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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXXVIII, 1674-1683 - 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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Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXXVIII, 1674-1683 - 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 XXXVIII, 1674-1683
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMVI
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVIII
Preface 9
Miscellaneous Documents, 1674-1683
Manila and the Philippines about 1650 (concluded).
Domingo Fernandez Navarrete, O.P.; Madrid, 1676. [From
his Tratados historicos.] 17
Condition of the clergy of the Philippines. Pedro
Diaz del Cosio, O.P., and others; Madrid, 1674-75 72
Prerogatives of ex-provincials granted to Augustinian
procurators from Filipinas, Innocent XI; Rome,
December 17, 1677 76
Royal patronage extended to the university of
Santo Tomás. Carlos II; Madrid, May 17, 1680 78
Letter to Carlos II. Francisco Pizarro Orellana; Manila,
February 24, 1683 81
Insurrections by Filipinos in the seventeenth
century. [Accounts by various early writers covering the
period 1621-83.] 87
Dampier in the Philippines (to be concluded). William
Dampier; London, 1697 241
Bibliographical Data 287
ILLUSTRATIONS
Map of Manila and its suburbs; photographic facsimile from
original MS. (dated 1671) in Archivo general de Indias,
Sevilla 45
The Philippine Islands; photographic facsimile of map drawn
by Captain John Kempthorne, ca. 1688; (evidently from earlier
map of 1676); from original manuscript map in the British
Museum 95
Map of portion of Philippine Islands; drawn by William Hacke,
ca. 1680; photographic facsimile from original manuscript map
in the British Museum 213
Inhabitants of the Ladrones Islands; photographic facsimile
of engraving in T. de Bry's Peregrinationes, 1st ed.
(Amsterdam, 1602), tome xvi, no. iv, p. 34; from copy in
Boston Public Library 257
PREFACE
The present volume (1674-83) is partly descriptive of the Philippines,
as seen by the quaint Dominican writer Navarrete; and about half
of it is occupied with the insurrections by the Filipino natives in
the seventeenth century, a topic of special importance in regard to
the relations between the natives and their conquerors, and to the
influence of the missionaries.
Resuming the relation by Navarrete (begun in the preceding volume), we
find an account of the fall of Fajardo's favorite Venegas; of various
dangers from which the writer escapes; etc. He praises at length the
excellent qualities and abilities of Governor Manrique de Lara. He
relates a missionary trip to Luban and Mindoro, and describes those
islands, their products, and their people. Navarrete is stationed in a
curacy in Mindoro, and relates some of his experiences therein. Having
returned to Manila, he goes to Bataan, where he and others are
grievously annoyed by goblins or demons, for several months. He goes
again to Mindoro, with another priest, and while there a threatened
attack by pirates sends the Indians in flight to the hills, which
compels the fathers to return to Manila. Navarrete relates the loss
of several galleons by storms. He laments the cruelty with which
the Spaniards treat the natives in the labor of shipbuilding, and
says that "at times, religious are sent to protect and defend them
from the infernal fury of some Spaniards." Then he describes Manila
and the products of Luzón, in sketchy but enthusiastic fashion. He
mentions with surprise the number of Chinese, besides mestizos and
natives, who are maintained for the service of the Spanish colony
there. The Chinese are, in religious matters, under the care of the
Dominicans. Navarrete enumerates many prominent persons in Manila whom
he knew, both laymen and ecclesiastics; and describes the hospitable
and pious treatment accorded to the Japanese Christians (some of them
lepers) who were exiled to Manila. He decides to leave the islands,
and goes (1653) to Macasar; the hardships and perils of that voyage
are vividly related. Buffeted by fierce storms, the vessel does not
arrive at its destination until nine months after leaving Manila--some
two months being spent at a Malay village on the northern coast of
Celebes, where the Spanish passengers on the vessel suffer greatly
from hunger. They finally reach Macasar, where Navarrete spends several
years, in 1658 departing for Macao, to enter the Chinese missions. His
narrative, although rambling and sketchy, is fresh and picturesque;
and it indicates a keen and shrewd observer, and a man intelligent,
enthusiastic, outspoken, and humane.
The Dominican procurator-general at Madrid represents to the Spanish
government (1674) the evils arising from the "almost perpetual
vacancies" in the episcopal sees of the islands, and their subjection
to the secular government there; and he makes recommendations for
correcting these evils. In consequence of his efforts, the royal
Council recommend various measures for this object.
A papal decree of December 17, 1677, allows to the Augustinian
procurators the same prerogatives and privileges that are enjoyed by
ex-provincials of the order.
By royal decree (May 17, 1680) the university of Santo Tomás is placed
under the royal patronage.
The bishop of Nueva Segovia, Francisco de Pizarro, writes to Cárlos II
(February 24, 1683), giving a brief outline of the controversy between
the Jesuits and Dominicans over their respective colleges in Manila;
he takes occasion to praise the Jesuits and their labors.
Much light is thrown upon the relations of the Spaniards with the
Filipinos, and upon the native character, by the accounts (some of
them almost contemporary) here presented of insurrections by Filipinos
in the seventeenth century. These occur in northern Luzón (1621,
1625, 1629, 1639), Bohol and Leyte (1622), Mindanao (1629, 1650),
Pampanga (1645, 1660) and Pangasinán (1661) in Luzón, the Visayan
Islands (1649-50), Otón in Panay (1663, 1672), and among the Zambals
(1661, 1681, 1683). Accounts of these are here translated from early
chronicles, their writers representing the various religious orders;
and are arranged chronologically. These revolts are caused partly by
Spanish oppression, but even more by the influence of certain chiefs
who desire to restore the old worship of idols, and who appeal to the
superstitious, credulous, and fickle natures of their followers. They
are, in each case, sooner or later quelled by the Spaniards, thanks to
their bravery and their possession of firearms; and severe punishments
are inflicted on the ringleaders, thus restraining further attempts
to throw off the Spanish yoke. The rebellion of 1649-50 is so general
that the Spaniards are obliged to call in the aid of the Lutaos of
southern Mindanao, themselves enemies and pirates not many years
before; but they willingly go to attack their ancient enemies the
Visayans. In several of these insurrections, great dangers are averted
by the influence that the missionaries have acquired over the natives,
and they sometimes are able even to prevent rebellions; they often
risk their lives in thus going among the insurgents, Nevertheless,
the first fury of the insurgents is directed against the churches,
and sometimes against the missionaries as well as the other Spaniards;
they kill some friars, burn the convents and churches, and profane the
images. Diaz ascribes this to the shrewd scheming of the ringleaders to
involve the crowd in general guilt, and thus secure the adherence and
more desperate resistance of their followers. One of the insurrections
is led by a scheming priest of idols who persuades the natives that
he is God; and certain of his associates personate Christ, the Holy
Spirit, and the Virgin Mary--only to receive heavier punishment when
their rebellion is overthrown. The policy of the Spaniards toward
the natives is plainly shown in these accounts, and often reminds the
reader of that pursued by the French with the North American tribes,
and by the English with the natives of India.
The English buccaneer William Dampier spent most of the years
1686-87 in the Philippine Islands; his own account of this sojourn
(published in 1697) is an interesting and valuable addition to
Philippine documentary material. Departing from Cape Corrientes in
Mexico (March 31, 1686), they sail across the Pacific in order to
plunder the vessels engaged in the Philippine commerce, and on May
21 reach Guam, whose people and products are minutely described. The
population of that island is greatly reduced, because most of the
natives had left it after an unsuccessful rebellion against their
Spanish conquerors. The English obtain a supply of provisions here,
by professing to be Spaniards. Thence they depart for Mindanao (June
2), where they remain until January 13, 1687. Dampier describes, with
much detail, the fauna, products, people, and customs of Mindanao. This
document will be concluded in VOL. XXXIX.
The Editors
April, 1906.
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS, 1674-1683
Manila and the Philippines about 1650 (concluded). Domingo
Fernandez Navarrete, O.P.; 1676.
Condition of the clergy of the Philippines. Pedro Diaz del Cosio,
O.P., and others; 1674-75.
Prerogatives of ex-provincials granted to Augustinian procurators
from Filipinas. Innocent XI; December 17, 1677.
Royal patronage extended to the university of Santo Tomás. Carlos
II; May 17, 1680.
Letter to Carlos II. Francisco Pizarro Orellana: February 24, 1683.
Insurrections by Filipinos in the seventeenth century. [Accounts
by various early writers covering the period 1621-83.]
Dampier in the Philippines (to be concluded). William Dampier;
1697.
Sources: The first document is concluded from VOL. XXXVII, q.v. The
second is obtained from the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library),
iii, pp. 1-5. The third is from Hernaez's Colección de bulas, i,
p. 592. The fourth is from Algunos documentos relat. á la Uuniv. de
Manila, pp. 31-33. The fifth is from a MS. in the Archivo general
de Indias, Sevilla. The sixth is from various early writers, full
references to each being given in the text. The seventh is from the
Voyages of Dampier, London ed. of 1703, i, pp. 279-402; from a copy
in the library of Harvard University.
Translations: The first, second, fourth, and seventh of these
documents are translated by James A. Robertson; the third, by
Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.; the fifth and sixth, by Emma Helen Blair.
MANILA AND THE PHILIPPINES ABOUT 1650
(Concluded)
CHAP. V
What I observed and accomplished in that time
1. In the year of 53, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, a brother
of the Conde de Friginiana, arrived in Manila as governor of the
islands. He was accompanied by the archbishop, Don Miguel de Poblete,
a creole from La Puebla de los Angeles; the bishop of Nueva Segovia,
Señor Cardenas, a creole of Pirù, of my order, a very learned and
illustrious preacher; the bishop of Nueva Caceres, one San Gregorio,
a Franciscan; and Doctor Ucles, [1] dean of the Manila cathedral, as
bishop of Zibu. He brought people and money, with which the islands
were resuscitated. All their citizens were worn out, poor, sad, and
exhausted with the severity and too great seclusion of Don Diego
Faxardo. The affability of the new governor was very pleasing. He
held intercourse with all, gave audience to all, went through the
city, visited the convents, and scrupulously attended the feasts, and
sermons published on the list. He was entertaining, and could sustain
a conversation very agreeably with his fine understanding. He was
not at all vain or proud, but was pious and very religious. At times
when I heard him speak of the things of God and of freeing oneself
from the deceits of the world, he kept my attention, absorbed,
both with the words that he uttered, and with the effective way
and the spirit with which he expressed them. He was never partial
[in dealing] with the orders; but he venerated, loved, and wished
well to them all, bearing himself toward them as a prince ought. He
showed himself to be devout, and very devout on not few occasions;
and he personally attended the processions which were formed in the
city. He was a giver of alms, and tried hard to advance the [welfare
of the] community. For that purpose, many marriages took place by
his arrangement; and he aided in them by bestowing some offices. On
the occasion when the new archbishop absolved that land, by special
order of his Holiness, from the censures incurred through the exile
pronounced against the archbishop by Corcuera (of which mention has
been made above), the same Don Sabiniano brought Señor Poblete to
the postern of the Almacenes [i.e., magazines], where that exile had
been enforced, so that he might pronounce his blessing there. When
it was done, Don Sabiniano threw himself at the archbishop's feet,
and said: "Your Excellency may be assured that I shall never cause
such disturbances." That action was a fine example for all men.
2. He was unfortunate in some things, especially in the loss of ships
during his time, but I do not see that he is at all to blame for
this. What blame could be attached to Don Sabiniano because the ship
in which Don Pedro de Villaroel was commander was wrecked? Where did
Don Sabiniano sin because another ship was lost in which the commander
Ugalde and Thomàs Ramos were so interested? What I know is that that
gentleman labored assiduously, that he built fine ships, and that he
fortified the city admirably to resist the Chinese. I heard of some
charges afterward that had been made against him in his residencia,
which surely are more worthy of being laughed at than to be taken
in any other way. The little bad temper that he had was the best
thing that he could display in that land. I noted one thing, over
which I pondered with all my care, namely, that if he ever through
his quick and choleric nature uttered two words in anger to anyone,
he was so sorry and repentant, that there was no means or method that
he did not seek in order to assure and content the one aggrieved,
to whom thereafter he showed much kindness, and treated with unusual
expressions of love--a great argument that for his good and pious
disposition. That is a matter on which much could be written, if my
purpose did not prevent me.
3. But my heart will not allow me to let the great services and merits
of that very illustrious gentleman remain buried in forgetfulness; for
that reason I determined to insert some of them here. I am not playing
the part of a great thinker, and still less that of an historian,
for my pen is very weak and limited. I shall merely relate simply,
in accordance with my style, what I am very sure of. It is not my
business to publish the blueness of his blood, nor to attempt to
give the world knowledge of the origin and stock of the most noble
family of the Manriques de Lara, or of its most brilliant branches,
which make glorious and illustrious so many houses of España; for
besides the fact that that is superior to my limited abilities,
I would be presuming to exhibit the resplendent rays of the sun....
4. I confess also that if the subject of whom I am treating had no
greater splendor than that communicated by his blood, my attention
would not be so taken up with him. It cannot be denied that the
heir to nobility deserves great praises; nor is there any doubt
that acquired nobility mounts above and lifts the former even to the
clouds.... And thus I say that that gentleman has with his devotion,
excellent example, and services for his Majesty gained new splendors
for the Manriques de Lara, and greatly increased their glories.
5. While I was in the port of Cavite in 1656, I heard that he had
held the appointment of master-of-camp at the age of nineteen. There
are men who acquire more in a few years by their valor and courage
than others in many years.
[Navarrete relates that when the princess Margarita of Portugal was in
Lisboa, Don Sabiniano was made admiral of the fleet assembled against
France, and held that post for eighteen months. At the separation
of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns he was taken prisoner, and
was confined in various prisons, from December 25, 1640 to May 8,
1645. After being set at liberty he was soon given the post of
castellan of Acapulco.]
Then followed the government of Philipinas, a post [which is bestowed]
as a reward for the greatest services, and is the first and best
of all in the Indias. He governed as I have written, and as I shall
write hereafter. He has held no other place, because he did not desire
it. I remember quite distinctly what he said to me one day in Manila:
"Father Fray Domingo, if God carries us to España, your Reverence
will see how I shall seclude myself at Malaga, in order to live [so as
to prepare] for death, without meddling more with the affairs of the
world." Thus did he do, and I see that he is doing it. I would very
willingly write at greater length, if, as I have said, the principal
purpose of this work did not prevent it.
12. Shortly after the new governor had entered the country, I
discovered in the mountains of Batan the famous fruit considered as
a delicacy in China, which is called lechias by the Spaniards and
li chi by the Chinese. It is one of the best fruits in the world. I
took some to Manila, and they were the first fresh ones that have
been in that city; for those taken thither from China are dried,
and do not at all resemble the fresh ones. I wrote about this fruit
in the first treatise. [2]
13. At that time, when I was convalescing, I offered to accompany one
of Ours who was about to go to the island of Luban, and thence to the
island of Mindoro, to visit some mission fields, and do what I could
to benefit those wretched Indians. The island of Luban is situated
twelve leguas from that of Manila. It is small but beautiful. There
are many cocoa palm-groves in those fields, and considerable cotton
from which very fine cloth is made. The village has about 200
tributes. That place contains a well-built fort, which has a most
excellent moat, for the purpose of defending the inhabitants from the
Camucones robbers. The latter, through our very culpable neglect,
infest that and other districts every year with the greatest loss
of his Majesty's vassals. During the season when we were there,
there was an unexpected attack. We hastened to the fort, but the
attack ended in nothing. The church is a suitable one and is well
adorned. The cura had established the custom that, when the time
for the Ave Marias rang, they should ring to recite the rosary, to
which all the village hastened. Some people assured us that after the
establishment of that holy devotion no enemy had ever gone thither,
although before that time many had attacked and pillaged them of all
their possessions. Formerly, they neither recited the rosary nor had a
fort; and afterward they had all that, but the first was sufficient for
their defense. We confessed and preached there until after the feast
of the Nativity, which was celebrated very solemnly. During that time
a fearful storm arose, and, in order to assure our safety, we descended
to the portal, for we thought the house would be carried away. A royal
champan was sailing not very far from that place, in which were the
captain and alcalde-mayor of Caraga and his wife, and three Recollect
fathers. They were running before the wind without knowing where they
were going. The night was very dark, and the seas were running high;
they thought that they were lost, but they did not know whether the
land was far or near. Two of the Augustinian Recollect fathers took
counsel between themselves, alone and secretly; and according to what
is believed they must have said that it was better to anticipate and
not to wait until all of them should fall into the water, where there
is generally some difficulty in keeping clear of one another. Each
of them tied up his small mattress, which was filled with varo (a
material like cotton, which will float on the water for a long time),
and then, calling his servant, jumped into the sea without being
perceived or seen by anyone. The result only gave the others occasion
to imagine what has been written. Their associate and the others felt
it keenly. Neither of them was ever heard of again. The first heavy
sea must have washed their mattresses out of their hands, and they
must have perished without any help. At dawn the little vessel ran
ashore on the beach of a small island one-half legua from Luban. All
the people were saved except a female slave, who was drowned suddenly
when she jumped into the water to go ashore, and no one was able to
aid her. They reached Luban, so weak and miserable that their faces
plainly showed their sufferings. The cura treated them very hospitably.
14. On Epiphany we crossed by sail and oar the channel to Mindoro. That
same afternoon we went up to the village of Calavit, which is situated
more than one legua from the sea; all the way the road lies straight
up hill and is rough. After three days we descended in order to
go to Guistin, where we were to lodge, and whence we were to go
to all other parts. We walked more than six leguas that day over
the most infernal road that can be imagined. In places we clambered
over rocks, and in parts, even with the aid of the Indians, we were
unable to ascend. We found a place where the rocks were all jagged,
and so sharp and penetrating that, actually and truly, they wore out
the soles of our shoes. The poor Indians, who go barefoot naturally
and legitimately, walked along with the soles of their feet dripping
blood, which caused us to overflow with compassion. We reached the foot
of the mountain of Guistin without having eaten a mouthful. There we
found some Indians who had some roasted potatoes, although these were
cold. We ate a trifle of that refreshment and then began to climb
the mountain. It is as high as the other but without comparison
much rougher. For a goodly distance we did nothing but clamber up
by laying hold of the roots of trees. We walked the rest of the way,
but after taking twenty paces we would throw ourselves on the ground
to breathe a bit. Finally, by God's help we arrived and found the
church. Without being able to enter it, we fell face downward on the
earth near the door, where we stayed a long time in order to rest a
little. We found ourselves afterward so sweaty that even our outside
habits contained moisture. The wind which was blowing was cold and
violent in the eighth degree. [3] We took shelter for that night in
a poor little hut of straw, which was open to the four winds. Our
supper was a small bit of biscuit soaked in a trifle of the wine used
for mass, [which we drank] for fear of the cold. We slept sitting,
close to one another. Next day (which dawned clear) we made use of the
sun to dry our clothes. After mass we set about our business, namely,
looking after the souls of those Indians. It must be observed that the
whole refreshment there consisted of some eggs, rice, and potatoes;
those mountains contain many and excellent potatoes. On the day of
the Purification, after having said mass and preached, I returned
in one day to Calavit, passing for the second time over that good
road. The weariness, sweat, wind, and poor food caused me an attack
of illness that night, while I was alone in my wretched little hut
of bamboo and straw--so that I thought I would end my life there;
and in truth I was consoled. I remained there for some days, doing
what I could. Then I went to two other small villages, the way thither
being over a very bad road; there I instructed, preached, and baptized
some of the people. One day I found myself with nine young fellows of
marriageable age who had descended the mountains to ask baptism. They
had never seen a priest. Having been catechised they received the
waters of baptism. One old man who must have been, beyond any question,
more than eighty years old, responded very readily to the catechism,
and showed himself very devout. When I was going to recite the divine
office, he walked back of me. Once I called to him and asked him what
he wanted, and why he always dogged my footsteps. He replied to me:
"Father, I hear you say that we are obliged to know the Christian
doctrine; and as I do not know it, I am seeking the opportunity so
that your Reverence may teach it to me." "How many years," I asked
him, "have you been a Christian?" "One year," he replied; "and I
am sure that I understood what it was from childhood." Thereupon
I asked him further: "Who baptized you, and how?" He gave me an
account of everything, and said that no word had been taught him;
and that he had been told that it was because he was old and could
not learn. That caused me a great sorrow and I began immediately to
catechise him. I took him with me to the seashore, and, we twain having
seated ourselves, I explained the Credo to him as clearly as possible,
accommodating myself to his capacity. Said I to him: "You see this
sea and that sky: God created them all." He immediately answered:
"Is it possible? is God so great that He could do that?" I repeated
what I had said, and explained it to him, and said again: "Yes, that
sky, this earth, the sea, etc., all are the work of God." He repeated
in great astonishment: "So great, so great is God?" He repeated that
many times. I took great pains with him and he did the same himself,
for he understood it better than did the young fellows. I confessed
him afterwards, and found that I had to absolve him. I asked him "Juan,
have you ever sworn or told a lie?" "For what purpose, Father? or why
should I swear or tell a lie?" he answered. "Have you had any words
or quarreled with any person?" "Father, I live alone; I attend to my
field; I neither see nor talk to anyone. Even if I wished to quarrel,
I have no one with whom to quarrel." Thus did he reply to all my
questions. I gave him some small articles of clothing, and told
him that his name was Juan de Dios [i.e., John of God]. He was very
happy, and I was very much consoled. That little village having been
instructed, and the children baptized, as well as the adults above
mentioned, I returned to Guistin. The cura of Nanhoan, thirty leguas
south, summoned one of us, and I resolved to go there immediately.
15. When sailing in sight of a beach, the Indians discovered a carabao
or buffalo which was near the water. We drew to the land. I remained
on the sea, and the Indians attacked with their spears. The animal
performed some queer antics; it rushed madly into the sea, and made
furiously for the boat where I was. It struck the outside bamboos,
and, had it not done that, I would have been in danger of my life. The
Indians finally killed it, and immediately cut it into bits on the
spot for drying. I landed to await my men, when we immediately caught
sight of a band of Negrillos of the mountain. We recognized that they
were peaceful, whereupon I calmed myself. In order that the sight of
me might not scare them, I hid among some trees. About thirty men,
women, and children came, all of whom, both male and female, carried
bows and arrows. All were naked, except for the privies, which they
cover with the leaves of a certain tree. The men were tattooed in
white, the women in other colors, and they wore large wild flowers
in their ears. In truth, both men and women resembled devils. When
they began to chat with the Indians I came out suddenly and spoke
to them in their language, and offered them tobacco in the leaf, a
thing which they esteem highly. When they saw me they were thrown into
confusion, and almost all the women and some of the children ran away,
with such swiftness that one would think that they were flying. The
others remained quiet. I gave them tobacco, coaxed them and treated
them with great gentleness. Two women went to look for fresh drinking
water; and the Indians, having finished with the carabao, left these
[Negrillos] there with the intestines, stomach, and bones. The Indians
told me that, after our party would leave the place, all these wild
people would gather here, and would not go away until they had gnawed
the bones, and would even eat the stomach with its contents.
16. At ten o'clock at night we ascended the river of Baccò, which
is the chief town of that island. The rain fell so heavily that the
village was under water. I remained there twenty-four hours. There
is a very lofty mountain within sight of the village, down which
falls a river which, when viewed from below, appears like a crystal
mountain. The water passes near the village, and, as it seethes so
mightily, and is overhung by a quantity of sarsaparilla, it is a
wonderful sight. That island has some peculiarities. First, it has a
great number of civet cats, from which much civet can be obtained for
trade. There is the greatest quantity of wax in all those mountains;
no account is taken of the honey. There are potatoes, sweet potatoes,
grapes, yams, and fruits, in the greatest abundance; an infinite number
of cedars, [4] whose flower, which I saw often, exhales the sweetest
odor and is very large; and cocoa-palms in great abundance. There is
another kind of palm from which they get honey, wine, vinegar, tuba,
and sugar. There are also innumerable trees, resembling bananas,
from which a black fiber is obtained for the rigging and cables of
ships, of which there are so many that one is surprised. There is
another species of white fiber which comes from another tree called
abaaca. There are more of that kind in another part. It is excellent
for ship cables, for the more it is wet the stronger it becomes. There
is another tree on which a certain bark grows, as white as snow. It
is soft as soft can be to the touch, and the Indians use it for
their beds and for clothing--although they are not without cotton,
of which they make excellent clothing. [5]
17. Rivers and sea abound with fine fish. The fish called pexemulier
[6] is found there. Very valuable rosaries are made of its bones,
because of the great virtue residing in them against hemorrhages; one
which has been tested by experience is worth many ducados. Licentiate
Francisco Roca, the cura of that place, related to me what happened in
his district--a very notable case. An Indian who went to fish every day
found near the water a pexemulier, which is said to resemble a woman
from the breasts down. He had regular intercourse with this creature,
and continued that bestial concubinage daily for more than six months
without losing a single day in that communication. After that time
God touched his heart, and constrained him to confess. He confessed,
and was ordered not to go to that place any more; he obeyed, and
ceased that abomination. I avow that if I myself had not heard it
from the above [cura], I would have doubted its truth exceedingly.
18. On the afternoon of the next day, we (the cura, the alcalde-mayor,
and I) set out in three boats for another curacy, namely, the one to
which I was going. All three had to be reconciled, because of some
slight differences that had preceded, and for that reason the voyage
was made. The cura entertained us royally and we embraced and became
good friends, and the feast was ended with a grand banquet which he
gave us. It is not going to excess to add somewhat more than usual in
such great occasions and feasts.... The truth is there was no wine,
but only plenty of good water. In a few days I went out to the visitas,
which were numerous and distant one from another. Having passed the
first, I turned inland in order to cut off a large cape which extended
far into the sea from a mountain. The crossing was thickly overgrown
with trees, so high that one could not see the sky at all for two
leguas. The leeches were so numerous that we could not estimate
them. On reaching the sea I crossed a rivulet on the shoulders of an
Indian, who carried his spear in his hand. Half-way over he descried
a fine ray-fish; he threw his spear, and nailed it to the sand. When
he had carried me over, he returned and got that fish, dragging it
along through the water. The Indian told me what fine food its liver
was, and they cooked it for me, and truly it is a fine delicacy. I
mentioned that in Roma in the year 73, and it so struck the fancy
[of those who heard me] that some of them were anxious to secure that
dainty. I did not know at that time the great virtue of the spine or
claw at the point of the tail of that fish. It is an admirable remedy
against toothache, and if the teeth be merely rubbed with that claw the
pain leaves them; however, it must be cut off while the fish is alive.
19. I went to celebrate Holy Week in a small village whose little
church was located in the most pleasant and agreeable place that
can be found anywhere. It lay three leguas from the sea, and one
ascended thither by a fine and full-flowing river, which has a bed one
legua wide during the rainy season. Near that river is a low-lying
mountain which resembles a pleasant garden. At the south it has the
most beautiful cocoa-palms; on the east and north it is covered with
cacasuchiles full of flowers, which are beguiling to the sight and
smell; to the east one sees very lofty mountains, which are very
sightly. Round about it was a hedge of tall maguey, [7] and in the
middle of that stood the house and church. The village site, on the
north side, and on the south, where the river flowed, was very steep,
and had a fine spring at the foot. The means of approach to the village
were suitably hidden, for safety from the hostile Camucones. Indians of
other villages assembled there; all confessed and communed, and some
were baptized. Two things in especial happened to me there. One was
a confession that covered thirty years. Truly that Indian confessed
remarkably well, and had a very fine understanding. The other
was that of a woman already of marriageable age and of excellent
mind. She said to me: "Father, I went to the mountain with a youth,
and we lived there as if we were married for six years." (There
is no lack of food in the mountains without any work.) "One night,
as often before, we went to sleep upon the grass. At dawn I awoke,
raised myself up to look at him, and beheld him dead at my side. So
great was my fear on beholding that that I immediately descended to
the village with the determination to confess and change my life. I
have found an occasion when the father is here, and I wish to make
use of it." I counseled her as to what she would better do, and told
her to be ever mindful of the mercy that God had shown her. Literally
was the remark of God verified in this case, namely, that "two shall
be sleeping, and one shall be taken and the other left." [8] The poor
wretched youth suddenly attacked by death would run enough risk if
one thought of the time and occasion when he was summoned.
We practiced all the ceremonies of the church from Palm Sunday to
the day of the Resurrection. They had their altar; the chief of the
village gave all the wax that was used on it. I remember that, when
the mandato [9] was being preached, the good old man was softened,
and suddenly kneeled down, weeping and sobbing. That devotion drew
tears from me and the rest, and with them was the sermon finished.
20. All of those people are, as villagers of the mountain regions,
sincere, and without a bit of malice. They attend church with great
devotion, and no word is spoken to them that does not fructify;
therefore the gospel will continually spread among them. But there
they are held by a mass every two or three years; those who die remain
dead; and immediately the cura takes great care in collecting the
tribute from them, and the personal services and fees.
21. One of the great conveniences for the Indians in having religious
in their districts is that, since the latter are changed every little
while, if the Indian who is cowardly is afraid to confess to one,
or has had a quarrel with him, he unbosoms himself to the other, and
confesses well and freely to him. But if he once exhibits fear of the
cura, or the cura gets angry at him, it is very difficult for him
to show clearly what is in his breast when he goes to confess. He
who made the confession to me that covered the thirty years had
been silent about some matters, through fear and terror. This point
is worthy of consideration. The fathers of the Society had been in
that island in previous years; and they had four missionaries there,
who labored very earnestly. The seculars to whom it belonged before
went to law with them. It was returned to the seculars, and only one
cura is stationed there to administer what was administered by the
four religious. Already one can see what must become of it. This is
to seek Quæ sua sunt, non quæ Jesu Christi. [10] There were visitas
where the cura had not set foot for fourteen years.
22. On the day of the Resurrection, after the mass, and after the
mystery had been explained to the people, and some rice, potatoes,
eggs, and fruit had been distributed among some poor people who
had come to me, I went overland to another village. I slept on the
way in the shade of some trees. There I encountered an infidel from
the mountains, who had an excellent disposition. I showed him many
kindnesses, but since no inclinations [toward the faith] had preceded,
they availed but little. Next day I lodged in the house of another
infidel, who treated me very well. These Indians and thousands of
others do not become baptized because they fear the tribute and
personal services, as I have already observed in another place.
23. We arrived at the village of Santiago, which has a very
poor climate, and is much exposed to the attacks of the hostile
Camucones. The year before, some of them had been captured; and one
of them said to me: "Father, my wife was giving birth to a child in
this house, when the enemies arrived. I jumped through that window
and some followed me. The others, especially the women who were in my
house, were captured. They were taken along that path, and my wife,
being weak and exhausted, could not walk. To make her go forward they
kept striking her with clubs, and I watched it from behind here,
quite powerless to aid her. She was carrying the newborn infant on
one arm, and while there those men cleft it in twain from its head
down with a catan and left it there." O barbarous cruelty! All that
saddened my heart, and fear would not allow me to sleep, and daily I
found my health getting worse. I said to the Indians that we should go
to another place which was more healthful and safe, and they agreed
to it. In a short time they built a chapel there and a little house
for me. They built huts in their own manner for themselves, which are
sufficient to protect them from the air and the rains. Cold there is
not, but the heat is excessive.
24. One of the Chinese boats which was en route to Manila by way of
that island stopped there. The Chinaman, named Gote, told me how he
had outwitted six hostile boats by a trick and his boldness. His boat
carried a father of the Society, and one Spaniard. Seeing that the
enemy were about to attack him, he anticipated them. He ran up his
flag, sounded his gongs, summoning and inviting them to fight and made
for them. The enemy got together to take counsel, and the result was
that they fled. The Chinaman told me, in his broken Spanish: "Those
people neither saw nor knew what I was carrying in my boat. They also
fear death. Had I fled, without doubt I would have been killed. Was
it not better then to attack? They must have thought or suspected
that I had arms; for who would risk his own life?" On the day of
St. Philip and St. James I was in great tribulation. I was confessing
in the chapel. I noticed that the seat in which I was seated, which
was of bamboo, was shaking. I imagined that some dog was under it,
and asked the Indian to drive it away from there. He answered: "No,
Father, it is not a dog, but an earthquake." It increased in violence
so much that, abandoning my penitent, I knelt down and begged God for
mercy. I thought that surely the end of the world was come. I have seen
many earthquakes, but none so severe as that. At the close I said:
"If that earthquake has been as violent in Manila, not one stone has
remained upon another." I learned afterward that it had caused some
damage, although it was not great. The distance thence to Manila is
very nearly one hundred leguas and there is a goodly stretch of water
in between.
25. During those days I gave instruction and confession and
administered the communion to all. There were no adults to baptize,
but there were children. As the heat increased, together with the
danger of the enemy and my lack of health, I resolved to return,
although not a little sorry to leave two more visitas, twenty leguas
from that place. I reached Nanhoan by passing again through the same
villages by which I had come. During that voyage I observed that,
having ascended a river and told the Indians to prepare me a place
wherein to say mass and another in which to sleep that night, they made
the whole thing in two hours, by making a covering above that place
with only the leaves of the wild palm. That night a very heavy shower
fell, but not a single drop leaked inside the shelter. Then and on
many other occasions I have noticed that each leaf was so large that
an Indian carried it by dragging it; and since they are fan-shaped,
and have channels, and are strong, they could withstand as much rain
as might fall. In another village an incident happened that caused
the Indians great fear, and myself not a little wonder. The Indians
were down at the shore, mending the boat in which I was going to
embark, when suddenly a well-known fish came out of the water, which
we call picuda, [11] and the Portuguese vicuda. It seized an Indian
so firmly by the instep that it began to drag him into the sea. His
companions hastened to his rescue and made the fish loose its prey
by means of clubs and stones, and return to the water. They brought
the young fellow to me wounded. He confessed, and was very sick. He
recovered his health afterward, but was lame in that foot. Those men
were astonished, for they had never seen or heard that that fish went
ashore, and much less that it attacked men.
26. There is a fine lake near Nanhoan [12] which is so full of fish,
especially skates, that one can sometimes catch them with the hands,
take out the eggs and let the fish go. If those eggs be salted, they
make a fine accompaniment for rice and are considered a dainty. While
I was there an Indian woman came to bathe, but she remained behind in
the teeth of a crocodile. I left for Manila, and a chief and his son
with four Indians set out from the southern side. The enemy met them
and, although they resisted, they were captured and taken prisoners
to Mindanao. The Lord delivered me and those with me. I passed
the bay of Batangas and went round by way of the lake of Lombon,
[13] which is very beautiful. From Manila, where I remained several
days, I went to Batam, where I suffered the greatest discomforts and
uneasiness from witches or goblins. We do not know what it was, but
the result showed that it was a work of the devil. Considerable danger
to any man was not experienced, but we heard rumblings and noises,
and stones were thrown. The house became dirty in an instant, and was
clean again as quickly. Chairs were overthrown with great swiftness,
and we could not see who moved them; and such things as that did we
see with our eyes. We passed whole nights without sleeping.
27. One of those nights another [disturbance occurred]; when I had
already retired, and the noise was somewhat silenced, the fiscal
and governor and some other Indians came into the sleeping-room to
see whether they could discover anything. They were advancing very
courageously and threatening with punishment those persons who were
disturbing the house; but they had no sooner entered than a stairway
fell down upon them, showering them with a mass of stones, sand, and
mud. They were so scared that they never returned to make another
examination. I was summoned to Manila, whereupon I was delivered
from that most vexatious trouble, which had continued for months;
and others had much to suffer and endure.
CHAPTER VI
Of my second mission to Mindoro
1. I entered the college of Santo Thomàs for the third time, and that
time it was to teach the morning classes in theology. The last of
April of the following year, the archbishop assigned Don Christoval
Sarmiento, cura of Nuestra Señora de Guia, as visitor of Mindoro. He
asked me to go in his company, and he did not have to beg me urgently,
for the air at the college was very bad for me. The father provincial
gave his consent, and, having taken one of my pupils as associate,
we all went up-stream together, and then crossed over to the sea;
and, on the day of the Cross in May, I preached in Bacò. The devotion
of the Indians to the cross is very remarkable; they venerate and
celebrate it to the greatest degree imaginable. There is no Indian
village which is not full of crosses, and the Indians set up and
fix them with great neatness. As we entered the first visita on our
way up-stream, we were overtaken by a furious storm, and passed a
miserable night indeed in the boat, which was very small. For the
second time we crossed over the mountain of the leeches, with great
suffering. I had left the second visita until my return. A chief asked
me to confess him, but I told him to wait a few days until my return,
when I would have plenty of time. He insisted and begged me to hear
him confess. I did so, and when I returned he was already dead. I
considered that it was the result of his predestination. I remember
that he confessed very well and with great tenderness of heart.
2. I reached the village with the beautiful location of which I have
already written. But since the Camucones had in the preceding year
captured the chief of it on his leaving Nanhoan, I found it changed
now and all the people sad and disconsolate. I talked with his wife,
who was in mourning, and confessed her. Before I had confessed her,
it is true that she had never uncovered her face. Such sedateness and
modesty as this is observed by many Indian women, even by villagers. I
consoled her as well as I could. In another village before we reached
that of Santiago, many Indians were assembled; we remained there for
a considerable time. I noted there that the dogs barked excessively
during the night, and, as it was a dangerous place on account of
the Camucones, that caused some anxiety. I asked the Indians the
reason for so much barking. They answered: "Father, there are many
crocodiles in this river. When the dogs wish to cross over to the
other side they gather in one spot and bark for a long time until
they believe that the crocodiles have collected there (for it is a
fact that is well known that crocodiles look for dogs as cats do for
rats); and then, some of the dogs running above and some below, they
cross over safe and secure from the crocodiles. That happens nightly,
and consequently, there is no [cause for] anxiety when they are heard
to bark." I wondered, and I remembered that I had read that the dogs
of the Nile region do the same thing.
3. On one of those days a spy of the enemy came to us, who beguiled
us with a thousand idle stories. When we began to discover somewhat
of his purpose, it was impossible to find him. An Indian soon came
from the other visitas with the news that ten hostile caracoas were
sailing for that place. The Indians took to the mountains immediately,
and we were left alone with our servants. On receiving that bad news,
we determined to return, grieving deeply at seeing the impediments
that were unexpectedly arising to prevent our mission to the most
needy villages. While returning, I heard of many skirmishes that
the Indians had had with the Camucones, but the former always came
off the worse. Before reaching Manila, we heard that the ship "San
Diego" which arrived from Mexico with Don Pedro de Villarroel as
commander, had been wrecked at Balaian. I heard the commander Don
Pedro de Mendiola say that that ship had cost his Majesty more
than two hundred thousand pesos. That was the famous "San Diego"
which was used as a fort when the Dutch attacked Manila. All the
Dutch ships discharged their artillery at it, and it received them
all on one side, for it was beached. More than one thousand balls
were found, and of the two thousand that were fired at it, not one
passed through it. The timber of that country is uncommonly good, as
is also the strength with which the ships are built. The ship which
went to Acapulco that year suffered violent storms, and one huge sea
carried off fourteen sailors, according to a letter that I saw. Those
of the ship afterward affirmed the same thing, and they also said
that when the wave that carried the men off subsided it had thrown
them again into the waist of the ship, which was a piece of marvelous
good fortune. He who has traveled even a little by water will have no
difficulty in seeing how this could be. Years before, the sailors in
Cavite say, another sea, which had broken upon a ship when making the
same voyage, had dragged off thirty-six men; a great wave that. Some
few were saved, but the others were buried in the waters. When Don
Pedro de Villarroel returned, he who is now the archbishop of Manila,
Don Fray Juan Lopez, wrote me that a heavy sea had completely torn
away the stern gallery. I had seen the ship before, and it was so
staunch that it seems incredible that a wave should do such damage. At
that time one would believe that some spirit stood in Mariveles with
a cutlass in his hand, forbidding the entrance of any ship into the
bay. Thus did I preach in the port of Cavite. The ship which Don Diego
Faxardo had built in Camboxa came near there, and was wrecked on the
Japanese shoals, where some persons of quality were drowned. After
it left Mexico under command of Lorenco de Ugalde, while it was in
a river, so furious a storm struck it that whatever of the ship was
above water was cut away and driven ashore; and some men were flung
against the masts to which they remained clinging, where they were
afterwards found, to the surprise [of their rescuers]. Considerable
money was lost and considerable was stolen. It was told in Manila,
as a positive fact, that the commander had obtained from cards
alone twelve thousand pesos between Acapulco and that place. Who
would believe such a thing here? In Pangasinan there were thunder,
lightning, and earthquakes; and rocks fell, and stones so large that
they weighed five arrobas. Bishop Cardenas wrote about that to the
governor and Audiencia, and added that he himself had seen some of
the above-mentioned stones. It was inferred that the stones had come
from some volcano, but no one ever heard where they had come from.
3 [sic]. The loss of so many ships caused us great sadness of
heart. The greatest hardship fell to the Indians, for they cannot
live without ships. When one is lost it is necessary to build another,
and that means the cutting of wood. Six or eight thousand Indians are
assembled for that task, and go to the mountains. On them falls the
vast labor of cutting and dragging the timber in. To that must be added
the blows that are rained down upon them, and the poor pay, and bad
nourishment that they receive. At times, religious are sent to protect
and defend them from the infernal fury of some Spaniards. Moreover,
in the timber collected for one ship there is [actually enough] for
two ships. Many gain advantage at the cost of the Indians' sweat,
and later others make a profit in Cavite, as I have seen.
4. Before leaving Manila, it will be apropos to say something of
that island. I shall say nothing particular of the islands of Oton,
Iloilo, Zibu, Marinduque, Romblon, Caraga, [14] Calamianes, and
others (all of which belong to our king, are inhabited by Indians,
and are administered by religious or curas), for I was not in them. I
know that they abound in rice, the larger cattle, wax, cotton, and
the common fruits. But, as remarked, I do not know the details from
experience. Only I am certain that the nests built by the swallows from
the sea foam, on the crags near the shores, are valued highly, and are
very delicious. When cooked with meat, they are a marvel and contain
much nourishment. They are given as presents in Manila. Those which are
carried to China are worth many ducados, as I wrote. They are abundant
in Calamianes, but I imagine that the same must be true of other
islands also; for the Portuguese trade in this commodity in Sian and
Camboxa for China. When dry they resemble a little ash-colored earth,
but they change appearance after being washed and cooked. There is no
doubt that gold is found in all the islands named, in some more than
in others. The island of Manila is the largest and most celebrated. It
extends from nine or ten degrees south latitude to more than nineteen
in the north. From east to west it is very unequal. Manila, which is
the capital of all the islands, is near a large river and very near
the sea. There reside the governor, four auditors, one fiscal, the
archbishop, three royal officials, the alguaçil-mayor of the court,
and the municipal corporation with its two alcaldes-in-ordinary,
regidors, and alguaçil mayor. The old cathedral was overthrown
by the great earthquake of St. Andrew's [day] of 46. Another was
built later, but it was not finished in my time. There is a very
spacious and beautiful royal chapel and the convents of St. Dominic,
St. Francis, St. Augustine, the Society [of Jesus], St. Nicolas [i.e.,
the Recollect convent], Santa Clara, and St. John of God; besides two
colleges--ours of Santo Thomas, which is a university incorporated,
and affiliated with that of Mexico; and that of San Joseph, of the
Society of Jesus. There is a fine royal hospital; a church of Santa
Potenciana with a house for the shelter of respectable women; and a
fine church of the Misericordia with a seminary where many Spanish
orphan girls are reared and given dowers for marriage. The best people
of Manila look after that seminary. The [post of] head brother of the
Misericordia is one of the highest offices in that community. When I
had to preach in that church one year, I read the rules professed by
that confraternity, and they instructed me in some things. One thing
was, that during one of the former years they had distributed in alms
alone to the respectable poor thirty-six thousand reals of eight. The
city has very fine houses and palaces inside; while outside of it
are orchards, gardens, and many baths, which are most necessary for
relief from the excessive heat there. The walls, ramparts, cavaliers,
covert-ways, and diamond-points which surround the city are as much
as can be desired. The site is impregnable in itself, and, even if it
were not, the fortifications are sufficient to protect the city. The
artillery is heavy and excellent. It is one of the best strongholds
that his Majesty owns. Outside its walls it has a Babylon of villages
and people on all sides. The river girdles the wall on the north side,
and has a fine bridge, which is well garrisoned. As these things are
already known, I shall not spend time with them.
5. In their books the Chinese have mentioned the island of Manila,
which they call Liu Sung. [15] They say that it is a land where gold
abounds, and in that they say truly and rightly. The provinces of
Pangasinan and Ilocos are more remarkable in this regard than any
other. Rice is abundant and good. There is the rice of forty days,
so that it is sown, grows, and is dried, harvested, and eaten in
forty days--a very remarkable thing. There is rice of two months,
of three, and of five. There are also fine lands for wheat, if there
were any system and method in sowing it. If any Indians sow it, it is
levied upon in the king's name; and consequently, the Indians do not
devote themselves to that work. In my time, wheat was worth ninety
pesos per fanega. If they would sow it in that country, it would be
very cheap. The larger cattle are too cheap, so greatly have they
multiplied. A large and strong bull is worth four pesos, according
to the established price. Goats are not wanting, and there are
innumerable deer and very many buffaloes. The males of the buffaloes
have been crossed with cows, and the result has been a third and very
strange-appearing species. There are ducks, chickens, sugar, wax, and
wood that is called here Brazil-wood; there is so much of this that
it costs only the cutting. Excellent rattan is found in the greatest
abundance, and more than enough cotton to clothe the people of the
country. Wines and brandy, made from nipa and other materials, are not
wanting, nor people to drink them. There are many delicious fruits. The
guayava, [16] which has spread so fast that it is destroying the
pasturage, is the finest [kind of fruit]--raw, cooked, prepared in
preserves, and in jelly; it is good in all forms. The reason why it
has multiplied to such an extent is that crows and birds eat of it
and afterward drop the stones to the ground, and wherever the latter
fall they take root. The Portuguese told me that the sandalwood of the
island of Timor had increased in that way, without any other labor,
as I have already written. That tree also bears a small fruit which
the birds eat, and whose stones they reject which immediately take
root without any other cultivation being necessary. There are macupas,
bilimbins, pahos, santols, and papaws, [17] any of which can compete
with the best fruit here. There is also the nangca, [18] which is the
best fruit in the world. Some of them weigh over forty libras. They
are delicious, and the nuts or seeds which each mouthful encloses in
itself are very savory, raw or roasted. This fruit grows on the trunk
of the tree, and on the large branches, but not on the small ones,
as it would be impossible for their weight to be borne there. That
tree has no flower. Father Kirquero [19] greatly admired that fruit,
and the fruit of the pineapple (or ananasses, as the Portuguese
call them). He says that they have those fruits in China, but he was
deceived in that regard; they grow in that part of the world, but not
in China. The Portuguese praise the ananasses of Malaca highly. They
are good, and without doubt there is but little difference between
them and those of Manila; even those which I ate in Nueva España
seemed just like them. The small sapota and black sapotas, which are
numerous and good, grow there. [20] There are found, above all, ates,
[21] which for odor and taste I consider superior to all the fruits
that God has created. There are bananas, seven or eight varieties,
some better than others; and the same [may be said] of oranges. The
lemons of Manila are small. Flowers of innumerable varieties are
found, and odoriferous herbs in the same way. Sweet basil and sage
grow in the plain, so tall and wide-spreading that it is a wonder to
see them. There are many palms--cocoa, areca, and other species. The
cocoas are the most useful. Before the cocoanut sprouts from the
flower-stalk, a precious liquor is extracted which is called tuba
by the Indians, and in Eastern India sura. It is distilled at night,
and is a delicious and most healthful beverage by morning. If it be
boiled it lasts all day. A fine syrup and excellent honey are made
from it, and I have made them. The distillations of the day are
made into wine, and also into the finest of vinegar. A fine tow is
made from the outside shell of the cocoanut, which is used for the
calking of ships and other craft. Excellent ropes and fuses are made
of it for all sorts of firearms, which are used by the musketeers and
arquebusiers. From the inside shell are made elegant drinking-cups
for water and chocolate. The water contained inside the cocoanut is
drunk, and, if the cocoanut is tender, it is a very sweet and healthful
beverage. The cocoanut is roasted for the sick, and after it settles
the said water is drunk and produces excellent results. From the
white flesh into which the water is gradually converted, a milk is
extracted, with which they cook many of their eatables, among these
their rice. An excellent conserve called buchayo by the Indians is
made from it. Good oil is also extracted from this nut; and from
the residue of that process the natives and creoles make a very
savory dish with rice. There remain then the trunk and branches
[of the tree], which have many other uses. The bamboos are also
very useful. Some of them are as thick as the thigh. Chairs, tables,
houses, very large churches, fences about the stockyards, scaffolds
for buildings, and innumerable other things are made from them. There
is an abundance of fish, fine shellfish, including oysters, iguanas,
[22] (which, although they have an infernal shape, are the finest
kind of food), and the finest shads and pampanos. In the island of
Manila and other islands dependent on it only a little coolness is
needed, although there are parts somewhat temperate. For the rest,
nothing else is needed than to take care of them. Other persons will
secure rich harvests, but his Majesty gets nothing, although private
persons gain from all of them. That country has temperatures for all
products that are desired--for wheat, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper,
and for mulberry trees from which the silkworms are fed. There is
considerable excellent tobacco. Ebony in as great quantities as are
desired, and sandalwood (although it is not fine) are also found in
the mountains. Precious stones called bezoars are found in deer; I
saw a very fine one, valued, it was said, at many ducados. A deer had
been struck with a harpoon, which remained in the deer's body while
the animal still lived. After some time the deer was killed, and the
harpoon was found in its proper shape all covered with bezoar. One
point was broken off, and in that way the head was laid bare, to the
wonder of all who saw it. As arrowheads are poisoned, it was said that
that stone, as it had prevented the poison of the said harpoon, must
be a marvelous antidote against all poisons. I forgot to consider
the fertility of the land of Manila. It suffices to say that six
short leguas from that city there are certain lands, called Tunacan,
[23] which yield one hundred and thirty fanegas of rice to one fanega
sown in them. [24] That appears to me to be as much as can be desired.
6. Other minor matters pertaining to Manila were overlooked by me,
which it is not proper to bury in silence. One is of a seminary for
boys, called San Juan de Letran. It was founded by a religious, a
lay-brother of my order, one Fray Diego de Santa Maria. [25] In my
time it had more than two hundred boys, and was of great benefit to
those islands. The way in which the boys were managed was inimitable
in any other seminary. They were taught reading, writing, grammar,
and music there. Those who studied the arts and theology went to our
college. They were given two suits of clothes per year, and received
religious instruction. In the morning, before breakfast, they recited
aloud in chorus one-third of the rosary, at noon another third, and at
evening the remaining third, and the salve chanted with the litany of
our Lady; and at midnight of important feasts, the matins. While they
were eating at dinner and supper one of them read at the table. They
confessed and took communion every month, and were punished or
rewarded. Some of those boys became soldiers, some secular priests,
and some took the habit in the convents of St. Francis, St. Augustine,
and St. Dominic, so that the seminary was a general camp of soldiers,
both temporal and spiritual. An encomienda was obtained from his
Majesty to aid in their support. Alms were obtained from burials [26]
and also from the Indians. It is certainly a heroic work. I am told
that they have been taken inside the city now, and the most influential
religious of the province live there, and, during these later years,
those who have been provincials of the order.
7. All of us in this country see another very peculiar thing--namely,
that although the city is small, and the Spaniards few in number, yet
thousands of Chinese, mestizos, and natives are maintained for their
service, so that there are about two hundred Chinese carpenters in the
Parián, beside those of the other trades, and all of them are always
employed in Manila by the Spaniards. There are about two hundred
Chinese and mestizo barbers, all of whom live on the Spaniards;
and others in the same proportion. Outside the walls there is a
famous hospital for the natives, which is well taken care of by the
Franciscan fathers who have charge of it. Opposite the fortress of
San Gabriel lies our charge, namely, the care of the Chinese. There
one finds a Chinese physician, Chinese medicines, a religious who
understands the Chinese language, a nurse, and servants who have
charge of everything. Rarely does one die without baptism, and many
of them show abundant signs of salvation. All the neighborhood of
Manila, except the part that borders on the sea, is filled with
villages and churches--that of the Parián being ours, where there is
always a religious who knows the Chinese language. Dilao is a village
of Japanese, and has a Franciscan religious. The parish church of
Santiago is for Spaniards who live outside the walls; also that of
Nuestra Señora de Guia, which has a very miraculous image. Our image
of the Rosary is most miraculous, and it is the consolation of all
the city and of the islands. It is said that they have made imperial
crowns for the Son and the Mother, even more precious than those which
I said were possessed by our Lady of the Rosary and her Blessed Son
in Mexico. The Recollect fathers of our father St. Augustine have
[an image], an Ecce Homo, which excites devotion most powerfully,
and has been taken to the hearts of all people. It was placed in
position amid great rejoicing and imposing ceremonies, shortly after
the arrival of Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara--who took part therein
very fervently, and who went to hear mass in that sanctuary every
Friday throughout the year.
8. Some influential persons of the city died during those years. Among
them were Don Francisco Diaz de Mendoça, noble, virtuous, and beloved
by all; the commander Don Pedro de Mendiola, a fine soldier and very
gentlemanly, who was governor of Terrenate and castellan of Cavite,
and held other important posts; Sargento-mayor Navarro, or, as he
was otherwise called, "the just judge" (his father-in-law, Diego
Enriquez de Losada, a man of well-known virtue, was drowned in the
Camboxa ship). Of the secular priests died the two best bonnets [27]
that those islands have had, namely, Don Juan de Ledo and Don Alonso
Zapata, both dignidades of the cathedral and doctors of our university,
and notable in teaching and in the pulpit. I believe that no one of
the dignidades of my time is still living.
9. The members of the Audiencia of that time were Don Sebastian
Cavallero de Medina, a creole of Mexico; Don Albaro Fernandez de
Ocampo, a native of Madrid; Don Francisco Samaniego y Ivesta, a
Montañes; and Don Salvador de Espinosa, a creole of Vera-Cruz; and the
fiscal, Don N. de Bolivar. All showed me many favors. I have dedicated
conclusions [28] to the second and third, and others afterward also
to Don Sabiniano who was present in the royal Audiencia. [Then there
were] the master-of-camp, Don Pedro de Almonte, and the sargento-mayor,
Don Martin de Ocadiz, who had gone as commandant of the relief sent
that year to Terrenate. The commissary of the Holy Office was father
Fray Francisco de Paula, who had been provincial, and filled that
office for the second time afterward, a man of great influence in
all things. At that time, then, I resolved to leave the islands.
10. A very holy and Catholic action that occurred in Manila during
the preceding years had slipped my memory; it is very proper that
it be known by all, and venerated and applauded by the sons of
the Church. When the Catholics were exiled from Japon, they went,
as is known, to Manila. The welcome, good treatment, kindnesses,
and presents that were showered upon those confessors of Jesus
Christ cannot be imagined; the people tried to outdo one another in
showing their piety. Not a few sick and leprous persons arrived,
and yet was charity so great that they were taken into the houses
to be treated; and those who obtained some of them even considered
themselves fortunate. They were regarded as saints, and were esteemed
a great reliquary of inestimable value. Governor, auditors, citizens,
religious, and soldiers engaged in a scuffle, [29] in common phrase,
in order to secure a Japanese whether well or sick. No doubt that
caused great edification among the heathen people from China, who were
watching everything. Although the Chinese see and notice our faults,
on that occasion they experienced the marvelous effects of our holy
law. To have there such and so many witnesses must have made them see
that our conduct and mode of living was such that they would recognize
it here and glorify our God and Lord.... I heard later that some of the
people in Europa did not act so kindly to the exiles from Irlanda....
CHAPTER VII
Of the departure from Manila, and the voyage to Macasar
1. Don Sabiniano Manrique was governing to the satisfaction of the
community. No governor in the world has ever kept all the people
satisfied, or ever will. However, some restless fellows were not
wanting, a thing that no human prudence can avoid. But it is a
very strong argument for his good government that the commander Don
Francisco Enriquez de Losada wrote in the year sixty-six (and I have
his letter in my possession) that all the people, and especially the
religious, were calling for Don Sabiniano. I never heard that they
cried out for others. This is most sufficient testimony for the praise
and credit of that illustrious gentleman. Although his Lordship had
given me his word to provide me with quarters in the ship which was
going to Acapulco that year, the terror that reigned in my soul at the
thought of passing those seas, and other things, induced me to take
passage with my old friend, the commander Christoval Romero. All my
viaticum and supplies resolved themselves into sixty reals of eight,
four tunics, and two habits, that I might travel more lightly and
unimpeded. I left my cloak with a friend, and went without that and
other things No voyage by water can be assured, even if only for a
few leguas; and it is folly to appoint it for fixed days.
2. We set sail on the fourteenth of February, and I confess that I
was soon depressed, and feared that the voyage would turn out ill;
for the seamen, who in accordance with all good reasoning ought to
live with greater discretion and fear, commenced to go astray. The
east winds were blustering by that time, but to us it appeared that
they had shut themselves up in their secret treasuries. We reached
Zamboanga March six, where we met the relief ship that was en route to
Terrenate. It had taken on rice and meat at Oton, and their commandant
was already dead. At seven o'clock at night we continued our journey,
and in a sudden squall the sail swept our best sailor into the sea,
and he stayed there. That misfortune increased my terrors. During
our crossing to the island of Macasar, a distance of sixty leguas,
the storms were furious; the waves the most terrible ever seen; the
samatras most powerful, although of short duration; and, above all,
pilots were unreliable. One morning we awoke to find ourselves among
some rugged cliffs and huge rocks; I know not how that boat got among
them without being dashed to pieces. We escaped out of that danger,
to fall into greater ones. In four or five days we found the weather
very clear until half-past eleven o'clock; but when we went to take
[observations of] the sun the sky would be darkened and covered
with clouds, and we with gloom. The shore was on our left hand--at a
distance of about two leguas at times, as we found out afterward; but
it was so covered with clouds that we could not descry it. We proceeded
for one day with a most favoring wind and weather straight toward our
objective point. Our people fancied that it was an immense bay, and
seeing land to the north, went thither in that mistaken belief. The
current opposed us so powerfully that, the wind having freshened
considerably, we could not gain a palmo of land. As we then were, we
should have reached Macasar in one week; but my sins were the reason
why we did not arrive until the following October. To reach that land,
we placed ourselves in the care of God and fortune. On Holy Saturday,
(the last of March) when we tried to cast anchor we felt the boat
ground upon some shoals. I cannot describe the confusion that arose,
and what I saw and suffered. All cried out "Lower the sails!" but no
one attempted to lower them. I got into a corner to commend myself
to God, for I thought that the end had come. The sea went down,
and we saw that we were surrounded by sandbanks and shoals, except
for the channel, through which we had sailed under the guidance of
God. The stern was in fourteen brazas and the bow was hard and fast. We
worked more than half the night; and, luckily for us, the weather was
clear and calm. The sea rose, and, with the tow-ropes that were cast
out and the other efforts that were made, the ship was set afloat
without having sprung a leak. At dawn we set sail once more. O! what
a sad Easter was ours! Our supplies were daily diminishing, and the
perplexity in which we were was increasing hourly. In fine, after a
week we found ourselves embayed, and could find no outlet into the
sea. Small boats were plying to and fro in that region. They took
us for pirates, and we took them for robbers, so that we fled from
each other without finding any way of getting light on the place
where we were. We had already found by the sun that we were lost,
for we were two degrees in north latitude, which did not accord
with our sailing directions. We spent another week in getting out of
that bay. We saw clearly the land of the other side, and as we had
good weather to cross the commander wished, contrary to the opinion
of all, to remain and to anchor until next day. As we were eating
he said to us: "All oppose me. Is not your Reverence of my opinion
that we should cross on Saturday morning?" I answered "Sir, the best
time for crossing is when God gives us a good wind." He was silent,
but stuck to his opinion. At three in the afternoon on the second
day of the crossing, on the eve of St. Mark, so strong a southwester
arose, that it was necessary to run before the wind, near shore,
without knowing of the shoals that were there. That was one of the
most wretched nights that I have passed on sea. The mainsail was torn
into shreds, the yard was broken, the foremast was snapped off, and
the rod of the steering-gear was broken. We all went into the cabin,
and recited the rosary and the litanies of our Lady, waiting for what
God was going to do with us. All had already confessed. After midnight,
being worn out, I fell asleep in a little corner. When I awakened,
the wind had ceased, but the dead seas troubled us greatly. We saw
land near us, and certain landmarks were recognized, by which we
were not a little consoled. We had been one and one-half months in
that region. We there encountered the island called Diablo [i.e.,
Devil's Island], and we could have entered the kingdom of Totole,
if our courage had not failed us. The commander resolved to turn
back and go to the kingdom of Bohol, [30] in order to lay in fresh
supplies. The journey was half over when the wind veered to the bow,
and we again ran before it. Thus did we plow through that sea. We
returned the second time to Bohol. We were all but gone, and it was
my counsel to return. The commander said: "Father, some angel spoke
through your Reverence's lips; for it is a foregone conclusion that
we would perish if the furious wind which arose had taken us where we
were the day before." Some things were purchased. We carried thence
an Indian from Manila, now half Moroized, who afterward proved a great
consolation to us, as he was most experienced on that coast. On Corpus
Christi day we anchored near Totole, where we found Captain Navarro,
who was also going to Macasar in another champan. We were very joyful
at that, although our joy was short-lived. By the variation of time
during the voyage which is made through Eastern India, it is well
known that twelve hours are gained, while a like time is lost in
our Indias. From Terrenate to India the reckoning of the Portuguese
is observed. According to our reckoning, we reached that place on
Corpus Christi day (a Thursday) which those who were en route from
Terrenate reckoned as Friday; so that we had eaten flesh at noon,
and at night when we were in the port we ate fish. We lost that day,
as well as the following one, which was Saturday--so that, if we had
anchored at midnight, we would properly have had a week without any
Friday, and only five days long. As for the divine office, although
I was not under obligation to recite all the prayers for Friday,
I recited, since I had time and to spare, those for Thursday and
those for Friday on the very day of Corpus Christi.
3. We bought a quantity of sago [31] there, called by the Indians in
Manila yoro. It is the heart of certain palm-trees; when soaked, it
makes a yellow meal (properly it looks like yellow sand). Certain cakes
are made from it which serve that people in lieu of bread; we lived on
it for six months. Although it is a good food for Europeans, at times
it fails to satisfy the hunger. Sometimes it seemed insipid food, but
at others it tasted good. That tree is so flexible that it is never cut
although it may be more than one vara in circumference. In Manila the
Indians eat this food in time of need. That caused us considerable pity
when we saw it, for really it is only pounded wood; but then it seemed
to us to be a great dainty. That site [i.e., Totole] lay in a trifle
over one degree north latitude. From ten until two the sun beat down
fiercely, but, at that hour, a heavy shower fell every day, and there
were terrible thunders and heavy winds that cooled off everything;
and the nights were so cool that we had to put on heavy clothing.
4. Captain Navarro and the commander agreed between themselves to
winter there. Our anger at that was great. Two other passengers and
I tried to buy a boat from the king and to go away in it. Having made
the agreement and paid the money, the king went back on his bargain,
and kept more than one-half of the sum paid. He was a great rogue,
although he treated me with much honor, and always seated me near
himself. Some very ridiculous things happened to me with him. His
palace was a little hut of bamboos and straw; but he bore himself
there with an incredible majesty, and all who spoke to him prostrated
themselves on the ground. He gave us a banquet, in which he offered us
some sago cakes, and some very small fish cooked without a particle
of salt. The prince died there, and I confess that I was astonished
at the burial. The king and queen went to his funeral, the king with
wooden shoes and the queen barefoot. When they returned, as the queen
was going up to her house, a female servant washed her feet on the
ladder. For twenty-four hours, some swivel-guns which stood at the
palace door were fired every half hour. The king went into retreat,
and would not grant audience for many days. He made an auction of
all his possessions, in order to express his grief; but no one dared
buy anything. We noted a very extraordinary thing there, namely,
that the majority of those people did not care for silver. If we
showed them an eight-real piece and a single real, they preferred
the single real to the eight-real piece. As long as the single reals
lasted we lived cheaply, but when we ran out of them, they refused to
give us as much for an eight-real piece as they had given us for a
single real. We suffered great hunger. One day I went to the beach,
and encountered a negro cook of the commander, who was cooking some
fish. I asked him to give me one or two of them, but he replied:
"Father, they have been counted." "Then for the love of God, will
you give me at least a little of that hot water?" "Yes," he said,
"I will give you that." I went up along the beach, where I found a
dirty half of a cocoanut-shell, deeply encrusted with sand; I washed it
with my hands and got my hot water in it. I put into it a half-crust
of dry sago (even though it remain a whole day in water, the water
will not penetrate it), and I managed to eat some mouthfuls of it,
although it was very hard on my teeth, and drank my hot water. With
that, I was content to take a bit of exercise, and to finish with
prayer what was lacking to me [for my meal].
5. When the tide went down, the seamen went to catch shellfish on the
reefs which were exposed. They caught curious kinds of snails, toads,
and snakes of a thousand forms and shapes. Everything tasted good,
and we grew fat. I reached such a state that I stole sago, when I got a
chance and could do it secretly. Many times I asked what dainties were
more necessary than a little rice boiled in water. In Manila I observed
very strictly the rules laid down by the physicians that I should not
eat butter, or this or that; but during the voyage I ate such things,
that I know not how I lived. Qui dat nivem sicut lanam [32] applies
here. We left Totole on the first of August. Those cruel men put us
all in great risk of losing our lives; four of us had already died,
and others of us were sick. I noted one very curious thing, namely,
that a poor negro, who had embarked only to beg alms in Macasar,
began the voyage so weak that he could not stand upright. Yet all
that hardship and misery (in which he had the greatest share) cured
him completely; and he fattened so much that he did not appear to
be the same man. At sunset of the day of our father St. Dominic,
we crossed the line and entered south latitude. The line crosses
two islands, called Dos Hermanas [i.e., Two Sisters]. The wind blew
so cold off shore that we all wrapped ourselves in all the clothes
that we had. In Europa, in more than 50 degrees north latitude, men
were burning with the heat at that time, while we under the line were
shivering with cold. Who can understand that philosophy?... Two days
after, we reached the kingdom of Caile, [33] which lies in one and
one-half degrees south latitude. It has an admirable bay, more than
three leguas long and two wide. As soon as we had anchored, a Manila
Indian came to us, one Juan de la Cruz. He read very devoutly, and
had his rosary about his neck. I ransomed him for twenty pesos and
took him to Macasar, where he proved to be a great rogue. He told
us that there were two Portuguese there, and we went immediately
to see them. On the way, we visited a petty king who regaled us on
cocoanuts. Captain Navarro asked for some water to drink. The queen
said that there was none in the house, and the king in anger ordered
them to go for some immediately. On hearing that, the queen went out of
her apartment instantly, and having taken a large bamboo went straight
to the river (which was near) for water; then she returned and we had
our drink. At that place one of the Portuguese overtook us; the other
was very sick. We went to his house, where Moros, both men and women,
came to see us; and among them, those infernal monsters of men clad in
women's clothes, who are married publicly to other men. Nothing has
ever surprised me more than that. The Portuguese told us there that
there were men who preferred to marry these [creatures] rather than
women. They gave two reasons, one that they look after the welfare
of their husbands carefully; the other that they were very diligent
and rich, because they alone could be Orives.
6. That is the kingdom where the men and women dress only in paper;
and, since it is a material which does not last long, the women are
continually working at it with great industry. The material consists
of the bark of a small tree, [34] which we saw there. They beat it
out with a stone into curious patterns, and make it as they desire,
coarse, fine, and most fine; and they dye it in all colors. Twenty
paces away, these appear like fine camlets. Much of it is taken to
Manila and Macao, where I saw excellent bed-curtains [made of it]; in
cold weather they are as good as one can desire. In the rainy season,
which is the great enemy of paper, the remedy applied by those people
is to undress and put one's clothes under one's arm.
7. The men are always busy in making cocoanut oil, of which they sell
considerable, and pay much in tribute to the king of Macasar. While
we were there, he sent for ninety thousand celemins of oil. The
palm-groves in those fields are astonishing. The bananas which that
land produces are the best in the world, and innumerable. The natives
live on them and sow no rice nor any other kind of seed. We remained in
those villages for one week, without eating anything else than bananas
or drinking anything else than [the juice of] cocoanuts. They raise
buffaloes, goats, and horses, which they sell. When they hold their
general assemblies, they eat one or two buffaloes, half raw and half
roasted. The villages are excellently arranged, and the council-houses
are admirable. The climate is fine, and the people would pay homage
to the Spaniards very willingly, as we were told there, merely to be
freed from the tyrannical dominion of the king of Macasar.
8. I afterward ransomed another Manila Indian. He was sick, and I
confessed him; but when we arrived at Macasar he died. I gave six
pesos for him, and would doubtless have given my habit. We left the
bay, but on St. Bartholomew's eve we were obliged to put back into
port because of heavy seas. On the Nativity of our Lady we left once
more, and by slow sailing we reached the kingdom of Mamuyo. [35]
We made port with great difficulty, and there all the sailors fell
sick. Together with the sick Portuguese, and two servants whom we
had, I bought a small boat. While it was being mended, I rested and
looked after the sick. I saw the king's palace; it was an excellent
structure, and made of fine woods. We took our departure, the two
champans remaining anchored there. It cost us our triumph to escape
from some dangers; but we passed the nights with great ease and
rest. Of a truth, we committed some acts of rashness. When we reached
the kingdom of Mandar [36] we found another king, already an old
man. He treated us well, and immediately sent the prince to see me;
he was a fine young fellow. Moreover, we went to Macasar together,
which is the capital of all the island. [There] we found the people
more civilized. It was God's will, and was due to His mercy, that I
should reach Macasar nine months and three days after leaving Manila,
although that voyage had never taken more than forty days. I thought
that I had reached Paradise. I found two members of my order there,
and I thought them two angels; and they certainly were that for me,
for they regaled me as much as their poverty permitted. As for me,
it is certain that nothing gladdened me so much as to see myself away
from the sea, among my friends, and where I could say mass.
CHAPTER VIII
Of my stay in the kingdom of Macasar
[The large and fertile island of Macasar, which is located near Borneo,
is ruled by one called the sumbanco (signifying "emperor"), who has
many petty kings subject to him. Commerce is brisk, and ships from
Manila, Goa, and Macao, and Dutch and English ships, frequent the
island. The Portuguese of Malacca and the Mahometans from Siam were
the first to publish the name of God there. "Before that trade opened,
they were all heathen; they thought it well to accept one of the two
faiths, and to follow it. Not to err in so necessary a matter, they
resolved to employ a ridiculous method, namely, to despatch at the same
time a boat to Sian for Moros, and another to Malacca for religious,
agreeing that they would receive the first ones who arrived." The Moros
arrived first through the fault of the Portuguese. When Malacca falls
to the Dutch, many Portuguese and mestizos take refuge at Macasar,
where they are well received and form a considerable settlement. It
is a haven for traders, for there are no duties of any kind, but
the captains need only make presents to the sumbanco. The prince
receives Navarrete well, and visits him at the house of an influential
Portuguese. The churches of the Dominicans and Jesuits have been
destroyed at the request of the bishop of Malacca, whence have arisen
various troubles. Soon after, Navarrete pays a visit to the prince
in the palace, where he sees various books and maps that had belonged
to the missions. An embassy at that time from Jacatra finally results
in war with the Dutch, who conquer the natives in 1670, and carry off
the sumbanco and prince. As a consequence all the Portuguese leave the
island. At Macasar, Navarrete meets the chief of Mindoro who had been
captured four years before. The missionary preaches in Macasar through
Lent, but the native rulers do not become Christians. Two Portuguese
arrested for a murder by the sumbanco are promised life if they will
renounce Christianity. One, refusing, is killed immediately; the other,
acquiescing, is allowed to live, but soon escapes to Macao. Many of the
Portuguese slaves have become Mahometans; and, in addition, Christians
and Mahometans are living together in concubinage. In Borneo are more
than four thousand captive Indians from Manila. "In all the islands of
that archipelago there are Indians from Philipinas, either refugees
or captives. Wherever I have been, from China to Surrate, I found
people from Manila and its islands. People try, forsooth, to impute
the decrease of the Indians to other and fanciful beginnings; but let
them be well treated, and they will not flee. Let them be protected,
and they will not be captured. No vessel leaves Manila, whether it is
of Portuguese, or Siamese, or Cambodians, etc., that does not carry
Indians from the islands." In May, 1658, a Portuguese ship from Goa
arrives at the island with information of the loss of Ceylon. Among
its passengers are some Franciscans and Jesuits. Navarrete, tired
of the sea, determines to go to Macan with the other religious,
and devote his life to the Chinese missions.]
CONDITION OF THE CLERGY OF THE PHILIPPINES
The procurator-general of the Dominicans in Madrid, Fray Pedro Diaz
del Cosio, made a representation to the queen-regent in August, 1674,
in regard to the condition of the clergy of the islands, because of
the almost perpetual vacancies [in the sees] of the archbishop and
bishops, and the excessive subjection in which the governors held them,
and the harsh treatment accorded them. [37]
He represented that the bishopric of Nueva Caceres had been vacant
for about thirty-one years; and that he who had last been presented
(on September 30, 1672) had not obtained the bulls from his Holiness.
That the bishopric of Cebu had not had any bishop who was regularly
appointed and who took possession, for about nineteen years, when Don
Fray Juan Lopez assumed that post in 1666; that the latter had been
promoted to the bishopric of Manila; that Don Diego de Aguilar was
presented in 1672, a Dominican of the age of sixty years, but had not
yet, at that date (1674), obtained the bulls (although he had accepted
the dignity)--without doubt, because he was old and lived in Mejico.
That the bishopric of Nueva Segovia had been vacant for about
fifteen years, since the death of the last bishop, Don Fray Rodrigo de
Cardenas, [38] a Dominican; for he who had then (1674) been presented,
namely, Don Jose Poblete, dean of the cabildo of Manila, had not yet
obtained the bulls nor his authorization, for lack of money.
That the archbishopric of Manila, the one which had been vacant the
least time (since the death of Don Miguel de Poblete in 1668), had
been given to Don Fray Juan Lopez, bishop of Cebu, whose bulls could
not arrive until 1674--six years of vacancy.
That the governors were interested in having vacancies; for they
filled the posts provisionally, and for that reason they were slow
in giving information of a vacancy.
That the incomes of the bishops were scant, and were collected at
the will of the governors, who paid them poorly, and curtailed
them. Therefore arrangements should be made to let the bishops
themselves collect their dues from the tributes, as these were paid in.
That the cost of the bulls ought to be paid from the royal treasury.
That appointments ought to be given to persons not over forty years
of age.
That they should be given to Dominican friars, who would obtain the
bulls without any delay.
That the third part of the income of the vacancies should be given
to the persons appointed, in order to pay for the bulls.
That the power of exiling bishops should be taken from the governors
and Audiencia.
That three auxiliary bishops should be appointed, who should
succeed, according to their seniority, [in case of vacancies] in the
archbishopric and bishoprics, and should begin to govern immediately.
The father procurator, Fray Pedro del Cosio, set forth those claims,
but no one took any notice of them. The memorial was presented
to the Council, October 26, 1674. Having been investigated by the
fiscal--whom, as well as the other persons who intervened in it,
Father Cosio visited--it was examined in the Council, March 11, 1675,
and gave rise to the following resolutions:
That the governors of Filipinas should report promptly to the Council
the vacancies of the bishoprics, under penalty of a fine of two
thousand pesos.
That the archbishop of Manila should appoint governors ad interim
in the vacancies of the three bishoprics of Filipinas; and his
Holiness should be petitioned for despatches, so that in such case
the ecclesiastical spiritual authority should be exercised by the
consecrated bishops left.
That the royal officials of Mejico should remit on separate account
what was owing to the archbishop and cabildo of Manila, without the
governor and royal officials of Filipinas having any part in it.
That the Audiencia alone could proceed, in accordance with law,
against the ecclesiastics, and not the governor by himself alone.
That the archbishop should report the amount of the tithes of the
islands, in each of the three bishoprics, in order to erect cathedrals
and establish cabildos.
That the royal officials of Manila should report the amount of the
third part of the [incomes of the] last vacancies of the bishoprics.
It appears further: That the Council was about to resolve that
one-third of the incomes of the vacancies of the bishoprics of
Filipinas should belong to the treasury, and another third part should
be conceded to the bishops-elect to pay for the bulls. That it was
resolved to augment the income of the archbishop to five thousand
pesos, and that of the bishops to four thousand pesos. That it was
about to petition Roma to lower by one-third the cost of the bulls to
the bishops of Filipinas. That the archbishop should punish public
scandals of incontinence, both of lewd women and of men living in
concubinage. That in the disputes of Don Gerónimo Herrera with the
archbishop [39] some matters were determined in favor of the latter.
PREROGATIVES OF EX-PROVINCIALS
GRANTED TO THE PROCURATORS OF THE ORDER OF HERMITS OF ST. AUGUSTINE
IN FILIPINAS
Innocent XI, Pope. In future remembrance of the affair.
Not long ago it was represented to us on the part of our sons the
brethren of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine of the province of
the islands known as the Philippines, in the Ocean Sea that as they had
to send a religious to attend to urgent matters of the said province in
the Roman and Spanish royal courts, nor was any religious found willing
to undertake such burden because of the very long and toilsome journey,
that could not be made without grave discomforts and danger of life,
as also because such procurators after laboring three years and longer
in their charge were not allowed any prerogative, the same petitioners
very earnestly desire a grant from us to the effect that those who
for three continuous years shall exercise the duty of procurator in
the said courts shall enjoy the privileges of ex-provincials. Since,
moreover, not only the whole province aforesaid, but also the late
prior-general of the said order, has petitioned for the grant of such
indulgence, therefore the said petitioners have humbly solicited us
to make through our apostolic bounty due provision in the premises.
1. Accordingly, desiring to reward the petitioners with special favors
and graces, moreover considering them all and singular to be free
from any sort of excommunication, ... and being not indisposed to
hearken to their prayers, with the counsel of our venerable brethren
the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church who are in charge of matters
appertaining to bishops and regulars, and with the consent of the
aforementioned prior general, by our apostolic authority, in virtue of
these presents, we grant and allow those religious of the said province
who in the future shall exercise at least for three years the duty
of procurator of their province in the aforesaid courts the full and
lawful possession and enjoyment of all the privileges, prerogatives,
and exemptions now possessed and enjoyed by ex-provincials of the
same province--due regard, however, always being had in the premises
to the authority of the congregation of the same cardinals.
2. Decreeing that these present letters shall always be held as
binding, valid, and efficacious, and shall obtain their plenary and
entire results, etc.
Given at Rome, at St. Mary Major's, under the seal of the Fisherman,
December 17, 1677, the second year of our pontificate.
ROYAL PATRONAGE EXTENDED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
The King. Inasmuch as Fray Alonso Sandín, [40] definitor and
procurator-general of the province of Santo Rosario of the Order of
St. Dominic in the Filipinas Islands, has represented to me that
a public academic institution was erected in the college of Santo
Tomás of the city of Manila, by a bull of his Holiness Innocent
X, promulgated November 20, 1645, at the instance of the king my
sovereign and father (may he rest in peace) and passed by my Council
of the Indias, by virtue of which degrees in the arts and theology
are granted in that institution, with full rigor of examinations and
publicity, to capable persons in those islands, from which follows
a notable advantage for furnishing prebends and curacies, for which
the students therein compete, they petition me that, considering this,
in order that the students' energy may not decrease in what at present
is flourishing, I be pleased to admit that university under my royal
patronage, and declare myself to be its patron. My said Council,
having examined the petition, together with an authentic copy of the
document erecting the university and of what my fiscal said concerning
it, I have considered it expedient to admit, as by this present I do,
the said university of the college of Santo Tomás of the city of Manila
under my protection, and declare it to be under my royal patronage. I
order my president and the auditors of my Audiencia of that city,
and request and charge the archbishop of the city, the bishops of the
said islands, the ecclesiastical and secular cabildos, the superiors
of the orders, and any other of my judges and justices of the islands,
that they consider it as such, and observe it; and that they cause to
be observed the privileges and exceptions that pertain to it by reason
of such patronage, for so is my will. Given in Madrid, May 17, 1680.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
José de Veitialinage [41]
In the city of Manila, August 21, 1681. The president and auditors
of the royal Audiencia and Chancillería of these Filipinas Islands,
while in royal Council, after having examined the petition of father
Fray Juan de Santa María [42] of the Order of Preachers, and rector of
the university of Santo Tomás de Aquino, together with his Majesty's
royal decree which is mentioned therein, in which his Majesty receives
his university under his royal protection and declares it to be under
his royal patronage; and that due execution and fulfilment be given
thereto in this royal Audiencia, together with the petition for the
fiscal in the examination given it: the aforesaid took the decree
in their hands, kissed it, and placed it upon their heads, as a
decree of their king and legitimate sovereign (whom may the divine
Majesty preserve, with increase of new kingdoms and seigniories);
and in obedience thereto declared that they would observe, fulfil,
and execute it, in accordance with, and as his Majesty ordains and
commands, and--leaving a certified copy of it in the record books--that
the original would be returned. Thus they voted and decreed and signed
it with their rubrics before the fiscal.
Before me:
Juan Sánchez
LETTER TO CARLOS II
Sire:
Although the royal Audiencia must give you information of the
controversies that have arisen between the religious of St. Dominic and
the fathers of the Society of Jesus--from which resulted others between
the archbishop of this city and the said fathers, as he attempted
to be the judge in their suits, upon which they implored your royal
aid--I cannot avoid, for my own part, giving you an account thereof,
in order not to fail in my obligation. I must embark in a few days
for Nueva Segovia, from which place the despatch that I would send
may not arrive in time [for the mail to Acapulco], on account of
the storms that may arise and the perils of the way that have been
experienced--especially at this present time, with the deaths of
several passengers, among them a religious of St. John of God. [43]
And although in another letter (which I sent by way of Banta) I
gave your Majesty a detailed account of the litigation that has
begun to take shape between the college of San Joseph, which is
in charge of the fathers of the Society, and that of Santo Thomas,
which is administered by the fathers of St. Dominic, it has seemed
needful that I should continue that account, giving it quite fully
on account of the unforeseen events that since have resulted. Years
ago the said fathers of St. Dominic began a lawsuit against those of
the Society in regard to the priority of their college, and, too, in
regard to the authorization enjoyed by the Society of power to confer
degrees on their students in arts and theology. After many disputes,
and declarations by the royal Audiencia, both parties had recourse
to your royal Council of the Indias; the Society obtained sentence in
its favor, and the royal executory decree was ordered to be issued--of
which, it cannot be doubted, account can be given in the Council. And
although the Society have remained in peaceable possession, during
the course of so long a time as has elapsed since the said executory
decree, the Order of St. Dominic have tried in every way to disturb
them--giving, in the "conclusions" which they print, the impression
that their university is the only one [in Manila], and that the degrees
conferred in that of the Society of Jesus were null and void. And now
they are again styling their college of Santo Thomas a "royal college;"
and for greater ostentation they placed, on the twenty-fourth of
November in the past year, your Majesty's arms over the gates of the
said college. When the fathers of the Society saw this, they raised
objections, demanding the observance of what was decreed and ordained
by your Majesty in the above-mentioned executory decree, and that the
rector of the college of Santo Thomas be notified of it, in order that
he might not plead ignorance on account of not being an old resident
of this city. The said rector, being notified of this opposition,
purposely absented himself. Your royal Audiencia commanded that copies
of the decisions of your royal Council, contained in the executory
decree, be affixed to the doors of the said college of Santo Thomas,
and posted in other public places in this city. The rector, without
doubt, must have resented the command by your royal Audiencia; for
upon one of the posted copies of the decisions of the Council a lay
religious of St. Dominic placed another paper, in which he censured
the fathers of the Society for trading and bartering. [44] Thereupon
immediately came out your archbishop, who is of the said order, [45]
with official statements against the Society, calling upon many laymen,
residents of the city, to express their opinion on the point at issue,
under [penalty of] censures. He also sent a notary to the ship "Santa
Rossa" (which had put back to port), for the same purpose, because
among those who had embarked thereon was Father Gerónimo de Ortega,
[46] who had been appointed by the said order procurator-general for
your royal court and that of Roma, with his companion, Father Luis de
Morales. [47] This arrogant act was perhaps occasioned by seeing the
said procurator and his companion lade on the ship various goods which
they ordinarily send to the Marianas for the support and maintenance
of the fathers who reside there, and of the others who (as is generally
and publicly known) are aided by the said fathers with their accustomed
charity and zeal. For these purposes they employ the liberal alms with
which your Majesty has been pleased to coöperate in the promotion of
a work so to the service of God our Lord, in that and other labors--as
in the missions of China and other realms, where they are occupied in
preaching the holy gospel. Besides, [I must not omit mention of] the
disinterested manner in which they proceed in the administration of
the missions which they occupy; this is sufficient testimony to their
being so far removed from transactions of that sort, and evidence
that we can and ought to understand; for every one knows that they
do not exact fees for burials or marriages, or other functions. In
this condition has remained the litigation of the said fathers--who
are protected by your royal Audiencia; and since it is necessary
for a definite account of the proceedings in future, I refer you in
everything to the official legal report of the Audiencia. May our Lord
prosper your Majesty with the happiness and success that Christendom
needs for its protection and promotion. Manila, February 24, 1683.
Francisco, bishop of Nueva Segovia.
[Endorsed: "Manila; to his Majesty; 1683. The bishop of Nueva Segovia,
Don Francisco Pizarro. Received on May 19, 1685, by the hand of Diego
Altamirano, procurator of the Society." These lines are followed by a
brief synopsis of the bishop's letter, and the comment, "Thus far no
letter has been received from the Audiencia; but recently letters have
come from the bishop of Nueva Caceres, Don Fray Andres Gonzalez, and
the assistant bishop Barrientos, which mention, among other matters,
the commercial transactions of the Society; and this information has
been handed to the fiscal."]
[Endorsed: "Council; let two other letters be brought--one from this
bishop, and the other from the assistant bishop Duran."]
[Endorsed: "Council; June 4, 1685. Carry this to the fiscal, so that
he can examine with it all the other papers relating to this subject;
and let a clerk make a brief of the whole matter."]
INSURRECTIONS BY FILIPINOS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Gadanes; 1621
[An account of this uprising is given by Aduarte in book ii,
chap. xvii, of his Historia; see our VOL. XXXII, pp. 113-120.]
In Bohol and Leyte; 1622
[See account of the Bohol revolt in VOL. XXIV, pp. 116-119; it also
spread to Leyte. We present here some further account, obtained from
Murillo Velarde's Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 17, 18; Diaz's Conquistas,
pp. 132-136. Concepción (in Hist. de Philipinas, v, pp. 20-25) adds
nothing new.]
The majority of the ministers in the island of Bohol [48] had gone
to Zebu, to celebrate the feasts of the beatification of St. Xavier;
in their absence Lucifer attempted to possess himself again of those
souls. The divata, or demon, appeared to some Indians in the woods--its
face covered, like that of one taking the discipline--and commanded
them to quit the gospel ministers and the Spanish vassalage, and take
refuge in the hills; and to build him a chapel, where he would aid them
and give them whatever they needed to pass their lives in happiness and
abundance, without the encumbrance of paying tribute to the Spaniards
or dues to the churches. Two or three Indians, who on account of their
evil deeds were wandering as fugitives, became priests of this divata,
in order to persuade the people to apostasy and rebellion; and, to
take away the fear which they naturally feel toward the Spaniards,
these priests told them that, if they would attack the Spaniards,
the divata would cause the mountains to rise against their foe;
that the muskets of the latter would not go off, or else the bullets
would rebound on those who fired them; that if any Indian should die,
the demon would resuscitate him; that the leaves of the trees would
be converted into saranga (which is a large fish); that when they
cut bejucos, these would distil wine instead of water; that from
the banana-leaves they would make fine linen; and, in short, that
all would be pleasure, enjoyment, and delight. With these magnificent
promises, so attractive to men--and especially to the Indians, who are
so inclined to idleness and sloth--four villages revolted; only Loboc
(which is the chief village) and Baclayon remained firm in the faith,
and in loyalty to the king.
Information of this reached Zebu, and immediately Don Juan de
Alcarazo, alcalde-mayor of Zebu, went to quiet the island; [49] he
invited them to make peace, for which the rebels did not care. Their
boldness increasing, they burned the four villages and their churches;
they flung on the ground the rosaries and crosses, and pierced an
image of the blessed Virgin eighteen times with javelins--although
afterward in Zebu some tried to make amends to her with the most
affectionate demonstrations of reverence, and she was placed in our
church. Thereupon the chief ordered troops from Zebu, fifty Spaniards
and a thousand friendly Indians, [50] accompanied by a father; and
on New Year's day, 1622, he began the march to the mountains, where
the insurgents were. For five days they traveled through rugged hills
and deep ravines, crossing marshes where the mud came to their knees,
or even to their waists, and shedding their blood on the thorns and
briars. On the fifth day, the insurgents killed a friendly Indian;
this they celebrated with loud shouts, and it greatly increased their
arrogance. On the following day, more than 1,500 rebel Indians attacked
our vanguard, which consisted of sixteen Spaniards and three hundred
Indians; but when our muskets were fired so many fell dead that the
rebels began to retreat to a bamboo thicket. When we followed them,
a heavy rain fell, which encouraged the rebels, for they said that our
muskets were then useless. But Heaven favored our cause with a marvel,
since, although the pans of the musket-locks were full of water,
the soldiers declared that the powder never failed to catch fire, nor
did the matches go out. At this the rebels fled into the mountains;
and our men arrived at a village of more than a thousand houses, in
the midst of which was the temple of their divata. Our troops found
there much food, various jewels of silver and gold, and many bells of
the sort those people use--all which was given to our Indians. The
rebels were in a fortification of stone, in which they had placed
many stones and clods of earth to throw at our men; but the latter,
covering themselves with their shields, seized the redoubt, with
the death of many of the enemy, [51] and in a fortnight returned to
Loboc. Captain Alcarazo, who was foremost in all these engagements,
commanded that some of the rebels be hanged, and published a pardon
to the rest; and he returned to Zebu, [52] where the victory was
celebrated. This success had very important results, for it checked
the revolt of other islands and other villages--who were expecting
the favorable result which the demon had promised them, so that they
could shake off the mild yoke of Christ, and with it their vassalage
to the Spaniards. Many of them, now undeceived, accepted the pardon;
but others, who were stubborn, fortified themselves at the summit of
a rugged and lofty hill, difficult of access, and closed the road
[to it] with brambles and thorns. [53] They also filled the paths
with very sharp stakes driven into the soil, and placed among the
branches of the trees many crossbows, [54] in order that these,
being discharged as our men passed them, might wound the soldiers;
and above they provided many stones to throw at the Spaniards,
hurling them from the top of the hill. Six months later the same Don
Juan Alcarazo returned, to dislodge those rebels with forty Spaniards
and many Indians. After suffering great hardships in making the paths
accessible, nearly all his men were hurt, by the time they reached the
fort, by the many stones which the enemy hurled down from the summit;
but our soldiers courageously climbed the ascent, firing their muskets,
and killed many of the rebels, putting the rest to flight. Thus was
dispersed that sedition, which was one of the most dangerous that had
occurred in the islands--not only because the Boholans were the most
warlike and valiant of the Indians, but on account of the conspiracy
spreading to many other tribes. Noble examples of fidelity in this
great disturbance are not lacking. [Murillo Velarde here mentions
two instances of this.]
The natives of Carigara in the island of Leyte became impatient, and
revolted without waiting for the result in Bohol, incited thereto
by Bancao, the ruling chief of Limasava--who in the year 1565 [55]
received with friendly welcome Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and the
Spaniards who came to his island, supplying them with what they
needed, for which Phelipe II sent him a royal decree, thanking him
for the kind hospitality which he showed to those first Spaniards. He
was baptised and, although a young man, showed that he was loyal to
the Christians; but, conquered by the enemy [of souls], he changed
sides in his old age. [56] This man lived in the island of Leyte, and
with a son of his and another man, Pagali (whom he chose as priest
of his idolatry), erected a sacred place to the divata, or devil;
and they induced six villages in the island to rebel. In order to
remove from them their fear of the Spaniards, these men told their
followers that they could change the Spaniards into stones as soon as
they saw them, by repeating the word bato, which signifies "stone;"
and that a woman or a child could change them into clay by flinging
earth upon them. Father Melchor de Vera went to Zebu to give warning
of this sedition and obtain aid to check it. Captain Alcarazo equipped
an armada of forty vessels, in which were embarked some Spaniards and
many friendly Indians, also the father rector of Zebu and Father Vera;
these united with the forces (both Spanish and Indian) that the alcalde
of Leyte had. They offered peace to the rebels, but the latter spurned
it with contempt. Our men, divided into three bodies, attacked them;
and, when that which Don Juan de Alcarazo commanded came in sight
of the rebels, they fled to the hills. Our soldiers followed them,
and on the way put to the sword or shot those whom they encountered;
and, although the compassion of the Spaniards spared the children
and women, [57] these could not escape the fury of the Indians. Many
of the rebels died, the enchantment not availing them by which they
had thought to turn the Spaniards into stone or clay; the rest saved
themselves by flight. The Spaniards came to a large building which the
rebels had erected for their divata; they encamped in it ten days,
and then burned it. Some one pierced with a lance Bancao, the chief
instigator of the rebellion, not knowing who he was, whom two of his
slaves were carrying on their shoulders and immediately his head was
placed on a stake as a public warning. He and his children came to a
wretched end, as a punishment for their infidelity and apostasy; for
his second son was beheaded as a traitor, and a daughter of his was
taken captive. To inspire greater terror, the captain gave orders to
shoot three or four rebels, and to burn [58] one of their priests--in
order that, by the light of that fire, the blindness in which the
divata had kept them deluded might be removed. The Spaniards also
cut off the head of an Indian who had robbed Father Vinancio [i.e.,
Vilancio] and broken to pieces an image of the Virgin, and kicked
a crucifix; and his head was set up in the same place where he had
committed those horrible sacrileges. There were many who, in the
midst of so furious a tempest, remained constant in their religious
belief. [Several instances of this are related by the author.]
Mandayas; 1625
[For particulars of this insurrection, see Aduarte's Historia,
book ii, chaps, xxviii, xxx, in our VOL. XXXII, pp. 147-152,
162. Cf. Ferrando's account, Hist. de los PP. Dominicos, ii,
pp. 114-117; and our VOL. XXII, pp. 69, 95.]
In Caraga and in Cagayan; 1629
[See VOL. XXIV, pp. 165, 175, 177, 216, 217, 229; and fuller account
of that in Caraga, in Concepción's Hist. de Philipinas, v, pp. 163-179
(in our VOL. XXXV, pp. 89-91).]
In Nueva Segovia; 1639
[See Santa Cruz's account (Hist. Sant. Rosario) in our VOL. XXXV,
pp. 47-51.]
In Pampanga, 1645; and in Bulacán, 1643
[The following is taken from Diaz's Conquistas, pp. 483, 484:]
This fearful earthquake [59] was general in all these Filipinas,
although it was more severe in some regions than in others--for in
the province of Cagayán, in [the land of] one people called Maynanes,
a great mountain was cleft open; and the havoc made by it extended
as far as Maluco. In the heights of Gapang, [60] in the province
of Pampanga, it was very severe, and lasted several days. Even
greater damage might have been done by an uprising that was plotted
by an Indian of evil disposition in the villages of Gapang, Santor,
Caranglán, and Patabangán, exhorting the natives there to rebel and
restore themselves to their former liberty, by slaying the Spaniards
and the religious. He assured them that in Manila there were no
Spaniards left, because the earth had swallowed them, with the entire
city, on the night of the earthquake that occurred on St. Andrew's
day; and that the demon, with whom he had compact and intercourse,
had promised him that he would aid the natives so that they might
maintain themselves without paying tribute, and might enjoy much
prosperity, and provided that they would slay the fathers and burn
the churches. The delusion of the Indians of Gapang went so far that
they seized arms, and summoned to their aid many heathen Zambals, and
burned the churches of Santor and Pantabangán. When this was known in
Manila, the encomendero of those villages, Admiral Rodrigo de Mesa,
offered his services to pacify them, and went to Gapang with Alférez
Callejas, their collectors of tribute, and some friendly Indians; but
the insurgents, who now were numerous, badly wounded the encomendero,
who fled on horseback, and a year later died from that wound at
Manila. They slew Alférez Callejas and many of the loyal Indians who
went in his company, and fortified themselves in the mountains. The
prior and minister, Fray Juan Cabello, escaped by the aid of some other
Indians who were not of the hostile party, came to Manila, and gave
information of the progress of the rebellion. Opinions differed as
to the methods which should be employed in pacifying the insurgents;
and our father provincial, Fray Alonso Carbajal, decided to send the
father lecturer Fray Juan de Abarca, [61] a religious for whom the
natives of that district had much affection and respect, since he had
been their minister for many years. With this commission this religious
set out for Pampanga, taking with him a companion, Master-of-camp Don
Agustin Songsong, a valiant Pampango, with as many soldiers of that
people as seemed necessary. They arrived at Gapang, and by means of
father Fray Juan de Abarca's preaching and his earnest efforts--which
would take too long to relate, as would the many perils of death
to which he exposed himself--that sedition was finally quelled,
and the insurgents returned to their former quiet. But the Indian
sorcerer, the cause of this disturbance, did not make his appearance,
notwithstanding all the efforts that were made to find him.
Another rebellion, which threatened a great outbreak, was checked (in
the year 1643) by father Fray Cristobal Enriquez. In the district of
Malolos in the province of Bulacán, an Indian named Don Pedro Ladía,
a native of Borney, went about promoting sedition; he proclaimed
that to him belonged the right of being king over the provinces
of Tagalos, alleging that he was a descendant of Raja Matanda,
[62] the petty king whom the Spaniards found at Manila in the year
1571. With these and other impostures, aided by wine--the chief
counselor in matters of policy and war, among those natives--and
with the consultations with the demon which always figure on these
occasions, he kept many villages of that district disquieted. But the
sagacious procedure of father Fray Cristobal Enriquez intercepted all
these misfortunes which were threatening us, by furnishing a plan
for the arrest of Don Pedro Ladía--who already was styling himself
"king of the Tagálogs;" he was sent to Manila, where, he paid with
his life for his vain presumption. And thus this revolt, lacking even
that weak foundation, was entirely quieted.
In the Pintados; 1649-50
[The best authorities on this insurrection are the Jesuit historians,
since it arose in regions under their spiritual charge. We select the
earliest account, that of Combés, written while the incidents of that
time were fresh in men's minds; it is found in his Hist. de Mindanao,
col. 489-498. Murillo Velarde also relates these events, in Hist. de
Philipinas, fol. 171b-175. Cf. the Augustinian Diaz, in Conquistas,
pp. 517-523; and the Recollect Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, vi,
pp. 247-280.]
The queen of Joló, Tuambaloca, wrote at the same time, asking
permission to come to end her days in the island of Basilan, and all
was so secure from war that she remained as arbiter of peace for all
the islands of Samboangan; and, as such, even the governor of Manila
availed himself of her power [63] in order to pacify the disturbances
in the islands....
This occasion made sufficiently evident the greatness of the benefit
that the islands owe to the Society for the [treaties of] peace made
with these kings--thus finding the royal arms at liberty for more
pressing exigencies, and being set free, as regards those kings,
from the most painful anxiety lest their forces would be allied with
our dangers. With this, attention could be given to the punishment of
Burney, a pirate as cruel as impious; and to finding external relief
in the domestic losses and evils which had rendered our safety so
uncertain. [Our forces were thus ready] in an almost general revolt of
all the islands, in the provinces that were most subjugated and had
never tested the keenness of our arms; for they had yielded to the
echoes of our trumpets, receiving our troops in peace. But in these
recent years had been operating in these new worlds the influences
of that malign planet which was ruining Europe (and especially our
España), with revolts of entire kingdoms, and has caused rivers of
blood to run in the populous kingdom of China; and it reached these
islands, to wreak on them its fierceness. And God--permitting evil,
for the credit of virtue and the reward of the good--gave warlike
courage to the most pusillanimous tribes, and armed the nakedness of
these Indians to resist the unconquerable steel of our Spaniards.
The first region to declare against us was the province of Ibabao,
which is in the island of Samar; it is the coast which faces the
north, beaten by the sea of Nueva España. There the Society has a
new residence, which is occupied by six fathers. All the villages
connected with it revolted, following the audacious stand of the chief
among them, which is Palapag. This was occasioned by the oppressions
arising from our public works--which is a motive that should appeal
to them, since they were the ones interested in the defense [of
the coasts against their enemies]. But the Indians, as barbarians,
do not heed future perils, but rather present fatigues; and to these
their slothful nature opposes itself. The losses of galleons made it
necessary to maintain in that province a shipyard. This drafted all the
carpenters from Manila, and, in order to supply those that were needed
on that shore, it was necessary to demand from each province a certain
number--a quota of hardly one to each village, and this so equitably
that to worldly prudence these allotments seemed advantageous, for
which many would eagerly ask. But as the Indians have grown up in their
wretchedness and in the life of brutes in their remote mountains, it
seems to them that they are maintaining their liberty. They resented
greatly this political compulsion to citizenship and the formation of a
village, [so that they would live] as men. Those in the provinces that
were most civilized and were nearest to Manila had obeyed the decree
without opposition, but these [remote] provinces immediately made such
demonstrations of displeasure that all of us perceived the difficulty
[of enforcing the demand], and several undertook to represent it
[to the authorities]. Don Diego de Faxardo was the governor, a man
so harsh in his methods, and having so little pious regard for the
[religious] ministers, that their intercessions only made him more
cruel, on account of the dogmatic opinion which he followed, that
the ministers are the ones who oppose the royal service. Accordingly
they all gave up any active opposition, but moderated in a thousand
ways the execution [of the decree] (which they saw could not be
avoided), sometimes with gifts, sometimes with considerations of
utility. The men of Ibabao, trusting in the ruggedness of their
coast or the inaccessibility of their mountains, or in the succor
which had been positively promised to them by the Dutch--who every
year make port on their coasts, awaiting with their armed fleets the
relief [sent us] from Nueva España--immediately declared themselves
[against us]. At the outset, in their stubbornness and disobedience,
until their affairs were settled and their retreat prevented, they
talked of fleeing to the mountains. This was their first opinion; but
a malicious Indian interfered in the discussion, and told them that
they could not accomplish anything by that course, because the village
would not be destroyed, nor would the promoters [of the rebellion]
have the following that they desired, unless they ordered that all
should rebel, and slay the father, and burn the church; for their guilt
in such action would intimidate all of them. As their councils were
held in the excitement of wine, all readily approved this extravagant
proposal. Immediately the demon offered them, for its execution, the
evilly-inclined mind of a vile Indian named Sumoroy, who, although
he had been much favored by the fathers as being a skilful pilot
on the sea, and on this account had always enjoyed immunity from
tribute and personal services, and was actually the castellan of the
fortified residence that they had there, yet desired--because they had
removed an obstacle [64] which for many years had kept him at variance
with and separated from his lawful wife--to find an opportunity for
vengeance. This man offered to kill the father; and, confirming his
resolve with many draughts to his success, and loud shouts, they
dreamed that they were already masters of the entire world, and had
slain all the Spaniards. He had already prejudiced their minds against
his enemy, telling each Indian in the village separately that he had
been assigned by the father to go to the Manila shore; consequently,
no one now repaired to mass or took notice of public affairs. The
father rector--who was Father Miguel Ponce Barberan, a native of the
kingdom of Aragon--saw plainly the hostile disposition of the people,
but never could have imagined so insane a resolve; and if any one could
most confidently throw aside anxiety it was this father, for he had
been, without contradiction, the most beloved and cherished by the
natives, of all the fathers who had itinerated there--and, as well,
the one who had spent most years in ministering to those people. A
Tuesday, then, the first day of June in the year 1649, the traitor
selected for his sacrilegious parricide; and, as a thief in the house,
who knew its avenues of entrance and egress very well, he took his
stand within, awaiting the father at the top of the stairway, when he
should ascend it after supper. While the father halted on the stairs
to say a prayer for the souls in purgatory--for which, it happened,
the bells were ringing--Sumoroy hurled a javelin at him from above,
which pierced his breast and immediately brought him to the ground;
nor did he breathe again, spending his last energy in pronouncing
the sweet names of Jesus and Mary.
For two days the fathers remained at home in suspense, without
understanding the cause of this evil deed, or knowing who was its
author; and the rebels themselves delayed to commit sacrileges by
breaking with shame and declaring themselves [rebels]. Finally, on
the day of Corpus Christi, about noon, the murderer came in sight,
leading the multitude, and openly declared that it was he who had slain
the father, loudly defying the whole world. They gave the fathers and
the brother whom they found in the house the opportunity to leave
it, provided that they removed nothing from it; and immediately,
as barbarians and enemies of God--forgetting the faith and Christian
belief of so many years, in which they had grown up--they sacked and
burned the church and house, profaning the ornaments, and cutting from
them drawers and turbans according to their old-time usage. If there
were any of the faithful [among the crowd], they let themselves be
persuaded by the argument of the barbarians for their timidity, that
if they remained among the insurgents the anger of the Spaniards would
be moderated, and accordingly they followed the perverse ones. The
report of this sacrilegious act fanned the flame of infernal zeal
itself, and found the minds of the people so ready that, almost as if
there had been a general decision and they only awaited the signal
for putting it into execution, in almost all the villages on that
coast they burned their churches, the ministers fled, and the rebels
retreated to the mountains, where they fancied they could maintain
their former brutal mode of life.
In the rest of the provinces--either because they perhaps regarded
it as somewhat discreditable that the men of Ibabao should display
their valor in order to oppose the Spaniards, and they themselves
not do so; or because all of them were (as some desire to be) in
communication with the Dutch--they proceeded to follow the example and
imitate the boldness of the men of Palapag. Our arms would be found
greatly embarrassed if those of the Dutch were to add confidence to
the insolence of the Indians; and, at the very least, there would not
remain a province which would not be up in arms, and no minister or
Spaniard of those who were scattered among them would escape. But God
our Lord, who chastised as a father, and chose to correct with clemency
the wickedness with which the Spaniards abuse the subject condition
of these natives--and as a warning to the latter, to confirm them
in the truth of our holy faith and disabuse them of their errors--so
adjusted the times that although the Dutch fleets had not failed to
come to the islands for ten years past, about that very month [i.e.,
June], in this year the peace kept them away, and the publication of
it arrived here in good time, so that our forces were left free for
the punishment [of the rebels].
Immediately the province of Camarines, on the mainland of Manila,
declared itself against us, and the father guardian [of the
Franciscans] was banished from Solsogon; and their lead was followed
by their island of Masbate, where an alférez was put to death. This
presumptuous act disturbed the peace of Cebú Island; and its natives
also, without fearing the strong fort and the city to near them,
also defied us, another officer being slain there. In the province of
Caraga, the men of Linao revolted, displaying their evil intentions
by the murder of the father prior (a discalced Augustinian), and of
the Spaniards in a small garrison which was kept there, some dozen in
number; but few escaped, and those were badly wounded. In the province
of Iligan, which borders on Caraga, the Manobos, a barbarian tribe,
seized the peaceable village of Cagayan. The entire coast [i.e., of
northern Mindanao], and the adjacent island of Camigin, followed their
example; in Camigin they bound the father prior (also a discalced
Augustinian), the impious Indians going so far as to place their
brutal feet on the neck of the holy religious. In the jurisdiction
of Samboangan, the Subanos went astray--their principal village,
named Siocon, releasing itself from obedience with the sacrilegious
parricide of Father Juan del Campo, and the atrocious murder of his
companions, as we shall afterward relate. The Boholans, on account
of their valor, retained their esteem for the faith. Thus, for the
punishment of so many atrocious deeds and for quelling the insolence
of the barbarians, there remained to us no other arms than those of
Samboangan, and no other auxiliaries than those people who had been
our friends for so few years.
Those of Ibabao aroused the utmost anxiety, their insolence continually
calling us to arms; for, not content with atrocities in their own
country, they went to disquiet another region. They even disturbed
those who dwelt on the opposite coast of Samar, threatening them
with ruin if they did not follow the lead of the others. Their
attempts began to be dangerous, since they stirred up the village of
Paranas, which is only two leguas from the seat of our jurisdiction
there--Catbalogan, where the alcalde-mayor resides; and in fact many
fled to the mountains, without regard to the war which menaced them,
when the Spaniards were placed under arms, two leguas from their
abode. In the other villages [the natives] were in arms, and regarded
us all with apprehension. At the outset, the alcalde-mayor was ready
with such force as he could assemble--adventurers in the province,
mestizos, and Indians; but, as the former were all collectors [of
tribute] and the latter all relatives [of the insurgents], some were
not accustomed to arms and the hardships of campaigning, and the others
could not use weapons against those of their own blood. Accordingly
this, instead of checking their fury, only rendered their boldness more
insolent, and gave unwonted force to their arms; and men who before
did not find enough woods in which to hide themselves from a Camucon
ship, now went so far as to make daybreak assaults on our troops, and
slew our men before our eyes. And as a final token of their contempt,
when the captain demanded from them the head of Sumoroy, by way of
atonement for what he had done, they sent down the river to him the
head of a swine--although in the end, worn out, they considered it
good luck that they could again secure peace.
[The authorities] in Manila, seeing that the revolt was continually
gathering strength, and that the insolence of the insurgents was
passing all bounds, recognized how important it was to repress it,
undertaking its chastisement in earnest. For this purpose they
despatched General Andres Lopez de Azaldigui (who was chief of the
royal galleys of these islands), with the title of lieutenant of the
captain-general; and with this authority he levied many Spaniards,
being empowered to obtain them from all the fortified posts. He
made all the necessary arrangements for the enterprise, but he
soon recognized the danger that he incurred among the natives--who
all, regarding those of Palapag as restorers of their liberty,
were rejoicing over their successes--and that in our reverses we
had cause to fear them as enemies, since they were on the watch
to know what fortune those of Palapag had in order to follow it
if they were sure of the result. A large fleet of native boats was
needed for the transportation of provisions and military supplies;
but, the greater the number of these that were thus assembled, the
more was the danger increased. On this account the general wrote to
Manila, demanding galleys; and there, in order to avoid the expense
of galleys and the perils of seas so rough, they despatched orders
that the armada should come from Zamboangan--for the loyalty of those
people against the Bisayans, as against their old-time enemies,
could not be doubted. And with the support of these [auxiliaries]
effective aid might be rendered by those of the inland provinces,
which had been ruled without risk by the Spaniards because they did
not go there entirely in the hands of the natives.
The armada was despatched as promptly as possible by the commandant
[of Zamboanga]. Sargento-mayor Pedro Duran, with two captains in active
service--as chief, Captain Juan Muñoz, who was commander of the armada;
and as second in command Captain Juan de Ulloa--with the most choice
and distinguished soldiers of the Lutaos. As leader of these, since he
was the military chief of that people, was sent General Don Francisco
Ugbo (whom I have previously mentioned), with the master-of-camp,
sargento-mayor, and captains of the tribe, and as many as four
hundred of its men. Father Francisco Martinez had then arrived at
Samboangan, to act as rector of the new [Jesuit] college there--of
which the official recognition from our father general came in this
same year--a religious who deserved well of those Christian churches,
for he had sustained them in their earliest infancy, having labored in
the arduous beginnings of [the missions in] Joló and Samboangan. By
this [departure of the Lutaos] Father Alexandro Lopez found his
occupation gone, and was therefore able to embark with the armada,
which needed his presence and aid, as it was going for so important
an enterprise--on the fortunate result of which, as many thought,
depended the fidelity of all the provinces of Pintados. All fortified
themselves with the holy sacraments, as solicitously as Christians
of very long standing could do; and, as if they were such, on all
occasions which arose in the voyage and in the battle itself they
made evident, by their reverence for their holy name [of Christians]
and appreciation of the danger, how they felt these obligations in
their hearts. The sargento-mayor of the tribe (who belonged to its
highest nobility) encountered a temptation to his own perdition; but
he put it behind him by saying that he was going to war, and could
not at that time discuss a matter which would work injury to his soul.
Great was the rejoicing which this armada caused in all the towns
where it landed, notably in the city of Cebú, where the Lutaos were
known (and most of them, especially those who commanded the joangas,
had the reputation of being pirates), at seeing them, now Christians,
repair to the churches with so much devotion and attend divine worship
with such reverence--those very people who had ravaged the islands
with fire, and damaged nearly all the churches of Bisayas with their
outrages and robberies; those who yesterday were enemies, but today
bearing arms in our aid; and those who yesterday were cruel enemies to
God, now the avengers of insults to Him. Tears sprang to [the eyes of]
all, and they did not cease to give a thousand thanks to the fathers
for their labors, so effectual--not only in the conversion of that
Moro people, but for the benefit of these Christian communities,
removing their terror and turning their dread and mistrust of the
Moro arms into joy and expectation of success.
Arriving at Palapag by the month of May [i.e., in 1650], they found
that the leader of the campaign was Captain Don Xinés de Roxas; and
that it had been much retarded on account of the reputation which the
men of Palapag had steadily gained by their daring acts. They had
fortified themselves on a height which was regarded as impregnable
by nature, as only one path was known by which it could be ascended,
and that very narrow and difficult. On this path the enemy had built
fortifications, and from loopholes therein they did much damage to our
men, without risk [to themselves]; they lost no opportunity to fall
suddenly on our troops, and any man who strayed from the rest paid
the penalty with his life, so sharply did they note any negligence on
our part; and, as masters of the land, they boldly engaged us, secure
from being pursued. The captain wearied himself much with various
fortifications, and kept the men exhausted; and he engaged in the same
fatiguing labor those of the armada, until the sargento-mayor of that
tribe, Don Alonso Maconbon, was bold enough to ask him, face to face,
why he was wearing out the men in work which was not important.
He told the captain that they had not come to haul logs, but to fight
in battle, and that he must contrive to employ them in fighting; for,
if he did not, they would go back to their homes. At seeing the daring
of this man, and the angry words that the soldiers of Samboangan--who,
as veterans, were eager to have an opportunity for distinguishing
themselves--flung at him, although he resented their lack of respect
he was rejoiced to see their courage; and he was encouraged to make
the assault, which, with the coxcombs and foppish adventurers from
Manila, seemed a dangerous enterprise. And, as those of the armada,
it seems, were boasting most of their valor, he assigned them to the
brunt of the battle, in order thus to employ their courage in carrying
out their own advice.
He made ready, then, the infantry of the armada, with the Lutaos,
for a day that he set for the assault, which they were obliged to make
over a precipitous ascent, exceedingly dangerous--so that they could
make their way up it only by giving their weapons and their hands
to each other. [65] At nightfall they reached the slope, and in the
darkness of the night proceeded to ascend it. The enemy had their
sentinels, but our Lord easily diverted their attention by sending
a heavy shower of rain--which our men regarded as a misfortune,
which made the enterprise more difficult and the ascent all the
more dangerous. But it was altogether fortunate for the expedition;
for the pass was so difficult that the sentinel alone could defend
it against a thousand assailants, and the most feeble old man was
sufficient for guarding it, especially if the danger [from an attack]
were known to the insurgents, who had given all their attention
to the troop of the commander Don Xinés. The time while the rain
fell was enough to enable all the soldiers to reach the top without
danger; and so careful were the men that not one of them had his match
extinguished. They halted there, waiting for the daylight; and when the
rain gave opportunity to the sentinel he came back, waving a torch in
order to light his path. Our men could have slain him; but they let
him go, so as not to raise an alarm. Either because he heard their
voices, or saw some lighted match, he waited a little while, and then
returned to inform the rest of it; and the troops, seeing that they
were discovered, marched toward the fortifications. So quickly they
reached them that the enemy at once took to flight; our men pursued
them with their arms, but the enemy quickly escaped, by dangerous
precipices and paths which they know well. But the Spaniards did not
choose to divert much of their attention [to the fugitives], rather
taking care to occupy promptly their Rochelle; [66] accordingly, they
erected their fortifications, and occupied them with their artillery,
supplies, and weapons. From that place they sent for the commander,
Captain Don Xinés de Roxas, who went up to take possession of the
gains made by the arduous efforts and daring bravery of the men
of Samboangan. In this enterprise Captain Francisco de Leyba, then
commander of the Samboangan armada, and Captain Silvestre de Rodas,
an old soldier of Terrenate, especially distinguished themselves.
The Lutaos dispersed through the place, and, breaking into a house,
found the mother of the traitor and parricide Sumoroy; and they
dragged her out and tore her to pieces. Sumoroy had been sent down
[from their stronghold] the day before, secretly, in a hammock, and
all the children and women the rebels had already placed in safety;
for, from the day when they saw the Samboangan armada, they felt that
their cause was lost, and, lacking confidence in the outcome, they
forestalled the danger. Thus was ended this longed-for enterprise,
and the war in Ibabao; for the natives, now disarmed and divided, would
have no courage left, save for flight, and the hardships of a life so
full of fear [as that of fugitives] would oblige them to surrender,
one by one--as was actually the case. Accordingly, the armada [and
its men] took their departure, leaving the islands thankful for what
they had accomplished and edified by their good example. For in the
heat of conflict and in dangerous encounters (which is the time when
the natural disposition and the inner soul are displayed), those
soldiers did not fail to invoke the sweet names of Jesus and Mary,
without ceasing or neglecting this in the utmost confusion and ardor
of battle, giving pious examples to the Christian soldiery--to the
admiration of the natives, [although they were] accustomed to these
[pious] observances; since the clamorous efforts [of the soldiers],
and solicitude for their danger, disturb the piety of even the oldest
veterans.
[We append to this the following account from Diaz's Conquistas
(pp. 517-523), as being more detailed and furnishing a somewhat
different light on various incidents of the insurrection. In order
to place it in the present document, as belonging to this special
subject, it has been removed from its place in Diaz's history of his
order and its missions (see VOL. XXXVII, pp. 149-284).]
There was an Indian named Sumoroy in the village of Palapag, who
was regarded as one of the best, although he was one of the very
worst, and was as evil as his father--who, accredited with the same
hypocrisy, was a babaylán and priest of the devil, and made the other
Indians apostatize. He was greatly addicted to drunkenness, and he
had so promoted it [in others] that all the village was contaminated
with this vice, as well as that of lust--vices so closely allied to
idolatry, of which truth there are many examples in Holy Writ. The
inhabitants of Palapag were corrupted by those evil habits at the time
when Governor Don Diego Fajardo--with the intention of relieving the
near-by provinces of Tagalos and Pampanga from the burden of working,
at the harbor of Cavite, in the building of galleons and vessels
necessary for the conservation and defense of these islands--had
ordered the alcaldes of Leite and other provinces to send men thence to
Cavite for that employment. That was a difficult undertaking, because
of the distance of more than one hundred leguas, and the troubles and
wrongs to the said Indians that would result from their leaving their
homes for so long a time. The father ministers went to the alcaldes,
and the latter to Manila, to represent those troubles and wrongs;
but the only thing that they obtained was a more stringent order
to execute the mandate without more reply. Consequently they could
do nothing else than obey the orders of the superior government,
although they feared what very soon occurred. But what good end could
so mistaken and pernicious a decision have?
As soon as the inhabitants of Palapag saw that the alcaldes-mayor
were beginning to collect men to send them to the harbor of Cavite,
they began to go oftener to the meetings in the house of Sumoroy
and his father, and to begin (when heated with wine, the ordinary
counselor of the Indians) to organize their insurrection. They
quickly appointed leaders, of whom the chief was Don Juan Ponce, a
very influential man and a bad Christian, but married to a wife from
a chief's family in the village of Catubig; she was very different
from him in her morals, for she was very virtuous. The second leader
was one Don Pedro Caamug, and the third the above-named Sumoroy. Then
they discussed the murder of the father minister, Miguel Ponce of
the Society of Jesus, an Aragonese, [67] at the suggestion of that
malignant sorcerer and priest of the devil, the father of Sumoroy,
who charged that undertaking upon his son. On Tuesday evening,
the first of June, 1649, he went to the house of the father, who
had just eaten his dinner, and was ascending a narrow ladder to his
house. Sumoroy awaited him at that place, and hurling his lance,
pierced his breast from side to side, and left him dead, without more
time than to say "Jesus, Mary." They spared the life of Father Julio
Aleni, [68] a Roman, saying that he was not their minister, but was
dedicated to China, whence is inferred their motive in killing the
[former] father. Next day they despoiled the house and church of its
furniture and holy ornaments; profaned the altars and sacred images;
scattered the holy oils; and used the silver chrismatories for the
ajonjolí oil with which they anoint their hair.
It was the will of divine Providence to show forth the devout fidelity
of the women amid the infidelity and apostasy of the men; for, the
day before that spoliation, Doña Angelina Dinagungan, wife of Don Juan
Ponce, accompanied by another good Christian woman, Doña María Malón,
went to the church and saved some holy images and ornaments, besides
a chest belonging to the father, with the little that it contained,
which they afterward surrendered to him. Among the images that that
devout woman saved from the sacrilegious hands of the rebels was
an image of our Lady of the Conception, which was kept with great
propriety in the house of Doña María Malón, and which was often
seen to sweat abundantly and to shed tears, a miracle which spread
throughout the village. When the perfidious Sumoroy heard of it, he
said: "The Virgin Mary is weeping. Let us see if she will weep if we
burn the house;" and he went thither, with other men like himself,
and set fire to it. But Divine Clemency did not permit the fire to
catch in that house, although it was of bamboo and nipa like the
others. The husband of Doña María Malón, called Don Gabriel Hongpón,
was a head man [cabeza de barangay]; and only he and all his people
remained faithful to God and to their king. God gave him courage to
resist so many, who always respected him as he was so influential a
man in that village of Palapag.
The insurgents incited the inhabitants of Catubig, who also
revolted. They killed a Spaniard, and burned the church and house of
the father minister, after having sacked it. The contagion having
spread to other villages, the people did the same at Pambohan, or
Bayugo, Catarman, and Bonan; and thence passed to infect the provinces
of Ibalón [69] and Camarines, where they killed a Franciscan religious,
the guardian of Sorsogón. They killed Alférez Torres in Masbate. In
Caraga, the inhabitants of the village of Tinao revolted and killed
their minister, a discalced Augustinian, and a few Spanish soldiers
of a small presidio established there, the rest escaping the fury of
the insurgents. In Iligán, the village of Cagayán, a mission of our
discalced religious, revolted. In the adjacent island of Camiguín,
a mission of the same religious, they bound their minister and set
their feet on his neck. The Subanos mutinied in the jurisdiction of
Zamboanga, in the village called Siocon, where they killed Father
Juan del Campo [70] of the Society of Jesus. The villages of the
islands of Cebú and Bohol, who are warlike people, were wavering in
their loyalty. But Divine Clemency did not permit them to declare
themselves. Thus with the patience and tolerance of the father
ministers, who suffered many hardships and found themselves in
great danger, those fires--which could have consumed the loyalty
of the provinces of these islands--were soon extinguished. The
first village to rebel in the island of Leite was Bacor, where the
church and house of the father minister were burned, and the people
joined the inhabitants of Palapag, leaving the village deserted. The
insurgents pretended that two Dutch ships were near, which were coming
to aid them as equals in their rebellion against the Church and the
vassalage due to their lawful king; and that pretense greatly aided
them in their evil design.
As soon as the alcalde-mayor of Leite heard of the insurrection,
he collected all the boats and men possible, but these were very
fragile means to oppose to so vast a multitude of insurgent and
desperate men. Consequently, although they went to Palapag with the
said alcalde-mayor, one Captain Don Juan Gómez de tres Palacios y
Estrado, they served no other purpose than to make the rebellion
worse, and to encourage the enemy. The latter intrenched themselves
on an impregnable hill called "the table of Palapag;" and what is the
greatest cause for surprise is that a Spaniard called Pedro Zapata, who
had married an Indian woman in Palapag (who must have perverted him),
went with them. But the insurgents gave him his pay by killing him,
in order to take away the woman, a worthy reward for his incredible
treason. They made trenches and strong stockades, with many sharp
stakes and snares, and many stone boulders suspended, which, by being
thrown upon the strongest army, would cause cruel injury. To work
greater harm, they gave command of their men to Don Pedro Caamug,
who descended the hill with two hundred insurgents and returned to
the village of Palapag, where he killed the father minister, Vicente
Damián, [71] and two boys who were serving him, who in their fear
were clinging to the father. They again burned the church, a chamber
of nipa and bamboo which Don Gabriel and his faithful followers had
erected for the celebration of mass, furnishing this additional bond
to their apostasy and rebellion. They returned to their impregnable
hill after this, which was in their eyes a great victory, and began to
fortify themselves much more strongly than they were, as they feared
the war that was expected from Manila.
Governor Don Diego Fajardo, seeing that the undertaking of the
reduction of the inhabitants of Palapag was an affair requiring much
care and consideration, because of the evil effects that would result
from any unfavorable event, after holding a council of war determined
to entrust this undertaking to the commander of the galleys, Andrés
López de Asaldigui (already named on many occasions), as he had all the
good qualities which can form a good soldier; for he was very brave
and prudent, fortunate in the enterprises that had been entrusted
to him, and a prime favorite with the soldiers because of his great
liberality. That commander left Manila with the best men whom he
could enlist, both Spaniards and Pampangos, and went to Catbalogan,
the capital of that province, where he mustered thirteen oared vessels
and two champans. His first order was to send some vessels to Panay
and Iloilo for food. Well informed of the condition of the rebels of
Palapag, he found that he needed more war-supplies for that conquest;
for the insurgents had extended their revolt to many villages of the
island, and the other neighboring islands were apparently prepared
to follow their bold acts, if they were at all fortunate. Therefore
Andrés López de Asaldegui sent to ask the governor for the galleys
in his charge; but the latter did not send them, in order to avoid
the expense that would be caused the royal treasury, which was very
needy. But he sent order instead that the fleet of Zamboanga should
be at his disposal.
[At this juncture, Asaldigui is summoned by the governor to investigate
the loss of the galleon "Encarnación," and "entrusting the Palapag
enterprise to Captain Ginés de Rojas--a brave soldier, but one who
had little reputation and affection among the soldiers, who regretted
that order exceedingly, and would have returned home had they been
able. To such an extent does the reputation of the leader further
any enterprise."]
Don Ginés de Rojas assembled the thirteen oared vessels and the two
champans, in the latter of which he stowed the food. Likewise the
fleet of Zamboanga came up with four caracoas and some Spaniards, and
four hundred Lutaos; these are Indians of that region who have been
recently converted to our holy faith from the errors of the cursed
sect of Mahomet, by the efforts and toil of the religious of the
Society. Their commandant was their master-of-camp Don Francisco Ugbo,
a Lutao, and a brave man; and their sargento-mayor Don Alonso Macobo,
of the same nation. The chief commander of that fleet was Captain
Juan Muñoz, the admiral was Juan de Ulloa, and the captain was Suárez,
who were veteran soldiers. In addition to that succor there came from
Cebú Captain Don Francisco de Sandoval and Juan Fernández de León,
who brought many men from Sialo, Caraga, and other provinces. When all
those forces were assembled in Catbalogan, Don Ginés de Rojas divided
them into three divisions, two under command of Sandoval and León,
and the third in his own charge. He ordered Captain Sandoval to go
to his encomienda at Catubig, and thence, with all the men whom he
could assemble, to go to reduce the village of Palapag. Captain León
was ordered to go with his men through Tubig, Sulat, Borongán, and
other villages--first, however, to go to Guigán, to get as many men
there as possible. Don Ginés de Rojas chose the villages of Catarman
and Bobor, where his encomienda lay.
All things were ready to undertake the conquest of the impregnable
hill. Nothing worthy of note happened to Captain Don Francisco de
Sandoval, but the Indians of Bacor prepared an ambush against Juan
Fernández de León in a very dangerous pass. Juan de León de Paranas
had gone out, embarking in the river of Nasán, which is very rapid
because of its great current--and among other dangerous places is
one more dangerous than all, namely, a fall and cataract which is two
spear-lengths in height. Consequently, in order to proceed, one must
unlade the boats; and, after raising them with great toil by means
of certain very thick and strong rattans, must, after suspending or
letting the boat down thus, again lade it. There did the enemy set
their ambush for Juan de León, but it was disclosed by a friendly
Indian. Our men firing their muskets and arquebuses at that side, the
Indians fled with great loss; and our men proceeded to the bar of the
river, where they fortified themselves in a stout stockade. Sandoval
did the same in Catubig, as did Don Silvestre de Rodas, whom Don
Ginés sent as a reënforcement to Sandoval.
Those leaders, having arranged matters in this manner, continued
to invite and pacify the many Indians who presented themselves. But
those who were entrenched on the hill, confident in their fortress
and defense, persisted obstinately in their revolt, and tried to get
the other villages not to declare in our favor. Don Ginés fortified
his post, and ordered each captain to do the same with his, for
he had resolved to blockade and capture the natives on the hill by
hunger. The natives learned from their spies that Don Ginés had but
few men in his quarters, as the rest had gone to get provisions; and,
having determined to use so favorable an opportunity, many of them
went at night, by the river, near the land. When they thought that
our men were very careless and sound asleep, they pulled some stakes
out of the fortification of Don Ginés, and entered in a disorderly
mob. But the sentinels hearing the noise, sounded the alarm. Don Ginés,
awaking, seized his sword and buckler; and, accompanied by those who
could follow him so hastily, confronted the enemy, and drove them to
flight with great loss--as was judged from the abundance of blood that
was seen in the camp in the morning. But it was not without any harm
to our men, some of whom were wounded, although no one died. One ball
struck Sumoroy on the shoulder, but only one dead man was left in the
camp; for our opponents dragged the others away and threw them into
the water. Don Ginés did not care to pursue them, fearing some ambush,
which would have been easy in that darkness.
The soldiers grumbled much at the great caution and prudence of Don
Ginés de Rojas, who thought only of strengthening his fortifications,
to the great labor of those who now desired to busy themselves with
the enemy, and not the trees of the forest. That rose to such a pitch
that the sargento-mayor of the Lutaos, Don Francisco Macombo, went to
Don Ginés impatiently, and told him that neither he nor his men had
come from Zamboanga to cut timber but to fight with the enemies of
Palapag. Don Ginés was not displeased to see the willingness of his
soldiers to fight, and therefore, in order to employ it, he had the
men called to arms, and arranged the attack. He formed two divisions
[for attack] from the whole army, and left the third to guard the
camp. The assault was made in two parts--one by the open road,
although it was better defended by the opponents; and the other by
a precipitous path which was passable for the birds alone--for it
was a huge steep rock, and so narrow at the place where the camp of
the insurgents was established that only a single man could enter an
opening made by nature--a place called for that reason by the natives,
in their own language, "the eye of a needle." The men climbed up
by that path, using feet and hands without carrying their arms;
for these were carried by him who followed, and afterward given to
him who was ahead; and so they did one with another. In addition to
that, the insurgents had posted a sentinel there to advise them of
any new move, for which a few coming to his aid would be sufficient
to prevent many from effecting an entrance.
Don Ginés entrusted that difficult undertaking to Captain Silvestre de
Rodas, a native of Rota, and a soldier of great renown in his time, of
whom are recounted incredible exploits performed by him in Ternate. He
gave him command of the Lutao soldiers, with their commander Don
Francisco Macombo; for himself Don Ginés took the battalion of the
soldiers who attacked the hill in front. The vanguard and rearguard
were placed in command of Captains Sandoval and Juan Fernández de
León. The assault being planned in that form, Don Ginés engaged
the enemy with his men, with great valor, to the sound of drums and
trumpets, and went up the hill with great difficulty and danger. For
the insurgents, cutting the rattans by which the stones and very large
trunks of trees were fastened and kept back, would have been able
by rolling them down to do great damage to our men, had not divine
Providence directed these missiles to places where they could do no
damage. Our men went up most of the hill with this obstinacy, and the
enemy went out to meet them with so great valor that it seemed rather
desperation; and the damage inflicted upon them by our arquebuses did
not cool their obstinacy, for they tried to throw themselves on our
spears and swords in their anxiety to die while killing [others]. The
great advantage of the fortress of the hill increased their courage,
as it could have caused great loss to our men to fight in the open
and unsheltered. The fight lasted many hours, the enemy often being
relieved, for they had many brave and well-armed men on the hill. Don
Ginés de Rojas, seeing that the fury of the enemy was invincible (for
they were fighting more like lions than like men), and that his men
could not proceed with the undertaking, because they had no further
strength and were tired, and had many wounded, yielded for the time
being, and sounded the retreat, leaving more vigorous experience for
another day. The enemy also retired, satisfied at the resistance that
they had shown, although much to their cost.
Very different was the success of the brave Silvestre de Rodas, with
his Lutaos in charge of Don Francisco Ugbo and Don Alonso Macombo,
who on the second of July, 1650, made the assault in the most difficult
point--which was the eye of the needle in the rock, as we have stated
above, through which Silvestre de Rodas was the first to go. He chose
the silence of the night, a time when they were least likely to be
discovered. Climbing up one by one and without arms, with the labor
that was necessary, at the middle of the ascent an obstacle occurred
that could have blocked so great an enterprise. That was a very heavy
rain, which lasted a great part of the night, and which the men endured
without the slightest shelter, but with great vigilance and care that
fire for their matches should not be lacking--availing themselves for
that purpose of the shields of the Lutaos, which are called carazas,
and are made of long narrow pieces of wood, with which they cover all
the body at the side. The rain ceased and, although they were soaking,
they all resumed the ascent of the hill; they reached the entrance of
the rock at an opportune time, when the sentinel, quite unsuspicious of
such an assault, was absent, as he had gone to get some fire (without
the company of which those Indians cannot live), or indeed have a
smoke, for they think that that furnishes them with fine company. On
that account, Silvestre de Rodas and some of the foremost, who were
the most vigorous were enabled to enter. The sentinel returned with
a brand in his hand, and when he was near perceived the bad effect
of his carelessness, and believed that our camp was already upon
him. He looked in astonishment, and then, hurriedly taking flight,
began to cry out and announce that our men had already entered the
hill by means of the rock. Not less was the confusion of all, who were
quite free from the dread of so unexpected an assault. Confused and
lacking in counsel, a panic terror seized them and forced them into
disorganized flight, so that Silvestre de Rodas and the Lutaos were
allowed to become masters of the field. Unfurling their victorious
banners, they took possession of the lodgings, trenches, and food of
the enemy. Don Ginés de Rojas ascended the hill with his whole army,
and destroyed the insurgent quarters by setting fire to them. Having
published a general pardon, those who had been insurgents before,
presented themselves in peace.
The chief leader Sumoroy and his sorcerer father refused to put in
an appearance, or to talk of peace. But the very ones whom he had
caused to rebel killed him, and carried his head to Don Ginés de
Rojas, although they had been so loyal to him before that when the
alcalde-mayor of Leite went at the beginning to reduce them to peace,
and asked them as the first condition to deliver to him the head of
Sumoroy, they, making light of the request, sent him the head of
a swine. But afterward, as a token of their true obedience, they
delivered the head, without any one asking for it. Don Juan Ponce
remained in hiding in the island of Cebú for a long time, but after
having obtained pardon he returned to Palapag; there he committed
crimes that were so atrocious that the alcalde-mayor seized him and
sent him to Manila, where he paid for those crimes on the scaffold. He
who had the best end was Don Pedro Caamug; for he was the first to
present himself, and showed great loyalty in the reduction of the
others. He continued all his life to be very quiet, and was governor
of his village, where he was highly esteemed; and it was proved that
he was not the one who had killed Father Vicente with his hands,
although he was captain of that band. Moreover, it was found to be
advisable to overlook much on that occasion, as the quiet of all the
Pintados Islands, who were awaiting the end of the rebels of Palapag,
depended on it.
[The following additional information is obtained from Concepción's
Hist. de Philipinas, vi, pp. 247-280:]
[p. 254:] From here [i.e., Cebú] leaped more than sparks to the
province of Caraga, where there had been some causes for resentment
between the alcalde-mayor and the father minister of Tandag. The
father had rebuked the alcalde for oppressions inflicted on the
Indians, and, perceiving that his exhortations were unheeded, he
carried his complaints to the supreme tribunal, where hearing was
given to them. The alcalde-mayor was angry at being prodded from
Manila, and found means to take his revenge. Governor Faxardo,
vigilant in defending the provinces from the Dutch, gave orders to
reconnoiter the harbors and fortify the military posts; and, that he
might take seasonable precautions, he solicited accurate information
[from the officials]. The alcalde-mayor, in the anger that he felt,
availed himself of this opportunity. He informed the governor that
the fort of Tandag was in condition to make a vigorous defense, to
which the only hindrance was the church and convent--a very strong
edifice, which dominates the castle--and that he considered it very
necessary to demolish it. In virtue of this report, it was decided
in the military and fiscal councils that those buildings should be
demolished, as well as all others that might be on that coast which
were of like materials, in order that the Dutch might not find in them
means of offense or defense. This order arrived at Tandag, where now
there was another governor. Captain Don Juan Garcia did not make it
known, and held a council in the fort regarding its execution, and
therein was decided the suspension of the order--for, in case that
the enemy came, the buildings could be easily torn down and burned,
since the walls were weak and the roofs of nipa or straw--until the
supreme government should make some other arrangement. Representations
were made to that government of the great sorrow that the natives
felt at the destruction [of those buildings], from which it was
feared that if another church were not built, at a greater distance,
the natives would take flight to the mountains. Notwithstanding this
second information, the former order for demolition was confirmed. [See
account of this measure, and of the revolt of the Indians, and of its
being quelled by Spanish troops, in VOL. XXXVI, in Santa Theresa's
narrative. Concepción continues, p. 262:] This father minister [72]
sent a despatch to Manila, communicating this melancholy information;
on receiving it, Señor Faxardo immediately sent to Tandag Captain
Gregorio Dicastillo with a detachment of Spanish infantry, so that, in
conjunction with Bernabe de la Plaza, alcalde-mayor of that province,
they might try all measures, even though they might be severe, for
reducing the insurgents. They went to Butuan, where they established
a military base or headquarters. In order to justify the severity of
war, a general amnesty was published. Many Indians came to present
themselves, of whom several were hanged; a few of those who came
down from the mountains gained their liberty, the rest remaining as
slaves. It was a wicked act of those who executed [the governor's
orders] that they shamefully broke the promise made in the name of the
king, and in so august a name committed perfidy. Manila and its suburbs
were full of slaves. The royal Audiencia made formal inquiry into
these illegal acts, and took the residencia of the principal persons
concerned in them. One was put to the torture, and confessed; he was
sentenced to decapitation. The property of another was confiscated,
after two years of imprisonment; and another found himself reduced
to extreme poverty. He who was commissioned by the supreme government
for the trial of these suits, Licentiate Don Manuel Suarez de Olivera,
the military auditor-general, declared in favor of the Indian slaves,
setting all of them free. In order that this decree might be effective,
those included under its provisions were registered by father Fray
Augustin--then secretary of his province, and known by the name of
"Padre Capitan" [i.e., "Father Captain"]--who included in the list many
Indians whose names were not contained in the official documents. He
presented it to the governor, and asked for a mandatory decree for
their liberty, which was promptly issued; and then he went with the
notary through all the houses in which the Indians were distributed,
enforcing the execution of the decree. This proceeding cost him
many fatigues and annoyances; for since those who had paid out their
money for the Indians were left without slaves, there was hardly a
house where he came where he would not hear opprobrious language. It
also caused him great expenses; but his efficient management of
the business came out successfully. He collected all the slaves,
and furnished them with transportation to carry them back to their
homes and their native land. This benefaction rendered it easy for the
Indian chiefs of Linao, who had left their village and were fugitives,
to return to their due obedience and vassalage....
[pp. 273-281: After the rebellion was put down in Leyte], the Indians
of Bisayas remained more quiet; by those so costly experiences they
had been undeceived, and had learned that it is impossible to shake
off the Spanish yoke, by force or by fraud; their wildness subdued
by trade and intercourse [with us], they recognize that they ought
not to thrust aside what produces so many advantages for them in
being treated by our sovereign as his children. These tribunals treat
them with charity, mildness, and justice, besides bearing with their
troublesome traits and their weaknesses, without adding injury to
their wretched condition.
Don Francisco Ugbo returned from the Palapag expedition wounded,
and attacked by a serious malady, which was declared mortal. This
commander, learning that his last hour was at hand, showed how deeply
rooted was the Christian religion in his heart, although it was of
recent growth; he received the holy sacraments with extraordinary
devotion and reverence, exhorted all his family and acquaintances to
become good Christians, and in the midst of his intense pains endured
them without complaint or anger. In his testament he commanded,
as his last wishes, that his property should be shared between his
relatives and his soul [i.e., in saying masses for its repose]; and
he died while offering fervent acts of contrition, to the admiration
and consolation of those who were present.
By the death of Father Juan de el Campo the [religious] administration
of La Caldera and Siocon was left forsaken. The provincial of the
Society sent to that conversion Father Francisco Combes, who applied
his efforts to gathering those wild natures into a social group; with
this basis he undertook their instruction in our supreme mysteries, and
they gradually became accustomed to a rational and civilized life. On
the river of Sibuco there was an Indian named Ondol, so cruel that
he would kill any person without further cause than his own whim;
and this man had a brother of the same barbarous habits, who kept a
great number of women in his power that he might abuse them. Ondol
sought to kill Father Adulfo de Pedrosa, and also threatened Father
Combes; but the latter discreetly took no notice of it, and Ondol
went on, trusting to this. Consequently, before he realized it he
was seized, and sent a prisoner to Samboangan; the governor there
received him gladly, at seeing in his power an Indian who had made
so much mischief. His brother continued to rouse disturbances,
and an armada was sent against him, but accomplished nothing. This,
however, warned him to avoid the blow, and he hid among the woods
and hills. The guards of Father Combes seized by stratagem more than
fifteen relatives of this evil man, and sent them to Samboangan;
love for his people, and their danger, brought this bloody man to the
church, to beg mercy from the father. The latter gladly admitted him,
and proposed to him the conditions, [of his pardon]--he and all his
people, who were Lutaos, must live in range of the artillery of the
fort, and render service in the armada. He also obtained, by diligent
efforts, the ascendency over the insurgents of Siocon. Father Combes
entered that village, landing there with his men; they asked for the
bones of Father Campo's companions, which they found lying among the
brier-patches. These they buried together, and placed a cross over the
tomb. Father Combes took from that place a hermit, who, dressed as a
woman, punctually observed the natural law, and professed celibacy;
he was named Lavia de Manila. [73] This man was converted to the law
of Christ, and spent the remainder of his life as a faithful servant
[of God].
In Basilan, affairs were more difficult. Most of the people of that
island had been subdued by Father Francisco Lado, [74] who with the
aid of the governor of Samboangan had driven from it all the panditas,
[75] and the vicious and suspicious characters. Only one of these was
left, who by his malice stirred up much disquiet; this was one Tabaco,
who incited the natives of the island to revolution. All who desired
to be freed from the tribute and other obligations repaired to him,
and at once found in him their patron. His faction rapidly increased,
and at Samboangan it was decided to intercept this danger. Diligent
were their efforts, for the very Basilanos whom it was necessary
for the Spaniards to employ warned this man of all that they did;
and with their information he mocked the utmost efforts of the
Spaniards. An adjutant undertook a raid, with a considerable number
of Spaniards and Pampangos, and burned his grain-fields; but he did
not encounter Tabaco, and had to return. Father Lado went to find him,
and asked him to wait for him in a certain place; the father made such
representations that he succeeded in inducing this man to leave the
mountains. He went with the father to see the governor of Samboangan,
and gave the latter such assurances of his desires for peace and quiet
that to him was entrusted the reduction of the natives. He returned to
Basilan, and to his perverse mode of life--so much so, that he tried
to kill Father Lado, in order to remove that obstacle to his evil
designs. The father knew his depraved intentions, and fled from the
blow that was aimed at him; and at Samboangan there was discussion,
in a military council, of the most effective measure for restraining
those seditious natives. Among the speakers was an alférez, Don Alonso
Tenorio, who said that it was a fruitless trouble and fatigue to
transport [to Basilan] arms and troops, since these carried with them
the warning to the rebels to place themselves in safety; that efforts
should be made to kill Tabaco, and the rest would be subdued, and
thus this source of evil would be stopped without wearing out either
Spaniards or Indians. The governor, who supposed that Don Alonso spoke
without experience, and that the arrogance of youth led him too far,
said to him: "Then, your Grace, go and kill him." Tenorio was not a man
to jest, or one to form speculative projects which others might carry
out; he took this order quite in earnest, and immediately set out for
Basilan with some companions. He summoned Tabaco to a certain place,
in which he must communicate to him an important matter, which would
be to his advantage. Tabaco went to the place designated, with several
of his most valiant companions; and Tenorio also arrived with his
friends. The Indian awaited him without fear, at seeing him destitute
of forces adequate to his own; and Tenorio, having talked about the
subject that had been agreed upon, said to him, in a most resolute
voice, "Tabaco, unless thou desirest me to kill thee, give thyself up
as a prisoner." Tabaco, without showing any alarm, rose to his feet,
holding his lance, in order to reply with it; Tenorio attacked him
with astonishing courage, and the companions of both engaged in the
fight. Our men killed Tabaco, and seven of his braves; and on our side
one Spaniard and two Indians were slain. Tenorio cut off Tabaco's head,
and those of his seven companions, and in forty hours [76] was already
on his return to Samboangan with these trophies. Thus promptly was
concluded an exploit which pledged [the safety of] all the forces
of the garrison; with the death of Tabaco his followers lost their
courage, and the island remained entirely quiet. Such is the power of
an heroic resolution. It is certain that conversions of the Moros are
difficult, but those which are successful are stable; they steadfastly
maintain the true religion, when they cast aside the errors of their
false belief. The following instance is an edifying one, and goes far
to confirm our statement. When the Joloans were conquered and reduced
to quiet, the turbulent and cruel Achen--a dato, and a notorious
pirate--was not pacified. He made a voyage to Borney, in order to stir
up the natives there, and to make them companions and auxiliaries in
his robberies. He carried with him his wife Tuam Oley, [77] daughter
of Libot; the latter was a urancaya or petty king of the Lutaos of the
Siocon coast, and was a Mahometan by profession. Enlightened within and
from above, he had received holy baptism, and very strictly maintained
its innocence. Achen became very sick in Borney, and, reduced to the
last extremity, as a last farewell he made his wife swear that she
would never abandon the doctrine of Mahoma. After Achen's death,
Oley began to feel the sorrows of an afflicted widowhood, and she
sadly wrote to her father, Libot, asking him to go to carry her away
from that wretched exile. His paternal affection made him resolve,
although he was now old and feeble, to go to console his daughter. The
governor [of Samboangan] tried to prevent this voyage, on account of
Libot's age, and because, as the latter had grown up in the errors
of that sect, it was feared that there was danger of his perversion
[from the Christian faith]. The governor therefore proposed to him
measures which were sufficient for removing his daughter from that
country. Libot assured him of his constancy in the faith, and in proof
of his firmness, gave a contribution of a hundred pesos to the church;
as it was not easy to detain him, they acquiesced in the voyage. He
arrived at the court of Borney, where, on account of his advanced
age and the hardships of the journey, he fell ill, and this sickness
proved to be mortal. The king, seeing Libot, exhorted him to abandon
the new religion and return to his former faith; but Libot remained
steadfast. Then the king sent him his panditas, or learned doctors,
in order to convince him; but they found that their efforts were
in vain. The king was angered at this constancy, and threatened
to take Libot's property from him, make his daughter a slave, and
fling his dead body into the open field. All this Libot scorned,
and charged his daughter to bury him as a Christian, without using
the ceremonies of the Moors [i.e., Mahometans] in their funerals,
or even mingling these [with Christian rites]; and so he died, in
a very Christian frame of mind. The prince took possession of all
Libot's property, and ordered that his daughter Oley be imprisoned;
but she, availing herself of her many slaves, forced her way out of
her prison, and risked going as a fugitive to Samboangan. The king,
furious, undertook to avenge this affront on the corpse of her father,
and commanded that it be disinterred; but through Supreme Providence
they were never able to find it, although they attempted to, with the
closest search, and they believed that his daughter had carried the
body with her. Oley arrived at Samboangan safely, and soon fell ill,
not without suspicion of some deadly poison. The fathers went to her,
to see if they could convert her to the faith of Jesus Christ, but
their persuasions were vain. In compassion, the governor and other
persons opposed such obstinacy, with both promises and threats; but
they could not make her change her opinion in the least. The victory
was won by the [native] master-of-camp, Don Pedro Cabilin, a very
influential and respected man, who pledged himself to persuade Oley
to become a Christian. She listened to him attentively on account of
his nobility, and because he was of her own kinsfolk and blood. With
these recommendations, and his effectual arguments, that obstinacy
was conquered, and she received holy baptism, to the universal joy
of the entire garrison. Her godmother was the wife of the governor,
Doña Cathalina Henriquez, and the newly-baptized convert took that
lady's name. Oley had an excellent intellect, and put it to good use in
her last moments, continually invoking God up to her last breath. The
Spaniards gave her a very solemn burial. The chiefs carried her body on
their shoulders up to the door of the church, where the governor and
the officers of the garrison took it, carrying it in the same manner
to the burial-place, and afterward to the tomb--this magnificent
display causing edification to all.
[See Santa Theresa's account (in VOL. XXXVI) of one of the outer
waves of this insurrection, that among the Manobos of Mindanao.]
In Pampanga and Pangasinan; 1660-61
[The following account of this revolt is taken (partly in synopsis)
from Diaz's Conquistas, pp. 568-590. These events are also related
in Santa Cruz's Hist. Sant. Rosario, pp. 331-341; Murillo Velarde's
Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 253b-256; Concepción's Hist. de Philipinas,
vii, pp. 9-35; and Ferrando's Hist. de los PP. Dominicos, iii,
pp. 67-74.]
[p. 568:] All the ten years of the government of the prudent and
magnanimous governor Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara were a melancholy
period of troubles and misfortunes, greater and more continual than
these islands had ever before suffered; and without doubt they would
have been more painful and intolerable if they had not been ameliorated
and diminished by the discretion, affable behavior, and clemency of
this great governor--so that it seems as if divine Providence (or,
in heathen phrase, Fortune) had trained Don Sabiniano for a governor
in such times. [Diaz then enumerates several of these disasters,
notably the losses of richly-laden galleons.]
[p. 571 et seq.] So frequent were these losses that Don Juan Grau de
Monfalcón, procurator in Madrid for the city of Manila, in a curious
treatise which he presented to the royal and supreme Council of
Indias makes a computation of them for sixty-five years, and finds
that only fifteen of these were exempt from such misfortunes. But
they were almost continual in this calamitous term of office,
although Don Sabiniano met all these disasters with serenity and
steadfastness, and apparently with cheerfulness; this he did through
prudence, in order that the sorrow [of the people] might not extend
to despair.... But no art could long veil so much misery. The more
warlike provinces of these islands ascertained the unusual events
which had caused our forces to be so small, however much prudence
dissimulated these; and they sought to avail themselves of so good an
opportunity, deeming it a suitable time for recovering their liberty,
a gift of priceless value. Subjugation is always a matter of coercion,
and this in turn needs other and greater violence that it may repress
this natural inclination; and in natives whose condition makes them
abject this desire increases more vehemently. They did not realize
that the Spaniards had freed them from the harsh captivity of their
barbarous tyranny, transferring them to an honorable subjection which
made them more the masters of their liberty, because these rebels
had not endured that tyranny. They came to know our lack of strength,
and from that passed to despising it; they presumed more on their own
strength than they ought, and rashly went on, without consideration,
looking only at the end and forgetting the means [to attain it].
The first who decided to try fortune by experience were the Pampangos,
the most warlike and prominent people of these islands, and near to
Manila. [Their rebellion was] all the worse because these people had
been trained in the military art in our own schools, in the fortified
posts of Ternate, Zamboanga, Joló, Caraga, and other places, where
their valor was well known; but it needed the shelter of ours, and
therefore it was said that one Spaniard and three Pampangos were equal
to four Spaniards. This people were harassed by repeated requisitions
for cutting timber, for the continual building of galleons, and
they received no satisfaction for many purchases of rice for which
the money was due them. The province of Pampanga is in our charge in
spiritual matters, and there we have sixteen convents and doctrinas,
among the best which there are in this field of Christianity. The
convents are: Bacolor (which is the head of them all), Baua, Lubao,
Sexmoan, Betis, Porac, Mexico, Minalin, Macabebe, Apalit, Candava,
Arayat, Magalang, Gapan, and Santor. Then in the hill-country beyond
these places we have large missions of warlike peoples who are being
converted to our holy faith, called Italones, Abacaes, and Calonasas,
and Ituríes, and various others, who have been induced to settle in
several villages. These are continually increasing, and we expect in
God that they will attain much growth if it is not interfered with by
subjecting them to tribute and personal services, of which they have a
great horror. These are the hindrances which delay the conversions of
these numerous peoples, some heathens and others recently converted;
for among these tribes of low condition the appetite for liberty
increases with great force--spurred on by the envy which is aroused
in them at seeing the freedom which is enjoyed by other peoples as
being more noble or vigorous, or because the cultivation of their
mental powers procures it for them. Many peoples were conquered
because they did not know their own strength until they found that
they were subdued. In these islands we find by experience that in
no province do the people live more peaceably than in those which
received us with hostility, and in none have they attempted a change
[of rule] except in those which invited us with [offers of peace]--and
the most pusillanimous of these have most strenuously endeavored
to throw off the curb of subjection. Those immediately surrounding
Manila were the last to do so, because in them our hands had seized
the reins. Some were intimidated by the contact with our power, and
others were restrained by a sense of honor, seeing themselves admitted
to the privilege of [carrying] our arms, and honored by the confidence
which up to this time had been merited by the fidelity of the Pampango
people. On this occasion they were the first who broke away, because
even our esteem could not remove from them their mean nature.
The Pampangos, determined to break the bonds of subjection and throw
off the yoke of the Spanish dominion, carried out that resolve with
valor. In their opinion, they had just cause for this action, in the
timber-cutting that was being done in their forests, in the place
called Malasinglo and Bocoboco; they alleged as their first pretexts
some acts of oppression committed on them by Juan de Corteberria,
[78] chief overseer of the said timber-cutting--which lasted eight
months, a thousand Pampango men assisting in the work, levied in the
usual repartimientos. In the early days of October, 1660, the loyal
population of Pampanga made their first rebellious movements--the
people being exasperated against the overseers of the wood-cutting,
who had been ill-treating them. Setting fire to the huts in which
they had lodged, they declared, by the light of the fierce flames,
their rash intention; and as leader of their revolt they appointed an
Indian chief named Don Francisco Maniago, a native of the village of
Mexico, who was master-of-camp for his Majesty. The post of chaplain
for the said wood-cutting was filled by a religious of the Order of
St. Dominic, named father Fray Pedro Camacho; [79] he made all possible
efforts to pacify them, but all in vain. On this account he decided
to come to Manila and report everything to Don Sabiniano Manrique
de Lara, to whom he represented that he did not regard as prudent
the idea that he must proceed with rigor against the ringleaders
of the sedition. At the same time when the information of that fire
reached Don Sabiniano there came also advices from the alcalde-mayor
of the province of Pampanga, Don Juan Gomez de Payva, that he had
exhausted all measures for restoring security. In consequence of
this, Don Sabiniano again despatched father Fray Pedro Camacho with
a message for those people, that he on his part would assure them
of pardon and relief if they would return and resume their work. Don
Sabiniano rightly guessed the burden imposed by the circumstances of
the occasion; for the revolt was in one of the most warlike nations of
these islands, and the garrison at Manila was drained of soldiers by
the continual reënforcements sent to Maluco, and by the aid [furnished
from it] to the relief that had come from Nueva España. This had been
brought in the patache "San Damián," in charge of Admiral Don Manuel
de Alarcon, sent by the viceroy, Conde de Baños, and had been secreted
on the coast opposite the port of Lampón; and therefore Don Sabiniano,
although he put on an appearance of assurance, in reality experienced
the utmost anxiety. He wrote secretly to our father Fray José Duque,
who was then prior of the convent of Sexmoán, and to father Fray
Isidro Rodríguez, prior of the convent of Baua, to ask that they,
with the authority which they had acquired during so many years as
ministers in that province, would endeavor to persuade those people to
return to their obedience. Those religious labored to that end, with
all the greater eagerness on account of what was risked in the revolt;
but the only effect was to set spurs to the boldness of the insurgents,
who attributed to the governor's fear of them the peaceable measures
that were proposed. The result showed this, for, tearing off at once
the mask which they had worn, they presented themselves, armed,
in the village of Lubao, under the command of the above-named Don
Francisco Maniago, although many of the mutineers had gone to their own
villages. Others gathered in a strong force in the village of Bacolor,
closing the mouths of the rivers with stakes, in order to hinder the
commerce of that province with Manila; and they wrote letters to the
provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos, urging them to follow their example
and throw off the heavy yoke of the Spaniards, and to kill all of the
latter who might be in those provinces. Information of this reached
Don Sabiniano at night, and, without stopping to wait for daylight,
he embarked in company with the twelve military leaders, and set out
at daybreak for the village of Macabebe.
The governor took with him, besides his alférez Francisco de Roa and
others, the following recently-created officers: Generals Don Felipe
de Ugalde, Juan Enrique de Miranda, and Don Juan de Vergara; Admirals
Don Diego Cortés and Don Felix de Herrera Robachero; Sargentos-mayor
Don Pedro Tamayo, Martín Sanchez de la Cuesta, and Pedro Lozano;
Captains Don Pedro Carmona, Don Juan de Morales, Don José Cascos de
Quirós, Don Alonso de las Casas, Don Alonso de Quirante, Don Gabriel
Niño de Guzmán, Juan Diaz Yañez, Silvestre de Rodas; and for his
secretaries General Sebastian Rayo Doria and Juan de Padilla. The
government notaries were Captain Juan Fijado and Captain Simón
de Fuentes; and the aides-de-camp, Pedro Méndez de Sotomayor and
Francisco Iglesias. With this detachment, who numbered at most 300
men, in eleven small champans and with four pieces of artillery,
each carrying four-libra balls, Don Sabiniano began his journey;
and he reached the village of Macabebe at six in the afternoon of the
following day, having been delayed a long time by removing the stakes
with which the insurgents had closed the entrances to the rivers. All
the islands were imperiled by this war, since all the tribes were
on the watch for its outcome--which, in case it were adverse to the
Spaniards, would give to this [Pampango] people a great reputation,
and to the rest so much confidence that not one of them would forego
the opportunity for their fancied relief. A very hazardous corrective
was that of resort to arms; for, whether [we remained] victorious or
conquered, in any event the Spanish power would be left diminished
and weakened. For, although only 200 infantry had been taken from
the Manila garrison for this expedition, it was necessary that
the deficiency should be made good by the ecclesiastical estate in
that city--which was left in charge of Master-of-camp Don Domingo de
Ugarte. As we have stated, Don Sabiniano arrived at Macabebe, a rich
and populous village in that province; he came opportunely, as on that
very day the people in that village had made ready their vessels and
weapons to go to join the mutineers. Those of Macabebe received the
governor with affected friendliness, the presence of the Spaniards so
well armed having taken away their courage; and all their anxiety was
to hide the tokens of their disorder. The governor was lodged in the
house of Don Francisco Salonga, as it was the best in the village,
although the convent was offered to him by father Fray Enrique de
Castro (who was its prior), observant of the civilities requisite to
guests so honored, although unexpected. He also endeavored that all
the women should be kept out of sight, so that the wanton conduct of
the soldiers might not give any occasion for new dangers; and Don
Sabiniano gave the men strict orders, with heavy penalties for the
transgressors, so that they might not render the Spanish name more
odious through fault of ours. This unexpected arrival diverted the
course of the resolution made by the Macabebe natives, and therefore
they revoked it, dissimulating with affected protestations of loyalty;
but those who were found with arms did not neglect to hasten to hide
their weapons, in order that their recent inconstancy might not render
suspicious, by so manifest a token of rebellion, the loyalty which
their respectful behavior pledged. Don Sabiniano well understood it
all, but, feigning affable manners, and careful to show confidence,
he made a virtue of the occasion. The obsequious solicitude of
the Macabebe men rendered doubtful the resolution of the others,
who in the village of Apalit took away the despatches that had been
given to Don Agustin Pimintuan, the intended ambassador of the rebels
for conspiring in the provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos, their near
neighbors--fearing that he who bore them would place them in the hands
of the governor, that he might with the names of the conspirators
blot his own from the list of the traitors. All were afraid at the
so close proximity of the governor, imagining that they already had
upon them the entire Spanish power, which discouraged the former ardor
of all. It was worth much to Don Sabiniano that he had made sure of
one individual, named Don Juan Macapagal, a chief of the village of
Arayat, since it was necessary to pass through there to reach the
province of Pangasinán; and, this being assured, we were free from
the danger that the Indians of the two provinces might unite their
forces. Don Sabiniano wrote a letter to Don Juan Macapagal, in which,
assuming his fidelity to his Majesty, he ordered that chief to come to
confer with him at Macabebe. Don Juan Macapagal immediately left his
home, and, passing through the camp of the rebels, went to assure Don
Sabiniano of his obedience, offering his life in the service of his
Majesty. Don Sabiniano treated him with great kindness, accompanied
with promises [of reward], with which the fidelity of Macapagal was
easily secured. Don Sabiniano made him master-of-camp of his people,
and, as pledges for his constancy, asked him for his children and
wife, on the pretext of assuring in Manila their safety from the
rebels--thus mingling his confidence with measures of suspicion,
but veiling this with pretexts of protection. The Pampango, quite
contrary to what was believed, accepted this so harsh condition;
but when once the resolution of a nobleman has been declared, any
alteration brings in greater distrust. Don Sabiniano sent Captain
Nicolás Coronado with twenty-five soldiers, ordering him to construct a
fort in Arayat, as was afterward done, and also to hasten the coming
of the wife and children of Macapagal. [The mutineers send an envoy to
Macapagal to secure his support, but he kills the envoy and compels
his followers to turn back.] The chiefs and leaders of the mutiny
were already finding that their followers had grown remiss, and the
courage of those who supported them had diminished, and they despaired
of the constancy of these. They were still more depressed by the news
which they received of the extreme honors which the governor paid to
the wife and children of Don Juan Macapagal--sending them to Manila
with great distinction, and entrusting them to the gallant care of
General Don Francisco de Figueroa, the alcalde-mayor of Tondo--and
of their entertainment and kind reception, in which they were served
with a display beyond what their condition and nature required. At this
demonstration the envy of the rebels guessed the superior position to
which Macapagal's fidelity would raise him, above all those of his
people. By the honors paid to this chief, the governor allured the
ambition of the rest, and introduced discord in order to separate
by craft that body which ambition held together. Our religious
availed themselves of this opportunity, and like thieves in the
house, since they understood the natural disposition of the Indians,
they neglected no occasion to persuade some and allure others with
promises--an endeavor which, although the governor had not charged
it upon them, they prosecuted with great earnestness, on account of
the great risk which was incurred by the Christian church in such
disturbances. All the ministers of that province accomplished much,
especially the father definitors Fray José Duque and Isidro Rodríguez,
also Fray Jose de Vega (the prior of Guagua), Fray Andres de Salazar,
and Fray Enrique de Castro, and others--whom those natives reverenced,
as their abilities deserved. Soon the results of these efforts became
available; for the chief promoters of the rebellion, finding the
courage of their followers so weakened, began to search for paths for
their own safety. They despatched our father Fray Andrés de Salazar
with a letter to Don Sabiniano, in which they alleged, as an excuse
for the disturbance, the arrears of pay which were due them for their
services, together with the loans of their commodities which had been
taken to Manila for the support of the paid soldiers; they entreated
his Lordship to command that these dues be paid, so that their people,
delighted with this payment and therefore laying aside their fury,
could be disarmed by their chiefs and sent back to their homes. Don
Sabiniano allowed himself to be influenced by the arguments which
they placed before him, considering that the anger of the people is
not easily quenched by resorting to another force, and so he agreed to
grant them a part of what they demanded; and they were pacified by his
paying some part of the debt--although the authorities must contract
fresh obligations to do this, as the royal treasury was exhausted on
account of not having received even the interest on the money which
had been landed at a place one hundred leguas from Manila. In view of
this, the governor offered them 14,000 pesos, on account of what was
due them, which amounted to more than 200,000 pesos. For this he sent
his secretary, General Sebastian Rayo Doria, to authorize two other
commanders, Generals Juan Enriquez de Miranda and Felipe de Ugalde,
to establish peace and publish the general amnesty for the past
which he granted to all that people. When the writ of amnesty was
drawn up, and the words were repeated to them in their own language
by the amanuensis (who was one of the Pampango tribe), in reading to
them these words, "In the name of his Majesty I grant pardon, for
the sake of avoiding all bloodshed," he altered the sense of this
sentence, telling them the very opposite [of what it said]. Then,
slipping out of the conference, he went among the crowd to tell them
[this false statement], and from this resulted fresh disturbances. The
effect of this was the detention of our generals as prisoners, and the
choice of a new head, or master-of-camp, for the mutiny, Don Nicolás
Mañago--who immediately issued a proclamation that on the following
day all should be on hand, with their arms ready for use. That day's
interval gave opportunity for the labors of our religious, who did
everything in their power to undeceive the people and dispel the error
under which they were laboring--making known to them the true meaning
of the terms of the amnesty; and thereupon those timid creatures began
to grow calm. Nor was the governor negligent meanwhile; for, as soon
as he was informed of the condition of the generals whom he had sent,
he commanded that the drums should immediately call the troops to arms,
and they should move against the rebels--for his very desire for peace
had made him keep his forces in readiness and at their stations; but,
as a good officer, he knew that the most suitable means of securing
an honorable peace is to make more formidable the preparations for
war. The troops--[as yet] in peace, but well armed--were encamped
very near the rebels; they traveled through the open country,
as is possible in the settled part of that province (which is all
rivers and bayous), conveyed in boats that were adequate for their
numbers. The mountain route was taken by Captain Don Luis de Aduna
and Don Sebastian Villareal with the cavalry, in order to embarrass
the enemy's retreat, and deprive them of their accustomed refuge,
which is the mountains. Don Juan Macapagal, who with loyal ardor took
the field in his Majesty's service, was sent to his own village of
Arayat, that he might, in conjunction with the people from the farms
about that village, prevent the enemy from using that route to go to
Pangasinán--a matter which caused the governor much anxiety, as those
natives are warlike. On the same day, at sunset, Don Sabiniano met his
secretary, General Sebastian Rayo Doria, whom the rebels had sent back
with entreaties, that he might delay the just wrath of his Lordship,
and they accompanied these with submissions and offerings. Most
of our success in quieting this second revolt is due to the many
efforts made by the fathers who were ministers in that province,
not only with the common rebels but with their leaders--offering to
the former amnesty, and to the latter rewards, on the part of his
Majesty. With only the near approach of the army, its march being
directed toward the rebels, and with no other writ of requisition
than its fearful reputation which threatened them with chastisement,
affairs assumed another guise; and those who before looked at any
plan for peace with distrust now solicited it, having lost their
expectation of any more favorable arrangement.
As Don Sabiniano understood the desire which led them, he spoke to
them with affected severity, and despatched a courier to give them
orders that they must immediately send him the two generals (whom
they had detained to secure a settlement favorable to their fears),
with their weapons, furnishings, and clothing, without a thread being
missing. He said that if any one of these articles should be lacking,
a duel would be enacted in honor of it, which would be satisfied
[only] with the fire from weapons that were already intolerable in
the hands [of the soldiers]; and that, if their valor could ill endure
the bridle of clemency so ill recompensed, if they did not accept it
he would now proceed to exchange it for severity. At the distance of
a few paces the courier met Generals Sebastian Rayo Doria and Juan
Enriquez de Miranda, whom the rebels had set at liberty through the
persuasions of the father ministers. As their fear was not quieted by
any means whatever, they made haste to the safety which imagination
suddenly presented to them; they feared that the illegal detention of
the Spanish generals would add fire to our indignation. The governor,
seeing our honor thus satisfied, and discretion triumphant, turned
to the alcalde-mayor of that province, and told him that on the
following day he must surrender to him its chief men. Those who were
present looked at one another in surprise, wondering that the governor
should not know the condition in which the chiefs still were, united
and armed in so great a number that their submission was not to be
expected at a mere summons. It is a fact that in the excuses which
the chiefs had given for their resolution they cast the blame on the
villages, attempting thus to confuse their own malice with [that of]
the multitude. Accordingly, it was expedient that the governor should
follow their usage, by making them think that he had not fathomed their
purposes, so that they could not guess that he was dissimulating. The
result corresponded to the ingenious scheme, skill obtaining what
guile had concealed. For the chiefs, seeing that their excuses were
so readily received, attempted to carry them further; and therefore at
one o'clock at night they arrived, with all the people of the revolted
villages, in eighty vessels, at the village of Macabebe. The military
officers felt anxiety, not only at their coming at a suspicious hour
of the night, but at the multitude, a great impediment to negotiations
for peace; in view of this the governor deferred until the next day
giving them audience. But as there are cases in which confidence is
safer than mistrust, especially when one is intent on giving security
to distrust and calming fear, the governor commanded that all should
enter his presence, and that our armada and troops should, without
any outcry or demonstration of anxiety, watch very attentively the
actions of these people. It was the effect of fear, which is with
difficulty laid aside when conscience itself accuses, that these
rebels came armed to capitulate, concealing by the submission that
they tendered the cunning with which they acted. Many things have
to be tolerated in an enemy when there are certain expectations
of gaining one's end. The governor overlooked their being armed,
and granted what they asked; and his efforts succeeded in allaying
the fears of those people. He commanded the chiefs to make the
people go away, so that they might resume their industries; and,
in testimony of the fidelity which their authority guaranteed in the
common people, he ordered them to continue sending the men necessary
for the timber-cutting for the galleons, the only source of life
for these islands. The multitude gladly took their departure, and
the governor, although he was victorious and armed, did not choose
for that time that the chiefs who had incited the rebellion should
make amends for their fault; instead, he granted them all that they
asked, and afterward talked with them quite familiarly--endeavoring
to convince their minds, although he saw their strength conquered
at his feet. To the chiefs who were humble and repentant he said:
"I cannot deny that in demanding the payment of what was due you, you
asked what was just; but as little can you deny that you did not ask
it in a just way. Not only because, when the manner in which you act
must be so costly both to yourselves and to the king, he who solicits
justice by such means is the aggressor, more cruel than is justice,
perverting peace and introducing war (in which this virtue [of justice]
is always lacking), but because in war all the wealth that one had
intended to increase is destroyed; and it is more cruel than kind to
employ, in order to show anger at the wealth which recognizes a debt,
what will cause the ruin of property and lives. Who has ever grown rich
through war? and who has not lost in war that which in peace he held
secure? Many are they who with the wealth that they possessed had not
yet been able to attain the success at which they aimed; and those who
had attained it were subjected to a lamentable misery--the villages
burned, the countries depopulated, and their customs trampled under
foot. It is not, then, justice to bring in general ruin as the price
of so limited an expectation, which vanishes through the very means
by which it is secured. If this mode [of obtaining what you demand] is
so harsh, your purpose is no less unjust. You make an arrogant demand
upon the king, when you know that he cannot pay you; and in order to
expedite it you oblige him to incur greater expenses, thus doing more
to render his efforts impossible. Ignorance may serve other provinces
as an excuse, but not you, whom our continual intercourse with you has
rendered more intelligent. You know very well the scantiness of the
relief which has come from Nueva España during my term of office;
and you are not ignorant of the unavoidable expenses which this
government is obliged to meet for the preservation of the country,
which much exceed the aid received. One galleon alone demands half
of the money, even when the wages and other expenses are reduced to
what is absolutely necessary. The [expenses of the] fortified posts,
which are paid for by all the native peoples, amount to five thousand
[pesos]; while the aid [sent], averaging one year with another, hardly
amounts to 5,000 pesos. The king has no other wealth than that of his
vassals, and his own is in the amount that their defense requires,
when the necessities of these islands are so great; for with you
[Indians] he does not avail himself of this right, which is that
of all kings and commonwealths. Many times have I written to his
Majesty to ask that he regulate this matter; and from his clemency
I am expecting the relief for which I have been so anxious, which I
am sure he will furnish. Must his Majesty, since the peace of these
islands and the maintenance of the faith in them are all so costly to
his royal treasury, make up the omissions of the officials in Nueva
España? Your patience would be greater than ours if your gratitude
more quickly recognized our kindness in employing our forces for
your defense, and our arms in watching over your peace. I ask you
to consider, not the powerful enemies who oppose our forces, but the
wretched condition in which you formerly lived without our arms--in
continual wars, within even your own homes, one village against
another; without liberty having two leguas of extent, and being
waylaid by your own tyranny, without any right save might, or further
justification than deeds of violence. Let me remind you of the way in
which you lived; your huts were the taller trees, like bird's nests,
[80] your sleep was disturbed by the nightmare of anxiety, because
danger confronted you, so near that it was no farther away than from
one house to another. Cast your eyes on the Spanish infantry; consider
the hardships which they endure on sea and land; and see what support
they receive, only the fourth part of the wages assigned them, which
still does not bring them to the condition which among your people is
misery. See how they give to the king, as a loan, each year much more
than this, and of much more importance--since they deprive themselves
of life itself, without any opportunity remaining to them for supplying
their needs. They serve as if they were slaves, and would be fortunate
if we paid them as we do our servants. And finally, consider that
the king taxes himself in enormous sums, for your safety and defense
alone, while the rest of the nations in the world obey him and pay
him tribute. They all enrich his treasures, yet he willingly lavishes
these here, for you people. Understand these reasons, and you will see
how little cause you had for so ungrateful a resolution. Your natives
must be blamed for the ungrateful way in which they have acted, since
they have shown no patience with a nation which has endured so much
for you, or for its king, who has so generously spent his money for
your welfare. Notify them also that I acknowledge the docility with
which they have returned to their obedience, more in humility than
in distrust; for I would grieve much if we came to blows, since if
fighting began I could not restrain the soldiers from compelling me,
against my wishes, to behold your entire ruin. You know very well
that there is no people in these islands who can resist their valor
in the field, and no hope could render you secure [from them]. The
open country [would be] clear of obstructions, the ground level,
the villages wide open; and you would have to flee to the mountains,
wherever necessity guided you lost creatures, or else the ashes of
your villages must be mingled with those of your bodies. I have had
a greater struggle with the Spanish valor, to check its ardor, than
even with your thoughtlessness [in trying] to bring you to a full
knowledge of your error. Now let your behavior blot out that error,
since I have forgiven you for what is past; and beware that you do
not repeat your faithless ingratitude."
Thus did the discreet and sagacious governor, Don Sabiniano,
destroy the infernal seed that discord had sowed in the hearts of the
Pampangos, alluring them with [the idea of] liberty, more potent than
the apple of gold flung down at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis....
Don Sabiniano received all their excuses with his usual affability,
and in the name of his Majesty restored them to his favor and to the
condition of faithful vassals, and gave them in due form, in writing,
a general amnesty. He commanded the alcalde-mayor to distribute to
them with exactness and care the sum which he had, by contracting
new obligations, brought for their relief; and to order them in
testimony of their repentance--now that he had brought them back to
their former fidelity, and as this outbreak had been [the result
of] their anxiety, in grief rather than in rebellion--to repair,
as before, with men to the wood-cutting for the construction of the
ships. They asked from him time to repair their houses, and permission
to attend to their cultivation of the soil; and this was granted, to
their satisfaction. The affairs of the province were immediately put
in order. The governor commanded Juan Camacho de la Peña to retire,
and left as governor of the province General Don Francisco de Atienza
y Báñez--an old soldier whose valor was equal to the wisdom gained by
his experiences in the governments which he had held in these islands,
in Caraga and Zamboanga--with orders that he must exercise vigilance
in regard to every indication of disturbance, and by prudent action and
kind treatment constrain the natives to prefer their own tranquillity.
He sent a despatch by Adjutant Francisco Amaya, accompanied by seven
soldiers, to the province of Pangasinán, to notify the alcalde-mayor,
named Francisco Gómez Pulido, of the outcome in Pampanga, in order that
he might with this example be on the alert in his own province. Don
Sabiniano also ordered him to communicate this information to the
alcaldes-mayor of Ilocos (Don Alonso de Peralta) and of Cagayán,
and warn them to keep watch on the movements of the natives, and
to endeavor that the submission of the Pampangos should confirm the
others in their tranquillity. Nor was the governor content with this
activity only; but he sent a sealed letter to the sargento-mayor of
the royal regiment in Manila, Francisco Pedro de Quirós, with orders
that he should deliver it, in a well-equipped champan with twelve
soldiers, to a thoroughly reliable person; and that the latter, when
two leguas beyond Mariveles, should open the letter, and execute the
orders that he should find therein. These were, that he should take
the route to Pangasinán, and deliver the letters which he had sent to
the alcalde-mayor, in which he warned him by the events in Pampanga
of the danger which he had cause to suspect in the province which was
in his charge, and of the watchful care that he must exercise over
the actions of the natives therein; and that if any Pampangos should
be dispersed through his villages--and he regarded it as certain
that such had been sent, in order to form conspiracies among those
natives--he should by suitable plans arrest them and send them to
Manila. Having made these arrangements, the governor returned to the
capital, taking in his company Don Francisco Mañago, under pretext of
employing him in the office of master-of-camp for those of his tribe
in that city. Under the pretext of honoring this chief, he cloaked
his anxiety to remove from the sight of the Pampangos the man to
whom all eyes were directed on account of his authority and power,
and from whom, it was understood, their resolution took new breath;
for, if their regard for peace grew weak, his prestige and authority
might not be lacking for seditions--although this alone was not the
sole incentive which moved them, since it was accompanied by the
influence of José Celis, a native of that province, who was incited
by the laws that he had learned, which had been taught to him by the
auditor Don Francisco Samaniego y Cuesta, under whom he had served. At
the same time he carried with him others of the more guilty, whom he
attracted with the hope of greater rewards; there was no discussion
of other modes of satisfaction, as the occasion did not allow them.
After the return of the governor to Manila, affairs were so skilfully
arranged that the Pampangos themselves demanded that two garrisons
be placed in their province, as necessary to their security--one in
Lubao, to free themselves from the invasions which in that direction
they are continually suffering from the blacks of the hill-country;
and the other in Arayat, as a precaution against the fears which
arise from the Pangasinans--and that these should be in charge of
officers thoroughly satisfactory to the governor. This, the very thing
that the governor desired, was quickly agreed to, and he stationed
in Arayat Captain Nicolás Coronado, and in Baras (which is Lubao)
Captain Juan Giménez de Escolástica, soldiers of great valor. This
step was of great importance on account of the commotions (which will
be considered further on) in the provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos,
the results of which were so lamentable that up to this day they have
not ceased to arouse grief. Very different were they from the events
in Pampanga, for in the latter province there was not experienced any
death, or ravaging of churches, or burning of villages, but merely
threats of disobedience to their chiefs; but in the other provinces,
all these things occurred, and many of each kind.
The alcalde-mayor, Francisco Gómez Pulido, replied to the governor's
letter that the natives in his province maintained remarkable peace,
and that the alcalde-mayor of Ilocos, Don Alonso Peralta, had made
the same report to him; and with this the anxiety that was felt in
regard to those provinces was partly dissipated. But his vigilance
was deceived; for in a fortnight from that time, in the village of
Malunguey in the province of Pangasinán, from some slight cause was
raised a sedition which compelled the alcalde-mayor to hasten out
with the soldiers whom the governor had sent him in the champan. Those
first disturbances were quieted, more because the fruit of rebellion
was not yet matured than because other endeavors were made [by the
Spaniards]. The alcalde-mayor was more easily satisfied than he should
have been with the dissembled tranquillity, and sent a report of the
whole affair to Manila. However much the ashes of dissimulation hid
the fire, it did not fail to make its presence known, by the smoke
that it sent forth, or by the flames which arose at every breath
of wind. One is wont in such case to curb caution, even though he
has not yet the wood ready for keeping up the fire of his strength;
but if one is sure of safety without having turned over the ashes,
a fire that cannot be checked will leap upon him in his sleep.
The fire, covered during two months, steadily spread, through the
hidden passage of the intercourse between different villages, until
its effects became so serious that the alcalde-mayor Francisco Gómez
Pulido was undeceived, and had to give up his groundless confidence. A
spark flew over to the province of Ilocos, and left matters there ready
for the operations that afterward were seen.... It took two months,
as I have said, after apparent quiet was secured, to explode the mine
which the faithlessness of the Pangasinans had covered, [and this
occurred] with a fearful crash. On the fifteenth of December, 1660,
this perilous volcano was revealed in Lingayén, the chief town of
that province. The reason why its effects were so long delayed was
the great bulk which it had acquired through the diligence of Don
Andrés Malóng, his Majesty's master-of-camp for that tribe, a native
of Binalatongan. The first proceeding of mob ferocity was to go to
the house of the alguazil-mayor [81] and kill him and all his family,
and then set fire to his house. From here the multitude went, hoisting
their sails, under the guidance of Malóng to conquer the villages--by
the cruel acts of armed force gaining those who would not voluntarily
have surrendered to them. Encouraged by their large following, which
was hourly increasing, Malóng directed his efforts to capture by force
the village of Bagnotan, one of the richest and most populous of that
province, whose inhabitants had thus far refused to range themselves
on the side of the traitors. The loyalty of those people proved very
costly to them; for they were suddenly attacked one night by Don Andres
Malóng, followed by more than four thousand rebels. They sacked the
town, and after having committed many inhuman murders set fire to
it, and reduced it to ashes--the voracity of the flames not sparing
the convent and church, a magnificent edifice which was one of the
finest that the fathers of St. Dominic possessed in that province. The
father minister thought himself fortunate that he could escape with
his life, fleeing on a swift horse from the barbarous cruelty of the
assailants--who, on learning that the alcalde-mayor Francisco Gómez
Pulido had left Lingayén in flight, flew thither on the wings of their
fury. He had embarked with all his family, and with the soldiers whom
the governor had sent him, in the champan of a ship-master named Juan
de Campos; but, as unfortunately they could not pass over that bar
on account of the ebb-tide, they had to wait for high tide, and this
gave the insurgents time to arrive. Attempting to attack the champan,
they found such resistance from the firearms of those within it that
they had to curb their first fury; but they were soon freed from this
hindrance by the malicious cunning of some Sangleys, who imparted to
them a scheme for success. This was, to cover some small boats with
many branches of trees, when they could safely attack those on the
champan--which plan they carried out so effectively that a great number
of little boats in entire safety made an assault on the champan. Those
who were in it could make no resistance to such a multitude, and were
all put to the sword--among them the alcalde-mayor, who did wonderful
things in the defense, until, covered with wounds from arrows and
javelins, and faint from loss of blood, his strength failed. The
rebels killed his wife, who had recently become a mother, and his
sister-in-law, a young girl, and all those in his service--soldiers,
servants, and other people--no one being able to escape from this
barbarous cruelty except a little girl and a little boy (the latter
only a few days old), the children of the alcalde-mayor. Their lives
were saved by the efforts of a friendly Indian from the village of
Binalatongan; Don Sabiniano afterward rewarded him, and gave the girl
an encomienda for the services rendered by her father. With this deed,
which seemed a victory to Don Andrés Malóng, he persuaded himself
that he had closed the account with the entire Spanish nation, his
arrogant confidence believing that the Spaniards would not return
there on account of their punctilious regard for honor. Carried away
by his vanity, he caused himself to be acclaimed king of Pangasinán,
with much drinking of wine; and he bestowed the title of Conde on Don
Pedro Gumapos, a native of the village of Agoo. In order to perpetuate
by might his new but tyrannical dignity, he summoned to his aid the
Zambal tribe--a people who know no more civilized mode of life than
the savage abode of the mountains and rocks; and without recognizing
any one as king save him who, most barbarous of all, distinguishes
himself as most courageous. They accepted the invitation, attracted
more by the desire to plunder than by friendship, a relation which
they recognize with no one. With this succor, Malóng easily persuaded
himself that he was invincible; his arrogance therefore led him to send
letters to all the chiefs of the provinces of Ilocos and Cagayán,
commanding that they immediately acknowledge him as their lord,
and slay all the Spaniards whom they might find in those provinces,
unless they wished to experience chastisement from his power. He sent
other letters, similar to these, to Pampanga, and especially to Don
Francisco Mañago; these were seized from the messengers by the wary
artifice, inspired by loyalty, of an Indian, a native of Magalang,
who offered to the messengers to place the letters safely in the hands
of Don Francisco Mañago. He delivered them to the commandant of the
fort at Arayat, Captain Nicolás Coronado, who without delay sent them
to the governor, who received them on the twentieth of the same month
of December. When he opened these, he found that their contents were,
in brief, to tell Don Francisco Mañago that, if he did not undertake to
arouse the province of Pampanga to take sides with Malóng, killing the
Spaniards who were found therein, he would send for the chastisement
of that province Don Melchor de Vera, with six thousand men who were
already under his command. This assertion was not a false one; for
so great was the multitude of adherents who were coming to him--some
attracted by the novelty, others by their eagerness for plunder,
and others by inconstancy or fear--that he was able to divide his men
into three parts. To Don Melchor de Vera he gave orders to descend on
Pampanga with six thousand men, and conquer the villages; to Don Pedro
Gumapos he assigned three thousand Pangasinans and Zambals, with orders
to reduce the provinces of Ilocos and Cagayán; and he himself was left
with two thousand men, to furnish aid wherever necessity required it.
This information was received by the governor without surprise, as if
he had been expecting it; and on that very afternoon he despatched, to
fortify the post at Arayat, Captain Silvestre de Rodas--an old soldier
of experience and reputation in many encounters, in which his valor
always obtained the advantage over the enemy. The governor gave him
fifty infantry, so that in case Don Melchor de Vera arrived with the
rebel army he could maintain his position, going out to encounter them
until the arrival of General Francisco de Esteybar with the Spanish
army. The latter was on the same day appointed commander-in-chief
of the troops and lieutenant of the governor and captain-general,
with all the body of soldiers who, under the pressure of necessity,
could be detached from the scanty garrison of Manila. On the same
day Don Sabiniano appointed, as commander of the armed fleet which he
resolved to equip and despatch against the rebels, General Felipe de
Ugalde--a man of unusual prudence, and distinguished by heroic deeds
in the army of Ternate, where he was sargento-mayor. To this he added
a commission as commander-in-chief of Pangasinán and Ilocos, in order
that he might be able to act independently, wherever he might be,
and, in the lack of a governor for those provinces, carry out their
pacification through their fear of punishment. In this army went the
following officers: Sargento-mayor Diego de Morales, and Captains Simón
de Fuentes, Alonso Castro, Juan de San Martín, Don Juan de Morales,
Don Juan Francisco. In it were also the company of Merdicas (who are
Malays), and their master-of-camp Cachil Duco, the prince of Tidori;
Don Francisco García; the company of creole negroes, [82] with their
master-of-camp Ventura Meca; and the Japanese of Dilao. They had four
pieces of artillery, which carried four-libra balls.
On December 22 General Esteybar began the march by land; on the
twenty-fourth General Don Felipe de Ugalde set out by sea, with four
champans and under their protection a joanga. With the former went
two hundred infantry, and other troops of all nationalities, Japanese
and Merdicas; while Ugalde took seventy Spaniards and some thirty
Pampangos--with Captains Don Alonso Quirante, Don Juan de Guzmán,
Juan Díaz Yáñez, Don Diego de Lemos; the adjutant Diego Sánchez de
Almazán, Miguel Roldan, and Cristobal Romero; Captains Nicolás Blanco
and Lorenzo Coronado. Ugalde carried orders to land at Lingayén,
the chief town in the jurisdiction of Pangasinán, and fortify a post
from which he could inflict injury on the enemy. This was compassed
by the activity of General Ugalde; for, having stationed a force
in Bolinao, he assured [the loyalty of] that village, [83] which
had been doubtful. Although those natives had not yet committed the
cruelties of those of Pangasinán, they carried out the orders sent
them by Malóng; and they had captured a Spanish woman, and slain a
Spaniard named Pedro Saraspe, the collector for Bolinao--which was
an encomienda of Admiral Pedro Duran Monforte--and had sent his head
to Don Andrés Malóng. General Ugalde quieted all their fear of the
chastisement which they saw threatening their heads, and, placing
the government of the village in the hands of a chief who had shown
himself most steadfast in loyalty, Don Luis Sorriguen, he left Bolinao
secured for the service of his Majesty. Then he pursued his way, and
came in sight of the bar at Lingayén on January 6, 1661; although he
strove, at the risk of his armada, to enter it against the severity
of the storm that opposed him, the weather prevailed, and compelled
him to make port two leguas to leeward of the bar, at Suali. He sent
the joanga (which is an oared vessel) to make soundings at the bar,
with orders to summon him by signals, so that he could approach with
this opportunity near enough to reconnoiter the fortifications of the
rebels. He discovered a large crowd of people, who made him no other
reply than that of bullets and arrows; and he observed the haste with
which they were building fortifications, working behind a shelter which
they had made of gabions. The foresight of the general suspected that
they had not closed the bar against him, and he again strove, although
without avail, to enter it on the eighth of the same month. Then,
seeing that the weather was steadily becoming more favorable to
the enemy, he proposed to assault the village by land. This idea of
his was opposed by all the military leaders, and he therefore had
to repeat his attempt by sea, on the ninth; but they had hardly set
sail when they encountered a messenger from the minister of Lingayén,
Father Juan Camacho, [84] of the Order of St. Dominic. He informed
them that the usurping "king," Malóng, had despatched soldiers with
orders to cut off the head of the governor of that village, named
Don Pedro Lombey, to burn the church, and to carry the religious
as prisoners to him at Binalatongan, where he was waiting far them;
for with this severity he expected to compel the few people whom that
governor and the religious were keeping peaceable, to take sides with
his faction. At the same time, that religious related the grievous
injuries, the plundering of property, and the burning of buildings,
that had been inflicted by the cruelty of the insurgents, and those
which must result if the above order were carried out; for then that
village and the Christian church which had been maintained under its
protection would be finally destroyed.
General Ugalde immediately formed another resolution, without
submitting it to the opinions of other men; since in critical moments,
when reputation and the common welfare are at stake, such opinions
serve rather as a hindrance than as an advantage to success. He
commanded the infantry to disembark, without allowing them to take with
them anything save their weapons. He despatched the armada in charge
of Captain Don Diego de Lemos, commanding him to contend once more
against the severity of the elements [for an entrance to the river],
and, if he could not overcome their hostility, to return to the harbor,
and there await the result and new orders. He ordered the adjutant,
Diego Sánchez de Almanzán, to enter the river with the joanga, at
all risks, as its passage was so important for the security of the
people against the enemy, who were awaiting them on the other side;
and told him that if the joanga should be wrecked they would find
him and his troops at a post convenient for securing the people from
invasion by the enemy. Ugalde divided his soldiers into three bodies;
one of these went ahead as vanguard, under command of Captain Miguel
Rendón. The battalion was given to Captain Cristobal Romero, and
the rearguard to Captain Juan Díaz Yáñez. Captains Nicolás Blanco
and Lorenzo Coronado were sent forward with some arquebusiers, to
reconnoitre the field. The general gave public orders to the men of
the rearguard to shoot the first soldier who should retreat from his
post. He was awaited at the bar by the forces of the insurgents, who
supposed that he had come in the champans which they saw endeavoring
to occupy the bar. By this precaution he took them by surprise,
so little ready for it that, seeing themselves assailed and the
drums sounding the call to arms behind them on the land, this second
danger so terrified them that their defensive array was thrown into
confusion; and their fear giving them no leisure for other plans,
it sent them headlong and dispersed them in precipitate flight. The
army of Ugalde arrived at the river without encountering the enemy,
at four in the afternoon, and continuing the march, he entered the
village of Lingayén at sunset, with all his men. The only persons
whom he found alive there were the father ministers and four chiefs;
but they saw in front of the royal buildings, impaled on stakes,
the heads of Alcalde-mayor Francisco Gómez Pulido, Nicolás de Campos,
Pedro Saraspe, and the wife and the sister-in-law of Pulido--which the
rebels, in their confusion, could not hide. When those people rebel,
and see that they involve themselves in danger, they try to lead the
rest to engage in destruction, in order thus to persuade the rabble
and those who are easily deluded that, if they remain in the villages,
they expose themselves to the blows of the vengeance which will be
executed on those whom the sword encounters. For the same reason,
they try to burn the churches and kill the priests, thinking that with
such atrocious deeds the crime becomes general, even though it has
been committed by only a few. Thus fear, which so easily finds place
in their pusillanimous natures, drives them to flee as fugitives;
and necessity makes them take refuge with those who are traitors,
fearing their cruelties. It was this that had caused most [of the
people of Lingayén] to flee, since their hands were free from such
crimes. On the same night when General Ugalde arrived, four agents
of Don Andrés Malóng came, in accordance with the warning of Father
Camacho which had hastened the general's decision; they came to set
fire to the church and seize the religious; and, as they did not
find the men whom they had left in defense of the bar, or any one
of their faction in the village who could warn them in time, they
easily fell into the power of Ugalde's men. He immediately ordered
that their heads should be cut off and suspended from hooks on the
road to Binalatongan, in order that these might be tokens of the
severity that would be experienced by those who were stubborn in their
rebellion. By this means General Felipe de Ugalde so quickly pushed
his good fortune that when the military commander-in-chief arrived,
which was on January 17, only two villages in the entire province of
Pangasinán, those of Malunguey and Binalatongan, persisted in their
rebellion; and most of the inhabitants of the villages had returned
to their homes, remaining in their shelter and peace.
The commander-in-chief, Francisco de Esteybar, although he at first
set out by land, was detained for some time because he halted at
Arayat, to wait for the Pampango troops who were being levied for
this campaign--until on the sixth day he was constrained to begin the
march by the news which he received about the natives of Magalang,
the furthest village in Pampanga, by a chief from Porac named Don
Andrés Manacuil. This man had been snared and captured by Malóng,
with eleven companions who were lying dead from lance-thrusts,
and he alone had escaped. He declared that Don Melchor de Vera was
approaching with an army of six thousand Pangasinans, and that they
would reach that village on the following day; that it was not strong
enough to resist the enemy, and therefore it would be necessary for
the Spaniards, unless they received reënforcements, to abandon the
village and take refuge in the mountains. The general's reply was
prompt action; he gave the signal to march with all the energy and
promptness that the emergency demanded, and on the same day reached
Magalang, at nightfall. There he learned that the rebel army had
lodged that night at Macaulo, a hamlet two leguas distant. Francisco de
Esteybar proposed to push ahead, but this was opposed by the leading
officers, on account of the men being exhausted with marching all
day long. The cavalry captain Don Luis de Aduna offered to go, with
the freshest of the men, proceeding until he encountered the enemy,
so as to ascertain how strong they were, and doing them what damage
he could. The commander-in-chief gladly accepted the offer, and,
adding a detachment of thirty foot-soldiers to the cavalry troop,
he despatched them very quickly. The enemy Don Melchor de Vera came
to meet the army, ignorant and unsuspecting that he would find it so
near and in the field; and the night, the fatigue of his men, and the
present hostile attitude of the people, rendered futile the activities
of his spies. The troop of Don Luis de Aduna marched in good order,
and, although he sent forward men to explore the road, when daylight
came he found himself in the midst of the enemy, who were stretched
out in a pleasant open field--nearly all of them lying on the ground,
either from their natural sloth or overcome by sleep. The Pangasinans
raised an alarm, uttering a loud shout, a signal with which all these
peoples begin their battles, in order to arouse their own courage and
weaken that of the enemy; but such was not the effect of their activity
on this occasion, for apprehension awoke, without enlivening their
courage, and, their fear of unforeseen danger prevailing, it made them
run away in disorderly flight from the perils that they dreaded. As for
our men--whether the horses, frightened by the unaccustomed shouting,
could not be held in by the curb; or their riders, at sight of that
frightful multitude armed, felt the natural effect in their hearts;
or their ears were deafened by the hideous shouts, of for some other
reason--the cavalry of the squadron turned their backs, with the
same haste as did the enemy, without either side waiting to prove
the danger with their weapons. Who doubts that Don Luis de Aduna,
already informed of the multitude of those whom he was going to seek,
had carefully considered the hazard? But it is not the same thing
to look at the danger from afar, and to consider it while in the
midst of it, if the leader has known danger beforehand from similar
experiences. If he had fought in other campaigns, he would have known
that mere numbers do not make these peoples more valiant; for they do
not know how to wage war except in their ambuscades, where they are
quite safe, and in the open field they cannot, for lack of military
discipline, maintain battle for an instant. At last the cavalry arrived
in safety at the camp, to report to their commander, General Francisco
de Esteybar, without having accomplished anything worthy of note.
The commander, not only to proceed with the foresight which the
remoteness of the country and the laborious march required, but to make
sure that the enemy's army should not leave Pampanga, waited there
a week, going round a hill opposite, which had a spring on the other
side. Don Melchor de Vera, although he had seen his own men take to
flight, as he saw that our soldiers did the same thing, attributed to
his own valor that panic of terror of which the incidents are perhaps
noted among the barbarous exploits of these peoples, in recording the
events of war in these islands. Don Melchor de Vera returned to the
presence of his [superior, the] usurping king, and assured him that
he had left the Spaniards conquered, and cut off the heads of three
hundred of them and more than a thousand Pampangos, without losing
a single man of his own. But all the exploit that he had performed
was to cut off the heads of three Indians from the village of Cambuy
(a visita of Arayat), whom Don Juan Macapagal had sent on business to
the village of Telbán; their bodies were found this side of the village
of Paniqui. What these peoples gain easily they regard with credulity
and confidence; accordingly they supposed that the failure of the
Spaniards to follow them was a recognition of their power. This delay,
which they attributed to fear, gave them assurance; and as General
Felipe de Ugalde had not yet set his troops in motion for Lingayén,
they all considered themselves safe, and talked of following up their
enterprise, to which they were led by their eagerness to make an
actual raid on the province of Ilocos; for it was rich in gold, and
its inhabitants had little courage. They were encouraged to this by
the favorable result of the raid which "Conde" Don Pedro Gurcapos had
effected a few days before, although he only went as far as Bauang;
but now, with their troops still further reënforced, they wished to
go as far as Cagayán, to stir up the minds of those natives, so that,
if they succeeded, they could induce those people to join them. For
this purpose, they detached from the best troops of the rebel army as
many as four thousand men, Zambals and Pangasinans, and placed them
under command of Don Jacinto Macasiag, a native of Binalatongan, for
the new conquest--which they supposed would be very easy, as the minds
of some of the chiefs there, with whom they had held correspondence,
were prepared for it.
Soon Don Andrés Malóng repented of having separated so large a
number of troops from the main body of his army, when, on the ninth
of January, General Ugalde gave the signal for hostilities by way
of Lingayén; and on the seventeenth of the same month the commander,
Francisco de Esteybar, came unexpectedly with all the strength of the
Spanish army. The rebels of Binalatongan had torn down and burned the
bridge, which was built of planks--a difficulty which might prove an
obstacle to the courage of Francisco de Esteybar; but a courageous
soldier named Cristóbal de Santa Cruz, with two bold Merdicas, made
the crossing easy. The latter leaped into the water, swimming, and
the Spaniard walked upon their shields or bucklers; and in this way,
fastening together all the logs and bamboos that they could collect,
they made a raft large enough to transport on it the infantry. Malóng
sent to summon Don Melchor de Vera, and in the interval, urged on more
by the fear arising from their guilt than by the number of the Spanish
soldiery (which, compared with that of the rebels, was much smaller),
all the rebels took refuge in Binalatongan; but this did not last
them long, for the two generals, having united their forces, marched
forward to attack them and thus end the war at once. Don Andrés Malóng,
having been informed of this intention, would not wait to confront
the chances of fortune. He set fire to the village of Binalatongan,
and plundered it of everything; and he burned the church and convent,
the images of the saints which were therein becoming the prey of
that barbarous multitude, who trampled on them and broke them in
pieces, venting on, these figures of the saints the fury and madness
which obliged them to retreat to the mountains. This they did in
such haste that many fell into the hands of the soldiers whom the
commander-in-chief, observing their flight, quickly sent for this
purpose. The main body of the troops--not only the cavalry but the
infantry--followed the rebels, as far as the ground allowed them to,
killing, while the pursuit lasted, more than five hundred Zambals and
rebels. After this the army not being able to continue the pursuit,
returned to Lingayén in order to aid the other provinces wherever
necessity might require. Soon afterward, troops of Indians began
arriving, to cast themselves at the feet of the commander-in-chief,
entreating pardon; and he in virtue of the powers with which he had
been invested, detained those whom he considered guilty, and allowed
the rest to go to their villages. The natives, in order to check
the just wrath of the Spaniards, thought best to offer themselves
to bring in Don Andrés Malóng a prisoner; and Francisco de Esteybar,
having learned where this man had concealed himself--which was in a
forest between Bagnotan and Calasiao--sent Captain Simon de Fuentes and
Alférez Alonso de Alcántara with sixty soldiers, fifteen Spaniards,
with fifteen Merdicas and creoles, and Sargento-mayor Pedro Machado
of Ternate and some Pangasinans, who served as guides. They found the
hut of Don Andrés Malóng, where they arrested him and his mother,
Beata de Santo Domingo; they also took away a girl of ten years,
a sister-in-law of Francisco Pulido, whom he had kept a captive for
the purpose of marrying her. They found a large quantity of gold,
pearls, and silver, which Malóng had taken with him. Carrying him
to Binalatongan, they placed him in prison, under close guard. It is
quite worth while to note what happened to Don Francisco de Pacadua,
one of the principal rebels, who in this farce played the role of
judge to the king Don Andrés Malóng. They had carried him a prisoner to
Binalatongan; and, as he was very rich he formed a plan to escape from
the prison by bribing the guards with much gold. He succeeded in this,
and in his flight, while crossing the river, a crocodile seized him;
but it did him no further harm than to carry him held fast in [its
mouth], to the mouth of the river of Binalatongan, where some soldiers
were on guard, and to leave him there, half-dead with fear, with only
some slight wounds from the creature's claws. The soldiers ran up to
see who he was, and recognized Pacadua; they took him prisoner, and
in due time he atoned for his crime on the gallows. They conveyed him
to the presence of General Francisco de Esteybar, who ordered that he
be carefully guarded until his punishment should be duly adjudged;
for in the province of Ilocos very lamentable events were making
pressing calls upon the Spanish forces--since, as will be seen in
the proper place, the natives there had slain two religious.
Francisco de Esteybar was informed how, among the ravages and cruelties
which the rebels had committed in the village of Malunguey, they had
demolished the church and convent in order to use the planks in these
for making their fortifications; and in a thicket had been found an
image of the mother of God, [that had been taken] from that church,
showing marks of ill-treatment, and with its hands cut off. Francisco
de Esteybar went to Malunguey with most of his army, and they carried
the sacred image in a triumphal procession to Binalatongan, where
it was reverently deposited. It is said that the rebels used the
hands of the sacred image as spoons for eating their cooked rice
[morisqueta]--an act of insolence which was made known as being
insurrection and rebellion against both Majesties. It is also related
that they trampled on the rosaries and committed other impious acts,
tokens of their apostasy. The fathers of St. Dominic labored much in
reducing and pacifying the insurgents, displaying the ardor and energy
in insurrection which they are accustomed to exert in their missions
and ministries; but as the hearts of the Pangasinans were so cold,
and their wills were so obstinate in their treacherous rebellion, they
would not be affected even by blows from the hammer of the strongest
Cyclop. But many withdrew from the ranks of the insurgents through the
counsel and persuasion of father Fray Juan Camacho--Don Carlos Malóng,
the brother of the usurping king Don Andrés, and many others--who,
being tractable, in time embraced his wholesome counsels.
Thus was finally extinguished this fire which rebellion kindled in the
province of Pangasinán, which threatened great destruction--although it
wrought no slight havoc in the burning of the two villages Bagnotan and
Binalatongan, which were the most important in that province; and up
to the present time they have not been able to recover the wealth and
population that they formerly had. That the outbreak of these rebels
was no more extensive is due to the fact that the governor undertook so
promptly to apply the remedy, sending out by land and sea officers so
valiant, and so experienced in conquest--as [for instance], Francisco
de Esteybar, who was one of the most fortunate soldiers who have been
known in these regions. In a printed history [85] I have seen mention
of this rebellion in Pangasinán with much solicitude to exonerate the
insurgents, and omitting many circumstances which aggravate it. But I
am not influenced by prejudice, for I do not feel it; but I am guided
by the relations of it made by disinterested persons of that period,
and of soldiers who took part in the said reduction. Some of these
are still alive, among them Captain Alonso Martín Franco, who was
present in all the revolutions, those of Pampanga, Pangasinán, and
Ilocos, and gives an account of all the events above mentioned and
of those which are related in the following chapters. In the latter
are recounted the ravages wrought by Don Pedro Gumapos, by order of
his king Don Andrés Malóng, in the province of Ilocos, aided by the
Zambals, a cruel and barbarous people, who inflicted so much harm on
that province that it is deplored even to this day.
Raid of the Pangasinans and Zambals into the province of Ilocos;
1660-61
[This is related by Diaz, continuing the above account, in his
Conquistas, pp. 590-616 (book iii, chapters xxi-xxiv).]
That I may give a more satisfactory relation of the melancholy tragedy
in the province of Ilocos, I have thought it best to defer for later
mention the march of the fantastic "Conde" Don Pedro Gumapos to
that province, where we shall find him in due time, and to follow
the relation of all those occurrences which was sent to our father
provincial, Fray Diego de Ordas, by his vicar in that province,
father Fray Bernardino Márquez--adopting the simplicity of his mode
of writing, that I may without exaggeration accurately describe the
events of all that occurred there; for a uniform style cannot always
be employed, especially when the accounts of others are followed.
On the sixteenth day of December in the year 1660, the father preacher
Fray Luís de la Fuente, prior of that district, having left the
village of Bauang--to which he had gone to make his confession--to go
to his village of Agoo, learned on the route of the insurrection in
the province of Pangasinán, and the raid of the Zambals into that of
Ilocos. He returned to Bauang with that information, and communicated
it fully to the father preacher Fray Bernardino Márquez, [86] prior
of that convent and vicar-provincial of Ilocos; and at the same time
asked permission to go up to Lamianán, which is the most northern
district in that province. Father Fray Bernardino attempted to turn
father Fray Luís from this purpose, telling him that it was not right
to abandon one's flock in time of tribulation--for which reason he was
of opinion that Fray Luís should return to his ministry at Agoo; and in
order to do so with safety he could go accompanied by an Indian chief
named Don Pedro Hidalgo, who was much beloved by the Zambals. Father
Fray Luís was as willing as prompt to comply with his superior's
wishes; but Don Pedro Hidalgo answered that it was not proper to
expose father Fray Luís's life to so evident a risk; and that it was
better that he himself should first go to ascertain in what condition
affairs were in the village of Agoo. This opinion of Don Pedro was
approved by father Fray Bernardino, who thereupon gave permission
to father Fray Luís to make his journey to Laminián. He set out for
that place on the seventeenth of December, 1660, in company with a
Spanish tax-collector named Juan de Silva, who had come [to Bauang]
to escape the fury of the rebels in the province of Pangasinán.... On
the sixteenth, father Fray Luís had warned Captain Aguerra and the
alcalde-mayor of the province of Ilocos, Don Alonso de Peralta, of
the disturbed condition in which those districts were; and on the same
day a letter went by way of Bauang from Don Andrés Malóng, who styled
himself king of Pangasinán. The letter was written to all the Indian
chiefs of the provinces of Ilocos and Cagayán, and he advised them
therein to take up arms and slay all the Spaniards, as he had done in
his kingdom of Pangasinán; and declared that if they did not do so,
he would go thither with his soldiers and punish them as disobedient.
On the day of the Expectation of our Lady, which they reckon the
eighteenth of December, father Fray Bernardino Márquez, while in his
church at Bauang ... [was warned of the approach of the Zambals]. He
found at the door of the church two Indian chiefs of that village,
one of whom was named Don Juan Canangán; they told him not to be
afraid, as they were there determined to defend the father from the
fury of the Zambals, who were already near, even if it cost them their
lives.... While he was saying mass, the Zambals arrived; their leader
or captain was he who had been titled "Conde," a native of the village
of Agoo and married in Binalatongan, named Don Pedro Gumapos, who
had been an associate of Don Andrés Malóng in that insurrection. The
Zambals waited very quietly for the father to finish saying mass;
and when he had returned thanks and begun to say the prayers, a
message came to him from Don Pedro Gumapos asking permission to
kiss his hand. Father Fray Bernardino gave it, and Gumapos came
up accompanied by Zambals and Negritos, armed with balazaos [87]
and catanas. He kissed father Fray Bernardino's hand, and told him
absurd things about his rebellion against the Spaniards, and at the
same time he asked permission for his soldiers to search the convent,
to see if any Spaniard were concealed there. Father Fray Bernardino,
certain that no one was there, told him that he might do as he pleased;
Gumapos ordered his companions to make the search, and if they met any
Spaniard to kill him. The Zambals carried out this order of Gumapos,
and in the course of the search looted whatever there was in the
convent. While this was being done, Gumapos remained talking with
father Fray Bernardino Márquez; and, when he asked where was father
Fray Luís de la Fuente, father Fray Bernardino answered that he had
gone up to Bagnotan to make his confession. Gumapos replied to this
that he had come to kill Fray Luís, unless father Fray Bernardino
would ransom him for 300 pesos. To this audacious proposition the
father answered that he had not so much money, and that Gumapos should
therefore take his life, or carry him away as a slave, and let father
Fray Luís go. Gumapos replied to this that no injury of any kind would
be done to the father, for he himself would rather suffer such harm in
his own person; but this was no virtue of Gumapos, but [the result of]
an order given to him by his little king Don Andrés Maléng, who was
very fond of father Fray Bernardino Márquez.
[Gumapos orders the headman of Bauang to go after Fray Luís with
a troop of Indians, Zambals, and Negritos; they kill the Spaniard
who accompanies him, and carry the father back to Bauang. Gumapos,
after vainly trying to exact a ransom from the friar, orders the
Indian to kill him; but they take pity on him, and collect among
themselves the sum of eight and a half taes of gold, "the greater
part of this being given by Doña María Uañga, chieftainess of the
visita of Balanac." Finally Gumapos imprisons both the religious in
a cell, where they remain under guard until the rebels go away.] All
the time while the Zambals remained in Bauang, they were engaged in
plundering and robbing the poor Indians, and did all the damage that
they could. The religious emerged from their prison, half-dead from
weakness, for they had remained almost three days without eating or
drinking; but the Zambals had left nothing in the convent, and the
religious therefore had to send to the Indians to beg food. That day
father Fray Bernardino wrote a letter to father Fray Juan de [88] Isla,
the commissary of the Inquisition in that province and his visitor,
entreating him to notify the bishop--who then was bishop of Nueva
Segovia, the illustrious Don Fray Rodrigo de Cárdenas, belonging to
the Order of St. Dominic, and a native of Lima; a man who excelled
in virtue as well as in learning--and that both of them should ask
the alcalde-mayor, Don Alonso de Peralta, for the aid which those
districts of Bauang and Agoo so greatly needed.
On the following day, the twentieth of December, nearly all the
people in the village of Bauang confessed and received communion,
most of those who had taken part in the murder of the Spaniard Juan
de Silva doing penance--especially the headman, who, as he had a
very quiet and peaceable disposition, had been constrained by fear of
Gumapos to assist in such a crime. The fathers were greatly edified
by the Christian spirit of the Indians, which is so great in this
province of Ilocos. Father Fray Luís pursued his journey to Lamianán,
accompanied by a native named Don Dionisio Maricdín--a friendly act
which no other Indian is known to have performed on that occasion,
as being disobedient to the orders of "Conde" Don Pedro Gumapos,
of whom all had conceived so great fear. For this service he was
afterward rewarded by General Sebastián Rayo Doria, who made the said
Don Dionisio Maricdín sargento-mayor of the villages of Aringuey,
Bauang, and Agoo, on July 5, 1661. Father Fray Luís reached the bar of
Purao, and found there Alférez Lorenzo Arqueros, alguazil-mayor and
deputy of the alcalde-mayor of the province of Ilocos; he had come
with a troop of Indians from that province to set free the fathers,
Fray Bernardino and Fray Luís, from the power of the Zambals. They
all came to Bagnotán, from which place they notified father Fray
Bernardino, who was in Bauang.
In consequence of the repeated advices of Zambal raids into Ilocos,
the alcalde-mayor, Don Alonso de Peralta, called a council of war at
Vigan, to provide suitable measures for averting the many dangers
which were threatening the province. At this council were present
the bishop of Nueva Segovia, Don Fray Rodrigo de Cárdenas, the father
visitor Fray Juan de Isla, and all the Spaniards; and it was decided
that the alcalde-mayor should go in person to the succor of those
districts infested by Zambals, accompanied by father Fray Gonzalo
de la Palma and father Fray José Polanco. [89] The lord bishop
was to remain in Vigan, in company with father Fray Juan de Isla,
with the charge of sending a troop of Ilocan and Cagayan Indians who
were being levied, and of taking such other measures as might prove
desirable. In order to render aid and confront the Zambals as quickly
as possible, the alcalde-mayor sent ahead Alférez Lorenzo Arqueros,
with such men as could be collected in so short a time; and soon Don
Alonso de Peralta followed him, [with troops] lightly equipped [a la
ligera], accompanied by the two fathers, Fray Gonzalo and Fray José,
as far as Namacpacán, the first village of the province of Ilocos.
I have already related how father Fray Bernardino Márquez had remained
at Bauang, where he received notice of the arrival of Lorenzo Arqueros
at Bagnotán for the succor of those districts; and at the same time he
had very accurate information that the Zambals were planning to make a
second raid on the province of Ilocos. He immediately warned Lorenzo
Arqueros of this, who was still at Bagnotán--asking that officer to
go down to Bauang, if he thought it best, that he might from a nearer
station check the designs of the Zambals. Father Fray Bernardino
continued to receive reliable advices of the coming of the Zambals,
and on that account decided one night to leave Bauang in a boat,
with six Indians as a guard, to go in search of Lorenzo Arqueros. At
the cost of much hardship the father found him near the visita of
Dalangdang, on his march toward Bauang; the father joined the troop
of Lorenzo Arqueros, and they continued the march to Bauang. They
arrived there at daybreak, but found the village without inhabitants,
because for fear of the Zambals they had fled to the woods.
Lorenzo Arqueros ordered his men to beat the drums, and soon the
village was full of people. Father Fray Bernardino talked to the
Indians, and sent notice of this aid [just received] to the village
of Agoo. Those people replied by informing him that the Zambals were
ready to make a second raid; and that in any case the Spaniards ought
to see that Don Miguel Carreño was hanged. He was a native of the
visita of Aringuey, and the father of Don Pedro Gumapos, the head
of the conspirators, to whom he communicated all the operations of
the loyal Indians. In consequence of this advice, Lorenzo Arqueros
ordered Master-of-camp Don Lorenzo Peding, a valiant Ilocan, to go
with a hundred men to arrest Don Miguel Carreño. [Carreño is seized
and hanged; the Zambals of his command, dispirited by losing him,
are defeated and take to flight.]
Lorenzo Arqueros reported all this to his captain the alcalde-mayor,
Don Alonso de Peralta, who was still at Namacpacán--asking at the same
time that he would come to his aid, since he knew with certainty that
the Zambals, with much larger numbers, were coming in search of him. At
this, Don Alonso de Peralta resolved to go in person to the succor of
his lieutenant; but this resolution was opposed by the fathers, not
only because it was not right for him to go on so important a relief
expedition with only six or seven Spanish mestizos, who accompanied
him, but also because he ought not to leave his jurisdiction, which
extended only as far as Namacpacán. They told him that it would be
better to wait for the soldiers whom the bishop was to send from Vigan,
so that he could with this reënforcement go to look for the enemy;
but the alcalde-mayor, urged on by the letters of Lorenzo Arqueros,
and, besides, encouraged by the latter's previous success, pursued
his resolution, and marched for Bauang, accompanied by father Fray
José Blanco [90] and father Fray Gonzalo de la Palma. As soon as he
encountered Lorenzo Arqueros, he ordered the latter to set out for the
village of Agoo, to succor Master-of-camp Don Lorenzo Peding. [Arrived
at Agoo, Arqueros finds the Zambals in sufficient force to render
more aid necessary; and his urgent request brings Peralta to
Agoo. The latter brings with him two jars [tibores] of gunpowder,
which had been kept in the convent at Bauang. Arqueros advises
Peralta to retreat, since their auxiliaries are all undisciplined,
and the Ilocans somewhat timid, while the enemy are superior in
numbers--having more than five thousand men, while the Ilocans did
not exceed one thousand five hundred. Peralta refuses to do this,
especially as the Ilocans have firearms, "which the Zambal so greatly
dreads." The Ilocans go, without orders, across the river, to form
an ambush against the foe; Arqueros goes to their aid, followed by
Peralta. "The fathers disguised themselves, fearing that the Zambals,
if they should be victorious, would, angered by having seen fathers
in battle, slay the Dominican fathers of the province of Pangasinán,
who were in their power." At daybreak the enemy come to the attack;
the Ilocans are soon overcome by fear, and take flight, neither the
officers nor the friars being able to restrain them. Don Lorenzo Peding
dies bravely fighting, after having slain many of his assailants;
and all the guns and other weapons, and the gunpowder, of the Ilocans
are captured by the Zambals. Peding's death utterly destroys the
little remnant of courage in his followers, and they flee pell-mell,
trampling on and drowning each other in the ford of the river. "The
most pitiable thing was to see the children and old men in flight,
and especially the women--some of whom gave birth to children, and
others suffered abortion through fear, the infants being abandoned in
the camp. The children were drowned, and the old people were overcome
by exhaustion; all were in most pitiable condition. Those who felt it
most keenly were the fathers, who aided some but could not help all,
since all the people had fled." The Spanish leaders attempt to rally
the Indians at Agoo, and afterward at Bauang, but all in vain; they
are compelled to return to Namacpacán, where they arrive on January 4,
1661. Finding that they can obtain neither men nor arms, they continue
their retreat to Vigan. On the route, they stop at Narbacán, and
order "the Indians of that village, with those of Santa Catalina,
a visita of Bantay, to erect a stockade and rampart in Agayayos
[91] to prevent the Zambals from passing through there for Vigán and
Cagayán. He garrisoned this post with a body of Indians, in command of
one of them, named Don Pedro de la Peña, a native of Santa Catalina,
and continued his journey to Vigán."]
The father visitor, Fray Juan de la Isla, had considered it expedient
to command the father ministers to retreat to Vigán; they obeyed,
although against the dictates of their paternal charity, which was
unwilling to abandon their spiritual sons. Some fathers thought that
they ought not to obey this mandate; and one of them made his way
through the middle of the enemies, to go to his ministry of Taguding,
and others to the hills, to which the Ilocans had retreated, for fear
of the Zambals.
[Arriving at Vigan, the Spaniards hold a conference regarding the
threatening dangers.] The alcalde-mayor, Bishop Don Fray Rodrigo
Cárdenas, and father Fray Juan de Isla were of opinion that the most
prudent measure was to place in a ship all the father ministers and
all the Spaniards who were there, and send them to Manila, so that
they might not experience the worst severity of ill-fortune. For,
although it could not be doubted that aid would come from Manila, it
was very uncertain whether information of the disordered condition of
those provinces had reached the supreme government, while it was most
evident that the Zambal army would soon come [to Vigan], aided, as was
already conjectured, by their communication with some Indian chiefs of
that province. Many forcible arguments were brought forward against
this opinion by the father ministers, especially Fray Bernardino
Márquez, Fray José Arias, and Fray Gonzalo de la Palma, who were
followed by all the other ministers. They concluded by saying that if
the ministers were to retreat, it would be utter ruin to the province,
in regard, not only to God but to the king; for the Indians who yet
maintained their faith and loyalty would abandon all if they had not
the fathers--either through fear, or carried away by their heathen
customs. In that council it was also resolved to build a fort at Vigan,
so that they could resist the Zambals until aid from Manila should
arrive. This work was begun, but not carried out; for the Indians
who worked at it were continually disappearing. The alcalde-mayor,
therefore, Don Alonso de Peralta, finally decided to give orders that
all the Spaniards who were in the province--except Lorenzo Arqueros,
who refused to embark--and all the father ministers, both secular and
religious, who wished to go to Manila, should go aboard the champans
which he had at the bar there. He himself embarked in a champan with
the father visitor Fray Juan de Isla and father Fray Luís de la Fuente,
the bishop promising to follow them. The retreat of Don Alonso Peralta
caused great injuries to that poor province, although the rest of
the religious remained in Vigán, in company with the bishop and in
his house; he had at his side only two secular priests--one named Don
Gerónimo de Leyva, the judge-provisor and commissary of the Inquisition
for that bishopric; and the other, father Don Miguel de Quiros.
I have already told how the governor, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara,
hearing at Manila of the uprising and disturbances in the province
of Pangasinán, commanded that an army and some vessels be assembled
as promptly as possible, so that our arms might by land and sea
punish the conspirators; and how he appointed as commander of the
land forces Francisco de Esteybar--a valiant and fortunate soldier,
a native of the town of Mondragon, in the province of Guipúzcoa--and
of the armed fleet Felipe de Ugalde, also a brave soldier, and a
native of the same province of Guipúzcoa. Don Sabiniano gave them
orders that, in the emergencies that might arise in the campaign,
each might act for himself, without waiting for the opinion of the
other commander--for this reason, that often excellent opportunities
in war are liable to miscarry. The instructions of Don Sabiniano
were so judicious and clear that to this, more than any other cause,
is due the speedy pacification of those provinces. At this time
the Zambals--who, eager to plunder the rich province of Ilocos,
and encouraged by the victory over its alcalde-mayor, had continued
the pursuit of the conquered--arrived at Narvacan, where they waited
some time through fear of the resistance which they would meet in
the pass of Agayayos; but they were soon relieved from this fear by
the very man, Don Pedro de la Peña, who had remained for the guard
and defense of that pass. He tore down the stockade, and very gladly
went to offer them a free passage; accordingly, they went on without
further hindrance. This treason of Don Pedro de la Peña was the whole
cause of the Zambals being able to raid the villages of Ilocos, from
Vigan on; for this post of the Agayayos is so difficult of passage that
it only affords easy entrance to one man, and a horse can go through
with difficulty, between two great cliffs, which are inaccessible by
the summits. And since the Zambals must pass through it one by one,
it would have been impossible for them to succeed in penetrating it,
with even a very few men to defend the entrance. But this traitor to
his country was like Conde Don Julián in España, who gave free passage
to the enemies. Don Pedro paid for it with his life, on the gallows;
but that province even now bewails the harm [that he caused it].
On that same day letters arrived at Vigán from General Felipe
de Ugalde, written to the alcaldes-mayor of Ilocos and Cagayán,
informing them of his arrival by sea for the succor of the province
of Pangasinán, and of the arrival of General Francisco de Esteybar
by land. On account of the absence of the alcalde-mayor, Don Alonso,
the letter which came for him was opened by the bishop, and his
illustrious Lordship and his companions were delighted at the good
news, and full of hopes that they would soon enjoy peace; but their
joy was quenched by the information which soon followed that the
Zambals had already arrived at Santa Catalina, a visita of Vigán.
On the following day, the twentieth of January, the Zambals arrived
at Vigán. [The bishop waits for them to come, prepared to say mass for
their benefit, since they have sent him word that they wish to hear it,
"a singular mode of hostility, and a still more rare mode of devotion,
which looks more like craft than simplicity, although all traits at
once are possible in these people." A number of the Zambals, including
their leaders, hear mass with much reverence, and even confess to the
priests, saying that many of their men have come on this raid through
fear, rather than their own inclination. Most of the troop, however,
proceed to loot the village; the people take refuge in the bishop's
house and the church, thus saving their lives, although they endure
great suffering and privation by being shut up indoors for two days,
with little food or drink. Finally the fathers persuade the Zambals
to let the people return to their houses.] On that day the enemy
appointed Don Juan Celiboto headman of the village, and from that time
the Zambals made great haste to seize as many Indians as they could,
both men and women, to be their slaves. Only the sacristans had been
left on guard in the church; the Zambals slew them together in the
baptistery, and plundered it of all the ornaments and cloth that
they found; and there they also killed a negro who tried to avail
himself of the church to escape from their hands. Many Ilocans died in
various places on that day--so many that when the number was reckoned
it was found that the village of Bantay alone had eighty [92] dead,
whose bodies they hid among the hills, so that they might not be
seen by the fathers. In those villages all was confusion, outcries,
the ringing of bells, the discharge of arquebuses, and shouts; and
among the ecclesiastics all was affliction and grief at seeing so
many calamities, without being able to remedy them.
Some Indian chiefs, for greater security, had brought to the bishop's
house the gold, silver, and other valuables which they possessed;
and the amount thus brought together was so great that there was not
space for them in the rooms above, and much property was even placed
below the house. The Zambals cast their eyes on this wealth with
eager desire, and their sentinels therefore watched very closely
the house of his illustrious Lordship; this was a source of great
anxiety to him and to the fathers, lest the poor owners should lose
their property. The commander Don Jacinto [Macasiag] had promised
to confer with the bishop about providing safety for these things,
but did not keep his promise; his illustrious Lordship therefore
commanded father Fray Gonzalo to go to talk with Don Jacinto in his
quarters. The father did not shun making these journeys, because
he lost no time on the road, hearing some confess, and baptizing
others, even of the Zambals themselves. At the same time he gained the
opportunity of seeing one of the champans of General Felipe de Ugalde
arrive at the bar; it had been sent to reconnoitre those coasts,
under the appearance of selling merchandise. Under the pretext of
looking at the goods, father Fray Gonzalo went aboard this vessel,
and informed the captain of the wretched condition in which they all
were. Nothing was gained, however, by this effort, as the champan,
on its return, was maliciously steered away from the place where the
commander was who had sent it; but the ecclesiastics were left with
the consolation that aid would soon come.
The Zambals came, plundering and killing, as far as the slope of Baduc,
but they could not pass from that place to the province of Cagayán,
on account of the resistance made by Alférez Lorenzo Arqueros with
a troop of Ilocans and Cagayans. The bishop and the fathers were
well aware of the greedy anxiety of the Zambals to plunder the
valuables that were in the house of his illustrious Lordship--who,
hearing reports of the abominations, thefts, and murders which they
had committed in the churches, summoned them before him, and, when
most of them were assembled, publicly cursed and excommunicated all
those who should hereafter kill, or meddle with things belonging
to the churches or to his house. Immediately after this, a sermon
was preached to them by the father vicar-provincial, Fray Bernardino
Márquez, rebuking them for the evil that they did instead of keeping
the law of the Christians--for such were the greater part of the
Zambal army. They listened very attentively to the sermon, much to
the satisfaction of the bishop; and, as he always did when affairs of
importance came before his illustrious Lordship, he availed himself
of the Augustinian religious (especially of father Fray Gonzalo de
la Palma), on account of the secular clergy being unacceptable to
the Zambals. Nor is it to be doubted that not only the clerics but
his illustrious Lordship would have perished, if it had not been for
our religious, as is fully proved by letters written to the supreme
government by the illustrious Don Fray Rodrigo de Cárdenas.
As soon as the coming of the Zambals was known, much silver belonging
to the churches, and much silver and gold of private persons, were
buried in different places; but on Wednesday afternoon the Zambals
began to open [these] tombs, until no silver or gold was left. Our Lord
granted that some of the church silver should afterward be restored;
but all the gold and silver of private persons was lost. Father Fray
Gonzalo asked permission of the Zambal leader, Don Jacinto, to dig
up the silver belonging to the church of Taguding; Don Jacinto gave
this, and promised that he would, for the father's greater safety,
assist him in person. He did so, as he had promised; but while they
were engaged in digging up the silver the Zambals rushed to the house
of the bishop, and pillaged whatever hampers and chests they found
under the house--with so much violence and clamor that the religious,
affrighted, took refuge in the apartments of his illustrious Lordship.
[The eagerness of the Zambals for plunder soon induces them to send
the bishop and the priests to Santa Catalina, so that they may loot
the bishop's house and whatever of value remains in it. On the way
they see many corpses of Indians slain by the foe; the village of
Bantay is burned, only the church and convent, and a tiled house,
are left standing. Arrived at Santa Catalina, the Zambals who escort
the priests proceed to plunder and burn that village; and the fathers
are unable to procure any food until the next day, save a little rice,
and are compelled to flee for their lives from the flames--finally
spending the second day with no shelter save a tree, and no food save
what is given them by the Zambals from whom they beg it as alms.]
In the afternoon came Don Marcos Macasián to notify the fathers of the
order given by his chief, Don Jacinto, that the bishop and the rest
who were with him should go on with the rebel army, which included
three hundred Ilocan Indians--some forced to join them, and others
who were traitors; counting these with the Pangasinans and Zambals,
the whole number was about three thousand. He brought some talabones
[93] in which the bishop and the fathers were accommodated--although
but poorly, on account of the few men available to carry them, and
the ill-will of the bearers. On this account, and so that they might
aid the bishop, who was in poor health, the religious and the priests
were reduced to traveling on foot over most of the route from Santa
Catalina to Narbacán--where it is necessary to go through the Agayayos,
which are certain cliffs very difficult of passage.... In the middle
of the [second] day they reached Agayayos, and at nine in the night
they entered Narbacán. At the entrance to this village the Zambals
had a skirmish with the Indians of that district, who, allied with
the Tinguianes, did all the harm that they could to the Zambals. So
daring were they that they seized and carried away one of the men
who were escorting the fathers, and, without his companions being
able to prevent it, the assailants cut off his head, and ran into
the woods. In this manner more than four hundred Zambals had already
died. Moreover, they had thickly planted the road from Narbacán with
sharp stakes, in order that the Zambals might not use it; and for
this reason the fathers suffered greatly, because they traveled on
foot. As soon as they arrived at Narbacán, they notified the native
governor [gobernadorcillo], (who was the father of the traitor Don
Juan de Pacadua), who gave the fathers sufficient cause to fear; for
between him and his blacks he held the fathers fast, unwilling to let
them go, by saying that he preferred that they should be entertained
in his own house, which was quite spacious, and not in the convent,
which was ill supplied. The fathers would not go anywhere except to
the convent, and thus the contest lasted until the arrival of the
bishop; he also insisted on going to the convent, with which they
gained their point; and the captain of the village went with them,
to escort them and light the way. They arrived at the convent, where
they found not even water to drink; then the father went out to get
some, and to find also a little rice [morisqueta] for the bishop,
of which he was in great need.
On the following day, January 31, the entire Zambal army encamped in
Narbacán; it had been awaited by the leader, Don Jacinto Macasiag,
who had been detained in Vigan by his plan of attacking a champan
sent by Don Felipe de Ugalde with more than twenty soldiers. Don
Jacinto returned to Narbacán, without having been able to carry out
the intention which had delayed him; and found at Narbacán a letter
from his kinglet, Don Andrés Malóng. The latter informed him of
the arrival of the Spanish forces in his kingdom, for which reason
Don Jacinto must make haste to go there with troops under him, so
that they and his own men might together put an end to the "Spanish
rabble;" and he must carry thither with him the Indian chiefs of the
villages that they had conquered, so that these might be witnesses
of the rebels' valor against the Spaniards. Many were the letters
and papers written by that infernal monster to all the Indian chiefs
in all the provinces; and in the last ones written to Don Jacinto
Macasiag, which the bearers concealed without giving them to him, he
ordered Don Jacinto to burn all the villages with their churches and
convents, and to retreat to the woods with the Zambals, since he had
already conquered the Spaniards. But the result was quite different;
for when he wrote it Don Jacinto had already fled and taken refuge
in the hills, and the Spaniards were pursuing him.
When the Zambals saw the letter from Malóng, they began to clamor
against the natives of Narbacán, on account of the injuries which they
had received from the latter; and they swore that for this cause they
would kill them and burn their village. But they did not fulfil the
latter threat, nor dare to carry out the first, not only because the
Indians had concealed themselves in the woods, but on account of the
fear that the Zambals had conceived of them--especially of the Indian
who led them in battle, named Don Felipe Madamba, a native of the
village of Bringas; he was so loyal to his Majesty, and so valiant,
that he dashed alone, on horseback, among the Zambals and Calanasas,
cutting off their heads, without any one being able to resist him. He
was able to escape from these affrays, but his horse and he were
covered with the arrows which they shot at him, although not one of
these caused him any injury worth mention.
On the same day (that of St. Ignatius the martyr), the army of the
Zambals set out to go to Pangasinán, leaving part of the village of
Narbacán in flames; the fathers, having compassion for those people,
entreated the leader, Don Jacinto, to order his men to put out the
fire. He did so, by a public order; and immediately they extinguished
the flames. Litters and carriers were already provided for the bishop
and the fathers, that they might follow the army; but they all, with
one voice and opinion, told the guards that they would not depart
from Narbacán, even though it should cost them their lives. When the
guards perceived their firm resolution, they notified their chief, Don
Jacinto Macasiag, who was willing that the fathers should remain; but
when this decision was learned by Gumapos, who had marched ahead, he
commanded his arquebusiers to go there and slay the bishop and all the
ecclesiastics. They would have carried out this order, if Don Marcos
Macasián had not dissuaded Gumapos from it--the latter saying that
the fathers did not serve in the army, and that they were more of a
hindrance than anything else, and it was therefore better to kill them.
[On the third day after the departure of the enemy, the people of
Narbacán return to their homes. The bishop is accidentally hurt,
and Fray Bernardino becomes ill--both cases being aggravated
by the sufferings which they endured while in the hands of the
Zambals.] Generals Francisco de Esteybar and Felipe de Ugalde were
in Pangasinán, uncertain in what part of the country the enemy might
still be, in order to send thither their forces; for, although General
Ugalde had sent two champans to reconnoiter the coasts of the provinces
of Ilocos and Cagayán, they had not returned with their report. By
land, he had no letter from either the alcaldes or the religious
of those provinces. With this, and the assurances of the fathers of
St. Dominic in the province of Pangasinán that those of Ilocos and
Cagayán were free from enemies, the commanders were perplexed, and
almost determined to withdraw their forces from those provinces. Our
Lord permitted that, the champan in which Alcalde-mayor Don Alonso de
Peralta and the father visitor Fray Juan de Isla were sailing having
landed at Bolinao, they should learn there how the Spanish armada was
in Pangasinán; accordingly, they directed their course thither, and,
having arrived, found the commanders and related to them the wretched
condition in which that province of Ilocos was left. In consequence of
this information, Francisco de Esteybar at once gave orders that the
army should set out for that province. Before Francisco de Esteybar
departed from Binalatongan, he left the place fortified, with a
stronghold in the court of the church; it had four sentry-posts,
four pieces of bronze artillery carrying four-libra balls, and four
officers--Captains Don Alonso Quirante, Juan Diaz Ibáñez, Don Juan de
Guzmán, and Nicolás Serrano. As chief commander he left Sargento-mayor
Domingo Martín Barrena, with some infantry--Spaniards, Merdicas, and
creole negroes [criollos morenos]. The alcalde-mayor returned in his
champan to Vigán, and fathers Fray Juan de Isla and Fray Luis de la
Fuente marched with the Spanish army, which on its way reached the
village of Santa Cruz. The Zambals left Narbacán, and, reaching the
village of Santa María, sacked and burned it, as well as the convent;
they did the same at San Esteban and the village of Santiago--to
whose patron [i.e., St. James] was attributed their failure to burn
the church, although they set fire to it. They burned and plundered
the villages of San Pedro and Candón, going from the latter to that of
Santa Cruz. There they learned that the Spaniards were at Santa Lucía;
then they collected many of the valuables and cloths which they had
plundered and set fire to them, and they set out in search of the
Spaniards, who also were coming with the same object. The latter,
ignorant of the enemy's proximity, learned of it by an accident; this
was, that father Fray Juan de la Isla, having pushed ahead of the
Spanish army, encountered a party of Zambals, from whom he escaped
by a miracle. Father Fray Juan warned the Spaniards of the Zambals'
approach, and they forthwith set out to fight the enemy. The armies
came into sight of each other between the villages of Santa Cruz and
Santa Lucía, and General Francisco de Esteybar at once commanded that
the signal for attack be given. The Zambals twice engaged our men,
with fierceness and loud shouts; but they were finally conquered
by the Spaniards--more than four hundred Zambals being killed,
and the greater part of their force taken prisoners. One of these
was Don Pedro Gumapos, holding in his hand the staff of the bishop,
thus being fulfilled what the holy prelate had prophesied to him.
The victory completed, Francisco de Esteybar withdrew with his army to
Namacpacán, where he had left Captain Simón de Fuentes with a division
of the army; they took with them Gumapos and many other prisoners,
and afterward sent them to Vigán. There, in company with others, they
hanged the rebel leader, and after his death cut off that sacrilegious
hand, which was fastened near the house of the bishop. The loss of the
Spaniards was very small, but a circumstance worthy of admiration was
noted; it was that, not only in this battle but in other encounters
which had occurred, all those of the Zambal army who were slain lay
face downward, and all the dead of the Spanish army had their faces
turned upward--as if by this God had chosen to show that the Zambals
died under the curse and excommunication of the bishop. On account of
this so fortunate success, Generals Francisco de Esteybar and Felipe
de Ugalde talked of returning to Manila, believing that now everything
was quiet; but information came to them of the new uprising by the
Indians of Bacarra, and Francisco de Esteybar at once ordered the army
to march to that village. The manner in which those Indians revolted
is as follows: I have already pointed out the multitude of letters
and documents which the usurping king Malóng wrote [to the leading
men] everywhere--more especially to Don Juan Magsanop and Don Pedro
Almazán. The latter was a very rich chief, a native of the village
of San Nicolás (then a visita of Ilauag), and so bitterly hostile to
the Spaniards that he kept in his house as many pairs of fetters as
there were fathers and Spaniards in the entire province, in order to
fasten these on them when he should have opportunity. This Don Pedro
Almazán formed an alliance with Don Juan Magsanop, a native of Bangi,
a visita of the village of Bacarra; and with Don Gaspar Cristóbal,
headman of Ilauag, and a native of that village. The former, in order
to make sure of Don Gaspar Cristóbal, asked him for his daughter, to
marry her to his own oldest son; and these three Indians, as being so
influential, continually stirred up others to join their conspiracy,
and called in the Calanasa tribe to aid them.
The Calanasas were heathen barbarians who lived in the clefts of
the mountains and other rocky places, and their only occupation was
the killing of men and animals. Feeling safe with such aid as this,
the leaders of the conspiracy undertook to make Don Pedro Almazán
king of the province of Ilocos, and they swore allegiance to his son
as prince; the latter celebrated his wedding with the daughter of
Don Gaspar Cristóbal, as they had agreed. In order that the [former]
function might be celebrated with all solemnity and not lack what was
requisite, they plundered the church in the village of Ilauag, and
with the crown which they took from the head of the Queen of Angels
(who is venerated in that church) they crowned Don Pedro Almazán
as king and the married pair as princes. All these proceedings were
carried on so secretly that they could never be traced; and in this
condition of their plot the letter of Don Andrés Malóng found them,
in which he notified them that he had conquered the Spaniards. As
now they were free, in their own opinion, from that danger, and safe
from the Zambals, who were on their march from Pangasinán, it seemed
to them now time to bring to light their depraved intentions. Before
doing so, Don Juan Magsanop wrote from Bacarra a letter to Don Gaspar
Cristóbal, in which he asked what opinion the latter had reached, and
that he be informed of it. The reply which Don Gaspar Cristóbal gave
was to take a fagot of reeds in his hand, and himself set fire to the
church in Ilauag; and he ordered the bearer of the letter to carry
back that reply. When this was known to Magsanop, he made himself
known, with banners displayed, at Bacarra at the end of January,
1661, and sent word to the Calanasas to come down with all speed
to his aid. In the rebel league were joined the villages of Pata
and Cabicungán, administered by the fathers of St. Dominic, their
minister at that time being father Fray José Santa María; hearing
the tumult and the shouts of the rebels, he went out of the convent,
against the advice of a Spaniard (whose name is not known) who had
taken refuge in it. Father Fray José persisted in his resolution,
but as soon as the rebels saw him many attacked him; and, piercing
him with many javelins they cut off his head, and with great delight
went to sack the convent. They made the attack by way of the church,
the doors of which were locked; but the brave Spaniard, now bereft
of the father, when he heard their clamor from within fastened all
the windows and doors that he could reach, and loaded two guns that
he had inside. The servants of the father who had remained there
kept loading the guns for him, and, aiming through some loopholes or
apertures, they allowed the multitude to come close to the building,
and then fired, without a shot failing to hit. He accomplished so much
that the rebels, persuaded that some company of soldiers were inside
the church, retreated without executing their purpose of sacking and
burning the church and convent.
On the first of February this melancholy tidings reached the village
of Narbacán, where there were nine religious of the order of our
father St. Augustine, exchanging congratulations and expressions
of joy over the freedom that they were beginning to enjoy with the
departure, that day, of the Zambal army. All their joy was changed into
sadness and perplexity by the news of what had occurred at Ilauag;
but the one who felt this most was father Fray José Arias, at that
time prior of the village of Bacarra. [Feeling that duty calls him
to go back, there, he does so, although against the entreaties of
his brethren. His people welcome his return, but at the news that the
Calanasas are approaching all take to flight, carrying the friar with
them; but later they leave him in the house of a native helper. "The
streets were full of rebels and Calanasas, who with loud shouts
and yells acclaimed Don Pedro Almazán as king, and threatened all
the Spaniards with death." Fray José and the helper plan to escape
by night, but an envoy from the rebels warns the latter to drive
the friar from his house, or they will kill him and his family;
frightened at this, he carries the father to another house. "In a
little while Don Tomás Bisaya, one of the heads of the conspiracy,
sent a mulatto named Juan (who had been a servant of the fathers)
with some men, and an order to Fray José to enter a petaca [94],
so that he could escape to the village of Ilauag." He does this,
and the party set out for that village; but on the way they meet a
party of rebels, who kill the father, cut off his head, and carry
it to Magsanop. Diaz here copies the relation of this affair which
was sent to the Augustinians throughout the province, a letter from
the provincial, Fray Diego de Ordás, citing the account sent to him
by Bishop Cárdenas. "Magsanop and the other tyrants celebrated this
victory, all drinking from the skull of the venerable father, which
served in their barbarous proceedings as a precious vase.... After
several days his head was ransomed, and interred with his body."]
The army of General Francisco de Esteybar marched to Bacarra, but the
first to arrive was Lorenzo Arqueros, with a detachment of more than
a thousand men, Ilocans and Cagayans; the rebels and the Calanasas,
not daring to face these, retreated with all speed to the woods, but
Lorenzo Arqueros did not fail to search for them, in whatever places
they had concealed themselves. He seized Magsanop, who, angered at
seeing himself a prisoner, drew a dagger and killed himself with it,
a worthy punishment for his sacrilegious perfidy. Don Pedro Almazán,
who had taken horse to flee, burst into a fury, and died raging;
[95] and all his children met wretched deaths.
General Francisco de Esteybar arrived with all his army at the village
of Bacarra, but Lorenzo Arqueros had it already reduced to quiet, so
that the general had nothing to do, except to order that a fort be
built in Bacarra and garrisoned with soldiers, so as to secure the
province from other disturbances. General Sebastián Rayo Doria gave
orders for the execution of the commission which he bore, by agreement
of the royal Audiencia, to administer justice to those who were most
guilty; his military judge was Licentiate Don Juan de Rosales, and
the notary was Nicolás de Herrera, who began their official duties,
bringing legal proceedings [against the rebels]. The penalties of
justice were inflicted as follows: In Vigán, Don Pedro Gumapos was
shot through the back, and afterward the hand with which he took
the staff from the bishop was cut off; and Don Cristóbal Ambagán,
Don Pedro Almazán, Don Tomás Boaya, [96] Don Pedro de la Peña, and
others, to the number of sixteen, were hanged. In Binalatongan was
erected a square gallows, as in Vigán, and the following were hanged:
Don Melchor de Vera, Don Francisco de Pacadua, Don Francisco Along,
and Don Jacinto Macasiag; a Sangley mestizo, named Domingo Isón,
although he said that he died innocent; a man of half-Malabar blood,
named Lorenzo; and others, to the number of fourteen. It is quite
remarkable that, when the sacristans were in the [church] tower with
orders from the father ministers to toll the bells as soon as each of
those who were hanged was dead, when it came to the turn of Domingo
Isón they rang a peal instead of tolling, without having had an order
for it; in this it seems as if the divine Majesty chose to demonstrate
his innocence, as it was afterward ascertained. They promptly shot
Don Andrés Malóng, placed in the middle, seated on a stone; and this
was the end of his unhappy reign in Pangasinán. Afterward, in Mexico,
punishment was inflicted on Don Francisco and Don Cristóbal Mañago,
who were shot; and some were hanged--Don Juan Palasigui, Don Marcos
Marcasián, Sargento-mayor Chombillo, Supil and Baluyot of Guagua,
the amanuensis, and many others. José Celis, the lawyer, was carried
to Manila, where he was hanged. After these executions, Licentiate
Manuel Suárez de Olivera, the senior advocate of the royal Audiencia,
printed a treatise against Don Juan de Rosales, in which he condemned
the excessive rigor of these punishments. This was answered by Don
Juan de Rosales with another pamphlet--very learned, which also was
printed--whose theme was Feci judicium et justitiam, non tradas
me calumniantibus me, drawn from Psalm 118, [97] justifying his
proceedings to the satisfaction of those who were free from prejudice.
Thus was quenched that infernal fire which kindled discord in the
hearts of the natives of the provinces of Pampanga and Pangasinán,
and of the Indians of the village of Bacarra in Ilocos--a fire
which threatened to consume the peace and obedience of the other
provinces of these islands, whose people were on the watch for its
outcome, in order to declare themselves [rebels] and prove Fortune,
and to gain what seemed to them liberty. But this would have been,
quite to the contrary, their entire perdition; for, escaping from
their civilized subjection to the Spaniards, they would have fallen
back into the barbarous tyranny of their own people--which, like
chips from the same log, [98] is what most hurts, as experience
shows; and the natives themselves know this. They were continually
experiencing this in the tumult in Pampanga, for the tyrannical acts
and the extortions which they suffered from the principal leaders of
the revolt were more grievous than those which they experienced or
could fear from subjection to the Spaniards. So true is this that
in the village of Guagua it was said by an old chief who survived
that time, named Don Pedro Anas, that so great was the confusion
and lawlessness, and so tyrannical were the leaders of the outbreak,
that if the governor Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara had not come so
promptly with his troops, the Indians themselves would have gone to
Manila to make their submission at his feet; some of them could not
unite with the others, and, although all desired liberty, they did
not work together to secure the means for attaining it, and therefore
they experienced a heavier [yoke of] subjection. And among the peoples
whom God seems to have created that they may live in subjection to
others who govern them with justice and authority are those of these
Filipinas Islands; for when the Spanish arms conquered them with so
great facility they were living without a head, without king or lord
to obey--being only tyrannized over by him who among them displayed
most courage; and this subjection was continually changing, other men,
of greater valor and sagacity, gaining the ascendency.
Nor was the least cause of their reduction the diligent efforts
of the religious who were ministers in these provinces, with their
notable assiduity in preaching to the natives and exhorting them,
with the arguments that we have already stated; and in this task they
suffered the greatest hardships and dangers to life. In the province
of Ilocos, fathers Fray Bernardino Márquez, Fray Gonzalo de la Palma,
Fray Luís de la Fuente, and Fray Juan de Isla. In Pampanga, the
following fathers were very prominent in the reduction: in Bacolor,
Fray Francisco de Medina Basco; in Guagua, Fray Luís de la Vega; in
Lubao, Fray José Botoño; in Mexico, Fray José Cornejo; in Candaba,
Fray Pedro de Eguiluz; in Apalit, Fray José de Tapia; in Macabebe,
Fray Enrique de Castro; but, more than all, Fray José Duque and Fray
Isidro Rodríguez, whose authority among the natives could overcome
the greatest difficulties. Information to this effect was given to the
royal and supreme Council of the Indias by Don Sabiniano Manrique de
Lara himself, in Madrid, after his return from his government in the
year 1667--when father Fray Isidro Rodríguez was at the same court as
procurator for this province, soliciting the numerous mission which
he conducted hither, and in which I came, the least of its members.
[Notable among the losses and injuries caused by the Zambal raid
was the death of the bishop of Nueva Segovia, Don Fray Rodrigo de
Cárdenas, of whom Diaz gives a biographical sketch. He died at Manila,
early in May, 1661.]
In Otón (Panay); 1663
[As related by Diaz in his Conquistas, pp. 640-644.] At the time when
this conflagration [99]--which threatened to destroy what Spanish
constancy had gained in these islands during a hundred and ten
years--had just been extinguished, another and new one began to burn
in the province of Ogtong in Pintados; and, if timely measures had
not been taken to check it, this one would have caused greater ravages
than the previous rebellions in the provinces of Pampanga, Pangasinán,
and Ilocos. This entire province is in charge of our religious. We
have in it eight convents and doctrinas--Antique, Guimbal, Tigbauan,
Ogtong, Jaro, Dumangas, Laglag, and Pasig [100]--which belong to
the jurisdiction of the alcalde-mayor who resides in Iloilo, where
there is a good supply of artillery, with two companies of Spaniards,
and one of Pampangos. This province and that of Panay are united in
one island, yielding a great abundance of rice; it is the Sicilia
of Filipinas for its fertility, and also resembles that island in
its extent, and in having three promontories such as gave it the
name Trinacria. This island is called Panay, so even its name suits
it; for in it there grows so great an abundance of rice, which is
the bread of this country. It contains two provinces, governed by
two alcaldes-mayor--that of Iloilo, already mentioned, and that of
Panay; the latter rules over nine large villages. Of these, six are
in charge of the order of our father St. Augustine--Capiz, Panay,
Batan, Mambusao, Dumalag, and Dumarao; [101] two are administered
by secular priests, Aclán and Ibahay; and the island of Romblón
is a doctrina of the discalced religious [i.e., Recollects] of our
father St. Augustine. [Diaz here refers to the description of Panay
and the Augustinian houses therein which is given by Medina, and to
the foundation of their convent at Laglag. [102]] This ministry and
doctrina comprises five visitas and dependent churches: two on the
river that is called Araut, named Sibucao and Sumandig; and three
in the mountains, Misi, Camantugan, and Malonor. These were a cruel
and rude people, and greatly addicted to superstitions and heathen
rites on account of living so separated from intercourse with the
gospel ministers--who throughout the year share, in their turn,
in the instruction and administration of these visitas. It cost
the first religious many hardships to tame these mountaineers and
instruct them in the holy faith; for what they gained with the utmost
toil in a week was dissipated during the absence of the religious
from their ministry. The village of Malonor always had disguised
babaylanes--which is the same as "priests of the demon," by whose
direction the sacrifices which they made proceeded. They offered up
swine, birds, and various kinds of food produced by the ground; and
held solemn drinking-feasts--the main purpose of the universal enemy
[of souls], since from this vice resulted many acts of lewdness and
[other] abominations, all which tended to the perdition of their souls.
The prior and minister of that district in this year of 1663 was
father Fray Francisco de Mesa--a native of the city of Manila,
[103] and who had professed in our convent of San Pablo; a religious
of great virtue, and most zealous and diligent in fulfilling the
obligations of his office. In the visita of Malonor there was at this
time a malicious Indian, a noted sorcerer and priest of the demon,
who lived in concealment in the dense forest; and there he called
together the Indians, telling them that he was commanded by the
nonos--who are the souls of their first ancestors who came over to
people these Filipinas--in whose name he assured them that the demon
had appeared to them in trees and caves. This minister of Satan was
named Tapar, and went about in the garb of a woman, on account of the
office of babaylán and priest of the demon, with whom they supposed
that he had a pact and frequent communication. Moreover, he wrought
prodigies resembling the miracles, with which he kept that ignorant
people deluded.
With these impostures and frauds Tapar obtained so much influence that
the people followed him, revering him as a prophet, and he taught
them to worship idols and offer sacrifices to Satan. Seeing that he
had many followers, and that his reputation was well established,
he made himself known, declaring that he was the Eternal Father;
and he invented a diabolical farce, naming one of his most intimate
associates for the Son, and another for the Holy Ghost, while to a
shameless prostitute they gave the name of María Santisima ["Mary
most holy"], as the name of Mary had been given her in baptism. [104]
Then he appointed apostles, and to others he gave titles of pope
and bishops; and in frequent assemblies they committed execrable
abominations, performed with frequent drinking-bouts, in which there
were shocking fornications among the men and women, both married and
unmarried. This debauchery ended with the sacrifice to the demon,
who, they said, gave them replies, although confused ones; but all
were for their greater perdition; at other times, they believed,
the demon appeared to them in various forms. All these things were
done in the most retired part of the mountains, which there are very
craggy. For a long time this infernal epidemic remained concealed;
but finally spread as far as the visitas of the villages of Jaro and
Pasig, although those who were infected by it were not so many there as
in the village of Malonor, where the morals of those wretched people;
deluded by the demon, were more corrupt.
Father Fray Francisco de Mesa received word of the unhappy condition
in which were the souls of those parishioners of his; and, knowing
that that cancer, which was spreading so far, needed to be severely
cauterized, he gave information of all this to the purveyor-general of
Pintados, the alcalde-mayor of that province, Admiral Pedro Duran de
Monforte--a valiant soldier, whom we have mentioned in this history at
various times. That officer, with the promptness that was necessary,
sent Captains Gregorio de Peralta, Nicolás Becerra, and Francisco
Duarte, and Adjutants Pedro Farfán and Pedro Brazales, with some
Spaniards, Pampangos, and Merdicas from Siao (which is an island of
Maluco)--a brave people, but cruel, which is a vice of cowards.
While the people were on their way to the village of Malonor, father
Fray Francisco de Mesa decided to risk the attempt to prove whether he
could through his preaching persuade them to accept better counsels,
and, repentant, to put an end to that abominable farce of apostates;
for it seemed to him that he would not fulfil his obligation if he did
not make this endeavor. He encountered much opposition from the chiefs
of the village of Laglag, who were not accomplices in the sedition
by those of Malonor; but with intrepid courage to confer with the
rebels. He reached the village and sent word to them to assemble in
some convenient place, where he would go to discuss with them what
concerned the deliverance of their souls, in case they were unwilling
to come to the place where father Fray Francisco was. They replied
"that they would not go out of the place where" (on account of its
being rugged) "they had taken refuge for the sake of their safety--not,
however, for fear of the Spaniards, whom they esteemed but lightly, for
they themselves were accompanied by all the Holy Trinity, the Blessed
Virgin Mary, and all the apostles, who would defend them by working
miracles." They also said that they did not need father ministers,
because they had popes and bishops and priests who could minister to
them in their own way, although it was very different from that which
the fathers used; and "that Fray Francisco should be content with this,
that they did not undertake to do harm to the other Christians who,
deluded, followed him--although they could do these much harm with
the power of God the Father, who assisted them"--and in this fashion
they uttered other execrable blasphemies.
Father Fray Francisco, grieved at the perdition of those souls,
with intrepid heart determined to go to the place where the rebels
were (which was almost inaccessible on account of its ruggedness),
where they had erected a shed which served them as a temple in which
to offer their sacrifices to the demon and to hold their infamous
assemblies. But he did not venture to do so, being dissuaded by the
peaceable Indians of Laglag, and by Fray Martín de Mansilla, the
prior of Pasig; for that would be to search imprudently for danger,
without hope of accomplishing even the least good, since the people
of Malonor were so obstinate. The prior told him that it was better
to wait for the coming of the Spaniards. But this was not enough to
prevent him from going to the said Laglag. [105]
The father arrived, very late in the day, at the house which he had
in the village, close to the church, with the intention of obtaining
better information regarding the condition of those misguided people,
so as to see if he could make any endeavor for the good of their
souls. In case he could not do so, he intended to return to Laglag
the next day, and there await the coming of the Spaniards. The
rebellious apostates consulted the demon as to what they should do;
and in consequence resolved to put Father Francisco to death; and they
proceeded to carry out this decision. It was about midnight when they
all came down to the village in a mob; and some surrounded the house,
which was made of bamboo, and others began to thrust their lances
through the openings in the floor, between the bamboos, wounding father
Fray Francisco, and uttering many abusive words. The father religious,
alarmed at his peril, sprang up intending to jump out at the windows,
as the house stood very low, not considering the greater danger of
this. As he leaped, the insurgents ran toward him, and received him
on the points of their lances; and all he could do was to reach the
cross which stood in the cemetery, next to the church. He embraced it
tenderly, and in this position received many lance-thrusts; and thus,
his arms flung round the holy cross, and uttering loving and devout
words, he rendered his soul to the Lord--to go, as we may piously
believe, to enjoy eternal peace. [106] The insurgents burned the
house and the church, but they did not dare to profane the body of
the venerable father, and retreated to the most secluded part of
those mountains.
On the same day when the news that the apostates had killed the father
reached the village of Laglag the Spaniards and soldiers arrived whom
Admiral Pedro Durán had sent; and with them came the notary-public
of the province and Lorenzo Tallez Mucientes to make an investigation
[of the murder], although there was some delay in the arrival of the
alcalde-mayor, Pedro Durán, in person. Two days after the death of the
venerable father, they went to the village of Malonor, and found the
body of the venerable father at the foot of the cross--quite ruddy and
without corruption, and the blood dropping from it as if the murderers
had but that instant slain him (as the notary Bernabé López has assured
me at various times); and it remained in the same incorruption, and
without the blood coagulating, until the third day, when they buried
it in the church of Laglag. Pedro Durán proceeded, as both a soldier
and a judge, to search for the aggressors; and a considerable time
after the death of the venerable father, and after many endeavors, and
having employed adroit spies, the Spaniards seized the principal actors
in the diabolical farce. Others defended themselves and were slain;
but their corpses were brought in, and carried with the criminals to
the port of Iloilo. There justice was executed upon them; they were
fastened to stakes in the river of Araut, [107] and the body of the
accursed woman who played the part of the Blessed Virgin was impaled
on a stake and placed at the mouth of the river of Laglag.
In Otón; 1672
[This is related by Diaz in his Conquistas, pp. 696-697.]
The spirit of discord also roamed through the mountains of the province
of Ogtong in the island of Panay, causing a disturbance which had an
aspect more ridiculous than serious; and if I have concluded to set it
down here it is only to show the pliability of disposition in these
Indians in believing every new thing, even when it is groundless,
simply because fear persuades them to believe whatever is inimical
to the Spaniards, and especially if it is to their discredit. In
the villages of Miagao and other visitas of Tigbauan, the collector
of tributes for the king was a soldier born in Nueva España, of a
merry and jesting disposition; he without heeding what would result,
told among the Indians this exceedingly absurd story: "That the king
of España had gone out to the seashore for recreation, so heedless
of danger and so lightly attended that he had been captured by some
Turkish galleys that landed at that shore, and had been carried
away to the court of the Grand Turk, who demanded for his ransom an
enormous number of slaves; and that to comply with this demand he
had sent many ships, which were to carry all the natives of that
province to him, so that he could deliver them to the Turks." The
soldier told them that several ships had come for this purpose, which
were already in the harbor of Iloilo; and that the alcalde-mayor
Don Sebastián de Villarreal and other Spaniards had to go with the
ships, in order to make this delivery. This foolish and so perverse
story was so thoroughly believed by the Bisayan Indians [108] that
it caused a great disturbance and commotion among the inhabitants
of the villages of Tigbauan, Miagao, Guimbal, and their visitas--so
that, abandoning their homes and villages, they fled to the woods
without concerted action, publishing the story that the Turks were
already close by to seize them, and would carry the natives to their
king as prisoners. The father ministers, as being nearest to them,
experienced great perplexity, not being able to bring back the
fugitives, as they did not know the cause of their disturbance; for
when the natives perceived any religious they only took to flight,
crying out, "Turks!" and thus the villages were being depopulated.
When the said alcalde-mayor learned this, he gathered all the soldiers
that he could find, and reënlisted many veteran soldiers; and, in
company with the father ministers Fray Marcos Gabilán, Fray Marcos
González, and Fray Agustín de Estrada, he set out with all speed to
see if he could check the disturbance; for he did not know of the
falsehood uttered by the demon through the lips of the soldier. But
this measure tended to fan the flames and to give further confirmation
to that lie; they found, therefore, the villages deserted, and feared
that this was a general rebellion. At last, the absurd cause which
had influenced the natives was ascertained; and in a conference of
the father ministers and the sensible Spaniards they chose the more
prudent measure of withdrawing the troops, and allowing the natives
to be undeceived by the course of events. The soldier, who must have
been more knave than dolt, succeeded in concealing himself so well
that nothing was known of him for a long time, because he left the
island. The end of this revolution was, that gradually the Indians
became undeceived, and ascertained that the whole thing was a lie;
and through the agency of father Fray Agustín de Estrada, of whom
they had a very high opinion, they were pacified, and brought back
to their villages and homes. This is written only that some idea may
be formed of the readiness with which these natives believe any lie;
and the difficulties experienced by the religious who live among them
as ministers, and the danger to the lives of the fathers if the demon
concocts some fiction which, like this, is to their detriment or to
the discredit of the Spaniards.
In Playa Honda; 1681
[From Diaz's Conquistas, pp. 747-748.]
The governor, Don Juan de Vargas, in view of the many ravages,
murders, and thefts which the revolted Zambals of Playa Honda
had committed--infesting the road from Pangasinán to Ilocos,
and harassing the adjoining villages that were subject to the
Spanish dominion--determined to curb their audacity by some exploit
which would inspire them with fear, and to restrain for the future
their insolence and daring. For this purpose he sent Captain Alonso
Martín Franco and Captain Simón de Torres, with a suitable number of
Spaniards, Pampangos, and Merdicas (who are Ternatans and Malays),
and gave them the orders that were desirable for the success of so
useful an expedition--that Simón de Torres and Alonso Martín Franco,
each with half of the soldiers, should go in opposite directions,
beating the woods, and fighting with any Zambals whom they might
encounter. They did so, compelling the rebels to retreat as far as
the place where their companions were; and on St. James's day the
two captains joined their forces, the signal being the discharge of
three exploding rockets, and fought with the Zambal insurgents. They
carried out their orders and fought against these enemies, who are
indeed a warlike people, and killed many of them, not without some
loss of our men. Their leader was a valiant Zambal named Tumalang, to
whom the inhabitants of those mountains rendered obedience; this man,
seeing the death of an associate of his in whom he greatly trusted,
whom Alonso Martín Franco had slain, and influenced by some higher
feeling, declared that he wished to be a friend of the Spaniards,
and with his people to establish villages where he would be under
Spanish rule. A very convenient location was set apart, and therein
was founded a handsome village called Nueva Toledo, and some others
near a fort that is called Pignamén, [109] which Don Manuel de León
ordered to be founded--in which, by order of the governor, Captain
Alonso Martín Franco remained as commandant, with a larger garrison;
and this fort has been most efficacious for averting such losses as
they then experienced. Chief Tumalang received holy baptism, and was
named Don Alonso; and he declared that it was he who had cut off the
head of Don Felipe Ugalde, [110] whose skull he had in his possession
as a trophy. This he surrendered to Martín Franco, that he might bury
it in consecrated ground. The command of this fort is today an office
that is conferred on a very meritorious officer; he has jurisdiction
in all those villages of Playa Honda, and appoints in them governors
who administer justice, as do the alcaldes-mayor of these islands in
their [respective] provinces.
In Zambal villages; 1683
[The following account is taken from Salazar's Hist. de Sant. Rosario,
pp. 300-311. It was a revolt against ecclesiastical authority,
and would have ended in the liberation of the Zambals from all
Spanish rule, had they not been in awe of the fort and garrison
of Paynauen. Salazar's relation is interesting in regard to native
character and missionary methods.]
There was in the village of Balacbac an Indian chief named Dulinen,
to whose following belonged a great part of the village; although
he came down [from the hills] to live in a settlement, it was more
from worldly considerations than from affection for a Christian mode
of life, and he therefore left in the mountains all his valuables,
and a nephew of his for a guard over them. This was learned by an
Indian named Calignao, who went to the mountain and slew the nephew
of Dulinen--who, incensed at this, urged his followers to go with him
to the mountain to avenge the death of his nephew. When this came
to the knowledge of the servant of God, [111] he made every effort
to prevent this flight, and although he restrained some of them he
could not entirely prevent it; accordingly, that chief went back to
the mountains, followed by seventeen families. The commandant of the
fort at Paynaoven [sic], when he learned of this departure, attacked
the chief and his followers, and burned down the village of Aglao,
of which the murderer Calignao and the said chief were natives, and
which was near that of Balacbac, where at that time all lived. The
said Calignao had many kinsmen, and, in order that these might not go
away and flee to the mountains, father Fray Domingo endeavored to gain
their good-will; he asked the commandant for a commission as adjutant
for Calignao, which the commandant immediately gave him--adding,
to pacify the Indians, that the killing by Calignao had been done
in compliance with a command by the government that all those should
be killed who would not come down to the settlements, etc. With this
the men of Balacbac were calmed, but their quiet did not last long;
for a relative of Calignao named Dagdagan, who accompanied the
commandant and his soldiers, promised to attack the chief who had
fled. Entering the woods to carry out this plan, he went but a few
paces when he was slain by a Negrillo of the mountains; and, through
the mischief-making of a wicked Indian, his relatives believed that
the religious had occasioned this death. They assembled to celebrate
his funeral rites with much wine-drinking (a common usage among these
infidels); and their carousal resulted in an agreement to cut off
the head of the servant of God, for which exploit Calignao offered
himself, in return for the kind acts which father Fray Domingo had
done for him. And now that we have this evil man under consideration
[entre manos] it will be well to point out something of his life,
in order that what remains to be told of him may not afterward cause
surprise. Thomas Calignao was a native of the village of Aglao,
distant two leguas from Balacbac, and was a Christian from his
childhood--although of Christian he had only the name; for his life
and habits were worse than those of a heathen. He never heard mass,
or made a confession; he observed neither human nor divine nor even
natural law; for his only endeavor was to cut off heads--even if they
were those of children or women--without further cause or motive than
his craving to kill for the sake of killing. On account of these and
many other sins, the commandant often intended to put him to death;
but he did not carry out this purpose, through the intercession of
father Fray Domingo, for the servant of God said (and not unjustly):
"If you kill this man, who has so large a following, many will return
to the mountains; but if he is reclaimed to an upright life he will
bring in and convert many Cimarrons, and can be very helpful to us in
our ministry." For these and other reasons, and for the salvation
of that soul, father Fray Domingo made every effort to convert
Calignao to a good life--now with advice, now with kind acts, again
with examples, flattering words, and promises, and sometimes with
threats--[telling Calignao] that unless he mended his ways, he would
leave the commandant to do his duty. None of these methods sufficed to
reclaim him, for, even when it seemed as if he were somewhat softened,
if they summoned him to hear mass he became indignant, and heard it
while seated and smoking tobacco (an impropriety unheard-of in this
country); and if the father commanded him to kneel he was inflamed
with anger and excitement--most of all, when the father commanded him
to come for instruction in the [Christian] doctrine, his ignorance
of which made him so bad a Christian. Father Fray Domingo, seeing how
little attention Calignao paid to his counsels, availed himself of his
relatives and other influential persons, in order that they might bring
him to reason and to decent living. But all this was lost time, for
besides not hearing mass on the feast-days, or attending instruction
(as all did), all that he cared or watched for was to kill others
and become drunk; and although he did this, as he thought, in secret,
other persons told it to father Fray Domingo, who rebuked him for his
cruel acts and his persistence in his evil ways. From this arose the
hatred and ill-will which Calignao entertained for the servant of God;
and in order to remove him thus, and not have in future any one who
would rebuke him, he now offered to cut off the father's head.
On a certain occasion Calignao killed a poor woman; and as the
aggressor was unknown, as this happened in a hidden place, father
Fray Domingo undertook, in order to learn who did it, to use the
stratagem of feeling the pulse of every person in the village. All
agreed to this, except Calignao, who, being present at this trial,
escaped and fled to the woods for several days. Soon returning thence
to the village, he went about visiting his relatives; he told them
that he was going to the mountains, not to return; but that, before
he went away, he must cut off some heads. He thereupon went to the
house of an Indian, a nephew of the woman whom he had murdered, and in
order to kill him unsheathed the ygua, which is worse than a butcher's
knife; but the Indian, who was seated, seized his dagger in his hand,
and remained thus, quietly--at which Calignao was afraid, and did not
dare to carry out his purpose. At the noise of this, all the people
hastened thither, as did father Fray Domingo, who, seeing the perverse
Calignao in the mood for cutting off heads, said to him: "Come here,
thou wicked man. Are not the murders that thou committest at night
enough, without trying to kill in daylight, and in sight of all?" To
which he replied: "I am looking for thee, Father, for thee first of
all; do thou come here." Two Indians then approached to pacify him;
but all was in vain, for he was blind with anger and fury; and when
they tried to bring him to reason, he hastily went out and fled to
the mountains. Soon afterward he returned to the village, and, passing
in front of the convent at a time when the servant of God was at the
window, Calignao began to defy him, with both words and gestures;
but father Fray Domingo answered him: "Since thou knowest that the
religious do not kill, or carry arms, thou talkest thus--as thou
wouldst not talk or act with the soldiers." This made Calignao very
ugly, and, walking throughout the midst of the village, he declared
that he would not halt until he had taken the head from father Fray
Domingo; and no one dared say a word to him, because he was sheltered
by his relatives. The commandant of the fort, having learned of the
cruel and shameless acts of Calignao, sent seven Spanish soldiers to
guard father Fray Domingo, and ordered them to arrest or kill that
evil man; but, although they twice had the opportunity to do this,
the servant of God prevented it, and, most of the soldiers having
become sick, they returned to their fort without having accomplished
anything. The commandant, at this, ordered the headman of Balacbac
to seize or kill Calignao, who every day went in or out of the said
village; but he did not carry out this order, for all feared him and
showed him respect--rather, indeed, they watched over his safety.
For more than three years the servant of God went about, inquiring,
with great solicitude into the idolatrous customs which the Zambals
had; and for this he availed himself of the boys--whom he assembled
together, and taught to read, and related to them the examples and
lives of the saints, bestowing on them presents and kindnesses, with
great affection. Then he questioned them as to the method and the
times in which their parents and elders practiced idolatry, and they
told him everything, with all details. This was especially true of
the boy Diego, whom father Fray Domingo baptized in Abucay; he was
a nephew of a priest of their idols, and was very well instructed
in our holy faith; and he was not suspected of telling the father
what conduced to the greater service and honor of God. Father Fray
Domingo charged the rest of the boys to keep this secret, so that their
parents should not flog them; and through fear of this they remained
silent, so that it was never known that the boys were the ones who had
revealed the practice of idolatry. Thus father Fray Domingo came to
know that the chiefs of the villages were the priests of the idols,
and that they found this profitable; for by [filling] this office
they obtained their food, and had the advantage in any controversy,
and, without this, they would fare ill. Also that the common people
were in great subjection and obedience to the said priests, who could
incite them to any daring act--especially since, as he was informed,
all the people in the province, both infidels and Christians, had been
bound by promise and oath not to reveal their idolatries, no matter how
many inquiries the father should make, even though they were ruined or
lost their lives by this silence. Accordingly the servant of God found
this undertaking very arduous, and foresaw that it would cost him many
hardships, and that he would in it expose himself to many dangers to
his reputation, and honor, and even to his life. Notwithstanding,
like another Elias, zeal for the honor of God flamed in him; and
laying aside all fear for what might come, he directed his efforts
and all his energies to the destruction of this infernal vice.
When Lent came around in the year 1683, he began his war against
idolatry, having first commended to God this his undertaking. He
summoned to his presence each one of the idolaters, and said to one:
"Thou hast these and these instruments, and with them thou didst
offer sacrifice on such a day, in company with N. and N." [112] To
another he said: "Thou art a priest of so many idols, and for these
thou hast so many implements, kept in such and such a place--with
which thou renderest to the demon the honor and reverence which are
due to God alone, the Author of creation. As proofs of this, on such
a day thou didst sacrifice in company with N. and N., and on such a
day with N." In this manner he went on, examining all the Zambals;
and they, seeing these accurate proofs, regarded the servant of God
as a soothsayer, and handed over to him the instruments of their
idol-worship. Immediately he gave these to the boys, so that they
could break in pieces and abuse them; and finally he commanded them
to burn these articles in the sight of all. The spectators were
amazed at seeing that neither the father nor the children died as
a result of this desecration of their idols; for they had believed
that he who should profane these instruments must perish. The father
preached to them, and taught them what they must do in future. Having
accomplished this in Baubuen, he proceeded to the villages of Balacbac
and Alalang--where, although at the beginning he encountered some
resistance, he finally succeeded in his purpose that these Indians
also should surrender to him the implements of idol-worship that they
possessed. Having placed all these in a little hut, he set fire to it,
and all were burned, not without the surprise of these Indians also
that no disaster happened to the father.
The Indians of these villages requested that those of the village of
Masingloc should not be told that the former had surrendered their
implements, because all had sworn an oath not to do so, and, if it
were known that they had given up these articles, the others would
come to attack, them. Notwithstanding this petition, the servant
of God proceeded to do the same at Masingloc, three or four times;
there he encountered an old chief, who was the Bayoc, or head priest,
who delegated jurisdiction to the rest in order that they could
sacrifice to their idols. With this diabolical man, possessed by a
demon, the servant of God labored without measure, preaching to him,
and convincing him with arguments; but in no way could he be cured of
his obstinacy, even when one day father Fray Domingo went so far as to
cast himself at his feet and kiss them--watering them with his tears,
which ran in streams over his cheeks--begging him for the love of God
to give up that practice [of idolatry] and be converted to God with
all his heart, and relating to him many instances that were pertinent
to the subject; but the old man, obstinate and possessed by a demon,
showed himself rebellious, hard, and stubborn. The chiefs of Masingloc,
seeing the activity of the servant of God, and the earnestness with
which he went about that business, sent nine of their number to
Manila, who presented a petition to the government saying that they
had been Christians for ninety years [113] and had never kept idols;
and now father Fray Domingo Perez had given them the reputation
of being idolaters, taking away their good name, etc. This caused
the servant of God to suffer much in regard to his own reputation;
for in Manila, as people had not kept the matter in mind, each one
considered it according to his own personal feelings and the most
moderate called it indiscreet zeal, and others lack of judgment. At
that time the suits against Señor Pardo were at their height, since
about this time he was arrested; accordingly, all those who were
governing had a poor opinion of the Dominican friars. And now with the
petition of these Indians they were more confirmed in their opinion,
treating us as violators of the peace, and disturbers of the people;
and all this was charged to the servant of God, as, to appearances,
the origin and cause of all the trouble. Accordingly, very severe
letters were written to him from Manila, censuring him for imprudent
conduct, etc. But the commandant at the fort at Paynaven, as soon
as he learned of the result, wrote to the governor, telling him the
entire truth, and asking him to arrest those Indians; but when this
despatch reached Manila, the petition had been already presented,
and representations had been made against the servant of God, and
in favor of the Zambal Indians. Notwithstanding this, the governor
did what the commandant asked him, placing the Indians in the fort
[of Santiago]. When this was known by the people of Masingloc, they
immediately surrendered a hundred and fifty implements with which they
served and adored their idols; and the commandant again wrote to the
governor, asking him to release the nine Indians. This was done, but
on the return to their village one of them died after a brief illness;
he was the chief minister of the idols, although he did not make this
known up to the hour of his death. The others also quickly became
ill, and they died one after another, God punishing their insolence,
and defending the honor of His servant.
Most of the Indians were reclaimed, and confirmed in our holy faith,
by the words and deeds of father Fray Domingo; and they therefore
voluntarily gave up the instruments with which they formerly sacrificed
to the demon--although many did so because they could not resist,
especially those who were priests and had obtained their living
by those practices; these were the chief men of the villages. They
remained grieved and angry, and with little love for the servant of
God; and each one of them would, if he had had the power, have taken
the father's life--or a thousand of them, if he could have had so
many--but they were made cowards by their fear of the soldiers at
the fort. [Angered at what Fray Domingo had done to uproot their
idolatries, these chiefs conspire against him, and resolve to take
his life--for which deed Calignao offers his services. At the time
(July, 1683), the father is in Manila soliciting contributions
for building churches in the Zambal country; his head, which a year
before had showed hardly a gray hair, is now almost white, at the age
of forty-five--an effect of his unusual toils above described. On
November 12 of that same year Fray Domingo is treacherously slain,
on his return from Baubuen to Balacbac, by Calignao and an infidel
Negrillo named Quibácat, with poisoned arrows. Some friendly Indians
convey him to Balacbac, where he dies three days later. The commandant
of the fort wishes to go to punish the Zambals for this murder, but a
friar dissuades him, saying that if he leaves the fort, the Zambals
would get possession of it, "and no religious or Spaniard would be
left in all Playa Honda." Soldiers are sent to seize the assassin,
but he cannot be taken, for he is protected by the natives in the
village, "who all were present at the funeral more from joy at seeing
the father dead than from compassion, or sadness at having lost him,
thinking that with the death of father Fray Domingo they could again
revive their idol-worship."]
DAMPIER IN THE PHILIPPINES
[Following is a synopsis and verbatim transcription of the voyages
made by William Dampier [114] during the years 1679-1691, as related
in the first volume of his New Voyage Round the World. [115] The
introduction and first nine chapters describe his voyages in American
waters. With chapter x begins his experience in Eastern waters.]
CHAP. X
Their Departure from Cape Corrientes for the Ladrone Islands, and
the East-Indies. Their Course thither, and Accidents by the way:
with a Table of each days Run, &c. Of the different accounts of
the breadth of these Seas. Guam, one of the Ladrone Islands. The
Coco-Nut Tree, Fruit, &c. The Toddi, or Arack that distils from it;
with other Uses that are made of it. Coire Cables. The Lime, or Crab
Limon. The Bread-fruit. The native Indians of Guam. Their Proe's,
a remarkable sort of Boats: and of those used in the East-Indies. The
State of Guam: and the Provisions with which they were furnish'd there.
I have given an Account in the last Chapter of the Resolutions we took
of going over to the East-Indies. But having more calmly considered
on the length of our Voyage, from hence to Guam, one of the Ladrone
Islands, which is the first place that we could touch at, and there
also not being certain to find Provisions, most of our Men were almost
daunted at the thoughts of it; for we had not 60 days Provision, at a
little more than half a pint of Maiz a day for each Man, and no other
Provision, except 3 Meals of salted Jew-fish; [116] and we had a great
many Rats aboard, which we could not hinder from eating part of our
Maiz. Beside, the great distance between Cape Corrientes and Guam:
which is variously set down. The Spaniards, who have the greatest
reason to know best, make it to be between 2300 and 2400 Leagues; our
Books also reckon it differently, between 90 and 100 degrees, which
all comes short indeed of 2000 Leagues, but even that was a Voyage
enough to frighten us, considering our scanty Provisions. Captain Swan,
to encourage his Men to go with him, perswaded them that the English
Books did give the best account of the distance; his Reasons were
many, although but weak. He urged among the rest, that Sir Thomas
Candish and Sir Francis Drake, did run it in less than 50 Days,
and that he did not question but that our Ships were better sailers,
than those which were built in that Age, and that he did not doubt
to get there in little more than 40 Days: This being the best time
in the Year for breezes, which undoubtedly is the reason that the
Spaniards set out from Acapulco about this time; and that although
they are 60 Days in their Voyage, it is because they are great Ships,
deep laden, and very heavy sailers; besides, they wanting nothing, are
in no great haste in their way, but sail with a great deal of their
usual Caution. And when they come near the Island Guam, they lie by
in the Night for a Week, before they make Land. In prudence we also
should have contrived to lie by in the Night when we came near Land,
for otherwise we might have run ashoar, or have outsailed the Islands,
and lost sight of them before Morning. But our bold Adventures seldom
proceed with such wariness when in any straights.
But of all Captain Swan's Arguments, that which prevailed most with
them was, his promising them, as I have said, to cruise off the
Manila's. So he and his Men being now agreed, and they incouraged
with the hope of gain, which works its way thro' all Difficulties,
we set out from Cape Corrientes March the 31st, 1686. We were 2 Ships
in Company, Captain Swan's Ship, and a Bark commanded under Captain
Swan, by Captain Teat, and we were 150 Men, 100 aboard of the Ship,
and 50 aboard the Bark, beside Slaves, as I said.
We had a small Land-wind at E.N.E. which carried us three or
four Leagues, then the Sea-wind came at W.N.W. a fresh gale, so we
steered away S.W. By 6 a Clock in the Evening we were about 9 Leagues
S. W. from the Cape, then we met a Land-wind which blew fresh all
Night, and the next Morning about 10 a Clock we had the Sea-breez at
N.N.E. so that at Noon we were 30 leagues from the Cape. It blew a
fresh gale of Wind, which carries us off into the true Trade-wind,
(of the difference of which Trade-winds I shall speak in the Chapter
of Winds, in the Appendix) [117] for although the constant Sea-breez
near the Shoar is at W.N.W. yet the true Trade off at Sea, when
you are clear of the Land-winds, is at E.N.E. At first we had it at
N.N.E. so it came about Northerly, and then to the East as we run
off. At 250 leagues distance from the shoar we had it at E.N.E. and
there it stood till we came within 40 leagues of Guam. When we had
eaten up our 3 Meals of salted Jew-fish, in so many Days time, we
had nothing but our small allowance of Maiz.
After the 31st Day of March we made great runs every Day, having very
fair clear Weather, and a fresh Trade-wind, which we made use of with
all our Sails, and we made many good Observations of the Sun. At our
first setting out, we steered into the lat. of 13 degrees, which is
near the lat. of Guam; then we steered West, keeping in that lat. By
that time we had sailed 20 Days, our Men seeing we made such great
runs, and the Wind like to continue, repined because they were kept
at such short allowance. Captain Swan endeavored to perswade them
to have a little Patience; yet nothing but an augmentation of their
daily allowance would appeasse them. Captain Swan though with much
reluctance, gave way to a small enlargement of our Commons, for
now we had not above 10 spoonfuls of boil'd Maiz a Man, once a day,
whereas before we had 8: I do believe that this short allowance did
me a great deal of good, though others were weakened by it; for I
found that my Strength encreased, and my Dropsie wore off. Yet I
drank 3 times every 24 Hours; but many of our Men did not drink in
9 or 10 days time, and some not in 12 days; one of our Men did not
drink in 17 days time, and said he was not adry when he did drink;
yet he made water every day more or less. One of our Men in the midst
of these hardships was found guilty of theft, and condemned for the
same, to have 3 blows from each Man in the Ship, with a 2 inch and
a half rope on his bare back. Captain Swan began first, and struck
with a good will; whose example was followed by all of us.
It was very strange, that in all this Voyage we did not see one Fish,
not so much as a Flying-Fish, nor any sort of Fowl; but at one time,
when we were by my account 4975 miles West from Cape Corrientes, then
we saw a great number of Boobies, which we supposed came from some
Rocks not far from us, which were mentioned in some of our Sea-Charts,
but we did not see them.
After we had run the 1900 Leagues by our reckoning, which made the
English account to Guam, the Men began to murmur against Captain
Swan, for perswading them to come on this Voyage; but he gave them
fair words, and told them that the Spanish account might probably be
the truest, and seeing the Gale was likely to continue, a short time
longer would end our troubles.
As we drew nigh the Island, we met with some small Rain, and the Clouds
settling in the West, were an apparent token that we were not far from
Land; for in these Climates, betwixt or near the Tropicks, where the
Trade-wind blows constantly, the Clouds which fly swift over head,
yet seem near the Limb of the Horizon to hang without much motion or
alteration, where the Land is near. I have often taken notice of it,
especially if it is high Land, for you shall then have the Clouds
hang about it without any visible motion.
The 20th day of May, our Bark being about 3 Leagues a-head of our Ship,
sailed over a rocky Shole, on which there was but 4 fathom water,
and abundance of Fish swimming about the Rocks. They imagin'd by
this that the Land was not far off; so they clap'd on a Wind with the
Barks Head to the North, and being past the Shole lay by for us. When
we came up with them, Captain Teat came aboard us, and related what
he had seen. We were then in lat. 12. d. 55 m. steering West. The
Island Guam is laid down in Lat. 13. d. N. by the Spaniards, [118]
who are Masters of it, keeping it as a baiting-place as they go to
the Philippine Islands. Therefore we clap'd on a Wind and stood to
Northward, being somewhat troubled and doubtful whether we were right,
because there is no Shole laid down, in the Spanish Drafts about the
Island Guam. At 4 a Clock, to our great Joy, we saw the Island Guam,
at about 8 Leagues distance.
It was well for Captain Swan that we got sight of it before our
Provision was spent, of which we had but enough for 3 days more; for,
as I was afterwards informed, the Men had contrived, first to kill
Captain Swan and eat him when the Victuals was gone, and after him all
of us who were accessary in promoting the undertaking this Voyage. This
made Captain Swan say to me after our arrival at Guam, Ah! Dampier,
you would have made them but a poor Meal; for I was as lean as the
Captain was lusty and fleshy. The Wind was at E.N.E. and the Land
bore at N.N.E. therefore we stood to the Northward, till we brought
the Island to bear East, and then we turned to get in to an anchor.
[Here follows a table with entries from March 31 to May 21 showing
the daily runs made by the ships. This table shows the course
to have been almost due west after April 17. The variation in the
needle is disregarded as it was so slight. Dampier declares that the
sea-distances have been incorrectly stated. He continues:]
But to proceed with our Voyage: The Island Guam or Guahon, (as the
Native Indians pronounce it) is one of the Ladrone Islands, belongs
to the Spaniards, who have a small Fort with six Guns in it, with
a Governour, and 20 or 30 Soldiers. They keep it for the relief and
refreshment of their Philippine Ships, that touch here in their way
from Acapulco to Manila, but the Winds will not so easily let them
take this way back again. The Spaniards of late have named Guam,
the Island Maria, it is about 12 leagues long, and 4 broad, lying
N. and S. It is pretty high Champain Land.
The 21st day of May, 1686, at 11 a Clock in the Evening, we anchored
near the middle of the Island Guam, on the West side; a Mile from the
shore. At a distance it appears flat and even, but coming near it
you will find it stands shelving, and the East side, which is much
the highest, is fenced with steep Rocks, that oppose the Violence
of the Sea, which continually rage against it, being driven with the
constant Trade-wind, and on that side there is no Anchoring. The West
side is pretty low, and full of small sandy Bays, divided with as many
rocky Points. The Soil of the Island is reddish, dry and indifferent
fruitful. The Fruits are chiefly Rice, Pine-Apples, Water-melons,
Musk-melons, Oranges, and Limes, Coco-nuts, and a sort of Fruit called
by us Bread-fruit.
The Coco-nut Trees grow by the Sea, on the Western side in great
Groves, 3 or 4 Miles in length, and a Mile or two broad. This Tree is
in shape like the Cabbage-tree, and at a distance they are not to be
known each from other, only the Coco-nut Tree is fuller of Branches;
but the Cabbage-tree generally is much higher, tho' the Coco-nut
Trees in some places are very high.
The Nut or Fruit grows at the head of the Tree, among the Branches and
in Clusters, 10 or 12 in a Cluster. The Branch to which they grow is
about the bigness of a Man's Arm, and as long, running small towards
the end. It is of a yellow Colour, full of Knots and very tough. The
Nut is generally bigger than a Man's Head. The outer Rind is near two
Inches thick, before you come to the Shell; the Shell it self is black,
thick, and very hard. The Kernel in some Nuts is near an Inch thick,
sticking to the inside of the Shell clear round, leaving a hollow in
the middle of it, which contains about a Pint, more or less, according
to the bigness of the Nut, for some are much bigger than others.
This Cavity is full of sweet, delicate, wholsome and refreshing
Water. While the Nut is growing, all the inside is full of this Water,
without any Kernel at all; but as the Nut grows towards its Maturity,
the Kernel begins to gather and settle round on the inside of the
Shell, and is soft like Cream, and as the Nut ripens, it increaseth
in substance and becomes hard. The ripe Kernel is sweet enough, but
very hard to digest, therefore seldom eaten, unless by Strangers,
who know not the effects of it; but while it is young and soft like
Pap, some Men will eat it, scraping it out with a Spoon, after they
have drunk the Water that was within it. I like the Water best when
the Nut is almost ripe, for it is then sweetest and briskest.
When these Nuts are ripe and gathered, the outside Rind becomes of a
brown rusty colour; so that one would think that they were dead and
dry; yet they will sprout out like Onions, after they have been hanging
in the Sun 3 or 4 Months, or thrown about in a House or Ship, and if
planted afterward in the Earth, they will grow up to a Tree. Before
they thus sprout out, there is a small spungy round knob grows in
the inside, which we call an Apple. This at first is no bigger than
the top of one's finger, but increaseth daily, sucking up the Water
till it is grown so big as to fill up the Cavity of the Coconut, and
then it begins to sprout forth. By this time the Nut that was hard,
begins to grow oily and soft, thereby giving passage to the Sprout
that springs from the Apple, which Nature hath so contrived, that it
points to the hole in the Shell, (of which there are three, till it
grows ripe, just where it's fastned by its Stalk to the Tree; but one
of these holes remains open, even when it is ripe) through which it
creeps and spreads forth its Branches. You may let these teeming Nuts
sprout out a foot and half, or two foot high before you plant them, for
they will grow a great while like an Onion out of their own Substance.
Beside the Liquor or Water in the Fruit, there is also a sort of
Wine drawn from the Tree called Toddy, which looks like Whey. It is
sweet and very pleasant, but it is to be drunk within 24 hours after
it is drawn, for afterwards it grows sowre. Those that have a great
many Trees, draw a Spirit from the sowre Wine, called Arack. Arack
is distill'd also from Rice, and other things in the East-Indies;
but none is so much esteemed for making Punch as this sort made of
Toddy, or the sap of the Coco-nut Tree, for it makes most delicate
Punch; but it must have a dash of Brandy to hearten it, because this
Arack is not strong enough to make good Punch of it self. This sort
of Liquor is chiefly used about Goa; and therefore it has the name of
Goa Arack. The way of drawing the Toddy from the Tree, is by cutting
the top of a Branch that would bear Nuts; but before it has any Fruit;
and from thence the Liquor which was to feed its Fruit, distils into
the hole of a Callabash that is hung upon it.
This Branch continues running amost as long as the Fruit would
have been growing, and then it dries away. The Tree hath usually
three fruitful Branches, which if they be all tapp'd thus, then the
Tree bears no Fruit that Year; but if one or two only be tapp'd,
the other will bear Fruit all the while. The Liquor which is thus
drawn is emptied out of the Callabash duly Morning and Evening, so
long as it continues running, and is sold every Morning and Evening
in most Towns in the East Indies, and great gains are produced from
it even this way; but those that distil it and make Arack, reap the
greatest profit. There is also great profit made of the Fruit, both
of the Nut and the Shell.
The Kernel is much used in making Broath. When the Nut is dry, they
take off the Husk, and giving two good Blows on the middle of the Nut,
it breaks in two equal parts, letting the Water fall on the Ground;
then with a small Iron Rasp made for the purpose, the Kernel or
Nut is rasped out clean, which being put into a little fresh Water,
makes it become white as Milk. In this milky Water they boil a Fowl,
or any other sort of Flesh, and it makes very savory Broath. English
Seamen put this Water into boiled Rice, which they eat instead of
Rice-milk, carrying Nuts purposely to Sea with them. This they learn
from the Natives.
But the greatest use of the Kernel is to make Oyl, both for burning and
for frying. The way to make the Oyl is to grate or rasp the Kernel,
and steep it in fresh Water; then boil it, and scum off the Oyl at
top as it rises: But the Nuts that make the Oyl ought to be a long
time gathered, so as that the Kernel may be turning soft and oily.
The Shell of this Nut is used in the East Indies for Cups,
Dishes, Ladles, Spoons, and in a manner for all eating and drinking
Vessels. Well shaped Nuts are often brought home to Europe, and much
esteemed. The Husk of the Shell is of great use to make Cables; for
the dry Husk is full of small Strings and Threads, which being beaten,
become soft, and the other Substance which was mixt among it falls away
like Saw-dust, leaving only the Strings. These are afterwards spun
into long Yarns, and twisted up into Balls for Convenience: and many
of these Rope-Yarns joined together make good Cables. This Manufactory
is chiefly used at the Maldive-Islands, and the Threads sent in Balls
into all places that trade thither, purposely for to make Cables. I
made a Cable at Achin with some of it. These are called Coire Cables;
they will last very well. But there is another sort of Coire Cables
(as they are called) that are black, and more strong and lasting;
and are made of Strings that grow, like Horse-hair, at the heads
of certain Trees, almost like the Coco-nut Tree. This sort comes
most from the Island Timor. In the South Seas the Spaniards do make
Oakam to chalk their Ships, with the Husk of the Coco-nut, which is
more serviceable than that made of Hemp, and they say it will never
rot. I have been told by Captain Knox, [119] who wrote the Relation of
Ceylon, that in some places of India they make a sort of course Cloth
of the Husk of the Coco-nut, which is used for Sails. I my self have
seen a sort of course Sail-cloth made of such a kind of substance;
but whether the same or no I know not.
I have been the longer on this subject, to give the Reader a particular
Account of the use and profit of a Vegetable, which is possibly of
all others the most generally serviceable to the conveniences, as
well as the necessities of humane Life. Yet this Tree, that is of
such great use, and esteemed so much in the East Indies, is scarce
regarded in the West Indies, for want of the knowledge of the benefit
which it may produce. And 'tis partly for the sake of my Country-men,
in our American Plantations, that I have spoken so largely of it. For
the hot Climates there are a very proper soil for it: and indeed it
is so hardy, both in the raising it, and when grown, that it will
thrive as well in dry sandy ground as in rich land. I have found
them growing very well in low sandy Islands (on the West of Sumatra)
that are overflowed with the Sea every Spring-tide; and though the
Nuts there are not very big, yet this is no loss, for the Kernel
is thick and sweet; and the Milk, or Water in the inside, is more
pleasant and sweet than that of the Nuts that grow in rich ground,
which are commonly large indeed, but not very sweet. These at Guam
grow in dry ground, are of a middle size, and I think the sweetest
that I did ever taste. Thus much for the Coco-nut.
The Lime is a sort of bastard or Crab Limon, The Tree, or Bush that
bears it, is prickly, like a Thorn, growing full of small boughs. In
Jamaica, and other places, they make of the Lime-Bush Fences about
Gardens, or any other Inclosure, by planting the seeds close together,
which growing up thick, spread abroad, and make a very good Hedge. The
Fruit is like a Limon, but a smaller; the rind thin, and the inclosed
substance full of Juice. The Juice is very tart, yet of a pleasant
taste sweetened with Sugar. It is chiefly used for making Punch, both
in the East and West Indies, as well ashoar as at Sea, and much of
it is for that purpose yearly brought home to England, from our West
India Plantations. It is also used for a particular kind of Sauce,
which is called Pepper-Sauce, and is made of Cod-pepper, commonly
call'd Guinea-pepper, boiled in Water, and then pickled with Salt,
and mix'd with Lime-juice to preserve it. Limes grow plentiful in
the East and West Indies, within the Tropicks.
The Bread-fruit (as we call it) grows on a large Tree, as big and high
as our largest Apple-Trees. It hath a spreading Head full of Branches,
and dark Leaves. The Fruit grows on the Boughs like Apples: it is as
big as a Penny-loaf, when Wheat is at five Shillings the Bushel. It is
of a round shape, and hath a thick tough rind. When the Fruit is ripe,
it is yellow and soft; and the taste is sweet and pleasant. The Natives
of this Island use it for Bread: they gather it when full grown, while
it is green and hard; then they bake it in an Oven, which scorcheth the
rind and makes it black: but they scrape off the outside black crust,
and there remains a tender thin crust, and the inside is soft, tender
and white, like the crumb of a Penny Loaf. There is neither Seed nor
Stone in the inside, but all is of a pure substance like Bread: it
must be eaten new, for if it is kept above 24 hours, it becomes dry,
and eats harsh and choaky; but 'tis very pleasant before it is too
stale. This Fruit lasts in season 8 Months in the Year; during which
time the Natives eat no other sort of food of Bread-kind. I did never
see of this Fruit any where but here. The Natives told us, that there
is plenty of this Fruit growing on the rest of the Ladrone Islands;
and I did never hear of any of it any where else.
They have here some Rice also: but the Island being of a dry Soil,
and therefore not very proper for it, they do not sow very much. Fish
is scarce about this Island; yet on the Shoal that our Bark came over
there was great plenty, and the Natives commonly go thither to fish.
The Natives of this Island are strong bodied, large limb'd, and
well-shap'd. They are Copper-coloured, like other Indians: their Hair
is black and long, their Eyes meanly proportioned; they have pretty
high Noses; their Lips are pretty full, and their Teeth indifferent
white. They are long visaged, and stern of Countenance; yet we found
them to be affable and Courteous. They are many of them troubled
with a kind of Leprosie. This distemper is very common at Mindanao:
therefore I shall speak more of it in my next Chapter. They of Guam
are otherwise very healthy, especially in the dry season: but in the
wet season, which comes in in June, and holds till October, the Air
is more thick and unwholsome; which occasions Fevers: but the Rains
are not violent nor lasting. For the Island lies so far Westerly from
the Phillipine Islands, or any other Land, that the Westerly Winds do
seldom blow so far; and when they do, they do not last long: but the
Easterly Winds do constantly blow here, which are dry and healthy;
and this Island is found to be very healthful, as we were informed
while we lay by it. The Natives are very ingenious beyond any People,
in making Boats, or Proes, as they are called in the East Indies, and
therein they take great delight. These are built sharp at both ends;
the bottom is of one piece, made like the bottom of a little Canoa,
very neatly dug, and left of a good substance. This bottom part is
instead of a Keel. It is about 26 or 28 foot long; the under part of
this Keel is made round, but inclining to a wedge, and smooth; and
the upper part is almost flat, having a very gentle hollow, and is
about a foot broad: From hence both sides of the Boat are carried up
to about 5 foot high with narrow Plank, not above 4 or 5 inches broad,
and each end of the Boat turns up round, very prettily. But what is
very singular, one side of the Boat is made perpendicular, like a
Wall, while the other side is rounding, made as other Vessels are,
with a pretty full belly. Just in the middle it is about 4 or 5 foot
broad aloft, or more, according to the length of the Boat. The Mast
stands exactly in the middle, with a long Yard that peeps up and down
like a Mizen-yard. One end of it reacheth down to the end or head of
the Boat, where it is placed in a notch, that is made there purposely
to receive it, and keep it fast. The other end hangs over the Stern:
To this Yard the Sail is fastened. At the foot of the Sail there is
another small Yard, to keep the Sail out square, and to roll up the
Sail on when it blows hard; for it serves instead of a Reef to take
up the Sail to what degree they please, according to the strength
of the Wind. Along the Belly-side of the Boat, parallel with it, at
about 6 or 7 foot distance, lies another small Boat, or Canoa, being
a Log of very light Wood, almost as long as the great Boat, but not
so wide, being not above a foot and an half wide at the upper part,
and very sharp like a Wedge at each end. And there are two Bamboas
of about 8 or 10 foot long, and as big as ones Leg, placed over the
great Boats side, one near each end of it, and reaching about 6 or 7
foot from the side of the Boat: By the help of which, the little Boat
is made firm and contiguous to the other. These are generally called
by the Dutch, and by the English from them, Outlayers. [120] The use
of them is to keep the great Boat upright from over-setting; because
the Wind here being in a manner constantly East, (or if it would be
at West it would be the same thing) and the Range of these Islands,
where their business lies to and fro, being mostly North and South,
they turn the flat side of the Boat against the Wind, upon which
they sail, and the Belly-side, consequently, with its little Boat,
is upon the Lee: And the Vessel having a Head at each end, so as to
sail with either of them foremost (indifferently) they need not tack,
or go about, as all our Vessels do, but each end of the Boat serves
either for Head or Stern as they please. When they ply to Windward,
and are minded to go about, he that Steers bears away a little from
the Wind, by which means the Stern comes to the Wind; which is now
become the Head, only by shifting the end of the Yard. This Boat is
steered with a broad Paddle, instead of a Rudder. I have been the
more particular in describing these Boats, because I do believe,
they sail the best of any Boats in the World. I did here for my own
satisfaction, try the swiftness of one of them; sailing by our Log,
we had 12 Knots on our Reel, and she run it all out before the half
Minute-Glass was half out; which, if it had been no more, is after
the rate of 12 Mile an Hour; but I do believe she would have run 24
Mile an Hour. It was very pleasant to see the little Boat running
along so swift by the others side.
The Native Indians are no less dextrous in managing, than in building
these Boats. By report, they will go from hence to another of the
Ladrone Islands about 30 Leagues off, and there do their Business,
and return again in less than 12 Hours. I was told that one of these
Boats was sent Express to Manila, which is above 400 Leagues, and
performed the Voyage in 4 Days time. There are of these Proes or
Boats used in many places of the East Indies, but with a Belly and
a little Boat on each side. Only at Mindanao I saw one like these,
with the Belly and a little Boat only on one side, and the other flat,
but not so neatly built.
The Indians of Guam have neat little Houses, very handsomly thatch'd
with Palmeto-thatch. They inhabit together in Villages built by the
Sea, on the West-side, and have Spanish Priests to instruct them in
the Christian Religion.
The Spaniards have a small Fort on the West side, near the South
end, with six Guns in it. There is a Governour and 20 or 30 Spanish
Soldiers. There are no more Spaniards on this Island, besides 2 or
3 Priests. Not long before we arrived here, the Natives rose on the
Spaniards to destroy them, and did kill many: But the Governour with
his Soldiers at length prevailed, and drove them out of the Fort: So
when they found themselves disappointed of their intent, they destroyed
the Plantations and Stock, and then went away to other Islands:
There were then 3 or 400 Indians on this Island; but now there are
not above 100; for all that were in this Conspiracy went away. [121]
As for these who yet remain, if they were not actually concerned in
that broil, yet their Hearts also are bent against the Spaniards: for
they offered to carry us to the Fort, and assist us in the Conquest
of the Island; but C. Swan was not for molesting the Spaniards here.
Before we came to an Anchor here, one of the Priests came aboard in
the Night, with 3 Indians. They first hailed us to know from whence
we came, and what we were: To whom answer was made in Spanish, that
we were Spaniards, and that we came from Acapulco. It being dark they
could not see the make of our Ship, nor very well discern what we
were: Therefore we came aboard; but perceiving the mistake they were
in, in taking us for a Spanish Ship, they endeavoured to get from us
again, but we held their Boat fast, and made them come in. Capt. Swan
received the Priest with much Civility, and conducting him into
the Great Cabbin, declared, That the reason of our coming to this
Island was want of Provis[i]on, and that he came not in any hostile
manner, but as a Friend to purchase with his Money what he wanted:
And therefore desired the Priest to write a Letter to the Governour,
to inform him what we were, and on what account we came. For having
him now aboard, the Captain was willing to detain him as an Hostage,
till we had Provision. The Padre told Captain Swan, that Provision
was now scarce on the Island; but he would engage, that the Governour
would do his utmost to furnish us.
In the Morning the Indians, in whose Boat or Proe the Frier came
aboard, were sent to the Governour with two Letters; one from the
Frier, and another very obliging one from Captain Swan, and a Present
of four Yards of Scarlet-cloath, and a piece of broad Silver and Gold
Lace. The Governour lives near the South end of the Island on the West
side; which was about 5 Leagues from the place where we were; therefore
we did not expect an answer till the Evening, not knowing then how
nimble they were. Therefore when the Indian Canoa was dispatched
away to the Governour, we hoised out 2 of our Canoas, and sent one
a fishing, and the other ashore for Coco-nuts. Our fishing Canoa got
nothing; but the Men that went ashore for Coco-nuts came off laden.
About 11 a Clock, that same Morning, the Governour of the Island
sent a Letter to Captain Swan, complimenting him for his Present,
and promising to support us with as much Provision, as he could
possibly spare; and as a token of his Gratitude, he sent a Present
of 6 Hogs, of a small sort, most excellent Meat, the best I think,
that ever I eat: They are fed with Coco-nuts, and their Flesh is hard
as Brisket Beef. They were doubtless of that breed in America which
came originally from Spain. He sent also 12 Musk-melons, larger than
ours in England, and as many Water-melons, both sorts here being a
very excellent Fruit; and sent an order to the Indians that lived
in a Village not far from our Ship, to bake every day as much of
the Bread-fruit as we did desire, and to assist us in getting as
many dry Coco-nuts as we would have; which they accordingly did,
and brought off the Bread-Fruit every day hot, as much as we could
eat. After this the Governour sent every day a Canoa or two with Hogs
and Fruit, and desired for the same, Powder, Shot, and Arms; which was
sent according to his request. We had a delicate large English Dog;
which the Governour did desire, and had it given him very freely by
the Captain, though much against the grain of many of his Men, who
had a great value for that Dog. Captain Swan endeavoured to get this
Governour's Letter of Recommendation to some Merchants at Manila,
for he had then a design to go to Fort St. George, [122] and from
thence intended to trade to Manila: but this his design was concealed
from the company. While we lay here, the Acapulco Ship [123] arrived
in sight of the Island, but did not come in the sight of us; for the
Governour sent an Indian Proe, with advice of our being here. Therefore
she stood off to the Southward of the Island, and coming foul of the
same shole that our Bark had run over before, was in great danger of
being lost there, for she struck off her Rudder, and with much ado
got clear; but not till after three days labour For tho' the shole be
so near the Island, and the Indians go off and fish there every day,
yet the Master of the Acapulco Ship, who should (one would think)
know these Parts, was utterly ignorant of it. This their striking on
the shole we heard afterward, when we were on the Coast of Manila;
but these Indians of Guam did speak of her being in sight of the
Island while we lay there, which put our Men in a great heat to go
out after her, but Captain Swan perswaded them out of that humour,
for he was now wholly averse to any hostile action.
The 30th day of May, the Governor sent his last Present, which was
some Hogs, a Jar of pickled Mangoes, a Jar of excellent pickled
Fish, and a Jar of fine Rusk, or Bread of fine Wheat Flower, baked
like Bisket, but not so hard. He sent besides, 6 or 7 packs of Rice,
desiring to be excused from sending any more Provision to us, saying
he had no more on the Island that he could spare. He sent word also
that the West Monsoon was at hand, that therefore it behooved us to be
jogging from hence, unless we were resolved to return back to America
again. Captain Swan returned him thanks for his kindness and advice,
and took his leave; and the same day sent the Frier ashoar, that was
seized on at our first arrival, and gave him a large Brass Clock, an
Astrolable, and a large Telescope: for which Present the Frier sent
us aboard six Hogs, and a Roasting Pig, 3 or 4 Bushels of Potatoes,
and 50 pound of Manila Tobacco. Then we prepared to be gone, being
pretty well furnished with Provision to carry us to Mindanao, where we
designed next to touch. We took aboard us as many Coco-nuts as we could
well stow, and we had a good stock of Rice, and about 50 Hogs in Salt.
CHAP. XI
They resolve to go to Mindanao. Their departure from Guam. Of the
Philippine Islands. The Isle Luconia, and its chief Town and Port,
Manilo, Manila, or Manilbo. Of the rich Trade we might establish
with these Islands. St. John's Island. They arrive at Mindanao. The
Island described. Its Fertility. The Libby Trees, and the Sago made of
them. The Plantain Tree, Fruit, Liquor, and Cloath. A smaller Plantain
at Mindanao. The Bonano. Of the Clove bark, Cloves, and Nutmegs, and
the Methods taken by the Dutch to Monopolize the Spices. The Betel-Nut,
and Arek-Tree. The Durian, and the Jaca-Tree and Fruit. The Beasts of
Mindanao, Centapees or Forty Legs, a venemous Insect, and others. Their
Fowls, Fish, &c. The temperature of the Climate, with the Course of
the Winds, Tornadoes, Rain, and temper of the Air throughout the Year.
While we lay at Guam, we took up a Resolution of going to Mindanao, one
of the Philippine Islands, being told by the Frier, and others, that
it was exceedingly well stored with Provisions; that the Natives were
Mahometans, and that they had formerly a Commerce with the Spaniards,
but that now they were at Wars with them. This Island was therefore
thought to be a convenient place for us to go to; for besides that,
it was in our way to the East Indies, which we had resolved to visit;
and that the Westerly Monsoon was at hand, which would oblige us to
shelter somewhere in a short time, and that we could not expect good
Harbours in a better place than in so large an Island as Mindanao:
besides all this, I say, the Inhabitants of Mindanao being then,
as we were told, (tho' falsly) at Wars with the Spaniards, our Men,
who it should seem were very squeamish of plundering without Licence,
derived hopes from thence of getting a Commission there from the
Prince of the Island, to plunder the Spanish Ships about Manila, and
so to make Mindanao their common Rendezvous. And if Captain Swan was
minded to go to an English Port, yet his Men who thought he intended
to leave them, hoped to get Vessels and Pilots at Mindanao fit for
their turn, to cruize on the Coast of Manila. As for Captain Swan
he was willing enough to go thither, as best suiting his own design;
and therefore this Voyage was concluded on by general consent.
Accordingly, June 2d, 1686, we left Guam, bound for Mindanao. We had
fair Weather, and a pretty smart gale of Wind at East, for 3 or 4 Days,
and then it shifted to the S.W. being Rainy, but it soon came about
again to the East, and blew a gentle gale; yet it often shuffled
about to the S.E. For though in the East Indies the Winds shift in
April, yet we found this to the shifting season for the Winds here;
the other shifting season being in October, sooner or later, all
over India. As to our Course from Guam to the Philippine Islands,
we found it (as I intimated before) agreeable enough with the account
of our common Draughts.
The 21st of June we arrived at the Island St. John, [124] which is
one of the Philippine Islands. The Philippines are a great company
of large Islands, taking up about 13 deg. of Lat. in length, reaching
near upon, from 5 d. of North Lat. to the 19th degree, and in breadth
about 6 deg. of Longitude. They derive this Name from Philip II. King
of Spain; and even now they do most of them belong to that Crown.
The chiefest Island in this range is Luconia, which lies on the North
of them all. At this Island Magellan died on the Voyage that he was
making round the World. [125] For after he had past those Streights
between the South end of America and Terre del Fuego, which now bear
his Name, and had ranged down in the South Seas on the back of America;
from thence stretching over to the East-Indies, he fell in with the
Ladrone Islands, and from thence steering East still, he fell in with
these Philippine Islands, and anchored at Luconia; where he warr'd
with the Native Indians, to bring them in Obedience to his Master the
King of Spain, and was by them kill'd with a Poysoned Arrow. It is now
wholly under the Spaniards, who have several Towns there. The chief
is Manilo, which is a large Sea-port Town near the S.E. [sic] end,
opposite to the Island Mindora. It was a place of great Strength and
Trade: The two great Acapulco Ships before mentioned fetching from
hence all sorts of East-India Commodities; which are brought hither
by Foreigners, especially by the Chinese and the Portuguese. Sometimes
the English Merchants of Fort St. George send their Ships hither as it
were by stealth, under the charge of Portuguese Pilots and Mariners:
For as yet we cannot get the Spaniards there to a Commerce with us
or the Dutch, although they have but few Ships of their own. This
seems to arise from a Jealousie or Fear of discovering the Riches
of these Islands, for most, if not all the Philippine Islands, are
rich in Gold; And the Spaniards have no place of much strength in all
these Islands that I could ever hear of, besides Manilo it self. Yet
they have Villages and Towns on several of the Islands, and Padres or
Priests to instruct the Native Indians, from whom they get their Gold.
The Spanish inhabitants, of the smaller Islands especially, would
willingly trade with us if the Government was not so severe against
it: for they have no Goods but what are brought from Manilo at an
extraordinary dear rate. I am of the Opinion, That if any of our
Nations would seek a Trade with them, they would not lose their labour;
for the Spaniards can and will Smuggle (as our Seamen call Trading
by stealth) as well as any Nation that I know; and our Jamaicans are
to their profit sensible enough of it. And I have been informed that
Captain Goodlud of London, in a Voyage which he made from Mindanao
to China, touch'd at some of these Islands, and was civilly treated
by the Spaniards, who bought some of his Commodities, giving him a
very good Price for the same.
There are about 12 or 14 more large Islands lying to the Southward
of Luconia; most of which as I said before, are inhabited by the
Spaniards. Besides these there are an infinite number of small Islands
of no account, and even the great Islands, many of them, are without
Names; or at least so variously set down, that I find the same Islands
named by divers Names.
The Island St. John and Mindanao are the Southermost of all these
Islands, and are the only Islands in all this Range that are not
subject to the Spaniards.
St. John's Island is on the East-side of the Mindanao, and distant
from it 3 or 4 Leagues. It is in lat. about 7 or 8 North. This Island
is in length about 38 Leagues, stretching N.N.W. and S.S.E. and it
is in breadth about 24 Leagues, in the middle of the Island. The
Northermost end is broader, and the Southermost is narrower: This
Island is of a good heighth, and is full of many small Hills. The
Land of the South-East end (where I was ashoar) is of a black fat
Mould; and the whole Island seems to partake of the same fatness,
by the vast number of large Trees that it produceth; for it looks
all over like one great Grove.
As we were passing by the S.E. end we saw a Canoa of the Natives under
the shoar; therefore one of our Canoas went after to have spoken with
her; but she run away from us, seeing themselves chaced, put their
Canoa ashoar, leaving her, fled into the Woods; nor would be allured to
come to us, altho' we did what we could to entice them; besides these
Men, we saw no more here, nor sign of any Inhabitants at this end. When
we came aboard our Ship again, we steered away for the Island Mindanao,
which was now fair in sight of us: it being about 10 leagues distant
from this part of St. John's. The 22d day we came within a league of
the East-side of the Island Mindanao, and having the Wind at S.E. we
steered toward the North-end, keeping on the East-side, till we came
into the lat. of 7 d. 40 m. and there we anchored in a small Bay,
about a Mile from the Shoar, in 10 Fathom Water, Rocky foul ground.
Some of our Books gave us an account, That Mindanao City and Isle
lies in 7 d. 40 m. we guest that the middle of the Island might lie
in this lat. but we were at a great loss where to find the City,
whether on the East or West-side. Indeed, had it been a small Island,
lying open to the Eastern Wind, we might possibly have searched
first on the West-side; for commonly the Islands within the Tropicks,
or within the bounds of the Trade-Winds, have their Harbours on the
West-side, as best sheltered; but the Island Mindanao being guarded on
the East-side by St. John's Island, we might as reasonably expect to
find the Harbour and City on this side as any where else: but coming
into the Lat. in which we judg'd the City might be, found no Canoas,
or People, that might give us any umbrage of a City, or place of
Trade near at hand, tho' we coasted within a League of the Shoar.
The Island Mindanao is the biggest of all the Philippine Islands,
except Luconia. It is about 60 Leagues long, and 40 or 50 broad. The
South-end is about 5 d. N. and the N.W. end reacheth almost to 8
d. N. It is a very Mountainous Island, full of Hills and Valleys. The
Mould in general is deep and black, and extraordinary fat and
fruitful. The sides of the Hill are stony, yet productive enough of
very large tall Trees. In the heart of the Country there are some
Mountains that yield good Gold. The Valleys are well moistned with
pleasant Brooks, and small Rivers of delicate Water; and have Trees
of divers sorts flourishing and green all the Year. The Trees in
general are very large, and most of them are of kinds unknown to us.
There is one sort which deserves particular notice; called by the
Natives Libby-Trees. These grow wild in great Groves of 5 or 6 Miles
long, by the sides of the Rivers. Of these Trees Sago is made, which
the poor Country People eat instead of Bread 3 or 4 Months in the
Year. This Tree for its body and shape is much like the Palmeto-Tree,
or the Cabbage-Tree, but not so tall as the latter. The Bark and Wood
is hard and thin like a Shell, and full of white Pith, like the Pith
of an Elder. This Tree they cut down, and split it in the middle, and
scrape out all the Pith; which they beat lustily with a Wooden Pestle
in a great Mortár or Trough, and then put it into a Cloth or Strainer
held over a Trough; and pouring Water in among the Pith, they stir
it about in the Cloth: So the Water carries all the substance of the
Pith through the Cloth down into the Trough, leaving nothing in the
Cloth but a light sort of Husk, which they throw away; but that which
falls into the Trough settles in a short time to the bottom like Mud;
and then they draw off the Water, and take up the muddy substance,
wherewith they make Cakes; which being baked proves very good Bread.
The Mindanao People live 3 or 4 Months of the Year on this Food for
their Bread kind. The Native Indians of Teranate, and Tidore, and
all the Spice Islands, have plenty of these Trees, and use them for
Food in the same manner; as I have been inform'd by Mr. Caril Rofy,
who is now Commander of one of the King's Ships. He was one of our
Company at this time; and being left with Captain Swan at Mindanao,
went afterward to Teranate, and lived there among the Dutch a Year or
two. The Sago which is transported into other parts of the East Indies,
is dried in small pieces like little Seeds or Comfits, and commonly
eaten with Milk of Almonds, by those that are troubled with the Flux;
for it is a great binder, and very good in that Distemper.
In some places of Mindanao there is plenty of Rice; but in the hilly
Land they plant Yams, Potatoes and Pumkins; all which thrive very
well. The other Fruits of this Island are Water-Melons, Musk-Melons,
Plaintains, Bonanoes, Guavas, Nutmegs, Cloves, Betel-Nuts, Durians,
Jacks, or Jacas, Coco-Nuts, Oranges, &c.
The Plantain I take to be the King of all Fruit, not except the Coco
it self. The Tree that bears this Fruit is about 3 Foot, or 3 Foot
and an half round, and about 10 or 12 Foot high. These Trees are
not raised from Seed, (for they seem not to have any) but from the
Roots of other old Trees. If these young suckers are taken out of
the Ground, and planted in another place, it will be 15 Months before
they bear, but if let stand in their own native Soil they will bear
in 12 Months. As soon as the Fruit is ripe the Tree decays, but then
there are many young ones growing up to supply its place. When this
Tree first springs out of the Ground, it comes up with two Leaves; and
by that time it is a Foot high, two more springs up in the inside of
them; and in a short time after two more within them; and so on. By
that time the Tree is a Month old, you may perceive a small body
almost as big as ones Arm, and then there are eight or ten Leaves,
some of them four or five Foot high. The first leaves that it shoots
forth are not above a Foot long, and half a Foot broad; and the Stem
that bears them no bigger than ones Finger; but as the Tree grows
higher the Leaves are larger. As the young Leaves spring up in the
inside, so the old Leaves spread off, and their tops droop downward,
being of a greater length and breadth, by how much they are nearer the
Root, and at last decay and rot off; but still there are young Leaves
spring up out of the top, which makes the Tree look always green and
flourishing. When the Tree is full grown, the Leaves are 7 or 8 Foot
long, and a Foot and half broad; towards the end they are smaller,
and end with a round point. The Stem of the Leaf is as big as a Man's
Arm, almost round, and about a Foot in length, between the Leaf and
the Body of the Tree. That part of the Stem which comes from the Tree,
if it be the outside Leaf, seems to inclose half the Body, as it were
with a thick Hide; and right against it, on the other side of the Tree,
is another such answering to it. The next two Leaves, in the inside of
these, grow opposite to each other, in the same manner, but so that
if the two outward grow North and South, these grow East and West,
and those still within them keep the same order. Thus the Body of this
Tree seems to be made up of many thick Skins, growing one over another,
and when it is full grown, there springs out of the top a strong Stem,
harder in substance than any other part of the Body. This Stem shoots
forth at the Heart of the Tree, is as big as a Man's Arm, and as long;
and the Fruit grows in clusters round it, first blossoming, and then
shooting forth the Fruit. It is so excellent, that the Spaniards
give it the preheminence of all other Fruit, as most conducing to
Life. It grows in a Cod about 6 or 7 Inches Long, and as big as a
Man's Arm. The Shell, Rind or Cod, is soft, and of a yellow colour
when ripe. It resembles in shape Hogs-gut Pudding. The inclosed Fruit
is no harder than Butter in Winter, and is much of the colour of the
purest yellow Butter. It is of a delicate taste, and melts in ones
Mouth like Marmalet. It is all pure Pulp, without any Seed, Kernel
or Stone. This Fruit is so much esteemed by all Europeans that settle
in America, that when they make a new Plantation they commonly begin
with a good Plantain-walk, as they call it, or a field of Plantains;
and as their Family encreaseth, so they augment the Plantain-walk,
keeping one Man purposely to prune the Trees, and gather the Fruit
as he sees convenient. For the Trees continue bearing, some or other,
most part of the Year; and this is many times the whole Food on which
a whole Family subsists. They thrive only in rich fat ground, for poor
sandy will not bear them. The Spaniards in their Towns in America,
as at Havana, Cartagena, Portabel, &c. have their Markets full of
Plantains, it being the common Food for poor People; Their common
Price is half a Riol, [i.e., real] 3. d. a Dozen. When this Fruit
is only used for Bread, it is roasted or boil'd when it's just full
grown, but not yet ripe, or turn'd yellow. Poor People, or Negroes,
that have neither Fish nor Flesh to eat with it, make Sauce with
Cod-pepper, Salt and Lime-juice, which makes it eat very savory;
much better than a crust of Bread alone. Sometimes for a change they
eat a roasted Plantain, and a ripe raw Plantain together, which is
instead of Bread and Butter. They eat very pleasant so, and I have
made many a good meal in this manner. Sometimes our English take
5 or 7 ripe Plantains, and mashing them together, make them into
a lump, and boil them instead of a Bag-pudding; which they call a
Buff-jacket: and this is a very good way for a change. This Fruit
makes also very goad Tarts; and the green Plantains slic'd thin,
and dried in the Sun, and grated will make a sort of Flour which is
very good to make Puddings. A ripe Plantain slic'd and dried in the
Sun may be preserved a great while; and then eats like Figs, very
sweet and pleasant. The Darien Indians preserve them a long time,
by drying them gently over the Fire; mashing them first, and moulding
them into lumps. The Moskito Indians will take a ripe Plantain and
roast it; then take a pint and a half of Water in a Calabash, and
squeeze the Plantain in pieces with their Hands, mixing it with the
Water; then they drink it all off together: This they call Mishlaw,
and it's pleasant and sweet, and nourishing; somewhat like Lambs-wool
(as 'tis call'd) made with Apples and Ale; and of this Fruit alone
many thousands of Indian Families in the West-Indies have their whole
subsistence. When they make drink with them, they take 10 or 12 ripe
Plantains and mash them well in a Trough: then they put 2 Gallons of
Water among them; and this in 2 Hours time will ferment and froth
like Wort. In 4 Hours it is fit to Drink; and then they Bottle it,
and Drink it as they have occasion: but this will not keep above 24
or 30 Hours. Those therefore that use this Drink, Brew it in this
manner every Morning. When I went first to Jamaica I could relish
no other Drink they had there. It drinks brisk and cool, and is
very pleasant. This Drink is windy, and so is the Fruit eaten raw;
but boil'd or roasted it is not so. If this Drink is kept above 30
Hours it grows sharp: but if then it be put out into the Sun, it will
become very good Vinegar. This Fruit grows all over the West Indies
(in the proper Climates) at Guinea, and in the East-Indies.
As the Fruit of this Tree is of great use for Food, so is the body
no less serviceable to make Cloaths; but this I never knew till I
came to this Island. The ordinary People of Mindanao do wear no other
Cloth. The Tree never bearing but once, and so being fell'd when the
Fruit is ripe, they cut it down close by the Ground, if they intend to
make Cloth with it. One blow with a Hachet, or long Knife, will strike
it asunder; then they cut off the top, leaving the trunk 8 or 10 foot
long, stripping off the outer Rind, which is thickest towards the lower
end, having stript 2 or 3 of these Rinds, the Trunk becomes in a manner
all of one bigness, and of a whitish colour: Then they split the Trunk
in the middle; which being done, they split the two halves again, as
near the middle as they can. This they leave in the Sun 2 or 3 Days,
in which time part of the juicy substance of the Tree dries away,
and then the ends will appear full of small Threads. The Women whose
employment it is to make the Cloth, take hold of those Threads one by
one, which rend away easily from one end of the Trunk to the other,
in bigness like whited brown-thread; for the threads are naturally
of a determinate bigness, as I observed their Cloth to be all of one
substance and equal fineness; but 'tis stubborn when new, wears out
soon, and when wet, feels a little slimy. They make their pieces 7
or 8 Yards long, their Warp and Woof all one thickness and substance.
There is another sort of Plantains in that Island, which are shorter
and less than the others, which I never saw any where but here. These
are full of black Seeds mixt quite through the Fruit. They are binding,
and are much eaten by those that have Fluxes. The Country People gave
them us for that use, and with good success.
The Bonano Tree is exactly like the Plantain for shape and bigness,
nor easily distinguishable from it but by its Fruit, which is a great
deal smaller, and not about half so long as a Plantain, being also more
mellow and soft, less luscious, yet of a more delicate taste. They use
this for the making Drink oftener than Plantains, and it is best when
used for Drink, or eaten as Fruit; but it is not so good for Bread, nor
doth it eat well at all when roasted or boil'd; so 'tis only necessity
that makes any use it this way. They grow generally where Plantains do,
being set intermixt with them purposely in their Plantain-walks. They
have plenty of Clove-bark, of which I saw a Ship load; and as for
Cloves, Raja Laut, whom I shall have occasion to mention, told me,
that if the English would settle there, they could order Matters so
in a little time, as to send a Ship-load of Cloves from thence every
Year. I have been informd that they grow on the Boughs of a Tree
about as big as a Plumb-tree, but I never happened to see any of them.
I have not seen the Nutmeg-Trees any where; but the Nutmegs this Island
produces are fair and large, yet they have no great store of them,
being unwilling to propagate them or the Cloves, for fear that should
invite the Dutch to visit them, and bring them into subjection, as they
have done the rest of the neighboring Islands where they grow. For the
Dutch being seated among the Spice-Islands, have monopolized all the
Trade into their own Hands, and will not suffer any of the Natives to
dispose of it, but to themselves alone. Nay, they are so careful to
preserve it in their own Hands, that they will not suffer the Spice to
grow in the uninhabited Islands, but send Soldiers to cut the Trees
down. Captain Rofy told me, that while he lived with the Dutch,
he was sent with other Men to cut down the Spice-Trees; and that
he himself did at several times cut down 7 or 800 Trees. Yet altho'
the Dutch take such care to destroy them, there are many uninhabited
Islands that have great plenty of Spice-Trees, as I have been informed
by Dutch Men that have been there, particularly by a Captain of a Dutch
Ship that I met with at Achin, who told me, that near the Island Banda
there is an Island where the Cloves falling from the Trees do lie and
rot on the ground, and they are at the time when the Fruit falls,
3 or 4 Inches thick under the Trees. He and some others told me,
that it would not be a hard matter for an English Vessel to purchase
a Ships Cargo of Spice, of the Natives of some of these Spice-Islands.
He was a free Merchant that told me this. For by that name the Dutch
and English in the East-Indies, distinguished those Merchants who are
not Servants to the Company. The free Merchants are not suffered to
Trade to the Spice-Islands, nor to many other places where the Dutch
have Factories; but on the other Hand, they are suffered to Trade
to some places where the Dutch Company themselves may not Trade,
as to Achin particularly, for there are some Princes in the Indies,
who will not Trade with the Company for fear of them. The Seamen that
go to the Spice-Islands are obliged to bring no Spice from thence for
themselves, except a small matter for their own use, about a pound
or two. Yet the Masters of those Ships do commonly so order their
business, that they often secure a good quantity, and send it ashoar
to some place near Batavia, before they come into the Harbour, (for
it is always brought thither first before it's sent to Europe,) and if
they meet any Vessel at Sea that will buy their Cloves, they will sell
10 or 15 Tuns out of 100, and yet seemingly carry their Complement to
Batavia; for they will pour Water among the remaining part of their
Cargo, which will swell them to that degree, that the Ships Hold will
be as full again, as it was before any were sold. This Trick they
use whenever they dispose of any clandestinely, for the Cloves when
they first take them in are extraordinary dry; and so will imbibe a
great deal of Moisture. This is but one Instance, of many hundreds,
of little deceitful Arts the Dutch Sea-Men have in these Parts among
them, of which I have both seen and heard several. I believe there are
no where greater Thieves; and nothing will persuade them to discover
one another; for should any do it, the rest would certainly knock
him on the Head. But to return to the Products of Mindanao.
The Betel-Nut is much esteemed here, as it is in most places of the
East-Indies. The Betel-Tree grows like the Cabbage-Tree, but it is not
so big, nor so high. The Body grows strait, about 12 or 14 foot high,
without Leaf or Branch, except at the Head. There it spreads forth long
Branches, like other Trees of the like nature, as the Cabbage-Tree,
the Coco-Nut Tree, and the Palm. These Branches are about 10 or 12
foot long, and their Stems near the Head of the Tree, as big as a
Man's Arm. On the top of the Tree among the Branches the Betel-Nut
grows on a tough stem, as big as a Man's Finger, in clusters much as
the Coco-Nuts do, and they grow 40 or 50 in a cluster. This Fruit is
bigger than a Nutmeg, and is much like it, but rounder. It is much
used all over the East-Indies. Their way is to cut it in four pieces,
and wrap one of them up in an Arek-leaf, which they spread with a soft
Paste made of Lime or Plaster, and then chew it altogether. Every Man
in these parts carries his Lime-Box by his side, and dipping his Finger
into it, spreads his Betel and Arek leaf with it. The Arek is a small
Tree or Shrub, of a green Bark, and the Leaf is long and broader than
a Willow. They are packt up to sell into Parts that have them not, to
chew with the Betel. The Betel-Nut is most esteemed when it is young,
and before it grows hard, and then they cut it only in two pieces
with the green Husk or Shell on it. It is then exceeding juicy, and
therefore makes them spit much. It tastes rough in the Mouth, and dies
the Lips red, and makes the Teeth black, but it preserves them, and
cleanseth the Gums. It is also accounted very wholsom for the Stomach;
but sometimes it will cause great giddiness in the Head of those that
are not us'd to chew it. But this is the effect only of the old Nut,
for the young Nuts will not do it. I speak of my own Experience.
This Island produceth also Durians and Jacks. The Trees that bear
the Durians, are as big as Apple-Trees, full of Boughs. The Rind is
thick and rough; the Fruit is so large that they grow only about the
Bodies, or on the Limbs near the Body, like the Cacao. The Fruit is
about the bigness of a Large Pumkin, covered with a thick green rough
Rind. When it is ripe, the Rind begins to turn yellow, but it is not
fit to eat till it opens at the top. Then the Fruit in the inside is
ripe, and sends forth an excellent Scent. When the Rind is opened,
the Fruit may be split into four quarters; each quarter hath several
small Cells, that inclose a certain quantity of the Fruit, according to
the bigness of the Cell, for some are larger than others. The largest
of the Fruit may be as big as a Pullets Egg: 'Tis as white as Milk,
and as soft as Cream, and the Taste very delicious to those that are
accustomed to them; but those who have not been used to eat them, will
dislike them at first, because they smell like roasted Onions. This
Fruit must be eaten in its prime, (for there is no eating of it before
it is ripe) and even then 'twill not keep above a day or two before
it putrifies, and turns black, or of a dark colour, and then it is
not good. Within the Fruit there is a Stone as big as a small Bean,
which hath a thin Shell over it. Those that are minded to eat the
Stones or Nuts, roast them, and then a thin shell comes off, which
incloses the Nut; and it eats like a Chesnut.
The Jack or Jaca is much like the Durian, both in bigness and
shape. The Trees that bear them also are much a like, and so is the
manner of the Fruits growing. But the inside is different; for the
Fruit of the Durian is white, that of the Jack is yellow, and fuller
of Stones. The Durian is most esteemed; yet the Jack is very pleasant
Fruit, and the Stones or Kernels are good roasted.
There are many other sorts of Grain, Roots and Fruits in this Island,
which to give a particular description of would fill up a large Volume.
In this Island are also many sorts of Beasts, both wild and tame; as
Horses, Bulls, and Cows, Buffaloes, Goats, Wild Hogs, Deer, Monkies,
Guano's, Lizards, Snakes, &c. I never saw or heard of any Beasts of
Prey here, as in many other places. The Hogs are ugly Creatures; they
have all great Knobs growing over their Eyes, and there are multitudes
of them in the Woods. They are commonly very poor, yet sweet. Deer
are here very plentiful in some places, where they are not disturbed.
Of the venemous kind of Creatures here are Scorpions, whose sting
is in their Tail; and Centapees, call'd by the English 40 Legs,
both which are also common in the West-Indies, in Jamaica, and
elsewhere. These Centapees are 4 or 5 Inches long, as big as a
Goose-Quill, but flattish; of a Dun or reddish colour on the Back,
but Belly whitish and full of Legs on each side the Belly. Their
Sting or bite is more raging than the Scorpion. They lie in old
Houses, and dry Timber. There are several sorts of Snakes, some
very Poisonous. There is another sort of Creature like a Guano both
in colour and shape, but four times as big, whose Tongue is like a
small Harpoon, having two beards like the Beards of a Fishook. They
are said to be very venemous, but I know not their Names. I have seen
them in other places also, as at Pulo Condore, or the Island Condore,
and at Achin, and have been told that they are in the Bay of Bengal.
The Fowls of this Country are Ducks and Hens: Other tame Fowl I
have not seen nor heard of any. The wild Fowl are Pidgeons, Parrots,
Parakits, Turtle Doves, and abundance of small Fowls. There are Bats
as big as a Kite.
There are a great many Harbours, Creeks, and good Bays for Ships
to ride in; and Rivers navigable for Canoas, Proes or Barks, which
are all plentifully stored with Fish of divers sorts, so is also the
adjacent Sea. The chiefest Fish are Bonetas, Snooks, Cavally's Bremes,
Mullets, 10 Pounders, &c. Here are also plenty of Sea Turtle, and small
Manatee, which are not near so big as those in the West-Indies. The
biggest that I saw would not weigh above 600 Pound, but the flesh
both of the Turtle and Manatee are very sweet.
The Weather at Mindanao is temperate enough as to heat, for all
it lies so near the Equator; and especially on the borders near
the Sea. There they commonly enjoy the breezes by day, and cooling
Land Winds at Night. The Winds are Easterly one part of the Year,
and Westerly the other. The Easterly Winds begin to blow in October,
and it is the middle of November before they are settled. These Winds
bring fair Weather. The Westerly Winds begin to blow in May, but are
not settled till a Month afterwards. The West Winds always bring Rain,
Tornadoes, and very Tempestuous Weather. At the first coming in of
these Winds they blow but faintly; but then the Tornadoes rise one in
a Day, sometimes two. These are Thunder-showers which commonly come
against the Wind, bringing with them a contrary Wind to what did blow
before. After the Tornadoes are over, the Wind shifts about again,
and the Sky becomes clear, yet then in the Valleys and the sides of
the Mountains, there riseth a thick fog, which covers the Land. The
Tornadoes continue thus for a Week or more; then they come thicker,
two or three in a Day, bringing violent gusts of Wind, and terrible
claps of Thunder. At last they come so fast, that the Wind remains
in the quarter from whence these Tornadoes do rise, which is out of
the West, and there it settles till October or November. When these
Westward Winds are thus settled, the Sky is all in mourning, being
covered with black Clouds, pouring down excessive Rains sometimes mixt
with Thunder and Lightning, that nothing can be more dismal. The Winds
raging to that degree, that the biggest Trees are torn up by the Roots,
and the Rivers swell and overflow their Banks, and drown the low Land,
carrying great Trees into the Sea. Thus it continues sometimes a week
together, before the Sun or Stars appear. The fiercest of this Weather
is in the latter end of July and in August, for then the Towns seem
to stand in a great Pond, and they go from one House to another in
Canoas. At this time the Water carries away all the filth and nastiness
from under their Houses. Whilst this tempestuous season lasts, the
Weather is Cold and Chilly. In September the Weather is more moderate,
and the Winds are not so fierce, nor the Rain so violent. The Air
thenceforward begins to be more clear and delightsome; but then in the
Morning there are thick Fogs, continuing till 10 or 11 a Clock before
the Sun shines out, especially when it has rained in the Night. In
October the Easterly Winds begin to blow again, and bring fair Weather
till April. Thus much concerning the natural state of Mindanao.
(To be concluded.)
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
The documents in this volume are obtained from the following sources:
1. Manila and the Philippines.--From Navarrete's Tratados historicos
(Madrid, 1676), tratado vi, chaps, iii-viii; from a copy in the Library
of Congress. Chaps. iii-iv appeared in VOL. XXXVII; the remainder is
presented in the present volume.
2. Condition of the clergy.--In Ventura del Arco MSS (Ayer library),
iii, pp. 1-5.
3. Prerogatives of ex-provincials.--From Hernaez's Colección de bulas,
i, p. 592.
4. Royal patronage of Santo Tomás.--From Algunos documentos relat. á
la Univ. de Manila, pp. 31-33.
5. Letter by Pizarro Orellana.--From a MS. in the Archivo general
de Indias, Sevilla; pressmark, "Simancas--Eclesiastico; Audiencia de
Filipinas; cartas y espedientes de los obispos sufraganeos de Manila;
años 1597 á 1698; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 34."
6. Insurrections by Filipinos. This is compiled from various early
writers--Murillo Velarde, Diaz, Combés, and others--full references
to these sources being given in the text itself.
7. Dampier in the Philippines.--From Dampier's Voyages (London
ed. of 1703), i, pp. 279-402; from a copy in the library of Harvard
University.
NOTES
[1] Diaz's account ante, gives this name as Juan de Velas. The
Franciscan was Antonio de San Gregorio.
[2] In no. 11 of his first tratado, p. 39, Navarrete says of this
fruit: "The lechia, called li chi by the Chinese, is considered in
that region as the queen of fruits. One is not deceived in this, for I
am sure that if the ate [i.e., Anona] did not exceed it, I could not
find any fruit that would be better. Although it is a fact that good
things are few and scarce, lechias are so plentiful, that the yield
in the maritime provinces alone is immense; but they do not lose any
of the esteem in which they are held for that reason. They are small,
being slightly larger than a large nut, and the shell is green and
thin. The inside is as white as snow, and it has a kernel in the middle
as black as jet. Its savor, taste, refreshing powers, and odor make
one praise the Creator. When they eat them, they generally put them
in fresh water, for they say that they are somewhat hot. They eat as
many as they can, drink a little water, and then the appetite is keen
to go at it again. The tree is very tall and beautiful. I discovered
them for Governor Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara in the mountains
of Bantan, the year when I arrived at those islands. But, as they
were wild, they were not so large as those in China. Mendoça calls
them ciruelas [i.e., plums], but they deserve a better name." This
tree is also known as the alipai (Euphoria litchi), which is the name
given it by the natives. The name "lechia" may be a corruption of the
Chinese; on the other hand the Chinese name as given by Navarrete
may be the corruption of "lechia." Blanco (p. 199), describes the
tree and fruit. See also Official Handbook of Philippines, p. 297.
[3] Apparently referring to the direction of the wind, as determined
on the circumference of the compass or other instrument.
[4] The calantas, or Philippine cedar (Cedrela, of the order Meliaceæ);
it is a valuable lumber tree.
[5] See list of Philippine fiber plants in Official Handbook of the
Philippines (Manila, 1903), part i, pp. 328-339; also list of fruits
and vegetables, pp. 296-328. Both the scientific and the native
vernacular names are given, with valuable notes on many plants
and trees.
[6] Literally, "woman fish"--the dugong (VOL. XXIX, p. 302). See
Delgado's detailed description of this creature, made from personal
examination of it, in Hist. de Filipinas, pp. 910-912; he also mentions
the virtue in its bones.
[7] The maguey or American agave (Agave vivipara) was introduced
into the Philippines from America, and is cultivated there to a
slight extent. It yields a fiber from which a cloth called nipis is
woven. The fiber itself has been exported in bulk to Europe, China,
and Japan for many years. See Census of Philippine Islands, iv, p. 120.
[8] A reference to Matthew xxiv, 40: "Then two shall be in the field:
one shall be taken, and one shall be left."
[9] The ecclesiastical ceremony of washing the feet of twelve persons
on Maundy Thursday.
[10] i.e., "the things that are their own, and not the things that
are Jesus Christ's."
[11] The garfish or sea-needle (Belone vulgaris).
[12] The village and lake of Nauján. The former is located on
the Nauján River, about two miles from its mouth in northeastern
Mindoro. The lake of Nauján, which is drained by the Adlobang and
Nauján rivers, is about 2-1/2 miles inland from the coast, and is
about 6×10 miles in size. The water is almost stagnant, and the lake
contains many sharks which enter at high tide, while crocodiles are
frequent; numerous kaseles, or snake-birds, and other water birds
are also to be found there. See U. S. Philippine Gazetteer.
[13] Misprint for the lake of Bombon.
[14] Oton and Iloilo are here confused with the island of Panay,
and Caraga with that of Mindanao.
[15] Navarrete says (Tratados, p. 2): "The Chinese traders who crossed
over to Manila, when asked who they were and what they desired,
answered, Xang Lai; that is, 'We come to trade and barter.' The
Spaniards, who did not understand the Chinese language, imagined that
that was the name of a nation; and united those two words into one,
by which until this day they designate the Chinese, calling them
Sangleys. In this way we Europeans have corrupted many other words
for that part of the world. The Philipinas Islands are called Liù
Sung; the Spaniard corrupted the words, and calls them Luzon. The
city of Manila is called Mainila, which means 'marsh' or 'mire;'
our people cut out an 'i,' and the name became Manila. The island
which the natives call Minolo is named Mindoro by the Spaniards,
and that of Malindic we call Marinduque."
[16] The guayaba or guava (Psidium guayava), well-known and valued
in America for its acid fruit, and early introduced thence into the
Philippines, where it is known as bayabas.
[17] The macupa (Eugenio malaccensis--Linn.) is about the size of
a sweet pepper and of somewhat the same shape, rather larger and
quite red in color, but more lustrous; bitter-sweet in taste, somewhat
agreeable, but has no solid flesh which can be eaten. The proper season
for the fruit is April, May, and June. The leaves of the tree have
medicinal properties. The balimbing (Averrhora carambola--Linn.) has
the odor of a quince, and is used by the natives as food with dry fish
or meat. There are several varieties, and the flesh is watery. It makes
an excellent preserve, and is a good sea food. See Delgado's Historia,
pp. 505, 506, 512; and Census of Philippines, iv, pp. 124-126; also,
for the paho, santol, and papaw (papaya), our VOL. XIII, p. 141,
note 20, VOL. XVI, p. 87, note 72, and VOL. XXI, p. 144, note 36.
[18] See VOL. XVI, p. 87, note 72. See also Census of Philippines,
p. 125.
[19] Athanasius Kircher was born near Fulda, Germany, in 1602, and
became a Jesuit novice at the age of sixteen. He was for several
years a teacher in the Jesuit college at Wurtzburg, but was driven
to France (1632) by the war then waging in Germany. Having spent
some time at Avignon, he was sent to Rome, where he died on November
27, 1680. He was one of the most illustrious writers in the Jesuit
order; see list of his works in Sommervogel's Bibliothèque, iv,
cols. 1046-1077. They embrace a wide range of subjects--science,
mathematics, Egyptian hieroglyphics, archæology, etc. The allusion
in the text is probably to Kircher's China monumentis (Rome, 1667).
[20] The small sapota or chico zapote (Achras sapota--Linn.) was,
according to Delgado, peculiar to Nueva España. The tree is tall,
wide-spreading, and tufted. Delgado also describes another variety
called zapote prieto (Diospyros ebenaster--Retz), of which there are
two varieties, one white and one black, which he declares to be natives
of Nueva España. The Census of Philippines says, however, that they
are natives of China. The fruit resembles a medium-sized apple, and
has a green exterior. A pleasant preserve is made of it. See Delgado's
Historia, pp. 517, 518, and Census of Philippines, iv, p. 126.
[21] Ates (Anona squamosa--Linn.) is a fruit somewhat resembling in
appearance a small pineapple. Its exterior is green and the interior
white, and it contains many beautiful bright seeds. It is aromatic
and delicate in flavor, and mild and pleasant to the taste. It is
heating in its effects. Oranges of various indigenous species are
found, among them being several wild species--one of the latter,
the amumuntay (citrus histrix), being twelve or thirteen inches in
circumference and very juicy and bitter. There are seven varieties of
lemons, some of superior quality. See Delgado's Historia, pp. 519,
520, 548-560; Census of Philippines, iv, pp. 124-126; our VOL. V,
p. 169, and VOL. XVI, p. 87, note 72.
[22] The iguana is very abundant in some localities, and sometimes
attains a size of five feet, and can swallow fair-sized fowls
whole. They are often found on trees or in bushes along the river
banks. When disturbed they drop into the water and thus escape. The
eggs are considered a great delicacy by the natives, and the flesh
of one species, the ibid, ibit, or pelubid, is highly esteemed. See
Handbook of the Philippines (Manila, 1903), p. 150.
[23] Tunasan is in the province of Laguna, which is thus mentioned in
the U. S. Philippine Gazetteer (p. 574): "This province is considered
the garden of the Philippines. Its soil and climate are adapted to the
successful growth of every variety of tropical plant and tree known
to the archipelago." Both mechanical and agricultural industries are
considerably developed in Laguna.
[24] In the irrigated lands of Pangasinán the rice yield is
eighty-fold; in dry lands fifty-fold; in highlands of the third
class, at least forty- to sixty-fold. The most fertile farm of the
Philippines (Imus) has 13,442 hectares devoted to rice cultivation. Its
lands of the first class yield one hundred-fold; of the second,
seventy-five-fold; and of the third fifty-fold. Other lands in the
islands yield from fifteen-fold up. See Census of Philippines, iv,
p. 93.
[25] In the Dominican mission of 1632 came a lay-brother named Fray
Diego de Santa María, a son of the convent at Sevilla. Through charity,
he sheltered and educated orphan boys, as Fray Geronimo Guerrero
(VOL. XXII, p. 109) had done earlier. In 1640 these two enterprises
were consolidated, under the auspices of the Dominican order in Manila,
and organized into the college of San Juan Letran. Fray Diego remained
in charge of it for many years; but finally, having obtained permission
to return to Spain, he died on the way, at Acapulco, in 1657. (Reseña
biográfica, i, pp. 418, 419.)
[26] "The boys themselves received ten pesos each for assisting at
burials, which were very frequent" (Reseña biográfica, i, p. 420).
[27] Used here because the secular clergy wear a bonnet, in
contradistinction to a friar, who wears a hood or cowl. See Appleton's
New Velázquez Dictionary.
[28] Theses controverted and defended in the schools. See ut supra.
[29] Spanish, andauan a la rebatiña--a locution which can hardly find
an exact equivalent in English.
[30] On the northern coast of the island Celebes were two villages
named Bool and Tontoli, about twenty (Dutch) miles apart; see
Valentyn's Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien, deel iii, st. ii, p. 134, and
map in deel i, facing p. 1.
[31] The most important starch-producing palm of the Philippines
is the buri (Corypha umbraculifera) which gave name to the island
of Burias and from which sago is obtained. "It blooms but once,
and then perishes" (Blanco). The sago is procured by felling the
tree near the root, and taking out the soft interior portion of the
trunk, which is placed in casks or troughs and the bitter sap drained
off. It is then pounded with paddles or mallets, which separate the
starch into fine grains. The starch is then gathered and dried, and
converted into flour. A wine is also obtained from the tree. See
Census of Philippines, iv, p. 123; also Blanco's Flora, p. 160;
Delgado's Historia, pp. 660-662; and VOL. XXXIV, p. 154, note 499.
[32] A reference to Psalm cxlvii, v. 16: "[Praise the Lord,] Who
giveth snow like wool."
[33] Valentyn mentions the village of Cajeli (Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien,
deel iii, p. 134 of section on Macasar). Crawfurd describes Kaili as
a country on the western side of Celebes.
[34] Probably the paper mulberry (Brousson etia papyrifera), from
which the South Sea islanders make their clothing, using the inner
bark. See Crawfurd's Dict. Ind. Islands, pp. 327, 328.
[35] On the map in Valentyn's work, referred to in note 30, ante,
appears the village of Mamoia, north of Macasar.
[36] Mandhar is a district of Celebes, lying between Kaili and Macasar;
its people have a language peculiar to themselves, and are among
the more civilized peoples of that island. (Crawfurd's Dictionary,
pp. 88, 264.)
[37] This document in the Ventura del Arco MSS. is evidently a mere
synopsis of the original.
[38] "In the year 61 the three bishops had died--Don Fray Rodrigo
de Cardenas, of Nueva Segovia; Don Fray Antonio de San Gregorio, of
Nueva Cazeres; and Doctor Don Juan Velez (a cleric, formerly dean
of the holy church of Manila), of Zebú; and the royal decrees for
the new incumbents did not reach Manila until the year 65. Therein
were proposed the following names: For the diocese of Nueva Segovia,
Fray Francisco de Navarro, a discalced Franciscan, who set a most
unusual example by refusing so honorable a dignity. For that of Nueva
Cazeres, Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios (or de la Alameda) also a
discalced Franciscan; but the royal decree found him dead two years
before. For that of Zebú, the most illustrious Don Fray Juan Lopez,
who came in this ship 'San Joseph,' and had been already consecrated
in Mechoacan." (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, vii, pp. 140, 141.)
[39] In 1673 arose a controversy between the archbishop, Fray Juan
López, and Don Jerónimo de Herrera, the chief chaplain of the royal
chapel, who undertook to exercise among the soldiers the functions of
parish priest. He was excommunicated by the archbishop, but instituted
proceedings against that prelate in a military court. This suit was
quashed by the Audiencia, but the governor withheld the archbishop's
stipends. These conflicts led to certain of the measures adopted by
the Council, recorded in our text.
[40] Alonso Sandin made his profession in the Dominican convent of
Salamanca, in 1658. After completing his studies, he became a teacher
in the college at Plasencia, but resigned that post for the Philippine
missions, being then thirty-one years of age; he came in the mission
of 1671. He was a teacher in Santo Tomás at Manila, until 1676, when
he was sent as procurator to Rome and Madrid, filling that office
for twenty years. He died at Madrid, in May, 1701.
[41] Veitia Linage is best known by his work, Norte de la contratación
de las Indias occidentales (Sevilla, 1672) a valuable contribution
to the history of Spanish commerce.
[42] Juan de Santa María came to these islands (1666) from the
Dominican convent at Sevilla, where he had professed two years
before. He was occupied as a teacher in Santo Tomás, later becoming
rector of the university, superior of the province, and incumbent
of other high offices therein. From 1694 to 1700 he labored in the
missions of Bataan. At the time of his death (April 30, 1715) he was
acting provincial. (Reseña biográfica, ii, pp. 24-26.)
[43] See account of the establishment of this hospital order in Manila
(1641) in Concepción's Hist. de Philipinas, vii, pp. 56-69; and the
full history of its first century's labors there, by the rector of
its Manila convent, Fray Juan Manuel Maldonado de Puga (Granada, 1742).
[44] Montero y Vidal cites (Hist. de Filipinas, i, p. 368) a line
of this pasquinade: "He who desires to buy carajais or frying-pans,
iron, etc., resorts to the fathers of the Society."
[45] Felipe Fernández de Pardo was born on February 7, 1611, in
Valladolid, of noble lineage. At the age of fifteen, he entered the
Dominican order in that city. After being ordained, he spent several
years as a teacher in colleges of his order, and then joined the
Philippine mission, arriving in the islands in 1648. He was a teacher
in Santo Thomas for several years, and then its rector; in 1660 was
elected prior of the Manila convent, and afterward, provincial. In
1671, he became commissary of the Inquisition at Manila, and in
1677 archbishop of that diocese, although, as the bulls therefor
did not arrive, he was not consecrated until October 28, 1681. He
was a rigorous censor of public morals, and a strenuous advocate of
his ecclesiastical privileges; consequently, he became embroiled with
influential private persons, with the secular government, and with the
religious orders. As a result, the Audiencia decreed (March, 1683) his
banishment, sending him to Lingayén. The new governor, Cruzalaegui,
secured Pardo's reinstatement in his see, which occurred November
15, 1684; then followed more troubles and disputes, the archbishop
seeking vengeance on his former enemies. He died on December 31,
1689. See sketch of his life in Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 473-486;
and an outline of his official career in Montero y Vidal's Hist. de
Filipinas, i, pp. 365-376.
[46] Jerónimo de Ortega was born at Tudela, April 12, 1627; he was
but fourteen years old when he entered the Jesuit order. In 1654 he
entered the Philippine missions, where most of his term of service
was devoted to the college at Manila, of which he was successively
vice-rector and rector during six years; he also filled other important
offices in his order. Sailing for Europe (1683), as related in our
text, he died at sea before reaching Acapulco, on November 15 of that
year. See Murillo Velarde's Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 356.
[47] Luís de Morales was born in Tordesillas on September 29, 1641,
and became a Jesuit novice at the age of seventeen. Later, he devoted
himself to the Philippine missions; in Mexico he met Father Sanvitores,
who selected Morales to aid him in the evangelization of the Marianas,
where he labored three years. In 1671 Morales went to Manila, where
he was assigned to the Tagal missions; in 1676 he became rector of
Antipolo, and in 1681 vice-rector of Cavite. Going to Europe with
Ortega, the latter's death imposed his responsible mission upon
Morales. Having fulfilled its duties, he desired to return to the
Philippines, but was detained in Mexico seven years; he came back to
Manila about 1698, and soon afterward was elected provincial. His
term of office ended, he was rector of the Manila college for four
years; and he died there on June 14, 1716. (Murillo Velarde, Hist. de
Philipinas, fol. 403-405.)
[48] "Bohol, pertaining to the government of Zebú, and its spiritual
administration to the fathers of the Society of Jesus, who in this
island have in their charge six [sic] villages, the most important of
which are Loboc, Baclayón, Inabangan, Malabago, Malabohoc" (Diaz's
Conquistas, p. 132).
A note by Diaz's editor, Fray Tirso López, states that Bohol "now
[1890] belongs to the Recollects."
[49] "He made ready four caracoas, with such Spaniards as he could
find, and Indians from Sialo (which is the coast of Zebú), a very
warlike people; and set out for Bohol, not entrusting to any one else
an expedition so important" (Diaz, p. 133).
Diaz has evidently obtained most of his information from Murillo
Velarde. We present (in notes) only such matter as he gives additional
to the latter.
[50] Diaz states (p. 133) that these were both Pampango and Sialo
Indians, and numbered more than a thousand.
[51] "The insurgents fled to the mountain, where for four days our
men pursued them, slaying all that they encountered. They found
many persons who had died for lack of food, as they had made but
scanty provision of it, confiding in the promises of the demon, who
had promised them that he would change the leaves on the trees into
rice." (Diaz, p. 134.)
[52] "Laden with spoil and captives," and "leaving a garrison of
Spaniards and Pampangos" (Diaz, p. 134).
[53] Spanish, zarzas y espinas; probably meaning branches of thorny
shrubs, and trees. The defense of pointed stakes driven into the ground
(VOL. XXVII, p. 275) is called in Tagal suyac. Cf. description of
this in Ling Roth's Natives of Sarawak (London, 1896), i, p. 444,
and ii, pp. 110-115.
[54] Spanish, ballestones; but the contrivance mentioned in the
text refers to a trap used throughout the archipelago for hunting
large game; it is called belatic or balantic, and as it is sprung
discharges a sharp javelin or arrow. See description and illustration
of this trap in Reed's Negritos of Zambales (Manila, 1904), pp. 45,
46; and of a similar device used by the Dyaks and Malays of Borneo,
in Ling Roth's Natives of Sarawak, i, pp. 437-442. Cf. Diaz's mention
(Conquistas, p. 134) of these ballestones, "which they are wont to
set as snares for hunting deer."
[55] Fifty-seven years previously; Bancao must have been, then, at
least seventy-five years old at the time of this revolt; Diaz says
(p. 134) that Bancao was "very old and decrepit."
[56] According to Diaz (p. 135). "desiring to be king of the island
of Leyte."
[57] "For with the enemy came many women clad in white, and many
children, in order to pick up bits of earth and scatter them on the
wind, as the demon had told them--believing that if they did so the
Spaniards would fall dead; but the test of this proved very costly
to them. The demon had also promised them that he would resuscitate
those slain in battle; but, when they carried some of the dead to
his temple for him to do this, he replied, with ridiculous excuses,
that he could not do it." (Diaz, p. 135.)
[58] According to Diaz (p. 136), he was shot and then burned; also
many of the rebels were hanged or shot.
[59] See description of this earthquake in VOL. XXXV, pp. 217-226.
[60] Gapán (or Gapang) is a town in the southern part of Nueva Ecija,
Luzon, near San Isidro and the Rio Grande de la Pampanga.
[61] Juan de Abarca, a native of Madrid, came to the islands in
the Augustinian mission of 1635, and was a minister in Pampangan and
Visayan villages during twenty years, except at times filling official
posts in Manila. He died there in 1656.
[62] See account of the conquest of Luzón, in VOL III, pp. 141-172;
but the name Matanda does not occur therein.
[63] Alluding to the fact that it was the Lutaos--who lived in Basilan,
Joló, and other islands south of Mindanao--who aided the Spaniards
to quell this insurrection.
[64] That is, the missionaries had interfered with an illicit amour
of Sumoroy's (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, vi, p. 251).
[65] Meaning that at a certain part of the ascent, where but one
man at a time could pass, each had to use both hands and feet for
climbing, leaving his weapons with the man next to him, the latter
handing them up afterward; and so on, with each in turn. See Murillo
Velarde's Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 174.
[66] An allusion to La Rochelle, considered the most strongly fortified
town in France.
[67] Miguel Ponce, S.J., was born in Peñaroya in Aragon, in the
archbishopric of Zaragoza, and attended the university of Alcalá de
Henares where he studied philosophy and theology. His endeavors to
enter the Society met with failure. Inspired to a mission life, he set
out for Madrid to join the mission then forming for the Philippines,
but found the procurator already gone. Following afoot, he overtook
him at Carmona, but was so worn out with his difficult journey and
so tanned that he resembled a negro in color. For that reason the
procurator refused to accept him, "for in Indias, color is an accident
of great importance to the Indians." But Ponce, in his eagerness to
go, offered to accompany the missionaries as a servant or slave; and
he was finally taken in the capacity of servant, embarking with the
secular habit. He was admitted into the Society at Mexico in 1631,
and after four months sailed from Acapulco for the Philippines. His
studies were completed at Manila, and he was finally ordained a
priest. For eleven months he labored in eastern Samar and was later
appointed rector of Palapag. He was killed as above described, June
11, 1649. See Murillo Velarde, fol. 175, 176a.
[68] Giulio Aleni, S.J., was born at Brescia in 1582 and entered the
Society in 1600, being sent almost immediately after professing the
humanities to China. He landed at Macao in 1610 and entered China
in 1613, where he labored until 1649, the year of his death. As the
text shows, he must have made a journey to the Philippines. He left
many writings, a number in the Chinese tongue. See Sommervogel's
Bibliothèque.
[69] Of Albay, which some called Ibalón, from a village and port of
that name.--Rev. Tirso López, O.S.A.
[70] Juan del Campo, S.J., was born in March, 1620, in Villanueva
de la Vera, near Jarandilla, his father being Juan del Campo, a
familiar of the Holy Office. Having studied in the Jesuit college at
Oropesa, he entered the Society (1636) contrary to the wish of his
parents. He went to Mexico in 1642, and thence to Manila (1643). His
superiors sent him to Mindanao among the Subanos, where he labored
zealously. He suffered martyrdom in that island January 7, 1650,
during the insurrections. See Murillo Velarde, fol. 178-179 verso.
[71] Vicente Damian, S.J., was born in the city of Mecina, October 13,
1613, and after studying in a Jesuit college, entered the Society,
March 20, 1630. After many vain efforts, he finally obtained permission
to go to the Philippines, where he arrived in 1643. After completing
his theological studies in Manila, he was sent to the Ibabao missions,
where his preaching and works caused visible effects. After the death
of Miguel Ponce, he was appointed rector in his place. He met death
October 11, 1649 at the hands of the insurgents. See Murillo Velarde,
fol. 176-178.
[72] The Recollect Fray Miguel de Santo Tomás, minister at Butuan;
it was he who cared for the survivors of the insurgents' attack on
Linao (VOL. XXXVI, p. 136).
[73] This name is quite erroneous. The person here referred to was
Tuto, a member of the curious class among the Subanons of Mindanao
who are called labias (see description post, in VOL. XL.) For Manila
read Malandi (or Malandeg), the name of an ancient village on the
coast near Zamboanga which disappeared after the abandonment of the
fortress there. Tuto was baptized by Combés under the name of Martin,
and often aided that missionary when he visited Tuto's village of
Malandi. (See Combés's Hist. Mindanao, col. 63, 64, 514, 756, 786.)
[74] Francisco Lado, a native of Sardinia, was born on June 2, 1617,
and at the age of sixteen entered the Jesuit order. He died at San
Pedro Macati, on May 19, 1677. (Retana and Pastells's edition of
Combés, col. 713.)
[75] A Sanskrit word, meaning "a learned man"--apparently borrowed
by the Malays and used to designate their Mahometan teachers.
[76] Spanish, à las quarenta horas; a phrase usually referring to
the devotion of forty hours in connection with the exposition of
the Blessed Sacrament (usually occurring in times of public danger
or distress). As nothing is said in the text of such exposition, the
apparent meaning is that Tenorio finished his enterprise within forty
hours after leaving Samboangan--a rendering for which the Spanish
form is an unusual one, but not more so than many other expressions
in Concepción's pages.
[77] This name is said (Retana and Pastells's Combés, col. 739)
to mean "lady who will be queen"--uley being a variant of uraya,
the future of raia or raja ("king" or "queen"). Urancaya (ut supra,
col. 787) is from orang ("man") and kaya ("rich").
[78] Concepción states (Hist. de Philipinas, vii, p. 9) that an
insufficient amount of timber was furnished for a ship then on the
stocks, and Cortaberria urged on the overseers of the woodcutting,
and they in turn their gangs of men, but with so much harshness that
the latter mutinied.
[79] Pedro Camacho came from the Dominican convent at Sevilla, in the
mission of 1648. He ministered to the Indians in and near Manila,
and was director of the school of San Juan de Letran; he finally
returned to Spain in 1659. (Reseña biográfica, p. 466.)
[80] For description of tree-dwellings--made, however, by the natives
of Mindanao--see VOL. XXI, pp. 239-241.
[81] This was Nicolas de Campo.
[82] Spanish, morenos criollos. "There are creoles, or morenos, who
are black negroes, natives of the country; there are many Cafres,
and other negroes from Angola, Congo, and Africa" (Murillo Velarde,
Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 5).
[83] In Bolinao was a chief named Sumulay, a relative of Malóng, who
tried to further the latter's ambitious schemes; Sumulay was opposed by
the missionary there, a discalced Augustinian named Juan Blancas. On
January 5 Ugalde arrived at Bolinao, and conferred with Blancas. As
the chief strength of the insurgents lay in their poisoned arrows,
which caused mortal wounds, the friar induced a friendly chief to
supply the Spanish troops with an antidote for this poison. Ugalde
also procured there supplies of various kinds--among them, small boats
which could enter the creeks, and hides of cattle with which to form
shelters against the enemy's arrows. (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas,
vii, pp. 16, 26, 27.)
[84] Juan Camacho made his profession in the Dominican convent of
Almagro, April 19, 1638, and came to the Philippines in 1648. Most of
his remaining years were spent in the Pangasinán missions; but in 1668
he became prior of the Manila convent, and a year later provincial. In
his old age, he was summoned to Mexico by the Inquisition on a
scandalous charge; his innocence being declared after four years,
he returned to the islands, and died at Manila in 1700. (Reseña
biográfica, i, p. 471.)
[85] Probably alluding to Santa Cruz's Hist. Sant. Rosario; he mentions
the insurgent leader Malóng as dying "a very good Christian" (p. 340),
and the insurgents as deluded and misled. His account of the rebellion
is much shorter than Diaz's. It will be remembered that the Dominicans
had spiritual charge of Pangasinán.
[86] Bernardino Márquez, a native of Galicia, made his profession
in the convent of Toro, and came to the islands in 1645. He spent
the rest of his life mainly in the Ilocan missions, and died in
1680. (Pérez's Catálogo, p. 120.)
[87] A misprint for balarao (or bararao), another name for the
kris--see VOL. XVI, p. 81, and VOL. XXVIII, p. 55.
[88] Thus in the text, in most places; but in Pérez's Catálogo the
name is written "de la Isla."
[89] Juan Polanco was a native of the hill-country of Burgos, and
professed in the Dominican convent at Valladolid in 1639. He came
to the islands in 1658, and, after learning the Chinese language,
went to China; he spent two years there, suffering persecutions and
torture. He was then appointed procurator-general of his order at
Madrid and Rome, in which service he sent to the Philippines the
mission of 1666. He died at Sevilla, on December 2, 1671.
[90] Thus in text; apparently a misprint for Polanco.
[91] This name is not found in the gazetteers of the present time;
but it must have been in the mountains east of Vigán, from which
Narvacán is thirteen miles southeast.
[92] Concepción makes this number eight hundred (vii, p. 31), as does
Murillo Velarde (fol. 256). Both they and Diaz give the numbers in
words, not figures.
[93] Talabón: a name given to a sort of litter (also known as
petaca--which also means "a covered box or basket"--and lorimón), which
is usually conveyed by four men in their hands or on their shoulders,
after the fashion of a silla gestatoria (a portable chair used by
the pope on great occasions), but closed.--Rev. Tirso López, O.S.A.
[94] See preceding note on talabón (p. 199).
[95] This statement does not agree with that in the next paragraph
which states that this chief was hanged at Vigán.
[96] Elsewhere printed Bisaya. The Tagal word buaya means "crocodile,"
which gives some basis for the conjecture that Boaya was the chief's
name, as persons are often named for animals, among barbarous peoples.
[97] Verse 121: "I have done judgment and justice; give me not up to
them that slander me."
[98] Spanish, como cuñas del mismo palo; alluding to the proverb,
No hay peor cuña que la del mismo palo, equivalent to "there is no
worse enemy than an alienated friend."
[99] Alluding to the threatened invasion of the Philippines by
Kue-sing, the Chinese adventurer, and the consequent disturbances
among the Chinese in the islands, with the ravages made by the Moro
pirates--all in 1662. See accounts in VOL. XXXVI.
[100] These houses were founded in the following order: Ogtóng
(Otón), 1572; Tigbauan, 1575; Dumangas, 1578; Antique, 1581; Jaro,
1587; Guimbal, 1590; Passi (Pasig), 1593; Laglag, 1608. (In regard
to Laglag, cf. our VOL. XXIII, p. 293.) For these dates, see Coco's
chronological table at end of Medina's Historia, pp. 481-488.
[101] These houses were thus founded: Panay and Dumárao, 1581; Dumalag
(or Ayombón), 1506; Batán, 1601; Mambúsao, 1606; Cápiz, 1707. Aclán
was founded by the Augustinians, in 1581; and Ibahay, in 1611. See
table mentioned in note 100, above.
[102] Laglag is now named Dueñas. This wretched custom of changing the
old names, substituting for them new ones which have no connection
with the place to which they are applied nor with Filipinas, has
unfortunately become general in those islands; and for the sake
of pleasing or flattering some captain-general, alcalde, or cura,
history is grievously obscured.--Rev. Tirso López, O.S.A.
[103] Pérez says (Catálogo, p. 199) that Mesa was a native of Mexico,
but made his profession (1644) in the convent of San Pablo at
Manila. In 1656 he became minister at Dumalag, and in 1659 at Laglag.
[104] This mingling of religion and idolatry was frequent among the
newly-converted Indians, who by not living conformably to the just
severity of the gospel precepts, apostatized from the faith; and even
today cases of similar amalgamation occur. The Indians of Filipinas
did not offer sacrifices to the demon because they believed that he
was some divinity, for they had knowledge of his being an evil spirit:
but through fear, so that by keeping him satisfied he should do them
no harm, or else that he might aid them to carry out some depraved
purpose.--Rev. Tirso López, O.S.A.
[105] Thus in the text, but evidently an error; it should doubtless
be regarded as an error for Malonor.
[106] A similar death was the fate of that most pious father Fray
Isidro Badrena--on April 9 in the year 1874, in the hills near the
town of Tubungan--when he was exhorting some apostate Indians to
desist from offering an idolatrous sacrifice.--Rev. Tirso López, O.S.A.
Tubungan is seventeen miles west-northwest of Iloilo.
[107] The modern form of this name is Jalaur; this fine river, with
its numerous affluents, waters the northeastern part of the province
of Iloilo, Panay. The "river of Laglag" is evidently the Ulián, which
flows into the Jalaur near Laglag (the modern Dueñas). Apparently the
culprits, both living and dead, were fastened to stakes in the river,
to be eaten by crocodiles.
[108] Delgado relates this incident (Hist. de Filipinas, p. 280) as a
specimen of the credulity of the natives, and adds this other instance:
"While I was in the village of Lipa, the discovery was made in the
village of Tanauan of a mine which was said to be of silver. Officials
and workmen were sent to examine it, and test the ore, by the governor
Don Fausto Cruzat y Góngora; they did so diligently, but the mine
said only, Argentum et aurum non est mihi [i.e., "Silver and gold
have I none"]. At that time the devil caused some arrant knave to
spread the lying tale that the miners declared that the mine would
not yield silver until this were done: all the Visayans of Comintan
must be seized and their eyes gouged out, and these must be mixed
with other ingredients, and the ore-vein of the mine rubbed with that
compound. This was so thoroughly believed that every one was anxious
and tearful, and the old women hid themselves in the grain-fields; and
it took a long time to quiet them, with much labor of the [religious]
ministers (whom they did not believe, because these were Castilians),
until in the course of time they were undeceived."
[109] Apparently a misprint, as Diaz usually makes it Pignauen, but
both forms seem improbable, as compared with Paynauén--cf. that name
in next section of this document, and in Concepción (viii, p. 14)--and
suggest carelessness in transcription from the MS. of Diaz. It is
written Paynaven in various documents cited in Reseña biográfica, i,
p. 490, et seq. Neither name appears in modern gazetteers.
[110] He was killed in the expedition against the Igorrotes, about
1666; Diaz says (p. 654) that Ugalde went with four thousand pesos
to pay the troops, without sufficient escort, and was waylaid and
slain by Zambals. Paynauén was founded at that time.
[111] Domingo Pérez was born in 1636 near Santillana, and professed
in the Dominican convent at Trianos, at the age of twenty-three. He
came to the islands in 1666, and in the following year was sent to
the Bataan missions, and soon afterward to those among the Zambal
tribes; the rest of his life, save during 1677-79, was spent among
the Zambals. He wrote an "account of the customs and superstitions
of the Zambals." (Reseña biográfica, ii, pp. 34-43.)
[112] "N" in Spanish stands for some proper name unknown, or not
intended to be expressed, like the English "Mr. Blank," or "So-and-So."
[113] The missions to the Zambals were previously in the hands the
Augustinian Recollects. A royal decree dated June 18, 1677 commanded
the archbishop of Manila to place the missions of Mindoro in charge of
one of the religious orders. Concepción states (Hist. de Philipinas,
viii, pp. 4-16) that Pardo thereupon compelled the Recollects
to give up the Zambal missions to the Dominicans, receiving in
exchange therefor those of Mindoro that the natives in the latter
desired to have Jesuits sent to them, and that the Zambals preferred
the Dominicans, but that the opposition of both was overcome by
the persuasions of government officials; and that the Dominicans,
in their zeal for condensing the scattered Zambal population, made
several blunders by removing certain villages to very unsuitable and
disadvantageous locations.
The compiler of Reseña biográfica asserts that Concepción's statements
are incorrect. He claims that the Zambal in 1676 asked for religious
instruction, stipulating that Dominican missionaries be sent them,
which was done; that soon the Recollects began to complain of
this, as an intrusion on their field of labor, and the Dominicans
therefore withdrew their laborers; that this field was afterward
given to the Dominicans by Archbishop Pardo (1679), on account of
its being neglected by the Recollects; that the attempt to carry on
the Zambal missions cost the Dominicans great loss of money and men,
without producing satisfactory results, and therefore they offered
several times to give up this charge; and that finally (1712) they
did actually renounce and surrender the Zambal missions. In proof of
these statements he cites not only Salazar's Historia, but various
documents and records from the Dominican archives at Manila. (See
Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 486-504; this resumé is accompanied by an
interesting report of the work accomplished by the Dominicans in those
missions during the years 1680-90, made by Fray Gregorio Jiraldez,
June 2, 1690.)
[114] William Dampier, one of the most noted of English navigators
and freebooters, was born of an old Somersetshire family in 1652. He
received an education that would fit him for some trade, but, his
parents dying while he was young, he was allowed to follow his roving
bent; he was bound to the master of a ship in 1669, and made voyages
to France and Newfoundland. In 1670 he sailed as a common sailor to
Java, returning to England in 1672. The next year he served against
the Dutch, and in 1674 went to Jamaica, where he lived for more
than a year as a planter. In August of the following year (1675),
he became a logwood-cutter at Campeachy, where he first met with the
freebooters. The year 1678 found him in England, but in 1679 he was
once more in Jamaica; and shortly after began his life as a privateer,
part of his adventures being given in detail in the present text. After
his return to England in 1691, not much is known of him until 1697,
when he published his travels. Two years later he was deputed by the
government to conduct a voyage of discovery to the South Seas, during
which voyage he explored the west and northwest coasts of Australia,
New Guinea, and New Britain, and named the Dampier Archipelago and
Strait. He made two other circumnavigations (1703-07, and 1708-11),
the last as pilot of the privateer "Duke." His death occurred in London
in 1715. Dampier also left various other writings. The seventh edition
of his voyages, published in 1729, is a composite work, and contains
much that is not Dampier's own. Consequently, that edition is not
used in the present instance, as we prefer to present Dampier's own
work. See Knox's New Col. of Voyages (London, 1767), iii, pp. 28-121;
and New International Encyclopædia.
[115] The title-page of this book reads as follows: "A new Voyage
round the World. Describing particularly, The Isthmus of America,
several Coasts and Islands in the West Indies, the Isles of Cape
Verd, the Passage by Terra del Fuego, the South Sea Coasts of Chili,
Peru, and Mexico; the Isle of Guam one of the Ladrones, Mindanao,
and other Philippine and East India Islands near Cambodia, China,
Formosa, Luconia, Celebes, &c., New Holland, Sumatra, Nicobar,
Isles; the Cape of Good Hope, and Santa Helena. Their Soil, Rivers,
Harbours, Plants, Fruits, Animals, and Inhabitants. Their Customs,
Religion, Government, Trade, &c. Vol. I. By Captain William
Dampier. Illustrated with Particular Maps and Draughts. The fifth
edition corrected. London: Printed for James Knapton, at the Crown
in St. Paul's Church-yard. 1703."
[116] Of the Jew-fish, Dampier says (i, p. 249): "The Jew-fish is a
very good Fish, and I judge so called by the English, because it hath
Scales and Fins, therefore a clean Fish, according to the Levitical
Law, and the Jews at Jamaica buy them, and eat them very freely. It is
a very large Fish, shaped much like a Cod, but a great deal bigger;
one will weigh 3, or 4, or 5 hundred weight. It hath a large Head,
with great Fins and Scales, as big as an Half-Crown, answerable to
the bigness of his Body. It is very sweet Meat, and commonly fat. This
Fish lives among Rocks; there are plenty of them in the West-Indies,
about Jamaica, and the Coast of Caraccos; but chiefly in these Seas,
especially more Westward."
[117] In the preface to his first volume, Dampier says that he had
intended to add an appendix, in which various matters were to have
been discussed, but he omits it because it would swell his volume
too greatly.
[118] The latitude of the island of Guam is 13° 27' North and its
longitude 145° East.
[119] Robert Knox (1640-1720) was the first English writer on
Ceylon, where he was a prisoner among the natives for almost twenty
years. After his escape from captivity he reached a Dutch colony on
the coast, and returned to England in 1680. He made later voyages
to India and the South Seas. His relation is entitled An Historical
Relation of the Island of Ceylon in the East Indies; Together with
an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Diverse
Other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous
Escape (London, 1681). It has been translated into French, Dutch,
and German. (New International Encyclopædia.)
[120] At first sight, this might be considered the source of the
English word "outriggers;" but according to Murray (who cites this
statement of Dampier's) the Dutch word uitlegger was not used in this
sense until a much later date, and cannot be considered as the source
of the English word.
[121] The governor of the Marianas, Antonio Saravia, died on November
3, 1683, and was succeeded by Damian de Esplana. Early in 1684, he sent
José de Quiroga to subdue, the northern islands of the group. Taking
advantage of this division of the Spanish forces, the natives of
Guam rebelled, and on July 23 attacked the Spaniards in Agaña, badly
wounding Esplana, killing nearly fifty soldiers and wounding others,
and killing or wounding several Jesuits. Meanwhile the natives of
Seypan attacked Quiroga, but he finally defeated them and came back
to Guam (November 23); but he could not punish the natives, as they
fled to the mountains and the neighboring islands. In 1688 Esplana
went to Manila for medical treatment, but returned about a year later;
and he died at Agaña in 1694. (Murillo Velarde, Hist. de Philipinas,
fol. 359 b-361.)
[122] The English factory at Fort St. George, the chief citadel of
Madras. Fort St. George was established in 1639, a piece of land
having been obtained from the rajah of Chandgherry; it commands the
Black Town and the Roads, and may be considered the nucleus of the
city. It was held by the French during the years 1744-49.
[123] This was the galleon "San Telmo;" it arrived safely at Manila.
[124] Evidently the island of Leyte which fits Dampier's description
of the island of St. John (see post).
[125] Magalhães was killed, not in Luzon, but on the island of Mactan.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXXVIII, 1674-1683 - 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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