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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume L
Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the
islands and their peoples, their history and records of
the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books
and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial
and religious conditions of those islands from their
earliest relations with European nations to the close of
the nineteenth century
Author: Various
Editor: Emma Helen Blair
James Alexander Robertson
Edward Gaylord Bourne
Release Date: May 20, 2018 [EBook #57189]
Language: English
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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 L, 1764-1800
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMVII
CONTENTS OF VOLUME L
Preface 9
Document of 1764-1800
Events in Filipinas, 1764-1800. [Compiled from Montero y
Vidal's Historia de Filipinas.] 23
Miscellaneous Documents, 1766-1771
Financial affairs of the islands, 1766. Francisco Leandro
de Viana; Manila, July 10, 1766. 77
Letter from Viana to Carlos III. F. L. de Viana; Manila,
May 1, 1767. 118
Anda's Memorial to the Spanish government. Simon de Anda
y Salazar; Madrid, April 12, 1768. 137
Ordinances of good government. [Compiled by Governors
Corcuera (1642), Cruzat y Góngora (1696), and Raón
(1768).] 191
Instructions to the secular clergy. Basilio Sancho de
Santa Justa y Rufina; Manila, October 25, 1771. 265
The expulsion of the Jesuits, 1768-69. [Compiled from
various sources.] 269
The council of 1771. [Letter by a Franciscan friar];
Manila, December 13, 1771. 317
Bibliographical Data. 323
ILLUSTRATIONS
Plan of the city of Manila and its environs and suburbs
on the other side of the river, by the pilot Francisco
Xavier Estorgo y Gallegos, 1770; photographic facsimile
from original MS. map (in colors) in Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla 35
Plan of the present condition of Manila and its environs,
drawn by the engineer Feliciano Márquez, Manila, September
30, 1767; photographic facsimile from original MS. map
(in colors) in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 83
Map of the river of Cagayan, showing town sites along its
banks, 1720(?); drawn by Juan Luis de Acosta; photographic
facsimile from original MS map in Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla 182, 183
Map of Manila Bay, port of Cavite, and Lake of Bay, showing
depths of various parts of the bay, drawn by the engineer
Feliciano Márquez, September 28, 1767; from original MS. map
(in colors) in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 201
Map of Guam, one of the Marianas Islands, in Concepción's
Historia general (Sampaloc, 1788-1792), vii, facing p. 145;
photographic facsimile from copy in library of Harvard
University 291
PREFACE
In this volume is a brief outline of events from the restoration
of Manila by the English (1764) to 1800; and a group of documents
relating to the more important topics in the first decade of that
period. The condition of the islands and their people at that time
is well described by the able and patriotic officials Viana and Anda;
and the "ordinances of good government" are an important addition to
our sources of information regarding the administration of justice in
Filipinas. The most important event of that time was the expulsion of
the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions, although its great significance
in Europe was but feebly reflected in those remote colonies.
In a brief summary are noted the leading events in Filipinas from
1764 to 1800. Manila is restored to the Spanish authorities by the
English on March 31, 1764; a few months before, Archbishop Rojo had
died, in captivity. The brief term of the temporary governor, Torre,
contains little that is noteworthy, outside of a controversy between
the civil government and the religious orders, occasioned by the
imprudent utterances of a Jesuit preacher. In July, 1765, arrives
the new governor, José Raón, in whose term occurs the expulsion of
the Jesuits from the islands, a matter treated more fully in a later
document; he also publishes a revision of the laws compiled earlier by
Arandia. The city of Manila first coins small copper money about this
time. The old controversy regarding episcopal visitation of the regular
curas is revived (1767) by Archbishop Santa Justa y Rufina, and it is
complicated by Raón's attempt to enforce the royal rights of patronage;
bitter controversies arise, and are carried to the Madrid court.
After the capture of Manila by the English, the Moros had renewed
their piracies, and ravaged the entire archipelago, year after
year--even entrenching themselves and opening a slave market on
Mindoró Island. Later, an expedition is sent to drive them out of this
stronghold, which is successful. In 1770, the patriot Anda returns
to Filipinas as its governor; he brings suit against Raón and other
officials for misconduct in office, which is proved against them;
but they and their friends rouse bitter opposition against him,
and hinder his labors for the country. Incited by reports of another
English invasion, he strengthens the fortifications of Manila Bay. His
appointment was unwelcome to the friars, and he makes official
remonstrance against the abuses prevalent among them, and calls
for corrections of these. Attempting to enforce the royal rights of
patronage, all the orders save the Dominicans refuse to obey; but later
royal orders (1776) make provision for more gradual secularization
of the curacies in Filipinas, and somewhat modify the enforcement of
the episcopal visitation--to secure which Santa Justa had convened a
provincial council at Manila in 1771, which was afterward disapproved
by the king. Difficulties arise with the Moros of Joló through the
imprudence of an envoy sent thither by Anda, and through the military
establishment made by the English on an islet near Joló. The Moros
seize this fort by treachery (1775) and kill most of the Englishmen
in it; this success emboldens the Moros to ravage the Spanish islands
again. In the following year the king sends 50,000 pesos to Filipinas
for building light vessels to follow up those pirates. The weight
of Anda's official responsibility, and the constant attacks of his
enemies, cause his death, October 30, 1776. He is succeeded by Basco
y Vargas, an energetic, able, and conscientious officer. The auditors
conspire against him, but he arrests them and ships them to Spain; he
then devotes himself to the welfare of the country and the development
of its resources. He makes all possible efforts to promote agriculture,
industries, and commerce; founds the celebrated "Economic Society;"
improves the schools, punishes highwaymen, reorganizes the army,
and repairs the forts; visits the provinces in person, and informs
himself of their condition; places the public revenues on a sound
basis; and checks the Moro piracies for a time. Nevertheless, he is
disliked and opposed by some of the citizens, and resigns his post as
governor (1787); his temporary successor is Pedro Sarrio, who finds
it necessary to allow the regular curas to resume their parish charges.
The next proprietary governor, Félix Berenguer de Marquina, assumes his
office on July 1, 1788. After becoming acquainted with the condition
of the islands, he sends to the home government proposals for the
reforms which seem desirable for Filipinas. Various events in his
term of office are related, but there is little in them of unusual
importance. In 1793 he is succeeded by Aguilar. New alarms of another
English invasion oblige him to give attention first to the defenses
of Manila and the improvement of the army. In the last days of 1796,
a powerful Spanish fleet, commanded by Álava, arrives at Manila, sent
thither for the defense of the islands in the war with Great Britain,
which began in that year. Sailing to attack the English trading-fleet
from China, Álava encounters a fierce hurricane, which drives him
back to Manila. Endeavoring to improve the navy of the islands, and
to reorganize the arsenals, he encounters official corruption and
other difficulties, and is involved in long controversies with Aguilar
and the royal officials at Manila. In 1797, the Acapulco galleon is
wrecked soon after leaving Cavite, through "its commander's complete
ignorance of nautical affairs," occasioning heavy loss to the citizens
of Manila. Álava is compelled, by the continual danger of an attack by
the English, to remain near the city for its defense; but he does all
in his power to protect its commerce and improve the administration
of its navy, and finally returns to Spain in 1803. On August 8, 1806,
Aguilar dies, having held his office longer than any other governor
before or since.
A detailed statement of the financial affairs of the islands in 1766 is
furnished by the royal fiscal at Manila, Francisco Leandro de Viana. He
aims to show how the Philippines can be made self-supporting, and
even more, by proper retrenchments of expense and by increasing the
revenues of government through the abolition of certain privileges
and exemptions, the establishment of various monopolies, and, if
necessary, the increase of the tributes paid by the natives. This
last item produces 250,000 pesos annually; but nearly all of this is
paid out for "the spiritual administration" of the Indians, so that,
according to Viana, "the religious orders profit by and receive almost
all the proceeds from the tributes." Hence the need of the royal
situado each year from Mexico, to pay the civil and military expenses
of the government. Viana enumerates the other profits derived from the
Indians by the religious who are charged with their spiritual care,
and mentions numerous other sources of income which they possess. In
short, "all the profit of the islands accrues to the ecclesiastical
estate;" the royal treasury is heavily indebted, and cannot meet
the enormous expenses; "the provinces are at the mercy of the Moros,
and everything is in danger of total ruin, unless suitable remedies
are applied in time."
For this purpose Viana advocates various retrenchments of expenses,
especially of those now incurred for the support of the ecclesiastical
estate in the islands. He recommends that the exemptions of certain
Indian chiefs and church servants from tribute-paying be abolished;
that the "barangays" be suppressed, and the native villages reduced
to parishes; that changes and reforms be made in the dealings of the
provincial alcaldes with the crown; that offices be not sold, but
granted as rewards of merit; that certain royal imposts be increased;
that some privileges be sold at auction; and that monopolies be
established on playing-cards, cock-fighting, and tobacco, not only in
Manila but throughout the provinces and islands--to all of which the
monopolies on wine and buyo might profitably be extended, which "would
produce for the royal treasury enormous sums." From all these sources,
the royal treasury will obtain enough income "to maintain the islands
with respectable forces, and to make good the expenses hitherto caused
to the royal revenue," without the necessity of increasing the tribute
paid by the natives. But, if this last expedient be deemed necessary,
he shows what will be the proceeds from increasing the tribute from
ten reals to two, three, and four pesos respectively. The fiscal
Viana shows himself to be a capable and honest official; but he
evidently must contend with forces and conditions--greed for gain,
official corruption, fraud, negligence and waste--that cannot be
overcome without entire reform and reorganization of the colonial
administration. With all his ability, he nevertheless regards the
native peoples, as so many other European officials have done, as
legitimate subjects for reckless exploitation; but in the light of
modern thought and investigation his proposed expedients seem both
short-sighted and ruinous. In some cases they would be diabolical,
if their author could have realized what their effects would be,
as with the proposed extension of the vicious monopolies (gambling,
and the use of tobacco and wine) throughout the islands. He himself
says, "Even the boys and girls use the said tobacco before they are
old enough to exercise their reason."
Another document of especial interest is a report by Viana (May 1,
1767) to the king and the Council of the Indias, apparently the final
one sent by him as fiscal. The subjects which it chiefly discusses
are, the necessity of rendering trade free between the Spaniards and
the Indians in the provinces, and that of instructing the natives
in the Spanish language. As it is, the Indians seldom understand
that language, outside of Manila, and dare not use it in presence
of the religious. The latter, Viana says, are absolute despots in
the islands, and, to conceal this from the authorities, they keep
the natives in ignorance of the Spanish language; and they allow no
Spaniard to enter their villages except by special permission of the
cura, and for the time of three days only. He complains of their
insolence, greed for dominion, disregard of all laws that do not
suit their convenience, intrigues to prevent the enforcement of law,
and oppression of the natives. These evils are incurable so long as
the present mode of secular government continues. The interests of
the king and his exchequer, and the government of the provinces, are
shamefully neglected; the governor is indolent and covetous, seeks
his own profit, and leaves business affairs to his secretary--who
in turn neglects those which do not yield him gain. Viana urges that
the superintendency of the exchequer be separated from the governor's
office, as a partial remedy for the disorder and neglect which it has
suffered; also the surrender of civil government in the provinces to
the sole charge of the Audiencia, and the reduction of all the natives
into parishes. He describes the intrigues within the orders which
attend the appointments therein to the parishes under their charge,
and claims that the missions are in consequence rapidly decaying. He
renews his complaint of the despotic rule practiced by the friar curas,
over both natives and alcaldes; and declares that the only cure for
this will be, to subject the curas to episcopal visitation. Viana
closes by urging that better governors be sent to the islands.
Further light on the condition of the islands after the English
invasion is furnished by a notable memorial to the Spanish government,
written by the patriot Anda (April 12, 1768). Far the greater part
of this is devoted to the abuses resulting from the arrogance and
lawlessness of the friars, with Anda's recommendations for measures
to counteract those abuses; and to his text we add the helpful
annotations made thereon by Dr. Pardo de Tavera. The inadequate
and defective education furnished by the Manila universities leads
Anda to recommend that they be abolished, and replaced by a secular
foundation. He complains of the tyranny exerted by the regulars over
the secular clergy and over the Indians, their refusal to acknowledge
the episcopal authority, their defiance of the secular government,
their greed for gain (extorting all they can get from the Indians,
although they receive large stipends and contributions from the
government, and acquiring large estates, besides engaging in a
lucrative trade), their persecutions of any Spaniards who attempt to
visit or trade in the Indian villages, their protection of the infidel
Chinese, their persistent neglect to teach the Spanish language to the
Indians and their holding the latter in ignorance in order to retain
their domination over them. The regulars also neglect their spiritual
work, do nothing to check the vagrant life of many Indians, tyrannize
over the alcaldes, and incite the Indians to hate the Spaniards. Anda
urges that they be compelled to submit to episcopal visitation, to
give up trade, to cease from meddling with all affairs of secular
government, and to teach the Spanish language to the natives; and,
if they prove contumacious, that they be expelled from the islands. At
the end of the memorial, Anda touches on some other abuses which need
correction: the choice of friars as bishops, the mismanagement of
the royal storehouses, the undue expense of the Acapulco galleon, the
failure to tax the production of gold, and the neglect to subdue the
inland tribes of Luzón. He advocates the operation of the Philippine
mines, revision of the commercial regulations, recoinage of money,
reorganization of the colonial government, and more care in selecting
the governors of the islands, with the grant to them of more power
to correct abuses.
Of decided importance in this series are the ordinances of good
government of Corcuera and Cruzat (with later additions), and those of
Raón (revising those of Arandía, of 1768), which were intended for the
guidance of alcaldes, corregidors, and other judicial officials. While
in actual use they were never of the transcendental importance in
executive, legislative, and judicial matters that might be imagined
from their context, because they are for the most part merely a
record on paper (especially those of Raón), and were almost entirely
disregarded; yet they are valuable, as they show the Spanish treatment
of natives, and reveal social and economic conditions. Although
the source from which we translate and synopsize presents first the
ordinances of Raón, we have preferred to follow the more chronological
arrangement, and hence begin with those of Corcuera and Cruzat. The
ordinances of Corcuera, which were formulated in 1642, are revised by
Cruzat, because such revision is demanded by the changed conditions
that have come with the lapse of time. The first thirty-eight are the
more valuable portion of these first ordinances, and are the result
of the revision of those of Corcuera. They are much more clear-cut
than most of the remaining twenty-three ordinances, some of which
are vague and full of loopholes. As a whole, these first sixty-one
ordinances regulate the conduct of the alcaldes-mayor in their official
and private life in all lines--moral, religious, judicial, economic,
etc. From them one obtains almost a full glimpse of the life of the
times; he sees the canker of graft which was working in and through
everything; gains a knowledge of the Spanish treatment of their wards,
the natives, from the different standpoints of government paternalism,
and individual rapacity, half-contempt, and cruelty of subordinate
officials and others; notes the corrective measures that were taken,
often halting and inadequate; and above all, is conscious of that
peculiar method of Spanish legislation which, while apparently giving
subordinate officials a free hand, drew them back to the center by
threats of the residencia. The ordinances of Raón are ninety-four in
number, many of which are repetitions of the foregoing, while some
contain amendments and additions, and some again, are new. There
is, for instance, considerably more legislation relating to the
ecclesiastical estate in these later ordinances, which touch upon
certain abuses common among them in their treatment of the natives
and in their relations with the government. Less drastic, in many
ways, than those of Arandía (of which no known copy is extant), they
are more drastic than those of Corcuera and Cruzat, in the treatment
of both religious and natives. The scheme of government outlined in
both sets of ordinances is a simple and in some ways effective one,
but its effects were never fully seen, because of the almost total
disregard of the measures contained therein.
In 1771, Archbishop de Santa Justa issued instructions to the secular
clergy which forcibly indicate the need of many reforms among them,
in both their official and their private conduct.
One of the most important events in the history of Filipinas was the
expulsion of the Jesuit order therefrom in 1768, an account of which
is here presented, prefaced by a brief statement of the expulsion of
that order from Spain and its domains, and the causes of that measure;
it proves to be the final stroke in the long conflict between the
Spanish crown and the popes of Rome over the prerogatives of authority
claimed by the former in ecclesiastical matters. The Jesuits had
always upheld the principle of authority, as exercised by the Holy
See, and were therefore opposed to the claims of the Spanish monarchs;
moreover, the ideas of freedom brought from France in that period were
already fermenting in Spain, and had great influence in the minds of
Carlos III and his ministers; and they saw that the expulsion of the
Jesuits from the Spanish dominions would remove the chief obstacles
to their designs for governmental reforms and independence of papal
interference. In Filipinas this expulsion does not proceed as desired
by the Spanish court, with secrecy and promptness; the venal governor
(Raón) warns the Jesuits of their fate, enabling them to make all
preparations for their departure. Legal proceedings are therefore
brought against Raón and his associates in their residencias, but some
of them die before the suits are ended; and Anda, who instituted these
by royal order, is nevertheless impeded in every way, and afterward
sentenced to heavy fines, through the machinations of his enemies. A
decree by the archbishop (November 1, 1769) censures the officious
proceeding of an auditor, who seized and prohibited certain books
hostile to the Jesuits.
A letter (December 13, 1771) from a Franciscan friar at Manila,
relates various ecclesiastical disputes in connection with the diocesan
council of 1771.
The Editors
April, 1907.
DOCUMENT OF 1764-1800
Events in Filipinas, 1764-1800. Compiled from Montero y Vidal.
Source: Compiled from Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas, ii,
pp. 66-70, 115-140, 229-382.
Translation: This is made by Emma Helen Blair.
EVENTS IN FILIPINAS, 1764-1800
Archbishop Rojo, ad interim governor of the islands at the time of
the English attack on Manila, died on January 30, 1764, a prisoner
in the hands of the conquerors. [1] A few days later, Anda received
despatches from Spain notifying him of the treaty of peace made
with England, and he immediately entered into negotiations with the
English for the surrender of Manila, which was accomplished on March 31
following. There was a dispute over the question of who should succeed
Rojo in the government of the islands, an honor which was certainly due
to the patriot Anda, who was, however, opposed by some of the citizens;
but this was settled by the arrival of Colonel Francisco de la Torre,
appointed governor ad interim of the islands, to whom Anda surrendered
his command on March 17. The revolts and other disturbances in the
provinces, consequent on the English occupancy, and their suppression,
are noted in VOL. XLIX; cf. Montero y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, ii,
chap. iii, and Ferrando, Hist. PP. dominicos, v, pp. 640-644, 651-740,
for fuller accounts of these, and of the Chinese insurrection which
then occurred. Ferrando makes (p. 739) the following interesting
citation from an unnamed but "reliable" writer: "There died in this
war some seventy Spaniards and two hundred and fifty natives, who,
as good subjects, fought even unto death for their king. Before
the insurrection there were in the province [of Pangasinan] 60,383
souls; and according to the computation which was made on May 13,
1766, there were in it only 33,456; consequently the loss for the
entire province was 26,927 souls. Many of these inhabitants emigrated,
others perished from their privations, and no small number were killed
by the barbarians." [2] During Torre's temporary command the most
important occurrence was a noisy controversy which was called forth
by the imprudent and meddlesome utterances of a Jesuit preacher in
Manila, Francisco Javier Puch, attacking government officials. [3]
The governor with the aid of the fiscal Viana, attempted to secure
the punishment or rebuke of Puch, but the Dominican theologians took
sides against them with the Jesuits; [4] the dispute was carried to
the court at Madrid, and produced long and bitter controversies and
dissensions, and probably was one of the motives which influenced
the king, some years later, to expel the Jesuits from his dominions.
On July 6, 1765, the new proprietary governor, José Raon, a military
officer of high rank, relieved Torre; he appears to have been able
but unscrupulous. [5] He is most conspicuous for his revision of
the "Ordinances of good government" drawn up by Arandía (see post,
pp. 191-264), the revision being dated February 26, 1768; and for
the expulsion of the Jesuits from the islands (1768), in pursuance of
the orders received from Madrid dated March 1, 1767--which matter is
related in detail in the last document of this volume. In 1769 he also
decreed the expulsion of the Chinese from Filipinas, although this was
not fully enforced. Early in October, 1766, the French astronomer Le
Gentil, whose Voyage (Paris, 1781) is a valuable contribution at once
to science and to the history of Filipinas at that time, arrived at
Manila, commissioned by the French government to make observations
on the approaching transit of Venus. "On account of the scarcity of
copper money in Manila, the senior regidor of the municipal council,
Domingo Gómez de la Sierra, in 1766 [6] requested authorization to make
the said coins, with the name of barrillas, because their shape was
that of a parallelogram. The government complied with this request,
ordaining that only [the amount of] 5,000 pesos should be coined,
to be used only in Tondo and Cavite. From that time, the Indians gave
the name barrilla to copper coins." "The municipal council again asked
for authority to make the barrillas, for use in various provinces;
and by royal decree of December 19, 1769, order was given to send
from Mexico 6,000 pesos in cuartillos (that is, fourths of silver
reals)--with the provision that the coin [previously] made should be
gathered in, and that what should be necessary should be made with the
royal arms, within the limits allowed to San Domingo, as appears in
ley 8, tit. xxiv, [book iv,] of the Recopilación de Indias." In 1766
there were two very fierce eruptions of the volcano Mayón, in Albay,
occurring on July 20 and October 23; in the second, vast quantities
of water were ejected, forming rivers and torrents, which destroyed
some villages and many lives, and ruined many homes and farms. [7]
On July 22, 1767, the new archbishop, Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa
y Rufina, [8] took possession of the see of Manila, and immediately
undertook to subject the regular curas to his diocesan visitation,
thus reviving the Camacho controversy of 1697-1700 (see VOL. XLII,
pp. 25-116) with the religious orders; but Santa Justa had the
support of the civil authority, which had orders to enforce the royal
rights of patronage. "The governor of the islands, on his side,
communicated to the provincials of the religious orders rigorous
commands that they must submit to the royal rights of patronage:
that within a short time-limit they should present their lists of
three names each [sus ternas] for appointments to all the curacies;
and that in future they might not remove any religious from his post
without informing the viceregal patron of the causes, whether public
or private, for such action." The Dominican province, in a provincial
council of August 5, 1767, yielded to the archbishop's claims, and
during the following year he visited all the parishes administered
by them; but some individuals refused to obey the council. The other
orders obstinately resisted the episcopal visitation, declaring that
they would abandon their curacies if it were enforced. Thereupon,
the archbishop appointed secular priests to the vacant curacies,
including those of the Parián, Binondo, and Bataan, which were
in charge of the Dominicans. [9] As the number of Spanish priests
was so small, the archbishop made up the deficiency by ordaining
natives from the seminaries; but this measure caused great resentment
among the regulars and their supporters, and Santa Justa himself was
disappointed in its effects, as the native clergy were generally so
unfit for the office of priest in both education and morals. [10]
Complaints to the king were made by both the religious orders and
the archbishop, filled with mutual accusations and recriminations;
and Raon withdrew his support from the latter, ceasing to press the
claims of the royal patronage--influenced thereto, according to Montero
y Vidal, by the intrigues of the Jesuits, who were enemies to Santa
Justa. The support given by the Dominicans to the Jesuits in the Puch
affair was censured by the Dominican general (Fray Tomás de Bojadors),
who punished the Philippine provincial, Fray Joaquín del Rosario,
and two of his brethren by depriving them of office and recalling
them to Madrid. They availed themselves of various technicalities to
delay their return for a long time; but finally two of them were sent
from Manila late in December, 1778. Fray Joaquín del Rosario (his
companion having died on the voyage) was captured by the English,
but afterward regained his liberty and proceeded to Madrid, where
the dispute was finally settled in an amicable manner.
After the capture of Manila by the English, the Moros renewed their
piratical incursions, the Spanish authorities being so burdened with
the insurrections of the natives and the Chinese, the lack of revenues,
and the general disturbance of the colony's affairs, that they could
do nothing to curb the insolence of the Moros. Those cruel pirates
therefore ravaged the entire archipelago, even capturing fishing-boats
in Manila Bay; and everywhere the coast villages were destroyed or
depopulated, and the native population kept in continual terror of this
inhuman foe. Bishop Ezpeleta, while temporary governor, had disbanded
the little fleet at Iligan commanded by the Jesuits Ducós, which had
been some check on the enemy, but Governor Rojo reëstablished the
Pintados fleet, with headquarters at Cebú; nevertheless, this could do
little to restrain them. There was a general attack by the Joloans and
Mindanaos, [11] well aided by the Tirones and Malanaos; and so insolent
did they become that they captured two richly-laden champans on the
Mariveles coast, and entrenched themselves at Mamburao, on Mindoro
Island, and sold their Filipino captives to the Macasar traders who
resorted thither. A small squadron was collected at Cavite, which
conveyed over 1,200 men to attack this Moro fort; [12] after several
days of skirmishing, the enemy fled, and the Spaniards seized their
stronghold, finding therein sufficient rice and other property to more
than pay the expenses of the expedition. Another Moro band, however,
made amends for this loss by gaining possession of the fort at Cateel,
with all its contents; but on going to besiege that at Tandag they
were repulsed and defeated, leaving behind all their arms and supplies.
In 1767 Anda went to Madrid, where he was praised and richly rewarded
for his brave conduct during the English invasion; and the king made
him a member of the Council of Castilla. Later, the post of governor of
Filipinas was offered to him; he several times refused the honor, but
finally yielded to the urgent request of the government, and in July,
1770 made his entry into Manila, where he was received with unbounded
enthusiasm. His instructions made it necessary for him to institute
legal proceedings against his predecessor Raon, who was accused of
having warned the Jesuits of their intended expulsion, and of having
secreted important official documents. Raon was held a prisoner in
his house, but died before the suit could be tried in court. In this
suit were also included two auditors and the royal fiscal, and they and
their friends attacked Anda bitterly, causing him numberless vexations
in his efforts to fix on them the responsibility for misconduct in
the affair of the Jesuit expulsion. It was reported in Spain that
the English intended to make another attack on Manila; Anda therefore
repaired the walls of the city [13] and constructed ships, and within
eight months had built and equipped twelve armed vessels of various
sizes, besides several smaller craft. Notwithstanding this enterprise,
the public revenues were greatly increased during the first year,
[14] and thus Anda was able to send several expeditions against the
Moro pirates. An earthquake [15] occurred on the night of February 1,
which fortunately did no great damage.
"The religious corporations, notwithstanding the support which they
generally lent to Anda during the war with the English, regarded with
displeasure his appointment as governor of Filipinas. That strict
magistrate, obeying the dictates of his conscience (which some
persons attribute, but without sufficient grounds, to feelings of
personal revenge), had addressed to the king on April 12, 1768, an
exposition which treated of 'the disorders which exist in Filipinas,
and which ought to be corrected.' In this document he points out most
serious abuses among the friars; in the university, which was in their
charge; among the Jesuits; among the Chinese, protected by the friars,
who preferred them before the Spaniards, driving away and expelling
the latter from their villages; and he censures certain frauds and
practices in the public administration in specified branches of the
civil service. The seventy with which Anda laid bare those abuses drew
upon him the hatred of the friars. [16] In this document he demanded a
remedy for the disorders which he denounced, pointing out the method
by which this might be effected, and declared that 'for the radical
correction of these evils it is indispensable to draw up and introduce
here a form of procedure which is clear, and capable of securing the
just system which corresponds thereto, conferring upon the governor
all the powers necessary for carrying it into execution, by those
measures which prudence and the actual condition of affairs shall
dictate to him.' He added: 'The choice of a zealous governor will
materially contribute to laying the foundations of that great work;
but it is necessary to reward him and give him authority, so that he
can work to advantage, and without the hindrances which have often,
by means of secret communications, cunning and disloyal maneuvers, and
other malicious proceedings, frustrated the best and most carefully
formed plans.' This exposition [17] by Anda was certainly taken into
account, for in the 'royal private instructions' which were given to
him when he was appointed governor of Filipinas we see that he was
ordered to put an end to specified abuses and disorders, the king using
the same terms which Anda had employed in describing those evils."
"The archbishop Santa Justa, a man of unparalleled firmness and
energetic character, from the first moment assailed the new governor
of Filipinas on the question of the diocesan visitation, to which
the friars continued their opposition, and demanded his support
in order to make it effectual. Anda, who regarded obedience to the
laws as a rule of conduct, and who brought orders from the court to
subject the regulars to the royal patronage, addressed an explicit
communication to the superiors of all the religious institutes,
requiring their obedience to the mandate of the sovereign, and
assigning a definite term, which could not be prolonged, for the
presentation of their lists of appointees, in order that the curacies
might be filled in this manner. All the orders of regulars openly
refused to yield obedience of this sort, excepting the Dominicans--who,
more circumspect, and endeavoring to avoid the dangers which they
foresaw in resistance, agreed to submit to this command--although
many of the parish priests of the order soon were disobedient to this
decision of their superiors."
The archbishop convened a provincial council at Manila, which held six
sessions during the period May 19-November 24, 1771; various matters
of ecclesiastical administration came before it, the chief of which
was the diocesan visit. In the fifth session, the subjection of the
parish priests to the diocesan visitation and the royal patronage
was ordained; and at the final one it was ordered that the decrees
of the council should immediately be promulgated, declaring that
those of the council of Mexico (which Urban VIII had ordered to be
observed in Filipinas) were not now binding. In the first session
the bishop of Nueva Cáceres, Fray Antonio de Luna (a Franciscan),
became involved in disputes over the appointment of secretaries,
and was expelled from the assembly; he then retired to his diocese,
and during the entire period of the council opposed its proceedings,
with protests, legal formalities, and official edicts. Bishop
Ezpeleta of Cebú died soon after the opening of the council, and
the government of that diocese devolved upon Luna, but, it seems,
not its representation in the council. A secretary of that body,
Father Joaquín Traggia, was sent to Madrid as its agent and bearer
of its despatches; but the king refused to accept his credentials,
and ordered him to go to his convent at Zaragoza, forbidding him to
return to Filipinas. (Toward the end of this council, the archbishop,
in concert with his suffragans, drew up a tariff for the parochial
fees to be collected by the curas.) The religious orders finally
secured, through influence at the court, the revocation of the order
given to Anda in regard to the regular curas, which had resulted in
many of them being removed from the Indian villages and replaced by
native priests; but no change was made in regard to the diocesan
visitation. The bishop of Nueva Segovia, Fray Miguel Garcia, [18]
claimed this right, and convened a diocesan council in 1773; the
only result was, to arouse a hot controversy between Garcia and the
Dominicans, to which order he belonged. That order also had a dispute
with the archbishop over his attempt to visit the beaterio of Santa
Catalina; but in 1779 the king decided that this institution should
continue to enjoy its exemption from visitation.
"By royal decree of November 9, 1774, it was ordered that the curacies
held by the regulars should be secularized as fast as they became
vacant. Anda suspended the execution of this command, and wrote to the
court, specifying the evils which would ensue from the secularization
of the curacies which the archbishop desired; and in consequence
of this and of the urgent appeals of the Franciscans, Augustinians,
and Recollects, the king ordered by a decree of December 11, 1776,
that what had been decided on this point in the decree of November 9,
1774, should not be put into execution, and that affairs should be
restored to their former status and condition, and their curacies to
the religious; that the regulations for his royal patronage and the
ecclesiastical visitation should be observed, but that the latter
might be made by the bishops in person, or by religious of the same
order as those who should serve in the curacies, and without collecting
visitation fees. The king also directed in the said decree that efforts
should be made, by all possible means and methods, to form a large body
of competent clerics, in order that, conformably to the royal decree
of June 23, 1757, these might be installed in the vacant curacies,
thus gradually establishing the secularization that had been decreed."
Anda took what precautions were available to restrain the Moro pirates,
but great difficulties arose in his way. Ali-Mudin, whom the English
had restored to his sway in Joló, and his son Israel (in whose favor
the father had abdicated) were friendly to the Spaniards, with many of
their dattos; but another faction, led by Zalicaya, the commander of
the Joloan armadas, favored the English, who had established themselves
(1762) on the islet of Balambangan [19] in the Joló archipelago,
which they had induced Bantilan to grant them; and the English were
accused of endeavoring to incite the Joloans against the Spaniards
by intrigue and bribery. Anda decided to send an expedition to make
protest to the English against their occupation of this island, as
being part of the Spanish territory, and entrusted this mission to an
Italian officer named Giovanni Cencelly, who was then in command of
one of the infantry regiments stationed at Manila; the latter sailed
from Zamboanga December 30, 1773, bearing careful instructions as to
his mode of procedure, and to avoid any hostilities with the English
and maintain friendship with the Joloans. But Cencelly seems to have
been quite destitute of tact or judgment, and even of loyalty to his
governor; for he disobeyed his instructions, angered the Joloans,
[20] who could hardly be restrained by Ali-Mudin from massacring the
Spaniards, and at the end of three weeks was obliged to return to
Zamboanga. He was on bad terms with the commandant there (Raimundo
Español), and refused to render him any account of his proceedings
at Joló; and he even tried to stir up a sedition among the Spanish
troops against Español. The English gladly availed themselves of this
unfortunate affair to strengthen their own position in Joló, stirring
up the islanders against Spain and erecting new forts. Later, however,
the English at Balambangan showed so much harshness and contempt for
the Moro dattos (even putting one in the pillory) that the latter
plotted to surprise and kill the intruders; and on March 5, 1775, this
was accomplished, the English being all slain except the commandant and
five others, who managed to escape to their ship in the harbor. The
fort was seized by the Moros, who thus acquired great quantities of
military supplies, arms, money, and food, with several vessels. [21]
Among this spoil were forty-five cannons and $24,000 in silver. Elated
by this success, Tenteng, the chief mover of the enterprise, tried to
secure Zamboanga by similar means; but the new commandant there, Juan
Bayot, was on his guard, and the Moros were baffled. Tenteng then went
to Cebú, where he committed horrible ravages; and other raids of this
sort were committed, the Spaniards being unable to check them for a
long time. A letter written to the king by Anda in 1773 had asked for
money to construct light armed vessels, and a royal order of January
27, 1776, commanded that 50,000 pesos be sent to Filipinas for this
purpose. This money was employed by Anda's temporary successor, Pedro
Sarrio, in the construction of a squadron of vintas, "vessels which,
on account of their swiftness and exceedingly light draft, were more
suitable for the pursuit of the pirates than the very heavy galleys;
they were, besides, to carry pilots of the royal fleet to reconnoiter
the coasts, draw plans of the ports, indicate the shoals and reefs,
take soundings in the sea, etc."
Notwithstanding the great services which Anda had rendered to his
king and country, his enemies succeeded in procuring from the Spanish
government the revocation of the sentences which had been pronounced
in the suits brought by Anda (at the instance of that very government,
and as its representative) against Raon and other corrupt officials;
and Anda was condemned (by decrees in 1775-76) to pay the costs
in these suits, and the further sums of four thousand pesos to the
heirs of Raon and two thousand to the former fiscal, Juan Antonio
Cosío. These unexpected and heavy blows, added to the strain of his
official responsibilities and the annoyances caused by the attacks
of his personal enemies, broke down Anda's health; and he died at
the hospital of San Felipe, Cavite, on October 30, 1776, at the,
age of sixty-six years. [22]
Sultan Israel of Joló was poisoned by the followers of his cousin
Ali-Mudin, son of Bantilan, who therefore assumed the government
(early in 1778); immediately the Moros renewed their raids on the
Spanish provinces nearest them, and the expeditions sent against them
by Sarrio could do little to punish them.
In July, 1778, the new proprietary governor arrived at Manila; this
was José de Basco y Vargas, an officer in the Spanish royal navy. The
officials of the Audiencia forthwith sent a remonstrance to the court,
against their being subordinated to a man whose rank "gave him only
the right to be addressed as 'you' while each one of the magistrates
[of the Audiencia] enjoyed the title of 'Lordship,'" and they asked
for the revocation of Basco's appointment: but of course this was
refused, and they were rebuked for their officiousness. As a result,
the auditors opposed all that Basco attempted, and even conspired to
seize his person and put Sarrio in his place. That officer, however,
refused to join them, and informed the governor of the scheme;
in consequence, Basco arrested the recalcitrant auditors and other
persons connected with their plans (including Cencelly), and sent
them all to Spain. [23] Now free from hindrances, he devoted himself
to the administration of the government, the welfare of the country,
and the development of its resources.
"In a document entitled 'A general economic plan,' he extolled the
advantages which are inherent in the promotion and development
of agriculture, commerce, and industries. He offered therein to
bestow rewards and distinctions on the persons who should excel in
agriculture, in making plantations of cotton, of mulberry trees,
and of the choicer spices, as cloves, cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg;
to those who should establish manufactures of silk, porcelain, and
fabrics of hemp, flax, [24] and cotton like those that were received
from the Coromandel Coast, Malabar, and China; to those who would
undertake to work the mines of gold, iron, copper, and tin; to those
who should make discoveries useful to the State; and to those who
should excel in sciences, the liberal arts, and mechanics. He also
circulated instructions in regard to the method of cultivating and
preparing for use cotton, silk, sugar, etc. He also, in Camarines,
compelled the planting of more than four millions of mulberry
trees, which for several years yielded an excellent product; but
these important plantations were abandoned after his term of office
[expired]. [25] He improved the schools, and aided the diffusion of
knowledge by promoting the knowledge of the Castilian language. In
order to repress the boldness of the murderous highwaymen who infested
the roads in the provinces nearest to Manila, he appointed judges with
power of condemnation [jueces de acordada [26]]; these, accompanied
by a counsellor and an executioner, by summary process tried the
malefactors whom they arrested in their respective districts, and
applied the penalty--a measure so efficacious that in a short time
there was complete security everywhere. The Audiencia appealed
against this measure, and the king issued a decree notifying
the governor to abstain from meddling in the jurisdiction of that
court. In acknowledging the receipt of this sovereign command, Basco
remarked that 'unfortunately it had arrived too late.' As war had
been again declared between España and Inglaterra, Basco caused the
fortifications of Manila and Cavite, and the forts in the provinces,
to be repaired, changing a great part of the artillery therein for
new pieces. He also reorganized the army. In 1778 the order for the
expulsion of the Chinese was revoked, and a considerable number of
them returned to Manila.
A royal decree of November 15, 1777, recommended the establishment of
an institution in which vagrants and dissolute persons might be shut
up. Accordingly, Manuel del Castillo y Negrete, minister of justice
for the Philippines, drew up and printed (Sampaloc, 1779) a manual of
ordinances for the management of a general refuge for poor persons,
beggars, women of lewd life, abandoned children, and orphans. For this
project he had obtained the opinions of learned persons, all of whom
extolled it; and he sent this document to the king. Besides promoting
all interests of morality, and the development of agriculture,
industry, and commerce, Basco founded the noted "Economic Society of
Friends of the Country." [27] A royal decree dated August 27, 1780,
had ordered him to convene all the learned or competent persons in
the colony, "in order to form an association of selected persons,
capable of producing useful ideas;" but when this decree arrived,
Basco had already founded the above society. On February 7, 1781,
the active members of the general tribunal [junta] of commerce had
assembled, and agreed upon the constitution of the society, a number
of them signing their names as its members--among them the Marqués
de Villamediana, the prior of the consulate of commerce. "The body
of merchants endowed the society with a permanent fund of 960 pesos
a year, the value of two toneladas which were assigned to it in the
lading of the Acapulco galleon." The society was formally inaugurated
on May 6, 1781, under the presidency of Basco, who made an eloquent
address. Its first president was the quartermaster-general of the
islands, Ciríaco González Carvajal; according to its first regulations,
it contained the following sections: natural history, agriculture
and rural economy, factories and manufactures, internal and foreign
commerce, industries, and popular education. "Stimulated by Basco,
the society undertook with great ardor to promote the cultivation of
indigo, cotton, cinnamon, and pepper, and the silk industry, according
to the orders published by the superior authority. The parish priest
of Tambóbong, Fray Matías Octavio, taught his parishioners to prepare
the indigo, presenting to the society the first specimens, which were
adjudged to be of superior quality. In 1784, the first shipment of this
article to Europa was made in the royal fragata 'Asunción.' The society
also recommended that effort be made to attain perfection in weaving
and dyeing. (The society declined greatly after the departure of its
founder; and Aguilar roughly opposed it. In 1809 it was extinguished;
two years later, orders were received for its reëstablishment, but
this was not accomplished until 1819. In the following year, its
constitution was remodeled; and in 1821 it founded at its own cost a
professorship of agriculture and an academy of design, and established
special instruction in dyeing. In 1824 it resolved to bestow rewards
on the most successful farmers; and it introduced from China martins,
to fight the locusts that were desolating the fields. In 1828 its
constitution experienced another revision; but during more than half
a century it gave hardly any sign of its existence. It had a flash
of vitality in 1882, but soon fell again into a decline. To-day
[about 1893] there is hardly any indication that Manila remembers
a society of this sort; and, as it is not in the Guía de forasteros
["Guide for strangers"], it may be said that it has ceased to exist.)
"Filipinas had been, until the arrival of the illustrious Basco
y Vargas in the country, a heavy burden on the capital, since
every year the situado was sent in cash from México to meet the
obligations of the islands. In order to free España from this sort
of load, and to raise the country from its depressed condition, he
conceived the vast project of stimulating the cultivation of tobacco,
by establishing a government monopoly of it. [28] He communicated his
plan to the Spanish government; and by a royal order of February 9,
1780, the monopoly of tobacco, similar to that which was in force
in the other dominions of the nation, was decreed. He immediately
published two proclamations, on December 13 and 25 respectively,
in 1781, prohibiting the sale, traffic, and manufacture of tobacco;
and on February 16, 1782, he issued (signed and sealed by himself),
'Instructions which are given to all the commanders or heads of the
patrols, the provincial administrators, the market inspectors, and
other persons who are under obligation to prevent loss to the revenue
from tobacco.' These were directed to the prevention of smuggling,
showing the way in which investigations should be conducted--including
the houses of parish priests, the convents, colleges, and beaterios,
the quarters of the soldiers, etc. He created a board of direction
for this revenue, a general office of administration or agency,
and subordinate offices to this in the provinces. Basco's idea was
strongly opposed by various interests; but the governor's energy was
able to conquer this unjust opposition, and the monopoly was organized
on March 1, 1782; it constituted the basis of the prosperity of the
exchequer in that country, and its most important source of revenue.
"The zealous governor visited the provinces in person, in order to
inform himself of their needs and to remedy these, compelling their
governors and other functionaries to fulfil their trusts as they
should. He also organized various military expeditions to occupy the
Igorrot country."
From the first, Basco did what he could to restrain the incursions
of the Moro pirates; but he had many difficulties to encounter. He
repaired the forts in Mindanao and the Visayan Islands; he built small
vessels, and stationed them in Cebú, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and Calamianes,
from which points they could more promptly set out to punish the Moros;
and he sent an expedition to Mamburao, in Mindoro, which drove out
the pirates who, as we have already seen, had established themselves
there. These raids being thus checked for the time, trade began to
improve; "and from Sámar alone, whose traffic with Manila had been
paralyzed for more than ten years, forty-three caracoas went to the
capital in 1779." The sultan of Joló humbly asked Basco for peace,
and returned to the Spaniards a small vessel captured near Antique
by one of his dattos, "an unusual proceeding among the pirates." The
natives of Bulacan voluntarily offered (December, 1781) to pay for
the cost of two vessels to sail against the pirates, and imposed on
themselves for this purpose a tax of one-half a real a year on each
tribute; this proving insufficient, they increased it, in the summer
of 1784, with a ganta of unhulled rice per tribute. This example
was immediately followed by the natives of Pampanga. In 1782, the
Visayas were invaded by a Mindanao host; but on several occasions the
Spaniards succeeded in defeating the pirates and sinking many of their
boats. Basco conquered the Batanes Islands, north of Luzon, [29] and
this enterprise for a time diverted his military forces from the Moros,
who consequently increased their depredations on the Visayan natives
and carried away many captives from Calamianes, Panay, and Negros.
By royal orders of July 17 and 26, 1784, the post of
quartermaster-general of the islands was created, in accordance with
a request by Basco; and that of deputy-intendant of the exchequer
was united with it, independent of the superior government of
the islands. It was placed in charge of one of the auditors,
Ciriaco González Carvajal, also at Basco's recommendation; and
from this time the royal officials were styled "ministers of the
royal exchequer." Carvajal aided Basco greatly in establishing the
monopoly of tobacco, and it was he who drew up the instructions to
officials on this subject. In 1785, a dispute arose between them
over the establishment of the tobacco monopoly in Camarines and
Albay, each regarding this undertaking as the prerogative of his
own office. Carvajal proposed that provincial intendancies should be
created in Ilocos, Camarines, Cebú, and Iloilo; this was done, and
approved by royal orders of November 24, 1786; but a year later the
Spanish government suppressed Carvajal's office, and these provincial
intendancies as well.
In 1785, there was a revolt of the heathen Indians in Ituy and Paniqui,
headed by a Calinga chief named Lagutao, who assembled over 1,200 men;
but it was put down by a force of 300 musketeers sent from Cagayán,
and Lagutao was killed in battle. A royal decree of February 25,
1785, ordered the immediate expulsion of all Chinese from Manila, [30]
allowing the governor to fix a place outside the walls where a small
number of them might reside, under supervision; and another decree
(April 1, 1785) approved the foundation of a colony of 200 Chinese
on Lake Candaba, in Pampanga. At Carvajal's instance, a monopoly
was decreed (November 4, 1786) on gunpowder in Filipinas. In the
following year, instructions for the execution of this measure were
issued (December 11); and about the same time the monopoly of wines
was placed in control of the exchequer.
The constant opposition to Basco's reforms and efforts which he
encountered finally wore out his patience, and he offered his
resignation; at first it was not accepted, but he insisted, and
the king allowed him to hand over the government of the islands to
Pedro Sarrio. Basco embarked for Spain at the end of November, 1787,
and for his eminent services was promoted in the navy, ennobled,
and made governor of Cartagena. Montero y Vidal praises in high terms
the character and achievements of this distinguished governor, who had
secured for Filipinas greater benefits than had any other, establishing
its revenues on a firm basis, introducing most important reforms,
and advancing its material and moral progress; but he was assailed by
"the envy, rivalry, spite, insane hatred, and lack of patriotism of
the auditors, merchants, and other classes, who were governed by base
motives and despicable passions, or by ignorance and covetousness."
The natives in northern Ilocos were displeased at the monopolies
[31] on tobacco and wines, and revolted; but the alcalde-mayor of
the province went to meet them, with Fray Agustín Pedro Blaquier,
[32] cura of Batao, and persuaded the insurgents to disperse without
bloodshed. Sarrio held the office of governor but six months. After
the death of Archbishop Santa Justa (December 15, 1787), he found
it necessary to allow the regular priests to resume the charge of
the parishes, as is shown in the following extract from his letter
to the king, dated a week after that event, explaining his reasons
for this course: "First, because in temporal matters as well as in
spiritual is seen a manifest and notorious difference between the
villages administered by the regulars and those which are in charge
of the seculars of Indian and mestizo (Sangley and Chinese) birth;
these are almost the only ones dedicated to the cure of souls, for
in all the islands hardly six curas can be named who are Spaniards
or Spanish mestizos. It can be said, in general, that the villages
which are under the direction of the regulars have adequate spiritual
nourishment, which cannot be asserted of those which are in charge of
the Indians and mestizos. These, when they receive the name of priest,
are not thereby deprived of that innate negligence and indolence with
which nature has endowed all these islanders; and hence it results
that, given up to idleness, gambling, and other [like] pursuits,
they abandon study, and begin to lose whatever fitness [for the
office] they may have possessed at the time of being ordained or
receiving the curacy. The consequence of this is, that they grow
remiss in their preaching and the instruction of their parishioners;
these functions they are unable to discharge competently, not only
because they are little used to books, but because not many of them
are thoroughly instructed in the Latin and Spanish languages, in which
those authors have written of whom the curas must avail themselves in
order to distribute to their flocks the proper food of doctrine. Once
possessed [thus] by ignorance, it is not astonishing that no greater
impression is made on their minds by the rigid law of residence,
[33] or that of the other obligations that are inseparable from the
parochial ministry. On the other hand, accustomed from childhood to
live in houses of bamboo or wood, they regard stone dwellings with
indifference; and to this may be attributed the fact that some of
them abandon the parish houses which formerly were the homes of the
regulars, and make separate dwellings for themselves. Others, even
though they live in the parish houses, take little pains to repair and
keep them in good condition. This would be to some extent endurable
if their neglect did not also extend to the church building and the
ornaments which are used in the divine worship; for it is noticed
that there is seldom a church in their charge which is sufficiently
clean and well kept, since they do not make repairs in time, or apply
to this purpose any of their perquisites. These they spend for their
own use and on their own families, who inevitably remove from their
own natal village to that of the curacy, and thus become even more
slothful than they are by nature. They are quite unlike the regulars,
who, being reared in different principles and trained in the purest
teachings of our Catholic religion, generally have no other aim than
that of the proper care of their churches."
On July 1, 1788, the proprietary governor Félix Berenguer de
Marquina assumed the reins of office, and all matters connected
with the exchequer returned to their former condition. In a decree
of March 29, 1789, he ordered that the appointment of the heads of
barangay should be made by the provincial governors, after being
proposed by the notables [principalia] of the respective villages. An
expedition was sent out from Spain by the government in July, 1789,
to make scientific observations and draw plans and maps of the coasts
of Spanish America and the Marianas and Filipinas islands, with new
sailing routes. One of its members was Antonio Pineda, a native of
Guatemala and a Spanish officer, bearing official commission to study
the flora of Filipinas and the condition of agriculture. Unfortunately
he died while there (July, 1792), while making scientific observations
in Ilocos; he was but thirty-nine years old. A monument was erected to
him at Malate, but has been practically destroyed by the ravages of
time. The archbishopric of Manila was administered, from October 16,
1789, by Juan Orbigo y Gallego, [34] a Franciscan, previously bishop of
Nueva Cáceres. Marquina drew up, in January, 1790, a "Plan of reforms
for the government of Filipinas," which he considered necessary for
the prosperity and advancement of the islands, and in order that
the yearly remittance from the Mexican treasury might be stopped. He
proposed the fortification of Manila and Cavite, an increase in the
military force, and an increased capitation tax on the Chinese in
order to meet this greater expense for the army; also the opening of
the port of Manila to all foreign commerce, and various changes in the
Acapulco trade. He advised that Filipinas should be made a viceroyalty,
and the viceroy be rendered independent of the Audiencia and of the
religious orders. Other reforms proposed were: "The formation of a
company of marines for manning the vessels sent out to cruise [against
the Moros], and another of marine artillery for the same purpose; the
reform of the chief accountancy by limiting its exorbitant powers;
the establishment of an acordado, [35] or a sort of police, in the
provinces, directed rather to intimidating and restraining [criminals]
by means of vigilance than to punishing them with harshness and
violence; allowance of fixed and decent salaries to the alcaldes-mayor,
and putting a stop to their trading (which absorbed all their time,
with great risks to impartial conduct and justice); the desirability
of abolishing the odious monopolies on playing-cards and gunpowder;
the transfer of the natives from the Batanes Islands to Cagayán, on
account of the wretched condition of the former; and the advantage of
occupying, in preference to the Batanes, the island of Mindoro--which
was richer, and nearer to Manila, and [at the time] reduced to
the utmost indigence by having been abandoned [by its inhabitants]
and by the incursions of the Moros. [36] The colonization of various
islands with Catalans, Valencians, and Galicians, in order that they
might be preëminently devoted to agriculture; taking advantage of the
gold placers, so abundant in the country, from which was obtained no
less than 200,000 pesos' worth of gold a year; the establishment of
a mint, with which the exportation of gold from the country would
be avoided. The increase of the cruising vessels, and distribution
of these into three divisions, placing in each one a panco, in order
to fight the pirates better; the necessity of conferring ample powers
upon the governor (who had to establish all these improvements) without
his having to be subject to the board of the royal exchequer, 'since I
know by experience that the opposition which I am accustomed to meet
there is not actuated by zeal for the benefit of the royal service,
but for personal ends;' and the creation of another secretaryship,
in order to attend to the crowd of matters which were a burden on
the governor and captain-general." He also proposed to place in one
fund the revenues from tobacco, wine, and customs duties. On March 2,
1790, were published the regulations for the sale of wine under the
monopoly arrangement; the dealers were declared exempt from polos
and personal services, [37] must sell only pure wines, without any
mixture of water, and must always keep a supply on hand.
A royal decree of May 14, 1790, ordained that the Chinese should pay a
capitation tax of six pesos a year. In the same year the regiments of
Pampanga and Zambales and Bataán were formed, in order to increase
the disciplined militia of the provinces. In July the governor
received a letter from the king of Cochinchina, asking that two of
his ships, then at Canton, might be aided on their arrival at Manila,
with money to make needed repairs and buy a quantity of sulphur,
[38] on the king's account; this was done, and afterward approved by
the Spanish government. In October, the curacies of Ilocos--which,
formerly held by the Dominicans, had remained vacant since Santa
Justa's effort to enforce the diocesan visitation--were placed in
the hands of the Augustinians, with the provision that the royal
right of patronage should be observed in the appointments to these
new ministries. The death of Carlos III occurred on December 14,
1788, but the official notification (despatched a fortnight later)
did not reach Manila until July, 1790. In the following November the
solemn proclamation of the accession of Carlos IV, and the oaths of
allegiance to him, were celebrated at Manila with fiestas which lasted
from the third to the twenty-first of that month. A description of
these festivities was published (1791) by the Dominican Fray Manuel
Barrios, a lecturer in Santo Thomás university, from which Montero
y Vidal quotes liberally (pp. 329-338). They included, besides
the splendid and solemn character of the ceremonies themselves,
"a general illumination of the city during three consecutive nights,
pontifical mass and Te Deum in the cathedral, levees at the palace,
dances in the cabildo buildings, masquerades, banquets, fireworks,
comedies, and even a bullfight." The Filipino natives and the
Chinese [39] also contributed to the festivities, with devices or
entertainments peculiar to their customs. Thus says Barrios: "It
ought to be understood that the taste of the Chinese, in the matter
of spectacles and public diversions, is based on ideas that are very
different from, or rather quite contrary to, our own. As proof of this,
is sufficient the spectacle which they presented on this night, the
first sight of which might astonish any European who might not have
seen beforehand some diversion of this people. A lion spitting fire,
more terrible than those which grow up in the deserts of Zaara [i.e.,
Sahara], was followed by an enormous serpent, more than fifty cubits
long, which made extraordinary movements and contortions on account of
swallowing a globe of fire which floated before it through the air;
and behind the serpent came another lion, no less fierce than the
first. This spectacle was made even more terrible by the confused
din of the gongs, which the Chinese beat without ceasing. The lions
fought each other, with the greatest ardor and pertinacity; and the
serpent performed many pleasing movements and evolutions, causing
admiration of the skill with which so huge a mass moved about so
swiftly. Finally, the two lions began to swell, and brought forth
an abundance of fireworks; and it would be unjust to the Chinese if
I did not state here that this display, although of short duration,
was very handsomely designed. One of the lions being now set on fire,
it began to run around through the plaza, with an incredible velocity,
which spectacle gave much pleasure to those present. On the following
day the Chinese presented a comedy in Royal Street, Binondo, which,
begun at three in the afternoon, lasted until four the next morning;
and even then they say that it was a short one compared with what
they are accustomed to. During the following nights they went out
through the suburbs, and there was no street through which the
huge serpent did not move, to the intense delight of the people who
followed it." On this occasion the royal consulate (of commerce) of
Manila distributed 3,000 pesos in alms to poor widows and orphans,
and doweries to penniless girls. One Pedro Galarraga displayed
both ingenuity and profuseness; "he diverted the crowds of people,
and carried to the stars the name of his august sovereign, by means
of a large aerostatic globe, which crossed the bay and was lost to
sight among the clouds. The festivity was crowned by the liberality
of the said Don Pedro, who flung to the people a quantity of coin
bearing the stamp of the new monarch; and on the following day he
also distributed these to all persons of distinction." Finally, the
rector of Santo Thomas and the Dominican provincial had a celebration
of their own, with fireworks, a dance at the palace performed by the
students of that university, and the recitation of a poem before the
governor and all the distinguished personages of Manila, eulogizing
the loyalty of that city and its people.
Marquina took much pains to have the obras pías honestly
administered. He ordered that the nipa houses which still existed
within the walls of Manila should be torn down, as being both a
disfigurement and a danger to the city. During his term of office,
a severe epidemic of smallpox was experienced in Filipinas; and he
gave large sums to the parish priests to relieve the poverty caused
by the pestilence. The islands were ravaged by the Moros year after
year, the naval force of the Spaniards doing little more than to
remain on the defensive; and in 1789 Marquina wrote to the king
saying that the continual warfare of the Moros was "an evil without
remedy." Mahomet Sarpudin, the successor of Ali-Mudin II, was very
crafty and deceitful, and, while professing to be a friend of the
Spaniards, he sent out Illano pirates against the merchant vessels,
some of which were captured by Mahomet's own followers. Marquina met
with much trouble in his government, from "class interests" and from
the ingratitude of those whom he had helped; he resigned his office,
"and returned to España poor and disheartened." [40] The king made
him Viceroy of Mexico.
Marquina's successor was a military officer, Rafael María de Aguilar
y Ponce de León; he began his duties as governor on September 1,
1793. From the first, he was desirous of checking the Moro raids;
but reports came that the English were going to attack Filipinas
again, and his first efforts were directed to the defense of Manila
and Cavite. He raised a force of 10,000 armed men, forming companies
of Spaniards and of mestizos, and stationed detachments in outpost
batteries in the environs of the city. He strengthened the walls,
and tore down houses which menaced them; and increased the naval
forces, also establishing a naval station and lookout on Corregidor
Island. The English learned of Aguilar's preparations to receive them,
and concluded not to go near Manila; "but they allied themselves
with the Joloans, inciting them to invade the Visayas." Marquina's
"plan for reforms" was sent back to the islands, the king asking
that it be considered by the royal officials there, who should send
him a report and their decision as to its advisability; "but as it
attacked objects so powerful in the islands as the regular orders,
the Audiencia, and the comptroller and officials of the exchequer,
it is useless to show what report would be that sent out [by them] in
regard to the plan of Marquina, which was in many respects extremely
clear-sighted." In 1794 a shipyard, independent of that at Cavite, was
erected in Binondo, its principal purpose being to construct vessels
with which to follow up the Moro pirates; it was called La Barraca
("the barracks"), [41] and was "famous for the enormous expenses
which were suspected in the construction work carried on there." It
was placed in charge of Juan Nepomuceno Acuña, and its directors
were, ex officio, the royal officials. On Christmas Day in 1796,
a Spanish squadron of five vessels arrived at Cavite, commanded by
an officer of high rank, Ignacio María de Álava; [42] it was sent
for the defense of the islands in case of another war with Great
Britain--which indeed was declared soon after the fleet's departure,
the news of it reaching Manila in March, 1797. Álava set out with his
squadron on April 19, to attack the English fleet which was on its
way from China to London, little dreaming that a powerful squadron
of their enemy was so near. But an unexpected hurricane arose just
before the fleets met, and nearly wrecked the ships of Álava, which
after a hard struggle made their way back to Manila with broken masts
and torn rigging. A royal decree of September 24, 1796, ordered the
transfer of the shipyard at San Blas [43] in California to the port
of Cavite, in order (to quote from the decree) "that a shipyard may
be formed there of sufficient capacity to protect the settlements
in that colony from European forces and from the piratical raids
of the Mahometans who occupy the neighboring islands, and to assist
with doubled power and resources our squadrons in South America and
Asia." At its head was placed Juan Villar, a competent and experienced
constructor from the shipyard at Havana, furnished with competent
foremen to work under him, and with "plans and specifications suitable
for every class of vessels;" and provision was made for the immediate
construction of lanchas carrying guns and mortars. "This measure was
the origin of the arsenal of Cavite." [44] The royal officials were
angry that the management of La Barraca, with its opportunities for
profit to themselves, should be taken from them; and they refused to
allot to Villar the salary to which he was entitled--that which he
had received at Havana, and one-half more for going to Manila in the
royal service. This brought on heated controversies between Aguilar
and Álava, which lasted a year and a half before they were settled,
Villar and his subordinates meanwhile residing in Manila; finally,
Álava carried his point, and Villar was placed in his post at Cavite,
with the salary which he ought to receive. In 1796 the grenadier
regiments of Luzón and Batangas were created, as a part of the
provincial disciplined militia; also five battalions of militia, the
Malabar company at Cavite being abolished. [45] In the same year there
was felt in Manila and in many other provinces of Luzón one of the
greatest earthquakes which has ever occurred in the archipelago; and in
October, 1797, another calamity was the loss (on the coast of Albay)
of the galleon San Andrés, laden with a rich cargo for Acapulco--"due
to its commander's complete ignorance of nautical affairs;" he was
a merchant of Manila, instead of an experienced navigator. In 1799
Aguilar published (January 30) a decree prescribing the method for
making the registration of the natives for the punctual collection of
the tributes; and another (October 30), prohibiting the exportation
of small silver coins. The home government recommended (August 5,
1799) to the governor of Filipinas that he encourage the cultivation
of the mulberry, cinnamon, pepper, cacao, and cotton. In that year,
the fragata "Pilar" arrived from America with $1,200,000 for the aid
of the islands. "In 1800 Aguilar ordained that no public work should
be commenced without the previous knowledge of the government of the
islands, in order to avoid their being constructed with injurious
consequences to the natives, as was found to be the case in many
places. Also, by edict of July 19 in the same year he prohibited
the construction of vessels having more than fifteen cubits of keel,
without the permission of the authorities, obliging the owners, under
penalty of 200 pesos fine, to comply with the plans which would be
furnished to them for a moderate sum by the [government] shipbuilder
Don José Blanchic." Álava and his squadron were unable to do much
toward checking the Moro raids, being continually detained at Manila
on account of the threatened attack on that city by the English;
but that officer vigorously organized and regulated the naval station
at Cavite, made excursions into the provinces in order to become
better acquainted with the resources and topography of the island,
and protected the commerce of Filipinas with China and Nueva España. A
royal decree of September 27, 1800, ordered him to establish a naval
bureau at Manila, "with the full powers of command and jurisdiction
prescribed in the Ordinances of the navy and subsequent royal orders,"
which he should place in working order before his return to Spain;
its objects were, "the defense of the Filipinas Islands, improvement
in the construction of the vessels, knowledge of the hydrography
and navigation of those seas, and the management of the arsenal
at Cavite;" and for its first chief was appointed Captain Ventura
Barcáiztegui. When Álava undertook to execute this commission, Aguilar
refused to surrender La Barraca to him, as also the men and vessels
of the privateer force which had been organized earlier to punish
the Moros--alleging that this fleet had its own rules and was not
affected by the naval Ordinances; and that the internal defense of
the islands belonged to him, as being captain-general therein. Álava
had to yield, and established the naval bureau as best he could with
the scanty means at his disposal; he also drew up regulations for
its administration. He left Manila, to return to Spain, on January 6,
1803. In 1806 Aguilar, being seriously ill, surrendered his office of
governor to the king's lieutenant on August 7, and died the next day,
after thirteen years' rule; (this is the longest term of a governor's
office during the entire history of the islands). [46]
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS
1766-1771
Financial affairs of the islands, 1766. Francisco Leandro de Viana;
July 10, 1766.
Letter to Carlos III. F. L. de Viana; May 1, 1767.
Anda's Memorial. Simon de Anda y Salazar; April 12, 1768.
Ordinances of good government. [Compiled by Governors Corcuera
(1642), Cruzat y Góngora (1696), and Raón (1768).]
Instructions to the secular clergy. Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa
y Rufina; October 25, 1771.
The expulsion of the Jesuits, 1768-69. [Compiled from various
sources.]
The council of 1771. [Letter by a Franciscan friar;] December
13, 1771.
Sources: The first of these documents is translated from a MS. copy
(probably official duplicate of above date), in possession of
Edward E. Ayer, Chicago; the second, from Viana's MS. book, Cartas
y consultas, fol. 39v-46, in possession of E. E. Ayer; the third,
from Pardo de Tavera's publication (with many annotations), Memorial
de Anda y Salazar (Manila, 1899), from a copy belonging to James
A. Robertson; the fourth (partly translated and partly synopsized),
from José Felipe Del-Pan's Ordenanzas de buen gobierno de Corcuera,
Cruzat y Raon (Manila, 1891), from a copy in the Library of Congress;
the fifth, from Ferrando's Historia de PP. dominicos (Madrid, 1871),
v, pp. 59, 60, from a copy belonging to E. E. Ayer; the sixth,
compiled from Danvila y Collado, Crétineau-Joly, and Montero y Vidal,
as indicated in the text--the archbishop's decree being obtained
from a printed copy (dated 1770) in the Archivo Historico Nacional,
Madrid; the seventh, from a copy of the original Latin MS. sent to
the Editors by a friend in Germany.
Translations: The text of the third, and of the fourth, is translated
by James Alexander Robertson; the seventh, by Rev. T. C. Middleton,
O.S.A.; the remainder, by Emma Helen Blair.
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF THE ISLANDS, 1766
Statements of the amount contributed to his Majesty by the natives
of the Philipinas Islands; that which is spent in their spiritual
administration; what the ecclesiastical estate receives from the
king and from the Indians; and the economies which the royal treasury
can practice, and the augmentations which it can receive, in order to
maintain these dominions with respectable forces, without the necessity
of the royal situado which comes annually from Mexico--and with the
advantage that the royal exchequer can in the future make good the
expenditures incurred during the 202 years which have elapsed since
the conquest of the said islands. By Don Francisco Leandro de Viana, a
student in the old college of San Bartholome el Major of the university
of Salamanca, and formerly rector of the said college; graduated as a
licentiate by the chapter of Santa Barvara; a member of the Council
of his Majesty; his fiscal in the royal Audiencia of Manila, and
promoted to the post of alcalde of criminal cases in that of Mexico.
STATEMENT I
The number of tributes in these Philipinas Islands, and the amount
that they produce yearly
By the official statement which I sent to his Majesty with my report
and advices of July 14, 1760, it appears that there were one hundred
and seventy-eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy-one whole tributes
of Indians, at the rate of ten reals each. It also appears that there
were eight thousand, one hundred and sixty-nine and one-half whole
tributes of mestizos, at the rate of twenty reals each, which are
equivalent to sixteen thousand, three hundred and thirty-nine whole
tributes of Indians. Adding this item to the aforesaid one, they make
a total of one hundred and ninety-five thousand, three hundred and
ten tributes; and adding those paid by the blacks, the grand total,
stated in round numbers [numero cerrado] for greater convenience
in this reckoning, is placed at two hundred thousand whole tributes
belonging to the royal crown.
Tributes: 200,000
A whole tribute comprises two persons, and the two hundred thousand
tributes aforesaid produce to the royal exchequer, at the rate of ten
reals which each one pays, the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand
pesos every year.
Note
The whole tributes belonging to private encomiendas number eighteen
thousand, one hundred and ninety-six and three-fourths, according
to the general statement of accounts of this royal treasury for
the past year of 765. From these the encomenderos collect one peso
for each tribute, and the king two reals; on this account, although
the number of tributes belonging to the crown and to the encomiendas
exceeds two hundred and ten thousand, at ten reals each, only the two
hundred thousand above stated have been considered [in this account];
and their value is placed at two hundred and fifty thousand pesos,
which is the utmost that the natives of these islands pay for the
benefit of the royal treasury.
STATEMENT II
What the king expends in the spiritual administration of the
Indians, and what is received on this account by the ministers
of the doctrinas and the missionaries.
1. For the cash stipends which his Majesty pays, at the rate of a
hundred pesos for every five hundred tributes, the curas and the
ministers of the doctrinas receive, according to the number of the
two hundred thousand tributes, the sum of forty thousand pesos.
2. For the stipends in rice, at the rate of a hundred fanegas (each
of forty-eight gantas) for every five hundred tributes, at one peso
a fanega--which price was established by the royal officials in
the papers granting the contribution for wine used in masses--his
Majesty pays, and the aforesaid curas and ministers receive annually,
the sum of forty thousand pesos.
3. For the wine for masses and oil for the lamps [47]--as appears in
the respective documents therefor, of which account is given to his
Majesty--this annual expense is fixed at the sum of seventeen thousand,
one hundred and ninety-three pesos, six tomins.
4. For the transportation of these supplies, the cost to the royal
treasury is moderately estimated at two thousand pesos.
5. For the cash stipends of forty-one religious who are missionaries,
at the rate of one hundred pesos each, his Majesty pays the sum of
four thousand one hundred pesos.
6. For the stipend in rice of a hundred fanegas (each of forty-eight
gantas) to each missionary, at one peso a fanega (reckoned at the
lowest price), his Majesty pays the further sum of four thousand one
hundred pesos.
7. For the supplies of cash and rice which are paid monthly to one
hundred and ninety-two Indians as escorts, who assist thirty-two of
the said missionaries, at the rate for each one of one peso in cash and
twenty-four gantas of rice in the hull (estimated at four reals), these
amount to the sum of three thousand, four hundred and fifty-six pesos.
8. For the supplies of medicine and clothing, and for the support and
comforts of sick religious, the expense is placed at five thousand
pesos.
9. In some villages which contain a small number of tributes, his
Majesty pays the same stipends as in the villages of five hundred
tributes, for which reason what is paid by the king exceeds the amount
which was estimated for the number of two hundred thousand tributes,
by the sum of one thousand pesos.
10. For the stipends which his Majesty pays to the chaplains of the
fortified posts--who usually are the religious who are in charge
of the native villages at the said posts--are paid one thousand,
six hundred and eighty pesos.
11. For the expenses of the religious who come from España to these
islands--who each five years average forty-six and one-half each
year--estimating these at a thousand pesos for each person, the
religious orders receive and the king spends forty-six thousand,
six hundred pesos.
12. For the stipend of the archbishop, the prebends of his church,
and the contribution that is given to it [for its expenses], the
royal treasury expends nine thousand, eight hundred pesos.
13. For the stipends of the three suffragan bishops of Zebu, Nueva
Segovia, and Nueva Cazeres, for the contributions which are made
to these three churches, and for other stipends to their ministers,
his Majesty expends twelve thousand, four hundred pesos.
The total amount of these items is 187,229 pesos, 6 tomins.
Summary
Pesos tomins
The king receives from the Indians, as in 250,000
statement i
The ecclesiastical estate receives from the king,
as in statement ii 187,229 6
------- -
Net balance in favor of his Majesty 62,770 2
STATEMENT III
What should be deducted from the aforesaid 62,770 pesos, 2 tomins,
as necessary expenses of the provinces of these islands.
1. The three per cent which his Majesty pays to the alcaldes-mayor
for the collection of the tributes, calculated on the two hundred
and fifty thousand pesos, amounts to the sum of seven thousand,
five hundred pesos.
2. The pay of alcaldes, corregidors, and magistrates in the provinces
of these islands amounts to the sum of seven thousand, five hundred
pesos.
3. As in all the provinces the tribute is regularly paid half in money
and half in kind, it is necessary to transport the said commodities
from the villages to the capital; this expense costs the royal
treasury, according to a fair estimate, the sum of six thousand pesos.
4. For one thousand, two hundred and ninety-eight men employed in
the fortified posts the royal treasury spends, according to the pay
[-rolls] of their respective garrisons, the sum of twenty-two thousand,
four hundred and ninety-three pesos, two reals.
5. For fifteen thousand, five hundred and ten rations of unhulled
rice, of twenty-four gantas each, estimated at the prices of two,
four, and six reals, in proportion to the scarcity or the abundance of
[the supplies in] the said fortified posts, the royal treasury spends
seven thousand, one hundred and seventy-four pesos, six tomins.
6. For one thousand and forty-five uniforms for the said garrisons,
estimated at the low price of three pesos each, the royal treasury
spends three thousand, one hundred and thirty-five pesos.
7. For the consumption of balls, gunpowder, muskets, cannon, etc.,
estimated moderately and at the lowest price, there is an expense of
five thousand, five hundred pesos.
These indispensable expenses amount to the sum of fifty-nine thousand,
three hundred and three pesos, which, deducted from the sixty-two
thousand, seven hundred and seventy pesos, two tomins, of the net
balance contained in the summary of statement ii, leaves only three
thousand, four hundred and sixty-seven pesos, two tomins, in favor
of the royal treasury.
Summary
Pesos tomins
What the king receives, as in statement i 250,000
What is spent, as in statements ii and iii 246,532 6
------- -
Balance in favor of the royal treasury 3,467 2
Note
1. In the expenses of the fortified posts the forts of Manila and
Cavite are not included; neither are the forts of Romblon, Cuió,
Acutaya, Culion, and Linacapan, for these five forts are maintained at
the expense of the natives in the respective localities, and without
further cost to the royal treasury than some supplies of arms and
gunpowder. Nor are the forts included which have been built since the
end of the year 753, since their fixed charges and annual expenses
do not appear in the book which was formed in the said year with the
descriptions of the fortified posts. [48]
2. Attention should be directed to the following items: The exemptions
from tribute which are usually granted to the villages in the cases
for which the laws provide; the amount of what is not collected; that
which is lost through the failure of the officials to render account,
and through the omissions of the royal officials to collect as they
should; the salaries which are paid to the said royal officials
and to the subordinates of the established accountancy, mainly for
the accounts and collections of the royal revenue in the provinces;
the costs of transporting the proceeds of the said tributes to this
capital; the losses of the vessels which convey the said goods,
commodities, or products in which the said tributes are levied,
according to the different production of the provinces; the pay of
workmen [Tag., bantayes], and other petty expenses which are paid from
the royal revenue in each province; the cost of the vessels which go
out to cruise against the Moros, in the defense of the said provinces;
and many other expenses, to ascertain and compute which would require
tedious labor. But, as this report aims to show how much the king
receives from the Indians and what he spends on their account,
the aforesaid general computations are convincing that the royal
treasury spends in these islands much more than what they produce;
and that the ecclesiastical estate--or, to speak more accurately,
the religious orders--profit by and receive almost all the proceeds
from the tributes.
3. On this account the royal situado has been necessary in these
islands, in order to pay the following expenses: the salaries of
the governors, the ministers of the royal Audiencia, and their
subordinates; the officials of the royal treasury; the soldiers in
the garrisons of Manila and Cavite, with all their followers; the
arsenal of Cavite; and numberless expenses which have grown since
the retrenchments which were decreed by Señor Cruzat. And as the
situado and the income-producing monopolies are not sufficient for
all the said expenditure, the islands have been and will be in the
most wretched condition, and in the utmost danger of being ruined,
unless some remedy be applied.
STATEMENT IV
What the curas and ministers receive from the Indians
1. On account of the three reals which each whole tribute pays to the
curas and ministers for the feasts of Corpus [Christi], the patron
saint, and the monument at Holy Thursday, they receive from the two
hundred thousand tributes the amount of seventy-five thousand pesos;
and [therein] are not included the heads of barangay, the officials
of the villages, and other persons exempt from tribute, who also pay
the said three reals.
2. As for the value of the casual fees and parochial dues, although
it is the general opinion that those same ministers of doctrinas
regulate these at one peso for each tribute, it is estimated that
from this source are received only one hundred and seventy thousand,
four hundred pesos.
The total of these sums is 245,400 pesos.
Summary
Pesos tomins
The ecclesiastical estate receives from the king,
as in statement ii 187,229 6
Also from the Indians the aforesaid sum of 245,400
------- -
Total amount 432,629 6
Note
Thus, what the ecclesiastical estate receives from the king and from
the Indians, for only the spiritual administration of the latter,
amounts to the sum of four hundred and thirty-two thousand, six hundred
and twenty-nine pesos, six tomins, without including what is produced
by the chaplaincies founded in the churches of some ministries,
or by the confraternities--which are worth much, on account of
duplicated offerings, since in them are enrolled not only the living
but the dead. Nor [does it include] the wax for novenaries, masses,
and other services which through devotion are offered by the Indians
and mestizos; or the offerings at the sanctuaries, to which in all
the provinces many people repair with wax and offerings for masses;
or the sure revenue [from the charge] of fifteen pesos for every feast
of the numberless visitas and chapels which are in all the villages
(more than those which are celebrated in the principal churches);
or the amounts received, at the burials, from the distinction of
the silver from the wooden cross--so that, although in a certain
village there may not be a silver cross, there are two of wood, and
one of them is distinguished from the other by the amount of the fees
[imposed for its use].
Nor have there been included in the said item the five hundred pesos
which are annually paid from the royal treasury to the convents
of Manila in order that they may support one or two religious who
are versed in the dialects of the provinces; or the alms which
they receive from the charitable foundations [obras pías] of the
Misericordia, and from those which have been founded in each order;
or the proceeds from the leasing of their lands acquired by donations,
chaplaincies, and legacies; or the premium or interest from the funds
of the confraternities, etc.
Likewise should be added the fees for burials, which, although they
belong to the fabricas of the churches, are received by the curas
and ministers of the doctrinas, and they are not willing to render
account of these to the vice-patronship.
Besides that which is for the spiritual administration, the religious
orders in these islands receive enormous amounts of money every year
from the proceeds of the houses, mills, ranches, and other properties
which they possess, here and in México; for they collect some rents
that are exorbitant for the cultivated lands, exacting more than
twenty per cent of the actual value of the said lands.
Comparison
Pesos tomins
All that the king receives from the Indians,
without deducting the items mentioned in the
notes on statement ii, amounts to 250,000
All that the ecclesiastical estate receives, not
including the items mentioned in the notes to
this statement iv, amounts to 432,629 6
------- -
That which the ecclesiastical estate receives
exceeds what the king receives, by the sum of 182,629 6
It is, then, apparently fully proved that what these Indians contribute
to the king is not sufficient for the necessary expenses of their
spiritual administration; since, even without counting the cost
of the fortified posts (which serve only for the benefit of those
same Indians), it is evident that the net balance which remains in
favor of the royal exchequer, after deducting the expenses mentioned
in statement ii, is lost, through the causes which are stated in
the second note on statement iii. From this it follows: First,
that all the profit of these islands accrues to the ecclesiastical
estate. Second, that in order to aid the Indians the royal revenue
has been burdened, to the injury of other vassals, with the charge
of the royal situado which comes annually from Nueva España, in order
to maintain the forts, troops, and courts, and meet other expenses of
the royal treasury here. Third, that the latter is heavily indebted,
because the royal situado and the monopolies of the royal exchequer
are not sufficient for so enormous expenses. Fourth, that for lack
of funds the king's service is neglected, the forts are defenseless,
the provinces at the mercy of the Moros, and everything is in notable
danger of total ruin, unless suitable remedies are applied in time.
On account of this, I have established in my "Demonstration of the
wretched and deplorable condition of the Philipinas Islands," [49]
etc., the necessity of maintaining them with respectable forces, and
[suggested] the expedient of augmenting the tribute on account of the
obligation which every vassal is under to contribute to his king what
is necessary for maintaining the kingdom in peace, justice, and union,
and defending it from enemies.
Even without the necessity of increasing the tribute, I have been of
opinion, and still continue in the firm persuasion that these islands
could support themselves alone, and save to the royal revenue the
remittance of the situado. Desiring to demonstrate this truth--which
has been taught to me by the experience and continual application of
eight years--I will set forth the economies and augmentations which
this royal treasury can observe in order to supply its urgent needs,
and to support these islands more gloriously, and to the greater
advantage of the royal exchequer.
STATEMENT V
The economies which the royal exchequer can practice, and the
augmentations which it can receive, in what the curas and ministers
of doctrinas collect from the king and the Indians.
1. In the paper of suggestions which I presented to the government
[here], and sent to the commander [50] Frey Don Julian de Arriaga with
my report of July 22, 1764, there was a discussion of the saving which
the royal exchequer will be able to make by paying to each cura and
minister of a doctrina one stipend only, and not so many as correspond
to every five hundred tributes. For, since the cura is only one,
it does not seem just, even when the curacy is one of two thousand
tributes, that four stipends be paid to him; but he should content
himself with one, the royal exchequer saving the rest. The amount of
this will reach annually some twenty thousand pesos, very nearly. I
have made representations on this point to the royal Audiencia,
in order that they may settle this by an ordinance.
2. Each stipend for a village or mission is fixed at a hundred pesos
in money, and two hundred cavans of rice; if all this be paid in cash,
and not in the said produce, regulating this [amount for the rice]
by the price in each province, the negotiations of the curas and
ministers with the alcaldes will be avoided, and the royal treasury
will save each year at least fifteen thousand pesos in the stipends of
curas, ministers and missionaries. It should be remembered that the
abuse of paying the stipend in rice was introduced in violation of
the law (ley 26, título 13, libro 1 of the Recopilación de Yndias),
as I have represented in the expediente [51] of ordinances which is
pending in the royal Audiencia.
3. The fabricas of the churches have for funds the fees from the
burials, and the eighth part of the occasional fees, with the others
which I have stated in the document which treats of this subject,
besides the [governmental] contribution of wine; and with the said
funds there is a superabundance for paying the cost of the wine for
masses and the oil for the lamps--which are set down as expenses
of the royal exchequer in the third and fourth items of statement
ii. These amount to nineteen thousand, one hundred and ninety-three
pesos, six reals.
4. In the aforesaid paper of suggestions, and in the report of June 5,
760, the reasons were set forth why the king should not pay the cost of
the missions which come from España to these islands; for the religious
orders are rich, although they deny it. Thus the royal exchequer
could save what is mentioned in the eleventh item of statement ii,
which amounts each year to forty-six thousand, five hundred pesos.
5. The impost of the three reals for each tribute for the feasts of
Corpus [Christi], the patron saint, and the monument, was granted by
the provisor of this archbishopric at the instance of the religious
orders, in the year 1697; and in that of 704 it was included in
the provincial ordinances by Señor Zabarburo. This contribution
is excessive, and the cost of the feasts is very small because
the natives make the decorations of branches and furnish much wax;
and the two feasts of Corpus Christi and the patron saint usually
are held on the same day. For these reasons Señor Molina commanded,
in his bishopric of Nueva Cazeres, that no payment should be exacted
from the Indians on account of these feasts, further than half a real
for each tribute, considering that this sum was sufficient to pay
for their celebration. The same was the practice of Señor Arevalo,
who succeeded him in the same bishopric; but Señor Matos, the last
bishop there, did not act thus. It is also an intolerable burden to
the Indians that at the time when they go to make their confessions,
in order to fulfil the annual injunction, the said contribution is
collected from them; and most of them are persuaded, through their
stupidity and ignorance, that they are paying for the confession. All
this I have explained in the expediente of ordinances which is pending
in the royal Audiencia. It would therefore be expedient that the said
three reals be collected by the alcaldes-mayor, who should give to
the curas and ministers a third part of the proceeds, setting aside
the other two thirds for the maintenance of the fortified posts. Thus
the royal exchequer would have the benefit of this saving of expense,
and would be increased by fifty thousand pesos, which is two-thirds
of the proceeds of the three feasts, as is stated in the first item
of statement iv.
6. The royal exchequer can save the cost of furnishing the medicines,
clothing, support, and comforts for the sick religious; for the
returns from the ministries are large, and the religious orders are
rich. This saving, as is said in the eighth item of statement ii,
amounts to five thousand pesos.
The total of all these items is 155,693 pesos, 6 reals.
Thus the royal exchequer can save expense, and increase its funds every
year by the sum of one hundred and fifty-five thousand, six hundred
and ninety-three pesos, six reals, the amount of the six previous
items, which correspond to the costs of the spiritual administration
of the Indians. This should be deducted from the amount which the
ecclesiastical estate receives, for this very purpose, from the king
and from the Indians--which, according to the summary of statement iv,
reaches the sum of four hundred and thirty-two thousand, six hundred
and twenty-nine pesos, six tomins--and there still remains, in favor
of the ecclesiastical estate, two hundred and seventy-six thousand,
nine hundred and thirty-six pesos.
Summary
Pesos tomins
The ecclesiastical estate receives from the king
and from the Indians, as in the summary of
statement iv 432,629 6
Deducting the amount of the savings which are
stated in the preceding lines, 155,693 6
------- -
There remains, in favor of the ecclesiastical
estate, a net balance of 276,936
Note
The escorts which are furnished to the ministers are, at most,
proper in the first years of a mission; but ordinarily this is a
useless expense, by which the religious orders profit--or rather their
missionaries, who take no other escorts than their own servants; nor
do they need escorts, especially in the well-peopled missions. Most of
these are such, because many Indians from the villages take refuge
in the missions, either fleeing from justice, or for not paying
the tribute. Thus could be saved the cost of the said escorts; and
even the stipend for every mission after twenty-five years from its
establishment, by causing the people to be brought into villages.
STATEMENT VI
Other increases and savings which the royal exchequer can make,
in the various directions which are here stated.
1. It is assumed that there are, at the lowest figure, six thousand
heads of barangay in the provinces of these islands; for although, by
the ordinance, each headship ought to have forty-five entire tributes,
it is certain that there are few which reach that number, and that
there are many of five, eight, ten, and twenty tributes. Therefore,
assigning to each headship, on the average, at most thirty tributes,
they make the six thousand above stated, the number of tributes
[in them being] one hundred and eighty-three thousand, three hundred
and thirty, the lowest computation that can be made of headships and
of tributes. As three persons in every headship are exempted [from
paying tribute], the royal exchequer is deprived of the value of nine
thousand entire tributes, which, at the rate of ten reals, make eleven
thousand, two hundred and fifty pesos. Therefore, by abolishing the
said headships, and making the governadorcillo or headman of each
village responsible for the collection of the tributes therein (as is
done in Nueva España), or by allowing the said headships and decreeing
that those who hold them shall pay tribute (as they formerly did,
by order of the visitor, Auditor Don Joseph Arzadun), this increase
in the tribute will result to the advantage of the royal exchequer,
by the sum of eleven thousand, two hundred and fifty pesos.
2. It is generally the case that the heads of barangay keep back
from the king, at a very low estimate, at least ten tributes each,
on account of the dispersion of the houses of the Indians, which
renders almost impossible any exactness in the tax-lists which
for this purpose are committed to the said headships. Therefore,
if the reduction of the villages into parishes [52]--which I have
continually urged, and shall ask from this government--could be
effected, not only would the aforesaid collection of the tribute be
greatly facilitated, especially if it were committed, as I have said,
to the governadorcillos and leading chiefs; but the tax-lists would be
exactly drawn up by the alcaldes, and the said ten tributes in each
barangay which have been mentioned would not be kept back from the
king. This, estimated for the six thousand [headships], would come
to the number of sixty thousand tributes; at the rate of ten reals
each, the royal treasury would enjoy an increase from this source,
which would reach the sum of seventy-five thousand, five hundred pesos.
3. By order of the above-mentioned visitor, no exemption from
tribute was enjoyed by the officials of the villages, except by the
governadorcillos and headmen; and counting six exempt persons [each]
in three hundred and sixty villages alone--without including the
visitas, which also have their officials--they make the number of two
thousand, one hundred and sixty, which make one thousand and eighty
tributes. These, at the rate of ten reals, amount to one thousand,
three hundred and fifty pesos; consequently, by taking away these
exemptions the royal exchequer will be increased by this sum.
4. The singers, sacristans, and doorkeepers of the churches in the
villages are paid from the communal treasury of the Indians, and have
their fees at all the feasts, burials, etc. [53] By exempting them
from polos and personal services, and taking away their exemption from
the tribute, [there would be gained] two thousand and thirty-eight
and one-half whole tributes, which in the general [statement of]
accounts for the year 765 are reckoned as exempted on account of the
service of the churches in the villages tributary to the crown; the
increase to the royal exchequer would be two thousand, five hundred
and forty-eight pesos, one tomin.
5. Those who are for the same reason exempted in the villages of
private encomiendas, according to the said general statement, number
one hundred and ninety-six and one-half whole tributes. By abolishing
this exemption, the increase to the royal treasury will be two hundred
and forty-five pesos, five tomins.
6. The confusion in the accounts of the royal revenue in the provinces;
the arrears [in despatch of business] which they experience in
the offices; the increased losses of ships, with goods belonging
to the royal account, which are made a pretext [for not settling
their accounts]; losses by fire; uncollectible charges; negligence
in pushing the collections that ought to be made; and other damages
which follow from the said confusion--all these are reckoned at thirty
thousand pesos a year. If the debits and credits were in money,
and not produce, and the alcaldes were obliged to supply the royal
storehouses, transporting at their own account the commodities from
the provinces--these being placed to their credit, according to the
stipulation made with each one--with the rest which I have presented
before the royal Audiencia and superior government, the royal exchequer
would render available the said sum of thirty thousand pesos.
7. Likewise I have asserted in the royal Audiencia that the Indians
ought not to be paid for the conveyance of their tributes, [when
paid] in kind, from their villages to the capital of their province,
as being contrary to the laws (ley 1, titulo 9, libro 8, and ley 63,
titulo 5, libro 6, in the Recopilación de Yndias) which treat of
the tributes of the crown, and plainly show the obligation of the
Indians to carry their tributes to the said capitals--differently
from the tributes of encomiendas and from general appraisements,
which are mentioned in ley 44, titulo 5, libro 6, in which it is
commanded that the tributes be paid in the villages. Consequently,
if the aforesaid conveyance is at the cost of the Indians, as seems
just, and not at that of the royal exchequer, not only will the frauds
arising from such entries in the accounts of the alcaldes be avoided,
but his Majesty will save the expense which is mentioned in the third
item of statement iv, which amounts to the sum of six thousand pesos.
(In case the method which is suggested in the sixth item preceding
this be established, the said sum will inure to the benefit of the
alcaldes-mayor, who should at their own account and risk render a
statement, with payment, of the entire proceeds of the tributes; and
in the obligation or contract with each one the said benefit should
be kept in view, in order that it may inure to the benefit of the
royal exchequer.)
8. There has always been an outcry in España against the purchase
of public offices in the Yndias, notwithstanding that these have
been placed on sale only in the exigencies of the crown. If the sale
of these offices on the royal account is a question involving much
scruple, it necessarily follows that it would be an injustice to sell
them on the account of those who have authority to make appointments
to those offices ad interim. Consequently, by reëstablishing the
oldtime method--by which the candidates for the posts of alcalde
must present themselves before the royal Audiencia with documentary
evidence of their merits, in order that three qualified persons
might be presented to the superior government, in the first, second,
and third places respectively, for each post of alcalde--the dangers
arising from the sale of offices which has been practiced in some
governments would be avoided; and the selection [of officials] would
be more conformable to justice and less mercenary (as I represented to
his Majesty in the year 760). The royal exchequer could thus save the
salaries of the alcaldes and magistrates (as is done in Nueva España),
which saving would amount, as in the second item of statement iii,
to the sum of seven thousand, five hundred pesos.
(If the alcaldeships were knocked down to the highest bidder in the
auction-hall, together with the farming of the tributes, it would
result in even greater profit to the royal exchequer.)
9. The offices of commander and military officers of the ship which
goes annually to Acapulco are bestowed on citizens of this city; and
the appointments to these offices can be made without giving them the
salaries which hitherto they have enjoyed; for they are sought not
so much for the salaries as for the honor, and for the free passage,
with comfortable berths and conveniences, [which is furnished to
officers]. Consequently the royal exchequer could save the amount of
the said salaries, which exceeds ten thousand pesos.
10. In the paper of suggestions and the report which I cited in
the first item of statement v, are mentioned the many advantages
which would result from the establishment of guilds [gremios]
which I propose; and from the increase of the royal revenues by the
half-annats from the officials [of the crown]; and by the duties of
one-fifth on silver and gold. These metals are wrought, at the will
of the silver-smiths, of various standards and degrees of purity,
contrary to the provisions of the royal decree of March 17, 1735; and
as I cannot fix the exact amount for the aforesaid duties, a moderate
estimate is made, at the lowest [standard], that the increase of the
royal revenue would amount to some seven thousand pesos.
11. In each village there is a governadorcillo or headman, a deputy
(and, if the village is a large one, two or three), a constable
(and likewise two others, in large villages), an inspector of
grain-fields [juez de sementeras], another of palm-trees, and a
notary. In the visitas of the villages there are likewise deputies,
constables, and inspectors of grain-fields. The large villages are
more numerous than the small ones. If we allow for each one of the
three hundred and sixty villages one headman or governadorcillo,
only one deputy and one constable, one inspector of palm-trees and
another of grain-fields, these make in each village, on the average,
six offices which annually pay the half-annat, by a custom which was
introduced into these islands in violation of the law of the Indias,
which exempts the Indians from this royal impost. But in the settlement
of its amount there is an unusual variation and difference, by which
in the provinces of Tondo, Bulacan, Balayan, and Laguna de Bay (which
are close to Manila) a governadorcillo pays twelve pesos, a deputy
six pesos, and the constables, inspectors, and notaries four pesos
[each]; while in the other provinces which likewise are close to
this capital--Pampanga, Batahàn, and Cavite--a governadorcillo pays
six pesos, a deputy four pesos, and the constables, inspectors, and
notaries three pesos [each]. In all the other and remote provinces,
a governadorcillo pays only one peso, six granos; a deputy, six and
one-half reals; and the constables, inspectors, and notaries, three
and one-half reals. From this it results that each village in the
four first-named provinces pays thirty-four pesos, and each village
in the three other provinces close by pays only twenty-two pesos; and
in the thirty-seven villages of these three provinces the difference
which there is between paying twenty-two pesos each and (as in the
former) thirty-four, is four hundred and forty-four pesos--which is
the increase for the said royal impost, if the payment is fixed at
thirty-four pesos.
12. The seven provinces above mentioned have one hundred and eleven
villages, and to fill up the complement of three hundred and sixty
there remain in the remote provinces two hundred and forty-nine
villages. Each one of these pays only five pesos, one tomin; and
by ruling that they shall pay twenty-two pesos this impost will be
increased by sixteen pesos, seven reals in each village. Multiplying
this by two hundred and forty-seven, the number of villages, the
said increase will amount to the sum of four thousand, two hundred
and one pesos, seven tomins; and by equalizing [the payments of]
all the provinces, at the rate of thirty-four pesos for each village,
the aforesaid increase will rise to seven thousand, one hundred and
eighty-nine pesos, seven tomins.
13. In my report of May 10, 760, in which I demonstrated the defective
foundation of the commerce here, I proposed the increase of sixty
thousand pesos every year, [in the amount of the permission?] his
Majesty to permit the return of the silver from Acapulco with the
impost of eight to ten per cent; and it is certain that the ten per
cent will produce to the royal exchequer annually, on the average,
one hundred thousand pesos, which is the amount in which the royal
officials at Acapulco are interested.
14. In a report of June 25 in the same year, I proposed that the
boletas should be applied to the benefit of the royal exchequer;
[54] this increase would be at least fifty thousand pesos.
15. In a report of June 5 of the same year, I proposed to save the
expense of one [university] chair of civil law [Instituta], which
would yield an increase of four hundred pesos.
16. In a report of July 14 of the same year was mentioned the
abandonment of the sale of [papal] bulls; and it was shown that this
could produce at each publication at least one hundred pesos, which
would be an annual increase of fifty thousand pesos
17. The contract for working the iron mine called Santa Ynes [55] was
knocked down to the highest bidder at the royal auctions, before the
late war, and afterward its operation ceased entirely. Consequently,
by working the said mine on the royal account, on the terms which I
proposed in the cited paper of suggestions, and in a written statement
which I presented to the government (from which no action has yet
resulted), the royal exchequer will gain the increase and profit of
more than fifty thousand pesos.
18. By reëstablishing the farming or monopoly of playing-cards,
either (preferably) by contract or by its administration or the royal
account, as is commanded by the royal decrees of February 5, 730 and
November 28, 1734, it could produce in all the provinces more than
twenty thousand pesos, at the lowest estimate, in increase of the
royal revenue.
19. By establishing the monopoly of cock-fighting [56] in these islands
(as in Mexico), with the charge of one grano for each Indian who
resorts to the said sport, and reckoning forty-eight granos (which
make four reals) for forty-eight times [57] when each, at the least,
would bet each year, four hundred thousand persons would share [in
contributing to] the royal exchequer two hundred thousand pesos, at
the least reckoning. For it is certain that there are more than eight
hundred thousand souls who are able to bet on the cocks, and that,
on account of their vicious dispositions and extraordinary addiction
to this sport, it might be reckoned that each one would gamble more
than eighty times a year; in that proportion the proceeds of this
income, which here is estimated at only two hundred thousand pesos,
would exceed four hundred thousand pesos.
20. By establishing similarly the monopoly of tobacco, [58] there
would be an enormous increase in the royal revenue, since in the
form of snuff [polvos] it is used by nearly all the Spaniards
(both ecclesiastical and secular) in the islands. By establishing
monopoly shops in the villages of the provinces, the consumption
[of snuff] would be great; but that of leaf tobacco and cigars would
be incomparably greater yet, on account of being used by more than
a million of souls; for it is certain (as is the case) that even
the boys and girls use the said tobacco before they [are old enough
to] exercise their reason [antes de tener vso de razon]. It can be
asserted without exaggeration that this traffic would produce more
than four hundred thousand pesos.
21. In a report of June 5 of the aforesaid year 760, I explained the
increase which the royal revenues might obtain, and in the cited paper
of suggestions I proposed the means, by which the monopolies of buyo
and wine [59] could be augmented by more than a hundred and thirty
thousand pesos; for it is certain that if these were extended to all
the provinces (they now have no wider limit than five leguas from
this capital) they would produce for the royal treasury enormous sums.
22. The casting of plows is permitted to one person only, who is
appointed by the government; if this were sold at auction it certainly
would produce, at the lowest estimate, the sum of seven hundred pesos.
Thus the savings and increases of revenue contained in this sixth
statement would produce to the royal treasury the aforesaid sum of
one million, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand, one hundred and
thirty-nine pesos, five tomins every year.
Summary
Pesos tomins
The savings and increases of revenue contained
in this statement amount to the sum of 1,157,139 5
Those contained in statement v amount to 155,693 6
--------- -
Total 1,312,833 3
Accordingly, the savings and the increases mentioned in the two
foregoing statements are worth to the royal exchequer the sum of
one million, three hundred and twelve thousand, eight hundred and
thirty-three pesos, three reals; and even if it be reckoned at no
more than a million, this annual product will be more than enough to
maintain the islands with respectable forces, and to make good the
expenses hitherto caused to the royal revenue, without the necessity
of increasing the royal tribute from the Indians. And, in case it
be thus increased, in the following statement will be set forth the
value of the said increase.
Note
1. In the said savings and expenses have not been included the royal
customs duties--on which I made a report to his Majesty under date of
March 4, 760--because they are at the present time levied and collected
with great increase of the royal revenue, time having confirmed what
was contained in the report here cited. For, notwithstanding that the
collections are now made on the Spanish ships only at the rate of three
per cent, the royal exchequer has an increase of two hundred per cent,
more than in past times when these duties were levied, either really or
nominally [se exigia, ô se aparentava la exaccion], at eight per cent.
2. Reference can be made to the information which I furnished to his
Majesty under date of June 5 in the aforesaid year of 1760, in which
were discussed the savings which the royal exchequer could make in
various directions, especially in the timber-cutting and in the royal
storehouses, for the damage that the royal interests suffer [therein]
is very evident; but no definite amount is set down for the value of
the said savings, nor are they included in this account, since it is
difficult to compute them.
3. For the same reason, the large retrenchments have not been
included herein which can be made in the ribera of Cavite, and in the
stricter examination of the accounts pertaining to military supplies,
provisions, implements, and reserve supplies for the Acapulco ships
and other vessels belonging to his Majesty; for there is great waste,
and little care is exercised in what is furnished for consumption. [60]
These and many other economies can be facilitated only by
disinterestedness, zeal, and application to the affairs of the royal
service.
STATEMENT VII
What can be produced for the royal exchequer by an increase in
the tributes
In statement i is reckoned the number of two hundred [thousand] whole
tributes, at the rate of ten reals each, which is the amount that
they actually pay. This computation was made by reducing the tributes
of mestizos to tributes of Indians, and in the same sense ought
the increase which is discussed in this statement to be understood;
for, although the mestizos pay twice as much tribute as the Indians,
and consequently the increase ought to be double, the number also
is duplicated, in order to avoid discrepancies and to facilitate the
greater perspicuity and clearness of these statements by the definite
number of two hundred thousand tributes, at the rate of ten reals
each. As this is a very moderate rate, it can be increased in such
ratio as shall be considered necessary; for this reason, I have set
down separately in the following columns the amounts by which the
royal treasury will benefit from an increase in the tributes--from
ten reals to sixteen, which are two pesos; to twenty-four reals,
which are three pesos; and to thirty-two reals, which are four pesos.
-----------------------------+-------------+-------------+--------------
Increase in tribute, | of 6 reals | of 14 reals | of 22 reals
| pes. tom. | pes. tom. | pes. tom.
-----------------------------+-------------+-------------+--------------
The increase of 6 reals, of | | |
14 reals, and of 22 reals | | |
in each one of the 200,000 | | |
whole tributes which | | |
statement i mentions, | | |
amounts, as seen in the | | |
respective columns, to | 150,000 | 350,000 | 550,000
| | |
The said increase in each one| | |
of the 9,000 tributes | | |
mentioned in item 1, | | |
statement 6, amounts to | 6,750 | 15,750 | 24,750
| | |
The said increase in each | | |
one of the 60,000 tributes | | |
mentioned in item 2, | | |
statement 6, amounts to | 45,000 | 105,000 | 165,000
| | |
The said increase in each | | |
one of 1,800 tributes | | |
mentioned in item 3 of | | |
said statement amounts to | 870 | 1,389 | 2,970
| | |
The said increase in the | | |
tributes mentioned in item | | |
4 of the said statement | | |
amounts to | 1,528 7| 3,567 3| 5,605 7
| | |
The said increase in the | | |
tributes mentioned in item | | |
5 of the said statement | | |
amounts to | 147 3| 343 7| 540 3
+-------------+-------------+--------------
Total | 204,236 2| 476,551 2| 748,866 2
+-------------+-------------+--------------
Summary | | |
The increase of 6 reals, of | | |
14 reals, and of 22 reals | | |
in each tribute, according | | |
to the respective columns | | |
of this statement, amounts | | |
to | 204,236 2| 476,557 2| 748,866 2
| | |
The increases and savings | | |
contained in the summary | | |
of statement 6 amount to | 1,312,833 3| 1,312,833 3| 1,312,833 3
+-------------+-------------+--------------
Total amount of the increases| | |
and savings of the royal | | |
revenue every year | 1,517,069 5| 1,789,384 5| 2,061,693 5
-----------------------------+-------------+-------------+--------------
Thus the increases and savings which the royal exchequer can practice
in these islands, without increasing the royal tributes from the
Indians, will be worth each year the sum of one million, three
hundred and twelve thousand, eight hundred and thirty-three pesos,
three tomins, as is shown in the items of statements v and vi.
If the tribute is increased from ten to sixteen reals (which are two
pesos), the savings and increases will bring into the royal treasury
the sum of one million, five hundred and seventeen thousand, and
sixty-nine pesos, five tomins.
If the tribute is increased from ten to twenty-four reals, the said
savings and expenses amount to the sum of one million, seven hundred
and eighty-nine thousand, three hundred and eighty-four pesos,
five tomins.
And if the tribute be increased to thirty-two pesos, the said savings
and expenses amount to two millions, sixty-one thousand, six hundred
and ninety-nine pesos, five tomins.
Note
All these computations of the savings and increases which this
royal treasury can gain each year have been made without including
in the totals the actual product of the tributes and other branches
of the royal revenue in these islands; therefore, adding the said
product to the total of the savings and increases which are here
mentioned, there will result a greater amount than that which has
been estimated. No matter how gloomily people may talk, the aforesaid
statements are convincing that, even if these estimates are made lower,
these islands can, notwithstanding these reductions, be maintained
by their own resources alone; and in the future the royal exchequer
can make good the great sums which the islands have hitherto cost,
with the special advantage that the fortified towns and military posts
can be put into very respectable condition, and be made superior to
the forts of any hostile nation whatever.
I protest and swear that I have understood the matter thus, and that,
because I consider it feasible, judging from the experience of my
office, I have [here] devoted myself to demonstrating more specifically
that which in general is contained in the work entitled "Demonstration
of the wretched and deplorable condition of the Philipinas Islands,"
etc., which last year I presented before this superior government,
and of which I rendered account to his Majesty, whose royal mind
will consider what is most expedient for the glory of his monarchy,
the conservation of these islands, and the advantage of the royal
exchequer. It is to those ends that the savings and increases of
revenue are directed that are found in these statements--which are
the children of the zeal, affection, fidelity, disinterestedness,
and assiduity with which I have devoted myself to the affairs of the
royal service. Manila, July 10, 1766.
Don Francisco Leandro de Viana
LETTER FROM VIANA TO CARLOS III
Sire: By a royal decree dated at Madrid on August 4, 1765, your
Majesty ordered that this royal Audiencia should take pains to secure
the observance of the laws (24 and 25, título i, book vi) in the
Recopilación de Indias with regard to the trade and intercourse of
the Spaniards with the Indians; and that it should report to your
Majesty upon the other things contained in the copy of a letter from
the venerable dean and cabildo of this holy church, [61] in which they
chiefly set forth the request that your Majesty will deign to issue
stricter orders so that the Indians may learn the Castilian language.
As the aforesaid report has not been despatched by this
Audiencia--which is composed of two auditors, and there is only one of
integrity, and zeal for the royal service--I have deemed it inseparable
from my obligation to inform your Majesty [62] of what the experience
of about nine years as fiscal has taught me regarding the aforesaid
points, and to make known the zeal with which I have labored, to
the end that in this particular the laws and your Majesty's royal
decrees might be carried out. For this it is necessary to assume
(in confirmation of the statements in the above-mentioned letter)
that the despotism of the ministers of the doctrinas is absolute,
so that they are almost the only ones who command in these islands;
and that they govern at their own will the villages and provinces,
without recognizing your Majesty or obeying any laws or royal decrees
save those which suit their own interests and opinions. It is evident
and notorious that they do not obey any of the rest, except as they
please. This is proved by the fact that there is no law or decree
or ordinance which is observed by the said ministers of doctrinas
in questions of the royal patronage, in the administration of the
sacraments to the sick, in the tanorías and other matters in which
their comfort is concerned, and, above all, in the schools, for
instruction in the Spanish language.
All this lawless conduct (which results from the absolute sway of the
ministers of doctrinas) will be evident to your Majesty from the copy
which I enclose of two fiscal opinions, which are literally transcribed
from the official records belonging to the year 765; the originals
are found in the respective expedientes preserved in the office of
the court secretary of this Audiencia. In these is told sufficient
to give some idea of the despotism of the said religious, on whom
nearly all the people of these islands are dependent--some through
fear, and others through unjust acts of compliance and tolerance
which at the present time make it exceedingly difficult to check
that despotism. This will never be accomplished unless the governor
and the ministers of the Audiencia proceed unitedly and with equal
firmness, without yielding to the religious, and with inflexible
zeal for the fulfilment of the laws and the municipal ordinances
of these islands. But for this end it would be indispensable to
confer the public offices of the provinces on men tried and true,
who would fulfil their obligations; and not on persons who, buying
the said offices in Manila, undertake to fill them by inflicting so
many injuries [on the natives] that their very infractions of law
oblige them to depend absolutely on the religious, and to maintain
the latter in their possession of authority over the Indians and over
the alcaldes. From this beginning it results that neither the orders
of the governor nor of the Audiencia take effect, and that all the
measures which are conformable to the laws and to your Majesty's royal
decrees prove futile; for there is a false show of fulfilling them,
which leaves these matters in the same confusion which attempt was
made to remedy.
In the laws of the Indias, in the former "Ordinances" of these islands,
in those which were drawn up by Governor Don Pedro Manuel de Arandía
[63] and in repeated royal decrees, this matter of the instruction
of the Indians in the Spanish language is especially enjoined; but,
notwithstanding this, the notion of the said religious has prevailed
that the Indians shall remain ignorant of the said language, in
order to keep them more dependent [on the fathers], and in order
that no Spaniard may obtain information of what is going on in
the villages. There are innumerable instances which have occurred,
of the curas of doctrinas punishing the Indians who talked with the
Spaniards in our language. In the villages close to this capital there
are many Indians who understand the said language very well, but when
they are in the presence of any religious they reply in their own
Tagal language to the Spaniards who ask them questions in Castilian,
through their fear of the father; and the latter never speaks to the
Indians in Spanish, even though they may be proficient in it. This is
convincing that the intention of the religious orders is certain and
evident, that the Indians shall not know our language, so that they
may be more secure of the doctrinas not being taken away from them,
of the bishops not attempting to visit them, of the non-enforcement
of the laws (none of which are enforced) of the royal patronage,
and of the continuance of the despotism with which they govern the
Indians in both spiritual and temporal matters, without fear of any
noticeable result. For thus they find themselves necessary, and they
mock at the zeal of a governor, of an archbishop, of a fiscal, and
of all those who mourn the entire non-observance of the laws; and as
these officials and the ministers of the Audiencia are seldom united
to procure the enforcement of the laws, because the religious orders
do not neglect to mislead some of them, the latter are always sure
of a victory through this disunion (which is very frequent), when the
same spirit of courage and firmness does not animate the minds of all
[the officials] for the fulfilment of the laws and of your Majesty's
royal ordinances. Through your royal complaisance, I have continually
inveighed against the main points in the opinions of the curas of
doctrinas, which are opposed to the laws and ordinances; and especially
against their persistent endeavor that the Indians shall not know our
Spanish language--as your Majesty's royal mind will be informed by
the copy which I enclose. As contributing to fuller information on
this point, and confirming it, I will state that in the year 762 I,
as fiscal, made the same claims in this royal Audiencia which the
venerable dean and cabildo set forth to your Majesty in the year 764.
There is equal proof for what I demanded regarding the trade of the
Spaniards with the Indians. It is grievous to see that no one dares
to carry on this trade; for, however strict may be the orders which
have been issued, not only by your governors but by this Audiencia, the
curas of doctrinas have many means for rendering them ineffective. They
dissuade the Spaniards from going to the Indian villages, where, as a
rule, they are treated with incredible contempt, and are denied even
the food which they need (and for which they offer money), because
neither the governadorcillo nor any other Indian dares to sell it
without permission from the father minister. Not only does the father
usually deny this, but he stirs up the anger of the Indians against
the Spaniard--whom they call Castila; the name of Castilian has
thus become exceedingly odious among the natives, and they regard
every Spaniard with dislike, if indeed not with hatred. To see a
Spaniard in their villages appears to them such a novelty that all the
inhabitants--old persons, the youths, and the children--sally out to
look at him, with loud yells and uproar, in which one can only hear,
"Castila! Castila!" and amid the annoyance of being surrounded by
Indians, without being able to understand them, the Spaniard has no
other resource than to go in search of the father of the doctrina,
and humiliate himself before him with the same abjectness as the said
Indians show, in order that the reverence shown to this despot may
furnish him with lodging and food, and render his life safe. This
would not happen if the Castilian language had been extended into
the provinces, for experience shows that every Indian who understands
it feels much affection for the Spaniards; and the natives aid them
wherever they meet them, if they are not in the presence of the
fathers of doctrinas.
It is no less certain that many of the fathers trade in the villages
which they administer, and that for this reason also they are
undertaking to hinder, by the aforesaid means, the trade of the
Spaniards. All this will seem as incredible to your Majesty as it
seemed to me until my official duties, and the things that I myself
have seen in the provinces through which I have traveled, proved its
truth to me; and even more than what is notorious and public to all who
have lived in these islands for some time can be told to your Majesty
by Doctor Don Simon Anda y Salazar, who certainly was often undeceived,
by experience, in regard to the aforesaid intentions of the religious.
I, Sire, would not dare to write on subjects so delicate, and so
difficult to explain, if I were not fully convinced of what I have
stated above, and of the fact that this abuse has not been nor will
it be remedied, while a governor little acquainted [with his duties]
in the early years of his term casts into oblivion the measures
taken by his predecessor, or revokes them, through the persuasions
of the religious; and when he reaches the point of being undeceived
he comes to the last years of his government, and the measures
that he takes then have the same fate as those already mentioned,
on the arrival of his successor. The same thing occurs with the
ministers [of the Audiencia] who have recently arrived at this
city; for, under the influence of the said religious, they regard as
recklessness and impiety that which afterward, with some experience,
they recognize as zeal for the royal service. This disunion and lack
of agreement in their opinions would not be experienced if the laws
were punctually observed, and if the "Ordinances for the provinces"
were established as law--which would regulate all these matters,
and not allow freedom for failure in supporting them, as they ought
to be supported, by an opinion that is equally firm in all the
governors and ministers. For nothing so injures good government as
the attempt of those high officials to temporize with every one, and
not incur any one's ill-will; and to look out for their own profit,
to the detriment of the general good. It is notorious, at the same
time, that for the said reasons whatever concerns his Majesty and
the public is in almost utterly desperate condition; that the laws
and royal decrees are not held in due reverence and respect; that
they are transgressed with reckless readiness; that seldom is justice
administered, on account of the intervention of influential persons;
and that only where there is no advantage for self--as is the case
in the affairs of poor people--are the laws observed. From this
abuse--offensive to the supreme power of his Majesty, which usually
is not obeyed in these islands, where a spirit of greed is the sole
ruler with absolute dominion--it results that zealous and upright
ministers are the only ones who are persecuted; and that those who
remain inactive, and are susceptible to presents, and can be led into
unlawful yielding and compliance, are popular with the citizens.
Another of the more important causes which occasion the said abuse
is, that since the Audiencia has no cognizance of the affairs of
the provinces in regard to their government, and as the governors
on account of their military profession (in which alone they have
been trained) have not the necessary knowledge of the laws and of
the "Ordinances of good government," or of municipal regulations,
it results that an upright governor does not come to a resolve about
anything, for fear of making some mistake; another, more resolute,
goes headlong into measures to which his associates persuade him;
and another governor, with interested motives, works for his own
advantage. As a general rule, all or most of the governors are
bewildered with the multitude of affairs which present themselves;
they do very little work, and in nothing do they act with less vigor
than in the government of the provinces; and enactments are made at the
pleasure of the governor's secretary, and occasionally of the assistant
judge [asesor]. Here these usually are venal and have little sense
of honor; and they attend only to such business as brings them gain,
and not that of their office, which yields them nothing. These serious
and notorious difficulties can be avoided only by separating from
the government the superintendency of the exchequer [64] which is the
department of business that is most neglected, and is most worthy of
attention--and establishing ordinances, which shall be enforced without
deviation, for the secure furtherance of the royal interests, and of
the administration of justice in the provinces, leaving the absolute
cognizance of the latter to the royal Audiencia, and of the former
to an intendant, and forbidding them to the governors, who have more
than enough field for action in military and purely political affairs
in which to display their zeal. Then they would devote themselves
to these important matters belonging to their profession, which are
those which have seemed to them to merit least attention and care,
because their application to other business produces them more gain.
If these departments of the government were separated in the above
manner, there would be an invariable method of procedure in the two
tribunals of the Audiencia and the intendancy. For in the former,
even if one or another minister should pass away, there would remain
others, who could instruct the new officials, so that the said method
should never be changed without evident necessity, justified by
documents and by unanimous opinions; and in the intendancy the same
thing would occur, by means of the practical knowledge which would
pass from some royal officials to others, and from some subordinates
to others. Especially should be left to parties [in controversies]
free recourse by appeal to the royal Audiencia from all the acts
and measures of the intendant; and he, with the ministers [of that
court], should proceed to the choice (by a majority of votes) of
the [provincial] governors, corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor. Thus,
likewise, would be avoided the sale of those offices, which is
frequent; and the merit and services of the citizens would be rewarded,
so that they might have some stimulus in regard to their conduct and
valor, and be encouraged to serve your Majesty by these hopes--which
are entirely lacking to them at the present time, in which he alone
is preferred who gives most for the offices.
In regard to the "Ordinances for the provinces," I have systematized
those which Doctor Don Simon de Anda y Salazar can show you;
he carried with him a copy of them, which I drew up with the
knowledge and experience which I have acquired by dint of constant
application. Thus far they have been neither approved nor censured
by the royal Audiencia, in virtue of the royal decree which your
Majesty addressed to that body, that they should frame and arrange
some ordinances, keeping in mind the articles of the late governor
Don Pedro Manuel Arandía, and those of the reverend father in Christ
the bishop of Nueva Caseres; [65] but as the said ordinances cannot
be framed without [incurring] the resentment of the ministers of
doctrinas, and opposing their despotism and their designs (which aim
at the overthrow of the ordinances which I composed), that court has
left the matter in suspense for more than three years. And it will
remain in this condition, at the pleasure of the senior auditor in the
said Audiencia, on whom alone it depends, unless the efforts of those
zealous ministers Don Manuel Galvan and the above-mentioned Don Simon
de Anda, and those which I have exerted in the duties of my office, can
secure the settlement of a business of so great importance--in which
are included the two points which I have already mentioned, the trade
with the Indians, and their instruction in the Castilian language.
There is another matter not less important, the reduction of the
villages and houses of Indians into parishes [debajo de Campana],
which I have continually recommended, and still urge; for I am of
opinion that without such reduction we shall have neither Christians
nor good vassals, as it is impossible for the Indians, while dispersed,
to be instructed in the mysteries of the Catholic religion. Living,
as most of them do, without government either spiritual or temporal,
they readily abandon both their religion and their vassalage, as
experience has proved. This would be corrected by the said reduction,
and, as a result, the Indians would become more civilized; they would
go to church frequently, the children would attend the schools, and
their instruction in the Castilian language would be facilitated,
and with it our trade. If schools for the instruction of boys and
girls were established in the chief towns of the provinces, as I
recommended to the superior government, religion and the Christian
church would flourish in these valuable dominions--whose natives are
susceptible of great religious and social progress, if zeal and care
be displayed for that which has hitherto been neglected.
As for the royal interests in these islands, I have the satisfaction
of having sent to your Majesty a work entitled, "Demonstration of the
deplorable and wretched condition of these Philipinas islands," etc.;
and another containing seven demonstrations [66] showing the products
yielded by these dominions and the expenditures of your Majesty
therein; and the great retrenchments of these, and the increase [of
revenues], which might be established--which would reach every year
the amount of more than one million, three hundred thousand pesos,
without including the increase of the tributes or counting the present
receipts of this royal treasury. In regard to these two works, however
great an outcry may be made by the indignation which the religious
have conceived against me on account of the advantages of which they
would be deprived by the [royal] approbation of the second work, I
trust that the royal and just mind of your Majesty will be gratified
by the zeal with which I have discovered the "philosopher's stone"
with which these islands can yield to your Majesty more than what
their maintenance has cost for two hundred and three years.
In the present report I have expressed myself at some length, bringing
in the points just mentioned because I think that they help to a more
intelligent understanding of the two most important matters, the trade
of the Spaniards with the Indians, and the knowledge by the latter of
the Spanish language. To understand better the ideas of the ministers
of doctrinas, it only remains for me to say, through love for the
truth, that among them there are some religious of exemplary virtue,
who are included [in my censure only] in what concerns their spiritual
administration, in other matters fulfilling [their obligation of]
obedience to their superiors, and not meddling with worldly affairs;
but I cannot avoid giving, in conclusion, a brief account of the
manner in which the ministries are filled in their chapter-sessions.
The factions among the religious are notorious, and sometimes
scandalous; and they are engaged during the entire year in activities
for the chapter-session. The faction which gains the upper hand shares
among its adherents all the ministries which have the right to vote,
and those of the greatest profit and ease; and the rest are distributed
among those of the opposite faction, who go as exiles to the mountains,
and especially to the missions. This is the reason why so few souls
are converted among the pagans; because no longer are selected for
missionaries the religious who have a vocation [for that work],
and zeal, but those who have no influential friends and those who
are unable to attend the chapter-sessions.
The provincial-elect supports those of his faction, on account of the
importance to him of their votes for the next chapter; and he overlooks
or permits more than what is right. He makes--with ostentation,
and with greater authority than that of a bishop--the visitation of
the ministries under him; and even if the Indians complain of any
extortion, it is not corrected except when the religious [in that
village] belongs to the opposite faction. Some complaints reach
the tribunals of this city, and, however justified they may be, the
provincial does not punish them, except when that suits the interests
of his faction; but there are very few who complain, because it is
an article of faith, so to speak, among the Indians that the father
ministers possess an absolute power and dominion, which compels
them to endure or perform whatever the fathers command them. [67]
And since in each province, even though it may be of wide extent and
contain many villages, there is no Spaniard save the alcalde, and he
also fears the said fathers, they are despots; and the Indians are
unable to do anything save what their father minister tells them to
do. For these reasons, the entire secular government of these provinces
remains at the disposal and pleasure of the curas of doctrinas, whose
maxim is that which the religious orders most observe, as well as
their provincial superiors. In order to fill that office, they give
up administering the Indians, but at the end of the provincialate
they return to the said administration, in which the same despotism
belongs to them. This is absolutely without remedy, and will be
so while the curas of doctrinas, besides what I have already said,
cannot be subjected to the visitation of the ordinaries. If that were
the case, they would prevent any ecclesiastic from taking part in
secular affairs, and from oppressing the Indians--not allowing them
to compel the natives, contrary to the ordinances of the provinces,
to supply fish for the support of the cura; or to pound the rice (in
which they employ the young Indian women); or to furnish the other
polos or tanorías which they have established, contrary to the laws and
the said Ordinances. The ordinaries would also prevent the frequent
abuse of their causing the sick to be carried to the church in order
to give them the viaticum--as is done notwithstanding the Ordinances
and many royal decrees which prohibit this; they would take pains to
see that the indulgences of the bull [of the Crusade] were preached;
they would visit the brotherhoods and the confraternities. They would
take inventory of the incomes of the respective churches, according
to the laws of the royal patronage, in order to know how they are
spent, in regard to which also I have advanced what your Majesty
will find in the expediente for the wine monopoly. They would keep
close watch over the schools, to see that instruction be given in
the Spanish language. They would restrain the occupation of some
religious in the business of trading; and trade would become free
to the Spaniards, who thus would have the opportunity which hitherto
they have lacked for trafficking in the provinces. With this traffic
the Indians would become accustomed to dealings and intercourse with
the Spaniards, whose name is now most odious to them; for by this
means their curas keep them in greater subjection--if it is not,
indeed, a sort of vassalage; it goes so far as to dominate the wills
of the Indians, and to make them as hostile to the Spaniards as,
in general, the religious are. Finally, with the said visitation of
the ordinaries, and the subjection to it of the curas of doctrinas,
a remedy would be provided for almost all the abuses and the usages
that are practiced in the ministries--which are today the same that
were related to your Majesty by the venerable Bishop Palafox, which
appear in his arguments in favor of the secular clergy--the reverend
bishops proceeding with the pastoral zeal which without doubt would
actuate them if they were not members of the orders, and with harmony
and agreement with the government as vice-patron. For, with the two
branches [of the government] united, having the same object, and
punctually observing not only the visitation but the law of the royal
patronage in the presentation or removal of curas, it is very certain
that the Indians would be relieved of heavy burdens; the religious
would not be so despotic; and they would devote themselves to the
care of their parishioners in spiritual affairs, without meddling
in secular matters. The good government of the provinces would be
established; trade with the Indians would be introduced and promoted;
and by means of this trade, and of instruction in the Spanish language,
mutual kind feeling would be engendered between the two peoples,
and there would be an end to the detestation with which one regards
the other. Above all, Sire, it would be known that your Majesty is the
sovereign of these islands, in which, it can be asserted, the religious
do not recognize your Majesty; for they observe or heed hardly any
of the laws, the royal decrees, and the Ordinances which regulate,
the above-mentioned matters. At the same time, they are exceedingly
jealous and exacting that all the laws which treat of advantages,
stipends, and contributions to them shall be executed.
But even all that is here mentioned will not be enough for the
amendment of the many evils which demand it, unless all [the officials]
are encouraged and animated by the [right] spirit in the governor of
these islands, on whose good or evil conduct depends the good or the
bad behavior of almost all the people who compose this colony. This
government has in its charge a multitude of affairs, which on account
of their extent overtax the ability of one person alone, and on this
account they are entrusted to many--but with this distinction, that
when the governor is able, assiduous in his duties, vigorous, and just
in his dealings (traits which unfortunately have been seldom seen in
these islands for many years past), such also are those who assist
him; and they take pains to secure his approval as much as they fear
to displease him. But when the governor is a man of limited ability,
indolent, or dominated by avarice (which is most frequently the case),
all his associates have these same failings and vices. Moreover,
all business then depends on the governor's secretary; nothing is
attended to, save what yields [him] some profit, and everything
is neglected which concerns your Majesty, the government of the
provinces, the proper management of the royal exchequer, and the
public welfare. In these matters, the earnest zeal of neither the
fiscal nor of some other upright ministers is sufficient, for since
they are such they oppose what is unjust, and obtain no other result
than many vexations, and the grief of seeing that these islands are
going headlong to their final ruin. Hence it may be concluded that
only a governor who is able, industrious, and very disinterested,
in conjunction with reverend bishops of like zeal, assiduity, and
disinterestedness, can constitute the effectual check by which the
curas of doctrinas may be kept within bounds, by subjecting them to
the [episcopal] visitation, and to the enforcement of the laws of
the royal patronage; and by stationing in the provinces alcaldes who
are men of honor and who fear God, who will be vigilant for the laws
and ordinances--as they will be if, free from uncertainty as to their
authority, they have no cause to fear the religious. But, on the other
hand, if they have cause for such fear they will neglect everything,
and only busy themselves in what encourages their covetousness, with
acts of extortion and violence which seldom are punished, because they
are hidden in the residencias; and because the governor, who regularly
sells these offices to the persons who give most for them, permits
their acts of injustice, which he would punish if the appointment
were a disinterested one and in accordance with the royal intention
of your Majesty. By these facts it seems to be demonstrated that the
main root of all these evils is in the inefficiency, indolence, and,
most of all, the covetousness of the governors; and that the remedy
for them lies alone in the division of the [governmental] business,
as I have already stated, or else, if this division be not made, that
the governors be men who are able, assiduous, and disinterested. For
such will cause all the members [of the government] to follow the
example of their head; and the laws, the royal decrees, and the
ordinances will be obeyed, so that your Majesty may be recognized as
sovereign lord of these dominions, and a thoroughly good government
will be established which can preserve these Christian lands, with
benefit to the royal treasury, as I have had the honor to represent to
your Majesty. For otherwise it does not seem probable that the royal
orders of your Majesty will be productive of results, for experience
shows that such has not been the case hitherto with the many pious
and excellent provisions contained in the wise laws of the Indias,
and with the repeated royal decrees by which, at various times,
those laws have been confirmed. These have not yet been fulfilled,
nor will they be, unless disinterestedness rules, and unless there
is punishment for covetousness--for this is what ruins and upsets
everything, and, by force of defying and insulting upright ministers,
causes the latter to live without freedom to execute justice, and to
render the worthy tribunal of the Audiencia useless and inactive; for
the iniquitous proceedings of some governors, and especially of the
present one, have reduced this court to the utmost humiliation, as the
numerous transactions of which I have given account to your Majesty
prove. May God preserve the Catholic royal person of your Majesty
for many years, as is needful for the monarchy. Manila, May 1, 1767.
[Francisco Leandro de Viana, fiscal of the royal Audiencia.]
ANDA'S MEMORIAL, 1768
Abuses or disorders which have been fostered in the Filipinas Islands
under the shelter of religion, and at the cost of the royal treasury,
which ought to be cut down at the root, so that the governors who may
be sent to those parts, if they are good may be better, and if bad
may not be worse--and, at least, so that they may not have any excuse;
so that religion may be established on its sure principles of purity,
in order that the king may be owner of those domains (until now he
has been owner in the matter of expense); and finally, so that his
Majesty's vassals, both Spaniards and Indians, may be vassals of
their king alone, and may be relieved from the abominable slavery
which they have borne for about two hundred years. [68]
FIRST ABUSE
It is an abuse, and a very great one, for a city so reduced as Manila
to have two universities for the small student body [estudiante
y medio: literally, "student and a half"] therein, without other
object or idea than the rivalry of the Thomist and Jesuit schools,
to the so great harm of the state, and of religion, as has been seen
in all parts, in so many clamorings and scandals. [69]
It has been said that there is a student and a half, not because there
is no more, but because I mean by that that there are eighty or ninety
(and there are no more) for the two universities.
In the beginning there was a secular university as in España, but the
two orders did not rest until they destroyed it; [70] and they, having
remained alone, scarcely furnish subjects for the eight canonries,
two raciones, and two medias-raciones, of the cathedral.
It is to the interest of all the orders that a secular ecclesiastical
estate shall not be fostered, or [even] exist; for in this manner,
since there is no one [else] to be obtained, they continue in the
possession of the curacies, and the king continues his former and
most detrimental burden of sending missionaries at his own cost,
who become there so many other enemies.
On account of the abovesaid, the two universities in great harmony and
accord have introduced the settled plan of furnishing an instruction
of mere ceremony, in order thus to disappoint even the small number
of students.
In the university of Santo Tomás there is one professorship of
institute law, and another in the university of the Society. Who
will believe that when I was in Manila there were not more than
three advocates who had graduated from those universities? namely,
Don Santiago de Orendain, Don Domingo de Aranas, and Don Luis de
Luna--the first two professors, but with scarcely any pupils.
It is a fact that the bar in Manila is superabundantly
supplied. Notwithstanding that, if advocates did not go from Mexico
to gain their livelihood the business [of the courts] would cease for
lack of defenders, notwithstanding the two universities--who through
their shrewdness and influence prevent the students from pursuing
that career, as very few are inclined to that of theology. [71]
Remedy for this evil
The university of the Society having been extinguished by their
expulsion, the same ought to be done with that of Santo Tomás; for,
otherwise, the same difficulty remains. Suitable professors ought to
be sent from here, [72] who will maintain themselves with the same
incomes, [73] and suitable seculars, in order that they may be given
the curacies near Manila. In view of this reward there will be no
lack of students to attend it; and in a few years, the hard yoke of
all the regular estate, hitherto possessing almost all the curacies
and maintained by the king, notwithstanding the rich fees or dues
[therein], will be shaken off. [74]
SECOND ABUSE
It is an abuse that, although the spiritual administration belongs by
right to the secular clergy, and the regulars possess it precariously
ad nutum [misprinted mitum] regis propter inopiam clericorum
in principio, [75] the greatest promotion which an unemployed
secular obtains in Filipinas is to be the servant or deputy of the
fathers. [76] Thence it results that the latter abound in so great
wealth, collectively and singly, and the former suffer from necessity;
and all of them are the sons of Spaniards and Indian women, and all
vassals of the king. In view of this disclosure, what father will
spend and what son will work without even a remote hope of reward?
Remedy for this evil
Since the reign of Don Fernando VI (in the years 53 and 57), all
the curacies in both Americas have been taken from the regulars as
fast as the latter have died. Let the same be done in Filipinas, and
that will be in accordance with all right. The true religious will
surely give thanks, the curacies will return to their center, and the
ecclesiastical estate will be aided by what is in justice due to it.
THIRD ABUSE
It is an abuse that since the regulars have possessed the curacies
for so many years and with so many troubles [ensuing therefrom],
they have not, although the country is so wealthy and their fees and
parish dues are so heavy, thought of relieving the king of the hard
and intolerable burden of paying them a stipend in money, with rice,
wine for the mass, and oil; and, in those curacies which they call
missions, even the escorts for the guard of the father--who runs
no risk and for that reason is not accustomed to have any escort,
although the king always pays for them. [77]
What vassal who has even the most lukewarm regard and respect for
his king could keep still when the curacies of Binondo, Santa Cruz,
and the Parian (which are under the cannon of Manila), and that of
Tondo, which are, with but little difference, worth to the regulars,
the first, six or seven thousand pesos in obventions, and the others
but little less, nevertheless draw from the king the stipend in the
things mentioned above?
Remedy for this evil
To create a university, as has been said, to send clergy for its
beginning, and to make current the tithes--of which hitherto in Manila
it is only known that they are inserted in corpore juris, [78] nothing
more. By this just provision the king will save three hundred thousand
pesos; the army will find that they can be supported with that amount;
and the difference between these two investments will be evident,
since the soldiers defend the king, and the regulars are his enemies,
of which the past war was a good example.
FOURTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that amid the many and heavy fees which the regulars
charge the Indians they exact fees for confession, and, in the [very]
act of making the confession, one and one-half reals in order to
comply with the precept, under the pretext of the three feasts,
namely, Corpus Christi, the titular saint, and Holy Thursday; for
even if that is not simony, at least est res pesimi exempli. [79]
It is certain that the Indian believes that he pays for confession,
and it is also a fact that if he does not pay he is not confessed.
As soon as the English took possession of Manila, they learned of
such a custom, and thereupon cast great contempt on our religion,
and persuaded the Indians to follow them, for among them there was no
such practice, nor could there be--which was an error and a manifest
deceit. [80]
From this custom, abuse, or offering, two hundred pesos are obtained
in some villages, and in others three hundred, four hundred, and even
more, according to the population.
The abovesaid feasts result so cheaply to the father that with twenty
pesos he pays the expenses of all three of them; for the adornment of
the church and of the line of march is made by the Indians; wax is no
expense to the father, or very cheap; he or his associate preaches
the sermon; and, let him preach what he will, he never gets beyond
a discourse spoken in a language which either the preacher does not
understand, or, if he does understand it, he does so very poorly and
with great errors. [81]
Remedy for this evil
To decree that this abuse cease entirely; for it is less inconvenient
that there should not be such feasts than that, under the pretext of
those feasts, occasion be given for so serious a scandal; a thousand
expedients that are proper will be found without using this one,
which touches a most sensitive point in religion.
FIFTH ABUSE
Since the discovery of the two Americas, the king has been seignior
of them in temporal matters, and in spiritual, royal patron and
pope, and as such has made appointments to all the secular and
ecclesiastical employments of the cathedrals, with the advice of
the auditors; and the curacies are filled by the vice-patrons,
with preceding examination and proposal by the ordinary. In this
matter there is seen the monstrosity in Filipinas that, excepting
the prebends of the cathedral, all the curacies are given by the
provincials to their subjects without examination, proposal by,
or notice to, the ordinaries or the vice-patrons, with absolute
despotism and independence, despoiling the king and ordinaries of
the so well-known right that belongs to them.
Remedy for this evil
Until seculars are provided, the provincials must cause their subjects,
by right and the councils, to subject themselves to examination and
proposal by the ordinary to the vice-patrons; and it is an intolerable
abuse that the provincials make those appointments without giving
notice to the latter.
SIXTH ABUSE
It is an abuse, born of the preceding, that the archbishop of Manila
and the three bishops of Nueva Cáceres, Nueva Segovia, and Cebú,
residing in their dioceses, may be bishops in partibus, since,
under pretext of the exemption of the regulars, they may not ask
the latter how they administer their obventions or how they live,
which in truth is the height of scandal.
Remedy for this evil
The venerable Palafox, in La Puebla, conquered the regulars by a
formal judgment that as parish priests they must remain subject to
the ordinary; but after his removal to Osma those who were expelled
succeeded in nullifying this and other just decisions. The same
thing was obtained in Manila by Archbishop Camacho; but after he was
transferred to the bishopric of Guadalajara in Nueva España the same
thing happened as in La Puebla, so that the regulars have continued
and still remain in the same abuse--which will cease by ordering
them to obey the judgment secured by Camacho (or by the council,
which is the same thing). [82]
SEVENTH ABUSE
Just as the bishops who live within their dioceses are bishops in
partibus, the king is that in the Filipinas Islands. His Majesty
resides in them by the authority communicated to his president and
Audiencia, and to the alcaldes, governors, and corregidors of the
provinces, in which the president, Audiencia, and other ministers do
not command, but only the religious father.
The king is named as such, and is called upon as king, only in order
that he may pay the stipends; beyond that his royal name is abhorred
and persecuted.
It causes horror to see a religious, paid and maintained by his
Majesty, with the character of apostolic missionary, no sooner
arrived at Manila from these kingdoms than he immediately publishes
and defends the assertion that the king is not master of the islands,
but only they who have conquered them; that the Indian ought not to
pay tribute; and that no bull [i.e., of the Crusade] is needed. It is
for this very reason that there are so many difficulties in collecting
the tribute, and that the bull is not purchased excepting in Manila
and its environs.
With these opinions, and their extolling, some the pontifical grants
to their girdle, others those of the scapulary of Carmel, [83] and
others their exercises, they obtain vast contributions which they
call alms; and the king is left with the bulls, for the religious
assert and proclaim that they are not necessary.
In regard to jurisdiction, it is a well-known fact that no
gobernadorcillo of Indians carries out any mandate of the president,
Audiencia, or alcalde without the permission of the religious
father--under penalty of one hundred lashes, which are given to him
instantly if he obeys the royal magistrates and justices.
With these and other pernicious ideas in which the fathers abound,
they surprise the poor Indian, strike him with terror, and make him
believe that they are all-powerful, can do everything, and that the
authority of the king is worth nothing. Thus the king becomes, like
the bishops, a monarch in partibus, in name alone, and only in order to
maintain certain persons who style themselves apostolic missionaries.
A few days after I had arrived at Manila, the archbishop-governor
[i.e., Rojo] despatched an order to the province of Pampanga; it
fell into the hands of a father, and he tore it to bits with great
calmness, the archbishop overlooking that act of disrespect. Hence,
even in case that one obey any mandate of the royal jurisdiction,
so many are the obstacles and difficulties that the fathers find for
its execution, that they absolutely do not have any other endeavor or
desire than to cause the Indian not to recognize any other sovereign
than themselves. The worst is, that this idea has existed since the
conquest of the two Americas, whence it passed to Filipinas, with the
utter detriment and ruin of king, state, and religion. Hence the king
is called king, and the president, Audiencia, and alcaldes by their
own names; but, in reality, the fathers exercise these functions. [84]
Remedy for this evil
To order with the utmost strictness that the regulars restrain
themselves within their limits as parish priests, under penalty of
expulsion if they meddle with or embarrass the royal jurisdiction.
EIGHTH ABUSE
From these so pernicious ideas fixed in the minds of the Indians, is
born the monstrous result that a baptism, burial, or marriage costs
them twelve, twenty, or more pesos, if the father asks it--and this is
with all caprice, and no resistance or appeal can be made. But when
it comes to demanding the tribute, although it is not more than one
peso and two reals a year for the whole tribute, and five reals for the
half-tribute, there are a thousand difficulties, and various stratagems
are used, such as going to the mountains to hide, or feigning that
they cannot pay; and, in such a case, they always have the father on
their side against the king and the alcalde, on this point.
Remedy for this evil
To order that the fathers shall not meddle in worldly affairs,
especially in the royal jurisdiction; that they shall not engage in
trade; [85] to establish collection of the tithes; and to compel them
to observe very moderate tariffs [of parish fees]--under penalty of
expulsion obliging them to undo the evil that they have wrought.
NINTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that the king pays the expenses of the voyage
and support of the fathers in Filipinas, under title of apostolic
missionaries, and they go there to become merchants and business men,
to the harm of the poor Spaniards and of the Indian, besides their
abandonment of the spiritual ministry which is in their charge.
In the environs of Manila--with the exception of the Franciscans,
who have nothing, and of the Condesa de Lizárraga, who has a small
estate--the religious orders possess the following estates: the
Dominicans, Lolomboy, Panay, Navotas, Great Malabon, and Biñan; the
calced Augustinians, Malinta and Pasay; the discalced Augustinians,
San Pedro Tunasan, San Nicolás, Imus, and Tunasancillo; the Jesuits,
Mayjaligue, Masilog, Nagtajan, Nagsubig, Mariquina, Indan, Silan,
Marigondon, Payatas, and San Pedro Macati (where they have their
earthenware factory, from which they make annually thirty thousand
pesos fuertes net profit). These are the ones which I now have in
mind, although they have other estates in the provinces, of which
I can give no exact account. But indeed I know, because I have seen
it, that the Indians who cultivate those lands come to be virtually
slaves, by which means the orders have aggrandized themselves, with
their trade in sugar, cattle and horses, and rice. Although this last
is the bread of all, that bread rises in price to such a degree that
it can rise no further--to which is added the great export of these
products to China and the coasts of Coromandel and Malabar. [86]
Remedy for this evil
To command, under penalty of expulsion, that they do not trade, as it
is contrary to law; and, in respect to estates, they ought to sell
them, even though they are the just owners, since such business is
inconsistent with their ministry. It is certain that, by public report,
if they had to show their titles to those lands it would be found that
many, if not all of them, had been usurped from the Indians. On this
account, without doubt, in regard to this point there was much talk
in the time of Governor Arand[i]a. But nothing was gained in favor
of the Indians, from whom, let the fathers allege what they please,
the endowment of land which the law orders cannot be taken.
TENTH ABUSE
In the extreme parts of the mountains of the provinces of Pampanga,
Pangasinan, Ilocos, and others, the regulars possess missions which
they call active [vivas] missions. There has been a mission for forty,
fifty, or sixty years, without paying tribute or acknowledging
the king. If any alcalde has tried to visit them, they have had
superabundance of witnesses and testimonies for their right to
conduct it; [87] this means that the king supports the missionary,
and escorts who guard him. This is a monstrosity; for if he wishes to
know the condition and results of the mission the matter is reduced to
a lawsuit, until the alcalde is ruined. In reality such missions are
advance-posts or custom-houses toward the mountains of the heathen,
whence the latter bring down to them their gold, cacao, wax, and other
products. This is what employs and occupies the religious father. There
are well-founded opinions which assert that the inhabitants of the
mountains are not reduced to subjection because of the bad treatment
which they know is given them in the missions--where from their
foundation there has not been nor is there any Spaniard save the
father. It follows from this that, where the father is, there is no
lack for vexations against the Indians. Consequently, for the same,
and even a stronger reason, the rigor of the decree and laws, and
the censure of Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, which are cited in the
following abuse, ought to include the regulars.
Remedy for this evil
To prohibit them from engaging in this trading, under penalty of
expulsion; and under the same penalty, that they shall not hinder
the Indians from going to Manila to sell these and other products
which they have, and much less hinder the Spaniards from going to
the provinces to buy them, to reside there, and to marry in them, if
they wish. To order that the missions be visited, without hindrance,
by the bishops in regard to spiritual matters, and by the government;
and that, at the proper time, they must pay the tribute in accordance
with the laws.
ELEVENTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that the fathers have in every way defended and
protected, from the time of the conquest, the Chinese idolaters,
apostates, traitors, and sodomites, without any benefit to the
community, [88] but with considerable harm in spiritual and temporal
affairs; and that they have persecuted the poor Spaniard with so
great rancor and eagerness. For it is seen that if any Spaniard goes,
on account of misfortune, to the provinces to gain his livelihood,
the father immediately orders him to leave, even if he does not lash
him, etc. [89]
This is the reason why, after so long a time, there is no other
settlement of Spaniards than that of Manila; for in the provinces
rarely or never does one see a Spaniard. And, pursuing the same
reasoning, after the lapse of so many years we are as strange to the
Indians as in the beginning, and even more so, as one can see in the
history of the conquest compared with what we all saw during the war.
I venerate, as I ought, the justness of the laws, (xxi and xxii, book
vi, título iii, and law i, book vii, título iv, of the Recopilación)
which prohibit, in the words of the laws, "Spaniards, negroes,
mulattoes, or mestizos from living in the villages of the Indians, for
it has been found that some of the first are restless fellows, of evil
life, robbers, gamblers, and vicious and abandoned people." However,
conceding for the present whatever crimes and stigmas these laws
impute to the Spaniards, I declare and affirm that, with that ban,
the regulars have committed more havoc in America and Filipinas than
all the locusts together. These (the laws) the regulars order posted
in the tribunal houses of the villages, and obey them with such rigor
that if the laws concerning the missionaries were observed in the same
way there would be no Christianity equal to that of those countries.
Let the evil Spaniard be punished; that is but justice: but the good
man cannot and ought not to be punished. The fact is that by means
of the said laws the father puts all [the Spaniards] on the same
footing, and persecutes and punishes all without distinction until
he drives them out of the country. In this way, he is left alone in
the village, and without witnesses for what only God knows, and the
intelligent Catholics weep; and the Indian grows more alien every day,
and becomes hostile to the Spaniard through the instruction which he
receives from the father.
If the Spaniard is very bad, let him be punished by all means. But,
if this is proper, why do they not only not ask the same in regard to
the Chinese (who without comparison is worse), but defend, protect,
and aid him, on account of trade and whatever else offers?
The Spaniard may be a robber, gambler, and vicious; but he is not an
idolater, an apostate, or a traitor, a sodomite, and the father of all
deceit, as is the Chinese. Nevertheless, the father keeps still about
all this and shelters it, and reserves his hootings only for the poor
Spaniard, who many times shames the father missionary himself by the
regularity of his conduct.
What consolation can there be for the Spaniard, prohibited so
rigorously from entering the domains of his king, when he sees that
the Chinese are not only not hindered from such entrance, but also
that they are encouraged; and that they rove about, and come and go,
with more freedom than in their own country? [90]
Is it possible that we must see laws so harsh against the people of
our own nation, and yet, that although the Chinese are foreigners and
so perverse in all ways, they have merited a special título in the
Recopilación and in article 18, book vi, for their defense, trade,
and increase in Manila and the provinces?
Fray Gaspar de San Agustin speaks as follows in his history of the
conquest of Filipinas, book ii, folio 373 and verso, when speaking of
the Chinese: "They are a race blinded by greed, and self-interest,
and when these intervene friendship or relationship counts for
nothing; for the son delights more in deceiving his father than the
foreigner." He continues, and after noting that they are atheists,
and that only by a miracle will it be seen that any of them is a good
Christian, he concludes as follows: "finally, they are a nation who
hope for no other blessings than those of this world, nor other glory
than temporal goods; and they worship no other God than the metals
of silver and gold, and keep faith with Money alone."
This is the character of the Chinese, according to the above-cited
author. [91] And, granted that it was a very inadequate statement, it
is necessary to remark that both he and the rest of his order, and the
others, with no difference, have favored and protected such atheists
and persecuted the Spaniards. The proof is ad oculum [i.e., ocular],
until the destruction during the war; for Manila and the provinces
were inundated by Chinese, married and protected by the fathers, but
there was not, nor is there a Spaniard [in the provinces]. This was
because they did not find themselves persecuted by those same fathers;
therefore the Chinese, according to the same historian, reached in
time past the number of four hundred thousand. The most remarkable
thing is, that the fathers administered to them in spiritual matters
with as great serenity as if they were fathers of the deserts, [92]
and yet Fray Gaspar confesses that they are atheists.
We cannot pass in silence the fact that after the war the Chinese
religious [93] refused to confess the Chinese, for they said that
they knew that their fellow-countrymen were idolaters. However, the
Spanish religious found a moral rule by which to proceed without
any innovation, as they proceed in their own administration; and
in this way they have administered the Christian churches in those
regions. Consequently, he who says the contrary deceives, and falsifies
the truth in regard to certain facts which are public, and which all
those of us who have been in those regions have seen.
In confirmation of the above, see the same historian, book iii, folio
426, in which, treating of the arrival of Governor Santiago de Vera, he
says: "He brought very strict orders from his Majesty [94] to correct
the great excesses which had come to his royal notice, and which had
been committed by the encomenderos of the Indians--who, losing shame
before God and the world, had descended to such dishonorable acts
(perhaps for lack of punishment in the first encomenderos), which
transgressed their obligation." Leaving aside the truth of so great
excesses and of the medium by which they came to his royal notice
(which if investigated thoroughly must have been, without doubt,
through the fathers themselves) it is a fact that a decree was
despatched at Lisboa, March 27, 1583, in favor of the Indians, and
against the excesses of the encomenderos.
The above-mentioned historian continues, and says that the governor
deprived Bartolomé de Ledesma, encomendero of Abuyo, of his encomienda,
as also others whom he found more guilty in similar crimes--whose
names he omits, as it is not his intention to reveal or point out
other persons who at present behave as they should; but he will not
neglect to give the royal decree.
In fact he gives the decree literally, and in truth the crimes of the
encomenderos are so atrocious that they become incredible. But granting
their certainty, because the decree so says, one must wonder that
the father inserts it so exactly after he has just said that he omits
those excesses because it is not his intention to describe them. That
being a manifest contradiction, proves that the mind of the fathers
has always been, and will always be, to defame and make odious the
Spaniard to the Indian, the council, and the king, in order that the
fathers may be masters of everything, without opposition or witnesses.
The same historian concludes the matter on folio 427, with the
following words: "But Doctor Santiago Vera made such judicious
arrangements in regard to the evil doing of the encomenderos,
that, from the time of his government, that matter began to take
better shape, and through the Infinite Pity is at present in better
condition." [95]
This condition of affairs is what the fathers wish, for it has been
many years since there has been any encomendero or Spaniard in the
provinces. That has been their sole desire, and, having obtained it,
he openly avows that the matter is at present in a better condition
through the Divine Pity, because they are alone, absolute, and
without rival.
But how could this fail to happen thus, if laws xxiii and xxiv of the
same título and book only permit the Spaniard, even though he goes as
a merchant, to remain in the villages of the Indians for three days;
and if he exceeds that time, it must be with the penalty of fifty
pesos of gold-dust for each day? It is to be noted here that the
father is so exact in the observance of these laws that it can be
said that he keeps others; and although he does not exact the fifty
pesos because most of the Spaniards require the money for their food,
what does it matter if he orders them to be lashed and imprisoned?
Let this point be taken in the sense which is desired [by the fathers],
and let the Spaniard be considered most perverse; yet he is better
than the best Chinese. Is it possible that so many privileges are
conceded to the Chinese, that he is to live, marry, and trade freely
in Manila and the provinces, and so great harshness must be exercised
against the poor Spaniard? Is it possible that the latter can deserve
so little that he is not indeed equal to the Chinese? [96]
The condition of this matter reduces itself to a few points. First,
that if, by scandals and evil example to the Indians, the Spaniards
have to leave the villages, one ought to begin with the father. This
is so notorious a fact that all who have been in América and Filipinas
will testify to that effect in the official letters of the Council.
Second, in respect to the arguments which are alleged against
the Spaniard, they are not what they seem, and one must subtract
three-fourths of them; while it must be assumed as a well-known fact
that, as they are his declared enemy, and all the regulars are pledged
against the Spaniard, they have not hesitated to find witnesses and
raise up false testimonies, in order to attain their plans. This idea
is so generally practiced and current, that would to God there were
no memory of it.
All these complaints and outcries are reduced to the fact that if
the Spaniard is solicitous for women, to oblige him to marry an
Indian woman is of infinite advantage to him; and, if he is vicious
by another extreme, to punish him. If this remedy does not please
the religious (and immediately it does not suit them) why, just as
they are irritated against the poor Spaniard, do they not cry out in
the same manner against the Chinese, who is so perverse, but defend
him in whatever arises? Why do they not cry out against the negro,
mulatto, and mestizo who are such consummate rogues, but discharge
all their spite upon the Castila?
The explanation of this mystery consists in the fact that the Spaniard
treats the father with the urbanity that is used toward ecclesiastics
in España; but he is not imposed upon by the kind of servitude which
the former desires, and at the same time he is a witness of what occurs
in the provinces that is not right, and which the fathers do not wish
him to know. On the contrary, the Chinese, under pretense that they
allow to him his liberty, keeps still, dissimulates, makes presents,
and blindly submits to whatever is ordered of him.
Third, although we grant, as is right, the justice of the
above-expressed laws in the time and the sense in which they were made,
yet, as they are generally put in force against every Spaniard good
or bad, it follows: first, that they punish the innocent; second,
they prevent the settlement by Spaniards in the provinces, although
it is so necessary; and, third, they hinder our union and friendship
with the Indians, and consequently, marriages. And, supposing that the
Indian women do not desire anything else, and that a Spaniard thus
married has all the kindred of his wife favorable to him, I desire
to know, according to good policy, whether there is any other remedy
more rational and suitable than this, for the conservation of those
domains? This is what law viii, título i, book vi, provides.
There are two alternatives: it is either advantageous for the
nation to preserve them, or not. If the latter, let the Spaniards
come, and let them be abandoned at once. If the former, there is no
other means better than that of union between the two nations. And,
besides the fact that this is the universal practice throughout the
world, it is unnecessary to say anything more about the matter; for,
let the regulars say what they will, they will not deny that if the
Castilian language had not been precluded from the beginning, and had
the Spaniards married the Indian women--which was the method of giving
them good treatment, according to the laws--there would be little or
nothing to conquer in the two Américas and Filipinas. Consequently, it
seems indispensable to abrogate the above-cited laws, or to moderate
them somewhat in favor of the nation, restraining the license of the
fathers. That is quite in accordance with law xxiv, título i, book vi,
which permits the Spaniard to trade freely with the Indians. That
cannot be done if he is to be driven from the villages in three
days' time.
Remedy for this evil
To abrogate the laws above cited, as being suggested without doubt,
by the regulars, and if not, as being dangerous to the state; and to
order that the Spaniards can come and go, and freely trade, in the
provinces; to proclaim rewards for those who marry Indian women, and
to expel the father if he meddles with the Spaniard in what concerns
his external conduct, since, if he is evil and commits crimes, there
are justices to punish him.
TWELFTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that, contrary to the command of the laws and so many
decrees, the fathers do not permit the Indians to talk Spanish, to
which they are greatly inclined, and punish them if they do. This is
the surest rule (although very pernicious to the state) of which the
fathers have availed themselves, since the time of the conquest, to
domineer over the Indians despotically with the king and the Spaniards,
to the common prejudice of all. [97]
From this policy it results that every convent of Manila is a Babel,
for, when the fathers assemble in the capital, it frequently occurs
that each one brings servants from his province to serve him. And
since they follow a system, from which no religious order departs,
to speak to each Indian in his own language, it happens that in one
convent are found the Tagálog, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Ilocan, Cagayan,
Zamboangan, Camarines, Igorot, Ilongot, and Visayan tongues, all in
sight of the government, Audiencia, and Spaniards, with total contempt
of what is ordered in this regard by his Majesty; and by this very
proceeding they boast that we do not understand them, and that they
alone command the wretched Indians.
Quite the contrary was the rule which the Portuguese followed in
India from the beginning of their conquests. Hence one finds that
there is no other language in Macao, Canton, Goa, the Malabar Coast,
Coromandel, Ceilan, and Batavia, than their own. Surely, if that
plan had been followed (as it ought to have been) in the two Américas
and in Filipinas, so many hardships would not have been encountered
[by the Spaniards] as were seen during the invasion of the English,
[98] and as will always be seen for this reason; and the king would be
master of those domains with as much security as he is of these [in
Spain], but, if the contrary be true, they will always be dependent
on the will of the ecclesiastics.
In proof of this truth, one must not forget what we all witnessed
during the war; for with the exception of the provincial of
St. Francis, who was most loyal and of great service, and that of the
Augustinian Recollects, all the rest were declared enemies--so much
so that in the most critical time of the undertaking, they asserted
that the governor was an insurgent. They held meetings to depose him,
contrary to the express laws, and openly encouraged the opposing
side. [99]
All the above is confirmed by what was seen in the same system,
namely, that notwithstanding the noble example of the loyalty of
the two above-mentioned provincials, some of their subjects gave
them much to suffer, and as much more to do, for the party of the
king. This proves that neither to his Majesty nor to their superiors
do they render submission, because of the absolute lawlessness with
which they grow up.
Remedy for this evil
To command that the laws and decrees which order the Indians to be
taught the Spanish language, be observed; and that the father who
violates this, as they have done hitherto, be sent to España, which
it the greatest punishment; and without doubt they will have care in
the matter.
THIRTEENTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that all the curas oblige the dalagas (so are
the girls called) to go to the house of the fathers (the latter,
although contrary to law, call it "convent") to pound the rice. That
operation consists in removing the husks with certain mallets, by
dint of their labor. If this service and labor--which would have
to be done by their servants, or be paid for to the poor, in which
case the work would be proper, and of value to them--is neglected,
it is under penalty of lashes to the girl who does not render it. It
is a shameful thing that these women, all marriageable, have to do
so unsuitable and dangerous things, as daily experience affirms. [100]
They are also obliged to sweep the churches and clear the grass
away from the entrances, while in some places the fathers compel the
baguntaos (who are the unmarried men) each to carry them a stick of
wood every time they go to mass. In others they practice different
burdens and vexations, so that the result of these continual acts is,
that since these fathers do not content themselves with the generous
stipend which they receive from the king, nor with their so abundant
extra fees, they still burden the poor Indian in whatever way they
please, always conspiring so that he shall have nothing of his own,
not recognize or respect any other authority than their own. [101]
Remedy for this evil
To order, under penalty of expulsion, the fathers not to meddle
with the Indians except in their spiritual ministry; and that their
household duties be performed by servants, for which they have much
more than enough income.
FOURTEENTH ABUSE
Consequent upon this notion of theirs is this abuse, that when the
gobernadorcillos of the villages (these are the deputies of the
alcaldes) who exercise the royal jurisdiction, go to see the father,
they have to leave their staffs or rods of justice at the entrance;
for the fathers do not permit even tokens of the royal authority
in their presence. The fathers compel those officials to accompany
them quite to the sacristy, and, when they return to their house,
make them serve them at table, and never allow them to sit down or
to keep their hats on; and they address those officials by tu [i.e.,
"thou"] as they do servants. Let one estimate what they will do with
the other Indians.
Remedy for this evil
To order that, when the gobernadorcillos go to see the father, they
be compelled to go into his house with their badges of justice,
under penalty of [the father's] expulsion if they are forbidden to
do so; for, representing as they do the king, the father must treat
them with suitable decorum, and must give them a seat, and under no
pretext be served by them at table.
FIFTEENTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that, when the provincials go to visit, they make
their so magnificent entrances into the villages at the cost of the
Indians. That is, just as if they were bishops, the bells are rung
for them, and they are accompanied by vast crowds from village to
village; and the people go to receive them, and go to expense and
make feasts, which only cooperate toward their absolute domination
over those natives.
Remedy for this evil
That the regulars be subjected, as is decreed, to visitation by the
ordinaries. By so doing, the latter will make use of their right
without there being any necessity for visits by the provincials; and
when the provincials wish to visit them purely as religious, and not
as parish priests, to prohibit the Indians from great public feasts and
expenses, under penalty of expulsion, since there is no other remedy.
SIXTEENTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that after the stipend or sínodo, [102] and large fees
exacted by the father from a poor Indian in regular form, the Indians
generally have to carry the [sick] Indian in a hammock or parilusclas
[103] to the church in order that the father may administer the
sacraments to him. On account of that abuse, and the motion, and
the [effect of the] wind, most of them die; and the man's death is
followed by a looting of his house for the burial fees. This is a
fine way for the fathers to fulfil their duty and exercise charity.
Remedy for this evil
To order, under penalty of expulsion, that they fulfil their duty,
as every good parish priest should, by administering the sacraments
to the poor sick in their own houses; and such grave wrongs against
the Indians and his Majesty will cease, by moderating the tariffs,
with the establishment of the tithes.
SEVENTEENTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that, although the provincials are ordered to watch
over the reduction of these peoples, so that the Indians, living
within sound of the church-bell, may be directed and instructed
in a Christian and civilized manner, the latter are today found
(except those administered by the Franciscans, who are those most
settled in villages) as scattered as they were in the time of their
paganism. They have many of the vicious habits of their paganism,
and are so stupid in their Christian belief and social life that it
causes pity. So grave a wrong is followed by another against the royal
treasury, namely that, as they live far away and in the recesses of
the mountains, it is impossible for the alcalde to enumerate them for
the payment of their tribute, and he is compelled to guide himself by
the list or register which the father gives him. In that particular,
considerable discrepancies have always been noted against his Majesty;
for in Filipinas and América, it has been considered as an act of
cleverness to defraud the king and persecute the Spaniard, and they
never tire of it.
Remedy for this evil
To decree that the reduction into villages be carried out as is
ordered, which can be secured at once if the father so wishes; and
if he opposes the order, to expel him. By so doing, the wrongs stated
above will be avoided.
EIGHTEENTH ABUSE
It is an abuse that the alcaldes in the provinces find it necessary
to yield to the father in whatever the latter desires (this is always
against royal authority) against the Indian and the Spaniard; and, if
the alcalde does not thus act, that moment the fathers rise against
him and prove, in part or in all, the following charges: "he lives
in concubinage, is a drunkard, a thief, and does not observe his
duties toward the church," even though he be an anchorite. For the
father causes the Indian to make depositions as he wishes, and if the
Indian does otherwise, there are lashes. By this may be understood the
doctrine which is taught to those ignorant people, and the condition
in which the administration of his Majesty's justice and authority is.
Remedy for this evil
To order that the father do not meddle with temporal affairs, under
penalty of expulsion. This is certain, for otherwise there will
never be peace. [By so doing] the alcalde can administer justice;
and, if he should be unjust, the governor and the Audiencia will set
the matter right.
NINETEENTH ABUSE
It is an abuse for some men of the religious estate, who are
supported and maintained by his Majesty with the character of
apostolic missionaries, to teach the Indians, instead of love for
their neighbor, to hate and persecute the Castilas (thus they call us
Spaniards). This is a practice as old as the conquest, and was seen
with horror in the most cruel period of the war; and afterward this
proposition was inculcated in a certain pulpit of Manila, to a great
gathering of Spaniards and Indians, [saying], "To issue to a man a
warrant as alcalde is the same thing as que deleatur de libro vitæ;"
[104] and in other pulpits were said other things not less scandalous
against all the [Spanish] nation.
Remedy for this evil
To ordain that there be no preaching contrary to the decalogue, under
penalty of expulsion, which is justified by so cruel and scandalous
an act.
Another of the most grievous abuses is, that religious who have served
as missionaries in the islands are generally chosen as bishops in
those islands. They having been brought up under the conditions
already stated, are influenced, even though they might desire
to exercise their jurisdiction as ordinary in certain districts
conquered centuries ago, most by the abuses and the domination of
their respective orders. Consequently, they overlook wrongs, and
keep silent, from which results the despotism of the orders over the
two powers [i.e., secular and ecclesiastical]. It is true that, even
if they should wish to exercise their jurisdiction, the orders will
not allow it; for they are so blind and obstinate in their sway and
privileges that they are capable of killing any bishop who makes such
an attempt. Doctor Fray Domingo de Salazar, first bishop of Manila,
began that dispute with the Augustinians, as Fray Gaspar relates
in the above-mentioned history. Others have defended the same idea,
but, nevertheless, we see that the said fathers and other regulars
still maintain their domination in opposition to the bishops--with
detriment to both jurisdictions, and perhaps to Christianity, that
cannot be exaggerated.
There are other abuses against the royal treasury worthy of the most
prompt relief, such as that of the storehouses of Manila and Cavité,
which cost the king huge sums on account of the lack of system therein.
Another abuse is that the post of commander of the Acapulco ship
costs his Majesty four thousand pesos. Besides the enormity that such
an office should be conferred for only one ship, the further abuse
follows that neither the captain nor other officers are of any use,
as the commander orders everything at his own caprice; in consequence,
either he is superfluous, or they are.
Another abuse is that, after so many years in which so much gold
has been produced in the islands, this precious metal makes no
acknowledgment to its king in Filipinas by paying him the tenth, nor
is it weighed in a mint, nor is it by any other expedient made useful
to his Majesty; for the religious orders, the Indians, the Spaniards,
and the mestizos make free use of this trade.
Another abuse is, that there has been no thought of conquests in the
mountains of Pangasinan, Ilocos, and Cagayan, where, according to
accurate information by the fathers themselves, there have been more
than three hundred thousand tributes. It would be an easy undertaking,
according to the reports of the fathers themselves and the mildness
of those Indians.
On account of the advantage which may result for his Majesty and his
vassals there, the following points should be considered:
It is known (and I have information in my possession) that there
are mines of a special copper, with a mixture of gold, in Ilocos and
Catanduanes; and it would be an advantage to open and work them for
the casting of artillery and other manufactures.
The iron mine of greatest yield was in operation until the time of
the war, when the works were burned. [105] If they were placed in
operation again, there is nothing more to do than to begin the work,
and they will make whoever operates them wealthy.
The post of commissary of the Inquisition ought to be placed in charge
of a secular priest, and withdrawn from the regulars, who have always
held it and have practiced very many abuses.
Trade ought to be placed on another footing than that of the regulation
of 1734, as it is impossible to subsist on that basis, for thus the
islands will be ruined. After they had suffered a year and a half of
war, which was one continual pillage, there remained no other wealth
than that which was made safe in the "Filipino;" and that wealth has
suffered greatly through the continual losses of the trade since that
time, and the excessive rise in prices.
A ship ought to sail regularly every year for Manila, to carry
secular priests for the object which I have explained, and laymen
who are accustomed to the commerce here; for, to speak plainly, those
in Manila are not Spaniards, but Chinese, in their customs, usuries,
etc. It does not seem out of place to put the shipyard there into good
condition for ship-building, and even to create a navy department,
like those at Ferrol, Cartagena, and Cádiz. [106]
The recoinage of the mutilated money of the islands ought to be
considered, for the Sangleys have pared and clipped it so much that
it is almost half-size. On that account no one wants it, and all
desire to get rid of it, with the loss of ten to twelve per cent,
which is the usual discount. There is always fraud in that, although
the greatest fraud is in the purchases which are made with that money,
in which the goods are sold forty per cent dearer, so that the Chinese
profits and cheats in everything; for, as he does not carry to his
own country other money than that with the milling around the edge,
he cheats by forty per cent more in the goods, and the discount does
not cost him more than ten or twelve. [107]
In the management of the royal treasury, and especially in that of the
storehouses at Manila, Cavite, and other places; in the contracts and
charters for the transportation of provisions from the provinces to
the capital; in the care and conservation of arms and ammunition; in
the collection of tributes; in the collection of all the royal duties;
in the appraisals for the sales of offices; in the auction of the
revenues leased and held by monopoly; and finally, in everything of
advantage to his Majesty: there are most enormous frauds, which need
instant correction by planting deeply the order, system, and method
which justice and the laws demand, in order to suppress the thefts
which have hitherto enriched the governors, royal officials, and other
employees who have made a private patrimony out of what belongs to the
king, destroying the royal revenues and ruining the islands generally
by their insatiable greed. Consequently, although the country has
resources for maintaining superabundantly all the obligations and
business of the royal service, his Majesty has expended immense sums
in the annual situados sent from Nueva España, without other benefit
than that of feeding the avarice of faithless ministers, both secular
and ecclesiastical--who, although charged with the conservation and
prosperity of those islands, abandon them without defense, and in the
miserable condition which was made plainly evident in the last war,
to our utmost grief, where even the hearts of those most honored and
put under obligation by the king were alienated, and they forgot the
loyalty and love due to both Majesties. [108]
For the radical correction of the above ills it is indispensably
necessary to frame and send from here clear and full instructions for
establishing the just method of procedure that is fitting, conferring
on the governor all the authority necessary for its execution,
by the means which prudence and the actual condition [presencia,
misprinted paciencia] of affairs dictate to him.
Finally I direct attention to the undeniable assumption that the
Filipinas Islands, on account of the natural wealth of their soil,
their advantageous situation for carrying on the commerce of Asia with
this Peninsula [i.e., Spain], and still more as being the outpost which
defends and insures the peaceful possession of the rich and extensive
empire of the two Americas, Northern and Southern, on their Pacific
coasts, in which is situated the greater part of their wealth--for
all these reasons, they demand in justice, in reason, and in all
good policy, that the greatest attention be given to them, without
sparing any means or effort that may contribute to the conservation
and success of so important a matter.
The choice of a zealous governor will contribute especially to
erecting the foundations of that great work, but it is necessary to
honor him and give him authority, so that he may work to advantage
and without the obstacles that have many times frustrated the best
and most carefully conceived ideas, by secret information, by tricky
and criminal artifices, and in other evil ways.
The ideas expressed thus far are quite adequate, if they are carried
into execution, and they become more important, on account of the
persons by whom they must be carried out, many of whom have reached
the end of their usefulness, and belong to different estates, and
very opposing interests--the most influential of whom are accustomed
to and have grown old in despotism and lack of restraint. In order to
remove that despotism from the provinces, to make the city secure,
and succeed in obtaining that one "render to God what is of God,
and to Cæsar what is of Cæsar," that governor needs a body of troops
suitable to cause respect for the name of the king. This object
can be attained only by being carefully followed up by a ruler who
is disinterested and zealous for the royal service, it being well
understood that such military force ought to be placed on the same
footing of pay as that of Nueva España, since otherwise there will
be no one who will serve in it.
The king has capable and zealous ministers who can examine the points
which are here briefly indicated. They may be certain that what I
have set forth is accurate and reliable in all its parts, and that
I have had no other motive and impulse in exposing it than my love
and zeal for the service of God and of the king. The latter will
deign to determine what may be most to his royal pleasure. Madrid,
April 12, 1768.
Doctor Don Simon de Anda y Salazar
Your Excellency, Dear sir and master:
I remit the enclosed extract of the points which, I have considered,
require a positive and speedy remedy in the Filipinas Islands, so
that your Excellency can more easily understand their condition in
the toilsome labor of examining the representations which I made at
the time upon the other points, from Manila.
Your Excellency may be assured that I have no private interest in
the matter, for everything is for the king, my master. It is to be
noted that, although this appears to be hostile to the religious
estate, it is not so, nor have I any such spirit [of hostility]. I
assure you that, if these recommendations are carried out (if your
Excellency shall deem that best) the religious communities will
thank you heartily, although at the beginning, and at first sight,
they may show some anger.
May God preserve your Excellency many years, as I desire. Madrid,
April 13, 1768. Your Excellency, your humble servant kisses the hands
of your Excellency.
Doctor Don Simon de Anda Y Salazar
[Addressed: "His Excellency Bailio Frey Don Julian de Arriaga." [109]
ORDINANCES OF GOOD GOVERNMENT
ORDINANCES OF CORCUERA AND CRUZAT Y GONGORA, WITH LATER ADDITIONS
Ordinances of good government (the original ones) by Governor-general
Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera in 1642. Revised by Governor-general
Don Fausto Cruzat y Góngora in 1696. Enlarged later. [110]
Don Fausto Cruzat y Góngora, knight of the Order of Santiago,
member of his Majesty's Council, his governor and captain-general
of these Filipinas Islands, and president of the royal Audiencia and
Chancillería resident therein, etc.:
Inasmuch as I have recognized that there has been considerable change
in regard to the ordinances made by Don Sebastian Hurtado y Corcuera
when he was governing these islands in the former year 1642, for the
direction and good government of the alcaldes-mayor and corregidors
of the provinces of the islands, both in those occasioned by time
and because of some [111] ... having been seen in the observance of
... sections which then ... in harmony with reason ... some have been
abolished and others added at different times; and since on account
of the many numbers that are found to have been revised at present,
confusion might be caused to the ministers who are to observe them,
as has been experienced on some occasions; and desiring to avoid
these inconveniences, and that everything may be clearer; and since
I believe that it will be greatly to the pleasure of God our Lord,
and the service of his Majesty (whom may God preserve), to reduce
them to a less number, which the times render necessary, for their
good direction according to the present condition of affairs: I
order and command you, the said alcaldes-mayor and corregidors who
are at present and shall be in the future in the provinces of the
district of this government, that during the term of your offices,
each one of you in your jurisdiction and district, shall observe the
following order, sections, and instruction.
1. [On taking office, they must swear before the chief notary of
the government to execute the laws according to justice; not to take
bribes and excessive fees; and to abide by the laws of the kingdom,
and any ordinances, and the present instructions.]
2. [Since the officials will serve as an example to the natives under
them, they must see that their behavior morally and religiously is
above reproach. They are also to watch carefully over the morals
of those under them, and especially to see to it that blasphemy
is punished.]
3. [The Indians must be well treated, and must be molested by no
person, whatever his rank. The rich must not oppress the poor in any
way, "and if anything should arise in this that you cannot remedy in
person, you shall advise me very minutely of it so that I may correct
it and have it remedied in the most advisable manner. You shall
not permit any encomendero or his collectors, or any other person,
to borrow or get credit from the Indians in gold, reals, or any other
...; nor that the tribute be collected from them before it is ... the
year when they are to pay it; and the collection, ... according to
the last appraisal at the ages ordered; nor that, as a ransom or as
a recompense for anything, or under cover of anything else, more be
collected from the Indians than is due according to the said appraisal,
namely, one toston in kind, and the hen at the price declared in the
appraisal, and the rest in reals; nor that any collection be made
from him who sowed and did not harvest; nor from anyone who was sick
or occupied in the service of his Majesty, and was unable to sow, nor
from old men of sixty years, who are by reason of that age reserved
by this government [from the tribute]. You shall not consent under
any consideration to the contrary of all the above; nor that the
said encomenderos or their collectors live among the Indians of their
encomiendas longer than the duration of the time of the collection,
which at the longest must not be more than three months." Likewise
the encomenderos and their collectors are to promptly pay what they
owe to the Indians, both for personal services and for provisions and
other supplies furnished at the time of the collection of the tribute,
and these shall be paid at the current rates. Great care is to be
exercised in the election of new cabezas de barangay, who are to be
in the line of succession, and have the necessary qualifications
therefor, and are to pay the media-anata before a legal title can
be issued to them by the governor. When at death or for any other
just reason it becomes necessary to elect other cabezas, "you shall
send me the nomination of three chief persons suitable and capable
for each barangay, and shall inform me of the reasons and causes for
the removal, so that after I have examined them I may choose whom I
please." The non-observance of this method of election will bring its
punishment. Each barangay must consist of forty-five to fifty tributes,
and no more. [112] Barangays with less shall be united.]
4. [The Indians must not be harassed with injurious taxes and
assessments (as is so often the case). If such become necessary,
the governor is to be informed thereof, the necessity therefor, and
the sum to be assessed. A list of the citizens is also to be sent,
"with mention of those who possess property, so that allowance
may be given by this government to make the assessment, so that an
equal charge may not rest upon those who have money and those who
are destitute of it, but that each one contribute according to his
several ability." The imposition of a tax or assessment without the
permission of the governor carries with it deprivation of office and
satisfaction from the property of the one dismissed of the entire
sum contributed, to those assessed, and a fine of 500 pesos for the
treasury and fortification expenses.]
5. [In the management and disbursements of funds from the communal
treasuries, there is much graft among the officials. An order sent
to all the provinces the preceding year at the request of the fiscal
ordering the alcaldes-mayor and corregidors to oversee and manage
the communal treasuries is to be strictly obeyed. All disbursements
are to be by express order of the superior government. Disbursements
made without such order shall be made good from the property of the
one allowing them, or their bondsmen.]
6. [Alcaldes-mayor and corregidors are not to accept any presents, even
of food, during the term of their office, as their hands will be bound
thereby. They must pay a just price for what they purchase. During
the term of their office they are not to purchase a ranch or any
lands in the territory of their jurisdiction; neither are their
secretaries or alguacils-mayor to buy them: for many evils follow
therefrom. They are to build no sailing craft under any consideration,
"under penalty of loss thereof and two hundred pesos, applied half to
fines for the treasury and fortifications, because of the great harm
caused to the natives by such constructions. For when you need any
vessel, you can charter one." Likewise they are forbidden to engage
in any trade with the natives and citizens of their jurisdiction,
either directly or through agents. They are not to take a portion
of the fees and salaries of their notaries, interpreters, and other
persons, "because of the harm resulting from the judges having such
shares. Nor shall you allow your officials to take them; nor shall
you make an agreement with anyone in regard to the abovesaid."]
7. You shall visit your jurisdiction once each year, remaining twelve
days in each large village of the chiefs, and six days in the small
villages, visiting them and trying with justice the natives in whatever
they plead, remedying all that you may find necessary and clearing away
whatever injuries or injustices may have been committed. [During the
visit or rather, during all their term, they are not to hale anyone
into court to justify any slavery, but justice is to be meted to those
who appear to plead of their own accord. They, their clerks, or other
officials, shall not take fees from any fifths of gold paid them in
their jurisdictions; neither shall fees be exacted for the visit. They
must pay their own expenses during that period and not exact them
from the Indians. Contravention of this last means restoration of
the amount exacted to the Indians, and four times as much as a fine.]
8. [This regulates the manner of trials and the fees for the same. No
process is to be made in cases involving sums up to twenty pesos,
but such cases are to be briefly despatched, and the notary cannot
receive a fee in excess of four reals from each party to the suit,
under penalty of returning it, and a sum four times as large as a fine
to the Manila court. If one Indian causes the arrest of another Indian,
and the one arrested confesses his guilt, sentence is to be passed
by virtue of the confession. Otherwise witnesses shall be called,
and after their depositions are taken, the case shall be judged. If
there is any appeal, the case is to be tried in second instance, and
after examining the witnesses the records are to be sent to the Manila
Audiencia. Criminal cases must be tried as soon as possible. Those
involving sums not in excess of five pesos shall be tried summarily,
and nothing more than a mere record of them shall be made for the
archives of the notary. No fees are to be received for depositions of
witnesses, and only the fee adjudged by the tariff can be accepted for
giving written records of the case to the parties involved. The tariff
of fees is to be posted in a public place in the court, both in the
Spanish and native language, in order that all may know the amount
to be paid. Notaries are to record the amounts accepted as fees,
which must not exceed the tariff. This method of trial was ordered
for the purpose of saving time, expense, and trouble to the Indians.]
9. [Tariffs according to which food can be supplied to travelers
are to be posted in all the villages along the line of travel; as
well as of all aid furnished in sailing craft, men, and horses. "For
which you shall unite with the father minister of the doctrina, and
between you two, you shall make said tariff. In it you shall write
that in Tondo and all along the coast of Manila, two reals must be
paid for one hen, one real for a dumalaga, [113] and one-half real
for a chick; in Pangasinan, Ilocos, and Cagayan, one real shall be
paid for a hen, one-half real for a dumalaga, and one cuartillo (four
to the real) for a chick; in Tayabas, the tariff made and confirmed
by this superior governor shall be kept, until otherwise commanded
by it; in Pintados, Leyte, Cebú, Camarines, Catanduanes, Calamianes,
and the other jurisdictions and provinces, each hen at one-half real,
and in proportion each dumalaga and chick. The other food and other
things necessary for travel, on the basis of such tariff shall conform
to the usage of the country." The fees to be collected by them and
their notaries for making the tariff shall not exceed one real, and
a copy of the same is to be sent to the governor for his examination
and confirmation. Contravention of this order carries a fine of fifty
pesos, to be applied in halves to the treasury and the fortifications.]
10. [Bridges are to be built and repaired, and rivers kept clean,
especially those flowing from Laguna to Manila through Pasig and
Taguig. All undergrowth, enclosures, and obstacles to the natural
current are to be removed, in order that the waters may be confined
to their beds, thus avoiding overflows and damage to crops. This must
be done with the least possible trouble to the Indians, and all must
share alike in the work.]
11. [In villages along the line of travel, the natives must not be
made to act as porters (a prolific source of evil), even with light
burdens. Each village must purchase immediately horses and cows,
so that they may be available for travelers.]
12. [Natives must not become vagabonds, but must cultivate their land,
both for their own good and that of the community. In some provinces,
underbrush has sprung up and food is scarce because of the nomadic
habits of the Indians, and their laziness. An edict is to be published
to the effect that if all those who own lands do not cultivate and
sow them within two years, such lands will be sold to the highest
bidder. The official not obeying this law shall be fined fifty pesos,
to be applied in halves to the treasury and the fortifications.]
13. [The rearing of fowls and swine is obligatory on the
inhabitants. Each Indian is to have at least six hens and one cock,
and one sow. Each Sangley is to have a dozen hens, one cock, and two
sows. This will avoid scarcity and dearness in price. Close inspection
is to be made by the alcaldes-mayor and corregidors, under penalty
of suspension from their office. For such inspection, no fees are
to be charged by any person connected therewith, under penalty of
returning said fee, and a sum four times as great for the treasury.]
14. [Great harm results from Spaniards, Sangleys, and Indians giving
money to other Indians for their trading. No sum must be so given
in excess of five pesos, not even under pretext that it is advance
pay for rice or other products. If more is given, it shall be lost,
and the Indian receiving it cannot be made to pay it. The prices
current at the time of the harvest shall be paid to the Indians by all
purchasers other than the king, who has a special rate. No purchases
can be made by individual persons until those for the royal warehouses
have been made, and the tributes paid. Notaries and Indian governors
are forbidden to draw up any contract at the fixed rate or at the
price paid by the king.]
15. [Inasmuch as Indian slavery is forbidden; and since the transfer of
those called slaves by custom is also forbidden; as is also that their
descendants born after August 18, 1692 (the date of the publication
in Manila of the act of the royal Audiencia of Mexico, in accordance
with the royal decree of Buen Retiro, May 1, 1686), should be slaves:
the officials are to carefully carry this law into effect, and prevent
such slavery.]
16. [Careful regulations are made concerning the Chinese. Because of
the spiritually demoralizing effect of the Sangleys on the Indians,
and the harm resulting from the wasting of the substance of the latter
which is given in exchange for things of little value offered them
by the wily celestials, great care is to be exercised in regard to
both Christian and heathen Sangleys. None of the latter are to have
residence among the Indians, and if any such are found in any village,
they are to be immediately sent to the Parian in Manila, the penalty
in case of non-compliance with this order being two hundred lashes
and four years' service in the Cavite harbor. The married Christian
Sangleys who prove detrimental to the Indians are to be sent to the
villages of Santa Cruz and Binondo, and the single men to the Parian
(these facts to be ascertained from the priests in charge of the
various villages), in accordance with the laws of December 12, 1695,
and January 16, 1696. Sangley traders may go to their trade in the
jurisdictions of Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna de Bay, and the port
of Cavite, provided they have the government license therefor, not
being allowed to sleep in any village or house of the Indians, but in
their own boats. Trade in any village is limited to twelve days. Any
Sangley who shall be found sleeping in any village shall be sent
to the governor, who may impose at will upon him the penalty of two
years' service in the harbor of Cavite. Christian Sangleys shall not
be allowed to reside in any village in excess of the number required
for the service of the convents and the village, and unless married to
Indian women. Close lists of all such, with the necessary statistics,
must be kept, and they must have the government license to remain in
such villages. Any alcalde-mayor or corregidor allowing any Sangley
to live in any village or to trade without the government license
shall pay a fine of 200 pesos, and must pay besides the amount of the
license for the period during which the Sangley has been without it.]
17. [Commerce is to be free to all Indians of whatever jurisdiction
they be, throughout the Philippines; and no license is required,
nor can any fee be charged them. This will ensure a good supply of
provisions and other necessities, and promote the cultivation of the
land. Good treatment must be shown to them, and their passage from one
place to another facilitated, under penalty of a fine of 100 pesos,
and a charge in the residencia of the one who transcends this order.]
18. [Large and small weights and measures are to be uniform in all
the islands with those used in Manila, and shall have been sealed and
marked in that city. All others shall be collected, and used under
no consideration. Those using others shall restore all things sold
with them, and a sum four times as great as a fine to the treasury.]
19. [This law lessens and defines those exempt from tribute, polos,
and personal services. On account of so many reservations from these,
the burden has fallen on the weakest of all the natives, namely, the
timauas [i.e., freedmen]. Those exempt shall include all sixty years
old and above; the cabezas de barangay, and their eldest sons and
successors; cantors, sacristans, porters, and cooks [of the church
and convents], who have been exempted in accordance with the act of
Governor Santiago de Vera; all officers of justice for the time they
serve only; the Pampangos who serve as soldiers and in other capacities
for the royal pay in Manila, Cavite, and other presidios, for the
time they serve, and their wives in case that they are married. The
due honors are to be reserved always for all ex-officials of justice,
and they shall be given a special bench in the Audiencia, so that
they need not stand, but exemption from all dues shall be only for
the length of their actual service. All other reservations than those
named above are null and void, among them those of men having more
than six children, a practice that has been introduced in some parts,
and which was ordered suspended, by request of the fiscal, by an
order of December 24, 1695. Alcaldes-mayor and corregidors violating
this law shall pay the amount of all injuries resulting therefrom,
and a sum four times as great, as a fine.]
20. [This law concerns the matter of repartimientos among the natives
for supplies for the royal magazines, and for the galleons and vessels
despatched annually to Nueva España and the Marianas. Many injuries
result because the repartimiento is divided among the Indians, and
the Spanish and Chinese mestizos without regard to their material
conditions, which gives rise to much suffering. Often "those who
have nothing to give, are compelled to get the products elsewhere,
and at times to buy them at a higher price than that paid them on his
Majesty's account." The repartimiento is to be made among all who have
had a harvest, according to their several ability, and after sufficient
has been reserved for the support of their families, the next year's
sowing, and for the tribute. Those who have not been able to harvest,
either through the inclemency of the weather, or because they have been
unable to sow because of being absent or busied in the royal service,
and the poor, shall be exempt from furnishing supplies. A sworn
statement given before the priest of the village shall be necessary to
secure exemption. Those furnishing supplies shall be paid immediately,
the money being given to each seller in person, and not to the cabezas
de barangay or the notables. If the royal funds of any district are
insufficient to pay for the supplies furnished, the surplus will be
sent on from Manila. Under no consideration shall any debt be left
standing. The alcalde-mayor who shall violate this shall be deprived of
any political office forever, and shall be compelled to pay all such
debt from his own property and a sum three times as great, as a fine,
and he may become exempt from this penalty under no consideration. No
repartimiento shall be made except at express order of the superior
government, under penalty of a fine of 1,000 Castilian ducados.]
21. [A law of the kingdom prohibits repartimientos of Indian tanores
[114] for the service of the alcaldes-mayor, priests, or any other
persons; or that contributions of fish be asked for the support of
anyone, for vigils, or for Fridays and Saturdays. This law must be
strictly enforced, and must be proclaimed in all the villages so that
the Indians may be fully aware of it. If the alcalde-mayor is unable
to prevent any person from violating this law, the governor shall
be informed and he will take the proper measures. Any neglect in
this shall be made a charge in the residencia. The alcalde-mayor who
violates the law shall pay the just value of such services or fish,
and a fine three times as great, and be deprived of all political
office perpetually. Indians used as rowers by the alcaldes-mayor or
priests in their official capacity shall not be paid, but at all other
times they shall be paid as follows: between Mariveles and Manila,
at the rate of one-half real per day and food; from Mariveles and
beyond, at the current rate of the various districts.]
22. [Alcaldes-mayor, corregidors, priests, and other officials shall
not be supported at any other than their own expense. Provisions
shall be purchased at the prices current, and cash must be paid for
them. The natives, however, are compelled to sell provisions to such
persons for their support, but such purchases are not to exceed the
amount needed. Violation of this law means loss of office.]
23. [Alcaldes-mayor and corregidors on assuming office shall receive
from their predecessors an inventory of all papers in the archives (if
there are no notaries in charge of them), and shall pass on the same
with all that have accumulated during their term of office to their
successors. This shall be a charge in their residencias, and they must
present testimony that they have so done. No person is to be condemned
to the galleys or to undergo any bodily mutilation, except with the
advice of an assessor enrolled in the royal Audiencia. In case there
is no assessor in any district, all cases involving such condemnation
must be concluded, all except the sentence, and then prisoner and
records sent to Manila for sentence in the royal Audiencia.]
24. [In prisons, women and men must be kept separate. If the complaint
against women is slight, they shall not be confined in prison, but kept
in the house of some relative. No prison fees shall be accepted by any
official from the Indians imprisoned, under penalty of repaying them,
and a fine four times as large.]
25. [No office can be resigned without governmental permission, under
penalty of a fine of 100 pesos. Record books shall be delivered to
the alcaldes-mayor and corregidors by the government secretary, in
which shall be kept an account of the fines, expenses of justice,
and fifths of gold. At the conclusion of anyone's term, this book
shall be delivered to the royal accountancy, and the amount of the
fines and fifths to the royal treasury.]
26. [This law concerns the appointment of inferior officials
by alcaldes-mayor and corregidors. No Spanish alguacil is to be
appointed without government title. If any serious case demands such
an officer, he shall be appointed only for the time necessary and when
the immediate duty is concluded he shall be dismissed. Appointments as
lieutenants, masters-of-camp, sargentos-mayor, captains, alferezes,
sergeants and adjutants of native military companies, governors for
the Sangleys and natives, and all other appointments to military and
political posts (whether paid or not), shall not be made without
government title. Appointments shall be made only when vacancies
occur, and when necessary, three names shall be sent to the governor
at Manila, who shall make the appointment therefrom. Without the
government title, no one shall exercise any official duty, under
penalty to that alcalde-mayor or corregidor who shall violate this
law, of a fine of 500 pesos, the payment of the fees of media-anata
and such title, while the violation shall become a charge in his
residencia, and he shall be subject to all other penalties imposed
for such violation. Notaries are prohibited under like penalties
from drawing up such titles or countersigning the same, and shall not
allow possession of any post to be taken without government title. All
notaries shall be required to make full testimony of the observance
of this law, and in districts having no notary, a certification must
be made by the priest.]
27. [Methods of election for various jurisdictions are prescribed
by this law. In the four jurisdictions of Tondo, Laguna de Bay,
Bulacan, and Pampanga, considerable trouble has been experienced at
the annual election of the district governor, which has resulted in
much ill-feeling among the Indians, and lawsuits because of factions
among them, as the elections have been participated in by all in
common. Henceforth, the elections are to be held on the day assigned,
by all the cabezas de barangay of each village (if there are twelve
of them; if less than that number, notables of the village are to
be appointed to that number), who with the retiring governor and
with the intervention of the alcalde-mayor and priest of the village,
shall proceed to the election. Having chosen three persons, their names
shall be forwarded to the governor at Manila, in a sealed paper bearing
the following title: "Election of such and such a village, which is
sent to the governor and captain-general of these islands, through
his government secretary." In accordance with the governor's choice
from these three names the title of the new village governor will
be expedited. In the jurisdictions of Calilaya, Balayan, Mariveles,
and Cavite, elections shall be held as heretofore, and those elected
shall go to, or send to, the governor in Manila for confirmation of
their office. Elections shall occur between January 1 and February
28, and for each one the alcalde-mayor and the notary shall receive
only three pesos. In all other jurisdictions, elections shall be held
in the usual manner, and the appointment made by the alcalde-mayor,
but no office shall be enjoyed without the government title. These
titles shall be sent to each district, in accordance with the order of
September 23, 1693, made out by the government secretary, and signed
by the governor and countersigned by the secretary; and on them
shall be entered the names of the successful candidates. The names
of those elected shall be sent for entry in the government books,
and all media-anatas shall be paid, as well as title fees and cost
of sealed paper. No newly-elected official shall hold office until
he has received the government title, and the old official shall hold
over until such time. Violation of this law shall incur the penalties
of the preceding law, and it shall be made a matter of residencia.]
28. [No encomienda shall be granted nor any acts made in regard to them
without the express command of the superior government. Any claims
to encomiendas must be satisfied through the proper channels. Claims
to any encomiendas obtained otherwise are null and void.]
29. [No Spaniards may live in any Indian village, except by permission
of the governor at Manila, and where such permission is given, they
must live decently and quietly. This includes both married and single
men, and is to be enforced especially in the province of Pampanga,
although all Spaniards married at present to Pampangas may remain. All
other men married to Spanish women or to Indian women of Pampanga [in
the future], and all single men must leave the province immediately,
and may not return without permission. If Spaniards wish in the future
to marry Pampangas, they cannot live among the natives, under penalty
of a fine of fifty pesos.]
30. [A general treasury council held in April, 1696, rules that the
Indians shall not be compelled to take the tribute to the capital
cities at their own expense. In case they are ordered to take it to
any place, they must be paid the proper prices for transportation. If
after the stipends of the priests of the villages are met, any
residue of the tribute remains from the encomiendas belonging to the
royal crown, the alcaldes-mayor shall notify the superior government
and the royal officials of the amount in each village, so that it
may be ordered taken to the place deemed most advisable. Nothing
spent for transportation shall be admitted unless an order has been
given for such transportation. Encomenderos and collectors shall
observe the same method in order to avoid the injuries suffered by
the natives. Violation of this law shall be a matter of residencia,
and those violating it shall be condemned to make good all the losses
to the Indians in consequence thereof, and four times that amount as
a fine.]
31. [A government act of March 22, 1657, ordered all the polo funds
created in each village to be suppressed, as well as the need of
each chief contributing annually one peso and each timaua one toston
to them, for the expenses of his Majesty's service. Alcaldes-mayor
and corregidors are ordered not to allow such funds to exist, or any
contributions to be made for them, under penalty of suspension from
political and military office for four years, service as a soldier,
and a fine of 100 pesos.]
32. [Great care is to be taken to have the Indians plant cocoanut
palms and set out abacá plants: the chiefs, trees to the number
of two hundred and plants to the same number; and timauas, each
to the number of one hundred. Those dying out are to be renewed,
so that the number may always be kept up. This is to be a matter of
personal care on the part of the alcaldes-mayor, who are to appoint a
representative in each village to register the trees and plants and
render account of neglect to observe this law. The palms are useful
for the support of the Indians, while from its fruit are obtained oil,
wine, and bonote for the furnishing of the galleons and other vessels,
and the material for making rigging. For failure to prepare these
supplies for the ships, a fine of 1,000 pesos shall be imposed for
the purchase of oil and abacá, and the omission shall be made a charge
in the residencia. Loss of office shall also be incurred, and for the
inferior officials a penalty of two years in the galley without pay.]
33. [The Indians, both men and women, and the married Christian
Sangleys must be made to destroy the locusts that do so great harm to
the crops throughout the islands, especially the young, called locton,
which are so destructive, and can be killed easily as they have no
wings. Each person shall be charged during certain days or weeks
to kill so many gantas of this destructive pest, under penalties
that shall be imposed for neglect. Neglect by the alcaldes-mayor
and corregidors in this law shall mean deposition from office, and
a charge in their residencia.]
34. [No obstacle shall be placed to the Sangley craft that have
government permission to trade in any province, during the time of
said permission. But at the end of the term of their license, they
must return to Manila, and the alcaldes-mayor and corregidors may not
continue that period. Sangleys found without the government license,
or with it, if outside the provinces of Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga,
Laguna de Bay, and the jurisdiction of the port of Cavite, to which
the government license extends, shall be arrested and sent with their
crafts to Manila, with testimony to that effect, so that they may be
punished fittingly. If any license is given or continued unlawfully,
a fine of 1,000 Castilian ducados shall be imposed, and perpetual
deprivation of office.]
35. [A government order of September 13, 1688, in pursuance of a
royal order of the ninth of the same month, arranged for "raids into
the mountains of the provinces of these islands, for the reduction
of the Indians in insurrection and the mountain-dwellers in the
provinces of Cagayan, Caraga, Calamianes, the island of Negros, Oton,
Camarines, and Leyte; and that in the said provinces of Cagayan,
Caraga, Calamianes, and Oton, where Spanish and Pampanga infantry is
garrisoned, whenever aid of money and rice is given on the account
of his Majesty, the said raids shall be made with that part of the
infantry that is deemed advisable, while the remainder shall be left
for the usual matters for which it was intended. The alcaldes-mayor
of Camarines and Leyte shall give aid from the royal property in their
charge, in rice to the amount of one ganta of palay per day for every
person taking part in the said raids, for the time of their duration,
but he must not forget to send a previous report to this superior
government, with the testimony of the notary of each province and the
certification of the father minister of the doctrina of the number
of persons to be occupied in said raids, and at the end of said raids
he shall send a report of them, and the time they lasted." Otherwise
the alcaldes-mayor will not be credited with the amount of rations
they have supplied for such raids. In regard to the island of Negros,
the corregidor of that island shall requisition the necessary troops
from the alcalde-mayor of Cebú. This order shall be sent to all the
provinces and shall be kept in the archives of the courts thereof,
so that it may be exactly observed.]
36. [Lists of the persons sailing in any royal vessel to points in
the islands shall be furnished by the pilot or master; as well as
the time for which they are supplied with food. A month's rations are
to be allowed to such persons after supplies are exhausted. If they
cannot return to Manila in that time because of some unforeseen event,
another month's ration shall be given them by the alcalde-mayor in
whose jurisdiction they may happen to be, and the amount entered in
their accounts, so that it may be made good. All repairs to such
vessels as have to be made in the provinces, and the cost of the
same shall be estimated by experts in the presence of the proper
officials and the priest of the village. The alcalde-mayor shall pay
the same from the royal funds, and, on the statement of the priest,
the expense shall be admitted.]
37. Having been informed that the native vassals of his Majesty living
in the villages of the provinces of these islands had intercourse
and communication with the heathen, apostate, and fugitive Indians
who dwell in the mountains and hills, by going to trade with them
and selling them iron for their weapons, wearing apparel, and the
other things lacking in said mountains, and necessary to them for the
conservation of human life, on account of which their pacification
and reduction to our holy Catholic faith and to the obedience of
his Majesty is impossible, frustrating, because of the interest of
said Christian natives in the gold and wax which they get through
said heathens and apostates, the Catholic zeal of his Majesty, who
is maintaining these islands at so vast expense to his patrimony,
for the sole purpose of the extension of the holy gospel and the
conversion of their natives thereto; and considering the only remedy
to be the avoidance of such inconvenience: on the seventh of January
last of this year, I sent orders generally to all the alcaldes-mayor
and corregidors, commanding them to publish an edict in every village
of their jurisdiction, forbidding all the natives thereof who are
subject and recognize vassalage to his Majesty, to have intercourse,
communication, or trade with the heathen, apostate, and fugitive
Indians, negroes, and Zambals, who inhabit the mountains and hills,
and are not reduced to the royal obedience, under penalty of one
hundred lashes and two years' service in the harbor of Cavite, with
only their food. Said alcaldes-mayor and corregidors shall watch,
and use great care in avoiding such intercourse, communication,
and trade, and shall take all the measures that appear necessary
therein. They shall report to this government the results and all
that arises therein, in order to see whether it is necessary to
enact any other measure. They shall do this inviolably, without any
pretense or tolerance, for it is not practicable that said heathens and
apostates having been compelled by necessity, will become reduced to
obedience to his Majesty and embrace our holy faith by means of the
preaching of the father ministers of instruction. The latter shall
for their part aid in a matter so to the service of both Majesties,
as I have asked and requested of the reverend fathers provincial of
the orders. Said alcaldes-mayor are advised that this prohibition is
not to be understood in regard to the heathen Indians who live in the
villages and obey and pay tribute to his Majesty; and that those of
this kind shall not be prohibited from trading with the Christians,
because they are subject to the obedience of the king, our sovereign,
and pay him a recognition of vassalage, in the tribute which they give.
38. [An order given by Cruzat y Góngora, December 24, 1695, to
alcaldes-mayor and corregidors, arranges for the appointment in each
village of several notables, whose business it shall be "to seek
out Indians who commit offenses against God, our Lord, in order to
correct and punish them, and report thereof to the father ministers,
so that they may be dissuaded from their errors, and directed along
the path of salvation." Great care is to be exercised in this, and
those Indians called vilitaos and casonos [115] are to pay tribute and
render personal services. Report must be made as to whether the above
classes still exist, and whether they pay anything to any person for
exemption from tribute, polos, and personal services, and they shall
be punished if of the secular court. [116]]
39. [This law, which was enacted by Cruzat y Góngora, May 14, 1697,
and ordered to be included among the government ordinances, commands
that the two cooks allowed to priests established in a district having
five hundred whole tributes be no longer exempted from tribute, polos,
and personal services. The ordinance enacted by Santiago de Vera,
by which cantors, sacristans, porters, and cooks, are exempt from the
above, shall be revised to read only the first three. This ordinance
is made in pursuance with the decision of the royal Audiencia of
February 22, 1697, that laws xli, and xlii, título xii, book vi of
the Recopilación be obeyed. It was consequently ordered by Cruzat y
Góngora's decree of February 22, 1697, that no village shall against
its will furnish any Indian tanores to the seculars, regulars, or
other ecclesiastical persons, or to the alcaldes-mayor. (See ante,
pp. 203, 204, ordinance 19.) Hence, that this order may be executed,
the present ordinance follows.]
40. [An ordinance enacted by Governor Zabalburu, April 8, 1704,
is given because of a communication received by him from Archbishop
Camacho, under date of January 26, 1702. The letter asks that law
vi, título i, book vi, of the Recopilación be enforced, because of
the sins, both against chastity and justice, arising from natives
serving in the houses of their prospective parents-in-law. It happens
often, in addition to the sin against chastity that the marriage
is not consummated, and the man loses his wages for the service he
has rendered. The archbishop has published an edict ordering this
practice to cease, but it is wise for both the civil and ecclesiastical
power to act in concert in this matter, "for it often happens, on
not few occasions, that fear of the royal power is stronger than
veneration for the holy laws of the Church." The governor is asked
to add to the penalties of the law, those penalties which he judges
advisable. Consequently, he orders that in each native village, no
Indian shall receive into his house or service any man who is about to
contract marriage with his daughter, during the three festival days
of the village, and that he shall not receive any money or products
from him because of such matrimonial contract. Timauas violating this
ordinance shall receive fifty lashes, be incapacitated from holding
any office, and be compelled to restore to the treasury what may have
been thus paid. Notables shall lose their rank and become timauas. The
due performance of this ordinance shall be a charge in the residencia
of alcaldes-mayor and corregidors.]
41. [An ordinance enacted by the same governor, April 28, 1704,
cites an act of his predecessor, Cruzat y Góngora, April 30, 1697,
ordering that when the priests of the villages need Indians for
the necessary things of the divine service, the gobernadorcillos
are compelled to furnish them, the priests paying such Indians at
the rate of one real per week apiece and their food. According
to the order of Governor Niño de Tabora, no priest was to have
more than four Indians, in addition to the cantors, sacristans,
and porters. In villages so small that the stipends received by the
priests are insufficient to pay for the services of the four Indians,
they are not under the necessity of paying them, if their residence
there is a necessity, and they reside there at the petition of the
Indians, in which case the latter shall pay for the services of the
four Indians. Another act of Cruzat y Góngora, of August 31, 1697,
rules that the offering to be contributed by the Indians for each of
the three religious festivities of the patron of each village, Corpus
Christi, and Holy Thursday, be one real for each whole tribute, and
one-half real for each single man or woman, this alms being fixed at
the request of the procurators-general of the four friar orders and
the Society of Jesus. This offering is to be collected in a humane
manner, and the gobernadorcillos and cabezas de barangay are not to
exact a greater sum under pretense that it is for the church. These
two acts Zabalburu orders to be included in the ordinances given to
each alcalde-mayor on the assumption of his office. He also orders the
observance of an act enacted by himself March 13, 1704, ordering that
eight bagontaos be assigned in each village weekly for the service of
divine worship, the church, and the ministry of the sacramental mass;
and for the service of the priests when it becomes necessary to leave
the village to administer the sacraments. In villages of less than
three hundred tributes, there shall be only the eight bagontaos,
under penalty of punishment to the gobernadorcillos who shall allow
more. This ordinance is to be proclaimed in all the villages by the
alcaldes-mayor on the festival days.]
42. [In accordance with the request of Archbishop Camacho that curas
and missionaries be ordered not to exact larger fees than those
allowed by the royal tariffs, and that the alcaldes-mayor enforce
this, an order to that effect is issued to the latter. Violations by
curas and missionaries are to be reported to the superior government,
and alcaldes-mayor are to get careful reports on this head from the
native gobernadorcillos and their officials. Any omission in this
shall become a charge in the residencia, and the alcalde-mayor shall
be obliged to make good the excess fees from his own property, and
pay a fine four times as large as the excess. This was ordered to be
included in the ordinances, March 8, 1708.]
43. [This ordinance has to do with the government monopoly on
playing-cards. On December 2, 1707, the governor orders that the
department of that monopoly be taken from the control of the royal
officials of the treasury and given into the charge of a special
judge. Various ordinances enacted by Doctor Don Juan de Gárate y
Francia are to be carefully observed. Alcaldes-mayor shall have the
direction of this department in their respective jurisdictions, and
in accordance therewith this ordinance is to be included among those
given to them on assuming office. The special judge may appoint whom he
pleases in the department, at salaries approved by the fiscal. Lastly
all the packs of cards in the island are to be collected, and those
bringing them are to be paid the price for which they are to be bought;
and this as well as all other matters shall be done as the special
judge deems best.]
44. [In consequence of two royal decrees (both of which are inserted),
one dated September 30, 1714, and the other June 15, 1720, which
forbid under severe penalties the manufacture and sale of brandy (made
from sugarcane) in Perú and Nueva España, because of the many evils
arising therefrom, Governor Toribio Joseph Miguel de Cosio y Campo
orders the said decrees to be translated into the native languages
of the Philippines, and proclaimed by order of the alcaldes-mayor
and corregidors in their respective jurisdictions, and the strict
enforcement of the same. If an Indian manufacture and sell brandy,
for the first offense he shall be arrested, given two hundred lashes,
and thrown into the galleys for six years; for the second offense,
this shall be doubled; and for the third, tripled, besides exile
from the province. The same punishment shall be meted out to the
makers of instruments for the manufacture of brandy, if they are
Indians. This law is made a part of the ordinances which are to be
given to alcaldes-mayor, who are enjoined under severe penalties to
break up this nefarious traffic.]
45. [The same governor, on May 16, 1724, in view of a report of
the alcalde-mayor of Bulacan, of January 5, 1724, the writ of the
fiscal, of January 20, and the vote of the royal Audiencia, forbids
the alcaldes-mayor and others to exact fees from the natives for
appointments, under penalty of a fine of 500 pesos and a sum four
times as great as the fee exacted. All other fees are to be regulated
according to law xxv, título viii, book v, of the Recopilación, and the
government secretary is ordered to send a list of all fees that can
be taken to all the provinces, which is to be strictly observed. All
exaction of unjust fees by the royal accountancy is to cease. Copies of
this ordinance are to be sent to all the alcaldes-mayor, in order that
they may be affixed in the public place so that all may know of it.]
46. [On December 10, 1725, the same governor, in view of the report of
the Recollect provincial, of September 20, 1723, and the deductions of
the fiscal, October 7 and November 6, 1723, and January 14 and November
23, 1724, orders that all bandalas or purchases [117] of wax, rice,
and other products, be distributed among the natives according to the
several ability of each one, and with regard to the fact of whether
they have been able to reap a harvest, or to care for their crops
after planting them (see ordinance 20, which is expressed in almost
the same terms). The injuries done to the natives by the bandalas and
purchases must cease. Copies of this ordinance are to be sent to all
the villages and proclaimed in the native languages, in order that all
the natives may be informed of it. It is also to be noted in the books
of the royal accountancy, so that all purchases may be made according
to the terms expressed therein, and that all exactions may cease.]
47. [The governor, after examining the report of Fray Benito de San
Pablo, Recollect, formerly of the district of Romblon in the province
of Panay, in regard to the exactions of the alcaldes-mayor from the
natives, and the remarks of the fiscal, orders the alcaldes-mayor
to collect from the Indians tribute only in the products which they
possess; and but two gantas of rice, in place of the three which
they have usually and unlawfully collected. This shall be made a
matter in the residencia, and violations will be punished with fines
and penalties.]
48. [Governor Valdés Tamon under date of July 28, 1730, orders
instructions sent to the alcalde-mayor of Laguna de Bay and to all
other alcaldes-mayor, commanding them to pay for the services of the
natives according to the tariff (see ordinance 21), except in cases
of the administration of justice and matters of the common welfare.]
49. [An ordinance of the same governor, August 9, 1730, orders the
late alcalde-mayor of Ilocos to present himself in Manila within a
month after being notified thereof, in order that he may hand in his
accounts. He is to do this under penalty of a fine of 1,000 pesos. This
ordinance arises from the report of the judge of the residencia that
said alcalde-mayor, Captain Bernaldo Roldan, is building a large
dwelling house in the capital city of the province, whence will ensue
injury to the royal treasury from the detention of his accounts.]
50. [In order to remedy the neglect, inexperience, and laziness of
alcaldes-mayor, castellans, and other officials of villages, forts,
and presidios throughout the Philippines, the governor, Francisco José
de Obando y Solis, on August 13, 1751, enacts that all such officials
must perform their full duty promptly. Annual reports must be sent
to Manila regarding the condition of villages, forts, and presidios,
discipline, etc. The original reviews, which are to be made monthly,
are also to be sent. All priests are urged to send separate reports
concerning the same matters. Thus will the demoralized condition
of the Spanish forts and presidios--where the soldiers are totally
undisciplined, and hence unprepared for any sudden call--and the
injuries to the royal treasury, be remedied.]
51. [The same governor, on October 25, 1751, orders that cabezas
de barangay cannot, while serving in that capacity, be proposed
or nominated as gobernadorcillos or other officials of justice,
for from this practice has arisen considerable harm to the royal
treasury, because the collection of the tribute is in charge of the
gobernadorcillos and officers of justice, and one man cannot well
perform two distinct duties. Ordinance 27, governing the election of
gobernadorcillos and officers of justice, must be understood with
these limitations and restrictions. Alcaldes-mayor and priests are
ordered and urged to watch carefully over this matter in order that
all frauds against the royal treasury may cease.]
52. [The same governor, in view of the many things that demand
immediate remedy, notwithstanding the many government ordinances
that have been enacted by his predecessors (because new laws always
give rise to new conditions and other abuses), orders governors,
corregidors, alcaldes-mayor, and other officers of justice immediately
to "issue, and cause to be issued, the most suitable measures, so that
in the villages of their districts schools be erected, established,
and founded, now and henceforth, where the sons of the natives and
other inhabitants of their districts may be educated and taught (in
primary letters, in the Castilian or Spanish language). They shall
see to it and watch so that the people study, learn, and are taught
in this language, and not in that of the country or any other. They
shall procure its greatest increase, extension, and knowledge, without
consenting to, or permitting any person, of any rank or quality, to
violate or disobey this resolution, or schools of any other language
to be erected or established, under penalty of five hundred pesos,
applied at the discretion of this superior government. But as soon
as it is ascertained or learned that any ecclesiastical or secular
person is attempting or trying to violate this resolution, his purpose
shall be prevented, hindered, and disturbed; and a report of the one
disquieting and disturbing, if an ecclesiastic, shall be made, in order
that he may be ordered to conclude and not continue [his purpose];
and if a layman, he shall be arrested, and a cause shall be formulated
briefly and summarily, his property confiscated, and he shall be sent
a prisoner, together with his property, so that the most severe and
commensurate penalties may be applied." Ordinance 29, forbidding
Spaniards to live in the villages of the natives, is annulled, in
order that this may have better effect; but the alcaldes-mayor and
other officials must look after and correct their behavior. Such
schools are to be established at the cost of the various villages,
being paid out of the communal funds established for schools taught in
the native language. These latter shall cease in proportion as Spanish
schools are established. Future offices conferred on the natives
shall be given to those with the best knowledge of Spanish. This
ordinance was issued October 19, 1752, as were also ordinances 53-60,
which detail the report to be made to the superior government.]
53. [This ordinance commands governors, corregidors, and
alcaldes-mayor, now and henceforth, to report to the superior
government within a year after taking office, concerning the products
and manufactures of their provinces.]
54. [Also the report shall include "the condition of the province; its
fortresses, weapons, and defenses; the number of troops in garrison,
and their condition; the amount of artillery mounted; the amounts of
war supplies, arms, ammunition, and other utensils;" in whose charge
they are, and how they are looked after. Separate reports shall be
sent from those in charge of the above. Also the best methods for
correcting abuses shall be discussed.]
55. [The report shall also give details regarding pay and aid of
officers and soldiers, the manner of paying them, their behavior in
reviews, how often the latter are held, and by whom.]
56. What bodies of militia exist in the villages and hostile frontiers,
and whether they are kept in readiness; with what powers and under
what rules they have been created; and whether they must be maintained
permanently or only on occasion.
57. [Whether pay is determined on the total number that ought to
be enrolled, or whether the proper discounts are made for death
and desertion.]
58. [The annual report shall include the census of each village,
visita, or mission, the data for which can he secured from the parish
priests and missionaries. Also a note must be made of all innovations
that occur, and that are worthy of superior notice.]
59. What convents, colleges, and houses of shelter, for education and
teaching, exist in each village; their size, construction, and building
fund; with the number of religious, and those educated or being
educated therein, and in the doctrinas and missions which they own.
60. [The report shall also contain the location of villages and their
accommodations, the inclinations of their inhabitants, and whether
any intelligent persons are found in them. A map of the province
shall accompany the report for the greater intelligence of the
superior government, and its use in dictating laws. This resolution
(ordinances 53-60) carries with it a penalty of 500 pesos in case of
violation, and others at the governor's discretion. In the future,
officials shall not leave their residences until they have received the
approval of the government for the strict fulfilment of their duties.]
61. [A royal decree, dated Madrid, April 5, 1765, in view of the
controversy that arose [in 1764] between Governor Alfonso Hernandez de
Heredia and the Audiencia in regard to the opening of the despatches,
orders, and instructions belonging to Joaquin de Aguirre, who died
in America before he could take his post as governor of Guatemala,
to which he had been appointed; and in order that a fixed rule might
be laid down: orders that whenever any appointee dies in any American
village before he can assume a post to which he has been appointed,
the corregidor, alcalde-mayor, or other justices, collect his papers,
despatches, orders, etc., and with the notary make an inventory of
them, but without examining them, and send the same sealed to the
Audiencia of the district (or the governor of the district, if there
is no Audiencia), with the first word of each document, its date, and
signature, so that the proper measures may be taken, and the judges
of the property of deceased persons shall have no authority to meddle
in this. This decree is to be communicated to all the justices of the
royal provinces, in order that they may so act. Account is taken of
this decree in the Manila Audiencia, June 22, 1766. The fiscal, after
examining the decree, June 28, 1766, advises that it be observed,
and instructions be sent to the judges of the property of deceased
persons and to alcaldes-mayor. At a meeting of the Audiencia, July 3,
1766, the advice of the fiscal is acted on fully.]
THE SO-CALLED ORDINANCES OF RAON
Royal ordinances formulated by the superior government and royal
assembly of these islands, February 26, 1768, for the proper direction
of the governors, corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor of their provinces,
relief of the natives, and observance of the laws; ordered to be
observed and complied with, by royal act of the same date. Ordered
to be printed and distributed by his Excellency Don Rafael María de
Aguilar, governor-president and captain-general of the islands by
the authoritative decree with which they begin. [118]
[Under date of Manila, September 11, 1801, Governor Aguilar orders
the printing of one hundred copies of the ordinances formulated
February 26, 1768, and the distribution thereof to the alcaldes-mayor,
corregidors, and governors of the provinces. [119] By royal decree of
January 17, 1797, an order was given for the revision, correction,
and modification of those ordinances; but it has not been done, and
only one copy of them is known to exist, and that is not attested. The
ordinances are to be registered in the proper places. Copies are to
be sent to the bishops and provincials of the orders, so that they
may urge the obedience of the ordinances. Each alcalde-mayor is to
pay the cost of the printing of the copy sent him. This decree is to
precede the printed ordinances. [120]]
[Raón revises the ordinances of Governor Pedro Manuel de Arandía,
[121] in consequence of royal decrees of December 4 and 23, 1760,
ordering ordinances for the direction of the alcaldes-mayor. The
ordinances follow, mainly in synopsis.]
1. [Alcaldes-mayor and other justices are to receive their titles
in the usual form, after giving bonds and taking the necessary oath
to perform their duties lawfully, to administer justice without
self-interest, and impartially, not to take excessive fees or accept
bribes, to observe these ordinances and those of the Recopilación,
and to promote the welfare of the provinces.]
2. [Since the conduct of the superiors furnishes an example to
inferiors, alcaldes-mayor and other judicial officers must furnish
a good example to the natives, by carefully observing the laws and
rites of religion, and by showing the due respect and veneration
to all ecclesiastics. Those of evil disposition shall be rigorously
punished in accordance with their offenses.]
3. [Under no consideration shall the Indians be ill-treated by the
judicial officials or anyone else, and the laws of título x, book vi,
of the Recopilación shall be strictly observed. If the alcaldes-mayor
are unable to prevent ill-treatment of the Indians, they shall report
the same to the superior government, according to law lxxxiii, título
xv, book ii, and law iii, título x, book vi; or to the fiscal of the
Audiencia, according to law vi, título xviii, book ii.]
4. [The alcaldes, encomenderos, or any other person, shall not collect
gold or money, or accept a loan, or present, from the Indians, or
collect more than the just amount from them (law xiv, título xxix,
book ii, and laws xlviii, xlix, título v, book vi). Personal services
must be paid, as well as the food purchased from them, at the prices
of the tariff. If the Indians are forced to buy the products that
they sell, they shall buy them at suitable prices.]
5. [The tribute shall be collected only when due, and to the proper
amount, both in kind and in money, according to the instructions given
out by the royal accountancy. Especial care shall be taken in the
examination of the lists and ages of the Indians (law xxiii, título
v, book vi), in order that unlawful exemptions from the tribute may
not occur, thus wronging the royal treasury. Offenses either against
Indians or the royal treasury shall incur a fine of four times the
amount, besides a special fine of 200 pesos.]
6. [Exemptions from polos are more common than from tribute. With
good reason some have been conceded to villages which have churches to
build or to some private persons for distinguished services especially
in times of war. [122] All such concessions must be examined by the
alcaldes-mayor, in order to ascertain whether they are to the prejudice
of the rest of the people, and to inform the superior government
thereof. No further exemptions must be granted under penalty of
a fine four times the amount of the exemption--except to cantors,
sacristans, and porters; to governors, lieutenants, and officers of
justice, during their term of office; and to cabezas de barangay,
their wives, and eldest sons, and all others exempted by the superior
government since 1764. All others conceded before that date shall be
revoked until confirmed by the government. Exemptions in the provinces
of Cavite, Tondo, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan, shall be
conceded directly by the superior government; in all other provinces
through the alcalde-mayor. The Indian claiming exemption from any
payment must present himself with his proofs before the alcalde-mayor.]
7. [Collection of tribute in kind is often severe upon the Indians,
because of epidemics (law xiv, título v, book vi), locusts, failure of
crops, and other misfortunes. At such times it is quite proper that
the Indians be not molested for what they do not possess (law xxii,
título v, book vi). However, since the Indians often sham, when it is
to their advantage to sell their crops, the alcalde-mayor shall see to
it that neither the Indians nor the royal treasure suffer unjustly. If
it is necessary to collect in money what ought to be collected in kind,
an additional charge of five per cent must be made, in order to cover
the increased cost to the government of the products elsewhere for the
storehouses, and in order that the Indians may not avail themselves
unjustly of excuses from paying in kind when that is to their advantage
(law lxv, título v, book vi; law xvi, título ix, book viii).]
8. [This is similar to old ordinance 20 (q.v., ante, pp. 204, 205). To
it is added that the alcaldes shall send to each village an account,
authorized by the provincial notary, of the distribution of the
purchase or bandala so that this may be presented at the residencia,
and compared by the judges with the orders given for that purpose,
in order to ascertain whether the two tally, and whether there is
any excess.]
9. [Whenever it becomes necessary to purchase more products than the
amounts regularly fixed, orders to that effect must be issued by the
superior government. Extraordinary purchases thus made shall be paid
for at the prices current in that particular province where they are
bought, and not at the regular price established for royal purchases.]
10. [By law xliv, título v, book vi of the Recopilación, and by
ordinance 30 (q.v., ante, p. 210) of the old ordinances, it was
ordered that the Indians were to pay the tribute in their own villages,
while the cost of transportation to the chief cities of the provinces
was to be met by the royal treasury. But the above law treats of
tributes in general, and hence includes those of private encomiendas,
and is contrary to the laws regarding the royal tributes, namely,
law x, título ix, book viii, and law lxiii, título v, book vi. These
laws declare that tributes shall be paid in the chief cities of the
provinces, or if paid elsewhere, cost of transportation shall he paid
by the Indians, and not by the royal treasury. This ordinance therefore
amends old ordinance 30, which will prevent the frauds committed
by the alcaldes under the name of transportation expenses. Besides,
this expense, being so moderate, will not be hard on the Indians.]
11. [This ordinance was intended for the simplification of the accounts
of the alcaldes-mayor, and for the prevention of frauds to the royal
treasury. By entering in the accounts the amount of the tribute in
both money and kind (it being paid in both), there was a confusion of
accounts, many back accounts, and frauds through the loss of vessels
or pretended fires, etc. The alcaldes-mayor are ordered to compute
all the accounts in money, although the tribute shall be collected
as heretofore. No certification that the collections have not been
made will be received, as such documents are very suspicious. When
alcaldes-mayor take office, they shall sign a contract to send in
their accounts, and to store in the magazines the amount of the
products necessary for the royal service, the value of which shall
be reported in money. The rations that are given to the troops or
crews of vessels in the various provinces shall be computed also in
money, at the price established in each province. This regulation,
in accord with the tenor of ordinances 4 and 5 formulated by Arandia,
shall be enforced on the appointment of the new alcaldes-mayor to
the various provinces.]
12. [The factor of the royal treasury shall make a chart of the
products of each province which are needed for the annual provision
of the royal magazines, and of the prices in each province, according
to the appraisals of the tribute and of the freight that must be paid
for transportation, in order to avoid confusion and doubt regarding
the same. The freight is charged according to the distances and the
risk in transportation. The chart shall also give the amount of the
stipend for each province that is paid in kind, computed in money,
as well as the prices for the food furnished to the royal vessels,
and the rations for the troops. The alcaldes are to take receipts for
all that they shall deliver, and place the same in their accounts in
money value according to the chart.]
13. [Since the products of the royal bandala or purchase are to be
brought to the royal magazines, another chart, expressing the prices
paid in such purchases, transportation charges between villages, and
sea freights to the royal magazines, shall be made for each province,
in order to avoid fraud and confusion.]
14. The pay of their stipends to the curas and ministers of the
missions, as well as the [payment for the] other ordinary expenses of
each province, shall be made by the alcaldes-mayor, according to the
instructions of the royal officials, and the orders of the superior
government, and they shall be bound literally by those orders.
15. [The payment of the stipends of the curas and missionaries in
money and not in kind is advised, in order to avoid all contentions
such as are wont to occur between them and the alcaldes-mayor. The
former always collect in the method most convenient to themselves,
which is often to the prejudice of the royal treasury. Since there is
no longer a reason, as at the beginning, for paying the stipends in
both money and kind, law xxvi, título xiii, book i, of the Recopilación
ought to be observed, according to which the stipend should be paid in
money. The practice of paying the stipends in the villages hitherto
practiced, and not compelling the curas and missionaries to have
recourse to the royal treasury (according to law xix, of the above
título and book), should be continued.]
16. [The alcaldes-mayor shall send annual reports to the superior
government whether the sacrament has been administered in their houses
to sick Indians, whether this has been neglected by any curas and
missionaries, or whether the latter have caused the sick to go to the
churches to receive it. If they have been thus remiss, the stipends
shall not be given them, and if paid them by the alcaldes-mayor shall
not be credited to them (which is in accordance with law xxvi, título
xiii, book i, of the Recopilación, and the royal decree of June 11,
1704, which is, however, not to be observed in general).]
17. [The Indians are to have the administration, teaching, and
instruction necessary, but are not to be molested and vexed unjustly
by the curas and missionaries (see Recopilación, título xiii, book
i). They must not be assessed anything, or such assessment shall be
discounted from the stipends of the curas and missionaries.]
18. [In view of the poverty of the royal treasury, and the opulence
of the curas and missionaries, who receive excessive stipends--since,
although a village may have but one parish priest, he may collect
two, three, four, or more stipends, according to the number of
tributes--it is ordered that but one stipend be paid in each village,
notwithstanding its size (in the same manner as if it had only five
hundred tributes): The money saved thereby shall be paid out to the
benefit of the public cause.]
19. [Law i, título iv, book vi, of the Recopilación, recommends that
the communal fund of the native villages be an object of especial
attention, and that one real from each whole tribute be paid into
it. The collection for this is to be made by the alcaldes-mayor under
bond, and they must report and send amounts to the royal treasury,
distinctly stating the amount belonging to each village. The royal
officials are to enter this account under separate headings, as
provided by laws ix and xi of the above título; and this fund must be
reserved for the purposes expressly stated by the superior government.]
20. [When the amount of the communal funds has reached a sufficient
figure, one of the auditors especially appointed by the superior
government shall with the fiscal and royal officials purchase annuities
or invest the money in sea or land enterprises. The gain therefrom
shall be applied to the maintenance of seminaries for Indians of
both sexes, "which ought to be established in each province for the
education and secular and Christian instruction of their natives,
as the only means by which they can be instructed perfectly in the
mysteries of our holy faith, and so that they may be good Christians
and better vassals." This is according to laws xvii-xix, título iii,
book i, of the Recopilación.]
21. [Neither the alcaldes-mayor nor any other person may, without
special government permission, spend anything from the communal funds,
outside of the common obligations of each village--namely, expenses for
cantors, sacristans, and the porter of the churches; the schoolmaster;
the election fees of the gobernadorcillos, and their salaries; and
the three per cent paid for the collections of the communal funds.]
22. [Each village shall have a chart showing the condition of its
communal funds. This shall show receipts and the fixed expenses as
above outlined.]
23. [Each alcalde shall leave his successor a record of said chart,
taking a receipt for the same in order to present it to the royal
accountancy. This shall be compared later by the royal officials with
the accounts as handed in by his successor.]
24. [Villages of more than 500 tributes shall have eight cantors,
two sacristans, and one porter, each of whom shall be paid from
the communal funds the customary amount of rice annually, namely,
4 fanégas of palay of 48 gantas. Villages of 400 tributes shall have
six cantors; 300, five; 200, four; and no village shall have less
than the last figure. All churches having a cura or missionary shall
have two sacristans and one porter. There has been much abuse in this
matter, and the alcaldes-mayor are cautioned to have especial care
in enforcing this ordinance, under penalty of a fine of 200 pesos.]
25. [It is important that each village have good teachers to instruct
the Indians in the Spanish language; but the monthly salary granted to
teachers by the communal fund, namely, one peso and one cavan of rice,
is very little. Consequently, the alcaldes, with the aid of the curas
and missionaries, are ordered to regulate the salaries in proportion
to the tributes, reporting the same to the superior government and
the royal accountancy, so that better teachers may be secured and law
xviii, título i, book vi, of the Recopilación, may be better realized.]
26. [The law enacted by Governor Arandía, arranging for the expenses
of media-anata and title of certain poor and old notables to be taken
from the communal funds of the villages, in order that such men might
serve as gobernadorcillos and the villages not be deprived of their
services, is to be observed, the only condition being that the poverty
must be very great, and such men very useful to the community.]
27. [No Indian tanores shall be set aside for the service of the
curas, missionaries, alcaldes-mayor, or any other person, except those
mentioned in ordinance 24. Those serving as cooks and servants shall
not be exempt from tribute, polos, or personal services; nor shall
they serve against their will. They shall receive the pay fixed by
law, and accustomed to be paid to private individuals, according to
law lxxxi, título xiv, book i, of the Recopilación.]
28. [If the curas and missionaries need rowers for the administration
of the sacraments, and the alcaldes-mayor, for matters of the royal
service, they shall not pay the Indians for such service, and shall
allot said rowers by polos. Otherwise, each rower shall be paid
one-half real per day and his food between Manila and Mariveles;
beyond, the pay shall be regulated according to the tariffs of the
various provinces.]
29. [Eight baguntaos shall be chosen in each large village each week
to accompany the most holy sacrament, when it is taken to the houses
of the sick, and to aid in the mass, and other matters of the divine
service. Villages of five hundred tributes shall have six baguntaos,
and smaller ones, four. They shall receive no pay, but shall not
be employed in other matters, unless they are paid therefor, under
penalty of deprivation of office to the gobernadorcillo or judicial
official who permits it; and the alcalde-mayor who is aware of this
and does not remedy it, shall pay the amount due such Indians, and
a fine four times as great.]
30. [Girls and women must not be employed in the missions in
pounding rice among the men; neither shall they be employed to
sweep the cemeteries of the churches, or the houses of the curas and
missionaries; for this results often in great sin, and is contrary
to the laws of the kingdom, especially law xi, título xiii, book i,
of the Recopilación. Alcaldes-mayor shall not permit this under a
charge of the same in their residencia, and a fine of 500 pesos, in
accordance with the ordinance of November 23, 1757, which was enacted
because of the many complaints. Those suitable for such duties are
the old and crippled who have been exempted from tribute, and the
schoolboys (of whom the curas may make use freely so long as they are
schoolboys, but no longer.) Alcaldes-mayor shall not employ women;
and gobernadorcillos shall not make use of the services of schoolboys
to the detriment of their instruction.]
31. [The Indians shall not be required to supply the curas,
missionaries, or alcaldes with fish. If the latter permit this, they
shall have to pay for the fish at a just price, and a sum four times
as great as a fine, and shall be deprived of office perpetually,
as transgressors of law xii, título xiii, book i, and law xxvi,
título ii, book v, of the Recopilación.]
32. [In order that curas and missionaries may not be compelled to go
without cooks and necessary servants because the Indians are unwilling
to serve them, the gobernadorcillos of the villages shall furnish men
for such service (not to exceed four in the large villages). From
the stipend of the curas and missionaries, they shall be paid one
real per week, and be given their food. In villages too small to
warrant this expense on the part of the ecclesiastics, the village
shall maintain the servants, and they shall not become an expense on
the royal treasury.]
33. [Similar to ordinance 22 (q.v., ante, p. 206). This ordinance adds
that deprivation of office shall be the penalty to the secular person
violating its orders, while the ecclesiastical person who violates
it shall be proceeded against according to law.]
34. [Similar to ordinance 9 (q.v., ante, pp. 197, 198). The prices
in Tondo and the coast of Manila are as follows: "one hen, one and
one-half reals; one dumalaga, three cuartillos; and one chick, four
granos." This ordinance is in accordance with law i, título xvii,
book iv.]
35. [This ordinance cites and reiterates ordinance 42 of the old
regulations (q.v., ante, p. 219), and is in accordance with law xliii,
título vii, book i of the Recopilación.]
36. [Alcaldes-mayor and census-takers shall not exact the two reals
from the natives which they are accustomed to take as a fee for
enumerating them, under penalty of a fine of 500 pesos, and a sum
four times as great as that they shall be proved to have taken. This
ordinance shall be a special charge in the residencia.]
37. [Alcaldes-mayor shall be governed by law xxix, título viii,
book v, of the Recopilación in regard to fees for suits and other
matters. The government secretary shall send a list of all fees that
may be received to all the provinces, which shall be translated into
the native languages and published by proclamation, and posted in the
court, so that the Indians may know their rights and make the proper
complaint at the time of the residencia. The employees of the royal
treasury are liable for the fees which they also exact unlawfully,
and which they are accustomed to take from the cabezas de barangay
and the other natives.]
38. [Similar to ordinance 8, of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
pp. 196, 197).]
39. [Similar to ordinance 24, of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
pp. 206, 207). This ordinance in its several parts is in accordance
with laws ii and xxi, título vi, book vii, of the Recopilación.]
40. [This ordinance forbids alcaldes, justices, gobernadorcillos,
and officials of the villages to impose any tax on the Indians. It is
similar to ordinance 5 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante, p. 195), and
is in accordance with law vi, título xv, book iv of the Recopilación.]
41. [No tax shall be imposed on the Indians such as has been the
custom, for taking clay from any common place with which to make
vessels, or for the manufacture of salt, or an annual payment for
each beast or tree that they own, or other unjust impositions. The
alcaldes-mayor shall report all such exactions.]
42. [Similar to ordinance 11 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
p. 198), which is in accordance with law xxii, título xiv, book i,
law xi, título xvi, of the same book, and law xxxvi, título iii,
book iii, of the Recopilación.]
43. [Similar to ordinance 14 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
p. 199).]
44. [Because of the great losses resulting from loans to the Indians,
all loans in excess of five pesos are prohibited. The Indians,
through their great carelessness, and indolence, are prone to seek
loans, esteeming the present moment only, and being unmindful of the
future. In return for the loan, it is customary for the Indian to
give his land in pledge, and the creditor enjoys the usufruct thereof
until payment of the sum borrowed is made. This is usury and a virtual
signing away of the land, for the payment is seldom made, and hence,
the land is lost permanently. Such contracts are declared null and
void, and those making them shall lose the amount of the loan, and
be fined a sum four times as great. It is forbidden to the Indians to
sell their land by law xxvii, título i, book vi of the Recopilación.]
45. [It is against law to have Indian slaves, and any so-called
by usage shall be set at liberty. The alcaldes-mayor shall send
transgressors with the records of their cases to the royal Audiencia.]
46. [This ordinance cites ordinance 41 of the old ordinances (q.v.,
ante, pp. 217, 218). Since the method there outlined of collecting the
three reals for the religious festivities, works prejudice, because
the Indians generally believe that the holy sacrament of penitence
is to be bought--as, under the system of collection by the priests,
confession is often denied until payment is made--it is decreed that
collection in the future shall be made by the alcaldes-mayor. The
proceeds shall be deposited in a chest with three keys, one to be
in possession of the father, another in that of the alcalde-mayor,
and the third in that of the gobernadorcillo. It is quite proper that
this tax be made, and that the royal treasury be exempt from payment
of these church festivals, expenses which are increasing daily. This
will result in good to the Indians morally and religiously, and to
the royal treasury.]
47. [This ordinance merely reiterates the orders of old ordinance 31
(q.v., ante, pp. 210, 211).]
48. [Inquiry shall be made as to whether any Bilitaos and Casonos are
exempt from the tribute, personal services, and other contributions
of the Indians; and, if so, they shall be made to render them,
and the alcaldes-mayor allowing such shall be punished. To make
that investigation, and the investigation of idolatry, maganitos
[i.e., idolatrous feasts], and other sins, several Indians of good
life shall be secretly appointed by the alcaldes-mayor. With the
approval of the curas and missionaries, Indians guilty of sins shall
be severely punished.]
49. [Ordinance 43 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante, p. 219), is
reënforced. In addition, it is ordered that alcaldes-mayor shall not
allow public houses for gambling in their jurisdiction; for the unjust
tolerance of games of chance, which are forbidden by the laws, works
injury to the Indians, spiritually and materially. This prohibition
shall be published by proclamation, with its penalty, namely, fifty
lashes to the Indian timaua for the first violation, and a month's
imprisonment to the chief, and loss of the sum at play; for the second
and third offense, the penalty shall be increased. This shall be
made a charge in the residencia of the alcaldes-mayor and ministers
of justice. The cooperation of the father ministers in communicating
notices to the alcaldes-mayor of those who engage in gaming is asked.]
50. [The terms of old ordinance 40 (q.v., ante, pp. 216, 217), are
reiterated briefly, and, if they are not observed in the future by
alcaldes-mayor and other ministers of justice (for they have not been
observed in the past), each violation will carry with it a fine of 100
pesos, while the violation shall be made a charge in the residencia,
and inability to secure other posts in the provinces.]
51. [The orders of old ordinance 44 (q.v., ante, pp. 219, 220)
are briefly restated, and the penalties extended specifically to
corregidors and justices who fail in the observation of the royal
decrees of that ordinance. Proclamations are to be made in the
jurisdictions where brandy is manufactured, and after three days,
transgressors are to be proceeded against and the penalties for
violation of the ordinance to be enforced. Manufacturers, sellers,
and owners of the instruments used in the manufacture of brandy
shall receive two hundred lashes and be thrust into the galleys for
five years; for the second offense, they shall serve ten years; and
for the third, another ten, and when that time is up, they shall
not leave until they receive the express consent of the superior
government. Their goods shall also be confiscated. [123]]
52. [Under no consideration shall more than the two gantas of unhulled
rice be collected in Zamboanga, [124] under penalty of paying a fine
four times as large.]
53. [The territory of native reductions and villages is declared
communal, and at the time of the erection of any village, lands must
be apportioned to the Indians, according to law viii, título iii, book
vi of the Recopilación. No land-tax or rent is to be paid for such
land, it being the royal will (law xliv, título xii, book iv) that
the Indians have lands allotted to them for planting and working, as
ordered in laws xxi and xxiii, título i, book vi, and law xiv, título
xii, book iv. [125] These lands may not be sold without permission,
some advantage gained thereby, and the intervention of the royal
fiscal, as prescribed in law xxvii, título i, book vi, law xxxvi,
título xviii, book ii, and law xvi, título xii, book iv. If claim
is made to the lands by any Spaniard or mestizo, or any secular
or ecclesiastical community, they shall prove their claims in a
short limit of time before the alcaldes-mayor, who shall forward the
records to the royal Audiencia for its decision. If their titles are
not presented within that limit, the Audiencia shall also judge the
legitimacy of the claim. It has always been the royal purpose that
lands shall not be sold or apportioned to the injury of the Indians
and their reductions; and it is prescribed by laws vii, ix, xvii,
and xviii, título xii, book iv, that lands given to the injury of
the Indians shall be restored to their owners. Lands belonging to
Indians who die without heirs revert by law xxx, título i, book vi,
to the king; and it is prohibited by law x, título xii, book iv, that
lands allotted to explorers or settlers be sold to ecclesiastical
communities or persons, under penalty of being confiscated and
allotted to others. This ordinance is to be observed by alcaldes and
ministers of justice under severe penalties, and it is to be published
by proclamation in the villages, for it is of great importance to
the state that all the Indians have the necessary lands. Individual
mention is to be made of those villages that do not have such lands
and the government will provide them so far as possible, giving the
lands to those who possess them with just title. In addition to the
lands which the Indians ought to have in their private capacity, each
village ought to possess communal lands which are to be cultivated for
the common benefit, and the products of which are to be incorporated
in the communal fund--from which roads can be repaired, highways
and bridges built, the royal buildings repaired, and other necessary
works carried on without any burden to the Indians.]
54. [Indians employed on any of the public works shall labor only
from the rising to the setting sun, with one and one-half or two
hours for rest at midday. The rest of the time they must be made to
work diligently. If any pressing necessity requires, however, such
as the making of rigging, or other things for the royal service,
alcaldes-mayor are empowered to lengthen the hours of labor, making
the work as easy as possible for the Indians, and increasing the pay
proportionally with the hours. Likewise, if the hours are diminished,
the pay shall be proportionally diminished.]
55. [Much trouble is caused by the actions of various officials in
regard to the allotment of Indians for the cutting of timber and
other royal services, because they accept a money payment of five
pesos, three reals from many who are thereby excused from taking
part therein--a sum which is kept by the said officials. Besides,
they collect from the royal treasury the amount of the rations that
the total number of Indians would use. In order to stop this practice,
it is commanded that all the Indians allotted to any royal service,
or their substitutes, take part in it. This is the only way in which
to prevent the frauds practiced by the cabezas de barangay and the
foremen of the cutting gangs. Alcaldes, justices, and officials of
the villages are to obey this ordinance strictly, under penalty of
deprivation of office, a fine four times as great as the amount
of the loss occasioned by them, and a further fine of 500 pesos,
imposed on the alcaldes. The latter shall get a statement from the
father chaplain and the foreman of the cutting gang, of the number
of Indians of his province who take part in the cutting, and shall
report the same to the superior government]
56. [The Indians are prohibited from wearing gold and silver ornaments
on their clothes, unless the gold and silver is wrought by a goldsmith
or by a silversmith, under the penalty that the Indian timaua wearing
such shall be punished with fifty stripes, and confiscation of the
clothes so ornamented; while the chief shall be imprisoned for one
month, and his clothes so adorned shall be confiscated. The second
offense shall be double this, besides some money fine.]
57. [Similar to old ordinance 10 (q.v., ante, p. 198). Stress is
laid on the rivers coming to Manila from the provinces of Laguna,
Pampanga, and Bulacan.]
58. [Similar to old ordinance 33 (q.v., ante, p. 211).]
59. [Similar to old ordinance 23 (q.v., ante, p. 206).]
60. [Similar to old ordinance 25 (q.v., ante, p. 207).]
61. [In part the same as old ordinance 26 (q.v., ante, pp. 207,
208). This ordinance provides in addition as follows. Alcaldes-mayor,
in whose charge, according to the new rules, the distribution of the
bulls of the Crusade have been placed, are to appoint as collectors and
treasurers (prescribed by ordinance 11 of the Crusade instructions)
either the gobernadorcillo or one of the cabezas de barangay of
the respective villages, and not any Indian who pays tribute;
for since the former are the most prominent men in the village and
the responsibility of the tributes, as collectors and treasurers,
devolves on them, this will result in greater profit to the royal
treasury. Each appointment made by the alcaldes in violation of this
order shall incur a penalty of 100 pesos.]
62. [Similar to old ordinance 7 (q.v., ante, p. 196). This ordinance
adds: "And if the alcaldes do not comply with all the contents of this
section, and of laws xi, xiii, xv-xvii, xix, xxii-xxiv, xxvi, xxviii,
xxix, and xlii, título ii, book v, of the Recopilación de Indias,
a charge as infractors of this section will be made against them in
their residencia."]
63. [This ordinance contains the prescriptions of old ordinances 53-60
(q.v., ante, pp. 224-226).]
64. [Alcaldes-mayor, within three months after having suffered their
residencia, shall go to Manila, and their successors shall compel
them to this step, in order that they may present their accounts of
the royal revenues. If they stay in the provinces thirty days after
the conclusion of their residencia, they and their successors shall
be fined 1,000 pesos.]
65. [This ordinance cites old ordinance 36 in full (q.v., ante,
p. 213), and prescribes its observance.]
66. [Since but little profit has been obtained from the raids allowed
to be made according to old ordinance 35 (q.v., ante, pp. 212, 213),
as they are made with Indians who have friendship and trade with those
of the mountains, and who, consequently, always give warning of such
raids to the latter, while expenses roll up rapidly to no advantage,
it is ordered that no raids be made in the future unless by order
of the superior government. In case of necessity, the alcalde-mayor
shall report to the superior government the necessity for the raid,
the number of men necessary, the time it will take, and the expense,
his report to be accompanied by a certified statement of the cura or
missionary. In case time will not permit the awaiting of special orders
from the superior government, the alcalde-mayor may, with the consent
of the cura or missionary, make the raid; after which he shall send
full reports of the same to Manila, with certifications of the father
minister, in order that the expenses may be allowed. Alcaldes-mayor
shall mutually aid one another on all raids.]
67. [Alcaldes-mayor or their agents shall not buy houses, lands,
or ranches in the territory of their jurisdictions during the time
of their office, nor allow their notaries or alguacils to do so,
under penalty of 500 pesos' fine. They shall not build nor allow to
be built any boat for transportation without the express permission
of the superior government; and the work of Indians thereon shall be
paid at the rate of the tariff. Such construction shall be made in
places having the spiritual and temporal administration, under the
above penalty. The alcalde-mayor obtaining government permission,
shall inform the gobernadorcillos of the villages of his province
of all the conditions, so that the Indians may lodge complaint
of all injuries offered them during the construction, and obtain
justice therefor. The same rule holds good for all work done for
the alcalde-mayor, and payment shall be with the intervention of the
father minister. Likewise work done for the latter shall be paid by
him in the same manner with the intervention of the alcalde-mayor,
and in absence of the latter, with that of the gobernadorcillo of
the village, who shall report fully to the alcalde-mayor, so that he
may remedy all abuses. This is in accord with law xi, título xiii,
book i, of the Recopilación.]
68. [Alcaldes-mayor, corregidors, and other officials are allowed
(by a royal decree of July 17, 1751) to trade in their provinces by
reason of a payment made to the government, and mistakenly called an
excise tax. They shall not, on account of that privilege, injure the
trade of the Spaniards and Indians of their jurisdiction, but shall
allow them to trade freely, without exacting from them any payment
under pretense that it is an excise tax. Nor shall they be allowed
to buy at rates lower than the others. Violation of this ordinance,
which is to be proclaimed annually in the villages, and to be a charge
in the residencia, incurs the penalties of deprivation of office,
a fine of 500 pesos, and other penalties that may be imposed.]
69. [Similar to old ordinance 18 (q.v., ante, p. 203). The penalties
assigned are restoration of what has been weighed or measured by unjust
weights and measures, and a fine of 500 pesos to the alcalde-mayor
allowing the use of such weights and measures, and the payment of
the amount lost, with four times as much to the treasury.]
70. [Interprovincial trade of the various products shall not be
prohibited, as such prohibition is in violation of law viii, título
xviii, book iv and law xxv, título i, book vi, in accordance with
which laws trade is to be encouraged. The Indians may cut timber in
accordance with law xiv, título xvii, book iv. The desire for gain,
however, shall not be allowed to cause the Indians to send out of
any province the products necessary for its conservation. This may
be prohibited with the consent of the father minister, from whom the
alcalde-mayor shall ask a certification for his own protection. Without
that certification, he shall not make such prohibition, under penalty
of the penalties of the preceding ordinance. The natives shall pay
no fees for the privilege of interprovincial trade; and, if any
alcalde-mayor violates this, he shall incur a fine of 100 pesos,
besides the responsibility of making good all the loss occasioned by
his action. This shall also be a charge in the residencia.]
71. [This ordinance relates to the encouragement of the increase
of the produce of each province, for which all alcaldes-mayor and
other officials must work, under penalty of punishment for neglect
and disobedience. The products best suited for each province are to
be especially encouraged, whether of useful trees, wheat, and other
grains, vegetables, cotton, pepper, etc., or domestic cattle. Each
Indian shall have at least twelve hens and one cock, and one sow for
breeding purposes. Factories for the making of textiles and rigging
shall be encouraged and increased. Alcaldes-mayor shall strive
especially to wipe out the vice of laziness--which is the chief vice
among the Indians, and the origin of all their other vices--by mild
means, but if necessary by harsh ones, as this is so important for the
general good, in accordance with law xxi, título i, book vi. Those
who do not, within two years, work in their fields and gardens and
cultivate their lands shall lose them. Especial care shall be taken
of this during the visit, and annual reports shall be made by the
alcaldes-mayor, who shall be careful to state increase.]
72. [Similar to old ordinance 32 (q.v., ante, p. 211).]
73. [Since the laziness of the Indians is so prejudicial and the
origin of many vices, especially incontinence and theft; and since it
is against law xxi, título i, book vi of the Recopilación, to permit
laziness among them: it is ordered that all Indians engage in some
work, either the cultivation of land or the rearing of cattle, as
outlined in ordinance 71. Gobernadorcillos shall be ordered to watch
carefully to see that this ordinance is obeyed, and alcaldes-mayor
shall verify their statements at the time of the visit. Lazy Indians
shall be forced to labor at the public and royal works of the province
for so long a time as the alcalde-mayor shall determine. Lands of the
villages allowed to lie uncultivated for one year shall be taken from
their owners, and given to other Indians who are more industrious,
in accordance with law xi, título xii, book iv.]
74. [Alcaldes-mayor shall prefer for all honorable posts, such as
that of gobernadorcillo, those Indians who are most industrious in the
cultivation of their lands, the planting of trees, and manufactures,
reporting the same to the superior government.]
75. [In view of the many infractions of old ordinance 37 (q.v.,
ante, pp. 213-215), that ordinance is repeated with strict orders
of observance, under penalty of loss of office, a fine of 500 pesos,
and charge in the residencia.]
76. [This ordinance cites old ordinance 16 (q.v., ante, pp. 199-203),
but adds that the new order of the royal decree of April 17, 1766 must
be observed. This decree orders that all the Catholic Sangleys who
committed excesses during the time when the English occupied Manila
shall be expelled from the Philippines, only true Christians being
allowed to remain, according to law viii, título xviii, book vi of
the Recopilación. These Sangleys are to be assigned to the respective
territories and villages which are deemed best. They shall not be
allowed to carry weapons of any sort, and shall be employed only in
agriculture and the trades. They shall not be allowed to leave their
respective villages except by permission of the justice, governor,
or alcalde-mayor to whom they are subject, under penalty of perpetual
exile from his Majesty's domains.]
77. [Old ordinances 20 and 21 (q.v., ante, pp. 204-206), which are
in accordance with law xxii, título iii, book vi, of the Recopilación
are repealed by ordinance 52 of the present ordinances; and Spaniards
are permitted to live among the Indians (as seems in harmony with
law xviii, título xv, book i), the alcaldes being ordered to see
that they live as good Christians. Since experience demonstrates
that the residence of Spaniards in the provinces is advantageous
for the instruction of the Indians in the Spanish language, for the
cultivation of their products, and for the encouragement of their trade
(in accordance with law xxiv, título i, book vi), the alcaldes-mayor
are ordered to aid the Spaniards resident in their provinces as much
as possible, and to forbid residence therein only of those who are
vicious and mischievous.]
78. [Similar to old ordinance 28 (q.v., ante, p. 209).]
79. [This ordinance prescribes the method of holding the elections for
gobernadorcillos (see old ordinance 27, ante, pp. 208, 209). Elections
shall be held at the beginning of each year, in the royal buildings,
and nowhere else. If held elsewhere, they shall be considered null
and void, according to Arandía's ordinance no. 11; and the alcalde or
justice violating this order shall be fined, and the notary making the
records shall lose his office. The voters in the elections shall be
the twelve senior cabezas de barangay. If any of these are absent, by
reason of sickness or other cause, the number shall be completed from
the other cabezas de barangay, observing strict seniority always. If
there are not enough cabezas de barangay, the number of twelve voters
shall be completed from the senior notables of the village. With these
the retiring gobernadorcillo shall vote, and they shall nominate three
trustworthy persons for the post of gobernadorcillo, reporting the
number of votes received by each. These nominees must be able to read,
write, and speak Spanish. The ballot shall be secret, and be attested
by the notary. The alcalde-mayor or the justice shall preside at
the election, and the father minister may be present "if he please,
in order to represent what he considers advisable, and for no other
end." The results of the election shall be sent, stamped and sealed,
to the secretary of the superior government, and the appointment
of gobernadorcillo shall be made from Manila, and the proper title
despatched, while the other officials necessary shall be appointed as
heretofore. This applies to the provinces of Tondo, Laguna, Cavite,
Balayan, Mariveles, Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan. In other provinces
distant from Manila, elections shall be held in the same manner,
and appointments made by the alcaldes-mayor or justices, who shall be
furnished with blank titles, which they shall fill out. No man shall
assume office without the proper credentials. Names of all appointees
shall be sent to the superior government and entered in the proper
books, as well as the fees of the credentials and stamped paper. The
fees of media-anata shall be collected from all gobernadorcillos
and other officials, the amount of such fees being entered in the
royal treasury annually. The royal officials, on their part, shall
see that all fees are paid, and shall ascertain from the alcaldes and
justices the number of gobernadorcillos in the various jurisdictions,
so that they may check up the records properly.]
80. [Retiring gobernadorcillos shall hold office until all fees have
been met by the newly-elected gobernadorcillos.]
81. [Cabezas de barangay may be elected to the post of gobernadorcillo
without ceasing to act in the former capacity, according to Arandía's
ordinance, no. 21.]
82. [Those becoming cabezas de barangay by inheritance shall obtain
their credentials from the superior government, asking for the same
with the accompanying report of the alcaldes, or the persons by whom
they shall have been proposed. The district of each cabeza de barangay
shall contain not less than forty-five or fifty tributes.]
83. [Since the houses of the Indians are so scattered, and there is so
great lack of zeal in reducing them "under the bells," as is ordered
by the laws and by many royal decrees, many spiritual and temporal
wrongs are caused the Indians. For they do not attend church, and it
is impossible often to attend the sick and give them the sacraments,
so that many of them die without the consolation of religion. It is
impossible to learn the sins committed, or the exact number of those
who should pay tribute. Under penalty of being punished as enemies
to the state, alcaldes-mayor are ordered to reduce the natives into
villages. They shall not allow any house to be more than one-half
league from a church; and, on the other hand, shall not allow them to
be built so close together that there is danger of fire. Reports of
what has been done in this shall be sent to the superior government
annually, under penalty of a fine of 100 pesos. The ecclesiastical
superiors are requested (in accordance with laws ii and iii, título
iii, book vi of the Recopilación), to order their subjects to lend
all the aid possible in the reduction. Any opposition offered shall
be considered just cause for the ends proposed in law xiii, título xv,
book i.]
84. [When the reduction of the villages is completed, the
gobernadorcillo of each village shall take charge of the collection
of the tribute, as compensation for which he shall be given one-half
of one per cent. He shall report promptly to the alcaldes, under
pain of loss of office, to which the deputies shall succeed. This
method will relieve the cabezas de barangay from the collection,
and the latter shall be included in the lists and pay tribute also,
which will amount to a considerable increase to the royal treasury.]
85. [To obviate the harm resulting from the father ministers meddling
in concerns of temporal government (contrary to law lxvi, título xiv,
book i of the Recopilación), alcaldes-mayor are ordered not to allow
any usurpation of their office. All measures advocated by the father
ministers in behalf of the Indians, spiritually and temporally,
shall be presented to the alcaldes-mayor and other justices in a
respectful manner, and shall receive respectful consideration, so that
the Indians may receive a good example thereby, and pay the proper
respect to each one. If the alcaldes are unable to check attempted
usurpation, they shall report the same to the superior government,
which will take the necessary measures. The father ministers shall,
on their side, present grievances against the alcaldes and other
justices who do not attend sufficiently to their recommendations for
the spiritual and temporal welfare of the Indians, to their superiors,
if they do not wish to do so directly to the government, who shall
take the matter up with the proper authorities. Observance of this
ordinance is urged on the secular and regular superiors.]
86. [Alcaldes-mayor must treat the gobernadorcillos with all the
respect due their office, such as never allowing them to stand, in
their houses or other places. Also gobernadorcillos shall be punished
if they do not fulfil their duties with honor, and properly.]
87. [Alcaldes are also ordered to see that the gobernadorcillos are
treated respectfully by the father ministers, "and shall not allow the
latter to lash, punish, or maltreat them, nor leave them standing, or
cause them to leave the baton at the street-door when they go to see
the father curas or missionaries, as this is contrary to the honor and
respect of justice. Neither shall they allow them to serve the plates
in the masses of said fathers, as ministers of justice ought not to
be employed in that service, or others like it, which are suitable
only for servants." All ecclesiastical superiors are ordered to
charge all their subjects not to violate these regulations, and all
the gobernadorcillos and officers of justice shall be notified that
they are not to remain standing before the father ministers; that they
are to go to visit them without leaving the baton of justice behind;
not to serve at the masses; and not to leave the territory of their
respective villages, even under pretext of accompanying the father
minister, the alcalde, or any other person--under penalty of loss of
their post, disqualification from holding any office of justice in
the future, and two months' imprisonment.]
88. [On their part the alcaldes, while preserving the necessary respect
toward justice, must maintain due respect for the priestly office,
and seek always to promote good relations with the father ministers.]
89. [Arandía's ordinance, no. 10, ordering alcaldes and justices to
treat with the father ministers only in writing and to visit them
only when accompanied, is repealed, as it is contrary to law lxv,
título xiv, book i, of the Recopilación. The ecclesiastical superiors
shall do their utmost to restrain their subjects within the bounds of
moderation. Frequent visits between the alcaldes, gobernadorcillos,
and other justices, and the father ministers are recommended. In
this intercourse, however, the gobernadorcillos shall be ruled in
temporal affairs by the orders and commands of the alcaldes-mayor,
but are to maintain due respect to the father ministers--who shall
not meddle with matters of secular government, but shall take the
measures advisable for the spiritual welfare of the Indians.]
90. [Ecclesiastical superiors shall be requested to order their
subjects to preach frequently to the Indians concerning their
obligation of paying the tribute, and the indulgences that they
obtain by taking the bull of the holy Crusade, in view of the many
troubles arising from the lack of instruction in these two points "so
important for their salvation, so in accordance with the intention
of our Catholic monarch, and suitable to the zeal of good ministers
of instruction, and of faithful vassals of his Majesty."]
91. The sumptuousness of the buildings, the churches, and houses of
the missionaries, mistakenly called convents, is one of the burdens
which the Indians unjustly suffer, and which, according to a very
laudable opinion, contributes greatly to their desolation. Moreover,
since it is apparent by the experience of the past war, what harm
said buildings have occasioned, as they serve as shelter and defense
to enemies, it is declared that buildings of stone and tile shall
not be permitted in the provinces where there is danger of enemies,
but only those of boards and nipa; [126] and where it is considered
advisable by the superior government to permit them, a fixed rule
shall be given, ordering that the houses of the missionary ministers
be of moderate style, and in harmony with the plan which must be sent
to each alcalde-mayor--with orders to demolish those which shall be
built new without the necessary licenses, in case that they exceed the
limits of the said plan. [This is in harmony with the royal decree,
dated Madrid, June 18, 1767. The terms of ordinance 67 shall be
observed until other regulations are provided.]
92. [While there is great excess in the sumptuousness of the houses
of the missionaries, there is a corresponding degree of ruin and
dilapidation in the royal buildings throughout the islands. Many are
in so poor condition that they are unfit for habitation, and travelers
and alcaldes-mayor are caused great hardship in their journeys through
the villages. Often it is impossible for the latter to visit their
jurisdiction for the lack of royal buildings; and, because of trouble
with the missionaries, they cannot live in the convents. Still more
disagreeable is it for ministers of the royal Audiencia to exercise
their commissions in the provinces, for it is not in harmony with their
dignity or good for their health for them to lodge in places unsuitable
for habitation; while law lxxxix, título xvi, book ii, forbids them to
take lodging in the convents. In consequence of this it is ordered that
all villages, especially the capitals of the provinces, erect suitable
royal buildings, in accordance with plans that will be issued by the
superior government. These shall be kept in repair, and in them the
gobernadorcillos shall hold their courts and shall have their prisons.]
93. [According to old ordinance 52 (q.v., ante, pp. 223, 224),
and to Arandia's ordinance, no. 17, it is strictly ordered that the
alcaldes-mayor request the father ministers to exert themselves, so
far as it concerns them, to establish schoolmasters in all villages,
who shall teach the Indians to read and write in Spanish, and the
Christian doctrine and other prayers, in accordance with the royal
decree of June 5, 1574. The pay of the masters shall be one peso and
one cavan of rice per month, but may be increased at the option of the
alcaldes-mayor; and it shall be paid from the communal treasuries of
the villages (see no. 25 of the present ordinances). If the masters
do not teach and instruct the Indians in Spanish, they shall make
restitution of all the pay that they have received, be incapacitated
from all employment in the islands, and punished at the will of the
alcaldes-mayor. This matter shall constitute a factor in the visits of
the alcaldes-mayor, and if any persons oppose the teaching of Spanish,
they shall be proceeded against according to law. Neglect on the part
of the alcaldes shall incur punishment in proportion to its degree. As
yet but little zeal has been shown in this matter, and there has
been a total lack of observance of law xviii, título i, book vi,
of the Recopilación, which is in harmony with many royal decrees.]
94. [The visitas or chapels in villages, besides being unnecessary
for divine worship, which is to be held in the churches where the
Indians can attend, are a burden on the Indians, by reason of the
expenses incurred in their building and repairs, and the increase
of feast days (although there should only be the three permitted by
the government), fees, and alms, which must be paid to the curas and
missionaries. Consequently, alcaldes-mayor are ordered, at the time
of their visit, to report to the superior government all the visitas
in their jurisdictions where the sacrifice of the mass is celebrated;
with what authority and license they are established; the distance
from each visita to the church of the village; the advantages derived
from them; the expenses, fees, and alms contributed by the natives; and
all other matters connected with them. No visita shall be established
without the sanction of the superior government.]
All the above sections contained in this royal ordinance shall be
observed and complied with by the governors, alcaldes-mayor, and
corregidors of the provinces of these islands, and by each of the
persons mentioned therein--with warning that, if they do not execute
them, they shall be punished according to the penalties imposed in
them. Given in the city of Manila, and the royal hall of the assembly
thereof, February 26, 1768.
Don Jose Raon Francisco Enriquez de Villa Corta Manuel Galvan Y Ventura
Registered, José Raon (seal)
By the grand chancellor, José Raon
[Then follows the short statement of the government secretary, Ramon
de Orendain, who had the ordinances written down at the order of
the Audiencia. This is succeeded by an act of the Audiencia, dated
February 26, 1768, enjoining strict observance of these ordinances
which were ordered to be formulated by royal decrees of December 4
and 23, 1760. Those decrees ordered the revision of the ordinances of
Governor Arandía. In order that all persons may not plead ignorance of
them, they were ordered to be registered in both accountancies, and in
the government secretary's office, and copies were to be sent to each
alcalde-mayor, corregidor, and justice. [127] These copies were to be
translated into the native languages of the different jurisdictions,
and the archives of each village was to have a copy. Other copies
were ordered to be sent to the bishops and the father provincials of
the several orders, so that they might order obedience on the part of
their subjects, who are not to meddle in governmental matters. Last
is the attestation of Orendain as to the accuracy of the copy, which
bears date Manila, June 14, 1768, and which was sent to the castellan
of the port of Cavite.]
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE SECULAR CLERGY
1. Retirement and abstraction [from the world]; the priests shall not
enter any house except to administer the sacraments, or to perform
some function proper to one who has the care of souls.
2. They shall explain the Christian doctrine and the gospel, using
at least half of the time for this holy exercise in the Castilian
language.
3. They shall visit, both afternoon and morning the schools for boys,
which our curas shall be under obligation to promote in their villages
with every endeavor; and, if it be possible, the schools for girls.
4. [They shall pay] all respect and courtesy to the governors of
their villages and the officials of justice, not allowing the latter
to remove their caps when in the presence of the priests, and much
less to serve them at the table--warning them that they must not leave
their wands or insignia of justice on the stairs or in any other place,
but always and everywhere carry these with them.
5. They shall not meddle with elections; and the affection and
reverence of the people will be won if they attend solely to the
welfare of souls and give personal advice.
6. They shall promote peace among their parishioners by all means;
and shall exhort them to shun idleness and cultivate their lands.
7. They shall strive to banish the sport of cock-fighting, not sparing
any effort for this, and the same with drunkenness.
8. They shall not allow the dalagas [i.e., young girls] or any woman
to clean the church; the sacristans must perform this duty.
9. Any cura who shall not attend to the adornment and cleanliness of
his church will be punished with the utmost severity.
10. No woman shall enter the clergyman's house.
11. The priests shall spend the day in prayer and study, after having
celebrated mass and divine service.
12. The conferences on moral subjects and on the church rubrics [128]
shall be inviolably observed.
13. They shall conform, without any exception, to the tariff in the
exaction of parochial fees; but if the parishioner shall be poor,
the cura shall not for that reason neglect the administration of the
sacraments, the burial ceremonies, etc.
14. They shall proceed to remove the abuses in [furnishing] cross and
candlesticks of wood for the poor man, and of silver for him who pays
the fees.
15. They shall immediately propose, in a kind and gentle manner, the
[formation of] settlements [for their people], and shall expatiate
to their parishioners on the advantages which will result to them
from living in a settled community and village.
16. Games of cards are prohibited to our curas, even among themselves.
17. They shall be careful to reside in their respective villages;
and they shall leave these only for conferences or for hearing one
another's confessions, when they have [in charge] no sick person in
danger; but under no pretext shall they pass the night outside their
own parishes.
18. On all occasions they shall wear their long robes.
19. Each priest shall forthwith prepare a book, in which these our
decrees shall be written--as well as those which we shall again issue
in person, or which our provisor and vicar-general shall enact; or
measures which shall be taken by our vicar forane, [129] as the one
who keeps all things in his view.
20. Even within the house they shall go dressed and shod through the
day; and any one who shall descend to saying mass in a tipsy condition
[con la turca], or shall take his seat in the confessional without
collar and cassock, shall undergo severe penalties.
21. In every respect they shall render obedience to our vicar forane.
22. Finally, mindful of the duties of their ministry, and of the
very exact account which God will demand from them for the souls of
every one of their parishioners, they shall instruct their people, by
deed and by word, until the true idea of Christian life is formed in
them--stimulating in them love and obedience to our Catholic monarch,
who has conferred upon them so great benefits and loves them with a
father's tenderness, and to the venerable ministers who govern them in
the name of God and of so great a king. At the archiepiscopal palace
in Manila, on the twenty-fifth of October in the year one thousand
seven hundred and seventy-one. [130]
THE EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS,
1768-1769
[This subject is one of profound and far-reaching significance in
history, especially that of Europe; but the exigencies of our limited
space forbid us to do more than suggest some of the more important
aspects of this matter, and to furnish references to historical works
in which it is treated at length. Our chief attention is necessarily
given to the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Philippines, which will
concern us mainly with the facts of the case; and for this we must
have recourse largely to Montero y Vidal's account of it as given in
his Historia de Filipinas, ii, chapters v-vii. (Ferrando says nothing
about the banishment of the Jesuits, save in a few incidental allusions
which we have cited in previous notes.) To this relation we add a few
contemporaneous documents, and other matter from various historical
writers, presenting as far as available actual facts, and the views
of both sides, impartially.]
The expulsion from the Spanish dominions
"The controversy between the Catholic nations and the court of Rome
in regard to the limits of the right of jurisdiction of the State
and of the spiritual authority of the Church goes back to an early
date. The clergy, who in the Middle Ages possessed both moral and
intellectual supremacy, held España in perpetual tutelage; and so
greatly abused their power that the journals of the early Cortes
record numerous petitions, constantly set aside, now in regard to
ecclesiastical amortization, now about the creation of the religious
orders; exemptions and privileges for the clergy, multiplication of
benefices, and concessions to foreigners; excessive imposts claimed in
Roma for favors and dispensations; and innumerable abuses introduced
in the discipline of the Spanish church. Until the clamor of battle
ceased and the national unity was realized, the sovereigns did not
preoccupy themselves with recovering the prerogatives of the royal
power, and the Catholic monarchs [i.e., Fernando and Isabel] were the
first who undertook to maintain with care the so-called regalías [131]
[i.e., prerogatives] of the crown." [From that time many controversies
arose between the courts of Madrid and Rome, and even their diplomatic
intercourse ceased entirely at times. A concordat was formed in 1737,]
"which, instead of settling the pending disputes, deferred them
until January 11, 1753, at which time the royal right of patronage
was decided in favor of the kings of España; and questions referring
to pensions and other claims of the Roman curia were settled by the
conveyance of 23,066,660 reals, which the Marqués de la Ensenada
delivered in Roma before the concordat was signed. Carlos III, who as
king of the two Sicilies had had a similar controversy with the court
of Roma, and had in 1741 secured the solemnization of a concordat,
found the principal disputes terminated in España; but he could not
prevent time and circumstances from originating others, which were
settled in due time." [With this controversy between Church and State,
the Jesuits were necessarily as well as of choice involved. "During
two centuries, and under different aspects, two diverse principles
came into open opposition: the principle of authority, essential
in the Catholic Church, which was the banner of the Society of
Jesus; and the principle of rebellion against the past, proclaimed
by Protestantism, converted afterward into the encyclopedistic
philosophy, and still later taking the form of a social, religious,
and political disintegration. To the propaganda of false ideas which
was causing so much corruption among the youth, the Society of Jesus
opposed solid and Christian education, the defense of its doctrine,
and the preaching and example of its members." Carlos III had come
from Italy with a dislike to the Jesuits, and with various opinions
which were more radical than those then current in España; and the
influence of French philosophy and political thought in that country
(see note 4, ante, pp. 25-27) enabled him to secure advisers who were
willing to second his ideas--although at first he made the mistake
of appointing too many foreigners in his cabinet. The king and his
ministers formed plans of reform for the country which have made
Danvila call him "the first revolutionary monarch of España." It
became evident that these plans could not be made effectual unless
the influence of the Jesuits against them could be neutralized. That
order had been expelled from Portugal and all her dominions, by decree
of January 12, 1759; and it was suppressed in France by Louis XV in
November, 1764. Permission to settle in Spain and Naples was denied to
the French exiles by Carlos III. In March, 1766, a popular uprising
took place in Madrid, directed against one of Carlos III's ministers
(Leopold de Gregorio, Marqués de Squilace, a Sicilian by birth) who,
besides the prejudice against him as a foreigner, had made himself
unpopular by certain sumptuary regulations; it resulted in his
banishment from Spain. Soon afterward, the king found it necessary
to make changes in his ministry. The presidency of the Council of
Castilla was conferred upon Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Conde de
Aranda, an Aragonese noble; and five new places therein were created,
making twelve in all. All these councilors were Spaniards, and five
of them were archbishops and bishops. [132] "After the Madrid riot,
everywhere resounded complaints against the court and its nobles,
the priests and the friars, and especially against the Jesuits,"
the last-named being accused by many of having incited the riot. "The
appointment of Aranda was praised, as taking from an ecclesiastic the
custody of the royal prerogatives." The disturbance quieted, the royal
Council took measures to ascertain, through a secret investigation,
the causes of this uprising; and their conclusion is thus stated in
a letter sent by order of the king to the government of Naples, June
23, 1767:] "The result of all [the evidence] was, that the Jesuits
were either the principal or the only inciters [of the riot]; they
stirred up the flames on every side, roused aversion in the minds of
all classes of people, and detached them from their affection and
subordination to the government. The Jesuits printed and scattered
about papers and writings that were seditious, and opposed to the
royal authority and to the sovereignty and its legitimate rights; they
preached against Portugal and France in their sermons to the public,
and in the parlors of the nunneries, insinuating themselves to confess
and direct the nuns without authority and against the wills of the
superiors of the convents; even in the cloisters of the religious
women, the Jesuits instilled, by their lectures and conversations,
pernicious ideas and unworthy suspicions against the religious belief
of the king and his ministers; and both before and after the tumult
they threatened calamities and tragedies. They complained of all the
decrees that were issued, on account of the [government] offices and
dignities not devolving on their partisans and the followers of their
school; they murmured against all the measures of the government,
because they had no part in these, as being opposed to their ideas and
their advantage. Their perverse [ideas of] moral practice in España
and the Indias, the laxity of their morals, their sordid commerce,
their intrigues, their cunning schemes, and, finally, everything that
has been written or published by those whom the Society fancies to
be its rivals and enemies: all these have been verified, and found
convincing, with facts and instances of the present time (and which
cannot be denied), without the necessity of resorting to the many and
enormous excesses of former times or of foreign countries. [133] Their
hatred to the house of Bourbon, and their aversion to the 'family
compact,' [134] their partiality to the English, and their desire
that the latter should subdue France; the greater satisfaction and
confidence which they feel toward Protestant princes, preferring these
to the Catholics; and other designs of theirs that are abominable,
and contrary to the spirit of religion, of honor, and of humanity:
these have been proved to us by many and irrefutable means, which their
own acts and writings have furnished to us. Time and paper would fail
me if I tried to specify to your Excellency the facts and proofs of
the many charges which have accumulated against them." [Finally--as a
result partly of this investigation, and partly of the growing alarm
and distrust felt against the Jesuits, especially as they were securing
new privileges from the Holy See--Carlos III issued decrees dated at
El Pardo, February 27, 1767, for the banishment of the Jesuits from
Spain and the Indias. "The instructions for the measures to be taken
by the persons commissioned to carry out the banishment of the Jesuits
in España and the Indias, and to take possession of their goods and
estates; [135] the information as to their colleges, residences,
and missions in the Western Indias, the Filipinas islands, and the
kingdoms of the Indias; and the circular letter of Conde de Aranda
to the viceroys and governors of the Indias providing for what they
might decide for themselves, without asking any questions: this bears
the date of March 1." On March 12 this decision was known in Rome;
and four days later despatches from Aranda gave fuller details, and
included a copy of a royal decree which charged him to "display to
the other religious orders the confidence, satisfaction, and esteem
which they merited for their fidelity and doctrine, their observance
of the monastic life, their exemplary service of the Church, their
creditable instruction, and their withdrawal from the affairs of
government as being alien to and remote from the ascetic and monastic
life." On March 20, Aranda determined to appoint April 3 as the date on
which this expulsion of the Jesuits should go into effect; and on the
thirty-first Carlos III wrote a letter to Pope Clement XIII, stating
that he found it necessary to expel the Jesuits from his dominions, and
would send them to the States of the Church, to be under the direction
of his Holiness as the father of the faithful. The Spanish ambassador
at Rome, to whom this letter was sent for delivery to the pope,
was also notified that all the expelled Jesuits would be pensioned,
as long as they remained outside of the Spanish territories, at the
following rate: to the ordained priests, 100 pesos annually; to the
laymen, 90 pesos; and to all, a half-year's salary in advance. [136]
The pope was overcome with grief at this news, and in reply (April 16)
remonstrated with the king against this measure, protesting that the
Jesuit order was innocent of disloyal or evil acts, and urging the king
to suspend the execution of the decrees against them. This of course
had no effect, and the pope refused to receive the banished Jesuits
into his territory, hoping thus to compel Carlos to take other steps;
but the latter sent the exiles to Corsica instead. On January 23, 1776,
Pius VI directed the nuncios in the Catholic countries to enforce the
law of silence in regard to the extinction of the Jesuit order--a
measure especially directed against the publication of libels and
satires, which at that time abounded in the larger cities, and were
often indecent and infamous. In that year, also, harmony was restored
between the Holy See and the Catholic powers.]
[The above general account of the causes leading to the expulsion of
the Jesuits from the Spanish domains is obtained from various places
in the account furnished by Danvila y Collado in his Reinado de Carlos
III, t. ii, iii, to which the reader is referred as being probably
the most full, accurate, and scholarly account now available of this
important historical episode. He uses a great variety of material,
obtained largely from the original documents in the Spanish archives,
which he cites directly (and often in full), with careful references to
his sources; and, although his sympathies are with the Jesuit order,
which he thinks was unjustly maligned, he is evidently too thorough a
scholar to suppress or distort the facts in the case. The following
outline of his work in regard to this subject will give the reader
an idea of his thoroughness therein, and of the places where one may
find special information on various aspects of the subject. Tomo ii:
Chapter v, "Controversies with Roma," relates those which occurred
under Carlos III over the royal prerogatives, the measures for
canonizing the venerable Palafox, [137] ecclesiastical amortization,
the banishment of the inquisitor-general by the king, the expulsion
of the Jesuits, and other burning questions of that time. Chapter
vi treats, with much fulness of detail, of the Madrid uprising of
1766, with its causes and effects. Chapters vii-ix form a history
of the Jesuit order from its first establishment to 1766. Tomo iii:
Chapter i, "Causes of the expulsion;" chapter ii, "The Execution
of the expulsion;" chapter iii, "The monitory decree of Parma,"
a brief issued by Clement XIII on January 30, 1768, which attempted
to assert the temporal power of the pope; [138] chapter iv, "Origin
of the extinction of the Society of Jesus," showing how the plan
for this measure was initiated by France, and how the other powers
rapidly fell into line for her support; chapter v, "The election
of Clement XIV," relating the important part played therein by the
question of suppressing the Jesuit order, and the political scheming
by the various powers interested; chapters vi-viii, "Extinction of
the Society of Jesus;" chapter ix, "Consequences of the extinction;"
chapter x, "Rehabilitation of the Society of Jesus," which ends with
the brief of Leo XIII (July 13, 1886) abrogating that by which Clement
XIV put an end (July 21, 1773) to the Jesuit order.]
[In the appendix to tomo iii are various important documents, presented
in full, as follows: Official report to Carlos III of the proceedings
on April 30, 1767, of the Council committee [Consejo extraordinario]
which advised the expulsion of the Jesuits, in regard to the pope's
remonstrance against that measure. Another letter of remonstrance
from the pope, May 6, 1767; and the king's brief and resolute reply
thereto, June 2 of same year. Letter written (June 23) by one of the
Spanish ministers, Manuel de Roda, stating "the reasons which his
Majesty has had for decreeing the expulsion." Another report of the
Council committee, dated November 30, 1767, long and interesting,
on the proposal made to Spain by Portugal for concerted action by
the powers to secure the extinction of the Society. A report from
the full session of the Council, dated March 21, 1767, recommending
the extinction of the order; the signatures include those of the
archbishops and bishops. [139] "Brief statement of the infractions
of law committed by the Jesuits, which was sent to Roma for delivery
to the pope;" [140] it was drawn up, in 1769, by José Moñino, Conde
de Floridablanca, another of the Spanish ministers.]
[In Crétineau-Joly's Histoire de la Compagnie de Jésus, volume v is
devoted to the expulsion of the Jesuits successively from Portugal,
France, Spain, and other countries, and the results of that measure. In
regard to Spain, see pp. 236-254. We present here the leading points
of interest therein. According to Crétineau-Joly, Carlos III was
"a prince who was religious and able, upright and enlightened, but
impetuous and obstinate; he had most of the qualities which promote
the welfare of peoples. His character entirely accorded with that
of his subjects; like them, he pushed to the utmost degree family
spirit and the honor of his name. At Naples, as well as at Madrid,
Carlos III always showed himself devoted to the Society of Jesus." In
the uprising at Madrid in March, 1766, the popular irritation made
the situation exceedingly dangerous, "when the Jesuits, all-powerful
over the minds of the people, flung themselves into the mêlée and
succeeded in appeasing the tumult. The people of Madrid gave way
to the entreaties and threats of the fathers; but, in dispersing
they undertook to show their affection for the latter; and from all
sides the cry of 'Long live the Jesuits!' resounded in the pacified
city. Carlos III, humiliated at having taken flight [to Aranjuez],
and perhaps still more humiliated at owing the tranquillity of his
capital to some priests, returned to the city. He was received with
joy; but he had around him men who, affiliated with Choiseul and the
party of [French] philosophy, felt it necessary to mingle poison with
the facts. The Marquis de Squillaci was replaced in the ministry by
the Count d'Aranda, and, after a long time, the Spanish diplomat made
common cause with the Encyclopedists." "The Duke of Alva, a former
minister of Fernando VI, shared his ideas, and became the apostle
of innovations, and the exciter of hatred against the Jesuits. [141]
Portugal and France had just expelled them; Alva and Aranda dared not
remain behind. The pretext of the revolt at Madrid for the cloaks and
broad hats [142] had produced the effect which was to be expected;
it inspired the king with suspicions of the Jesuits. The prince could
not explain to himself the fact that there, where the majesty of the
sovereign had been defied, the moral authority of the Jesuits had so
easily overcome the popular fury. The people had massacred his Walloon
guards, and accepted the intervention of the fathers of the [Jesuit]
Institute. This mystery, to which the contact of the disciples of
St. Ignatius with all classes of people so easily supplied the key,
was exaggerated and distorted for the ear of Carlos III. The king was
favorable to the Society of Jesus, but [his ministers] succeeded in
rendering him indifferent to it; then one day, a net woven long before
wrapped the Society in its meshes." "Those who favor the destruction
of the Order of Jesus, and the partisans of that same order, while
they agree entirely as to the result, differ essentially in regard
to the causes. The former claim that the 'hat insurrection' opened
the king's eyes, and made him suspect that this society of priests
aspired to dethrone their protector, or at least to make themselves
masters of the Spanish colonies. The others affirm that Aranda was
only the stone-setter [metteur en oeuvre] of a plot organized in
Paris. This plot, they say, had for its foundation the pride of a
son who was unwilling to have to blush for his mother." [143] Several
Protestant writers are cited to show that the king's decision to expel
the Jesuits was caused mainly by his resentment at the Madrid uprising
(which he was made to believe was incited by the Jesuits), and at the
statements made in a pretended letter by Ricci, the Jesuit general--a
letter which the French minister, Duke de Choiseul, was accused
of fabricating--to the effect "that he had succeeded in collecting
documents which proved incontestably that Carlos III was the child
of adultery; this absurd invention made such an impression upon the
king that he allowed the order for the expulsion of the Jesuits to be
wrested from him." "This fact is confirmed by other contemporaneous
testimony, and by the documents of the Society of Jesus." "The order
is not touched anywhere [in the proceedings of the Council]; the
discipline or the morals of the Jesuits are never incriminated." "The
suppositions which cause the decision of the Council extraordinary are
not proved; they are not even expressed." "All that the government
of Fernando VII afterward admitted was, that 'the Society of Jesus
was expelled forever, in virtue of a measure wrested by most crafty
and unrighteous underhand dealings from his magnanimous and pious
grandfather Carlos III.'" "The pragmatic sanction is as reserved as
the sentence of the Council extraordinary; it throws no light on
the nature of the crimes imputed to the Jesuits." "The mandate of
the king was pitiless; the authorities, both military and civil,
conformed with it, without understanding it. There were at that
time unspeakable sufferings, bitter regrets, and cruel outrages to
humanity. It was directed against six thousand Jesuits scattered in
Spain and the New World; they were carried away by force, insulted,
confined, and crowded on the decks of vessels. They were devoted to
apostasy or to misery; they were surprised in their houses, despoiled
of their property, their books, and their correspondence; they were
torn from their colleges or their missions. Young or old, well or sick,
all were obliged to submit to an ostracism of which no one had the
secret. They departed for an unknown exile; under threats and insults,
not one let a complaint escape him. In their most private papers there
was never found a line which could make them suspected of any plot."]
The expulsion from Filipinas
[An account of this is presented by Montero y Vidal in his Hist. de
Filipinas, tomo ii; he relates the causes of this measure, and the
execution of it in España and the colonies in general (pp. 141-179),
and the expulsion from Filipinas (pp. 181-228), which latter account
is here given:]
The Conde de Aranda, who was especially entrusted by Carlos III with
all that related to the banishment of the Jesuits and the seizure of
their property, addressed to the governor-general of Filipinas the
following letter, dated March 1, 1767:
"Inside the annexed letter from Señor Marqués de Grimaldi, secretary
of the affairs of state, you will receive another from the king
our sovereign, in which his Majesty deigns to confer authority on
me for the purpose of which this despatch treats--which, in short,
is the banishment of the order of the Society of Jesus from all the
royal dominions, in the manner and form provided in the royal decree,
of which I enclose a printed copy. The very fact of the special honor
which the king confers on you of [a letter with] his own signature
[puño, "fist"] will convince you of the importance of the matter and
of secrecy, and of the king's resolute determination for the most
punctual fulfilment [of the decree].
"As for its execution, you will be guided by the instructions
framed for España and by the additional ones that apply to the
Indias, availing yourself of both, to the end of selecting from
each that which is best adapted to your purpose. As I have taken
into consideration the distance of those countries from this one,
and the difference in their mode of government, I have decided to
entrust to you all discretionary power [necessary] to change or add
details of circumstance, so that the [desired] result may be attained
with that completeness which so important a matter requires. I think
that your clear-sightedness and prudence will peaceably bring about
obedience to the royal decision--without, however, neglecting guards
and the use of moderate force, in order not to risk the failure of
the enterprise; but in any event if, contrary to what is usual, you
should encounter resistance from the religious concerned in this, or
find among their adherents any inclination or resolution to oppose
you, you will employ the authority and force of military power,
as you would in case of rebellion.
"It will be important that in the villages where there is a college
or house of the Society measures be taken (as soon as the royal
decree has been made known to them) to inform the other religious
orders and the secular clergy of those places that the decree of his
Majesty is limited to the Jesuit religious; for it is very proper that
all the other ecclesiastics, both seculars and regulars, contribute
with their persuasions, so that the people generally shall reverence
the decrees of his Majesty, since they must be considered as always
based on important and just grounds. The king our sovereign has the
greatest confidence in your fidelity and ability, and consequently
I have the same. I only desire, therefore, your complete fulfilment
[of this commission], and that you write to me in order to keep me
informed of the results, without making any inquiries on doubtful
points; for if these should arise you must decide them for yourself,
being governed by the sense and idea which the royal decree and
instructions themselves, as a whole, produce. May God preserve you
many years. Madrid, March 1, 1767."
Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the "Additional instructions regarding the
banishment of the Jesuits from the dominions of his Majesty, for
what belongs to the Indias and the Filipinas Islands," to which
the preceding document refers, say: "(1) In order that the viceroys,
presidents, and governors of my domains in the Indias and the Filipinas
Islands may know that they have, in virtue of the royal decision,
for this purpose, the same powers that reside in me, I entrust to them
those which are mentioned in the instructions for España, so that they
may issue the orders designating the depositaries [for papers, goods,
etc., belonging to the persons expelled], and the ports [of departure
for them], and promptly make ready the necessary vessels for the
transportation of the Jesuits to Europa and the port of Santa María,
where they will be received and equipped for their destination. (2)
As the authority of those officials will be ample, they will remain
responsible for the execution of the decree--for which they may select
a suitable time, and will fix the day on which it may be carried out
in all parts of their territory, issuing the proper orders with the
utmost promptness, in order that no information may reach any of the
[Jesuit] colleges of what is being done at others in this regard."
The preceding documents were accompanied by a list of the colleges,
houses, and residences of the Jesuits, certainly not a very accurate
one. The colleges, residences, and curacies which at that time they
possessed in Filipinas were as follows: In Manila (jurisdiction)--the
colleges of San Ignacio and San José, and that of San Ildefonso at
Santa Cruz; also the following curacies. In the province of Tondo
(Manila), which includes the present district of Morong--San Miguel,
San Pedro Macati (college and novitiate), Cainta, Taytay, Antipolo,
Bosoboso, San Mateo, and Mariquina. In the province of Cavite--Cavite
(where they had a college), Cavite Viejo, Silan, Indan, Maragondon,
Naic. In the corregidor's district of Mindoro--Boac, Santa Cruz de
Napó, Marinduque Island, Gapan. In the province of Cebú--Cebú, with a
college, and the curacies of Mandaue and Liloan. In Bohol--Inabangan
and Talibón (where was situated the residence of Bohol), with
the villages and ministries of Loboc; Baclayon, Dauis, Malabohoc,
Tagbilaran, Santísima Trinidad, and (on the coast farthest from
Luzón) the curacy of Hagna. In the island of Negros--Ilog, Cabancalan
(with the mission of Buyonan, Himamaylan, Cavayan and the mission of
Sipalay). In the province of Otón (Iloilo)--Iloilo (with a college),
Molo, Arévalo. In the island of Sámar--Catbalogan, Paranas, Humavas,
Calviga, Boac, Bangajon, Tinagog, Calvayog; in the island of Capul,
the ministry of Abac. In the province of Ibabao, or coast of Sámar
farthest from Luzón--Palápag, Lavan, Catubig, Catarman, Bobón, Sulat,
Túbig and Borongan. On the southern coast of the same island--Guiguan,
Balanguigan, Basey and Lalaviton. In the island of Leyte--Carigara,
Barugo, Jaro, Alangalang and Leyte. On the farther coast of
the same island--the residence of Ilongos, and the ministries of
Palompón, Poro, Ogmug, Baybay, Maasin, Sogor, Liloan, Cavalian and
Hinondayan. In the northern part of the same island--the residence
of Banigo, Palo, Tanavan, Dulac and Abuyog, and (in the interior)
Dagami and Burabuen. In the island of Mindanao--the presidio of
Zamboanga, with a college and ministry; Bagonbayan, Dumalon, Siocon,
Catabangan, Caldera, Polombato and Siraguay. In the northern part
of the same island--Dapitan, Iligan, Lavayan, Langaran, Lubungan,
Disacan; Talingan, and various visitas and missions along the same
coasts and the bay of Pangue. In the Marianas islands--Agaña, with
a college and Indian seminary; Agat, Merizo, Pago, Guajan, Yuarajan,
Umata, Rota and Saipan.
The first communication addressed to Raón by Conde de Aranda in
reference to the manner of effecting the expulsion of the Jesuits was
sent to him through the viceroy of Méjico, in order that the latter
might despatch the letter from Acapulco. Lest this should go astray
or be delayed, a second copy was sent to him by way of Cádiz and the
French ships of their Company of the Eastern Indias, its bearer being
an official appointed for this purpose, under the pretext that he was
going there to discipline the troops. In this latter communication (on
the same date of March 1), Conde de Aranda added these words to Raón:
"I think that when this reaches you the very reverend archbishop will
have already arrived in Manila, as he sailed from Cádiz a month ago
in a Swedish ship. If that is the case, your Lordship can inform him
confidentially of this despatch; and you can count on his illustrious
Lordship in whatever your Lordship may deem necessary, in his opinion
or his aid. For his Majesty esteems him, and I know him intimately;
and I am certain that he will coöperate with whatever measures may
conduce to the success of this enterprise, and to the greater service
of the king." In another and third despatch was repeated what had
been previously explained to Raón, informing him that the bearer of
the second despatch was his Majesty's courier Pedro Santillac--who was
to embark in Holanda, in order to go to Batavia, and thence to Manila,
chartering a vessel, if there was none available, for this object.
Raón, who was an extraordinarily avaricious and venal man, [144]
and not conscientious in the performance of his duties, saw in this
matter a business out of which he could obtain profit; and he utilized
it for his own advantage, revealing to the Jesuits, for a large sum of
money, the secret of their expulsion. Thanks to this perfidy, they were
able to place in safety a large part of their wealth, at least what
they possessed in gold and silver, and in valuables that were easy to
hide; and they caused the disappearance of documents and papers which
compromised them, or, if these were seized, would be proof of their
plans and pernicious intrigues in certain matters. Notwithstanding
this despicable proceeding, Raón sent the following answer to the
letter of Carlos III:
"Sire: As soon as I read, pressed to my lips, and placed on my head
the respected royal letter of your Majesty giving orders relative to
the expulsion of the Jesuits who were settled in all these domains
of your Majesty, and the seizure of their goods, I employed the
means that occurred to my loyalty and zeal for the accomplishment
and fulfilment of this important business. In consequence, there
are sailing as passengers on the ship named "San Carlos Borromeo"
sixty-four individuals, including the principal Jesuits of this
mainland [of Luzón] and the island of Marinduque; and for the
removal of a like number of missionaries from the Bisayas Islands
four vessels are employed. Meantime I have the aid of the other holy
religious orders in occupying temporarily the ministries there--as
I fully informed your Majesty in greater detail through Conde de
Aranda. May our Lord preserve the royal Catholic person of your
Majesty, as these remote regions need. Manila, July 23, 1768. Sire,
[I kiss] your Majesty's royal feet.
Don Joseph Raón"
The faithlessness of Raón, information of which reached the court,
caused his successor, Don Simón de Anda, to receive orders to commence
legal proceedings against Raón, for the purpose of proving this grave
offense and punishing it severely. That upright and severely just
magistrate did so; and nothing will aid more the exact understanding
of one of the most far-reaching events in the history of Filipinas
than to insert here, complete, the summary drawn up by Anda of the
above-mentioned lawsuit, since in it are shown in great detail the
particulars of what was done in these islands in the expulsion of
the Jesuits. Here is the exact copy of this important document:
[Space will not permit us to present this summary in full, but we
make an outline of it sufficient to preserve all the facts of main
importance; it may be found at pp. 187-216 of Montero y Vidal's
account. Charges were brought against Raón and three others; these
were Francisco Henriquez de Villacorta and Domingo Blas de Basaraz,
members of the Audiencia, and Juan Antonio Cosio, the governor's
secretary. Raón was proved guilty on the charge of having given
information to the Jesuits of the measures to be taken against them,
on the next day (May 18) after receiving the royal commands; "and
immediately they began, and continued without ceasing, the concealment
of their wealth and the burning of papers. Circumstantial evidence
shows that it was Raón who told them, and various persons declared
that this 'was worth to him many pesos.'" He made an outward show of
obeying the decree, by sending (at 10 a. m.) troops to surround and
guard the Jesuit college; and also his secretary, to tell the fathers
that the soldiers had gone there for purposes which would afterward
be explained to them by Auditor Galvan. The latter, however, he kept
busy otherwise, until the twenty-first. On May 18 he sent Galvan to the
Jesuit college of San Ildefonso, outside the walls, to carry out the
decree, and Raón waited until he finished these duties before he sent
Galvan to the main colleges within the city; this gave the Jesuits from
three to five days to hide their treasures and burn their papers, [145]
in which they occupied themselves both day and night. Raón failed to
require the superiors of the colleges to call in their absent priests,
and to remove the Jesuits, as soon as they were notified of the decree,
from their colleges to some other place of detention till they could
be sent from the city. They also possessed eleven farms and ranches;
Raón is charged with having left the Jesuits in these undisturbed,
for several months or even more than a year, without any check on their
doings, or inventory of the property, which they stated as they chose;
and even that he sent cavalry to these farms, to be at the orders of
the fathers there. In the provinces outside of Manila, Raón neglected
to carry out his instructions for the expulsion; and in consequence
"there was not a college or a town in which the Jesuits did not
have notice beforehand of their expulsion." Accordingly, they also
concealed their wealth and burned their papers, and they even found
their way into their colleges at Manila; and Raón so neglected his
duties that it was four months after the royal decree was published at
Manila before the first orders for the expulsion from Visayas were sent
thither. [146] In order to shield himself, he had his secretary Cosio
draw up a false statement, duly attested, that the governor had duly
executed the royal commands regarding the Jesuits, in accordance with
his instructions; and this was sent to Aranda, with a letter in which
he threw the blame upon Galvan for any defects which might be found
in the conduct of the expulsion. Other secondary charges were brought
against Raón: he had allowed the Jesuits to prepare their outfits
for their voyage as they chose, and for this to leave the college in
which they were detained, and to have intercourse with various people,
all this contrary to his instructions; he had displayed negligence,
lack of system, and extravagance in the shipment and supplies of
food for the exiles; he neglected to look after the interests of
the obras pías which the Jesuits had administered, thus causing
serious damages to those foundations. He did not make provision,
for two years after the expulsion, for the administration of the
temporalities occupied by the Jesuits; thus the collection of debts
due to them was "absolutely neglected, until measures for this were
taken by the present government; so were the estates, houses, obras
pías, and moneys at interest, and left without any person to call
to account the individuals who were managing them; and from this
ensued the arrears and losses that may be inferred." Raón was also
charged with having conspired with Cosio, Basaraz, and Villacorta
to persecute and harass Galvan, Viana, and Santa Justa--from which
persecution Galvan suffered so much that, worn out and depressed by
it, he finally died; but they, not content with that, tried to defame
his reputation. In most of these charges, Raón tried to make excuses
for his conduct, or to throw the blame on Galvan or Villacorta; but
Anda declares that they were all partly or wholly proved, and that
Raón neglected everything in his official position "which did not
involve the handling of 'Mexican grease [vnto mexicano],'" that is, of
bribes. His secretary Cosio was naturally included in all the charges
made against Raón (in some of which he was declared more to blame than
his master); but he is especially denounced for having drawn up and
attested the false declaration that Raón had obeyed his instructions
and performed his duty faithfully in the expulsion of the Jesuits, and
as having done more than any one else to cause the death of Galvan;
Anda concludes by saying, "he is more subtle and malevolent than can
be expressed." [147] Villacorta was charged with having been more
intimate with the expelled Jesuits than was becoming in an auditor;
with having censured the archbishop for his insistence on episcopal
visitation of the regulars; with having conspired against Galvan
and the others; and with perjury. It was also proved that he had
lived in open immorality, having two illegitimate daughters; that
he engaged in trade, with dummy partners [testas de Ferro]; that he
had, contrary to his obligation of secrecy, informed the friars of
the government's decision in regard to the diocesan visitation of
their curas, before it could be carried out, and had complained of
the archbishop to the king. The charges against Basaraz were similar
to those against Raón, in regard to the expulsion of the Jesuits
and the conspiracy against Galvan, and are not repeated in detail,
especially as he had died before the conclusion of the legal process
against him. He was also an intimate friend of the Jesuits, being a
"third brother" of theirs, that is, affiliated to them through a third
or lay order, like those of other regular corporations; he prevented
the execution of some measures against them, and allowed them to take
whatever they desired from their archives which had been seized; he
was in constant and secret communication with the expelled priests,
and spent money for them as they directed him; he allowed them to
carry money and papers on board the ship; he spoke disparagingly
of the king and his ministers, and their proceedings against the
Jesuits; he falsified records, and compelled the notaries to make
false entries; and, besides all these, he was drunken, licentious,
and extravagant. Raón and Basaraz died soon after the beginning of
proceedings against them; "and Villacorta did not raise his head
after he saw the charges, and that all of them were documentary; and
finally he also showed the bad taste to go to accompany the others,
at the very time when he finished making his defense;" accordingly,
Cosio was the only one left to send to Spain. Anda recounts the
aid and kindness which he showed to all the accused, allowing them
abundance of money, attendance, and liberty, and sending Basaraz to
a hospital, and afterward to one of the best houses in the city, for
the sake of his health; Cosio is the only one who experienced any
severity, being sent to Fort Santiago. Nevertheless, Anda expects
that many will try to make trouble for him, by misrepresenting or
calumniating him, and accusing him of having caused those deaths by
undue severity; he desires, however, that "those malicious acts be
not attributed to him which, as he has known, have been represented
at the court by the friars, and the prisoners, and especially the
blessed [bendito, ironically] Father Serena." Another auditor, Juan
Antonio de Uruñuela, was also accused of voting at Raón's dictation,
and being concerned in the conspiracy against Galvan; he also brought
to the islands 3,000 pesos, which he placed in charge of the friars,
who included it and other property of his with their own money,
as all being "for their missions in China," so that he might not
have to pay duties on it. Cosio and Raón's friends attempted to show
that the archbishop had warned the Jesuits of their expulsion; but
Raón's own testimony had disproved that accusation. Anda was unable
to conclude the proceedings against the accused, for when he reached
Manila he found that the Audiencia contained only Villacorta, Basaraz,
and Uruñuela; "and although two auditors came in company with him,
Don Francisco Ignacio Gonzalez Maldonado and Don Juan Francisco Anda
(his own nephew), the former gave indications of perversity in the
residencia of Villacorta, which he conducted, and it was necessary
to reserve the second to succeed Basaraz in the post of commissioner
of the Jesuit properties--for the governor knew, extra-judicially,
that Uruñuela and Maldonado would decline to accept it, and, in order
to avoid a dispute, he would not propose it to them." Anda mentions
various ways in which the relatives of the accused had endeavored
to hinder the legal proceedings, means which they afterward used
too successfully at court to involve him in trouble with the home
government, although he had faithfully followed the instructions given
him by that very government to bring the guilty parties to justice.]
In execution of the orders of the court, the properties which
the Jesuits possessed in the islands were confiscated, their
administrations being afterward entrusted to a special commission
appointed by the governor-general. In order to give some idea of the
amount of the said property, we will insert here a curious document
written by a person of undeniable veracity, not at all unfriendly to
the Jesuits, who on account of the offices which he held in Manila
had at his disposal the respective expedientes [of the above suit];
he writes thus:
"The possessions of the Jesuits in Filipinas.--I have personally
examined the voluminous expedientes drawn up for their expulsion
from these islands; I have gone through the itemized inventories of
all the colleges, houses, residences, and ministries; I have examined
the appraisement, leases, and sale of the estates, buildings, cattle,
furniture, and valuables, besides [a statement] of what was rendered
useless and of the large remittances made in kind to the Peninsula;
and all this has furnished me official data so accurate that I can
make a statement without fear of being charged with falsehood in the
matter. To enter into details would be exceedingly tedious; but to
the end that all may not remain buried under the dusty cases of the
Government archives, I am going to set down here a résumé which shows,
with only a glance, all that was taken possession of from the Jesuits
at their expulsion from Filipinas.
[Effects] Pesos
In ready money, interest that was collected,
and obras pías 463,882
Produce from the sale of various
estates and houses 721,553
Idem, from furniture and chattels
sold in the various colleges, residences,
and ministries 128,735
A printing-office, adjudged to the
[archiepiscopal] seminary, and valued at 4,035
A drug-store, turned over to the royal
hospital, and valued at 2,660
---------
All these amount to the sum of 1,320,865
"But it should be kept in mind that the articles of merchandise,
provisions, furniture, and other articles amounted to a large sum which
were placed in the royal storehouses without appraisal or valuation,
as appears from their respective appraisements. [148] Also in Marianas
there was adjudged to the royal treasury a drug-store and the estate
of Tachona, eleven leguas in circumference, with cattle, house,
and outbuildings; and the college of San Juan de Letrán, with all
that pertained to it, was handed over to the Recollect fathers with
the same informality. The same thing occurred with two ranches which
the college of Cebú possessed in the island of Bojol, and two others
belonging to the college of Iloilo. Then the estate of Zamboanga alone,
on which there were 2,139 head of cattle, horses, etc., and which
also was applied to the treasury without appraisal, yielded in nine
[sic] years from August, 1768 (when the government took possession
of it) to 1779 the amount of 17,561 pesos, from which the value of
the estate may be calculated. The royal college of nobles of San
José, with its building and everything pertaining to it--including
the three estates of Tunasan, Liang, and Calatagan--was given up
without appraisal to the new rector who was appointed, Don Ignacio de
Salamanca, a magistral canon; it was only known that the said estates,
after deducting all the expenses of administration, repairs, etc.,
yielded a net profit of 27,336 pesos, in the first eight years. Not
only was handed over to the new curas all that belonged to divine
worship in the various ministries which the Society had in its charge,
and in the archbishopric alone were the cathedral and twenty-two poor
churches enriched with the ornaments and sacred utensils which came
from the great college of San Ignacio [149] and other houses; but a
great quantity of valuables, jewels, [150] etc. were sent to España
which had no immediate connection with the holy sacrifice, and which,
according to the instructions sent around by his Majesty, were placed
in the second class--as candelabras, frontals [for the altars], lamps,
etc., of gold and silver, which were used on solemn occasions for
greater magnificence--also of those articles which were classified as
profane. Finally, we must consider the enormous deterioration [of the
valuables placed] in the royal storehouses, and the infinitely greater
amount lost by selling the goods at forced sale, in many different and
remote places, and when there was a scarcity of buyers. Considering
all this, I think that I can affirm that the product of the secular
properties that were seized from the Society of Jesus reached the
amount of 2,000,000 pesos. How much this immense capital has produced
to the royal treasury it is not possible to ascertain. I will say,
however, that the 252,442 pesos alone to which the capital of the
obras pías amounted at the time of the expulsion increased in December,
1796, to the sum of 513,168 pesos--that is to say, they increased in
eighteen years by 260,726 pesos, or more than half of that capital;
and, in this century, from 1820 to 1837 this fund yielded an increase
of 420,849 pesos. It is important to note that as soon as the Jesuit
estates were seized his Majesty reduced those foundations from 45 to
26, abolishing the rest, and leaving a capital of [only] 151,626 pesos;
it is this which has furnished so wonderful results."...
It is fully understood that the Jesuits of Filipinas felt profound
grief at having to abandon a country in which they had gathered
so rich a harvest, considering their excessive regard for worldly
possessions--as is affirmed by the venerable Palafox, the bishops
whose opinions we have cited, and Pope Clement XIV, who suppressed
the Society, and all persons who have been occupied with this special
idiosyncrasy of the Jesuits.
The incidents connected with the expulsion of the Jesuits from
Filipinas were among the most productive of scandal which, in
matters of that sort, the history of that country records. At that
time the Jesuits enjoyed so great a predominance, and realized such
enormous gains throughout the archipelago (with their well-equipped
industrial enterprises, their lucrative trade, and the produce
of their vast estates), and they kept the [Spanish] natives of the
country so thoroughly exploited and so subjected to their domineering
influence--cajoling the vanity of some with the hypocritical deference
with which the fathers treated them, and favoring the notions of
independence in others, giving them to understand that they [the
Jesuits] were not Spaniards, but citizens of the world (which is
the aspect under which they make themselves more congenial to the
islanders than the friars do, for the latter never fail to make it
known that they are Spaniards)--that their wrath was unutterable when
the decree for their expulsion from the islands was made known to
them. They attempted to evade the royal mandate, and to disparage
and criticise the monarch's authority and his acts, unloosing
against these the passions of their fanatical partisans; and with
their infamous conduct they presented a most melancholy spectacle,
in which the royal authority was questioned, religion made light of,
and vices and faults which it would have been expedient for them to
keep secret were displayed to the public.
In 1769 there came to Manila on the frigate "Venus" various printed
books which sharply attacked the Jesuits, and censured their conduct
and teachings, while they extolled the expulsion decreed against that
order by Carlos III. These books began to circulate, and pass from
hand to hand, to the great satisfaction of the Jesuits' enemies and
the furious anger of their partisans; and a magistrate [i.e., Basaraz]
who was a friend to the Jesuits proceeded, without authorization,
charge, or commission from any one, to seize and prohibit the
said books, and arrested the person who was distributing them. [The
archbishop then wrote, besides the edict which follows this résumé, an
indignant letter to Raón, both of which are cited at some length by our
writer.] The fury of the Jesuits' partisans against the archbishop was
extraordinary; and they disseminated reports that he was a heretic,
and that his edict ought to be suppressed, with a thousand other
insults against his person and dignity. A friar theologian wrote a
confidential letter in defense of the Jesuits, and contradicting the
[aforesaid] printed books; the Jesuits had a multitude of copies of
this letter circulated. The archbishop immediately printed a long
answer (or refutation) to the said letter, and likewise circulated it
in profusion through the country. [The next feature of this controversy
was the circulation of a voluminous MS. document, defending the
theologian's letter and the teachings of the Jesuits. [151]
Decree by the archbishop of Manila
+
We, Don Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina, by the grace of God
and of the holy Apostolic See archbishop of Manila and metropolitan
of these Philipinas Islands; councilor and preacher to his Majesty,
and apostolic subdelegate; deputy vicar-general for the royal forces
on sea and land in this archdiocese and its suffragan dioceses for his
Eminence the lord Cardinal de la Cerda y San Carlos, the patriarch of
the Indias; chief almoner of the king our sovereign; chief chaplain
and vicar-general of the said royal forces in all his domains and
lordships; etc.:
To all the persons of both sexes who exist and dwell in our
archbishopric, of whatever state, rank, and condition you may be,
greeting in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true salvation. [152]
We cannot deny the great pleasure and satisfaction with which our
heart is filled at beholding, in our own experience, the loyalty,
obedience, and fidelity with which our beloved subjects, in proof of
their most profound and humble vassalage to the royal person of our
august sovereign and lord, Don Carlos III (whom may God preserve),
have accepted the most just decisions of his Majesty in regard to
the expulsion of the regulars of the association named the Society of
Jesus from all his dominions of España, the Americas, the Philipinas
Islands, and others adjacent. And this first royal decree having
been followed, among others, by that one in which his Majesty, as a
prince who professes the soundest doctrine with the purest religion,
issues effectual orders that in all his kingdoms may be suppressed
that most pernicious and consequently abominable doctrine which the
said regulars taught even from the beginning of that order--in regard
to which we were thoroughly instructed years ago, and now, in order
to secure the general conviction of this truth, there has just been
published by order of his Majesty a pastoral by our brother dignitary
his most illustrious Lordship the present archbishop of Burgos--we
have learned that by the coming of the ships from Europa directly to
these islands there have been made public in this city various printed
documents [153] relative to the pernicious maxims and teachings of
the aforesaid regulars. These documents, according to the uniform
answers of persons who have come in the said ships, are publicly
distributed in Madrid and other cities of our España; and we have even
noticed in the Mercuries of public news which have reached our hands
(and the said Mercuries are not printed without previous notice to
and permission from the court) the aforesaid documents conspicuously
announced. We know that in this city they have produced in the minds
of many persons who have read them the same good effect as there in
España--that is, to confirm them more and more in that just judgment
which they have formed of the uprightness, and of the justness of the
reasons, which could induce our Catholic sovereign to decide upon the
expulsion of the aforesaid regulars. And we have been informed that
the circulation of those documents has ceased [154]--(we know not
why, and only know that such is the fact), without the intervention
of the public, superior, and legitimate authority--a singular thing,
which of itself is sufficient to occasion a most pernicious result,
that those who have read them will doubt the truth of what is said
therein, at the same time depriving those who have not read them of
the important information which they furnish in regard to the lax
and mischievous nature of the moral maxims which are encountered at
every turn in the books written by the said regulars; and in some of
the said documents these statements are mentioned, the works where
they are found being cited, and their original authors. [Moreover],
we, as our beloved people have seen, have not lost (in fulfilment of
our official pastoral letter) any opportunity since our safe arrival
in these islands--both in private conversations and in sermons,
and even in public theses--to inveigh against laxity in matters of
morality; and, since our obligation is so pressing, not only to
teach good and sound doctrine, in order that it may be embraced,
but also to point out emphatically what is pernicious and evil, in
order that men may flee from it as from poisoned food, which slays
the soul. The aforesaid documents have greatly aided us in this,
forasmuch as they open the eyes of their readers, in order that they
may learn the source from which have issued the wrong and dangerous
doctrines which have occasioned so many injuries and losses to the
holy Church--which, as opposed to the spirit of the Church, have
always aroused against them the antagonism of the supreme head who
rules it, of the holy fathers, and of all the true teachers of the
gospel religion which our heavenly Master, Jesus Christ, imparted
to us. Accordingly, in view of all this, we would be guilty of a
very culpable omission if we should keep silence, in neglect of so
excellent reasons, and should not explain our opinion to our beloved
people on this occasion when the aforesaid documents have ceased to
be current--from which it may result that many of our beloved subjects
continue in their former false ideas and dangerous prepossessions, for
lack of means so opportune for leading them out of these. Therefore,
for all the aforesaid reasons (and after having examined the said
printed documents), and to dissipate whatever uncertainties upon this
point may have arisen in some minds, we have resolved to declare, as
using our episcopal authority for the edification of souls, and by the
present we do declare, that our subjects are authorized to read the
aforesaid printed documents with security of conscience, and without
prejudice to sound doctrine, in which assertion we have in mind the
pious objects above stated. Indeed, far from being opposed thereto,
it is very expedient to read them, in order to disabuse the mind of
many prejudicial errors by which the conscience is endangered, and to
arrive at a knowledge of the holy truth, to which end the matters which
are treated in these books evidently conduce. For there is no reason to
doubt, with appearance of prudence, that everything which is contained
in them it strictly true, when it immediately occurs to everyone that,
in giving this assurance, the men agree in all parts of the Catholic
world who are most worthy of confidence on account of their piety,
high standing, and wisdom--and among these are many Spaniards who
are distinguished in both worlds for their virtue, and in both are
no less noted for their learning. In the number of these are also
found the supreme pontiffs, innumerable bishops and clergymen, an
endless number of religious in other orders, and the universities;
and even various individuals of high character, and who are prominent
in the Society, have with one voice been calling, at all times,
for the reparation of the spiritual decline which has, by dint of
force and through sheer obstinacy, been introduced in the Church
universal by those who are now expelled. [This they have done] by
their arbitrary opinions, destructive to the gospel of Jesus Christ,
for they were the first to carry these into practice; and through a
practice so detestable they have given amply sufficient reasons to
the Christian princes who with their kingdoms form the greater part
of the Roman Catholic Church--and, above all, to her eldest son,
our most pious, ever august, and Catholic monarch Don Carlos III
(whom may God preserve)--for banishing them forever from all their
vast domains. And as this is an indubitable fact, and notorious to
all the world, such likewise are the arguments set forth [in the
aforesaid documents]; and any person who for lack of profound study
and of discernment between sound and wrong doctrines, or for want of
opportunity, or through undue affection for those expelled persons, has
been either unable or unwilling to observe seriously their iniquitous
proceedings--whether as perpetually displaying, under the pretext
of obedience, their reluctance to obey and submit to the sovereign
decrees of the vicar of Christ; or persecuting everywhere the bishops;
or making war on the other venerable and most holy religious orders;
or poisoning good morals and even the faith itself, especially in the
missions of China and Malabar (having been also the cause of the ruin
of the Japan mission, notwithstanding the zeal of the missionaries of
other orders and of the noble martyrs of the seraphic order, [155]
whose memory will endure in the Church): or intriguing against the
governments and the lives of princes; and attempting to turn, this way
and that, the entire world at their pleasure--he who, we again say,
in ignorance of all that has occurred in this matter, may remain in
doubt as to the reasons which have, by divine ordering, caused the
downfall of these regulars, is under obligation of conscience to lay
aside this doubt, and to admit that such causes were urgent in order
that so many Christian and Catholic princes should unite in the same
and so momentous a judgment. For, their hearts being in the hand of
God (as the Scriptures expressly declare to us), they have herein
assured the success of the measures that they take, and uprightness
and justice in their proceedings--and much more in things of greater
importance; for as vicars of God, each one in his own domain, they
issue commands, impose laws, and govern in pursuance of justice,
with special assistance from God himself. And therefore it would be
impiety, and a sort of blasphemy, to try to excuse and justify those
who have been expelled; since this would be the same as wounding
in the most conspicuous point of their honor the sovereignty of the
kings, and especially of the [preëminently] Catholic among them all,
who is our king--for whose defense every vassal ought to stand ready
to lose his life; how much more so, to sacrifice personal desires
and affections, or to keep silence and read in order that he may
be undeceived from error and instructed in the truth of things, or
not to utter insults regarding the Head [of the Church] in order to
defend some members whose corruption had increased to such an extent
that it was necessary to sever them entirely in order to save the body.
This and no other is the sound doctrine which upon this point we desire
our beloved faithful to bear well in mind; and in order that it may
come to the knowledge of all, and that no one can allege ignorance
at any time, we command that the present edict be published in the
customary churches, and posted in public places, where it can be read
by all. Given in our archiepiscopal palace at Manila, signed by us,
stamped with the seal of our coat-of-arms, and countersigned by our
undersigned secretary; on the first day of November in the year one
thousand, seven hundred and sixty-nine.
Basilio, archbishop of Manila.
By command of his illustrious Lordship the archbishop of Manila,
my master:
Father Don Ildephonso Garcia, secretary.
THE COUNCIL OF 1771
Letter of a missionary father of the Order of St. Francis to a Spanish
father of the Society of Jesus, written from the city of Manila in
the Philippine Islands, December 13, 1771, and communicated not long
ago to Father Aloysius Knapp. [156]
The provincial Council which was held this year by the archbishop of
this place with his three suffragans has given rise to the greatest
discord. [157] For therein the archbishop and the governor of the
islands sought to have abolished the solemn votive Mass (of the Blessed
[Virgin]) and the Salve Regina--which from the first christianizing
of these islands it has been the custom to chant every Saturday in
honor of the Blessed Virgin as well as other devotions to the Blessed
Virgin, for the preservation and spread of the Catholic religion--under
the pretext that the Indians might not [thereby] be led into idolatry
and the worship of Mary as a goddess. [158] This purpose and decision
of the two they gave in writing to the three suffragans. Two of the
suffragans--one of whom was a secular, the other belonging to the
Order of St. Dominic--yielded assent, or at least showed no displeasure
thereat. But the third, by name De Luna, of the Order of St. Francis,
bishop of Camarines, a man worthy of honor for his advanced age and
uprightness, rose in indignation at the dastardliness of the motion,
and with apostolic zeal declaimed against the written decision. On
recognizing, however, that his endeavor was wholly fruitless, with
the declaration that the council was a scandal he left the assembly,
subsequently sending [a copy of] this scandalous mandate to the royal
Audiencia--a body consisting of three magistrates, to whom an appeal
may lie against the governor--from whom he requested an official
statement in writing to that effect, in order that he might send this
scandalous decree to Madrid. On being apprised of his action, the
governor and archbishop in a rage sent soldiers to force from Bishop
de Luna the statement of the royal Audiencia and the written decree,
even under threat of death, should he refuse to surrender them. But as
the whole city was deeply indignant at this insolent proceeding, the
soldiers, dreading greater evils, desisted from their violent purpose,
whereupon Bishop de Luna received orders to leave the city. Soon after
his return to his episcopal see he issued a pastoral letter to his
clergy, religious and secular, wherein he declared the council [159]
null and scandalous. This declaration of the bishop was accepted by
all except the Dominican fathers, who sided with the archbishop and
the governor, who, quite unmoved by tumults, scandals, and bloodshed,
continued this council of theirs. In the meantime Bishop de Luna put
himself in hiding, and, it is said, took passage for Spain on a ship
sailing for China, in order to present the case to his Majesty. In
this council it furthermore was decreed, that Bishop de Luna should
be wrested from his see, and all the Augustinian fathers driven from
their parishes. Accordingly, on October 22 and 28 of the year 1771,
a large body of soldiery, sent therefor from the city of Manila by
the governor, gave to thirty-one Indian clerics [160] the parishes of
the Augustinian fathers, whom they led away as prisoners after having
pillaged their homes in the name of the king, and substituted the
said Indian clerics in their place. The same fate that befell the
Augustinian fathers was destined for us Franciscans; but, rather
than be taken away as prisoners, we all abandoned our homes and
our parishioners, and went up to our convent on a mountain, where
we purposed to struggle with hunger and hardships until God should
otherwise dispose of us. The father provincials of both orders sent
word in writing to their religious who were not yet in captivity,
to return to Spain, in any way and, in fine, by whatever road they
could. It is said that before long soldiers are to be sent to pillage
all our convents, both inside and outside the walls of Manila. The
governor is intercepting all letters addressed to Spain; he forbids
any to be sent thither. Accordingly, since he recently got hold of
four letters which were intended for Spain, which had been written by
the commander-in-chief of the troops, he had him thrown into jail and
deprived of his command; another Spaniard, who sided with the Spanish
religious and clerics, he fined three thousand dollars [talerorum]. For
the governor and the archbishop declare that Spanish religious
or clerics will no longer be tolerated, since with their masses,
sodalities [institutis], and prayers in common [comprecationibus],
[161] they are tricking the people, and with their devotions bleeding
them of their money. During this persecution the Moros, the enemies
of the Christians, are fishing in muddy waters; from the neighboring
islands of Xolo and Mindanao they are making raids in every quarter,
pillaging and setting afire churches and houses; they have slain many;
many more they have carried away into slavery, as happened three days
ago when they captured five hundred Christians a short distance from
the city of Manila. All these miseries and the immense slaughter
of Christians the governor and the archbishop view with unconcern,
pleased with this conceit alone that thereby they are harassing the
religious and are strong enough to persecute them--whose sorrowful
fate, moreover, they rejoice at, when, in the midst of banquets and
revelry [jocando], they intone the [invitatory] of the [divine] office:
Regem, cui omnia vivunt, venite adoremus, venite exultemus, [162] etc.
They rejoice since they have driven very many religious away from their
ministries; but it is greatly to be feared that their joy will soon be
turned into mourning. For all the Pampangos, the people who occupy the
most fertile and extensive region about the city of Manila--who are
the bravest of all the Indians, and excel all the rest in religious
fervor--are stirring up a revolt against the governor, the archbishop,
the Indian clerics, and all their partisans, all of whom they threaten
with death. They seem already to have leagued themselves with the
Moros, to whom they have already given as captives five of the Indian
clerics thrust upon them, in exchange for five Spanish soldiers,
besides asking for the Augustinian fathers who were taken away from
them by force.
Before opening the said council [conciliabulum], the archbishop made
the charge that all religious were unfit and unworthy to attend
the council--a statement that he insisted each one of them should
subscribe to in his own handwriting. Such as refused were [punished],
some by being thrown into prison, others by being very grievously
distressed. Two fathers of the Pious Schools, however, as being
members of his own order, [163] he chose as secretaries of the council.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
The documents in the present volume are obtained from the following
sources:
1. Events in Filipinas.--From Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas,
ii, pp. 66-70, 115-140, 229-382; from a copy in possession of the
Editors.
2. Financial affairs.--From a MS. copy (probably an official duplicate
of the original document), in the possession of Edward E. Ayer.
3. Letter by Viana.--From Viana's MS. book, Cartas y consultas,
fol. 39v-46; apparently Viana's original letter-book for the year 1767;
it is in the possession of Edward E. Ayer.
4. Anda's Memorial.--From Pardo de Tavera's publication (with many
annotations), Memorial de Anda y Salazar (Manila, 1899); from a copy
belonging to James A. Robertson.
5. Ordinances of good government.--From José Felipe Del-Pan's
Ordenanzas de buen gobierno de Corcuera, Cruzat y Raon (Manila, 1891);
from a copy belonging to the Library of Congress.
6. Instructions to the secular clergy.--From Ferrando's Historia de
PP. dominicos (Madrid, 1871) v, pp. 59, 60; from a copy belonging to
E. E. Ayer.
7. Expulsion of the Jesuits.--From Danvila y Collado's Reinado de
Carlos III (Madrid, 1894), tomos ii, iii, from a copy belonging to
the Library of Congress; Crétineau-Joly's Histoire de la Compagnie
de Jésus, v, pp. 236-254, from a copy in the State Historical
Library of Wisconsin; Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas, ii,
pp. 181-228. The decree by the archbishop is obtained from a printed
copy (dated January 1, 1770) in the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid.
8. The council of 1771.--From a copy of the original Latin MS. (which
is conserved in private archives), sent to the Editors by a friend
in Germany.
NOTES
[1] This résumé of events during the latter part of the eighteenth
century is compiled from Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas, ii,
pp. 66-70, 115-140, 229-382; that work is mainly annalistic. Of those
which we have used in former volumes, Murillo Velarde's stops at 1716,
and Concepción and Zúñiga at the siege of Manila (evidently for the
prudential reasons, connected with persons still living, which Zúñiga
frankly assigns in his own case); Montero y Vidal is therefore the
only writer now available who follows the thread of secular events
connectedly throughout the later history of the islands. Wherever
possible, we have used his own language--which, in long citations,
or special phrases, is distinguished by quotation marks.
[2] On March 27, 1765, Viana declared (Respuestas, fol. 113) that
the natives of Pangasinan ought to be compelled to pay all arrears
of tribute due since the last collection made before the English
invasion; that the village notables should not be exempted; and that
each tribute ought to pay two reals extra to reimburse the government
for the costs of putting down the rebellion in that province. Later
(fol. 134), he estimates that the tributes in that province are the
same as before the war; "for, although it is certain that a great
many of the insurgents died, it is also evident that the reduction
[of the province] prevents the concealment of the tributes which was
formerly practiced by the heads of barangay."
[3] Puch specified the alcaldes-mayor (VOL. XLIX, p. 337, note
208)--cf. what Viana says of those officials in his "Memorial"
(VOL. XLVIII), chapter v, sections 34-38--but his remarks were
considered as reflections on higher officials.
[4] Ferrando (v, pp. 9-16) says that Puch was engaged, by order of
his provincial, Father Bernardo Pazaengos (more correctly written
Pazuengos), and at the urgent requests of other pious persons,
in conducting a sort of mission in the city, "with the object of
correcting the many vices which had been introduced into Manila
during the invasion by the English;" and in one of those sermons he
made the utterances which brought him into trouble. The Audiencia
resolved to notify the provincials of all the orders and the dean of
the cathedral that they must order their subordinates to conform to
the laws in regard to their preaching; and the Jesuit provincial in
particular, that he also take care that Puch should give satisfaction
to the Audiencia and the public for his reflections on government
officials. Pazuengos laid the case before the heads of Santo Tomás
university, and, as their decision was in his support, he answered
the Audiencia that he had ordered the priest hereafter to obey the
law cited by the Audiencia; but that he declared Puch to be "immune
and exempt from blame" in regard to the remarks made in the sermon
before mentioned, and protested that he did not intend to censure in
the least the acts of the Audiencia. He added that, if this were not
enough, he would send Puch to the Mindanao missions. This aroused
Viana's anger, first "against the Jesuits, and afterward against
all the other orders; and he finally issued an official opinion
filled with calumnies and invectives, which might rather be called
a defamatory libel." At this all the orders took up the matter,
especially resenting Viana's attitude because they had supported the
government so loyally during the English invasion: the superiors held
a special conference in the convent at Tondo, and agreed to draw up a
remonstrance to the king against the fiscal's unjust attack on them,
demanding that he investigate the whole affair and decide it according
to justice. Ferrando condemns Puch's imprudent remarks, but regrets
that the matter had not been settled by his superior, instead of
dragging the other orders into the quarrel and thus eventually causing
trouble at court for all of them, especially for the Jesuits. Ferrando
adds (p. 24): "We have also another key to explain the hostility which
certain persons at that time manifested toward the religious orders
in these provinces over seas, in the sinister Pleiad of ministers who
then surrounded the Catholic king. Aranda, Roda, Campománes, Azpuru,
and Floridablanca all had connections, more or less evident and
close, with the French encyclopedists and philosophers of that time,
and all emulated Tanucci in regard to regalist doctrines"--that is,
maintaining the rights and prerogatives of the state as against the
church (Gray's Velázquez Dictionary).
In regard to this last statement, cf. Manuel Danvila y Collado, in his
Reinado de Carlos III, ii, pp. 561-564: "Religious intolerance, still
great in the reign of Felipe V, tended to extinction in succeeding
reigns. In the almost half a century during which he occupied the
throne, there were in España twelve inquisitors-general; and such
was the hold which the Holy Office possessed in public opinion that,
in order to entertain the new king, a solemn auto de fe was held in
1701, which he declined to attend. Nevertheless, he protected the
Inquisition, because Louis XIV had advised him to support it as a
means of maintaining tranquillity in the country; he availed himself
of it to inspire respect for the oath of fidelity which was given
to the new monarch; he repressed the Jewish worship which, again
and secretly, had been propagated in España after the annexation
of Portugal; but it was the general opinion that rigor against the
heretics diminished after the advent of the house of Bourbon. The
sect of Molinos was persecuted and punished with severity; even
Macanaz, the enthusiastic defender of the royal prerogatives, was
banished from España, for political rather than religious motives;
and the third volume of the Historia civil de España, by Fray
Nicolás de Jesús Belando, who dared to defend the regalist idea,
was prohibited. These rigorous proceedings diminished during the
reign of Fernando VI, who permitted Macanaz to return to España,
and who established as a principle that the coming of the Bourbons
to the throne of the Españas was to produce a complete modification
of the system of the Holy Office ... Even the Concordats of 1737 and
1753, by recognizing the royal prerogatives of the crown of España,
authorizing the taxes on the estates of the clergy, and reforming
various points of discipline, allowed the admission of some ideas
which ignorance or superstition had until then deemed irreligious or
favorable to impiety. The Diario de los literatos also enlightened many
people in regard to knowledge of the books which were being published,
and the judgment which ought to be formed of them; and the weekly
sheets gave acquaintance with foreign works which no one knew of, and
which were a preparation for the interesting literary transformation
of the epoch of Fernando VI; while at the same time the rigors of the
Inquisition were relaxed, in harmony with the change which had been
produced in public opinion. Indeed, from that time the Holy Office
occupied itself only with persecuting the Jesuits and the Free Masons
(who had been excommunicated by the bull of Clement XII of April 28,
1738, renewed on May 18, 1751).... There certainly is no room for
doubt that, partly through the progress of public opinion and partly
through the knowledge which was obtained here of the works of Diderot
and D'Alambert--and especially of the Encyclopedia, begun in 1751,
and concluded in 1772--it became the fashion and people were proud
to have acquaintance with the tendency of the philosophy proclaimed
by the French freethinkers--but they did not comprehend that this
philosophy necessarily led to revolution, and with it to the loss
of all property rights (which was the foundation of its influence
in society), and the annihilation of all political influence within
the state.... The Spanish nobility were seduced by the philosophic
or Encyclopedistic propaganda of France."
The official opinion by Viana regarding the Puch episode may be found
in a MS. volume entitled, Respuestas dadas por el fiscal de S. M.,
fol. 22v-26; it is apparently Viana's own original record of his
official opinions delivered to the Audiencia during the year 1765, and
is in the possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago. This book furnishes
valuable information regarding conditions in the islands after the
departure of the British forces.
[5] Le Gentil (who sojourned in Manila from 1766 to 1768) relates
in his Voyage (t. ii, pp. 199, etc.) various incidents to show this;
and Raón even displayed to Le Gentil the magnificent presents which he
had received from the officers of a French ship which came to Manila
in evasion of the prohibition of foreign trade there. Raón was also
condemned, in his residencia, for having revealed to the Jesuits,
beforehand, for a large sum of money, the news that their expulsion
had been decreed, and for other acts of disobedience to the royal
commands regarding that expulsion.
[6] This date is incorrect, for the fiscal gave his assent to the
manufacture of barrillas on February 16, 1765. This is shown by
the entry for that date in Viana's Respuestas (MS.), fol. 89; he
makes the express stipulation that these barrillas be used only for
petty payments, and not for important transactions. From fol. 108v
it appears that these coins were immediately made, but in too great
haste, and were called in by the authorities, late in March.
[7] See Jagor's description of the great volcano of Mayon and his
ascent of it (September, 1859), with a list of its known eruptions,
in his Reisen, pp. 75-84. Cf. Le Gentil's description of it and of
this eruption (Voyage, ii, pp. 13-19); he cites at length a letter
from the then alcalde of Albay. Its summit was considered inaccessible
until two young Scotchmen made the ascent in April, 1858.
[8] Santa Justa belonged to the Order of Escuelas Pías (see
VOL. XLVIII, pp. 52-54, note 10). See list of writings by this prelate,
in Montero y Vidal's Hist. de Filipinas, ii, pp. 228, 229, 318; also
in Vindel's Catálogo biblioteca filipina, pp. 380-389; they are mainly
pastoral letters, and memorials to the Spanish government.
[9] When Raón insisted on enforcing the royal rights of patronage,
the orders all resisted him, repeating the arguments which they had
alleged to Arandía in the like case. The Dominicans declared that
they could not obey the governor's commands until they could receive
orders from their superiors in Europe; Raón refused to wait, and
the provincial declared that his curas would rather surrender their
ministries, but would continue to serve therein until the governor,
as vice-patron, should command that these be surrendered to other
curas. "This was sufficient to make the archbishop hasten to deliver
to the secular clergy, first the ministries of the Parián and Binondo,
and afterwards those of the province of Bataan, notwithstanding that
he could have no cause for complaint against our religious, who
without resistance or opposition had accepted his diocesan visit,
as he himself confessed in letters to the king and the supreme
pontiff. He found a pretext for proceeding to the secularization
of the curacies in Bataan, in the banishment of the Jesuits, whose
expulsion from the islands occurred at the same time as the events
which we are relating." "As the ministries in the island of Negros
were left vacant in consequence of the expulsion of the Jesuits, the
governor addressed himself to our provincial, asking for ministers
to occupy those vacant posts. The latter excused himself from this,
on account of the lack of religious; and the archbishop made this a
pretext for informing and counseling the governor that, since the
Dominicans had offered their resignation of the doctrinas in the
province of Bataan, on account of the controversy over the right of
patronage, the religious who were ministering in that district could
be sent to the island of Negros. He offered to provide secular priests
in their place, and availed himself of this opportunity to despoil our
religious of the curacies or ministries of Bataan. In effect, this was
done; and our religious were compelled to abandon to the seculars this
province of the archbishopric, in order to go to learn a new dialect
and minister to strange peoples in the inland of Negros." "The bishop
of Cebú had no secular priests capable of replacing the Jesuits (as
deserving as persecuted), who were administering the island of Negros
and the province of Iloilo,... consequently, our religious began to
minister in the villages of Iloilo, Himaras, Mandurriao and Molog,
in the island of Panay; and those of Ilog, Cabancalan, Jimamaylan,
and Guilgonan, in that of Negros. With great repugnance the province
took charge of an administration of which the Jesuit fathers had been
despoiled in so unworthy a manner; and not only on this account but
on that of the great difficulties which arose from this separation
of provinces and villages, in the regular visiting of them and in
intercourse and the supply of provisions, our fathers abandoned those
ministries at the end of some years; and in the meantime the bishop
of Cebú undertook to transfer their administration to the secular
priests. Thus it was that by the year 1776 our religious had departed
from all those villages." (Ferrando, Hist. PP. dominicos, v, pp. 39,
42, 43.)
[10] "All the curacies of the banished Jesuits, those of the Dominicans
and Recollects, and those of the Augustinians in Pampanga, were handed
over to the secular clergy. In order to fill so many curacies with
ministers for instruction, the archbishop was obliged to ordain so many
Indians that it became one of the most reprehensible abuses that can
be committed by a prelate. On account of this it was a common saying
in Manila that rowers for the pancos could not be found, because the
archbishop had ordained them all." (Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario,
ii, p. 279.)
The result was a great disappointment to the archbishop himself,
as may be seen by his exhortations and pastoral letters addressed to
them; some of these may be found in Ferrando, Hist. PP. dominicos,
v, pp. 51-61. He recounts their ignorance, neglect of duty, sloth,
vicious practices, cruel treatment of the natives, and even thefts
from the churches entrusted to their care; he reproaches, exhorts,
commands, and threatens, and calls them to account before God for
their transgressions. From Ferrando (pp. 59-60) we translate Santa
Justa's "Instructions to the secular clergy" in 1771; it will appear
later in this volume.
[11] Forrest makes the following statements about the laws and
government of the Mindanao Moros (Voyage to New Guinea, pp. 277, 278):
"Though laws are similar in most countries, each has some peculiar:
the principal of Magindano are these. For theft, the offender loses
the right hand, or pays threefold, just as among the Mahometans
of Atcheen. For maiming, death: adultery, death to both parties:
fornication, a fine. (The industrious Chinese seem to be excluded from
the benefit of law: those in power often forcing kangans upon them,
and making them yearly pay heavy interest. The ordinary punishment of
incontinence in female slaves to their masters, is cutting off their
hair; which was a custom in Germany, in former days.) Inheritance
goes in equal shares to sons, and half to daughters; the same to
grandchildren. Where are no children, whole brothers and sisters
inherit. If there are no brothers or sisters, or nephews, or nieces,
or first cousins, the Sultan claims it for the poor. It is the same,
ascending even to the grand-uncle. If a man put away his wife,
she gets one third of the furniture; also money, in proportion to
his circumstances. A child's name is not given by priests, as in
the Molucca islands, and in other Mahometan countries. The father
assembles his friends, feasts them; shaves off a little lock of
hair from the infant head, puts it into a bason, and then buries it,
or commits it to the water.
"The form of government at Magindano, is somewhat upon the feudal
system, and in some measure monarchical. Next to the Sultan is Rajah
Moodo, his successor elect. Then Mutusingwood, the superintendant
of polity, and captain Laut, overseer of the Sultan's little navy,
are both named by the Sultan. There are also six Manteries, or judges
named by the Sultan, and six Amba Rajahs, or asserters of the rights
of the people: [elsewhere, Forrest calls them "protectors of the
people's privileges"]; their office is hereditary to the eldest
son. Although the Sultan seems to act by and with the advice and
consent of the Datoos, not only of his own family, but of others;
yet, this compliance is perhaps only to save appearances. When he can,
he will doubtless be arbitrary."
[12] Montero y Vidal gives no date for this expedition, but the
reader would infer that it occurred about 1766. Later, he ascribes
this proceeding to Governor Basco; so he has either confused his data,
or neglected to state whether (as is possible) the pirates were twice
expelled from Mamburao.
[13] "Plan of the present condition of the city of Manila, and of its
environs and suburbs. Explanation.--A. Royal fort. B. Small bastion of
San Francisco. C. San Juan. D. Santa Ysabel. E. San Eugenio. F. San
Joseph. G. Ancient redoubt. H. Bastion of the foundry. I. A kind of
ravelin. J. Bastion of San Andres or Carranza. K. Bastion of San
Lorenzo of Dilao. L. Work of the reverse. M. Bastion and gate of
the Parian. N. Bastion of San Gabriel. O. Bastion and gate of Santo
Domingo. P. Bastion and gate of the magazines. Q. Bastion or stronghold
of the fortin. R. Royal alcaiceria of San Fernando. S. The cathedral
church. T. San Domingo. V. San Francisco. X. San Agustin. Y. The
church of the former Society of Jesus. Z. San Nicolas de
Recoletos. 1. San Juan de Dios. 2. Royal chapel. 3. Santa
Clara. 4. Santa Ysabel. 5. Santa Potenciana. 6. Beaterio of
the former Society, and now of Buena Enseñanza [i.e., good
teaching]. 7. Beaterio of Santa Cathalina. 9. College of San
Phelipe. 10. College of the former San Joseph. 11. College of
Santo Thomàs. 12. Royal hospital. 14. Convent, parish church, and
the capital village of the province of Tondo. 15. Parish church of
the village of Binondo. 16. Parish church of the village of Santa
Cruz. 17. Parish church of Quyapo. 18. Convent and parish church of San
Sebastian. 19. Convent and parish church of the Parian. 20. Chapel
of San Anton, a chapel of ease. 21. Convent and parish church
of Dilao. 22. Parish church of San Miguel. 23. Hospital of San
Lazaro. 24. Ruined convent of San Juan de Bagombaya. 25. Hospital
of San Gabriel. Here the Sangleys are treated. 26. Convalescent
hospital of San Juan de Dios. 27. Mayjalique, a former estate of the
Society of Jesus. 28. Palace where the Governor resides. 29. Royal
Audiencia and accountancy. 30. Houses of cabildo. 31. Battery of the
English. 32. Spanish battery." [Below is given the scale to which the
map is drawn: 700 varas to 13 cm. The size of the original MS. map
is 94 × 64 cm.]
[14] Cf. Anda's earlier management of revenues: "Anda insisted that his
successor should review the accounts of his administration; and the
result of the expert examination was, that in spite of the war which
Anda had maintained, and of the fact that he had paid for whatever
expenditures were necessary, he had consumed only the comparatively
insignificant sum of 610,225 pesos. Thus out of the 3,000,000 pesos
which he received by the ship 'Filipino,' the large amount of more
than 2,000,000 found its way into the treasury." (Montero y Vidal,
Hist. de Filipinas, ii, pp. 115, 116.)
On January 14, 1765, Viana rendered an opinion (see his Respuestas,
fol. 67v-74) regarding the protest made by the citizens of Manila
against the royal order that they must contribute 180,000 pesos
for the king's needs; he rebukes their selfishness, timidity, and
lack of loyalty, but advises the governor to convene the citizens,
and ask them for spontaneous and loyal offerings to meet the needs
of the royal treasury. The contribution demanded was to be repaid
by lading-space on the Acapulco galleon, with which arrangement
the citizens were dissatisfied; but Viana refutes their objections,
and reminds the Audiencia of the expenses for troops, administration,
etc., which are necessary for the protection and defense of those very
citizens. In this document, Viana states that of the money saved from
the treasure brought to Manila by the "Filipino," 1,000,000 pesos was
distributed among the obras pías, and half as much to the citizens; and
that later Torre ordered that all of it be handed over to the latter.
[15] See also Le Gentil's account of the earthquakes which he
experienced while at Manila (Voyage, ii, pp. 360-366). He states that
the Spaniards distinguished two kinds of earthquakes: terræ moto,
a trembling which "makes itself felt from below upward;" and temblor,
when the trembling is felt in undulations, like those of the sea.
A list of the earthquakes which the Philippine Islands (and especially
Manila) have suffered was made by Alexis Perrey, and published in
the Mémoires of the Academy of Dijon, in 1860. (Jagor, Reisen, p. 6.)
[16] See, as an instance of this, the citation made by Mas (Informe,
i, part ii of "Historia," pp. 18, 19) from a MS. by Martínez Zúñiga,
complaining of Anda's conduct toward the friars. Mas, however,
cordially endorses most of Anda's conduct while in command in
Filipinas.
[17] See this document, post (Anda's Memorial). Montero y Vidal cites
a section from it, and compares several paragraphs of another one with
the royal instructions, to show their similarity; see his Hist. de
Filipinas, ii, pp. 239-244.
[18] Fray Miguel Garcia, bishop of Nueva Segovia, died at Vigan,
on November 11, 1779.
[19] The present lists of the islands contain no such name as
Balambangan. As Montero y Vidal says that it was next to Cagayán
de Joló (now Cagayán Sulu) it may be the islet now called Mandah,
just north of the former; its area is one-half a square mile.
[20] When the Chinese were expelled from Manila in 1758, many of them
went to reside in Joló, where some 4,000 were found at the time of
Cencelly's expedition; these took sides with the Joloans against the
Spaniards, and organized an armed troop to fight the latter. (Montero
y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 265.)
[21] "The Datos at once feared the vengeance of the English, and
declared Tenteng unworthy of the rights of a Joloan and an outlaw from
the kingdom with all his followers. The Sultan wrote to the governor of
Zamboanga, assuring him that neither himself nor the Datos had taken
part in this transgression; and he asked the governor to send him
the Curia filípica and the Empresas políticas of Saavedra, in order
that he might be able to answer the charges which the English would
make against him. (This sultan Israel had studied in the college
of San José at Manila.)" Tenteng repaired to Joló with his booty
and the captured English vessel; "these were arguments in his favor
so convincing that he was at once admitted." He surrendered to the
sultan all the military supplies, besides $2,000 in money, and divided
the spoils with the other datos; they received him with the utmost
enthusiasm, and raised the ban from his head. "About the year 1803,
in which the squadron of General Álava returned to the Peninsula,
the English again took possession of the island of Balanbangan; and
it appears that they made endeavors to establish themselves in Joló,
and were instigating the sultan and datos to go out and plunder the
Visayas, telling the Joloans that they themselves only cared to seize
Manila and the Acapulko galleon.... In 1805, the English embarked
on thirteen vessels and abandoned Balanbangan." (Mas, Informe, i,
part ii of "Historia," p. 16.)
Montero y Vidal says (pp. 380-382) that the English attacked
Zamboanga (1803) on the way to Balambangan, but were repulsed with
great loss. They had at the latter place three ships of the East
India Company, and five ships belonging to private persons; the
garrison included 300 whites, 700 Sepoys under European officers,
and 200 Chinese. "In a short time the greater part of these forces
abandoned Balambangan to go to Batavia." "The English, after burning
the village and the fort, abandoned Balambangan, on December 15,
1806, doubtless on account of the insignificance of that island."
[22] Regarding Anda's birth, see VOL. XLIX, p. 132, note 74. According
to Montero y Vidal (Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 281), he studied at four
different schools (jurisprudence, at Alcalá) taking several degrees,
including that of doctor in law. He opened an office in Madrid, and
attained great fame as an advocate. In 1755 he received an appointment
to the Audiencia of Manila, of which post he took possession on July
21, 1761.
Anda was succeeded ad interim by Pedro Sarrio, "who found himself
obliged to compel the obras pías to lend some money to the government"
(Mas, Informe, i, part ii of "Historia," p. 21).
[23] A full account of this controversy, with the text of some of the
official documents therein, may be found in Mas, ut supra, pp. 23-28.
[24] By a royal decree of January 12, 1777, it was ordained that the
Indians should devote themselves to the cultivation of flax and hemp;
this must have originated from a suggestion by Anda.
[25] Zúñiga thus relates the result of this experiment in the village
of San Pedro Tunasan (Estadismo, i, pp. 29, 30): "The owner of these
lands is the college of San José in Manila, which has there a good
stone house, and a Spanish manager who attends to the collection of
the rent from the tenants. The land is quite fertile; it produces
abundance of mangas, cocoanuts, oranges, lemons, camias, balimbins,
buyo, sugar, and various other kinds of trees and garden produce. Also
there are a good many mulberry trees, and silk is made in the farm
buildings. When the Economic Society was established in Manila, when
Señor Basco was governor, the rector of the college gave orders that
all the land adjoining the farm should be planted with mulberry trees;
and, as this tree grows as easily as a weed in this country, in a short
time were seen around the house extensive and beautiful plantations
of these trees, which could produce an abundant harvest of excellent
silk. Silkworms were imported from China, and it was seen that they
multiplied readily. Not only on this estate, but in all directions,
the promotion of this industry was taken up with ardor. A considerable
quantity of silk was made; but on selling it the owners found that
they lost money in cultivating this article. When a calculation was
made of what the land which the mulberry trees occupied could produce,
it was found that even when it was planted with nothing more than
camotes it yielded them more than the silk did; add to this the care
of the worms and the cost of manufacture, and it will be found that
those who devote themselves to its culture must inevitably lose. In
other days the promotion of the silk industry had been considered
at Manila; and an old printed sermon has been found, written by an
Augustinian father, who stated therein the measures which had been
taken to introduce into the Filipinas islands an industry which
could be very profitable for them. The father preacher exhorted the
inhabitants to devote themselves to an occupation which could be so
useful to the nation; but those who directed the Economic Society
of Friends of the Country took good care to keep that quiet, so that
the farmers might not be discouraged by seeing that in other days the
cultivation of this product had been attempted, but had been abandoned
because, without doubt, no benefit resulted to the producers. But,
no matter how many precautions were taken, and efforts made to
persuade those who might devote themselves to this industry that
much profit could be obtained from it, every one abandoned it. The
rector of San José alone continued to manufacture the silk that was
yielded from the mulberry trees which he had planted, although at
last he had to abandon his project. The silkworms multiply well in
Filipinas, and are in a condition to make silk throughout the year;
and, as the mulberry trees are always in leaf, silk is yielded all
the time. There is practically not a month [in the year] when some
silk cannot be obtained--very different from España, where it is
necessary to stop gathering silk throughout the winter, as the trees
have no leaves. Notwithstanding all these advantages, as we are so near
China, which furnishes this commodity very cheaply, it cannot yield
any profit in these islands--where, besides this, the daily wages
which are paid to workmen are so large, and what they accomplish is
so little, on account of their natural laziness, that it is not easy
to push not only this but even any other industry in this country."
[26] Acordado, literally, meaning "decision;" lo acordado, "decree
of a tribunal enforcing the observance of prior proceedings." Mas
says that these magistrates were appointed in imitation of those who
performed such functions in America.
[27] See Jagor's note on this association (Reisen, pp. 307, 308).
[28] "Only one plant of those that were carried to the Filipinas
Islands was introduced, and its cultivation directed, by the
government; this was the tobacco. Perhaps there is no other which
is more enjoyed by the natives, or more productive of revenue, than
is this plant. So important for España is its utility that it alone,
if his Majesty's government promotes its maintenance intelligently,
can become a greater resource than all the other incomes of the
colony." "Tobacco is the most important branch of the commerce
of these islands; its leaves, which in all the provinces are of
excellent quality, in some of them reach such perfection that they
cannot be distinguished from those of Havana. The government has
reserved to itself the right to sell tobacco; its manufacture is free
only in the Visayas, but in all the island of Luzon this is subject
to the vigilance of the government. Nevertheless, the proprietors
or growers are permitted to cultivate it in Pampanga, Gapan, Nueva
Ecija, and in the province of Cagayan; but the government buys from
them the entire crop at contract prices." "To the far-seeing policy
of the captain-general Don José Basco is due the establishment of
this revenue, one of the richest in the islands. Its direct result,
a short time after it had been established, was that the obligations of
the colony and its political existence, far from depending, as before,
on an allotment made in its favor by the capital, were advantageously
secured; and in the succeeding years this branch of the revenue
displayed a very notable increase, with well-grounded indications
of the greater one of which it was susceptible. In 1781 this income
was established; and at the beginning of 1782 it was extended to
the seventeen provinces into which the island of Luzon was then
divided. It is easy to estimate the resistance which was encountered
in establishing this revenue--not only through the effect of public
opinion, which immediately characterized the project as foolhardy,
but through the grievance which it must be to the natives and the
obstacles continually arising from the contraband trade. Certainly
it was hard to deprive the natives suddenly of the right (which they
had enjoyed until then) of cultivating without restriction a plant to
the use of which they had been accustomed from infancy, being regarded
among them as almost of prime necessity. But there was no other means,
if that worthy governor's economic idea was to be realized, than
the monopoly, which should prohibit simultaneously in the island of
Luzon the sowing and cultivation of the said plant, reducing it to the
narrow limits of certain districts, those which were most suitable for
obtaining abundant and good crops. If to this be added the necessity
imposed on the consumers of paying a higher price for a commodity
which until then had been easily obtained, we must admit that the
undertaking was exceedingly arduous and hazardous." "At the outset,
districts were set aside in which its cultivation was permitted:
Gapan, in the province of Pampanga; some districts in Cagayan, and the
little island of Marinduque--although in these last two places only an
insignificant amount was harvested. Notwithstanding the difficulties
which surround every new enterprise, from the year 1808 the net
profits which the monopoly annually produced exceeded 500,000 dollars
[duros]." (Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario, i, pp. 51, 173, 438, 439.)
See Jagor's interesting account of the tobacco monopoly (especially in
the middle of the nineteenth century), in his Reisen, pp. 257-270. One
of his notes (p. 256) states that the income from this monopoly was
$8,418,939 in the year 1866-67; another (p. 259) cites authorities to
show that tobacco was first introduced into southern China from the
Philippines, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, "probably
by way of Japan."
The idea of establishing the tobacco monopoly had been urged by Viana
in 1766 (see pp. 109, 110, post).
[29] The title given to him was "Conde de la Conquista de las islas
Batanes" ("Count of the Conquest of the Batanes islands"); and the
principal village in those islands bears the name of Basco.
[30] Regarding the Chinese in Filipinas, see (besides many documents
in this series) the following works: Mallat, Les Philippines (Paris,
1846), ii, chapters xxii, xxvii, xxix; Jagor, Reisen, pp. 271-279;
Rafael Comenge's Cuestiones filipinas, part i, "Los Chinos" (Manila,
1894); F. W. Williams, "The problem of Chinese immigration in further
Asia," in Report, 1899, of American Historical Association (Washington,
1900), i, pp. 171-204; China en Filipinas (Manila, 1889), articles
written mainly by Pablo Feced; Los Chinos en Filipinas (Manila, 1886).
[31] When the tobacco monopoly was established in Cagayan, the natives
so resented this measure "that many of them abandoned the province
and went to Manila" (Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario, i, p. 438).
[32] Agustin Pedro Blaquier (Blasquier) was born at Barcelona in 1747,
and entered the Augustinian convent there at the age of twenty-one. In
1772 he arrived at Manila, where he completed his studies; and was
then sent to Ilocos. Later, he held important offices in his order;
he was made assistant to the bishop of Nueva Segovia (1795), and
succeeded to that office four years later. He died at Ilagan while
visiting his diocese, December 30, 1803. He was of scholarly tastes,
possessed a fine library, and left various MS. writings.
[33] Apparently meaning the obligation of the cura to reside in the
home belonging to the parish, provided for his use.
[34] Huerta gives his name (Estado, p. 437) as Juan Antonio Gallego or
de Santa Rosa, and Orbigo as the place of his birth (1729). He came to
the islands in 1759, and after serving in both the missions and Manila,
spent the years 1771-79 as procurator of his province to the court of
Madrid. Returning to Filipinas, he took possession of the bishopric of
Nueva Cáceres (which had been vacant during thirteen years) on April
27, 1780. In his first official visit of that diocese he showed so
much devotion and zeal that even the hardships of travel in mountains
and forests there did not prevent him from completing his task, and
he was the first bishop to set foot in the Catanduanes Islands. After
nine years of this service he was promoted to the archbishopric of
Manila, where he was beloved for his virtues. He died at Santa Ana,
on May 15, 1797. Montero y Vidal says (Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 353)
that this prelate was "very peaceable, and of excellent character;
learned, and plain in his habits; on which account he had no enemies."
[35] See note 26, p. 50, ante. An opinion rendered by Viana on April
22, 1765 (Respuestas, fol. 126v, 127), shows that the institution
of the Santa Hermandad had been transplanted from Spain to the
Philippines. It seems that the "alcalde of the Hermandad," also styled
the "provincial alcalde of Manila," claimed that he ought not to be
obliged to go outside of Manila in the exercise of his office (which,
by the way, was one of those classed as saleable). The fiscal decides
that the alcalde is under obligation to act within the municipal
territory and jurisdiction of Manila, which includes all the land
within five leguas of the city; that outside that limit he may send
a suitable deputy, instead of going in person; that the laws of
the kingdom do not fix any definite limits for the jurisdiction of
the Hermandad, and that the wording of the alcalde's commission is
ambiguous in the same matter; and that the Audiencia is competent to
settle the present question. Viana therefore recommends that suitable
action be taken by that court, who are reminded that the aforesaid
alcalde receives no salary and his agents [quadrilleros] no pay,
and therefore he cannot be compelled to go outside of Manila when he
maintains and arms these men entirely at his own expense. "The said
office can never be of public utility unless it be placed on some
other footing."
[36] Montero y Vidal cites (Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 361)
the following from Fray Nicolás Becerra's Estado general de la
provincia de S. Nicolás de Tolentino de padres Agustinos descalzos
de Filipinas (Sampaloc, 1820): "Before the invasion of the Moros,
Mindoro was the storehouse of Manila, on account of the great amount
of rice harvested in it. In that epoch--truly a fortunate one for
this island, for our order, and for the State--so great was the
number of inhabitants that they formed fourteen large ministries
(curacies) and one active mission; all this was the result of the
careful attention and apostolic zeal of the Recollect fathers,
who took into their charge the furtherance of Mindoro's conquest,
at a time when its reduction had only been begun. Then came its
desolation by the Moros, leaving it without inhabitants or ministers;
and for the two ministries of Calapan and Naujan which remained, and
which this province resigned, the illustrious archbishop appointed
two clerics. These administered those parishes during twenty-nine
years, that is, until the year 1805, at which time Mindoro returned,
by special favor of the superior government, to the administration of
the Recollect fathers." Montero y Vidal also states (ut supra) that
in 1803 Aguilar created a corregidor for Mindoro, with special charge
to persuade its remaining inhabitants--who in fear of the Moros had,
years before, fled into the interior of the island--to return to
their villages on the coasts. He made his headquarters at Calapan,
the chief village of Mindoro, and soon the natives returned to their
dwellings, while the Moros seldom troubled that region.
[37] "Besides the tribute, every male Indian has to serve 40 days
in the year on the public works (pólos and services), a week for
the court of justice (tanoria), and a week as night-watch (guard
duty). The pólos, etc. consist in labor and service for state and
community purposes--the building of roads and bridges, service as
guides, etc." This requisition may, however, be commuted to a money
payment, varying according to the wealth of the province--usually
$3, but sometimes as low as $1. "The tanoria consists in a week of
service for the court of justice, which usually is limited to keeping
the building clean, guarding the prisoners, and similar light duties;
but those who in turn perform this service must spend a week in the
government building, on call. One may buy his freedom from the tanoria
also, for 3 reals; and from the patrol, for 1 3/4 reals." (Jagor,
Reisen, p. 295.)
On pp. 90, 91, Jagor says that the moneys collected for exemption and
pólos were in his time sent to Manila, and in earlier days appropriated
by the gobernadorcillos (sometimes with the connivance of the local
alcalde himself); but that they ought to be spent in public works
for the benefit of the respective communities where the money was
collected. He instances this use of it in the province of Albay (in
1840) by the alcalde Peñaranda, who spent the money thus collected for
roads, which Jagor found still tolerably good, although the apathy
of later officials had neglected to repair them when injured and to
replace worn-out bridges.
[38] Spanish, azufre; in another sentence, apparently misprinted axúcar
("sugar"). The former reading is more probably correct.
[39] Regarding the Chinese in the Philippines, see Reports of
the Philippine Commission, as follows: 1900, vol. ii (testimony
taken before the Commission; consult index of volume); 1901,
part ii, pp. 111, 112; 1903, part iii, pp. 619-631; 1904, part i,
pp. 707-711. Also the recent Census of the islands, especially vols. i
and ii. See also the works mentioned ante, p. 57, note 30.
[40] Mas says (Informe, i, part ii of "Historia," p. 37): "Marquina was
accused of selling offices through the agency of a woman; he suffered
a hard residencia, and was not permitted to depart for España except by
leaving a deposit of 50,000 pesos fuertes, with which to be responsible
for the charges made against him. At Madrid, he was sentenced to pay
40,000 pesos." Mas also states that during the terms of Basco and
Marquina (in all, fifteen years), over 1,500,000 pesos fuertes were
spent in building and arming vessels to chastise the pirates.
[41] Thus named from the barrack or sheds of San Fernando; the locality
was originally a barrio of Binondo called Santisimo Niño, destroyed
by a conflagration in the time of Basco. On this account, the spot
was appropriated by the government, in order to establish thereon
a shipyard or dock for the vintas. (Barrantes, Guerras piraticas,
p. 163.)
[42] It was Álava's expeditions which gave Father Martínez de Zúñiga
the opportunity to examine the condition of the islands which he used
so well in his Estadismo de las Islas Filipinas; for he accompanied
Álava therein, at the latter's request.
[43] "The naval department at San Blas was established to aid
the government in its efforts to occupy vacant coasts and islands
adjoining its settled provinces, especially the west coast of North
America. Arsenals, shipyards, and warehouses were established. All
orders given to expeditions passed through the hands of its
chief. It was, however, on the point of being abandoned, when
Father Junípero Serra's suggestions in 1773, on its usefulness in
supplying the Californias, led to its being continued and carefully
sustained.... Conde de Revilla Gigedo during his rule strongly urged
removal to Acapulco; but it was not removed, and in 1803 remained at
San Blas without change." (Bancroft, Hist. Mexico, iii, p. 420.)
[44] Mas says (Informe, i, part ii of "Historia," p. 47): "In that
same year 1800,... the king ordered that the arsenal called La Barraca
should be abolished, and that only that of Cavite should remain,
in charge of the royal navy. The execution of this decree was the
cause, in 1802, of a dispute between the governor-general, Aguilar,
and General Álava."
See Barrantes's fuller account (Guerras piraticas, pp. 200, 201,
217, 249-263) of the arsenals at La Barraca and Cavite, and the
controversies over them. According to this authority, the naval affairs
of those places, as also of Corregidor Island, were in bad condition;
the service was inefficient, the methods and tools were antiquated,
and lack of discipline prevailed--to say nothing of the fraud and
"graft" already hinted at.
[45] In 1797 the following military forces were maintained in
Filipinas: Infantry regiment of the king, created at the conquest
of those islands, composed of two battalions on the regular footing;
infantry company of Malabars (created in 1763), containing one hundred
men; squadron of dragoons of Luzón (created in 1772), containing three
companies, in all one hundred and sixteen men; corps of artillery,
of two companies, and containing two hundred and six men. There
were also bodies of provincial militia, both infantry and cavalry,
one being composed of mestizos; and an invalid corps, created in
1763. (Guía oficial de España, 1797; cited in Vindel's Catálogo
biblioteca filipina, no. 123.)
[46] The Spanish régime in Filipinas lasted 333 years, from Legazpi's
first settlement until the acquisition of the islands by the United
States. During that time, there were 97 governors--not counting some
twenty who served for less than one year each, mostly ad interim--and
the average length of their terms of office was a little less than
three and one-half years, a fact which is an important element in
the administrative history of the islands.
[47] These expenses were paid from the royal treasury, "at the rate of
34 p. 3 r. for every cura or religious, every year" (Viana Respuestas,
fol. 161).
[48] Explanation of "Plan of the present condition of Manila and
its environs:"--"1. Royal fort. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Small bastions
of San Francisco, San Juan, Santa Ysabel, San Eugenio, and San
Joseph. 7. Ancient redoubt. 8. Bastion of the foundry. 9. A kind of
ravelin. 10. Bastion of San Andres or Carranza. 11. Bastion of San
Lorenzo de Dilao. 12. Bastion and gate of the Parian. 13. Works of
the reverse [obra de revez]. 14. Bastion of San Gabriel. 15. Small
bastion and gate of Santo Domingo. 16. Small bastion and gate of
the magazines. 17. Fortin. 18. Parish church and convent of the
Parian. 19. Chapel of San Anton, a chapel of ease. 20. Convent and
parish church of Dilao. 21. Parish church of San Miguel. 22. Hospital
of San Lazaro. 23. Ruined convent of San Juan de Bagumbaya. 24. Ruined
parish church of San Tiago. 25. Parish church of La Hermita. 26. Ruined
hornwork of fascines. 27. Royal alcaizeria of San Fernando. 28. Parish
church, convent, and large village of Binondoc. 29. Hospital
for Chinese. 30. College, parish church, and village of Santa
Cruz. 31. Parish church of Quiapo. 32. Convent and parish church
of San Sebastian. 33. Convent, parish church, and village of the
capital of the province of Tondoc. 34. Convalescent hospital and
island of St. John of God. 35. House of Mayjalique. A. Masonry
bridge of Maloza. B. Masonry bridge of San Lazaro. C. Masonry bridge
of Dilao. D. Ruined house of Balete. E. Ruined edifice. F. Powder
magazine. G. Ruined cavalier. Manila, September 30, 1767.
Don Feliciano Marquez"
[Below follows the scale of the plan, which is 500 varas to 9 1/2
cm. The size of the original MS. map is 110 × 54 cm.]
[49] For the "Demonstration" here cited, see VOL. XLVIII, in which it
is the final document. In the library of Edward E. Ayer, of Chicago,
is a MS. book containing copies of letters by Viana written in 1767;
the first of these (dated January 5) is addressed to the Marqués
de Esquilace, and mentions the despatch to him and to the king,
in the previous year, of copies both of the "Demonstration" and of
the present statement of "Financial affairs of the islands." He also
relates how he has been actuated in his official duties by his zeal
for the royal service, and has always upheld the rights of the crown;
and in consequence he has been the mark for the hatred and enmity of
all those who live by plundering the royal treasury, and who desire
a fiscal who will allow them to do so without any opposition. The
above-mentioned documents have, he says, "raised a furious tempest,
the anger of those who fear the loss of their own profits, on which
loss depends the rightful increase of his Majesty's interests, and
the saving of iniquitous expenditures." Of the religious orders in
the islands, he says: "They have great power, and much wealth which is
acquired through what they unjustly collect from the royal exchequer
and the Indians. No one dares to incur the hostility of the religious,
for all fear the direful results of their power; and under pretext of a
false piety, painted with the bright colors of the true, they have been
wont to obtain whatever they have claimed. For this reason they have,
ever since the conquest of the islands, burdened the royal exchequer
with the increasing and numerous expenses occasioned in behalf of the
said religious orders, instead of securing economies for it." He claims
"the glory of being the first one who, by dint of close application,
has discovered the 'philosopher's stone' for the enrichment of these
islands and the royal exchequer."
Viana also relates in this letter the enmity of Francisco Salgado
against him, because he has, by insisting on the rights of the crown,
secured sentences against Salgado in two lawsuits--one denying
his claim for 36,000 pesos in the iron-mine contract, and the other
compelling him to pay into the royal treasury the sum of 28,000 pesos,
due from him as farmer of the wine monopoly--notwithstanding this man's
wealth and his persistent efforts to corrupt the royal officials. "This
is a very unusual thing in Manila, where rich persons, like Salgado,
know the method of making their iniquitous dealings secure, by dint of
presents and bribes, which are frequent. It is by this means that the
said Salgado succeeded in gaining the good will of the present governor
of these islands [i.e., Raón], by offering him 20,000 pesos in cash (as
is well known and notorious) in order that the wine monopoly might be
awarded to him at its sale, for the sum of 24,000 pesos in each year. I
opposed this, proving by documents that the said monopoly produced
more than 54,000 pesos, after deducting all expenses; and that the
poverty and the urgent necessities of the royal treasury protested
against the sacrifice of the 30,000 pesos of which the exchequer
would be deprived every year." He says that the governor tried to
secure the award at that low rate to Salgado; but Viana appealed to
the royal Audiencia, in which the case was pending when he wrote,
and Raón and Salgado were both afraid of losing the great profits
which otherwise they would have gained. He implores the minister "to
exert his influence to check the rapidity with which these islands
are hastening to their utter ruin." Further reports and letters by
Viana in regard to the Salgado affair are found in this book (Cartas y
consultas), at fol. 6-11, 15-23, 30-37; the wine monopoly was finally
sold for 40,000 pesos a year, thanks to Viana's persistent efforts.
[50] Spanish, baylio, meaning a knight commander of the Order of
Malta--i.e., the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The following
word is spelled "Frey" because it denotes a member of a military
order. (Velázquez.)
[51] Expediente: this word has numerous meanings in Spanish, some of
which are difficult to define in English. In this case it apparently
means "the collection of all the papers belonging to a subject or
business;" it may also denote "a summary or abstract, a legal process,
official acts, or judicial inquiry." Another meaning is, "any subject,
claim, importunity, or analogous matter submitted to investigation,
and depending upon a decision or warrant." (Dominguez.)
The law here referred to (Felipe IV, June 18, 1658) provides that the
religious who are charged with the instruction of the Indians shall
receive "a stipend of 50,000 maravedis in each year for each doctrina
of 400 tribute-payers, which rule shall be inviolably observed."
[52] Spanish, vajo de Campana, literally, "under the bell," i.e. of
the church. In an opinion rendered on April 17, 1765 (Respuestas,
fol. 121, 122), Viana recommends that the Audiencia issue strict
orders to die corregidor of Tondo to proceed to the reduction of
the Indians dispersed through his province into villages--providing
them with suitable dwelling-places from the lands belonging to the
respective villages, or from the vacant crown lands. He enumerates
the advantages (the religious ones being most important of all)
which will follow to the Indians as well as to the government from
this change; and asks that the religious ministers be charged not
to interfere with the secular authorities in carrying out this plan,
but rather use their influence to persuade the Indians to submit to it
quietly. This plan is but the beginning of his scheme to bring about,
as fast as it can be secured, the reduction of all the natives in
all the provinces to obedience to Spanish dominion.
On fol. 132v, 133 are opinions regarding applications which were made
soon afterward by certain persons or communities to be exempted from
the enforced reduction to village life; Viana refuses to entertain
these, insisting that all the natives must be brought "under the
church bell," in order that they may be instructed in religion,
that their souls may be saved. (Cf. fol. 146, 147, 156, 162, 185.)
He also urged (fol. 139), on May 9, 1765, that all unsettled Indians
in the province of Cagayan should be returned to their respective
villages.
[53] See the tariff established by Archbishop Camacho (VOL. XLII,
pp. 58-64.)
[54] Viana had said, in an official opinion rendered on January 14,
1765: "Notwithstanding these arguments [among which Viana mentions
the frauds committed in the sale of these boletas], the royal junta
of the exchequer would not have decided upon the application of
the galleon's lading to the benefit of the royal treasury if the
necessity had not been most urgent, and this measure indispensable;
and the distribution would have continued, in accordance with the favor
bestowed by our kings and sovereigns to the commerce here--which has no
right of justice to the boletas, nor is his Majesty under obligation
to distribute them, since they have been assigned [to the citizens]
by his royal clemency as a mere favor and benefit, and as alms. No
one ought to be surprised that this favor, this benefit, and this
alms should be suspended when there are no funds, and no means for
paying it, and when it is applied in order to meet the unavoidable
expenditures of the royal treasury, and to the payments which in
justice must be made to the troops and other people employed in the
royal service and the defense of these dominions. For it would not be
just that for the sake of distributing the boletas, to which there is
no obligation in justice, there should be failure in paying the claims
which by every rule of law are due, and to meet the expenses which
are unavoidable for the conservation of these islands." (Respuestas,
fol. 73.) It is evident from this that the above measure was put into
force temporarily, at least, in 1764, as a necessary expedient in
the distressed condition of the islands after the English evacuation;
and that Viana now recommends it as a permanent regulation.
[55] There is an interesting statement in Viana's Respuestas,
fol. 151-155, regarding the iron mine of Santa Ynes and its early
history. One Francisco Salgado claimed to have discovered it, and tried
to operate it for some time; but he finally abandoned the work, and it
(or rather the right to work it) was sold, some years afterward, by
the government to the highest bidder. Viana says of this mine: "It is
called a mine, but more properly is a quarry of rocks containing iron,
with which rocks the mountains of Santa Ynes abound; and in order
to obtain them no vein is followed, nor is there need for tunnels,
as there is in the mines." Salgado sold considerable iron from Santa
Ynes, including 2,000 picos of it to the royal storehouses at four
pesos a pico, instead of the current rate of ten pesos; this low
price was claimed by the royal fiscal as the right of the crown, in
the term of Ezpeleta as governor. In 1765, Salgado was claiming from
the government 36,000 pesos, to reimburse him for the losses he had
met in operating Santa Ynes; but Viana sturdily opposed this, saying
that the mine naturally belonged to the crown, and that Salgado had
forfeited any rights which he might have had therein, and did not
make any claims to the mine at the time when it was placed in the
hands of Francisco Casañas and Juan Solano, as he should have done
in order to render them valid at the present time; moreover, he had
made various misrepresentations of the matter at different times,
and ought to be punished for falsehood.
In fol. 158, 159, Viana states that (in 1765) Casañas is dead, and
Solano pays to the royal treasury five hundred pesos a year. Viana is
anxious to prevent the abandonment of the mines (which he fears in
view of the losses and injuries caused by the late war), since they
contain enough iron to supply all India, and ought to be operated
for the benefit of the royal treasury, thus saving the great expense
which it incurs in buying iron from China, and preventing the drain
of so much money from the islands. He therefore proposes that some
two hundred Chinese be placed at work in the mines to operate and
develop them, and build the necessary furnaces and other appliances;
this will also reduce the population of the Parian, and will cost
nothing to the treasury save the rations for the Sangleys, who should
be compelled to cultivate the lands near the mines and raise most
of what is needed for their support and that of their families (for
the married ones should be selected for this colony). They should be
placed under a manager of skill and energy, with twenty-five or thirty
soldiers at his disposal. From this enterprise, "numberless advantages
would ensue for the king and for the public. The consumption of iron
in the islands amounts to from 80,000 to 100,000 pesos' worth annually;
and even the most ordinary sort, that from China, costs seven to eight
pesos a pico for bars, and twelve to thirteen when wrought into nails,
balls, etc." By the above plan the cost of producing the iron would
be reduced to about three pesos a pico. All the Sangley ironworkers
should therefore be seized, and transported to the mines.
[56] "In the eastern part of the Philippines, cock-fights must have
been unknown in Pigafetta's time; he saw the first gamecocks in
Paláuan." (See Pigafetta's mention of these fights, in VOL. XXXIII,
p. 211.) "In the 'Ordinances of good government' of Hurtado Corcuera,
in the middle of the seventeenth century, gamecocks were not
mentioned. In 1779 they first added to the revenue from taxation; and
in 1781 the government farmed the right to collect entrance-money in
the cockpits (galleras, from gallo, "cock"), for $14,798 a year. In
1863 the revenue from these places made an item in the budget of
$106,000." A special ordinance regarding cock-fights was dated at
Madrid, March 21, 1861; among its provisions is permission for this
sport to be held on Sundays and feast-days, from the conclusion of high
mass until sunset. "The craving to gain money without work they can
with great difficulty withstand, and many are, through the passion
for gambling, drawn into borrowing money at usury, embezzlement,
and theft, and even highway robbery; the bands of robbers on both sea
and land consist, for the greater part, of ruined gamesters." (Jagor,
Reisen, p. 22.)
[57] Spanish, vecinos, which is probably a clerical error for tiempos,
as indicated by the context. The implication in "forty-eight" is,
apparently, that the cock-fight would be a regular holiday amusement.
[58] This recommendation by Viana was carried out later by Governor
Basco (see pp. 53-55. ante).
[59] In some of Viana's official opinions (Respuestas, fol. 114v-117,
128-132), he gives advice regarding the farming-out of the wine
monopoly. He protests (March 27, 1765) against the action of the
board in charge of this matter, who proposed to give this privilege
to Andres del Barrio (the only bidder at the auction), for 16,000
pesos a year for five years. He states that it had at the previous
sale brought 26,000 pesos, when the amount consumed was the same as
at present; and the farmer's returns from this monopoly ought to be
even more now, since the regular soldiery now number 2,000, against
less than 1,500 at the last sale, and some years hardly 1,000, while
the net profit of this trade, if it be carried on with energy and
business ability, ought to average over 30,000 pesos a year. Viana
also protests against granting the monopoly on buyo to Pedro Tagle
(also the only bidder) for 10,000 pesos, when the board had decided
to offer it for 12,000 in order to dispose of it more easily, while
the royal officials had valued it at 14,000. The board made reply to
these objections, with arguments which Viana characterizes as weak,
and proceeds to demolish with his usual energy. He complains that
they acted without even notifying him to attend their proceedings,
when they ought to be aware that he, as fiscal, is a member of the
board. They have cited the prices first paid for the wine monopoly
(10,000 and 15,000 pesos respectively; cf. VOL. XLVII, pp. 118, 119),
without considering that those were for the term of three years only,
while the present term is five years; and the prices paid before
the English war were, at the last sale, 26,000 pesos, and at each of
the two preceding ones 20,500. He states that the Spaniards of the
city are poor, and consume little wine from the monopoly shops; but
this is not the case with the soldiers, nor with the natives, who now
are receiving higher wages than before the war, and are comparatively
rich through it since they are selling all kinds of supplies at higher
prices than ever before. Viana says that Francisco Salgado, the last
holder of this monopoly, began it without any means of his own (having
lost all he had in working an iron mine); but at the end of the five
years he had gained from the monopoly 200,000 pesos. He estimates that
the expenses of administering the business are 40,000 pesos annually,
and adding to this 26,000 for the government dues, and 40,000 for the
contractor's gains, the total amount of the business is 106,000 pesos
a year. If the Acapulco galleon and its successful voyages could be
depended upon more certainly, the Spaniards would have more money to
spend, and the wine monopoly would be even more profitable. Viana makes
an interesting comparison between the administration of monopolies
in the islands and that in Spain, where the circumstances are so
different that, as he says, the laws of Castilla on this point are
"absolutely impracticable" in the Philippines; moreover, in Spain
the monopoly must be considered in connection with the impost of
alcabala, "which is not collected on anything in these islands." He
urges that the board at least restrict the term of the monopoly of
wine to four years, if they sell it at the rate of 16,000 pesos;
and that for six years the rate be made 20,000. Also, that if the
buyo monopoly be sold for 10,000 the term be made four years, and
the rate be 9,000 [sic] for six years. If they will not do this,
these monopolies should be administered by the government directly,
and not farmed out at all. (From an entry dated May 10 (fol. 141v),
it appears that the wine monopoly was purchased by Theodora Fagoaga.)
Apropos of his statement regarding the alcabala, cf. what he says on
fol. 134, regarding a request made by the alcalde-mayor appointed for
the province of Pangasinan, who asked a reduction of alcabala and bonds
[fianzas] (presumably required for his faithful administration of that
office). Viana advises against such reduction, saying of the alcabala,
"There is the same reason for paying the same amount as in the past,
because the commerce is the same; and the said impost is not so
much for alcabala as for the privilege of trading allowed to the
alcaldes-mayor, relieving them from the oath which they formerly took."
[60] Probably the worst of these abuses were checked by the formation
of a naval bureau by the decree of 1800 (see "Events in Filipinas,"
ante, last paragraph).
[61] This letter, as appears from the royal decree above cited, was
dated July 15, 1764, and was written by the officials of the vacant
see of Manila--in answer to a despatch from the king (November 2,
1762) to the late Archbishop Rojo, in which "he was thanked for the
visitation which he practiced in his diocese, and charged that the
Christian doctrine must be taught to the Indians in Castilian;" and
the cabildo answered that the numerous laws on that point were always
disobeyed by the curas from the orders, for reasons similar to those
here charged by Viana (cf. the memorial by Anda, ante, sec. 12). See
Pardo de Tavera's Memoria de Anda y Salazar, pp. 87, 88.
[62] This document is obtained from Viana's letter-book, Cartas y
consultas, fol. 39v-46, being the last letter therein. This fact,
coupled with his statement in the last sentence (which indicates
that his position under the unscrupulous Raón had by that time become
untenable), suggests the probability that he returned to Spain in the
summer of 1767. Certain references to Anda indicate that Viana did not,
when writing this letter, expect to return so soon to Spain; but the
necessity of that step doubtless became evident soon afterward. Anda
embarked for Spain on January 10, 1767.
[63] Referring to those of Corcuera and Arandía, which are presented
in this volume, post.
[64] This reform was accomplished under Basco, in 1784-85; sec p. 50,
ante.
[65] Or Camarines, both names being used for the diocese. But one
would expect the mention in the text to be Cebú instead, alluding to
the temporary government of Ezpeleta; the mention of Nueva Cáceres
may be a lapsus calami.
[66] This document immediately precedes the present letter; the
"Demonstration" is at the end of VOL. XLVIII.
[67] In 1765, certain trees which had been planted by the
Indians on the highway of Mayhaligue were torn up by order of the
procurator-general of the college of San Ignacio, Manila. Complaint
was made of this, and the matter investigated; it appeared that the
Indians had planted the trees by order of the alcalde-in-ordinary,
but the Jesuit claimed that he did not know this. Viana's official
opinion in the case (see his Respuestas, fol. 62v-63), dated December
23, gives the argument on both sides at some length, and concludes
(in a somewhat sarcastic tone) by deciding that the Jesuits doubtless
were not aware that the trees had been planted by official order,
but nevertheless had no right to tear them up; and recommends that
they be compelled to restore the trees to the highway, at the expense
of him who first destroyed them.
[68] To the text of this document we add most of the annotations
thereon made by Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera, as found in his publication
of this document (Memoria de Anda y Salazar, Manila, 1899); these are
especially interesting, as coming from the pen of a native Filipino
who is a scholar, a liberal, and an enlightened patriot. These
notes--either translated in full, or condensed into a summary,
citing his exact language whenever possible--are credited to him,
stating the note-number and page where they are found.
[69] From the date of the foundation of the College of Santo Tomás,
there was strife between it and the Jesuit college of San José. In
1648, the Dominicans triumphed for the time being, and the Jesuits
were forbidden by the royal Audiencia to grant degrees in their
university. That decision was reversed in Spain by a royal decree
of March 12, 1653. San José was closed when the Jesuits were
expelled. (Pardo de Tavera, pp. 43, 44, note 1.)
[70] In note 2 (pp. 44-47), Pardo de Tavera gives a sketch of the
history of the "secular university" of Manila. The royal decree
founding it (dated May 16, 1714) states as its purpose, "that persons
born there may have the comfort of being enabled to fit themselves for
obtaining the prebends;" accordingly, three chairs were established
at Manila, for instruction in canon and civil law and Roman law. The
first incumbents (appointed in 1715) were Julian de Velasco, Francisco
Fernandez Thoribio, and Manuel de Osio y Ocampo. The institution was
opened on June 9, 1718, and included also the chairs of medicine and
mathematics, professors for these being appointed by the governor--who,
finding that this enterprise was opposed by the religious orders,
especially by the Dominicans and Jesuits, ordered that a building for
its use should be erected near his palace; but lack of funds stopped
this work in 1721. When the chairs became vacant in 1726, a competitive
examination was held to fill them, at which only five men with the
degree of bachelor of law were present. The lectures were but thinly
attended, five or six students only being the usual audience; the royal
decree suggested that these be reënforced by students from San José and
Santo Tomás, but these colleges discouraged such attendance, and it
availed naught. In 1726, the Jesuit Murillo Velarde was appointed to
the chair of canon law, and then the Jesuits offered San José college
to the new professors (at first, the lectures in the royal foundation
had been given in a private house, because the archbishop declined
to let them be given in the archiepiscopal seminary); this aroused
the jealousy of the Dominicans. Finally a compromise was made between
them, by agreeing that in each of the two universities there should
be a chair of canon law in charge of a religious, and one of civil
law in charge of a layman. The king, learning of this controversy and
the ineffectiveness of his foundation, decreed (July 26, 1730) that
it should be closed, thus saving to the treasury the annual cost of
2,000 pesos. Pardo de Tavera remarks that the name of "university,"
given to it in Manila, does not appear in the royal decree of 1714,
which simply established the three chairs mentioned. See also the
account of "the college seminary of San Phelipe," in VOL. XLV of this
series, pp. 187-207, and some allusions to it in VOL. XLIV, pp. 145,
178; Velasco and Toribio were imprisoned by Bustamante at one time
(VOL. XLIV, pp. 152, 155, 159.)
In reality, we must go back to the royal foundation in 1702, which was
encroached on by Cardinal Tournon and the abbot Sidoti (1704-07); see
San Antonio's full account of this in VOL. XXVIII, pp. 117-122. Pardo
de Tavera gives an outline of this account in his note 3 (pp. 48-50),
and adds: "The power of the friars caused the organization of the
seminary to be delayed until, toward the end of the past century,
thanks to Señor Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina, the seminary of
San Carlos was created; it was installed in the former house of the
expelled members of the Society of Jesus."
[71] "The religious orders in Filipinas have always been accused
of opposing culture and the diffusion of human learning among the
Filipinos, having assumed, according to their traditional policy, the
role of monopolisers of public instruction, in order thus to present
themselves as its defenders and partisans, proclaiming themselves
the civilizers of the people, and the source and origin of their
intellectual progress. In reality, having in their hands the public
instruction they so conducted themselves that, as Don Simon says,
they organized an instruction of mere ceremony, intended to maintain
the Filipinos in a calculated ignorance, and keep them imbued with
principles which tended to subject their conscience and reason to
the absorptive power of the monastic supremacy." (Pardo de Tavera,
p. 50, note 4.)
[72] It is to be remembered that Anda wrote this memorial at Madrid,
where he was occupying a seat in the Council of Castilla.
[73] "The idea of secularizing the university of Manila, suggested
by Anda y Salazar, was contemplated a century later by Señor Moret,
minister for the colonies [de Ultramar], and decreed by the regent of
the kingdom on November 6, 1870. The college of San Juan de Letran
was also secularized by the same decree; but in Filipinas orders of
that sort were not executed. For the friars upset the whole matter,
threatening the ruin of the colony if the decree were carried out,
raising protests and petitions--in short, causing the bishops and the
authorities to range themselves on their side, in order to present to
the government at Madrid the question from the point of view which
suited the interests of the Dominican order. The execution of the
regent's decree was suspended, writings were sent to Madrid in favor
of the friars, and, as always, they gained their point, and continued
to be owners and masters of the university and of the college of San
Juan de Letran." (Pardo de Tavera, note 6, pp. 50, 51.)
[74] "The friars have always been considered as poor and needy by the
government of España, and in that notion--without stopping to consider
that their ownership of land was continually extending further in
Filipinas, and that through various schemes they had created for
themselves a secure income in the country--the Spanish monarchs by
various provisions (most of them despatched at the instigation of
the friars) have ordained that their needs be supplied with wine,
oil, various contributions, and cash donations, under the most flimsy
pretexts." (Pardo de Tavera, note 7, p. 51.)
[75] "At the pleasure of the king, on account of the lack of clerics
at the beginning."
[76] "In effect, it can be said the friars trained clerics in order
afterward to employ the latter in their own service; for under the
name of coadjutors each cura kept in his convent one or two clerics,
according to the necessities of the parish, who served him as if
they were slaves, and who suffered every sort of humiliation and
annoyance. It was not only in those times [of Anda] that the situation
of the Filipino cleric was so melancholy and abject; but, in the
midst of the increasing prosperity of the friars and their curates,
with equal pace increased also the wretchedness of their coadjutors
and the intolerable misery of their existence. In order to justify
their conduct toward the Filipino clerics, the friars resorted to the
pretext of their unfitness; but not only is this argument calumnious,
but, even if it were accepted as sound, it does not justify the bad
treatment which they give the cleric, and would demonstrate, besides,
that the education which he receives from the friars is incomplete and
defective." (He cites Archbishop Santa Justa as rebuking the regulars
for thus calumniating the clerics, saying, among other things, "Is it
not notorious to every one of us here that the spiritual administration
all devolves upon the coadjutor cleric, the father minister reserving
to himself only the charge of collecting in his own house, without
leaving it, the parochial dues. How can they deny this, when it is
so public? If the clerics are incapable, how can the ministers in
conscience allow and entrust to them the spiritual administration of
their villages? If that be not so, how dare they discredit the clerics
with the strange, not to say unjust, censure of their being unfit and
incompetent?") "In these later times, the friars, since they could
no longer rail against the clerics in that fashion--for they do not,
at least so much now, insist on their old accusation of unfitness,
because the Filipino clerics have proved that they include men of as
great learning and virtue as the friars, and even more--resorted to
a political reason, making the Spanish government believe that the
Filipino clerics were every one filibusters. This weapon was of good
results for the cause of the friars, but fatal for the Filipino clergy,
who found themselves horribly trampled upon in 1870, on occasion of
the famous rebellion of the Cavite Arsenal; for three of their most
distinguished and revered members, Fathers Burgos, Zamora, and Gomez,
were executed under the calumnious accusation of being leaders of
the rebellion, and a great number of other distinguished Filipino
priests were sent to the military posts or into exile. Public opinion
flung back upon the friars the terrible responsibility of sentences so
iniquitous; but since then the new and safe weapon of 'filibusterism'
has been used more and more against the Filipino clerics." (Pardo de
Tavera, note 8, pp. 52, 53.)
[77] "The contribution of wine and oil had been granted (as is stated
in ley 7, tit. iii, book i of the Recopilación de Indias) to certain
poor monasteries, so that they could illuminate the blessed sacrament
and celebrate the holy sacrifice of the mass. It was likewise ordained
that such contribution should be furnished in the articles themselves,
both oil and wine, and not in money or bullion. This contribution
was to be given to the conventual religious and not to the ministers
of doctrinas, that is, to the curas (ley 9). The escort of soldiers
which was furnished to the missionaries was granted to them by a
royal decree of July 23, 1744, the text of which I have not been able
to find. According to Diaz Arenas (Memorias históricas), the royal
decree of May 13, 1579, granted to each cura in a doctrina the sum
of 50,000 maravedís, and half as much to the sacristans. Afterward,
by a royal decree of October 31, 1596, the said stipend of missionary
religious was fixed at $100 and 100 fanegas of palay. On March 4,
1696, August 14, 1700, January 19, 1704, and July 14, 1713, the
king had ordered the viceroys of his colonial possessions to send
him a report in regard to the religious who were really in need of
the contribution of wine, wax, and oil, in order that he might cease
giving aid to those who had no need of it, 'or that the half or the
third part might be deducted from their allowance, in proportion to the
poverty of each one.' This is seen in the royal decree of September 22,
1720, in which the king insists that this information should be sent to
him; but he could not obtain it, in spite of repeated orders." [Other
attempts were made to secure such information, through the century,
but without success.] (Pardo de Tavera, note 9, pp. 54-56.)
[78] "The book of laws;" there is also an allusion to the
generally adopted legal code or collection of laws, known as Corpus
juris--literally, "body of law." The main reference in Anda's phrase
is to the Recopilación de Indias, which provides for the collection
of tithes in the Spanish colonies.
[79] "It is an exceedingly bad example."
[80] Pardo de Tavera cites (note 11, pp. 56-58) a royal decree dated
April 27, 1704, charging the governor (then Zabalburu) and Audiencia to
restrain the friars from levying unjust exactions on the Indians. This
decree was occasioned by the complaints on this score made (in 1702)
by Archbishop Camacho; in it are enumerated the following acts of
such injustice: "Besides the stipends which are paid to them from
the royal treasury, they oblige every Indian in their districts to
render them service in all their domestic necessities, and to furnish
them with four fowls every day in each mission, and with fish, fuel,
and everything else that the land (and even the water) produces. At
the same time they collect from the Indians excessive fees, without
observing the tariffs; for from an Indian whose property is worth four
hundred pesos (which is the value usually of that belonging to the
wealthier natives) they exact for a burial one hundred or two hundred,
besides what they afterward receive for the funeral honors [i.e.,
ceremonies for the welfare of departed souls]; and twelve pesos for
the offering for [wearing] the cope [del habito de la religión], or,
if the natives are very poor, six or eight pesos, the religious making
it necessary to the burial that he shall wear the cope; and when they
lack means to pay for these, they serve the religious like slaves until
they have earned what they need to pay these impositions. As for the
marriages, the religious receive thirteen pesos for what they call
the altar fee, and thirteen reals for the cross, and eight for the
offering for the mass, and four for the veiling; even when they are
very poor, the religious exact from them at least six or eight pesos
as a requisite [for the marriage]. The Indians are, for a long time,
living in illicit intercourse, because they have not the means to pay
[these exactions]. In the baptisms they have introduced another tax
after the offering; the rich Indian must pay up to twelve pesos for
the silver cross, and the poor one pays, as such, for the wooden
cross. Besides this, they also receive three reals every year from
each Indian for the feast of the patron saint of the village, honors
for the dead, and wax for the monument; and, added to this, one or
two reals when they confess the Indians at the Lenten season--without
giving any care or attention to their instruction, or to the greater
service of the churches in their charge. They are deficient in almost
all which belongs to their obligations as missionary curas, excepting
the religious of the Order of Preachers and those of the Society,
who treat the natives more kindly and instruct them better." Cf. the
"tariff of fees" drawn up by Camacho (VOL. XLII, pp. 56-64).
[81] "The friars, in studying the Filipino languages, continually
compared them with the Latin and the Castilian, to the grammar and
genius of which they molded, whenever they could, those of the new
language which they were learning. As a result, the grammars of the
Filipino languages which they soon made created an artificial language,
very different from that actually spoken by the islanders. Educated
Filipinos distinguish perfectly this conventional language of the
friars; and the latter in their turn make the charge, when they
have noticed one of these observers, that the Indians when talking
among themselves employ a different language from that which they
use in conversations with the cura. The reverend father Fray Ramón
Martinez Vigil (now bishop of Oviedo) has not failed to notice
this difference; but in undertaking to explain it he falls into
an error that is excusable if one considers his religious calling,
which cannot admit that when there is a blunder the mistake is on
the priest's side. Speaking, then, as a priest, and doubly superior
to the Indian by being a Spaniard besides, he confidently says: 'All
who have observed their familiar conversations (of the Indians) are
agreed in affirming that they entirely lay aside the rules of grammar,
in order to make their conversation more rapid and short--speaking
among themselves a Tagálog quite different from what they use when
they address the Spanish priest or any other European who understands
their language.' (Revista de Filipinas, t. ii, 1877, p. 35.) Every
one who understands Tagálog has endured mortal torments thousands of
times while hearing from the pulpit the sermons which a great number
of religious utter in that conventional language. At present, however,
the sermons that are preached are, as a rule, written in the old style,
for the occasion, and then revised and corrected by coadjutors, or
by citizens versed [in the native language], who shape and polish
the discourse properly." (Pardo de Tavera, note 12, pp. 58, 59.)
[82] An interesting sketch of the controversy in Filipinas over
the episcopal visitation of the regular curas is given by Pardo de
Tavera in his note 13, pp. 59-68. The strife began even with the first
bishop, Domingo de Salazar, and continued for some three centuries;
for as late as 1865 the archbishop of Manila and two of his suffragan
bishops joined in sending to the Spanish government complaints against
the friars of substantially the same tenor as those made earlier
by Salazar, Camacho, and Santa Justa. Papal and royal decrees were
issued at intervals, insisting on the right of episcopal visitation;
but in most cases these were practically nullified by the influence
or opposition of the friars, and the inadequate supply of secular
priests. The friars several times threatened to abandon their curacies
(and actually did so, on some occasions); and they claimed exemption
from visitation on various grounds--claiming a privilege granted to
them by Pope Pius V (which, however, was afterward annulled by Clement
XI), the right to obey only the superiors of their respective orders,
and the lack of any obligation on them to serve the curacies, which
they claimed to be only a work of supererogation.
[83] "Apart from the religious fiestas and the surplice-fees, Filipinas
pays to monasticism another tribute of incalculable amount for straps,
rosaries, scapulars, girdles, and other objects rivaling one another
in similarly miraculous qualities--which are issued for cash, and
at a fixed price, which yields no less than a thousand per cent on
the capital invested." Instances of this are given; "a worn pair
of trousers, which the students from whom it is asked give gratis,
is transformed into hundreds of scapulars, and each scapular costs
two and one-half reals fuertes, or perhaps thirty-one hundredths of
a peso." "Thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of hard dollars are
paid as a tax by Filipinas on this account to the monastic coffers;
and if Jesus Christ drove out the traders from the temple, in the
country of miracles those persons are chastised who refuse to obtain
the goods from the temple." (Marcelo H. del Pilar, cited by Pardo de
Tavera in note 14, pp. 68, 69.)
[84] Pardo de Tavera here cites in full (note 16, pp. 69-76) a letter
from Governor Corcuera to the king complaining of the conduct of the
friars. (This letter appears in VOL. XXVI of our series, pp. 116-125.)
[85] "Some have believed that Anda y Salazar, whom they consider
resentful against the religious orders in Filipinas, accumulated
against them, in this memorial, accusations which he alone maintained;
but in the preceding notes we have demonstrated that the charges which
that upright magistrate made against them were not unfounded, nor much
less were they recent. In regard to the commerce to which, according
to him, the religious devoted themselves, it was a certain fact,
scandalous and of long standing--with the aggravating circumstance
that they continued to trade in opposition to the commands of the
sovereign." A decree dated February 2, 1730 is here cited which shows
this plainly, accusing both seculars and religious of trafficking
openly and scandalously, and using their sacred character as a cloak
for this and for extensive smuggling; and ordering the archbishop
and bishops, and the provincials of the orders, to restrain and
punish those of their subjects who thus offend, and the president and
Audiencia to proceed against the ecclesiastical authorities if the
latter fail to do their duty. (Pardo de Tavera, note 17, pp. 76-78.)
[86] "The economic ideas of Señor Anda were as erroneous as were those
among the generality of the Spaniards in that period. The commerce of
exportation was for them a wrong and a heinous act, with which they
reproached him who did it; nor would they admit that he who sells his
products has a right to carry them where he can obtain the highest
price." (Pardo de Tavera, note 18, p. 78.)
[87] "It is now the general opinion that the religious orders cannot
prove their right of ownership of all the income-producing properties
which they hold in both town and country. It cannot be doubted that
under the regime of government established by the United States this
important question of ownership will be cleared up." The writer here
relates the controversy of Auditor Sierra with the religious orders
over this question in the time of Archbishop Camacho; finally the
governor intervened with his authority, terminating the dispute by
declaring that the new visitor, Auditor Ozaeta, would accept as valid
the titles to property presented by the friars. (Pardo de Tavera,
note 19, pp. 78-80.)
[88] "It is true that the Chinese could not have received
worse treatment; they have always been laden with accusations
of all kinds. As for their being of no benefit to the country,
this assertion is entirely contrary to the facts. The Chinese have
committed abuses, it is true; but it is only right to acknowledge
that they are industrious, patient, respectful, and sober; and that
with such traits they must necessarily be useful to the country in
which they are." (Pardo de Tavera, note 20, p. 80.)
The feeling against the Chinese in Manila after the English invasion
was very bitter, as has been already noticed; it is reflected in
Viana's official opinions, as is evident in the following (Respuestas,
fol. 127v): "It is a matter of public notoriety that nearly all the
Sangleys of the Parián have been traitors to God and to the king, by
having offered public sacrifices to their idols, aided the English
enemies, and acted basely against the entire Spanish nation. Any
representations made by the said Sangleys ought therefore to be
regarded with suspicion, and more especially when they are not traders;
for such persons cannot carry back to China the profits of the trade,
but only the fears arising from their crime." The Chinese in question
had left the Parián in the late war, and gone to their own country;
and now had returned to Manila, desiring to remain there on their
former footing. Viana advises that a rigorous investigation of their
previous status, actions, and character be made by the government,
and any of them found to have acted treasonably toward the Spaniards
be punished with the utmost severity; while those who had not been
traitors, but had left the Parián on account of their trading or other
like reasons, ought to be fined at least fifty pesos each for having
done so without permission. Again (fol. 134v) he says of a certain
widow (Gabriela Josepha by name), whose dwelling had been seized
on account of her supposed disloyalty, that "as she is a Sangley
mestiza, there is strong reason to suspect that she is the widow
of some traitor." After the English left Manila, the Sangleys there
(in number 400 to 500) were compelled to labor on the ditch and other
defenses of the city, as a punishment for their previous revolt. In
April, 1765, they offered to the government 12,000 pesos, as "a free
donation, in view of the exhausted condition of the royal treasury;"
and 8,000 pesos more to the Audiencia, in order that they might
be relieved from the aforesaid labor, which sum was surrendered by
the auditors to the royal exchequer. Viana recommended (Respuestas,
fol. 125v, 126) that these donations be accepted, and the Sangleys
relieved from the ditch-digging for such time as the 8,000 pesos would
last; he estimated that the work might be completed with this sum,
since the government could order that from the provinces all the
criminals in the jails, and the "vagabonds and mischievous persons
who abound in the villages," should be sent in to Manila to work
on the ditch--thus subserving at once the ends of justice, economy,
and military defense. Viana in this paper sarcastically refers to the
part taken by the Chinese in aiding the English against the Spaniards
during the late war, when, he says, thousands of Sangleys performed
all sorts of labors for the English, besides contributing money to
aid them; he therefore considers it but just that they should now
labor in the royal service, since it is quite enough favor to them
that their lives have been spared by the Spaniards.--Eds.
[89] "In this, as in other points in the memorial, Anda is not the only
one who points out the abuses committed by the missionaries." (Here Le
Gentil is cited; see our VOL. XXVIII, pp. 210, 218, where he speaks
of the absolute power of the religious.) "The friars explained their
attitude against the Spaniards by saying that those who went to the
provinces served only to instruct the Indians in vices; but it is
certain that, granted the sort of life led by the curas, and their
absolute independence, the presence of a Spaniard in the town must
have been vexatious to them. Besides, the latter could not tolerate
their abuses without protesting against them; and his attitude would
have served as an example and stimulus for the Indians to escape from
the insupportable domination and tyranny of the fathers.
"At the end of this present century an intelligent and respectable
Dominican friar says, in an official memorial, referring to the
Spaniards of the provinces in Filipinas: 'If they remain many years
they live altogether like the Indians--dragging along a miserable and
wretched life, a disgrace to the Spanish name in these islands--and
become utterly slothful and vicious, deserving I know not whether
pity or execration. For, since they come from España without education
or ability to undertake even a simple commission--and it is a wonder
if in their own country they ever knew how to plow or make a pair of
shoes--here they are of no use whatever. And, as here all the Spaniards
bear the title of Don, and are addressed as Señor, they are prone to
desire to appear as such, establishing themselves with a white suit
[Americana], which costs them half a peso, and giving themselves airs
as gentlemen, and persons of distinction. There are very few of them
who make some little fortune--a situation which, however little it
can be bettered, is never to be envied--and almost all of them lead
a life that is melancholy and wretched enough, having become idlers,
and scandalizing the Indians of the villages wherever they go, being
a disgrace to the Spanish name in these islands.' Such is the opinion
regarding the Spaniards residing in the provinces, expressed by the
reverend father Fray José María Ruiz, in his Memoria prepared for
the Exposition of Filipinas at Madrid in 1887, pp. 284, 285. In a
decree dated August 4, 1765, the king, angered by the conduct of the
friars who oppose the residence of the Spaniards in the provinces,
issues strict orders that no hindrance shall be placed in the way of
such residence." (Pardo de Tavera, note 21, pp. 80-82.)
[90] On July 9, 1765, Viana demanded from the Audiencia (Respuestas,
fol. 167v, 168) that the Sangley traders of the Parián and the
alcaicería be expelled from the islands and their goods confiscated,
as a punishment for their late treason, and also because they have
been getting control of the retail trade of Manila, and thus injuring
the Spanish shopkeepers. He also renews his proposal that the married
Chinese of the Parián be sent to Santa Ynes, as a sort of penal colony
to work in the mines and cultivate the ground adjoining.
[91] "Father Fray Gaspar de San Agustin judged the Chinese with the
same prejudice as he did the Indians; yet he was less hard and unjust
than he was against the latter, about whom he wrote so much evil that
afterward it was not possible to find any more failings or offenses
to hurl against them." (Pardo de Tavera, note 23, p. 83.)
[92] In the text, yermo ("desert"), a conjectural reading by Pardo
de Tavera.
[93] "There were in Manila some Chinese Dominican friars, who had
come from the missions which the Order of Preachers maintained in
the neighboring empire." (Pardo de Tavera, note 24, p. 83.)
[94] See instructions for the new Audiencia, VOL. V, pp. 298-300.
[95] In the year 1583 some revolts by the Indians occurred, caused
by the bad treatment they received from the encomenderos; some of
these fancied that the Indians of their encomiendas were to serve
them as slaves, and spared neither the lives nor the property of the
natives in making themselves rich. The government intended to make
some reforms, but delayed so long that the natives, having no other
means of protecting themselves, thought they must revolt against the
encomenderos. In 1584 the new Audiencia arrived at Manila, presided
over by Santiago de Vera; "the state of things in which he found
the country, the injustices which were committed on every side,
the violent means to which the oppressed found themselves obliged
to resort for self-defense, impressed him deeply--above all, when in
1585 rebellion was declared by the Pampango and Tagal Indians. That
prudent magistrate comprehended that the first thing which he must
do in order to rule with justice was to understand the usages and
customs of the country which he was commissioned to rule; and it was
then that, knowing the remarkable abilities of the virtuous Fray Juan
de Plasencia, Dr. Vera wrote to him, asking that he would inform him
in regard to the social and political organization of the Tagals. As
for the abuses of the encomenderos, undoubtedly they were magnified
and exaggerated by the friars, whose interest it was to disparage
the former, in order that they themselves might be absolute masters
of the country in place of the encomenderos." Pardo de Tavera cites
in full a letter from the king to Archbishop Salazar, dated March 27,
1583, in which the grievances of the Indians are enumerated. "We are
informed that in that province [of Filipinas] the Indian natives are
seen to be dying, on account of the bad treatment inflicted on them by
their encomenderos; and that the number of the said Indians has been so
diminished that in some places more than a third of them are dead. This
is because the taxes are levied on them for the full amount, two-thirds
more than what they are under obligation to pay, and they are treated
worse than slaves, and as such many are sold by some encomenderos to
others; and some are flogged to death; and there are women who die or
break down under their heavy burdens. Others, and their children, are
compelled to serve on their lands, and sleep in the fields; and there
they bring forth and nurse infants, and they die, bitten by poisonous
insects; and many hang themselves, and are left to die, without food;
and others eat poisonous herbs. And there are mothers who kill their
own children when they are born, saying that they do so to free them
from the sufferings which they are enduring. And the said Indians have
conceived a very bitter hatred to the name of Christian, and regard
the Spaniards as deceivers, and pay no attention to what is taught
to them; accordingly, whatever they do is through force. And these
injuries are greater for the Indians who belong to our royal crown,
as being under [official] administration." The king, in view of all
this, renews his instructions to the viceroys and governors to enforce
the laws in behalf of the Indians, and urges the bishop and other
ecclesiastics to use their influence for this same purpose. (Pardo
de Tavera, note 25, pp. 83-86.) See also Salazar's letter to the king
(VOL. V, pp. 210-247).
[96] "That the Chinese should be more successful than the Spaniard
in Filipinas is easily explained. In Anda's time, the Spaniard who
went to the provinces to devote himself to trade was a poor man who
had no official situation, and for that reason an unlucky fellow who
could not depend on support and influence in a country where favor was
the law; while the Chinaman, with his presents, trinkets, and bribes,
secured everything." (Pardo de Tavera, note 26, p. 86.)
[97] "From the earliest days of the conquest of Filipinas, the
monarchs displayed decided earnestness that the knowledge of the
Castilian language should be diffused among their peoples; while the
friars opposed to this a resistance as tenacious as it was hostile,
not only to the interests of the civilization of these regions, but
to the sovereignty of España." (Here is cited a royal decree, dated
August 4, 1765, as an example of many, strictly commanding that the
natives be taught the Castilian language, and that no hindrance be
placed in the way of the Spaniards freely traveling and trading in the
provinces.) "A few years ago Señor Escosura, royal commissary--whose
complaisance toward the friars, so well known, gives more force to
the censures which he directs against them--said, in speaking of the
education of the Filipinos: 'That education, in the first place, if
we except the city of Manila and its environs, is entirely reduced to
instruction in the Christian doctrine, in Tagal or in the dialects of
the respective provinces--and for the same reason, is in exclusive
charge of the parish priests, either seculars or regulars (who are
most in number and influence); and these pastors, to whom this country
owes most important services, and whose usefulness and necessity I
avow and proclaim, suffer, nevertheless, from some prejudice.... They
assert that to teach the Indians Castilian would be to furnish them
the means--which at present they lack, on account of the diversity
of their dialects--to revolt against the Spanish authority; that from
the moment when they can readily understand the laws and measures of
the government they will discuss these and comment upon them, from
the standpoint of their local interests, and therefore in opposition
to those of the metropolis; that to give these natives an idea of
their own rights is to inoculate them with the spirit of rebellion;
and that, the foundation of race superiority, which now aggrandizes the
Europeans, being thus destroyed, it would be impossible to govern these
provinces without material force, as now.' And, in order to promote the
teaching of Castilian in the second half of the nineteenth century,
Señor Escosura said that 'it would be expedient to address urgent
requests to the archbishops and bishops, impressing upon them the
necessity of their obliging the parish priests to fulfil the commands
that are given on this point in the laws of the Indias,' because in
three centuries of Spanish domination the laws and frequent decrees
thereon had never been obeyed." (Pardo de Tavera, note 28, pp. 87-90.)
[98] In the decree cited in the preceding note occurs the following
statement: "If the Indians had been taught the said [Castilian]
language, the calamities and vexations would not have occurred
which were experienced by the Spaniards, of both sexes, who in their
flight after the loss of this fortress attempted to find asylum in
the mountains and the villages nearest to them."
[99] Pardo de Tavera cites (note 29, pp. 90, 91) several statements
by Rodriguez Ovalle (whose MS. account of the siege of Manila has
been used by Marqués de Ayerbe in his Sitio y conquista de Manila)
to show that a few of the religious tried to incite the Indians in
the provinces to rise against the Spaniards, and some others became
bandits; and that Rojo was jealous of Anda's position and authority.
[100] "Law 81, tit. xiv, book i of the Recopilación de Indias,
issued in 1594, provides that 'the religious may not be served by the
Indians; but, in very necessary things, they may receive such service
by paying them for it.' The construction of the village churches has
been accomplished by obliging the Indians to work gratis, to furnish
the materials gratis, and to do everything gratis; the same procedure
also served for building the convent or house of the cura." See note
80, ante, p. 146; also the report made by Auditor Gueruela on his
visit to Camarines in 1702, in VOL. XLII, pp. 304-308.
[101] "The complaints against the sort of abuses which are mentioned
in this section of Anda's Memorial are precisely those which the
Filipino people formulated; it was those abuses which drove the
Filipinos to form the Katipunan, to rise in armed revolt, and to
struggle against the Spanish government, in order to gain escape from
friar dominion. Recent occurrences, and the publicity regarding the
promoters of the Filipino insurrection, render it unnecessary for us
to comment further on the words of Anda." (Pardo de Tavera, note 31,
pp. 91, 92.)
[102] Sínodo: here a synonym of estipendio (stipend), being the name
of the stipend allowed to priests in America and the Philippines.
[103] "I do not recognize the word parilusclas, in the memorial;
perhaps it is an error of the copyist. The fact is that the sick
are conveyed in a hammock, a litter, or a sedan-chair to the door
of the convent, where the cura comes down to confess them, give the
viaticum, or apply the holy oils, as the case demands." (Pardo de
Tavera, note 32, p. 92.)
[104] "That his name shall be blotted from the Book of Life"--a
statement made in the sensational sermon of the Jesuit Puch in 1764
(see pp. 24-26, ante). Pardo de Tavera says (note 33, p. 92) that
this occurred in Lima; he cites also a letter by Corcuera in 1636
(see our VOL. XXVI, pp. 60-72) to show that the political use of the
pulpit by the friars was a practice of long standing.
[105] See account of the Santa Ynes mine in note 55, ante, p. 107.
[106] See the first document of this volume, "Events in Filipinas,"
for mention of this and other reforms made later by the Spanish
government, which are recommended by Anda in this memorial.
[107] "As fractional currency was always exceedingly scarce in
Filipinas, recourse was had, in order to remove the difficulty, to
the proceeding of cutting into bits the pesos and half-pesos. It
was undoubtedly for this reason that to the coins thus made were
applied the Tagal names of kahati (kalahati, "the half") for two
reals, that is, the half of a half-peso; and sikapat (si-kaapat,
"the fourth part") for one real, or the quarter of a half-peso; and
so on--and, for the same reason, this was called in Castilian moneda
cortada ["cut money"]. These fragments of coin bore a stamp which
indicated their value, and which was placed on them in Manila; but,
as the stamp did not indicate the exact size of the piece of coin,
the various hands through which it passed diminished the amount of
metal as much as they could, thus reducing it to its least possible
size. Governor La Torre published an edict on April 25, 1764,
in which, with the object of mitigating the bad results of this,
since 'not only the Sangleys, but the Indians and mestizos, are
unwilling to accept the cut money, on account of its debasement,'
he made the decision (certainly a contraproducente [i.e., a measure
producing effects contrary to what were intended]), to compel 'all
the cut money to pass current for its value according to the stamp
on it.' This remedy was evidently profitable for those who debased
the money, because it was compulsory to take the money by its stamp,
its debasement being treated with indifference. The term 'milled
money' was applied to coin of proper standard and manufacture,
full and exact weight, with milled edges; the Chinese exported it,
plainly because it alone could be accepted in the regions to which
they carried it, but this did not occur with the cut money, which
could only be accepted as bullion outside of Filipinas. Then, as now,
was verified the natural phenomenon of the expulsion of good money from
a country by that which is debased, because no one outside desires it,
as it is not current by law." (Pardo de Tavera, note 39, pp. 101, 102.)
[108] "Whoever reads these last words of the auditor Anda will not fail
to make the melancholy reflection that at the end of the nineteenth
century when the Spanish domination in the Filipinas islands was
definitely overthrown, the last governor-general could have written
the same sad complaint, could have addressed to the [Spanish] nation
the same catalogue of abuses and disorders, which, by perpetuating
themselves and increasing, effected the result which exactly suited
[such causes], the loss of Filipinas!" (Pardo de Tavera, note 40,
p. 102.)
[109] Pardo de Tavera states (p. 6) that Arriaga (misprinted Arriola)
was the king's secretary of state.
[110] Del-Pan considers the ordinances of Corcuera and Cruzat much
superior to those of Raón. (See his introduction, p. 20.) These
ordinances (only 1-38) are synopsized very briefly by Montero y Vidal,
Historia general, i, pp. 380-385.
As here presented, the ordinances are translated partly in full and
partly in synopsis, the latter indicated by brackets.
[111] The leaders indicate that the text is illegible or lacking,
because of the poor condition of the MS. (See Del-Pan, p. 117, note).
[112] Crawfurd calls attention (Dict. Indian Islands, p. 345) to
the resemblance between the Philippine barangay and "our Anglo-Saxon
tithings and hundreds."
On the civic administration of Philippine communities, see appendix
in Jagor's Reisen, pp. 298-302.
[113] The Tagálog equivalent of polla, a chicken or young hen.
[114] Filipinos who serve as domestic servants.
[115] Noceda and Sanlucar's Tagálog Vocabulario defines casonó as
"a servant or companion who lives at home;" but it does not contain
the word bilitao. This apparently is compounded from bili, "to buy,
or sell," and tauo or tao, "man."
[116] At this point the ordinances proper of Corcuera, revised by
Cruzat, end. The revision was signed by Cruzat at Manila, October 1,
1696; and he orders alcaldes, chief justices, corregidors, and war
captains, to obey strictly all of the regulations contained in it,
under penalty of the punishments and fines mentioned therein. A copy
of the ordinances is to be sent to each official, and a certified
copy in triplicate to the supreme Council of the Indies. The following
ordinances (39-61) are in the form of decrees of the Manila government
or of royal decrees, and contain many orders quite foreign to the
mission of provincial chiefs, and, consequently, out of place in
the ordinances. The last one is of the time of Raón (1766), who in
1768 revised the ordinances of Arandía. (See Del-Pan's introduction,
p. 22, and p. 153 of the ordinances of Corcuera and Cruzat.)
[117] Noceda's (also Santos's) Tagálog Vocabulario gives compra
(Spanish, meaning "purchase") as the equivalent of the native word
bandala, meaning a compulsory purchase by the government of rice or
other products from the natives, who evidently adopted the Spanish
word directly. (See Vol. XLVII, p. 119.)
[118] These ordinances are published also in Autos acordados
(Manila, 1861), i, pp. 29-71; and in Rodriguez San Pedro's Colección
legislativa, i, p. 245.
[119] When the ordinances were printed in 1801, the superiors of three
of the religious orders immediately petitioned for the revocation of
ordinances 16, 18, and 46, because they contained ideas injurious to
the ecclesiastical estate. (Del-Pan, in his introduction, p. 7.)
[120] This decree was registered in the accountancy-mayor of the royal
tribunal and Audiencia of accounts in Manila, September 16, 1801;
in the accountancy of the royal treasury of Manila, September 18; and
in the secretary's office of the royal Audiencia, September 23. Since
only a simple copy of the ordinances existed in the secretary's office,
the secretary asked the governor to order the castellan of Cavite to
send an attested copy in case he possessed one. The governor issued
such an order September 7, which was complied with on the twelfth,
the receipt of which is noted by the secretary on November 5.
[121] The ordinances of Governor Pedro Manuel de Arandía were
formulated in 1758, but no copy of them is known to exist. The
ordinances of Raón were formulated for the purpose of revising them,
and had it not been for the castellan of Cavite, it is to be feared
that no authorized copy of them would be in existence. (Del-Pan,
in his introduction to the ordinances, p. 7.)
[122] A considerable number of these requests for such exemption are
discussed in Viana's Respuestas; sometimes this privilege was granted,
and sometimes it was refused.
In March, 1765, the natives of Tayabas petitioned for exemption
for that year from the annual bandala of oil levied on them. Viana
recommends (Respuestas, fol. III v) that this be granted, but that
the amount due from Tayabas be levied on other provinces in proportion
to their production of oil.
[123] Ordinance no. 51, it is to be noted, is only against brandy
made from sugarcane; and the use of and traffic in other brandy was
allowed and even stimulated. (Del-Pan, in his introduction, p. 17.)
[124] This is the "Zamboanga donation," made by the Indians for the
maintenance of the fort there (see VOL. XLVII, pp. 119, 120). In 1765,
the regular situado for Zamboanga was 15,975 pesos (Viana, Respuestas,
fol. 111).
[125] "By royal order of September 21, 1797, issued in virtue of
an expediente which, in the preceding year, gave full information
in regard to the tenor of article 53 of the 'Ordinances of good
government,' his Majesty decreed that 'the privilege of the Indians
to enjoy freely the use of the lands, waters, and pastures which they
need for their tillage and stock-raising, ought to be understood to
be limited to the lands (joining and close to their villages) which
are or may be assigned to them, the rest of the land remaining subject
to the rules that have been established for the sale and adjustment of
the crown lands. And in order to avoid the abuses which are committed,
under the pretext of the Indians' privileges, in the leasing of the
lands within the boundary of the villages, this will not be tolerated
hereafter; but the lands assigned to the villages must be cultivated
invariably by the Indians in their own villages.'" (Montero y Vidal,
Hist. de Filipinas, ii, pp. 353, 354.)
[126] In April, 1765, the royal engineer Gomez asked that the churches
of San Anton, Dilao, San Lazaro, and the Parián be demolished,
as dangerous to the safety of the city in case they should fall
into the possession of enemies; also the houses of bamboo and nipa,
"which have extended up to the esplanades of Puerta Real and the
Parián." Viana seconds this (Respuestas, fol. 119-121), and adds to
the list the churches of Malate, La Hermita, San Miguel and others;
he cites from Recop. de Indias the law forbidding any edifice within
three hundred paces of the walls. He also advocates the removal of the
aforesaid houses, and the formation of new villages, with a careful and
regular arrangement of streets and houses, the inhabitants being placed
therein according to their occupations--each guild [gremio] being
aligned to a certain street; this would also enable the authorities to
drive out all miscreants, collect the tributes to better advantage,
and preserve order and justice. On March 22, 1765, Viana recommended
to the Audiencia (Respuestas, fol. 106v, 107) that the open country
from Bagumbayan to La Hermita be cleared of everything thereon, no
matter how light or combustible it might be, within the space of one
month; and that the natives in the village of Santiago be transferred
to La Hermita, or to any other of the neighboring communities, and
dwelling-places be assigned to them from the communal lands of those
villages, in recompense for the homes taken from them in Santiago.
[127] In 1838, the Spanish government considered seriously the
formulation of some new ordinances of good government for the
Philippines, the commission for the same being given to Señor Otin y
Duazo, a member of the royal Audiencia. The motives for this are thus
given in the memorial of the above, as follows: "The attention of your
Excellency has been justly called to the confusion and irregularity
with which the alcaldes-mayor proceed in their government of these
provinces, for the want of a uniform and general statute to serve as
a standard in the performance of their duties; since the ordinances
promulgated in 1768 have become entirely extinct through the abuses
and vicious practices introduced by greed, caprice, or the indolence
of the subordinates entrusted with their observance, and through
the reforms rendered necessary by lapse of time and experience." It
is not known that Otin y Duazo ever drew up any ordinances. Seven
years later, another lawyer, Señor Umeres, drew up a new project
for ordinances of good government, in 252 articles. These ordinances
contain many good matters, but cannot properly be called ordinances
of good government. They contain matter on the following: general
instructions to the provincial chiefs, similar to that circulated in
Spain by Francisco Javier de Burgos in 1634, entitled Instruccion
á los Subdelegados de Fomento, containing general principles and a
true plan of administration; a letter from the vice-patron to the
diocesan prelates and to the superiors of the orders, concerning the
relations of the parish priests with the administration; regulations
of the native municipality, detailing the form of the elections and
the duties of pedáneos, lieutenants, cabezas de barangay, and other
purely local agents; regulations concerning the order and security
in the villages, comprising restrictive clauses regarding gambling
and vagrancy; regulations on the city policy; regulations concerning
the polos, personal services, and other duties imposed by the local
administration; and regulations concerning primary instruction,
agriculture, stockraising, internal trade (treating of weights
and measures, transportation, etc.). (See Del-Pan's introduction,
pp. 35-37.)
[128] These conferences of the clergy originally were held monthly,
for consultation on difficult cases of conscience and the like,
the investigation of crimes, etc.; they lasted from the ninth to
the thirteenth century. They were revived by St. Charles Borromeo,
but on a more modern plan, for the discussion of questions in morals,
ritual, etc., with the object of providing that the clergy should have
the knowledge necessary for their duties. These conferences prevailed
in the Catholic countries until the end of the eighteenth century,
when they fell into disuse; but they have been once more revived
in many countries, and are regularly held in all the dioceses of
England. The rubrics are directions to be followed in mass and other
sacred rites. (Addis and Arnold, Catholic Dictionary.)
[129] Vicar forane: "either a dignitary or, at least, if possible,
a parish priest, who is appointed by the bishop to exercise a limited
jurisdiction in a particular town or district of his diocese; an
appeal lies from his decision to the bishop, who can also remove him
at pleasure." (Addis and Arnold, p. 841.)
[130] These instructions come at the end of a pastoral letter, headed
thus: "We, Don Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina, by the grace
of God and of the holy Apostolic See metropolitan archbishop of these
Filipinas Islands; councilor and preacher to his Majesty; and deputy
vicar-general of the royal forces by land and sea in these Eastern
regions, etc." (They are obtained from Ferrando's Hist. PP. dominicos,
v, pp. 59-60.)
[131] "All the disputes between España and Roma regarding
the nature, extent, and limits of the civil and ecclesiastical
jurisdictions--commonly known by the name of the regalias of the
crown--are reflected in the continual conflicts with the nuncio, the
inquisitor, and the confessor; and from them arose the pase regio
and the disamortization [of corporation lands], in order to make
themselves manifest in the expediente for the beatification of the
venerable Palafox, and to endeavor to find a definitive solution in
the expulsion of the Jesuits. Carlos I and Felipe II of Castilla alike
considered themselves set apart by God to defend eternally the true
faith, with the mission of guarding and protecting the Church; and,
like the ancient Roman emperors, in temporal affairs they acknowledged
no superiority or limitations on the earth. The king was regarded as
a living law, a permanent tribunal, the supreme master and legitimate
lord of all his vassals; in one word, the crown was looked upon as the
defender of the Church. The conflict of the Middle Ages ended, España
aspired to a double social ideal, unity of power and religious unity;
and this thought produced concentration, and the desire to separate
what was spiritual and concerned with dogma from what was temporal
and belonging to the government of peoples. Two distinct ideas strove
together in the field of doctrine; one, supported by the submissions in
former days of the Eastern Empire, claimed to subject temporal monarchs
to the supreme political direction of the head of the Catholic Church;
and the other, derived from primitive traditions, claimed that the
Catholic sovereigns ought to exercise, equally with the pontiffs,
the external government of the Church, as its natural protectors. A
persistent and obstinate strife arose between the two ideas, and after
several centuries the controversy was settled, by limiting the rights
of the Holy See to that which concerned dogmas and the spiritual power,
and leaving to the royal authority all that referred to discipline
and the exercise of government, in whatever relates to the security
of the State and the welfare of the people. It is this which with
some unfitness has been called regalías; and at bottom it has been
nothing more than the recovery of the proper character of the civil
power, and the demarcation of the attributes of the power of the
Church and the State. This demarcation, the strife over which lasted
for entire centuries, was recognized in España by the concordat of
1753, in which is declared the right of [ecclesiastical] patronage
of the kings of España; and to it the exequatur, disamortization,
and the reform of both the regular and secular clergy, served them
as a complement." (Danvila, Reinado de Carlos III, ii, pp. 270, 271.)
The pase regio (Latin, exequatur) above mentioned refers to the
prerogative assumed by the Spanish kings of the right to "pass"
or confirm papal edicts or briefs, or those issued by other foreign
ecclesiastics, or by the superiors of religious orders, before these
could be valid in the Spanish dominions; several instances of this have
already been mentioned in documents of this series. "Disamortization"
(a word which, as the standard English lexicons contain no single
word which expresses exactly the idea conveyed in the Spanish
desamortización, we are obliged to coin for this purpose, simply
transferring it, in English form, from the Spanish) means the act of
setting free any lands which had been conveyed, in mortmain, to the
corporations (mainly religious), that is, enabling other persons to
acquire such lands. The exequatur is called by Danvila (ii, p. 281)
"the most transcendent of the regalías of the crown."
[132] It may be noted that all these high ecclesiastics signed the
reports of the Council justifying the expulsion of the Jesuits,
and that the archbishop of Manila (Santa Justa) is cited in various
documents as having counseled the king to banish that order from
his dominions.
[133] "It is known that the Society of Jesus was, more than a
religious association, in reality a great mercantile company,
from a very short time after its institution until its extinction
by Clement XIV. Its vast commercial transactions in Europe, America,
and Oceania furnished to it immense wealth; and, infatuated with their
power and the dominion which they exercised over the minds of their
ardent followers; having gained possession as they had done of the
confessional and directing the consciences of kings and magnates;
and strengthened by the affection (which they exploited with great
ability) of women--upon whom they always have exercised, as they still
do, a magnetic influence--the Jesuits considered themselves absolute
masters of the world; and they devoted themselves to intervention in
political affairs, managing with cautious skill political dealings in
almost all countries, according to the degree in which these concerned
their particular purposes. Their insolent and illegal acts, their
despotism, their ambition, the iron yoke with which they oppressed
both kings and peoples; their disputes with the other religious
associations, who could not look with pleasure on the predominance
and wealth of the new society which so audaciously gathered in the
harvest from the fertile vineyard of the Lord; their dangerous maxims
in regard to regicide, their demoralizing system of doctrine, their
satanic pride and insatiable greed, their hypocrisy and corruption:
all these raised against them a unanimous protest. Mistrust of them
awoke in kings and peoples; men of sincere purpose and true Christian
morals were alarmed; and on every side arose enemies of their order,
and irrefutable proofs of their abominable aberrations were brought
forward." (Montero y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, ii, pp. 142-146.)
[134] See detailed account of the so-called "family compact" and
the secret agreement which accompanied it, in Danvila, op. cit., ii,
pp. 101-167. At the end he says: "The celebrated 'family compact' was
never an affaire de coeur, but an alliance offensive and defensive in
order to check the progress of the British arms in Europa and America,
and to dispute with England the maritime supremacy of which she had
possessed herself.... The 'family compact,' and the secret agreement
which completed it, were from the beginning an alliance offensive
and defensive of España and France against Great Britain."
[135] Montero y Vidal makes numerous citations (Hist. de Filipinas, ii,
pp. 142, 143, 147-159) from letters written to Pope Innocent X in 1647
and 1649 by the noted bishop of La Puebla, Juan de Palafox y Mendoza,
showing how great wealth and power the Jesuits had attained in Nueva
España, their hatred toward him and their conspiracies and even open
attacks against him for doing his official duty, and their lawless,
scandalous, immoral, and irreligious acts, as he has seen them.
[136] In November, 1779, letters were received by the Spanish
government from their ambassador at Rome, asking that, in view of the
poverty and suffering endured by the ex-Jesuits there, their pensions
might be increased. Inquiries were made as to their numbers, with
the following results; "On April 1, 1767, there existed in España
1,660 priests, 102 scholastics, and 965 coadjutors, making a total
of 2,727. From the seven provinces of the Indias there arrived at
the port of Santa María 1,396 priests, 327 scholastics, and 544
coadjutors, making a total of 2,267. The pensions of both classes
amounted to 7,264,650 reals. On April 1, 1779, there existed in
Italia 1,274 priests and scholastics, and 664 coadjutors belonging
to the four provinces of España [i.e., those of the Jesuit order in
that country, being designated as Toledo, Castilla, Andalucía, and
Aragón], and, confined in them, sixteen priests and five coadjutors,
the life-pensions of all these amounting to 2,852,600 reals; and
from the seven provinces of Indias there were 1,197 priests and 279
coadjutors, the yearly sum of whose pensions was 2,255,750 reals,
including those assigned to the Jesuits confined in España. Thus
the difference between 1767 and 1779 was that of 2,151,300 reals,
on account of the flight to foreign lands or the [ecclesiastical]
suspension of 242 priests, 4 scholastics, and 145 coadjutors, and the
death of 1,038 priests and 516 coadjutors. The twelve colleges and the
procuradoría of the provinces of Méjico and of Filipinas, and of the
college of Navarra, yielded 3,665,133 reals, 15 maravedís, leaving a
surplus of 1,111,408 reals. The expenses for pensions, maintenance in
España, clothing, and others which had arisen with the ex-Jesuits from
the Indias, up to the end of June, 1779, reached the sum of 45,321,439
reals, 20 maravedís; and adding to this 3,086,767 reals, 14 maravedís,
the value of a certain contribution given by order of his Majesty to
the royal hospital of this court, and the payment of debts contracted
by some colleges in the Indias, the total is 48,408,207 reals. The
temporalities of the Indias were therefore indebted to those of España
in 7,077,836 reals, 16 2-3 maravedís." In view of these statistics, the
Council did not feel able to increase the amount of the pensions, but
agreed to send to the Spanish ambassador at Rome the sum of 1,500,000
reals, to be distributed among the ex-Jesuits in such manner as would
best relieve their poverty. (Danvila, op. cit., iii, pp. 614, 615.)
(The above passage is carefully copied from Danvila, but there
are some discrepancies in the figures given; these cannot be
verified, of course, without reference to the original document in
the Simancas archives cited by the author. These discrepancies are
in all probability due to careless proof-reading, some instances of
which we have seen in Danvila's admirable work.)
"Some of the expelled [Jesuits] did not content themselves with
removing [from Corsica] to the States of the Church and the Italian
cities, but ventured to make their appearance in Barcelona and Gerona;
and when the Council committee had notice of this fact they assembled,
and decided that the observance of the pragmatic sanction [for the
expulsion] ought to be decreed, imposing the penalty of death on the
secular lay-brothers, and perpetual confinement on those ordained in
sacris." (Danvila, op. cit., iii, pp. 114, 115, 117.) The "suspension"
referred to above evidently applies to certain persons who returned
to secular life and occupations, some coadjutors even marrying wives.
[137] It has been seen (note 135, ante) that the Jesuits were bitter
enemies of the visitor Palafox; and the proposal to canonize him,
which was made by Carlos III to the pope in 1760, aroused the strong
opposition of that order. His letters to the pope in 1647 and 1649
had led to papal decrees enforcing the episcopal authority against
the encroachments of the Jesuits, which, after attempting to oppose
them, the latter were finally compelled to obey. It was not until 1694
that the ecclesiastical authorities began to examine the writings of
Palafox; and it appears that his letter of 1649 was prohibited in the
Index expurgatorius in 1707 and 1747, and that by an edict of the
Inquisition of May 13, 1759 certain letters attributed to him were
seized and publicly burned by the hangman--not because there was in
them anything deserving theological censure, but on merely technical
charges of having been published without the necessary "red tape"
prescribed in such cases, and "in order to renew controversies already
finished, with the sole object of calumniating and discrediting among
the faithful the order of the Society of Jesus, against the intention
and good fame of that prelate to whom they were attributed." The
Spanish rulers Felipe V and Fernando VI, and later Carlos III, had
all at various times made efforts to have Palafox's writings examined
by the Roman Congregation of Rites; for they regarded him as one of
the defenders of the royal right of patronage in America. This was
finally accomplished, the Congregation declaring unanimously that
they found therein nothing contrary to the faith or to good morals,
or to sound doctrine; and that the process for his beatification might
now be undertaken. The Pope approved this finding, on December 9,
1760, and on February 5 following the supreme Inquisition of Spain
published a decree annulling the above-mentioned prohibitions of his
writings. It was thereupon made known to the Spanish ministers that
in the Council of the Indias no document remained which favored the
cause of Palafox; the records had been cut out and carried away. This
mutilation was ascribed to the Jesuits. The beatification of Palafox
was approved by the Congregation of Rites, and the pope confirmed this
on September 6, 1766; but its execution forthwith encountered delays,
showing that his enemies in Rome were the same whom he had pointed
out in his letter of 1649. (Danvila, op. cit., ii, pp. 255-270.)
[138] This decree, "if we view the occasion of its publication, and
the terms in which it is expressed, accepted in the name of the court
of Roma the war to which all the Catholic nations were provoking it;
and accepted that war without sufficient power to defend itself. The
attitude of France, España, Portugal, Naples, and Parma, and later
of Vienna, was the result of a new policy which strove to limit the
power of the pontificate and to take away its temporal power; and
the latter ought not to have begun hostilities without weighing well
the consequences, and, above all, without estimating the forces on
which it might depend for the combat. The monitory decree of Parma,
as the brief of January 30 is called, in which his Holiness protested
against all the measures which the Catholic courts were putting into
execution, was the origin and cause of the expulsion of the Jesuits
by the duchies of Parma and Plasencia; of the prohibition of the
circulation in the Catholic states of the bull In coena Domini and of
obedience to it; of the reëstablishment in those states of the pase
regio, which had been suspended in España since 1763; of barring from
circulation the monitory decree, because it was considered hostile
to the regalías of the crown and to the rights of the sovereigns;
of the publication by order of the Council, and at the cost of the
Spanish government, of the 'Imperial judgment,' in which the rights
of the Holy See were limited exclusively to the faith, to matters of
dogma, and to purely spiritual matters; of the reprisals with which
the pope was threatened if he did not revoke the monitory decree;
of the occupation of Benevento and Pontecorbo (which was an actual
outbreak of hostilities), and the attempt to do the same with Castro
and Ronciglione; of a mutual understanding between all the courts
hostile to the Holy See; and of the establishment of a general
agreement that the extinction of the Society of Jesus would be an
indispensable condition for the continuance of correspondence with
the court of Roma. The monitory decree of January 30 will signify,
in the view of history, the termination of the secular dispute which
Roma kept up during two centuries; the triumph of a new policy; and
the menace against the temporal power of the popes, which constituted
the essential part of the controversy. With the monitory decree,
Roma was conquered, and the revolution made rapid advance." (Danvila,
op. cit., iii, pp. 228-230.)
[139] Danvila's researches in the archives of Simancas brought to light
the opinions of the Spanish prelates on the expulsion of the Jesuits
from that country; out of sixty, forty-six approved the suppression of
the Jesuit order, eight were opposed to it, and six excused themselves
from expressing their opinions. (Danvila, op. cit., iii, pp. 428, 429.)
[140] Among the charges made in this paper is the following: "From
Filipinas comes evidence of not only their predictions against the
government, but the illicit communication of their provincial with
the English commander during the occupation of Manila."
[141] A note by Crétineau-Joly (p. 237) declares that Alva, when on
his death-bed, confessed to Felipe Bertram, bishop of Salamanca, the
general of the Inquisition, that he "was one of the authors of the
uprising of 1766, having incited it in hatred to the Jesuits, and in
order to cause it to be imputed to them. He also avowed that he had
composed a great part of the supposed letter by the general of the
Jesuits against the king of Spain." A Protestant writer is cited as
saying that Alva made this same declaration to Carlos III, in writing.
[142] Spanish, capas y sombreros; an edict had been issued forbidding
these to be worn by the inhabitants of Madrid.
[143] Alluding to accusations against the personal character of Isabel
Farnese, Carlos's mother and wife of Felipe V.
[144] "Don Joseph Raon was one of the most shrewd of the governors
of Manila in enriching himself without causing any one to complain;
but he did nothing whatever for the service of the king. In 1768,
Manila was at the same point where the English left it in 1763,
without cannon or gunpowder, the troops ill-fed and ill-paid." (Le
Gentil, Voyage, ii, p. 167.) It will be remembered that the French
scientist was in Manila at the same time when Raón was.
[145] In Política de España en Filipinas, 1894, pp. 175, 176, Retana
describes a collection of documents which he had recently acquired,
relating to the expulsion of the Jesuits from the islands. Among
these were the official expedientes, and a series which contained the
inventories of all the property which the Jesuits possessed. The list
of the papers and letters found in the college of San Ignacio formed
a folio volume of more than 600 pages. (There was also a list of
all the books which the Jesuits kept for sale. Among these were more
than 200 copies of Noceda's Diccionario, the first edition, of which
copies are now considered exceedingly rare. "In this inventory appear
books of which I believe not a single copy is now in existence.") The
collection thus acquired by Retana contained original letters from Anda
and Santa Justa to Conde de Aranda, and others by the Jesuit Clain,
Camacho, Raón, Anda, Basco, and other noted persons. At the time,
according to Montero y Vidal (Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 222) this
collection, which contained more than 20,000 folios, was deposited
in the Colegio de Agustinos at Valladolid.
[146] It is interesting to compare with this episode that of the
banishment of the French Jesuits in Louisiana (1763), as related by
Father François P. Watrin; see Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents,
lxx (Cleveland, 1900), pp. 211-301. Some of those exiles took refuge
in the Spanish-American colonies; others proceeded to France, but
found that their order was being driven out of that country.
[147] Le Gentil states (Voyage, ii, p. 167) that Cosio was banished
to Africa.
[148] Doubtless referring to appraisals and inventories made afterward
by Anda, who caused this to be done with great exactness.
[149] Buzeta and Bravo say (Diccionario, ii, p. 250) of the great
college of San Ignacio: "It is said that the building of this church
of the Society, its great convent, and the college of San Jose (which
it has close by) cost 150,000 pesos;" also that it occupied 34,000
square varas of space (or more than six acres).
[150] At a fiesta held in the Jesuit church at Manila, in 1623 the
statues of canonized Jesuits were placed at the altar. "Their garments
were richly embroidered with gold and silver thread in intricate
designs, and were all covered with jewels--diamonds, pearls, rubies,
emeralds, seed-pearls, and other precious stones--arranged in such a
manner that their luster and varied colors gave them a most pleasing
and beautiful appearance. On the image of St. Xavier were faithfully
counted more than 15,000 precious stones and pearls, among them more
than a thousand diamonds. On that of St. Ignatius there were more than
20,000 jewels, and of these over 800 were diamonds." (Murillo Velarde,
Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 41b, 42.)
[151] A royal decree printed at Lima in 1777 orders the presidents
and auditors of the audiencias in those regions and Filipinas, and
archbishops and bishops in all the Spanish dominions beyond the seas,
to exercise great care and vigilance that no person shall talk, write,
or argue about the extinction of the Society of Jesus, or the causes
which led to it.
[152] There is a play on words here, salud meaning both "greeting"
and "salvation."
[153] Contemporaneous documents preserved with this decree by Santa
Justa show that the imprints to which he refers were as follows
(their titles being here translated):
1. "Instruction to the princes regarding the policy of the Jesuit
fathers, illustrated with extensive notes, and translated from the
Italian into Portuguese, and now into Castilian, with a supplement
on the orthodox belief of the Jesuits. With permission of the
authorities. At Madrid, in the printing-office of Pantaleon Azuar,
Arenal street, the house of his Excellency the Duke de Arcos. In the
year one thousand, seven hundred, and sixty-eight. This will be found
in the bookstore of Joseph Botanero on the said street of Arenal,
corner of Zarsa street."
2. "Reflections on the memorial presented to his Holiness Clement
XIII by the general of the Jesuits, in which are related various
deeds of the superiors and missionaries of that order in all parts of
the world, intended to frustrate the measures of the popes against
their proceedings and doctrines, but which demonstrate the absolute
incorrigibleness of that body. Translated from the Italian. Madrid;
by Joachim de Ibarra. In the year one thousand, seven hundred,
and sixty-eight. This will be found in Francisco Fernandez street,
in front of the steps of San Phelipe el Real."
3. "Continuation of the portraiture of the Jesuits, drawn to the life
by the most learned and illustrious Catholics, etc. Third edition,
with permission of the authorities. At Madrid, in the shop of the
widow of Ericeo Sanchez. In the year one thousand, seven hundred,
and sixty-eight."
4. "Portraiture of the Jesuits, drawn to the life by the most learned
and most illustrious Catholics: authorized judgment formed of the
Jesuits, with authentic and undeniable testimonies by the greatest
and most distinguished men of both Church and State, from the year
1540, in which their order was founded, until 1650. Translated from
the Portuguese into Castilian, in order to banish the obstinate
prejudices and voluntary blindness of many unwary and deluded persons
who close their eyes against the beauteous splendor of the truth. Third
edition. With permission of the authorities, at Madrid. At the shop of
the widow of Elicio Sanchez. In the year one thousand, seven hundred,
and sixty-eight."
[154] It seems that Auditor Basaraz prohibited the circulation of
these books, in which he was supported by Raón; consequently the books
that had been seized were held back, notwithstanding Santa Justa's
protest, and the matter was not settled in court, as it should have
been. (Montero y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, ii, pp. 196, 224.)
[155] Referring to the Order of St. Francis, since many of its members
were martyred in the Japanese persecutions. (About the time of the
expulsion of the Jesuits, their enemies declared that, while martyrs
abounded in the other religious orders, the Jesuits escaped that fate
among the heathen.) In the other missions, the allusion is to the
noted controversy over the Chinese rites, in which the Jesuits were
accused of undue laxity and connivance with heathen customs; the same
accusation was also made against them in some of the American missions.
[156] Marginal note: "Father Aloysius Knapp was born at Rheinfelden,
canton of Aargau, in Switzerland, in 1720; entered the Society (in
the province of Upper Germany) in 1740, and professed in Mexico in
1749. Thence he went to the Philippines; after exile therefrom he
returned to his native land, where he died in 1775."
[157] See account of this council on pp. 41, 42, ante. At that time
the governor was Anda, and the archbishop was Santa Justa.
[158] Archbishop Santa Justa's scheme of doing away with all popular
church devotions (under the plea presented in this letter) had,
singularly, its exact counterpart in several European countries,
where, in almost the very same year, that identical movement was
inaugurated in many places throughout all the dominions of Joseph II
of Austria--in Austria itself, the Low Countries, Tuscany, Naples,
etc. The mass of existing documents clearly show that the courts of
Vienna, Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon were openly enlisted with the powers
of irreligion to undo all Christian belief even among the poor people
at large. Another point to be considered in connection with this is
the social ferment and disquiet of that period.--Rev. T. C. Middleton,
O.S.A.
[159] Latin, conciliabulum (cf. Spanish conciliabulo); see VOL. XLII,
p. 109, note 36.
[160] Latin, clerici (Spanish, clerigos); it always means secular
priests, in contradistinction to the "regulars," or "religious,"
of the monastic orders. The same distinction is found in the use
of presbyter and sacerdos (Spanish, presbítero and sacerdote), the
former meaning a secular priest, the latter a regular priest.
[161] As here used, institutis means literally "their proceedings," or
"devices," or "schemes;" and comprecationes, "their prayer-meetings,"
and the like--which have been rendered by the words which seem to
convey the meaning intended. The friars (the "Padres," as the Indians
called them) established many sorts of sodalities, brotherhoods,
fraternities, etc., to keep their natives straight; they also
furnished all sorts of attractions in the church--music, chants,
prayers, etc.--to keep them engaged during divine service. In this way
the padres kept the natives fairly Christian.--Rev. T. C. Middleton,
O. S. A.
[162] "Come, let us adore the King, for whom all things live; come,
let us exult," etc. The invitatory is the opening part of Matins,
which is here parodied à la Voltaire.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O. S. A.
[163] These were Ildefonso Garcia de la Concepción and Joaquín Traggia.
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