The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898,
Ed. by Blair and Robertson
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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898,
Volume XIII., 1604-1605
Author: Ed. by Blair and Robertson
Release Date: February 26, 2005 [EBook #15184]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1493-1898, ***
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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 XIII, 1604-1605
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XIII
Preface 9
Relación de las Islas Filipinas (concluded) Pedro Chirino, S.J.;
Roma, 1604 2
Documents of 1604
Letters to Felipe III. Pedro de Acuña; Manila, July 15
and 19 221
Decrees regarding religious orders. Felipe III, and others;
Valladolid, February-July 246
Grant to the Jesuit seminary at Cebú. Pedro Chirino;
[undated; 1604?] 251
Decree regulating commerce with Nueva España. Felipe III;
Valladolid, December 31 256
Documents of 1605
Complaints against the Chinese. Miguel de Benavides,
and others; Manila, February 3-9 271
Letter from a Chinese official to Acuña. Chincheo,
March 287
Letters from Augustinian friars to Felipe III. Estevan
Carillo, and others; Manila, May 4-June 20 292
Letter to Felipe III. Antonio de Ribera Maldonado; Manila,
June 28 307
Bibliographical Data 317
ILLUSTRATIONS
Autograph signature of Pedro Chirino, S.J.; photographic facsimile
from MS. in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 215
Autograph signatures of Pedro de Acuña and members of the
Audiencia; photographic facsimile from MS. in Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla 243
PREFACE
The larger part of the present volume is occupied with the _Relacion_
of the Jesuit Chirino, begun in _Vol_. XII, and here concluded. In
this work is recorded the progress of the Jesuit missions up to
the year 1602, by which time they have been established not only
in Luzón and Cebú, but in Bohol, Leyte, Negros, Samar, and northern
Mindanao. The arrival of the visitor García in 1599 results in new
vigor and more thorough organization in the missions, and the numbers
of those baptized in each rapidly increase. The missionaries are able
to uproot idolatry in many places, and greatly check its practice
in others. Everywhere they introduce, with great acceptance and
edification among the natives, the practice of flagellation--"the
procession of blood." Religious confraternities are formed among the
converts, greatly aiding the labors of the fathers; and the latter
open schools for boys, among both the Spaniards and the Indians. In
time of pestilence they minister to the sick and the dying; and they
gain great influence among all classes. They secure the good-will of
hostile natives, quell a threatened revolt among those of Leyte, and
reclaim certain outlaws and bandits. The Spaniards also receive their
ministrations, especially in Manila; the fathers adjust dissensions
and family quarrels, and reform several dissolute persons. The college
at Manila prospers, and enlarges its curriculum. The labors of the
Jesuits effect certain important changes in social conditions among the
natives. Usury, unjust enslavement, and polygamy are greatly lessened,
and sometimes entirely abolished, among the Indians in the mission
districts; and most notable of these results, the fathers have much
success in gathering not only their own converts, but even many of
the wild and savage mountaineers, into villages under their personal
care and supervision.
A new monastic order, the Augustinian Recollects, is permitted to
send missionaries to the islands. Little of importance occurs there
in 1604; but among the Spaniards there is much fear of an invasion by
the Chinese, in revenge for the late slaughter of their countrymen in
Luzón. Yet the cupidity or laxity of the officials has permitted the
number of Chinese resident in the islands to increase beyond proper
limits; and the archbishop of Manila endeavors to secure strict
enforcement of the laws against this dangerous immigration. The
leading officials of the Augustinian order complain (1605) of their
provincial as unscrupulous and overbearing, and ask for relief and
the suitable adjustment of the affairs of their province.
Chirino's narrative of the Jesuit missions (here concluded) narrates
events from 1598 onward. In June of that year Father Vera goes to
obtain more missionaries from Europe. In Mexico he meets orders from
the general of the Jesuit order that Diego García shall go with a
reënforcement of laborers to the Philippines. In Manila, during that
year, the Jesuits meet much success in their ministries--especially
in the confessional, in public preaching, and in various benevolent
works. They also accomplish much in private affairs, reconciling
enemies, preventing lawsuits, and checking licentious conduct. The
annals continue with the progress of the Antipolo mission during
1598. The mountain-dwellers continue to come to the mission, of whom
many are baptized--among these some of the heathen priests. Among
the converts are formed confraternities which most efficiently aid
the labors of the missionaries. The people have given up their pagan
practices, and display great piety and devotion as Christians.
At Cebú the bishop has greatly favored the Jesuits, who have opened
a school for his clergy and the sons of some citizens. Their labors
are chiefly among the Visayan natives and the Chinese, and meet
much success. The writer relates some instances of especial virtue
and piety among these converts; there, as in missions elsewhere,
the women are distinguished in those respects. No less important
are the labors of the Jesuits among the Spaniards of Cebú, among
whom they exercise great influence, even the bishop depending upon
their advice; and they often preach in the cathedral. The bishop,
"in imitation of Manila," introduces the practice of flagellation at
Lent, and himself leads the "procession of blood."
In the island of Bohol the infant church continues to grow. The
converts have entirely abandoned idolatry; and certain miraculous
cures have kindled in them a most fervent piety. In Butúan (in
northern Mindanao) "Christianity is in a flourishing condition,"
according to Father Ledesma, whose letters are cited. Conversions
are steadily increasing: and several chiefs are to be baptized
soon, although the most noted leader, Silongan, is not yet cured
of his polygamous inclinations. He is, however, most friendly to
the fathers, and protects them in certain dangers. In Alangalang,
Tomás de Montoya (an American Indian who has gone to the islands)
has resumed the work dropped at the death of Cosme de Flores; he
relates some instances of piety among his converts, and of punishment
visited on the impenitent. At Ogmuc much caution had been exercised in
conferring baptism, and those who have received it show most edifying
piety. In Holy Week occurs a procession in which "the most pleasing and
touching sight was to see all the children disciplining themselves with
scourges which they themselves had made for that day." The missionaries
adjust various family quarrels, and put an end in the islands to the
practices of usury and unjust enslavement. Chirino here gives some
account of these evils, but adds that they are abolished among all
the christianized tribes in the islands.
Good reports come from Carigara and Paloc; the latter village is
unusually prosperous because one of the Jesuits has aided the people
to construct better dwellings. They have abandoned their idols,
and take pleasure in scourging themselves on Fridays. At Dulac many
baptisms have occurred, and various diseases, among them leprosy,
have been cured by this sacrament. A letter from Father Otaço, who
is in charge at Tinagon, shows that idolatry has been abandoned,
and immoral customs are almost uprooted. He gives an interesting
description of the methods pursued by the missionaries in their
preaching, and by one of their native helpers in teaching his fellows.
In June, 1599, Diego García is sent to the islands as official
visitor of the Jesuit missions there, and he at once reorganizes and
systematizes their plan and conduct. Soon after his arrival there is a
violent earthquake at Manila, which injures two of the churches. The
Jesuits receive much aid for restoring their building--contributions
from the Spaniards, and services from the Indians. In an epidemic of
disease among them much good is done by the confraternity established
among the converts, and the sick depend upon the fathers for spiritual
comfort. When the people harvest their rice, their first care is
to carry an offering of the first-fruits to the church. As usual,
the Jesuits here do much to better the lives of their penitents,
both Indian and Spanish, reconciling those who were at enmity, and
breaking up licentious alliances. The pestilence extends to Antipolo
and other villages near Manila, and both the missionaries and their
converts aid the sick and the dying in every possible way.
The uprooting of idolatry in the Taytay mission has been effectual;
various instances of this are related by Chirino, as also the cure
of a lunatic by wearing an _Agnus Dei_. Garcia, the official visitor,
arrives at Cebú in 1600, and makes arrangements by which the Chinese
there are cared for by other priests, the Jesuits being thus free to
labor among the Indians. But the harvest of souls is far greater than
the few laborers there can reap and more are urgently needed. Chirino
relates some instances of conversion and pious deaths in that mission.
He then relates the progress of the mission in Bohol, citing for this
purpose the letters of the two missionaries there. The new converts
display much devotion, and even the pagans receive the fathers
kindly. Many are converted, and some of their children are trained
to instruct the people in the Christian faith. Sánchez procures the
destruction of many instruments of witchcraft in a certain village;
and relates some marvelous cures made by administering the sacraments,
and some instances of feminine virtue.
In Butúan (Mindanao) a rich harvest of souls is being gathered by
Ledesma and Martínez; and even the infidels are very friendly to the
new religion. The converts are very devout, and will not countenance
any pagan practices. Certain miraculous cures are recorded. The
practice of flagellation is maintained in the Jesuit church there,
as in other places.
The Filipinos had formerly lived in perpetual warfare between the
petty chiefs and their adherents; those who could remove migrated to
new homes inland, and thus the mountain regions became settled. In
order to reach the natives, the Jesuits at Alangalang bend all
their efforts, which are soon successful, to gathering these
scattered settlements into large villages--mission "reductions"
like those which they had already made so noted in Paraguay and
other lands. Their labors are thus more advantageously conducted,
and many conversions result. At Carigara their church services are
greatly aided by a native choir, who sing in both their own and the
European modes. A letter from Father Enzinas praises the purity of
the converted Indian women. Father Sánchez relates a notable case
in his missionary labors at Barugo. The progress of the church at
Ogmuc is related, with ardent praise for the piety and fervor of the
converts. The infidels are steadily growing more inclined to receive
the faith; and polygamy is being suppressed. A brief mission at Paloc
by Father Rodriguez results in fifty baptisms; and other subsequent
missions there reap a rich harvest of souls. Flagellation is a usual
practice in Lent; nearly all the people have received baptism; and
the converted chiefs offer atonement to all whom they may have wronged.
The record of the Dulac mission shows seven hundred baptisms in one
year; and the details of some conversions are related, especially
that of two deaf-mutes, whose piety is most edifying. During Holy
Week the converts practice flagellation; and on one occasion one of
the fathers gives his flock a practical lesson in Christian charity.
In Tinagon the Jesuits baptize, during the year ending in April,
1600, nearly a thousand persons. The number of missionaries for this
field is so inadequate that they send to some villages the Indian
boys who have been instructed, in order that they may teach the
people the catechism and doctrine. Accounts of missionary labors
and of certain conversions are given in extracts from some letters
written by the fathers. All the people are friendly to the new faith,
and the prospect is most encouraging.
Chirino mentions the shipwreck of the vessels bound for Mexico, and the
conflict with Oliver van Noordt, in connection with which he describes
the deaths and the pious lives of some Jesuits who perished therein. In
1601 Father Gregorio López brings to the islands a reënforcement of
nine missionaries; and their long and dangerous voyage across the
Pacific, safely accomplished through the intercession of St. Ignatius,
is fully described. In the same year and the next arrive also many
missionaries of the other orders: Chirino praises their devotion and
zeal, the fraternal spirit among the various orders, the excellent
influence exerted by their members among the Spaniards in Manila, and
the religious spirit exhibited by the latter; and describes various
exercises of piety practiced there--the institution of a religious
congregation among the students in the Jesuit college, and, later,
one among the townspeople; the practice of flagellation every week
during the year, as well as in Lent; attendance at Sunday afternoon
sermons; the choice of patron saints by lot; etc. The particulars of
certain conversions and virtuous acts are also related--especially
the conversion of the Dutch prisoners captured from van Noordt.
The Indians in Manila, who are largely in care of the Jesuits, are
devout by nature, and much inclined to confession and other pious
exercises. A confraternity among them accomplishes many pious and
benevolent works, and exerts a great influence on those outside it. In
the Taytay mission there is cheering progress, and many of the mountain
Indians, hitherto infidels, are converted and baptized. The visitor
Garcia has founded at Antipolo a hospital, and a seminary for boys,
both of great assistance to the missionaries' labors.
Toward the end of 1600 the bishop of Cebú holds a council of secular
clergy and missionaries, wherein their work is better planned
and regulated, and various salutary enactments are made for the
diocese. The Jesuit fathers pay especial attention to the Indians and
the soldiers, giving up the charge of the Chinese in Cebú; an Indian
hamlet near that city yields them many converts. Letters from Valerio
Ledesma give encouraging reports of progress and gain in the Bohol
mission. He is successful in gathering the scattered settlements into
mission villages--in Loboc, "more than a thousand souls, gathered
from the mountains and rivers, most of them people reared in war,
robbery, and murder;" and on the Viga River two wild hill-tribes,
who had never before seen a priest.
Ledesma visits many villages in that island, finding the people eager
to receive baptism, and hospitable toward the missionaries; and many
conversions occur among the savage and fierce mountain tribes. On one
occasion Ledesma goes, alone and unarmed, to meet a hostile band (who
had never before seen a Spaniard); and by his gentle and kind demeanor,
and some small gifts, induces them to depart in peace, after winning
their friendship for himself and his converts. The harvest is great,
and more laborers are greatly needed in that field. This is largely due
to the policy of the missionaries in forming the mission reductions
of converts. The savage mountaineers still continue to migrate to
these mission villages; and heathen priestesses are converted to the
faith. In the Bohol mission there are now more than three thousand
Christians. The island is again menaced by the Moro pirates of
Mindanao; in 1600 they ravaged other islands, but did little damage
in Bohol. Various citations from missionary reports show the docility
and eagerness of the natives in embracing the Christian faith.
At the request of the secular priest in charge there, the district
of Tanai (in Negros Island) is placed in the mission-field of the
Jesuits, and Gabriel Sánchez is transferred thither from Bohol; he
is welcomed by the people. His report contains accounts of numerous
conversions and miraculous cures, as well as of a heavenly vision
beheld by some converts. Returning to Tanai later, Sánchez finds his
converts steadfast, and most exemplary in their lives.
In Ibabao (Samar), are conducted flying missions, from the central
residence at Tinagon, the indefatigable missionaries coasting along
the shores of that and other adjacent islands "casting their nets
for souls." During the year they have baptized nearly four thousand
persons, most of them adults. Six missions are formed, reports from
which present many interesting accounts of the labors, methods,
and achievements of the fathers.
In the Dulac mission (in Leyte), the fathers are also gaining many
souls; at the Christmas feast alone, six hundred former infidels were
baptized at Paloc. Various incidents are related of pious deaths,
and of deliverance of those in danger.
Good progress is being made in the missions of Leyte--Alangalang,
Carigara and others; nearly three thousand persons were baptized
therein during the years 1600-1602. At Alangalang there are in
the Jesuit church three choirs of Indians, who "surpass many
Spaniards." The Christians at Ogmuc are exceedingly fervent; and
the children instructed in the Jesuit school become, in their turn,
teachers of their parents. The Indians of the Alangalang mission
practice flagellation during Holy Week, "shedding their blood with such
fervor that it became necessary to restrain them. Nor was there less
fervor among the children;" and these, when too young to be allowed
to scourge themselves, invent another penance of their own. In Leyte
a notable disturbance among the natives, arising from the murder
of a prominent chief, is quelled by the influence of the Jesuits,
who reconcile the different factions and restore harmony, besides
reclaiming certain outlaws.
While a ship is being built at Panámao (now Biliran), one of the
fathers ministers (1602) to the workmen gathered there--Spaniards,
Indians, and others. A Spanish youth is slain by a negro; this sad
event disposes the minds of all to religion, and the missionary gathers
a rich harvest of souls. He is almost overwhelmed with his labors,
but is consoled by the deep contrition and devotion displayed by his
penitents, and twice defers his departure at their entreaties and
for the sake of their souls' welfare.
At the end of 1601, Father Francisco de Almerique dies at Manila,
worn out with long and incessant toil in his ministry to the
Indians. Chirino relates his virtues, labors, and pious death; he
has rendered especial service by attracting the wild Indians of the
mountains to settle in the mission villages, thus bringing them under
the influence of the gospel. The Jesuit college at Manila prospers;
a course in philosophy is begun, and the two religious congregations
stimulate religious devotion among their members. The spells used by
certain witches in that city are neutralized by the influence of an
_Agnus Dei_.
In 1602 the Taytay and Antipolo mission grows rapidly, and more
laborers are needed in that field. The devotions of Lent are, as
usual, emphasized by "processions of blood," wherein the devotees
scourge themselves through the streets. The mantle of Father Almerique
falls upon Father Angelo Armano. The devotion of these converts is
praised. The seminary for Indian boys, and the hospital, are efficient
aids to the labors of the missionaries.
The mission of Silan has been recently assigned to the Jesuits; they
find the people well-disposed and tractable, and soon have many,
both children and adults, under instruction. In caring for these,
they are greatly aided by a blind native helper, formerly a heathen
priest. Letters from the fathers in charge of this mission describe
their arduous labors, the faith and piety of their neophytes, and
certain miracles wrought by an image of St. Ignatius. Here, too, the
missionaries pursue their favorite policy of gathering the natives
into reductions.
A chapter is devoted to the customs of the Filipinos in bestowing
personal names. Surnames are conferred only at the time of marriage;
but various appellations of relationship and endearment are given
besides that chosen at a child's birth. Chirino praises the fertility,
elegance, and politeness of the Tagál language. He says that formerly
the natives did not adorn themselves with titles; but now "the wretched
'Don' has filled both men and women with such vanity that every one
of them who has a tolerably good opinion of himself must place this
title before his name; accordingly, there are even more Dons among
them than among our Spaniards."
The bishop of Cebú visits the island of Bohol, accompanied by a
Jesuit missionary who briefly relates something of their experiences
in this journey. The bishop confirms, in the Jesuit missions, about
three thousand Christians, and wins their hearts by his paternal
love and benevolence. The fervor of these converts is very great,
and even the little children are full of zeal to learn the Christian
doctrine. The people are all well disposed toward the faith, and
"the whole island would now be converted" if they had missionaries to
give them instruction. There are islets adjacent to Bohol, where the
people are going to hell for lack of religious aid; but the Jesuits
cannot take care of them for lack of ministers. This difficulty is
especially encountered in the island of Samar; a journey of Father
Juan de Torres to a needy mission station is described at some
length. At Catubig a flourishing mission is established (1601);
the headman of that village is converted, and shows his faith by
many pious works. Various instances of encounters with crocodiles,
and some miraculous deliverances from danger or death, are related
as occurring at Catubig. Chirino closes his narrative with an appeal
for more laborers to be sent to the Philippines, as a field where so
great a harvest of souls awaits them.
Permission is given (February 23, 1604) for the Augustinian Recollects
to establish themselves in the Philippines. On June 3 the king sends
orders to Acuña to repress the high-handed proceedings of some of the
religious orders there; and on July 30 he directs the archbishop to
punish those of the teaching friars who abandon their mission fields
and sell or exchange church furniture.
Acuña writes to the king (July 15) about various business matters. He
asks for money with which to make restitution to certain Chinese,
and for royal favor to Christoval de Azqueta. Much fear of a
Chinese invasion is felt in Manila. Trade with the Japanese is in
good condition; but Acuña refuses to let them bring money to Manila
for investment. Acuña makes various recommendations as to officials,
their appointment, and the official inspection of their conduct; and
asks that the royal treasury of the islands be properly inspected and
regulated. In other letters of the same date, the governor urges at
some length that the Audiencia at Manila should be abolished. The
Spanish population is so small that the Audiencia has but little
occupation; the auditors bring to the islands numerous relatives or
friends, for whom they secure the offices and benefits which rightfully
belong to the inhabitants; they appropriate the best of the Chinese
trade and of its profits, compelling the citizens to stand aside; and
they tyrannize over the latter in many ways. The auditors interfere
with the affairs of the military service, and hinder the governor from
performing his duties. The expense of their salaries is a heavy burden
on an impoverished country, and the treasury has not enough means to
meet the demands constantly made upon it. The people are discontented
and clamorous, and they ought to be freed from this encumbrance. A
postscript dated July 19 refers to the king a dispute between the
Audiencia and archbishop regarding the seminary of Santa Potenciana.
Letters from Pedro Chirino (undated; 1604?) to the king ask for
royal grants to aid the Jesuit seminary for boys at Cebú. In support
of this request he cites the benefits derived from this school by
natives as well as Spaniards, and the ministrations to all classes
by the Jesuits in charge of it; and adduces the testimony of various
witnesses, secular and ecclesiastical, to the same effect. His request
is granted by the royal council. By a decree of December 31, 1604,
the Spanish government regulates the trade of the American colonies
with the Philippines. The substance of previous decrees is rehearsed,
and Felipe orders that the trade of the islands with Nueva España
be continued, although under some restrictions. The commander and
other officials are to be appointed by the governor and archbishop
at Manila, and chosen from citizens of the islands. The officials of
the ships may not engage in trade, and the salaries of the two highest
are fixed. Provision is made for more rigid inspection of vessels and
their cargoes, for equitable allotment of space, and for the safety
of the crews. Freight charges are to be moderated and regulated;
additional duties on goods are levied, and provision is made for
the care and expenditure of these, also for inspection of cargoes
and money shipped at Acapulco. No person may go to the Philippines
unless he shall give security for his permanent residence there.
In February, 1605, a formal complaint against the Chinese is made
before the authorities at Manila by Archbishop Benavides, supported
by the depositions of several witnesses. The Parián in that city,
destroyed in the insurrection of 1603, has been rebuilt, and is
again peopled by "infidel Sangleys." These Chinese are idolatrous,
and exceedingly licentious and vicious; and in both these respects
are demoralizing the Indian natives, and drawing them away from
the Catholic faith. The Chinese, moreover, are inclined to revenge
themselves on the Spaniards for the slaughter of their countrymen in
the insurrection of 1603, and thus are a constant source of danger. He
recommends that they be driven out of the city, except that they be
allowed a place where they can live during the months while the ships
for the Mexican trade are being unloaded and freighted; and that they
be not allowed to hold intercourse with the Indians. The archbishop
also denounces the Japanese (who reside not far from the Chinese
quarter in Manila) as being equally vicious and dangerous. For all
these reasons, he causes a secret investigation to be made of the
whole matter, which he has not been able to induce the governor
to do. Further testimony to the same effect is given by several
witnesses. Talavera, a cura of the natives in Manila, states that he
has been told that the Mindanao pirates were incited to hostilities
by the Chinese; also that the archbishop had repeatedly striven,
but in vain, to correct the evils arising from the proximity of the
natives to these vicious foreigners. A sworn statement by Francisco de
Avila (June 15) is appended, showing that Chinese were then residing
in the houses of prominent citizens of Manila. A letter is written
(March, 1605) by the officials of the Chinese province of Chincheo,
to Governor Acuña, demanding investigation of the late Sangley revolt
at Manila and redress for the killing of so many Chinese.
The leading Augustinians at Manila send to the king (May 4) a formal
complaint against Fray Lorenso de León, whom they charge with arbitrary
and illegal acts, and with scheming to gain power in the order,
and with forcing his own election as provincial. They ask the king to
induce the papal nuncio to revoke Fray de León's authority, and to send
a visitor to regulate the affairs of the order in the islands. This
request is supported by a brief letter from the commissary of the
Inquisition (a Dominican), One of the Augustinian officials signing
the above document, Joan de Tapia, writes another and personal letter
to the king, giving further accounts of Fray de León's illegal acts
and general unfitness for his office. Tapia also accuses him and
one Fray Amorin of having appropriated to themselves various funds
entrusted to their care; and says that León is investing in mercantile
speculations money which must have come from the convents.
One of the auditors, Antonio de Ribera Maldonado, writes to the king
(June 28); he complains of the conduct of Governor Acuña toward himself
and others, and of his appointments to government positions. Maldonado
also asserts that Acuña evades the laws regulating the Mexican trade,
securing for himself and his friends privileges which rightfully
belong to the citizens at large. He asks that he may be permitted to
remain longer at Manila, instead of going to Mexico.
_The Editors_
March, 1904.
RELACION DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS (_concluded_)
By Father Pedro Chirino, S.J. Roma: printed by Estevan Paulino,
in the year MDCIV.
_Source_: This is translated from the original printed work, for which
purpose have been used the copies belonging to Harvard University
and to Edward E. Ayer of Chicago.
_Translation_: This is made by Frederic W. Morrison, of Harvard
University, and Emma Helen Blair.
RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
And of What Has There Been Accomplished by the Fathers of the Society
of Jesus
How Father Francisco de Vera returned to España for more
fathers. Chapter XXXVII.
The men of the Society remained in the rest of those Pintados Islands,
occupied as we have already seen. In various places, during those
two years, there had been newly erected to the glory of Jesus Christ
thirty churches; but in all this the least important thing was the
material gain, for the real success was in the continual increase of
the body of Christians in all those churches. In places where Ours
did not reside, each church had its own representative [_fiscal_],
who took care of it and assembled the people, at least on feast-days,
to recite the prayers and chant the Christian doctrine. They did this,
not only in the church, but in their houses; and even when journeying
by water, or cultivating the soil, their usual recreation is to sing
these exercises. In proportion at the fruit grew more abundantly, so
did the need of laborers increase--until Ours, exhausted by their lack
of strength to reap such copious harvests, unanimously called for the
succor of new companions. But as this aid must be sent from Europe,
which is so far away, and as they could not depend upon letters,
it was agreed to despatch Father Francisco de Vera, as a person
who had been most successful in conveying the last reënforcement,
so useful and so large--which, however, was now too small for so
greatly increased a harvest, and more reapers were needed. The
father set out from Manila on this journey, in the month of June
of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight, in the ship
"Santa Margarita," which, after a prosperous voyage of four months,
reached Nueva España. Soon afterward, orders arrived there from
our very reverend father-general, Claudio Aquaviva, that Father
Diego Garcia, who had completed his term as rector of the college of
Mexico, should repair at once to the Filipinas, to visit and console,
on behalf of his Paternity, Ours who were there; and should take with
him a reënforcement of earnest laborers in the vineyard of the Lord,
which was the same object for which Father Francisco de Vera had
gone. It seemed best to the superiors that the good father should
remain there and obtain his much needed rest, and not undergo at
once the fresh hardships of a second voyage to the Filipinas. Besides
this, they desired to retain him in Mexico, because his presence in
that province was important, as it had been in the Filipinas, and,
still earlier, in Madrid, and in Alcala de Henares where he had been
superior. So the father-visitor departed, as we shall later see,
with some companions for the Filipinas.
Further transactions in Manila up to the year one thousand five
hundred and ninety-eight. Chapter XXXVIII.
Although in Manila we had received novices from the very beginning,
and although a goodly number of acceptable men of various ranks had
entered our Society there, and had proved to be zealous servants of
God and very useful in our ministries, at the time of which we are
speaking their number was greater. For there were seven novices--all
very religious, humble, and devout--also three brethren of long
standing, and six priests; all were busy, each according to his degree
and vocation. The number of those who attended Lenten services and the
regular sermons continued to grow with the increase of the Spaniards
in Manila, and our Lord was pleased to give our fathers the immediate
reward for their labors, so that they might be thus encouraged to
toil with even greater ardor. Besides the large number of ordinary
confessions, many general confessions were made of great importance,
and by persons who for many years had not confessed--at least,
not as they should. In a single year one father heard forty general
confessions; another, fifty; and another, two hundred. There were also
many persons who desired, some to amend their lives, others to attain
a higher degree of virtue, and who made retreat at home, in order to
perform the exercises--especially persons serious and of high standing,
such as the schoolmaster of Manila, the commander of the fleet, and
other captains and men of reputation. During Lent and Advent sermons
were preached on Sunday afternoons to the soldiers in the guard-room;
and these were attended by many people of the city, as well as by
the governor and some of the auditors of the royal Audiencia. Before
commencing the sermon the children were, as usual, instructed in
the Christian doctrine, with questions and their answers. After
the sermon was concluded, the soldiers were invited to make their
confessions, which they did with alacrity. After that a kind of usury
was abolished, which the soldiers, without considering it as such, were
inadvertently practicing in their eagerness for gain. This was to sell
certain things for a higher price, on condition that the purchaser
should make his payments from what he might gain at play. This
they called "putting into one's hands" [_dar a las manos_]. During
Lent, the discipline was practiced three days in each week, with so
extraordinary a concourse of people that besides the Indians, who
came in large numbers, there were more than five hundred Spaniards
of all ranks and conditions--ecclesiastics and laymen, merchants,
captains, soldiers, and men of other callings. Various friendships
were made in this way, especially between ecclesiastics and laymen,
which were of great service to our Lord.
Many needs of poor people were remedied, especially of those in the
prison; and efforts were made to alleviate the hunger and thirst that
they were suffering, and compassionately to settle their difficulties,
so far as we had means and opportunity.
Efforts were also made to shelter in the seminary for girls some
women who, on account of the absence of their husbands, were in
danger. Arrangements were also made with the governor, Don Francisco
Tello, to secure the marriage of certain other women, in which
matter he lent assistance not only with his authority but with his
money. Upon one occasion he charitably bestowed a dowry of six hundred
pesos upon a woman of noble parentage who, for various reasons, had
gone from Madrid to sojourn in that country. The brethren of La Santa
Misericordia of Manila also lend assistance in these matters with
great solicitude and charity, conformably to their profession and the
aims of the Confraternity. The members are among the most noble and
distinguished people in that community, and are most useful therein,
to the great glory and service of God our Lord.
Our fathers devote themselves at all hours to consoling and confessing
the sick and afflicted, for these always have us summoned, even though
far away. In this connection I shall relate a special instance. A
sick man, having abandoned hope of life (for the physician had
declared him past recovery), seeing that human remedies were of
no avail, had recourse to the divine; and he sought aid from the
mother of God, to whom he made a vow to betake himself for nine
days to her chapel called Ermita de Guia, which, as I have said,
lies without the city walls. Having made the vow, he arose at once,
just as he was, to fulfil it. A marvel of God! as the days went by,
his health continually improved; and at the end of the nine days,
he was entirely well. This meant health of body, but the two days
following his recovery brought him life for both body and soul.
An honorable woman lived in great suffering through the cruel
treatment to which her husband subjected her; and she determined to
free herself from this pain and anguish by putting an end to her life,
which was passing in such bitterness. For this purpose, she placed a
noose around her neck, the demon aiding her, and hanged herself. The
noise which she made while in the pains of death was heard by one of
her neighbors, who hastened to her, and, encountering this horrible
sight, promptly cut the rope. The woman, when she came to herself,
repented of her wicked act, and had recourse to one of Ours for
counsel; and, through the mercy of the Lord, she now lives in peace
and contentment. Another married woman, likewise disheartened by the
abuse and bad temper of her husband, resolved to leap into the sea
and drown herself. Collecting some of her goods, with tears and great
sorrow she bade her daughter farewell, and set out to accomplish at
once her desperate purpose. When she was on the point of throwing
herself into the water, the Lord, having compassion on her wretched
lot, sent to her a voice which caused her to hesitate, and to realize
what she was doing. "What art thou doing, woman? Trust in God, for thy
husband shall treat thee well." With this she was affrighted; but,
as a proof that this deliverance had come from Heaven, her husband
came soon afterward, and began to caress her and to show her much
kindness. Then she grew calm, recognizing the great mercy which the
Lord had showed her.
In this same year our students gave evidence of their intelligence
and application, on the occasion of the safe arrival at Manila of
the most reverend archbishop and suffragans, whom they entertained
in their schools with two ingenious dialogues, and other proofs of
erudition. In that season arrived also some of the gentlemen of the
royal Audiencia who were visiting our schools for the purpose of
showing them favor and honor. They greatly enjoyed a third literary
exercise which had been prepared for them and were thus encouraged
to carry out their intention of placing their sons in these schools,
as they did. In time, these studies began to bear fruit, and some of
our students even entered the religious life.
The leading events at this time among the Indians in Manila. Chapter
XXXIX.
The ministries to the Indians are those which are exercised with the
greatest satisfaction in our college, for which occupation we had in
that year three fathers who had gained a mastery of their language. If
there had been many more, each one would have had something to occupy
him, on account of the great number of the Indians, not only within
the city, but beyond the walls, in many villages which are in the
vicinity of Manila, and whose inhabitants attend our church. In that
year our Lord was pleased to favor this ministry with new tokens of
His favor; for although in former years the conditions were such as
are described above, in this year [1598] the attendance in our church
for sermons and confessions was extraordinary--indeed, there was one
father who heard more than three hundred general confessions. This
was due partly to the increase in the number of fathers who knew
the language; and partly to the cessation of the sermons which were
formerly preached by other religious orders, through the press of
other labors with which they ever busy themselves most zealously in
the service of God. By these holy means we set aright many important
affairs which concerned enmities and sinful lives. As an instance of
this, certain legal proceedings were instituted for the separation
of a married pair; these had made considerable progress, but were
abandoned, and the husband and wife were reconciled, and again
lived together in peace. Efforts were also made to break up illicit
relations, and separate those who lived therein; and the result was
that, through the mercy of God, those persons have not relapsed into
evil ways. Although among these were some cases of special interest,
I will confine myself to other matters which occur to me, which are
cleaner and more agreeable. The first concerns an infidel Indian woman
whose conversion was a difficult matter, on account of her marriage
with a Chinese or Sangley who was also an infidel; for her husband
kept her, as is the custom among the Chinese, under close confinement
and guard. One of our fathers was desirous to gain this woman for
Christ; and, finding no other means, placed some Christian Indians
where she could hear them talk about the things of God and the life
eternal. The woman was so impressed by what she heard that, fleeing
from her husband and abandoning her home and child, she came to our
house and asked to be instructed for baptism; her request was granted,
and by this means the husband was also converted. His conversion is
a valuable one, since it is very difficult to incline the people of
his nation toward the truths of our holy faith.
Some Indian women, during a pest of locusts, erected in their sowed
field a cross containing some relics; and our Lord was pleased to
honor the emblem of His death, as well as the faith of these, His
new faithful ones, for the locusts passed on without causing them
any loss. The owner of the land gave, in gratitude, all its harvest
as alms--which he was able to do, as he possessed some wealth.
Although these incidents, and many others which are not here related,
show that our Lord is desirous of drawing these peoples to Himself
by the bonds of Adam, namely, by love and mercy, He also chooses
to show them that He is a God of justice. This He made evident in
the dreadful fate of a man and wife who swore to be faithful to each
other during his absence, and, supplemented their oaths with terrible
curses which are in use among them. Yet the woman, overcome by the
devil, was false to her compact and promise of fidelity; and while
the unhappy adulterers were thus sinfully engaged, both were struck
dead, and were found thus by persons who told it to the father. By
his orders the matter was suppressed, as much as was possible in so
frightful an event.
Of the villages of Antipolo and San Juan del Monte. Chapter XXXX.
So great was the increase of that mission throughout those two years
[1597-98], by the continual arrival of people who came to us, as we
have already stated, from those mountains and deserts, that besides two
entire villages which were established near Antipolo, at a distance
convenient for the instruction of the people, more than a hundred
persons came down from the mountains with some children, who were
at once baptized. Among these were three ministers of their idols,
who, upon arriving at Antipolo, went to Father Almerique, and, making
avowal of the evil employment which they had up to that time practiced,
renounced it before him and many others who were then present. They
promised never again to resume it, and asked that this declaration
be given them in writing, as a proof of their conversion, and that
no one in times to come might attribute to them guilt for what they
had done in the mountains when they had no knowledge of the true God.
In each of these two villages there was formed a confraternity,
which, besides other works of piety and devotion, practices two
that act as a preservative against the two great evils of idolatry
and intoxication--which, as we have already stated, were customary
in cases of sickness or death--since in this confraternity are the
people who are most prominent, most Christian, and most trustworthy
in those villages. Moreover, they take the utmost care to ascertain
who in the village may be sick or dying; and they aid the families
of both the sick and the dead by frequent visits--in such cases
not only exercising perfect piety and charity, but preventing the
abuses, superstitions, idolatries, intoxications, dirges, music,
and wailing which had been their own custom when they were pagans,
as now among these others. These confraternities have rendered
Christianity in those regions most glorious, and for their good deeds
are so highly esteemed that he is not considered a person of worth
who is not received into one of them. On two special occasions they
made processions, in excellent order, and with great solemnity and
concourse of the people, and attended mass and preaching; and very
many frequented the communion. One of these was at the foundation
of a confraternity; the other was occasioned by a plague of locusts
which had been devastating all those islands for two years. In order
to obtain from God a remedy for this evil, they chose the most holy
Virgin Mary as their intercessor, and made a vow to celebrate the feast
of her most pure conception, and to give on that occasion liberal alms
as aid for the marriages of the poor and the orphans. They fulfilled
their promises, and our Lord received their humble tokens of service
and showed them that He was well pleased, by turning aside the locusts
from their crops, and giving them that year very abundant harvests. All
the people of the village have now directed to the church that recourse
and dependence which they formerly exercised toward the ministers of
the devil; and, consequently, when they experience any ill, however
trifling it maybe, they summon the father to hear their confessions,
or to have the gospel recited to them. Hardly a day passes, while their
sickness lasts, when they do not cause themselves to be conveyed to
the church, at the time of mass; and when that is ended they approach
the priest, to have him recite the gospel and sprinkle them with holy
water. Sometimes there are so many of them that, when the priest has
done this for them, he is compelled to wait until they go away before
he can leave the altar. They also carry first to the church whatever
grain or seeds they are about to sow, to have these blessed, in return
for which they offer the priest the first-fruits of their harvests.
The leading events in the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus. Chapter
XXXXI.
As a result of the favors bestowed upon the six resident members of the
Society by the right reverend bishop of Sebu, Don Fray Pedro de Agurto,
a religious of the Order of St. Augustine (who entered this year
into his church and erected it into a cathedral), the fruits of our
ministries were at this time most abundant and prosperous. As I have
already stated, these were exercised among the various nationalities
who inhabit that city, or who resort thither from various regions for
their business and traffic. Likewise, at the instance of his lordship,
a school of Latin was opened in our college for his servants and
clergy, who were joined by the sons of some of the citizens. This
school was not only a common and general benefit, but also very useful
as a retreat and aid for those who in the school for children were
already advanced in reading, writing, and reckoning. Although many
of the boys remained in the lower school as pupils, a considerable
number of students began the study of grammar with the new master,
Father Francisco Vicente Puche, who as an initiation to the studies,
and as a welcome to the bishop, gave with his students a two-hours'
dramatic representation in the cathedral, in honor of his Lordship,
which proved most agreeable, learned, dignified, and devout, and gave
extraordinary pleasure to all the citizens, who had never before seen
such a thing in their city.
There were two Indian peoples among whom we were especially laboring
at that time: one the Bissayans, who are the natives of that country,
to whom we preached, on Sundays and feast-days, throughout the year,
in their own language; the other the Chinese--many of whom, coming from
their own land into this (and many do come in the merchant-vessels),
remain here. They have established in this city, near our house, a
quarter of their own, which at that time was in charge of the Society;
and our fathers administered the sacraments to them and their families,
including their women and servants--Chinese, Japanese, Malucos,
and Bissayans. They repaired with great frequency to confession
and communion, especially on days in jubilees and in Lent; and we
always had catechumens among the infidel Chinese, whom we baptized
only at the notable feasts, and with great solemnity--excepting on
occasions when that sacrament was bestowed on persons at the point
of death. The first confirmations which the lord bishop celebrated
outside of his cathedral were in our church, where he most devoutly
bestowed this holy sacrament upon our Chinese and their families. On
Easter of this last year, he celebrated in the same church, as an
encouragement and a favor, the solemn baptism of the catechumens,
of whom there were a large number; and he was greatly delighted and
edified to behold one of our fathers, his assistant on that occasion,
conversing in the Chinese language.
The fruitful results of these ministries were displayed in many
instances, more especially in regard to purity and constancy. I
shall mention one case only, wherein it seemed to us extraordinary
constancy which could inspire with courage for such resistance an
Indian woman whose former occupation, while she was a heathen, was
so contrary to such conduct, as we have related. It happened in this
way. One of those women was solicited by a wicked man whom she bravely
repulsed. But he finally began cautiously to offer her money, urging
her to receive it, and assuring her that he made no claim upon her
thus. Not less valorously than before did she reject his offering,
saying that she desired no money which, when she must appear before
God; would cry out against her, and be an accuser and witness against
her; and she reminded him that this money, with which he was striving
to wage such war against her, could serve only for her condemnation
and chastisement. In proportion to her resistance, so did the furious
passion of this wicked man increase, who gave himself no repose in
devising projects for her downfall. Attempting to accomplish this,
on a certain occasion when she was alone, she uttered loud cries, at
which someone came to her aid and delivered her from his violence. With
that his love turned to hatred, and his cajolery to threats, which he
carried out by accusing her to her masters, with false testimony. She
went from their house, in great affliction and distress, but ever
repeating, with much patience: "God sees it all." Still further to
exercise her virtue, God permitted that even her master, who was
a person of high rank, instigated by the devil, should solicit her
with great importunity. She answered him by saying that she would,
under no persuasion, commit such a sin, and that he should consider
that he would greatly disgrace himself, as a man of so high position,
by seeking relations with her, a woman of lowly state. She added
that, besides this, she kept before her the thought of God, in whose
presence she dared not commit any vile act, or consent to it in
her heart, knowing that God sees all things; and, moreover, she had
consideration for her mistress, who treated her as her own daughter,
and against whom she could in no wise commit such treachery. The man,
irritated by this resistance, threatened her with harsh treatment; but
she replied that even if he were to kill her, it was enough for her
that God saw all that she was suffering to avoid sin. The evil man,
notwithstanding, carried out his threat, annoying her and treating
her with great harshness; yet this only increased the strength and
virtue of this innocent and chaste woman. Another Indian woman, left
a widow, was so devoted to the preservation of her chastity that,
without the advice of anyone, she made to God a vow of chastity, and
most strictly kept it. There are many other women who, though they make
no vow, preserve intact their chastity and virginity. Nor are the men
behind the women in the fervor and contrition wherewith they make their
confessions, and the rigor with which they scourge themselves and do
penance. One of those Indian women made her confession with so abundant
tears and signs of true contrition, that the father who confessed her
was greatly aroused and moved thereat, and afterward related that
the feelings of devotion caused by those so fervent tears and true
contrition remained with him for many days; and that when he wished to
humiliate himself or enliven his piety he had only to remember what
he had beheld in that Indian woman. For it is vastly different to
but talk of contrition for sins, and to contemplate its vivid image
and reality in a soul. Another woman came to the confessional and,
without noticing the multitude of people in the church, began her
confession, and continued it with so many tears and such grief for her
sins that she could with difficulty speak. She was thereupon seized
with a great longing to do penance, and desired to go at once through
the streets of the city, publicly scourging herself, as many do here
[in Europe] throughout Lent, in the early part of the night. A young
man in the confessional experienced such horror at his sins that,
incensed against himself, and without informing the father, he scourged
himself through the streets with such severity that he fell down as
one dead, and was considered as such. He came later to our house to
confess his offenses, and was as disfigured as if he were recovering
from a severe illness; but, not content with the former scourging,
he desired to inflict on himself another--for, as he said, his heart
was transfixed, as by a nail, with grief for his sins. The father,
however, commanded him to cease for the present, and he obeyed. There
were many other special instances which, for the sake of brevity,
I here omit. Not the least affecting among them were those where
there was manifested the eternal predestination which has mercifully
provided for many at the hour of death the resource of baptism.
Our ministries in behalf of the Spaniards were no less fervent at this
time. They repaired in great numbers to our fathers, especially during
Lent and on days of jubilee, when the results of their instruction
were most apparent. There were, very commonly, consultations in cases
of conscience, not only with laymen, but with ecclesiastics, and
religious, and even with the bishop--who hardly took any step without
the advice of our fathers, although he was a most learned and discreet
prelate. It must have been from seeing that persons of so high standing
held our Society in so great esteem that the people conceived the idea,
and made the resolve, of coming to our house for their confessions;
and for that very reason they felt under obligation to lead better
lives. With regard to this, one man said that during our absence he
had endured many inward struggles on account of not having made his
confession to Ours; but that, after he had done so, he had, through
the mercy of God, overcome them all. In short, no matter of weight or
importance arose where the advice of the Society was not sought with
confidence and truth, especially when it was seen that the bishop had
such confidence in us--which his Lordship manifested on many public
occasions and before many people, by words and deeds which could not
then be heard or now repeated, without confusion and embarrassment.
Our sermons in the cathedral and in our own church were regular
and frequent, and were all attended by the right reverend bishop,
who also honored our church with a pontifical mass for our feast
of New Year's day, which was celebrated with much solemnity, many
persons, from all classes of people, repairing to confession and
communion. His Lordship also preached at the titular feast of the same
church (that of the glorious St. Ildefonso), which was celebrated with
the like attendance and devotion, in the presence of a concourse of
people, and with many communions. His Lordship was also desirous of
introducing, in imitation of Manila, the practice of scourging in the
church during Lent; and he actually visited it, on the first Friday,
with a considerable following. He began by preaching a very devout
sermon, at the conclusion of which, seeing that, although night had
set in, the church was still light with the rays of a full moon, he
determined to leave it for the time, and accordingly returned after
his choir had sung the _Miserere_.
On account of the heat in this region, the churches are so constructed
as to be open and airy, and for this reason are poorly adapted
for taking the discipline. Accordingly he changed his plan and,
inviting the children of the school, and the students, with these and
many others of the town, he arranged for every Friday of that Lent a
procession of blood, in which the bishop himself marched barefoot. This
procession left the cathedral in the evening, and proceeded to
the other church (of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady), some
distance away. In the meantime the rest were flagellating themselves,
even to the extent of drawing blood; and while the choir was singing
the _Miserere_, the holy bishop scourged himself alone in the sacristy.
How the Christian religion extended in the island of Bohol. Chapter
XXXXII.
Through the solicitude and fervor of the two fathers who were in
Bohol, who soon received the help of a brother, that new Christian
church was notably increased, especially among the old people,
from sixty to eighty years of age. These--the world no longer for
them, or they for the world, but for Him who died for them--He did
not disdain to receive into His church when their sun was setting,
although they had not begun so early to follow and obey Him as He had
to seek and invite them; many of them died shortly after they were
baptized, having left many tokens and proofs of their salvation and
the sincerity of their faith. All of them--little children and grown
men, youths and aged people, the well and the sick--all convinced and
persuaded by the truths of Catholicism, are certain that no other road
leads to heaven; and so, without resistance or objection, they prepared
themselves for holy baptism--although the fathers with praiseworthy
prudence, restrained them by conferring the sacrament on those only
who were well prepared, or really in need of it. Many who received
the holy sacraments were cured of their maladies, and, consequently,
the earnestness and devotion with which they sought and received them
were intense. Even when they are in health, it is indeed marvelous to
see the satisfaction and willingness with which they repair to all
virtuous exercises, especially to confessions and masses. There was
no scent or trace of vice or idolatry, or witchcraft, or of other
evil customs practiced by them while they were pagans; and if, in
confession or elsewhere, mention were made to them of these things,
they became deeply offended, saying: "Since we are now Christians,
how could we do such things again?" Especially notable is the fidelity
maintained by married people, which they observe not only in outward
act, but in their hearts.
I cannot mention without sorrow the many souls, in this and neighboring
islands, who clamor for deliverance and have no one to give it to
them. During this same year some chiefs came from one of the adjacent
islands who asked, almost in tears, that one of the two fathers
who were there would, for the love of God visit them at least once
a week. In another island, called Siquihor, or the island of fire,
distant from Bohol some four leguas, there are many so well inclined
to the faith that, upon receiving the Christian doctrine of one who
went from that region to their island, they learned it very carefully,
and the chiefs even came with the others to ask for baptism. They were
all, however, appeased with the good prospects that were held out to
them, although these did not suffice to console them in their sorrow
at returning still hungry for the bread of heaven; or Ours at seeing
them with such righteous hunger for it, yet unable to procure it,
and with no one who might give them a share of it with the many who
in other regions have more than enough.
The increase of Christianity in Botuan. Chapter XXXXIII.
What the other two fathers accomplished in Botuan I shall relate in
their own words; for, if I am not mistaken, he who has the task in
his own hands can well declare it. Father Valerio de Ledesma in one
of his letters writes thus: "Christianity here is in a flourishing
condition, as is seen in the large attendance at divine services and
in the silence and reverence displayed in the church (for even when
it is crowded with many people it seems as if not one were there),
and in the affection of the people for the sacrament of confession. In
even their petty troubles, many repair to the confessional; and some
have already begun to receive communion, concerning which sermons
have been repeatedly preached. I trust in our Lord that many will
be ready by Corpus Christi; although in the beginning it is best to
proceed very gradually that they may reverence the sacrament and know
how to distinguish this divine food. The people attend the services
more than ever, and on Sundays a very large audience listens to the
word of God. The doctrine is sung at night, and the heavens themselves
seem to rejoice at music so sweet. In all the families there are many
persons well-disposed to the Christian faith; and soon a large number
of adults will be baptized; among them some chiefs of high standing,
although the largest fish of all is not yet caught. If it were not for
the difficulty of learning the doctrine, it seems to me now that almost
the whole village would come to us." Thus writes the father. This
"largest fish" whom he mentions is that great Silongan of whom we
spoke. Although he divorced five of his wives, one of them holds him
so in captivity that finally he is keeping both of them [_i.e._,
this one and his lawful wife]. Although every possible means of a
gentle sort has been used to free him from this impediment, nothing
could be done; and yet he showed a great desire to become a Christian,
and the utmost esteem for the things of God, as well as extraordinary
affection toward our fathers--which he manifested by giving his
son to their care, and on two occasions of special importance. One
of these was when the inhabitants, in fear of their enemies, the
Ternatans, who were scouring their coasts, received the news that
there were some ships at the mouth of the river, which, although they
belonged to friends, were not recognized as such; the inhabitants,
fearing that these might be enemies, accordingly armed themselves at
once. It was then that this chief, with all the men of his district,
all armed with lances and shields, crossed to the other side of the
river, where our house stood; and there, upon learning the deception
and recognizing the friends, Silongan in front of our house performed
some feats of activity to show his valor and strength, and said that it
was he, Silongan, who protected and defended the fathers and who, in
trying circumstances, showed what should be done in their behalf. The
other occasion was when one of our fathers, while going up the river,
happened to encounter another chief who, on account of a murder, was
plundering that district with many others who defended and guarded
him. The father, dreading this man, sought the protection of Silongan,
who happened to be in the same locality. The latter, with his numerous
slaves, surrounded the church where the father was, guarding it with
great vigilance; and, when he returned, took, in his own boat the
box of church ornaments and brought them all back in safety.
The departure of Father Tomas de Montoya for the doctrina of
Alangalang. Chapter XXXXIV.
To take charge of this Christian community (which, as we have said,
was bereft by the death of Father Cosme de Flores), Father Tomas de
Montoya left Manila, abandoning the instruction which, to their great
profit, he was imparting to the students. He himself tells what he
accomplished there, and I shall state it in his own words: "As a result
of the good music that we have in the church, the divine services are
celebrated with much solemnity, and to the great satisfaction of the
natives. Many solemn baptisms and marriages have been celebrated which
were attended with great fervor, especially by the inhabitants of one
village, who in this respect have had the advantage of the others. One
of the women of this village received the sacrament with such devotion
and joy that a few days after her baptism she made her confession, and
persuaded her husband to become a Christian; and she was one of those
who practiced the exercises of the Christians with most pleasure. An
old man, already so exhausted by age that he could hardly stand upon
his feet, came one day with the others to the church, and upon being
enjoined to become a Christian, that he might give to God the little
of life that remained to him, told them to leave him in peace, for he
was no longer fit for anything except death. Seeing that for the time
being nothing impressed him, I left him; and afterward caused him to
come to my house, where I represented to him the benefits which he
would gain in heaven by becoming a Christian. This had such an effect
that our Lord moved his heart; and, unable to repress his satisfaction,
with much gladness he urgently sought immediate baptism. I told him
to go away and to reflect upon the matter for a time, for an affair
of such moment could not be hastily settled. He again answered that
it should not be delayed, as he desired baptism immediately; but,
at last, the ceremony was deferred. While being instructed he made
the most joyful answers, and afterwards received holy baptism with
the same tokens of pleasure. During the remaining short period of
his life his happiness was such that he imparted it to everyone
who spoke to him. The great goodness and mercy of God were seen in
the case of a new born babe whose pagan mother--an inhabitant of
another village, far distant--gave birth to it in a village of this
mission. To escape the burden and labor which she must sustain in
rearing it, she took it in her arms and, descending to the bank of
a river, was about to bury it alive. A Christian chanced to see her
and hastened to inform us. Upon reaching the spot I found the child,
so small that it was a cause for astonishment. I baptized it, and it
soon passed away to the eternal rest of which the imprudent mother
(worse than a step-mother) had recklessly tried to deprive it. But
as God our Lord showed to these the gentleness of His great mercy,
so on others did He execute the rigor of His justice, chastising
them for their obstinacy and hardness; and others He terrified, so
that some day they might enjoy His mercy. One of Ours had asked a
certain man to receive baptism, following the advice of his father,
who was an Indian of high standing and governor of the village. He
made excuses, saying that he did not wish to receive the sacrament
until he had been married. But God our Lord did not allow him to
fulfil this desire, on account of which he deferred holy baptism
until he paid for the delay by an untimely death. Besides dying as
he did, in his heathenism, and very hastily, the character of his
death was violent and horrible; for he was carried away by a poison
which caused the flesh to fall from his body in pieces. Another
man was continually ill, and, fearing that any day he might die, he
asked me to baptize him. Upon summoning him one day for instruction,
he failed to appear, having abandoned his purpose. Soon afterward he
embarked for a neighboring island, where he died in his paganism. One
day, the children of a village came together to be baptized, but one
of the pagans refused to allow her child to receive the sacrament;
neither entreaties nor arguments availing to soften her. Accordingly,
we had to give her up--our Lord taking charge of this obdurate one,
as He did, suddenly deprived her one night of life."
But the event which caused among these Indians the greatest surprise
and terror, was the death of two of their most esteemed and respected
chiefs. The first was an Indian who in former days had married six
wives. He was so arrogant and cruel that whenever he made a journey
he sent Indians ahead of him to cut the branches of the trees, in
order that he might pass without bending his body; and if any of his
followers neglected to clear away a branch he paid for his carelessness
with his life. This chief became sick, and a father entreated him
with much earnestness to receive baptism. This he refused, and,
having no fear of death, said: "Father, as yet I have sufficient
strength in my eyes to see, in my hands to work, and in my feet to
walk. Leave me for the present, for, since thou art near by, I will
send one of my slaves for thee if I find that I am in distress." The
father left him, seeing that he would do nothing for us; and within
two days was told that this man was dead, having gone where he must
expiate his obstinacy as well as his pride and cruelty.
For the better understanding of the second case, we must assume that
one of the ways in which God has been best served in that mission
is in persuading the Indians who have two or three wives to abandon
them and to content themselves with one. The means used to accomplish
this end was to condemn polygamy, to the assembled natives, as a
state unworthy of the nobility of man, saying that they ought not to
make themselves beasts and brutes by having so many wives. Our Lord
granted a fortunate outcome to this effort, for the men were thus
persuaded to give up their wives. The Indians were so impressed by this
teaching that once when a swarm of locusts lit in the grain-fields
of a certain village, they accounted for it by saying that God had
sent this pest on the people of that village, because the men were
wont to keep two wives. There was an Indian chief of high rank in the
island of Leite, by the name of Umbas, one of the most prominent among
the chiefs on account of his riches and the good government which he
maintained in the villages under his rule, and the thoroughness with
which he fulfilled all his responsibilities; he was esteemed by not
only the Indians but the Spaniards. All eyes were turned to him, and
consequently, had he but become a Christian, large numbers of people
would have followed his example, for he was regarded by the rest,
even in distant parts, as a pattern to follow. This Indian had two
wives, and being frequently urged, with many entreaties and arguments,
to abandon one of them, so great was his love for his sons that he
could not make up his mind to divorce one of the women, preferring
not to be separated from their children. He was urged in the church,
before all the people of the village, to divorce one of his wives;
but he only answered that he had already been told this. Many of
our fathers, as well as his encomendero, therefore besought him
with great earnestness to be baptized, but all in vain. But finally,
seeing that all the rest (and especially one of his sons, also much
esteemed and beloved) were abandoning their wives, he said that
he would do the same after he had harvested his rice, for which
the time had arrived--alleging as a reason that since he and they
had toiled together in the sowing, they should together enjoy the
harvest; and when that had been done, he would remain with but one
wife. But the Lord, who already had just cause against him, by His
lofty judgments prevented him from carrying out this intention; for,
very soon afterward, when he suspected no misfortune, he was stabbed
by an Indian whom he tried to seize. No second blow was needed, for
he fell to the ground dead, thus ending his disobedience and obduracy.
Of the fervor of the Christians of Ogmuc. Chapter XXXXV.
Our fathers in the residence at Ogmuc, having proceeded with due
prudence and caution, had up to this time baptized only eighty-eight
adults. There was, however, a goodly number of catechumens, who were
very earnest in seeking baptism. Those who are baptized seem to have
known for many years the things of our holy faith, to judge by their
knowledge of its mysteries, especially those concerning Christ our Lord
and His most holy mother. They highly esteem the confessional, and when
they become sick they clamor at once for the father, and find relief
in making their confession. A sick man said that day and night he
thought of the father, who was absent, and desired him for confession,
adding that what most aggravated his sickness was to know that he
did not have the father at hand for that purpose. His relatives,
desirous of taking him to another place, had no success, nor could
they persuade him to go; for he maintained that they were about to
take him where he must die without confession, and where there was no
church in which he could be buried after death. As soon as he learned
that the father had arrived, he went, although very ill, to make his
confession, weeping for gladness, and never ceasing to render thanks
to the Lord that he had permitted the father to arrive at such a time;
and he declared that he could die consoled, now that he had made his
confession. During Holy Week there was a great concourse of people
who devoutly attended the divine services, keeping the receptacle
of the most holy sacrament handsomely adorned. On Holy Thursday, in
the afternoon, after the sermon a very devout procession was formed,
by which the people were more thoroughly instructed in the faith,
and taught what Christ our Lord had done for our salvation. The most
pleasing and touching sight was to see all the children disciplining
themselves with scourges which they themselves had made for that
day. At Easter some Spaniards chanced to be here, who augmented the
solemnity of the occasion with salvos from their arquebuses. Peace was
restored between many married people who had been living in discord;
and some abuses were corrected, especially two very baneful practices
anciently common among them, namely, usury in loans, and enslavement
through tyranny. In order that my readers may better understand and
recognize the power of God, who has unrooted these evils, it has
seemed to me best to describe them in greater detail.
Of usury and slavery among the Filipinos. Chapter XXXXVI.
Among other vicious practices common to these nations and proceeding
from that fountain and abyss of evil, idolatry, one was that insatiable
cupidity mentioned by the evangelist St. John as one of the three
which tyrannize over the world. [1] This caused them, forgetful of that
natural compassion which we owe to one another, never to lend succor
in cases of need without assurance of profit. Consequently, whenever
they made loans (not of money, which they did not use or possess,
but of other things, most commonly rice, bells, and gold--this last
more than all else, for when weighed it took the place of money, for
which purpose every one carried in his pouch a balance), they must
always agree upon the profit which should be paid them in addition
to the sum that they were to lend. But the evil did not stop here,
for the profit or gain itself went on increasing with the delay in
making payment--until finally, in the course of time, it exceeded all
the possessions of the debtor. The debt was then charged to his person,
which the poor wretch gave, thus becoming a slave; and from that time
forth all his descendants were also slaves. There was another form
of this usury and slavery, by which the debtor or his son must remain
from that time a slave, until the debt, with all the usury and interest
which were customary among them, was repaid. As a result of this, all
the descendants of him who was ether a debtor or security for the debt,
remained slaves. Slaves were also made through tyranny and cruelty,
by way of revenge and punishment for offenses of small account, which
were made to appear matters of injury. Examples of these are: failure
to preserve silence for the dead (which we have already mentioned),
or happening to pass in front of a chief who was bathing (alluded
to in the fable of Actæon), and other similar oppressions. They
also captured slaves in war by means of ambuscades and attacks,
keeping as such all those whom they did not wish to kill. Since these
cruelties were so usual among them, and, on the other hand, the poor
are commonly oppressed by the powerful, it was easy to increase the
number of slaves. Consequently they used to have, and still do have,
a very large number of slaves, which among them is the greatest of
riches. This has been no small hindrance to their conversion, and has
fettered the hands of many ministers of the gospel, and subjected
them to great doubts and perplexities. But since, on the one hand,
pious individuals have, although with difficulty, paid ransoms;
and, on the other, the royal magistrates have ascertained the facts
and provided redress for those thus tyrannically treated who seek
their liberty; and, moreover, since God our Lord has influenced many
in their baptisms and confessions, an enormous number of ransoms
have been given. Usury also quickly diminished, the creditors being
satisfied with the original interest, without expecting a continual
increase. But now, through the grace of our Lord, all that custom has
been abolished, and the natives now proceed with mercy and Christian
charity, not only in Ogmuc and throughout the island of Leite, but
in all the other islands where there is knowledge of Jesus Christ.
What the Christians accomplished in Carigara. Chapter XXXXVII.
From the very beginning, the people of this mission showed their
fervor; consequently, the Christians continued to increase in numbers,
although, as I have said, our fathers were very cautious in granting
holy baptism. All those Christians have frequent recourse to the
confessional, prizing it highly and greatly benefiting their own
souls. Those who are not Christians are all catechumens; and there is
not one of them who does not desire holy baptism. There was formed in
this church, and completed this year, a very delightful musical choir,
composed of the children themselves, who are very clever in this
exercise; and thus the divine services are celebrated with solemnity.
Of the remarkable increase in the mission of Paloc. Chapter XXXXVIII.
This village is one of the finest and best regulated in all the
island, thanks to the labors of one of our fathers, who helped the
natives to construct good houses. The Christian doctrine is taught
every day to the children in all the villages; and so many of them
attend this exercise that it is necessary to appoint four chanters
in order that they may be heard. Every day the people attend mass,
after they have had their lessons in the doctrine. One day of the
week is set apart when all the Christians come together to learn the
doctrine and catechism; and, even without the presence of the father,
they all assemble in every village. Great benefit has been derived
from this practice, for thus those who know the doctrine do not forget
it, and those who do not know it may learn it. Every night an Indian
goes forth with a little bell, warning all to prepare for death and
to repent for their sins, and enjoining the Christians to pray to
God in behalf of those who are not, that they may know God. While
he is uttering this message, perfect silence reigns, for they call
this "the warning of God;" and, in truth, it has been so effective
that there is not an Indian who does not reflect on death and desire
baptism. Before Lent some sermons were preached to them on confession,
and they were taught that they must not conceal their sins; to enforce
this, a very appropriate instance was cited, which had such an effect
upon them that many persons, though they had left the church very
late that night, returned the next morning to make another confession.
Although idolatry was formerly very common among these pagans, who
practiced it on every trivial occasion, our Lord has been pleased so
to diminish it that hardly anything is now known of it. Two children,
whose mother was sick, took three fowls for the purpose of making a
sacrifice to the demon. While on the way to the house of the priestess
(who in that country is usually old, and belongs to a mean class), one
of the children said to the other: "Whither are we going, and what are
we doing--we who are Christians and know that God sees us? Let us give
up this purpose." With this they abandoned their projected sacrifice,
and returning to their home, set the fowls at liberty. The practice
of disciplining on Fridays was begun, and was taken up by all the
children and the adults of the village. On the first night when they
assembled for this purpose, the father made known to them the spirit
in which it should be done, and so profoundly impressed them that
they soon named Friday (which is the usual day for the discipline)
"the day of atonement for sins."
Some notable incidents in Dulac. Chapter XXXXIX.
In this residence, from the month of June in the year ninety-eight to
January in the year ninety-nine, there were solemnly baptized more
than one hundred catechumens who greatly desired the sacrament and
prepared themselves very carefully for holy baptism. This did not
include the sick, who through the mercy of God had been but few that
year; but among these sick persons, both children and adults, was
experienced the virtue of this holy sacrament for bodily health. Some
persons who were covered with leprosy and their recovery despaired of,
were restored by baptism to so good health that, although borne down
by years, they were able to till the soil and sow their fields. I wish
to relate the faith of a pagan woman whose husband, also a pagan, lay
sick. Believing his condition to be dangerous, she persuaded him to
accept baptism. For this purpose she sent for the father, and, when
the latter asked the sick man if he desired baptism or instruction,
she helped him to make his answers. The father, observing her to be
so capable and so desirous of the welfare of her husband, inquired
if she also wished to become a Christian. She answered affirmatively,
saying that she had heard in the church that only the good Christians
went to heaven, and that those who were not Christians must burn in
hell; and that for the sake of retaining her husband's affection she
was not willing to die an infidel, and come to so bad an end. Finally,
when it seemed that the sick man was well prepared, and his sickness
was becoming dangerous, he was baptized, and then our Lord was
pleased to give him health--whereat the good woman was more than
ever anxious to receive baptism for herself. After they were both
baptized, they received the nuptial benediction, as do all the other
married people who are baptized, renewing their marriage according
to Christian usage. I will also mention the death of a child, which
was no less remarkable than the recovery of the other. The father
was passing through a village late in the day, on his way to another
settlement. He was hastening his steps, for the sun was setting and
there still remained a considerable strip of road before he could reach
his destination. But at the very entrance of the village a Christian
came out and called to him, entreating him to go and baptize a child,
the son of infidel parents, who was very sick. The father went to the
house and baptized the child; and, having offered a prayer for it,
went away. No sooner had he gone, than our Lord called the child to
Himself; and it seemed as if the little one was only waiting baptism
in order to enter heaven immediately.
The method of preaching which our Fathers employed in Tinagon, and
the results thereby obtained. Chapter L.
What was accomplished at that time in Tinagon is well related by
Father Francisco de Otaço in the following special account which he
gave of his labors there: "It is wonderful to see how these people
have all at once and generally abandoned their sins. For the greater
glory of the Lord, there has not been known, nor have I heard of,
throughout this year, a single act of idolatry, and these formerly
were so common. Concubinage has been rare, and their drinking feasts
so moderate that they do not deserve such a name. The knowledge of
the things of our Lord is ever increasing, as well as the pleasure of
the people in them; and our fathers are steadily gaining their love
and gratitude. A father once told them that for a certain feast it
was their share to adorn the church; immediately they set themselves
to the task, and the one who began it was a pagan, who did his share
of the work. Our method of preaching to these people is not so much
by means of arguments and consecutive discourses, which make but
little impression on them, as by a sort of spiritual conference,
in which the father briefly presents to them one or two points,
repeating these and asking questions concerning them. Thus his hearers
become proficient, and the result is plainly seen; more than seven
hundred have been baptized this year--most of them in two villages,
where the faith has penetrated with notable results, the people being
well inclined to if. This has been especially evident in one village,
where the fiscal is a chief acknowledged by all its people, whom our
Lord has been pleased to use as the instrument for much good to those
souls. What he has accomplished and is still accomplishing in that
doctrina causes me unusual edification and consolation; for in truth,
if I may judge by what I myself see when I go there, and by the common
account of all, both Spaniards and Indians, even one of our fathers
who might have been stationed in that village could not have wrought
such results as he has done. And this I say without exaggeration;
God provides it all, and blessed be He! This village of Paranas [2]
is on the coast, and contains a few Indian fishermen, but there are
many Indians in the mountains, divided, scattered, and far away;
some of these have established their abodes on the coast, but they
frequent it but rarely, and are (or rather were) a very churlish and
fugitive people. Yet Don Gonçalo (that is the name of the fiscal) has
taken hold of them in such a way that he does what he will with them,
and that, too, by so quiet, gentle, and efficacious means as to cause
one to wonder. Although it is exceedingly difficult to attract their
young children from home (especially among those who dwell in the
mountains) Don Gonçalo draws them to himself by the same means that
I have already mentioned, and to such an extent that he usually has
in his house nearly a hundred young boys; such was their number the
other day, when I was there, and now he tells me that some twenty
or thirty more have just come. He now has them so tamed, gentle,
intelligent, and contented that, considering their former savage
and terrible character, I know not how I can certify it. Those who
formerly knew little or nothing of the doctrine, at present are, by
common consent, those who in this mission are most proficient. The
fiscal maintains with them a regular plan and order: morning and
evening, their prayers and procession; and at night before retiring,
and in the morning before dawn, they also offer their prayers--so
that the Spaniards, their encomendero said, and the collectors are
notably edified thereby. Nor does this occupation depend upon the
presence there of the father or of the Spaniards, for it is always
maintained. The older boys he sends to their villages for food and
shell-fish, and the little ones remain to learn, as if they were in a
school. What I especially value is, that it is all done through love;
for both the children and their parents have so much affection for
this man that, as I noticed the other day, the boys hardly give heed
to the father, but are captivated by their Don Gonçalo, and it is he
whose permission they seek. This man has received a special blessing
from the Lord, and what he does comes entirely from his heart. He
not only looks after the knowledge and recitation of the doctrine,
but even trains them in good habits, and punishes them gently when
they are at fault. He brings together the adult Indians in the church
to pray on feast-days, and if it becomes necessary to do or undo
anything in the mission, it is always entrusted to him. Without doubt,
if there were many men of this sort the lack of ministers here would
be well supplied in many respects."
The arrival in the Philippines of the father-visitor, Diego Garcia,
and how he began his visitation. Chapter LI.
When affairs were in the condition which we have described, the
father-visitor, Diego Garcia, very opportunely arrived in the islands,
with some companions, [3] on the seventeenth of June in the year one
thousand five hundred and ninety-nine. His arrival was a source of much
consolation and joy, on account of the reënforcement which he brought
us, and was of much importance and advantage to the internal government
of the Society in those parts, on account of the good order to which
he reduced all our affairs, particularly in our ministries and in the
methods of aiding those souls. Upon careful investigation he learned
that, during those four years while our fathers had given instruction
in the islands of Pintados, twelve thousand persons had been baptized,
and that there were about forty thousand catechumens--not to mention
many others who, although they were not on the list of catechumens,
had also an inclination (or at least no repugnance) to receive
the faith and the gospel. In accordance with this information, the
father-visitor set about organizing the affairs [of the missions],
and providing needed assistance, as we shall later see. Before entering
upon this, however, I will relate, in order to show the mercies of God
toward our fathers, a special instance of this which His Divine Majesty
displayed toward them and the vessel which brought them from the port
of Acapulco to the Filipinas. The pilots were confidently sailing over
their accustomed course, heedless that in it there were shoals. One
evening at the hour when the _Salve_ is wont to be repeated, and while
all were devoutly reciting it, a young man fortunately (or rather
through the singular providence and mercy of God) descried shoals
from the maintop and immediately began to shout a warning. With that
the crew--although everyone was agitated and fearful lest, with the
freshening of the wind, they would be driven upon the shoals--hastened,
some to the sails, ropes, and rigging, others to the helm, and the
pilot to direct the ship's course. Our fathers, meanwhile, repaired
to their quarters and berths to invoke the most blessed Virgin, to
call upon God, and to pray for the intercession of the saints--all
of them especially invoking that of blessed Father Ignacio, [4] a
relic of whom the father-visitor carried with him. Showing this to
his companions while the rest were busied in the other occupations,
he augmented the fervor with which they cried to heaven, and at
the same time their confidence that by means of that holy relic our
Lord would deliver them from their danger. And so He did; for, upon
steering so as to direct the vessel to one side, to avoid the shoals,
the vessel, in spite of their efforts, would not obey, but, turning
in the other direction, doubled the shoals. If their attempt to steer
had been successful, not only could they not have passed the shoals,
but they would have drifted hopelessly upon them; but, as it was, the
flagship was saved. Moreover, her lighted lantern (for evening had
already arrived) guided the other ships, which followed behind her,
through the channel, and in this manner all of them were saved.
Occurrences in Manila at this time. Chapter LII.
In the latter part of June in the year one thousand five hundred
and ninety-nine, the father-visitor and his companions were resting
from the hardships of their voyage, and preparing to begin anew their
labors--the father on his tour of inspection, and the others in the
fishery for souls--for which purpose they had gone into retreat to
perform the exercises, [5] and to allow themselves more leisure for
solitary prayer. At this time there occurred in Manila, as a result
of the unusually dry season, a very violent earthquake, which injured
many buildings. Among these it rent and laid open the vault of our
church; and in the church of Santo Domingo it loosened and tore apart
the woodwork (which was very beautiful, and handsomely wrought), and
crushed in all the walls in such a manner that it was necessary to tear
down the building. We also were obliged to demolish the vault of our
church; for whereas that of Santo Domingo could be left standing for
a few days, we were compelled to begin at once to tear down the vault
of our church, which was the part most injured. The Spaniards came to
our aid, with contributions amounting to more than a thousand pesos,
to pay the workmen who were tearing down the church, and to aid in the
expense of repairing it. The Indians assisted us with their labor,
helping us to remove the obstructions, and to clear the building
from the ruins and from the earth and stones which remained from
them. More than a thousand Indians, without exaggeration, came to
offer their services; men, women, and children; young men and girls,
and old men; chiefs and common people--all busied themselves to such
an extent that the place appeared like an anthill or a beehive. These
were assisted by the inhabitants of all the neighboring villages, who,
animated and encouraged by the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis,
and St. Augustine, and by the clergy who had them in their charge,
aided us to roof the church temporarily with canes and palm-leaves
(which is the usage there). Thus in four days was accomplished the work
of twenty or thirty days; thus the church was made fit for service,
and is being used thus until it can be properly roofed. The industry
and good-will with which the Indians assisted us on our church were
soon repaid to them by our fathers, when a general malady prevailed
among them, causing the death of many persons. Then our fathers aided
them, especially by hearing their confessions, and administering to
them the communion and extreme unction, in the church itself; hardly
ever during the day was it free from sick persons who had been carried
thither on the shoulders of men that they might receive those holy
sacraments. The devil, who slumbers not, seized the opportunity of
this malady to sow the seeds of error among some wretched old women,
his ministers--saying that at first the God of Castile had vanquished
their anitos, but that the latter were now the conquerors, and were
chastising the people for having abandoned them. To counteract this
evil, among others, a solemn procession and mass were ordered, wherein
our Lord was supplicated for the health of the people. Inasmuch
as a sermon was necessary, its preparation was assigned to Father
Diego Sanchez, at the instance of the canon, Pablo Ruiz de Talavera,
who is the priest of the Indians in Manila; he chose this father on
account of his devotion to the Society, and of the great affection of
the Indians for him, caused by his eloquence and the many and signal
services that he has rendered them. The father, discussing in his
sermon the above-mentioned error, refuted it, and expelled it from
their minds and hearts with that admirable force of expression and
persuasion with which our Lord had equipped him; while He gave to the
hearers grace and sensibility to perceive and be influenced by the
truth, as since then has been evident on many, and notable occasions.
In that very time of the malady, admirable evidence appeared of the
importance of the confraternity which, as we said above, that people
had instituted for the purpose of exercising themselves in similar
pious acts. Its members aided the sick with the utmost solicitude,
striving to provide them with comforts and medicines; and when deaths
occurred they kept watch over the corpses, and accompanied them to
burial, to the great edification of all who saw them. As a natural
result, the confraternity came to be much esteemed and valued, and
many sought the intercession of influential persons in order to be
admitted to its membership. It is proverbial among the Spaniards that
its members can be recognized by their quiet and modest address,
for which they are much respected. Not to mention other details,
the devotion which they showed that year in the harvesting of their
rice was certainly a source of great consolation; for they would not
taste it until, after they had brought part of it as an offering to
our Lord in His temple, that part had been blessed which they must
immediately use. Their offering was a sort of grateful acknowledgment
that God had delivered their grain-fields from the plague of locusts,
and themselves from the sickness.
Care was taken to check offenses against our Lord, and to break up
vile illicit relations--some secretly, and others by other gentle
means--by which many Indian women were kept in bondage. These women,
in their eagerness for worldly gain and kind treatment, were gratified
by certain men, who maintained them in that mode of life without fear
of God. Indeed, there were two women who had killed their husbands
that they might gain greater freedom in this respect. Some, too,
had lived during many years in this wretched state--one ten years,
another twelve, another thirteen; and still another, twenty long
years. Yet God, in His infinite patience, had been waiting for them
all this time, and at the end received them into His most gentle mercy.
As in past years, our ordinary ministries were also exercised among
the Spaniards; in particular, many general confessions were made,
and friendly relations were established between certain prominent
persons. Among these latter was one notable case concerning
a prebendary of the cathedral of Manila--whom, for certain good
reasons, I do not name; but his noble conduct on this occasion gives
him sufficient fame. Knowing that another prebendary of the same
church, an aged and venerable man, was offended at him, he secured
an opportunity to meet him in the house of an auditor of Manila,
and in the presence of several dignified persons; there, after having
expressed himself in such gentle and conciliatory terms as to appease
all angry feelings, he knelt at the feet of his elder, and, taking
his hand, kissed it. Then they embraced each other; and thus began
a very stable friendship between them, which I saw with my own eyes
for many days--confirmed, months later, by their very intimate and
fraternal intercourse.
The progress in eradicating idolatry from Taitai, and the piety and
constancy of its Christians. Chapter LIII.
The pest, with its mortality, spread among all the Indians of that
region, even to the villages of San Juan del Monte, Antipolo, and
others. This kept our fathers busy night and day, caring not only for
the welfare of souls, administering to them the holy sacraments with
much fervor and concern, but for that of their bodies, aiding them with
medicines and the necessary comforts--an important consideration with
those people, in view of the value that they attach to kind treatment
during illness and the pleasure that it gives them; indeed they often
recover their health from very contentment at seeing that they are
cherished and cared for. The confraternities of that village and of
Manila gave no less useful aid, on this occasion, to the sick and the
dead, their members taking turns in caring for the sick and attending
funerals, which were usually accompanied by more than two hundred
persons bearing lighted candles; these attentions were especially
bestowed on the dead who had belonged to the confraternity, who were
also honored by special funeral rites.
Superstition and idolatry have been so thoroughly uprooted that there
is hardly a trace or evidence of them left; if any had remained
from former years, it was due to carelessness rather than to evil
intent, and an end was put to them this year, through the favor of
our Lord. Even the little plates and other insignificant articles
which they were wont to use in making sacrifices they brought to the
fathers, to be broken and burned. An Indian owned, growing on his land,
a very luxuriant clump of the great reeds which they call _cauayan_
[_i.e._, bamboo], which we have already described. This man came to
notify us that this clump had formerly been offered to an idol, for
whose service its canes had been cut; and he himself condemned it to
be burned to the very roots, in order that it might not sprout again,
and himself be thus reminded of an object which had been used for
so evil purposes; accordingly, yielding to his feeling of devotion,
orders were given that it be burned. Others showed a little house that
was dedicated to another idol, and requested that it should be burned
to the ground, which was done. The first to show their abhorrence
of idolatry (in Which they surpassed the others) were the people of
San Juan del Monte, where formerly this practice had reigned, and
where there were so many priestesses of the idols, that there was
hardly a street which did not contain three, four, or even more. But
they have now turned their false superstitions into true religion and
Christian piety, repairing to the church so regularly that on certain
week-days, while the bell is rung for mass, the church is entirely
filled with those who come to hear. They are wont to complain that,
as there are so few fathers, they are unable to attend, as often and
as regularly as they desire, confession and communion--which they seek
with loving eagerness, not once, but many times during the year, to
their own edification and profit. As a result, the sweet odor of this
Christianity and esteem for the labors of Ours, have, to the glory
of our Lord, reached other villages, so affecting and edifying them
that the vicar-general of the archbishop, as well as other priests and
religious, and even secular magistrates, have sent to that village for
a few months, to be restrained, reformed, and kept in safety, certain
persons who were sorely tempted. It has pleased our Lord that by good
example and suitable instruction these persons should be delivered from
danger and their lives reformed; they have made general confessions,
and given other satisfactory proofs of the change in their lives.
Among the mountains of this mission district, where the people are less
experienced in the faith, there had remained a notorious catalonan,
or priest, of a celebrated idol which had been hidden away, no one of
those who knew about it daring to disclose the idol. This root was
capable of producing many cursed shoots. But our Lord was pleased
that it should be discovered through the praiseworthy diligence of
Father Francisco Almerique, who obtained possession of the things
pertaining to the adoration of the idol, and had them all burned. He
was successful in converting the priest, and for greater security, made
him live in a village where Ours usually reside. The devil, the father
of lies, now that credence is no longer placed in him or importance
attached to his superstitions and follies, transforms himself into an
angel of light, striving to deceive the simple-minded. In this way he
deluded a woman of rank with many visions and revelations which seemed
to her real and true, and in which, according to her statement, he
appeared in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ, taught her many things,
and bade her instruct the people therein. The same father, as soon
as he became aware of this, sought to undeceive her, enjoining her
not to repeat those things to any one. But she paid no heed to this,
and assembled secretly, at night, a number of persons; and, in order
that they might go more willingly, she said that the father had told
her to proceed. In this way she persevered in making known her fancies
and illusions. Those who were present, noticing that her method of
instruction and speech was similar to that employed by the priestesses
of the idols when they are possessed by the demon--making a thousand
gestures and movements like those of a madman or deranged person
(which was the method formerly employed by the devil in making answers
through the mouths of the catalonans)--hastened to give information
of this proceeding. The father, learning for the second time of this,
which was again taking place, assembled in the church the people who
had heard this woman speak; and, showing them what it really was,
undeceived them, pointing out the falsity of all those things, and
the wiles of the devil. By these means an evil was corrected which
doubtless would have been very great if so timely and appropriate a
remedy had not been applied. In another instance a poor fellow was
relieved by an Agnus Dei [6] which one of our brethren gave him. The
latter had sent some Indians to cut grass, and one of them fled inland,
among the mountains, as if terrified and beside himself; and wandered
from hill to hill during an entire day, until he was found in that
condition by some other Indians, who conveyed him to his house. When
the brother visited him, the Indian said that he wished to confess,
for the demons were harassing him in such a manner that he could not
rest; and that, without any intention, and unable to control himself,
he had wandered alone and in terror through the wilderness. The brother
brought him to a father, who heard his confession; but afterward he
again suffered in the same way. Again he repaired to the brother, and
told him of his trouble; and the latter advised him to have faith in
our Lord and confidence in the virtue of the holy Agnus Dei--making
known to him the favors which our Lord has granted to men, and the
miracles which He has wrought through the efficacy of this holy relic;
he then placed an Agnus Dei on the Indian's neck. From that very moment
the latter felt relieved, and our Lord, in order to show that He had
granted that favor by means of the holy relic, caused him, whenever
the emblem was removed from his neck, even for a short time, to lose
at once his reason, and go astray. The Indian himself stated that, as
soon as it was removed, he lost his wits and had no control of himself,
but that when wearing it his mind was quite calm; so he gave many
thanks to our Lord, and related the efficacy of the holy Agnus Dei.
Some notable incidents that happened in the city of Santissimo Nombre
de Jesus. Chapter LIV.
The fortunate arrival at this city of the father-visitor occurred in
Lent of the year one thousand six hundred. Although he increased the
number of our fathers in that city, he realized that their labors
among the Chinese were a hindrance to their work among the Indians;
he therefore entreated the right reverend bishop of that city to
place the Chinese in the care of some other order, which his Lordship
did. By this measure our fathers had less responsibility, but were
not less occupied; for, not to mention the other peoples who, as I
have said, resort to this port, the Bissayans alone kept six fathers
so busy during Lent that the people hardly left them alone by day
or by night. Nevertheless, so great is the need, and at the same
time the scarcity, of the bread of divine truth, for lack of those
who may distribute it, that many people dwelling very near the city
die in this hunger and cannot be assisted; for although the right
reverend bishop of Sebu and the few priests who are under him do much,
and the fathers of St. Augustine much more, neither the former nor
the latter suffice for the care of so many children. After Lent and
Easter, one of the fathers visited, by way of recreation (for such
are the vacations which they enjoy there), some pagan villages which
are about six leguas from the city. He remained there eight days,
which gave him opportunity for the usual occupations. Although the
time was very short, our Lord was served by some good results; for
the father found many Christians who, through lack of teaching and
their constant association with infidels, had returned with these to
their former idolatrous practices. By means of sermons and discourses
he touched the consciences of these people, and, recognizing their
wretched condition, they made a general confession; they received
his instructions for their future conduct, and were very grateful for
the good that had been done them. The infidels were so attracted and
inclined to the things of our holy faith that they urgently besought
the father to remain with them a few days more; but, as this was not
possible, they contented themselves with the hope that he might soon
be able to revisit them. After four months had elapsed, seeing that
he did not return, they sent their messengers earnestly to entreat
him to return for a short time to teach them the things of our holy
faith, which they all desired to accept; but this could not be done,
and so they were left in their hunger.
In the city of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus there was a Malucan Indian,
the slave of a Spaniard, who, although he had been a Christian for many
years, lived negligent of his salvation, and his masters had never been
able to induce him to make confession and fulfil the obligations of a
Christian; he always displayed much unwillingness and obstinacy. This
man became ill with a malady, apparently not very serious, accompanied
by a slow fever; but within three or four days he suddenly lost the
power of speech and seemed to be surely dying. A little food and some
drink were offered to him but he could not be induced to take any;
and finally became so low, that he lost all consciousness. Some holy
water was brought him from our house and a few drops were sprinkled
over his face; some of these ran down into his mouth, and he began to
lick them, so that he tasted the water. One of those present placed
some of it near his mouth, and, opening his lips, he received the
water. At once regaining consciousness, he said that it seemed as if
someone had seized him and clutched his throat, and for that reason
he was unable to speak; but drinking the holy water had, as it were,
released him, and set him at liberty, and he gladly listened to what
they said to him concerning his salvation. After he had received
instruction, he made a general confession of his entire life; and
our Lord was pleased to restore him to complete health of body,
as He had already deigned to give him health of soul.
Another Indian, while very ill, was afflicted with horrible
apparitions; when he was left alone, hideous and fierce black men
appeared to him, threatening him with death. He asked his friends to
summon our fathers; finally, after he had endured many sufferings,
either he or the people of his house sent for a priest to hear his
confession. The priest repaired at once to the sick man, and found
him in great suffering. He gave him consolation, and after thorough
instruction, the Indian made a general confession, to his own great
relief--from that time experiencing entire rest, and seeing no more
of the visions that had tormented him.
There was an infidel Indian woman who lived near this city among
Christians. A serious illness attacked her, and she was carried to the
house of another Indian woman, who attended our church and led a most
pure and edifying life, who persuaded her to become a Christian. She
sent for a priest of our order, who catechized her and so prepared
her that she soon received holy baptism. During the remaining days
of her life she gave tokens of the grace that she had received; for,
although she suffered the utmost pain, hardly a word was heard from
her lips, save "Jesus, Mary," or, "My God, have mercy on me."
One day two of Ours, chancing to pass through the Chinese quarter, were
informed that in one of the houses an infidel woman lay dying. They
at once ascended into the house, and found her very near death, but
very far from knowing the truth of our holy faith. But our Lord,
who had provided teachers, aided her in His great mercy, and with
sovereign help; accordingly, she listened very willingly to what they
said to her, and prepared herself in so short a time that they gave
her baptism that very night, fearing her critical condition. She was
greatly consoled by the sacrament, and grateful to our Lord for the
mercy that she had received, edifying those who were present by her
words, which were all invocations for help to Jesus and Mary. With
such good proofs of her salvation, she passed away on the following
day. Among the persons who, to the edification of the people and the
service of our Lord, have profited by the teaching of our fathers, was
a woman advanced in years, and a native of China; her case is one of
great importance, as her nation are so hard to reach, and so unwilling
to receive the gospel; and so it does not seem beyond the scope of my
plan to give some account of her conversion. This woman had married an
honorable Portuguese, who left her a widow some six years ago. Most
of her support is what she gains by the labor of her own hands, with
the help of three slaves, in whose company she lives in a wretched
house, apart from the crowd of the Chinese, dwelling therein in great
seclusion. Her confessions and communions are frequent, with excellent
results. She practices penance so severely that it has been necessary
to moderate the rigors she inflicts upon herself, in long scourgings
every night, and in fasts throughout the year, four days in every
week; and even on the other two days she seldom eats meat. Prayer is
her one consolation, for which she has much natural aptitude in her
excellent judgment, and supernatural aid in the gifts which the Lord
communicates to her. She is present every day in the church during
the masses, hearing them always upon her knees. Nothing so afflicts
her as to know that God has been offended, especially if by those of
her nation. In short, she has offered herself entirely to our Lord,
and He has plucked her with His own hand as a rose from among so many
thistles and thorns.
Other interesting events, which occurred in Bohol. Chapter LV.
In order to give a more detailed account of what took place at that
time in the island of Bohol, I shall avail myself of two letters from
Fathers Alonso de Umanes and Gabriel Sanchez, who were in that region;
for in my opinion their account is given minutely and with pleasing
and enjoyable simplicity. Both of them, writing to the father-visitor,
give him a detailed account of their labors, as is the custom in our
Society. The superior, Father Alonso de Umanes, writes as follows:
"As soon as we had returned from Sebu in last year, ninety-nine, as
it was the season of Lent we busied ourselves in hearing confessions;
and with remarkable devotion and promptness all this new band of
Christians, without any reward, repaired to the sacraments--even
those coming to us who lived very distant from the village where
we ordinarily reside. The Christians throughout the island came
together for the exercises of Holy Week, and many of those who were
not yet baptized attended the divine services during all that week,
with great devotion, also the feast of Easter, when a goodly number
of them received communion. Having fulfilled our obligations as to
confession, we set out to visit some of the pagan villages, in all
of which we found the people well disposed. Those who most attended
our preaching were the inhabitants of Panglao, a small island almost
adjoining this; all the people came very willingly to hear about
the things of our holy faith, and soon began of their own accord to
build a church. As the first-fruits of Christianity there, we first
baptized the sons of the chiefs, in order that they might open the
door for the others. Their parents were greatly pleased at this,
in token of which they held a feast that same day, with dancing and
other festivities. This little island we visited again, at which
time a considerable number of adults as well as a hundred children
received baptism. The chiefs besought us to leave there someone who
might instruct them, that they might thus learn more speedily all
that was necessary. For this purpose we took from the island their
brightest boys, so that they, after receiving instruction, might
teach their people. Thus we shall be able to supply, to some extent,
the great need of men from our Society, until our Lord shall multiply
our number. During a visit that was made to the village of Lobo, an
important event occurred which served to overthrow their errors and
remove some great fears with which the devil had inspired them. An
alguazil learned that in a little village near by there was a chief
who kept in his house many small horns and little jars full of charms,
and other instruments, which served for casting lots, for determining
if in sickness sacrifice should be made to the devil, and for deciding
other matters. Father Gabriel Sanchez resolved to go in person to
take away those cursed instruments. In fact, no other means would
have been successful, because, upon arriving at the house, he was
obliged with his own hands to unhang and heap together the bottles
and horns; for the Indians who had accompanied him did not dare even
to touch them--fearing that, if they did, they would die; and that,
if they threw them into the river, the caimans would be enraged against
them--such was their belief in these delusions. But the father, having
quieted their fear and removed their mistaken apprehension by himself
touching those objects and yet remaining alive, induced them to seize
the horns and bottles and expose them publicly. Then he summoned the
young boys who spat and trod upon them--actions which among those
people, as among other nations, are a token of contempt, detestation,
and infamy. He finally caused the charms to be burned, and thrown into
the river. By these means they were all freed from error, and became
more devoted than ever to our true and well-grounded Catholic religion.
"I cannot refrain from relating an incident that has just befallen us,
as it was a source of great consolation to me. As soon as our people
learned that your Reverence had ordered us to go to Sebu, fearful
lest we might not speedily return, they all repaired to us to make
their confessions, with such fervor that it seemed like the season
of Lent. Those who had not received baptism came also, with like
earnestness seeking that holy sacrament. Thus, by way of farewell,
we made a goodly number of Christians." The account of Father Alonso
de Umanes ends here.
Father Gabriel Sanchez, in another letter to the father-visitor, writes
thus: "Glory be to our Lord, Christianity in this island is receiving
much increase. They all frequent the most holy sacraments with great
fervor at Christmas, Epiphany, and other leading feasts. So many were
the confessions and the communions that it seemed to me like Holy
Week. They possess great confidence and faith, and through the most
holy sacraments and the sacramental offices they are sure to receive
(and his Majesty does bestow upon them even in temporal affairs)
most signal favors. An old woman, a good Christian, was so reduced by
sickness, and brought so near to death, that she no longer possessed
her senses, or power of speech; in short, there was no hope that she
would live. The sacrament of extreme unction was administered to her,
and at once she began to improve, and at last regained entire health. A
few days ago they brought to us a sick man, so tormented and harassed
by a severe malady that he could not even raise his head; he therefore
made his confession while reclining, and with great difficulty. But,
as soon as he had ended it, he began to feel better, with the result
that in two days he came to the church to render thanks to our Lord
for the mercy that he had received, which he attributed to the holy
sacrament of penance. A few days ago a child of four years--not
realizing, as he was so little, what he was doing--waded into the
sea, and, despite the haste with which he was taken from the water,
was almost drowned. They brought him in haste to our house, that we
might repeat the gospel over him, for they had no hope of preserving
his life by natural means. When they brought him to us he showed
almost no sign of respiration, his face was black, and his stomach
much swollen with the water which he had swallowed. The gospel was
read for him, and he was sprinkled with holy water; and then, in
the presence of the many people who had assembled, he straightway
recovered consciousness and became entirely well, in return for
which they all gave many thanks to our Lord. Another incident, which
occurred quite recently, I cannot refrain from relating. Our Lord has
this day exercised His accustomed mercy in the case of two old men,
very venerable and more than a hundred years old. The greater part
of their long lives they had spent in diabolical acts of outrage,
murder, cruelty, and lawlessness; and yet our Lord had waited for
them until now--when, illumining them with His divine light, they
were marvelously converted. I was astonished at beholding the fervor,
sincerity and grief with which they expressed abhorrence for their
past life and sought baptism, which they received today after careful
instruction. To see the perseverance and constancy of this people
has given great consolation to me. I shall relate in brief a few
things which certainly give strong evidence of that constancy. An
unmarried Indian woman was persecuted by a soldier with innumerable
plots, yet she always resisted him valiantly. Once in particular, he
sent her by a servant some twenty escudos; but she drove the servant
away, and threatened that if he should come again she would fling
him and his money through her window. The soldier, rendered bold
by the fury of his passion, as he had a headstrong disposition, and
realizing that he could not gain his damnable purpose by bribes, had
recourse to threats. As these did not suffice, he laid violent hands
on her, seriously hurting her; but our Lord came to her assistance,
and she emerged victorious from the struggle, leaving the wretch in
confusion and shame. Another woman was no less persecuted, a man
offering her, among other gifts, a gold chain that was worth more
than thirty escudos; but she rejected all his gifts with Christian
courage. Then, fearing the fury of her persecutor and her own great
danger, she persuaded her mother to accompany her, and they fled to
some grain-fields, where she remained in hiding until he who was
molesting her had left the village. Another, a young girl hardly
eighteen years of age, and so poor that she could procure only a
little rice for her support, was persecuted by many men, who offered
her large sums of money to relieve her poverty; one of them offered
her more than forty eight-real pieces. But she made answer that our
Lord, in whom she trusted, would relieve her need; that she did not
care to live by any means that would offend Him, but in serving Him
was well content in her poverty; and that she was confident that
our Lord would not abandon her. Another poor woman resisted with
equal courage no less vexatious importunities, refusing a quantity
of gold worth more than eighty escudos, thus leaving her persecutor
in amazement. Another woman, fearing that she would have to defend
her body by force from so many and violent importunities, removed
it from danger, and herself from any occasion of offending God, by
fleeing to the mountains, where she wandered about for almost four
months, suffering, although with much satisfaction, many hardships
and privations; nor did she return to the village until she learned
that he who had brought her to such a plight had departed thence."
The good conduct of the Christians of Botuan. Chapter LVI.
I shall, continuing as I began, relate the prosperous condition
of Christianity in Botuan in the same words which Father Valerio de
Ledesma and his companion, Father Manuel Martinez, used in writing this
year to the father-visitor. The letter of Father Valerio gives the
following account: "Glory to our Lord, the inhabitants of this town
are well instructed. There are nearly eight hundred Christians, and
nearly all the rest of the people are catechumens, engaged in learning
the necessary truths. We hold back these persons that they may prize
more highly the mercy which God is showing them, and understand more
thoroughly the Christian doctrine and acquire good habits. All the
rest of the people have the best possible inclination to receive our
holy faith and come on every Sunday and feast-day to hear the sermons
and discourses; a large audience always assembles, and all of them,
even the infidels, entertain a great affection for holy things. Of
their own accord they bring their children to be baptized, and their
sick people, to hear the gospel read. They erect crosses in their
grain-fields, and sing the Christian doctrine with the Christians,
of whom there are usually some in every house. In times of sickness
they come at once to be baptized; and as they are universally well
instructed, and have sufficient knowledge of the things of our faith,
it is easy to succor them upon such occasions, so that hardly any one
dies without having first received holy baptism. An Indian, seeing
himself afflicted by a violent disease, asked to be baptized. They went
to call the father for that purpose, but in the meantime the malady
had gained such headway, that when he arrived he found the house
in confusion and everyone bewailing the sick man as one dead. The
father, seeing that he could not speak and seemed unable to hear,
assured himself that he had asked for baptism; and, knowing that he
was one of those who frequented the church, he asked for water to
baptize him. Then, speaking in a loud voice, he persuaded him to
try to say 'Jesus.' It seems that at the sound of that most sweet
name the sick man recovered somewhat, and, making a great effort,
pronounced the word. He soon regained breath, and made answer to
the questions of the catechism, to the great wonder of all who were
present. He received holy baptism, and soon afterward our Lord granted
him complete health. His parents, who were pagans, astonished at his
recovery, attributed it to the virtue of the holy name of Jesus, and
to holy baptism. Through the mercy of God, there is constancy among
the faithful. In all the time I have resided here I do not know of
any Christian who has been present at a pagan sacrifice, although
living among so many of them. The corregidor of this town related
to me, with surprise, that although he had investigated many cases
pertaining to this matter, he had never found any Christian guilty
therein. This same man related that he had [on official journeys]
taken in his company, among other Indians, some Christians of this
town; that in some places which were unsafe, on account of enemies,
he placed sentinels; and, when it was the turn of the Christians to
go on guard, they were found praying, and singing the doctrine. He
noticed, besides this, that they never let a day pass without reciting
the rosary; and he greatly valued and praised such solicitude among
persons so new in the faith."
To this account Father Manuel Martinez adds the following: "The
esteem in which they hold holy baptism is universal. Consequently,
those who have not received it, and some who in health refused it,
when they become sick ask at once for the sacrament, confident that
by this means they will acquire health, not only for their souls but
for their bodies, inasmuch as our Lord has many times granted this
to them. A little boy, the son of a chief of this town, was brought
so low by sickness that he was thought to be dead; and as such they
were weeping for him when an Agnus Dei and some holy water were
sent to him from our house. Our Lord was pleased to restore him very
soon to health, and his parents related it to every one, ascribing
this result to the efficacy of the Agnus Dei and the holy water. A
Spaniard was exhausted by a violent pain that had been afflicting him
for some time. Seeing himself in such distress, he sent for one of our
fathers, who read the gospel to him. Immediately he began to improve,
and in less than a quarter of an hour felt entirely well. He then gave
thanks to God, and made it publicly known that he had recovered his
health by means of the holy gospel. In Advent and Lent the practice
of discipline has been maintained in the church, in which participate
the Spaniards who are wont to come to this town. Sometimes public
and bloody flagellations took place; and on Holy Thursday and Friday
there were two admirably arranged processions, in which many people
accompanied the flagellants with torches. I will conclude this letter
with two incidents, omitting many others, to avoid prolixity. The
first concerns a pagan, who was grievously wounded by a wild boar while
hunting. Thinking that the hour of death was at hand, and remembering
to have heard in the church that in our necessities we should invoke
the most holy name of Jesus, he fell upon his knees, and, folding his
hands, repeated, 'Jesus, have mercy on me.' Our Lord heard his prayer;
and, soon healed of his wounds, he came to recount this experience,
and asked to be at once baptized. With great devotion he relates to
others this act of God's mercy, and says that he received it through
having heartily invoked the most holy name of Jesus. Another pagan,
affrighted by some terrible thunder, and fearful that some flash of
lightning might strike him, invoked many times with confidence the
sweet name of Jesus, accompanied by all the people of his household;
and all were protected and encompassed by one cross. A brilliant
flash of lightning burst forth, accompanied by a frightful peal
of thunder. The pagan, in his fright, fell to the ground, and all
believed that their hour had come, and that they would be consumed
by fire on the spot. But they noticed only a bad odor of something
burning, and in the morning found that a palm-tree which grew close
to the house was completely burned by the lightning. This incident
filled them all with wonder, and they rendered thanks to our Lord,
who by means of His own sweet name and holy cross had delivered them."
The number of people who were gathered into villages in the district
of Alangalang, and the result of our labors therein. Chapter LVII.
At no time did the Filipinos have any form of towns with civic order
and political government, such that at least one island, or a number of
villages, recognizing one person as their lord, might live under his
protection and rule; but he who was most powerful conquered others,
and ruled over them. As there was not only one such, but almost
all the chiefs asserted their authority, and conquered and ruled,
the general result was that each chief remained apart from the rest,
having his own followers, and fortified himself, keeping up an attitude
of defense. Consequently, they were usually at war with one another,
neighbors against neighbors--perpetually engaged in petty warfare,
with ambuscades, violence, robbery, murders, and captures.
Very seldom, if ever, did any of these bands become friendly and live
in the same neighborhood or village, and aid each other and combine
against enemies. Even rarer were the lords who ruled large towns,
such as Sebu, Manila, Cainta, and a very few others. To this must be
added the fact that those who were able to remove from the vicinity
and danger of such turmoils, and flee to the mountains to spend their
lives, would there build their houses and, close by, cultivate their
groves and fields. As a result, in places and at times favorable to
the enjoyment of this tranquillity, many persons migrated; and soon
the country districts abounded with homes--so that in some districts,
and even in many today, one may journey many leguas, all the way
through dwellings and plantations (which are cultivated and divided
into fields), in the same manner as, here in Europe, the farm-houses
and cottages are wont to stand. This was the condition of all those
islands, and, in particular, of this island of Leite; the greater
part of the people everywhere divided and scattered in rural hamlets,
in rugged, inaccessible, and mountainous localities. Besides these,
there were houses at considerable distances from one another, without
any order, or any trace of streets or village, placed along the banks
of the rivers, and surrounded by their grain-fields and groves. On
account of these conditions, the first concern of Father Cosme de
Flores, upon entering the district of Alangalang, was to gather all
these settlements into one village, which he did; and this policy
has been followed by those who have succeeded him in the charge of
that mission field. This measure has been of no small advantage to
those people; for in the year one thousand six hundred alone, two
villages were established, containing each three hundred houses, and
a third one with five hundred--all amounting to about four thousand
five hundred souls, of whom more than a hundred were baptized in
that year. During Lent all the Christians attended the services with
eagerness, especially in Holy Week, when the people of the other
villages joined them. They attended the divine services which were
celebrated in as fitting a manner as possible. On the morning of Holy
Thursday a sermon was preached to them concerning the holy sacrament;
and in the afternoon the superior of that house washed the feet of a
dozen poor persons (explaining in a brief sermon the signification of
that holy ceremony), by which they were all greatly edified. Toward
evening a well-ordered procession was formed containing a large number
of flagellants, with other persons who carried some large crosses. This
procession was repeated the next day, after the sermon on the passion.
On Easter the people from other villages assembled, and, after the mass
and sermon, celebrated the occasion with all the tokens of rejoicing
that they could display. A very graceful dance was performed, and
all the people made merry in the court of the church with dancing
according to their custom. What especially pleased us was, that in
so great a concourse of people, who amused themselves and feasted
after their own fashion, there was not one person who was known to
have taken wine, although formerly this was a very ordinary vice
among those people in their feasts and merry-making.
The condition of Christianity in Carigara. Chapter LVIII.
Our church here, although no older than five years, was both served and
attended as if it were a church in Europe. Its services were rendered
more magnificent by the choir of music, especially on feast-days;
the musicians not only celebrated divine worship in consonance with
the organ, but accompanied it with motets and other compositions
in their own Bissayan language. These latter were sung, some to the
leading of the organ, others in the musical mode and the manner of
the country. Both methods greatly attracted the people, moved them
to devotion, and caused them to learn willingly and with pleasure
our sacred mysteries, thus couched in their own meter and style
of music. In short, these were affected in the same way which the
glorious doctor St. Augustine mentions concerning himself; and we all
experienced the same emotions. By these means those Christians became
fervent, and frequented with profit the holy sacraments. The fruit
of their devotion was apparent in their lives, as Father Francisco de
Enzinas relates in one of his letters; therein he continually praises,
as one who keeps this matter in his mind, and is personally concerned
in it, the good disposition of those people, their readiness to accept
the teachings of virtue, and their service to God, concerning which
he relates the following:
"It is a source of great consolation to see the purity that shines
in many of these poor women. I know concerning some of them that,
after being annoyed and even persecuted with liberal offers of money,
neither by gifts nor threats were they in any way overcome. I also
know of other women who, when, they have learned that lawless men have
entered the village, have absented themselves from home and retired
to their grain-fields, to avoid the danger of offending God. One of
those soulless men promised a young boy, one of those who aid us at
our house, that he would give him I know not what gift, if he would
search after a certain woman for him. The lad answered that he could
not, since he belonged to the house of the father, assist in such a
matter. When he was told that the father would not know it, he replied:
'But will God fail to see it, even if the father does not know it?' At
this reply the man became abashed and ashamed, and ceased to importune
him. From Easter-time until the date of this writing, which is about
a month and a half, more than eighty adults have been baptized--the
greater part of them very old, but well prepared--and with these about
ninety who are younger. While journeying during Lent, to the village of
Leite, we were overtaken by a storm so violent that it drove our boat
upon the shore and compelled us to continue our course by land. This
change, however, was not without the special providence of God; for,
as we were passing by some grain-fields, an old woman lay very sick in
her wretched hut. Learning that I was going by, she had me summoned;
and after I had given her instruction, I baptized her, with great
consolation to both, and on the following day she died."
The remarkable case of three old men, of whom two were converted,
and the third, who was blind, refused. Chapter LIX.
The village of Leite, which the father here mentions, lies on the
banks of a very beautiful stream of the same name; which gives its
name to the whole island. The village lies at the very entrance of the
island, as one goes eastward from Manila, from which it is distant
about one hundred and thirty leguas. The distance between Carigara
and Leite is five leguas by land and ten by sea. The fathers usually
make the journey by sea, to avoid the fatigue of crossing on foot the
great mountain-ranges in that route. On the other side of Carigara,
proceeding along the coast of this island--which, as we have said,
runs east and west--there is another river, called Barugo, two leguas
distant; on its shore are many dwellings, which, being united in a
village, numbered three hundred houses (besides which there were many
others). Father Mattheo Sanchez repaired to the village of Barugo,
where at one haul he caught two of three fishes; the third remained
in spiritual and bodily darkness. As the incident is a notable one,
I shall relate it in the words of a letter from the same father, who
writes thus: "In the village of Barugo an event occurred by which
our Lord displayed to me the effects of His divine predestination,
and how _cujus vult miseretur, et quem vult indurat_. I was summoned
to baptize an old man who was very ill. Upon entering his house,
I found him in company with two other men, also very aged--one,
indeed, so old that he did not go from the house, nor could he even
walk. This last, hearing me instruct the sick man, began to exert
himself, and approached us by creeping across the floor. Then, with
remarkable attention, he began to listen; and, very opportunely, he
heard the catechism. Seeing the satisfaction which the old man and
his companion received from hearing the things of our holy faith,
I remained a long time, explaining it to them. When I had baptized
the sick man, the other began with eagerness and devotion to ask for
the sacrament, saying that he had faith in all that I had said, and
was desirous of salvation. He said that in no case ought I to leave
him without baptism, since his old age gave him not many more days
of life and those he wished to spend as a Christian; accordingly, I
baptized him. The third old man was blind; and all the time while I was
catechizing his companions he spent in twisting some threads, and while
the others were receiving so much pleasure and their hearts becoming
softened, he was jesting and becoming more and more hardened. Taking
pity on him, I tried to incline him to conversion; but I could do
nothing with him, and his soul remained as forsaken as was his body."
How the Christian church continued to increase in Ogmuc. Chapter LX.
Every one of these mission-fields [_doctrinas_] is truly a school
of celestial theology; for just as, in the schools, are seen the
students assembled at the lectures, and their eagerness in studying
and reciting their lessons, and afterward their reception of degrees,
so in these missions it is a cause for praise to God to see old men
become again children, and the chiefs made humble--all learning,
with eagerness, delight, and perseverance, the Christian doctrine,
and writing, repeating, studying, reciting, and singing it. As a
final reward, they receive the degree of holy baptism, a blessing
which those people as anxiously seek and desire, and receive with
as much joy, as do students the degree of doctor or master. In some
places they are assigned on one Sunday the lesson they are to learn
for the next; in others, without being assigned a lesson, they are
questioned as to what they know. In some districts, as here in Ogmuc,
are formed as many classes as there are divisions of the Christian
doctrine, from making the sign of the cross to the act of confession,
and each student, whether child or old man, continues to advance as
he learns, until he takes his degree, and is graduated--that is,
until he knows the doctrine--which, as we said, was done with the
old men of Antipolo. Not only do they, as good students, write
their lessons--mainly in their own characters, and using a piece
of a reed [7] as a book of memorandum, and an iron point as a pen;
but they always carry with them these materials, and whenever one
ceases his labors, whether at home or in the field, by way of rest
he takes his book, and spends some time in study. Such is the fervor
and zeal of these eager students in learning their supernatural and
divine theology; and their ardor in learning is also evident in their
demeanor and actions, for their lively faith enkindles and inflames
their deeds, and after the ardent heart follows the eager and ardent
hand. All this (omitting many other details, which might be related)
is seen in their often frequenting the holy sacraments, with notable
results in the amendment of their lives; and yet these are people
newly born in the church, and but yesterday begotten in Christ. They
devoutly and confidently ask that the gospel may be read to their
sick, and that holy water be given them; and our Lord responds to
their faith by frequently granting them complete health. Accordingly,
they acknowledge these favors from His hand, being thus confirmed in
the faith, and abhorring the sacrifices which in their maladies they
were wont to make to the devil. Even the infidels are so undeceived
concerning these vain illusions that scarcely a case is known of those
accursed sacrifices which formerly were so frequent. Many infidels
have brought their sick children to be baptized, saying that by this
means our Lord would give them health. Indeed it has often happened so,
and their cure has been the cause of converting their parents. They are
greatly devoted to the holy cross, and have upon occasions experienced
its protection. One night, while some Christians were reciting, as
usual, the doctrine in their house, someone outside began to throw
stones at the building, and made a great noise, and injured whatever
was near the house. Several times they sallied forth to discover who
was doing them harm, but saw no one; yet, again entering the house,
the same disturbance was made outside. Thinking that it was an artifice
of the devil, they persevered in prayer, and under this persecution
confirmed themselves in the faith; and, as a defense, they erected a
cross in front of the house. From that time, they were not in any way
disturbed. The infidels are steadily growing more inclined to receive
our holy faith; moreover, we are gradually uprooting that hindrance to
conversion, so common among those people, and so difficult to remove,
the practice of having several wives. They are easily persuaded that
it is impossible and unseemly for them to have more than one wife,
accordingly they have forsaken the others, although in doing so the
husbands lose their property; for in marrying the women the men give
them dowries, and if they leave their wives they must lose the dowries
that they gave. To do this is no slight merit, for people who are
not even Christians.
Of some baptisms conferred in Paloc. Chapter LXI.
In the absence of Father Christoval Ximenez, this village was left
alone; and while in this plight it was visited by Father Alonso
Rodriguez, who went there to hold a mission. What he accomplished in
the few days that he could spend among them he himself relates in a
letter, a section of which is as follows: "We held a mission at Paloc;
and the method of teaching the doctrine by decurias [8] so aroused the
enthusiasm of all that within ten days many learned the prayers and
gained all the knowledge necessary for baptism. Such was the emulation
among them that their prayers never ceased--at night, in their homes;
and by day, in the church. As a result, on the feast of the glorious
St. Joseph I baptized fifty adults, among them the most prominent
persons of this village. To see their leaders already Christians is
a strong incentive for the others to follow these. From many others I
withheld baptism, as it was necessary to investigate their marriages,
and this could not be done on account of the absence of the persons
concerned. Of these latter there is a considerable number, but I trust
in our Lord that within a few days not a man will remain unbaptized
in this village; for already they are all catechumens and attend
the church. At the same time I baptized also fifty children." The
father proceeds to relate other devout exercises of those Christians,
which I do not repeat here, as they are similar to those which I have
recounted of others. Afterward, Father Juan de Torres held another
mission in the same town, and our Lord made him joyful by granting
him another rich haul, when he cast from the pulpit the net of the
word of God, in order to fish for souls. This was a chief, one of the
most powerful in that district; in imitation of the chiefs of Botuan
(although ignorant of what they had done), he arose like them in the
congregation, and after earnestly asking for baptism, began then and
there his preparation--by publicly asking pardon of all those whom he
might have wronged, and offering full satisfaction, whatever might be
the amount of his obligation; and (an act of much greater importance),
by putting away one of his two wives. Through this the Spirit of truth,
[9] which is uniform, swayed the hearts of the others to be like
this man's, and brought them, most efficaciously and harmoniously,
under the gentle yoke of Christ, although he and they were so far
away. But inasmuch as this divine Spirit is present in all places,
in all alike it operates as if they were but one, its strength and
power being subtly and efficaciously active.
A third mission was held in this village during Lent of the year one
thousand six hundred, by Father Melchior Hurtado, who had gone to
these islands in the previous year with the father-visitor. Devoting
himself to the study of the language, he used it effectively as we may
judge from a letter written by him from Paloc to the same father, as
follows: "In the village of San Salvador (which is the same as Paloc)
the number of those who had recourse to the discipline was greatly
increased, especially on Fridays, when it was necessary to exclude
the children [from the church], to make room for the adults. Many
went out for the bloody discipline, and it was cause for edification
to behold the fervor with which at the conclusion of a short sermon
which was preached to them before the procession began, all the people
fell upon their knees, asking in a loud voice pardon for their sins,
with such emotion and weeping that we who were present were also
brought to tears. They were all deeply impressed by the sermons on
the various stages of the passion; and also when we pictured to them
the life of Christ our Lord, from His childhood until He was fastened
to the cross. They shed many tears thereat, and their minds were so
impressed by those sacred events that for many days they talked of
nothing else. On Easter Sunday a most joyful procession was formed, in
which was borne the cross triumphant, handsomely adorned; all were clad
in white tunics, and bore garlands of flowers. Those who have received
communion have set a notable example. They have a sort of brotherhood
the members of which are the most assiduous in their attendance at
church. There are two women, among the most exemplary and capable,
who take care of the rest; and when any woman asks to receive communion
for the first time, they instruct her how to approach it. The example
of these few women has induced the rest of the people to ask eagerly
for the most blessed sacrament. During this time some seventy adults
have been baptized, among them six datos, or headmen of districts, with
their wives. Matters are in such condition that in a short time all the
people of this village will be baptized. The baptisms are conferred
by families, in order that the Christians may not live intermingled
with infidels, but may daily augment their virtue in the uniformity
of the Christian religion. It was a source of great edification to
see with what sincerity the chiefs, before receiving holy baptism,
asked from all the people pardon for any wrongs that they had done
them in the matter of slavery--a common practice in their heathenism,
for very trifling causes. They also besought those who had grievances
against them to betake themselves to the father, for they were willing
and prepared to give full satisfaction therefor." All of this is told
by Father Melchior Hurtado.
Of two mutes who were baptized in Dulac; and other matters of special
interest in that mission. Chapter LXII.
This year the baptisms in Dulac reached the number of seven hundred,
of which the most notable was that of a chief, whose conversion had (as
is usual) much influence in bringing about that of an entire village,
named Bincai, inasmuch as he was its head man and governor. This
chief came one day to the church and eagerly sought holy baptism,
saying that his people were negligent and dilatory, and were waiting
for him to be first baptized; and that it seemed to him that if he
should become a Christian many would follow his example. Accordingly
he urged that this blessing might not be withheld from him and from so
many others. To test him, however, he was put off for several days,
upon various pretexts; but each day he displayed greater constancy,
and each day his desire grew stronger.
But even more wonderful was the baptism of two mutes, who, besides
their natural barbarism, were still further hindered in receiving
human instruction by their lack of the usual qualification therefor,
which, as the apostle St. Paul declares, [10] is the hearing--which
they, being mutes, lacked entirely. But God our Lord, in order to
show His great mercy, and to demonstrate that His law, as the royal
prophet says, is "unspotted, converting souls," and that His divine
word (as the apostle also says) is sharp-edged and piercing--so that,
unhindered by the absence of the senses, it reaches "unto the division
of the soul and the spirit," [11] and with hidden force instructs,
illumines, and sanctifies the soul--wrought a supernatural marvel in
these mutes, whom He made such (as in that other case of the blind
man) [12] for the manifestation of His glory, not because of their
own sins or those of their parents.
There were then in Dulac two mutes, who caused our fathers much regret,
as they supposed it would be so difficult to baptize these persons on
account of their lack of capacity for instruction. Father Ramon de
Prado, who was still our vice-provincial, determined, upon learning
this, to instruct them by means of signs, believing that Divine
Mercy desires that we should all be saved, and denies His grace to
no one. [13] He undertook the task, persisted, and won success, our
Lord so operating therein that the father, and the father-visitor,
and all who knew them, regarded these men as fit for baptism. Nor
were they deceived in this opinion; for the two mutes received the
sacrament, and since then the divine grace which is communicated
therein has been resplendent in them, with such tokens and effects
as Fathers Francisco de Otaco and Melchior Hurtado attest in some
of their letters concerning this matter. In that written by Father
Francisco de Otaco to Father Ramon, he says: "I will not fail to
inform your Reverence in a special letter, of the two mutes whom
your Reverence catechized, and whom I baptized on the day following
your Reverence's departure. Your Reverence was deprived of much
consolation in not being present on that occasion: for in all this
land I have not seen another person receive holy baptism with greater
demonstrations of devotion and joy, while thus setting an example for
the others who received the sacrament in their company. They could
not restrain their joy--especially the elder one, who seemed as if
his heart were bursting with gladness. But it was not only during
the baptism that these admirable tokens and results were evident,
for they were continued in the church, these new Christians attending
mass upon their bended knees, with folded hands, and their eyes fixed
upon the altar with extraordinary attention and reverence." Here
Father Francisco de Otaco ends his account. Father Melchior Hurtado,
in another letter to the father-visitor, thus writes: "The baptism of
the mutes whom the father vice-provincial catechized was performed
with all possible solemnity, and with the utmost satisfaction that
our Lord had made good in these poor men their lack of hearing and
speech. Their expressions of devotion--and especially those of the
elder, who was christened Raimundo--were extraordinary, not only
during the ceremonies at holy baptism, but when they were sprinkled
with the water. So devoted has Raimundo become that he seldom goes
from home. He diligently attends to all the requirements of devotion,
never failing to attend mass, carrying his rosary, beating his breast;
and he lacks nothing save speech. We are convinced that God supplies
much more than we can understand. During this Holy Week Raimundo
scourged himself in the procession, and it seemed to me that even
had he possessed the power of speech and hearing, he could not have
given more satisfactory tokens of his Christian faith."
The same Father Melchior Hurtado solemnized another baptism, also
of considerable importance, as occurring at the point of death. This
baptism took place in a village near to Dulac, called Tambo, whither
he had gone to visit and console its people. This incident and its
attendant circumstances are depicted to the life by that father in
another letter, in which he says: "We reached Tambo thoroughly soaked,
but with much consolation that we had so opportunely arrived; for
at once we were hastily summoned to visit an old man who was dying,
who desired holy baptism. Immediately we set out for his house, where
he lived in his grain-field, a little more than a quarter of a legua
from the village. Struggling through mud almost knee-deep, we reached
his wretched abode, where we found the poor man in such extremity
that speech had failed him. Knowing that he was a catechumen, and
considering the statements of all those present that he had sent for
me in order to be baptized, and fearing that he might die on my hands,
I at once baptized him, although wishing that I could have prepared
him better for the sacrament. But the Lord, who had inspired him with
the desire to ask for baptism, I trust gave him what more he needed
for his salvation; for he died soon afterward, on that same night."
As we have stated, the other Christians continued to increase together
in numbers, as well as in virtue and edification, as may be seen from
some special instances. At the beginning of Advent, we preached to
them about fasting and abstinence, which are practiced throughout the
world by good Christians in their piety and devotion. So earnestly did
they set about this that one of them fasted four days in the week,
in all that time eating only roots. Throughout Lent they repaired
to the church, three days in the week, to take the discipline,
the singers meanwhile chanting the _Miserere_ to the accompaniment
of the organ; and with the same devotion they attended the sermons
which were preached to them two days in the week. During Holy Week
there was a great concourse of people from the neighboring villages;
and on Holy Thursday and Friday they had well-ordered processions
with many flagellants, in which some bore on their shoulders large
crosses. The most blessed sacrament was kept in a receptacle adorned
with many ornaments and jewels of gold; all the time while it was
enclosed therein, the chiefs were present in behalf of their districts
armed according to their custom.
On this day a poor Indian failed to appear with the others at the
church for the divine services, having gone to the river to bathe;
there, by divine permission, a cayman seized him, and well nigh caused
his death. He was brought to the church covered with gashes, and in
such agony that he could neither understand, nor hear, nor utter a
word. On account of his precarious condition, and as he was one of
the catechumens, he was at once baptized. Being urged to invoke the
most holy name of Jesus, this man, who had not been able to speak
one word, was granted such strength that twice he uttered distinctly,
"Jesus, Jesus," and died with that honey on his lips.
I will relate another and similar incident, equally interesting,
although it occurred at a different time and in a different place. A
poor Indian one night, in his grain-field, suspecting no harm,
received several knife thrusts, so grievous that it is considered
almost a miracle that they did not instantly kill him; for all his
abdomen was cut open, and his entrails lay on the ground. In this
condition he remained until morning, when he sent another Indian,
who by chance left his route to pass that way, to summon the fiscal
of the church, since the fathers did not reside in that village. The
fiscal went, and found the poor man in such misery that some dogs were
actually beginning to devour him alive. Asking with great earnestness
for the sacrament, he was accordingly baptized, whereupon he at once
expired. It seemed that our Lord would wait no longer to receive him
to Himself.
But to return to Lent at Dulac: The good example set by a Spaniard
who happened to be there during this holy time, was most valuable. It
was he who adorned, as we have mentioned, the receptacle of the most
blessed sacrament, and who sent much wax to furnish its illumination;
and he remained under arms, guarding the sepulchre, and marched
in the procession with the Indians, bleeding severely under the
scourge. Not content with this, he went a second time along the
streets through which the procession had passed (a long distance),
scourging himself. The Indians were greatly edified at this, and,
as I have said, hastened to imitate him.
Not less readily did they imitate a virtuous action by one of our
fathers, who performed it in order to preach to them by deeds as
well as words, that he might at once constrain them and render good
deeds easier for them; and, by the grace of our Lord, he succeeded
in his purpose. Those people are fastidious to such an extreme that
they are annoyed and disgusted by any object offensive to the senses,
especially to sight and smell. They are passionately fond, on the other
hand, of fine colors and flavors, and eager to see or hear agreeable
things. Accordingly, they cannot endure foul odors, and have great
aversion for persons who are wounded or bruised; among them such
persons suffer, in consequence, great privation and neglect, bodily
as well as spiritual. On this point, several sermons were preached to
them; but, as the achievement of victory in such a cause is, in truth,
arduous and heroic, the preacher, seeing that words were of no avail,
determined to preach a sermon of deeds. They had one day in the week
set apart when all the old, the sick, and the wounded assembled to
receive instruction; and the father knew that some were not present
because they had no one to carry them, or help them to come--among
these, especially, there was a female slave who belonged to one of the
chiefs; her masters had never been willing to carry her to the church,
on account of their great loathing for her. At a time when many of
these poor creatures were assembled, and the most notable of the
people were present, the father took in his hands the feet of a poor
slave who was covered with sores, kissed them, and placed his lips on
the wound itself. There was another unfortunate whom they all held in
great contempt, who himself did not dare to expose his countenance,
on account of an ulcer which had eaten away his mouth, nose, and the
greater part of his face; but the father drew this man to himself,
spoke to him, and caressed him, even touching his face. This example
made so great an impression upon them that, from that time forth,
they have displayed great compassion for such unfortunates--aiding
them in their necessities, and, when they cannot walk, carrying
them on their shoulders to the church. One of the chiefs did this
several times for his slave woman, although, before that occurrence,
he had not been accustomed even to approach her. The governor of that
same village, an Indian of very high rank and much esteemed by his
people, seeing that all refused to help a poor woman, who was in a
very loathsome condition, to go to the church, placed her on his own
shoulders and carried her thither, heedless of the stench and sores,
and careless of staining a very elegant gown which he had put on that
same day. When some persons attempted to restrain him, he responded
that such was the obligation of a Christian.
The increase and fervor of Christianity in Tinagon. Chapter LXIII.
When the first fruits had been paid with a thousand Christians, who, as
we have said, died newly-baptized, in Tinagon and its district, there
were left, upon the arrival there of the fathers of the Society, about
eight thousand five hundred souls. Of this number we baptized from the
month of April of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine,
to the same month of the year one thousand six hundred, more than
nine hundred and seventy persons, almost amounting to a thousand. For
the rest of the catechumens, and for some Christians besides who are
scattered through various villages, the services of three fathers
and three brethren did not suffice, although they were constantly
occupied in instructing them. But our Lord provided us with some boys,
so well disposed and so intelligent in the things of our holy faith,
that they have, upon various occasions, supplied the lack of priests
and the need for catechizing and instruction in those villages. It was
in this way that a native chief in one of those neighboring villages,
having heard one of Ours preach, became so enamored of the things of
our holy faith, and so desirous that he and his villagers might know
them, that he went straightway to his encomendero and entreated him
to find for them some Indian well instructed in our doctrine, who
might impart to them the prayers and catechism. An Indian was sent,
as he had desired; they received him very hospitably, and all promptly
learned the doctrine. They manifested their gratitude for such benefits
by entertaining their teacher liberally during his stay and presenting
some gifts to him at his departure. Two or three times afterward, this
same chief came to ask our fathers to send someone to his district
to baptize his people, saying that they all desired to receive holy
baptism. The earnest affection wherewith they asked for it was manifest
in another Indian whose baptism our fathers delayed until he should be
better prepared for it: but each day his desire and fervor increased,
and each day he became more fixed in his good resolution. One day a
father asked him why he did not cut off his hair, since he desired
to become a Christian. At once he made answer with much affection:
"The hair, Father, and nothing more? Do but grant me what I ask,
and I will cut off, not only my hair, but even my arm, in return for
baptism." This man was almost on the point of tearing out his eyes,
or cutting off his hand or foot, to his own shame.
But who can exaggerate the satisfaction and devotion wherewith they
receive in their villages these servants of the Lord, when the latter
go to visit them? This will be seen in an account of such a journey,
made by Father Juan de San Lucar, who himself thus describes it:
"I cannot express the satisfaction which was caused by our visits to
all these villages. We reached the first one, called Ibatan, in the
middle of the night. The people had already learned that we were
to go to their village, and, in spite of the late hour, they did
not weary of waiting; indeed, they were all waiting on the shore,
where they had lighted fires. As soon as we arrived, the leading
chiefs cast themselves into the water in order to take hold of our
boat; and we could not prevent them from carrying us ashore on their
shoulders. In the two weeks that we spent there, great was the fervor
of their attendance at our church, as well as the concourse of men
and boys on certain nights for the purpose of scourging themselves;
at the same hour the women throughout the village performed the same
exercises at their homes. Ten children and thirty adults were baptized,
and to some holy communion was granted after they had been prepared
by a sermon on that subject. All those who received the most blessed
sacrament manifested great unworldliness and exemplary virtue. In this
village there was an old woman, more than eighty years of age, blind,
deaf, and so sick and crippled that she could not leave her bed. Upon
several occasions we had passed much time with this poor woman trying
to persuade her to receive holy baptism; but she had never shown any
desire for it, and even stubbornly resisted. But the Lord took pity
on her and enlightened her, at a time when I was most forgotten or
distrusted. Her husband came to me as many as eight or ten times to
ask me to go to baptize her telling me that he loved her very much,
and it would cause him much grief if she should incur damnation; he
was therefore anxious that she should be baptized, so that she might
enjoy God; and he added that such was already her wish. But I did
not believe him, for my visits to her house had so many times proved
useless. I told him that I would baptize her on the condition that
she would come to the church, thinking that what I required from him
was impossible. On his returning with this answer, the poor woman,
in her desire to receive holy baptism, was so aroused that she,
although formerly she could not even move her limbs, recovered
strength, with the help of our Lord, and came to the church. She
listened to the instruction with pleasure and attention; and finally,
as she was prepared for the sacrament, I granted her baptism. During
all the time while I was administering this sacrament to her, she
remained standing, to the wonderment of all the people. Great was
their edification at seeing how heartily she had sought baptism,
and how our Lord accomplishes more in one moment than we in many
days. In the village of Paet our Lord moved the hearts of two women who
were a cause of offense and stumbling on account of their dissolute
lives. Protected by certain profligate men, these women, although
they were slaves, had become so arrogant that they despised the other
women; and all the village felt ashamed to have among them so evil a
company. These women came with deep grief to make their confession,
and remained thoroughly reformed, to the great satisfaction of all
the people. There dwelt in this village a young girl, the daughter of
a chief, whom we had urged to attend the catechisms and the sermons,
hoping that if she were baptized others would follow; but the devil
hindered our efforts, for she either hid herself or was concealed
by her parents. This time I made more diligent endeavors; she came
to the church and, having heard a few sermons, earnestly asked for
baptism. I gave her a teacher for the doctrine, promising that I would
baptize her when I returned to that place--although so great was her
desire for the sacrament that the least delay seemed to her very long;
accordingly, she applied herself so closely to study that within the
space of two days she knew the prayers and the catechism. On examining
her, great was my surprise that she should have learned so much in
so short a time; accordingly, with great satisfaction on my part,
I baptized her and two other adults.
In the village of Cauayan there lives an Indian woman of rank, already
advanced in years, whom our Lord has inspired with zeal for winning
souls and for the conversion of her people. She devotes herself to
persuading, preparing, and catechizing the Indians for holy baptism;
and whenever we visit that doctrina, she has a troop collected,
and well instructed, for us to baptize. In this place I baptized
twelve adults, and four or five younger persons. In all the other
villages the people are very well disposed, and a great harvest will
be continually gathered, with the help of our Lord."
In the measure of this fervor does our Lord correspondingly bestow
upon them visits and spiritual consolations, most liberally accorded
by His Divine Majesty to these His new faithful. Of these we have
already given some general account, and now I will relate in detail
one case, only, in the words of Father Francisco de Otaco, who wrote
from Tinagon, before he departed thence to be superior in Dulac:
"There came today from Catubig a Christian Indian, a youth of
about sixteen years, to hear mass and make his confession; it was
a long and toilsome journey. He showed much candor and goodness,
and special affection for the things of Christianity, speaking of
them with intelligence and appreciation. He related to me an incident
that had befallen him, which had been the cause of that interest and
intelligence. He was sick, and, fearing that the hour of death was
already at hand, he charged a companion of his to place at the head
of his bed, at the last hour, a cross and some lighted candles. His
end approached, so near that all regarded him as one already dead,
and his companion fulfilled the charge that had been given him. Then,
he said, he became as one who dreams, although it seemed to him to
be more than dreaming, and even quite different. There appeared at
his right side a father of the Society, holding in his hand a rosary
of our Lady: upon his head he bore a diadem of golden brightness and
a halo of the same splendor encompassed his breast. The apparition,
calling him by name in affectionate terms, said to him: 'Turn this
way, my son, to the right side, which is that of the elect, and count
these beads. Thou wert to die of this sickness; but, because thou art a
Christian, our Lord has been pleased to give thee life and health; but
it is only that thou mayest be a good Christian, always remembering
our Lord, living in prayer and carefully guarding thyself from
every sin--that is, from all that offends the sight of God.' Having
in a long discourse given him other profitable counsels, the figure
disappeared; and the sick man regained his consciousness, as if he had
been resuscitated (for all thought him really dead), and with sudden
energy began to speak. He asked for food, and soon felt much better,
to the astonishment of all who were present. These, terrified at such
a change, inquired from him its cause, and he related to them the above
occurrence--attributing his recovery to the singular mercy of our Lord,
and to the fact that he was a Christian; and he often related the
affair with no little benefit to his hearers. Having heard him speak,
for some time, so well and so affectionately concerning our Lord and
the observance of His holy commandments, I praised his discourse and
meritorious sentiments. He answered that it was no cause for surprise,
since all those things had been taught him in the aforesaid vision,
and had remained deeply impressed upon his mind."
The loss of some vessels, and in them of two of the fathers of the
Society. Chapter LXIV.
Among other calamities and troubles which our Lord has been pleased
to send upon these islands in the form of loss of life, property,
and ships, one was the destruction of two large ships (a flagship and
an almiranta) which, in the previous year, six hundred, set out for
Nueva España with cargoes of very rich merchandise. These vessels,
after having sailed the seas for eight months, with violent storms,
and encountered great dangers, and after having lost many men through
hunger, pest, accidents, and the billows of the sea (which washed
them from the vessel itself), were driven back and stranded--or rather
dashed to pieces--on the shores of the Ladrones and the Catanduanes,
where they were destroyed. But few persons were able to escape,
who only served, like the servants of Job, to carry the news of the
disaster--which, following upon many other losses and misfortunes
of war, was keenly felt and bitterly lamented. In one of these
vessels, named "San Geronimo," went Father Pero Lopez de la Parra,
a professed member of our Society, who after this long voyage and
another, even longer, of thirty-seven years in the religious life,
finally came to port, as we believe, in the Fortunate Land, toward
which he was making his main voyage with good works. In Nueva España
he taught the arts and theology, and was one of the first founders
[of missions] who went thither from the Society; and both there and
here he exercised our ministries with good results. Although we know
no details concerning his death, it is believed, from his having been
one of the last to die, and from his great devotion to confession and
the care of souls, that in that hour of peril he must have been of
service to all with much charity, as he always acted thus during his
life. By another disaster and misfortune in these islands, we lost
another father and a brother, if we may call those lost who, to win
souls and aid their brethren, die with them in a righteous war. Some
heretic corsairs from the islands of Olanda and Gelanda went to those
of Filipinas, bent on plunder, in the month of October of the year one
thousand six hundred; they had robbed a Portuguese vessel in the North
Sea, and in the South Sea, having passed the Strait of Magallanes,
some fragatas from Piru. These corsairs entered among these islands,
committing depredations and threatening even greater excesses. For
this purpose their almiranta and their flagship (in which sailed,
as commander, a corsair named Oliverio del Nort) were stationed at
a place six leguas from Manila, where the ships from España, China,
and Japon were obliged to enter, and where all the ships and vessels
which leave that city must be inspected. Against the two Dutch ships
went forth two others from Manila, carrying more than three hundred
men, the flower of the militia of those islands, with much artillery
and military supplies. In the flagship went Father Diego de Santiago
and Brother Bartolome Calvo, at the request of General Antonio de
Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia, and other officers, who were
wont to confess to the father, because he had a very affable manner,
and could adapt himself to all persons. At the outset he heard the
confessions of most of the men, and encouraged them, as well as he
could, to make the attack and to fight valiantly. Finally, on the
fourteenth day of December, they sighted the enemy; and crowding on
sail, in their eagerness to overtake him, both flagships grappled
together, so closely that one could cross unimpeded from one vessel
to the other. They finally succeeded in seizing the enemy's colors
and hoisting them on our flagship, our men confident of success,
and already shouting "Victory!" But the ship, whether unsteady (for,
carrying so many people on one side, it took in water through the
port-holes of the lower tier of cannon), or laid open at the keel by
the very weight of our guns (which were very large), or by the will
of God, went to the bottom with all its crew--except a few men who
seized the enemy's shallop and escaped in it, and some others who
reached the shore by swimming. Among the latter was the commander,
who with the enemy's two flags gained the shore. Our almiranta (which
was a new galizabra), in charge of Admiral Juan de Arcega, grappled
with the enemy's almiranta, captured it, and brought it to Manila,
where justice was executed upon the corsairs who were in it. Among
the dead and drowned--who numbered one hundred and nine Spaniards,
the pick of the captains and soldiers of those islands; and one
hundred and fifty negroes and Indians--perished Father Diego de
Santiago. He died bravely, encouraging the men, and having heard the
confessions of nearly all. Seeing, a short time beforehand, that the
ship was about to go down, he intended to save himself by swimming;
but he heard the voice of a captain, who said to him: "Father, hear
me but a word, for it concerns my salvation." With much charity,
he remained until the last moment, to hear the soldier's confession;
and afterward neither the father nor his companion was seen. The father
was twenty-nine years old, a member of the Society for fifteen years,
and a shepherd of the Indians and Spaniards. Brother Bartolome Calvo
was of the same age, attached to the Society in these parts for
seven years. He possessed much virtue and died through obedience,
a quality for which he ever professed much esteem.
Nine new members of the Society reach Manila, having been saved from
a ship-wreck--through the intercession, as is devoutly believed,
of our Blessed Father Ignatius. Chapter LXV.
In the month of May in the year one thousand six hundred and one,
there arrived in the Filipinas Father Gregorio Lopez with a welcome
reënforcement, of nine fathers of the Society. [14] Their arrival
was most opportune for filling the places of the dead, and aiding
the living who are ever clamoring for new companions to help them
draw in the net of this spiritual fishery. It was an extraordinary
consolation to hear of the mercies vouchsafed to them by our Lord
through the intercession of our propitious Father Ignatius--especially
when they reached the opposite coast of that island of Manila,
near Catanduanes--as I shall here briefly relate, referring to the
judicial investigation of this disaster, which was made with many
and competent witnesses, and was brought to Rome for the honor and
glory of God our Lord, and of his saints. In the latter part of
April in that year, 1601, when the galleon from Nueva España [15]
(in which came the ten fathers of our Society) reached the region of
those islands, bad weather shut them in with heavy fogs and rains,
so that, although in front and on both sides the land was not far
away, it could hardly be descried or recognized as such. As soon
as the weather cleared somewhat, they found themselves in a bay
hemmed in by shoals and rocks, with a rugged shore, upon which the
wind was driving them. In spite of their efforts they were unable to
gain the open sea, for the force of the wind was driving them out of
their course and upon the shoals. They then resolved to cast anchor,
hoping in this way to gain some safety for the vessel, and thus they
remained during an entire night in twenty-six brazas of water, exposed
to great danger, and in fear of being lost. On the next morning,
the auditor Don Antonio de Ribera (who went as commander and chief
of the vessel), seeing the great danger to which they were exposed,
and considering all human means weak and useless, hastened to entreat
the Divine favor; and, recalling those which our Lord had recently
bestowed upon certain persons through the mediation of our blessed
Father Ignatius, resolved upon this occasion to implore his favor and
assistance, and to beseech our Lord, through the merits of His servant,
to give them at ten o'clock that day a propitious wind whereby the
vessel might reach a place of safety. He added that he did not set
that time as a limitation to the divine Majesty, but because such
answer to their prayer would show that the mercy bestowed upon them
had come through the intercession of the blessed Father Ignatius,
to whom they made an offering of the vessel and its deliverance. This
petition and its conditions he called those to witness who were then
present in the stern-cabin.
The shallop was launched, to seek some refuge within the shelter of
the shore where the ship might be anchored, and the men were ordered
to give signals when they should find it. But while the shallop was
reconnoitering the shore, the galleon began to drift from its moorings
toward the shoals and the rocky coast, whither the force of the wind
was bearing it. Accordingly a cannon was fired, to call back the crew
of the shallop, so that it might accompany the vessel and lend to its
crew what assistance it could. The shot was heard a long distance
on land, but those in the shallop could not hear it, although they
listened attentively and observed the fire and smoke; they continued,
therefore, their search for a more suitable landing. Thereupon the
men on the ship cut the anchor, and hoisted sail, aiming to get as
far out into the sea as possible. At that moment a miracle occurred;
the wind suddenly became favorable, shifting three or four points,
so that they were able to steer the vessel to the only place which
was secure and sheltered, where the shallop's crew had already found
bottom and a place for anchorage. At the same time Captain Francisco
Cadena--a Venetian, and an expert in nautical affairs--without knowing
of the commander's petition, said with great surprise: "This is a
great miracle; for just when we hoisted sail the wind shifted four
points, so that we who thought ourselves lost may now hope to be
saved." This unexpected shift in the wind was also observed by the
chief pilot and other seamen.
The commander, Don Antonio de Ribera, beholding this change and good
fortune, and recognizing God's mercy toward them at the very hour
of ten which he had appointed, twice repeated with extraordinary
tenderness and devotion what he had that morning sought from our
Lord--through the intercession, as they piously believed, of our
blessed Father Ignatius. Soon afterward he related the same incident,
in his stern-cabin, to some Augustinian and Franciscan fathers, with
many tears and great devotion; and those religious fathers, full of
admiration, rendered thanks to the Lord that He had chosen thus to
honor His servant Ignatius, by displaying in that hour of peril his
great holiness and merits. On reaching shelter and casting anchor,
the commander announced to all, publicly, what he had requested from
our Lord through the mediation of our blessed Father Ignatius; at which
those who had been about to cast themselves into the sea, to escape,
if they could, by swimming, and had seen themselves at the point of
death, realizing that they had been saved by such means, offered many
thanks to the Lord and praises to His saint. Both religious and laymen
asked that the image of our blessed Father Ignatius be brought, and
thereupon they all, of every rank and age, began to adore it--falling
on their knees, and kissing it with great devotion, while all the
religious chanted the _Te Deum laudamus_. In memory of this event,
all, with one voice, desired that this place be called the Puerto de
San Ignacio, which name it now bears. Afterward, that our Lord might
reveal more clearly the merits of His servant--while the ship was at
anchor in the very place where they had so marvelously been aided,
and while they were about to leap joyfully ashore--a violent hurricane
suddenly arose, on Tuesday, the first of May, which toward midnight
caused the galleon's single anchor to drag, so that it was carried
toward the shoals and the perilous coast. At this, all feared the
utmost danger, for peril seemed most certain amid the darkness of
the night, and with so angry a tempest; but when they began to cry
out and entreat the favor of our blessed Father Ignatius, then the
vessel ceased to drift. Thus invoking him in every danger--as they
frequently did, both religious and laymen--the Lord again bestowed
upon them a special favor; for when the mainmast fell, which they
were obliged to cut, its fall was not, as they feared, such as
to sink the vessel, inasmuch as the yard and the topsail, falling
upon the rocks, served as a support, and on that side held back the
ship so that it could not drift to destruction. At the same time,
as they were held by only one anchor, with so great risk of further
dragging, or of the cable's being cut by the many submerged rocks,
they urgently requested an image of the blessed Father Ignatius,
and with great devotion and confidence, made it fast to the cable. It
was wonderful to see how the cable was held in place during the rest
of that night and a great part of the following day; and how, when
they tried to improve the position of the ship by casting another
anchor, they were able to raise the first one, which was very heavy,
by working the capstan, although they found that the three cords of
the cable were fretted, and only one remained entire--whereat they
all were greatly astonished and proclaimed it a miracle.
Other devout practices which were augmented in Manila, and edifying
events which occurred therein. Chapter LXV. [i.e., LXVI]
In these vessels which arrived in the year one thousand six hundred
and one, there were also many religious of the sacred Orders of
St. Francis and St. Augustine, and in the following year, of the Order
of St. Dominic; they were men selected and well qualified for the
succor of those souls. Immediately they were assigned posts, each in
His own province, that they might devote themselves with fervor to the
conversion of the Indians. I do not here describe their occupations,
and the large harvest which they gathered and still are reaping;
for that is not within my present scope, although there is much,
and of great interest, to say about them. I will only say this, that
the excellent example set by the religious orders in the Filipinas
is a most efficacious means for the conversion of those souls; and
likewise serves to stimulate and maintain the Christian spirit of
former times among our Spaniards. Among these there are men and women
who may serve as examples of virtue and piety from whatever point this
may be considered, and who both profess and exercise piety with the
utmost sincerity, and in perfection. I observed and noted in those
people, without distinction of good and bad, three habitual virtues:
they do not blaspheme, they hear mass every day, and they are present
at every sermon. As for confession and communion, I may affirm that
there is not a feast-day appointed during the year when they do not,
almost every one, confess and receive communion; indeed, we hardly
have leisure to administer those sacraments to them, for no sooner is
one communion concluded than we must prepare for the next one. And this
piety is displayed not only by select Christians, of recognized virtue,
but by almost all the people of the city; and they are constrained
thereto by the saintly labors, example, and teaching of these holy
religious orders. These, not to mention other virtues which make them
conspicuous in that country, possess two which are especially notable:
first, the strictness of religious observance and the purity of life
which they all teach, and which, in truth, they exercise with great
consistency; second, the peaceable and fraternal relations which they
maintain among themselves--a virtue which is born from the first. For
the likeness between them in this respect awakens and kindles, in the
minds of their members, a readiness to esteem and value one another,
and, in consequence, to take pleasure in the society and welfare of
their brethren; and thus are born peace and harmony. Of this and many
other excellent things, much could be said.
But to return to our ministries: with the reënforcement of that
year, and the pious inclinations of the people of Manila (which had
been aroused and cultivated in them by the hand of the Lord, through
tribulations), we had excellent facilities for increasing the practice
of pious exercises--not only maintaining those of former days, but
adding others which were new--in return for which, some notable and
edifying events occurred. First, the students founded the congregation
of La Anunciata in imitation of other colleges of our Society, where it
flourishes with so much distinction and piety. Although those who began
it were but six, it grew apace, inasmuch as it was a work of God and
of His most glorious mother. As the rays of this light spread through
the city, it ravished the eyes and hearts of many laymen of various
conditions, filling them with desire to enter this congregation;
and in less than eight months its membership grew so large that it
was necessary to form two congregations from the one, separating
the laymen from the students, and assigning to each congregation
its officials. At public feasts, however, they assemble together,
and celebrate their services in the chapel. These pious and devout
exercises, with the example and sweet odor [of piety] displayed in
their conduct, and the benefits resulting from it to their own souls,
would require a separate narrative.
The discipline, which formerly was practiced during Lent, was now
extended to every Friday in the year; and on every day thus appointed,
without missing one, many people of distinction, and those from all
classes, repair [to the church] to scourge themselves. Every Sunday
afternoon many people, whether or not members of the congregation,
assemble in the church to hear a short sermon, in which are explained
the divine mandates, accompanied by some pleasing example, an
interesting story or edifying narrative. The father-visitor began
these sermons with good results, which were soon realized in the
changed lives of many persons--especially one, who, coming by chance to
hear the sermons, was--although bent on leading a shameless life and
giving loose rein to his appetites--brought to himself by one sermon
and began to lead a new life. There was also begun, that same year,
the devotion practiced by certain cities; namely, that of accepting
saints by lot. This was done on All Saints' day, with a great concourse
of the citizens. There was a certain person who, falling into the
sea, with many others who were drowned, in the expedition against
the Englishman, and being already overcome by the waves, remembered
St. Nicanor, who had fallen to him by lot; and calling out to that
saint in a loud voice, from that moment, he affirmed, his courage
and strength returned, and he felt a confidence that he would not be
drowned. As a result, he swam nearly a legua, and reached the shore,
to his own great surprise and with much devotion to that saint.
Several interesting cases occurred of fervor in these devotions of
which I shall mention only two or three. A certain woman, to whom God
our Lord had communicated lofty purposes and sentiments of chastity
and purity, was for a long time beset with gifts and importunities
from wicked men. Her refuge was to confess and devoutly to receive
communion, arming herself with these holy sacraments. One day,
after she had received communion in our house, one of these men
lay in wait to seize her when alone; and, with a bare dagger at her
breast, was about to slay her if she would not consent to his evil
purpose. But she, fortified with the bread of the strong, and with
the wine springing forth virgins, [16] told him that she was ready to
die on the spot, rather than offend God. He abused her with words,
and even handled her roughly, but left her, astonished and overcome
by her chastity.
Another man lived for many years in great impiety, and, forgetful
of his God, in mortal sins--especially a base passion so fixed and
rooted in his heart that when one of our fathers talked with him,
striving to convert him, he seemed mad and beside himself. In truth,
he was beside himself, for he still remained with that evil companion
with whom he had lived, nor did he seem to have feeling or thought for
any other thing. It pleased our Lord that by serious conversations
and arguments he was induced not to visit his wicked companion; and
after a reluctant "yes" had been drawn from him, almost by force,
he did afterward abandon her, so entirely that it seemed as if he had
never known her. He made a general confession, and began a new life,
to the wonder of those who knew him.
The corsairs from Gelanda [Zeeland] who had been brought as prisoners
to the city of Manila were condemned to death. The governor of those
islands deemed it advisable that they should be distributed among
the religious orders, to see if they would be converted to our holy
Catholic faith; our Lord was pleased that twelve of the thirteen
should be converted. The exception was the admiral, who died a
heretic, while obstinately uttering a thousand blasphemies against
our holy faith; he was executed by the garrote, [17] and thrown into
the sea. The other twelve reflected, and, in great anguish for their
sins, were converted to our Lord. They professed our holy Catholic
faith and rendered obedience to the holy Roman church. This was done
with such sincerity that they entreated the religious orders of that
city to give them the most blessed sacrament at the altar, which
they devoutly received; as for the five who fell to the care of our
Society, and whom we saw die, I may affirm that they left us notably
edified. With the utmost grief for their sins, they made a general
confession and received communion with many tears. Before receiving
the latter sacrament, they made public declaration of their belief
in the holy Roman Catholic faith, maintaining that they died within
the church, and abominating the heresies of Calvin, Luther, Zwingli,
and other heretics. Two days from that time, having asked pardon of
all, they died with rosaries about their necks, and with the bulls
of the holy crusade (by means of which they obtained absolution)
sewed upon their breasts, each one holding his crucifix in his hands,
devoutly adoring it. They embraced us all, and in great joy at seeing
that, by such a death, they were expiating their sins, they suffered
death, to the great edification of all. On the following morning
they were buried with great solemnity by the Confraternity of La
Santa Misericordia, which was founded by the most prominent people
of the city. But enough for the present concerning the Spaniards;
it will be desirable to make some mention of the Indians.
Other edifying matters, among the Indians of Manila. Chapter
LXVI. [i.e., LXVII]
That part of our employment and occupation which lies among the
Indians is no less important, since they retort to that city in numbers
exceeding those of the Spaniards, and their love and affection for us
is more recent. Usually they are a people inclined to make confession;
and this would give, throughout the year, work for six fathers who know
the language. The Indians seek communion most eagerly, and thereby
are their souls much profited, and they are aided in cultivating the
virtues, especially that of chastity. All that concerns devotion and
the ceremonies of the church makes a marvelous impression upon them,
and they set an example to Christians of long standing. They practice
the discipline every Friday in the year; and many more would come
to these exercises, if the gates of the city (which separate their
villages from the Spaniards) were not closed at night.
The Confraternity which has been established among those natives
arouses the rest to fervor; for its members are the leaven, with their
good example leavening the mass of dough. At the Christmas feasts
they give food to all the poor whom they can assemble, and in such
abundance that there is even a surplus for the prisoners (Spaniards
as well as Indians), and also for another very needy class of people,
those who work in the powder-house. After this repast they wash and
kiss the feet of all the poor, who fall upon their knees and offer
up prayers for those who have performed for them this charitable
act. In company with those of our Society, they betake themselves
to the hospital of the natives, especially during Advent and Lent,
to serve and entertain its inmates. They make the beds, sweep out
the house and clean it thoroughly--which for them is a great deal,
since the Indians are a fastidious people, who are wont to remain in
their homes to die, in order not to see the hospital; but with their
fervor and devotion the members of the Confraternity overcome this
and other obstacles.
They are greatly addicted to prayer and fasting; some, indeed,
have passed whole weeks subsisting on bread and water alone. They
have made retreat in our house, to make their general confessions,
and perform similar exercises, greatly to their own profit and to
the edification of the people.
There was a Christian woman who, in former days, had been made a
captive by infidels who had taken her to the islands of Mindanao and
Burnei, where the doctrine of Mahoma is taught; and they carried her
through many peoples of that infidel land, but never did she relapse
from the Christian faith.
A certain Indian had, with others, made his confession for the
purpose of receiving communion; but he remained silent in regard to
some circumstances of his sins. He says that in a dream he beheld a
very beautiful child who seemed to desire to give him the communion;
the Indian excused himself from receiving it, as being so great a
sinner. The child said to him: "It is true, thou dost not deserve
communion, because in thy confession thou didst conceal this and that
circumstance." On awakening, the Indian betook himself to our house;
and, communicating to one of Ours what had befallen him, he said that
he wished to make his confession anew, which he did.
Another Indian, who was wont to take the discipline in our house,
became through that excellent practice so accustomed to his prayers
and scourgings that, while marching on an expedition with a company
of soldiers, he left the camp at night in order to practice his
discipline. One night, while the captain of infantry was going the
rounds, he saw this man leave the camp, and followed him, believing him
to be some soldier who was going out with some evil purpose. He saw
the man go to a church cemetery, where, after offering his prayers,
he began to scourge himself severely. When his penance was ended,
the captain approached him, and recognizing him as an Indian, was
even more edified than before. Asked whence he came, the Indian
replied that he belonged to one of the suburbs of Manila, and that
he made his confessions to the fathers of the Society. The captain,
impressed by this new converts solicitude for his soul, gave him
some money and sent him home, saying: "Take this and do not corrupt
thyself among soldiers."
The number of Christians in the mission of Taitai, and their
exercises. Chapter LXVIII.
Of those who were Christians in the year 1600--who might number six
or seven thousand--in San Juan del Monte and other villages of that
mission, one thousand five hundred were newly baptized in that same
year, among the many infidels who were continually coming down to us
from the mountains and thinly settled districts. Our observation and
experience among those people show, of late, greater devotion and more
frequent attendance at the holy sacraments of confession and communion,
and in processions, discipline, and works of charity; and every day
may be observed constant progress and reformation in their lives.
The father-visitor founded a hospital in Antipolo, which has been
most important to the welfare of their souls and bodies. On the day
when it was opened, after a solemn mass and sermon (which was drawn
from the story of the paralytic), the father-visitor rendered service
to the poor, washing and kissing their hands while he knelt before
them. In this he was assisted by the chiefs, whose wives performed, in
a separate place, the same act of humility toward some sick women. A
rule was made that the poor should be fed each day by four brethren
of the Confraternity, who aid them with much charity and pleasure.
The father-visitor also began a seminary for boys, where they are
reared in virtue and good habits, obeying the rules imposed upon them,
according to their capacity, of Christian and civilized living. This
school is of great importance to the whole mission, for from these
children must come the good rulers of the people; and it is an easy
and gentle means for all reformation. Some of the children (those who
have some means) are fed with the rice which their parents give them,
and others through alms. They are taught to pray, to assist at mass,
to read, to write, and (most important of all) to be good Christians.
In San Juan del Monte it is customary to sing the _Salve_ to our Lady
throughout the year. During Fridays in Lent, after some spiritual
instruction, they perform the discipline in the church. It once
happened that some Indians, who were bathing, as is their custom,
heard while in the river the bells calling to the _Salve_ and the
discipline; most of them at once made preparations to go thither. One
alone played the obstinate, and, in ridicule of the others, said in
his own language: _A coi ovian niño_ "Bring back something for me,"
which in their mode of speech is a sort of mockery.
The rest went to the _Salve_, and this man remained alone; a caiman,
or crocodile, seized and killed him, before he could be assisted or
confessed. What most surprised me was that, although this animal
is very voracious and always devours a man after killing him, or
at least carries away a hand or foot, this man it left untouched,
although dead; and thus he was found by the Indians, to their great
horror, and causing them to hold in great esteem the disciplines,
and the _Salves_ to our Lady.
The council held by the bishop in the city of Santissimo Nombre de
Jesus; and other events which occurred there. Chapter LXIX.
The right reverend bishop of Sebu, having through a residence of
two years acquainted himself with the affairs of his bishopric,
determined to hold a council [_sinodo_], composed of the clergy and
religious who were busied in the conversion of the tribes, in order to
regulate many things, and to agree upon the method to be used by them
in giving instruction. Their advice was especially desired in regard
to the translation of the Christian doctrine, in order to select,
from the various versions of it which were current in the Bissayan
tongue, one which might serve as a Vulgate and be generally used
in the province of Pintados. [18] Before assembling this council,
that great prelate chose to visit some of his flocks, which he did,
traveling in person throughout a good part of his bishopric. In
this tour our fathers were honored by his being their guest in the
island of Leyte--over which he journeyed on foot, although seventy
years of age. He took up his lodging in our houses and residences,
in as simple and familiar a manner as if he were one of ourselves; and
confirmed our Christians with the most holy sacrament of confirmation,
and strengthened them by his example, and by the kindnesses that he
showed them, with much charity and good-will. He was highly pleased
with them, and with the excellent evidences of Christianity which
he beheld in them, especially with the chastity of the Bissayan
women--concerning whom he said that they had been unjustly slandered;
for, although he had spent so long a time in Nueva España, he had
not seen there so much reserve and modesty. He told Ours that they
might feel well content with their ministries, since that region was
one of the most favored spots on earth, and, in his opinion, it was
most pleasing and precious in the sight of God. He finally held his
council, convening therein all the superiors of those residences; and
after many very salutary regulations had been made for all classes of
people in his bishopric, the council was concluded with great harmony,
and to the consolation of all.
During Lent of that year the disciplines were commenced in our house,
with a goodly number of persons and with the devotion of all the
people. Sermons and instruction were also begun in the barracks, on
account of the soldiers who had been stationed there for the protection
of the city; these were highly profitable to them, as well as to the
people of the city. The Indians have received more attention in our
house this year than have any other class of people, because there
was no priest in the city who could understand their language, save
only three members of our Society, any one of whom would have been
sufficient to care for them.
The following occurrence was considered by some as wonderful: A father
went to visit a sick Indian, to assist him when dying; the sick man
was unable to speak, and had not yet made his confession. The father
urged him to utter the name of Jesus; he made a great effort, and
tried to pronounce it as best he could, uttering the word, but in so
broken a voice that it could hardly be understood. The father asked
him to try to say it a second time, and as soon as he pronounced
it he gained the power of speech; then he made a full confession,
and on the following day was sound and well.
Part of the employment of our fathers in that city was with the
Sangleys from the kingdom of China; this was exchanged (and for
the better) for labors among the natives of that land; and we took
charge of a little settlement called Mandavi, half a legua distant
from our house; they are a simple people, docile and inoffensive by
nature. Father Miguel Gomez recently sent us, in a letter, this account
of a visit which he made there: "I made inquiries, to learn who had not
yet been baptized, and seventy were brought to me, besides some others
whom the Bissayans call _Daotáñgatao_, which signifies, 'People who
are good for nothing;' these people are wont to reply, when we preach
to them the law of God: 'I am good for nothing at being a Christian
or learning the prayers.' I began to preach to all these people
the truths of our holy faith, and the foolishness of their divatas,
or idols. Our Lord was pleased that they should learn the doctrine
in a very short time, although they were old men and obstinate, and
ask for holy baptism with a devotion which caused my admiration. The
day had scarcely dawned when old men and women, septuagenarians,
were at the door, in order to become Christians. I baptized sixty
of these persons--among them the most influential chief of that
district, a man seventy years old, Andug by name--and six others,
infant boys. All this has been a source of great consolation to me,
and I hope in our Lord that He will vouchsafe much to those people."
Many conversions are made in Bohol. Chapter LXX.
From the end of the year one thousand six hundred to the spring of the
year one thousand six hundred and one, that fire which the Son of God,
Jesus Christ our Lord, came to earth to light, so earnestly desiring
to set the world aflame, seemed to burn with great heat in the island
of Bohol--as may be seen by the letters of our fathers who at that
time had gone thither. The most interesting letter, as giving the most
detailed account, is, if I am not mistaken, one from Father Valerio
de Ledesma, rector of Sebu, to the father-visitor; he writes thus:
"In this letter I shall give an account of what our Lord was pleased
to accomplish in the island of Bohol after I departed from Sebu with
Father Ximenez and Brother Dionisio, on the twenty-ninth of May
in the year one thousand six hundred. When the council adjourned,
I set forth to visit the island of Bohol, as your Reverence had
instructed me. There I immediately undertook to unite and bring
together the people, a very difficult task, but quite necessary for
their instruction. I began with the people of Loboc, who were dispersed
and disunited; and, after many peaceful methods and forcible arguments,
God was pleased to bring together more than a thousand souls, gathered
from the mountains and rivers--most of them people reared in war,
robbery and murder; until then, it had been impossible to bring them
down from the hilly regions and inaccessible mountains where they
dwelt. But _non est impossibile apud Deum omne verbum_. Encouraged
by our good fortune in Loboc, we sought to unite the Tinguianes
(or mountaineers) of Dita and Marabago, a wild people who had never
before seen a father. We brought them together by blandishments and
mild threats, and by other methods suited to their capacity, and it
pleased our Lord that we were able to persuade them to settle along
the river which they call Viga. There they have erected a church,
and Father Gabriel writes me that on Sundays it does not contain them
all. He says that he began by baptizing more than one hundred and
twenty children; and that the adults are not only tamed, but even
ask for baptism with much fervor. At night they pray, and sing the
doctrine; and in the day-time they chant praises to our Lord. Those
who have dwelt in Bohol, and know the unruly nature of that people,
will appreciate the change which our Lord has wrought in them. When we
first begin to address them, your Reverence might behold them on the
bank of the river, armed, and so fierce as to arouse one's fear; yet,
at the same time, desirous that I should address them. This I did,
showing them so much affection that they and I became friends; and
as hostages they gave me their children for baptism, preparing them
to learn the doctrine and to receive holy baptism. Having brought
together the people of Dita, when it seemed to me that they would
have no difficulties in the small villages round about, it happened
that, when least I expected, I saw as many as forty men coming,
armed with lances and shields, whose design it was to break up the
union by violence, especially if they should be ordered to assemble
in any place not to their liking. Realizing from their determination
the danger to which the others would be exposed, I dissimulated as
best I could, so that the others might not perceive their uncivil
conduct, and feigned that my desire was the same as theirs--but with
such conditions that I know that they will not fulfil them; and it
is obvious, from this very incident, that he who has the authority
and force to intimidate them can subdue them. I think, with Father
Francisco Xavier, of blessed memory, that a little gained in peace is
worth more than much secured by war. Thus was ended that disturbance;
I did what I could, but not what I desired. They can, it is true,
be instructed where they now are; but the task will be a hard one.
"Thence I returned toward Sebu, passing through some villages where
Father Miguel Gomez had given instruction; and I can assure your
Reverence that while I tarried there I found more consolation, and
gathered a greater harvest of souls, than I have ever before known. For
theirs was so great a longing and hunger to hear of the things of God,
and so ardent a desire to learn the doctrine that throughout the night
could be heard in their houses, now here and now there, ceaseless
songs and praises to God; and morning and night, in the field and in
the church, nothing could be heard but praises of our Lord. A chief
said to me: 'Would you believe, Father, that all night long I did
not close my eyes, I was so anxious and eager to pray?' Accordingly,
it appeared in eight or nine days that all the people had learned
the prayers and other things needful for baptism. Your Reverence
will doubtless ask: 'Who inspired them with such warmth and fire,
since they are a people so heedless by nature?' I know not what
answer to give your Reverence save, _Digitus Dei est hic_. What I
can say is, that he whose heart is set on an end, also holds dear the
means to that end. They were inspired by God to desire holy baptism,
and for that reason they so heartily availed themselves of the means
which we offered them to gain it, and heeded no difficulty in their
way. Upon the feast-day of Saint Anne, when the church was called
together, our Lord was pleased to make for us a goodly beginning in
the conversion of an aged chief regarded by all as their father. While
in the church, he fell upon his knees and said: 'Father, baptize me,
for God is calling me.' I said to him in a loud voice, while all
the rest preserved silence: 'Dost thou say this heartily?' 'Yes,
Father, with all my heart do I say it.' 'Does love for God and for
thy salvation move thee?' 'Yes, Father; that and nothing else.' 'Hast
thou determined to abandon all the maganitos and to exchange them for
the true God?' 'Yes, Father.' 'Art thou resolved to serve the true
God and to be a good Christian, or dost thou ask this with thy mouth
only?' 'There is nothing else in my heart.' 'That is well, then,'
said I; 'I admit thee as a catechumen.' With this example those
who were already prepared were so convinced, and others so deeply
moved, that more than a hundred came, one after another, and knelt
in the same way and asked for baptism. I, on my part, began to ask
them questions, to confirm even more their faith; for this virtue,
as well as other habits, grows and is increased by acts. Brother
Dionisius and I returned home, astonished at such fervor and devotion
among Bissayans. At one time I baptized more than eighty-nine adults;
a few days later, ninety-four, children and adults together; and, at
still another baptism, the other people in that village. A few whom
I did not baptize fell upon their knees and asked for the sacrament;
but I deferred it until the next time when I should, God willing,
return to them.
"While we were passing, on the way from that village, over some
mountains, the Lord offered us, as a spiritual gain, twenty-nine
children, who were like so many little angels [19] (which is
a safe money); these we baptized, together with three adults
whom I took on this journey with me that they might hear some
masses, and be instructed, by word and example, in the things
of Christianity. Although those people were mountaineers, they
entertained us with the best that they had; and he was not held in
honor by them who did not bring a banana, some papaya [20] fruit, rice,
or a fowl. Here I have learned by experience how important it is that
we should not rear these Indians in such [spiritual] aridity that
they know not how to perform any act of charity. For admitting that
they are poor, yet even in their poverty there is room for merciful
and charitable deeds with the little possessions which are theirs;
and by performing these they are made humane, and they find pleasure
therein. On the other hand, they can be recompensed by us with other
gifts, by which they are greatly pleased, and their hearts are more
easily won for God.
"From that place we set out for another little village which is
called Tobigu, where, in anticipation of our arrival, they had
quickly erected a very convenient church. We cast our nets--or, to
speak correctly, those of Jesus Christ--and the Lord pressed into
them all the fish there were. Indeed, even if there were no other
return than this, I would consider myself well repaid for having come
from España; for all--the headmen and chiefs, the children, old men,
and women--prostrated themselves at the feet of Jesus Christ, making
public confession and asking for the waters of baptism. The first
time, we baptized a hundred souls; the second time, the rest of
the people in the village, so that we did not know of any perverse
one remaining--although, at the beginning, there were a few who
resisted. When I arrived at the village, I heard someone say in
a loud voice: 'I do not have to become a Christian;' but he was
afterward converted, being unable to resist the Holy Spirit. Another
savage, fierce and intractable in disposition, after having heard
the sermon on salvation and hell, said that he would go to hell;
and he maintained this so obstinately that he seemed to be possessed
by the devil. He was arousing the same spirit in others, as he was
an influential man, respected by those of the village. I told him of
the terrible punishments of hell, and in return he asked what he was
to do if his ancestors and parents were there, and he wished to be
with them. I told him that he ought first to try the fire, to see if
he could endure it, and I ordered some red-hot coals to be brought,
that he might make this test; but his hands were as hard as his heart,
and the fire had little effect on them. After a few days had passed,
however, he turned over a new leaf, so completely that he went through
the plains and grain-fields, calling together his people so that they
might become Christians and be baptized with him. He is now one of
our good Christians, and the most earnest one whom I have known among
the Bissayans.
"The devil, envious of such success, sought to disturb our new
Christian community with rumors of war, which compelled us to return
to the village of Tobigo. There, while the people were wrought up
to the most ardent fervor of prayers and conversions, forty-eight
armed men descended upon the village, to plunder it and to burn
the church. That night our people posted a sentinel, and kindled
large fires, and so the enemy did not dare to enter openly; but
they remained in the neighborhood to rob anyone who might enter
or leave the village. On the morning of the next day, armed with
better weapons than theirs--namely, with confidence in the Lord,
whose work we are doing--I set out to go where they were, taking
with me Brother Dionisio (who has been, in all these experiences,
my very faithful companion); and there I said to them: 'Fear not,
my children, for I am your father, not the alcalde-mayor; I come to
do you good, not harm. What do you fear from a man unarmed and alone,
who puts himself in your power? You behold me here. If you desire me
for a slave, I will live with you in your village of Tibor, and will
serve you as a slave if you will in turn let me teach you how you
may obtain salvation. I have compassion on you when I see you acting
thus, for if the Spaniards seize you they will do you much harm. Let
us be friends, and in token of our friendship, take this garment:'
and I handed to the chiefs an elegant striped mantilla, asking them to
give me also some pledge. They presented to me a necklace, and then we
embraced each other and drank from the same cup. In short, we became
so good friends that they promised me that whenever I might summon
them to Loboc, they would come, provided that they would bring but few
people. They gave me a little fruit and some eggs, and I gave them a
basket of rice. After expressions of friendship had been exchanged,
I asked them to make peace also with my friends of Tobigon; this they
did, and departed abashed without having done any harm. May God bring
them to a place where they can receive instruction; for some of them,
when questioned, replied that I was the first Spaniard whom they had
ever seen in their lives. This took place near Sebu; what must be
the condition of affairs elsewhere?"
Another letter from Father Valerio to the father-visitor, dated
October 4, gives the following account: "Father Gabriel writes me
that he has baptized in Loboc and Dita more than four hundred souls,
most of them children under the age of reason. In these three months
I find, upon examination, that more than a thousand souls have been
baptized, and that the ardor of numberless others is aroused. The
fathers write me that the hour has come in which God is present in this
island. May your Reverence send us laborers, or at least one father,
until those from España arrive. Fortunate is he who may come hither,
for he will delight in the fervor of this primitive church."
Father Gabriel Sanchez writes thus, in a letter of October 5:
"Our Lord has favored the plans and labors of the father rector and
other fathers; for in uniting the villages, their people have been so
thoroughly converted to the Lord that I know not what to say, except
that the Lord, who created and redeemed them, has been pleased to call
them with so special a vocation. Of the people in those reductions
there have been newly baptized in the last four months more than
two thousand souls, and it seems to me that, if we had fathers,
the whole island would be converted in one month. I am filled with
devotion when I see people who are practically savages come from the
mountains, and on their knees ask for baptism, and children as well,
like angels, who have already learned the prayers, although I know not
who are their teachers. Today, for instance, one of them came down,
a child about ten years old, whom I had never before seen; and yet
he knew the catechism and the questions, and was most eager to be
baptized. Catolonas, or priestesses, also come to us, and have given
so many proofs of their holy desire that we have not been able to
deny them baptism. Truly, my father, I am living in great consolation
and joy; for here in these regions there is nothing more to be desired
than that we may faithfully serve our Lord, and that all the people may
be brought into the presence of His Divine Majesty. On Sunday we had
in the church of Loboc six or seven hundred souls, which is the usual
attendance. If your Reverence could see in the early mornings nearly
a hundred children from the mountains, boys and girls but recently
baptized, march with praises to God in a procession along the bank
of this river, singing the doctrine with angelic voices that seem
to come from heaven, I verily believe that your Reverence would be
moved to devout tears, at seeing how God has brought them down from
these mountains and dragons' caves that they may praise and glorify
Him. During the last few days there were baptized in Dita five hundred
more souls, so that in this mission of Bohol there are now more than
three thousand Christians. At the beginning, we had eight hundred, and
now, with the blessing of God and the mercy that He has shown them,
two thousand three hundred have been baptised. Since God decrees it,
may St Peter bless it. Amen."
In another letter he writes: "For days I have been toiling alone;
and when I depart from a village, a considerable time passes before I
return to it. But it is evident that the spiritual benefit of those
poor people acquits me for this delay, in order that your Reverence
may take pity on them. For this reason, my father, let fathers be
brought from España; and will your Reverence send hither even twenty,
for there will be a harvest for all of them. In Loboc and Dita in the
last few days nearly four hundred little ones have been baptized;
this has given me much consolation in the Lord, for I find great
satisfaction in these little creatures. The adults are learning the
doctrine with such fervor that even until midnight the sound of their
voices is incessant. We have received information that enemies are
coming to attack this island, and the people are therefore greatly
disturbed. Would to God that we might be made captives for His love,
and might die for pure love of Him!" All this is from Father Gabriel
Sanchez.
The enemies whom the father here mentions are Indians from the island
of Mindanao which lies near the islands of Terrenate and Maluco, where
the doctrine of Mahoma is professed. In the year one thousand six
hundred that people collected an armed fleet of sixty small vessels,
which descended upon these islands subject to the government of Manila,
and wrought much damage. They laid waste the island of Bantayan and
the river of Panai, and burned the churches. Then they coasted along
other islands, robbing and murdering, and finally carried away as
captives one thousand two hundred souls. But it pleased our Lord that
when they came to this island of Bohol, where our fathers reside, they
should inflict no considerable losses, nor did they burn our church
and house--which they could have done with impunity, for all the
people fled to the mountains. Yet they passed on without stopping,
as Father Gabriel relates in part of his letter of November 16,
which runs as follows:
"In order that your Reverence may aid us in rendering thanks to our
Lord for a great act of mercy which He has shown us, your Reverence,
as father-visitor, should know that on the twenty-sixth of October in
this year, 1600, the enemy attacked Baclayun just after our fathers
had gone thence to Sebu, summoned thither by holy obedience; for the
father rector had sent in haste for the three of us who were in the
island, and lo! the enemy were there. As evidence of the value of holy
obedience, and to show how it exempts from dangers, as well as another
token of mercy--the enemy committed scarcely any ravages in Bohol,
considering what was in their power to do. Their approach was made
known three or four hours in advance, and all, as I have been informed,
fled to the mountains--except three old women and an old man, whom they
killed; and three women and a man, whom they carried away captive. One
of the old women whom they killed had been a notorious witch; but God
our Lord, who loved her soul, inspired her with so fervent a desire to
become a Christian and receive baptism that for three months she did
not cease asking me for it. Finally, on account of her importunity,
I baptized her, after she had several times given evidence of her
sincerity by expressing in public her abhorrence of her idolatrous
belief. But she was fortunate indeed, for soon after she had been
baptized they killed her, which is certainly a singular blessing from
our Lord. The other old woman who was about seventy years of age had
also been baptized a little while before. They did no damage in our
church, although I am told that they disinterred some bodies--why,
I know not. Here is another instance of God's mercy: although they
passed very near the river of Lobo, Dita, and other little villages
belonging to our newly converted Christians, they neither visited
nor attacked them; this seems miraculous, considering that they had,
as your Reverence well knows, committed so deplorable ravages in
other places."
Another of our fathers held a mission in that island, during the
vacation in the Latin studies in the College of Sebu; and, among
other things, he writes thus about his short stay there: "So great is
the heavenly influence which God sends upon this village of Tobigon,
and the abundance of gifts which He bestows upon it, that I have not
dared to go hence, and cut the thread of a progress so auspicious,
thinking it best to remain and behold the marvels of God. The church
is full night and day, and there is no leisure to leave the building,
and hardly to eat when I must; and it is necessary to have my food
brought to me from a distance. All are eager to become Christians and
be baptized. During the two weeks that I have spent here, among those
to whom we have been able to give instruction, one hundred and fifty
adults have been baptized, and today we are to baptize about forty
catechumens; the rest will be left until our return. Their affection
for us is great; they bring their children and sick that we may bless
them, and in the street they fall upon their knees to receive the
benediction. They make frequent use of holy water for their houses,
at their meals, in their grain-fields, and for their sick; indeed,
to drink a swallow of it they consider an efficacious remedy. In
short, all that I see in them is piety and devotion--which is all
the more precious since they are Christians so recently converted. An
old man asked on his knees for baptism, and, as it was necessary to
defer the sacrament, he said with his hands crossed upon his breast:
'Father, teach me how to invoke God, since I do not know how to
pray and thou wilt not baptize me; for I truly reverence Him in
my soul, and desire to serve Him:' Another old man--a chief, whom
all respect--who hitherto had been obdurate, has just asked me for
baptism; he is very hoary, and so old that it seems as if he could
not, from very age, utter a word. I go to his house to instruct him,
for he is too feeble to come to the church. I shall soon baptize him,
and another old man of his age; and it seems to me a certain proof
of their predestination that God should have kept them so long, and
now have inspired in them so ardent a desire to be saved. The Lord be
blessed, amen! for His marvels, who from the stones can raise sons of
God and heirs of heaven, at the time and hour that pleases Him, and by
instruments most inadequate, so that all may know that it is the work
of His power. Up to this time we have in this island three thousand
three hundred Christians, and I am confident in the Divine goodness
that by next year there will not be one man who is not baptized."
The mission held in Tanai. Chapter LXXI.
Tanai is a beautiful and thickly-settled river in the great island
called Negros, on the side which forms a strait with the island of
Sebu. This part of the island is under the parochial care of Don
Diego Ferreira, the bishop's vicar there, and first archdeacon of
the cathedral of Sebu. This priest, in his great affection for our
humble Society, and influenced by seeing the results of our fathers'
labors in those islands--aided by the demand of the natives of
Tanai themselves, who had at various times asked for us--so urgently
requested our presence there that at last the authorities were obliged
to consent. Overjoyed that they had assigned this field to Father
Gabriel Sanchez, whom he held in great esteem, the said Don Diego went
in person to Bohol with a ship, expressly to convey Father Sanchez,
and carried him to their Tanai. What this faithful minister of Jesus
Christ accomplished there the Indians themselves made known, and the
archdeacon lauded it in various letters, being most grateful to God
and to the Society for this service that we had rendered him. We
gave him therein no little aid in carrying his burden of the many
souls which are under his care, alone as he is, without any other
assistance or instruction than ours. But Father Gabriel Sanchez, with
his accustomed plainness, has written a more detailed account of some
particular cases, while making a report of his labors to the superiors,
as is the custom among us. In a letter to the father-visitor, dated
in November of the year one thousand six hundred, he writes thus:
"The archdeacon of Sebu, who holds the benefice of Tanai--a venerable
and meritorious man, as your Reverence well knows--went in person to
the island of Bohol, twelve leguas away, to beseech Father Alonso de
Umanes, our superior, to send, for God's love, a father to teach his
people the law of God, since he himself did not know their language. I
was chosen, and it pleased our Lord to give us a good foothold in
the island; on the very first day we found all the people gathered
on the beach, awaiting us with music and other tokens of joy. We went
to the church, and there I began to address them and discuss our holy
faith. At the first or second sermon, your Reverence might have seen
almost all the people suddenly changed. Indeed, as they had not before
had any minister who could address them in their own language, they had
not, as I learned, been able to form any conception of the things of
God. When the light penetrated their souls, they were astonished; and,
full of joy, they began to ask one another, 'What is this?' They gazed
on me (poor wretch that I am), as on one descended from heaven. As the
greater number of those who assembled there were Christians, but had
not made their confession nor did they even know _si Spiritus Sanctus
est_, I discussed with them the remedy of confession, explaining its
purpose, and arousing their affection for it. Within one month about
four hundred persons made their confessions, with the utmost sorrow
for their sins; and many received communion, with such devotion that
to behold them inspired a like emotion. I baptized about eighty,
most of them infants, although there were a few adults. We instituted
the procession of children which, in our doctrinas, is wont to march
through the streets. We began, too, in the church to give instruction
and ask questions, which so pleased them that the chiefs answered them,
and were offended if we did not question them.
"During our stay several incidents occurred which I shall relate. An
Indian woman, wife of the governor of the village, and of high rank,
lay sick. One night her malady grew so violent that it left her without
power of speech. Believing her to be dead, they hastened to summon us
late in the night. When we arrived she was speechless and unconscious,
and they were bewailing her as one dead. It grieved me that the woman
should die in that state; for she had been a Christian for some years,
and yet had not attended confession (although she led a blameless life)
because there was no priest who knew her language. I was anxious that
she should, if only by a sign, ask for confession, but she could not
do even this. We repeated the gospel to her, sprinkling her with
holy water; and God, the Father of mercy, gave such efficacy to
these means that we had not finished reciting the holy gospel when
the woman regained consciousness and asked for confession, saying:
'Jesus, have mercy on me.' Many people were present on this occasion,
and we gave thanks to our Lord. Within ten minutes the sick woman was
as well as before her illness; accordingly, I would not confess her
in her own house, but left her, directing her people to bring her to
the church the next day. This was done, and on the following day she
confessed, to her great consolation. Another woman, also of rank,
was attacked by an illness so violent that she could not be held,
and even dashed herself against the walls. Finally, she was dying,
and they hastily summoned us; we read to her the gospel, as usual,
and gave her holy water. Then with much difficulty, on account of
the many persons who were in the house, I began to confess her before
she should die. But it was God's pleasure that, just as she began to
confess, her malady and the pains of death should be mitigated--so
fully that before her confession was concluded she was as well as
before. The next day she went to the church, and there, before many
persons, she made known the mercy which our Lord had shown to her the
night before. Another woman was reduced by sickness to the point of
death, so that she was speechless; her people hurriedly summoned us,
saying that she was already dead, and we found her unconscious, and
already lamented as dead. We recited the holy gospel, and gave her
holy water; and we had not yet finished the reading when the woman
regained her senses and said 'Jesus.' She then made her confession,
and even before we departed she had recovered health, and was offering
thanks to our Lord.
"They also called us in to see two children who were dying. We went
to them in haste, putting aside the confessions which we had on hand;
and found both of them speechless and unconscious--one of them with
no sign of respiration--and already bewailed as dead. We recited the
holy gospel to them, and gave them holy water; and soon we left them
so well that one of them, who was four or five years old, came down
that same day to play with the other children, and the other one soon
became well. We went to hear the confession of a man who lived a legua
and a half away from the village; he was so sick that they could not
bring him to the church, for his body was in such a state of corruption
that no one would touch him. We went to hear his confession and found
him in the condition which we have described; he could not even move
from one side to another. We sought to induce him to confess, and
repeated to him the holy gospel. This was on Friday or Saturday; on
the following Sunday, when I asked for him, they told me that he was
sound and well, and had gone to another island in quest of food. We
were informed that another, a pagan woman, was at the point of death;
at her request, we went to baptize her. I gave her this sacrament
in some haste, lest she should die on my hands; but after baptism
she regained her health. All these things aroused in their hearts a
deep affection for our Lord, and they recognized that what had been
preached to them was the truth, and that their idols are but demons.
"I also desire to relate to your Reverence how one night, about ten
o'clock, while I was commending myself to our Lord, round about the
church I heard many persons weeping most piteously, yet in gentle
tones, as if grieving for something which had been lost. Fearing lest
it might be some case of death, I sent out two boys to inquire what
it was. Some women of rank, the daughters of the master of the house,
replied that they and the other women were weeping because on that
night, having finished chanting the Christian doctrine, while in a
passage-way or corridor of the house and gazing toward the sky, they
saw as it were one fastened on a cross with a crown on his disfigured
but beautiful head. His body and breast were brighter than the sun,
white, and lovelier than words can depict. This [vision of the] Lord
gradually receded from them, rising toward heaven, until it reached
the moon, when it disappeared from their sight. This lovely vision
aroused in them deep love, and, when it departed from them, sadness
and sorrow. I sent to bid them calm their grief. On the following day,
in the church, those same young women, with their servants and those
of their household, arose before all the people; and when I asked them
what that meant, they recounted what had occurred to them the night
before. Yet they are simple and artless people, who were quite bashful
and timid when I questioned them. The next day we learned that this
vision, or cross, had been seen at the same time in another village,
one or two leguas distant from this one. What most impressed me in this
incident was that those persons, although virtuous before it occurred,
were afterward much more so, and in their exemplary and modest behavior
are the example and pattern for the other women; for they pass many
hours on their knees in prayer, they hear mass every day, and, while
we remained there, they made their confession every Saturday. The
incumbent of that benefice wrote me, several months later, that they
were persevering, and setting a rare example in virtue.
"The time for my departure and my return from Tanai arrived, in
accordance with the orders of holy obedience. Such was the sorrow,
and so many were the tears of those poor people that I was constrained
thereby to weep for compassion. They cast themselves at my feet,
and upon their knees besought me not to depart, saying: 'If we again
fall into sin, to whom shall we have recourse?' I consoled them as
best I could; and they accompanied me as far as the river, where
I embarked. Then they plunged into the water, and surrounded the
boat--men, women, and children--dripping with water, and shedding
tears. They brought me for the journey their offerings of rice,
chickens and other presents, which I did not accept, as it seemed
to me more becoming not to take them. I left them with much regret
at seeing so many souls exposed to danger and without a shepherd or
minister who knew their language. May God our Lord provide aid for
them, according to His mercy."
Seeing the excellent disposition of those people, and the harvest
which our Lord was gaining from the missions, the same Father Gabriel
Sanchez held another one among those people which he briefly mentions
in one of his letters. He says: "I found the people steadfast in their
good intentions, and in the doctrine which I had taught them. When
I asked them, on certain occasions, if they had committed such and
such a sin, they would answer: 'Jesus. Father, would I be false to
God? When we were taught last year that we must not sin against the
Divine Majesty, would we dare to do so?' And their works confirmed
their deeds, for their lives were like those of the primitive
church. There were women who, although they were offered chains of
gold and presents of great value, could not be influenced thereby to
consent to sinful acts. Others suffered insults, and harsh treatment
until their blood was shed from the blows and wounds they received,
because they would not consent to offend our Lord. Many instances of
this could be related."
The fruits of other missions in the island of Ibabao. Chapter LXXII.
As the inhabitants of the island of Ibabao are scattered along
the coast and shores of the sea, it has been necessary to despatch
thither, on missions, three fathers and three brethren, during most
of the year, who instruct the people with the excellent results that
are wont to accrue from such missions. In these the harvest has been
very large, the divine grace corresponding to the earnest desires of
those fathers, and with their labors and perils. Nearly all the time
they are journeying by sea, sailing along the coast of this and other
adjacent islands, and crossing from one to another, never without
danger. They have become fishermen of souls, casting their nets for
the heavenly catch--from these journeys returning to Tinagon, where,
as we have said, is the house of their residence. This residence
cares for fourteen villages, large and small. During the year, there
have been baptized therein three thousand six hundred and eighty
persons, most of them adults. Father Alonso de Umanes, superior of
the residence, Father Manuel Martinez, and Father Juan de San Lucar
formed six principal missions, each father with his companion being
assigned to certain villages. Father Alonso de Umanes writes that in
the first mission two hundred and sixty-nine persons were converted
to Christianity, eighty of whom were children, and the rest adults.
In this mission two small and isolated islands were visited, concerning
which Father Juan de San Lucar writes to the father-visitor, as
follows: "Knowing the satisfaction which your Reverence receives when
we render to you an account of our missions, I will now tell you of
the last one which I made in the two little islets of Maripipi and
Limancauayan, which for more than two years had not been visited by
any priest. The people were most eager to have some father to instruct
them; and when they knew that Brother Francisco Martin and I were
going to them, they made a great feast, and adorned with branches
of trees the streets of the village, and the shore as far as the
church. The boys and girls came forth, singing the doctrine and bearing
a cross, which was to me a most gratifying reception. Afterward, in
the church, I thanked them with tears for the affection which they
showed us. From the time of our arrival until we departed from those
islands, they were continually bringing us gifts from the products of
the land, such as wax, rice, and bananas, and other articles of more
value. When I undertook to make a list of those who sought baptism,
they asked me not to do so, since all those who were not converted
(who were very few) desired to become Christians; so I did as they
wished. The old men, who elsewhere are usually obdurate and stubborn,
and answer that they are now too old to learn the doctrine and begin
a new manner of life, here used this very same argument to induce me
to baptize them, saying: 'Father, consider that we are already old,
and soon shall end our lives; do not let us die without baptism,
since we are so anxious to be Christians.' With this good disposition
on their part, I began to preach to them, and our Lord was pleased
that they should all become Christians. They not orly learned the
doctrine, but discussed together the sermons and instructions in the
church and in their houses; indeed, so concerned were they about this
matter that they seemed to pay no attention to anything else.
"We were greatly aided in facilitating their instruction by the method
of [learning by] decuries which your Reverence imparted to us. Dividing
them by tens, as if in classes, some learned the _Pater-noster_, others
the _Ave Maria_; and thus they came to acquire with much facility
and ease all the prayers of the primer. I baptized one hundred and
forty persons, some of whom were old men of rank. One of them was very
anxious that his mother should become a Christian, and on the day when
our Lord accorded him this mercy he was greatly rejoiced; he made a
great feast, inviting the people to eat at his house, and furnished
to them a bountiful repast. We celebrated the octave of Corpus Christi
with a solemn procession, in which we bore the most blessed sacrament
through the streets, which were decorated and adorned for the occasion
with as much splendor as was possible. They laid all their riches and
gold chains on the platform; and although it was all insignificant
enough, greater was the good will and love with which they offered it.
"With the report that those two islands had been converted to the
faith, the island of Cauayan and others of Samar were led to ask
for fathers to instruct them. I repaired to Cauayan, and in fifteen
days I baptized, after some instructions and sermons, one hundred
and seventy adults, with four or five little children. I inquired
if any one yet remained to be made a Christian; they replied that
only one was left, an old woman, outside the village, but that I
need not concern myself about her, for, on account of her great
age (she must have been more than a hundred and thirty years old),
she had not sufficient understanding or judgment to penetrate into
the things of God. I had her conveyed to the village with great
care, and they brought me a clod of clay, which had only a little
perception, and hardly any understanding; sight had forsaken her,
and her hearing was very dull. She had no more power of motion than
a stone, for wherever they placed her, there she remained without
stirring. She had great-great-grandsons living, and I believe that
the descendants extended even further. I began to catechize her, or
rather to test her, to see if she had the use of reason; but for the
time I could not convince myself whether she had it or not. I had her
conveyed to the house of a worthy Christian, an Indian woman of much
judgment, by whom the old woman could make herself understood; and I
asked her to talk with the old woman very carefully about the things
of God, and to draw from her all that she could. Relying upon what
this good woman told me (she acted as my interpreter in the church,
and as catechist in her own house), I was finally persuaded that the
old woman had the use of reason; but when I began to instruct her in
the things that were absolutely necessary, the Christian woman told me
that, as for the other truths, it was morally impossible, on acount of
the old woman's limited capacity, to give her further instruction. I
then baptized her, with much consolation, being persuaded that God
had preserved her for that hour. I am convinced that she has a very
short time to live, but I trust, in the mercy of God, that in the
other life she will obtain eternal blessedness through the merits
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gained it for her with His precious
blood. From Cauayan I went to a little hamlet called Cotai, where I
baptized eighty-three persons. From that place I went to Paet, where
I baptized one hundred and twenty, all adults; thence to Canauan,
where I baptized one hundred and forty. According to my reckoning,
then, more than five hundred persons have been baptized, all of age,
besides twelve children. What I especially value in this is the
sight of the fervor and devotion with which they received baptism,
their horror of sin, and their zealous desire that other neighboring
peoples should become Christians. They often take the initiative with
those people, and preach to their friends with a fervor and power
that astonish me. I am also much gratified at having brought about
more than eighty marriages within the church, for I suspect that
the alliances formed by those people are not marriages, but rather
the taking of concubines, considering the readiness with which they
divorce and marry again, according to the custom of the country.
"It seems to me that the road to the conversion of those natives is
now smooth and open, with the conversion of the chiefs and of the
majority of the people; for the excuse which they formerly gave,
saying, 'I will become a Christian as soon as the rest do,' has now
become their incentive toward conversion, and they now say: 'We desire
to become Christians because all the rest are Christians.' While I
was passing through Canauan, one of the chiefs was enraged because a
slave woman of his had become a Christian, and rebuked her angrily for
it; but recently he brought her to me with all his slaves, and he,
with his wife and all his family, have become Christians. Another
chief prevented his wife from hearing the divine word and becoming
a Christian, which she desired most heartily to be. Being unable to
go to the church, as she was kept at home, she sent a message to the
father informing him that her husband was using this violence toward
her. Orders were given to arrest him, and, this done, the woman was
baptized. But she obtained from God, as I believe, the conversion of
her husband; for within a few days he returned to the church, subdued,
and was baptized. This occurred during the first mission.
"Another mission was held at Catubig; this village is farthest from
the residence, for it is at the extremity of the island of Ibabao,
which is very large. The Indians are very well disposed, and among
them are some Christians, who lack instruction; and all are desirous
of having a father to teach them. There are more than four thousand
souls who only await the coming of ministers of the holy gospel
to distribute among them the bread of heaven. If we had chosen to
open the door for baptism many might have received that sacrament;
but during that mission only one hundred and fifty-four children were
baptized, the others being reserved for a better opportunity, when our
Lord might be pleased to send them those who would preserve them with
the food of instruction in the new life which, with the divine grace,
they would receive.
"In the third mission, there were baptized in three months eight
hundred and thirty-seven persons; seven hundred and five of these
were adults, and ninety-two children. At first, the men encountered
great difficulty in putting away their many wives; but finally the
divine Majesty made the outcome propitious, softening the hearts of
those pagans, and they brought their undertaking to a glorious end.
"In the fourth sortie or foray, six hundred and thirteen were baptized;
in the next, two hundred and seventy; and in the last, two hundred and
fifty-four. With these and other baptisms in this residence alone,
three thousand six hundred and eighty persons were therefore made
Christians, as I stated above; and many more might be converted if
the earnestness with which they ask for baptism were appreciated. But
our fathers proceed by inspiring them first to desire baptism, and
to give proofs of their desires, and constraining them to learn the
doctrine, to attend the church, and to abandon all their heathen rites,
their paganism, and their polygamy; thus they become more thoroughly
acquainted with and rooted in the faith."
Instances occurring in the mission of Dulac. Chapter LXXVIII.
The year one thousand six hundred and one also gave evidence of
great increase and perfecting in the Christian community of Dulac,
effected through the ordinary labors and occupations of four fathers
and three brethren. These laborers, making their retreat at the
appointed times, to practice the spiritual exercises (as is the
custom in all those residences), repair thereafter with greater
courage to their ministry to souls; and the results of their work
thus correspond to their fervor. But, of all the means that they
have employed, we must attribute their good fortune in winning souls
to their exposing the most blessed sacrament in our churches, thus
stimulating the devotion and respect with which it should be regarded;
celebrating with solemn processions the feast of Corpus [Christi];
and inviting the faithful to the table and feast of heaven. As a
result of these measures, the people were so fond of holy communion,
and so greatly enjoyed receiving it, that on some feast-days the
crowd was as great as in cities of Europe; and with so thorough
preparation, by fasting, discipline, prayer, fervor, and confession,
that it seemed to be a primitive church. Thus their esteem for our
holy faith is so increased that few are those who do not ask for or
desire baptism. Indeed, there are so many who seek it that during
the two weeks of advent and Easter in 1601 more than seven hundred
persons were baptized; and from the Easter of the previous year, 1600,
there were counted in this mission-field more than two thousand and
twenty persons baptized--and all this with great fervor, eagerness,
and esteem for the new law which they profess with holy baptism.
The residence of Dulac has in its care, among many others, the two
large villages called Dagami and San Salvador (which is Paloc), both
populous; their people are well instructed and submissive, and our
fathers have labored among them with great success. Father Melchior
Hurtado writes that in San Salvador, during the celebration of the
Christmas feast, almost eight hundred infidels were baptized, and
that the confessions and communions were such as might be expected in
España--so many, that the fathers could not attend to them all. This
is occasion for much glory to our Lord, especially in a land so new,
which the Society had entered but six years before to instruct its
people, and had found them so obdurate, as I have already stated. From
the letters of this father, and from others of Father Juan de Torres
and Father Francisco Vicente, some special incidents have been drawn,
which I shall here relate.
A father, passing through a little village belonging to that residence
and inquiring who were Christians, was told of an old man who lived
out in the country, alone in his little hut, and remained there
unable to walk. The father gave orders that this man be brought to
his presence, and asked him concerning his life, not expecting him to
recall much of the doctrine; but he gave so good an account of himself
as to leave the father astounded. Among other things the old man said:
"Although I remain in this life with my body, my desires are in heaven;
and so much so that at night I dream only of the things of the other
life. There I see all the dwellers of heaven covered with splendor,
and especially one, who excels all the others in brightness. O, father,
would that I might be there, freed from this decaying and burdensome
body!" The father showed him a print of the judgment, in which heaven
was depicted with splendor and beauty, and then asked him if it looked
like what he had seen. He answered, _Abà_, which is one of their words
of surprise, and, as it were, of disdain. "That and nothing more,
Father? Much more, much more!" Then the father wondered as he beheld
the riches which God our Lord had deposited in that clod of earth; and
he felt sure that, as the old man said, his only occupation thereafter
would be to repeat "Jesus" and "Mary"--which would never leave his
memory or his lips, until he should end this life and begin that
which is eternal. Two of Ours, passing a wretched hut, found a man,
who must have been more than eighty years old, stretched upon some
reeds, unconscious and dying. So thin was his body that it was hardly
more than skin adhering to bones; and so wasted that he seemed the
living picture of death. In their pity for him they prayed our Lord
to have compassion on that poor soul. In a short time he recovered
consciousness, and gladly asked for the waters of holy baptism, which
he greatly desired; this was plainly evident in the ardor with which
he declared his belief in our holy faith. After being baptized, his
senses were entranced, and he very sweetly invoked the most blessed
name of Jesus, and that of Mary; and then he died.
One of our fathers desired to visit another sick man (who had, when in
danger of death, been baptized by the schoolmaster of the village),
but, with his many confessions and other duties, he had forgotten
to do so. Afterward, while resting, he had heard loud wailing and
outcries, such as they are wont to utter for their dead; and they came
to tell him that the man had died. The father could not refrain from
going to see him (although he left all the people in the church),
deeply grieved that he had not seen the sick man before. But with
great confidence (although everyone said that he was already dead),
he approached the unconscious sick man, and said: "Clement" (such was
his name), "dost thou hear us, my son?" He opened his eyes and said:
"Yes, Father." Then the father bade him invoke the most blessed name
of Jesus, and the most sweet name of Mary, and aided him with some
nourishment; the sick man regained consciousness, and some strength,
and at the end of a few days made his confession, and died in the Lord.
Ours had been asked to visit a sick man, and, when the visit to him
was ended, the father, while descending from the house, was seized
with the desire to ascertain if there were any other sick person in
the vicinity. In the next house he found an old woman, an infidel,
ninety years old, although not very sick; he approached her, gave
her instruction, and baptized her. On the following day, when he was
setting out from the village at the same hour, his heart would not
allow him to depart without first visiting his sick people. He gained
the little hut, and found therein a dead person, shrouded. He inquired
who it was and they told him that it was Ana (the name of the woman
whom he had baptized the day before). He continued his way, praising
the divine Providence and judgments of God, who had thus predestined
the lot of that soul. We were informed that a sick man lay at the
point of death, far out from the village. The road thither was hard
to descry in the darkness of the night, and abounded with serpents,
which were continually encountered, stretched out in the road. In
addition to this, a very broad river must be passed, with rapid
current and full of crocodiles--which, when they become ravenous,
rush upon anything. Yet all these obstacles were of less importance
than one soul redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; so the father
went to visit his sick man, and, with a certain medicine, in the name
of Jesus Christ our Lord, cured and comforted him. But the marvel was
that on the way he found another sick person, a woman, apparently in
less danger; he baptized her, and she died immediately, while the sick
man, for whom the father had undertaken all that hardship, was healed.
An Indian, finding himself in the clutches and jaws of a crocodile,
covered with wounds, and almost dead, began to invoke the most holy
name of Jesus, which a little before he had heard in the sermon
of a father; and our Lord was pleased that the savage beast should
release him.
This befell a father and a brother while journeying along a sandy
tract, greatly fatigued by the heat of the noonday sun, without any
restorative or food, and parched with thirst--in short, deprived of
everything that might serve them as a relief or comfort; yet enduring
their suffering and with devout meditation offering to God that
hardship, even desiring that it might be increased if his Majesty
might thus be served. Unexpectedly and suddenly they descried a man
seated in the midst of the sand, with a collation of fresh cocoanuts
and other fruits; and so gracious and serene was his appearance that
he inspired admiration and pleasure. When the fathers and those who
accompanied them accepted from him those delicacies, refreshing their
heated bodies and appeasing their hunger, this man displayed unusual
satisfaction and joy, inviting them to partake of more, since what he
possessed was theirs, and he was a servant of the Spaniards. With this
they continued their journey (which otherwise would have been very
wearisome), giving thanks to Him who had thus succored them in their
dire necessity. Although at the time the father took little notice of
this incident, afterward recalling the circumstances, as well as the
gracious manner of the man, he became convinced that he must have been
some angel. Nor was he far out of the way, considering the occasion on
which he succored them, when they could not go any farther on account
of the oppressive heat of the season, and the lack of food; the spot
where they had encountered him, a place where it had never occurred
that they found an Indian so solitary and, moreover, unknown; and
then his gracious manner and serene countenance, and his generosity
and liberality in sharing with them what he had, saying that it all
belonged to the fathers, and that he was a servant of the Spaniards
(at a time when there was not one Spaniard in the island): all this
induces the belief that the incident was something more than ordinary,
or, at least, a token of our Lord's especial providence. There can be
no doubt that the incident was most pleasing to Him, on account of the
unusual and extraordinary harvest which He permitted to be gathered
in the village from which the father had that day set out. I shall
not relate this in detail, in order not to repeat the same events,
and to pass on to what yet remains to be narrated, which is much.
The many conversions to the Christian faith in Carigara and its
district. Chapter LXXIV.
We deem it a special providence of our Lord that while the native
language of the Indians of our various residences is the same, and it
is easy for our workers to remove from one place to another, since
they are not, in doing so, obliged to learn several tongues--there
is, at the same time, such variety in the stations and missions. Some
of them may be visited entirely by sea, such as those of Tinagon or
Samar; others wholly by land, as the mission of Alangalang. Again,
others may be reached partly by sea, partly by land, such as Dulac,
Carigara, and Bohol. This is a great convenience, in assigning the
missionaries according to the abilities and temperament of each,
allotting to those who cannot journey by land, stations on the coast,
and inland posts to those who can endure the hardships of the roads.
There is enough of such hardship in the residence of Alangalang,
where four fathers and three brethren are employed, toiling in the
vineyard of the Lord--journeying on foot (as is our custom there)
under sun and shower, through swamps and rivers, with the water often
waist-deep; yet with much consolation and joy in the Lord, for whose
love are undertaken these and like hardships.
Our brethren live in those villages well content at seeing that our
Lord is continually gaining souls to Himself, and inclining to His holy
law the hearts of those who but a few years ago were living without God
and without law. From the year 1600 to the year 1602, when I departed
from those regions, two thousand six hundred and ninety-four persons
had been baptized in that mission. They attend with great punctuality
the sermons, masses, and other divine services, which in that mission
are celebrated with greater splendor and more punctiliousness than in
others, through the advantage which it has in three choirs of Indians,
who [in this service] surpass many Spaniards. They are wont to sing
the _Salve_ to our Lady; on some days, the litany; and on the Fridays
of Lent the _Miserere_ to accompany the discipline--all of which
indicates the faith which burns and glows in their souls.
To that residence of Alangalang are annexed those of Ogmuc and
Carigara, with seven or eight other villages; through these our fathers
have dispersed (having made their retreat, in the course of the year
for the [spiritual] exercises), being assigned [to certain villages] to
instruct their people. The superior, Father Mateo Sanchez, took charge
of the newer villages, in order to build there churches and establish
stations convenient for the affairs of those Christian churches--as
he did in the village of Lingayon, and in others. On the way, he
baptized in Barugo twenty-five adults, and in Carigara sixty-three.
At the residence of Ogmuc we had completed a church, one of the
finest in that island, through the diligence and labors of Father
Alonso Rodriguez, who spent a long time there. Father Francisco de
Enzinas went to that residence, and baptized one hundred and two
persons; of these eighty-one were adults, and among them some old
men. These last asked for baptism, as it seemed, with reason, saying
that they were already at the gates of death, and they ought to be
most favored since they were most needy. They asked questions about
the life eternal; and while the father was explaining to them the
resurrection of the body he was aided, by a man recently baptized,
with the simile of the serpent, which sheds and then renews its skin,
and with other comparisons of that sort. On his road the same father
visited a little village, called Baibai, and baptized there ninety
persons, of whom eighty-seven were adults.
Father Alonso Rodriguez held another mission in a little village called
Ugyao, where he baptized twenty-eight persons, among whom was the wife
of the chief of the village; she was afterward an instrument for the
conversion of many. He also sojourned in a village called Leite, whence
he writes a letter to the father-visitor, which runs as follows: "The
lord bishop was greatly consoled at the aspect of this village. The
Indians seemed to him very tractable, and submissive to the things
of our holy faith. They are continually in the church, morning and
evening, frequenting the services to such an extent that the time I
spent there seemed like a jubilee. I noticed among the chiefs much zeal
in bringing me pagans that I might baptize them. During this visit and
the next that I made there, I baptized one hundred and thirty-seven
persons, who were children and old people. I was in Alangalang and was
much pleased with the people there; indeed, everything in that island
seemed to me to be from heaven. I cannot sufficiently thank our Lord
for the signal favor that He has granted me in bringing me to this
land, and employing me in this Catholic ministry--of which I feel
myself most unworthy, often acknowledging this before our Lord, with
tears and humiliation. I regard it as most lavish pay for many faithful
services that our Lord should consent to employ one in these missions,
and that one may behold His mercy toward these new Christians. I have
just visited the people of Ugyao, and to live among them, enjoying
the mercies which God conters upon them, seems to me like Paradise."
Such is the father's general account; I will illustrate the details
by only two instances. While a father was sojourning in one of those
seacoast villages, there arrived in a little boat a solitary Indian,
to the astonishment of all, as he had neither feet nor hands. But
God and his good angel aided him to steer the boat, and so he
reached that place where the father was, and urgently asked him
for baptism. The reason for this was, that he had heard a Spaniard
say that those who were not Christians went to hell. The father
baptized him with great satisfaction, and gave praises to our Lord
that He had preserved this man on the sea, and had guided that little
vessel and a man who was alone, and bereft of hands and feet. There
were some persons--especially a Spaniard in whose charge he was--who
earnestly desired that a certain Indian should become a Christian. This
Spaniard sought to convert him by arguments and inducements, and by
other efforts; but apparently he became steadily more hardened. At
that time one of our brethren chanced (although it was not without
divine Providence) to speak to him of the things of heaven; and all
at once that soul turned in earnest toward our Lord. At his baptism
the Spaniard acted as his godfather, and was much gratified at seeing
his pious desire fulfilled.
Great benefits have resulted from the schools and the education of
the children; for these pupils are, in their homes, teachers to their
own parents, and in the villages through which they are scattered
they arouse the people to devotion. A young boy, one of the singers
in the church, thus replied to a Spaniard who communicated to him his
evil desires, in order that the youth might help him to attain them:
"Sir, I know of an excellent remedy for this temptation which thou
art suffering. Do thou repeat a rosary to the Virgin Mary, and I
will say another in thy behalf; thus thou wilt drive away these evil
thoughts." Thus he who should by right have been the teacher was
himself instructed by this new Christian.
Other events in the same residence of Alangalang and in
Carigara. Chapter LXXV.
When a certain father was setting out from one of the villages that
he had been visiting, in order to return to the chief town [of the
mission], an incident befell him which the father himself relates,
in a letter which is in part as follows: "In this village there was
a sick man, an infidel, whom the father had visited, and provided
with someone to instruct and catechize him for holy baptism. As the
father thought that the malady was making but slow progress, he left
the sick man thus. But God, who chose to comfort that soul so desirous
for its salvation, caused such a change in the weather that, although
the sky was serene and clear when they went to visit the sick man,
a rainstorm suddenly arose, so violent that it seemed as if our Lord
were constraining the father (as he did the glorious St. Benedict)
to halt and abandon his journey in order that that soul might enter
by the true way into heaven. With this he began to instruct the sick
man very slowly; and, having taught him what was sufficient, gave
him holy baptism, to the great consolation and joy of both. At once
the rainstorm ceased, and the sky became so clear that the father,
leaving that poor man much consoled--or, more correctly, rich in
celestial gifts--made his journey very comfortably. A few days having
passed without his making any inquiry about the sick man, an Indian
came to the father, and said to him: 'Father, that Indian whom thou
didst baptize, coming hither, our Lord has taken.'
"During Lent and Holy Week they performed their penances with
great devotion, shedding their blood with such fervor that it became
necessary to restrain them. So strong and ardent was their desire to do
penance that those who could not procure woolen shirts would not go in
the procession, waiting for those garments already stained with blood,
in order that they might bathe these anew with their own. Nor was
there less fervor among the children, who sought permission [to take
the discipline], even at a very tender age, and became disconsolate
indeed if it were denied them. These new Christians practiced another
sort of penance during the last two weeks of Lent, which caused great
edification. In the early evening they went out, clad in their woolen
shirts; their hands extended in the form of a cross, were bound to a
piece of wood; and from each hand hung a very heavy stone. In this
manner they went about the village, halting finally at the church
whence they had set out. There they remained a long time on their
knees, offering their penance to God our Lord. The children had
practiced this penance before; for during the Shrovetide festival
(at which time there are so many disorders among our Christians of
long standing) they formed themselves in pairs, and went forth with
great devotion, having their hands extended, in the form of a cross,
on a piece of wood, with heavy stones hanging at each side. For this
purpose one child bound the other, accompanying him until he returned
to the door of the church; there, unfastening the other's bonds, he
himself took the stick and stones, and thus they again went forth,
and he who had first borne the stones now accompanied the other. Thus
did each one acquit his obligation to the other, with more devotion
and understanding than the Shrovetide season demands from persons
of greater age, judgment, and obligations. In this way does our Lord
bestow upon them His mercy--as happened to a young boy, whose story,
as it is very attractive, I am unwilling to omit. There was a child,
about five or six years old, who was suffering from a disease of
the eyes; the little one in his pain went to a father, to whom he
tenderly made his plaint. The father, inasmuch as a few days before
he had taught the child the _Ave Maria_, bade him enter the church,
and on his knees to say that prayer and offer it to the most blessed
Virgin, our Lady. The child did thus, and when his prayer was concluded
went out from the church, and began to play contentedly with the other
children of his age. The father, perceiving him so merry with the rest,
called to him and asked him if he were well. He answered that as soon
as he had said the _Ave Maria_ to our Lady, the pain left him and he
became well."
Among the occasions when Ours have gone to make excursions into
the country, and to despoil the enemy of his former possessions,
there is one which Father Mateo Sanchez describes in a letter to the
father vice-provincial, as follows: "The voyage of the fathers who
were sailing for Ogmuc and Sebu proved to be unfortunate; for they
suffered many hardships through contrary winds, being finally driven
into a small bay, where they remained as long as their provisions
lasted. When these were consumed, they determined, as the weather
remained unfavorable, to return to Carigara. The two of us who remained
had made, in the meantime, some important visits, especially in Tunga,
where the village was in great excitement on account of some murders
among the Indian chiefs. It pleased our Lord that our fathers should
begin to calm and soothe the respective factions, and reconcile their
differences, and establish friendly relations between them. Although
this was not accomplished at once, the affair made gradual progress
toward settlement; and even the murderers came to our fathers for
protection, so that through our agency, peace might be restored and
established. This affair was one of the greatest importance, for the
island [of Leyte] was well-nigh in a state of insurrection, and overrun
by bandits. Our Lord was pleased that by means of the gentleness
and love with which we approached them, this condition of affairs
should pass away like smoke, and the bandits be dispersed. There were
twelve criminals, who, on account of the various murders that they had
committed, were roaming in bands through the mountains and highways,
sheltering the slaves and fugitives who joined them, as well as base
women and notorious witches--who accompanied them either through love
for evil, or in fear of punishment for their own heinous crimes. All
these people have been reclaimed, and have come to our fathers--not
only the men, but the women--asking for protection, pardon, and
penance. Only one has failed to come, and he was the beginning and,
as it were, the source of all this disturbance; but I hope that God,
in His great mercy, will bring in this man. In truth, it will be
very difficult for him to effect a reconciliation with the parties
concerned and obtain a pardon, on account of their rank and wealth;
for the murdered man (whose name was Humbas) was one of the most
noted and valiant Indians in the island, and always had been, and
was at the time, governor of the village of Ogyao [_sic_]. But since
his sons were all Christians, and the eldest, Don Philipe Tipon,
is an excellent man, greatly attached to us, and well instructed,
and informed in the Christian religion, I promise myself that it will
not be very difficult to obtain from him a pardon for this man, and
reconcile them, and settle this affair as we have desired and sought
for the greater glory of God." Thus writes Father Mateo Sanchez. [21]
The mission in Panamao. Chapter LXXVI.
Panamao [22] is one of the islands which lie adjacent to Leite,
on its northern side, and is almost a continuation of the latter,
since they are separated only by a strait so narrow that a ship can
scarcely pass through it. As it contains a great abundance of trees,
it is well adapted for shipbuilding, as are many others of these
islands. On this account workmen were building there, in December
of the year one thousand six hundred and one, the ship in which I
departed from those islands, early in July of the year one thousand
six hundred and two. As many Spaniards, Indians, and other peoples had
gathered there for this work of construction, they furnished sufficient
occupation to Father Francisco Vicente of our Society, who came from
Carigara, or Alangalang, to visit them and provide for them spiritual
consolation. The father arrived there at a juncture when our Lord had
undertaken to prepare the hearts of all those people. They were indeed
prepared, as by the Divine hand, by an occurrence which affrighted
and horrified them. There was a Spanish speaking negro who entered
the service of the captain there, and was accompanied by his wife. It
became necessary for him to go away, to procure some articles necessary
to the progress of the work. Returning one night, he found his wife
with another man, and, maddened by jealousy, he killed the adulterer
with a lance and wounded the woman, leaving her for dead. This was
a deplorable occurrence, for the murdered man was a youth of comely
parts and beloved by all; and to see him thus slain--a reputable
man, without confession, and in such circumstances, by the hand of a
negro--was sufficient to lead all to do penance. For assistance in
this, it was necessary for Father Francisco Vicente to proceed to
Panamao; and he, finding the harvest ready, was soon reaping, with
his sermons, discourses, and confessions, the now ripened grain--as
that father reports in one of his letters, which runs as follows:
"I reached Panamao, on Saturday before the last Sunday of Advent, and
we were welcomed by the captain with much affection and kindness. It
is a large population which has been gathered there, of both Indians
and Spaniards, and among them God our Lord gave us a goodly harvest
of souls. On arriving there I sought to speak to them and show them
my affection. At the outset, I undertook to have a church built;
and this was done so that we said mass on the following day. I also
preached to them on matters relating to sin, explaining to them its
hideous and injurious nature--especially by recalling to their minds
that recent example or sermon which our Lord had preached to them a
short time before. They were all deeply moved, and resolved to ask me
for confession and the cure for their souls. In order that so rich a
prize should not be lost, I labored assiduously, preaching now to the
Spaniards, now to the Indians. On that Sunday I preached three sermons,
and tried, moreover, by special discourses to attract the headmen and
chiefs, explaining to them how they ought to make confession. When
they understood that I must go immediately after the first day of
Easter, they entreated me to remain, if only until the third day,
in order that they might make their confessions as they should. I
consented to this; and from that hour, all the people, Spaniards as
well as Indians, began to consecrate themselves with such devotion as
to make me ashamed. I did not lose this opportunity--now encouraging
and consoling them, now removing their difficulties, now instructing
them; and striving most heartily to assist them. The confessions began
before dawn, about four o'clock in the morning; and the people came
with general confessions for a whole life or for many years, uttering
them with tears and sobs. Indeed, it was necessary to loosen the reins
and encourage them, for it was not necessary to seek, as is usually
done, incentives to contrition and grief. During this mission some of
the Spaniards were obliged to go away to another islet; some of them,
in order not to lose this opportunity, hastened to confess, making up
for the shortness of the time allowed them by their great devotion;
others, who were deprived of even this satisfaction, deferred their
confessions until my return, to their own great sorrow and with holy
envy for those who remained. In truth, God knows best what went on in
those souls: what I can say is, that I have never seen such tears, or
conversions so sincere. There were persons who spent entire nights in
weeping, with the crucifix in their hands. During the Easter season
they were so withdrawn from worldly concerns that it seemed to be
Holy Friday; and they did not leave their houses except to go to
mass or to confer with me about the welfare of their souls. In their
silence and downcast looks, and the grief which they felt within,
they gave evidence of the mercies which our Lord had showed them, and
the light which He was bestowing upon them, as they went from and to
their houses. I experienced a thousand scruples in regard to calming
and satisfying their consciences; but I gave a thousand thanks to God
our Lord for having brought me to that place for the great good of so
many souls. Certain persons assured me that they had never before seen
the like. We continued to hear the confessions, so that they might be
better prepared for Easter. Certainly, had I to purchase by dint of
toil those moments of consolation, when I was administering to each
one the sacrament of communion and seemed to read his very heart,
a thousand journeys from España were little to give for that. I was
to go on the fourth day of Easter, but that was impossible, for with
earnest solicitations they entreated me to remain--and some, moreover,
had not finished their confessions; it was therefore necessary to
wait until Sunday. On that day we effected a reconciliation between
the murderer and the adulteress, who embraced and pardoned each other
and made their confession with much devotion. On Monday morning I was
obliged, on account of my departure, to say mass shortly after two
o'clock; and yet the service was not so secret as to prevent them from
attending it, all being present, and manifesting great devotion. With
tears and words they expressed their great regret at my departure,
and made me promise that I would soon return to console them; and
with this I came away, glorifying the Lord. I left, in process of
erection, a little hospital for the sick and poor, which all aided
with charitable offerings and personal attendance. Glory be to our
Lord Jesus Christ, from whom proceed all things."
The death of Father Francisco Almerique, and other events in
Manila. Chapter LXXVII.
At the end of that year, one thousand six hundred and one, Father
Francisco Almerique ceased his labors, death claiming him while he
was busily occupied, and full of joy and consolation therein. He
had no illness save that occasioned by his very excessive labors,
which for a period of almost twenty years had been so wasting and
reducing his energies that the coming of hot weather carried him off,
without strength to resist, in five days. At the time of his death
he was engaged in forming villages, some of Indians and others of
blacks. These latter are in Manila called Itas; he had lured them from
a rugged mountain region, and persuaded them to settle in a lovely,
peaceful spot, fertile and pleasant, about two or three leguas from
Antipolo, giving to the new settlement the name of Santiago. First
in Manila, and afterward in the mission of Taitai, he busied himself
with the study of languages and the care of souls, to the very great
satisfaction (as we have already said) of all those who had relations
with him; for, on account of his great humility and gentleness, he
was loved and sought for, followed and obeyed, honored and respected,
and regarded as a saint. He never spared toil when the aid of souls
was concerned, nor did he heed times and seasons; by day and by night,
in rain or the sun's heat, and both far and near, forgetful of himself
and his health, he indefatigably rendered his services to whomsoever
called him. His most important occupation was to bring the people down
from the mountains and thinly settled districts, drawing them by cords
of love and gentleness. Such was his grace in this that as we have
said, on more than one occasion entire villages would come to him;
and, leaving to the care of others those whom he had already won,
he devoted himself to winning and inviting other and new souls. Not
a feast day or Sunday passed when he did not preach a sermon; and
often he said mass twice and delivered two sermons, in two different
villages. Inasmuch as those people usually had recourse to the father
with all their affairs, it always happened at the end of mass that he
remained to answer and console his Indians, with untiring patience,
without touching food until past midday, or even two or three hours
later. His soul went out toward some one of those poor creatures,
and the meaner the Indian, the greater was his love. In this exercise
and occupation, God our Lord communicated with him most familiarly
and affectionately, the father holding Him ever before his mind by
frequent and fervent prayer. This power he acquired in so high a
degree that those who were in close intercourse with him affirm, in
the words of the glorious St. Dionysus, that, _erat divina patiens_;
and it called forth our admiration to behold in him the gift of prayer
so lofty and sublime, united to a power of action so incessant and
effective. In harmony with these characteristics was his peaceful
and easy death, joyful and full of heavenly consolation. He died on
the first Sunday of Advent at the college of Manila (whither I had
taken him for medical treatment), after having received the most
blessed sacraments with great devotion. His death occurred just as
all the churches were ringing for the _Ave Marias_, on the second
of December, 1601, the day of the glorious departure of the blessed
father Francisco Xavier, whose true follower he ever was. His death
was deeply felt and lamented, and his obsequies were celebrated with
tears and solemn ceremonies; his body was deposited in the main chapel
of our church at Manila, before the steps of the great altar.
At that time we were still pursuing our occupations in Manila among our
neighbors, where our Lord was continually forwarding the progress of
all our ministries, not only in those that pertained to divine worship
and the salvation of souls, but in those which concerned learning and
letters. To the Latin studies was added a course in philosophy, which
was begun in that year by Father Miguel Gomez, who had previously
taught it in Gandia. At the first lecture, which served to open
the studies of that year and which was itself grave and learned,
there assembled a goodly number of students, clergy, religious, and
persons of other ranks; and dignity was lent to the occasion by the
presence of the governor, president, and magistrates. The course was
continued, with a membership of many students, and with the theses,
conferences and other exercises which are customary to that branch of
learning, wherein the students gave excellent proof of their talent and
ability. The two congregations of La Anunciata (composed respectively
of students and laymen), who continually emulated each other in their
devotion and service to the most blessed Virgin, celebrated together
the feast of the Annunciation with great splendor and dignity, and
much devotion on their part and that of the people. The youth of
this city were in the utmost need of a seminary where they could
be withdrawn from the world and reared in virtue. Although this
had been desired for years, it had been impossible to carry out
the plan until the preceding year [_i.e._, 1600], when, with the
divine favor, a seminary was begun, which chose as its patron the
glorious St. Joseph. The institution was placed in charge of two
members of the Society, a father and a brother. On the day of its
foundation were assembled the royal Audiencia, [those who direct]
the vacant Bishopric, the religious orders, and many other people
of rank in this city. The collegians were clad in mantles of husi,
which is a thin fabric like picote, [23] inclining toward violet,
with insignia of red braid extending to the feet. They went out at
the gate of the college to receive the royal Audiencia, and soon
afterward in the chapel the archdeacon of Manila said the first mass,
the acolytes being two of the above-mentioned collegians, Don Pedro
Tello de Guzman, nephew of the president, and Don Antonio de Morga,
son of Don Antonio de Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia. At
the conclusion of mass, two other collegians made harangues, giving
an account of what was intended in the foundation of this college;
wherewith they were well satisfied, and pleased with the work which
the Society had undertaken. The collegians at the foundation of the
institution were thirteen. That number has continued to increase until
it has reached twenty, as at present, which is not an insignificant
beginning in so new a land. Many people came to visit the college and
its apartments, admiring its good order and plan, and praising this
work, so serviceable to God our Lord, and to this commonwealth. They
attend with punctuality the devotional exercises and the divisions
of time according to the arrangements of the college, and thus derive
profit in letters and in virtue. The Indians, too, repair to Ours, as
they would to parents; and with the confidence of faithful children
they make known their doubts and give account of their affairs. For
instance: An Indian, on the day of the birth of Christ our Lord,
was in his house contentedly repairing his boat and preparing to
make a voyage the next day for matters concerning his occupation,
when a certain person chanced to pass his house, who said to him:
"How now? dost thou dare to work on Christmas day?" The other answered
him, in jest: "Oh, yes! I have permission from Jesus Christ to do
this." But his chastisement was not long delayed, for just when he
was making ready for his voyage on that very day a violent and mortal
illness attacked his family, sparing neither wife nor children, and
laying him at the door of death, so that for three months he could
not leave his house. He came to us in remorse, and acknowledging his
guilt; and after telling us these things asked for advice, made his
confession, and prepared for communion, through the efficacy of which
he recovered his health, and was able to accomplish those things which,
on account of his sins, our Lord had prevented him from doing.
While one of our brethren was sojourning in an Indian village far from
that city [of Manila], two incidents occurred whereby was seen and
manifested the supernatural virtue of the holy _Agnus Dei_, so famed
for many other great miracles. Two women were quarreling, as is usual
among barbarians and vulgar people. One of them was a famous witch,
and in anger and passion she threatened the other woman with summary
vengeance through her charms. She went home; and the poor Indian
woman, entering her own house without fear of evil, was seized with
a violent trembling throughout her body. In this paroxysm she arose
from her husband's side while they were eating their food and fought
desperately to throw herself down from the window. The husband ran,
in his consternation, to save her, and called loudly to his neighbors
for help. Three persons ran to her, and were hardly able to hold
her. Our brother sent to ascertain what this disturbance meant, and
when he learned what had happened he called the husband and gave him
a little piece of the _Agnus_ in a reliquary, exhorting him at the
same time to have faith, and promising that his wife would soon be
healed. Then, upon his knees, the brother prayed our Lord to deign
to grant his request, for the greater strengthening of the faith
of those new Christians. The husband went home with the _Agnus_,
and no sooner had he applied it to his wife, than she was freed of
the trembling and terror and remained quite calm. This occurrence
soon became public, and another Indian, who had been bewitched by
the same Indian woman, on seeing this marvel was convinced that God
granted health to those who invoked Him; accordingly, he asked for
the same relic, and the result was conformable to his faith. Thus the
people were confirmed in their faith, and grateful for the benefits
received from the bounteous hand of the Lord.
The number of villages in the mission of Taitai, and the events
therein of the year MDCII. Chapter LXXVIII.
The villages of San Iuan del Monte, Antipolo, and others, were
instructed by Father Francisco Almerique and Father Tomas de Montoya,
with the help of another priest who desired to enter our Society, and
who busied himself in assisting us in this work to the great profit of
the Indians, of whose language he had an excellent knowledge. These
fathers were joined by Father Angelo Armano, who had gone hence two
years before and had been detained in Manila compiling the history of
the saints, whose relics, as we have said, had been deposited in our
Church--a work which this father made very learned and eloquent. Having
completed this task, he went to Antipolo, where he began the study
and practice of the native language, with admirable results in all of
those villages. On the death of Father Almerique (who was stronger
than the rest), the burden of work so exhausted the others that,
falling sick one by one, the entire load fell upon Father Angelo, who
bravely sustained it for several months. This mission contains three
principal villages, all of which are capitals of their respective
districts, other villages being annexed and subordinate to each of
these three. Each one of these villages requires and needs at least two
priests with their usual assistants, in order to give adequate care to
so many souls. San Iuan del Monte, which is a village of about four
hundred inhabitants, has near it Dalig and Angono. Antipolo contains
seven hundred houses, and has the two villages of Santa Cruz and
Maihai. Santiago was then being settled, with more than four hundred
inhabitants, and had in its vicinity other villages, especially two
inhabited by blacks, or Itas. All those people were in charge of
Father Angelo Armano, who, during Lent of the year one thousand six
hundred and two, maintained them in great devotion and fervor without
their losing sight, on that account, of their devotional exercises
throughout that season, especially in Holy Week. During the latter
period, the divine services were celebrated with great solemnity, and
there were processions of blood in the two churches of San Juan and
Antipolo, with a goodly number of confessions and communions. Another
father--a middle-aged man, who knew the language--came from Manila to
help in this work, with orders not to remain more than one week, on
account of the need of priests in Manila. However, on the second day
of Easter, the rector of Manila came with two other fathers who knew
the language, on their vacation, very opportunely for concluding the
confessions and communions in those villages. During the month that
we spent there, there was a notable concourse of people who came to
confess, and great was the number of communions. At that time there
occurred to Father Pedro de Segura, who was one of those who had gone
thither from Manila, an extraordinary incident in connection with
the image of our blessed Father Ignatius. One morning, at daybreak,
he was summoned in behalf of a woman who lay in a critical condition
from childbirth, and wished to confess with Father Segura. While
the father was dressing himself to go, he sent for an image of our
father, to whom he professed great devotion--which had been increased
by the outcome of the shipwrecks which we have described, in which he
himself had been present. There was some delay in bringing the image,
so that the father reached the sick woman first; and after he had
confessed her the image arrived. The poor woman was much exhausted,
and, according to the midwife, in extreme danger. The infant was dead,
and as it lay obliquely in the womb, the mother could not obtain
relief by expelling it. The father exhorted her to have confidence in
our Lord, and placing the image before her, left her calling loudly
to heaven in her anguish. A second time they called him to hear
her confession; and the father, having done so and encouraged her
as before, went away. As he was descending from the house the woman
expelled the infant, to the wonder of all at seeing the dead child,
and the mother living and free from so great a peril.
The people of Antipolo celebrated with great solemnity the feast of
the most blessed sacrament, which was attended by the people of our
mission as well as of many others. A dialogue in the Tagal language
was spoken by the children of the seminary with much cleverness and
indication of ability, and to the satisfaction and pleasure of the
hearers. This seminary is making great progress in both spiritual and
temporal affairs. It is aided by the Indians, with generous alms for
its maintenance; and (what is of even greater value) they act with
such harmony and edification that they may well serve as an example
to the Spanish youth. Some of these pupils are of signal virtue,
and our Lord shows them many favors. Every day they go to hear mass,
or, in case there is no one to say it, to commend themselves to our
Lord in the church. They regularly go from their houses reciting
aloud the Christian doctrine; and, upon reaching the church, they
conclude it upon their knees. They celebrate the feasts with much
solemn pomp and music (for the seminary can furnish good music);
and they practice there reading and writing, and other honorable
and virtuous exercises. The hospital is making excellent progress,
and the Confraternities assign each week those of their members who
are to care for the service of the sick, doing this, as I have said,
with great alacrity and devotion.
The new residence of Silan and its Christians. Chapter LXXIX.
This new field of Silan was assigned to the Society of Jesus from
the year 1599, as the people of those villages, among whom were some
Christians, were without a priest to minister to them, although they
were but a day's journey from Manila. [24] There are five villages,
which contain about one thousand five hundred inhabitants, besides the
many other people who, as is their custom, are separated and dispersed
through the country districts, in their cultivated lands. These
villages are in the tingues, as they call them, of Cavite, among some
mountains; the climate there is very moderate, and in no season of
the year is there excessive heat--rather, the mountains render it
cooler. The people are simple, tractable, and well inclined toward
all good things. The first members of the Society who went expressly
to instruct them and to settle there were Father Gregorio Lopez
and Father Pedro de Segura, who went in the year 1601. In previous
months and years some of us had gone there for a short time, as we
had visited other places, on a mission or by way of recreation; and
by the friendly reception that they gave us and the results which,
by Divine grace, were accomplished among them, we were encouraged
to establish among them in that year a regular mission, stationing
there the two fathers whom I have mentioned. Through the teaching
and good example of those fathers they abandoned some of their evil
practices, and applied themselves to the Christian customs with good
will and pleasure; and many (for there were no Christians among them)
received holy baptism.
Not only do they attend their own mass and sermon on Sundays
(never missing one of these services), but on Saturdays they go
to hear that in honor of our Lady, which is said for them with as
much solemnity as that on Sundays. They were greatly encouraged in
the observance of these masses and feasts by the following incident
which occurred at that time: A woman, who was very eager to finish
the weaving of a piece of cloth, sat down at her loom one Sunday to
work thereon; afterward, upon returning to her task, she found the
cloth all eaten away by moths. She herself made this known, with
the full knowledge that it had been a chastisement and penalty for
that offense of hers. To assist us in instructing the large number
of catechumens in those villages, and in teaching the doctrine to
the innumerable children who assemble at the mission from all the
settlements, our Lord provided for that work an Indian blind in body
but truly enlightened of soul, who, with great faith, charity, and
love for the things of God, instructs those who wish to be baptized,
catechizing them morning and night in the church. He is so expert in
the catechism that none of us could excel him therein. Consequently,
they come from his charge marvelously well instructed; and, although
he is blind, he is so watchful over the large number of catechumens in
his charge, that he notes if even one person is absent, and reports
it to the father. The first time when he received communion, which
was on the feast of our Lady, he displayed such profound respect and
reverence that his body trembled while receiving the holy sacrament,
and so great devotion that the sight of it inspired that emotion in
others. This man deserves all the greater credit for what he is doing,
for having gone from one extreme to another; formerly he was one of
the heathen priests, whom they here call catalones, and now he has
become a preacher of our holy faith. This he relates, while uttering
fervent thanks and exalting the great favors and benefits which God
has bestowed upon him.
The increase of this mission has been very great, although it requires
arduous labors on the part of the fathers, who have been obliged to
go forth among mountains and rugged cliffs seemingly inaccessible;
for they go to seek the people in their huts and grain-fields, where
it seems as if the devil, in order to deprive them of instruction and
gospel truth, had persuaded them to seek wild and rugged places which
can be reached only with the greatest difficulty. In this work the
fathers have spent the greater part of their time, and have gathered
into settlements (to the consolation of their own souls) a great
number of people, of all classes. Old persons who seemed the living
and fearful images of death, men, women, and tender little children,
of all ages, have in this way become acquainted with gospel truth;
and as they see that we act disinterestedly in all things, even aiding
them in our poverty, they are attracted to us, and soon are ranked
in the number of the faithful.
The fathers have succored them in their sickness; and during a
pestilence which was prevalent in one of the places visited from this
mission, they went there twice to confess the people, although the
distance was great, and the roads so difficult that in the going to
that one place one must go through nine or ten precipitous ravines,
to pass which, as it was then the rainy season, they must walk
barefoot, the mud in many places being knee-deep. The fathers heard
the confessions of all the sick, some of whom our Lord soon took to
Himself. While returning from this village the father passed through
a little hamlet of Christians not dependent on this mission, which
lay within some very rugged ravines; and among all its people there
was not one who had in all his life made confession. They welcomed
the father with great joy, going more than a quarter of a legua out
of the village to meet him; and when he departed from the village
they accompanied him to a like distance. He heard the confessions
of some, and all were desirous of removing to our mission-village;
they put this desire into execution, at the end of four months, by
breaking up the entire village, and proceeding with their families
to Silan. This and other beneficial results from that residence of
Silan are well described by Father Gregorio Lopez in a letter written
by him for the father-visitor, thus:
"Early in my stay there, the people told me that in Caibabayan was a
catalona, or priestess; and in order to cut the thread of evil, and to
gain a knowledge of those distant fields and peoples, I went thither,
desiring to act toward them as a father rather than as a judge; and
the Lord, who is the true Father of all, fulfilled my desire. Finding
no present evil, but only the report of past things, I sought to
reëstablish the reputation of the person whom they defamed. I found in
one of the most distant fields, an old man about seventy years of age,
who was crippled and had been sick for days. I baptized him, giving
him the name of Ignacio, and invited many others who had not even
been baptized--encouraging in them the desire for so great a good,
helping them to learn what was necessary, to which they commonly give
attention. Word was sent from one to another among those mountains
and plantations, and those people followed me about with tokens of
love and offered to entertain me. Afterward were baptized there many
persons of all ages--children, youths, and old men. A few days ago I
was informed that in the villages of Malabag, Balete, and Dinglas there
were many sick persons who needed help. I set out in the morning after
saying mass, thinking to return in the evening; but when I arrived
there and saw the needy condition of the people, I changed my plan,
for I found in Malabag many sick persons. After I had cared for them
I heard the confessions of many who were infirm and old, and those
who wished to guard against the malady which was attacking many of
them--and perhaps not a few that they might profit, at little cost,
by the presence of the new confessor in their village. I passed on to
Balete and found that it had become a hospital. I went through all the
houses to hear confessions, but could not finish them on that day; so
I continued this task on the following day, and then went to Dinglas,
where I found the same needs. All, both the sick and those in health,
were greatly consoled by my visit; and finally I returned to Silang
in the night, with the fiscal and others, who accompanied me. I had
occasion to make other and shorter trips among the plantations in
the vicinity of Silang, as they contained sick persons who were in
need; I also desired to ascertain what houses and persons were in
those country districts. Moreover, I thus did something to further my
plan of removing them to the village and to have them carry thither
their rice and their little possessions, desiring to accomplish what
your Reverence so desires, and which is so expedient for the proper
instruction of those people. The great activity and solicitude of
the father, who is my companion, was of great value to me in this as
in all other matters; and the coming of the father rector and Father
Diego Sanchez, who assisted us here until Lent, was most valuable,
adding more energy and ability to our forces, and consoling and
encouraging those people with suitable instruction.
"After Christmas I was summoned back to Manila, but in Lent was sent
again to the village of Silang. At that time I found the mission
greatly increased by the many natives whom the fathers had recently
brought together; they were coming to us each day from other villages
(the entire village of Indan had joined us), all of them very needy,
and almost half of them unbaptized. On the feast of St. Gregory I
baptized twenty-five persons, only one of whom, a sick woman, was of
adult age, and on the feast of the Annunciation twenty-one, of whom
nineteen were adults; at present another goodly number of them are
being prepared. The number of those baptized this year is about two
hundred, and the confessions very numerous; and the number of those
admitted to communion is about fifty, the choicest of whom are members
of the confraternity. We erected our altar of the sepulchre [25] as
skilfully as we were able, and celebrated the offices [appropriate to
the occasion], by the help of which this new people gained new light
upon the services of Holy Week. Those who took the discipline, going
forth in a formal procession, were on Holy Monday, the singers, who did
this by way of preparation; others desired to march on Holy Tuesday,
but, as the day was stormy and the winds violent, I forbade them to
do so. They had their procession on Holy Wednesday; and others, in
greater number, marched on Holy Thursday. Our most important procession
was on Holy Friday, in the evening; two images were carried--one,
a small crucifix (for we had no larger one); the other, an image of
our Lady--while the choir sang the litanies. When this procession
ended, people gathered in sufficient number to form another; this
was caused by the lack of [woolen] tunics, which were removed by
their wearers and lent [to those in the second procession]. In all
the processions except the principal one, the music consisted of the
Christian doctrine, sung by the children as they walked.
"I must continue the account which in other letters I have written to
your Reverence of the favors which the Lord communicates by means of a
print of our blessed Father Ignatius; for He is continually bestowing
these favors upon those new Christians, on account of their strong
faith in Him. A woman was brought in to us, sick and unable to speak,
and was dying before us without our being able to obtain from her
a word or sign so that we could give her absolution; the statement
of her friends, moreover, that she had asked for confession, was
doubtful. I was therefore anxious and grieved, until I brought her
an image of our blessed father, and I said mass for the sick woman,
and when I returned she was able to speak, and made a good confession;
but utterance again failed her, and she died in peace.
"When I returned the second time, I was called in haste to visit a
sick woman, great with child, who was suffering violent pains and
torment. We went to see her, and it aroused our compassion to behold
her in convulsions of pain, both she and the infant (which was entering
the ninth month) being in danger of death. I sent for the image of
our blessed father, and then left the sick woman with Diego, our good
blind man, and his wife, who performs the duties of a midwife. So
good service did they render, in conjunction with the intercession
of our blessed Father Ignatius (to whom they were greatly devoted),
that very soon they sent for me to baptize the child, which was born
alive. I baptized it, but it died; and the mother regained her health.
"On Holy Saturday a young man came to me in alarm, saying that
a demon was trying to choke his sister. I went to her house and
found her suffering from an oppression in her breast and throat, and
distressed by fear. I asked for the image, and when it was brought,
I heard the sick woman's confession; she was at once relieved from
the oppression and anxiety. For her greater consolation I left the
image in order that she might have good company.
"On the following day, the Lord accorded us a most joyful Easter
Sunday. In the morning there came to me a man, but recently arrived
from Indan, who said that his wife was in a very exhausted condition
from the pains of childbirth. I sent him with a boy to take the
image of our blessed father and carry it to his home. He departed at
once, and when the image was carried into the house his wife brought
forth her child. It seems that the Lord has chosen to confirm this
newly-converted people in their recent coming to Him, and in their
faith. A few days ago, a Bilango came to us in haste to ask for the
image in behalf of a woman who was in childbirth; and as soon as
it was brought to her, she gave birth to a child. In Santiago also
the fiscal, remembering what he had heard about our blessed father,
entreated his aid, as his wife was in a like critical condition, and
her life in great danger. Immediately her infant was born alive, and,
while receiving the water of holy baptism, passed on to the bliss of
eternal light." Thus far I have cited the letter of Father Gregorio
Lopez; he could easily have related therein many other unusual events
and marvelous incidents which occurred among those new believers. He
omitted them probably for the sake of brevity, and because many of
them are quite similar--for which reason I too omit them. But I must
not fail to mention one incident which occurred during the absence of
Father Gregorio Lopez, at which time his companion, Father Pedro de
Segura, remained in Silan. Two Indians came to this father one night,
seeking relief for a woman who was the wife of one and a relative
of the other. She was suffering violent pangs in childbirth, and
was in a most critical state, being unable to expel the child. The
two Indians earnestly entreated the father, in their simplicity,
for some blessed beads. He gave them his own reliquary, and as they
were carrying it away he bethought himself of the image of our blessed
Father Ignatius. Immediately he summoned the fiscal (who is always a
man of mature years and trustworthy character), and gave him the image
to be carried to the sick woman. The Indian woman, when she beheld the
image, took it in her hands with devotion and love, and at the same
moment gave birth to a child as beautiful as an angel, to her own great
joy and the wonder of those who were present. Soon afterward she named
the child, on this account, Maliuag, which signifies "difficult;" and
again, at the baptism, Ignacio, in memory of so signal a favor. The
name which this woman gave her child at its birth gives me occasion
to describe the custom of these people in giving names.
The manner in which names are conferred among the Filipinos. Chapter
LXXX.
When a child is born, it is the mother's duty to give it a name; and
whatever appellation she gives it must remain its name. The names
are most often conferred on account of certain circumstances--as,
for example, Maliuag, which means "difficult," because the child's
birth was such; Malacas, which signifies "a man of strength," because
the mother thinks that the child will be strong, or desires that it
be so. At other times they name it, without any symbolism or special
reason, by the first word which occurs to them--as, for example,
Daan, which signifies "road;" Babui, which means "pig;" or Manug,
which signifies "fowl." All persons are called by these names from
birth, without using surnames until they are married. The first-born
son or daughter then gives his or her name to the parents; for until
they die they call the father Ama ni Coan, "father of So-and-so,"
and the mother Ina ni Coan, "mother of So-and-so." The names of the
women are distinguished from those of the men by adding "in." Thus,
while the name of a man and of a woman may be practically the same,
that of the man is left intact, and to the woman's is added the
[termination] "in;" for example, Hog (which means "river") being
the name of two persons of different sex, the man is called Hog,
the woman Hoguin. In naming children they use diminutives, just as
we do; but in order not to exceed the limits of my narrative, or
to enter those of grammar, I shall not enumerate these, or the other
appellations more personal, more intimate, or more elegant, which those
people use for nearly all the degrees of relationship. For instance,
_ama_ means "father;" thus the son, in speaking of him to a third
person calls him _ang amaco_, that is, "my father." But the son in
addressing his father directly does not call him _ama_, but _bapa_,
which is a more intimate and affectionate term; nor does he address
his mother as _ina_, but _bai_. On the other hand, the father and
mother in familiar intercourse call their sons, brothers, uncles,
and other near relatives, not by the common appellations of such
relationship, but by others more intimate and personal, which signify
a like connection. This is but another illustration of the fertility,
elegance and courtesy of the Tagal language, which we described in
chapter 16. The children of those natives were reared in such respect
and reverence for the names belonging to their parents that they
never called them by these, whether the parents were living or dead;
they believed, moreover, that if they uttered these names they would
fall dead, or become leprous.
At first, I was much often annoyed at these superstitions, because,
as I did not know the secret, I would upon occasions of affability
or flattery, or necessity or obligation, inquire of the son for
his father; and, as he gave me no answer, I remained confused and
abashed. But, with the aid of Divine grace, this and other bad
customs and errors were banished and forgotten; and we played a
game--our fathers, and the little children, and even the adults--in
which each one told the name of his father, I also telling them the
name of mine. Not only this, but anyone would name the parents of
another--a thing which they consider a great incivility and insult.
It is a general custom among all these nations not to have any special
family names, titles, or surnames; using, as I have before said, but
one appellation. Now, besides the Christian name, Juan or Pedro, they
use as a surname that which the mother gives them at birth--although
there are mothers so Christian and civilized that they will not use
this latter name, but prefer that both Christian name and surname be
conferred in baptism; this we often do. The wretched "Don" has filled
both men and women with such vanity that every one of them who has a
tolerably good opinion of himself must place this title before his
name; accordingly, there are even more Dons among them than among
our Spaniards.
The visit which the right reverend bishop of Sebu made to Bohol,
and the fervor and growth of those Christians. Chapter LXXXI.
The right reverend bishop of Sebu, in the course of his visits
among his flocks, determined to go for this purpose to the island of
Bohol--which, as we have said, is about eight leguas to the south
of the island of Sebu--taking as his companion Father Francisco
Gonzalez of our Society. We learned of the outcome of this visit
through that father's account of it in one of his letters, as follows:
"I think that your Reverence knows of the visit which his Lordship
made to the island of Bohol; but, as it was my lot to accompany him,
I shall relate to your Reverence, if only in outline, something of
what befell us there. He visited in the island of Bohol eight villages
which are instructed by the fathers of the Society, and confirmed
therein three thousand Christians, spending about twenty days in the
visit. Most remarkable was the fervor which resulted from it, for the
Christians made excellent preparation for receiving the sacrament,
many of them, in all the villages, making their confessions. Besides
this, he had previously trained and examined them, all being assembled
in the church, in the catechism, causing them to repeat aloud the
principal mysteries of our faith. A sermon was preached them wherein
they were exhorted to feel much grief at having offended our Lord. At
the conclusion of the sermon, they all fell upon their knees, and
offered audible acts of contrition and of love to God. They were
next asked if they desired to receive the sacrament of confirmation;
and they answered aloud that they desired it, in order that our Lord
might pardon their sins and strengthen them in the faith. Then, his
Lordship confirmed them, with a short exhortation at the end of the
ceremony, by which they were all greatly consoled and fortified in
the truth of our holy faith. This result was greatly aided by the love
and so paternal affection which the lord bishop manifested to them not
only in the church but in their houses--going to visit the sick, and
confirming them in their very cabins; giving alms, ransoming slaves,
and clothing the poor; and performing many other deeds of mercy. His
Lordship was especially delighted at beholding those new flocks of
his so well instructed, when they were answering the questions on
catechism, which was done in the presence of his Lordship." Such is
the brief account given by the father.
All these are but flames of that celestial fire which we said had
taken hold of this island, and with which even the little children
are ablaze. Thus in each of those villages nearly two hundred
children assemble every day, uttering praises to the Divine Majesty,
acknowledging His greatness, learning the Christian doctrine, and
imparting it to their parents and elders. The confessions cannot be
enumerated, for they are as many as there are Christians. No one fails
to make his confession during Lent, even though he may have confessed
many times during the year; and with like ardor the other exercises
of piety and devotion are performed. This was especially evident on
Holy Friday of that year, one thousand six hundred and two, during
the adoration of the cross, in which they displayed deep emotion;
they even removed the rings from their fingers and the jewels from
their ears, to make offerings of these. As Father Gabriel Sanchez
has been the usual laborer in that island, I shall here set down
a part of one of his letters in which, with his usual simplicity,
he gives some account of the island and of Christianity therein:
"Our Lord has been well served this year in the island of Bohol, with
the fruits gathered from the conversion of those pagans, for in this
barren waste we have set out a beautiful garden of new plants which our
Lord has planted. Many people have been brought together and induced
to settle in villages, wherein they are instructed. At the time when
I am writing this, we are in a village on the coast, whither there
came down to us yesterday two other villages of the Tinguianes, or
mountaineers, asking us, of their own accord, to allow them to live
here. As an earnest of their desire, they brought as many as forty
children that we might baptize them, which we have done. We value this
all the more because these two villages have up to this time been the
most obstinate and stubborn in all the island: but God has now been
pleased to soften their hearts. May He be blessed and praised that,
if there had been fathers for all of them, the whole island would
now be converted; for, although there are actually in this mission no
more than four thousand Christians, its people are so well disposed
that on the day when they shall have someone to teach and baptize
them they will all be converted. The very villages that we are unable
to teach come frequently to ask that we will go to instruct them and
unite them into one, and give them baptism. But, as so few fathers
have been in this island, we have not been able to succor them; and so
they remain until God shall send them a reënforcement of fathers--of
whom they themselves are so desirous that they have already built
us houses and churches, before a priest has been brought to them,
or even mentioned, to my knowledge. May God, whose plantation this
is, send workmen hither, since there is harvest enough in all this
island; and when they shall undertake to extend their labors further,
there are, near by, some little islands in extreme spiritual want, and
entirely deprived of any human succor for their conversion. Therein
might be held some missions most acceptable to God, all the more so
because those people are so forsaken; for, as those are insignificant
little islands, no one cares for them. Those people are on the road
to hell, if we do not succor them; and we do not aid them for lack of
ministers. One of these islands is called Isla de Fuegos ["Island of
Fires"], and is a half day's sail distant from here. Several times
its chiefs have come to ask that we would go thither. The people
already know how to recite the Christian doctrine, and yet not one has
been baptized there (although they are calling for that sacrament),
for there is no one who may distribute the bread, and thus they are
perishing of spiritual hunger.
"But, to return to our island, there is great cause to glorify our
Lord in seeing the esteem with which its people regard the Christian
religion, and the fervor with which they one and all fulfil their
obligations as Christians, in confession and communion, and in their
pious and general affection toward the things of God. A week ago,
there was in our house a young man, an infidel, who had come from
another village to see us. He was laughing and enjoying himself with
the others, although quite modestly; yet another lad who was there, a
Christian, said to him: 'How is it that thou, who art not a Christian,
dost laugh and sport?'" Thus writes the father; he adds that the new
baptisms during this past year amounted to four hundred. The number
was no larger, because they did not dare to baptize converts in other
villages until those people could have fathers to maintain them in
the faith and in Christian customs.
The growth of Christianity in Catubig. Chapter LXXXII.
The same want of gospel ministers is felt by other residences (as
is plainly evident from what I have thus far said), but especially
in the island of Samar, where for that very reason the exercises of
Holy Week and Easter were celebrated this year in one village; and
there were many confessions and communions together with the feast and
procession of the institution of the most blessed sacrament--both of
which were conducted with devotion and grandeur, although with some
inconvenience, as they were not celebrated at their proper time.
Nevertheless, on account of the extraordinary and crying needs
of Catubig--which, as we have said, is in the eastern part of the
island of Ibabao, bathed by the South Sea--Father Juan de Torres,
accompanied by a brother, was constrained to go thither from Tinagon
at the end of the year one thousand six hundred and one. For a year
and a half no one had visited Catubig, because there was no one who
could go there; and now, although this caused a lack of service at
other stations, the greater needs of Catubig compelled us to leave them
[for the present]. Well did our Lord exercise them in their journey,
so that upon arriving they might enjoy the pleasant fruit which
they afterward gathered; for besides the rivers and swamps--through
which they journeyed with the water, in some places, and the mud in
others, to their knees--the slopes and mountains were so rugged that
it was impossible to advance except by using their hands as feet. But
consolation was not long delayed; even before they reached Catubig, on
their very way, our Lord aided them, as the father himself describes
in the following words: "One night three villages met together,
rejoicing at our arrival, and, thinking that it would be appropriate,
I told them about the things of the other life, the immortality of the
soul, and the existence of God; and of the reward for Christians, and
the torment for those who are not. I am sure, my father, that among
the many people who were there you would not think that there was
one who had not faith, to judge by what they said and the questions
they asked, and the way in which they encouraged one another to
receive baptism. They soon made arrangements to build a large church,
and gave me a list of all the inhabitants, including the children,
of whom there are an infinite number. God knows what my grief was
at seeing them in the arms of their mothers; for they appeared to
me like unto the ripe fruit hanging from the bough, which, if the
gardener neglects it, is either stolen or decays, and thus is lost."
Refreshed by such consolation, the father continued on his
way, crossing the entire island of Ibabao, as far as the river
of Catubig, where he found the whole people busied in their
grain-fields. Accordingly, he went farther to some small islands lying
adjacent in the broad sea, where the people had already gathered in
their rice crops. In one of them, called Batac, he made a short stay,
and the people from all the neighboring islands assembled there to
celebrate the Christmas festivals, and attend to the things pertaining
to their salvation. When they were about to return home, advice was
given to the women in other matters relating to civilized ways and to
modesty--especially in regard to their mode of dress, which, on account
of their being a rough and barbarous people, was not quite decent;
but after they were taught, they adorned and covered themselves more
modestly. They had built, in anticipation of the father's coming, a
church and house and even a confessional for the women. After a goodly
number had been made Christians, the father returned to the principal
station, which is Catubig; and at his departure these poor creatures
besought him earnestly not to leave them so forsaken, now that he
was going away, but to teach some Christian the form and ceremony,
so that he could baptize them in cases of necessity. The father did
so, and left them with much grief in his heart. But these pains,
which in truth are more intense than those of childbirth, we often
suffer there, since the harvest is so great and the laborers are so
few. So many were the baptisms in Catubig that the father, fearing
lest the blessed oil and chrism would give out, carried the water of
baptism from place to place, in order not to prepare it so often. [26]
Among the notable conversions in this mission, which amounted to seven
hundred, the most distinguished and remarkable of all was that of a
chief some sixty years of age, and highly esteemed in that region. In
this case much time was needful to extricate his conscience from the
former robberies and tyrannies which we have already described. He
gave their freedom to many slaves, and, in order to settle other
obligations which were not defined by the church, presented to us a
handsome house, so large that, together with the church (a building
about fifteen brazas long), it serves us a commodious habitation for
our fathers who are there; and finally, after a thorough preparation,
baptism was conferred upon him. He was governor of the village,
and yet as a catechumen he attended each morning the sermons for the
children. There he encouraged all, both children and adults, exhorted
them to adopt Christian customs, and rebuked in them anything that
seemed to be opposed to these. When the father reminded him that all
his household should be baptized, he attended to that matter with
surprising energy. He himself conducted them to the church, and with
efficacious arguments persuaded them to be baptized. In this way the
greater number of his household were baptized, the rest being deferred.
Another conversion no less notable also occurred, which I shall
relate. An Indian chief from another island happened to pass through
a village where the father was sojourning. He went with the press of
people to hear the father speak, and our holy faith so convinced him
that he did not for a moment leave our fathers, asking them questions
about his salvation. So pleased was he with the instruction that they
gave him, that without saying a word, keeping to himself this new
secret of his vocation, he went back to his island, where he became
a new preacher. He persuaded his wife, children, and relatives,
actually carrying away all his kindred; and went to the place where
the father was, in order to enjoy the light of the gospel, which had
not shone on that country of his. He went in quest of the father,
and carried him as a gift a turtle, the shell of which required two
men to lift it--so monstrous in size are the turtles in those seas;
some of them I have seen and eaten. This chief often made known to
the father the state of his soul, and sought spiritual aid in very
exact and clear terms; and if he forgot anything therein, he told
of it in the same maner on the next day. His preparation continued
thus until, having given full evidences of his faith, he entered with
all his household--wife, children, sons-in-law, and servants, in all,
twelve persons--through the gate of holy baptism, into the flock of the
great shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ our Lord. He was a man of great
valor, as will be seen from an incident which we learned concerning
him. A large crocodile often came to the neighborhood of his house;
and the Indian, angered thereat, determined to punish the hardihood of
the beast. For this purpose, abandoning the usual means of catching
those animals (that is, with a large hook), blinded by rage and
trusting to his own valor, he assembled as many as twenty persons;
and while they stood watching him, he leaped alone into the water,
and swam toward the beast with a knife in his hand. Then, diving
beneath the crocodile, like another valiant Eleazar, [27] he gave it
several knife-thrusts in the belly and killed the beast. And, as a
greater trophy, he was not, as was Eleazar, buried in his triumph,
[28] but remained alive and sound--without a wound, or any lesion
beyond two insignificant scratches, one on his forehead, and one
on his leg. At this instant his followers hastened toward him, and
dragging the beast to the shore, were hardly able, with the strength
of all, to land it, although it was floating on the water. They saw
(and told me of it) a monster of incredible size, the largest that
I have ever seen there, or heard of. The animal measured, from its
shoulders to the tip of its tail, five brazas, [29] and from the
shoulders to the mouth one braza--making its total length six brazas;
and across the breast alone measured a full braza.
There was another crocodile, smaller than this one, which inflicted
loss on the household of a reputable Spaniard of Manila; and this
man came therefore to our house to entreat that Ours would provide
him with a father who would make his Indians Christians. The affair
occurred thus: This Spaniard was in his encomienda, where his house
stood on the shore of a river much infested by these beasts. While he
was dining one day, a youth, one of those who waited on the table,
went to the river to wash some plates; but he did not finish his
task, for a crocodile suddenly sprang upon him and swallowed him. The
people [in the house] saw this tragic event, and the good man left
the table, grieved that the youth should perish without baptism,
and desirous to see if there might be some means of giving him the
sacrament before he should die in the belly of the crocodile. He soon
decoyed the animal by means of a little dog, a food of which these
beasts are very fond; and, having captured the crocodile and landed
it on the shore, he cut it open and found the boy within, whole but
dead. This man, who measured the beast (which was not a large one)
told us that it was fifteen [Spanish] feet in length, but that the
capacity of its stomach was extraordinary: for within it were found,
besides the corpse of the boy, a great number of eggs of various
animals, and fifteen human heads. Grieved by this sad event, he had
come to entreat that instruction might be supplied in his villages;
but this could not be done, as there was no one to give it.
But to return to Catubig: I shall conclude my account of this mission
with the miraculous experiences of two children, which gave us more
consolation than did the incident which we have just related. While
some Indians were on their way to visit the father, one of those fierce
beasts attacked their boat, and seized a boy by the arm, carrying him
away before anyone could rescue him. The boy, following the pious
custom that those people have of invoking Jesus and Mary, when he
found himself in the water in the power of the crocodile, cried aloud:
"Jesus and Mary, help me!" and the marvelous thing was that the beast
at once let him go practically unharmed, for the few scratches that he
had received from the nails hurt him but little. Rejoicing at this,
and strengthened in the faith, they drew the child from the water
into the boat, praising God for His mercies toward them. One night
the same father was summoned in behalf of another child, who was
very sick. His parents were very sorrowful, for, although but ten
days old, he had not sucked his mother's breast for three days. They
were anxious for his recovery, but desired, even more, that he should
not die without baptism. The father went, and baptized the child;
and the next morning, when he inquired about it, they replied that
the infant was already well, for holy baptism had immediately cured it.
Let this suffice concerning that mission, and at the same time conclude
my narrative, since I have now related the most notable events, and
those which seemed most important and edifying, up to my departure from
those islands--which, as I said in the beginning, was in the month of
July of the year one thousand six hundred and two. [30] I trust that
the progress of events from that time until the present, a period
of almost two years, may give no less satisfaction and consolation,
and that of the future even more; and I hope that it will have a more
able chronicler; indeed, any one in the Society can do it better than
I. It is enough for me that I have tried to render some service to the
Society by this humble work, which although a small one, has cost me
much effort. This, and that other and greater task of undertaking so
many and so long voyages (made not for my own pleasure, but in response
to the claims of obedience), I think deserve the reward which I desire
and claim for them, which is nothing else than the object to which
those labors were dedicated--the increase and extension of the holy
Catholic faith in those so remote islands, by the conversion of so
many souls who are so ready to receive it. May your Paternity and all
those who are able to come to their aid take pity upon them, so that
ministers of the gospel may distribute to them the bread of heaven,
for the hunger from which they are dying. It is a sorrowful thing,
more sorrowful than can be told, to see them die without relief. At
Roma, March 5, 1604.
_Father Chirino_, of the Society of Jesus.
DOCUMENTS OF 1604
Letters to Felipe III. Pedro de Acuña; July 15 and 19.
Decrees regarding religious orders. Felipe III, and others;
February-July.
Grant to the Jesuit seminary at Cebú. Pedro Chirino; [undated;
1604?].
Decree regulating commerce with Nueva España. Felipe III;
December 31.
_Source_: All of these documents are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo
general de Indias, Sevilla.
_Translations_: These are made by Robert W. Haight--excepting the
third, which is by Henry B. Lathrop, of the University of Wisconsin.
LETTERS TO FELIPE III FROM PEDRO DE ACUNA
On the Sangleys
Sire:
The two ships which came this year from Nueva Hespaña arrived in sight
of these islands on the tenth of last month, and the captain made the
port of Cavite on St. John's day. The Almiranta, not being so good a
ship, could not follow him, and remained on the shoal of Mindoro until
the fifth of the present month, which caused great loss. The viceroy of
Nueva Hespaña writes me that the cause of these ships leaving Acapulco
so late was because they had met this despatch and that of the Conde
de Monterey for Peru, and that for the coming year he will see to
it that it is earlier. This is necessary, for it has likewise been
unavoidable, on this account, that those who were going back to Nueva
Hespaña should be late in leaving here; for the Sangley merchants,
taking warning from the many losses which they have suffered, and the
neglect of the Spaniards to pay them during years past, will not give
up their cloth without first seeing the silver at hand. Accordingly
they waited until the money came before buying the goods and making
up the packages and cases, all of which used to run on credit.
I wrote your Majesty by way of Yndia, in November and December past,
of the uprising by the Sangleys, and the outcome of it, with what up
to that time had occurred to me, which your Majesty will have ordered
examined when this arrives. In case my sheets may have been lost,
duplicates of them will go with this.
In that despatch I informed your Majesty that I was considering
sending a ship to China with information of the event, so that if
any ship belonging to the rebels should arrive there and try to place
on us the blame for their loss and ours, they might be made aware of
the truth. This was done, although with some opposition, and was of
so much use that when certain captains learned that this ship was in
Macan they determined to come, although with little merchandise--for
they came with some hesitation, as they afterward said, as they do
not wish vengeance to be executed upon them for the loss which the
others had caused by the said uprising. I had the property which
was deposited returned to them (which I think amounted to more than
[_MS. defective_] pesos), which was to them a strong proof of our
innocence; this was done that they might not credit in China what
those rebels who arrived there had published, for they said that,
in order to seize the property for ourselves, we had taken the lives
of those Sangleys. These goods deposited belonged to quiet Chinese
merchants, reputable persons, who were not in the uprising--and even
for the most part had hanged or suffocated themselves, at seeing
what a plight those of their own nation had put them in, and that
their own countrymen were robbing and maltreating them, as is told
in the relation of this affair. From the said deposited property
had been appropriated, by my order and that of the Audiencia and the
council on finances, a sum amounting to more than thirty-six thousand
pesos, to aid the troops; and when the affair was over I was quite
unprovided and embarrassed, as there were likewise other expenses for
fortification and for the exigencies of the service of your Majesty,
and there was no other place whence it could be supplied. We cannot
satisfy the Chinese at present, as we have not the means to do so;
this troubles me much, as I should wish to be able to fulfil the
offer I made to the viceroys of China by my letters, which was the
restitution of this property, which would remain on deposit until it
was surrendered to the owners. As the necessities have been so great
since then, we could not avoid deferring this; it appeared best to
carry out our agreement with these people by giving them the money,
since they had the cloth to sell, but it has not been possible. I
beseech your Majesty to be pleased to order that the viceroy of Nueva
Hespaña send us this amount for this purpose, as I doubt much if the
obligation can be satisfied here for many years. This commonwealth
has been greatly consoled at seeing that the Chinese have chosen to
continue the commerce, of which we were much in doubt; but they have
actually done so. This was made easier by sending the information,
and the entire failure of one year; in many ways this loss cannot be
repaired. Nevertheless, the lack of money is felt in the treasury;
for the duties on the entry and clearance of the goods from China,
the royal officials tell me, amount to forty thousand pesos less this
year than the year past. I believe that in the coming year we will have
many goods here; for the little which they brought this year has sold
very well, and they are content and quite satisfied at the freedom
allowed them in their traffic, and that nothing is taken from them
without their consent, as they were not before favored in this manner.
I have responded to almost all the points of a paper which your
Majesty ordered me to write on the sixteenth of February of the past
year 1602--as your Majesty will command to be examined in my answer,
to which I refer you, merely saying that there I explain everything
which might be said in this.
Christoval de Azqueta, captain and sargento-mayor of this camp,
has passed more than twenty-eight years in these islands. During all
this time he has been occupied in the service of your Majesty in the
affairs of war, and a very good account of him has been given. He
is one of the most serviceable men I have for this employment; for,
besides being a very good soldier, he has wide experience in all the
islands and their ports. Likewise I was very well satisfied with
his person on account of his having so well and so industriously
attended to his duty as sargento-mayor at the time when the Sangleys
had invested this city. It being understood that a great body of
them had fortified themselves at San Pablo and another at Batangas,
and that they were in a region where much food could be obtained on
short notice, as it was near the harvest time in those provinces,
it was resolved that some person of tried valor should go to punish
them, being provided with a number of Indian arquebusiers, archers,
and other soldiers, and a few Japanese, with one hundred and fifty
Spaniards, and the necessary munitions for that purpose. I chose for
this the said sargento-mayor, Christoval de Azqueta, and he left with
his troops. He went about it so skilfully that the undertaking was
successful, and all the Sangleys were left dead except a few whom
he brought for the galleys. Therefore, considering the condition in
which this colony was, and the risk which he ran in this service, it
was one of the most important which have ever been performed in these
islands for your Majesty. I have desired to give the sargento-mayor
some testimonial for his honor and gratification, but I have not done
so because I had not the means to do so. I have therefore offered
him this, to give him a good encomienda; and accordingly it will be
given and allotted to him in the name of your Majesty, at the first
opportunity. He has, moreover, earned it by the services which he
performed long ago. It is fitting that it should be known that your
Majesty favors and honors those who serve him, so that others may
be encouraged to do the same. It has seemed best to me to give an
account of this to your Majesty and to beseech you, as I do, that
you should be pleased to command that the affairs and claims of the
sargento-mayor always be favored, and that honor and grace be done
him; for in this affair I can assure you, the service which he has
done here was greater than appears by this writing.
The punishment of the Sangleys being accomplished, there remains
to us another care no less great, which is the suspicion we have
that within a short time a great fleet is to come from China to take
possession of this country, as I wrote your Majesty last year. This
arises from the coming of the mandarins, and from information that
some of those Chinese who were punished for their guilt in their
uprising were trying to circulate. Accordingly all the people were
persuaded that this rebellion depended upon that; and at one time a
rumor was current to the effect that seven hundred Chinese ships had
been seen not far from here--on which occasion it seemed best to me to
put things in order as thoroughly as if I had certain advice that the
said fleet was on this coast. Among other precautions which I took,
I appointed for the company left vacant by Don Tomas Brabo (my nephew,
whom the Sangleys killed in the uprising), Captain Juan de Villaçon,
as he is a soldier who has spent many years in Flandes, and during
that time had been the alferez of Don Luis Brabo de Acuña, my brother;
and because he has had experience in the conduct of war in besieged
cities--as it was expected this one must be so in a short time, and
as we had very few or none to whom we could have recourse in such a
case. It was necessary for me to urge and coax him, and he accepted
it because it was on such an occasion, and to please me. Although the
auditors were in the midst of so many cares, and I was hard at work
fortifying the weak places, erecting bulwarks and opening trenches,
they issued an act in which they commanded me to make appointments
according to the royal ordinances, and that in the meantime there
should be no changes--as if that were the time for such offices to be
filled by whomsoever the auditors wish and ask to do it, or in which
to be considering ordinances, instead of what was most fitting for your
Majesty's service and the good of the cause. It was necessary in order
to make them understand this, or make them willing to understand it,
to use much time and energy; and they finally approved of it as if
they were doing me some great honor. By this event your Majesty may
see to what tune the affairs of war were going, with demands and
responses. God was pleased to bring it about that the information
which I sent from Macan caused the Chinese not to collect any
fleet in China for the present, and that the merchant ships came;
I accordingly dismissed Captain Villaçon, giving him his discharge,
seeing that the reason for his accepting the said company had ceased;
I have thought best to give an acount of this to your Majesty, that
you may be informed thereof, and may have given such order as may be
expedient in similar cases which may arise in the future.
The decree which your Majesty ordered to be sent to me with the
declaration of the places which must be taken in the processions and
public acts by the president, auditors, and prelates when they take
part therein together, arrived at a very opportune time, and has been
necessary to avoid the troubles which have arisen with the archbishop
in this regard, as he would not be persuaded that this was the will
of your Majesty; but he is satisfied with the decree.
We are on good terms with the emperor of Japon, and likewise with
his vassals who come here to trade and to make money on flour, hams,
tunny-fish, nails, iron, weapons, and other things which they bring to
sell. They go back with loads of deerskins and Chinese merchandise, as
they have always done. This year, owing to the loss of the ship from
Macan, they brought some money and spent it. I have overlooked this
for the present, and allowed it to be done in order not to displease
them. But I have warned them not to bring any more, or I shall not
give them any chance to employ it.
The accountant Juan de Bustamante, who acts in that capacity for
the royal exchequer of your Majesty in these islands, is very old,
infirm, and crippled, for which reason the affairs of his office are
not so well expedited as they should be. I last year besought your
Majesty to order him retired and pensioned, and to appoint a person
in his place. At present I shall again make the same suggestion,
as it appears to me important for the service of your Majesty.
The Marques of Montes Claros, [31] viceroy of Nueva Hespaña, last year
made the allotment of the money which your Majesty has graciously
permitted to be assigned to the citizens of these islands. As this
cannot be done punctually in Mexico, and there are in that country
interested persons--perchance the very ones who are apportioning
the money, or giving their advice therein--there have been many
complaints. This could not be otherwise, as Mexico is so far away
and they cannot know there what each of the citizens here has and
deserves, and what ought to be given them. The viceroy writes that
he did the best he could, and could do no better, and accordingly
I believe him. He likewise wrote me to send him some information in
regard to this matter. What I have done is to appoint eight persons
from the most honored of this colony, and disinterested in the matter
of partnership, to make the allotment among the citizens, as is done
with the cargo, considering what is most expedient and most just
and satisfactory for the people; and it has been so done. I have
allotted to the distributers themselves their own part because I was
not willing that they should allot it. I have sent the memorandum
to the viceroy. Your Majesty will be pleased to order that the said
allotment be made in accordance therewith, as well as the licenses; and
that, this be continued from year to year; for it is most expedient,
and with it there will be less uncertainty and fraud.
The royal treasury of these islands is in great need of inspection
and reform. It should be put in good order and well regulated; for,
according to the officials, there are no ordinances, nor is there
proper government and administration for the property. Although
I do what I can to maintain it, some measure must be taken in this
regard which will be more radical and put it on an entirely different
footing from the present one. The original inspection made in past
years was by the factor, Francisco de las Missas, alone. I have this
in my possession, and a copy of it was sent to the Council by Doctor
Morga, who took it. As the commission for the inspection of the other
officers--delivered to me in order that the late licentiate Cambrano,
might make it--covers only the time of four months (which is not
even a long enough period to look over the papers), I instructed
them to take a further adjournment, so that this vacancy in the
inspector's office should not cause the neglect of necessary work;
and accordingly I am doing so at present. Your Majesty will command
according to your pleasure.
It has likewise seemed best to give your Majesty an account of the
inexpediency of appointing as inspector of the auditors any of their
companions, especially those who have exercised that office at the
same time with them, and given judgment in the same affairs; for if
one of them has acted unjustly, the other one may have done so as
well, and might not perform his duty in reprimanding or inspecting
those whom he should. Your Majesty will order as is most expedient.
In the despatches which I have sent from here since I arrived via Nueva
Hespaña, I have advised your Majesty of the great difficulty which
lies in the appointment by the viceroy of Mexico of persons there,
as the commanders, admirals, and other officials who come and go on
the ships; and how important it was that they should be appointed
here from those who have here served your Majesty, for the reasons
which I there gave, as your Majesty will command to be examined. The
same matter confronts me now, and every day I am coming more to see
the great injury which this commonwealth suffers, without finding any
means for its redress. I promise your Majesty that I am not moved to
this step by the greater importance which this office will then have,
but only for the service of your Majesty, and by seeing that this
is as I have said in my other letter; and that there is great need
of reform, in order to ward off disaster at all points, for it is
very near. May our Lord protect the Catholic person of your Majesty,
in the prosperity which is necessary for Christendom. Manila,
July 15, 1604.
_Don Pedro de Acuña_
It is not expedient that there should be an Audiencia in the
Philipinas.
Sire:
For a long time I have been reflecting upon the matter which I shall
here mention, and many times I have resolved to give your Majesty
an account of it, and of others as important. I have been kept back
and restrained, by fear that it might or could be suspected that
I was moved by some personal interest or passion; but owing to the
difficulties which have confronted me in one way and another, having
consulted and conferred with serious religious and other persons,
both ecclesiastical and lay, who look at the matter dispassionately
[_MS. defective_] resolved not to delay any longer, for it appeared
to me that otherwise I did not act in accordance with the obligations
of my office, or the favor which your Majesty has done me by putting
me in this position.
Your Majesty has a royal Audiencia in these island with four auditors,
one fiscal, and other officers, whereby your Majesty spends each
year sixteen thousand five hundred pesos. It seems that this might
be dispensed with for the reasons set forth in the paper which goes
with this, and to which I refer, only adding (what I may say in all
truth) that, although this commonwealth is in the greatest trouble,
through the many causes of death, wars, conflagrations, afflictions,
shipwrecks, and the destruction of so much property, as your Majesty
has learned, there is nothing which it feels more keenly today, or
which afflicts it more, than to have the Audiencia here judging, and
with it to lack all freedom of person or property. The name of auditor
is so odious here that it alone offends; and we have come to such a
state of affairs that because I, in conformity to what your Majesty
has ordered, have attempted to maintain and have maintained amicable
relations with the auditors; and have shown, on various occasions,
more patience and endurance than the people considered right; and
more than seemed fitting to my situation, in order not to give rise
to scandal: some have conceived hatred for me, publicly saying that,
to comply with the expenditures and opinions of the said auditors,
I was neglecting to look after them, and that I could correct the
evil which the Audiencia was doing. But as I cannot do that, it has
seemed to me the best means to let the public see that there was good
feeling between me and the Audiencia, and to give an account to your
Majesty now of the reasons which lead me to this conclusion, in a
letter separate from other matters, as I am now doing, and to which
I refer you. I shall end by saying that I remind your Majesty that no
private interest moves me to take this step, but merely the obligation
and zeal which I have always had and now have for the service of your
Majesty. This is vouched for by the fact that, a year ago, I sent my
brothers the order and authority to beseech your Majesty to be pleased
to grant me the favor of commanding an appointment for this charge,
and giving me permission to go to España, where I might continue
my service more nearly in the sight of your Majesty; and although I
hold it certain that this was not neglected, I would again on this
occasion lay on them the same obligation, and beg your Majesty to be
pleased to command that my request be favorably regarded. May our Lord
protect the Catholic person of your Majesty through many long years,
with the prosperity necessary to Christendom. Manila, July 15, 1604.
_Don Pedro de Acuña_
[_In the margin_: "Let it be answered that his letter is received,
and have him thanked for his zealous interest and care in all that
he mentions. Respecting what he says of abolishing the Audiencia,
suitable measures have been taken, and for the present nothing will
be done in regard to it. As to the general statements made in his
report, in regard to the trade and traffic which he speaks of and the
proceedings of the Audiencia, let him give particular information
of what auditor or officer is trading in this way, and whatever is
worthy of correction--so that, having considered it in the Council,
fitting measures may be taken."]
[_Endorsed_: "Manila, to his Majesty; 1604. Don Pedro de Acuña, on the
fifteenth of July, concerning the inexpediency of having an Audiencia
in the Philipinas. July 20, 1606, examined and decreed within."]
Reasons why there should be no Audiencia in the Filipinas Islands,
and why the one there should be abolished.
In all the islands there are not more than twelve hundred Spaniards;
and the suits are so few that for the greater part of the year the
Audiencia has nothing to do, and there is no business to be despatched
therein, and the auditors are dismissed after having passed judgment on
a few petitions from Indians--and sometimes not even these, because
none are presented. The administrative session is just the same,
and most of the time only exists in name.
There are no cases here of importance which cannot be adjudged by the
alcaldes-in-ordinary; and if we had a lawyer for a lieutenant-governor,
as we used to have before the said Audiencia was established, that
is sufficient for business--which would be despatched with less
difficulty, and without the Audiencia being missed; for when there
is any suit of importance, which seldom happens, appeal can be made
to the Audiencia of Mexico, as was formerly done.
It must be taken into consideration that each auditor or fiscal
brings with him, his household, wife, children, and relatives, who
are drawn by the idea of coming to the Yndias, and has other creatures
and connections; and for one and all of them he must procure aid and
favor so that they may become rich; for this is the aim and intention
with which they come here. Accordingly, although your Majesty has
commanded that the livings and offices of these islands be given to the
old citizens and those deserving of these rewards, the auditors and
their wives bring it about that the said relatives, dependents, and
other persons whom they bring with them are the first to be provided
for. If the governors do not consent to this, the auditors dislike
them, and seek means and expedients whereby the worthy persons to
whom the said offices and livings are given shall not be received
therein. Accordingly the governors, in order not to displease the
auditors, give up their claims and dare not insist upon them.
The said creatures and connections of the said auditors trade and
traffic a great deal in merchandise from China; and the citizens
complain that it is with the auditors' money (their own, or borrowed),
and that with the favor they receive they cause great injury to the
commonwealth, for they take up the whole cargo. They desire to be
preferred therein, and in buying the cloth, and in every other way,
try to take advantage. If the president wishes to remedy this they do
not cease to offer him little annoyances; for the auditors know how to
magnify themselves, in such a manner that they give one to understand
that any one of them is greater than he; and they attain this by
saying that what the president and governor does they can cancel,
and that what the auditors decree has no appeal, recourse, or redress.
This country is not at peace but at war; and it is therefore more
fitting for the time being to attend particularly to military affairs
and to the government, for our defense, than to keep courts of high
justice. For in countries so new the rigor of the law should not
be applied in all cases; and, when some punishment must be applied,
they say that it shall not be done, and are of no use except to undo
what the governor and captain-general orders (as well in matters of
war as of government), although these things may be quite just.
All the resources of this land are scanty, but if there is anything
good the auditors also say that they want it for themselves; and when
there is a Chinese embroiderer, tailor, carver, or other workman,
they proceed to take him into their houses and have him do much
work--in such a way that the Sangley himself has no freedom. Such
benefits do not extend to the citizens; but rather, if any of these
things are available, the said auditors demand them and by entreaty
or intimidation get possession of them. It is the same thing in
regard to jewels, slave men and women, articles of dress, and other
things--in such manner that, as experience has proved to me since
I have considered it very well, when there were very few officers
in this colony affairs went more smoothly, and the affairs of the
service of God and your Majesty in a more orderly manner. Aid could
be given to the one or the other, and to the defense of this land,
with fewer hindrances and less difficulty; for in my opinion there
is no one who in one way or another is not seeking his own gain and
private interest, and the more there are of them the greater injury
is wrought. We are compelled to overlook these things, and others of
more importance, that we may not experience worse trouble; for we are
unable to do more, as your Majesty is five thousand leguas from here,
and redress comes so slowly.
The same trouble arises in the matter of provisions, each one looking
after the care of his own house without considering the needs of others
or of the poor, who should be looked after; consequently nothing can
be heard but complaints and clamors from the people--poor and rich,
and of all conditions--loudly asserting that the auditors are seeking
everything for themselves.
Since in what regards the payment of their salaries they consider
and assert that these must be preferred and the first paid even
if it be from the stated fund for the religious orders, bishops,
ministers of instruction, and for the military forces, who are before
them in order--they have difficulties and misunderstandings with the
royal officials; and as the said auditors do not care for the great
importance of paying the soldiers, and look only to their private
interests, I have had many complaints from the said royal officers,
as they must have written you.
The soldiers, captains, master-of-camp, and military officials are
greatly discontented and grieved at the ill-treatment which the said
auditors accord them; and at seeing that they are hindered by them,
an auditor commanding at his will the arrest of a captain, official or
soldier, without cause or reason, and interfering in all the details of
service--even going so far as to inspect their quarters, and send them
to the public prison, for very trivial affairs, against all military
precedents. If affairs are going in an orderly and concerted way, it
is when the auditors do not meddle with them; for all this concerns
primarily the chief commander and officers provided therefor. Judging
by the state in which things are in the Filipinas today, and in the
opinion of right-thinking men, soldiers are of more use and benefit
in the commonwealth than are judges, for the former do more than
their share, and the others are deficient. Considering the evil which
results to the soldiers from seeing themselves punished and checked by
so many magistrates; the hardships which they so commonly endure, and
the occasions which are every day arising where these are necessary;
and in view of the scant and poor pay which is given them, and as
they are the defenders of the land, and are so far distant and little
favored; and seeing the great hindrance which the Audiencia is for
military affairs--for they will give no opportunity for the execution
of edicts, nor do they attend to what is necessary, as it appears
to them that they are sufficient for everything; and that they can
manage this matter like those which they have studied--we may fear
some irreparable injury. We should immediately prepare for this,
especially as the enemies which we have here are not like those in
other parts of the Yndias, but much greater in number and more skilful
in war, and accordingly more adroitness and prudence are necessary
to maintain us; and the soldiers must be content and well paid,
and ordered by their leaders, of whom they should not have so many.
The property which your Majesty has here is very little for the
ordinary expenses which every day arise; and if it is not brought
here from Mexico with more care and punctuality than hitherto,
affairs cannot be maintained here in any way. Even with that which
is sent we suffer much hardship; and accordingly it is necessary to
avoid expense, so far as is possible. That which is incurred for the
auditors and Audiencia is not so insignificant, as it is not less than
sixteen thousand five hundred pesos, not counting other expenses; and
then the fines from condemnations, which they apply to suit their own
convenience. These amounts, taken altogether, would be enough for an
armed fleet, with which to help in the defense of this land--which is
needed badly enough, but which for lack of money we cannot equip--and
many other things could be remedied. In the future there will be
still more difficulty in this matter, because of the extraordinary
expenses which have resulted from the uprising of the Sangleys, and the
deficiency which on this acount has this year resulted in the royal
duties on merchandise from China, which goes as high as thirty-five
to forty thousand pesos; and there is a further loss of five or six
thousand pesos each year, which is the amount of the tributes from
the Sangleys--an income that we formerly received, which is now at
an end. Consequently, I do not believe that the Audiencia will be of
any use at all, but rather it will cause great injury to the service
of your Majesty and the welfare of this commonwealth. Even if the
two were not rivals, I doubt very much if the Audiencia could be
maintained without there being great deficiency in everything else,
if their salaries are to be paid here. I consider it more advantageous
and safe to spend what the said Audiencia draws in salaries, to aid
in paying the soldiers and maintaining the fleet of galleys which
[_MS. defective_] we defend, and not the presence of the said auditors
and Audiencia, as they themselves assert who were of the opinion that
the Audiencia should again be established; for this country is not even
in a state to be able to bear such a burden, as it is so ill provided,
as I have said, and so borne down with troubles and even with war.
Likewise another difficulty is presented, as the treasury is always
straitened; and, on account of the great care which the auditors take
to collect their salaries, as it cannot be so prompt as they would
wish, they seek borrowed money from the citizens--who give it to
them, willingly or unwillingly, each one according to his means or
designs. From this follow difficulties, to which they pay no heed;
as some of them demand these loans from persons who are parties to
suits at the time, who grant these to the auditors in order to place
them under obligations, and profit by them.
The difficulty which presents itself to me in this matter is that,
if the Audiencia is abolished and everything left in charge of the
governor, there will be but slow and poor remedy for the grievances and
disorders which may occur. For they must be taken to the Audiencia of
Mexico, which is so far away that the aggrieved ones would consume
both life and property before the business was settled. Several
difficulties occur to me, which are connected with this; but having
informed myself fully on this point as to what has happened in the
past, all say that they consider government by one person the best,
when he governs justly. These men know what the governor can do
without the Audiencia, and with it; and they believe that it is
better when there are not so many to command them, for they have
never seen the audiencias redress illegal acts by the governors. I
therefore consider it better, before God and my conscience, that your
Majesty should choose for this charge some gentleman and soldier who
has proved trustworthy, and whose mode of governing and procedure has
been learned and tried in other offices. He should be a good Christian,
and, above all, not greedy; for if he is affected with this last the
country is ready and eager for an alteration of its condition, whereby
the same losses which we have seen in other cases might be caused here.
I am likewise confronted with another difficulty, which is redress
for violations of the law by the ecclesiastical judges; but these
are cases which seldom happen, and it does not seem just, in order
to settle an affair of this sort, that others of a different nature
should be deranged, and that an opportunity should be given for so many
troubles as result from the contrary--especially as we might attend
to such a case by some suitable means, referring it to trustworthy
persons here, who would take it in charge.
Although there is no doubt that much of what this paper recounts occurs
in other regions where there are audiencias, it must be remembered
that in this country, which is the newest of all and more engaged in
war than any of the others; and where the hardships of conquest and
maintenance are so omnipresent; and your Majesty has little profit or
advantage, except the cargo of cloth which goes to Nueva Hespaña, and
which is divided among all; and as the resources of the country are
so scant that there it no place to go in order to seek a livelihood
outside of Manila: there is much criticism in this matter, and the
people are much grieved at seeing themselves in the utmost part of the
world, harassed and troubled by so many magistrates and officers and
their dependents, and at having so many to satisfy; and that matters
are in such a state that he who has an auditor for a protector may,
it appears, go wherever he wishes and with as much as he wishes,
and he who has not must be ruined. Dated at Manila, July 15, 1604.
_Don Pedro de Acuña_
Sire:
There is in this city a seminary named Sancta Potençiana, of which your
Majesty is the patron, where the daughters of the citizens of these
islands are sheltered, and carefully taught and instructed. It has been
visited by the archbishop of the islands, Don Fray Miguel de Venavides,
and when he observed the custom that obtained of allowing the wives
of citizens to enter within the seminary, he issued a decree with
censures, ordering that no person, without any exception, should have
entrance there. The fiscal of your Majesty considered this a matter
for complaint, saying that it was not in the said archbishop's power
to do this, as the matter did not concern him. The case came before
this Audiencia as one of fuerza. When the proceedings were examined,
he was charged to raise the said excommunication, and leave the matter
as before, as it was purely a case for the [secular] government, and
concerned the governor of these islands, who represents the royal
person of your Majesty by virtue of the royal patronage. Various
controversies regarding this having arisen, and answers on the part
of the archbishop, this Audiencia continually overlooked his actions
that they might avoid a rupture with him, as your Majesty will see by
the documents that accompany this. Since it is most expedient that in
the future he should be restrained from issuing such decrees, and that
scandals should not become necessary, we beseech your Majesty that,
after having examined this matter, you will take such action as is
expedient for your royal service.
[_In the margin_: "Santa Potençiana. Take this clause in the process
cited to the reporter." "Elsewhere provided for."]
On two voyages from Nueva España Don Diego de Çamudio Manrique has come
to these islands as admiral and commander. He has enjoyed our entire
confidence, and has discharged his duties to the entire satisfaction
of all in these islands; nor has anyone ever said anything about him
other than that he is a good servant of your Majesty. All this, and
the great ability displayed by him in so few years, constrain us to
make this representation to your Majesty, as we have no authority
to reward him. May the Lord protect the Catholic person of your
Majesty. July 19, 1604. In session.
[_In the margin_: "Recommendation of Don Diego Çamudio Manrique,
telling how meritorious he is, and how worthy to receive reward."]
_Don Pedro de Acuña_
The licentiate _Don Antonio de Ribera Maldonado_
The licentiate _Tellez Almaçan_
The licentiate _Andres de Alcaraz_
The licentiate _Manuel de Madrid y Luna_
DECREES REGARDING RELIGIOUS ORDERS
Sire:
The order of the Recollects of St. Augustine [32] desire to be
established in the Indias, and have entreated your Majesty to order
that permission be given therefor, and that several religious may
go for that purpose, and to preach the gospel, to Nueva España, the
Philippinas Islands, and China. This request having been examined
in the Council, it has appeared desirable that--as this concerns the
mendicant orders, so highly esteemed, pious and strict in religious
observance, and as they can accomplish much good in those regions
by their teaching, preaching, and example--your Majesty, if such be
your will, might give them permission to go to establish themselves
in the Philippinas Islands, where there is most need of ministers of
the gospel; and these religious are fitted for so new a country by the
poverty and strictness which they profess. Valladolid, February 23,
1604. [There are nine signatures, apparently those of councilors.]
[_Endorsed_: "Council of the Indias, February 23, 1604. That
permission may be given to the Augustinian Recollects to go to
establish themselves in the Philippinas." _In a different hand_:
"Since this order wishes to send religious to the Indians, notify
the superiors to take care that those who go be learned men, and of
mature age."]
The King: Don Pedro de Acuña, governor and captain-general of the
Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia there: In
my Council of the Indias has been examined the clause of a letter
from the ecclesiastical cabildo of the church there, a copy of
which accompanies this, wherein was recounted the transactions in
relation to the taking posession by the religious of the Order of
St. Augustine of a certain chapel of Nuestra Señora de Guia, which
had been erected into a parish; and how the friars of the Order of
St. Francis, on their own authority, and without any permission,
had established another church in the village of Dilao; and the
freedom with which the said fathers of St. Augustine acted, and
the arrogance shown by them in not receiving a visitor of their
order. As these are matters that should be carefully looked after,
I charge and command you neither to allow nor give opportunity for
such irregularities, and to take measures to check and correct them,
with the utmost discretion, and by the most expedient means possible,
advising me of all that may occur. Valladolid, on the third of June
of the year one thousand six hundred and four.
_I The King_
Countersigned by Joan de Ybarra; signed by the members of the Council.
[_Note at beginning of MS._: "To the governor of the Philipinas,
directing him to take effective measures to check and correct in future
the high-handed proceedings of the Augustinian religious. Corrected."]
The King: Most reverend father in Christ, the archbishop of Manila,
and member of my Council: A letter from you has been received and
examined in my Council of the Yndias, from which has been learned your
advice to the effect that when it is necessary to summon councils
to discuss reforms in certain matters, the religious of the orders
do not attend them as they should, availing themselves as they do
of the privileges which they hold; and that some of them abandon the
missions of Indians which they have already instructed and baptized,
and dispose of and exchange the appurtenances and furniture of the
churches where they administer the sacraments. I thank you for the care
and zeal for the service of our Lord with which you ascertained this,
and have given me an account of it. However, in so far as concerns the
councils, measures will be taken to have his Holiness order a brief
to be issued directing the said religious to attend the said councils
when the prelates summon them. As for the exchanges and sales of the
properties of the churches which you say the teaching religious make,
you will check these by the remedies of the law, excommunicating and
punishing those who oppose you. Accordingly I charge you to do this;
and to be watchful for the preservation and instruction of the natives,
so that what they need may be furnished to them everywhere, for this
is the principal thing that should be looked to by all the ministers
of the gospel. Valladolid, on the thirtieth day of July in the year
one thousand six hundred and four.
_I The King_
Countersigned by Joan de Ybarra; signed by the members of the Council.
[_Note at beginning of MS._: "Reply to the archbishop of Manila in
regard to stopping the bartering and sale of church furniture by the
religious who give instruction."]
GRANT TO THE JESUIT SEMINARY AT CEBU
Sire:
I Pedro Chirino, of the Society of Jesus, and procurator thereof
for the Philipinas, affirm that the said Society, as a result of its
desire that there may be in these islands persons who during their
youth may engage in exercises of virtue, to the end that letters
may flourish there, founded a residence [_colegio_] in the city of
El Santissimo Nombre de Jesus eight years ago; [33] and that in it
there are such religious as are needed for the purpose not only of
teaching religion to the natives, but also of giving instruction in
reading and writing to their children and to the Spanish children;
and that also Latin is studied there--from all of which great good
has resulted to the natives, as well as to the Spaniards. Since the
country is very poor, and since the said residence has no income,
it suffers from great need; and in order that the said residence
may advance and may be able to carry on these laudable exercises in
learning still further, and may include the study of other subjects
of knowledge, I offer my petition to your Majesty that you will be
pleased to bestow a gift of one thousand pesos of annual income for
the support of the said religious who regularly reside therein for
the said purpose, charged against the royal treasury of Mexico or
against the proceeds of the saleable offices which are received there.
_Father Pedro Chirino_
I offer my petition to your Majesty that you will make a grant against
the following sources of income: In the first place, against the royal
treasury of Mexico, and especially against the saleable offices;
against the royal treasury of Manila; against the dues collected
on the merchandise brought to Manila by the Chinese and Japonese;
against the tributes collected from the Chinese in the island of
Manila; against the dues and tributes collected from the Chinese in
Cebu and Oton; against the Indians who are assigned to the royal crown,
so long as funds remain in the treasury of the fourth. [34]
The Camara [_i.e._, Council]; let this be now examined. At Valladolid,
January 14, 1605.
The licentiate _Alonzo Fernandez de Castro_
I, Pedro Chirino, of the Society of Jesus and procurator thereof
for the Philipinas, affirm, in the name of the residence of the said
Society in the city of Santo Nombre de Jesus, that when your Majesty
had examined the official reports conveyed in letters from the royal
Audiencia of Manila and from the bishop of the said city of Santo
Nombre de Jesus, and the _ex parte_ statement made at the request
of the said residence, your Majesty decreed that the matter should
be considered at the present time. Since the present necessity of
the residence is so urgent, as appears from the documents presented,
and since the service which it will perform to our Lord God and to
your Majesty is so great, provided that the grant desired for the
said residence shall be given, I supplicate your Majesty anew to be
pleased to consider again the documents which in virtue of a royal
decree of your Majesty were made and have been presented. From the
four Statements of testimony officially presented, will plainly
appear the care and attention with which the religious of the said
Society have attended and do attend to the administration of the
holy sacraments, and to preaching and hearing confessions, not only
from the Spaniards of the said city of El Santo Nombre de Jesus but
from the natives and Sangleys. They give their assistance in all the
necessities of the people, both spiritual and temporal, with special
care; and the said residence has schools in which their children are
not only taught to read and write, but also receive instruction in
good morals and habits, and, for all those who desire it, in Latin
also. There are many students, from whose education and instruction
results much good and advantage to all that country. At the same time,
the aforesaid residence is very poor, since it has no fixed income
to sustain it. The result is that it suffers great need; and if it
receives no assistance there is no doubt that the necessity in which
it at present is will be increased, since the country is very poor,
and the gifts which are made to it are extremely small. At the same
time the expenses are heavy; and it is now housed in a very small,
old, wooden building, which at the present time is decaying and is
in great need of repairs. The members of the said Society receive
for the masses, administration of the sacraments, preaching, reading
and all their other ministries to their fellow-men nothing whatever,
but do all these things gratis. It should further be observed that
the citizens of the said city of Santo Nombre de Jesus are few
and very poor, and are unable to aid the said religious with any
gifts or alms. In addition to the aforesaid affirmations, which are
contained in the official evidence, there are other statements in
the _ex parte_ testimony in which the same things are said by twelve
witnesses, one of whom is Bishop Don Fray Pedro de Agurto. Besides
the above, he has written a letter, which is enclosed herewith,
in which he declares as an eye-witness the great service done to
our Lord God in those regions by religious of the aforesaid Society;
and the great value of their residence there, from which great profit
results to the said city and all that province of Cebu, distant from
Manila one hundred and fifty leguas by sea. This said residence is,
as it were, a nursery and asylum for all the missions and centers of
teaching that are under the charge of the aforesaid Society in that
province. There are two letters from the royal Audiencia in which they
state that which they consider necessary to relieve the wants of the
aforesaid residence, and the excellent use to which such a grant would
be put. I pray your Majesty that, in view of these considerations,
this favor may be granted, by giving commands that a regular income
of two thousand ducados of eight reals may be allowed, as has been
requested, for the support of the religious who reside therein. The
aforesaid sum is to be charged against the royal treasury of Mexico,
from the proceeds of offices which are sold, deposited therein;
and therewith the Society will receive a great grace from your Majesty.
_Father Pedro Chirino_
Granted by the Camara, May 26, 1607:
The licentiate _Alonzo Fernandez de Castro_
DECREE REGULATING COMMERCE WITH NUEVA ESPAÑA
The King: The king my lord and father (may he rest in peace!) by
various decrees prohibited trade and commerce of the Western Indias
with the Philipinas Islands and China generally, to obviate the
loss that resulted therefrom to these kingdoms and to their trade
and commerce; and he ordered and commanded that no vessel whatsoever
should go from the provinces of Peru, Tierra Firme, Guatimala, or any
other part of the Western Indias, to the said kingdoms of China and
the Philipinas Islands, under the penalties which were for that purpose
imposed. But further, considering the importance of the preservation of
the parts of those lands that are reduced to our obedience and to the
Christian faith (which had been established there), and likewise for
the greater extension of the gospel and of our holy Catholic faith,
he allowed and gave permission for two ships to go each year from
Nueva España to the said Philipinas Islands, each of three hundred
toneladas, in which were to be conveyed reënforcements of troops and
other things necessary, and the goods for trade which were to come
thence to Nueva España, and which were shipped on account of the royal
exchequer; the cost of sending these ships was to be taken from the
freight-moneys for the goods, and the quantity and value of the goods
freighted each year was not to exceed two hundred and fifty thousand
pesos of eight reals, nor the return in money five hundred thousand
for principal and profit, this trade being restricted to the citizens
of the said Philipinas Islands. All the said goods must be consumed
in the said Nueva España, or brought to these kingdoms; and in no
case might they be taken to Peru nor to any other part of the Indias,
[35] under the penalties imposed for such violation, as more fully
explained in the decrees cited, to which we refer. Although it has
been ordered by other decrees at various times that these should
be observed and complied with, I have been informed that this has
nut been done, and that the quantity allowed has been and is being
greatly exceeded in the amount taken each year, with the knowledge
and permission of my viceroys, audiencias, and governors--goods to
the extent of more than two millions of ducats being registered and
openly sent, besides what is secretly shipped. All this money finally
makes it way into infidel kingdoms, whereby their power is increased;
and from this have resulted great losses to our exchequer and to the
commerce of these kingdoms with the Western Indias. Those chiefly
interested in this trade are the citizens of Nueva España, Peru,
and other provinces; they have taken the said merchandise there
against the provisions and commands of the said decrees, and the
warnings sent to the said viceroys, audiencias, and governors, and
the measures that have been and are now being taken are not sufficient
to prevent these violations. As the correction of these lawless acts
and a remedy for the greater injuries that may be expected, are of
so great importance and moment (all these difficulties having been
represented to me), and as I have been petitioned by the prior and
consuls of the mercantile corporation of Sevilla, and other persons
who are zealous in behalf of my service that, in order to stop this,
I should command the entire prohibition also of the trade of the said
Nueva España with the said Philipinas Islands: Having discussed and
considered this in my royal Council of the Indias, and consultations
being held on all that should be considered in this matter, as it
appears that they desire to prevent and avert future losses, and
likewise aim to secure the preservation and growth of the Christian
religion in the said islands, and the neighboring kingdoms, wherein
the service of our Lord is so greatly concerned, I have decided that
for the present the trade and commerce of the said Philipinas Islands
with Nueva España should be maintained according to the ordinances;
that the quantity of merchandise which may be carried each year from
the Philipinas Islands to Nueva España is by no means to exceed two
hundred and fifty thousand pesos of eight reals, as is provided;
and the return of principal and profit in money is not to exceed
five hundred thousand pesos, which I have permitted. For no pretext,
cause, or reason to be alleged therefore is this to be exceeded, and
the traders in every case must be citizens of the said Philipinas
Islands, and none others whatsoever, as is likewise ordered by the
royal decrees of the king my lord, and under the penalties therein
provided. These I command to be executed without fail against the
trangressors, without there being any exemption or excuse.
Further, in order that this may be better accomplished, and to
remove the opportunities for shipping a great deal of merchandise,
and likewise that the crews may go and come in safety, it is my will
and I permit that there be four ships in this trade, each of two
hundred toneladas burden, and no more; and they shall be my vessels,
and shall sail on my account, two each year; and the others shall
remain in port making ready for the voyage of the succeeding year,
as is ordered--for in this way they will sail at the proper time,
without waiting for one another; nor shall they exceed this number
and capacity. These ships shall be built expressly for that route,
of the said size and of the required strength, on account of the
inconveniences that have heretofore resulted from the ships being
large and having been navigated on the account of private persons,
in whose charge they were placed--which last must without fail cease.
Furthermore, in order to avoid such large expenses as have hitherto
been incurred on that route, owing to the large number of agents and
officials who have gone in the ships thereon, it is my will and command
that from now on there shall be only one commander of the two ships,
and one lieutenant, who shall be admiral. Each vessel shall take not
more than one captain of war, besides the ship-master, and there may
be as many as fifty effective soldiers in each ship, drawing pay; and
the sailors who shall be necessary to go and return. These shall be
kept under discipline, that they may be effective and practiced. There
shall be two examined pilots and one assistant pilot for each vessel,
of the necessary qualifications. For the present, and until further
orders, I desire, and it is my will, that since the property to be
traded will be that of the citizens of those Philipinas Islands,
all these officials--commander, lieutenant, captains, masters, and
pilots--shall be appointed by my governor and captain-general of the
said Philipinas Islands and the archbishop of Manila, the present
or the future incumbents of those offices, notwithstanding that
they have heretofore been appointed and furnished by my viceroy of
Nueva España; and him I command to cease doing this from now on. If
the said governor and archbishop do not agree in this selection,
I command that they shall join with them the senior auditor of the
Audiencia, and the decision of the majority of these shall be carried
into effect. The persons appointed for these offices shall be chosen
among the principal and honored citizens of the said islands, and
the fittest to be found for the duties that they must perform. They
shall give securities in the form and amount that may seem best to
the said governor and archbishop, for the greater security of what may
be in their charge. Their residencias shall be taken for each voyage
by the auditors of my said Audiencia of Manila; and I command that
they shall not be allowed to make a second voyage until they shall
have given the said residencia, and account satisfactorily for what
was in their charge.
As I have been informed that there have been many infractions and
irregularities during past years on the part of the commanders,
admirals, and officers of the said ships, in the matter of carrying
money and bringing back great quantities of merchandise on their own
behalf; and that they have caused serious grievances to the traders,
especially to the citizens of the said islands: for the present
I forbid and prohibit them in any case to trade or traffic, or to
occupy or lade the said ships during the voyage made in their charge,
in small or great quantity, under their own or any other name, in any
article whatsoever; nor shall a single tonelada be assigned to them,
as to the other citizens; nor can they buy or take from others any
space for freight--under penalty of a perpetual deprivation of the
said offices on the trade-route, and confiscation of the goods which
they may have laded, carried, or taken, which on investigation may
be found to be theirs.
I consider it well, and so decree, that, in order that the said
officials may be maintained according to their station and the
obligations of their offices, there shall be give to the said
commander a salary of four thousand ducats, and to the admiral three
thousand, for each voyage out and back. And I permit and allow the
said governor and archbishop to give to the captains, soldiers,
sailors, and artillerymen who shall go in the said ships for each
voyage, the wages that they may assign as their earnings, and as just,
for the said voyage; for to these no more [than to their superiors]
shall permission be given to lade, or cause to be laded, merchandise
in quantities small or great, under the said penalties.
And as it has been understood that in the past more commanders than
necessary have been appointed for the ships on the said route, and
they have carried in the posts of artillerymen and sailors many who
were not such, it is my will that this should cease and be corrected
henceforth; and that for each piece of artillery that the ships carry,
there shall go one artilleryman, and no more, nor shall wages be paid
to superfluous men.
And in order that there may be the fitting account and regularity
in all things, all proceedings shall be conducted equitably and with
great precision in the matters ordered. It is my will and command that
there shall be in the said vessels, and sail with them, an inspector
and an accountant, to keep account and system in everything. And they
shall inspect the articles laded as merchandise, and carried back on
return in the said ships, and account for them in their books. The
said inspector and accountant shall be appointed by the governor and
archbishop in the same maner as they select the commander, admiral and
other officers, and with the same intervention of the senior auditor
of the Audiencia in case they do not agree. They shall take care
that these be persons of approved qualifications, satisfactory, and
worthy of confidence; and shall assign them such salary as may appear
sufficient and just, provided that it does not exceed two thousand
ducats a year to each man for each voyage, for they must not ship goods
[for themselves] either little or much, under the penalties provided
for the commander and admiral. And the said inspector and accountant
must sail, one in the commander's ship and the other in the admiral's
ship, alternating each voyage. The said governor and archbishop
shall give them the instructions and plan which they must follow on
the voyage, and they must give residencia like the other officers of
the said fleet, before they embark again for another voyage; and the
consciences of the said governor and archbishop are charged with the
selection and appointment of all the said ministers and officials.
And since, on account of the overloading of the vessels which thus
far have plied on the said Philipinas route, we have seen that many
have been wrecked, with the men and goods which they contained, and as
it is fitting that this be remedied and prevented, we command that in
future care be taken that the tonnage to be carried in the said ships
shall be conformable to their capacity, leaving the space necessary for
the men who sail in them, and the supplies they take--which must be
sufficient so that in case of the lengthening of the voyage, for any
cause which may arise, the men may not perish for lack of them. Great
care should be taken that they be not overloaded or encumbered, so as
to put them in danger of wreck or some misfortune; on the contrary,
they should be lightly laden, and in such manner as will secure their
safety against storms or enemies that may be encountered. The tonnage
which, as aforesaid, is to be laden in them shall be allotted by my
governor, the archbishop of Manila, the senior auditor and the fiscal
of my said Audiencia, and two regidora of the cabildo of the said city
of Manila, among the citizens of the said islands who may have property
to invest. This allotment shall be made in the most equitable manner,
and without aggrieving anyone (as we are confident they will do), for
it is just that all should enjoy this benefit and convenience for their
maintenance and benefit; and their object should likewise be that the
country be peopled with useful colonists, such as will remain there.
I also command that my viceroy of Nueva España and the governor
of the said Philipinas Islands, each so far as this concerns him,
shall moderate and regulate the freight charges to be paid on what
is laded in the said ships on their voyages to and fro, according
to the expenses thereof--conformably to the reduction that is made
in the tonnage of the said ships and the number of men who are to
sail in them, and the other expenses incurred--in such manner that
no superfluous or unnecessary expenses shall be incurred (but not
so that necessaries or conveniences shall be lacking), and that
it shall not be necessary to supply anything from my exchequer for
the expenditures for the said fleet. For this reason the duties now
levied and collected on the merchandise shall be raised two per cent,
and that on silver another two per cent, by way of avería [36] as
is done on that carried from the Indias via the Northern Sea in the
fleets and armed vessels; for this is conformable to the profits of
those that trade in the said Philipinas route. The proceeds of this
shall be a special fund, with a separate account carefully kept, in
the said city of Manila, to be used for the expenses contracted for
the said ships and their crews; with this shall be placed the freight
charges which may be collected conformably to the order which will be
given, as has hitherto been done; and in all things the necessary order
and system must be maintained by the said accountant and inspector,
and by my royal officials of the said Philipinas Islands.
I charge and command my viceroys of Nueva España, both present and
future, to take especial care in the accomplishment and execution of
all the foregoing; and to station in the port of Acapulco, besides
the royal officials who are now there, a person of great integrity,
trustworthiness, and competence, with a commission as alcalde-mayor,
so that this decree may be suitably enforced in all respects; and no
more money may be carried [in the ships] than the amount permitted,
whether with or without license. In the said port the registers of
all that is brought from the said Philipinas Islands shall be opened
by the person to whom that duty is entrusted by my viceroy and by the
officials of my royal exchequer at the said port of Acapulco. They
shall also together inspect and check off the bales and chests, with
the scrutiny and care necessary to ascertain what has come without
registry and contrary to permission. The said registers are to be
sent to Mexico, as usual, with the results of the investigations made
in the said port of Acapulco, by a person of integrity or by one of
my said officials. In Mexico everything shall be again checked off,
and appraised; and the duties that belong to me shall be collected
and proper measures shall be taken to ascertain and learn what has
come registered, and whatever shall be found to have come without
registry, and whatever is carried contrary to the said prohibition,
shall be confiscated: but no permission or opportunity shall be given
for committing, in this procedure, or under pretext or occasion thus
afforded, any injury or act of injustice against the owners of the
said property.
And I command that the same care be taken at the port of Acapulco in
examining the royal silver and other articles which may be embarked
and carried to the said Philipinas Islands. The royal officials of
the said port shall take account of them, and shall inform my governor
thereof and the royal officials of the said islands, sending them the
registers, and giving them all necessary information. As the majority
of the persons who go every year from Nueva España to the said islands
do not remain there, but return immediately, investing what money
they possess, I command my viceroy of Nueva España to give permission
to no one to go to the Philipinas Islands, unless such person shall
give securities that he will become a citizen and resident there for
more than eight years, or unless he shall go as a soldier, sent to
the governor; and against those who violate this decree, and their
bondsmen, he shall execute the necessary penalties without fail.
And as it is my will that all the aforesaid should be complied with,
observed and executed inviolably, as also the decrees which were
ordered to be despatched by the king my lord, which are hereinbefore
mentioned, concerning the said trade, in so far as they are not
contrary to what is decreed and ordered, I command my viceroy of
the said Nueva Spaña and my governor and captain-general of the said
Philipinas Islands, and my audiencias there, and my other judges and
magistrates, and all private persons whomsoever--each in so far as
concerns him--to observe and comply with, and cause to be observed
and complied with this decree, with exactness, and to execute the
said penalties without any exemption or remission. And in all cases
of remissness or carelessness which these my ministers shall display
in the fulfilment and execution of the said orders, I command that
the penalties be executed against them, and the example which the
affair demands shall be made; for this reason I command that, when
the residencias of their offices shall be taken, they shall be made
responsible for such matters. And that these commands may come to
the notice of all, and none may pretend ignorance of them, I command
that this my decree be publicly proclaimed. Issued at Valladolid,
on the last of December of the year one thousand six hundred and four.
_I The King_
Countersigned by _Pedro de Ledesma_; signed by the Council.
[_Note at beginning of MS._: "Your Majesty's decision and
mandates concerning the trade of the Philipinas Islands with Nueva
España. Corrected."]
DOCUMENTS OF 1605
Complaints against the Chinese. Miguel de Benavides, and others;
February 3-9.
Letter from a Chinese official to Acuña. March.
Letters from Augustinian friars to Felipe III. Estevan Carrillo,
and others; May 4-June 20.
Letter to Felipe III. Antonio de Ribera Maldonado; June 28.
_Source_: All of these documents are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo
general de Indias, Sevilla.
_Translations_: The first and fourth are translated by Robert
W. Haight; the second and third, by Henry B. Lathrop, of the University
of Wisconsin.
COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE CHINESE
In the city of Manila, on the third day of the month of February in
the year one thousand six hundred and five, the most reverend Señor
Don Fray Miguel de Benavides, archbishop of these islands, member
of the council of the king our lord, etc., declared that, since the
uprising of the Chinese Sangleys who were formerly settled in this
city, in a market [_alcayçeria_], or large town (which they call
Parian) that was situated there, the said Parian and town has been
commanded to be built, and has now been built anew, and is at this time
again peopled with the said infidel Sangleys. The said Sangleys are
infidels and idolaters, and a most pernicious and injurious people
to be settled among the Christian natives, newly converted to our
holy Catholic faith; for the said infidel Sangleys are most vicious,
both with women and in an unnatural manner, and are extremely liberal
in spending money for their purposes and desires, and artful and
crafty for every form of evil. Moreover, these Indian men and women
of these islands, especially those of the neighborhod of Manila,
are very easily persuaded to carnal sins, in short, as natives of
so hot and humid a climate; although it is a crime against nature,
this they do not know, and in some regions did not even have a word
for it in their language, until these infidel Chinese made this sin
known to them. These native Indian men and women are very greedy,
and as they are but lately made Christians, and are not thoroughly
instructed, a great many of them find it very easy to leave not only
Christian morals, but even the Catholic faith as well, and embrace the
superstitions and rites which the idolatrous infidels desire to teach
them. Likewise--and this is very important, considering the state of
the faith here, and upon what depends the peace and preservation of
these islands (namely, the faith in God and obedience to the king
our lord), and the extreme danger and peril in which these infidel
Sangleys placed us in the previous year of one thousand six hundred
and three, in the month of October, from which we were delivered only
by the mercy and infinite power of God, by which alone we could be
freed--their desire to slaughter all of us Spaniards, and to make
themselves masters of this kingdom, is much inflamed now at seeing
so many thousands as were here of their fathers, sons, brothers,
and kinsmen, and of their friends and countrymen, slain; and how so
great an amount of their property here was destroyed. With this so
open enmity, hatred, and thirst for vengeance so aroused, they will
seek, great in cunning and craft as they are, to sow discord between
us Spaniards and the Indian natives of these islands, and separate us,
mind and heart. For this purpose they promise and give them articles
of value; for of all known people they best understand how to bribe,
and they will contrive to know all secrets. And all this they can
easily accomplish, if they succeed in maintaining dishonorable carnal
intercourse with the Indian men and women. To stop all this, there
is no other means out to send all the said infidel Sangleys out of
this city, and give them only a place to live and dwell in during
the two or three months of April, May, and June, while the trading
and lading for Nueva España is being carried on; or, if it seems
best to his Majesty, to give license to a few of them, even though
they be such cruel and open enemies of him and of God; and to give
an order that no Indians, men or women, shall settle near them, but
shall remain at a considerable distance from the settlement or market
where these infidel Sangleys may dwell. His most reverend Lordship,
considering these things from the point of view of a person who has
known the Sangleys so many years, is acquainted with their language
and customs, has been in that country of China for a long time,
and has noticed that since the said rebellion and war which the said
Sangleys set on foot and waged against us, some of the natives have
made a settlement on a part of the site where the market and Parian
formerly stood, in which dwelt these infidel Sangleys; and that the
new settlement of the said natives adjoins the new market and Parian
which has been erected for the said infidel Sangleys, in which they
now are, and at present dwell. The said natives are so near to the
said infidel Sangleys, that it is not more than a rivulet, no wider
than a narrow street, that separates them; and it has a foot-bridge of
timbers, which affords passage from one side to the other. And even
this is not the only evil and danger, but as the said Parian of the
said infidels is midway between Manila and the said new settlement of
the natives, every time when those Indian men or women have to come to
this city, they must do so by passing through the street of the said
Parian of the said infidel Sangleys; and at morning, noon, and night
the latter can securely plan and execute all their misdeeds. What is
perhaps the worst is, that from birth the Indians of this country,
men and women, grow up in the water, bathing and swimming. The said
Sangleys see them naked in the said creek, or at best in the river
which is there, close to both districts. What with this unavoidable
chance for caressing them, and particularly for attracting the boys
with fruits and other little presents, they must draw them into their
own vices. This is particularly so as these boys actually go upon
the bank in the district of the infidel Sangleys, and there disport,
and enjoy themselves; and they are usually naked, or, if dressed,
they are almost the same as naked. It is very noticeable with these
Sangley people that they intermix with any other people who are here,
in a very singular fashion; for at once they intermarry with the women
of these nations, adopt their customs, and live like Indians. These
are not the only evils connected with the said settlement of the
said natives remaining there, but there are even other injuries,
perhaps greater, at any rate as great. One is that the said settlement
and district of these said Indian natives is very close to another
district and market, that of the Japonese, so near that they are only
about a stone's throw from each other; and the Japonese are fully as
bad as the Sangley infidels, both on the score of the infamous sin,
and as concerns the need of protecting ourselves from them as from
enemies. For on the banner that the infidel Sangleys raised when
they rebelled and made the late war against us, so endangering us,
there were written Chinese letters, which declared the Sangleys to be
friends of the Japonese; and in the rebellion about sixteen years ago,
when the former royal Audiencia of these islands commanded and caused
to be executed Don Agustin and Don Martin Panga, Indian chiefs from
Tondo, they found a Japonese implicated in the plots and the rebellion,
and hanged him in the plaza here at Manila. There is no one that
does not know the well-founded rumors and suspicions that have been
afloat to the effect that the king of Japon wished to come against
this city. It is likewise a matter of importance that these natives
of this new village and district before mentioned, neither sow grain
nor have lands for that purpose, but can only act as peddlers and
wanderers; and as such, must be ready for any ill deed, especially
if there be profit in it--as there will be, and that a great one,
as has been pointed out. His most reverend Lordship, considering that
he stood alone, has done his utmost to persuade the lord governor of
these islands, Don Pedro de Acuña, to provide a remedy for an evil
so greatly developed (or rather for so many evils), by removing the
said natives from the vicinity of the said infidel Sangleys; but the
said lord governor would not do it. When his most reverend Lordship
commenced to point out the great evils attendant on having the said
natives so near the said infidel Sangleys, the remedy was easy and
without difficulty; for the said district and settlement of natives
had but just begun, and they had not even commenced to build the new
Parian of the infidel Sangleys. Thus, each day the said settlement
grows larger, and its destruction grows every day more difficult; and
later it will be a greater damage to the said natives to remove them.
Therefore his most reverend Lordship, desiring to check so enormous
sins, and to avert the so evident dangers from them, and the
destruction and end of this kingdom--both in faith and morals, and in
loyalty to the king our lord--commanded and commands that there be
drawn and received an investigation of the said matter, to seek and
apply the remedy, if in justice and right that be fitting; and that
the witnesses received shall declare the truth in all matters, under
oath, and under penalty of major excommunication, _late sententia, ipso
facto_, incurring [_word illegible in MS._] canonical admonition and
[_word illegible_]--as only this said penalty and oath will secure
secrecy so that they will not tell that they were cited for this
purpose, or what they declared, or any part thereof, or that this
investigation is being made, or anything concerning or touching the
matter. Accordingly I so provide, command, and sign; and they shall
declare, under the said oath and penalty, not only whether there have
not been infidel Sangleys here, since his Lordship has taken up this
matter of separating these natives from the said infidel Sangleys
in the district of the said Parian; but likewise whether they were
not living there in the said quarter of the said natives, until his
most reverend Lordship was constrained to make known the truth, and
cause them to be removed from the place--for it had already become
an intolerable thing, in the sight of any man whatsoever.
_Fray Miguel_, archbishop of Manila.
By command of his most reverend Lordship:
_Francisco de Carranca_
In the city of Manila, on the fifth day of February in the year
one thousand six hundred and five, his most reverend Lordship,
Don Fray Miguel de Venavides, archbishop of this said city, caused
to appear before him the canon Pablo Ruiz de Talavera, cura for the
natives of this city, from whom he took and received oath _in verbis
sacerdotis_, placing his hand upon his breast. Having done this, he
swore to tell the truth; and being questioned after the tenor of the
caption of this document, declared that this is what he knows, and
what is occurring. After the uprising and rebellion of the Sangleys
which occurred on the fourth of October in the previous year of six
hundred and three, as the settlement and Parian built by the said
Sangleys was burned--which stood outside the walls of this city, at
about an arquebus-shot from them, where the first houses began--all
the site on which the said Sangleys had thus settled was abandoned. As
it was thus depopulated, several Indian natives of this country, with
some servants of Captain and Sargento-mayor Christoval de Asqueta,
settled in several houses close by and adjoining the said site of the
Parian, so that there is nothing but a creek between (so small that at
low tide it is almost dry), with a wooden bridge; and on the further
side, a stone's throw more or less, is the site of the Parian of the
Sangley merchants (or _auhaes_), where the Xaponese are at present
settled. This witness, as a person who has been in this country
more than thirty years, and who is an interpreter of the natives,
knows that the said Sangleys are a very pernicious people, and are
cunning in all evil. They are especially so in the unnatural sin,
which they practice commonly among themselves, and likewise with women,
with whom they commit the same sin. For this they are very generous,
and readily give bribes for the fulfilment of their desires. Likewise
he knows that the natives, especially those of this district, are
very vicious, and the Indian women very facile and unchaste in regard
to offending God. Moreover, among themselves they never knew of the
unnatural sin, and they had no word or name for it, nor would they
know of it, until these Chinese came to this country; and from them
they have learned it. Further, this witness knows that indeed these
said natives are but lately converted to our holy Catholic faith, and
therefore are easily approachable; for they easily give up not only the
good morals that have been taught them by the ministers of the gospel,
but likewise our holy Catholic faith, that has been taught them with
so much pains, and is being taught them from day to day. And if they
communicate and have dealings with the Chinese, it will be an easy
matter to persuade them to abandon their obedience to his Majesty,
as they did when the said Sangleys rebelled in the previous year of
six hundred and three, when the Chinese gardeners of the village of
Huiapo, where this witness holds a benefice, persuaded many Indians
to rise in rebellion with them, saying that they were good people and
the Spaniards bad. And the said Indians, not wishing to fall with them,
gave information to this witness, as their cura, which he communicated
at length to his most reverend Lordship, bringing the Indians to him so
that they might tell him. And shortly after this the Sangleys rebelled,
and placed this city in so great straits that if God our Lord had not
miraculously delivered us, they would have killed all the Spaniards,
and remained in possession of the country; and the Catholic faith would
have perished here, which has cost so much to the king our lord for
its establishment and support. Owing to the loss of life inflicted on
them so justly at that time, they have become irritated, both those
who remained alive, who now maintain the new Parian--which has been
built on a part of the site of the old one, close to the village of
Indians above referred to--and likewise those that live in Great China,
where their brothers and kinsmen are. These also had a part of their
property burned. And this witness knows that the said Chinese are
a people full of craft in all they undertake, and that they can in
one way or another turn the mind to any rebellion or uprising. This
witness heard Ensign Christoval Gomez--who was sent as ambassador to
the province of Myndanao by the governor of these islands, Don Pedro de
Acuña, and who came back to this city--say concerning a ship of infidel
Chinese, which was in Myndanao and came armed to the port of this city,
where it at present is, that the infidel Chinese of this ship while
they were in Mindanao persuaded the said people of Mindanao to come
to these islands in an armed fleet, encouraged them to do this, and
gave them many supplies of war, catans, and metal to make artillery,
powder, and battle-axes; and the said ensign added, to this witness,
that these Chinese were great rascals, and that they ought all to
be in the galleys. Further, he told this witness that they did not
come to the port of this city of their own will, but were forced to
it by winds; and that another vessel had gone to the island of Xolo
for the same reason. And, both, for this and on account of the hatred
they bear for us, this witness knows that they will do all in their
power to stir up the Indians against us--which will be easy for them,
with the bribes that they give the Indians; and easier still if they
have committed the crime against nature with them, and with their
women. And it appears to this witness that there is no other remedy
than to drive the Chinese out of the country, and allow them here
only during the three months of the year while their trade lasts, and
then let them go back to their own country. And if it should appear
best to his Majesty to give permission to some few of them to remain
in this land, he should order that no Indian men or women be settled
near them, or near the market where dwell the infidel Sangleys. And
this witness knows that his most reverend Lordship is considered to
know the language and customs of the Chinese, having been acquainted
with them for many years past, and that he has spent a considerable
time there in China. He also knows that the Indians of the village
above mentioned are so close to the new Parian of the Chinese that
they must pass through it in going and coming, when they are obliged
to come to this city; and there they have opportunity to talk with the
said Sangleys, to concoct their misdeeds and sins. This witness knows
that the said houses and village of the natives, as has been said,
are also near the Parian of the Japonese, a pernicious people, who,
like the Sangleys, do great harm through practice of the infamous
sin; and they are a more restless and warlike people than the said
Sangleys. They have always been threatening this country with war,
and they have molested it and its coasts by their ships, with which
they come to plunder; and they bring Sangleys as pilots and sailors. In
a native rebellion organized sixteen years ago by certain Indians, at
which time several chiefs who were implicated were executed, they were
in communication with the Japonese, and one Japonese was hanged. This
witness likewise knows that at the time when the Sangleys rebelled,
in the said past year of six hundred and three, there was taken from
them a banner, with an inscription in the characters which they use,
which was examined and read by one who understood it; and he said that
in the said inscription the said Chinese declared themselves friends
of the Xaponese. Besides, it is easy to see the loss that would
result from the intercourse of these natives with the said Xaponese
and Chinese. And this witness knows (for he was present and saw it)
that at the time when they were commencing to rebuild the Parian of
the said Sangleys there were present his most reverend Lordship,
with the president and all the auditors of this royal Audiencia,
the regidors, and many other persons, on the site of the Parian--at
which time they were considering its rebuilding, it being on the first
anniversary of the burning of the said Parian, which was on the sixth
of October of the said year six hundred and three. This witness saw
that the lord archbishop opposed it, saying that it was inexpedient
to build it for many reasons, until an account of them had been given
to his Majesty. And finally he called to this witness, and said to
him that those houses of the Indians--pointing out to him the said
village above mentioned--would better be moved back and taken from
that place; for it was not good that they should remain there, and
particularly when they were considering putting Sangleys so near. This
was heard by the lord governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, and other persons
who were there. And this witness knows that on that same day the lord
governor and both the cabildos, the secular and ecclesiastical, were
in the church of San Andres, where mass was being chanted in honor
of the patron saints of this city, in thanksgiving for their aid,
which, on such a day as this, had given us victory over the Chinese;
and the said lord archbishop preached, and in the sermon discoursed
at length concerning the inadvisability of a second Parian, owing to
the many offenses against God there committed, and the great danger in
which it would again place this city. Notwithstanding this and other
measures which the said lord archbishop took in the matter--such as
sending to tell the lord governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, with Captain
Pedro de Ortega, alcalde-in-ordinary of this city, that this village
of the natives should be removed, as it was so near to the Parian,
in order to avoid the offenses that would there be committed against
God our Lord--so far as he has learned, they have not up to the
present day removed the said village. And this witness knows that in
the said village of the said natives, there was a house of Sangleys,
in which this witness saw three Sangleys; for this witness, as cura of
the natives of this city, was commanded by his most reverend Lordship
to investigate their way of life, and see whether there were any
infidel Sangleys among them. In compliance with what his most reverend
Lordship commanded, he went to the said village, with Señor Geronimo
de Alcaraz, and both together saw the said three infidel Sangleys,
who were living there; and, when asked how long they had been living
there, they answered "three months." Likewise this witness asked the
Indians of the said village and another Indian--a chief from Mindoro,
who frequently went to the said village--whether there had been more
Sangleys. They answered that as many as six other Sangleys had lived
there, in this said Indian village, for more than two months. This
witness knows further that, by a strenuous effort made by the said
archbishop, the said Chinese were removed from the said village. This
procedure was public, as was also the fact that the said archbishop had
informed Señor Don Pedro de Acuña, governor of these islands, that the
Chinese were among these Indians, and that the said lord governor sent
to investigate this an ensign of the guard, who returned and told the
said lord governor that the said Sangleys were not there; or at any
rate the said governor so understood the said ensign. But as the lord
archbishop was certain of the truth, he told the said lord governor,
in the presence of all the people, that they were deceiving him, and
that the said infidel Sangleys were among the said natives of the said
village. As the lord governor was not yet satisfied, he himself went
in person to the said Parian, and, from the bank of the stream, called
for the Sangleys who were living in the said village with the natives;
immediately the said three infidel Sangleys came into the presence
of the said lord governor. This witness asked them how long they had
been there, and they answered that they had been there three months,
and had come from Çebu. This was heard by the lord governor, who was
present, and by other persons who were accompanying him. Then the
said lord governor ordered the said Sangleys to leave the said village
straightway. And the said village of the said natives is, at this very
day, as has been said, in the danger explained in the document heading
these proceedings, and in this statement and declaration. And this
is the truth, by the oath he has taken, which he affirmed, ratified,
and signed; and he says that he is about thirty-five years of age.
_Fray Miguel_, archbishop of Manila.
_Pablo Ruiz de Talavera_
Before me: _Francisco de Carranca_, notary.
[On the ninth of February of the year one thousand six hundred
and five, the archbishop caused to appear before him for the said
investigation, the canon Diego de Leon, who, having been sworn in
the manner before described, made a declaration in every way similar
to that of the preceding witness. He mentioned as an instance of
the bad faith of the Chinese, the death of Gomez Perez Das Mariñas,
and the many good soldiers that they then killed. Below the formal
closing of the declaration, but before the signature, he adds the
following to his testimony:] This witness further says that in his
opinion, if the infidel Sangleys were to come only for purposes
of trade to these islands, and none of them were to remain here,
the kingdom of China would be altogether friendly toward us for the
sake of our trade; and if none of them remained here, the Spaniards
would have no occasion to injure them, and they would not have time
to acquire influence over these natives, who are quick at learning a
new language, and are excellent soldiers, shooting even better than
do the Spaniards with arquebuses, and possessing very good weapons.
_Fray Miguel_, archbishop of Manila.
_Diego de Leon_
Before me: _Francisco de Carranca_, notary.
I, Francisco de Carranca, canon of this holy church of Manila,
appointed notary by his Lordship, by his command caused this copy
of this information to be made from the original, which was drawn
before me, and remains in the archives of the notary-public of
this archbishopric. It is a certain and true copy, to the best of
my knowledge, and I refer to the original. Witness its copying,
correcting, and comparison, Thomas de Cardenas and Juan Camacho de
el Hello, residents of this city of Manila, where it is dated, on to
the seventh of July of the year one thousand six hundred and five.
_Francisco de Carrança_, notary.
[We append to this document the following affidavit:]
Sworn statement to the effect that there are Sangleys in Manila in
the present year 1605.
In the city of Manila, on the fifteenth day of the month of June in
the year one thousand six hundred and five, the schoolmaster Don Luis
de Salinas, whom I affirm that I know, declared that it was necessary
for expediency's sake that I, Francisco Davila, notary of the king
our lord, should testify on oath that today, on the said day here
given, there live, exist, and reside infidel Sangleys in the houses
of the citizens of Manila, or in some of them. It should be known
that they are in the house of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves,
and in the house of the master-of-camp Augustin de Arceo, who is at
present exercising the said office and military rank in this camp--and
the said houses form one side of the palace, and front on the Plaza
de Armas--and in the houses of the dean Don Juan de Bivero and those
of Antonio de Spinosa, which are on the plaza of this said city; and
in a number of others belonging to the most prominent citizens--that
is, those of the highest life and rank in the city. The said notary
requested me to give the said testimony, and by these presents I ask
that there be witnesses, that I the said Francisco de Avila, give my
word and truthful testimony that I have seen today, on the said date,
the said Sangleys in the said houses, selling their merchandise and
being present therein as if in their own homes. And in accordance
with the said request I have given these presents in the said city of
Manila on the said day, month, and year, being witnesses thereto the
prebendary Tomas de Cardenas, Antonio Baçan, and Alonso Cano, residents
in Manila. And therefore I have set my seal in witness of the truth.
_Francisco Davila_
We, the notaries who have here signed our names, certify and give
faith that Francisco de Avila, by whom the statement above is signed
and sealed, is a royal notary, and to the acts and instruments which
have been or are drawn before him full faith and credit are given, in
and out of court; and that this may be apparent we have given these
presents, in Manila, on the sixteenth day of the month, of June in
the year one thousand six hundred and five.
_Bartolome de Quesada_, royal notary.
_Alonzo Gomez_, his Majesty's notary.
_Francisco de Alanis_, notary-public.
LETTER FROM A CHINESE OFFICIAL TO ACUNA
(Translation of a letter from the inspector-general of Chincheo in
the kingdom of China, which was received in this year 1605, addressed
to Don Pedro de Acuña, governor and captain-general of the Filipinas
Islands. The address is to the great captain-general of Luzon. The
same letter was sent by the viceroy of Chincheo and the eunuch of
the same province; and since they are all three identical, without
any discrepancy except in the signatures, this copy stands for all
of them.)
Learning that the Chinese who went for purposes of trade to the
kingdom of Luzon have been put to death by the Spaniards, I have
inquired into the cause of these deaths and have prayed the king
that he will do justice upon the person who has been the cause of
this great evil, that redress for it may be undertaken and that the
merchants may enjoy peace and quietness. Some years before I came
here as inspector, a Sangley, by name Tionez, [_sic; sc._ Tiognen]
[37] went by permission of the king of China with three mandarins
to Luzon, searching at Cabite for gold and silver. The whole thing
was a lie, for they found neither gold nor silver; accordingly the
king directed this deceiver Tionez to be punished, that the strict
justice done in China might be known.
During the time of the preceding viceroy and eunuch, Tiognen and his
companion, named Yanlion, told this lie; and I, after I came hither,
begged the king to have a copy made of all the documents in the case
of Tiognen, and to command the said Tiognen to be brought before him
with the record in the case. I myself saw the aforesaid papers and
caused him to see that the whole thing had been a deceit uttered by
the said Tiognen. I wrote to the king declaring that on account of
the deceits of the said Tiognen the Castilians had suspected us of
intending to make war upon them; and that on this account they had
put to death more than thirty thousand Chinese in Luzon! The king did
as I asked him and therefore punished the said Yanglion by ordering
him to be killed, and the said Tiognen, by commanding his head to be
cut off and suspended in a cage. The Chinese who were put to death
in Luzon were innocent, and I with others discussed this matter
with the king, that we might learn what was his will in this grave
affair. There was also another matter of importance to be considered,
which was that two English ships had come to this coast of Chincheo,
a very dangerous thing for China. This we did that the king might learn
what was to be done in these two matters of such importance. We also
wrote to the king that his Majesty should command the two Sangleys
who pointed out this port to the English to be punished. After we
had written the aforesaid letter to the king he answered us that
since English vessels had come to China, they should be commanded
to go away immediately to Luzon, for fear that they had come for
piratical purposes; and that they should carry word to the inhabitants
of Luzon not to give credit to a deceitful and lying set of Chinese,
He also commanded the two Sangleys who had piloted the English to be
immediately executed. As for the other things that we had written to
him he declared that our will should be done. Immediately, after having
received this document, we--the viceroy, the eunuch, and I--sent these
documents to the governor of Luzon, that his Lordship might know the
greatness of the king of China and of his realm (for they are so great
that he governs everything upon which the moon and the sun shine),
and likewise that the governor of Luzon may know the great justice
with which this vast realm is governed. It is long since anyone has
dared to give offense to this kingdom; and although the Japonese have
endeavored to disturb Corea, which is under the government of China,
they have been unable to succeed therewith, and have been driven from
the said kingdom, and Corea has remained in great peace and quiet,
as the peoale of Luzon know well from what has been told them. [_At
the beginning of this paragraph, and on the margin_: "They knew that
the English are our friends."]
Last year, after we learned that, as a result of the deceit of
Tiognen, so many Chinese had been put to death in Luzon, many mandarins
assembled to agree upon urging the king to take vengeance for all these
deaths. We said that the land of Luzon was a wretched land of little
importance, of old inhabited only by devils and snakes; and that, as a
result of the immigration there a few years ago of so many Sangleys to
trade with the Castilians, the country has been enriched to the extent
to which the said Sangleys have labored therein. They have built the
walls, and made houses and gardens, and other things of great advantage
to the Castilians. Nevertheless, the Castilians had no consideration
for these things, and have felt no gratitude for these good works,
but have 60 cruelly slain all those people. Although we wrote this
statement two or three times to the king, he replied to us that,
although he was grieved by what had happened, there were three reasons
why we should not avenge ourselves or make war upon Luzon. The first
was that the Castilians had long been friends of the Chinese in this
region; the second is that it was uncertain who would be victorious,
Chinese or Castilians; and the third and last reason, that the people
slain by the Castilians were a base people, ungrateful to China,
their native country, to their parents, and to their relatives,
since so many years had passed during which they had not returned
to China. The king said that he did not consider these people of any
value, for the aforesaid reasons; and he merely commanded the viceroy,
the eunuch, and me to write this letter sent by this ambassador, that
the people of Luzon may know that the king of China has great kindness,
great patience, and great pity, since he has not commanded them to
make war against the people of Luzon. His justice is plainly to be
seen, since he has punished the deceit of Tiognen. As the Spaniards
are a wise and prudent race it must be that they would be grieved
for having put so many people to death, and will repent thereof and
will show justice to the Chinese who have survived. If the Castilians
show justice to the Chinese, send back the Sangleys who have survived
the war, and pay the money due for the goods taken from the Sangleys,
there will be amity between this kingdom and that, and merchant vessels
will sail there every year. If not, the king will not permit merchant
vessels to make the voyage, but will command a thousand vessels of
war to be built with a force of soldiers--relatives of the deceased,
and inhabitants of the other nations and kingdoms that pay tribute
to China; and, without having mercy upon anyone, they will make war,
and afterward the kingdom of Luzon will be given to that people which
will pay tribute to China. [_On the margin_: "Those who pay tribute
are Siang, Cochinchina, and Corea."]
(The letter of the inspector-general was written on the twelfth of
the second month, which, according to our reckoning, is March of the
[_blank in MS._] year of the reign of Bandel. [38] The letter of the
eunuch was written on the sixteenth of the same month and year; and
that of the viceroy on the twenty-second of the same month and year.)
LETTERS FROM AUGUSTINIAN FRIARS TO FELIPE III
Sire:
This province of our father St. Augustine in the Philipinas enjoyed
a fortunate and prosperous season as a result of the care, zeal,
and strictness in religion of the provincial, who (to my great
sorrow) has just completed his term, and was chiefly inspired by
the advice, directions, and commands which your Majesty has sent
us in your letters, all of which have been scrupulously obeyed and
respected. During this happy time there returned to this province Fray
Lorenso de Leon, [39] a man who after having been provincial here
went on business of the province to España and Roma for six years,
as your Majesty has been fully notified. This father Fray Lorenso de
Leon came, then, to disturb all this good, having sought and pursued
nothing but his own personal interest and desires, with his notorious
vanity and ambition, and having wholly neglected the general advantage
of this forgotten province.
He arrived last year, one thousand six hundred and four; and up to
the present time (our provincial chapter having been held in the
interim) his only occupation and efforts have been to bring it about
by unfair contrivances that he should attain his own pretensions
and advancement, as is evident by the result. In the face of the
requisitions and notifications made by our assembly of definitors,
he, although he was under solemn oath, concealed the papers and
documents which he brought with him, and brought them forward only in
this present chapter. These documents, although they were nothing but
simple letters from our father-general, were accepted there, in order
to avoid contentions and scandals; and accordingly, as they directed,
he presided in the chapter as vicar-general, the same authority being
valid for all chapters and congregations [of the order] at which he
might be present. Thus he has taken this ancient and rightful name from
our provincials of Castilla, to whom it was granted by his Holiness;
and this without command from your Majesty and your royal Council,
to whom all this is subject. We pray will all humility that such
assumption of authority may be permitted to go no further, in order
that the evils thus begun in such a decay of this province (of which
your Majesty will be informed in this letter) may no longer continue.
After the majority of the chapter, including those most worthy of
confidence, had agreed and determined, for the greater peace and quiet
of the chapter, to elect as provincial a deserving religious of the
qualifications required by our rules, we proceeded peacefully with
the election, until the said father Fray Lorenso de Leon took control
of it. Although he had no right to be present in spite of his being
president, he eagerly seated himself so near the clerk who gave out
the blank ballots that, whether by fear or affection, he certainly
by this, and with his gestures and signs, being himself a candidate,
affected and changed the wills and intentions of some of the electors,
contrary to the freedom of the election. Moreover, he was present at
the counting of the votes and ballots with the three tellers. When
he discovered that he had some votes, at which time he ought to have
departed, and that another (whom he feared) was receiving more than
he was then, so as to be sure of the election--and that candidate is
said certainly to have had it--exceeding his authority, he barred the
votes and commanded the counting to cease, declaring the election to be
void. He showed--as a pretext, as will later appear from all this--a
ballot or vote somewhat torn, in order to force a new election. Hence
followed much ill-will, which he manifested on his side. In order to
compel a new decision, as a result of the fear and change of purpose
which he intended to cause in their minds, he delivered deceitful and
satirical speeches (with which he is provided), in which he let them
know that there was no one else in the chapter who could be elected
except himself. He declared that he was not obliged to confirm him whom
they might elect, making this declaration for the benefit of him who
presumed to be most fit to be chosen. Although he was challenged and
called upon to declare the impediment or incapacity of that man or
of any other, he was not willing to do so, since in truth there was
no such disability. As a result of this and other acts of tyranny,
he forced a new election and new vote, to the great disgust and
astonishment of the chapter. This sufficed to elect him (as he was
in fact elected) provincial. He caused himself to be confirmed by
one of the definitors; and, as the chapter had begun by siding with
him, so it was continued. He now saw himself provincial, president,
and vicar-general; and all this encouraged and enabled him to take
our courage and spirit away from us in all elections, both small and
great. Thus they all resulted in accordance with his will, and with
the promises which he had made to those of his party, and to those
from whom he had asked votes. This he had done through some laymen,
a thing which makes the matter worse.
The result is manifest in the holders of all the better offices and
convents. They are chosen from the friars of his province of Mexico,
and from those who have assumed the habit here--unlearned, dissipated,
and worthless boys. At the same time he has put out of office those
whom he has oppressed, solely because they have come, being sent out
by your Majesty from the provinces of España. The hatred and division
among ourselves arising from his party cannot be remedied unless you
Majesty take prompt measures to cure it from there, so completely
have these fathers who are not from España obtained possession of
the province, which is not very lucrative under their control. All
the rest of us remain in discouragement and unhappiness to see such
things, so opposite to good government and the Christian religion,
and so full of peril to consciences. The result has been that some
religious have not been willing to accept priorships in this chapter,
for fear that they cannot hold them securely, inasmuch as the said
father has not in their view been elected as a lawful superior,
considering the coercion in the proceedings. Taking warning from
past experience, fearing to cause public scandal and the rumors that
result from disputes and investigations in such matters, and timid
because of the little redress that can be had here, we have endured
this affliction, and will suffer the harm within our own gates. For
the whole series of proceedings is in violation of law; yet we have
not, although your Majesty has many just counselors in this his royal
council, entered our plea for justice and liberty before the council;
for we desire to avoid scandals, and the governor of these islands
has shown himself to be greatly biased in favor of the provincial
elected. This is due to the activity and unlawful proceedings of the
sargento-mayor Christoval de Asqueta, long since an agent for father
Fray Lorenso de Leon. Such a relation is completely contrary to the
rule of our order and our withdrawal from the world. Our only redress
is in recourse to your Majesty, prostrate before whose feet we send
our petition from this remotest province to our patron, defender,
and gracious king, praying for justice, relief, and liberty in this
case and in all other cases in which oppression is brought upon our
good purpose and holy zeal, which were taught us in the convents in
the provinces of España. We assure your Majesty that we who make
this earnest and truthful report are the most prominent and sound
part of the chapter; and that we are moved solely by the purpose of
serving our Lord God and of promoting the advance of our holy order in
credit and reputation, to the benefit of the royal crown and to the
spiritual desert of your Majesty in these regions. We feel certain
that your Majesty will soon send the remedy for all these evils,
as we entreat, by interposing the authority of the nuncio of his
Holiness, that he may by his official censure revoke all documents,
rights of preëminence, or letters of our father-general which the
said father Fray Lorenso de Leon may have, since it is entirely
improper that he should take advantage of them. By this means and
by the decrees which your Majesty will issue, this province can be
assembled anew for an election--that is, those of it who have the
right to vote--free from domination, under the presidency of a bishop
of these Philipinas Islands. That which is supremely necessary is,
as we have often prayed your Majesty, that there may come here from
that province of Castilla a religious to inspect this province and set
its affairs in order. If need be, he should have plenary authority to
govern it, without allowing other elections; and he whom your Majesty
shall send should come accompanied by religious fit to restore and
preserve this province. Like a young vine, it is in need of such
laborers, and not of such as dry up its moisture and pluck its fruit,
like the friars who come here from Mexico. They have no other care,
imitating in this their head; for it is evident that the said father
Fray Lorenso de Leon has always acted in this way, since for his
own private claims he has taken almost ten thousand pesos in past
years and at present he has begun to collect the same a second time,
in order to satisfy these claims entirely. We are eye-witnesses that
in his behavior, desires, possessions, and unlawful wealth [40] he
lays claim to great things. According to rumor and his beginnings,
he aims at a bishopric; and this is made certain by the saying that
he brought back here, when he complained that he would have received
the bishopric of Manila if some persons had not written against him,
and declared that he brought letters with him which would cause him to
be feared, and that he would be provincial, by fair means or foul. May
your Majesty be pleased to abate this evil by causing him to leave this
province, and by granting us this boon and redress for which we pray,
and which will conduce so greatly to the restoring of this province. Be
assured that we make this truthful representation without any sort
of malice or evil purpose, but only with wholesome and well-founded
zeal. Your Majesty will have satisfactory proof of this in the letters
and advices which will be sent from the government, the community,
and the religious orders here, all of which will furnish information
in the case. The cause is that of God and of your Majesty, and this
will give us calmness and courage, in certain hope of receiving this
great grace and protection. We remain your Majesty's humble chaplains
and faithful servants, praying our God to grant your Majesty many
years of happy life with all spiritual gifts, to the increase of your
royal estates and Christian seigniories. Dated after the session of
our chapter in our convent of San Augustin in Manila, on the fourth
day of the month of May, one thousand six hundred and five.
_Fray Estevan Carrillo_, definitor.
_Fray Bernabe de Villalovos_, definitor of Guadalupe.
_Fray Miguel Garcia_, visitor.
_Fray Jhoan de Tapia_, associate of the late provincial and secretary
of the province [?].
_Fray Francisco Serrano_, sometime visitor.
_Fray Miguel de Siguenza_, sometime visitor.
_Fray Mathedo Daças_, prior.
_Fray Jhoan de Pineda_, prior, and lecturer in theology.
_Fray Diego Pardo_, procurator-general.
_Fray Jheronimo de Salas_, prior.
_Fray Jhoan de Rojas_, sub-prior of Manila.
_Fray Miguel de San Marco_
_Fray Bartolome de Aguirre_
_Fray Ambrosio de Leon_, procurator.
[_Endorsed_: "September 12, 1606. Considered; the decree on a separate
paper."]
Sire:
The Order of St. Augustine in these islands has for years been in
need of reform, and many letters have been written to your Majesty on
this subject. During the provincialate which has just come to an end,
that of Fray Pedro Arce, some reforms were accomplished as a result
of his good example, for he is a friar who follows the rules of his
order very scrupulously; but as he had no one to carry this beginning
to perfection, for lack of friars such as himself, he did not achieve
what he desired. His successor is named Fray Lorenzo de Leon; and he
has begun to overthrow everything which his predecessor established,
by oppressing the Castilian friars and encouraging the creoles,
[41] who are utterly shiftless and a set of fools. From this will
necessarily follow the entire ruin of the province. The only means of
remedy is that your Majesty should send religious from Castilla and
those provinces of España in order that this province may lift its head
and be reformed. The religious of the said order will write to your
Majesty. There are very zealous ones among them, especially Fray Pedro
de Arce, [42] the late provincial, to whom entire credit may be given.
May our Lord keep your Majesty for the good of your many
kingdoms. Manila, June 1, 1605.
_Fray Bernardo de Santa Catherina_, commissary of the Holy Office,
of the Order of St. Dominic. [43]
Sire:
In spite of the fact that I am one of those who joined in signing
a common letter which was sent to your Majesty by the majority
of the chapter of this province of our father St. Augustine in
the Philippinas, I cannot satisfy my conscience or manifest the
zeal which I ought to possess, without giving personal notice to
your Majesty of certain things with which as associate of the late
provincial and as secretary of the province I became acquainted, and
which still continue to exist, to the great harm and diminution of
the province. I am encouraged to do this, although it is the first
time that I address you, by reasons which demand a remedy; and by
considering, with the certain proofs which I have, that your Majesty
as a king and father most benevolent and most Christian will not be
indignant that a chaplain, servant, and vassal such as I should give
information, by means of these and other just suggestions, in order
that reform may result from them. Ever since father Fray Lorenso de
Leon returned to this province, it has steadily degenerated from the
harmony and influence which it had previously gained, as a result of
the great improvement shown in all things under the control of the
virtuous superior of the previous term. It now grows worse and worse
the more it has of him who is at present the superior, the father
already mentioned. The plan and the tricks with which he was elected I
do not write to your Majesty, since they have already been recounted
in a common letter, to which I refer. As a result of his election
the religious from Mexico who are here, and have assumed the habit
in this country have recovered their strength. They are nearly all
of little ability, ignoramuses, uncontrolled, and of most perverse
inclinations. Out of the respect and reverence due your Majesty I
do not enter into details; I only state particularly that the games
of cards have been revived among them. The one who has especially
distinguished himself is a certain Fray Jhoan de Amorin, who with
the said father Fray Lorenço de Leon went from this province to the
province of Mexico, returning again with a very bad reputation and the
name of having a restless disposition, ambitious and injurious to all,
and personally vicious and dissolute, unrestrained in all respects.
The said father being in Mexico took under his charge the conduct of
some religious intended for this province, and recruited from that
one. He was in charge of the clothing and other possessions of these
religious, and even of the fund granted from your Majesty's treasury
of that kingdom for such conveyance of friars. He deceitfully affirmed
that it has been spent, but rendered no account for it; and tells
different stories about it, such as to condemn him. He has always
been under the protection of the said father Leon, who has received
his pay from the great amount which the other has obtained for him,
during this last chapter, by means of secular and religious persons
belonging to his party. As the climax of all this, he has appointed
the said father Amorin prior of the convent of Tondo, in the sight of
all this community. The common people have objected and murmured much,
since in that village they have previously had special proofs of our
disinterestedness and purity of motive.
Of the many things which were taken in charge by Father Lorenço de
Leon to be attended to in the kingdoms of España and Roma, for the
benefit of this distant province, not one of the least importance
or necessity has been concluded; yet he has spent, just as if he
had carried everything through, the assessments and additional
contributions which were given him in common by the province. He
has cared only for his private interests and his private claims,
as is manifestly shown by the titles that have been lavished upon
him ... master, though he has not sufficient learning; and president
and vicar-general for all chapters and assemblages, to the manifest
injury of the members of this province. He was received as such,
although in violation of law, only in order to avoid contention and
scandal. But he has assumed still more authority, as a result of
the liberty which he has, and in the documents which he issues adds
the title of provincial and vicar-general. All this is without the
command of your Majesty and of your royal Council of the Indias,
and is contrary to the grants made to our provincial fathers of
Castilla who have so long exercised a similar office. This is right,
since this province was established and is maintained by them and the
honored friars who have come out hither from España. We have greatly
suffered from the lack of such Spanish friars, since it is now six
years since religious were sent out to us here. The cause has been
the fact that the said father Fray Lorenzo de Leon went thither, and
although he might have brought back a noble shipload of them, he did
not undertake the work with sufficient diligence--expecting to obtain
friars from Mexico, and to convert to his own use the grants made for
such conveyance in Sevilla from your Majesty's treasury. The fact is,
that although he received a decree and allowance to bring eighteen
religious from those provinces, he actually brought only seven to
whom the habit of our father St. Augustine belonged. The other eleven
he supplied with laymen who were traveling secretly to the Indias,
and he received from them special bribes, putting upon them habits
of the order, that they might in this way get as far as the registry
in Vera Cruz and afterward return to their own condition. The said
father thus retained in his hands all the allowance which he had
received. I would not dare to make this statement to your Majesty
if I did not know it from the relation of those very seven religious
whom he brought hither from España. Additional evidence is a letter
(which I saw) from Dr. Antonio de Morga, written soon after his
arrival in Mexico, in which he gave this information to persons from
there. Nothing has been done in this matter because of the fear and
subjection in which the said father Leon has placed those of us who
might speak and demand justice for this and other most unjust acts
of which he has been guilty. I testify to your Majesty that his cell
and manner of dress are like those of a trading merchant, and not of
a poor and abstinent friar; and, through the trade conducted by the
Chinese here, I know that he has invested a great amount of money in
sending merchandise to Mexico. Now this he could not do except at the
expense of the convents; for in the larger and richer houses he has
granted offices to those of his party and those under his control,
while he dislikes and ill-treats the virtuous and grave religious from
España. All this causes us sorrow and affliction, especially because
of the offense committed against our Lord God, and the loss to our
order and the disservice of your Majesty and of your Majesty's holy
zeal, and because your Majesty's directions are not fulfilled. May
your Majesty be pleased to put an end to all this by exercising your
authority and sending as promptly as possible an inspector from the
province of Castilla, accompanied by religious like himself. Such a
one may amend this and take these two religious from here, depriving
them of the titles of which they have made so bad a use. I beseech your
Majesty to pardon my boldness in having dwelt so long on this matter. I
may have failed, in my manner of writing, to observe the respect and
form due to my king and lord, but I believe that I have not been at
fault in purpose or zeal. I am now occupied in the service of your
Majesty as chief chaplain and vicar of the galleys and fleets of your
Majesty in these kingdoms, upon the important expedition which is now
being made. [44] In this and in all things I am the meanest servant
and vassal of your Majesty. I kiss your royal hand and pray that God
may keep your Majesty in a long and happy life with the increase of
every good.
Manila, June 20, 1605.
_Fray Jhoan de Tapia_
[_Endorsed_: "June 22, 1606; to the Count of Lemos." "September 12,
1606; examined; no answer."]
LETTER FROM MALDONADO TO FELIPE III
Sire:
On every occasion which has arisen I have regularly advised you of
whatever seemed desirable for the proper service of your Majesty,
which is my only desire. Accordingly, last year I sent a letter by the
two ships which were despatched, a duplicate of which I send in this,
with other matters that have come to my notice. Your Majesty will
be pleased to have this examined, as it treats of some affairs which
demand remedy; and in regions so remote many difficulties arise when
due provision is not made--as will be seen in some papers which are
sent with this, concerning the little respect which the soldiers and
troops of war show toward the auditors, as the governor claims that
we are not their judges; and regarding the galleys which the governor
has built, and their excessive cost, which is the ruin of this country;
likewise will be seen therein the many offices and positions of profit
which the governor has given to his creatures, against the decrees of
your Majesty and the instructions for his office, so that all those
who have served here feel very indignant over it. These things,
and the obligation of my office, have constrained me to give this
report, and to try to secure the remedy which the vassals of your
Majesty hope for, when your Majesty shall cast your gaze upon this
land which was so cared for and favored by his Catholic Majesty
(whom may God keep!) which your Majesty is still caring for, with
the great favors which your Majesty grants it for the spiritual and
temporal good which is your object.
The royal [estate] in these islands is in debt for a large sum of
money in gold, as your Majesty has been informed; on this account
all those who draw salaries and stipends therefrom are in the utmost
need--so much so that we have not been able to pay this year the
president, auditors, archbishop, bishops, prebendaries, or ministers
of instruction and justice, not having the means to pay them. Most
pitiable of all has been the plight of the soldiers, who are suffering
the utmost extremity, without there being any resources with which
to aid them. All this has been caused by the excessive cost of the
galleys, and the great expenses incurred by some expeditions made
with them without anything being thus gained. In the interim, until
your Majesty be pleased to order some provision, we shall take great
pains to do what is most expedient so that these expenses may cease
and the country be defended without them. [_In the margin of this
paragraph is written_: "No answer to be given."]
This year it will be very necessary to appropriate a considerable
loan of money from what comes from Nueva Spaña--because the viceroy of
Mexico has not sent the usual aid, and it is impossible to get along
without obtaining it from private persons--that the land may not go
to ruin; for I can assure you that it has come to this extremity.
Last year I advised you of the many offices which the governor had
granted, and in this he has continued--going so far that, observing
the general complaint of all the meritorious persons, I have tried to
restrain him. At this he showed little inclination to favor my efforts,
and offered me some affronts--which I shall not mention, as they were
of such a nature as to affect only me personally and not my office
or its authority. But, because it appears to me expedient to inform
you concerning one such case, I shall do so, as it is a matter which
touches the preëminence of the officers whom your Majesty maintains
here, so that your Majesty, if you please, may order it to be set
right. [_On the margin of this paragraph_: "Concerning the offices
which the governor has filled; join this relation which Don Antonio de
Ribera sends to that which the governor writes concerning the offices,
and have it all brought."]
By the ordinance of this royal Audiencia it is directed that an
Audiencia building be erected in which the president and auditors
shall live; and by a later decree it is ordered that there shall be
a royal building, very imposing, so that these infidels may see the
authority with which your Majesty is served and which the officers
who serve in these offices must possess. I, as the senior auditor,
lived in the royal building, whence, on the occasion when your Majesty
directed the treasury of the royal exchequer to be established in the
royal building, the governor ordered me to move, in order to make room
for the treasury. As this wrong was done to me, I laid it before the
Audiencia, saying that he was exceeding the commission given by the
royal decree; and that, in accordance therewith, it was not the will
of your Majesty that my place of abode should be taken from me, as it
had been occupied from the time when it was built by the president
and auditors. This was shown to the governor by the [Audiencia's]
record of proceedings; and it was decreed in the Audiencia that in the
royal building where I was two main apartments should be cleared out,
in which the treasury and the books of the royal exchequer should
be accommodated. The governor, in spite of this action, took all my
apartments from me and lodged therein a royal official; whereupon,
as there is a great lack of houses in this city, I was obliged to
move into a house of wood and thatch, which was unsuitable to the last
degree, and attended by much danger because of the frequent fires which
occur in this city. Accordingly, in the two fires which have occurred
this year I have been obliged to go with my effects and books from
one place to another, until at last I rented for them and my papers
an apartment outside of my house in a building of stone belonging
to a citizen, where I keep them. Besides experiencing so great
inconvenience, this country is so warm that I assure your Majesty,
with all due regard for truth, that my health is failing; and I fear
that I shall lose my life, through the poor appointments of the house
and on account of the intemperate heat from which I suffer in going
to the Audiencia. But so great is the dislike which the governor
has taken toward me, that neither the injustice and wrong, nor the
danger of fire, nor the failure of my health has moved him to give
me a lodging; nor is one to be found at any cost. I beg your Majesty
that, even if it may not be necessary for me, you may command what is
to be done in regard to the other auditors, for he has depreciated my
authority and maltreated me in such manner that I would consider it a
great neglect of duty to your Majesty if I did not advise you of it,
and this has led me to give so detailed an account. [_In the margin_:
"No answer to be given."]
In the letter of last year which will accompany this, I communicated
an expedient which has occurred to me whereby this land might be
maintained in abundance, with only the property which the royal
treasury has in these islands, without there being any need of aiding
it from the royal exchequer of Mexico; and the paid soldiers could
be increased, and other good results might be achieved. I beseech
your Majesty to have it examined, as it appears desirable to both the
archbishop and the bishop of Nueva Segovia, to whom I have communicated
it, and who thought it very good. [_In the margin of this paragraph
is an order which says_: "Let the governor and the Audiencia inform us
concerning this plan, sending them a copy thereof without issuing any
decree; and let them send an account of the advantages and difficulties
which may have occurred to them, with their opinion."]
It is more than eight years since your Majesty was pleased to do me
the favor of giving me a post as auditor of Mexico, with an order to
establish the Audiencia in these islands. I sat therein four years,
and I am now advised by way of Nueva España that the place in that
Audiencia which was occupied by the licentiate Francisco Alonso de
Villagra, who passed on to the royal Council of the Yndias, has been
given to me. Although the time for which I was to serve here is already
past, I have not dared to leave these islands this year, as I have
no order expressing the wish of your Majesty; and likewise because
the governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, is obliged to go on the expedition
to Maluco, and, if I go to Nueva España, only three auditors will
remain. The eldest of these, who, according to the ordinance, must take
up the duties of the captain-general, is so burdened and his health
so poor that he cannot attend to the affairs of war. On this account,
and because I understand that your Majesty would be better pleased
to have me in this country, I have not gone to enjoy the favor which
has been extended to me in Mexico--which is very great, and a notable
promotion--although the greatest favor that I can receive is to let me
serve in this Audiencia at a time when important affairs may occur,
whereby I may show my desire. I beseech your Majesty that what I am
doing in staying here to further serve your Majesty be permitted and
approved. [_In the margin is this order_: "Let him go immediately,
in accordance with the decree which was sent him." [45]]
During the whole time since I have been favored with this post in
Mexico, I have been occupied in your Majesty's service, and with
sitting in this royal Audiencia. I beseech your Majesty that, since
in similar offices of justice all the privileges are enjoyed from
the day of the nomination, as if the office were being exercised,
the favor may be done me that I may not lose my seniority, from the
day when your Majesty was pleased to appoint me auditor in Mexico
(especially as I have been occupied in what I was commanded to do),
as was done with Doctor Francisco Alonso de Villagra when he went to
fill the same post at Mexico; he was detained by an official visit
at Santo Domingo, and did not lose his seniority, [_In the margin_:
"What he asks is unreasonable."]
Last year two ships were despatched somewhat late, and the flagship
arrived in a dismantled condition at the end of four or five months of
sailing, with little damage; but the other was lost on the opposite
coast of these islands, without any person or any part of her cargo
being saved. This was a great pity, and especially so after so many
wrecks as we have had in years past. God was pleased to bring hither
in safety two other ships, which go out this year, which has been some
relief to the citizens and merchants of this city. [_In the margin_:
"No answer to be given."]
The licentiate Geronimo de Salazar y Salcedo, fiscal of this royal
Audiencia, is dead. He leaves his wife in very poor circumstances
and a daughter who is without any resources, which is a great pity.
In a letter of last year I told your Majesty how the sargento-mayor
went to La Laguna, which is about fifteen leguas from this city,
in pursuit of the Sangley rebels. As they were in two bodies of
at least two thousand each, unarmed, wounded, and fatigued, and
without any means of defense; and the sargento-mayor had two hundred
Spanish arquebusiers, and three hundred others from Pampanga who are
natives of these islands, armed with arquebuses and muskets, and eight
hundred well-armed Japonese, besides five or six thousand natives with
lances, pikes, halberds, partizans, javelins, and bows and arrows,
their strength was so great that, without the Sangleys facing them,
the natives killed them--attacking first one troop and then the other,
with perfect safety and not the slightest danger. In this affair twelve
or fifteen days were spent in the going, the work, and the return, and
for this he claims more remuneration than if he had pacified the states
of Flandes; and he is not even contented with the governor having given
him an excellent encomienda in the vicinity of this city, besides
another good one which he possesses in Pangasinan. At present he is
enjoying both of them contrary to the instructions of your Majesty,
and they are among the best in the islands. I advise you of this so
that the service which he has rendered, the time spent, the danger of
the expedition, and the risk that he personally ran, may be known,
so that the reward may be conformable to that and not to the favor
which the governor extends to him and the claim which he makes. For
he dares not ask to have investigations made in the Audiencia, nor
should an opinion be given in it as your Majesty orders by the royal
decrees; for it is not known in the royal Council how little he did,
that it was not a service of such importance as to demand more reward
than what he held in the first encomienda.
All the welfare of this land, for its maintenance and the prosperity
of those who reside in it, lies in the cargoes of the ships which
are despatched to Nueva España, with which your Majesty favors the
citizens of this city and the settlers. I assure your Majesty with
the truth that I desire to employ, that much wrong is done them,
and that the ships are laded for the dependents and connections of
the governor, by which they are benefited with great riches; and
the same thing is done by the commanders and admirals who come from
Mexico, who, as they are persons from the household of the viceroy,
are the ones who get the benefit. The governor will not allow the
Audiencia to interfere in this; and thus the persons to whom this
favor was extended suffer, and those enjoy it who were prohibited
from doing so, and counted undeserving. I communicate this, that
your Majesty may be pleased to order it corrected; for it is a matter
which affects all with much grief and resentment. [_In the margin_:
"No answer to be given, for suitable provision has already been made."]
The plan which appears suitable for this (which I humbly beseech may be
looked into, according to my desire) is what your Majesty has commanded
by his royal decree--that there should be sent each year to the Council
a report of what is laded in the ships, and to what person it belongs;
and this is not done. In order that this should be carried out, it is
expedient that an auditor should be sent by the royal Audiencia--and
not by the governor, as that is not fitting--who should take, on the
oath of a notary, account of everything which enters in the ship,
nothing being laded without his presence and supervision. In this
manner the freighting will be justly done without the freighters
who are appointed having a chance to sell the tonnage, as they do
today. Thus they leave the citizens without the share which belongs to
them, defrauding the royal customs, as would appear if this plan were
observed--at which I know your Majesty would be very glad, and all the
citizens would enjoy fully the favor which has been granted them. God
protect the Catholic person of your Majesty. Manila, June 28, 605.
The licentiate _Don Antonio de Ribera Maldonado_
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
_Relacion de las Islas Filipinas_, by Pedro Chirino (concluded).--See
Bibliographical Data at end of _Vol_. XII. Full details regarding
this work will be given in the bibliographical volume at the end of
this series.
All the rest of the matter contained in this volume is obtained
from original MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; their
pressmarks are as follows:
1. _Letters from Acuña._--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas;
cartas y expedientes del Gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo;
años de 1600 á 1628; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 7." The postscript regarding
Santa Potenciana--"Simancas--Filipinas; cartas y espedientes del
presidente y oidores de dha Audiencia vistos en el Consejo; años de
1600 á [1612?]; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 19."
2. _Decrees regarding religious orders._--(A) The first:
"Simancas--Audiencia de Filipinas; consultas originales
correspondientes á dha Audiencia desde el año de 1586 á 1636; est. 67,
caj. 6, leg. 1." (b) The second and third: "Audiencia de Filipinas;
registros de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas a las autoridades del
distrito de la Audiencia; años de 1597 á 1634; est. 105, caj. 2,
leg. 1."
3. _Grant to Jesuit seminary._--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de
Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de religiosos y misioneros en Filipinas
vistos en el Consejo; años de 1569 á 1616; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 37."
4. _Decree regulating commerce._--The same as No. 2, (b).
5. _Complaints against the Chinese._--"Audiencia de Filipinas;
Simancas--Eclesiastico; cartas y espedientes del arzobispo de Manila
vistos en el Consejo; años de 1579 á 1679; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32."
6. _Letter from Chinese official._-The same as No. 1.
7. _Letters from Augustinians._--"Simancas--Eclesiastico; cartas y
expedientes de personas eclesiasticas vistos en el Consejo; años 1570
á 1608; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 42." The letter from Santa Catherina--the
same as No. 5.
8. _Letter from Maldonado._--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de
Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del presidente y oidores de dicha
Audiencia vistos en el Consejo; años de 1600 á 1606; est. 67, caj. 6,
leg. 19."
NOTES
[1] Marginal reference: "I John, 2."
[2] A town on the western coast of Samar, ten miles east of Catbalogan.
[3] These were Father Melchor Hurtado and Francisco González, and
the brother coadjutor Diego Rodriguez. They were sent from Mexico
in March by Francisco Váez, the provincial of Nueva España.--_Pablo
Pastells, S.J._
[4] Referring to Ignatius de Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the
Jesuit order, and afterward a saint; he is here mentioned as "blessed,"
as he was not canonized until 1622.
[5] The religious exercises recommended by Loyola, and composed by
him while in retirement near Manresa, Spain, in 1522; they from a
book entitled _Exercitia spiritualia_ ("Spiritual exercises") which
has ever since been a text-book of the Jesuit order.
[6] "The figure of a lamb stamped on the wax which remains from the
paschal candles, and solemnly blessed by the pope on the Thursday after
Easter, in the first and seventh years of his pontificate." (Addis
and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_, pp. 17, 18.)
[7] Apparently meaning the interior pellicle of bamboo (_Bambus
arundo_; _Vol_. XII, pp. 189, 190, note 44), used in Eastern lands
as a substitute for paper.
[8] _Decurias_: alluding to a custom in Spanish schools of placing the
pupils, by tens (or sometimes in smaller numbers), under the charge
of the most competent of the older students, under the supervision
of the master of the school.
[9] Marginal reference: "Wisdom, 7."
[10] Marginal reference: "Romans, 10"--evidently to the seventeenth
verse of that chapter, "Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by
the word of Christ." All citations from the Holy Bible, and references
thereto, made in the translations for this work, are taken from the
standard editions of the English Douay Bible.
[11] Marginal references: "Psalms, 18," and "Hebrews, 4."
[12] Marginal reference: "John, 9."
[13] Marginal reference: "I Timothy, 2."
[14] These were Fathers Gregorio Baroncini, Fabricio Cersali, Tomás
de Villanueva, Diego Laurencio, Pedro de Segura, and Angel Armano;
and the brother coadjutors Francisco Simon, Martin Sánchez, and Diego
Zarzuela.--_Pablo Pastells, S.J._
[15] This was the "Santo Thomas;" a full account of its voyage, and
of its wreck at the Catanduanes Islands, is given by La Concepción
(_Hist. de Philipinas_, iii, pp. 428-435). He says that at the Ladrones
Ribera found the survivors of the ship "Santa Margarita," which had
been wrecked there only a month before; of these he ransomed four,
promising to send from Manila for the others, later. He mentions,
as a part of the cargo, "horses, sheep, goats, and cats." At the end
of this account, he states the pressing need of better ships for the
long and stormy voyage to Nueva España.
[16] Marginal reference: "Psalms, 77; Zacharias, 9."
[17] A punishment by which the culprit was strangled with an iron
collar.
[18] La Concepción gives (_Hist. de Philipinas_, iii, pp. 409-411) a
summary of the proceedings of this council. They appointed a committee
to provide a vernacular translation of the catechism (of which the
Christian doctrine had already been rendered into the Visayan tongue),
in harmony with the Tagal translation of that book. They also appointed
a representative to go to Manila and confer with the Audiencia
on various matters concerning the royal jurisdiction--especially
regarding the proposal to enact statutes suppressing polygamy among
the natives. In the council complaints were made by the ecclesiastics
against the encomenderos, that they treated the Indians with injustice;
in return, the encomenderos attacked the priests, and the bishop was
obliged to interfere between them to quell the dissensions, reproving
the encomenderos.
[19] Spanish, _angelitos_; a play upon words, apparently alluding to
the gold coin known as _angelot_ (from the figure of an angel thereon),
used in the Low Countries in the sixteenth century. A similar name
(_angelet_) was given to one of the coins struck by English rulers
of France in the period 1150-1460.
[20] A delicate and refreshing fruit, the _Carica papaya_; sometimes
called "papaw," but is not the same as the papaw of North America
(_Asimina_). Crawfurd regards it, however (_Dict. Ind. Islands_,
p. 327) as having been introduced in the Philippines by the Spaniards,
from tropical America. See descriptions of the papaya in Delgado's
_Historia_, pp. 520, 521; Blanco's _Flora_, pp. 553, 554; and
U.S. Philippine Commission's _Report_, 1900, iii, p. 280.
[21] La Concepción gives a similar account of this episode in _Hist. de
Philipinas_, iv, pp. 67-69.
[22] Panámao is the ancient name of the island of Biliran, off the
northwestern extremity of Leyte, and is still applied to a mountain
in the northern part of Biliran.
[23] _Picote_: a sort of silken fabric, very lustrous, used for
garments. _Jusi_ (_husi_) is thus described in the U.S. Philippine
Commission's _Report_, 1900, iv, pp. 55, 56: "The especial product
of Philippine looms, especially those from the towns of Caloocan
and Iloilo, is jusi. These Philippine jusis, celebrated for their
lightness, beauty, and delicate patterns, are made from silk alone,
or more commonly with the warp of cotton or pineapple fiber and the
woof of silk. Pieces are made to suit the buyer. These pieces are
usually 30 or more yards in length, and from three-quarters of a
yard to a yard in width, and beautifully bordered in colors. This
beautiful cloth, which varies in price from 50 cents to $1 a yard,
compares favorably with fabrics of European manufacture."
[24] The present Silang is nineteen miles south of Cavite.
[25] Spanish, _monumento_; an altar erected in churches on Holy
Thursday which resembles a sepulchre.
[26] Water blessed in the font on Holy Saturday and the vigil of
Pentecost, which must be used at least in solemn baptism.... The priest
then pours oil of catechumens and chrism into the water." These are
two of the three kinds of "holy oils;" chrism is composed of olive
oil mixed with balm. See Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_,
pp. 64, 152, 616.
[27] Marginal reference: "I Maccabees, 6."
[28] Marginal reference: "St. Ambrose, _De officiis clericorum_, i,
chap. 40."
[29] Equivalent to about twenty-eight feet, U.S. measure.
[30] He left Cavite on the seventh day of July, in the vessel "San
Antonio," which was built in the island of Panámao. This vessel
was lost in 1604, while making its second voyage from Cavite to
Acapulco.--_Pablo Pastells, S.J._
[31] Juan Manuel Hurtado de Mendoza y Luna, Marques de Montesclaros,
who held an important office in Sevilla, was made viceroy of Nueva
España, arriving at Mexico in September, 1603. This office he held
until 1606, when he was made viceroy of Peru. He died in 1628.
[32] Spanish, _Recoletos_: the barefooted branch of the Augustinians,
known also as _Descalzos_ in Spain and its former colonial
possessions. The origin of this brotherhood is due to a reform movement
in Spain in the sixteenth century, started by the Venerable Thomas de
Jesús, who was for many years a captive among the Moors in Africa. He,
with other lovers of primitive observance of the Augustinian rule,
essayed to reintroduce divers customs no longer common among the
brotherhood, as frequent fasts, midnight prayers, wearing beards, and
going with uncovered heads. In 1588. at a chapter of these brethren
held at Toledo (the general of the order presiding), Luis de Leon,
the famed scholar and poet, was commissioned to draw up constitutions
for the observants, and these were approved by Rome. In 1614, the new
branch known now (as then) as "discalced" were freed from dependence
on the general of the order; and in 1622 Pope Gregory XV approved
their constitutions. In 1589, the reform movement (as above) spread
to some of our nunneries; these sisters were, like their brethren,
established as _Descalzas_, with their first house at Madrid under
Madre Maria de Jesus (or Covarubias) as Superioress--the first house
of the Recoletos being at Tatavera de la Reyna. In 1606, the Recoletos
entered the Philippines, where their first house was at Bagungbayan,
with the title of S. Juan. In 1602, by decree of November 16, the
general of the Augustinians, Fulvius of Ascoli, sanctioned the division
of the Philippine fathers of the order into two provinces--those who
held with the old rule to be known as Augustinians of the province of
Santísimo Nombre de Jesús; the Discalced, or Recoletos, as those of
the province of San Nicolas de Tolentino; so when the Recoletos went
to the Philippines they bore the name of their home province with
them to Malaysia. In Manila the famous Puente de España ("Bridge of
Spain") was projected and built under the superintendence of a Recoleto
father. (Thus Zamora, in _Las Corporaciones en Filipinas_, p, 358.) In
1726, the Discalced were dispensed from wearing beards; in 1746, from
going barefooted. Their earliest form of dress resembled the Capuchin
habit, except that its color was black. In 1736, the _beaterio_ of
S. Sebastián at Calumpang, in Luzón--which seventeen years previous had
been established by four Indian maidens, who were devout to Nuestra
Señora de Carmel--was handed over to the care of Recoleta sisters;
it is not known when these first came to the islands. The province
of the Recoletos in the Philippines bears the title of San Nicolas
de Tolentino. In Spain the Recoleto study-houses of their Philippine
missionaries are (or were in 1897), at Alfaro, Monteagudo, Marcilla,
and San Millan de la Cogolla.--_Rev. T.C. Middleton, O.S.A._
[33] Cf. the document in _Vol_. XI, "Grant to Jesuit school in Cebú,"
dated December 11, 1601. See note thereon regarding translation
of _colegio_.
[34] Referring to the fund arising from the fourth part of the
tributes in encomiendas where no religious instruction was given; this
fourth was reserved for the benefit of the Indians. See _Vol_. VIII,
pp. 29, 160.
[35] In legajo 2637, sec_a_, de est_o_. of the Simancas archivo is a
document recording the proceedings at a session of the Council of State
on July 20, 1604; among the questions discussed was this one of trade
between the American and the Oriental colonies. The councilors gave
their opinions separately. Their conclusion was that the prohibition
of trade in Chinese goods then in force between Peru and Nueva España
be made general; and that a period of only six or eight months be
allowed for the consumption of such goods already on hand, instead
of the two years recommended by the Council of the Indias. "It is
desirable to do this promptly and rigorously; but merchandise brought
for use in the churches and in Divine worship should be excepted from
this prohibition--save that in the future neither this nor any other
exception should be considered, but the door to this trade should
be closed by all means. The Marques of Montesclaros was recommended
as the proper person to carry out these instructions, as he had not
been concerned in that trade. One of the councilors advised that the
appointments of the commanders on ships in the Philippine trade be
retained by the viceroy of Spain, rather than given to the governor
and archbishop at Manila.
[36] Literally, "average;" a certain duty levied on merchandise in
the India trade.
[37] See account of this affair in _Vol_. XII, in the first document
1603; this name is there given as Tio Heng.
[38] Apparently a corrupt phonetic rendering of the name of Wan-Leh,
then emperor of China (_Vol_. III, p. 228). As he succeeded his father
in 1572, the blank date here must refer to the thirty-third year of
his reign (1605).
[39] Lorenzo de Leon was a native of Granada, and entered the
Augustinian order in Mexico where he made profession in 1578. Four
years later, he entered the Philippine mission, and spent twelve
years as minister in Indian villages in Luzón. He was then advanced
to various high offices in his order, among them that of provincial
(1596). He was a religious of exceptional abilities, and the general
of the order, as a recognition of his great endowments in virtue
and knowledge, appointed him master and president of provincial
chapters. After his second election as provincial (1605) he was at the
intermediate congregation deposed from this dignity by the fathers
definitors. Accepting this rude blow with humility and Christian
resignation, he withdrew to the convent of San Pablo de los Montes,
where he spent the following year in prayer and pious works. Returning
to Mexico in 1606, he died in that city in 1623. This account is
condensed from Pérez's _Catálogo_, p. 29.
[40] Spanish, _propiedad_: property enjoyed contrary to their vows
by members of religious orders.
[41] As the word "creole" is often used in a vague or inexact manner,
it seems best to state that, as used in our text, it means a person
of pure Spanish blood, born in any of the Spanish colonies.
[42] Pedro de Arce was born in the province of Vitoria, in Spain,
and made his profession in the convent at Salamanca, in 1576. He came
to the Philippine Islands in 1583, and ministered in various Indian
villages, then filled several high offices, finally becoming bishop
of Nueva Cáceres (1609) and bishop of Cebú (1613). After a long and
laborious career, he died at Cebú, on October 16, 1645, at the age
of eighty-five.
[43] Bernardo Navarro de Santa Catalina was one of the first Dominican
missionaries, arriving at Manila in July, 1587. His labors were
principally among the Indians of Pangasinan (in whose language he
composed many short devotional works), until he became provincial of
his order in the islands, June 15, 1596. When the term of this office
expired, he was appointed commissary of the Inquisition; and in 1616
was again elected provincial. Undertaking soon afterward a journey to
Cagayan in the rainy season, he was made ill by fatigue and exposure,
and died at Nueva Segovia (the modern Lal-ló or Lallo-c), on November
8, 1616. See sketch of his life in _Reseña biog. Sant. Rosario_,
pp. 80-86.
[44] The enterprise here mentioned was an attempt to regain possession
of the Maluco Islands, which had just been seized by the Dutch. In
June, 1605, arrived at Manila the commandant of the Portuguese fort at
Tidore, with some of his soldiers, accompanied by three Jesuits and
many native Christians--all of whom had been expelled from Amboyna
and Tidore by the Dutch. At the same time came a reinforcement of
a thousand troops from Spain; and Acuña resolved, with this aid,
to prepare an expedition for the recovery of the Spice Islands. In
February, 1606, a powerful fleet set out for this purpose, carrying
more than one thousand three hundred Spaniards, who were aided by
six hundred Indian auxiliaries; they were successful, under Acuña's
personal command, in recapturing Amboyna, Tidore, and Terrenate,
and carried to Manila as a prisoner the petty king of the last-named
island. See La Concepción's account of this expedition, in _Hist. de
Philipinas_, iv, pp. 20-93.
[45] In July, 1606, Rivera sailed for Mexico to fill his post in
the Audiencia there; but an epidemic (probably ship-fever) on the
ship caused the death of eighty persons, among them Rivera. See La
Concepción, _Hist. de Philipinas_, iv, p. 108.
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