then the Sangleys could, without risk +of being hit, rush to attack our men. + +The damages which they committed throughout the period of the +insurrection are very great. They made havoc among the sacred images +and utensils, besides which they burned the village of Calamba and +its church; the village of Taluco, [80] in charge of secular priests, +with a wooden church and a stone clergy-house; houses and property +in Vinan; the house of San Pedro, belonging to the Society of Jesus; +the house and church at Meyhaligue and Santa Cruz; the village and +church of Quiapo, belonging to the Society of Jesus; many houses in +the villages of Tondo and Binondoc; the village of Sanpaloc, with a +house and church of stone belonging to the fathers of St. Francis; +the village of Taytay, with house and church of stone belonging to the +Society of Jesus; the villages of Mahayhay, Santa Cruz, Antipolo, and +Baras, belonging to the Society of Jesus; the villages and churches +of San Mateo and Pasig, belonging to the fathers of St. Augustine; +the villages of Santa Maria and Siniloan, and some visitas, belonging +to the fathers of St. Francis. They also burned ranches and country +houses belonging to [the fathers of] St. Augustine, the Society of +Jesus, Captain Gastelu, General Don Juan Claudio, Alferez Medrano, +General Azaldegui, Admiral Ezquerra, and Admiral Juan Alonso; besides +other stone houses and property belonging to private persons. + + + + +The persons who most distinguished themselves in our army + +From the very outset of the war the governor was active in it, not +sparing himself from any of its dangers, which were very great. If +any proof were needed of his energy, valor, executive ability, and +military circumspection, the present emergency would have furnished +it. Distinction was honorably gained by the master-of-camp, Don +Lorenzo de Olaso; he was always the first in dangers--none of which +he shunned, although he experienced several attacks of illness, +and even lay stretched at the foot of a papaw tree--escaping from +them, or being drawn out of them by his brave heart and valiant +spirit. Many personages of Manila in private life displayed their +courage, adding merits to their former ones by their service in +the army, and causing the enemy to recognize their bravery in the +skirmishes and assaults, that they might relate how they had conducted +themselves in these; it is sufficient to mention who they are. The +commanding officer of the artillery, Juan Bautista de Molina, was +present in some of the engagements, and the rest of the time he was +directing his artillery in the city. General Geronimo Enrriquez, +lieutenant of the master-of-camp, and general in the army, having +been appointed on New Year's day alcalde-in-ordinary, preferred to +fight in the campaign rather than to remain in Manila in the quiet +and repose of his house, although opportunity to do so was given him +by so honorable a title. General Don Juan Claudio de Verastegui, who +fulfilled the obligations that he had inherited by birth and acquired +by military service. Admiral Don Francisco Ezquerra, who, sometimes +accompanying his brother, General Ezquerra, and sometimes following +the army, everywhere gave proof of his valor. Captain Don Rodrigo +de Guillestegui, his deeds making him appear like a veteran soldier, +although he was so young. All the encomenderos and citizens of Manila +also played the part of veterans, either guarding the city by day and +by night, or serving in the camp, being present in various notable +encounters, wherein the cavalry distinguished themselves. The company +of Captain Juan Fiallo, who with his men was the terror of the enemy; +Captain Juan de Montoya, and Alferez Alfonso Gomez. The ranchmen and +mulattoes, as being accustomed to the management of horses and skilful +in hurling javelins, caused the greatest losses to the enemy on all +occasions. The Spanish infantry, with their captains Don Manuel de +Rivera and N. [sic] de Ugalde (who are worthy of the highest praise), +always fulfilled their duties with good results. The Pampango infantry +was not without glory--the archers and shield-bearers from Pampanga, +whose leader besides their captains was father Fray Juan de Sosa, prior +of the convent of Betis, always as thorough a religious as he was, +on occasion, valiant and courageous; they never returned to our camp +without leaving tokens of their presence in that of the enemy. The +Zambal archers, who went under the orders of Fray Antonio de las +Misas--a Recollect religious, and a person who was in all respects +such as the emergency required--always endeavored to win a reputation; +and if they were previously known by report, they were now by their +deeds. The companies of Cagayans and Terrenatans, as war was not a new +thing to them since they were born and trained in it, did not hesitate +to risk their lives, at the cost of a great number of enemies whom +they left dead behind them. The Tagal Indians of all this province +accompanied their valor with their loyalty, which was so great that, +although their losses had been so considerable in villages, houses, and +possessions, forgetful of all these, and remembering only the treason +plotted, the sacrilege committed, and the design of the Sangleys to +make themselves masters of the country, [81] these Indians took up +arms against them most of the villages serving in their companies, +and by so honorable an act giving proof of their fidelity toward God, +and of their affection for the Spaniards, tokens also of their loyalty, +subjection, and obedience to the king our lord and his officials. + + + + +The activities in Manila during the time of the war, not only in +defense of the city, but in prayers + +In proportion to the anxiety which the war occasioned was the +solicitude that was felt in the city for its protection; no citizen +shunned the performance of the duty that was allotted to him, and +all were [in turn] continually serving on the walls. The direction +of the fort [82] was in charge of the commander and castellan, +Don Fernando de Ayala; the cavalier [i.e., tower] of San Gabriel +was in the keeping of General Don Juan de Ezquerra; and the gate +of the Parian, in that of Sargento-mayor Don Pedro Jara, until he +had to take his station and plant artillery against the enemy at +Sanpaloc. At the new gate, Captain Don Gregorio Mujica commanded; +at that of Dilao, Sargento-mayor Palomino--and afterward Captain Mena +of the cavalier, whom they call De Carranza; in charge of San Pedro, +Captain Lorenzo Lopez. Admiral Luis Alonso de Roa attended to the +foundry [for artillery]; and Captain Aumada, to emergencies [del +inmediato]. Alferez Orgaz was in charge of the gate of Santa Lucia; +and Alferez Bernave Martinez and Sargento-mayor Don Marcos Zapata +of that of Santo Domingo. But, as the Spaniards were few in number, +it was necessary that they should be aided by the ecclesiastics +and the students. The clerics were placed in charge of a cavalier; +the students or collegians of Santo Tomas were under the orders of +the fathers of St. Dominic; those of the other, San Jose, under the +[fathers of the] Society of Jesus. They wore the clerical garb all the +time while the war lasted, with that of the military. The religious +hastened to take arms and defend the walls on the day of the attack; +and, every night when there was cause to suspect another, they were +found at the posts assigned them. + +The city was provided with a new moat, which continuing with the +old one by the side of the foundry, extended almost to the sea--a +celebrated work which was completed in a very short time, all due to +the assiduity and personal attention of the master-of-camp of the +artillery. Its commander, General Don Juan Zapata de Molina, gave +much attention to this work; it was greatly aided, and new inventions +and devices for [the use of] fire were furnished, by the solicitude +and experience of Captain Geronimo de Fuentes [Cortes]. There was +no one who did not, on occasion, render all kinds of service. A +company of free negroes [83] was formed, who were very useful within +the city, being distributed through the cavaliers for the effective +management of the artillery. Duties were assigned to the slaves, but +with discreet caution, on account of rumors which had been current +(although without foundation) that they were making great plans +when they saw the Sangleys in revolt; this was done partly [to give +them] occupation, and to deprive them of any notions of undertaking +another insurrection to the injury of the colony. But as its citizens +recognized that its main defense must come from the Supreme Power, +they did not neglect to raise their hands toward heaven, everywhere +offering continual petitions to our Lord for the fortunate result +of the war, and for the repose and pacification of these islands. In +the cathedral was begun a novenary [i.e., nine days' prayer] to the +glorious St. Joseph, all the [religious] communities repairing thither, +each on its own day, to recite solemn mass to him. The fathers of +St. Dominic, at the request of the city, celebrated another mass to +our Lady of the Rosary, all the religious orders also going thither +to say mass before her image. On the last day, [the image of] the +glorious patriarch St. Francis, who so loved this city, was carried in +procession to the cathedral, with supplication for favors through his +agency--which have been received heretofore, as is acknowledged, in the +first insurrection; and finally a procession was made in honor of the +immaculate conception of the Virgin, and other prayers were offered. + +[The following additional points regarding the Chinese insurrection are +taken from a pamphlet entitled Relacion verdadera del levantamiento +de los Sangleyes (i.e., True relation of the Sangley insurrection), +which was printed in Madrid, by Catalina de Barrio y Angulo, in +1642 (our transcript of the same having been made from the original +existing in Biblioteca y Museo de Ultramar, Madrid): "Calamba is +twelve leguas from Manila. The Chinese corresponded with a Chinese +pirate named Yquan Sanglus; it was arranged that he should come to +aid them on Christmas Eve, 1639 (the day set for the treason), and +to capture the galleons from New Spain. There were 35,000 licensed +Sangleys in Manila and its vicinity, besides 10,000 more in remote +provinces. In Manila at this time there were thirty foot-soldiers, +thirty horsemen, fifty Japanese, and seventy Siyaos. The value of the +goods destroyed in the Parian was 5,000,000 pesos; and the houses +(built of molave wood), with the church and the stone houses, all +together were worth 2,000,000. Twenty champans brought to Mariveles +the Sangleys from neighboring provinces, to join the Manila insurgents; +but a Spanish and Pampango force went out against than, who sank eleven +of the champans and killed six hundred and fifty men. Among the troops +levied by the governor were a company of Japanese, and two of Sangley +mestizos. Chinese prisoners confessed that their general had offered, +to each Sangley who should bring in a Spanish head, a large reward, +including a Spanish woman to be his wife. A body of religious from all +the orders, aided by some Indians and ten soldiers, undertook to defend +the passage across the river, and killed many of the enemy. On February +24, 1640, the starving Sangleys surrendered, to the number of 7,793."] + + + + + + + +ECCLESIASTICAL AND AUGUSTINIAN AFFAIRS, 1630-40 + + +[In VOLS. XXIII and XXIV of this series was presented the history of +the Augustinian order to the year 1630, as written by Fray Juan de +Medina. Continuing that history to 1640, we give (mainly in synopsis) +the most important matter on this subject in the Conquistas of Fray +Casimiro Diaz (Valladolid, 1890), book ii, pp. 267-444. As usual, the +parts synopsized or merely referred to are printed within brackets; +these will be readily distinguished from words or phrases supplied +in translation, which are printed in the same manner.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +After the death of the lord archbishop Don Fray Miguel Garcia Serrano, +the ecclesiastical cabildo of Manila attempted to interfere in +the government of the vacant see--alleging for this purpose that +the brief of Paul V, and the royal decree, had been obtained by +underhand means and misrepresentations. The bishop of Cagayan, Don Fray +Hernando Guerrero, also brought forward his claim to the vacant post; +accordingly, both parties presented the arguments in behalf of their +respective claims. The decision thereon was deferred for some time, +the cabildo always resisting Don Fray Hernando Guerrero's efforts to +take possession of the see, and denying not only the claim which he +preferred, but also the right which the bishop of Cebu, Don Fray Pedro +de Arce, had--which he, moreover, had yielded to Senor Guerrero. This +contest lasted two years in the royal Audiencia; then, the auditors +having declared that the government of the archbishopric belonged to +Don Fray Pedro de Arce, the cabildo appealed to the Council of the +Indias. Nevertheless, the royal Audiencia and the governor sent for the +bishop of Cebu, who reached Manila on the twenty-second of January, +1630. The cabildo having been commanded, by a royal decree, to hold +a session, Don Fray Pedro de Arce presented himself at that meeting, +and made the following proposition: "Sirs, it is well understood, as +you will satisfy yourselves, that my coming to this city, and just +now to this cabildo, is quite contrary to my own inclinations; for +I desire and love a quiet life, and I hold very dear the sheep of my +bishopric. The example [of this that I have given] is very evident; +for Fray Hernando Guerrero having gone to my diocese so that I might +confer upon him the orders for which he had been consecrated, I also +transferred to him the right to the government of this archbishopric +that I hold in virtue of a brief from his Holiness Paul V, issued +by him on January 7, 1612. But the claim of the said bishop of Nueva +Segovia was not allowed, for reasons which you know. After that, Don +Juan Nino de Tavora, governor and captain-general of these islands, +wrote to me so urgently in the name of the gentlemen of the royal +Audiencia, sending me his Majesty's royal decree, and laying a burden +upon my conscience if I did not accept this duty, that I could not +refuse it; accordingly, I come to this city, certainly against my own +wishes, and to the injury of my health in my advanced years. But, sirs, +it has seemed to me expedient to come, as a measure of peace and love, +to expostulate with you, and ask that you carefully consider all these +motives and reasons. I ask that, without delay or opposition, you at +once admit me to the government of this archbishopric, to which his +Holiness and his Majesty call me, considering that my earnest desire +and intention is to strive to labor in the service of both Majesties, +and to promote, for yourselves and all this commonwealth, the welfare +and harmony which should prevail, and which are right." Thus spoke +Don Fray Pedro de Arce; and answer was made to him by the dean, +Don Miguel Garcetas, in behalf of the cabildo. He said that they all +fully appreciated the bishop's kindness, and that all were entirely +satisfied of his good intentions in this matter, and of his great +virtue, prudence, and learning; but that, in order that they might +proceed in this matter with all harmony, certainty, and deliberation, +it was necessary that all the members of the cabildo should assemble +(for some were not present at this meeting). The dean added that in all +their acts they would follow the rulings of the sacred canons and the +constitutions of the cathedral church, and that his Lordship might be +certain that all of them confessed themselves to be his affectionate +children, and desired to render him service; and that they entreated +him to show them the bulls and other documents that he possessed, +in order that all these might be duly fulfilled. To this the bishop +replied that the bulls were already before the cabildo, and by virtue +of them he had been admitted to the government of the archbishopric +by the death of Don Diego Vazquez Mercado; accordingly, they must +settle the matter without delay because, if they did this amicably, +they would find in him a father and protector; but if not, he would +enforce his claims by the severe measures which he could by law employ. + +The cabildo met on the twenty-ninth of January, and decided that, +after having consulted learned persons, they were of opinion that the +cabildo ought not to surrender the government; but that, on account of +the many and serious difficulties [that might arise from this], they +would yield under protest. Accordingly, they received Don Fray Pedro de +Arce on the same day as ruler of the vacant see, although the cabildo +took much umbrage at it; and from this affair originated continual +strife and dissensions. At the outset, they denied to Don Fray Pedro +the seat in the choir, the cabildo asserting that the bishop was not +competent to possess it because he was not a proprietary bishop; and +that, although he had been consecrated, it was in another diocese, and +one suffragan to that of Manila. The prudent bishop felt this slight +keenly, for they had given him this seat when he first administered +the vacant see; but finally they gave him the seat (to which he was +legally entitled), as they had done before. Don Fray Pedro de Arce +ruled with the prudence and uprightness which in him were so eminent, +which together with his virtue and piety, made him a most accomplished +prelate, and truly a father to all. In the course of his government +he made enactments very important for the conduct of the church; +in especial, he imposed the cuadrante [84] for the choir in the +cathedral of Manila with great exactness--aiding the prebends with +great readiness in their choir, the subsidy that they receive being +still so small that some of them have hardly enough for their support. + +[The rest of this chapter is mainly occupied with secular occurrences, +which we omit here because they have already been fully related in +other documents for that time--the fruitless expedition against +Jolo under Lorenzo de Olaso, shipbuilding in Cambodia attempted, +the despatch of an envoy to India to secure Portuguese cooperation +against the Dutch, the coming of the royal visitor Don Francisco de +Rojas, and the death of the governor Nino de Tavora--and the relation +of various miraculous cures and deliverances performed through the +Santo Nino (or image of Christ) in the church of Cebu. The following +paragraph states the proceedings at the meeting of the Augustinian +provincial chapter of 1632:] + +The year 1632 having arrived, the provincial chapter was convened +in the convent at Manila, on the first day of May; the president at +this session was father Fray Juan de Tapia, and the election [for +provincial] resulted, with the general consent of the entire province, +in the choice of father Fray Geronimo de Medrano--a very courteous and +discreet religious, who governed this province well. As definitors +were chosen the fathers Fray Juan de Montemayor, Fray Francisco de +Mercado, Fray Luis Ronquillo, and Fray Juan Ramirez; and as visitors, +the fathers Fray Alonso Carbajal and Fray Antonio de Porras. They made +regulations very useful for the proper government of the province; +and as its procurator for Espana was appointed father Fray Diego de +Ordas, at that time prior of the convent of Santo Nino at Cebu. He +made the journey that year, and, having performed it very successfully, +returned [to the islands] in the year 1635. + + + + +CHAPTERS VII-XIV + +[These chapters are occupied with accounts of the persecutions in +Japan, and the biographies of Augustinian priests who were martyred +therein.] + + + + +CHAPTERS XV-XXXIV + +[These chapters relate the coming of Corcuera as governor, +his controversies with the bishop, and the exile of the latter; +biographical accounts of various noted Augustinian missionaries, +some of whom were martyrs in Japan; and the final incidents of the +persecution in that country, so far as Diaz could learn of them, up to +about 1715. Nearly all of this matter is either a repetition of what +we have already presented in previous volumes, or irrelevant to our +purpose; but we select occasional passages which properly belong to +the history of the islands, especially its ecclesiastical aspects. In +our VOL. XXV may be found extracts from Diaz's work regarding the +contest between Corcuera and Guerrero (chapters xv-xviii). Chapter +xix is devoted to the opinion of "a learned auditor of Manila" on the +banishment of the archbishop; the editor of Diaz, Father Tirso Lopez, +prints this opinion, in order to reproduce all of Diaz's history, +which is his only reason for not suppressing "this conceited, most +tedious, and ill-digested document." Chapters xx and xxi are devoted +to the biographies of two Augustinian missionaries, Fray Alonso de +Mentrida and Fray Juan de Medina respectively. The former excelled +as a linguist.] + +[Pp. 353-355:] He composed a curious and ingenious grammar [arte], by +which the main difficulty in [learning] those languages was surmounted +in a short time. He also composed a copious vocabulary of the languages +of the two islands, Panay and Cebu, which are quite distinct. In the +mountain region of Ogton a very harsh language is spoken, which they +call Halaya; and along the coast another, more polished and elegant, +which is called Hileygueina. This work [i.e., the vocabulary] cost him +much labor, and is very useful to the ministers. He left it complete, +and after his death it was published by father Fray Martin Claver. [85] +He [Fray Alonso] composed a brief catechism, accurately written, +in the Bisayan language, which is very useful for instructing those +natives in the mysteries of our holy faith; this was printed twice, +in order that there might be an abundant supply of a work so important +for the welfare of souls. He also published the ritual by which the +holy sacraments are usually administered in these islands; and this +work is deserving of esteem, since one finds therein a compilation of +what is strictly necessary for the more safe administration [of the +sacraments]. It is so highly regarded by the other religious orders +that, although two large editions of the work have been printed, +it is now necessary to issue a third, since all are trying to obtain +this book. [86] + +Father Fray Alonso de Mentrida spent many years in the provinces of +Ogton and Panay, [87] where he gathered much fruit in the conversion +of those souls, especially in the district of Ogton--which in those +times was, in the greater part of its mountain region, shrouded +in the darkness of error. There the devil was well entrenched in +those rugged mountains, having solidly established his kingdom and +worship among those simple natives--who, influenced more by fear +than by any other consideration, prostrated themselves before that +demon, and gave him their worship and adoration. His crafty designs +were successful among them through the agency of many priests and +priestesses (in the Bisayan idiom called babaylanes), who, being +especially assisted by that infernal spirit, concoct certain frauds +and delusions, with which they deceive the simple Bisayans. These +priests, moreover, secure much advantage from this mode of life, +since by it they make their living, and are feared and looked up to; +for most of them have a compact with the devil, by means of which +they wreak such evil as they can on those persons on whom they try +to be revenged, or whom they wish to injure because some one else +has done them harm. Against this infernal horde father Fray Alonso +de Mentrida waged continual battle, roaming through those mountains +on foot, and accompanied only by one servant, a very good Christian, +who aided him much in his work. This man died at a great age (more +than one hundred and ten years); he lived in the village of Guimbal, +of which he was a native, and his name was Vilango. They journeyed +so destitute of human aid that they carried in their pouches only +some roots, cooked, which in that country are very common, called +camotes, with a little rice, eaten cold and half-cooked. This sort of +abstinence was so continual in Father Mentrida that he ate nothing +else than the vegetables and pottages of the country, with a little +fish when he wished to appease his more pressing hunger; and it is not +known that he ate meat until, in his old age and in several attacks +of illness that he suffered, the duty of obedience compelled him to +moderate so austere a diet. In such a mode of life this apostolic +man wandered through those mountains, preaching to the infidels the +word of God, and persuading them to leave their straggling hamlets +[rancherias] and settle in some small villages, that he might more +advantageously call them together and instruct them, separating them +from their errors and blindness. With great benefit to their souls +the simple mountaineers of Ogton received the gospel preaching, +as they all are gentle and well-inclined people; the father's only +opponents were those ministers of Satan and children of perdition, +the babaylanes, who with their lies sowed their diabolical tares +upon the grain of heaven, and easily smothered the seed that took +root in piously-inclined hearts. Those priests artfully suggested +to the natives the anger which their divatas (thus they name the +spirits to whom they give adoration) felt against them, and on +their own part uttered threats against them, menacing either their +lives or their poor property--which is a scanty grain-field of rice; +and by these shameless acts they terrorized the people, and caused +some of them to lose their solicitude for attending church. Father +Fray Alonso de Mentrida spared neither hardship nor effort to bring +back to the fold of the Church those whom these malicious ministers +had, through their crafty methods, caused to backslide; and he held +with those priests extraordinary discussions, from which, in place +of gaining good results, he obtained only their plots. With these +they tried, on several occasions, to deprive him of life by their +arts and witchcraft; but the Lord, who watched over His servant, +did not permit them to succeed in their damnable attempts, and, +for the greater humiliation of the common enemy [i.e., the devil], +held back the father from the greatest dangers. + +During the time when this apostolic minister was preaching in the +mountains of Ogton, there were visible apparitions of the devil, +standing upon a rock and teaching superstitions and giving laws +to a great multitude of Indians, who, deceived by him, followed +him. Moreover, in those mountains are many demons, who appear to the +natives in horrible forms--as hideous savages, covered with bristles, +having very long claws, with terrifying eyes and features, who attack +and maltreat those whom they encounter. These being are called by +the Indians Banuanhon, who are equivalent to the satyrs and fauns of +ancient times. Even at this day these hideous monsters are wont to +appear to the Indians, some of whom remain in a demented condition for +months from the mere sight of them; others go away with these demons, +and are lost for a long time, and then will return in a terrified +and fainting condition, few of them failing to die soon afterward. I +would have much to tell and relate if I should stop to mention what +has occurred with such monsters, who have been seen not only in the +mountains of Ogton and Panay, but very frequently in the province +of Taal. They are called in the Tagal language Tigbalang; and many +persons who have seen them have described to me, in the same terms, +the aspect of the monster. They say that he has a face like a cat's, +with a head that is flattened above, not round, with thick beard, and +covered with long hair; his legs are so long that, when he squats on +his buttocks, his knees stand a vara above his head; and he is so swift +in running that there is no quadruped that can be compared with him. + +[Diaz proceeds to relate several incidents connected with these +demons, and the difficulties encountered by Mentrida, caused by the +hostility of the native priests--who much resembled the "medicine-men" +of the North American Indians; and adds (p. 356): "In these holy +occupations he passed much time in that mountain wilderness, as his +companion Vilango has told me; and gradually those hearts, hard as +diamonds, were softened, and they were converted to our holy faith. He +proceeded to gather those people into villages, founding those of +Agra (with the advocacy of St. Nicholas), Baong, Santiago, Limao, +San Pedro, Taytay, and Catingpan--which remain to this very day, +and in my time preserve the memory of this apostolic man, to whom, +as they recognize, they owe the knowledge of the truth." Mentrida +remained in the missions until 1618, when he was summoned to Manila, +to become prior of the Augustinian convent there; and in 1623, he was +elected provincial. The rest of his life he was afflicted by age and +broken health; and he died at Manila, March 22, 1637.] + +[Diaz sketches the life and labors of Juan de Medina (whose history +of his order in Filipinas we publish in VOLS. XXIII and XXIV of this +series), giving the following summary of his achievements: "It is +not easy to relate in full the great labors of this religious in the +conversion of the Indians in the province of Ogton, when they all, +on account of the coming of the Dutch the first time to the point +of Iloilo, took refuge in the mountains, forsaking their villages, +so that it was difficult for several years to bring them back to a +sedentary life. During that time, this religious traveled, carrying +little more than his staff, through all the mountains of Ogton, +preaching to the people that they might be converted, and maintaining +a continual battle with the devil--who had, through the agency of his +ministers the babaylanes, persuaded the people that the Spaniards could +not deliver them from the Dutch. During that time he suffered many +dangers through the plots of those infernal ministers, who at various +times tried to take his life--divine Providence delivering him from +them all, for the greater gain of those Christian communities. Amid +those dangers did this religious convert most of the peoples in +Ogton, Xaro, Baong, and Pasig. In all places where this minister +went, he left an especial reputation for his virtue and apostolic +teaching. He visited some nine times the entire province of Bisayas, +and usually held the office of vicar-provincial--obedience obliging +him to accept it, on account of the great importance of his direction +for the greater glory of the order." After twenty years spent in these +labors, he obtained permission (1631) to go to Spain, and miraculously +escaped from the wreck of his ship in the very port of Cavite. He then +returned to the Visayan missions, but again set out for Spain in 1635; +while crossing the Pacific, he was carried away by disease. Chapters +xxii-xxv are devoted to the persecutions and martyrdoms of Christians +in Japan; chapter xxvi treats mainly of the controversy within the +Augustinian order regarding the "alternation" of offices between the +friars sent from Spain and those who had taken the habit in the Indias +(already related in our VOL. XXVIII). The following paragraphs are +of interest here.] + +[Pp. 386-388:] After the father provincial Fray Juan Ramirez (who +was one of the best superiors of that time) had governed this +province very successfully and judiciously, the time arrived for +the provincial chapter; it was held at the convent of San Pablo in +Manila, on the twenty-fourth of the month of April, 1638. Father Fray +Jeronimo Cornuetano, the general of the entire order, presided over +the meeting; and it resulted in the election, by unanimous consent, +of father Fray Martin Errasti, a religious who was much endeared to +all the rest by his many fine qualities. The definitors elected were +fathers Fray Juan de Trexo, Fray Jeronimo Venasque, Fray Francisco +de Madrid, and Fray Francisco de Villalon; and the visitors, father +Fray Juan de Boan and Fray Jeronimo de Paredes--all being religious +of recognized abilities, and men to whose care the interests of +this province could be confided. It was decided to send to Espana a +procurator to conduct a party of religious to this province, although +the choice of one was not effected until the following year; this fell +upon father Fray Pedro de Quesada, prior of the convent of Bulacan, +who had recently arrived, driven back by stress of weather, from [a +voyage to] the kingdom of Japon--whither he went with some religious +of St. Dominic; but stormy head-winds obliged them to return to Manila, +divine Providence keeping them in reserve for another ministry. + +The Moro pirates of Mindanao and Jolo did not cease to infest the +Pintados Islands every year with their armed fleets--capturing +the natives, burning the villages, plundering the churches of the +consecrated vessels, and then destroying those temples by fire. So +far had gone the boldness of Corralat--who came to those islands, +subjected to his anger, without the Spaniards displaying any purpose +to defend them, or going out to hinder those injuries--that he +soon attributed this negligence to cowardice, and to the fear of +him which the Spaniards felt. This so increased his boldness that +his little fleets were daring enough to approach even the bay of +Manila. They experienced no resistance, save only in the province of +Caraga--[whose natives are] a warlike people--and this was due to +the valor of its alcalde-mayor, Captain Don Francisco de Atienza y +Banes, a native of Toledo; and to the great courage of a discalced +Augustinian religious named Fray Agustin de San Pedro, who was very +celebrated in those times, and feared by the pirates, [who was known] +by the name of "Father Captain" [Padre Capitan]. [88] The exploits +of this religious in defending the villages where he was a minister +of religious instruction, and in going out to find the enemy in their +own country, would be material for many chapters of history. He was a +religious of great virtue, and of zeal for the welfare of souls; and, +besides this, God had given him extraordinary courage, and a genius +worthy of Scipio and Hannibal. Accordingly, seeing that those who ought +to conduct military operations remained with folded hands, without +going out to the defense of those harassed peoples, he determined +to do so himself. On one occasion he went out from Butuan, where +he was prior, with some Spanish soldiers, and men whom he gathered +in Caraga; and with them he faced and put to flight an armed fleet +of Corralat. When Don Francisco de Atienza saw what aid he had in +the valor and experience of father Fray Agustin, the two laid their +plans to perform an exploit that should do them credit; and, manning +some caracoas with the best soldiers from the presidio of Tanda, both +Spaniards and Caragas, and providing two boats which could be taken +to pieces and carried overland in sections, and afterward be again +put together and framed, Don Francisco, accompanied by father Fray +Agustin, took the route to the lake of Malanao, [89] which was under +the jurisdiction of Corralat. This lake is in the island of Mindanao, +opposite the island of Bohol; from north to south it is eight leguas +long, and it is four leguas wide. Its shores are thickly settled by +several tribes, some Mahometan and others heathen (although all of +them are vassals of Corralat); but they are people who are very poor +in all except foodstuffs, of which they have a great abundance. Don +Francisco de Atienza and father Fray Agustin de San Pedro arrived at +this lake; and, as the water at its entrance was very low and there +were many miry places, they took the four [sic] vessels to pieces and +placed them on the lake, where they again [put them together and] +manned them. By this means the Spaniards went through that region, +carrying on hostilities among those tribes, and leaving them subjected +to the crown of Espana--although this submission did not last long, for +Corralat again reduced them, because the Spaniards had not left behind +a fortified post. This conquest was not one of much profit; but it +was enough to leave the Moros warned for some time by this punishment. + +[Chapters xxvii and xxviii are occupied with the expedition of +Corcuera against Jolo, already described in our VOL. XXVIII. Chapters +xxix-xxxiv are devoted almost entirely to the Chinese insurrection +in Manila and its environs in 1639, and to an historical account of +former disturbances caused by them in the islands, from the time of +the pirate Limahon down. A brief paragraph mentions the death of +the provincial of the Augustinians, and his temporary successor: +"In the middle of the year 1639 occurred the death of the father +provincial Fray Martin de Herrasti, a loss which was keenly felt +by all the province on account of his many endowments and lovable +qualities. He was a native of Guipuzcoa, and a son of the convent at +Burgos. Having come to this province in the year 1617, he was assigned, +by his obedience, to the ministry in Pampanga, where he remained, an +excellent missionary, for a period of twenty years--until the province, +satisfied as to his virtue and discretion, chose to employ so worthy +a minister to govern it, and elected him provincial, although it +enjoyed but little of the direction of so excellent a superior. The +government of the province was assumed by father Fray Juan Ramirez, +as the most recent past provincial; and thus was somewhat lessened +the general grief caused by the loss of the deceased provincial."] + + + + + + + +RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS + +By a religious who lived there for eighteen years [90] + + +The islands called Filipinas, because of having been conquered during +the reign of Felipe II, were discovered in the year 1521, by Hernando +Magallanes, a famous Portuguese, who gave his name to the strait. That +great pilot, after having forever perpetuated his name by a navigation +so new and so difficult, landed on one of the Filipinas Islands--a +very small one, named Matan--where he was treacherously killed by +the Indians. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos sighted the islands again after +him in the year 1539. [91] Finally they were pacified in the year +1571 by the adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. It is a cause for +surprise that the Portuguese, who had discovered the Malucas, China, +and Japon, some years before, and had made their homes there, did +not know anything about those islands until long afterward, although +they are, as it were, the very center and middle part of their other +discoveries. They knew well the island of Borneo, which is the last of +those islands toward the south, but they had never stopped there while +en route to the Malucas--urged, perhaps, by their too great greed for +the spices and drugs which are produced so abundantly in those islands. + +The geographies say that there are eleven thousand islands in that +great archipelago of which the Filipinas are a part, and that they are +adjacent to Asia as are the Canaries and the Terceras to Africa. They +cross into the torrid zone and extend along the coasts of China and +India. South of them lie the Malucas, and on their northern coast, +Japon. More than forty of them are subject to the king of Espana, +the largest and most important being Manila and Mindanao. Manila is +the capital of all the others, the residence of the governor and the +archbishop, and the seat of the royal Audiencia. Those two islands are +each six hundred miles in circuit; they are full of mountains, have +rivers and dense forests, and lie in thirteen and one-half degrees +north latitude. The other islands are not so large, some being one +hundred miles in circuit, some fifty, and some even less. Almost all +of them are inhabited by Indians, and those which are not are used by +the Indians for their crops, and for the chase of deer and wild boars, +and for the gathering of wax, with which the islands most abound. + +The islands not yet under the dominion of the king of Espana have +their own kings, who are Mahometans. The island of Borneo, three +times greater than the whole of Italia, is the largest of all the +islands. Those subject to the king of Espana are Manila, Zebu, Oton, +Mindanao, Bohol, Leite, Samar, Mindoro, Marinduque, the island of +Negros, the island of Fuegos, Calamianes, Masbat, Jolo, Taquima, +Capul, La Paragua, the island of Tablas, Verde Island, Burias, +Tiago, Maripipe, Panama, Panaon, Sibuian, Luban, Bantajan, Panglao, +Siquior, Catanduan, Imaras, Tagapolo, Banton, Romblon, Similara, +Cuio, Cagaianes, Marivelez, Poro, Babuianes, the island of Cabras +(which is distant from the others), and other smaller ones. + +In the islands subject to the king of Espana, every married man pays +ten reals of tribute, and he who is unmarried five. Nearly all of them +have received the gospel, and hence there are few heathen. However, +in the islands of Mindanao, Taquima, and Jolo, conquered but recently, +most of the people are Moros or heathen; but it is hoped that the +zeal of the missionaries will convert them very soon to Jesus Christ. + +Before the conquest of those islands by the Spaniards, the natives of +the country were subject to the chiefs among them, who were recognized +as nobles, and all the others obeyed them. Those chiefs possessed a +great amount of gold, and slaves in proportion to their nobility. I +knew two chiefs, one in Bohol, and the other at Dapitan, a village +of Mindanao, who had more than one hundred slaves apiece. They are +not foreign slaves, as those of Angola who are in Europa, but of the +same nation. It was a lamentable thing to see with what violence and +for how little a thing, these chiefs made slaves. For, however small a +sum one owed to another, the interest, for lack of payment, amounted to +so great a sum that it was impossible to pay it; and consequently, the +person of the debtor being pledged for the debt, he became the slave of +his creditor, together with all his posterity. They also made slaves, +with unusual tyranny and cruelty, for crimes of slight importance, +such as not keeping silent at the graves of the dead, and for passing +in front of the chief's wife when she was in her bath. Those captured +in war were also all made slaves. Now with baptism, all those acts +of violence and tyranny have been suppressed--although there still +remains one very peculiar custom among them, which does not follow +that general rule, namely, Partus sequitur ventrem; [92] for there are +some who are wholly slaves, and others who are only half slaves. The +former are those born of a slave father and mother; the others who +are born of a slave father and a free mother, or vice versa. In some +villages it is the custom that, if the father is slave and the mother +free, one of the children is free and the other slave. The privilege +of those half slaves is that if they pay a certain sum of money to +their master, they may oblige him to grant them their liberty--an +advantage that is not possessed by those who are wholly slaves. + +All the religion of those Indians is founded on tradition, and on a +custom introduced by the devil himself, who formerly spoke to them +by the mouth of their idols and of their priests. That tradition is +preserved by the songs that they learn by heart in their childhood, +by hearing them sung in their sailing, in their work, in their +amusements, and in their festivals, and, better yet, when they bewail +their dead. In those barbarous songs, they recount the fabulous +genealogies and deeds of their gods, of whom they have one who is +chief and head of all the others. The Tagals call that god Bathala mei +Capal, which signifies "God the Creator." The Bisayans call him Laon, +which signifies "Time." They are not far from our belief on the point +of the creation of the world. They believe in a first man, the flood, +and paradise, and the punishments of the future life. + +They say that the first man and the first woman came out of a reed +stalk which burst in Sumatra, and that there were some quarrels between +them at their marriage. They believed that when the soul left the body, +it went to an island, where the trees, birds, waters, and all other +things were black; that it passed thence to another island, where all +things were of different colors; and finally that it arrived at one, +where everything was white. They recognized invisible spirits, another +life, and devils hostile to men, of whom they had great fear. Their +chief idolatry was in adoring and regarding as gods those of their +ancestors who were most remarkable for their courage, or for their +intelligence. Such they called humalagar, or, as is said in Latin, +manes. Each one, as far as possible, ascribed divinity to his father +at death. The old men even died with that conceit, and that is why +they chose a remarkable place--as did one in the island of Leite, who +had himself placed on the seashore, so that those who went sailing +should recognize him as a god, and commend themselves to him. They +also worshiped animals and birds. They regarded the rainbow as a +sort of divinity. The Tagals worshiped a totally blue bird, of the +size of a thrush, which they called bathala, which was a name of +the divinity. They worshiped the raven, which they called meilupa, +meaning "the master of the earth." They had a great veneration for +the crocodile. [When] they saw it in the water, they called it nono, +or "grandfather." They offered to it prayers regularly, with great +devotion, and offerings of what they carried in their boats, in +order that it might not harm them. There was no old tree of which +they did not make a god, and it was a sacrilege to cut it. I have +seen a very large one called nonog, [93] in the island of Samar, +which a religious ordered to be felled, in order to destroy all those +superstitions. He was unable to find an Indian who would undertake +it for him; and it was necessary for some Spaniards to go to fell +it. They also worshiped the stones, rocks, reefs, and promontories +of land which jut into the sea; and made offerings to these of rice, +fish, and other like things, or fired their arrows at them in passing. + +Between La Caldera and the river in the island of Mindanao, a great +point of land runs into the sea, which makes the coast dangerous and +very high. The sea beats violently against that cape, which is very +difficult to double. The Indians in passing offered it their arrows as +a sacrifice, praying it to allow them to pass. They shot them with so +great force that they made them enter the rock, and hence it is called +the Punta de Flechas. One day the Spaniards burned a number of those +arrows to show their hatred of so vain a superstition; and in less than +one year more than four thousand were found there. When Don Sebastian +Hurtado de Corcuera conquered the island of Mindanao three years ago, +[94] he ordered that that point be called no more Punta de Flechas, +but San Sebastian. They had innumerable other superstitions. If they +saw a snake or a lizard, or if they heard a bird that they called +corocoro [95] sneeze or sing, they took it as a bad sign, and did +not go farther. They had no remarkable temples, and no festivals of +days of public sacrifices; but each one made his offerings to the +humalagar or divata (which was the name of their god) in private, +according to their purpose or need. Although they had no temples, +they had men and women who acted as priests, who were called catolonan +by some and babailan by others. Those priests were most inclined to +allow themselves to be deceived by the devil, and to deceive the +people afterward by a thousand tricks and inventions--chiefly at +the time of their sicknesses, when they are depressed, lose courage, +and crave a prompt remedy; and give all their possessions to him who +promises it to them. + +There are some priests who have special communication with the +devil. He speaks to them through the mouths of their little idols, +and makes them believe that these are the voices of their ancestors, +whom they worship. Sometimes the devil passes into the bodies of their +sacrificers, and, during the short time of the sacrifice, he makes +them say and do things that fill the bystanders with fear. They take +that order of sacrificers from among their friends or their relatives, +who wish to learn the mystery of it from them. Their blindness causes +them to esteem that rank greatly, for besides the reputation and +respect that that employment brings them, they also receive large +offerings. All who have been present at the sacrifice make them gifts, +one cotton, one gold, and one a fowl. The sacrifice takes place in +their houses. The victim is now a hog, now a fowl, now some fish or +rice; and the sacrifice is differently named according to the various +victims. It is performed by the sacrificer stabbing the victim amid +certain ceremonies, which he performs to a cadence marked by a drum +or a bell. That is the time in which the devil takes possession of +them. He causes them to make innumerable contortions and grimaces, +after the end of which they tell what they believe they have seen +or heard. + +As for their persons, those people are well built, have handsome +features, and are light-complexioned. They are clad in a garment +that falls to the ankles, which is made of striped cotton of various +colors. When in mourning, they wear white; however, that mode of dress +is not so general. Those called Pintados, and those of the island of +Mindanao, wear short white, yellow, or red tunics, which hang to the +knees, bound in by a girdle one vara wide and two and one-half brazas +long; this is, as a general rule, white or red, and always falls +to the knees. They wear neither stockings nor shoes; and instead +of a hat they use a bit of cloth, which they wind twice or thrice +around the head. Their whole adornment consists in having very rich +and beautiful necklaces, earrings, and gold rings or bracelets. They +wear those bracelets above the ankle; some wear these of ivory, and +others of brass. They also have little round plates three fingers +in diameter, which they pass through a hole that they make in the +ear. In some of those islands, the men formerly marked all the body +with figures, whence comes the Spanish name "Pintados" ["pictured," +i.e., tattooed]. That operation was performed in the flower of +their age, and at the period when they had most strength to suffer +that torture. They had themselves adorned in that way after they had +performed some illustrious deed. The masters of that art first trace on +their bodies the design of the picture, which they next follow up with +pricks from very sharp points, and throw on the blood which comes out +a powder which never fades away. The whole of the body is not pricked +at once, but bit by bit; and formerly, in order that one might have +the right of making it for each part, it was necessary to perform an +illustrious deed, and to show new prowess. Those pictures are pretty, +and well proportioned to the portions of the body on which they are +made; and, although they are of an ashen color, they are nevertheless +agreeable to the sight. The children are not tattooed at all. The +women do not bear the marks of that adornment except on one hand and +on some part of the other. In regard to their teeth, they imitate +the men in everything. They file them from their earliest childhood; +some making them even in this way, others filing them into points, +thus giving them the appearance of a saw. They cover the teeth with +a black, glossy polish, or one that is flame-colored; and thus their +teeth become black, or as red as vermilion. In the upper row, they +make a little covering which they fill with gold, which shows off to +advantage on the black or red background of that polish. + +The women as well as the men are continually in the water, and they +also swim like fish. They need no bridge to get over rivers. They bathe +at all times of the day, as much for pleasure as for cleanliness. Women +who have but recently given birth cannot be prevented from bathing, +and bathe in the waters of the coldest springs. As soon as the child +has issued from its mother's womb, it is placed in the water; and +on taking it from the bath its head is rubbed with ajonjoli [i.e., +sesame] oil mixed with civet. They do that also on other occasions, +and to show politeness, especially the women and little boys. They +bathe also during their sicknesses, and have for that purpose springs +of hot water, especially at the shore of Laguna de Bay, which is in +the island of Manila. [96] + +There is no one language that is general for all the islands, +but each district has a special one. True, they have some relation +between one another, such as exists between the Lombard, Sicilian, +and Tuscan. There are six dialects in the island of Manila, and +two in the island of Oton; while there are some languages which +are spoken in several islands. The most general are the Tagal and +Bisayan. The latter is very rude, but the former is very polished, +and most remarkable. Thus a religious, who was well versed in those +islands, was in the habit of saying that the Tagal language had +the advantages of the four chief languages of the world: that it +was mysterious, like Hebrew; that it had the articles of the Greek, +both for appellatives and for proper names; that it had elegance and +abundance, like the Latin; and that it was not less suitable than +the Italian for compliments and business. [97] They have only three +vowels, but these serve as five. They have only a dozen consonants, +which they express differently by placing a little dot above or below, +as can be seen in the following figure. + + + Marginal note: "The consonants not marked with any point are + pronounced with 'a;' if they have a point above, they are + pronounced with 'e,' or 'i;' if the point is below, they + are pronounced with 'o' or 'u.'" + + +They have learned to write from us [98] by making their lines from +left to right, instead of their former way of writing from top to +bottom. Reeds or palm-leaves serve them as paper, and the point of +an iron style is used instead of a pen. They use their writing only +to letters from one to another, for they have no histories or books +of any learning. Our religious have printed books in the languages of +the islands, concerning the matters of our religion. In the Malucas, +they have a very pretty method of writing to their friends. They +collect flowers of various colors, and make a bouquet of them; and +he who receives the bouquet understands, on beholding the varieties +of flowers and their colors, as if they were so many different +characters, the thoughts of his friend. They have not sufficient +capacity to apply themselves to learning, and they content themselves +with being good carpenters, and with working gold and iron well. They +have been employed during these last few years in making silk and +cotton stockings; in writing and reading our characters; in singing +and dancing; and in playing the flute, the guitar, and the harp. The +strings used for those last instruments are made from twisted silk, +and produce as agreeable a sound as ours, although quite different in +quality. They formerly had an instrument called cutiape, which some +of them still use. It bears a close resemblance to a hurdy-gurdy, +and has four copper cords. They play it so cleverly, that they make +it express whatever they wish; and it is asserted as a truth that +they speak, and tell one another whatever they wish, by means of that +instrument, a special skill in those of that nation. + +Most of those islanders have only one wife, but it is not true that +there are not some places in the country where they have several, +especially in the island of Mindanao. It may be said that the husbands +buy their wives there, since they generally make some present to +their parents according to their rank: that of dato, for instance, +which signifies "a man of rank;" of tinaua, which signifies "free;" +or oripuen, which signifies "a slave." The women in the islands +of the Pintados are called binocot, or "woman who is in the room;" +for bocot signifies "a room," and the women go outside but rarely, +and even are carried then on the shoulders of their slaves. I have +seen one woman of Dapitan, a settlement of the island of Mindanao, so +delicate and so fine, that she always had herself carried to church +on the shoulders of her slaves whom she best liked. It is a mark of +politeness among those women always to keep the right hand in front +of the mouth when they talk to a man. [99] + +Those people live in houses thatched with straw, with the leaves of +trees, or with large reeds which, divided into two, serve them as a +tiling. There is but little furniture to be seen in their houses. But +rarely are chairs seen there, for they always sit on the ground, or +on carpets made from reeds. They have neither beds nor mattresses, as +their reed mats serve as both. They eat on the ground or on very small +low tables, but the tables are used only among the chiefs. Banana +leaves, which are one braza long and one-half braza wide, serve +them as napkins. Their employment consists of agriculture, the very +abundant fishing along their coasts and in their rivers, and hunting +wild boars and deer with dog and spear--an employment to which their +agility and their skill renders them very suitable. They also go to +gather honey and wax in the mountains or in the trees, where nature +has taught the bees to make both those substances. + +The arms of some are spears, of others arrows; the campilan, which is a +large cutlass; the kris, or poniard; the zompites or blow-guns, through +which they blow little poisoned arrows; and bacacaies, or little reeds +hardened by fire at the end. To defend their grain from animals and +from men who could harm it, they scatter caltrops, which the old men +call tribulos, [100] made so that one of the four points of which they +are composed is always up, and those who pass there get caught without +perceiving the traps. But now the Spaniards have taught them how to +use firearms, and they get along very well--especially a nation called +the Pampangos, many of whom are enrolled in the Spanish troops. These +men serve with great fidelity, and well second the courage of which +the Spaniards set them an example in their combats by sea and land. + +They are very fertile, and I have seen but few married people without +children. When these are born, they name them according to the +incidents that happen at the time of their birth. One will be called +Maglente, because of the thunder that sounded at the time of his birth; +for lente signifies a clap of thunder. Another will be named Gubaton, +because the foes appeared on the coast at that same time; for gubat +signifies enemy. They esteem nobility; and I have known a woman +called Vray--that is to say, "fine gold"--who had been given that +name because of the nobility of her lineage. In some of the islands +they were accustomed to put the head of a new-born child between two +boards, and thus pressed it so that it would not be round, but long; +and they also flattened the forehead, in their belief that it was a +mark of beauty to have it thus. [101] At the birth of a child to one +among them who is of the highest rank, they hold a festival of a week, +during which very joyful songs are sung by the women. + +They lose courage when they are sick. They do not use either bleeding +or other remedies, except certain medicinal herbs, of which there is +abundance in these islands. They use the cupping-glass; but it is not +made of glass, for there is no glass in that country, but of small +shells or the small horns of deer. They drink the liquor of cocoanuts +after it has been kept some time in the evening damp; and that liquor +is so healthful that their continual use of it keeps them from gravel, +a disease of which the name is unknown among those peoples. + +When anyone dies, the music of the mourning and lamentation begins +immediately. Some weep because they are truly touched by their loss; +others are hired by the day to weep. Women are usually chosen, as they +are most apt for that music. They wash the body of the deceased to that +sad cadence, and perfume it with storax, and other perfumes which are +used among them. After bewailing the body for three days, they bury +it. They do not place it in the earth, but in coffins of very hard +and incorruptible wood, which they kept in their houses. The boards of +the coffins are so well joined that the air cannot enter. They placed +a piece of gold in the mouths of some, and adorned their coffins with +precious gems. Moreover they were careful to carry all sorts of food +to their grave, and to leave it there as if it were to be used by the +deceased. Some they would not allow to go alone, and it was necessary +to give them some male and female slaves to keep them company. They +killed the latter after having given them a fine repast, so that they +might go with the deceased. With one of their chiefs of the country +they once encased a galley equipped with rowers, so that they could +serve him in the other world. The most usual place of burial was the +house of the deceased, in the lowest story, where they dug a hole to +place the coffin. Sometimes the burial was in the open field; and in +such case great fires were made below the house, and sentinels were +posted there, for fear lest the deceased should come to take away +those who were yet alive. The tears and lamentations were finished +with the burial; but the feasts and orgies lasted a greater or less +time, according to the station of the deceased. The Tagals wore black +as a sign of mourning; the Bisayans wore white, and shaved the head +and eyebrows. When a person of rank happened to die, silence was +observed throughout the village, until that the interdict should have +been removed--which lasted a greater or less time, according to the +quality of the deceased. During that time not the least noise could +be made. But the mourning of those who had been killed in war or by +treachery lasted a longer time, and did not end until their children +and relations had killed many others--not only those who were known +as enemies, but even strangers or unknown men; for their fury having +thus been assuaged, they thought that they could put an end to their +mourning, and solemnize it by great festivities and prolonged feasting. + +They are for the most part good sailors--I mean for the navigation +among the islands; for, as they do not use the compass, they do not +get along so well on the open sea. They use various kinds of craft, +which are propelled by sail and oar. The largest craft of the second +class are called caracoas. Although these are not very large, they do +not hesitate to put one hundred Indians in them; for there are three +banks of rowers on each side. They make use of those craft for trading +among those islands; and they lade them with dried fish, wine, salt, +wax, cotton, cocoanuts, and other like merchandise. + +They are cowards naturally, and more apt to make an ambuscade than +to face their enemies. Upon that is chiefly founded their submission +to the Spaniards, for they do not serve them out of affection. + +They readily received our religion. Their meager intelligence does +not permit them to sound the depths of its mysteries. They also have +little care in the fulfilment of their duties to the Christianity which +they have adopted; and it is necessary to constrain them by fear of +punishment, and to govern them like schoolchildren. Intoxication and +usury are the two vices to which they are most addicted. The piety +and care of our religious have not as yet been able to make them lose +those habits altogether. + +The climate of Manila and most of the other Filipinas Islands is very +warm. The difference between the seasons is not perceived, for the heat +is equally great all the year. The rains commence at the end of the +month of May and last for three or four months without interruption; +but beyond that time it rains but rarely. In the months of October, +November, and December, the country is subject to hurricanes, which +the natives of the country call vaguios. They are furious winds which +make the entire round of the compass in twenty-four hours, commencing +at the north. They break the palm-trees, uproot the largest trees, +overthrow the houses, and sometimes carry persons into the air; +and some have been seen which have hurled vessels a musket-shot inland. + +At the extremity of the island of Manila, near the Embocadero, where +the vessels en route from Nueva Espana enter, there is a volcano or +mountain whence often issue flames, and always smoke. [102] In those +islands there is neither grain, wine, nor olive-oil, nor one of the +fruits which we have in Europa, except the oranges, of which I shall +speak later. Rice grows there in great abundance, and serves instead +of bread. They have two kinds of it. One kind is sown in places always +under water, and the other on the mountains, where it is moistened +only by the water from the sky. Their drink also is made from rice, +by soaking it in water; or it is taken from palm-trees, or cocoanuts, +or from another variety of small palm called nipa. They keep those +liquors in large crocks, and draw from them only on holidays and +days of rejoicing. Those liquors mount to the head and intoxicate, +as much as does the wine of Europa. + +The horses and cows in those islands have been carried thither from +Mexico and China, for there were none there formerly. The flesh of +swine is their most usual food, and there is a great abundance of it; +it is very healthful and savory. There are also innumerable fowl, +deer, wild boars, goats, and civet-cats; also plenty of beans, +cotton, strawberries, and even cinnamon--which is found only in +the island of Mindanao, and which does not begin to be as good as +that of Ceilan. They have no silver mines in those islands, and the +little silver seen there has been carried from Mexico, in return +for the merchandise exported there annually. There are gold mines +in the island of Manila, and on the river of Butuan in the island of +Mindanao. There is truly not sufficient to satisfy the desires of the +Spaniards; but the little that there is of it sufficed the Indians, +who value it only for the little use that they make of it, since it +does not enter at all into trade. There is a quantity of honey and +wax in their mountains; and since the Spanish have lived there they +have built many sugar mills; and sugar is so common there that one may +buy twenty-five libras of sixteen onzas apiece for one teston. They +have three varieties of fruit that are most common: bananas, santors, +and birinbines. [103] There are fifteen or sixteen kinds of bananas, +some of them are sweet, but that sweetness has an admixture of bitter +in others. Some of them smell good, but all of those varieties are +very agreeable to the taste. I know of no fruit in Europa to which +to compare them, unless it be the musas which grow in Sicilia. The +birinbines and santors are eaten preserved more often than in any +other way, because of their tartness; when prepared in preserves, +they taste like plums. If they are allowed to ripen on the tree, +they smell like quinces, although they have no other resemblance +to quinces at all. Those islands have many other trees which grow +wild. Their mountains furnish them with roots, from which they draw +their most usual nourishment; these are called pugaian and corot. [104] +They have other roots which they cultivate, such as the apari, the +ubi, the laquei, and others which they call camotes, which are the +potatoes [105] of Espana. The Spaniards use the last named, as also +do the Indians. + +But the most useful tree of all is the palm--not that which bears +the date, for they do not have that species, but those which bear +cocoanuts, of the size of an orange. Those nuts are filled with a very +sweet liquor, which is very good to drink. They make wine, vinegar, +and honey of it; and when that fruit becomes dry as it ripens, that +liquor changes into white meat harder than an almond. It is from +that meat that oil is extracted and a milk resembling that extracted +from almonds. The cocoanut has two coverings. The first, which is +less hard, is used for tinder when dried; also for the rigging and +smaller cordage of the ships, or as tow for calking them. The other +covering is harder, and is used for drinking vessels, or as dishes +in which to prepare their food. The palm-leaves are the tiles with +which their houses are thatched. The trunks of the same trees are +used to support the houses, and in making the pillars. They have one +other tree which is no less useful to them, for it serves them as a +perpetual spring, and furnishes water to an entire village--which, +being located on a very high and dry site, has no other water than +what they get from that tree by making incisions in its trunk, and +in its largest branches; for a clear sweet water flows out of it. The +trees of those islands are always green, and there are only two species +that shed their leaves, one called batelan, [106] and the other dabdas. + +The reeds [i.e., bamboos] of those islands have the following +peculiarity, namely, that they are as much as three palmos +in circumference and eight brazas in length. They are used as +the materials out of which to build a whole house. The pillars, +the lintels, the stairs, the floors, and the walls are made from +them. They are used as rafters for the roof, and split into several +parts, as tiles for covering the roof. They have no other saucepans in +which to cook their food than those reeds, and no other wood to burn; +for the trees serve them as material with which to build their little +boats--or rather, rafts--with which they carry for traffic their rice, +cocoanuts, and abaca, the hemp of that country. + +Those islands have a great abundance of various kinds of oranges, +peculiar to those countries for their good taste. I have seen them so +large that they were four palmos in circumference. Some were red as +scarlet inside, and very sweet. There are some which contain another +little orange in the place of the seeds; and these are called on that +account "oranges which have children." [107] + +I will place in the list of vegetables a sort of leaf which serves +them for nourishment, or rather for refreshment. It is used very +commonly among the Indians, both Christians and Mahometans, and even +among the Spaniards. A mixture is made of it which is called mamuen, +into which three things enter: one is this leaf, which is called buio, +which is smooth, and resembles in color and size a large ivy leaf, +but it is not so thick. It smells very good, and is aromatic. It is +planted under some dry tree, on which it climbs. The other fruit that +enters into that mixture is called bonga, and it is as large as an +olive. Lastly, they mix in a small quantity of quicklime. A little +cornucopia is made of the leaf, the bonga and lime are placed inside, +and it is all chewed together. That mixture colors the saliva as red +as blood, and the lips the most beautiful vermilion ever seen. It +preserves the teeth, strengthens the stomach, and produces a very +good breath. Eighty of those leaves can be bought at Manila for one +real. Nevertheless, so great a quantity is consumed that it has been +ascertained that it was sold in one year to the amount of ninety +thousand reals, of seven and one-half sols apiece. + +There are many snakes in those islands, which are very dangerous; +some of them, when they have young, attack people. [108] The bite of +those called omodro is very dangerous, and those who are bitten by +it do not live one-half day. It is from that effect that it derives +its name, for odro signifies one-half day. There is another very +large snake called saua. I have killed one of that species which was +two and one-half brazas long. The skin of another, which measured +thirty-two [Spanish] feet in length, was brought to our residence +at Manila. The sauas hang to the branches of trees along the roads, +whence they dart down upon people, or deer, or on any other prey. They +wind themselves three or four times around the body, and after having +broken the creature's bones devour it. But God has provided a number +of herbs in those islands which are used as antidotes to all kinds of +poisons. Roots and herbs are found in the mountains, which are so many +specific remedies against snake-bites; the chief ones are manongal, +manambo, logab, boroctongon, maglingab, ordag, balucas, bonas, bahay, +igluhat, dalogdogan, mantala. + +There are also animals in those islands of which I ought to give +a description. The civet-cat is found in the mountains. Its skin +resembles that of a tiger, and it is no less savage than the tiger, +although much smaller. It is captured and bound, and, after its civet +is obtained, which is contained in a little pouch under its tail, +it is set at liberty to be caught once more. The crocodiles, of which +their rivers are full, are so huge that when their jaws are open, a +man of the largest size could stand upright between the two jaws. The +crocodile is quite covered with scales; has scarcely any tongue; and +its teeth are set closely together, and are very sharp, and arranged +in several rows. The teeth of the middle lower row fit into holes +or breaks in the others which correspond to them in the upper jaw; +and consequently, when it seizes its prey, there is no force that +can make it let go. It lays a great number of eggs. In the water +it is furious, and attacks boats. It is not so greatly feared when +ashore--where it goes sometimes to seize some prey, or to sun itself. + +The woman-fish [109] is so called because its face and breast are +quite like those of women, whom it also resembles in its manner of +copulation with the male. That fish is as large as a calf, and its +flesh, of which I have eaten, tastes like beef. It is caught with lines +as thick around as the finger, and when the line becomes fast within +[its mouth] it is killed by javelin-thrusts. Its bones and teeth have +great virtue against all sorts of dysentery, especially against bloody +discharges. Some have tried to assert that those fish were the sirens +of the sea, so celebrated among the poets; but they have nothing of +the beauty of face and of the voice that is attributed to sirens. + +I will end [this account], finally by a description of the tabon, an +ashen-colored bird as large as a hen, which lays eggs three times as +large as those of hens, but which lays them in a peculiar manner. It +chooses desert islands and those full of sand, where it first makes +a hole one or one and one-half brazas deep; and after having laid its +eggs, it covers them over with sand. The chicks break the shell, and +gradually turn up the sand that covers them with their feet. If any +of those chicks is so unfortunate as to break the egg at the lower +end, it does not succeed so well, and dies for lack of strength to +overturn the sand. Sometimes one hundred and fifty of the eggs are +found in the same hole. I have eaten those eggs often when I have +had occasion to stop at those islands during my voyages. + +There is cinnamon in the island of Mindanao; and pepper at Patani, +and at Champan, a country lying on the mainland of China. + +The political government of those islands is the same as that of other +provinces subject to the crown of Castilla. The governor resides at +Manila, and is president of the Audiencia; while, as captain-general, +he has charge of all the posts of peace and war, as well as of the +encomiendas of one or two thousand Indians [each], who pay their +encomendero the tribute that the other Indians pay to the king. But the +encomendero who has been appointed by the captain-general is obliged +to get the confirmation of his grant from Madrid within three years. + +The governor establishes the corregidors and alcaldes-mayor, or +governors of the provinces into which these islands are divided. He +appoints the captains and the admirals of the fleets which sail to +Acapulco and Terrenate annually. He takes cognizance of civil affairs, +on which the royal Audiencia pronounces the decisions or decrees. That +Audiencia is composed of a president (who is always the governor), four +oidores or auditors, and one procurator-fiscal. There are four cities +in the Filipinas--Manila, Zebu, [Nueva] Cacares, and Nueba Segovia; +and one town, called Arevalo. There is a garrison at Manila and at +Cabite, which is the port where the warships enter, six miles from +Manila. There are also garrisons at Zebu, Otong, Carouga, Lanbuangang +[sc. Zamboanga], Jolo, Nueva Segobia, the island of Hermosa, and +the Malucas. All those ports are fortified, and have their redoubts +mounted with artillery. Whatever is necessary for those garrisons is +sent from Manila. It would be a very difficult task to mention the +names of all the different peoples among the Indians, and in those +islands, who are subject to the king of Espana. There are fully three +hundred thousand families, who might count one million souls. + +The archbishop of Manila has three suffragans, those of Zebu, +[Nueva] Cacares, and Nueva Segovia. They have no other income than +what the king gives them; that of the archbishop is three thousand +ducados, while each of his suffragans receives one thousand five +hundred. The city of Manila is small, but it is beautiful and well +fortified. Its houses are all built of stone, and are spacious, +and very airy. Its streets are long and straight, and one may walk +in the shade all hours of the day. The churches are beautiful. There +are five convents: that of the Augustinians (which is the oldest); +that of the Franciscans, that of the Dominicans, [110] and that +of the discalced Augustinians. There are two universities, one in +charge of the fathers of St. Dominic, and the other in that of the +Society. Those religious are also distributed among the islands, +where they have charge of the instruction of the Indians. The city is +enclosed by a fine wall and moat; and its redoubt and its ramparts +are well garrisoned with artillery. At the foot of its wall flows a +river, which is navigable; over this is a wooden bridge, with stone +pillars. There are two thousand Spaniards in Manila (counting soldiers +and inhabitants), and twice as many Indians. There are also twenty +thousand Sangleys or Chinese, who practice all the arts needed in +a community; and every year they pay nine escudos and six reals of +tribute. Galleons much larger than those which sail the Mediterranean +are built at Manila; for there is a great abundance of wood, pitch, +and abaca--which resembles European hemp, and of which good rigging +is made for the ships. The anchors are imported from Goa; and the iron +for the nails comes from China in little bars, and is very serviceable. + +The Spaniards of the Manilas trade throughout the islands of that +archipelago, at Borney and Camboa, whence they carry wax, butter, +camanguien or storax, ivory, and bezoar. They formerly traded in Japon, +before the persecution of the Christians was begun. Thence were carried +iron, flour, all sorts of fruit, and little boxes, and cabinets, +varnished [i.e., lacquered] and very well made. Nangoza [sc. Nagasaki], +which was the port where that trading took place--and for which it was +very suitable, because it is not distant from Manila--is now closed +to us; for the emperor of Japon believes that people are entering his +country, under pretext of that trade, to preach the gospel, the thing +that he fears most of all. We trade also with the Portuguese of Macao, +who come to the Manilas every year with two or three ships, and bring +here silks, musk, precious stones, and eagle and calambac wood--which +is a sweet-scented wood that is very valuable. The inhabitants of the +Manilas also go to Macao sometimes, to carry their merchandise there; +but their chief trade is with the Chinese, who come annually, at the +end of the month of December and the beginning of January, with twenty +or thirty vessels, laden with products and valuable merchandise. They +sail usually from Ocho and Chincheo, ports of Anay, a province of China +which faces the Filipinas. They carry small oranges, nuts, chestnuts, +plums, raisins, and chicuei--a fruit resembling an apple, very round, +transparent, and, when it is ripe, having the color of yellow amber; +its peel is very loose, and its flesh very sweet and very pleasant +to the taste. [111] They also bring all sorts of cloth stuffs, and +some of these are as fine as those which come from France and the +Low Countries; and many black stuffs of which the Indians make their +clothes. They bring silk, plain and twisted, of all colors; damasks, +velvets, tabbies, and double taffetas; cloths of gold and silver, +galoons, and laces; coverlets, and cushions; and porcelain--although +not the finest variety, as the trade in that is prohibited. They bring +pearls and gold; iron, in little bars; thread, musk, and fine parasols; +paste gems, but very beautiful to look at; saltpetre, and flour; +white and various-colored paper; and many little fancy articles, +covered with varnish, and gold in relief, made in an inimitable +manner. Among all the silk stuffs brought by the Chinese, none is +more esteemed than the white--the snow is not whiter; and there is +no silk stuff in Europa that can approach it. + +The Chinese return in the month of March, and carry to China silver +in return for their merchandise. They also take a wood called +sibueno [112]--that is, brazil-wood, which is used in making their +ink. Those Chinese merchants are so keen after gain that if one sort +of merchandise has succeeded well one year, they take a great deal +of it the following year. A Spaniard who had lost his nose through a +certain illness, sent for a Chinese to make him one of wood, in order +to hide the deformity. The workman made him so good a nose that the +Spaniard, in great delight, paid him munificently, giving him twenty +escudos. The Chinese, attracted by the ease with which he had made +that gain, laded a fine boatload of wooden noses the following year, +and returned to Manila. But he found himself very far from his hopes, +and quite left out in the cold; [113] for in order to have a sale +for that new merchandise, he found that he would have to cut off the +noses of all the Spaniards in the country. + +Besides the Chinese merchandise that is brought into the islands, +there is wax, cinnamon, civet, and a sort of very strong cotton cloth +which is called campotes [misprint for lampotes]. All those goods are +exported to Mexico, where they are sold at great profit, and on the +spot. I do not believe there is a richer traffic in the world than +that. The duties that the king gets out of it are large, and, with +what he gets from the islands, amount to fully five hundred thousand +escudos. But he spends eight hundred thousand in the maintenance of +his governor, the counselors, the archbishop, the bishops, the canons, +those who possess the prebends, and the other ecclesiastics. The +greater part of that sum is employed in the equipment of the galleons +that are sent to Mexico and to the Malucas, and of those which are kept +in those seas to resist the Dutch. A considerable sum is spent on the +maintenance of alliance with the kings of those districts--especially +with the king of one of the Malucas, called Tidore. Consequently, +the king of Espana rather holds those islands for the conservation +there of the faith, as was stated by Felipe the Second in a certain +council-meeting, than for the profit that is derived from them to this +hour. The Dutch have been unable to get a footing on those islands, +although they have attacked them many times. They have a considerable +city [i.e., Batavia] on the island of Java Major, whence they send +what their garrisons at the island of Hermosa, Amboina, and Terrenate +need. They have made an alliance with the inhabitants of that island, +and they secure the greater part of the cloves of the Malucas. They +trade in Japon, in a port called Firando. The Chinese have refused +to have trade with them, because of a tradition current in China, +that blue-eyed men will some day conquer them. + +The voyage from Manila to Mexico lasts four, five, six, or seven +months. Manila, which lies in thirteen and one-half degrees, is left +in the month of July, during the vendavals. The course is taken to +the north, until the ship reaches thirty-eight or forty degrees. The +pilots take that course because they are more certain of finding +winds; for otherwise they would run the risk of encountering calms, +which are more to be dreaded in long voyages than are the most furious +gales. From the time that the Filipinas are left until almost the coast +of Nueva Espana is reached, no land is seen, except a chain of islands +called the Ladrones, or La Sapana, [114] which lie three hundred +leguas from the Embocadero of the Filipinas. The people who inhabit +those islands are barbarians, who go quite naked. When our vessels +pass there, those people carry to them fish, rice, and fresh water, +which they exchange for neither gold nor silver, but only for iron, +which they value much more, because of the use to which they put it in +the manufacture of their tools, and for the building of their little +boats. The first land sighted after that is the island of Cedros, +quite near the Mexican coast. The open expanse between that island +and those of the Ladrones is subject to great storms, which are to +be feared especially near the Japanese Islands--which are passed, +however, without being sighted. During the whole course of so long +a voyage, scarcely a day passes without seeing a bird. There are +usually some birds that live in the sea, and many large whales and +porpoises are seen. + +As the [American] coast is neared, at a distance of sixty, eighty, +or one hundred leguas signs are to be seen in the sea by which it is +recognized that the ship is within that distance. Those signs consist +of long reeds, brought down by the rivers of Nueva Espana, which being +massed together resemble a kind of raft; and on those reeds are to be +seen monkeys--another sign that they are approaching the coast. When +the pilot discovers those signs, he immediately changes his course, +and instead of continuing east he puts the nose of the ship south, +in order to avoid getting caught in the land, or in some gulf whence +he would have a hard time to get out; but, when he has sighted the +coast of Nueva Espana, he follows it to the port of Acapulco, which +lies in eighteen degrees. + +Acapulco is a fine port, well sheltered from all the winds, and +defended by a celebrated redoubt. There the passengers and goods are +disembarked, and are afterward carried by mules to the City of Mexico, +which is eighty leguas distant thence. The way is desert and bestrewn +with mountains; and the pest of mosquitoes is suffered, as well as the +extreme heat. In order to go to Espana from Mexico one goes to the port +of Vera Cruz, a journey of eighty-five leguas; en route is passed the +city of Los Angeles, which has about six thousand inhabitants, and +whose bishop gets a salary of sixty thousand escudos. The reefs and +rocks at the mouth of the port of Vera Cruz defend the entrance better +than the fortress that commands it, although that fort is an excellent +one. At that port anchor the trading fleets that come from Espana, +laden with wine, olive-oil, cloths, wax, cinnamon, paper, and other +European merchandise. Those trading fleets formerly passed the winter +there, as they arrived [formerly] in the month of June, and remained +there until the same month of the following year. Now they reach that +port in the month of May, and leave about the month of August. They +take as a rule three months to go to Espana. For my part, I took +one hundred days in making that voyage. The port of Havana in Cuba, +which is the best port of the Western Indias--and which is very safe, +and defended by three redoubts--is touched at. There the two trading +fleets--that of Mexico and that of Tierrafirme--are united with the +galleons. Thence, after having coasted along the shores of Florida, +and of Nueva Francia, they make the cape of Fineterre [Finisterre] +or San Vincent, in order to lay their course toward Cadiz, which is +the end of their voyage. That will also be the end of this relation, +which I have written in order to be obedient to a person to whom I +earnestly desire that it may prove agreeable. + + + + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA + + +The following documents are obtained from MSS. in the Academia Real +de la Historia, Madrid--in the collection "Papeles de los Jesuitas:" + +1. Events in Filipinas, 1637-38.--In tomo 84, no. 35. + +2. Fortunate successes, 1636-37.--In tomo 32, no. 17. + +3. Events in Filipinas, 1638-39.--In tomo 4, no. 34, fol. 268. + +The following documents are obtained from the Archivo general de +Indias, Sevilla: + +4. Letter from Corcuera.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; +cartas y espedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; +anos 1629 a 1640; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 8." + +5. Letter from treasurer.--The same as No. 4. + +6. The university of Santo Tomas.--"Audiencia de Filipinas; registro +de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas a las autoridades y particulares +del distrito de la Audiencia; anos 1605 a 1645; est. 105, caj. 2, +leg. 12." (In this same legajo may be found two of the decrees of +1638, those of November 8 and December 8; and that of October 3, +1639, has the same pressmark, save "leg. 2, lib. 4.") + +The following documents are obtained from the "Cedulario Indico," +in the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid: + +7. Decrees, 1638.--The first four, in "tomo 39, fol. 235b, 225b, 262, +and 267," respectively; (the fifth and sixth, see No. 6, ante;) the +seventh, in "tomo xxxi, fol. 144b;" the eighth, in "tomo 7, fol. 352b." + +8. Decrees, 1639.--In the same order as printed, these are found +as follows: In "tomo 39, fol. 276b; tomo xviii, fol. 55; tomo 39, +fol. 281; tomo 31, fol. 142b; tomo 39, fol. 285b and 285; tomo 2, +fol. 315b;" (for October 3, see No. 6, ante;) "tomo 39, fol. 290b +and 290." + +The following documents are obtained from the Ventura del Arco +MSS. (Ayer library), vol. ii: + +9. Events in the Filipinas, 1639-40.--Pp. 167-184. + +10. Relation of the Chinese insurrection.--Pp. 185-250. + +The following document is obtained from a rare printed pamphlet in +the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar, Madrid: + +11. Glorious victories against Moros.--Part of this is synopsized in +translation. The pamphlet is designated in the Museo-Biblioteca by +the number "111, 21-2a." + +The following document is obtained from a MS. volume in the possession +of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago; the volume is undated, but is supposed +to be written in 1835, and is entitled, Demostracion historica de +cuantas depredaciones llevan cometidas las Moros, etc.: + +12. Letters to Misericordia.--In fol. 6b, 7, and 8. + +The following documents are taken from printed works: + +13. Relation by Banuelos y Carrillo.--From Thevenot's Relations de +divers voyages curieux (Paris, M.DC.XCVI), tomo i, part ii; from a +copy belonging to the Prescott Collection in the library of Harvard +University. (The original printed pamphlet by Banuelos y Carrillo is +supposed to be no longer extant.) + +14. Value of Corcuera's seizures.--From Pastells' edition of Colin's +Labor evangelica, iii, pp. 528-533. + +15. Ecclesiastical and Augustinian affairs.--From Casimiro Diaz's +Conquistas, pp. 267-444. + +16. Relation of the Filipinas Islands, by a religious.--The same as +No. 13. + + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] Spanish, buenas collas de bendabales. In August the prevailing +winds at Manila are from the southwest, the vendavals. It often happens +that in the months of June and July there develop in northern Luzon +centers of minimum pressure so slowly that they appear to remain +stationary for many days, followed, as is natural, by continuous +currents and showers of rain from the third quadrant, known by +the native-born residents as "collas" (Report of U. S. Philippine +Commission, 1900, iv, pp. 229, 236; this chapter is furnished by the +Jesuit fathers in charge of the Manila Observatory). + +[2] Juan Zubelzu, a native of Biscay, and a novice in the Dominican +convent at Mexico, came to the Philippine Islands in the mission of +1615. After his ordination, he ministered to the Indians in Bataan, +and in Cavite and Manila--where he died, December 14, 1657. He built +a stone church in Samal, for which, it is remarked, he did not harass +the Indians, although they were few in number. (Resena biografica, +i, p. 350.) + +[3] "Son of the devil, scourge of God, and other similar things." + +[4] Spanish, padres barbados; also known as Barbones, from their +practice of wearing long beards; they came in 1635, with Corcuera, +headed by Collado, and formed the congregation of San Pablo (for +mission work only), by "warrants fraudulently obtained." A royal decree +of February 21, 1637, commanded the Dominican provincial at Manila +to suppress the Barbones; it is the execution of this decree which +is described in our text. See Resena biografica, i. pp. 338, 391, 420. + +[5] This statement about the Sangleys is printed by Barrantes +as a postscript to Lopez's letter of July 23, 1637 (q.v., +VOL. XXVII). Internal evidence indicates Juan Lopez as the author of +the present document, and that it was written at Cavite, where Lopez +was in charge of the Jesuit house. + +[6] Melchor de Vera was born in Madrid about 1585, and entered the +Jesuit order at the age of nineteen. Two years later, he departed +for the Philippine mission, and after his ordination labored in the +missions of Visayas and Mindanao. He was for a time minister of Manila +college, and afterward rector of Carigara, and superior at Dapitan and +Zamboanga. He was well versed in architecture and military defense, +and several forts were built (especially that at Zamboanga) under +his direction. He died at Cebu, April 13, 1646. See Murillo Velarde's +Hist. Philipinas, fol. 153 verso; and Combes's Hist. Mindanao. + +[7] Fernando de Estrada, a native of Ecija, Spain, was a missionary +among the Bisayans and Tagals, and at Ternate. He died at Manila in +1646, at the age of forty-five. See Murillo Velarde's Hist. Philipinas, +fol. 193 verso. + +[8] Charles I sought at various times to play Spain against France, +but his Spanish policy was, on the whole, a failure. + +[9] Morabites: the name of a Mahometan sect, founded by the son-in-law +of Mahomet. The name was also used among Mahometans to indicate a +wise man or a mystic. + +[10] Antonio Francisco Cardim was born at Viana, Portugal, in 1596, +and entered the Jesuit order in February, 1611. Seven years later +he went to India, and labored in Japan, China, and other countries +until his death--which occurred at Macao, April 30, 1659. Sommervogel +describes several missionary reports and other writings by Cardim. + +[11] That is, the small amount of their returns from Mexico prevented +the Manila merchants from making their usual large purchases from the +Chinese traders, and it was feared that the latter would not think +it worth while to bring their goods to Manila. + +[12] This was Tsongching (VOL. XXII, p. 197, and note 44), the last +emperor of the Ming dynasty; he was favorable to the Jesuits, but can +hardly be called a convert to the Christian faith. By "Father Pablo" +is probably meant Paul Siu (or Sin, according to Cretineau-Joly), +a Chinese official of high standing, who was converted by Father +Ricci, and served as an evangelist among his people, besides aiding +the missionaries with gifts and his influence at court, and revising +their writings in Chinese. See Cretineau-Joly's Hist. Comp. de Jesus, +iii, p. 172; and Williams's Middle Kingdom, ii, pp. 302, 304. + +[13] A marginal note reads: "Translated from the Spanish relation +printed at Mexico in the year 1638; dedicated to Don Garcia de Haro +y Abellaneda, count of Castilla, president of the royal Council of +the Indias." + +[14] Marginal note: "The rules of this traffic, which will be found at +the end of the relations of the Filipinas, elucidate this point." This +evidently refers to the Spanish originals. + +The "list of relations and voyages" at the beginning of Thevenot's work +contains this title: "Three relations of the Philippine Islands, with a +large map of China," etc. To correspond with this, the text contains: +the "Relation" of Banuelos y Carrillo; the "Relation and memorial" +by Hernando de los Rios Coronel; and a "Memorial in behalf of the +commerce of the Philipine Islands," by Juan Grau y Monfalcon--all +with consecutive pagination; and apparently abridged or paraphrased +to suit the editor. These are followed by (Bobadilla's) "Relation +of the Philipine Islands," and an "Account of the great island of +Mindanao" (which contains a letter by Mastrilli)--also with their own +and consecutive pagination; these, however, are not mentioned in the +list above referred to. We translate from Thevenot the documents by +Banuelos and Bobadilla; but for the others we have recourse to the +Spanish originals. + +[15] Lope Diaz de Armendariz, marquis of Cadereita, the sixteenth +viceroy of Mexico, was appointed (1635) to succeed the marquis +of Cerralvo (who was removed at his own request, because of poor +health). His term of office was quiet, and only marked especially by +his quarrel with the archbishop, with whom the royal Audiencia seem +to have sided. He was removed in 1640, his successor being Diego +Lopez Pacheco Cabrera y Bobadilla, duke of Escalona and marquis de +Villena. See Bancroft's Hist. Mexico, iii, pp. 93-98. + +[16] Marginal note: "Bartolome Tenorione." + +[17] The following letter from the Sevilla archives ("Cartas y +espedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; anos +1629 a [1640]; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 8"), contains an interesting +reference to Banuelos's relation, and also suggests the well-known +deficiencies in Thevenot's "translations." It is to be feared that +he has omitted much valuable matter from Banuelos's account; but no +other source is available: + +"I return the paper which your Lordship sent me, concerning the +military exploit in Mindanao, which was written and sent, as appears, +by Father Marcelo Mastrili. Although its contents must be true, and +it is well written, yet as your Lordship knows, the Council thought +it advisable not to have it printed until they could compare it with +the letters that the governor had written about the same exploit, +and with others written by various persons, which make it out to have +been of little value and importance. They even attempt to say that +we have lost rather than gained in that campaign--particularly in a +discourse or treatise printed in Mexico by Don Geronimo de Banuelos +y Carrillo, and addressed to your Lordship. In it he declares that +those who were conquered were not Moros, but certain poor Indians; +I do not know whether [he says this] from zeal for the truth, or +because he has little affection for the governor. He wounds him quite +to the quick in this and in other things. I was making an abstract of +them in order to report to the Council, as I was ordered; but today, +on going out, Don Juan Grao Monfalcon told me that he is at present +printing another report, to oppose that of Banuelos. I do not know who +has given permission for it, nor that, in the care of the relation of +Father Mastrili, there is anything that is not well understood. What +the Council discussed was (as I have said), only whether it is exact +and faithful to what happened; and of this I have not yet been able +to form a sufficient judgment or idea. I am getting new documents +hourly from the secretary's office, and I shall detain them until +the one that I am now enclosing is returned, if convenient. May God +preserve your Lordship, as we your servants desire. Today, Tuesday, +February eight, one thousand six hundred and thirty-nine. + + +Don Juan de Solorzano Pereira" + +"The count, my master, has ordered me to send again to your Lordship +the enclosed relation of his success from the governor of Filipinas, +in order that there may be progress in the deliberations of the Council +on this question. May God preserve your Lordship, as I desire. Buen +Retiro, February 16, 639. + +Antonio Carnero" + + +"I return these papers to your Grace, so that you may continue what you +were doing. May God preserve your Grace. My house, February 16, 1639." + +[18] Referring to Sebastian Vizcaino (VOL. XIV, p. 183). The Englishman +here referred to is doubtless Will Adams (VOL. XXII, p. 169, note 39), +then high in favor with Iyeyasu. Regarding the expulsion of religious +at that time, see VOL. XVIII, p. 81. + +[19] A marginal note reads as follows: "Ricca douro is an island which +was discovered by a vessel from Macao. They landed there in order to +repair their galley fireplace, and a week later they perceived that +that earth had been converted into plates of gold. I suffered a violent +tempest in the latitude of that island, as the maps show it; and there +are few vessels that sail in that latitude, without having trouble." + +See also notes in VOL. XIV of this series, p. 183; and VOL. XVI, +p. 204. + +[20] In the margin is the following note: "Tono in the Japanese +language signifies a person who holds the rank that a duke of Cardone +or a marquis of Carpio would have in Espana." This means a daimio, +or feudal lord (see VOL. XVIII, p. 216). + +[21] Following is a translation of the title-page of the book from +which this account is taken: "Relation of the glorious victories on +land and sea won by the arms of our invincible king and monarch, Felipe +IIII, the Great, in the Filipinas Islands against the Mahometan Moros +of the island of Mindanao and their king Cachil Corralat, under the +leadership of Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order +of Alcantara and one of his Majesty's Council of War, and governor +and captain-general of those islands: drawn from various relations +sent from Manila during this year (1638). 1638. With license. Mexico; +at the press of Pedro de Quinones, opposite the Professed House." + +[22] Tulio (misprinted Fulio), for Tullius (Cicero). Apparently there +is some error in the reference given in the text, for this citation +from Cicero is not found in the place indicated by it, in the standard +editions of his Epistolae. + +[23] Attached to the editions of Quintilian's works are 164 +Declamations, which remain out of a collection consisting originally +of 388 of these compositions. It is supposed, however, that these +were written by various persons, at different periods of time. + +[24] "It is believed that the number of islands exceeds 1,400, although +thus far no one has stated their number with exactness." (Archipielago +filipino, p. 6.) The latest information (Census of the Philippine +Islands, Washington, 1905, i, p. 185), gives the total number of +islands, however, as not less than 3,141, although the exact number +is still unknown. + +[25] This is the literal translation; but it will be remembered, +from previous accounts, that the figure of Christ here referred to +was painted on a sheet of linen or cloth; it was this sheet which +was used by the Moro as a garment. + +[26] Camaras were tubes or cylinders which received the charge and +were introduced into the breech of the cannon, sometimes fitted by +pressure, at other times by screwing (see Diego Ufano's Treatise on +military; Brussels, 1617). Some of the ancient pieces of ordnance +had these spare chambers, so that, after a charge had been fired, the +chamber could be changed and operations carried on more rapidly. Thus +they served as do the cartridges of modern breech-loading guns. Some +camaras were used independently of the cannon, for firing salutes. See +Stanley's Vasco da Gama (Hakluyt Society publications, London, 1869) +pp. 226, 227, note. + +[27] Tawi Tawi is the largest island of a group having the same name, +in the extreme southwest of the Philippine Archipelago, nearly 700 +miles distant from Manila. It contains over 100 islands, mostly +very small; but five of these contain ten or more square miles of +area. The island Tawi Tawi contains 187 square miles; its surface +is one of fertile plains interspersed with forests, and broken by +five peaks ranging from 736 to 1,941 feet in height. The islands +are thinly populated (estimated at 1,815 fighting men) by Malayan +tribes supposed to have migrated thither from Borneo--the Suluanos, +Camucones, and Tirones. Navigation among the islands is difficult +and dangerous, except for the small, light native craft; and they +have been the hiding-places of pirates from the earliest times. + +[28] Referring to Captain Gines Ros y Aviles, who had been left by +Corcuera as governor of Jolo. Combes gives a detailed account of +all this affair (Hist. Mindanao, Retana's ed., col. 369-395). Ros +applied himself, after Corcuera's departure, to the profits of trade, +and was deceived by the Moros, who pretended submission but planned +to surprise and kill all the Spaniards. The officer next in command, +Gaspar de Morales, with the two Jesuits, finding their warnings +unheeded, sent word to the governor's lieutenant at Zamboanga, Pedro +de Almonte--who immediately went to Jolo, again subdued that island, +and placed Morales in Ros's post as governor. Cf. La Concepcion's +account, Hist. Philipinas, v, pp. 348-359, 412-427. + +[29] A village in Laguna, Luzon, on the southwest shore of Laguna +de Bay. + +[30] The two Jesuits who remained in Jolo as missionaries, Fathers +Alejandro Lopez and Francisco Martinez. + +[31] "Of these [Sangleys] several champan-crews armed themselves to +infest the seas; and, occupying the narrow passages of Marivelez, +they captured various vessels which came from Bisayas and other +provinces to trade.... Armed ships were despatched against them from +Manila, and, despite their resistance, several of their champans were +seized; and the pirates were punished with death, as their insolence +deserved--several of them being baptized, by dint of exhortations, +just before their torture." (La Concepcion, Hist. Philipinas, v, +pp. 429-431). One of these "rigorous modes of punishment" is mentioned +post, on p. 226--that of tearing away the flesh with pincers. + +[32] Probably referring to the revolt of the Caragas, 1629-31, and +their murder of several Recollect missionaries at Tandag. + +[33] Combes describes very fully this and another Spanish expedition +into the region of Lake Lanao in 1639; and "a third and last one," +which was unsuccessful, and compelled the Spaniards to retreat, +in 1640. See his Hist. Mindanao (Retana's ed.), col. 145-177. + +[34] Referring to the injury sustained by this chief in the explosion +of a mine at the siege of Jolo; it is described by Lopez in his +chronicle for 1637-38 ante, pp. 44, 45. + +[35] See Combes's description of Lake Lanao (Hist. Mindanao, Retana's +ed., col. 145-147); lanao means simply "lake," and malanao, "people +of the lake." Cf. A. H. S. Landor's description--in Gems of the East +(New York and London, 1904), pp. 303-308--of the lake legion and +its people. In 1902 the American military authorities constructed +excellent highways from the seacoast to Lake Lanao, from Malabang on +the south to Iligan on the north. A description of this work, with +valuable observations on the character and habits of the Malanao Moros, +appears in the Atlantic Monthly for December, 1903, from the pen of +Major R. L. Bullard, U. S. A., who directed the building of one of +these roads. The Malanaos were never conquered by the Spaniards or +any other people. The present district of Lanao contains part of the +Rangaya range of mountains, 5,000 to 8,500 feet in height; and its +eastern part is traversed by the Pulangui River (Rio Grande). The +lake is twenty-two miles long and sixteen miles wide, and its outlet +is Iligan River. + +[36] Apparently referring to the boat which carried passengers from +Manila to the port of Cavite. + +[37] Also Zarpana, the modern Rota. Uan apparently means the present +Guam. The place where the ship was wrecked was, according to Diaz +(Conquistas, p. 402), the island of Seypan. + +[38] Diaz states (Conquistas, p. 402) that this galleon ("Nuestra +Senora de la Concepcion") was "the largest one built up to that time," +and that it contained the greatest wealth of the islands. The few +men who escaped to land were afterward rescued by Spanish ships, and +taken back to Manila--save one, a Chinese blacksmith, who spent the +rest of his life there and acquired great influence over the natives. + +[39] La Concepcion states (Hist. Philipinas, v, p. 351) that +when Corcuera returned to Manila in triumph, the Confraternity of +La Misericordia gave him 100,000 pesos from its treasury, for the +expenses of the Jolo campaign. + +"For Governor Corcuera to secure, even in part, the successful result +that he desired in this conquest, he was obliged to resort, for the +necessary succor, to the treasury of Santa Misericordia; for in this +emergency he found closed on all sides the gates of resource for the +accomplishment of his so laudable designs. He found this aid, as prompt +as liberal, in the sum of 104,609 pesos, two tomins, and one grano, +which the brethren carried to him at the royal offices, as a loan, +to aid his needs and enable him to push forward this conquest, which +depended on such aid." This statement is taken from the Demostracion +historica (MS. in Ayer library; see following note), fol. 7 verso. + +[40] These two letters are obtained from a MS. volume in the library +of Edward E. Ayer, of Chicago, entitled: Demostracion historica +de cuantas depredaciones llevan cometidas las Moros desde que se +incorporaron estas Yslas a la Monarquia Espanola; inedidas de toda +especie tomadas por el Gobierno para contenerlos; y indicasiones que +se presentan para hacerles la guerra con mejor fruto que hasta aqui, +a fin de que las Visayas se vean libres de las continuas opresiones +qe. sufren--"Historical exposition of the many depredations which +the Moros have committed, from the time when these islands were +incorporated with the Spanish monarchy; the measures, of all kinds, +taken by the government for curbing them; and indications that +suggest how war may be waged upon them with better results than have +hitherto been secured, to the end that the Visayas may be freed from +the continual cruelties that they suffer." This work (evidently +intended for publication) is undated; but the conjectural date +"1835?" appears on the fly-leaf, which is headed "1a. Parte." As +appears by the introduction to the book, it was written by one of +the members of the Sociedad Economica of the Philippines--founded +by Basco y Vargas in 1780, and reestablished by Folguera in 1819; +and his "only motive in writing it was to meet his obligations to +that society." The MS. is contained in a plainly-bound volume of 291 +folios (582 pages), and displays fine, round, legible, and beautiful +handwriting, from several different hands. Folios 1-11 cover the +period antecedent to 1750; the rest of the book, that from 1750 to +1806--more than two-thirds of this part being dated after 1788. The +writer evidently had access to valuable original documents, some +of which, as these letters to La Misericordia, he cites directly; +and his narrative is well and carefully written. + +[41] This was Fray Francisco de Zamudio, who had come to Manila in +1636, and acted as provisor-general during the temporary exile of +Archbishop Guerrero. + +[42] The great visitor-general of New Spain and the bishop of +Puebla. He had a "special commission to take the residencias of +Cerralvo and Cadereita, and to investigate the commercial relations +with Peru and the Philippine Islands." He was of noble family, although +illegitimate, but was legitimized by his father. He was a man of great +abilities, which won him speedy recognition and high offices until he +decided to enter the priesthood (1629); and, after serving in various +capacities in Spain, he went to Mexico in 1640. He was energetic +and impartial in the exercise of his duties, and before long this +embroiled him with the indolent and easily-influenced viceroy. Finally +he was offered the archbishopric, and at the same time ordered to +assume charge of the government. He refused the archbishopric, but +accepted the latter, and in 1642 assumed that office--which he held +for five months, during which he ruled well and impartially. After +retiring to his bishopric he had various troubles with the Jesuits, +the new viceroy, the archbishop, and others, until he was ordered to +retire to Spain in 1648, where he died bishop of Osma in 1659, much +regretted by the people of his bishopric. See Bancroft's Hist. Mexico, +iii, pp. 98-136. + +[43] Meaning that the failure to receive the usual supplies of money +from Mexico had rendered the Manila merchants unable to buy the +goods brought by the Chinese traders--the latter being thus unable +to maintain their shops in Manila, and obliged to return to their +own country. + +[44] Apparently some words have been omitted in Ventura del Arco's +transcription; probably it should read, "upon us for our past sins"--or +possibly, "for the past two years." + +[45] Spanish, regalos; referring to the articles (mainly those of +luxury) imported from Mexico by citizens of the islands. + +[46] Shells or hollow balls, sometimes of clay, sometimes of heavy +canvas, which were filled with combustible substances; when kindled, +they were shot or hurled against the enemy, either to cause injury +by their explosion, or to set his works on fire. + +[47] "A mountain called Socol, distant from Calamba a short league" +(Diaz, Conquistas, p. 406). + +[48] This was an estate belonging to the Jesuits (Diaz, Conquistas, +p. 408). + +[49] Pastells' transcript of this document (Colin's Labor evangelica, +iii, p. 129) contains a few lines of additional matter, as follows: + +"Of the whole affair a full relation will, I think, be printed; so I +leave it here, entreating our Lord to look with pity on these islands, +which are so full of misery and poverty." + +[50] In passing through Mexico Senor Corcuera found so much cloth +from this [Chinese] commerce stored in the warehouses that, in +consideration for the interests of the merchants, he thought it best +not to send a ship [to Acapulco] that year; as a result, in this year +of 1638 the Chinese found less silver [in the Philippines] than their +business required. It also contributed [to their discontent] that, +since the royal treasury was unable to meet the great expenses of so +many armed fleets and wars, the contributions [levied] on the Chinese +were greater and more exacting--not only in actual money, but in other +necessary supplies." (La Concepcion, Hist. Philipinas, v, p. 429). + +[51] Diaz states (Conquistas, p. 403) that besides the Chinese of +the Parian, who were chiefly traders, there were at the time of this +revolt more than 20,000 others scattered through the islands, who were +occupied in tilling the soil, and that of these more than 6,000 were at +work on the rich lands of Calamba. La Concepcion says (ut supra) that +there were 33,000 Chinese living in the islands--too large a number +for safety, after the warning furnished by the insurrection of 1604. + +[52] This was Luis Arias de Mora, an advocate belonging to the Manila +Audiencia; according to Diaz (p. 404) he was even more avaricious +and extortionate than his predecessors in the alcaldia of La Lacuna, +and so oppressed those Chinese that in desperation they decided, +to kill him--which they did with much and barbarous cruelty. + +[53] Diaz says (p. 404) that the Jesuit Villamayor, who accompanied +the Spaniards, tried to persuade Aduna not to pursue the Chinese; +but the captain refused to listen to him, and went on to his death. + +[54] The names in brackets are obtained from Diaz (p. 406); and some +names occurring later in this document are similarly filled out, +from the same source. + +[55] Diaz states (p. 406) that the Augustinian friars of Comintan +(the ancient name of Batangas province) after this battle assembled a +large troop of Indians, and with them scoured the surrounding country, +killing the scattered Sangley fugitives. + +[56] A visita of the Augustinian mission station at Pasig. + +[57] According to Diaz's account (p. 408), the Sangleys of Santa Cruz +attempted to seize Corcuera's person; but he escaped their hands, +ordered the village to be set afire, and then attacked the Chinese, +who numbered some 6,000 men. To check their advance, a detachment of +Spaniards was sent to a certain spot with a troop of Moros, "aimed with +campilans, who had come with the ambassador from Sanguyl." Olaso was +soon recalled to Manila, leaving Santa Cruz defenseless--an imprudent +step, which resulted in loss, "since that post was most necessary +and convenient for guarding the river and the Parian." + +[58] Diaz (p. 409) makes this twenty-three, besides a Japanese priest +who accompanied and encouraged his countrymen. + +[59] Diaz (p. 408) says that the friars at Tondo gathered the natives +within the convent, "which, as it was very strong and spacious, +was capable of being a sufficient fortification for 6,000 Indians." + +[60] "In Binondoc father Fray Francisco de Herrera was fortified, with +the Sangley mestizos, and kept within the walls more than 160 Christian +Sangleys; the governor commanded that these should be taken from that +place, because they were continually making signs and writing notes +[to their countrymen?], and they were conveyed to Manila, to the +public prison, in order to make sure of them." (Diaz, p. 413.) + +[61] Diaz states (p. 412) that the governor issued this command, +which was executed by one of the auditors of the Audiencia and the +two alcaldes of the city; "they killed a great many Chinese, although +there were many whom the religious and the citizens concealed." + +[62] "By the fire were destroyed more than 3,000 pesos of rents +from the municipal property of the city, and more than 80,000 pesos +of those belonging to private persons, for the houses in which the +Sangleys lived; the riches lost in the property of the Sangleys were +immense, because the looting of these could not be enjoyed on account +of the fire, and because the [military] authorities would not allow +the Spaniards to be diverted from their attention to the defense of +the city." (Diaz, p. 412). + +[63] Diaz says that the church was burned; but this probably refers +to its woodwork only. + +[64] "On December 5 orders were despatched to the provinces to put to +death all the Sangleys in them--although the opinions of the jurists +[regarding this step] differed." (Diaz, p. 412). + +[65] "They burned the magazines, where there were large quantities +of the supplies necessary for the equipment of the galleons" (Diaz, +p. 413). + +[66] See p. 156 and note 31, ante. + +[67] Diaz's figures are somewhat different, and more extensive +(p. 413). "In Cavite as many as 1,100 were slain, and more than 600 +were seized. In Pampanga, where Santiago Gastelu was alcalde-mayor, +few escaped; for the said alcalde exercised such care and so vigilant +guard that as soon as the order arrived he caused it to be executed +in all places at the same time, so unexpectedly that he gave them +no opportunity to take the defensive; accordingly he beheaded them +all, 1,800 in number, including infidels and those baptised. In the +province of Bulacan, where there were more Sangleys, the slain did +not exceed 500; for as they were farm laborers, and were scattered, +they went away, deserting their houses, and joined the rebels, without +Captain Juan Diaz, the alcalde-mayor of that province, being able to +hinder them.... In the province of Tondo, as many as 300 were beheaded, +because, as the insurrection was going on therein, only those were put +to death who could not easily join the rebels. In the province of Bay +were beheaded 200, of those who had been sheltered in the convents, and +of those who were seized as accomplices of the uprising in Calamba. In +the province of Taal they slew others.... In Pangasinan they beheaded +500 Sangleys, through the energy of the alcalde-mayor, Captain Don +Fernando Suarez Deza; and in that of Ilocos, which was governed by +Sargento-mayor Pedro de Tursis, as many as 100 were slain. The same +was done in the other provinces, by which the forces of the enemy +were diminished, and the revolution checked." + +[68] "The leaders in these sacrilegious acts were the Christian +Sangleys, who showed that they were renegades from the faith which +they had pretended to profess." (Diaz, p. 412). + +[69] The bracketed words are conjectural, to replace some that are +illegible or worn in the original MS. + +[70] "On December 7 Captain Santiago Gastelu arrived from Pampanga +with a large reenforcement of men, and in his company was father Fray +Juan de Sosa, a religious of our father St. Augustine, and minister of +the village of Porac, who came with 800 Zambal archers whose leader +he was in all the fights that occurred, ... urging on the Pampangos, +who were a terror to the enemy; a thousand of them were arquebusiers, +and the [above] 800 were archers." (Diaz, p. 415.) + +[71] Some of these are described by Diaz, whose account throughout +is more full and detailed. + +[72] "On the way, our people heard how the Aetas from the hills had +gone out to lie in ambush against the Sangleys, and had done them much +damage; for in one place seven Aetas, naked and armed with some bamboo +darts, had rushed in among more than 6,000 Sangleys--of whom they slew +seventy, the Aeta band losing only one of their seven men." (Diaz, +p. 418). + +[73] Diaz (p. 418) gives the main credit for this achievement to the +Augustinian friar Juan de Sosa, who offered to dislodge the Chinese +from their camp with his Indian archers--the Spanish troops seconding +the attack of the Indians. + +[74] "Cogon (Saccharum koenigii): a rapidly growing plant reaching +three meters (about 10 ft.) in height, and forming a tangled mass +only penetrable by fire or knife. The areas are burned over during +the dry season, the young shoots being cut for cattle fodder +when 18 inches high. Where nipa does not grow cogon is used for +thatching." (U. S. Gazetteer of Philippines, p. 71.) E. D. Merrill's +Dictionary of Plant Names (Manila, 1903), p. 52, gives the botanical +name as Imperata arundinacea. + +[75] This was Onofre Esbry (Esvri--incorrectly made Esbin by Diaz's +editor); he was a native of Tortosa, and entered the Jesuit order +at the age of fifteen. At the time of this insurrection, Esbry was +but twenty eight years old. In 1647, while sailing to Macao, he was +slain by Chinese pirates, near Sanchon Island. See Murillo Velarde's +Hist. Philipinas, fol. 108 verso, and 154 verso. + +[76] The statement in this sentence is not very clearly expressed; +but the apparent meaning is that the Chinese commander was not +officially entitled to the designation of "mandarin," which had +been conferred upon him by the insurgents without due right to +make such appointment. S. Wells Williams says (Middle Kingdom, i, +p. 326): "The word mandarin, derived from the Portuguese mandar, +to command, and indiscriminately applied by foreigners to every +grade from a premier to a tide-waiter; it is not needed in English +as a general term for officers, and ought to be disused, moreover, +from its tendency to convey the impression that they are in some +way unlike their compeers elsewhere." See his account of the Chinese +government, general, provincial, and local, and the classes of the +Chinese people (pp. 322-352); also Winterbotham's description of the +"mandarins of arms," or military officers, in his Chinese Empire, ii, +pp. 8-10. Cf. note on civil mandarins, in VOL. XIX of this series, +p. 44. + +[77] "For more than six months, it was impossible to drink the water +in the rivers, they were so corrupted by the dead bodies; nor did +the people eat fish in a circuit of many leguas, since all these were +fattened on human flesh." (Diaz, p. 427). + +[78] "Every day those people knew what their losses were, through the +regular plan that they followed. This was as follows: every ten men +formed a mess; of these, two went out to procure food, six to fight, +and two to guard and attend to their lodging. Every ten troops of these +were under a captain; and a field officer commanded ten captains, +with a thousand men each. Each soldier had a chapa (a bronze coin +that is current among them), and at night each one handed this to +his captain; then all these were counted, and the soldiers knew, by +the number of coins that were lacking, how many men they lost each +day." (Diaz, p. 423.) + +[79] In the MS. here and elsewhere, "S. Paloc"--evidently supposed +by the transcriber to be the name of some saint. + +[80] In Diaz, "Tabuco, a visita of Quingua." + +[81] Diaz relates (p. 414) the plots concocted by the Sangleys for +this insurrection, which was set for Christmas; they were to carry +gifts of fowls on that day, as was their custom, to the Spaniards of +their acquaintance; and were to perform a comedy near one of the gates, +to divert the attention of the citizens from any suspicion of their +designs. Then at an appointed hour they were to kill all the Spaniards, +and take possession of the city. This was frustrated by the premature +rising at Calamba; sixty of those concerned therein were slain by their +own countrymen, because they had not waited till the appointed day. + +[82] In the MS., guerra; probably a transcriber's conjecture for a +word poorly written, since the context requires fuerza--referring to +the fort of Santiago at the mouth of Pasig River. + +[83] According to Diaz (p. 414), two negroes (slaves), who under +torture confessed that they had aided the insurgents, were hanged. + +[84] The name of the smallest coin current in former times, the word +meaning literally "one-fourth." Apparently, the bishop imposed a +slight tax on all who attended mass, for the benefit of the poor +prebendaries. It will be noticed that the word coro has several +different meanings. In this sentence, it means the body of clergy +in the church who chant the sacred offices; above, referring to the +bishop's seat, it meant the place which the clergy occupied during +the church services. + +[85] The title-page of the Bocabulario states that additions were made +to it by Claver before sending the work to the press. This friar came +to the Philippines in 1624, and was assigned to the Visayan missions, +where he labored until 1639, when he was sent as procurator to Madrid +and Rome; he died at Madrid, in 1646. Claver wrote several books, +the most important being a history of the Augustinian province of +Philipinas, which has been lost. See Perez's Catalogo, p. 105, and +T. H. Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca Filipina, pp. 262, 263. + +[86] For bibliographical account of Mentrida's works, see Pardo de +Tavera's Biblioteca Filipina (Washington, 1903), pp. 262, 263. They +are as follows: Bocabulario de la lengva Bisaia Hiligvoyna y Haraia +(Manila, 1637), and another edition (Manila, 1841); Arte de la lengua +Bisaya Hiliguayna (Manila, 1818), possibly this was a second edition; +and Ritual para administrar los Santos Sacramentos (Manila, 1630), +reprinted in 1669. Pardo de Tavera says: "He died in 1637, leaving +various works which have since been lost, not having been printed; +Father Agustin Maria says that he had an opportunity to see these in +Panay, about 1770 to 1780." + +[87] Colin says (Labor evangelica, Pastells' ed., i, p. 31): "For +greater convenience in governing it, this island of Panay is divided +into two jurisdictions: the territory belonging to that of Panay is +all of the northern coast, from the point of Potol to Bulacabi; the +rest of the island belongs to the jurisdiction of Oton, the principal +[Spanish] post in which, at this time, is at Iloilo--a point which +projects into the sea on the southern coast, between the two rivers of +Tigbauan and Jaro; and makes, with the island of Imaras, a strait half +a legua wide and an open harbor." This would make the jurisdiction of +Fanay correspond to the present province of Capiz; and that of Oton +to the provinces of Antique and Iloilo. The boundaries between these +present divisions are the rugged mountain chains which fill a great +part of the interior of the island, their peaks ranging in height +from 3,500 to 7,200 feet; they render traffic between the provinces +almost impossible, except as it is carried on by way of the sea. The +island of Guimaras is 26 1/2 miles long by 12 miles wide, and has +important fishing and agricultural industries. + +[88] One of the most notable names in Philippine missionary annals +is that of Agustin de San Pedro (his family name Rodriguez), born in +Portugal in 1599. He was a student in the university of Salamanca, +but, desiring to enter the religious life, he assumed the habit of +a Recollect Augustinian at Valladolid, and made his profession at +the age of twenty. Three years later, he set out for the Philippine +mission, and soon after reaching Manila was sent to Mindanao. There +he labored with the Indians in the districts of Butuan, Habongan, +Linao, Cagayan, Tandag, and Romblon; and accompanied the expedition +of Atienza Ibanez (1639) to Lake Malanao. Retana and Pastells +(in their edition of Combes's Hist. Mindanao, col. 725) state that +this missionary converted some 10,000 natives to Catholicism. More +than that, he aided in the defense of his converts, several times +fighting at their head against their heathen and piratical enemies; +and, having been as a student proficient in mathematics and military +science, he constructed forts in the Christian villages which +enabled them to repel their invaders, and taught the natives the +art of fortification. Fray Agustin died in Romblon, in 1653. See +accounts of his life and exploits in Prov. S. Nicolas de Tolentino, +pp. 290-292; and La Concepcion's Hist. Philipinas, v, pp. 362-391 +(which will appear in a later volume of this series). + +[89] This expedition, departing from Tandag (on the north-eastern coast +of Surigao, the easternmost province of Mindanao), sailed northwest +to the point near the town of Surigao, then, passing through the +strait of that name, southwest into Iligan Bay on the north shore +of the island. Ascending the Iligan River (which is the outlet of +Lake Lanao), they reached the lake, after a journey of sixteen and +one-half miles. Now, as then, the valley of the river and the vicinity +of the lake are thickly settled, and the Moro inhabitants carry on +extensive industries in agriculture and commerce. On the Jesuit Atlas +de Filipinas (Washington, 1900), map no. 27, appears a village named +P. Capitan--evidently in memory of the soldier-missionary Fray Agustin; +but no such name is given in the U. S. Gazetteer of the islands. + +[90] Marginal note: "This relation has been translated from a Spanish +manuscript existing in the library of Don Carlo del Pezzo." + +This relation is unsigned, and undated, but Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J., +said during the course of a conversation with one of the Editors, +in 1903, that the author was undoubtedly Father Diego de Bobadilla; +and in his edition of Colin's Labor evangelica (Barcelona, 1904), +he says (iii, p. 798, note): "This father [i.e., Father Bobadilla] +was the author in 1640 of the famous relation which was translated +by Melquisedec Thevenot." + +[91] See our VOLS. I and II for the history of these early +expeditions. It will be noticed that the author of the present relation +is inaccurate in regard to the date of the voyage of Villalobos, +and that he omits mention of some of the early voyages. + +[92] That is "Birth follows the womb." + +[93] See VOL. XXII, p. 300, note 61. + +[94] For this expedition to Mindanao by Hurtado de Corcuera, see +previous documents. This reference proves the present relation to +have been written in 1640, as the expedition above mentioned occurred +in 1637. + +[95] Visayan name (also colocolo, elsewhere) of the fishing gannet +(Sula piscatrix). Delgado says (Historia, p. 820) that he had a tame +one in his house, which would bring home fish that it had caught, +and carry them to the kitchen. + +[96] French, Estang du Roy ("the King's Pool"); evidently referring +to the hot springs near Laguna de Bay (see VOL. XIV, p. 211), and +the word Roy is probably a misprint for Bay. + +[97] It is Chirino who is here (although inexactly) cited; see +VOL. XII, p. 236. + +[98] See Chirino's account, in VOL. XII, p. 241; he says that the +art of writing was imparted to the Visayans by the Tagals. + +[99] Marginal note: "Prudish" (melindrosa). + +[100] That is, "star-thistles"--the common name of a genus (Tribulus) +of plants, which bears prickly fruits, very injurious to the feet of +animals or men. The military instrument called "caltrop" resembles +that fruit, from which it may have been evolved; and the appellation +tribolo is one of the etymological elements in "caltrop." + +[101] See the Cleveland reissue of the Jesuit Relations, lxv, p. 131, +for a description of head-compression by the North American Indians. + +[102] Mt. Bulusan, near the center of the province of Sorsogon, Luzon; +at present "almost extinct, but at times emits an abundance of watery +vapor and sulphurous fumes" (Report of U. S. Philippine Commission, +1900, iii, p. 149). + +[103] Also called balimbin; the fruit of Averrhoa carambola; used for +food and sweetmeats, and also has medicinal qualities. See Blanco's +description, Flora, p. 274; and Delgado's Historia, pp. 505, 506. For +note on santor, see VOL. XVI, p. 87; on banana (Musa), VOL. V, p. 169. + +[104] The corot (Dioscorea triphylla) is very common, with leaves +one palmo long, and very small flowers. Its sap is yellow and very +poisonous, and has cleansing power which is utilized to whiten +abaca. The root is very large and is eaten cooked by the Indians, +after having soaked it in the water for three or four days. + +The ubi is the Dioscorea alata, and the plant grows rather high and is +widely disseminated. The root is violet in color, and often attains a +great size; it is eaten cooked. The best variety is that known as the +Cebu ubi or ube, which comes from Bohol, and which makes a delicious +jelly. The ubi and analogous roots must be carefully prepared, or else +they prove poisonous. See Blanco's Flora, and U. S. Gazetteer of the +Philippine Islands. Delgado (p. 763) enumerates eight varieties of +this root. + +The apari is perhaps the apalia or paria (Montordica balsamina), +a climbing plant, which bears a fruit which is rather bitter to the +taste, and eaten in salads. The juice of its leaves is used instead +of soap. The ripe fruit soaked in olive, cocoa, or beneseed oil makes +an excellent balsam that is used for medicinal purposes. + +[105] French, patanes, apparently a misprint for patatas. The camote +or sweet potato (Convolvulus batatas, Linn.; now named Batatas edulis) +is extensively cultivated in the islands. Blanco (Flora, p. 69) cites +Mozo as saying that this plant was carried to the islands from Nueva +Espana; but Blanco regards it as indigenous in the Philippines. Delgado +(pp. 766-768) enumerates twenty-nine varieties of camote. + +[106] The Batelan is perhaps the balete; see VOL. XII, p. 214, note +56. For note on dabdab, see ibid., p. 215, note 57. + +[107] Apparently a reference to the variety of orange known at the +present day as navel oranges. + +[108] For a treatise on the snakes and poisonous animals of the +Philippines, see Delgado's Historia, pp. 889-907. He describes the +omodro as the odto (Hemibungarus collaris)--from the word meaning +"half-day" or "noon," and given to it because the bite proves fatal +if given at noon, but at no other time. It is of various colors and +very furious at the hour of noon. The saua (Python reticulatus) is +the largest snake of the islands and is often domesticated, and is +not poisonous to man. + +[109] The dugong (a word corrupted from the Malay name duyong); +not a fish, but a marine mammal (Helicore australis). Crawfurd says +(Dict. Indian Islands, p. 125) that it is found in the shallow seas +of the Malayan archipelago, but is not often captured; and that its +flesh is greatly superior to that of the green turtle. This creature +is one of those from which originated the fable of the mermaids. + +[110] Thevenot has translated the Spanish term for Franciscans +(padres de San Francisco or padres franciscanos) into the popular +French term cordeliers, so called because of their girdle. Similarly +he has translated the term for Dominicans (padres de San Domingo or +padres dominicanos) as Jacobins, also the popular French appellation, +so called from the name of the church of St. Jacques, which was +given them in Paris. See Addis and Arnold's Cath. Dict., article +"Franciscans," p. 356; and Chevin's Dict. Latin-Francais, p. 353. + +Either Thevenot the translator, or the author, omits mention of +the convent of the Society of Jesus, only the four above mentioned +being given. + +[111] The persimmon; see VOL. XVI, p. 180. + +[112] A misprint for sibucao (VOL. III, p. 196; XV, p. 256). + +[113] There is evidently a play of words in this passage. The French +reads Mais il se trouua bie loing de ses esperances, & auec vn pied de +nez. Pied de nez (literally "a foot of nose") is an exact equivalent of +the Spanish phrase palmo de narices, and the French expression demeurer +avec un pied de nez is equivalent to the Spanish idiom quedar con un +palmo de narices, which signifies "the frustration of one's hopes," +or "to be left out in the cold." + +[114] Apparently a corruption of Zarpana, the name given by its +inhabitants to the island of Rota, one of the Mariannes or Ladrones +Islands. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, +Volume 29 of 55, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILIPPINE IS., 1493-1898, VOL 29 *** + +***** This file should be named 38748.txt or 38748.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/7/4/38748/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project +Gutenberg. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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