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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 29 of 55
Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the
Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of
the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books
and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial
and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their
Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of
the Nineteenth Century
Author: Various
Editor: Emma Helen Blair
James Alexander Robertson
Release Date: February 1, 2012 [EBook #38748]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILIPPINE IS., 1493-1898, VOL 29 ***
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Gutenberg.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898
Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and
their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions,
as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the
political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those
islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the
close of the nineteenth century,
Volume XXIX, 1638-40
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMV
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXIX
Preface 9
Documents of 1638
Events in the Filipinas, 1637-38. [Unsigned; probably
written by Juan Lopez, S.J., at Cavite, in July, 1638.] 23
Letter to Felipe IV. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera;
Manila, August 21. 50
Letter to Felipe IV, from the treasurer at
Manila. Baltasar Ruiz de Escalona; Manila, August 31. 52
Relation of the Filipinas Islands. Hieronimo
de Bañuelos y Carrillo; Mexico, 1638. 66
Glorious victories against the Moros of Mindanao. Diego
de Bobadilla, S.J., and others; Mexico, 1638. 86
Royal orders and decrees, 1638. Felipe IV; Madrid, March
15, and September-December. 102
Fortunate successes in Filipinas and Terrenate,
1636-37. [Unsigned; published in Madrid, 1639.] 116
Value of Corcuera's seizures in Jolo. [Unsigned and
undated; probably 1638.] 135
Documents of 1639-1640
Events in the Philipinas from the year 1638 to that of
1639. [Unsigned; probably Juan Lopez, at Cavite, 1639.] 141
Letters to the Holy Misericordia. Sebastian Hurtado de
Corcuera; Manila, December 4, 1637, and October 26, 1639. 172
The university of Santo Tomás. Felipe IV; Madrid,
November 9, 1639. 175
Royal orders and decrees. Felipe IV; Madrid, 1639. 178
Events in the Filipinas Islands from August, 1639,
to August, 1640. [Juan Lopez?]; Cavite, August, 1640. 194
Relation of the insurrection of the Chinese. [Unsigned
and undated; probably in March, 1640.] 208
Ecclesiastical and Augustinian affairs, 1630-40. Casimiro
Diaz; Manila [1718?]. [From his Conquistas.] 259
Relation of the Filipinas Islands. [Diego de Bobadilla,
S.J.; 1640.] 277
Bibliographical Data. 313
ILLUSTRATIONS
View of city of Manila; photographic facsimile of engraving in
Mallet's Description de l'univers (Paris, 1683), ii, p. 127;
from copy in the Library of Congress. 67
View of one of Ladrones Islands; photographic facsimile of
engraving in Hulsius's Eigentliche und wahrhaftige Beschreibung
(Franckfurt am Mayne, M.DC.XX), p. 66; from copy in library of
Harvard University. 169
Portus Acapulco (view of harbor of Acapulco, Mexico);
photographic facsimile of engraving in Arnoldus Montanus's
Nieuwe en onbekende Weereld (Amsterdam, 1671), p. 246; from
copy in library of Harvard University. 188
Archipelagus orientalis, sive Asiaticus (Eastern or Asiatic
archipelago); photographic facsimile of map by Joannis Blaeu
(Amsterdam, 1659); from original map in Bibliothèque Nationale,
Paris. 279
PREFACE
The present volume (1638-40) is largely occupied with the annals
of those years, and the hostilities of the Moro pirates. This
period is a troublous one; "wars and rumors of wars," conspiracies
(among both Chinese and natives), storms, shipwrecks, and disease,
disquiet the colony. The Chinese revolt of 1639 is described at
length. Corcuera administers the government with a high hand, and
arouses many enmities. Two interesting descriptions of the islands
are furnished, by a Spanish officer and by a Jesuit.
The Jesuit annalist at Manila contributes (1638) the news of the past
year--apparently the contents of his note-book or diary, as written
therein at each occurrence or arrival, and free from the "improvements"
of any official editor, in which fact lies its especial value. This
document strongly resembles in this respect, and in its scope, the
famous Journal des Jésuites of Quebec. To some extent, the same remarks
are true of all the annals written, actually or presumably, by Juan
Lopez; but the present document is unusually fresh and primitive in
style. He relates the depredations committed by the Dutch on Spanish
and Portuguese commerce, especially about the strait of Malaca. The
Dominican faction of "Barbones" has been suppressed. The Chinese
at Manila present a large sum of money to Corcuera, with which
a gift for the king is purchased. Information is given regarding
several priests and other persons. The settlement at Formosa is
being abandoned, and the missionaries there are going to China. The
Camucones have attempted to raid the Visayas, but are repulsed by
the Indians and Spaniards. The Jesuit Mastrilli has been martyred in
Japan, and funeral honors are paid to him in Manila. Corcuera has
gone to punish the Joloans. The Jesuit church at Cavite, and that
of the Dominicans at Manila, have been entered by thieves. There
are a few slight encounters with the Dutch. In China, persecutions
of the Christians have begun, due largely to the imprudence of the
friars. The missions in Siam and adjoining countries are endangered
by the machinations of the Dutch. The Joloan stronghold is captured
by Corcuera; two of his best officers are sent home to regain their
health, but are slain by their Chinese crew. Jesuits are conducting a
successful mission in the island of Hainan. The Japanese are growing
weary of their persecutions against the Christians; only three
Jesuits are left there of all the missionaries and nothing certain
is known of these. Corcuera arrives at Manila on May 23; he brings
back many captives, of whom a considerable number died en route, but
"it is a cause of great consolation that no Moro has died without
baptism." A triumphant entry is made into Manila by the victorious
army. In Mindanao Moncay is killed, and Corralat is no longer aided
by the Ternatans; the Moros generally are in wholesome fear of the
Spanish power. The missions in China are doing well, and are aided
by the emperor. Lopez notes many little items of news, of all sorts,
about matters civil, ecclesiastical, and foreign, with various gossip,
some of the cloister, some of his seaport.
A short letter from Corcuera to the king (August 21, 1638) states that
he has appointed Luis Arias de Mora "protector of the Sangleys;"
this man (a lawyer) also acts as counselor for the archbishop,
exercising a wholesome restraint upon that prelate.
A letter from the royal treasurer at Manila to the king (August 31,
1638) laments the injuries and losses caused to the royal estate
by Corcuera's reckless and extravagant management. He is blamed for
refusing to send the trading ships to Mexico, for establishing a force
for the nightly patrol of the city, for forming several companies of
Indian soldiers, for paying certain salaries which are claimed to be
needless, and for building a church for the soldiers. Escalona declares
that the trade of the islands with Mexico is neglected and unregulated,
and thus the colonists are being financially ruined. He asserts that
the expeditions against Mindanao and Jolo had cost much unnecessary
expenditure of both money and lives; and that Corcuera has attempted
to cover up these expenses under specious pretexts. The treasurer
complains that the governor has spent too much on the royal hospital,
and has interfered with the duties and rights of the royal officials;
and entreats the king to see that he is restrained within due bounds.
An interesting description of the Philippine Islands is furnished
(Mexico, 1638) by a Spanish admiral, Hieronimo de Bañuelos y Carrillo;
it is addressed to the president of the Council of the Indias; the
original is, so far as known, no longer extant, and it is found only
in the French version by Thevenot. Bañuelos finds life in Manila
"altogether delightful," as it has abundance of all supplies and
comforts. He describes the Parián, and praises the ability of the
Chinese; but he asserts that they are injuring the islands by their
illicit connection with the Mexican trade. The condition and character
of that trade are here presented, in a description very different
from that furnished by Grau y Monfalcón. This writer objects to the
silk trade between Filipinas and Nueva España, which only benefits
the Chinese, the Portuguese of Macao, and the Mexicans. Moreover,
"the encomiendas are ruined," while the natives are not instructed in
religion, and are hostile to the Spaniards. The Malays of Ternate and
other outlying islands are in league with the Dutch, and the trade
with them is going to ruin. Bañuelos proposes a new plan for the
Filipinas commerce; he would (still limiting its amount) restrict
it mainly to raw silk and cotton, which could be manufactured in
Mexico; he enumerates the advantages that would result from this
course. The Japanese trade need not be considered in this question,
as it is closed to the Spaniards on account of religious persecution;
of this last and its effects Bañuelos gives some account. He again
urges that the trade in Chinese stuffs be suppressed; and makes
recommendations as to the manner in which it should be conducted,
describing various abuses and scandals which he has discovered therein.
The Jesuit Bobadilla published (Mexico, 1638) a "Relation of the
glorious victories ... against the Mahometan Moros;" it contains
Mastrilli's letter of June 2, 1637 (published in VOL. XXVII of this
series), and other matter obtained from letters which the editor had
received from Manila; we present here such part as is new. Bobadilla
prefaced this compilation by a short address to Governor Corcuera's
brother Iñigo (a military officer in Mexico), in which he takes
occasion to eulogize the virtues of both in glowing terms. The first
section of the book is occupied by a relation (here only briefly
outlined) of the miraculous cure wrought upon Father Mastrilli, and his
entrance into missionary work; then follows "an account of the great
island of Mindanao," partly descriptive and partly historical. The
piratical raids of the Mindanaos upon the Spanish settlements and the
Visayan coasts are briefly recounted, with mention of the establishment
of Spanish missions and forts in Mindanao; also the raids made by the
Camucones, Joloans, and Borneans. Then follow a description of the
naval battle at Punta de Flechas, Mastrilli's letter describing the
Mindanao campaign, and Lopez's account of Corcuera's triumph--all of
which we have previously published.
Various royal orders and decrees issued in 1638 are here
presented. Corcuera is warned (March 15) to proceed cautiously in
regard to the free negroes whom he has removed from the city, and to
obtain royal permission henceforth for any important measures that
he may contemplate. A decree of September 2 imposes restrictions
on the religious orders in the islands, and permits the governor to
use secular priests as missionaries. The king orders him (October 2)
to appoint to new missions native secular priests instead of friars;
also to treat the nuns of St. Clare with more consideration, and
to pay them for certain inconveniences that he has caused them. He
is authorized (November 8) to take such measures as are necessary to
maintain the seclusion of the inmates of Santa Potenciana. The viceroy
and Audiencia of Mexico are ordered (December 8) to report whether it
will be best to increase the amount of trade allowed to the citizens
of Filipinas with Nueva España; and other decrees of the same date
give the officers of the galleons authority to punish any infractions
of law committed by their men while in port, and require stricter
enforcement of the regulations in regard to lading those vessels.
A printed pamphlet, "Fortunate successes in Filipinas and Terrenate"
(Madrid, 1639), gives a brief outline of the Moro raids into the
Philippines during several years, and Corcuera's successful campaign
against those pirates; it is evidently written by a Jesuit, or largely
compiled from Mastrilli's letter. At the end is a description of the
encounter between Spanish and English ships at Malayo. We append a
short document enumerating the spoils seized in the Jolo campaign by
the Spanish forces, with the value assigned to each item; the expenses
of the expedition are covered thereby mainly by the proceeds from
the sale of Moro captives.
"Events in the Philipinas during the year 1638-39" are recorded, as
before, by a Jesuit, presumably Juan Lopez. The news from Mindanao
and Jolo is not encouraging; the Moros are revolting, and in Jolo a
plague and epidemic is feared; besides, the commandant there has proved
unfit. A letter from the Jesuit Gutierrez relates events in Mindanao;
these relate mainly to the measures taken by the Spanish commandant
to control and pacify the disaffected Moros. Spanish friars exiled
from China have arrived in Formosa, but hope to reënter China. The
Jesuits of Macao also indulge the hope of gaining foothold anew in
Japan. The writer gives various interesting news items about the
arrival and departure of the ships at the port of Cavite; and the
escape, on several occasions, of Moro captives held at Manila, and
the recapture of many of them. A letter from Father Alejandro Lopez
describes the attempt of the men of Jolo to recapture by treachery
their stronghold from the Spaniards, and the severe punishment
inflicted by Pedro de Almonte upon the rebels. Chinese pirates commit
depredations on the Luzón coasts; and plots of the resident Chinese
against the Spaniards are discovered and punished. A revolt by the
Indians of Nueva Segovia is also quelled. Recent news from Mindanao
and Jolo tells of increasing Spanish ascendency, but at a fearful
cost to the Moro natives--slaughtered people, devastated lands, and
consequent deaths by famine. One of the trading ships to Mexico has
been wrecked, which is a great blow to the colony. A fierce hurricane
causes great damage at Cavite and in its vicinity; and there have been
epidemics of disease in Luzón, in which many persons have died. It
is feared that both of the Acapulco galleons have been lost at sea;
and all these things fill the people with sadness. The small remnant
of the crew of a Spanish galleon wrecked the preceding year among
the Ladrones Islands arrive at Manila.
Letters from Corcuera to the confraternity of Santa Misericordia
ask (December 4, 1637) their prayers for the success of his Jolo
expedition; and (October 26, 1639) that they will take into their house
two Moro hostages, to train them in the Christian doctrine. Letters
from Felipe IV to Rome (November 9, 1639) ask that the college of
Santo Tomás at Manila be erected into a university.
A group of royal decrees issued during 1639 is presented. The
governor's action in stationing religious ministers in Mindanao
is approved. The municipal authorities of Manila are ordered to
retain Grau y Monfalcón as their agent at the royal court. The
newly-appointed governor of the islands, Diego Fajardo, is ordered to
correct (but with mildness and prudence) the Augustinians in trading
and in oppressing the Indians; and to restore to the secular priests
Quiapo and other districts assigned to the Jesuits by Corcuera. The
bishop of Camarines is ordered to return to his diocese, and the royal
officials to withhold his salary until he shall do so. Directions
are given to the viceroy of Nueva España regarding the inspection
of Philippine vessels at Acapulco, and the necessity of sending more
colonists to the islands. Answer is made to various points in a former
letter from the archbishop; and the Audiencia are commanded to treat
the Indians more justly.
Events in the Filipinas Islands from August to November, 1639, are
recorded by the Jesuit annalist of former years (presumably Juan
Lopez). The arrivals and departures of ships form the chief of these
events, and the writer furnishes much interesting news in connection
with them. A fierce storm delays the galleon to Nueva España, and
wrecks two Chinese junks, drowning many of their men. The two Acapulco
galleons arrive, about this time, at Nueva Segovia, and are wrecked in
that port, with much loss of life. The recent conquest of Jolo is being
completed. The king of Macasar is friendly, and has sent provisions
to the Portuguese colony at Malaca. A Dutch squadron sent against
the city of Goa has been almost destroyed by the Portuguese. The
people of Tidore and Ternate are leagued together, which causes the
Spaniards to fear a revolt against their control. The Moro chiefs
in Mindanao are plotting together against the Spaniards. Nearly
half of this document is occupied with an account of the Chinese
insurrection late in November, 1639; it is soon quelled, with the
slaughter of many Sangleys. A detailed account of this episode,
presumably the one mentioned in the last note on Lopez's record, is
here presented; it is a valuable if not altogether edifying document,
especially for its revelations of human nature. Lopez's statement that
the revolt was soon over was premature; it lasted nearly four months,
and caused great loss of property to the Spaniards, and of lives to the
insurgents. Most of the Chinese population in Luzón was exterminated,
thanks to their lack of cannon and firearms and "the special protection
of our Lord over our army," which lost not even fifty men. It is a
sickening record of slaughter--not only in so-called battle, but in
the cold-blooded, deliberate, and systematic butchery of unarmed men,
taken by surprise or lured by treacherous promises. The most striking
instance of this is the cruel slaughter, caused by a blind and panic
fear, of the house-servants and other Chinese in Manila; another is the
burning of the Parián, with all the rich merchandise stored therein;
while in Cavite several hundred Chinese are deliberately taken out
by tens and beheaded. In both cases, however, opportunity is kindly
provided for the wretched victims to receive baptisms, if they were
infidels, or to make their confessions, if Christians. Peace is finally
made with the small remnant of the insurgent force, who are taken to
Manila and carefully guarded within a stockade. The writer describes
their method of warfare; and enumerates the villages burned by them,
and other damages committed, during the revolt.
The history of the Augustinian order in the Philippines, presented in
VOLS. XXIII and XXIV of this series from Medina's Historia, is here
continued for the decade 1630-40 by an extract from Diaz's Conquistas
(written about 1718), partly in synopsis and partly in translation. He
relates the contest over the vacant see of Manila, finally settled
(1630) in favor of Fray Pedro de Arce; the election of Gerónimo de
Medrano as provincial in 1632; the persecutions in Japan, the lives
of martyrs there, the controversy between Corcuera and the bishop,
biographies of noted Augustinians, and various secular matters (all
of which we omit). There is an interesting relation of the life and
labors of a useful missionary, Alonso de Mentrida, among the Indians
in Panay Island; he wages unceasing war against the devil and his
agents, the native priests of idols--the former often appearing in
visible and hideous form. A similar account is given of the life
of Juan de Medina (above cited). In 1638 Fray Martin Errasti is
elected provincial. The Visayas Islands have been, of late years,
harassed by the Moro pirates; but a notable expedition is undertaken
(1639) against those of the Lake Lanao region, in which the Recollect
missionary known as "Padre Capitan" is a prominent figure. For the
time, those Moros are awed and warned. Diaz recounts the main events
of that time--Corcuera's expedition to Jolo and the insurrection of
the Chinese. Errasti dies in 1639, and his vacant office is assumed
by Fray Juan Ramírez, the past provincial.
In 1640 the Jesuit Bobadilla writes a description of the Philippines
and their people. The former is but a brief outline; most of the
document is devoted to the Indian natives, and the natural products of
the islands. The father writes of the custom of slavery among them;
their religious beliefs, customs, and superstitions; the practices
of their priests; their physical appearance, and dress; their customs
of tattooing, filing the teeth, and bathing; their language, writing,
and music. He describes their marriages, houses, occupations, boats,
and weapons; and their medical practice and mortuary customs. Then he
considers the climate of the islands, the culture and uses of rice,
and the natural products--animals, minerals, and fruits, especially
the palm and bamboo. He describes the buyo, so commonly used there;
also various peculiar animals. Bobadilla then mentions the manner in
which the Spanish colony is governed; their garrisons in the islands;
and the bishoprics therein. He describes briefly the city of Manila,
the trade of Filipinas, the relations of the Spaniards with the
Chinese and other peoples, and the voyage between Manila and Acapulco.
The Editors
July, 1905.
DOCUMENTS OF 1638
Events in the Filipinas, 1637-38. [Unsigned; probably written by
Juan Lopez, S.J., in July, 1638.]
Letter to Felipe IV. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; August 21.
Letter to Felipe IV, from the treasurer at Manila. Baltasar Ruiz
de Escalona; August 31.
Relation of the Filipinas Islands. Hieronimo de Bañuelos y
Carrillo; 1638.
Glorious victories against the Moros of Mindanao. Diego de
Bobadilla, S.J., and others; 1638.
Royal orders and decrees, 1638. Felipe IV; March 15, and
September-December.
Fortunate successes in Filipinas and Terrenate, 1636-37.
[Unsigned; published in 1639.]
Value of Corcuera's seizures in Jolo. [Unsigned and undated;
probably 1638.]
Sources: The first and seventh of these documents are obtained from
MSS. in the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid; the second and third,
and two of the decrees in the sixth, from MSS. in the Archivo general
de Indias, Sevilla; the rest of the sixth, from the Archivo Historico
Nacional, Madrid; the fourth, from Thevenot's Voyages curieux, t. i,
part ii--from a copy belonging to the library of Harvard University;
the fifth, from a book in the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar, Madrid;
the eighth, from Pastells' edition of Colin's Labor evangélica, iii,
pp. 528-533.
Translations: These are made by James A. Robertson--except the second
and part of the sixth, by Emma Helen Blair; and the fifth, by Arthur
B. Myrick.
EVENTS IN THE FILIPINAS, 1637-38
The patache for España left here August 24. It had a propitious season
[for departure], and therefore it has apparently enjoyed favoring
vendaval blasts. [1] A short time before that, the patache had left
for the island of Hermosa; its commander was Don Alonso de Alcoçer,
and the governor of that island, Sargento-mayor Pedro Palomino,
sailed in it. On the fifth of September, a xalea arrived from Yndia
on its way to Macan, which had been obliged to put in here on account
of the weather. It left Malaca August 16, in order to advise the
inhabitants of Macan to be on the lookout, for there were many Dutch
in the strait. Now they are going in the galleon "San Juan Baptista"
under command of Juan Lopez de Ariduin, to buy materials of importance
for his Majesty's fleets. The xalea remains here to be used for the
expedition to Xolo, for which it seems well fitted. They report as
news that Goa was almost surrounded by Dutch vessels. Six galleons
went out to attack them and sank three of the Dutch vessels. The
latter retired after three days of fighting, with the intention of
returning to Jacatra and getting a larger force. On the way they met
eleven Portuguese fustas, which took shelter in a river. The Dutch
employed strategy in fighting them, and captured seven of the fustas,
while four escaped. One of the latter was an excuse for a galley. In
consequence [of that victory], the enemy are now committing great
depredations in the strait.
It is also reported that the Malabars with seventeen paroos [i.e.,
praus] attacked last year a ship from Macan with a crew of thirty
Portuguese, and carrying great wealth, a thing never before seen. It
is reported that the Dutch there have shown great anger at what
the relief galleons did this year with their ships and the fort of
Malayo; and that, for the coming year, they are intending to send
out a squadron to punish the jest that was played on them.
It is reported that a Portuguese, named Antonio Carnero, has taken
up arms together with others, and that they have adopted the calling
of pirates, and are committing depredations on Moros and Christians.
When the king of Achen was about to go to attack Malaca with a fleet,
he died. The kingdom was inherited by the king of Paon, an old-time
friend of the Portuguese. He has renewed friendship with them--a
great piece of news.
Fray Antonio del Rosario, the ancient of Macan, of [the Order of]
St. Dominic, bishop-elect of Malaca, died on the way [to that city]
before being consecrated.
The fathers who accompanied Father Marçelo, who were captured last
year by the Dutch, together with that famous Polish father, are now
at liberty. Father Antonio Magallanes, procurator of the province of
Goa, whom I saw at Roma and Madrid, was to conduct Father Marçelo and
his companions; but he remained in España to finish some business,
has been elected bishop of Japon, and they are awaiting him in Yndia.
Among the Portuguese of that xalea is one who is a lay-brother of
St. Francis. He came last year from Lisboa as companion of a bishop,
the friar Francisco Froan de Benavides, who was once in the mission
of Nuevo Mexico. He died on his arrival at Goa, and this religious is
trying to pass to España by way of these islands, with papers left him
by the bishop. This is the principal news brought by the Portuguese.
On the morning of the seventh of this month, Fray Juan de Subelço [2]
came here from the province of the Rosario, to ask assistance by virtue
of an order that he brought from the governor. This was given to him
[by the authorities], and he entered the convent, took possession of it
for his province, and sent to Manila the father rector, Fray Francisco
Pinelo, who surrendered the house peaceably and quietly. The day
before, with the same aid, they had taken possession at the same time
of Minondo, the hospital, and the Parián, and conveyed Father Collado
and the other fathers to their convent. The community received them
at the door of their church, amid the chiming of bells, the playing
of organs, and with candles lighted on their altars; thence they took
the fathers to their cells. As a thank-offering they began a novena,
on November 7, of masses and Salves, accompanied by fine music, the
chiming of the bells, and a goodly crowd. All the people rejoiced
because they were at peace. Your Reverence will be pleased to know
how this happened. Collado wrote bits of satire against the governor,
calling him filius diaboli flagellum dei et alia hujus modi. [3]
His original letters were returned to hands that placed them in
those of Don Sebastian. Finally the governor allowed the claims of
the province of the Rosario to stand. That province had made Fray
Andres del Santisimo judge-conservator, who summoned Collado to show
his despatches that had been passed by the Council [of the Indias],
but he did not answer. The judge-conservator cited him for the second
time, but there was no answer. The judge-conservator proclaimed the
cause at an end, and sentenced his province to be suppressed. Aid
was asked for the execution of the order and was given, etc.
On Saturday, the twelfth of this month, excommunications were read
here in four churches against those who had or knew of moneys,
clothing, books, or other things of the bearded fathers, [4] unless
they gave them up to those of the Rosario. Almost two thousand pesos
were declared here belonging to Pinelo, who had deposited them with
a friend. He came to Manila instantly, and begged protection from Don
Sebastian, saying that they were his--five hundred pesos received from
a berth on ship, given him by his Lordship for Mexico, and which, with
his Lordship's permission, he sold when he remained; one hundred and
seventy pesos from a pay-warrant which his Lordship had ordered to be
paid to him; and he had been given one thousand or more pesos, which
his nephew the reader Ochoa (whom he brought with him as a witness) had
given him. All this did he state, for even as he left here, he tried
to go to España in this galleon by way of Macan, which was conceded to
him. The governor wrote to Fray Juan de Subelço to let him have that
money, which was proved to belong to Pinelo. He gave him another and
very stringent letter for his provincial in Manila that declared the
same thing. Father Fray Juan, who narrated the matter to me, went to
talk with him, and told him that the books showed that the expense was
more than eight hundred pesos ahead of the receipts; and that, besides
this, he had just received two hundred pesos belonging to a deceased
man, and one hundred and seventy pesos belonging to another, and that
he will have to give account of this--besides which, in any event,
it all belonged to the order, and nothing was his. He answered that
they should have it there, and that he would write to his provincial;
and that, notwithstanding his letter, Fray Juan should do his duty,
in conformity to the rules of his order. I have now learned that they
gave up all the money to Pinelo, which he carried away. The galleon
sailed September 19.
Of their own accord the Sangleys offered the governor [5] a gift of
six thousand pesos, giving the following reasons for so doing: first,
because he had redeemed thirty-one of their people from the captivity
of Corralat; second, because he had made the seas free and secure
for their ordinary trade; and third, because he maintained them in
peace and justice. Consequently, the expense of the war of Mindanao,
taking into account the artillery, and the pillage which pertained
to his Majesty, and the above-mentioned six thousand pesos, was not
only covered, but there were also one thousand five hundred pesos
left over, as I was told by his Majesty's accountant. The latter
also adds that the golden water-jug and plate that had belonged to
Auditor Alcaraz were bought for the king our lord with those one
thousand five hundred pesos; and the governor Don Sebastian added to
that sum more than two hundred pesos as a gift from his own purse,
in order to make up the cost of the said water-jug and plate. Dated
at Cavite, September 15, 1637.
September 27, sentence was declared in favor of the Augustinian
fathers of Castilla, and that sentence makes a complete end to the
alternative. A sentence was also given in which the will of Espinosa
el Tuerto [i.e., "the one-eyed"] was declared null and void. The
property has been delivered to the fund belonging to deceased persons,
and those who have any right to it are to demand their justice.
I had a letter from Father Melchor de Vera, [6] in which he says that
the people who escaped alive from the six large Javanese ships which
were at Lamitan were accommodated in one caracoa, and passing before
Basilan, full of fear of the Spaniards in the fort of Sanboangan,
talked with the chief men [of Basilan], and told them that they were
those who had been driven from the hill, and that many more than they
had thought had been killed; and that there was no one in Mindanao
who did not mourn a person of very near kin--the father for his son,
the son for his father, etc.
I shall add here what occurred last year in the month of September,
and which I did not learn until the same month of this year 1637. The
captain and commandant of Caragan was then Juan Nicolas Godino. He
went with a fleet to commit depredations on the tributaries of
Cachil Corralat. He met six caracoas at sea, which he attacked and
conquered--although most of the enemy escaped to land, as they were
near the shore. However he killed some of them and captured others. He
also did much damage in a village that he attacked. He returned
to his fort laden with plunder and with one hundred and twenty
captives. Among the dead was one Dumplac, who had formerly killed
Alférez Blas Gonzalez, and had done great damage to the Christians
of our missions and those of Caragan. Among the captives was a very
famous chief, who was regarded as a brave man, and who killed Captain
Pedro Baptista in the insurrection of Caragan.
October 24, the patache from the island of Hermosa entered the port,
and it brought back most of the people in those forts. They say
that the Franciscan friars are all going to China, as are all the
Dominicans, except one who remained there. It is reported that they
are suffering famine, and that no ships from China go there.
The day before, the twenty-third, Sargento-mayor Don Pedro de Corquera,
the governor's nephew, died at Manila. The governor had reared him from
childhood in Flandes. He was well liked and respected in these islands,
for his affable manners had obtained for him much popularity. Three
or four days before, a galley-captain, named N. Ramos, and some
other discontented Spaniards had deserted in a boat with a topmast,
for their provision robbing two Sangley champans.
The master-of-camp, Pedro de Heredia, died at Manila November 5. He
left all his property to charity. But the Audiencia sequestered it
all immediately, until the end of his residencia. Captain Don Diego
de Miranda also died from an accident, which carried him off in
thirty hours.
News was received on November 15 that the enemy were passing the
Mindoro coast. That same day, Don Sebastian despatched some vessels
to attack them. Alférez Arexica went from this place to attack
them with fifty firearms in the xalea and two brigantines. He also
despatched his company from Manila in champans, to pursue and punish
them. Shortly after, Father Hernando de Estrada [7] arrived here
from Marinduque. He states that he met some champans which had been
pursued by the enemy, whom they thought to have been Camucones. The
two brigantines returned on the night of November 24. On account of
the wind and rain they had lost the xalea, which was the flagship,
the night that they had left. They went to Balayan, where they learned
that the Camucones had attacked Lobo, but that they had done no damage,
for the Indians resisted them; whereupon the pirates had taken their
course toward their own country by way of the sea side of Mindoro. The
xalea returned November 29, without having met the enemy. Then came
news that one night the flagship and one other of the champans that
had sailed from Manila had collided. The shock was more severe on
the flagship, which sprang a leak and went down. Only one Spaniard
and one Sangley were drowned.
The champan that carried Father Marçelo Mastril did not go to China,
but to the Lequios, which are subject to the king of Saxuma. Some
Japanese accompanied the father. Accordingly they made use of the
following stratagem. Those of the champan talked with the Lequians,
whom they told that those Japanese had been wrecked on an island,
and that they had rescued them; and that, if the Lequians would give
them some provisions, they would leave the Japanese there; but, if
not, that the latter would return [to Manila]. The Lequians gave them
some food, and immediately despatched the father and the Japanese,
as they wished, in a funea, while the champan returned here. They
learned there that the Dominican fathers who had tried to go to Japon
last year by way of the Lequios had been seized, and sent to the king
of Saxuma by the tono of that land.
Yesterday, December 9, Don Sebastian set out from Manila for Xolo. He
sailed in the galley flagship. With him went the xalea, brigantines,
champans, and the two galleons for Terrenate, under the command of
Geronimo Enriquez; and as admiral Don Pedro de Almonte, the same as
last year. The second galley was launched yesterday, and the commander
of the galleys, Nicolas Gonzalez, will leave here in it in a week,
in order to follow Don Sebastian. Admiral Andres Lopez de [word partly
illegible; Nozadigui?] will govern this port in his absence.
A patache arrived at Manila on December 27 from Macan, laden with
five thousand arrobas of iron for Captain Juan Lopez de Ariduin. It
was bought from some English, who were near Macan with three galleons
and this patache. It brought news of the remarkable martyrdom of Father
Francisco Marçelo Mastril, who reached Japon September 19. Having left
Manila on July 10, he landed at the kingdom of Saxuma with only one
companion. He immediately went inland to go to the emperor's court. But
he was seized October 4, and, having suffered most cruel tortures,
he was beheaded October 17 with his aforesaid companion. Since I
translated the relation from Portuguese into Castilian, and enclose
it herewith, I shall only add that the bells in our church and others
were rung as soon as the news arrived. In the afternoon a notable Te
Deum laudamus was sung. The dean again put on his clerical robes. The
archbishop came, as did the royal Audiencia, and a great crowd of
people, and the orders, as well as the master-of-camp, Don Lorenço
de Olaso, and the flower of the soldiery. From our house they went
to [the church of] St. Dominic to sing another Te Deum for three
martyrs of that order. At night there was also a chiming of bells
and an illumination. The entire city celebrated the glory and virtues
of the holy father Marçelo, with tender tears; for he was generally
loved and regarded as a saint.
Among the Dominican fathers died a mestizo of Binondo, son of a Chinese
and a Tagál woman. He was prosecuted by justice, in order to hang him
for his crimes; and he embarked with the fathers, in order to escape
with his life. Arriving at the Lequios, and his other companions
remaining in the boat, he refused to return, but wished to continue
with the fathers. They tell and do not finish telling of the valor,
fervor, and courage of that holy mestizo, who suffered cruel tortures
with a rare constancy, ever preaching the Divine law of God.
It was learned, at the coming of that patache, that those fathers
who had accompanied the holy father Marçelo who went with the
captain-general of Macan had arrived safely; and that the champan
which had fled hence with eighteen sailors had made port at that
city. It was also reported that the Portuguese have not been well
received in Japon either this year or last, and all that is because
of the preachers who go. It is learned also that Father Alberto de
Polonia was brought to Cochinchina, and that he is now in Macan,
where for some time he suffered from a most severe illness.
A champan, which had sailed from the island of Hermosa some years
ago with a load of people, and had been given up as lost, made port
at Sian because of the violence of the wind. That king treated them
well, and gave them the means with which to return. Afterward they
were driven upon the coast of the kingdom of Patani by other fierce
tempests--where, having been supplied and sailing near the strait of
Sincapura, the Dutch followed them. They landed, and at length made
port at Macan, whence some of the men have come, while the others will
come in the galleon "San Juan Baptista." It is said by those who come
in this patache, who had gone in the galleon "San Juan Baptista," that,
on discovering the English ships, lanchas came from them to reconnoiter
them; and the English, having heard that it was a galleon belonging
to the king of España, threw up their caps into the air joyfully,
and eagerly cried out, "Hurrah for the king of España!" Then they took
the news to their own ships, which fired many salutes, and by way of
toasting the health of the king our sovereign, fired a hundred pieces
of artillery. They told our men that the daughter of their king [8]
was in España for all her lifetime.
Father Fray Francisco de Pinelo and other religious who went from
here to pass to España embarked in these English ships, on condition
that there should be no disputes on matters of religion.
News came through the fathers of St. Augustine at Panhay on January
15, 1638, that one of the champans which left Manila to attack
the Camucones became separated from the others. It fell in with
the Camucones, and did them great damage, sinking their flagship
and almiranta. Twelve Borneans were captured, and six Christians
were freed. The enemy's loss was a hundred counting drowned and
killed. Sargento-mayor Pedro de Fuerçios was commander of that champan.
Almost all the month of January and that of February was taken
up with prayers in various churches, for the fortunate success of
Don Sebastian. Now we are not the only ones to offer them, as we
were last year; but all make them, both the secular clergy and the
friars. The Sangleys have said very solemn prayers in their Parián
church, of their own accord, as an expression of thanks for the peace
and justice in which the governor maintains them.
Don Sebastian had sent those Borneans and Camucones from Otong to
Manila, ordering them to serve the various orders and hospitals,
so that they might be carefully catechized and made Christians. When
they reached Maribeles, an old Morabite [9] persuaded the others, and
they rose against the Spaniards who were bringing them. There were two
Spaniards in the champan who were wounded, but they killed the Morabite
and wounded some of the others. Some of them were thrown into the sea,
where they were drowned, and with this fortune they reached Manila.
On the night of February 10, robbers entered the church of this
residence at Cavite, and stole two silver lamps. They set a trap in
the stairway, so that the first one who should descend, if the robbers
were perceived, would undoubtedly be killed. It has been impossible to
find any trace of the robbers. A week later, about two thousand pesos'
worth of jewels were stolen in Manila in [the church of] St. Dominic,
Nuestra Señora del Rosario. But the thief (who was a Spaniard) was
discovered, and most of it has been recovered.
Letters were received March 19, announcing the governor's arrival at
Sanboangan and Jolo. The news therein contained is in a separate paper.
A despatch was received from the governor in the middle of April from
Jolo, from which it was learned that he was pressing as closely as
possible the siege of the stronghold, which the Macasars and Joloans
were defending with great obstinacy. There are things worthy of
history, which will go [in a letter] by themselves.
It was learned from the same despatch that the Terrenate galleons
had already returned to Sanboangan, and that they had arrived safely
with their reënforcements, without the Dutch enemy having shown them
any resistance, although the latter had vessels of great burden. Six
Dutchmen deserted to our men; the three who were aboard the flagship,
where Father Pedro Hernando de Estrada was, were converted to our
holy Catholic faith by his efforts. One of them is a fine student,
and very talented. He knows Latin and Greek, and had studied the
whole course of arts, and some years in law, in Flandes.
A patache which left Macan some days after our galleon "San Juan
Baptista," arrived from that city on May 4, and they expected to find
the galleon here; however, experienced persons say that it is not
late. There are six brothers in the galleon--students who are to be
ordained--and Father Bartolome is coming with them as superior. That
patache brings two Franciscan friars, Castilians, who have been driven
from China. They say that the Chinese have driven them away through
love of us, saying that Ours preach Christ risen, and those fathers
Christ crucified--a reason that I do not understand. The statement of
the pilot of the patache is that they have been driven out because they
proceeded in the preaching with but little caution, and I regard that
as true. Some nine months ago, I heard a prudent and experienced man
say that a great persecution was feared in China, because of the little
caution of the preachers. One week after the arrival of the patache,
I received a letter from Father Antonio Cardin, [10] commissary of
the Holy Office for Macan and China, who gives me the following news:
"Section of a letter from Father Antonio Cardin, dated Macan,
April 15, 1638
"I shall relate here the news of the missions that your Reverence
desires to know. Japon is a thing of the past if God do not, in
His mercy, aid it. China was increasing greatly in Christianity
during these years, but with the entrance of the friars, it is
being thrown into confusion; for all the religious have been exiled
in Chincheo, and the churches destroyed, where they and we were
[laboring] in a flourishing Christian church. For as the friars
treat of conquests, saying openly that China can be conquered
with four thousand Spaniards, such talk can have no good effect
on the natives, who immediately tell it to their mandarins,
and we are all lost.
"The fathers have been restored to their former liberty in
Cochinchina. The old king died, but his son has given the Dutch a
factory, and they are doing as much harm as possible. In Tumquin
that Christian church is increasing greatly; but the Dutch are now
there, and, although the king has not conceded them a factory,
they say that they will do us as much harm as possible in order
that we may be exiled. Father Raymundo de Govea is arranging
matters in Tumquin, in order that he may go to the Laos. There
is no news from Siam. They killed Father Julio Cesar there, and
until now they have been at war with Malaca. They now send to
ask for peace, and they also tell me that they will ask it from
Manila. It is said that they are doing this through fear of the
Dutch, who they fear are going to seize their kingdom. Father Lope
de Andrada was ordered to retire from Camboja, on account of ill
health, and Father Antonio Capechi was sent there. The sending
of a large ship directly to Lisboa is being discussed here, but
this is so great a blessing that I doubt whether it will be done."
At the closing of the hour of prayer on May 13, the day of the
glorious ascension of our Lord, news arrived of the capture of the
[fortified] hill of Jolo. It is a matter of the greatest consolation
for all nations; at least, all joined in the festival with great
appearances of rejoicing. The bells of all the churches were rung,
and the Te Deum laudamus, so due to God, was sung in some of them as
a thank-offering. There was a great illumination at night, and more
ringing of bells. I refer to the history for particular.
The above news was received on the occasion of the arrival of five
or six ships from Great China, laden with merchandise, which was
needed in the islands. They give as news that eleven other and more
powerful ships have been given chapas. That has been of the greatest
consolation, for in the last two years those ships have had so little
custom, because of the small amount of silver that had been sent
from Mexico, that it was feared that the Chinese would not come this
year. [11]
The commander of the galleys, Nicolas Gonçalez, and Captain Carrança,
who was general of the artillery, having fallen very sick at Jolo
almost at the beginning of the siege, were sent away by Don Sebastian
so that they might recuperate. They arrived at Octong safely more
than two months ago, and this their delay was already causing
anxiety. Today, May 17, I have been told that the Chinese of the
champan in which they were coming [to Manila] killed them through
greed, in order to rob them, and five other Spaniards with them. One
they cast into the sea badly wounded, where some Indian fishermen
rescued him, to whom he related what had happened. Scarcely had they
reached land before he died.
Some influential men were killed in the assaults on Xolo, among whom
were Sargento-mayor Melon, Captain Juan Nicolas, Alférez Aregita, etc.
Yesterday, May 16, while talking with the commandant of Macan,
a very honorable Portuguese, of the Order of Santiago, I asked him
some questions, the replies to which I shall state here, as they have
some interest. He says that the kingdom of Tumquin is a part of Great
China, but has a different king; and it differs in language from China,
as does Galicia from Castilla. He asserts the same of Cochinchina,
although there is a greater difference in language. Tumquin is ninety
leguas from Macan, and is reached by traveling between the island
of Ainao [i.e., Hainan] and the mainland of China. Cochinchina is
one hundred and twenty leguas [from Macan], and is reached by going
outside that island. One of four ships that sailed recently from Macan
to various kingdoms, which was en route to Macasar with two hundred and
fifty persons, was wrecked on this island of Ainao, but only fourteen
persons were drowned. The commandant added that the Society of Jesus
is now preaching in that island, and that the people are rapidly
embracing Christianity. The fathers had brought six boys, sons of
the most influential men, to Macau to be educated better, and they
show signs of great ability. When I asked him about the exile of the
preachers from Chincheo, he only replied that the Castilians, as they
are prepared to hold subject all the Indians of their conquests--as
Mexico, Peru, and these islands--enter into other kingdoms with great
bragging and boasts, which is the occasion of their ruin.
I have learned from some fathers of St. Dominic and the cura of Nueva
Segobia (which is, one hundred and thirty leguas away from here) that
Fray Diego Collado wrote a paper to Don Sebastian, after the reunion
of the fathers of St. Dominic, which was entitled "Deceits, tricks,
and plots of Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera," in which he made
disgraceful remarks to him. His Lordship sent it to his provincial,
and the latter retired the father to the house of Nueva Segobia. He
remained some months in prison, where he could neither hear nor say
mass; and he is now locked up where he can hear it through a church
gallery.
Today, May 20, at two o'clock, quite without our expecting it,
and without the fires in Maribelez having announced it, the galleon
"San Juan Baptista"--which had taken fifty days to come from Macan,
a voyage which the patache made in nine--arrived. God delivered them
from a great danger on some shoals, to which the currents were taking
them swiftly during a calm. The fathers assert that they invoked the
holy father Marcelo, the martyr of Jesus Christ, with great faith
in the greatest danger. Thanks to the Lord, who has allowed them
all to arrive safe and happy! Father Bartolome Roboredo has told
us glorious things of the Christendom of Tumquin--where, this year
alone, nine thousand have been baptized. He says that there are some
fathers and a bishop even in Etiopa; and that the rulers do not molest
the Catholics. The fathers of Jentafee, Tibet, and the kingdoms of
Potente and Siranagar, have suffered various fortunes. In the court
of the Megor [i.e., Mogul], the church was destroyed, and the fathers
seized by those Moros, because they were confirming in the faith those
Christians who had been taken captive from Bengala. But now affairs
have begun to brighten; they have been granted liberty, and are aiding
the Christians. By that means it is to be hoped that there will be at
some other time a gateway into Tibet and Siranagar, the way to which
must necessarily lie through [the country of] the Megor. It has been
learned from Japon, from the very ones who are in power, that they
are now tired and weary of killing Christians; and that they are not
well satisfied with the Dutch and their trade. He adds that, because of
what the holy father Marcelo declared to them in his martyrdom--namely,
that they were rendering their nation infamous and obscuring their fame
by the tortures that they were inflicting upon the private parts of
Christians--the Japanese are generally angry, and do not wish that to
be done. All the priests in Japon at present are three of the Society
of Jesus, all Japanese. It is not known where they are wandering,
and no letters have been received from them, because of the severity
of the persecution. There is one other father, a European, named Juan
Baptista Porro. They do not say that he is alive, for, although his
death is not known, it is presumed that he is dead; for he was very
old and worn out with labors, and it is several years since letters
have been received from him. It is also said that there are hopes that
that persecution will soon cease. Would to God that it might be so!
Yesterday, May 23, the day of the Holy Ghost, Don Sebastian arrived
at this port, having left Tanaguan that morning--a distance of ten
mortal leguas. He came in the Terrenate galleons, which, as the
weather was bad, he left at the landing at Mindoro. He, as well as
Father Juan de Barrios, was fatigued, which we could see was from the
hardships that they have suffered; but, thanks to God, these have
been well recompensed in service to God and to the general welfare
of these islands. The chaplain Don Pedro de Francia died of fever in
the ship, and, six days later, Captain Don Lope de Barahona, of the
same sickness. Upon the arrival of Don Sebastian, the bells in our
house were rung for a long time, as a mark of rejoicing. Later the
bells were rung in the cathedral church, and that night there were
illuminations in all the houses and convents.
Yesterday, May 27, the galleons of the Terrenate relief expedition
anchored at this port. Father Hernando de Estrada says that twenty
persons of various nations (for the galleons carried Joloans, Basilans,
and the Bisayans who were freed from the captivity of Xolo) have
died in the flagship since their departure from Sanboangan, and that
sickness was caused by their close quarters; and that a goodly number
have died in the almiranta and the patache; but it is a cause for great
consolation that no Moro, male or female, has died without baptism.
Yesterday, May 31, Don Sebastian made his triumphant entrance into
Manila, in the same manner as he had done, the year preceding, upon
his arrival from Mindanao. I wrote concerning it, by the patache;
and will only state here the number of pieces--namely, eleven of cast
iron and one bronze culverin, these being large pieces. Among the
medium-sized pieces and falcons there were fifteen. The best falcon
had the arms and name of King Don Sebastian [of Portugal]. There were
eleven smaller versos. The crowd of people in the windows and streets,
the illuminations of the night, and the masquerades of the city,
were the same as I wrote last year.
June 3, Corpus Christi day, the procession of thanks for the victory
was united with that of the most holy sacrament, as I wrote last
year. That same day the xalea which had been left in Xolo arrived. It
brings news that the king and queen, who had fled from the stronghold
with the other Joloans, have sent to say that they desire to settle
in whatever place may be assigned to them, and to pay tribute to
his Majesty. They promise to obey the conditions imposed on them by
Don Sebastian.
Monday, June 7, the honors for those killed in war were performed in
the soldiers' church with the same solemnity as those of the past
year. The father rector, Francisco Colin, preached to a generally
appreciative audience.
Friday, June eleven, the flagship galley entered this port with a
round sail, but no bastard; for a flash of lightning, which struck it,
had torn it from top to bottom and killed two men. It brought some
bronze artillery of the pieces captured at Jolo, in addition to what
I mentioned in the triumph--as was told me by a man who comes from
there, and who is well versed regarding artillery. The pieces with
ladles mounted in the stronghold numbered in all eleven of cast iron,
and eleven of bronze; also eleven other large falcons, besides the
ordinary versos.
He says of Dato Ache, who is the greatest pirate, and the one who
has done most damage to the Christians of all those of Jolo--and
who is the one who persuaded the king and the others to fortify
themselves, and to refuse to surrender to the Spaniards--that a
mine which exploded and killed fifty Joloans, also caught him, so
that he was completely buried. With only power to move one hand, he
beckoned imploringly for help; his men hurried to his assistance,
and got him out, much hurt. He recovered afterward, and when the
others descended from the stronghold, he, with some other Malays,
who were steadfastly of the opinion that they should not surrender,
escaped, and left the island in great dudgeon at the king.
Sunday, June 20, when we celebrated the feast of the most holy
sacrament, Father Francisco Rangel chanted his first mass in this
college. He was one of the six who came from Macan to be ordained,
and since his residence here has told us some remarkable things that
happened four or five years ago, and, as I believe that very few
there have any knowledge regarding them, I shall relate them here.
First, he says that the island of Ainao is as large as the island of
Çicilia; and that it has its own natives, who are white-complexioned,
and have a different aspect from that of the Chinese. The latter
conquered the seacoast many years ago, and the natives retired to
the mountains, whence it is their custom to descend to harry the
Chinese--who are scattered, and have never subjected the natives to the
payment of tribute. While Father Bento de Matos was in that island,
two remarkable things occurred to him. In a city of the Chinese,
where no means have yet been found whereby to make an entrance to
instruct the natives--both because the language is special, and
because they are always at war--it happened that the father, having
no lodging, learned that there was a good unoccupied house, for,
because of fear at I know not what noises that had been heard in it,
no one would live in it. The father determined to enter and to live
in that house, although his friends dissuaded him and told him their
fears. He lived there quite a number of days, at the end of which,
in the darkness of the night, a dead man appeared to him in the habit
of a mandarin. The dead man told the father to look well at him,
and note well his marks, and to go to the mandarin So-and-so, who
was his brother, and tell him to disinter his body, which was buried
in such and such a place near the altar; for it was the will of God
that there should not be the body of a condemned heathen in a place
where the holy body of His son Jesus Christ was offered to Him in
acceptable sacrifice. The father gave the marks to the mandarin, who
recognized that it was his brother. They dug in the place noted, and
found the body entire in a casket and preserved with precious spices,
with which it had been embalmed, and carried it to a separate place.
The other circumstance is, that every day when the said father said
mass there, it was heard by a devout Christian, who, after rising
suddenly, appeared so joyful and happy that the other Christians
came to consider and even to believe him as mad. They resolved to
censure him, and to advise him to have more moderation and modesty in
the presence of so great a Lord. He answered them that he could not
do otherwise than he had; for, on rising from the eucharist, he saw
two most beautiful youths kneeling before the most holy sacrament,
amid such lights and splendors that they bathed his soul in joy so
great that it overflowed in its abundance to his body, and he could
not restrain himself from manifesting it.
It happened to that same father that, while on a mission to Chincheo,
some literati suddenly entered a chapel in which he was, to make a jest
of him and of the God whom he was adoring. He kneeled down before a
crucifix and said "Lord, do not abandon me among thine enemies." The
holy crucifix answered "No, son, I shall not abandon thee; but I am
always with thee to aid thee." Thereupon the literati, thunderstruck
and full of fear, left the father, and went out of the chapel.
In one of these recent years, during a great baquio or typhoon,
eighteen Dutch ships were wrecked on the coast of Chincheo. The Chinese
beheaded some of those who escaped alive, and, having seasoned those
heads with salt, took them with the other men whom they left alive to
the court of Paquin, where they were all beheaded. For the aversion
of the Chinese to people with blue eyes is great; and the reason is
that it is said that there is an ancient prophecy that men with eyes
of that color will conquer their kingdom.
About two years ago, six out of seven ships that left Olanda with
reënforcements for India were sunk in the open sea, and only one
arrived.
The king of China is commonly regarded by his vassals as a Christian:
1st, because he has only one wife; 2d, because he only adores the God
of heaven; 3d, because he has tried to exterminate the bonzes. Among
other plans [for the accomplishment of that], he employed that
of having six thousand bonzes enlisted for the war against the
Tartars. He sent them under the command of a great war mandarin,
and all the six thousand died in the war. The captain alone escaped,
and he was shortly after baptized; he is a very devout Christian, and
is known as Doctor Miguel. The manner in which the king [12] became
a Christian is said to have been that the famous Doctor Pablo (who
is now dead), having free entrance into the palace, often conversed
with the king, whom he converted and baptized. The king has shown
Ours favor by giving them a large convent of the bonzes in Paquin,
and has given them lands for their support.
July 6, Father Melchor de Vera passed by way of this college, en
route from Sanboanga. He gives us some particulars which it is well
to know. Cachil Moncay attacked the new village which Cachil Corralat
had built. He killed or captured about one hundred of his men, but
Corralat escaped. Afterward when Dato Siqui brought his customary
tribute to Corralat from the island of Little Sanguil, he attacked
Moncay and killed him and others, so that the number of killed and
captives reached eighty.
Father Vera met on his way here a champan from Terrenate, which
tells him that Corralat, seeing himself expelled [from his towns]
by Don Sebastian, sent messengers to the Moros of Terrenate, to beg
for aid; but that the latter had refused it to him, as they had enough
of their own affairs to attend to. The men of that champan also told
him that the petty king of Great Sanguil talked with them, and said
that he wished peace with the Spaniards, and would pay tribute to his
Majesty. For greater security he gave them the young prince his son, so
that they might give the boy to the governor as a token of peace. All
these are the results of the two victories of Mindanao and Jolo.
Today, July 11, a large champan, which had sailed from the port of
Macasar at the beginning of Lent, arrived at this port. They relate
many acts of affection and favor which the king has shown to the
Spaniards. Those aboard the champan assert that the king will be
very glad of whatever ill-treatment Don Sebastian accords to the
Macasars of Jolo, because they have taken arms against the vassals
of his brother the king of Castilla.
Today, July 18, the patache sails with the reënforcements for the
island of Hermosa, under the command of Don Pedro Fernandez del Rio.
Yesterday, July 23, at dawn, a Macan patache anchored in this
roadstead. It comes from Camboja laden with rice, camanguian or
benzoin, and other drugs.
LETTER FROM CORCUERA TO FELIPE IV
Sire:
Last year I informed your Majesty that I had appointed Don Luis
Arias de Mora as protector of the Sangleys in the Parián; he is a
lawyer well known in this royal Audiencia, a man of virtue and of
excellent abilities. On this account, with the salary of that office
of protector (which he draws from the communal treasury of the said
Sangleys), he is obliged to act as counsel for the archbishop in
affairs of justice, in order to prevent the troubles that the friars
brought upon him last year--inducing him to issue acts against the
Order of the Society, and excommunicating the royal Audiencia and
the governor of Filipinas. Since he promised that he would issue
no mandates without the signed approval of this counselor, we have
lived in peace, without there having been the least annoyance, or
any interruption of our harmony; for the said counselor will not sign
any act or document which the said archbishop causes to be drawn up
if it contravenes the patronage and jurisdiction of your Majesty,
or encroaches in any way upon your rights. For these reasons, and on
account of the said Luis Arias de Mora's long service as advocate
in this royal Audiencia, and his excellent reputation for learning
and talent, I entreat that your Majesty will be pleased to grant him
the favor of confirming him in the said office of protector of the
Sangleys, until some greater favor be bestowed upon him; any office
will be well served, if conferred upon him. May our Lord protect the
Catholic person of your Majesty, as Christendom has need. Manila,
August 21, 1638. Sire, your vassal kisses your Majesty's feet.
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera
[Endorsed: "February 26, 1639; provision is made for this."]
LETTER TO FELIPE IV FROM THE TREASURER AT MANILA
Sire:
If my so great obligations to your Majesty--not only since you
are my king and natural sovereign, but since you have honored me
so generously in these islands by employing my person in the post
of official judge-treasurer of your royal estate--necessarily and
strictly did not oblige me to inform your Majesty of the manner in
which the said royal estate is administered here, its condition,
and the so great ruin that it has suffered and is suffering since it
was your Majesty's pleasure to have Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera
come to govern these islands in the year thirty-five, I should have
to arouse myself and take courage to place before the pious eyes of
your Majesty this memoir of disasters; for no other title or name can
be given to the calamities that have rushed pellmell both on the said
royal estate, and on us afflicted ministers who have it in charge,
to the so great peril and discredit of our persons. The matter, Sire,
is a very long drawn out one, and hence it is impossible to compass
it in a few lines; and I in my rashness will weary your Majesty's
ears. But the love and zeal which move me will perhaps avail to remove
from me censure for my boldness.
Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera entered this city in the latter part
of June, 635, to assume this government. He showed apparent signs of
an endeavor to excel, in his honest and careful attitude toward your
royal estate; but we were soon undeceived by his so unexpected and
inconsiderate resolution not to despatch the ships which your Majesty
has ordered, by so many decrees and ordinances, to be sent annually
to Nueva España with the property of the inhabitants of this city--so
that the usual situado might be sent back in them to these islands
from the proceeds of your royal duties, and serve as a help to the
great and numerous expenses which your Majesty is incurring annually
in the increase and preservation of so many of the faithful as have in
these regions deserved to receive the holy water of baptism. Yet it
was a fact that Don Juan Cereço de Salamanca (who was concluding his
governorship, to which he had been appointed by the viceroy of Nueva
España), had prepared two ships, and their cargoes were aboard--the
lading-space having been allotted, in accordance with the orders
given by your Majesty, among the inhabitants of this city. The losses
and damage that have resulted, both to your royal estate and to the
property of the merchants of these islands, are so considerable and
momentous that I would not dare to name them. Your Majesty's ministers
in Mexico, in whose charge is the management of your royal estate,
will have already reported them to you, for they will be able to do
it with more accurate knowledge and certainty; and, consequently,
I think that they will already have come to your Majesty's ears.
A few days ago the governor introduced in this royal camp of Manila a
cavalry company of twenty-nine men or soldiers, with their captain,
one lieutenant, one alférez, one standard-bearer, and one corporal;
each soldier was to receive 168 pesos' pay per annum, the captain
1,200, the lieutenant, 480, the alférez, 380, the corporal, 216, and
one trumpler, 120--the total amounting to 7,248 pesos. It was for the
sole purpose of being employed nightly in squads to close the gates of
the city and to patrol it; and it was all to spare the infantry from
fatigue, although the latter had until then been employed in that
duty with much more security to the city, and with the correction
of many lawless acts which we have been experiencing here since,
and which have been committed by the very men who are deputed to
obviate them. When the said governor ordered us to inscribe that
new order in the royal books, and to furnish the papers to the said
soldiers with pay so increased, we, seeing of how little importance
and effectiveness the said company was, and that there was no order
from your Majesty for its creation, warned him of that--besides giving
him other reasons which will already have been seen by your Council,
for we enclosed a copy of both of them in the letters that we wrote
in the year 1636. Still, notwithstanding that, the governor ordered
the command to be obeyed. Accordingly we did so, and the command has
been, and is being, observed; and the governor refuses to recede
in so pernicious a decision as is the increase of [expenses with]
pay so large as this, and so unnecessary, and, moreover, when your
royal treasury in these islands has so many and so great necessities.
Although there was, upon the arrival of the said governor, as much
infantry in this city and these presidios, as in the times of previous
governors, and even more, inasmuch as he had brought in those ships
a very large and fine consignment of men (for they numbered more than
five hundred men)--a considerable reënforcement, and sufficient to have
garrisoned and manned your Majesty's forts--he raised two companies
of ninety-six Pampango Indians apiece, on his own counsel alone,
and unnecessarily, so that they might take part with the Spaniards in
the guard and watch of this city. The following pay [was assigned]:
the captain, 240 pesos per annum; two drummers, each 24 pesos; the
alférez, 120 pesos; his standard-bearer, 24 pesos; the sergeant, 84
pesos; the four corporals, 60 pesos apiece. Hence, both companies have
an annual expense of 10,728 pesos, for those two companies are paid
monthly the amount of their pay. Not only are those companies still
kept up, but they have also been augmented since the past year, 637,
by two other companies--one for this camp, which is here at present;
and the other in the new presidios of Jolo and Camboja--besides 72
other Pampango Indians, who are stationed in the fort at the port of
Cavite. All together mean an expense of 25,092 pesos per year to the
royal treasury. I assure your Majesty that this matter ought to be
looked at with the greatest attention, in order that things might
not be so managed; for it is a useless and needless expense when,
as I have said, your royal treasury suffers so great losses as it
does, by the so terrible and irreparable damage which the province
from which those Indians are drafted has suffered, as they are all
tillers of the soil, and tributaries of your Majesty. Many losses to
your royal estate follow, because they and their wives are exempted
from paying the tribute during the time while they serve in their
posts as soldiers. Besides, as this province [of Pampanga] abounds
so plentifully in rice, and your Majesty needs so much of it for the
rations of so great a number of persons as are employed in the building
and repairing of the vessels in the port of Cavite, and for the sailors
and soldiers, it is obvious that the said province will be diminished;
for it is necessary to allot the vendalas and repartimientos upon the
few who remain, instead of on the many, so that with a few exactions
of this sort the poor Indians will be driven to the wall, and will
find it necessary to desert their huts and take to the woods. That
would mean the total ruin and destruction of that district, which is
the support of this colony.
As the governor immediately undertook to despatch the usual
reënforcement and situado to the forts of Terrenate, he appointed a
chief commander with 3,000 pesos, and an admiral with 2,000--although
until then there had been no such officers as commander-in-chief and
admiral; but only one commandant, who received 60 ducados of eleven
reals per month, while those who were placed in command of the other
pataches received very moderate pay. We remonstrated, as we were bound
to do, warning the governor that there was no order from your Majesty
for the creation of such salaries. He referred the decision of this
matter to the treasury meeting, where we found two auditors and Doctor
Juan Fernandez de Ledo (who was exercising the duties of fiscal), and
the factor and treasurer. All except the said Doctor Juan Fernandez
de Ledo, who was of the governor's opinion, opposed the said pay,
giving very powerful and cogent reasons therefor. Notwithstanding that,
the governor ordered the said salaries to be made good, and said that
he would report the matter to your Majesty. Hence, Sire, he will by
no means listen to any proposition which is made for the benefit and
use of the royal treasury, if it is contrary to his opinion.
The same thing happened in the said meeting when they were assigning
the salaries to the chaplains whom he appointed in the said galleons
of Terrenate, and in all the others that sailed from these islands
for any place. It was an expense as avoidable as the others which he
has introduced, for it is a fact that religious are always ready to
serve those posts because of the accommodations that they receive in
the galleons, especially in those that sail to Nueva España. For when
the religious sail in them as passengers they must obtain permission,
and the accommodation of a berth, and, as this costs money and trouble,
it is found to be no little convenience to give them the posts as
chaplains; and they have not claimed or demanded any pay, and they
have been employed in this ministry in all the past. Therefore one
can understand how superfluous is that expense.
There are five convents of religious within the walls of this city of
Manila, and one of nuns; the church of La Misericordia, the seminary
of Santa Potenciana, the cathedral church, and the hospital for
the Spaniards or soldiers. That makes ten churches in all, and they
are so near and close to one another that the divine offices can be
heard from one to another, if one pays moderate attention. So small
and narrow> is the district of the city, and so few the people in the
churches, that if there was no more than one convent of religious and
the cathedral church, they could be sufficiently taken care of and
without too great fatigue [to the priests]. Although this was the fact
of the case, the governor, a very few days after his arrival, began
to build a church for his soldiers, saying at the beginning that the
expense for the building was to be taken from the soldiers' own pay,
and that no expense would be incurred by the royal treasury. But he
did not keep his word, although the said church was fully built,
together with some barracks and quarters for the said soldiers to
live in. In the erection of it, more than eighty thousand pesos have
been already spent, while the amount charged to the infantry is not in
excess of sixteen thousand pesos. Consequently, it has been necessary
that the remaining funds should be supplied from the royal treasury,
although it would be more proper to expend that sum in building
galleons to carry the goods of this city to Nueva España. For with
galleons the royal treasury will be increased, and thereby will the
governor obey the many and urgent orders which your Majesty has been
pleased to issue in this regard; and the vassals and inhabitants of
these islands would not be so ruined, and so hopeless of returning to
their former state. It was all occasioned by the governor's resolution
not to despatch any ships during the year of 635 and that of 637; and
even next year, 639, there is little assurance that he will despatch
them, for there is no money with which to prepare them. If that were
done, we could entertain stronger hopes; because, as I write this, the
usual succor from Mexico has not yet arrived, as only one very small
patache was despatched last year, and there is doubt that it was able
to reach port. On that account we are so perplexed and afflicted that
it is even a special providence of God that we are able to breathe.
The ships which are being despatched this year are sailing without a
register; for, as yet, the inhabitants have not registered a shred of
cloth with which to lade them, as they do not know the condition of
their property in Nueva España. As they are so ruined as regards their
capital, they are, according to my way of thinking excusable. But
I have been unable to find any excuse in any way for the governor,
who has, by his so extraordinary and unadvised resolutions, placed
this city in the last straits; and has paid no attention to those who,
with foresight, have represented to him these great damages, besides
those which have followed and will follow to the royal estate of your
Majesty. For this year alone (and I do not speak of former years),
more than one hundred and fifty thousand pesos have been spent on
these ships, both for the preparation that has been necessary, and
for the pay of the commanders, pilots, and other seamen and other
officials who sail in them, and for the food. Your Majesty will
never be reimbursed for that sum, for, as no cargo goes in the ships,
there can be no duties collected; and it is from these duties that
the funds for these expenses must be obtained, as your Majesty has
ordered and commanded. Hence, Sire, it becomes necessary to say that
it seems as if your Majesty had sent the governor to these islands
to ruin and destroy your royal estate, rather than to increase and
preserve it. This conclusion, if relief does not come speedily, will
be seen to be verified with the great loss of all, and the special
sorrow of us who, as your Majesty's faithful ministers and servants,
are bound to strive for the increase of your royal estate.
In the past year, 637, because these coasts were being infested by
the kings of Mindanao and Jolo, with great loss and damage to the
Christian Indians and your Majesty's vassals, the governor left this
city with two fine large fleets--the first on February two, and the
second on December eight. Both were despatched against the advice of
all the soldiers who were experienced in this country--both because of
the risk to which the governor exposed his person, and because of the
so heavy expenses that it was necessary to incur; and furthermore,
since there are very honorable soldiers in these islands, to whom
these expeditions can be entrusted with the hope that they will give an
excellent account of them. And thus he would have avoided a very large
part of the expense, and even of the loss of very brave soldiers who
died in both expeditions; for more than four hundred Spaniards died,
among whom were many persons of high standing [in this colony]. That
is a loss which ought to be wept with many tears, because of the lack
that they will create when they will be most necessary. In the first
expedition, 9,867 pesos were spent from your royal estate; and in the
second, 47,171 pesos. He has tried and is trying to cover the expense
of both expeditions by the value of the slaves, and other things of
little account, which he took as booty in both expeditions; and by
other communications, which will be seen in your Council, according
to the relations or certifications which he has given to us. Most
of it can have but little foundation, as there is nothing more than
what the governor has been pleased to give. But it will be well to
consider that although the fifth part of any booty taken belongs
to your Majesty (as is a fact), he has ordered all the artillery,
and other war supplies and ammunition to be valued and adjudged as
part compensation for the expense incurred. That is a thing which,
according to my understanding, could not be done; for he is attempting
to persuade your Majesty that he is giving you something. Since that
is clearly yours by law, there is no reason for [thus] adjudging it,
under any of the pretexts of which, [to judge] from appearances like
these, he always avails himself to accredit his own actions.
Beside the building of the church, barracks, and quarters for the
soldiers, he has constructed other buildings of not inconsiderable
extent, and of the same necessity and importance as the aforesaid,
at the royal hospital of this city. He has bought some houses that
are near it for eight thousand pesos, in order that the chaplain,
apothecary, and physician may live in them. Your Majesty has
assigned them a very sufficient remuneration, and they have always
been contented with it, and have not asked for houses in which to
live. The governor has also added a room to the said hospital (where
the religious of St. Francis had their living apartments before his
arrival), without sense or reason. He has spent a great sum of pesos
in its building; and a great sum has also been and is being spent
in the support of the sick of the said hospital--although they were
supported most abundantly in past years with two thousand five hundred
or three thousand pesos at the most. Now seven thousand pesos and
upward are spent, and we cannot see in what this increase consists,
although we are not ignorant that the sick are less carefully attended
and nursed than before.
A Portuguese nobleman, an inhabitant of Macan, by name Don Diego de
Miranda Enriquez, came from that city to this during the former year of
636, with a quantity of arquebuses, muskets, nails for the ships, and
rough iron. Having sent for us that we might bargain and pay for it,
we did so, availing ourselves for that purpose of the recent example
that we had for it in the previous year, 1635, which was accredited
and approved by the said governor. Nevertheless, after several months
the governor fined the factor and me (for we were the ones who made
the said contract and rendered payment, as the accountant was then
living in the port of Cavite) without our knowing what crime we had
committed, in the sum of two thousand one hundred and thirty-three
pesos, five tomins; for he said that we had not observed his orders
in the said contract. After he had conferred over the matter with
your auditors, and they being of the opposite opinion, nevertheless,
holding his own even to the end, he had us notified of the act imposing
the said fine. We appealed from it to your Audiencia, where we were
freed from the prosecution. The said governor was indeed very angry
at that; and he even gave your auditors to so understand, and that,
in matters of justice, he even was trying to tie their hands.
At the very beginning of his governorship, the said Don Sebastian
Hurtado de Corcuera tried to change the inferior employees of the
tribunal of your royal officials. Among the others whom he appointed
was the weigher of coins, notwithstanding that we opposed that. For
your Majesty has been pleased to honor us with your special decrees,
in which you order that we ourselves choose our employees, so that
they may be to our satisfaction; and that your governors give their
titles to those whom we should thus propose to them. [We also opposed
it] because the said governor ordered us to admit the said weigher
to the enjoyment and exercise of his office without bonds, although
all those who had thus far exercised that office had given bonds
in the sum of four thousand pesos for the security of your royal
estate, as it is an office that requires great faithfulness because
of the many and continually-recurring opportunities that present
themselves for him to make considerable thefts without your royal
officials being able to put a stop to it. That has been proved to us
by experience, for, notwithstanding all our efforts in watching him,
at the end of a year and slightly more (for so long a time did he
hold the said office) we found that he had stolen more than three
thousand five hundred pesos from your royal treasury. We began
a prosecution in your royal Audiencia. The said governor, seeing
that the weigher was proved to be a criminal by what was enacted,
and by his confession and deposition, in order that he might not
be completely exposed, had a memorial presented [to the Audiencia]
through a father of the Society of Jesus--in which it is stated that
a man had declared in confession that he was the thief, and that
the said weigher was not guilty; and had given him a certain number
of pay-warrants with which to satisfy, by way of restitution, the
[claim for] three thousand five hundred pesos. The said governor
ordered that this reparation should be accepted; and although the
pay-warrants had no justification--as their owners had been dead for
many years, and the papers contained no cessions or powers by virtue
of which receipts should be given and signed--we had to receive them,
because, as they had been examined before the auditor of accounts,
and attested by him, they were [technically] entirely sufficient, and
could and ought to be received. Thereupon, the said weigher went scot
free from prison. The said governor immediately sent him to Macan, in
order to remove him from the danger that might meet him at any time
in this city. In this manner, Sire, was so serious a crime as the
aforesaid punished; and in this wise does the governor protect his
henchmen, for there is no human strength which can oppose his. This
is a consideration that causes not a little sorrow to your Majesty's
servants and ministers; for only that name is left us, for we have
been stripped, for the sole purpose of being able to depreciate
and even disaccredit us, of all the power and authority which your
Majesty was pleased to give us in our titles, and in the ordinances
and many other decrees. However, I think and trust, God helping, that
that will not be attained, however vigilant the governor may be; for
we are and shall be always in your Majesty's service, and hope that,
as our pious king and sovereign, you will always examine our causes,
and that you will pity us for the calamities and miseries that we are
suffering for the sole reason of being so far from your royal presence,
and that you will take what corrective measures are most pleasing to
you. With that hope we receive new courage, although in the midst of
so many perils, to fulfil our obligations, as faithful and grateful
vassals and ministers of your Majesty, whose royal person may our Lord
preserve, with the increase of greater and more extensive empires,
as is necessary to us all. Manila, August 31, 1638.
Don Baltasar Ruiz de Escalona
BAÑUELOS Y CARRILLO'S RELATION
Relation of the Filipinas Islands, by Admiral Don Hieronimo de Bañuelos
y Carrillo [13]
The city of Manila is the chief city of the islands of Luçon, or the
Filipinas. It lies in a latitude of fourteen degrees thirty minutes,
is fortified on one side by the sea, and on its land side has a castle
called Santiago, although that castle furnishes no great defense. The
artillery of that castle points seaward, in order to prevent the
entrance of [hostile] vessels--which can, however, enter there,
without the cannon doing them any great damage. The chief port of
these islands is called Cavite, and there the ships from Nueva España
are anchored. That port of Cavite serves as a refuge for our sailors;
it is sheltered from the heavy winds, and very secure. Manila, on the
contrary, is an open bay, beaten by the north winds. The anchorage
there is very poor, and the entrance very difficult; but, on the other
hand, it is very well supplied with all that is necessary for commerce
and for war. One may say that it serves as a magazine for the richest
commerce in the world. There is abundance of bread, flesh, and wine
there; and although the wine is not so good as that of España, those
of the country who are accustomed to it do not hesitate to prefer it
to that of Goa, or that of Mexico--although those are used only for
the mass, and that of España for the tables of the richest men. The
Portuguese of Goa also send abundance of provisions there, so that
they can be bought in Manila at a very good bargain. There are one
hundred and fifty fires [i.e., households] in Manila. The houses of
the city are so suitable and those of the country so charming that
life in those islands is altogether delightful. At one musket-shot
from the city can be seen the Parián, the lodging of the Sangleys
or Chinese merchants. There are about twenty thousand of them,
all merchants whom business has attracted to that place. It is a
very curious place to see, because of the fine order in which they
live. Every kind of merchandise has its own separate quarter, and
those goods are so rare and curious that they merit the admiration
of the most civilized nations. [14]
Although that Parián is built only of wood, and the Chinese who
live there have no weapons, we do not fail to keep a strong guard on
that side. We even have some pieces of artillery pointed toward that
city, for the Chinese are a very spirited and bold nation. We have
experienced that heretofore, and are still threatened [with danger]
in that hour that we are not so closely on our guard. There is no
Spanish house where nine or ten of these merchants cannot be seen
every morning, who take their merchandise there; for all the traffic
passes through their hands, even all that is used for the sustenance
of the Spaniards. There are some men who say that they mix a slow
poison in our food, which works its effect chiefly on the women. It
is a fact that a woman who reaches the age of twenty-six years is
seldom seen. Those persons add that their intention in doing that is
to prevent the Spaniards from fortifying themselves more strongly in
that island, and that the Chinese would drive them out entirely. That
would be very easy for them, by employing such means, if it were not
for the interest that they have in the commerce of the silver of Nueva
España. These people have a subtle and universal intelligence. They
imitate whatever one presents to them, and they make the article
as well as do those who invented it. The riches of Manila, and the
felicity of existence there, are steadily decreasing. I shall relate
here the causes for it, having regard only to the service of God and
of the king.
The chief cause for the ruin of these islands is the great trade that
the Sangleys carry on. The king has permitted the inhabitants of the
Manilas to export a portion of their capital to Nueva España. in the
merchandise of that country. The Spanish inhabitants daily lend their
names to those Sangleys and to the Portuguese of Macao, so that they
may enjoy the freedom of that commerce. These people do not attempt
to hide the fact that they are acting as agents for the inhabitants of
Mexico; and these last years they sent such a quantity of merchandise
to Peru and to Nueva España that no sale could be found for it. That
is a hindrance to the voyages of the trading fleet. The king of
China could build a palace with the silver bars from Peru which have
been carried to his country because of that traffic, without their
having been registered, and without the king of España having been
paid his duties, as has been well shown by Dom Pedro de Quiroga y
Moya. That silver was sent at the account of influential persons, who
do not reside at the Manilas. The two vessels which left in his time
paid more duties to the king than all the other ships put together
which had made that voyage before; that clearly shows the neglect
of the other officials commissioned to receive the duties from his
Majesty. They have attempted to conceal this truth, by saying that
those ships were richer than the others because Dom Sebastian Hurtado
de Corcuera had written, in the preceding year, that he would not send
the vessels that year; and that he had even detained and caused the
unlading of those that had been on the point of sailing on the voyage
to Acapulco. I do not know his reason for so doing, but I know well
that he wrote that resolution at the Embocadero of Manila--that is to
say, eighty leguas from the city--and that without having consulted
the inhabitants of the Manilas. Those of the country are agreed that
that delay has been their ruin; for they all know that they cannot
maintain themselves against the Dutch or against the Mahometans except
by means of the regular succor that is sent them from Nueva España.
The marqués de Cadereta [15] came at that time to act as viceroy
of Nueva España. He sent a large reënforcement to the islands very
opportunely, under command of General Don Andres Cottigllo. The
latter brought news that Don Pedro de Quiroga had arrived at Mexico to
inform against the officials of his Majesty, and that he would go to
Acapulco to inspect the ships and regulate the Chinese commerce. The
inhabitants of the Manilas and the factors of the Portuguese tried
to get back their merchandise that they had already laded on the
vessels, being fearful of that news and that name of visitor. But
having finally recovered courage, they laded the two vessels that
the governor had detained the preceding year, which were worth about
five millions in gold. Nevertheless those of the country affirmed
that they were not so richly laden as those which had sailed before,
for one of the chief merchants [16] had not put a single box aboard.
They report another reason for obscuring so apparent a truth. They
say that Don Pedro de Quiroga had specified among the orders that
he had drawn up as a remedy for the disorders of the past, that for
those ships; and that it was he alone who prevented their sailing. But
he himself says that that is false, and that he had heard that those
who had encomiendas [Fr., commanderies], and the merchants of Mexico,
had resorted to entreaties to Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera (for I
cannot believe that they were in compact with him); and that they had
represented to him the great quantity of Chinese merchandise then in
Mexico, and declared that, if new vessels were sent there, a market
could not be found for that merchandise, and that the merchants of
Mexico and Nueva España would lose a great amount by it.
Don Pedro de Quiroga adds that having learned that the governor of
the Filipinas had given his word not to have any new vessels sail,
in order to better carry out his Majesty's service, he had employed
this expedient--namely, that if they entered the port that year,
they would enjoy the benefit of the rules which had been made during
that time; but that, if they came only the following year, they
would not enjoy these, and that they would pay the king's duties
in all strictness. That plainly showed that he was advised of the
promise which the governor of the islands had given to the merchants
of Mexico, to detain the vessels and the merchandise that ought to
have been sent that year. The transaction was, in truth, greatly to
the interest of the inhabitants of Mexico, and of the Spaniards who
have encomiendas--although to the great prejudice of the islands,
which cannot get along without the reënforcement which they ought
to have annually from Mexico; and to the decrease of his Majesty's
duties, which are an aid in the discharge of the expense for that
succor. In fine, if the marqués de Cadereta had not reënforced the
islands as powerfully as he did, they would have fallen into extreme
need. It would be easy for me to show here other consequences of
that delay of the vessels which Don Juan Cereço y Salamanca had
prepared to sail that year, as is done every year; and it will not
be more difficult for me to demonstrate the other damages that we
suffer in that commerce. The inhabitants of the Manilas have nothing
on those vessels; their cargoes belong entirely to the Chinese, to
the Portuguese of Macao, or to the Mexican merchants. If the king
does not put a stop to it, the Chinese will absorb all the riches of
Peru, and the subjects of the king in those islands will be forced to
abandon them. I will go on to represent to your Excellency the other
disorders in the government of those islands, as far as I have been
able to learn them in the short time that I have spent there.
The encomiendas are ruined. Formerly the king rewarded soldiers
with them, and now the islanders, who were formerly assigned under
those encomiendas, have become our enemies. There has been failure to
instruct those innocent people in the Catholic faith, and that is the
only title under which the king of España holds that country, which
does not belong to his patrimony. Instead of making them our friends
and brothers, we have made them our domestic enemies. We have received
the Sangleys in their place, with whom the profit of the traffic always
embroils us. Let one consider what damage has been committed since
by the inhabitants of the island of Mindanao. They have overrun the
shores of these islands with their caracoas or little boats, and the
governor was forced to leave the city in the hands of the Sangleys,
in order to leave the island and to go to make war on them, where he
lost more than one hundred and thirty Spaniards, without being able
to bring the war to a successful end. In this it cannot be said that
he was not greatly to blame; for one of his officers named Nicolás
Gonzales, at the first war cry, forced one of their best positions
without the loss of a single man, whence the governor had been unable
to drive them with all his forces. [17]
We have also as enemies the people of Jolo and those of Terrenate,
who are also more to be feared on account of the help that they get
from the Dutch. They declare themselves neutral, but they help the
Dutch underhandedly on all occasions. The chiefs of those Indians take
the title of kings, but they are among the kings who go quite naked
and who live by their labor. True, those of Macassar, of Cochinchina,
and of Cambaya, are more powerful. But for all that, it would be enough
for us, for the little help that we can get out of them, to become the
arbitrator of their differences, and thus to keep them favorable to our
side. But since they have seen that we have made this friendship with
the Sangleys, with the inhabitants of Martavan, of Borneo, and other
neighboring islands, they have broken off all trade with us, and have
begun to take all the products of their country to the Dutch, so that
they do nothing except at their orders. If for that reason also the
king does not prevent the trade with the Sangleys, the Filipinas are
lost. I come now to the remedy that can be applied to this disorder.
Among all those one hundred and fifty families who are settled
at Manila, there are not two who are very rich. My plan would be
to allow those inhabitants to export Chinese merchandise to the
value of two hundred and fifty thousand escudos, the greater part
of which should be raw silk and cotton bolls, so that they could
be manufactured in this country [i.e., Mexico]. For there is less
[chance for] trickery in that sort of merchandise than in the stuffs
manufactured in China, which ought never to be allowed to be taken to
Manila. The permission of trade to that sum would also be proportioned
to the ability of the Manila merchants; and they would get more than
five hundred thousand escudos in return for it, for the profits of
that trade are exorbitant. Today even, when there is so much of
this merchandise, four hundred per cent is gained on the poorest
quality exported. By that means the Spaniards could be employed in
manufacturing that silk, the textiles would be better, and they would
secure innumerable other advantages. Accordingly, the inhabitants
of the Manilas would not charge themselves with the commissions of
Mexico, and they would get all the profit derived from those islands,
which is now quite universally in the hands of foreigners. Further, as
their affairs in the country became more prosperous, they would become
more interested in its conservation; and they would be more careful
to have the Indians, who have been assigned to them in encomiendas,
instructed and held in subjection. They would save what they give
to their agents in Mexico, who often ruin them. They keep their
merchandise two or three years, and it has a poor sale in Mexico,
because of the great quantity that is taken there; and trading only at
Acapulco, and conducting their own business, they alone would enjoy,
and that every year, the profits of that traffic.
Fifty thousand escudos could be employed in white mantas, unbleached
[cruës] and of excellent quality; that is a kind of merchandise
very largely used among the Indians, and Mexico has great need of
it. That would be the right commerce that ought to be carried on
by pilots and sailors; for some of it can always be sold, and those
people are obliged to sell it quickly. Care must be taken that only
that quantity be carried, and that any surplus be confiscated; and
the governors and other officials should be very careful in this. In
order that your Excellency may see that I am not trying to weaken the
commerce of those islands, as some might believe, I will state here
that the inhabitants of the Manilas should be allowed to export as
many shiploads as possible of the products of their country--such as
wax, gold, perfumes, ivory, and lampotes. Those they would buy from
the natives of the country, thus preventing them from carrying those
goods to the Dutch. Thus would the people become friendly, and would
supply Nueva España with that merchandise; and the silver taken to the
Manilas would not be exported thence. I may be told that the king of
China does not use that silver to make war on us; but even if it is
used only to swell his treasury, it is as lost to us as if it were
at the bottom of the sea. Your Excellency should consider that one
and one-half millions in gold are sent annually to China. If what I
have just said be closely observed, the merchandise of the Manilas
will be sold to good advantage, and the natives of the country will
become our friends; while their neighbors will leave the Dutch, who
are deriving heavy profits from them; for there is scarcely a place in
those islands where the Dutch do not possess a factory. Thus have they
become the masters, and they give arms to the natives to make war on
us. Add to all these considerations that the Spaniards inhabiting the
islands will not be obliged to be continually on their guard because
of twenty thousand Sangleys or enemies, whom they have in a corner
of the world where the Spaniards can muster scarcely eight hundred men.
Perhaps your Excellency will be told that, if we break with the
Sangleys, they will go to live in the island of Formosa, or in some
other place among the Dutch, and will carry to them the trade that
they have with us; and that, having enjoyed the trade of Japon as
conveniently as we have that of the Western Indias, they will still
carry their merchandise to Nangazaki, the chief port of Japon, from
which they will also obtain silver. To that I will reply that the
kingdom of China is so full of merchandise, and the Sangleys are
so shrewd in commerce, and so keen after gain, that they know what
quantity of that merchandise is needed by the English, how much by
the Dutch, and what quantity ought to be sold in all of Japon--and
that with so great exactness that a tailor, after once seeing the
figure of a person, decides how much goods is necessary to clothe
him. They do the same in regard to us, and, knowing that only two
ships sail annually to Nueva España, they generally have in the Parian
the quantity necessary to lade those ships. If the inhabitants of the
Manilas had trade with Japon, they would derive great profit from it;
but a secret judgment of God has broken the communication that we had
with those islanders, and has given it into the hands of the heretics,
after having permitted them to destroy our churches there, and their
having put to fire and sword all the Spaniards or Japanese Christians
there. Hence we do not believe that a single religious is now left in
all the country; and the people are compelled, under pain of death,
to come to denounce those whom they know to be Christians. Our
religious go there no longer, for it means certain death to them to
go to Japon. The following is the manner in which that persecution
was reported.
A Vizcayan captain, named Sebastian, [18] having sailed from the
port of Acapulco for an island called Ricca doro, [19] was blown by
a heavy gale to the latitude of that island; and, not being able to
anchor, put in at Japon, and with the curiosity of a seaman sounded
the ports of that kingdom. That novel proceeding made the Japanese
suspicious. They asked an Englishman who was then allied to them what
could be the design of that Spaniard. He told them that the Spaniards
were a warlike nation, who were aiming at universal monarchy; that
they always commenced their conquest by means of the religious; that
after the religious of that nation had been permitted to preach there,
and to build churches, they considered the conquest of that kingdom
as secure; that that vessel had come to reconnoiter the country, and
the entrance of the ports, and that it would be followed by a great
army, which would complete that design. At that juncture a tono [20]
or prominent lord of the country died. The emperor had formerly tried
to buy from him a house built for recreation; but that lord, who was
fond of that place, refused to sell it. He was a Catholic, and left it
at his death to the Jesuits, whereupon the latter thought it best to
pay their respects to the emperor by offering it to him. That prince
reflected that what an emperor could not accomplish, the Jesuits his
subjects had compassed. Putting that reflection with the advice of the
Englishman, he determined to exterminate the Catholics. That resolution
was so executed that there are no Christians in Japon, except only the
Portuguese from Macao. I am too much ashamed to name the conditions
to which they submit, in order that they may be received there.
Since that time all the trade of that island has fallen into the
hands of the Dutch, English, Portuguese, and Sangleys, although the
king of China has forbidden the last named to have any communication
with the inhabitants of Japon, under penalty of death, because the
Japanese had formerly revolted against China, of which they had
formed a part. But for all that, their greed for silver makes them
go there as they do to the Manilas, so that Japon does not lack any
of the goods that pass through the hands of those peoples. As for the
silver, the Dutch do not carry any more to China or to Japon, because
those countries get all the amount that they can buy by means of the
Sangleys who live in the Manilas. It would be very advantageous to
the inhabitants of the Manilas and to his Majesty to break off that
commerce with the Chinese, and it is unnecessary to say that by that
means advantageous disposition may be made of the silver of Peru and
the silks of the Filipinas--for in truth the king does not find there
his account; the silks would come to Mexico with greater advantage,
and the islanders and his Majesty would get more profit from it, and
that at the admission of all informed persons. As for the governor,
he should possess the following qualities: he should be discreet;
his distance from Madrid, and his authority as governor, should not
make him presumptuous, but should serve rather as a check than as
a cause for vanity; he should be a fine seaman, and very sedulous
in despatching and making the ships sail every year. All the exports
should be registered. In order that the islands be better reënforced,
the ships should be of five hundred toneladas, and they should have
two decks, better equipped than they have as yet been; for if they are
poorly equipped they take much time in making their voyage, and have
been the cause of great expense to his Majesty. Besides, the viceroy of
Nueva España has been unable to make them depart by the first of April,
as would be necessary. Those vessels ought only to carry seamen. The
offices of the ships ought not to be sold to merchants, but given
as a reward to those who have served well at sea. Great disorders
have happened from that, which was the former custom, and because
the offices of pilot, boatswain's mate, and steward have been sold.
In the year 1637, when I was about to set out as admiral of the
vessels that were to take the reënforcements to those islands, I went
to the port of Acapulco. There I found the vessel "San Juan Bautista,"
which had come that year from those islands, and which had lost its
mast on the way. I endeavored to get Don Pedro de Quiroga to advise
the marqués de Cadereta of the poor condition of the masts and other
rigging of the vessel. He refused to permit it, and compelled me to
embark, telling me that if we failed to embark by the first day of
the month of April, we would run the risk of losing our voyage. While
at sea, I asked the boatswain's mate for an inventory of the sails
and rigging. I found that there were no spare sails, but one single
cable, and one other old cable, which was used to make fast the
pieces of artillery that were rolling about the ship. Ordering him
to bring me also the inventory of what there was when they left the
islands, I found that it had been equipped with three spare sails,
five cables, and a quantity of rigging. He answered me that the sea
had carried away the sails and that the ship had lost its cables as
they left San Bernardino. Without pressing him further, he confessed
to me that he had used the money that had been given him for that
purpose in buying merchandise, in order to discharge a debt of three
thousand escudos that he had paid for his post of boatswain, but
that he had not found his account in that merchandise. I endeavored
to punish him. He appealed to the commander-in-chief, and the latter
ordered me not to prosecute him until I should have arrived at the
Manilas. At the Manilas he was excused, because they said that he had
paid three thousand escudos, although he had made the king lose more
than sixty thousand. Those who furnish the provisions for the crew put
in food of poor quality. The pilots cram their room at the stern with
merchandise, thus endangering the vessel. Had I encountered a capful
of wind during that voyage, I could scarcely have finished it. I had
to take a capstan at Maribeles to lift my anchor, and to make the port
of Cabite, which is three leguas from that place. Thus for the twenty
thousand escudos that is drawn from the sale of those offices, thirty
thousand are lost, and the fleet is in danger of being lost--which
means, of losing those islands. It is not sufficient to give the
offices to sailors who deserve them; it is not at all necessary to
compel them to perform the functions of soldiers when they have no
inclination for it, or to punish them when they gamble, as is done.
It is of great importance to have galleys on these coasts; that is
the means of keeping away from them the Dutch, and the Indians from
Mindanao and Jolo--who do not cease to be hostile to the Spaniards,
although they have neither courage nor discipline; for one Spaniard has
been seen to put twenty of their caracoas to flight with only one shot
from his musket. The enemy most to be feared are the Dutch, who have
taken possession of that sea. It is easy to manage the oared vessels
of that country, and they have been used in several emergencies to
tow the vessels, which otherwise would have been in danger of being
wrecked. Besides, those boats are more suitable for a sea like that,
full of islands, than vessels with high freeboard. It would also be
very much to the point to have work done in Camboya in the building of
new vessels, as the wood of those parts, and that of Angely, resist
the seaworms and decay better than other woods, and especially those
of the Filipinas.
In the year 1637, when I arrived at the islands, there were no
vessels ready for Nueva España. They were obliged to send a small
vessel of one hundred toneladas to advise the marqués de Cadereta
of their wretched condition, and to entreat him to send the usual
reënforcement--notwithstanding the prohibition of the commerce with
Peru, and their knowledge that there were no vessels at Acapulco. That
showed how important it is to be continually building vessels for the
Filipinas, and for the governor to be a seaman rather than a soldier
of the Low Countries. It is also important for the governor and the
archbishop to live in harmony. The spiritual government in these
countries is the one thing of greater consequence than the political
government, because of the scandal that the Indians receive from it. It
is also important that those sent by the viceroy be men of merit and
service, and that they be well treated in the islands. The observation
of all the above points will be of use to us in keeping off the Dutch,
who are the most terrible enemy that we have; and who will become
absolute masters of the Manilas, if they can attain their ends. España,
by observing those things, will triumph over its enemies. For my part,
I will fulfil my duty as a subject by doing my utmost for the service
of my master, and for the welfare of my country; and at the same time
I shall discharge my obligation toward your Excellency of serving you.
GLORIOUS VICTORIES AGAINST THE MOROS OF MINDANAO
To the master-of-camp, Don Iñigo Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the
Order of Santiago: [21]
The despatch-boat which this year arrived from the Filippinas Islands
at Acapulco, a port of this Nueva España, was destitute of the silks
and other costly goods that the ships are accustomed to bring each
year from China, for it carried nothing of that sort. Nevertheless,
it came richly laden, with the news of the happy and fortunate
successes of the arms of Spain in that archipelago, directed by the
valor and prudence of Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, governor and
captain-general there for his Majesty, and a worthy brother of your
Grace. I received in all many different relations--although all of
them agreed, for truth is always one--from different persons, well
worthy of confidence, both ecclesiastic and secular. Every one--not
only the citizens of this great City of Mexico, the capital of this
kingdom, but those of all the other cities and towns--desired to see
these letters, and made urgent requests for them. To satisfy the
desires of so many, and give them pleasure, it was the opinion of
many that they should be printed. The truth is, that I was perplexed
and in doubt as to which one to use, because, as I have said, there
were several. After careful consideration I decided to print one by
Father Marcelo Francisco Mastrillo, a letter written to Father Juan
de Salazar, provincial of the Society of Jesus in those islands,
signed by Father Marcelo himself and sent to me. It gives a detailed
account of every event. No one could give a better account than the
father himself, for he was a witness of everything that happened, as
he always accompanied Don Sebastian with the standard of St. Francis
Xavier. In the simplicity and sincerity with which he recounts these
things, the truth shines more resplendent; so it seemed best not
to alter his style. In order that it may be better known who this
servant of God is, we will describe the miracle wrought upon him by
our father St. Francis Xavier in the city of Naples, and the occasion
of his journey to the Filipinas and his stay in Mindanao. We shall give
some information about the latter island, of the hostility which those
Mahometans have displayed for so many years to the Spaniards, and of
the friendly and subject Indians. We shall also give a description
of the naval battle which preceded the expedition to Mindanao. Then
we shall insert the letter of Father Marcelo, and conclude this
document with a description of the triumphal demonstration with
which Don Sebastian Hurtado was received in the city of Manila,
the rejoicings in that city, the thanks rendered to our Lord, and
the honors paid to those who died in the war, so that there will
be a complete account of everything. Besides the aforesaid reasons,
I was impelled to this on account of the obligations of our Society
of Jesus to Don Sebastian Hurtado (and especially by my own); for we
are always sensible of these, and our hearts will always keep them
alive, with perpetual acknowledgments. Besides, it seems to me that
one could not give your Grace a richer present, a more precious jewel,
an ornament of greater worth, than the exploits and triumphs of such
a brother, in whom one finds zeal for religion and the service of
God, appearing in all he does. The prudence with which he governs
his province, the unwearied solicitude with which he orders affairs,
the disinterestedness with which he serves the king our lord--well
worthy of the favor which his Majesty has shown him (in making him a
member of his Council of War, and sending him two [appointments in]
orders for his two nephews), and of those which I expect his Majesty
will yet grant him; the valor with which he defends those islands, the
grand courage with which he exposes himself to the greatest perils,
although his person is of such importance: all these are especially
praiseworthy, to say nothing of the admirable example by which he
encourages his soldiers to great undertakings, and the compassion
with which he watches over the Indians who were so harassed by so
many enemies. In short, your Grace will see in Don Sebastian Hurtado a
copy of your own holy zeal, prudence, care, disinterestedness, valor,
magnanimity, and many other virtues conspicuous in your Grace's own
heart. In him your Grace will see a true brother--as Tulio [22] said
(book 3, epistle 7), Frater quasi fere alter, "a brother is naught
else than a counterpart of the other brother;" so that they are hardly
two, but rather one soul divided between two bodies, as Quintilian
said (Declamation 321), [23] Quid est aliud fraternitas quam divisus
spiritus? [i.e., "What else is brotherhood but a divided soul?"] So
that your Grace's own valor, prudence, piety, and religion and Don
Sebastian Hurtado's are one; from that which God inspired in you,
may be inferred that of Don Sebastian; and in the virtues of this
great cavalier and captain-general shine those of your Grace, to whom
I offer a thousand congratulations on the triumphs of so glorious a
brother, whose exploits I offer to your Grace, and humbly place in
your illustrious hands. May our Lord watch over your Grace as this
your humble chaplain and servant desires. Mexico, February [25, 1638].
Diego de Bobadilla
[Folios 1-9 of Bobadilla's work are occupied with a long and detailed
account of a miraculous cure experienced by Father Mastrilli, and its
result in sending him to labor in the foreign missions. Its substance
is as follows: In 1633-34, Mastrilli was in Naples, and assisted, as
a priest, at one of the altars erected for a solemn feast in honor
of the Virgin Mary. After the ceremonies were over, Mastrilli was
accidentally wounded in the head by a hammer dropped from a workman's
hand. His life was despaired of; but an image of St. Francis Xavier,
miraculously endowed with speech, promised to restore his health if he
would go to the Indias. Mastrilli vowed to do this, and to renounce
country, friends, and all else that he held dear, for the sake of
that employ; and the next morning found him cured and sound. In
fulfilment of his vow he went to Spain, and set out for Japan; but
(as related in previous documents) he was obliged to land at Manila,
and accompanied Corcuera to Mindanao.]
AN ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT ISLAND OF MINDANAO, AND THE HOSTILITIES
COMMITTED BY THOSE MOHAMMEDANS IN THE FILIPPINAS ISLANDS.
The great island of Mindanao is one of the largest in the archipelago
of the Filippinas Islands, which seem to be almost innumerable; and it
has even been said that there are over eleven thousand of them. [24]
I believe that if one counts islands large and small, inhabited and
desert, the above estimate is not far from the truth. In size, Mindanao
rivals the island of Manila, the chief and head of the others, for it
is almost three hundred leguas in circumference. Esteban Rodriguez de
Figueroa, one of the first leaders in the conquest of those islands,
and one of the most valorous soldiers who has been in them, made an
agreement with his Majesty to conquer this island at his own cost and
charges, and subject it to his royal crown--his Majesty awarding him as
tributary vassals, ten thousand of the first Mindanaos whom he should
subdue and choose for himself, and granting him other favors which
he sought. His Majesty accepted the agreement; and, with the title of
governor and captain-general, Don Esteban assembled at his own cost a
goodly army of Spaniards, which (as I have heard) numbered about four
hundred, and over four thousand Indians. They were all embarked in a
fleet of caracoas, which are oared vessels much used in the Filippinas,
carrying from fifty to one hundred rowers apiece. There are larger
ones, which are called juangas, and carry from one hundred and twenty
to one hundred and thirty rowers. They sailed from the island of Oton,
where the fleet was fitted out and collected. They reached Mindanao
and the army disembarked. When the enemy saw such a force, they began
to flee, and a victory was declared for España; but our satisfaction
was soon disturbed, for a wretched Mindanao audaciously resolved--it
is said, after he had taken opium, with which these people intoxicate
themselves--to assassinate our captain-general, even though he should
die in the attempt. The deed was to be done with his campilan, a
weapon something like a cutlass, with a lead weight at the hilt. The
weight makes its blows so terrible that it will cleave a man through
the middle. He hid in some bushes near the road on which our men
were marching in triumph. When General Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa
reached a place abreast of the bush where the Mindanao was hidden,
the latter leaped out unexpectedly and struck the general so fierce a
blow on his head with his campilan that it cleft his skull from ear to
ear. I can account myself a witness of this, because, although I did
not see that event, and did not go to the Filippinas until many years
after, yet in 1632 I saw the skull, when they disinterred the bones
of this famous but unfortunate captain from the old church of our
college at Manila (which he founded, and where his body was brought
for burial), to transfer them to the church which we have recently
built. The skull shows very plainly the cruel blow of the campilan,
so that even I said, as I held it in my hands, with great grief,
"Our founder will not deny the blow of the campilan." Those who
accompanied our general killed the Mindanao on the spot, without much
difficulty. They sounded the retreat, and abandoned their pursuit of
the enemy. This was the origin and the beginning of the misfortunes
and calamities which for so many years have caused us so much sorrow in
the Filippinas. Our army, having lost its leader and captain-general,
did nothing further. The Spaniards retreated, and fortified themselves
in a place on that river, where they remained in garrison; and Father
Juan del Campo, a fervent man and a great minister of the gospel,
gave instruction to several villages, until he died there. Many of
the Indians along this river had rendered obedience, and were paying
tribute to his Majesty. Afterward the garrison moved to another place,
called La Caldera, where the Spaniards remained several years. Although
they made no conquest of that country, they served as a check to
the enemy, because the latter could not sail out with their fleets
on plundering expeditions. As Don Pedro de Acuña afterward decided,
when he was governor in the Filippinas, this garrison was withdrawn
from La Caldera, which resulted in the utter ruin of the islands,
because land and sea remained in the possession of the enemy.
At that time the island was ruled by a Moro named Buysan who claimed
the entire seacoast as his. Another Moro, named Silongan, ruled the
well-populated district along the river. These two Moros conspired
together, and called to their aid other friends, and even in certain
ways their subjects--as those of the island of Sanguil and Sarragan;
and the Caragas, who inhabit the further [i.e., from Manila] shores of
this same island of Mindanao, which from that side faces our islands
of Pintados. They gathered great fleets of caracoas and jungas,
which at times numbered over one hundred and even one hundred and
fifty vessels--arming them with several large guns, many culverins,
a large number of arquebuses and muskets and many other arms; and
manning them so heavily, that they could land six to eight thousand
soldiers. In this way masters of the land and sea, they infested the
high seas, capturing all our ships that navigated those waters, robbing
and burning towns, sacking churches, carrying off the ornaments and
consecrated vessels, committing a thousand desecrations on the sacred
images, breaking them into pieces and insulting them, and capturing
Christian Indians in so great number that it would break one's heart
to tell of it; for one time those whom they carried away numbered over
two thousand and five hundred. The Spaniards had no better fortune; for
some were killed, and others carried away as slaves. In the year 1616,
they set sail with a powerful fleet, after effecting an alliance with
the Dutch, who came with ten galleons, and entered the bay of Manila
on All Saints' day. They were, however, defeated and destroyed in the
following April, 1617, by our fleet under the leadership of General
Don Juan Ronquillo. While the Dutch aided the Mindanaos, the latter
worked dreadful havoc, capturing, massacring, robbing, and burning
everything there was. They came as far as Balayan, a large and rich
town on the island of Manila, and not far from the city itself. They
attacked the shipyards at Pantao, where a galleon and a patache were
in process of construction, and indeed almost finished. These they
burned, and murdered almost thirty Spaniards--among them Captain
Arias Giron and Captain Don Juan Pimentel, who were in command of
the yards. Others, besides many Indians, they made prisoners. They
captured from us a large quantity of firearms and some artillery,
and inflicted on us great damage. Even the fathers and ministers of
the gospel have not been exempt; for, on the last occasion of which I
have spoken, they captured and murdered two Franciscan fathers. Before
that, on other occasions, they captured Father Hurtado, who was kept
a long time in captivity in Mindanao, and Father Pasqual de Acuña,
who was a prisoner at Caraga and still lives. Before and since the
time of his captivity, he has labored gloriously for the space of
almost forty years in the islands of Pintados--teaching those Indians
until his great age and his failing strength obliged him to retire,
and end his life in the fulness of his years, devoting himself to
God alone. The other fathers and ministers crossed the mountains
to escape the cruelty of these Mahometans, enduring great hunger,
hardship, and distress.
To King Buysan succeeded Cachil Corralat, his son, who with
great sagacity and cunning set about making himself much more
powerful. Several times he made peace with the Spaniards, but his word
was ever a Moro's. It was soon known that he could not be trusted,
for he made and broke treaties with equal readiness. He infested the
seas with his fleets, sending out his own as he did in the year 1633,
when he sent out a large fleet which plundered and burned several large
and wealthy cities on this very island of Manila. But where he did most
harm was in our island of Pintados; for in the town of Ogmuc alone
he slew or made prisoners more than two hundred people--children and
women, as well as men. They captured the minister there, Father Juan
del Carpio of our Society, and cut him into pieces, of which his head
was the smallest. Cachil Corralat gave orders to his followers not to
carry to him a single father alive, but to slay them, in fulfilment
of a vow which he had made to Mahomet during a serious sickness,
not to leave a father alive if his health were restored. God, in His
just judgment and to punish us, chose to grant his prayer.
Other Mahometans, their neighbors, joined the Mindanaos--tribes from
the island of Jolo, who at one time paid tribute and then rebelled,
killing all the Spaniards. Although that island is very small,
and there cannot be more than three thousand men able to bear arms,
yet they are very valiant, and they have very plainly proved it to
us when they have sailed forth to scour the high seas--especially
one chief, called Dato Achen, who can be compared with the most
destructive African pirates. This man once attacked a shipyard which
we had established in the province of Camarines, in which several
galleons were being built. After the usual robbery and burning, he
slew or made prisoners many Spaniards and Indians. He carried away
artillery and firearms, with which he strengthened his defenses in his
own country. He overran the Pintados Islands and did a great deal of
damage there. At Cabalian he captured Father Juan Domingo Vilancio
of our Society, a native of Luca--a holy man, and known as such by
Indians and Spaniards, and even by the Moros themselves. As such,
the latter revered him and did not ill-treat him in their own country,
where they carried him. While efforts were being made for his ransom,
it was our Lord's pleasure to give him complete liberty by freeing
him from the prison of this [earthly] body, and giving him in heaven
his reward for his faithful labors. He toiled thirty years or more in
the conversion of the pagans, to the remarkable edification of all;
and he displayed heavenly sincerity, which secured him the love of
God and men. The Moros buried him on their island of Jolo. Although
we have asked for the body, they will not give it up, saying that
they would rather keep it because it is holy (for sanctity and virtue
are pleasing even to Moros and infidels). They allege other things
in proof of his sanctity, which I shall not refer to, because they
are not thoroughly investigated. The Lord will make them clear later,
to His own glory. Returning, however, to the Joloans, they are grown
insolent with their fortunate successes, no less on land than on the
sea; for, although we have gone there three times with powerful fleets,
they have come off with credit and singing victory. In short, we have
returned without accomplishing anything. There was one time, however,
when Don Christobal de Lugo, lieutenant for the captain-general in
the Pintados Islands, went there with a fleet, and sacked and burned
the principal town, and did considerable damage; but they have always
escaped, and repaid to us their losses. They put their trust in a
hill very difficult of access, which they have well fortified with
artillery, to which they retreat whenever they are attacked.
The evils that are suffered at the hands of these two enemies, the
Mindanaos and the Joloans, never were avenged, because, although
the governors sent out fleets after them, they did not encounter
the pirates on account of the great multitude of islands in the
archipelago; or else, if our ships did meet them, the Moros escaped,
for their vessels are remarkably swift and so have a great advantage
over ours. Then, to remedy so grievous injuries, Don Juan Cereço
Salamanca, who was then governor of the Filippinas, in the beginning
of the year 1634, overcoming remarkable difficulties which arose,
with a holy zeal for the service of God and of the king our lord,
ordered a position to be occupied on the island of Mindanao, at a
place which they call Samboangan. There he began to raise a fort which
should be a check to the Mindanaos and the Joloans, who came past
that place when they sailed forth on plundering expeditions. Although
they could pass us by standing out to sea, or in the darkness of the
night, without being seen from our fort, they would not so lightly
dare to leave behind their houses and lands with the Spaniard so near
a neighbor--for the latter could do them great injury by carrying
off their children and wives, and all their possessions, if their
towns were left unprotected when the men went away in their fleets;
or at least the Spaniards could await them on their return and knock
them in the head. The Moro king, Cachil Corralat, was much disturbed
at the proximity of the Spaniards; since now he could not make raids
in safety, as before; and he called upon the Joloans, the Borneans
and the Camucones to sail from various points to plunder our island,
which they did.
The Camucones are a nation inhabiting some islands subject to the king
of Burney. Sometimes alone, and sometimes in company with the Borneans,
they have infested our seas with their fleets, pillaging our islands,
capturing many Indians, and killing all the Spaniards whom they took,
because they did not wish to carry these alive to their own country;
accordingly they granted no Spaniard his life. They are a base and
very cruel people. These robbers began as petty thieves, with a few
small vessels; but with the captures which they have been continually
making, they have grown so powerful that they send out great fleets
upon the sea, and do a great deal of damage. In the year 1625, while
the archbishop Don Francisco Miguel Garcia Serrano was visiting the
district of Bondoc, these Camucones attacked the town one morning, and
the archbishop had no little trouble in escaping over the mountains;
they stole whatever they could carry away, with the silver and the
pontifical vestments. That same year, they captured Father Juan de
las Missas of our Society, who had come from Tayabas to preach and was
returning to the island of Marinduque, which was in his charge. They
killed the father, and captured all who were aboard his ship, except
perhaps some one who escaped by swimming. They did much more damage,
continuing their depredations up to the year 1636, when, as I said,
they sailed with a large fleet, at the solicitation of the king Cachil
Corralat. They entered so far among the islands, that from them they
sailed out upon the high sea--an act of great daring. They arrived
at and plundered Palapag, a mission of our Society. They rounded Cape
Espiritu Santo, and captured over a hundred Christians at Baco. There
they divided into two bands. One passed over to Albay, on the island
of Manila, where they were met by the alcalde-mayor, Captain Mena,
of the Order of St. George, with several Spaniards and six Franciscan
friars. The Spaniards pressed the Camucones so hard that seven of
their caracoas went ashore on the island of Capul, where many of their
Christian captives were set free. The natives of the said island slew
some of the Camucones. Three of their caracoas they abandoned on the
sea, going aboard others to make their escape more easily. Not one
of our men was killed in this encounter, except that one Franciscan
father was wounded by a musket-bullet, and afterwards died of his
wound. The other band went out to sea again, coasting the island of
Ybabao. They entered a town called Bangahun and made prisoners there
more than one hundred other Christians. This troop fought a battle with
a caracoa full of soldiers from the city of Zebu, who inflicted some
injury upon the Moros, killing and capturing some. These Camucones,
returning afterward to their own country, while they were coasting the
island of Panay, were overtaken by a sudden storm, which drove three of
their caracoas ashore. Those who escaped with their lives were captured
by the natives, and many of them are now on galleys at the port of
Cavite. Other caracoas stealthily ventured to the Calamianes Islands,
where some Spaniards came out to meet them, and captured two of their
ships, and set free twenty captives from the island of Mindoro who
were among their prisoners. Fifteen other caracoas were coasting the
island of Paragua in company; and, two days before arriving at Borney,
they encountered thirty caracoas of Joloans, who had recently quarreled
with the Borneans. The Joloans attacked the Camucones and Borneans,
captured their fifteen caracoas, and made prisoners many Camucones and
more than one hundred of the Christians carried off by the Camucones;
these latter were ransomed at Samboangan, at a moderate rate.
After these pirates Cachil Corralat sent his fleet, which did
considerable damage in our islands. In order to stop it and check
all these enemies, the governor, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera,
decided to go forth in person and make an expedition to Mindanao, to
begin the punishment of this enemy, because they were most powerful--as
we shall soon see, describing first the naval victory given us by
our Lord over the fleet despatched hither by Cachil Corralat.
[The next part of this compilation is an account of the naval
victory over Tagal's fleet in December, 1636; it is practically
the same as that which we have already presented in our VOL. XXVII,
although rewritten and much abridged for publication. Then follows
Mastrilli's letter to his provincial (June 2, 1637) which also we
have published; Bobadilla states that he reproduces it verbatim, save
for the correction of "a few words which are not quite in accord with
our ordinary language, as he was a native of the city of Naples." The
document ends with a description of Corcuera's triumphal entry into
Manila, evidently compiled (with some additional details) from Juan
Lopez's letter on that subject, already presented to our readers.]
ROYAL ORDERS AND DECREES, 1638
REMOVAL OF NEGROES FROM MANILA
The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of
Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands,
and president of my royal Audiencia resident therein. In a letter
which you wrote me on the last of June, 1636, you declare that shortly
after your arrival at those islands, that city petitioned you to have
the free negroes and the freedmen, who number about four hundred or
five hundred, removed from it, because of the disorders that they
were creating within the city, as well as the thefts that they were
committing in union with the slaves--the former receiving and taking
to other places to sell what these said negroes had stolen. You
declare that that city demanded that the negroes should go to live
nine leguas away from there, but that that measure has not seemed
advisable; and the fathers of the Society gave you an islet which they
possess in the middle of the river, in order that they might settle
the negroes there, with the obligation to give them instruction--but
there would be no obligation to give the fathers any stipend for
that purpose beyond what is given them from the communal fund of the
Sangleys whom they have in Santa Cruz. Those Sangleys also render me
aid by giving me six reals per annum, besides the general license,
so that they may be allowed to live there with the fathers. They
number from about eight hundred to one thousand Chinese. The fathers
minister to those who have become Christians from this number, as
well as to the negroes--the latter being separated from the former
by an arm of the river. Also the Chinese pay all his salary to the
alcalde-mayor from their communal fund, which has been a saving to
my royal treasury. You declare that, in your desire to economize
and avoid so heavy expenses, you have deemed it best to give the
commander of artillery, who receives seven hundred pesos monthly
salary for his duties, the office of alcalde-mayor of the Parián;
for during the time while he should hold that office, there would
be an annual saving of seven thousand two hundred pesos to my royal
treasury. You also ordered the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso,
to go to live at the port of Cavite with his company, and to serve
there as castellan, chief justice, and governor of that port, with the
same salary as at present, as you say that the sargento-mayor would
be sufficient for you in that city. The above you reported to me, so
that I might understand it; and you say that by the aforesaid measures
and your method of governing, and provided that no one steals from
my royal treasury, you will entirely clear my royal treasury of debt,
and govern those islands from the proceeds of them. The matter having
been examined in my Council, it has been judged best to tell you that
it is thought that you will have given careful consideration to the
removal of the free negroes and freedmen from that city and their
settlement on the islet which was given you by the brethren of the
Society of Jesus; and the rest that you mention in the said letter
touching the said matter is neither approved nor rejected here,
for the present. It is to be feared, however, that those negroes,
having been removed from the city, and settled with the Chinese on
an uninhabited island, may commit more serious damage. Consequently,
you shall watch carefully so that you may remedy what needs correction;
and you are to note that in the matter of government, the best is not
[always] the easiest to execute, nor its results satisfactory. Hence,
for that reason, no new thing can be entered upon suddenly; and you
will, therefore, not carry out the execution of these new measures
until you shall have first reported to me all the things that you shall
see to be for my service, so that orders as to your course of action
may be issued to you. In the meanwhile, you shall not carry out your
proposed change of the persons of the commander of artillery and of
the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso; and I charge and order you,
that, jointly with the session [of the Audiencia], you shall inform
me, both in this regard and in others, of what changes should be made
from the past government, so that in everything decision may be made
as to what measures may be taken.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
RESTRICTING THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS
The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of
Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands,
and president of my Audiencia therein: your letter of June 30, 636,
touching ecclesiastical matters, has been examined in my royal Council
of the Yndias, and answer is [hereby] made you.
You say that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine need to be
reformed, for they pay no heed to the bulls of his Holiness, or the
decrees despatched in regard to the rotation; and that it would be
advisable not to give them any more religious for eight years--both
because they have many, and because of the causes that you mention for
such measure. I have thought best to charge you to have the rule for
rotation put in force strictly, without allowing more religious in each
mission station [doctrina] than, in accordance with my royal patronage,
shall be necessary for it; and that the others be occupied in missions
[misiones] and in preaching, for which purpose they were sent.
In regard to what you write me concerning the advanced age of the
archbishop of those islands (who is so aged that his hands and head
tremble), namely, that it would be best to give him an assistant;
and that you are arranging to give such assistant an income of two
thousand pesos in addition to the four thousand pesos enjoyed by the
said archbishop, without taking that sum from my royal treasury, or
from my vassals: I charge you to explain to me the method or means by
which you can get that money without damage to my royal treasury and
the vassals who serve me, so that, if it be worth while to allow it,
you may execute it.
So that the Order of St. Dominic, and the other orders resident in
those islands, may live with the regulation and good example that
is proper, and so that they may not increase the number of mission
stations granted them by my decrees, you shall allow no new elections
in them, which shall not be in harmony with my patronage. With
the advice of the archbishop, you shall endeavor to unite some of
the stations; and in those that shall be newly founded, you shall
endeavor likewise to have secular priests introduced, if you find
them intelligent and competent. Madrid. September 2, 1638.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
APPOINTMENT OF SECULAR PRIESTS TO MISSIONS
The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of
Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands,
and president of my royal Audiencia therein: in one of the sections of
a letter which that city [of Manila] wrote to me on June 27 of 636, it
is stated that there are two colleges in that city--one that of Santo
Tomas, with religious of the Order of St. Dominic; and the other that
of San Josef, with religious of the Society of Jesus--both of which
have possessed, for several years past, authority to confer degrees
in all the sciences. It is also declared that, with this opportunity,
many students have excelled in those studies, and especially various
sons of poor citizens, who have graduated in all the degrees; but
that, since they have no beneficed curacies on which they can depend
for support, their studies bring them no advantage. It is said that
this is caused by certain religious orders, who have acquired from
the archbishop, bishops, and governors the aggrandizement of their
orders with many benefices which formerly were administered by secular
priests; and that this might be remedied if I would decree that all
the benefices which have been annexed to the religious orders during
the last twenty years should be restored to the [secular] clergy, and
that edicts should be issued in the form which I have ordained. This
matter having been considered in my royal Council of the Indias, I
have thought it best to issue the present, by which I command you that
in the new missions that shall be established, you shall--except when
they are in a territory assigned to the religious--it being understood
that there are virtuous secular priests, take pains to appoint them
to such missions; for such is my will. [Madrid, October 2, 1638.]
I the King
By command of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
COMPENSATION TO NUNS OF ST. CLARE
The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of
Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands,
and president of my royal Audiencia therein: in a letter which the
abbess and nuns of the convent of St. Clare in that city wrote me
on the thirtieth of June, 636, they make the following statements:
That the said convent was established so that they could live in it,
with all decorum and humility, with certain alms from the citizens;
and their house and church were built close to the wall of the said
city that lies next the river--a place that seemed most separated from
the business quarter, and so closely shut in that little save the
sky could be seen. That in front, on the other side of the street,
is the royal hospital for the Spaniards, which from the time of its
foundation has been administered by the religious of St. Francis;
and that in the hospital the religious who was vicar of the said
convent [of St. Clare], and administered the holy sacraments to the
nuns, had a cell, and they helped to support this religious out of
the alms bestowed upon them. That you, without any occasion or just
cause, drove out the religious from the said hospital by force and
violence, with armed soldiers--saying that the hospital should be
managed by a secular priest whom you took thither with you. That the
said vicar was thereby compelled to find shelter in the convent of
St. Francis, which is at a great distance from that of St. Clare;
and consequently, with the inconveniences of the excessive heat
and the violence of the rains in the wet season, he cannot go to
hear confessions and administer the holy sacraments at St. Clare,
especially at night. That their greatest annoyance is, that you are
constructing in the hospital a ward for convalescents, on the side
that faces the said convent; and that it is so high that it looks
down upon the convent, notwithstanding the enclosure of the latter,
and from the windows of that ward may be seen the beds of the nuns
in their infirmary and dormitory--a matter which requires thorough
reparation. They say that on the other side of their house is a
space between the houses and the wall (which was formerly a street),
which is a passage to the convent, and is useful to it; but that you
have closed this way, and are building another house, which abuts
upon their own ground-plot, for barracks and stables for the cavalry
troops. They entreat me that I will be pleased to command that a check
be placed upon this undertaking, and that, considering their poverty,
I order you to pay them the amount of one hundred and twenty pesos
in certified pay-warrants on the treasury there, which they hold,
which sum will be a great benefit and charity to them. The complaint
of these nuns has been considered in my royal Council of the Indias,
and the damage which they say has been caused to them by closing up
the street and by their being in sight of the ward that was built in
the cells [at the hospital], and by the stables and barracks that have
been placed so close to their house. I have therefore thought it best
to ordain and command you, as I do, that you shall not in any way cause
injury or inconvenience to the said nuns; and that the pay-warrants
which they say they hold, you shall cause to be paid--provided they
are duly certified--in their due value and at such time as the said
nuns desire; for such is my will. [Madrid, October 2, 1638.]
I the King
By command of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
REGULATING THE SEMINARY OF SANTA POTENCIANA
The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia resident
in the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands: it has been reported in
my royal Council of the Yndias that there is in that city a seminary
named Santa Potenciana, of which I am patron; that it was established
for orphan girls, and for the reception of married women when their
husbands are occupied in my service in various parts; and that for
some years the custom has been introduced of sheltering in the said
seminary certain women who live scandalously. [I am also told] that,
since this is of so great service to God our Lord, you, my president,
have given orders to the mother rector of the said seminary not to
receive in the seminary any woman sent by the archbishop of that
church, or by his provisor; and that no one of its inmates may
leave it. It has been judged best to order you (as I do hereby)
to take what measures appear to you most advisable in this matter,
considering all ends. Given in Madrid, November eight, one thousand
six hundred and thirty-eight.
I the King
Countersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon, and signed by the
members of the Council.
[Endorsed: "To the royal Audiencia of Manila, in regard to the order
given by the president of the Audiencia to the mother rector of the
seminary of Sancta Potenciana of that city, that she should not receive
therein any woman sent by the archbishop or his provisor." "Ordering
that the president take what measures appear most fitting, considering
all ends."]
COMMERCE OF THE ISLANDS WITH MEXICO
The King. To my viceroy, president, and auditors of my royal Audiencia
resident in the City of Mexico, of Nueva España: Don Juan Grau
Monfalcon, procurator-general of the Filipinas Islands, has reported
to me that the permission possessed by those islands of two hundred
and fifty thousand pesos of merchandise, and five hundred thousand for
the returns thereon, is very small, as that was conceded thirty-four
years ago, when the citizens and inhabitants were fewer, the duties
and expenses not so great, and the islands less infested by their
foes. Because of this latter, their needs have increased so greatly
that, if the said permission be not increased, it will be impossible
to maintain them, or for their citizens to support themselves. He
tells me that some illegal acts may have resulted from the present
narrow limit of the permission, both in the lading of the merchandise,
and in the returns of the silver. In order that those violations may
be avoided, and those islands and their inhabitants maintained in a
less straitened manner, he has petitioned me to have the goodness to
concede an increase of the two hundred and fifty thousand pesos of the
merchandise to four hundred thousand, and also of the five hundred
thousand pesos of silver to eight hundred thousand. For, besides
the above-mentioned advantages, my royal duties will thus increase,
to supply the expenses of the said islands; illegalities and frauds
will cease; and the inhabitants will increase in wealth. The matter
having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, inasmuch as
I wish to know what permission the said islands enjoy, and that of
the count and duke of San Lucar, and whether it will be advisable to
enlarge the permission of the said islands; and considering their
needs and expenses, and other advantages: I order you to inform me
very minutely in regard to it all, so that, after examination, the
advisable measures may be taken. Given in Madrid, December eight,
one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight.
I the King
Countersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon, and signed by the
members of the Council.
[Endorsed: "Don Juan Grau Monfalcon. To the viceroy, president, and
auditors of the Audiencia of Mexico, ordering information as to the
permission [of trade] for the Filipinas Islands, and that conceded
to the count and duke; and as to the advisability of increasing the
amount permitted to the islands."]
JURISDICTION OVER SEAMEN
The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of
Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands,
or to the person or persons in whose charge that government shall be:
in a letter which I wrote to you on the second of last September,
on various matters, there is a section of the following tenor: "I
have considered the arguments that you bring forward for its being so
expedient that the commander and the admiral of the ships shall have
authority and jurisdiction in the port of Acapulco, when he is not on
shore, to punish his sailors and soldiers; and that the warder of the
fort there shall not interfere with them by undertaking to punish them
on shore (regarding them as his subordinates, as hitherto they have
been) as they are persons of ability and good qualifications--since
from the time when the ships cast anchor, during all the time while
they remain in port, the men do not respect or obey, as it is right
they should, the said commander or admiral. Desiring to avoid
this difficulty, so that those officers may punish the culprits
in such cases, I have decided that what you propose may be done,
with the conditions that you mention; and, by a decree of the same
date as this letter, I am sending to the viceroy of Nueva España
advices to that effect. [I have told him] that as this seems to be
a general complaint, to judge from the instances [reported] here,
he must give the necessary orders for the execution of this decree,
unless some difficulty shall arise that may oblige him to defer it;
for when those men commit any disorderly acts on shore complaint can
be made against them, and the matter referred to the said commander
and admiral." And now a report has been made to me, on the part of
Don Juan Grao Monfalcon, procurator-general of that city of Manila,
that it is very advisable that the said commander and admiral of
the ships possess all necessary jurisdiction for punishing the men
aboard them--as is done at Cartagena, Portovelo, and other places;
and he entreats that I be pleased to command that this be accordingly
done. The matter having been considered in my royal Council of the
Indias, I have thought it best to issue the present, for such is my
will, that the usage which I have mentioned be put in practice in the
islands, as well as in Nueva España, since that is advisable for my
service. [Madrid, December 8, 1638.]
I the King
By command of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
ON THE LADING OF THE GALLEONS
The King. Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the
Philipinas Islands, has reported to me that certain citizens of those
islands, to whom were allotted toneladas in the amount [of lading]
permitted, have, for lack of means to ship the goods, sold that
space--which has thus been secured by the merchants of Nueva España
and Peru, who for that purpose have their agents in Manila. He states
that this practice is overlooked [by the officials], although, after
the first distribution of the permitted lading space has been made,
and the toneladas allotted, the citizens who through poverty or other
causes are unable or unwilling to lade the goods which belong and
are allotted to them cannot give, sell, or transfer that space to
any other person, unless they again declare the toneladas before the
bureau of allotment. The bureau again shares the space which was thus
declared among such citizens as ask for it, or who can occupy it to
better advantage; and these must pay for it, giving for each tonelada
the amount appraised, according to the season and the circumstances,
by the bureau itself. The proceeds from the said toneladas shall be
given and paid to the owners who had declared them. Thus poor persons
will obtain relief, and the citizens [of the islands] will have the
benefit of the entire amount of trade permitted to them, while those
of Nueva España will be excluded from it. [The said procurator]
entreats me to issue a decree in accordance with these facts,
including therein adequate penalties to secure its execution. The
matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and
the above statements carefully considered, I have approved [the said
procurator's request]. I command my governor and captain-general of
the said Philipinas Islands who now holds or shall in future hold
that office, and the auditors of my royal Audiencia therein, and other
persons who shall have in charge the allotment of the said toneladas,
and the bureau for the said allotment, that they observe and fulfil,
and cause to be observed and fulfilled, exactly and inviolably,
what is ordained in this my decree, without in any way contravening
or exceeding its tenor or form. And those who disobey this decree
are warned that such act will be charged to them in the visitations
and their residencias, and they will be punished according to law;
for such is my will. [Madrid, December 8, 1638.]
FORTUNATE SUCCESSES IN FILIPINAS AND TERRENATE, 1636-37
Fortunate successes which our Lord has given by sea and land to the
Spanish arms in the Filipinas Islands against the Mindanaos, and in
the islands of Terrenate against the Dutch, in the latter part of
the year 1636 and the beginning of 1637.
FILIPINAS
These Filipinas Islands, subject to the Catholic king our sovereign
for the past thirty years, have been so harassed and terrorized
by invasions, robberies, and fires caused by the Moros (Mindanaos,
Joloans, Burneyans, and Camucones), that one could not sail outside
the bay of Manila without manifest danger. Not a single village was
now safe, nor could an evangelical or royal minister perform his
duty undisturbed. These pirates--some at one time, others at another,
and sometimes all together--set out every year from their own lands,
and at first attacked the islands which are called the Pintados,
for these were the nearest; and afterward, becoming more impudent,
they came to coast along the island of Manila itself, and once they
even came to the suburbs of this city (although without making their
presence known). The Christians captured by them on these raids were
numberless; some were Spanish but the majority were natives, who, sold
afterward either among the enemies themselves, or among more distant
unbelievers, either abandoned the faith, or suffered living death in
a wretched slavery. The villages which they had ravaged were pitiful
to see, being either burned to the ground or abandoned and deserted;
for those inhabitants who were able to escape from the hands of the
enemy hid themselves in the thickets of the mountains, among wild
beasts and venomous serpents, without other food than a few roots
and wild fruits. And what is impossible to relate without shedding
tears, the gospel ministers were compelled to flee in this same way,
to endure the same calamities, and suffer the inclemencies of sky and
ground, in order not to fall into the hands of Mahometan cruelty. Even
thus they were not always able to flee, for some, cut to pieces, fell
into their hands; others were captured and ransomed at great cost,
or died of ill-treatment in their captivity. Those barbarians did not
spare the churches, but rather plundered them with an infernal fury;
burned them, and trampled under foot the ornaments; broke the images
and profaned the vessels; and impiously clothed themselves with the
sacred vestments. The most unbearable thing of all was to see all
those evils unchecked, our friends disheartened, the enemy unresisted,
and the villages defenseless. For, although the governors sent fleets
in pursuit of the enemy, nothing was effected--partly because the
latter hid themselves from our men among the numerous islands, and
partly because of the great speed of their boats, in which respect
they had great advantage over us.
Finally, in the year 1633, the king of Mindanao, named Cachil Corralat,
sent out a very large fleet which did signal damage in the islands. To
put an end to this, Don Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, who was governor of
the islands at that time, surmounting many difficulties, commanded a
certain position to be taken and a fort to be begun in Samboangan,
on the island of Mindanao, and occupied by a Spanish garrison; for
that point was well suited to the purpose of restraining from there
the Mindanaos and Joloans, as they were forced to sight it when they
went forth to pillage. Soon the enemy Corralat felt the damage done
him by the new post of the Spaniards, and since he could no longer
sally forth at his safety, he called upon the Burneyans, Joloans,
and Camucones to set out in various directions to pillage--which they
did. He himself sent out after them, in the beginning of April, 1636,
a large fleet in command of a Moro chief named Tagal. This fleet,
as our garrison was but recently established, was able to proceed to
our islands, and attacking many places, to make many captures--among
them three Recollect religious of the Order of St. Augustine, and a
Spanish corregidor of the island of Cuyo; to pillage much property,
and to plunder the churches. They carried away the ornaments and
vessels, and destroyed the images, and especially the cloth of a
sacred crucifix, from which Corralat made himself a cape. Thereupon
he became arrogant, and boasted that he was carrying away the God of
the Christians a prisoner, because he had taken from among the sacred
vessels a monstrance and a lunette with the most holy sacrament;
and he returned to his own land, where they were already mourning
him as lost, because he had been absent from it for eight months.
This last invasion, more than all the previous ones, afflicted Don
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who at that time had been proprietary
governor of the islands for a year. Inflamed with a zeal for the honor
of God and his king, he determined, after surmounting the numerous
difficulties and oppositions, to avenge in person the insolent acts
of those barbarians. But first of all he sent out, as governor of the
presidio at Sanboangan, Sargento-mayor Bartolome Diaz Barrera, and,
under his orders, Sargento-mayor Nicolas Gonçalez, so that they might
be making preparations and sweeping the seas of those corsairs--a very
important matter, as will be seen subsequently. He then fitted out a
good fleet of champans (sailing vessels of moderate size, which are
used by the Chinese); and, embarking in one of them, made sail on the
day of the Purification of our Lady, the second of February, of this
year 1637. At Oton (which is about half-way) he received definite
information that Tagal was returning to his own country with eight
very well laden ships. The commander of the garrison at Sanboangan
was informed of that; and, preparing in two hours a squadron of five
caracoas (which are swift craft with oar and sail, which are used
by these Indians) and placing in command thereof Nicolas Gonçalez,
the sargento-mayor of that presidio, he set out to round a very steep
cliff, in which a small mountain terminated, projecting out into the
sea, and distant about thirty leguas eastward from our fort. It was
necessary for the enemy to stop there, in order to discharge numerous
lances and arrows at the cliff (for it was their custom to sail by
that point when either outward or homeward bound)--a superstitious
custom of those barbarians. On account of this the place was known as
"the point of arrows" [punta de flechas]. The result was that which
our men desired for on the morning of the day of St. Thomas, the
twenty-first of December (at the time when prayer was being offered
up within the fort), the enemy was sighted; and both then and on the
following night our men made such an attack upon the enemy that, in
spite of a desperate defense, they surrendered. Of the eight ships
only one worthy of mention escaped, and that one in such a condition
that in order to escape, they cast overboard all its merchandise and
slaves. The other ships, heavily laden with merchandise, fell into the
hands of our soldiers and were plundered. There were not many firearms,
but they contained the vases and sacred ornaments, which were declared,
in order to be returned to their rightful owners. There died Tagal, the
commander of the enemy, with more than three hundred other Moros--so
obstinate and furious that they preferred death rather than surrender,
although they were offered their lives. Better was the course of one of
Tagal's brothers, who, when badly wounded, surrendered, protesting that
he had always regarded the faith of the Christians as the true one,
and begging for baptism, after receiving which he died. His example
was followed by fourteen other Moros, who surrendered and besought
baptism. Thus also there were recovered a hundred and twenty Christian
captives and among them a Recollect father, one of those whom the
Moros were taking away with them; but he was so badly wounded that he
soon died, although greatly consoled to have seen with his own eyes
the bravery with which our captains had punished the insolence of
the barbarians, obtaining so signal a victory as that, to the honor
of Jesus Christ and of the Spaniards, without its having cost even
a single man to our side. In that we began to enjoy the benefits of
the fort of Sanboangan; for if it had not been there, we could not
have encountered the enemy--who were none the less frightened by a
miracle which occurred on the very night on which the victory was
won. For having commenced by a terrific trembling of the earth and
sea, with a great noise of groans and screams, which were heard by
some, and which terrified all, that cliff--which we have mentioned
as an infamous place, both on account of the superstitious rite of
shooting arrows at it and many other things, and because there was
a tradition among the natives that the devil had been actually seen
there--became loosened from the land and fell with a great crash into
the sea, our Lord giving to understand thereby that the impiety so
strongly intrenched in that island was to fall and give place to our
holy religion, as events are constantly demonstrating. The shore has
already been consecrated to God with the name of Point San Sebastian,
so that the superstitions by which that place was contaminated may
be transformed by His holy arrows.
The governor was highly elated with these tidings, and still more
when he received the ornaments, sacred vessels, and images which had
been recovered; and was moved to deep pity by the maltreated holy
crucifix, which had been made into a cape. [25] He ordained the latter
as thenceforth a standard for that expedition, as he did also with the
miraculous painting of St. Francis Xavier which was carried by Father
Marcelo Mastrillo, well known in the greater part of the world for the
so great mark of favor shown him by the Lord through the agency of
that great apostle of India. This father, while passing from Malaca
to Macan, a port of China, in fulfilment of the vow which he made at
Napoles, met with the Dutch corsairs, from whom the Lord delivered him
by a sudden wind which, while it turned him from the course which he
was pursuing, miraculously carried him, without a pilot who knew those
regions, into the bay of Manila. They anchored at the port of Cavite,
on the day of St. Ignatius of last year, for the signal consolation
and edification of all these islands, and for the good success of
this expedition (in which consisted the complete relief and remedy of
all)--especially to the benefit of the sick, of whom he took charge
during the entire course of the expedition. Our fleet reached the
port of Sanboangan on February 22, of this year; and all the men in it
having been confessed and having received communion, and having been
so encouraged (as they made evident to the father) by seeing from the
pulpit, the outraged image of the Crucified One, they cried out that
they would attack the whole world; and that the mothers were fortunate
who had employed their sons in so glorious an undertaking. Then the
soldiers returned to their vessels; they were divided into three
companies of Spaniards, and one of Panpango Indians. Without awaiting
the Spaniards and the volunteer Bisayan Indians they began to lay
their course toward Lamitan, on the fourth of March, in order not to
allow the enemies time to prepare themselves. At that place Corralat
had his principal village. The governor preceded the entire fleet,
with only four boats--both because the weather was contrary, and
because he had heard that there were some Moro merchantmen on the
sea from Java Major, very full of Christian slaves. Without the loss
of an instant's time, by sailing night and day, he came within sight
of Lamitan, on March thirteen. There the same man, in company with
only six musketeers as a guard, personally reconnoitered the coast
and river, with great valor and risk. Having fully ascertained that
the beach and the low grounds were safe, he disembarked with the men
of his four boats, as well as those of two others, that had already
come up at that time--in all, about seventy soldiers. He placed
these in battle-array, and marched with them to attack the village,
without knowing that it was so well fortified as was the case, as he
understood that all their force was about one and one-half leguas
inland on a high hill. It was an especial providence of our Lord,
and a brilliant stratagem, to leave an open road along the beach
(on which, as was afterward seen, the enemy had planted all their
artillery), and to deceive the enemy by taking another road on the
opposite side. This was very difficult and dangerous, both because of
the ambuscades which the enemy had prepared in the thickets (which were
quickly cleared by our men, by means of two field-pieces which were in
the vanguard), and by the swamps and river--which the soldiers forded
twice, with the water up to their breasts, with incredible valor. They
were encouraged by the example of their captain-general, who was the
first in all these hardships, as he was also later, when attacking two
large stockades, one after the other. Those stockades, notwithstanding
the fierce resistance made by the Moros in their defense, he entered
with his men, ever proving himself not less prudent in commanding
than spirited in attacking--personally encountering several Moros,
who set upon him with extraordinary spirit. Thereupon, they caught
sight of the fort with which Corralat had defended his village. It
was exceedingly well fortified with a new ditch, with eight pieces
of artillery, twenty-seven versos, many muskets with rests, and other
lighter arms, and with more than two thousand warrior Moros. But that
was of little use, for so gallant was the assault of the Spanish,
notwithstanding their small number, that they instantly gained
possession of the fort, killing a goodly number of Moros--among whom
was their castellan, who obstinately fought to the death--while the
others fled very badly wounded. From that place a portion of our men
went on ahead to a stockade which, with one piece [of artillery],
defended the house of Corralat, and it soon fell into our power;
for after the commander who had charge of it (and who until then had
kept them in good spirits by his vain and superstitious promises)
had been killed, those who accompanied him lost heart and fled, while
many of them were left there dead. The other body [of the Spaniards]
attacked the river at the same time, and, putting the Moros to flight,
captured more than three hundred craft, great and small. Of these they
sacked some large Javanese merchantmen which were heavily laden with
goods, and set free their Christian slaves. Some boats which were
suitable for our men were kept, and the others were burned, without
a single one being left. Had the fleet that left Sanboangan been all
together on that day, they would have finished matters with the Moro
king Corralat, who, with as many men as possible, withdrew to the hill
which he had fortified, disguised and borne on the shoulders of slaves.
The governor after having given the village over to sack, having
gathered all the arms of the enemy--which, as aforesaid, consisted
of eight bronze pieces with ladles, one swivel-gun of cast iron,
twenty-seven versos, and more than one hundred muskets and arquebuses;
besides a very great number of cannon-chambers, and iron, balls,
and powder; campilans (what the Indians call by this name resemble
certain cutlasses), lances, javelins, and many other kinds of poisoned
missile weapons; and also after having repaired the fort which the
enemy had (now called San Francisco Xavier) with new and suitable
fortifications, which he planned, and himself commenced with his own
hands to execute; and having lodged his men without the loss of even
one (for only two servants deserted): he retired to a large mosque,
where he established a bodyguard. He first had the mosque blessed,
and a chair and some Arabic books of the cursed Koran burned. Quite
necessary was the garrison and watch set by the vigilant governor
during the days of his stay there, while awaiting the rest of his
fleet, in order to drive away some false and pernicious embassies, and
to defend themselves from the continual surprises which the defeated
Moros sprang upon them, especially at night. Our men did not receive
much hurt from them; on the contrary, various bodies of troops,
leaving their posts, overran the country, burning the villages, and
committing other damage on the enemy. Many Christian captives fled from
the enemy on this account, and were immediately sent to Sanboangan.
On the sixteenth of the same month, Sargento-mayor Nicolas Gonçalez
came to join the governor with the rest of the fleet, which sailed
from Sanboangan. The governor immediately began to prepare his men
with all temporal and spiritual equipment with which to invest the hill
on the next day. There was well seen the military prudence and skill,
and the zeal for the divine honor, of the captain-general, in the so
well arranged and efficacious address which he made to his soldiers,
and in the so definite orders that he issued. He divided his men; and,
committing about one hundred and twenty Spaniards, thirty Pampango
Indians, and some other Bisayans as carriers, to Sargento-mayor Nicolas
Gonzalez, ordered him to surprise the enemy by the rear of the hill,
first sounding his trumpets, so that he himself might attack the
front at the same instant by this means dividing the enemy's forces,
and weakening their defense. In accordance with these orders, the
sargento-mayor began his march. The governor, with the rest of the army
(after leaving a sufficient defense of soldiers in the fort and boats),
marched toward the hill at six o'clock the following morning. At its
brow was a very fine deserted village, where the governor fortified
a good house, and had a piece of artillery planted and a garrison
of Pampangos established, to be used as a place of refuge for his
men. Commencing to ascend the hill by the road which the Moro who
was guiding them showed him, he stopped near where there was another
road; and, having asked the guide whether that road also led to the
hill, and which of the two was the better, the Moro replied in the
affirmative, and said that both were poor. "Then if both are poor,"
said the governor in reply, "let us go by the other, and not by the
one along which the Moro is guiding us." That was the inspiration of
Heaven, and very good military counsel, and so did the outcome declare
it; for that first road was taking them point blank into a cavalier,
garrisoned with three pieces, one of which was of bronze. It was
found afterward that, besides a double charge of powder, the piece
was loaded with two plain artillery balls, two crowbars, and more
than three hundred musket balls--with which, no doubt, at least all
the vanguard would have been swept away. Now freed from that danger,
and marching with great difficulty up the hill, the governor sent
some of the vanguard with orders to reconnoiter only the road,
and to halt at some fitting place in order to await the signal of
those who were to attack the enemy in the rear. In truth the road
was so difficult that it could be ascended in some places only with
great difficulty, by clambering up and laying hold of the shrubs with
their hands. It was narrow and very steep, and had precipices in all
parts, so that they could not mount upward except one at a time. And,
above all, it was so well commanded at the top by three forts--which
were inaccessible, both by the great height of their location, and
by the defenses of ditches, very stout stockades, and a very large
supply of weapons--that very few of the enemy, without receiving
any hurt, could with the use of only stones kill a million men who
might attack them in that part. Notwithstanding this, those who were
sent to reconnoiter the road were so blinded by their overweening
valor and spirit (truly Spanish) that, thinking that they could
easily gain all, they went ahead to attack one of the three forts,
without heeding the order that the general had given them; thereby
they encountered, for themselves and the rest of the vanguard, great
damage from the three forts, without doing anything to the enemy. More
than twenty [of the Spaniards] were killed and more than eighty badly
wounded. Much greater would have been the destruction of our men--for,
not considering those who were falling, they continued to involve
themselves and the others further, with false rumors of victory--had
it not been that the governor, placing himself in the greatest danger,
where the balls were raining down, and where they wounded his squire
(and others who were very near him fell dead), and recognizing that
victory was impossible in that part, and prudently hiding the disorder
which had happened, in order not to discourage his soldiers, caused
them all, both whole and wounded, to retire. This he did with so great
ease and gallantry on one side, while on the other he confronted the
enemy with so great valor, with sword in hand; had he not done that not
a single man would have remained alive, since the enemy were numerous,
the road full of precipices, and our men badly impeded with the wounded
and more than two hours of fighting. That night the governor passed,
with those who remained unhurt, in the retreat at the brow of the
hill--at the greatest risk of perishing, if the enemy had made a sally,
however vigilant our men had been. But God delivered them from that
danger; for the enemy did not make a sally, because they made a great
feast that night over the good result of having, as they imagined,
killed the governor. Already by this time the sick were in the camp,
in which miraculous cures of very deadly wounds occurred. One had
been shot through the head from temple to temple; another was shot
through the mouth by a ball that passed up through the stomach;
another had several poisoned dart-points (here called sompites)
left sticking in his throat; and both those and all the others,
excepting two or three who did not allow themselves to be treated,
are today alive and well. They, and all, attribute their miraculous
health to the special favor with which God chose to repay the holy
zeal with which all risked their lives for His Divine Majesty.
On the following day, the eighteenth of the same month, while the
governor was hearing mass, the rattle and roar of artillery and
musketry was heard on the hill, which increased his anxiety. Suspecting
that Nicolas Gonzalez was fighting, he sent him, as a reënforcement,
a company of soldiers under command of Captain Don Rodrigo de
Guillestigui. And it was so that, the said sargento-mayor, Nicolas
Gonzalez, not having been able to arrive the day before at the assigned
place because of the great difficulty of the road, it was our Lord's
pleasure that, after conquering many difficulties and great obstacles,
he gained possession of an eminence which dominated the enemy's forts
in the rear. Thence he started to invest them, with such intrepidity
that, although the king, leading his men in person, began to resist him
furiously, he could not however withstand our charges. Consequently,
they were compelled to abandon their three forts, one after the other,
leaving an infinite number of dead Moros, who perished partly by the
balls, and partly through falling over precipices in escaping, as
the way was narrow. Among those who escaped by flight was Corralat;
he fled, badly wounded, to some small villages that he owned, which
were four leguas distant from the hill. The queen his wife, and many
others of his servants threw themselves over the precipices of their
own accord, in order to avoid falling into our hands. Many of the enemy
were captured and the Christian captives there freed. Among the latter
was found alive one of the Recollect fathers, who, as he had been
badly mangled, was judged to have lived as by a miracle until the day
following, when he died as a saint in the camp, after receiving all the
sacraments with great consolation. The third [Recollect religious] was
killed through the fury of the Moros, and it is not known where they
threw his body. The three forts, then, with all their arms (namely,
four pieces of artillery, and other numberless weapons of other kinds),
having fallen into our hands, as well as a great quantity of food,
and a quantity of wealth, and a suitable guard having been placed, the
governor was advised of everything. He was waiting anxiously in camp;
rejoicing over the good news, and more that no one of our soldiers
had been killed, he ascended the hill. In two days' time having taken
down to the camp with very few men the pieces which it had taken the
enemy six months to take up with more than two thousand Indians;
collecting many sacred vases and ecclesiastical ornaments which
were found; giving the house of the king over to sack, and others,
very large and full of riches, by which many Spaniards were greatly
advantaged; and having burned the buildings, and leveled the forts:
as he was no longer able to endure the stench which arose from the
[dead bodies of] the enemy who had been slain and those who had fallen
over the precipices, the forces returned to camp--leaving the Moro
king entirely ruined, as a chastisement for the many outrages which
he had impiously committed on the true God, on His priests, and other
Christians. From there, after having given thanks to our Lord with
a mass, and a solemn procession with the most holy sacrament on the
day of the Incarnation, they set sail for Sanboangan.
When they left, the governor sent Sargento-mayor Pedro Palomino
with one hundred Spaniards to Cachil Moncay (the legitimate king,
although he had been oppressed by the tyranny of his uncle Corralat),
in order to tell him that, if he wished to be protected by the
Spanish arms of his Majesty, he must render homage and pay tribute
to the Catholic king our sovereign, wage war by fire and sword on
Corralat and his allies, free the Christian captives, and admit
gospel ministers. The king offered in person to do all that, and
afterward through his ambassador and brother-in-law, at Samboangan,
to the governor. The latter having issued the fitting orders in that
presidio, and having received the homage offered to our sovereign
by many--especially by the inhabitants of the island of Basilan,
to whom he immediately assigned gospel ministers, as they asked for
them--he entrusted one hundred Spaniards and more than one thousand
volunteer Indians (who had now arrived, although after the battle),
with orders to coast along the island, doing all the harm possible
to the enemy, and helping the Spaniards' friends. The said captain
performed all the aforesaid excellently, coasting along the island from
Sanboangan to Caraga. And although the Moros had retreated inland,
being terrified by the news of the victory, still the captain did
them considerable damage. He burned as many as sixteen villages, and
many other collections of houses, laid waste the fields and gardens,
destroyed more than one hundred ships (counting large and small),
and seized others for the use of the fleet, whose need he abundantly
supplied with many provisions which he collected. He also beheaded
seventy-two spirited Moros, who defended themselves against him,
whose heads he placed on pikes, in various places along the beach,
in order to terrorize the others. He made prisoners some others,
whom he took alive, with which the whole land became fearful. While
that was being done, as has been said, the governor set sail toward
Manila. He entered that city in triumph on the twenty-fourth of May,
with his four companies in battle-array, with the prisoners in their
midst, and with fourteen wagons heavily laden with many important
arms of the enemy, together with the banners which had been captured
dragging in the dust. There was general applause and rejoicing by the
Spaniards and natives. That was an affair well calculated to inspire
fear in the numberless infidels by whom we are surrounded.
Finally, his Lordship, having shown certain very splendid honors to
those who had so gloriously perished in the war, and having ordered
a great number of masses to be said for their souls, ended the
celebration most happily on the seventh of June (the Sunday of the
Trinity), by a very solemn procession of the most holy sacrament as
an expression of thanks. In front marched the ransomed Christians,
very handsomely clad, carrying candles and rosaries. Four long paces
behind them were many sacred vases and ecclesiastical ornaments,
which were recovered from the possession of the barbarian. By that
sight the hearts of Catholics were moved to great compassion; and the
people gave many thanks to our Lord for the sight of that which they
had desired for so many years. They entreated Him that the work might
progress until, the enemies who remained in those regions having
received the faith of Jesus Christ, they and the other long-time
Christians might enjoy the desired peace and quiet.
TERRENATE
The governor's great care and vigilance in preparing and arranging the
fleet of Mindanao did not cause him to forget the other enemy--infested
posts that his Majesty possesses in this archipelago. At the same
time, he despatched another very good fleet, consisting of two large
ships, one patache, and one galley, under command of General Geronimo
Henriquez, as a guard to a number of champans which were taking the
succor to the forts of Terrenate. Two excellent ships of the Dutch
enemy were awaiting them at the entrance. When they saw the courage
of our men the enemy retired in flight to the shelter of their fort
of Malayo, without daring to await them. The Spaniards were so keen
for fighting that, hastily leaving in safety the aid which they were
taking, they started in pursuit of the hostile galleons, and did
not stop until they met these under the enemy's fort, where they had
gone. There they fired so many volleys, both at the ships and at the
fort and village, that (as was learned afterward from some who took
refuge with our ships) very considerable damage was done, without
the Dutch daring to sail out, or being able to do us any damage of
importance. That was a very great cause for scoffing against the enemy,
and they lost as much reputation among those Moros, as was gained by
the Spaniards, especially with the king of Tidore, our friend, who very
joyfully thanked the commander Henriquez and the admiral, Don Pedro de
Almonte, with presents for that action of so great valor and gallantry.
One month after that fleet had returned to Manila, Don Pedro de
Mendiola, governor of Terrenate, heard that two Dutch ships were
becalmed not a great distance from there. He instantly despatched
two galleys, which together spiritedly attacked the better of the two
ships. After it had been entirely defeated, and our men were about to
board it, a strong wind which suddenly arose snatched it from their
hands, although it was badly crippled by the discharges from our
galleys. The latter received no considerable damage. Thereupon that
enemy were greatly terrified; the Moro natives received a very exalted
idea of the Spaniards, while the latter were very joyful at beholding
the arms of the king our sovereign, even in these most remote bounds
of the earth, shine with the luster and splendor that they merit.
With license. In Madrid. Printed by Diego Diaz de la Carrera, in the
year 1639.
VALUE OF CORCUERA'S SEIZURES IN JOLO
[Under date of Manila, August 2, 1638, the city cabildo of Manila write
the king a detailed account of Corcuera's campaign in Joló, which
was begun in December, 1637. Inasmuch as this letter covers ground
sufficiently treated in documents already presented in this series, it
is not here given. The original is conserved in the Archivo general de
Indias with pressmark, "est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32;" and it is presented
by Pastells in his edition of Colin (iii, pp. 528-532). Pastells
(iii, pp. 532, 533) follows this letter by a document showing the
value of the artillery and other things seized from the Joloans,
and the money value of the captives who were sold as slaves. This
document is conserved in the same archives and has the same pressmark
as the above. It is as follows:]
The relation of the expense incurred on his Majesty's account during
the expedition made to the kingdom of Joló by Don Sebastián Hurtado
de Corcuera, in December, 1637; also the value of what was seized
and gained from the enemy; and the net gain. Subtracting the one from
the other, the result is as follows:
pesos tomins granos
Gained from the enemy, 28,345 7 0
Expenses of the expedition, 26,314 5 4
Net remainder of gain, 2,031 1 6
The value of what was gained from the enemy can be analyzed in the
following form:
[A list, partially duplicate, of the artillery taken from the Joloans
follows, of which we present only the final summary, in order to
avoid such duplication. It appears that the artillery when taken to
Manila was appraised by one Melchor Pérez, royal chief of artillery
and artillery-founder.]
Bronze artillery, useful
Pieces Weight in quintals and libras
Make Weight of ball in libras
Value of one quintal in pesos
Total value in pesos
1 English 11 3 30 330
1 falcon of King Don
Sebastián of Portugal 11 4 28 308
2 of King Don Sebastián of
Portugal 15 10 26 390
1 Manila, of the time of
Tavora 26,80 10 26 670
21 cámaras [26] 124
Bronze artillery, useless, appraised merely at the value of the copper
1 English 11 3 12 132
1 Siamese 4 1 12-1/2 54
10 versos 14 12 168
Cast-iron artillery
1 English 7 35 3 12-1/2 91
1 Macao 12-1/2 4 12 156
1 English 11 4 12-1/2 137
1 Dutch 10 88 12-1/2 136
1 English 12 25 5 12-1/2 153
1 Dutch 12 25 5 12-1/2 153
1 English 10 45 5 12-1/2 130
1 English 14 63 7 12-1/2 182
1 Dutch 18 9 12-1/2 225
1 English 21 33 9 12-1/2 266
1 Dutch 24 97 11 12, and
1 tomin 312
1 iron base [roquero] 4
Firearms
pesos
3 Vizcayan arquebuses 12
10-1/2 Macao muskets 31
11 Vizcayan field muskets 66
1 Dutch arquebus 4
19 Macao arquebuses 57
16 Dutch muskets 64
1 musket de pinote of Macao 4
2 Vizcayan arquebuses 10
7 arquebuses from Macao 21
7 Japanese small guns [escopetillas] 21
2 Vizcayan field muskets 12
5 Dutch arquebuses 15
10 Dutch muskets 50
1 bit of a Vizcayan gun [escopeta] 1
Besides the above, in cloth or money, 2,866 [pesos]; in small darts
and blowpipes, 50 [pesos].
Lastly, from 192 captive Indians--men, women, and children--sold as
his Majesty's slaves at royal auction, 20,815 pesos. Of this amount
10,375 pesos were in cash, in coin; and the 10,440 remaining were
charged to the pay due the infantry and seamen.
DOCUMENTS OF 1639-1640
Events in Philipinas, 1638-39. [Unsigned; probably Juan Lopez,
1639.]
Letters to the Holy Misericordia. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera;
December 4, 1637, and October 26, 1639.
The university of Santo Tomás. Felipe IV; November 9, 1639.
Royal orders and decrees. Felipe IV; 1639.
Events in the Filipinas Islands, 1639-40. [Juan Lopez?]; August,
1640.
Relation of the insurrection of the Chinese. [Unsigned and
undated; probably in March, 1640.]
Ecclesiastical and Augustinian affairs, 1630-40. Casimiro
Diaz; [1718?]. [From his Conquistas.]
Relation of the Filipinas Islands. [Diego de Bobadilla, S.J.;
1640.]
Sources: The first of these documents is obtained from a MS. in the
Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid; the second, from a MS. volume
in the library of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago; the third, and the eighth
decree in the fourth, from the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla;
the fourth (except the above-mentioned decree), from the Archivo
Historico Nacional, Madrid; the fifth and sixth, from the Ventura
del Arco MSS. (Ayer library); the seventh, from Diaz's Conquistas,
pp. 267-444; the eighth, from Thevenot's Voyages curieux, t. i,
part ii--from a copy belonging to the library of Harvard University.
Translations: These are made by James A. Robertson--except the fifth,
sixth, and seventh, and two decrees in the fourth, by Emma Helen Blair.
EVENTS IN THE PHILIPINAS
FROM THE YEAR 1638 TO THAT OF 1639
Today, August 14, I learned that thirteen Macasars and Basilas,
of those who had been sold as slaves, had fled in a small boat,
and that they had been furnished with arms. Some suspected that the
Lascars aided them. A few days before, six of them had fled, but they
were captured and brought to this port by the Indians of Maragondon.
At the end of September Nuestra Señora del Rosario [i.e., our Lady
of the Rosary] was robbed. Only three jewels were taken from her--a
diamond of the value of one thousand two hundred pesos; a cross of
smaller diamonds; and a gold rosary. The holy image was found in a
prostrate condition. It is said that there are some indications of
the robber. A portion of the robe was found in the possession of a
soldier; but he says that he found it on the ground, and it has been
impossible to prove anything else.
In the beginning of October came a despatch from Sanboangan, in which
it is declared that although the Spaniards tried to constrain Cachil
Moncay to make his men pay the tribute, he replied that he would
not do so, but that he would take arms and declare war. In fact,
he retired to the mountains and took captive Father Francisco Angel;
but another chief, his opponent, had the boldness to take the father
from him and deliver him to the Spaniards.
We are advised from Jolo that many of our men have been killed; and
that the islanders who have remained there have suffered great famine,
and consequently, an epidemic and plague is feared. It is also said
that Panguian a cachil, together with Dato Ache, has retreated with
almost all the brave men of Jolo to the island of Tabitabi, [27]
where they have fortified another hill, and are preparing ships to
go out to pillage our tributaries. The king and queen are in Jolo
without anyone paying any attention to them; and Panguian Cachil is
trying to make himself king of the Joloans.
Three ships left this port for Macan: the Macan patache, on the
thirteenth of October; on the fourteenth, that from Camboja; and on
the sixteenth, that which came from India. It has to return here to
collect its goods which it left here [for sale] on commission [fiada],
and will go hence to Goa.
October 26, a champan from Sanboangan arrived, in which was Father
Gregorio Belin, seeking the reformation that is especially demanded
by affairs in Jolo, whose commandant [28] has prevented many good
results and been the cause of many evils, by his bad government and
scandalous conduct. Don Sebastian [Hurtado de Corcuera] removed him,
as he was already well informed of what has taken place there. Father
Pedro Gutierrez informs us about Mindanao in a letter which he writes
to the father provincial, as follows.
Letter from Father Pedro Gutierrez
"These three posts of Sanboangan, Jolo, and Mindanao, were left
so destitute, for lack of the little fleet that was here at the
beginning, that I am surprised that the commandant, Don Pedro de
Almonte, has been able to attend with so great promptness to the
necessities that have arisen. The time when the [lack of the] fleet
began to be felt was when a soldier and a Pampango were brought
badly wounded from Basilan. In order to remedy the damages that
might ensue from not inflicting punishment, it was necessary to
equip a caracoa with Pampangos and servants of the Spaniards. The
matter was entrusted to Adjutant Cristoval de las Eras, who had the
two evildoers shot in Basilan. Then, seeing that the Spaniards who
were in Basilan were poorly accommodated, and without any defense,
he advised the commandant, Don Pedro; and, by virtue of the order
sent him, he built a fortified house in a very good position. After
the people of the mountain (some of whom had absented themselves
through fear) had calmed down, he returned to this port.
"During that time the commandant, Don Pedro, was already getting ready
a small fleet among the Lutaos, in order to attack the Joloans who had
gone to Tabitabi and other islands. That he might accomplish this, he
requested a good juanga which was at Dapitan, whence it was brought
with fifty Indians. With one that he procured from those that his
Majesty had here, and those which he had made by the Lutao chiefs,
he had five caracoas with four pieces of artillery, besides three
other small boats called pilanes, all of them excellently equipped
with infantry and ammunition.
"While the fleet was on the point of being despatched, news arrived
from Mindanao of various acts of treachery which Moncay, chief of
Buayen, had attempted against the Spaniards; and that he had seized
Father Angel; and that after the said father had escaped from them,
they fell upon the food and the household effects that the father left,
thus declaring themselves. But the commandant, Don Pedro, seeing the
danger in delaying help, and knowing that if Corralat and Manaquior
were to unite with Moncay much damage might be done, determined to
send the fleet that was prepared for Jolo to Mindanao. For greater
abundance, he added a champan with food and ammunition for the
said fleet, and as an aid to the fort at Buayen. He charged Adjutant
Cristoval de las Eras with all this, on account of his experience as a
good soldier, and his knowledge of wars with the Indians. In addition
he charged me to go in the fleet, so that I might see Corralat and
Manaquior; and as that was my affair, and the Spaniards were not to
meddle in it, it was made certain that those chiefs would not unite
with Moncay. We came near to Lamitan, where Corralat was living, and
I found Father Carrion, who was with Corralat, and who was coming to
Sanboangan to ask for an order to make peace with Manaquior, to make
war on Moncay, to talk to Corralat, in order that he should not unite
with Moncay, and to request succor in some things. I told him that
the commandant Don Pedro had already prepared for all that he wanted,
and more; and that he was sending that fleet, collected as if by a
miracle. The father was very much surprised by that, and even told
me that if they saw what had been done, they would not believe it
in Buayen; for, as they know the limited resources in Sanboangan,
they had not dared to ask for a single soldier.
"I landed alone, and the fleet went to await me at La Zabanilla. I
talked to Corralat, and he promised me all that I wanted. For greater
security, he told me that he would give two caracoas to guard me. He
offered me four, but I did not desire more than two, which he sent
after me. It was diverting to hear the Mindanaos say that on no account
must they separate from my caracoa; and when I told them, as we were
returning, to stay behind and look for food, that did not avail, for
they told me that they were not to leave me until I should return,
and they kept their word.
"We arrived at the fort. I informed Adjutant Eras of the condition of
affairs. According to his orders, Manaquior was summoned; and he made
a treaty of peace with Captain Marquez. For a beginning, he offered
an iron piece that uses a ball weighing three libras, which he handed
over to the said adjutant Eras. We continued to ascend the river to
quiet the villages that the hostile Moncay had taken from Manaquior,
and which he had fortified. But when they learned that the Spaniards
were coming, they discarded their foolish ideas, and, as sensible men,
abandoned the village, which was excellently fortified. They set fire
to a part of it, but were unable to burn it all because of their haste
in escaping. They went to join those who were fortified in a village
higher up the same river, which was the village which prevented those
who could have done so from carrying refreshment to the fort of the
Spaniards. The Spaniards went up the river, and before they arrived the
natives deserted that village also, and that so hastily that they were
unable to burn more than one house. We went up as far as the village
of Manaquior, where we were well received. We took five days to reach
that place from the fort. Manaquior said that the inhabitants of the
two villages had united with a third, in order to fight, and that
they were on an arm of the river. The adjutant with his fleet, and
with Manaquior, who had always accompanied him, descended the river;
and, arriving at the entrance of the said arm, as one of the caracoas
was large, the adjutant left it there (it was the one in which I was
embarked), and ascended with the rest. Before his arrival, the enemy
also fled and said that all those who had abandoned the other villages
were going to fortify themselves in another position farther up the
river. Thereupon, those who accompanied Adjutant Eras tried to persuade
him not go any farther, since those Moros did not await them, and the
river was becoming narrower. The adjutant refused to do anything else
but pursue them, and did so for two days by that arm of the sea. He
reached the last site, where the enemy were fortifying themselves
with an excellent stockade. There must have been a great force of men,
since they had done so much in so few hours. They did not hold their
ground there, either, but according to the track that they left went
to the mountains in two divisions. Thereupon we returned to Samboangan,
after having reënforced the fort with food and ammunition.
"Two bronze versos were found at that last site, which had been
hidden in the river. The adjutant seized them, and is sending them,
I believe, to Don Sebastian. I have been in various fleets, and
have seen in none of them what I have seen in this one--namely,
that although those people had never encountered Spaniards before,
there was not a single soldier who ill-treated any Indian, while the
latter came very willingly. Perhaps the cause for it was the speech
that Adjutant Eras made to the Spaniards--who, as they know that he
treats them with great courtesy, and that for that reason he will
stand no nonsense, did not wish to give him cause for anger. As we
were returning, I saw Corralat, and tried to ascertain from him his
intentions. He does not wish to fight with the Spaniards; but, on the
other hand, he makes impertinent demands--namely, that the country
from Sibuguei to near Catel (a region about two hundred leguas in
circuit), and the lake of Malanao, be left to him. As my intention
was not to make any agreement with him, except that he should not
unite with Moncay, I told him that I was writing to Don Sebastian,
as I did, whose letter I am despatching now.
"All the Mindanaos fear the Castilians, especially Don
Sebastian. Corralat's whole anxiety was lest he might come here, and
he asked why he should come, when it would be sufficient to send a
captain; and he said other things in this manner. May our Lord arrange
matters as is most fitting to His holy service; and may He preserve
your Reverence, to whose holy prayers and sacrifices I earnestly
commend myself. Sanboangan, September 30, 1638."
Section of a letter written in Manila
"Father Belin took with him about eighty Christian captives of those
who have come to our soldiers--both in that entrance which was made in
the villages, and of those who have been escaping from the Moros since
the time of the arrival of Don Sebastian, who exceed one hundred and
fifty Christians. Among them, at times, were some Moros who requested
holy baptism. The eighty who arrived here were disembarked at the gate
of Saint Dominic, where the sargento-mayor was awaiting them with the
captains and adjutants and the company of the governor, who marched
them down in their midst. When the procession or march was ended,
the alcaldes and Father Belin went through the street which leads to
[the house of] the master-of-camp and [the convent of] St. Augustine,
to the palace. Having gone round by the parade-ground, they went up to
the governor, where Father Belin thanked his Lordship for the liberty
that had been obtained through his mediation. His Lordship ordered
them to be lodged in the city; and directed the father to bring the
chiefs to the palace next day, as he intended to clothe them as he
had those whom he sent to Basilan. Among them is a Moro who is a
Christian, who is accompanied by more than twenty persons of his
relatives and household. All of them have resolved to be baptized,
and to live among Christians in Cabuyao. [29] That was the chief who
brought Father Angel to the fort, and withdrew him from captivity
when he came to our people. The fact was that that chief captured a
girl about twelve years old in that village of Cabuya, whom he has
married during this time, with the intention of making her his chief
wife until his death. She, having seen the love that he showed her,
told him that if he wished her to live in his company willingly,
not only was she to be a Christian, but he was to become one also,
in order to be her true husband and live among Christians. In short,
she won him so that he determined to come with her to her village. He
persuaded his men to do the same, and in accordance with that they
have come. In the champan, he told his Tagal wife that she should
not tell the Castilians that he had captured her, lest they kill him
or do him some harm; but that she could say that she was bringing
him and all his people to captivity, as was a fact. Don Sebastian,
influenced by reasons of expediency, orders that that family return
to live in Mindanao."
October 31, the patache from the island of Hermosa entered this
port. It brings as news that five or six Franciscan and Dominican
friars are there, who have been exiled from China; and that they
hope to be able to reënter that country. The report that the Dutch
had occupied the post of Tanchui, which we had left, is said to
be false. On the contrary, the inhabitants of Tanchui came to beg
friendship and Spaniards, to which the only answer given was that
they should come with safety to the fort with their drugs, which
would furnish them a safe passage.
A champan also arrived from Terrenate at the end of October. It brought
news that the sargento-mayor, Francisco Hernandez, made an important
raid into the country of the enemies, with good result. He found in
Macasar the Spaniards who deserted from this place last year with
Captain Ramos, whom they had already killed through anger. Francisco
Hernandez begged the king for permission and aid to arrest them; and,
being given it, arrested them and placed them in the galleys.
A small vessel, called a cho, came from Macan November 2. It brings
more authentic news of the conversion of the king of China, than what
I wrote by the ships. The fathers say of him that he is earnestly
considering becoming and living as a Christian. Word is also received
that the fathers of the province of Macan, which is the same province
as that of Japon, formed a congregation; and that, because they
have strong hopes of the opening of the door for the conversion of
that kingdom, in which the faith has been so severely persecuted,
they have elected two procurators to go to Europa by two different
ways--Father Antonio Cardin, in the first place, who goes by way of
Goa; and Father Reymundo de Gouca, who is about to come to Manila in
order to go by way of Mexico.
At midnight on November 10, so fierce a gale of wind came from the
south that it broke five of the moorings of the flagship "San Luis,"
which was about to set sail to Terrenate, having been already laden
and with its artillery aboard. The wind carried away its shrouds,
and grounded it in the sand near Palañaque, but in such a manner
that it could be floated off after five days. The wind also drove
the second galley ashore, but without doing it any damage.
At dawn on the morning of the eleventh, the ship from India, which was
the last to go to Macan, anchored in the bay. It lost most of its masts
by the fierceness of the storm, and the others were disabled. That
storm struck them after they had already anchored. Had it struck them
outside, all think that no one would have escaped, to judge from the
way in which the ship is disabled.
News arrived on the night of November 20 that the second patache,
which was going to Octong to get a cargo of rice for Terrenate,
was driven ashore some leguas from here by the gale of wind above
mentioned, but that all the crew were saved.
Early on the night of November 21, the two galleons, "San Luis"
as flagship and "San Juan" as almiranta, left for Terrenate. The
commander-in-chief is Don Pedro de Almonte, and the admiral Don Alonso
de Alcoçer, although with the title of governor of the almiranta
galleon. The commander of the flagship as far as Sanboangan is
Don Pedro Fernandez del Rio, who is captain and sargento-mayor for
the voyage.
A despatch [-boat] arrived from Sanboangan on the last of November,
which carried some Joloan captives. It happened in this wise. The
king of Jolo, desiring to recover his hill, and to fortify himself
anew with the arms that the Spaniards had there, set a snare for
them with this bit of treachery. He caused an Indian (who was a
clever leader of the fishermen), called Cahapitan, and his men to
become very friendly with the Spaniards and to sell them fish--a
thing that our men, not knowing his intentions, valued very highly,
because of the privation that they were suffering. After some days
he came with a message from the king, to the effect that he wished
to submit and to pay tribute, and that he was sending Indians to be
registered. In the meantime the fathers [30] were warned by a certain
Capot, a Christian, who had escaped, that the king was beyond all
question plotting treason, and they advised the commander of those
forts of it. He replied that the fathers were entertaining fears,
and that no attention was to be paid to it. He allowed Cahapitan,
as well as those who were to be registered, to enter the fort with as
much security as if they were in Old Castilla. Eight hundred Indians
having registered, a day was assigned for many more to come. The
Moros chose that day for the execution of their treachery. Cahapitan
arrived, with the word that he was bringing three hundred more, who
should be allowed to enter with him in order to be registered. By
that time there were already about two thousand Moros in ambush,
while others were in ships on the sea, in order that they might,
on seeing the signal, do their part--namely, kill the Spaniards,
and seize the fort. And that would have happened just as they wished,
if God in His ineffable providence had not obstructed it; for, at the
time agreed upon, the commandant caught a high fever, and accordingly
answer was sent them to return on another day, as he would not register
them [that day]. The Moros urged strongly that they be registered,
and their urging caused suspicion. Accordingly, a resolute answer was
sent that he would not register them until next day. Seeing themselves
frustrated in their principal intent, they went to the stone-quarry,
where the force of twenty-three galley negroes and some Sangleys were
getting stone, being guarded by only five Spaniards. Alleging peace,
they landed; and, attacking them, killed two Spaniards, three negroes,
and one Sangley, and wounded two Spaniards, who, with the other one
that was unhurt, escaped; and they captured the others--to the number
of thirty-eight persons, counting dead and captured. The commandant,
having learned of the treachery through those who escaped, sent a
despatch to Sanboangan asking for help. It was God's pleasure (and
that was another of His wonderful providences), that the commander Don
Pedro de Almonte should have determined of his own accord to visit
Jolo with a small fleet, which he had difficulty in collecting. He
was met at sea by the despatch-boat. He made haste and arrived at so
opportune a time that he met Cahapitan and all his men. Cahapitan,
hiding his treason, went to meet him with a white flag. The commander
Don Pedro received him cordially, but told him that he should follow
him to the fort, in order to be well assured that he was free from
guilt. He followed the commander very securely with thirty-six
persons; for he had so deceived the commandant at Jolo that he was
persuaded that Cahapitan was guiltless, and thus he assured the
commander Don Pedro. That deceit was brought about by his having
entrusted to Cahapitan a quantity of goods in order to trade them
for drugs of the country. Yet the commander, Don Pedro, although he
freed Cahapitan and two old men at the persuasion of the commandant,
in order that they might carry a letter to the king of Jolo (for the
commandant petitioned the commander, saying that he would advise that,
and the traitor [i.e., Cahapitan] desirous of performing another act
of treachery, facilitated it), detained all the other men. Cahapitan
went straight to a place where he had three negroes and two Sangleys,
who had fallen to his share as the principal author of the deed. He
ordered them to be killed, and his men killed four more of them; but
one, a Sangley, attacked him, and killed him with his own dagger. The
Sangley came all bloody to the fort, and disclosed the whole evil
plot. Thereupon the commandant awoke as from a profound slumber, in
which his self-interest had buried him. Afterward he confessed that he
had done wrong in not believing the fathers; thereupon the commander,
Don Pedro de Almonte, sent his boats under Captain Gaspar de Morales,
to overrun the island. In that raid much harm was done to the enemy,
to the profit of their allies, who secured rich pillage. Almost all
the people escaped; but those people who were captured, together with
those of Cahapitan, were made slaves. They numbered in all fifty,
besides three who were killed. That punishment made them tremble,
and many have concluded to settle quietly and to give hostages. All
the above I have taken, in summary, from a very long letter of Father
Alexandro Lopez, who took part in the whole affair; and was in the
fleet that went round the island.
At Christmas came news that the Chinese pirates were pillaging these
neighboring coasts. A fleet was sent to attack them, under command
of Captain Maroto, which returned on the second of January, 1639. The
report he gives is, that some Chinese of the Parián of Manila fled in
a champan. They attacked another champan on the sea beyond Mariveles,
pillaged it, and sent it to the bottom. They attacked another anchored
in a port, and pillaged and burned it. After that they put out to sea,
in order to cross over to China. Our men brought in the Chinese who
had escaped from both champans.
Later, at the beginning of January, news came that the same men were
pillaging, although in more remote districts where they had captured
some boats and killed many Spaniards and Indians, who were sailing
quite unsuspicious of danger. Consequently, a few champans under
command of Don Pedro Bermudez were again sent against them.
January 15, General Don Geronimo de Sumonte took possession of [the
post of] castellan and other offices at this port.
On January 18, news was received that the fleet of our champans
encountered the pirates in the entrance of Mindoro, eight in
number. They were pursuing a boat of the Augustinian fathers. The
Spaniards attacked the pirate's flagship, a champan, which, after our
men had damaged it considerably, escaped, with one other vessel. The
rest were either sunk entirely, or driven ashore with the loss of all
their men. Of those driven ashore, some Chinese were captured alive,
and they were executed by various rigorous modes of punishment. [31]
Our men did not follow the two other champans, as it was already
night. The latter returned toward the coasts of this island of Manila,
where other of our boats were sailing, and committed some depredations.
January 27, a violent north wind sunk a boatload of Joloan captives
who were fleeing from Manila, six of whom were captured.
February 24, an advice-boat arrived from Macan with news that the
Portuguese had done a thriving business in the fairs of Japon, but
that the Japanese were very particular that no priests should go
there. Accordingly they came to request that the fathers in these
islands wait patiently, and that no priests go there until God gives
a better opportunity.
March 4, the father provincial arrived from the visit to Pintados. Two
days previous they had been attacked by two champans of Chinese
pirates--who were beaten off, however, because our vessel had
sufficient defense. Later however, they saw that the pirates were
pursuing another champan, and that of the father provincial hastened
to aid the latter, with which aid that vessel escaped safely--which,
had he not aided it, would infallibly have been captured.
March 20, came tidings that large pieces of planking, masts, and the
ribs of a vessel which had suffered shipwreck had been found on the
coast of Paracali, opposite Manila. From appearances, it is thought
that it is the almiranta "San Ambrosio," which sailed for Mexico from
these islands last August, quod Deus avertat ["which may God forbid"].
In the middle of March, the ship from India set out for Goa. It was
the one which had come from Goa, and after setting out for Macan had
returned disabled to put in at this port. The cho from Macan returned
to its city by November. The four fathers of the Society who belong
to that province are going. Don Pedro Bermudez sailed once more, with
three champans, to attack the Chinese pirates who were harassing the
coasts of this island, and had committed depredations. They attacked
the flagship champan, which was a large vessel; they killed sixty
Sangleys in it, and seized and sent to Manila the others. These men
have disclosed extensive treacheries that the Chinese were plotting
in order to stir up the country. The authorities have been making
arrests and investigations, and they are still doing so; and in
the middle of April they hanged six of the Sangleys. They declared
that they were building two champans on the Pangasinan coast, of the
heaviest planking, and suitable for fighting. The Spaniards went for
these vessels, and brought them to Manila with the carpenters who
were working on them. God had great pity for these islands.
On April 18 came the flagship and patache of the Terrenate relief
ships; they say that the almiranta was driven to leeward of them
near Macasar. The soldiers remained with the commander Don Pedro
de Almonte, in order to make an expedition in Mindanao, together
with other squadrons of ships that have sailed from Caragan and
Bisayas. From Xolo they write that the inhabitants have attempted to
plan other acts of treason like the past. The leaders have either
been killed or are in the galleys. Father Melchor de Vera writes
of the Moros near Sanboangan that some of them are being baptized,
and that there are hopes of a great conversion.
On May 30 arrived the almiranta from Terrenate. They have suffered
many hardships, especially of thirst, which was so great that some of
them even drank salt water. They bring as news from Mindanao that our
men are building a fort at La Zavanilla, in the country of Corralat;
and that he, as well as Moncay, has retreated. Manaquior is daily
becoming more friendly. With the ships of Terrenate came one hundred
and fifty Siaos and fifty Terrenatan Christians, to take part in this
war. They were already about to enter the lands of the enemy. The
commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, also sent a portion of a fleet to
coast about the island of Xolo; for a report was current that Dato Ache
was getting ready to go out to pillage. To Mindanao had already come
one hundred and twenty valiant Caragas, who had always accompanied
Corralat from the time when they killed the priests in their land,
[32] and to whom Don Sebastian had sent a pardon.
News of a new revolt came from Nueva Segobia. The natives killed
seventeen persons, counting soldiers and their wives. They did not
wish to kill the father who instructed them, as he was a mild-mannered
man. Don Marcos Zapata went to attack them, and killed thirty and
captured thirty others. The rest retreated to the mountains.
It is learned from a ship from Macan, that the second patache, in which
were two of the recently-ordained fathers, and which sailed from here
in November, has not arrived at that city. During the last few days
the report has been current that both it and the vessel from India
(which sailed again from here in March) have been pounded to pieces
on the shoals of Paragua, and that great bits of wreckage have been
washed up at Calamianes, whence they write this. These losses will
be a great calamity.
News came on May 23 that, our men having arrived overland at the
lake of Malanao, [33] in the island of Mindanao, two thousand five
hundred armed Indians were waiting for them in battle array. They
could not sustain the discharge of our firearms, and retired to the
lake. Our men had carried six boats in pieces, to fit them together
and navigate in them. When the Malanaos saw them on the water, they
gave themselves up as lost. Some five thousand of them fled, while
more than one thousand remained and offered homage and tribute to the
king our sovereign. They were all registered, and began immediately
to render allegiance. They admitted ministers of the gospel, and
gave hostages and security in everything. Doubtless those who fled
and hid will soon appear and submit.
The fathers write from Jolo that Dato Ache has been entirely unable to
do anything since the occurrence at Lami, in which he was buried. [34]
It is added that since these things are so, all the Joloans are
perishing from famine. They will never humiliate themselves or
give signs of surrendering. In some raids that have been made, the
Spaniards have killed and captured some of their chiefs. Among them
was a pirate who captured the beneficed priest Francisco Vazquez,
and refused to give him up for less than two thousand pesos. Now he
is paying it in the galleys, where he has been put at the oar.
Father Alexandro Lopez writes from Jolo that the commandant of that
island [i.e., Xines Ros] begged pardon in public from God and the
fathers for the insults that he had uttered, and for the injuries
that he had done them; and that he was building the church for them
with much fervor, before his successor should arrive.
A champan arrived here on May 30, with fifty arrobas of nails which
had been taken from the wreckage of the ship which, as I said, had run
aground on the coast of Paracali. Those whose opinion is most accurate
in that matter have examined it, and believe that it is all from the
almiranta "San Ambrosio." On that account the profound sadness that
was general in April and May has ceased; for it had been reported
that indubitable signs were found that the flagship had been wrecked.
On June 17 arrived a despatch from Sanboangan. The news brought by it
will be told by a letter from Father Pedro Gutierrez. "On setting out
for Terrenate, the commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, left an order that,
when the boats of the volunteers arrived at Samboangan, they were to
skirt the coast of Jolo. Six caracoas did that, as well as six other
boats from Basilan, under command of Adjutant Cristoval de las Heras,
and manned by some Spaniards. Inside of a fortnight, they coasted about
the island of Jolo and came to another small islet near by. They burned
many boats, killed some Joloans, and brought back a goodly number of
captives, without having lost any of our men. They did not delay longer
because a fixed time had been assigned to them. The said commander Don
Pedro came back from Terrenate on the sixth of March. As the almiranta
had not arrived, he despatched Sargento-mayor Don Pedro del Rio to La
Zabanilla with most of the fleet, so that he might fortify himself
in La Sabanilla and reduce a village of Caragas who had formerly
come to Corralat, when fleeing from the Spaniards. Thereupon, as
soon as the said sargento-mayor arrived at La Zabanilla, he began to
build the fort, which was finished in good shape, and he reduced the
Caragas; and, when the general arrived, he was already holding them
in La Zabanilla. As the almiranta did not arrive, the commander Don
Pedro came with the rest of the fleet. While he was in La Zabanilla,
a despatch from Captain Don Francisco de Atensa was brought. It gave
advices that he had arrived at the lake of Malanao, [35] having entered
by the gulf of Pangi [i.e., Panguil] with the Spaniards whom he had
in Caraga, as well as with Caragas and Butuanes; and having fought
with those of the lake, the Moros fled, and immediately, on the next
day, the chiefs began to come in to submit to the Spaniards. They
all did that except one, named Mancaya. In order to accomplish that,
the commander sent Sargento-mayor Don Pedro del Rio, with his company
and about five hundred Indians. They all reached the lake where they
found it unnecessary to stop, as Captain Don Francisco de Atensa
had pacified all the inhabitants of the lake, and Mancaya; and they
had given hostages and firearms, and had registered themselves to
pay tribute to the number of one thousand tributes. They promised to
receive fathers. Thus those villages of the lake were already reduced,
and had also given up some Christian captives whom they had taken. The
lake of Malanao is of a cold rather than a warm temperature, and the
people have plenty of rice and native fruits. Between the lake of
Malanao and La Zabanilla there are three chiefs who were related to
Borongon; those chiefs proceeded to some very rough mountains near
the lake. It is said that they have about three thousand warriors,
who are devoted to Corralat; and as he was not a declared friend of
the Spaniards, they gave us plenty to suffer on the return. For, as
the road was in such shape that it was necessary to go single file,
some of the Indians who accompanied the Spaniards were wounded. But
although the enemy made several ambuscades, they could not inflict
more damage, because of the care with which the march was made--until
Holy Saturday, when it began to rain; when a great number of them
attacked us from ambush and killed one Spaniard, who was without
[fire: crossed out in MSS.] arms, as he was sick. They also killed
four Indians, and wounded four others. It was our Lord's pleasure
that, notwithstanding the rain, the arquebuses of the Spaniards,
who were near, were not without effect. With that, no more damage
was done us; the enemy fled, dropping about thirty shields in their
flight, and they received some damage. The troops of Sargento-mayor
Don Pedro del Rio arrived at La Zavanilla, where Captain Pedro Navarro
had been left in command of the infantry, which was in the fort. The
commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, had gone to Buayen with the rest of
the fleet; and, having sent a message to Moncay, the latter answered
that he would fight. In order to seize the posts of the enemy, the
commander, Don Pedro, sent two boats to the mouth of a creek, by which
reënforcements could be taken, so that they could not reach Moncay by
that way; and also to a lake which was up the river of Buayen, which
was not only an entrance to Buayen, but also where the enemy had their
retreat in an excellent fortification. The best fortification was in
a swamp. On that undertaking, the commander, Don Pedro, sent Captain
Juan Lopez Luçero with his company, and our ally Manaquior and his
men. That was all very necessary, because of the great number of men
that the enemy had. They fought for three days, at the end of which,
it was our Lord's pleasure to let our men dislodge the enemy with
heavy loss. Of our men only one Spaniard was wounded and one or two
of Manaquior's men were killed, and one or two others wounded. Our
men burned all the houses and fortifications.
"At that same time the commander, Don Pedro de Rozas, marched from
the Spanish fort to that of Moncay, which was very strong; for,
besides being surrounded by swamps and water, and by a dike that
had been made, and besides the fort (which was built long ago) of
stone, there had been added ditches, terrepleins, and stockades with
their bulwarks. Having reached it, our men planted two bulwarks upon
fascines with which they could bombard the enemy's fort. At the end
of three days, a white flag was displayed; and there was a cessation
in the hostilities, for the time being. Moncay, having declared
that he wished to become a friend, abandoned the fort that night,
after setting fire to some of the houses. Next day our men finished
burning what was left. Not a little wonder was caused, and thanks
to our Lord, at seeing that so strong a fort had been gained with
the loss there of one Spaniard and two wounded, one of whom died
afterward; and four wounded Indians, of whom one died. Besides that,
they burned many fortified houses, and destroyed palm-trees and sago
plantations. Some days afterward, the commander sent Don Agustin de
Çepada to reconnoiter the creeks. The latter came upon a well-fortified
house, which he burned. He sent Sargento-mayor Pedro de la Mata to
coast along the shores, and do all the damage possible to the enemy. He
found a fortified hill also, and it was regarded as a miracle that it
was taken without any loss of our men. It is thought that the chief
man in the post was one who was in the bulwark; for as soon as he was
laid low by a volley from the Spaniards, all the enemy fled, and the
Spaniards burned all the fortifications and the neighboring houses.
"The commander, Don Pedro, also sent Captain Don Francisco del Castillo
to an islet which was situated opposite the bar of Buayen. He captured
some Lutaos, destroyed a great number of boats (and the same was done
by Adjutant Don Albaro Galindo, who destroyed some boats); but found
no people. He sent the chief Manaquior to discover whether there were
any means of finding Moncay, and returned at the end of fourteen or
fifteen days. As there was no way of being able to pursue Moncay,
and as the season was advanced, and many were falling sick, and as
he had to go to Jolo, the commander, Don Pedro Almonte, went with
the rest of his fleet to La Zabanilla, after having planned that the
Spaniards who remained in the fort of Buayen, and the men of Manaquior,
should continue to pursue Moncay--all being under the order of Captain
Juan Lopez Luçero, castellan and captain of the said post.
"The inhabitants of Basilan, who had gone to Jolo to do all the damage
possible to the Joloans--in company with six Spaniards, under command
of Alférez Juan de Ulloa--returned with seventy-seven captives and
some of our Bisayans, who had been seized by the enemy. They destroyed
about two hundred boats, counting large and small, first selecting for
themselves fifteen of the best. They reported that a Lutao chief of
Jolo, named Lohon, had taken to the fort of Jolo fifty other captives,
with which, necessarily, the [forces of the] Joloans must be exhausted.
"The commander, Don Pedro de Almonte, coming from Buayen, reached
the passage of the river of Sibuguei; and Datan, the chief of the
river, registered eight hundred tributes, and handed over the arms
and Bisayan slaves that he had there."
We received news here, on the twenty-fifth of June, that the sea
of Camarines is continually floating ashore more fragments of the
wrecked ship, which some think that they recognize as belonging
to the flagship. Consequently, it has begun to be rumored again
as more probable that, if only one ship has been wrecked, it is
the flagship. But others are of the opinion that the wreckage shows
unmistakable signs of the two ships, both flagship and almiranta. That
casts a gloom over all the land. If that has happened (which may God
not have permitted), it is thought that it will be impossible for
these islands to recover in many years.
June 27, a destructive hurricane came down upon this port from the
northwest, and veered about to almost all points of the compass. It
overturned some houses, and did great damage in all the others and in
the churches. It blew the tiles through the air as if they were bits
of paper. The galleons along the shore were a great cause for anxiety;
and the commander, Don Geronimo de Sumonte, and Captain Pedro Muñoz
hastened to them quickly, with the prominent men of this port, all of
whom worked valiantly. That was very necessary; for the galleon "San
Juan Baptista," although held by eleven cables, came dragging upon "La
Concepcion," which was being made ready to sail to Mexico. They would
infallibly have been dashed to pieces, had they not been attended
to so carefully and diligently. Of the other smaller craft, some
have been wrecked; and some men were drowned. It was God's pleasure
to allow the wind's fury to last only four hours. Had it blown with
the same violence during all the twenty-four hours while it lasted,
no ship would have escaped, and not a house or church would have been
left standing. Two hundred houses were overthrown in the village of
the Indians. But what caused most fear to those natives (and the old
men say that they have never seen such a thing, or heard it told by
their ancestors), is that the hurricane carried into the air the small
boats that they use, which are called bancas and resemble canoes. It
is said that they were blown about like paper, and that when they
fell again they were broken to pieces. The hurricane blew with the
same violence in all the surrounding villages, and caused the same
damage; it blew down one hundred and seventy houses in Palañaque.
Since July 7 there have been very severe storms of wind and rain. On
the nineteenth the passage boat [36] was wrecked in the bay and
it is said that eighteen persons were drowned. Many illnesses have
occurred during that time, in which a great number of people of all
nations have perished. Because of this, and because many have been
persuaded that the two ships of the past year have been wrecked--not
only because of the signs that the sea has thrown up, but because
news of their arrival is so belated--there is a universal gloom and
sorrow over all the country, such as it has never had before. May
God in His mercy console the land.
On July 19, a letter was received from the alcalde-mayor of Nueva
Segovia, which states that two English galleons had anchored in a
port of that coast, and that they are coming to this port of Cavite
to trade; if the weather permits them to reach this place, their
intentions will be known.
In the afternoon of July 24, six of the men who had sailed in the
flagship of last year, which was wrecked September 20, 1638, by the
fury of a tempest in the Ladrones Islands--on an island thirty-five
leguas away from the islands where our ships generally land on the
voyage--arrived here. Besides those who were drowned, many were killed
by lance-thrusts from the natives. Those who escaped went from island
to island to those of Uan and Harpana, [37] where they have been
well treated. The reason alleged for that was, that the Spaniards
are good men, and leave them iron when they pass there. From the
island of Uan the natives despatched six Spaniards and two Indians
in two boats, furnishing them with food from what they had. They
commended themselves to God, crossed the open stretch of more than
three hundred leguas, which they did in but one fortnight--a wonderful
thing, if one will but consider those small boats which are of much
less burden and steadiness than pirogues and canoes, and even smaller
than they. They arrived almost dead with hunger, thirst, and lack of
sleep. Our fathers of the Society of Jesus received them in Palapag,
and cared for them for several days; after that they recovered,
and immediately set out in a champan with a good supply of food. The
Indians of Uan sent those Spaniards, so that they could give the news
and send a boat for the other twenty-two Spaniards who are there alive,
with some Indians and negroes, and carry them iron, etc.
As soon as the tidings were told in this port of Cavite, the sobs
and cries were so many that all were stunned, for there is no one
who has not lost a son, a father, a brother, a brother-in-law,
a father-in-law, a son-in-law, or a husband. The loss has been one
of the greatest that has ever visited these islands, because of the
loss of men and the poverty of the islands. [38]
Good news is received of the almiranta, for they say that they saw it
but shortly before they were wrecked, sailing on a good tack; and that
it was a swift sailer, and seaworthy. Consequently it is thought that
it has arrived at Nueva España. May God grant that it has so happened.
LETTERS FROM CORCUERA TO THE HOLY MISERICORDIA
Gentlemen of the financial board of holy Misericordia: Although
we must always have recourse to God in our troubles, the necessity
for so doing that offers itself to me at present, in the expedition
that I shall commence on the day of our Lady of the Conception, is
very urgent; and obliges me to avail myself not only of the regular
and ecclesiastical communities, where we are all friends, but also
of that holy house. [39] Therefore, I beg your Graces, with all the
persuasion in my power, that you cause God to be petitioned with all
earnestness in your holy Confraternity of La Misericordia and in your
residence, to give me favor and good success in this expedition; for,
besides its being for the common service of God and of the king our
sovereign, I shall, in so far as pertains to me, if it be the will
of His Divine Majesty that I return with life, demonstrate my thanks
and favor to that holy house, as far as may be possible to me. And
in order that this petition may carry some merit, I send to that
house one hundred pesos in alms, as an aid in the many alms that it
distributes among the poor. I would be very glad were I more wealthy,
in order that my affection and good-will might be seen. May our Lord
preserve your Graces as I desire. The palace, December 4, 637.
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera
To the purveyor and deputies of the financial board of the holy
Misericordia: Of the hostages brought from Jolo by General Don Pedro
Almonte, twenty-odd Moros with their servants live here, and the
others are going [back] with the conditions for the peace that they
have made and the tribute which they are to pay. I have thought it
best to petition your Graces to be pleased to receive two of those
chiefs in the house of the holy Misericordia, in order that they may
be instructed in the Christian doctrine, and be gradually converted
and become Christians. This is a work that is befitting to that house,
until the time when all the other inhabitants of Jolo become quiet and
are reduced to obedience. Two or three will be assigned in the same
manner to the orders. If any needs arise with the lapse of time, I
beg your Graces to have me advised, so that I may have them supplied;
and also to entrust the instruction of those chiefs to a careful
person. May our Lord preserve your Graces as I desire. The palace,
October 26, 1639. [40]
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera
THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
Letter to the Spanish ambassador at Roma
The King. To the illustrious Marqués de Castel Rodrigo, my cousin,
member of my Council, and ambassador in Roma: the bearer, Fray Mateo
de Villa, of the Order of Preachers, procurator of the province of
Santo Rosario of the Filipinas Islands in my Western Yndias, has
informed me that his province has a college called Santo Tomas in
the city of Manila, of which I am the patron, where there are thirty
secular collegiates; that for some years past that college has been
a university through royal permission; that bulls have been conceded
twice for its conservation; and that grammar, rhetoric, the arts,
and moral and scholastic theology are studied there, with especial
profit to the children of that community. He petitions me to issue
a royal decree authorizing the said college to become a university,
with the same qualifications and [right of] perpetuity as the others
of his order in the convents of Santo Tomas in Avila and Santiago at
Pamplona, in these same kingdoms. The matter having been examined
by the members of my royal Council of the Yndias, in consideration
that the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands is more than three
thousand leguas from the nearest universities--namely, those of Lima
and Megico--and that the said university suffers some restriction,
I have considered it fitting to lend my royal consent for this case;
and this concession shall continue, for the present. Consequently,
if in the future there should be a disposition to found a separate
university, it may be done, as in the cities of Lima and Megico,
so that it may be a general university, in order that students may
be graduated from it in all branches, and that its degrees may be
recognized everywhere. Accordingly, I charge and order you in my name,
and in virtue of the letter of credit that I am writing, to supplicate
his Holiness to be pleased to concede a bull, so that the said college
may be a university with the same qualifications and [right of]
perpetuity as those of Avila, Santiago, Lima, and Megico; for there
is not a university of that rank in those islands and provinces, and
this is therefore expedient for my service and the general welfare of
those regions. You shall give the matter the care that I expect from
you, so that the said bull may be immediately drawn up; and therein
you will render me a service. Madrid, November nine, 1639.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Graviel de Ocaña y Alarcon
Signed by the members of the Council.
[Endorsed: "Duplicate. College of Santo Tomas of Manila. To the
ambassador at Roma, ordering him to petition his Holiness to concede
a brief so that the college of Santo Tomas of Manila of the Order of
Preachers may become a university."]
LETTER FROM FELIPE IV TO URBAN VIII
Most Holy Father:
I am writing to my ambassador, in that court, the marqués de Castel
Rodrigo, to petition your Holiness in my name to concede a bull, so
that a college of the Order of Preachers in the city of Manila of the
Philipinas Islands, in my Western Yndias, may become a university, with
the qualifications and [right of] perpetuity of the others which that
order possesses in Avila and Pamplona in these my kingdoms, as well
as those of Lima and Megico; and so that, if there be a disposition
to found a separate university in the city of Manila, it may be done,
because there is a distance of three thousand leguas to the other
nearest universities, which are Lima and Megico. I petition your
Holiness to grant him audience, and to give entire credit to what
he shall say about this matter and propose in my name; and that you
order his affair to be despatched with all promptness and with entire
fulfilment [of the petition]. Thereby I shall receive a special favor
from your Holiness, whose very holy person may our Lord preserve,
and may He increase your life for the good and prosperous government
of His universal Church. Madrid, November nine, 1639.
[Endorsed: "College of Santo Tomas of Manila. To his Holiness,
petitioning him to concede a brief so that the college of
Santo Tomas of Manila of the Order of Preachers may become a
university. Duplicate."]
ROYAL ORDERS AND DECREES, 1639
MISSIONS IN MINDANAO
The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of
Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands,
and president of my royal Audiencia therein: a letter of August 21,
637, has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, in which
you advise me that you have stationed ministers of the gospel in the
islands of Mindanao and Bacilan--not only for the instruction of the
infidels who are in those islands, but for administering the holy
sacraments to the Castilian soldiers whom you leave there--and that
you have assigned them such stipends as you considered necessary. I
approve what you have done in this matter. Moreover, to provide for
future increase [in the number of infidels converted], the necessary
mission stations [doctrinas] will have to be established; but in this
you must avoid unnecessary expense, and, conformably to my royal
patronage, confer regarding such establishments with such persons
as you should consult. I trust in you that you will carry out my
intentions. [Madrid, February 3, 1639.]
I the King
By command of his Majesty:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
IN BEHALF OF GRAU Y MONFALCÓN
The King. To the council, magistracy, and municipal body of the
city of Manila in the Philipinas Islands: Don Juan Grau y Monfalcón
has reported to me that in the past year, one thousand six hundred
and thirty, you appointed him as your procurator-general; and that
during all that time he has attended to your business affairs,
with the utmost intelligence, personal attention, friendly interest,
and promptness (as is generally known). He states that you assigned
him a salary of a thousand pesos a year, paid in that city, which
was to come here, invested, at his account and risk; but that, even
when it arrives in safety, he can realize very little from it that
remains free from the costs. He regards a thousand pesos as a very
small salary for his continual occupation [in your affairs], and on
this account claims that it be increased. Moreover, besides the many
negotiations that he has despatched, he has been occupied nearly
two years in preparing and composing the printed memorials which
he has presented, and which have been examined in my royal Council
of the Indias; and has given them much labor and solicitude, since
they embrace so many, so diverse, and so important considerations
for the conservation of those islands and their commerce, in order
that they may be presented clearly and distinctly. He has furnished
from his own funds all the money that has been spent for these books,
and has never received one real on account of that expense. This sum
amounts to much more in times so straitened as these, and should be
highly esteemed. It would be a great disappointment to him if, after
he had proceeded in all matters with the greatest tact and discretion
possible (as is proved by the many negotiations which he has concluded
for the benefit of that city), the powers which he has held from the
city should be revoked--as usually happens, and as has been done with
others, his predecessors, solely through interested motives and for the
personal ends of some of the governors who go to that country. They,
being well-affectioned to the correspondents whom they leave here,
urge that city to entrust its affairs to those persons--for which
no opportunity should be given, since that advice is influenced by
various motives and considerations. To obviate this, and because it
is not right that some other person should secure that for which he
has toiled and incurred expense with so much zeal and solicitude, he
has entreated me that I would be pleased to command you not to revoke,
without legitimate cause, the powers that you have given him; and that
you shall, before enforcing such revocation, state what reasons you
have for doing so. The matter has been examined in the said my Council,
where have been and are very evident the personal care, interest, and
solicitude with which he has been and is attending to your affairs
aforesaid--as also you will have understood by my decrees of the
ninth of October in the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-six,
and the twenty-first of October in six hundred and thirty-seven,
to which I refer you for all this; together with what you wrote me
in regard to this in a letter of the fourteenth of June, six hundred
and thirty-six. In that letter you express your satisfaction with the
promptness and care with which he furthers your affairs, and ask me to
confirm the salary which you assign him of the said thousand pesos a
year, from the funds belonging to that city. I have thought it best to
issue the present, by which I approve and confirm the salary which you
have assigned to the said Don Juan Grau as your procurator-general,
in order that it may be paid to him from the day when it was voted
to him. And it is my will that this salary be not revoked, either
now or at any time, while he shall attend to your affairs at this
my court, unless there be legitimate and sufficient cause for doing
so; also that the said my Council be first notified of such cause,
so that, having considered it in their sessions, they may declare
whether or not it is legitimate; and the said salary shall always be
paid to him, until some other decision be made. I also command my
governor and captain-general of those Philipinas Islands, both him
who now is and those who shall hereafter be in that office, and the
president and auditors of my royal Audiencia which resides there,
and yourselves, that you all observe and execute, and cause to be
observed and executed, exactly and inviolably, the commands contained
in this my decree, without contravening or exceeding its tenor and
form in any manner; for such is my will. [Madrid, March 29, 1639.]
I the King
By command of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
RESTRAINING THE AUGUSTINIANS
The King. To Don Diego Faxardo, whom I have appointed as my governor
and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my
royal Audiencia therein. It has been reported in my royal Council
of the Yndias that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine are
trading in merchandise with whomever they please; and that they make
use of the natives of the regions and districts wherever they are and
reside, for whatever they need, without paying the poor men who work
in their service, or giving them anything else (employing violence
for this), and thus obtain great wealth for [their houses in] these
my kingdoms. This is all considered to merit severe correction, both
because of the traffic and trading that they openly engage in, and
because of the oppression that many of the said natives receive. I have
thought best to tell you to be very careful in this, and to provide,
by the most gentle and prudent measures, all that may be necessary for
the correction of those transgressions. You shall regulate yourself
by the decrees and orders that have been issued in this regard; and
you shall cause those decrees and orders to be observed according to
their tenor. Madrid, June 2, 1639.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
[From another transcript made from the copy of this decree in the
Archivo general de Indias--its pressmark, "Audiencia de Filipinas;
registros de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas á las autoridades del
distrito de dicha Audiencia; años 1635 á 1672; est. 105, caj. 2,
leg. 2, libro 4, folio 122 verso" we take the following endorsement:
"To Don Diego Faxardo, whom your Majesty has appointed governor of
the Filipinas Islands, advising him of certain things touching the
religious of the Order of St. Augustine, which require a remedy;
so that he may know them, and take what measures are advisable, in
accordance with the orders and decrees that have been issued regarding
it." This transcript states also that the decree was signed by the
members of the Council.]
REGARDING ECCLESIASTICAL DISTRICTS
The King. To Don Diego Faxardo, knight of the Order of Santiago, whom
I have appointed as my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas
Islands: report has been made to me, on the part of the archbishop
of that city of Manila, that Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera,
your predecessor, gave the district of Quiapo (which belonged to the
seculars), and the Indians who were reserved for the service of the
cathedral and of the archiepiscopal house (which was the sustenance
of the cathedral), to the fathers of the Society of Jesus, because
of the great pressure that they exerted on him for it, on account of
the advantages that would follow to them, as they have many estates
of importance near that district. One of the conditions of their
removing the said archbishop's exile, was that he must consent to
have that district given to the fathers of the Society. In order to
relieve himself from his distressed condition, the archbishop feigned,
under compulsion, assent to this--regarding it as certain that, as
such action was to the prejudice of my royal patronage, I would not
consent to it. He also petitioned that I would be pleased to have
my royal decree issued, ordering that the fathers of the Society be
despoiled of the said district of Quiapo, and that it be restored
to the seculars, together with the adjoining districts of San Anton
and Santa Cathalina--which the bishop of Camarines separated from
the said district, in the time while he governed the archbishopric
during the exile and absence of the said archbishop; and which he
gave to the cura of Santiago, who was his creature; also the district
of Nauhang, on the island of Mindoro, which has always belonged to
seculars. By negotiations effected by the fathers of the Society,
those districts have been set aside for them, to the prejudice of so
many poor seculars. The matter having been examined by my royal Council
of the Yndias, as well as what was written to me concerning the same
matter by the said archbishop, I have considered it fitting to issue
this my decree. By it, I order you, immediately upon its receipt,
to place those districts, exactly, and without admitting any excuse
or other reason, in the same condition that they always had and have
had, notwithstanding the contract signed by the said archbishop, at
the instance and petition of the said my governor and of the auditor
then in my Audiencia. You shall advise me at the first opportunity
that you have carried out my order. Madrid, July 8, 1639.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Acaña y Alarcon
REBUKING THE BISHOP OF CAMARINES
The King. To the reverend father in Christ, bishop of the church
of Camarines of the Filipinas Islands, and member of my Council:
I have been informed that you are not living in your bishopric, [41]
and that you are residing in the city of Manila, where your free life
is giving offense; and that you have attempted to erect a tribunal of
appeals, without leave, declaring yourself to be an apostolic judge
by a brief from his Holiness. Inasmuch as your residence outside of
your church may occasion troubles, besides your necessary obligation
to live there, I have decided to charge you (as I am doing), to leave
the city of Manila or any other place where you are residing, as soon
as you receive this decree, and to go to govern your church. If you do
so, I shall consider myself well served by you. In order that you may
not offer any excuse in this matter, I am ordering the royal officials
of my royal treasury not to pay you any of your stipend from my royal
treasury so long as you do not comply with what I here order you. I
have been surprised that you should have attempted to hold a tribunal
in the said city of Manila, under pretext or title of appeals. Madrid,
July 8, 1639.
I the King
By order of his Majesty:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
The King. To the officials of my royal treasury of the Filipinas
Islands: inasmuch as it was reported in my royal Council of the Yndias
that the bishop of Camarines resides in that city of Manila, where he
attempts to hold his court under pretext of certain appeals, I charge
him, by another decree of the date of this, to go immediately to his
own church, because of the deficiency that his person may cause in
its government. In order that he may offer no excuse in this matter,
I order you to grant him nothing from my royal treasury on his
salary, unless he shall obey my orders; for so is my will. Madrid,
July 8, 1639.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
INSPECTION AT ACAPULCO
The King. To Marqués de Cadereita, my relative, member of my Council
of War, and my viceroy, governor, and captain-general of the provinces
of Nueva España: in a letter written to me by the royal officials of
the port of Acapulco under date of last February 24, of this year,
[they stated] that you sent the auditor [contador], Christoval de
Medina, to that port with a salary of twenty-three ducados which
was distributed among himself, the constable, and the notary, to
investigate the merchandise that came from Philipinas this year in
the patache that was sent from those islands; and that my royal
duties scarcely amounted to four thousand ducados. Since I have
three satisfactory and trustworthy officials in the said port, they
have petitioned me to have the above three men removed from that
place. They say that by the going of such judges they themselves
serve only as witnesses of what is public, since no other thing is
permitted them; and that such an action deprives them of the authority
and exercise of their offices, and they are disaccredited and left
without respect and reputation, as all think and believe that you
did it because of some incapacity in them. The matter having been
examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, together with what you
wrote me in regard to it, I have considered it fitting to issue
the present. By it I give you authority to send such ministers to
Acapulco whenever any extraordinary causes shall arise; but that,
if there are no such causes, this may be dispensed with, because of
the expenses that are incurred by my royal estate, especially since
Don Pedro de Quiroga was there so short a time ago. Inasmuch as the
commerce of those islands has been reported to be in great distress,
I charge and order you to try to encourage and aid it by all possible
means. Since some change has been made in the amount permitted to
them, you shall see what can be done for their greater relief, until
the arrival at those kingdoms of Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, [42]
of my royal Council of the Yndias, to whom the settlement of those
matters is committed. Madrid, September 16, 1639.
[I the King]
COLONISTS NEEDED IN THE ISLANDS
The King. To Marqués de Cadereyta, my relative, member of my Council
of War, and my viceroy and governor and captain-general of Nueva
España, or the person or persons vested with its government: in a
letter written to me by the city of Manila, under date of August two
of the past year, six hundred and thirty-eight, in regard to various
matters, and which has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias,
there is a section of the following tenor:
"This kingdom finds itself in great need of inhabitants at the present
time, as a result of the said campaign; for they are dying off, and
it is many years since people have come to live in these islands
as citizens. That has been understood to arise from the loss that
the citizens have experienced, both in the affairs of this commerce
and in the execution of the favors and rewards that his Catholic
Majesty Phelipe Second, our king and sovereign (who is in heaven),
was pleased to grant to such citizens. For at present, with those of
account in this community, the citizens do not number ninety. This
is very pitiful, and it is fitting that your Majesty please to have
it corrected by ordering the said viceroy to use all possible and
effective efforts in sending as many citizens as possible every
year. They should be persons of good standing and ability, both for
the service of your Majesty and for the greater renown and authority
of this kingdom."
And inasmuch as it is proper that you attempt to relieve such
necessity, I order you to try to procure this by all possible ways
and plans, and with all the mildness and prudence that is fitting. By
so doing I shall consider myself well served by you. Given at Madrid,
October three, one thousand six hundred and thirty-nine.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
Signed by the members of the Council.
[Endorsed: "To the viceroy of Nueva España, ordering him to endeavor
by all the means possible to send to Filipinas every year as many
citizens as possible who should be of good standing and ability."]
DIRECTIONS TO THE ARCHBISHOP
The King. To the very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the
metropolitan church of the city of Manila: your letter of July 31
of the past year, 1638, has been examined in my royal Council of the
Yndias, and I shall answer you in the present in regard to some points
that have been decided.
You state that, although the mode of the presentations for the missions
has been resolved upon and determined, the decrees are not obeyed;
that there is a very great need of seculars for those missions, and
those who are there are but youths who do not understand the language
[of the natives]; and that hence you have deemed it advisable not
to assign any mission to seculars: You state that having conferred
on this point with the Audiencia, they resolved that no innovation
should be made until the arrival of the governor, who had gone on
the Jolo expedition. It has been deemed best to tell you that when
the governor shall arrive, and shall come to a decision, you shall
advise me of the results of it. In the meanwhile you shall observe
the decrees, unless serious troubles result from doing the contrary.
The prebends that you state are vacant in that church have been
provided with incumbents, as you will have heard. My royal Council
of the Yndias will take care of the names which you present to me,
for the occasions that arise.
In regard to the property of Don Fray Francisco Zamudio, bishop
of Nueva Caceres, who died on the twenty-seventh of last April,
you shall cause the orders that have been issued to be observed, so
that his creditors may be heard and paid, in accordance with justice,
and upon legal proof of their claims.
I have read what you wrote about the great exhaustion and distress
experienced by the natives of those islands through the many
assessments that are made continually, throughout the year, on all the
products of the country. I am writing to the governor and Audiencia
not to make any innovation in these matters, so that this evil may
be corrected; and under no consideration to load any new troubles or
burdens on the Indians. Madrid, December 16, 1639.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
OPPRESSION OF THE INDIANS
The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the
city of Manila: in a letter written to me by the archbishop of that
church, July 31 of the past year, 638, he states that the natives
of those islands are greatly exhausted and burdened by the many
assessments made on them every year, in all the products of the
country, by my governors. The latter take the products from them
at a loss, gathering and collecting them with great trouble to the
natives, and no money is given them; while they are seized and beaten,
and thrust into prison for many days, because they do not give what
they do not possess--although the goods can be bought at a somewhat
higher price in the market-place. On account of this, and by the
hardships consequent on sending them to the forests to cut wood, the
natives are being exterminated, and are dying off. The matter having
been examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, I have considered
it fitting to issue the present. By it I order you not to make any
innovation; and you shall not, under any consideration, cause new
troubles or burdens to the Indians. Madrid, December 17, 1639.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
EVENTS IN THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
FROM AUGUST, 1639, TO AUGUST, 1640
On the fourth of August, 1639, orders were given that the ship
"Concepcion," built in Camboja, should leave the port for her voyage
to Nueva España; and in the afternoon of that day began a furious
vendabal, which lasted three days. This compelled the ship to ask
for aid by firing two cannons, as its people feared some danger;
but when the storm was over, the ship began its voyage.
At that very time, five large ships had sailed from Manila, on
their return to Great China; and two of these were driven ashore by
the great force of the wind, four leguas from Manila. Six hundred
China-men were drowned, although a still larger number escaped [to
land]; for, on account of the lack of succor in these two years,
[43] many were returning, leaving their houses and shops deserted.
On the seventh came the unexpected news of the relief-ships; their
arrival was celebrated with the utmost joy, and all the bells were
rung. The people were revived by this news, all the more because
these ships were the almiranta of last year, and the patache of two
years ago--which, with so great injustice and excessive harshness,
had been detained at Acapulco--the [sort of] injury of which this
country has complained to God and to the king for many years. Wives
who had put on mourning for their husbands took off those garments,
giving thanks to God and receiving from His hand their husbands,
as it were, restored to life. The Chinese, who learned the news on
board their ships, disembarked, and returned to their shops and their
trading. There was also a circumstance in this coming of the ships,
in which God displayed the providence that He exercises over this
country; for they arrived at the port of Nueva Segovia, from which
had just departed two hostile Dutch galleons, who had pretended that
they were English and friendly [to us].
On the eleventh of August arrived from Maluco Father Manuel Carballo,
rector [there] of the Society; he came on behalf of the governor,
Don Pedro de Mendiola, to ask for aid, because the kings of Tidore and
Terrenate had formed an alliance--a thing which we had never expected,
because those peoples were more hostile to each other than dogs and
cats. The reason which the king of Tidore gives for this unfriendly
act against the Spaniards is, that the present which the governors [of
Filipinas] were wont to send every year, in the name of his Majesty,
to the kings of Tidore his ancestors, has not been sent to him for
the last four years. The father rector of Maluco says that this may
be true, and is perhaps the ostensible reason; but that the king has
other and hidden reasons, which go deeper and give more cause for
anxiety. Now Francisco de Figueroa is going [there] as proprietary
governor, and he will aid in soliciting the proper assistance for
any emergency.
On the fifth of August, Captain Cristobal Marquez set out for Hermosa
Island; he is going as successor to Sargento-mayor Pedro Palomino, who
is governor there. The warder of this port of Cavite is Sargento-mayor
Alonso Garcia Romero, of the Order of Santiago; [he fills that office]
to the great satisfaction of all.
On the twenty-first of August, at daybreak, a Spaniard arrived here
from Nueva Segovia; he says that the two relief ships from Mejico
were wrecked at that port, and one hundred and fifty persons were
drowned, which has been a severe punishment from God upon the past;
[44] and with this news the people have returned to their former
sadness. The ships were lost on the fifth of August. It was afterward
learned that the succor despatched by the king had been taken out
of the ships before they were wrecked; but that the property of the
citizens that has been lost will amount, in luxuries [45] and money,
to five hundred and fifty thousand pesos.
At the end of September, General Don Pedro de Almonte arrived from
Joló, where our affairs have been steadily improving. The natives of
the island remain subdued; almost all their chiefs who would undertake
to defend themselves are dead; and even those who never paid tribute
to the king of Joló are now registered and are our subjects. All
the pirates have fled, and the king is hiding in the mountains; and
our men have taken more than three hundred captives during the last
three months.
On the sixth of October, the cho (craft) which came last year arrived
here from Macasar. It came loaded with slaves, and pepper, and various
kinds of cotton cloth. Its people say that the king was sorry that
he had not put to death those of his vassals who fought against
the Spaniards in Jolo; and that if any of them should go there,
the king would take his life. Knowing that Malaca was expecting
to be blockaded by the Achenese and the Dutch, and that the city
had not sufficient provisions, the king had ordered his people to
collect a quantity of rice--two hundred coyos, each coyo containing
thirty-two fanegas--and had sent it [to Malaca] in his galleys; it
is not yet known what success they had. Those people say, moreover,
that in Macasar they have heard the English and the Dutch themselves
say that in the independence and strength of Holanda there are solid
foundations for believing that that state will make strong efforts
to extend its power from the year 1640 on.
They also relate, as news, that the Dutch were at the entrance to Goa,
with fourteen ships; and the Portuguese came out in staunch galleons
to fight them, sending eleven of the Dutch vessels to the bottom;
while two of their own were sunk. It is also stated that the patache
which was purchased at Macao from the English, and despatched from
here for Yndia, was seized by the Dutch in the strait of Sincapura;
its captain, one Carballo, remained in Macasar, and it was he who
related this misfortune.
Ytem: [it is said] that a man named Caldeira went from Malaca as an
envoy to the king of Achen, regarding himself as quite safe; but that
the king gave orders that his men should arrest the envoy as soon as
he should enter the palace. When they tried to carry out this command,
this man and the other Portuguese placed themselves on the defensive;
all the men on the ship hastened to their aid with fire-balls, [46]
and with these they killed many Achenese; and the palace was set on
fire, being entirely consumed. They estimate the losses of the king
at five millions. All the Portuguese there were killed.
On the last day [of October], a ship from Terrenate arrived at
Manila. Its people say that the Tidorans and Terrenatans, aided by
the Dutch, had put to death Cachil Naro, the former king of Tidore--a
very regrettable event. He was deposed by the master-of-camp Pedro
de Heredia; and recently had come an order from his Majesty that our
people should restore Naro to power, because he had given more evidence
of friendship to us than had the present king. Indeed, the authorities
were endeavoring to accomplish that change, even if this order had
not arrived. Extensive revolts are feared there; and on this account
reënforcements are being sent, together with galleys, which are very
effective in those islands. It is also said that the Dutch will lie
in wait for these reënforcements; so, in order to circumvent them,
we shall endeavor to send the relief earlier than ever before.
By this ship comes some news from Mindanao: that Moncay had
captured a brigantine from our then and slain all the Spaniards
(who defended themselves bravely)--except their commander, who was
soon laid low by them, and remains a captive. Ytem: they say that
Moncay is making great efforts to form an alliance with Corralat;
who has answered Moncay that he must try to gain over Manaquior, and
that, if the latter shall declare himself against the Spaniards, he
[i.e., Corralat] will garrison his forts against them. Those chiefs
have assailed Manaquior with their entreaties, urging him to desist
from aiding the Spaniards; and it is reported that he already shows
himself lukewarm in his friendship to us.
From Joló we are informed that the islanders are in such haste to be
enrolled for paying tribute that now very few of them are missing
from the list. The rest of the news will be told by extracts from
the following letters.
In one from Father Alejandro Lopez, of the Society of Jesus, dated
at Joló on August 9, 1639, sent to Father Luis de Pedraza of the same
Society: "On the second of August, I baptized two women--one a Lutao,
the other the slave of another Lutao," etc.
In one from Father Andres de Zamora, of the Society of Jesus, in
Mindanao, at La Sabanilla, August 13, 1639, to the same father Pedraza:
"In Buhayen, thanks to our Lord, our affairs are prospering. On the
occasion of an expedition which Lucero made to Taulan, the Spaniards
obtained by a clever plan and stratagem a crowd of captives, both men
and women. Part of them are going in this champan, and the rest will
go with the brigantine--which Captain Lucero sent, in order that some
reparation might be made to them; I baptized them all. The Spaniards
who were with Manaquior went down to the lake with the dato; and
Balatamay was there with five hundred Moros, waiting for the Spaniards,
to fight against them. But they did not remain there, recognizing that
our troops were stronger than they. Our men killed twenty-five of
the Moros, and carried five to the fort. One man, who came mortally
wounded, asked for baptism, and died within twenty-four hours. On
the eighth of October, Captain Don Pedro Bermudez set out with fifty
Spaniards, in two champans, to be stationed in the presidio at the
lake of Malanao in Mindanao; Father Gregorio Belin goes with him. At
the same time, Don Pedro will pursue the Camucones, who have appeared
on a piratical expedition with sixty boats. It is known that they
have captured some vessels and the licentiate Raymundo de Quiñones."
In this month of October came from Hermosa Island Sargento-mayor
Pedro Palomino, who was governor there and goes with the same office
to Samboangan. Of the two champans that went with Captain Cristobal
Marquez, one foundered in mid-ocean, with its men and the money. On the
return voyage of those who came with Palomino, one was separated from
the rest by a storm, and up to this time has not arrived at Manila.
The patache "San Nicolas" is going with the relief for Terrenate;
its chief pilot is Captain Machado, a pilot of long standing and
great experience. This vessel has orders to go, on the return voyage
from Terrenate to the Ladrones Islands, in order to carry away the
Spaniards and other people from the wrecked ship who are there.
On the fifth of November the relief for Terrenate left this port;
it carries an abundant supply of men and provisions, and is under
the command of Captain Andres de Urbina. On the same day we learned
of the depredations committed by the Camucones; and it is believed
that Dato Ache is coming, who was in Borney, urging the king to send
a large armed fleet against these islands.
On the twenty-first of November, in the morning, confused reports
reached us that the Sangleys had revolted at Calamba; and all the
rest of the day they spent in strengthening their forces. They
killed the alcalde-mayor and two priests, and burned the church;
and destroyed other churches in neighboring villages. Don Sebastian
received the news on the twentieth, at night; he had the gates of
Manila opened, although keeping them under close watch, in order
that the people living outside the walls might take refuge within,
with their goods. That very night, he despatched by land Captain
Pedro Martin de Aduna with his company of horsemen, in order to find
out how the matter stood, and punish the insurgents. On the morning
of the twenty-first, they encountered the Sangleys, who, they said,
amounted to three thousand men, while the Spanish cavalry numbered only
thirty. The captain and three others carelessly advanced into a marshy
place, where they could neither extricate themselves nor be aided,
and were slain. The rest, after killing some Chinese, retreated,
as they were so few and their horses were tired out, to Parañaque,
to await the orders of the governor; and this was the condition in
which affairs remained yesterday. It is said that the Sangleys attack
like mad dogs, and that the weapons that they carry are the sickles
with which they cut their rice, fastened to poles, and some lances.
At this port of Cavite the Chinese have remained peaceable, and with
the Indians and Japanese they very willingly dragged out some pieces
of artillery, with which Sargento-mayor Alonso Garcia Romero, who is
in command of the port, armed two small forts, which are at the end of
the village. With these and other precautions of an excellent soldier,
we all consider ourselves very safe. The natives, although they have
not forsaken their village, have sought shelter, as far as possible,
with the religious orders. The Japanese, blacks, and Indians are
full of courage, whatever be the outcome; I believe that they will
rejoice, if the opportunity arise, to satiate themselves for once
with killing Chinese.
In order that the origin of this disturbance may be understood, it
must be noted that Don Sebastian, desirous of augmenting the estate
of his Majesty, set a great number of Chinese at work in some large
meadows which are watered and rendered fertile by certain rivers,
and are called Calamba. Many of these men were levied by force,
and entirely against their will; many of them fell sick during the
past months, and it is said that more than three hundred of them
died. Accordingly, they became desperate; and it is well known that
the season is an unwholesome one. The time came for the Chinese to pay
their license money and rent, which in all was more than twenty-five
pesos for each one. The officials harassed them for the pay, and they
had not the means to pay what was due; accordingly they have broken
loose in this revolt. The rents from the lands, too, have proved to
be unprofitable, from the manner in which they have been let; while,
if they belonged to individuals, they would be a source of gain.
Since the twenty-second of November, when I wrote the above, I have
purposely omitted to write an account of current events, for along with
the facts were reported a thousand lies; but today, the twenty-eighth
of the same month, everything is now known and manifest.
After the Chinese killed Captain Martin de Aduna, they came close to
Manila, rousing to revolt all the Sangleys whom they encountered. They
arrived at San Pedro de Macati, the novitiate's residence of the
Society of Jesus. As the church there was strongly built, and vaulted,
Father Francisco Vicente and the brothers Esteban de Oliver and
Raimundo Alberto, who were the only inmates of the house at that time,
went up into it. Some mulattoes and house-servants had also taken
refuge there, as well as over one hundred persons from the native
village. These made some resistance to the enemy, but, as they had
no other weapons than tiles and bricks, finally the multitude of the
Sangleys (who numbered more than three thousand) broke down the doors
of the church and the house, and set fire to the buildings. Those
who were in the church, tormented by the smoke and flames, within
twenty-four hours came to an agreement with the insurgents, who
assured them of their lives and kind treatment. Some of the mulattoes
and natives came out with the father and the brethren; the Chinese
treated the father well, and manacled the brethren, but they killed
all the rest (fifteen in number), on the spot. At this sight, those
who had not come out of the church held back, and refused to leave
it; and this saved their lives, for at that time the sargento-mayor,
Don Juan de Arceo, arrived, with two hundred Spanish infantry and
eighty horsemen. He also had a hundred Pampango and four hundred Tagal
Indians, all carrying firearms; and two field-pieces. These began to
do damage to the enemy, but only for a short time; for the Sangleys
asked for a truce, which was granted them. The Sangleys sent Father
Francisco Vicente to negotiate a peace for them with the Spaniards. By
a special providence of Heaven, at that very time arrived, by way of
the river, Adjutant Benavides with twenty-five men. He dashed upon
them like a lion, and with his men made so fierce an attack upon
the crowded Sangleys that many of the enemy were slain. The Sangleys
who were engaged in discussing a peace sent Brother Alberto to tell
the Spaniards who had come from the river not to do them any harm,
because they were already making an agreement for peace. Arriving, he
saw that some of the enemy were beginning to make some resistance, and
he called aloud, "Spaniards, at those who are fleeing!" But they had
no need to do so, for the enemy were already in flight; the Spaniards
followed them and dislodged them from the church, and all the Sangleys,
in confusion, began to disperse. In this confusion, Brother Esteban
was able to make his escape, and those who were in the church could
now leave it. The troops of Don Juan de Arceo seized their weapons,
and also fell on the conquered ones; and the latter were quickly
dispersed through the fields, leaving some three hundred Sangleys
dead. The mulattoes and Indians from Manila killed many, and captured
more than three hundred; most of these are here in the galleys. More
than a thousand Sangleys must have been killed in these encounters.
Don Juan de Arceo, thinking that most of the enemy would go back
toward Calamba, went after them. At this time Don Fernando Galindo,
who was then at Los Baños, assembled five hundred Indians, to fall
on the Sangleys. But the sargento-mayor arrived, and learned that
fifteen hundred Sangleys had fortified themselves on a lofty hill
[47] that is above Calamba; and they agreed that their men should
ascend this hill, the Indians on one side, and the Spaniards on
the other. This was accordingly done; the Spaniards reached the top
first, and overcame the enemy, killing more than thirteen hundred
Sangleys. The rest broke away on the side where the Indians were,
and have been driven into the mountains; a company of Spaniards and
some Indians have gone in pursuit of them. With this encounter, which
was on Saturday, the whole affair has come to an end; and therefore on
yesterday, which was Sunday, the Te Deum laudamus was sung in Manila.
Among those who distinguished themselves in this last combat were Juan
de Montoya, Lezcano, and Ugalde. This last one came here this year;
although he had received three lance-thrusts, he pursued the enemy,
fighting valiantly. Don Fernando Galindo, moreover, did valuable
service in urging forward the men to the attack.
Among those whom we mentioned above as being killed with Aduna in the
marshes of Viñan was Alférez Don Antonio Tornamira, who fell senseless
when they attacked him with clubs, and they left him for dead. Later,
he came to himself, and while he was looking for some place where
he could hid himself he came upon a Sangley, who also had hidden in
a thicket; he did not wish to go with the insurgents. They agreed
together to seek for some way of escape, and the Sangley advised the
Spaniard to dress himself in Chinese garb; he did so, and finally
the two reached Manila. The governor, Don Sebastian, gave Alférez
Tornamira a suit of his own garments; and to the Sangley he granted
an exemption [from tributes?] for several years. The latter declared
that he wished to be baptized.
Yesterday and day before yesterday, the entire revolt was regarded as
suppressed and ended, without there having been any disturbance on the
other side of the river. This morning, the twenty-ninth of this month,
we saw many large fires toward Manila; we knew not what to think, until
we received a letter in which we were informed that from the other side
of the river from the river San Mateo, many new insurgents had come,
who were burning everything; and the fires that we saw were Meyhaligue
[48] and Santa Cruz, on opposite sides of the river. From the Parián
alone different troops of soldiers, both foot and horse, have sallied
out against them; we are hoping for their entire success. We are
informed that people are talking very earnestly of taking steps to
prevent such things from ever happening again; for this purpose there
was held yesterday a general conference of all the civil, military,
and religious. [49]
RELATION OF THE INSURRECTION OF THE CHINESE
Its causes and beginning
Desires for the increase of the royal revenues, which Don Sebastian
Hurtado de Corcuera, governor of those islands, always tried to carry
out, with greater exactitude in intention than success in the outcome,
gave occasion to the Chinese of the city of Manila and its environs
to attempt an insurrection, the destruction of that country, and
the complete extermination of the Spaniards there. I do not mention
other causes, [50] in order to reduce them to those that have existed
and those which the Sangleys have tried to assign as a pretext for
their insurrection. That which surpassed the others, as being the
greatest in their estimation, was that many laborers saw that they
were obliged to live in a new village which the governor built in the
lands of Calamba, [51] for certain advantages to the royal service;
the object was, to produce there the rice sufficient for the presidios
of these islands, by which his Majesty would be spared a great expense,
and the government employees the neglect and difficulty [usual] in its
provision. The good intention of the one who made this arrangement was
recognized, if it had also been so on the part of those on whom its
fulfilment depended. Its execution was not without hardships, which
occasioned all the more resentment the more the comforts experienced
in their old villages, attracted them. The exemptions promised by
the government, with the desire of keeping the Chinese contented,
because of the advantage that accrued to his Majesty in obtaining
the necessary food from those lands--by which the Chinese could gain
greater profits, and the Indians, being exempted from such burdens,
could make extraordinary gains--were sufficient to overcome those
difficulties. Attention was given to both of those peoples in the
change. But as it caused many of them to fall sick in a short time,
and more than three hundred died because of the unhealthful climate, a
great disturbance was caused in their minds--which was greater because
they were oppressed by the alcalde-mayor with continual extortions and
punishment. Consequently, desirous of lifting so heavy a yoke from
their necks, they rushed on to the last risk, whether to themselves
or to others; and determined to kill him who ruled them there, and
to go ahead, committing all the damage possible in all the Indian
villages, and on the possessions of the Spaniards, until they came
in sight of Manila, where they would call out the other Chinese from
the Parián and the villages round about--if they did not rise before,
of which it has not been possible to gain certain information; for,
the cause being their own, they all would force the governor, who
had but few infantrymen, to pardon their deed; and, if they did not
succeed in this, confident in their multitude, they would go forward
to besiege the city. Then, in conformity with the resolution adopted,
they assaulted the house of the alcalde-mayor [52] on November 19. He
was entirely unguarded, the more for [having no] fears of so fatal
an outcome. They treacherously killed him, manifesting their cruelty
against him, as in revenge for the cruelties that they were shortly
before lamenting as caused by him on themselves. They burned the
village, ordering their wives to hide in the mountains, while they
went to try their fortune--saying that, if they found a good one, and
gained the victory over the Spaniards, they would return for them;
or, in case of adverse fortune and their own defeat, their families
would remain alive and safe in their place of retirement.
Advice is given in Manila. First assault of the enemy, and its result
News of the insurrection reached this city on the night of November
20; and warning was given to the entire city and its environs by two
cannon that were fired. The gates were opened, although with care
and caution, so that those outside could seek shelter, and those
who wished could guard their property. Inasmuch as the importance
of the matter did not admit of any delay, the governor despatched
Captain Martin de Aduna that same night overland, so that with his
company of cavalry, he might go to see what was being done, and mete
out the suitable punishment to the enemy, since people here were on
the outlook because of the news with warning. The governor also sent
advices to the castellan and chief magistrate of the port of Cavite,
namely, Sargento-mayor Alonso Garcia Romero, so that he might be on
the watch. Captain Aduna left Manila immediately, and taking thirty
horsemen with him, he came within sight of the enemy on the morning of
the following day, to the number of more than three thousand. All were
armed with spears, or with bamboos hardened in fire, and on these were
fastened the blades with which they harvest their rice. They defied
the Spaniards to come on and fight. Their own guilt, the number of
men, and the fortified position that they were occupying--which was
certain swamps in the lands of Viñan, whose houses and churches they
had burned--caused them to be bold. Our captain attacked them with
greater valor than prudence, for, not heeding the danger, [53] he
advanced into the swamp, where, finding it impossible to manage his
horse, he and three others who followed him in the same enterprise
were killed. The others having killed more than two hundred Chinese,
and being but few in number, retreated (since the horses were tired,
and they were in a position where they could not be aided) to the
village of Parañaque, to await the governor's orders to whom a
father of the Society, who had accompanied the captain to confess
and encourage our men, went to give advices.
The enemy advance to San Pedro. They are pursued, and are defeated
in Calamba
The news of the death of Captain Martin de Aduna caused disquiet and
sadness in the city, for he was well liked there. Greater damages
were feared if they did not immediately summon all their forces,
in order to deprive the enemy of their strength and hobble their
feet. In order to do that the governor sent out his sargento-mayor,
Don Juan de Arceo, with two hundred infantrymen, eighty cavalrymen, one
hundred Pampangos, and four hundred Tagal Indians, all with firearms,
and two pieces of cannon. They were being prepared with all possible
rapidity in Manila, when the enemy began to march toward San Pedro,
the house of the novitiate of the Society of Jesus, doing all the
harm possible along the way. They had about four thousand men,
and were joined, either through force or willingly, by those of
Calamba and the farm-lands round about. That same day, November 21,
they reached San Pedro, where a father and two brothers were then
living. The father confessed all the people of Pasay, a village
whose people had, in order to escape the danger, taken refuge in
that house. The brothers, with some of the more courageous Indians,
tried to put themselves in a state of defense; and, although with only
tiles and bricks, they wounded many Sangleys, and killed some. However,
the fury of the multitude was greater than that of the resistance; and
accordingly, the doors of the church having been battered down, the
Sangleys entered it, whence they penetrated into the house, to which
they set fire. Thereupon those above, in sore straits, surrendered
after twenty-four hours with assurance of their lives and of good
treatment--although, not trusting to the promises of the enemy, many
remained upon the vaulted roof of the church. On account of the fire,
in a short time these could not descend, nor could the insurgents
climb to the roof; consequently the former escaped with their lives,
which [otherwise] they would have lost through the barbarous cruelty of
the infidels. This was further displayed [by the Chinese] in breaking
the promise that they had given; for they put to death those who had
descended with the father and the brothers, who numbered some fifteen
persons. They bound the father securely, carrying him to their own
camp, and manacled the brothers--the chief leaders of the Sangleys
not daring to treat them more severely, as others claim, in order
not to provoke further the anger of the governor and the Spaniards
against themselves. By this time the Spanish forces, not only troops
of infantry but horsemen, had reached the enemy's camp, and began to
skirmish with them; the Chinese lost some men on their side, but we
none. An entire stop was put to this presently, by the arrival of a
great number of Sangleys from Manila to treat for peace. In order
to settle the terms of peace, the insurgents sent to the governor
the father of the Society. The suspension of hostilities lasted but
a short time; for the adjutant Benavides (now captain), having no
knowledge of it, or of the discussion that was going on, arrived
at San Pedro by way of the river, with twenty-five Spaniards. These
attacked with such fury that, suddenly falling upon the Chinese where
they least expected it, the latter immediately fled; the Spaniards went
in pursuit of them, and the enemy left three hundred dead [scattered]
through the fields, while as many more were captured by the Indians
who were scouring the country, and were taken to the galleys at the
port of Cavite. On account of the Chinese being surprised by this
unexpected attack, the brothers of the Society who were their prisoners
had an opportunity to regain their liberty; they took refuge among the
twenty-five Spaniards, and coming with them reached that same night
their college at Manila, both wounded, although not dangerously. When
the governor knew that the enemy were marching back to Calamba,
he ordered the sargento-mayor to go there with his men in pursuit
of them. By this time Admiral Don Fernando Galindo, who was at Los
Baños, seeing how the country was disturbed, collected five hundred
Indians to attack the Sangleys. But when the sargento-mayor arrived,
and learned that two thousand of the latter had fortified themselves
on a hill, in the ruggedness of which they placed their main hope
of defense, [the two Spanish leaders] determined to attack them in
various places [at once]--sending by some paths troops of Indians,
by others Spanish infantry and Pampangos, and horsemen with both
these parties. As soon as our men came in sight of the enemy, they
saw how difficult was the task; but Spanish valor conquered it. The
Spaniards arriving first, with the Pampangos, began to climb the hill
so courageously that the Chinese, although at first they thought to
beat back our men with stones and lances from the ascent, finally,
losing courage and judgment, rushed down from the hill, those who
escaped from our infantry encountering our horsemen. Thus some one
thousand five hundred of them were killed in a short time; and those
who remained alive tried to escape into the most hidden ravines and
passes of the mountains, but even there they did not find themselves
safe from the Spaniards and the courage of the Indians. This was the
first victory that was obtained over that enemy; and it was generally
understood that it had put an end to the insurrection, and taken away
the courage of those who had caused these first disturbances. It
was proposed to sing the Te Deum at Manila, by way of thanksgiving
that a fire which threatened so great destruction had been so easily
extinguished, by means of the company and soldiers of Sargento-mayor
Don Juan de Arceo, to whom the Lord had given so brilliant a victory
without any cost. This result was greatly aided by the experience and
courage of Don Fernando Galindo and of the captains who took part in
the combat--Don Rodrigo de Guillestegui, Juan de Montoya, [Francisco]
Lezcano, [Estéban] [54] Ugalde, and Don Martin de Ocadiz. The Pampangos
behaved nobly and courageously. [55]
The Chinese of Sagar and Santa Cruz rebel
In proportion to the satisfaction which the news of this victory
caused in Manila was the resentment of the Sangleys when they heard
of the death of their comrades. Eager for revenge, those on the lands
of Sagar [56] rose in arms, and hurried that establishment; and then
they summoned [to join them] the Chinese who were scattered among
the other estates, as far as Manila. A large number of them arrived
at daybreak on Tuesday, November 29, at the residence of Meyhaligue,
to which they set fire. At the same time when we heard of this new
enemy, we learned of the arrival of Sargento-mayor Don Juan de Arceo,
victorious, with all his men; and orders were immediately given to
him that, without entering Manila, he should proceed to Santa Cruz,
to occupy that post and check any commotions among the Sangleys who
were there or those of the Parián--preventing them from joining and
uniting their forces by way of the river.
In order to be ready for everything, the governor also went to Santa
Cruz with Master-of-camp Don Lorenzo de Olaso, on the possibility that
the enemy (who were running, not marching) would attempt an entrance
by way of Santa Cruz--as they actually did, not having had warning of
the arrival of our troops, or knowing how ready the city was to resist
them without the soldiers. The Chinese at Santa Cruz who were friendly
were told that they might go down the river, with their vessels, to
the shelter and protection of the fort; and those who were not were
told to do as they pleased, so that they might be thoroughly aware how
little importance was attached to their revolt. Many others went on
board their boats, to the number of some two hundred; professing to be
loyal, they asked permission to go out and fight their own countrymen,
in order to drive them back. Those who had charge of them had strong
suspicions of their undertaking and intentions, but the governor gave
his consent; and in his very sight those Chinese approached and joined
the traitors, and began with them to take possession of Santa Cruz--now
declared enemies to us, although they had a little while before been
pretended friends. Half the street they held as their own, the careful
arrangements of the governor giving them all this space so that our men
might manage their guns more safely. The Spaniards began to fire these
so skilfully, and to oppose the enemy so valiantly that, many of the
Chinese being killed, they found themselves compelled by the force
of our resistance to turn and run, displaying no little swiftness
in their flight. The governor left their punishment to General Don
Juan de Esquerra and his brother, Admiral Don Francisco--the first
with some horsemen, the second with his infantry company and some
other footmen, who intercepted the enemy on the rear--at the same
time ordering the master-of-camp to fortify himself in the church of
Santa Cruz, planting in it some strong artillery, so that he might
be well prepared for resisting the insurgents, and for checking
the designs, suspected although not manifest, of the Chinese in the
Parián. Immediately all that company [of infantry] fell apart, so as
to give room for the free handling of the cannon; and, the village of
Santa Cruz being set afire, the Spaniards and Indians pillaged it. [57]
In it were the troops from Manila; and when they reached the lands of
Meyhaligue the horsemen, infantry, and Japanese attacked the Sangleys;
the latter fighting with barbarous desperation, were aided by the
great number of their men in stations and ambuscades. They killed
some of our men, among these Captain Agustin Tenorio, Captain Juan
Martin[ez] de Avendaño, Adjutant Cristobal de Saldado, and Alférez
Pedro de Soria; and others were wounded. Thirteen [58] Japanese
were killed, who could not be relieved [in time] by the valor of our
horsemen--which, although great on all occasions, in this one even
surpassed itself. Those who died sold their lives dearly, and those
who survived risked their lives nobly. The danger was alike for all,
and their courage equal; but their fate was not the same. Finally,
those who remained alive thought themselves fortunate that they could
retreat, considering the great number of those who attacked them,
the exhausted condition of their horses, little used to such raids,
and the advantage of position which the insurgents had over them. The
latter, although they saw many of their men stretched on the field,
held that loss as gain--since they were so numerous, and constantly
saw more men joining them--on account of the decrease of the Spaniards'
number by death, of which they made haughty boasts, cherishing hopes of
greater successes. The governor commanded that the troops and artillery
that were in Santa Cruz should that night be withdrawn to the city,
in order not to leave Manila in danger from a sudden insurrection
in the Parián, which was momently feared; also to leave the enemy
in perplexity--having seen that fortification by day, and not being
aware of the [Spanish] retreat so that they might not dare to approach
the river, or attempt to pass it, in the night. He commanded that the
bridge over it should be removed, and the boats that were there broken
up, so that the Chinese [of Santa Cruz and the Parián] might not cross
to each other; at the same time he gave orders that, if there should be
any tumult in the Parián, it should be demolished by the artillery on
the city walls. The whole city remained in suspense and uncertainty,
which was greatly increased by seeing how numerous grew the forces
of the insurgents. These, made arrogant by their recent exploit,
roamed through all the [surrounding] districts, nothing escaping their
cruelty. Several times they attacked the church and convent of Tondo,
[59] which was fortified; but our people in it were prepared for them,
so that, having lost many men, they saw themselves obliged to desist
for the time from their intention. They undertook to make themselves
masters of the church at Binondo, [60] but with the same result;
for the Sangley mestizos who were in the church, desirous of giving
proof of their loyalty, resisted the enemy, who accordingly regarded
their attempt as impracticable, or [at least] exceedingly difficult.
The Sangleys of the Parián revolt
From the twenty-sixth of November to the second of the following
month the insurgent Sangleys continued to be so elated that every
day we saw them from Manila, on the other side of the river, with
many little banners which they proudly waved, daring the bolder of
our men to fight; for they thought that even if every Spaniard cost
them fifty of their own men, they would finally remain conquerors, and
masters of the country, on account of the smallness of our numbers,
the many men in their camp, and the accession of those who were
continually joining them. Our artillery quickly made them disperse
and retreat; but the decision was reached that it was not expedient
to sally out against the enemy, on account of the little confidence
that was felt in the Sangleys of the Parián, and because our army
could not hold these in check [no les cogiesen por las espaldas]
if it were engaged in a campaign. But on the second of December,
the day of the great apostle of India, St. Francis Javier, between
ten and eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the suspense came to an
end, and our uncertainty regarding the fidelity of the Parián was
cleared up. For those Sangleys, seeing that the insurgents had more
troops than on former occasions, and that they were more daringly
undertaking to make an attack at one side, also raised the banner
of revolt, and sallied out from the shops in which they were; and
they killed some negroes and Indians, and a few soldiers who were
stationed near the church of the Parián itself. They raised an outcry,
"For the bridge!" and "To arms against the Spaniards!" desiring to
join their countrymen by way of the bridge, which for this purpose
had been replaced. The sargento-mayor went out against them with the
infantry which were in garrison on that side, and made them turn back,
retreating toward the church of the Parián; and because the greatest
danger was at the bridge, the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso,
went to defend that passage. Although his men were few, with gallant
defiance he repulsed the main body of the enemy; but he saw that he
was in great danger, and his very courage extricated him. Immediately
they began to demolish the Parián, and to throw down their houses on
the land side. The governor went to the walls, to give orders as to
what must be done in view of the present necessity; and, since there
was so great need of men, all the ecclesiastics and religious were
obliged to go with arms to guard the walls, as it was suspected that
the enemy might attempt to scale them. At that time the city was full
of confusion and tumult; for as there were even in the [Spanish] houses
so great a number of Sangleys, the people within these saw that they
were in danger if the Sangleys escaped outside. To free themselves
from this, the cry was made, I know not by whose order, that, under
penalty of treason all should kill the Sangleys whom they kept, [61]
which immediately rendered active the indignation or the hatred against
them. Through all the streets the Sangleys were seen lying dead; and
everywhere were heard their outcries or their weeping, causing in all
natural compassion, [even] in the midst of the general danger. In the
fort were many Sangleys who had been seized in various sallies, who,
seeing death so near, tried to escape it, defending themselves even in
the place where they were imprisoned; but they all died there, slain
by arquebus-balls. The artillery continued its fire from the walls,
killing thus a great number of the Sangleys. Others flung themselves
into the river, but immediately fell into the hands of some of our
men who were guarding it in boats, and perished miserably. Fire was
set to the Parián; it immediately began to burn, and a great quantity
of wealth was reduced to ashes by the flames. [62] Many persons who
had concealed themselves were burned to death; others, who thought
it a less evil to be the object of our men's harshness than to become
the prey of the flames, rushing from the buildings, threw themselves
upon the sharp swords. Thus in a few hours the costly structure of the
Parián [perished], and its beautiful church alone was left [63] as a
memento of what had been there--the pillars of stone which remained
standing being monuments, as it were, which proclaimed, "Here stood
Troya." The number of those who died that day in the city and fort,
in the Parián, and in the river, amounted to three thousand, according
to the statement of those who make the most moderate estimates. On the
morning of the following day, some two hundred traders came out from
some marshes and miry places that were behind the Parián; they had
buried themselves in the mud there, in order to preserve their lives
in the general misfortune of their countrymen. All came with crosses
in their hands, entreating mercy; this could not be denied to them
by Christian charity, all the more when it was known that these men
were not accomplices in the insurrection. Command was therefore given
that they be conveyed to the fort, where they were kept under guard;
and they were aided with their support in a time of so great need,
in which they were utterly destitute. Many of those who died had time
[allowed them] to become Christians first, and those who already
were such, to make their confessions; others were deprived of this
by their own obstinacy, or by the sudden anger of our people.
Events at the port of Cavite and other places at this time
There was anxiety at the port of Cavite when they heard the cannon
from Manila, and saw the clouds of smoke from the Parián; then news
of the result arrived, with an order to the warden of the fort,
Sargento-mayor Alonso García Romero, to put to the sword all the
Sangleys who were in that port. [64] Hardly was this information
guessed at when all the people--Spaniards, Indians, Japanese, Sangleys,
and mulattoes ran in dismay through the streets; all suspected one
another, and all tried to secure their own safety. The women and the
more valuable articles of property were collected in the churches;
and there prayers were offered aloud, entreating God for mercy. In
the present tumult, the prudence with which the warden acted was of
great value; for he restored tranquillity among all, especially the
Sangleys, who were most disturbed. Within half an hour he gathered
about a thousand of them in the royal buildings, making it known that
this was for the purpose of securing them from the public fury. They
were satisfied with this, closed their houses, and proceeded to take
refuge in the buildings assigned to them. While the Ave Maria was
ringing, the warden went to all the religious orders, requesting that
priests should go to baptize the infidels and hear the confessions
of the Christians, since all of them must die. They went immediately;
and the warden commanded that the Chinese should be taken out by tens,
on the pretext that the governor had summoned them to Manila. In this
way, they cut off the heads of as many as three hundred Sangleys,
many of them receiving the sacrament of baptism, and many who were
Christians that of penance. At this time a Spaniard made the mistake
of cutting off the purses which the Sangleys always carry with them;
this was seen by some, who immediately called out that they were
taking the Chinese away to kill them, and that the rest would better
put themselves on the defensive, and either save their lives or sell
them dearly. The Spaniards who were inside at once tried to escape, and
did so, although with some wounds from stones, taking the precaution to
close the gate of exit--a prudent act of great importance, because the
rest of the Spaniards, running up to that place, began to fire their
arquebuses wherever they could. The Sangleys then set fire to the royal
building, close to the gate, in order to make an opening by which they
could escape; others, climbing above, began to throw stones and tiles
at the Spaniards, and broke in pieces an ivory image of the blessed
Christ, with which they wounded some of our men. Many Indian women
had been sheltered in these buildings the day before, thinking that
they would there be safe, and seeing themselves suddenly in extreme
danger. Only three of these, with one child, died on this occasion,
at the hands of the Sangleys; another woman and another child flung
themselves down from the windows, but, falling upon some dead Sangleys,
they received no injury of importance. Nor did the rest of these women,
who, seeing their danger, did the same; they threw themselves down
and remained safe, although bruised by the fall. The fire was now
seizing on the entire building; [65] and those within, with death
so near and in their sight, broke down the wall on two sides, and as
many as four hundred flung themselves through this opening, the rest
remaining among the flames. Here they were opposed by the Spaniards
and Japanese, whom the Sangleys confronted with such mad fury that,
although armed only with stones and clubs, they strove to make way
for themselves, wounding some of our men (among these the warden),
and killing two Japanese. Finally they took the road to the beach,
and, being pursued thither, many of them continued to fall until,
being hindered by a fishing corral in which they were crowded together,
they were a mark for the bullets of our soldiers, and for the balls
from a blunderbuss which was fired from the fort of La Magdalena,
and thus thirty of them died. Those who remained alive went out into
the country, continually pursued by our soldiers at short range,
so that few escaped; and most of those were caught next day by the
ranchmen. Others hanged themselves from the trees; and, according to
the best information that can be obtained, only twenty three were left
who could carry the news to those in Manila. The slaughter continued
on the following day, since there were many who were hidden in the
houses. This success was a great mercy of God; for it was afterward
known that the Sangleys of the port had agreed upon an uprising
for that very night; they had planned to set fire to the village in
all parts of it, which they could have executed all the more easily
because their houses were very near to those of the Spaniards. In the
house of a rich Chinese Christian was found the banner to which they
were to rally. Many kept hidden in the fireplaces pincers with which
they intended to torture certain Spaniards by tearing away their flesh
piecemeal, in revenge for the Sangley pirates who were punished by that
torture in Manila in the past year. [66] The number of those who died
in the port of Cavite reached one thousand three hundred. Immediately
afterward all the Sangley laborers on the lands in that district
revolted, of whom some five hundred perished at the hands of the
Indians and ranchmen--not to speak of others who were scattered in
Maragondon and Silan, probably four hundred and fifty. Many were also
killed in the neighboring jurisdictions: in Bulacan, three hundred;
in Pampanga, six hundred; in Pangasinan, two hundred; in Taal and
Balayan, five hundred. Besides this, the corpses of more than six
hundred Sangleys have been encountered in the villages and coasts of
Zambales, the coasts of Maderas, and other places. [67]
Encampment of the insurgents; damages which they inflict; levies of
men to oppose them
The damages which the Sangleys continued to commit--which were
especially seen among the recent arrivals in the Parián--have been very
heavy. They set fire to many houses of Spaniards and of religious;
and they burned the villages, with the churches, profaning all
that was sacred [68]--hacking the images with knives, wearing the
chasubles, and making from the altar-coverings garments to cover
themselves, and flags. Some of these articles were taken from them,
in encounters which the Spaniards had with them. The villages which,
with their churches, were burned were: Santa Cruz (although they did
not entirely destroy it), Quiapo, Meyhaligue, Sampaloc, San Sebastian,
San Francisco del Monte, and part of San Juan de la Penitencia. They
also burned the ranches of Santiago Castelu (or Gastelu), General
Asaldegui, Admiral Ezquerra, and others; and a large part of the
villages of Tondo and Binondo.
They arrogantly continued these forays, and they were further
confirmed in their notion that they were masters of the field by
having therein more than twenty-six thousand fighting men, and knowing
that the Spaniards who could be assembled hardly amounted to three
hundred. Accordingly they formed their encampment opposite Manila,
with fortifications at intervals, where they remained about twenty
days, without our men crossing the river to attack them--the Spaniards
contenting themselves with depriving the Sangleys of boats, so that
the latter might not cross from the other side; and they waged war on
us in two directions. It was our prudent decision, and its importance
was recognized by the insurgents, not to let our force of soldiers be
weakened; and they exerted all their strength to overcome it, sparing
no effort in order to carry out their intention, and in one case
almost succeeding. Only by their great [number was it] [69] possible,
and their natural ingenuity; they undertook to intercept the river,
although it was so broad and deep, with a causeway of stone--a work
which they were able to complete in a short time, by each Sangley
carrying only one stone. With this they were masters of the river
as regards its passage, which they prevented to the boats which were
coming down with provisions from Laguna de Bay; but they were checked
in this by the diligence of those who had in charge the safety of
those supplies. These were General Asaldegui and Captain Ugalde, who
had various skirmishes with the Sangleys to keep them back from the
passage of the river, killing many of them without serious loss of our
men. By that time, recognizing the dangerous character of the war,
and that it would apparently be a long one, the governor continued
to make provision of all sorts of munitions and food; and raised
levies of men from Pampanga [70] and other jurisdictions--not only
arquebusiers, but Indians armed with arrows, lances, and shields. At
this summons, all showed their fidelity to the king, their affection
for the Spaniards, their hatred to the Chinese, and their promptness
in obedience. The Pampango Indians quickly rallied, constrained
not only by their ancient loyalty but by the present need; in this
they were not a little encouraged by seeing the spirited conduct of
their women whom they left behind, who offered to come with them to
fight. As it was impracticable to accept this offer, they were ready,
even at the cost of their lives, to defend their homes and villages,
in case the insurgents should undertake to enter these.
The enemy are dislodged, and pursued as far as Bocaue
The new soldiers who had come to the succor of Manila, desirous
of encountering the enemy--for which there was not yet opportunity,
according to the arrangements of the governor--made forays through the
open country, in small bands, always with good success. [71] They were
encouraged to these sallies by the reward which the governor offered
to any one who should bring in the head of an enemy; as a result,
many heads came in to the city every day. A large number of men having
been collected, the governor resolved to post troops close to the very
camp of the insurgents, in order to surround them; and although they
tried to prevent this, they were unable to do so. Instead, they found
themselves, in all the attacks that they made, compelled to retire with
losses always of many men--although on one occasion, when the governor
with the master-of-camp and some Spaniards undertook to reconnoiter a
position, the Sangleys came about them, placing them in such evident
danger that they were very fortunate in being able to escape. This was
secured by the coming, with succor, of Captain Sebastian de Gastelu,
who was stationed at a neighboring post, with his men. Some took
the governor for the master-of-camp. The sargento-mayor, Don Pedro
de Jara, and Captain Gastelu peppered them well with the artillery,
which caused them so great loss that even within their very camp
they were not safe. Preparations were now made [on our side] for
attacking them on a set day; but it seems that the enemy, guessing
this plan, and the disastrous result which they might expect from
it, since they were surrounded on all sides by towers and redoubts,
concluded to take flight. This they did on Thursday, December 29,
at night, with so much silence (since the [word in MS. missing] was
so great) that there was no indication or suspicion of their resolve
until, on the morning of the next day, certain knowledge of their
departure was furnished by our noticing that they did not sally out
into the open country. The governor, who was in our camp, immediately
commanded that the enemy's camp be delivered over to pillage; in it
they found more than ten thousand fanegas of rice, by which not only
the Spaniards but the negroes and Indians of the surrounding villages
profited. The governor went in pursuit of them with his men, and got
sight of them between the villages of Pasig and San Mateo, to which
they had gone with the intention of crossing the river on rafts, for
which purpose they had cut there twenty thousand bamboos. They were
prevented from this, and our people prepared to give them battle on
Saturday, December 31; but the Chinese did not wait for them, but took
to flight that night also. Our troops continued to pursue them, [72]
and reached them at nightfall, finding them encamped in the village of
San Jose, a visita of Bocaue, which is a mission village of the fathers
of St. Francis. When the governor was asked there where our men were
to be lodged, he replied, "Where the enemy are." Our soldiers were
so honorably obedient that, crossing a stream that separated the two
forces, they dislodged the Sangleys from their camp, compelling them
to flee; the enemy left behind the supper that they had prepared, as
spoils [for our men, disregarding] the opportunity, and its importance
for the hungry and needy condition in which they were. [73]
On the first of January, 1640, in the morning, the Sangleys were
attacked by our men, and forced to do as they had done the night
before--although with greater loss, since many in their flight rushed
head-long into the river, where they perished. The rest took the road
to Pampanga, intending to secure through that province a passage to
that of Pangasinan; but, after fighting their way, and receiving damage
on all sides, they fell back to Bocaue. This move caused anxiety among
our people, who feared that the Sangleys did this with the intention of
again crossing the river of Manila, in which case they would destroy,
as they had already done on the side opposite [Manila], the churches
and villages on the other side. Seeing, then, the danger at this time
of need, and considering that the soldiers were with the governor
and the citizens acting as garrison, and that in no place could the
forces be divided, since everywhere they were so small, father Fray
Juan Ramirez, the Augustinian provincial, offered to keep guard over
the river with his religious, and asked the other religious orders to
help him in this with such men as they could spare. All willingly gave
their aid, and the governor also sent the commander of the galleys,
Andres Lopez de Asaldegui, for the same purpose; and, aided by so many
religious, he kept the river safe for our trade, and prevented the
enemy from crossing it. At Bocaue the governor was confronting the
enemy, and having various skirmishes with them, being sometimes the
attacker, sometimes the attacked; and although usually these occasioned
loss to the enemy, sometimes also our people lost--especially one day
when a large troop of Indians, with a number of Spaniards, sallied out
against the Sangleys. The latter resorted to the artifice of setting
fire in all directions to the patches of sedge (or rather the fields
of cogon [74]), which were a great cause for fear; and the Indians,
unexpectedly surrounded by fire, took to disorderly flight. This was
the cause of some few Spaniards being left there dead; their firearms
were seized by the Sangleys, who with these did considerable damage
to our men. On this occasion the governor was in notable danger; for
he, considering that the enemy's encampment was in an advantageous
location, convenient to food-supplies, and having plenty of water
(which our camp lacked), determined to dislodge them from it. For
this purpose, on the night of January 9 he erected a tower near the
enemy's camp, defended by ditches, spikes driven into the ground
[empuyados], and a stockade, and well furnished with artillery. He
appointed as its commander the chief captain of the artillery, Juan
Bautista de Molina, with Captain Gastelu [as second]; and placed in
it two artillerists, twenty soldiers, and a hundred Indians armed with
arrows and arquebuses. When the Sangleys, in the morning, saw the new
fort, so unexpected to them, they rushed with great fury to carry it
by assault; but those within defended it valiantly, making great havoc
among the enemy. Hearing the report of the cannon, the governor and
the master-of-camp hastened to give them aid. Before they could arrive,
the enemy turned their backs and fled to their camp; the governor and
those who accompanied him therefore returned to their quarters. At one
o'clock the Sangleys again endeavored to seize the fort; they found
the same resistance and valor among our men as in the morning, and
many of their people were killed, without any loss to us, except that
a bullet wounded Captain Gastelu in the knee. At the time, this injury
was not considered dangerous or likely to last long; but finally,
at the end of five months it caused his death, to the sorrow of
every one that his Majesty should lose in him a valiant and energetic
officer. The governor and the master-of-camp came, as in the morning,
to the aid of the fort; but the enemy were now retreating, and, the
governor sending four men on horseback to reconnoiter their course,
God inspired such fear in those who were retreating that they began
to flee in a disorderly crowd, leaving in their camp their weapons
(lances and arquebuses) and a large quantity of provisions. Some of
our men followed them for the distance of half a legua, and in that
space killed more than one thousand five hundred of them; and when
the soldiers of our force were called together, the affair could
be considered by them all as concluded. It was regarded as a great
victory, on account of the great fear which had filled the minds of
the Sangleys, the utter disorder and confusion with which they fled,
and our having gained from them an encampment so convenient, with the
death of so many and the booty of so many weapons; and the news of it
was sent to Manila at ten o'clock that night. It was received with
general satisfaction and the ringing of bells; and on the following
day in all the churches solemn masses were said before the most holy
sacrament, by way of thanksgiving for so fortunate a success, and in
supplication to that same Lord that He would continue that favor to
our forces.
The enemy return to Sagar and San Mateo
The governor had no information of the road that the enemy took
in their flight; accordingly, while he was waiting for this,
he endeavored to have his army take some rest in the village of
Bocaue. But little rest did the insurgents have; for, seeing the
misfortunes that pursued them, and so many of their men (in whose
numbers they were trusting to make themselves masters of the country)
dead, or wounded, or disheartened, they resolved to remove from [the
vicinity of] our camp. Returning to their familiar haunts of Sagar and
San Mateo--which is a visita of the village of Pasig, belonging to the
fathers of St. Augustine--desirous of avenging their defeats and the
loss of their dead, and feeling safe on account of our troops being
so far away, they sent some bands of their people to burn the church
and village of Pasig, which they did. Other Sangleys, roaming through
the hills, found among them some tiny hamlets of the natives, where
they had concealed their valuables, and their children and wives, to
save them from the common danger; and these were in very great danger
of falling into the hands of these enemies. Our Lord delivered these
people, although the Sangleys took possession of what they found in
the huts. Then their scattered bands being reunited with those whom
they had sent to hunt for provisions, they formed their camp on a hill,
and the various bands built shelters for themselves.
As soon as the governor knew where the enemy were now encamped, he
went in pursuit of them, and on the twelfth [of January] he halted
on the river San Mateo. The next day he went in person, with some
few horsemen, to reconnoiter, and on the way encountered a troop of
about a hundred Sangleys; fifty of them were armed, and the rest
were laden with rice and other provisions. Our men attacked them
and killed twenty or more of the Sangleys, without any loss on our
side--although Captain Juan Fiallo found himself in great danger. On
this as on other occasions he displayed honorable proofs of his valor;
for, having wounded a Sangley in the forehead with a lance-thrust,
and felled him to the ground, the latter, suddenly raising himself
from between the horse's feet, slashed at him with a Japanese catana,
with which at one thrust he wounded both the captain and the horse. The
captain quickly turned his horse about, and securing room for using
his lance, ran it entirely through the Sangley's body, at one side;
it pierced so deeply that it was impossible to pull out the weapon,
so he had to leave it sticking in the body. But the Sangley, with the
anguish or the desperation of death, eager to avenge it rather than
endure it, with his own hands drew out the lance, and, bracing himself
with it on the ground, attempted to attack the man who had wounded
him. But at this moment he was himself attacked by a lay religious
belonging to the Society of Jesus, who rendered good service in the
war throughout its active period--and at this time with especial good
fortune, since he freed the captain from danger by completing the
killing of the Sangley. All the rest of the Sangleys fled, and the
governor returned to his camp, to give orders for the attack on the
enemy, who during all the time while they remained in the hills never
ceased from inflicting damages. They burned the church of San Mateo,
and that of Taytay, a house and church of the Society of Jesus, and a
visita of Antipolo; also Santa Cruz and Mahayhay. According to what
many of them said, their chief incentive to setting these fires was
what happened to a certain Sangley. Desiring to become a Christian, he
buried an idol which he had, of which they relate fables very similar
to those about Mars, calling it "the god of battles." This Christian
Sangley was one of the insurgents, and, desiring to appease this god,
managed with others to disinter it, entreating its protection on the
present occasion. They say that the idol spoke to them, saying that
it considered itself appeased and satisfied for the previous injury
done to it; and promising them, besides this, its favor, provided
that they would burn all the churches, profane all that was sacred,
and inflict on the Christians all the harm that they possibly could.
Success of our troops, and defeat of the enemy in Antipolo
The enemy, not regarding themselves as safe in the mountains where
they had hidden, managed to retreat to those of Antipolo, as being more
suitable for the fortified post which they built there. On account of
the extent of the place, the greater part of their people had gone
into it, after burning the village and the residence of the Society
of Jesus; they attempted to do the same with the church, but could
not accomplish this, as it was built of stone. Some remained behind,
and, desirous of reconnoitering the place, and doing the enemy some
damage, Captain Juan Fiallo went out with as many as thirty horsemen,
and a large number of Indians with lances and bows. The roads were
exceedingly rugged, and both footmen and horsemen had to trust to their
own exertions for success. They commenced to make their way through
the mountains, with more spirit than reflection, for at the middle of
their journey they found themselves unable to go on. The enemy were on
their rear, and at either side were precipices and deep ravines--all
the fault of ignorant guides. It was impossible either to advance or
to retreat; and so they fell in death, one after another, their courage
ineffectual, and without room in which to make resistance. Accordingly,
they rushed to fling themselves down the precipices, abandoning some
their horses and some their weapons, and all in this danger losing
their presence of mind. The enemy had the opportunity to put an end
to all of our men, if God had not blinded their eyes. Five or six
Spaniards, with their arms and horses, returned to the camp and gave
news of this disaster; and within a few days some others returned,
unarmed and on foot; as for the rest, the Sangleys disposed of them
as we shall see later.
The governor, grieved at this result, collected more horses from the
neighboring ranches, and, sending to Manila for saddles, equipped his
men anew, all eager for vengeance. This consumed much time, which gave
the enemy leisure to fortify themselves in four places, in the village
of Antipolo and in the mountain region thereabout; but it deprived
our troops of [the opportunity of] marching against the enemy until
they arrived in sight of the new fortifications. The difficulty of
the attack was very evident, for the enemy held the heights, and had
stones with which they had built their enclosures, by hand-work, very
strong and well-arranged, as was remarked by our men. In this work,
the great number of their men, and their strenuous efforts, had made
up for the lack of time. No less active were our men in making ready
[for the attack]; and the more difficult the undertaking, the more
their courage rose. The Indians displayed great gallantry, with a
few Spaniards making themselves masters of the first two strongholds
or intrenchments--from which the enemy retreated with the loss of
some of their men; the rest, a crowd of armed men, taking refuge in
the other two defences, at the highest part of the fortification,
regarded these as impregnable, and accordingly kept in them provisions
of all kinds, enough to last a long time. There they awaited our men,
who marched in good order, and attacked the first intrenchment on
three sides. They were everywhere preceded by Indian shield-bearers,
in order that these might with their shields stop the stones and
other missiles that the Sangleys were throwing; the Indians did this
valiantly, being thus very helpful to the rest of the army; for the
Spaniards, being able to use their firearms without hindrance, with
them everywhere drove back the enemy. The latter, discouraged at the
death of so many of their number, and seeing our soldiers ascending
the hill, took to flight. This gave new energy to our victorious men,
who in order to complete their conquest at once continued their
march, with the same good order and precaution, to the innermost
fortification, the strongest and most difficult of all, and the most
skilfully built and best provided with supplies. Nothing withstood
the perseverance of our men, flushed by their recent success, and
stimulated by the sight of their governor, who was present throughout
the action; they eagerly attacked the enemy, who valiantly resisted,
replying with their firearms to the volleys from our arquebuses, and
with stones to the javelins and arrows [of our Indians]--relying on
these weapons alone, as they had the advantage in position. But their
courage alone could not equal that of our men; and, seeing that ours
were now pressing them hard, and, almost on their hands and knees,
steadily gaining possession of their last height, the Sangleys,
having little strength to defend it, turned their backs and began
to flee. Our men kept up the pursuit of the enemy for more than a
legua, until they drove out the fugitives from their hiding-places,
and many of the latter flung themselves over the cliffs in those
mountains--where the enemy, although at the outset he had been well
defended, was on this occasion thoroughly defeated.
Those [of the Spaniards] who were killed in this combat and assault
were about twenty; and as the victory had been so glorious, not only
by the strength of the enemy but by the valor of our soldiers, all the
bells were rung in Manila, and on the following day, at the governor's
request, solemn mass was said in all the churches, and the most holy
sacrament was exposed, in thanksgiving for so fortunate a success.
In the enemy's camps were found large quantities of supplies and
arms; and on the ground were many books which they had taken from the
religious houses that they burned; from these they made breastplates
and other defensive armor. In the cemetery of Antipolo, which was the
quarters of their leaders, were found several of their proclamations,
in Chinese characters; these were fastened to the trees, to serve
for the proper government of their forces. There were twenty dead
horses who had fallen into the ravines, with their saddles broken;
and three Spaniards were found whose heads had been cut off. These
were part of those who had flung themselves from the precipices; among
them was a lay religious of the Augustinians, who had accompanied
the soldiers on that expedition. These bodies, although they were
putrid, were so tightly bound that the cords had cut into the flesh,
all indicating the cruelty of the Sangleys. Although this moved our
men to deserved compassion and just indignation, they felt much more
keenly the discovery of many fragments of holy images that lay on
the ground. In especial, there was found a carved figure of the holy
Christ, three palmos in height, among the embers and ashes of a house
which the Sangleys had undertaken to burn; the fire had been content
to blacken the image a little, in order that it might testify to the
miracle--since all regarded it as such, that the image should remain
unhurt in the midst of so hot a fire. The soldier who found the image
presented it to the governor, who at sight of it was deeply moved,
as were the army also when it was raised on high, [made] by him who
had abased it more glorious than before; and all entertained hopes
that the army which should fight under such a banner would annihilate
the enemy by a signal victory.
Injuries which the enemy committed during their flight
It is characteristic of cowards to affect courage when they meet no
opposition or do not fear resistance; the enemy did not encounter
this in the ranch of Antipolo, whither he went when he emerged
from the mountains and hollows in which he had taken refuge from
our attacks and the slaughter which he could not make among our
troops. For the latter were marching accompanied by the governor,
who was desirous of catching the enemy in the flat country that he
might offer them battle there, when they would not be able to avail
themselves of the ruggedness of the mountains or the depth of the
ravines; the armies faced each other, now ready to come to blows, and
the enemy were almost surrounded by our troops on all sides. Although
without realizing how little they could depend upon their hands, they
trusted to their feet; they now placed their main defense in flight,
burning the village and church of Baras--valiant for only such acts
of cowardice. Our men kept at the heels of the enemy, although it was
one of the greatest hardships of this war to have to march so long
through very rough roads amid the inclemencies of heat and rain. The
insurgents pursued the route toward the village of Tamar, whither also
our army proceeded, in order to compel them to give battle, or else to
harass and disturb them by never allowing them opportunity to have any
rest. Our men reached the flat top of a hill, and halted on the summit,
without having any knowledge of the enemy--who were so near that even
their voices could soon be heard. When our men perceived the enemy,
and saw how few they were (for at that time they did not number two
thousand), they began to surround the Sangleys in order to attack them;
and the battle began with such fury that the enemy, in desperation,
came close to the mouths of the Spanish arquebuses. Our men defended
themselves valiantly, at little cost to themselves but with much
loss to the enemy; since, although the battle began with great risk
[to us] on account of their multitude, our weapons were well plied
on both sides [of them]. When the enemy had attacked our position and
would have gained the advantage, Don Rodrigo de Guillestegui arrived,
whom the governor had sent with a company of horsemen and five hundred
Indians, sounding the alarm to them through the rearguard. At the sound
of the drums, and when the enemy saw themselves attacked on both sides,
and knew that the rest of our army (which had been absent) was there,
they already used their weapons with less spirit; and, their hopes of
gaining the victory being dashed, they began to retreat, so as not
to give it to our men--but with much loss of their own--and as they
were in a place where the cavalry could range freely. The damage that
they received was much greater [than what they inflicted], and was
sufficient to enable those of their number who had more prudence to
urge more strenuously, from that time on, negotiations for peace--of
which they had begun to talk a few days before, but with little,
if any, effect.
Garrisons are placed in the churches, and peace is discussed
When the governor saw the destruction that the enemy had wrought in
the churches, and that he could not check it because the army that was
fleeing always had the start of the other, he determined to put the
churches in a condition of defense, and accordingly assigned to each
one a number of soldiers who should confront the Sangleys--so that,
since the people of the villages could not deliver themselves from
the enemy's fury, the temples and the dwellings of the religious,
which were most important, might be saved. The governor also sent
them word, threatening that he would put all the Sangleys that were
left in the country to the sword, if they did any more damage to the
villages or the churches, since it was a token of cowardice to wreak
vengeance on him who was not to blame, or who made no resistance. They
replied that they did no harm where they were not harmed, and that
they would leave the villages in peace if the roads were left free
to themselves by which they were intending to pass to Los Limbones,
in order to build champans there to make ready for [their return to]
China. This reply was less haughty than the tone of their earlier
bravado. From that time they did not burn any church, although they
burned the village of Santa Maria and that of Siniloan, with a visita
of Pangil, because the Indians had been stationed there and many of
the Sangleys slain. After this, they continued their march to Cainta,
and the governor in pursuit of them to the post of Mahayhay--a place
through which the enemy must necessarily pass if they would go to Los
Limbones--in order to fight there with the enemy the battle which
was impossible in the mountains which the enemy had selected for
their encampment. Many from the enemy's camp came every day to ours
asking for mercy, alleging [that they had been coerced by] violent
measures on the part of their leaders in the revolt. They readily
found mercy, and with this and kind treatment they were sent back to
Manila. The opinions of the rest were as vacillating as their courage,
many of them lacking confidence in the governor. Thinking that they
did not deserve pardon for their offences, they preferred to persist
in these obstinately, rather than to yield to the governor's mercy
and surrender; and although there were embassies from one side to
the other, this intercourse was carried on with little confidence
on either side. On ours, negotiations for peace were carried on by
a father of the Society of Jesus, [75] who was a minister to the
Sangleys, and General Geronimo Enrriquez, their alcalde-mayor of
the Parián, for whom they had the utmost affection; on their side,
by some of their leaders, with the mandarin--although not with so
much privilege, [76] on account of having been created for their
purpose--the lieutenant-commander of the Sangley forces. He was a
boastful and audacious man, who resisted the negotiations for peace,
and had with his own hand killed several men because he was suspicious
of their being concerned therein. But the father of the Society,
anxious that peace should be secured, in order that the shedding of
so much blood might be stopped--especially for the sake of the many
Sangleys who were there more because they trusted others than to
carry out their own purpose--laying aside any consideration of his
own life, went many times, at the evident risk of death, to confer
with the mandarin and the leaders, assuring them, on the part of the
governor, of pardon and kind treatment to those who laid down their
arms and surrendered themselves to him. He answered their complaints,
the chief of these being that the governor had commanded that their
comrades who were scattered through the provinces should be slain,
when they had committed no offence. The answer was that the very
people in their own camp who had been caught by our men had revealed
that those others were accomplices in their guilt, and cognizant of
the revolt; for they had confessed that it was general throughout the
provinces. He said that there was therefore no wisdom in leaving some
of the Sangleys free while we were fighting others in the field, since
the former would take up arms against us at the first opportunity; and
finally that they should avail themselves of the present opportunity,
as being invited to make peace, and should not constrain the governor
to an extreme demonstration of his anger, as that would result in
the entire destruction of them all--as they themselves could see by
the few who had been killed on our side, and the thousands that had
fallen on theirs. Persuaded by these arguments, they undertook to
hold another council and give an answer on the following day.
Peace is concluded, and both armies return to Manila
After thorough reflection, while those of our camp were waiting for
the enemy to submit and give up their arms, the latter saw that the
conditions demanded for making peace did not depend on him whose
strength had been broken, but on him who was able to boast of his
advantage and superiority; and how, if the negotiations for peace
arose more from the needs of the case and from our strength than from
mercy and compassion, the governor would have closed, as it were,
the gates of mercy with the determination to destroy them, if he had
not checked his anger, and given to the religious in whose hands was
this affair time for endeavoring to convert them to a more prudent
decision. Finally, they agreed that all should surrender themselves
and give up their weapons. A place was appointed at a little distance
from our camp, between which and theirs was a river; at its crossing
stood our men in two ranks, before whom the Sangleys passed, laying
down the weapons that they carried. As soon as all of them, some
eight thousand in number, had reached their station, arrangements
were made for their return to Manila, the governor charging the
master-of-camp to set out with the two armies. This was done, and
they marched until they arrived in the parade-ground at Bagumbayan,
opposite the city, on the evening of Friday, March. 15. The governor
arrived that same evening, and the two armies encamped there for the
night. At dawn of the following day, the drums sounded for the march,
which was conducted in this order. In the vanguard went Captain
Juan Fiallo with the cavalry, to the sound of trumpets; next some
companies of Pampango infantry, those of the Cagayan Indians, the
Zambal archers, and the Indians who carried javelins and shields in
the battalion. Next came all the Sangley forces, and in the rearguard
the Spanish infantry, with the master-of-camp. The halberdiers of
the governor followed, and in their midst was one on horseback, who
carried as a standard the image of the blessed Christ from Antipolo,
mounted on a staff. Last of all came the governor, accompanied by his
suite, and by many volunteer horsemen who had gone to the war. In this
order they proceeded along the causeway to the bridge over the river,
and across it to Tondo; and there our troops left the Sangleys inside a
stockade which they had built as a precaution, with soldiers guarding
them on all sides. The governor went thence to his palace by water,
and the master-of-camp marched with his soldiers to the city. The
people received them with great joy at seeing the war ended, as it
had caused them so much anxiety and lasted so long a time--for it
began on November 20, 1639, and came to an end on March 15, 1640.
The slain in both armies; the enemy's weapons and mode of warfare;
and the damage committed by them.
Those who make the most careful estimate of the deaths on both
sides state that the number of Spaniards who died in the war,
from its beginning to its end, were about forty or forty-five, and
of Indians three hundred; and it was always the main care of the
governor to watch over his men. On the side of the enemy, they make
the number of deaths approximate twenty-two thousand to twenty-four
thousand--including therein those who died in the provinces. [77]
Thus is made very evident, by the unequal and disproportionate number
[of deaths] on both sides, the special protection of our Lord over
our army--a fact acknowledged even by the very infidels.
The weapons that the Sangleys collected, besides some few firearms,
were: javelins and Japanese catanas, fastened to poles (and some were
made in Manila), some of these weighing more than an arroba, which
will indicate the force with which they could be used; sickles and
pruning-hooks, also fastened to poles; iron tridents; and bamboos with
sharp points hardened in fire, four or five brazas in length. They
also carried away the iron from the houses and churches that they
burned, and whenever they were left undisturbed in any encampment,
they set up their forges and made weapons, in order that no one might
he unprovided with them. The men were divided into tens, like [the
Roman] decurias, so that the exact number of their men was known; and,
of each ten, six fought, and four were responsible for their food,
in order that the fighting men might be entirely relieved from that
work. [78] They did not fight all at one time, but only three from
each decuria, in order that while these were fighting the others
might rest, and thus always they could have men who could enter the
battle in fresh condition. They employed stratagems in fighting--in
the beginning, when they had not so many arms, they made sham weapons,
covering these with cloth, so that they looked like steel. In their
camp near Sanpaloc, [79] in some towers that they built they placed
straw figures of Sangleys, so that our infantry might fire at these
and use up their bullets, and then the Sangleys could, without risk
of being hit, rush to attack our men.
The damages which they committed throughout the period of the
insurrection are very great. They made havoc among the sacred images
and utensils, besides which they burned the village of Calamba and
its church; the village of Taluco, [80] in charge of secular priests,
with a wooden church and a stone clergy-house; houses and property
in Viñan; the house of San Pedro, belonging to the Society of Jesus;
the house and church at Meyhaligue and Santa Cruz; the village and
church of Quiapo, belonging to the Society of Jesus; many houses in
the villages of Tondo and Binondoc; the village of Sanpaloc, with a
house and church of stone belonging to the fathers of St. Francis;
the village of Taytay, with house and church of stone belonging to the
Society of Jesus; the villages of Mahayhay, Santa Cruz, Antipolo, and
Baras, belonging to the Society of Jesus; the villages and churches
of San Mateo and Pasig, belonging to the fathers of St. Augustine;
the villages of Santa Maria and Siniloan, and some visitas, belonging
to the fathers of St. Francis. They also burned ranches and country
houses belonging to [the fathers of] St. Augustine, the Society of
Jesus, Captain Gastelu, General Don Juan Claudio, Alférez Medrano,
General Azaldegui, Admiral Ezquerra, and Admiral Juan Alonso; besides
other stone houses and property belonging to private persons.
The persons who most distinguished themselves in our army
From the very outset of the war the governor was active in it, not
sparing himself from any of its dangers, which were very great. If
any proof were needed of his energy, valor, executive ability, and
military circumspection, the present emergency would have furnished
it. Distinction was honorably gained by the master-of-camp, Don
Lorenzo de Olaso; he was always the first in dangers--none of which
he shunned, although he experienced several attacks of illness,
and even lay stretched at the foot of a papaw tree--escaping from
them, or being drawn out of them by his brave heart and valiant
spirit. Many personages of Manila in private life displayed their
courage, adding merits to their former ones by their service in
the army, and causing the enemy to recognize their bravery in the
skirmishes and assaults, that they might relate how they had conducted
themselves in these; it is sufficient to mention who they are. The
commanding officer of the artillery, Juan Bautista de Molina, was
present in some of the engagements, and the rest of the time he was
directing his artillery in the city. General Geronimo Enrriquez,
lieutenant of the master-of-camp, and general in the army, having
been appointed on New Year's day alcalde-in-ordinary, preferred to
fight in the campaign rather than to remain in Manila in the quiet
and repose of his house, although opportunity to do so was given him
by so honorable a title. General Don Juan Claudio de Verastegui, who
fulfilled the obligations that he had inherited by birth and acquired
by military service. Admiral Don Francisco Ezquerra, who, sometimes
accompanying his brother, General Ezquerra, and sometimes following
the army, everywhere gave proof of his valor. Captain Don Rodrigo
de Guillestegui, his deeds making him appear like a veteran soldier,
although he was so young. All the encomenderos and citizens of Manila
also played the part of veterans, either guarding the city by day and
by night, or serving in the camp, being present in various notable
encounters, wherein the cavalry distinguished themselves. The company
of Captain Juan Fiallo, who with his men was the terror of the enemy;
Captain Juan de Montoya, and Alférez Alfonso Gomez. The ranchmen and
mulattoes, as being accustomed to the management of horses and skilful
in hurling javelins, caused the greatest losses to the enemy on all
occasions. The Spanish infantry, with their captains Don Manuel de
Rivera and N. [sic] de Ugalde (who are worthy of the highest praise),
always fulfilled their duties with good results. The Pampango infantry
was not without glory--the archers and shield-bearers from Pampanga,
whose leader besides their captains was father Fray Juan de Sosa, prior
of the convent of Betis, always as thorough a religious as he was,
on occasion, valiant and courageous; they never returned to our camp
without leaving tokens of their presence in that of the enemy. The
Zambal archers, who went under the orders of Fray Antonio de las
Misas--a Recollect religious, and a person who was in all respects
such as the emergency required--always endeavored to win a reputation;
and if they were previously known by report, they were now by their
deeds. The companies of Cagayans and Terrenatans, as war was not a new
thing to them since they were born and trained in it, did not hesitate
to risk their lives, at the cost of a great number of enemies whom
they left dead behind them. The Tagal Indians of all this province
accompanied their valor with their loyalty, which was so great that,
although their losses had been so considerable in villages, houses, and
possessions, forgetful of all these, and remembering only the treason
plotted, the sacrilege committed, and the design of the Sangleys to
make themselves masters of the country, [81] these Indians took up
arms against them most of the villages serving in their companies,
and by so honorable an act giving proof of their fidelity toward God,
and of their affection for the Spaniards, tokens also of their loyalty,
subjection, and obedience to the king our lord and his officials.
The activities in Manila during the time of the war, not only in
defense of the city, but in prayers
In proportion to the anxiety which the war occasioned was the
solicitude that was felt in the city for its protection; no citizen
shunned the performance of the duty that was allotted to him, and
all were [in turn] continually serving on the walls. The direction
of the fort [82] was in charge of the commander and castellan,
Don Fernando de Ayala; the cavalier [i.e., tower] of San Gabriel
was in the keeping of General Don Juan de Ezquerra; and the gate
of the Parián, in that of Sargento-mayor Don Pedro Jara, until he
had to take his station and plant artillery against the enemy at
Sanpaloc. At the new gate, Captain Don Gregorio Mujica commanded;
at that of Dilao, Sargento-mayor Palomino--and afterward Captain Mena
of the cavalier, whom they call De Carranza; in charge of San Pedro,
Captain Lorenzo Lopez. Admiral Luis Alonso de Roa attended to the
foundry [for artillery]; and Captain Aumada, to emergencies [del
inmediato]. Alférez Orgaz was in charge of the gate of Santa Lucia;
and Alférez Bernave Martinez and Sargento-mayor Don Marcos Zapata
of that of Santo Domingo. But, as the Spaniards were few in number,
it was necessary that they should be aided by the ecclesiastics
and the students. The clerics were placed in charge of a cavalier;
the students or collegians of Santo Tomas were under the orders of
the fathers of St. Dominic; those of the other, San Jose, under the
[fathers of the] Society of Jesus. They wore the clerical garb all the
time while the war lasted, with that of the military. The religious
hastened to take arms and defend the walls on the day of the attack;
and, every night when there was cause to suspect another, they were
found at the posts assigned them.
The city was provided with a new moat, which continuing with the
old one by the side of the foundry, extended almost to the sea--a
celebrated work which was completed in a very short time, all due to
the assiduity and personal attention of the master-of-camp of the
artillery. Its commander, General Don Juan Zapata de Molina, gave
much attention to this work; it was greatly aided, and new inventions
and devices for [the use of] fire were furnished, by the solicitude
and experience of Captain Geronimo de Fuentes [Cortes]. There was
no one who did not, on occasion, render all kinds of service. A
company of free negroes [83] was formed, who were very useful within
the city, being distributed through the cavaliers for the effective
management of the artillery. Duties were assigned to the slaves, but
with discreet caution, on account of rumors which had been current
(although without foundation) that they were making great plans
when they saw the Sangleys in revolt; this was done partly [to give
them] occupation, and to deprive them of any notions of undertaking
another insurrection to the injury of the colony. But as its citizens
recognized that its main defense must come from the Supreme Power,
they did not neglect to raise their hands toward heaven, everywhere
offering continual petitions to our Lord for the fortunate result
of the war, and for the repose and pacification of these islands. In
the cathedral was begun a novenary [i.e., nine days' prayer] to the
glorious St. Joseph, all the [religious] communities repairing thither,
each on its own day, to recite solemn mass to him. The fathers of
St. Dominic, at the request of the city, celebrated another mass to
our Lady of the Rosary, all the religious orders also going thither
to say mass before her image. On the last day, [the image of] the
glorious patriarch St. Francis, who so loved this city, was carried in
procession to the cathedral, with supplication for favors through his
agency--which have been received heretofore, as is acknowledged, in the
first insurrection; and finally a procession was made in honor of the
immaculate conception of the Virgin, and other prayers were offered.
[The following additional points regarding the Chinese insurrection are
taken from a pamphlet entitled Relacion verdadera del levantamiento
de los Sangleyes (i.e., True relation of the Sangley insurrection),
which was printed in Madrid, by Catalina de Barrio y Angulo, in
1642 (our transcript of the same having been made from the original
existing in Biblioteca y Museo de Ultramar, Madrid): "Calamba is
twelve leguas from Manila. The Chinese corresponded with a Chinese
pirate named Yquan Sanglus; it was arranged that he should come to
aid them on Christmas Eve, 1639 (the day set for the treason), and
to capture the galleons from New Spain. There were 35,000 licensed
Sangleys in Manila and its vicinity, besides 10,000 more in remote
provinces. In Manila at this time there were thirty foot-soldiers,
thirty horsemen, fifty Japanese, and seventy Siyaos. The value of the
goods destroyed in the Parián was 5,000,000 pesos; and the houses
(built of molave wood), with the church and the stone houses, all
together were worth 2,000,000. Twenty champans brought to Mariveles
the Sangleys from neighboring provinces, to join the Manila insurgents;
but a Spanish and Pampango force went out against than, who sank eleven
of the champans and killed six hundred and fifty men. Among the troops
levied by the governor were a company of Japanese, and two of Sangley
mestizos. Chinese prisoners confessed that their general had offered,
to each Sangley who should bring in a Spanish head, a large reward,
including a Spanish woman to be his wife. A body of religious from all
the orders, aided by some Indians and ten soldiers, undertook to defend
the passage across the river, and killed many of the enemy. On February
24, 1640, the starving Sangleys surrendered, to the number of 7,793."]
ECCLESIASTICAL AND AUGUSTINIAN AFFAIRS, 1630-40
[In VOLS. XXIII and XXIV of this series was presented the history of
the Augustinian order to the year 1630, as written by Fray Juan de
Medina. Continuing that history to 1640, we give (mainly in synopsis)
the most important matter on this subject in the Conquistas of Fray
Casimiro Diaz (Valladolid, 1890), book ii, pp. 267-444. As usual, the
parts synopsized or merely referred to are printed within brackets;
these will be readily distinguished from words or phrases supplied
in translation, which are printed in the same manner.]
CHAPTER VI
After the death of the lord archbishop Don Fray Miguel García Serrano,
the ecclesiastical cabildo of Manila attempted to interfere in
the government of the vacant see--alleging for this purpose that
the brief of Paul V, and the royal decree, had been obtained by
underhand means and misrepresentations. The bishop of Cagayán, Don Fray
Hernando Guerrero, also brought forward his claim to the vacant post;
accordingly, both parties presented the arguments in behalf of their
respective claims. The decision thereon was deferred for some time,
the cabildo always resisting Don Fray Hernando Guerrero's efforts to
take possession of the see, and denying not only the claim which he
preferred, but also the right which the bishop of Cebú, Don Fray Pedro
de Arce, had--which he, moreover, had yielded to Señor Guerrero. This
contest lasted two years in the royal Audiencia; then, the auditors
having declared that the government of the archbishopric belonged to
Don Fray Pedro de Arce, the cabildo appealed to the Council of the
Indias. Nevertheless, the royal Audiencia and the governor sent for the
bishop of Cebú, who reached Manila on the twenty-second of January,
1630. The cabildo having been commanded, by a royal decree, to hold
a session, Don Fray Pedro de Arce presented himself at that meeting,
and made the following proposition: "Sirs, it is well understood, as
you will satisfy yourselves, that my coming to this city, and just
now to this cabildo, is quite contrary to my own inclinations; for
I desire and love a quiet life, and I hold very dear the sheep of my
bishopric. The example [of this that I have given] is very evident;
for Fray Hernando Guerrero having gone to my diocese so that I might
confer upon him the orders for which he had been consecrated, I also
transferred to him the right to the government of this archbishopric
that I hold in virtue of a brief from his Holiness Paul V, issued
by him on January 7, 1612. But the claim of the said bishop of Nueva
Segovia was not allowed, for reasons which you know. After that, Don
Juan Niño de Tavora, governor and captain-general of these islands,
wrote to me so urgently in the name of the gentlemen of the royal
Audiencia, sending me his Majesty's royal decree, and laying a burden
upon my conscience if I did not accept this duty, that I could not
refuse it; accordingly, I come to this city, certainly against my own
wishes, and to the injury of my health in my advanced years. But, sirs,
it has seemed to me expedient to come, as a measure of peace and love,
to expostulate with you, and ask that you carefully consider all these
motives and reasons. I ask that, without delay or opposition, you at
once admit me to the government of this archbishopric, to which his
Holiness and his Majesty call me, considering that my earnest desire
and intention is to strive to labor in the service of both Majesties,
and to promote, for yourselves and all this commonwealth, the welfare
and harmony which should prevail, and which are right." Thus spoke
Don Fray Pedro de Arce; and answer was made to him by the dean,
Don Miguel Garcetas, in behalf of the cabildo. He said that they all
fully appreciated the bishop's kindness, and that all were entirely
satisfied of his good intentions in this matter, and of his great
virtue, prudence, and learning; but that, in order that they might
proceed in this matter with all harmony, certainty, and deliberation,
it was necessary that all the members of the cabildo should assemble
(for some were not present at this meeting). The dean added that in all
their acts they would follow the rulings of the sacred canons and the
constitutions of the cathedral church, and that his Lordship might be
certain that all of them confessed themselves to be his affectionate
children, and desired to render him service; and that they entreated
him to show them the bulls and other documents that he possessed,
in order that all these might be duly fulfilled. To this the bishop
replied that the bulls were already before the cabildo, and by virtue
of them he had been admitted to the government of the archbishopric
by the death of Don Diego Vazquez Mercado; accordingly, they must
settle the matter without delay because, if they did this amicably,
they would find in him a father and protector; but if not, he would
enforce his claims by the severe measures which he could by law employ.
The cabildo met on the twenty-ninth of January, and decided that,
after having consulted learned persons, they were of opinion that the
cabildo ought not to surrender the government; but that, on account of
the many and serious difficulties [that might arise from this], they
would yield under protest. Accordingly, they received Don Fray Pedro de
Arce on the same day as ruler of the vacant see, although the cabildo
took much umbrage at it; and from this affair originated continual
strife and dissensions. At the outset, they denied to Don Fray Pedro
the seat in the choir, the cabildo asserting that the bishop was not
competent to possess it because he was not a proprietary bishop; and
that, although he had been consecrated, it was in another diocese, and
one suffragan to that of Manila. The prudent bishop felt this slight
keenly, for they had given him this seat when he first administered
the vacant see; but finally they gave him the seat (to which he was
legally entitled), as they had done before. Don Fray Pedro de Arce
ruled with the prudence and uprightness which in him were so eminent,
which together with his virtue and piety, made him a most accomplished
prelate, and truly a father to all. In the course of his government
he made enactments very important for the conduct of the church;
in especial, he imposed the cuadrante [84] for the choir in the
cathedral of Manila with great exactness--aiding the prebends with
great readiness in their choir, the subsidy that they receive being
still so small that some of them have hardly enough for their support.
[The rest of this chapter is mainly occupied with secular occurrences,
which we omit here because they have already been fully related in
other documents for that time--the fruitless expedition against
Jolo under Lorenzo de Olaso, shipbuilding in Cambodia attempted,
the despatch of an envoy to India to secure Portuguese coöperation
against the Dutch, the coming of the royal visitor Don Francisco de
Rojas, and the death of the governor Niño de Tavora--and the relation
of various miraculous cures and deliverances performed through the
Santo Niño (or image of Christ) in the church of Cebú. The following
paragraph states the proceedings at the meeting of the Augustinian
provincial chapter of 1632:]
The year 1632 having arrived, the provincial chapter was convened
in the convent at Manila, on the first day of May; the president at
this session was father Fray Juan de Tapia, and the election [for
provincial] resulted, with the general consent of the entire province,
in the choice of father Fray Gerónimo de Medrano--a very courteous and
discreet religious, who governed this province well. As definitors
were chosen the fathers Fray Juan de Montemayor, Fray Francisco de
Mercado, Fray Luis Ronquillo, and Fray Juan Ramirez; and as visitors,
the fathers Fray Alonso Carbajal and Fray Antonio de Porras. They made
regulations very useful for the proper government of the province;
and as its procurator for España was appointed father Fray Diego de
Ordás, at that time prior of the convent of Santo Niño at Cebú. He
made the journey that year, and, having performed it very successfully,
returned [to the islands] in the year 1635.
CHAPTERS VII-XIV
[These chapters are occupied with accounts of the persecutions in
Japan, and the biographies of Augustinian priests who were martyred
therein.]
CHAPTERS XV-XXXIV
[These chapters relate the coming of Corcuera as governor,
his controversies with the bishop, and the exile of the latter;
biographical accounts of various noted Augustinian missionaries,
some of whom were martyrs in Japan; and the final incidents of the
persecution in that country, so far as Diaz could learn of them, up to
about 1715. Nearly all of this matter is either a repetition of what
we have already presented in previous volumes, or irrelevant to our
purpose; but we select occasional passages which properly belong to
the history of the islands, especially its ecclesiastical aspects. In
our VOL. XXV may be found extracts from Diaz's work regarding the
contest between Corcuera and Guerrero (chapters xv-xviii). Chapter
xix is devoted to the opinion of "a learned auditor of Manila" on the
banishment of the archbishop; the editor of Diaz, Father Tirso López,
prints this opinion, in order to reproduce all of Diaz's history,
which is his only reason for not suppressing "this conceited, most
tedious, and ill-digested document." Chapters xx and xxi are devoted
to the biographies of two Augustinian missionaries, Fray Alonso de
Mentrida and Fray Juan de Medina respectively. The former excelled
as a linguist.]
[Pp. 353-355:] He composed a curious and ingenious grammar [arte], by
which the main difficulty in [learning] those languages was surmounted
in a short time. He also composed a copious vocabulary of the languages
of the two islands, Panay and Cebú, which are quite distinct. In the
mountain region of Ogtón a very harsh language is spoken, which they
call Halaya; and along the coast another, more polished and elegant,
which is called Hileygueina. This work [i.e., the vocabulary] cost him
much labor, and is very useful to the ministers. He left it complete,
and after his death it was published by father Fray Martín Claver. [85]
He [Fray Alonso] composed a brief catechism, accurately written,
in the Bisayan language, which is very useful for instructing those
natives in the mysteries of our holy faith; this was printed twice,
in order that there might be an abundant supply of a work so important
for the welfare of souls. He also published the ritual by which the
holy sacraments are usually administered in these islands; and this
work is deserving of esteem, since one finds therein a compilation of
what is strictly necessary for the more safe administration [of the
sacraments]. It is so highly regarded by the other religious orders
that, although two large editions of the work have been printed,
it is now necessary to issue a third, since all are trying to obtain
this book. [86]
Father Fray Alonso de Mentrida spent many years in the provinces of
Ogtón and Panay, [87] where he gathered much fruit in the conversion
of those souls, especially in the district of Ogtón--which in those
times was, in the greater part of its mountain region, shrouded
in the darkness of error. There the devil was well entrenched in
those rugged mountains, having solidly established his kingdom and
worship among those simple natives--who, influenced more by fear
than by any other consideration, prostrated themselves before that
demon, and gave him their worship and adoration. His crafty designs
were successful among them through the agency of many priests and
priestesses (in the Bisayan idiom called babaylanes), who, being
especially assisted by that infernal spirit, concoct certain frauds
and delusions, with which they deceive the simple Bisayans. These
priests, moreover, secure much advantage from this mode of life,
since by it they make their living, and are feared and looked up to;
for most of them have a compact with the devil, by means of which
they wreak such evil as they can on those persons on whom they try
to be revenged, or whom they wish to injure because some one else
has done them harm. Against this infernal horde father Fray Alonso
de Mentrida waged continual battle, roaming through those mountains
on foot, and accompanied only by one servant, a very good Christian,
who aided him much in his work. This man died at a great age (more
than one hundred and ten years); he lived in the village of Guimbal,
of which he was a native, and his name was Vilango. They journeyed
so destitute of human aid that they carried in their pouches only
some roots, cooked, which in that country are very common, called
camotes, with a little rice, eaten cold and half-cooked. This sort of
abstinence was so continual in Father Mentrida that he ate nothing
else than the vegetables and pottages of the country, with a little
fish when he wished to appease his more pressing hunger; and it is not
known that he ate meat until, in his old age and in several attacks
of illness that he suffered, the duty of obedience compelled him to
moderate so austere a diet. In such a mode of life this apostolic
man wandered through those mountains, preaching to the infidels the
word of God, and persuading them to leave their straggling hamlets
[rancherías] and settle in some small villages, that he might more
advantageously call them together and instruct them, separating them
from their errors and blindness. With great benefit to their souls
the simple mountaineers of Ogtón received the gospel preaching,
as they all are gentle and well-inclined people; the father's only
opponents were those ministers of Satan and children of perdition,
the babaylanes, who with their lies sowed their diabolical tares
upon the grain of heaven, and easily smothered the seed that took
root in piously-inclined hearts. Those priests artfully suggested
to the natives the anger which their divatas (thus they name the
spirits to whom they give adoration) felt against them, and on
their own part uttered threats against them, menacing either their
lives or their poor property--which is a scanty grain-field of rice;
and by these shameless acts they terrorized the people, and caused
some of them to lose their solicitude for attending church. Father
Fray Alonso de Mentrida spared neither hardship nor effort to bring
back to the fold of the Church those whom these malicious ministers
had, through their crafty methods, caused to backslide; and he held
with those priests extraordinary discussions, from which, in place
of gaining good results, he obtained only their plots. With these
they tried, on several occasions, to deprive him of life by their
arts and witchcraft; but the Lord, who watched over His servant,
did not permit them to succeed in their damnable attempts, and,
for the greater humiliation of the common enemy [i.e., the devil],
held back the father from the greatest dangers.
During the time when this apostolic minister was preaching in the
mountains of Ogtón, there were visible apparitions of the devil,
standing upon a rock and teaching superstitions and giving laws
to a great multitude of Indians, who, deceived by him, followed
him. Moreover, in those mountains are many demons, who appear to the
natives in horrible forms--as hideous savages, covered with bristles,
having very long claws, with terrifying eyes and features, who attack
and maltreat those whom they encounter. These being are called by
the Indians Banuanhon, who are equivalent to the satyrs and fauns of
ancient times. Even at this day these hideous monsters are wont to
appear to the Indians, some of whom remain in a demented condition for
months from the mere sight of them; others go away with these demons,
and are lost for a long time, and then will return in a terrified
and fainting condition, few of them failing to die soon afterward. I
would have much to tell and relate if I should stop to mention what
has occurred with such monsters, who have been seen not only in the
mountains of Ogtón and Panay, but very frequently in the province
of Taal. They are called in the Tagal language Tigbalang; and many
persons who have seen them have described to me, in the same terms,
the aspect of the monster. They say that he has a face like a cat's,
with a head that is flattened above, not round, with thick beard, and
covered with long hair; his legs are so long that, when he squats on
his buttocks, his knees stand a vara above his head; and he is so swift
in running that there is no quadruped that can be compared with him.
[Diaz proceeds to relate several incidents connected with these
demons, and the difficulties encountered by Mentrida, caused by the
hostility of the native priests--who much resembled the "medicine-men"
of the North American Indians; and adds (p. 356): "In these holy
occupations he passed much time in that mountain wilderness, as his
companion Vilango has told me; and gradually those hearts, hard as
diamonds, were softened, and they were converted to our holy faith. He
proceeded to gather those people into villages, founding those of
Agra (with the advocacy of St. Nicholas), Baong, Santiago, Limao,
San Pedro, Taytay, and Catingpan--which remain to this very day,
and in my time preserve the memory of this apostolic man, to whom,
as they recognize, they owe the knowledge of the truth." Mentrida
remained in the missions until 1618, when he was summoned to Manila,
to become prior of the Augustinian convent there; and in 1623, he was
elected provincial. The rest of his life he was afflicted by age and
broken health; and he died at Manila, March 22, 1637.]
[Diaz sketches the life and labors of Juan de Medina (whose history
of his order in Filipinas we publish in VOLS. XXIII and XXIV of this
series), giving the following summary of his achievements: "It is
not easy to relate in full the great labors of this religious in the
conversion of the Indians in the province of Ogtón, when they all,
on account of the coming of the Dutch the first time to the point
of Iloilo, took refuge in the mountains, forsaking their villages,
so that it was difficult for several years to bring them back to a
sedentary life. During that time, this religious traveled, carrying
little more than his staff, through all the mountains of Ogtón,
preaching to the people that they might be converted, and maintaining
a continual battle with the devil--who had, through the agency of his
ministers the babaylanes, persuaded the people that the Spaniards could
not deliver them from the Dutch. During that time he suffered many
dangers through the plots of those infernal ministers, who at various
times tried to take his life--divine Providence delivering him from
them all, for the greater gain of those Christian communities. Amid
those dangers did this religious convert most of the peoples in
Ogtón, Xaro, Baong, and Pasig. In all places where this minister
went, he left an especial reputation for his virtue and apostolic
teaching. He visited some nine times the entire province of Bisayas,
and usually held the office of vicar-provincial--obedience obliging
him to accept it, on account of the great importance of his direction
for the greater glory of the order." After twenty years spent in these
labors, he obtained permission (1631) to go to Spain, and miraculously
escaped from the wreck of his ship in the very port of Cavite. He then
returned to the Visayan missions, but again set out for Spain in 1635;
while crossing the Pacific, he was carried away by disease. Chapters
xxii-xxv are devoted to the persecutions and martyrdoms of Christians
in Japan; chapter xxvi treats mainly of the controversy within the
Augustinian order regarding the "alternation" of offices between the
friars sent from Spain and those who had taken the habit in the Indias
(already related in our VOL. XXVIII). The following paragraphs are
of interest here.]
[Pp. 386-388:] After the father provincial Fray Juan Ramirez (who
was one of the best superiors of that time) had governed this
province very successfully and judiciously, the time arrived for
the provincial chapter; it was held at the convent of San Pablo in
Manila, on the twenty-fourth of the month of April, 1638. Father Fray
Jerónimo Cornuetano, the general of the entire order, presided over
the meeting; and it resulted in the election, by unanimous consent,
of father Fray Martín Errasti, a religious who was much endeared to
all the rest by his many fine qualities. The definitors elected were
fathers Fray Juan de Trexo, Fray Jerónimo Venasque, Fray Francisco
de Madrid, and Fray Francisco de Villalón; and the visitors, father
Fray Juan de Boan and Fray Jerónimo de Paredes--all being religious
of recognized abilities, and men to whose care the interests of
this province could be confided. It was decided to send to España a
procurator to conduct a party of religious to this province, although
the choice of one was not effected until the following year; this fell
upon father Fray Pedro de Quesada, prior of the convent of Bulacán,
who had recently arrived, driven back by stress of weather, from [a
voyage to] the kingdom of Japón--whither he went with some religious
of St. Dominic; but stormy head-winds obliged them to return to Manila,
divine Providence keeping them in reserve for another ministry.
The Moro pirates of Mindanao and Joló did not cease to infest the
Pintados Islands every year with their armed fleets--capturing
the natives, burning the villages, plundering the churches of the
consecrated vessels, and then destroying those temples by fire. So
far had gone the boldness of Corralat--who came to those islands,
subjected to his anger, without the Spaniards displaying any purpose
to defend them, or going out to hinder those injuries--that he
soon attributed this negligence to cowardice, and to the fear of
him which the Spaniards felt. This so increased his boldness that
his little fleets were daring enough to approach even the bay of
Manila. They experienced no resistance, save only in the province of
Caraga--[whose natives are] a warlike people--and this was due to
the valor of its alcalde-mayor, Captain Don Francisco de Atienza y
Bañes, a native of Toledo; and to the great courage of a discalced
Augustinian religious named Fray Agustín de San Pedro, who was very
celebrated in those times, and feared by the pirates, [who was known]
by the name of "Father Captain" [Padre Capitán]. [88] The exploits
of this religious in defending the villages where he was a minister
of religious instruction, and in going out to find the enemy in their
own country, would be material for many chapters of history. He was a
religious of great virtue, and of zeal for the welfare of souls; and,
besides this, God had given him extraordinary courage, and a genius
worthy of Scipio and Hannibal. Accordingly, seeing that those who ought
to conduct military operations remained with folded hands, without
going out to the defense of those harassed peoples, he determined
to do so himself. On one occasion he went out from Butuan, where
he was prior, with some Spanish soldiers, and men whom he gathered
in Caraga; and with them he faced and put to flight an armed fleet
of Corralat. When Don Francisco de Atienza saw what aid he had in
the valor and experience of father Fray Agustín, the two laid their
plans to perform an exploit that should do them credit; and, manning
some caracoas with the best soldiers from the presidio of Tanda, both
Spaniards and Caragas, and providing two boats which could be taken
to pieces and carried overland in sections, and afterward be again
put together and framed, Don Francisco, accompanied by father Fray
Agustín, took the route to the lake of Malanao, [89] which was under
the jurisdiction of Corralat. This lake is in the island of Mindanao,
opposite the island of Bohol; from north to south it is eight leguas
long, and it is four leguas wide. Its shores are thickly settled by
several tribes, some Mahometan and others heathen (although all of
them are vassals of Corralat); but they are people who are very poor
in all except foodstuffs, of which they have a great abundance. Don
Francisco de Atienza and father Fray Agustín de San Pedro arrived at
this lake; and, as the water at its entrance was very low and there
were many miry places, they took the four [sic] vessels to pieces and
placed them on the lake, where they again [put them together and]
manned them. By this means the Spaniards went through that region,
carrying on hostilities among those tribes, and leaving them subjected
to the crown of España--although this submission did not last long, for
Corralat again reduced them, because the Spaniards had not left behind
a fortified post. This conquest was not one of much profit; but it
was enough to leave the Moros warned for some time by this punishment.
[Chapters xxvii and xxviii are occupied with the expedition of
Corcuera against Joló, already described in our VOL. XXVIII. Chapters
xxix-xxxiv are devoted almost entirely to the Chinese insurrection
in Manila and its environs in 1639, and to an historical account of
former disturbances caused by them in the islands, from the time of
the pirate Limahon down. A brief paragraph mentions the death of
the provincial of the Augustinians, and his temporary successor:
"In the middle of the year 1639 occurred the death of the father
provincial Fray Martín de Herrasti, a loss which was keenly felt
by all the province on account of his many endowments and lovable
qualities. He was a native of Guipúzcoa, and a son of the convent at
Burgos. Having come to this province in the year 1617, he was assigned,
by his obedience, to the ministry in Pampanga, where he remained, an
excellent missionary, for a period of twenty years--until the province,
satisfied as to his virtue and discretion, chose to employ so worthy
a minister to govern it, and elected him provincial, although it
enjoyed but little of the direction of so excellent a superior. The
government of the province was assumed by father Fray Juan Ramírez,
as the most recent past provincial; and thus was somewhat lessened
the general grief caused by the loss of the deceased provincial."]
RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
By a religious who lived there for eighteen years [90]
The islands called Filipinas, because of having been conquered during
the reign of Felipe II, were discovered in the year 1521, by Hernando
Magallanes, a famous Portuguese, who gave his name to the strait. That
great pilot, after having forever perpetuated his name by a navigation
so new and so difficult, landed on one of the Filipinas Islands--a
very small one, named Matan--where he was treacherously killed by
the Indians. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos sighted the islands again after
him in the year 1539. [91] Finally they were pacified in the year
1571 by the adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. It is a cause for
surprise that the Portuguese, who had discovered the Malucas, China,
and Japon, some years before, and had made their homes there, did
not know anything about those islands until long afterward, although
they are, as it were, the very center and middle part of their other
discoveries. They knew well the island of Borneo, which is the last of
those islands toward the south, but they had never stopped there while
en route to the Malucas--urged, perhaps, by their too great greed for
the spices and drugs which are produced so abundantly in those islands.
The geographies say that there are eleven thousand islands in that
great archipelago of which the Filipinas are a part, and that they are
adjacent to Asia as are the Canaries and the Terceras to Africa. They
cross into the torrid zone and extend along the coasts of China and
India. South of them lie the Malucas, and on their northern coast,
Japon. More than forty of them are subject to the king of España,
the largest and most important being Manila and Mindanao. Manila is
the capital of all the others, the residence of the governor and the
archbishop, and the seat of the royal Audiencia. Those two islands are
each six hundred miles in circuit; they are full of mountains, have
rivers and dense forests, and lie in thirteen and one-half degrees
north latitude. The other islands are not so large, some being one
hundred miles in circuit, some fifty, and some even less. Almost all
of them are inhabited by Indians, and those which are not are used by
the Indians for their crops, and for the chase of deer and wild boars,
and for the gathering of wax, with which the islands most abound.
The islands not yet under the dominion of the king of España have
their own kings, who are Mahometans. The island of Borneo, three
times greater than the whole of Italia, is the largest of all the
islands. Those subject to the king of España are Manila, Zebu, Oton,
Mindanao, Bohol, Leite, Samar, Mindoro, Marinduque, the island of
Negros, the island of Fuegos, Calamianes, Masbat, Jolo, Taquima,
Capul, La Paragua, the island of Tablas, Verde Island, Burias,
Tiago, Maripipe, Panama, Panaon, Sibuian, Luban, Bantajan, Panglao,
Siquior, Catanduan, Imaras, Tagapolo, Banton, Romblon, Similara,
Cuio, Cagaianes, Marivelez, Poro, Babuianes, the island of Cabras
(which is distant from the others), and other smaller ones.
In the islands subject to the king of España, every married man pays
ten reals of tribute, and he who is unmarried five. Nearly all of them
have received the gospel, and hence there are few heathen. However,
in the islands of Mindanao, Taquima, and Jolo, conquered but recently,
most of the people are Moros or heathen; but it is hoped that the
zeal of the missionaries will convert them very soon to Jesus Christ.
Before the conquest of those islands by the Spaniards, the natives of
the country were subject to the chiefs among them, who were recognized
as nobles, and all the others obeyed them. Those chiefs possessed a
great amount of gold, and slaves in proportion to their nobility. I
knew two chiefs, one in Bohol, and the other at Dapitan, a village
of Mindanao, who had more than one hundred slaves apiece. They are
not foreign slaves, as those of Angola who are in Europa, but of the
same nation. It was a lamentable thing to see with what violence and
for how little a thing, these chiefs made slaves. For, however small a
sum one owed to another, the interest, for lack of payment, amounted to
so great a sum that it was impossible to pay it; and consequently, the
person of the debtor being pledged for the debt, he became the slave of
his creditor, together with all his posterity. They also made slaves,
with unusual tyranny and cruelty, for crimes of slight importance,
such as not keeping silent at the graves of the dead, and for passing
in front of the chief's wife when she was in her bath. Those captured
in war were also all made slaves. Now with baptism, all those acts
of violence and tyranny have been suppressed--although there still
remains one very peculiar custom among them, which does not follow
that general rule, namely, Partus sequitur ventrem; [92] for there are
some who are wholly slaves, and others who are only half slaves. The
former are those born of a slave father and mother; the others who
are born of a slave father and a free mother, or vice versa. In some
villages it is the custom that, if the father is slave and the mother
free, one of the children is free and the other slave. The privilege
of those half slaves is that if they pay a certain sum of money to
their master, they may oblige him to grant them their liberty--an
advantage that is not possessed by those who are wholly slaves.
All the religion of those Indians is founded on tradition, and on a
custom introduced by the devil himself, who formerly spoke to them
by the mouth of their idols and of their priests. That tradition is
preserved by the songs that they learn by heart in their childhood,
by hearing them sung in their sailing, in their work, in their
amusements, and in their festivals, and, better yet, when they bewail
their dead. In those barbarous songs, they recount the fabulous
genealogies and deeds of their gods, of whom they have one who is
chief and head of all the others. The Tagáls call that god Bathala mei
Capal, which signifies "God the Creator." The Bisayans call him Laon,
which signifies "Time." They are not far from our belief on the point
of the creation of the world. They believe in a first man, the flood,
and paradise, and the punishments of the future life.
They say that the first man and the first woman came out of a reed
stalk which burst in Sumatra, and that there were some quarrels between
them at their marriage. They believed that when the soul left the body,
it went to an island, where the trees, birds, waters, and all other
things were black; that it passed thence to another island, where all
things were of different colors; and finally that it arrived at one,
where everything was white. They recognized invisible spirits, another
life, and devils hostile to men, of whom they had great fear. Their
chief idolatry was in adoring and regarding as gods those of their
ancestors who were most remarkable for their courage, or for their
intelligence. Such they called humalagar, or, as is said in Latin,
manes. Each one, as far as possible, ascribed divinity to his father
at death. The old men even died with that conceit, and that is why
they chose a remarkable place--as did one in the island of Leite, who
had himself placed on the seashore, so that those who went sailing
should recognize him as a god, and commend themselves to him. They
also worshiped animals and birds. They regarded the rainbow as a
sort of divinity. The Tagáls worshiped a totally blue bird, of the
size of a thrush, which they called bathala, which was a name of
the divinity. They worshiped the raven, which they called meilupa,
meaning "the master of the earth." They had a great veneration for
the crocodile. [When] they saw it in the water, they called it nono,
or "grandfather." They offered to it prayers regularly, with great
devotion, and offerings of what they carried in their boats, in
order that it might not harm them. There was no old tree of which
they did not make a god, and it was a sacrilege to cut it. I have
seen a very large one called nonog, [93] in the island of Samar,
which a religious ordered to be felled, in order to destroy all those
superstitions. He was unable to find an Indian who would undertake
it for him; and it was necessary for some Spaniards to go to fell
it. They also worshiped the stones, rocks, reefs, and promontories
of land which jut into the sea; and made offerings to these of rice,
fish, and other like things, or fired their arrows at them in passing.
Between La Caldera and the river in the island of Mindanao, a great
point of land runs into the sea, which makes the coast dangerous and
very high. The sea beats violently against that cape, which is very
difficult to double. The Indians in passing offered it their arrows as
a sacrifice, praying it to allow them to pass. They shot them with so
great force that they made them enter the rock, and hence it is called
the Punta de Flechas. One day the Spaniards burned a number of those
arrows to show their hatred of so vain a superstition; and in less than
one year more than four thousand were found there. When Don Sebastian
Hurtado de Corcuera conquered the island of Mindanao three years ago,
[94] he ordered that that point be called no more Punta de Flechas,
but San Sebastian. They had innumerable other superstitions. If they
saw a snake or a lizard, or if they heard a bird that they called
corocoro [95] sneeze or sing, they took it as a bad sign, and did
not go farther. They had no remarkable temples, and no festivals of
days of public sacrifices; but each one made his offerings to the
humalagar or divata (which was the name of their god) in private,
according to their purpose or need. Although they had no temples,
they had men and women who acted as priests, who were called catolonan
by some and babailan by others. Those priests were most inclined to
allow themselves to be deceived by the devil, and to deceive the
people afterward by a thousand tricks and inventions--chiefly at
the time of their sicknesses, when they are depressed, lose courage,
and crave a prompt remedy; and give all their possessions to him who
promises it to them.
There are some priests who have special communication with the
devil. He speaks to them through the mouths of their little idols,
and makes them believe that these are the voices of their ancestors,
whom they worship. Sometimes the devil passes into the bodies of their
sacrificers, and, during the short time of the sacrifice, he makes
them say and do things that fill the bystanders with fear. They take
that order of sacrificers from among their friends or their relatives,
who wish to learn the mystery of it from them. Their blindness causes
them to esteem that rank greatly, for besides the reputation and
respect that that employment brings them, they also receive large
offerings. All who have been present at the sacrifice make them gifts,
one cotton, one gold, and one a fowl. The sacrifice takes place in
their houses. The victim is now a hog, now a fowl, now some fish or
rice; and the sacrifice is differently named according to the various
victims. It is performed by the sacrificer stabbing the victim amid
certain ceremonies, which he performs to a cadence marked by a drum
or a bell. That is the time in which the devil takes possession of
them. He causes them to make innumerable contortions and grimaces,
after the end of which they tell what they believe they have seen
or heard.
As for their persons, those people are well built, have handsome
features, and are light-complexioned. They are clad in a garment
that falls to the ankles, which is made of striped cotton of various
colors. When in mourning, they wear white; however, that mode of dress
is not so general. Those called Pintados, and those of the island of
Mindanao, wear short white, yellow, or red tunics, which hang to the
knees, bound in by a girdle one vara wide and two and one-half brazas
long; this is, as a general rule, white or red, and always falls
to the knees. They wear neither stockings nor shoes; and instead
of a hat they use a bit of cloth, which they wind twice or thrice
around the head. Their whole adornment consists in having very rich
and beautiful necklaces, earrings, and gold rings or bracelets. They
wear those bracelets above the ankle; some wear these of ivory, and
others of brass. They also have little round plates three fingers
in diameter, which they pass through a hole that they make in the
ear. In some of those islands, the men formerly marked all the body
with figures, whence comes the Spanish name "Pintados" ["pictured,"
i.e., tattooed]. That operation was performed in the flower of
their age, and at the period when they had most strength to suffer
that torture. They had themselves adorned in that way after they had
performed some illustrious deed. The masters of that art first trace on
their bodies the design of the picture, which they next follow up with
pricks from very sharp points, and throw on the blood which comes out
a powder which never fades away. The whole of the body is not pricked
at once, but bit by bit; and formerly, in order that one might have
the right of making it for each part, it was necessary to perform an
illustrious deed, and to show new prowess. Those pictures are pretty,
and well proportioned to the portions of the body on which they are
made; and, although they are of an ashen color, they are nevertheless
agreeable to the sight. The children are not tattooed at all. The
women do not bear the marks of that adornment except on one hand and
on some part of the other. In regard to their teeth, they imitate
the men in everything. They file them from their earliest childhood;
some making them even in this way, others filing them into points,
thus giving them the appearance of a saw. They cover the teeth with
a black, glossy polish, or one that is flame-colored; and thus their
teeth become black, or as red as vermilion. In the upper row, they
make a little covering which they fill with gold, which shows off to
advantage on the black or red background of that polish.
The women as well as the men are continually in the water, and they
also swim like fish. They need no bridge to get over rivers. They bathe
at all times of the day, as much for pleasure as for cleanliness. Women
who have but recently given birth cannot be prevented from bathing,
and bathe in the waters of the coldest springs. As soon as the child
has issued from its mother's womb, it is placed in the water; and
on taking it from the bath its head is rubbed with ajonjoli [i.e.,
sesame] oil mixed with civet. They do that also on other occasions,
and to show politeness, especially the women and little boys. They
bathe also during their sicknesses, and have for that purpose springs
of hot water, especially at the shore of Laguna de Bay, which is in
the island of Manila. [96]
There is no one language that is general for all the islands,
but each district has a special one. True, they have some relation
between one another, such as exists between the Lombard, Sicilian,
and Tuscan. There are six dialects in the island of Manila, and
two in the island of Oton; while there are some languages which
are spoken in several islands. The most general are the Tagál and
Bisayan. The latter is very rude, but the former is very polished,
and most remarkable. Thus a religious, who was well versed in those
islands, was in the habit of saying that the Tagál language had
the advantages of the four chief languages of the world: that it
was mysterious, like Hebrew; that it had the articles of the Greek,
both for appellatives and for proper names; that it had elegance and
abundance, like the Latin; and that it was not less suitable than
the Italian for compliments and business. [97] They have only three
vowels, but these serve as five. They have only a dozen consonants,
which they express differently by placing a little dot above or below,
as can be seen in the following figure.
Marginal note: "The consonants not marked with any point are
pronounced with 'a;' if they have a point above, they are
pronounced with 'e,' or 'i;' if the point is below, they
are pronounced with 'o' or 'u.'"
They have learned to write from us [98] by making their lines from
left to right, instead of their former way of writing from top to
bottom. Reeds or palm-leaves serve them as paper, and the point of
an iron style is used instead of a pen. They use their writing only
to letters from one to another, for they have no histories or books
of any learning. Our religious have printed books in the languages of
the islands, concerning the matters of our religion. In the Malucas,
they have a very pretty method of writing to their friends. They
collect flowers of various colors, and make a bouquet of them; and
he who receives the bouquet understands, on beholding the varieties
of flowers and their colors, as if they were so many different
characters, the thoughts of his friend. They have not sufficient
capacity to apply themselves to learning, and they content themselves
with being good carpenters, and with working gold and iron well. They
have been employed during these last few years in making silk and
cotton stockings; in writing and reading our characters; in singing
and dancing; and in playing the flute, the guitar, and the harp. The
strings used for those last instruments are made from twisted silk,
and produce as agreeable a sound as ours, although quite different in
quality. They formerly had an instrument called cutiape, which some
of them still use. It bears a close resemblance to a hurdy-gurdy,
and has four copper cords. They play it so cleverly, that they make
it express whatever they wish; and it is asserted as a truth that
they speak, and tell one another whatever they wish, by means of that
instrument, a special skill in those of that nation.
Most of those islanders have only one wife, but it is not true that
there are not some places in the country where they have several,
especially in the island of Mindanao. It may be said that the husbands
buy their wives there, since they generally make some present to
their parents according to their rank: that of dato, for instance,
which signifies "a man of rank;" of tinaua, which signifies "free;"
or oripuen, which signifies "a slave." The women in the islands
of the Pintados are called binocot, or "woman who is in the room;"
for bocot signifies "a room," and the women go outside but rarely,
and even are carried then on the shoulders of their slaves. I have
seen one woman of Dapitan, a settlement of the island of Mindanao, so
delicate and so fine, that she always had herself carried to church
on the shoulders of her slaves whom she best liked. It is a mark of
politeness among those women always to keep the right hand in front
of the mouth when they talk to a man. [99]
Those people live in houses thatched with straw, with the leaves of
trees, or with large reeds which, divided into two, serve them as a
tiling. There is but little furniture to be seen in their houses. But
rarely are chairs seen there, for they always sit on the ground, or
on carpets made from reeds. They have neither beds nor mattresses, as
their reed mats serve as both. They eat on the ground or on very small
low tables, but the tables are used only among the chiefs. Banana
leaves, which are one braza long and one-half braza wide, serve
them as napkins. Their employment consists of agriculture, the very
abundant fishing along their coasts and in their rivers, and hunting
wild boars and deer with dog and spear--an employment to which their
agility and their skill renders them very suitable. They also go to
gather honey and wax in the mountains or in the trees, where nature
has taught the bees to make both those substances.
The arms of some are spears, of others arrows; the campilan, which is a
large cutlass; the kris, or poniard; the zompites or blow-guns, through
which they blow little poisoned arrows; and bacacaies, or little reeds
hardened by fire at the end. To defend their grain from animals and
from men who could harm it, they scatter caltrops, which the old men
call tribulos, [100] made so that one of the four points of which they
are composed is always up, and those who pass there get caught without
perceiving the traps. But now the Spaniards have taught them how to
use firearms, and they get along very well--especially a nation called
the Pampangos, many of whom are enrolled in the Spanish troops. These
men serve with great fidelity, and well second the courage of which
the Spaniards set them an example in their combats by sea and land.
They are very fertile, and I have seen but few married people without
children. When these are born, they name them according to the
incidents that happen at the time of their birth. One will be called
Maglente, because of the thunder that sounded at the time of his birth;
for lente signifies a clap of thunder. Another will be named Gubaton,
because the foes appeared on the coast at that same time; for gubat
signifies enemy. They esteem nobility; and I have known a woman
called Vray--that is to say, "fine gold"--who had been given that
name because of the nobility of her lineage. In some of the islands
they were accustomed to put the head of a new-born child between two
boards, and thus pressed it so that it would not be round, but long;
and they also flattened the forehead, in their belief that it was a
mark of beauty to have it thus. [101] At the birth of a child to one
among them who is of the highest rank, they hold a festival of a week,
during which very joyful songs are sung by the women.
They lose courage when they are sick. They do not use either bleeding
or other remedies, except certain medicinal herbs, of which there is
abundance in these islands. They use the cupping-glass; but it is not
made of glass, for there is no glass in that country, but of small
shells or the small horns of deer. They drink the liquor of cocoanuts
after it has been kept some time in the evening damp; and that liquor
is so healthful that their continual use of it keeps them from gravel,
a disease of which the name is unknown among those peoples.
When anyone dies, the music of the mourning and lamentation begins
immediately. Some weep because they are truly touched by their loss;
others are hired by the day to weep. Women are usually chosen, as they
are most apt for that music. They wash the body of the deceased to that
sad cadence, and perfume it with storax, and other perfumes which are
used among them. After bewailing the body for three days, they bury
it. They do not place it in the earth, but in coffins of very hard
and incorruptible wood, which they kept in their houses. The boards of
the coffins are so well joined that the air cannot enter. They placed
a piece of gold in the mouths of some, and adorned their coffins with
precious gems. Moreover they were careful to carry all sorts of food
to their grave, and to leave it there as if it were to be used by the
deceased. Some they would not allow to go alone, and it was necessary
to give them some male and female slaves to keep them company. They
killed the latter after having given them a fine repast, so that they
might go with the deceased. With one of their chiefs of the country
they once encased a galley equipped with rowers, so that they could
serve him in the other world. The most usual place of burial was the
house of the deceased, in the lowest story, where they dug a hole to
place the coffin. Sometimes the burial was in the open field; and in
such case great fires were made below the house, and sentinels were
posted there, for fear lest the deceased should come to take away
those who were yet alive. The tears and lamentations were finished
with the burial; but the feasts and orgies lasted a greater or less
time, according to the station of the deceased. The Tagáls wore black
as a sign of mourning; the Bisayans wore white, and shaved the head
and eyebrows. When a person of rank happened to die, silence was
observed throughout the village, until that the interdict should have
been removed--which lasted a greater or less time, according to the
quality of the deceased. During that time not the least noise could
be made. But the mourning of those who had been killed in war or by
treachery lasted a longer time, and did not end until their children
and relations had killed many others--not only those who were known
as enemies, but even strangers or unknown men; for their fury having
thus been assuaged, they thought that they could put an end to their
mourning, and solemnize it by great festivities and prolonged feasting.
They are for the most part good sailors--I mean for the navigation
among the islands; for, as they do not use the compass, they do not
get along so well on the open sea. They use various kinds of craft,
which are propelled by sail and oar. The largest craft of the second
class are called caracoas. Although these are not very large, they do
not hesitate to put one hundred Indians in them; for there are three
banks of rowers on each side. They make use of those craft for trading
among those islands; and they lade them with dried fish, wine, salt,
wax, cotton, cocoanuts, and other like merchandise.
They are cowards naturally, and more apt to make an ambuscade than
to face their enemies. Upon that is chiefly founded their submission
to the Spaniards, for they do not serve them out of affection.
They readily received our religion. Their meager intelligence does
not permit them to sound the depths of its mysteries. They also have
little care in the fulfilment of their duties to the Christianity which
they have adopted; and it is necessary to constrain them by fear of
punishment, and to govern them like schoolchildren. Intoxication and
usury are the two vices to which they are most addicted. The piety
and care of our religious have not as yet been able to make them lose
those habits altogether.
The climate of Manila and most of the other Filipinas Islands is very
warm. The difference between the seasons is not perceived, for the heat
is equally great all the year. The rains commence at the end of the
month of May and last for three or four months without interruption;
but beyond that time it rains but rarely. In the months of October,
November, and December, the country is subject to hurricanes, which
the natives of the country call vaguios. They are furious winds which
make the entire round of the compass in twenty-four hours, commencing
at the north. They break the palm-trees, uproot the largest trees,
overthrow the houses, and sometimes carry persons into the air;
and some have been seen which have hurled vessels a musket-shot inland.
At the extremity of the island of Manila, near the Embocadero, where
the vessels en route from Nueva España enter, there is a volcano or
mountain whence often issue flames, and always smoke. [102] In those
islands there is neither grain, wine, nor olive-oil, nor one of the
fruits which we have in Europa, except the oranges, of which I shall
speak later. Rice grows there in great abundance, and serves instead
of bread. They have two kinds of it. One kind is sown in places always
under water, and the other on the mountains, where it is moistened
only by the water from the sky. Their drink also is made from rice,
by soaking it in water; or it is taken from palm-trees, or cocoanuts,
or from another variety of small palm called nipa. They keep those
liquors in large crocks, and draw from them only on holidays and
days of rejoicing. Those liquors mount to the head and intoxicate,
as much as does the wine of Europa.
The horses and cows in those islands have been carried thither from
Mexico and China, for there were none there formerly. The flesh of
swine is their most usual food, and there is a great abundance of it;
it is very healthful and savory. There are also innumerable fowl,
deer, wild boars, goats, and civet-cats; also plenty of beans,
cotton, strawberries, and even cinnamon--which is found only in
the island of Mindanao, and which does not begin to be as good as
that of Ceilan. They have no silver mines in those islands, and the
little silver seen there has been carried from Mexico, in return
for the merchandise exported there annually. There are gold mines
in the island of Manila, and on the river of Butuan in the island of
Mindanao. There is truly not sufficient to satisfy the desires of the
Spaniards; but the little that there is of it sufficed the Indians,
who value it only for the little use that they make of it, since it
does not enter at all into trade. There is a quantity of honey and
wax in their mountains; and since the Spanish have lived there they
have built many sugar mills; and sugar is so common there that one may
buy twenty-five libras of sixteen onzas apiece for one teston. They
have three varieties of fruit that are most common: bananas, santors,
and birinbines. [103] There are fifteen or sixteen kinds of bananas,
some of them are sweet, but that sweetness has an admixture of bitter
in others. Some of them smell good, but all of those varieties are
very agreeable to the taste. I know of no fruit in Europa to which
to compare them, unless it be the musas which grow in Sicilia. The
birinbines and santors are eaten preserved more often than in any
other way, because of their tartness; when prepared in preserves,
they taste like plums. If they are allowed to ripen on the tree,
they smell like quinces, although they have no other resemblance
to quinces at all. Those islands have many other trees which grow
wild. Their mountains furnish them with roots, from which they draw
their most usual nourishment; these are called pugaian and corot. [104]
They have other roots which they cultivate, such as the apari, the
ubi, the laquei, and others which they call camotes, which are the
potatoes [105] of España. The Spaniards use the last named, as also
do the Indians.
But the most useful tree of all is the palm--not that which bears
the date, for they do not have that species, but those which bear
cocoanuts, of the size of an orange. Those nuts are filled with a very
sweet liquor, which is very good to drink. They make wine, vinegar,
and honey of it; and when that fruit becomes dry as it ripens, that
liquor changes into white meat harder than an almond. It is from
that meat that oil is extracted and a milk resembling that extracted
from almonds. The cocoanut has two coverings. The first, which is
less hard, is used for tinder when dried; also for the rigging and
smaller cordage of the ships, or as tow for calking them. The other
covering is harder, and is used for drinking vessels, or as dishes
in which to prepare their food. The palm-leaves are the tiles with
which their houses are thatched. The trunks of the same trees are
used to support the houses, and in making the pillars. They have one
other tree which is no less useful to them, for it serves them as a
perpetual spring, and furnishes water to an entire village--which,
being located on a very high and dry site, has no other water than
what they get from that tree by making incisions in its trunk, and
in its largest branches; for a clear sweet water flows out of it. The
trees of those islands are always green, and there are only two species
that shed their leaves, one called batelan, [106] and the other dabdas.
The reeds [i.e., bamboos] of those islands have the following
peculiarity, namely, that they are as much as three palmos
in circumference and eight brazas in length. They are used as
the materials out of which to build a whole house. The pillars,
the lintels, the stairs, the floors, and the walls are made from
them. They are used as rafters for the roof, and split into several
parts, as tiles for covering the roof. They have no other saucepans in
which to cook their food than those reeds, and no other wood to burn;
for the trees serve them as material with which to build their little
boats--or rather, rafts--with which they carry for traffic their rice,
cocoanuts, and abacá, the hemp of that country.
Those islands have a great abundance of various kinds of oranges,
peculiar to those countries for their good taste. I have seen them so
large that they were four palmos in circumference. Some were red as
scarlet inside, and very sweet. There are some which contain another
little orange in the place of the seeds; and these are called on that
account "oranges which have children." [107]
I will place in the list of vegetables a sort of leaf which serves
them for nourishment, or rather for refreshment. It is used very
commonly among the Indians, both Christians and Mahometans, and even
among the Spaniards. A mixture is made of it which is called mamuen,
into which three things enter: one is this leaf, which is called buio,
which is smooth, and resembles in color and size a large ivy leaf,
but it is not so thick. It smells very good, and is aromatic. It is
planted under some dry tree, on which it climbs. The other fruit that
enters into that mixture is called bonga, and it is as large as an
olive. Lastly, they mix in a small quantity of quicklime. A little
cornucopia is made of the leaf, the bonga and lime are placed inside,
and it is all chewed together. That mixture colors the saliva as red
as blood, and the lips the most beautiful vermilion ever seen. It
preserves the teeth, strengthens the stomach, and produces a very
good breath. Eighty of those leaves can be bought at Manila for one
real. Nevertheless, so great a quantity is consumed that it has been
ascertained that it was sold in one year to the amount of ninety
thousand reals, of seven and one-half sols apiece.
There are many snakes in those islands, which are very dangerous;
some of them, when they have young, attack people. [108] The bite of
those called omodro is very dangerous, and those who are bitten by
it do not live one-half day. It is from that effect that it derives
its name, for odro signifies one-half day. There is another very
large snake called saua. I have killed one of that species which was
two and one-half brazas long. The skin of another, which measured
thirty-two [Spanish] feet in length, was brought to our residence
at Manila. The sauas hang to the branches of trees along the roads,
whence they dart down upon people, or deer, or on any other prey. They
wind themselves three or four times around the body, and after having
broken the creature's bones devour it. But God has provided a number
of herbs in those islands which are used as antidotes to all kinds of
poisons. Roots and herbs are found in the mountains, which are so many
specific remedies against snake-bites; the chief ones are manongal,
manambo, logab, boroctongon, maglingab, ordag, balucas, bonas, bahay,
igluhat, dalogdogan, mantala.
There are also animals in those islands of which I ought to give
a description. The civet-cat is found in the mountains. Its skin
resembles that of a tiger, and it is no less savage than the tiger,
although much smaller. It is captured and bound, and, after its civet
is obtained, which is contained in a little pouch under its tail,
it is set at liberty to be caught once more. The crocodiles, of which
their rivers are full, are so huge that when their jaws are open, a
man of the largest size could stand upright between the two jaws. The
crocodile is quite covered with scales; has scarcely any tongue; and
its teeth are set closely together, and are very sharp, and arranged
in several rows. The teeth of the middle lower row fit into holes
or breaks in the others which correspond to them in the upper jaw;
and consequently, when it seizes its prey, there is no force that
can make it let go. It lays a great number of eggs. In the water
it is furious, and attacks boats. It is not so greatly feared when
ashore--where it goes sometimes to seize some prey, or to sun itself.
The woman-fish [109] is so called because its face and breast are
quite like those of women, whom it also resembles in its manner of
copulation with the male. That fish is as large as a calf, and its
flesh, of which I have eaten, tastes like beef. It is caught with lines
as thick around as the finger, and when the line becomes fast within
[its mouth] it is killed by javelin-thrusts. Its bones and teeth have
great virtue against all sorts of dysentery, especially against bloody
discharges. Some have tried to assert that those fish were the sirens
of the sea, so celebrated among the poets; but they have nothing of
the beauty of face and of the voice that is attributed to sirens.
I will end [this account], finally by a description of the tabon, an
ashen-colored bird as large as a hen, which lays eggs three times as
large as those of hens, but which lays them in a peculiar manner. It
chooses desert islands and those full of sand, where it first makes
a hole one or one and one-half brazas deep; and after having laid its
eggs, it covers them over with sand. The chicks break the shell, and
gradually turn up the sand that covers them with their feet. If any
of those chicks is so unfortunate as to break the egg at the lower
end, it does not succeed so well, and dies for lack of strength to
overturn the sand. Sometimes one hundred and fifty of the eggs are
found in the same hole. I have eaten those eggs often when I have
had occasion to stop at those islands during my voyages.
There is cinnamon in the island of Mindanao; and pepper at Patani,
and at Champan, a country lying on the mainland of China.
The political government of those islands is the same as that of other
provinces subject to the crown of Castilla. The governor resides at
Manila, and is president of the Audiencia; while, as captain-general,
he has charge of all the posts of peace and war, as well as of the
encomiendas of one or two thousand Indians [each], who pay their
encomendero the tribute that the other Indians pay to the king. But the
encomendero who has been appointed by the captain-general is obliged
to get the confirmation of his grant from Madrid within three years.
The governor establishes the corregidors and alcaldes-mayor, or
governors of the provinces into which these islands are divided. He
appoints the captains and the admirals of the fleets which sail to
Acapulco and Terrenate annually. He takes cognizance of civil affairs,
on which the royal Audiencia pronounces the decisions or decrees. That
Audiencia is composed of a president (who is always the governor), four
oidores or auditors, and one procurator-fiscal. There are four cities
in the Filipinas--Manila, Zebu, [Nueva] Caçares, and Nueba Segovia;
and one town, called Arevalo. There is a garrison at Manila and at
Cabite, which is the port where the warships enter, six miles from
Manila. There are also garrisons at Zebu, Otong, Carouga, Lanbuangang
[sc. Zamboanga], Jolo, Nueva Segobia, the island of Hermosa, and
the Malucas. All those ports are fortified, and have their redoubts
mounted with artillery. Whatever is necessary for those garrisons is
sent from Manila. It would be a very difficult task to mention the
names of all the different peoples among the Indians, and in those
islands, who are subject to the king of España. There are fully three
hundred thousand families, who might count one million souls.
The archbishop of Manila has three suffragans, those of Zebu,
[Nueva] Caçares, and Nueva Segovia. They have no other income than
what the king gives them; that of the archbishop is three thousand
ducados, while each of his suffragans receives one thousand five
hundred. The city of Manila is small, but it is beautiful and well
fortified. Its houses are all built of stone, and are spacious,
and very airy. Its streets are long and straight, and one may walk
in the shade all hours of the day. The churches are beautiful. There
are five convents: that of the Augustinians (which is the oldest);
that of the Franciscans, that of the Dominicans, [110] and that
of the discalced Augustinians. There are two universities, one in
charge of the fathers of St. Dominic, and the other in that of the
Society. Those religious are also distributed among the islands,
where they have charge of the instruction of the Indians. The city is
enclosed by a fine wall and moat; and its redoubt and its ramparts
are well garrisoned with artillery. At the foot of its wall flows a
river, which is navigable; over this is a wooden bridge, with stone
pillars. There are two thousand Spaniards in Manila (counting soldiers
and inhabitants), and twice as many Indians. There are also twenty
thousand Sangleys or Chinese, who practice all the arts needed in
a community; and every year they pay nine escudos and six reals of
tribute. Galleons much larger than those which sail the Mediterranean
are built at Manila; for there is a great abundance of wood, pitch,
and abacá--which resembles European hemp, and of which good rigging
is made for the ships. The anchors are imported from Goa; and the iron
for the nails comes from China in little bars, and is very serviceable.
The Spaniards of the Manilas trade throughout the islands of that
archipelago, at Borney and Camboa, whence they carry wax, butter,
camanguien or storax, ivory, and bezoar. They formerly traded in Japon,
before the persecution of the Christians was begun. Thence were carried
iron, flour, all sorts of fruit, and little boxes, and cabinets,
varnished [i.e., lacquered] and very well made. Nangoza [sc. Nagasaki],
which was the port where that trading took place--and for which it was
very suitable, because it is not distant from Manila--is now closed
to us; for the emperor of Japon believes that people are entering his
country, under pretext of that trade, to preach the gospel, the thing
that he fears most of all. We trade also with the Portuguese of Macao,
who come to the Manilas every year with two or three ships, and bring
here silks, musk, precious stones, and eagle and calambac wood--which
is a sweet-scented wood that is very valuable. The inhabitants of the
Manilas also go to Macao sometimes, to carry their merchandise there;
but their chief trade is with the Chinese, who come annually, at the
end of the month of December and the beginning of January, with twenty
or thirty vessels, laden with products and valuable merchandise. They
sail usually from Ocho and Chincheo, ports of Anay, a province of China
which faces the Filipinas. They carry small oranges, nuts, chestnuts,
plums, raisins, and chicuei--a fruit resembling an apple, very round,
transparent, and, when it is ripe, having the color of yellow amber;
its peel is very loose, and its flesh very sweet and very pleasant
to the taste. [111] They also bring all sorts of cloth stuffs, and
some of these are as fine as those which come from France and the
Low Countries; and many black stuffs of which the Indians make their
clothes. They bring silk, plain and twisted, of all colors; damasks,
velvets, tabbies, and double taffetas; cloths of gold and silver,
galoons, and laces; coverlets, and cushions; and porcelain--although
not the finest variety, as the trade in that is prohibited. They bring
pearls and gold; iron, in little bars; thread, musk, and fine parasols;
paste gems, but very beautiful to look at; saltpetre, and flour;
white and various-colored paper; and many little fancy articles,
covered with varnish, and gold in relief, made in an inimitable
manner. Among all the silk stuffs brought by the Chinese, none is
more esteemed than the white--the snow is not whiter; and there is
no silk stuff in Europa that can approach it.
The Chinese return in the month of March, and carry to China silver
in return for their merchandise. They also take a wood called
sibueno [112]--that is, brazil-wood, which is used in making their
ink. Those Chinese merchants are so keen after gain that if one sort
of merchandise has succeeded well one year, they take a great deal
of it the following year. A Spaniard who had lost his nose through a
certain illness, sent for a Chinese to make him one of wood, in order
to hide the deformity. The workman made him so good a nose that the
Spaniard, in great delight, paid him munificently, giving him twenty
escudos. The Chinese, attracted by the ease with which he had made
that gain, laded a fine boatload of wooden noses the following year,
and returned to Manila. But he found himself very far from his hopes,
and quite left out in the cold; [113] for in order to have a sale
for that new merchandise, he found that he would have to cut off the
noses of all the Spaniards in the country.
Besides the Chinese merchandise that is brought into the islands,
there is wax, cinnamon, civet, and a sort of very strong cotton cloth
which is called campotes [misprint for lampotes]. All those goods are
exported to Mexico, where they are sold at great profit, and on the
spot. I do not believe there is a richer traffic in the world than
that. The duties that the king gets out of it are large, and, with
what he gets from the islands, amount to fully five hundred thousand
escudos. But he spends eight hundred thousand in the maintenance of
his governor, the counselors, the archbishop, the bishops, the canons,
those who possess the prebends, and the other ecclesiastics. The
greater part of that sum is employed in the equipment of the galleons
that are sent to Mexico and to the Malucas, and of those which are kept
in those seas to resist the Dutch. A considerable sum is spent on the
maintenance of alliance with the kings of those districts--especially
with the king of one of the Malucas, called Tidore. Consequently,
the king of España rather holds those islands for the conservation
there of the faith, as was stated by Felipe the Second in a certain
council-meeting, than for the profit that is derived from them to this
hour. The Dutch have been unable to get a footing on those islands,
although they have attacked them many times. They have a considerable
city [i.e., Batavia] on the island of Java Major, whence they send
what their garrisons at the island of Hermosa, Amboina, and Terrenate
need. They have made an alliance with the inhabitants of that island,
and they secure the greater part of the cloves of the Malucas. They
trade in Japon, in a port called Firando. The Chinese have refused
to have trade with them, because of a tradition current in China,
that blue-eyed men will some day conquer them.
The voyage from Manila to Mexico lasts four, five, six, or seven
months. Manila, which lies in thirteen and one-half degrees, is left
in the month of July, during the vendavals. The course is taken to
the north, until the ship reaches thirty-eight or forty degrees. The
pilots take that course because they are more certain of finding
winds; for otherwise they would run the risk of encountering calms,
which are more to be dreaded in long voyages than are the most furious
gales. From the time that the Filipinas are left until almost the coast
of Nueva España is reached, no land is seen, except a chain of islands
called the Ladrones, or La Sapana, [114] which lie three hundred
leguas from the Embocadero of the Filipinas. The people who inhabit
those islands are barbarians, who go quite naked. When our vessels
pass there, those people carry to them fish, rice, and fresh water,
which they exchange for neither gold nor silver, but only for iron,
which they value much more, because of the use to which they put it in
the manufacture of their tools, and for the building of their little
boats. The first land sighted after that is the island of Cedros,
quite near the Mexican coast. The open expanse between that island
and those of the Ladrones is subject to great storms, which are to
be feared especially near the Japanese Islands--which are passed,
however, without being sighted. During the whole course of so long
a voyage, scarcely a day passes without seeing a bird. There are
usually some birds that live in the sea, and many large whales and
porpoises are seen.
As the [American] coast is neared, at a distance of sixty, eighty,
or one hundred leguas signs are to be seen in the sea by which it is
recognized that the ship is within that distance. Those signs consist
of long reeds, brought down by the rivers of Nueva España, which being
massed together resemble a kind of raft; and on those reeds are to be
seen monkeys--another sign that they are approaching the coast. When
the pilot discovers those signs, he immediately changes his course,
and instead of continuing east he puts the nose of the ship south,
in order to avoid getting caught in the land, or in some gulf whence
he would have a hard time to get out; but, when he has sighted the
coast of Nueva España, he follows it to the port of Acapulco, which
lies in eighteen degrees.
Acapulco is a fine port, well sheltered from all the winds, and
defended by a celebrated redoubt. There the passengers and goods are
disembarked, and are afterward carried by mules to the City of Mexico,
which is eighty leguas distant thence. The way is desert and bestrewn
with mountains; and the pest of mosquitoes is suffered, as well as the
extreme heat. In order to go to España from Mexico one goes to the port
of Vera Cruz, a journey of eighty-five leguas; en route is passed the
city of Los Angeles, which has about six thousand inhabitants, and
whose bishop gets a salary of sixty thousand escudos. The reefs and
rocks at the mouth of the port of Vera Cruz defend the entrance better
than the fortress that commands it, although that fort is an excellent
one. At that port anchor the trading fleets that come from España,
laden with wine, olive-oil, cloths, wax, cinnamon, paper, and other
European merchandise. Those trading fleets formerly passed the winter
there, as they arrived [formerly] in the month of June, and remained
there until the same month of the following year. Now they reach that
port in the month of May, and leave about the month of August. They
take as a rule three months to go to España. For my part, I took
one hundred days in making that voyage. The port of Havana in Cuba,
which is the best port of the Western Indias--and which is very safe,
and defended by three redoubts--is touched at. There the two trading
fleets--that of Mexico and that of Tierrafirme--are united with the
galleons. Thence, after having coasted along the shores of Florida,
and of Nueva Francia, they make the cape of Fineterre [Finisterre]
or San Vincent, in order to lay their course toward Cadiz, which is
the end of their voyage. That will also be the end of this relation,
which I have written in order to be obedient to a person to whom I
earnestly desire that it may prove agreeable.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
The following documents are obtained from MSS. in the Academia Real
de la Historia, Madrid--in the collection "Papeles de los Jesuitas:"
1. Events in Filipinas, 1637-38.--In tomo 84, no. 35.
2. Fortunate successes, 1636-37.--In tomo 32, no. 17.
3. Events in Filipinas, 1638-39.--In tomo 4, no. 34, fol. 268.
The following documents are obtained from the Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla:
4. Letter from Corcuera.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas;
cartas y espedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo;
años 1629 á 1640; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 8."
5. Letter from treasurer.--The same as No. 4.
6. The university of Santo Tomás.--"Audiencia de Filipinas; registro
de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas á las autoridades y particulares
del distrito de la Audiencia; años 1605 á 1645; est. 105, caj. 2,
leg. 12." (In this same legajo may be found two of the decrees of
1638, those of November 8 and December 8; and that of October 3,
1639, has the same pressmark, save "leg. 2, lib. 4.")
The following documents are obtained from the "Cedulario Indico,"
in the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid:
7. Decrees, 1638.--The first four, in "tomo 39, fol. 235b, 225b, 262,
and 267," respectively; (the fifth and sixth, see No. 6, ante;) the
seventh, in "tomo xxxi, fol. 144b;" the eighth, in "tomo 7, fol. 352b."
8. Decrees, 1639.--In the same order as printed, these are found
as follows: In "tomo 39, fol. 276b; tomo xviii, fol. 55; tomo 39,
fol. 281; tomo 31, fol. 142b; tomo 39, fol. 285b and 285; tomo 2,
fol. 315b;" (for October 3, see No. 6, ante;) "tomo 39, fol. 290b
and 290."
The following documents are obtained from the Ventura del Arco
MSS. (Ayer library), vol. ii:
9. Events in the Filipinas, 1639-40.--Pp. 167-184.
10. Relation of the Chinese insurrection.--Pp. 185-250.
The following document is obtained from a rare printed pamphlet in
the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar, Madrid:
11. Glorious victories against Moros.--Part of this is synopsized in
translation. The pamphlet is designated in the Museo-Biblioteca by
the number "111, 21-2a."
The following document is obtained from a MS. volume in the possession
of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago; the volume is undated, but is supposed
to be written in 1835, and is entitled, Demostración historica de
cuantas depredaciones llevan cometidas las Moros, etc.:
12. Letters to Misericordia.--In fol. 6b, 7, and 8.
The following documents are taken from printed works:
13. Relation by Bañuelos y Carrillo.--From Thevenot's Relations de
divers voyages curieux (Paris, M.DC.XCVI), tomo i, part ii; from a
copy belonging to the Prescott Collection in the library of Harvard
University. (The original printed pamphlet by Bañuelos y Carrillo is
supposed to be no longer extant.)
14. Value of Corcuera's seizures.--From Pastells' edition of Colin's
Labor evangélica, iii, pp. 528-533.
15. Ecclesiastical and Augustinian affairs.--From Casimiro Diaz's
Conquistas, pp. 267-444.
16. Relation of the Filipinas Islands, by a religious.--The same as
No. 13.
NOTES
[1] Spanish, buenas collas de bendabales. In August the prevailing
winds at Manila are from the southwest, the vendavals. It often happens
that in the months of June and July there develop in northern Luzón
centers of minimum pressure so slowly that they appear to remain
stationary for many days, followed, as is natural, by continuous
currents and showers of rain from the third quadrant, known by
the native-born residents as "collas" (Report of U. S. Philippine
Commission, 1900, iv, pp. 229, 236; this chapter is furnished by the
Jesuit fathers in charge of the Manila Observatory).
[2] Juan Zubelzu, a native of Biscay, and a novice in the Dominican
convent at Mexico, came to the Philippine Islands in the mission of
1615. After his ordination, he ministered to the Indians in Bataán,
and in Cavite and Manila--where he died, December 14, 1657. He built
a stone church in Samal, for which, it is remarked, he did not harass
the Indians, although they were few in number. (Reseña biográfica,
i, p. 350.)
[3] "Son of the devil, scourge of God, and other similar things."
[4] Spanish, padres barbados; also known as Barbones, from their
practice of wearing long beards; they came in 1635, with Corcuera,
headed by Collado, and formed the congregation of San Pablo (for
mission work only), by "warrants fraudulently obtained." A royal decree
of February 21, 1637, commanded the Dominican provincial at Manila
to suppress the Barbones; it is the execution of this decree which
is described in our text. See Reseña biográfica, i. pp. 338, 391, 420.
[5] This statement about the Sangleys is printed by Barrantes
as a postscript to Lopez's letter of July 23, 1637 (q.v.,
VOL. XXVII). Internal evidence indicates Juan Lopez as the author of
the present document, and that it was written at Cavite, where Lopez
was in charge of the Jesuit house.
[6] Melchor de Vera was born in Madrid about 1585, and entered the
Jesuit order at the age of nineteen. Two years later, he departed
for the Philippine mission, and after his ordination labored in the
missions of Visayas and Mindanao. He was for a time minister of Manila
college, and afterward rector of Carigara, and superior at Dapitan and
Zamboanga. He was well versed in architecture and military defense,
and several forts were built (especially that at Zamboanga) under
his direction. He died at Cebú, April 13, 1646. See Murillo Velarde's
Hist. Philipinas, fol. 153 verso; and Combés's Hist. Mindanao.
[7] Fernando de Estrada, a native of Ecija, Spain, was a missionary
among the Bisayans and Tagáls, and at Ternate. He died at Manila in
1646, at the age of forty-five. See Murillo Velarde's Hist. Philipinas,
fol. 193 verso.
[8] Charles I sought at various times to play Spain against France,
but his Spanish policy was, on the whole, a failure.
[9] Morabites: the name of a Mahometan sect, founded by the son-in-law
of Mahomet. The name was also used among Mahometans to indicate a
wise man or a mystic.
[10] Antonio Francisco Cardim was born at Viana, Portugal, in 1596,
and entered the Jesuit order in February, 1611. Seven years later
he went to India, and labored in Japan, China, and other countries
until his death--which occurred at Macao, April 30, 1659. Sommervogel
describes several missionary reports and other writings by Cardim.
[11] That is, the small amount of their returns from Mexico prevented
the Manila merchants from making their usual large purchases from the
Chinese traders, and it was feared that the latter would not think
it worth while to bring their goods to Manila.
[12] This was Tsongching (VOL. XXII, p. 197, and note 44), the last
emperor of the Ming dynasty; he was favorable to the Jesuits, but can
hardly be called a convert to the Christian faith. By "Father Pablo"
is probably meant Paul Siu (or Sin, according to Crétineau-Joly),
a Chinese official of high standing, who was converted by Father
Ricci, and served as an evangelist among his people, besides aiding
the missionaries with gifts and his influence at court, and revising
their writings in Chinese. See Crétineau-Joly's Hist. Comp. de Jésus,
iii, p. 172; and Williams's Middle Kingdom, ii, pp. 302, 304.
[13] A marginal note reads: "Translated from the Spanish relation
printed at Mexico in the year 1638; dedicated to Don Garcia de Haro
y Abellaneda, count of Castilla, president of the royal Council of
the Indias."
[14] Marginal note: "The rules of this traffic, which will be found at
the end of the relations of the Filipinas, elucidate this point." This
evidently refers to the Spanish originals.
The "list of relations and voyages" at the beginning of Thevenot's work
contains this title: "Three relations of the Philippine Islands, with a
large map of China," etc. To correspond with this, the text contains:
the "Relation" of Bañuelos y Carrillo; the "Relation and memorial"
by Hernando de los Rios Coronel; and a "Memorial in behalf of the
commerce of the Philipine Islands," by Juan Grau y Monfalcon--all
with consecutive pagination; and apparently abridged or paraphrased
to suit the editor. These are followed by (Bobadilla's) "Relation
of the Philipine Islands," and an "Account of the great island of
Mindanao" (which contains a letter by Mastrilli)--also with their own
and consecutive pagination; these, however, are not mentioned in the
list above referred to. We translate from Thevenot the documents by
Bañuelos and Bobadilla; but for the others we have recourse to the
Spanish originals.
[15] Lope Diaz de Armendariz, marquis of Cadereita, the sixteenth
viceroy of Mexico, was appointed (1635) to succeed the marquis
of Cerralvo (who was removed at his own request, because of poor
health). His term of office was quiet, and only marked especially by
his quarrel with the archbishop, with whom the royal Audiencia seem
to have sided. He was removed in 1640, his successor being Diego
Lopez Pacheco Cabrera y Bobadilla, duke of Escalona and marquis de
Villena. See Bancroft's Hist. Mexico, iii, pp. 93-98.
[16] Marginal note: "Bartolome Tenorione."
[17] The following letter from the Sevilla archives ("Cartas y
espedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años
1629 á [1640]; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 8"), contains an interesting
reference to Bañuelos's relation, and also suggests the well-known
deficiencies in Thevenot's "translations." It is to be feared that
he has omitted much valuable matter from Bañuelos's account; but no
other source is available:
"I return the paper which your Lordship sent me, concerning the
military exploit in Mindanao, which was written and sent, as appears,
by Father Marcelo Mastrili. Although its contents must be true, and
it is well written, yet as your Lordship knows, the Council thought
it advisable not to have it printed until they could compare it with
the letters that the governor had written about the same exploit,
and with others written by various persons, which make it out to have
been of little value and importance. They even attempt to say that
we have lost rather than gained in that campaign--particularly in a
discourse or treatise printed in Mexico by Don Geronimo de Bañuelos
y Carrillo, and addressed to your Lordship. In it he declares that
those who were conquered were not Moros, but certain poor Indians;
I do not know whether [he says this] from zeal for the truth, or
because he has little affection for the governor. He wounds him quite
to the quick in this and in other things. I was making an abstract of
them in order to report to the Council, as I was ordered; but today,
on going out, Don Juan Grao Monfalcon told me that he is at present
printing another report, to oppose that of Bañuelos. I do not know who
has given permission for it, nor that, in the care of the relation of
Father Mastrili, there is anything that is not well understood. What
the Council discussed was (as I have said), only whether it is exact
and faithful to what happened; and of this I have not yet been able
to form a sufficient judgment or idea. I am getting new documents
hourly from the secretary's office, and I shall detain them until
the one that I am now enclosing is returned, if convenient. May God
preserve your Lordship, as we your servants desire. Today, Tuesday,
February eight, one thousand six hundred and thirty-nine.
Don Juan de Solorzano Pereira"
"The count, my master, has ordered me to send again to your Lordship
the enclosed relation of his success from the governor of Filipinas,
in order that there may be progress in the deliberations of the Council
on this question. May God preserve your Lordship, as I desire. Buen
Retiro, February 16, 639.
Antonio Carnero"
"I return these papers to your Grace, so that you may continue what you
were doing. May God preserve your Grace. My house, February 16, 1639."
[18] Referring to Sebastian Vizcaino (VOL. XIV, p. 183). The Englishman
here referred to is doubtless Will Adams (VOL. XXII, p. 169, note 39),
then high in favor with Iyéyasu. Regarding the expulsion of religious
at that time, see VOL. XVIII, p. 81.
[19] A marginal note reads as follows: "Ricca douro is an island which
was discovered by a vessel from Macao. They landed there in order to
repair their galley fireplace, and a week later they perceived that
that earth had been converted into plates of gold. I suffered a violent
tempest in the latitude of that island, as the maps show it; and there
are few vessels that sail in that latitude, without having trouble."
See also notes in VOL. XIV of this series, p. 183; and VOL. XVI,
p. 204.
[20] In the margin is the following note: "Tono in the Japanese
language signifies a person who holds the rank that a duke of Cardone
or a marquis of Carpio would have in España." This means a daimio,
or feudal lord (see VOL. XVIII, p. 216).
[21] Following is a translation of the title-page of the book from
which this account is taken: "Relation of the glorious victories on
land and sea won by the arms of our invincible king and monarch, Felipe
IIII, the Great, in the Filipinas Islands against the Mahometan Moros
of the island of Mindanao and their king Cachil Corralat, under the
leadership of Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order
of Alcantara and one of his Majesty's Council of War, and governor
and captain-general of those islands: drawn from various relations
sent from Manila during this year (1638). 1638. With license. Mexico;
at the press of Pedro de Quiñones, opposite the Professed House."
[22] Tulio (misprinted Fulio), for Tullius (Cicero). Apparently there
is some error in the reference given in the text, for this citation
from Cicero is not found in the place indicated by it, in the standard
editions of his Epistolæ.
[23] Attached to the editions of Quintilian's works are 164
Declamations, which remain out of a collection consisting originally
of 388 of these compositions. It is supposed, however, that these
were written by various persons, at different periods of time.
[24] "It is believed that the number of islands exceeds 1,400, although
thus far no one has stated their number with exactness." (Archipiélago
filipino, p. 6.) The latest information (Census of the Philippine
Islands, Washington, 1905, i, p. 185), gives the total number of
islands, however, as not less than 3,141, although the exact number
is still unknown.
[25] This is the literal translation; but it will be remembered,
from previous accounts, that the figure of Christ here referred to
was painted on a sheet of linen or cloth; it was this sheet which
was used by the Moro as a garment.
[26] Camaras were tubes or cylinders which received the charge and
were introduced into the breech of the cannon, sometimes fitted by
pressure, at other times by screwing (see Diego Ufano's Treatise on
military; Brussels, 1617). Some of the ancient pieces of ordnance
had these spare chambers, so that, after a charge had been fired, the
chamber could be changed and operations carried on more rapidly. Thus
they served as do the cartridges of modern breech-loading guns. Some
camaras were used independently of the cannon, for firing salutes. See
Stanley's Vasco da Gama (Hakluyt Society publications, London, 1869)
pp. 226, 227, note.
[27] Tawi Tawi is the largest island of a group having the same name,
in the extreme southwest of the Philippine Archipelago, nearly 700
miles distant from Manila. It contains over 100 islands, mostly
very small; but five of these contain ten or more square miles of
area. The island Tawi Tawi contains 187 square miles; its surface
is one of fertile plains interspersed with forests, and broken by
five peaks ranging from 736 to 1,941 feet in height. The islands
are thinly populated (estimated at 1,815 fighting men) by Malayan
tribes supposed to have migrated thither from Borneo--the Suluanos,
Camucones, and Tirones. Navigation among the islands is difficult
and dangerous, except for the small, light native craft; and they
have been the hiding-places of pirates from the earliest times.
[28] Referring to Captain Gines Ros y Aviles, who had been left by
Corcuera as governor of Jolo. Combés gives a detailed account of
all this affair (Hist. Mindanao, Retana's ed., col. 369-395). Ros
applied himself, after Corcuera's departure, to the profits of trade,
and was deceived by the Moros, who pretended submission but planned
to surprise and kill all the Spaniards. The officer next in command,
Gaspar de Morales, with the two Jesuits, finding their warnings
unheeded, sent word to the governor's lieutenant at Zamboanga, Pedro
de Almonte--who immediately went to Jolo, again subdued that island,
and placed Morales in Ros's post as governor. Cf. La Concepción's
account, Hist. Philipinas, v, pp. 348-359, 412-427.
[29] A village in Laguna, Luzón, on the southwest shore of Laguna
de Bay.
[30] The two Jesuits who remained in Jolo as missionaries, Fathers
Alejandro Lopez and Francisco Martinez.
[31] "Of these [Sangleys] several champan-crews armed themselves to
infest the seas; and, occupying the narrow passages of Marivelez,
they captured various vessels which came from Bisayas and other
provinces to trade.... Armed ships were despatched against them from
Manila, and, despite their resistance, several of their champans were
seized; and the pirates were punished with death, as their insolence
deserved--several of them being baptized, by dint of exhortations,
just before their torture." (La Concepción, Hist. Philipinas, v,
pp. 429-431). One of these "rigorous modes of punishment" is mentioned
post, on p. 226--that of tearing away the flesh with pincers.
[32] Probably referring to the revolt of the Caragas, 1629-31, and
their murder of several Recollect missionaries at Tandag.
[33] Combés describes very fully this and another Spanish expedition
into the region of Lake Lanao in 1639; and "a third and last one,"
which was unsuccessful, and compelled the Spaniards to retreat,
in 1640. See his Hist. Mindanao (Retana's ed.), col. 145-177.
[34] Referring to the injury sustained by this chief in the explosion
of a mine at the siege of Jolo; it is described by Lopez in his
chronicle for 1637-38 ante, pp. 44, 45.
[35] See Combés's description of Lake Lanao (Hist. Mindanao, Retana's
ed., col. 145-147); lanao means simply "lake," and malanao, "people
of the lake." Cf. A. H. S. Landor's description--in Gems of the East
(New York and London, 1904), pp. 303-308--of the lake legion and
its people. In 1902 the American military authorities constructed
excellent highways from the seacoast to Lake Lanao, from Malabang on
the south to Iligan on the north. A description of this work, with
valuable observations on the character and habits of the Malanao Moros,
appears in the Atlantic Monthly for December, 1903, from the pen of
Major R. L. Bullard, U. S. A., who directed the building of one of
these roads. The Malanaos were never conquered by the Spaniards or
any other people. The present district of Lanao contains part of the
Rangaya range of mountains, 5,000 to 8,500 feet in height; and its
eastern part is traversed by the Pulangui River (Rio Grande). The
lake is twenty-two miles long and sixteen miles wide, and its outlet
is Iligan River.
[36] Apparently referring to the boat which carried passengers from
Manila to the port of Cavite.
[37] Also Zarpana, the modern Rota. Uan apparently means the present
Guam. The place where the ship was wrecked was, according to Diaz
(Conquistas, p. 402), the island of Seypán.
[38] Diaz states (Conquistas, p. 402) that this galleon ("Nuestra
Señora de la Concepción") was "the largest one built up to that time,"
and that it contained the greatest wealth of the islands. The few
men who escaped to land were afterward rescued by Spanish ships, and
taken back to Manila--save one, a Chinese blacksmith, who spent the
rest of his life there and acquired great influence over the natives.
[39] La Concepción states (Hist. Philipinas, v, p. 351) that
when Corcuera returned to Manila in triumph, the Confraternity of
La Misericordia gave him 100,000 pesos from its treasury, for the
expenses of the Jolo campaign.
"For Governor Corcuera to secure, even in part, the successful result
that he desired in this conquest, he was obliged to resort, for the
necessary succor, to the treasury of Santa Misericordia; for in this
emergency he found closed on all sides the gates of resource for the
accomplishment of his so laudable designs. He found this aid, as prompt
as liberal, in the sum of 104,609 pesos, two tomins, and one grano,
which the brethren carried to him at the royal offices, as a loan,
to aid his needs and enable him to push forward this conquest, which
depended on such aid." This statement is taken from the Demostración
historica (MS. in Ayer library; see following note), fol. 7 verso.
[40] These two letters are obtained from a MS. volume in the library
of Edward E. Ayer, of Chicago, entitled: Demostración historica
de cuantas depredaciones llevan cometidas las Moros desde que se
incorporaron estas Yslas á la Monarquia Española; inedidas de toda
especie tomadas por el Gobierno para contenerlos; y indicasiones que
se presentan para hacerles la guerra con mejor fruto que hasta aquí,
á fin de que las Visayas se vean libres de las continuas opresiones
qe. sufren--"Historical exposition of the many depredations which
the Moros have committed, from the time when these islands were
incorporated with the Spanish monarchy; the measures, of all kinds,
taken by the government for curbing them; and indications that
suggest how war may be waged upon them with better results than have
hitherto been secured, to the end that the Visayas may be freed from
the continual cruelties that they suffer." This work (evidently
intended for publication) is undated; but the conjectural date
"1835?" appears on the fly-leaf, which is headed "1a. Parte." As
appears by the introduction to the book, it was written by one of
the members of the Sociedad Económica of the Philippines--founded
by Basco y Vargas in 1780, and reëstablished by Folguera in 1819;
and his "only motive in writing it was to meet his obligations to
that society." The MS. is contained in a plainly-bound volume of 291
folios (582 pages), and displays fine, round, legible, and beautiful
handwriting, from several different hands. Folios 1-11 cover the
period antecedent to 1750; the rest of the book, that from 1750 to
1806--more than two-thirds of this part being dated after 1788. The
writer evidently had access to valuable original documents, some
of which, as these letters to La Misericordia, he cites directly;
and his narrative is well and carefully written.
[41] This was Fray Francisco de Zamudio, who had come to Manila in
1636, and acted as provisor-general during the temporary exile of
Archbishop Guerrero.
[42] The great visitor-general of New Spain and the bishop of
Puebla. He had a "special commission to take the residencias of
Cerralvo and Cadereita, and to investigate the commercial relations
with Peru and the Philippine Islands." He was of noble family, although
illegitimate, but was legitimized by his father. He was a man of great
abilities, which won him speedy recognition and high offices until he
decided to enter the priesthood (1629); and, after serving in various
capacities in Spain, he went to Mexico in 1640. He was energetic
and impartial in the exercise of his duties, and before long this
embroiled him with the indolent and easily-influenced viceroy. Finally
he was offered the archbishopric, and at the same time ordered to
assume charge of the government. He refused the archbishopric, but
accepted the latter, and in 1642 assumed that office--which he held
for five months, during which he ruled well and impartially. After
retiring to his bishopric he had various troubles with the Jesuits,
the new viceroy, the archbishop, and others, until he was ordered to
retire to Spain in 1648, where he died bishop of Osma in 1659, much
regretted by the people of his bishopric. See Bancroft's Hist. Mexico,
iii, pp. 98-136.
[43] Meaning that the failure to receive the usual supplies of money
from Mexico had rendered the Manila merchants unable to buy the
goods brought by the Chinese traders--the latter being thus unable
to maintain their shops in Manila, and obliged to return to their
own country.
[44] Apparently some words have been omitted in Ventura del Arco's
transcription; probably it should read, "upon us for our past sins"--or
possibly, "for the past two years."
[45] Spanish, regalos; referring to the articles (mainly those of
luxury) imported from Mexico by citizens of the islands.
[46] Shells or hollow balls, sometimes of clay, sometimes of heavy
canvas, which were filled with combustible substances; when kindled,
they were shot or hurled against the enemy, either to cause injury
by their explosion, or to set his works on fire.
[47] "A mountain called Socol, distant from Calamba a short league"
(Diaz, Conquistas, p. 406).
[48] This was an estate belonging to the Jesuits (Diaz, Conquistas,
p. 408).
[49] Pastells' transcript of this document (Colin's Labor evangélica,
iii, p. 129) contains a few lines of additional matter, as follows:
"Of the whole affair a full relation will, I think, be printed; so I
leave it here, entreating our Lord to look with pity on these islands,
which are so full of misery and poverty."
[50] In passing through Mexico Señor Corcuera found so much cloth
from this [Chinese] commerce stored in the warehouses that, in
consideration for the interests of the merchants, he thought it best
not to send a ship [to Acapulco] that year; as a result, in this year
of 1638 the Chinese found less silver [in the Philippines] than their
business required. It also contributed [to their discontent] that,
since the royal treasury was unable to meet the great expenses of so
many armed fleets and wars, the contributions [levied] on the Chinese
were greater and more exacting--not only in actual money, but in other
necessary supplies." (La Concepción, Hist. Philipinas, v, p. 429).
[51] Diaz states (Conquistas, p. 403) that besides the Chinese of
the Parián, who were chiefly traders, there were at the time of this
revolt more than 20,000 others scattered through the islands, who were
occupied in tilling the soil, and that of these more than 6,000 were at
work on the rich lands of Calamba. La Concepción says (ut supra) that
there were 33,000 Chinese living in the islands--too large a number
for safety, after the warning furnished by the insurrection of 1604.
[52] This was Luis Arias de Mora, an advocate belonging to the Manila
Audiencia; according to Diaz (p. 404) he was even more avaricious
and extortionate than his predecessors in the alcaldía of La Lacuna,
and so oppressed those Chinese that in desperation they decided,
to kill him--which they did with much and barbarous cruelty.
[53] Diaz says (p. 404) that the Jesuit Villamayor, who accompanied
the Spaniards, tried to persuade Aduna not to pursue the Chinese;
but the captain refused to listen to him, and went on to his death.
[54] The names in brackets are obtained from Diaz (p. 406); and some
names occurring later in this document are similarly filled out,
from the same source.
[55] Diaz states (p. 406) that the Augustinian friars of Comintan
(the ancient name of Batangas province) after this battle assembled a
large troop of Indians, and with them scoured the surrounding country,
killing the scattered Sangley fugitives.
[56] A visita of the Augustinian mission station at Pásig.
[57] According to Diaz's account (p. 408), the Sangleys of Santa Cruz
attempted to seize Corcuera's person; but he escaped their hands,
ordered the village to be set afire, and then attacked the Chinese,
who numbered some 6,000 men. To check their advance, a detachment of
Spaniards was sent to a certain spot with a troop of Moros, "aimed with
campilans, who had come with the ambassador from Sanguyl." Olaso was
soon recalled to Manila, leaving Santa Cruz defenseless--an imprudent
step, which resulted in loss, "since that post was most necessary
and convenient for guarding the river and the Parián."
[58] Diaz (p. 409) makes this twenty-three, besides a Japanese priest
who accompanied and encouraged his countrymen.
[59] Diaz (p. 408) says that the friars at Tondo gathered the natives
within the convent, "which, as it was very strong and spacious,
was capable of being a sufficient fortification for 6,000 Indians."
[60] "In Binondoc father Fray Francisco de Herrera was fortified, with
the Sangley mestizos, and kept within the walls more than 160 Christian
Sangleys; the governor commanded that these should be taken from that
place, because they were continually making signs and writing notes
[to their countrymen?], and they were conveyed to Manila, to the
public prison, in order to make sure of them." (Diaz, p. 413.)
[61] Diaz states (p. 412) that the governor issued this command,
which was executed by one of the auditors of the Audiencia and the
two alcaldes of the city; "they killed a great many Chinese, although
there were many whom the religious and the citizens concealed."
[62] "By the fire were destroyed more than 3,000 pesos of rents
from the municipal property of the city, and more than 80,000 pesos
of those belonging to private persons, for the houses in which the
Sangleys lived; the riches lost in the property of the Sangleys were
immense, because the looting of these could not be enjoyed on account
of the fire, and because the [military] authorities would not allow
the Spaniards to be diverted from their attention to the defense of
the city." (Diaz, p. 412).
[63] Diaz says that the church was burned; but this probably refers
to its woodwork only.
[64] "On December 5 orders were despatched to the provinces to put to
death all the Sangleys in them--although the opinions of the jurists
[regarding this step] differed." (Diaz, p. 412).
[65] "They burned the magazines, where there were large quantities
of the supplies necessary for the equipment of the galleons" (Diaz,
p. 413).
[66] See p. 156 and note 31, ante.
[67] Diaz's figures are somewhat different, and more extensive
(p. 413). "In Cavite as many as 1,100 were slain, and more than 600
were seized. In Pampanga, where Santiago Gastelu was alcalde-mayor,
few escaped; for the said alcalde exercised such care and so vigilant
guard that as soon as the order arrived he caused it to be executed
in all places at the same time, so unexpectedly that he gave them
no opportunity to take the defensive; accordingly he beheaded them
all, 1,800 in number, including infidels and those baptised. In the
province of Bulacan, where there were more Sangleys, the slain did
not exceed 500; for as they were farm laborers, and were scattered,
they went away, deserting their houses, and joined the rebels, without
Captain Juan Diaz, the alcalde-mayor of that province, being able to
hinder them.... In the province of Tondo, as many as 300 were beheaded,
because, as the insurrection was going on therein, only those were put
to death who could not easily join the rebels. In the province of Bay
were beheaded 200, of those who had been sheltered in the convents, and
of those who were seized as accomplices of the uprising in Calamba. In
the province of Taal they slew others.... In Pangasinan they beheaded
500 Sangleys, through the energy of the alcalde-mayor, Captain Don
Fernando Suarez Deza; and in that of Ilocos, which was governed by
Sargento-mayor Pedro de Tursis, as many as 100 were slain. The same
was done in the other provinces, by which the forces of the enemy
were diminished, and the revolution checked."
[68] "The leaders in these sacrilegious acts were the Christian
Sangleys, who showed that they were renegades from the faith which
they had pretended to profess." (Diaz, p. 412).
[69] The bracketed words are conjectural, to replace some that are
illegible or worn in the original MS.
[70] "On December 7 Captain Santiago Gastelu arrived from Pampanga
with a large reënforcement of men, and in his company was father Fray
Juan de Sosa, a religious of our father St. Augustine, and minister of
the village of Porac, who came with 800 Zambal archers whose leader
he was in all the fights that occurred, ... urging on the Pampangos,
who were a terror to the enemy; a thousand of them were arquebusiers,
and the [above] 800 were archers." (Diaz, p. 415.)
[71] Some of these are described by Diaz, whose account throughout
is more full and detailed.
[72] "On the way, our people heard how the Aetas from the hills had
gone out to lie in ambush against the Sangleys, and had done them much
damage; for in one place seven Aetas, naked and armed with some bamboo
darts, had rushed in among more than 6,000 Sangleys--of whom they slew
seventy, the Aeta band losing only one of their seven men." (Diaz,
p. 418).
[73] Diaz (p. 418) gives the main credit for this achievement to the
Augustinian friar Juan de Sosa, who offered to dislodge the Chinese
from their camp with his Indian archers--the Spanish troops seconding
the attack of the Indians.
[74] "Cogon (Saccharum koenigii): a rapidly growing plant reaching
three meters (about 10 ft.) in height, and forming a tangled mass
only penetrable by fire or knife. The areas are burned over during
the dry season, the young shoots being cut for cattle fodder
when 18 inches high. Where nipa does not grow cogon is used for
thatching." (U. S. Gazetteer of Philippines, p. 71.) E. D. Merrill's
Dictionary of Plant Names (Manila, 1903), p. 52, gives the botanical
name as Imperata arundinacea.
[75] This was Onofre Esbry (Esvri--incorrectly made Esbín by Diaz's
editor); he was a native of Tortosa, and entered the Jesuit order
at the age of fifteen. At the time of this insurrection, Esbry was
but twenty eight years old. In 1647, while sailing to Macao, he was
slain by Chinese pirates, near Sanchon Island. See Murillo Velarde's
Hist. Philipinas, fol. 108 verso, and 154 verso.
[76] The statement in this sentence is not very clearly expressed;
but the apparent meaning is that the Chinese commander was not
officially entitled to the designation of "mandarin," which had
been conferred upon him by the insurgents without due right to
make such appointment. S. Wells Williams says (Middle Kingdom, i,
p. 326): "The word mandarin, derived from the Portuguese mandar,
to command, and indiscriminately applied by foreigners to every
grade from a premier to a tide-waiter; it is not needed in English
as a general term for officers, and ought to be disused, moreover,
from its tendency to convey the impression that they are in some
way unlike their compeers elsewhere." See his account of the Chinese
government, general, provincial, and local, and the classes of the
Chinese people (pp. 322-352); also Winterbotham's description of the
"mandarins of arms," or military officers, in his Chinese Empire, ii,
pp. 8-10. Cf. note on civil mandarins, in VOL. XIX of this series,
p. 44.
[77] "For more than six months, it was impossible to drink the water
in the rivers, they were so corrupted by the dead bodies; nor did
the people eat fish in a circuit of many leguas, since all these were
fattened on human flesh." (Diaz, p. 427).
[78] "Every day those people knew what their losses were, through the
regular plan that they followed. This was as follows: every ten men
formed a mess; of these, two went out to procure food, six to fight,
and two to guard and attend to their lodging. Every ten troops of these
were under a captain; and a field officer commanded ten captains,
with a thousand men each. Each soldier had a chapa (a bronze coin
that is current among them), and at night each one handed this to
his captain; then all these were counted, and the soldiers knew, by
the number of coins that were lacking, how many men they lost each
day." (Diaz, p. 423.)
[79] In the MS. here and elsewhere, "S. Paloc"--evidently supposed
by the transcriber to be the name of some saint.
[80] In Diaz, "Tabuco, a visita of Quingua."
[81] Diaz relates (p. 414) the plots concocted by the Sangleys for
this insurrection, which was set for Christmas; they were to carry
gifts of fowls on that day, as was their custom, to the Spaniards of
their acquaintance; and were to perform a comedy near one of the gates,
to divert the attention of the citizens from any suspicion of their
designs. Then at an appointed hour they were to kill all the Spaniards,
and take possession of the city. This was frustrated by the premature
rising at Calamba; sixty of those concerned therein were slain by their
own countrymen, because they had not waited till the appointed day.
[82] In the MS., guerra; probably a transcriber's conjecture for a
word poorly written, since the context requires fuerza--referring to
the fort of Santiago at the mouth of Pásig River.
[83] According to Diaz (p. 414), two negroes (slaves), who under
torture confessed that they had aided the insurgents, were hanged.
[84] The name of the smallest coin current in former times, the word
meaning literally "one-fourth." Apparently, the bishop imposed a
slight tax on all who attended mass, for the benefit of the poor
prebendaries. It will be noticed that the word coro has several
different meanings. In this sentence, it means the body of clergy
in the church who chant the sacred offices; above, referring to the
bishop's seat, it meant the place which the clergy occupied during
the church services.
[85] The title-page of the Bocabulario states that additions were made
to it by Claver before sending the work to the press. This friar came
to the Philippines in 1624, and was assigned to the Visayan missions,
where he labored until 1639, when he was sent as procurator to Madrid
and Rome; he died at Madrid, in 1646. Claver wrote several books,
the most important being a history of the Augustinian province of
Philipinas, which has been lost. See Pérez's Catálogo, p. 105, and
T. H. Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca Filipina, pp. 262, 263.
[86] For bibliographical account of Mentrida's works, see Pardo de
Tavera's Biblioteca Filipina (Washington, 1903), pp. 262, 263. They
are as follows: Bocabulario de la lengva Bisaia Hiligvoyna y Haraia
(Manila, 1637), and another edition (Manila, 1841); Arte de la lengua
Bisaya Hiliguayna (Manila, 1818), possibly this was a second edition;
and Ritual para administrar los Santos Sacramentos (Manila, 1630),
reprinted in 1669. Pardo de Tavera says: "He died in 1637, leaving
various works which have since been lost, not having been printed;
Father Agustín María says that he had an opportunity to see these in
Panay, about 1770 to 1780."
[87] Colin says (Labor evangélica, Pastells' ed., i, p. 31): "For
greater convenience in governing it, this island of Panay is divided
into two jurisdictions: the territory belonging to that of Panay is
all of the northern coast, from the point of Potol to Bulacabi; the
rest of the island belongs to the jurisdiction of Otón, the principal
[Spanish] post in which, at this time, is at Iloílo--a point which
projects into the sea on the southern coast, between the two rivers of
Tigbauan and Jaro; and makes, with the island of Imaras, a strait half
a legua wide and an open harbor." This would make the jurisdiction of
Fanay correspond to the present province of Cápiz; and that of Otón
to the provinces of Antique and Iloílo. The boundaries between these
present divisions are the rugged mountain chains which fill a great
part of the interior of the island, their peaks ranging in height
from 3,500 to 7,200 feet; they render traffic between the provinces
almost impossible, except as it is carried on by way of the sea. The
island of Guimarás is 26 1/2 miles long by 12 miles wide, and has
important fishing and agricultural industries.
[88] One of the most notable names in Philippine missionary annals
is that of Agustín de San Pedro (his family name Rodriguez), born in
Portugal in 1599. He was a student in the university of Salamanca,
but, desiring to enter the religious life, he assumed the habit of
a Recollect Augustinian at Valladolid, and made his profession at
the age of twenty. Three years later, he set out for the Philippine
mission, and soon after reaching Manila was sent to Mindanao. There
he labored with the Indians in the districts of Butuan, Habongan,
Linao, Cagayan, Tandag, and Romblon; and accompanied the expedition
of Atienza Ibáñez (1639) to Lake Malanao. Retana and Pastells
(in their edition of Combés's Hist. Mindanao, col. 725) state that
this missionary converted some 10,000 natives to Catholicism. More
than that, he aided in the defense of his converts, several times
fighting at their head against their heathen and piratical enemies;
and, having been as a student proficient in mathematics and military
science, he constructed forts in the Christian villages which
enabled them to repel their invaders, and taught the natives the
art of fortification. Fray Agustín died in Romblon, in 1653. See
accounts of his life and exploits in Prov. S. Nicolas de Tolentino,
pp. 290-292; and La Concepción's Hist. Philipinas, v, pp. 362-391
(which will appear in a later volume of this series).
[89] This expedition, departing from Tandag (on the north-eastern coast
of Surigao, the easternmost province of Mindanao), sailed northwest
to the point near the town of Surigao, then, passing through the
strait of that name, southwest into Iligan Bay on the north shore
of the island. Ascending the Iligan River (which is the outlet of
Lake Lanao), they reached the lake, after a journey of sixteen and
one-half miles. Now, as then, the valley of the river and the vicinity
of the lake are thickly settled, and the Moro inhabitants carry on
extensive industries in agriculture and commerce. On the Jesuit Atlas
de Filipinas (Washington, 1900), map no. 27, appears a village named
P. Capitan--evidently in memory of the soldier-missionary Fray Agustín;
but no such name is given in the U. S. Gazetteer of the islands.
[90] Marginal note: "This relation has been translated from a Spanish
manuscript existing in the library of Don Carlo del Pezzo."
This relation is unsigned, and undated, but Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J.,
said during the course of a conversation with one of the Editors,
in 1903, that the author was undoubtedly Father Diego de Bobadilla;
and in his edition of Colin's Labor evangélica (Barcelona, 1904),
he says (iii, p. 798, note): "This father [i.e., Father Bobadilla]
was the author in 1640 of the famous relation which was translated
by Melquisedec Thévenot."
[91] See our VOLS. I and II for the history of these early
expeditions. It will be noticed that the author of the present relation
is inaccurate in regard to the date of the voyage of Villalobos,
and that he omits mention of some of the early voyages.
[92] That is "Birth follows the womb."
[93] See VOL. XXII, p. 300, note 61.
[94] For this expedition to Mindanao by Hurtado de Corcuera, see
previous documents. This reference proves the present relation to
have been written in 1640, as the expedition above mentioned occurred
in 1637.
[95] Visayan name (also colocolo, elsewhere) of the fishing gannet
(Sula piscatrix). Delgado says (Historia, p. 820) that he had a tame
one in his house, which would bring home fish that it had caught,
and carry them to the kitchen.
[96] French, Estang du Roy ("the King's Pool"); evidently referring
to the hot springs near Laguna de Bay (see VOL. XIV, p. 211), and
the word Roy is probably a misprint for Bay.
[97] It is Chirino who is here (although inexactly) cited; see
VOL. XII, p. 236.
[98] See Chirino's account, in VOL. XII, p. 241; he says that the
art of writing was imparted to the Visayans by the Tagals.
[99] Marginal note: "Prudish" (melindrosa).
[100] That is, "star-thistles"--the common name of a genus (Tribulus)
of plants, which bears prickly fruits, very injurious to the feet of
animals or men. The military instrument called "caltrop" resembles
that fruit, from which it may have been evolved; and the appellation
tribolo is one of the etymological elements in "caltrop."
[101] See the Cleveland reissue of the Jesuit Relations, lxv, p. 131,
for a description of head-compression by the North American Indians.
[102] Mt. Bulusan, near the center of the province of Sorsogón, Luzón;
at present "almost extinct, but at times emits an abundance of watery
vapor and sulphurous fumes" (Report of U. S. Philippine Commission,
1900, iii, p. 149).
[103] Also called balimbín; the fruit of Averrhoa carambola; used for
food and sweetmeats, and also has medicinal qualities. See Blanco's
description, Flora, p. 274; and Delgado's Historia, pp. 505, 506. For
note on santor, see VOL. XVI, p. 87; on banana (Musa), VOL. V, p. 169.
[104] The corot (Dioscorea triphylla) is very common, with leaves
one palmo long, and very small flowers. Its sap is yellow and very
poisonous, and has cleansing power which is utilized to whiten
abacá. The root is very large and is eaten cooked by the Indians,
after having soaked it in the water for three or four days.
The ubi is the Dioscorea alata, and the plant grows rather high and is
widely disseminated. The root is violet in color, and often attains a
great size; it is eaten cooked. The best variety is that known as the
Cebú ubi or ube, which comes from Bohol, and which makes a delicious
jelly. The ubi and analogous roots must be carefully prepared, or else
they prove poisonous. See Blanco's Flora, and U. S. Gazetteer of the
Philippine Islands. Delgado (p. 763) enumerates eight varieties of
this root.
The apari is perhaps the apalia or paria (Montordica balsamina),
a climbing plant, which bears a fruit which is rather bitter to the
taste, and eaten in salads. The juice of its leaves is used instead
of soap. The ripe fruit soaked in olive, cocoa, or beneseed oil makes
an excellent balsam that is used for medicinal purposes.
[105] French, patanes, apparently a misprint for patatas. The camote
or sweet potato (Convolvulus batatas, Linn.; now named Batatas edulis)
is extensively cultivated in the islands. Blanco (Flora, p. 69) cites
Mozo as saying that this plant was carried to the islands from Nueva
España; but Blanco regards it as indigenous in the Philippines. Delgado
(pp. 766-768) enumerates twenty-nine varieties of camote.
[106] The Batelan is perhaps the balete; see VOL. XII, p. 214, note
56. For note on dabdab, see ibid., p. 215, note 57.
[107] Apparently a reference to the variety of orange known at the
present day as navel oranges.
[108] For a treatise on the snakes and poisonous animals of the
Philippines, see Delgado's Historia, pp. 889-907. He describes the
omodro as the odto (Hemibungarus collaris)--from the word meaning
"half-day" or "noon," and given to it because the bite proves fatal
if given at noon, but at no other time. It is of various colors and
very furious at the hour of noon. The saua (Python reticulatus) is
the largest snake of the islands and is often domesticated, and is
not poisonous to man.
[109] The dugong (a word corrupted from the Malay name duyong);
not a fish, but a marine mammal (Helicore australis). Crawfurd says
(Dict. Indian Islands, p. 125) that it is found in the shallow seas
of the Malayan archipelago, but is not often captured; and that its
flesh is greatly superior to that of the green turtle. This creature
is one of those from which originated the fable of the mermaids.
[110] Thevenot has translated the Spanish term for Franciscans
(padres de San Francisco or padres franciscanos) into the popular
French term cordeliers, so called because of their girdle. Similarly
he has translated the term for Dominicans (padres de San Domingo or
padres dominicanos) as Jacobins, also the popular French appellation,
so called from the name of the church of St. Jacques, which was
given them in Paris. See Addis and Arnold's Cath. Dict., article
"Franciscans," p. 356; and Chevin's Dict. Latin-Français, p. 353.
Either Thevenot the translator, or the author, omits mention of
the convent of the Society of Jesus, only the four above mentioned
being given.
[111] The persimmon; see VOL. XVI, p. 180.
[112] A misprint for sibucao (VOL. III, p. 196; XV, p. 256).
[113] There is evidently a play of words in this passage. The French
reads Mais il se trouua bie loing de ses esperances, & auec vn pied de
nez. Pied de nez (literally "a foot of nose") is an exact equivalent of
the Spanish phrase palmo de narices, and the French expression demeurer
avec un pied de nez is equivalent to the Spanish idiom quedar con un
palmo de narices, which signifies "the frustration of one's hopes,"
or "to be left out in the cold."
[114] Apparently a corruption of Zarpana, the name given by its
inhabitants to the island of Rota, one of the Mariannes or Ladrones
Islands.
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