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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 (Vol. 28 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, Vol. 28, 1637-38
Author: Bourne, Edward Gaylord, 1860-1908 [Commentator], Robertson, James Alexander, 1873-1939 [Editor], Blair, Emma Helen, -1911 [Editor]
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 (Vol. 28 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, Vol. 28, 1637-38" ***
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 XXVII, 1637-38
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXVIII
Preface. 9
Documents of 1637-38
Remonstrance of Augustinians against the
_alternativa_. Juan Ramirez, O.S.A., and others;
Manila, September 9, 10, 1637. 21
Corcuera's campaign in Jolo. Juan de Barrios, S.J.;
Jolo, March-April, 1638. 41
Appendix: Religious conditions in the Philippines during the Spanish
régime
Laws regarding religious in the Philippines. Felipe
II, Felipe III, Felipe IV; 1585-1640. [From
_Recopilación de las leyes de Indias._] 67
Jesuit missions in 1656. Francisco Colin; Madrid,
1663. [From his _Labor evangélica._] 78
The religious estate in the Philippines. Juan
Francisco de San Antonio, O.S.F.; Manila, 1738. [From
his _Chronicas_.] 104
Religious condition of the islands. Juan J. Delgado,
S.J.; 1751-54. [From his _Historia general._] 163
Ecclesiastical survey of the Philippines. Guillaume
le Gentil; Paris, 1781. [From his _Voyages dans les
mers de l'Inde_.] 192
Character and influence of the friars. Sinibaldo de
Mas; Madrid, 1843. [From his _Informe_.] 226
The ecclesiastical system in the Philippines. Manuel
Buzeta, O.S.A., and Felipe Bravo, O.S.A.; Madrid,
1850. [From their _Diccionario de las Islas
Filipinas_.] 266
Character and influence of the friars. Feodor Jagor;
Berlin, 1873. [From his _Reisen in den Philippinen_.]
290
The Augustinian Recollects in the Philippines. [From
_Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de Agustinos
descalzos_ (Manila, 1879).] 300
Present condition of the Catholic religion in
Filipinas. José Algué, S.J., and others; Washington,
1900. [From _Archipiélago filipino._] 349
Bibliographical Data 369
ILLUSTRATIONS
Title-page of _Labor evangélica_, by Francisco Colin (Madrid,
1663); photographic facsimile from copy in library of Edward
E. Ayer, Chicago 79
Title-page of vol. i of San. Antonio's _Chronicas de
la apostolica provincia de S. Gregorio_ (Manila, 1738);
photographic facsimile from copy in Harvard University
Library 105
View at Naga, Cebú; from photograph procured in Madrid 155
Title-page of Le Gentil's _Voyages dans les mers de l'Inde_
(Paris, 1781); photographic facsimile of copy in library of
Wisconsin Historical Society 193
PREFACE
The present volume is, with the exception of one document, devoted to
the religious and ecclesiastical affairs of the Philippines--mainly
in extracts from standard authorities on the religious history of the
islands, combined in an appendix. Beginning with the laws which concern
missionaries to the Philippines (1585-1640), we present accounts
of the ecclesiastical machinery of that colony, the status of the
various religious orders, the missions conducted by them, and other
valuable information--showing the religious condition of the islands
at various times, from 1656 to 1899. These are obtained from Jesuit,
Augustinian, Franciscan, and Recollect chronicles, and from secular
sources--the French scientist Le Gentil, the Spanish official Mas,
and the German traveler Jagor--thus enabling the student to consider
the subject impartially as well as intelligently.
Only two documents appear here in the usual chronological sequence;
they belong to the years 1637-38. The officials of the Augustinian
order in the islands inform the king (September 9, 10, 1637) that
the archbishop is making trouble for them over the question of the
"alternativa" in appointments to offices within the order; and ask
the king not to believe all the reports that may reach him about this
matter. They add a memorial on the difficulties which Gregory XV's
decree establishing that alternativa have caused in the Philippines;
and relate their action in regard to the faction in their order who
insist that an insignificant minority shall have equal rights to
offices with the better-qualified majority.
The Jesuit Juan de Barrios, who accompanied Corcuera in his expedition
against Jolo, relates (March-April, 1638) the events of that campaign
in letters to Manila. The Spaniards are repulsed several times in
attacking the Moro stronghold, and one of their divisions is surprised
by the enemy with considerable loss to the Spaniards. Corcuera
then surrounds the hill with troops and fortifications, and begins
a regular siege of the Moro fort; various incidents of this siege
are narrated. On the day after Easter the Moros, starved and sick,
send Corcuera proposals for surrender; and finally they abandon their
stronghold, and take flight, leaving the Spaniards in possession
of all their property as well as the fort. A letter from Zamboanga
(perhaps by Barrios) adds further particulars of the surrender and
flight of the Joloans, the mortality among the Spaniards, the garrison
left there by Corcuera, etc.
Taking up the general religious status of the islands, we select
from the _Recopilación de las leyes de Indias_, lib. i, tit. xiv,
the laws that especially concern the religious in the Philippines,
dated from 1585 to 1640. These persons may not go to China or other
countries, or return to Spain or Mexico, without special permission
from the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Carmelites may go to
the islands from Mexico. The missions must be so assigned that each
order has its own territory, separate from the others. The usual
supplies shall be given to such religious as obtain permission to
enter China and Japan; and all royal officials are directed to aid
the fathers in their journeys, and not to hinder them. Religious who
lead scandalous lives, or have been expelled from their orders, may
not remain in Filipinas. The papal decrees _de alternativa_ are to be
enforced in the Indias. The restrictions imposed on religious going
to the Japan missions are removed; all orders may go, but are charged
to set an example of harmony and fraternal behavior. The missionaries
are forbidden to engage in commerce or other business; the field shall
be suitably divided among the various orders; and any bishops who may
be appointed in Japan shall be suffragan to the see of Manila. Clerics
from Eastern India are not to be allowed to perform priestly functions
in Filipinas, or even to enter the islands. The proceeds resulting
from the sale of the bulls of the Crusade must be placed in the royal
treasury, and not used in trade by the treasurers of the Crusade.
The Jesuit Colin places at the end of his _Labor evangélica_ (Madrid,
1663) a statement--prepared, he says, in accordance with a command
from the king--of the number of missions, houses, and laborers
supported by that order in the Philippines, a survey of its field
and labors in the year 1656. He describes the scope, functions, and
resources of the colleges in Manila; the missions near that city;
and, in their order, the residences and missions maintained by the
Society in the respective islands.
An interesting account of the religious estate in the islands about
1735 is furnished by the Franciscan writer Juan Francisco de San
Antonio. Beginning with the cathedral of Manila, he sketches its
history from its earliest foundation, and describes its building and
service, with the salaries of its ecclesiastics; and adds biographical
sketches (here omitted) of the archbishops down to his time, and the
extent of their jurisdiction. Then follow accounts, both historical
and descriptive, of the ecclesiastical tribunals, churches, colleges,
and charitable institutions--especially of San Phelipe college and La
Misericordia. San Antonio enumerates the curacies in the archbishopric,
and the convents and missions of the calced Augustinians. He then
describes the educational work of the Jesuits, giving a history of
their colleges of San Ignacio and San José, and enumerates their
houses and missions; another sketch furnishes similar information
regarding the Dominicans, who have especial charge of the Chinese
residing in Luzón. Like accounts are given of the Recollects, of the
hospital brethren of St. John of God, and of the author's own order,
the discalced Franciscans. On the same plan, he surveys the religious
estate in all the bishoprics suffragan to Manila; and, finally,
computes the numbers of the Christian native population in the islands.
Another survey of religious matters in the islands is furnished
(about 1751) by the Jesuit Juan J. Delgado. He enumerates the
ministries of souls in methodical order, beginning with those held
by the secular clergy in each diocese--in all, fifty-three. Those of
the calced Augustinians are noted in the same manner; then those of
the Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans, and Augustinian Recollects;
and the convents and hospitals of the hospital order of St. John
of God. Among these are also mentioned the schools and colleges,
and the hospitals, conducted by the orders. Delgado states that the
Christian population of the islands actually numbers over 900,000
persons; adding to this the children under seven years of age, who
are not enumerated by the missionaries, he estimates that it must
exceed a million of souls. He enumerates the numbers of villages and
of their inhabitants who are in charge of each of the respective
orders. He estimates the number of tributes paid annually by the
natives at a quarter of a million, and describes the requirements
and mode of payment, and the allotments made from the tributes for
the support of religious instruction. He then relates in detail the
number and remuneration of all ecclesiastical offices, from bishop
to cura. Delgado then describes the ecclesiastical tribunals of the
islands, the organization and good work of La Misericordia, and other
charitable institutions in Manila, with the royal chapel, hospital,
and college.
The French scientist Le Gentil describes (from observations made
during 1766-68) the religious conditions in the islands. He enumerates
the benefices connected with Manila cathedral, and the salaries and
duties of their incumbents; and the ecclesiastical tribunals in that
city--those of the archbishop, the Inquisition, and the Crusade. Then
he relates interesting details about the churches, convents, schools,
and other institutions. Among these are the royal chapel, the seminary
of San Felipe, the seminary of Santa Isabela, the confraternity
of La Misericordia, the universities, and the hospitals. Le Gentil
describes the ecclesiastical machinery of the suffragan dioceses,
and the convents therein--all more extensive and costly than the
population and wealth of the country justify. The rest of his account
is devoted to "the power and influence enjoyed by the religious in the
Philippines." He says: "Masters of the provinces, they govern there,
as one might say, as sovereigns; they are so absolute that no Spaniard
dares go to establish himself there.... They are more absolute in the
Philippines than is the king himself." They ignore the royal decrees
that the Indian children must be taught the Castilian language; thus
the friars keep the Indians in bondage, and prevent the Spaniards from
knowing the real state of affairs in the provinces. They have refused
to allow the visitations of the archbishops--a matter explained at
considerable length by the writer. The natives sometimes revolt,
and then the friars cannot influence them, but troops must be sent
to punish the rebels. Le Gentil also relates the manner in which
the friars punish the natives for not attending mass, by flogging
them--not only men, but women, and that in public.
Sinibaldo de Mas, a Spanish official who spent some time at Manila,
gives in his _Informe_ (Madrid, 1843) a chapter regarding the character
and influence of the friars--partly from his own observations, partly
cited from Comyn's _Estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1810_, a valuable
work, published at Madrid in 1820. He relates the difficulties
encountered in the attempts so often made to subject the friars
to the diocesan visit. This has been at last accomplished, but,
according to Mas, with resulting lower standards of morality among
the curas. He cites various decrees and instances connected with
the controversies between the friars and the authorities, civil and
religious; and then long extracts from Comyn, which show the great
extent of the priestly influence, and the causes therefor. Comyn
regards the priests as the real conquerors of the islands, and as the
most potent factor in their present government--at least, outside of
Manila. He shows how inadequate is the power of the civil government,
apart from priestly influence; recounts the beneficial achievements
of the missionaries among the Indians; and deprecates the recent
attempts to restrict their authority. Mas approves Comyn's views, and
proceeds to defend the friars against the various charges which have
been brought against them. In support of his own opinions, he also
cites Fray Manuel del Rio; and he himself praises the public spirit,
disinterestedness, and devotion to the interests of the Indians,
displayed by the curas, many of whom are friars. He argues that they
even show too much patience and lenity toward the natives, who are
lazy and indolent in the extreme; and it has been a great mistake to
forbid the priests to administer corporal punishment to delinquent
natives. Mas is surprised at the lack of religious in the islands,
while in Spain there is an oversupply and the livings are much poorer
than in the Philippines. He enumerates the various dioceses, and the
number of curacies in each, whether filled by regulars or seculars;
and concludes with an extract from the Jesuit writer Murillo Velarde,
on the duties of the parish priest who ministers to the Indians.
A survey of the ecclesiastical system is presented (1850) in the
_Diccionario de las Islas Filipinas_ of the Augustinians Manuel
Buzeta and Felipe Bravo. As in preceding writings of this sort, the
different sees are separately described--in each being enumerated
the territories of its jurisdiction, and its mode of government and
ecclesiastical courts; the number of curacies in it, and how served;
and the number of other ecclesiastical officials, with professors,
seminarists, etc. In the account of Cebú is inserted a letter (1831)
from the bishop of that diocese, appealing for its division into two.
The German traveler Feodor Jagor presents (1873) an interesting view
of the character and influence of the friars. He praises their kindly
and hospitable treatment of strangers, and the ability and knowledge
that they often display; and defends those whom he has known (mainly
the Spaniards) from the charge of licentiousness. He discusses the
relations between the curas and civil alcaldes--the former being
often the protectors of the Indians against the latter.
A survey of the field and labors of the Augustinian Recollects is
obtained from _Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de Agustinos
descalzos_ (Manila, 1879)--presented partly in translation, partly in
synopsis. In it are enumerated the missions in charge of that order,
with the number of souls in each; frequently occurs an historical
account of a mission's foundation and growth, and biographical
mention of especially notable missionaries--including those who in
early days were martyrs in Calamianes and Mindanao. It ends with
tables showing the numbers of tributes, souls, and ministers in the
Recollect provinces, at various times.
A sketch of the religious condition in the islands in 1896-98
is furnished by José Algué and other Jesuit fathers of Manila
in their compendious work, _Archipiélago filipino_ (Washington,
1900). Statistics showing the growth of the Christianized native
population from 1735 to 1898 are compiled from various sources--a
remarkable increase, which the editors ascribe mainly to missionary
labors. Then the various sees are enumerated, with their bishops,
cathedrals, courts, seminaries, and priests; and the various houses,
colleges, and other institutions possessed by the respective
religious orders in the islands, besides the colleges of each in
Spain. Considerable space is devoted to a characterization of
the religious spirit that prevails among the Filipinos; and to
the conclusion that general freedom of worship in that archipelago
"would be a fatal measure to any government that rules the destinies
of Filipinas," and might result in a politico-religious war. The
American government is therefore warned not to allow such freedom in
the islands.
The Editors
July, 1905.
DOCUMENTS OF 1637-1638
Remonstrance of Augustinians against the _alternativa_. Juan
Ramirez, O.S.A., and others; September 9, 10, 1637.
Corcuera's campaign in Jolo. Juan de Barrios, S.J.;
March-April, 1638.
Sources: The first of these documents is obtained from a MS. in
the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; the second, from one in the
Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid.
Translations: The first document is translated by Emma Helen Blair
(except the Latin part, by Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.); the second,
by James A. Robertson.
REMONSTRANCE OF AUGUSTINIANS AGAINST THE ALTERNATIVA
Sire:
In fulfilment of your Majesty's commands and of the obligation that
rests upon us as your Majesty's loyal vassals and humble chaplains,
we have every year rendered account to your Majesty of the progress
made by this province of Philipinas of our father St. Augustine;
and [have told you] how the religious of the province--whom your
Majesty has sent to these regions, at the cost of his royal estate,
for the conversion of these peoples and the direction of those who are
converted--are and have been occupied, with the utmost solicitude, in
fulfilling their obligations and your Majesty's command by gathering
rich fruits, both spiritual and temporal.
It is now eight years, [1] Sire, since this province received
a brief from his Holiness Gregory Fifteenth of blessed memory,
that was obtained improperly, through the efforts of the religious
who are in this province who are born in these regions. In it his
Holiness ordained that all the elections among the said religious,
from that of provincial to that of the most petty official, should
be shared between the religious of these regions and those who have
come from España at your Majesty's cost. The execution of this decree
was impossible, because the number of the said religious who were
born in these regions was much less than that of the offices which,
it was ordained, must be conferred upon them. On this account, appeal
was made to his Holiness, who was more clearly informed [about the
matter]. Nevertheless, these letters have caused great commotions in
the order itself and in the community; for many persons in the colony,
on account of being kindred of the religious of this country, and
many others who, like those religious, were born here, have taken up
the cause as their own--thinking that they are thus defending their
native land. This is a difficulty that may give rise to many others;
and these provinces have during all this time suffered many anxieties
and losses, as will appear from the reports which we are sending to
your Majesty with this letter. This year it pleased our Lord that
another brief should come, from his Holiness Urban Eighth, which
revoked the former brief of Gregory Fifteenth. It was sent to the
archbishop of this city of Manila, so that he might--as the truth of
the allegations made in Rome by the father-general of our holy order
was evident--annul the former brief, and leave the elections of this
province in the liberty which our constitutions provide, without any
discrimination between nationalities. We gave many thanks to our Lord
for the favor that He had granted us; for, with this second brief,
we promised ourselves the peace and quiet that are necessary in order
that we all may more freely occupy ourselves in our Lord's service,
and in fulfilling the purpose for which your Majesty was pleased to
send us to these lands. But such was not the case; for the archbishop
was angry (according to what we can understand of the matter)
because in the former year of 35 we followed the cathedral church,
during his absence, in the observance of an interdict which he had
laid on this city--a proceeding which he greatly resented because,
he said when he returned to this city, the interdict had not been
raised by his order or with his consent. Now, as this business has
come into his hands, he is giving us many opportunities for gaining
merits; and although the narration made in the brief is so accurate
and truthful that there is nothing more evident, he has displayed his
cognizance of it by reducing it to the terms of an ordinary litigation,
and has made plain his intention, which is to exceed the commission
that his Holiness gives him in the brief--to the very considerate
prejudice and injury of this province and of the observance of our holy
constitutions. By his conduct the opposition that we have thus far
suffered from lay persons born in these regions has been continually
stimulated--to such an extent that Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera,
the governor of these islands, saw that he had reason to fear some
bad ending to such beginnings; and therefore, with the prudence and
carefulness which he displays in all matters concerning his government,
he suppressed the disturbances which were being stirred up.
We do not know, Sire, how this will result, although we strive in
all things to possess our souls in patience; and we trust to the
justice of the governor of these islands, that he will protect us in
all that our just claims and rights shall permit. For we can have
only this consolation in the present emergency, that violence is
threatened against us; and that the protection which the governor of
these islands has extended to your Majesty's vassals in such cases,
and his defense of the royal patronage, have been the occasion of
the commotions and troubles which have occurred in this city during
these last two years. For if the archbishop had chosen to avert them
he could have done so, without losing anything of his jurisdiction,
or failing to meet the obligations of a vigilant prelate.
Accordingly, we entreat your Majesty not to give entire credit to all
the reports about this matter that are written to your Majesty from
this country; for we know how persons regard our affairs at present,
and that many are ruled by prejudice, and not by the facts in the
case. The same risk is run in other matters, for there never was a
judge who could please all persons. What we can assert and certify
to your Majesty is the great zeal which Don Sebastian Hurtado de
Corcuera has always displayed in the service of God and your Majesty,
and in the increase of the royal estate. For in his own life he
sets an example to the most devout religious; and in his personal
attention to the duties of his offices he continues without being
turned aside to anything else. His actions are guided by the law of
God and the service of your Majesty. He is vigilant in preventing
all offenses against God, and in military discipline. It seems as
if our Lord has aided him, in consequence of this; for it is in
his time that these islands of your Majesty, and your vassals, find
themselves in a condition of peace, without being harassed by so many
enemies as neighboring nations have--who have inflicted on them so
much damage through many previous years, with pillage, fire, murder,
and captivity. And as the most powerful enemy was the king of Mindanao,
last year the governor went in person to punish him in his own kingdom;
and he conquered that king and gained possession of two fortresses,
the most important that he had, with many cannons, muskets, and other
fire-arms. From this campaign the arms of your Majesty have gained
much reputation, and all the enemies of these islands are intimidated;
while the vassals whom your Majesty has in them are more established
in their obedience. If that fortunate victory had not occurred as it
did, there might have been much reason to fear for the allegiance that
the peoples of these islands owe to your Majesty. And Don Sebastian
deserves that your Majesty bestow upon him greater rewards, since
in more important posts the services which he can render to your
royal crown will be greater. May our Lord guard your royal person,
granting you the prosperity which your Majesty's many realms ask from
God, and of which they have need. Manila, September 9, 1637. Your
Majesty's chaplains, who kiss your royal feet,
Fray Juan Ramirez, provincial.
Fray Cristobal de Miranda, definitor.
Fray Geronimo de Medrano
Fray Alonso de Caravajal
Fray Juan de Montemayor
Fray Manuel de Errasti
Relation of events in the Philipinas province of the Order of
St. Augustine, and of the effects caused therein by the letters
of his Holiness Gregory XV in which he commanded that the
elections for offices, from the provincial to the most petty
official, should be made alternately between the two parties--one,
the religious who took the habit in España and came to these
islands for the conversion of the infidels and the direction of
those who are converted; the other, the religious who have
entered the order in the Indias.
This province of Philipinas of the order of our father St. Augustine
has enjoyed, from the time of its foundation at the conquest of
these islands, the utmost peace in its ordinary government; and
it is by virtue of this that it has accomplished so great results
in the service of the two majesties [_i.e._, God and the king of
Spain]--being always occupied in the conversion of these peoples,
and in the direction of those who are converted; and devoting so much
care to the fulfilment of its obligations, even when the results of
their labors made their devotion so manifest. In this state the order
was maintained, making great progress in the gain of souls, until the
year 29, in which this said province received a brief from his Holiness
Gregory XV, in which he commanded that the elections in the province,
from that of provincial to that of the most petty official, should
be made alternately between the religious who had come from España
at the cost of his Majesty, and those who had entered the order in
these regions. The brief was laid before the province; [2] but it had
been obtained by misrepresentations, and its execution was impossible
because the religious who had taken the habit in the Indias were very
few, numbering less than one-third as many men as were the offices
which the said brief commanded to be given to them. For these reasons,
the province appealed from the execution of the decree; but, although
this appeal was so just and so conformable to law, the judge whom they
had appointed to execute the decree [3] refused to allow it, declaring
that we were publicly excommunicated. Afterward, the royal Audiencia
here, to whom we had recourse with a plea of fuerza, declared that the
judge had committed it against us in not allowing the said petition
and appeal, that it might go before his Holiness. Then the judge,
compelled by the royal Audiencia, admitted the said appeal, and set
a time when it should be brought before the authorities at Roma. In
order to serve better the interests of this province, we appeared,
through our procurators, within the allotted time at Roma, and
furnished official statements presented by us, with all due solemnity.
But this was not sufficient to make the religious who took the habit
in the Indias cease from disturbing the peace of the province; for
they appointed, in the year 35, another judge to execute the said
brief. He undertook to establish his judicature by proceeding against
us with harsh and violent acts, and caused us much anxiety; for he
was aided by nearly all the lay persons of this colony who were born
in these islands, who took up this cause as their own. They caused
many disturbances, and used language so offensive that they obliged
the honorable and well-intentioned people of this city to come to our
defense. This was done by the bishop of the city of Santísimo Nombre
de Jesus in Çubu, who was then governing this archbishopric; for as
judge of the ordinary he demanded from the said judge-executor the
documents by virtue of which the latter had erected a tribunal within
his territory. [4] Under the compulsion of censures and pecuniary
fines, the said judge-executor gave up the documents; and his Lordship,
having examined them, declared that they were not sufficient. [5] This
declaration was supported and favored by Don Juan Cereço de Salamanca,
who was at that time governor of these islands; and he also interposed
the superior authority of the office which he filled, to calm and
quiet in their beginnings these commotions--which threatened, if they
should increase, much greater troubles. They were quieted for the
time; but in the following year, 36, those religious again nominated
another judge [6] to execute the said brief, who began to carry out
this commission with even greater violence than the two former judges
displayed. His conduct was such that we could not protect ourselves,
although we protested that this cause devolved upon his Holiness;
and we offer here the authentic testimony of our statement presented
in course of appeal, the tenor of which is as follows:
"By this present public instrument be it known to all that in the
year of the birth of our same Lord Jesus Christ, 1631, the fourteenth
indiction, the twenty-ninth day of March, and the eighth year of the
pontificate of our most holy father in Christ and our lord Urban VIII,
by divine Providence pope, the reverend brethren of the Order of Saint
Augustine resident in the province of the Philippines, who made their
profession in Spain, have proceeded against the brethren similarly
resident in the same province, who were received into the order in
the Indias. As filed in my office, etc.
"To the petition in the memorial and brief as presented, the
reverend father Master Peter Ribadeneira, [7] assistant [general]
for the Spains and procurator for the Indias [or Philippines],
made answer as follows: That his clients were not bound thereto,
inasmuch as the said ordinances could not be carried into effect by
reason of impossibility, since the brethren who were given the habit
[of the order] in the Indias are fewer in number than the offices
[_or_ positions] to be filled [by the same]; wherefore the decree _de
alternativa_ [8] cannot be complied with in the conferral of the said
offices. Moreover, that the said brief was obtained without a hearing
of his clients, and therefore is surreptitious, besides being contrary
to truth in that the charge was made therein that a sedition had taken
place among the [brethren]. Wherefore protest has been entered that
no further steps be taken unless by [due process of law], etc.
"Whereupon I the undersigned, a notary-public, have been requested
to have made and drawn up one or more public instruments in reference
to all and singular the above, according as may be needed or demanded.
"Done at Rome in my office, etc., of the Rione del Ponte, [9] in the
presence and hearing and cognizance of Don Bernardino Pacheto [10] and
Don Jacobo Francisco Belgio, fellow-notaries and witnesses, especially
called, requested, and summoned to all and singular the above."
We also present an original letter from the general of our order, and
another from the father assistant of the province of España, in which
they tell us how his Holiness had already revoked the said brief;
also another letter, from the procurator of this province at that
court [_i.e._, Madrid], in which he notified us that he had presented
the brief of revocation in the royal Council of the Indias. But,
notwithstanding these letters, the religious who had taken the
habit in the Indias persisted all the more in persuading their judge
to hurry forward the legal proceedings and to urge on the acts of
violence which he was executing against us; and in this importunity,
and in the opposition which the said religious made to the letters and
advices of the general and of the assistant in the Spanish provinces,
was admirably displayed the obedience and respect that they have
for their superior. At this juncture also arose disturbances made by
the relatives of the said religious, occasioning many scandals; and
the friars, encouraged by the support which these people gave them,
could not be corrected within the convent, and disturbed it to the
utmost. They made promises to the lay brethren to ordain them as
priests in order to draw these into their following; and _so_ far
did they go that all of them together sallied out from the convent
one morning--the second day of August in last year--more than two
hours before daylight, and carried with them the doorkeeper and three
lay brethren, leaving the gates of the convent open. Roaming through
the streets at those hours, with very great scandal, they went where
they chose until daylight; and then they went to the palace, where
they presented themselves before the governor of these islands, Don
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera--demanding, under pretext of desiring
freedom to prosecute their just claims, that he shelter them under the
royal patronage, take them out of the [Augustinian] convent, and assign
them another where they could reside. The governor, with the prudence
and great zeal which he displays in all the affairs of his government,
rebuked them for this proceeding, ordered that the provincial be
summoned, and charged him to take the religious back to the convent,
but to treat them kindly; and, although recognizing the serious nature
of their act, he requested the provincial not to punish them for it,
and the latter acted in accordance with the governor's wishes.
But those religious continued to cause much mischief and trouble,
and there was reason to fear other and greater difficulties. The
procedure of the judge was so violent that he went so far as to
issue an act in which he represented the preceding [session of the]
chapter as nugatory, and commanded the provincial, with penalties
and censures, to surrender within two hours the seal of the province,
so that it might be given to the person on whom the said judge should
see fit to bestow it. They delayed notification of this act to the
provincial until sunset, so that he could not reply within the time
set; and as soon as morning came, they declared that he had incurred
censures. The governor of these islands, as your Majesty's lieutenant,
interposed the authority of his office; and thus were prevented the
great injuries that were beginning outside the order--and, within it,
the disturbance and schism which had begun. This was done by means
of an act issued by the judge, in which he suspended the former
act, and decided that the trial of this cause should be deferred for
forty days before the [next] chapter-meeting. Therewith this province
remained in peace and quiet, [11] and all the religious attended to
their obligations--until the arrival, in this year of thirty-seven,
of the bull for this province, passed by the royal Council of the
Indias, in which our most holy father Urban Eighth revoked the brief
for the _alternativa_; its tenor is as follows:
"Since, however, it has lately been reported to us by our beloved son,
the prior-general of the order [12] of the brothers hermits of Saint
Augustine, that in the aforesaid province nearly all the brethren of
Spanish blood of the said order resident therein were sent to those
countries at the expense of our very dear son in Christ, Philip,
the Catholic king of the Indias, in order that they might labor for
the conversion of heathens and the instruction of converts; that
moreover in the province and order of the aforesaid brethren in those
countries there are very few [brethren] known as creoles [_criolli_],
who are fit for the charge of those peoples: Therefore in the letters
presented as inserted ahead, in view moreover of the fact that it is
impossible to have the law carried out since the creole brethren are
not numerous enough to fill the aforesaid offices with the care of
souls attached thereto, an appeal has been taken to us and to the
apostolic see to have the said decrees set aside. Hence the said
prior-general has humbly petitioned us of our apostolic kindness to
make due provision in the premises.
"Therefore hearkening to the petition of the said prior-general,
desirous moreover of rewarding him with especial favors and graces
[we hereby,] in order that these presents alone be carried into
effect, do absolve him and declare him thus absolved from whatsoever
excommunication, suspension, interdict, and other ecclesiastical
sentences, censures, and penalties incurred by law or individual court,
should he in any manner have been entangled thereby; moreover through
these presents we charge and order your fraternity that, should the
petition be grounded on truth, you interpret benignly and recall the
letters inserted ahead, to the end that by our apostolic authority the
elections for the future be free, in accordance with the constitutions
of the said order, the same as if the letters inserted ahead had not
been issued. The same letters inserted ahead and all other things to
the contrary notwithstanding.
"Given in Castel Gandolfo [13] of the diocese of Albano, under the
seal of the Fisherman, the eighteenth day of May, the year one thousand
six hundred and thirty-four, and the eleventh year of our pontificate."
This entire clause appears inserted in the brief, after the relation
which is made therein of the brief which his Holiness Gregory XV
issued in favor of the alternate elections--which is the one which
his Holiness [Urban VIII] revoked by the said letters, as appears by
them. We presented this brief to the archbishop of Manila, to whom
its execution came committed, with the cognizance of the clause _si
preces veritate nitantur_; [14] and with the said brief the attorneys
for our cause presented three certified statements by the provincial
and definitory of this province, drawn from its books, and sworn
to and signed by all. In one of these statements is contained the
number of the religious in this province who took the habit and made
profession in the kingdoms of España. Of these there are ninety-three,
among whom are two youths graduated in theology; ten lecturers in
arts and theology; thirty preachers who completed their studies in the
realms and universities of España, and in that country received their
diplomas as preachers; and twenty-four preachers who came to these
islands before they completed their studies, and received that title
in these provinces. In another statement is contained the number of
the religious in this province who have taken the habit in the Indias;
these are thirty-three. Six of them should be excluded: two of these
are of Portuguese nationality, sons of the Congregation of Yndia--who,
by a decree of his Majesty, and the decision of a full definitory of
this province, are commanded to return to their own congregation. Two
others are prevented from saying mass--one by old age, and the other
by having been insane more than fifteen years. Another is of Japanese
nationality; and the sixth is a mestizo, son of a Portuguese father and
a Japanese mother. At the foot of this memorandum is a declaration by
the definitory that there are other persons on the list therein who are
disqualified, legally and by our constitutions, from holding offices
in our holy order--whom, if it should be necessary, they will make
known. In the third certificate is contained the number of offices that
this province furnishes; there are eighty-four of these, in which must
be counted the sixty-six convents of the order which are residences
of ministers, and three others which are communities. The archbishop
accepted these certified statements, and commanded, by an act which
he issued officially, that the two religious who acted as attorneys
for the religious who had taken the habit in the Indias should be
notified of these statements; and that when they had examined and
understood the papers, they must declare under oath whether these were
authentic and legal, and if they had anything to add to them. After
the said attorneys had examined and understood them, they declared
that the statements were accurate and truthful; and likewise, by
a juridical act of his Lordship, the same notification was made to
seven or eight other religious of the same faction of the Yndias,
who also under oath declared that the statements were accurate and
truthful. Notwithstanding this evidence, the archbishop began to allow
petitions from the said attorneys for the party of the Yndias, in which
they promised to furnish evidence that the narration made in the said
brief was false--saying that the word _paucisimi_ [_i.e._, "very few"],
which is in the said brief, signified no more than two or three; and
that the words _inepti ad administrationem populorum_ [_i.e._, "not
fit for the charge of those peoples"] meant unfitness of the intellect;
and they endeavored to prove that they were competent and capable for
the offices that the province had. The religious of España opposed
this, evidence, saying that such was not the signification of those
words; for _paucisimi_ was understood with respect to the offices, and
_inepti ad administrationem populorum_ meant lack of strength in their
numbers--as farther down the same brief explained it in the words:
_Quod dicti patres in numero suficiente apti non sint_, and _oficiorum
prefatorum distributione_. [15] And as for the arguments adduced at
Roma when this matter was presented in course of appeal--which were
stated in the testimony, as is most clearly evident--those religious
did not oppose these allegations, or many others which were made to
his Lordship. To him were also presented several protests against the
injuries which this province, in their general opinion and belief,
had to suffer, and, as many individuals of their number thought,
difficulties which might arise from furnishing the said information,
as a reason why his Lordship might fail to accept this statement of
the case. These difficulties appear, and in fact have begun to make
trouble with persons outside of the order. The religious of España saw
this; and they knew that the witnesses who gave their testimony in the
case could not have knowledge of all the religious in this province
who have taken the habit in the Yndias, nor of their qualifications,
nor for what offices they were suitable according to our constitutions;
moreover, they heard that it was certain that the said fathers of the
Yndias faction were representing and alleging their own suitability
[for those offices]--the purpose of these efforts being to establish
by them new pretensions in the two courts [of Madrid and Roma], and
with those representations to cause fresh disturbances and uneasiness
in this province. To obviate this mischief, and to make clear and
evident the justice in the claims of both sides, and to prevent
gossip by persons outside of the order regarding the qualifications
of the religious, the fathers of Castilla presented a petition in
which was inserted a memorandum of the religious in this province who
belonged to the Yndias faction; these are thirty-three, the same as
those mentioned in the certified statement of the definitory that was
presented earlier. Constrained by necessity and the strait in which
they found themselves, the fathers of España testified, under oath
and in legal form, in what manner fifteen of the religious mentioned
in the said petition were disqualified or disabled, by law and the
constitutions of our order, for holding official positions in the
order. They also demanded that, of the eighteen who remained, the
attorneys of the Yndias faction should declare, for each separately
and in detail, what learning and competency he possessed; whether
he had been a student in any course of science or arts, and where
and at what time; for what offices in the order he was competent,
according to our constitutions; and in which of the four provinces
which this province [of St. Augustine] administers--in which it is
necessary to know the Tagál, Pampanga, Ylocan, and Bisayan tongues,
which are all different languages--each of those religious was a
minister. [They were also asked to name] those who had sufficient
fluency in the language to preach the gospel and declare the mysteries
of the faith to the Indians; and whether there were any religious of
their faction who were qualified to be preachers in this convent of
Manila and in other Spanish towns and convents; whether there were
any such religious capable of teaching arts and theology (both moral
and scholastic), or of deciding the difficult questions that are
wont to arise regarding the administration of the sacraments in the
provinces. The fathers of Castilla stated that, when the truth of these
matters should be ascertained, they were ready to make concessions,
without the necessity of a formal investigation; and that in matters
where there was any doubt, they would have the religious appear before
his Lordship [the archbishop], so that before him and the professors
of the two universities of this city, or before the superiors of the
religious orders, they might be examined by the official examiners of
this province, and their qualifications be made evident. They have
made no reply to this request, and we fear that the archbishop will
not oblige them to answer it--inasmuch as in the number of the said
eighteen religious not eight will be found who can in strictness be
considered qualified to hold an office _cum cura animorum_ [_i.e._,
"with the care of souls"], and not one for positions as professors
or preachers in this city of Manila, while only two are well versed
in cases of conscience.
The affair remains in this condition, and we do not know how it will
end; for in this country justice and law do not secure, to one who
seeks justice, the attainment of his object. Done at this convent of
St. Augustine in Manila, on the tenth of September, in the year one
thousand six hundred and thirty-seven.
Fray Juan Ramirez, provincial.
Fray Cristobal de Miranda, definitor.
Fray Geronimo de Medrano
Fray Alonso de Carabajal
Fray Juan de Montemayor
Fray Manuel de Errasti
CORCUERA'S CAMPAIGN IN JOLO
In my last letter I wrote to your Reverence of the result of the first
attack--which was unfortunate, because the Moros repulsed us, as I told
your Reverence. Not less unfortunate will be the news that I shall
now relate, [16] which it is yet necessary for me to tell, in order
to fulfil my duty and to remove the clouds arising from rumors and
letters that will go there. I am here and see everything; and there is
never a lack of those who tell many new things, and exaggerate matters
that are not so great as they will relate and descant there, where
no one can report and declare what has happened. It is as follows.
Since that attack, we have made two others. The first was with five
mines which we had made, with which we expected to blow up a great
part of those walls. All of the mines were fired, and, thinking that
they would cause the same effects as the others, our men retired
farther than they ought to have done. Four of the mines exploded,
and did not a little damage among the enemy. They, full of fear,
fled down from their position; but, as the mines did not make the
noise that we expected, we did not, accordingly, get there in time,
as we were quite distant because of our fear lest the mines do us
harm. The Moros retook their position, so that we were repulsed this
time, as we had been the other--with the death of a captain, while some
men were wounded. The fifth mine was left, and did not explode that
time. Hence its mouth was looked for, and having found it, we tried
two days after that to make another assault. The assault was made after
the mine had exploded. That mine was larger than the others had been,
and caused much damage. But the Moros fortified themselves again,
with greater strength than they had the last two times; and defended
themselves in their trenches, which had been fortified with many
stockades and terrepleins, so that we could not enter. We lost some
soldiers on that occasion, who tried to show that they were bold and
valiant. Among them was the sargento-mayor Melon, who was struck by
a ball which passed through him and carried him off in two days. May
God rest his soul! Thereupon, we retired to our posts, and endeavored
to collect our men and carry away the wounded, who were many. We
have lost four captains of renown in these three assaults--namely,
Captain Pimienta, Captain Juan Nicolas, Captain Don Pedro de Mena, and
Sargento-mayor Gonzales de Caseres Melon. Besides these three assaults,
another misfortune happened to us, on St. Matthew's day, which was as
follows. Captain Rafael Ome, going with forty-six men and two hundred
Indians to make a _garo_ [17] (as we say here), and having taken
up quarters in a field, where there was a fortified house, arranged
his posts at intervals and ordered his men to be on their guard. But
since man proposes and God disposes, the posts were either careless,
or God ordained it thus; for suddenly the enemy rushed upon our men,
who could not unite, as they were by that time scattered through the
forest. The enemy, having caught them off their guard, made a pastime
of it, killing twenty-six men, and carrying off arms, powder, balls,
and fuses. I regard that event as the greatest of all our losses. Among
those of our men killed there by the enemy was Captain Lopez Suarez,
a fine soldier. Our men were not disheartened by these reverses,
except such and such men. The governor well sustains the undertaking
with [all his powers of] mind and body. He has surrounded the entire
hill with a stockade and a ditch, and has sown the ground with sharp
stakes so that the enemy may neither receive aid nor sally out from
it. At intervals there are sentry-posts and towers, so close that they
almost touch. There were six barracks along it, so that if any tower
should be in need the soldiers in them could go to its defense. Some
of them have six men, others four, and those which have least three
men, as a guard. The enclosure is one legua long and surrounds the
hill. I do not know which causes the more wonder, the fort of the
Moros or the enclosure of the Spaniards--which restrains the Moros,
so that they issue but seldom, and then at their peril. We are day
by day making gradual advances. Today a rampart was completed which
is just even with their stockades, so that we shall command the hill
equally [with the enemy]. God helping, I hope that we shall reduce
their trenches, and then we shall advance from better to better. May
God aid us; and _si Dominus a custodierit civitatem frustra vigilat qui
custodit eam_. [18] Father, prayers and many of them are needed. Will
your Reverence have them said in your holy college, and excuse me and
all of us for what we can not do. I forward this letter, [hoping] for
its good fortune in the holy sacrifices of your Reverence, etc. Jolo,
March 31, 1638. To the father-prior of Manila.
_Pax Christi, etc._
I would like to be the bearer of this letter, and to fulfil my desires
of seeing your Reverence and all the fathers and brothers of your
Reverence's holy college. That is a proposition for which credit
may be given me, but the time gives space only to suffer; and thus
do we have to accommodate ourselves to it, and to check our desires,
drawing strength from weakness. I must content myself with writing,
which would be a pleasant task, if I could do it at my leisure, and not
so hastily as I have made known in certain letters that I have sent
to your Reverence--not losing or neglecting any occasion at which I
could write. And so that this opportunity should not pass without a
letter from me, I have hastened my pen beyond my usual custom, and
have written very concisely and briefly--although I could write at
greater length, and give account of many things which I leave for a
better occasion. That will be when it is the Lord's pleasure for us
to see each other. Moreover, I have no pleasant news to write, since
that which I could write would all be to the effect that we have not
gained this enchanted hill; and that, at the times when we have tempted
fortune, we have retired with loss of some men and many wounded.
Continuing, then, in the same style as the last letter, I declare
that since the first assault, in which we were driven back with the
loss of Captain Don Pedro Mena Pando, Adjutant Oliva, and Alférez
Trigita, we have made two other assaults. One was on the twenty-fourth
of March, the eve of our Lady of the Assumption. The second was on
the twenty-eighth of the same month. In the first, we trusted to the
mines that had been made, by means of which we expected to make a safe
entrance. We would have made it had our fear of receiving harm from
them matched the little fear of the enemy--who, as barbarians, did not
prepare for flight, although they knew our designs. Of the five mines,
four blew up; and as was seen, and as we afterward learned here from
some captives, there was a great loss to the enemy. As soon as they
saw the fire, they took to flight; but our men, being at a distance,
could not come up to seize the posts that the enemy abandoned,
until very late. That gave the Moros time to take precautions, so
that when we had come up, it was impossible to gain a single thing
which the mines had given us. On that occasion both sides fought
very valiantly. The wounded on our side were not many, and our dead
even fewer; among the latter was Captain Pimienta. We were forced to
return to our posts without having gained more than the damage wrought
by the mines. The loss of those people was considerable, while not
few of them perished because of the severity of our fire. But with
the opportunity of the fifth mine which remained (which could not
have its effect, because the fire-channel of the others choked it),
the third attack was made inside of two days, by first setting fire
to that mine, and by arranging the men better than on the day of
the previous assault. They were set in array by the governor, who in
person came up to these quarters on that occasion. They set fire to
the mine, and more was accomplished than on the preceding days. Many
of the enemy were killed; but, as the entrance was so deeply recessed,
it could not be forced so freely by us, for the Moros were able to
defend it from us, with so great valor that we could not take it. Our
men fought with so great spirit and courage that it was necessary for
the leaders to use force with them in order to get the men to retire,
when they saw the so superior force of the enemy. On that occasion
they killed seven of our men, besides wounding many. Among the latter
was Sargento-mayor Melon, who was shot through the lung by a ball. He
died on the second day, to the grief of all this army. Thereupon his
Lordship made his men retire to their quarters, and commanded that the
fort should not be attacked, but that they should proceed to gain it by
the complete blockade of the enemy, as we are doing. By this method,
I think that we shall make an entrance into the fort. Already we have
one bulwark, which we have made level with their entrenchments; and
we are raising our works one and one-half varas above them, so that
we are dislodging them with our artillery. They are retiring to the
interior of their fort. By this means we hope to gain entrance into
all their forts; and, once masters of them, I trust by God's help
that we shall conquer their stronghold, and that they will humble
themselves to obey God and the king.
Before those assaults, on St. Matthew's day, Captain Raphael Ome went
out to make a _garo_, as they say here, and to overrun the country. In
this island the level country is heavily wooded as nearly all of it
is mountainous. [19] He took in his company about fifty men [_i.e._,
Spaniards] and two hundred Caraga Indians. The captain reached a field,
and having lodged in a fortified house, such as nearly all those houses
are (for those Indians of the mountain, who are called Guimennos, [20]
build them for their defense), he placed his sentries and seized the
positions that he judged most dangerous. But since _non est volentis
neque currentis_, etc., either because of the great multitude and the
wiliness of the enemy, or (as is more certain) because the sentries
were careless, and the other men asleep, the enemy came suddenly and
attacked our soldiers--with so great fury that they killed twenty-six
men, among whom was Captain Lopez Suarez, a brave soldier. The leader
and captain, Ome, was in great danger. He fought in person with so
great valor that, although run through with a spear, he attacked and
defeated his opponent, laying him dead at his feet. Few of our men
aided him, and many of them retreated immediately, thus allowing
the enemy to capture from us twenty firearms, with fuses, powder,
and balls. That was a great loss, and it is certain that we have not
hitherto had a greater. And if any loss has occurred, it has been
due to the neglect and confidence of the Spaniard.
Today two Bassilan Indians came down from the hill to ask for mercy,
and for passage to their own country. They say that they are sent by
the datos in the stronghold who came from that island of Bassila or
Taquima; and that, if permission and pardon were given to them by the
_pari_ [_i.e._, Corcuera], one hundred and thirty of them would come
down in the morning. We regard this as a trick of that Moro; and,
although it may be as they say, we are taking precautions, and are
watching for whatever may happen. It they should come, they will be
well received; and that will not be a bad beginning to induce others to
come from the hill. I shall advise your Reverence of such event on the
first occasion. What we know that they are suffering within [the fort]
is the disease of smallpox and discharges of blood, together with great
famine; because we have surrounded the entire hill with ditches and
stockades, set with sharp stakes, which run around it for more than
one and one-half leguas, and within musket-shot [of their fort] is a
sentry-post [_garita_] or tower in which three men and three Bantayas
are staying. By that means the enemy cannot enter or go out without
being seen; and, when they do that, they are given such a bombardment
that scarcely does any one dare to go outside of their walls. The
hill is a beautiful sight, and if it were enjoying holy peace instead
of war, it would be no small matter of entertainment and recreation
to survey the landscape at times. The Moro does not like to see us,
and is looking at us continually from his stronghold and yelling and
scoffing at us--as they say sometimes that the Spaniards are chickens;
again, that they are sibabuyes; [21] and again, that they will come
to set fire to us all, and kill us. The Moro is a great rascal and
buffoon. I trust in God that in a little while He will be ready for
our thanksgivings [for the defeat of the Moros]. Will your Reverence
urge His servants to aid us with their sacrifices and prayers. Those,
I believe, it will be that must give us the victory, and that must
humble the arrogance of this Mahometan. His Lordship is displaying
great firmness and patience, as he is so great a soldier. Already has
he almost raised a stone fort on the beach, for he intends to leave
a presidio here, and I think that it will be almost finished before
he leaves. Nothing else occurs to me. Of whatever else may happen,
your Reverence will be advised on the first occasion. If I have gone
to considerable length in this letter, it is because I have known,
one day ahead, of the departure of this champan. I commend myself
many times to the holy sacrifices of your Reverence. This letter
will also serve for our father provincial, etc. Jolo, April 5, one
thousand six hundred and thirty-eight.
The Moro has returned today with a letter from the queen and all the
stronghold, in which they beg pardon and humiliate themselves. May
God grant it, and bring them to His knowledge. I shall advise you of
the result. I hear that Dato Achen is dead. If that is so, then the
end has come. Today, the sixth of the above month.
_Pax Christi_
_Deo gracias qui dedit nobis victoriam per Jesum Christum Dominum
nostrum._ [22] I have written your Reverence another letter, by way of
Othon, telling you that it was our Lord's pleasure to give us a joyous
Easter-tide, the beginning of what has happened. His Divine Majesty
has chosen to bestow upon us an overflowing blessing, by the reduction
of these Moros so that they should come, abased and humiliated, to
beg His governor for mercy; for, whether it was the latter's plan
to go to treat for peace at Basilan for their men, or whether they
should send them all, that they might see how the governor viewed their
petition, the following day they came with letters from the queen [23]
for Father Pedro Gutierrez and his Lordship. Therein she begged the
father to protect her, for she wished to come to throw herself at the
feet of the _hari_ of Manila, and to beg his pardon for the obstinacy
that they had shown hitherto. The father answered for his Lordship,
in regard to the pardon, that if they agreed to do what was right,
they would be very gladly pardoned; but that in regard to their coming
it was not time, until they would humbly give up the arms which they
had taken from us, and the captives, vessels, and holy ornaments;
and that, even though the queen had so great authority, so long as
the king did not come, he must declare and show his willingness to
accept what the queen had written. Accordingly, the king wrote to
the same father and to his Lordship next day, begging the same thing
and more earnestly. But he was not allowed to come--which he urgently
entreated--until they should have given up the arms and other things
of which they had robbed us. Difficulties arose over this point, as
to which of the two things was to be done first. The Moro declared
that he wished to treat first of the peace, and the points on which
they were to agree; and therefore it was necessary to see the _hari_
of Manila first of all. But Don Sebastian, as he was so experienced
in these matters of war (in which God has inspired him with so
wise resolutions, and given him even better results), held firm to
his proposals. Two days passed, but at last the king agreed to the
terms, by giving up the pieces of artillery which he had captured from
us. There were four iron pieces; and, in place of one which had burst,
one of bronze was requested, which many mines had buried. Afterward we
found the broken piece, by opening the mouth of one of the mines; and
he gave it to us willingly--saying that he had thus brought the broken
piece, and that he ought not for that reason to give another in its
place; and that that which had been asked from him had been bought for
forty _basines_ of gold at Macazar. In order that the Spaniards might
see what an earnest desire for a permanent peace was in his heart,
and that he was greatly inclined to it, he sent also some muskets,
although few and poor ones. In what pertained to the captives, he
said that he would surrender those that he had, but that he could not
persuade his datos to give up theirs; still he would ask them to give
their captives. At most, he sent eleven Christian captives, counting
men, women, and children. He had already spent the holy vessels, for,
since it was so long a time since they had been brought, he had sold
them to the king of Macazar; but he said that he and all his property
were there, to satisfy the Spaniards for any injury that they had
received. The king petitioned his Lordship to allow him to visit him;
and his Lordship granted such permission for Quasimodo Sunday.
The dattos [_sic_] were very angry that the king was so liberal, and
because he humbled himself so deeply; accordingly, they opposed his
leaving the hill to talk with the governor. They tried to prevent it,
but the king overruled everything by the reasons which he gave to the
datos, and which Father Gregorio Belin gave to him. His Lordship gave
hostages for the king, and ordered Captain Marquez and Captain Raphael
Ome to remain as such. They asked for Admiral Don Pedro de Almonte
and two fathers, but that was not granted to them. Finally they were
satisfied with the two said captains, persons of great esteem and
worth; and the king came down to talk with his Lordship, accompanied
by many chief men. His Lordship received him with such display as he
could arrange at short notice, under a canopy of damask, and seated
on a velvet chair, with a cushion of the same at his feet. Another
cushion was placed at his side upon a rug. As the king entered
the hall, his Lordship rose from his seat, and advancing two steps,
embraced the Moro king; then he made him sit down on the cushion that
had been prepared. Then his Lordship also seated himself beside the
king in his chair, while at his right side was his confessor, and at
his left stood a captain of the guard and the sargento-mayor. Grouped
behind the confessor were the fathers who were in the quarters on that
occasion. There were two Augustinian Recollects, and one Franciscan
Recollect, and a secular priest. Then came Father Gutierrez, and Father
Gregorio Belin. The king requested permission to rest a little first,
for he came, one of his servants fanning him [_haciendole paypay_],
lifting up from time to time the _chinina_ which he wore--open in
front, in order to catch the breeze, and to enable him to shelter
himself from the heat, or to get rid of the fears with which he
had come. His chief men seated themselves after him on that open
floor, a seat very suitable for such nobility, who esteemed it as a
great favor. Then when the king was rested, or reassured from his
fears, they began their discourses or _bicharas_, talking, after
the manner of these people, by the medium of interpreters--namely,
Father Juan de Sant Joseph, an Augustinian Recollect, and Alférez
Mathias de Marmolejo, both good interpreters. The governor set forth
his conditions. The agreement made was: first, that the banners of
the king our sovereign were to be hoisted on the stronghold; second,
that the men from Vasilan were to be permitted to leave the stronghold
and go to their country; third, that the Macazars and Malays were
also to leave and return to their own lands; and fourth, in order
that the first condition might be fulfilled without the rattle of
arms and the shedding of blood, all the enemy were to come down to
our quarters, while the king and queen and their family could come
to that of the governor. The Moro king did not like this last point;
but as he saw that matters were ill disposed for his defense, he had
to assent to everything. But, before its execution, he begged his
Lordship to communicate the terms with his men and datos, saying that
he would endeavor to get them all to agree to the fulfilment of what
his Lordship ordered; and that in a day and a half he would reply and,
in what pertained to the other conditions, they would be immediately
executed. This happened, for the Basillans descended in two days with
all their men and families--in all, one hundred and forty-seven. Some
fifty or sixty did not then descend, as they were unable to do
so. The Macazars refused to descend until they received pardon from
his Lordship, and a passport to their own country. Therefore their
captain came to talk with his Lordship, who discussed with him what
was to be done with him and his men. The latter are very humble and
compliant to whatever his Lordship should order. His Lordship answered
that he would pardon their insolent and evil actions, and they could
descend with security of life; and that he would give them boats,
so that they could go away. Thereupon the captain, giving a kris [24]
as security that they would come, returned, and immediately began to
bring down his property and men. The Malays came with them, for all
those peoples had united against the Castilians. They are the ones
who have done us most harm with their firearms, and have furnished
quantities of ammunition for all the firearms of the Joloans. At the
end of the time assigned to the king for answering his Lordship in
regard to the matters which he had discussed with him, he was summoned,
in order that what had been recently concluded might not be hindered,
as his Lordship had many matters to which to attend. If he would not
come, his Lordship was resolved immediately to continue his bombardment
and fortifications, saying that he would make slaves of all whom he
captured. With this resolution, the queen determined to come to visit
his Lordship; and, so saying and doing, she summoned her chair, and had
herself carried down to the quarters of Don Pedro de Almonte--which
is the one located on their hill, and which has given them so much
to do. She sent a message to the governor, begging him to grant her
permission, as she wished to see him. His Lordship sent a message to
her, to the effect that he would be very glad to see her, and that
she would be coming at a seasonable time. She came to the hall borne
on the shoulders of her men, accompanied by some of her ladies and by
her _casis_, who was coming with pale face. She alighted at the door
of his Lordship's hall. He went out to receive her, and with marked
indications of friendship and kindness led her to her seat, which was
a cushion of purple velvet; and his Lordship, seated in his own chair,
welcomed her through his interpreter, Alférez Mathias de Marmolexo. She
responded very courteously to the courtesies of the governor; for the
Moro woman is very intelligent, and of great capacity. She did not
speak directly to the interpreters, but through two of her men, one
of whom was the _casis_; and often he, without the queen speaking,
answered to what was proposed. The queen petitioned and entreated
the governor to desist from entering the stronghold, for the women,
being timid creatures, feared the soldiers greatly. And if his Lordship
was doing it to oblige her and the king her husband to descend, she
said that they would descend immediately, with all their people. Thus
did she entreat from him whom his Lordship represented; and I desired
that she should obtain this favor. His Lordship answered her that he
would do so very willingly; but that he had an express mandate for it
[_i.e._, to gain the fort] from his king, and that, if he did not
obey it, he would lose his head. "I do not wish," said Toambaloca
(for such is the name of the queen), "that the favor which I petition
be at so great a price and danger to your Lordship. Consequently,
will you kindly grant me three days? and in that time I, the king, and
our people will descend without fail." His Lordship thanked her anew,
and added that with this she obliged him to fulfil strictly what he
had promised her. "Indeed," said the queen, "I have no doubt of it;
for, being in the gaze of so many nations that your Lordship has to
conquer, it is clear that you must fulfil what you have promised
me; for your Lordship's actions toward me would be understood by
all to be those that you would have to perform toward all." This
terminated the discussion. His Lordship ordered a collation to be
spread for the queen and her ladies; and then his Lordship retired,
so that they might refresh themselves without any embarrassment. Then,
having dined, the queen returned to her stronghold with the retinue
that she had brought. Before she left the quarters she was saluted
by the discharge of two large pieces of artillery, which had been
made ready for that purpose. She was greatly pleased by that, and the
next day began to carry out her promises, by sending down a portion
of her possessions. The Macasars and Malays also brought down their
property with hers, and immediately embarked. I had written up to
this point to this day, Saturday, the seventeenth of this month
of April, hoping for the end of all these incipient results and
expected events regarding this stronghold; the issue has been such
as we could expect from Him who has also been pleased to arrange
and bring it to pass. Last night the queen came down to sleep in our
camp or quarters, with some of her ladies. In the morning she went to
report her good treatment to her people; for she was received with a
salute of musketry and large artillery, and a fine repast. All that
has been done to oblige her to encourage her people, for they were
very fearful, to descend immediately. More than two thousand have
now descended, and our banners are flying on the hill, and our men
are fortified on it. May God be praised, to whom be a thousand thanks
given; for He, without our knowledge or our expectations, has disposed
this matter thus--blinding this Moro and disheartening him, so that,
having been defeated, he should surrender to our governor, and give
himself up without more bloodshed. We are trying to secure Dato Ache;
if we succeed in this, I shall advise you. Now there is nothing more
to say, reverend Father, except to give God the thanks, for He is
the one who has prepared and given this victory to us; and to beg
all in your Reverence's holy college to give thanks that the college
has had (as I am very certain) so great a share in the achievements
[here]. The governor is very much pleased, and we all regard him
in the proper light. The men are full of courage, and even what was
carefully done is now improved. I am your Reverence's humble servant,
whom I pray that God may preserve as I desire, and to whose sacrifices
I earnestly commend myself. Jolo, April 17, 1638.
Juan de Barrios
All the Joloans descended, in number about four thousand six hundred,
to the sea. Finding themselves down and outside the enclosure, they
all fled, under cover of a very heavy shower of rain--leaving all their
possessions, in order not to be hindered in their flight. Many mothers
even abandoned their little children. One abandoned to us a little girl
who had received a dagger-stroke, who received the waters of baptism
and immediately died. There is much to say about this, and many thanks
to give to God, of which we shall speak when it pleases God to let
us see each other. Today, the nineteenth of this month of April, 1638.
Barrios
The governor sent messages to the king and queen by two _casis_,
asking why they had fled. They replied that since all their people
had fled, they had gone after them for very shame, but that they
would try to bring them back and to come, and this was the end of the
matter. The result was exceedingly profitable for our soldiers and
Indians; for the Joloans, fearful because they thought that, if they
became scattered, they would all be killed, abandoned whatever they
were carrying--quantities of goods, and chests of drawers--which our
soldiers sacked. Above, in the stronghold, they found much plunder. It
is believed that the king and queen will return, but not Dato Açhe;
but this is not considered certain.
_Letter from Sanboangan_
_Pax Christi_
I am not writing to anyone [else], for the lack of time does not allow
me to do so. Therefore will your Reverence please communicate this to
the father provincial, Father Hernandez Perez; Father Juan de Bueras,
and the father rector of Cavite.
When our men were most disheartened at seeing that the fortress on the
hill was so extensive, and that it was becoming stronger daily; that
the mines and artillery had seemingly made no impression on it; that
we had been repulsed four times; and that our men were falling sick
very rapidly: in order that it might be very evident that it was [all]
the work of God, ambassadors came from the hill to beg his Lordship
for mercy. He received them gladly, and asked them for the artillery
that they had plundered from the Christians, etc. They brought down
four pieces, which they had taken from the shipyard, and brought to
us some Christians. Next day, more than one hundred and fifty people
from Basilan descended, who surrendered their arms, and then about
fifty Macazars, who did the same; and all were embarked in the patache.
Next day the king and queen went down and slept in the camp of Don
Sebastian. On the following day (which was the day agreed upon when
all were to descend from the hill), seeing that it was already late,
the king and queen said that they would go to get their people. The
governor granted them permission, and went to a camp that was located
opposite the gate of the stronghold. All the Joloans descended,
carrying their goods, arms, etc., to the number of about four hundred
soldiers, and more than one thousand five hundred women, children,
old men, etc. They reached the governor's camp and Don Pedro de
Francia told the king that they must surrender their arms. The
latter replied that he would surrender them to none other than to
the governor. Thereupon, they went to summon his Lordship; but the
Joloans, seeing that they were going to summon him, fled, under
a heavy shower that was falling, and abandoned all their goods. A
vast amount of riches, many pieces of artillery, and versos, falcons,
muskets, arquebuses, etc., were found. The cause of the Moros fleeing
was their great fear that they were to be killed. On our part, since
Don Sebastian Hurtado held all their stronghold, and had left only
thirty men in his quarters (in order that Dato Ache might not escape),
and as that number could not resist so many people, the Joloans were,
on the contrary, allowed to go without any firearms being discharged.
More than two hundred and fifty of the Joloans have died, and they
were perishing in great numbers from dysentery because the women and
children were placed under ground for fear of the balls. That and the
fear of the mines caused their surrender; for it was impossible to
take their fort by assault. The interior strength of that stronghold
is so great that the Spaniards were surprised; and all recognize
that it has been totally the work of God, and [a result of] the
perseverance of Don Sebastian, who ever said that all must die or
capture the stronghold. Somewhat more than two hundred Christians and
more than one hundred Moro women have come from the stronghold during
this time. All the Moro women are fearful. Up to date eighty-three
Spaniards have died from wounds, and many of them from disease.
_The killed_
Sargento-mayor Melon
Captain Don Pedro de Mena
Captain Juan Nicolas
Captain Pimienta
Captain Lope Suarez
_Died of dysentery_
Captain Don Aregita Martin de Avila
Adjutant Oliba
Adjutant Calderon
Alférez Concha
Alférez Alonso Gonçalez
I shall not name others, as they are not so well known, and it will be
known later. Up to date about two hundred Bisayan Indians have died,
most of them from diseases. Don Pedro Cotoan died while en route from
Jolo to Sanboangan, in order to take back the Bisayans, who are a most
cowardly race. Those who have done deeds of valor are the Caragas,
and the Joloans tremble at sight of them. Don Pedro Almonte remains as
governor and lieutenant for the captain-general at Sanboangan, with one
hundred and fifty Spaniards, as has been reported. Captain Jines Ros is
to stay as castellan in Jolo with one hundred and eighty men--Captain
Sarria being fortified in the stronghold with eighty men, and Jines
Ros on the beach in a stone tower that is already eight stones high,
with one hundred men. Captain Marquez is going to Buaren with fifty
Spaniards, although no succor had been sent to Don Sebastian from
Manila. All that has been supplied to excess is truly wonderful,
for the winds have brought (and it is incredible) many champans,
with more than twenty thousand baskets of rice, innumerable fowls,
and pork, veal, beef, and cheeses from Zebu, which have made a very
excellent provision.
They ask for Father Martinez [and] Alexandro [25] at Jolo [and] Father
Carrion at Buiaon, but without an associate. I say that, following
even to the end of the world, I do not know to what to compare these
Moros of Samboangan. They have paid all their tributes. This is a brief
relation. I pray your Reverence to pardon me and commend me to God,
for indeed what I desire is necessary. Sanboangan, April 23, 1638. [26]
APPENDIX: RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES DURING THE SPANISH
REGIME
Laws regarding religious in the Philippines. Felipe II,
Felipe III, Felipe IV; 1585-1640.
Jesuit missions in 1656. Francisco Colin, S.J.; 1663.
The religious estate in the Philippines. Juan Francisco de
San Antonio, O.S.F.; 1738.
Religious condition of the islands. Juan J. Delgado, S.J.;
1751-54
Ecclesiastical survey of the Philippines. Guillaume le
Gentil; 1781.
Character and influence of the friars. Sinibaldo de Mas; 1843.
The ecclesiastical system in the Philippines. Manuel Buzeta
and Felipe Bravo, O.S.A.; 1850.
Character and influence of the friars. Feodor Jagor; 1873.
The Augustinian Recollects in the Philippines. [Unsigned;]
1879.
Present condition of the Catholic religion in Filipinas. José
Algué, S.J., and others; 1900.
Sources: The material of this appendix is obtained from the following
works: _Recopilación de las leyes de Indias_ (Madrid, 1841), lib. i,
tit. xiv; also tit. xii, ley xxi; tit. xv, ley xxxiii; and tit. xx,
ley xxiv, from a copy in the possession of the Editors. Colin's _Labor
evangélica_ (Madrid, 1663), pp. 811-820; from a copy in the possession
of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago. San Antonio's _Chronicas_ (Manila, 1738),
i, book i, pp. 172-175, 190-210, 214-216, 219, 220, 223-226; from a
copy in possession of Edward E. Ayer. Delgado's _Historia general_
(Manila, 1892), pp. 140-158, 184-188; from a copy in possession of
the Editors. Le Gentil's _Voyages duns les mers de l'Inde_ (Paris,
1781), pp. 170-191; 59-63; from a copy in the library of the Wisconsin
State Historical Society. Mas's _Informe sobre el estado de las Islas
Filipinas en 1842_ (Madrid, 1843), vol. ii; from a copy in possession
of James A. Robertson. Buzeta and Bravo's _Diccionario de las Islas
Filipinas_ (Madrid, 1850), ii, pp. 271-275, 363-367; from a copy in
possession of James A. Robertson. Jagor's _Reisen in den Philippinen_
(Berlin, 1873), pp. 94-100; from a copy in the Mercantile Library,
St. Louis. _Provincia de San Nicolas de Tolentino de Agustinos
descalzos_ (Manila, 1879); from a copy in possession of Edward
E. Ayer. _Archipiélago filipino_ (Washington, 1900), ii, pp. 256-267;
from a copy in the library of the Wisconsin State Historical Society.
Translations: These are made (partly in full, and partly in synopsis)
by James A. Robertson.
LAWS REGARDING RELIGIOUS IN THE PHILIPPINES
[The following laws governing religious in the Philippines are taken
from _Recopilación leyes de Indias_, lib. i, tit. xiv.]
LAW XXX
Inasmuch as some of the religious who minister in the Filipinas Islands
are accustomed to go to China without the proper orders, leaving the
missions which are in their charge, whence follow many troubles and
losses to what has been commenced and established in the instruction
and education of the Indians because of the lack that they occasion,
we charge the superiors of the regulars in the Filipinas Islands not
to allow any of the religious of their orders to go to China, or to
abandon the missions in their charge, without the special permission
and order of the governor and archbishop, which shall expressly
state that such religious is not going in violation of this law;
and great care and vigilance shall be exercised in this. Further,
we order that the religious who shall go to the said islands at our
cost, and who are assigned to live there permanently, shall not go nor
shall they be permitted to go to the mainland of China, or to other
places, without permission from the governors and archbishops, since
we send them to fulfil our obligation to impart instruction to our
vassals. No lay Spaniard shall give them a fragata or ship's supplies
without our special order, or the permission of the governors and
archbishops, notwithstanding any privileges that they may urge. [27]
[Felipe II--Barcelona, June 8, 1585; Toledo, May 25, 1596; Felipe
IV--in the _Recopilación_.]
LAW XXXV
We order our viceroys of Nueva España to give license for the preaching
of the holy gospel, the conversion and instruction of the natives,
and for everything else that is usual, to the discalced Carmelite
religious whom their order shall send from Méjico for that purpose
to the Filipinas Islands, Nuevo-Méjico, and other parts; and in order
that those religious may be encouraged and incited to serve our Lord
in that apostolic labor, the viceroys shall protect and aid them as
far as possible. [Felipe II--Madrid, June 9, 1585.]
LAW XXV
We charge the provincials, priors, guardians, and other superiors
of these our kingdoms and of those of Nueva España not to prevent
or obstruct the voyage of the religious who, after receiving our
permission, undertake to go, together with their commissaries,
to engage in the conversion and instruction of the natives of
the Filipinas Islands. Rather shall they give those religious the
protection and aid that is fitting. [Felipe II--Monzon, September
5, 1585.]
LAW XXIX
In consideration of the expenses incurred by our royal estate in
the passage of religious to the Filipinas Islands, of the need [for
religious] caused by those who return, and of the place that they
occupy on the ships, and the fact that some persuade others not
to go to those parts, we order our governors of the said islands
to meet with the archbishop whenever any religious shall be about
to leave those islands for these kingdoms or for other parts; and,
after conferring with him, they shall not grant those religious
permission to leave the islands except after careful deliberation
and for very sufficient reasons. [Felipe II--San Lorenzo, August 9,
1589; Felipe III--Madrid, June 4, 1620.]
LAW XXVII
We order our viceroys and governors of Nueva España, and charge the
superiors of the orders--each one so far as he is concerned--to see
to it with all diligence and special care that the religious sent
to the Filipinas Islands pass thither without being detained. They
shall not be allowed in other provinces, nor shall any excuse be
accepted. [Felipe II--Aranjuez, April 27, 1594; Felipe III--San
Lorenzo, September 17, 1611.]
[The following law taken from título xv of this same libro is here
inserted.]
LAW XXXIII
Inasmuch as we have been informed that the religious sent on our
account to the Filipinas Islands for new spiritual conquests will
accomplish greater results if each order is set apart by itself, we
order the governor and captain-general, and charge the archbishop,
that when this circumstance occurs, and for the present, together
they divide, for the instruction and conversion of the natives, the
provinces in their charge among the religious of the orders, in such
manner that there shall be no Franciscans where there are Augustinians,
nor religious of the Society where there are Dominicans. Thus each
order shall be assigned its respective province, and that of the
Society shall charge itself with the [care of] missions; for it is
under this obligation that they are to remain in those provinces,
as do the other orders, and in no other manner. [Felipe II--Aranjuez,
April 27, 1594.]
LAW XXXIV
The Audiencia of Manila shall give what is needful in ships,
ship-stores, vestments, and the other customary supplies, to the
religious who shall have license and permission to enter China or
Japon, according to the ordinances. Our officials of those islands
shall execute and pay for what the presidents and auditors shall
order and authorize for that purpose. [Felipe II--El Pardo, November
30, 1595.]
LAW XXXI
It is fitting for the service of God our Lord and our own that, when
any religious are to go to preach and teach the holy Catholic faith to
the heathen who live in the kingdoms of China, Japon, and other places,
they shall not enter the country of those barbarians in such a way that
the result that we desire should not be obtained. Therefore we declare
and order that no one of the religious who live in the Filipinas
Islands be allowed to go to the kingdoms of China and Japon, even
though with the purpose of preaching and teaching the holy Catholic
faith, unless he should have permission for it from the governor of
Filipinas. Whenever there is a question of sending religious to China
or Japon, or permission is asked for it, our president and auditors of
the royal Audiencia of Manila shall meet in special session with the
archbishop and the provincials of all the orders of the Filipinas,
and they shall consult over and discuss the advisable measures for
the direction of that holy and pious intent. They shall not allow
any religious to go to the kingdoms of infidels without a previous
permission of the archbishop and governor, with the assent of all who
shall be at the meeting. In order that this may be done, our president
and Audiencia shall give and cause to be executed all the orders that
may be necessary. Such is our will. [Felipe II--Madrid, February 5,
1596; Felipe IV--Madrid, December 31, 1621; February 16, 1635; November
6, 1636; September 2, 1638; July 12, 1640; in this _Recopilación_.]
LAW XXVI
Our viceroys of Nueva España shall protect the religious who go
to the Filipinas Islands by our order and at our account; and the
officials of our royal estate and all our other employees shall give
them speedy despatch and shall treat them well. They shall collect no
duty for their persons, their books, and the warrants which are given
them on which to collect the cost of the voyage. [Felipe III--Madrid,
September 18, 1609.]
LAW XXXII
His Holiness, Paul V, promulgated a brief at our request, dated
Roma, June eleven, one thousand six hundred and eight, in order
that the religious of the orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and
St. Augustine may go to Japon to preach the holy gospel, not only
by way of the kingdom of Portugal, but by way of any other country;
and it is advisable for the service of God our Lord that that brief be
duly fulfilled. We order our viceroy of Nueva España and the governor
of the Filipinas Islands, and charge the prelates of the islands, to
cause it to be obeyed and fulfilled, with the conditions and licenses
ordained by the laws of this título. [Felipe III--Madrid, February 8,
1610; Felipe IV--in the _Recopilación_.]
LAW XXVIII
We order our governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands that
if there are any religious there who live in great scandal, and not
according to their rules, habit, and profession, and others who have
been expelled from their orders, whom the provincials cannot drive from
that province because of the difficulty of embarking them for Mégico,
that he hasten to remedy this, as is necessary and as is most fitting
to the service of God, our Lord, so that such religious may not remain
in those parts. [28] [Felipe III--San Lorenzo, September 17, 1616.]
LAW LII
Inasmuch as briefs have been despatched by his Holiness, ordering the
religious of the Order of St. Augustine in some of the provinces of
Nueva España to elect in one chapter some of the Spanish religious who
reside there, and in the next chapter religious born in the Indias,
we ask and charge the superiors and chapters of the said order to
observe the said briefs and cause them to be observed, in the form
ordered by his Holiness--both in the provinces of Nueva España and
in the Filipinas--since they have passed before our royal Council,
and testimony has been given of their presentation. The same is to be
understood in regard to the other orders and provinces of the Indias,
which shall possess briefs for the _alternativa_, and under the same
conditions. [Felipe IV--Madrid, September 28, 1629; August 1, 1633;
and in the _Recopilación_.]
LAW XXXIII
Although it was determined that no religious except those of the
Society of Jesus should go to Japon to preach the holy gospel for
the space of fifteen years, and that the others who should try to go
to those parts through the rules of their order or their particular
devotion should be assigned the district to which they were to go,
not permitting them to pursue their voyage by way of Filipinas
or any other part of the Western Indias, but by way of Eastern
India--notwithstanding that the precept for the propagation and
preaching of the gospel is common to all the faithful, and especially
charged upon the religious--we consider it fitting that the missions
and entrances of Japon be not limited to only the religious of the
Society of Jesus; but that the religious go and enter from all the
orders as best they can, and especially from the orders that possess
convents and have been permitted to go to and settle in our Western
Indias. There shall be no innovation in regard to the orders that are
prohibited by laws and ordinances of the Indias. Those laws are made
not only for Eastern India but also for the Western Indias, in whose
demarcation fall Japon and the Filipinas. It is easier and better for
the religious of our crown of Castilla to make their entrances by way
of the Western Indias. We straitly charge those who thus enter, from
either direction, to maintain the greatest harmony and concord with
one another, and to regulate the catechism and method of teaching--so
that, since the faith and religion that they preach is one and the same
thing, their teaching, zeal, and purpose may be so likewise. They shall
aid one another in so holy and praiseworthy an object, as if all lived
under and professed the same rule and observance. If the nature of
the country and the progress in the conversion of its natives permit,
the orders shall be divided into provinces, making the assignment
of those provinces as shall appear best, so that, if possible, the
religious of the various orders shall not mingle. If any of those
religious who shall have been chosen are removed, others shall be
assigned in their place, so that, as workers of the holy gospel, they
shall labor in this work which is so to the service of God our Lord,
each order separately. They shall not engage in quarrels or disputes,
shall furnish a thoroughly good example, and shall avoid strictly all
manner of trade, business, and commerce, and all else that shows or
discloses a taint or appearance of greed for temporal goods. And since
it will be necessary, in the further establishment and increase of the
conversion in those provinces, to have therein three or four bishops,
or more, from all the orders--in order that they may confirm, preach,
ordain priests, meet whenever advisable, and discuss and enact what
they think will be necessary to facilitate, augment, and secure for
the conversion--they shall be suffragan, in so far as it concerns them,
to the archbishopric of Manila, because of the nearness and authority
of that church. That division of districts and dioceses shall be made
by our Council of the Indias. [Felipe IV--Madrid, February 22, 1632.]
[A later part of this law is as follows:]
Further, we order our viceroys, presidents, governors, and corregidors
to publish and execute the brief of our holy father, Clement Ninth,
dated June seventeen, one thousand six hundred and sixty-nine,
ordering that the religious of all the orders and the Society of
Jesus, and the secular clerics, shall not be authorized to carry on,
personally or through third parties, trade or commerce throughout
the territories of the Indias, or the islands or mainland of the
Ocean Sea. In that number are included those who go to Japon, as is
mentioned in the said brief to which we refer. [Carlos II and the
queen mother--Madrid, June 22, 1670.]
[The following laws bearing on ecclesiastical persons in the
Philippines are taken from other parts of the _Recopilación_:]
Inasmuch as the seculars who go to the Filipinas Islands from Eastern
India to engage in their labors are generally expelled and exiled,
and remain there, where many are employed in vicariates, curacies,
and benefices, to the prejudice of the natives and the patrimonial
rights of the islands, we order our governor and captain-general
not to allow any of the said seculars from those districts to enter
the islands, or admit them to the exercise of duties or allow them
to give instruction. [Lib. i, tit. xii, ley xxi; Felipe IV--Madrid,
March 27, 1631.]
The treasurer of the Holy Crusade of Nueva España has a substitute in
the city of Manila, in the Filipinas Islands, who performs the duties
of treasurer. That substitute invests the money that proceeds from the
bulls and many other sums, under pretext that they belong to the bulls,
by which method he deprives the inhabitants of the city of the use and
lading-space of four toneladas which he occupies in each cargo. That
is contrary to the rulings of various laws, by which favor is granted
the said city of the lading-space in the ships that are permitted,
and not to any person of Nueva España or Perú. We charge and order
the viceroys of the said Nueva España to cause investigation of the
sum resulting from the bulls distributed in the Filipinas, and that,
whatever it be, it remain in our royal treasury of the islands, and
that so much less be sent to the islands from our royal treasury of
Mexico. The amount that is found to have entered into the treasury
of the islands is to be given to the treasurer of the Holy Crusade
who resides in the City of Méjico. The money that shall be sent to
these kingdoms from the proceeds of the bulls shall be registered on
account of it. The treasurer and his substitute shall not export or
import merchandise to those islands, nor from them to Nueva España,
the viceroys imposing the penalties that they shall deem fit. We order
the officials of our royal treasury of both places to observe, in the
execution of this law, the ordinances which the viceroy [of Nueva
España] and the governor of the islands (each in his own district)
shall ordain. We order the governor to cause this law to be so obeyed
that the sum resulting from the bulls be given into the possession of
the royal officials of those islands; and that they advise those of
Méjico, so that the latter may send just so much less a sum of money to
the islands than what they are obliged to send there annually. [Lib. i,
tit. xx, ley xxiv; Felipe IV--San Martin, December 21, 1634.]
JESUIT MISSIONS IN 1656
[From Colin's _Labor evangélica_ (Madrid, 1663), pp. 811-820.]
_List of the number of religious, colleges, houses, and residences of
the province of the Society of Jesus; and of the churches, districts,
and missions of Indians administered in these Filipinas Islands,
this present year, M.DC.LVI._
The following list of the religious, houses, colleges, and residences
contained in this province at present, and of the districts, and
ministers for Indians and other nations who are under its direction,
was made in obedience to an order from his Majesty (may God preserve
him). It gives the amount of the incomes and properties that they
possess, and the number of Indians instructed. I have deemed it
fitting to add it here, so that the readers of this history may thus
he informed of the present condition of this province.
Religious
The religious of the Society who have come to these islands from
España and Nueva España at the expense of his Majesty since the year
one thousand five hundred and eighty-one, the time of the arrival of
the first, are in all two hundred and seventy-two.
One hundred and fifty-one of these were priests, one hundred and
ninety-eight, student brothers, and twenty-three, coadjutors. [29]
During the seventy-five years since the Society entered these islands,
one hundred and forty-three have been received and have persevered
in this province. Only three were priests; twenty-three were student
brothers, and the rest coadjutors.
The number at present in the province is one hundred and eight:
seventy-four priests, eleven student brothers, and twenty-three
coadjutors.
Colleges and houses
The aforesaid one hundred and eight religious are distributed among
five colleges, one novitiate house, one seminary-college for secular
collegiates, and nine residences, or rectoral houses, with their
missions--a total of sixteen.
Churches and villages
The churches and villages in charge of the rectors of the said colleges
and rectoral houses, and their missions, are seventy-three in number,
besides others which are being temporarily conducted in other parts,
where there is no established village, although the minister and
instructor in doctrine visits them.
The plan and distribution of these religious, colleges, houses,
missions, villages, and churches, is as follows.
The island of Manila and the Tagál province College of San Ignacio
of the city of Manila
It has generally about thirty religious--priests, students, coadjutors,
and novitiates. It is the seminary of all the branches of learning,
where the subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught, the
humanities, arts, and theology; and has authority to confer degrees
in arts and theology. It is the common infirmary and hospitium for
the entire province, especially for those who come new from the
kingdoms of España, and even from Eastern India, Terrenate, China,
and Japon--whence more than forty exiled religious came one year, whom
this college received as guests and maintained for a long time. The
congregations or chapters of the province are held in it. It has those
who take care of the sick and dying; preachers; and confessors to the
Spaniards, Indians, negroes, and other nations--who come to those
ministers throughout the year, especially during Lent, when some
days eight or ten religious go out to preach in various parts. This
college recognizes as its founder and patron Captain Estevan Rodriguez
de Figueroa, former governor of Mindanao, who endowed it with one
thousand pesos income in certain house-properties and fruit-grounds,
most of which have been lost with the lapse of time and the precarious
character of incomes in these regions. It is at present maintained
by alms, and by other new lands and properties which it has been
recently acquiring, from which, although great diligence and care
is exercised, the full amount necessary for its maintenance is not
derived--a matter of five or six thousand pesos--and consequently
debt is incurred every year.
The old church and house fell, and it has been necessary to build
another and new one, stronger and more comfortable. For that purpose
his Majesty (may God preserve him) gave us an alms, in the year one
thousand six hundred and twenty-five, of ten thousand ducados in vacant
allotments of Indians. That was carried into effect by Governor Don
Juan Niño de Tabora. Later, he ordered that six thousand more be given
to us, which is still to be carried into effect. Until the time of
Governor Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, this college also enjoyed
four hundred pesos and four hundred fanegas of cleaned rice, which his
Majesty ordered to be given for the support of four priests, who were
to work among the Indians, which was a great help. Although his Majesty
in his piety and magnanimity orders it to be continued, the needs of
the royal treasury do not allow this to be done in its entirety.
College and seminary of San Joseph
This is for secular collegiates, theologians, artists, seminarists,
rhetoricians, and grammarians. Formerly, their number was thirty-five
or forty; but now it has diminished to twenty or thereabout, because
of the poverty of this country. It has a rector, two professors
of the Society, and two brother-coadjutors, who attend to its
temporal affairs. Its patron is the same Captain Estevan Rodriguez de
Figueroa. Its income does not reach one thousand pesos, and that sum is
used for the support of the religious, and for repairs in the building
and to the properties. The fellowships that the college obtains are
maintained with the sum remaining. The rest of the students pay one
hundred pesos per year for their tuition. Inasmuch as the country is
poor, and most of the inhabitants are supported by the king's pay,
the fellowships are very few in number. For that reason, Governor Don
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera tried to endow some fellowships in the
name of his Majesty, for the sons of his officials and for those of
worthy citizens. That was not continued, as it was done without order
of the royal Council. [30]
Mission village [doctrina] of Santa Cruz
This is a village of Christian Chinese, opposite the Parian or
alcaicería of the heathen of that nation on the other side of the
river of this city, and of some free negroes and Indians who work on
the farm-lands of the college of Manila, to which the above-mentioned
mission village is subordinate. There are one or two priests who are
interpreters in it. The number of Chinese gathered in this mission
village is five hundred tributarios, or a trifle less, and about one
hundred Indians and negroes.
Mission village [doctrina] of San Miguel
This is a village of Tagál Indians, and numbers about one hundred
and forty tributarios. It has one priest who gives instruction. It is
located outside the walls of the city of Manila, and is subordinate
to the rector of that college. A number of Japanese, comprising
influential men and women who were exiled from their country for the
faith, have gathered in this village since the year fifteen. Among
them, the illustrious gentlemen Don Justo Ucondono and Don Juan Tocuan,
with some influential women, have died with the lapse of time. The
Society has always maintained all those Japanese with its alms, and
with the alms given by various persons who aided them generously
when this city was in its prosperous condition; but now they are
living in penury. This house has been the seminary of martyrs since
some of the European and Japanese fathers have gone thence to Japon,
who obtained there the glorious crown of martyrdom.
College of the port of Cabite
It generally has four religious, three of whom are priests, who
labor among the seamen and soldiers and the inhabitants of that
village--Spaniards, Indians, negroes, Chinese, Japanese, and people of
other nationalities--and one brother, who attends to temporal matters,
and conducts the school for reading and writing. The mission of two
small villages of Tagál Indians near there--namely, Cabite el Viejo
[_i.e._, Old Cabite] and Binacaya, which have about one hundred and
thirty tributarios--is subordinate to this college. The priests who
are generally asked by the governors for the fleets of galleons that
oppose the Dutch, and those for the relief of Terrenate, are sent
from this college and the one at Manila. Its founder and patron is
Licentiate Lucas de Castro, who endowed it with an income of five
hundred pesos, the greater part of which was lost on the occasion of
the rising of the Chinese in the year 39.
House of San Pedro
This house is located about two leguas upstream from Manila. It was
established on a site suitable for the education of the novices of
the province--although they generally live in Manila, as they are few
in number, and this house contributes to their support. Its founder
and patron is Captain Pedro de Brito, [31] who gave a stock-farm
and tillable lands for its endowment. Two religious live there. It
has sixty tributarios of Tagál Indians, who work on the estate, to
whom the religious teach the Christian doctrine and administer the
sacraments. Besides that, they exercise the ministries of the Society
among those who go to the said church from the lands and places near
by--a not considerable number.
Residence of Antipolo
This residence has six villages, with their churches; but it has only
two religious and one brother at present, because of the great lack
of ministers. There are about five hundred tributarios, all Tagál
Indians, now Christians, with the exception of a few heathen who
wander in the interior among the mountains. During the first years
while the Society had charge of this residence, about seven thousand
were baptized. The names of the villages are Antipolo, Taytay, Baras,
Cainta, and Santa Catalina.
Residence of Silan
This residence formerly comprised five villages, which are now reduced
to three. They have their churches and three ministers. There are
about one thousand tributarios, all Tagál Indians and Christians. The
villages are Silan, Indan, and Marigondon.
Island of Marinduque
There are two religious in this island, and about four hundred and
fifty tributarios. There are still some Indians in the mountains to be
subdued. In the year one thousand six hundred and twenty-five, a priest
died most gloriously in that mission at the hands of the heathen. [32]
The island is about three leguas distant from the shores of the island
of Manila, opposite Tayauas. It is about three leguas in diameter,
and about eight or nine in circumference. The products in which the
tribute is paid are rice, pitch, palm-oil, and abacá--which is a kind
of hemp, from which the best rope and some textiles are made. There
is a good port in the island where a galleon was built in the time
of Governor Don Juan de Silva. [33]
The island of Zebu and its jurisdiction College of Zebu
Formerly it generally had six religious, who labored among the
Spaniards, Indians, and people of other nationalities. At present it
has but four, one of whom is in charge of the boys' school. On the
occasion of the insurrection of the Chinese in Manila in the year
thirty-nine, this college had lectures in theology. It was founded by
an inhabitant of that city, one Pedro de Aguilar. That college has in
charge the mission of the village of Mandaui, which is the family of
an influential Indian, in which there are about forty tributarios. It
has its own church, where the sacraments are administered to the
people at times; they usually come to the church at our college, as
it is near. Missionaries have gone from this college several times to
certain districts of the lay clergy of that bishopric, and chaplains
for the oared fleets which are used against pirates among the islands.
Residence of Bool
This island belongs to the jurisdiction of the city of Zebu, and its
mission is in charge of the Society. It had many villages formerly,
but now it is reduced to six, the three larger being Loboc, Baclayon,
and Malabooch, which have their ministers; the other three, smaller
ones, being Plangao, Nabangan, and Caypilan, which are appended to
the former, being called visitas here. It has about one thousand
two hundred tributarios. Those are warlike Indians, and have made
plenty of trouble during the past years. However, they are reduced
now, and are conspicuous among the other Indians in the exercises of
Christianity. They pay their tribute in _lampotes_, which are cotton
cloths. It is said that the tribute was formerly paid in gold in
some part of the island; but gold is not now obtained there in any
considerable quantity.
Jurisdiction of Leyte in Pintados
This jurisdiction contains two islands, namely, Leyte and Samar--or, as
it is called by another name, Ibabao. The Society has four residences
in those islands, two in each one.
Leyte
This island has a circumference of about one hundred leguas, and
is long and narrow. A large chain of mountains cuts it almost in the
middle. That and the difference of the two general monsoons, the brisas
and the vendavals, cause there an inequality and a wonderful variety
of weather and climate, so that when it is winter in the north, it
is summer in the south, and vice versa during the other half of the
year. Consequently, when the sowing is being done in one half of the
island, the harvest is being gathered in the other half. Hence they
have two harvests per year, both of them plentiful; for ordinarily
the seed yields a hundredfold. Leyte is surrounded by many other
small islands, both inhabited and desert. The sea and the rivers
(which abound, and are of considerable volume) are full of fish;
while the land has cattle, tame and wild swine, and many deer and
fowls, with fruits, vegetables, and roots of all kinds. The climate
is more refreshing than that of Manila. The people are of a brownish
color, and plain and simple, but of sufficient understanding. Their
instruction and ministry is under charge of two residences or rectoral
houses, namely, Carigara and Dagami.
Residence of Carigara
This residence has ten villages with their churches, and about two
thousand tributarios. The names of the principal villages are Carigara,
Leyte, Xaro, Alangalang, Ogmuc, Bayban, Cabalian, Sogor, Poro, and
Panahon, which are adjacent islets. The products of the earth in which
the natives pay their tribute are wax, rice, and textiles of abacá,
which are here called medriñaques and pinayusas. Six religious are
occupied in the instruction of those villages and districts, besides
those who have charge of the instruction in the shipyards for the
galleons--which are generally built in this island and district on his
Majesty's account, and because of the great ease in procuring lumber
there, and the convenient ports. Two priests died gloriously in this
residence, one at the hands of Moro pirates, [34] and the other at the
hands of the natives themselves in the district of Cabalian [35]--who,
being the natives farthest from the chief village, are less obedient
and pacified than the others.
Residence of Dagami
It has about two thousand tributarios divided among ten villages,
each of which has its church. Those villages are Dagami, Malaguicay,
Guiguan, Balanguiguan, Palo, Basey, Dulac, Tambuco, and Abuyo. Six
religious are occupied in the instruction. They pay their tribute
in the same things as those of Carigara, except the inhabitants of
the village of Guiguan, whose products consist of palm-oil. Opposite
the village of Leyte in this island is another small island called
Panamao, which has no people, but wild boars and other kinds of game,
besides excellent woods for shipbuilding. Some few years ago a mineral
abounding in sulphur was discovered. [36]
The island of Samar or Ibabao
This island is the eastern extension of Leyte, being separated from
it by a very narrow strait, into which a ship can scarcely enter
with the spring tides. On the eastern part it forms a strait with
the island of Manila. The latter is the usual channel by which ships
enter these islands when they come from Nueva España. The famous
cape of Espíritu Santo, [37] the first land of the Filipinas to be
sighted, and which is an objective point [for the ships], is located
in this strait. The natives, the products of the land, the climate,
and other characteristics differ but little from those of the island
of Leyte. The residences which the Society own there are also [like
those of Leyte].
Residence of Cabatlogan [i.e., Catbalogan]
This residence has about one thousand four hundred tributarios, living
in six villages, each of which has its own church. Those villages are
Cabatlogan [_i.e._, Catbalogan] (where the corregidor and commandant
of the jurisdiction lives), Paranas, Caluiga, Bangahon, and Batan
and Capul--which is an islet located in the same channel, next to a
smaller islet called San Bernardino, which gives name to this channel
[_i.e._, the Embocadero of San Bernardino], There are five ministers
busied in the instruction of those villages.
Residence of Palapag
It has about one thousand six hundred tributarios, who are instructed
by five religious. They are divided among eight principal villages,
to wit, Palapag, Catubig, Bobon, Catarman, Tubig, Bacor, Boronga, and
Sulat. The natives pay their tributes in the same products as those
of Leytey, and, in addition to those, some years ago they produced a
quantity of civet. The greater part of this residence was in revolt
some years ago, the authors of the revolt and insurrection having
apostatized from the faith. Two father rectors of the residence--very
important religious--were killed in succession by them, giving up their
lives willingly in the exercise of their ministry. [38] Now the war
which has been waged to reduce them has been concluded. The relief
ships from Nueva España have made port several times at Borongan,
and, on occasions of encounters with the Dutch and of shipwreck, the
ministers of instruction residing there have performed very important
services for the king and for the community. The two islands are much
infested with pirates and hostile [Moros]--Mindanaos, Joloans, and
Camucones--who take a great number of captives nearly every year. For
that reason, and because of their labor in the building of galleons,
and the epidemics that afflict them at times, although fifty-five
years ago, at the beginning of the instruction by the Society, there
were more than twenty thousand tributarios, now they do not exceed six
or seven thousand. When the Society took charge of these two islands,
all their natives were heathen; but now, through the goodness of God,
they are all Christians.
College of Oton and the mission village of Ilog in the island of Negros
This college is located in the island of Panay, in the hamlet called
formerly Arevalo, and now Iloilo. It was founded by the alms of private
persons, and consequently has no patron. There are six religious
there and in the mission village of Ilog in the island of Negros,
which belongs to it. In their charge is the chaplaincy of the presidio
of the Spaniards, and the mission to the natives and those of other
nationalities belonging to this presidio. The mission village of Ilog
is also located near by, and is in the island called Negros. Between
the two of them there are about one thousand tributarios. The Society
has had charge of this mission but few years during which time they
have baptized about six hundred adults. The tribute is paid in rice.
Island of Mindanao
It is the largest island of the Filipinas, next to that of Manila. A
great part of it is still unsubdued. In the portion that is
subdued, the Society has charge of the jurisdictions of Iligan and
Samboangan. The latter is the principal presidio of the Spaniards,
where we are beginning to establish a college.
College of Samboangan
This college has a rector, with five priests as workers. The villages
that it instructs are those of the natives and Lutaos of Samboangan
itself, who number eight hundred families. Instead of paying tribute,
they serve at the oar in our fleets, which are generally out on raids
in defense of our coasts and for the purpose of attacking those of the
enemy. The island of Basilan, opposite the presidio of Samboangan,
and two leguas away, has about one hundred families--most of whom,
attracted by the efforts, affection, and solicitude of the missionary
fathers, come to receive the sacraments. When the tribute is due,
fewer of them appear. The Christian kindness of the Spaniards,
which is most concerned with the welfare of souls, passes that by,
because those people are not yet completely subdued and domesticated,
and because of the risk of losing everything if they oppress them
too heavily. The same condition prevails not only in the mission on
the island of Basilan, but also in all the other missions of this
jurisdiction of Samboangan. In the region of Mindanao these are: La
Caldera, a port situated at a distance of two leguas eastward from
Samboangan, with about two hundred families; Bocot, two hundred and
fifty; Piacan, and Sirauey, one hundred; Siocon, three hundred; Maslo,
one hundred; Manican, thirty; Data, twenty-five; Coroan, twenty;
Bitale, forty; Tungauan, one hundred; Sanguito, one hundred; all
lying south of Samboangan, and all giving a total of three thousand
two hundred and fifty-one families.
In this jurisdiction are included also the islands of Pangotaran and
Ubian, a three days' journey from Samboangan, whose inhabitants are
nearly all Christians. When the fleets pass that way, the natives
give them some kind of tribute. _Item:_ the islands of Tapul and
Balonaguis, whose natives are still heathen. _Item:_ there are many
islets about Basilan, the shelter of fugitive Indians, many of whom are
Christians--who come to the fathers, at times, for the administration
of the sacraments; and, at the persuasion of the latter, are mustered
for service in the fleets. The island of Jolo belongs also to the
said jurisdiction of Samboangan. There are many Christians in that
island, who remained there when the Spanish presidio was removed. The
father missionaries go to visit them at times, and endeavor to bring
them back for the administration of the holy sacraments. Reducing
all those Indians to families, there are about two hundred or so in
Pangotarán and Ubian: one hundred and fifty in Tapul and Balonaguis;
two hundred in the islets of Basilan; and five hundred in Jolo and
its islets: in all one thousand families.
Jurisdiction of Iligan, with its residence of Dapitan
This jurisdiction extends through the eastern part of the island. Its
district extends for sixty leguas, which includes the nation of the
Subanos, [39] which is the most numerous in the island, and well
disposed toward the evangelical instruction, as they are heathen,
and not Mahometans as are the Mindanaos.
The village of Iligan, which is the capital of the jurisdiction, and
where its alcalde-mayor and infantry captain of the presidio lives,
has about one hundred tributarios on the shore; and in the interior,
in another village called Baloy, there are about two hundred families,
although only thirty come to pay the tribute. In another village,
called Lauayan, which is on the other side of Iligan and on the bay
of Panguil, fifty [families pay tribute], although there are twice
as many. Then comes Dapitan, which is the seat of the residence
and mission, as the people there are the oldest Christians of these
islands, who went willingly to meet the first Spaniards who came to
conquer them, and guided and served them during the conquest, and
have always persevered faithfully in their friendship. For that reason
they are exempt from tribute. They number about two hundred families;
while there are about two hundred and fifty more families in another
and interior village situated on the headwaters of the same river.
The villages situated on the coast in the direction of Samboangan
are Dipoloc, with three hundred families; Duyno, with six hundred;
Manucan, with one hundred; Tubao, with one hundred; Sindagan, with
five hundred; Mucas, with two hundred; Quipit, with three hundred:
with a total of one thousand seven hundred and fifty families, who
are computed to be included in this residence, whose instruction is
generally in charge of five priests.
Within a few years seven priests have given their lives and shed their
blood in this island for the administration of the holy gospel, at
the hands of the Moros and apostates: two in the residence of Dapitan,
[40] and five in the district of Samboangan. Of these, one was in Siao;
[41] two in Buayen, [42] a kingdom of the Moros; and two others but
recently in this current year of 1656, in the capital of the entire
island--namely, the river of Mindanao, in the settlement where
King Corralat lives and holds his court. [43] There are, besides,
other lathers who have been captives, one of whom died in captivity;
[44] and others who have died in the Spanish presidio, at their posts
as chaplains.
The products of Mindanao and its islands are in general the same as
those of the other islands--namely, rice, palms [_sc._, cocoanuts],
a quantity of wax, vegetables, civet, and wild cinnamon (which is used
fresh). In the island of Jolo, a quantity of amber has been found at
times, and some large pearls. It alone of all the Filipinas Islands
has elephants.
Mission to Borney
With the opportunity of the oared fleets of the presidio of Samboanga,
which--accompanied by a number of Indian volunteer vessels from the
district of Dapitan, and others of our missions--have sailed during the
last few years to this great island, and since our fathers have always
accompanied them and acted as their chaplains, a mission has been
formed there at the same time; and the ministries of the Society have
been exercised in those so remote parts, with not a little gain, and
great hopes of numerous Christians, since those baptized number seven
hundred--among whom are some of the chiefs of the neighboring islands,
who have already offered vassalage to the king our sovereign, and
asked for ministers of the gospel. If God be pleased to let our arms in
Mindanao be free, and if this undertaking that has been begun in Borney
be continued, it will be without doubt to the great exaltation of our
holy faith, and the advantage of the Spanish state in these Filipinas
Islands. For, besides freeing the islands from the continual invasions,
fires, thefts, and captivities by those pirates, they will enjoy the
fertility, wealth, and abundance of this island, which is the largest
one of these archipelagos, having a circumference of four hundred
and fifty leguas. It is the way-station for the commerce of the rich
kingdoms of India _extra Gangem_ [_i.e._, beyond the Ganges], Pegu,
Sian, and Camboxa, upon which it borders. In respect to Christianity,
great increase can be promised; for the people are, as a rule, docile
and of good understanding. Although the faith of Mahomet has made some
headway in the maritime parts--but not with the obstinacy experienced
in other islands--all the people of the interior are heathen.
College of Terrenate and its missions
The Society maintains a college in the island of Terrenate, which is
the head of the missions of that archipelago, which were hitherto
subject to the [Jesuit] province of Cochin in Eastern India. Last
year they were assigned to this province of Filipinas by virtue of a
royal decree despatched by the advice of the royal Audiencia, by the
governor and captain-general of these islands, on the occasion of, the
revolt of Portugal and India. [45] At present three priests are busied
in this labor: one is the rector who lives in the house and college
of Terrenate, to look after the ministry of Spanish and Indians in
the presidios of that island and that of Tidore, and the village of
Mardicas. The other two visit in mission the many stations in their
charge, as long as there is no minister belonging to each of these.
The chief and oldest mission is that of the kingdom of Siao, where
there was estimated to be at the beginning, eleven thousand seven
hundred Christians, while today they do not number four thousand. The
king of that place has many subjects, and allies in the islands
of Tabuco or Sanguil Bagar, [46] the Talaos, [47] and in Matheo or
Macasar. The Talaos number about eleven thousand souls, and their
chief is a Christian. So likewise those of Maganita, Moade, Tomaco,
and Sabugan in Sanguil Baçar. There are eight hundred native Christians
in Calonga, the capital of the same island. A Franciscan priest lives
there at present, while the Society, to whom that mission belongs,
has no one to send there.
From Siao the mission of the province of Manados, in the island of
Matheo or Macasar, is also visited. Formerly it had four thousand
Christians, but now Christianity is almost wiped out (even the villages
of our faith, and allied to us) by the raids of the Dutch and the
Terrenatans, who favor another nation and one allied with the Dutch
and Terrenatans. Inasmuch as the land of Manados is unhealthful,
five members of the Society have perished in the enterprise of its
conversion. A short distance from Manados is Cautipa, a part of the
same mainland of Macasar, and subject to the king of Siao, with about
four or five thousand heathen families. The fathers lived among them
and made some Christians formerly.
The former Christian settlements in Gilolo--Sabugo, Moratay, San Juan
de Tolo, and others of Batachina--which before numbered two hundred
and fifty thousand Christians, instructed by our fathers, are also
destroyed by the same wars with heretics. May the Lord bring it about
that that door may be again opened to the cultivation of this vineyard,
through the peace of España and Olanda. This vineyard is continued,
by way of this district of Batachina, by the Papuans and thence by
Nueva Guinea--whose farthest bounds are yet unknown, as well as the
knowledge of what God has reserved for the evangelical ministers and
the Spanish empire in that unknown land. [48]
Father Alonso de Castro, a Portuguese, was an illustrious martyr of
Christ in Maluco, for whom, after he had preached the gospel there for
the space of eleven years, the Moros wrought the crown of martyrdom;
in January, 1559--dragging him first through rough places, where he
endured imprisonment, and giving him later many wounds; and, lastly,
throwing his dead body to the bottom of the deep sea. At the end of
three days the body appeared on the strand surrounded with emanations
of light. See his life and martyrdom among the illustrious men of
Father Eusebio. [49]
China and Japon
The relationship with the provinces of Japon and China ought also
to be included among the ministries of this province, because of the
communication that their nearness offers, and the present necessity of
those fields of Christianity imposes obligations on us. The ministers
there have been assisted from here, these last few years, with some
alms for their support--especially in the province of Chincheo, which
is the nearest--and wine for the masses, and holy oils, which those
missions would not have if they were not furnished from here. They
earnestly petition the aid of more ministers, as those who are there
are few and aged. If many ministers come from Europa, and we have an
order for it, some shall be given to them.
THE RELIGIOUS ESTATE IN THE PHILIPPINES
[This survey of religious affairs in the islands is taken from the
_Chronicas_ (Manila, 1738) of the Franciscan chronicler San Antonio,
vol. i, pp. 172-175, 190-210, 214-216, 219, 220, 223-226.]
Chapter XLVI
Ecclesiastical theater of the Philipinas Islands
510. Who does not express wonder that the evangelical preaching in
these islands (and more especially at Manila) is so eloquent; that
the worship in the temples has a veneration as perennial as it is
ceremonious; that the holy orders maintain themselves in the most
strict observance of their institutes and rules; that the Christian
church is so happily increased; that devotion is so well received;
and that justice is so uprightly administered? For, if one considers
without prejudice, these are certain precious gems, so resplendent and
so exquisite, that the crown of España can glory in adorning itself
with them--even though it he, as is the fact, the Spaniards who shape
those gems from justice. All this so ennobles these islands that
they are reported as extraordinary among all these lands.
511. This ecclesiastical theater of the city of Manila demands huge
tomes from justice for its history, which the limits of my history
do not permit; and a very ingenious pen for its praises, which is not
united with my lack of eloquence. I have seen some voluminous writings
on this subject, which I have no time to follow. I have seen some
that are written so meagerly, that my own interest [in the subject]
is offended. May it please God that my design, which confesses itself
debtor to all, may now find a proper medium.
512. The first church of Manila was erected as a parochial church,
under the title of the Immaculate Conception of our Lady, at the end
of the year 1571, when the adelantado and conquistador, Legaspi,
divided the lands and site of Manila. Although I have read in a
certain manuscript that that first erection was made with four clerics,
I cannot find in history anything that verifies this statement. For
the printed histories of these islands state that when the adelantado
Legaspi divided the land, he summoned the natives of Manila and their
ruler, Raja Matanda; and, placing the fathers of St. Augustine in
their presence, told them that those were their true fathers, and
their instructors in the law of the true God, who had come to teach
it to them; and there is no mention of any secular.
513. Further, I think that the licentiate Don Juan de Vivero was the
first cleric who came to these islands. Although he came hither in
the year 1566, in the famous ship "San Geronymo," five years before
the conquest of Manila, it is not proved to my satisfaction that he
was ever in Manila; and it is more probable that he remained in Zebu,
the first land that was conquered. Another cleric was the licentiate
Don Juan de Villanueva, of whom the only thing known is that he was
a priest, and that he lived but a little time--and that after the
erection of the church. Another cleric who came earlier [than the
latter] was Don Luis Barruelo, who had been sent to Philipinas by the
archbishop of México, as associate of the above-mentioned Don Juan de
Vivero, so that they might be the judge-provisors and vicars-general
of all the islands; for the archbishop thought that this provision
belonged to his care and jurisdiction, as he was the prelate nearest
to these islands. But Don Luis Barruelo arrived at the islands in
the year 1577, six years after the foundation of Manila. Therefore it
appears that the Augustinian fathers were the only ones who exercised
the entire government _in utroque foro_, [50] and the parochial
administration of Manila and all the islands. To them succeeded,
in the said government, the discalced Franciscan religious, until
the arrival of the most illustrious Salazàr, first bishop of Manila.
514. This church, when first erected, was poor. Although with the lapse
of time it had sufficient incomes, yet, with the fires and continual
earthquakes, the church buildings were ruined. Thus, because of the
earthquakes of the year 1645, the church of La Misericordia was used
as the cathedral church from November 26, 1652, until June 7, 1662,
when possession was taken of the new church. The latter is still
standing, and was built by the zealous and costly efforts of the
holy archbishop, Don Miguel de Poblete, albeit he did not leave it
entirely finished. His Excellency placed the first stone April 20,
1654. It was a square slab, and bore the following inscription: "The
Church being under the government of Innocent X; the Españas, under
King Phelipe IV the Great; and these islands, under Don Sabiniano
Manrique de Lara, knight of the Order of Calatrava: Don Miguel de
Poblete, its metropolitan archbishop, placed this stone, April 20,
1654, for the building of this holy cathedral--its titular being the
Conception of our Lady, and its patron, St. Andrew the apostle." It
was completed later (on August 30, 1671), by the dean his nephew,
the master Don Joseph Millan de Poblete, who was afterward bishop of
Nueva Segovia. It is a beautiful stone building. It is forty brazas
long by fifteen wide, and five high. It has three principal doors,
corresponding to the three naves of its structure. Along the two side
aisles it has eight chapels on each side [of the church], with two
sacristies--one for Spaniards, and the other for the natives of this
country. The capacity of its choir is fifty-two. Its stalls are of
red wood. The steeple is high and beautiful, and has fourteen bells--a
larger number and larger in size than the old bells, and lately cast
anew--and has upper works of wood, which are not used. The church is
under the personal care and watchful management of the archbishop of
Manila who is now governing. The houses of the ecclesiastical cabildo
are contiguous to the church. [51]
515. Gregory XIII was the one who erected that first parochial church
into a cathedral, by his bull given at Roma in the seventh year of his
pontificate, namely, in that of 1578, at the petition of our Phelipe
II, king of the Españas. He assigned it twenty-seven prebendaries of
whom the king appoints those who are necessary. They consist of five
dignitaries--dean, archdeacon, precentor, schoolmaster, and treasurer;
three canons (the fourth having been suppressed by the Inquisition,
as has been done throughout the Indias); and two whole and two half
racioneros, by virtue of a royal decree given in Valladolid, June 2,
1604, countersigned by Juan de Ybarra, the king's secretary. With
the above, and two curas, sacristans, master-of-ceremonies, verger,
etc., this church is very distinguished and well served, and the choir
is quite crowded at all canonical hours. At its first erection, the
advocacy of the most pure Conception was bestowed upon this church,
and it has been preserved up to the present time.
516. The archbishops of Manila receive the salary of 5,000 pesos of
common gold, by virtue of his Majesty's decree given at Madrid, May 28,
1680; the dean, 600 pesos, by virtue of royal presentation; the four
dignitaries of this holy church--namely, archdeacon, schoolmaster,
precentor, and treasurer--each receive 500 pesos, for the same reason;
the three canons--namely, the doctoral, the magistral, and he of
grace--each 400 pesos, for the same reason; the two racioneros,
each 300 pesos, for the same reason; the two medio-racioneros, each
200 pesos, for the same reason; the master-of-ceremonies, 200 pesos,
by a royal decree dated February 22, 1724; the two curas of the holy
church--one for the Spaniards, and the other for the natives and
blacks--each 183 pesos, 6 tomins, and 7 granos.
Chapter XLVII
Jurisdiction of the archbishopric
536. The archbishopric of Manila extends its jurisdiction through
the entire provinces of Tòngdo, Bulacàn, Pampànga, Taàl, or Balayàn;
even to Mindòro and Marindùque; all the coast of Zambales, up to
the point and bay of Bolinào; Laguna de Baì, and its mountains,
to Mahàyhày inclusive; and the jurisdictions of Cavite, Marivèlez,
and the city of Manila.
Chapter XLVIII
Ecclesiastical tribunals of Manila
537. For the despatch of its business this archiepiscopal
ecclesiastical tribunal has its provisor and vicar-general, with his
chief notary and fiscals. It has a house which is used as the prison
of the ecclesiastical tribunal, which has a capacious living-room,
and separate lodgings for the seclusion of abandoned women.
Commissariat of the holy Inquisition
538. There has been and always is in this city of Manila a commissary
of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, appointed by the holy tribunal
of México. [52] That commissary is the superior and superintendent
of all the commissaries scattered about in the islands--namely,
in Cagayàn, Pangasinàn, Camarìnes, Zebù, Ilòcos, and the island of
Negros; and at Manila another private commissary for the fathers of
the Society, who is always an honored cleric. The tribunal here is
formed of the said superintendent-commissary with his chief constable
and his notary. Its council of ministers comprises various examiners
of books and writings, counselors, and familiars. There are always
three or four superintendent-commissaries appointed, so that in case of
death or removal another may succeed promptly to the office; but only
one of them exercises the office [at any one time]. From the time of
the venerable martyr of Syan [_i.e._, Siam], Fray Juan de San Pedro
Martyr, or Maldonado, the first commissary in these islands (who died
December 22, 1599), until the present commissary, the very reverend
father ex-provincial Fray Juan de Arechederra (a son of the convent of
San Jacinto de Caracas, of the province of Santa Cruz of the Indias,
and graduated with the degree of doctor from the celebrated university
of México), this office of superintendent-commissary has been vested
in the religious of our father St. Dominic successively, without
other interruption than the short interval of seven years--when
an Augustinian, Father Joseph Paternina, exercised the office,
beginning with October, 1664, when he succeeded father Fray Francisco
de Paula, until July of 1671. Then father Fray Phelipe Pardo, afterward
archbishop of Manila, assumed the office, because of the dismissal of
Father Paternìna from his office by a sentence of the holy tribunal
of México, because he unjustly issued acts against and arrested the
governor of these islands, Don Diego de Salcedo. This commissariat
has always been a post of great honor, authority, and credit, and is
for that reason eagerly sought by the most distinguished members of
the order. But, the tribunal of México having requested the fathers
superintendent-commissaries to make investigations, in order to act
as such, the Dominican fathers excused themselves, as they live here
without incomes, and were unable to make investigations because of
their increased expenses; and Father Paternìna being in México on
that occasion, he easily obtained the office which afterward cost
him so much.
Tribunal of the Holy Crusade
539. The erection of the apostolic and royal tribunal of the Holy
Crusade in the city of Manila (as the capital of these islands,
where the royal Audiencia resides), had its foundation in the general
decree of Phelipe III, given in San Lorenzo, under date of May 16,
1609. [53] In consequence of that decree, that tribunal is composed
of a commissary-subdelegate-general, who performs the duties of
president, and is appointed by his Majesty, with the advice of the
supreme council of the Holy Crusade; an auditor, who is the senior
auditor of the royal Audiencia; and the fiscal of the same body--all
of whom receive a special salary for their duties. For the computation
of its accounts, the senior accountant of the royal officials serves,
in accordance with the terms of the above-mentioned royal decree. For
their business they have a secretary; a chief notary, with a salary;
and four notaries, without any assigned salary, but who receive
the fees from the business transacted by them. For the expedition
of the bulls (which are published biennially in these provinces),
the suitable number, and at all prices--bulls for the living and
for the dead, _de lacticinios_, and of composition [54]--are sent
from Europa, with the bundles of despatches and instructions from
his Majesty and from the apostolic commissary-general. Having been
first examined and numbered before the subdelegate-general, they are
deposited under good security in the royal magazines of this capital,
where pay-warrants are issued for the treasurer-general or manager,
into whose charge this business is given.
540. From the first foundation, it was established that the
preaching of each biennial term should occur on the twenty-eighth
of October. But with the beginning of the year 1736 that date was
transferred to the first Sunday in Advent, by order of his Excellency
the commissary-general, so that the preaching might be on the same
date in all the kingdoms and seigniories of the royal crown.
541. The management and despatch of this concession, and the collection
of the alms and proceeds from it, were regularly included, annexed,
in the agreements which were made with the royal apostolic tribunal
of the City of México--the treasurer-general of the kingdom naming a
substitute deputy, who should have in his charge the matters pertaining
to these Philipinas. When that was omitted, it was in charge of the
royal officials of these treasuries, in accordance with the royal
decrees which have so provided it. Certain publications intervened,
which were entrusted, by special arrangement, to the inhabitants
of Manila, independently of the treasurer-general of México. But
lately, the dependence of Philipinas on the arrangements of that
kingdom having been dispensed with, a solemn agreement was made with
the royal apostolic tribunal of this capital, for the six biennials
of the thirteenth concession, by General Don Joseph Antonio Nuño de
Villavicencio, proprietary regidor of this city (who obtained a letter
from his Excellency the bishop, an inquisitor, and former apostolic
commissary-general of the said Holy Crusade); and the said contract
having terminated, a new one was made by General Don Diego Zamudio,
an inhabitant of the said city, who is charged with this enterprise
for the six biennials of the current and fourteenth concession. [55]
542. For that expedition the said treasurers give bonds in sufficient
form. They appoint the receiving treasurers, who attend to the expense
of bulls in all the villages of the provinces that are included in
this jurisdiction, and place the proceeds of this concession, as they
become due, in the royal treasury of Manila, or in those of México,
according to the agreement at the time of contract.
Chapter XLIX
Churches and colleges of Manila
Royal chapel
543. Inside the walls of the city of Manila, and at the extreme
northeast by north section of it, stands the royal chapel, which
has the title of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnacion [_i.e._, our Lady
of the Incarnation], and contains the most holy sacrament. It is a
very elegant structure, and was founded by Governor Don Sebastian
Hurtado de Corcuera. It is used for the chapel functions of the royal
Audiencia, for the spiritual administration of the royal hospital for
the soldiers of the army, and for their burial. For this last purpose,
the chaplains go without any subordination to the parish church,
wearing the cope, and with cross carried high, through the public
streets to the said royal hospital for the bodies of the deceased
soldiers, which they carry with all manner of solemnity to the royal
chapel, where they are buried. For the above, and so that they may
serve in the chaplaincies of the galleons in this line, and for the
divine worship of the said chapel, the chapel has its chief chaplain,
and a number of royal chaplains, sacristans, and other ministers,
who serve it with great decorum and pomp. This is a rich church, and
is beautifully adorned with altars, reredoses, pulpit, and sacristy;
it has choir, organ, and a goodly band of singers; and rich ornaments,
and sacred vessels of silver and gold--and, in particular, a monstrance
of pure gold, valued at eleven thousand ducados.
Royal hospital
544. Not very far from this royal chapel, and more toward the center
of the city, is the said royal hospital, for the soldiers of the
Manila camp. It has its own chaplain, manager, physician, surgeon,
apothecary, and all the other necessary provisions.
Royal seminary-college of San Phelipe
545. His Majesty asked Don Fausto Cruzat y Góngora, governor of these
islands, by a royal decree of November 28, 1697, to inform him whether
there was or was not a seminary-college for boys in Manila, for the
service of his cathedral church; and that, in case there were not,
he should set about its foundation and building. He was to advise
his Majesty of the expenses necessary for it, and for its necessary
maintenance. The governor reported; and, by another royal decree of
April 28, 1702, the piety of his Catholic Majesty decided upon the
foundation of a royal college in the city of Manila, which should be a
seminary for eight seminarists. The sum necessary for its building and
maintenance was to be appropriated from the funds accumulating from
vacancies in the bishoprics of these islands, and from the tithes;
and, if necessary, from the funds of the royal treasury. All was to
be done with the advice of the archbishop of Manila, and his Majesty
was to be informed of all that was done. Everything was carried out
by the governor and master-of-camp, Don Domingo de Zabálburu; and,
with the approval of his Excellency the archbishop, Don Diego Camacho
y Avila, the plans for the building of the seminary were begun with
all possible energy. By a general meeting of the treasury tribunal,
held May 22, 1705, four thousand pesos were appropriated to General
Don Miguel de Elorriaga for the encouragement of this enterprise.
546. With the arrival at these islands of the patriarch of Antiochia,
Cardinal Don Carlos Thomas Millard de Tournòn, [56] in the year
1704, and with the stay of the abbot Don Juan Baptista Sidòti [57]
in the islands, until he went to Japon, that work was strengthened
by various alms, which the said Sidòti went about collecting for it,
until he succeeded in giving it a stone foundation one vara high. The
seminary was called San Clemente, in honor of the pope. [58] Then
writing to Madrid and to Roma the progress that had been made--namely,
that the seminary was already in operation, and that the number
of the seminarists exceeded twenty, and attributing that glory to
the said gentlemen and to their efforts, it was advised that the
said cardinal should select those persons whom he thought proper
for master and rector. Pontifical commission was assigned him for
that, and in fact, in the year 1707, the licentiate Don Gabriel de
Istùris was appointed rector, and the bachelor Don Hypòlito del Rio
as master of the seminarists. On November 28 of that year, the first
eight seminarists were received by the governor of these islands, Don
Domingo de Zabálburu. The archbishop and governor of these islands
helped in all these plans, and, in addition to the above alms,
contributions were made from the revenues of the royal treasury.
547. Having been informed of all this news, the apostolic nuncio at
the court of España presented himself before the Catholic Majesty
in the name of the pope (who had been informed by the archbishop
and the governor of Manila), asking that his Majesty would deign to
consider as valid the said foundation in the aforesaid form in the
city of Manila--since it meant glory to his crown to have a seminary
in these islands, from which so many advantages would follow for
the spread of the Catholic faith in Japon, and China, and among
other barbarous peoples, by rearing subjects in the said seminary in
virtue and learning as evangelical ministers, of whom there was so
much need. That was to be without any expense to the royal treasury,
since some of its seminarists were supported with alms, and some with
the revenues that belonged to their own houses.
548. His Majesty consulted his royal Council of the Indias. From
their examination of the matter a royal decree resulted, dated at
Madrid, March 3, 1710, and countersigned by his Majesty's secretary,
Don Felix de la Cruz Ahèdo, and with the rubrics of five members of
the Council of the Indias. In it his Majesty manifests his just anger
at such innovations and prejudicial proceedings through the agency
of foreigners, when his Majesty had ordained it so long beforehand;
and that, with what had been done, there should be given room for such
progress to be attributed in the Roman court to the active diligence
of foreigners, when his Catholic zeal had sent, at the cost of his
royal treasury, and maintained in these parts the great number of
learned regular missionaries [who are there] for the conversion [of
the heathen], and the propagation of the holy gospel. He was angry
also because this news had come to his royal ears by other vehicles
than his vassals and ministers, and that foreigners had been allowed
in these islands without his royal consent.
549. Therefore, in the said royal order, his Majesty commands that
all the foreign seminarists be taken out of the said seminary, and
that only the eight before decided upon be left, since those were his
vassals. He allows at the most, sixteen boarders, and all those shall
enter only by permission of the governor of these islands, as the
vice-patron; and the building of the said seminary which his Majesty
had before ordered shall be promoted. If there should be persons,
who in good faith would have aided the new seminary with buildings,
incomes, and other gifts, it is asked that they consent to apply these
on the building of the seminary intended and ordered by his Majesty. In
case that they do not agree to that, the just price of whatever can
be useful for this desirable end shall be paid to them; and what is
useless shall be restored to its owners, except such buildings as
may not be necessary, which shall be immediately demolished.
550. By virtue of the royal decree to the royal Audiencia, and those
decrees which accompanied it for the archbishop and governor of Manila,
the building which (as above stated) was already begun was demolished,
and today it is used as the summer palace of the governors; and all
the orders expressed in the said decrees were carried out. On May
6, 1712, the course of arts was inaugurated in the royal seminary
of San Phelipe (for thus did his Majesty order it to be called,
and that the name of San Clemente be erased), with the bachelor Don
Bartholome Caravallo, presbyter, as master. He was appointed by decree
of the superior government, during the governorship of the count
of Lizarrâga, Don Martin de Ursua. Doctor Don Francisco Fermin de
Vivàr was appointed master of theology on July 5, 1714. At his death,
the master Don Ignacio Mariano Garcia, who is at present doctor in
theology, canon of this holy church, and rector of the said royal
college, succeeded to the office. After that time, they began to have
public theological theses there, with the help of the communities of
Manila. Still later, esteeming it advisable for the royal treasury,
the offices of master of arts and theology were suspended, and only
that of master of grammar is preserved. The seminarists who may
choose to continue their scholastic studies, go to the university
of Santo Thomas to hear lecturers there. That is the present course;
and the said seminarists, after being present at the service of the
cathedral church--their first duty--go to the university of Santo
Thomas for the ordinary lectures which are given to them.
Royal professorships
551. In the year 1717, his Majesty (may God preserve him) sent
three professors to the city of Manila, with suitable salaries,
to erect and conduct three professorships--of canons, institutes,
and laws: these were in fact, erected and conducted in this city, in
one of its most notable and roomy houses. In the year 1724, because
of the promotion by the king of Don Julian de Velasco, one of the
professors, to the royal Audiencia of México, and as there were no
suitable persons [for these chairs] the royal Audiencia of these
islands communicated that fact to his Majesty on June 10, 1726, as
well as the small results and increased expenses that were experienced
from those professorships. Therefore, the royal Audiencia had made
provision, while awaiting a new royal order, for maintaining the two
professorships, with the same two lecturers who held them. However,
there was some change, the professorship of canons being given to the
very reverend father Pedro Murillo Velarde, of the holy Society of
Jesus; while the place where the lectures were given was changed to
the college of San Ignacio, of the same Society, where its provincial
generously assigned a room for the exercise [of these lectureships]
and for literary functions. In view of that, the king ordained, by
his decree of July 26, 1730, the suspension of everything enacted
therein by that Audiencia--doing away, for the time being, with the
foundation of the royal university; and saving the royal treasury
more than ten thousand pesos per annum, which had been fruitlessly
spent. Now, very recently, his Majesty, by a decree dated San Lorenzo,
October 23, 1733, has determined that there shall be a chair of canons
and another of institutes in the college of San Ignacio; and he also
determines that there shall be the same at the university of Santo
Thomas. Such is the present condition of the king's professorships,
until a new order is given.
Royal seminary of Santa Potenciana
552. The royal seminary of Santa Potenciana was built in Manila,
where it is situated, in the year 1591. At that time Don Fray
Domingo de Salazàr was bishop, and he aided it with his alms;
while the governor of the islands was Gomez Perez Dasmariñas.
It was established in some houses and on a plot of ground given
for that purpose by Captain Luis de Vibanco, factor of the royal
treasury. There also was built the church with the title of St. Andrew
the apostle, the patron saint of Manila. That church is thought to be
[on the site of] the ancient chapel of St. Andrew which, as appears,
was in that same spot, according to several papers which I have seen of
the year 1580. The seminary has been, and is, used for orphan girls,
the daughters of Spanish parents, to give them good education and
rearing. It is under the royal patronage; and his Majesty takes care
of the maintenance of the seminarists, and helps them as far as may be
necessary. Some pupils, some servants, and even some reformed women are
received also. For the last named, Licentiate Don Francisco Gomez de
Arellano, archdeacon of Manila, and provisor of this archbishopric,
built a separate room. He furnished the reredos of the principal
altar, and gave several other alms and support for the purpose of
changing that seminary to a monastery of nuns; but he was unable to
attain his purpose, for God cut short the thread of his life. They
have their own chaplain, their rectoress, and their portress; and
they live safely retired and with holy mode of life.
Royal brotherhood of the Santa Misericordia
553. The royal brotherhood of the Santa Misericordia of the city of
Manila is composed of the members of the most prominent families of
Manila. They have their overseer, twelve deputies, and a secretary,
who form their executive board, besides other officers for their
necessary transaction of business. They were established in imitation
of the one which was erected in Lisbôa, in the year 1498, by the most
serene queen of Portugal--Doña Leonor, at that time the widow of Don
Juan the Second, who had died in the year 1495 as appears in all the
Portuguese histories. Their founder was a Trinitarian religious of
praiseworthy life, one Fray Miguel de Contreras. The Misericordia
of Manila is due to the pious and fervent efforts of that venerable
servant of God. Father Juan Fernandez de Leon, a secular priest,
a native of Gibra-Leon, in the county of Niebla in Andalucia, at the
time when this archbishopric was governed by the very reverend father
Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, [59] of the Order of Preachers, and
the Philipinas Islands by Don Luis Gomez [_sic_: error for _Perez_]
Dasmariñas. This holy brotherhood was established April 16, 1594, with
the liberal alms of all the nobility of Manila, and the above-named
governor was appointed its first overseer. The three who coöperated
for its establishment and the formation of its constitution, were
Father Peréyra, of the holy Society of Jesus, father Fray Marcos de
Lisbôa, a Franciscan, and Don Christoval Giràl, all three of them
Portuguese. In the church of the Society of Jesus at Manila met the
most reverend father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, the venerable dean
Don Diego Basquez de Mercado, and the said venerable Juan Fernandez
de Leon; the venerable fathers Antonio Sedeño and Raymundo de Prado,
of the holy Society of Jesus; the venerable fathers Fray Agustin
de Tordesillas, Fray Marcos de Lisbôa, Fray Alonso Muñoz, and Fray
Juan Bautista, of this seraphic [_i.e._, Franciscan] province;
together with the magistrates, regidors, and superior officers of
the army of the city, and other persons of education and talents,
both ecclesiastics and laymen.
554. Thus erected, and in accordance with its erection, the Santa
Misericordia remained with the temporal management, and our province
with the spiritual management, of the hospital, which from that time
began to be called the Misericordia [_i.e._, "House of Mercy"] of the
Franciscan fathers--which before had been cared for by the venerable
Leon and our venerable Fray Juan Clemente; and the erection of the
said hospital in proper shape was considered.
555. They built a church with the title of "Presentacion de Nuestra
Señora" [_i.e._, "Presentation of our Lady"], and a house and seminary
with that of Santa Isabel, in order to rear Spanish orphan girls with
thorough instruction in Christian doctrine and with good morals. It
had a rectoress to care for and govern it, and a portress. Thence
the girls go out with dowries sufficient for the estate [of marriage]
to which they naturally tend, for which purpose the holy Misericordia
appropriates sixteen thousand pesos. The girls who study there, who
all the time are supported with whatever is necessary, number about
sixty, besides some pupils, six slave girls, and other servants. For
their expenses and those of their chaplains ten thousand seven hundred
pesos are appropriated. It is a seminary of so great reputation and
honor that, although it has been used from its beginning as a refuge
for girls--the daughters of poor Spaniards, whom the brothers obtain
from various houses and from Santa Potenciana--the best citizens
of the community do not hesitate today to send their daughters
there. Thence they go out to assume the state of matrimony, or as
nuns of St. Clare. Their church is very capacious, of beautiful
architecture, and very richly adorned. It was used as the cathedral
(as above stated) until the year 1662, when the cabildo took possession
of its new church.
556. Not only does this brotherhood have in charge today the support
of this girls' seminary, and of the hospital of the Misericordia
(although the latter is at present under the charge of the hospital
order), but there is no class of persons which does not experience
the charity of this holy house, through the generous alms that its
executive board distributes. If the royal Misericordia of Lisbôa boasts
that 30,000 ducados of private alms and other sums, which are spent
nearly every year for the redemption of captives, were distributed in
one year, there is not a year that this great charitable institution
does not spend 70,000 pesos in various purposes of charity, such as
those already mentioned--poor Spaniards who are unwilling to ask
alms, and prisoners, and masses for the blessed souls--so that it
is estimated that this holy house has given 3,448,506 pesos in alms
from the year 1599 until that of 1726. That sum has been produced
by the pious bequests that have been left for charitable purposes
by the inhabitants of Manila. To this should be added the advances
that have been made to the general fund of these islands, in cases
of extreme necessity and invasions by the enemy, in the years 1646,
650, 653, 663 to 668, and to that of 1735. The total, according to
an accurate computation, amounts to 1,069,099 pesos.
557. The Misericordia takes care of the financial affairs of
twenty-nine collative and of ten laical chaplaincies; and, in the
royal college of San Joseph, of two fellowships.
558. It is governed by its own special rules, and their observance
imposes the obligation of mortal sin. It has remarkable and
venerated reliquaries. It enjoys many privileges from the supreme
pontiffs, and innumerable indulgences. It is under the immediate
royal protection by a royal decree of his Majesty, dated Sevilla,
March 25, 1733, countersigned by Don Miguel de Villanueva, the king's
secretary. Concession was granted in that decree to place the royal
arms in their church and college; to go out as a corporation on Holy
Thursday to make the round of the stations; and entire credit is to
be given in all the tribunals to the instruments of the secretary of
the executive board.
Other charitable institutions
559. There are other charitable institutions in Manila in emulation
of that of the holy Misericordia, although not so wealthy: in the
cathedral church, in the seraphic tertiary order of the convent
of Manila, in that of the convent of Dilao, in [the convent of]
St. Dominic, in their convent of Binondoc, in their beaterio, in the
convent of the calced Augustinian fathers, in that of the discalced
Augustinians, and in that of the Society. All of them serve as a refuge
for the poor; for from them is obtained money in proportion to good
securities, and on pledges of gold and silver, at moderate rates of
interest, for the trade of merchants, with which the poor Spaniards
engage in business and increase their wealth. Their returns are used
for the various charities purposed by the founders who placed their
money there--such as divine worship; alms for the orders; dowries for
poor Spanish, Indian, and mestiza girls, and for those of the Cavite
shore; alms for the self-respecting poor; hospitals and prisons;
and suffrages for the blessed souls in purgatory--which are perennial.
Chapter L
Curacies and employments of religious in this archbishopric
Curacies
560. There are thirteen secular curacies and their visitas in all the
archbishopric of Manila. In the Manila cathedral there are two--one
for Spaniards, and one for natives. In the province of Tongdo is the
curacy of Santiago; that of La Hermita de Guia, and that of Quiapo, the
latter being an archiepiscopal house. In the jurisdiction of Cavite,
the curacy of that port and city, and that of the natives of San
Roque. In the province of Balayàn, the curacy of Balayàn and that of
El Rosario. In the province of Laguna de Bai, the curacy of Tunasàn,
that of Tabùco, and that of Santo Thomas in the mountains. In the
jurisdiction of Mindòro, the curacy of Lubàn. In all those curacies
there are now administered about [_blank in original_] souls.
Calced Augustinians
561. The calced Augustinian religious have their convent and church
within the archbishopric. It is all of stone arches, and is located
in Manila; and art has employed all its beauties in its building,
and it is of special size and beauty. There live, as a general thing,
fifty religious, all of well-known talents; and they have quarters for
novitiates and study, for those who need them. This was the first order
which (in the year 1565) conquered these islands; through their first
prelate and father of them all, the venerable Fray Andrès de Urdanèta,
a Biscayan, and a son of the convent and province of México. This
convent of Manila is the head of all the province of Dulcissimo
Nombre de Jesus, and of all the parochial convents that are possessed
throughout the province by the Augustinians, to wit, as follows:
562. In the province of Tongdo: the convents of Tongdo, Tambòbong,
Malàte, Parañaque, Pàsig, and Tagui. According to the last census,
those convents minister to 21,959 souls.
563. The sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de Guadalùpe on the river of
Manila, where there are no Indians in its charge, and where only a
few religious stay for the worship of that holy image.
564. In the province of Bai, the province of San Pablo de los Montes,
which has in charge 2,600 souls.
565. In the province of Taàl or Balayàn: the convents of Taàl, with
the holy sanctuary of the miraculous Virgin, and of Casàysày and its
administration; that of Bàuan, that of Batàngas, that of Tanàuan,
that of Salà, and that of Lipà--with 14,628 souls.
566. In the province of Bulacàn: the convents of the villages of
Bulacàn, Dapdap, Guiguintò, Bigàa, Angàt, Baliuàg, Quingua, Malòlos,
Paombòng, Calumpit, and Hagònoy--with 23,303 souls.
567. In the province of Pampanga: the convents of the villages
of Bacòlor, Macabèbe, Sesmòan, Lubào, Vauà, Minàlin, Bètis, Pòrac,
Pueblo de México, Aràyat, Magàlang, Tarlàc, Gapàng, Santòl (with its
missions, and the new village of San Sebastian), San Miguel de Mayòmo,
Candàba, Cabacsà, Apàlit--with 38,513 souls.
568. In the mountains of the same province of Pampanga, within a
radius of twenty-four leguas, there is a most flourishing mission of
several barbaric nations, in which 4,500 souls are converted. [60]
569. The order of our father St. Francis of the discalced religious
followed the Augustinians in point of their establishment in these
islands; but I shall leave them for the last place in this book, in
order to give precedence to the guests from outside, who honor my work.
Society of Jesus
570. The holy Society of Jesus came to these islands with their
two vigorous apostolic leaders, Father Antonio Sedeño and Father
Alonso Sanchez--who were most helpful companions of Don Fray Domingo
de Salazar, the first bishop of Manila--in the year 1581. They have
their principal college in Manila, whose titular is St. Ignatius. It
is a sumptuous edifice, and head of all the colleges (which are eight
in number, the houses proper of the order), and of all the residences
and missions of these islands. In this chief college is situated the
pontifical and royal university of letters.
571. It is assured that Pope Julius III was the first to concede
the power of granting degrees to the holy Society of Jesus, on
October 22, 1552; but only to Jesuit scholars. Afterward Pius IV
extended this faculty to outside students, August 19, 1561. Lastly,
it was all confirmed by his Holiness, Gregory XIII, May 7, 1578,
that pope declaring that the prefect of studies could give the
degrees. Urban VIII, on petition of the sovereigns Phelipe III
and Phelipe IV, decreed that degrees could be given in the Indias
by the hands of the bishops, in the colleges of the Society, as
was once practiced in Manila by Archbishop Serrano. And because
it was not continued, that college of San Ignacio availed itself
of the privileges already noted, and of which mention is made in
libro i, título xxii, law ii, of the _Recopilación de Indias_. [61]
Wherefore it appears that the holy Society gave degrees in Manila
by pontifical and regal authority. Later his Holiness, Gregory XV,
by his brief _Apud S. Mariam Mayorem_, conceded, on August 8, 1621,
the same privilege, but with the following restriction, _præsentibus
ad decennium dum-taxàt valituris_, and that decennial was completed
in the year 1631. Then on May 12, 1653, a royal writ of execution was
issued, granting authority to graduate students from the college of San
Ignacio or that of San Joseph. In the year 1718, the royal university
was started in these islands, and it was maintained until the year
1726. As one of the professors was promoted to the royal Audiencia
of México, the chair of the morning classes in canonical law was
given to the very reverend father Pedro Murillo Velarde, of the same
Society, who had been professor of these branches in the universities
of Granada and Salamanca, as a collegiate in the imperial university
of San Miguel of Granada, and of the chief [college] of Cuenca at
Salamanca. But on account of the increased expenses occasioned by
this royal university, and as the benefits derived therefrom, as
experience demonstrated, were little, this royal Audiencia of Manila
determined that these professorships should be located--as it were, in
trust--in the college of San Ignacio of Manila. That was in fact done,
the Society showing this courtesy to his Catholic Majesty--until, by a
decree dated July 26, 1730, those professorships are now suppressed,
and other provision has been made. Now, very recently, the chief
college of San Ignacio has, besides the privileges above cited,
two new chairs--one of canonical law, without a salary, directed by
a religious; and the other of institutes, under a layman, with four
hundred pesos of income, in accordance with a decree from the Escorial,
dated October 23, 1733. The college is authorized to grant degrees
in canons, laws, and other branches by his Holiness, Clement XII,
by his brief of December 6, 1735. Many are taking those studies, and
are deriving great advantages therefrom. Their literary exercises are
very excellent, and continue [throughout their course of study] under
the careful guidance of the holy Society, which is not a new thing.
572. The royal college of San Joseph, contiguous to the above college
of San Ignacio, and near the royal gate of Manila, has for its origin
a royal decree of Phelipe II, dated June 8, 1585, wherein the governor
of these islands--who was to confer with the bishop of the islands
as to the means--was ordered to institute a college, and support
religious who were to teach Latin, the sciences, and good morals to
those who should attend. In obedience to that decree, the said college
of San Joseph was founded in the year 1595. Twelve fellowships were
created, and one thousand pesos assigned from the royal treasury. A
deed of it was given on condition that the college was to be called
a royal college, and that the arms of his Majesty were to be placed
on it. A few years afterward, by the will left by Estevan Rodriguez
de Figueròa, governor and captain-general of the island of Mindanào,
this college was established from the foundations in his name. It had
a sufficient number of students, and a continually brilliant exercise
in the branches of learning, which is flourishing in these times. Its
antiquity, and its precedence to that of Santo Tomas, is defined by
the royal Council of the Indias, in a contradictory judgment, which
appears from a royal decree or writ of execution dated March 12,
1653. The title _Real ad honorem_, with authority to place it on all
its acts and despatches, and to place the royal arms on its gates,
as we now see them, is a concession of our Catholic king, by his
royal order of May 3, 1722. Therefore this college is held in esteem
and has a remarkable popularity.
573. In the province of Tongdo [the Society has] [_marginal note_:
residences or missions] in the villages of Santa Cruz, outside the
Manila walls, and in San Miguel on the river of Manila; up the river
toward Laguna de Baì, in the villages of San Pedro Macatì, San Matheo
(with the missions of San Isidro, and Paynàan in the mountains),
Antipòlo, Tàytày, Caintà, Mariquìna, Silàn, and Indàng.
In the jurisdiction of Cavìte, in the village of Cavìte el Viejo
[_i.e._, old Cavite], and in the port of Cavìte, a college without
administration.
In that of Marivèlez, in the village of Marigondòng.
In the jurisdiction of Mindòro, in the island of Marindùque, in the
villages of Boàc, Santa Cruz de Nàpo, and Gàsang.
574. There is a beaterio, in the city of Manila, of respectable
Indian women with their mistress, who have withdrawn from the world,
and are employed in holy living and exercises. Although the fathers
of the Society do not have charge of it and its government, because
of the prohibition in their statutes, it is, through the common error
of the crowd, called "Las Beatas de la Compañia" ["Devout women of
the Society"], for they hear mass, confess, and receive communion in
their church at the college of the Society.
575. The number of souls in charge of the fathers of the Society
throughout these islands and the Marianas, according to the latest
computation (of which the fathers have informed me), is one hundred
and seventy thousand.
This is all the total that I know from this point on, for the other
bishoprics, which are lacking.
St. Dominic
576. The first religious of the order of our father St. Dominic who
were known to have come to this archipelago were in the year 1581--the
first bishop, Don Fray Domingo de Salazàr, and his associate, Fray
Christoval de Salvatierra, the only survivor of a very fine mission
that his Excellency brought. But the first mission that came to
establish itself in Manila consisted of fourteen religious, under their
vicar-general, Fray Juan de Castro, in the year 1587, on the eve of
[Mary] Magdalene. This holy religion has the merit of being more strict
in Philipinas than in Europa; for its members do not receive honorable
titles or its convents incomes. Their habit is of unmixed frieze, and
there is nothing to be asked for as a dispensation in their regular
observance. They have a very fine convent in the city of Manila, which
supports about thirty religious of virtue and learning. It is the
chief convent of this most religious province of Santissimo Rosario.
577. The pontifical and royal university of Santo Thomas, incorporated
in this holy province of Santissimo Rosario of our father St. Dominic,
must recognize as its origin that venerable servant of God, the most
illustrious and reverend Don Fray Miguel de Venavides, of the same
order, who while archbishop of Manila, planned this so noble a work in
the year 1610--giving all his library and about one thousand pesos,
which was the amount of his property, to begin its foundation. He
was followed by Don Fray Diego de Sória, of the same order, and
bishop of Nueva Segovia in these islands, who bequeathed all his
library and three thousand eight hundred pesos for the continuation
of this work. Consequently, by the year 1620 it already had lecturers
and masters for the public teaching of the sciences, by order of the
superior government and the Audiencia of these islands, as appears from
the _Recopilación de Indias_, libro i, título xxii, ley liii. [62]
After that three pontifical briefs were obtained, each one _ad
decennium_, empowering them to graduate students from the courses
of philosophy and theology. But Don Phelipe IV by his letter to the
count of Siruela, his ambassador in Roma, petitioned and obtained
from his Holiness Innocent X the bull commencing _In supereminenti_,
given at Roma, November 20, 1645. In that bull his Holiness erects a
university in the college of Santo Thomas in due form, with all the
exemptions and privileges that other universities have, under the
care of the Order of Preachers. Authority is given to the rector to
confer degrees, establish statutes, and appoint officials, his Holiness
giving them the names proper of university, etc., until an independent
university of general studies should be founded in Manila. Afterward
the king, by a royal decree, dated Madrid, May 17, 1680, admitted
the said university under his patronage and royal protection; and
ordered the governor, Audiencia, archbishop, and orders to so regard
it, and to observe its statutes and exemptions. By another decree,
dated Madrid, November 22, 1682, the king concedes authority for
the erection of the chairs of laws and medicine in Santo Thomas. By
another quite recent decree, dated San Lorenzo, October 23, 1733,
the king grants to the university of Santo Thomas two chairs--one of
canonical law, which is held by a religious who receives no salary;
and the other of the institutes, in charge of a layman, appointed by
the royal Audiencia, and assigned a salary of four hundred pesos per
annum, payable from the royal treasury, and to be taken from [funds
arising from] the vacant sees of the archbishop and bishops of these
islands. The same favor is conferred upon the college of San Ignacio
of the Society. At present these two chairs are being maintained in
both places. A petition having been made to his Holiness in behalf
of the said university, that authority be conceded it to graduate
students in the laws from it, his Blessedness Clement XII (who is at
present governing the Church), concedes this, granting said chairs
to the university. His bull _Dudum emanarunt_, promulgated in Roma,
September 2, 1734, in which he inserts the letter of Innocent above
cited, and the permissions and prerogatives there expressed (which
are those of general universities), incorporates the said chairs,
and those which may be founded in the future, so that the university
may be able to graduate students in them, and so that the graduates
may enjoy all the exemptions which are there mentioned.
578. Thus does the order maintain that university, and it has men there
of excellent learning and qualifications for public teaching. There are
a sufficient number of students and collegiates who hear instruction,
illustrated in the public literary exercises in the sciences, and with
all the other aids necessary. Its material edifice is very substantial
and large and has a sufficient number of apartments and class-rooms
of goodly capacity. It is located next door to the convent of our
father St. Dominic in Manila.
579. The seminary of San Juan de Letràn was started by a Spaniard
of excellent life, called Brother Juan Geronymo Guerrero, who had
in charge the rearing and teaching of poor and orphaned Spanish
boys--whom, partly with his own money but more with alms, he was
supporting and had gathered in his house. For that purpose his
Majesty granted him an encomienda in Ylòcos for the support of the
said boys. When he became quite old and helpless he retired, with
the permission of the archbishop, to the infirmary of St. Dominic,
where he died a religious, having renounced in due form his house,
encomienda, and all his other property, so that he might give them
to the order. The latter was to take charge of the education of the
said orphans. So in effect the seminary of the said boys was given to
the order of our father St. Dominic with all the aforesaid incomes,
besides a piece of land one hundred brazas long by fifty wide (which
they were to choose) in the Parián--free, and without paying land-tax
to the city--as a help toward its support. That transfer was made by
decree of Governor Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuèra, dated Manila,
June 18, 1640, as appears from the first document in the book of
the foundation of said seminary. In that book is seen its erection
into a seminary with the advocacy of St. John of the Lateran, as
appears from the acts of the archbishop and provisor, and from the
other solemnities, found on leaves 5-11 inclusive. Their principal
rule was the education of the said orphans, so that they might go
thence as soldiers, and to occupy other posts in the community. Now
most of them become priests, studying the branches of philosophy and
theology; and almost all the seculars of the bishopric of Camarines,
and many others in the other bishoprics of the islands, come from that
seminary. From the said seminary, there have been already graduated
with great credit four doctors through the university of Santo Thomas,
two of whom are now canons of this metropolitan church--one, provisor
of Ylòcos; and the other, chief chaplain of the Misericordia. Some
incomes in the royal chapel have been added to the said seminary, and
a seraphic tertiary order with which fifty collegiates are regularly
maintained in education for the order of our father St. Dominic.
580. In the suburbs of Manila, the Dominicans have the hospital of San
Gabriel for the Chinese, and the convent and church of Santos Reyes
[_i.e._, "holy kings"], with the administration of the same Christian
Chinese, who live and trade here.
581. In the province of Tongdo, this order has charge of the village
of Binondòc and the convent of San Juan del Monte (but without any
administration), up the river of Manila.
582. In the province of Pampànga, the convents and administration
of the villages of Abocày, Sàmal, Oriòng, Oranì, with some visitas
and missions. In these administrations they have in charge sixteen
thousand souls.
In the port of Cavite, a convent without administration.
583. Inside the city of Manila, the royal beaterio of Santa Cathalina
is incorporated with the province of Santissimo Rosario. It was
established in the year 1695, in the house and on the ground given
for that purpose by Don Antonio Esguerra with some shops of the
Parián for its support. Accordingly, some _beatas_ [_i.e._, devout
women] lived there in retreat for some years, in the care of the
Dominican religious. Later General Don Juan Escaño took charge of the
maintenance of the said beatas. He left a considerable portion of his
property for that purpose, specifying that there should be fifteen
Spanish beatas for the choir, and sufficient lay-sisters to take
care of the beaterio. Today it is a house worthy of deep veneration
and respect. The king has incorporated it in his royal patronage,
with authority to have a public church with bells and a choir, and
permission to celebrate the divine offices. They have a cloister, and
profess the tertiary order of the Dominicans. The only thing necessary
to perfect their lives, and which they desire, is profession as nuns.
Discalced Augustinians
584. The discalced religious of the great father of the Church,
St. Augustine, entered Manila in the year 1606. Although they were
the last evangelical workers, their apostolic zeal has extended in
rivalry to the first ones, and they have attained abundant results from
their labors, in the reduction of the most barbarous islanders, and
in the exemplary lives of their reformed religious. The first convent
in which they lived was the one now called San Juan de Bagongbáyan,
outside the walls of the city of Manila. It was established with the
title of San Nicolas de Tolentino, which is still preserved (without
administration), with the veneration merited, not only by their primacy
but by the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Salud [_i.e._, "our
Lady of health"] who is venerated there. Later, a convent was erected
in due form under the ancient advocacy of St. Nicholas of Tolentino,
that saint being today the titular of that most strict province. In
that convent, which is inside and near the walls of Manila, there
are generally maintained thirty or forty religious. They have the
reputation of being a community as well regulated as the best in
Castilla, and one in which have been known a great number of fathers
of holiness and learning. From that convent they go out to perform
their laborious ministrations in these islands. Their houses in this
archbishopric are as follows.
585. In the province of Tongdo, the convent of San Sebastian near
Manila, where the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora del Carmen
[_i.e._, "our Lady of Carmen"] is revered, and she has a Confraternity
of the holy Escapular, with very fervent devotion. There are three
hundred and thirty-six souls ministered to in that convent.
586. In the jurisdiction of Marivèlez: in the villages of Marivèlez,
Cabcàben, Bagàc, Mòrong; and they have administration between Súbic
and the point of Bolinào, which is the country of the Zambàles. They
also have some missions in the mountains near by. In that district
they care for 8,550 souls.
587. All of the island of Mindòro is under the charge of those
religious, where in various villages, visitas, missions, and
settlements, they minister to 7,552 souls.
588. In the port of Cavite, they have another convent, a dwelling
for the religious without any administration of Indians.
[_In the margin_: "Total number of souls, 16,438."]
St. John of God
589. The hospital Order of St. John of God, although their institute
is the hospital and the treatment of bodies, have not a few times
served as medicine for souls, under the spur of the apostolic zeal of
those charitable religious. Although it appears from a royal decree
of February 10, 1617, that permission was given for ten religious
for these islands, one cannot find evidence of the time of their
entrance. They can only be found in the year 1649, with a hospital of
convalescents in Ragongbayan, outside the walls of Manila, with their
superior, the very reverend prior vicar-provincial, Fray Francisco de
Magallanes. [63] Cession was made to him, as the head of his order,
of the old hospital, which was founded by our Fray Juan Clemente. The
Santa Misericordia of Manila, under the title of "Hospital of
the Misericordia of the Franciscan fathers," managed its financial
affairs--as appears from the written statement of the said executive
board of May 13, 1656, and from the permissions of Archbishop Poblete,
of May 11 of the said year, and of Governor Don Sabiniano, of March
22 of the same year. His Catholic Majesty approved that gift by his
royal decree of December 5, 1659. That hospital continually suffered
ever-recurring disasters, until the arrival at these islands of the
very reverend father Fray Antonio Arce, in July of 1726, as its head
and superior. Such has been his zeal and prudence that he has merited
the glorious title of restorer of the hospital order in these islands,
in its organization and affairs. For now, not only is it seen to be
glorified by a very large, distinguished, and devout community, but
they have built a sumptuous church from the foundations, excellent
sick wards, and the house of the religious, almost to the extreme of
perfection. They began so grand and vast a work November 28, 1728,
when his Excellency Archbishop Don Carlos Vermudez blessed the first
stone, in the presence of Governor Marquis de Torre Campo (who began
that building with two thousand pesos, which he gave that afternoon
as alms), and the most noble and prominent people of this community.
590. There was another hospital in Cavite, but it was swallowed up in
the sea. At present a common house is used there as a hospital. The
same thing is true of Zebù. All that will be remedied, as is proved
by experience, if the providence of God do not fail it, as hitherto
it has not.
Discalced Franciscans
591. Our discalced religious came to these islands immediately
following the Augustinian fathers, in the year 1577. They were the
founders of the custodia of San Phelipe, which was later entitled
San Gregorio. Now the province of the discalced Franciscans has
the same title. Its first founder was the venerable Fray Antonio de
San Gregorio, and its first custodian, the venerable Fray Pedro de
Alfaro. Possession was taken of the new convent of Manila, August 2,
1577, and the most holy sacrament was placed in their church of Santa
Maria de los Angeles [_i.e._, "St. Mary of the Angels"]. That was the
first receptacle [for the sacrament], or sacristy, that his Majesty
had in these islands. In this convent the community ceremonies are
observed, in accordance with the rigor of the rules of España. There
is a well-served infirmary, and [opportunity for] studies, when that
is necessary. It generally contains thirty religious, according as
the climate and other accidents of this country permit. This convent
is the mother and head of this holy province, whence go religious to
minister to the places in our charge. They are as follows.
592. In the archbishopric of Manila: in the province of Tòngdo,
in the villages of Dilào Sampàloc, Pandàcan, and Santa Ana de
Sàpa--sanctuaries very famous for the miraculous images of our Lady
and of the child Jesus--where 7,900 souls are ministered to.
593. In the province of Bulacàn: in the villages of Pòlo, Meycauayàn,
Bocàui, with their visitas, where 19,500 souls are ministered to.
594. In the province of Laguna de Baì: in the villages of Mòrong,
Bar-às, Tanày, Pililla, Mabitac, Cabôan, Sinilôan, Pangil, Panquil,
Paète, Longos, Lucban, Cauinti, Pagsanghàn, Santa Cruz (with its
infirmary), Pila, Maìnit (with the hospital of the sulphur-water
baths), Nagcarlàn, Lilio, and Mahàyhày in the mountains. And now
lately, by cession of the Augustinian fathers, the villages of Baì,
and Binangonan de los Ferros [_i.e._, "Binangonan of the dogs"], with
the settlement of Angono. In all those villages, and their visitas,
40,534 souls are ministered to.
595. In the mountains of Daraëtan, which extend from Laguna de Baì
to the opposite coast of Valèr, there is a mission with about four
hundred converted souls, and many others to convert. [64]
596. There is another convent outside the walls of Manila, at
one legua's distance, called San Francisco del Monte, without
administration, but used only for the spiritual retreat of the
religious, which has its guardian.
597. Near the royal magazines of Manila stands the celebrated convent
of the nuns of our mother St. Clare. They are subject to this province,
and are governed by their vicar, a religious of this province. Its
foundation and attending circumstances are treated in the body of
these chronicles.
598. Within the court or enclosure of our convent of Manila,
there is a very sumptuous chapel with the most holy sacrament,
for the attendance and exercises of the venerable tertiary order,
administered and governed by a religious, a commissary-visitor,
a son of this holy province.
599. Outside the walls of Manila, near the village of Dilào, stands the
hospital of San Lazaro, whose spiritual and temporal administration is,
and has always been, in charge of the discalced Franciscan religious.
Chapter LI
Bishopric of Zebu
600. It has been stated above, in the list of the archbishops of
Manila, that the bishopric of Zebu is one of the three suffragans which
Pope Clement VIII erected for these Philipinas Islands by his brief of
August 14, 1595. This is the most extensive, not only because of its
territory in the islands, but because its jurisdiction also includes
the Marianas Islands. The episcopal see is established in the city
of Dulcissimo Nombre de Jesus (before called San Miguel)--founded
in the month of April, 1565--in its very spacious wooden church,
which is dedicated to the holy guardian angel (unless it be dedicated
to the holy archangel, St. Michael, as is so fitting, as he was the
first titular of that village). That church has its sacristy, with its
cura and sacristan. There is a provisor, and some secular clergy with
benefices are located in some of the islands of its jurisdiction. In
that city the order of the great father St. Augustine has a convent,
in which is venerated [an image of] the most miraculous child Jesus,
found at the conquest of the city; a college of the Society of Jesus;
a convent of the discalced Augustinians; and perhaps one or several
religious of St. John of God. Toward the eastern part of the island
of Zebù is located the city, with some Spanish houses--although now
only one or two Spaniards live there with the alcalde-mayor, who is
the governor, chief justice, general of the soldiers in Pintados,
and castellan of the fort in the same city; two alcaldes-in-ordinary,
one lieutenant of royal officials, three regidors, two notaries, one
city steward, and one chief constable. There is a district for the
Sangleys, who form a Parián. The above is all that is most noteworthy
regarding the city of Zebù.
Jurisdiction of this bishopric
601. The bishopric of Zebù extends, with its jurisdiction, throughout
the province of Lèyte; throughout that of Zebù, with the adjacent
islands, as above stated; the province of Caràga; the province of
Panày, with the jurisdiction of Ogtòng, and adjacent islands; as
far as the Calamiànes, and Paràgua; the northern coast of Mindanào;
and the Marianas Islands.
Stipends of the bishops of these islands
602. His Excellency the bishop of Zebù receives an annual stipend
of four thousand pesos of common gold, by virtue of a royal decree
dated May 28, 1680. The cura of the sacristy of that holy church
receives 183 pesos 6 tomins 7 granos; the sacristan, 91 pesos 7
tomins 3 granos. The other two bishops, their curas, and sacristans,
receive the same stipends, and for the same reason.
Chapter LIII
Curacies and administrations of the bishopric of Zebù
Curacies
615. The sickness and death of the bishop, and the distance of that
bishopric, have delayed the news that I had hoped to receive of
the curacies in its district. Therefore, I shall proceed with the
administrations of the religious throughout that bishopric.
Administrations of religious
616. In the city of Zebù is the convent of the calced Augustinian
fathers--the first temple and sacred repository of the miraculous
image of the holy Child that was discovered--where, as a rule, three
religious live, without administration.
617. Outside the walls is the convent of San Nicolas, or Zebù el
Viejo [_i.e._, "Old Zebù"], which was the first village conquered
by the Spaniards. Hence its natives are reserved from tribute, and
are ministered to by the Augustinian fathers. The number of souls
reaches 3,504.
618. The administrations of the villages of Argào, Bolohòn, Cotcot
(with Liluan), in the island of Zebù, whose souls number 8,666, have
been lately ceded (in this year of 1737) to the fathers of the Society,
with the necessary licenses.
619. In the province of Panày: in the village and capital of Càpis,
and in the villages of Batàn, Mambusao, Dumalàg, Dumarao, and the
village of Panày. In those administrations there are reckoned to be
about 18,785 souls.
620. In the province of Ogtong, in the villages of Miyagao, Antique,
Bugason, Tigbaoan, Cabutuan, Laglag, Passi, Anilao, Dumangas, the
island of Guimaras, Hàro, Ogtong, and Guimbal--in which there are
52,906 souls.
621. In the two above-mentioned provinces of Ogtong and Panày, there
are innumerable souls of the apostate Cimarrones, the children of
Christian parents, who have fled to the mountains. Much activity has
been always displayed in their conversion, especially since the year
1731, and much gain is hoped from it.
622. The holy Society of Jesus has one of their colleges in the city of
Zebù, and near it the administration of Mandabe. But lately the three
villages of Argao, Bolohòng, and Cotcot (with its annexed village of
Liluan), which were conceded to them by the Augustinian fathers, have
been added to them in the same province of Zebù. And near Zebù, in
the small island of Porò, the chief island of the three called Camotes.
623. In the island of Bohòl: in the villages of Loboc, Baclayon,
Dáuis, Malabohòc, San Miguel de Hagna, Talibong, and Ynabanga.
624. In the island of Mindanào: in Dapitàn, with the mission of
Ylàya. In Yligàn, with the missions of Layànan, Langàran, Lubùngan,
Disacan, Talìnga, and others, which are being reëstablished. In
Sanboàngan, the missions of Bagumbàyan, Dumalòn, Siocòn, Cabatàngan,
Caldèra, Poongbatò, and Sirauày.
625. In the island of Negros, in the villages of Ylog, Cabangcàlan,
with the mission of Buyônan. In Himamaìlan, Cauàyan, Ynayàuan, with
the mission of Sipalày. In Iloilo, in the port, which is the capital,
and in Mòlo.
626. In the island of Lèyte: in the villages of Lèyte, Palompòng,
Ogmùc, Bàybày, Hilòngos, Maasim, Sogòr, Cabalìan, Lilòan, Hinundàyan,
Abùyog, Dùlac, Dagàmi, Buràbuen, Pàlo, Tanàuan, Hàro, Alangàlang,
Carigàra, and Barùgo.
627. In the island of Samàr: in the villages of Càpul, Catbalògan,
Parànas, Calbìga, Umàuas, Lalauìton, Basey, Balangìgan, Gìuan, Sùlat,
Tùbig, Boròngan, Làuang, Palàpag, Catùbig, Bobòng, Catarmàn, Gibàtang,
Bangàhon, and Tinàgor.
628. In the Marianas Islands: in the villages of two islands, called
Agàdña, Agàt, Merizo, Pàgo, Ynaràhan, Umàtag, Ròta, and Seypàn,
where there are about 2,697 souls.
629. The discalced Augustinian fathers have a convent without
administration in the city of Zebù. Their administrations in that
bishopric are as follows.
630. In the islands called Calamianes: in the island of Paràgua,
they have the villages of Tàytày and Paràgua. In the islands of
Dumaràn, Calatàn, Malampàyan, Culiòn, Linapacàn, Busuàgan, Cùyo,
Canèpo, Alutàya, Bejucày, and Romblòn. In the island of Bantòn, in
Tinàya and Maìnit. In the island of Simàra, the village of Simàra. In
the island of Tablas, in the three villages of Cabolòtan, Odiòngan,
and Lalòuan. In the island of Sibuyàn, in Càuit, and Cahidyòcan. In
all those islands 21,076 souls are reckoned.
631. Throughout the island of Mindanào, and the province of Caràga;
in the villages of Butuàn, Linào, Hibòn, Hingòoc, Habòngan, Maìnit,
Ohot, Tubày, Tandàg, Calagdàn, Babùyo, Tàgo, Marihàtag, Liànga, Bislig,
Hinatòan, Catèl, Bagànga, Caràga, Higaquit, Pahuntùngan, Surigào,
Cagayàn, Hipìnon, Agùsan, Manalàga (a new village), Gompòt, Balinùan,
and Tagolòan, with their missions. In the island of Siargào, in the
villages of Caòlo, Sapào, and Cabònto. In the island of Dinàgat,
and in the island of Camiguin, the two villages of Guinsilìban,
and Catarmàn. Those administrations number 21,635 souls.
632. Since the fathers of St. John of God have no fixed convent,
they likewise do not have any regularly-established religious.
Chapter LIV
Bishopric of Nueva Cáceres in Camarines
633. The bishopric of Nueva Cáceres was erected at the same time and
in the same manner as that of Zebù. Its see is in the city of Nueva
Cáceres, which is located in Naga, and has its provisor, cura of its
parish church, secretary, and sacristan.
Jurisdiction of that bishopric
634. In its jurisdiction it embraces the whole provinces of Camarines
and Albay, and as far as and inclusive of the islands of Ticào,
Masbate, Burìas, and Catanduánes; the province of Tayàbas, as far
as and inclusive of Lucbàn; and, along the opposite coast of Maubàn,
[it contains] Binangonan, Polo, Valèr, and Casigùran.
Chapter LV
Curacies and administrations of the bishopric of Nueva Cáceres
Curacies
650. That bishopric possesses the curacy of the sacristy of the
holy church of Nueva Cáceres; and in the province of Camarìnes,
the curacies of Indàn, Paracàle, Capalònga, Caramòan, and Lagonòy,
with several visitas. Those curacies number 11,984 souls.
651. In the province of Tayàbas, the curacies of Pirìs, Obuyon,
and Mulanày, with their visitas, in all numbering 5,161 persons.
652. In the province of Albày, the curacies of Albày, Bulusàn,
Casigùran, Sorsogòn, Donsòl, Tabàco, and Malinào, with their visitas,
in all 18,562 persons.
653. In the island of Catanduânes, the curacies of Bìga, and Bìrac,
numbering 6,471 persons. [65]
Administrations in charge of religious
654. The calced Augustinian fathers possess in that bishopric, in
the province of Tayàbas, the administration of the village of Tiaong,
where 780 souls are reckoned.
655. The discalced Augustinian fathers possess, in the island of
Masbàte, the sites of Maboò, Balinò, Palanò, Abuyòan, Camasòso,
Buracàn, Limbòhan, Nauàngui, and Baràga, in which they minister to
about 3,345 souls.
656. In the island of Burîas, the village of Burîas, with 180 souls.
657. In the island of Ticào, the village of Ticào, with San Jacinto,
with 475 souls. [66]
658. The discalced Franciscan religious of this province of San
Gregorio have administration in what they own in that bishopric,
in a convent of the village of Nàga, contiguous to the city of
Nueva Cáceres, in the province of Camarìnes. A commissary-provincial
lives there, and they have a good infirmary. They also minister in
the villages of Canamàn, Quípayò, Milaòrd, Minalàbag, Bùla, and Bào,
Nabòa, Yraga, Buhi, Libòng, Polàngi, Oàs, Ligào, Guinobàtan, Camarìnes,
Cagsàua, and Ligmànan, where they minister to 52,555 souls.
659. In the province of Tayàbas, in the villages of Tayàbas, Pàgbilào,
Saryàya, Lucbàn, Gumacà, Atimònan, Mayòboc, and Macalìlong, in which
13,807 souls are ministered to.
660. In the mission of the mountains of Lùpi, Ragày, and the beach
of Bangon, with their village formed in Lùpi, in the province of
Camarìnes, where nine hundred souls are ministered to.
661. In the same province, in the mountain of Mangirin, in the village
of Santa Cruz, formed from the people who are being gathered from
the mountain, where 1,200 souls are ministered to.
662. In the province of Tayàbas, in the mountains and coasts of
the opposite shore, in the villages of Binangonan, Pòlo, Valèr, and
Casigùran, which include the administration of the Indians, with the
missions annexed to them, and where 2,500 souls are ministered to. [67]
Chapter LVI
Bishopric of Nueva Segovia
663. The bishopric of Nueva Segovia is one of the suffragans of
this archbishopric of Manila, and it was erected at the same time as
the others and in the same circumstances. Its see is located in the
village of Làlo. There lives the alcalde-mayor, while the village
has an infantry presidio, and a convent of Dominican religious. It
has its own provisor, cura, and sacristan for that holy church.
Jurisdiction of that bishopric
664. That bishopric which is called Cagayàn includes under its
jurisdiction the provinces of Pangasinàn, from the point of Bolinào;
Ylòcos; and Cagayàn, to and inclusive of Palànan on the opposite coast.
Chapter LVII
Curacies and administrations of the bishopric of Cagayàn
Curacies
679. The curacies of the seculars in that bishopric are [as follows]:
in the province of Cagayàn, the curacy of the city and the village of
Lallo; in the province of Ilòcos, the three curacies of Vigan, Bangued
(in the mountains of Labra), and that of San Diego, a mission of the
Tinguianes--whose number I am unable to determine, although I have
made extraordinary efforts to do so. All the rest of that bishopric
is in the charge and under the administration of religious, as follows.
Administrations of religious
680. The calced Augustinian fathers have, in the province of
Pangasinàn, the village of Agoò, with San Thomas and Aringày, whence
the religious go to the neighboring mountains to the conquest of
the barbarous Igorrote people; in the village of Bàuan, with those
of Boua, Dalandan, Caua, and one other fine mission; in the village
of Bagnôtan, with that of San Juan, and another fine mission. Those
administrations number 8,875 souls.
681. In the province of Ilòcos, in the village of Namacpacàn, with
that of Balavan, and a fine mission; in that of Bangar with Tagurin
and another mission; in that of Candong, with Santa Lucia; in that
of Narbacàn, with that of Santa Cruz; in that of Santa Cathalina;
in that of Bantay, with those of Ildefonso and Masingal; in that
of Cabogào, with Lupog; in that of Sinait, with Badòc; in those of
Panay, Batàc, San Nicolas, Leyrat, and Dingras, with that of Piric,
and an extensive mission of heathen Tinguianes in those mountains,
from whom little fruit was obtained until the year 1730. (In the year
1735, through the visit of our father provincial, the very reverend
father Fray Piego Vergaño, they asked for religious very urgently,
begging that some would live in their villages. A great harvest of
spiritual fruits is hoped from that.) In the village of Ilduàg; in that
of Bangui, with other small mission villages; and in that of Bacarra
with that of Vera. All those administrations number 51,453 souls.
682. In the province of Pangasinàn, the Dominican fathers have
their administrations in the villages of Lingayèn (the capital of
that province), Binalatongan, Calasiào, Mangaldan, Manaòag, Cavili,
Malonguèy, Telbàn, Binmalèy, Dagupàn, Malasiqui, Anguìo, Salàza,
Sinapòg, Panìqui, Camiling, Barùc, Paniaguit, and Pantòl; with some
visitas, and missions of blacks. The number of souls in all those
administrations amount to about 48,000.
683. In the province of Cagayàn, in Lallo (the capital of that
province): Pata, with Cabacungan and Bangan; Pia, with Maoanan;
Nasiping, with Gataran; Malaueg, with its mission of Santa Cruz; Tuvao,
with its mission of Tuga; Yguic, with its visita of Amulong; Fotòl,
with its visita of San Lorenzo, and its mission of Capinatan; Massì;
the island of Babuyanes, with the missions of the islands of Batàn
and Calayan; Cabàgan; Tuguegarào; Buguèy, with its mission of Vuangàc;
Tabàng; Ytugùd, with the mission of Ziffun; Ylágan, with the mission of
Tumavini; Aparri; and Camalayûgan. The number of soul is about 25,752.
684. The discalced Franciscan religious possess the administration
of the village of Palànan, with 1,700 souls, on the opposite coast
of Cagayàn.
685. There is a fine mission of several barbaric people called Irràyas,
Negritos, and Aètas in the mountains of the same opposite coast; and
on its shores, from Palànan to Casiguran. The religious are working
in their conversion and reduction, at the expense of excessive
hardships. The souls converted in various settlements there number
about six hundred.
Chapter LVIII
General summary of all the Christian souls among the natives of
these islands
686. I have been unable to state separately the number of souls to
whom the seculars minister in the archbishopric and in the bishoprics
throughout these islands. I have seen them enumerated only in
common. They number 131,279 and live in 142 villages.
The seculars minister throughout this archipelago to 131,279
St. Augustine, throughout the islands 241,806
The Society, in all the islands 170,000
St. Dominic, in all the islands 89,752
Discalced Augustinians, in all the islands 63,149
Discalced Franciscans, in all the islands 141,196
Total 837,182
687. Thus, the number of eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand one
hundred and eighty-two Christian souls, among the natives of these
islands--who are ministered to spiritually in the above-mentioned
provinces, villages, and settlements--is what I get from the special
lists sent me for this work by the holy orders, made according to the
last enumeration, that for the years 1735 and 1736. I have supplied
those which have not been furnished to me (which I have solicited
by various means) from the clergy of these islands, with the number
mentioned, which is placed by the very reverend father Pedro Murillo on
his map. [68] This, together with the account of the royal officials
for the year 1735, are the citations that I offer for the proof of my
account, if there should be any discrepancy between it and others. I
reflect that no one can give a better account of the treasury than
he who has continual care of it. It is doubtless true that all or any
of them may have unavoidable errors; for the Indians are continually
removing, dying, or absenting themselves. Consequently, I judge that
the number of souls, of those who are at this time reputed to be
natives of these Islands, exceeds one million. The temples [of God]
where the instruction is given in villages and visitas are in excess
of seven hundred, as was represented to his Catholic Majesty by the
royal officials in a report in the year 1720. As for the number of
Spaniards and foreigners, the computation is extremely difficult and
uncertain; and therefore it is not safe to make a decisive statement.
688. After very painstaking efforts, at the time when this book is
in press I receive information about the curacies of the seculars
of Zebù, in the following form. The curacy of the sacristy of the
holy church, and that of the Parián of the Sangleys, in the city of
Zebú; in the island of Zebú, that of Bantayàn and Baríli; in the
island of Negros, in Dumaguète, Binalbàgan, Tucàuan, and Tanghày;
in the island of Panày, in the city of Arébalo, Ahúy, Aclàng, Banga,
Ybahày, and Culási. Nearly all those curacies are very large and
need assistants. Throughout that jurisdiction and in the Marianas
there are various outside vicars, who are generally the religious of
those regions. Such is the information which I have obtained from
the provisor of that bishopric; but he does not give the number of
parishioners, as it is very difficult to ascertain it.
RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE ISLANDS
[The following is from _Historia general_, by Juan J. Delgado,
S.J. (written in 1751-54), pp. 141-158. The chapters here presented
are from part i, book ii.]
Chapter II
Of the ministries of souls that pertain to the clerics in these
Filipinas Islands
In the assumption, so certain and evident, that the clerics, both
seculars and regulars, had been the primitive apostles and preachers
of the holy gospel in the Orient and in these archipelagos, I commence
with them to describe the ministries in these islands that have been
commended to their zeal and care. In the archbishopric of Manila,
the curacies of the venerable clergy amount to sixteen, besides some
visitas. There is one for Spaniards, and one for natives, in the
cathedral; that of Santiago, outside the city; that of the chapel
of Nuestra Señora de la Guía; that of Quiapo, which belongs to the
archiepiscopal jurisdiction: these belong to the province of Tondo. In
the jurisdiction of Cavite there are: that of the port of that city;
outside the walls, that of San Roque; not very distant, that of Bacoor;
and another, called Las Estancias [_i.e._, "the ranches"]. In the
province of Taal is that of Balayán; the Rosario, in the province of
Laguna de Bay; those of San Pedro, Tunasán, Tabuco, and Santo Tomás,
in the mountains. In the jurisdiction of Mindoro is that of Suban.
In the bishopric of Santísimo Nombre de Jesús of Cebú, there is one
Spanish cura in the city, and outside the walls is that of the Parián
of mestizos and Sangleys; that of Barili in the same island, and
that of Bantayán (of whose jurisdiction are the visitas of Maripipi,
Panamao, and Limancauayán); that of Siquijor, in that same island. In
the island of Panay, the curacy of Aclán, Banga, Ibajay, Culasi, Ajui,
and that of the town of Arévalo (which his Excellency the bishop, Don
Protasio Cabezas, has lately conceded to the Society of Jesus). In
the island of Negros, that of Dumaguete, with several visitas; and
those of Binalbagan, Tugcaban, and Tanhay.
In the bishopric of Nueva Cáceres or Camarines, in the city which
is the capital and seat of the bishopric, there is one cura of the
sacristy, who is provisor and vicar-general. In the same province are
the curacies of Indang, Paracale, Capalonga, Caramoan, and Lagonoy,
with some visitas belonging to the same curacies. In the province
of Tayabas are the curacies of Pyris, Abuyon, Mulanay, and their
visitas. In the province of Albay are the curacies of Bulusan,
Casiguran, Sorsogón, Donsol, Tabaco, and Malinao, with their
visitas. In the island of Catanduanes are the curacies of Biga and
Birac, with their visitas.
In the bishopric of Cagayán is the curacy of Lalo or Nueva Segovia; in
the province of Ilocos, that of Vigan, and that of Bangar; and in the
mountains that of Abra, and that of San Diego among the Tinguianes,
with some separate visitas. Consequently, the venerable clergy in
these Islands have fifty-three beneficed curacies, which are new.
Chapter III
Of the ministries of the reverend calced Augustinian fathers
The reverend calced Augustinian fathers, the first founders of
these missions, have one convent in Manila, which is the head of all
their province of Santísimo Nombre de Jesús, and of all the other
parochial convents. In the province of Tondo, they have charge of
the village of that name, Tambobo, Malate, Parañaque, Pásig, and
Taguig, with various visitas annexed to them. On the river Pásig,
they possess the convent and sanctuary of Guadalupe, where several
devout religious live who have charge of the worship of the holy
image. Further they have the ministry of San Pablo de los Montes,
in the province of Taal and Balayán; the convents and ministries
of Taal, Casay-say, Bauang, Batangas, Tanavan, Lipa, and Sala. In
the province of Bulacán, they have the convent and ministry of that
name, and those of Dapdap, Guiguinto, Bigáa, Angat, Baliuag, Quingua,
Malolos, Paombong, Calumpit, and Haganoy. In the province of Pampanga,
the convents and ministries of Bacolor, Macabebe, Sesmoan, Lubao, Vana,
Minalin, Betis, Porác, México, Aráyat, Magalan, Tárlac, Gapan, Santor,
together with some missions, and a new village called San Sebastián;
and in addition, San Miguel de Mayumo, Candava, Cabagsa, and Apálit,
with a mission of mountaineers.
In the bishopric of Santísimo Nombre de Jesús of Cebú there is a
convent called Santo Niño in the same city [of Cebú] with its church
newly built, where the vicar-provincial of all the Visayas Islands
has his residence; and outside the walls the convent of Cebú el Viejo
[_i.e._, "Old Cebú"], and the ministry of San Nicolás. In the same
island are the convents and ministries of the villages of Argao,
Bolhon, Cabcat, with several visitas; the ministry and convent of Opón
in the island of Mágtan, with the visitas of Olango, and Pangalanan,
and others on the opposite coast of Cebú. The reverend calced
Augustinian fathers made a cession of the villages and ministries of
Bolhon, Opón, and Liloan to the fathers of the Society of Jesus, by
their chapter of the year 1737; but afterward they recovered these,
because of various just causes that they had for it, improved as
to churches, houses, and silver ornaments--except that of Liloan,
a small visita which remained in the possession of the Society, and
was incorporated with the village of Mandaui, as it was near by. In
the province of Panay are the convents and ministries of the capital
city of Cápiz, Batan, Mambusao, Dumalag, Dumarao, and Panay; in the
province of Otón, in the same island, the convents and ministries of
Magao, Antique, Bugason, Tigbauan, Cabutuan, Laglag, Pasi, Aanilao,
Dumangas, the island of Guimarás, Jaro, Otón, and Guimbal, with
several missions of wild people [_cimarrones_] in the mountains,
apostates and their children, in which the care and zeal of the same
fathers has been exercised since the year 1731, and in which the gain
and profit of many souls is not wanting.
In the bishopric of Camarines they have the convent and ministry
of the village of Tiaong, in the jurisdiction of the province of
Tayabas. In the bishopric of Nueva Segovia or Cagayán, the province of
Pangasinán, they have the convents and ministries of Agoo, Santo Tomás,
and Aringay, with several missions of Igorrotes in the mountains;
those of Bauar, Bona, Dalandán, and Cava, with another mission of
mountaineers; and those of Bacnotan and San Juan, with another similar
mission. In the province of Ilocos, they have the convent and ministry
of Namagpacan, with that of Balauan and its missions, and those of
Bangar and Tagurin, with another mission; those of Candón, Santa Lucía
de Narbacan, Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, and Bantay, with those of San
Ildefonso and Nagsingal; that of Cabugao with Lapog; that of Sinait
with Badoc; those of Panay, Batag, San Nicolás, Lecrat, and Dinglas,
with that of Pirie; and various missions of Tinguianes and heathen
in those mountains, where the same reverend fathers are commencing
to form villages to the great advantage of those souls. They have
that of Ilanag and that of Bangui, with other visitas and missions,
and those of Bacarra and Vera. All of those ministries and convents
are adjudged to the same reverend fathers.
Chapter IV
Convents and ministries of the reverend Franciscan fathers, the third
to be established
The reverend Franciscan fathers reached the Filipinas Islands in the
year 1577. In Manila they have in their vigilant and watchful care,
close to the convent, a costly and beautiful chapel of the tertiary
order of penance, in charge of a religious who is commissary and
visitor. There is also a convent of the nuns of St. Clare in the
city, who are subject to and governed by the same religious. They
also possess another convent called San Francisco del Monte, one
legua from the city; and a hospital called San Lázaro, which they
administer near the village of Dilao, which belongs to the province
of Tondo; besides the villages and ministries of Sampáloc, Pandacan,
and Santa Ana de Zapa. In the province of Bulacán, they have the
convents and ministries of Polo, Meycauayan, and Bocaue, with several
visitas. In the province of Laguna de Bay, they have in charge the
ministries and convents of Morong, Barás, Tanay, Pililla, Mabitac,
Cabosan, Siniloan, Pangil, Páquil, Paete, Longos, Lucban, Cavinti,
Pagsanghán, Santa Cruz, Pila, and Mainit (where there is a hospital,
called Los Baños, because of the warm sulphur-charged waters in those
regions, for the cure of various ailments). In that same province
are the ministries and convents of Nagcarlang, Lilio, and Mahayhay;
and lastly, by cession of the Augustinian fathers, the villages of Bay,
and Binangonan, with the ranch of Angono. In the mountains of Daractán,
which extend from the lake of Bay to the east coast of the island
of Luzón, they have several visitas and missions. In the province of
Camarines, the convents and ministries of Naga, near the city of Nueva
Cáceres, the seat of the vicar-provincial, together with Canaman,
Quipayo, Milaod, Minalambang, Bula, Bao, Naboa, Iraya, Buhi, Liban,
Polangui, Oas, Liyao, Guinobatan, Camarines, Cagsaua, and Ligmanan. In
the province of Tayabas, [the ministries and convents] of Pagbilao,
Sariaya, Lucbán, Gumaca, Atimonan, Mayobac, and Macalilon. The missions
of Lupe and Ragay, in the mountains and along the coast of Bangon, and
another mission called Santa Cruz, in the mountains of Manguirin. In
that same province of Tayabas, in the mountains and along the coasts
of the opposite shore, are the ministries of Binangonan, Polo, Baler,
and Casiguran. In the province of Cagayán, the ministry of Palanan,
with a mission of Aetas and Irayas of those mountains.
Chapter V
Ministries of the Society of Jesus in these Filipinas Islands
After the preaching of the apostle of the Orient, St. Francis Xavier,
in these archipelagos, as far as the island of Mindanao and Japon
(as has been related already in its place), before the Spaniards
were established in these islands, the first fathers of the Society
of Jesus reached these islands by way of the west or by the Western
Indias, coming with the first bishop of the islands, his Excellency
Don Fray Domingo de Salazar, of the Order of Preachers--the city
of Manila having been already founded, and that colony established
in some fashion--in September of the year 1581. The first founders
were the fathers Antonio Sedeño and Alonso Sánchez, together with
the lay-brother, Nicholás Gallardo, the student brother, Gaspar
de Toledo--a legitimate brother to the illustrious doctor, Father
Francisco Suárez--having died on the voyage. For some years those
fathers remained without any ministry to the natives which they could
permanently carry on, busied only in preaching, hearing confessions,
and aiding in what necessity or obedience ordered them. Their first
dwelling was in the convent of the seraphic father St. Francis, until
they obtained a house of their own in the suburbs of Manila, in the
location called Aguio--whence, as facilities and opportunity came,
they moved, and established themselves inside the city, in the year
1591. There the Society has the chief residence of St. Ignatius, and
a fine church where they exercise to great and continual crowds all
the ministries peculiar to their institute. In that residence, there
is a pontifical and royal university, of which we shall speak later,
together with a royal college of San José, [69] and the college of
the fathers, established near the royal gate of the city, in which
are taught all useful learning and arts, commencing with grammar.
In the province of Tondo they have the residence [_colegio_] of Santa
Cruz, lately admitted as such, which is jointly a ministry of Sangleys,
mestizos, and natives; the village and ministry of San Miguel, on the
river brink; and about one legua above, the residence and novitiate
of San Pedro Macati, with a ministry of natives. In the mountains,
the village and capital of Antipolo, with the village and ministry of
Bosoboso, where the natives of two mountain missions, called San Isidro
and Pamaan, are settled together, whose administration was [there]
inconvenient, but who are now better governed and cared for. In the
plains, the fathers administer the village of Taytay, with a visita
near by, called Santa Catalina; and the ministry of Cainta, with a
visita of creoles called Dayap. Besides, they have the village and
ministry of Mariquina, of mestizos, Sangleys, and natives; and that
of San Mateo, the village and capital of the residence of Silán and of
Indang. In Cavite there is a residence of the Society of Jesus, and in
its jurisdiction the village and ministry of Cavite el Viejo [_i.e._,
"Old Cavite"]; in that of Mariveles, the residence of Maragondón; in
the province of Mindoro, the island of Marinduque, with the villages
and ministries of Boac, Santa Cruz de Napo, and Gasan.
In the bishopric and jurisdiction of Cebú they have a residence in
the city; the ministry of the village of Mandaui and Liloan; in the
island of Bohol, the ministries of Inabangan and Talibon, where is
located the residence [_residencia_] of Bohol with the villages and
ministries of Lóboc, Baclayon, Dauis, Malabohoc, Tagbilaran (a new
village), and another on the bar of the river of Lóboc, also new,
named Santísima Trinidad [_i.e._, "Most Holy Trinity"]; and, on the
opposite coast of the island, the village and ministry of Hagna. In
the island of Mindanao, the presidio of Zamboanga, where residence
has been begun, with a ministry, whose rector is the chaplain of that
presidio; those of Bagonbayan, Dumalón, Siocon, Cabatangan, Caldera,
Polombato, and Siraguay. In the northern part of the same island the
residence [_residencia_] and ministries of Dapitan, Iligan, Layavan,
Langaran, Lubungan, Disacan, Talingan, and various visitas and missions
on those same coasts and the bay of Pangue.
In the island of Negros, the ministries of Ilog, Cabancalan (with
the mission of Buyonan), Himamaylán, Cavayan, and the mission of
Sipalay. In the village of Iloilo and the jurisdiction of Oton there
is a residence, whose rector is the chaplain of that presidio (as is
he of Zamboanga), and the ministry of Molo; and lastly, by concession
of his Excellency Master Don Protasio Cabezas, the curacy of the
town of Arévalo, with the Parián, was given to the Society. In the
island of Samar, the capital and ministries of Catbalogan, Paranas,
Humavas, Calviga, Boac, Bangajon, Tinagog, Calvayog; in Capul, the
ministry of Abac; on the opposite coast in the province of Ibabao, the
capital and ministries of Palapag, Lavan, Gatubig, Catarman, Bobon,
Sulat, Túbig, and Borongan; on the south coast of the same island,
the ministries of Guiguan, Balanguigan, Basey, and Lalaviton. In
the island and jurisdiction of Leyte, the villages and ministries of
Carigara, Barugo, Jaro, Alangalang, and Leite; and on the opposite
coast, the residence [_residencia_] and capital of Hilongos, and
the ministries of Palonpon, Poro, Ogmuc, Baybay, Maasin, Sogor,
Liloan, Cavalían, and Hinondayan; in the north of the same island,
the residence [_residencia_] of Banigo, with the capital of Palo,
Tanavan, Dulac, and Abuyog; inland, Damagi and Burabuen. In the
Marianas Islands (the jurisdiction of a governor for his Majesty in
temporal affairs, and, in the spiritual, of the bishopric of Cebú),
the ministries and capital of Agaña--where there is a residence of
the Society, with a seminary of Indian natives--Agat, Merizo, Pago,
Guajan, Inarajan, Umata, Rota, and Saipan.
Chapter VI
Administrations of the reverend fathers of St. Dominic in these islands
The religious of St. Dominic came to found a province in these
islands with an excellent mission, in the year 1587, on the eve of
St. María Magdalena. Inside the city they have a sumptuous church and
convent, which is the head of the most devout province of Santísimo
Rosario. Near the same convent is the college and seminary of Santo
Tomás, with collegiates, which has its own rector. There are taught all
the belles lettres, commencing with grammar. It is a pontifical and
royal university, and is attended by a sufficient number of students
when one considers the small size of this community. The pupils of
another institution, called San Juan de Letrán--which was begun by
a Spanish resident, one Brother Jerónimo Guerrero, who dedicated
himself to the shelter and education of orphan boys and the sons of
poor Spaniards--attend the said university. After his death that
seminary remained in charge of the same religious. Within Manila,
there is a _beaterio_, [70] whose pupils profess the tertiary Order
of St. Dominic, although they do not make religious profession. They
are numerous and of exemplary life, and are subject to the same
fathers. The latter possess a convent in the Sangley Parián, for
ministration to those of this nation who are converted. On the other
side of the river they possess the hospital of San Gabriel, where
sick Chinese are treated; somewhat farther, the convent and ministry
of Binondo; and on the river brink the convent of San Juan del Monte,
without administration [_i.e._, of converts].
In the province of Pampanga, the convents and ministries of Abucay,
Samal, Oriong, Orani, with several visitas and missions; in the
port of Cavite, a convent without administration; in the province
of Pangasinán, the convents and administrations of Lingayén (which
is the capital of that province), Binalatongan, Calasiao, Magaldan,
Mananay, Cavili, Malonguey, Telban, Birmaley, Dagupan, Malasiqui,
Anguio, Salaza, Sinapog, Paniqui, Camiling, Baruc, Panglaguit, Ipantol,
and several visitas and missions in the mountains. In the province of
Cagayán, Lalo (which is its capital); Pata, together with Cavicunga;
Bangban, Pia, Conmacananan, Nasipin, together with Gataran; Malauig,
together with a mission of Santa Cruz; Tuvaco, together with the
mission of Capinatan; Masi, the Babuyanes Islands, the missions of
the Batanes, and Calayan; Cabangan, Tuguegarao, and Buguey, with the
mission of Ibangac; Siffun; Ilagan, together with Tumauini; Aparri,
and Camalayugan.
Chapter VII
Convents and ministries of the reverend discalced Augustinian fathers
or Recollects
The Recollect Augustinian religious arrived at Manila in the year
1606, and founded their first convent outside the walls of Manila,
in the suburb called San Juan de Bagonbayan. They afterward built a
convent and church inside the walls, under the advocacy of St. Nicholas
of Tolentino, which is the capital of their religious province. In
the province of Tondo they have the convent and ministry of San
Sebastián. In the jurisdiction and port of Cavite, they have a church
and convent without ministry. In that of Mariveles, the ministries
of Cabcaben, Bagac, Moron, and the coast of Zambales, with Subic
and several missions in the mountains. They also minister to all the
island of Mindoro, with all its villages, visitas, and missions. In
the bishopric of Cebú, outside the city walls, the church and convent
of La Concepción, without administration. In the island of Mindanao,
the province of Caraga, with the villages of Butúan, Linao, Hibon,
Hingoog, Habongan, Maynit, Obot, Tubay, Tandag, Calagdan, Bayuyo,
Tago, Marihatag, Lianga, Bislig, Hinatoan, Catel, Baganga, Caraga,
Hagaguit, Pauntugan, Surigao, Cagayan, Iponan, Agusan, Manalaga (which
is a new village), Gompot, Balinuan, Tagalban, with several missions.
In the island of Siargao, the ministries of Caolo, Sapao, and Cabuntog;
in the islands of Dinagat and Camiguin, the ministries of Ginsiliban
and Catarman. In the islands called Calamianes, [71] the same discalced
religious have charge of [the following]: in Paragua, the village
and ministry of the same name, that of Taytay with the islands of
Dumaran and Calatan, the villages of Malampaya, Culion, Linapasan,
Busuagan, Cuyo, Canepo, Lalutaya, and Bejucay; the island of Romblón,
with the ministry of Banton and those of Tinaya and Maynit. In the
island of Simara, the ministry of the same name. In that of Tablas,
the ministries of Cabolotan, Oriongan, and Laloan. In that of Sibuyan,
those of Cavit, Catudyucan, with other visitas and missions. In the
island of Masbate, in the bishopric of Nueva Cáceres, the ministries of
Mobo, Bulino, Palano, Abuyoan, Camasoso, Buracan, Limboan, Navangui,
and Baraga. In that of Burias, the village and ministry of the same
name, with some collections of huts. In that of Ticao, the village
of that name, and the port of San Jacinto, where the ships that sail
to España are provided with water and wood for the voyage.
Chapter VIII
Of the convents and hospitals of the reverend fathers of St. John
of God
The Order of St. John of God arrived at these islands in the
year 1641. Their religious founded their first hospital outside
the Manila walls, in the village of Bagonbayan. In the year 1656,
it was removed inside the city of Manila, as soon as there was an
opportunity for them in the place where they are at present--which
had before been a hospital begun by the reverend Franciscan fathers,
and aided by the alms given by the brothers of the Santamesa [72] and
other pious inhabitants. The hospital brethren had the Franciscans'
old church--which was of good appearance, although the hospital was
very dilapidated and threatened to fall--until the year 1726, when the
very reverend father Fray Antonio de Arce came to these islands, as
prelate and superior of the order. By his energy, economy, prudence,
and zeal, the church and hospital are now seen to be restored and
built anew from the foundations, in an elegant and tasteful manner,
as well as the convent and dwelling of the religious. Those works were
commenced in the year 1728, with the alms of the pious inhabitants
of the city of Manila; and in the year 1749, when I was in that city,
I saw them finished and completed.
In the village of San Roque, outside the Cavite walls, those same
religious had another hospital, the land of which was encroached upon
by the sea until they had to abandon it. In the said year 1749, when
I was also in that port, the religious had their sick in a private
house, in which they exercised their ministries, until God our Lord
provided them with a hospital by means of a benefactor who desired to
coöperate in a work of so great importance and mercy. Although they
had no hospital in Cebú, while I was there, there was one religious,
who had charge of the poor sick people, in a low apartment, or room
above the ground-floor of the episcopal residence. As the land is so
poor there, it is very difficult to found and preserve a hospital;
and more so since scarcely a Spanish inhabitant of importance is to
be found there now, for the reasons that were given in the proper
place. [73]
Chapter IX
General summary of the Christians who compose the ministries of
these islands
I do not doubt that the souls ministered to throughout the islands of
this archipelago, by the secular and regular priests, will exceed one
million and many thousands additional, inasmuch as the children who
are not yet seven years old are not found mentioned or enumerated in
the registers [_padrones_] of the ministries. Consequently, I shall
give attention only to the reckoning made a few years ago.
The ministries corresponding to those souls are first, as I have
written, those of the venerable clerics, who have sixteen beneficed
curacies, in the archbishopric of Manila; in the bishopric of Cebú,
fifteen; in that of Camarines, eighteen; and in that of Cagayán,
four. Consequently, the clerics have fifty-three beneficed curacies, in
the archbishopric of Manila and the three suffragan bishoprics. In them
there are, according to the best reckoning, one hundred and forty-two
villages, besides the visitas, collections of huts [_rancherías_],
and missions. This year of 1750 the Christians therein are reckoned
at one hundred and forty-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-nine.
The calced Augustinian religious have charge of two hundred and
fifty-two thousand nine hundred and sixty-three souls, in one hundred
and fifteen villages. The order of the seraphic father, St. Francis,
of one hundred and forty-one thousand one hundred and ninety-three
souls, in sixty-three villages. The Society of Jesus, of two
hundred and nine thousand five hundred and twenty-seven Christians,
in ninety-three ministries. The Order of St. Dominic, ninety-nine
thousand seven hundred and eighty souls, in fifty-one regular villages,
without counting the visitas and missions. The Recollect religious of
St. Augustine have charge of fifty-three thousand three hundred and
eighty-four souls, in one hundred and five villages. Consequently, in
five hundred and sixty-nine regular villages, not counting visitas,
groups of huts, and missions, nine hundred and four thousand one
hundred and sixteen Christians are ministered to in all these Filipinas
Islands, as will be seen from the subjoined table.
Villages Souls
The clerics in 142 147,269
St. Augustine in 115 252,963
St. Francis in 63 141,193
The Society in 93 209,527
St. Dominic in 51 99,780
Recollects in 105 53,384
Total 569 904,116
In regard to the royal tributes, which the natives pay annually,
although no fixed computation is possible because of their difference
from year to year (notwithstanding the number which seems to me more
regular and fixed from one year to another), on the hypothesis of
the number of souls (the children who are not eligible for the list,
as they have not reached the age of seven years, not being reckoned),
and allowing five persons for each whole tribute--on that hypothesis,
I say that the whole tributes which are collected in these islands
amount to two hundred and fifty thousand, at two persons to each
tribute who are eligible to be listed and of age sufficient to
pay. That age is for married men fifteen years, and for single men
twenty; for married women twenty, and for single women twenty-five; and
until each, whether man or woman, has completed the age of sixty years.
The appraisal of the tribute, according to the laws of these kingdoms,
is at ten Castilian reals--part in kind and part in silver, or more
commonly in what the Indian chooses to pay. Rice is received for
it, each fanega of which is valued at one real in silver among the
Tagáls, because of its greater abundance. It had the same price among
the Visayas, where it was abundant; and, where it was not abundant,
two reals. Five or six years ago, on account of representations made
to the supreme government by the superiors of the religious orders,
of the extreme poverty that the Indians were suffering because of
the severe _baguios_ and tempests--which had ruined their houses,
fields, and cocoa plantations, and even the churches and the houses
of the ministers--an order was issued by the said supreme government
for rice, to be received in Visayas at the price of three reals per
fanega, which is the lowest among the natives. They also pay as tribute
white abacá mantas, which are called _medriñaques_, four brazas long
and one wide, valued at three reals; and also abacá in fiber, at the
rate of two reals per _chinanta_, which is one-half arroba. That abacá
is used to whip the strands of cables of the ships and boats instead
of hemp. They also pay lampotes, a kind of white cotton fabric, four
brazas long and one vara wide, at four reals. In Ilocos they present
thick mantas of cotton, which are called _ilocanas_, of which are
made the sails for the ships and boats, both of his Majesty and of
private persons. In other provinces, the natives offer on the tribute
account certain products (of which the alcaldes-mayor avail themselves)
such as balates and sigay, and other products which are explained in
their place; and these are valued at Manila, if there are champans
from China and pataches from the coast. For the balate (although we
do not eat it), is eaten in China by the princes and mandarins. The
sigay (which means certain shells that are gathered on the shore)
is the money and coin that is current on the coast of Bengala and all
those Mediterranean kingdoms. The natives give wax also in place of
money, at the rate of ten or twelve reals per chinanta, according to
its scarcity or abundance. Some gold is paid in certain provinces,
as those regions have placers and mineral deposits.
The two hundred and fifty thousand tributes which I mentioned are
collected annually throughout these islands, and are divided into
two parts--one of the royal encomienda, which amounts to two hundred
and thirty-one thousand five hundred and sixty-three whole tributes;
while the remaining eighteen thousand four hundred and thirty-seven
are from the encomiendas of private persons, whom his Majesty has
rewarded on account of their useful services, granting to them that
part of the royal tributes. But, from those tributes granted them,
they give his Majesty two reals per whole tribute, that sum being
called "the royal situado." They also pay to the ministers and parish
priests, from their encomiendas, the stipends of rice with the alms in
reals that belong to them--to the amount of one hundred pesos, and two
hundred fanegas of rice, for every five hundred tributes administered,
and one-half real from each whole tribute for the wine used in the
mass. His Majesty pays the same quantity to the said ministers from
his royal encomiendas; he also gives annually one arroba of wine for
masses, and ten of oil for each one of the lamps which burn before
the most holy sacrament, in all the ministries of the islands.
The stipends given by his Majesty to the archbishops and suffragan
bishops, the dignitaries of the holy church, and other ministers
are in the following form. Pope Gregory XIII, by his bull given at
Roma in the seventh year of his pontificate (which was the year 1587
[_i.e._, 1578]), at the petition of the Catholic king of the Españas,
Don Felipe Second, erected the first parish church of Manila, and
assigned twenty-seven prebends to it, of which those that are suitable
and necessary were accepted. They consist of five dignidades--namely,
a dean, an archdeacon, a precentor, a schoolmaster, and a treasurer;
three canons, the fourth having been suppressed for the inquisitors,
according to custom in the Indias; two whole and two half racions,
established by royal decree given at Valladolid, June 2, 1604, and
countersigned by Juan Ibarra, his Majesty's secretary. Besides that,
there are in the cathedral two curas, two sacristans, one master of
ceremonies, one verger, and other officers; so that that holy church
is well established and the choir crowded, and their functions and
feasts are most splendid.
The salaries given by his Majesty to those who fill those offices are
as follows. To the archbishops of Manila, five thousand pesos of eight
Castilian reals per year, conceded by decree of his Majesty given in
Madrid, May 28, 1680. By virtue of the royal presentations, the dean
enjoys six hundred pesos; the four dignidades, namely, archdeacon,
precentor, schoolmaster, and treasurer, each five hundred pesos;
the three canons, namely, the doctoral, the magistral, and that of
grace, four hundred pesos apiece; the two racioneros, three hundred
apiece, and the two medio-racioneros, two hundred apiece; the master of
ceremonies, two hundred pesos, conceded by royal decree of February 22,
1724; the two curas, one for the Spaniards, and one for the natives,
each one hundred and eighty-three pesos, six tomins, seven granos,
besides their altar-fees, which are sufficiently generous.
The bishop of Cebú--whose extensive jurisdiction includes the islands
of Cebú, Leyte, Sámar, and Ibabao; the provinces of Dapitan and Caraga
in Mindanao; the island of Panay, with its two provinces of Otón and
Cápiz; with the other adjacent islands even as far as Calamianes,
Paragua, and the Marianas--enjoy four thousand pesos per year, by
virtue of a royal decree of May 28, 1680; the cura of the sacristy
of that holy church one hundred and eighty-three pesos, six tomins,
seven granos; the sacristan, ninety-one pesos, seven tomins, three
granos. The same sums are enjoyed by the bishops of Camarines and
Cagayán, with their curas and sacristans. Those sums are paid annually
by his Majesty, the amount totaling twenty-three thousand and eleven
pesos, two granos, besides the stipends, maintenance, and fourths of
mass-fees, which the other secular curas receive.
Chapter XIV
Of the ecclesiastical tribunals of these Filipinas Islands and the
city of Manila
The chief tribunal of the metropolitan church of Manila is the
archiepiscopal. It is composed of a provisor and vicar-general,
with his notary-in-chief and fiscals. The said tribunal has a house
which serves as a prison, and which has a separate and large part for
lodgings for the seclusion of men and women; it has its corresponding
officials.
The second tribunal is that of the holy Inquisition, which was
decreed by the Holy Office of México. It is the superior of all
the commissaries who are scattered through the provinces of Cebú,
Camarines, Cagayán, and the islands of Negros--besides whom there
is in Manila another and special commissary for the fathers of the
Society of Jesus, who is generally an honored secular priest. The
commissary has his chief constable and notary. The councils are formed
of various ministers--examiners, familiars, and consultors. There
are besides three or four commissaries appointed by México, in order
that there may be one who may promptly succeed to the office in case
of death or resignation--although the said duty is always exercised
by only one. That office has always been in control of the reverend
fathers of St. Dominic, successively, without other interruption than
that of seven years, when the reverend father Fray José Paternina,
an Augustinian, occupied it--who was summoned to México, as will be
seen in due time.
The third tribunal is that of the Holy Crusade, whose creation was
the work of King Don Felipe IV [_sic_; _sc._ III], as appears from
his royal decree, dated San Lorenzo, May 16, 1609. It is composed
of a commissary-general-subdelegate, who exercises the office of
president and who is appointed by his Majesty, with the consent of
the supreme council of the Holy Crusade; and a senior auditor of the
royal Audiencia and the fiscal of the same body who receive a special
salary for those offices for the management of the accounts. As
accountant serves the oldest royal official, according to the terms
of the above cited royal provision. For the other business, there
are a secretary and a chief notary who receive salaries, besides four
other notaries who receive no salary, but only the fees for business
transacted by them. The publications in these islands are made every
two years. The day fell at the beginning on October 28, but since
1736 the publication was transferred to the first Sunday of Advent,
by order of the commissary-general, so that the publications might
occur at the same time in all the kingdoms and seigniories of España.
The brotherhood of the Santa Misericordia of Manila forms another
tribunal composed of the flower of the community. It has its purveyor,
twelve deputies, one secretary, one chaplain, and other officials. In
their charge is the administration of the charitable funds which are
connected with that holy institution. The Misericordia was erected
in imitation of the one founded in Lisboa in 1498 by the most serene
queen of Portugal, Doña Leonor, widow of Don Juan the Second, by the
advice of a Trinitarian religious, named Fray Miguel de Contreras. The
circumstances attending that foundation will be given later.
The first brothers built a church with the title of "Presentación
de Nuestra Señora" [_i.e._, "Presentation of our Lady"], and near
it the seminary and house of Santa Isabel, in order that Spanish
orphan girls might be reared there with a good education in doctrine
and morals. They have a rectoress to govern them, a portress,
and several virtuous women of mature years. Thence go forth the
girls with sufficient dowries for the estate [of marriage] to which
they naturally tend--for which this Santa Misericordia applies the
sum of sixteen thousand pesos. The girls attending the seminary
usually number sixty, besides some pupils, six slave women, and
other serving-women. For their expenses and that of their chaplains
ten thousand eight hundred pesos are set aside annually. Many of
the inhabitants and people of the community send their daughters
to that seminary, so that they may learn good morals, because of
the great improvement that is recognized in those who have been
reared there. The said congregation is governed by special rules,
whose observance does not impose the obligation of mortal sin. [74]
It enjoys many privileges, indulgences, and favors conceded by the
supreme pontiffs. By his Majesty's decree, dated Sevilla, March 25,
1733, and countersigned by Don Miguel de Villanueva, his Majesty's
secretary, it is under the royal protection. In that decree the royal
arms are ordered to be placed in the church and seminary. The brothers
are ordered to go out in a body to make the stations on holy Thursday,
and entire faith is to be given in all the tribunals to the instruments
of the secretaries of that holy executive board. The charitable works
administered by that holy executive board are numerous; for, besides
the support and rearing of the girls, it maintains the hospital of
St. John of God, of the city of Manila, with generous alms. It may be
said that there is no estate that does not experience its charity;
for it spends annually in alms and charitable works alone, more
than seventy thousand pesos for the relief of poor, self-respecting
Spaniards, for those who are imprisoned, and for masses for the souls
in purgatory--in such manner that from the year 1600 until the present
one of 1751, in which this history is written, the alms that have been
administered by that holy executive board exceed five million pesos,
in addition to the supplements which it has made to the general fund
of these islands in cases of extreme necessity, and at the invasions
of enemies, which amounted between the years 1645 and 1735 to the sum
of one million sixty-nine thousand and ninety-nine pesos. Besides the
above that holy executive board is patron of twenty-nine collative
and ten lay chaplaincies, and maintains two fellowships in the royal
college of San José.
There are other charitable institutions in this community, although
none so universal and large. They have been founded in the cathedral
church, in the tertiary order of the seraphic order [of St. Francis],
in the convent of Dilao, in that of Binondo of St. Dominic and in
their beaterio, in the convent of the calced Augustinian fathers,
and in that of the discalced Augustinians. The Society of Jesus
also administers some charitable funds, of which the proceeds are
applied by their founders to various purposes of divine worship,
alms for the orders and the poor, dowries for poor Spanish girls,
Indian and mestizo women, hospitals, prisons, and suffrages for the
blessed souls in purgatory.
There is another royal seminary in the city of Manila. It was
established in the year 1591, while Don Fray Domingo de Salazar was
bishop, and Perez Dasmariñas governor, in certain houses given for
its foundation by Captain Luis de Vivanco, ex-factor of the royal
treasury. It has its own church, whose titular is St. Andrew the
apostle. It was intended for the rearing of orphan girls--the daughters
of Spaniards--in good education and virtue. They are under the royal
patronage, and his Majesty has the care of maintaining the students,
and supplying them with all necessities. They also admit some pupils,
serving-women, and women in retreat. A separate quarter was built later
for the latter, at the expense of Licentiate Don Francisco Gómez de
Arcellano [_sc._ Arellano], archdeacon of Manila and provisor of the
archbishopric. It has its rectoress and portress, and they live with
great edification and holy customs.
Chapter XV
Other matters pertaining to the ecclesiastics of Manila
The city of Manila has a rich and beautiful chapel of the incarnation
of our Lady, which was founded by Governor Don Sebastián Hurtado
de Corcuera, where the functions are performed and the feast-days
celebrated that are peculiar to the royal Audiencia. It serves also
for the burial of the soldiers of the army, and the ministrations for
the royal hospital. Its chaplains are independent of the parish church
and wear the cope and carry the uplifted cross, when they go for the
corpses of the soldiers, which they bury with all solemnity in the said
royal chapel. It has its own chaplain-in-chief and other subordinates,
who, besides serving there, fill the chaplaincies of the galleons and
armies, when there are any. It has its sacristans and other assistants
for the service, propriety, and pomp of the worship; and a fine
band of singers, with suitable salaries. The adornment, furnishings,
ornaments, sacred vessels, altars, and reredoses correspond to the
reality of the name. Among all those things, the first place is given
to a great golden monstrance which is worth eleven thousand ducados.
The royal hospital is located near the royal chapel. The soldiers
of the army of Manila and the seamen of his Majesty's service are
treated there. It has a chaplain, superintendent, physician, surgeon,
apothecary, and other followers with similar duties, and the employees
required for the care and refreshment of the sick.
There is another royal seminary and college in this city that bears the
title of San Felipe. It was founded in the time of Governor Don Fausto
Cruzat y Góngora, to whom an order, dated November 28, 1697, was given
in a royal decree, to report how the said college or seminary could
be founded, so that some boys might be reared there for the cathedral
service. The said governor having reported, his Catholic Majesty,
Don Felipe V, determined, by his royal decree of April 28, 1702,
[75] to erect the college for eight seminarists. The amount of its
building and maintenance was to be taken from the funds resulting from
vacant sees of bishops of these islands and from the tithes, while the
part lacking was to be taken from the royal treasury. The archbishop
of Manila was to have part in everything, and he was to inform his
Majesty of what should be done. The royal decree having been carried
out, while the master-of-camp Don Diego Camacho y Avila was governing,
it appears that four thousand pesos were paid by general council of
the treasury, held May 22, 1705, for the building. Full notice will
be given of the events connected with that seminary and royal college
in the body of this history.
ECCLESIASTICAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES
[The French scientist Le Gentil, in his _Voyages dans les mers
de l'Inde_ (Paris, 1781), pp. 170-191, speaks as follows of the
ecclesiastical estate of the Philippines.]
Ninth Article
Ecclesiastical survey of the Philippine Islands
The first church in Manila was erected as a parish church in the year
1571, and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The Augustinians
and the discalced Franciscans had charge of it until 1581, when the
first bishop arrived. Gregory XIII, by a bull, dated Rome, 1578,
erected the parish church of Manila into a cathedral, and Philippe
II, king of España, established the chapter. It is composed of five
dignitaries--dean, archdeacon, orecentor, schoolmaster [_écolâtre_],
[76] and treasurer--two whole prebendaries; two half prebendaries
[77] two parish priests [_curés_]; sacristans; master of ceremonies;
and beadle. The divine office is celebrated in this cathedral with
great state and majesty.
The archbishop receives 5,000 piastres [78] (25,500 livres); the dean,
600 (3,030 livres); archdeacon, schoolmaster, precentor, and treasurer,
each 500 (2,525 livres); the three canons--namely, the doctoral,
the magistral, and the one of grace or favor--and the two half
prebendaries, each 400 (2,020 livres); the master of ceremonies, 1,200
livres; and last, the two parish priests [_cures_], each 924 livres.
The fixed revenue of these parish priests is, as one can see,
very little, but they have a little in perquisites, as marriages,
baptisms, etc. Not more than forty years ago, one of the two parish
priests had charge of the Spaniards, while the other attended only to
the Indians. Today this ridiculous distinction no longer exists. The
parish priests alternate month by month in their duties as curates,
and during that time they minister indiscriminately to Spaniards
and Indians.
The cathedral of Manila was erected into a metropolitan in 1595. The
bishoprics of Zebu, Camarinés, and Nueva Ségovia are of the same date,
and were made suffragan to Manila. This archbishopric has more than
two hundred livings, of which only thirteen are served by secular
priests--who are subject, say the friars, to visitation; the other
livings, to the number of about two hundred, are administered by the
religious, who, as they say, are not at all subject to the visitation
of the archbishop. We shall discuss this subject and the rebellion
occasioned by this matter in Manila in 1767, while I was still there.
Tenth Article
Of the ecclesiastical tribunals established at Manila
These tribunals are three in number: that of the archbishop; that of
the Inquisition; and that of the Holy Crusade.
The tribunal of justice of the archbishop is composed of a
vicar-general, one notary, and two fiscals. The archbishop has his
prison, where there are lodgings for lewd women.
There is not, properly speaking, a tribunal of the Inquisition at
Manila, but only a commissary of the Holy Office, appointed to this
place by the tribunal of Mexico. He is the chief or superior of all
the other commissaries scattered throughout the provinces. It is
worthy of remark that the fathers of the Society had a private and
special commissary, who was always a secular priest. The office of
commissary-superintendent has always been filled in the convent of the
Jacobins [_i.e._, Dominicans]. There has been only one interruption, of
seven years, during which a father of the convent of the Augustinians
had the commission, because the Jacobin father who was then commissary
was deposed, as we were told, for having unjustly brought suit against
the governor of Manila, and having had him arrested. [79]
At present these commissaries have no right to bring suit against
anyone at all, nor even to cause any arrest. They are under obligation
to write to Mexico, in order to inform the tribunal of charges and
accusations. Thereupon the tribunal renders a sentence, which it sends
to the commissary, who has it executed. That sentence comprehends
arrest. Thereupon the commissary causes the arrest of the accused
person, and ships him to Mexico. The trial is conducted there, and
the accused is sent back to Manila for the execution of the sentence,
if there is cause therefor.
The tribunal of the Holy Crusade has nothing especially deserving
that I should stop to mention it.
Eleventh Article
Which contains details in regard to the churches and colleges of Manila
Next to the cathedral of which I have just spoken, must be reckoned
the royal chapel. It is used for all the feast-days and ceremonies of
the royal Audiencia. It has in charge the spiritual administration
of the royal hospital of his Majesty's soldiers; it is their parish
church, and they are buried there. This chapel has a chaplain, who
is, as it were, the rector. He has five other chaplains under him,
besides sacristans and assistants. The divine office is celebrated
there with great state. The royal chapel furnishes chaplains for
the galleons. The royal hospital, which is located quite near by,
has its chaplain, its administrator, its physician, its surgeon,
its apothecary, and everything necessary.
Formerly the royal seminary of San Felipe, composed of eight
seminarists and one rector, was located at Manila; theology and the
arts were taught there. These two chairs have been suppressed, and
those who wish to avail themselves of the schools go to the university
of Santo Tomás. Since the war this seminary no longer exists; that
is to say, it is no longer maintained, so that it amounts to the
same thing. Its annual expenses were paid from the royal revenues,
so that its maintenance depended absolutely upon the good-will of the
governor. For that reason, I saw it, in 1767, without support. That
lasted after the war, which caused great outcry at Manila against the
governor. The archbishop was never able to succeed in reëstablishing
it, although he contended that a seminary was very useful in this
capital. But the religious took the opportunity to oppose it secretly,
for, as they wish to extend their authority, the fewer the priests
who can be trained in the archbishopric, the more need will there be
of religious to serve the curacies.
In 1717, the king caused three persons to go to Manila, in order to
teach the institutes and laws there; and assigned them the suitable
incomes, namely, one thousand piastres (5,050 livres). These three
persons took one of the largest houses in Manila, and in fact, began to
teach there; but they generally had no scholars. The royal Audiencia
represented to the king that since there were two universities at
Manila, those three posts were useless, since the same branches could
be taught in the universities. Consequently, the king had to pay four
places instead of three, for it was necessary to establish a chair
of canon law and another of the institutes in the university of Santo
Tomás, and the same in the university of the fathers of the Society.
The seminary of Sancta Potenciana was established in 1591; it
served for young girls bereft of father and mother, who were reared
and instructed there at the expense of the king. They had a mother
superior, a chaplain, and a portress. The building of this seminary
having fallen into ruins, Archbishop Roxo proposed to rebuild it,
but the English prevented him from doing so. The bombs and bullets
having finished its destruction, its pensioners were transferred to
Santa Isabela. Santa Isabela is a sort of house or seminary designed
for the rearing of young Spanish girls and orphans. The church is
dedicated to the Presentation of our Lady.
That church and that house are dependent on a confraternity called the
Brotherhood of La Misericordia, founded in 1594, on the model of that
founded in Lisboa, in 1498, by Queen Léonore, widow of Jean [_i.e._,
João] II, who died in 1495. That confraternity is composed of persons
of the richest families in Manila, and has a manager, twelve deputies,
one chaplain, and some officers who take charge of affairs. The
revenues of La Misericordia are immense. They all come from legacies
which zealous citizens have left, successively, for employment in
charitable works. Now these funds grow and increase considerably every
year, for the confraternity invest them by furnishing moneys for the
voyage to Acapulco at a very large rate of interest. The cathedral,
the third Order of St. Francis, [80] the Franciscans, the Dominicans,
the Augustinians, and the Recollects, have also legacies or charitable
funds; but their funds are insignificant when compared with those of
the confraternity. The fathers of the Society also have some.
All those houses have been thriving for many years on that silver
that comes on the galleons, from which one may judge of the immense
wealth that they enjoy. We will give an idea of it here in the list
of the revenues of La Misericordia. The girls at Santa Isabela have a
mother superior and a portress. When they are married, they leave the
college with a dowry; and La Misericordia, in order to dower them,
has established a fund of 16,000 piastres (84,000 livres). There
were about fifty girls aided by La Misericordia when I was at
Manila. Santa Isabela also receives boarders; and for the expenses
of all the necessary supplies for the support of the orphans, for
the domestics, etc., La Misericordia gives 10,700 piastres (56,175
livres). Besides that, that confraternity has disbursed in alms
according to a statement that I have seen for the years 1599-1726,
3,448,506 piastres (181,046,656 livres), which amounts to 142,556
livres of French money per year. Furthermore, La Misericordia has
assisted the public in cases of extreme necessity, and when the city
has been threatened by an invasion on the part of enemies--as happened
in the years 1646, 1650, 1653-1663, 1668, and 1735. According to an
exact account, it has given 1,069,099 piastres (5,612,769 livres). I
say nothing of the considerable sum that it furnished in 1762, when
the English captured Manila.
The house of La Misericordia has its peculiar statutes, according
to which it is governed. It has many privileges and, above all,
indulgences, which the popes have successively heaped on it. Finally,
in 1733, the king took it under his protection.
One may judge, from the sample, of the wealth of all the convents
of Manila, which, during the more than one hundred and fifty years
while they have been established there, have profited from the money
for charitable works, without having diffused it outside.
The calced Augustinians were the first religious estate to appear
at Manila; they went there in 1565. The convent has about fifty
religious, and furnishes laborers to all the provinces where those
fathers have livings. They have forty-five or fifty in the bishopric
of Manila alone. The church of the Augustinians is a very beautiful
edifice, being built of cut stone. It has suffered considerably
from earthquakes.
The fathers of the Society went to the Philippines in 1581. Their
principal residence was at Manila, and was named the college of San
Ignacio. Those fathers had so prospered in the Philippines that they
had eight other residences scattered throughout the islands. They
were the spiritual masters of the Marianas. They had twenty or thirty
livings in the archbishopric of Manila. Monsieur de Caseins [81]
took them all to Cadiz in 1770, on the "Santa Rosa," except five
or six who remained, and whom Don Joseph de Cordova took with him
the following year on the "Astrea," and with whom I journeyed from
the isle of France to Cadiz. The Augustinians have inherited their
possessions. The college of San Ignacio is a very beautiful building;
[82] in spite of its defects, it is without doubt the best built and
the most regular in Manila. The exterior of the church (which fronts
on the Calle Real) offers an order of architecture very rustic,
be it understood. The front, by way of retaliation, is frightful,
without order or proportion. The interior of the church is very well
planned; but the principal altar, although overloaded with gildings,
does not correspond at all to the building; it is as poorly executed as
the front. [83] There was a university, to which Pope Clement XII had
granted, by a brief of December 6, 1735, rights without number. Beside
the college of San Ignacio is that of San Jose; it was founded in 1585,
by Felipe II, for the teaching of Latin. But since the existence of
the two universities, that college is almost deserted.
The marquis de Ovando [84]--to whom navigation owes so much at
Manila, as I have said--having seen that there was no attention
paid to navigation in the center of two universities (although
those universities were in a maritime and commercial city), founded
a chair of mathematics in 1750, for the utility and progress of
navigation. He died in 1754, and his school died with him. As long
as he lived it maintained its standing, but after him it declined;
in 1767 that school was no longer frequented. Manila gets the pilots
for its galleons from Nueva España.
The Dominicans went to Manila in 1587, in order to found a mission
there. They have a fine convent, with about thirty religious. Their
university dates from 1610. The Dominicans have only a dozen livings
in the archbishopric of Manila.
The college of San Juan de Letran owes its institution to a Spaniard
of singularly exemplary life, who took charge of the orphan children
of the Spaniards, and those whose fathers and mothers were poor. He
supported them and taught them at the expense of his own income,
and when that did not suffice, he collected alms to assist the lack
in his own funds. The king, in order to make it easier for him to
exercise his humane acts, gave him an encomienda in the province of
Ilocos. At the approach of old age, he retired into the infirmary
of the Dominicans, with the permission of the archbishop, and died
there a religious. He renounced his encomienda, his house, and all
his possessions, in due form; and placed them at the disposal of
the Dominicans, on condition that they take charge of the rearing
of his orphans. According to the act that was passed June 18, 1640,
the house was erected into a college under the advocacy of St. John
of the Letran. The king added to it some revenues from the royal
chapel; and the students who left that college belonged to the king,
and had to enter his service, either in the military or otherwise. The
Dominicans have gradually changed those rules. The students of that
college, to the number of about fifty who are supported there annually,
are all or nearly all destined for the priesthood. Consequently they
study philosophy and theology in the university of Santo Tomás.
Opposite San Juan de Letran, on the other side of the street, stands
the royal community of Santa Catalina. It has undergone various changes
since 1695, the year in which it was founded. [85] The Dominicans
had charge of it at first; while now they have a mother superior,
they follow, nevertheless, the third Order of St. Dominic. They have
no church of their own, but the college of San Juan de Letran serves
them as one. Without celebrating there any office, they attend mass
there, being separated from it by the width of the street, where they
have a gallery which communicates from their cells with the church
of San Juan de Letran.
The Recollects arrived at Manila in 1606. They have built a fine
convent there, and so large that two hundred religious could be very
comfortable in it; however, they never have more than forty. They
have a dozen livings in the archbishopric of Manila.
The hospital Order of St. John of God obtained permission from the
king in 1627 to send ten religious to Manila. In 1656, the board of La
Misericordia made those fathers a present of their old hospital. The
king approved that gift, but the hospital has fallen many times. In
1726, the archbishop undertook to reestablish it, and to rebuild it
again on new foundations; and that has been executed. That hospital is
a vast and elegant building. The church is beautiful. The wards for
the sick are large, and filled with very comfortable beds, and there
are plenty of religious. Those fathers are very useful in Manila,
for they are very charitable to the sick. The Spaniards of Manila
and its environs send their domestics there when they are sick;
and they are given especial care, and treated gratis. Those fathers
are, beyond doubt, the most useful in Manila; but, in spite of that,
they are poor and often in want. They live only on alms, and without
the Confraternity of La Misericordia that house would find it hard
to subsist.
I shall make here only one reflection, which the love for humanity
tears from me. The Confraternity of La Misericordia have amassed
immense wealth, but they scatter and spend it on the unfortunate who
are in need: the State itself has often found aid there. The religious
orders also have their treasures, but I have been assured that no one
benefits by them; and that, on the contrary, like those treasures
of the Igolotes, their treasures only increase each year. Also the
_Histoire Espagnole_ [_i.e._, "_Spanish History_"], that tells of the
employment made by La Misericordia of its charitable contributions,
is silent as to what the religious orders do with theirs.
The discalced Franciscans went to Manila in 1577. They are allied
to the Capuchins. [86] Their convent is superb and immense. They
generally have thirty religious, besides fifty others who are nearly
religious and who fill a like number of curacies in the archbishopric
of Manila. Inside the convent enclosure is to be seen a fine chapel,
where the holy sacrament is continually kept. That chapel is intended
for the exercises of the tertiaries.
Outside the walls of Manila, and a gunshot from that city, stands the
hospital of San Lazaro; the Franciscan religious have charge of its
temporal and spiritual administration. That hospital is for lepers,
many of whom are seen in Manila. The Spanish call that disease _el
mal lazaro_. [87]
Article Twelve
Of the bishops of the Philippines suffragan to Manila; and of the
general number of Christian souls in those islands.
The bishopric of Zébu is the first; it was created in 1595. Its
cathedral is built of wood, and is quite large; it is dedicated to
St. Michael. It has no canons. There is one cura there, one sacristan,
one vicar-general, and several priests. The bishop is almost always
a religious. When he officiates, he is generally accompanied by two
mestizo [_mulâtres_] priests. [88] Moreover, there is at Zébu a convent
of calced Augustinians, one of discalced Augustinians or Recollects,
one residence of the Society of Jesus, and one alcalde. There are
generally three fathers in each convent, and that is the largest number
that they have ever had. The city of Zébu, which ought not to bear
the name of city, is a collection of a few miserable straw shacks,
like those of all Indians; the convents, on the contrary, are finely
built. The latter are immense buildings, and that for only two or
three persons. That is true of all the convents of the Philippines,
which are seven or eight times larger than are necessary for the number
of fathers whom they contain. It remains to ascertain whether that is
the case because the number of religious is at present less in España
than it was one hundred and fifty or one hundred and eighty years ago;
or whether those buildings were erected with the expectation and idea
that they would some day be peopled and filled. I have been unable to
learn which is correct. There was a quarter for the Chinese at Zébu,
as at Manila. The bishop of Zébu receives a salary of four thousand
piastres (21,000 livres), the curé, one hundred and eighty piastres
(960 livres), and the sacristan ninety-one (472 livres).
The bishopric of Camarines dates from the same time as that of Zébu,
and was founded in the same manner. That city is not more beautiful
than that of Zébu. The calced Augustinians, the Recollects, and the
discalced Franciscans are established at Camarines.
The bishopric of Nueva Segovia was founded at the same time and
in the same manner as the preceding. The city (if it is one) has a
convent of calced Augustinians, one of discalced Franciscans, and
one of Dominicans.
The secular priests, according to a list that I have seen, govern one
hundred and forty-two livings, which include 131,279 persons. The
other livings, to the number of more than five hundred and fifty,
are divided among the Augustinians, the fathers of the Society,
the Dominicans, the Recollects, and the discalced Franciscans.
The Augustinians have charge of 241,806 persons
The fathers of the Society had 170,000
The Dominicans have 89,752
The Recollects have 63,149
The discalced Franciscans 141,196
Sum total 705,903 persons.
The above sum is for 1735, and is very exact, as it is taken from
the communities and from the statement of the royal officials. There
may, however, be some error in it, due to the fact that the Indians
change their dwelling from time to time, or absent themselves for
some time. Mortality must also have some effect on it. It results
always that the natives of the Philippines, the subjects of the king
of España, form a colony about as numerous as the city of Paris;
and that that colony, if it were well governed and well directed,
might become very flourishing.
Article Thirteenth
Of the power and influence enjoyed by the religious in the Philippines
If the governor of the Philippines is absolute, the religious orders
form there a body that is not less powerful. Masters of the provinces,
they govern there, one might say, as sovereigns; they are so absolute
that no Spaniard dares go to establish himself there. If he tried to do
so, he would succeed only after having surmounted great difficulties,
and removed the greatest obstacles. But he would always be at swords'
point: the friars would play him so many tricks; they would seek
so many occasions of dispute with him; and they would stir up so
many things against him, that in the end he would be forced to go
away. Thus do those fathers remain masters of the land, and they are
more absolute in the Philippines than is the king himself.
In 1763 or 1764 an alcalde of Manila, zealous for the public welfare,
had a royal road lengthened two or three leagues from the city, and
had both sides of it planted with trees. It produced a very beautiful
effect, and facilitated the carriage of food to Manila. The fathers
of the Society began a suit against the alcalde, because, they said,
he had encroached upon the lands of the poor Indians. The alcalde,
and rightfully, paid but little attention to the suit. The fathers of
the Society, upon seeing that the matter was not turning out at all
to their advantage, caused the trees to be cut down by the Indians,
and reduced the road to its former condition--that is to say, they
administered justice themselves. Will it be believed that the affair
is left in this condition? However, nothing is more certain; it was
still quite recent at my arrival at Manila, and was related to me by
several persons worthy of credit.
According to an ordinance of the king, renewed, perhaps, a hundred
times, the religious are ordered to teach Castilian to the young
Indians. But his Majesty, the Spaniards of Manila have assured me
universally, has not yet been obeyed to this day, and has not been
able to succeed in having the ordinance executed. Public schools
are to be seen at a half-league's distance from Manila, where
the youth are taught, but good care is taken not to teach them
Castilian. They are taught the language of the country. They have,
it is true, little prayer-books written in Castilian, and the youth
are taught now and then a few words of that language; but the chief
language that the teachers try to have them speak and read well is
the language of their own country. So, go one league from Manila,
and you can scarcely be understood if you do not know the language
of the country--a fact which I can attest, for I have experienced
it. It is still worse in the provinces. Thus are the friars the
masters of the Indians. A great abuse that follows from that is,
that the Spaniards themselves cannot get any knowledge of the
condition of things in those provinces. They would have no safety
in traveling, if they were not known to the religious, and if they
did not have with them recommendations presented by the religious
of Manila. Those recommendations are infinitely more to be preferred
than the orders which the governor could give to the alcaldes or to
those religious. The latter would probably not deign to receive them;
while the alcaldes, who themselves need to keep on good terms with
the friars, would give but faint response to the governor's orders.
Notwithstanding all the recommendations possible, it yet happens that
the friar in charge of the people among whom you travel, allows you
but rarely to speak alone with the Indians. When you speak in his
presence to any Indian who understands a little Castilian, if that
religious is displeased to have you converse too long with that native
he makes him understand, in the language of the country, not to answer
you in Castilian but in his own language. The Indian obeys him; and,
if you are not aware of that practice, you cannot guess his reason,
inasmuch as you have not understood what the religious said. I have
been assured of this by several Spaniards, among them the engineer
Don Féliciano Marquès. He has several times complained to me that,
in spite of his great desire to travel in the provinces, he did not
dare resolve to do it, in view of the great difficulties that he saw
to be inseparable from such an undertaking.
We went together, he and I, several times, on the river in a
_pangue_--the boat of the country. Once we went up stream for three
leguas. No one could understand us at that short distance from Manila,
for no one knew any Castilian; neither did they even pay any attention
to us. One would not believe that the Spaniards were the masters of
the country. That, I was told by the Spaniards, was the result and
the effect of the policy of the friars.
If the religious in the Philippines have resisted the temporal power
in these matters, they have not been more docile, in another matter,
to the ecclesiastical power; for they have been able, even to this
day, to elude the visitation of the archbishops, and those prelates
have never been able to succeed in that.
The great obstacle in this matter is, that there are very few
[secular] priests in the Philippines, and the majority of those who
are there are Indians. The people, say the Spaniards, have almost
no respect or veneration for the latter. Most frequently they are
dressed like their compatriots, the other Indians, in the fashion
of the country. The friars, on the contrary, are necessarily more
respected, and even though it were only by reason of their mode of
dress, they would inspire more awe in the people than do the Indian
priests. Those religious hold the people in a sort of dependence in
which the priests of their own race, and clad as they, could not hold
them. But so the religious, because they know that they are necessary
in the present condition of affairs, have always raised an opposition
when the archbishops have tried to visit them, so that the latter
have never been able to surmount the difficulty. The religious are,
so to speak, entrenched or fortified in castles (_encastillados_, to
use the peculiar expression of the Spaniards), so that all the zeal
of the archbishops has been unable to reduce them to the footing of
the other curas. As a rule, there are no difficulties at all in the
other bishoprics; for, as the livings there are almost always filled
by religious, the curas easily allow themselves to be visited by a
person of their own class. It is true that, since the governors have
not as yet taken sides with them, the archbishops have always been
the weaker party.
Monsieur Arandia, of whom I have already spoken, a man fit to govern
a state, would have doubtless put an end to it had he lived. Don
Manuel Antonio Roxo was appointed archbishop of Manila under his
government. Don Andrès Roxo, nephew of that archbishop, told me
several times that Monsieur Arandia was only awaiting his uncle's
arrival to conclude that important matter. But Arandia died before
his arrival, and it is claimed that he was helped to die. However
that may be, Archbishop Roxo, having lost his support, could not,
although he became governor and captain-general of the islands, make
the friars submissive. He wrote to the king that the briefs of the
pope and the decrees of his Majesty would always be without force and
validity; and that the one and only way of succeeding in regulating
that matter was to issue imperative commands to the general of each
order in Europe to direct their friars at Manila to receive the visit
of the archbishop. In the meantime, the war comes--Manila is captured;
Roxo dies, and all is as before.
Roxo was replaced only in 1767. That year the court of España sent an
archbishop. [89] I saw him, and even went to make him several visits
when he had made his [public] entrance. He wrote to all the communities
that he was preparing to visit his diocese. He had, so it was said,
left Europe with the fullest authority for that purpose. He had bulls,
briefs from the pope, and orders from the court. He thought that he
would succeed with all these arms, but he did not know that there
would be an answer for everything at Manila. The friars answered then
that they could not allow him to visit them; and such is their answer
[to their superior]. They went, say they, first to the Philippines;
they have received the care of souls, under certain conditions and
certain charges that cannot be set aside; [and they said] that the
archbishop might, if he wished, take away all the livings in their
charge and provide the same with secular priests. I have said that
the archbishopric of Manila contains more than two hundred livings,
of which only thirteen are in charge of secular priests. Consequently,
there are about two hundred still occupied by the friars. Now the
case was very embarrassing for the archbishop, who did not then
have two hundred priests at his disposal. As to the briefs, bulls,
etc., consider the pleasant response that they made, and which their
partisans scattered abroad in public; they said, then, that his
Excellency had not brought any new rulings with him from the courts
of Rome and Madrid. It was very true that there existed a bull of
the pope in regard to that matter, but it would have to be looked
for in the books. In order that it might, on the other hand, become a
law, it was necessary for the archbishop to give notification of it,
legalized by notary in the ordinary manner. Such, they said, were the
laws of the kingdom, in consideration of the fact that there might be
some difference in the books, either by the transposition of a comma,
or by some other error that might have slipped into the printing.
Such are the intrenchments that the friars opposed in 1767 to the new
archbishop of Manila. In the beginning, the Dominicans and Augustinians
were disturbed; the Dominicans in fact submitted, and the archbishop's
party already thought that he had the victory. But, toward the
end of the year, some repented, and changed their minds; and, as a
consequence, there was a schism in the convent. The Augustinians also
were divided, and they came even to blows among themselves. One of
the chief actors was imprisoned in his room. However, the matter was
arranged, and it was agreed that all of them should assemble and be
reconciled, without saying a word of what had occurred. It produced
a singular effect. At my arrival the dissension had again commenced,
but I am not aware how the affair terminated.
The other religious and the fathers of the Society held firm. These
last especially, in appearance, were very assiduous in visiting the
governor [90]--and that at an hour when no one is received in the
houses of Manila, unless it be for matters which cannot suffer delay;
that is to say, the fathers went just after dinner, at the time when
all people retire to take their siesta. Having gone one day during
that time, just after his dinner, to see the governor about a pressing
matter which concerned me, scarcely had I begun what I had to say when
a father of the Society appeared, who had ascended by a little private
stair-way. I was unable to terminate my business. The reverend father
took possession of the governor, who made an appointment with me for
another time. I cannot be positive that that father had gone on the
matter of the visitation; I only report that fact because it agrees
with what was said then at Manila in regard to the frequent visits
which the fathers of the Society made to the governor, at times when
no one dared present himself at the government [house].
I must tell what side the governor took in so delicate a matter. On one
side he was pressed by the archbishop; on the other he was solicited
by the Jesuits and the friars. During these contests I found him
one evening when I went to see him, meditative and thoughtful. He
had two letters in his hand, which the archbishop had written to him,
successively, that same day. He told me, with demonstrations of feeling
which showed his embarrassment, that the archbishop was writing to
him letter after letter, on a matter that depended on him in no way
at all. He said that he had no instructions on the matter, and that he
could not exceed his powers. And, as he repeated that to me time after
time, I answered him that, since he had no orders from his court, and
especially since he had no secular priests at his disposal, it was in
fact very difficult for him to proceed as the archbishop desired. It
must be observed that I was living with a wealthy French merchant,
one of whose daughters had married the secretary of the government;
and I have often remarked that that secretary was not at all inclined
to the archbishop's side.
Next morning, four _pasquinades_ [91] or injurious and very defamatory
placards, were found posted in the city: one at the government offices;
the second, on the gate of the Parián; a third at La Misericordia;
and the fourth at our door. Those lampoons stated distinctly that the
governor for twenty thousand piastres (105,000 livres), had prevented
the archbishop from fulfilling his duty. The secretary was beside
himself at the boldness of the lampoon, and especially at the one
posted at his door. He spoke of it as a crime which deserved the most
severe chastisement. He added that it would be better for him who had
done it, if he were discovered, that he had never lived. In fact,
I am quite sure that Sambouangam [92] (in the island of Mindanao),
which I have before mentioned, would have been his dwelling, and that
he would not have enjoyed himself there very greatly.
The friars in the Philippines are, as can be seen, absolute in the
provinces. It is quite true that, according to the ordinances, the
governor ought to send the auditors there from time to time in the
quality of visitors. But besides that that scarcely ever happens, these
visitors, although members of the royal Audiencia, are obliged to take
recommendations from the convents of Manila before their departure,
in order to be well received. However, that great authority of the
friars over the people does not prevent the latter from revolting very
often in the provinces; and those revolts are nearly always followed
by the death of some religious. Then there is no means of restoring
order except by sending troops to reduce the Indians to obedience,
for the eloquence of the religious can do nothing. Such an emergency
occurred in my time, at the end of 1767. Several settlements about the
large lake revolted, and carried their boldness even to the point of
killing the friar curas. It was necessary to send a cavalry officer at
the head of a detachment of fifteen men, to make those rebels submit.
These disorders always happened when the provinces of the Philippines
had at their head, to govern them, only an alcalde and the friars. I
believe that it would be necessary for the court to have four or five
hundred troops (or at least a sufficient number), for the sole purpose
of scattering them through those different provinces, in posts of only
fifteen or twenty men. That number, besides being but inconsiderable
and of little expense, would be sufficient to maintain the Indians
in their duty, since only fifteen men have appeased the disturbance
in a considerable district near the lake.
[The following, also from Le Gentil (pp. 59-63), treats in part of
the ecclesiastical estate.]
Ninth Article
Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and the peculiar
punishments inflicted by the religious on the women who do not attend
mass on the prescribed days.
This article is the fourteenth chapter of the Franciscan religious
from whom I have extracted a portion of my details. But I believe
that it will be important to reproduce here in exact translation the
text of the original.
[The extract is from San Antonio's _Chronicas_, vol. i, part of chapter
xl of book i; it is not, however, an exact translation, but in part
a synopsis. The meaning is not distorted; but we have preferred to
translate this portion of the chapter, entitled in San Antonio "Of
the characteristics and genius of the Filipino Indians," directly from
the Spanish, reproducing exactly the matter synopsized by Le Gentil.]
"412. Among the gifts with which man is adorned, those of the
soul are the most noble and most important--for instance, the
characteristics or bent, and the skill or understanding in the
exercise of a man's reasonings and mental operations. And since
the soul is so dependent on the body and on its sensations, the
spiritual operations are tempered by the bodily characteristics. These
characteristics (in the judgment of Galen, Plato, Aristotle, and
Hippocrates), are such or such, according to the varying climate of the
[different] regions. Consequently, the difference of nations in bodily
characteristics, and in disposition, genius, and morals, springs from
the various climates of the regions, and from the difference in air,
water, and food--in accordance with that maxim, _Natura facit habilem_,
[93] in its common interpretation. That makes evident (in distant
regions) the difference between Spaniards and French, Indians and
Germans, Ethiopians and English. It is experienced, within distances
not so great, in the many provinces of España alone. Even in Ubeda
and Baèza, only one legua apart, this diversity of men and women is
found. There are more marked differences of this sort encountered in
Philipinas; for there are certain peoples at the mouth of one river,
while at the source are others very different in complexion, customs,
and languages. In the same province are found stupid and intelligent
peoples; white, black, and brown; and those of distinct degrees of
corpulency, and features according to the various temperatures and
climates. It is a matter which is truly surprising, to see so great
a diversity of temperatures and so great a diversity of men within
so small a space. But that happens in districts here and there,
for usually there is but little differentiation in these islands in
characteristics and genius. If one Indian be known, I believe that
they are all known; but God alone can have this complete knowledge.
"413. The very reverend father, Gaspar de San Agustin, an Augustinian
and a native of Madrid, with the practical experience of forty years
of life among those people, confesses, in a letter which he wrote
concerning their characteristics--and which although in manuscript,
deserves to be printed, for he understood those natives as far as it
is possible to comprehend them--that it is so difficult to describe
their characteristics that it would be more easy to define the formal
object in logic; more feasible to compute the square of a circle;
more discoverable to assign a fixed rule for the measurement of the
degrees of longitude on the globe; and after the four knowledges of
Solomon could be placed this fifth, as impossible. [94] In fact, after
so many years, he says that he has only been able to understand that
_quadraginta annis proximus fui Generationi huic, & dixi: semper hi
erant corde_. [95] He speaks at length and from experience and with
remarkable detail. Although the letter is worth printing, my lack of
space does not allow me to copy it. [96]
"414. Granting, then, as true the experiences that he writes, and
reducing them to a brief summary I assert that _the character of
these Indians is a maze of contradictions and oppositions_; and I
believe that this is not the worst of the descriptions. For they
are at once proud and humble; bold in wickedness, and pusillanimous
cowards; compassionate and cruel; negligent and lazy; but for their own
affairs, whether evil or good, careful and watchful; easily credulous,
but incapable of understanding, and fickle, after so oft repeated
sacred teachings. They are very much inclined to attend the church,
and its feasts and solemn rites, but it is necessary to oblige them
by the rigor of the lash to attend mass on the prescribed days,
and confession and communion when holy Church orders; and are very
reverent toward the ministering fathers because of the superiority
that they recognize in them, while at the same time they mock them,
murmur against them, and even deceive them. Consequently, a religious
called them jokingly 'the schoolchildren of St. Casiano;' [97] for it
is a fact that they go astray in all their resolutions without the
government of the fathers, and it is necessary to treat them like
schoolchildren in their instruction."
[Here we resume the narrative of Le Gentil, who italicises the words,
"It is necessary to employ the lash in order to get them to attend
mass on the prescribed days when holy Church orders it, and to treat
them as schoolchildren," and continues:]
This is an abuse which reigns in the provinces. The religious give
the lash to women and girls with a cat-o'-nine-tails, even in the
presence of their husbands, and no one dares say a word. That is not
practiced at Manila, and the religious are not so absolute there as
they are in the provinces; and, besides, one is able at times not
to attend mass on Sunday without that act of irreligion reaching the
ears of the religious or the curés.
I was intimately acquainted at Manila with some army officers, with
whom I had gone from the Île de France to that city on board the
"Bon-conseil." Although Spaniards, they dared to revolt publicly
against that ridiculous custom; others approved it. Sometimes the
religious or fathers have their own executioners, and the church is
the place of the action. In this regard a singular chance procured
me a knowledge of the following.
A short league [_lieue_] from Manila is a parish called Las Peñas (_les
Roches_) [_i.e._, "the rocks"]. It is under the charge of a secular
priest, and has a very small church, built of bamboo and thatched with
straw. It is a charming place, and pleasure-parties often go there
to dine, or walk there after dinner. I went there quite frequently
with Father Melo. One Sunday, Don Andrés Roxo and Doña Ana Roxo,
his wife, asked me to go there to dine with them. Don Andrés Roxo
had married one of the daughters of the marquis of Villa-Mediana,
a distinguished family of Spain. The marquis, who has died since my
return to France, was then commandant of the troops in Manila, and was
to come to join us in the afternoon. As I was walking with Monsieur
and Madame Roxo in the country quite near the village, about four or
five in the afternoon, we beheld a great concourse of people gathered
about the entrance of that same village. We went in that direction, to
ascertain what could be happening. It was a woman who had not attended
mass that day, whom they were taking to the church to lash. She was
led along by the executioner. He had a heavy cat-o'-nine-tails on
his shoulder, which hung down to the middle of his back. The father,
more black than white, went behind, and a crowd of Indians followed,
especially of Indian women. Doubtless they were those of the village,
who were obliged to witness the ceremony, in order to teach them not
to stay away from mass. Madame Roxo, seeing this sight, was touched
with compassion. She left us, forced her way through the crowd, and
easily succeeded in reaching the father. She asked clemency for that
woman, which was obtained.
At this juncture the marquis of Villa-Mediana arrived. From as far
as we could see him we went to meet him. When he asked us whence we
came, Madame Roxo told him what had just happened. But the marquis,
far from approving the generosity of his daughter, put on a severe
countenance, and scolded her for it roundly in my presence. He told
her in express terms _that she had performed a very wrong action,
which would be the cause of a greater evil; that that woman would not
fail to commit that sin again, and perhaps several times, and the blame
and sin for it would rebound on her who had asked for the pardon_.
[Le Gentil concludes this article by a further translation and synopsis
of the same chapter of San Antonio, which relates entirely to the
characteristics of the natives--matter which will, if space permit,
be embodied in this series.]
CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE OF THE FRIARS
[The following is taken from volume ii of Sinibaldo de Mas's _Informe
sobre el estado de las islas Filipinas en 1842_ (Madrid, January,
1843).]
The ecclesiastical estate
Shortly after Legaspi had discovered the islands, came successively
religious of St. Augustine, St. Dominic, and St. Francis, who spread
through the interior and founded convents in Manila. They were the
ones who accomplished most in the spiritual and temporal conquest,
as is attested uniformly by writers, native and foreign, even the
least devout. Some years later, bishoprics were erected; and from
that moment began a struggle between the bishops and the monastic
orders as to whether or no the friar curas should be subject to the
diocesan visit. Innumerable are the treatises, opinions, superior
decrees, and scandalous disputes, which took place on this account,
as we have already seen in the chapter called "History." The arguments
of the religious were founded on the fear of falling into relaxation
of their regular observance, as they believed that they could not
be good ministers without being good religious. The religious of
the Order of St. Dominic, discussing this point in the year 1710,
resolved that, if the lords ordinary [98] attempted to subject them
to the diocesan visit, they would first abandon all their missions;
_for the province regards it as certain and evident that the ruin
of the ministering religious must follow the said visit; and of this
opinion have been, for many years past, grave religious and zealous
and superior prelates whom the province has had_. In the year 1757,
Governor Don Pedro Manuel Arandia claimed, with the greatest firmness,
that the regulars should submit to the laws of the royal patronage in
respect to the appointment of religious for the curacies, and that they
should receive the canonical installation. He first directed himself
to the provincial of the calced Augustinians, even going so far as
to warn him that, if he did not obey his behests and commands in this
matter, the governor would proceed to his exile and the occupation of
his temporalities. To that the provincial replied that he could not
under any circumstances accede to his demands, adding that "he knew
by proof in his establishment the ruin of their regular institute,
with notable harm to souls;" and that "he was at the same time assured
that the piety of the king (whom may God preserve) would not take it
ill at seeing the aforesaid province [of Augustinians] reduced to their
profession and subject to the same laws of the royal patronage. Those
laws, although so just, do not bind the regulars to continue in their
missions, which they obtain precariously, in case that all the royal
patronage is impracticable to them with their institute." In the year
1767, and during the government of Don Simon de Anda, there came
an order from Madrid, together with a bull from Pope Benedict XIV,
requiring the curas to submit to the metropolitan. The religious of
St. Augustine still resisted, which caused Anda to have all the curas
in Pampanga arrested, and to send the provincial and definitors to
España. In the year 1775 arrived a decisive order from the court,
requiring all the regulars to submit to the visit and the royal
patronage, and the restoration of the curacies of Pampanga to the
Augustinians. They submitted, and from that time the regular curas
have been subject to their provincial in matters _de vita et moribus_
[_i.e._, of conduct and morals], of the bishop in all that pertains to
spiritual administration, and to the captain-general as the viceregal
patron. According to a royal decree of August 1, 1795, it is impossible
to remove a regular cura against his will without formulating a cause
against him and trying him according to law, unless he is appointed to
fill some office in the order; and even in this case it is necessary
that the consent of the ordinary and the royal vice-patron precede,
in accordance with the terms of another royal decree of September
29, 1807. Perhaps this subjection of the curas to the bishops and
vice-patrons will have resulted in great advantages; but there is
no doubt that the relaxation of morals which the regular superiors
foresaw has been verified. There are many, there are numberless faults
which a director recognizes and knows positively, but which cannot
be proved in a judgment, especially when one is conducting a cura of
souls. Further, in a cause, it is necessary to take depositions from
the parishioners, and to make public matters which it would be highly
important to keep secret; for scandal does more harm than the evil
which one is trying to remedy, especially in a colony where the good
man and the prestige of the religious is so important. And, above all,
it ought to be remembered that since the will of three must unite to
punish one cura, it will be very easy for the cura to find a means
of securing favor from some of them. Those evils would probably be
remedied by rigorously obeying the commands of Benedict XIV in his
constitution beginning _Firmandis_, given November 6, 1744, in which
it is ruled that the regular curas may be removed from their curacies
according to the will of one or the other superior, without its being
necessary for either to declare to the other the causes of the removal.
As a result of these continuous and obstinate quarrels between the
regular curas and the bishops and civil authorities, and as if to
cut the Gordian knot, the government ordered, in 1753, that all
the curacies be handed over to secular priests of the country. The
execution of this decree presented so many difficulties, and raised so
many remonstrances that it was decided in 1757 that, until it should
be ordered otherwise, none of the curacies administered by regulars
should be granted to a secular priest under any circumstances, until
it was really vacant, and that then the viceroy and the diocesan should
agree together whether or no it were advisable to make it secular; and
the opinion of both should be carried into effect, and that in equal
accord they should execute the decree of 1753. By this decision, the
governor-general had the power to deprive the friars of their curacies
at will, since the bishops have almost always desired or solicited
that. Cárlos III, wearied at the obstinacy of the Augustinian religious
in not submitting to the diocesan visit, ordered by decrees of August
5 and November 9, 1774, that all the missions should be secularized
as they fell vacant. The governor, then Don Simon de Anda, in spite
of being at open war with the friars--because they had intrigued in
Madrid against him when the government was conferred on him--and
of his being, perhaps, the governor-general most hated by them,
inveighed so strongly against this order, asserting that it was not
advisable to the service of God and the State, that the same Cárlos
III resolved that the decree of 1774 should not have effect, and that
the curacies and missions which the religious had filled before the
decree, should be returned to them. Nevertheless the government of
Madrid was so annoyed and wearied at the continual strife which the
friars maintained with the bishops and authorities, that it desired
to cut the dispute short, at any risk; and in this same decree it was
recommended that a body of Filipino secular priests be formed, so that
the curacies could be surrendered to these as they became vacant--thus
carrying into effect the decree of 1757, when they should be ready
for it. This same order was confirmed by another decree of December
11, 1776, and another of September 7, 1778--although in this last,
in consideration of a representation of Don Pedro Sarrio, which will
be seen later, it was provided that there should be no innovation in
what was contained in the decree of '76, without the express order of
the Council and of the king. In 1822, in consequence of a decree of
the Córtes, the curacies which fell vacant were presented at a meeting
of opponents. In regard to the first, which was that of the village of
Malate, the superior of the calced Augustinians, Fray Hilarion Diez,
made a representation; but the archbishop, Don Fray Juan Zulaybar, was
interested in complying with the decrees of the Madrid government. In
1826, order was given to return that curacy to the religious, and all
[others] that they had, and what was declared to them by the decree
of 1776; and that the secularization of any curacy should not be
proceeded with except by express order of the king.
I am going to insert what Don Tomás de Comyn said about the religious
of Filipinas in a book which has not had the appreciation that it
merits, and which is already rare.
"The valor and constancy with which Legaspi and his worthy companions
conquered these natives would have been of little use, had not
the apostolic zeal of the missionaries aided in consolidating the
undertaking. The latter were the true conquerors--who, without other
weapons than their virtues, attracted the good-will of the natives,
made them love the Spanish name, and gave the king, as by a miracle,
two millions more of submissive and Christian vassals. They were the
legislators of the barbarous hordes who inhabited the islands of this
immense archipelago, thus realizing with their persuasive mildness
the allegorical prodigies of Amphion and Orpheus.
"As the means, then, which the missionaries employed to reduce and
civilize the Indians, were their preaching and other spiritual
instruments, and as, although they were scattered and working
separately, they were at the same time subject to the authority
of their superiors--who as chiefs, directed the great work of the
conversion--the government primitively established in these provinces
must necessarily have shared much of the nature of the theocratic;
and there is no doubt that it so continued until, the number of the
new colonists, as well the effective force of the royal authority,
increasing with the lapse of time, it was possible to make the
governing system uniform with that which rules in the other ordinary
establishments of España.
"Further, this same is deduced from the fragments which even yet
remain of that first constitution in the islands of Batanes and
the missions of Cagayan, which are administered spiritually and
temporally by the Dominican fathers; and from what can be noted at
every step in the other provinces, by whoever gives the matter but a
little attention. For although the civil magistracies are regulated
now, and their respective attributes determined with all precision,
it has been as yet impossible to lay aside, however much they have
tried to show the contrary, the personal authority which the parish
priests hold among their parishioners; on the contrary, the government
has indeed seen itself constantly under the necessity of making use
of this same authority, as the most powerful instrument to acquire
respect and due subordination. Consequently, although the parish
priests are not today authorized to intervene by law in the civil
administration, they become in fact the real rulers.
"It certainly is the case that, since the parish priest is the
consoler of the afflicted, the pacifier of families, the promoter of
useful ideas, the preacher and example of all good; as generosity
is conspicuous in him, and the Indians see him alone among them,
without relatives, without trade, and always engaged in their greater
good--they are accustomed to live contentedly under his paternal
direction, and to give him their whole confidence. Master in this way
of their wills, nothing is done without the counsel--or, to speak more
correctly, without the consent--of the cura. The gobernadorcillo, on
receiving an order from the alcalde, goes first to get the permission
of the father; and it is the latter who, in strict terms, tacitly
sees to its fulfilment, or prevents its course. The father concludes
or directs the suits of the village; makes the writs; goes up to the
capital to plead for his Indians; opposes their petitions, and at
times their threats, to the violences committed by the alcaldes-mayor;
and manages everything by the standard of his own desire. In a word,
it is impossible for there to be any human institution, at once so
simple and so firmly grounded, and from which so many advantages
can be derived for the State, as that (which is admired with reason)
which is firmly established in the ministries of these islands. And
by the same fatality it is very strange that since the true art of
governing a colony like Filipinas, which is different from all others,
consists in the wise use of so powerful an instrument as secrecy,
the superior government has been laboring under an hallucination for
some years past, to the point of pledging itself to the destruction
of a work that it is so advisable to maintain.
"In this as in other things, one may very plainly see how absurd
or how difficult it is to organize a system of government which is
equally well suited to the genius of all peoples, regardless of what
discordance may exist in their physical and moral make-up. Hence, when
one tries to assimilate _in toto_ the administrative régime of these
provinces to that of the Americas, he meets obstacles at every step
which evidently originate from this erroneous principle. The regime,
however much one may try to assert it, must either make itself obeyed
by fear and force, or respected by means of love and confidence. And
in order to convince one's self that the first is impracticable,
it is quite sufficient to take into consideration the following
circumstances and reflections.
"The number of the whites in proportion to that of the natives is so
small, that it can scarcely be set at the ratio of 15:25,000. These
provinces, infinitely more populous than those of América, are given
into the care of their alcaldes-mayor, who take there no other troops
than the title of military captains and the royal decree. Besides the
religious, no other whites than their alcalde-mayor generally live
in the whole province. He has the care of the royal possessions; he
attends to the punishment of evildoers; he pacifies riots; he raises
men for the regiments who garrison Manila and Cavite; he orders and
leads his subjects in case of an invasion from the outside; in short,
he alone must do everything, on the word of alcalde-mayor and in
the name of the king. In view, then, of the effective power that the
fulfilment of so great a variety of obligations exacts spontaneously,
and the fact that no one assists him with what is in his charge, who
could deny that it would be to risk the security of these dominions too
greatly to try to rule them by means so insufficient? If the villages
are in disorder or revolt, to whom will the alcalde turn his face for
aid in checking and punishing them? What other recourse is there for
him in such a conflict than to flee or to die in the attempt? And if
it is considered indispensable among cultured nations that authority
always present itself accompanied by force, how can one expect that
bare and unprotected law be respected among Indians?
"It is clear that it is necessary to appeal to force of another kind,
and to employ means, which although indirect, are without dispute
the most adequate under the peculiar circumstances of these lands;
means which, by influencing the imagination, excite veneration,
subjugate the rude intellect of the inhabitants, and lead them to
endure our dominion without repugnance. And well can one understand,
too, how ready these means are found, and how we are envied for them
and have always been envied by all the other European nations who
have aspired to extend and consolidate their conquests in both Indias.
"Let one listen to La Perouse, if he would know and wonder at
the arms with which our missionaries captured the natives of the
Californias. Let him read dispassionately the marvelous deeds of the
Jesuits in other parts of América. And above all, let him go to the
Filipinas Islands, where he will be surprised to see those remote
fields strewn with spacious temples and convents wherein divine
worship is celebrated with splendor and pomp; regularity in the
streets; ease and even luxury in dress and house; primary schools
in all the villages, and the inhabitants very skilful in the art
of writing; paved highways disclosed to view; bridges constructed
in good architectural style; and the greater portion of the country,
finally, in strict observance of the provisions of good government and
civilization--all the work of the union of the zeal, apostolic labors,
and fiery patriotism of the ministering fathers. Let him traverse the
provinces, where he will see villages of five, ten, and twenty thousand
Indians, ruled in peace by one weak old man who, with his doors open
at all hours, sleeps secure in his dwelling, without other magic or
other guard than the love and respect with which he has been able to
inspire his parishioners. Can it be possible, on contemplating this,
that by the efforts of foolish zealots, and by the vain endeavor that
only those persons assigned by the general laws in ordinary cases
shall intervene in the government of the natives, there should not
only be a waste of the fruit obtained in so long a time and by so
great constancy; but also that, scorning and repelling for the future
a coöperation as efficacious as economical, the attempt should be
made purposely to destroy the royal regulator, the principal wheel
of this machine. Such is, notwithstanding, the deplorable upheaval
of ideas that has conduced in these latter times to the adoption
of regulations diametrically opposed to the public interest, under
pretext of restraining the excessive authority of the parish priests.
"The superior government does not content itself with having
despoiled the ministers of the power of themselves prescribing
certain corrective punishments--which although of slight importance,
contributed infinitely, when applied with discretion, to strengthen
their predominance, and consequently that of the sovereign. But,
in order more effectively to exclude them from and deprive them of
all intervention in civil administration, the attempt has been made
directly to destroy their influence, by arousing the distrust of
the Indian, and by separating, when possible, the latter from their
side. In proof of this, and so that my statement may not be taken as
an exaggeration, it is sufficient to cite substantially two notable
measures which, by their tendency, were obviously intended to weaken
the influence and good reputation of the spiritual administrators.
"By one measure it is decreed that, for the purpose of preventing
the abuses and notorious maladministration of the fund of the saints
(especially attached to the cost of the festivals and the worship
of each parish, formed from the principal and medium parishes--which
are contributed by each individual tributario for that purpose, and
are collected and administered privately by the cura), it should
thereafter be kept in a box with three keys, one of which was to
be in the possession of the alcalde-mayor, another in that of the
gobernadorcillo of the respective village, and the other in that of
the parish priest. By the other measure, it is declared, as a general
point, that the Indian who is or has recently been employed in the
domestic service of the parish priest is disqualified for being chosen
to any office of justice.
"It is surely superfluous to make comments upon measures of such
a nature, and which so clearly speak for themselves. The only thing
that ought to be said is, that means could not more intemperately have
been chosen, that are more harmful to the state, to the propagation
of religion, and even to the natives themselves. It is, indeed, very
strange that so much effort should have been exercised in impeaching
the purity of the parish priests, by degrading in passing their
respectable character, just at the moment when circumstances would
make it appear natural that because on account of the mortality and
scarcity of religious, the ardor and authority of even the few who
remain ought to be encouraged by new stimulation. [This comes, too,]
at a time when because the sending of missionaries to China has been
suspended, and the spiritual conquest of the Igorrotes and other
infidels who inhabit the interior of the islands has been almost
abandoned the said Spanish laborers can neither give any help to
the ordinary administration, nor prevent the transference of whole
provinces to the hands of secular Indians and Sangley mestizos (as
is happening)--who by their crass ignorance, disgraceful morals,
and utter lack of decency, incur universally the contempt of their
parishioners, making them, because of the tyrannies of these, sigh
for the gentle yoke of their former shepherds.
"If it is desired, then, to keep this colony subject, and to elevate
it to the lofty grade of prosperity, of which it is susceptible, in my
opinion the first thing that ought to be attempted is the efficient
organization of its spiritual administration. I say again, that we
cannot be blind to the fact that, if the local government is powerless,
because of the lack of military force and the scarcity of Europeans,
to make itself duly obeyed through its own efforts, it is necessary
to call to its aid the powerful influence of religion, and to bring
new reënforcements of missionaries from the peninsula. For the latter
differ essentially by their nature from the rest of public servants;
it is well known that they neither claim nor expect any remuneration
for their labor, aspiring only to obtain in the community the degree
of respect to which they rightfully believe themselves entitled. Let
their jurisdictions, then, be preserved, let them be treated with
decorum, and let the direction of the Indian be entrusted to them; and
instantly, they will be seen, in turn, reconciled, and the supporters
of the legitimate authority.
"Nothing is more unjust, nor of which the ministering fathers complain
with more reason, than the little discernment with which people have
been accustomed to judge and condemn them, representing as common
to all the body the vices of a few of the members. Consequently,
there is not one who does not read without shame and indignation the
insidious motives and the defamatory expressions lavished against them
in the ordinances of good government drawn up in Filipinas in 1768
[99]--which, although ordered to be modified by his Majesty, are now
in force for lack of others, and are found, printed, in the hands of
all. For even granting that in any case there can actually have existed
a cause for complaint, what will it matter at the end that this or
that father may have abused the confidence reposed in him, so long as
the spirit that animates the whole body of the religious is in accord
with the sanctity of their estate, and in accordance with the aims
of the government? Why must one forever pursue an ideal perfection,
which cannot be obtained, and which is unnecessary in human society?"
Even though this be matter which pertains to a chapter on internal
policy rather than to religion, I can do no less than say, succinctly
and in passing, that in my opinion the ideas of Señor Comyn are very
true; and that nothing could better qualify as men weak in affairs of
state the governors or counselors who dictated the present ordinances
and the above-mentioned measures and phrases printed in them against
the religious. Even supposing those sentences to be very just, wise,
and merited, what need would there be, what gain would result from
printing them and placing them in the hands of the Filipinos?
Those who have no liking for the friars, censure them as egoists
and buffoons; as living in concubinage; as gamblers and usurers;
as arrogant, and ambitious for power.
In respect to refinement, it is known that the majority [of the friars]
are of obscure birth. They pass from the bosom of the family to their
novitiate; thence in a boat to the convent at Manila, and then to
a village where there are no other Spaniards than themselves. Is
it strange, then, that they are not more in the current of social
forms? On that account one ought to overlook the fact that they do
not know more, as is done with an honored artist or farmer. But other
is the motive for this accusation of guilt. It is said that on the
arrival of a Spaniard at a village the friars do not offer him lodging,
and they often will not drink his health in a glass of water--or,
at least, do not go to receive him; while everything is open for
a Filipino. This is sometimes a fact, and has happened to me more
than once; but everything needs explanation, and one must not pass
judgment without hearing both sides. One must remember that there
are at present many vicious and abandoned swindlers in the islands,
especially of the class of creoles; and that such men very often form
the plan to go to travel through the provinces at the cost of the
curas, either to amuse themselves or to seek their fortunes. But,
for amusement, the silver spoons and other trifles of one [of the
curas] have been carried away. There are various others; especially
among the recently-arrived military men, who, brought up among
disturbances, and accustomed to insult the religious with impunity,
have no scruples about telling them what they call "the truths of
the coxswain." "Who could eat free soup [100] as you do, father,
without working?" "What matters to you the good or poor harvest, so
long as you have fools to impose upon?" "How is the stewardess?" "How
many children have you?"--and innumerable others of the same kind,
and even much worse. Anyone can recognize that it is very natural for
these things to happen, and I myself have been a witness of them. There
are more things--namely, that many of those persons who have been in
the convents take delight immediately in publishing the weaknesses
of the cura, abusing the confidence that the latter reposed in him,
and (what is worse) exaggerating, and even mentioning things that
never occurred. If the friar, carried away by the good humor born
of the company of a compatriot, drank a little and became jolly,
then he relates that the friar was drunk. If he saw a woman with a
child in her arms who had come to speak to the friar on any of the
innumerable matters that arise in the village, then he says that
he knew the sweetheart and a child of the friar. If some curas of
neighboring villages assembled, and engaged in playing _brisca_, or
"thirty-one," [101] in order to pass the time, then it is said that
they engaged in gambling. On that account the curas are so cautious of
giving the freedom of their houses and their friendship to transient
Spaniards, that they will now scarcely receive anyone who does not
bring a letter of recommendation; and, considering this sensibly, it
does not seem that they are to be censured for this caution toward
people whom they do not know, in consideration of the fact that in
Manila there is no police office, and a passport is easily given
to whomever asks for it. In spite of all this, some curas--as for
instance, Father Lorieri of Paniqui--without having any notice of
me, received me with gratifying and ready hospitality. For the rest,
the convents are usually the lodging-houses and inns of the village.
The friars in Filipinas are quite different from those in España. They
are very glad to see a Spaniard arrive, when they know that he is not
a malicious person. They have traveled, and they have escaped from the
conversations and meetings of the convent; they are more tolerant,
because they have rubbed against many Spaniards of liberal ideas;
they have found that the lion is not so fierce as it is painted, and
that there are respectable people in all parties, and men with good
hearts--especially in that which takes for its goal the good of the
country. How often would we abhor people less if we approached them
and became acquainted with them! We must confess also that the hate
cherished by the religious in España toward the liberals proceeds
in great measure from the personal insults which they have endured;
while in Filipinas these are very few and are neutralized by the
tokens of veneration and respect which others pay them, because of
circumstances which are entirely distinct from those of España. A
man without prejudice and with a suitable standard of judgment, who
lives in the metropolis [_i.e._, Madrid], sees in a friar the enemy
of reforms, of progress, and of public prosperity; but, when he is in
Filipinas, he sees in this same friar the benefactor of the public,
and the preserver of tranquillity and of the colony. Consequently
he considers and treats the friar differently than in España, and
is repaid in the like coin. From this it happens that many who come
from España with very exaggerated and preconceived ideas against
the religious--even to the point of never having had relations or
speech with a friar--and here have to come in contact with them, are
surprised to find some (and even very many) of them very sociable,
serviceable, tolerant, and worthy of all appreciation; and this has
happened to me myself, both in Filipinas and in Palestina.
In regard to their being gamblers, I can say that when several curas
of the neighboring villages assemble on the feast-day of a village,
they sometimes play to pass the hot hours of the day; but I have
never seen in the houses of Spanish religious what can be called
play for gaining and losing money, and, in the convents of Manila,
cards are not even played for amusement. I know this positively.
As for some of them leading licentious lives with women, I will
not say that it is false, although I could not say that I know of
such. I believe, indeed, that there is much exaggeration in this as
in other things, and that not one quarter of it is to be believed. An
official, not at all partial to the friars, and who lived several
years in Pangasinan, told me that he never could discover that any
of the Dominicans who minister there had a sweetheart; and that, if
perchance any of them had one, he concealed it very carefully, since
he himself had never known any trace of it. Concerning that point,
I will say, although it appears evil to many, that that offense is
the most excusable, especially in young and healthy men, placed in the
torrid zone. Nature must struggle continually with duty. The garb of
the Filipina women is very seductive; and it is known that the girls,
far from being untractable to the cura, consider themselves lucky to
attract his attention, and their mother, father, and relatives share
that sentiment with them. What virtue and stoicism does not the friar
need to possess! Let those who criticise them on this point imagine
themselves to be living in a village without relatives or friends,
or any other fellow-countrymen, at least with whom they can converse;
and then let them be candid. Don Iñigo Azaola told me that, meditating
on the reason why so many Spanish religious went mad, he thought
that it had its origin in the continual struggle between nature and
devotion. [102]
In regard to usurers, there may be some among them who are addicted
to trade, since the business carried on in the provinces consists
chiefly in advancing money at seed-time, in order to receive the
fruits at harvest time at a much lower price than is current in the
market. Surely the cura who embarks in these speculations not only
fails in his most sacred duty, [103] but even gnaws at and gives
a deathblow to the principal base upon which rests the prestige and
veneration enjoyed by the religious of Filipinas. Nothing infuses these
weak and greedy islanders with so much love, surprise, and respect as
does contempt for gold and for earthly goods. The generous minister,
he who gives, will be considered as good, most good, and will obtain
whatever he wants from his parishioners. The greedy and avaricious,
he who does what common and vile men do, will, notwithstanding the
habit in which he is clad, notwithstanding the sermons he preaches,
be considered as mean, if he does not end by being despised and
abhorred. Nevertheless, I can affirm that the religious who trade
are very few, and among the Dominicans, not any. And this, and their
anxiety for saving their stipends and for making money, proceeds
in great measure from the information which they receive concerning
the wretched condition of the religious in España, and their fear of
falling into the same condition.
In respect to their pride and ambition to govern, all men have that,
for this is our most powerful instinct; and the priests of all times
and countries have had it. The royal decrees and the articles of
which we have spoken demonstrate quite clearly that those of Filipinas
have not escaped from falling into this sin. Up to a certain point,
one can affirm that the civil government itself--or, to speak more
accurately, circumstances--have placed them in a position where they
must take part in the temporal administration. In a whole province,
there is no other Spaniard in authority except the alcalde-mayor, and
he never knows a word of the idiom of the country (see my remarks on
the administration of justice). Hence it necessarily arises that the
alcalde-mayor does not know more than the natives allow him to know;
and that the gobernadorcillos of the villages are masters, inasmuch
as in everything they do whatever they think proper. In order to
obviate these inconveniences, scarcely is any document asked in
which the government does not require the supervision of the cura;
and in this way it obliges him to be acquainted with matters quite
at variance with his ministry. The cura possesses the language,
resides in the village, has the means of the confessional, [104]
and when he wishes there are but few matters, even the most trivial,
that can be hidden from him. On the contrary the alcalde, not having
any of these advantages, can have knowledge of but few things, if
the parish priest does not communicate them. I shall quote here what
father Fray Manuel del Rio says on this point. "Although the temporal
government of the village that he administers does not belong to the
obligation of the minister of souls, but it may, on the contrary,
be prejudicial to his obligation and ministry for him to meddle
too much in this; yet on certain occasions it is necessary for the
minister to put his shoulder to the wheel so that the village may be
well governed--now by directing the gobernadorcillos in its employ,
now by encouraging them and giving them zeal and energy and courage in
certain decisions which they, through their cowardice, do not dare to
make unless an order or command proceed from the minister; now also by
restraining the audacity of the greater against the less, in order to
prevent the annoyances that the chiefs practice upon their _cailianes_
[105]--thereby protecting the cause of the wretched, which is one
of the duties that the council of Trent (in the place cited at the
beginning of this work), commits to those who are ministers of souls.
"There are two kinds or modes of annoyances which the Indians who are
more influential practice on those of lower rank. Some are peculiar
to the cabezas de barangay, with their cailianes; others are common
to every kind of rich Indian toward the poor. I shall first treat of
those of the first class, and next, of those of the second.
"First, the cabezas are accustomed to impose on their cailianes certain
taxes of silver, rice, and other products, under pretexts that they
there feign, of service to the church or to the village. Perhaps,
they cast the blame on the alcalde, who is most often unaware of such
taxes and is not told of them. The remedy is that, when the minister
learns of it, he causes the cabezas to be punished, and the silver
to be returned to the cailianes.
"Second, when the father or some passenger pays the Indian rowers
or carriers, or tanores, through the medium of the cabeza or of the
government, the silver generally does not reach the hands of the
Indians; but the cabezas keep it, under pretexts which they advance
that the Indians owe a certain polo or tribute, long overdue, or
similar things. The same thing happens with the money which the father
or passengers give them with which to buy provisions, and, with the
_opas_ of those who perform personal duty for others. The remedy for
all this is for the minister to solicit him to pay the money to all
[the Indians] into their own hands; and especially should he do that in
what he buys [from them] or when he makes the Indians perform any work.
"Third, that in the polos the cabezas exempt whomever they wish,
without other justification than that they choose to do so; and
because those persons contribute silver, tobacco, or rice to the
cabeza, thereby exempting themselves from personal service throughout
the year. In that way the yoke of the polos and personal service is
loaded on those of less influence. Consequently the personal service
comes upon the Indians more frequently; _e.g._, although the village
can have two months of rest (if there is order and harmony), it is
usual for lack of that to have a return [of the personal service]
every month, or every six weeks, if the minister does not attend
to it, or intervene in the distribution of the personal service,
by investigating and showing up these frauds of the cabezas.
"Fourth, in the tree-cuttings that arise for the king or for the
village, all those who are cited do not go, many redeeming themselves
with money which they give to their cabeza or to the petty officer
[who exacts the work], thus burdening with all the work those who
go--from which it follows that the felling of the timber is extended
in time, and lasts longer than is necessary; and also that the petty
officers or the cabezas make the Indians work for their own private
interests. All of the above cannot be remedied unless the minister
undertake to station secret spies, to advise him of the number of
those who go, and also of those who work there more than is necessary
for the king or for the village--so that those who shall be involved
in such frauds may be punished, and so that they may be made to pay
what they have usurped.
"Fifth, the gobernadorcillos of the villages appoint the officials
whom they wish to help in their government. Many of them buy off
their personal attention to it with money, which they give to the
gobernadorcillo, and only help on Sundays with their authority,
remaining the rest of the time in their houses. Consequently,
the personal service of the village falls on very few, because of
these and other like exemptions by the gobernadorcillos and cabezas
for money, by which they themselves alone profit. For this reason,
one must assign a definite number of bilangos or constables, outside
of which number the gobernadorcillo cannot assign others. It appears
sufficient that in villages of five hundred tributes twelve bilangos
be appointed, so that each week four may aid, together with their
constable-in-chief and lieutenant. In smaller villages nine are
sufficient, so that three may aid every week. In very large villages
there may be fifteen or eighteen, so that five or six may assist every
week. Thus in all the villages the bilangos would rest two weeks, which
is sufficient relaxation, since their personal duty is not very heavy.
"Sixth, in the collection of tributes, the cabezas perform many acts
of injustice; for some are accustomed to collect the entire tribute
of rice, and then to collect separately what they call 'the stipend
of the father,' as if that were not included in the tribute. Some
collect from each person six gantas more than they ought to give;
for in many villages they receive fifty-eight cates as a kind of half
tribute, and in others they receive from one house sixty cates from
one and fifty-five from another, and it amounts to the same. There
is generally an inequality in the balances used for weighing there
in the field, where only God is witness, and the cabeza or collector,
who weighs according to his pleasure. Not less is the deceit existing
in the collection of oil, for double the amount asked from them by
the king is usually taken, and the cabezas keep it; because they
assess it among all the cailianes, although often half the barangay
would be sufficient to obtain the assessment, and thus they could
alternate between the two halves each year. All these troubles are
usually encountered, and the worst is that they are often concealed
so skilfully that the minister can learn of them but seldom; and for
that reason I write them here, so that warning may be taken and the
remedy procured--not only in respect to the charge on the consciences
of those who occasion them, but in the matter of restitution to the
sufferers, not neglecting to check these abuses, and to solicit that
they be condignly punished by the civil authority.
"Seventh, others make their cailianes serve the entire year in their
house or field, under pretext of paying their tribute for them. Some
deliver them to mestizos or to other Indians, as if they were their
slaves. In this way there are cabezas who hold many cailianes in
slavery, making them serve in their houses for many years--without
allowing them sometimes to hear mass or to go to the village, so that
the father may not see them.
"All public works, both great and small, ought to be consulted over
with the village itself which has to construct and pay for them. But
it is to be noted that the village does not settle upon them, but
the cabezas only. Rather they are a suspicious party, in this point,
for if there is any work in the village, the cabezas are wont to have
the greatest advantage from it. Consequently, they are generally the
first to encourage the government officials to undertake any work;
for not only do they not have to work at it, but they hope to get
some benefit from it by the methods which they know how to use."
The reading of these instructions can give an idea of the internal
government of a Filipino settlement, and the impossibility that
impartiality and efficient justice can rule, if there is no
intervention by the cura. I will add that the latter regards the
village in a certain manner as his own. He enjoys seeing its prosperity
and its advancement, as he thinks that this is his work. He takes an
interest in its having good roads, harvests, tools, irrigation, and
everything that can enrich and beautify it. Many curas spend all their
money in public works, and on their churches. They rival one another,
each striving to have in his own village the richest altars, the best
houses, musicians, schools, and finely-dressed people. It is a sight
worth seeing, a friar constituting himself overseer and director of a
wooden bridge or of a causeway--administering a buffet to this one,
a shove to another; praising that one, or calling this other a lazy
fellow; giving a bunch of cigars to the one who stays an hour longer
to work, or carries most bricks up to the scaffold; promising to
kill a cow for the food of next day; and making them offers, often
without any intention of fulfilling them, only with the object of
encouraging them, and deceiving them like children. [106] But whoever
knows the country can do no less than confess that this is the only
means to get any advantage out of the lazy and childish Filipinos,
who have no needs; and that the cura has infinite advantages over
the governor, for his buffets do not offend, his requests oblige,
and his love to the village and his disinterestedness captivate
and interest these people, and make them as wax. Thus indeed can it
be said that the cura is the soul of the village. In any province
where its ruler is united with the curas, where the latter honor the
alcalde and instruct him of all that happens, and he gives them the
aid that is necessary to preserve their prestige--in that province,
I say, there are no thefts, no disorders, no complaints, no tears, no
insurrections, nor any other thing but a complete and durable peace,
[107] and great submission and reverence to the Spaniards. At the
present time that may be seen in the provinces where the governor has
the right desires and a clear understanding, and recognizes the error
into which the government has fallen during the last few years, in
trying to deprive the curas of the civil administration, by forcing
them to reduce themselves to spiritual matters, and to tolerate
irreligious acts. The province of Pangasinan, for example, finds
itself in this case under the orders of the worthy alcalde-mayor,
Don Francisco de Lila, a volunteer of the militia of Manila and
a very decided liberal: I have traveled through this province by
night, with only one servant, without arms, and quite without fear,
although there was not a soldier in the whole province. The horses
and buffaloes were feeding in the meadows without herders; and, on my
arrival at the capital, I went out with him in his carriage. In all
the streets and from all the windows, we were saluted with great show
of affection, and the children began to jump for joy, and to cry out,
"Good afternoon, father." The tears started to my eyes, and I said:
"Ah, simple people, how little do you know the blessing that you
enjoy! Neither hunger, nor nakedness, nor inclemency of the weather
troubles you. With the payment of seven reals per year, you remain free
of contributions. You do not have to close your houses with bolts. You
do not fear that the district troopers will come in to lay waste your
fields, and trample you under foot at your own firesides. You call
'father' the one who is in command over you. Perhaps there will come
a time when you will be more civilized, and you will break out in
revolution; and you will awake terrified at the tumult of the riots,
and will see blood flowing through these quiet fields, and gallows
and guillotines erected in these squares, which never yet have seen
an execution." "But is it not true also," I reflected later, "that
this present happiness may be transitory up to a certain point, and
that a changing of the captain-general or of the alcalde can cause
great evils, and change the aspect of so pleasing a picture? Yes,
it is a lamentable truth; and I shall do what is in my power so that
your lot may be less precarious, and so that the government which
rules you may be so organized that you may be as little as possible
subject to the injustice and avarice of men; and so that, wherever
you see a Spaniard, you may salute him with love and call him father."
But returning from our digressions to our matter in hand, I believe
that if it is useful and indispensable for the parish priest to
know, directly or indirectly, the particular affairs of the village,
it is evident that far from undermining his authority, it ought to
strengthen it as much as possible. From the time of the conquest,
the curas have availed themselves of the expedient of applying some
lashes to the natives, when the fathers have believed it necessary
in order to correct faults, whether religious or those of another
kind; and it is known that this has contributed not a little to the
preservation of devotion. It is also known that they have not been
hated for this by the islanders; but, on the contrary, the friars
have constantly merited their love and have enjoyed a prestige which
no one doubts. Everyone knows that if the friars have shown themselves
exaggerated and unreasonable in anything, it has been in the protection
of the Filipinos--more, indeed, than they deserved and than healthy
justice demanded. Let us listen to the following words of Fray Casimiro
Diaz: "The old laws in regard to the execution of the tributes were
harsh, even to the point of making slaves of the debtors, and even
killing them with lashes, or mutilating them. And although these laws
were abolished from the time of Constantine as wicked, and have with
the law of Christ been moderated within judicious limits, this benefit
has not been obtained by the Indians. The Indian is beaten for his
tribute. The goods of the Indian are sold for the tribute, and he is
left destitute all his life. The Indian is enslaved for the tribute;
for the cabeza de barangay, under pretext that he is getting back
what the Indian owes, takes his house away from him, and, for the five
reals that the Indian owes, makes him serve one whole year. In short,
the wrongs which the tribute brings upon the poor wretch are so many,
that the greatest charity which the parish priest can show him is to
pay it himself." The above shows how this good father grieves because
the Indian has to pay five reals per year--five reals, which a Filipino
can get by simply planting a cocoa or cacao tree at the door of his
hut. How happy would be the Spaniards, or the French and English, and
any other Europeans, if they had no more to pay than that! But it is
not credible that Father Diaz was unacquainted with the people who so
broke his heart, and that he did not know the measures resorted to in
the country. A few pages farther on the same father says: "The poverty
of these Indians is not their curse, but it is their own idleness
and laziness, and they content themselves with little. They are not
ruled by covetousness; and, although there is some covetousness,
their fondness for doing nothing tempers it, and they wish to live
rather by providence than to dedicate themselves to work." What, then,
would the good Father Diaz wish? that the Filipinos should not be
made to contribute even the little amount that they now contribute,
and that the government of España should send money there from the
mother country in order to meet all the expenses of state, at the cost
of increasing the heavy taxes which the Spaniards already pay? And
all this, for what motive? Because the Filipinos are very "fond of
doing nothing, desiring rather to live under the care of providence
than to dedicate themselves to work." For thus are the fathers all,
often carrying this enthusiasm or mania for protection to a ridiculous
extreme--for it is the same to touch one of their parishioners and the
apple of their eye. At times they make use of unjust and compromising
expressions: Thus the tobacco monopoly is "an imposition" or "a bit of
knavery." The impost for elections of gobernadorcillos, the signing
of a passport, or any other accidental expense which is incurred [by
the Indian], is "a theft." The services for the repairing of roads
and bridges are "annoyances" or "tyrannies." And so on all in this
tenor. Many would wish that the Filipino be left stretched out at ease
all day long, and that afterward the manna should fall, and he have
no other work than to open his mouth. Whoever has known the country,
especially in former years, can do no less than say that there is not
the least exaggeration in the picture which I draw; that the letters
and remonstrances of the religious are what have been influential
in dictating the laws of the Indias--which breathe out in every one
of their lines, so great piety and mildness that one would believe
that they treat only of innocent and tender lambs which are found
among wolves. These know, too, that this same spirit has always led
the religious to support the quarrels that have arisen against the
civil and military government, which have, for the greater part,
given origin to royal orders against them, and to the indiscreet
articles of the ordinances which we have cited. Notwithstanding
all this, during the last years certain new arrivals from España,
especially those of the class of auditors and governors-general,
have been feverish on hearing that the curas of the villages have
whippings administered; and decrees have been fulminated against
many provinces, in order to check this. In fact, they have attained
that object; but the result of this most fatal error has been the
increase of impiety in an astonishing manner, and there are a great
number of villages where few go to mass, and more than the third part
refuse to take the communion--which is probably also the cause of the
increase in criminality which has been noted. But a short time ago,
during the government of General Lardizabal, the religious presented
a petition through the archbishop, asking that they be allowed to
administer corrective punishment at the door of the church, as had
always been their custom with those who were remiss in complying with
the duties of religion. The government replied that the curas should
avail themselves in such cases of advice and admonition, but that
they should under no circumstances punish anyone corporally; and to
complete matters, this ruling was circulated and communicated to the
natives themselves, a measure that caused the greatest grief to the
parish priests. The good Señor Lardizabal, who had an excellent heart,
himself told me this incident, very well satisfied at the manner in
which it had worked. We shall discuss this matter more at length in
the chapter on "Internal policy."
There are regular and secular clergy in Filipinas. The latter are more
numerous, and include some mestizos, Chinese, and many full-blooded
Filipinos. The bishops, in spite of being Spanish, have almost
always shown themselves hostile to the friars and patrons to the
seculars. The origin of this partiality must be found in the old-time
fight between the bishops and the regular curas--who defend their
rights with tenacity; while the natives are submissive and most humble
to the prelates and flatter them. Notwithstanding the protection of
the bishops, the seculars have generally had a very bad reputation;
and many private persons, of every class and in every epoch, have
openly declared against them.
The religious now living in Filipinas, excepting those of the
Order of St. Francis, are not able to fill the curacies in their
charge--although there are curas who take under their charge an
extension which they are unable, notwithstanding all their efforts, to
administer well. The cura of Surigao has twelve visitas or dependent
towns. From this condition there results, among other evils, this:
that when there is any cura who is unruly or of evil conduct, there
is no method of summoning him to the convent and replacing him with
another. Hence proceeds the laxity which is consequent on impunity.
I have been not a little surprised to see that there is a lack of
religious in Filipinas, where they enjoy the thorough protection of
the government, and great consideration in the villages; where all
have at least what is necessary to live with ease, [108] since they
are able to command more from their domestic servants, and from all
the singers, sacristans, and other dependents of the Church--and this
while in España there is such an oversupply of them, and they live so
uncomfortably. The curacy is generally worth to the parish priest one
peso fuerte [109] to each tribute. The ministers of villages which
contain more than one thousand five hundred or two thousand tributes
usually have one or more assistants, according to their wish, with the
consent of the bishop. The parish priest generally gives the assistant
a house, his board, and ten or twelve pesos fuertes per month; and
leaves to him the fees for the masses, which are worth to him in
excess of one peso fuerte every day--so that, besides his lodging
and support, the assistant can count upon thirty-five or forty pesos
fuertes per month. The administrative ecclesiastical division follows:
There is one archbishop in the capital, and three suffragans--to wit,
the bishop of Nueva Segovia, he of Nueva Cáceres, and he of Zebú.
The archbishopric includes the provinces of Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga,
Batangas, Cavíte, Laguna, Bataan, Zambales, and Mindoro. It contains
one hundred and sixty-seven curacies, of which ninety-five are served
by religious, and seventy-two by secular priests.
The bishopric of Nueva Segovia comprises the provinces of Pangasinan,
Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, and the missions of Ituy, of
Pangui, of Abra, and of Batanes. It contains ninety-two curacies,
of which eighty are served by religious, and twelve by seculars.
The bishopric of Nueva Cáceres comprises the provinces of Tayabas,
part of Nueva Ecija, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, and Albay. It
contains eighty-four curacies, of which twenty-seven are served by
religious, and fifty-seven by seculars.
The bishopric of Zebú comprises the provinces of Zebú, Iloilo,
Capis, Antique, Negros, Caraga, Misamis, Zamboanga, Samar, Leyte,
and Marianas (three hundred leguas distant). It contains one hundred
and forty-three curacies, of which eighty-six are served by regulars
and fifty-seven by seculars.
At present there are four hundred and fifty Spanish religious
in Filipinas, and seven hundred Filipino secular priests, or
thereabouts. More than three per cent of the Spaniards die annually;
so that, in order that their present number may not diminish, it is
necessary for fifteen to go there annually.
As a conclusion to this chapter, I cannot resist the desire to insert
the words of a wise religious of Filipinas of former days, Father
Pedro Murillo Velarde, as it may be useful to the ministers of the
present time who may read these pages.
"To take the mean of the proportion in the administration of the
Indians is one of the most difficult matters of the prudence. The
parish priest must be in the village the loving father, the hospitable
tutor, the master and diligent teacher of his parishioners; and as
such he must not treat them as if he were a seignior of vassals. He
must be dignified, but without affecting majesty. He should always
strive to be loved, rather than feared. He must be affable, but not
vulgar. He must not separate himself far from intercourse with his
parishioners, nor be too familiar. He should visit them in charity
rather than in affection. He should listen to their complaints, but
not to their malicious reports. He should settle their controversies,
but not in a partial manner. He should not be altogether credulous,
nor despise everything. If one Indian accuses another, he should
ascertain, before all else, whether they have quarreled. He must not
be all honey, nor all gall. He should punish, but not flay off the
skin. If the Indian knows that there is no whip near, the village
will be quickly lost. A good beating at the proper time is the best
antidote for all sorts of poisons; for, in the end, fear guards the
vineyard. In punishments, let him show himself a father, not a hangman;
and, in case of doubt, let him incline rather to mildness than to
severity. Let him hear quarrels and discussions with the alcaldes,
but let him not allow them to fleece his sheep. Let him defend his
own jurisdiction, but not usurp that of another. Let him not become
an alcalde unless the alcalde tries to become a cura. If he is unable
to settle the quarrels of the Indians satisfactorily, he shall allow
them to go to the alcalde, who will quickly render them harmonious by
laughing at the matter of the quarrel. Let him handle books, but not
cards. [110] Let him [not] direct the Indians in the government of
his village, but let him leave them to those who govern them; for the
wish to command is a sort of itch in Filipinas. Consequently, let him
leave to each one the care of what God has given him. Let him check
sins, but not lawful games and amusements, since thereby other and
illicit amusements will be prevented. Let him eradicate drunkenness,
but not prohibit all use of wine to all; for, if the cura drinks wine,
why should not the Indian drink it in moderation? Let him not pour out
the wine or break the wine-jars; for who has given him any authority
for that? Because of some of these acts of imprudence, certain foolish
laymen say that the ministers who come from Europa to become martyrs,
become more than kings in their villages.
"Let him attend to the affairs of God, and not obstruct those of
Caesar. Let him be the mirror of the village, so that all may imitate
him; but not a telescope, to register foolish trifles. Let him get
from the Indian what the latter is able to give; for he who tries to
get everything loses everything. If the Indians learn that their sins
are unpardonable, many will take to the hills. If the father is very
harsh in the confessional, many sacrileges may be feared. In assigning
penance, let him incline to mildness rather than to rigor, if he wishes
the penance to be observed. Let his diligence when he preaches be not
long, but fervid; for one onza of gold is worth more than an arroba
of straw. Let him explain to the Indians what is necessary for their
salvation, and let him not play the discreet among them. Let him use
similes and examples in his sermons that they can understand, and
not plunge into depths of abstract ideas, for that is a jargon which
they do not understand; and they especially detest Latin phrases. The
statement that the Indians have no faith is a pretext of the devil,
to discourage the gospel ministers. Let him do with fervor whatever
he finds to do, that the corresponding fruit may not be lacking; and
even when there should be no fruit, God will reward his zeal. Let
him not raise difficulties in taking the sacraments to the fields,
but let it be with the reverence due. Let him insist on the presence
of the boys at the school, for the good that follows from that is
great; but let him not urge them so much that he wearies them. Let
him receive the fees of the Church, but let him not collect with
the severity of a warrant-holder. Let the Indians know that the
cura is looking after their souls, not their purses; and let him
remember that he came from Europa to remove disease from the sheep,
not to take their wool. Let him give alms, but let him not scatter the
patrimony of Christ uselessly. It will be a suitable alms to provide
his parishioners with medals, rosaries, catechisms, and bulls [of
the crusade]. [111] Let him not permit idle spongers in the village,
who are goblins of cursed consequences; and the whiter they are, the
worse. Let the cura be found more often in the houses of the sick and
dying, than in weddings, games, and dances. He should let the customs
of the villages alone, when they involve no grave disadvantages,
for innovations alter men's dispositions; and more than anything
else must he shun causing innovation in the prayer, and in matters
pertaining to the Church and the method of administration. Let him
encourage congregations, devotions, and novenas, frequent confession,
daily mass, and the rosary, but let him warn the Indians that these are
not for obligation but for devotion, since perhaps they sin through
ignorance, when there is no guilt. The soul of the missionary or
parish priest has a thousand dangers in the solitude of a village;
but with prayer and mortification he can overcome all. Chastity is
a flower so delicate that it takes but little to make it wither:
the heart of man, the opportunity for temptations, the frequency of
errors, and the ease with which men stumble, are as tinder and fire,
which are kindled, whoever blows. Do not believe that in this regard
there is any caution that is too great in the Indias. In the external
encounters that may arise with alcaldes or with others, let the cura
endeavor to conquer them by patience rather than by arrogance. Let
him remember that Jesus Christ says we should offer the other cheek
to him who smites us; and let him reflect that in the tribunal of
God, and even that of men, more is to be gained by humility than by
valor. Let him reflect that he is a secular or a religious; and that
the weapons of such are tears, prayer, and penance."
ECCLESIASTICAL SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES
[Buzeta and Bravo (_Diccionario_, i, pp. 542-545; ii, pp. 271-275,
363-367) thus describe the ecclesiastical estate of the Philippines:]
Archbishopric of Manila
Manila is in this regard, as in all other departments, the metropolitan
city of the Spanish countries in the Orient. Its see is archiepiscopal,
and has as suffragans the bishoprics of Nueva Cáceres, Nueva Segovia,
and Cebú, descriptions of which can be found in their respective
articles. The territory over which it presides, as proper to itself,
includes the ten civil provinces nearest to Manila--namely, Tondo,
Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva-Ecija, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Bataan,
Zambales, and Mindoro--in addition to the small island of Corregidor,
which is found outside the said province, and which forms a military
police commandancy. It is not so extensive, with these provinces,
as are its suffragan sees; but it is the one that unites the greatest
number of souls.
The territory included in it extends about 100 leguas north and south
and 29 more in breadth toward the west, the villages most distant from
its capital being some 40 leguas to the north, and about 60 to the
south. It is bounded on the north by the diocese of Nueva Segovia, and
on the south by that of Cebú. Its western boundaries are maritime. The
number of parishes of this diocese, the secular and regular curas who
have charge of them, and the number of villages that they contain,
will be seen in chart number 8. [112]
For the more efficient ecclesiastical administration of the territory
included in this archbishopric, the parish curas of certain villages
also extend their jurisdiction to eighteen vicariates or outside
districts, namely: in the province of Tondo, that of Mariquina; in
the province of Bataan, that of Balanga; in the province of Cavite,
that of Bacor; in the province of Mindoro, those of Calayan and
Santa Cruz; in the province of Batangas, those of Taal, San Pablo,
and Rosario; in the province of Laguna, those of Limban, Calauan,
and Cabuyas; in the province of Bulacan, those of Quingua and Marilao;
in the province of Zambales, that of Iba; in the province of Pampanga,
those of San Fernando and Candaba; in the province of Nueva-Ecija,
those of Puncan and Baler. The curas of the above-mentioned villages
are the outside vicars of their respective districts. They receive
orders and instructions indiscriminately from the vicar-general and
from the diocesan, from each one in accordance with the attributes
of his office. It must be noted that this division into districts
is subject to continual variations at the will of the bishop who
wears the miter--now in relation to the number, and again with
respect to the village. When it is said that the outside vicars
depend immediately on the vicars-general or provisors, one must not,
under any consideration, understand that the latter constitute an
authority or jurisdiction intermediate between the outside vicar and
the archbishop; but that they are the means by which communication
with the said archbishop ought to be held. The present prelate of
this metropolitan church is his Excellency the most illustrious and
reverend Don Fray José Aranguren, member of his Majesty's Council,
knight of the grand cross of Isabel the Catholic, senator of the
kingdom, and deputy vicar-general of the royal land and naval armies
of all our eastern possessions. He was consecrated on January 31,
1847. The cabildo of this holy and metropolitan church, the only such
church in Filipinas, is composed of five dignitaries, three canons,
two racioneros, two medio-racioneros, and the suitable number of
ministers, whose salaries may be seen in the following chart.
Chart of the revenues of the clergy of the cathedral of Manila
Personal Pesos Reals of
fuertes silver
The archbishop, 5,000
The dean, 2,000
4 dignitaries, at 1,450 pesos each, 5,800
3 canons, at 1,250 pesos each, 2,690 [sic]
2 racioneros, at 1,100 pesos each, 2,200
2 medio-racioneros, at 915 pesos each, 1,830
1 master of ceremonies, 400
2 cura-rectors, at 500 pesos each, 1,000
1 sacristan, 250
Another sacristan, 150
1 verger, 190
Material
For the archbishop's mail, 14 6
To the cabildo, for the music, church
repair, wine, wax, and oil, 2,860
To the cura of the cathedral for oil
and wine, 26
Total, 25,410 [sic] 6
The ecclesiastical court is composed of the most excellent
and illustrious archbishop, the provisor and vicar-general, the
ecclesiastical fiscal, a recording secretary, a vice-secretary, an
archivist, and two notarial treasurers of the secular class. The
provisorial court is formed by the provisor, who is at the same
time vicar-general and judge of the chaplains. He is charged with
the performance of judicial acts in ecclesiastical matters, and is
accompanied by notaries. This unctionary did not formerly have the
investiture as licentiate of laws, and was assisted by a matriculated
lawyer of the royal Audiencia. The creation of the ecclesiastical
fiscal was posterior to that of the ecclesiastical courts; and
his institution is due to the authority of the pontiffs, who have
especially charged said functionaries with the defense of the integrity
of marriages, and other duties peculiar to their employments. The
charge of provisor was at first exercised constantly by the Augustinian
fathers, by virtue of the _amnimodo_ authority granted by the popes;
later, their attributes passed to the Franciscan fathers, by agreement
with them. But the archbishop of Méjico, considering himself empowered
to appoint ecclesiastical judges (who were to be the vicars and
provisors of these dominions), sent two clerics with authorization to
exercise the said offices. The governor, [113] however, with his rank
as royal vice-patron, protected the regulars in their privileges, and
ordered Father Alfaro to exercise the said office alone. Afterward,
when the suffragan bishoprics were created, and that of Manila was
erected to the dignity of a metropolitan, with the archiepiscopal
hierarchy, the appointment of provisors was regulated.
The spiritual administration of any of the bishoprics that fall
vacant devolves upon the metropolitan archbishop, and the latter is
the one empowered to appoint a provisor or capitular vicar. In case
that the archiepiscopal metropolitan see should become vacant also,
the government devolves upon the nearest bishop; and if there be two
bishops at equal distances, it devolves upon the senior of these. In
accordance with the terms of a royal decree dated April 22, 1705,
it is ordered that the expenses incurred by the prelates on their
episcopal visits are to be met by the royal treasury. The manner in
which the _espolios_, [114] are collected was determined by a royal
decree, dated June 24, 1821.
The secular clergy is divided into parochial and non-parochial. In the
latter class are included the persons employed in the metropolitan
cathedral; to the same class belong the four provisors of the other
dioceses.
The provisor or vicar-general of this diocese holds the title of
judge of chaplains, but that title is not held by the provisors of
the other bishoprics.
By a general rule, the provisors of the respective dioceses are
directors of the conciliar seminaries; but that is not the case with
the provisor of this archbishopric, who is at present dean of the
cathedral. The presidents of the said establishments are, as a rule,
also procurators of the same. The commissary of the crusade and the
attorney-general of the ecclesiastical court are at present members
of the choir of the cathedral of Manila--as are also the rector of
the college of San José, and the secretary and the vice-secretary of
the archbishop. But this circumstance does not constitute a general
rule, as it is a purely personal favor. Among the employees of the
ecclesiastical court of Manila are five chief notaries--of whom one
is pensioned [_jubilado_], another despatches the business relative to
the tribunal of the crusade, and the three remaining ones form part of
the ecclesiastical courts suffragan to this archbishopric. There are,
further, two secretaries of the diocesan courts of Manila and Cebu--the
latter being a modern creation, as are also a vice-secretary of the
archbishop, and a vice-secretary of the bishop of Nueva Cáceres;
also an archivist of the archbishop, a commissary-general of the
crusade, eight royal chaplains (inclusive of the chaplain-in-chief),
one supernumerary, and the father sacristan; and twelve employees in
the seminaries of the four bishoprics, with the name of directors,
presidents, rectors, vice-rectors, lecturers, and sacristans. To this
number one must add ten more who proceed from the three colleges and
the university--who bear the titles of rector, professors, readers,
secretary, and master of ceremonies--and thirty chaplains. In the
latter number are included those who serve in the detachments of the
army; those assigned for the colleges, hospitals, and hospitiums; and
those who are paid by certain corporations, such as the Audiencia,
etc. In this number those of the royal chapel are not included; for
their institution is to provide their divisions, and the boats of the
fleet, with priests when those of the former class are lacking. Their
total amounts to ninety-three.
Coming now to the seminarists, their number cannot be determined, for
it varies every year. But by adopting an average for the students in
the conciliar seminary of Manila in 1842 and 48 [_sic_; 43?]--namely,
some twenty-five, counting priests, deacons, subdeacons, those who have
taken the lesser orders, and those who have taken the tonsure--one may
calculate that the four seminaries will contain about one hundred
students; so that, adding these to the ninety-three preceding,
belonging also to the secular clergy, the number increases to one
hundred and ninety-three. There are also in each one of the bishoprics
some secular ecclesiastics employed under the immediate orders of the
diocesans, who bear the name of pages, cross-bearers, etc., whose
number cannot be determined. One is also unable to calculate the
number of those who have been ordained under the title of patrimony,
[115] and chaplaincies [116] of blood or of class, etc. By a royal
decree of June 1, 1799, order was given for the curas to pay the
three per cent for the sustenance of the seminaries.
Before concluding this review, we must also show that there are some
arrangements that are common to both secular and regular clergy--those
which make it indifferent, for the discharge of certain duties or
commissions, whether they are secular or regular priests. Such are
outside vicariates, and the chaplaincies of presidios, fortresses, etc.
From the founding of Manila until it obtained its first bishop there
was a space of ten years. Its first prelate was suffragan to the
metropolitan see of Méjico. But seventeen years after, and twenty-seven
from the foundation of the city, in the year 1596, and by means of the
bull of Clement VIII, despatched at the proposal of King Don Felipe II,
it was separated from that see, and was erected into a metropolitan,
with the three suffragan sees which it has at present.
Bishopric of Cebú
Cebú, formerly called Sogbu, is a suffragan bishopric of the
archbishopric of Manila, which bounds it on the north. This diocese was
created in 1595, at the same time as those of Nueva Segovia and Nueva
Cáceres, at the request of the monarch, Felipe II, by brief of his
Holiness Clement VIII. Its first bishop was Don Fray Pedro de Agurto,
who took possession of this bishopric on October 14, 1598. He who at
present occupies the see is his Excellency Don Romualdo Gimeno, who
is governing the diocese worthily to the honor and glory of God, and
the gain of the metropolitan see, having begun his office February 27,
1847. This diocese includes at present the civil provinces of Cebú,
Negros, Leyte, Samar, Capiz, Antique, Misamis, Caraga, Nueva-Guipúzcoa,
Zamboanga, Calamianes, and the Marianas. Among those provinces are
counted one hundred and seventy-nine curacies, of which one hundred and
twelve are held by regular missionaries, and fifty-five by seculars
(either Indian or mestizo clergy), as will be seen from chart number
6. [117]
The ecclesiastical court is composed of a provisor and vicar-general,
who is at present the priest Don Esteban Meneses; of a secretary of
the exchequer and of government, which office is filled by Doctor Don
Marcos del Rosario; and of a notary, who is Don Pedro Magno, a priest.
In the following chart can be seen the revenues assigned to the parish
clergy of the cathedral of Cebú, and the expenses for worship assigned
to the same.
Chart showing the revenues of the clerical cathedral of Cebú, and
their distribution for the services of divine worship
Classes Pesos Reals of Maravedis
fuertes silver
One reverend bishop, 4,000 0 0
Two assistant chaplains
for the throne, at 100
pesos apiece, 200 0 0
Two sacristans of the
cathedral and curacy, at
91 pesos, 7 reals, and
6 maravedís each, 183 6 12
One chaplain of the fort, 96 0 0
Expenses
For the wine, oil, wax, etc.,
which are allowed to the
chaplain of the fort or
fortress, 52 2 0
For the alms assigned to the
cathedral for divine worship, 438 4 17
_Idem_ to the chapel del
Pilar of Zamboanga for the
festivities, 41 4 17
Total, 5,012 0 46
The college seminary of San Carlos, which is located in the city of
Santo Niño de Cebú--the capital of the island of its name and of
those called Visayas, and the residence of the most excellent and
illustrious bishop, to whose authority and vigilance are submitted all
matters relating to the spiritual part--has about eighteen or twenty
pupils, counting seminarists and collegiates. In that institution
are taught grammatical studies [_minimos_], syntax, philosophy, and
moral theology, whose respective chairs are in charge of learned and
industrious professors. The territory of the civil provinces which
form this bishopric is divided into twenty-four outside districts
for its better ecclesiastical administration, eighteen of which are
in charge of the parish priests of the following villages: in the
province of Negros, those of Jimamailan and Siquijor; in the island of
Cebú, there is one in the city of that name, and the rest in Danao,
Barilis, Siquijor, and Dimiao; in Caraga, that of Bacuag; in the
island of Leyte, that of Jilongos or Hilongos, and that of Burauen or
Buraven--the first on the western coast, and the second on the eastern;
in the province of Iloilo, that of Tigbauan (which also belongs to
the province of Antique), and that of Mandurreao in the province of
Capiz, that of Manga or Banga, and that of Mandalay or Mandalag; in
the province of Nisamis, that of Cagayan; and in the Marianas Islands,
some three hundred leguas distant, those of Agaña, Agat, and Rota. In
this number are lacking those of the provinces of Nueva-Guipúzcoa,
Calamianes, and Samar, which can all be thus calculated: at one
parish in the first province, as it is of modern creation and thinly
populated; three in the second, as it is composed of various islands;
and some two in the last. This is a total of twenty-four vicariates
or outside districts. The ecclesiastics, both secular and regular,
appointed to discharge these duties, exercise, in addition to the
functions peculiar to their ministry, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction
in the villages assigned to their respective outside districts,
which are immediately subordinate to the vicar-general of the diocese,
who is the provisor of the same. It is to be noted, in regard to this
ecclesiastical division, that it is found to be subject to continual
alterations, in regard both to the number of ecclesiastical vicariates,
and to the curas who discharge these duties.
The considerable extent of this bishopric, which is the largest in
the Filipinas Islands--whose provinces are widely separated from
one another, some of those provinces even being composed of numerous
islets as its separate parts--has given occasion for various petitions
proposing the division of this bishopric into two parts, as a matter of
greater advantage to the Church and to the State. Apropos of this, the
bishop of Cebú, Don Fray Santos Gomez Marañon, declared in a respectful
representation which he addressed to his Majesty, King Don Fernando
VII, under date of Cebú, August 25, 1831, the following, which we copy:
"Sire:
"The bishop of Cebú, in order to relieve his conscience, finds it
necessary to relate to your Majesty with the greatest frankness, that
it appears necessary for the greater service of God, the welfare of
souls, and [the service] of your royal person, to divide into two
bishoprics this so extensive and scattered diocese of Visayas--in
whose innumerable islands there are, in his judgment, more than one
million of Christian souls, notwithstanding that the census of the past
year shows no more than 858,510 souls. In addition to this there are
a multitude of infidels, whom it would not be difficult to civilize
and convert, were there two bishops among them who could take care of
their conversion in an efficient manner; for one bishop alone has too
much to look after in the conservation of so many Christians, without
other duties. There are three provinces in the island of Panay alone,
in which there are 54 parishes and many annexed villages, who have at
least 378,970 souls, besides the heathen. If there were a permanent
bishop in that island, their number would quickly be duplicated.
"The prelate could easily visit and confirm the distant provinces of
Calamianes and Zamboanga (whither no bishop has as yet gone, because
of their great distance from Cebú, and because it is necessary to
consume several months [in such a trip] by reason of the monsoons,
thus neglecting other things which require attention) from his
see, which could be established in the well-populated village of
Jaro. [118] The islands of Tablas, Sibuyan, Romblon, and Banton, and
the western part of the island of Negros, would belong also to this
new bishopric, and Christianity would be considerably increased. The
bishop of Cebú would not on that account remain with nothing to do;
for besides the island of this name, those of Bojol or Bohol, Leyte,
Samar, the laborious island of Surigao, Misamis, and the eastern part
of the island of Negros (where a mission is already established),
and various other smaller islands remain. Thus he retains charge of
at least 434,846 souls, besides an infinite number of heathen.
"The bishop of Cebú is addressing his king and sovereign with all
sincerity and frankness; and he can say no less to your Majesty
than that it is impossible for one bishop alone to visit and confirm
his people, and to discharge his other pastoral duties, in all the
numerous and intricate islands of Visayas, which have been in his
charge until the present--especially in the so distant Marianas
Islands, which have no communication with Cebú. Those islands ought
to be assigned to the archbishopric of Manila, with which capital is
their only communication. Even in this case, authority ought to be
conceded to their ecclesiastical superior, with chrism consecrated
by the archbishop, over all the Christians who live there.
"As soon as the writer was consecrated in Manila, he set out to
visit his bishopric. I visited the island of Romblon, and the three
provinces of the island of Panay, confirming in those islands 102,636
persons; the island of Negros and half of Cebú, in which two districts
1 confirmed 23,800, as I inform your Majesty by a separate letter. I
have employed one-half year in this first visit, without the loss of
a second of time, taking advantage of the good season.
"I am intending to conclude the visit for the half of this island
during the monsoon of the coming year; and to continue my visit
to the islands of Bojol, Leyte, Samar, Surigao, and Misamis. But
notwithstanding the efforts of the bishop, and his desire to fulfil
his obligations, he cannot visit Zamboanga or Calamianes, and much less
the Marianas islands--so many souls remaining without the sacrament of
the confirmation and benediction of their bishop, as it is impossible
to visit them.
"With what conscience, Sire, will you abandon him who dares to
call out before your Majesty's throne, asking you, as so Catholic
[a sovereign], and as the patron of all the churches of the Indias,
to remedy this evil? The bishop of Cebú finds no other remedy than
the creation of another bishopric, and the division into two parts of
this most extensive diocese, as he has already declared. Consequently
he proposes it, in order to lay the burden of his conscience on that
of your Majesty; and so that he may not have to give account for his
negligence to the Supreme Judge. If your Majesty considers it fitting
to approve this so useful and even so necessary proposition, your
bishop is of the opinion, as he has already intimated, that the see
of the new bishopric can be determined, and that it may be entitled
the bishopric of Panay or of Jaro--which is a well-populated village,
as I have said above. Its foundation and administration belongs to the
calced Augustinian fathers, as does that of almost all the villages
of that so fierce and fertile island. Your Majesty might show it the
favor to allow it to be entitled hereafter 'the Christian city.'
"Since the Augustinian fathers have been the first conquistadors and
founders of the greater part of the villages of Visayas, and even of
those of the island of Luzon, it appears to be the most natural thing
that the first bishop be a calced Augustinian; and that he should know
the language of the country, so that he can sooner establish this new
bishopric in better order, civilization, and increase of Christianity,
and tributes.
"Accordingly, this aged bishop expects this, Sire, from the pure
Catholicity of your Majesty, and from your ardent zeal for the increase
of the Christian church and of prosperity in these your so distant
dominions--which have always shown themselves so loyal and constant,
even in the midst of so many revolutions, to their beloved king and
sovereign; and he even dares, knowing your Majesty's goodness of heart,
to propose three Augustinian fathers who have accomplished much for
the happiness of these Visayas Islands, so that your Majesty may
choose one of the three; for any one of them would completely fulfil
your royal desires.
"The proposal is sent under other covers, and I am sending it to
his Excellency, the vice-patron, for his approval. But the decision
of your Majesty, on whose delicate conscience your bishop of Cebú
places this whole matter, and [thus] relieves his own conscience,
will always be the most suitable one. May God, etc."
If the creation of a new bishopric was considered as an absolute
necessity at that time, in order that the Christian church in the so
numerous islands might be better attended to, with how much more reason
cannot the present bishop and his successors solicit this grace from
his Majesty, since the population has increased to about double what
it was then--and especially since new provinces have been created,
and most of their wandering tribes, scattered throughout most of the
islands in the jurisdiction of this diocese, conquered for God. We
believe also, with that venerable bishop, that the division of this
extensive bishopric into two parts is highly advisable (_for_ it is
wellnigh impossible for any diocesan to visit his so numerous and
scattered flock)--not only in the interests of religion, but also
in those of the State, inasmuch as the former is preserved by their
vigilance and authority purer and more incorruptible from the vices
that have invaded it on more than one occasion; and the country will
increase in wealth and prosperity, in proportion as the numerous
nomadic tribes, who are yet wandering through the rough thickets,
are reduced to the social life. [A list of the bishops of Cebú to
1847 follows.]
Nueva Cáceres
Nueva Cáceres, or Camarines, is one of the three of the present
ecclesiastical divisions of the island of Luzón. It includes all the
eastern part of that island, and the adjacent islands, as we shall
presently see. It extends from the sea on the west, at the mouth of
the strait of Mindoro, where it is bounded by the archbishopric of
Manila--as likewise in the interior, where pass its northern limits,
the only boundaries that it has within the land--to the eastern
sea in the extreme southeast of the province of Caraga, [119] also
the boundaries of the archbishopric. However, it has jurisdiction
in the village of Baler and in that of Casiguran, in the province
of Nueva Ecija; and those of Polillo and Binangoñan de Lampon, in
Laguna. For the rest, it is surrounded by the sea and indented with
numerous bays. Beginning at the mouth of the above-mentioned strait
(where it is bounded by the archbishopric), the first part of the
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Nueva Cáceres is the bay formed
by the point of Galban, belonging to the province of Batangas,
and the headland of Boudol. [120] It follows the bay of Peris as
far as Guinayangan, which lies in the same angle of the bay, where
the province of Tayabas ends. Then follows the village of Bañgsa,
which belongs to the province of Camarines, next to which is found the
province of Albay. The bishopric follows the coast until it meets the
bay of Sorsogon. Beyond that bay is seen that of Bulsnan and then that
of Albay (which is beyond the Embocadero of San Bernardino), which is
formed by the islet called Baga Rey and the point of Montufar. Then
follow the bay of Malinao and the point of Tigbi, where the province of
Camarines begins again. This point and that of Lognoy form the mouth
of the bay of Bala. Past the point of San Miguel is seen the bay of
Naga, where the city of Nueva Cáceres was located. That great bay
is formed by the point of Siroma, and is seventy-six leguas round to
the point of Talisay. Six leguas from that point is the bay of Daét,
into which flows a river of great volume, which comes down from the
highlands. Following this coast there is a small bay into which empties
a river which flows from the mountain of Paracale, well known for its
gold mines. About six leguas from that river is seen Punta del Diablo
[_i.e._, "Devil's Point"], so called because of the shoals that run
out into the sea, which are very dangerous. Past that point is the
river of Capalonga, [121] where the province of Camarines ends and
that of Tayabas begins again. At this point the sea runs inland and
forms an isthmus only five leguas [wide] with the sea of Visayas. That
small gulf is found in the sea of Gumaca; it is very rough, and along
its coast are found the villages of Gumaca, Atimonan, and Mambau
[_sc._ Maubán]. Going north, one meets the island of Polo [_i.e._,
Polillo?], the bay of Lampon, and the villages of Baler and Casiguran,
the last ones of this ecclesiastical jurisdiction--which, as we said,
are situated in the province of Nueva-Ecija. Then is encountered the
point of San Ildefonso, the boundary at which meet the bishoprics of
Nueva Cáceres and Nueva Segovia.
This bishopric was founded by a bull of Clement VIII, dated August
14, 1595. Four thousand pesos' salary was assigned to the bishopric
annually, payable from the royal treasury of Méjico, as there were
no tithes in Filipinas because the Indians did not pay them, and
the Spaniards cared but little for the cultivation of the lands. A
salary of one hundred and eighty pesos was assigned to the cura of
the cathedral, and ninety-two to the sacristan. Two honorary chaplains
were also created, to assist in the pontifical celebration; and they
were assigned salaries of one hundred pesos apiece. The bishop resided
in Nueva Cáceres, in the province of Camarines, which was founded by
the governor Francisco de Sande; but no other trace of that city has
remained than the Indian village called Naga, which is the capital of
the province and where the see is also located. It has a cathedral
and episcopal palace of stone, and a conciliar seminary for the
secular clergy of the country. Its jurisdiction extends throughout
the provinces of Camarines (Norte and Sur), Tayabas, and Albay;
the politico-military commandancy of Masbate and Ticao; the islands
of Burias and Catanduanes; and the villages of Baler and Casiguran
in Nueva Ecija, and Polillo and Binongonan de Lampon in Laguna. In
this vast territory, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Nueva Cáceres
includes the following provinces, curacies, and villages. [122]
Besides the assignments which were made from the beginning, as we have
said, to this bishopric, and which are at present paid from the royal
treasuries of the colony, there is allowed to the miter 500 pesos
for the relief of poor curas; 400 pesos to expend on the building
of the cathedral and other objects; 135 pesos 2 reals for wax, oil,
etc.--the total amount being equal to 5,516 pesos, 7 silver reals,
and 37 maravedís.
The name of this bishopric is preserved solely in official documents,
that of Camarines prevailing, as it is the name of the province where
the bishop lives. [The names of the bishops of this bishopric until
1848 follow.]
The diocesan visits are to be made at the account of the royal
treasury, in accordance with the royal decree of April 22, 1705. When
the episcopal see becomes vacant, inasmuch as it has no cabildo its
government belongs to his Excellency the metropolitan archbishop,
who appoints a provisor or capitular vicar. If the archiepiscopal see
should be vacant at the same time also, the government would pertain
to the nearest suffragan; and if distances be equal, to the senior
of these.
The form of administering and collecting the income was prescribed
in a royal decree dated June 24, 1712, as has been stated elsewhere
in this work.
Nueva Segovia
This is one of the three bishoprics of the island of Luzon. It includes
the provinces of Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Union, Ilocos
Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, and the Batanes Islands. This diocese extends
throughout the northern part of the island, from longitude 123° 21'
on the western coast, where the point called Pedregales is located,
to 126° 5' on the eastern or opposite coast, where the point Maamo
projects; and from latitude 16° 17 to 18° 38'. It is bounded on the
south by the archbishopric of Manila, to which belong the provinces
of Zambales and Pampanga, on the extreme west and northeast. On the
southeast it descends to latitude 15° 30', to point of Dicapinisan and
to Nueva Ecija, with that of Nueva Cáceres or Camarines in the upper
limits of the province of Tayabas. It is also bounded on the east by
the archbishopric [of Manila] in the above-mentioned province of Nueva
Ecija. Its boundaries on the west and north are maritime. Beginning
where this last province ends (which may be considered as the point
of Dicapinisan), the opposite coast offers nothing more noteworthy
than the bays of Dibut and Baler until one reaches that of Casiguran;
and there is nothing worthy of mention. When one leaves this last
bay, he must double the cape of San Ildefonso, where the ancient
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of this bishopric began. Continuing north
for a matter of some sixteen nautical leguas, one meets the port of
Tumango, the safest and most capacious of all this rough coast. A
short distance from that port are found the village of Palanan and
the missions of Dicalayon, and Dauilican or Divilican. Thence, until
one reaches the cape of Engaño, [123] one finds nothing more than
some small anchoring-places, which offer but scant refuge to the
vessels, as they are all exposed to the vendavals. On the northern
coast as well, which begins at the said cape of Engaño (so called
because of the deceitfulness of its currents), one does not meet bay
or port until he reaches the village of Aparri, some fifteen leguas
away. This village is located a short distance from the ancient city
of Nueva Segovia, which is known to the natives under the name of
Laen [sc. Lal-ló]. A matter of fifteen leguas more from the above
village of Aparri, is encountered the beginning of the Caraballos
mountains, whose point, called Balaynacira, or Pata, projects into
the northern sea and is the most northern point of the island. At this
point ends the province of Cagayan, and begins that of Ilocos Norte,
in the village of Pancian which is nine hours' distance from that of
Bangui. Then one doubles the cape of Bojeador, where the western coast
of the island begins, and passes the provinces of Ilocos (Norte and
Sur), Union, and Pangasinan, which abound with many villages, until
the cape of Bolinao is reached--where this bishopric is bounded by
the archbishopric, to which belongs the province of Zambales.
This see suffragan to the metropolitan of Manila was erected by brief
of his Holiness Clement VIII, August 14, 1595. The bishop formerly
resided in Nueva Segovia, the capital of the province of Cagayan;
but now he resides at Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, where the town
called Fernandina formerly stood. The endowment for this miter is four
thousand pesos fuertes for the diocesan, one hundred and eighty-four
pesos for the cura of the cathedral, ninety-two pesos to the sacristan,
and one hundred pesos to each one of the chaplains of the choir. Its
jurisdiction extends, as we have said, through the eight provinces of
Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte,
Abra, and the Batanes Islands. [124]...
[The name Nueva Segovia is preserved only in official documents,
and it is more frequently called the bishopric of Ilocos, from the
name of the province where the bishop lives. The names of the bishops
until 1849 follow, and the article ends with information identical
with that concluding the article on the bishopric of Nueva Cáceres.]
CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE OF THE FRIARS
[From Feodor Jagor's _Reisen in den Philippinen_ (Berlin, 1873),
pp. 95-100.]
Chapter Twelve
Travels in Camarines Sur. Description of the province. Spanish
priests. Alcaldes and mandarins. [125]
The convents are large, magnificent buildings, whose curas at that
time--for the most part, elderly men--were most hospitable and
amiable. It was necessary to stop at each convent, and the father in
charge of it had his horses harnessed and drove his guest to his next
colleague. I wished to hire a boat at Polángui to go to the lake of
Batu; [126] but there was none to be had. Only two large, eighty-foot
_barotos_, each hollowed from a single tree-trunk and laden with rice
from Camarines, lay there. In order that I might not be detained,
the father bought the cargo of one of the boats, on condition that
it be immediately unladed; thus I was able to proceed on my journey
in the afternoon.
If the traveler is on good terms with the cura, he will seldom have
any trouble. I was once about to take a little journey with a parish
priest directly after lunch. All the preparations were completed at
a quarter after eleven. I declared that it was too bad to wait the
three-quarters of an hour for the repast. Immediately after, it struck
twelve, and all work in the village ceased. We, as well as our porters,
sat down to table; it was noon. The [following] message had been sent
to the bellringer: "The father ordered him to be told that he must
surely be sleeping again; it must have been twelve o'clock long ago,
for the father is hungry." _Il est l'heure que votre Majesté désire._
[127]
Most of the priests in the eastern provinces of Luzon and Samar
consist of Franciscan friars, [128] who are trained in special
seminaries in Spain for the missions in the colonies. Formerly,
they were at liberty to return to their fatherland after ten years'
residence in the Philippines. But since the convents have been
suppressed in Spain, [129] this is no longer allowed them; for there
they would be compelled to renounce the rules of their order, and
live as private persons. [130] They know that they must end their
days in the colonies, and regulate themselves accordingly. At their
arrival they are usually sent to a priest in the province, so that
they may study the native language. Then they first receive a small
and later a profitable curacy, in which they generally remain for the
rest of their life. Most of these men spring from the lowest rank
of the people. Numerous existing pious foundations in Spain make
it possible for the poor man, who cannot pay for schooling for his
son, to send him to the seminary, where he learns nothing outside
of the special service for which he is trained. Were the friars of a
finer culture, as are a part of the English missionaries, they would,
for that reason, have but little inclination to mix with the people,
and consequently would not obtain over them the influence that they
generally have. The early habits of life of the Spanish friars, and
their narrow horizon, quite peculiarly fit them to live among the
natives. It is exactly for the above reason that they have so well
established their power over those people.
When the above-mentioned young men come quite fresh from their
seminaries, they are incredibly narrow, ignorant, and at times
ill-mannered, full of conceit, hatred for heretics, and desire
to proselyte. Gradually this rough exterior wears away; and their
estimable position, and the abundant emoluments which they enjoy,
make them kindly disposed. The sound insight into human nature and
the self-reliance which are peculiar to the lower classes of the
Spanish people, and which are so amusingly revealed by Sancho Panza as
governor, have full opportunity to assert themselves in the influential
and responsible post which the cura occupies. Very frequently the
cura is the only white man in the place, and no other European lives
for miles around. Therefore, not only is he the curator of souls,
but also the representative of the government. He is the oracle of the
Indians, and his special decision in anything that concerns Europe and
civilization is without appeal. His advice is asked in all important
affairs, and he has no one from whom he himself can seek advice. Under
such circumstances all their intellectual abilities come into full
play. The same man, who would have followed the plow in Spain, here
[_i.e._, in the Philippines] carries out great undertakings. Without
technical instruction and without scientific help, he constructs
churches, roads, and bridges. However, although these circumstances
are so favorable for the development of the ability of the priest,
yet it would be better for the buildings themselves if they were
executed by professionals; for the bridges collapse readily, the
churches often resemble sheep-folds, the more pretentious have at
times most extravagant façades, and the roads quickly deteriorate
again. However, each one does as well as he can. Almost all of them
have the good of their village at heart, although their zeal, and the
course followed by those who pursue this aim, differ widely according
to their personality. In Camarínes and Albáy, I have had considerable
intercourse with the curas, and they have, without exception, won my
esteem. As a rule, they have no self-conceit; and in the remote places
they are so happy whenever they receive a visit, that they exert all
their efforts to make their guest's stay as pleasant as possible. Life
in a large convent very much resembles that of the lord of the manor
in eastern Europe. Nothing can be more unconstrained. One lives as
independently as in an inn, and many guests act just as if they were
in one. I have seen a subaltern arrive, who, without waiting until
the steward assigned him a room of his own accord, took one himself,
ordered his dinner, and only casually asked whether the priest,
with whom he was only very slightly acquainted, was at home.
Frequently the priests in the Philippines are upbraided about their
gross licentiousness. [It is said that] the convent is full of
beautiful girls, with whom the cura lives like a sultan. This might
often be so of the native priests; but at the houses of numerous
Spanish priests whose guest I have been, I have never once happened
to see anything objectionable in this regard. Their servants were
only men, and perhaps an old woman or two. Ribabeneyra asserts: [131]
"The Indians, who observe how the discalced friars maintain their
chastity, have come in their thoughts to the conclusion that they are
not men ... and although the devil has endeavored to corrupt many
chaste priests now deceased, and also those who still live, making
use of the shamelessness of some Indian women for that purpose, yet
the friars remained victorious, to the great shame of the Indian women
and of Satan." However, this author is very unreliable. He says further
(chapter iii, page 13), that the island of Cebu is known under another
name as Luzon! At any rate, his description does not fit the present
conditions. The young priest lives in his parish as did the lord of the
manor in earlier times. The girls consider it an honor for themselves
to associate with him. The opportunity is very favorable for him, for
he is watched over by no jealous wife; and, as the father confessor
and priestly adviser, he has opportunity at discretion to be alone
with the women. [132] The confessional must especially be a perilous
rock for them. In the appendix to a Tagál grammar (which is lacking
in those copies intended for public sale), is a list of questions
for the young priest who is not yet conversant with the language,
which he must propound to the persons confessing. Several pages of
those questions relate to sexual intercourse.
As the alcaldes are allowed to stay in a province only three years,
they never understand the language of the country; for they are very
much in demand because of their official business, and have no time
(and usually no desire) to study the peculiarities of the province
which they administer. The cura, on the other hand, lives in the
midst of his parishioners, whom he knows thoroughly, and whom he also
represents against the government. Consequently, it happens that he
is the real authority in his district. The position of the priests, in
contradistinction to that of the government officials, is bespoken also
in their dwellings. The _casas reales_ [_i.e._, royal buildings]--for
the most part small, plain, and often dilapidated--are not in keeping
with the rank of the first officials of the province. The convent,
however, is usually a very large, imposing, and well-furnished
building. Formerly, when the governorships were sold to adventurers,
whose only thoughts were to enrich themselves from that office, the
influence of the priests was even much greater than at present. [133]
The following ordinances point out their former position better than
long descriptions.
"Although certain outrageous offenses have given fitting reason
for chapter x of the ordinances, wherein Governor Don Pedro de
Arandia orders that the alcaldes and justices shall have no other
communication with the missionaries than in writing, and shall not
visit them except in company, it is also nevertheless ordered that
they shall not do the latter ... on the assumption that the prelates
of the church shall employ all their energies in restraining their
subordinates within the bounds of moderation.... The alcaldes shall
therefore see to it that the priests and ministers of the above order
shall treat the gobernadorcillos and officers of justice with the
proper respect; and they shall not permit the latter to be beaten,
chastised, or illtreated by the missionaries, ... nor shall they be
compelled to serve them at table." [134]
The former alcaldes who bought their posts, or obtained them through
favor, and who had no previous training in official business, and often
no education and intelligence, and who did not possess the necessary
mental and moral qualities for so responsible and influential an
office, received a nominal salary from the State, to which they
paid a commission for the right to engage in trade. According to
Arenas (p. 444), [135] this commission was regarded as a fine on the
alcaldes for transgressing the law; "for since all kinds of trading
were forbidden to them by various laws, [136] yet also his Majesty was
pleased to grant a dispensation for it." [137] This irregularity was
first suppressed by royal decrees of September 10 and October 30, 1844.
The alcaldes were governors and judges, commanders of the
troops, and at the same time the only traders in their respective
provinces. [138] They bought in Manila the goods that were needed
in their provinces--usually with the money of the charities [_obras
pias_] (see p. 14, note 17); [139] for they themselves came to the
Philippines without any property. The Indians were compelled to sell
their products to the alcalde, and to buy his wares at the prices which
the latter established. [140] In such circumstances, the priests were
the only ones who protected the Indians against these bloodsuckers,
when they did not (as sometimes happened) also make common cause with
the alcaldes.
At present the government sends men who know the law to act as alcaldes
in the Philippines, who are somewhat better paid and are not allowed
to trade.
On the whole, the government is endeavoring to lessen the influence
of the curas, in order to strengthen the civil authorities; but
that will be only very imperfectly accomplished, however, unless the
tenure of office of the alcaldes be lengthened, and the office be so
assigned that the alcaldes will have no temptation to make money on
the side. [141]
THE AUGUSTINIAN RECOLLECTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
[The following is translated and condensed from _Provincia de San
Nicolás de Tolentino de Agustinos descalzos de la congregacion de
España é Indias_ (Manila, 1879).]
Archbishopric of Manila
In this archbishopric the Recollect fathers have charges in the
provinces of Manila, Cavite, Laguna, the district of Morong, Bataan,
Pampanga, Zambales, and Mindoro.
[In the province of Manila, they have (1878) charges in the following
villages: La Hermita, with 1,767 1/2 tributes, and 6,747 souls;
Las-Piñas, with 1,149 1/2 tributes, and 4,771 souls; and Caloocan,
with 2,166 tributes, and 7,511 souls.]
District of Morong
This district, which is governed by a political and military commander
(who is at the same time administrator of the public funds), takes
its name from its capital village, which is located on the shore of
the lake of Bay. This district was created in the year one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-three. The villages of this district which
are located on the lake are under the care of Franciscan fathers;
Angono, Cainta, Jalajala, and Bosoboso of seculars; and we ourselves
possess the two following. [These are the villages of Antipolo, with
1,074 tributes, and 3,547 souls; and Taytay, with 2,479 tributes,
and 8,435 souls.]
Province of Bataan
This province is located in the island of Luzón, and is bounded on the
north by the provinces of Pampanga and Zambales, on the east by the
bay of Manila, and on the south and west by the sea of China. It is
governed by an alcalde, and is in charge of the Dominican fathers,
with the exception of Mariveles, Bagac, and Morong, which are in
charge of the Recollect fathers.
The missionaries of our corporation performed their first labors of
conquest in this territory. Here were founded the oldest villages
on our list; and here took place the first persecutions of our
long-suffering predecessors, who had the glory of watering with their
blood the country that they were evangelizing, the one that furnished
to the province of San Nicolás their protomartyr.
Fray Miguel de Santa Maria, accompanied by Father Pedro de San José
(who, although he had been a calced Augustinian, had become a Recollect
in Manila), and by brother Fray Francisco de Santa Mónica, were the
first to leave the convent of San Juan de Bagumbayan; and prepared
by prayer and penance, and full of the spirit of God, set forth to
announce His mysteries to the idolaters and heathen, sent legitimately
to the mountains of Mariveles to illumine its inhabitants with the
light of the Catholic faith. They found those natives enveloped in
the most barbarous idolatry, adoring the sun, the moon, the cayman,
and other filthy animals. These people regarded certain old men,
as corrupt and as deceived as the divinities whom they were serving,
as the ministers of those deceitful gods. The customs of those people
were very analogous to the doctrines that directed them. Every kind of
superstition was practiced; homicide was a praiseworthy and meritorious
action; and their sacrifices on some occasions were human lives. In
that vineyard so filled with wickedness the above-mentioned fathers
announced the triune and one God, the mystery of the incarnation,
and the eternal duration of the future life. The missionaries suffered
more than one can tell from the inhabitants, who were opposed to and
stubborn toward their teaching. In their bodies did they submit to
hunger, and to the intemperance and inclemency of the elements; and
in their truly apostolic spirit they suffered mortal anguish because
of the blindness of their neighbors, which was in proportion to the
great love of God and the zeal for His glory which glowed brightly
in their hearts.
[The Recollects have charge of the villages of Mariveles, with 588
tributes, and 1,852 souls; Morong, with 870 tributes, and 3,154 souls;
and Bagac, with 496 1/2 tributes, and 1,743 souls.]
Province of Zambales
This province is located in the island of Luzón, north of Manila. It
is bounded on the north by the gulf of Lingayen and the province of
Pangasinan, on the east by the chain of mountains called Mariveles,
on the south by Bataan, and on the west by the Chinese Sea; and is more
than thirty leguas long in a north and south direction, and seven wide.
The preaching of the Recollects in this territory is mingled with the
beginnings of that religious family in the Filipino archipelago. One
may say that this was the region where the first discalced missionaries
and the parishes established by them tasted the first-fruits of their
evangelizing zeal, those first-fruits being offered to the Catholic
church as a testimony of the purity of their doctrine, and submitted
to the crown of España as its most faithful and disinterested vassals,
Although they arrived at these shores in the year one thousand six
hundred and six, in the following year they had already overrun
this province--to whose inhabitants they taught the mysteries of
our religion, and gave helpful instructions in the social life,
in contradistinction to their barbarous state.
The first who sowed the seed of the gospel in the province of Zambales
were the calced Augustinian fathers. Because of the lack of the above
religious, the captain-general of these islands and their metropolitan
cabildo entreated the vicar-provincial of the Recollects to assign
religious for the spiritual cultivation of that unfilled vineyard. In
the year one thousand six hundred and nine, our laborers went to
Zambales, although visits had been made two years previously by those
who were laboring in the province of Bataan, in order to increase the
gospel seed. The meekness and resignation of the fathers in the midst
of so much wretchedness and hardship arrested the attention of those
barbarians; and the fathers succeeded in catechizing and converting
many through their gentleness and kind treatment, and reduced them
to settlements.
The Recollect fathers were charged with the spiritual administration
of this province until the year one thousand six hundred and
seventy-nine. In that year, being obliged to go to take charge of the
province of Mindoro, and to preach the holy gospel there, they were
forced to hand over the missions of Zambales--eleven in number--to
the Dominican fathers, who assumed charge of them.
After the lapse of some years, and without explanation of the causes
which could induce the above-mentioned Dominican fathers to cease
to give spiritual food to those Christian communities with their
accustomed zeal, it is a fact that the discalced Augustinians
again took charge of that province, by the month of October, one
thousand seven hundred and twelve; and again undertook the direction
and continuation of their spiritual conquests until the year one
thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, when they were compelled
once more to leave it, for lack of religious. The secular priests
assumed the missions, with the exception of the mission of Botolan,
which was retained by the Recollects until one thousand eight hundred
and fourteen. There was a residence for the missionaries in each
of the villages, and even in various visitas there were suitable
churches and convents of cut stone, when we left this province in
the last century. On assuming it anew in the year one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-six, the father provincial of the Recollects,
Fray Blás de las Mercedes, attested that only ruins and desolation
were found. Since that time they have labored without ceasing in the
beautifying and adorning of the house of God, restoring the old ruins
and building anew; until they have succeeded in making the churches
worthy the majesty of the Catholic worship--already having, besides,
suitable edifices for the residences of their missionaries.
[The order has the spiritual charge of the following villages: Subic,
with 761 1/2 tributes, and 2,749 souls; Castillejos, with 917 1/2
tributes, and 4,013 souls; San Marcelino, with 1,165 1/2 tributes,
and 4,847 souls; San Antonio, with 1,053 tributes, and 4,722 souls;
San Narciso, with 1,564 1/2 tributes, and 7,597 souls; San Felipe,
with 1,262 tributes, and 5,063 souls; Cabangaan, with 685 tributes,
and 2,584. souls; Iba, with 1,007 tributes, and 3,896 souls; Palauig,
with 761 tributes, and 3,380 souls; Botolan, with 1,374 tributes, and
5,200 souls; Masinloc, with 1,647 tributes, and 6,541 souls; Bolinao,
with 1,795 tributes, and 5,971 souls; Bani, with 1,036 1/2 tributes,
and 4,288 souls; Santa Cruz, with 1,753 1/2 tributes, and 7,366 souls;
Balincaguin, with 1,122 1/2 tributes, and 4,138 souls; Alaminos,
with 1,669 tributes, and 7,436 souls; Agno, with 1,271 tributes, and
4,971 souls; Dasol, with 781 tributes, and 2,697 souls; San Isidro,
with 597 tributes, and 2,337 souls; and Anda, with 833 tributes,
and 3,180 souls.]
Province of Cavite
Coincident with the time of their arrival at Manila, the discalced
Augustinians began to labor in the conversion of the infidels who
inhabit the provinces conterminous to the capital. They dedicated
themselves with apostolic zeal to the preaching of the gospel and
the administration of the sacraments, with their gaze directed
to the needs of the future. They paid attention to what would be
found by experience, in succeeding times, to be a convenience and
a necessity--namely, to have convents of the Observance in the most
important settlements of the archipelago, in order to give shelter to
the religious worn out in the tasks of preaching; while at the same
time those houses were to serve as the base for their premeditated
plan, to establish in these islands the corporation of which they
were members, in a perfectly organized condition.
They founded the convent of Cavite, by apostolic and royal authority,
in the year one thousand six hundred and sixteen. It was dedicated
to St. Nicholas of Tolentino, was constructed solidly, and was
spacious, with a church which was suitable for the functions of
worship. Cavite was a suitable point, because of its great commerce
and the foreigners who go there in throngs. Thus, with their good
example and indefatigable zeal, they could do much good to needy souls.
This convent was at first supported by the alms of the faithful;
and afterward it acquired some incomes of its own through the gifts
of various devout persons, in houses, shops, and plots of ground.
In the year one thousand seven hundred and nine, Don Pascual Bautista
and other inhabitants of that port founded the brotherhood of our
father Jesus in this church.
The first prior of this convent was Father Andrés del Espiritu Santo,
who was born in Valladolid, in January, one thousand five hundred and
eighty-five, his parents being Don Hernando Fanego and Doña Elena de
Toro. He studied philosophy there, and asked for the religious habit
in our convent of Portillo in the year one thousand six hundred, and
professed in that convent the following year. He devoted himself to
the study of the Holy Scriptures in the convent of Nava until the year
one thousand six hundred and five, when he determined to offer himself
for the conversion of the Indians, in the mission that was about to
go to Filipinas. Having been assigned to the province of Zambales,
he uttered the first words of his apostolic preaching at Masinloc in
the year one thousand six hundred and seven, where he succeeded in
converting and baptizing two thousand people, in founding a village,
and in erecting a dwelling and a church with the advocacy of St. Andrew
the apostle, November eighteen, one thousand six hundred and seven. In
the year one thousand six hundred and nine, without abandoning his
parish, he had to aid Father Jerónimo de Cristo in the reduction of
Bolinao; and when after a short time the latter died, he was appointed
vicar-provincial, although continuing to care for and to increase
his flock at Bolinao, where he succeeded in converting one thousand
six hundred souls. He concluded his charge in the year one thousand
six hundred and twelve; and in the year one thousand six hundred
and fifteen he was elected vicar-provincial for the second time. In
that term he finished the establishment of the convent of Cavite,
constructing an edifice of stone with a dwelling to accommodate
ten religious. In the year one thousand six hundred and eighteen,
at the completion of his term as superior, he was chosen commissary
to the court of Madrid. There he accomplished, with great success,
not only the negotiations for despatches suitable for the mission,
but the selection of the men whom he conducted [to Filipinas] in the
year one thousand six hundred and twenty-two. As soon as he reached
Manila he was again elected superior [and held that position] until
the celebration of the first provincial chapter, on February six,
one thousand six hundred and twenty-four, when he was elected first
definitor. In the year one thousand six hundred and twenty-six he
was elected provincial; he visited the ministries during his term,
and began the missions of Japon. He made great improvements and
additions in the churches and convents of Manila and Calumpang; and
labored greatly in repairing the church and convent of Cebu, which had
suffered from a fire. He was elected provincial for the second time,
in the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, and definitor
in the chapter of thirty-five. In the year thirty-eight he asked to
be allowed to retire to a cell, but was elected prior of Manila.
After the conclusion of that office, he was retired to the convent
of Cavite and then to that of Manila, where he died holily at
the beginning of one thousand six hundred and fifty-eight. He was
seventy-eight years of age, and fifty-seven in the religious life,
fifty-two of which he employed in the Filipinas Islands, establishing
this province on a solid basis of religion.
[The villages in charge of the Recollects in this province are as
follows: Cavite, with 412 1/2 tributes, and 2,319 souls; Imus, with
3,830 tributes, and 14,439 souls; Cavite-Viejo [_i.e._, "Old Cavite"],
with 2,658 tributes, and 8,265 souls; Rosario, with 2,005 tributes,
and 6,906 souls; Bacoor, with 3,959 tributes, and 13,827 souls;
Perez-Dasmariñas, with 1,124 tributes, and 3,785 souls; Silang,
with 2,701 1/2 tributes, and 9,369 souls; Bailen, with 931 tributes,
and 3,697 souls; and Carmona, with 904 1/2 tributes, and 3,101 souls.]
Province of Batangas
In this rich province of the island of Luzón, flourishing through
its products and its active trade with the capital, of extensive
territory and densely populated, the discalced Augustinians were not
assigned with the intention of a permanent stay, in the olden times,
to preach the gospel to those natives.
However, present legislation regarding the service of parish churches
in this archipelago has, at the same time while it has varied in a
certain manner our traditional method of support, introduced us into
some of the parishes of the province of Batangas; and at the same
time when we have been obliged to cede villages in Visayas--which
were our offspring, and had been converted by our predecessors,
and whose history was identical with the ancient glories of our
corporation--in exchange we have received parishes organized by the
sweat and apostolic fatigues of ministers of the religion of Jesus
Christ, who were not members of our religious family.
[The villages administered by the Recollects are as follows: Rosario,
with 4,259 1/2 tributes, and 17,040 souls; Santo Tomás, with 2,832
tributes, and 9,748 souls; Lobo, with 805 1/2 tributes, and 3,200
souls; and Balayan, with 5,434 tributes, and 24,154 souls.]
Province of Laguna
The territory of this province, whose coasts enclose the great lake of
Bay, had been administered by the Franciscan fathers, in most of its
extent, from the times of its reduction. But in the year one thousand
six hundred and sixty-two, they invited us to share in the ministries
on the opposite coast, in the neighborhood of the port of Lampon;
and although those missions were not very desirable, on account of
the wretchedness of the country and the small number of tributes,
they were received as very meritorious for heaven, although but little
profitable when looked at from a worldly standpoint.
The Recollect fathers Fray Benito de San José, Fray Francisco de San
José, and Fray Clemente de San Nicolás having been assigned, with
three other companions, to the village of Binangonan, established
the first house and church, with the title of San Guillermo; and two
religious remained there. Afterward they went to the village of Baler
and established a convent, under the patronage of St. Nicholas of
Tolentino. The third was the village of Casiguran, with the advocacy
of our father St. Augustine. The fourth was established in Palanan,
with the title of Santa María Magdalena. The discalced Augustinians
resided for forty years in those convents founded on the coasts of
the Pacific, exclusively consecrated to the service of God, and the
sanctification of their neighbors, and they attained both objects
with great spiritual advantages.
We had religious there of pure virtue, who were imitating the virtues
of the dwellers in the desert. From those missions went forth our
father Fray Bartolomé de la Santísima Trinidad, son of the convent
of Madrid. He lived much retired from intercourse with men; and when
he was elected provincial, in the year one thousand seven hundred
and one--at which time all said that he was a person unknown in
Manila--Archbishop Camacho uttered these words: "The election of the
discalced Augustinians has been and is, properly, an election by God
and by the Holy Spirit." While so great advance did the missionaries
on the opposite coast make in their own sanctification, not less
was the gain in the vineyard entrusted to their care. They made many
Aetas and heathen children of the Catholic church, and directed those
souls along the paths of eternal life. They had the special glory
of numbering, among those whom they directed, some privileged women
endowed with the gifts of heaven, and raised by the spirit of God to
a height of Christian perfection which confounds our lukewarmness in
His service. One of these was Sister Juana de Jesus, a native of the
village of Binangonan de Lampon, [142] an oblate nun of our order,
who elevated herself with the steps of a giant, even to the greatest
and most complete purification of her spirit, by her abstraction
from worldly affairs, by her heroic practice of all the virtues,
by her fervent daily communion, and by the most lofty contemplation
and the most clear vision that God vouchsafed her of the mysteries
of our holy religion.
In the lamentable period of the missions between the years one
thousand six hundred and ninety-two and one thousand seven hundred
and ten, when no religious came to us from España, our Recollect
family was obliged to abandon this territory which it had in trust,
for the lack of evangelical laborers. That action was taken in the
provincial chapter of one thousand seven hundred and four, and the
missions above mentioned, which we had served for more than forty
years, were returned to the Franciscans.
At present we have only the following village in the province of
Laguna: [Calauan, with 957 1/2 tributes, and 2,734 souls.]
Province of Pampanga
This province, lying north of Manila--including the district of Tarlac,
which was separated from the province in the year one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-three--is bounded on the north by Pangasinan,
on the south by the bay of Manila, on the east by Nueva Ecija and
Bulacan, and on the west by Zambales and Bataan. In this province,
which was begun by the Augustinian Observantine fathers (who still
have it in charge), permission to found missions in the mountains
of its territory which are on the Zambales side was granted to the
Recollect fathers, by virtue of certain acts that were drawn up in
the superior government without summoning the father provincial,
because of the reports of certain persons and the instance of other
private individuals. By those acts the conde de Lizárraga, governor
of Filipinas, charged the father provincial, Fray José de San Nicolás,
to assign missionaries to the localities of Bamban and Mabalacat. The
said father, because of his great experience of these islands and
their inhabitants, explained to the vice-patron the impossibility of
those missions living, and the little result that could be expected
from them on account of the fierce and untamable nature of the
mountaineers. His petition had no effect, and three missionaries
of great merit and learning were sent. By dint of great hardships,
and, by living in the same manner as the Indians, they succeeded in
baptizing many; but when they learned the fickleness of the Indian
nature, and that it was as easy for them to become baptized as it
was to take to the mountains to continue their former mode of life,
the missionaries proceeded more cautiously in giving them the benefit
of the regeneration.
[In this province the Recollects minister to the following villages:
Mabalacat, with 2,627 tributes, and 11,163 souls; Capas, with 564
tributes, and 1,923 souls; O'Donnel, with 308 1/2 tributes, and 1,159
souls; and Bolso, with 144 tributes, and 749 souls.]
Province of Mindoro
This province, directed by an alcalde-mayor, includes the island of
the same name, that of Marinduque, that of Luban, and others less
densely populated. Its boundaries are: on the north, the strait of
Mindoro; on the east and south, the sea of Visayas; and on the west,
the Chinese Sea.
In its extent, it is one of the foremost islands of the
archipelago. Its land is mountainous, its climate hot; and during
the rainy season it also exceeds other provinces in humidity, whence
results the richness of the soil. There are found all the products
of the country in grains and foodstuffs. However, that most fertile
country fails of cultivation in its vast areas because of the scarcity
of laborers, and has not been touched by the hand of man. Its conquest
was begun in the year one thousand five hundred and seventy, in the
district of Mamburao, by Juan de Salcedo; and it was completed the
following year, along the coasts from the cape of Burruncan to that of
Calavite, by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. The rest, with the exception of
the mountains in its center, has been gradually subdued by the zeal
of the regular missionaries. The calced Augustinian fathers began to
diffuse the teaching of the gospel in this island, and founded the
village of Baco, from whose convent the religious went forth to the
spiritual ministry of the converted Indians, who were then very few.
By cession of the Augustinians, the Franciscan fathers entered
this island. The said fathers were not satisfied with preserving
that already reduced, but extended the light of the faith through
the districts of Pola and Calavite, until they were transferred to
Camarines and Ilocos by the orders of their superiors.
The fathers of the Society of Jesus came in to fill the breach left by
the Franciscans. They founded the village of Naujan, which was governed
to the great gain of those Christians by Father Luis de San Vitores,
who left behind in that point a reputation for virtue and holiness
which was retained for many years among the Indians. That father
was withdrawn, to begin the conversion of the Marianas Islands. His
associates followed him, and the Christian souls of Mindoro remained
under the direction of the secular priests who were placed there by
the archbishop for their direction.
When the Recollect fathers had to leave the ministries of Zambales
which they had conquered and established at the cost of their blood
and by heroic labors, an order came at that same time from the court
of España, decreeing that the island of Mindoro be entrusted to a
religious family chosen from those existing in this country. The
governor of Filipinas, by the advice of the archbishop, thought to
compensate the Recollects for the loss of their primitive religious
conquests in the province of Zambales, by conferring on them the
parishes of Mindoro.
The Recollects resigned themselves to this disproportionate change,
since the exertions made to avoid it availed nothing. By virtue of
the order issued by his Excellency, the captain-general, Don Juan de
Vargas, directed to the province of San Nicolás (decreeing that it
should take charge of the missions of Mindoro), the then provincial,
Fray José de San Nicolás, assigning laborers for that new acquisition.
Father Diego de la Madre de Dios was assigned to the district of
Baco, which belonged to the bachelor Don José de Rojas; Father Diego
de la Resureccion, to the curacy of Calavite, taking the place of
Licentiate Don Juan Pedrosa; Father Blas de la Concepcion, to the
parish of Naujan, replacing the priest Don Martin Diaz. All the above
was effected in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-nine.
The Recollects entered upon the preaching in Mindoro, in obedience
to the orders of the government. That was their reason for believing
that their stay in that territory was not to be transitory, but
that they could contemplate the organization of that territory upon
foundations intended for its increase and the greater welfare of its
inhabitants. For that purpose they planned to make the best division
possible of mother missions and those annexed, assigning for each of
the regular missionaries the barrios and visitas which were nearest
his residence, in order that he might aid all of them in their needs.
The apostolate of the Recollects in this island continued without
interruption until the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four,
when the scarcity of men in the province of San Nicolás forced them
to renounce it. They reassumed their missions there in the year one
thousand eight hundred and five, when the cause that occasioned their
cession ceased to exist.
[The villages and missions in charge in this province are as follows:
Calapan, with 1,335 1/2, tributes, and 4,495 souls; Naujan, with 1,687
1/2 tributes, and 5,408 souls; Puerto-Galera, with 544 tributes,
and 1,655 souls; Sablayan, with 756 1/2 tributes, and 2,520 souls;
Mangarin, with 366 tributes, and 859 souls; and Boac, with 3,117
tributes, and 13,562 souls.]
Bishopric of Jaro
The provinces of Romblon, Calamianes, and Negros, which are
administered by the Recollect fathers, were formerly included in the
spiritual jurisdiction of the bishopric of Santísimo Niño de Cebú. At
present they are comprehended in the bishopric of Santa Isabel de
Jaro, which was created by apostolic bull dated May twenty-seven,
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. That bull was issued by his
Holiness Pius IX; it dismembered several provinces of the archipelago
from the bishopric of Cebú, and constituted the fourth bishopric of
Filipinas, which is suffragan to the metropolitan of Manila.
District of Romblon
This district, which is composed of a group of islands, today forms one
politico-military commandancy, which includes the villages of Romblon,
Banton, Badajoz, Cajidiocan, Odiongan, Looc, and Magallanes. All
those villages can be called the creation of the Recollects, who, when
they touched this territory, encountered a small number of Christians
scattered through the mountains of what is now the chief district. By
exposing their lives (and also losing them when the honor of God,
or the interest of the monarchy of España, demanded it), they have
succeeded in establishing many important villages from the wild
settlements that they received.
The few Christians of those islands composed the annexed village or
visita of the curacy of Ajuy in the island of Panay; and as it was
very troublesome for the cura charged with their spiritual nurture
to visit them, because of the risk that he ran in crossing over, and
the strength of the currents, he maintained there a secular assistant
who administered the sacraments.
The priest Don Francisco Rodriguez, charged with the unquiet and
uncomfortable life in that benefice, being worn out, discussed with
the father-provincial of the Recollects, Fray José de la Anunciación,
a satisfactory exchange. He also renounced his right to the
proprietary curacy, whereupon the bishop of Cebú, Don Pedro de Arce,
with the consent of this superior government, gave us the spiritual
administration of Romblon, Sibuyan, Usigan (or the island of Tablas),
Simara, Banton, and Sibali [143] (which is called Maestro de Campo by
the Spaniards). The province of San Nicolás received those places,
for they considered them as the entrance into the Visayas Islands,
and a good stepping-stone for their religious to go to the lands of
Cebú and Caraga. Consequently, the Recollects began to increase and
organize what had until then been useless, in the year one thousand
six hundred and thirty-five.
[The villages and missions in the Recollects' charge are the
following: Romblon, with 1,341 tributes, and 5,858 souls; Badajoz,
with 711 tributes, and 3,356 souls; Banton, with 1,181 1/2 tributes,
and 4,717 souls; Cajidiocan, with 1,304 tributes, and 7,132 souls;
Odiongan, with 5,705 souls; Looc, with 5,449 souls; and Magallanes,
with 283 1/2 tributes, and 859 souls.]
Island and province of Negros
This island, located to the south of Manila, is bounded on the north
by the Visayan Sea, on the south by the sea which separates it from
Mindanao, on the east by the channel which separates it from Cebú,
and on the west by the sea that separates it from Paragua. It is one
hundred and twelve leguas from Manila; its length north and south is
forty leguas, and its breadth from east to west eleven.
The centuries of the conquest tell us that already was the religious
habit of the discalced Augustinians known in this most fertile
province; for in the year one thousand six hundred and twenty-two,
brother Fray Francisco de San Nicolás, a native of Cádiz, made a
voyage from Negros to Manila. During that voyage he suffered terrible
storms, escaping as by a miracle. That voyage was on business for
the service of the church, which proves that, in its beginnings, the
Recollects had sown the seeds of the gospel in that territory. In the
year one thousand six hundred and twenty-two, father Fray Jacinto
de San Fulgencio founded the convent which was called Binalgaban,
and which exercised spiritual care over one thousand five hundred
families. The said mission passed to the Society of Jesus. The divine
Goodness wrought some wonderful events for the conversion of this
island of Negros. [One of these is mentioned.]
But that germ was to produce its abundant and wonderful fruits in the
nineteenth century. The observation of the prodigious improvements
which four religious who entered this island with the rich treasure
of religion, to promote the spiritual and material welfare of their
fellows, have been able to produce, was reserved, in the designs of
Providence, for our epoch. By the force of their preaching the Catholic
worship is receiving an increase of a hundredfold; the villages are
dividing, and the parishes are multiplying; the population is assuming
a new character of culture and civilization; those Indians are becoming
affable, industrious, and enterprising; and they are very rapidly
attaining the moral and material recompenses due to their labor.
His Excellency, the most illustrious Don Fray Romualdo Jimeno, bishop
of Cebú, under date of April fifteen, one thousand eight hundred and
forty-eight, represented to the superior government the scarcity
of native priests for supplying the curacies in this province,
petitioning at the same time that the spiritual administration of
the said province be entrusted to one of the excellent orders in
Filipinas. The governor and captain-general, Don Narciso Clavería,
conde de Manila, assented to the proposition of the diocesan,
and entrusted the island of Negros to the province of the Recollect
fathers, by his decree of June twenty, one thousand eight hundred and
forty-eight. The very reverend father-provincial, Fray Joaquin Soriano,
received such an arrangement with due thanks; and immediately sent the
vice-patron his nominations for the curacies of Siaton, Cabancalan,
and Amblan--of which those chosen assumed possession in the following
year, one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
From that date the population has increased greatly. The barrios
have risen to be settled villages, and what were visitas have
become canonically-erected parishes. Agriculture has received a
rapid and enormous impetus; and the uncultivated lands, which
were full of brambles, have been transformed into productive
fields. That most fertile soil yields the rich products of sugar,
abacá, and coffee, and that with an abundance unknown in other
regions of this archipelago. Churches have been built, and convents
for the decent housing of the Spanish priest and the holy functions
of our order. Roads have been built, which have made communication
easy. Solid bridges of great beauty have been constructed; the waters
of the rivers have been taken to fertilize the fields; and in the
neighborhood of the rivers a number of hydraulic machines and steam
engines have been set up, the natural sciences being called in to
adapt their most powerful aid to the work. The natives of this island,
instructed and continually stimulated by their parish priests, have
proved by experience the value of agriculture, when it is favored by
nature and when they coöperate with their labor; and what labor can
do when aided with intelligence that does not become weakened before
troubles, but is directed with untiring constancy and endurance.
[The villages and missions of this province in charge of the Recollects
are as follows: Cagayan, with 1,251 1/2 tributes, and 4,521 souls;
Siaton, with 1,806 tributes, and 8,512 souls; Zamboanguita, with
1,060 tributes, and 4,0150 souls; Dauin, with 1,261 1/2 tributes,
and 5,855 souls; Bacong, with 1,816 1/2 tributes, and 8,020 souls;
Nueva-Valencia, with 1,400 1/2 tributes, and 5,387 souls; Dumaguete,
with 2,806 tributes, and 12,824 souls; Sibulan, with 1,222 1/2
tributes, and 4,817 souls; Amblang, with 1,436 tributes, and 5,744
souls; Tanjay, with 1,941 1/2 tributes, and 9,698 souls; Bais, with
752 1/2 tributes, and 3,204 souls; Manjuyod, with 841 tributes,
and 4,063 souls; Tayasan, with 987 1/2 tributes, and 4,009 souls;
Guijulngan, with 331 tributes and 1,441 souls; Tolong, with 353
tributes; Bayauan, with 51 tributes, and 291 souls; Inayauan, with
95 1/2 tributes, and 316 souls; San Sebastian, with 148 tributes,
and 436 souls; Escalante, with 2,133 1/2 tributes, and 5,429 souls;
Cádiz, with 1,187 1/2 tributes, and 3,842 souls; Saravia, with 2,140
tributes, and 9,825 souls; Minuluan, with 1,854 1/2 tributes, and 9,637
souls; Bacolod, with 1,905 1/2 tributes, and 8,059 souls; Murcia, with
1,400 tributes, and 6,500 souls; Sumag, with 1,179 1/2 tributes, and
3,772 souls; Valladolid, with 2,567 1/2 tributes, and 9,430 souls;
San Enrique, with 1,155 tributes, and 4,463 souls; La-Carlota,
with 1,131 tributes, and 3,068 souls; Pontevedra, with 1,451 1/2
tributes, and 4,683 souls; Ginigaran, with 2,185 1/2 tributes, and
9,728 souls; Isabela, with 832 tributes, and 3,171 souls; Gimamaylan,
with 1,641 tributes, and 6,402 souls; and Cabancalan, with 1,550 1/2
tributes, and 6,449 souls. The missions of Inagauan, San Sebastian,
and Bayauan, were established in 1868, while that of Tolon had been
established in 1855. In the twenty-eight villages above mentioned,
there are about forty Recollect missionaries, who are in charge of
two hundred thousand souls. The fertility of the island of Negros and
the opening up of the country in modern times have caused a great
increase in population from the near-by provinces of Cebú, Bohol,
Iloilo, Antique, and Cápiz. Agriculture has been greatly advanced
and other improvements brought in by the Recollects.]
Province of Calamianes
These islands, located to the south of Manila, form in their multitude
an archipelago. Many of them of small extent, are inhabited; others
are the temporary habitation of the natives, who go thither to sow
their fields, because those lands are suitable for farming; and others
form a civil village and are religiously organized. The northern
boundary of this archipelago is the Chinese Sea; the eastern, that
of Visayas; the southern, the island of Paragua, which is included
in this province; and the western, the Chinese Sea. The capital is
about one hundred leguas from Manila. It has a military government
and an alcalde-mayor for its judicial business. As regards religion,
all the parishes existing in Calamianes belonged to the bishopric
of Cebú from the time of their reduction until the bishopric of Jaro
was erected, when all these parishes passed to its jurisdiction.
In the year one thousand six hundred and twenty-two, the numbers
of the discalced Augustinians were increased by the second and third
missions who had come from España, and by certain men who had taken
the habit in the convent of Manila. Consequently, they were prepared
to undertake new enterprises for the increase of the faith, and to go
to points distant from the metropolis in order to spread the knowledge
of the Christian name to those people who were living in heathendom.
[The early details of this mission have been fully given in previous
volumes. The villages and missions of this province (a number of
which are islands) in charge of the Recollects are as follows: Cuyo,
with 2,392 tributes, and 9,475 souls; Agutaya, with 519 1/2 tributes,
and 2,258 souls; Paragua, with 618 1/2 tributes, and 3,219 souls;
Dumaran, with 785 tributes, and 1,416 souls; Puerto-Princesa, with 573
souls; Culion or Calamian, with 871 1/2 tributes, and 2,438 souls;
and Balabac, with 581 souls. The Recollect martyrs of the province
of Calamianes are as follows: Francisco de Jesus María; Juan de San
Nicolás, 1638; Alonso de San Agustin; Francisco de Santa Mónica,
1638; Juan de San Antonio; Martin de la Ascension; Antonio de San
Agustin, 1658; Manuel de Jesus y María, 1720; Antonio de Santa Ana,
1736. The fathers of this province held in captivity were Onofre de
la Madre de Dios, Juan de San José, Francisco de San Juan Bautista,
and Pedro Gibert de Santa Eulalia.]
Bishopric of Cebu
Province of Cebú
[The Recollects land at Cebú on their first arrival from Spain, and
are later conceded a chapel by Bishop Pedro de Arce near the city,
where they found a convent. We translate:]
... In later times, the edifice has been improved and modified;
the most notable of these changes was that of a few years ago,
which has made the convent larger and more beautiful, thus making it
possible for it to attain its object--namely, the entertainment of
the religious who go to Visayas, and of the sick, who are compelled
to go to Cebú to be cured of their ailments. The church is also very
large, and suitable for the celebration of religious functions with
the solemnity and splendor of the Catholic worship. The faithful of
Cebú and of the immediate village of San Nicolás attend that church, in
order to fulfil the Christian precepts and receive the sacraments. As
there are always religious instructed in the Visayan language, many
devout persons daily frequent the church of the Recollects....
In the beginning of its foundation, this convent had in charge the
spiritual administration of the souls in the island of Maripipi,
by concession of the above-mentioned bishop; but later, through the
force of various circumstances that occurred, the natives of the said
island went to the curacy of Bantayan, and the convent remained free
and without any obligation so far as they were concerned. At present
the religious of the community labor as far as possible in the welfare
of the souls of those near by, moved only by reasons of charity,
and by the greater glory of God, which they seek in its entirety.
[The Recollect villages in this province are as follows: Danao, with
2,797 1/2 tributes, and 13,012 souls; Mandaue, with 2,408 tributes,
and 11,034 souls; Liloan, with 1,385 1/2 tributes, and 6,962 souls;
Consolación, with 982 1/2 tributes, and 4,277 souls; Compostela,
with 3,830 tributes, and 4,856 souls; Catmon, with 965 1/2 tributes,
and 4,988 souls; Carmen, with 4,259 1/2 tributes, and 5,588 souls;
Camotes Islands, with 1,158 tributes, and 5,660 souls; Pilar, with
1,145 1/2 tributes, and 5,600 souls; and San Francisco, with 1,304
tributes, and 5,831 souls.]
Island of Bohol
Situated in the center of the Visayas Islands, and bordered on
its eastern part by the island of Leyte, having the great island of
Mindanao on its southern side, and being very near the island of Cebú
on the north, Bohol formed an integral part of the territory of that
province until the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four,
when a royal order dated July twenty-two was received in which the
creation of the new province of Bohol was decreed.
The true beliefs of our holy order were received in that territory from
the first time of the preaching of the gospel in this archipelago. The
people of Bohol believed in the God of the Christians as quickly as He
was announced to them, and became docile sons of the Catholic church
without opposing that obstinate resistance to the good news which
was experienced in the other islands, and which cost the life of one
of its first apostles. If they remained in their first heathendom,
it had not come to take the gross forms of a corrupted idolatry,
applying the great idea of the divinity to despicable objects. Free
of this inconvenience, when the majesty and grandeur of our God was
manifest to them, they revered His adorable perfections. Even though
there were perverse inclinations in the hearts of those natives,
they were not given to polygamy; and when the holy law of God was
explained to them, and the respect that the sanctity of marriage
(which was elevated by Jesus Christ to the dignity of a sacrament)
merits among Christians, they received these doctrines without any
repugnance, since they were already free from the great obstacles which
perversity and corruption, elevated to their highest power--namely,
to have polytheism and idolatry as their foundation and support--can
present against those doctrines. In the year one thousand five
hundred and ninety-five, the Jesuit fathers, Torres and Sanchez,
[144] came to this island, and very soon established the Catholic
religion in Baclayon. Later, they founded a church and convent in
Loboc; and then went to a site called Talibon, and overran the rest
of the island, where they were able to conquer the difficulties which
presented themselves in the way of submitting to their rule--born
rather of repugnance to the Spaniards than of systematic opposition
to the Christian faith. When Legaspi passed by Bohol and anchored at
Jagna [145] in the year one thousand five hundred and sixty-four, he
already had occasion to observe that same thing; and the explanation
given him by a Moro from Borneo whom he had found there trading, was,
that two years before eight vessels from the Molucas had committed
great outrages, and those pirates had said that they were Castilians;
and since they were of the same color and bore the same arms [as the
Spaniards], the people of Bohol imagined that the Spaniards would
do the same thing to them as the men of the eight Portuguese boats
had done. [146] When Christianity had acquired a great increase in
that island, hell, angered by those spiritual improvements, availed
itself of the instrumentality of certain Moros of Mindanao, in order,
if possible, to choke the seed of the gospel. Knowing that the best
means of attaining that object was to make them rebel against the
Spaniards, who had brought to them the happiness of their souls, hell
stirred up a rebellion which had the same causes, and was invested
with the same forms as the insurrection of Caraga, and was of more
lasting effect. The missionaries having absented themselves in order
to celebrate in Cebú the beatification of St. Francis Javier, which
was celebrated in the year one thousand six hundred and twenty-one,
two or three criminals who were wandering through the mountains seduced
the tribes, as the messengers of the _diguata_ [_i.e._, divinity], to
refuse obedience to the Spaniards, to abandon their settlements, and to
unite together on the heights in groups, to make themselves feared. Of
six villages formed by the Jesuit fathers, only two remained faithful
[147] to the king of España; while the rest took arms against the
constituted authorities, and formed bands which displayed a hostile
attitude in the hills and high places--so that it was necessary to
employ force and violent measures, in order to make them return to
the fulfilment of their duty. Exemplary punishments were inflicted,
which procured a partial result. But that subversive idea was one of
fatal consequences, and produced some pernicious fruits so lasting
that they have come down almost to our own days.
Entrance of the Recollect fathers into the island of Bohol
If in the seventeenth century a rebel voice--which emancipated from
their obedience and respect to the authorities many unthinking
persons, who adhered to the sedition--sounded in the mountains
of Bohol, in the eighteenth century that voice, instead of having
been completely extinguished, had continued to increase. We have
admitted the valiant character of those natives, and granted their
natural aptitude in the use of weapons; concurrent with these were
various other causes which aroused and increased their disaffection,
which had been extended to a very considerable number. Captained by
intrepid leaders--as for example, Dagahoy, Ignacio Arañez, Pedro
Bagio, and Bernardo Sanote--they had formed a body of insurgents
in the mountains of Inabangan and Talibon. That gave the superior
government plenty to think about, because of the many years that
the insurrection was in existence; and because it always continued
to increase until Fathers Lamberti (the missionary of Jagna) and
Morales [148] (of Inabangan) were sacrificed by them, a little
after the middle of the past century. In such condition, then, was
public order in the province of Bohol; and the Spanish name enjoyed
so little respect in that restless and disorganized island when,
inasmuch as the Jesuit fathers had left all the Spanish dominions,
their administration was adjudged to us, in the year one thousand
seven hundred and sixty-eight. Father Pedro de Santa Bárbara was
assigned as cura of Baclayon, and other Recollect religious to the
villages of Loon, Maribohoc, Tagbilaran, Dauis, Jagna, Dimiao, Loboc,
and Inabangan, which are the eight missions existing in that island in
the above-mentioned epoch. A most difficult undertaking was offered
to the zeal and loyalty of the first Recollects who entered Bohol. A
great prudence united with the greatest zeal, great valor with a
knowledge of all the difficulties, and a foresight of all the results,
were necessary to rise superior to that so difficult situation, and to
fulfil their social and religious trust in so delicate circumstances,
as was advisable to the service of religion and the greater dignity of
our country. When the father vicar-provincial of our new ministries,
who was then the cura of Baclayon--a religious of great energy,
of proved zeal, and of not common daring--found himself in peaceful
possession of the spiritual administration of all the reduced villages,
he thought seriously of probing to the bottom the beginning and
progress of the rebellion, its actual condition, and the disposition
of their minds. He established correspondence with the leaders, held
several conferences with them, acquired their utmost confidence,
and succeeded in obtaining the submission of Dagahoy; and the other
leader, Bernardo Sanote, also returned to the service of God and
of his Majesty. The Recollects proceeded with so fine tact to make
themselves masters of the wills of those untamable mountaineers, that,
in a short time after their arrival, they no longer needed an armed
force for the security of their persons--although until then pickets
of soldiers were maintained in nearly all the villages for the defense
of the ministers. Consequently, the soldiers were able to retire from
Loay, Maribohoc, and Loon, but always remained in Inabangan, Jagna,
and Tagbilaran--not for the purpose of protecting the ministering
fathers, but to prevent all devastation and disorder on the part
of those who were not subdued. A general amnesty was granted to all
the delinquents who had taken to the mountains. That produced many
submissions, although it did not wholly extinguish an evil whose roots
were so old, and which responded to so many causes as had contributed
to its growth. Its final consequences lasted until the beginning of
the present century; and when it was believed necessary to obtain
the complete tranquillity of the island and the entire extinction of
the rebels, an expedition was formed in the time of General Ricafort,
composed of one thousand one hundred men--who were enrolled in Cebú,
and were embarked to fulfil their destiny on May eight, in the year
one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven. The governor of Cebú,
Don José Lázaro Cairo, commanded those forces. He was accompanied
by the ex-father-provincial, Fray Miguel de Jesus, parish priest of
Danao; and by father Fray Julian Bermejo, ex-provincial of the calced
Augustinians, parish priest of Boljoon. The outcome of the expedition
was all that could be desired; insubordination ceased to exist in the
interior of Bohol, and the last remnants of the emancipated came to an
end in all parts of the island. The fruits of peace began to appear;
and from that time all the inhabitants, at the same time while they
acquired the habits of obedience and respect, began to experience a
new era of prosperity, and the satisfaction consequent on the social
life. From that time the population has greatly increased; and all
the inhabitants remain faithful to their duties, very respectful to
all authority, and faithful vassals to the king of España.
For more than one century all this island has been under the spiritual
direction of our province. During that time the number of the Catholics
has increased in so prodigious a manner that it has been raised to
a number almost triple what it was when we received it. At that time
it was an integral part of the province of Cebú. At present it forms a
province by itself, and is one of the most populous of the archipelago;
and its people are closely settled and compact, active and industrious,
diligent and laborious.
We received eight missions in this province, which were the eight
regularly organized villages which then existed. Their spiritual
direction occasioned great sorrows to the ministers of that time,
some of these even succumbing as victims to the insolence and
obstinacy of their own children. Today we count one hundred and ten
years of our existence in that district, and we cannot write of those
natives a single page like those of their old history, which was full
of disagreeable, and some horrible, relations--whether because the
Recollects had an understanding of the peculiar dispositions of those
Indians, and the means suitable to gain their respect and obedience;
or whether, perchance, one might say that the people of Bohol have had
sufficient penetration to observe in their conduct certain manners
so considerate and so full of demonstrations of benevolence, which
sentiments of compassion and interest in the adversities and lack of
resources of their parishioners, would cause in the minds of their new
parish priests. Whichever of these may be accepted to explain the long
period of our stay in Bohol, exempt from all trouble, and the steady
increase in our enjoyment of the consideration and confidence of our
protegés, we shall always make known the facts--very surprising and
very gratifying to our corporation--that were already begun to be
observed from the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight,
when the first Recollects went to that island. They were received
without any opposition, obeyed without repugnance, and were loved
and respected; and these mutual relations have continued without any
lapse until the present time.
[The towns of this Recollect province are the following: Loon, with
3,097 1/2 tributes, and 17,202 souls; Calape, with 2,627 tributes,
and 8,187 souls; Tubigon, with 2,109 1/2 tributes, and 10,008 souls;
Inabangan, with 1,568 tributes, and 7,024 souls; Getafe, with 144
tributes, and 3,912 souls; Talibon, with 1,089 tributes, and 8,558
souls; Ubay, with 669 tributes, and 2,844 souls; Candijay, with
738 tributes, and 5,030 souls; Guindulman, with 1,994 1/2 tributes,
and 9,600 souls; Sierra-Bullones, with 541 1/2 tributes, and 2,235
souls; Duero, with 1,175 1/2 tributes, and 5,352 souls; Jagna,
with 2,431 tributes, and 11,829 souls; García-Hernandez, with 1,225
1/2 tributes, and 6,847 souls; Valencia, with 1,307 1/2 tributes,
and 7,099 souls; Dimiao, with 1,717 1/2 tributes, and 8,280 souls;
Lila, with 879 tributes, and 4,023 souls; Carmen, with 749 tributes,
and 3,575 souls; Bilar, with 1,281 1/2 tributes, and 5,669 souls;
Balilijan, with 1,051 1/2 tributes, and 5,998 souls; Catigbian,
with 651 1/2 tributes, and 2,759 souls; Loboc, with 2,469 tributes,
and 11,430 souls; Sevilla, with 996 1/2 tributes, and 4,835 souls;
Loay, with 1,759 tributes, and 8,171 souls; Alburquerque, with 1,191
tributes, and 5,319 souls; Baclayon, with 2,609 tributes, and 11,142
souls; Tagbilaran, with 1,954 tributes, and 11,081 souls; Paminguitan,
with 5,705 souls; island and village of Dauis, with 1,889 tributes, and
9,090 souls; Panglao, with 1,457 tributes, and 6,543 souls; Maribojoc,
with 3,372 tributes, and 18,200 souls; island and village of Siquijor,
with 1,740 tributes, and 7,800 souls; Canoan, with 1,465 tributes,
and 7,082 souls; Laci, with 1,180 1/2 tributes, and 5,403 souls;
and San Juan, with 1,143 tributes, and 5,280 souls.]
The province of Bohol at the present time
After having mentioned in rapid survey the villages of which this
province is at present composed, which are otherwise so many quiet
groups of honest and industrious natives--who form, in the religious
estate, the same number of parishes canonically established, each
one with its own pastor, who is charged to watch over them through
the functions of religion, and to dispense the sacraments and other
benefits of religion to the souls of his respective parish--and
having enumerated the communities that make up the general total of
the population of what is now one of the most populous provinces of
the archipelago: a meditative mind goes back about one century with
the desire of ascertaining the state of the province in that time,
since now we are seeing its condition in our own time. It has been
stated above, in the introduction, that the villages having regular
ministers were eight in number. In regard to canonical legislation
then in force, those ministers had the character of missionaries,
and not of parish priests. They labored in the salvation of souls
with the apostolic zeal generally recognized (and denied by no one),
which is characteristic of the fathers of the Society of Jesus. But
the social state of those natives was a hindrance to the abundant
fruit that ought to be expected from the fervent devotion and charity
of so distinguished missionaries.
The insurrections which took place in Bohol in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries had succeeded in forming a considerable body of
malcontents who raised the banner of rebellion and disorder; and the
disorder at the same time when it destroyed the obedience of most
of their subjects to the authorities, also influenced very directly
the advancement of Catholicism, and gave as a result that all those
who took to the mountains, thus being separated from the immediate
neighborhood of the eight churches then existing, returned to the
habits of heathenism at the same time when they passed to the camp of
freedom. Other things also were added to the causes which diminished
the abundant fruits of the priestly ministry. That coldness of the
people of Bohol toward the Spanish name, observed long before by
Legaspi at the time of the discovery, and certain opposition inspired
by some captious natives who favored but little the very zealous
ministers of Jesus Christ (who were sacrificing their own existence
for the eternal salvation of those souls), placed this territory in
an abnormal condition, taking from it the forces necessary for its
advancement and prosperity. Above all, peacefulness had left those
shores, a loss which made it impossible to give signs of life and
social and religious increase. One hundred and ten years have elapsed
since the discalced Augustinians first entered Bohol. They did not go
there as conquistadors; they did not go to preach the name of Christ
to heathenism and idolatry; they did not go to make new vassals for
the king of España of a people who had not sworn their obedience. The
mission of the Recollect fathers to the island of Bohol was to continue
the tasks of the Jesuit fathers; to preach the divinity of our Lord
Jesus Christ, just as the Jesuits did; and to present themselves to
the observation of those natives in their apostolic and religious
bearing, as worthy imitators of so zealous priests. They also had
the thorny task of inculcating habits of gratitude and obedience in
discontented minds; and of reducing a considerable number of rebels
to the payment of the royal tribute, who had already begun a struggle,
with some pretensions to triumph. The hope of religion and society in
the discalced Augustinians, in the difficult circumstances through
which the island of Bohol was passing when they took charge of its
administration, was that peace would be extended to the remotest
corners of its territory, so that the religious beginnings would have
an efficacious influence on the misguided multitude, and Spanish
authority would completely dominate men and things which had been
separated from its beneficent influence. Facts are demonstrating with
the greatest clearness that the Recollects attained abundantly the
end of all their aspirations. At present we are experiencing that the
reality exceeds the hopes that could animate them when they entered
on their task. The universal harmony that this province enjoys in
the present century, and the state of prosperity in which all the
natives live, as well as the growth of population, and the increase
of culture, religious fervor, and instruction that they enjoy--all
this speaks very loudly in favor of the preaching of the Recollects
in Bohol. These considerations also demonstrate with the greatest
clearness that, even if the Recollects were not its conquistadors,
they are without dispute the instruments employed by Providence for
its political and religious advancement; and that they are with all
propriety the pacifiers and restorers of the beginnings of Christian
society in that island, which was in confusion until that time. As
soon as they entered, a relation of sympathy was established between
them and their protegés, as hidden as it was intimate, by virtue of
which they were enabled to direct all their individual forces to the
attempt at perfection and the improvements that they had planned. As
they always directed these successfully, and were always obeyed with
promptness, they were enabled to realize the material and intellectual
transformation of that district newly entrusted to their care. There
are at present thirty-three parishes in this province, according to
the preceding relation. In each one of them has been erected a Catholic
temple, sufficient in itself alone to give glory to the hand that has
directed it. In all of those parishes there is a parish house--more
or less elegant, but always sufficiently solid and suitable--which
is teaching to the present generation (and the future one also)
the fatigues that the Recollect must have endured who placed the
first stone and finished the work, in each of those parishes (which
are a like number of villages), public halls have been constructed
under the direction of the parish priests. In all of them schools for
both sexes have been erected, where religious instruction is given
to them. Since this exercises its proper influence on the minds of
the youth, it has succeeded in forming the present generation--who
are established in all the beliefs of our true religion, exactly
observant of the practices which it imposes upon them, thankful and
respectful to the ministers of Jesus Christ, and very diligent in
the fulfilment of their social duties, all those who pay tribute to
his Majesty being comprehended in this obligation.
The number of those who paid tribute in this island could not have been
very large in the eight missions that existed when the island came
into our possession, when one considers the state of insubordination
in which that multitude were living, most of whom were separated from
organized society and in revolt in the interior of the territory. In
proportion as it continued to assume its normal state, and commenced
to enjoy the peace that it has at the present time, its population
continued to increase, and in the year one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-eight was more than one hundred thousand souls; in one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, the total of its population was
increased to one hundred and fifty thousand; at present the island
of Bohol, which is a province, has a population of two hundred and
sixty thousand souls. [149]
This prodigious increase of inhabitants in an area so small, and
amid conditions so little advantageous for agriculture, has no other
explanation than the conscientious and constant labor of the regular
parish priests, each of whom notes in his respective parish register
with scrupulous niceness the heights and depths of his district,
without any of the alterations that can modify the statistics of
his village escaping his eye; and who assigns to their respective
dwellings men and women, and youths and old people, with the correct
date of their birth. From this patriotic labor it results that the
obligations of the royal treasury are satisfied by all the people of
Bohol at the moment when they become of proper age.
Reflecting upon the advantageous conditions by which the character
of those peoples has been modified, and how they have been completely
withdrawn from those untamable and savage forms of life which lasted
until the last century, and that they have at present become fond
of work, respectful to authority, and grateful in their social
intercourse, we can infer that the ministers of the order who
are at present watching over the necessities of their souls are
laboring tirelessly in the confessional, are preaching the word
of God without cessation, and are consoling the sick in their most
remote dwellings. In the midst of so many lofty occupations of the
religious ministry, the Recollects have been able to study even the
physical necessities of their protegés, and the ingenious manner
of making these lighter. To their direction is owing the different
industries proceeding from the products of the earth, which, prepared
and elaborated with due intelligence, furnish other kinds of business,
permitted and honorable, which afford abundant means for the life
and support of those natives. If agriculture does not furnish most
abundant products, because of the nature of the soil in Bohol, those
natives do not for that reason sleep in inactivity; they go to seek
their living where they can find it. They do not abhor work, which
is the true fount of all means of subsistence. They undertake voyages
by land and sea, with the praiseworthy purpose of making their living
by virtue of their fatigues and labors. This is the exact description
of the inhabitants of Bohol; and this is what has been obtained from
those people (from whom religion and the country expected so little)
by the province of San Nicolás de Tolentino, by means of the worthy
children of its bosom whom it sent to that land, and through those
who have continued, furthered, and perfected the arduous attempt at
the culture and civilization of those natives....
The Recollects of Mindanao
[The entrance of the Recollects into Mindanao, and the earlier years
of their preaching there, have been already given in preceding volumes
of this series.]
Division of parishes in Mindanao
Although it is clear that the fathers of the Society of Jesus entered
this land in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-six to
procure its spiritual conquest, by permission of the cabildo governing
the vacant see of Manila, and that the call of the gospel resounded in
the site Tampacan [misprinted Jampacan], when our soldiers retired the
fathers of the Society had to do the same. In the year one thousand
five hundred and ninety-nine, the Observantine Augustinians took
this vineyard in their charge, and father Fray Francisco Xaraba [150]
went to cultivate it with a companion; but undeceived, [and seeing]
that only war could open the way for their preaching, because of
the exceeding ferocity of the people, they abandoned the undertaking
and returned to Cebú. The missionaries of the Society returned [to
Mindanao], and preached on the river of Butuan; and those who were
then converted by them formed a visita of a village in Bohol.
After the deed of arms above mentioned, the Recollect missionaries,
with the necessary permits from the bishop and the royal vice-patron,
founded the first convent and village of Tandag, and then the convent
and village of Jigaquit; a third village and convent on the river of
Butuan, whence they continued their conquests and went up the river
of Butuan to the interior of the island, to a lake called Linao; and
the fourth village and convent, fifty leguas from Butuan. Then they
went to Cagayan, [151] where they also founded a church and convent;
whence they crossed to the island of Camiguin, where they did the same;
and lastly in the island of Surigao and Bislig. Eight settlements,
perfectly organized in the social order, with churches suitable for the
public worship of our true religion, with convenient buildings for the
habitation of their ministers--where they could practice the exercises
of the monastic life, and whence issued the splendors of their edifying
holiness to illumine the dark shades of idolatry and paganism, served
as the original basis for the spread of the faith. After that, they
continued to found many other villages dependent on the first, which
were then considered as visitas or subject villages. Some of those
villages came in later times to be the residences of our Recollect
ministers, according to the available number of religious that the
corporation possessed, or according as the necessities or growth of
population in the said subject villages demanded.
Our predecessors also succeeded in getting to the lake of Malanao,
and the village of Iligan, and Bayug. As there were certain questions
regarding the spiritual jurisdiction, his Majesty defined them,
marking out the limits of religious zeal between the two families
(who were equally inflamed with the desire for the salvation of
souls), by drawing a line from the point of Suloguan to the cape of
San Agustin, and assigning the administration on its western side
to the most religious fathers of the Society of Jesus, while our
peaceful possession was marked on the eastern side. Lastly, when
the reverend Jesuit fathers left the islands, the administration of
Zamboanga was adjudged to us in the year one thousand seven hundred
and sixty-eight, as well as the villages of Lubungan, Dapitan, and
Misamis (and consequently their barrios--some of which, as time went
on, came to be villages).
Present administration of the Recollects
Her Majesty Doña Isabel II decreed the establishment of the house of
Loyola on October nineteen, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two,
with permission to go to the missions of Mindanao and Joló. September
ten, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, another royal order
was issued, declaring that the missionaries of the Society of Jesus
have exclusive rights in the planting and successive development of
the effective missions in Mindanao; and that the same were to take
charge of the administration of the curacies and missions already
reduced by the Recollect Augustinian religious as fast as these were
vacated by the death or transfer of those who serve them with canonical
collation or under title of temporary incumbent. Her Majesty, desiring
at the same time to concede an indemnification, and to give proof of
the appreciation with which she views the services bestowed on the
Church and on the state by the above-mentioned Augustinian religious,
has been pleased to grant to the province of San Nicolás de Tolentino
the administration of the curacies of the province of Cavite or of
the diocese of Manila which are served by the native clergy.
May nineteen, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, another
royal order was issued, dictating instructions for the compensation
of curacies accorded to the province of San Nicolás de Tolentino
in return for those in Mindanao which they were to surrender to
the Jesuit missionaries. In that order it was decided that in every
certified instance of a vacancy in Mindanao, and its surrender to and
occupation by the Jesuit fathers, indemnification therefor was to be
made to the Recollect fathers, in Cavite and the diocese of Manila,
with the curacy which might be vacant at that time, even if it were
in charge of a temporary incumbent; and if there were more than one
curacy vacant, then the wishes of the vice-patron were to be followed,
after first hearing the very reverend archbishop, the provincial of
the order, and the council of administration. Should there not be any
curacy vacant, then [indemnification was to be made] with the first
which should become vacant. As obedient subjects to the orders of her
Majesty, from that date we relinquished, in the same order in which
they fell vacant, the ministries that we held in Mindanao; and we
handed over Zamboanga, Tetuan, Lubungan, Dapitan, Butuan, Surigao,
Jigaquit, Davao, Bislig, Cattabato, Mainit, Dinagat, Balingasag,
Alubijid. In exchange we received the curacies in the district of
Morong--namely, Antipolo and Taytay; the village of La Hermita, in
the province of Manila; Calauan, in Laguna; Cavite port, and Rosario,
in the province of Cavite; Boac, in the island of Marinduque; and the
villages of Rosario, Santo Tomás, Balayan, and Lobo, in the province
of Batangas. The sacrifice made by the Recollect corporation by ceding
parishes created by it and watered with the sweat and blood of its
most eminent members, nourished by the doctrine of apostolic men to
be revered by us, and very worthy of our imitation, is equal to the
respect with which the Recollects have always received the orders of
their august monarchs, and to the obedience and adhesion with which
they have always served in this archipelago as Catholic priests,
and in the shade of our Spanish banner.
[The Recollect villages still in Mindanao are as follows: Tandag,
with 1,783 1/2 tributes, and 3,957 souls; Cantilan, with 189 1/2
tributes, and 7,366 souls; Cabuntog, with 990 tributes, and 3,731
souls; Numancia, with 862 1/2 tributes, and 3,366 souls; Cagayan,
with 2,585 1/2 tributes, and 11,499 souls; Jasaan, with 1,2821
1/2 tributes, and 5,878 souls; Iponan, with 1,078 1/2 tributes,
and 5,570 souls; Alubijid, with 1,210 tributes, and 4,989 souls;
Iligan, with 1,098 tributes, and 4,577 souls; Misamis, with 1,561
1/2 tributes, and 6,419 souls; Jimenez, with 2,178 1/2 tributes, and
8,616 souls; Catarman, with 1,202 tributes, and 5,105 souls; Sagay,
with 1,218 tributes, and 5,482 souls; Mambajao, with 1,684 tributes,
and 5,246 souls; and Mahinog, with 1,037 tributes, and 4,382 souls. In
the time of La Concepción (_ca._ 1750), the Recollects had charge
of thirty-six villages in Mindanao and dependent islands; in 1852,
they had charge of eighteen, and were showing rapid increase when
they were ordered to transfer them to the Jesuits. The martyrs and
captives of the Recollects in Mindanao are as follows: Juan de la
Madre de Dios, killed 1723; Brother Juan de San Nicolás, martyred;
Jacinto de Jesus y Maria, martyred; Alonso de San José, killed 1631;
Juan de Santo Tomás, killed 1631; Pedro de San Antonio, killed July
21, 1631; Agustín de Santa María, killed May 16, 1651; Lorenzo de
San Facundo, captured 1635; Hipólito de San Agustin, captured May 20,
1740; Antonio del Santo Cristo, captured 1754; Estéban de San José,
killed by Moros, March 28, 1764; José de Santa Teresa, killed in combat
with Moros in 1770; and José de la Santísima Trinidad, captured 1774.]
Marianas Islands
[These islands were in charge of the Jesuits, but after the expulsion
of the Society were given to the Recollects, who had them in charge
during 1768-1814, when they abandoned them because of their few
laborers. The Recollects reassumed that field in 1819, and in 1879
had there seven priests.]
_Tables showing tributes and number of souls in Recollect provinces
and villages, at various times_
_In 1751, as published by father Fray Juan de la Concepción_
Regular
Villages and provinces Tributes Souls ministers
San Sebastian 96 366 1
Mariveles 643 2,005 3
Pampanga 74 783 2
Zambales 1,851 7,678 8
Mindoro 1,540 10,912 5
Calamianes 1,717 5,148 5
Romblon 1,220 1/2 5,808 3
Masbate 619 2,950 2
Ticao 367 1,550 1
Cebú 330 1,500 3
Caraga 3,340 14,995 5
Curregidorship of Iligan 1,167 4,970 4
Total 12,955 1/2 58,665 42
_In 1839, by the prior provincial, father Fray Blás de las Mercedes_
Regular
Provinces Tributes Souls ministers
Tondo 1,777 1/2 8,498 2
Cavite 2,277 1/2 12,228 1
Pampanga 744 5,781 2
Zambales 4,171 1/2 19,997 6
Mindoro 1,400 1/2 6,675 3
Capiz 1,793 9,544 2
Calamianes 2,959 1/2 15,342 5
Cebú 22,285 123,503 20
Misamis 5,046 36,591 7
Caraga 6,140 29,292 5
Zamboanga -- 5,704 1
Marianas -- 6,982 3
Total 48,594 1/2 278,137 57
_In 1851, by the prior provincial, father Fray Juan Félix de la
Encarnacion_
Regular
Provinces Tributes Souls ministers
Tondo 2,397 1/2 11,906 2
Cavite 2,858 15,271 1
Bataan 1,099 1/2 4,424 1
Zambales 10,204 1/2 44,558 10
Pampanga 1,289 1/2 6,087 1
Mindoro 1,972 1/2 8,346 5
Capiz 2,640 12,519 3
Calamianes 3,251 1/2 16,031 4
Cebú 34,299 186,028 24
Island of Negros 6,571 1/2 30,391 8
Zamboanga 1,552 8,220 2
Misamis 6,936 42,334 10
Caraga 6,012 23,480 5
Nueva-Guipúzcoa 1,696 1/2 7,330 2
Marianas -- 8,435 2
Total 82,762 430,360 80
_In 1878, by the prior provincial, father Fray Aquilino Bon de San
Sebastian_
Regular
Provinces Tributes Souls ministers
Archbishop of Manila
Manila 5,083 19,029 3
District of Morong 3,553 1/2 11,982 2
Cavite 18,525 1/2 65,558 9
Laguna 957 1/2 2,734 1
Batangas 13,331 54,142 4
Pampanga and Tarlac 3,644 15,004 4
Bataan 1,955 6,749 3
Zambales 23,058 1/2 92,975 19
Mindoro 7,806 1/2 28,592 6
Bishopric of Jaro
Romblon 7,136 32,661 7
Island of Negros 43,870 178,937 34
Calamianes 5,186 1/2 21,861 7
Bishopric of Cebú
Cebú 14,214 1/2 67,808 10
Bohol 52,600 1/2 255,706 35
Misamis 14,925 62,746 10
Surigao 3,744 14,463 3
Bislig 1,783 1/2 7,571 1
Marianas -- 8,125 6
Total 221,375 946,643 164
[A note at the end of the volume states that the Recollects of the
province of San Nicolás of the Philippine Islands numbered, in 1879,
1,004 deceased friars who had labored there.]
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION IN FILIPINAS
[The following account is obtained from _Archipiélago filipino_
(prepared by the Jesuit fathers at Manila; Washington, 1900), ii,
pp. 258-267.]
The progressive increase of Catholics in Filipinas until 1898
In order to understand the present condition of the Catholic
religion in Filipinas (we refer to the year 1896, before the Tagál
insurrection), it will be advisable to place before the eyes of the
reader the growth of the Christian population and the increase of
the faithful from the coming of the Spaniards until the present time.
The number of inhabitants whom the Spaniards encountered at their
arrival in these islands is not known with exactness, but it is
calculated by some historians as below two millions; and it will not
be imprudent to affirm that they all scarcely reached one and one-half
millions--whether idolaters, who admitted the plurality of gods; or
Moros, who although they professed (as they still profess) the unity
of God, did not believe (as they still do not believe) the divinity
of Jesus Christ, but who have, on the contrary, been instructed from
their earliest years by their parents and pandits to hate Christianity.
The Spanish missionaries arrived, then, and began the work of
evangelization at the same time as the humanitarian undertaking to
reduce them to a civilized life; for most of the Indians and Moros
were living in scattered groups along the coasts, and in the fields
and thickets in small settlements.
What was the result of their apostolic labors? Let us see. Father
Fray Juan Francisco de San Antonio, [152] chronicler of the Franciscan
missionaries, gives us the following data:
_General summary of souls, reckoning only the natives that were reduced
to Christianity throughout the archipelago of Filipinas in 1735_
In 142 villages in charge of the seculars
throughout this archipelago 131,279
Calced Augustinians (in more than 150 villages) 241,806
Order of St. Dominic (in 51 villages) 89,752
The Society of Jesus (in 80 villages) 170,000
Augustinian Recollects (in 105 villages) 63,149
Discalced Franciscans (in 63 villages) 141,196
Total 837,182
Father Delgado, who wrote in the year 1750, gives almost the same
statistics, but adds the following:
"I do not doubt that the souls that are ministered to, throughout the
islands of this archipelago, by secular and regular priests, exceed
one million and many thousands in addition; for, in the lists made by
the ministers, the children still below the age of seven years are
neither entered nor enumerated. Accordingly, I shall base my count
on the enumeration made a few years ago."
In the work entitled _Estado de las Islas Filipinas_, written by Don
Tomás de Comyn in 1820, and translated into English by William Walton
in 1821, the following is contained as an appendix:
Recapitulation of population in Filipinas
Total number of Indians of both
sexes (Catholics) 2,395,687
Total number of Sangley mestizos
(Catholics) 119,719
Total number of Sangleys or Chinese 7,000
Total number of whites 4,000
Total population 2,526,406
Comparison of the population in 1791 and 1810, exclusive
1791 1810 Difference
Number of Indians 1,582,761 2,395,687 812,926
Number of mestizos 66,917 119,719 52,802
Total 1,649,678 2,515,406 865,728
He concludes by saying:
"The resultant difference of the foregoing comparison, founded on
public documents, shows an excess of fifty-two per cent of increase
in each eighteen years; and if a like proportion continues, the
population of the Filipinas Islands will be doubled in thirty-four
years--an increase which could be judged incredible if we did not
have an extraordinary example in Filadelfia [_i.e._, Philadelphia],
which has doubled its population in twenty-eight years, as Buffon,
supported by the authority of Doctor Franklin, affirms."
The above assertion of Comyn has been realized now in all exactness,
if we are to judge by the assertions, in his published works, of Don
Felipe de Pan, a studious newspaper man of Manila; for, according to
that writer, the population of Filipinas exceeded 9,000,000 in 1876.
Ferreiro, secretary of the Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid [_i.e._,
"Geographical Society of Madrid"], also calculated the population of
Filipinas in 1887 at 9,000,000 approximately, a number which seems
to be somewhat above actual fact.
In an investigation finished in the last quarter of 1894, the
population of the archipelagoes which composed the general government
of Filipinas appears in the following form:
Christian parish population 6,414,373
In concealment [_i.e._, refugees] 128,287
Regular and secular clergy 2,651
Indian and Spanish military 21,513
Those in asylums [_asilados_] 689
Criminals [_penados_] 702
Chinese foreigners 74,504
White foreigners 1,000
Moros 309,000
Heathen 880,000
Total 7,832,719
Finally, the secretary's office of the archbishopric of Manila offers
us the following enumeration with respect to the Catholics existing
in the archipelagoes of Filipinas, Marianas, and Carolinas, in the
year 1898, according to the following lists:
Number of souls by dioceses
In the archbishopric of Manila 1,811,445
In the bishopric of Cebú 1,748,872
In the bishopric of Jaro 1,310,754
In the bishopric of Nueva Segovia 997,629
In the bishopric of Nueva Cáceres 691,298
Total number of Catholics 6,559,998
To whom is due this increase of Catholicism, and this growth of the
population of Filipinas in general, from the time of the conquest by
the Spaniards? It is due to the regular and secular clergy. One can
scarcely ascribe any importance to the immigration into Filipinas
during the lapse of years. The Chinese, and the Europeans (including
the Spaniards themselves), can be considered, as a general rule,
as birds of passage, who come to live here for a few years and then
return to their own country. The Filipino population has increased,
thanks to the organization and good government at the centers [of
population], which were established chiefly by missionary action,
at the time when the natives of the evangelized territories became
Christians. The secular power, even when aided by arms, has not even
attempted to form villages of the heathen; neither have the military
posts become well populated or stable settlements. The center of
attraction and of coherence in Filipino villages has always been,
and is still, the church and the convent. The parish priest (who is
not a bird of passage) is, as a rule, the most respected authority,
the chief guarantee of order and peace, and the most careful guardian
of morality--an indubitable and most important cause of increase in the
population of every country. The numerous and important settlements,
which have now other powerful roots and elements of cohesion, began and
were formed thus. If the center of union of which we are speaking be
removed from them, especially if they are recent and young, one will
see how families break up, and how the new citizens easily return to
the life of the mountain.
Present state of the archbishopric of Manila, and of the bishoprics
of Cebú, Jaro, Nueva Cáceres, and Nueva Segovia
In order to feed this flock of six and one-half millions of Catholics,
the church of Filipinas relies on one archbishop and four bishops.
The present archbishop of Manila is Don Fray Bernardino Nozaleda,
of the Order of St. Dominic, a wise and prudent prelate, who took
possession of his see October 29, 1890. This archdiocese has a
magnificent cathedral, and possesses a considerable cabildo, which was
composed of twenty-four prebends in the time of Spanish domination. The
ecclesiastical court has its offices in the archiepiscopal palace. The
conciliar seminary is a fine edifice, and is in charge of the
fathers of the congregation of St. Vincent de Paul; [153] but it is
at present closed, because of the condition of war prevailing in the
country. The _obras pias_ of the miter amounted before the revolution
to a considerable fund, and are in charge of an administrator. The
archbishopric of Manila has 219 parishes, 24 mission parishes, 16
active missions, 259 parish priests or missionaries, and 198 native
secular priests for the aid of the parish priests.
Don Fray Martín de García de Alcocer, of the Order of St. Francis,
governs the diocese of Cebú. He is a very worthy prelate, and is
greatly beloved by all his diocesans. He took possession of his
diocese December 11, 1886. There is an old cathedral in Cebú, and
another new one was erected when the revolution was begun. That city
has, also, a conciliar seminary in charge of the Paulist fathers,
and two hospitals subordinate to the miter. The diocese numbers 166
parishes, 15 mission parishes, 32 active missions, 213 parish priests
or missionaries, and 125 native clergy.
By the death of Don Fray Leandro Arrué, which happened in 1897,
Don Fray Mauricio Ferrero, an ex-provincial of the religious of the
Order of the Augustinian Recollects, has just been appointed bishop
of Jaro. The bishopric of Jaro possesses a cathedral church, which
is also the parish church of the city of Jaro; and it has a court
corresponding to it, and a seminary under the management of the
Paulist fathers. In the diocese there are 144 parishes, 23 mission
parishes, 33 active missions, 200 parish priests or missionaries,
and 73 native clergy employed in the parish ministry.
The diocese of Nueva Cáceres has as Bishop Don Fray Arsenio del Campo,
of the Order of St. Augustine, who took possession of his see June 3,
1888. Although it, like the dioceses of Cebú, Jaro, and Nueva Segovia,
has no cabildo, nevertheless there is a cathedral church in Nueva
Cáceres, an ecclesiastical court, a conciliar seminary in charge of
the Paulist fathers, and a leper hospital. The bishopric of Nueva
Cáceres has 107 parishes, 17 parish missions, 124 parish priests or
missionaries, and 148 native priests.
The present bishop of Nueva Segovia is Don Fray José Hevia Campomanes,
a religious of the Order of St. Dominic--who is most fluent in the
Tagál language, and had been, for many years before, parish priest
of Binondo, which parish he enriched with a fine cemetery. He took
possession of his see June 19, 1890, but was made a prisoner at the
outbreak of the revolution; and he still lies, as these lines are
penned, under the heavy chains of captivity, and not always treated
as his holy character, his authority, and his personal qualities
merit. [154] The diocese of Nueva Segovia has 110 parishes, 26 parish
missions, 35 active missions, 171 parish priests or missionaries, and
131 native priests. The ecclesiastical court resides in Vigan, where
there is also a cathedral church; and a conciliar seminary which has
been, until the present, directed by the religious of St. Augustine.
Condition of the religious corporations
The corporation of calced Augustinian fathers owned, before the
revolutionary movement, the magnificent convent and church of San
Agustín in Manila, and those of Cebú and Guadalupe, and the orphan
asylums of Tambóbong and Mandaloyan; and in España the colleges
of Valladolid, Palma de Mallorca, and Santa María de la Vid,
with the royal monastery of the Escorial, and the hospitium of
Barcelona--besides a mission in China. Its total number of religious
was 644.
The corporation of Augustinian Recollect fathers owned (also before
the war) in Filipinas their convent and church of Manila, together with
those of Cavite, San Sebastián, and Cebú, and the house and estate of
Imus; and in España the colleges of Monteagudo, of Marcilla, and of San
Millán de la Cogulla--the total number of their religious being 522.
The religious of the Order of St. Francis possess in the Filipinas
their convent and church of Manila, that of San Francisco del Monte,
the hospital of San Lázaro, the church of the venerable tertiary order
at Sampáloc, the hospitium of San Pascual Bailón, the infirmary of
Santa Cruz of Laguna, a leper hospital in Camarines, the college
of Guinobatan, and the monastery of Santa Clara; and in España,
the colleges of Pastrana, Consuegra, Arenas de San Pedro, Puebla de
Montalbán, Almagro, and Belmonte, with the residence of Madrid; also a
college in Roma--and a total of 475 religious, and 34 religious women.
The religious of the Order of St. Dominic, besides their missions of
China and Formosa, own in Manila the convent and church of St. Dominic,
the university of Santo Tomás, the college of Santo Tomás, that of San
José, and that of San Juan de Letran; the college of San Alberto Magno
in Dagupan, the vicariate of San Juan del Monte, and that of San Telmo
in Cavite; the beaterio of Santa Catalina de Sena in Manila, for girls;
that of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Lingayén, that of Santa Imelda in
Tuguegarao, and that of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Vigan, also for
the education of girls; and in España the two colleges of Santo Domingo
de Ocaña and Santo Tomás de Avila--with a total of 528 religious.
The missionaries of the Society of Jesus own in Manila a central
mission house, the Ateneo [_i.e._, Athenæum] Municipal, the normal
school, and a meteorological observatory. They administer 37 missions,
with 265 visitas or reductions, in Mindanao, Basilan, and Joló. The
total number of Jesuits resident in Filipinas was only 164; but the
province of Aragón, of which the mission forms a part, owns several
training-houses, colleges, and residences in España, besides those
which it maintains in South America.
The fathers of the Mission, or those of St. Vincent de Paul, own the
house of San Marcelino in Manila, and the conciliar seminary of that
city, with those of Cebú, Jaro, and Nueva Cáceres.
The Capuchin missionaries have the church and mission-house of Manila,
the mission of Yap in the western Carolinas, that of Palaos, that of
Ponapé in the eastern Carolinas, and the procuratorial house of Madrid
[155]--the total number of their religious being 36.
The Benedictine missionaries occupy the central mission house of
Manila; the missions of Taganaán, Cantilan, Gigáquit, Cabúntog,
Numancia, and Dinágit, in Mindanao; and a college for missionaries
in Monserrat (España). There are 14 of them resident in these islands.
Lastly, there are, besides the religious who live in Filipinas,
several houses of religious women, some of whom are dedicated to a
contemplative life, as those of St. Clare; others to teaching, as those
of the Asunción [_i.e._, "Assumption"], the Dominicans, and the Beatas
of the Society; and others, finally, in the exercise of benevolence,
as the Sisters of Charity or of St. Vincent de Paul, who have charge
of the hospitals--although the latter also dedicate themselves, with
great benefit, to the teaching of young women in the seminaries of
Concordia, Santa Isabel, Santa Rosa, the municipal school, Loban,
the hospitium of San José of Jaro, and Santa Isabel of Nueva Cáceres.
Religious spirit of the country
After this statistical religious summary, we cannot resist our desire
to explain, although briefly, what is at present and definitively
the character or qualities of the religious spirit reigning in this
country--which owes everything that it is, aside from the purely
natural elements, to the Catholic civilization of España. This point
is, on another side, very pertinent to the whole subject.
It is not to be doubted, then, that the mass of the natives who have
received the direct influence of Spanish civilization are entirely
Catholic. The heathen natives are yet barbarous or semi-barbarous;
and the Moros, besides being without the civilization of the Christian
Indians, do not retain either, from the merely external Mahometanism,
more than their innate pride and treachery, and some few formalities,
known and practiced by a very few of their race. Those in Filipinas
who profess, or say that they profess, any other positive religion
(and more especially any other Christian religion), distinct from
the Catholic, will be found absolutely only among the foreign
element. Therefore, Catholicism is the religion, not only of the
majority, but of all the civilized Filipinos.
It is also certain that the Filipinos are sincere Catholics. Their
religion suits them, and is congenial to their nature. They practice
it spontaneously, and profess it openly and publicly, without any
objection. Far from all their minds is the most remote suspicion that
Catholicism is not the true and only religion capable of bringing
about their temporal and eternal happiness. All of these Indians are by
nature docile to the teachings and admonitions of their parish priests
and spiritual fathers. Many good people approach the holy sacraments
easily and frequently; and the fact that many others do not approach or
frequent them so often must be attributed to neglect, to heedlessness,
or to real difficulties, but never to aversion. The ceremonies and the
solemnity of the worship attract them very powerfully, and so do the
popular Catholic exhibitions of great feasts and processions. They
display without any objection, but rather with great pleasure, the
pious objects and insignia of any devotion or pious association to
which they belong; and in many places the women wear the scapular or
rosary around the neck as a part or complement of their dress. It may
be said that there is no house or family, however poor it be, that
does not have a domestic altar or oratory. There are some careless
Christians among the Filipino people, vicious and scandalous because
of their evil habits; there are even some who are ignorant of the most
necessary things of their religion: but there are no unbelievers or
impious ones among them--unless some few, relatively insignificant in
number, who have become vitiated and corrupted in foreign countries,
and afterward have returned to their country. Even these latter have
hitherto, because of a certain feeling of shame that they retain,
taken care not to let that change be seen, except among irreligious
associates or those of another form of worship. Finally, the tertiary
orders, brotherhoods, and pious and devotional associations, old and
new, have always had a great number of individuals enrolled in the
Filipinas, and even constant and fervent affiliated members.
The Catholic religion, always holy and sanctifying, works in those
who adopt it, according to the natural or acquired disposition of
the same. Thus it is that the defects of character in the Indians,
if they are frequently moderated, thanks to the religion that they
profess, wholly disappear but with difficulty, and generally even
have some influence on the private life and religious character of
the natives. Since they are, therefore, more superficial and more
impressionable to new things than those of other races, they would
perhaps be less constant in their Catholic practices, sentiments,
and convictions, and would feel more easily than do others the evil
influences of false doctrines and worships, if they had experience with
these. They are readily inclined to superstitions, now by their former
bad habits, now by their nearness to and communication with those
who are yet heathen, now by their exceedingly puerile imagination,
and by their nature, which is influenced by their surroundings.
This we believe is, in broad lines, the religious character of the
Indians of Filipinas. Let us now see what has been said recently
also in regard to this same point by another contemporaneous witness,
with whom we almost entirely agree. Mr. Peyton, a Protestant bishop,
said, when speaking of Catholicism in the Filipinas, at a meeting
of the Protestant bishops of the Episcopal church held at St. Louis
(United States), in the month of last October: "I found a magnificent
church in every village. I was present at mass several times, and the
churches were always full of natives--even when circumstances were
unfavorable, because of the military occupation. There are almost no
seats in those churches, while the services last--an hour, or an hour
and a half. Never in my life have I observed more evident signs of
profound devotion than in those there present. The men were kneeling,
or prostrated before the altar; and the women were on their knees,
or seated on the floor. No one went out of the church during the
service, or talked to others. There is no spirit of sectarianism
there. All have been instructed in the creed, in the formal prayers,
in the ten commandments, and in the catechism. All have been baptized
in infancy. [156] I do not know whether there exists in this country
a village so pure, moral, and devout as is the Filipino village."
Granting the above, would freedom of worship be advisable for
Filipinos?
Since, then, the religion in Filipinas, and consequently their morals,
is so unanimous, would it be advisable to introduce freedom of worship
into this country? If one understands by freedom of worship only
actual religious toleration, by virtue of which no one can be obliged
to profess Catholicism, and no one be persecuted for neglecting to be
a Catholic, or that each one profess privately the religion that he
pleases, that freedom has always existed in Filipinas; and no Filipino
or foreigner was ever obliged to embrace the Catholic religion. But
if one understands by freedom of worship the concession to all
religions (for example, to those of Confucius, Mahomet, and to all the
Protestant sects) of equal rights to open schools, erect churches,
create parishes, and celebrate public processions and functions,
as does the Catholic church, we believe that not only is this not
advisable, but that it would be a fatal measure to any government
which rules the destinies of Filipinas. If, in fact, this government
should concede such freedom of worship, it would cause itself to be
hated by the six and one-half millions of Filipino Catholics; for,
even though such government should profess no worship, the Filipino
people would consider it as responsible for all the consequences of
such a measure; and therefore it would not be looked on favorably
by these six and one-half millions of Catholics. These people are
fully convinced that theirs is the only true religion, and the only
one by which they can be saved. If any government should endeavor to
despoil them of that religion--which is their most precious jewel,
and the richest inheritance which they have received from their
ancestors--even should it be no more than permitting the Protestant
or heterodox propaganda publicly and openly, then they could not
refrain from complaint; and from that might even come the disturbance
of public order, or perhaps some politico-religious war, accompanied
by all the cruelty and all the disasters which, as are well known,
are generally brought on by such wars.
Two serious difficulties can be opposed against the rights of
Catholicism in Filipinas. The first is in the Americans who
are governing at present, and the second is in the Filipinos
themselves. The Americans enjoy in America the most complete freedom
of worship; why, then, should they not enjoy that same freedom when
they go to Filipinas? We answer, that every inhabitant must conform
to the laws of the country in which he lives. The Chinese enjoyed
in China the most complete freedom to erect temples to Buddha or
to Confucius; but for three centuries they have not enjoyed a like
freedom in Manila, although no Chinese has been forced to become a
Catholic. We go farther and say that no Chinese has had to boast of
his religion in order to trade, become rich, and return to China. The
same can be said of the English and Americans. If it is necessary
for the good order and government of six and one-half millions
of Catholics in Filipinas, besides those who are not Catholics
(one and one-half millions, counting idolaters and Moros yet to
be civilized), not to permit or encourage freedom of worship, the
government which rules the destiny of these islands ought to legislate
along those lines, since the laws ought to be adjusted to the needs
of the majority of their inhabitants. The Americans themselves who
shall take up their residence here ought to accommodate themselves
to that law. No temporal or spiritual harm would result to them,
for they could privately profess what their conscience dictated to
them as the true religion. Thus the English do in Malta, where the
Catholic religion is in force; and although the island is so small,
there are two thousand Italian Catholic priests in it, who are more
content to live under the English government than under the Italian.
The other difficulty against Catholicism in Filipinas springs from the
Filipino insurgents themselves, who voted for freedom of worship and
separation from the Spanish church in their congress of Malolos. [157]
Why, then, has not that freedom of worship been granted to the
Filipinos, if they themselves ask it? We reply that they also ask
for independence. Will the Americans grant them the latter because of
that fact? The majority of the Filipino insurgent chiefs were inclined
to Masonry. They had bound themselves, for a long time past, to work
for the expulsion of the friars; and, drunk with the wine of liberty,
they asked for every kind of freedom, including that of religion. How
many insurgents have abjured Catholicism? Their number does not exceed
two dozen. The law of freedom of worship is unnecessary for them,
since they profess no religion. The Filipino people--that is to say,
the six and one-half millions of Catholics enrolled in the parish
registers--do not ask or desire religious freedom, or separation
from the Spanish church. They are content with their Catholicism,
and desire nothing else; and they will not suffer their government to
take from them their Catholic unity. We have heard this from qualified
and accredited defenders of Filipino independence. They even deny
that the vote at Malolos was the true expression of the will of that
congress, which was also very far from being the entire and genuine
representation of the Filipino people. The latter hold heresies, and
all manner of religious disturbance, in horror. He who would introduce
these into their homes would offer them an insult. Consequently, it
is demonstrated that freedom of worship in Filipinas is not advisable,
but adverse to the public peace.
If it is said finally, that there are some points of public interest
which demand some reform, in what pertains to the religious estate of
the Filipinas, we shall not be the ones to deny that. But the Church
has the desire and the means to remedy these supposed or recognized
evils. If, peradventure, it do not remedy them through ignorance,
let anyone who is interested, and the government of the country first
of all, bring them to its notice. On the other hand, this matter has
no connection with religious freedom.
[From the same work (pp. 256, 257) is taken the following mention
of the religious orders who recently established themselves in the
Philippines:]
In all the dioceses the bishops looked after the founding of seminaries
for the native clergy, not only because such were needed to aid in
the administration of the sacraments in the large parishes created
by the religious, but also for the occupation of some parishes which
were reserved for them from very ancient times.
The fathers of the congregation of St. Vincent de Paul, the Capuchins,
and the Benedictines, come to the islands
For the direction of some of these seminaries, the sons of St. Vincent
de Paul came from España in 1862, together with the brothers of
charity, who took charge of the attendance of the sick in the
hospitals, and of the teaching of young women.
The Capuchin fathers also came to these islands in the year 1886,
for the purpose of taking charge of the missions of both Carolinas
and Palaos, a duty which they have fulfilled marvelously, and not
without the sacrifice of all human ambitions--burying themselves
forever in those solitudes of the Pacific ocean, for the love of the
poor natives of the Carolinas.
Finally, in 1895, the Benedictine fathers, [158] of the monastery of
Monserrat in España, landed in Manila for the first time, in order
to take charge of some missions on the eastern coast of Mindanao.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
The following document is obtained from a MS. in the Archivo general
de Indias, Sevilla:
1. _Remonstrance of Augustinians._--"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."
The following document is obtained from a MS. in the Academia Real
de la Historia, Madrid:
2. _Corcuera's campaign._--"Papeles de los Jesuitas, to 84, no. 27,
34."
The following documents in the appendix are taken from printed works,
as follows:
3. _Laws regarding religious.--Recopilación de las leyes de Indias_
(Madrid, 1841), lib. i, tit. xiv; also tit. xii, ley xxi; tit. xv,
ley xxxiii; and tit. xx, ley xxiv.
4. _Jesuit missions in 1656._--Colin's _Labor evangélica_ (Madrid,
1663), pp. 811-820.
5. _Religious estate in Philippines._--San Antonio's _Chronicas_
(Manila, 1738), i, book i, pp. 172-175, 190-210, 214-216, 219, 220,
223-226.
6. _Religious condition of islands._--Delgado's _Historia general_
(Manila, 1892), pp. 140-158, 184-188.
7. _Ecclesiastical survey of Philippines._--Le Gentil's _Voyages
dans les mers de l'Inde_ (Paris, 1781), pp. 170-191, 59-63.
8. _Character and influence of friars._--Mas's _Informe sobre el
estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842_ (Madrid, 1843), vol. ii.
9. _Ecclesiastical system in the Philippines._--Buzeta and Bravo's
_Diccionario de las Islas Filipinas_ (Madrid, 1850), ii, pp. 271-275,
363-367.
10. _Character and influence of friars._--Jagor's _Reisen in den
Philippinen_ (Berlin, 1873), pp. 94-100.
11. _Augustinian Recollects.--Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino
de Agustinos descalzos_ (Manila, 1879).
12. _Present condition of religion.--Archipiélago filipino_
(Washington, 1900), ii, pp. 256-267.
NOTES
[1] As Gregory died in 1623, the despatch of this letter must have
been long delayed at Rome or en route.
[2] See chapter xlii of Medina's history of the Augustinian order,
in VOL. XXIV of this series; also Diaz's _Conquistas_, pp. 384-386.
[3] This was the archdeacon Alonso García de Leon.
[4] Pedro de Arce (himself an Augustinian), who twice filled vacancies
in the archiepiscopal see of Manila.
[5] It is curious that Diaz does not mention this; but he states
(_Conquistas_, p. 385) something omitted here--that Archbishop García
Serrano interfered in like manner with the judge-executor of 1629 in
this case, García de León. Diaz may have given wrong names and dates
for the one incident.
[6] This was the new archdeacon, Andrés Arias Xirón (Diaz's
_Conquistas_, p. 385).
[7] Presumably Pedro de Ribadeneira, a Spaniard of Toledo; he
was provincial of Castilla, and assistant to the general of the
order. About 1635 he was sent by Felipe IV as his ambassador to the
duke of Modena and the republic of Lucca; afterward he was named
by the king bishop of Cotrone (the ancient Crotona), Italy, but
declined this honor. He died on August 20, 1643; and left various
writings.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.
[8] There is frequent mention in canon law of _alternativa_
decrees by the Holy See--a device in the interests of fairness,
applied in the conferral of benefices and church offices, in order
to do away with discords and displays of partisanship. Thereby in
elections the preferments, etc., were to go to the opposite party,
according at times, to very singular rules, applicable, for instance,
according to the month wherein the said benefice fell vacant. The
usage of the "alternation" was introduced in the time of Pope Martin
V. (A.D. 1417-1431.)
The text of the present document concerns the extension of the
_alternativa_ rules to the Augustinians in the Philippine Islands,
by force of which the offices in the order (distributed in provincial
chapters every four years) were to be conferred one term on religious
born in Spain, and the next on religious born in the Indias. The
latter were known as Creoles (_crioli_)--thus in the Constitutions
of the order, of 1685, where reference is made to decrees of Gregory
XV, dated November 29, 1621 (confirmed by Urban VIII in 1628), with
regard to elections of the brethren in Mechoacan, in Mexico. As
the _alternativa_ held in Mexico and South America--in fact, in
Spanish colonies everywhere--these same papal decrees were presumably
observed in all those colonies. Later, in Mexico, the statutes of
the Augustinians required that in provincial chapters religious of
Spanish blood should be chosen alternately with those of Indian, in the
election of provincials, definitors, priors, and other officers; but
this plan did not operate very satisfactorily.--Rev. T. C. Middleton,
O.S.A.
[9] The name (Latin, _regio pontis_), of a ward in the city of Rome.
[10] So in MS., but an improbable name; more likely to be
Pacheco.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.
[11] Diaz here says (_Conquistas_, p. 385): "The fathers from the
provinces of España interposed an appeal from the fuerza [committed]
by this act, saying that the said judge had not authority to postpone
the matter, but only to execute [the decree]; and from this proceeded
continual disputes until the time for the chapter-meeting."
[12] The prior general of the Augustinians in 1634, the date of this
bull, was Jerome de Rigoliis, of Corneto, elected May 18, 1630; he
died (out of office, however) seven years later, in June, 1637, at
the age of seventy and upwards. In 1636 (May 10), his successor in the
generalship, Hippolytus dei Monti, was elected.--Rev. T. C. Middleton,
O.S.A.
[13] Castel Gandolpho, a beautiful place in the Alban Hills, was the
summer resort of the supreme pontiffs.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.
[14] _i.e._, "should the petition be grounded on fact."
[15] _i.e._, "because the said fathers are not qualified in sufficient
number," and "in the distribution of the said offices."
[16] In the manuscript that we follow the letter of March 31 is given
second, while that of April 5 is given first; we have arranged them
chronologically.
[17] Garo: probably the same as _garita_; a fortified outpost?
[18] The translation of this passage seems to be, "If God fights
against a city, he who guards it watches in vain." The difficulty
lies in "_a custodierit_," which we translate as "fights against."
[19] Sulu, the chief island of the group of that name, has an area
of 333 square miles. It contains numerous mountains, some of them
nearly 3,000 feet high; and their slopes are covered with magnificent
forests. Of the ancient town of Sulu (the residence of the "sultan"),
on the southern shore, hardly a trace remains; the present town of that
name was built by the Spaniards in 1878, and is modern in style. See
_U. S. Gazetteer of Philippines_, pp. 842-850.
[20] "Four groups having different customs may be distinguished
among the inhabitants of the archipelago: the Guimbajanos, or
inhabitants of the mountains, who are the indigenes; the Malay and
Visayan slaves, whose descendants have intermarried; the Samales,
an inferior race, though not slaves; the true Moros, who trace
their origin from the Mohammedan invaders, and who dominate the
other inhabitants." "Physically the Sulu natives are superior to
the ordinary Malay type, and, according to Streeter, are a strange
mixture of villainy and nobility." (_U. S. Gazetteer_, pp. 845, 846.)
[21] _Babui_, in their language, signifies "pig;" apparently they
called the Spaniards "swine," as expressing the acme of contempt for
their besiegers.
[22] "Thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ."
[23] Combés says (_Hist. Mindanao_, Retana's ed., col. 264) that
this queen, named Tuambaloca, was a native of Basilan, and that she
had acquired such ascendency over her husband that the government of
Joló was entirely in her hands. This statement explains the presence
of the Basilan men in the Joloan stronghold.
[24] Kris, a dagger or poniard, the universal weapon of all the
civilized inhabitants of the archipelago, and of a hundred different
forms. Men of all ranks wear this weapon; and those of rank, when full
dressed, wear two and even four. (Crawfurd's _Dict. Ind. Islands_,
p.202.)
At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, held last year (1904) at
St. Louis, the Philippine exhibits contained Malay weapons, in great
number and variety--krises, campilans, lances, etc.
[25] Francisco Martinez was born near Zaragoza, February 25, 1605,
and at the age of seventeen entered the Jesuit order. Joining the
Philippine mission, he labored mainly among the Moros, and died at
Zamboanga on September 17, 1650.
Alejandro Lopez, a native of Aragon, was born in July, 1604, and at
the age of nineteen went to Mexico, where he spent several years
in commercial pursuits. On August 28, 1631, he entered the Jesuit
novitiate at Manila; and, accompanying Corcuera in his campaigns,
was long a missionary among the Moros, and at various times an
envoy to their chiefs in behalf of the Spanish governors. It was
on one of these embassies that Lopez met his death, being killed
by the Moros, December 15, 1655. See Combes's _Hist. Mindanao_,
which relates in full Lopez's missionary career; and sketch of his
life in Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 94 _verso_, 235,
238-247. Cf. Montero y Vidal's _Hist. Filipinas_, i, pp. 296-298.
[26] This letter is unsigned; but the transcript of it made by Ventura
del Arco places it with others ascribed to Barrios.
See detailed accounts of the expedition against Jolo (Sulu) in Combés's
_Hist. Mindanao y Jolo_ (Retana and Pastells ed.), cols. 349-368;
Diaz's _Conquistas_, pp. 388-401; Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_,
fol. 92, 93; and La Concepción's _Hist. Philipinas_, v, pp. 334-351.
[27] See also the instructions given by Felipe II to Francisco de
Tello, at Toledo, May 25, 1596, in our VOL. IX, pp. 250, 251.
[28] A note to this law in the _Recopilacíon_ reads as follows:
"This law was extended to all America for the same reason, by a royal
decree dated Madrid, March 28, 1769; and the prelates are not allowed
to expel members of the orders except for just cause, while those
thus expelled are to be sent to Spain."
[29] This totals up three hundred and seventy-two, instead of the
number given in the text--evidently a printer's error.
[30] Corcuera's endowment of these fellowships raised a great storm
in the islands, especially among the Dominicans, who claimed that it
was aimed at their college of Santo Tomás; while in Spain the king
and his council were equally indignant because they had not been
previously consulted in the matter, an indignation that was carefully
fostered and increased by the Dominicans. The lawsuit in this case was
bitter, and was conducted in the supreme Council of the Indias by Juan
Grau y Monfalcon, procurator of the cabildo of the city of Manila;
Father Baltasar de Lagunilla, procurator-general of the Society of
Jesus, for the college of San José; and father Fray Mateo de Villa,
procurator-general of the Dominican province of the Rosario, for
the college of Santo Tomás. The case was prolific in documents from
all three sources. The Dominicans remained masters of the field, and
this case contributed to the downfall of Corcuera, who was finally
superseded in 1644 by Diego de Fajardo, who had been appointed some
years before, but might never have gone to the islands had it not
been for the lawsuit over the fellowships. See Pastells's _Colin_,
iii, pp. 763-781.
[31] Pedro de Brito was also a regidor of Manila, whose post was
adjudged to him at public auction for one thousand four hundred pesos
of common gold, with the third part of what was promised from the
increase. He took possession of his post June 24, 1589. See Pastells's
_Colin_, iii, p. 783.
[32] This was the protomartyr of the Society of Jesus in the
Philippines, Juan de las Misas, who met death in the last part of
November, 1624 (_not_ 1625). He was a fluent preacher in the Tagal
tongue, and entered the Society in the Philippines. When returning
from Tayabas to Marinduque he was met by some hostile Camucones
and killed by a shot from an arquebus, after which he was beheaded,
in fulfilment of a vow to Mahomet. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 791.
[33] This was the galleon "San Marcos." See Pastells's _Colin_, iii,
p. 791.
[34] This was Juan del Carpio--a native of Riofrio in the kingdom
of Leon--who had spent twenty years among the natives in the
Philippines. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 792.
[35] Domingo Areso, a native of Caller, who was killed by an Indian,
April 10, 1745, because the father had censured him for allowing his
mother to die without the sacraments. See _ut supra_, pp. 792, 793.
[36] It was discovered by Father Francisco Combés on the heights of
Boragüen, who reported the discovery to the alcalde-mayor of Leite,
Silvestre de Rodas, at Dagame, November 18, 1661. See Pastells's
_Colin_, iii, p. 793, note 1. See Jagor's _Reisen_, pp. 220-223,
where he describes this locality (which lies south of Buráuen, on the
southern slope of the Manacagan range), and the process by which the
sulphur is obtained.
[37] Thus characterized in _U. S. Gazetteer_ (p. 512): "Important
point of approach from Pacific Ocean. High, and visible in clear
weather 40 m., thus serving as excellent mark for working strait of
San Bernardino."
[38] These were Fathers Miguel Ponce and Vicente Damián. The first
was killed June 2, 1649; the second October 11, of the same year. The
former was a native of Peñarojo in Aragon; the latter, of Randazo in
Sicily See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 794, note 1.
[39] The Subanes or Subánon (meaning "river people"), are a heathen
people of Malay extraction living in the peninsula of Sibuguey in
West Mindanao. See Mason's translation of Blumentritt's _Native Tribes
of Philippines_, in Smithsonian _Report_ for 1899, pp. 544, 545. See
also Sawyer's _Inhabitants of the Philippines_, pp. 356-360 (though it
must be borne in mind that Sawyer is not always entirely trustworthy).
[40] These were Fathers Francisco de Mendoza and Francisco
Pagliola. The former was a native of Lisboa and was born in 1602
of a noble family. He was killed by the Moros in Malanao, May 7,
1642. He had entered the Society in Nueva España in 1621 and went to
the Philippines, while still a novice. The latter was martyred January
29, 1648. He was a native of Nola in the kingdom of Naples, the date of
his birth being May 10, 1610. He entered the Society February 6, 1637,
at Naples. On arriving at the Philippines in 1643, he was assigned
to Mindanao, where he labored in Iligan and the western part of the
island, going later to the Subanos, who killed him. See Pastells's
_Colin_, iii, pp. 800, 801; and Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_,
fols. 111 verso, and 154 verso and 155.
[41] Juan del Campo, who was killed by the Subanos January 25, 1650,
was born in Villanueva de la Vera, in 1620. He went to Mexico in
1642, where he began to study theology, completing that study in
Manila. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 801; and Murillo Velarde's
_Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 178.
[42] The two martyrs of Buayen were Pedro Andrés de Zamora, December
28, 1639, and Bartolomé Sánchez, early in June, 1642. The former
was born in Valencia, and in 1616 entered the Society in Aragon, and
went to the Philippines in 1626. He was suspended from the Society in
1629, but was readmitted upon showing full signs of repentance. He
was sent while still a novice to the missions at Buayen, where he
labored faithfully and zealously until his death.
The latter was born in Murcia on St. Bartholomew's day, 1613. In his
youthful years, while attending the Jesuit college, he became somewhat
wild, but later reformed; and upon hearing of the martyrs of Japon in
1628, he was fired with zeal to emulate them, and entered the Society,
being received on the ship that bore him to Nueva España. Although
he had resolved to return to Spain in the same ship, because of the
disconsolateness of his parents at his departure, he changed his mind,
and finished his novitiate in Manila. Upon being ordained as a priest,
he was sent to Mindanao and was killed by Manaquior while on his way
with a naval relief expedition to Buayen, after having been eleven
years in the Society. Sec Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 801; and Murillo
Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fols. 113 verso and 117 verso.
[43] These two fathers, Alejandro Lopez and Juan Montiel, were
martyred December 13, 1655 (_not_ 1656). The latter was a native
of Rijoles in Calabria. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, pp. 801, 802;
Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fols. 233 verso-235 verso;
and _ante_, p. 62, note 25.
[44] The author alludes to Father Domingo Vilancio, who died in
1634. He was a native of Leche in the kingdom of Naples. He labored
among the natives of the Philippines for more than thirty years. See
VOL. XXVI, p. 266; and Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 802.
[45] After sixty years of Spanish rule, Portugal revolted (December,
1640), threw off the Spanish yoke, and placed on its throne Joao
IV--who, as duke of Braganza, was the most wealthy and influential of
all the Portuguese noblemen; and he was regarded as the legitimate
claimant of the throne. Spain made several attempts to recover this
loss; but Portugal has ever since been independent.
[46] _i.e._, Great Sanguil. The auditor Francisco de Montemayor
y Mansilla says that Sanguil is twelve leguas from Siao and ten
from Mindanao, and has a circumference of six or seven leguas. "Four
chiefs rule this island, namely, those of Siao (in the villages called
Tabaco), Maganitos, Tabucan, and Calonga. The latter had two villages,
Calonga and Tarruma, where there was formerly a presidio with ten or
twelve Spanish soldiers, solely for the defense of those two Christian
villages from the invasions of the Moros of the same island. The
village of Tarruma after the dismantling of our forts, passed into the
control of the Dutch; and there are now, according to reports, some
Dutch there, and a dominie who preaches to them. The other village,
Calonga, which is governed by a father-in-law of the king of Siao,
still perseveres in the Catholic faith and the friendship of the
Spaniards. It is visited, although with dangers and difficulties,
by the fathers of the Society of Jesus who live in Siao, when they
go to visit the Christian villages owned by that king in the island
of Sanguil." See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 814.
[47] The same auditor (see note, above) says that the Talaos "are
four islands lying in the same district as those of Sanguil and
Siao. The country is poor, the people barbarous and naked, and the
islands abound in cocoas and vegetables, some little rice (on which
they live), and some roots (with which they pay their tribute). Two
islands and part of another are vassals of the king of Tabucan;
the fourth island and part of that which pays tribute to the king of
Tabucan are vassals of the king of Siao. They have their own petty
chief, who was baptized in Manila; and there are now eight hundred
baptized families there." See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 814.
[48] When Father Colin wrote, the Dutch had already discovered,
explored, and delineated in their maps with sufficient accuracy,
the coasts of New Guinea and New Holland, or Australia and New
Zealand. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 816.
[49] Alonso de Castro was born at Lisbon. Sommervogel (_Bibliothèque_)
says that he labored for nine years in the missions of Terrenate,
and that he was martyred January 1, 1558.
[50] _i.e._, "in both courts," meaning the outer court of
ecclesiastical justice, and the inner court of conscience. See
VOL. VIII, p. 278.
[51] For further historical and descriptive information regarding the
cathedral of Manila (especially the present structure, completed in
1879), see Fonseca's _Reseña cronológica de la catedral de Manila_
(Manila, 1880).
[52] _Marginal note_: "In the year 1571 the first Inquisition was
established in México, and its first inquisitor was Don Pedro Moya de
Contreras, afterward visitor, archbishop of México, and its viceroy;
and later president of the royal Council of the Indias. See Torquemada,
in _La monarchia indiana_, book 5, chapter 24."
[53] That decree organized the tribunals of the Crusade, and made
provision for their conduct and for the care of the revenues from the
bulls. Various laws on this subject are found in _Recopilación leyes de
Indias_, lib. i, tit. xx; one of these may be found _ante_, pp. 76, 77.
[54] Among the media employed by the Holy See in the restoration of
one's conscience to its good estate, are the bulls of composition. In
the case of persons in possession of ill-gotten goods, as
prebendaries who have forfeited their canonical allotments,
or trustees who have maladministered estates, and the like, an
arrangement (Latin, _compositio_) is sometimes made--only, however,
when the rightful owners or heirs of the property in question are
unknown (_si domins sint ignoti_), whereby the said "unjust steward"
is allowed to keep for himself a moiety of what does not belong to
him, on condition that the rest be handed over for the maintenance
of church services, or institutions of charity, as hospitals,
asylums, and the like. See Ferraris's _Bibliotheca_, art. "Bulla
Cruciatae."--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.
The bulls for the dead were placed on the heads of the dying, or in
the hands of the dead--purchased by their friends or relatives in
order to rescue then souls from purgatory. Those _de lacticinios_
(literally, "for milk-porridges") permitted to ecclesiastics the
use of certain foods at times when these were forbidden by church
law. The bulls of the Crusade were valid as dispensations only one
year in Spain; but according to Solórzano they were extended to two
years in the colonies, on account of the long time required for them
to teach those distant places. See Bancroft's _Hist. Mexico_, iii,
p. 605. After the victory of Lepanto, Gregory XIII resumed the issue
of these indulgences, and extended them to twelve years; and since
then his bull has been renewed every twelve years, (E. H. Vollet,
in _Grande Encyclopédie_, Paris, Lamirault et Cie.), xiii, p. 453.
[55] Apparently the "farming out" of this revenue, by the crown,
to private persons. A law of May 30, 1640, enacted that all the
expenses connected with the bulls of the Crusade should be paid from
its proceeds, the remainder being paid to the crown (_Recopilación_,
lib. i, tit. xx, ley xvi).
[56] Tournon was the papal legate sent to China for the settlement
of the famous controversy regarding the "Chinese rites," which had
lasted some seventy years. The missions to China were entirely in the
hands of the Jesuits until 1631, when Dominicans entered that country,
and Franciscans in 1633. The new missionaries soon began to accuse the
Jesuits of undue complaisance and conformity with heathen customs, and
made complaint against them at Rome. For a time the Holy See permitted
the practice of the Chinese rites, but frequent contentions arose on
this subject between the Jesuits and the other orders, which were not
definitely settled by Rome for many years. Finally, Clement XI sent
Tournon (1703) to investigate the matter thoroughly, who condemned the
rites in question as idolatrous and was therefore imprisoned by the
Chinese emperor. He died in this captivity (1710), but his decision
was accepted by the pope, and all Catholic missionaries to China
were required to take an oath that they would resist those rites to
the utmost. See full account of this controversy, with citations of
authorities, in Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_ (Meagher's
revision), pp. 926-928. For accounts of Tournon's stay at Manila,
and the dissatisfaction which he aroused there, see La Concepción's
_Hist. Philipinas_, viii, pp. 306-324; and Zúñiga's _Hist. Philipinas_
(Sampaloc, 1803), pp. 411-416.
[57] Sidoti (or Sidotti) was an Italian priest who came to Manila
with Tournon, intending to enter the forbidden land of Japan. In
1709, he succeeded in doing this, by persuading the captain of
a Spanish vessel to land him on the Japanese coast; Zúñiga says
(_Hist. Philipinas_, pp. 420, 421) that nothing more had ever been
learned regarding him. La Concepción, however, writing somewhat
earlier, says (_Hist. Philipinas_, vi, p. 82) that in 1716 news of
Sidoti's imprisonment and death arrived at Canton--the latter being
attributed to his continual fasts and austerities. But Griffis relates
(_Mikado's Empire_, pp. 262, 263) so much as may now be known about
Sidoti's fate, derived from a book--_Sei Yo Ki Bun_ ("Annals of Western
Nations")--written by the Japanese scholar who examined the priest,
which gives the facts of the case, and the judicial proceedings
therein. Sidoti "was kept a prisoner, living for several years after
his arrival, in Yedo (Tokio), and probably died a natural death."
[58] See La Concepción's detailed account (_Hist. Philipinas_, viii,
pp. 315-338) of the founding of this college.
[59] This was only _ad interim_, during the absence of Bishop Salazar
in Spain, from 1591 to Salvatierra's death early in 1595. He had
come tu Manila with Salazar, whose provisor he long was; he also
ministered to the Indians, and went to Maluco as chaplain with a
Spanish expedition. See _Reseña biográfica_, i, pp. 50-52.
[60] In the margin at this point occurs the following: "A total of
105,503 souls."
[61] This law (which is contained in the book entitled, "Concerning
the universities, and general and private studies in the Indias") is as
follows: "Permission is conceded for the cities of Santo Domingo in the
island of Española, Santa Fé in the new kingdom of Granada, Santiago de
Guatemala, Santiago de Chile, and Manila in the Filipinas Islands, to
have halls for study, and universities where courses may be pursued and
degrees given, for the time that has appeared advisable. For that we
have obtained briefs and bulls from the holy apostolic see, and we have
conceded those universities certain privileges and preëminences. We
order that what has been ordained for the said halls of study and
universities be kept, obeyed, and executed, without violating it
in any manner. Those universities which shall be limited in time,
shall present themselves before our royal Council of the Indias to
petition for an extension of time, where the advisable measures will
be taken. If no extension is granted, the teaching of those studies
shall cease and end; for so is our will." A note to this law in the
_Recopilación_ reads in part as follows: "It must be borne in mind
that the universities, seminaries, conciliars, and other schools of
learning erected by public authority in the Indias were declared to
be under the royal patronage by a circular letter of June 11, 1792."
[62] See this law in VOL. XX, pp. 260, 261.
[63] Notwithstanding that San Antonio states that the brothers of
the hospital Order of St. John of God arrived in Manila at this
comparatively late date, they had been often asked for by both the
ecclesiastical estates. The following letter from the bishop of Nueva
Segovia is such a request. The original of this letter is in Archivo
general de Indias, with the pressmark: "Simancas; ecclesiastico;
Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de los obispos sufraganeos
de Manila, a saber, Nueva Segovia, Nueva Cáceres, Santísimo Nombre de
Jesús ó Cebú; años de 1597 á 1698; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 34." It would
appear from the endorsement on this letter that some brothers were
sent at this early date; although this instruction probably remained
a dead letter. (Cf. VOL. XVIII of this series, p. 114, dated 1618.)
"Sire:
"Your Majesty has a royal hospital here, which is one of the
most necessary and useful things in this land for the health and
treatment of the poor soldiers and of the other people who serve
your Majesty. Although its income is but scanty, if it had some one
to distribute it efficiently, and to care for it properly, there
would be sufficient aid from the many alms given by the inhabitants
who can do something. It is most necessary for its good government
and maintenance for your Majesty to send four or five brothers from
the order called [St.] John of God, who should have authority from
your Majesty and from his Holiness to be able to receive others; for
now the matter is ready, and all that is necessary. Those brothers
could come with the religious whom your Majesty is sending--either
Franciscans or Dominicans--or your Majesty could have them sent from
the good brothers who are established in Nueva España. The latter
would economize the expense, and the journey would be quicker and more
certain. May our Lord preserve your Majesty long years, for the welfare
of His church. Manila, July 7, 1606. I kiss your Majesty's royal hands,
Fray Diego, bishop of Nueva Segobia."
[_Endorsed_: "Manila, July 7, 1606. Number 518. From the bishop of
Nueva Segovia. September 24, 1607." "Have the four brothers whom he
mentions sent; have the matter entrusted to Don Francisco de Tejada,
so that he may arrange this with the chief brother of Anton Martin." "A
copy was sent to Don Francisco."]
A decree of Felipe IV, dated Madrid, November 30, 1630, thus regulates
the foundation of these religious in the Indias:
"The viceroys, presidents, and auditors of the royal audiencias shall
not allow any of the religious of St. John of God to live or reside
in the Indias, who shall have gone thither without our permission;
or to found convents, give habits to any persons, or allow them
to profess. Those who may be living in the provinces of their
districts, or shall go thither later with our permission, shall not
take upon themselves the care of the hospitals, either of Indians or
of Spaniards, or the management of their incomes and alms, unless by
first binding themselves to give reports and allow inspections in this
respect by the ecclesiastical, or secular judges who can and ought
to make them. And they shall not be exempt from that by saying that
they have a bull from the apostolic see to be religious, and that
they are ordained with holy orders, and that therefore they are to
be subordinate only to their regular prelate. Neither shall they be
exempt from the inspection for any other excuse that they may bring
forward."--See _Recopilación de leyes_, lib. i, tit. xiv, ley xxiv.
[64] In the margin at this point: "Total number of souls, 68,334."
[65] In the margin at this point: "Total number of persons, 42,178."
[66] In the margin at this point: "Total number of souls, 4,000."
[67] In the margin at this point: "Total number of souls, 70,961."
[68] The number of christianized natives is stated, on Murillo
Velarde's map, as 900,000. Cf. the statement by Le Gentil (p. 209
_post_), of the number in 1735--so in his printed text, but perhaps
a typographical error for 1755.
[69] A full account of the Jesuit college and university is furnished
by Murillo Velarde in _Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 125, 140, 168-171.
[70] _Beaterio:_ a house inhabited by devout women.
[71] Evidently then the appellation of that part of the archipelago
now included under the term "province of Paragua," which includes
not only the Calamianes Islands, but those of the Cuyos group, and
part of the island of Palawan (or Paragua).
[72] Literally, "holy table," equivalent to the modern "board of
directors;" a reference to the Confraternity of La Misericordia,
which, as we have seen in former documents, was the main charitable
agency of Manila.
[73] Reference is here made to chapter xviii, book i, of Delgado's
_Historia_; following is his statement (from pp. 60-62) of the
depopulation of Cebú, and its causes: "Near the middle of the southern
coast of the island was established the city and original colony of the
Spaniards; but today it has become so depopulated that it has hardly
enough citizens to fill the offices that pertain to a city, as are
those of regidors and alcaldes-in-ordinary; and _not_ seldom has it
occurred that some Spaniards must be conveyed thither to supply the
lack of people, going in place of these who died.... At present, the
city is reduced to the church and convent of the Santo Niño, the church
and residence of the Society of Jesus (a building which, although
small, is very regular and well planned), and, midway between them,
the cathedral--which is very inferior to those two churches, since
it consists only of a large apartment thatched with palm-leaves. (The
foundations were laid, however, for another and more suitable building,
in the time when the diocese was governed by the illustrious bishop
Doctor Don Manuel Antonio de Ocio y Ocampo [who entered that office
in 1733]; but his death prevented him from completing the work, and
it has remained in that condition ever since.) The royal building is
well arranged and sufficiently capacious, serving as palace for the
commander of the Pintados fleets; he is also warder of a good stone
fortress (triangular in shape) and commander of the port, and at the
same time alcalde and chief magistrate of the entire province--which
includes the islands of Cebú, Bohol, Siquijor, and a great part of
the coast of Mindanao, with other smaller and adjacent islands.
"The cause for the city's being depopulated, at present, of Spanish
inhabitants is nothing else than the cupidity of some persons who
came from Manila to the government of the province with appointments
as alcaldes, whose greed did not allow any partnership, in spite of
the oath that they take not to carry on trade, either in person or
through another person, within the limits of their jurisdiction. These
are indeed lands where no one can live without barter or trading;
for not one of the Spaniards applies himself to cultivating the soil,
nor do they have fixed incomes from the country with which to meet
their obligations. Moreover, they have to buy whatever they need, with
either commodities or money; accordingly, if the alcaldes-mayor forbid
the inhabitants (as they do) from going out through the province to buy
what they need, the latter find themselves in Cebú in the condition of
one who is shut up in a prison, where no one can search for or find
him. If vessels arrive to sell their merchandise the alcalde-mayor,
near whose house they anchor, is the one who first avails himself of
everything--either for his own use, or to sell the goods again--leaving
for the rest of the people only what is of no use to himself. If any
one has energy enough to press forward to purchase what he needs,
he is immediately threatened with imprisonment, seizure of his
goods, flogging, and the loss of everything from which any profit
was expected--as I have many times seen, because I lived several
years in that country, where only recourse to God is near, or to
superiors who are very far away. This is the reason why the Spanish
residents have withdrawn from Cebú, to avoid continual quarrels and
annoyances--going to Manila, where they can live with greater peace
and quietness, although not so profitably, on account of the choice
commodities which they could obtain in the Visayan provinces for
the increase of their wealth. The only ones who remain and bear the
heavy yoke are the mestizos and Sangleys, who always have to share
with the alcalde what they seek out with their toil and hardship,
if they wish to live without unrest and fear. Sometimes, but rarely,
the alcaldes share with these people that which might bring them some
profit; but usually they furnish the commodities which they bring
from Manila, at the very highest prices, receiving in exchange those
of the provinces at the lowest and most paltry rates."
[74] Delgado has evidently borrowed much of his account from San
Antonio; but in this case he inserts _no_, without any apparent
justification. San Antonio says, _y oblige â culpa mortal su
observãcia_ (_ante_, p. 128); and Delgado, _cuya observancia no obliga
a culpa moral_ (the last word apparently a misprint for _mortal_).
[75] The two decrees here mentioned are, in the printed text of
Delgado, respectively 1692 and 1602--some of the numerous errors
which render that text untrustworthy as to dates.
[76] Teacher of philosophy and belles lettres in a cathedral school.
[77] The whole and half prebendaries are those called _racioneros_
and _medios racioneros_ in Spanish cathedrals.
[78] A Spanish silver coin of eight reals, which dates from the reign
of Ferdinand and Isabella. It is practically the same as the peso,
or "piece of eight."
[79] Referring to the arrest (October 9, 1668) of Governor Diegode
Salcedo. Le Gentil is incorrect in saying that a Dominican was
responsible for this act; the commissary who arrested the governor
was the Augustinian Fray José de Paternina, who held that office
from 1664 till 1672, when he was summoned to Mexico by the tribunal
of the Inquisition, and died on the voyage thither.
[80] Referring to the nuns of St. Clare, affiliated with the Franciscan
order as a tertiary branch.
[81] Don Juan de Casens, who commanded the fragata "Santa Rosa."
[82] See Murillo Velarde's description (_Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 198)
of the Jesuit residence and college. It was planned by Father Juan
Antonio Campion, and furnished commodious lodgings for fifty residents,
besides the necessary offices; but part of the main building was
afterward overthrown by earthquakes. In Murillo Velarde's time, the
college had become "an aggregation of buildings, added to the original
edifice from time to time, forming a mass as bulky as architecturally
irregular.... The library has no equal in the islands, in either the
number or the select quality of the books, which include all branches
of learning. In several of the apartments also are very respectable
libraries.... In the printing-office are several presses, and various
styles of type of different sizes; and there works are produced as
accurate, well engraved, and neat as in España--and sometimes with
errors that are less stupid and more endurable. The gallery (in which
there is a truck [_trucos_, a game resembling billiards] table for
the holidays) is a beautiful apartment, long, wide, and spacious;
and so elevated that it overlooks on one side the city, and on the
other the great bay of Manila. From it may be seen all the galleons,
pataches, galliots, champans, and every other kind of vessels, which
leave or enter the port, from America, China, Coromandel, Batavia, and
other Oriental kingdoms, and from the provinces of these islands. It is
adorned (as also are the corridors) with paintings, maps, landscapes,
and other things curious and pleasant to the sight.... There is a
school, for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic to the boys
from without.... In the orchard is a house, with its offices, for
the Indian house-servants, and a church; they have their chapel,
very fully equipped, in which they practice various devotions and
receive the sacraments.... In charge of this, a sort of seminary, is
a student brother; and in it the Indians learn the doctrine, virtue,
good habits, the holy fear of God, civilized ways, polite manners,
letters, and other accomplishments, according to their ability. The
principal patio of the college is a right-angled quadrilateral; in
it there is a garden bordered with rose-trees, which bear roses all
the year round, with other flowers, and medicinal herbs. There are
other gardens and orchards, and seven deep wells of running water
(and some of it is very good) for drinking purposes. In the library
is a round table made in one piece, almost forty common palmos in
circumference--an adornment worthy of the king's own library."
[83] Cf. the enthusiastic description by Murillo Velarde
(_Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 195 v.-198) of this "magnificent temple." He
says that its dimensions were 204 x 90 feet; and that it was surmounted
by two towers, inclosing the façade--for which he apologizes, as
loaded with inappropriate ornamentation; but it is, nevertheless,
"a shell worthy of the pearl which it encloses." It was planned by
Father Juan Antonio Campion (who died in 1651), and was built of stone
obtained from "the vicinity of Antipolo;" this doubtless refers to the
marble-quarries of Montalbán and Binangonan, in Rizal (formerly Manila)
province. This stone was of so excellent quality and texture that it
remained, after more than a hundred years, uninjured by rain, sun,
or air; and the walls were so solidly built, and the wooden timbers
within so durable, that in all that time it had not been necessary to
make any repairs in the framework, nor had any injury been done to
the building by earthquakes or storms. The main altar was made of a
single stone. The building cost 150,000 pesos; it was not consecrated
until 1727. Murillo Velarde adds: "I have known men of fine taste,
who had great knowledge of architecture, and who had seen the most
beautiful of the famous buildings of Europe, to be overcome, as it
were, with admiration in this church."
[84] José Francisco de Ovando y Solís, marqués de Ovando, who was
governor of the islands during 1750-54. Le Gentil here alludes to what
he has previously stated (_Voyages_, ii, p. 164) regarding Ovando:
"He made great improvements in the Acapulco galleon; for before his
time the Manilans shipped their supply of water [for the voyage]
in leathern bottles or in jars which they suspended in the rigging;
the water often gave out, and they were compelled to have recourse to
that supplied by the rain. The Marqués de Ovando had water-casks made,
and ordered that enough of these be placed aboard to supply water for
the entire voyage; he framed muster-rolls, and placed all the men on
allowance. In short, the Acapulco navigation was placed on the same
footing as that of Europe."
[85] Zúñiga says (_Estadismo_, Retana's ed., i, p. 230): "The noted
beaterío [_i.e._, a house in which reside devout women] of Santa
Catalina ... founded by Doña Antonia Ezguerra in the year 1695;
and General Escaño increased its revenues so that fifteen beatas and
some servants could be maintained in it. The beatas must be Spanish
women, assist in the choir, and take a vow of chastity." Evidently
these beatas were much like the Béguines (founded in Belgium in 1184,
and still in existence).
[86] Regarding the Franciscan order and its branches, see VOL. XX,
p. 91. The Capuchins were originally Observantine Franciscans, and
date from 1526, when their founder, Matteo di Bassi, of Urbino, Italy,
obtained papal consent to live, with his companions, a hermit life,
wear a habit with long pointed cowl (_capuche_, whence their name),
and preach the gospel in all lands. At first they were subject to
the general of the conventual Franciscans, not obtaining exemption
from this obedience until 1617. Early in the eighteenth century
the Capuchins numbered 25,000 friars, with 1,600 convents, besides
their missions in Brazil and Africa; but the French Revolution and
other political disturbances caused the suppression of many of their
houses. At present, they are most numerous in Austria and Switzerland.
[87] _i.e._, "the disease of Lazarus," referring to the beggar at
the rich man's gate, in the parable (Luke xvi, v. 20), evidently
a leper. This disease was regarded, in the absence of scientific
knowledge of its nature, as a direct visitation or punishment from
the deity. It will be remembered that many lepers who were Christians
had been sent from Japan to Manila.
[88] The following law is taken from _Recopilación leyes de Indias_
(lib. 1, tit. vii, ley vii): "We charge the archbishops and bishops of
our Indias that they ordain mestizos as priests in their districts, if
in such persons are united the competency and necessary qualifications
for the priestly order; but such ordination must be preceded by
careful investigation, and information from the prelates as to
the candidate's life and habits, and after finding that he is well
instructed, intelligent, capable, and born from a lawful marriage. And
if any mestizo women choose to become religious, and take the habit
and veil in the monasteries of nuns, they [_i.e._, the archbishops and
bishops] shall ordain that such women be admitted to the monasteries
and to religious profession, after obtaining the same information
[as above] regarding their lives and habits." [Felipe II--San Lorenzo,
August 31 and September 28, 1588.]
[89] Referring to the noted prelate Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa y
Rufina. He died in December 1787.
[90] This was José Raon (see VOL. XVII, p. 298).
[91] "Pasquin (at Rome) is a statue at the foot of which are fastened
placards--sometimes defamatory, sometimes ironical, relative to
affairs of the time."--Le Gentil.
The word "pasquin" (pasquino) is derived from the name of a tailor, who
was famous at the end of the fifteenth century for his lampoons. The
group of statuary called Pasquino (now badly mutilated) represents
Menelaus with the body of Patroclus, looking round for succor in the
tumult of battle. The square in which this group stands is also called
Piazza del Pasquino.
[92] Le Gentil says (_Voyages_, ii, pp. 76, 77, 83) that Zamboanga
was very insalubrious, being shut in from the sea winds, and suffering
great heat. "It is still a place of exile;" and "the earthly Paradise
was not there."
[93] That is, "Nature makes one skilful."
Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A., says of this expression that it "was
an old one, as old at least as the schoolmen, and means little else
than the truism 'One's handiness comes as a natural gift.' According
to San Antonio the diversity among the races of men as regards their
bodily endowments as well as those of mind, genius, and customs,
arises from the diversity of climate, and the diversity of air,
drink, and meat, whence the axiom that Nature varies her gifts,
or man's character is due in a measure to his environments."
[94] The passage referred to is at the beginning of San Agustin's
noted "Letter to a friend," which is printed (in part) in Delgado's
_Hist. Filipinas_, pp. 273-293. He says: "In this research I have
been occupied for forty years, and I have only succeeded in learning
that the Indians are incomprehensible." The allusion to Solomon is
explained by Proverbs, chap. xxx, vs. 18, 19.
[95] See Psalm xcv (xciv in Douay version), v. 10: "Forty years long
was I offended with that generation, and I said: 'These always err
in heart.'"
[96] See VOL. XXIII, p. 271, note 118.
[97] St. Cassian was a native of Imola, Italy, who was martyred
under one of the Roman emperors (Decius, Julian the Apostate, or
Valerian). He was a schoolmaster of little children whom he taught to
read and write, and his pupils denounced him as a Christian. He was
delivered over to his former charges, and they wreaked their vengeance
on him by breaking their tablets over his head and piercing him with
their styluses. His feast is celebrated on August 13.--T. C. Middleton,
O.S.A.
[98] _Ordinarios_: an appellation of ecclesiastical judges who
try causes in the first instance, and, by antonomasia, of the
bishops themselves, regarded as judges in their respective dioceses
(Dominguez's _Dicc. nacional_).
[99] These ordinances were a revision of former laws, and addition
of new ones, by Don José Raon, governor of the islands; they were
promulgated on February 26, 1768. This code will receive attention
in a later volume.
[100] Spanish, _comer la sopa boba_; literally, "to eat fool
soup"--that is, to live at another's expense; perhaps alluding to
the former custom of maintaining fools or jesters in the households
of the rich.
[101] These are games of cards, the name of the latter indicating
the number of points which win the game.
[102] "This argument for the reason of the insanity of many friars,
seems to me completely false. It would be sufficient to compare the
friars who are insane with the insane found also among the other
Spaniards, in order to declare quite the contrary. Quite different do
I believe the origin of the insanity, both of the religious and of
the other Spaniards. He who has had anything to do with the Indian
will have observed that his nature is quite contrary to that of the
Spaniard. The latter is generally lively, acute, and full of fire,
while that of the Indian, on the contrary, is dull, somber, and
cold as snow. The Spaniard who does not arm himself with patience
and forbearance, is liable to become, I do not say insane, but
desperate. Another reason even may be assigned, in what pertains to
the religious. As a general thing, their insanity has as its primal
cause melancholy; and this is very common to the regular curas who
are alone, and who, experiencing the ingratitude of the Indian, his
fickleness in virtue, and his indifference in matters of religion,
think that their sacrifice for the natives is in vain. Consequently,
the curas need great courage in order to calm themselves and to
persevere in the even tenor of their life. In my opinion these two
reasons can fully account for the origin of the cases of insanity
among many." (Note by Father Juan Ferrando, written on the margin of
the manuscript of this chapter.)--Mas.
[103] Mas here cites at length a writing by the Augustinian Casimiro
Diaz, which instructs parish priests in their duties; they are warned
against trading or engaging in any business or manufacture directly
or indirectly.
[104] Father Juan Ferrando, professor of canons in the college of
Santo Tomás of Manila, to whom I gave the manuscript of this chapter
to read, wrote in the margin the following note, which is very just
and timely; and as such I insert it, in order to counteract the
statement which has given occasion for it, and which I wrote in the
heat of composition, simply through heedlessness and inadvertence. "In
no way can the cura make use of what he learns in the confessional
for the exterior government. By its means one may better understand
the character of the Indian, but the cura can never make use of it
for the investigations that the government exacts. 1 believe that it
will be impossible to print this statement without doing harm to the
confessional and to the curas."--Mas.
[105] "When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of
nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country,
and treated the _cailianes_, or serfs, with great rigour.
"The common people [among the Igorrotes] are in a kind of bondage
to the nobles, and cultivate their land for them. In Lepanto they
are called _cailianes_ as in Ilocos." (Sawyer's _Inhabitants of the
Philippines_, pp. 251, 256.)
[106] The famous bridge which joins the capital with the barrio
of Binondo was directed by the Recollect, Fray Lucas de Jesus
Maria. Another religious has lately constructed another bridge in
Iloilo, which is said to be very fine. The government sent him a
cross on that account. His name was Fray Simon de San Agustin. Almost
all the advances in agriculture and the arts which have made in the
islands since the arrival of the Spaniards are due to the religious,
as was also the abolition of slavery.--Mas.
[107] Spanish, _pax octaviana_, referring to the Roman emperor Octavian
and the peaceful condition of his empire.
[108] "This proposition, founded on the common opinion of those who
have seen none except the curacies of the rich and well-populated
provinces, cannot be maintained in any manner. In the environs of
Manila, where the food and services cost dearer than in the city
itself, the cura in charge of a village which does not number more
than one thousand tributes cannot live with decency. For here also
generally fails what you say in another place, namely, that the cura's
income can be adjusted at a peso for each tribute. In the distant
provinces--as, for instance, Cagayan and other distant parts--since
food and services are very cheap, and the cura does not have to
spend anything except on the things that he requests from Manila,
if the village reaches 500 tributes it will be sufficient for him,
but not below the said number; and even in the first case, if he
has a sufficient number of masses to apply with alms, which rarely
happens. I pray you now to consider the fact that the majority of
the villages of the archbishopric do not exceed 1,000 tributes,
and those of the other bishoprics 500. What would you say it you
knew what passes in the villages that even preserve the names of
missions? The government gives them a small stipend, of less than
300 pesos, and a few cabans of palay. On this they have to support
themselves, as well as the church edifice and divine worship, as
there are no fees on the part of the village; for as missionaries
they do not have parochial fees. Consequently, if they wish to live
with some comfort, they have to engage in stockraising; and those who
do not possess a somewhat regulated conscience will have to devote
themselves to unseemly traffic." (Note of Father Juan Ferrando,
written on the margin of the manuscript of this chapter.)--Mas.
[109] _Peso fuerte_ or _duro_, the "strong" or "hard" dollar; the
"piece of eight," or peso of eight reals. See VOLS. III, p. 177,
and XII, p. 73.
[110] Spanish, _el_ [_libro_] _de cuarenta_; literally, "the book of
forty leaves," meaning a pack of cards.
[111] Any man who is willing to work is able not only to live, but
to become rich.--Mas.
[112] This chart appears at the end of the volume, and enumerates
various villages of each province, and the curas in charge of them. We
reproduce only the summary, which is as follows:
Provinces Number of Held by Held by
seculars regulars curacies
Tondo 26 15 11
Bulacan 20 18 2
Pampanga 28 15 8
Bataan 10 7 3
Zambales 12 9 2
Nueva-Ecija 17 6 6
Laguna 35 27 7
Batangas 15 7 8
Cavite 12 4 11
Mindoro 10 6 4
Total 185 111 62
[113] Alfaro was provisor in 1578-79 (Huerta's _Estudo_, p. 441),
at which time the governor was Francisco de Sande.
[114] _Espolio_: the property which a prelate leaves at his death.
[115] _Patrimonio_: property peculiarly made spiritual, according
to the needs of the Church, so that anyone may be ordained on its
foundation.
[116] A chaplaincy is a pious foundation made by any religious person,
and elected into a benefice by the ecclesiastical ordinary, with
the annexed obligation of saying a certain number of masses, or with
the obligation of other analogous spiritual duties. Chaplaincies of
this class are collative, thus being differentiated from those purely
laical, in which the authority of the ordinary does not intervene. See
_Dic. nacional lengua española_ (Madrid, 1878).
[117] The summary of the above-mentioned chart is as follows:
Provinces Number of Held by Held by
seculars regulars curacies
Cebú 45 32 12
Island of Negros 14 4 10
Leyte 14 7 7
Samar 15 14 0
Capiz 18 10 9
Iloilo 29 22 7
Antíque 11 4 7
Misamis 7 7 0
Caraga 4 4 0
Nueva-Guipúzcoa 3 1 1
Calamianes 5 3 2
Zamboanga 1 1 0
Marianas Islands 4 3 1
Total 170 112 56
[118] The bishopric of Jaro was separated, by papal decree, in 1865,
from that of Cebú, and contained the provinces of Iloilo, Concepcion,
Capiz, and Antique (these four being included within the island of
Panay); also Mindanao (excepting Misamis and Surigao, which are in
the bishopric of Cebú), Calamianes, Negros, and Romblón. The Marianas
Islands were assigned to the diocese of Cebú; also Bohol, Leyte,
and Samar.
"The diocese of Jaro was created by bull of Pius IX in 1865, and its
first bishop was Don Fray Mariano Cuartero, who died in 1884. He was
succeeded by Don Fray Leandro Arúe, a Recollect religious, who died
in 1897. In his place was chosen Don Fray Andrés Ferrero de San José,
a religious of the same order." (_Archipiélago filipino_, ii, p. 256.)
[119] An evident error, as Caraga is in Mindanao; probably the writer
meant to say Albay, as is indicated in his enumeration of parishes
in the diocese of Nueva Cáceres, sheet [11] of appendices at end
of vol. ii. The boundaries of provinces in Luzon were formerly quite
different, in many cases, from the present ones. See, for instance, the
map in Mas's _Informe_ (1843), preceding his chapter on "Territorial
divisions;" Albay thereon includes not only the present Sorsogon,
but the islands of Masbate, Ticao, and Catanduanes.
[120] This should be Bondog; it is but one of the many typographical
errors which detract from the value of Buzeta and Bravo's
_Diccionario_. Bañgsa apparently means the present Bangon; Bulsnan,
Bulusan; Tigbi, Tiui or Tivi; Lognoy, Lagonoy. We have corrected in
the text several other names incorrectly spelled.
[121] The present town of Capalonga is at the mouth of the important
river Banogboc, which with its tributaries drains the western half
of Camarines Norte; the lower part of the river is also known as
Capalonga.
[122] Chart [11] at the end of the volume gives a list of the provinces
and villages of the bishopric, with the names of the incumbents of
the various churches. The summary of the list is as follows:
Provinces Number of Held by Held by
seculars regulars curacies
Camarines Sur 38 17 14
Camarines Norte 8 0 7
Albay 35 8 22
Commandancy of the
islands of Masbate
and Ticao 6 0 5
Tayabas 17 9 6
Total 103 34 54
[123] The extreme northeast point of Cagayan province and Luzón Island,
a landmark of approach for navigators to the eastern coast. It is a
promontory at the north point of Palaui Island, and is 316 feet high.
[124] A chart at the end of the volume shows the various provinces and
their villages, with the names of the incumbents of the curacies. Its
summary is as follows:
Provinces Number of Held by Held by
seculars regulars curacies
Cagayan 20 14 1
Nueva Vizcaya 16 11 1
Pangasinan 36 28 4
Ilocos Sur 25 11 8
Ilocos Norte 14 9 3
Abra 7 3 3
Batanes Islands 6 4 0
Total 124 80 20
[125] A comparison of the English translation of Jagor (London,
1875) with the original text reveals the fact that the translation
is inaccurate in many places, and that it was done in a careless and
slovenly manner. Consequently, it has been necessary to translate
this matter directly from the German.
[126] Polángui is located in the province of Albay, on the right bank
of the Inaya River, and eleven miles in a general southeast direction
from Lake Bató (the Batu of the text). This passage, in the English
translation mentioned in the preceding note, is incorrectly rendered,
"to cross the lake of Batu"--an error probably due to ignorance on
the part of the translator, of the location of Polángui, although
the language of the author is not at all ambiguous.
[127] That is, "It is what hour your Majesty pleases."
[128] At this point Jagor adds in Spanish in parenthesis: "Discalced
minor religious of the regular and most strict observance of our
holy father St. Francis, in the Filipinas Islands, of the holy and
apostolic province of San Gregorio Magno."
[129] As many as 900 monasteries were suppressed in Spain by decree of
June 21, 1835, and the rest were dissolved by the decree of October
11, of the same year. The suppression, as might have been expected,
was accompanied by excesses against the friars and nuns, and some of
them were murdered, while parish priests and Jesuits were hunted over
the borders.
[130] This passage is hopelessly confused in the English translation,
and proves how entirely untrustworthy that translation is. The reading
of the original (_da sie gezwungen sein würden, dort der Ordensregel
zu entsagen und als Rentner zu leben_) is translated "for they are
compelled in the colonies to abandon all obedience to the rules of
their order, and to live as laymen"--a sin against actual history,
as well as language.
[131] _Historia de las islas ... y Reynos de la Gran China_ (Barcelona,
1601), chapter xi.
[132] Felix Renouard de St. Croix (cited by Jagor) says, in his _Voyage
commercial et politique mix Indes orientales, aux Iles Philippines,
à la Chine_ (Paris, 1810; ii, p. 157), that the curas in his day were
served by young girls. A Franciscan of the lake of Bay had twenty of
them at his disposal, two of whom were always at his side.
[133] Jagor cites, in a footnote at this point, a portion of Le
Gentil's description of the power of the friars in the Philippines,
which is to be found in vol. ii, p. 183, of that author; and _ante_,
in our extract from Le Gentil, pp. 210-219.
[134] _Leg. ult._, ¡, 266, §§ 87, 89.
[135] Probably _Memorias históricas y estadísticas de Filipinas y
particularmente de la grande isla de Luzón_ (imprint from _Diario de
Manila_, 1850), by Rafael Diaz Arenas.
[136] See _Recopilación de leyes de Indias_, lib. ii, tit. xvi, ley
liv (dated: Valladolid, April 29, 1549, Cárlos I and the queen of
Bohemia; Valladolid, April 16 and May 2, 1550, Maximiliano and the
queen; Valladolid, May 9, 1569, Felipe II), and tit. vi, ley xxvi
(dated: Madrid, July 20, 1618, Felipe III; ordinance 139 of 1636,
Felipe IV), which forbid alcaldes and other officials to trade, to
use the money of the communal funds of the natives, or to compel the
latter to serve them. Lib. v, tit. ii, treats in great part of the
office of the alcalde, and ley xlvii (dated: Madrid, July 10, 1530,
Cárlos I; Valladolid, September 4, 1551, Carlos I and the queen of
Bohemia; Pinto, April 4, 1563, Felipe II; Lisboa, August 31, 1619,
Felipe III), declares that the alcaldes and others are included in
the prohibition to trade. (Cited by Jagor.)
[137] By royal decree of July 17, 1754. (Cited by Jagor.)
[138] Renouard de St. Croix, ii, p. 124. (Cited by Jagor.)
[139] This note is as follows: "The _obras pias_ are pious legacies,
in which it was generally determined that two-thirds were to be
loaned at interest for maritime commercial enterprises, until the
premiums--which for the risk to Acapulco reached 50 per cent, to
China, 25 per cent, and to the Indias, 35 per cent--had increased
the original capital to a certain amount. Then the interest of that
amount was to be applied to the good of the soul of the founder, or to
pious or charitable ends (Arenas, _Historia_, p. 397). One-third was
usually retained as a reserve, to cover chance losses. These reserve
funds were long ago claimed by the government as compulsory loans,
'but they are still regarded as existing.'
"When the trade with Acapulco came to an end, the capitals could no
longer be employed in accordance with the request of the founder,
and they were loaned at interest in other ways. By a royal decree,
dated November 3, 1854 (_Leg. ult._ ii, p. 205), an administrative
council is appointed to take charge of the money of the _obras
pias_. The total capital of five foundations (or rather only four,
since one of them no longer has any capital) amounts to a trifle less
than one million dollars [_i.e._, pesos]. From that amount the profit
obtained from the loans is distributed according to the amount of the
original capital--which is, however, no longer in existence in cash,
because the government has disposed of it."
[140] _Ut supra_, ii, p. 336. (Cited by Jagor.)
[141] The office of alcalde falls into three divisions--_entrada_
[_i.e._, entrance], _ascenso_ [_i.e._, promotion], and _termino_
[_i.e._, limit] (royal order, March 31, 1837, tit. i, i) The alcalde's
term of service is three years in each grade (tit. ii, articles 11, 12,
and 13). Under no pretext can anyone remain longer than ten years in
the magistracy of the Asiatic provinces (article 16). (Note by Jagor.)
[142] This town is on the Pacific coast of Luzón, and is provincial
capital of Infanta (now annexed to province of Tayabas). It is near
the port of Lampón, which was used in the seventeenth century as a
harbor for the Acapulco galleons, as being more accessible than any
port in San Bernardino Strait. See _U. S. Philippine Gazetteer_,
pp. 553, 554, 578.
[143] This name is still retained, as an alternative appellation of
Point Concepción, which is on the southeastern coast of Maestro de
Campo Island, off west coast of Mindoro.
[144] Referring to Gabriel Sanchez and Juan de Torres (VOL. XII,
pp. 301, 310-313). The former entered the Society in its Toledo
province, about 1589; and, seven years later, went to join the
Philippine mission. He spent some twenty years in labors among the
Visayan natives; and died at Palapag, aged forty-eight years, on
January 1, 1617. Juan de Torres was born at Montilla, in 1564, and
entered the Jesuit order at the age of nineteen. He came to the islands
with Sanchez, in 1596, and the two were colaborers in Bohol. After
many years of work in the Visayas, Torres was obliged by ill-health
to return to Manila; he then learned the Tagál language, and labored
among the mountaineers of Bondoc. He died at Manila, January 14,
1625. (See Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 11, 30.)
[145] The name of a point and a village on the southeastern coast
of Bohol.
[146] See Legazpi's account of this, in VOL. II, pp. 207, 208.
[147] These were Loboc and Baclayon; see Murillo Velarde's account
of this rebellion (_Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 17, 18). It was put down
by Juan de Alcarazo, alcalde-mayor of Cebú, with fifty Spaniards
and one thousand friendly Indians (1622). Murillo Velarde says:
"The Boholans are the most warlike and valiant among the Indians."
[148] Giuseppe Lamberti, an Italian, was born November 25, 1691;
and entered the Jesuit order October 15, 1716. In the following
year, he set out for the Philippine missions; and finally was slain
by the natives, January 24, 1746. Sommervogel thus mentions him
(_Bibliothèque_, iv, col. 1412), but does not speak of Morales.
[149] The present population of the island of Bohol is 269, 223,
which is all civilized. See _Census of the Philippine Islands: 1903_,
Bulletin No. 7, "Population of the Philippine Islands" (Washington,
1904), published by the Department of Commerce and Labor.
[150] Pedro (according to Pérez) Jaraba was in Manila in 1598-99,
and went as a missionary to La Caldera in 1603. In the following year,
he died at Manila.
[151] The Cagayán (river and town) of Misamis, in northern
Mindanao. Camiguín also here refers, not to the island of that name
near Luzón, but to one on the coast of Misamis. Bislig is on the
eastern coast of Surigao province. There is no present application of
the name Surigao to an island; the reference in the text is apparently
to one of the two larger islands dependent on Surigao province,
which are Dinágat and Siargao.
[152] This name is misprinted "Juan Francisco de San Agustín" by Algué.
[153] The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in March, 1833,
to perpetuate the work started about 1831 by Bailly de Surcey in the
Latin Quarter in Paris among the students--an organization known as
"Société de bonnes études" or "Society of good studies," and which
was designed primarily for the spiritual growth of its members. The
immediate cause that led to the formation of the Society of St. Vincent
de Paul was the sneers of the non-Christians and freethinkers among the
students who contended that the spirit of Christianity was dead. The
objects striven for by the new society were greater spiritual growth,
and charitable work--the latter extending to work among the poor
and imprisoned, and the teaching of children. In 1835 the society
was divided into sections, in order that the work among the poor
might be carried on better from many centers. It grew rapidly, and
received papal sanction in 1845. By 1853 the society had spread to
England, America, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, and Palestine. In 1861,
being charged with political bickerings, they were persecuted by
the French government, and were ordered to accept Cardinal Morlot as
the head of the general council which had been formed in 1853. The
society refused this, and the general council was suspended. In 1875
there were 205,000 active members in France, and about 750,000 in the
world. The significant fact in this society is, that it was founded
by laymen and has always remained in the hands of laymen, though in
union with and subordinate to the clergy. See _Grande Encyclopédie,_
and Addis and Arnold's _Cath. Dict._, pp. 844, 845.
Vincent de Paul, from whom this society was named, was a French priest
born in 1576, who was noted for his great altruism, philanthropy,
and executive ability; he founded various charitable orders, notably
the Lazarists and the Sisters of Charity. He died in 1660, and was
canonized in 1737.
[154] Note in _Archipiélago filipino_: "He was freed from his captivity
at the end of December, 1899."
[155] The orders in the Philippines and other colonies were wont,
as still is their custom, to have head administrative quarters at
Rome and Madrid, for the expedition of business with the pontiff or
the king. The officer, always an expert in the management of affairs,
was entitled the "procurador general," and his business was chiefly
to attend to law problems in relation to the colonial missions,
to guard against adverse legislation, and to promote favorable
measures. His residence, whether at Rome or Madrid, was known as
"la casa de la procuración" or at Rome "la procura," of such and
such an order. Besides the "procurador general" the orders had single
"procuradores"--one for each house--who were the business men of the
convents, and saw to affairs of the outside world.--T. C. Middleton,
O.S.A.
[156] Note in _Archipiélago filipino_: "This assertion must be
understood of those who do not live in the active missions--that is
to say, of the Christian settlements and villages of more or less
long standing."
[157] Referring to the insurgent government headed by Emilio
Aguinaldo, erected when Manila was captured by the Americans, May,
1898. On September 15 of that year the insurgent congress assembled
at Malolos, which was chosen as their seat of government; but, in
consequence of the advance of American troops, the capital was removed
(February, 1899) to several other places successively. In November,
1899, the insurgent government was broken up, Aguinaldo fleeing to
the mountains--where he was finally captured, in March, 1901.
[158] This order was founded by St. Benedict, who removed his monastery
from Subiaco to Monte Cassino in 529. He prescribed neither asceticism
nor laxity, but laid especial emphasis on work, ordering that each
monastery have a library. The clothing was generally black, but was
to vary with the needs of the various countries and climates. They
were founded in France by St. Maur, a disciple of St. Benedict, and
were introduced into Spain about 633. In the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries many relaxations crept into the order, in the reforms of
which the congregation of St. Vanne (1550) and the congregation
of St. Maur (1618) were formed in France. The order was entirely
suppressed in France at the Revolution, but was later reëstablished
there. It was also suppressed in Spain and Germany, and has not been
introduced again in the former country. The order was established first
in the United States in 1846. See Addis and Arnold's _Cath. Dict._,
pp. 74-76.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 (Vol. 28 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, Vol. 28, 1637-38" ***
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