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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 18 of 55 - 1617-1620 - Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century
Author: Robertson, James Alexander, 1873-1939 [Editor], Blair, Emma Helen, -1911 [Editor]
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 18 of 55 - 1617-1620 - 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" ***
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 XVIII, 1617-1620
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XVIII
Preface 9
Documents of 1617-1618
Letter to Felipe III. Andrés de Alcaraz;
Manila, August 10, 1617. 31
Trade between Nueva España and the Far
East. [Unsigned and undated; _ca._ 1617].
57
Events in the Filipinas Islands, 1617-18
[Unsigned; Manila], June, 1618. 65
Description of the Philippinas
Islands. [Unsigned]; Manila, 1618. 93
Dutch factories and posts in the Orient. [Pedro
de Heredia]; [1618?]. 107
Memorial regarding Manila hospital. [Unsigned];
Manila, 1618. 112
Letter to Felipe III. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza;
Cavite, August 10, 1618. 116
Letters to Fajardo. Felipe III; Madrid,
December 19, 1618. 150
Filipinas menaced by Dutch. Joan de Ribera,
S.J.; Manila, December 20, 1618. 161
Documents of 1619-1620
Philippine ships and shipbuilding. Sebastian
de Pineda; [Mexico? 1619]. 169
Royal decree regarding religious expelled
from their orders. Felipe III; Madrid,
February 19, 1619. 189
Proposal to destroy Macao. Diego Aduarte, O.P.;
[Madrid? 1619]. 194
Relation of events in the Filipinas Islands,
1618-19. [Unsigned]; Manila, July 12, 1619.
204
Letter to Felipe III. Pedro de Arce; Manila,
July 30, 1619. 235
Letter to Felipe III. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza;
Manila, August 10, 1619. 247
Grant to seminary of Santa Potenciana. Juan
Oñez, and others; Manila, 1617-19. 282
Reforms needed in Filipinas (to be
concluded). Hernando de los Rios Coronel;
[Madrid?], 1619-20. 289
Bibliographical Data. 345
ILLUSTRATIONS
Plan of the city of Goa and its environs; photographic
facsimile of engraving in Bellin's _Petit atlas maritime_
([Paris], 1764), no. 29, from copy in library of Wisconsin
Historical Society. 199
View of the city of Manila; photographic facsimile of
engraving in Spilbergen and Le Maire's _Speculum orientalis
occidentalisque Indiæ navigationum_ (French edition, 1621),
no. 18, facing p. 86, from copy in Library of Congress.
225
Autograph signature of Fernando de Los Rios; photographic
facsimile from original MS. in Archivo general de Indias,
Sevilla. 343
PREFACE
The scope of the present volume extends from 1617 to 1620. The islands
are still ravaged at intervals by the Moro pirates from the southern
part of the archipelago. Even worse are the losses to the commerce of
the islands inflicted by the Dutch; their ships infest the seas about
Luzón, and those of the Moluccas, in which region they are steadily and
even rapidly gaining foothold, and securing the best commerce of those
lands. Corruption in the management of the Spanish interests in the
Spice Islands renders them an expensive and embarrassing possession;
and the new governor, Fajardo, finds the same influence at work in
the Spanish colony itself, especially among the auditors and other
high officials. The colonial treasury is, as usual, short of funds,
and can do little to defend the islands from the Dutch; the Madrid
government is unwilling to spend much more on the Philippines, although
beset with importunities to save that colony, and Spanish commerce
generally, from the insolent Dutch. The usual building of ships in the
islands has so harrassed and exhausted the unfortunate natives that
it is necessary to have ships built for the Philippines in India and
other countries where timber and labor are more abundant. The trade of
the colony with China is the object of much discussion, and proposals
are again made to restrict it, as well as that with Nueva España, in
order to protect the commercial interests of the mother-country. In
the final document is a detailed statement, in vigorous language,
of the abuses current in the administration of the islands--arbitrary
and oppressive conduct of the auditors, corruption among officials,
extravagant expenditure of public funds, lax enforcement of laws,
burdensome exactions imposed upon the Indians, and Chinese, etc.;
for these the citizens demand redress, prevention, and relief.
Andrés de Alcaraz, the auditor in charge of military affairs after
Silva's death, writes to the king (August 10, 1617). The ships
could not go to Nueva España in 1616, because the Dutch were lying
in wait for them; but the Acapulco galleon arrives safely at Manila,
and brings money to relieve the general distress. Alcaraz makes ready,
although in the midst of great difficulties, a fleet to drive away the
Dutch. On April 14, 1617, this Spanish fleet has a battle with the
Dutch squadron at Playa Honda. After a long and fierce contest, the
enemy take to flight, having lost several ships and much artillery,
and many of their men being killed or wounded. As soon as possible
thereafter, Alcaraz sends supplies to the Spanish forts in Ternate;
recalls Geronimo de Silva to Manila, to act as governor _ad interim_;
and despatches pilots to meet the fleet that is coming from Spain via
Cape of Good Hope. He criticizes Geronimo de Silva for his harshness
and arrogance, already displayed in many ways. Alcaraz thanks the
king for permitting him to resign his position as auditor and return
to Spain; and explains why he has not yet vacated his office. He
mentions the Philippine officials who have merited special rewards
from the crown, especially those who were prominent in the battle of
Playa Honda. Reënforcements of men have come from Spain, but with them
was no money; and the treasury of the islands is entirely empty. Its
debts are heavy, and aid is urgently requested. Through sickness and
absence, there are no auditors of the Audiencia in active service,
except Alcaraz himself.
A document unsigned and undated [_ca._ 1617] discusses the trade of
the Spanish colonies with China and Japan. This trade advances the
interests of religion in those heathen lands. Its character, methods,
and results are described in orderly array of interesting facts--first
in a general survey, then in details regarding each colony; and finally
in comparisons between the commerce of those colonies respectively
with China and Japan. Eastern India depends on this trade for its
maintenance and preservation; and the customs duties therefrom cause
larger profits to the crown than do those from the other colonies. This
income will be greatly increased, for both Castilla and Portugal, if
Nueva España and Filipinas be no longer allowed to trade with China and
Japan. The writer (apparently one of the king's councilors) suggests
various expedients for attaining this end, and closes by urging the
king to confine the Filipinas merchants to trade with Nueva España.
The events of the year from June, 1617, to June, 1618, are chronicled
by some unnamed writer (apparently one of the Jesuits in Manila). The
battle of Playa Honda deals such a blow to the Dutch power in the
archipelago that the natives in some of the Malucas Islands rebel
against it. A small English post is destroyed by the Dutch; and their
ships that flee from Playa Honda go to Japan. Their adventures in
that country are detailed. Some Dutch ships come again to the coast
of Luzón, and plunder the Chinese trading vessels as they appear;
the Spaniards cannot prevent this, as their galleons are laid up for
repairs. A shipload of supplies for the garrison and the missions at
Ternate is sent from Manila; the master of the ship, taking advantage
of the absence on shore of part of the passengers and men, steals away
with the ship and its cargo. The Jesuits secure a new supply of food
for their mission, by soliciting alms. The islands still suffer from
the depredations of the Moro pirates. The writer describes the special
festivities in honor of the Virgin Mary, and the martyrdom of some
missionaries in Japan. He then proceeds to relate the particulars of
the murder of the Augustinian provincial, Vicente Sepulveda, by some
of his own friars, and the punishment of the criminals. A postscript
to this letter states that the ships sent to Ternate with supplies
had been attacked by the Dutch; and part of the crew were killed and
wounded, and much of the food lost. Other supplies, however, have
been sent to Ternate from India. The prince of Tidore has become
hostile to the Dutch. One Sequeira makes an unsuccessful voyage,
and dies in Cochin. The new governor of the Philippines arrives at
Manila in July, 1618.
Of nearly the same date is a descriptive account of the Philippine
Islands, their inhabitants, government, products, etc.--including a
statement of the number of Indian tributes in each island, which amount
in all to 160,000. The writer notes various matters relating to the
interests and social condition of the Spanish colony, especially the
need of vigorous measures to punish the Moro pirates, who continually
harass the Pintados.
Pedro de Heredia, a Spanish official in the Moluccas, furnishes to the
king (1618) a list of the Dutch factories and forts in the Orient;
from this, and the value of the products annually exported thence,
it is evident that the Dutch have gained an extensive footing and
prestige in the Far East, together with rich profits, while the
Spaniards have lost the best part of their former commerce there. The
king is urged to consider these matters, and take measures to remedy
the present state of affairs.
A former steward of the royal hospital at Manila memorializes the
Council of the Indias (1618) regarding the losses incurred by that
institution through the mismanagement of its funds; and various orders
conducive to the improvement of the hospital are thereupon given by
the Council.
Soon after his arrival in the islands the new governor, Alonso Fajardo
de Tenza, writes to the king (August 10, 1618) regarding the state
of affairs there. He finds the colony suffering from various recent
disasters, and much fear and uncertainty among the people. He implores
aid from the king to maintain the Philippine colony and defend it from
its enemies. He is endeavoring to make the most of his scanty naval
torce, in the face of news that hostile fleets are coming to attack
the islands; and has sent to Nueva España to ask for reënforcements and
supplies. His predecessor, Geronimo de Silva, desires to go to Spain;
but the Audiencia orders an investigation of his official conduct,
especially in regard to the loss of the galleons. Fajardo recommends
that more care be taken to provide suitably for an _ad interim_
government of the islands, when such shall occur; and declines certain
perquisites of his office. Much resentment against the Audiencia
is felt among the people, since the best offices and incomes in the
islands are appropriated by relatives and dependents of the auditors,
who seem bent on exploiting the colony for their own profit, and
oppress the inhabitants; and Fajardo asks the king to check their
selfishness and arrogance. He is trying to correct certain illegal
proceedings by the auditors in their recent government _ad interim_,
and asks the king to suspend his confirmation of these until he
can send further information thereon; he makes the same request in
regard to other cases where certain persons are intriguing to obtain
profitable appointments. He asks for skilled clerks and galley-masters;
and, after recounting the injuries caused to the Indians by the
building of galleys in the islands, he states that he will endeavor
to procure vessels in Portuguese India. Some private persons in the
islands are building ships, but the Indian labor employed thereon
is paid and voluntary. Fajardo makes some suggestions for the better
management of naval affairs. He also forwards the request of Manila
citizens that encomiendas be granted for three lives; and asks for
rewards for certain brave military and naval officers. The Audiencia
finally compel Geronimo de Silva to furnish his residencia in person,
and clear himself from charges made against him.
To the governor's letter are appended several others, which concern
Malucan affairs. Manuel Ribeyra, a Jesuit, states that the governor
there, Gaviria, has fortified the Spanish posts in his care, which are
in unusually good condition; certain supplies, however, are needed for
them, as also a better class of subaltern officers. Gaviria is somewhat
overbearing in disposition, but Ribeyra commends his ability. That
officer himself writes to Fajardo, explaining why he cannot at
present fill the governor's order for a quantity of cloves. The
Dutch and English are contending with each other in the Moluccas;
and the former, it is said, are intending to attack the Spanish forts
there soon. Gaviria has but few men, and some of these are unfit for
duty. He needs a few galleys, as he has "only one rotten galliot";
also troops, money, and clothing. Gaviria thinks that the Dutch are
being to some extent supplanted by the English; and that the latter
will gladly unite with the Spaniards against the common enemy. He
recommends the abandonment of the Spanish posts in Gilolo. A letter
from the king of Tidore accompanies Gaviria's letter, in which that
ruler demands that Fajardo succor the Spanish forts promptly.
Letters from the king to Fajardo (December 19, 1618) give him orders
regarding certain matters in the administration of the Philippine
government. Offices shall be given to these citizens of the islands
who deserve rewards for meritorious services. The alarming expenses of
the Maluco establishment are not counterbalanced by any returns from
the spice-trade there, and it is openly declared that the Spanish
officials have embezzled what profits might have accrued therefrom
to the royal treasury. Fajardo is therefore ordered to investigate
this matter and punish those who may be guilty; and to take charge,
for the present, of the conduct of the clove-trade at Ternate. The
force of men there should be reduced, if practicable; and certain forts
in Maluco should be abandoned. In these and other ways expenses must
be reduced. The governor and the archbishop must warn the religious
orders to cease their exactions upon the Indians. A separate letter
warns the governor that expenses must be reduced to the utmost; and
that he must maintain the colony on its own revenues, without aid
from the government. He is advised to endeavor to open and work the
mines in the islands; but in doing so he must not molest or injure the
Indians. He should endeavor to enlist their aid in this undertaking,
and the missionaries should use their influence with the natives.
The Jesuit Joan de Ribera writes to some high official in Spain
(December 20, 1618), urging the importance of Manila and the
Philippines, and the necessity of opposing the progress that the Dutch
are making in India, Japan, and the archipelago, so as to preserve for
Spain the rich trade of the East. Another most important consideration
is the need of maintaining these islands as a center for religious
labors among the heathen tribes.
A naval officer, Sebastian de Pineda, sends from Nueva España (1619)
to the king a paper on ships and shipbuilding in the Philippines. He
begins by describing various kinds of timber used for this purpose;
then enumerates, the shipyards in the islands, and the wages paid to
the workmen. Fourteen hundred carpenters were formerly employed at
one time in the Cavite shipyard alone; but half of them were killed
or captured by the Moros in 1617, many have died from overwork, and
many others have fled to parts unknown because they had been unpaid
for five years. Iron is brought to Manila from China and Japan,
and wrought by the Chinese and Indian artisans; the Chinese smith
"works from midnight until sunset," and earns less than one real a
day. Iron should be imported from Biscay, however, for some special
purposes. Much useful information is given as to the material, quality,
and prices of rigging and canvas. Pineda makes recommendations as
to the shipment to Manila of various articles, showing how present
expenses may be lessened, and waste avoided, in many ways. He states
that the naval defense of the islands is quite inadequate, and they
are consequently in danger of being seized by the Dutch. But it is
at present impossible to build in the islands the ships needed there;
for the natives are exhausted by the labors and exactions imposed upon
them in previous years, and by the deaths of so many at the hands of
the enemy or through the hardships of enforced naval service. Pineda
recommends that the ships needed for the islands be built in India or
Cochin, and that slaves be brought thence to serve on the Philippine
galleys. Many Filipino natives are migrating to Nueva España, which
should be checked. One reason for this is the fact that these Filipinos
distil palm-wine, which will soon ruin the wine-trade of Spain in Nueva
España. The incursions of the Mindanao pirates have also been a serious
obstacle to shipbuilding in the Philippines; and they have rendered the
use of La Caldera, as a station for the Spanish vessels, impossible,
while they welcome the Dutch to their shores. Pineda recommends that
the king proclaim that any one who wishes may wage war upon and enslave
these Mindanao infidels, as thus only can they be subdued. He ends with
a report on the measurements of the galleons in the islands in 1617.
A royal decree dated February 19, 1619, confirms the ordinance enacted
by the dean and cabildo of Manila cathedral, refusing benefices and
ecclesiastical dignities to religious who have been expelled from
their orders.
The Dominican missionary Diego Aduarte proposes to the Council of
the Indias (probably in May, 1619) a means to check the outflow
of silver from Nueva España to the Philippines. Aduarte recommends
that the trade of the islands with Nueva España be suppressed, and
that their inhabitants be allowed to trade with Japan, selling in
that country the silks that they buy from the Chinese. But the bulk
of this trade is already in the hands of the Portuguese of Macao;
in order that it may be monopolized by Manila, Aduarte advises that
Macao be abandoned, and its inhabitants transported to other cities of
India. This can be accomplished easily by a royal decree forbidding
them to engage in the Japanese trade, which would compel them to go
elsewhere. He enumerates the beneficial results of this measure,
and declares that even without these Macao should be abandoned;
for its people are lawless and irreligious, and are not even vassals
of Spain, but of China. The Portuguese of Macao are needed in India,
which country would be benefited in many ways by the measure proposed,
as also would the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. Moreover, they
hinder, by their evil example, the conversion of the Chinese natives.
One of the Manila Jesuits writes (July 12, 1619) an account of
events in the Philippines and in the neighboring countries during the
past year. The city of Bassein, near Bombay, has been destroyed by
storms and earthquakes. In China there has been a persecution of the
Christians, and four Jesuits were expelled from the empire. Others
remain there, who are preaching the gospel wherever they can. In
certain inland districts, these missionaries have encountered a large
colony of Jews, and a people who worship the cross, although they are
heathens. The Tartars have invaded Chinese territory, and our writer
copies the text of a memorial regarding this invasion, sent by the
mandarins of Pekin to the ruler of China, detailing the defeats and
misfortunes suffered by the Chinese. They complain of his neglect of
public affairs, and his harsh treatment of a certain mandarin, and
ask him to take measures to drive back the Tartars, in Cochinchina the
recently-begun missions of the Jesuits are prospering. For the Japanese
mission are coming a large reënforcement of Jesuit missionaries; but
affairs there are so disturbed that they cannot enter the country at
present. The writer recounts various omens and portents which are said
to have occurred in China and Japan. In the latter country, a fierce
persecution of the Christians serves but to display the steadfastness
and zeal of both the missionaries and their converts. Several naval
encounters between the Dutch and the English and Portuguese are
narrated. Good news comes from the Moluccas: the petty king of Manados,
with many of his chiefs, is converted to the Christian faith; Tidore
and Ternate are at war; and Maluco is well supplied. Both Dutch and
Spaniards are building more forts in those islands. Other European
nations also are acquiring a foothold in the archipelago. The writer
describes two remarkable comets which have been visible in Manila. A
plague of locusts is destroying the grain-crops. In October, 1618,
the Dutch again come to Luzón to plunder the Chinese merchant vessels;
but they do not attack Manila, and in the following spring they depart
from the islands, perhaps overawed by the forces of ships and guns
which the Spaniards collect.
Pedro de Arce, bishop of Cebú, writes to the king (July 30, 1619);
he praises Governor Fajardo, and asks the king to send more ships
to his aid. The bishop asks permission to resign his see, and more
salary as acting archbishop; recommends Pedro de Heredia to the king;
asks that an _ad interim_ appointment in the cathedral may receive
royal confirmation, and that the Cebú church may receive a grant
for repairs and further income. He requests that the ecclesiastical
cabildo of Manila may be authorized to rule the archbishopric,
in case of the death of the archbishop. It is reported that the
Jesuits are endeavoring to oust the other orders from Japan, which
Arce deprecates, advising the king to confirm the appointment of the
Franciscan Luis Sotelo as bishop of eastern Japan. Arce's requests
regarding the archbishopric of Manila are seconded by various papers
appended to his letter, embodying the opinions of the auditors and
royal officials thereon, who support Arce's claims.
A letter from Fajardo to the king (August 10, 1619) gives his report on
various matters of importance. He has received certain reënforcements
and supplies from Mexico, but urges that these be sent every year. He
describes the last incursion of the Dutch in Philippine waters, and his
military preparations by which they were obliged to retreat thence. His
resources for defense are small, and he cannot depend upon India for
aid, as the Portuguese there are themselves in straits; accordingly,
the king must send a fleet from Spain for the aid of the islands. He
has aided Ternate to the best of his ability, and will send more
when he can. The governor there has resigned his post, after many
complaints of his rule; Fajardo has made a temporary appointment,
and asks the king to provide further for this post. The English
in the archipelago are engaged in conflicts with the Dutch, and it
is rumored that the former would like to ally themselves with the
Spaniards to fight their mutual foe. Fajardo is perplexed regarding
the king of Ternate, who is still held a prisoner at Manila; and
asks for instructions. He makes various recommendations and requests
concerning the appointment of certain subordinates, desiring to secure
persons most fit therefor. He has attempted to correct abuses in the
government, which he recounts in detail. Fajardo has been annoyed by
constant quarrels in the Audiencia, but, with the somewhat reluctant
aid of the old auditor Alcaraz, has been able to quiet them in part. He
has found in both Alcaraz and the archbishop Serrano, most judicious
and helpful counselors; but the other auditors are on bad terms with
him, and one of them has a scandalous reputation, both public and
private. A scandal has occurred in the seminary of Santa Potenciana,
but the guilty have been punished. Conflicts of jurisdiction have
arisen between Fajardo and the Audiencia, especially in regard to the
trials of soldiers and sailors for crimes. The governor complains that
retired officers refuse to serve in the regular companies; and asks
that extra pay be allowed them as an inducement for such service. He
asks for directions as to his sending the usual gifts to the emperor
of Japan. The loyalty and bravery of the Spanish citizens of Manila
are warmly commended, especially in the case of Juan Ronquillo and some
others who are named. Certain intrigues and frauds have been detected,
which are recounted. Fajardo recommends that more Jesuits be sent to
the islands; he complains that the Dominicans are too ready to leave
their work, but commends the Augustinians. A short document appended
to Fajardo's letter concerns the relative merits of the routes to
Filipinas via Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn respectively.
A group of papers dated 1610-19 shows that an encomienda of Indians
was granted to the seminary of Santa Potenciana for its support,
in consequence of the destitution suffered by its inmates.
An important document is that sent--in two memorials, of 1619 and
March, 1620, respectively--to the king by Hernando de los Rios Coronel,
long procurator-general of the Filipinas, on "reforms needed" in the
islands--of which he has been despatched by the citizens to inform
the king. Accordingly, he writes (apparently at Madrid) a detailed
statement of the "matters that demand reform." Serious losses of
life and property have been caused by the delays in despatching the
trading ships from Manila; the governors should be compelled to send
them at the favorable season. The officials on these vessels should
be appointed from among the deserving citizens of the islands,
and not be the relatives or servants of the governor or other
royal officials. The citizens have been greatly defrauded in the
assignment of lading on the galleons, and too much of this is granted
to charitable institutions. The trading ships should not be used for
any other purposes. The Manila authorities buy ammunition and other
supplies in China, which, "in order not to anger the Portuguese in
Macan," they buy from them rather than from the natives, but the
supplies thus cost three times their value; the agent who buys them
should buy wherever he can do so to the best advantage, and directly
from the Chinese. The royal ships should be built in India, and the
burden of enforced service in this work should be removed from the
Indians. Commerce from Japan to Nueva España should be stopped; and
Spaniards should not be allowed to man Japanese vessels. An enemy
can close Manila harbor to all vessels desiring to enter; another
route to it should therefore be devised and made available. The Moro
pirates must be prevented from harassing the islands, and the best
means for this end is to proclaim that any one who will may capture
and enslave those pirates. No royal official should be allowed to
attend the session of the Audiencia in which a case concerning him
is tried. When Filipino natives serve as soldiers, their families
should during their absence be relieved from tributes and other
impositions. The ecclesiastical affairs of the Malucas should be
under the jurisdiction of Cebú, not of Goa. The commanders of the
trading ships should not be allowed to carry on the trade that they
now do; and the officials at Acapulco should be checked in making
extortionate charges. Ignorant and inefficient men should not be
placed in the ships as sailors. The common seamen therein (who are
Filipino natives) are inhumanly treated, and many of them die from
hunger, thirst, or cold, on each voyage. Slave women are carried on
the ships, in spite of the royal prohibition; and thus arise "many acts
offensive to God," and much cause for scandal. No sailor or passenger
(unless a person of rank) should be allowed to take with him more
than one male slave. Numerous other abuses are mentioned, regarding
the traffic in slaves, the treatment of seamen, and the overloading of
ships. The Chinese at Manila are oppressed by the royal officials--who,
moreover, appropriate their own household supplies of food from the
royal storehouses at the lowest possible prices. Municipal officers
and other leading citizens should not be compelled, as now, to live on
their encomiendas. Flour, rigging, and many other supplies should be
obtained in the islands, instead of being imported from Nueva España;
a great saving of money would be thus effected. The oppressive acts
of the friars toward the Indians should be checked; and no more
orders should be allowed to establish themselves in the islands. The
Chinese immigrants in Luzón should be collected in one community,
and induced to cultivate the soil. No relative or dependent of any
royal official should be allowed to hold a seat in the cabildo of
Manila, or to act as inspector of the Chinese trading vessels. More
religious are needed in the missions. The Chinese residents should
be treated more justly, and relieved from burdensome exactions. The
Japanese who come to Manila should be compelled to return to their
own country. No more ships should be built by the natives, and they
should be paid the arrearages which are due them.
The other memorial by Rios Coronel (March, 1620) is additional and
supplementary to the former one. He asks that regidors of Manila
be chosen by the Audiencia, and allowed some compensation for their
services; and that the governor be not allowed to compel the cabildo
to meet in his house. He blames the friars for transferring Indians
from the encomiendas to settlements near Manila, where these natives
are kept merely for the profit of the friars, and, moreover, become
greatly demoralized. The grant of licenses to Chinamen to reside in
the islands should be more carefully regulated; and they should in
no case be allowed to sleep within the walls of Manila. The Japanese
are also an undesirable element of the population, and their coming
to the islands should be restricted. The "commons," or reserve
supplies of rice, contributed by the Indians do them no good,
for these are plundered by the Spanish officials; and the number
of these oppressors has been unduly increased. Other injuries are
inflicted upon the natives, for whose protection the writer pleads;
and these unjust acts are committed by both the officials and the
religious. Rios Coronel objects to the practice in vogue of giving the
Indians military training; and to the traffic in slaves from Malacca,
which brings to the Philippines dangerous and criminal blacks. Public
suits should be tried and decided in the Audiencia, and not sent to
Mexico. The governors should not be allowed to treat the citizens
with insolence; and should be obliged to send the trading ships to
Mexico at the right season, in order to avoid the present frequent
loss of property and lives in wrecked vessels. Another cause of these
losses is the culpable neglect and recklessness of royal officials
and governors. Various abuses in the equipment, lading, and management
of the trading vessels are pointed out, with the corrective measures
that should be taken. The fertile and healthful province of Nueva
Segovia is neglected, and its population is decreasing; this should
be remedied by the colonial authorities. Rios Coronel asks for the
appointment of a competent and reliable shore-master to aid him
in the equipment and despatch of the ships, and for more thorough
inspection of what is done by royal officials in the islands; for
the latter purpose he recommends a choice from several ecclesiastics
whom he names. The Moro pirates still ravage the islands, and the king
should permit them to be enslaved by any one who may capture them. The
head-hunting Zambales and Negrillos of Luzón continually harass the
peaceable Pampangos; and this can only be stopped by allowing the
Pampangos to enslave these foes when captured. The Filipino natives
have been almost ruined by the exactions of forced labor imposed upon
them by the Spaniards, especially in the building and navigation of
vessels. Rios Coronel says: "As I have seen personally, and as all the
inhabitants of that country know, the galleys of the Filipinas are
their destruction." Rios Coronel describes the sort of vessel which
should be used in the islands (one of which he has built at his own
cost), and asks that such be furnished for the use of the colony. The
garrison at Manila is insufficient and demoralized; and the writer
makes various recommendations for improving its status. Many persons
in the artillery service are incompetent; the writer demands a sort
of civil-service test for those appointed to such places. He also
asks for a competent artillery-founder. Better provisions should be
made for the ecclesiastical government of the islands. He asks that
silver bullion from Japan may be legalized as money in the Philippines;
and concludes with the request that the religious and the officials
there be compelled to treat the Indians more kindly. A letter by Rios
Coronel, included in this document, is deferred to _Vol_. XIX.
The Editors
August, 1904.
DOCUMENTS OF 1617-1618
Letter to Felipe III. Andrés de Alcaraz; August 10, 1617.
Trade between Nueva España and the Far East. [Unsigned and
undated; _ca_. 1617].
Events in the Filipinas Islands, 1617-1618. [Unsigned];
June, 1618.
Description of the Philippinas Islands. [Unsigned]; 1618.
Dutch factories and posts in the Orient. [Pedro de Heredia];
[1618?].
Memorial regarding Manila hospital. [Unsigned]; 1618.
Letter to Felipe III. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza; August 10, 1618.
Letters to Fajardo. Felipe III; December 19, 1618.
Filipinas menaced by Dutch. Joan de Ribera, S.J.; December
20, 1618.
_Sources_: The first, and last four, of these documents are obtained
from MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; the remainder,
from MSS. in the Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.
_Translations_: The first and seventh are translated by James
A. Robertson; the second, third, and fourth, by Herbert E. Bolton,
Ethel Z. Rather, and Mattie A. Austin, of the University of Texas;
the remainder, by Robert W. Haight.
LETTER FROM LICENTIATE ALCARAZ TO FELIPE III
Sire:
The enclosed papers were taken from the ships that were going last
year to Nueva España. Those ships were despatched to make the voyage
by way of Yndia; but as the Dutch enemy was lying at the entrances of
this bay with his ten warships, it was not possible for the ships to
leave, for it would have been only to have fallen, beyond all doubt,
into his hands. In them I inform your Majesty of everything occurring
up to their date. In this I shall inform you of what is new. The coming
of this enemy caused the anxiety which was the reason--inasmuch as we
had heard for a long time that he was coming; and that he would wait
to seize the Chinese and Japanese ships, and prevent their entrance
into the city with food--that, in order to frustrate those designs, I,
with the advice of the Audiencia and the council of war, resolved to
prepare seven galleons and to equip them as thoroughly as possible, so
that they could go out to fight that enemy. When about to set this plan
afoot, obstacles began to arise, because there was not a single real
in the royal treasury, on account of the non-arrival of the ships from
Nueva España; and because the country was in great need, and had no
income except that collected from the licenses of the Sangleys. These
were collected with great effort and difficulty, but the sum was all
spent in a few days in the repair of these galleons. When there was
nothing more to use, the ship expected from Nueva España arrived. It
had put in at Japon, and brought more than eight hundred thousand
pesos for the royal treasury and for the citizens. It was regarded
as a great mercy of God that He should help this afflicted land in
such necessity and extremity, and that He should keep this ship from
falling into the hands of that enemy. After this the repairs and
preparations of this fleet proceeded with great energy, and although
innumerable obstacles continued to arise because the wood, rigging,
rice, and other things necessary had to be conveyed by long detours,
all difficulties were conquered by God's help. To Him recourse was
always had, through all the religious orders and the religious,
so that His [Divine] Majesty should be pleased to aid this [our]
cause against those rebels to His church and sacrament, and to your
Majesty, and disturbers of the common peace. These joyous causes
furnished ecclesiastical and secular motive to request me, with loud
and frequent acclamations of joy, to hasten as quickly as possible the
preparation of this fleet. Notwithstanding that it was detained, they
said that it could go out; for they were assured that, since we had
so large galleons, that enemy would not dare to await it, and that the
flagship and almiranta were alone sufficient to drive away that enemy
and prevent the damages that were expected so close at hand. They said
that the preparations that were intended to be made would be useless,
for, when they were finished, then the enemy would have already gone
to Terrenate, enriched with his booty from the Chinese ships; and
that damage would result from delay, while great expenses would have
to be met from the royal treasury. For my part, all these arguments,
since they arose from loyal desires, without taking the trouble to
show the irreparable injuries that would result from that course of
action, caused me no care. I constantly attended to the repairing
and preparation of this fleet as well as possible, including in it
whatever your Majesty possesses in these islands. The reason that
obliged me to lay great stress upon that enemy was that--since he
knew that Don Juan de Silva had gone to Sincapura with a fleet of
ten galleons, four galleys, and one patache--he, without knowing of
the governor's death, came to look for him with an equal number of
warships. These were chosen from twenty-two vessels, and equipped with
the best artillery and men of arms and war in them all; and he dared
to come within sight of our walls and very confidently was coming
with his great force. Consequently I considered it best to prepare an
armed fleet which, being such, might be able to fight with his. Not
of less consideration was the fact that we are in the view of so many
barbarous nations, who esteem and extol him who conquers. Accordingly
it was necessary to consider carefully not to place our reputation
and credit in any danger, but that we should have as superior a fleet
to his as could be collected, to go out to measure strength with the
enemy; for in this case what was once branded [1] could not be effaced.
The final reason that caused me to arm those galleons with the best
forces that could he assembled was the consideration that the enemy
should not go out victorious because your Majesty did not possess in
this land the means with which we could construct a fleet in many
years; and if we drove the enemy's fleet away and punished him as
his boldness and arrogance merited, he would have to lay aside his
desire for returning to these islands, and would leave them quiet and
peaceful, and free from the dangers that his coming threatened. With
this resolution conquering great difficulties with the help of God,
who always favored this His cause, the fleet of seven galleons,
one patache, and three galleys was prepared. In order to man them
with the rowers that were needed, the citizens, Sangley Christians,
and some Indians lent two hundred and twenty-three slaves. And as one
hundred and fifty slaves were still wanting to man them sufficiently,
and because there was so little revenue in the royal treasury, I
made efforts to have the Sangley infidels supply this deficiency,
inasmuch as they were the most interested in avoiding the damages
caused by that enemy. They excused themselves from giving persons
to serve in the galleys; but offered to give the money to pay those
hired rowers who were willing to go. For this purpose the Sangleys
themselves made a contribution of one peso apiece from all who had
any money, and gave five thousand pesos. This sum they delivered
to a regidor for the pay of any slave or freeman who was willing
to serve on this occasion, to each one of whom twenty-five pesos
would be given. With this sum one hundred and forty-seven rowers
were gathered. Some new slaves were bought with this money and the
others were paid twenty-five pesos apiece. One thousand five hundred
and forty-five pesos of the five thousand pesos happened to be left,
and this amount was spent for another matter of equal importance.
In order to equip these galleons and galleys--and that very
moderately--we needed one thousand infantrymen; but all the islands
could only furnish six hundred paid soldiers. In order to supply
this lack, three hundred and eighty men were provided from the
citizens of this city, and from captains, alférezes, and sergeants
on half-pay--the captains numbering thirty-four, the alférezes one
hundred and six, the sergeants eighty, and the common soldiers one
hundred and sixty. These men showed a willingness to take service on
this occasion for honor. But to fulfil their obligations they had not
the means with which to buy any arms, or other supplies which were
necessary to them. The report spread that, if the money were not given
to them so that they could equip themselves, they could not embark. It
was necessary to find a remedy for the loss that might result from
this condition, and the one that seemed most suitable so that they
might serve your Majesty with single-heartedness, was to assign as a
gratuity to each captain one hundred pesos, to each alférez fifty, to
each sergeant thirty-five, and to each common soldier twenty-five. But
inasmuch as the royal treasury had nothing wherefrom to supply these
gratuities, and they could not be avoided, thirty toneladas of the
freightage for Nueva España were distributed, and were divided among
the citizens who had capital. Each citizen was given one pieza [2]
for twenty-five pesos. In this way six thousand pesos were raised,
which, with the one thousand five hundred and forty-five pesos given
by the Sangleys, amount to seven thousand five hundred and forty-five
pesos. This money was given as a gratuity, with thirty-nine toneladas
more and six piezas; figuring this at twenty-five pesos a pieza, all
the help amounted to fifteen thousand five hundred pesos. This amount
was regulated by giving to each captain fifty pesos and two piezas
of the cargo; to each alférez, twenty-five pesos, and one pieza of
the cargo; to each sergeant, ten pesos and one pieza of the cargo,
and to each common soldier his twenty-five pesos.
To aid the seamen, who are a discontented class, there was no
money. For after having aided the paid infantry, not a single peso was
left in the royal treasury. Forty-six of the citizens lent twenty-two
thousand seven hundred pesos and the treasury of the probate court
[_caxa de bienes de défuntos_] [3] lent four thousand. A moderate
amount of aid was furnished to those men by that means. After that,
naught more was left to be done toward the suitable preparation of the
royal fleet. May God be praised, who favored this cause so greatly,
so that your Majesty might be better served. It can be thoroughly
understood that to attempt any of these three things would give
anxiety even to him who had considerable power of management; for
the departure of the fleet to fight with the enemy depended on very
careful management; while, on the contrary, it must remain in port
if all the expenses incurred in its preparation had been carelessly
planned. But it happened as we could have desired. When all necessary
arrangements had been made, the bishop of Zibu, who has charge of this
archbishopric, gave his blessing to the royal fleet. The fleet took
as patroness the immaculate conception of our Lady, who was conceived
without the stain of original sin. It left the port of Cavite in charge
of Don Juan Rronquillo del Castillo, [4] on Saturday, on the eighth
day of the month of April, one thousand six hundred and seventeen,
to find the enemy, who was stationed at Playa Honda [5] with six
vessels. There, in the past year of six hundred and sixteen, he was
defeated by Governor Don Juan de Silva. Three ships of the enemy were
thirty leguas in advance, on the look-out for Chinese vessels, while
the last of his ten ships had been sent to Terrenate. On Thursday,
the thirteenth of the said month, our fleet sighted four vessels
[of the enemy's fleet]. They were lying by very carelessly, with
two Chinese vessels that they had pillaged. Those two vessels ware
carrying about three hundred thousand pesos' worth of merchandise. One
of them the enemy had begun to rob, although only slightly. It was
impossible to attack them, for wind was lacking. Thereupon the enemy
very leisurely weighed anchor, but did not leave the Chinese ships
until the next day. Then as the two fleets were about to engage,
they left their prizes, in order not to be hindered by them. They
had already been joined by two other vessels. Our royal flagship had
got to windward. Near it, at eight in the morning, was the galleon
"San Juan Bautista" under command of Admiral Pedro de Heredia (but he
was not admiral of the fleet). The other galleons were to leeward. As
the enemy saw so good an opportunity, he maneuvered his six ships,
placing them in good order. His flagship passed within musket-shot of
one side of the royal flagship and discharged its artillery. Answering
them with another, as good and better, many volleys were fired
without missing one shot, because the pieces were fired at so short
a distance. Another ship passed, with the same good order, giving and
taking its heavy volleys. The four other ships of those which I said
were there, did the same. It was the greatest gallantry that I ever
saw; for our galleon gave all those of the enemy so many volleys that
it displayed excellently its great strength--as well as the injury
received by the enemy, since he attempted nothing more on that day. On
our side five men were killed and eight wounded. The following day,
Saturday, the fifteenth of the same month of April, the two fleets
got ready to fight, and ours got to windward. Orders were given for
each galleon to grapple with one of the enemy--flagship with flagship,
and the "San Juan Bautista" with the almiranta of the enemy; while the
galleon "San Lorenzo" and the patache were to aid whichever boat they
saw needed help; the galley flagship was to aid the royal flagship,
and the other two galleys the galleon nearest them. The enemy was
awaiting us in excellent order; and, signaling the other vessels to
attack him, our first galleon, named "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe,"
under Captain Juan Bautista de Molina, grappled; and then the royal
flagship with that of the enemy; the galleon "San Juan Bautista" with
their almiranta; the galleon "San Miguel," commanded by Rodrigo de
Guillestigui, with the ship that fell to its lot; the galleon "San
Lorenço," under Captain Juan de Acevedo, with another ship. As for
the galleon "San Marcos," under Captain Don Juan de la Vega (one of
the best ships of the fleet), and the galleon "San Phelipe," under
Captain Sebastian de Madrid, these two did not grapple, although
common report says that they could have done so had they made an
effort. They fought a very fierce battle. The galleon "Nuestra Señora
de Guadalupe" defeated its opponent, being aided by the galley under
Captain Don Diego de Quiñones; and the enemy having shown a flag of
peace, soldiers from our side entered it in token of victory. The royal
flagship, after having been grappled for more than two hours--the
battle being fought with great gallantry on each side, each firing
heavy volleys at the other, and the galley flagship aiding on its
side--was reported to be leaking badly from the effect of certain
volleys which it received at its water line. This forced it to throw
off the grappling-irons and go away; while the enemy's ship refused
to mind its helm, and, in a little more than half an hour, careened
on one side and sank, without any of its cargo being seen. Forty or
more men, among them the general, escaped in two lanchas. With great
efforts they reached one of their ships. The galleon "San Miguel,"
after having fought with great courage, set fire to its opponent,
a vessel of eight hundred toneladas, laden with cloth which they had
stolen. The fire caught the main-sail, which was so quickly burned
that the sail fell, on the yard, into the waist of the ship. The ship
continued to burn so fiercely that it could not be quenched. All the
men took to the sea, some in lanchas and others swimming, most of the
latter being drowned. This burning ship drifted to where our galleon
"Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" was stationed. Near it was the captured
galleon, and the burning vessel coming down upon the latter, set fire
to it; and this one began to burn so furiously that the soldiers who
had entered it escaped with difficulty, while some were burned. And,
since our galley was not so near now, all, both Spaniards and Dutch,
were drowned or burned. Then the first burning ship passed on. The
galleon "San Juan Bautista" having almost captured the enemy's
almiranta, the burning vessel bore down upon them both. Throwing off
their grappling-irons with considerable difficulty, the fire forced
them to ungrapple; and at once they separated, so that the fire might
not injure them. Thereupon victory was declared, and the three hostile
ships took to flight badly crippled. Their almiranta was so damaged
that our people thought that it would surely sink. Those three vessels
were pursued by the "San Marcos," and "San Phelipe," which were more
to the windward, and by all the rest of the fleet. However, inasmuch
as the royal flagship, the "San Juan Bautista," and the "San Miguel"
and "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" were hardly used and leaking badly,
they turned shoreward after midnight. In the morning the "San Marcos"
and the "San Phelipe" found themselves alone, and somewhat separated,
and found no traces of the enemy. Although they should have kept
together, they did not do it, but each vessel acted by itself. The
galleon "San Marcos" went to a place where two ships of the enemy
were pillaging two other Chinese ships. When the enemy discovered it,
one of his vessels went to reconnoiter it, while the other stayed
behind with the vessels that they were pillaging. They commenced
to fight and the battle lasted more than three hours, at the end
of which the Dutch vessel withdrew and joined the other ship. Next
day--that of San Marcos--the [Dutch] ship that had not fought came;
it is understood that it was reënforced with men. Firing a quantity of
chain-shot, it did considerable damage to our rigging; and as our main
yard had fallen, our ship did not mind its helm well. Consequently,
our galleon sustained serious injury at the stern, upon which its
commander came to a very imprudent resolution--namely, to go in
toward shore and anchor in twelve brazas of water, and there fight
with the enemy. This was so carelessly executed that, upon throwing
the anchor, they could not find bottom, whereupon they grounded
the galleon in four brazas of water. The entire crew went ashore
taking some things with them. None of the enemy disembarked. As the
commander thought that the enemy could burn them with his lanchas,
he made another decision as bad as the other, and set fire to his
vessel. Thereby was lost the hull of the ship, which was especially
good. The artillery and anchors were all taken out and most of them
are ashore. The commander appears to be very blameworthy; and the
investigation to punish him according to his offense is now being
made. This devolves upon Don Geronimo de Silva, castellan and governor
of the forts of Terrenate, to whom your Majesty has granted the office
of captain-general because of the death of Governor Don Juan de Silva,
until a proprietary governor is provided. All the rest of the fleet
returned to the port of Cavite. The bad treatment received by the
galleons from the many volleys, the sailors, soldiers, and artillery
aboard them, and the dead and wounded, your Majesty can ascertain,
if so pleased, from the charts accompanying this letter.
May God give your Majesty many most happy victories for His honor
and glory and the welfare of all Christianity. Such may be expected,
since in a land so destitute as this, and by means so weak as these
now, His Divine Majesty was pleased to destroy the greatest fleet
from Olanda ever seen in these districts; and at a juncture when, if
the fleet sent by your Majesty by way of the cape of Buena Esperança
arrives safely, strong hopes may be entertained that it will drive
that enemy from sea and land, because he has lost many men and ships,
and more than ninety pieces of artillery. The best and largest of the
cannon were taken from his fortresses, and he will have difficulty
in replacing them. Although three pataches were prepared to take the
usual help to the forts of Terrenate, the enemy did not allow them to
sail from the port of Cavite. Considering the need and stress that
the forts were in, and that they had only sufficient food to last
until the end of September, as the castellan wrote, I ordered all the
champans possible to be collected and prepared with great haste in
Oton, eighty leguas from this city, and to be laden with rice, meat,
wine, and other supplies. As champans are but insecure craft, and badly
managed, inasmuch as they are manned by Sangleys, I sent some sailors
to serve as pilots. Eight champans were prepared, of which six reached
their destination, besides one despatched from Zebú. By all possible
means I managed to succor those forts. They were made very happy by
the help that reached them--for they were quite out of rice--and by
the hopes that I gave them of the speedy sailing of a ship laden with
food, clothing, and money. Thus the forts were provided sufficiently
to enable them to await the help that was to be sent in the ship.
The viceroy of Nueva España despatched two advice-boats which reached
these islands, early in February and in March. They brought your
Majesty's papers for Don Juan de Silva, which the royal Audiencia
received. They contained the title of master-of-camp for Don Geronimo
de Silva, knight of the Order of St. John, and castellan and governor
of the soldiers of Terrenate; an order to Don Juan de Silva that the
former be given the title of captain-general of artillery, and an
appointment [with instructions], so that, in case of the said Don
Juan de Silva's death, it might be opened. On opening it, we found
your Majesty's grant to Don Geronimo de Silva of an appointment as
captain-general, on sea and land, in these islands and in Terrenate. He
was at Terrenate engaged in his duties there, for Don Juan de Silva's
statement to your Majesty, saying that he was ordering Don Geronimo
to Manila to act as master-of-camp, and was sending Lucas de Bergara
Gabiria to Terrenate, had not been carried out. With all possible
haste I sent a galley to advise him of the grace bestowed upon him
by your Majesty. In the boat I sent ten thousand pesos in reals,
four thousand five hundred pieces of cloth, and what wine and rice
it could carry for their sustenance going and returning, besides a
quantity of jars of powder. Within twenty days I despatched the three
pataches that were at the port of Cavite, since the enemy had now
left the entrances to this bay; and with them I sent Don Gaviria to
serve in the offices held by Don Geronimo de Silva. They carried more
than three thousand baskets of rice, with wine, and meat; a quantity
of clothing; six thousand pesos in reals; four eighteen-pounders, and
a number of jars of powder; and balls, and many other things for the
sustenance of those forts. The occupants of the forts have reported
that that was the most substantial help that has been sent them for
many years. May God be praised that He provided help for the great
necessity of that presidio at a so needy time. Another royal decree
was also received, in which your Majesty orders that pilots be sent by
more than one way, so that they may go to await the royal fleet that
is to come by way of the cape of Buena Esperanza, and give the general
of it orders to go to Terrenate or to Manila--whichever place may be
more suitable for his effective despatch. Having called a council of
war, it was decided, the Audiencia concurring, that the fleet should
come to Manila--because it would thus find accommodation in ports that
furnish docking, shipyards, and materials--and join the galleons here;
and chiefly because there is the means here for their sustenance,
which cannot be had in Terrenate. Shortly after the twentieth of
March, a galliot and a patache were despatched in which two pilots
sailed, those most experienced in navigation. They came from España
with General Rrui Gonçalez de Sequeira, and had gone to the strait
of Sincapura with Don Juan de Silva, one of them as his chief pilot.
The said Don Geronimo de Silva reached the port of Cavite May seven,
after I had had charge of the office of captain-general for fifteen
months. These islands enjoyed during that time the greatest peace and
quiet for many years, except for the war of the enemy--as disinterested
persons will relate, to whom credit must be given. I hope that they
will continue in that condition, and improve with the coming of that
cavalier. I find certain objections [to him] in accounts, emanating
from Terrenate, of the trouble experienced by the infantry because
of the harshness of his temper and the ill-treatment that they have
received in word and deed. During the first week after his arrival in
this city he has manifested the same disposition toward several persons
who made the expedition, in depriving them of certain military posts
in order to bestow them upon his followers and relatives, who say
that they are to be preferred to others. They feel so exalted over
this office [of Don Geronimo], with which he is willing to provide
them government posts, that they desire all persons to call him
"your Lordship." And because the first day of his arrival, Licentiate
Madrid y Luna, auditor of this royal Audiencia, did not call him so,
Don Geronimo sent him a message saying that since the auditor was
his friend he should honor him by calling him "your Lordship." He has
not broached this subject to me, for he knows that I do not consider
it fitting to occupy myself with these matters, which are immaterial
and confer no authority; and that the office itself possesses enough
dignity without trying to give it that which is not needful to it
in order that your Majesty may be well served. He ordered an edict
to be published that all the captains, army officers, and soldiers
whose places have been abolished during the last ten years, should
appear at the office of the royal accountant within a fortnight, under
penalty of six years' service in the galleys. That caused a great
uproar throughout the city; for they declared that they were not his
subjects. The captains--feeling angered because they were under no such
obligation, but employing the mild and expedient measures of courtesy,
so that there might be peace and the people become quieted--as soon
as the session began sent the governor a message by the clerk of
the Audiencia, petitioning that he consider the edict and correct the
commotion caused by it. They requested that he would check future evils
by suspending the effect of the edict, for those included in it were
in the jurisdiction of the government; and it concerned the Audiencia
not to allow injury to be inflicted on anyone, especially since this
act was opposed to its authority. He replied that he was acting within
his powers, and consequently he had ordered that measure. And although
certain religious have, by virtue of their office, represented to
him the difficulties that must result from the edict, as yet he has
given no signs of regarding it with the consideration and reflection
advisable to the service of your Majesty, and the peace and quiet of
this community. He thinks that it is to be governed according to his
will, and places no check on his own inclinations. If this is to be
done, these islands will suffer until your Majesty shall provide such
remedy as is advisable for your royal service. This royal Audiencia,
performing its duty with what authority it possesses, will do its
utmost; and it will not consent that he meddle in matters outside his
jurisdiction. But all this must be with grievances to the community,
and the people will live in disquiet and anxiety.
By one of the said pataches, I received three decrees from your
Majesty. In one of them you were pleased to grant me acceptance of
my resignation as auditor of this royal Audiencia, and permission
to go to España. In another decree your Majesty orders the governor
of these islands to give me accommodations in the vessels about to
sail to Nueva España, in accordance with the quality of my person,
and the offices that I have held. In the last decree your Majesty
concedes me one year's salary as a gratification for the many expenses
that I shall incur in so long a voyage. Immediately upon receiving
these royal decrees, I could have bid farewell to the Audiencia;
but, considering that it was then in the midst of preparing the
fleet, and since I had been employed in and had arranged what was
advisable to your Majesty's service, I thought that it would be very
wrong to retire on such an occasion and flee the danger, and lift
my hand from a matter of so great importance. After the expedition,
I would have vacated my office and would have prepared to go to give
your Majesty an account of many things of importance to your royal
service, but I have neglected to do so, because there are no judges
in the Audiencia. Licentiate Madrid y Luna is ready to go in one of
the trading ships to serve in his position as alcalde of the court of
Mexico. Doctor Juan Manuel de la Vega has been sick for four months,
and small hopes are had of his recovery. Two new auditors are expected
(who are known to be in Nueva España) on the ships of this year. When
they shall have arrived, it will necessarily take some days for them
to understand the affairs of government and the form of procedure of
the Audiencia. Since I think that I shall serve your Majesty in this,
I shall delay here no longer than is absolutely necessary for the
Audiencia to fulfil its obligations, and so that your Majesty may be
better served.
With the grace shown me by your Majesty in permitting me to go to
España, I shall not enjoy my salary as auditor from the day that I
shall cease to serve in this post. Consequently I shall not be able
to live in accordance with the quality of my person and the posts
that I have held. In remuneration of twenty-nine years of service
(twenty-four of them in the Indias)--and no favors have been granted
me for the offices of president and captain-general, and the successful
outcome of the difficulties that I experienced therein--I petition your
Majesty to grant me the reward of certain pensions equivalent to the
salary taken from me, or what reward your Majesty may be pleased to
order given me, which will be in excess of what my services can merit.
The persons who have served best on this occasion, and who merit
rewards from your Majesty, are: first, the general Don Juan Rronquillo
del Castillo, who assisted at Cavite, from the first of November of
last year, in the repair and preparation of this fleet, until he
sailed from the port with it and fought the flagship of the enemy
and defeated and sank it--and, according to what the prisoners say,
it will be incredible in Olanda that there is sufficient force in the
Philipinas to have defeated this galleon; next, Captain Don Diego de
Quiñones, for the service rendered to your Majesty by him in resisting
the enemy--first, at his entrance to the town of Oton (where the Dutch
disembarked with six hundred men); then, after killing and wounding
many men with less than one hundred soldiers, and causing the enemy
to retreat ignominiously after a stay of not more than twenty-four
hours in front of the said town, Don Diego came at my orders to serve
on this occasion, leaning on a crutch--for he was not yet recovered
from a musket-ball that had passed through one thigh--and served as
commander of a galley. He found himself near the galleon "Nuestra
Señora de Guadalupe," which was grappled to another of the enemy;
and, with his aid, the latter was defeated.
Admiral Rodrigo de Guillestigui, commander of the galleon "San Miguel,"
grappled with another of the enemy; and although another ship attacked
him, and he received great damage from the artillery discharged upon
him, he refused to leave his prize until, after fighting with great
courage and valor, the galleon to which he was grappled took fire,
whereupon with great haste he ungrappled so that the fire should not
do him harm. The vessel that was burning was deserted by its men very
hastily, some of whom embarked in the lancha, while others jumped
into the water; and, the fire reaching the powder, the ship went down.
Captain Juan Bauptista de Molina, commander of the galleon "Nuestra
Señora de Guadalupe," was the first to grapple with a ship which,
according to the prisoners who were in the battle, was in Piru, where
it and another vessel sunk our almiranta. He fought as a good soldier
until the enemy surrendered after a hard fight. While a captain
and soldiers from our side were in the said vessel, that ship of
the enemy's that was coming down upon it afire, as the executor of
divine justice, set fire to this one, and it was burned. That ship
was burned because His [Divine] Majesty did not choose that there
should be more spoils from that victory than the memory of the just
punishment that He gave by His powerful hand.
Admiral Pedro de Heredia, commander of the galley "San Juan Baptista,"
grappled with the hostile almiranta; and after fighting valorously,
and having almost defeated it, because it was no longer serving its
artillery or musketry, the burning boat charged down upon the two
galleons and forced them to ungrapple for fear of the fire. Thereupon
their almiranta got away with some difficulty, because it had so
few men left to handle the sails. The men who escaped from the small
boat of the burning ship were taken aboard that vessel, so that they
had sufficient men to retreat; and our galleon could not return to
attack the said almiranta, which left so badly dismantled that it is
thought that it must have sunk. The facts will be learned with the
first advice that comes from Terrenate.
General Francisco Bravo de la Serna, who came aboard the flagship that
put in at Japon, gained the good will of the ruler where he put in,
by his diligence, discretion, and sensible procedure, aided by the
munificent presents that he gave to the king. Consequently the king
received him as hospitably as if he were in your Majesty's lands,
giving him whatever he needed at moderate prices. When the general
wished to leave, the king gave him permission, without his having
received any ill treatment. That was considered a good outcome,
and was all the more so because, when he reached these islands and
learned that the enemy had taken the passage in order to enter the
port of Cavite, he took the flagship to the most hidden place that
he could find. Having made port in haste, he unloaded the silver and
stored it inland; then, while anchored, he took ashore all the rest
of the cargo. That was the compensation of these islands and the fund
with which the fleet was prepared; and without it the galleons could
not have been equipped. Therein is made evident the good service that
Francisco Bravo rendered your Majesty. He also rendered service on
this expedition; for he embarked on the flagship, and took with him
twelve men at his own cost. His presence proved of great importance,
for he attended to his orders with great energy, exactness, and labor,
while his advice and counsel were among the best that the general
had. The latter declared the same to me, and that Bravo should be
highly esteemed for the manner in which he distinguished himself in
your Majesty's service on this occasion.
Licentiate Manuel de Madrid y Luna, auditor of this royal Audiencia,
has aided me in this campaign, accomplishing those things with which
I charged him. Last year, when that enemy came to this bay, he helped
to cast the artillery; and he worked at it day and night, until they
had cast so many pieces that they sufficed to put the fort of Cavite
in a state of defense. Two of his brothers and one cousin have died in
this land in your Majesty's service--one in the Sangley insurrection,
and two on this noble occasion. One brother was commander of the
galleon "San Phelipe." As soon as the battle began, he was wounded by
a musket-shot and lived little more than one hour. It is considered
certain that more would have been accomplished with this galleon;
had not the said commander been killed. On that account, and for the
good accomplished by his services in this royal Audiencia, the said
Licentiate Madrid claims that your Majesty should grant him as a reward
permission to marry some of his seven daughters and three sons in
Mexico. That is the greatest wealth that he takes from these islands.
Captain Andrea Coello came from India in a patache in July last
year with despatches from the viceroy. That enemy having come and
taken position in the entrances of this bay, he offered to serve
as ordered, whether on land or on sea, with his person, patache,
sailors, and soldiers; for his profession was to serve your Majesty
in war. He remained until the royal fleet was ready to sail in search
of the enemy; and the said captain supported the sailors and soldiers
with his patache and with the moderate aid given him. He took part
on that occasion, and acted as an honorable and valiant soldier,
attending with exactness to all his orders.
The viceroy of Nueva España sent a ship from the port of Acapulco,
which reached the port of Cavite on June twenty-six. Aboard it were the
bishop of Nueva Segovia [6] and twenty-eight Augustinian friars; one
hundred and forty soldiers and twenty convicts; one hundred quintals
of powder, one hundred muskets, and one hundred arquebuses. Since
the country was at peace, that proved a tolerable reënforcement. No
money came for the royal treasury, which does not contain one single
peso. From the money that is expected from Nueva España must be paid
the twenty-six thousand seven hundred pesos lent by the citizens
and the probate court account; besides other twenty-three thousand
pesos due to the captains and the Japanese and Chinese merchants,
for cloth and war supplies which they have delivered to the royal
magazines. There is no royal revenue from which to satisfy those
debts. The only revenue that can be collected now will be the proceeds
of the Sangley licenses, and that will scarcely suffice for the
very ordinary expenses. There will be no money with which to pay
the salaries of the Audiencia, royal officials, and other persons;
the stipends of the bishops and prebends of the church, and those
given to the religious; the wages of the infantry of this camp and
that of Terrenate; and the aid that must be sent to those forts for
their ordinary sustenance. And then this is increased by the delay of
the fleet which your Majesty has ordered to come by way of the cape
of Buena Esperança because of the great expenses that will be thus
incurred, and by the repair of the galleons in Cavite. The latter must
not be abandoned, and are without masts, for only their futtock-timbers
can be of use. It is all very difficult when so many things come at
the same time, and there is no money with which to repair them. May
God in His mercy provide a remedy for so many necessities. I shall do
the utmost that in me lies. Although there is considerable to provide,
I shall attend to the most needful, so that things may be maintained
until the viceroy of Nueva España, upon learning of the wretched
condition of these islands and those of Terrenate, may provide the
aid that is necessary for their conservation. Accordingly I humbly
beg your Majesty to send the viceroy orders that the succor asked
from him be sent promptly. And should a case happen like the present,
of no vessels going to Nueva España because they have to return in
distress to these islands, [I beg you to order] that the viceroy do
not neglect to send the money which is usually asked from him for the
payment of the expenses incurred in these islands. Those expenses,
like those of the war which are of so great moment, cannot be supplied
if there is a lack of money, and it will not be well to fall again
into such straits as those that we suffer at present.
The two auditors who were to come to this Audiencia, remained in
Mexico, as there was no accommodation in the ship to enable them to
sail. Their absence causes a conspicuous deficiency; for I am the only
judge in the Audiencia, because the sickness of Doctor Juan Manuel
de la Vega is of long duration, and few hopes are sustained of his
recovery, according to the physicians' reports. Licentiate Manuel
de Madrid y Luna has determined to go to serve in the position of
alcalde of the court in Mexico (which your Majesty has bestowed upon
him as a reward), notwithstanding that I did not allow him to quit
that of auditor of this Audiencia on account of the just reasons
for serving therein--through the many affairs concurrent in it of
justice and government, and through the great lack that all these
would experience if they were in charge of only one person. Should it
happen that I were to die, there would be no Audiencia nor any one to
govern these islands--irreparable injuries, for which it is advisable
to prepare the remedy beforehand. And although, besides these things, I
presented to him many considerations that should oblige him to postpone
his departure; and notwithstanding the requests and protests that I
have made to him regarding the present injuries and those that might
happen on his account; all this has not sufficed to move him from his
purpose. He has answered me with the arguments which if your Majesty
pleases may be seen in the accompanying testimony. Manila. August
10, 1617.
_Licentiate Andres de Alcaraz_
[_Marginal note_: "Take particular account of what is stated about
his services, in order to reward him as may be fitting, especially
for what he did on the occasions that he mentions which have been so
advantageous to the royal service and to the conservation of those
islands, which results from achievements as great as were the defeat
and punishment of the enemy. In what concerns the persons of whose
services he gives information, let attention be given to them in the
Audiencia; and have them summoned so that they may know what knowledge
his Majesty has of them, and what he has entrusted to their persons."]
TRADE BETWEEN NUEVA ESPAÑA AND THE FAR EAST
_Of the Trade of Eastern India, Nueva España, and Filipinas with
Macao and Japon_
Beyond a doubt Christian interests in Japon and China are sustained
and prospered, after the grace of God, through the trade which your
Majesty's vassals carry on with those kingdoms; for the heathen there,
being avaricious, are much pleased with the gain they derive from
the goods carried to them, and from those which they sell to the
Christians. Therefore, they allow the religious of Europe in their
countries, because they know that, if they do not admit them, they
will not enjoy this trade; for they see that principally on account
of religion your Majesty's vassals come to them with their ships and
goods. This is shown by the experience of many years.
Although this trade may be profitable to your Majesty's subjects and to
your royal exchequer, it ought to be so carried on that not only may
these interests be advanced, but also in such a way that Christianity
shall not be injured. When any one of these interests is in danger, it
is plain that it would be a less evil to lose something of the temporal
[advantage from trade] than of the spiritual advantage resulting from
the conversion of souls there. There is no doubt that your Majesty
wishes it thus, as do all of your ministers, who are so anxious for
the honor of God and for the progress of His holy Catholic faith.
Trade with China and Japon is carried on as follows: from Eastern India
[to both countries] by way of the city of Macao, and entirely in the
hands of the Portuguese; from Felipinas and Nueva España to China, by
way of the same city of Macao; and [from Felipinas and Nueva España]
to Japon by way of the various Japonese cities, principally Nangasaqui.
From Eastern India eight-real pieces and other things in which there
is considerable profit are carried to China. From Macao, which is
a Chinese city, silks and gold, upon which profits are large, are
taken to Japon; while silver, which also yields profit, is taken
to China. From China, copper, silks, gold, and other articles are
transported to India. This trade is also remunerative. Since upon all
these things import and export duties are paid to your Majesty, this
trade is undoubtedly the means by which Eastern India is maintained;
for through it are made possible the large expenditures for the
fleets which the viceroys send each year against your Majesty's
enemies. Indeed, without this trade little could be done, because the
[_a word lacking; MS. worn_] customs would yield little.
From Nueva España silver is exported to China, but little more;
they do not carry silver thence to Japon, because there is no lack
of it there. Some other things are taken to Japon, among them silks
brought from China, but little else; for they have nothing in Nueva
España useful to Japon, except these few articles.
From Felipinas they carry to China silver obtained in Nueva España,
but there is nothing else to carry. To Japon they take silks which
they buy in China, or which the Chincheos are accustomed to bring to
Manila, which is unquestionably the metropolis of Felipinas.
From the trade of Nueva España and Felipinas with China and Japon less
in customs duties are paid to your Majesty than from that of Eastern
India with the same countries, because there is nothing upon which
to pay them except the silks. Thus this trade is not so advantageous
as that of Eastern India. Indeed, your Majesty's profits will be much
greater if this trade of Nueva España and Felipinas shall cease. This
will be experienced not only by the crown of Portugal, but even by
that of Castilla.
By the crown of Portugal this will be experienced because, if the
people of Eastern India alone were to sell goods and to buy those
of the Chinese and Japonese, they would obviously gain more and be
able to pay higher customs to your Majesty; for when the sellers
and buyers are many and different, all is to the advantage of the
Chinese and Japonese, because then they sell and buy on their own
terms. Under such circumstances your Majesty's subjects have sustained
great injuries, and many times have sold their goods for prices far
below what they had cost, in order not to carry them home. From these
circumstances, too, quarrels have arisen in China and Japon between
the subjects of the two crowns--to the discredit of España and to the
shame of Christians there who see discords among Christians and among
subjects of the same king. The Portuguese, in order not to suffer these
injuries, will abandon this trade: if they do so, Eastern India will
be in great danger, especially now, from those who go there from the
north. And your Majesty will even come to lose it; and this through
not having wherewith to maintain the fleet by means of which it is
protected and prospered, as has been shown by experience. In the same
way your Majesty will lose the city of Macao which you have in China,
for as it is in the territory of the king of China, it has no income
other than through this trade.
This result will also be experienced by the crown of Castilla, because
the trade of Nueva España with China serves only to carry thither
silver which ought to come to España, and to bring from China the
silks which might be sent from España. Whence great injuries to España
follow, as is notorious, through the loss both of the silver of which
it is deprived, and of the duties and profits on its silks. The trade
of Nueva España with Japon is also unprofitable, because there are no
goods on which to secure gain either going or returning, except what
they may get from the silks which they carry from China, to Japon,
and from some iron, copper, cabinets [_escritorios_], and similar
articles. Indeed, on account of the before-mentioned disadvantages,
it is easier to lose than to gain in this trade; and if it should
be expanded your Majesty would suffer other disadvantages. This has
already been seen on some occasions when it has been tried.
The trade of Filipinas with China may be hurtful in so far as the
silver carried is concerned, because this might come to España. It is
true, the silk trade with China is of some profit to Filipinas as a
basis of trade with Nueva España--which cannot be dispensed with--to
supply the things needed from there. But this silk trade might be
substituted by carrying some of the gold of Filipinas to Nueva España
to buy what is necessary from España, to which thereby would come more
advantage; and by carrying also some of the silks which the people
of Chincheo are wont to take to Manila. These are bought in this way
more advantageously than when the Filipinas merchants go to China to
buy, as has been seen during many years' experience with the former
method. But it might even be well to put an end to the coming of the
people of Chincheo to Manila (many of whom live there by agreement),
because they have already attempted to take possession of the city;
and now, when the Hollanders are resorting thither, this should be
more carefully watched. To prevent the coming of the Chinese, your
Majesty might order the inhabitants of Macao to take to Manila the
silks, bronze, and other things needed in Filipinas which the people
of Chincheo bring. And everything will be more secure, the profit
will be much greater, and all of it will accrue to your Majesty's
subjects if it be ordered that the Chinese shall not sell anything
that the inhabitants of Macao have to sell.
The trade of Filipinas with Japon is very hurtful to your Majesty
and to your subjects, since, as they carry in it nothing but silks
from China, which the people of Eastern India and those of Macao
also take to Japon, all the advantage lies with the Japonese; for,
as they are in their own land, and have a larger number of articles
to choose from, they buy where they wish and at their own figures,
and they sell their own goods in the same way. All this is injurious
to your Majesty's subjects, and advantageous to that king to whom they
pay so large customs duties. Sometimes the people of Felipinas and
those of Eastern India have returned without selling or buying, in
order not to suffer total loss. Thus results a great loss of customs
which ought to be paid to your Majesty. And not alone do you suffer
in your exchequer but also in your reputation, because the Japonese
despise your Majesty's subjects when they see the disorders that they
create; [7] and they lose [also] respect for your viceroys. When, in
order to correct this impression, certain embassies are sent to those
kings, they judge from this that your Majesty's subjects have greater
need of them than they have of your Majesty or your viceroys. This
has been observed during all these past years, especially among
the Japonese--who, being arrogant, proud, and warlike, think that
everything depends upon them, and ask odds of no one. They, judging
by the great number who go to Japon from Felipinas that they are
necessary to the latter, have ever thought of making war upon these
islands in order to conquer them for themselves. [_In the margin_:
"And now that the Northerners are there, it is possible for them
together to attack the forces."]
From what has been said the plain inference is that your Majesty,
who is king of both realms, ought to order that the trade be so
conducted that what is gained by one be not lost by the other. You
ought also to consider which line of trade will profit you most,
and should enforce this one and prohibit the other by decrees issuing
from both crowns, enforcing them through your viceroys, and imposing
severe penalties upon violators of such decrees, and greater ones
upon those who fail to require them to be kept. [_In the margin_:
"This was ordained by the king, Don Felipe Second, grandfather of
your Majesty, as the Council of Portugal will inform you."]
From the foregoing it is easily seen that the trade of Eastern India
is, from a temporal standpoint, the most profitable to your Majesty and
for your subjects; and from a spiritual standpoint, for the maintenance
and propagation of Christianity in China and Japon. This was proved
in the years during which this plan was tried. [_In the margin_:
"Conversion there has entirely ceased today because this plan has not
been tried during recent years, and because of the severity of the
present emperor of China, who even punished laymen for protecting the
religious who went from Felipinas to China contrary to his commands."]
It is plain, therefore, that the trade of Nueva España and Felipinas
with Japon and China is unprofitable in comparison with that of Eastern
India, not to mention the marked injuries already pointed out which it
inflicts upon España, and which must be repaired and corrected lest
greater ones be sustained. The trade always carried on with Nueva
España is fully sufficient to maintain Felipinas. In this they carry
gold and some of the silks which the Chinese merchants carry from
China to Manila to be sold; and they might bring silks from Macao,
should your Majesty now order it. In return they bring from Nueva
España what they need for their own maintenance and growth (to make
it unnecessary to go to Japon and China for the same). In proportion
as this plan has been observed the welfare of both the Eastern and the
Western Indias has been advanced; and the kingdoms of España have had
great profits from them, through their carrying silver and bringing
back merchandise. Now that the Hollanders are so powerful there, it is
necessary that this be watched with the greatest care and vigilance,
in order that what your Majesty gets from there may not be lost.
EVENTS IN THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
FROM THE MONTH OF JUNE, 617, UNTIL THE PRESENT DATE IN 618
Last year I informed you at length of the naval battle, and of the
signal victory which our Lord was pleased to give us over the enemy,
the Hollanders, who came to these islands with the largest force that
has ever been here. They brought ten galleons well equipped with men,
artillery, ammunition, and other implements of war. Of these ten
galleons they lost three in the battle--one, the admiral's ship,
was sunk, and two were burned. Four of the remaining seven fled to
Maluco, badly damaged. So many of their men were killed and wounded
that, although they had set out with a large number, they arrived
with scarcely one hundred. These were the messengers of an event
most disastrous for them but fortunate for us. The other ships fled
to Japon.
Until now the natives of the Malucas Islands had greatly favored
the heretics; but, loving novelty and seeing that the power of
the Hollanders had declined, they began to plan a revolt. When the
Hollanders learned of this, they hanged in Machien, one of their best
strongholds, a chief whom, it was understood, the natives wished
to place at the head of the insurrection. But in other quarters
they could not so quickly effect a remedy. In the island of Siao
the people killed all the Hollanders who had seized their land,
except three whom they handed over alive to our governor of Maluco
for galley-slaves. The natives of the island of Vanda [Banda] dealt
in the same manner with the Hollanders who were there, and gained the
ascendency. In Ambueno some of the natives revolted. The Hollanders
tried to pacify them by force of arms, but we do not know how the
affair ended. All this, however, was not what most disturbed the
Hollanders, but it was rather the fact that they saw that English ships
had come and formed an excellent stronghold in Pullovay. [8] Thus,
when the Hollanders undertook to eject the English from that port,
the two nations were engaged in as bloody warfare with each other as
[each was] with us. From all these circumstances it seems that the
strongholds of the Hollanders were about to fall; and that, if at
that time it had been possible to go with a fleet to the Malucas,
a great exploit might have been performed. By this means, as wrote
the governor of Ternate, Lucas de Vergara Gabiria, everything might,
perhaps, have turned in our favor. But it was not possible to do this
as was desired.
As I informed you in my report of last year, two other galleons,
called "Leon Rojo" and "Fregelingas," had separated from the rest
of the fleet near the coast of Ilocos, a province of the island of
Manila, in order to plunder, to more advantage and with less risk, the
Chinese who were accustomed to steer for that coast. For this reason
they took no part in the naval battle. This was very fortunate for
them, since, without loss of men or of artillery, they plundered nine
[many--_V.d.A._ [9]] Chinese ships, laden with very valuable silks
which the Chinese were bringing here to the city of Manila. When these
learned of the destruction of their fleet, they made haste to return
to Japon, where they arrived on the seventh of July, 617. On the way
they overtook two Chinese ships loaded with silks. They captured them,
and, as their own were full of the plunder that they had taken, they
put seven men as a guard on each of the Chinese ships and took them
thus to Japon. When in sight of Japon the ships were driven by a storm,
and one of the Chinese vessels was separated from the other and from
the two of the Hollanders. It made port in the kingdom of Satsuma. But
the authorities of this place, learning that the ship was a captive,
and disapproving of a thing so foreign to civilized intercourse, would
not consent that they should remain in the port longer than four days,
at the end of which time they forced them to leave. During these four
days the Chinese who came in the ships, about thirty-four in number,
went ashore and secretly bought some catanas, arms peculiar to Japon
and not very different from cutlasses. With these they embarked for
Firando, another kingdom of Japon. One night they suddenly fell upon
the Hollanders [the seven who guarded the ship], and, in spite of
their resistance, they beheaded them and threw them into the sea. The
Chinese then loaded all their goods upon little fishing boats that
they had provided for the purpose, and setting fire to their ship,
fled with their property in different directions. In all of this
they were very diligent and discreet. If they had not been so, the
Hollanders who reside in that kingdom undoubtedly would have taken
the ship away from them by legal process, because (as we shall see
later) the Hollanders have things much to their liking at the court
of the emperor.
The two galleons, "Leon Rojo" and "Fregelingas," and the other Chinese
ship, of which I spoke, arrived at Cochi [Kochi], a port of the
island of Firando, one league from the port and city of Firando. [10]
Here they began in great haste to unload the galleon, "Leon Rojo,"
with the purpose of going to look out for the ship of Macan. The
Portuguese who reside in Nangasaqui, learning of this design, went
to the governor of that city to complain of what the Hollanders were
planning. He sent them at once to the Jeno [11] of Firando with an
order by which the Jeno was commanded not to allow any Dutch ship to go
out in search of the ship of Macan commanded by the Portuguese. This
precaution, however, was unnecessary, because our Lord prevented,
by other means, the accomplishment of their purpose. On the day of
the blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, a furious storm overtook
them while they were in the port of Cochi. The "Leon Rojo" ran aground
and filled with water; the "Fregelingas," through loss of mainmast
and rigging, was badly shattered. The Chinese ship also ran aground,
and silks of great value were injured by water. With infinite labor
and expense they hauled off the "Leon Rojo," and, as best they could,
they took it to the port of Firando. They were compelled, however,
to give it up and leave it here for lost, because the leak was so
great that it was impossible to stop it. They took the "Fregelingas"
also to Firando, where they quickly repaired it.
There remains to be told the fate of another ship, called the "Sol
Viejo" ["Old Sun"], that fled from the battle of last year and was
confidently believed to have foundered in the sea. In it, however, the
Dutch general, Juan Rodriguez Lam, [12] escaped. With only eighty men,
who remained with him, he crossed to the coast of Camboja, and went
to the port of Champan [Champa _V.d.A._] in order to repair the damage
that the ship had sustained here in the Felipinas. They were not able
to go, as they wished, from there to Patam, where they had a factory,
because the vendavals, which were contrary, had now arisen. Therefore,
they were forced to put into Japon at the port of Nangasaqui,
where they entered with two other ships of theirs. One of these, the
"Leon Negro" ["Black Lion"], carried one hundred and fifty-five men,
and twenty-eight pieces of artillery, all of cast iron; the other,
the "Galeaça," carried ninety-five men and twenty-four pieces of
artillery. The Dutch general had met these two ships on their way
from Bantan, where the Hollanders had another factory. The "Leon
Negro" and the "Galeaça" had captured three Chinese vessels that were
going to Bantan to trade with the Hollanders. To save the Chinese the
trouble, the Hollanders had loaded all the goods of the Chinese upon
their own ships, thus taking from them the great wealth of silk they
were carrying, and leaving them only the hulks of the ships. [_In
the margin_: "Not the least compensation was made for such great
injustice and injury."] Sailing, then, by way of Hermosa Island, these
two ships had sighted the "Sol Viejo;" and, thinking that it was the
ship of Macan, they were much rejoiced, and prepared to seize it. When
they came a little nearer, however, they discovered that it was the
"Sol Viejo," in which was their own general, who had fled routed from
the naval battle that took place in these islands. Distressed at the
bad news [of their defeat in this battle], they together [with the
"Sol Viejo"] directed their course to Nangasaqui, where they made
port the first of July, 617. While these three ships were anchored
within the bar of this port, news arrived that the ship of Macan
was eight or ten leguas at sea. The governor of Nangasaqui prepared
and sent a message to the Portuguese to the effect that they could
enter the port without any fear whatever of the Hollanders. But,
not considering this safe, they withdrew to another port near by,
where they felt more secure. When the governor saw that, on account
of the Hollanders, the ship did not enter his port, he commanded
that notice be given to the Hollanders, in the name of the emperor,
that they should go at once to their port of Firando, which had been
assigned to them for trade with Japon. They disregarded this command
and replied that they had come to Japon with no other purpose than to
look for that ship, which they must take without fail. The governor
responded with a second notification, and so they thought it best to
leave unobstructed the entrance to Nangasaqui, and to go to Firando,
where they joined five Dutch vessels--including the "Leon Rojo,"
which had been abandoned.
As has been ascertained, these heretics plundered on the coast of
Manila eighteen Chinese ships, besides the two which on their return
to Japon they [the "Leon Rojo" and the "Fregelingas"] had carried
with them as they were, loaded, and the three which the ships coming
from Bantan [the "Leon Negro" and the "Galeaça"] had despoiled. This
robbery caused much commotion in Japon. The brother of the ruler of
Firando governed that state at this time, because of the absence of
the latter, who had gone to court. He accordingly placed guards upon
the Dutch ships as soon as they arrived, and commanded that no one
should go to them or buy anything from them until the emperor should
know of their arrival, which he reported immediately. The Hollanders,
paying no attention to these orders, began to unload their cloth
until they filled the warehouses of their factory, leaving the
surplus in the ships. Much of this cloth was wet, because, as I
said above, their vessels [the "Leon Rojo" and the "Fregelingas"]
and that of the Chinese had been shipwrecked. As this was the rainy
season, it was impossible to dry it; and thus, to their great sorrow,
much was lost. They secretly sold everything that they could before
there should come from the court any order that might be to their
disadvantage. They made a large sum of money, and then in all haste
they loaded a great number of the boxes of silk upon the "Leon Negro,"
which they put in readiness for whatever might happen. They then
despatched their messengers to Macao [_sc_. Meaco], the court of the
emperor, to whom they presented four fine pieces of bronze artillery,
which he prized very highly. They sent also thirty thousand taes
of silver, each one equal in weight to ten Spanish reals, and many
pieces of various kinds of silk, with which they gained the good
will of the emperor and of the courtiers upon whom their prosperity
and security in Japon depended. As a result of this, they were soon
very successful in their negotiations, at which they were greatly
pleased; for they were given permission to sell their spoils in the
kingdom of Japon to whom and wherever they pleased, since they said
that the Spaniards were their enemies and that the Chinese were going
to trade with them [the Spaniards]. With the matter thus arranged,
they returned to Firando, and, as they found themselves in such favor,
the first thing that they did was to take back from the poor Chinese
the hulk of the ship and some cloth of little value, which they had
given them because they had feared that they might not be successful
at court. And they did this in spite of the fact that the Chinese,
with their good industry and hard labor, had drawn from the water
the ship, which, as has been said, was stranded and submerged. The
Hollanders carried this spoliation to such an extent that they took
their very clothes from their bodies.
Having completed this very successful exploit, on the fifteenth of
October they despatched for Holanda the "Leon Negro" with sixteen
hundred boxes of changeable silk. Each box contained two picos of
silk (each pico equals five arrobas); besides this, they shipped
three hundred fardos of black and white mantas--all of which will
yield a great sum of money, if it reaches its destination. In the ship
"Fregelingas" the Dutch general returned to the strongholds of Maluco;
he carried with him a great quantity of timber to repair other ships,
and many provisions and munitions to supply their fortresses. The
other two ships, the "Sol Viejo" and the "Galeaça," warned us that
they intended to come to the coast of Manila about April, in order to
plunder at once the ships which come to this city at that season. This
has really happened, because for almost two months two Dutch ships have
been in the place [13] [where they seized the ships from China. This
has caused much apprehension in this city--_V.d.A._] which last year
furnished so powerful a fleet; for then it had galleons with which
to defend itself. Now it has none, because six galleons were sent
to other islands in order that the injuries that they had received
in the late battle might be repaired. On the eleventh of October a
furious hurricane overtook the ships and, [since they had been pierced
by balls in the battle--_marginal note in MS.; also in V.d.A_.] they
parted in the middle and sank in the sea. The twenty-four pieces of
artillery which the galleons carried--four in each galleon--were lost
with the ships. They were, however, neither very large nor of much
value. Most of the people escaped by swimming, or upon some rafts;
but as many as four hundred persons, including Spaniards, Indians,
and Chinese, were drowned. And some of those who had escaped from the
storm by means of the rafts perished from hunger out at sea, after the
storm subsided. In this event the justice of God was evident, because
it is said that that many had embarked upon these galleons with their
concubines, purposely to live with them in the holds of the ships,
without fear of either God or man; therefore our Lord permitted men and
galleons to run aground. [Not only was the city deprived of these six
ships, but] it must be added the information received from his Majesty
that the fleet of galleons formed in Cadiz to come here, by way of the
cape of Buena Esperança, had been sent toward Saboya [_i.e._, Savoy]
to impede the expedition of Count Mauricio to that dukedom. This city,
seeing itself thus deprived of the forces that it had and of those
that it expected, resolved at once to build six galleons and some
galleys; this they are doing with all speed. But as these ships have
not yet been finished (and cannot be very soon) they were worthless
to oppose these two Dutch vessels that have been along the coast of
Ilocos, a province of the island of Manila, and have plundered at will
everything within their reach. According to some, they have despoiled
of silks and other merchandise twelve or thirteen ships. Thus only
the smallest number escaped falling into their hands, and then only
by the merest chance. However, on the night of the eighteenth of May,
the Dutch ships were in danger of shipwreck. There arose a strong wind,
a vendaval, which obliged them to take care of their own ships and to
release the Chinese vessels that they had with them. Four of these,
delighted at this good opportunity, resolved to flee, and as the
winds were favorable, they set out on the return voyage to China.
The Dutch carried on this pillaging with little risk, and without fear,
because they had learned, through some prisoners who had escaped, of
the loss of our galleons. With these spoils they returned, I think, to
Japon, where they will again be received as they were last year. And
the worst of it is that they will delight in coming [every year to
inflict as much more damage; and therefore the Chinese will not dare
to come--_V.d.A._] to this city with their ships, and commerce will
cease. Everything will then be lost, because the prosperity of these
islands depends solely upon trade with China. May God prevent this
with his powerful hand.
In the island of Oton a strange thing happened this year. The ships
that usually go with supplies to aid the forces of Maluco were
despatched from the city of Manila. In one of the best of these
embarked Manuel Riveyro, a father of our Society from the house of
Ternate. He had come here to solicit and collect the alms which his
Majesty orders to be given to the fathers who labor in the Malucas
Islands. For many days, for years even, nothing had been given;
and, as a result, Ours were suffering great privation. The father
was very successful and collected from the royal treasury a large
sum of money. Part of this he spent for very rich ornaments and
for images for our churches; part for ship stores, and for gifts
with which to aid the poor soldiers in those strongholds of Maluco,
who suffer great want. These soldiers are materially assisted by our
fathers who reside there, to the great edification and gratitude of
the soldiers. With these supplies the father embarked in one of the
ships, and arrived at Punta de Najo [Naso--_V.d.A._], about eight
leagues from the town of Arebalo, where the king's ships go to take
on rice and meat for the Malucas. At this town it was necessary for
the father of our Society, and other fathers of St. Francis, to go
ashore to obtain some things which they needed, in order to have them
ready when the ship should arrive. Therefore they disembarked to go
by land, and the ship anchored off the point. One day the master,
who was called Juan de Ochoa Sarape [? Lara--_V.d.A._], brought it
about by deceit that the captain of the ship, Francisco Benitez,
the pilot, and two soldiers who were not of his following, should
disembark. There were on board also two mariners, a Galician and a
Castilian, neither of whom had sided with him in the treason that he
had planned with the others. He sent these down the hatchway for some
ropes, and then took a lock and fastened the hatchway. Thereupon the
traitors unsheathed their swords, drew their arquebuses and muskets,
and lighted their fuses. Standing under arms, they cut the cables, and
set sail, taking possession of the ship and of all the goods that it
carried for the king, for the governor of Maluco, and for the fathers
of San Francisco and of our Society, all of which, they say, might be
worth more than thirty thousand pesos. The captain and the pilot, who
witnessed this treason from land, embarked at once in a little vessel,
and, coming near the ship, discharged three muskets, none of which
did any damage. The traitors asked the pilot whether he wished to go
with them. Seeing that neither he nor the captain was so inclined,
they took them to land, and in their ship changed their course to
Borney and Macasar. This treason was committed by twelve Spaniards,
eight of whom were Biscayans and four Castilians. They made captain
the master [of the ship] who was the author of the treason. Besides
these [twelve Spaniards], there were on board this ship the other
two Spaniards, whom, as I said, they were carrying as prisoners,
as well as some Indians of this country who also were compelled to
go. When Father Ribeiro considered how much labor it had cost him to
get together the help he was carrying there for the fathers of Maluco,
this disaster caused him some distress--all the greater when he thought
of the hunger and need that they must suffer. But our Lord prevented
this. The father started out to beg alms from the inhabitants of the
town; and in a short time he got together an abundant supply of rice,
wine, and meat for one year, for all responded liberally to relieve a
necessity that had so moved them to pity. The father set, sail with
all this in another ship, and we trust that, by God's help, he is
already in Maluco. This is the same vessel that had been despatched
this year for Nueva España as almiranta. It left port so heavily
laden that it was necessary to put back into harbor to unload part
of the merchandise, so as to be able to make the voyage. This done,
they set out a second time from the port; but they encountered such
violent storms that, after sailing entirely around the island of
Manila, losing the masts, and imperiling their lives, they returned
to Manila on the seventh of October, 617. Afterward the vessel was
utilized [for Ternate] in the manner indicated above.
From the Mindanaos there came persistent rumors that they were
undertaking to set out with a large fleet to besiege the fort of Caraga
which was in the same island, Mindanao, and held in check a province
of that island. Its inhabitants do not now engage in robberies and
hostile incursions by sea, as has been their custom. [Upon receipt
of this news] two galleys were despatched from the city of Manila, in
order that with the caracoas that were to be found in Zebu they might
go to aid the fort. They left Zebu for Caraga, but before arriving
there our fleet turned back, partly because notice was received
that the rumor had not been true, and partly because the winds had
arisen. These winds would have greatly endangered our ships upon
their entrance to and departure from that coast, which is very bold.
But, although we have been free from these enemies this year, we
have had to deal with others, the Camucones, [14] a people who owe
allegiance to the king of Burney, They are thieves who scour the
sea, plundering everything within their reach. They are so cruel
that they never imprison, but kill all upon whom they can lay their
hands. These people came to the Filipinas this year with seven caracoas
and seventeen _ajuangas_, vessels resembling large galleys, but not
so strong; ordinarily they carry four hundred men at the oars. They
did very little damage, however, for they must have heard that our
fleet was on the sea, and therefore they soon withdrew to their own
territory. Their withdrawal was also due in no small degree to the
fact that when they once landed upon an island the native Indians,
sallying forth, killed some of their men and put their heads upon
poles along the coast in order to terrify the rest. It was the special
providence of our Lord that our father provincial did not fall into
the hands of these corsairs when he went to visit the Pintados Islands,
for when they [the father and his crew] were not far from the islands,
a strong wind came up ahead of them, which compelled them to remain
sheltered in a small bay for more than fifteen days. Here the news
of these enemies came to them, and therefore the father retired to
Manila. It is certain that if that contrary wind had not arisen he
would have gone forward, and would have fallen into their hands.
The devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the most sainted Virgin
has greatly increased among all the people. As soon as the ship from
Nueva España arrived, bringing the news of the elaborate demonstrations
that had been made in all España in honor of this Lady, they began to
place on all the corners and upon the doors of churches notices that
read, "Praised be the most holy sacrament and the Immaculate Conception
of the most holy Virgin, conceived without blot of original sin." There
was no lack of persons who tried to efface one of these notices that
was on the door of the church of Santo Domingo, a fact which caused
the people to burn with greater devotion to this Lady. It was arranged
that for two nights there should be a procession of masked figures. In
it a banner with an image of the Immaculate Conception was displayed;
lamps were placed throughout the city; the cathedral bells began
to chime; and the orders formed in line of march. One devout person
placed on the corners eighteen images of the Conception of our Lady,
with a legend reading, "Without blot of original sin." Other pious
people adorned these images with gilded ornaments and lights that burn
all night. The children continually recited before these images, in
loud voices, various couplets in praise of the Immaculate Conception,
thus fulfilling that saying of David, _ex ore infantium e lactentium_
["out of the mouths of babes and sucklings"], etc.
Concerning the persecution in Japon, I can only say that with the death
of Daytusama, who was the chief cause of the expulsion of our fathers,
[15] it was hoped that the persecution would cease or at least would
abate. On the contrary it has increased under the new administration of
his son, who is so hostile to the law of Christ our Lord that simply
because of our holy faith he has martyred one religious from each
of the four orders there. These four religious, among many others,
had gone about secretly, as in England, with great labor cultivating
that vineyard. This event occasioned much rejoicing in the hearts of
all the people of this city, the laity as well as the religious. They
talked of making fiestas and public rejoicings in thanksgiving that
our Lord had adorned the four orders that are in these islands with
four martyrs so distinguished. But in order not to further provoke to
wrath the ruler of Japon, who had ordered their death, and for other
reasons, it was thought best to suspend for the present all kinds of
fiestas. Among those who suffered this fortune or fate was a father
of our Society named Juan Bautista Tavora, a native of the island of
Tercera. He died in company with a father of San Francisco. Afterward
they martyred two others, one of Santo Domingo, and the other of San
Agustin, and in order that respect might not be paid by the Christians
to their bodies, the heathen threw them into the sea. The bodies of
the father of our Society and the father of Santo Domingo were placed
together in one box; those of the two fathers of San Francisco and San
Agustin in another. These last were afterward found, but the first
were not. The account of all that happened concerning this matter I
will place in the relation of that province [Japon] where these most
happy deaths will be related at length.
I will conclude this account with one of the most singular events
that have ever happened in the world. Although it is discreditable to
the Order of St. Augustine, it should be related here with all truth,
because it is so public and will be so noised about through all the
world. When Fray Vicente de Sepulveda, [16] first cousin of Father
Juan Laurencio, rector of the College of Mexico, finished his term of
three years as provincial, the fathers of St. Augustine met in chapter
in a convent near the city of Manila, to elect a new provincial. They
chose Fray Geronimo de Salas, [17] not without dissensions and discords
between the two parties into which they are divided. This provincial
died twenty days after his election. He died, as some say (and this
opinion seems not without foundation, as we shall see further on),
from poison that they gave him, and consequently his death was very
sudden. By the death of this Fray Geronímo de Salas, Fray Vicente de
Sepulveda returned to the office of provincial, as their regulations
provide. It seemed to some religious who were not of his party that it
was too much for him to govern three more years, so they planned to
cut the thread of life for him--by means of poison, since this would
not betray them. They gave it to him more than eight times in his
food and drink--in his chocolate, and even in the wine with which
he was consecrated. The poison was ground glass, and it resulted
in eruptions over his entire body and in illness for several days,
but it did not produce death. When the conspirators saw that their
attempts so far had been unsuccessful, four of them planned to kill
him with their own hands. The affair was so public that not only was
the conspiracy noised about among the friars but also among the laity
of Manila. Thus it came to the ears of the provincial himself, who
had not lived as prudently as he should have done for the safety of
his person. After this, he was very careful about his food and drink;
he locked himself in at night, and entrusted the key of the apartment
to only a few. He ordered one, who was the author of the treason
(and he was the one that was suspected), that in virtue of his [the
provincial's] holy precept, he should not come into the convent of
Manila, but that he should prepare to embark for Nueva España where
they should take from him the cowl. Thereupon this individual, Fray
Juan de Ocadiz--who was a native of Madrid, a priest, and one of long
service in his order--formed an agreement with three others, all young
men about twenty years of age, who had been ordained to preach. These
were Fray Juan de Quintana and Fray Andres Encinas (both natives of
Manila), and Fray Ignacio de Alcaraz, born in Nueva España in a place
near Acapulco, called I think, Quatulco. Fray Ignacio was companion
and secretary to this provincial, and so he had the opportunity of
making a key to the apartment, by first making an impression of the
key in wax. On the thirty-first of July, 617, the day of our Father
Ignacio, at eleven o'clock at night, the four opened the door of
the provincial's apartment with the key that had been prepared
for the purpose. The provincial heard the noise immediately, and
suspecting what it might be, rose from the bed, and went shouting to
meet them. At this juncture the three evangelists repented of what
had been begun, and talked of withdrawing from it. But Fray Juan de
Ocadiz, bolder than the rest, since he had already begun the work,
told them that if they deserted he would have to stab them. Thereupon
all four together attacked the provincial, threw him upon the bed,
and held his mouth. The three evangelists held his arms and legs
firmly, and Fray Juan de Ocadiz, putting his knees upon his stomach,
choked with his hands. While the friar was choking him, the provincial
begged for confession. Fray Juan said, "Father, repent of your sins,
and in token of this clasp my hand." The provincial took his hand,
and the murderer absolved him, adding, "Trust, Father, in our Lord,
who will pardon your sins." Upon this he seized his throat, and
finished choking him. Then with diabolical cruelty, in order to be
more certain [that he was dead] they twisted his neck against the bed
in such a way that they disjointed the bones, no that the head fell
from one side to the other as if he had been a dead fowl. All this
tragedy was committed in the dark, so they went for a light, cleansed
the provincial's body of the blood that had gushed from his mouth,
changed his bed-linen and garments, and set everything in good order,
that it might appear that he had died of some sudden accident. They
did not take into consideration the many discolorations upon his
body, or the twisted neck, that must soon give testimony of the
hideous crime. Fray Andres Encinas took all the bloody clothing and
threw it into the closets. The others closed the door from within,
with a cross bar, and jumped through a little window. Although the
provincial had given many loud cries, and other friars lived near
the apartment, nothing was heard in the convent--a thing that seems
impossible. After the crime was completed the bells rang for matins,
for which it was now time. The murderers, or rather parricides, with
great craftiness went to prayers. Morning came, and the hour arrived
at which the provincial was accustomed to open his apartment; but he
did not open it. They waited a little, but he did not come out. They
knocked at the door, but he did not respond; they knocked louder,
but in vain. The prior and the other friars, who were ignorant of
the affair, determined to break down the doors. They did so, entered,
and then beheld the crime, and saw that the provincial had been killed
with violence. The prior, a certain Fray del Rincon, [18] hastened to
the president of the royal Audiencia and to Don Geronimo de Sylva,
captain-general, in order that they might give him help of which he
was destitute because there was so great a tumult in the convent. They
soon came with men. First the president ordered that all the friars
should go one by one to kiss the hand of the dead man, in order that he
might note the countenance of each. Finally they buried the provincial,
and every one can well infer what would be said of the whole order;
for people will forget that in the apostolic college there was a Judas
and in Heaven a Lucifer, and yet the other apostles and the angels did
not fall on this account. Reports of the affair were transmitted to the
bishop of Zebu, Don Fray Pedro de Arce, of the Order of St. Augustine,
and at that time governor of the archbishopric of Manila. He imprisoned
some and tortured others; and in a short time, and with little trouble,
the criminals were discovered. He made all the investigations, prepared
the case, and handed it over to the _definitorio_, which, as they
said, had by right jurisdiction in the matter. The definitorio, which
was composed of nine of the most prominent friars of their order,
advised with the other orders as to whether, without consulting
the pope, it could condemn the criminals to actual degradation and
deliver them over to the secular arm. The Society [of Jesus] avoided,
as far as it could, giving its opinion upon an affair that was of
such moment, and that must create such a sensation. In the decision
of the affair, whether wise or unwise, it was best for us not to
interfere. The authors were examined, and upon the advice of wise
and learned men the definitorio resolved to give the sentence. It was
read to the criminals from the pulpit of the church of St. Augustine,
on the nineteenth of September, 617, before all the people, who had
congregated to witness a spectacle so extraordinary. Immediately they
took from him the cowl, and left them with only some short cassocks
such as are worn by clergymen. They delivered them to the bishop,
who was already prepared for the degradation. He immediately began to
degrade them, and then delivered them over to the secular arm. They
were taken to jail by the strong guard of soldiers that had been in the
church ever since the criminals had been removed from the prisons to
hear the sentence. But it was possible to execute this sentence against
three only, because Fray Andres Encinas had escaped the night before,
in company with a lay brother who was guarding him. With chains and
all, the lay brother removed him from the prison at twelve o'clock at
night, and, placing him upon his back, carried him along an unfinished
wall of the convent, with great danger to both of falling and killing
themselves. He took from him the chains and, together with another
lay brother of their order, they jumped from the wall and fled in
great haste. On the twenty-second of September of the same year,
617, the secular tribunal pronounced the sentence of death upon the
three. They were taken from the jail amid a great retinue of religious
of all orders, who were assisting, and of soldiers who were guarding
the prisoners. At ten o'clock in the morning they were hanged in the
square before the largest assembly of people, I think, I have ever seen
in my life. They died with suitable preparation. I am unwilling to omit
the account of a very peculiar circumstance. Twenty years ago they were
hanging in Madrid that Augustinian friar because he wished to make a
pastry-cook king of Portugal, and to marry him to Doña Ana de Austria,
the mother of Fray Juan de Ocadiz. She was watching the proceeding,
and all at once she began to scream and weep. When asked the cause
of this she replied that she fancied she saw on the gallows her son,
who was an Augustinian friar. Followed by a large crowd they took the
bodies of these three men who had been hanged, to the convent of San
Agustin for interment, where they will remain with their provincial
until God calls them to judgment. The friars then very diligently
searched for the one who had fled, in order to execute upon him
the same sentence. At first they did not find him. And afterward,
although they might have captured him, they did not, because they did
not feel obliged to revive the painful remembrances and cause to all,
and especially to his mother and the relatives whom he has here,
the grief and distress that the first three deaths occasioned.
Besides these there were found guilty in the affair Fray Joseph de
Vides, a native of Mexico, who had been instructor of the novices;
and Fray Pedro de Herrera, a native of Medina del Campo, who had
been professor of theology, and who now was prior of a convent. As
these two were not so guilty as the others the friars took from them
the cowl, and sentenced them to six years at the galleys in Maluco;
and to suspension [from mass] for one additional year, on account of
the reverence that is due to so high and divine a mystery. They were
handed over to the secular tribunal, and were put upon galleys. But
in a few days they escaped, and embarked upon a small ship in company
with Fray Andres Encinas and the lay brother who had freed him from
prison. All four set out together upon the return to Malaca, in order
to go from that place to Goa, España, and finally to Rome. Such is the
unfortunate event which was reported last year to the pope, the king,
and all the world alike. This year report will be made of the justice
meted out to the malefactors. [19] And as more than four lies will
be written, I have thought it best that your Reverences should know
the affair just as it occurred, nothing being added or omitted. [20]
_Events at Ternate_
Since this was written, advices came from Ternate that brought us some
news which I will add here. The aid that was sent from this city to
the Malucas Islands arrived, and those who carried it found in the
passage two Dutch ships awaiting them, to prevent their entrance to
our fortifications, and even to take the supplies, if possible. They
made an attack and our people thought best to withdraw; but after
some days they returned by another route, to land the supplies if
they could. They again found the Hollander in the road and, being
attacked a second time, they fought, made a great effort to pass,
and succeeded--although the enemy so pursued one ship, the admiral's,
that it ran aground in the island of Tidore. Most of the people were
saved, but some the enemy killed with musket-shots, and some, who threw
themselves into the water, perished. Captain Alonso Martin Quirante,
who was in our stronghold of Tidore, hurried out and prevented the
enemy from taking anything from the ship.
Many of the provisions that were in the ship were lost, among them
almost all of those that the father, as I mentioned above, was taking
for our fathers. In the thick of the battle this father was the first
to be wounded. He was struck on the arm by a splinter, but his wound
was of little consequence. The soldiers, however, will not because of
this loss be in want this year; for the English went [to the Malucas]
with a shipload of rice to trade for cloves, and the viceroy sent
six galeotas of provisions from India.
The above-mentioned captain, Alonso Martin Quirante, made an
ambuscade, in which he killed twenty-one Hollanders and captured
four. Of the enemy, twenty-five Hollanders and many of the Indians of
their following deserted to our fortifications. Although the king of
Tidore has always been very favorable to us, the prince his son has
been very friendly and of much importance to the Hollanders. But our
Lord has been pleased to destroy these friendly relations in this
way. The Hollanders, for what reason I do not understand, hanged
one and drowned four of the people of Tidore. On account of this
the prince has been so opposed to them that he has sworn to avenge
himself, and to do them all the injury that he can. And he will do
this, without doubt, because he is very valiant.
So much for the Malucas. To this may be added the fact that the admiral
Heredia had made, at his own expense, a beautiful, though not very
large, ship with which to serve his Majesty whenever occasion might
offer. Just as soon as it was launched upon the sea, it was overtaken
by a storm so severe that it foundered and was lost.
I forgot to say that one [_Marginal note_--Sequeyra's ship] of the two
ships that were despatched last year for Nueva España, but did not
arrive there, was separated from the other. It must be known that a
certain de Sequeira, a Portuguese of the Order of Christ [_del Habito
de Christo_], went in it as captain. He had come as general of the
fleet which five years ago the king sent by way of the cape of Buena
Esperanca, [21] and he carried a cédula from his Majesty to the effect
that they should send him back at once by the same route. Instead,
they detained him four years in this city, much against his will. At
last they sent him as captain of this ship in order that he might go
to España by way of Nueva España. They loaded upon this ship goods
of high value, although not a great quantity of them, because the
vessel was small. He began his voyage with favorable winds astern,
and when he had reached the latitude of more than 30 degrees, he
saw that he might turn toward India; but, the brisas beginning to
vex the ships, he ordered the return, and, arriving at these islands,
disembarked some Castilians whom he carried but who did not wish to go
with him. He steered for Malaca and India, in order to go, they say,
to España upon the voyage which his Majesty had ordered. He arrived at
Malaca and died, I think, in Cochin. Nothing more is known [of him],
nor [is it known] what will be done with the goods that he carried.
The ships from Nueva España arrived very late, at the beginning of
July. It was fortunate that the vendavals were very much delayed this
season; for, if they had begun when they usually do, it would have
been impossible for the ships to reach these islands this year. But
God chose to bring to us the governor [22] who was so much desired. A
grand reception, with many costly triumphal arches, was prepared for
him in Manila. But he embarked from the port of Cabite in a galley,
and entered quietly into the palace through a postern gate near by,
and therefore the whole reception fiesta was a failure. And when
they desired him to go out of the city again, in order that he might
enter with solemnity, he said that he did not wish them to carry him
in procession as if he were a penitent, and so he remained there.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PHILIPPINAS ISLANDS
The governmental district of the islands commonly called Philippinas
comprises seven principal provinces, not to mention many other
islands and smaller provinces within its jurisdiction. Five of these
principal provinces are in the island of Luzon, which is four hundred
and sixty leguas in periphery and extends about from the thirteenth
to the twenty-first parallel. One can travel two hundred leguas in a
straight line on this island, for it is even longer than this. From
east to west, between the Cape of Spiritu Santo (the first sighted when
coming from Nueba España) and the bay of Manila, it is eighty leguas;
and from south to north, between the same bay and Cape Boseador,
in the province of Cagayan, which is opposite Japon and China, it is
one hundred and twenty leguas. The capital of Cagayan is the city of
Nueba Segobia, which was settled by Governor Don Goncalo Ronquillo de
Peñalosa in fifteen hundred and eighty-one. The shape of this island
of Luzon, taken as a whole, is more like a semi-quadrant than anything
else, although there are many irregularities in places. Some parts
are narrow, because of the numerous arms of the sea which bound and
penetrate the island; but in some parts, principally those on the
north side, the island grows broader and more spacious, as I will
show in the proper place. In other parts it is rough, rugged, and
not a little mountainous. When the island is considered as shaped
like a semi-quadrant, the great bay of Manila lies in the angle,
where the sides meet the city--which is in the center of the island,
near the entrance to the same bay; and has as a port Cavite, a little
more than two leguas to the south.
_Camarines_
The first, of the five provinces in the island of Luzon, beginning on
the eastern coast, is Camarines, which includes all the territory near
the mouth of the channel of Capul. The capital of Camarines is the
city of Cazeres, sixty leguas from Manila. It was settled by Doctor
Francisco de Sande, governor of these islands, in fifteen hundred and
seventy-four. He settled on the Vicor, a large and peaceful river,
whose waters are very fresh and healthful, because it runs through many
veins of gold, as do most or all of the rivers of these islands. There
are in Camarines as many as twenty encomiendas, counting the four into
which the island of Catanduanes (which is included in this district)
is divided. The largest of these encomiendas does not contain more
than fifteen hundred tributes; there are a few of one thousand; most
of them must have from seven to eight hundred; while some have four
hundred or even less. Among these peoples a great deal of gold was
formerly obtained from the mines or placers of Paracali and from the
island of Catanduanes. Camarines yields no rice, and it has not so good
a food supply as other parts of Luzon, owing to the fact that Luzon
is very narrow here, and in many places is rough and mountainous. It
is believed that as much gold is mined now as usually, yet it seems a
small quantity; for, although the Indians in general have more money
than formerly, obtained through their [various] sources of income,
they keep back the gold to work up into chains and jewelry, with
which they adorn and parade themselves freely. They pay tribute in
tin reals. The Camarines have become a very settled and tractable
people through the religious instruction and careful teaching of
the discalced Franciscan fathers, their ministers. They had been,
of all the people of these islands, the most warlike and the most
feared, as was shown by their resistance; indeed, one can hardly
assert that they were conquered. The number of the inhabitants of
this province can be but roughly estimated, as it is difficult to
count them accurately. It is probable, however, that there are more
than one hundred and fifty [thousand], counting the intractable black
people who live in the interior of the country. Of this number some
estimate that one-fourth are Christians.
_Judicial offices of the province of Camarines_ [23]
With respect to royal jurisdiction, this province has these three
offices:
The alcaldia-mayor of Caseres, which is ordinarily called the
alcaldia-mayor of Camarines, because Caseres is the capital of the
province, and has jurisdiction over the larger and better part of it;
the corregimiento of Ybalon, which is at the mouth of the channel;
and the corregimiento of the island of Catanduanes, which is also
near the same channel mouth.
_The province of Manilla_
The second province [in the island of Luzon] and the principal one
in importance and wealth, because of its extensive commerce and of
the fact that it is in the center of the kingdom, is Manila. Within
its jurisdiction are included other smaller provinces. These are the
two lake provinces, Bonbon and Bay; and (the most important of all)
Panpanga, which, at the outside, is not more than twelve leguas from
Manila. This is an inundated valley, and yields a great amount of
rice, owing to the richness and location of its lands, as well as to
the wealth and superior character of its natives--among whom there
are at present many who have aided and served as faithful subjects
and friends, whenever opportunity has offered. In Panpanga your
Majesty has as many as six thousand tributes in the four governmental
districts and principal villages, among which are Betis, Lubao, Guagua,
Mexico, and other smaller places. All the neighboring country, and
particularly the royal magazines, secure their rice from this province
[of Pampanga]. There must be in the province of Manila forty thousand
tributes belonging to private individuals, and almost twenty thousand
belonging to your Majesty. There must be in all more than five hundred
thousand people, of whom one-fourth are Christians. In this, however,
estimates vary. The adelantado, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, settled the
important city of Manila in the year fifteen hundred and sixty-one,
[24] after having lived for six years in the islands of Zubu and Panay,
of which I shall speak more in detail in another place.
_The judicial offices in the province of Manila_.
The offices to which appointments are made in the province of Manila,
not to mention the judicial officers of greater or less importance
who are maintained by the city within its walls, are as follows:
The alcaldia-mayor of the Parian or alcayzeria of the Chinese; the
alcaldia-mayor of the coast near this city, its capital being the
town of Tondo; the alcaldia-mayor of the Lake of Manila, ordinarily
called Laguna de Bay; the alcaldia-mayor of Bulacan and Calumpite,
one of the two alcaldias of Panpanga; the alcaldia-mayor of Panpanga,
which includes the rest of the province; the alcaldia-mayor of
Balayan and Bonbon, twenty leguas from Manila; the corregimiento of
Mindoro and Baco, twenty-five leguas from Manila--which, although
it is itself an island, is a division of this province for judicial
and religious administration; the alcaldia-mayor of Calilaya, forty
leguas from Manila; the corregimiento of Masbate, an island fifty
leguas, or a little more, from Manila, between this island [of Luzon]
and the Pintados.
_Pangassina_
Next after Panpanga comes the district comprising all of Sambales and
Pangasinan. This, although here considered as a separate province,
is under the jurisdiction of Manila in judicial and religious
matters. Its natives are chiefly those called Negrillos. They are
mountain Indians and are either very tawny in color, or black. They
are so restless, so warlike, and so averse to trade and communication
with other people, that up to this time it has not been possible to
subdue them effectively. Although on different occasions they have
been severely chastised, there is still no security from them. They
are in the habit of making sudden assaults upon their neighbors,
continually, and cutting off many heads. In this consists the whole
happiness of these barbarians. These Negrillos belong to the same
race of people as those who live farthest in the interior and in the
most rugged parts of these islands. It is a very well established and
common belief that they are the real aborigines; and that the rest
of the Indians are immigrants who conquered them, and compelled them
to leave the shores and plains, and to retire to the most isolated
and rugged parts of the islands, where they now are. They are still
so brutal and so averse to civilization that they scarcely deserve
more than the name of men; for they often cut off the heads of their
own fathers and brothers as a pastime, for no other reason than
their natural cruelty and brutality. Very few of them have fixed
settlements, nor do they plant crops; but they live upon camotes
(a kind of potato), other herbs and roots, and the game which they
hunt. They hardly ever come to the plains or coasts except to make
assaults and to cut off heads. The one who has cut off the greatest
number of these is most feared and respected among them. The skulls
they keep in their huts as trophies, or to serve as jugs and cups
in their drinking-bouts. There is such abundance of wild game in
the province of Pangasinan that within a space of only twenty leguas
over sixty thousand, and sometimes as many as eighty thousand, deer
are killed every year. The Indians pay these deerskins as tributes;
while trade in them is a source of great profit for Japon, because
the Japonese make of them good leather for various purposes.
_Ten thousand tributes_. There must be in Pangasinan between ten
thousand and twelve thousand half-pacified tributes, two thousand
belonging to his Majesty, and the rest to private individuals. The
capital of this province is a place called Binabatonga. It
formerly contained about three thousand houses, or, according to
other estimates, a greater number; but it now has only about two
thousand. The province has some good ports. One is that of Agoo,
commonly called "the port of Japon," because it was the first port
which the Japonese occupied in these islands [when our people first saw
them here]. Another port is Bolinao, which is better than any other.
_Judicial offices in Pangasinan_. There is only one judicial office
in this province, namely, the alcaldia-mayor of Pangasinan.
_The province of Ilocos_
Next after Pangasinan, toward the north, on the same coast, comes
the province of the llocos, a people on the whole more settled and
tractable; and although there have been some disturbances among them,
they are now very peaceable. They are well supplied with provisions,
especially with rice--a great quantity of which comes to Manila every
year during February and a part of March, for at this time the winds
are favorable for going from Ilocos to Manila and back again. The
capital of this province is the town called Fernandina [now Vigan],
which was settled by the master-of-camp Guido de Lavazares, who
governed these islands in fifteen hundred and seventy-three, upon
the death of the adelantado, Legaspi. This province must nave between
fourteen thousand and fifteen thousand tributes, which are collected
without resistance. Five thousand of them belong to his Majesty,
and the rest to private individuals. There used to be in it, also, a
great quantity of gold but the Ygolotes Indians diminished the amount
for the reason given above. [25] This diminution is quite noticeable.
_Judicial offices of the province of Ilocos_. There is in this province
only one judicial office, the alcaldia-mayor of Ilocos.
_The province of Cagayan or Nueva Segobia_
After Ilocos comes the province of Cagayan, the northernmost portion
of the island of Luzon, where there is a great deal of incompletely
pacified country. It contains villages inhabited by a very strong
and warlike people, who have given us much trouble.
_Twelve thousand_ [_tributes_]. Between twelve thousand and thirteen
thousand tributes are collected in the pacified portions of the
province. Fifteen hundred, or a little more, belong to his Majesty,
and the rest to private individuals.
The capital of this province is, as has been said, the city and port
of Nueba Segobia, opposite and facing China and Japon, one hundred
and twenty leguas from Manila. It is so near China that from Cape
Bojeador, one of the points or promontories of Cagayan, it is not
more than a seventy leguas' journey to the nearest towns on the coast
of Chincheo, a maritime province of that great kingdom. The greater
part of the Sangleys who come to these islands are natives of that
place. For this reason, and because of the natural restlessness of
the people of Cagayan, there has been established in Nueba Segobia a
regular garrison, sometimes with fifty, and sometimes with a hundred,
or even more, soldiers, as necessity demands. Nueba Segobia contains
the cathedral church and is the capital of the archbishopric of the
province of Cagayan, just as the city of Caseres is of Camarines. There
are then, in the island of Luzon, not counting the archbishopric of
Manila, which is the capital of the kingdom, the two archbishoprics
above mentioned. It must be noted that there are in this island many
races and kinds of people, such as the Camarines, Camintanes, Tagalos,
Panpangas, Sanbales, Ilocos, Cagayanes, and many others. They differ
noticeably not only in language and in physical characteristics,
but also in disposition and customs. But the Tagala dialect, that of
Manila and the surrounding country, is a common language. It is spoken
and understood everywhere, not only by the above-mentioned natives
of the island of Luzon, but by the natives of all the islands. From
this fact those who know something concerning the past of these people
infer that the other nations of the archipelago have long carried on
trade and commerce with Manila. Because the island is the center of
an infinite number of nations and barbarous people, some heathens and
some Mahometans; and because of its nearness to and trade with the
rich and powerful kingdoms of Japon and China, as well as for other
reasons that might be mentioned, Manila is considered of greater
importance in this governmental district than can here be indicated.
_Judicial offices of the province of Nueba Segobia_. There is only one
judicial office in Cagayan, the alcaldia-mayor of the entire province.
_Province of Panay in the Pintados_
The sixth province, one of those outside of Luzon, is the island
of Panay, situated in the Pintados, one hundred leguas south of
the city of Manila. It is more fertile, and yields more rice and
other provisions, than any other province of the kingdom except
Manila. Neither is there any province relatively more densely
populated, for, although it is not eighty leguas in periphery,
it contains thirty thousand of the most profitable and peaceable
tributes in the whole kingdom. The capital of this island is the town
of Arebalo, which was settled by the adelantado Legaspi in fifteen
hundred and sixty-seven, and enlarged by Don Gonzalo Ronquillo in
fifteen hundred and eighty-two. It is near the village of Oton and
the port of Yloylo, the most southerly port of the governmental
district. For this reason, and because of the fertility of this
province, it is better fitted than any other for provisioning
and sending aid to the Malucas Islands and to the presidios of
Terrenate. This province is on the coast facing toward Mindanao,
Maluco, and all the "islands of enemies," as the islands to the
south are designated. In religious instruction and ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, this province is included in the bishopric of Zubu.
_Judicial offices in the island of Panay_. There are in Panay three
judicial offices. These are, the corregimiento of Panay and Aclan,
the rivers and principal settlements of the island; the corregimiento
of the island of Negros, which is included in the district of Panay;
the alcaldia-mayor of the town of Arebalo (commonly called the
alcaldia-mayor of Otong) and including the purveyorship--the best
and most important office of that province.
_The Province of Subu and its jurisdiction_
Forty leguas eastward from Oton, and one hundred and twenty leguas
from the bay of Manila, is the island of Zubu. The capital of
this province, as well as of all the provinces of the Pintados,
is the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jhesus--celebrated throughout
the kingdom, not so much on account of its good harbor as because
it was the first town to submit to his Majesty; and because it is
the first city which the adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi settled
and pacified in these islands. It is also noted because it is but
half a legua from the island of Matan, where the famous Magallanes
died fighting; and more than all else on account of the holy relic,
[an image] of the child Jesus, which our fathers found there, which
is now at the capital city in the convent of San Agustin, and has been
signalized by some miracles that have occurred there. Zubu is a small
island, and it yields but few provisions, because it is rugged and
mountainous. But it has an abundance, of game, and secures sufficient
[of other] provisions and supplies from the islands and provinces
under its jurisdiction. These are: Leyte, Çamar, Ybabao, Bohol, and
many other islands of lesser importance, besides that part of the
island of Mindanao opposite Zubu which was formerly at peace--that
is, all the country along the Butuan River, forty leguas from Zubu,
and the coasts of Surigao, Dapitan, and Caragas, a little further
from Zubu. Eight or ten years ago, all of these revolted from this
province. There are in the provinces of Zubu and its jurisdiction,
according to some estimates, over twenty thousand, and according to
others, twenty-four thousand, very peaceable tributes. Three thousand
of these belong to his Majesty and the rest to private individuals. To
the two provinces of Zebu and Panay only is given the name Bisayas,
but to all this group of islands taken together is given the name
Pintados. The Pintados are now giving more trouble than any others
in the whole governmental district; not because the inhabitants are
restless (for none are more peaceable or more useful), but because
they are on the frontier toward the seas of Mindanao and Maluco. The
natives of Mindanao and Maluco--principally the Mindanaos and other
allied tribes, the Sangiles, Joloans, and others of that region--have
been emboldened by their great successes during the last ten years
to infest the coasts of the islands (and especially of the Pintados,
which are nearest to them), so frequently that they have kept the
forces of the kingdom diverted [to that region]. They have been greatly
aided by the artifice and craft of Silongan, their principal chief,
and most of all by the remissness of our fleets. For these reasons
they have harassed and are now harassing all the Pintados, where they
have at different times robbed many places, captured many thousands
of friendly Indians, burned and sacked the churches and barbarously
profaned sacred things. And yet for these excesses they have neither
made amends nor been punished, and since these Moros have power and
courage to continue the war, many evil consequences result; for in
spite of the pretended treaties of peace, which they are always
promising but never keep, they persist in their offenses. [For
instance], at the end of November, 1616, these Mahometan Indians,
by the coming of the Dutch ships which reached this bay on the last
of October led to think that our forces would be engaged, improved
the occasion like good strategists, and burned three of his Majesty's
ships in the dockyards of Masbate. About twenty leguas from Manila,
they burned some villages and captured many Spaniards; and what two
galleys did let some other person tell his Majesty. We know their
designs by experience, and the opinion grows that it would be well to
punish them for once, with sufficient force to keep them sufficiently
under restraint and subjection to make it possible to apportion the
island [in encomiendas], and to establish in it fortified posts. This
is the true way to prevent their disturbances. Since Mindanao is
directly opposite the Pintados, and so near to Matheo and Terrenate;
since it has so many encomiendas to distribute (as it is over four
hundred leguas in extent); and since it yields gold, wax, cinnamon,
and a great quantity of rice and other valuable products--great
benefits would accrue to his Majesty by its pacification.
_Judicial offices of the province of Zubu; three_. Returning to the
province of Zubu, from which I have been diverted by a discussion
of the affairs of Mindanao, I may say that there are three judicial
offices here. They are the alcaldia-mayor of Zubu, which is the
principal office in the province; the corregimiento of the islands
of Leyte, Camar, and Babao; and the corregimiento of Botuan, which
is the portion of the island of Mindanao that used to be peaceful.
Summary of the tributes--160,000. Each tribute consists of a man
and wife.
I wrote this in Manila, in 1618, to give to Governor D. Pedro de
Bivero.
DUTCH FACTORIES AND POSTS IN THE ORIENT
_Account of the factories, and the posts garrisoned with infantry and
artillery, that the Dutch enemies maintain in the islands of the East._
_Item_. From these factories are taken food and other provisions for
Maluco, and a ship of a thousand toneladas of pepper every year.
_Item_. In the island of Caramandel they maintain two factories
without a garrison. One of them is in the port and country of Achen,
[26] and the other in the same island, which is called Chambi. There
is sent from these factories a shipload of a thousand toneladas of
pepper, gold, and jewels.
_Item_. In Negapatan they have a factory, without a garrison; from
it are carried cloths, which the Terrenate Indians of Maluco wear.
_Item_. In the island of Jor [27] there is at present one factory,
without a garrison; and 400 bares of pepper are shipped from it every
year. A bare [_i.e._, bahar] is known to contain 600 libras.
_Item_. In Patane there is a factory, without a garrison; from it are
shipped glazed earthenware, silk, and various drugs which come from
China, and one shipload of more than 600 toneladas of pepper each year.
_Item_. In Cian [_i.e._, Siam] they have a factory, without a garrison;
from it are carried jewels and various drugs of much value.
_Item_. In Borneo they have a factory, without a garrison. Thence
are sent gold, jewels, and camphor.
_Item_. In Japon they have a factory, without a garrison. Thence are
shipped military supplies and provisions for Maluco; and thus the
Dutch greatly hinder the progress of Christianity in that country.
_Item_. In Macazar they had two factories; but have removed them thence
because the king and the natives do not get along well with them.
_Item_. In the island of Banda they have a garrison, with artillery
and troops. They gather there Masatrella nutmegs to the amount of
more than 1,600 bares each year.
_Item_. In the island of Caramandel they have a fortress with a
garrison and two factories, one called Masapotamia, [28] and the other
Petapulli; from them is carried cloth to trade and barter in Maluco.
_Item_. In the island of Bachan they have a garrisoned fortress;
more than a hundred bares of cloves are shipped thence each year.
_Item_. In the island of Maquian they have three garrisoned fortresses;
and 1,200 bares of cloves are gathered there each year.
_Item_. In the island of Mutiel they have a garrisoned fortress. From
this island they ship more than 350 bares of cloves each year.
_Item_. In the island of Tidore they have a garrisoned fortress,
and his Majesty has another. The whole island yields each year about
600 bares of cloves, of which half, or a little less, is secured by
the Dutch.
_Item_. In the island of Terrenate they have two garrisoned fortresses,
and his Majesty has one. The island yields each year more than 700
bares of cloves; and the profitable part of it is gathered by the
Dutch, as they have friendly relations with the natives, while his
Majesty obtains never a pound--although it is true that the greater
part is lost through war.
From these islands--Bachan, Maquian, Motiel, Tidore, and
Terrenate--which are the ones that Don Pedro de Acuña won back and
left in peace and quiet, with an amply sufficient garrison to maintain
them, the enemy enjoys and obtains each year nearly two million pesos
in profit. The reason for this loss to us was that, on account of Don
Pedro's death, so many quarrels arose between his adherents and those
of the Audiencia that they spent all the time in making war against
each other with ink and paper. In the meantime the enemy fortified
themselves in Malayo, and took possession of the island of Maquian,
and those of Motiel and Bachan, and the other ports which they now
hold, without its costing them a drop of blood. But this burnened
us with much ignominy; for we--being occupied in wasting paper and
ink in lawsuits, which have continued to this day--both by this loss
and that other which first arose from the dismantling of a fort in
Mindanao which had been built in the port of La Caldera, have given
the enemy an opportunity to take possession of so large a part of
these islands. And the worst is, that these factions are lasting to
this very day, and are causing the many losses and the great expenses
which your Majesty now incurs; and these hatreds will not be lacking,
for they are so deeply rooted. It is for us to apply a check to them,
for from them has sprung the loss of respect to whomsoever should
have it, and thence have come to this court reports so sinister.
What is recounted in this relation is from the mouth of General Pablos
Blancar, who was our prisoner in Terrenate. Being grateful for the
good treatment which he had and received from my hand, he gave me
this, assuring me that it was altogether true; and I even agree with
what he said, for, being disgusted with his countrymen because they
did not help him, and feeling grateful for the friendship which he
personally received in my house, he told me--as it were, in payment
for that, and by way of vengeance on his own countrymen--all that I
have recounted. As for the failures to serve your Majesty on the part
of our people, I have restrained myself in many respects, for they
are more important than I can express; but I advised Señor Don Diego
de Ybarra of them in the year 1617. I am certain of everything which
happened there, as I was present there in person, and saw these things
with my own eyes, being in those islands as captain and sargento-mayor,
and governing them in the absence of Don Jeronimo de Silva. [29]
MEMORIAL REGARDING MANILA HOSPITAL
Manila, 1618. Memorial for his Lordship Señor Don Fernando Canillo,
president of the Council of the Indias for his Majesty, informing
him of the injuries and losses which, during the seven years that
I served as head brother in the royal hospital of his Majesty, were
ascertained by me in that time, in order that they may be remedied in
the city of Manila; and of the good which the brothers of John of God,
are accomplishing in these regions.
1. In the time of Governor Don Francisco Tello, there was a steward
who drew a salary of three hundred pesos, with a hundred fanegas of
rice, and two hundred fowls, and lodging in the hospital. 2. Another
succeeded him, who died owing three hundred pesos, which could not
be collected. 3. The second was succeeded by the Confraternity of
La Misericordia, and when they had left the administration there
remained a surplus of three thousand pesos. 4. To this third succeeded
a person who finally owed the hospital five or six thousand pesos. I
believe that they could not collect this sum, because he died at
that time; and God knows what evil the hospital suffered on account
of the funds thus withheld, as the hospital building was burnt twice
in one year. 5. The fifth successor, who was the owner of a horse,
sold it to the hospital as a breed horse for the mares, so that the
hospital might have a stock-farm. The price paid was four hundred
pesos; but the horse was of no use for this purpose, and there was no
need of him for any other use, so the said hospital sold him for one
hundred and fifty pesos. This steward remained in office two years;
and three years passed without his rendering any accounts, and I
believe he never did so. He died, and may have rendered a good account
in heaven. 6. The fifth steward requested from the sixth a tonelada
from the hospital assignment of freight in the ships. He did not lade
it, not having the means to do so; he sold it for six hundred pesos,
and paid the hospital two hundred pesos. During my time the governors
gave to the royal hospital of Manila eight toneladas for provisions
and utilities. The city sold its toneladas at six hundred pesos,
and sometimes more; and the hospital sold its space mostly at two
hundred pesos, at twenty-five pesos a pieza. The hospital for Indians
has two toneladas, and sells them at more than six hundred pesos each.
The hospitals which your Majesty has in the Filipinas Islands: the
royal hospital, where the soldiers are treated; another in Gavite,
where the sailors are treated; another for the Indian natives,
[conducted by] the Franciscan friars; another for Sangleys, by the
Dominican friars; another, by La Misericordia, for the mulattoes;
another, at the hot springs, [30] by the Franciscan friars; another
in Cagayan; another in Cebu; another in Maluco; and another for
convalescents, by the friars who are coming back from the Indias. The
brothers of the blessed Juan de Dios will attend to the care of
these hospitals, for they are greatly lacking in comforts for the
sick. They will save all these losses to the treasury of his Majesty,
and obviate the offenses which are committed against God.
To the steward as salary 500 pesos
Collected from the encomiendas 200 pesos
200 more from the stock farm 200 pesos
From the collector of fowls 200 pesos
1100 pesos
[_Endorsed_: "The royal hospital at Manila. Send a copy of these
clauses to the governor and Audiencia, so that they may name an auditor
as inspector thereof; and let the senior auditor, if convenient,
fill this office. He shall superintend and audit the accounts of this
hospital, and bring its property into the most profitable condition. As
for the customs and mode of life of the officials who are employed
in this hospital work, if they have committed any unlawful acts
let them be punished, if laymen, according to their guilt; and if
they be ecclesiastics, let them be dismissed and sent to their own
judge. Each year, one of the Audiencia shall be appointed, in turn,
to take the hospital in his charge; and at Easter-tide, when the
general inspection of prisons is made, the governor shall, on the day
which he shall consider most suitable, visit personally and examine
into the cleanliness and state of the bedding of this hospital and
the others, so that all may be encouraged to the greatest diligence
and charity. As for the appointment of a steward and other officials,
they shall always be of the honorable and well-to-do persons of the
city; and the office of steward shall last two years. If any persons
shall be found so suited to the position that it will be necessary to
compel him [to serve therein], this shall be done in the best possible
manner, so that people may understand that, after the service of God
our Lord this it is that has most weight with his Majesty, in order to
employ them in other offices, according to the character and method of
their management. Let there be placed upon the books of the accounts
and proceedings of the hospital a copy of this decree. The Council,
November 16, 618."]
LETTER TO FELIPE III FROM ALONSO FAJARDO DE TENZA
Sire:
Having left the port of Acapulco on April second with the two ships,
men, and other things, as I wrote your Majesty from there, God was
pleased to allow us to anchor in this port of Cavite on the fifth of
the past month. One could esteem it a good fortune that although the
season was so advanced there were as yet no vendavals in the channel
[_el Embocadero_] of these islands; for we had suffered many light
winds and even calms, and had waited for a ship that joined us,
in order not to desert it, contrary to the advice of some. Thanks
to His Divine Majesty who gave us so prosperous a voyage, not ten
persons dying in both ships.
The events of which I found news here are indeed to be deplored. Not
only was the small almiranta from Nueva España wrecked at Japon
(news of which was sent in the ship of last year), but its flagship
was also destroyed, having been burned on this coast with two other
vessels, fragatas, which were with it; and I learned of the loss of
the galleon "San Marcos" and the burning of two other ships which
were being built in the shipyards, to which the Mindanao enemy set
fire, encouraged thereto by the Dutch. I found, also that, of the
squadron that was being sent to aid Terrenate, one boat was wrecked,
while another mutinied--thereby casting shame on the Spanish nation
and their loyalty, and even giving occasion for some to make comments
and to say that the needs of this place, their lack of confidence in
its relief, and the departure for another region, could furnish some
reason for a similar act of desperation. Inasmuch as the number of
people who have fled from here by divers routes, especially by that of
Portuguese Yndia, has greatly increased; and considering how this evil
report may harm, and how advisable it is to destroy it (although we
nave a very pressing need of men), I have granted some licenses--the
number I considered necessary and sufficient--so that it might be
understood that they have left these islands, and so that the fear
entertained by so many of coming hither might be dissipated. For the
same reason, I have given certain orders for the payment of necessary
obligations, giving two of these to the sailors who were here, and
as they ire so few, the so small amount of money spent will create no
deficiency. After our aforesaid misfortunes the six galleons that were
to be fitted up at the shipyards were, while going there, overtaken by
a hurricane, and were all wrecked, together with seven hundred persons
whom, it is said, they were carrying--namely, natives, Sangleys,
and Spanish sailors and shipbuilders, and some infantrymen--besides
those who escaped, who were very few. Consequently, these islands
were left without any naval forces and with few enough on land, by
the above-mentioned disaster and the many private persons who died
on the expedition to Sincupura or Malaca. The result was very great
sorrow to the citizens, because of these troubles, and because General
Ruy Gonzales de Sequeira carried an amount of property for them to
Portuguese Yndia, where he died; while the enemy, coming unexpectedly,
seized another very large quantity of property, which some say was
in excess of two hundred thousand pesos, and others of three hundred
thousand pesos. It is certain that the enemy freighted with riches
two vessels, with which they came to this coast, lading them even to
their small boats; and the same with some Chinese craft, with what they
pillaged from the Sangleys of that kingdom. Thus was that so heavy loss
caused to this community, which with two such strokes might fear its
total ruin; on that account there has been no allotment of the lading
space for Nueva España this year, since that of last year, and that
trade is the harvest that sustains this country. Consequently it has
become very necessary to encourage the citizens, seeking innumerable
methods of consolation, and facilitating their protection for the
future with what means we have. I am trying to notify and assure
them that your Majesty's reënforcements and protection will not fail
them--adducing (and in good faith on my part) all possible reasons
why we should promise ourselves and expect that relief, when your
Majesty learns into how great ruin this country has fallen. For one
cannot believe that your Majesty will permit the risking of what it is
so important to preserve, both for the continuation of the conversion
of these souls and that of so many as one may hope will be reduced to
the pathway of salvation--a thing by which our Lord will be so well
served; and for the reputation and even the profit of the treasury,
which will not be slight, and which will follow by maintaining these
islands. For if we had a fleet sufficient to be able to pursue the
enemy, they could not maintain themselves from that day on which we
would thus oblige them to divert their attention from their gains and
trading, in order to join together for defense. It is quite certain
that, in that case, there would be no one in this archipelago who would
do anything to lessen respect for your Majesty's arms. By doing that, a
million per cent would be gained over what was spent on it. Otherwise,
if the enemy enjoy in any quiet what they claim here, it would appear
that they might disturb the peace of Portuguese Yndia, and even of
some portions of the Indias of Castilla [i.e., the Spanish colonies
in America], and other places. That would give reason for anxiety,
because of the so great wealth that the enemy would thus obtain. It is
quite easy to prove this statement, since with only their plundering
and the profits from their business, and without their having any
right or dominion in anything of importance, the enemy repair the
expenses and losses of war, and make the gains that they are known to
secure. Will your Majesty please have this matter considered, and have
an efficient reënforcement of seamen and soldiers sent--all at once,
or as soon as may be possible--so that having their arms in one fleet,
aid may be thus given where and how it is considered most advisable to
your royal service. To that I shall attend with what forces I shall
have, whether many or few, as will be shown by their deeds--to which
I refer, without promising more than the fulfilment of my obligations,
with God's help. In order to do thus, I have represented all the above,
concluding with what is of most importance to this government, which is
reduced, in my opinion, to three points: namely, the commerce of China
and Nueva España; the protection and preservation of the natives; and
having the sword in the hand, so that one may achieve what is needed
and make all things clear. Taking this last point as a basis, Don Juan
de Silva, my predecessor, must have built that fleet, for which he
contrived some ships that he would not have built had it not been so
necessary, as experience proved. For until his death, the enemy did not
resolve to display the audaciousness that they have since shown here,
nor even to conduct their commerce, except with great caution. If
I could construct another fleet like it, I would imitate him; but
he impoverished the wealth of these loyal vassals of your Majesty,
the Spaniards, and of the wretched natives, to such an extent that
many are now in the most dire need. Besides, the royal treasury is
deep in debt, so that nothing can be extracted from it or from them,
which may be worth considering in the present needs. This and the
lack of iron and other materials oblige me to reduce the building
force for five ships, that, I found, had been ordered to be built,
to three, so that I should not run out of the necessary materials,
and all of them be left unfinished. Then, in case that I have enough,
those men could also build the other two. Besides, that is also
important in order that those ships which are to sail to Nueva España
in the coming year may be finished and equipped promptly. I would be
very glad were that work further advanced, in order to hasten work
on one ship that can be of help to me, equipping it, together with
the flagship and another ship of your Majesty that is here, so that
I may oppose the enemy, whom we are expecting, with three galleys,
which can be manned by availing myself of borrowed slaves. However,
according to the news received from the king of Tidore and from Yndia,
there are eighteen ships which they say are being prepared in one place
to come here, and fourteen in another. Although it will be possible
for all to come together, and let them be what they may, preparing
myself, I am ready with what resources I have for those that may come.
News from Terrenate advises us that they have sufficient food there
to be able to await the reënforcements of food and money that I
am preparing, to send them when the weather is suitable. To that
the friendship of their neighbor, the king of Macaçar, is of not a
little aid. With him friendship is being made, and I shall endeavor to
preserve it, as I think it will prove of no possible harm but of gain
now for many things. Galleys are especially desired there, for they now
miss the advantage which they gained when they had these, since they
now have but one small unarmed galliot. I think that from those that I
shall repair here, and from two or three smaller ones that I intend to
build, I shall send them a couple of these vessels after the occasion
for which I am waiting; and besides that, I think it advisable for the
service of your Majesty. I shall do it with great pleasure, because
I hope that all the aid sent to those forts will make a brave show,
for they are entrusted to Governor Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, of whose
excellent zeal and management I have very good reports, and am well
satisfied with him, although there are some who complain of his temper.
The vassals of the king of Mindanao who were formerly your Majesty's
subjects have for some years back been acting very insolently, and
have been committing so many and so great depredations that already
they are causing considerable anxiety. Consequently, it is necessary
to undertake to restrain them, and to lay hands on them. I shall
accordingly try to do so as soon as possible, and for that purpose
I shall use the galliots which I have said that I intend to build.
I am writing to the viceroy of Nueva España, asking him to send me
the aid that he is wont to send other years, in the quantity now
necessary, and as is declared in a memorial signed with my signature
and those of the royal officials of these islands. I have asked that
the money sent be the amount that was asked last year, since that
sent then did not amount to the sum generally sent in other years;
while the occasion that obliged us to ask for it has not ceased,
but rather the necessities caused by the disasters and losses above
mentioned have arisen.
Because of the short time since I arrived here, and the many
occupations that I have had in overcoming the hindrance of despatches,
in arrears, and in attending to the preparation for many necessities
that demanded it, and to the furnishing of these ships that are being
despatched now to Nueva España--in which there were very many things
to do, to which no beginning had been made--I have not been able to
ascertain with certainty who is to blame for the wreck of the six
galleons, and why they did not sail out to drive from the coast the
enemy who were pillaging along it. Consequently, I shall leave that
report to your Majesty for another occasion. However, I can send
with this letter an information regarding this matter, the taking
of which I entrusted to Auditor Geronimo de Legaspi, on the advice
of the Audiencia. The Audiencia gave it so that it might be made
secretly, on the occasion of a petition that was presented against
Don Geronimo de Silva. That petition declared also that neither I nor
any one else could be judge without a special commission from your
Majesty; but that it was necessary to make the said investigation,
in order to see by it whether it was advisable or not to prevent the
said Don Geronimo from going hence to España, as he wishes and is
resolutely undertaking to do. For that he assigns as a reason that
he considers it a disgrace that one who has governed in this country,
in the position and post with which your Majesty honored him, should
remain here, removed from his office, and liable to ruin, and in danger
of uncivil treatment--which one can fear who has so many rivals as he
confesses that he has, because of having exercised his duties with
integrity. I am trying to deliver him from that inconvenience. He
insists on his intention, justifying it with these and many other
arguments. As yet the writ has not been examined, and consequently
I can not say whether he will go or stay.
Returning to the matter of the fault for the loss of the said galleons,
I hold it certain that documents will be presented in your Majesty's
Council, written by the parties to whom that loss may be attributed;
and that, if such should be the case, what each one would write against
the other would disclose sufficient reason for need of your Majesty's
royal clemency. I confess that, as yet, with what I have heard,
I would not dare to decide who is entirely to blame for it, or who
is entirely free from that blame. For Don Hieronimo de Silva blames
the government, by arraigning Licentiate Alcaraz--who, he says, had
charge of everything; while the latter blames Don Hieronimo. At times
one of them blames the royal officials, and some of the people blame
them all, opinions being divided. My own opinion is that, whenever
the government is divided, very great dissensions and evil results
must happen. Consequently, I would consider it less troublesome,
when there is no proprietary governor, for everything to be managed
by the Audiencia; for even in affairs of war (which are those of
which they can have least knowledge), if they were in charge of
these they would endeavor to secure the advice of the military men,
who would be best qualified to give it. But it would be far better
and more expedient for your Majesty to retain in this camp and in the
castle of Manila two military men of such standing and ability that,
when the governor and captain-general is absent, they might succeed
to those duties, and to those of the presidency, since no government
can be worse than one divided. The exemplification of this can be seen
in what has occurred here, if no others offer. On that account, and
because of its importance to your Majesty's service, I petition you
that, if Don Hieronimo de Silva should go, you will please give this
army a master-of-camp such as is advisable, appointing him from the
persons whom I proposed for it at Cadiz, on the eve of my departure
for Nueva España.
I have been told that Licentiate Fernando de los Rios Coronel, who
left this country with power to negotiate its affairs, was, among
other things, to petition your Majesty that a certain portion of lading
space be given and assigned to the governor of these islands. Although
I might be inclined to embarrass myself in this trade, in order to
fulfil my obligations to your Majesty's service, I would petition--as
I do--that no opportunity or occasion be given, so that such governor
may be humiliated and declared to be a merchant. For with a limited
permission of lading space that may be given him, one can fear that
the governor might stretch out his hand farther, and make that his
chief occupation--since even without that permission the governor has
sometimes cherished that covetous vice too much; and, by whatever path
that vice comes and is allowed scope, it tarnishes all the other good
qualities that a governor may have, and almost always hinders their
use. But if, notwithstanding, your Majesty think it not a considerable
obstacle, let it be conceded to him who shall succeed me, or to such
others as you may please to give it. Thereat I will rejoice greatly,
to have advantages added to this office which will oblige more persons
of high standing to covet it, although I would not be satisfied with
those whom this opportunity would incite.
In the Audiencia and assembly the question has been debated of writing
to your Majesty about certain points, which have not all seemed so
advisable to me as to those who proposed them. Particularly so is that
of increasing the number of auditors to five, under pretext that we
are generally in need of judges because of the auditors' occupations
or illnesses. But the reason appears but little sufficient to me, for
the suits entered here can be despatched in a few days when the court
is assembled, if the time is not wasted. I have seen much time lost
in the court by striving to wreak their passions, with which these
unfortunate inhabitants are greatly intimidated. This your Majesty
will have learned by what, I am told, has been written by justices
and regidors, and men of all estates, concerning this matter of the
Audiencia; and some of them have petitioned me to write another of
like tenor. They say that the reasons that move them to such a step
are the oppression caused by the multitude of relatives and followers
[of the auditors]; their appropriation of the offices and emoluments,
to the injury of the meritorious; their hatred and hostility to those
who unfortunately fall out with them; their trading and trafficking,
although it be by an intermediary, since they, being men of influence,
buy the goods at wholesale, and protect their agents. Many others
who speak to me have represented their desire of living without so
much encumbrance, esteeming it as thoroughly intolerable. Nor does
it afford the advantage, mildness and suavity that are found in other
tribunals and councils that are under the eyes of your Majesty, where
one obtains strict justice, administered by upright and holy men--the
people here considering that those who are farthest from meriting that
name are those who are farthest from the presence of your Majesty and
your royal counselors, because of the extent to which they forget to be
human in their endeavor to be paid divine honors. Will your Majesty be
pleased to have the arguments examined which are given on this matter
by those who write and discuss it, and provide what is most fitting
to your service. In what pertains to me, I do not petition you for
anything in this matter, since in no respect can it be ill for me to
have someone to consult, and who will relieve me in matters of justice.
During its government, the Audiencia appointed men to many posts
that became vacant, and several offices for life to those to whom
they gave them; besides many encomiendas--partly to those deserving
them, and partly to some who do not deserve them so much as do
others who, after serving well, were left without any reward. I do
not understand how such a thing could be done, for in order to make
those appointments needs not only the title of proprietary governor
with that of captain-general and president, but also a special decree
from your Majesty, such as I have and as other governors had. Although
I am carefully gathering information of what was done in this matter
(which all do not approve), and although I shall carefully do what is
most advisable for the service of your Majesty, in accordance with
justice and your royal decrees, yet I petition your Majesty to be
pleased to declare your royal will--as was done in what provisions
were made by the Audiencia of Nueva España, although they were made
by many auditors and not by one alone, as here--so that we may all
regulate ourselves thereby, without exceeding in any particular what
pertains to it and what can be done.
Among other offices provided in the above manner was that of secretary
of the registers, which is an office of importance. I entreat that
your Majesty will be pleased not to confirm its concession, nor that
of others of the same date, until you can be informed of the pros
and cons regarding it; for it will either be advisable to sell those
offices for the relief of necessities here (although I do not think
that such sale would go far toward that), or else let the matter
take its course as hitherto, so that there be certain offices with
which men who have served may be, with these employments, rewarded
and gratified. Well can your Majesty believe that I shall lose no
occasion to do what I understand to be advisable for your service,
both in this and in whatever else falls to me, and is in my power.
I shall now give Captain Luis de Contreras, whom I found filling
the office of treasurer of the royal revenues here, one thousand two
hundred Indians in encomienda (or a few more or less), and a pension
of two hundred pesos as a gratification to another deserving man. With
that the former will have received a goodly part of the income that
your Majesty orders me, by a royal decree that he presented to me, to
give him in unassigned Indians or in those of an encomienda which may
become vacant. I could well wish that there were more Indians vacant
than there are, in order to fulfil all that your Majesty orders me,
and which the said Luis de Contreras merits by his character and
good qualities.
Having seen the exactness with which I fulfilled the above, I am told
that many are going about looking for decrees and trying to procure
them now from your Majesty, in order to obtain like encomiendas and
other posts. I entreat your Majesty to postpone granting those favors
until you shall first be informed by your governor of these islands
and your Audiencia; for not all of them will be so well employed as
is the aforesaid, if I may judge from the methods by which I have
heard that they are seeking them, as they procure papers by means of
witnesses presented on their part, which make much of what in itself
is nothing. Although the fiscal intervenes in the matter, it is to
be noted that no one attempts to make investigations unless in some
case when he regards the fiscal as quite on his side.
I am told that some persons here are trying to obtain the office of
treasurer. Besides, that the present holder of it has not left it, I do
not as yet know many who could fill the place to be left vacant by him
in this charge, because of the many qualifications necessary--namely,
trustworthiness, accuracy, system, and other qualities. Although I do
not think that there is lack of a person in whom these will be found,
still I think it necessary to consider carefully the one who should
be chosen for this post, to be sure of it.
One of the things that your Majesty needs most in this county is
intelligent clerks for the efficient administration of the royal
revenues. And because it is certain that much would be gained by it,
I petition your Majesty to send half a dozen of them, who shall have
been reared in a good school. Your Majesty should not neglect to
order the supervisor-general, Tomas de Ybio Calderon, to despatch
one; and I trust that the person whom he would furnish may not be
unsuitable. For authority to serve in the more important offices
of this profession which should become vacant here, the inspector
Diego de Castro Lizon would be quite suitable, and the two brothers,
the accountant Francisco Beltran de Manurga and the inspector Matias
Beltran de Manurga. Either of them is, in my opinion, a person as
capable as is necessary for the said offices, as well as for things
of more importance. I entreat your Majesty to pardon my prolixity in
matters in which you have not asked my advice; for my zeal and desire
for your royal service, and also for some one who may aid me therein,
obliges me to do it.
Moved by the same cause, I again petition your Majesty--as I have
done--to send me Admiral Jusephe de Mena with the reënforcements
that are possible, or that you please, whether few or many; for in
his person alone I shall have one who can help me very well. Galleys
are of great importance to these islands, and not less for those of
Terrenate and Mindanao, according to what I have as yet been able
to ascertain. Although they are almost past use, I shall endeavor
to place them in the condition and number advisable. But so that
they may be of greater service, I need that your Majesty command to
have sent to me a dozen good men, who understand galleys thoroughly,
who may serve as captains, boatswains, and masters, who may teach
those who shall serve in those posts to be proficient. For no one
here thoroughly understands that calling except Captain Francisco
Remanico, who I am told has labored very diligently in this matter,
as well as in other affairs of your Majesty's service. I also need
two or three oar-makers who are good workmen.
The shipbuilding carried on in these islands on your Majesty's account
is the total ruin and death of these natives, as all tell me. For,
in addition to the damage caused by it in withdrawing them from the
cultivation of their lands and fields--whereby the abundance of the
foods and fruits of the country is destroyed--many of them die from
severe labor and harsh treatment. Joined to this is another evil,
namely, that every Indian who takes part in the shipbuilding is
aided by all the neighborhood where he lives with a certain number
of pesos, on account of the small pay that is given them in behalf
of your Majesty. Hence many are being harassed and worn out by
these methods, and a great expense is being caused to your Majesty's
royal treasury. For although the cost of employing the natives seems
moderate, their decrease is a very great detriment; while the planking,
sheathing, and masts are so poor that they must all be renewed every
two years, and sometimes oftener, when the only still useful parts
are the futtock-timbers. But all the above can be found and made so
much better in Portuguese Yndia that, considering the avoidance of
the above wrongs and the bettering and more satisfactory price of
the work, I shall try my utmost to avoid building ships here--sending
to Cochin to have them built, or to buy them ready built; or sending
wherever they may be found better and cheaper in those regions. If,
when this should be negotiated, there should be some cloves to send
on your Majesty's account, the purchase of vessels, as well as that
of slaves for the galleys, would be made very comfortably.
In the construction of ships that private persons are trying to
build in these islands, about which the Audiencia is writing to
your Majesty, I do not find so great an obstacle; for they take no
Indian forcibly from his house and land for this task, and no Indian
works at it unless he consents of his own accord to do so. That is
done without oppression, and the Indian is wholly paid for his work,
without the others having to contribute for it. For the smaller-sized
ships some better woods are found, which, because they are small,
cannot answer for the necessary uses to which they are put in the
larger ships. Since I do not find any noticeable difficulty in this,
I would consider it as very advantageous that leave be granted for
the building of those ships, and for navigation among the islands
and coasts of this archipelago, so long as they do not extend their
voyages to Nueva España and Piru. From that it will result that the
inhabitants will get some profit, and it will not be necessary to hold
all the trade with Nueva España. It will not be unprofitable for your
Majesty's service to keep some ships here, so that, if need should
arise, they might be employed and made useful with the seamen by
whom they shall have been manned. Since it is necessary that whoever
should have a vessel have paid and well-treated sailors, your Majesty
would come to have all that at no more expense than that of the time
while you would employ them; and these your vassals, the natives of
this country, would have more relief from the burden; and surely it
is pitiful to see the burdens that they carry, and what they endure.
The city has requested me to petition your Majesty to concede that
the encomiendas be for three lives in direct descent, that is,
to the grandchildren; and if not, that there be a succession for
two lives, in the manner that is requested in their name; and also
that they be excused from the necessity of getting confirmations of
such encomiendas from the court there [_i.e._, in España], as that
is a matter of great effort and expense to them. What I can inform
your Majesty in regard to it is that I have heard that they have
responded with very great love and loyalty, as excellent vassals,
on all opportunities that have offered for your royal service. At
present the encomiendas are liable to become vacant more quickly than
in the past, even though they are granted for more lives, because of
the danger of losing their lives through the more continuous occasions
for war--to which nearly all of them go, each one according to his
ability. Consequently, for this reason not only do I petition your
Majesty to make them this concession, but also to honor some citizens
who have been soldiers, and always are soldiers ready to risk their
persons and spend their possessions in your Majesty's service. This
many have done, most especially Admiral Rodrigo de Guillestegui, who
has responded to that and to all the needs that have arisen in the
royal service. This relation has been substantiated by public rumor
and reputation, without any dissenting voice. Since it seems just that
services be rewarded, and advisable that those who render them should
be honored, so that others may be encouraged, with such an example,
to try to merit a like reward, I petition your Majesty to be pleased
to have this matter considered, and to have him conceded a [military]
habit that, he has told me, he wishes for his eldest son. By that
it will be evident that services rendered here are also esteemed and
rewarded by your Majesty with your free and generous hand. Inasmuch
as I think that I am serving him in this I petition this for him.
He who goes as commander or head of the flagship this year is Don
Antonio de Leoz, while Captain Juan Baptista de Molina--who has
already served in that capacity before, and who has been castellan of
the fort of this port--fills the post of admiral. They are men who
have rendered much service to your Majesty; and for many years past
they have been enrolled as citizens in this country, so that all the
inhabitants here have applauded their choice.
It has not yet been possible to conclude the suits that I found
docketed against Don Juan Ronquillo, commander of the galleons that
last fought at Playa Onda, and against Don Juan de la Vega, upon and
regarding occurrences in the fleet; consequently, I shall be unable
to inform your Majesty of this matter until a later opportunity.
The departure of Don Hieronimo de Silva has been suspended, because
certain witnesses, whom he calls his rivals, have accused him in the
investigation that I said was being made in regard to him, in such
manner that we have been compelled to come to this resolution. He is
compelled to clear himself; and although he desires to do so, and
to challenge the witnesses by making a counter-charge against them
in such manner as he can, I do not know how he will manage it. For,
on the one hand, he wishes a judge to try and admit his pleas; and,
as for what he does not answer so suitably, he says that he is a
religious of the holy order of St. John, and that all those who enter
and take part in anything against him are excommunicated. He is seeking
for this matter a judge conservator who may punish with censures; and
yesterday the provincial of the Dominicans came to me to say that Don
Hieronimo had nominated him. We are now halting at this point. Will
your Majesty cause decision to be made as to what it is advisable
to do; and whether the residencia of the said Don Hieronimo must be
taken here, and who shall take it; and if possible to excuse me from
it, I petition your Majesty to commit it to another, inasmuch as I
have as yet done nothing touching residencia because I had not your
Majesty's license or order for it. Those who are plaintiffs against
the said Don Hieronimo are complaining that I might do more for their
satisfaction. He is also complaining and is angry because he is not
to go now to España. Truly I have done what I could without failing
in my duty to justice, and have endeavored to pacify each party. Had I
not done that, they would have brought incriminating documents against
one another, each one tarnishing the other's reputation--as is wont to
happen whenever there is any passion, even though it be with little
cause. I confess that, in order to be surer of the relief for these
obstacles, I would rejoice if there were some way so that Don Hieronimo
may go; but the best means for it should be sought. In everything I
shall proceed as I think is most advisable to your Majesty's service.
The archbishop of Manila, I am told, is writing to your Majesty,
petitioning you to command that his stipend be increased. Having
considered the reasons that he gives--and that, even if there were
no other than his residing here in the gaze of so many pagan nations
and those of different sects, as the representative of the greatest
ecclesiastical dignity--his desire for the means to discharge so many
obligations as he has seems as just, for this reason and for the
others regarding the archbishopric, as would be unjust my neglect
to petition your Majesty for the same on my part, because of my
ever-present obligations to represent to you whatever I think to be
advisable for your royal service.
With this letter I send your Majesty the declaration of a notary
who was prisoner among the Dutch, and a document written to me by
a father of the Society, which came together day before yesterday
from Terrenate; and also two copies of letters from Lucas de Vergara
Gaviria, governor of those forts, and from the king of Tidore, which
were received a few days before. Will your Majesty have them examined,
for they contain the latest news from Maluco.
The two vessels that are being despatched to Nueva España are now
able to set sail, and will do so (God willing), when the weather is
favorable. They go well equipped for the voyage, and the lading well
adjusted--more so than has yet been usual here. They carry excellent
crews, artillery, sufficient arms, and good rigging, and a great
quantity of that, in order to spare your Majesty the expense that
is incurred in Nueva España--where each quintal [of rigging] costs,
delivered in Acapulco, about fifty pesos; while here it costs only
one-tenth as much. As great preparation has been made in the candles
for the lanterns, [31] and other things, for the same purpose of
lessening the expense. And, while discussing this matter, I cannot
refrain from again petitioning your Majesty, in order to fulfil
my obligations and my desire for your royal service, to order that
the clerks and the treasury employees that I have requested for this
place be sent to me; for they are very necessary in order to aid more
efficiently the service of your Majesty, whose Catholic person may
our Lord preserve, as is necessary to Christendom. In this port of
Cavite, and bay of Manila, August 10, 1618.
Already on this day (the above date) the ships are to leave this bay,
because of the favorable weather that has come. All the pilots are of
opinion that they will not be lost, and that our Lord will guide and
convey them with all safety. It has seemed best to the Audiencia that
a certain report be sent to your Majesty in this letter, of which
it took charge, made against Don Hieronimo de Silva; consequently
I am sending it in accordance with their opinion, since they are
lawyers. Nevertheless, my opinion was that it should be suspended
until the trial of the said Don Hieronimo, and the truth were known
with certainty; and not to discredit him beforehand with depositions
of certain persons, by whom he has been accused, without allowing
him any opportunity to defend himself.
_Don Alonso Faxardo de Tença_
[Appended to the letter are the following letters on Moluccan affairs,
mentioned by Fajardo.]
_Letter from Manuel Ribeyra, S.J._
As I arrived from this voyage from Maluco ailing and crippled in
one foot, I have not gone to pay my respects to your Lordship and
to welcome you, in accordance with my obligations, to these islands,
whither in a time of so great need our Lord has brought you for the
relief of all of them. I give a thousand thanks to your Lordship for
the so signal grace that you do me in ordering me to advise you briefly
of the condition of Maluco, and of whatever I deem in need of reform,
trusting that I shall only pay attention in this to the question how
their two Majesties, the Divine and the human, may be better served;
and that I shall proceed throughout truthfully and with integrity,
as a religious of the Society, which I am. In order that I may comply
with what your Lordship orders, I declare, sir:
That the forts of Terrenate, Tidore, Gilolo, Tafongo, and Payagi (which
are all that the king our sovereign possesses in the Maiucas Islands)
are in the best condition in which they have ever been; because for
a year past, since Master-of-camp Lucas de Bergara Gaviria has been
governing them, he has labored at their fortification, so that all
are in an excellent state of defense. At present there is no cavalier
in Maluco that is not built of stone, although until now many were
built of fascines, and whenever it rained heavily they were washed
down, and at times with the death of those in them. Besides that,
he has had the island of Tidore and the post of Socanora fortified;
this is very important, as the enemy try so hard to take them. Thus
it is in security, and he has also enclosed and surrounded the two
towns in the respective islands of Tidore and Terrenate, which were
outside our forts, with two curtains of rampart which are very good
and very strong.
Although our forts in Maluco have at present the artillery necessary
for their defense, still that does not prevent the very great need
that is experienced there for three or four good pieces of long range,
so that they may be placed in Tidore, Don Gil, and Tomanira. Those are
the three forts that we have on the three channels where the hostile
ships generally enter and leave, without our being able as yet to do
them any damage.
Not less necessary do I consider it that we should always have galleys
in Terrenate; for lack of them our reënforcements this year were so
hindered, and the flagship was lost.
Since no pay has been given the soldiers in Maluco for many years,
and since all the food and clothing that is sent from Manila is very
little, they are in great need. Accordingly it appears, advisable
for your Lordship to aid them liberally, since they merit it.
In order that the soldiers in Maluco may not become desperate, and
so that one may find men there who will offer to serve your Lordship
in that camp willingly and gladly, it will be very advantageous for
you to send one or two new captains with their companies every year,
and to withdraw a like number.
Since operations in the forts of Terrenate arc carried on among Moros,
and they know very well the dignity which each one has on his entrance
into the country, we have seen by experience that it is a very great
cause of trouble to give there the dignity of captain to those who
entered as soldiers; for the natives do not esteem them as is right,
and continually lose respect for them. Not only are all those who
are now there of that class, but there are some among them of whom
the Moros say--of one, that they have little acquaintance with him,
and that in the markets, when he was buying fowls and all the other
things used at his master's house; of another, that they know that
they insulted him. Thence arose the saying of the king of Tidore,
that he wondered that such men were made captains of the king of
España. To all this is added the fact that little dependence can be
placed on them for any occasion where honor is concerned. Consequently,
I judge that after accommodating such men here, it is advisable to
give those posts to new captains.
In Maluco are many old and deserving alferezes, whom it seems that
your Lordship should summon and grant favors here.
All the infantry was giving as a whole great satisfaction, and
throughout this year not one has gone over to the enemy, although
that was formerly very common, and although the captains and
other persons complain or the temper and harshness with which the
master-of-camp, Lucas de Bergara Gaviria, treats them. I affirm,
sir, that even so zealous a servant of the king ought to show some
toleration; and, moreover, that can be remedied with a word from your
Lordship. I remember also that last year, by his going to Terrenate,
he resuscitated that country, and since then until now the soldiers
have had food, obtaining all that is sent them from Manila. This,
sir, is what I can briefly say of the condition of Maluco, which
through His Divine Majesty, I hope is to make progress since the
happy arrival of your Lordship, whose person may God, our Lord,
preserve to us for long years, as He can do, and as is necessary to
us. From this house of the Society of Jesus at Cavite, August 10, 1618.
The humble chaplain of your Lordship,
_Father Manuel Ribeyra_
_Copy of a letter written by Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, Governor
of Terrenate_
On the eleventh of the present month I despatched the ship "San Buena
Ventura," in which I informed your Lordship of occurrences here. That
same night the ship "Santa Margarita" reached this port from Manados
with the cargo brought by the fragata "San Miguel," which returned to
those islands. This ship brought the orders that its commander says
were given him by Francisco Rosales, master of the "San Miguel," in
which your Lordship orders a quantity of cloves to be prepared to send
to Eastern Yndia, in order that it may be exchanged for the supplies
necessary for the fleet; and that two thousand three hundred pieces of
Chincheo cotton are sent for it. I answer that I have them, and assert
that your Lordship ought to have that master punished; for he did not
give those orders to the accountant, Pedro de Almansa, when he left the
ship at Manados to come here. Had he done so, there would have been,
notwithstanding the season, some cloves which could have been bought,
although not all the quantity ordered, and although it could not have
been done when they arrived. At that time the selling had already
been finished, and the Spaniards who lived there had a great quantity
of goods in their houses on account of the scant supply of cloves;
for the harvest was not so great as was expected. Consequently,
as soon as I received the order sent me, I ordered a factory [i.e.,
trading post] to be established, and your Lordship's orders to be
executed. However, these four months no cloves can be traded; for
until the end of that time the trees will not bear. Consequently,
although great efforts be made, we shall not be able to send to Yndia
until next December or January. Besides that, there would be great
delay in buying forty-five bares [32] of cloves with cotton alone,
which would be the amount at the prices current this year. In order
that this may be done more quickly, it has been decided to put with
them other kinds of cloth bought in Yndia, since these Moros wish
to have a choice, some asking for one kind of cloth, and others for
another. Thus all manner of care possible will be given to this matter.
Today when I was with the king of Tidore, he told me that he had
heard sure news from the Ternatans that the natives of the islands
of Vanda, together with the English who have a fortress there, had
given poison to the Dutch who live there, from which many had died;
[33] that their commander Lorenço el Real, was very much reduced;
that the Dutch had taken two English ships which were cruising about
there, and had put the Englishmen in the galleys; and that the Dutch
fleet is coming to these islands to the number of eighteen ships and
two galleys. He also said that the fort of Ambueno was burned, where
that fleet has stopped until it can be rebuilt; but that they consider
it certain from what they write that they will be here sometime in the
month of July next. I am putting these forts into as good a condition
of defense as is possible with the few men that I have. For never
were there fewer Spaniards in these islands; since, if occasion should
arise, I have not twenty men with whom I could reënforce any fortress,
without creating a notable scarcity in the others. It cannot be less,
since last year only thirty soldiers came, whom I brought; while in
the two companies of this year have come forty-six. A like number of
sick and crippled men have gone to that city [of Manila]; while there
are others here who have died; and many are sick, who with more reason
would be occupying the hospital than the sentry-boxes, were not the
necessity so pressing. Although, thanks to God, as they are provided
with food, they get along reasonably well on the little clothing that
has come, yet I am continually having their garments patched. Thus
everything possible is being done to encourage and please them, and
I think they are in that condition. I have, glory to God, as I wrote
to your Lordship, rice in the magazines to last until the end of next
April, with the precautions that I am taking, making use of that which
came from Macasar. My greatest cause for anxiety at present is my lack
of a galley or two in order to oppose to those that they say that the
enemy is bringing; for I have nothing but one rotten galliot--and that
without crew, as I have written--which is the vessel that I seized
from Pedro Alvarez de Abreo. I am repairing it, in order to do what is
possible with it, and to attend to the communication with these forts,
which are situated at points so dangerous. Will your Lordship send me
a galley or two as quickly as possible, in order that I may do this
better, and work what harm I may to the enemy (for these boats are the
necessary things in this island, as your Lordship knows; and the enemy,
knowing this, are not afraid of us). I need also some money and clothes
for these poor soldiers; and some cloth from Yndia, if there is any,
in order to put it in the factories as agreed upon, at the account
of his Majesty; and some men, since they are so necessary. Therefore
with what the galley or galleys that may come can bring, since I
have rice for the time above stated your Lordship will not need to
be in haste to send me help in defective vessels. But then I hope,
God helping, that the fleet will have arrived from Castilla, and
that it and that of those regions will come, even though somewhat
late, both to bring that aid safely and to achieve the results that
his Majesty desires, since these Dutchmen are quite stripped of men;
and although they have many ships, and those from Olanda, they do not
expect reënforcements as abundant as hitherto. It appears that all
the natives are already turning against them, and are continually
supporting the English in these regions with greater forces. The
latter are so very hostile to the Dutch, that they will hasten to
profit by a very good opportunity. [34] I regard it as certain, that
in case that we wish to avail ourselves of the forces of the English,
if our own are insufficient to destroy these Dutchmen, they will
aid us in it very willingly, by short agreements that might be made
with them. I know that this cannot be a bad thing for his Majesty,
but very good. This English captain who is here has told me that if
we wish to bring this about, his nation will do it. I advise your
Lordship go that should necessity, perchance, compel us to undertake
this, you may know what we are doing here about it.
His Majesty's two fortresses in Gilolo, as your Lordship knows, serve
only as garrisons for eighty soldiers, sixty of them Spanish. They
are continually dying and falling sick, and because of our lack of
men in these forts, which are of importance, those men would prove
very advantageous here, while there they are of no use. Whenever the
enemy may attack them in force, they cannot be succored by either
sea or land. Consequently, I think, for these and other reasons,
that it would be wise to withdraw them before the enemy oblige us by
force to do so. Will your Lordship order this to be considered, and
ordain what is most advisable. At present the enemy have two ships,
as I wrote in my previous letters.
The surgeon sent by your Lordship for this hospital I am sending back,
as he is useless here--both because father Fray Juan de Santamaria, a
lay brother of St. Francis, is here, who attends to this with charity,
willingness, and great skill; and because the former has certain
defects or excesses that are not suitable for a country so short of
the sort of thing that he specially cares about, and of which even
the sick are in want. Consequently, he would do better in Panay or
La Pampanga, and his Majesty would save six hundred pesos of salary.
Just now I learned from the king of Tidore that many Dutchmen were
killed at the burning of the fort of Ambueno. Yesterday a ship arrived
at the forts of Malayo from the Sunda. I suspect that it does not
bring altogether pleasant news, for it entered very silently. All
say that the fleet in Ambueno will come. However, it is said that the
commander Lorenço el Real and other captains were killed in that fire,
besides other prominent people. Consequently there are three of the
enemy's ships here now.
The ship "San Antonio el Chico" [_i.e._, "the little"] is going with
this despatch, and the "Santa Margarita" will remain here. Further
nothing else offers at present of which to advise your Lordship, whom
may our Lord preserve with all possible prosperous estate. Tidore,
June 30, 1618.
_Lucas de Bergara Gaviria_
As I have heard that Governor Lucas de Vergara Gaviria is giving
your Lordship a long account of the condition of affairs in these
islands, I shall not say more in this than to refer to his letter,
and only to greet you in my own name, and tell you of the so great
afflictions of these islands. Never have they been seen in such a
condition, both because of the disastrous loss of the fleet of vessels
that was expected here this year with a great force, and because not
even one galley was sent, from three or four that are cruising about
there, although it is known that some islands and forts cannot have
communication with others except by means of galleys. For they are our
succor from dangers, and protection to the besieged, not considering
that one galliot here now is such that, rather for reputation and
ostentation than for use, the governor preserves it. For that reason,
the scarcity of succor, and the news of the loss of the fleet, the
courage of all has been greatly moderated, while that of the enemy
has been strengthened. And so when they heard of it, they were very
glad and went out to collect their ships in order to attack these
strongholds of his Majesty and my land. Although they come, as they
have published, with fifteen or twenty warships and two galleys,
I am very confident that they will accomplish nothing; because we
are so well fortified and supplied with provisions which come from
Macaçar and from those parts that the governor has protected. By the
help of God's favor, I am at present making an effort in this my city
to resist the enemy by all ways. But it may be understood meanwhile
that your Lordship should succor these forts promptly, with great
liberality and urgency; for otherwise, if any thing be lost (may God
forbid), let it be known that I have done my duty, since for many
years I have advised this, and from now I give notice that this is
not to be charged to my account. For since, when we were expecting
a great force, not only it did not come, but only this little succor
was sent, this people did not take it well; for they considered the
failure as indicating rather the little power of the Spanish king
than the present need of those islands.
I have received the chain and stuffs, although these were wet,
and value them as is fitting. There is nothing else to say except
this, may our Lord preserve your Lordship for many long years, as I
desire. Tidore, May seventeen, one thousand six hundred and eighteen.
I, Pedro Muñoz de Herrera, who exercise the office of court clerk
of the royal Audiencia and Cnancillería of the Philipinas Islands,
at the order of Don Alonso Faxardo de Tença, comendador of Castilla,
of the Order of Alcántara, member of his Majesty's council in the
states of Flandes, governor and captain-general of these said islands,
and president of the royal Audiencia therein, had this copy made
from an original letter. It appears to be signed by a character in
letters said to be of Terrenate and of the king of Tidore. It is like
others from the said king that I have seen. It is a true and faithful
copy, and was corrected and collated with the said original letter,
which his Lordship the governor said that the said king of Tidore had
written to the governor of these islands. In order that that may be
apparent, I gave, at the said order, this copy in the city of Manila,
July twenty-eight, one thousand six hundred and eighteen. Witnesses at
its transcription, correction, and collation were Ambrosio del Corral,
Pedro de Belber, and Pedro Muñoz de Herrera, junior.
_Pedro Muñoz de Herrera_
We, the undersigned notaries, certify and attest that Pedro Muñoz
de Herrera, by whom this copy is authorized, enjoys and exercises
the office of court clerk of the royal Audiencia and Chancillería
of these Philipinas Islands; and is held and considered as faithful
and accurate; and entire faith and credit has been and is given to
the acts and other despatches that have passed and pass before him,
both in and out of court. Given in Manila, July twenty-eight, one
thousand six hundred and eighteen.
_Alonso Gomez_, royal notary.
_Joan de Iya_ Marin, notary public. _Bartolome de Quesada_, royal
notary.
LETTERS FROM FELIPE III TO FAJARDO
The King: To Don Alonso Faxardo de Tenza, my governor and
captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my
royal Audiencia there. You already know that the preservation and
maintenance of those islands in all peace and prosperity consists
principally in the good government of him who has them in charge,
by the equitable administration of justice, the furtherance of the
public welfare, and the increase of my royal exchequer. Owing to my
great desire that this should be secured, in such manner that what
has been deficient there in the past may be supplied and the affairs
of the islands more successfully managed in the future, it has seemed
best to advise you that, since the citizens and inhabitants of those
islands have suffered so many hardships and calamities, having been
harassed by enemies, and on this account their property having been
greatly reduced, you will exercise the greatest care in endeavoring
to have them rewarded with the offices and other positions that are
distributed in those islands, in accordance with their merits and
services, so that in this way they may be consoled and encouraged. You
will likewise see to it that the natives are well treated, so that
they may not be annoyed or molested with new services and requirements.
The most important thing that presents itself is the great and
excessive expenditure which is incurred by my royal exchequer in
the islands of Maluco, for, according to information received,
it amounts to two hundred and twenty thousand pesos; while I have
not any profit in all those islands, for the Dutch enemies buy all
the cloves and other drugs at a much lower cost, whence they derive
great profits--as is evident from the forces which they use to get
possession and make themselves masters of those islands. And it is the
general opinion of zealous, unbiased, and trustworthy persons that
my servants, captains, and other officials who have governed those
islands, with a commission for their own profits and investments,
have taken advantage of the opportunities and trade which they should
have maintained and secured for my royal exchequer's increase, and
have charged to it all the expenses, they alone having received the
profits, without considering that a large part of what the enemy gains
is lost to my treasury through lack of faithful service. As this matter
is so worthy of correction, and so necessary for the preservation of
those islands and the aid of their expenses, I command you to apply to
this evil the remedy which I may expect from your loyal zeal, showing
yourself entirely disinterested in whatever concerns yourself and your
senator, so that you may be an example for the rest. You are free to
investigate the offense which any servant of mine may have committed
in this matter, and this I order you to do. You will proceed against
such persons in conformity with justice, and will punish them with
great severity, applying to my royal exchequer all that may result
from the fines that you may impose. You will exercise especial care
and judgment in all ways and means that are practical and possible, to
introduce the greatest possible profit and benefit that can be obtained
from the trade in cloves, by such measures as may appear to you best,
buying the spice for money or cloth, or in whatever way may be most
convenient. If for this purpose it be necessary to provide money or
cloth, you will do so as shall be expedient, conferring in regard to
everything with the Audiencia, the royal officials, and other persons
of experience, choosing the best and soundest course advised. For all
this is necessary, and is undertaken in order to direct our energies
to the defense of the islands, and to try to extirpate the enemy from
them. If the latter end cannot for the present be accomplished by
force of arms, yet this communication, trade, and bartering of cloves
with the natives, and the employment of gentle but necessary means
to secure their obedience, will diminish the strength of the enemy,
which consists solely in the advantages that they possess. All this is
hoped from your prudence, although in my royal Council of the Yndias
the expediency of a factory or administration is being considered,
and of one person who should have the management and responsibility of
all in Terrenate, as may be best for the benefit of my royal exchequer.
As the number of six hundred infantry for the garrison of the fort of
Terrenate besides the two hundred Pampangos who are also in service
there, seems more than is necessary for its defense, considering that
they do not go out into battle, you will take under advice whether this
body can not be reduced to a smaller number at a less expense, without
being greatly crippled. For the principal thing to be aimed at is the
preservation and defense of that fort, and after that the sparing of
my royal exchequer. You will order that the supplies and money for the
soldiers be at your own disposal, with the sworn statement of a notary,
for there is no royal official there; thus, as these troops will be
effective, they will not be defrauded as they have been in the past.
You will likewise try to abolish all the superfluous strongholds, both
in those islands and in Terrenate; for those named in the memorial
which accompanies this, signed by Juan Ruiz de Contreras, are not
considered necessary. You will advise me when you have done this.
Considering the great expenses incurred for the reënforcements that are
every year sent from Nueva España, and the great importance of avoiding
the cost and adding to the funds of the exchequer, you will refrain,
so far as possible, from demanding articles that can be found in those
islands--namely, the products of either nature or industry there--or
what can be brought from other regions with greater economy. For it
is understood that in the past there has not been the reflection and
good judgment in this matter that is right; but, on the contrary,
the officials and ministers have made a profit from it. And since,
by one of my decrees, it concerns you, by virtue of your office,
to decide the affairs of war and government so as to have knowledge
of them, and it has been learned by experience that if these powers
be not rightly used much loss and trouble has resulted therefrom,
I charge you implicitly that the decisions which you shall make,
in the matters which may arise, be as reasonable and moderate as
is necessary for good government and administration of justice, so
that the improvement thus brought about may be recognized and become
evident, to the satisfaction of those concerned; for the remedy that
may be expedient will be applied in another way.
It has also been understood that the officials of my royal exchequer in
those islands, in complying with an order of mine to the effect that in
any emergency when it would be imperatively necessary to incur some new
expenditure they should join with the governor and Audiencia there and
discuss the matter, and the result of the voting by majority should be
carried out, advising me thereof--with this opportunity many expenses
have been incurred, and salaries and stipends increased unnecessarily,
for private ends of individuals. Accordingly, I command you to see
that the expenses be not incurred except in sudden cases of invasion
by enemies, since otherwise results so much loss to my royal exchequer.
It has also been understood that the religious orders resident in
those islands live and comport themselves with more freedom and liberty
than is proper, conformably to their profession and regulations, and
particularly so the Augustinians. It is also stated that occasional
fees and dues that they levy for masses, burials, and suffrages
[for departed souls] are excessive; and likewise that they erect
buildings and church edifices and their own houses, although they
have no authority to do so except with my express permission, or by
asking it from the governor of those islands, and then only in case of
urgent necessity. Under this pretense and others, they make allotments
[of service] and new imposts, on merely their own authority, upon the
Indians, who are distressed and overburdened. For the remedy of this,
it has seemed best to charge you to maintain all the authority that
you can, to prevent this from being done. For this purpose you will
join with the archbishop, and both will summon the provincials; and,
telling them the information that I have of this matter, you will
charge them to make the reformation which is in every way obligatory
upon them, since it is so greatly to the service of God our Lord and
the public good, as may be seen. Madrid, December 19, 1618.
_I The King_
By the command of the king our lord:
_Juan Ruiz De Contreras_
Signed by the members of the Council.
The King: To Don Alonso Faxardo de Tenza, my governor and
captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal
Audiencia there. You were advised by a letter of mine, of the same
date as this, of the arrival of your letters written at the port
of Acapulco; and we answer this separately because the matter is
a more serious one than can be treated of in connection with your
government. It has seemed best to advise you of the state of affairs,
and of what, as now appears, will be the only possible remedy for
the preservation of all those regions.
You are well aware, through the information that you carried from
España, of the embarrassed condition of my royal inheritance, wasted in
the defense of our holy faith, and unavoidable expenditures to oppose
its enemy and others who have attempted to cause its decline--whom
it has been necessary to oppose, in order to preserve the faith, thus
causing enormous expenses. As aid for the conservation of my kingdoms,
it has been necessary and unavoidable to use the wealth brought by
the people of Nueva España; but the supplies and expenditures drawn
from my royal exchequer for those islands are so consuming and reducing
that account and fund, to such an extent, and with so injurious effect,
that it hardly comes in but it must be paid out. Considering that what
is carried in exchange for the quicksilver [35] is revenue derived
from the same merchandise that was sent, while the receipts from the
bulls for the crusade are (as you know) but moderately successful,
you are accordingly informed of this in such detail, so that you may
understand how assured is the loss that is set forth to you. This
loss would become greater if the account were measured by the demands
that are sent from Filipinas; for then the proceeds of neither the
quicksilver, nor the crusades, nor anything else would be enough even
for the maintenance of those islands and those of Terrenate, according
to our experience thus far. The result is that we are compelled by
necessity to choose [as we do] in order not to allow affairs here to
go to ruin for lack of money, which is not to be thought of. For you
are aware of what importance this is, being the essence and substance
of the rest; and it neither ought nor can be supposed that we should
not heed the expenditures for Filipinas that have been made from
my royal inheritance, which amount to more than seven millions, as
has been proved. If there were no other consideration than the mere
protection of religion and of the persons who live in those islands,
it would oblige us to consider the expense; but we must do so all the
more in this state of affairs, as it means the continual remittance
and expenditure of money, and all things cannot be attended to. The
matter has given us anxiety, as you will understand, regarding this
condition; and, after consideration of it, the following measures
are proposed to you.
Since the income from the revenues which belong to me in those
islands is considerable, you will try so to apportion it, and with
such prudence, care, and system, that they may be maintained and made
comfortable by it, since nothing more can be done than, by resigning
any profit from them, to appropriate all the proceeds from that
country to the islands themselves, without any profits whatsoever to
another country. As for the measures to be pursued in executing this
henceforth, no other rule can be given you more explicit than what you,
the Audiencia, and the royal officials shall find it practicable and
proper to apply.
It is likewise understood from thoroughly reliable persons who have
come from those islands--religious, and others who have brought letters
recommending them--that there are in those lands many well-known mines
of gold and other metals, which, if they were sought out, would be of
great utility and value; and that, if they were worked, their proceeds
would be sufficient not only for the expenses there, but even for the
aid of those here. These persons say that the reason why the mines
have not been operated has been a lack of energy and diligence for the
benefit and increase of the royal exchequer; and the fact that they
had the treasury of Nueva España as a protection, and so accessible
for all the expenses that have arisen. Accordingly I charge you very
particularly that, with the fidelity and promptness that is requisite
for so urgent a necessity, you will take measures to investigate this
matter, and obtain from it as much profit as you can; for the peaceful
products of the soil will always be certain, and it would be a great
pity to lose what might aid in so urgent a need. For this purpose you
will make an examination of all the mines that are or may be known,
offering rewards and other advantages, honors, and gratuities as may
appear expedient to you, in order that the mines may be discovered
and worked, as they should be, making the diligent endeavors that are
necessary in such an affair. In order that you may better manage it,
it has seemed well to me to send you the two papers inclosed, signed
by Juan Ruiz de Contreras, so that you can examine and consider them
with attention and careful consideration, in order that your mode
of procedure may be assured, since the facts in the case are already
so. As the most important point that you will have to guard is that
the Indians be not troubled or annoyed, and that no sort of injury,
or service, or annoyance be inflicted upon them, you will avoid so far
as possible these difficulties; and by prudent and cautious measures
will try to gain their good-will, until you have acquired suitable
knowledge of the situation and richness of the mines. It is also a
matter of great importance that the religious who give instruction
shall aid, as is explained in these papers--to which effect letters
are being written to the provincials of the orders of St. Dominic and
St. Augustine, which were sent to you with a copy of each, which they
are to receive from your hand. You will talk with them at the same
time, availing yourself of all means which may appear to you of use
to persuade them that they will thus do a great service to our Lord;
and that by so pious a work they will better the present condition of
affairs, and aid the public cause. You must see that this is the most
important part of your government, as if you were sent there for this
and for nothing else. For greater satisfaction and surer success,
I command you that as soon as you have received these letters you
shall--with the aid of the notary-public of the royal officials, or of
your secretary, as may appear best to you--compile a book, in which,
after you have inserted these letters and other documents, you will
enter the orders that you may give, and the decisions that you may
make. Accordingly, there will be evident from them both the time that
is gained or lost in the execution of your orders, so that with this
guide you may govern to better advantage; likewise, exactly what has
occurred in every matter will be clear to me. It would also be well
if all the documents, letters, and other papers that you may have
in relation to this subject were placed in separate files. In this
book recapitulate the papers briefly, referring to the originals;
and as you are aware of the importance of good counsel, you will
try to avail yourself of the persons whom you may think most capable
of giving it to you. If you think it well to convene any assembly,
you will do so whenever expedient. In this way you may be advised
not only of the importance of this matter, but likewise of the best
means available for this country, so that, with your prudence, you
may choose the most useful, and avail yourself of whatever benefits
or funds may be secured from them. Madrid, December 19, 1618.
_I The King_
By command of the king our lord:
_Juan Ruiz De Contreras_
Signed by the members of the Council.
[_Each letter is endorsed_: "To the governor of the Filipinas, on
various matters."]
FILIPINAS MENACED BY DUTCH
As I think that this will be a service to the Divine Majesty and
to the human, and a benefit to this new world--in the west, to the
Philipinas; and in the east, to Yndia (whither I went some years ago on
an embassy for Don Joan de Silva and this commonwealth of Manila, and
took note of its temporal and spiritual condition)--I am resolved to
write this letter to your Lordship, in whose hands our Lord has placed
the preservation of this kingdom, and consequently the conversion of
numberless souls; perhaps our Lord will choose that in this way may be
attained that which numerous letters from these islands to the royal
Council of the Yndias have failed to accomplish. Your most illustrious
Lordship may rest assured that if his Majesty does not actually send
a great reënforcement of military aid to these islands, they must be
lost; and, besides, the royal crown of España will meet the necessity
of defending itself, with greater expenses, from the nations who will
make war against it from this direction. Although I am no prophet, I
dare to assert that in these seas we shall see the bloodiest battles
that have been fought for many years, and that they must result in
great injury to the kingdoms of Nueva España [and España].
This discourse of mine is based on a syllogism. All nations of the
world are moved by interest, which is the loadstone of hearts. We see
men going down, as they have gone, into the depths of hell for silver
and gold; no one can doubt this axiom, and it has no need of proof. The
minor premise is this, founded on experimental knowledge--namely,
that the greatest source of profit that has been known in our times,
the best proved and the most certain, is this of Maluco and Philipinas,
whither come the nations of the north, and all other nations who course
over this wide sea of India as far as Maluco, where they find that
brown gold that they call cloves, and the white silk of China. They
barter for or rob persons of the cloves, as well as mace, cinnamon,
pepper, and other drugs, which, when carried to their own country, are
so much gold-dust. The silks and wealth from China they seize here at
the passage to Manila, from various unarmed vessels; and from a people
who let their hair grow long, like women, and know not how to defend
themselves, so that those robbers have here a sure booty and prize.
I shall presently tell you of the great value of these things, when
carried to their own countries; I am now proceeding with my account
from the proposition that the greatest source of gain in the world
lies in these islands. All the nations know well that they need not
go to Nueva España to conquer it, or to plunder the silver in the
mountain of Potosi, or to the islands of Salomon--which, although
they were at one time famed for riches of gold, have proved to be
enchanted. [36] Florida, that it cost the French so dear to enter,
is already deserted as useless; from Brasil no profits are obtained;
from the wars of Flandes men gain nothing but bullets and glory. You
may turn the needle to every point on the globe, and you will find
that there is no place capable of so much profit as are these islands.
In order to reach them the foreigners have throughout all Yndia the
ports of the heathen kings, which are more numerous than our own. The
Dutch have factories in Currate [_i.e._, Surat], in Paliacate on
the coast of Malavar, in the Jabas, and in Sunda, Achen, Macasar,
and Maluco, where they are establishing themselves and obtaining a
foothold. Above all, they have one in Japon, where they find all the
supplies necessary for their voyages.
I shall tell you now of the culmination and result of their commerce. A
single ship that arrives from these islands with cloves, mace, drugs,
silks, etc., yields an immense amount of money; for they carry the
goods that are shipped from these islands and from Eastern India
through all the northern countries, and the kings give them free
passage for their goods and remit duties. They have factories or
correspondents in Olanda, Zelanda, Escocia, Ynglaterra, Yrlanda,
Dinamarca, Norvega, Francia, Alemania, Alta and Baja Germania, Colonia,
Baviera, Austria, Ungria, Boemia, as far as Transilvania, and in our
kingdoms inland from Sevilla. This was stated by the Dutch General
Blancorte [_i.e._, van Caerden], whom we held prisoner here.
From all this, the conclusion of the argument is that, as all the
nations are moved by interest, and as the gains from these islands are
so great, we shall have all the nations here; and indeed we have--not
only the Dutch, but the English, who are a people of more ability
than the Dutch have; and all these seas are open to the French,
and to all other nations.
Who doubts that it costs the king dearly, in course of time, to
reënforce us? For twenty years we have been hoping for the coming of
a fleet and galleons, and none have come save a few small caravels
brought by Ruy Gonzalez de Sequeyra to open up a way for trade
to Sevilla; and eight galleons that were made ready for our aid,
which put into Gibraltar, so that no aid has come for us. In the
mean time the Dutch have new galleons every year, and the islands
are already in the worst of straits. Your Lordship may believe that
the governors--now, it may be, to show themselves better servants of
his Majesty; again, to keep themselves longer in the government--have
promised more than the land could raise. The truth is that the islands
are utterly drained by the wars and the loss of the six galleons
which Don Juan de Silva had built, and with other misfortunes that
have been written to the king our lord at greater length. It is a
marvel that Don Alonso de Faxardo has not died or become grievously
ill with pain at finding these states so weakened, and his honor and
that of the crown of España so jeopardized. If any one thinks that
Eastern India can aid us, I have seen, and Don Geronimo de Azevedo,
viceroy of India, assured me, when he gave me four galleons with
five hundred infantry and ninety-two pieces of artillery, that he was
giving all he had to give. And this was true, for he dismantled the
forts to arm the galleons, and the latter were burned by the Dutch
in the year one thousand six hundred and sixteen; so that we depend
upon España alone for our aid. Although the great advantages that
have been enumerated should be enough to cause this aid to be given,
yet for the pious and so Christian heart of your Lordship I think
it better to set forth the multitude of souls converted--who in the
time of Don Francisco Tello, governor of these islands, numbered six
hundred thousand baptized; and this city of Manila, small as it is,
is the key to such great kingdoms as Japón, Coria, Great China, Sian,
Patan, Camboja, the Xavas, Sunda, and Maluco, with which Manila is
encompassed as is the center of a circle by its circumference. If
your Lordship have any interest in its preservation, I hope, through
the divine Majesty, that it will be kept, for the honor of the Lord
himself. May He protect your Lordship for many years, according to the
desire of your humble servant and chaplain. Manila, December 20, 1618.
_Joan de Ribera_,
rector of the college of the Society of Jesus at Manila.
[_Endorsed_: "Madrid, November 20, 621. To the Council for
examination."]
DOCUMENTS OF 1619-1620
Philippine ships and shipbuilding. Sebastian de Pineda; [1619].
Royal decree regarding religious expelled from their
orders. Felipe III; February 19, 1619.
Proposal to destroy Macao. Diego Aduarte, O.P.; [1619].
Relation of events in the Filipinas Islands,
1618-19. [Unsigned]; July 12, 1619.
Letter to Felipe III. Pedro de Arce; July 30, 1619.
Letter to Felipe III. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza; August 10, 1619.
Grant to seminary of Santa Potenciana. Juan Oñez, and others;
1617-19.
Reforms needed in Filipinas (to be concluded). Hernando de
los Rios Coronel; 1619-1620.
_Sources_: All these documents save one are obtained from MSS. in
the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; the fourth is taken from a
MS. in the Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.
_Translations_: All these documents save one are translated by James
A. Robertson; the fourth, by Herbert E. Bolton, Ethel Z. Rather,
and Mattie A. Austin, of the University of Texas.
PHILIPPINE SHIPS AND SHIPBUILDING
_Relation by Captain Sebastian de Pineda, on matters relating to
the Filipinas Islands_--_both the building of galleons, pataches,
and galleys, and other means of defense; and various things regarding
the preservation and safety of the said islands_. [37]
Sire:
In those islands is found a wood called _maria_, [38] which is
used to make all the futtock-timbers of all the galleons, galleys,
and pataches; and all the knees and compass-timbers, of all sizes
required. There is much of this timber from which to select, although,
because of the ships built by Don Juan de Silva, the supply of it is
now obtained from a distance. That wood is used only for this purpose,
for the tree is short and not straight. Capstans of one piece, gears,
and some stringer-plates [_trancaniles_] for the curved parts of
the prows of vessels and the snatch-cleats for the wales, are also
made from that wood. That said wood is very durable, and is of such
quality that once a nail is hammered into it, it is impossible to
withdraw it without breaking it; and when a nail is hammered into
that wood it does not hole or chip. If a ball be fired into it of
the size of eight libras or less, it does not pierce the wood; and
if the ball is large, the wood is not splintered. On the contrary,
the hole is stopped up at its entrance and egress with the chips
forced out by the ball in its passage. That wood is very light,
and has a very poor grain for working.
There is another wood called _arguijo_, [39] which is very strong
and heavy. It is a certain very tall and very straight tree, like the
pine. From it are made the keels, beams, false keels, wales, mast heads
[_calçetes_], and pumps, of whatever size required; for that tree, as
above stated, grows very tall and straight. Gun-stocks, gun-carriages,
and wheels for the artillery are also made from that wood.
There is another wood called _laguan_. [40] From it is made all
the planking and sheathing with which the galleons and galleys are
planked. From those trees are made the masts, topmasts, and yards
of the galleons and galleys. The said tree grows very straight and
thick, so that the flagship galleon has its mainmast from one, that
is seventy-two _codos_ [41] long and fifteen palmos in circumference,
all in one piece.
The sheathing and planking hewn from the above-named trees for the
sheathing of the ships is one palmo thick and three or four wide, and
the shortest is twelve brazas long. These planks last a long time under
water, as the ship-worms do not hole them; but above water they warp
and rot, so that they do not last more than two years--and especially
on the decks, if they are not calked during the winter. The greatest
danger is that, on account of the haste used in their construction,
time is not allowed to cut the wood at the conjunction [of the moon],
and to leave it during a year to season, as is required; for if that
is done, it lasts much longer. For of all the vessels built during the
term of Don Juan de Silva, the galley which was longest in building
did not take six months; and all the timber for them was hewn and put
in place when green, for the vessels were being built while the wood
was cutting.
There is another wood from which is made planking for the galleys,
which is called _banaba_. [42] It is a certain short tree, about
four brazas in height. The galleys are sheathed with it, for the
ship-worm bores into it but little. The planks are one and one-half
palmos broad. There are but few of these trees, and consequently they
are used only for the above purpose.
There is another wood called _maria de Monteguas_, [43] which
differs from the first wood of that name. From it are made timbers
[_latas_] for the decks of the galleys, as well as oars for the said
galleys. The latter are also made from another wood called _guijo_,
[44] but these are much heavier than those made from the wood _maria_,
and last a long time.
There is another wood called _dongon_, [45] which is very strong,
and of a yellowish color. From it are made stringer-plates, chocks
of the bowsprit, coamings of the hatchways, strakes and stanchions
for the decks. If all these woods are cut at the conjunction and
decrease of the moon, and seasoned, as above stated, for one year,
the ship will last much longer; for if they are cut and not seasoned,
one must tear up the decks every two years and put down new ones, for
they are rotten. Likewise the planks along the sides must be changed,
with the exception of the futtock-timbers and top-timbers made of
the wood _maria_; for that wood, although cut and not seasoned,
never rots, because it is always durable, in one way, without rotting.
There are many other kinds of woods which are also used for the above
purposes. [46]
The shipyards of the galleons built during Don Juan de Silva's term
were thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, and eighty leguas from
the city of Manila, in different places: namely, on the island
of Marinduque, where the galleon "San Juan Bautista" was built,
which is forty leguas from Manila; in the province of Camarines at
Dalupaes were built "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe," and the "Angel de
la Guardia" [_i.e._, "Guardian Angel"], fifty leguas from Manila;
in the province of Ybalon at Bagatan were built "San Felipe" and
"Santiago," eighty leguas from Manila; in Mindoro was built the
galleon "San Juan Bautista," fifty leguas from Manila; in Marinduque
was built the almiranta "San Marcos," forty leguas from Manila;
in Masbate was built the royal flagship "Salbador," seventy leguas
from Manila; in Cavite were built the "Espiritu Santo" and the "San
Miguel," two leguas from Manila, in the port where the fleets anchor;
in the port of Cabite, six galleys; in the city of Manila, two.
Those who cut these woods and build these ships and galleys are
Indian natives of the said islands. They are carpenters, who are
called _cagallanes_ or _pandais_ in their language. Those Indians who
are no more than woodcutters, and serve only as hewers and planers
of wood, are paid each seven or eight reals a month, and are given
daily rations of one-half celemin of rice. Those of better trades than
the latter generally earn ten or twelve reals a month. Those who are
masters--the ones who lay out, prepare, round; and make the masts,
yards, and topmasts are each paid three or four pesos of eight reals
a month, and double rations.
When a fleet was being prepared in Cavite there were generally one
thousand four hundred of these carpenters there. Just now there are
very few, for when the Mindanao enemies burned one galleon and two
pataches in the past year, one thousand six hundred and seventeen,
which were being built in the shipyard of Pantao, sixty leguas from the
city of Manila, they captured more than four hundred of the workmen,
and killed more than two hundred others; while many have died through
the severe work in the building. And because, they have been paid for
five years nothing except a little aid, many have fled from the land;
and so few remain that when the last ships sailed from the city and
port of Manila last year, six hundred and eighteen, there were not
two hundred of those Indians in Cabite. [47]
The iron used in the construction of these ships and galleys is brought
from China and Japon to the city of Manila. Don Juan de Silva sent
patterns of all the nails, and excellently made ones were brought,
and cost your Majesty but eight reals per arroba. Iron is brought
in the rough and is wrought in Cabite, and costs your Majesty but
twenty-four reals per quintal of five arrobas. There all the nails and
bolts are wrought, as well as _estoperoles_, [48] tacks [_tachuelas_],
and everything else needed. The native Indians who act as smiths are
paid twelve reals per month, and the Angley [_i.e._, Sangley] Chinese
smiths twenty-eight reals per month, and their ration of rice, which is
equivalent to one-half a Spanish celemin. Each of these Chinese works
one arroba of rough iron into nails daily, and is paid only the said
twenty-eight reals per month. That does not amount to one real per day,
and they work from midnight until sunset, which is their workday.
The nails and iron shipped to the said islands from Nueva España cost
your Majesty, delivered in the city of Manila, more than twenty reals
of eight per quintal, while there they are made, as above stated. But
notwithstanding the above, I assert that it is necessary to ship
annually from Nueva España to the said islands two hundred quintals
of rough and sheet and rod iron for some necessary articles, such
as borers for the artillery cast in Manila, and rudder-pintles and
rudder-gudgeons for the ships and galleys; for the iron of Bizcaya
is more ductile than that of those regions [_i.e_., China and Japon]
because it is as strong as steel. The other iron things above mentioned
that are sent from Nueva España to the said islands are unnecessary,
for their cost per quintal, when delivered in Manila, will buy four
quintals in the said islands. The said two hundred quintals could be
shipped on your Majesty's account from Sevilla where it costs three
or four ducados per quintal, and be carried by the flagships and
almirantas; thus it would not be necessary to buy it in Bera Cruz,
at nineteen ducados per quintal.
It would be of the highest importance to cover the ships with lead
at Manila, which would obviate careening them every year. Don Juan de
Silva neglected to do that, because he was always in haste to resist
and attack the enemy.
Lead is also shipped from Nueva España to the said islands. More [than
that amount] is shipped [however], because it is brought from China and
Japon at cheaper rates. It can be worked in Cabite in order to lead the
ships, and in that way your Majesty will save many ducados every year.
The rigging in the said Filipinas Islands is of two kinds: one, which
was formerly used, is made from the palm called _gamu_, [49] today used
only to make cables, stays, and shrouds; the other is called _abacá_,
and is a kind of hemp, which is sowed and reaped like a plant in Piru
and Tierra Firme called _bihau_. Abaca is much stronger than hemp and
is used white and unpitched. This abaca costs twenty-four reals per
quintal, and is made into rigging in Cabite by the Indian natives, in
the sizes and diameter required. These Indian ropemakers are furnished,
in repartimiento [50] in neighboring villages, and your Majesty pays
them eight reals per month and a ration of one-half celemín of rice
daily. A task is assigned to them, for they work from midnight and
until the close of the next day.
The total cost per quintal of this native rigging is about fifty
reals. That shipped from Nueva España, which is bought in Beta Cruz and
delivered in the port of Acapulco, costs your Majesty two hundred reals
per quintal. It generally reaches the said Filipinas Islands rotten,
and is of no use. If your Majesty will order the ships to sail from
Manila furnished [with rigging] for the return voyage, that would,
in the first year, put a stop to shipping any [rigging to Manila].
The canvas [_lienço_] from which the sails are made in the said
islands is excellent, and much better than what is shipped from España,
because it is made from cotton. They are certain cloths [_lienços_]
which are called _mantas_ [_i.e._, literally blankets or strips of
cotton cloth] from the province of Ylocos, for the natives of that
province manufacture nothing else, and pay your Majesty their tribute
in them. They are one tercia [_i.e._, one-third of a vara] wide, and as
thick as canvas [_angeo_]. They are doubled, and quilted with thread of
the same cotton. They last much longer than those of España. One vara
of this cloth [_lienço_] costs less than one-half real. The thread
of the same cotton with which they are sewed costs twenty reals per
arroba. The cloth brought from Nueva España costs your Majesty, when
set down in the city of Manila, six reals per vara. Also the thread
shipped from Nueva España to sew the sails costs, set down there, six
reals per libra. The thread made of hemp when used with cotton canvas
[_lienço_] is of no use, and does not well endure transportation. The
ships sailing from Manila to Nueva España carry sails for the return
voyage and nevertheless have to make others in the port of Acapulco.
It is also the custom to ship pikes with their iron heads from Nueva
España to the said Filipinas Islands. Delivered in the city of Manila,
they cost your Majesty more than thirty-two reals apiece; but, with
thirty-two reals, they can make forty pikes in the city of Manila. It
is a weapon that is worthless in those islands, and it is not used
in them. And even if they were used, there are shafts in the forests
of those islands, and the native Indian smiths can make the heads.
A number of old pipe-staves and iron hoops are also shipped from
Nueva España to the said Filipinas Islands. Delivered in the city
of Manila they cost your Majesty a considerable sum of ducados. That
expense can be avoided; for, when those staves arrive there, they are
full of holes and rotten, and quite useless. The hoops alone serve
in Manila to make nails and bolts from them, which thus come to cost
fifty ducados per quintal. They can be made there for thirty-three
reals. It is sufficient to carry those pipes that hold the water and
wine in the ships.
For the ships' supply of water, they generally make vats when the ships
leave there [_i.e.,_ Manila], each of which carries thirty pipes of
water. Further, there are many earthen jars, which are brought from
China and Japon. Consequently, one can make the above articles there,
and more cheaply, for much less money than what is paid there.
Flour is also shipped in pipes from Nueva España to the said Filipinas
Islands, which they say is for making hosts. That is unnecessary,
for the said islands have an abundance of flour, which is shipped
from Japon and China so cheaply, that it costs sixteen reals per
quintal in the city of Manila. That shipped from Nueva España costs
your Majesty, delivered in the said city of Manila, more than eighty
reals per quintal.
From Nueva España to the said Filipinas Islands are also transported
in the [ships], _habas, garbanzos,_" [51] and lentils, which are for
the provision of hospitals, fleets, and convents. It serves no other
purpose than to arrive at Manila rotten; and if any arrives in good
condition, it does not seem so. For the provision of the fleets,
a grain [_semilla_] is grown in that land [_i.e._, Filipinas] which
resembles beans, and is very cheap. Consequently it is unnecessary
for the ships to carry more than what they need for their voyage when
they leave Acapulco.
A quantity of _gerguetas_ [52] are also shipped from Nueva España to
the said Filipinas Islands. They are said to be for the use of the
soldiers, but that is unnecessary, for that land has other kinds of
cloth--both those that are produced there, and others that come from
China--which are better and cheaper. If your Majesty will order that
to be stopped, it will be of much importance to your royal treasury,
and will increase it by many ducados; while it will benefit greatly
the soldiers who serve your Majesty in those islands, for, when this
cloth is delivered there, they are obliged to take it.
In the former year of six hundred and sixteen, seven galleons were
stationed at the city of Manila and the port of Cabite, one of which
[53] came built from Yndia, and was bought in Pinacan for the service
of your Majesty. The other six were built in the time of Don Juan de
Silva, and Don Juan Ronquillo [54] took them all when he sailed in
pursuit of the enemy at Playa Honda. These said galleys were in the
greatest need of being repaired--one because it was very badly used
up in the fight, and another because its decks had not been changed
for two years; while most of them were holed along the sides by
seaworms and leaked badly, and all their masts, yards, and topmasts
were rotten. Consequently, Don Geronimo de Silva, captain-general of
those islands, was preparing to send them to be repaired (except three)
to the island of Marinduque, forty leguas from Manila, in order to
avoid the expense of hauling the wood, while awaiting the arrival of
the ships from Nueva España in which Don Alonso Fajardo came last year
(one thousand six hundred and eighteen), in order to repair the said
galleys with that money [brought by those ships]. He also intended
to hold them in readiness, in order to comply with your Majesty's
orders, sent by a despatch-boat, to keep them so prepared that they
might join the fleet that was about to sail with reënforcements by
way of the cape of Buena Esperança, to make the journey to the Malucas
Islands and drive the enemy from them.
It was necessary to equip two of the said seven galleys so that they
could come to Nueba España last year, six hundred and eighteen, with
the usual merchandise. Consequently only five were left--or rather
six, with that in which Don Alonso Fajardo arrived. Since the said
Don Alonso Fajardo has reached Manila and finds himselt with only
six galleons, it becomes necessary to build some more; for, if the
fleet from España has not sailed and the enemy learn that Manila has
but six galleons, they will go to the mouth of the port and repeat
their performance of last year, unless they go to El Embocadero
[55] to await the ships from Nueva España with the reënforcements,
for, in order that the loss of Manila and Maluco may be completed,
nothing else is wanting.
As above stated, it will be necessary for Governor Don Alonso Fajardo
to devise immediate means for building galleons and to repair the six
at Manila. I regard the present building of ships in that country
as impossible. For with the former ships and fleets, and with the
depredations and deaths caused by the enemy in those districts the
natives are quite exhausted; for, as I said above, in the former
year of six hundred and seventeen the Mindanao enemy captured four
hundred native carpenters and killed more than two hundred others. The
year before that, six hundred and sixteen, in the expedition made by
Don Juan de Silva to the strait of Cincapura, where he died, it was
found from lists that more than seven hundred Indians, of those taken
as common seamen (of whom more than two hundred were carpenters),
died on that expedition. Before that, in the year six hundred and
fourteen, the said Mindanao enemy captured in the islands of Pintados
nine hundred odd Indians, of whom but few have been ransomed. In the
shipbuilding and in the hauling of wood many have died. Consequently,
on account of all combined, there is a lack of natives for the above
works. Therefore your Majesty must order the said Don Alonso Fajardo,
governor and captain-general of the said islands, that in case galleons
are to be built, it should not be in the islands--on the one hand,
on account of the short time that those woods last, and on the other
because of the lack in that land of natives (occurring through the
above-mentioned causes, and because those natives in the islands are
serving in the fleets as common seamen and carpenters).
In order that, those islands might have and keep ships that last thirty
years and cost the same as in Manila, or less, your Majesty must
order the governor to order them built in Yndia in Cochim; for they
can be built there very strong, and at less cost if the said governor
sends men for it from Manila--both masters and other persons, who know
the art of having them built. When built, they can bring a cargo of
military supplies, lumber, and slaves from Cochin to Manila for the
galleys of Manila, for the said slaves are valued at very little in
Cochin. As common seamen the men used in navigating in those regions
will serve, namely, the Lascars; and a ship of six hundred toneladas
does not carry sixteen Spanish sailors, but negroes and Lascars (who
are a Mahometan race), with whom navigation is performed throughout
those islands and kingdoms.
Those islands have so few natives, that if your Majesty does not
expressly order no vessels to be constructed in them, not any of their
people will be left, for as a result the events that have happened in
those islands for the last eight years, both murders and captivities,
many of those who have been left, who are constantly coming to Nueva
España, every year as common seamen in the vessels that regularly sail,
remain in Nueva España. In the galleon "Espiritu Santo" which came last
year, six hundred and eighteen, were seventy-five native Indians as
common seamen, but not more than five of the entire number returned
in the said galley. If your Majesty does not have that corrected,
the same thing will occur every year, and should your Majesty not
correct it, the following things will occur. The first is the great
offense committed against our Lord, for many (indeed most) of those
native Indians of the Filipinas Islands who come as common seamen
are married in those said islands; and, inasmuch as they are unknown
in Nueva España, they remarry here. Another wrong follows which is
very much to the disservice of your Majesty and your royal treasury,
which is caused by the said Indian natives of the Filipinas Islands
who come as common seamen and remain in Nueva España; and if it
is not checked in time, it will cause considerable injury to these
kingdoms. This consists in the fact that there are in Nueva España
so many of those Indians who come from the Filipinas Islands who
have engaged in making palm wine along the other seacoast, that of
the South Sea, and which they make with stills, as in Filipinas,
that it will in time become a part reason for the natives of Nueva
España, who now use the wine that comes from Castilla, to drink none
except what the Filipinos make. For since the natives of Nueva España
are a race inclined to drink and intoxication, and the wine made by
the Filipinos is distilled and as strong as brandy, they crave it
rather than the wine from España. Consequently, it will happen that
the trading fleets [from Spain] will bring less wine every year,
and what is brought will be more valuable every year. So great is
the traffic in this [palm wine] at present on the coast at Navidad,
among the Apusabalcos, and throughout Colima, that they load beasts
of burden with this wine in the same way as in España. By postponing
the speedy remedy that this demands, the same thing might also happen
to the vineyards of Piru. It can be averted, provided all the Indian
natives of the said Filipinas Islands are shipped and returned to
them, that the palm groves and vessels with which that wine is made
be burnt, the palm-trees felled, and severe penalties imposed on
whomever remains or returns to make that wine.
Incited by their greed in that traffic, all the Indians who have charge
of making that wine go to the port of Acapulco when the ships reach
there from Manila, and lead away with them all the Indians who come
as common seamen. For that reason, and the others above mentioned,
scarcely any of them return to the said Filipinas Islands. From that it
also results that your Majesty loses the royal revenues derived from
those islands, inasmuch as all those Indians are tributarios there,
and when absent pay nothing.
Among those Filipinas Islands is one called Mindanao which is more than
one hundred leguas long. It is very densely populated by its natives,
who are exceeding great pirates and hostile to all the other natives
of all those islands subject to your Majesty. and chiefly to the
Spaniards. They generally go in a certain kind of boat called caracoa
on piratical expeditions, in which they commit signal depredations in
all the ports and along all the coasts of those islands, killing and
capturing the people of them, and burning and ruining the country. They
have done that on many occasions, particularly in the former year
six hundred and seventeen, when they allied themselves with the Dutch
enemy, who came that said year with ten galleons to attack the city
and port of Manila. The said Mindanao enemy came at the same time
with ninety caracoas to the aid of the Dutch, and destroyed and
burned many places along those coasts, and took many of their people
captives. Among other things they arrived at the shipyard of Pantao
with their fleet, where at your Majesty's orders a galleon and two
pataches were being built. These were more than half built, and the
Mindanaos burned them and captured more than four hundred persons,
besides killing more than two hundred others. After burning all the
military stores, they proceeded on their voyage toward Manila, and
went to within ten leguas of the port of Cavite, whence they returned
upon learning that the Dutch fleet had gone on ahead.
Consequently, not only for the said reasons, but because of the lack
of men among the natives in the said Filipinas Islands, it will
be highly important for the conservation of the islands for your
Majesty to order that no ships be built in them, since there are so
many places, so well provided in everything, as have been proposed,
to enable them to be built in Yndia.
On the route between Manila and the Malucas Islands is a port of the
above-mentioned island [i.e., Mindanao], called La Caldera. There the
boats put in to get water and wood. Formerly, before the alliance
between the natives there and the Dutch enemy, the vessels, ships,
and galleys put in there and went to get fresh supplies, both going
and coming. Now not only are they not permitted to obtain the said
supplies, but the vessel, galley, or patache, that puts in there
to get water, is surrounded by their caracoas, and its crew killed
and captured.
On the contrary, they give the Dutch enemy so friendly a reception that
the latter always keep their ships there, lying there in wait until
those of his Majesty, that carry the aid to the said Malucas, pass by.
In order to destroy that said island of Mindanao and its pirates,
without the necessity of spending for it anything from your Majesty's
royal treasury, it needs only your Majesty's orders to make slaves of
the said Mindanao natives of that island--since they are infidels;
and they have profaned the temples and committed many cruelties in
your Majesty's settlements along the coasts of those islands which
they have captured--and your Majesty's permission that all who desire
may take up arms against them, both the natives of the said islands,
and the Spaniards, at their own cost. Only with that will the said
island be conquered and subdued, and the so many injuries resulting
therefrom to all the said islands and to the. Malucas will be checked.
_A report on the measurements of the galleons in the Filipinas Islands
in the former year 1617 is as follows_.
The royal flagship, called "Salvador" measures 60 codos along the
keel, 12 in floor, 82 from stem to stern [i.e., length over all],
depth of hold 19, extreme breadth 26, sternpost transom 12; lower
deck 15 codos, upper deck 19, with the space between of 4 codos.
The galleon "Espiritu Santo" (the one in which Don Alonso Fajardo
came last year 1618) measures 50 codos along the keel, 10 in floor,
70 length over all, 17 depth of hold, 23 extreme breadth, 10 sternpost
transom; lower deck 13 and one-half codos, and upper deck 17.
The galleon "San Felipe," 50 codos along the keel, 10 in floor, 70
length over all, 15 depth of hold, 22 and one-half extreme breadth;
lower deck 11 and one-half codos, upper deck 15, and sternpost transom
11 codos.
The galleon "Santiago" has the same measurements of keel, floor,
over all, depth of hold, extreme breadth, and sternpost transom,
and the same space between decks.
The galleon "San Juan Bautista" has the same measurements as "San
Felipe" and "Santiago."
The galleon "San Miguel," 49 codos keel, 10 in floor, 68 over all,
18 depth of hold, 23 extreme breadth, 11 sternpost transom; the lower
deck 14 codos, upper deck 18.
"Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe," 46 codos keel, 9 in floor, 64 over all,
13 depth of hold, 21 extreme breadth; lower deck 9 and one-half codos,
upper deck 13, sternpost transom 10 codos.
The ship [_nao_] "San Laurencio," which was built in Yndia 23 years
ago, measures keel 46 codos, over all 60, 12 codos depth of hold, 19
extreme breadth; and it has three decks, quarter-deck, and forecastle
[_castillo_].
[_Endorsed_: "Captain Sebastian de Pineda. To Don Alonso Fajardo,
a duplicate, of the same remaining here. The council, May 26, 619."]
ROYAL DECREE REGARDING RELIGIOUS EXPELLED FROM THEIR ORDERS
[_Note at beginning of document_: "Church of Manila. Your Majesty
confirms the statute made by the dean and cabildo of the metropolitan
church of Manila, in the Philipinas, in regard to the expelled
professed religious, of the orders not being admitted to _dignidades_,
[56] canonries, or curacies of Indians or Spaniards in those islands."]
The King: Report has been made to me in the name of the dean and
cabildo of the metropolitan church of the city of Manila of the
Philipinas Islands, that in respect to my having ordered that ministers
of instruction be men of good life and morals, as such is necessary
for the good of Christianity, several religious who had been expelled
from the orders were admitted as ministers of instruction because of
the need in those islands for such ministers; and that as experience
has since demonstrated the unsuitability of those men for the said
ministry, they have refrained from employing such; and that, in order
that the remedy may be efficacious and obviate the negotiations and
methods of such persons to procure the benefices, they made a statute
whose tenor is as follows: "In the city of Manila, on the eighteenth
of August, one thousand six hundred and seventeen, while assembled and
congregated in meeting, to wit, Bishop Don Fray Pedro Arce, bishop
of the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus and its bishopric, and
governor of this archbishopric, and the dean and cabildo Don Francisco
Gomez Arellano, dean, and Commissary-subdelegate Gabriel de la Santa
Cruçada, Archdeacon Don Juan de Aguilar, Precentor Santiago de Castro,
School-master Don Rodrigo Diaz Giralthe, and Keeper of Relics Don Luis
de Herrera Sandoval; Canons Tomas de Gimarano, Don Miguel Garçetas,
Juan de la Cruz, and Alonso Garcia de Leon: Racionero Don Francisco
de Baldes, and Medios Racioneros [57] Tomas de Vega and Pedro Flores
Benegas--the said bishop proposed with conclusive and sufficient
arguments the great hindrances that, as the proved experience of all
has shown, follow to all this kingdom from admitting to dignidades,
canonries, and benefices professed religious who have been expelled
from the holy religious orders as a penalty and punishment for their
offenses, inasmuch as the abovesaid was prohibited by law and sacred
canons established in a most Christianlike manner by the provincial
Mexican Council. That council enacted a special decree expressly
forbidding such appointments, and mentioning the many just reasons
for their action, and the state of affairs in the Yndias demanding
it, inasmuch as the prelates and venerable fathers who attended the
council were very well acquainted with the Yndias. It is not the
least consideration that the said expelled religious cannot reap a
harvest in a century. Nor can they derive any advantages which will
result in a real adjustment of their difficulties, so that thus with
greater ease they, returning to their senses, may aspire to regain
their habit and order which they before professed. [Such proceeding
by the ecclesiastical authorities] will restrain the diligence and
effort that other religious might employ in deserting their orders
if they saw the said expelled religious given posts as dignidades. As
they saw, and considered as assured, the great service they would be
doing to God our Lord and to his Catholic Majesty who is incurring
so heavy expenses to his royal patrimony in bringing each of the said
religious to the Yndias--and these are the greatest consolations that
he sends to these so remote islands, a plant which, because of its
tenderness and newness in the faith, is shocked at the change that
is seen in the habits [i.e., robes] of the expelled religious. This
furnished a reason to his Majesty, Carlos Fifth, our sovereign of
glorious memory, for the same prohibition; and he ordered that, as
soon as the said religious were expelled from their holy orders,
they be put aboard ship and sent to the kingdoms of Castilla,
and not be allowed to remain or live in the Yndias. Therefore,
having thoroughly examined, conferred over, and considered, they all
unanimously and fully in accord resolved to enact a statute in this
archbishopric in the following form and manner: 'We ordain that,
now and henceforth, no one of the professed religious expelled from
the religious orders now, or hereafter to be, established--whether
from the religious orders now established in the Church of God, or
from those which shall be established later--or the professed members
of the fourth vow [58] of the Society of Jesus, shall be admitted or
appointed to dignidades, canonries, or curacies, of Spaniards or of
Indians, throughout this archbishopric. Those expelled from the said
Society of Jesus, and who shall not have taken the fourth vow, may,
three years after their expulsion and dismissal from the said order,
if they have given therein a good example in their lives and morals,
and if they are of such stamp that they may be of advantage for the
edification and welfare of souls, be admitted by the prelate, now or
hereafter, to the benefices which are curacies of the Indians--but
only outside of this city; and not to the said canonries, dignidades,
or curacies of Spaniards or Indians within this city. And inasmuch
as this holy Church recognizes that it is under obligations for many
reasons to his royal and Catholic Majesty, the king our sovereign,
as being his foundation, and that it will not be proper to enact
or make any statute without his pleasure and order, they determined
to go before his royal person and entreat him humbly to confirm the
present, and consider it fitting, as a matter of so great importance
to the service of God our Lord, and to that of his royal Majesty,
and to the increase of this holy Church.
_Fray Pedro_,
bishop of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus.
_Dean Arellano_
The archdeacon of Manila.
The schoolmaster of Manila.
_Precentor Sanctiago de Castro_
The treasurer of Manila.
_Canon Tomas Gimarano_
_Canon Garçetas_
_Canon Juan de la Cruz_
_Canon Alonso Garcia de Leon_
_Racionero Don Francisco de Caldes_
_Racionero Tomas de Bega_
_Racionero Pedro Flores Benegas_
Before me:
_Alonso Ramirez_, secretary of cabildo."
And my royal Council of the Indias having examined the said statute,
I have considered it advisable to have it confirmed and approved, as by
the present I do confirm, and approve it. And I request and charge the
archbishop of the said metropolitan of the city of Manila--the one now
in office, and those who shall be archbishops hereafter--to observe,
fulfil, and execute it, and cause it to be observed, fulfilled,
and executed, completely, according to its contents. I declare such
to be my will. Given in Madrid, February nineteen, one thousand six
hundred and nineteen.
_I The King_
Countersigned by Juan Ruiz de Contreras; and signed by the council
PROPOSAL TO DESTROY MACAO
The royal Council of the Indias has tried many methods to prevent
considerable amounts of silver being sent to the Philipinas from
Nueva Spaña; but those methods have been without result, as experience
has demonstrated. One has occurred to me, and I think, God helping,
that it will have good results. It is as follows:
The inhabitants of the said islands have no other means of support
than commerce, and in the shelter of their trade is sustained all
that church which now numbers so many faithful that it already has an
archbishop and three suffragan bishops for its government. Inasmuch
as that trade has hitherto consisted of Chinese merchandise with Nueva
España, it has been, and is, necessary to obtain from that country the
value of the merchandise in money, and to take the money there in order
to make the investment of the following year. Trade is there [_i.e._,
in the islands] like sowing in order to reap; and consequently, if the
door were to be partly closed to this trade, the said inconvenience
would cease. The door might be shut without any harm to the said
islands, if another door were to be opened to them, which would be
also as remunerative as the other, and would not be with his Majesty's
countries. In this way his money would not be taken away, for they
could engage in that trade with Japon. In this same manner as the
inhabitants of Manila lade the silks that they buy in that city from
the Chinese, and send them to Nueva España, they should lade them to
send to Japon, where there is a great consumption of these goods and
much excellent silver with which to buy them. This would be a very
good thing for the people of Manila; for, although the profits for
any year might be less than those of Nueva España, still they would
be more sure, because of the much greater frequency and shortness of
the voyage. Furthermore, they would enjoy the entire proceeds from
the returns for their goods. Of the returns from Nueva Spaña they
enjoy only to the sum of five hundred thousand pesos--the amount that
his Majesty allows to be sent annually to the Philipinas, and no more,
although the value of the goods in Mexico amounts to much more. Besides
that, this relationship with Japon would prove very beneficial to the
Philipinas for their security; because the Japanese are those who are
more feared in the islands than all the other neighboring nations,
for they are very courageous and arrogant. Consequently they would
prove excellent friends to oppose the Dutch, who are navigating
those seas. Also by means of this trade the church of that kingdom,
which is now so disturbed, would be made safe. By it would also be
reëstablished the trade of the Indias with Spaña, from which so many
profits would follow if that drain of money to the Philipinas were
stopped; and it would be without hurt to those islands.
This trade between Manila and Japon has already been usual for many
years, although in ships of small burden. It has been demonstrated
by experience that if all the trade to Japon were theirs, all that
country [_i.e._, the Philippines] could be very easily sustained
without needing anything further from Nueva Spaña and Spaña than
soldiers and the products of those countries. Consequently it would be
sufficient for two small vessels to sail in that route of the South
Sea. That would cost but little and that expense might even be met
from the royal treasury of Manila.
But the greatest bulk of this trade is from the Portuguese of Macan,
a town on the Chinese coast, which is about the same distance from
Japon as Manila. All its inhabitants, in number about three hundred,
support themselves by that trade; for, although they have other trade,
it is of slight importance.
Therefore, it is advisable, in order to attain the said trade, that
that town be abandoned, and that its inhabitants go to live in other
cities of India. They can do that without much injury to their goods,
since they carry them all by sea; and anywhere they have trade by
way of the sea. In order to dismantle that town, it is sufficient
for his Majesty to order that nothing be freighted thence to Japon,
but only from Manila. Thereupon all the inhabitants would immediately
pull up stakes [59] and leave that place.
Although such a thing appears harsh, and seems like falling out
with one saint to placate another, still it will seem an easy and
very advisable measure to those who have seen that town, or know
it close at hand--and there are several such persons here in this
court. And even if it were not evident that the good results above
mentioned would follow from it, this step should be taken as a policy
of good government, as such a course is advisable for the service of
God. For his name is blasphemed by the people of that kingdom of China
because of that town of Macao--such are the deeds of its inhabitants;
for they live as a people without any master, and are not under the
control of his Majesty, for the dwellers in that town are not his
vassals, but those of the king of China. They pay tribute to him,
and are subject to his mandarins, but not to others. Consequently
his Majesty does not derive one maravedi's profit from it, while he
incurs considerable expense; for he supports all its ecclesiastics
out of his royal treasury of Malaca, for the honor of the Portuguese
nation. For there they are so subject to those mandarins that, unless
they kneel on the ground with both knees, they cannot talk to them; nor
can they build one palmo of a wall, even in their own house, without
the mandarin's license, while [they practice,] besides, innumerable
infamies. [The transfer of] those people will be for the welfare of
the state of Yndia, because its fortresses are without soldiers, by
reason of the lack of dwellers in their ports. For the Portuguese,
being so eager for liberty, go to live in the lands where there is
most liberty, as in that land of China and that of Vengala. There
go most and the best of the soldiers of Yndia, who take service with
infidel kings and fight in their wars. Thence it follows that India
is lost, land and sea, while the Dutch have become masters of it;
and through their efforts much of the commerce between certain ports
has ceased. The consequence of that is that the public storehouses
[at Macao?] have become very poor, on account of the deficiency
in their usual supplies; and they do not possess the means to bear
the expenses, either in war or in peace, for the food of laymen or
ecclesiastics--nearly all of whom live on what is paid to them by
the king. Consequently, were that town of Macan dismantled, at least
that protection would cease; and they would settle in his Majesty's
lands, as is just, since the majority of them have gone to Yndia
at the cost of his royal treasury. That would also be a matter of
importance for the welfare of the kingdom of Portugal, since that
country gains so much in having a quantity of silver sent to Spaña
from the Indias, because of the large amount of it that oozes from
the latter country into Portugal; and just so much more would flow
thither as less is drawn off from Spain to other parts. Portugal
does not enjoy one single maravedi of the fruits of the trade of
that town, all of which are consumed in it and in China, where it is
situated. Besides for the maintenance of Portugal's state of Yndia,
the helpful proximity of the Philipinas is of much more importance to
it than one or two towns of that state, for it has been very evident,
for some years past, how important are the forces of the Philipinas
to cope with the common enemy of both states, namely, the Dutch. Those
forces have been sufficient to defeat the Dutch more than once. Since
money is what enables war to be carried on, it is advisable for both
states that Philipinas have considerable of it, at so little expense
to the state of Yndia as the possession of a town--at least, one of
the importance and advantage which we have mentioned--and also at
little expense to the treasury of his Majesty and of his kingdoms.
Only two objections can be opposed to this, but they are only apparent
objections. The first is that two ships are wont to ply between Goa
and China every year for cargoes of silk, which are afterward consumed
in India. That is the chief trade of the Portuguese in India. Those
vessels anchor at the city of Macan, and thus it seems as if [the
abandonment of] that city would cause the lack, [of a port] there
for this trade. But I answer that this is not so; for the Chinese
would not deny the port to the Portuguese, since they do not deny
it to many other nations who trade in their country without having a
town of their own there. On the other hand, the Chinese use that town
of Macan so harshly, that were it not for the large amounts that its
inhabitants owe them for the goods that the Chinese have supplied to
them on credit, the latter would already have driven the inhabitants
of Macan out of their country. But the Chinese act thus toward the
Portuguese, and treat them like negroes, so that they should go away
[of their own accord]. That town is rather a very great injury to the
Portuguese merchants who sail from Goa in the said ships--so much so,
that they avoid trading with its inhabitants, who generally sell the
goods that they have bought from the Chinese during the year, to the
Goa merchants at higher prices than the Chinese themselves ask. For
several years, the merchants in that region have been wont to go with
all their silver twenty leguas up stream in small boats to the city of
Canton, in order to trade with its natives, leaving their vessels in
the port of Macan--the inhabitants of which are mocked and disappointed
in the profit that they expected from the coming of the ships.
The second objection is that, were that town abandoned, all hopes
for the conversion of that great kingdom--which seems to have made a
beginning through Macao--would be crushed. But to that I answer, that
Macao is rather the great hindrance to the conversion; for the infidels
only see in that town evil examples. It is a great inconvenience
to have the Portuguese so prominently before the Chinese, for the
latter judge from them that all other Christians must be like those
whom they see there. Besides the ministers of the gospel, who would
have to conduct the conversion, cannot enter the interior of the
country unless in native costume--as is done there by some fathers
of the Society--and under protection of certain natives who conceal
them. That can also be managed from Manila, in the return voyage of
the Chinese ships, as well as from Macan.
Consequently, the suppression of that town by taking away its trade
involves no injury, but rather the said advantages. And, if there
were any difficulty, one should reflect which is the greater--to
abandon a church like that of the Philipinas, with so great a number
of the faithful, from which so much more may be expected, since there
is hope that from the Philipinas it could extend to all that world
(which is, beyond comparison, much more densely populated than this
world of our Europa); or, in order to preserve the church, to use the
lands of his Majesty so greatly to their injury; or to order three
hundred inhabitants to settle in another region, and to abandon that
location. May God give understanding to him who shall have to decide
this matter. I pass over any other better opinion. I am of the above
opinion, and affix thereto my signature. At Santo Thomas, etc.
_Fray Diego Auduarte_
[_Endorsed_: "Have this sent to Don Alonso Fajardo, so that after
examining the contents of this paper--which was furnished by a
competent person, who has spent considerable time in those islands--he
may use what portion of it seems most advisable, in accordance with
the present condition of affairs. The Council; May 26, 619."]
RELATION OF THE EVENTS IN THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
AND IN NEIGHBORING PROVINCES AND REALMS, FROM JULY, 1618, TO THE
PRESENT DATE IN 1619
These Philipinas Islands are surrounded by so many and various
neighboring countries that they are like the center of a very beautiful
circumference composed of cities, kingdoms and provinces. The condition
of this district depends so much upon that of other places that it
will not be inappropriate to relate briefly what has occurred this
year in these other places, in order better to understand the present
state of affairs here. And if the description of any places should not
fulfil this purpose, it will at least serve to give an interesting
notice of countries so far away. All that is written here is taken
from relations and letters which our fathers have sent from various
places, and from what I have seen this year in this country.
_Of Eastern India_
To begin with, the most notable of the events that have occurred
in India is the destruction of the city of Baçani, a very beautiful
city, and important as containing many Portuguese hidalgos. It was
situated on the north coast, opposite the Mogors, with whom the
Portuguese carry on war. [60] It was very well built of stone, with
seven good monasteries of various orders; but its great strength
was not sufficient to defend it from the powerful hand of God, who
chose to raze it to the ground. To accomplish this, He employed all
four of the elements: the water, which fell in a great deluge from
the heavens; the air, which broke loose in the most horrible and
furious winds ever known; the earth, which trembled terribly; and
fire, which, wishing to serve its Creator in no uncertain manner,
shot out its tremendous bolts into the air and discharged them over
the miserable city. With such powerful enemies all the buildings
fell down--not one stone remaining upon another--except a chapel of
our Lady of Health [_Nuestra Señora de la Salud_], and part of the
convent of St. Francis, where some people took refuge. There were
lost, in the river more than sixty vessels loaded with provisions,
bound for Goa; and two others from Ormuz, one coming and the other
going. This destruction took place on the seventeenth of May, 1618. The
reason for it only God, with His unbounded wisdom, knows. All that we
here can understand is that the sins of the city provoked His wrath,
and that for two years past interdictions and censures upon it have
been continuous. Even the day before this disaster occurred, God took
from it (as He did another [?]) Father Rodrigo, of the Society, who
was one of His zealous servants, and transported him to another and
a better life. When news of this reached Goa, great demonstrations
were made there to appease the wrath of God, that He might not afflict
that city as He had afflicted Baçani.
_Of Great China_
In China, within recent years, a very severe persecution of Christians
broke out; and on account of the enmity of a mandarin, who was the
cause of this storm, four fathers were ejected from the residences
of Sanguin and Paquin [_i.e._, Pekin]. One of them was Father Diego
Pantoja, [61] a native of Toledo, a noted religious, one of the
most noted men who have been in China, and one who has learned most
of the Chinese letters, sciences, and language. Upon reaching Macan
from his exile, this father passed from this to a better life. There
still remained in China eight fathers of our Society. These, with
some others, are cultivating the vineyard of the Lord, maintaining
in the faith those already converted, and bringing into it others,
who, forsaking the false belief of idolatry, receive the water of
holy baptism. In short, these fathers are promulgating the holy
gospel. They write that they found, in one of the many provinces of
that extensive realm, a people who worship the holy cross, and who
are called Christians--although they are so only in name, for they
are in truth heathen. They also found a synagogue of more than twelve
thousand jews who live under the law of Moses. [62]
The Tartars, who usually are at war with the Chinese, this year invaded
China on the north side by way of the border province of Lona [_sc._
Liao?]. [63] They routed the Chinese armies, made a great slaughter
among them, took some cities, and destroyed many villages; and then,
because the winter is so cold, they retired to their own country
to remain till another year, when, they say, they will come with a
great force. And although they fear that they are not possessed of
everything necessary for this invasion, yet a short time before, [64]
a violent storm demolished for them that famous and strong wall, six
hundred leguas long, which separated China from Tartaria. The events
of this war and the state of the kingdom of China will be set forth
in a petition, or memorial, which the mandarins presented to their
king. Our fathers of Macan sent it to us, saying that the Christians
of Paquin had sent it to them. The fathers put it into Portuguese;
translated into Spanish, it reads as follows:
_Memorial which the mandarins of Paquin sent to the king of China in
the year 1618, when the Tartars invaded that kingdom._
This year, 1618, in the sixth moon, which is the month of August,
the president of the council of war presented to the king a memorial
for the defense [of the kingdom] against the Tartars, who entered
by the north walls. He humbly begs of you, my king, that you give
attention to this matter, and quickly open your treasuries in support
of this war to raise soldiers and to collect supplies. The facts
of the situation are, as I just now heard from the mandarins who
are in the province of the north walls, that the Tartars assembled
with the determination to seize this country of China. They say that
on the day selected for battle they entered through the walls and
captured some people, whom they sacrificed and burned at two in the
morning before the pitched battle; and, while they were burning the
sacrifice, great bombs and ingenious fireworks were discharged. They
raised flags on the hills and proclaimed their own king as king of
Paquin. Of soldiers who bear arms and other people there are thousands
of thousands--they are indeed, innumerable. Each soldier carries
several weapons. They entered by force of arms through the walls
called Humbre. The mandarins entrusted with the defense of this part
of the walls collected two armies [_companias_], ninety-six captains,
and three hundred thousand men, and came to blows eleven times. In
the first encounter our captain-general and thirty-seven captains
ordinary were killed. Our captain called Chun entered valiantly on
horseback into the ranks of the Tartars, killed five of them, and
was then himself killed and mutilated on the spot. Countless numbers
of our men died in these actions; some thousands were captured; and,
in retreating from the battle, amid the confusion and tumult, more
than a thousand more were killed. The victorious Tartar raised his
flag aloft and his men cried out, "Our king of Paquin comes to take
possession of Great China, which dared to resist him." The Tartars,
following up the victory, killed in various encounters more than six
hundred captains and soldiers of repute. The inhabitants of the cities
and towns deserted them and fled to the forests with their women and
children. On the same day the Tartars took three cities.
When I heard this news I met with the _Colao_ and the mandarins of
the court to take counsel as to what should be done. And truly it
seems that Heaven is assisting the Tartars, for how else could they
kill so many thousands of men and take three cities in one day? [65]
We all say that this is a punishment from Heaven, like so many other
calamities that are being suffered. For example, it did not rain during
the whole of last year in the province of Paquin, and so the people
went about almost dead. In the province of Xanto the hunger was so
great that they ate human flesh, for which there was a public market. A
great multitude of rats crossed the river. The fires of heaven burned
all the royal palaces. A gale blew down the five towers. There were,
also, in the heavens two suns, one swallowing the other--an occurrence,
certainly, of dire portent. Another very extraordinary thing beside
these occurred. We saw that man called Chanchain enter the palace to
kill the prince, in which event the mandarin [_illegible in MS._]
wishing to speak to you, my king, in a rather loud voice, in order
to show his fidelity. But you did not choose to listen to him, and,
instead, you ordered him to be put in the jail, and in fetters, and
sentenced to death, on the charge of having disturbed the soul of
your mother, who had recently died. We, the mandarins, wishing [to
aid?] him, beg you that you may be pleased to pardon him; because
it would certainly be a great pity to treat as a rebel a faithful
mandarin, who merely showed his love for you.
Moreover, the viceroys and the _Chaiery_ of each province several times
sent you memorials advising you of the calamities of the people, and
begging that you be pleased to diminish the customs and impositions,
a matter worthy of careful consideration. In the same way, all the
mandarins of the court have often implored you, by means of memorials,
that you should go out _incognito_ to hear complaints for the good
of the government of the kingdom, and to bring it into harmony with
the will of Heaven. If you had done this, we would now find ourselves
in a very peaceful condition, and our empire would last a thousand
centuries; but oh king, as you neither listened to nor examined into
what was proposed to you, it appears, rather, that you are sleeping at
your ease in your palace. You act as if you did not notice what you
clearly see with your eyes. Hence for a long time the mandarins have
been very much troubled. We have seen rivers running with blood. Are
not all these matters of evil portent? There are indeed, other
disasters than the falling of the walls on the Tartar frontier. We
often sent memorials asking you to order that they be rebuilt; and at
last you sent two mandarins with two hundred thousand men to repair
them. They went out last year in the ninth moon. While on the way, for
some unknown reason, a quarrel arose among the men at midnight; and
in less than two hours more than eighty boats and over seven hundred
men were burned, besides the many who were drowned. All this augured
evil. And thus we sent you a memorial asking that you should give
audience on matters concerning the good government of the kingdom,
according to the will of Heaven. You answered, "Now it is cold, now
hot; I am indisposed and unable to do it; I shall choose another day
to go out, or you may choose it." We the mandarins, together, chose
the seventh day of the same moon, which was convenient. You, however,
did not answer favorably, but instead threw the memorial into the fire.
Furthermore, we learned from the province of Xansinque, this third
moon, that a man suddenly appeared dressed in yellow, with a green cap
[_bonete_], and a little fan of feathers in his hand. He called out,
"Vanlle (which is the name of the king here) [66] is a king without
a government, although he has ruled a long time. He is always asleep
in his palace, wherefore the kingdom is about to be lost. The men
of the people must perish of hunger, and the great captains must die
by the sword and the lance." With this he disappeared. The viceroy,
Chaien, and the mandarins were greatly terrified, and made vigorous
efforts to find him and to learn who he was and where he lived,
but they never found further trace of him.
And now, when we learn of the calamities of all the provinces, when
from all of them we hear news of the great famine being experienced,
and when we see that many renowned mandarins, captains, and soldiers
have been killed in this war, we are well able to understand that this
man was an omen from Heaven, and the whole affair causes fear. If you,
our king, wish to go forth to encounter the Tartars you cannot do so
unless you have several millions of men, and thousands of thousands
of wagon-loads of supplies. We humbly beg that you undertake to
release the above mentioned mandarin, who is so unjustly detained in
prison. We also beg that you shall be pleased to open the treasuries
to raise an army. If you do so, much of the trouble will be removed.
_Of Cochinchina_
The new mission of Cochinchina, near China, where they formerly endured
great hardships, is now prosperous, and there are good prospects that
a splendid Christian community will grow up in that realm. [67] The
people there, induced by their false priests, had rebelled against our
fathers, saying superstitiously that it had failed to rain because of
the presence of preachers of the holy gospel. In this way they forced
the king, against his will, to order the fathers out of the country for
a time. But the fathers, in obedience to an order from their superior,
did not leave until they had almost completely christianized a Japanese
settlement which is there; and they so subdued these Japanese that,
although formerly they had been very rebellious and had given much
trouble to the king, they now became peaceable. The king was so pleased
with this that he recalled the fathers with the same benevolence that
he had formerly shown, and he gave them license to erect a church and
residence at his court. Heaven assisted at the same time in behalf of
the mission by sending abundant rain, thus leaving the superstition
of the heathens confounded and mendacious, and the king despicable
for this persecution. Two fathers of the mission and a lay brother
went to a port of the same kingdom, Cochinchina, called Pullocambi,
about fifty leagues from the court, at the request of the heathen
governor there. He offered to satisfy them, and treated them so well
that a beginning was made in that port of another residencia of the
Society. It may be possible to build up a large Christian community
in that place, since it is more quiet than Cochinchina, through its
being less cursed by traffic and by people of various nationalities
coming to trade. Thus there are six of the Society residing there,
teaching those whom they have converted, and with much diligence
learning the language of the land, without which they would not be
able to accomplish much.
_Of Japan_
In treating of the affairs in Japon one would wish to begin with
the coming of Fray Luis Sotelo, who, as soon as he arrived here,
began to attempt so many things that he succeeded with none. He
said to the bishop of Zebu (who is governor of this archbishopric)
that he had secured bulls from his Holiness authorizing him to be
bishop of half of Japon, [68] but as they remained in the Council
they were worthless. They even say (about which I am not certain)
that he attempted to consecrate himself here, but he did not succeed.
Then he planned to establish a seminary of Japanese, and had many
of them ordained, with what right or authority we do not know. Over
this matter there was much contention. He had a church built for this
seminary, and also took possession of various places, particularly in
a suburb of this city of Manila. One day he quietly took possession of
a house, placed a bell upon it, and said mass. Soon the governor and
the bishop came and asked him what he might be doing. He responded
that a smith puts his forge wherever he can in order to work at his
trade, and that he was doing likewise. They drove him away from there,
and now he is in one of his convents.
They are expecting in Malaca the bishop of Japon, Father Don Diego
Valente, [69] of our Society, native of Lisboa, and formerly head
of the professed house at Villaviciosa. They say that with him are
coming the procurators of Japon, Father Graviel de Martos and Father
Pedro de Morejon; the father procurate of China, Nicolas Trigaucio;
and a goodly number of members of the Society, who will have to wait
in some other place because the condition of affairs in Japon is such
that they cannot go there at present.
This year in Japon a great number of supernatural occurrences have been
noted, particularly in the city of Yendo, [70] which is the court of
the emperor. First, in the river at Yendo they saw some very beautiful
ships sailing against the current, a thing never seen there before,
for the river is small, and navigable only by very small boats. Second,
in the _patio_ [i.e., courtyard] of the palace, one day there was seen
an animal larger than an ox and smaller than an elephant, whose species
none could tell, as they had never seen such an animal before. They
tried to kill it with arquebuses and arrows, but it disappeared. Third,
in a hall of the same palace a large greyhound was found howling
pitifully. This the Japanese took for a bad sign. They asked who
had brought such a dog there, but no one could find out, because
the guards had been at the door all the time. They tried to catch
the animal and put it out, but it became invisible to them. Fourth,
in the quarter [_vario_, for _barrio_] of the Daimones, [71] who are
the nobles who serve at the court, there was heard a great clatter of
arms, just as if a very bloody civil war were going on. They called to
arms in the city, and every one responded. They went to the _vario_,
but found everything perfectly quiet. Fifth, on the top of a hill
near by the city they discovered some flags in the trees. They went
to see what they were, but found nothing. Finally, when the emperor
was about to go to Meaco, a comet like a handled catana [_i.e._,
sword], with a very beautiful cross in its head, appeared above his
fortress of Yendo. This caused him so much fear and consternation
that he gave up his journey entirely. Many of these things will not
be readily believed. Some of them I did not see, but credible persons
from where they occurred report them as well authenticated.
The persecution of Christians in Japon is more bloody than it has
ever been before, and has become as bad as could be imagined. It
will suffice to say that in the city of Nangacaqui thirty bars of
silver, each one containing about four ducados, are publicly offered
to whomsoever may discover a religious. But just as tender plants,
because of the cold of winter, take deeper root in the soil, these
religious, because of their difficulties, plant themselves more firmly
in the faith and bear more plentiful fruit. This has already been
demonstrated. Indeed, during the last year more than fifty Japanese
have nobly given their lives to the service of Jesus Christ; and
almost two thousand adults have for the first time received the water
of holy baptism, through the efforts of our fathers alone. These
fathers, like good pilots, have not been dismayed by this great
tempest On the contrary, there have been thirty-two members [of the
Society] distributed throughout Japon, holding fast to the helm of
this little craft, toiling lest the sea should swallow it up in so
furious and destructive a tempest. Not less valor has been shown in
this matter by the chief pilot, Father Francisco de Vera, whom our
father general sent as visitor of Japon from one of the provinces of
India. When he reached Macan and learned how cruel the persecution was,
he determined--in spite of being almost seventy years old and afflicted
by many infirmities--to go this year to Japon, to console and encourage
the Christians and our brethren who so commendably labored with them
there. His life has been a great source of edification and consolation
to all. In order that his presence there should do no harm, he went
very secretly and without company. He wears secular dress. The good
father goes from house to house, under a thousand inconveniences and
dangers, such as the other fathers also endure. What he has suffered
and is still suffering in this way is very pitiful.
Some religious (although only a few) from the orders of St. Dominic,
St. Francis, and St. Augustine, are also working laudably in the
vineyard of the Lord. Some went to Japon this year, but the majority of
them have not succeeded in this design, because most of the Japanese
boatmen, although Christians, have been afraid to carry them. For the
emperor issued a very stringent order that any boat which should carry
religious should be burned with all its goods, and that those going
in it should be put to death. Nevertheless, some Franciscan friars
have gone, very secretly. Some time ago, in the city of Fixoxuna,
Father Antonio and Brother Leonardo, both Japanese, were imprisoned
for the faith. For this also, on August 16, 1618, they beheaded in the
city of Meaco Fray Juan de Santa Marta, of the Order of St. Francis,
and a native of Cataluña. He had been imprisoned three years in the
public jail, where, in spite of the hard labor and bad treatment to
which he was subjected, he continued to preach our holy faith to the
heathen prisoners, some of whom received it and died in it. [72]
At midnight on December 13, 1618, they seized Father Carlos Espinola,
procurator of the province of Japon, and his companion, Brother
Ambrosio Fernandez. The same night they seized two other fathers,
Dominicans, two of four who went to Japon last year. The other two
returned to these islands. On the twenty-fifth of March, 1619, they
seized the provincial and the prior of the Dominicans, Fray Francisco
Morales and Fray Alonso de Mena. One of these Dominican fathers died
in the jail. Thereupon the rest of the religious concealed themselves
so effectively that the Portuguese traders in the country could not
find any one to whom they might make their Lenten confessions.
Last year I wrote how one of the ships which were despatched from
this city to aid Maluco resorted to treason, and took possession of
everything. Thenceforth, as is well known, it went from one country
to another and from one place to another. Finally it sailed, almost
shipwrecked, to an island of Japon. When the Portuguese commandant
learned of this, he sent to the ruler of the island to demand those
robbers who had mutinied on one of the king's ships. The ruler sent to
the commandant, proposing to hang them; but some religious forbade
it, whereupon he sent them prisoners to Macan, where, they say,
the mutineers were punished.
The two Dutch ships which last year were plundering in these islands
the ships that came from China, returned to Japon, after having
loaded up with many silks which they had seized. They took with them
three Chinese ships with rich cargoes, placing on each one a guard
of Hollanders. But in a storm the Chinese fled with their ships,
carrying with them the Hollanders that were on board, on whom they
retaliated by drowning them in the sea. Thus the spoil [of the Dutch]
was not so rich as was expected.
This year there went to Japon a patache which the Hollanders had
captured in Maluco from the English, and on which there remained some
English, badly wounded. They reported that the Hollanders had taken
two ships from the English, and had cut off the noses and ears of all
whom they had found alive. Upon hearing this, the English who were in
Japon were exceedingly angry; and, as they were in good standing at the
court, they went to complain to the emperor. The Japanese merchants
also complained that because of the robberies which the Hollanders
had committed during the last two years on the coast of Manila, they
had lost the profit which they had usually drawn from the trade with
Philipinas. They said that not only were the Hollanders of no advantage
to Japon, but that rather they were very injurious, since they took
from the kingdom large quantities of munitions and provisions for
their fleets, and thus made everything dearer. It may be hoped that
from these complaints will result the expulsion of the Hollanders
from Japon, which will be very injurious to them, but very good for us.
The Hollanders felt keenly the loss of one of their large pataches
which was coming from Olanda to Japon with thirty men, good artillery,
more than fifty thousand pesos in money, and very rich jewels intended
as presents to bribe the magnates of Japon. On the way, the patache
encountered four Portuguese galliots which were coming from Macan
loaded with goods. The Hollanders attacked the Portuguese, intending
to seize a galliot; but fortune changed, and in the fight their ship
was run down by one of the Portuguese vessels. When the Hollanders saw
that they were lost, they themselves set fire to the powder; and those
on board were hurled into the water, where they were despatched with
pikes. The Portuguese rescued only a Japanese who had been to Olanda,
and was on the ship coming back with the Hollanders. [73]
_Of Mindanao_
The island of Mindanao is one of these Philipinas; it is inhabited
by Mahometan and heathen people, who make fierce war upon us. They
sally out with their little fleets, repeatedly plunder the towns,
desolate the fields, capture many Indians, and even Spaniards, and
kill a great number of people. This year the Lord has been pleased
that they should not be able to sally forth as usual, as they have
been very much occupied in civil wars. And if the Hollanders were
not so constantly engaging our attention, and we were to go there,
they might be destroyed--as is asserted by a Franciscan friar who
has been a captive among them for a long time, and has recently come
from there. [74] But we leave it to God; for He, with His most lofty
providence, knows how to govern in His own way.
_Of the Malucas_
To begin with spiritual affairs, a wide door to the holy gospel has
opened in the island of Manados, which borders upon that of Macacar;
and it is hoped that through it will come a rich harvest. At present a
father of our Society, named Father Cosme Prieto, is there. The fathers
of Portugal, to whom the Malucas Islands belong, plan to send more
laborers there. The king has been converted, as well as nearly all the
princes of the kingdom; and only the queen persists in her heathenism.
The people of the island of Tidore, who long have been our friends,
and through whom we are able to maintain ourselves in the Malucas,
broke the treaties which they had made with the Terrenatans. They
are engaged in war, and every day there are deaths on one side or the
other. These circumstances are very advantageous for us, because the
Terrenatans are warm friends of the Dutch and enemies to us.
All the aid sent last year from this place reached Maluco, without
suffering any loss on the way, either from the sea or from the enemy,
as has usually been the case other years. To furnish this aid five
ships went laden with supplies, and with fifteen thousand pesos to
pay the infantry. Hence our forces there are, for the present, well
and even abundantly supplied, although there is some lack of men,
because many have died of _bebes_, which is a disease of the legs
very common in those islands. [75]
In 1619, ships went to Olanda loaded with cloves and drugs and
other things of various values; we fear, therefore, that the power
of these Hollanders will increase in these parts, because what they
carry enriches them and enables them to send large fleets here. The
enemy, the Hollander, built another fortress besides the ones that he
had in the islands of Ternate; and we also built another in Tidore,
and are building still another. We may thus be able to inflict much
injury upon our enemies.
In Nambrino it happened that in a drunken revel of the Hollanders the
powder took fire, and a large part of the fortification was blown up;
but they have already repaired it. They say that in this accident
nearly two hundred men were burned. The inhabitants of the island
of Vanda are much of the time at war with the Hollanders, of whom
they have killed many--notable among them the commander-in-chief--by
poisoning the water that they used. It is said that they do not like
the Hollanders, but prefer the Portuguese, with whom they have been
friendly for many years. A Portuguese just now arrived from Maluca,
fleeing from the Hollanders who had held him prisoner more than three
years, and with whom he had been in various places. People say that
at present the Hollanders are on very bad terms with the nations
where they have factories. It is also said that there have come to
them from Olanda six ships and a new governor.
With oil of cloves and drugs people go to the Malucas from almost
all over the world; it is therefore believed that in these seas there
must be for a long time to come some of the hardest battles ever seen,
and that many in attempting to trade in cloves will have to encounter
iron. [76]
The French have a factory there. [77] Three of their ships came and
fought with the Hollanders, who took away one; the other two were sent
to France with cargoes. Some galleons have also come from the English,
who, according to report, now have fourteen. It is said that they
have had a fight with the Hollanders, from whom they took away two
ships. These two nations are unfriendly because of the above-mentioned
injury which the English received from the Hollanders, and also because
they are rivals. It is said that the English have an order from their
king to the effect that if the Hollanders should be stronger than
themselves they must join with us and harass them on all sides.
The Hollanders have seen that in their battles with us they have
received much damage from our galleys; therefore they built two
vessels of this class to bring with their fleet to these islands. But
our Lord was pleased so to order it that, when coming from Amb[o]ino
to Ternate, one galley sank with all the people, and the other ran
aground, although the people were saved.
_Of the Philipinas Islands_
On the eleventh of November, 1618, at three o'clock in the morning,
a comet was seen from this city of Manila. It had a tail, was
silver-colored, with a slightly ashen tinge, and had an extraordinary
form. At first it was like a trumpet, and then like a catan (which is a
weapon peculiar to Japon, resembling the cutlass), with the edge toward
the southwest; and at the end it appeared palm-shaped. The declination
[78] of the southwestern end was twenty degrees south. At first its
length was equal to the whole of the sign of Libra, with which it
rose. Eight days afterward, the declination of the southwestern end
was twenty-four degrees and thirty minutes south. At this time the head
was thirty-one degrees south, and the lower point, or end of the tail,
eight degrees from the star called Spica Virginia. No star exhalation
[79] was seen, although some say that they saw a very small one. On
the twenty-fourth of November another tailed comet appeared, even
more beautiful and resplendent than the first. At its head [_al pie_]
was a burning star. It appeared in the east. It had a declination
of eight degrees, and it pointed southwestward to the sign of the
Scorpion, which is the sign of Manila. These two comets lasted some
three months. They write from Japon, Maluco, and India that they were
seen in those places.
The devotion of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin has
been notable in this city. This year great eight-day fiestas, with
masks and illuminations, have been celebrated with much solemnity in
the cathedral church and in that of St. Francis. It is feared that
there will be much hunger in the islands during the present year,
because the locusts are so numerous that they cover the fields and
destroy the grain. May God help us!
In September, 1618, a ship was despatched from these islands for
Macan primarily to carry needed munitions, although it did not
neglect to take a quantity of money belonging to private persons,
to be invested in merchandise. A few days after setting sail it was
overtaken by a storm severe enough to drive it to the coast of this
island of Manila; but, although the hulk was lost, the people and cargo
were saved. Afterward another ship was sent on the same errand. It
is known to have reached Macan and to be trading successfully in
everything, particularly in the purchase of an excellent galleon that
the Portuguese have there, and that we need for the fleet which must
be prepared to oppose the enemy next year.
The Hollanders came to these islands with their fleet of five galleons
to plunder the Chinese ships, as they have done in former years. The
fleet entered the bay of Manila on the twelfth of October, 1618,
and afterward continued coming and going. It went back and forth
on these seas just as if it were at home. But its appearance caused
so little disturbance that everything remained as quiet as before,
which illustrates the force of habit; for being accustomed to seeing
the fleet every year has brought it to pass that its advent now causes
no uneasiness. Nevertheless, sentinels were placed on all the coasts,
and the country was very well prepared. Thus there was nothing to fear;
besides, the enemy does not wish to have us at too close range. On
our side, only three galleons and four galleys were ready for use
in the port of Cavique [_sic_], because not more than two years
ago two of our finest galleons went to the bottom in this sea in a
furious storm. What caused more anxiety was the shipyard where other
galleons were being built. It was feared lest the enemy should go
there to burn them. To prevent this, a little fort was constructed,
and a large force of good infantry and heavy artillery was placed
there to guard the construction. Therefore they said that there was
no need to fear anything, or to doubt that if the enemy should come
to the shipyard he would fail in his design to burn the ships. He did
not attempt it, perhaps because he knew of the thorough preparations
that had been made.
Early in November, when the enemy was in the mouth of the bay,
a Japanese ship came here. When it reached Ilocos, a port of the
island of Manila, it learned that the enemy was in the passage through
which it must go to reach, this city. But as it carried a _chapa_,
or license, from the Japanese emperor it feared nothing. For the
Hollanders respect the emperor's license in so far as it concerns
them, and they give free passage in every part of these seas to all
Japanese ships bearing it. So the ship continued on its way here till
it met the Hollander, with whom it remained two or three days. The
Hollander inquired if it carried munitions, which would be contrary
to his wish. Although in fact the ship had on board a large quantity
of munitions underneath a great number of sacks of flour, the question
was answered in the negative. Thereupon the general allowed it to pass,
and gave it an arrogant message for the governor. In this he said that
his Lordship might well be preparing his fleet little by little, which
he [the Dutch general] would await a long time; that he just now had
learned that galleons were being built in the shipyards, but that the
governor should not be disturbed; that, indeed, if it were necessary,
he would go with his men to aid in finishing and launching them,
just for the opportunity of fighting them; that this was what he most
desired, as he had strong hopes of victory, which would be glorious
in proportion to his Lordship's nobility; and that he therefore would
welcome the governor's coming. This message the Hollanders sent with
the Japanese ship. Later on, another Japanese ship came along; and,
as it carried a _chapa_, it was able to enter. Then a Spanish ship,
which likewise came from Japon, arrived; but, as it carried no license,
it came by a different route, to avoid falling into the enemy's hands,
and took shelter in another port of the islands before coming to the
city. A Portuguese ship coming from Macan did the same, and thus the
enemy captured nothing.
Four Ternatan slaves fled to the enemy, at which the latter were much
elated. When the slaves reached them the Hollanders were seen from
this city to discharge some pieces of artillery. One morning later on,
when the Hollanders wished to land upon a beach not far from Manila,
to take some recreation, they sent these slaves ahead that, like
house-thieves, they might spy out the land. Information had just come
that the enemy were accustomed to disembark in that neighborhood, so
two companies were sent to lie in ambush to deal them some blow. The
slaves landed, and our men seeing them, attacked them, killed two,
and captured the other two alive. From these we learned in detail the
forces which the enemy had. When the latter saw that his scouts did
not return with the information, he was afraid to disembark. If he
had landed, he might well have expected us to have won a very signal
victory. In the shipyard feverish efforts were made to finish at
least one vessel in time for service this year. Nearly three thousand
men--Spaniards, Indians, Chinese, and others--were employed in this
construction. From this may be gathered what our missions must have
suffered in the Pintados Islands, in the midst of which the ship was
being built, since almost all the Indians who worked there were from
our doctrinas. So large was the equipment, and so great was the zeal
shown in the work, that early in March a very beautiful galleon was
finished, which would mount forty pieces. Then the difficulty arose,
where they could enter to join the other galleons and galleys in the
port of Cabique, for the enemy remained stubbornly in the mouth of
the bay. But as soon as he drew aside a little, notice was quickly
given in order that they might bring in the galleon, and it entered
on the twenty-fifth of April, with four galleys which had gone out
to accompany it in.
On another occasion two other ships came to the enemy with provisions
from the kingdom of Japon. They also carried a goodly number of
Japanese, who left their country secretly. They say that if they [the
Japanese authorities?] had known it they would have killed these men,
because they came to attack us in company with the Hollanders. These
now found themselves with seven warships, or rather with six, since
they left one outside in order to plunder any ship that might come
along. They entered this bay with great ostentation and pomp on the
first of March, the second day of the Easter festival. The governor
ordered that the galleys and the three galleons which were there
(the fourth, the one from the shipyard, had not yet arrived) should
with many pennants and streamers draw a little apart from the fort of
Cabique. When the Hollander turned about to go out he noticed that our
fleet was at hand, with all this bravery. Then he also displayed many
pennants, and came again, signaling that he wished to fight, and then
slowly departed. He went toward the coast of Ilocos, the place to which
they come to attack the ships on their way from China. Now the galleon
from the shipyard entered the bay, and the preparation of the entire
fleet was completed. It consisted of four galleys very well manned,
and four very handsome galleons. The flagship mounted more than forty
pieces, the almiranta more than thirty, the third galleon an equal
number, and the fourth as many as twenty. In addition to these there
were two pataches, each with as many as a dozen small pieces.
While our armada, thus prepared, was daily in readiness to set sail,
the governor sent out in two directions to reconnoiter the enemy. The
news brought back by the spies was that the Hollanders had reached
a village of Indians on the coast of Ilocos. They entered the church
and committed a thousand sacrileges, particularly that of cutting off
the nose of a figure of Christ. They found a large quantity of wine,
delivered themselves up to it, and became veritable wine-sacks. They
say that if twenty soldiers had been there at the time, they might
have played grand havoc with the enemy. The Hollanders finally set
fire to the place and withdrew to their ships. Only one remained on
shore to sleep off his intoxication. When he awakened and saw that the
ships had already set sail, he cast himself into the water--of which
he had need, in order to water the great quantity of wine he had cast
into his stomach. He saw that the ships were far away, and in order
not to drown he was forced to return to land. Here the Indians caught
him and took him to Manila. The Dutch ships put to sea and never again
appeared. On news of this the excitement of the fleet ceased, although
there was no lack of opinion that it would be well to pursue the enemy,
because he was fleeing to China to plunder. Although all this was said
on good ground, others (and a majority) said that whether the enemy
were fleeing very opportunely or not, it was better for us to remain
quiet with such a fleet as we had; that our fleet would be increased
by the galleon expected from Macan, and by those which were being
built in these islands, all of which ships combined would be force
enough for next year; and besides this, the enemy had gained nothing,
but rather had lost, through the expenses which he had incurred in
maintaining a fleet so many months without recompense. This opinion
prevailed, whereupon the matter was dropped and the fleet became idle;
when, behold, mere goes forth a false report that the enemy is in
these islands plundering the ships that come from China. Everything
is again in commotion; the fleet again prepares itself, and goes out
in the morning; but the truth becomes known that there is no enemy,
and the fleet is quiet again. The basis of this false rumor was the
fact that the enemy went toward the coast of China to plunder, and
one day encountering a Chinese ship going to Japon, robbed it. The
Chinese vessel came to these islands to seek aid; and at once arises
the outcry that it must have been robbed in the Philipinas, and that
there must be enemies here. The truth is confirmed by the fact that
at this time a Portuguese ship came from Macan, but in all this coast
encountered not a single Hollander.
It may be considered as certain that the enemy lost a large vessel
with people and cargo in a severe storm. The foundation for this
opinion is the fact that some days ago a mass of wreckage, such as
maintop-sails, rigging, masts, etc., was found in the place where
the Hollanders have been.
A ship came from China and reported that one day, after having
left that country, it encountered four ships which pursued it; and
that early in the evening one of them was gaining on it. The Chinese
captain, who knew of some shoals near by, steered toward them, in order
to go around them. The Hollanders, thinking that the captain was trying
to escape to leeward, also steered in that direction, and at nightfall
ran aground on the shoals. The Chinese heard many guns fired; but,
without seeing or knowing more, came to Philipinas and gave the news.
Dated at Manila, July 12, 1619.
LETTER FROM PEDRO DE ARCE TO FELIPE III
[_Marginal note at beginning_: "_That the governor there, Don Alonso
Fajardo, attends with great assiduity to whatever concerns the service
of his Majesty; and he has gained experience by the construction of
the ships that he has built from the time of his arrival in those
islands, so that the enemy has not dared await him. If he were to be
aided with some fleet sent to him, very good results would follow_."]
Sire:
Don Alonso Fajardo, governor of these islands, will relate fully
to your Majesty the present condition of their temporal affairs. He
attends with peculiar care to whatever concerns the service of your
Majesty, as has been seen in the construction of the ships that he has
built since his arrival in these islands. Had he not been so assiduous
in that, the enemy who came to this bay and coast of Manila would have
committed very great depredations. But since the enemy saw that the
governor was getting ready very promptly, they thought it best to go
away and not wait. He is a gentleman very zealous for the service of
your Majesty, and one who serves your Majesty with special and very
disinterested love and affection. I think that, if your Majesty will
aid him with some fleet, he will, with that and what he has here,
accomplish great results in your Majesty's service. But the fleet here
is insufficient to root out the enemy. Will your Majesty be pleased to
send the aid which has for so many years been asked from your Majesty;
for the profit that will accrue to your Majesty is vast in both the
spiritual and the temporal.
[_In the margin_: "It is well."]
[_Marginal note_: "He asks that his resignation of that bishopric be
accepted, and that a certain income be granted him on which to live."]
Last year I wrote your Majesty requesting you to be pleased to accept
my resignation from my bishopric, and I send the same request in this
letter to your Majesty; for I am worn out, and it is advisable for
the security of my conscience--your Majesty granting me the favor to
give me the means for my support, so far as that may not be in your
royal treasury, because of the great difficulty of collecting from
it. [_In the margin_: "It is provided for."]
[_Marginal note_: "That Admiral Pedro de Eredia is coming to this
court to report on the condition of those islands; and, since he is
one who knows them thoroughly by experience, and is zealous in your
Majesty's service, credit can be given to what he says."]
Admiral Pedro de Heredia is going to that court of your Majesty
to report the affairs of these islands. He is a person on whose
word your Majesty can rely, as he is a man of great integrity and
greatly devoted to your Majesty's service. He is experienced by sea
and by land in these islands and in the Malucas, where he has served
your Majesty a long time. He was the one who captured General Pablo
Brancal [_i.e._, van Caerden], in those same Malucas Islands. He burned
another of the enemy's ships in Playa Honda, and defeated the enemy's
almiranta in the expedition made by Don Juan de Silba; while in Don
Juan Ronquillo's expedition he captured the almiranta, but let it go,
in order that his own ship might not be burnt. He is one to whom your
Majesty may entrust any undertaking of importance, because of his great
courage and his devotion to your Majesty's service. He is deserving
of whatever favor your Majesty may be pleased to bestow upon him.
[_In the margin_: "It is well."]
[_Marginal note_: "That by the death of Don Juan de Aguilar, who was
precentor of the church of Manila, the governor appointed Don Miguel
Garcetas to that prebend, who by his qualities deserves to have the
appointment confirmed."]
Because of the death of Don Juan de Aguilar, who was precentor of this
holy church of Manila, the governor appointed Licentiate Don Miguel
Garcetas to the same prebend. He came to these islands many years
ago, and has held appointments of honor in them. He was treasurer
of the holy church of Zebu, the chief church of that bishopric, and
canon of this church of Manila; and is a man of good qualities and
of good morals. He merits your Majesty's granting him as a favor the
appointment he now holds, and greater favors.
[_In the margin_: "It is well."]
[_Marginal note_: "In approbation of Christoval Ramires de Cartagena,
chaplain of the Audiencia."]
In this city of Manila lives a respectable ecclesiastic, one Christoval
Ramires de Cartagena, who of the many years since he came to these
regions has been several minister in the islands of Pintados. For many
years he has been chaplain of the royal Audiencia. While a layman
he served your Majesty in the army; and since becoming a priest he
has done the same. He merits honor from your Majesty, and favors in
remuneration for his many services,
[_In the margin_: "It is well."]
[_Marginal note_: "That the church of Cebu is in great need of
ornaments and of repairs. He asks that your Majesty grant it some
income, as has been requested at other times; and a cabildo with
income, or some chaplains to serve it, for the divine offices are
not suitably celebrated there."]
I have often petitioned your Majesty to have the goodness to grant
some income to the church of Zebu for ornaments and repairs, of which
it has daily need; and to give it a cabildo with income; and if there
should be no occasion for that, to supply it with some chaplains to
serve it, for it lacks everything. The divine offices are celebrated
very unsuitably, which the natives, both Christians and infidels,
cannot fail to observe. May your Majesty for the love of God remedy
this. [_In the margin_: "Have the governor, Audiencia, and royal
officials investigate."]
[_Marginal note_: "That it is advisable to show favor to this cabildo
of Manila, so that in case of the death of the prelate, it may govern;
as it contains competent persons; and because inconveniences result
from the senior bishop coming to do this, as has been represented on
other occasions."]
I have also advised your Majesty--perceiving it, and, knowing by
experience--that it is advisable to concede to this cabildo of Manila
that it shall govern in case the prelate die; because it has persons
of sufficient rank and ability for the said government. Besides,
many difficulties exist in the senior bishop coming to govern, as he
has no person to leave who is competent to direct his bishopric--as
I have experienced at this time, while I have been governing this
archbishopric of Manila, by brief of his Holiness and your Majesty's
decree.
[_In the margin_: "It is well, and what is advisable will be
provided."]
[_Marginal note_: "That it has been heard that the fathers of the
Society are urging that the orders in Japon shall depart thence;
but that it is not advisable that this be done, because of the great
harvest of souls that they have gathered, and are now obtaining,
through their instruction. [He also says] that it will be to our
Lord's service to have the consecration of father Fray Luis Otelo take
effect, since the bishop of the western part is already consecrated;
and since the king of Boso, although an infidel, is well affected to
the Christians, and the two bishops are widely separated."]
It has been heard here that the fathers of the Society are making
strenuous efforts to have the orders leave Japon. That is not at all
advisable, because of the very abundant harvest of souls that they have
gathered, and are gathering, through their instruction and example,
even giving their lives for the welfare of these souls. Accordingly,
I think it advisable for your Majesty to protect this cause, for
thereby will your Majesty perform the greatest service to our Lord. I
think it will also be to His service if the consecration of father
Fray Luis Sotelo take effect, since the other bishop, the one of
the western part, is now consecrated. I am moved to say this because
the king of Bozo, [80] although an infidel, is well affected to the
Christian religious, and has some in his kingdom. That kingdom is
very distant from those regions where the other bishop lives. It will
be advantageous to this community of Manila, for they will be able to
trade and traffic in those districts, and get food and other necessary
supplies from them for your Majesty's fleets. Nothing else occurs to
me of which to advise your Majesty, except that may our Lord preserve
for many long years the Catholic and royal person of your Majesty for
the defense and protection of His holy Church. Manila, July 30, 1619
[_sic._]
_Fray Pedro_, bishop of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus.
[_Endorsed on back_: "Seen and decreed within."]
[_In the margin_: "Have a copy of this clause sent to the governor,
as to what pertains to the religious leaving Japon, so that he
may investigate it. What is advisable in the other matters will
be provided."]
[Appended to this document is the following:]
_Testimony of the resolution by the royal officials Ordinance._
I, Gaspar Alvarez, scrivener-in-chief of the administrative and war
departments of these Philipinas Islands for the king our sovereign, do
certify truthfully to all who may see this present that, in a general
meeting held by the president and auditors of the royal Audiencia and
Chancillería of these islands for the government, together with the
fiscal of his Majesty and the judicial officials of the royal treasury
of the islands, on the fifth of this present month and year of the
date of this present, among certain matters and questions discussed
and determined in the said meeting, was the following.
In the city of Manila, on the fifth day of the month of August, one
thousand six hundred and sixteen, Licentiate Andres de Alcarez, senior
auditor of the royal Audiencia of these islands, who exercises the
duties of president and captain-general of them, while in the houses
where the Audiencia resides, called a treasury meeting to discuss
matters advisable for the service of his Majesty. Licentiate Manuel
de Madrid y Luna, Don Juan de Alvarado Bracamonte, auditor and fiscal
[respectively], in the royal Audiencia, and the royal officials of
the royal treasury--namely, Captain Pedro de Saldiernos Demariaca,
factor; Juan Saez de Hegoen, inspector; and Alonso de Espinosa Saravia,
accountant--having attended it, and being thus assembled before me,
the present scrivener of the administrative and war departments,
he proposed the following.
_Petition._ A petition was read from Don Fray Pedro de Arce, bishop
of the city of Zibu, and governor of this archbishopric, which was
of the following tenor. "Most potent Sire: I, Don Fray Pedro de Arce,
bishop of the city of Sanctisimo Nombre de Jesus, and governor of this
archbishopric by virtue of a brief of our very holy Father Paul Fifth,
and a decree of the royal person of your Highness, declare that,
in order to obey the said orders and fulfil my obligations in the
common welfare of this archbishopric, I have come to this capital,
and have left the comfort of a house that I had built, in the said
city of Zebu, and have established myself with greater obligations
for expenses in house and servants, in order to sustain some little
of the greatness due the honor of the archiepiscopal dignity. I
represent, as is well known to your Highness, that the expenses of
this capital are excessive, for the rent of a moderate-sized house
costs more than three hundred pesos and the ordinary food is very
dear. For these reasons and others, well known to your Highness,
and because the duties of the ministry are not lessened by the said
government, it is in accord with justice that, since I bear the weight
and obligations of archbishop, I be granted the salary assigned to his
person. Therefore, I beg and petition your Highness to have the said
grace conceded to me, in fulfilment of the said will of his Holiness
and the royal person of your Highness. I ask for justice.
_Fray Pedro_, bishop of Sanctisimo Nombre de Jesus."
_Resolution._ Having heard and examined the said proposition, and
discussed and conferred as to what should be done, all unanimously
and in accord, with one determination and sentiment, resolved, in
respect to what the said bishop Don Fray Pedro de Arce petitions, that,
inasmuch as he must reside in this city and archbishopric, if he fulfil
his obligations to govern it, and must have a house and servants, and
the other things required by his dignity; and inasmuch as he cannot
do this with the salary of five hundred thousand maravedis that he
receives in his bishopric: therefore the third part of the salary
received and enjoyed by the archbishop Don Diego Vazquez de Mercado
shall be assigned to him. He shall enjoy it from the day when he shall
show by authentic testimony that he took possession in this city of the
government of the said archbishopric. The official judges of the royal
treasury shall grant warrants for, and pay to him, the third of the
said salary, according to and as it was paid to the said archbishop,
during the full time of his governorship of this archbishopric. That
shall be received from them and placed on the accounts of the said
royal official judges. Licentiate Andres de Alcazar, Licentiate
Manuel de Madrid y Luna, Licentiate Don Juan de Alvarado Bracamonte,
Pedro de Caldiernos de Mariaca, Juan Saez de Hegoen, and Alonso de
Espinosa Saravia affixed their signatures. Before me:
_Gaspar Alvares_
According as is manifest by the abovesaid and as appears by the
said original meeting, which is in the book of minutes and meetings
of the treasury, which is in my office, and on leaves one hundred
and eighteen and one hundred and nineteen of it, to which I refer,
and by petition of his Lordship, the said bishop, I gave the present
in Manila, August eleven, one thousand six hundred and sixteen. As
witness at its drawing and revision were Christoval Martin Franco
and Joan Vazquez de Mercado, citizens of this said city.
_Gaspar Alvares_
As is manifest and appears from the original testimony, that remained
in the possession of the reverend Don Fray Pedro de Arce, with which
it was corrected and collated, and is issued actually and really
corrected and collated, and on petition of the said reverend person,
I gave the present in the city of Manila, on the twenty-fifth day of
the month of August, one thousand six hundred and sixteen, witnesses
being Christoval de Saavedra, Blas de Rrosales, and Andres Estevan,
citizens and residents of Manila.
Therefore I affixed my seal in testimony of right. Gratis.
_Pedro de Valdes_, notary-public.
We, the undersigned notaries, testify that Pedro de Valdes, by whom
this testimony seems to be sealed and signed, is a notary-public of the
number [81] of this city of Manila, and that entire credence has been,
and is, given, in and out of court, to the writs and acts that have
passed, and pass, before him. Given in Manila, August twenty-five,
one thousand six hundred and sixteen.
_Diego de Rueda_, notary.
_Juan de Cabrera_, royal notary.
_Sebastian Samer_, his Majesty's notary.
Sire:
Don Pedro de Arce, bishop of Cibu, declares that his predecessor,
Don Pedro de Agurto, first bishop of that province, appointed and
named canons and dignidades, although without any stipend, to serve
in his cathedral church, without your Majesty's order. By his death
the said canons and dignidades claimed the right to govern in the
vacant see of the said bishopric; while the archbishop of Manila also
claimed the right to place a government there himself. Since many
opposing ideas have been expressed among the theologians regarding
this matter, I supplicate your Majesty to have the goodness to order
what procedure must be observed in this, and whether such canons and
dignidades constitute and hold the force of a cabildo, or not, so
that, at any event, suits and dissensions may be avoided; and it will
receive favor. [_In the margin_: "Have all the documents that bear
upon this argument collected, and have the fiscal examine them all,
and let action be taken according to his declaration. May 4, 619."]
The fiscal declares that no other papers than this petition were
brought to him. So far as can be judged from this statement alone,
those who are referred to as canons and dignidades are not such, nor
can they be such. In order to determine what further measures it it
advisable to take, it is necessary that the governor and archbishop
of Manila investigate the matter. Madrid, May 28, 1619.
As the fiscal says, and until they investigate, let a decree be framed
ordering what the bishops must observe in appointing the canons,
when they are not appointed by his Majesty and a cabildo is not
formed. June first, 619.
Sire:
Don Fray Pedro de Arce, bishop of the city of Cibu, in the Filipinas
Islands, declares that, at your Majesty's order, and for the welfare
of his Lord, he came to govern the archbishopric of Manila because
of the death of the archbishop, Don Diego Vazquez de Mercado; and
inasmuch as the stipend given us by your Majesty is slight, and we
have to keep a house and servants in that city with suitable dignity
and propriety, he laid a petition before your royal Audiencia of those
islands, which was then governing, asking that he be given the stipend
given to the archbishop. Having called a meeting of the treasury, as
your Majesty commands by your royal decrees, they voted to give him,
as a gratification, the third part of the salary given the archbishop,
as appears by the testimony that he presents. He petitions your Majesty
to grant him the grace, because of his many expenses there, to confirm
that action, so that the royal officials who shall pay it shall not
be responsible for those expenses; and thereby he will receive favor.
[_Endorsed:_ "Have the fiscal examine it. May 4, 1619."]
The fiscal declares that, although the Audiencia and council of
the treasury could not do this, and although they petitioned it,
they ought to declare that it was to be understood if confirmed by
the Council. Their motive may be found just; and did it appear so to
the Council, then they might approve and confirm it. Madrid, May 28,
1619. [_In the margin_: "Let a decree be despatched in accordance
with the fiscal's declaration. June first, 1619."]
LETTER FROM ALONSO FAJARDO DE TENZA TO FELIPE III
Sire:
In the vessels that I despatched from this bay to Nueva España last
year on the tenth of August, I informed your Majesty of my voyage
and arrival, and of the condition in which I found this country. By
way of Portuguese Yndia I did the same in December of the said year,
adding then what was new. What news I can now give is that, thanks to
God, the said ships reached here on the return voyage on the third of
this month, after a long trip of three and one-half months--and on the
outward trip, the smaller ship spent less than four months, and the
larger seven days more [than four months]. They have been among the
most fortunate ships seen here. Glory be to His Divine Majesty for
everything. These ships have brought two companies with one hundred
and twenty-four volunteer soldiers together, thirty-four sentenced
by justice to serve in these districts, thirty-two convicts for the
galleys, three hundred and seventy-eight thousand five hundred and
eighty-six eight-real pesos, in reals and in bars of silver, also arms,
military stores, and other necessary supplies for the use of these
strongholds and warehouses. Although the troops and money do not equal
what was asked from here--nor what is extremely necessary, because of
the very stringent need here of both men and money--according to what
I have heard of the difficulty in collecting this aid, and the labor
that it cost the viceroy of those provinces to expedite and send it,
he is greatly to be praised for it. I am under obligations to him;
but I find myself also obliged to entreat your Majesty to have him
urged in vigorous terms, saying that you consider yourself served
thereby, and to order him to continue it, doing the utmost possible
in the reënforcements asked from here. He should also be asked to
furnish those reënforcements in the same manner, in those years when
ships do not reach Acapulco from these islands because of having to
put back into port in distress, or from any other forced cause that
prevents their voyage; for it is certain that even if no ship arrive
there, the despatch [from Nueva España] should not be discontinued,
because of its vast importance for the welfare of this community,
and in order to bring provisions and reënforcements, as is usual and
necessary. However much the viceroy be urged on, this country will
not have what it needs, until your Majesty be pleased to have sent
here the reënforcement of the fleet that was promised--adding to the
men and ordering it to be provided with sufficient money for their
sustenance and the execution of what must be done with the fleet. I
trust in our Lord that, if it reach here safely, it will give us very
good results. I offer on my part to procure those good results with
its aid, as far as possible. I shall not again mention in detail the
reasons existing as to why your Majesty should send us this aid, as
they have been written so often by so many men, and are so evident
and well known; and in order to conquer or conserve, or to make war
in any manner, that reënforcement and money are needed. As there is
so great a need of both these things and of small boats, as I wrote
your Majesty in those letters that you acknowledged, I heard that
the rebels of Olanda were coming to these islands with fourteen ships
and a number of caracoas. These latter are the craft of our enemies
of Mindanao, and they do the most harm to these natives. Although
it appeared impossible to make sufficient preparation to resist them
and prevent the depredations which were to be feared from so large a
squadron, I resolved to exert my utmost efforts in order to attend to
our defense, notwithstanding my lack of all things necessary for it
that should have been sent me. Almost at the same time as the news,
arrived the rebels. They had only five ships with high freeboard, to
which were added two others, also large ones, a part of four vessels
that we heard were to come from Japon--according to what was learned
from that kingdom through the fathers of the Society, and by way of
Terrenate, and from some prisoners captured along this coast, not far
from here. The latter, landing in order to reconnoiter the country,
so that they might land some Dutchmen on it, fell into the hands
of a company that I had placed in ambush with the great desire to
gather information and learn the designs of the enemy. In short, it
was learned from those advices, and especially from those from Japon,
that not only was it their intention to pillage the ships from China
(whence proceeds the commerce that sustains this island) and commit
the depredations of former years, but also to await the vessels from
Nueva España, in order at once to conclude and finish everything. That
obliged me to make the night day with my continual toil, so that
the Spaniards who were scattered throughout these islands might be
prepared and collected; and artillery cast, which was lacking to
me for what was necessary (even a place where I could get the metal
and the alloy). Then the workmen on two ships, the construction of
which had been ordered, had to be urged to greater haste and all that
was necessary supplied, so that either one or both of them could be
finished in time to serve on the occasion then presented; and a ship
of moderate size, which was the only one I found in this bay when I
entered it, had to be repaired. The latter was so old that it was
necessary almost to rebuild it. Also I did the same with a small
patache and the galleon in which I came, and the Japanese vessel
which also came with me from Nueva España. It needed not a little
repair, and gave me a great deal of trouble with its owners, so that
they should lend it. But finally they lent it, and now I have had it
bought at a very cheap price. With it, and one of the new ones which
were finished in time (which is the one now about to sail to Nueva
España), and those above mentioned, and another new patache which I
had finished from the bottom up--all together, they comprised two
large vessels, two moderate-sized vessels, two pataches, and four
galleys. They were repaired, and manned in great part with borrowed
slaves and Dutch prisoners (for the Dutch inflict upon the Spaniards
the worst of treatment). While this fleet was so far advanced that
it could sail and fight in a few days afterward, the rebels entered
for the last time into this bay, a thing which they had done eight
times before. After staying a long time in the mouth of the bay,
and seeing it prepared, and some craft ready and filled with men, it
appears that they did not choose to try our arms or tempt fortune;
for they sailed away and left their position, and went farther up
the coast, until they passed the cape of Bolinao [82]--a district
where they thought they would be safe from us, because we could not
go there at that season without evident danger of being unable to
return to this bay, because of having no longer a port to leeward,
save those of Japon, where they have their factories. As soon as
they left here, I sent some light craft after their ships, in order
to ascertain where they were going, and to return to me with the
information, being resolved to go in pursuit of them, and finishing
my preparations for it. The news which was soon brought me was that,
after taking the open sea, a storm struck them. According to that
news, and the report by some Chinese of a junk that was plundered,
and signs that were seen along the said coast, the enemy lost one of
their largest ships on that coast. These Chinese met them on their
way to Japon, so that they abandoned the islands. Although I should
be better satisfied had my toil and ardent desire been employed in
fighting and attaining some good result, with God's help, still I have
also enjoyed great happiness and give His Divine Majesty many thanks
because our vessels have arrived here, and those of the Dutch have
received less gain than loss, and have caused no considerable loss
[to us]. Likewise the despatches that I sent to China were important
for that, in which I advised the Sangleys when and where not to come,
and when and where they could come. I also sent an order and money to
Macan to buy a ship of more than medium size, which was there, from
the chief commandant of that city. According to the letters in which I
have been answered, the ship can arrive here soon. With it, those that
I have here, the other new one (which is now finished), and an _urca_
[83] sent me by the viceroy of Yndia, I shall have seven vessels,
counting larger and medium-sized ones, besides the large one and one
patache which are about to sail to Nueva España, which can direct a
good artillery fire. To them I shall add some artillery recast from
burst pieces which, for lack of alloy that I sent to buy at Malaca,
and which has now arrived, were not cast before. With this, I shall
endeavor to get ready as soon as possible, for whatever time the enemy
may come, or for whatever decision may be made, according to advices
that we shall have of the enemy, and the measures that shall appear
to be most advisable for your Majesty's service. The viceroy of Yndia
sent me the urca above mentioned, after I had sent him a despatch with
the letters that should be sent your Majesty from there, begging him to
send me for next year, and for the occasion that can be expected in it,
some ships with sailors and soldiers, equipped and manned. I also sent
money and an order that, if any good or suitable ship be found, it be
bought; or that they should contract to have one or two built wherever
most convenient--or in Cochin, because the wood is harder than that of
this island. Don Diego Christino, chief commandant of that city, was
charged with it. According to the reply of Captain Gregorio de Vidaño,
whom I sent for that purpose, brought to me in the report that he has
made me of the affairs of Yndia, it seems that that state is in need
of reinforcements and special aid, as are we in this state of ours;
only we, although few, are living in comfort, God be thanked, and
if not with many forces, we are prepared and alert. Accordingly he
returned with the said urca which the viceroy gave him. The latter
sent me many offers of friendly offices in what might occur, and
such as should be possible for him, with expressions of very great
goodwill. I have believed them, for he is so gallant a gentleman,
as is currently reported. However, I doubt their practical results,
and would not like to find his aid necessary; for one can imagine
that the inhabitants of that state would put difficulties in the way
of it. That has already been demonstrated by experience. According
to the little that can be hoped from India, and of what they write
from Nueva España regarding the exhaustion of that country, and the
impossibility of getting from it any of the reënforcements necessary
in this country--as is evident from the so meager aid that has come
here--the sending by your Majesty of the fleet that you have offered
to these islands becomes unavoidable. You should see that the infantry
contingent be in excess of two thousand men; that the contingent of
sailors and artillerymen reach nine hundred--embarking them in such
vessels as can come with comfort. It should be noted that ships for
these regions and for the journey from España must not be less than
five hundred toneladas, nor much greater than six hundred. Vessels of
this burden, if new and strong, will be of very great service both
for war and for trade and commerce with Nueva España; and each one
will be assigned to the use most fitting to it, in accordance with its
build. And if they carry efficient troops and artillery, a quantity of
anchors and cables, capable commanders and sailors, and an order that
the money for their sustenance be provided, they will be very welcome,
whatever may be their fashion and build, as the restoration of this
country will be certain. This is the only remedy hoped for. I have
sent reënforcements of food, money, and other things, to the forts of
Terrenate, with which, according to the advices received from that
island, they are sufficiently provided until the regular time comes
again to send them help, as it is the usual custom to do. When that
time expires, which now is just the opposite of this voyage [i.e. to
Nueva España], I shall try, with God's help, to send, together with the
ordinary help, two companies of infantry, with some other soldiers of
those who have come this year from Nueva España. If I can increase it
to a greater number, I shall do so, by changing some of the soldiers
who have been there so many years, and leaving those that shall be
necessary for the defense of those forts. I shall also try to send
two galleys, as galleys are more important among those islands than
among any other parts of the islands of this region. I would already
have sent those soldiers, if the season had not hindered, after the
Dutch had left here; and until then it was impossible to divide the
forces which were being collected to oppose them.
I have had many loud complaints from the forts of Terrenate, written
by religious and laymen, of the governor there, Lucas de Bergara
Gaviria--not only of his asperity and harsh government, but of his lack
of balance in other things. Since these complaints were so numerous,
I was obliged to get the opinion and resolution of the members of
this royal Audiencía; but at the same time came letters from Lucas de
Bergara Gaviria, asking permission to resign his post. Consequently
I was forced to seek some one to go there. After nominating for
that post the master-of-camp, Don Geronimo de Silba, as one to whom
your Majesty had entrusted that government, he excused himself from
going there, with arguments that he advanced for it. Accordingly
the master-of-camp, Don Luis de Bracamonte, was appointed in his
stead. Although I consider the latter a man of so good qualities,
that I know of no one here who is better than he, still--both because
he goes with little desire to stay there (as he shows), and because
the choice of the one who must go to those islands will be very much
better if made by your Majesty's Council--I beg you to be pleased to
have the choice made, and to order that the person appointed for it
go immediately to discharge his duties.
I do not altogether believe what is said and written about Lucas de
Bergara Gaviria, as this is a country where accusation is practiced
considerably, and even the giving of false testimonies; and in this
way some men make themselves feared. Such men have even obtained in
that way what they have not merited by other and lawful means. And
notwithstanding that in the long time that elapses before the truth
is established, the rival suffers, there is no one who will not
[finally] bear the stigma [of his wrongdoing], and especially if any
religious are dissatisfied. In such cases, there is nothing to do but
keep patient, and to pray God for a remedy, for it is the most cruel
persecution that is suffered. Seldom is a man so fortunate that with
but little to give he can satisfy many claimants. As each one tries
to favor his own client or clients, they all resent any other being
preferred to them; and their eagerness or partiality does not allow
the advantage of merits to be recognized, even if it be known. A
good example of this was seen during the term of the good governor,
Don Juan de Silba, who was discussed quite differently in writing
and in the pulpits than he deserved. Consequently, by having heard
these reports, I have resolved not to believe those which have been
written of Bergara; but when the investigation that I ordered to be
made comes, I shall advise your Majesty of what shall be considered
as true, so that you may enact what is most fitting for your service.
I have not heard other Maluco news with the certainty that I may
affirm it. However, those items that are considered most certain are,
that the Dutch have a great number of ships, and although not more than
enough men, they still have sufficient for them; and the number of men
cannot be small if they can man the ships after leaving the necessary
men in their forts and factories. Of this and other details of their
and our forts, a long relation is given by Captain and Sargento-mayor
Alonso Martin Quirante (who is one of the most trustworthy soldiers
and one of the most experienced in those regions), so that it may be
sent to your Majesty with this letter.
The English who go within range of the Flemish factories are
having fierce engagements and wars with them, according to the news
received. It has been learned from some that they [i.e., the English]
wish to ally themselves with us, so that we may together attack the
Flemish. Although I am not in relations with those people, they pledge
that those who do not confederate with them they will not fail to
regard as enemies. Meanwhile, there is no permission from your Majesty
to trade here; nor do they render the submission due, and which should
be assigned to them. Still, so that we may proceed in the service of
your Majesty with greater certainty, I entreat that you will have sent
to me the order that I am to observe in this, as well as toward some
Dutch prisoners who are here; it does not seem proper for me to put
them to death, as that would be in so cold blood, and it is even less
so to trust in those who desire liberty for themselves and evil for us.
The king of Terrenate is also a prisoner here, and is causing expense
to your Majesty, and anxiety to those who guard him. In my opinion,
I do not know whether he can do us more harm, if he was in his own
country, than that which his son is causing us, who possesses the
country and has allied himself with the Dutch. On the other hand,
the king might cause revolt among themselves and their vassals, if
he tried to dispossess his son of the government, since the king is
so offended and so angered as he is with the ill-treatment that he
has experienced from his son. Will your Majesty ascertain what is
most to your service in this, and order me accordingly.
I have been unable to make any investigation in the loss of the six
galleons that had occurred when I reached this country, of which I
immediately informed your Majesty. For, as Don Geronimo de Silba would
have to be blamed for it, as the one who was captain-general on sea
and land, and in the event of his acquittal, the blame must fall upon
another, or he would remain guilty; and inasmuch as he is protected by
the judge conservator with bulls from his order (that of St. John),
to which likewise is joined the assertion that an order from your
Majesty is necessary to make that investigation: for that reason, I
have been unable to investigate it fully and specifically, but 1 shall
fulfil whatever your Majesty shall command, on the arrival of those
orders. If now I should try to make any investigation I could not do
so, as I have heard so much different talk about it. In my opinion
such and greater disasters may happen, without any blame resting
on those who give the orders, or on those who execute them. Many
such disasters have been seen to occur, thus in the sea, when it is
excited by any violent storm--and more, since it is among islands,
where there is no place for the ships to run free.
Don Geronimo de Silba has petitioned me to appoint him to the office
of captain-general of the artillery, with the officials and assignment
that it has in other districts. That has been refused him, inasmuch as
there is nothing here for which or with which to add that expense. If
I gave him the title, it was rather to fulfil your Majesty's decree
ordering it, than by any necessity of there being such an office. He
is also talking of a journey to that court, if your Majesty will be
pleased to grant him permission.
I petition your Majesty to appoint, for the third person who serves,
one of such qualities and characteristics that he can succeed to
this government, if a person for that should be lacking, and to the
presidency, in case that your Majesty does not now wish the Audiencia
to succeed to everything; for if they always avoid having more than
one head, your Majesty's service will fare better--and of that we have
already had experience here, as in other regions. For the same reasons
it would be advisable for such a person to be governor of Terrenate,
and even the castellan of this castle; even if he should not have
to serve for more than his duties there, and with his counsels,
your Majesty would be excellently served. With that intention I have
proposed to your Majesty the persons whom I know, in my opinion,
to be suitable. Likewise other persons should be sent me for other
purposes, chiefly for clerkships [_officios de la pluma_] and for the
administration of the royal treasury. They should have been reared in
a good school and have exhibited good qualities; and they should be of
no other [than the clerical] class, because of the great importance
of efficient care, method, and system in the handling of papers and
accounts. That care and system signifies much in such employment,
and even more when it is lacking, since a deficiency therein is more
grievous. Inasmuch as the accountant, Francisco Lopez Tamayo, left the
department of accounts because of his advanced age and his ill-health,
I appointed Pedro de Lensarra as accountant in his stead. He came
in the caravels with Ruy Gonzalez de Sequeyra. I appointed him here
for this purpose for I thought him a man just and intelligent in
the matter, according to what I have hitherto been able to learn;
and I made more of his good qualities than of the jealousy exhibited
toward him by some, who call him a criminal and blasphemer--but I
am not surprised that it is rather unusual here to praise any person
very highly. What I can say of him is that the way in which he fills
his office has not as yet displeased me. On account of his report to
me and that of the royal officials, in response to an order of mine
issued for the correction of certain abuses, which I shall mention
below, I instituted a reform in them as follows.
During the term of my predecessor a meeting was held by the president,
auditors, and royal officials then in office (some of whom still hold
their offices). In that meeting reasons were given, with precedents
and instances, that were deemed sufficient for them to resolve to
distribute among themselves and other officials of the Audiencia,
and the archbishop of this church, three thousand five hundred fanegas
of rice, at the price at which the grain is furnished as tributes to
your Majesty. Since I saw that there was no royal order for it from
you, and that no approbation of the resolution had come in so long an
interval; and considering that that quantity, and much more which is
added to it, is bought on the account of the royal treasury for the
ordinary expenses and rations furnished by the royal treasury, which
makes an assessment among the Indians in order to get it, and that
your Majesty pays for what we take, at the rate of four reals, and
at times four pesos--but more often without paying the poor Indians,
because [the treasury] has not the wherewithal; [and considering that]
for that reason of not giving those Indians the money and of the loss
suffered by them--who, in order to comply with the assessment, have
to buy at much dearer rates--not only resulted the harm in the loss of
the money, but sometimes loss of liberty to some, as they have become
slaves because of it: therefore, in order to reform so great an evil,
I have enacted that this rice should not continue to be given to us,
and that what has been received be restored, unless your Majesty
shall order otherwise. [84] I have enacted the same in regard to
four hundred pesos that were ordered to be given to the government
secretary every year, by a similar meeting of the royal treasury,
and excusing him from securing your Majesty's confirmation. Since
his office is such that he bought it for seventeen thousand pesos
at a time when it had no more perquisites than now, and not so many,
consequently, that increased salary will cease and the money withdrawn
on this account from the royal treasury will be returned to it. I have
ordered that the money which is generally removed from the division of
the accounts of probated estates [_bienes de difuntos_] here to that
of Mexico, without any benefit from their property for the souls of
the deceased or for the heirs, when distributed or invested by order
of the judge of those estates [i.e., probate judge] shall be placed
in this royal treasury. The necessary vouchers shall be given, so
that an amount equal thereto may be delivered to the division of the
accounts of probated property in that city from the money that has
to be sent from the treasury of Mexico on your Majesty's account to
this treasury here. Thus will be avoided the expense of carrying that
money to the port and the danger of the sea, while it has even greater
conveniences, without any hurt to the heirs. And although it appears
so just, as will be learned from it, persons have not been lacking to
resent the limiting and lessening of the handling of the money. In
regard to the accounts of the alms from the bulls I would do the
same, if the agreements and conditions of their collection allowed,
as it would have the same convenience as the aforesaid procedure,
and would prove a very great blessing to the inhabitants of this
community, by obviating the investment of this money and the space
that it occupies in the vessels that carry it to Nueva España. Will
your Majesty be pleased to ascertain whatever is most to your service,
and that orders be given to me accordingly. In this matter, as in
those above, there are not wanting some to oppose it.
Licentiate Andres de Alcaraz, senior auditor of this royal Audiencia,
intended to depart this year with the vessels now about to leave
for Nueva España, but has deferred his departure both because of
his ill-health, from which he is recovering, and because I insisted
strenuously that he do not leave this Audiencia until the other
auditors of it become used to the despatch and customs of their
offices, and until they are more in harmony among themselves; for
since they are new men, and each one is self-confident in his own
capacity and sufficiency, they have had differences of opinion,
and partisans. Consequently for a year back there has been more
wrangling here, in suits in the Audiencia, than from the time it was
established. There would have been many more, had not Licentiate
Alcaraz, notwithstanding his many excuses and his advanced age,
been urged to attend it whenever possible, in order to avoid that
wrangling and the scandal resulting from it. He has endeavored to
bring them to agreement, a matter that caused him no little trouble,
and excused me from much, for finally the displeasure of those who
found that they could not do just as they wished, as it was not just,
has been shared between me and Licentiate Alcaraz. Concerning him,
I assure your Majesty that he is one of the discreet and sensible
judges in your service; and less than his going to take part in what
he deserves and in what can commend him to your Majesty's eyes, could
not console me at seeing him separated from me. For I do not know how
one who wishes to rule aright can have anything more to his taste than
such a counselor and one of so great experience in matters--such an
one whom, until now, I have been unable to have. And since I was so
assured of his good qualities, when I was about to embark in the fleet
to fight the Dutch fleet, I persuaded the said licentiate Alcaraz,
that if I died on that occasion, under no considerations was he to
forsake this country and the Audiencia until your Majesty should
have taken measures for all things. Although I gave clear reasons
for it, namely the long experience of the said licentiate Alcaraz
and other reasons, without thus touching on my distrust of the good
government of the other two auditors--although I could perhaps give
some different reason, if it were necessary--such was the spite that
those two exhibited toward us, that Licentiate Alcaraz tried to avoid
the charge of the government. At the end he conquered me and convinced
me to have Don Fray Miguel Garcia Serrano, archbishop elect of this
city, summoned to aid him in it; he was then absent from the city. The
latter is one in whom, besides his qualifications of devotion,
virtue, and learning, combine other qualities so good that they can
commend him for governments more important than this. Accordingly he
came to me at my request, and at the same entreaty he is staying,
and is daily putting me under new obligations to him, the greatest
of which is my seeing him so intent on and inclined to the service
of your Majesty, both in whatever pertains to his own office and
in what can aid me in mine. To conclude the account of what ensued
with the auditors--Licentiate Geronimo de Legaspi y Echabarria and
Doctor Don Albaro de Messa y Lugo--I shall say that whether for the
causes here written, or because of restraining them and trying to
reduce them to harmony and a desirable moderation; or because the
correction of justice is also overtaking the members of their families
(a matter on which I could debate by writing more); or, finally,
whether it be by deductions from these things (which I know not),
the two have so grudged their courtesies that they do not visit me
since I have come from outside--although I have been careful to go
to their houses oftener than was sufficient. Neither do their wives
visit mine. Will your Majesty be pleased to have them advised that
what they ought to do in this matter to another president than to me,
be not lacking to me. In other things, I shall manage with the fitting
mildness and delicacy, so that we all may proceed very conformably to
the service of your Majesty. I hope for this, for on my part there is
the desire and on theirs so many obligations. Very soon they will make
a trial of the obligations that they have in their offices. In order
not to neglect the fulfilment of my obligations and the discharge
of my conscience, I assure your Majesty that I do not consider it
advisable for your royal service that the present order be executed,
ruling that he who shall be senior auditor shall exercise the office
of captain-general because of the death of the governor; but [I
recommend] that, in case your Majesty should have appointed no person
for that purpose, the whole Audiencia, together with the archbishop,
shall appoint him, and the appointee shall remain subordinate to the
Audiencia, as are other captains-general, in the royal council of war:
Thus may be avoided the existence of two heads, which occurs with the
division of the departments of war and peace of the government, and
the great inconveniences that usually result from it. And according
to what I, as a Christian, believe, the inconveniences that could
be feared, were Licentiate Geronimo de Legazpi to take this office
(who in the event of the absence of Licentiate Andres de Alcaraz will
be senior auditor), would not be few; for as yet he is a person who
has not exhibited the capacity and qualities required for it. On the
contrary a certain incontinence has been noted in his morals. With
the scandal and bad example of that and certain inclinations in the
administration of justice, and complaints from persons to whom he
has failed to return money which he received from them to invest in
merchandise or to pay to them here, he has become as disreputable
as in other matters of his own private affairs. Since he allows one
of his sons, the eldest one here, called Don Atanasió de Legazpi,
to live so licentious a life, it is said of him that his father is
making amends for the fault of his son's bad rearing. He endures from
his son much disrespect, even fearing him and following his will in
unjust things. Hence it can be inferred that he who cannot govern
his own son will illy govern so many others. Further, with such a
counterpoise, and since this matter is so worthy of consideration,
and so important to the service of your Majesty, and since it is
not a matter on which I can take action here or which I can remedy,
I could not neglect reporting it to your Majesty, in order that you
may take those measures most suitable to your royal service.
Auditor Don Antonio Rodriguez de Villegas has just arrived in that
ship from Nueva España, but he is in so poor health that he cannot
attend the Audiencia except in any necessary case when Licentiate
Legazpi and Don Albaro must have a third person. At such times he is
requested to attend so that certain business may not be delayed. He
has given many signs of prudence, wisdom, and good intentions. That is
what hitherto we have been able to understand of him; and I promise
myself that his person will be of great service to your Majesty from
his good beginnings and the many good qualities that are found in him.
Licentiate Don Juan de Albarado Bracamonte, fiscal of this Audiencia,
has served in it and in the office of protector-general of the natives
and Sangleys of these islands, for eleven years, and, as I have thus
far understood, with great satisfaction and ability. He has ever
attended with peculiar care to the advancement of the preparation of
the fleets that have been prepared during that time, and to all other
matters of war and administration that have arisen. And according to
my good opinion of him, I would entrust to him even many more things
in matters touching your Majesty's service, and also with my own
affairs. As certain reports were made to me upon my arrival at these
islands last year, that were opposed to his method of procedure,
I endeavored to investigate them secretly and cautiously, and to
ascertain the truth concerning them. And although his duties are so
fitting and proper for the breeding of ill-will in those querulous
persons against whom he has prosecuted cases, or in his subordinates,
I have not found anything of importance that contradicts his rectitude
and integrity. Those are the qualities most to be esteemed in the
ministers of the Yndias. Consequently in consideration of his good
qualities, capacity, and skill, I regard him as deserving the grace
that your Majesty may be pleased to show him outside this Audiencia
in that of Mexico or Lima, in which I think that your Majesty will
be very well served.
A few days ago while I was in Cavite attending to the fleet which
I prepared for the purpose that I have related to your Majesty, Don
Fray Pedro de Arçe, bishop of the city of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus,
and governor of this archbishopric, advised me that he heard that
certain persons were losing the respect due the college of Santa
Potenciana, of which your Majesty is patron. I replied to him that
I would immediately come to this city to procure the most suitable
remedy. Although I did so immediately without loss of time, I found
that Licentiate Legazpi, resolving quickly upon such notice as he
had, entered the said college and began to make investigations. He
examined witnesses on whom he used tortures. Upon seeing this case
already in this state, and considering the scandal and dishonor of
that royal house and of the guilty persons, it was judged necessary
for want of another remedy more honorable and private, to punish the
criminals as an example. Accordingly, by employing great diligence,
I had them arrested; and the master-of-camp, Don Geronimo de Silba,
having judged one of them in the first instance, by name Captain
Juan Lemoedano, and sentenced him to the gallows, he appealed to me;
but I have not been able as yet to examine his case because of lack
of the time necessary for it. The case of another, namely, Captain
Don Fernando Becerra, against whom there is apparently less proof,
has not yet been sentenced by the said master-of-camp, for he is
yet hearing evidence in it. From the investigations of this, guilt
is found against Don Juan Manuel de la Vega, ex-commander of the
ships of this line to Nueva España (son of Doctor Manuel de la Vega,
ex-auditor of this Audiencia), whom, according to the sufficient proof,
I ought and do condemn to be beheaded and his head exposed to [public]
view, and to the loss of one-half of his property. Nor is there any
necessity, for this [severity], to collect the evidence in the suit
brought against him for the loss of the galleon "San Marcos." He
was commander of that vessel when Don Juan Ronquillo fought with the
fleet of these islands against that of the Dutch at Playa Honda. He
appealed from this sentence to the royal Audiencia, where the case is
now proceeding--very slowly, because of the superfluous justification
that he is presenting. This has been an affair where it is desirable to
manifest great rigor; for otherwise the other correction that I have
tried to apply for the honor and defense of this royal house will not
be sufficient. On the contrary it would be a damaging precedent, so
that others might follow similar acts of audacity. In what pertains
to me I shall always endeavor to do justice, although, with these
appeals, it is impossible to do it in time, or with the energy that
is necessary. Especially in war, and as is customary in it, is rigor
at times necessary, and without any delays. Much more is it needed in
this land than in others, as dissimulation and failure to punish are
so usual in it. Thence result many acts of lawlessness, disobedience,
and crime, which inflict great injuries. To restrict them, punishment
is necessary, and without it no good government can result, even in
peace, much less in war.
Certain doubts are wont to arise in the matter of jurisdictions,
and the Audiencia and I understand differently one of your Majesty's
decrees which treats of those doubts, which was issued at El Pardo,
November seventeen, six hundred and seventeen. In it your Majesty
orders that the master-of-camp try all causes, both criminal and
military, that touch the soldiers of the presidios, and the ordinary
pay of these islands; and also of the others who may not be ordinary
soldiers, if they shall have been levied for any purpose and have taken
arms in their hands. The appeals of all are to go to the governor
and captain-general. The Audiencia thinks that that should only be
understood in regard to those who may be levied and assigned pay
(as if, having that, there would be any difference between the recent
and the oldest levies), and not in regard to citizens when (because
of the absence of the regular infantry) they take up arms for the
guard of the city, or to go out in emergencies, as many are wont to
do. But I can not see how they could be ordered or how they would obey
with the punctuality that war demands, if the punishment of offenses,
disobedience, and other acts that are criminal in soldiers, were not
in charge of the military judges. In Ytalia and Flandes, the Spanish
soldiers have only one judge, namely, the commander of the army; for
although the masters-of-camp judge in the first instance in cases, that
is only exercised by them when away from the commander-in-chief. Will
your Majesty please order this matter to be examined and declare your
pleasure therein; also in what pertains to the soldiers of forts and
the other paid men in them, for I do not know whether your Majesty
has hitherto given the jurisdiction in the first instance to the
castellans by special decree. Likewise I do not know whether it has
been declared as to whom pertains the trial in the first instance of
the men in the galleys who have a general or lieutenant, or of their
soldiers; or to whom pertains the trial of those who are generally
added to and embarked on the galleys from the companies of this camp.
It is also necessary to know who shall try in the first instance the
sailors and officers of ships, and those who work at ship-trades,
inasmuch as they have no commander or admiral, nor any lieutenant
of mine, in such charge, to whom it is committed by any decree of
your Majesty. The same doubt exists in regard to the artillerymen,
who now have a general of the artillery, as your Majesty has ordered
one to be appointed; and if, when that office is lacking or suspended,
it [_i.e._, the right of trial in the first instance] is vested in
the lieutenant or captain of the artillery, as it was before. I
have written this so long and specific relation to your Majesty,
as I desire that you may in each and every thing order what is most
suitable for your service. [85]
I have found introduced here the custom that retired officers, upon
finding themselves without office, even though it be that of sergeant,
will not serve in the regular companies. Thence results a decided
inconvenience, for when a soldier has once become skilful and known
as a good man, and when he is admitted to greater obligations and made
an officer, upon leaving that office, not only are his services lost,
but even his person likewise, and he becomes corrupted, when outside of
military discipline. Consequently instead of the companies continuing
to increase their number of well-disciplined and old soldiers,
those who by excelling most and being the best soldiers have been
appointed officers, are daily leaving them, and there is a continual
lack of those particular persons who are the masters and patterns in
the companies for the new soldiers, of those who are trustworthy for
matters of importance and opportunity, and of those who are generally
the cause of the best results and the avoidance of ill. As causes for
not continuing their services in the regular companies, they assign
the fact that those retired are not given any preferments here, as
in other districts. Will your Majesty have considered the question of
whether it will be proper to give the usual additional pay in excess
of ordinary pay to retired officers who shall have served in their
offices in Flandes; and, before having those offices, the time set by
the ordinance that treats of it--even though it be not the additional
pay of Flandes, but that of España. By this method excellent soldiers
will be kept and your Majesty will be very well served.
It has been the custom to send presents and gifts at your Majesty's
cost from this place to the king of Japon and to certain private
persons, great vassals, and lords of the ports of that kingdom, every
year when a ship was sent to that country for the necessary commerce,
and the provisions which it sends to this country--inasmuch as it
is the fashion not to deliver an embassy or message without taking a
present. For some few years back we have neglected to send any. Some
religious persons zealous for the service of God our Lord, and for the
conversion of that nation and the salvation of its souls, and likewise
for the welfare of these islands, desiring to have them as our best
friends in all this archipelago, have considered and even say that it
is well known that those Japanese have considered the decrease of the
commerce, and attributed it to a disrespect for their friendship; and
that consequently they were bound by treaty to prefer now that of the
Dutch--whom they loved not a little, because they gave and continue
to give them rich presents from what they plunder, since these do
not cost them much. Having considered this matter and that there are
certain conveniences in having friendly relations with that country,
which has and gives to this country many necessary and useful things,
and where our ships which ply between here and Nueva España are liable
to put it in distress on both the outward and return trips when obliged
by contrary weather as has been already seen and experienced--and on
such occasions it has been important not to have them as enemies, for
then the Japanese have given the crews of our ships a good supply of
necessities, and have shown them a positive proof of good treatment in
not seizing the so great profits and wealth carried on the said ships;
likewise having considered the friendship that they have established
with the Dutch, and the persecution there indicted on Christians and
their ministers, the Spanish priests, who preach the holy gospel:
I have esteemed it advisable to give a report of the matter to your
Majesty, so that you may have it examined and considered, together
with the written reports of certain religious, experienced in those
regions, as well as that of the fiscal of this Audiencia, who also,
I am told, discusses it. Will you order the procedure most advisable
for your royal service.
I would not be fulfilling my obligations to the service of your
Majesty and to this land, unless I reported as to the faithfulness
of your Majesty's vassals here. For although it is true that this
region is a place of concourse, or a halting-place, for men of
different natures, qualities, and characteristics, who come here for
various purposes, many of which are not good, or are brought here,
and who leave their impress (and that not little) in extending their
vices--still there are, on the other hand, highly honorable and loyal
vassals, who attend to your Majesty's service with so great love and
willingness; and since the former comprise but the very least part of
the citizens of this city, who in all number less than five hundred,
not only did I find many who offered themselves and their servants to
take part in your royal service on the past occasion when the enemy
came here, but also they loaned me their slaves for the galleys,
and one hundred and ninety-five thousand pesos. With that I have
met the expenses of this camp for most of this year and of the other
troops whom your Majesty sustains in your pay. I also built new or
repaired the ships, both large and small, and galleys, and from them
collected a fleet. The enemy upon seeing that fleet in the port,
although it was not completely ready, did not choose to await it, as
above written to your Majesty--not even for the profits to be derived
from the ships that they were awaiting from China and Nueva España,
which would have meant no little blessing to them and no little harm
to us, if they had returned for it. All that relief resulted from
the aid of so good vassals, who, although paid from the money--as
were the Indian natives also, who have worked and given the supplies
apportioned to them for the above purpose--are even very deserving
of reward from your Majesty, if you esteem their service.
In the above campaign, the most aid furnished me, by his person,
followers, and servants, was from General Don Juan Ronquillo del
Castillo. By his intelligence, assiduity, and labor, I was able to
make the preparations that I did; and I do not think that it could
have been done without him so well, with so incredible rapidity. Will
your Majesty be pleased to have this considered in his behalf,
on the occasions that arise for showing him honor and favor. That
favor that I petitioned your Majesty to show Admiral Rodrigo de
Guilleztegui last year, will be very well extended, for the reasons
then advanced. Don Fernando Centeno Maldonado, who is serving in
these galleys as commander of them, is a man who, by the honorable
rank of his birth, has personal merits and good qualities--so that
your Majesty may make use of him in his profession as soldier, or
in any other thing, even though it be a position of great labor. He
is the man for it, and one who will well use any honor that your
Majesty may be pleased to bestow upon him. Many judicial inquiries
[_informaciones_] are made here of merits and services; and although
there are some among them of men who have merits, and who have not
obtained their reward because of a lack in means to give it to them,
or in the failure of their said inquiry to obtain it, the majority
consist of the inquiries of men who are or could be ashamed. Of them
what they claim might be advanced as a reason for their not deserving
even what has been given them. Although it is always to be believed
that the auditors, to whom the inquiries are entrusted, ought to
make them, not only as judges, but as interested parties, so that
sinister inquiries should not be sent to your Majesty's royal Council
to defraud your royal treasury and the merits of those who have served
well, I assure your Majesty that I have heard that many inquiries have
been made with less justification than might be advisable. Moreover,
I am an eye-witness of the evidence taken so earnestly by Auditor Don
Albaro de Messa in the assembly in the case of one Juan de Herrera,
whose inquiry he had made. Because we did not detail so fully as he
wished regarding [the reward] that we informed your Majesty could be
given him, he refused to affix his signature after the opinion that
he there gave in favor of Captain Alonso Estever, a valiant man who
has served and serves very well. I do not know whether he has signed
in his opinion of Captain Antonio de Esquibel, which he also gave
to him at that time. In order that your Majesty may know with what
passions they proceed in this, and on what this was based, and may
see how little was the justification of this protegé of Don Albaro,
namely, the said Juan de Herrera (who it is said came here as the
servant of the factor Juan Saenz de Quen [86]--of which I am not at
all certain, since he has been a soldier here, and even a collector of
tributes and encomiendas, and once alcalde-mayor, when the Audiencia
was governing; and after his services in these employments, he was
found deserving of an encomienda of two thousand tributes, of being
appointed commander in the Nueva España line, and of an allowance);
because cognizance was not taken of this in its order, in the report,
Don Albaro was made especially angry. There are also other and less
justifiable inquiries, for there was an excellent notary, named Gonçalo
Velazquez de Lara, who forged many inquiries and other papers; and
who recently forged my signature, in order to defraud your Majesty
of the fees from the licenses of the Sangley Chinese. I sentenced
him to be hanged yesterday, so that he may do it no more, and that
others might be warned.
The fathers of the Society of Jesus say that they need more religious
of their order than are here. They have asked me to petition your
Majesty to grant them the accustomed grace in this matter. What I can
certify is that whatever aid and concession your Majesty may grant them
will be well employed, for they are men who bear considerable fruit,
and not as many of them return [to Nueva España] as of the other
orders, particularly that of St. Dominic. Of the latter I have heard
that more of them than I would wish have left the order," [87] for they
are well regulated men and furnish a good example. Although they deny
it, I have come to believe that it is not because of the strictness
of their life, and that they can all endure it, if your Majesty
will order something to prevent it. Of the Order of St. Augustine,
I can tell your Majesty that I have heard that they have always
applied themselves very earnestly to their charge of facilitating
and executing all that has been, and is, necessary to be done in
your royal service. In what I have experienced hitherto, I am under
obligations to them to confess it, and of especial indebtedness and
gratefulness to the provincial, namely, Fray Alonso Barahona, [88]
and to the definitors; and inasmuch as it is a matter that concerns
the service of your Majesty, I have wished in this letter to mention
it to you. I shall close at this point, acknowledging the receipt
of only one letter that has come to me from your Majesty in these
vessels that have just arrived. It is dated El Pardo, November twenty,
one thousand six hundred and seventeen. Consequently with what I have
written, I have nothing more to reply to it than that I shall do all
in my power, as I ought and as I am obliged to do in fulfilment of
its commands, and in all that concerns your Majesty's service. May
God preserve the Catholic and royal person of your Majesty, as is
needed by Christendom. Manila, August 10, 1619.
_Don Alonso Faxardo de Tença_
[Appended to this letter is the following, to which the clause of the
letter speaking of the fleet to be sent from Spain evidently refers.]
On August third, one thousand six hundred and nineteen, Secretary Juan
Ruiz de Contreras ordered that Licentiate Antonio Moreno, cosmographer,
and Captain Juan Media, be summoned to confer with Pedro Miguel, alias
Dubal, a pilot, sent by his Highness, the most serene Archduke Alberto,
[89] to make a voyage to the Filipinas Islands in his Majesty's
service by way of the cape of Buena Esperanza or by the new strait
of Mayre. [90] In the presence of Don Lorenzo de Cracola, commander
of the fleet, he was asked which of the two routes seemed the most
suitable for the voyage of which they were conferring. He answered
that that by the cape of Buena Esperanza was most suitable, if the
voyage were to be made at the end of this year, because it could not
be made by the new strait, as it was now very late in the year. He
said that the season most suitable for that was any time in May; and
that although, in accordance with the voyages that he has made, the
Dutch sail from their country during any time of the year, he thought
that this fleet should sail during the month of March, notwithstanding
that he offered to make the voyage by sailing the last of November or
the first of December, as above stated. He supposes that by making a
way-station in the regions, and in the manner that the Dutch do, they
would spend thirteen or fourteen months; and they would not make the
time at all shorter by not having made the voyage by the open sea. He
asserts that the voyage by way of the new strait is much longer,
by at least one thousand leguas. He knows this as one who has made
the voyage by both routes, and the last time by that of Magallanes,
although not by that newly-discovered way called the strait of Mayre;
and because he has gone to Filipinas and Terrenate twice by way of
the cape of Buena Esperanza. He affixed his signature in presence
of the above-mentioned persons and of Cornelio Smout (who came
to España with the said pilot, having been sent by his Highness),
and by Henrrique Serbaer, an inhabitant of this city of Sevilla,
who served him as interpreter.
_Cornelio Smout_
_Pedro Miguel_, _alias_ _Dubal_
_Henrrique Servaer_
GRANT TO SEMINARY OF SANTA POTENCIANA
In the seminary for orphan girls, which was founded in this city
by order of King Don Filippe, our sovereign and the father of your
Majesty, four classes of persons are sheltered: the daughters of old
conquerors and soldiers of these islands, who, as these have nothing
to leave them, are left unprotected; the illegitimate daughters of
Spaniards and Indian women (and they are numerous), every one of whom
is ruined if she is not sheltered here, because of the great laxity [of
morals] in the country; and all are taught and instructed until they
depart married. Some married women who quarrel with their husbands are
also sheltered there, until the trouble is smoothed over; and there are
some poor widows. It is a work of great charity, and one that prevents
great offenses to God. But it receives so little aid that the girls are
in need. They are barefoot and almost naked, have wretched food, and
live in very narrow, obscure, and damp, and consequently unhealthy,
quarters. They are treated at the hospital. They have a church,
so poor that it has no one to give it a shred as an ornament. The
rearing of the girls suffers great injury from their being mingled
with the married women, for there is no money with which to build
them separate quarters. All of these things are causes that prevent
them from living acceptably, and keep them under forcible restraint;
while from growing up amid so great poverty and destitution of all
things, they do not attract the attention of Spaniards, and lower
themselves by marrying Indians. Consequently, all the good ends
sought in their rearing are frustrated, and among those ends, the
growth of the Spanish population in these regions. I consider myself
as the chaplain of this seminary to advise your Majesty of all this
(for I think that it is contrary to your royal pleasure and purpose),
so that, as its author and only patron, you may correct that state
of affairs. It can be corrected by giving the institution some
more Indians in encomienda; by adding three more toneladas, in the
distribution of the cargo, to the three that are given annually; by
raising to thirty its twelve Indians of service, who bring it water
and wood; and by ordering that ornaments be given to its church from
the royal treasury, as is done to the other churches, and from the
royal hospital the necessary medicines, at the written request of
the physician and the rectoress. And at present, for enlarging and
fitting up the house, your Majesty could give some alms. For its good
management, your Majesty might aid the pious intent of Licentiate
Hernando de los Rios, procurator of this city, to bring nuns to found
a convent in this city, from which nuns might be sent every three
years to govern this seminary; for through lack of persons who can
be placed in charge of it, and who are suitable for that post, it is
and has been managed by only one woman, although four are needed. If
your Majesty wishes a more detailed relation of these and other things
of this your house, Licentiate Hernando de los Rios will give it to
you, for he is well informed of everything. Consequently I finish
by entreating your Majesty to have pity on these poor creatures,
who all continually pray for your Majesty's health, which may our
Lord preserve for many years. Manila, July 15, 617.
_Juan Oñez_
_Petition_
Very Potent Sir:
I, Diego de Castro, administrator of the seminary of Sancta Potenciana
of this city, and its majordomo, declare that the encomienda of
Indians was granted to the said seminary, as appears by the decree
I present under oath, both to send before the king our sovereign for
its confirmation, and to present to his royal Council of the Indias.
I beg and supplicate your Majesty [sic; apparently error for
"Lordship"] to give me one copy or more of the said concession with
the judicial comment of his Majesty's fiscal, for the purpose above
mentioned; and to return the original for a warrant to the said
seminary, and for the sanction of the law in the whole matter.
_Diego de Castro_
In the city of Manila, in public session of the Audiencia, on August
three, one thousand six hundred and seventeen. Give it to him, as
he asks.
_Pedro Muñoz de Herrera_
I declare that I was summoned in Manila, August twelve, one thousand
six hundred and seventeen.
_Licentiate Don Juan de Alvarado Bracamonte_
And I, Christoval Martin Franco, chief clerk of the government and
military office of these Philipinas Islands, declare that I do now
despatch this matter because Gaspar Alvarez is prevented from doing it.
I ordered to be drawn, and drew, the copy requested by the above
petition from the original concession which was presented for this
purpose by Diego de Castro, majordomo (and so at present) of the said
seminary of Santa Potenciana, and it is literally as follows:
[_Marginal note_: "Concession of encomienda."]
Don Juan de Silva, knight of the Order of Santiago, governor and
captain-general in these islands; and president of the royal Audiencia
and Chancillería resident therein, etc. Inasmuch as the native towns
of Guas and Libon in the province of Camarines have been declared
vacant, because of the expiration of the period granted to General Don
Juan Tello de Guzman, who held and possessed them, and his failure
to establish a colony, as he was obliged; and since they are to be
given in encomienda as his Majesty commands: therefore, considering
the same, I place the said encomienda of Guas and Libon under the
royal crown, together with their subjects, tingues, and mountains,
according to and in the form and manner that the said general Don Juan
Tello held and enjoyed it, so that the retreat of Sancta Potenciana
may enjoy and collect forever the products and profits of the said
encomienda. The pension of five hundred pesos received annually from
the gambling-houses of this camp by the said retreat is repealed and
suppressed, provided it be paid the amount due therefrom up to the day
of this concession. In respect to the collection of the tributes of
the said natives, the appraisement last made for that province must be
observed, and it shall not be exceeded under any consideration, under
penalty of the ordinances, decrees, and provisions of his Majesty,
made for the Yndias. It shall be seen to that the said natives are
well treated, and instructed in the matters of our holy Catholic
faith; and in regard to that, it is charged upon the consciences [of
the directors of the seminary] and taken from that of his Majesty,
and from mine in his royal name. The Indians shall not be harassed
or injured by the collectors who go to collect the said tributes,
nor by any other person. Given in Manila, December twenty-seven,
one thousand six hundred and ten.
_Don Juan De Silva_
By order of the governor:
_Gaspar Alvarez_
The account of the concession of this other part was taken from the
record-book of royal decrees and other papers of this accountancy
of Manila. Given in that city, April twenty-eight, one thousand six
hundred and eleven.
_Thomas Montero_
The above copy is faithful, and is accurately corrected and collated
with the said original concession, which was returned to the people,
and I refer to that. And the said petition and order I gave the
present, witnesses being Juan Vazquez de Miranda and Don Francisco
Veltran, citizens of Manila, where this is given on the fourteenth
of the month of August, one thousand six hundred and seventeen.
_Christoval Martin Franco_
Corrected.
Sire:
The seminary of Santa Potenciana of the city of Manila, where your
Majesty has had the kindness to order the poor unmarried daughters
of conquerors to be sheltered, and which your Majesty sustains and
founded, declares that your governor Don Juan de Silva took from
it a pension that it possessed for the aid of its support in the
said city, and in its place, applied the products of the encomienda
of Guas and Libon in the province of Camarines, and apportioned the
said encomienda to your royal crown for the support of the girls and
for divine worship. The seminary petitions your Majesty to concede
it the grace of confirming that favor, since its service to God and
to your Majesty is so great.
[_Addressed_: "To Secretary Santiago Florez."]
[_Endorsed_: "The Council ordered, September 9, 1619, that the fiscal
examine the matter."]
The fiscal declares that this confirmation is not asked for within
the four years, although the patent of the governor does not assign
any period for obtaining the confirmation; neither does it state
that a confirmation must be obtained. The work appears charitable
and advisable, and consequently the Council can grant it what favor
it pleases. Madrid, September 10, 1619.
On the 23d of November, 619, the Council, after consideration, ordered
the governor and Audiencia, at the summons of his Majesty's fiscal,
to report on the value and advisability [of such grant]; and that for
that purpose a decree of investigation be given in legal form. They
shall cite especially what charitable works have been strengthened by
other encomiendas; the disadvantages or benefits that may result from
this; whether it is an estate that continues to increase or decrease;
and what harm may result to the royal patrimony.
REFORMS NEEDED IN THE FILIPINAS
Sire:
Fernando de los Rios Coronel, procurator-general of the Filipinas
Islands and of all their estates, declares that, inasmuch as all
that community insisted that he come to inform your Majesty of the
distressed condition which it has reached, and of what was advisable
both for the service of your Majesty and that community's conservation
and advancement, he has come, for that reason, at the risk of his life,
after suffering so great hardships, to serve your Majesty and those
islands, for both of which services he has made this memorial of the
most necessary matters that demand reform. Although he thinks that
your governor, Don Alonso Fajardo, will remedy many of these things
(inasmuch as that whole community writes that he is proceeding as its
father), yet, since men are so liable to the possibility of death that
most often the good lasts but a short time, and (as we all know by
experience, for our sins), another may succeed who will inflict many
injuries; and since before the complaints could reach your Majesty
through so long a distance and the relief be sent, the men concerned
might be dead: it is necessary to prevent the wrongs ere they come to
be irremediable, as have been all those that have placed that country
in so wretched a condition. He petitions your Majesty to examine
this memorial with great consideration, for in [heeding] it consists
the welfare and conservation of all the kingdom; for that country,
being so far away, has no other remedy for its protection except your
royal decrees. The first ten articles of the memorial were approved
by your royal Audiencia, so that you may have no doubt of them. He
did not inform the Audiencia of the others for just considerations,
as was advisable--the city having given him instructions for most of
them, which are those that he presents. In the authority that he has
presented to your royal Council, the great trust reposed in his person
has been evident; for he has served your Majesty and that community
for more than thirty years, with so great a desire of acting rightly
as is well known, and has never tried to further his own interests,
as all [are wont to] do.
1. He declares that having obtained two decrees from your Majesty
some years ago (while acting in this capital as procurator-general
of the kingdom), with regard to the trading-ships, ordering that your
governor and captain-general despatch them some time in the month of
June, as the greater part of their success in the voyage consists in
that, and as that country has no other fruits and harvests except that
commerce, for its conservation and increase, and also for the increase
of your royal treasury: not only have they not kept the said decrees
but have even done the very opposite. Thence have followed very many
great wrongs and annoyances; and that community is greatly exhausted
for that reason, and your royal treasury deeply in debt. [This affects
the community] not only in material possessions, but also in the loss
of your vassals, many citizens and sailors having perished for that
reason. Although it is believed that your governor and captain-general,
Don Alonso Faxardo, will (as is judged by his method of proceeding),
correct this matter, because he has entered upon his office with so
good beginnings, still, as he is mortal, and as a person may succeed
him who may not attend to this--as others of his predecessors have
failed to do, as has been seen hitherto:
He petitions your Majesty to order that this command be observed
inviolate. The most efficacious expedient would appear to be to place
the governors under a heavy penalty, which they would incur whenever
they did not observe it, and that it be made an important clause in
their residencias.
2. _Item_: That your Majesty issued a decree in the year 605, granting
favor to the citizens of that community, and ordering your governors
that the posts in the trading-ships be given to the deserving citizens
for their profit, and that many be rewarded with this. Inasmuch as
this is very advantageous to your Majesty's service and to the profit
of trade, and inasmuch as the ex-governor always gave them to his
relatives, and thus enriched them greatly, and the latter became
very arrogant; and since, as this was the affair of the governor,
no one dared to bring suit against them; and since this is greatly
to the harm of the royal treasury, because they lade quantities of
merchandise without registering it, and commit many illegal acts, and
will continue always to commit them, for no one dares to speak plainly:
He petitions your Majesty to order the observance of the said decree
by ordering the officials of your royal treasury, that should the
governor appoint to such offices other persons than those whom your
Majesty has ordered, no account be made of it in the royal books, that
no salary be granted them, and that those appointed to these offices
have their residencias taken at the end of the voyage; and that,
until these shall be taken, they cannot be appointed to other posts.
3. _Item_: That your Majesty has granted to the citizens the toneladas
of the said trading-ships, and that your governors allot these,
to each one according to his rank and wealth. The citizens have
been greatly injured in this, as happened in the year 613, when the
governor despatched two small ships, and did not give the citizens one
single tonelada; and under pretext of granting gratuities to retired
officers, the citizens were obliged to buy space for their freight
from those officers, at exorbitant prices. Further, he apportions
a considerable number of toneladas to charitable institutions, so
that they may sell the space and use, and the price obtained for
it; and thus these toneladas are given to the great injury of the
common welfare. The further disadvantage follows from this (besides
defrauding the citizens of the reward given them by your Majesty)
that the toneladas are sold to whomever will pay most for them, and
they are bought for this reason by merchants who have companies in
Mexico. Consequently, it is quite common for such men to own a great
part of the said merchandise of the ships, and thus the citizens are
deprived of the profits with which your Majesty has rewarded them.
He petitions your Majesty to order that these be not distributed at
will, but that the orders given in this regard by your royal decrees
be obeyed, and that the violation of your royal will in this be made a
clause of the residencia, with the penalty that may be assigned to it.
4. _Item_: That your Majesty has ordered that four vessels be built
for the trade, of 200 toneladas' burden; and that two of them make
voyages each year, while the other two remain in port getting ready
for the next year.
He petitions your Majesty that they be not employed in other matters
by your governors, unless it be an urgent necessity, as happened last
year, when they went out to drive off the Dutch enemy who had besieged
us. In such case the citizens themselves shall go out in them to defend
the city, since the profit of the citizens is so necessary in order
that that community may be settled, and have the sinews with which
to defend and preserve itself. They shall not be sent to Maluco or
any other district, since thus your Majesty is no less defrauded of
your royal duties.
6. _Item_: It happens that your governor and captain-general has to
send to Great China for ammunition and other articles very necessary
for your royal service. In order not to anger the Portuguese of the
city of Macan, the ships go to its port, although they could go to
another. There they are compelled to buy through the Portuguese,
and are not allowed to buy from the Chinese in the city of Canton,
the Portuguese alleging that the Chinese would charge them excessive
rates. But they, as we have experienced, buy the articles needed,
and afterward oblige our agents to take them at excessive rates,
reselling them to your Majesty to the great prejudice of your royal
treasury. That happened in my presence when Don Juan de Silva sent
Captain Francisco Lopez de Toledo for that purpose. He brought
back the supplies at prices more than thrice their value. While I
was acting as the said procurator in China, I bought nails for less
than sixteen reals per pico, or five arrobas, and Toledo brought them
hither at fifty-six; and other things after this manner, because the
Portuguese compelled him to buy through them.
He petitions your Majesty to issue a royal decree, so that the persons
sent on a similar commission by your governor may buy freely; and,
where they cannot buy freely, they may make another port, where they
can trade with the Chinese; and that the governor send an experienced
and practiced person on this errand.
7. _Item_: Inasmuch as the ships built in the Filipinas cause your
Majesty great expense, and have ruined and exhausted the natives;
and inasmuch as your Majesty owes them a great sum of money from the
time of Don Juan de Silva, for their personal services and things
that he took by force from them: it is very advisable, not only for
your royal service, but also for your royal conscience, to relieve
them from so great oppression.
He petitions your Majesty to order your governors that they be
prohibited from doing this, and that they send to Yndia to have the
said ships built; for besides their incomparably greater cheapness
there, one built there lasts as long as ten built in Filipinas, because
the woods in Yndia are incorruptible. In this your Majesty will save
a great sum of ducados, and the natives will be relieved of so much
hardship. For that a decree from your royal Council of Portugal is
needed, and it should be charged upon the governor of Filipinas to do
this with the mildness and prudence advisable. If it is desired it can
be easily effected, and it is of great importance. Of all this he has
more minutely treated in clause 7 (which corresponds to this clause)
in the memorial which he brings approved from Filipinas.
8. _Item_: He petitions your Majesty to do him the favor to order the
viceroy of Nueva España [91] not to allow a vessel to go thither from
Japon (which is a most serious evil), and to order that gate to be
closed; and, inasmuch as the Japanese do not know how to navigate
without a Spanish pilot and sailors, to have an edict published
forbidding such persons under severe penalties (which he [_i.e._,
Coronel] does not declare, because he is a priest) from sailing in
such ships to Nueva España. For that, in another guise, means to teach
a barbarous nation how to navigate, and is rash, and opens the gate
to many evils, for which afterward there will be no remedy. It will
even be advisable to order father Fray Luis Sotelo not to go to Japon,
for he was the one who began this, and it may be feared that he will
further it.
9. _Item_: There is no entrance to the city of Manila except by the
mouth of the bay, and the Dutch enemy is wont to seize that mouth,
and not allow any ship to enter or leave--as has happened thrice,
namely, the years of 10, 15, and 17--thereby placing the city in
great straits. But it may be presumed that this can be remedied by
opening up two rivers--one in Zambales, called the river of Tarla;
and the other in Laguna de Bombon, where it was resolved in the former
year of 17 that some one should go to examine it, because of their
great need--although this was not effected on account of the success
obtained in driving away the enemy.
He petitions your Majesty, for the reasons here stated, to order the
governors to consider that matter and examine this matter, and to
charge themselves with it, as it is a thing of so great importance;
and, if it be feasible, to put it into execution with the mildness and
skill that is advisable, without injuries to, or extortions on, the
natives; and that they send for that purpose a prudent and competent
person. For, if the Spaniards possess these routes, the enemy can
do no harm to the city, nor prevent it from being supplied with all
necessaries. Besides, this is of the highest importance for the service
and accommodation of the mines that have been ordered to be opened;
and it will avoid the loss of many Spanish and native vessels that
are continually being lost. [92]
15. _Item_: Inasmuch as the Indians of the islands of Mindanao and
others near by are declared enemies and are in insurrection, and
have embraced the religion of Mahomet; and inasmuch as they have
confederated with the Dutch, and committed incredible depredations
on the vassals of your Majesty, both Spaniards and natives, and there
is no security there:
He petitions your Majesty to charge your governor straitly to try to
punish them, and to attend to that carefully, since it is of so great
importance; and inasmuch as it will be of great help in facilitating
this, to declare those people to be the slaves of whomever captures
them in war, since through the greed of gain the natives will help
willingly, and the soldiers will go much more eagerly. He petitions
that you have your governor proclaim them as such, establishing the
above facts with sufficient investigation, and justice on the part
of your Majesty to order it; and that this be done quickly, since it
is so advisable to your royal service and the security of your vassals.
16. _item_: That whenever any cause that concerns the governor or
any of your auditors or the fiscal is to be voted on in the sessions
of your royal Audiencia, he petitions your Majesty to order that such
persons shall not be present at the meeting; for their presence is very
undesirable, and the execution of your royal justice is obstructed. In
regard to this, many disorderly acts have followed, as has happened
when opponents have left the session, and even offensive words have
been bandied.
17. _Item_: That your Majesty order that neither governors nor
auditors send people thence to this court. That is very annoying,
as has been seen in the one sent by Don Juan de Silva.
18. _Item_: Your Majesty is served by the Indian natives as soldiers
in Maluco and other regions--who, as we know by experience, serve very
faithfully; and so long as they are at the war, they cannot attend to
their fields and sustain their households. And in the repartimientos
which are generally made by the governors, both in personal services
and in food, the chiefs and cabezas [de barangay], through whom the
apportionment is made, practice great cruelty on the wives of those
soldiers upon whom they make the said repartimientos, thus giving
occasion for the women to sell their children, or to take to evil ways.
He therefore petitions your Majesty that such repartimientos be not
made on women whose husbands are thus engaged in the war in your
Majesty's service, and that they pay no tribute until their husbands
return--also making this concession to those whose husbands shall
have died in the war; for not only will this be a service to your
Majesty and to our Lord, but the natives will thus be encouraged to
go to service willingly, and many wrongs will be avoided.
19. _Item_: That the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical affairs in the
islands of Maluco is subject to Eastern India. Innumerable troubles
result from the archbishop of Goa having to place ministers there,
who, being of another nation and under another prelate, act very badly.
He petitions your Majesty to grant him the favor to decide that this
jurisdiction be subject to the bishop of Cibu, who is the nearest
one, and that ministers be provided thence--which can be done easily,
as it is so near, while it is done very inadequately from India.
20. _Item_: In regard to the trading-ships between Filipinas and Nueva
España and the numerous things worthy of reform (which is advisable
both for the royal treasury of your Majesty and for the community,
and for the avoidance of many death of the seamen), that which it is
advisable straitly to charge and order your governor is the following:
That the accommodations given the commander be moderated, conforming
to the capacity of the ships. We have seen them during those years
laden by the commanders with a third of the cargo, because they are
relatives of the governor, under pretext of having a dispensation of
taking the space of fifty toneladas.
20 [_sic_]. _Item_: That the said commanders, admirals, and masters,
give the residencia for their posts before being appointed to others,
which your Majesty has ordered by a decree of the year 604.
_Item_: That the masters in the port of Capulco [_i.e._, Acapulco],
in addition to the duties that are paid to your Majesty, charge
excessive prices for the guards of the boxes, barrels, and other
articles of merchandise, without anything being due them; and these
fees were not formerly charged, because their office is given to them
for that purpose, and that duty [of guarding freight] is annexed to
it. He petitions your Majesty to order the royal Audiencia of Manila,
or the governor, to set the price that they can charge; and, if they
exceed that price, those aggrieved can make claim in the residencia.
21. _Item_: That your Majesty be pleased to order your governor to
be careful, in the muster-roll of sailors and common seamen made out
by the royal officials, that all such be efficient; for it happens
that a ship may take sixty sailors, thirty of whom are men who
have been named as sailors without any knowledge of their duties,
but only by favor. Then in times of need there are not any to work,
and the few who do understand it cannot attend to the work, which
should be divided among so many. Consequently there is signal danger,
because the voyage is so long and difficult.
22. _Item_: That it be ordered that the common seamen who serve in
the said ships, who are always Indian natives, be all men of that
coast, who are instructed how to navigate; and that they be made to
wear clothes, with which to shelter themselves from the cold; for,
because they do not, most of them die in high latitudes, of which he
[the writer] is a witness. Inasmuch as the factor enrolls other Indians
who live in the interior, and who do not know the art of sailing,
and as they are a wretched people, they are embarked without clothes
to protect them against the cold, so that when each new dawn comes
there are three or four dead men (a matter that is breaking his heart);
besides, they are treated inhumanly and are not given the necessaries
of life, but are killed with hunger and thirst. If he were to tell
in detail the evil that is done to them, it would fill many pages. He
petitions your Majesty to charge your governor straitly to remedy this.
_Item_: That inasmuch as the kitchens where the food is cooked are
not located in the first part of the forecastle, as is seen in [ships
on] these seas, but in the waist; and inasmuch as at the first storm
the sea carries them away, after which each one cooks his food in
his messroom where he can make a fire (and it is a miracle from God
that the ships are not burned)--he petitions your Majesty to order
your governor to remedy that, since he is so excellent a sailor. The
reason for that abuse is that the officials appropriate the largest
storerooms of the ships.
23. _Item_: That slave women be not conveyed in the ships, by which
many acts offensive to God will be avoided. Although that is prohibited
by your royal decree, and it is also entrusted to the archbishop to
place upon them the penalty of excommunication and to punish them,
this evil has not been checked; and many sailors--and even others,
who should furnish a good example--take slave women and keep them as
concubines. He knew a certain prominent official who carried with him
fifteen of these women; and some were delivered of children by him,
while others were pregnant, which made a great scandal.
24. _Item_: That no sailor, and no passenger unless he be a person of
rank, be allowed to take more than one male slave; for they load the
ships with slaves who eat the provisions, and steal whatever they lay
hands on, besides the risk that is run of a plague being started by
them. He also petitions your Majesty that the fifty pesos paid as duty
on each slave be moderated, and that these imposts be paid according
to the tariff in España; and that these duties be paid in the port
of Capulco--where by selling the slaves, their owners may have the
wherewithal to pay the imposts; for it is a great inconvenience to
pay them in Manila. For that reason, great deceits are practiced
on the royal treasury now; for they take the slaves without being
registered, because of the high amount of the duties, and are allowed
to take them off at the port [of Acapulco] for twenty pesos. If the
said duties were moderated, and paid in the port, no one would take
them without registering them, especially since the said slaves serve
and aid the sailors in their necessities, and your Majesty gives them
no allowance of either food or water. Consequently in no part of the
Indias is so large a duty paid.
25. _Item_: Inasmuch as the good treatment of the sailors is so
important, in order that they may be inclined to go there, since
there is so great need of them, he petitions your Majesty to order
that good treatment be shown them, and they be given leave to take
away their boxes in which they carry their clothing and certain small
wares freely, without having to open them. For in this matter the
guards practice many extortions on them, and take away their little
possessions, and harass them so that many refuse to return, and many
acts of oppression are practiced.
26. _Item_: Inasmuch as the officials of the vessels, such as
commander, master, boatswain, etc., lade a quantity of merchandise
beyond the share given them, and overload the ships by occupying
the place of the ship's stores in the storerooms and magazines; and
inasmuch as this cannot be checked, as has been seen: there is no
other remedy unless your Majesty order the clerk of the register not
to receive on the register more than only the allotment of shares
that your governor makes; for he proportions the cargo which the
vessel can carry, in accordance with its need, and anything more only
overloads the ship. But if these goods were not admitted to register,
the officials would not dare to lade them, because of the great risk
of their being seized as smuggled goods. Consequently great losses
would be avoided by proceeding in the above manner.
_Item_: That neither your governor nor auditors and fiscal be allowed
to act as godfathers to the citizens; for that involves very great
annoyances, as that kingdom is so new, and as all make claims.
27. _Item_: That it is the practice or abuse that fowls are given to
your governor, auditors, and other officials of the royal Audiencia at
lower prices than are current; and that the governor of the Chinese
is ordered for that purpose to allot the share of all [the Chinese],
and each one is obliged to give weekly so many fowls at a certain
low price, and he who does not give them is punished and fined. The
worst thing is that on this occasion the governor of the Chinese
steals as many more, at the same price. That amounts to a vast sum;
for, since there is no other flesh eaten except beef and pork, these
fowls amount by the end of the year to more than twenty thousand. In
this way signal injury is done to the Chinese.
They also provide their houses with rice, which is the usual bread;
and they take it as well as other things from your royal storehouses,
at the prices for which they are given to your Majesty as tributes. It
results that your Majesty's treasury, in the course of the year,
encounters a deficiency of supplies, on account of the great expense,
and these must be bought afterward at very high rates. He mentioned
this so that your Majesty should provide what may be deemed advisable;
for it is a pity to see your Majesty's treasury poorly administered,
since it is so necessary there. [93]
28. _Item_: Inasmuch as certain regidors of the city have their
encomiendas in the Pintados Islands and other districts, and as the
governors, in order to annoy them, command them to go to live on the
encomiendas, thus obliging them to leave their offices, to their own
great loss and inconvenience; and as that is even the cause of their
being unable to exercise their offices with freedom, in order not to
anger the governor: he petitions your Majesty that, if your governor
thus urge a regidor to go to live [there] in person, he may maintain in
the said encomienda a soldier in his stead, since it is the same thing;
and it shall be understood that he is under no further obligation. The
same also is to be understood with the leading citizens of Manila.
29. _Item_: That your governor of Filipinas, in recent years,
requested from your viceroy of Nueva España many kinds of supplies,
such as rigging. One year they carried him fifty thousand pesos'
worth of it; but the freight charged for carrying it from one sea
to the other alone amounted to a vast sum of money, and the rigging
arrived at the islands rotten and useless. For ten thousand pesos, the
Indians would make twice as much as what cost fifty thousand pesos. He
sent for damask for the flag to the sea of Damascus; and six varas of
it cost less than one in Nueva España. He sends for garbanzos, habas,
biscuit, soap, and many other things, which cost their weight in money;
and when they reach the islands, they are rotten and useless. Those
things can be provided in the Filipinas with great advantages; and
where your Majesty spends one thousand, they can be bought there
for one hundred. And, as above stated, there are many other articles
besides those I have mentioned--such as flour for the hosts, which
in the islands costs less per quintal than does the freight alone for
carrying it from the port of Capulco. He sends for preserves for the
sick, who never taste them. All the above can be very well avoided,
and it is enough to send money, and to order that these articles be
provided there. Your Majesty would have saved in these last eight
years more than five hundred thousand ducados; for those who have
the handling of most of those things profit greatly from them.
29 [_sic_]. _Item_: Inasmuch as some religious commit great excesses in
making repartimientos among the Indians for works that they invent for
the natives; and also take from them their fowls, swine, and other
food at a less price and inflict on the Indians great injuries and
vexations, not only in regard to food, but also to increase their
own profits:
He petitions your Majesty to order your governor, as protector [of
the Indians], to check those excesses--and the archbishop as well,
since he may have in this respect a better opportunity to check them;
for some of the religious cause more injury to the natives than could
be told here. It is extremely important that this evil be stopped,
and that the religious be not served by the Indians, unless they pay
the latter their just wage; and that, unless they have permission
from your governor, they shall not make repartimientos on the Indians,
nor make them serve on their works. [94]
30. _Item_: That there are four orders of religious in those
islands--those of St. Dominic, St Francis, and St. Augustine, and
the Society of Jesus--and they are well known there. On account of
the trouble caused by other orders going there, and the necessity of
having to make new allotments for mission work, he petitions your
Majesty that no other orders may go there--even though they be the
same orders in name, under pretext that they are of another mode
of living; for Fray Luis Sotelo endeavored to introduce there the
calced friars in the Order of St. Francis, while the people are well
contented with the discalced friars. And the other orders should be
made to understand that the land is very new, and does not need so
many different kinds of religious. [95]
31. _Item_: Many Chinese marry native Indian women, and become
Christians and live near the city of Manila. Their only occupation is
as retailers of goods. If they were to be gathered into one place, in
a location that should be given them where they could build a town,
in order to cultivate the land and sow it (for they are excellent
farmers, and there is so much fallow land that might be given them),
not only would they be very useful to the community, but numerous
troubles that follow, because they are hucksters and retail the food,
would be avoided. This is especially desirable because in this manner
they will become more domestic and peaceable; and, since the number
of those born is thus increasing, the city will not have so much
security as if they were collected together, nor can this be done
hereafter so easily as now. He petitions your Majesty to charge your
governor to do this, by the best plan that offers.
32. Great difficulty arises from the governors placing in the city
magistracy relatives or dependents of his household, or those of
the auditors. Because a certain ex-governor did that, nothing was
enacted in the cabildo that he did not know, and of which he was not
informed. Consequently the cabildo does not proceed with any liberty,
nor does any one dare talk with Christian freedom, or defend the
community in grave cases. He petitions your Majesty to order that
such persons be disqualified to act as regidors, or as alcaldes or
scriveners of cabildo (which has resulted in the same difficulty).
_Item_: Your Majesty granted favor to those islands and their
inhabitants, so that they might be encouraged to work gold mines of
which only the tenth part of the product should be paid for twenty
years, which time is about at an end. He petitions your Majesty
to grant that country favor for another twenty years, so that the
operation of the mines may be better established.
33. In regard to the inspection of the Chinese vessels, when they come
with their merchandise, your governor appoints an inspector. The
ex-governor was wont to appoint a member of his household. On
that account notable wrongs have been committed; but no one has
dared to demand justice against the inspectors, because they are
such persons. He petitions your Majesty to order that this post be
filled by one of the alcaldis-in-ordinary--who, inasmuch as they
understand the great importance of conserving that trade, and as it
is a matter that grieves them, will show the Chinese good treatment,
since it is incumbent upon those officials to consider the interests
of their community.
34. _Item_: That the trading-ships that navigate to Nueva España have
sometimes not been despatched, for personal purposes of the former
governors, which is to the great injury of your royal treasury and of
the citizens, since those ships are the sinews of that community. He
petitions your Majesty to order your governor to prevent such a thing,
so that, unless compelled by a very great necessity, the annual
despatch be not neglected.
35. _Item_: He petitions your Majesty to order your governor not to
exclude the regidors of the city from appointments in accordance with
their merits, since they derive no profit from the city magistracy,
and are serving the community.
36. _Item_: He petitions that your Majesty be pleased to order that
religious be provided, belonging to the orders there, for there is
great need of them
37. _Item_: The maintenance of commerce with the Chinese, and the good
treatment of those from that nation who dwell in those islands, are of
so great importance that that community cannot be maintained without
them (as they practice all the trades needed by a city), and it is
advisable to treat them well. But your governor, Don Juan de Silva,
after having levied upon them so great a tax as the annual payment
of nine reals of eight for permission to remain in the country (which
meant, however, to impose this tax on the citizens, since because of
it all prices were raised), besides this made them render personal
services, by which they were sorely vexed. He therefore petitions
your Majesty to order your governor to treat the Chinese as well as
possible, and to exempt them from those personal services, which are
a greater burden on them than are the licenses. This should be done,
also, since they are foreigners, and remain voluntarily; and, moreover,
since there is so great need of the kind and just treatment and equity
which should be extended toward foreigners for their conversion,
inasmuch as the miracles which in those regions secure conversion
are good examples.
38. _Item_: That about two thousand Japanese generally reside in
that city; and that, as trading ships come annually, many Japanese
remain there. But they are not only of no use to the community, but
a signal danger, since they have three or four times placed the city
in danger of being ruined. In this last encounter with the Dutch,
Japanese went to them who gave them information; and on the day of
the battle a company of them who fled from Manila went to help the
enemy. He petitions your Majesty to show that kingdom the favor to
order straitly that no Japanese remain there; but that those who go
there every year must return to their own country.
39. _Item_: Inasmuch as the Indian natives have been so ruined by
the past shipbuilding, and your Majesty is indebted to them, for
personal services and things taken from them by Don Juan de Silva for
your royal service, more than one million [pesos]: he petitions your
Majesty to order your governors that now and henceforth they shall
endeavor most carefully to avoid, as far as possible, harassing the
Indians; and that they shall also avoid the building of galleons,
since, as stated in another memorial, these can be brought from India
at a much less cost to your Majesty; and that an effort be made to
remunerate the natives for a part of the debt due them.
40. _Item_: He petitions your Majesty to command that a copy of the
commercial decrees be given him, that he obtained formerly when he
was in this court in this same office; for the last governor took
possession of the decrees when the packet in which they were sent
to the city fell into his hands, and refused to give them up, but
kept them.
Most potent sire:
The procurator of the Filipinas declares that, having to descant upon
the matters of that kingdom that need remedy and reform, both for
the service of your Highness and for the welfare of that kingdom; and
as he had considered and discussed them before leaving that kingdom;
and considering his many years of experience, which best demonstrates
what is needful for that kingdom's prosperity: the first thing that
occurs to him is the following.
First: That the cabildo of the city of Manila, inasmuch as certain of
the regidors are appointed by the governor and at times from his own
household, suffers very great troubles because they are unable, when
discussing the common welfare in the said cabildo, to do it freely,
or to advise your Highness of what is expedient, because those persons
tell it to your governor. And, as is often necessary, if they have to
write the truth of what is occurring, if it is against the governor,
they know that he will hear of it, and will be angry at them, as has
sometimes occurred; and he has even arrested them, and has spoken
to them roughly and harshly. Inasmuch as the said governor is the
soul of that community, and the one who must reward their services,
and is even the cause that nothing but what he wishes is done and
written; and inasmuch as many times certain prominent persons and
leading men refuse to act as regidors, and those persons who would
be very desirable to retain therein have left the cabildo:
I petition and supplicate your Highness that those who enter the
said cabildo because of the absence or death of those who are now
members be appointed by the entire royal Audiencia. Those appointed
shall be nominated by the said cabildo and the said royal Audiencia
shall select one of the two who shall be nominated; and your governor
shall be unable to remove him, just as if he were appointed by your
Highness. By this method this trouble will end, and a confirmation
of this request should be sent.
_Item_: Inasmuch as the said regidors do not have any profits, and
as, on that account, those who it is important should be regidors
refuse to act: if they were assigned some just reward they would be
eager to defend their community. This reward could take the shape of
one-half tonelada for each regidor, in addition to his allotment in
each ship. Consequently, they would be encouraged to work and would
oppose the difficulties that arise.
_Item_: Will your Highness please grant me a royal decree that
the governor may not compel the said cabildo to go to his house to
hold their meetings; but that they always hold them, as is usual
and customary, in the said city hall, so that they may freely
discuss what is advisable for your Highness's service and that of
your community. For sometimes the governor has ordered the regidors
to meet in his house to hold a session of cabildo, contrary to the
privileges of the city.
Further, I petition your Highness to give me also a duplicate of the
royal decrees which have been drawn for the last ten years in favor
of that kingdom, so that, having them in its possession, they may be
executed when expedient.
_Item_: When the insurrection of the Sangleys occurred, there were
many houses near the walls, whence they did us much mischief until
these were destroyed. Your governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, ordered that
no edifice be built within three hundred paces of the wall. Will your
Highness please to have the ordinance of your governor confirmed for
the city's perpetual defense.
_Item_; That the orders and monasteries have established several
settlements about Manila, so that they can keep Indians in service
for their own works, causing the said Indians to be reserved from
personal services. For this purpose they depopulate the encomiendas,
and bring the people to Manila, and those settlements become dens
of thieves and vagabonds, and of hucksters and retailers who buy
provisions at wholesale for their retail trade, and enhance their
cost; and commit many offenses against God. I petition and supplicate
your Highness to order that those settlements be broken up, that the
Indians go to their own districts, and that only one dozen Indians
remain for each monastery.
_Item_: Inasmuch as the care and vigilance that should be exercised
toward foreigners is of great importance for the security of
that kingdom, so that it may not again suffer a disaster like the
last--especially toward the Chinese nation, with whom more risk is run,
since they are very greedy and cunning, and are bribers who easily
corrupt the judges with bribes and gifts: therefore, in order to
remedy this now and henceforth, it is advisable that a competent,
energetic, and disinterested person be chosen in that community,
who shall have under his charge that duty of cleansing the country
and giving licenses to those Chinese who are to stay, and he shall be
accompanied by a regidor. Inasmuch as, were the appointment of such
person in charge of the governor alone, it might, as it is an office
of profit and honor, be given to some of his servants or followers,
or as an investment, it is necessary that the selection of such person
be made by the entire royal Audiencia and the cabildo of the city;
since it is of so great importance, as it is the weightiest affair of
that community. Since so many will take part in the election, they
will cast their eyes on a person who is suitable for this post. To
such person the most ample commission must be given, and he shall
proceed as is the custom in war against criminals; for in any other
way, were opportunity given for appeals and suits, he would accomplish
no good. I know that from my own experience, as a person who had that
duty in charge for four years, and who labored arduously in it.
_Item_: That your Highness order straitly that no person keep
Sangleys in his house or allow them to sleep inside the city under
any consideration (for in that matter I accept no person of that
community); and that the said judge may punish such transgressors
with heavy penalties, without any one being able to prevent him.
_Item_: It is fully as advisable that no Japanese be [allowed in the
city], which is a great cause of trouble. For they are, on the one
hand, a warlike race, and easily come to blows with the Spaniards, for
they will not suffer ill-treatment. Consequently they have sometimes
risen against us, and have seized arms. This has occurred because
some soldiers have desired to harm or injure them, whereupon they,
to revenge themselves, seize certain cutlasses that they carry, and
begin to assemble together. They may place us in exceeding great
danger. On the other hand, if we are careless in permitting them,
many Japanese will come. We are in great danger, besides, lest some
take to the highways, for among those who come from those kingdoms
of Japon are many who have fled for crimes, and who have no right to
return to their country. Likewise [it is advisable to restrict their
coming] in order to preserve the friendship of the emperor; since,
if we do not retain them in that kingdom, there will be no occasion
for any event of treachery that should force us to break friendship
with him. I petition your Highness to order this straitly, and that
the said judge also have it in charge.
_Item_: There are certain depositories in the said islands called
"commons" [_comunidades_], in which each Indian places one-half fanega
of rice at the annual harvest season. Those commons were ordained
with the object and purpose that they might serve the said natives
in time of need, by relieving the poor and lending to other needy
persons, who return it at the harvest. The plan would have been of
great importance had that end been secured; but what actually occurs
is, that the alcaldes-mayor sell the rice, or appropriate and loan
it, and never return it. And between the stewards and the religious
for feasts of the village (for they are those who have charge of the
Indians of the missions), at the end of the year all the rice has been
used, so that the needs of the poor Indians are not succored. That
waste can well be avoided; and they regard it as another very large
tribute. Therefore, it is advisable for the service of God and the
welfare of those poor natives that your Highness order the said commons
to be suppressed. If it be necessary to keep them, it is advisable
that the governor of the Filipinas order that there be one reliable
steward in each one, who shall have charge of the said depository; that
no magistrate or religious put into or take out of the said commons;
and that during any time of necessity the rice be lent to the poor;
and at the harvest it be paid in kind. If this were to be put into
execution, it would be of great importance, according to an opinion
that I expressed on this matter in the Filipinas. If the above plan
were observed in the commons round about Manila, some forty in number,
there might be, as a result, one hundred thousand fanegas of rice
or more on the occasion of any sudden need, which could be placed
within the city very speedily; for, as the city has no depository,
the greatest danger of the Spaniards, in case any enemy besiege them,
lies in their capture through famine. With this the remedy would be
secure, and at the same time the Indians would be fed and aided in
their needs. When it was expected to place this plan in execution,
the said governor sent three of his servants, with a salary of seventy
reals to be paid by the commons. Those men, who consisted of judge,
alguacil-mayor, and clerk, remained at each commons, balancing
accounts and making investigations until all the contents were used
up on their said salaries. Consequently, they established order or
agreement in nothing, and all remained as before. For this reason,
then, affairs are going to pieces; for men are not sought for the
offices, but offices to accommodate whomever the governor desires.
_Item_: That many posts for alcaldes and corregidors have been
created by making two such districts out of what was formerly one,
so that the governor could accommodate persons to whom he was under
obligations. That is much to the cost of the Indians, and [an offense]
to God and to my conscience; for the multiplication of those offices
means the multiplication of those who destroy the Indians and inflict
innumerable injuries upon them. I petition and supplicate your Highness
to order the said corregidors' and alcaldes' districts remade as they
formerly were.
_Item_: That the governor be warned to endeavor to avoid, as far as
possible, the injuries inflicted upon the natives in the cutting of
wood and in personal services; for they sometimes draft them in the
planting season or at harvest, so that they lose their fields, as I
have seen. In addition to this, many times they do not pay the Indians,
because there is no money in the treasury, which is continually short
of funds. This often arises from the fact that they do not estimate
and consider the needs of the Indians with the amount of money that is
available; and consequently all the Indians complain. Finally, when
the said Indians are paid, it is done by the hand of the chiefs or
cabezas de barangay, who generally keep the money. Will your Highness
be pleased to order the governor and royal officials to avoid the
above grievances as much as possible; and when it is necessary for
the Indians to perform any personal labor, which consists generally
in the cutting of wood, to see that it be when they are not busied
in their fields--for that can generally be avoided--and that they be
paid the just wage, and that promptly. For acting in any other way
burdens your royal conscience, since those who perform such service
are very poor, and do not dare to ask for their pay, if it is not
given them. Consequently they very often do not receive it. In this
way are they much burdened by personal services.
_Item_: Considering the nature of the Indians, who are generally
indolent and lazy--inasmuch as the religious have always forbidden
them to pay the tributes in kind, insisting that they be allowed to
choose for themselves in what they wish to pay it, consequently the
rate of living has risen greatly. The country is steadily going to ruin
because the Indians are not compelled to pay in kind; for they refuse
to plant or cultivate, and all engage in mercantile pursuits, seeing
that they can easily gain the ten reals which is the amount of their
tribute. Although the effort has been made to remedy this by another
way--namely, by official visits from the alcaldes-mayor, in order that
they may rear fowls and plant fields, the result of that has been to
strip them of their possessions. For when the alcaldes-mayor go to
inspect them (that is, every four months), and do not find the fowls
that they have ordered the Indians to rear, they sentence them to a
pecuniary fine. Such is the Indian that he does not take warning from
that, nor will he work unless he knows that he must pay the tribute
in kind. Moreover, it often occurs that the justices themselves take
from the Indian the fowls that he has reared; and then when they go
to visit him and he does not have them, they punish him with stripes
and fines. Thus they practice many injustices against the Indian;
but, if he knew that he had to pay in kind, he would rear the fowls
as formerly.
_Item_: There is one abuse very worthy of correction, which is, that
the religious and alcaldes-mayor keep certain Indians in service,
whom the village grants weekly, and who are called _tanores_. Those
Indians have to serve for nothing, which is contrary to justice and
their rights. This was introduced from the custom in Nueva España. Will
your Highness be pleased to order that the said _tamores_ [_sic_]
be suppressed, or that they be paid for their toil. For they make use
of such Indians, and manage to be well served at others' expense. It
is also the custom to give fish freely on Friday, at the cost of the
village, to the alcaldes-mayor and also to the religious.
_Item_: That the royal Audiencia shall not try the suits of the
Indians in the first instance; for all the cases are brought before the
Audiencia, and the Indians spend all their substance with lawyers and
attorneys, and even go into debt, for they are fond of litigation. And
since suits conducted by audiencias last so long, the Indians spend
all their substance, which means the ruin of the country. Since your
Highness has ordered that such suits be tried summarily and orally,
will your Highness be pleased to order that that decree be observed;
and that the alcaldes-mayor and justices try in the first instance,
and in the second in a case fully proven, so that the Audiencia may
give sentence therein, and despatch the suits quickly.
_Item_: That, although your Highness has ordered that the Indians be
not fined pecuniarily, your order is disregarded, especially by certain
officials of the doctrinas [_i.e._, missions]. There is considerable
abuse in this matter that deserves remedy. In some districts, also,
very large fees are collected. Will your Highness be pleased to order
this remedied, I mean the taking in some districts of these fees by
officials of the doctrinas. [96]
_Item_: The governors have appointed captains, masters-of-camp, and
all sorts of military officers among the natives. They allow them
to have company colors, and finally are teaching them how to fight
after our manner. That means, even if we should need the Indians,
naught else than to awaken one who sleeps, until what he has practiced
becomes his purpose.
_Item_: The Portuguese of Malaca carry to the islands many
slaves--negroes, for the most part. Those are generally the worst ones
that they have, and they are drunkards, thieves, and fugitives, who
take to highway robbery; and they endanger the country considerably,
because of their number. Will your Highness be pleased to order that
no one of the said negroes or slaves be carried thither, when twelve
years old or over, under penalty of confiscation; and that that order
be rigorously executed.
_Item_: That when the governor or auditors leave their offices they
give their residencias in person; for this is of great importance,
so that they may have fear in giving the residencia. [97] It it also
advisable that public suits, both civil and criminal, be prosecuted and
concluded in course of appeal and petition in the royal Chancillería
of Manila; for it disheartens all to have to come so many thousands of
leguas, or to send with so great expense and hardship. Consequently
their grievances continue; and many, although they seek redress,
have not the means to obtain it. The said governors, inasmuch as they
represent your Highness, should treat the citizens with respect, and
not use abusive language to them, nor insult and affront them--as they
have often done, so that certain men have all but died of grief. The
governors have even exposed the citizens to great danger, by not
treating them well by word of mouth. Will your Highness please order
the said governors to be very restrained; and, should any merit it,
that he be punished as your Highness has ordered by your laws.
_Item_: Because of the increase of business in the city of Manila,
and the number of inhabitants, it is necessary for the proper despatch
of business to have one or two more notaries-public.
In regard to the prompt despatch and equipment necessary for your
Highness's two vessels that sail on that line with the trade and
merchandise of that kingdom for Nueva España (which involves the most
important affairs of that kingdom), the reform and careful management
required by that despatch are very necessary and worthy of great
consideration; for during the last ten years they have managed that
just as they pleased, most often despatching the ships beyond the
time when they were formerly despatched, and often poorly equipped
and overladen. Consequently many vessels were wrecked with a great
amount of property, in which your Highness has also lost much. And the
citizens of Manila, when they might be very prosperous and wealthy,
are, thanks to him who has despatched the vessels, very needy and
poor--so much so, that they could not collect a gratuity to give
me. Since it is a matter of so great importance, if your Highness be
pleased to order the observance of the plan that I shall set forth
in these articles, as a person who has so great experience in it,
and which has been for some time in my charge, the necessary remedy
will be applied in the following manner.
First, that the ships be despatched by the middle of June, and that
this be an inviolable law; that a fine of six thousand pesos be
imposed on the governor, to which your Highness shall immediately
condemn him if he do not despatch them then. The reason why this
is so necessary is because the vendavals generally set in at some
time in the month of June; and if they catch the ship in the port,
it cannot sail until that first monsoon passes. That usually lasts
fifteen or twenty days, or one month. If they are caught outside
during this weather, they can sail until they reach the district
and altitude where they find the usual winds, with which they can
make their said voyage easily. Consequently, they will pass Japon,
which is the point where all the difficulties of the said voyage lie,
with good weather. If the said monsoon ceases, and the ships are caught
inside the bay, as a general thing another wind, the brisa, begins to
blow, so that they are detained. Consequently, when they make the said
voyage, and reach the neighborhood of Japon, it is already September
or October. Accordingly it is necessary to run great risks, and they
must suffer many storms, with which the ships lose their rigging,
are wrecked, or have to put into port in distress. If they proceed
on their course, inasmuch as they encounter the rigor of winter, and
because of their high altitude and their departure from a warm land,
many men die; their gums decay and their teeth fall out. [98] If so
great severity is not exercised, this matter will not be remedied.
_Item_: The ships sail very unevenly, and heavily laden, so that
one-half the ship's stores are left above decks; and as the sailors are
unable to attend to necessary duties or to move about in the ships,
in the first storm the stores are all carried into the sea; and the
men left without necessary food, especially live fowls, which means
their very life. On account of their heavy cargoes they are unable
to set all sail or to resist squalls, so that they founder, put into
port in distress, are wrecked, or are long delayed on the voyage.
Again they often sail poorly repaired, because of the fault of the
shore-master [_patron de ribera_] who has charge of them. It is
necessary to remove him from that post; but, although the city has
tried to do so, it has been unable to secure redress. Thus, it is said,
the ship "San Antonio," which was wrecked in the year six hundred and
four, carried rotten timbers throughout; and in it were drowned over
three hundred persons. That said year of six hundred and four, General
Don Diego de Mendoça made port in distress, and gave the information
of which I present a copy here; he said that he was carrying rotten
masts. Inasmuch as this matter is very long, it will not be discussed
here; for, as I am a priest, it is not advisable for me to do so. In
order that the neglect that there has been in this matter may be seen,
never have the governors or royal officials investigated who has been
the cause, or why the ships have put back in distress or have been
wrecked; for that would mean to make a report against themselves. More
than four of them would have been punished rigorously had they made
reports, and had your Highness known the culprits.
_Item_: Inasmuch as the said ships sail so unevenly laden, the seamen
do not have protection from water and cold. Consequently, they
fall sick, and it has even occurred that they die and are frozen,
which is great inhumanity. It is very pitiful to see what occurs in
that navigation.
_Item_: The fireplaces in which the food is cooked are left above
deck, open to water and air, where the first storm carries them
off. It becomes necessary after that to make a fire in earthen jars
in various parts of the ship, at a very great risk of all perishing
and the ship burning--besides the fact that if it rains they cannot
cook their food. For all this it is necessary for your Highness
to order that the ships of the said line that shall be built shall
carry the fireplaces under the forecastle, and as is the custom in
this line of the Yndias; and that the storerooms of the officers of
the ship do not occupy that space. The officers sell the storerooms
to the passengers for considerable money, and stow goods in them,
which is not among the least of all the troubles.
_Item_: That the freight and cargo that the said ships must contain
be stowed in the first hold, and that between decks shall be only the
ship's stores, the chests of the sailors, the messrooms, rigging,
sails, and all necessary supplies. They should carry even rigging
for the port of Acapulco, since there is rigging at Manila which is
very cheap; and then your Highness will not have to spend vast sums
in taking it from San Juan de Lua to Acapulco overland, which is one
hundred and fifty leguas.
_Item_: That all the passengers who shall come from Filipinas to
Nueva España in the said ships should pay a fare of two hundred pesos
if they have a berth or messroom under deck, and those who do not so
have berth or messroom, one hundred pesos, as an aid in the expenses
of the ships. This should be understood not on the outward trip
[to the islands] but on the return trip. [99]
_Item_: That the sailors be not allowed to take aboard more than one
chest of goods, of the size assigned by the governor; for there is the
utmost confusion in this regard, and the sailors are allowed to carry
two or three very large chests, larger than common. They overload and
embarrass the ship; and, under pretext that they are carrying their
clothes, they take those chests full of merchandise.
_Item_: That all the passengers shall carry swords and bucklers
and arquebuses; and that the royal officials shall place on ship
arquebuses, muskets, and lances for the sailors. Those weapons are
cheap in Manila; and with them, and the artillery carried by the
ships, the latter will be well defended. They need no soldiers for
the return trip [to Nueva España], for rather the ships then carry
too many people.
_Item_: No passengers or sailors shall carry with them slave women,
a practice which gives rise to very great offenses against God. Such
shall be regarded as confiscated in the port of Acapulco. This is very
advisable, for many persons carry these women as concubines--not only
the owners of them, but others in the ships. It is not right that there
be any occasion for angering God when there is so great risk in the
voyage, as I dare to affirm; and it is certain that, in the last ten
years, while this has been so prevalent, many disasters have happened.
_Item_: That there has been great disorder in regard to lading the
ships because it has been entrusted at times to very greedy persons,
who, having but slight fear of God, sell the toneladas to, and lade
for, whomsoever they wish. Thence it generally results that the goods
of the poorest and most needy are left ashore, after the poor have
invested their capital; and, after they have paid the duties to your
Highness, they are left ruined. Consequently, the ships sail laden
more with the curses of the poor than with merchandise. That is the
greatest pity, and this evil is worthy of reform. Never has that been
punished. The reform that can be established is, that the overseers
who shall be appointed to assist in the said lading, be appointed by
open cabildo; and should such persons refuse the post, they shall be
compelled to accept it. If they are chosen in this manner, a mistake
cannot be made in the election, since all are known. The governor
shall confirm the choice, and he will thus be exempted from trouble
and will be freed by this from the complaints that he generally incurs,
because the blame is always laid on him. Certainly it belongs to him,
since, he does not appoint those that he should, but whomever he
wishes to advantage, who are at times his own servants.
_Item_: That the said ships are very ill provided with the ship-stores
necessary for the sailors; and on that account the poor sailors spend
their wages in buying provisions for the voyage. That is a great
abuse, and for that reason the ships are also overladen. Likewise
they should carry some fowls for those who fall sick, especially the
Indian common seamen, who are treated like dogs. The Spanish sailors
are more accustomed to provide such things for themselves. Inasmuch
as that voyage is so long, and no fresh provisions can be obtained on
the way, very many fall sick. For a remedy to that, God has placed,
midway in the sea and on the voyage, an island that serves as an inn
in the middle of their way, just as the Portuguese in their voyage
have one at the island of Santa Elena, where they get fresh food. That
island, which I call Rica de Plata, is large, and over one hundred
leguas in circumference. Although some ships sight it in passing,
inasmuch as its ports are unknown, no one dares to get fresh food
there. It is thought to be inhabited, for some signs of habitation
have been seen. It is very necessary that a small vessel sail from
Manila to explore it, and that it look there for a good port, so that
the ships can get water and wood, and reprovision. The exploration
of it may be of the highest importance. It is necessary also because
near that region the ships generally lose their rigging in storms, and
they can be refitted and repaired there, and can continue their voyage
without having to put back to Manila. I advised your Highness of that
some years ago, as it is so important for that voyage I believe that a
decree was sent to the governor in a former year [100] to explore it;
but that must be ordered again. A man of experience should be sent, so
that he may display the prudence and make the exploration requisite,
in accordance with the art and science of hydrography; and likewise
so that he may live in Manila and examine the pilots of that line,
and make faithful and accurate sea-charts. For that purpose I shall
give him considerable enlightenment by giving him the documents on
the demarcations, and the information that I possess, on which I
have labored much in order to serve your Highness. Nowhere does your
Highness need a cosmographer so much as in that land, for many things
that arise and may arise.
_Item_: A plan occurs to me whereby the ships that have to sail in that
line may cost your Highness less than half, and a vessel last twice
as long, compared with those that are built in Filipinas. Likewise
the Indian natives would be saved many hardships and annoyances in
the cutting of timber, which they have to do for the building of the
ships. This consists in the governor going from Manila to Vengala
and Cuchin in India to buy the ships; for they sell them there made
from an incorruptible wood together with a quantity of extra rigging
made of _cayro_, [101] which is better than that of hemp. With the
rigging alone that can be imported from there, the cost of the ship
can be saved. Thence Lascar sailors can be brought, who are cheaper
and are very good seamen. All the Portuguese of those parts use
them in navigating, and they are very needful in the Filipinas. They
will come very willingly and will save your Highness a considerable
sum. For that it is necessary to send orders to your viceroy of Goa,
and to the chief commandant of Malaca, to protect the Lascars who
shall go thither, and not to harm them.
_Item_: Your Highness granted a concession to the city of Manila of
a decree ordering your governor Don Pedro de Acuña to assign to the
cabildo of the said city seats in the cathedral, as was befitting
the chief municipal body of that kingdom. As yet these have not been
assigned, because the wives of the auditors sit inside the principal
chapel, where the said cabildo generally sat--that is, opposite the
seats of the auditors and governor.
I petition your Highness to have the said seats assigned, and to order
the wives of the said auditors to sit elsewhere, since in none of the
Yndias do the latter sit in the principal chapel, thus depriving the
said cabildo of their seats.
_Item_: The royal magazines have very few muskets and arquebuses for
the defense of that kingdom. I petition your Highness to be pleased
to have a quantity of arms sent, and also to order that they be
distributed among the citizens; and that the latter pay those who
give them those muskets and arquebuses the price that your Highness
shall have paid for them there, and the costs [of transportation].
_Item_: The province of Nueva Segovia, the most northern province of
the island of Manila, which is very near China, is a very good and
fertile land. It is becoming entirely pacified and quieted. There
the Order of St. Dominic is in charge, and they are gathering much
fruit. It is the best land in the islands and the most fertile. There,
inasmuch as the climate is temperate, the products of this country
can be produced, such as wheat, fruits, and other food. It lies in an
excellent region, and has there a Spanish city, called Nueva Segovia,
which gives name to the said province. It has but few inhabitants now,
because the encomenderos of that district go to Manila and desert
it. Will your Highness be pleased to order the said encomenderos to
live in the said city, and your governor to make efforts to settle
it, especially with people who will cultivate and sow the land, so
that that district may retain its excellence. For that purpose it is
very needful that the said governor appoint an alcalde-mayor for that
district, who shall be a lieutenant-governor, and who shall keep his
office for three-years; for [the usual] appointments as alcalde are
for but one year, and one can learn to know the country but little in
so short a time. It is necessary that the judge that shall go there
(and so that an influential and satisfactory man might be able to
go there) be given a good salary; and that that province and that of
Ylocos, which lies next to Nueva Segovia, be subject to him. That is
very necessary for the welfare of those two provinces, which are very
far from Manila.
_Item_: Will your Highness be pleased to give me a good master
shipbuilder, or authority to look for one, and another intelligent
person as shore-master, to assist in the despatch and repairs of
ships. He should be a Spaniard and not a foreigner, like the one
there now; for in former times, when Doctor Antonio de Morga, your
auditor, sailed out against a Dutchman who went to those islands,
while two ships were being prepared to attack the Dutch, two holes
were bored in one of them one night, and it began to sink, and the
sails were taken out and hid in the woods. It was not discovered
who did it, nor was any investigation even made. But one may readily
presume that some enemy to us did it; and indeed we can not settle
our suspicions on anyone. In order to investigate these and many other
actions worthy of punishment or correction which have occurred there
in these matters, and in others--for instance, that in other parts of
those islands they gave that same Dutchman food, and there was some
person who communicated with him; while it is even said that they
showed him how to get out of a harbor that he had entered, and from
which we considered it impossible for him to sail--and finally there
are many things to correct and reform, and burdens to be removed
from the Indian natives: for all these it is necessary for your
Highness to appoint a person there to make official visits through
the country. It is as necessary as the inspection itself that such
shore-master be a disinterested person and a resident of that country;
for if he is after money, he will do no good. Hence, if your Highness
be pleased to appoint such an one, there are ecclesiastical persons in
the Filipinas, as for instance the bishops, especially he of Çibu, Fray
Pedro de Agurto, who is a saintly man; an ecclesiastic, the archdeacon
of Manila, called Licentiate Don Francisco Gomez de Arellano, a most
zealous servant of God, and a father of that community--one who seeks
no money, but rather gives all his income in alms; also a Dominican
friar, the commissary of the Holy Office, who is an excellent man;
and another friar of the Order of St. Francis, called Fray Juan
Baptista. These men, besides having experience in the country,
and knowing what demands reform, are men disinterested and wholly
competent and capable. Entire faith can be given to any one of them,
with assurance. If the visitor be not one of the inhabitants there,
it is inadvisable to send him, nor is it my intent to ask for him.
_Item_: For some years past, some Indians living near by,
and our enemies, of the islands of Mindanao, Jolo, Burney, and
other neighboring islands, have become emboldened and have gone
beyond bounds. They are Mahometans, and have ruined those Filipinas
Islands--pillaging and capturing the natives, burning the churches and
images, and cutting the images with knives and destroying them, to the
great injury of our holy Catholic faith. This has reached so shameless
and bold a pass that no one--not only natives but Spaniards--dares to
go among the said islands. Those enemies have rendered the said natives
very liable to revolt, by coming daily to plunder them, and to carry
off their possessions, and their wives and children captive; and in
fact they have revolted several times, and taken to the mountains,
saying that since the Spaniards do not provide for their defense,
they will not pay tribute. Some, who are more loyal, say that,
if they are allowed to carry arms as before, they will defend their
country. After examining the cause of these troubles with great care,
the following considerations have presented themselves.
First, that, according to the command of one of your Highness's royal
decrees, such men [_i.e.,_ the Moros] cannot be slaves. As they are
a race from whom the soldiers can get no other booty, because the
Moros do not possess it, they fight unwillingly. If the soldiers
could make captives of them, they would become very eager, and that
would be a great incentive for the soldiers to destroy them. There is
less incentive for them to capture those people than to kill them,
as they do now. Again it would be very useful to the said islands,
for the natives would also be encouraged to go to war because of their
eagerness to possess slaves to cultivate their fields. Therefore, will
your Highness be pleased to order that those people be made slaves,
since their enslavement is so justifiable and of so great service
to God; or that this matter be committed to the royal Audiencia and
archbishop and bishops to determine, inasmuch as they have the matter
in hand.
_Item_: There are two other nations in the island of Manila
called Zambales and Negrillos. They are a people who live in the
mountains. They go naked, and are highwaymen; and their only ambition
is to cut off heads, in order to swallow the brains. He is most valiant
and influential who has cut off most heads. No woman will marry any one
who has not cut off some heads. They are so inhuman and churlish a race
that they do not care whether those whom they kill are women, children,
or men. They obstruct the most needed road in the island, and occupy
the best land. They are near the province of La Pampanga, which is
inhabited by an agricultural people, who support Manila. They prevent
the latter from cultivating their fields, for seldom can the Indians,
whether men or women, go out to cultivate their fields, without their
heads being cut off. Although the governors have often sent soldiers
to punish them, scarcely have the latter ever killed one of them. For
they run like deer, and have no village or fixed abode. They do not
sow grain, but live on wild fruits and game. The most efficacious
remedy will be for your Highness to order that they be made slaves
of the natives of the province of La Pampanga; for with this, through
their greed to capture these enemies so as to cultivate their fields,
the Pampangos will subdue the country in a very short time, at their
own cost. I petition your Highness to commit this matter, as above
stated, to the Audiencia, archbishop, and bishops. This is a matter
of great importance. Slavery, as practiced among the natives, is such
that they are almost not slaves at all; and the system is of great
benefit to the country. If this matter be not remedied by the above
method, the many depredations that are committed will have no check.
Also, the reason why the enemies have become emboldened beyond
their wont is for the lack in those regions of ships fit for that
warfare. For that, it must be known that those people use certain light
craft called caracoas. Those craft are short and undecked. They have
one palmo, more or less, of freeboard; and they carry eighty or one
hundred Indians who act as rowers, who use certain oars one vara in
length. Each of these vessels carries ten or twelve fighting Indians,
no more. They cannot take the open sea, except when it is very calm
weather, nor do they carry provisions for even one fortnight. When
we Spaniards used those craft, and others called vireys, which
resemble them, they greatly feared us; for, since those craft were
as light as their own, we made great havoc among those people. And
finally--although at great cost to the natives who were drafted as
rowers--those ships made the country safe; for they fought after
the manner of those people. Those vessels are not used so much
now, for in truth they cause great injuries to the natives. I do
not know whether I can say that they even care any longer for the
damage inflicted by the enemies, one reason being that they are
badly paid and badly treated, while their wives and children are
left to starve to death, and their crops go to ruin. The governors
of the Filipinas, in their effort to avoid that trouble [_i.e._,
of hostile raids] have built galleys there since the time of Doctor
Francisco de Sande until now. As I have seen personally, and as all
the inhabitants of that country know, the galleys of the Filipinas are
their destruction. The reason is that the rowers are a weak people,
and their food is not very nourishing. Accordingly, it has happened,
even lately--during Don Pedro de Acuña's term, when the galleys were
best supplied--that the crew have continued to row a galley for six
hours, and that two convicts fell dead, while the others stretched
themselves on the deck exhausted; and even if the overseers killed
them, they could not make them move. For that reason, and because the
seas have strong currents between those islands, and continual winds,
the galleys are of little use.
Another reason is that, since the galleys draw much more water than
the enemy's vessels, when the former try to make land they can cause
no injury. Another reason is that the galleys are generally anchored
in the river of Manila, and, when any necessity arises, before they
can leave the port they have to get provisions for the crew. Often
it is necessary to seek contributions of food from house to house,
because there is none in the royal magazines. If the wind is only
slightly contrary, which is generally the case, the ships cannot move,
and when they finally begin to look for the enemy, the latter are
at home, and laughing at us. Another reason is that the galleys are
an intolerable burden, which it is impossible to sustain. They have
so consumed the supplies, and so endangered the royal treasury, that
other very necessary things cannot be attended to. Further, they cause
the ships of the line, to be short of necessities and poorly equipped,
because in attending to the construction of the galleys, they neglect
the ships. And since there are many ship-worms there in the river,
which eat the ships, it is necessary to rebuild them every year, and
to be continually repairing them. Further, they are dens of thieves,
who are always assaulting and plundering the Indians. In short, they
are the destruction of that community; and hitherto have accomplished
nothing, either good or bad, that is of any importance. Further,
your Highness is under great expense with them in paying their many
salaries. Consequently, as there is little cloth in the Filipinas
with which to clothe so many, everything is, of necessity, going to
ruin, where the expenses are not measured by the revenues. All the
above evils can be corrected by ordering ships made according to the
plan and model that I left with the governor at my departure; for,
considering the said wrongs, and wishing to remedy them, I made a
ship at my own cost, which has the following peculiarities, of which
I give a description.
They are vessels that carry no more than seven oars to a bench,
although larger or smaller ones can be made. Each one will cost
your Highness two hundred and fifty ducados to build; and will
with two-thirds as many or even fewer rowers, carry twice as
many soldiers as do the caracoas. The men are protected from sun
and shower in excellent quarters which neither the caracoas nor the
galleys have. They carry food for six months, a thing which those
other vessels cannot do. They are very swift sailers, so that there
is no ship that can pass them when there is not a contrary wind
that prohibits sailing. They respond so readily to the oar, that
while testing that ship before the governor and all Manila, against
the swiftest galley of all, I left the galley more than half-way
behind. They carry sufficient artillery to destroy the vessels of
all the enemies that we have there, except those of pirates when such
should go there. For the latter it is necessary to have large ships;
and it would be advisable to keep there a couple of fragatas like
those built in Habana by Pedro Melendes.
Those ships above mentioned are not only useful for war, but can
save your Highness many expenses in ships, in carrying food and the
tributes; for, in the time while I had it, about two months, until
after I had given it to the governor, it alone accomplished more than
did all the other vessels. Consequently, a vast sum can be saved,
and the soldiers will be more eager, if they find themselves in so
advantageous a vessel. Also the natives will be spared injuries;
and innumerable other benefits will follow, which, in order to avoid
prolixity, I shall refrain from mentioning. Your viceroy of Nueva
España had me make a model of the said vessel for the exploration of
the sea of California in Mexico.
_Item_: The garrison soldiers of Manila are a cause [of the ruin of
the country], for many are killed, and they are lessened in numbers;
and they commit many vile acts, by which the Spanish nation suffers
great loss of reputation among those pagans. Inasmuch as they are
paid there in three yearly installments, the result is that, as soon
as they have received their money, most of them gamble it away in
their quarters, and then go about barefoot and naked. Many sell their
arquebuses to the natives, which is a great evil. They have to go
about begging alms and commit innumerable acts of meanness among the
pagans themselves--who, in contempt, call them "soldiers." Further,
will your Highness be pleased to order your viceroy of Nueva España
not to allow any mestizos or mulattoes to be admitted among the men
sent as reënforcements to the Filipinas; for such men give themselves
up to intoxication, and injure us greatly.
It is possible to remedy the needs of the soldiers in this manner. Your
Highness has imposed a situado of two reals on all the tributes of
those islands, in order to pay one and one-half reals to the soldiers
and one-half real to the prebendaries of the church. This amount is
paid into the royal treasury. As the treasury always falls short,
and the Audiencia has to be preferred in the payment of its salaries;
and as the galleys and many other things cause a shortage, eight or ten
months or one year are wont to pass without the soldiers receiving any
pay; consequently, one can imagine their sufferings. It will be very
important to have that situado placed in a separate fund. Since there
are three royal officials and in the said treasury two are sufficient
if one of them performs two duties (as has often been done), the third
official could take charge of that situado. He could purchase food at
the harvests which would be cheap, and every week he could give the
soldiers a ration of rice--the ordinary bread of that country--or
wheat, which is also produced there, besides giving them in money
one real per day. The amount still remaining could be paid to them
every four months in order that they might clothe themselves. If
their pay were increased by eight reals more, they could live well;
and one-half of those who die now would not die, which is much more
costly to your Highness. If your Highness is not willing to have the
royal official to whose charge that duty must fall perform it there,
a rich and very intelligent citizen should be charged with it; and
in cases of need he should have to supply what will be often necessary.
_Item_: Manila lacks artillerymen--I mean men who understand
artillery when need arises; for men are not lacking to take the
pay of artillerymen, some of whom have never heard a gun fired all
their life, but only enjoy that salary as a favor. Consequently your
Highness's revenues are spent uselessly, for such men are artillerymen
only in name. I petition your Highness that artillerymen be made to
pass an examination, or that on demand they furnish a certificate
of examination; and that whoever shall pay their salary or order
it to be paid [to incompetent men] shall incur a severe penalty;
and that any person who shall apply for a position in the artillery
service when one becomes vacant, shall, if a capable artilleryman,
be preferred to the others, and that no posts shall be granted by
favor to those who do not understand artillery.
_Item_: That camp needs a founder of artillery, who must be an
efficient and good workman; for during the last fourteen years nothing
else has been done than to spend your Highness's royal revenues in
salaries and making estimates of cost, and they have accomplished
nothing useful. There is a good supply of metals and everything else
necessary. It is extremely advisable that those islands have some
one who understands founding artillery, in order to fortify the city.
_Item_: Inasmuch as that city is so far from your Highness's eyes,
and where journeys to and fro are made with so great difficulty, it
is necessary for the good government of spiritual affairs, according
to the customary method in Yndia, that, in case of the decease of the
archbishop of Manila, his successor be appointed there; or that at
least the senior bishop, or whoever your Highness may choose, shall
govern the archbishopric. For, the first time when the archbishopric
was vacant, that city was seven years without a prelate; and the second
time, three or four years. In this matter, I must tell your Highness
that you could avoid having so many bishops there--especially those
of Caceres and Nueva Segovia, who are in that same island of Manila;
for they have no churches of importance, nor even any place wherein
suitably to keep the most holy sacrament. Neither do the bishops
do more than to confirm, and for that a bishop _in partibus_ [102]
would be sufficient. Considering that the royal treasury is poor and
cannot attend to many other necessary things, it is very inadvisable to
increase those expenses in other ways. And considering the future--for
there might happen to be persons in those bishoprics who do not think
of or profess the poverty and bareness now maintained by those who
are there--that would be a great burden on the Indian natives, and
of no use.
_Item_: That in the trade of the Filipinas with the kingdom of Japon,
in exchange for the merchandise shipped there they carry silver to
Manila; for Japon has quantities of silver, and many rich mines have
been discovered. The said silver is of the quality required by law,
its fifth is taken, and the Japanese emperor's duties are paid as they
are here paid to your Highness. Inasmuch as silver money is used in
those kingdoms and districts only by weight--and thus the citizens of
Manila receive it, while the same is usual in Piru and Nueva España,
wherever there are mines, in buying and selling with pieces of silver
marked by weight instead of being coined; and inasmuch as this is very
useful to the citizens of Manila, since, if this trade increases as it
is increasing now, it will not be necessary to trade at all with the
coined money of Nueva España: therefore I petition your Highness to
be pleased to allow the said silver to pass as it has always passed;
and that table service and other articles may be made of it without
new duties being demanded, since these are not due.
_Item_: That during the war with the Sangleys, when they revolted,
the Indian natives about Manila and La Laguna de Bay, and especially
those of the province of La Pampanga, fought with great valor against
the Sangleys, and aided us with great loyalty and willingness. It
was at a juncture when, had they joined the side of the enemies, the
Filipinas would have been ruined. Will your Highness be pleased to
order the governor to thank them for it in your Highness's name. They
will greatly esteem that, especially certain chiefs--as, for instance,
Don Guillermo, who on that occasion was master-of-camp of the
Pampanga Indians; and Don Ventura, master-of-camp of those of Bay. I
also request that the governor be commanded to order the religious
who have missions under their charge to treat the Indians well; for
they are wont to lash the natives for slight causes, and equally with
them even the chief Indian women. This is very necessary, both for
the conversion and for good example, and in order to incline them to
us and make them devoted to us. For they are a race, who, with little
effort on our part and with reasonable treatment, will do whatever we
desire. The same thing should be ordered to the alcaldes-mayor; and
your Highness should order the royal Audiencia to have any injuries
committed on the Indians rigorously punished--for, inasmuch as these
have not been so punished, many troubles have happened.
_Fernando de los Rios Coronel_
(_To be concluded_)
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
Most of the documents in this volume are obtained from MSS. in the
Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; their pressmarks are as follows:
1. _Letter from Alcaraz_.--"Audiencia de Mexico; expedientes sobre
el apresto de la armada que salio de Nueva España para las islas
Filipinas; años 1612 á 1617; est 96, caj. 1, leg. 22."
2. _Memorial regarding hospital_.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de
Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos
en el Consejo; años de 1600 á 1628; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 7."
3. _Letter from Tenza_.--The same as No. 2.
4. _Letters to Fajardo_.--"Audiencia de Filipinas; registros de
oficios; reales ordenes dirigidas á las autoridades del distrito de
la Audiencia; años 1597 á 1634; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 1."
5. _Filipinas menaced_.--"Simancas--Secular; cartas y expedientes
del presidente y oidores de dicha Audiencia vistos en el Consejo;
años 1607 á 1626; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 20."
6. _Philippine shipbuilding_.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de
Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de personas seculares vistos en el
Consejo; años 1619 á 1621; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 38."
7. _Decree regarding religious expelled_.--The same as No. 4--save
"años 1605 á 1645," and "leg. 12."
8. _Proposal to destroy Macao_.--"Simancas--Eclesiastico; Audiencia de
Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de personas eclesiasticas de Filipinas;
años 1609 á 1644; est. 68, caj. i, leg. 43."
9. _Letter from Pedro de Arce_.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de
Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de los obispos sufraganeos de Manila;
años de 1579 á 1679; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 34."
10. _Letter from Fajardo_.--The same as No. 2.
11. _Grant to seminary_.--The same as No. 6.
12. _Reforms needed_.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas;
cartas y expedientes del cabildo secular de Manila vistos en el
Consejo; años 1570 á 1640; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 27." Three documents
are combined in this one; of these the first is in the original a
printed pamphlet with MS. additions.
The following are obtained from MSS. in the Real Academia de la
Historia, Madrid; all are in the collection "Papeles de los Jesuitas:"
13. _Trade with the Far East_.--"Tomo 15, no. 19."
14. _Relation of 1617-18_.--"Tomo 84, no. 7."
15. _Description of islands_.--"Tomo 84, no. 22."
16. _Dutch factories_.--"Tomo 135, no. 34."
17. _Relation of 1618-19_.--"Tomo 112, no. 55."
NOTES
[1] Spanish, _se hierra_; an allusion to the branding of convicts with
a hot iron; that is, a defeat on the part of the Spaniards would be
an irremediable damage to their reputation.
[2] See _Vol_. XIV, p. 314, note 53.
[3] The property of deceased persons was carefully guarded by law, as
numerous decrees show; see _Recopilación de leyes_, lib. ix, tit. xiv,
which contains twenty-five ordinances, devoted to "the property
of persons who have died in the Indias, and its administration and
accounts in the House of Trade at Sevilla;" and lib. ii, tit. xxxii,
with seventy ordinances regarding "the courts in charge of such
property, and its administration and accounts in the Indias, and on
vessels of war or trade." Two of these laws (ley xxii in the former
group, and ley lix in the latter) give definite and unqualified
command that the funds in the probate treasury shall not be used
for any purpose whatsoever, even for the needs of the royal service;
and another (ley lx, second group), dated December 13, 1620, commands
that the proceeds of estates left by persons dying in the Philippines
shall be accounted for and paid (to the heirs) at the royal treasury
in the city of Mexico.
[4] Juan Ronquillo was a relative of Gonzalo Ronquillo de
Peñalosa. After the death of Rodríguez de Figueroa, he conducted
an expedition to Mindanao in 1597 at Governor Tello's order (see
description of that expedition, _Vol_. XV). In 1617 he defeated the
Dutch at Playa Honda, as above described.
[5] Playa Honda (signifying "a low beach") is the name of an extensive
plain in Batalan or Botolan mountain, 1,847 feet high, on the coast
of Zambales province, Luzón, to the northwest of Manila. In the text,
this name is applied to a road or anchorage on that coast; its early
name was Paynauén.
[6] This was Miguel García Serrano; he made his profession as an
Augustinian friar in 1592, at Agreda, Spain. Three years later,
he arrived in the Philippines, where he was minister in several
native villages, and held various important offices in his order,
being provincial in 1611. Then he went to Spain and Rome; and, when
the see of Nueva Segovia became vacant, Serrano was appointed to
it. After ruling this bishopric for two years (June, 1617-August,
1619) he became archbishop of Manila. His death occurred in June, 1629.
[7] "At this time (i.e., late in the sixteenth century], also,
political and religious war was almost universal in Europe, and
the quarrels of the various nationalities followed the buccaneers,
pirates, traders, and missionaries to the distant seas of Japan
.... All foreigners, but especially Portuguese, were then slave
traders, and thousands of Japanese were bought and sold, and shipped
to Macao, in China, and to the Philippines. Hidéyoshi repeatedly
issued decrees threatening with death these slave-traders, and even
the purchasers. The seaports of Hirado and Nagasaki were the resort
of the lowest class of adventurers from all European Nations, and the
result was a continual series of uproars, broils, and murders among
the foreigners, requiring ever and anon the intervention of the native
authorities to keep the peace." (Griffis's _Mikado's Empire_, p. 254.)
[8] A small island--the name meaning "Vay Island," Pulo being simply
the Malay word for "island"--situated near the island of Banda. The
English post thereon which is mentioned in the text was of little
consequence, according to Richard Cocks--see his _Diary, 1615-22_
(Hakluyt Society's publications, London, 1883), i, pp. 269, 274, 275,
292; he states that there were "5 or 7 English men in that iland,"
and that they were slain by the Dutch and the natives. The editor of
the _Diary_, E.M. Thompson, cites (p. 269) mention of this event in
_Purchas His Pilgrimes_. The name Pulovay is also applied to a small
island north of Achen, Sumatra.
[9] This document is also contained in the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer
library), i, pp. 443-471. Certain variations occur therein from the
text we follow, which is transcribed from the original MS. in the Real
Academia de Historia, Madrid; and that of Ventura del Arco purports to
be taken from the same MS. This apparent discrepancy probably arises
from the two transcriptions being made from different copies of the
same document. In the collection of the Real Academia more than one
copy exists, in the case of certain documents; and there may be more
than one copy of the one here presented. It should be remembered,
in this connection, that in the religious houses in Europe manuscript
copies of letters from distant lands were largely circulated, at that
period, for the edification of their members (as we have before noted);
and these copies were often not verbatim, the transcriber sometimes
making slight changes, or omissions, or adding information which
he had received later or by other channels. Our own text has been
collated with that of Ventura del Arco, and variations or additions
found in the latter are indicated as above, in brackets, followed by
"_V.d.A._"--omitting, however, some typographical and other slight
variations, which are unimportant. In the Ventura del Arco transcript
there are considerable omissions of matter contained in the MS. that
we follow.
[10] For account of the arrival of these vessels in Japan, and various
details regarding their exploits in the Philippines, see Cocks's
_Diary_, i, pp. 259-281. The name "Leon Rojo" signifies "Red Lion;"
and "Fregelingas" is apparently a Spanish corruption of "Vlissingue"
("Flushing").
[11] This word is written Tono in the Ventura del Arco transcript. The
ruler of Firando (the local form of Hirado, as it is more correctly
written) was then Takanobu, who became daimio--"king," in the English
and Spanish writers; but equivalent to "baron"--of that island. The
name Tono Sama, applied to the daimio, is not a personal name, but
a polite form, equivalent to "your Lordship." See Satow's notes on
_Voyage of Saris_ (Hakluyt Society's publications, London, 1900),
p. 79. Cocks speaks of this ruler as Figen Sama.
The "history of Hirado as a commercial port" up to 1611 is recounted
by Satow (_ut supra_, pp. xliv-li).
[12] This commander is mentioned by Cocks as John Derickson Lamb. The
ship called "Galeaça" in our text is "Gallias" in that of Cocks.
[13] Evidently Ilocos, as is shown by another mention near the end
of this paragraph.
[14] Name of the Moro pirates who inhabit the little islands of
the Sulu group east of Tawi-tawi, and the islands between these and
Borneo; but on the last the name Tirones is also conferred--derived
from the province of Tiron in Borneo, to which these islands are
adjacent. See Blumentritt's list of Philippine tribes and languages
(Mason's translation), in _Smithsonian Report_, 1899. pp. 527-547.
[15] "In 1611, Iyéyasu obtained documentary proof of what he had long
suspected, viz., the existence of a plot on the part of the native
converts and the foreign emissaries to reduce Japan to the position of
a subject state... Iyéyasu now put forth strenuous measures to root
out utterly what he believed to be a pestilent breeder of sedition
and war. Fresh edicts were issued, and in 1614 twenty-two Franciscan,
Dominican, and Augustinian friars, one hundred and seventeen Jesuits,
and hundreds of native priests and catechists, were embarked by force
on board junks, and sent out of the country." (Griffis's _Mikado's
Empire_, p. 256.)
The priests mentioned in our text were put to death in June, 1617,
at Omura (Cocks's _Diary_, i, pp. 256, 258).
[16] Vicente Sepúlveda was a native of Castilla, and entered the
Augustinian order in that province; he was a religious of great
attainments in knowledge and virtue. He arrived in the Philippines in
1606, became very proficient in the language of the Pampangos, and
was a missionary among them for five years. In 1614 he was elected
provincial of his order in the islands. "Thoroughly inflexible in
character, he undertook to secure the most rigorous observance of
the decrees and mandates of the latest father-visitor, on which
account he incurred the great displeasure and resentment of many.
By the death of Father Jerónimo de Salas, Father Sepúlveda became a
second time the ruler of the province, as rector provincial; but he
did not change in the least his harsh and rigid mode of government. A
lamentable and unexpected event put an end to his already harassed
life, on August 21, 1617." (Pérez's _Catálogo_, p. 76.)
[17] Jerónimo de Salas made his profession in the Augustinian
convent at Madrid, in 1590, and reached the Philippines in 1595. He
was a missionary to the Indians for some fifteen years, and was
afterward elected to high positions in his order. "So exceptional
was the executive ability of which he gave proof in the discharge
of these offices that in the provincial chapter held in 1617 he was
unanimously elected prior provincial. Most unfortunately, when so
much was hoped from the eminent abilities of this very judicious and
learned religious, an acute illness ended his valuable life; he died
at Manila on May 17 of the same year." (Perez's _Catálogo_, p. 49.)
[18] Alonso Rincon was one of the Augustinians arriving in the
Philippines in 1606. He was minister in various Indian villages until
1617, when he was appointed prior of the Manila convent. He was sent
as procurator to Spain and Rome in 1618, and returned to Manila four
years afterward. He died there in 1631.
[19] The Ventura del Arco transcript ends here; but it is followed
by a note, thus:
_Note by the transcriber_: "The court of Rome was greatly offended
at the just and proper procedure of the definitorio of the Order,
giving them to understand that they should have concealed the crime
and the criminals; but that, besides being against all morality and
the necessity of making a public example of offenders, would have
been impossible in this case, so notorious in Manila from the hour
when the crime and the delinquents were discovered."
[20] Cf. the brief account of this tragic occurrence given by the
Augustinian chronicler Juan de Medina, in his _Historia_ (1630),
which will be presented in a later volume of this series.
[21] A fleet of five caravels arrived at Manila in 1612, which had
come from Cadiz via the Cape of Good Hope; they were commanded by
Ruy Gonzalez Sequeira, and brought reënforcements of nearly six
hundred men.
[22] This was Alonso Fajardó y Tenza; for sketch of his career as
governor, see appendix at end of _Vol_. XVII.
[23] These italic sidebeads represent marginal notes in the MS. from
which this document is translated.
[24] So in the transcription, but apparently a copyist's error of
_sesenta_ ("sixty") for _setenta_ ("seventy "). See _Vol_. III, p. 153.
[25] Evidently referring to the statement above (under the heading
"Camarines") as to the use of gold by the Indians for their ornaments.
[26] Achen is at the northwest extremity of Sumatra, and Jambi
is a state in the northeast part of the same island. Sumatra is
the principal source of the black pepper of commerce. See articles
"Sumatra," "Jambi," and "Pepper," in Crawfurd's _Dictionary of Indian
Islands_. Negapatan is on the eastern coast of Hindustan, not far
from Cape Comorin.
[27] Better known by its modern name of Johor; it is the Malay state at
the southern end of the Malayan peninsula, and the British territory
of Malacca and the Malay state of Pahang lie north of it. The town
of Johor was founded in 1511, by the Malays who were then expelled
from Malacca by the Portuguese. Johor was not an island, but part
of the mainland: the text probably refers to one of the islands off
its coast on which a Dutch post may have been located; some of these
islands are still possessed by the Dutch.
[28] Apparently a corruption of the name Masulipatam, a city on the
Coromandel coast of India--not, as Heredia calls it, an island.
[29] This last paragraph decides the authorship of this document,
plainly indicating that of Pedro de Heredia, who filled the post
he mentions in the last sentence, and captured the Dutch commander
van Caerden.
[30] Evidently a reference to the hospital at Los Baños (see
_Vol_. XIV, p. 211).
[31] _Achotes [hachotes] para los faroles_: A large wax candle, with
more than one wick, or a union of three or four candles, which was
used for the lanterns.
[32] The bahar (from _bahara_, a word of Sanscrit origin) has long been
in quite general use in the East. The word is found variously spelled,
"bahare," "bare," and "vare." Its value varies in different localities,
there being two distinct weights--one, the great bahar, used for
weighing cloves, other spices, etc.; and the small bahar, about 150
kilos or 400 pounds avoirdupois, used for weighing quicksilver, various
metals, certain drugs, etc. John Saris, writing of the commerce of
Bantam, says: "A sacke is called a Timbang, and two Timbanges is one
Peecull, three Peeculls is a small bahar, and foure Peeculls and an
halfe a great Bahar, which is foure hundred fortie fiue Cattees and
an halfe."
At Malacca and Achen, the great bahar is said by an old Dutch
voyageur to contain 200 cates, each cate containing 26 taïels or 38
1/2 Portuguese ounces, weak; the small bahar, also 200 cates, but each
cate of only 22 taïels or 32 1/2 ounces, strong; while in China the
bahar contained 300 cates, which were equivalent to the 200 cates of
Malacca. Instructions to François Wittert, commissary at Bantam, gives
the following table for weights: 1 picol = 2 Basouts or Basauts = 100
catis; 1 hare = 9 basauts = 4 1/2 picols--which should have amounted
to 600 Dutch pounds, but in the equivalent then rendered was only 540
pounds. Dutch annals also give equivalents in Dutch pounds as 380,
525, 550, and 625. Modern English equivalents in pounds avoirdupois for
various places are: Amboyna, 597.607; Arabia--(Bet-el-falsi), 815.625,
(Jidda), 183.008, (Mocha), 450; Bantam--(ordinary) 396, (for pepper)
406.780; Batavia, 610.170. See Satow's notes on _Voyage of John Saris
to Japan_ (Hakluyt Society's publications, London, 1900), pp. 212,
213; _Recueil des voyages_ (Amsterdam, 1725); and Clarke's _Weights,
Measures, and Money_ (N.Y., 1888).
[33] Apparently referring to the hostilities in the preceding year
between the Dutch and English at Pulovay, a small island near Banda
(see _ante_, note 8). See list of Dutch forts in 1612-1613 in the
Moluccas, in _Voyage of John Saris_.
[34] A court minute of the English East India Company, dated November
12, 1614, has the following in regard to Dutch opposition to the
English in the East Indies: "Yett he [_i.e._, John Saris] found the
Dutch very opposite to hinder the English in their proceedings all
that ever they might, as well by vndersellinge, contrarye to their
promyse, at [_sic_] by all other means of discouradgement, makeinge
shewe of waunte without any occasion."
(See _Voyage of John Saris_, p. lxiv.) Regarding the competition and
hostility between the Dutch and English in the trade of the Indies,
which often led to open warfare (as at Banda in 1617-1618), see _Voyage
of Sir Henry Middleton_ (Hakluyt Society's publications, London 1855),
and Kerr's _Collection of Travels and Voyages_ (Edinburgh, 1824),
viii and ix. The attempts of James I of England to win alliance with
Spain lend some color to the proposed English-Spanish alliance in
the Moluccas.
[35] Apparently referring to the importation of quicksilver (via
Manila) from China to Nueva España. (Sec _Vol_. XVII, p. 237.)
[36] These islands were discovered in 1568 by Alvaro de Mendaña;
but for various reasons nothing was done to make them available as a
conquest, and their location became so doubtful that many geographers
disbelieved their existence, and even removed them from the maps. These
islands were not rediscovered until late in the eighteenth century. See
the Hakluyt Society's publication of the narratives of Mendaña and
others, _Discovery of the Solomon Islands_ (London, 1901), with
editorial comments by Lord Amherst of Hackney and Basil Thomson.
[37] From internal evidence it is apparent that this relation is
written from Nueva España, a thing which the reader must constantly
keep in mind; also that it was written in 1619--probably in January
or February, as it was considered by the Council in May of that year.
[38] Delgado (_Historia_, pp. 418, 419) and Blanco (_Flora_,
pp. 428-429) describe a tree called _dangcalan_, or _palo maría_
(_calophyllum inophyllum_--Linn.), which is probably the tree referred
to in the text. While generally a tree of ordinary size, it is said
to grow to huge dimensions in Mindanao. Besides its use as above
mentioned, an oil or balsam is distilled from the leaves, or obtained
from the trunk, which has valuable medicinal uses, in both external
and internal application. This oil sometimes serves to give light,
but the light is dim, and to anoint the hoofs of horses. It blooms
in November, the flowers growing in bunches of seven or nine each;
and its leaf is oval and tapering. The wood is light, exceedingly
tough, and reddish in color. It is very plentiful in the Visayas,
and generally grows close to the water. It is known by a number of
different names, among them being bitanhol or bitanjol, and dincalin.
[39] Perhaps the guijo (also spelt guiso or guisoc; _Dipterocarpus
guiso_--Bl.), a wood of red color, which is strong, durable, tough,
and elastic; it produces logs 75 feet long by 24 inches square, and is
now used in Hongkong for wharf-decks and flooring, but in Manila for
carriage shafts (_U.S. Gazetteer of Philippine Islands_). Blanco says
that this tree is much esteemed for carriage-wheels, and is also used
for topmasts and keels. The Indians call it guiso, but the Spaniards
have corruptly called it guijo. It is common in Mindoro.
[40] Probably the lauan (also called lauaan and sándana; _Dipterocarpus
thurifera_--Linn.), a reddish white or ashy wood with brown spots,
used chiefly in the construction of canoes, and producing logs 75 feet
long by 24 inches square (_U.S. Gazetteer_). Blanco says that this
tree yields a fragrant, hard, white resin, which is used instead of
incense in the churches. San Agustin, quoted by Blanco, says that the
planks of the sides of the ancient galleys were of lauaan, for balls
do not chip this wood. Delgado mentions two species: lauaan mulato,
in color almost dark red; and lauaan blanco (white), which was used
as planking for boats.
[41] That is, the cubit; a measure of length equal to the distance
from the elbow to the end of the middle finger. The _codo real_,
or royal cubit, is three fingers longer than the ordinary codo. The
geometrical codo is equivalent to 418 mm., and the codo real to 574
mm. See Velásquez: _New Dictionary of Spanish language_ (New York,
1902).
[42] The banabá (_Lagerstroemia speciosa_--Pers.; _Munchausia speciosa;
Lagerstroemia flos reginæ_--Retz.) grows to a height of thirty to
fifty feet, and varies in color from reddish white to dull red. Its
flowers are red and very beautiful, and bloom in March. The tree is
very common and used for many things, especially for ship and house
construction, particularly the red variety. It is strong and resists
the elements well. See _U.S. Gazetteer_ and Blanco's _Flora_.
[43] Perhaps a colloquial name given by the Spaniards, or a corruption
of the native name.
[44] See _ante_, note 39.
[45] Also called the dúngol and dungon (_Sterculia cimbriformis_;
D.C.). It yields logs 50 feet by 20 inches square. It is pale reddish
in color, and is used for roof-timbers and the keels of vessels. It
is strong but does not resist the seaworms. It blooms in March and
December. See _ut supra_.
[46] _U.S. Gazetteer_ mentions the various woods used for shipbuilding
as follows: Yacal or saplungan (_Dipterocarpus plagatus_--Bl.),
betis (_Azaola betis_--Bl.), dúngon, and ípil or ypil (_Eperua
decandra_--Bl.), for keels and stern-posts; antipolo (_Artocarpus
incisa_--Linn.), for keels and outside planking; molave (_Vitex
geniculata_--Bl.), for futtock-timbers and stem-crooks for frame-work;
banabá, for outside planking and beams; _guijo_, for beams, masts, and
yards; batitinan (_Lagerstroemia batitinan_), for keelsons and clamps;
mangachapuy or mangachapoi (_Dipterocarpus mangachapoi_--Bl.), for
water-ways and decktimbers; amuguis (_Cyrtocarpa quinquestila_--Bl.),
for upper works and partitions; palo-maria, for futtock-timbers,
masts and yards.
[47] The offices of those in charge of the building of ships
would seem, from the following law, to have been a sinecure in the
islands. This law is taken from _Recopilación de leyes_, lib. v,
tit. xv, ley viii. "The governors of Filipinas appoint persons to build
the galleons or boats, who are wont to cause great thefts and injuries
to our royal treasury, and on the Indians. For their occupation they
are given ten or more toneladas of cargo in the trading ships, on
account of being relatives or followers of the governors. Some have
had as many as forty toneladas, and have filled them with gold at forty
reals per tae, or seven and one-half castellanos--forcibly seizing it
from the Indians at an unjust price, in order afterward to sell it at
ninety-six reals per tae. Inasmuch as they are persons of influence,
their residencia is never taken. We order that the residencias of such
builders, and of the others who shall have received and had money from
the royal treasury for shipbuilding or any other sea or land expense,
shall be taken, at the same time as those of the presidents and
ministers who are obliged to give them. In respect to the governors
not employing their relatives and kinsmen, servants, or followers,
or those of the auditors, in these matters or in any others, they
shall keep the rules and ordinances." Felipe IV, August 19, 1621.
[48] Short, round-headed tarpauling nails.
[49] Apparently another name for the palm-tree called by the Tagáls
_cauong_ (_Arenga saccharifera_--Labill.; _Caryota onusta_--Bl.),
also known as _negro cabo_ ("black head"). The leaf yields fibers
that are long, black, and very strong; the cordage made from them is
very durable, resisting even salt water. This is evidently the product
elsewhere mentioned as "black cordage." See _U.S. Gazetteer_, p. 72;
Blanco's _Flora_, p. 511. Concerning the abacá, see _Vol_. III, p. 263.
[50] That is, the natives were drafted from their respective villages
for public works--nominally for wages paid them, but in reality,
as this document alone would show, kept in a condition of practical
slavery. Cf. the royal decree of May 26, 1609 (_Vol_. XVII, p. 79),
regulating the services of the Indians.
[51] _Habas_: a species of bean. _Garbanzos_: see _Vol_. XII, p. 88,
note 17.
[52] _Gerguetas_, for _jerguetas_: a coarse frieze or other coarse
cloth.
[53] Our transcript reads at this point: "_quedaron en la ciudad
de manila y puerto de cabite siete galeones los seis el uno de los
quales._" We omit translation of the words "_los seis_," "the six,"
as being apparently a _lapsus calami_.
[54] See description of this naval contest _ante_, p. 37.
[55] See _Vol_. XVI, p. 272, _note_.
[56] The prebends of Spanish cathedrals directly above the prebends
of canonries; or, the incumbents thereof.
[57] The racionero and medio racionero are prebendaries of Spanish
cathedrals, ranking in the order named.
[58] The fourth vow of the Jesuits binds to implicit obedience in going
wherever the pope orders them to go for the salvation of souls. The
other three vows are the same as those professed by other religious.
[59] The original is "_todos alçaran luego de eras_," literally
"all will immediately finish their harvesting of grain."
[60] Pyrard de Laval says--in his _Voyage_ (Hakluyt Society's
publications, London, 1887-88), ii, pp. 256, 257: "When one is making
a voyage from Goa, one says to which quarter one is going, whether
to the south or the north coast. 'The north' is from Goa to Cambaye,
'the south' from Goa to the Cape of Comori.... From Bassains [Baçani
of our text; the modern Bassein] comes all the timber for building
houses and vessels; indeed, most of the ships are built there. It
also supplies a very fine and hard free stone, like granite; ... All
the magnificent churches and palaces at Goa and the other towns are
built of this stone." The editors of the _Voyage_ add: "Bassein,
twenty-six miles north of Bombay, was ceded to the Portuguese in
1536. It became the favorite resort of the wealthier Portuguese,
the place being noted for handsome villas and pretty gardens. It
was taken by the Mahrattas in 1739, after a siege of three months,
in which the Portuguese, for the last time in India, fought with
stubborn courage." Bassein was captured by the British in 1780. The
term "Mogors" in the text refers to some of the kings who were vassals
of the Great Mogul (_Vol_. XVII, p. 252).
[61] Diego de Pantoja, born in 1571, became a novice in the Jesuit
order at the age of eighteen. Seven years later he embarked to
join the mission in Japan; but on reaching Macao he was assigned as
companion to the noted Jesuit missionary, Mateo Ricci, and the two
founded the mission of Pekin. Being later expelled from the kingdom,
Pantoja died at Macao in January, 1618 (Sommervogel). Ricci died at
Pekin in May, 1610. In the archives not only of Spain, but of Italy,
France, and England, are many and voluminous documents referring to
the Catholic missions in China. The Jesuit missions there are very
fully recounted in _Lettres édifiántes_.
[62] See Henry Yule's account of "Nestorian Christianity in China,"
in his _Cathay and the Way Thither_ (Hakluyt Society's publications,
London, 1866), pp. lxxxviii-ci; cf. pp. clxxxi-iii, and 497. Regarding
the Jews in China, see _ut supra_, pp. lxxx, 225, 341, 497, 533.
[63] In 1618 the Manchu leader Noorhachu invaded the province of
Liaotung--now a division of the province of Sheng-King, and lying on
the northern coast of the Korean Gulf; its southern extremity forms a
long, narrow peninsula which terminates at the entrance of the Gulf
of Pe-chili, and on it are the fortified posts of Dalny and Port
Arthur, important strategic points commanding the entrance to that
gulf, and prominent in the present war (May, 1904) between Russia and
Japan. In Liaotung are also the important towns of Mukden and Niuchuang
(Newchwang). In 1621 Noorhachu captured Mukden, and soon conquered
the rest of the province; and, about twenty-five years later, his
successors completed the conquest of China, expelling the Ming dynasty
(which had begun in 1368), and establishing that of the Manchus, which
still rules in China. For a detailed description of this conquest, see
Boulger's _History of China_ (London and New York, 1900), pp. 97-125.
[64] There is an apparent hiatus here; perhaps it should read "before
the last invasion."--_Trans_.
[65] Boulger says (_History of China_, p. 107): "During this campaign
it was computed that the total losses of the Chinese amounted to 310
general officers and 45,000 private soldiers." Noorhachu defeated
three Chinese armies, and captured the towns of Fooshun, Tsingho,
and Kaiyuen.
[66] A phonetic rendering of Wanleh (_Vol_. III, p. 228). See account
of his reign in Boulger's _History of China_, pp. 97-107.
[67] The Christian religion was first introduced into Cochinchina (a
kingdom founded in 1570, by a Tonquin chief) by Spanish Franciscans,
in 1583; but little was accomplished for the conversion of the
heathen until 1615, when both Franciscans and Jesuits entered upon
that work. See Crawfurd's account of the country, in his _Dictionary
of Indian Islands_, pp. 105-112.
[68] See letter by Bishop Arce, _post_.
[69] This name is not to be found in Sommervogel.
[70] That is, Yedo; then, as now (but with the modern name Tokiô),
the capital of the Japanese empire. The Castle of Yedo, first built
in 1456-57, was the abode of the Tokugawa Shôguns from 1591--when it
was assigned to Iyéyasu, who greatly enlarged it--until the close of
that dynasty in 1868. See historical and descriptive account of this
edifice, by T.R.H. McClatchie, in _Transactions_ of Asiatic Society
of Japan, vol. vi (Tokyo, ed. 1888), pp. 119-154.
[71] The daimiôs constituted, under the old feudal organization of
Japan, a class of territorial nobility, who numbered about two hundred
and fifty. Under Iyemidzu (1623-51) the daimiôs were obliged to live
in Yedo half the time with their families; and, before this, those
nobles had been in the habit of visiting the reigning monarch at the
capital. For account of the daimiôs and their vassals, the samurai,
see Rein's _Japan_, pp. 318-328; and Griffis's _Mikado's Empire_,
pp. 217, 321, 322.
[72] For a narrative of the persecutions of Christians in Japan and the
suppression of that religion there, with the causes of that action
on the part of Japan's rulers--Iyéyasu, Hidetada, and Iyemidzu,
1600-1650--see Rein's _Japan_, pp. 304-311; Griffis's _Mikado's
Empire_, pp. 252-259; and J.H. Gubbins's "Introduction of Christianity
into China and Japan," in _Transactions_ of Asiatic Society of Japan,
vol. vi (Tokyo, ed. 1888); pp. 1-38--with supplementary information
thereon by E.M. Satow (who reproduces Iyéyasu's celebrated proclamation
of 1614), pp. 43-62.
[73] Cf. the account of these episodes (the maltreatment of Englishmen
by the Dutch, and the loss of the Dutch ship) given by Richard Cocks
in his _Diary_, pp. 51-76.
[74] Probably alluding to one of the two Franciscans captured by the
Moros nearly two years before (Montero y Vidal's _Hist. piratería_,
i, p. 154), but afterward ransomed by the Spaniards--Fray Domingo de
los Mártires and Fray Alonso de la Soledad.
[75] Apparently a reference to the beri-beri, a disease common in
India and other lands of Southern Asia. A similar or identical disease,
prevalent in Japan, is there known as _kak'ké_; see William Anderson's
account of this disease in _Transactions_ of the Asiatic Society of
Japan, vol. vi (Tokyo, ed. 1888), pp. 155-181.
[76] In the text this is a curious double play upon words, which cannot
be exactly reproduced in translation. The Spanish reads, _y que multos
por dar en el clavo an de dar en la herradura_--literally, "many in
striking the nail will strike the horseshoe," _clavo_ meaning both
"nail" and "clove."--_Trans_.
[77] Cocks mentions in his _Diary_ (i, p. 268) the arrival of French
ships at Bantam in 1617.
[78] Spanish, _amplitud ortiva_, meaning an angle measured on the
eastern horizon. The term amplitude, thus used (by English writers
also), is an old one in astronomical terminology. In the description
of the second comet, _al pie_ refers apparently to the head of the
comet, which is here called its foot because sometimes this point
was nearer to the horizon.--_Rev. Jose Algue_, S.J. (director of
Manila Observatory).
[79] Referring to the ancient astronomical notion that a comet was an
exhalation.--_Harry T. Benedict_ (professor of astronomy, University
of Texas).
[80] "Evidently the modern province of Awa or Boshiû (its Chinese
name), which is situated in the eastern part of Shikoku Island,
in Tôkaidô or "the eastern sea-road." See J.J. Rein's _Japan_, p. 9.
[81] That is, one of the fixed number of notaries assigned or allowed
to Manila.
[82] See _Vol_. x, p. 230, note 30.
[83] See _Vol_. xvii, p. 145, note 44.
[84] _Recopilación de leyes_ contains the following law in regard to
the rations of rice: "Inasmuch as the presidents and auditors of the
Audiencia of the Filipinas Islands, and the officials of our royal
treasury are accustomed to divide among themselves all the tributes of
rice belonging to us in La Pampanga for the expense of their houses,
taking it at the price at which the tributarios give it at the harvest,
whence it happens that the rations given on our account are lacking,
and that they must be bought at excessive rates; and as such procedure
is very prejudicial to our royal treasury: therefore we order the
president and royal officials to avoid it and stop so pernicious a
custom, for thus is it advisable for our royal service." [Felipe III,
Madrid, December 19, 1618 --lib. ii, tit. xvi, ley lxxii.]
[85] The following document, preserved in Archivo general de Indias
with the same pressmark as Fajardo's letter (see Bibliographical Data,
_post_), was probably ordered to be copied as a help toward solving
these doubts.
The King: To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the
Filipinas Islands. I have heard that, [the command of] a company of
infantry having become vacant because of the death of Don Tomas Brabo,
and my governor and captain-general of those islands, Don Pedro de
Acuña, having appointed to it Captain Juan de Billaçon--who in order
that he would accept had to be urged by the said Don Pedro, both
because he was a very worthy and deserving man and one who had done
many services, and because there was no one else to select, and because
it was an occasion when a great number of boats were expected from
China which it had been rumored were to come to attack the islands,
to revenge the Sangleys who had been killed in the insurrection of the
year six hundred and three--you issued an act, in which you ordered
that the said governor should appoint the said company in conformity to
the ordinance, and that in the meantime there should be no innovation
in anything--just as if such a matter were the chief that should be
attended to then, since it was an occasion in which the governor was
toiling so arduously in fortifying districts and strongholds of those
islands, raising ramparts, and making ditches in order to be as ready
as possible for the awaiting of so great a multitude of men as rumor
said were to attack those islands. Inasmuch as it is proper that
matters pertaining to war be solely in the charge and care of the
said my governor and captain-general, I have, after examination of
the matter by my royal Council of the Indias, considered it fitting
to issue the present, by which I order you not to interfere and
oppose the said governor in anything pertaining to war and government
matters; and when any case arises, in which any doubt may exist as
to the form and execution of it, it is my will that the orders of
the said my governor be followed and obeyed, and that you advise me,
through my said Council, of the doubt, and what shall be your opinion
regarding it; so that after my Council has examined it, the measures
most advisable to my service may be ordered and commanded. Given
Ventocilla, November four, one thousand six hundred and six years.
_I The King_
By order of the king, our sovereign:
_Juan de Civica_
I, Pedro Muño de Herrera, who exercise the office of scrivener of the
assembly of the royal Audiencia and Chancilleria of the Philipinas
Islands, had this copy drawn and drew it from the original royal decree
which is in my possession, by order of Don Alonso Faxardo de Tença,
comendador of the redoubt in the order of Alcantara, governor and
captain-general of these Philipinas Islands, and president of this
royal Audiencia. It is a certified copy and is thoroughly revised and
collated with its original. In the city of Manila, on the twentieth
day of the month of August, one thousand six hundred and twenty,
witnesses being Ambrosio Corrales and Pedro Muñoz de Herrera, junior.
_Pedro Munoz de Herrera_
[86] In the preceding document, this name appears as Juan Saenz
de Hegoen.
[87] The original if read strictly requires the above translation. It
reads "_porque son gente de mucho fruto y no se buelven tantos dellos
como de otras Religiones y particularmente la de Santo Domingo que
e entendido sean ydo delta mas de los que yo quissiera_." "_Della_"
should refer then to "_la_" and thence back to "_religiones_." But
the meaning cannot be that the religious left the order, but
rather their brethren in the islands and returned to Nueva España
or Spain. Fajardo's language throughout this letter is loose and
complicated, and it is possible that, "_della_" refers to the word
"_tierra_" ("country") understood, in which case the translation
would be "have left the country."
[88] Alonso Baraona was a native of Quintanario, of the province of
Bargos. He took his vows in the Augustinian college of Burgos in 1596,
and was prior of the college of Santo Niño in 1607. He ministered in
Dumangas (1608), Batan (1609), Jaro (1616), Aclán (1613), and Passi
(1614); and became definitor ami prior provincial in 1617. In 1623
he was at Bay, and died, in 1626. See Perez's _Catálogo_.
[89] The cardinal archduke Albert of Austria was the sixth son of
Maximilian II and Maria of Austria, and was born in Austria November
13, 1559. In 1570 he was sent to Spain, where he rose rapidly in
Philip's favor. In 1577 he received the cardinal's hat from the pope
and was made archbishop of Toledo by Philip in 1594. He was viceroy
of Portugal from 1584-1595, when Philip, thinking to appease the
people of the Low Countries, made him commander or regent there, and
determined to marry him to his daughter Isabel. The sovereignty of all
the Netherlands was to be left jointly to them and their heirs, and,
in case of no issue, to revert to the Spanish crown. Philip formally
abdicated his authority over the Low Countries, May 6, 1598, and their
marriage was solemnized jointly with that of Philip III, April 13,
1599, after Albert had renounced his cardinalate and archbishopric. He
died July 13, 1621, after ruling his provinces humanely and generously,
although unable to stem the current toward Dutch independence. See
Moreri's _Dictionnaire_.
[90] Jacques (Jakob) le Maire (Lemaire), the Dutch navigator, and
the first to double Cape Horn, was born at Egmond, and died at sea,
December 31, 1616. His expedition to the South Seas was undertaken at
the instigation of his father, Isaac le Maire, a well-known merchant,
and the ships were to reach the South Seas by Magalháes's or any other
route. The two vessels were placed in command of Wilhelm van Schouten,
and Le Maire was chosen director-general. The ships were equipped at
the port of Hoorn, and set sail June 14, 1615, from the Texel. Passing
by the south-eastern corner of Tierra del Fuego, they entered and
passed through the strait that now bears Le Maire's name January
24-26, 1616. Between January 27 and 31, they doubled the Horn, which
they named for the port of Hoorn. October 28 of the same year after
various adventures among the East Indian Islands, they cast anchor
at Jacatra in Java, where the "Concorde," the only vessel left, was
sequestered as not having been sent by the Dutch East India Company;
while van Schouten and Le Maire were sent to Holland to be tried, Le
Maire dying as above stated. A relation of the expedition was written
by one of the participants. See vol. iv, pp. 531-618, _Recueil des
voyages ... de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales_ (Amsterdam, 1725).
[91] The viceroy of Nueva España at this time was Diego Fernandez de
Córdoba, marqués de Guadalcázar. He began his term October 28, 1612,
and in 1621 was appointed viceroy of Peru.
[92] The lacuna at this point--sections 10 to 14 inclusive--with some
duplications and other peculiarities in numbering, are precisely as
in the original document.
[93] See the letter written to the king by Fajardo, August 10, 1619,
_ante_. where this same abuse is mentioned.
[94] See the royal decree following this document, which was probably
issued in consequence of this section of Los Rios's letter, and which
will appear in _Vol_. XIX.
[95] See the various letters relating to the controversy between
the calced and discalced religious of the Order of St. Francis,
in _Vol_. XX of this series.
[96] An early law of _Recopilación de leyes_ (lib. v, tit. viii,
ley xxix) thus rules the taking of fees: "In the Filipinas Islands
all the notaries and officials entitled to them shall collect their
fees, according to, and in the quantity provided and ordained for our
Audiencia of Méjico, so far as it shall not have been altered by the
laws of this book." [Felipe II; Toledo, May 25, 1596, ordinance 61.]
[97] The residencia of the governor was later ordered to be taken
in accordance with the following law, found in _Recopilación de
leyes,_ lib. v, tit. xv, ley v: "The governor and captain-general
of the Filipinas appointed by us, shall, as soon as he enters upon
the exercise of his duties, take the residencia of his proprietary
predecessor, or his predecessor _ad interim_, even should he not hold
our special commission. But shall he have been so entrusted by us,
he shall proceed by virtue of it, in accordance with law. In either
case, he shall send a report of the residencia to the Council, as is
usual." [Felipe IV; Madrid, December 4, 1630.]
[98] See descriptions of the disease called scurvy, in Pyrard de
Laval's _Voyage_ (Hakluyt Society's translation, London, 1890),
ii, pp. 390-392; and _Jesuit Relations_ (Cleveland reissue), iii,
pp. 51, 53.
[99] See the full and interesting description given by Pyrard de
Laval (_Voyage_, ii, pp. 180-214) of the Portuguese trading vessels
on the India line (_naus de carreira_), practically the same as the
Spanish vessels described by Rios Coronel; and of their construction,
equipment, crews, lading, management, etc. On p. 214 is an engraving
of one of these great ships.
[100] See decrees relating to this in _Vol_. XIV, pp. 182, 270.
[101] This is the fiber obtained from the husk of the cocoanut;
the word is of Indian origin, and from it is derived the English
"coir." See, with description of the manner in which this fiber
is manufactured into rope in India, Pyrard de Laval's _Voyage_, i,
pp. 250, 285: ii. pp. 374, 443.
[102] _Obispo de anillo_: a bishop _in partibus_ (see _Vol_. VIII,
p. 68). The Spanish dictionaries define _obispo de anillo_ as auxiliary
or suffragan, bishop. The Academy's dictionary adds: "To these bishops
the pontiff assigns one of the churches formerly owned by them, but
now in the power of heathen." Consequently the _de anillo_ becomes
equivalent to _in partibus infidelium_. A bishop _in partibus_ is
one consecrated to a see which formerly existed, but which has been,
chiefly through the devastations of the followers of Mahomet, lost to
Christendom. The creation of such bishops exists from the time of Leo
X; but they existed _de facto_ from the time when the first Christian
see became vacant from hostile inroad or through the action of a
hostile government. The Moorish conquest in Spain resulted in many
of such bishops fleeing to the still unconquered parts, where they
wandered from place to place, with no particular duty, but officiating
as opportunity offered. This state of affairs led to great abuses,
for a bishop whose see was _in partibus_ would often enter some remote
portion of the diocese of a more fortunate brother, and there exercise,
in various ways, without the permission of the bishop of the diocese,
his episcopal office. Clerks whom their own bishop would not have
promoted to priests' orders often received through the agency of
these wandering bishops the ordination which they desired. A decree
of the Council of Trent forbade that abuse. The title _in partibus_
was often given in Protestant countries, where to appoint a bishop
to a local see would have aroused hostility. Besides the vicars
apostolic in a non-Catholic country, the vicars of cardinal-bishops,
auxiliary bishops in countries where it is usual to appoint them, and
papal nuncios, usually have their sees _in partibus infidelium_. They
can attend general councils, and, since they are considered as truly
wedded to the churches of which they bear the titles, they cannot
be appointed to other sees except upon the conditions common to
all episcopal translations. By a decree of the Propaganda, February
28, 1882, the formula _in partibus infidelium_ was abolished, and
non-resident bishops are to be known as "titular" bishops of their
sees. See Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 18 of 55 - 1617-1620 - 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" ***
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