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The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898
Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century,
Volume XLI, 1691-1700
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord Bourne.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XLI.
Preface 9
Documents of 1691-1700
Extracts from Jesuit letters. Juan de Zarzuela, and others; Manila, 1691 and 1694 33 Discovery of the Palaos Islands. Paul Clain, S. J.; Manila, June 10, 1697 39 Recollect missions in the Philippines, 1661-1712. Pedro de San Francisco de Assis; Zaragoza, 1756. Juan de la Concepcion; Manila, 1788 57
Bibliographical Data 273
Appendix: Moro pirates and their raids in the seventeenth century. [Compiled from various historians.] 277
ILLUSTRATIONS
Title-page of vol. vi of Lettres edifiantes (Paris, 1723); photographic facsimile of copy in library of Wisconsin Historical Society 41
Map of New Philippines or Palaos Islands, 1710 (?); photographic facsimile of original map in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 45
Map of Palaos Islands, discovered by Joseph Somera, 1710; from original manuscript map in Biblioteca de Vittorio Emanuele, Rome 53
Map of Magendanao (Mindanao); drawn by Fakynolano, elder brother of the sultan of that place, ca., 1700; photographic facsimile of original manuscript map in the British Museum 280, 281
PREFACE
The main part of this volume is a record of the Recollect missions in the Philippines from 1661 to 1712; these are conducted mainly in western Luzon, Mindanao, and Calamianes, and Assis's account contains much information of interest regarding conditions in those regions. "Moro raids in the seventeenth century" summarizes the principal events connected with that topic; and the Jesuit Clain presents an interesting account of the discovery that the islands called Palaos exist within range of the Philippines.
Extracts from letters written by Manila Jesuits in 1691 and 1694 furnish some items of news. Governor Cruzat y Gongora is making rigorous exactions upon the alcaldes-mayor and the tributary Indians; he engages in trade, and accepts gifts from office-seekers. In 1692, two richly-laden vessels from Manila are lost; and in 1694 another, which contained all the available wealth of the Manila citizens. Various ecclesiastical squabbles continue as echoes of the Pardo controversy.
A letter from the Jesuit Paul Clain (June 10, 1697) gives a vivid description of the arrival in Samar of some strange people, driven from their homes in the Palaos (or Pelew) Islands; and reports the information gained from them about that hitherto unknown group in the broad Pacific. These foreigners receive kind treatment from the natives of Samar, and religious instruction from the missionaries there; and they desire to open communication between their own islands and the Philippines.
The chief part of this volume is devoted to the Recollect missions in various portions of the Philippines, the period treated in general being included in the years 1661-1712, although some few remarks touch a later period. The main portion of the account is taken from the chronicle of Pedro de San Francisco de Assis, the author of the fourth part of the Recollect Historia general; the second and subsidiary part from vols. viii and ix of Juan de la Concepcion's Historia, this portion being designed merely to supplement the preceding account.
San Pedro de Assis describes cursorily the insurrection in Pampanga (there scarcely more than an attempt) and the more serious uprising in the province of Pangasinan and Zambales, and the part played by the Recollects in restoring peace. The revolt in Pampanga arises, like so many minor revolts in the past, through the injustice of lesser officials—this time the superintendent of the timber-cutting. Under leadership of one Francisco Manyago, a native military official, the Pampangos attempt to gain freedom, and plan a general uprising among various provinces. But though the most warlike of the Filipinos, they are at the same time the most reasonable, and are, consequently, easily quieted by the personal efforts of the governor, assisted ably by the various religious orders. More difficult to eliminate, however, is the leaven of discontent injected by the Pampangos into the other provinces of Ilocos and Pangasinan. These northern provinces begin to think of a union for the purpose of securing liberty, and of a central government of their own. Our author chooses as his field more particularly the story of the revolt in Zambales, which he calls a district of the province of Pangasinan, and which is a Recollect mission territory. The revolt of Pangasinan is under the leadership of Andres Malong, who aspires to kingship and who gradually gathers an army, some say, of 40,000 men. He intrigues through certain relatives and adherents in Zambales to compel the Zambals to declare in his favor, but notwithstanding the many in sympathy with him there, his attempts are bootless, for the Recollect religious work so strongly and courageously against his machinations that, in the end, entirely conquered by the troops sent against him from Manila, he meets the fate of other insurgent leaders. The efforts of Malong, through his relative Sumulay, in the village of Bolinao, are frustrated by the vigilance and courage of Juan de la Madre de Dios, the vicar in charge of the convent there, but his church is burned by the insurgent sympathizers. The fathers and loyal natives, notwithstanding repeated threats of death, under the active leadership of the above father hold to their post, although one of the fathers, Luis de San Joseph, would have gladly abandoned the place. This same priest, however, performs brave feats in his delivery of messages from the vicar of Lingayen (who describes the revolt in Pangasinan, and asks aid from Manila), to the convent of Masinloc. Thence those messages are taken to Manila by Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three loyal chiefs, who are suitably rewarded for their services.
With the absence from Masinloc of the three loyal chiefs above-mentioned, treason shows its head in that village, its immediate outbreak being due to an inopportune rebuke administered by the prior to a chief who had neglected to attend mass. The religious and loyal natives are besieged in the convent, but escape by stratagem, by seizing a boat in which some natives have come to the village. Reaching the village of Bagac, they meet there the three loyal chiefs who are returning from Manila, and with their aid and that of thirty men gathered by the prior of Bagac, they recover the village of Masinloc from the insurgents. The majority of the inhabitants receive pardon, but three of the ringleaders are put to death.
In the village of Cigayen, a chief, Sirray, acts as agent for Malong, but failing to succeed in his plan to murder the religious there, finally joins Malong with twenty-five followers, while the father retires to Manila, and the village is abandoned by its other inhabitants. The village of Agno is quieted by the efforts of the Recollect Luis de San Joseph; and the chief, Durrey, the cause of the trouble there, and twelve of his partisans are forced to flee. In Bolinao, the flames of insurrection break out once more, for the vicar, Juan de la Madre de Dios, is now alone. Malong sends an emissary, one Caucao, to deliver to him a letter, demanding that the place be turned over to him. The father, however, is enabled by the chance arrival of a champan with some religious, Spaniards, and natives, who are fleeing from Ilocos, to outwit his enemies for the time being. The quiet of Bolinao lasts only so long as the above-mentioned champan remains there. After its departure Malong tries to secure the murder of the religious through Durrey and Sumulay. The former is dissuaded from the attempt, and the latter persisting, is in turn attacked by the father, and wounded, although he escapes by the connivance of some of the inhabitants of Bolinao.
Meanwhile definite arrangements are made in Manila—and that more speedily than is the custom there—for sending troops to put down the incipient rebellion. The aid consists of a fleet under Felipe de Ugalde, and an army of 200 Spaniards, and 400 natives, under Francisco de Estebar. These joining and assisted further by some Zambals, quickly break up organized hostility. Punishment (too severe some think, but our author justifies it) is meted out to the leaders: Malong is shot; Sumulay, Caucao, Sirrey, and Durrey are hanged; while another leader in order to escape the death-sentence kills himself. Thus the insurrection, which has lasted but a portion of the years 1660 and 1661, comes to an end, and this attempt, perhaps the earliest in which various tribes or peoples of the Filipinos (although but waveringly it is true) show any desire to act in concert, is recorded only as a failure. The Sangleys, who have openly encouraged the insurrection, and have even fought in their ranks, also attempt to revolt, partly in response to the efforts of the pirate Kuesing; but their plans, both in 1661 and 1662, come to naught, divine Providence each time allowing the Recollects to act as agents. But the second attempt is put down only after the shedding of much Sangley blood.
Probably in the year 1662, the first work of the Recollect on the coast of Luzon opposite Manila begins, with the invitation of the Franciscans who are engaged in work there, but who must give up that field, a poor one, because of a scarcity of religious. Quickly accepting the invitation, the Recollects enter upon the work with enthusiasm, and found the convents of Binangonan, Valer, Casiguran, and Palanan. In that district much fruit for heaven is gathered; but in 1704 the dearth of religious (for none pass from Spain to the Philippines from 1692 to 1710) causes the order to restore the district to the Franciscans. Continuing, the deaths of the missionaries Juan de San Antonio and Joseph de la Anunciation in the years 1663 and 1664 are recorded, and synopses of their lives given.
In chapter viii, Assis, going back somewhat, gives a resume of the sufferings of the Recollects between the years 1640-1668. These sufferings and persecutions come mainly from the Moros, who by their continual raids make themselves the scourge of all the Philippine mission villages; and such is the boldness of those pirates that they do not even hesitate to carry on their operations in sight of Manila itself. Added to the terrors of the Moros is also the active injury inflicted by the Dutch, those heretics allying themselves even with the Moros to cause injury to the true Catholic faith. The peace between Spain and Holland comes as a most welcome relief to the colony. The Recollect villages and missions being in the very midst of the Moro territory are the worst afflicted by that scourge. Their pitiful petitions for aid fall on deaf ears, for at Manila, self interest rules, and trade is the syren of the hour, not religion. The Recollects, too, are not without their martyrs for the faith as the result of Moro persecutions, while others succumb to the hardships of the missionary labors.
The work among the Zambals is again taken up by our author in the year 1670. The inhabitants of that district are a fierce people, those in the mountains being more so than those dwelling along the coast and on the plains, where they have had intercourse with other natives and with Spaniards. The mountain population contains many apostates and heathens, while many Negritos wander homeless and in utter barbarous condition through their fastnesses. Although all those people are hostile among themselves, they unite against the Spaniards, for their common hatred to the latter draws them together. All the orders have had a share in the reduction of those fierce people, but the Recollects with the greatest success. The fierceness of the people leads the Recollects to employ gentle means, and thus by adapting themselves to the genius of their flock they gain many converts—the most abundant being during the years 1668-1671, when the provincial Cristobal de Santa Monica appoints nine religious for the work. As a result of their labors 2,000 people are reduced to a Christian and settled life, and others also adopt the faith. The new villages of Iba (formerly called Paynaven), Subic, and Morong are formed from the converts, while all the old villages increase in population. Two new convents are established—one in Paynaven, and the other in Bagac. All this is accomplished by the year 1670. In 1671, Joseph de la Trinidad makes great gains for Christianity in the Zambal district, and, on becoming provincial in 1674, takes especial care of those missions. But unfortunately the Recollects clash with the Dominicans, whose administration lies in the district of Bataan; and although the Recollects resist, they are at length (1679) compelled by the archbishop, Felipe de Pardo (who covets the entire district for his order) and the governor to cede the Zambal missions to the Dominicans, and to take in exchange the island of Mindoro, which has been for many years in charge of the seculars.
Following is told in synopsis the life of Miguel de Santo Tomas, most of whose mission life has been spent in the province of Caraga. The general chapter of 1672, meeting in Spain, assigns definitors and discreets to the Philippine province.
Chapter iv of the ninth decade of the history carries us into Mindanao, where the work among the heathen Tagabaloyes is reviewed. These are a heathen people living in the neighborhood of Bislig in Caraga, the Recollect mission center farthest from Manila, in the mountains called Balooy (whence their name). They are a domestically inclined people, courageous and intelligent, faithful in their treaties and promises, and said to be the descendants of the Japanese. Not much can be done among them until the year 1671 because of the Moro wars, the little government aid received, and the scarcity of religious, the two in the district being unable to extend their labors much outside of their regular duties. But in 1671, Juan de San Felipe, the new provincial, who has been a missionary in Bislig, appoints a religious especially to look after the conversion of the mountain people. That religious aided by the other two, has baptized 300 adults by 1673, besides 100 others who die immediately after receiving that sacrament. By 1674 the district of Bislig has increased from 200 to 800 whole tributes. This conversion has been aided by certain miraculous occurrences.
In 1674, Joseph de la Trinidad the provincial increases the mission forces by the appointment of special ministers who visit the various districts continually, carrying aid to the most needed parts of the districts assigned them, and thus easing the burden of the missionaries already established in the various villages by giving them more time to attend to their regular duties. His greatest efforts he expends in the Mindanao provinces of Butuan and Cagayan, where Christianity, in consequence, makes vast gains. The faith is carried among the Manobos of the Linao district, and the population of the villages increases. The three religious working in the mountains of Cagayan, and in toward Lake Malanao, reduce more than one hundred tributes to Christian villages in spite of the hostility of the Moros, the conversion being aided throughout by manifest miracles.
The ninth chapter of the ninth decade relates the work in the new field of Mindoro. The mission work of that island (of which and its people a brief description is given) is first begun by the Augustinians, who cede the district to the Franciscans. Later the Jesuits maintain a number of missionaries there and found the permanent mission of Naojan, which is maintained until Luis de San Vitores goes to the missions of the Ladrones or Marianas, when the island is turned over to three seculars. The district is a poor one, and the seculars, although zealous in their duties, cannot be adequately supported. Finally in 1679, as related above, the Recollects, after their glorious record in the Philippines and their flourishing mission work in the Zambal district, take up the Mindoro mission field, after a vain protest at being ousted from their Zambal missions. The transfer is speedily concluded by chaplaincies being provided for the seculars, and the Recollects, taking possession of the new territory, immediately put six religious to work. The new leaver is felt instantly and the number of Christians increases from 4,000 in 1679 to 8,000 in 1692, and to 12,000 in 1716. Although the Moro depredations lessen that number later, in 1738, San Antonio still chronicles over 7,000. The first convent established at Baco is later moved to Calapan. Convents are also established at Naojan, Calavite, and Mangarin (which is later removed to Bongabong, because of its unhealthy site and the raids of the Moros), all of which have their visitas. A mountain mission established later results in a great increase to the Christians of Mindoro.
The succeeding chapter deals with the resumption of the Recollect missions in Calamianes which have been abandoned in 1662 because of the Chinese pirate Kuesing, and the consequent withdrawal of the support of the military. All but two of the missions, those in Cuyo and Agutaya, which are retained by the Recollects, have been given into the care of one secular priest, and this arrangement is maintained until 1680, when the Recollects (although somewhat unwillingly on their part) again accept the ministry of those islands. In November of 1680 three religious are sent there, the possession of the Recollects is given royal confirmation in 1682, and in 1684 the arrival of a new mission allows them to assign other workers to the field. There are plenty of hardships to suffer, but the fruit is great. New missions are established, and by 1715 the number of Christians has risen from 4,500 in 1680 to 18,600; and in 1735 Calamianes and Romblon contain 21,076 Christians. Certain missionaries are named and praised for their work. Incidentally an interesting description is given of the training of the native children for the service of the Church, by which our author refutes the charge that the religious have many servants.
Notwithstanding their efforts, several times all but successful, the Recollects are unable to extend their evangelization to the great empire of China, as is related in chapter ii of decade x. The succeeding chapter tells of the Recollect missions sent from Spain to the Philippines during the three decades covered by this history (1661-1690). The first leaves Spain in 1660 under the leadership of Eugenio de los Santos, and consists of twenty choristers and two lay-brothers. One of the entire number reaches Manila in 1662, and fourteen others the following year. The second mission is in charge of Christobal de Santa Monica, who has been appointed procurator in 1663. All of that mission of twenty-four religious which sets sail in 1666 reaches Manila in 1667, except two who remain in Mexico. The third mission is collected in 1675 by Juan de la Madre de Dios, who takes the twenty-six religious composing it to Mexico, but there hands them over to another religious while he himself returns to Spain. They reach the islands in 1676. In 1680, Cristobal de Santa Monica is sent to Spain as procurator, reaching his destination in 1681. In 1683, he sails from Cadiz with a mission consisting of nineteen fathers, nineteen choristers, and five lay-brothers. All of that number, except one who dies at sea and two who desert at Puerto Rico and return home, reach the Philippines in April, 1684, and are distributed among the convents. The general chapter of 1684 held in Spain elects definitors and discreets for the Philippine province.
Most of chapter v of decade x treats of the life of Juan de la Madre de Dios, which we give by synopsis and extract. He is one of the most active and able workers whom the order has had in the islands, where he has held many offices in the order and has also worked valiantly in the missions. He is one of the most untiring of idol-worship destroyers, and even dares to venture alone to the places where heathen assemblies are held for the purpose of their nefarious worship. Of a political nature also, so far as the order is concerned, his work is by no means slight, and he obtains much for his province in Spain. His death occurs in the latter country in 1685. This same chapter relates also the life of Thomas de San Geronimo (given by us in synopsis), a missionary in the Visayan region. He is elected provincial in 1680, and so well is he liked that he is again elected in 1686 against his will. His death occurs the same year.
In chapter viii of decade x the Recollect labors in the islands of Masbate, Ticao, and Burias are reviewed. These islands which have been conquered during the early years of Legazpi's arrival in the archipelago are an important way-station for ships plying between Nueva Espana and the islands. The faith is introduced into Masbate by the Augustinians under Alonso Jimenez, who is called the "apostle of Masbate." The Augustinians, however, abandon that island and Ticao in 1609, and seculars have charge of the mission work there from that year until 1688. In the latter year the Recollects are substituted for the seculars in accordance with the plan of the bishop of Nueva Caceres, that the district be given to a regular order. A decree of August 13, 1685 grants the islands to the Recollects as well as certain villages in Luzon. The latter are resigned by that order to the Franciscans, as they can be administered more easily by them, but the islands of Masbate, Ticao, and Burias are accepted by them in 1687. In 1688 the cession is made by the secular in charge at Mobo in the island of Masbate, to the content of the natives who welcome the Recollects. A good convent is founded in Mobo and three new villages, in addition to the six existing when the Recollects enter, are established. In 1726 another convent is founded in the district after the wreck of a galleon in order that the image of the Santo Cristo of Burgos which is carried by that ship and which is saved through the diligence of one of the passengers on the vessel, Julian de Velasco, may be properly housed. In reply to a petition of the Recollects in 1724 asking royal confirmation of the Masbate missions, a report on their work there is ordered. It is found that the number of families has increased from 187 in 1687 to 585 in 1722, an increase of 398 families or 1,592 persons. In 1738, there are 5,000 persons in the islands, and three new villages, one in Ticao, and two in Masbate. This means that the order has formed six villages and brought 3,252 persons to the bosom of the Church in the time that they have had control of this district. The number has been lessened by the invasions of the Moros. The conversions have been made among heathens, apostates, refugees from other islands—all of whom represent the worst elements. The Recollects have had to fight against the forces of nature, the Moros, and sorcery. They have persevered in the face of all manner of hardships—hardships that cause some of the missionaries who have been there to say that the Masbate territory offers more suffering than any other mission field.
The extracts from Concepcion cover in part the same field as the history by San Francisco de Assis; except the third, which tells of the restoration of the missions of Zambales to the Recollects, and gives a brief account of the judicial proceedings between that order and the Dominicans.
The first extract concerns the enforced transfer of the Zambal missions to the Dominicans. This comes about directly from the representation made in the Council of the Indias by Diego de Villaroto, to the effect that the conversion of the island of Mindoro would progress much more rapidly if given to the religious order best suited therefor, and if the seculars in charge of the curacies there be appointed to chaplaincies. Royal attention is given this petition and in 1677 a royal decree orders the governor and archbishop to make the transfer. In consequence, Felipe Pardo, the archbishop, quick to seize the opportunity, aided by the governor, compels the unwilling Recollects to give up their missions among the Zambals and take the island of Mindoro, in order that the Dominicans might take the former. Such an arrangement is very convenient for the Dominicans, as it enables them to better concentrate their missions in Pangasinan, and affords them easier communication among their various missions. The protests of the Recollects that the Zambals prefer their order and that the people of Mindoro will prefer their old missionaries the Jesuits, and that the two districts will be disturbed and restless has no weight, and the governor sees that they are kept quiet through the Spanish officials there. The three Recollects assigned to Mindoro are Diego de la Madre de Dios, Diego de la Resurrection, and Eugenio de los Santos, and they are each given one assistant. A description of Mindoro and its people follows, and a resume of its early conquest and of missionary labors there. Since the Jesuits have abandoned that field (with the going of Luis San Vitores to the Marianas) the seculars have had ecclesiastical charge of the island, but it is a poor place and scarcely can any secular be found who cares to accept it. After the entrance of the Recollects, the number of Christians steadily rises, evangelization making progress among the Mangyans, Negritos, and other peoples. Four convents are established, each of them with several visitas, and the mission to the Mangyans on the bay of Ilog, in the last of which none of the apostatized Christians are allowed to enter lest they pervert the new plants. "But that fine flower-garden [i.e., the island of Mindoro] has been trampled down and even ruined by the Moros." The Dominicans bend their energies to the work in their newly-acquired missions of Zambales. With malicious satisfaction, Concepcion reports that their efforts have resulted mainly in failure. Believing that the eleven villages which they have received from the Recollects are too many for the best administration of the district, they endeavor to consolidate and move some of them. Bolinao, which under the Recollect regime was located on a small island off the coast of Zambales, is moved across the channel to the barren coast where "many inconveniences but no advantages" are possessed. Agno is moved inland from the coast; Sigayen is also moved, the only advantage made by the changed site being the river of fresh water on which it is located. Paynaven is moved inland to the site of Iba, to which its name is changed, and Iba becomes the capital of the district, but in order that it may become so, some families are moved from Bolinao. The villages of Cabangan and Subic are made from the consolidation of several others, and the places left vacant by refugees are tilled by families from Pangasinan, whence the natives can be moved easier as that province is so densely populated that there is not sufficient room for all of them. The inference is that the evil caused by the administration of the Dominicans is greater than the good, in discontent among the Zambals and the flight of many families to Ilocos and to the mountains.
The second extract recounts, quite similarly to the version given by San Francisco de Assis, the work in Recollect missions in the islands of Masbate, Ticao, and Burias. These islands are a part of the bishopric of Nueva Caceres, and are under the civil control of the alcalde of Albay. Masbate, the largest, has traces of gold and some fine copper mines, but the gold has never paid well. All three islands possess excellent timber and many civet-cats. The early history of the islands and their early spiritual conquests are told. Through the efforts of the bishop, Andres Gonzales, O. P., the islands are given to the Recollects, the secular priest in charge there being given a chaplaincy instead. Certain villages of Luzon, which were also to be given to the Recollects, are given instead to the Franciscans who contest them with the former. The islands are important both from a secular and religious point of view, for they are a way-station for the Acapulco ships, and also for the Recollect missions in Cebu and Mindanao. As related above, the Recollects ask royal confirmation of the missions of these islands in 1724, and the subsequent report rendered shows that their work has resulted in great progress, and that they have made the islands a safe place where before they were most dangerous both on the coast and in the interior.
The third extract concerns the work of the Dominicans in the missions of Zambales and the restoration of that district to the Recollects. From Concepcion's account (which must be read in connection with that by Salazar, the Dominican), the Dominican order did not have the success of their predecessors among the fierce Zambals, and ended rather in alienating them by their aggressive treatment; while the Recollects have, on the contrary, employed gentle means by which they have won the hearts and minds of the Zambals. The presidio at Paynaven which has been increased, is injudiciously allowed to make raids among the natives upon any occasion. The trouble comes to a head with the murder of the nephew of one of the chiefs, Dalinen, by another chief Calignao, the latter of whom appears to have been a thoroughly unreliable and malicious man. Dalinen, in order to avenge the murder in accordance with Zambal traditions, takes to the wilds, but with his followers, is pursued by the soldiers of the garrison. As Calignao has not fled, the missionary Domingo Perez, O.P., in order to win him over, indiscreetly announces that the murder of Dalinen's nephew has been by command of the government, which has ordered that all those who refuse to reduce themselves to village life be killed. Calignao, as another act in the tragedy, plans to kill Dalinen, and by the aid of a Negrito, accomplishes that design. Then, in order to show in full light his character, he compasses the death of Domingo Perez, wounding the latter so severely that he dies through lack of efficient care. Although the Dominicans claim certain miraculous occurrences as happening at the death of the above father, Concepcion disproves them all. The remainder of the extract has to do with the suits between the Recollects and the Dominicans in regard to the Zambal missions, which last spasmodically from the time the Recollects are compelled to abandon them until the time of their restoration in 1712. The Recollects claim throughout that they have been despoiled unjustly of the missions, and that although they accepted the missions of Mindoro, they have had no other alternative, and have not accepted them as a compensation for the loss of the Zambal missions. Indeed they have never renounced their claim to those missions, but have regularly appointed ministers for them (who of course have not labored in those missions). The Dominicans, on the other hand assert that they have merely taken over those missions in response to commands from the archbishop and the governor to that effect. The suit drags on wearily, each side asserting its rights, and the matter being delayed by such proceeding until it seems unending. Finally the Dominicans, with a change of procurator, shift their tactics, and allege that they are not at all a parry to any suit, and since they have received the missions at the order of the governor, they are ready to resign them if requested so to do. The Recollects maintain the opposite, namely, that the Dominicans are a party to the suit; and the verdict is at length given to them, and the Dominicans are ordered in 1690 to appear before the Audiencia within three days to plead their right. The summons is neglected until the year 1710, when the attorney for the Recollects again stirs up the matter, and notwithstanding the fact that the Dominicans still adhere to their former statements that they are not a party to the suit, the matter is brought to court, and the missions of the Zambals turned over to the Recollects by special sentence.
Through nearly all of the Spanish regime in the Philippines, those islands, especially and most the Visayan, suffered greatly from the frequent and cruel raids of the Moro pirates from Mindanao and other islands south of it. Some account of these is a necessary part of this work; but our limits of space will not allow us to reproduce verbose and detailed relations like that of Combes (in his Hist. de Mindanao), especially as this and some others of similar tenor cover but a short period of time. In an appendix to this volume we present a brief summary of this subject, down to the end of the seventeenth century; the first part is an outline merely, drawn from our previous volumes, giving full citations therefrom, which show the relations existing between the Spaniards and the Mahometan Malays from 1565 to 1640. The second part covers the same subject for the rest of the century; it is composed of the accounts given by Murillo Velarde, Diaz, and other historians, arranged in chronological order—sometimes synopsized, sometimes translated in full, according to the prolixity or the relative importance of each. From the beginning were evident various elements of hostility—racial, religious, and commercial—between the Spaniards and the Moros, which were soon aggravated by the Spanish desire for conquest and the Moro greed for plunder and bloodshed. The unfortunate natives of the northern islands who had been subjugated by the Spaniards were unable to defend themselves from their enemies, and the Spanish power was often inadequate to protect them or to punish the invaders. The pirates were intimidated and curbed for a long time by Corcuera's brilliant campaigns in Mindanao and Jolo (1637-38); and other punitive expeditions had a like though often temporary effect in later years. In the latter part of the century peace prevailed between these enemies for a long time, probably because no one of the Moro chiefs had the ability and force of the noted Corralat.
In 1639 Almonte subdues the fierce Guimbanos, a mountain people in Sulu. Later, they and the Joloans rebel, and in 1643-44 Agustin de Cepeda again chastises them, defeating the natives in several battles and ravaging their country. One of these expeditions is related in detail by a Jesuit in Jolo, who, as usual, ascribes the success of the Spaniards to the favor of St. Ignatius and the Virgin Mary. In Mindanao, Corcuera's invasion (1637) long restrains Corralat; but in 1655 he treacherously causes the murder of three Spanish envoys sent to him and attempts (but in vain) to stir up the other Moro rulers to rebellion against the Spaniards. The latter are not strong enough to wage war with him, and therefore overlook his insolence; this encourages him to begin anew his piratical raids against other islands. At this, several attempts are made to curb them, most proving ineffectual—although in January-February, 1658, Esteybar with a squadron of armed vessels, destroys several Mindanao villages. Finally (in 1662) the Manila authorities decide to abandon their forts in Mindanao and Jolo; this causes the loss of Spanish dominion there, and the christianized Moros soon relapse into their former heathenism. Some of the Joloan chiefs make unauthorized raids on the northern islands, but their king punishes them and restores the captives. Corralat meanwhile, in his old age, maintains peace, and charges his heir to do the same—an example which is followed by the king of Jolo. The Camucones are kept in awe by the light galleys which are built at Manila for this purpose. Thus the latter part of the century is a time of comparative peace, so far as the relations of the Spaniards and Visayans with the Moros are concerned.
The Editors
July, 1906.
DOCUMENTS OF 1691-1700
Extracts from Jesuit letters. Juan de Zarzuela, and others; 1691 and 1694. Discovery of Palaos Islands. Paul Clain, S. J.; June 10, 1697. Recollect missions in the Philippines, 1661-1712. Pedro de San Francisco de Assis; 1756. Juan de la Concepcion; 1788.
Sources: The first of these documents is obtained from the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library), iv, pp. 1-3, 69-72; the second, from Lettres edifiantes (1st Paris ed.), i, (1717), pp. 112-136, from a copy in the library of the Wisconsin Historical Society; the third, from the Historia general de los religiosos descalzos de San Agustin, part iv, written by Pedro de San Francisco de Assis (Zaragoza, 1756), from a copy in the Library of Congress.
Translations: The first document is translated by Emma Helen Blair; the second, by Frances B. Marshall; the third, by James Alexander Robertson.
EXTRACTS FROM JESUIT LETTERS, 1691-94
[From a letter by Father Juan de Zarzuela, [1] June 19, 1691.]
The governor Don Fausto Cruzat y Gongora is a royal official in these islands, who makes every endeavor to collect the revenue of his Majesty. He has a hasty disposition, and no one dares oppose him; consequently there are few who wish him well, and there is no one who desires the office of alcalde, on account of the burdens that he imposes on them (never customary here), of completing every year the royal revenue and its accounts, and filling out the quota of what they must collect, even though they do not actually collect it. The result is, that the alcaldes contribute from their own stores what they had not collected; for, no matter what efforts they make, they cannot during the year finish the collections, on account of the extreme poverty of the Indians. The governor has for counselors or intimates only Andaya and Antonio, for whom he does many things and confers many offices. It is not known how much it costs them. His Lordship brought over a great amount of silver from the viceroy, which is necessarily sent as an investment; and there will be many who complain of this, because [the goods procured by] it will occupy the greater part of the ship. For this reason no one wished to accept command of the ship, for it will be nothing more than to go in the governor's employ; and finally it was given to Don Jose Mato Rayo. It is a new ship which is sailing; it was built by Andaya as contractor, and superintendent of the whole—whom the governor obeyed, as one who was necessary to him, because there was no ship that could be sent. That is, the "Santo Nino" was in such a condition that it could not be repaired; and, as the time was short (it was then only nine months), it was necessary to multiply the exactions [sacas]. Thus Silang, which has two hundred and twenty-seven and a half tributes registered, had one hundred and twenty men at one time outside of their village; others had seventy, eighty, or more out—without being able to take care of their grain-fields. Afterward, because there was not enough rice for the king, through lack of foresight in the royal officials, they levied another assessment of rice on the natives [in Cavite] as also in La Laguna, the king paying but one-half of what the Indians could sell it for later, and leaving them under the necessity of buying the grain at double price. The worst thing is, that now the rice has become so scarce that it is worth nine and ten reals, at which price it is sold in the [royal] magazines; and the tribute which is given by the very Indians on whom this purchase was levied is sold at the magazines, without being placed therein, to the rice-mills. This gentleman very willingly accepts what people give him for the offices. At the beginning, it was understood that he would not receive gifts; but with five children, a wife, and a sister-in-law, and heavily indebted, the office costing him so much, and he coming so great a distance, how can he avoid looking out for money? He is not opposed to the Society [of Jesus], but we are under no obligation to him. Our order has no kindly feeling toward thieves, and it is thought most probable, as nearly as can be guessed, that he will not speak [of us] very favorably to his Majesty. He says that he will despatch the balandra [2] this year; but I do not know how this will be, because they have not begun to get it ready.
[From a letter by Father Magino Sola, June 19, 1691.]
On the twenty-fifth of July, Senor Fausto Cruzat y Gongora took possession of the government. When Don Juan de Vargas was ready to embark this year, the city brought a new suit against him, and seized the little that he possessed.
[From a letter by Father Juan de Montemayor, dated July 4, 1694.]
He says therein that information had been received in Manila that the Dominicans would not be promoted to bishoprics in the Filipinas Islands, a statement that had been well received. The bishop of Troya had attempted to regain the government of the archbishopric, founding his claim on a royal decree in which he was charged to surrender it to the person who had been presented by his Majesty (from which he inferred that the king approved his government), but slighting the imperative order [ruego y encargo] that he should set out for Espana. He demanded that the governor send him the official correspondence from Espana for the governor of the archbishopric; but the governor replied that he would send him that which should go to the name of his illustrious Lordship.
[Letter by Father Pedro de Silva Alencastre, July 20, 1694.]
[He says] that for three years past no letters from the islands reached Mejico, because in July of the year 1692 the patache which was going to the Marianas, with more than twenty thousand pesos, was burned while in the very port. In the same year the ship "Santo Cristo" sailed for Acapulco, and had to come back to this port from the thirtieth degree of latitude. Then she sailed in July of 93, from the port of Naga; and up to the present time nothing is known about her fate. In 1694 a galleon was built that was 72 cubits long [de 72 codos de quilla], an audacious attempt. It set sail on the eve of St. Peter's day; and on the following Saturday, while off the shore of Maragondon, it went to pieces. It was laden with more than twelve thousand packages; for all the citizens had invested whatever they possessed, in order to lade this ship, and even the wrought silver and the jewels of the women had been sold in order to invest their value in stuffs. The letter was sent by the patache which the governor was despatching as an express, so that they might know in Mejico and Espana that the islands were not destroyed.
[Letter by Father Gaspar Marco, [3] July 27, 1694.]
The bishop of Troya was going on, thinking that the government of the archbishopric belonged to him, and did not ordain the clerics who presented dismissory letters from the cabildo of Manila—assuming that the king regarded him as ecclesiastical governor—and that, in spite of the permit for absence which commanded him to return to Espana. The cabildo had brought suit against Doctor Nicolas Caraballo, sentencing him to exile in Nueva Espana. He embarked in the year 1692; but, the galleon having come back to the port of Naga in the province of Camarines, the bishop of that diocese not only received and entertained Caraballo, but absolved him and qualified him to hold any office or benefice. The cabildo of Manila, who had sent a person to conduct Caraballo to that city, endured this slight and said nothing, when they knew of the conduct of the bishop of Camarines, in order not to arouse another dispute. The bishop appointed Caraballo governor of the bishopric of Cebu, on account of the death of its prelate, in 1692. He began his rule by visiting and punishing the curas, until he removed the cura of Aclan, named Salazar, and seized his goods, without allowing him any appeal to the metropolitan. Salazar escaped to Manila, and informed the cabildo of this; and they commissioned the cantor, Don Esteban de Olmedo, to arrest Caraballo. The bishop of Camarines had information of all this, and went in person to protect him. He arrived twenty-four hours after Olmedo, and arrested the latter; he passed sentence on him, with the counsel and opinion of Caraballo himself, and carried Olmedo to Camarines with a pair of fetters, where he remained until the date [of the letter], without the cabildo having taken any steps for his liberation.
DISCOVERY OF THE PALAOS ISLANDS
Letters written from Manila, June 10, 1697, by Father Paul Clain [4] of the Society of Jesus to Reverend Father Tirso Gonzalez, general of the same Society, on the new discovery that has been made of thirty-two islands, south of the Marianas Islands.
After the departure of the vessel which was commissioned with the letters which I wrote during the year past to your Paternity, there arrived another which brought me the order to accompany the reverend father Antonio Fuccio, [5] of Sicily, the new provincial of this province. Making with him the circuit of our houses, I have taken a survey of the country of the Pintados. There are large islands separated from one another by arms of the sea, in which the tide renders navigation difficult and dangerous. There are in these islands seventy-seven thousand Christians, under the spiritual direction of forty-one missionaries of our Society, who have with them two of our brothers who provide for their subsistence.
I can scarcely express to you, my reverend Father, how I have been moved at the sight of these poor Indians, of whom there are many who die without receiving the sacraments of the church, in great danger of their eternal salvation: because there are so few priests here, that the majority of them have charge of two villages at the same time. When it happens that they are occupied in one place, fulfilling the functions of their ministry, they are not able to assist those who die in the other. I have been still more greatly moved by the forsaken condition in which we found several other persons, who died in the islands that are called Pais. Although these islands are not far from the Marianas, their inhabitants have no intercourse with those of the latter group. The discovery of this new country has this year been made certain, as is here recounted.
In making the visitation with the father provincial, as I have already said, we arrived at the village of Guivam, [6] on the island of Samal, the largest and southernmost island of the Eastern Pintados. We found there twenty-nine Palaos, or natives of these newly-discovered islands. The easterly winds which rule over these seas from the month of December to the month of May had blown them three hundred leguas from their islands to this village on the island of Samal. They had come on two small vessels, that are called here "paraos." This is how they relate their adventure.
They had embarked, thirty-five persons in all, intending to go to a neighboring island, when there arose a wind so violent that they were not able to gain the island where they wished to land, or any other in the neighborhood, and were carried out to the open sea. They made many efforts to land on some shore or some island known to them, but without avail. They sailed thus at the will of the winds during seventy days without being able to make land. Finally losing all hope of returning to their country, and seeing themselves half-dead with hunger, without water and without food, they resolved to abandon themselves to the mercy of the winds, and land on the first island they could find toward the west. Scarcely had they taken this resolution, when they found themselves in sight of the village of Guivam on the island of Samal. A man from that village who was on the seashore saw them, and, judging by the structure of their little vessels that they were some strangers who had lost their way, he took a piece of cloth and made them a signal to enter by the channel that he indicated, in order to avoid the rocks and the banks of sand upon which they were about to run aground. These poor men were so frightened at seeing this stranger that they began to put back to sea; however much effort they made, they were not able to turn about, and the wind blew them a second time toward the shore. When they were near, the Guivam man made them understand by signs the route that they should take; but, seeing that they were not taking it, and that they would surely be lost, he threw himself into the sea, and swam to one of those two small vessels, with the design of acting as pilot and of conducting them safely to port. Scarcely had he reached the vessel when those who were on board, even the women carrying their children, threw themselves into the water to gain the other vessel, so much did they fear the approach of this stranger. This man, seeing himself alone in the small vessel, followed after them; and, having entered into the second, he cleared all the rocks and piloted it safely into the harbor. During this time the poor people remained motionless, and gave themselves up to the guidance of the stranger, whose prisoners they considered themselves.
They landed on St. Innocent's day, the twenty-eighth of December of the year 1696. The inhabitants of Guivam gathered on the shore, received them with charity, and brought them some wine and some food. They ate eagerly some cocoanuts, which are the fruit of the palms of this country. The meat in them is somewhat like that of chestnuts, except that it has more oil, and that it furnishes a kind of sweetened water which is agreeable to drink. The natives presented them with rice boiled in water, which the people use here and in all of Asia, as one does bread in Europe. They looked at it with wonder, and took some grains of it, which they immediately threw on the ground, imagining that they were worms. They exhibited much pleasure when some of the large roots that are called palavan were brought to them, and eagerly ate them.
Meanwhile the natives brought two women whom the wind had thrown upon the same shore at Guivam some time before. As they knew a little of the language of this country, they served as interpreters, and it is through them that we learned what I am about to relate. One of those women found among these strangers some of her kindred, and they no sooner recognized each other than they began to weep. The father who had charge of this village, having learned of the arrival of these poor people, had them come to Guivam. Some, when they saw him and perceived the respect that was shown him, imagined that he was the king of the country, and that their lives and their fate were in his hands. In this belief they threw themselves upon the ground to implore his mercy, and to beg that he would grant them their lives. The father, touched with compassion at seeing them in such great desolation, did all that he could to console them; and, to mitigate their fears, he caressed their children, of whom three were still at the breast, and five others a trifle older, and promised their parents to give them all the help that was in his power.
The inhabitants of Guivam vied with each other in offering to the father to take the strangers into their houses, and to furnish them with all things that they needed, both food and clothing. The father committed the strangers to them, but on condition that they should not separate those who were married (for there were some married ones among them); and that they should not take less than two together, for fear that those who were left alone would die of grief. Of thirty-five who had come aboard the ships there now remained no more than thirty; five had died during the voyage, because of the lack of food and the privations of the long journey. A little while after their arrival still another died, who had the good fortune to receive holy baptism.
They said that their country consisted of thirty-three islands. They cannot be very far from the Marianas, to judge from the structure of their vessels, and by the form of their sails, since these are of the same style. There is strong indication that these islands are farther to the south than the Marianas, in eleven or twelve degrees north latitude, and upon the same parallel as Guivam; since the strangers came straight from the east to the west, and landed on the shore at this settlement. There is also ground for believing that this is one of the islands that was discovered from afar some years ago. A vessel belonging to the Philippines (in 1686) having left the customary route, which is from east to west upon the thirteenth parallel, and having veered somewhat toward the southwest, saw it for the first time. These people called this island Carolina, in honor of the king (Charles II, king of Spain); and the others called it St. Barnabas, because it was discovered on the day when the church celebrates the feast of this apostle. This island was seen last year by another vessel that the tempest had blown out of its course, in going from here to the Marianas Islands. The governor of the Philippines had often given orders to the ship which went nearly every year to the Marianas, to seek for this island and the others that were thought to be near; but these orders had been useless, God reserving to this time the discovery of them, and as we hope, the complete conversion of these people.
The strangers added that of these thirty-three islands there were three which were inhabited only by birds, but that the others were thickly peopled. When asked what was the number of the inhabitants, they took a grain of sand or of dust, and intimated to the father in this fashion, the innumerable multitude of men who lived there. These islands are named Pais, Lamululutup, Saraon, Yaropie, Valayyay, Satavan, Cutac, Yfaluc, Piraulop, Ytai, Pic, Piga, Lamurrec, Puc, Falait, Caruvaruvong, Ylatu, Lamuliur, Tavas, Saypen, Tacaulat, Rapiyang, Tavon, Mutacusan, Piylu, Olatan, Palu, Cucumyat, Piyalucunung. The three which are only inhabited by birds are Piculat, Hulutan, and Tagian. Lamurrec is the largest of all these islands. It is where the king of all that country holds his court. The chiefs of all those settlements submit to him. There was found among these strangers one of the chiefs with his wife, who is the daughter of a king. Although they may be half-naked, they have manners and a certain air of dignity, which makes one recognize well enough who they are. The husband has all his body painted with certain lines, the arrangement of which forms various figures. The other men of this tribe have also some similar lines, some of them more than the others; but the women and the children do not have them at all. There are nineteen men and ten women, of different ages. The contour and the color of their faces are very similar to those of the natives of the Philippines. The men have no other dress than a kind of girdle which covers their loins and thighs, and which is wound several times about their bodies. They have upon their shoulders more than an ell and a half of coarse cloth, of which they make a kind of hood, which they tie in front, and allow to hang carelessly behind. The men and the women are dressed in the same fashion, except that the women have their wearing apparel a little longer, descending from the waist almost to the knees.
Their language is different from that of the Philippines, and resembles that of the Marianas Islands. Their manner of pronouncing words is something like that of the Arabs. The woman who appears to be of highest station has many rings and necklaces of tortoise-shell, that are called here carey; and others of a material that is unknown to us. This material, which somewhat resembles ambergris, is not transparent.
This is the manner in which they lived upon the sea during the seventy days while they had been at the mercy of the waves. They threw into the sea a sort of weir, made of several small branches of trees tied together. This weir had a large opening to allow the fish to enter, and ended in a point to prevent their going out. The fish that they caught in this manner were all the nourishment they had, and they did not drink any water except that which the rain furnished them; they caught it in the shells of cocoanuts—which are the fruit of the palms of this country, as I have already said; they are of the shape and size of a man's skull.
There are no cows in those islands. The natives tried to run away when they saw some cows browsing the grass, just as when they heard a small dog bark in the house of the missionaries. There are neither cats nor deer, nor horses, nor, in general, any four-legged beast. There are but few birds, except those which live on the sea. They have, however, fowls which they eat; but they never eat their eggs.
In spite of this lack of all things, they are happy and content with their lot. They have some songs and dances in tolerably regular time. They sing all together and make the same gestures, which has a pleasing effect.
They are surprised at the government, the politeness, and the manners of Europe, of which they have no knowledge. They admire not only that august majesty of the ceremonies by which the church celebrates divine worship, but also the music, the instruments, the dances of the Spaniards, the weapons which they carry, and, above all, the gunpowder. They admire also the whiteness of the Europeans; for the inhabitants of this country are all of swarthy complexion.
They appear until now to have had no knowledge of God, nor do they adore idols. We have noticed in them only a life altogether barbarous. All their care is to seek for food and drink. They have a great deference for their king and the chiefs of their villages, and they obey them with the greatest exactitude. They do not have regular hours for their meals. They drink and eat at any time and wherever they may be, when they are hungry and thirsty, and when they find wherewith to satisfy themselves. But they eat little at a time, and one of their meals is not enough to suffice for all the day.
Their civility and mark of respect consists in taking the hand or the foot of the one to whom they wish to do honor, and in rubbing it gently over their face. They have among their possessions some saws not made of iron, but of a large shell that is called here taclobo, [7] which they sharpen by rubbing against certain stones. They have also one of iron, as long as a finger. They were much astonished on the occasion of a trading-vessel being built at Guivam, to see the great variety of tools for carpentry which were used. They looked at all these, one after another, with much wonder. They do not have metals in their country. The father missionary gave them each a good-sized piece of iron, which they received with more joy than if he had given them so much gold. They had so much fear that it would be taken away from them that they put it under their heads when they wanted to sleep. They do not have any arms except lances or darts made of human bones. They are very peaceful among themselves. When it happens that there is a quarrel among them, it is settled by a few blows of their fists upon each other's heads. But this rarely happens; because, if some wish to come to blows, others separate them and make them stop the dispute. They are not, nevertheless, stupid or heavy; on the contrary, they have fire and vivacity. They are not as stout as the natives of the Marianas Islands, but they are well proportioned, and of nearly the same height as the Philippinos. Both men and women let their hair grow, which falls upon their shoulders.
When these strangers learned that they were to be conducted into the presence of the father missionary, they painted themselves all over the body with a certain yellow color, which they consider a great adornment. They are so satisfied at finding here in abundance all that is necessary to life, that they have offered to return to their own country in order to attract here their compatriots, and to persuade them to enter into intercourse with these islands. Our governor is much pleased with this design, in view of the fact that he has subjected all this country to the king of Spain; and this would open a wide door for the propagation of the gospel. The eldest of the strangers had once before been thrown upon the coast of the province of Caragan in one of these islands; but, as he found only some infidels who dwelt in the mountains and along these deserted shores, he had returned to his own country, without having known of the abundance and the riches of these islands. He had been more fortunate in this second voyage. The children have already been baptized, and the others have been instructed in the mysteries of our religion. They are very skilful in diving; and it is said that they recently found, while fishing, two large pearls in the shells, which they threw back into the sea, because they did not know their value. [8]
I write you all this, my reverend Father, persuaded that you will be glad to learn news so advantageous to those of your children who have the good fortune to carry the faith into this new country. We have need of workers, for there is much work to do. We hope that you will have the kindness to send some workers to us, and will not forget us in your holy devotions. I am with profound respect, my very reverend Father, your Paternity's very humble and obedient servant and son,
Paul Clain, missionary of the Society of Jesus. At Manila, June 10, 1697.
MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
1661-1712
I
General History of the Discalced Augustinian Fathers, by Fray Pedro de San Francisco de Assis [9]
[From this work, as in the three preceding parts of the General History of the Discalced Augustinians, we translate the important matter relating to the Philippines, with synopsis or mention of matter omitted.]
DECADE EIGHT
CHAPTER I
Mention of the insurrections of some provinces in Philipinas, with the labors that began for our religious. The exemplary lives of some, who died holily in their convents.
The Year 1661
Sec. I
One insurrection having been put down in Pampanga, another one follows in Pangasinan. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambales, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.
... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mild per se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyago. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to the seditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.
3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinan, Ilocos, and Cagayan, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.
4. In Pangasinan, Ilocos, and Cagayan, the flame acquired too much force because of the fierceness of the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinan; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambales, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.
5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinan elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatongan, one Don Andres Malong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campana, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumulay, a very near relative of Malong, was living in Bolinao, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinao and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumulay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayan. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter's advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumulay, who was the cause of all the disorder.
6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanaos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinao, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambales, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinan, a circumstance which gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinao with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumulay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.
7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinao of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simulay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simulay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting who supported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. "I am not ignorant," he said, "that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Malong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one's actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly." By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.
8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father's presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayen and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinan which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinan overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinao as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinan would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.
9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinao, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his real purpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Balcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayen despatched a second mail to Bolinao in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinan, let us return to our villages of Zambales, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.
Sec. II
Continuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayan, Agno, and Bolinao.
10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: "Long live Malong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!"
11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gathered about him. They proclaimed the traitor Malong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where the principales met to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.
12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year's eve, it was noted then that a medium-sized vessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagac, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagac prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour's distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty. Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.
13. In Cigayen (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sirray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sirray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Malong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.
14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinao), there was a chief called Don Juan Durrey, a very near relative of Sumulay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who were fleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinan. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Durrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinao, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Durrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.
15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinao. Malong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unaware of his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinan, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucao, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatongon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucao was staying in Sumulay's house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumulay's house in order to have an interview with Caucao, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.
16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Malong, the powerful king of Pangasinan, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiring to treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: "What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinao, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumulay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows."
17. Caucao, Sumulay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucao, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumulay, because he imagined the same, and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Malong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Malong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucao had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergara and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilocos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.
18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagalog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucao and Sumulay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Malong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: "This is the reply merited by such an arrogant method of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You," he proceeded, addressing Caucao, "who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatongon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumulay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection." The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: "Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinao, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance." Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.
19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his new guests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Malong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Durrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinao accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king's name. God giving force to these words, Durrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon called igua in those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.
20. It appears that Malong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Durrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumulay to return to Bolinao in order to cut off the prior's head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumulay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived at night, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumulay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumulay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumulay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done. |
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