 |
The total amount of the balance struck on January 7, 1632, amounted to two thousand one hundred and eighty-seven pesos, four tomins, and four pieces of gold and three rings [14] 2,187 4 0
That from balances of accounts amounted to 26,458 4 0
That from fines of the exchequer amounted to 2,984 3 2
That from the fifths of gold amounted to 99 5 6
That from royal situados amounted to 2,150 4 0
That from the expenses of justice amounted to 75 1 0
That from loans made to the treasury amounted to 64,453 4 0
That from import and export duties amounted to 36,603 2 0
That from the mesada taxes amounted to 835 0 8
That from resultas amounted to 2,114 5 6
That from vacancies in encomiendas amounted to 66 7 8
That from deposits amounted to 1,858 0 0
That from offices sold amounted to 3,800 0 0
That from extraordinary sources amounted to 30,046 3 3
That sent from Nueva Espana amounted to 232,569 4 0
The receipts for account of the visit amounted to 7,013 6 1
That from passenger transportation amounted to 250 0 0
The receipts from the proceeds of condemnations to be remitted to the Council amounted to 3,060 4 0
That from the Chinese licenses amounted to 105,898 0 10
That from cattle tithes amounted to 300 0 0
That from the fifths of silver amounted to 285 2 4
That from [fund for?] the expenses of the courts of the Parian 60 4 0
That from [fund for?] the expenses of the courts of the Audiencia amounted to seventy-five pesos 75 0 0
That collected from what is owing [to the treasury] amounted to 97,663 2 3
——————————— The receipts of the said treasury for the said time amounted to 622,484 5 1
Account from January 7, 1633, to January 6, 1634
The total amount of the balance struck on the said day, January seven, 1633, amounted to four thousand seven hundred and ninety-two pesos, three tomins, and four pieces of gold and three rings [15] 4,792 3 0
That from balances of accounts amounted to 14,299 1 2
That from the mesada taxes amounted to 258 2 11
That from extraordinary sources amounted to 2,226 5 7
That from import and export duties amounted to 46,897 6 1
The receipts from the visit amounted to 13,770 6 0
That from Chinese licenses amounted to 51,396 2 0
That from loans amounted to 109,260 0 0
That from fines of the exchequer amounted to 1,918 0 0
That from expenses of justice amounted to 120 0 0
That from royal situados amounted to 1,385 5 6
That from offices sold amounted to 14,850 0 0
That from the fifth of gold amounted to 300 2 7
That from vacant encomiendas [vacantes] amounted to 41 1 6
That from passenger transportation amounted to 950 0 0
That from tributes amounted to 9 3 0
That from the half-annats amounted to 4,961 5 2
That from the silver sent from Nueva Espana amounted to 277,326 1 1
That from resultas amounted to 1,056 5 5
That from [fund for?] courts and expenses of the royal Audiencia amounted to 135 0 0
That from deposits amounted to 600 0 0
That from cattle tithes amounted to 386 6 9
——————————— The receipts of the said treasury for the said time amounted to 546,873 0 5
Account from January 7, 1634, to January 6, 1635
The total of the balance struck on the said day, January seven, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four, amounted to seventy-three thousand two hundred and thirty-one pesos, seven tomins, and ten granos, and [4 pieces] of gold, and 3 rings [16] 73,231 7 10
The total of the half-annats amounted to 16,393 0 1
That from balances of accounts amounted to 31,311 2 11
That from royal situados amounted to 1,688 5 6
That from fines of the exchequer amounted to 1,945 2 5
That from resultas amounted to 11,557 6 3
That from cattle tithes 211 0 0
That from import and export duties amounted to 28,170 4 11
That from heathen Chinese licenses 162,941 7 5
That from extraordinary sources amounted to 33,097 3 9
That from the fifth of gold amounted to 325 7 4
That from deposits amounted to [17] 6,375 1 0
That from offices sold amounted to 11,400 0 0
That from [fund for?] the expenses of the courts amounted to 50 0 0
That from expenses of justice amounted to 36 1 6
That from condemnations collected to remit to this Council amounted to 444 0 0
That from passenger transportation amounted to 650 0 0
That from proceeds of the visita amounted to 3,417 4 0
That from restitutions amounted to 1,003 0 0
That from the money sent from Nueva Espana amounted to 308,396 2 0
That from loans amounted to 11,000 0 0
That from the proceeds for the fortification of Manila amounted to 6,000 0 0
That from the tenths of gold amounted to 296 6 0
——————————— The total receipts of the said treasury for the said time amounted to 715,849 6 11
Given in [word illegible in MS.] August eighteen, 1638.
Don Geronimo de [word illegible in MS.] Francisco Antonio Manzelo
LETTER OF CONSOLATION TO THE JESUITS OF PINTADOS
To my beloved fathers and brothers of the islands and residences of the Pintados.
Pax Christi, etc.:
Great has been the grief that has been caused to us who have been in these missions of the Tagals, by severe hardships that your Reverences have suffered and are suffering in those islands of Pintados, because of the madness and ferocity of so cruel enemies. For who would not be afflicted at hearing of the hatred and hostility of the barbarians against Christ our Lord, which they have displayed against His sacred images, which they have outraged and broken to pieces, and His temples, which they have burned and destroyed? Who would not be struck with pity on seeing the beloved flock of the sheep of Christ our Lord, and his faithful ones with their pastors and ministers, robbed, dispersed, and pursued even into the fastnesses of the mountains, imprisoned, captured, and killed?—and the shepherds, with especial ignominy and cruelty, as we see in [the case of] our most beloved father, Juan del Carpio, who is happy, fortunate, and chosen, since he has purchased the eternal crown by the shedding of his blood. [18] Who would not have compassion at hearing of the fatigues, surprises, necessities, and dangers, of those of your Reverences who are still alive—a life that resembles a continual death rather than life? But this tender compassion must cause pain in us because of the evils, and encouragement and joy because of the blessings, which follow from them—truly one and the other feeling; for who can refrain from weeping at the sight of an offended God, at His holy name blasphemed, His worship violated, His faithful ones captive, and His priests killed? But who will not be consoled with that holiness of the great doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, whom God our Lord permitted [to be visited by] evils in order that he might derive greater blessings therefrom—such as are these greater blessings from so many present evils? Such are the [word illegible] acts born from the fervid hearts of my most beloved fathers, so that they have offered themselves to their Creator and Lord in so virulent dangers, not as they might wish, but as a most perfect holocaust, without any fear, placing everything in His hands—health, honor, blood, and life, for the greater glory of his Majesty, and the welfare of souls. Peradventure these are not blessings that enrich those who possess them, but they give courage, fervor, and glory to our province and Society of Jesus, which has such sons and so valorous soldiers, the imitators of their Society of Jesus, their blood shed to deliver their spiritual children and that which pertains to the Divine and Christian worship—which blessings will he not bring to our islands and fields of Christendom, and to our Society of Jesus in those islands? For as says the most illustrious Tertullian in his Apologetica adversus gentis, chapter 49: Semen est sanguis Christianorum. [19] And a Christianity wet with such blood will doubtless give a most abundant harvest. And what encouragement will it give to the sons of the Society in Europa! And what desires will they have to come where they may have opportunity to shed their blood also for the honor of their Creator! Blood shed by the hands of barbarian Mahometans instigated by their casique [20]—especially against the priests, the preachers of our holy faith, as we learned from one who escaped from them; and with so remarkable tokens of special hate against religion, that they tore to pieces the very body of the father, so that the head was the largest part of it. However much they may claim that in order that there should be no planting [of Christianity?] they did not spare his life, their actions show that they took life away from him in hatred of Christ our Lord, and of His holy religion, which the father was preaching and extending. And even if the Mahometans did not have that intention and hate against Christ and His holy faith, which this shows that they have, not only is the death inflicted and suffered in this manner a true martyrdom, but also in more general terms Christ our Lord said through St. Mark in the 8th chapter: Qui perdiderit animam suam propter me, et evangelium, salvam faciet. [21] On those words is founded every form of true martyrdom, which embraces that of the innocents, and those who gave their lives to serve those sick with the plague, and for any virtue whatever; and thus say the saints. St. Augustine pondering these words in his sermon 100 (De diversis) section 2, [22] makes a strenuous effort for martyrdom, in the occasion of dying, in these words: "Qui perdiderit," inquit, "propter me." Tota caussa ibi est. "Qui perdiderit," non quomodocumque, non qualibet caussa, sed "propter me." Ylli enim yn prophecia yam dixerant martires, "Propter te mortificamur tota die." Propterea martiremnon facit pena, sed caussa. And if this is Christ our Lord, and one loses his life either in order not to offend Him—for example, by denying His faith, or losing his chastity, or by lying, etc.—or in order to serve Him—for example, by preaching His holy gospel, or by practicing the doctrine of succoring one's neighbors with the spiritual or corporal works of charity—even if the tyrant does not deprive him of life as a mark of hatred against the faith, assuredly he gains the crown, salvam faciet eam. Accordingly, he who dies in the mountains when fleeing from persecution, or by means of wild beasts or robbers, or who is drowned in the sea, says St. Cyprian in his Epistle number 56, Ad Tibaitanos, is and must be called a martyr, for his death is [suffered] for Christ. Thence can one well see what we feel in the present case, and in the occasions that we have in hand. I will quote his words here, for they are a consolation for all those who are liable to lose their lives, in the sea or in the mountains, because of the preaching of the holy gospel and the persecution of the enemies of the gospel. Si fugientem in solitudine ac montibus latro oppresserit, fera invaserit, fames aut sitis aut frigus afflixerit, vel per maria praecipiti navigatione properantem tempestas ac procella submerserit spectat militem suum Christus ubicunque pugnantem, et persecutionis causa pro nominis sui honore morienti praemium reddit quod daturum se in resurectione promisit. Nec minor est martyrii gloria non publica et [non] inter multos perisse cum pereundi causa sit propter Christum perire. Sufficit ad testimoniam martyrii fui [sc. fuisse] testis ille qui probat martyres et coronat. [23] This is sufficient for a letter, although other testimonials of the saints could be adduced, which show that the institution of martyrdom made by Christ our Lord was not the narrow thing of which certain scholastics speak. Father Teofilo Raynaudo [24] of our Society, in the book that he published, De martyrio per pestem, in the year 1630, proves in a very learned and wise manner that those who die through the exercise of the works of charity with the sufferers of the pest are really and truly, and can be called, martyrs. And clearly it is not less to give one's life than to exercise spiritual works of charity, for one's neighbors. Hence we ought to endure in this particular, for Christ our Lord, in bonitate et liberalitate, [25] and since for other lesser works—as leaving father and mother, or positions, etc., for Him—Christ our Lord chose to give as a reward so much in this life, and afterward eternal life, as He said through St. Mark, in the 10th chapter: Centies tantum in tempore hoc et in saeculo futuro vitam aeternam. [26] The most heroic and lofty work was necessarily the giving of one's life for the same cause; and that loss will not give, to him who serves, another reward here, but the reward of eternal life is reserved for the world to come, and with a special diadem. Then may we be consoled, my fathers, in our missions and voyages, if we lose our lives therein in the service of Christ for the preaching of His holy gospel; since according to His royal promise He always maintains it assured, and brighter is the crown. I do not say this in order that we should publish our martyrs, or that we should so talk with those outside (for it is better for us to limit ourselves in that direction), but for our consolation and assurance, I am persuaded that after this pilgrimage we shall recognize that glory in some or many of the fathers of this province who have preceded us—as in the case of the fortunate father Juan Dominico Bilancio, who died a captive of the Mahometan [king of] Jolo, the harsh treatment and sufferings of his captivity being the cause of his death; and Father Juan de las Missas, [who perished] at the hands of the hostile Camucones; besides other fathers. I regard it as superfluous to expatiate further on this, or to attempt to spur on those who are running so gloriously. Therefore I conclude with the words, which the glorious bishop and martyr, St. Cyprian, wrote in a similar case in his epistle number 81, to Sergius Rogatianus and his companions: Saluto vos fratres charissimi [ac beatissimi] optans ipsse quoque conspectu vestro frui, si me ad vos pervenire loci condicio permiteret. Quid enim mihi optacius et lecius pocet [i.e., posset] accidere, quam nunc vovis inhaerere? ... Sed quoniam qui [sc. huic] laeticie interesse facultas non datur has pro me ad aures et [ad] oculos vestros vicarias literas mito, quibus glatulor pariter, et eshortor, ut yn comfessione selestis glorie fortes et estabiles perseberetis et ingressi viam Dominice dignacionis ad acipiendam coronam espirituali virtute pergatis. [27] Manila, February 1, 1635.
Juan de Bueras
LETTER TO FELIPE IV FROM FATHER ANDRES DEL SACRAMENTO
Sire:
Since I have passed thirty years in this province of the discalced Franciscans of San Gregorio of Filipinas, and, since I am a father of this province, I regard it as my obligation to advise your Majesty of its present condition; so that, since you are the one who sends the ministers at the cost of your royal treasury, you might apply the corrective that necessity demands. It is a fact that, although the said province has been established by the discalced religious, and always maintained in its first perfection by the religious sent it by the discalced provinces of Espana, among those who come some Observantines are generally found, under pretext of going to Japon—who, although they change the habit, do not change their inclination to their own observance. This mingling [of the two branches] is the cause of very great disquiet, because of the opposition that is sucked in there in the milk, as is apparent to your Majesty from many instances. Although the Observantines are so few that they do not number twenty, they make use of their favor with the commissaries-general, who generally appoint them as commissaries of visitation. In parts so remote and deprived of recourse [to superiors], they hold their will as law whenever they choose. For that reason we have always feared that the Observantines would deprive the discalced religious of this province; and that has been done by an Observantine commissary-visitor, who removed all the definitors and a great number of votes, by absolute authority and without sufficient cause. He did it for the sole purpose of succeeding in that design, which he accomplished; hence this province and its definitors are at present in the power of the Observantines. Since the fathers commissaries-general are Observantines, they naturally favor their own party. From that circumstance, serious and long-drawn-out litigation is promised, which your Majesty can prevent by ordering strictly that one or the other branch do not come. The discalced religious, as I said, established this province. They have furnished many martyrs to the church, and have toiled in the ministry with poverty, humility, and good example among Spaniards and Indians, as they relate and as your Majesty can inform yourself. You will also be informed of the manner in which the Observantine fathers administer in Megico; and you can select which [branch] you may please, and order that those religious who do not possess a testimonial from the discalced or from the Observantine provincials (according to which branch your Majesty selects) shall not embark at Cadiz. In case that Observantines are not to come, it is very necessary also to order strictly your viceroy of Mexico not to allow those who should not possess the said testimonials to embark at Acapulco; for, since the commissary-general is in Mexico, he will exert great activity in this respect in order to carry farther what has been commenced. For that purpose they are at present sending an Observantine religious. I beg your Majesty not to consider this as a matter of little moment, for on this one remedy alone depends the preservation of this province on its first foundation, the peace of the religious, the proper administration of the Indians, and the prevention of most serious scandals born from the said opposition and intermixture, of which this whole kingdom is witness.
In this letter it is seen that no favor or protection is requested from your Majesty for either myself or anyone else; but I only inform you, as our sovereign lord, so that you may remedy the injury that results from the aforesaid to the consciences of your vassals and in the administration of the Indians. Notwithstanding this, I beseech your Majesty, if you will be so pleased, to keep my name secret from the father commissary-general and the Observantines; for if they learn it, they will give me considerable trouble here. May Heaven prosper your life with the most fortunate successes, as we your Majesty's most humble vassals and chaplains desire. [Nueva] Caceres, in the province of Camarines, June 2, 1635.
Your Majesty's humble chaplain,
Fray Andres del Sacramento, father of this province of San Gregorio.
[Endorsed: "June 16, 638. Collect what may have been written on this matter, and bring it; and have the father commissary-general report whether Observantines go among the discalced fathers who are asked for. A report was asked from the commissary-general on the sixteenth of said month."]
LETTER FROM THE FRANCISCAN COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF THE INDIAS
I have received two documents from your Grace, in regard to various matters, and I shall answer them in two others, so that your Grace may be pleased to read them to the gentlemen of that royal Council. In regard to one, I say that since the winter when I had certain advices from the province of San Gregorio of the Filipinas, and of which I informed the council, I have had no further news. That news was certain complaints of the provincial and definitors against the commissary who deprived them of certain things which he found in his visit, although he exceeded [his authority] in it. That case went to the commissary of Nueva Espana. According to what the discalced provincial of the Filipinas wrote me, who went to follow up the case, penalties were imposed upon the said commissary. Another was sent from the discalced province of San Diego, so that another chapter might be celebrated, and that province appeased. I hope in our Lord that it will be appeased and satisfied; but if not, I have written for them to send me all the documents and all decisions that shall have been rendered. Letters were also written to me then, and I was advised of the great injuries that the governor was causing to the religious. I neglected to inform his Majesty and that royal Council of this, as I considered it certain that, as it had been so public, the matter would have been communicated from there; and that, after having been weighed by those gentlemen, they would despatch orders to reform it.
Concerning the lawless act and the audacity of the friars in protecting and aiding the cleric Don Pedro Monroy, and their public censure of the governor, the Audiencia, and others in their sermons, with scandal, for which I feel due regret, although the things that occur there publicly, and the events that happen there, have been very extraordinary, yet the words of their sermons must be according to the statement of the holy Council of Trent: Que sint examinata et casta, eloquia ad edificationem [28]—words used by our father St. Francis, in his rules for preachers. If they are not so, then the word of God will not have the effect on its hearers that it had before the disturbance and scandal—a matter that has always seemed very wrong to me, and deserving blame and condemnation. That will happen on this occasion, for which, in due time, I shall send commission for an investigation and the punishment of the guilty; and [an account of] what shall be done shall be sent, so that I may present it to that royal Council, and it may be seen whether satisfaction has been made; for where that has not been done, I shall endeavor to secure it, as I strive to do in all things that arise. This is my response to the first document sent by your Grace. Given in this convent of St. Francis, in Madrid, June twenty-eight, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five.
Fray Francisco de Ocana, commissary-general of the Indias.
OPINION OF COUNCIL AND ROYAL DECREE REGARDING THE REQUEST OF THE JESUITS OF MANILA FOR ALMS FOR THEIR RESIDENCE
Sire:
By a decree of June first of the former year six hundred and twenty-five, your Majesty granted a concession to the residence of the Society of Jesus of the city of Manila, in the Philipinas Islands, of one thousand ducados in each of ten years, in unassigned Indians, or those who should first become such in the said islands, under the same terms with which your Majesty granted concession to the convent of the Order of St. Augustine in the islands for their buildings. The procurator-general of the said residence has now represented that, after the work was commenced, the church fell to the ground one night—leaving the house in ruins, and in so great danger that they were obliged immediately to borrow a temple for divine worship. For their building, and in order that they might be expeditious in it, and to build part of a house where the religious could be sheltered, it was necessary to raise a large sum of money by an assessment, which has rendered them very needy. It is the seminary for all the religious of the said Society who leave these kingdoms for the cultivation of the holy gospel in those provinces, where they equip themselves and learn the languages of the natives, in order to go out to teach them. It has a school where reading, writing, and Latin are taught, and the arts and theology, to Spaniards and natives; and six congregations—namely, of priests, laymen, students, Indians, and blacks—with great spiritual increase. It is the refuge for all the gospel ministers who fall sick, and who go thither for treatment, as there are no physicians in any other part. There they are treated, entertained, and supported with great charity, until they can return to continue their ministries. There are entertained all those who go by way of Eastern Yndia, when they go to Japon, China, Maluco, and other places. The said residence is very cramped, both in its house and its church, because of the great crowds that go there continually. For the relief of that condition, the order begs your Majesty that—considering the aforesaid, and that your Majesty has twice granted to the convent of St. Augustine in the said islands a bounty of twenty thousand ducados for their building—you will also give the said residence as an alms another ten thousand ducados, so that it may continue the said building, paying it to them in the tributes of Indians who may be unassigned. The matter having been examined in the Council, together with the letter which the royal Audiencia of the said islands wrote to your Majesty, July twenty-nine, six hundred and thirty—in which is mentioned the great necessity for a church which the religious of the residence experience because of the fall of theirs, and the evident danger in which they live, and the great results that they obtain in those parts—the count of Castillo, presiding officer of the said Council, Fernando de Villasenor, the count of Umanes, and Don Bartolome Morquecho were of the opinion that, in order to take a resolution in this matter, it is advisable that the governor, the Audiencia, and the archbishop of the said islands report on the condition of the work on the said residence, what is yet to be built, how much it will cost, and whether the said Society of Jesus has funds with which to build it.
Licentiate Don Lorenzo Ramirez de Prado, Juan Prado, Juan de Solorzano, and Don Juan de Palafox think that, if your Majesty be so pleased, you can do them the favor of continuing to the said residence the sum as above stated which was given them (of one thousand ducados in each year, for ten years) for two years more—one thousand ducados in each of them to be paid from the said tributes of unassigned Indians, so that they may continue the said work. This should be with the qualification that the governor of the said islands see whether there is any other kind of property from which to pay those two thousand ducados, so that it may not be taken from the treasury of your Majesty, or from the said encomiendas of Indians—in order that the latter may remain free, with which to reward the soldiers who serve your Majesty in those districts with great toil and danger. Those two years of extension shall run from the day on which the ten years of the said grant are concluded, and in each one of those two years they shall not enjoy more than one thousand ducados. Will your Majesty order what is your royal pleasure. Madrid, [blank] of [blank], six hundred and thirty-five.
[The king, having seen the above opinions of his Council, despatched a decree to the president and auditors of the Manila Audiencia, which recites in identical terms throughout the matter preceding the opinion in the first paragraph above, and then continues:]
The matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, together with the letter which you wrote me on July twenty-nine, six hundred and thirty, and they having conferred with me in respect to the many years during which I made the said concession to the said residence, and our ignorance at present of what had been done with that money, or into what it has been converted, and what still lacks to be built; and as it is in tributes of unassigned Indians, which are to be used as a reward for the soldiers who serve me in those islands with so great toil and danger, without there being any other thing with which to reward them: I command you, in order that our decision in this matter may be made with the knowledge that is advisable, to inform me on the first opportunity that offers of the condition of the work on the said residence, what is still to be built, and how much it will cost; and whether the said Society of Jesus has enough funds with which to build it, without our continuing the said concession and alms, as I have so many alms to grant, and things so greatly needing attention, on which account it is needful to retrench as much as possible. You shall send me the said report, together with your opinion, through the said my Council of the Yndias, so that, after they have examined it, the most advisable measures may be taken. Given in Madrid, July ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five.
I the King By order of the king our sovereign: Don Gabriel Ocana y Alarcon Signed by the gentlemen of the Council.
LETTER FROM PEDRO DE ARCE TO FELIPE IV
Although my age is now so advanced, and I was very contented in my bishopric of the city of Santisimo Nombre de Jhesus (which is commonly called Cebu), I was forced to leave my quiet because of the death of the archbishop of Manila, Don Fray Garcia Serrano, which happened more than six years ago, in order to come to govern this archbishopric of Manila during the period of its vacancy, as such was ordered by his Holiness Paul V, in a bull which he gave at the petition of your Majesty's father (whom may holy Paradise keep!), providing that the senior bishop of Philipinas should come to govern the church at Manila for three vacancies in this metropolitan see. Thus the lot fell to me to come; and the urgency with which the governor and the Audiencia begged me to come gave me no room for excuses, or to represent my indispositions and advanced age.
During the time while I have been in this government, there has been great peace and harmony between the ecclesiastical and civil powers; and we have always endeavored to promote the cause of our Lord and the service of your Majesty, as we all are bound to do. I have not left the government until now, when the bulls of this archbishopric came for Don Fray Hernando Guerrero; for, although he had a decree from your Majesty, the bulls, as I say, had not arrived, and I was governing by a bull of his Holiness, with a decree from your Majesty. Having consulted in regard to it with erudite men, theologians and jurists, as to whether I could give up the government of the archbishopric to Don Fray Hernando Guerrero, all counseled me in the negative, and charged my conscience.
Finally, the Lord has been pleased to relieve me of that charge, and to leave me the old responsibility of my own failures; and, accordingly, I am returning thither with much pleasure and happiness, to finish my days among my people, aiding them in whatever I can; for they have suffered considerably during these years from the enemy from Mindanao and Jolo, who are very powerful, and who make extensive raids with their fleets—burning villages, firing churches, destroying images, and capturing many Indians. Especially last year did those enemies display themselves most insolently; whereupon Governor Don Juan Cerezo Salamanca was obliged to apply the only remedy which we believed there to be—namely, to construct a fort at Samboanga, in the land of Mindanao, which might serve as a check to both enemies.
That fort was commenced when Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera arrived to govern these islands. Hearing of the advisability of that work, he determined to forward it, for its benefit is great, and its cost to the royal treasury but slight; and even thus it is hoped that it will be of great advantage in a few years, for those enemies will be obliged to pay tribute to your Majesty—and, in fact, whole villages have already begun to enter your Majesty's obedience. I hope that they will also enter the obedience of our Majesty [i.e., of God]. For that purpose, I have given and entrusted the spiritual affairs of those islands to the fathers of the Society, so that by their excellent method of procedure and their gentleness they may continue to attract and convert the natives, who are very numerous. Already have they set their hands to the labor, although the number of subjects that they have is few; because those of this order come but very seldom, and they have much to which to attend, and every day they have more. For I, for only the time during which I governed the archbishopric of Manila, have, in consideration of the welfare of the Indians and the devotion and efficient method of administration which those of the Society preserve among them in all parts, entrusted them with new posts. Both in the island of Negros and in that of Mindoro, besides the old Christians, they have three or four thousand heathen to whom to attend; and they are already baptizing these, in addition to the said heathen of Mindanao, who number many thousands.
Consequently, I petition your Majesty for two things: one that your Majesty be pleased to confirm them in the said mission of Mindanao, for the bishops have entrusted it to them alone for many years (as did I also), through expectation of great results in the conversion, by means of the said fathers of the Society of Jesus; the other, that your Majesty send a goodly reenforcement of the subjects of that order, so that they may attend to everything. I think a good reenforcement would be about forty, if most of them are priests, who can immediately begin to instruct.
May our Lord preserve the royal person of your Majesty, as all kingdoms need, and as I, the least of your Majesty's chaplains, beg in my sacrifices and prayers. Manila, October seventeen, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five.
Fray Pedro, Bishop of Santisimo Nombre de Jhesus.
DOCUMENTS OF 1636
Discussion regarding Portuguese trade at Manila. Joseph de Navada Alvarado, and others; 1632-36, Decree extending the tenure of encomiendas. Felipe IV; February 1. Military services of Filipinos. Juan Grau y Monfalcon; June 13. Conflicts between civil and ecclesiastical authorities, 1635-36. Casimiro Diaz, O.S.A. Letter from a citizen of Manila to an absent friend. [Unsigned; Fabian de Santillan y Gavilanes?]; June 15. Request for Jesuit missionaries. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; June 19. Letter from the bishop of Nueva Caceres to Felipe IV. Francisco de Zamudio, O.S.A.; June 20. List of prominent ecclesiastics in Manila and the islands. Hernando de Guerrero, archbishop of Manila; 1636.
Sources: All but three of these documents are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla. The second is from the "Cedulario Indico" of the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid; the fourth, from Diaz's Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas; the fifth, from a MS. in the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid.
Translations: All but one of these documents are translated by James A. Robertson; the last is by Robert W. Haight.
DISCUSSION REGARDING PORTUGUESE TRADE AT MANILA
Copy of seventeen articles which Joseph de Navada Alvarado, regidor of the distinguished and loyal city of Manila, proposed to the municipal council [ayuntamiento] of that city, in which he represents the injuries and troubles which follow and have been experienced from the Portuguese of Macan continuing the trade which they have begun to introduce in that city [of Manila]. These articles were presented to Don Juan Nino de Tavora, and afterward to Don Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, governor of those islands—who, having examined them, wrote his opinion to his Majesty, and how advisable it was to suppress the trade of Macan with the said city of Manila, as is apparent by the said letter.
Captain Joseph de Navada Alvarado, regidor of this city of Manila, represented in this city council that, as was public and well known, from the year six hundred and nineteen until the present of thirty-two, the Portuguese inhabitants of Macan have come to this city in various vessels, without fail in all the years above mentioned, laden with Chinese merchandise, in order to sell it here; and that, with their said coming, it seems that they have obtained possession of this trade, which is so strictly prohibited by various royal decrees. On account of that trade they have waxed rich, while the inhabitants of this community now find themselves in their so wretched present condition, by the great sales which have been generally made to them; and because with the said trade that which the Sangleys had by coming yearly to this said city, with the greatest abundance of goods, has ceased. It appears that necessity has always obliged them to have to buy from the said Portuguese. Notwithstanding that the prices have usually been very high, the profit which the inhabitants of this said city have made in Nueva Espana has been very slight; and at times it has been little more than the prime cost of the goods here, besides the heavy expenses and duties which they carry, both in these islands and in the said Nueva Espana. For that reason, he feels that it is very advisable for the preservation of the said inhabitants and of this community that the said trade of the Portuguese cease, and that they be ordered not to come to this city; for this is permitted by the royal will, under the penalties expressed in the said decrees in which he orders it, to which we refer, since there are so many and so fundamental reasons as the following.
The first, that the said Portuguese of Macan having tried in years past to open this trade, and having come to this city with merchandise to sell it there, this city council, seeing the damage that might grow from it (which is the damage bewailed today), opposed the said coming, and made various decisions in regard to demanding that the royal will be observed, and that the Portuguese be ordered not to return to this city. And in fact they did not come for the time being, or for many years after, until the said year of six hundred and nineteen—[since] when, not encountering the resistance which had been formerly made, they have continued the said trade, as aforesaid.
The second, for proof of the aforesaid, is that, as is notorious, the amounts of capital [invested by] the inhabitants of these islands were very great in the first years of the coming of the said ships from Macan; but with the high prices which the Portuguese have always set upon their merchandise, and (as aforesaid) because the citizens have bought from them more by force than willingly, by reason of the lack of the goods which the Chinese brought formerly, for that reason the said investments of capital have stopped, and are so greatly diminished as has been, and is seen in general; because the gains have been very slight compared with the profits that have been made in Nueva Espana, considering the high prices that they demand here, as has been previously stated.
The third point which ought to be considered is, that the customs duties on the merchandise brought by the Chinese to this city were worth to his Majesty from eighty to one hundred thousand pesos annually; while those on the merchandise of the ships which have come from Macan have not been worth more than twenty thousand pesos in any one year, and it is considered as certain that some years the duties have not exceeded twelve thousand. In regard to this truth, as a point so worthy of consideration—and of which this city council ought to take so much notice, as it is the body whom the increase of the royal revenues to their possible extent concerns so fully—we refer to what shall appear from the amounts of the said duties which the Sangleys now for twenty years have put into the royal treasury, and to those which the Portuguese have put in from the year six hundred and nineteen, the goods which they have generally brought being valued at about one million and a half, defrauding to a greater sum the said import and export duties so rightfully due his Majesty.
The fourth matter that must be considered for the greater proof of the aforesaid statement is, the quickness of the voyage from the said city of Macan to this of Manila, since it can be made in twelve days or a fortnight (or in one week, as has already happened), and the short time that they spend in this city selling their goods. Those were causes which could ensure the success of the contract which the citizens of this city have offered to make with them, several years—namely, to give them forty per cent clear profit upon the first cost which they [i.e., the Portuguese] had invested. But as the Portuguese have always beheld themselves powerful and masters of the said trade, they have always refused to accept it—from which one can infer the great gains which they have made and are making in the trade, since, in short, more than sixty per cent [profit] has now to be given for everything. That is a hardship which sufficiently accounts for the present condition of the inhabitants of this city who are afflicted with the many troubles which attend them by reason of the said diminution of their wealth; and for the total ruin of others, who see themselves dispossessed of what they had. For that reason they make no further investments, because they have not the wherewithal.
Fifth, it ought to be considered how long and dangerous is the voyage from these islands to the said Nueva Espana, and the heavy costs and expenses caused by the investments; while the returns for what is sent from here are not received even if good fortune attend them, except at the end of two years, and sometimes more.
Sixth, that with the coming of the said Portuguese and ships from the city of Macan to this of Manila, the commerce and trade which the Sangley merchants of China usually carried on every year with this city has ceased, because of the keen intelligence which the Portuguese have employed in preventing it. That they have succeeded in doing, entirely by means of a very astute plan which they have followed, by taking to the annual fairs which are usually held at Canton so many thousands of pesos to invest and to bring to this city, as, in short, has already been said. In that way the Chinese sell them all that they want, at a profit of twenty-five or thirty per cent. That arrangement is so agreeable to the Sangleys, with the said profit in their own land and without trouble, that they have ceased to come to this city as they did formerly, risking the capital which they brought hither. This has been aided greatly by the Portuguese persuading the said Sangleys that the wealth of the inhabitants of this city is very nigh gone, and to so great an extent that they cannot find an outlet even for all the goods which they bring; and that, for that reason, they give trust for the greater part of it—a thing that has never happened, nor been done, for they have always received money, and the value for everything that they have sold. To that is added also that the said Portuguese have been wont to frighten the said Sangley traders by telling them of the danger that they will experience in their coming because of the Dutch pirates and the fleets of bancons [29] with which some of the Chinese nation themselves go about committing depredations along those coasts. At the same time they have represented to the Chinese the heavy dues that they pay here, and the injuries that are inflicted upon them in this city, notwithstanding that they have [not] known that the Chinese have any complaint of this. All is with the purpose of turning them from any design that they have had of coming to this city with merchandise; for they fear that if the Chinese did so it would result in impairing their trade [30] and discrediting that which the said Portuguese hold so firmly.
The seventh is in regard to the Chinese merchants who refuse to sell their goods in Canton to the said Portuguese of Macan, saying that they prefer to bring them at their own cost and risk to this city in their champans to sell them to the inhabitants of this city, and to enjoy in their entirety the profits and gain which they can thereby get. In order to dissuade these men from that purpose and resolve which they have had, the said Portuguese have offered (as many Chinese merchants who have come to this city this present year have said) for the sake of peace to bring the goods of the said Sangleys to this city at their own account and risk in order to sell them here—as they could do, if they should carry them—making a contract, by which for their administration [of this business] they were to get five per cent. That has been seen now for two years, during which they brought in this way more than one hundred and fifty thousand pesos on account of Sangley merchants of Canton. They also take the funds of the Chinese to make a return at so much per cent, and bring it to this city, so that the Sangleys may not come here with the said goods. That is a well known fact, and has been learned from some of the Portuguese of Macan themselves. The said Portuguese make those efforts in order to have the monopoly for themselves of the merchandise brought to this city from the kingdom of China, and so that all might pass through their hands; since, in whatever form the aforesaid goods are brought, the Portuguese prove to be so interested, and, for the same reason, as has already been stated, the inhabitants of this city come to be so despoiled of their wealth. No less [injury] is possible, except that, if the said trade is not suppressed, they will finish by losing the little that they have within very few years.
The eighth. In regard to the aforesaid, we must consider that the said Portuguese of Macan have always refused to agree by way of pancada on a general price, although the said pancada is so usual among them in all parts where they buy and sell. During one of the last few years, having agreed to the said pancada, and in order to begin it having appointed a person both on their part and on that of this city, when the prices were set those of Macan refused to accept them, as they were not so high as they wished. For always with the consideration of having a port to leeward (which is that some of the said Portuguese remain in this city to sell their goods which they have left over, in which no opposition has been shown them, either, although it is so much to the prejudice of the common welfare of this city), they become obstinate in whatever they desire—those who spend the winter making a monopoly of their merchandise that is left over, selling it at very high prices to the inhabitants who need it, and selling some to the Sangleys of the Parian. The latter afterward retail such merchandise to all manner of persons, doing that in the course of the year with some gain.
The ninth point, and one which ought to be carefully considered, is, that besides some of the Portuguese remaining in this city who come from the city of Macan with the said merchandise, with the intent and for the causes stated in the above article, they accomplish their ends in another way, no less injurious to this community—namely, that some of them have sent a very heavy export of their merchandise in the ships despatched to Nueva Espana, although that is so stringently prohibited by decrees and orders of his Majesty. Taking advantage of the said opportunity, they sent it by the hands and under the names of persons of this city, who have protected and are protecting them. Although this city, on account of the notice given to it of this conduct, has made all possible efforts to prevent so harmful a proceeding—having even requested and received letters of excommunication, which have been read and published in the churches—yet it has not been learned that these have been sufficient to prevent it. This is verified by the unlading of the flagship "Santa Maria Magdalena," which was despatched from the port of Cavite in these islands in the first part of August of the past year, six hundred and thirty-one, for Nueva Espana, but whose voyage did not take place, because of the disaster that happened. Through that mishap it became known what the Portuguese of Macan had embarked in it, as can be related by Captain Andres Lopez de Azaldiqui, depositary-general of this court, who was present at the discharge of cargo with a commission from this city council.
The tenth is, that what the ships bring from Macan is only silks, in bundles and in fabrics. If they have brought any cotton cloth needed by the poor, each piece of cloth has been sold at three or three and one-half pesos. The same price is received for one cate of sewing thread, and a dish of average quality sells for one real; and notwithstanding that they bring but little of this for the supply of this community, they have always sold the said articles at the prices quoted, because of reducing the cargo of the said ships to the said silks and stuffs, on account of the profits arising from such freights. The ships give little or no place for the lading of cotton cloth and other wares needed so badly by the poor, because of their volume and of the little profit made from such cargoes. Such things are also needed by those who are not poor; and even a single ship of those usually brought by the Sangleys from China to this city fills the land with the said common goods, which are so necessary, as can be understood; and the poor are supplied with these by the convenience of their prices, which are very low. They are still lower when a number of ships come, as was formerly the case. That is verified by the few which have come with the said goods for some years past, so that these articles have been valued at prices so low as the fourth part, and less, of the prices at which they have been sold by the said Portuguese, as has been stated.
The eleventh is, that it would not have been any trouble for the Chinese to come to engage in this trade with a quantity of goods—as they did before the Portuguese represented to them the dangers of enemies or the other things aforesaid—if the trade of Macan had been suppressed. For the greed of gain, which they are so well known to possess, would have conquered everything, and they would come here; since an outlet for the merchandise in which they trade in China must be sought beneath the water. If the Chinese can know for only one year that no ships have come from Macan to this city, it is certain that they will come, and that beyond all doubt. Also the reestablishment of the trade of the said Chinese will be effected; and, since there will be great abundance in the goods which they trade, the customs duties will amount to the sums which I have already stated. Consequently, there will be a stop put to the loans, so numerous and usual, that we are wont to require every year from the inhabitants in order to supply the needs of the royal treasury; or at least the loans will not be so large, since the said duties will be able to supply much.
The twelfth is that, as is well known, in the merchandise brought by the Portuguese from the city of Macan to this of Manila, there are no articles that can, with known reason, have an outlet with profits or even without profits, in any other part, because of this—namely, that what they take to Japon is only raw silk, which they call of the first value, and the cream of that of China, whose products they bring here. No other thing is used in Japon; and the skins which they also carry, besides being in small quantity, are but little used by the Japanese, according to their customs; so that all the rest which the inhabitants of Macan buy is for conveyance to this city. If they do not come here with it, then, it is certain that they will not buy it. Consequently, the Chinese will come with it, for it is their trade, and they have to procure an outlet and profit for their merchandise.
The thirteenth is that the efforts exerted by the said Portuguese of Macan in preventing the commerce of the Chinese have been by as many roads of state as they have been able to attempt. This came to such a pass that a ship returning from this city to that of Macan, whence it had come with merchandise, with some Portuguese aboard it, while coasting along the Ilocan shore some two years ago, sighted two ships of the Sangleys, which were coming from China laden with merchandise to this city. The said ship from Macan attacked them while passing, and chased them, the while discharging its artillery, with the intention of pillaging and sinking them, and preventing their coming here. By the strenuous efforts that they made, the Chinese escaped from their hands, although they received great damage from the artillery. Through the delay that they suffered in these perils, their arrival here was postponed, and having entered the bay during a terrible storm, one ship was wrecked in the neighborhood of Paranaque, and the other in sight of the walls [of Manila]. Consequently, the Sangleys lost their goods, and were in danger of losing their lives. As soon as they entered this city they gave notice of that injury, and this city council having seen the reason of it, voted that an investigation should be made of the aforesaid affair, and that it be done by Licentiate Nicolas Antonio de Omana, as he was alcalde-in-ordinary of the city. He began to make an investigation, but ceased because the governor said that it belonged to the jurisdiction of the war department. Thereupon the Sangleys—seeing that they would not obtain the justice which they desired in respect to the said investigation; and that the said Portuguese returned to this city, because they did not continue their voyage, on account of the wreck of the said ship in which they were going along the said coast of Ilocos—had recourse to the royal Audiencia of these islands, where they filed a complaint against the Portuguese who was leader of the said ship, and the others. From the papers which were drawn up, it resulted that the said Audiencia ordered the said Portuguese who was commander of the said ship to be arrested. That was done, and the latter was a prisoner for many days in the houses of the city council, until at the end of some time he was freed, without any one knowing in what condition the said case remained.
The fourteenth is, the long experience that we have of the injuries that have been committed on the Castilians who have gone from this city to the said city of Macan in the Portuguese ships, with some money which they have taken to invest and with which to pay their passage and the freight on their investments. Having reached the said city of Macan they are arrested, and the said money is sequestered. Some who have escaped this harsh treatment have taken refuge in churches, and have at last embarked, fortunate to be at liberty with their money, in order to return to this city. Having gone through those kingdoms and experienced the delay of the long time during which they have been suffering this molestation, and the others who, as aforesaid, have escaped it by availing themselves of the said churches, these have employed their capital in buying the merchandise of the Portuguese of that city—and always at so high prices that, from one hand to another, the Portuguese gain twenty-five or thirty per cent with our people. For no lesser rate was open to the latter, in order to redeem themselves from the injury inflicted on them, of little or no liberty; while the Portuguese have so much freedom in this said city, as has been and is seen, as I have already stated. Consequently, what our people have brought from that city has always been too dear, by reason of the aforesaid profit which the said Portuguese have made of it. They, not content with this, have (as is well known also), whenever opportunity has arisen to send any ship of his Majesty from this city to bring back at his royal account military supplies for the provision of the royal magazines, refused to let these be bought by the hands of those who have the matter in charge, but [insist that it be] by those of inhabitants of Macan. Thus they make use of what goods they have, and sell them at the prices which they choose. That has always resulted in great loss to the royal treasury, which is sufficiently notorious, because it has been said openly by all who have gone from here for that purpose. Such comment has not been less, even though many citizens of this city are so patiently enduring such injustice; for, these having delivered their goods to the said Portuguese that they might take them hence to the said city of Macan and invest them, and bring them back or send them the proceeds, the Portuguese have kept the goods, and have not thus far made any return to our people. For that reason those who sent the goods have been completely ruined by such great losses, which in their total amount to a very large sum. With that, and with all the profits and gains aforesaid, those of Macan are today known to be very powerful, and to have great wealth—although they had no considerable wealth in the said year of six hundred and nineteen, when they began to come here to avail themselves of the said trade.
The fifteenth is, that if the trade of the said Portuguese ceases, there can be no doubt that the Sangleys will come in their ships from China, laden with merchandise, in order to sell it in this city. And even should this not be to the number of those who formerly came, nor with so great an amount of goods during these first years, yet with the few that do come with valuable goods, and with those which can come from the island of Hermosa, and the wax which is obtained in these islands, there will be enough goods to complete the two hundred and fifty thousand pesos which his Majesty allows the inhabitants of this archipelago to trade with the said Nueva Espana—and even to exceed that amount, in general, according to the scarcity of wealth that they have today. The great investments which are made today through the hands of agents who are here—who have the money of certain citizens of Mexico in large quantities, many thousands of pesos, with which they disturb the trade and commerce of our citizens—will be prevented. For, as these men who have the agencies enjoy an interest of ten per cent of what they thus invest by their own authority (even though it be bought very dear), they will not consider the removal of obstacles in the prices of the merchandise—making them exceptions to the general loss of all this community; for the Portuguese have continued their sales at the same prices, without its having been possible to apply the corrective which so great an injury demands. If that loss cease, our citizens alone will enjoy the said investments, complying therein with his Majesty's will, and will make them at favorable prices, whereby considerable profit will accrue to them. For this they will share the merchandise which will come, both from China and from the island of Hermosa and other places, in accordance with their means. From it will also result another advantage with the coming of the said vessels from China, to the citizens who have possessions in the Parian, who will thus have someone to occupy those possessions. The limited time during which the said Sangleys are wont to remain here will be worth more to those citizens than the rent and payment for their property which they now usually obtain for all the year. With that income the tax which they ought to pay for the arable land in the said possessions, at the [current] values of this city, will not be so long delayed, and will be paid with greater ease, promptness, and willingness than is done now; for, as is well known to this city council, about eight thousand pesos are owing to the said public property for the said reason, according to the accounts that have been rendered by Juan de Arguelles and Juan Lopez de Andoin.
The sixteenth is for an argument that, if the trade of the Portuguese of Macan cease, the said [Chinese] will have to conduct the trade as they did before in the said merchandise, because they will have no other outlet for it, except in this city. This is proved because in the revolts of the Sangleys here, in the first part of October of the former year six hundred and two [sic], more than twenty thousand Sangleys having been killed and their possessions ruined—of which advices were taken to China by more than ten of their ships which escaped and carried the news—nevertheless, by May of the year following the same ships came to this city, in the number and with the amounts of goods with which they had come in the years preceding. They continued that in the following years, as if the aforesaid punishment had been a benefit to them. They did that for the reason above mentioned, of not having any other outlet for the said merchandise in which they traded.
The seventeenth is that, as is well known, as soon as the Portuguese of Macan knew of the post which we took in the island of Hermosa, they tried to obstruct that trade, by sending a religious of their nation to one of the commercial ports of China, in order that he might direct those Chinese not to take any merchandise to the said island. They have persisted and are still persisting in those efforts.
In regard to all the above, as a matter so important, and on which depends the conservation of this community, and so that the citizens of it may retrieve their losses, he petitions that discussion be held, and that this proposition be set down in the record-book; that a decision be reached, and a vote taken in regard to all that ought to be petitioned; and that the royal decrees which treat of all the said matter be observed. Having read and understood it de verbo ad verbum, it was voted that the said proposition be enrolled in the record-book of this cabildo, and that it should be discussed and voted upon. That having been done, in consideration of the fact that the arguments which it contains are so notorious and so well known in this city and by its inhabitants, Manila unanimously and as one man has resolved to inform his Lordship, the governor, of the said proposition; that for its accomplishment all the steps that shall seem to be advisable shall be taken, by writing, until the said effect is obtained—with the consent and advice of the counselor of this city; that the procurator-general of the city attend to all the above, and that they appoint as commissaries those deputed to inform the governor. Thereupon, Captain Diego Diaz, regidor of this city, voted, and said that his opinion is that this affair is one of great importance; and that it seems right to discuss and treat of it with the inhabitants of the community, who are the ones interested. This is his vote and opinion. The governor is requested to be pleased to give permission for the holding of an open cabildo, so that those interested, as they are the ones whom it concerns so greatly, may declare therein the resolution that ought to be taken in this matter. For if the suspension of the coming of the goods from Macan were to happen in any other way, and at the same time those of China should not come, the people would generally complain; and in order that they may not do that, let them be participants in the resolution that shall be taken. In such condition was this vote, and all signed it.
Copy of a section of a letter written to his Majesty, August 14, 1633, by the governor of Filipinas
The trade of Great China also has declined, inasmuch as the Portuguese of Macan have become masters of it, as they are so near; and as they are admitted here, contrary to all good government, they retail the products which the said Chinese formerly brought direct. That causes a great scarcity in these provinces, all of which results in our loss, and in the gain of China, because of the great advance in price over the [former] cheapness—[an excess], moreover, which they carry to their own land. The relief that I believe can be had, although some privation may be felt in the beginning, is that your Majesty prohibit the trade of Macan with Manila, and decree that Portuguese be not admitted into this government. Besides having the above result, your Majesty's duties will increase; and the commerce of China with the island of Hermosa can be established by this route, and become of importance to your Majesty, although up to the present it has been only an expense. [Decree of the Council: "Collect the papers treating of this matter and the chart of the island of Hermosa; and together with this section take it all to the fiscal, and bring it to the Council with what he shall say. November 25, 1634."]
[Note: "The fiscal declares that he regards it as very unadvisable to make any innovation for the present, and that the trade now possessed by the Portuguese should be not prohibited; for, since the said trade is permitted to the Sangleys and other foreign nations, who are not vassals of his Majesty, it is not right to prohibit it to the Portuguese; and because if the said trade is prohibited to the Portuguese, the Dutch and other rebels to this crown might seize that site and the trade. Moreover, the advantages which the governor represents as the consequence are not sure but contingent; and the increase which he mentions might not happen, and could not afterward be made up if the Portuguese abandoned that site and that trade ceased. Madrid, December 6, 1635."]
[Endorsed: "In regard to the affairs of the island of Hermosa and the Portuguese. Refer it to the fiscal. April 15, 636." "Let account be given so that those decrees may be carried out which were given in order that foreigners might not trade or traffic in the Filipinas Islands—taking note that the Portuguese are included among foreigners, and that the Chinese and Sangleys can trade and traffic as hitherto. In regard to the expulsion thence of the Portuguese who are not living there by the express license of his Majesty, he shall expel them, unless the governor and Audiencia consider that it is not advisable; of which it may be necessary to present information to the Council."]
Copies of the decrees which were despatched to the governor and Audiencia of Filipinas, and the fiscal and royal officials of them, in regard to the trade which the Portuguese of Macan have introduced into Manila.
The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the Philipinas Islands: Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of that city, has informed me that the Portuguese people who live in Eastern India have attempted to trade and traffic with those islands, thus hindering the Sangleys from going to sell their merchandise in that city; and that this intercourse was already established, in violation of the orders and decrees issued, to the very great damage and prejudice of my royal revenues and the good government of the islands. He petitioned me to be pleased to have a speedy and effective remedy applied in a matter of so great importance and weight. My royal Council of the Indias having examined all the papers which were presented in this matter, together with what my fiscal said and alleged regarding it, I have considered it fitting to send you a copy of them, so that you may see them. If the report that has been made of this seems to you correct, you shall immediately attend to the remedy for this damage; and I order my fiscal of that my royal Audiencia, by another decree, to prosecute that case and to plead whatever he judges suitable for the advantage and increase of my royal treasury, and the observance of the orders and decrees issued, since that pertains to him by reason of his office. Of all that you shall enact and that you shall continue to do in this matter, you shall advise me. Given in Madrid, November ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign: Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon
[A decree of the same date and of like tenor, addressed to the fiscal of the Manila Audiencia, Juan de Quesada Vitado y Mendoca, follows, in which he is ordered to prosecute the case. A decree of the same date is also addressed to the royal officials; which, after the same general statement at the beginning, continues: "And although I order that Audiencia by another of my decrees of equal date with this to attend to the remedy of this damage, and the fiscal to plead in prosecution what he sees to be necessary, I have thought it best to advise you of it, so that after you have understood it, if you are sure that there is fraud in the collection and administration of my royal duties, you also shall plead what you consider to be advisable, since you see what is your obligation by virtue of your office. And of what you shall hear, and what shall be done, you shall keep me advised."]
Sire:
Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the noble and loyal city of Manila, metropolis and capital of the Philipinas Islands, declares that the past year he represented to your Majesty the great damages and injuries which the inhabitants of that city are experiencing from the Portuguese of Macan having introduced the custom of going to buy their merchandise at the fair of Canton in China, and bringing the same to the city of Manila to retail it—where they make a monopoly of it, without the inhabitants [of Manila] being able to make any profit, such as they had before when the Chinese came to the said city to sell their merchandise. The latter, besides selling the merchandise for very suitable prices, gave credit for them until they came back again. Without spending money, the inhabitants then were benefited, and sent the said merchandise to Nueva Espana, and made very great profits on it. All this has ceased with the coming of the Portuguese, who not only give no credit, but sell the merchandise for excessive prices. If they do not receive the pay that they wish for the goods, they send them to Mexico at their own account. As they are settled in Manila, they keep the merchandise from one year to another. The Sangleys did not do that; for, in order to be able to return, they sold the goods at very suitable prices, or gave credit for them, by which the inhabitants made considerable profits. As that profit has ceased, they are becoming very poor, and have no capital, and there is no help for it. What they gained the Portuguese now gain; and the latter withdraw thrice as much money from Manila as the Sangleys did. The latter exchanged a great part of their merchandise for products of the country, which the Portuguese do not do, but take away the money in bars and reals. And although they allege in their favor, in order to continue the trade, that they are vassals of his Majesty, and that it is right for them to trade and traffic in Manila as in Castilla and in other parts of Espana, the fact is excluded that the inhabitants of that city have conquered those islands and shed their blood in that conquest, and always have arms in their hands for their defense. It is right that they alone should have this advantage (as your Majesty orders by the many decrees which have been despatched in regard to this), and not the Portuguese, who have and have always had places to trade and traffic in Portuguese India, Japon, China, and many other parts. It is not right to snatch the bread from the hands of the inhabitants of Manila, who have no other trade or means of gain save that in the merchandise of China. If relief is not given in this very quickly, all the commerce of that city will be destroyed, and it is now so fallen for this reason. Besides, it is prohibited to the inhabitants of those islands by decrees, and in particular by one of the year 593, to go to the Canton fair or to China, as the Portuguese go to buy. It is also prohibited by many decrees for any Portuguese, notwithstanding that they are vassals of your Majesty, to trade or traffic in the provinces of the Indias without special permission. This same thing must be observed in Manila, just as it is observed in Nueva Espana and Piru.
Certain reasons that were presented having been examined in the royal Council of the Indias, it was ordered by a decree despatched November ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four, to send all the papers which were presented in behalf of that city to the governor and Audiencia of Manila; and commission was given to them so that, after examination of the documents by the fiscal and the royal officials (to whom a decree of like tenor was sent), they might apply in this matter such remedy as they deemed most advisable, and as a matter so important for the preservation of those islands demands.
King Don Felipe Second, having considered and foreseen the many difficulties [involved in decreeing] that no one of his vassals go to China to buy merchandise from the Chinese, ordered the said decree to be despatched January eleven, of the said year, one thousand five hundred and ninety-three (a copy of which is here presented), by which he ordered Gomez Perez Dasmarinas, governor of Manila, not to allow any inhabitants of those islands to go to China to buy merchandise from the Chinese; but to have the latter come to that city to sell them, at their own risk. That decree was enforced until the year one thousand six hundred and six; but it is now violated because the Portuguese have crossed over, contrary to the order of the said decree. They go to China, which is the act prohibited in the decree; and not only do they cause that damage, but they also deprive the inhabitants [of Manila] of the benefit which they had of receiving on credit the merchandise from the Chinese who go to that city. Further, they bought the goods at very low prices, since, in accordance with the terms of the said decree, the governor and the city set the prices for the merchandise, which was a thing of great importance. And in order that the Chinese might return to Manila, and the inhabitants enjoy the profits and accommodations of former times, and the terms of the said decree of 593 might be obeyed, in which all the trouble that happens now was anticipated; and for confirmation of the above statement, and so that your Majesty may see that not only do the inhabitants of that city suffer damage because the Portuguese go to it with Chinese merchandise, but that your Majesty also loses vast sums of which the royal duties are defrauded: will you be pleased to order the certification which the writer presents, from the accountant of the official visit to be examined. From this, it is apparent that during the last thirteen years while the Sangleys had the trade in that city—from the year one thousand six hundred and six until that of one thousand six hundred and eighteen—they paid in duties to your Majesty, 574,627 pesos and six tomins; and that in another thirteen years while the said Portuguese of Macan have had the said trade, they have paid only 90,041 pesos. Figuring one period against the other, the royal treasury has had a shortage of 483,986 pesos and four tomins, a considerable quantity in only thirteen years. And, in order that this truth may be apparent to your Majesty, the writer presents the said certification of the annual amounts of the said duties, for both the thirteen years of the Portuguese and the thirteen of the Chinese.
[He also invites] consideration of the fact that the purpose of the said royal decree of 593 is subverted and violated by the commerce which the Portuguese of Macan carry on in China in order to take the merchandise by way of retail to the said city of Manila; for the said purpose declared in the said royal decree is that the said merchandise of China shall enter into the said Manila through the hands of the said Chinese, and at their own account and risk, as the said decree says, without any other persons being authorized to meddle in it at all, or any merchants save the said Chinese. Thus the said violation is manifest, since the said Portuguese are the ones who carry and deliver the merchandise in the said city, by means of the said commerce which they have in China. Without that it would be impossible to take them to Manila, or to violate the said royal decree. Since they are not deserving of greater favor or benefit than the inhabitants of the said city—in whom concur so many merits and services, as is well known, and to whom the said commerce is denied by the said decree of 593—nor is there any cause or reason why the said Portuguese, who can not urge the said services, and who only think of the said retailing of goods and of their own interest and greed, should be permitted to trade; he petitions and beseeches your Majesty to be pleased to have a second decree of like tenor to that of the year 593 issued, so that it may be observed and obeyed exactly, as is stated therein. In it also should be included the case above mentioned, or it should be ordered anew that the said Portuguese shall not conduct or continue the said commerce in the said city—at least making it an offense to carry to Manila the said merchandise for which they trade in China, imposing therefor heavy penalties of confiscation, and others more severe in case of violation. By this the royal treasury will receive great benefit and increase, and avoid the so considerable injury and loss that has been set forth; and the said city and its inhabitants will receive an especial favor and grace, as is hoped from the greatness and the royal authority of your Majesty.
Further, he besought your Majesty to have filed with this memorial the letters which were in the secretary's office, written by the governor and Audiencia in regard to what is represented in the memorial; so that after the whole has been examined, the decision most fitting to the service of your Majesty and the preservation of those islands may be made. And that the great troubles that follow from the aforesaid may be seen, he petitions that an examination he ordered to be made of the memorial of seventeen articles which was presented by Jusepe de Naveda, regidor of that city.
Decree of our sovereign King Don Felipe Second, by which it is prohibited that any one go to China to buy merchandise from the Chinese; but the latter must go to the city of Manila to carry them, and sell them at their own cost and risk—in which decree are to be included the Portuguese of Macan.
The King. To Gomez Perez Dasmarinas, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and any other person who shall hereafter serve in the said office: know that I have been informed that many persons of those islands are going to Macan and other ports of China to trade and traffic with the Chinese for the profit that results from it. From that result higher prices for the merchandise, and other notable inconveniences. And as it is fitting that a remedy be applied in this matter, I have determined to prohibit and to order—as I do by this present prohibit, forbid, and order—that no person, now and henceforth, shall trade or traffic in any part of China; nor shall any merchandise, on account of the merchants of the said islands, be carried or permitted to be carried from that kingdom to the islands, unless the Chinese themselves, at their own account and risk, shall carry it to the said islands, and sell it therein by wholesale. For this, you, together with the city council of the city of Manila, shall appoint each two or three persons whom you shall consider most suitable to value and appraise the said merchandise. They shall take it at wholesale from the Chinese, paying them the amount for the goods; and afterward it shall be divided among all the citizens and natives of the islands at that price, in accordance with their wealth, so that all may share the profit which results from this trade. You shall order that the said persons thus appointed keep a book, in which shall be entered the amount of money which is invested each time, and the price at which each kind of merchandise is appraised; among what persons it is divided; and the quantity that falls to each one's share. And I charge you straitly to have especial care to ascertain in what manner the persons deputed for that purpose exercise that commission. You shall not permit those who have held it one year to be chosen for it the following year. You shall send me a relation of all the aforesaid, signed by them, and another to the viceroy of Nueva Espana. And I order you, and also all other justices and judges, to observe and obey, and cause to be observed and obeyed, and executed to the letter, the contents of this our decree; for thus it is fitting for my service. Given in Madrid, January eleven, one thousand five hundred and ninety-three.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign.
Juan de Ybarra
[Endorsed: "December 19, 635. Have these papers collected; bring what is provided." "Have all these papers taken to the fiscal. In the Council, January 16, 636." "The fiscal asks that this decree be brought authorized by the secretary, so that he may answer and petition what he shall believe to be expedient. Madrid, January 19, 1636." "The fiscal says that the decree of which a reissue is requested does not touch upon the case for which it is now requested; and that he considers as a rigorous measure that what is therein permitted to the Chinese should not be permitted to the Portuguese, who are his Majesty's vassals—they having occupied that port of Macan, as he understands, after the said decree was issued. Madrid, January 22, 1636."]
Customs duties collected at Manila on Chinese merchandise
In thirteen years while the Sangleys had control of the trade of Chinese merchandise—namely, from that of 1606 to that of 1618—they paid in duties to his Majesty, according to the certification of the accountant for the official visit, 574,627 pesos, 6 tomins. In another thirteen years while the Portuguese of Macan have controlled the said trade, they have paid only 90,641 pesos, 2 tomins. Consequently, comparing the one time with the other, there is, as he has informed his Majesty, a shortage of 483,986 pesos, 4 tomins, in his royal treasury.
This account is presented in detail in the following manner:
Year of 1606 32,113 pesos, 3 tomins, 3 granos. Year of 1607 and 1608 75,462 pesos, 0 tomins, 4 granos. Year of 1609 and 1610 131,341 pesos, 4 tomins, 0 granos. Year of 1611 26,053 pesos, 0 tomins, 7 granos. Year of 1612 95,639 pesos, 2 tomins, 8 granos. Year of 1613 69,427 pesos, 7 tomins, 0 granos. Year of 1614 36,105 pesos, 2 tomins, 6 granos. Year of 1615 41,558 pesos, 1 tomin, 1 grano. Year of 1616 23,377 pesos, 0 tomins, 0 granos. Year of 1617 37,179 pesos, 5 tomins, 5 granos. Year of 1618 5,770 pesos, 0 tomins, 0 granos. ———- — — 574,627 pesos, 6 tomins, 10 granos.
Duties which the Portuguese of Macan have paid on the merchandise of China in the thirteen years from that of 1619 to that of 1631, according to the same certification; and also those which the Chinese ships that have come in those same years have paid.
Macan Years China
pesos tomins granos pesos tomins granos
1,172 6 3 1619 11,148 0 0 8,903 0 0 1620 27,797 0 0 9,653 5 0 1621 6,692 6 11 7,370 0 0 1622 8,040 0 0 4,238 3 5 1623 1,759 3 9 5,444 0 0 1624 2,998 6 0 6,917 0 0 1625 10,894 0 0 10,248 0 0 1626 22,580 0 0 9,092 3 8 1627 20,385 0 0 3,036 0 0 1628 2,943 0 0 641 0 0 1629 3,957 0 0 11,645 0 0 1630 6,287 0 0 7,480 0 0 1631 18,344 0 0 ——— — — ———- — — 90,641 2 4 143,826 6 8
DECREE EXTENDING THE TENURE OF ENCOMIENDAS
The King. To Don Albaro de Quinones, knight of the Order of Santiago, my governor and captain-general of the province of Guatemala, and president of my royal Audiencia resident therein, or the person or persons in charge of its government: as you have understood, the repartimientos and encomiendas of Indians which the kings my forbears and I have been accustomed to grant to various persons in that country, in consideration of their services, have been for two generations. Inasmuch as my intention has always been, and is, to show favor to those who serve, equal to their deserts, and especially to the pacifiers and settlers of those provinces, and considering the special importunities that many persons make, that the repartimento or encomienda which they hold may be prolonged for one more generation, they representing to me not only their own causes, but the advantages therein for the Indians, and their good treatment and education: with the consent and advice of the members of my royal Council of the Indias, after they had consulted with me, I have determined to show favor generally to all those who hold the repartimientos and encomiendas of Indians in those provinces, by prolonging them for another generation, in addition to the generations for which they now hold them, provided that they immediately, for this reason, contribute to my funds—those who shall possess encomiendas for a second generation, with the value of the first three years; and those who shall enjoy them in the third generation with the value of two years—so that that may be an aid to the heavy expenses that my royal treasury incurs in defense of these and those kingdoms, and of the increase and conservation of our holy Catholic faith. [It shall be] provided that this prolongation be not extended, nor be understood to extend, to those who should hold encomiendas of which the value exceeds eight hundred ducados and more; for such encomiendas must be kept to reward worthy persons, in the manner that has been followed hitherto. In order that this may be executed as is desired, I have thought best to order you and to charge you—as I do—that as soon as you receive this my decree you publish it in that city of Santiago, and in all the others of your government, so that all persons who shall desire the said prolongation of their repartimientos or encomiendas may come before you within one year, counted from the day of the said publication. Those who thus come before you within the said time you shall admit to the said agreement, under the above obligations. Having made the contract, you shall give them the necessary despatches, so that they may enjoy these for the third generation; and these shall be thus continued to them with the repartimientos which they possess, or shall be continued to those who shall duly succeed to them, according to the law of succession. They shall be obliged to have obtained within four years my confirmation of the same. Those who shall come after the said year has expired you shall in no case admit. With those with whom you shall make a contract, you shall try to regulate the value of the repartimientos and encomiendas, with the advice of the fiscal of that Audiencia and the royal officials of their district, enacting for that purpose the measures that you shall deem advisable; paying heed to the consolidations which must be made of the pensions that they pay at present. With those who shall possess their repartimientos and encomiendas without any stipulation for the consolidation, you shall contract in the same manner and form, with the obligation to come to obtain the confirmation. You shall proceed in both cases with the like care that the business be regulated and transacted so that my royal treasury be paid, exactly and promptly, what belongs to it because of this. The sum resulting from this you shall send me at the first opportunity in a separate fund, and shall not put it with the rest of my revenues—sending it directed to my president and official judges of the House of Trade at Sevilla. You shall make a special report of what proceeds from each contract, and of those who wish to make contracts in regard to the encomiendas which they possess in those kingdoms; and those who enjoy those encomiendas while living in these kingdoms shall come to make these contracts in the said my Council of the Indias, where they will be admitted without any time limit being set. Madrid, February 1, 1636.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon
Idem, to the [governor] of Yucatan, Philipinas, and Venezuela.
MILITARY SERVICES OF FILIPINOS
Sire:
Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the Philipinas Islands, desirous of your Majesty's service and the welfare and conservation of those islands, and that the Indians who are under your Majesty's protection and pay you homage be preserved therein, represents that the Indian natives of the provinces of Pampanga, Camarinas, and Tagalos have served and are serving your Majesty with great love and fidelity, since the time of the conquest of those islands. Not one of those Indians has ever been found in rebellion, or has wrought any treachery, or deserted to the enemy. Those Indians, mingled with Spaniards, serve as soldiers in war, and have proved excellent therein. Especially are the Pampangos valiant soldiers, who have performed and are daily performing valiant exploits at the side of the Spanish. They were at the taking of Terrenate; and, whenever occasion offers, they with other companies come to guard the city of Manila. They also serve as rowers and pioneers in expeditions by the fleets. On all occasions that offer, they serve your Majesty with their persons and possessions. The natives of the province of Tagalos do the same. They, together with those of the province of Camarinas, serve both in war and in the building of galleons and galleys with great friendship and goodwill. In order that those Indians, especially the Pampangos and Tagals, may be encouraged to continue your Majesty's royal service, he represents that it would be very advisable for your Majesty to be pleased to command that letters be sent to them, expressing your great appreciation of their conduct; as well as to the governor of Manila, ordering him to observe and cause to be observed in toto the decrees that were ordered to be despatched in their favor by their Majesties the kings Don Phelipe Second and Third. If it should be deemed advisable, since they are serving in the military and are so valiant soldiers, in order to encourage them for the future [the writer suggests that you] honor them with military offices and charges; for if the natives of the said provinces see that your Majesty is mindful of them, and honors them through your royal decrees, they will be encouraged to continue your royal service with greater fervor. In case that it should appear expedient to despatch the said decrees, they could be sent to the alcaldes-mayor of the said three provinces of Pampanga, Tagalos, and Camarinas, and they should be ordered to assemble the leading Indians of those provinces, and have your Majesty's royal decrees read to them. Besides the many advantages that may accrue from your Majesty honoring the natives of these three provinces, may follow another very great one—namely, that the other Indians of the other provinces, who do not serve with so much friendship and promptness as they (on the contrary, many of them rebel daily and go over to the enemy), on seeing that your Majesty honors them by your royal decrees, and that the governors appoint them to offices and duties, will be encouraged to serve and to merit a like reward from your Majesty. All of the above he represents, so that your Majesty may take what measures may be deemed most fitting for your royal service.
[Endorsed: "Don Juan Grau, procurator-general of the Philipinas Islands. June 13, 636. Have the governor notified to be very careful for the Indians of these three provinces; and to encourage them greatly. Order him to summon their leaders so that they may always continue in his Majesty's service. Have a relation made to the effect that we have heard that they serve well, and of their fidelity. This being so, let him execute the aforesaid; and let nothing which is here proposed be said that may annoy the military officers."]
CONFLICTS BETWEEN CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITIES, 1635-36
SECOND BOOK OF THE SECOND PART OF THE CONQUESTS OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS, AND CHRONICLE OF THE RELIGIOUS OF OUR FATHER, ST. AUGUSTINE
[Translation of title-page: "Conquests of the Filipinas Islands: the temporal by the arms of our Catholic Sovereigns of Espana, and the spiritual by the religious of the Order of St. Augustine; and the foundation and progress of the province of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus of the same order. Part second: compiled by the use of the materials which the very reverend father Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, [31] author of the first part, collected, by Father Fray Casimiro Diaz, [32] native of Toledo, of the Order of our father St. Augustine, chronicler of this province of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus, procurator-general, and twice secretary and definitor of the same. With the necessary licenses. Valladolid [33] ... 1890."]
CHAPTER XV
The raid of the Mindanao pirates into Leyte. Election of father Fray Juan Ramirez as provincial. Arrival of the governor, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, and the religious who came in his company.
That year of 1634 was so quiet and so barren of events worthy of remembrance that I shall not dwell long upon it; for there is nothing of which I have heard to detain me, unless it be the raid of the Mindanao enemy into the island of Leyte, and the depredations that they committed there with the license permitted to them in seeing that there was no attempt made in Manila to check them.
On Sunday, December 3, 1634, the Mindanaos arrived with eighteen galleys at the village of Ogmuc, leaving behind in that of Baybay the rest of the vessels which they brought in their fleet. Fifty of our Indians went out to resist them, but being unable to fight so many, they gradually retired to a little fort, possessed by the village. They thought that they would be able to resist the pirates there, being encouraged by their minister, Father Juan del Carpio, of the Society of Jesus; and they did so for some time, until the Moros, knowing that the church was higher than the fort, entered it and our men could not reach them with their shots. They planted three pieces in a convenient place at the church, in order to do great damage to those in the fort; and firing without cessation, they did not allow our men to fire a shot through its loopholes and windows. Others of the enemy hastened by another side to gather bundles of thatch by uncovering the roofs of the houses; and by fastening together what wood and bamboo they could gather, and pushing this contrivance toward the fort, they set it afire. The fire burned a quantity of rice and abaca (which is the hemp of this country), and many men were choked by the smoke. The besieged, seeing that the fire had caught the timber-work [of the fort], and that they were being inevitably killed without any chance to defend themselves, displayed a signal for surrender and in fact did so.
They were all captured; and a great contest arose among the enemy as to who should have Father Carpio as his captive. In this contention they had recourse to the Mindanao captain, and he ordered that the father be killed. That they did very gladly, and beheaded him and carried his head back to present it as a spoil to their king, Cachil Corralat. The latter had charged them not to leave alive any religious or Spaniard, for so had he vowed to their false prophet Mahomet in an illness that he had had. They took the others captive, and sacked and burned all the village. From that place they sailed out and committed the same destruction in the villages of Soyor, Binnangan, Cabalian, Canamucan, and Baybay. But they were so stoutly resisted in the village of Inibangan in [the island of] Bohol, and in Dapitan, that they retired but little the gainers; for those Indians are very valiant, and very different in valor from the other villages which the Mindanaos sacked.
The Camucones also—a people from islands subject to Borney, cruel and barbarous, and Mahometan by religion, although there are pagans in some islands—made their raids into the island of Panay, chiefly on the villages of Bataan, Domayan, and Mahanlur, and in those of Aclan and Bahay, where they captured many of our Indians, and burned the churches of the visitas. The visitas are usually deserted, and have no houses to defend them; and those Camucones are very cowardly and very different from the Joloans and Mindanaos, who are valiant, and much more so the latter named. The Camucones entered by the river and bar of Batan, which is salt water, where a very grievous jest happened to two or three of their craft. The river of Batan has another river a short distance above the village road, which ends in a very wide and spacious sea, which they call "tinagongdagat," or "hidden sea," in which the inhabitants enjoy excellent fishing. With the ebb of the tide that spacious sea is left almost dry, and then many kinds of shellfish are caught, such as oysters and crabs. The Camucones entered that sea, with the intention of lying in wait for some capture, but when they least expected it they found their craft on dry ground. An Indian who was gathering the aforesaid shellfish saw them; and, recognizing them to be piratical enemies by the style of their craft, went to the village and gave warning of them. Many of the inhabitants of Batan assembled, and, well armed, attacked the Camucones very courageously. They made a great slaughter of the pirates, and captured many of them and burned their craft. Some of the Camucones escaped through the mangrove plantations and swampy ground. They were captured next day, with the exception of those who had the luck to rejoin the boats of their companions—who repenting of their carelessness, returned to their lands, and did not return to try their fortune in those regions for many years.
Those Camucones enemies, entering that island of Panay in the same district between Bataan and Aclan, in 1672, captured the alcalde-mayor of Panay, Captain Don Jose de San Miguel. He defended himself against them until he was killed, and immediately when that was known they beheaded him, and took his head and skin to their land as a trophy. Better fortune was experienced by the notary, Pedro de Villarus, who was in another boat; for, having seen the Camucones, he had his boat beached, and, taking to the mangrove swamps, saved his life after great danger. This he attributed to a miracle of the apostle St. Peter, to whom he was very devoted, and to whom he made a great feast as a thank-offering. The piteous death of that alcalde-mayor, Don Jose de San Miguel, could be attributed to the punishment of God, as he had been a cruel persecutor of the regular ministers; so much so that in the time during which he governed that province (which by the Divine permission was short), they suffered a great persecution. But God knows the truth; and it is not permitted, nor do I wish, to interpret the events of His holy will and providence. But it has not seemed proper to me to omit a circumstance which I positively know concerning that ill-starred youth; namely, that after his death, there was found among his papers a letter from his father, Don Basilio de San Miguel (who is said to have been much given to astrology and soothsaying), who told and ordered him not to receive an office of justice under any circumstance, for the first that he should obtain threatened him with a very great disaster. I know that fact absolutely; for the rest, concerning the infallibility and even possibility of like judgments, I declare that I am ready to obey the command of our holy Mother the Church, in the constitution of his Holiness Sixtus V which begins, Caeli et terrae Creator. |
|
