Beginning with the first decree, which treats of the confessions of the conquerors, they being constrained to make restitution in solidum, I say that I have never done anything in this bishopric which leaves me so vexed and conscience-stricken, as that I dealt so mildly with those who came to this country nominally as conquerors, but actually as destroyers. According to the true and sound doctrine of St. Thomas, and of all right-feeling men, they are all bound to pay in solidum for the damage which they have done. I, with more than necessary boldness, have planned so that no one has been asked to pay more than he himself has confessed that he owed; but that is nothing in comparison with the innumerable injuries which have been committed in this country. Four years have passed since I gave this order obliging them to pay one hundred pesos, and then another two hundred pesos, the largest amount not exceeding five hundred pesos. There were very few persons taxed for the larger sum, and they were captains or leaders of expeditions. They have put me off from one year to another and even yet they have not paid me, always alleging poverty. I have found it necessary to take from the little that I have to pay some of these obligations, on account of the needs of the Indians, and because the Spaniards had not the wherewithal to pay them. When I considered the hardships suffered by Spaniards in this land, and that it will utterly ruin them, if the matter with which we have to deal be treated severely by the theologians, I dared, on this account, to do what no one else would have done. There is no lack of religious who, since their arrival here, condemn my action, and say that I am obliged to constrain the conquerors still further, or to pay the compensation myself. I assure your Majesty that these scruples have constrained me, and do so today, to such an extent that this is the principal thing among other matters of considerable import of which I have to give an account to his Holiness and to your Majesty. There is no doubt whatever that he who does the damage is obliged to make restitution; and all the more when the injured persons are living as they, or their children and heirs, do in these islands. From investigations which I have had made regarding those persons who inflicted the injuries, I am assured that the sums collected as restitution do not amount to the hundredth part of the valuation of the damages. As my age makes it impossible for me to go to Spain, and since your Majesty, as a most Christian prince, so earnestly desires and strives for the welfare of these natives, I shall send herewith a memorandum of what I have done in this case, and of what each of the conquerors has paid, and of the injuries committed—although it would be impossible to relate them all. I do this so that your Majesty may be pleased to grant to me and to all this land mercy and grace, when my actions are considered there; and, if it should be necessary, to procure the approbation of his Holiness to compromise the matter by releasing them from the remainder of the restitutions, as full restitution is impossible. To attempt to do more would be only to harass them, with no other result than burdening their consciences. Thus I will be freed from these intolerable scruples and continuous vexations in which I am placed.

Your Majesty seems to hold me guilty for having encouraged the slaves to leave the Spaniards. I do not know how blame can be placed on me therefor, since the Indians held as slaves by the Spaniards (who were unwilling to let them go) have been declared free by your Majesty. It was evident that the former could not be absolved, any more than if they had stolen property; and your Majesty knows that, in the jurisdiction of the conscience, there is not the liberty that there is in external matters. Your Majesty may pardon a life, or remit the penalty of the law to him whom he may consider meet; but the tribunal of conscience is not free to pardon anyone, or to absolve persons from any sin, except when they act as they ought. Confession being thus rigorous, even greater laxity was permitted than should have been. Your Majesty must believe that I am trying to do everything possible here, so as not to exceed my duty, and I never take such action without first consulting with such persons of learning and conscience as are here.

In the second decree, your Majesty orders that when the Sangleys wish to be baptized, their hair shall not be cut off. He who reported this to your Majesty deceived you, for there are not only a hundred houses occupied by Sangleys who remain here for negotiations with their merchandise, but more than [blank space in MS.] who live in the alcaiceria of this city, called Parian, and more than [blank space in MS.] [39] in all the neighborhood. It is certain that in both places there are at the very least more than [blank space in MS.]. Since the religious of St. Dominic came to this country, more than two hundred have been baptized, and every day many more are receiving baptism. But inasmuch as what concerns the Sangleys, and the great compassion with which God has dealt with them and with us, will go in a separate letter, in order not to increase the length of this, your Majesty will read therein matters that will prove how well you are served, and you will give abundant thanks to God. He who reported this to your Majesty must have some zeal, but not with knowledge; for I consider all the conditions, desire the conversion of these Chinese, and obtain it, better than he who wrote to your Majesty. I would not decide to have their hair cut off, if it were not so necessary that not to do so would be to endanger greatly the faith and the persons with whom I deal. These affairs are of such a nature that no matter what opinion were given, I could not do anything else, even though I should wish to do so. Because I considered it fitting to baptize two of them without cutting off their hair, I thereby did myself much harm; your Majesty may thus see how contrary to actual facts are the things written you from here, and that the death-penalty is not suffered for cutting off their hair, as was written to your Majesty; for after the Dominican fathers learned the language we discovered vast secrets of that land, which were formerly well hidden.

The third decree states that there are many ecclesiastics in this bishopric who trade and carry on traffic, to the great scandal of and bad example to both Spaniards and Indians. He who wrote your Majesty told the truth in part, since two ecclesiastics from Nueva Espana furnished this bad example, although I did what I could to prevent them. Nevertheless, God punished them more severely than I did; for all the property of one was taken away by the Englishman, [40] and the other died here, and lost what he had sent to Nueva Espana. Those ecclesiastics who are under my government, however, have not exceeded their duty in this respect as much as your Majesty has been informed. Moreover, they are not so many as has been said in Spain, for there are not more than five who are stationed among the Indians, and these are so poor that they do not even have enough to eat. More than one and one-half years before this decree came, I had taken measures to correct the excess which might result, having ordered that no ecclesiastic should carry on traffic. This appears by the ordinances which I had made concerning this. That your Majesty may order them to be considered and amended, I enclose them with this letter. In the future this order will be more rigorously observed, according to your Majesty's command.

In the fourth decree, your Majesty says that the president of this Audiencia wrote that when he came to this land, he agreed with me as to the order [of precedence] to be followed when the Audiencia and I should encounter each other in public. He further says that, disregarding this arrangement, I sat in the place which did not belong to me, and turned my back on the Audiencia. I would be very glad to meet the president before your Majesty, and hear his reason for daring to inform your Majesty in such a manner. It is very certain that no such agreement was ever made between him and me, except that, when there was to be a procession in the church, the president should go with the auditors, and I with my clergy; for he claimed the right hand, and I did not have it to take. Thus we came to this agreement. The place, however, was not discussed, nor was there any excuse for doing so, as it is well known that the Audiencia is always seated on the gospel side in the body of the chapel; and, although the bishop is usually in the choir, he may, when he wishes to do so, sit on the gospel side, above the steps. Wherever I have been, this has been the practice; and I sent an account thereof, with the testimony of an eye-witness, to the Council of the Indias. Your Majesty provides and commands by this decree that I shall take the place belonging to me. This order means that I take the same place which I took then, as that is the proper place belonging to a bishop, without giving any cause whatever for the Audiencia to feel injured, as the places are very distinct from each other. Although the vexation ceased, because of the suppression of the Audiencia, the injury done me by the president, in writing to your Majesty, has not yet come to an end. I ought not to fail to reply to what is so unjustly imputed to me.

He who informed your Majesty of the matter contained in the fifth decree, namely, that when appeal is made to the royal Audiencia in cases of fuerca, [41] I do not allow the notaries to give an account thereof; and that I seize the writs and records of proceedings, so that they cannot be issued, the Audiencia having requested me in vain to do otherwise—whoever, I say, gave this account to your Majesty did me greater injury than any of the others. For not only is this not so, but I even urge the notary to give a report; and I am so far from [what has been said] to the contrary, that I assure your Majesty that I much regretted the suppression of the Audiencia. For I was very glad that, whenever I denied anything on appeal, the Audiencia examined my reasons therefor; and, whatever was determined there, my conscience was freed and at rest. Moreover, I always accepted, without making any objection, the decisions of the Audiencia; for I would consider it a grievous offense to deny your Majesty's right to make the final decision in cases of fuerca, and would not presume to contradict it in any manner whatsoever. If he who made that report based it on two cases which came up—one when they erased my name from the prayer at the mass of the Audiencia, and substituted their own names; the other when, in an investigation, they claimed the right to examine the proceedings which had been conducted in secret—in these two cases I confess that I refused to give up the records. I did so in one instance because there were therein very secret matters touching the office of the Inquisition, of which I was then in charge. When they commanded that report of this case be given, I said that it would be furnished in so far as concerned the chaplain of the said Audiencia. This was what they had asked, and claimed the right to try this case. Nevertheless, they would accept nothing but the entire proceedings; but with this I could not comply, for it would have been impossible to do so without very grave damage to my office. After considering my reasons therefor, the Audiencia insisted no more in the case. The other case concerned the general investigation which I had made of the prebendaries and clergy—two of whom appealed against the sentence which I imposed, stipulating that the tenor thereof be observed as is expressly commanded by the Council of Trent. They had recourse to the Audiencia; and when an order was given for the record of the case to be presented, I replied that there were secret matters touching the honor of the clergy, which I could not show, but that I would show that part referring to the two ecclesiastics; as they wished their offenses to be known. Nevertheless, it was not right to exhibit the guilt of the others, as they did not feel that their sentences were unjust. There were many arguments over this point, and all the theologians of this land said that I was right. To avoid scandal I openly consented that the two ecclesiastics should appeal to the archbishop. [42] Both then and now I have felt much aggrieved by the injustice done me by the Audiencia. I have sent a complaint thereof to your Majesty, and do not know why the testimony I sent has not yet arrived there. I had then and still have reason for complaining that the Audiencia usurped my jurisdiction and discussed proceedings which properly belong to me, but in which they have forestalled me. A citizen of this city left a piece of land whereon was built a hospital and church for the poor. Although this was ecclesiastical property, they deprived me of judgment in this case, and retained it in their own body. At another time, the Indians had dared to take a friar from his convent, and they dragged him to the place where I was. I commenced to try the case, and gave a verdict against the Indians, as it was doubly sacrilegious to take the friar from his convent, and to place hands on an ecclesiastic. This case came to the Audiencia by way of appeal, and it still remains there, with the records. A beneficed priest, who was performing the duties of his office, was refused its dues by the encomendero, and came to me for justice. After I had ordered the encomendero to make the payment, he appealed to the Audiencia, and they retained the suit there, claiming that the property given to beneficiaries in this land is secular. As I am poor, and have little power, these injuries and similar ones have not been heard of in Spain. I have suffered them and have kept silence, in order to avoid scandal; but for having resisted in but two cases, in which I was obliged to defend the right of my jurisdiction, in order to comply with the duties of my office, they made a damaging report of me to your Majesty. They say that I would not permit a report to be made, and took the records of the suit from the notary, so that they could not be dealt with. In order that your Majesty may see the difference between what I here declare (which is the actual truth), and what they wrote to your Majesty, accusing me of resisting in toto the commands of the Audiencia in regard to the cases of fuerca (which was glaringly false testimony against me), I have decided—although everything touching the Audiencia is now settled, since your Majesty has commanded it to be suppressed—to answer the account which they gave your Majesty about the places and the cases of fuerca. Although I am sure that my cause has been justified before God and those men who know what has happened, I do it to satisfy your Majesty, to whom I owe all obedience and subjection as to my king and lord. I am even bound to explain my conduct; because, by the grace of God, your Majesty has no one in this kingdom who serves you with greater love and zeal. I claim no payment nor temporal interest whatever, because this I neither desire nor demand; but I do only my duty, and that I do with all my might. I could send your Majesty good and sufficient proofs of everything which I have said here; for I certify, in all truth, that everyone to whom I have shown these decrees has crossed himself in surprise that there should be a person or persons who would dare to make such malicious reports to your Majesty. It suffices me to say that, if credit be not given me, not much time will pass before this truth will be revealed, beyond all possibility of hiding.

May our Lord guard the royal person of your Majesty, and preserve you many years. At Manila, the twenty-fourth of June, one thousand five hundred and ninety.

Fray Domingo, Bishop of the Filipinas.

[Endorsed: "To the king our lord, in his royal Council of the Indias. Filipinas. 1590. The bishop; June 24." "Received and read, June 19, of the year 1591. It is unnecessary to respond thereto."]

Sire:

The letter which your Majesty ordered to be written to me from San Lorenco el Real [i.e., the Escorial], on the seventeenth of August of eighty-nine, I received by the hand of the secretary of the governor, Gomes Perez Dasmarinas, in the village of Tabuco, outside of this city, on the first of June of this year ninety. And for one so beset with afflictions, labors, and difficulties as I am, the favor which your Majesty therein shows me was no little comfort; for I have been freed by it from the pains of conscience, which I continually bore in my soul, at seeing the course of affairs in this land. I held myself obliged by conscience to go in person to inform your Majesty of these matters, as it appeared to me that my letters were accomplishing little, in accord with my hope that your Majesty would at once amend what you knew stood in need of betterment. And this thought gave me more anxiety because, as at other times I have written your Majesty, among the calamities and misfortunes under which this land suffers, none the least is that your Majesty must get information of them through the very men who have destroyed this land, and who work for their private interests rather than for the common good. As the reports are made by such persons, your Majesty can well see the result. Therefore this land has come to its present misery; and the new governor will have no small task if he maintains it, and saves it from ruin, and it is even now all but lost. I am emboldened to say this because hitherto there have been made to your Majesty many perverse reports; and by this ship we have received the decrees, by which it clearly appears that false reports were given your Majesty, because of the provisions made in these decrees, as I shall explain elsewhere.

The greater part of the religious and other principal persons of this land were of the same opinion as I, maintaining that I was in duty bound to go in person and give your Majesty an account of affairs here, because they see that everything here is going to ruin; and that this common expedient was of greater importance than the harm that might be done by my absence. But thanks be to God, in whose hands are the hearts of kings, and who put into the heart of your Majesty what is provided, ordained, and commanded by this letter for the weal and betterment of all this land. If this be executed as your Majesty has ordered, the country may be helped; but hitherto there has been so much sloth and carelessness in executing what your Majesty provides and orders for the good of this land, that thus it has come to its present extremity. I trust in our Lord that this state of affairs will not continue, but that the principal aim of the governor and of all the rest will be to procure the good of these natives whom we have so afflicted.

This whole country has been well satisfied at your Majesty's suppression of the Audiencia, for without doubt it was a greater burden than a country so feeble and poor could bear; although I was always of the opinion that, if it were paid from Mexico, the Audiencia would work no harm here. But what your Majesty orders and commands is expedient for all of us; and so we hold it a great favor, especially as your Majesty sends in place of the Audiencia, as governor, Gomez Perez Dasmarinas—who, from the good example which he has furnished and the zeal which he has disclosed in the service of your Majesty and the good of these realms, has given universal satisfaction, and the hope that he will improve the condition of the land, and give it the orderly condition which it was losing. May the divine Majesty preserve in him these excellent intentions, and give him strength and grace to execute them; because as the heart of man is so hard to understand, and of itself so variable, and this land is so exposed, it is not strange that we fear some alteration, having seen it in others who also gave excellent examples. But if the governor who has now come to us shall persevere in what he has begun (as I hope in God he will persevere), your Majesty has sent us the man whom we need.

When Doctor Santiago de Vera came by command of your Majesty to establish the Audiencia in this country, he set up for himself a seat of honor in the church, as the viceroys do. The adelantado, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, did not establish one, nor did the governors who afterward succeeded him. Gomez Perez, who is now governor, did not wish to set one up; for in this and in all other things he has shown himself very moderate. But it seemed to me that he should not fail to establish it, and thus at my importunity, and that of other persons, he has done so. Because your Majesty has already honored him in other respects, favoring him with a guard of halberdiers, and as people from all the kingdoms of the infidels by whom we are surrounded resort to this city, and as these barbarians respect their superiors as gods, it did not appear to me to be right that the person who represented your Majesty should discontinue the dignity which was required to represent you. And in order that your Majesty in the future may be pleased to provide this land with a governor who shall be capable and worthy to use his authority, I beg your Majesty to approve this and send him the order to continue and make permanent the practice.

The twelve thousand ducats which your Majesty has ordered to be paid in three installments for the work on this church, were necessary enough, although I fear that they are to avail as little as the rest; because, although your Majesty has so often commanded it, and we on our part have exercised the greatest possible diligence, it has not been possible to draw out from the royal treasury what was due from it for the said work; and so it has come to a standstill, or so little is done that it never advances. It really is a pity to see a cathedral church, in a city containing so great a concourse of heathen, where divine offices are celebrated in a church of straw, in which, on the coming of a storm, no one can remain. Your Majesty will see what the condition of the rest of the churches must be. It certainly is a pity to see the little care there is in this matter, and the scandal occasioned to the heathen and the recent converts by the little veneration that we who have so long been Christians bestow upon the temples in which we worship our God, for really many of them are not fit to serve as stables. I have given your Majesty an account of this before now. The two thousand ducats which your Majesty ordered paid from the treasury of Mexico for this work were not brought, because the governor could not bring the securities that were necessary to obtain that sum there, because of his hurried departure. Moreover, it should be understood that it will be very difficult to collect the portions to be paid by Indians and encomenderos, because of their want and poverty. And for this reason we do not dare to press them much, deeming it better that the work should be done slowly than to harass one who is unable to do more; and it has been the treasury of your Majesty which has aided us least.

Your Majesty's command that the religious should not depart from the bishopric without license of your Majesty, or that of the governor and myself, is a very just thing, and therefore it will be carried out; because it also seems fitting to me not to let the religious depart from here, where they are so few and so many are needed. Before this ship arrived the president and I had despatched two Dominican religious to Chincheo, which is the province of China nearest to this land, and the place whence all the Sangleys who come here to trade set forth. In this departure there was a punctual observance of what your Majesty commands in this clause of your letter, although we had not then received it. And owing to the fact that before we determined to send them, and at the time when we sent them, there occurred many notable things from which your Majesty should receive much satisfaction, I thought it better, in order not to make this letter so long, to place them by themselves in another, which will accompany this one, in order to give your Majesty a more detailed account of things so worthy to be heard.

With regard to what your Majesty orders concerning the remission of tithes for twenty years to those who now come to settle and who may come in the future, I would to God that the Spaniards were inclined to cultivate the land and to gather the fruits from it, rather than that we should ever afflict the natives by tithes. But your Majesty should know that when a man comes to this country, even if he were a beggar in Spain, here he seeks to be a gentleman, and is not willing to work, but desires to have all serve him; and so no one will give himself to labor, but undertakes trafficking in merchandise, and for this reason military and all other kinds of training have been forgotten. From this fact not a little damage will come to this land, if the governor does not regulate this. In the letter which the cabildo of the church wrote to your Majesty a much longer account is given of this.

To proceed informally [de plano], without insisting on legal technicalities [sin llegar a tela de juicio], and not to impose pecuniary punishments in the suits which occur in these regions, is a most holy and necessary practice. I desire greatly that in the tribunals of your Majesty this be observed; in mine I have so provided, and this practice has been observed and henceforth will be observed with greater rigor.

He who informed your Majesty of the disorderly manner in which have been collected the tributes of the encomiendas which are not fully pacified, and how poorly the ordinances of your Majesty have been observed, spoke the truth in this matter. The excess in this has been so great that it has been the cause of all the riots and the revolt of the Indians, and of the deaths which have occurred among the Spaniards. I have given your Majesty news of this, grieving for the evils which have sprung from it. For the Indians of this province, in those places where the name of God has never entered, nor that of your Majesty, must feel resentful where they have seen neither ministers of instruction nor of justice; but only see that each year a dozen of soldiers with arquebuses come to their houses to take their property away from them, and the food upon which they live, although their all is little enough. These collectors afflict, maltreat, and torment them, and so leave them, until they return another year to do the same. What else can these natives think of us, but that we are tyrants, and that we come only to make our gain out of their property and their persons? And this will be very difficult to remedy, so distant from the rest are some of the encomiendas, with water between, and so little fear of God have those who make the collections. It may be that with the arrival of the new governor there will be much improvement in this; although if he does not bear an order from your Majesty to change some measures which up to the present have been in force, I have no hope of betterment.

In the next to the last clause of this letter your Majesty says that to remedy the present lack of instruction is my own special obligation, which I confess; and I have so appreciated this that, seeing the great present need of instruction and the little help which I can offer, I am so disturbed and so filled with anxiety that, if I were able to leave the bishopric, I would try to flee from it. But if, inasmuch as your Majesty declares to me my obligation, and puts in my charge what is lacking, you should give me, together with it, authority to right affairs, your Majesty would be relieved of responsibility, and I of anxiety, other than to make progress in learning my obligations. If I do not have authority and power to remedy this, I must live all my life in anxiety and perturbation of spirit, because every year I see them collect tribute from a race that is never given to understand why it is collected; nor is there any hope that they may be able to have instruction, because of the great difficulty there is in giving it to them. Knowing that this is the legitimate title which we have in seeking tribute, your Majesty may see what peace of conscience he can have who has all these souls in his charge, both those who collect and those of whom collection is taken. To relieve me from the anguish in which I live, the only means of removing all difficulties is for your Majesty to send us a great number of religious of the four orders already established here—without giving ear to those who speak of a matter about which, in my opinion, they have no means of judging here. They say that some have tried to persuade your Majesty, with no other spirit than that of the devil (who wishes to hinder so much good), that we have all the religious that are necessary. In addition to the thirty-seven Augustinians now here, more than three hundred others are needed; and even these will not be enough. Yet, with this number great results would be accomplished.

The first is that your Majesty would be fulfilling the obligation which you have toward these nations, in giving them instruction. They need this, because of the ten divisions of this bishopric eight have no instruction; and some provinces have been paying tribute to your Majesty for more than twenty years, but without receiving on account of that any greater advantage than to be tormented by the tribute and afterward to go to hell.

Second, all the Indians who are to be pacified will then be found, because experience has already shown us that to think of finding the Indians with a force of soldiers is rather to lose them, and never to pacify them; while with religious they all become obedient with great good will. And, when they are pacified and converted, much larger tributes can be exacted, and the increase of revenue in the treasury of your Majesty from their tributes would be greater than the amount spent in sending them religious; while the conscience of your Majesty would be free from the greatest weight which, in my judgment, it has in this land, because tributes are collected from Indians who have never rendered obedience, and do not, as I have said above, know why they are paying it.

In the last clause your Majesty orders me to charge myself with the protection of the Indians of this bishopric. I receive this charge as a special favor; because, as it was, I was burdened with the same responsibility, and with this commission I shall have, as your Majesty says, more authority in order to render aid. And this provision was so necessary because, without it, I was able to do almost nothing to succor the Indians. And with this I think I shall be able to serve your Majesty more, and to advance the cause of those who shall come with the charge of bishop, although the one joined to the other is of very great consequence. The Indians who have learned of it are very glad, since the obligation which is due them from the Spaniards is of no concern to the latter. And as it is from the hand of your Majesty, this office, then, is of greater importance for the relief of the conscience of your Majesty and the preservation of the natives, than any other one of all that are provided for afterward by the governor. I have not the wherewithal for the expenses which occur; for there must necessarily be a notary, interpreter, and lawyer, and persons who with my authorization shall be present to plead the suits—which will not be a few, and cannot be carried through without spending money—since I am not able, nor is it right that I should be on hand to present the petition, or to plead the causes and business of so much weight and authority. To take this task of being my agent, some honest man, however honorable his station, should be glad to do it. It is necessary that he be a person of great credit and of resolute mind, that he may not fear to defend the Indians, although at the risk of injury from those who harm them, and this seldom fails to come to pass, as the disputes are often with those who are very powerful.

It will also be necessary to send persons from this city through all the bishopric to investigate the injuries that the Indians suffer. Before they go to do this, I shall have notice of what is happening; and this is to be done at the cost of your Majesty's treasury, in order not to give occasion for the robbery of the Indians, if they should have to pay them. All this is necessary in order that I should be able to perform well this office, and relieve the conscience of your Majesty and my own; because many are the wrongs which the Indians receive in this bishopric from your encomenderos, the alcaldes-mayor, and the tax-receivers; and, the farther away they are, the greater the wrongs and the more difficult the remedy. I humbly beseech your Majesty to be pleased to command provision to be made as I here request, because otherwise my protection will be only nominal and ineffectual. I have already discussed this with the governor, and I understand that he will make provision in some of these things, because the necessity is very urgent; and for the remainder we wait what your Majesty is pleased to command. The friendly intercourse which your Majesty commands me to observe with the governor, your Majesty may be assured will not be lacking on my part; and I understand that without doubt there will be as little lack on the part of the governor, because in the little intercourse that I have had with him I have conceived very great hopes of him. And I believe that God inspired your Majesty to send him to us—although, as I have known him only a little while, I am not able to express more than what I hope.

Because there is no mention made of the Sangleys in the clause of the letter in which your Majesty commands me to take charge of the protection of these natives, the governor has considered—and this is his opinion—that because we were not there named, neither I nor my agent could answer for them, as for the natives. May your Majesty be pleased to command what is to be done in this case, because the Sangleys have so much more need of protection than the natives. In the meanwhile, according to the wish of the governor, I shall not cease to aid in whatever may concern them, just as if I had been appointed to look after them by your Majesty; and my agent will do the same, in those matters which belong to him as such. May our Lord preserve the royal person of your Majesty for many years. At Manila, the twenty-fourth of June, 1590.

Fray Domingo, Bishop of the Filipinas.

[Endorsed: "Filipinas. To his Majesty; 1590. The bishop; twenty-fourth of June." "Received and read on June 19, 1591; and answer sent him that it had been received, and that what he advised had been approved and should be continued."]



Royal Decree Regulating Commerce in the Philippines

Don Phelippe, by the grace of God, King of Castilla, Leon, Aragon, the two Sicilies, Jherusalem, Portugal, Mallorca, Sevilla, Cerdena, Cordova, Corcega, Murcia, Jaem, the Algarves, Algezira, Gibraltar, the islands of Canaria, the Eastern and Western Yndias, and the islands and mainland of the Ocean Sea; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Borgona, Bravante, and Milan; Count of Habspurg, Flandes, Tirol, and Barzelona; Seignior of Vizcaya and Molino, etc. Inasmuch as I have been informed [43] by the city of Manila in the Philippinas Islands that the great consignments of money sent by the wealthy from Nueva Espana, for investment in Chinese merchandise and that of other countries, have caused ruin to that country; and that the factors and others taking part in the said trade buy the goods at wholesale prices, and raise the price of all the merchandise, so that the poor and common people of the said islands cannot buy them, or buy them at very high rates; and furthermore that, because of the number and size of the said consignments of goods, and the vessels being few in number (indeed, sometimes and usually but one, and then quite filled up and laden with the said merchandise for Mexicans), no space is left for the citizens and common people [of the Philippines] to send their merchandise: therefore, as they have implored me, as a remedy for the said annoyances, to provide and order that no consignments of money be sent from the said Nueva Espana to the said islands, and that they be not allowed to have factors or companies there, but that the citizens of the said islands alone be allowed to buy and export to the said Nueva Espana domestic and foreign products; and that, if anyone else should wish to trade and traffic there, he should be compelled to become a citizen of the islands, and reside there for at least ten years, or as might be my pleasure; and because my will is to concede favor to the said islands, in order that their condition may continue to improve, and the inhabitants thereof to be advantaged—I grant that, for the present, they alone, and no others—whether of Nueva Espana, or any other part of the Indias—may trade in China, and export, take, or sell to the said Nueva Espana the merchandise and articles thus traded for in both the kingdoms and mainland of China, and in the said islands, for the time and space of six years, first commencing from the date of the departure of the first vessel with a cargo of merchandise for the said Nueva Espana. I prohibit and forbid all other persons whomsoever, of whatever rank and preeminence, from trading in the said islands and in China for the space of the said six years, reckoned as above stated, under penalty of confiscation of the merchandise that they have traded for therein. I order that this my provision be promulgated in the City of Mexico, and that my royal officials there enter it in their books. Those of the said islands shall do likewise, and they shall endorse on the back of this said provision the date upon which it took effect, by the departure from port of the first vessel with the said merchandise. They shall send me a separate attestation of the same, so that I may know when the said six years are to be in force. And neither one nor the other shall do anything contrary to this order. [Blank spaces for place, day, and month] one thousand five hundred and ninety.

So that for the period of six years only, the citizens and inhabitants of the Philippinas Islands and none others, whether in Nueva Espana or other places, may trade and traffic in China. [44]

[Accompanying this decree is a separate paper reading as follows: "/ By the crown of Castilla. Provision allowing the people of Manila to trade in China. His Majesty omitted to sign this decree, because he wishes your Lordship to summon Pedro Barbosa and Pedro Alvarez Pereira, and to ascertain from them what is written on the subject from India from Don Christoval de Mora to Pedro Alvarez. This latter will show your Lordship all the papers that he has bearing upon this matter; and after you shall have examined them, you shall advise his Majesty of your opinion. Sant Lorenzo, July 23, 1590." Without other signature than a rubrica or flourish.]



The Collection of Tributes in the Filipinas Islands 1591

Source: This document is obtained from copies of the original MSS., in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla.

Translation: It is synopsized, and partially translated, by Emma Helen Blair; the remaining translation is by Frederic W. Morrison, of Harvard University, and Norman F. Hall.



The Collection of Tributes in the Filipinas Islands



Memorandum of the Resources of the Hospital of Manila and Its Needs



The royal hospital for the Spaniards possesses about one hundred taes of gold in the encomienda of Darandum in Ylocos, which was assigned to the said hospital by Doctor Sande. DC pesos

It possesses, further, six hundred pesos, which were granted to it by the president from the encomienda which fell vacant because of the death of Don Luis de Sahajosa, in Ylocos. DC pesos

It possesses one thousand five hundred fanegas of rice, and one thousand seven hundred fowls, assigned by the president from the tributes of Caruya and Lubao, which belong to his Majesty. DLXX pesos

It possesses what your Lordship assigned it in the encomienda of Bondoy Moron, which, it is thought, will amount to more than eight hundred or nine hundred pesos. IU pesos

———————— IIU.DCCLXX pesos



With the above, the said hospital cannot even support the expenses incurred for food and for services rendered by the Indians. It likewise needs a doctor, medicine, nurses, and other services, as well as exceptional delicacies, bed clothes, and tents. Indeed half the money is expended in the anointings and sweatings which are applied throughout the year.

There is also needed a chaplain, who is usually attached to the said hospital, to administer the sacraments to the sick.

The building of the said hospital does not suffice for its needs. It contains but one hall, where all classes of sick people are packed together, to their own detriment. Another infirmary is greatly needed for patients who suffer from buboes, and for anointings and sweatings; there are many sick with this disease, since this country is well suited to produce it. The said hospital also needs a room for the convalescents, for lack of which many relapses are wont to occur.

We also need quarters for sick women, for many poor creatures do not recover because they have no money, and no place where they can go.

Likewise, the said hospital is in need of a kitchen, utensils, and quarters for its servants, all of which things are needful therein for the suitable outfit and service of the said hospital.

The captain Cuenca, as director of the hospital.



Discussion and Conclusions of the Bishop Concerning the Matter of Tributes

Jesus

Inasmuch as I understand that some of the encomenderos, and especially those from Camarines, have gone, or desire to go, to ask permission of your Lordship to collect from their encomiendas, in which they never have, nor do they at present, maintain religious instruction, I have deemed it best to send to your Lordship a brief statement of what I and the theologians of this bishopric feel concerning the collections in the aforesaid encomiendas, in order that your Lordship may understand how and in what way they are to be licensed to make these collections. [45] Although the king, our lord, has unburdened his royal conscience by entrusting it to your Lordship and to myself, I see no reason why we should weigh down our own souls and consciences with what others are to eat and expend.

The encomiendas existing in these islands are, in general, divided into two classes; for some of them have had and do still have religious instruction, and others have never had it in the past, nor do they enjoy it at present. The encomiendas which do not possess instruction are themselves divided into two classes: the first consists of those which have not had, and now have not, any religious instruction, nor have they ever received from their encomenderos spiritual or temporal benefits; on the contrary, their present condition is such that it would seem the Spaniards had never gone thither to do aught else than to reduce and conquer them in order to exact tributes. We may even say that the encomiendas are in worse condition than if the Spaniards had never come, for, with the harsh treatment and oppression that they have received at our hands, they are at present further from receiving the law of God than if they had never known us. The second class consists of the encomiendas which, although they have not been instructed, have received from their encomenderos, or by means of them, some temporal advantages which tend toward spiritual benefits, which prepare them so that they may be instructed, and that one may live among them in security. In the first division are included the encomiendas of Calamianes, which at present belong to Captain Sarmyento; the islands of Cuyo, which belong to Captain Juan Pablo de Carrion; the encomiendas which are in the islands of Mindanao and Jolo, and on the coast opposite, Mindoro and Elin; the encomiendas called Zambales, which extend from Maribeles to Pangasinan; in Ylocos, the valley of Dinglas, and the encomiendas which extend from Ylagua to Cagayan, and all those of Cagayan; and those which extend along the farther coast from Cagayan to Mavban; and, finally, all those other islands of like character, which I do not at present remember. In all the aforementioned places, it has been hitherto impossible to collect the tributes, and it will likewise be impossible in the future, should they continue to maintain their present attitude; but whatever has thus far been collected from them we are under obligations to restore.

In the other division are included all the remaining encomiendas of the Pintados, with the exception of a few in Panay where there is religious instruction. In the above division are included the islands of Leite, Negros, Babao, Balon, and Bohol; and, in the island of Panay, the encomienda of Captain Pedro Sarmiento; the encomienda of Axuy, which belongs to his Majesty and to Francisco de Rribera; the tingues [hills] of the river of Araud which belong to his Majesty and to Captain Juan Pablo de Carrion and two or three other encomenderos; the islands of Marinduque and Masbate, and all the others which extend thence to the mouth of the channel; in Camarines, the islands of Catanduanes and Lagunay, and those along the coast and many others which are in this condition. In all the aforesaid places it may be considered a general rule that religious teaching did not, and does not exist—or at least has existed for so short a time that it is practically the same as if it had never existed. Moreover, from all the aforesaid places and from others like them, since they have been in such condition that one could travel through them in security (and, if ministers should come, their inhabitants could be instructed), it has been possible to collect a certain amount of tribute, for aid, and support, and expenses. Not all, or even half, of the tributes, however, could be collected; if the encomiendas are rather large, only the third part is obtained, and if they are small, only half. Moreover, whatever collections were made from these encomiendas could not be made until they had been prepared as aforesaid. Inasmuch as this matter is a most difficult one, on account of the danger incurred in collecting from the Indians what they do not owe, and when they are not willing that it should be collected, and of depriving the encomenderos of what is due them in case they have fulfilled their obligations toward the Indians, this shall be the rule regarding such action as has been taken hitherto by the confessors, namely, that an encomendero who has simply made collections among the Indians, without having done them any temporal or spiritual good, shall not be entitled to collect any tributes; if, however, through his endeavors, or by trading with them, they are so well-inclined that he can go about safely among them, and they themselves can be instructed when they have ministers, the encomenderos shall be entitled to collect from them the portion which we have named above. In order that from this time forth, the king in the royal encomiendas, and the encomenderos in theirs, may, as has been stated, collect the third part or the half, the following conditions must be observed:

First: That the encomenderos shall endeavor, with the utmost diligence and care, to establish sufficient religious instruction in their encomiendas. In case they are unable to do so, they shall write to his Majesty, requesting him to provide the necessary number of ministers to teach the Indians; and they shall ask this so earnestly and effectively that his Majesty will feel himself under obligation to send ministers. They shall likewise offer, if it be necessary, to pay a part of the expenses which his Majesty shall incur in sending the ministers.

Second: In case ministers cannot at once be found to instruct the natives, orders shall meanwhile be given as to how the encomenderos are to reside in their lands. This should not be done in the manner which has been hitherto practiced, when some of the encomenderos hoping thus to reduce their expenses go to live in their encomiendas (indeed, I know not if there are any who act otherwise), and there employ the Indians in the service of themselves, their families, and their houses, taking away their possessions at the lowest price, and treating them as if they were their slaves. They care nothing for instructing the natives, or setting them a good example, or preparing them to receive baptism; on the contrary they exasperate the Indians with their harsh treatment, and cause them to abhor the law of God. Such encomenderos as these should not reside in their encomiendas: the governor ought to forbid them even to visit those places, and should himself appoint such person or persons as would fulfil toward the Indians the obligations which rest upon encomenderos.

Third: In the encomiendas of the king, and in those of the encomenderos who, for the aforesaid reasons, ought not reside in their encomiendas, such persons shall be appointed, with the approbation of the bishop (to whom his Majesty has entrusted this care, and which of right falls to him), as shall fulfil those obligations toward the aforesaid natives which are incumbent upon encomenderos, conformably to the law of God and to what his Majesty has provided and commanded in his laws and ordinances—in order that in this manner the Indians may be pacified and appeased; and so prepared that, when they shall have ministers, they can receive instruction from them. Under these conditions and limitations, the king in his encomiendas, and the encomenderos in theirs, may collect from the said encomiendas something from their current products, for help, maintenance, and expenses. That would be a third part of the tributes, if the encomiendas are large and the religious teaching sufficient therein; but if the encomiendas are small it would be half, as has already been stated.

Among the encomiendas which maintain religious instruction (although none, or very few, have enough of it), there are some whose inhabitants, although including some Christians, are for the most part infidels, and so ill-disposed and so unfavorably situated that it is impossible for them to receive the instruction, since there are not enough ministers in the said encomiendas. Even though instruction exists therein, no tribute, or at least very little, ought to be exacted of the infidels until they have ministers to teach them, and the encomendero influences them to give consent, so that they can be taught. In this class of encomiendas are included the tingues of Silanga, Pasi, Tabuco, and Maragondon; those of Pangasinan, and others in Ylocos; and the rest in the island of Panay. These encomiendas are among those which have religious instruction: the others have already been enumerated.

The encomenderos of these islands have fallen into an error, based upon a misunderstanding of a decree of the king, in which he commands that a fourth part of the tributes from the encomiendas shall be set aside in order to construct churches and to provide for divine worship. They imagine that by virtue of this decree those encomiendas which have never had religious teaching may collect the entire tribute, after setting aside a fourth part of it. Moreover, but a small number have set aside this fourth part, and they have done it very seldom. It is an unbearable deception for the encomenderos to hold this view, for this decree does not refer to the encomiendas which, as we have said, are deprived of religious teaching. As for the latter, not only can the king not give them license to collect their tributes, but, even were he here, he himself could not collect them. The aforesaid decree, moreover, treats not of these, but of the encomiendas whose inhabitants are already Christian. It is with regard to these that the king commands that a fourth part of the tributes be appropriated for the construction of churches; and that in place of the tithes which they, as Christians, owe to the ministers for their maintenance, a certain part of the tributes be appropriated in such wise as may be here decided. Afterward, I shall satisfactorily prove that it never entered the king's mind that the encomenderos would, by renouncing the fourth part of the tributes, fulfil their obligations toward their encomiendas.

The above is a summary of the contents of the opinion which I am preparing, wherein may be found a more extensive treatment of what I have here set down. In that document your Lordship will find complete proofs of what is contained in this summary, accompanied by arguments so cogent and convincing that there is neither room nor possibility for doubt in this matter.

Two other points are to be found in the clauses furnished to me by the secretary, Juan de Cuellar, drawn from the instructions which the king, our lord, gave to your Lordship for the good government of this land. In one of them there is a discussion of the two reals which his Majesty ordered to be added to the tributes hitherto collected. It also contains the views of the theologians of this bishopric, and my own, concerning this increase. Your Lordship will find them all in the document which, as I said above, I am preparing. Inasmuch as the execution of that clause is not immediately pressing, it has not seemed to me necessary to discuss it here.

The other clause deals with the means to be employed in establishing religious instruction in the small encomiendas and districts where the said instruction does not exist. Concerning this we shall have but little to say at present, not because the affair is free from very great difficulties, in undertaking to accomplish his Majesty's orders as contained in the aforesaid clause; but because there is no present occasion for anxiety regarding the establishment of this instruction, inasmuch as there are no ministers to undertake the work. I will only say that, if his Majesty does not decree that the small encomiendas be made into a few large ones, it will be most difficult (and indeed almost impossible) to establish therein religious instruction.

In conformity with this, your Lordship will see how you are to give permission to the encomenderos who do not maintain instruction, so that they may collect from their encomiendas, if your Lordship wishes to make secure your own encomienda [46] which I, by this statement, have enabled you to do.

May Jesus Christ, our Lord, bestow upon your Lordship the light of His grace, so that in all matters you may be enabled to accomplish His holy will, and secure the welfare and protection of these natives, which they so sorely need. From our house, on the twelfth of January of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-one.

Fray Domingo, Bishop of the Filipinas.



Summary of the Decision Reached by the Bishop of these Philipinas Islands, and the Other Theologians of this Bishopric, Concerning the Collection of the Tributes Therein

Jesus

The first conclusion: From the encomiendas which have not had and do not have religious instruction, and have never received from the encomenderos any other benefit or advantage, either spiritual or temporal, than the collection of the tributes, then being left in their former condition (and such are most of the encomiendas in this bishopric), the tributes should not be exacted. But in case they have already been exacted, or shall be in the future, and the encomenderos shall have done no more good therein than they have thus far, those who have made these collections shall be compelled to make restitution therefor to the natives of the said encomiendas. This same obligation also binds those who, being obliged by their office, and having the power to prevent this evil, shall give license, or consent, or permission, that these collections be made.

Second conclusion: In the encomiendas which, although they may not have had or at present have religious instruction (or so little, and for so short a space of time, that no result can be observed), have been pacified through the earnest endeavors and good works of the encomendero, and whose inhabitants are so subdued as to permit of travel and residence among them, and favorably disposed to receive instruction in case there should be anyone to impart it to them; the encomenderos shall be allowed to collect a certain portion of the tributes—as, for example, the third part, if the encomiendas are of average size (for, if they are large, it is a great deal to collect the third part), and one half, if they are small—by which we understand a population of three hundred Indians, or a less number. The tributes thus collected are granted as aid for the encomendero's maintenance, and for the expenses of said pacification.

Third conclusion: All that was collected from the Indians before they were thus rendered willing to pay must be restored to them by those who made such collection, or by those who permitted it, as is stated in the preceding clause.

Fourth conclusion: All the rest of the said half or third part which has been or shall hereafter be levied upon the Indians, before they shall have received sufficient religious instruction, must be restored by those who have made or permitted to be made the aforesaid collections.

Fifth conclusion: From the encomiendas which have received sufficient religious instruction and whose inhabitants are all, or for the most part, Christians; or when those who are not Christians have voluntarily held back from conversion—all of the tributes may be collected, provided that care be ever taken that the infidels be persuaded and not compelled or forced to make these payments: indeed, as much concern should be had for them as for the others. Let it be understood that the said infidels do not refuse or be adverse to becoming Christians; for in this case the tributes may not be exacted from them—or, at least, not all, and even then with their consent.

Sixth conclusion: In the encomiendas where there are infidels who, through lack of adequate religious instruction, have not received baptism, taxes should not in the past nor shall they at present be collected in full, but according to the manner set down in the second clause.

Seventh conclusion: Although all the inhabitants may be Christians, if their religious instruction has been insufficient the encomenderos are obliged to deduct from the tributes all that should be expended for a sufficient number of ministers to impart the necessary instruction.

Eighth conclusion: In order that an encomienda may be said to possess sufficient and adequate religious instruction, the minister should not be burdened with the care of more souls than he can properly instruct and direct in spiritual matters, so that he can give to all those who are infidels suitable instruction in Christian doctrine—not merely so that they know it by rote, but also so that they may understand (so far as they are capable of this) the signification of the words, and the mysteries contained therein. Thus, too, he will be able to make each and every one of them understand all that is necessary for them to believe, and know, and do, in order to be good Christians. All this should be done before baptism is conferred upon them; and like efforts should be made that no one shall die without the sacrament. When the minister undertakes to baptize them, he must see that they know well what it is, and are prepared for it, and understand what they are receiving—namely, that they are dead to their past life, and are commencing a new one, and from that time forth are new men. As the inhabitants of many of these islands have received baptism without the aforesaid solicitude and preparation, many sacrileges have been committed; and, as a result, many and great misfortunes have ensued, which we can now clearly discern, and yet but poorly remedy.

In order that the Indians, after their conversion, may have adequate religious teaching, and be taught and instructed and guided in the conduct of their souls, a minister should not have the care of more Indians than he can know, visit, and minister to in such wise that all may understand and comprehend the doctrine. Then, if anyone is sick, the minister can know of it, and visit and console him in his sickness; and if the sick man be poor, the minister can give him what he may need, or shall find someone to do so, so that the sick man may not die without confession or extreme unction. To the living who are prepared for it, he can administer the eucharist, and can persuade everyone to prepare himself so that he can receive communion, and can labor with all earnestness in making known the great benefits which are contained in the most blessed sacrament, and how much is lost by those who do not partake thereof, and the obligation of all Christians to receive it. The minister can thus also personally care for the burial of the dead; and, in short, fulfil with solicitude and concern all the demands and obligations of his office as a priest, and in the care of souls. It is because the ministers in the Indias are burdened with so many souls, that we observe so little Christianity there, that so many die without the sacraments, and there are so many infidels to be converted.

Ninth conclusion: As soon as the Indians shall have become Christians the encomendero may with good conscience exact from them the tributes which are imposed and regulated by his Majesty or by persons commissioned by him; and the Indians are bound by conscience and justice to pay them, if they have adequate religious instruction and the encomendero fulfils the obligations imposed upon him by his acceptance of the encomienda.

Tenth conclusion: The encomenderos are under obligation to observe, exactly and faithfully, the instructions given them, that they may not transgress these in regard to the kind of tributes to be paid, or to the age or condition of those who must pay them—under pain of mortal sin, and of making restitution for what they shall have exacted in violation of law or beyond the amount assessed. The damages moreover, which are sustained by the natives in compelling them to pay tributes which they are not bound to pay, and the expenses incurred in making the collections, should be at the cost of the encomenderos and not that of the Indians.

Eleventh conclusion: It is grievous inhumanity and a sort of cruel tyranny to seize the chiefs and keep them prisoners until they pay the tribute of those who fail to do so; and it is a much greater wrong to afflict and torture them while in durance. He who shall make collections in this manner, or permit them to be thus made, is, aside from the mortal sin which he commits, bound to restore to the chiefs the tributes thus exacted from them; and would be most fittingly punished by being deprived of the encomienda of which, through his own wrong-doing, he has made himself unworthy.

Twelfth conclusion: Although the encomiendas are given to the encomenderos in return for their services to the king, our lord, the principal aim and object of his Majesty in giving them has not been, nor can it be, only that the Indians should pay tribute and render service to the encomenderos; but, on the contrary, that in return for the tributes which are paid them, the encomendero shall be obliged to provide the Indians with ministers to instruct and care for them, to defend and protect them, to see that they are not ill-treated, and to answer for them in all necessary matters. It therefore follows that the encomiendas are and should be instituted rather for the good of the Indians than for that of the encomenderos; and that the encomenderos cannot be termed, nor are they, the lords of the Indians, but their attorneys, tutors, and protectors.

Thirteenth conclusion: The tributes which the king, our lord, has imposed upon the Indians are not, nor can, nor should they be, all for his Majesty or for the encomenderos—to whom he allots them in order that from this fund may be taken all that is necessary to support the ministers of religious instruction, and for the embellishment of the churches and divine worship.

Fourteenth conclusion: The encomenderos who, to avoid or lessen expense, neglect to employ in their encomiendas all the ministers needed to accomplish and fulfil what has been set down in the eighth conclusion are in mortal sin, and cannot be absolved. Moreover, it is not enough to say that their encomiendas already have ministers; they must employ as many of these as are necessary to fulfil all the duties there enumerated, according to the number of souls contained in their encomiendas. And the said encomenderos are responsible for all the injuries and evils referred to in the said conclusion, if through their fault there are not ministers to do what should be done. The minister or ministers, moreover, are responsible if, when they have in their care so many Indians that they cannot properly minister to them, they shall be unwilling to receive or to look for other ministers to help them.

Fifteenth conclusion: The number of ministers required for each community cannot be readily determined, since there are not in all the encomiendas the same conditions existing; in some, the people live closer together than in others; and where they are more scattered, or more difficult of access, more ministers will be needed than when they live nearer one another. When they are thus near, and well disposed, five hundred Indians are a sufficient number for one conscientious minister to take in charge; and when we shall have an abundant number of ministers, they should be stationed in each encomienda, in that ratio.

Sixteenth conclusion: If through lack of ministers enough cannot be placed in each encomienda to give adequate instruction, such as can be obtained at the time should be employed, and the encomenderos shall remain under obligation to deduct from the tributes what has been stated in the seventh conclusion.

Seventeenth conclusion: All that the Indians have expended in erecting churches and houses for the ministers, and in their maintenance, through the unwillingness of the encomenderos to pay therefor, the latter are obliged to make good—the entire amount expended, for the maintenance of the ministers; and of that expended for churches and houses, their share.

Eighteenth conclusion: In order that, from this time forth, the encomenderos who do not maintain religious instruction may collect from their encomiendas the portion which is stated in the second conclusion, the following conditions shall be observed: (1) They shall endeavor, most assiduously and earnestly, to establish religious instruction in their encomiendas, that such establishment shall not be delayed; or, if it be not made, so that the lack cannot be imputed to their negligence and indifference. And, inasmuch as we have not here the requisite number of ministers, the encomenderos shall inform his Majesty how great is the lack, and supplicate him promptly to send ministers hither—offering, if it shall be necessary, to pay a part of the expenses to be incurred in sending them hither. (2) The encomenderos shall endeavor, personally or through the medium of persons skilled and competent, in whom may be placed entire confidence that they will deal with the Indians as God requires and the king commands, to defend the Indians and protect them against the injuries inflicted upon them. They shall strive to influence them, by good works and example, to accept the law of God, most carefully preparing them so that, when they have ministers of the Christian doctrine, they can be instructed. They shall not act as do some encomenderos (and most of them are of this sort) who visit their encomiendas not for the good of the Indians, but for their own profit; and who, through their presence, work more injury to the Indians by the many grievances which they occasion, and the bad example that they set, than the latter are advantaged in being thus pacified.

Nineteenth conclusion: It has been a very great error on the part of the encomenderos in these islands who do not maintain religious instruction to think that because they contribute a fourth part of the tributes they may collect and keep for themselves the remainder. This is based upon their misinterpretation of a decree of the king which states the portion which is to be appropriated from the tributes for the erection of churches and the support of the ministers (although this decree has already been annulled by others). This decree did not apply to the encomiendas which we here mention; for if the king himself cannot levy tributes, he could ill permit others to do so, excepting the encomiendas which we discussed in the ninth conclusion.

Twentieth conclusion: What has been already said in the preceding conclusions concerning the encomenderos likewise applies to the encomiendas which belong to the royal crown; for the king is under even greater obligation than are the encomenderos to provide his Indians with religious teaching; and to the same extent as they, he is bound to make restitution of all that has been unjustly collected. It follows from this that the officials of the royal exchequer, who are charged with the collection, of the tributes for the king, are obliged in conscience to observe and fulfil all that is stated in the preceding conclusions, and to make restitution of all the tributes, or such part of them as has been or shall be collected contrary to the tenor of the said conclusions. This obligation is all the greater for the governor than for the officials of the royal exchequer; since he, by reason of his office, is bound to care for all the natives of these islands, and not to permit them to be wronged, and to require satisfaction from anyone who may wrong them.

Twenty-first conclusion: Former governors were under obligation, as are those who rule both now and hereafter, to observe and fulfil, in the repartimientos which they assign or shall assign, the provisions contained in section 144 of the royal ordinances drawn up in Segovia in the year 73, the tenor of which is as follows: "When the country has been pacified, and its rulers and inhabitants have been reduced to obedience to us, the governor shall, with their consent, direct the partition of the lands among the colonists so that each of them shall be responsible for the Indians of his repartimiento, defend and protect them, and provide a minister who shall teach them to live in civilized ways, and shall do for them all else that encomenderos are bound to do for the Indians of their repartimientos." In the following section: "The Indians who shall be reduced to our obedience and allotted to the conquerors shall be persuaded, in recognition of universal seigniory and jurisdiction which we hold over the Indians, to assist us by the payment of a moderate tribute, from the fruits of the soil. It is our will that the tributes thus paid us be collected by the Spaniards to whom encomiendas shall be given, for which reason they fulfil the duties to which they are bound." What his Majesty commands in these two sections of the said ordinances conforms to both natural and divine law, both of which would be violated if even the king should contravene these ordinances. From this the governors will recognize the obligations under which they are to heed the attitude of the Indians whom they must allot in encomiendas, in order not to work against a law as just and necessary as this is.

Twenty-second conclusion: If in any case the governor allot an encomienda whose inhabitants shall not be in the frame of mind which the aforesaid law requires (a condition which must needs be very rare, and the result of causes so forcible that the king, upon consultation, would consider them of sufficient weight), in order that the governor may not be under obligation to make restitution of what shall be collected therefrom, he is bound to order such encomendero not to collect the tributes until he has, by his earnest endeavors and just treatment, brought the Indians to that disposition which, in the aforesaid two sections, his Majesty requires. In case the encomendero shall collect the tributes beforehand, the governor shall command him to make restitution; and if, for lack of such orders, the Indians shall suffer any wrong, the governor shall be responsible.

Twenty-third conclusion: The religious who are in the Indias are not under obligation to go to Spain to obtain other religious; and if they could avoid it they would do wrong in going on account of the great deficiency of ministers caused by such departures. But as the need of ministers is so great, and as they are not sent hither from Spain, those who go thither to procure them should be well rewarded for the great hardships that they undergo in bringing religious. His Majesty, moreover, and the members of his royal Council are under obligation to send back at once, and with suitable provision, those who in their service to God and the king, and for the welfare of these souls, have suffered such hardships.

Twenty-fourth conclusion: The king our lord and his royal Council of the Indias are bound to send to these islands so many ministers that they can give adequate instruction to all the natives therein, even if our religious do not go or send for others.

Twenty-fifth conclusion: His Majesty is bound to give orders and to make all possible efforts for the conversion of the infidels—not only those who recognize him and pay tribute, but those who are not under his sway and do not recognize him as their lord—so that they may all come into the knowledge of God and enter the bosom of the Church. Nor should this be accomplished in the manner hitherto employed employed—namely, by the perversion of all law, divine and human; by murders, robberies, captivities, conflagrations, and the depopulation of villages, estates, and houses. These wrongs are inflicted and perpetrated by those who, under pretext and in the name of preaching the gospel, entered the Indias, and have thus profaned the sacred name of God and made the holy gospel odious; and it is by them that our holy religion has been dishonored. But now that his Majesty knows what excesses have been committed in these islands, he should order that henceforth they shall cease, and that in the promulgation of the holy gospel the instructions and rules be observed which our Lord Jesus Christ ordained, and which His holy evangelical law directs and commands, and which the holy apostles and the apostolic men who came after them practiced and observed until our wretched times. Since the Spaniards entered the Indias, their excessive cupidity has devised new methods of preaching the gospel such as our Lord Jesus Christ never ordained, or His holy apostles knew; they are not permitted by the law of nature, nor do they agree with reason.

I shall send the proofs of these conclusions to your Lordship as soon as my occupations give me opportunity and leisure to prove them. At Manila, on the eighteenth of January, 1591.

The Bishop of the Filipinas



Letter from the Bishop of the Philipinas to the Governor

Jesus

In the document which I sent to your Lordship the other day was contained the substance of the opinion which I and other theologians of this bishopric hold concerning the collection [of tributes] from the encomiendas in these islands. I then stated that all the matter outlined therein would be sent later to your Lordship, proved in detail by convincing arguments. This, however, I have not been able to do, nor will it be possible as long as I must remain in this city; for day and night I am beset by necessary business. For this reason, I would be glad to be able to leave the city for a few days in order that I might conclude this matter—to which, since it is to be brought before his Majesty and his royal Council, persons who are to consider it with care, it would seem but right that I should also give most careful attention. And yet the truth of all that I say is so manifest that I would be put to little trouble if I were compelled to prove it; but considerable time would be necessary to put it in order. Having sent the aforesaid opinion to your Lordship, I ceased to concern myself about the matter, for it seemed to me that the document contained (although in outline) all that the truth required, and all that I had to say thereon. Accordingly, what remains for me to set down will not be an addition to the aforesaid, but merely an effort to explain it further, and to prove by arguments and authority what has already been stated in brief.

The dean informed me this morning that your Lordship was awaiting my opinion, and had suspended action until I should send it. I told him that, as far as I was concerned, I had already given it—that is to say, I had told your Lordship how I, as well as the other theologians, and right-thinking persons of this bishopric, felt in this matter. It is true, I did not send, as soon as I might, what remained to be said; but that, after all, matters but little for the truth of the affair. As I stated in the opinion which your Lordship has in your possession, all that I might afterward say is contained therein. However, in order that your Lordship may have a clearer statement of what I sent in that document, and of all else that I have to say, it has seemed expedient to send to your Lordship another paper, which accompanies this letter; therein are contained twenty-five conclusions, in which there is a summary of all that may be said in relation to the encomenderos of these islands, concerning both the collection of the tributes, and the obligations of the encomenderos towards the Indians of their encomiendas. Further, I have stated therein the duties of the governors in respect to their treatment of the Indians and the collection of tributes. I thought it best to state those conclusions in the same order as before, since I shall place them in that order in proving them.

I fully realize that for those who are accustomed to collect tributes with no other care for the Indians of their encomiendas than to obtain their money and then leave them to bear their afflictions, those conclusions must of necessity appear very severe; but, although the truth always hurts those whom it chastises, it should not on that account be suppressed—for, as St. Gregory says, one should not be hindered by any obstacle whatever from uttering the truth. The difficulty of this affair, moreover, does not consist in knowing what the truth is (for that is perfectly evident); but in the fact that unrighteous custom favors the powerful, and is hostile to those who, although they can do little, are unwilling to submit to what those who are in power choose to command. But the weak have given thanks to God, who has moved the heart of our most Christian king to order that a remedy be applied to so many and so great disorders and excesses, which up to the present time have been so contrary to natural law, and proved so great an impediment to religion and evangelical preaching, and so harmful and prejudicial to the inhabitants of these islands. Indeed, if we should hear, as God does, the complaints and outcries which continually arise in the hearts of these people, we would clearly see how much more cause there is for comforting them than for favoring those who have inflicted upon them such injury. And yet, if we but consider this carefully, we shall see that the Spaniards have done themselves still greater harm, since they have deprived the Indians merely of their property, but have incurred the condemnation of their own souls.

I, my Lord, do not wish, nor do I pretend, that the encomenderos should die of hunger, or that your Lordship should lack the means to fulfil your obligations; but I do maintain that we should have such care for what is right for the Spaniards as not to sicken more souls, or cause the gospel to be received in this land not gladly, but by force, and in such wise that it will not avail those who receive it.

The king, our lord, need only decree that this matter be left to the conscience of those who govern here; for his Majesty cannot examine it with his own eyes, and, consequently, the entire burden falls upon your Lordship and upon those of us who have to decide what shall be done. This affair is not one of so little risk as not to require a most careful consideration; for to deprive the Spaniards of the right of collecting the tributes from their encomiendas, when they might just as well do so, is to deprive them of their very property, and give them permission to collect from those who do not owe tribute, and to free them from obligation to the Indians. Thus the entire responsibility would fall upon those who might express their opinion; consequently, it has been necessary, as I have already said, to consider the matter most carefully. This I have done by consulting persons who know and thoroughly understand the point at issue; and by comparing therewith what I have seen and know from experience, and from my knowledge of the law.

Such are the contents of the conclusions which I herewith send your Lordship. I trust that you will be pleased to read them and will expect from me no other opinion than the one therein contained; for I have, and shall have, no other, and there is not a right-minded person in the bishopric who dares maintain the contrary.

Two points should be especially noted among those which I here set down. The one concerns the second conclusion wherein I make the following statement: From the small encomiendas may be collected half of the tributes even where there is no instruction, if the encomendero fulfils his duties; and from those of average size a third part of the same. Although there is, in strictness, no reason why one-half should be collected from the small encomiendas and only a third part from the others, yet after careful consideration, it has seemed to us both equitable and reasonable that, in a very small encomienda, the encomendero should collect from each inhabitant somewhat more for his maintenance than if the inhabitants were numerous and thus could provide, even when a less sum was levied, better support for the encomendero.

The other matter for consideration relates to the statements in the third and fourth conclusions concerning the restitution of what has thus far been taken from the natives. In this matter some moderation should be displayed, in view of the present needy condition of the encomenderos. This subject, however, will be discussed later, and the best possible arrangement will be made for assuring the peace of consciences, which we who are here strive to do. It is, too, no small grace to your Lordship, that this matter should be considered in your time. I can assure your Lordship that there has been much criticism concerning what past governors have permitted, and I do not know how in the end they are to fare with God; for a governor, from the very character of his office, is under obligation to prevent, within his jurisdiction, evils which can be remedied. God will know how to call to account those who have permitted these abuses, and will free your Lordship from these difficulties before they have entangled you. Your Lordship indeed owes much gratitude to God, for, whether or not the encomenderos make any collection, nothing will be cast into your purse without your experiencing much scruple at not having remedied the evil. God knows the scruples and anguish which the past has caused my soul, for, although it seems that I could have done no more than to raise my voice in opposition, and write to his Majesty, I am not sure that this will avail me with God, who is wont to dispose of such matters quite otherwise than we imagine; therefore, by giving my views upon this question, and by expressing to your Lordship my sentiments. I feel myself exonerated in the sight of God and of men. Let your Lordship reflect what it is meet to do, for my opinion has been already given. May God, our Lord, so enlighten your Lordship that in all things you may do what is right. Amen. From this, your Lordship's house, today, Friday, the twenty-fifth of January, 1591.

The Bishop of the Filipinas



The Governor's Reply

Assuming it to be his Majesty's will that, in the encomiendas where, for lack of ministers, instruction is not given, some tribute shall be collected, if only in recognition of services rendered, it seems but fitting that enough should be collected to sustain the encomendero—or, if he should abandon the encomienda, some person who should continue, in his stead, intercourse and relations with the Indians, so influencing and directing them that, when they are given instruction, they may receive it willingly; and settling the minds of the Indians, so that we can deal with them and travel among them. Such persons or encomenderos are accessory to the gospel, and should be supported, as ministers are, by the tributes of the Indians—who, if deprived of their presence and left without this intercourse, will doubtless become intractable, and a country which is at present secure and orderly will require a fresh pacification. Accordingly I say that if your Lordship should order the encomendero to appropriate, for his own maintenance and for necessary expenses (which are so great, and the encomiendas so small), [three—M.] [47] fourths of the tributes, and if the remaining fourth should [be used—M.] for the erection of a church, for ornaments, and other accessories of religious instruction; or, if this fourth part should be remitted to the Indians (although, in reality, if they think that by not becoming Christians less will be exacted from them, they will never become Christians or admit fathers into their territory; and it is certainly better for the Indians to have this fourth part held as a deposit for the three years, since at the end of that time [they can add—M.] to it a tribute, and assist in paying the expenses of erecting the church and the costs of other accessories of instruction and other necessary expenses which may arise); and if the above should be asked from them in advance, and as a whole—I maintain, that all this could not be exacted without great injury to the Indians.

This tribute should be collected with much gentleness toward the Indians, without the presence of soldiers and firearms, and without entering their houses. One house should, however, be set apart for the purpose of making these collections, where the Indians, summoned in friendly terms, may come voluntarily to pay their tributes; and no other force or pressure should be imposed upon them. Moreover, of the increase of two reals in the tributes, only one (and no more) should be exacted, and the aforesaid collection of the three-fourths should be general in all the encomiendas. There are no grounds for making a discrimination between the Indian of the large encomienda and the Indian of the small one; and if it is right to collect in the one, the same procedure holds good in the other, for the same thing applies to [four—M.] as to forty, which in this case would mean not to change the present and past condition of things, or the universal practice throughout all the Indias, by interfering with his Majesty's decree.

We should consider how little there is in this country besides the tributes, for the support of the encomendero or such person who has to represent him; and that, if the Indians should cease to pay the tributes, all would go to destruction; and even were religious instruction to exist, there would be no system for applying it. This instruction, moreover, is not at present in the hands of the encomenderos, for they have asked me, as I believe they have your Lordship, to make provision for the same, offering the necessary salary and expenses. Accordingly, since this charge is not in their hands, the above means might be justly employed; so that the districts which are disaffected might, with such intercourse, be prepared to receive the gospel in due time.

This plan can be followed temporarily, until information concerning it shall reach his Majesty—who, I assure your Lordship, will straightway adjust the matter by providing these islands, as well as those most distant and as yet unpacified, with sufficient religious instruction; and by determining what share of the cost shall fall to the encomenderos according to the detailed information and report which shall be sent hence to him, together with your Lordship's statement. Thus all will come to enjoy the fruits of the gospel, which is our principal end and object with these peoples. In return, they are to offer this moderate tribute, which is to facilitate their conversion, to which end everything is directed; and to prepare them for it by this means, without which there would be no way for endeavoring to interest anyone, even if the tribute should amount to many millions. But, with this justification, it can be levied.

The encomenderos shall maintain their residence, and, as your Lordship justly suggests, shall provide a good example and fair treatment toward the Indians of their encomiendas. And, in order that the latter may receive (as your Lordship says) some recompense in return, orders shall be given that all the encomiendas, however remote they may be, shall be provided with some administration of justice, with orders to the alcaldes-mayor in whose district these encomiendas chance to be to visit, at stated periods of the year, the Indians thereof. The officials shall then settle the disputes and redress the grievances of the Indians, bringing them by kind acts into intercourse and friendship with us. Where the present number of alcaldes-mayor is not large enough, others shall be sent, in order that thus may be facilitated our intercourse and influence among them. Under this pretext of administration of justice and of defense, at least a sufficient maintenance may be derived.

Let your Lordship take this matter into careful consideration. For my own part, cogent reasons oblige me to believe that, if this plan be not carried out, the encomenderos much of necessity abandon their encomiendas, as has [illegible in MS.] and no one will be found willing to burden himself with this charge and enter into relations with the Indians, in return for so small a stipend. Even if there were such persons, we could not place in them the confidence that we now have in the encomenderos, in whose virtue and Christian spirit his Majesty's conscience remains at rest. This would not be so secure in the care of substitutes, who replace persons who have abandoned their holdings, for lack [illegible in MS.] without much fear of being obliged to give a bad account of either themselves or the Indians; and, consequently, instead of introducing our holy faith among them, would only irritate the natives by oppression and ill-treatment.

This being so, if the encomenderos should abandon their offices, and no capable persons could be found in their stead, the rule of the Spaniards would come to an end in this land; for, as they possess here nothing beyond the encomiendas as a source of profit and a recompense for their services, if they should be deprived of these I fear that they all would depart from the country and it would be depopulated. In such a case, let your Lordship consider which of the two evils is the less, and which should be preferred: namely, that matters should remain in their present and past condition until his Majesty, after thorough information, make suitable provision; or that, in order to remedy this insignificant evil, we should run the risk of ruining and depopulating all the islands. I, my Lord, have not the slightest inclination to go to hell merely because the encomendero collects one or two thousand. After all, whatever your Lordship may consent to, and whatever we resolve to do, must be carried out, and I must order it to be executed, with the utmost promptness; for I understand this to be a matter which concerns the welfare of my conscience, wherein his Majesty unburdens his. But at present, I am thinking only of the difficulties involved in the execution of this act, which must be so hard for the encomenderos. When, in the establishment and accomplishment of a thing which in itself may be holy and good, there exist such obstacles that by means of them the whole is exposed to risk and danger, and the principal [illegible in MS.], as your Lordship may discern in the case of the religious fathers, who, because they attempted to place the Indians in charge of justice, desired them to give up all, and thus there was constraint. Yet they had charity and love for them, for otherwise all would be lost. The same injury will be inflicted on the encomendero, if we oblige him to relinquish the tribute, and give him no other means of support. This the king can do, by the decree which is expected.

It is certain that the very success of the affair admits of no other outcome than this. For, assuming that his Majesty, to unburden his own conscience, should commit to your Lordship and to myself the conduct and decision of what should be done in this matter, and should order me to execute what we both might determine, and agree upon, provided your Lordship should decide that what you have set down in your opinion and in your conclusions, ought in conscience to be done; and if I should find that, although such action is just and right according to law, yet in attempting to carry it out it would be in no wise proper to run the risk of ruining these islands—in this case your Lordship and I do not hold the same opinions, and we should report this to his Majesty. In the meantime matters will remain as they now are; and, if resolutions must be adopted, it is much better that we should propose them conjointly to his Majesty, with complete harmony and satisfaction on our part, in order that he may give such orders as shall seem best to him. In the meantime we should not undertake [illegible in MS.] all the more because, considering the affair in its beginnings, the commission and order of his Majesty—which instruct me to see that your Lordship consider what should and can be done in this matter; and also to execute the resolutions made by our joint agreement, with all the punctuality which is required therein—clearly express the will and determination of his Majesty, who mentions only the encomiendas which are at present disaffected, or have never been pacified. It is only concerning these latter, that doubts may be entertained as to the question of collecting the tributes, either in whole or in part (by way of recognition, as is stated in your opinion). These encomiendas are not reached by religious teaching, or by the administration of justice, or by other advantages; and, consequently, are the ones concerning which, as I have said, doubts are entertained. As for those encomiendas which may possess any of the aforesaid benefits, such as religious teaching, the administration of justice, intercourse, and other advantageous relations, there is no occasion for any dispute concerning them; nor should the management of these (as far as our present knowledge goes) be committed to your Lordship. It is, therefore, needless to include them in the general rule; but in dealing with the encomiendas which are disaffected, and in those not yet pacified, only a part of the tribute should be collected, for the unburdening of his Majesty's and our own consciences. Your Lordship's, etc.



The Petition Presented to the Governor by the City and the Encomenderos on the Fifteenth of February, 1591

We, the corporation and magistrates of the city of Manila, for ourselves, and in the name of all these Filipinas Islands, and of their encomenderos, settlers, and discoverers, do declare the following: As is well known, many of us came here twenty-seven years ago, when these islands were discovered, and have spent years in the propagation of our holy Catholic faith, the defense of the preaching of the gospel, and the service of the king, our lord. On account of this devotion we abandoned our fatherland, and forgot our parents, brothers, and relatives, and the comforts which each one of us possessed; and after having endured the great dangers of a long and hitherto unknown voyage, we settled in a land where we have shed our blood, and suffered the fearful miseries of hunger, thirst, exposure, and many other hardships, so great that they have cost the lives of the many thousands of men who are known to have come to these islands—not to mention all those valiant soldiers who serve his Majesty throughout his realm. At the conclusion of so many toils and misfortunes—after we had made this discovery, and had pacified and brought under the royal crown the many vassals who today are to be found throughout these islands, and had brought to the bosom of our faith the great number of souls who have already received baptism—his Majesty and the governors in his name have rewarded us by allotting to us a certain number of natives. But these grants are under such limitations and the tributes are so moderate that the most prosperous among us (and there are but few) are living in straitened circumstances, and the others do not receive the half of what is necessary for their sustenance; many of these have no recompense. Although our possessions are so scanty, we have been content therewith, inasmuch as we consider them as being a reward which we have won with our blood and so great labors; for we are thereby encouraged to serve our Lord and his Majesty—enjoying, as we do, these tributes and encomiendas in tranquil and peaceable possession of them, after they have been assigned to us. The king, our lord, also is profited by those who hold positions in the service of his royal crown; for they, with the tributes, assist in the great expenses which his royal patrimony incurs for the churches, religious orders, and ministers of the evangelical teaching, and for the supplies necessary for their maintenance. In this state of affairs it seems that on the part of the bishop of these islands and some of the religious thereof—not only generally, in sermons and in the pulpit, but privately, in the confessional—obstacles and difficulties are imposed upon our consciences by maintaining that we cannot exact the [illegible in MS.] his Majesty those which he exacts, and that we are going straight to hell [illegible in MS.] and that we are under obligation to make restitution for them. For this reason they refuse us the sacraments of absolution and communion; and, finally, they so obstruct us in the collection of this slender means of livelihood that we, and in fact the whole colony, are continually disconsolate and afflicted, and our consciences disturbed and ill at ease. We know not what plan we are to pursue in making these collections; for if we submit to the constraint which the aforesaid bishop and a portion of the religious would impose upon us, the necessary result will be that we cannot support ourselves, or even live; and his Majesty will be unable to meet the costs and expenses necessary for the preservation of the land—although our aim now as always, is to live and die in the service of his Majesty like faithful and loyal vassals.