The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century, Volume XIX, 1620-1621

 Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord Bourne. 

Contents of Volume XIX

 Preface Documents of 1620

 Reforms needed in the Filipinas (concluded). Hernando de los Rios Coronel; (Madrid, 1619-20) Letter to Alonso de Escovar. Francisco de Otaço, S. J. ; Madrid, January 14. Decree ordering reforms in the friars' treatment of the Indians. Felipe III; Madrid, May 29. Relation of events in the Philipinas Islands, 1619-20. (Unsigned); Manila, June 14. Compulsory service by the Indians. Pedro de Sant Pablo, O. S. F. ; Dilao, August 7. Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe III. Hieronimo Legaspi de Cheverria, and others; Manila, August 8. 

 Letter to Felipe III. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza: Manila, August 15. Letter to Alonso Fajardo de Tenza. Felipe III; Madrid, December 13. 

 Memorial, y relacion para sv magestad, Hernando de los Rios Coronel; Madrid, 1621. Bibliographical Data. Appendix: Buying and selling prices of Oriental products. Martin Castaños (in part); (undated. )

Illustrations

 Autograph signature of Alonso Fajardo de Tenza; photographic facsimile from MS. In Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla Title-page of _Memorial y relacion_, by Hernando de los Rios Coronel (Madrid, 1621); photographic facsimile from copy in Library of Congress

Preface

The documents in the present volume cover a wide range. In greateror less detail are discussed affairs in the islands--civil, military, and religious, in which all the various ramifications of each estateare touched upon. Reforms, both civil and religious, are urged andordered; and trade and commerce, and general economic and socialconditions pervade all the documents. The efforts of Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish in eastern waters are a portent ofcoming struggles for supremacy in later times. Japan, meditating on theclosed door to Europeans, though still permitting the Dutch to tradethere, continues to persecute the Christians, while that persecutionis, on the other hand, lessening in violence in China. The piraciesof the Moros endanger the islands, and allow the Dutch to hope foralliance with them against the Spaniards; and the importance of theislands to Spain is urged forcibly. 

A letter addressed by Los Rios Coronel to the king (probably in 1620)urges that prompt aid be sent to Filipinas for its defense againstthe Dutch and English who threaten its coasts. To it he adds anoutline "treatise on the navigation of Filipinas, " which sustainshis demand by forcible arguments. The rich Oriental trade amountsto five millions of pesos a year, which mainly goes to sustain theDutch and their allies, the enemies of Spain, whose commerce theywill utterly destroy unless some check is placed on their audacity;and the effectual method of doing this is to deprive them of thattrade. An armed expedition for the relief of the islands is beingprepared by the king; it should be despatched via the Cape of GoodHope, and all possible efforts should be made to drive out the Dutchand English from the Eastern seas. Los Rios proposes that for thispurpose loans be asked from wealthy persons in Nueva España and Peru;and that the vessels needed be built in India. He makes recommendationsfor the routes and equipment of the vessels, both going and returning;and for the seasons best for sailing. 

A letter from Francisco de Otaço, S. J. (January 14, 1620), mentionsvarious arrangements for the despatch of more missionaries to theislands, and laments the recent loss of a fleet sent to the aid of thePhilippine colony. A royal decree of May 29 in the same year ordersthe governor and Audiencia to correct the religious who have leviedon the Indians exactions of forced service. 

The Jesuit chronicler of events in 1619 continues the record for theyear ending July, 1620. Some account of the war waged by the Chineseand the Tartars is given. The persecution of the Christians in Chinahas slackened, and the authorities of that country are more favorableto the Jesuit missionaries there. But in Japan the persecutioncontinues, and the college at Macao is crowded with Jesuits who aredisappointed in their efforts to enter Japan. Letters from Jesuitsin that country enumerate many martyrdoms, of both missionaries andtheir converts, and describe their holy zeal and faith in sufferingdeath. The authorities and influential men of Japan consider it wellto harbor the Dutch there, and even talk of conquering the Philippines, in order to get rid of the Spaniards; but it is rumored that they alsocontemplate the expulsion of all Europeans from Japan. In the Malucas"there is constant strife between the English and the Hollanders, "and the French are obtaining a foothold. Portuguese India has butinadequate means of defense against the Dutch and other foes. Aninteresting and picturesque account is given of the religious fiestasheld in Manila to celebrate the festival of the immaculate conceptionof the Virgin Mary; the chief features are processions, dramaticrepresentations, dances, fireworks, etc. --to say nothing of thebull-fights and masquerades of the laity. Fearful earthquakes, withconsiderable loss of life, have occurred in the islands, especiallyin Ilocos and Cagayan of Luzón; they are ascribed to the influenceof the comets seen in the preceding year. The commerce of Manila isincreasing; rich cargoes arrive there from all parts of the world;and Manila is a magnificent city, surpassed by few in Europe. 

A letter from the Franciscan, Pedro de Sant Pablo (August 7, 1620), calls upon the king to abolish the repartimientos of forced serviceand supplies levied upon the Indians for shipbuilding and otherpublic works by the colonial authorities. He recounts the oppression, cruelty, and enslavement caused by this practice; and in the name ofboth the Spaniards and the Indians he asks that the repartimientosbe commuted for certain payments of money, in proportion to the meansof each household. 

The Audiencia of Manila send to the king (August 8, 1620) a roll ofcomplaints against Governor Fajardo. They accuse him of abusive andviolent language toward the auditors, and arbitrary conduct in bothsentencing and releasing prisoners; and of granting certain illegalappointments and privileges to the friends and relatives of himself andthe royal officials. His conduct of an expedition made ready to repelthe Dutch from the islands is sharply criticised; covert attack ismade on him as defrauding the treasury by the sale of Indian orders, and allowing reckless expenditures of the public moneys; and he isblamed for failing to enforce the regulations as to the sale of theChinese goods. 

Fajardo sends a long report of affairs to the king (August 15, 1620). The coming of the ships this year was delayed; and by stormsand an encounter with the Dutch both were wrecked--but on Philippinecoasts, which enabled them to save the rich cargo. As the Dutchfailed to secure this prize, they have lost in prestige, while theSpaniards have gained accordingly. A marginal note here, apparentlythe reply of the Council of the Indias to this clause of Fajardo'sletter, censures him for allowing the ships to leave Manila so late, and warns him to send them hereafter promptly, and not overladen. Heis also directed to remonstrate with the Japanese officials who areaiding the Dutch with arms and other supplies; and to strive to breakup their friendship with the Dutch. Fajardo proceeds to say that heis equipping the ships for both the outward and return voyages withvarious supplies, to avoid the greater expense of buying these inNueva España; and for the same object is asking the viceroy of thatcountry to make no unnecessary repairs on the ships. He complains ofthe reckless and arbitrary proceedings of the officials in charge ofthe ships at Acapulco. He is advised by the Council to send them adetailed statement of all matters in which unnecessary expense canbe avoided. Fajardo recounts his difficulties with the viceroy ofNueva España over the appointments to offices in the trading fleet, and with the pretensions of certain Philippine residents who claimrewards and appointments without meriting these. He complains thatthe troops just arrived from Nueva España are mostly "boys, mestizos, and mulattoes, with some Indians;" the viceroy is directed to sendbetter and more effective soldiers to Filipinas hereafter. Fajardois uncertain how far he can depend on aid from the viceroy; and heproposes that those troops and supplies be sent to him from Spain byway of Panama, enumerating the advantages and economy of that planover the present one. He thanks the king for sending aid to Filipinasby the India route, and asks that such aid be regularly providedfor some years to come; while he states in general terms what he hasaccomplished during the last two years with the limited public fundsof the islands. He has equalized the pay of the soldiers at Manilaand Ternate, and has sent large reënforcements and supplies to thelatter region. Fajardo complains of the opposition and intrigues of thereligious. He desires the royal appointment of a governor for Ternate, and the adjustment of certain difficulties connected therewith. Heis informed that this appointment has been already conferred on Pedrode Heredia; and is advised not to allow the religious to interfere inpurely secular matters, especially in those which concern the conductof government officials, and to warn the religious orders to refrainfrom meddling with these matters. Dutch pirates infest the China Sea, plundering the Chinese trading ships when they can; but Fajardo isable to save many of these by warning them beforehand of the danger, and he has been able to keep them in awe of his own forces. He hasbegun to have ships built in Japan for the Philippines, which can bedone there more conveniently and cheaply; the Council would like toprovide thus ships for the South American colonies. 

The governor has many annoyances regarding the Audiencia, whichcircumstances compel him to endure as best he can. He is directed tocheck trading by government officials, and to punish those who areguilty; and to do all that he can to obtain funds from the islandsfor their expenses, by opening the mines of Luzón and trading-postsin the Moluccas. In answer to his complaint that the auditors meddlein judicial proceedings in the military department, he is informedthat they must observe the laws already enacted for such matters;and is ordered to punish severely anyone who shall obstruct the courseof justice in the islands. Fajardo recounts various other annoyancesexperienced at their hands--they claiming authority to restrict theChinese immigration, and the right to appoint certain minor officials;and he regrets that the auditors should be all new at one time, andso ignorant of their duties. He suggests that the king avail himselfof the abilities of Archbishop Serrano, in case of his own death orother emergency requiring an _ad interim_ governor; and describesthe character of Auditor Rodriguez. The trials of persons involvedin the scandal at Sancta Potenciana have not pleased the governor, some whom he regards as guilty having been acquitted. The officialinspection of the country, especially for the sake of the natives, Fajardo has committed to Auditor Mesa, but the latter is unwillingto undertake it. The Council order that no auditor shall shirk thisimportant duty. The governor mentions in detail various minor matters, showing anxiety to act as the home government shall approve. He hasbeen ordered to reduce military salaries, but objects to this, andenumerates the amounts paid to each officer. Directions for arrangingthis reduction are given by the Council, as also for the governor'smanagement of expenses, etc. , Fajardo makes recommendations as tocertain crown encomiendas, at present unproductive. This is approvedby the Council, who order him to prevent any unjust collections. Hecommends certain officers as deserving rewards, and exonerates many ofthe religious from the blame of harassing the Indians. He is able tomaintain amicable relations with the orders, especially by allowing thereligious to transact certain secular business for him; but he findsthem domineering and self-willed, and suggests that they cannot be keptin order without some change in their present mode of government. He isadvised to check their arrogance, especially in their open and publiccensures of their superiors, whether ecclesiastical or secular. Herelates his difficulties with Pedro Alvarez over the countersigning ofSangley licenses. He has sent an expedition to attempt the opening ofmines in the Igorrote country--an undertaking in which he has receivedthe support and countenance of the religious orders. He commends theAugustinian Recollects as not meddling in governmental affairs that donot concern them, and offering to take distant missions. The tributaryIndians are peaceable, and appreciate with gratitude Fajardo's effortsto relieve them from taxes and wrongs. One of their burdens has beenthe erection of many churches--of which there are thirty, almost allof stone, in Manila and its immediate vicinity alone. The Councilorder that no religious house or church be hereafter erected withoutthe permission of both secular and ecclesiastical authorities. At theend of Fajardo's letter are added certain comments and directions bythe Council. They are inclined to send reënforcements, supplies, andmerchandise to Filipinas via Panama, as Fajardo suggests, but directthe vessels to return to Acapulco instead. Illicit participationof government officials in trade shall be severely punished. Theofficial visitations recommended by the governor are to be made, and the auditors are commanded to serve in this duty. 

A letter from the king to Fajardo (December 13, 1620) answers previousdespatches from the latter. He commends Fajardo's proceedings indiscontinuing certain grants, and orders him to be careful in makinghis reports, to maintain harmony in the Audiencia as far as possible, to investigate the conduct of the auditor Legaspi, to correct withvigor the scandals at Santa Potenciana, to enforce discipline inthe military department, and to maintain friendly relations withJapan. Felipe returns thanks to the colonists for their loyaltyand services in public affairs, and to the Augustinian order in theislands for their zeal in his service. 

A document of especial interest and value is the _Memorial_ (Madrid, 1621) of Hernando de los Rios Coronel, long procurator-general ofthe Philippine Islands. Introducing the work with a statement ofhis coming to Spain as an envoy from "that entire kingdom and itsestates, " he begins with an historical account of the discovery andsettlement of the islands, and the growth of the Spanish colony. Theearlier historical matter in Part I of the _Memorial_ is presentedto our readers in synopsis, as being largely a repetition of whathas already appeared in our former volumes. In chapter vii Los Riosgives some account of the government of Juan de Silva, especially ofthe latter's infatuation for shipbuilding, and its baneful effectson the prosperity of both the colony and the natives. He recounts thedisastrous attempt to expel the Dutch by means of a joint Spanish andPortuguese expedition (1615-16), and its ruin and Silva's death atMalaca. Then he describes the opposition to Silva's schemes that hadarisen in Manila, where, although, he had a faction who supported hisambitious projects, "all desired his absence. " Los Rios cites part ofa letter from Geronimo de Silva to the governor, blaming the latterfor not going to Maluco, where he could have secured the submissionof the natives in all those islands; and urging him to do so as soonas possible, as that is the only means of preserving the presentfoothold of the Spanish. The Dutch fleet there sets out for Manila, and, hearing in Mindanao of Silva's death, they concert plans withthe Moros for ravaging the Philippines. Part of the Moros are defeatedon the coast of Panay, but they meet with enough success to emboldenthem to make further raids; these go unpunished by the Spaniards, and thus the islands are being devastated and ruined. The Christianand friendly Indians are at the mercy of these cruel foes, from whomthe Spaniards do not defend them; accordingly, they demand freedomand arms, that they may defend themselves against the invaders. Allwould revolt, were it not for the influence of the missionaries, especially the Jesuits. 

Los Rios makes complaint of the apathy, negligence, and blundersexhibited by the governors of the islands in regard to their defensefrom so many enemies, supporting his position with detailed accountsof the damages thereby suffered in raids by the Dutch and Moros, andfailures to achieve success that was within the grasp of the Spaniards. 

In the second part, Los Rios discusses "the importance of theFilipinas, and the means for preserving them. " He enumerates thereasons why the crown of Spain should keep the islands, indicating acurious mixture of worldly wisdom and missionary zeal; and refutesthe arguments of those persons who advocate the abandonment of thePhilippines, or its transfer to Portugal in exchange for Brazil. LosRios explains at length the desirability of retaining Manila, and itsimportance and desirability as a commercial and military center, anda check on the ambition of the Dutch. He then asserts that the moneysent to the islands by the Spanish government is mainly expended not onthe Philippines, but for the defense of the Moluccas; and he enumeratesthe resources of the former, which but for that diversion would supportthem without aid from the crown. He then enlarges upon the great wealthwhich is found in the islands, especially in the gold mines of theIgorrote country; and urges upon the king the necessity of developingthese mines, and of converting the Indians of that region. He asksthat the governors sent to the Philippines be better qualified forthat post; praises Gomez Perez Dasmariñas as being the best governorof all who have ruled there; and describes the qualifications neededfor a good governor. Los Rios considers the measures that should betaken for growth and preservation of the Philippines. He recommendsthat a fleet be sent to aid and reënforce them. If that cost too much, eight galleys should be sent to Ternate--a proposal which the writerurges for many reasons, explaining in detail the way in which thesevessels could, at little cost, be made highly effective in checking theDutch. They could be manned by captive Moros and others taken in war, or by negro slaves bought at Malacca. The third measure is one which he"dare not write, for that is not expedient, " but will explain it to theking in person. Again he insists on the necessity of a competent andqualified person as governor of the islands, enlarging upon the greatpower and authority possessed by that official, and the consequentdependence of all classes upon his arbitrary will or prejudices. LosRios cites various instances which prove his position, and expresslystates his good opinion of the present governor, Fajardo. He wouldprefer to see the Audiencia abolished. A special inspector is needed, with great experience and ability, and authority to regulate affairsand redress all grievances in the islands. The immigration of Chineseand Japanese into the colony should be restricted; and the Mindanaopirates should be reduced to submission. The opening already made forcommerce and friendly relations with the king of Macassar, and forpreaching the gospel there, should be at once improved, and Jesuitsshould be sent there as missionaries. More care should be exercisedto despatch with promptness the ships to Nueva España. More attentionshould be given to the garrisons, especially those in the Moluccas, to keep the men from discontent; and measures should be taken toencourage and aid new colonists to settle in the Philippines. The laterestrictions on the possession and enjoyment of encomiendas should beremoved. A letter from Lucas de Vergara, commandant in Maluco, is hereinserted. He recounts the losses of the Dutch in their late attackon Manila (1617), and their schemes for driving out the Spaniardsfrom the Moluccas; also his own difficulties in procuring food, fortifying the posts under his care, and keeping up his troops whoare being decimated by sickness and death. He urges that the fleetat Manila proceed at once to his succor, and thus prevent the Dutchfrom securing this year's rich clove-harvest. 

In the third part of the _Memorial_, Los Rios gives a brief descriptionof the Philippines and the Moluccas, with interesting but somewhatdesultory information of their peoples and natural products, of theDutch factories, and of the produce and value of the clove trade. Hedescribes the custom of head-hunting among the Zambales, and advocatestheir reduction to slavery as the only means of rendering the friendlynatives safe from their attacks. The numbers of encomiendas and theirtributarios, and of monasteries and religious, in the islands, arestated, with the size and extent of Manila. All the natives are nowconverted, except some tribes in Central Luzón. Los Rios describesthe Malucas Islands and others in their vicinity, and enumerates theDutch and Spanish forts therein; and proceeds to state the extentand profits of the spice trade. He closes his memoir with an itemizedstatement of the expenses incurred by the Spanish crown in maintainingthe forts at Tidore and Ternate. These amount yearly to nearly twohundred and twenty thousand pesos. 

In an appendix to this volume are presented several short paperswhich constitute a brief epitome of early seventeenth-centurycommerce in the Far East--entitled "Buying and selling prices ofOriental products. " Martin Castaños, procurator-general of Filipinas, endeavors to show that the spices of Malucas and the silks of China, handled through Manila, ought to bring the Spanish crown an annual netincome of nearly six million pesos. Another paper shows the extent andvalue of the trade carried on with Japan by the Portuguese at Macao;and another, the kind of commerce maintained by those enterprisingtraders with the countries of southern Asia from the Moluccas toArabia. All these enumerate the various kinds of goods, the buyingand selling prices of most articles, the rate of profit, etc. 

_The Editors_

September, 1904. 

Documents of 1620

 Reforms needed in the Filipinas (concluded). Hernando de los Rios Coronel; [1619-20]. Letter to Alonso de Escovar. Francisco de Otaço, S. J. ; January 14. Decree ordering reforms in the friars' treatment of the Indians. Felipe III; May 29. Relation of events in the Philipinas Islands, 1619-20. [Unsigned]; June 14. Compulsory service by the Indians. Pedro de Sant Pablo, O. S. F. ; August 7. Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe III. Hieronimo Legaspi de Cheverria, and others; August 8. Letter to Felipe III. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza; August 15. Letter to Alonso Fajardo de Tenza. Felipe III; December 13. 

_Sources_: All of these documents, except the second, fourth, andeighth, are obtained from the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla. Thesecond and fourth are from the Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid;and the eighth from the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid. 

_Translations_: The second and fourth are translated by HerbertE. Bolton, Ethel Z. Rather, and Mattie A. Austen, of the Universityof Texas; the eighth by Robert W. Haight; and the remainder by JamesA. Robertson. 

Reforms Needed in the Filipinas (concluded)

Aid against the Dutch requested

Sire:

Hernando de los Rios Coronel, procurator-general of the FilipinasIslands and of all their estates, declares that he came the pastyear to inform your Majesty and your royal Council of the Indias, in the name of those islands, of the desperate condition to which theDutch enemy have brought them. Desiring that your Majesty understandthe importance of the matter, he gave you a long printed relation inwhich he discussed points important for their recovery from the enemyand the expulsion of the latter from that archipelago. Your Majesty, upon seeing it, ordered a fleet to be prepared; but that fleet was sounfortunate as to be lost before beginning its voyage. Although yourCouncil of the Indias is discussing the formation of another fleet tosail by way of the Strait of Magallanes, or by the new strait [_i. E. _, of Le Maire], it cannot, if it leaves here any time in July (which isthe earliest time when it can be sent from España) possibly arrive[at Filipinas] until one and one-half years from now--or a littleless, if it has no bad luck. Now considering the watchfulness of theenemy, and the forces that they are sending this year, namely, fortyships, which have left Olanda--whence can be inferred the importanceto them of making themselves masters of those regions, since theyare so persistent in their efforts, and incur so heavy expenses--he[_i. E. _, Los Rios] advises you for the discharge of his conscience, and his obligation, and his duty as a good vassal of your Majesty, that there is urgent need that, notwithstanding the relief that yourCouncil of the Indias is about to despatch by way of the straits, other help be furnished from Nueva España and Piru; of both men andmoney, and to employ this [aid from España] with as great care as thegravity of the matter requires, and to realize the fact that, were itlost, both Eastern and Western India would be endangered. They wouldbe in great danger, as would also these kingdoms; for it would meanto permit the enemy to become so powerful and so rich as all knowwho are aware of the wealth of those regions. Besides, it would meanthe extinction of whatever Christian element is there, and would shutthe doors to the preaching of the gospel, which your Majesty and yourancestors have procured with so great glory and so many expenses. [Thatrelief of Nueva España and Piru should be prepared] also, for if therelief [from España] should suffer an equal disaster with the last, and that country could not be succored, it would all be lost. 

I petition your Majesty to order that this matter be considered, as a matter of so great importance; and that your president of theIndias call a conference of those most experienced in the Indias, so that they may discuss what measures can be taken most fitting forthe relief of that country, and as speedily as possible, where he[_i. E. _, Los Rios] will also declare the measures that occur to him. 

[_Endorsed_: "To the president of the Indias. Examined, in the meetingof April 7, 620. "]

Treatise on the navigation of Filipinas, reduced to four chapters

Sire:

Your Majesty orders me to declare my opinion in regard to thenavigation from España to the Philipinas and Malucas Islands, fromthem to España, the mutual navigation between those island groups; andthe seasons suitable for such navigation. In obedience to your royalorder, I declare, Sire, that the propositions cover four principalpoints, each of which I shall explain in order. [The original documentcontains a marginal abstract of each of the four points that follow;but these abstracts are here omitted. ]

_First point_. This point contains in brief the substance of allthe others. In explaining it, I declare that the navigations fromthese kingdoms to those islands are so worthy of consideration, andso important, that no others in the world at this time are equal tothem. For the drugs, fragrant gums, spices, precious stones, and silksthat the Dutch enemy and their allies bring thence--obtained partlyby pillaging, and partly by trading in their forts and factorieswhich they own throughout that archipelago--amount, as they do atpresent, to five millions [of pesos] annually. It has been statedhow paramount is this undertaking to any others that can today beattempted; for besides the spiritual injury inflicted by thoseheretical pirates among all that multitude [of heathen peoples](which I think the universal Master has delivered to your Majesty sothat you may cultivate it and cleanse it for His celestial granaries), it is quite certain--since the enemy are collecting annually so largea mass of wealth; and since the sinews of war consist in that, bothfor attack and defense--that they are acquiring and will continueto acquire those riches daily, with greater forces. And, as theycontinue to increase in strength, their ambitious designs will alsoextend further. In the same degree as the enemy grows stronger, it iscertain that our forces will continue to decrease--and so much that, if relief does not arrive there in time, the day will come in whichnot one of your Majesty's vessels can be placed on the sea, becauseof the many that the enemy will have there. Inasmuch as there is noone in the world today who can oppose the enemy except your Majesty, they hate our interests with all their strength, and will attempt todestroy and ruin them by all possible methods. 

The method of preventing all those most considerable troubles is theone that your Majesty is attempting, by despatching the eight vesselsthat you are sending under color of reënforcements--and would thatit had been with a fleet of sixteen vessels, each one of which wouldcarry three hundred sailors and soldiers and be very well armed withartillery. For with that the rest [of the enemy's forces] would bedriven away, and that crowd of thieves, who are becoming arrogantand enriching themselves--so much to the cost of our holy religion, of your Majesty's reputation and prestige, and of your most loyalvassals, by disturbing your Majesty's most holy designs--would beforced from those seas and even from these. For it is very certainthat if that [trade] be taken away, the enemy would have no resourceswith which they could preserve themselves; while if your Majesty hasall that profit--as beyond doubt, God helping (for whose honor it isbeing done), you will have it, by encouraging your royal forces andby enforcing your holy purposes--all the heads of that many-headedserpent of the enemy will be destroyed. 

Inasmuch as it is proper for us who, like myself, are zealous foryour royal service, let us hasten on that service, by as many roadsas God makes known to us. I declare, Sire, that in order to encouragethose most loyal though most afflicted vassals whom your Majestyhas now in Manila, it is advisable for the present reënforcement tobe sent; and that its route be by the shortest path and the one ofleast risk--namely, by way of the Cape of Buena Esperança; not onlyis the weather more favorable in that route, but it passes throughless longitude. 

I mention the weather, for from this time on the weather is favorable, as was determined in a general council of experienced pilots of allnations that was held at Manila by Governor Don Juan de Silva. [Imention] also the longitude, because the time taken to go by theabove route is known--namely (to one who follows his course withoutmaking fruitless stops) seven months; which, counted from the firstof December, places the arrival there at the end of June. 

Some one may object to all this by saying that the intention is toimport this relief into Manila, so that all that region may not belost; and that, if it shall go by that route [_i. E. _, of the Cape], itruns the risk of meeting the enemy and of being lost, and incidentallythat all that region [of Filipinas] will remain in its present danger, and even greater, because of your Majesty's resources being wasted, and the necessity of getting together a new relief expedition--but[such objector would say], if this relief be sent by another routeall those troubles will be obviated and the purpose attained. I answerthat objection by saying: First, that eight vessels are not so weak aforce that they should fear those of the enemy who, on their homewardtrip--inasmuch as they do not fear along that route any encounter thatwill harm them--come laden with their goods, in great security, andcarelessly; and they have at best only two or three galleons, while oureight galleys, ready and prepared for fighting, not only have nothingto fear, but can from the start expect the victory, in case they meetthe enemy. Second, for this reason, if once our galleons cause theenemy loss in the chief thing that takes the latter there, namely, trade, they will have to diminish their forces, and will lose creditwith their backers. Hence I infer that not only should this route and[possible] encounter not be avoided, but that express orders be givento the commander of this relief expedition to follow the routes takenby the enemy and to reconnoiter their chief factory of Batan, which isnot fortified. For if God permits him to find and destroy that place, many and very important results will follow: First, that immediatelyword will be passed to all those nations--who love changes and cry"long live" to the conqueror--and they will lose the little affectionthat they have for the enemy at present; while they will incline towardand join us, turning against our enemy, as they have promised. Second, that our soldiers, flushed with the beginnings of victory, will beworth after that for other victories just twice as much; nor will theybe without military discipline for the first victory, for the Spanishinfantry begins its military duty from the day when it establishesits camp, and daily becomes more valuable. Third, inasmuch as when thevessels of this relief expedition reach Manila, they will necessarilyarrive there in need of rest, and already the enemy will be warned toresist whatever sally they try to make, that which will now be madeagainst them with eight vessels cannot later be made against themwith many more. Fourth, because, on the journey they will lay down thecomplete and fixed route that should be taken by that course, so thatyour Majesty's fleets may go and come as do those of the enemy. Fifth, because the enemy are at present not only not sending any fleet tothose regions, but are obliged to collect their forces in order toresist those of your Majesty in their own territory, because of theexpiration of the truce. [1] Consequently the attempt must be madeto inflict all the damage possible on the enemy during these years, until they are driven entirely out of the Orient and your Majestybecomes lord of it all. For if that result be once accomplished, thefruits of that victory will allow sufficient fleets to be maintained, both in these seas and in those, for the defense and conservation ofthat region and much more. Moreover, in order to check the enemy andto remove completely from their eyes this illusion that has given andgives them so strong a belief that your Majesty's forces are exhaustedby the large sums that you have spent in protecting our holy religion, I declare, Sire, that an effective plan occurs to me whereby thismatter may be concluded without the expense of one single maravedifrom your royal treasury. This is, that loans be asked from the richand wealthy persons in the provinces of Nueva España and Peru (forthere are many such), until you have two millions [of pesos]. YourMajesty can prepare a large fleet with that sum, and will finish withthe enemy once for all. The vassals of those kingdoms will give thatloan cheerfully if you ask it, proportioning to each one the amount inaccordance with what he can give without inconveniencing himself. Forthey are also greatly interested in this matter; and the payment willbe easily made, if the result be thus attained. With that money, itwould be best to go to Yndia to build the fleet; for there it can bebuilt better and at a less cost than anywhere else. 

_Second point_. In order to return from those islands to España, it will be advisable to come but lightly laden, and well providedwith arms, in order to withstand any encounter with the enemy; andthat they follow the same route that is taken by the Dutch, or bythe fleets of Portugal, for by no other route can the voyage be madeso quickly as by that route--considering that, if one wishes to comeby way of Nueva España (which is the shortest course except that bythe Cape of Buena Esperança), the voyage from Manila to Acapulco willlast five or six months, even with favorable weather. Arrived thereit is necessary to cross from one sea to the other over one hundredand sixty leguas of very bad road, and then to sail for another threemonths before reaching España; and the vessels must wait from January, the time when they arrive from Philipinas, until June, when theyembark for España. In all more than thirteen months will be spentin the voyage. In case that one should prefer to come not by wayof Nueva España, but by the Strait of Magallanes or that of Mayre, the delay is equal or greater, and the food will of necessity spoiland the men die; for the food of Manila, as that is a hot country, very soon spoils and rots. 

_Third point_. The voyages from Manila to Terrenate are three hundredleguas, or a trifle more or less; and those from Manila to Malaca atrifle more than four hundred. 

_Fourth point_. The seasons required for those voyages are as follows:To go from España to Philippinas it is advisable to sail from Españaafter the sun passes the equator in the direction of the Tropic ofCapricorn, namely, from September twenty-third on; for, since one mustmount to thirty-five degrees of latitude in the southern hemisphere, it is advisable to be in that hemisphere when the sun by its presencehas put to flight the furies of the winds of those seas, since evenwith that care that Cape of Buena Esperança bears the reputation of astormy headland: In order to return, one would better, for the samereasons, sail from Manila during the time when the sun is still inthe southern hemisphere, if he has to double the Cape. 

The suitable time to sail from Manila to Terrenate is when the windsin those seas are blowing from the north (because Manila lies almostdue north of Terrenate), namely, during November and December. Thesame season is suitable to sail to Malaca, as Manila lies almost duenortheast of Malaca. For that voyage the brisas that set in in Januaryare also favorable. The return trips from Maluco and Malaca to Manilaare during the season of the winds from the south and the vendavals, which generally begin, the winds from the south by the middle of Mayon, and the vendavals during June, July, and August, etc. 

I petition your Majesty to deign to honor this humble service as such, by the benignity of your royal sight, so that I may gain strength toserve you to the measure of my desires. 

[_Endorsed_: "Juan de Sigura Manrrique. Have each point abstracted, so that it may be attended to in the Council. " _In another hand_:"Abstracted. " "Examined. "]

Letter from Francisco de Otaço, S. J. , to Father Alonso de Escovar

_Pax Christi, etc_. 

I have been urging Father Figueroa about the efforts to be made inregard to that grant of money, and he always replies with regretthat other measures must first be taken in Sevilla, as he has writtento your Reverence. For my part, I must bring this matter to a head;for I have been much grieved by what your Reverence recently told meto the effect that they will charge to that poor province the fourhundred ducados paid for provisioning the fathers. Your Reverencemay be assured that I cannot permit the departure in the fleet, if the cost is to be charged in this way. I supposed that the goingof Father Bilbao and his companions would be at the expense of hisMajesty, as it has always been. 

I am now writing to Father Simon Cota that I have received that amountfrom your Reverence; and although by means of your order I have paidthe debt already contracted, and have also funds to defray immediateexpenses that cannot be avoided, yet, for the needs that are certainto arise in the future, I shall require help to the amount of morethan two thousand reals, because it is better that I should have toomuch than too little. And things are so expensive in all this countryof Spain, that to collect and convey the fathers to Sevilla will costeven more than the sum I estimate. Your Reverence will kindly sendthe amount to me at the time and in the manner most convenient. 

Sad was the news that yesterday came to this court concerning theloss of our fleet, [2] and such has been the grief that I do notknow how to describe it to your Reverence. The president wept likea child, more especially because, to make this news worse, otherbad news came from Flandes at the same time; this information wasthat the Hollander was setting out, or had already set out, with histwenty-five galleons. The president himself told this. He alreadyconsiders our possessions in Philippinas and Yndias as lost; for itseems as if courage has deserted these men, and that no means forfurther aid remain. May God our Lord forbid this, and encourage them, in order that they may take heart in this difficulty, that valor andfortitude may be shown in the cause of God our Lord and of the king, and that the enemy may not prevail. There is no lack of people who arealready encouraged, and are seeking remedies and forming plans. YourReverence will kindly inform me of such plans as may occur to you, for those who are trying to give courage in this emergency desirelight on all projects. 

The loss of our fleet is known here only in a general way. YourReverence will please give me all the particulars, and inform mewhether our Lord took our fathers unto Himself, which we much fearfrom the reports. Still, because their death has not been verified orrelated in detail, the masses which should be said in this provincefor Father Bilbao, in the other two provinces for their two fathers, and in the province of Philippinas for all three, have not beenordered. I, for my part, have many to say for them if dead--or ifalive, in case our Lord has spared them. It has also been said thatthe cargo of the flagship floated ashore. I hope that our boxes ofbooks which were in it were spared, for, so far as such things areconcerned, I feel the loss of them greatly, although their loss is notto be mentioned in connection with that of our fathers. If the DivineMajesty has chosen to inflict this heavy blow upon us, _supra modu, sed domini sumos et iustos est et rectu iudiciu eius_. [3] Such afleet, and so well adapted for the grand service of God! And thosethree apostolic men, going with such zeal--if in such a cause, theyhave already ended in a death resembling martyrdom, blessed be theLord! From here the authorities sent some person, I know not whom, as comissary to recover what was lost from the flagship which ranashore. Your Reverence, being near, will know whether any particularmeasure is necessary for our interests, etc. 

When your Reverence remits the money spoken of above, do not send itthrough our Father Figueroa. For, although he assures me that the lastorder is good, since it has been acknowledged, yet he asks for fortydays' time, which is very long. I say this because to your Reverence Imay speak freely and confidentially, for you know the good father. Ihave already determined not to trouble Father Figueroa about my ownmoney, because I drew it for my private expenses, and it must be usedin this way only, as I told him before I went to Rome. He now chargesto me items of expense not conformable to this arrangement, althoughjustified from his standpoint--for the good father is a saint and mostfaithful in everything, though not very prompt or skilful in accountsand correspondence, as is well known. Because I have written at length, and more especially because I am so disturbed by grief at the news, I close this letter to your Reverence. May God guard your Reverenceas I desire. 

The [_word illegible in MS_. ] procrastinate here, and indicate that weare bound to have contests and wrangling with our fathers, whereforethere is much to fear lest they delay me, and frustrate my plans to gowith a few [religious]. Now, too, with what has befallen the fleet, I think that these lords must perforce undertake the preparationof another large one, to go via the Strait, and that people therewill desire us to come. I am prudent and on the lookout, and willpromptly inform your Reverence of everything; for to you I alwayslook for advice, light, and strong support in the Father. Madrid, January 14, 1620. 

+

_Francisco de Otaço_

Decree Ordering Reforms in the Friars' Treatment of the Indians

The King: To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia whichresides in the city of Manila of the Philipinas Islands. I have beeninformed of great transgressions committed by certain religious inmaking repartimientos for their works on the Indians; and that thereligious take, for their support, from the natives their fowls andother food at less [than the just] price, and practice on them injuriesand annoyances for their own gains. And inasmuch as it is advisable tocorrect this, by ordering that the religious shall not use the Indians, unless they pay them their just wage; and that, except by license ofyou my governor, they shall not make repartimientos on the Indiansor oblige them to render service: therefore, my royal Council of theIndias having examined the matter, I have considered it fitting tohave the present issued, by which I order you to attend to the abovematter in the assembly of the Audiencia there. And in what concerns myroyal patronage, my royal fiscal of my Audiencia shall prosecute as hemay deem best, so that those impositions and injuries may cease. Thevisitors and corregidors of the districts shall take especial care toprohibit them, and shall reform those who shall be guilty. By virtueof the contents of this my decree, you shall despatch an order tothe said religious, so that they shall, under no circumstances, inflict such injuries upon their parishioners. This likewise do Icharge upon the archbishop and bishops of those islands, and on theprovincials of the orders therein. Issued in Madrid, May twenty-nine, one thousand six hundred and twenty. 

_I The King_

Countersigned by Pedro de Ledesma, and signed by the Council. 

[_Note at beginning of MS_. : "Procurator for the Indians ofPhilipinas. To the Audiencia of Philipinas, in respect to redressfor the wrongs committed by the religious on the Indians. "]

Relation of Events in the Philipinas Islands and Neighboring Provincesand Kingdoms, from July, 1619, to July, 1620

In the same style and order in which I last year reported the variousevents in the Philipinas Islands, and in neighboring kingdoms andprovinces upon which the welfare of the Philipinas depends, I willnow write what has happened this year. There have not been so manyand various warlike occurrences as in former years, for it has beensomewhat more peaceful here. I will relate briefly what has happenedas occasion may require. 

Of Great China

Although last year I gave an account of the war which the Chinesewere carrying on with the Tartars, I will now return to this point, because we have received letters from our fathers in China. To beginwith the earliest events, there was in the province of Teatum, [4] oneof the provinces of Great China adjoining Tartaria, a powerful eunuchwho collected taxes in the name of the king, and who had some seventyservants in his following. They committed a thousand robberies andtyrannies among the people. The mandarins who governed that districtreported this to the king. He ordered them to bring the eunuch incustody to Tiquin, where he is still in prison. The eunuch's servantswere hunted by the mandarins in order that they might be given thepunishment they deserved for their crimes; but they, with many otherChinese, fled to the Tartars, whom they begged and persuaded to invadeand destroy China, offering themselves to serve as guides. It was notdifficult to induce the Tartars to do this, since for other reasonsthey were already angry with the Chinese. So they planned that theseChinese traitors and some Tartars should go with concealed weapons, and in the guise of friends, to a certain place. They went there, andone night suddenly seized their arms, killed the greater part of thesoldiers, sacked the place, and, pretending to flee, withdrew with thespoils. They left a great number of people in ambush, in the woods. TheChinese viceroy of that district, learning of the affair, immediatelysent a large body of soldiers who are always on duty there. The troopspursued the Tartars, but unexpectedly fell into the ambush and werecompletely routed. When the Tartars saw that they were victorious, they returned to the fort and destroyed it. When this was learned inPaquin the mandarins came together to discuss with the king some meansof redress. As the king did not wish to see them he simply ordered thatthey should consult among themselves and then report everything tohim. Now the Tartars sacked and destroyed some other smaller forts, as well as one very important stronghold called Sin Hon [_i. E. _, Tsingho]. From this point they made their forays through the wholeof that district, and sacked a large part of it. 

The decision reached in the consultation by the mandarins was that theking should order all the noted captains who were not holding office, and who had retired to their homes, to come to the court; that alarge number of soldiers should come from all the provinces to lendaid and to meet the demands of the occasion; and that the mandarinswho were for various reasons at their homes should come to the courtof Paquin. All this was soon carried out by the king's order. Helikewise commanded that heavy taxes should be gathered for supplyingthe soldiers; that a large number of horses should be collected;land that the tuton, or the viceroy of that district, should beimprisoned. He sent another viceroy in his place with extensive powers, even with authority to put to death the chief captains who, on accountof their fear, were contemplating flight. He sent other mandarinsof great executive ability and prudence to help the viceroy; and, in order to prevent excitement among the people, he ordered that thestudents [_letrados_] [5] of the district should not come that year, as usual, to the court for examination and graduation as licentiates, but promised them their degrees for the following year. In additionto this, he ordered that the news from Leatum should not be divulgedto the people. Although the gates of the city of Paquin and those ofthe royal palace had always had a strong guard of soldiers, he doubledthe guard and closed the gates at sunset. And although, according tothe custom of the Chinese, people could enter wearing spectacles anda mask, now, as a greater precaution, when one came through the gatesof the city they made him show his face, in order that they mightknow whether he was a friend or not, and in order that enemies mightnot come into the city unperceived. All this has been brought aboutby their fear. The king likewise ordered that four hundred thousandsoldiers should be stationed at different places and posts of theprovince of Leatum to impede the passage of the Tartars. The Corias, who were subject to China, sent the king seven hundred horses as apresent, and ten thousand infantry to help in the war. 

The western Tartars, hearing of the good fortune of the easternTartars, came upon invitation to the aid of the latter, but weredefeated by the Chinese. Another neighboring nation also came for thesame purpose, but they were bought off by the Chinese with a greatamount of silver, and so they returned to their homes satisfied. 

Finally, the best captains joined together to act upon this matter. Buttheir efforts were quite unsuccessful, because, when they enteredfurther into the interior of Tartaria than was safe, the Tartars, awaiting a good opportunity, fired into them on all sides, wounded andkilled the most celebrated Chinese captains, and destroyed almost allof the army that was there last year, 1619. It is a common saying inChina that all the brave people died at this time, and that if nowthe Tartar should come he would meet with no resistance, and thathe could easily make himself master of everything. It is estimatedthat the total number killed, part of whom died by the sword, part from unbearable cold, part from hunger, and part from lack ofother necessaries, reaches three hundred thousand. But this loss isinsignificant to a people who are so numerous as the Chinese are today. 

At the beginning of that year, 1619, the king of these Tartars--who iseven now styled king of Paquin, just as if he had already conquered it[6]--sent to the king of China a memorial of complaints against theChinese, reciting in it reasons for his revolt (for it must be supposedthat he was formerly in a certain way subject). These reasons I willbriefly state. 1st, because some years ago the Chinese had killed hisgrandfather; 2d, because, when he was at war with the northern Tartars, the Chinese aided them against him; 3d, because the Chinese had oftengone into his country to plunder, and had captured some people, and, when he had made complaints of this injury to the mandarinsof Leatum, they had contented themselves with degrading [_acortar_]the delinquents, whereas they well deserved death; 4th, because theChinese had broken up a marriage for which he was making arrangementswith the northern Tartars, a rupture which he deeply felt; 5th, becausethe Chinese had destroyed the grain-fields that his people had near thegreat walls, the strong ramparts that divide the two kingdoms, and haddriven off a great quantity of stock that his people also had there;6th, because the Chinese had induced other Tartars, his enemies, towrite him some very offensive letters; and, 7th, because in differentwars the Chinese of Leatum had aided his enemies, although this waswithout the knowledge of the king of China. Wherefore he asked thatthe Chinese king should order the people of Leatum to be punishedas their crimes merited, and threatened that if this were not donehe would take the punishment into his own hands, as he had, indeed, already begun to do. 

The king of China made no answer to this memorial, for both he andthe mandarins think that they have not broken any of the agreementsentered into with the Tartars, and that all that the Tartars sayis false--except that they admit that they killed the Tartar king'sgrandfather, but only because he had been caught robbing in the Chineseterritory. It is known that since this occurred bloody war has gone onbetween these two populous and powerful nations; that the Tartars havealways gained the advantage therein; and that if they had so desiredthey could have come to the very gates of the court of Paquin, sincefear has taken such hold upon the Chinese that they have closed allthe gates of the city, except one which they use, and have made anotherwall completely encircling the one that was already around the city. 

The persecution against the Christians and against our Society whichhas been going on in China during the past years is now mild. Hencepeople are being converted to Christianity as formerly; and our fathersare safe, for a great mandarin presented to the king a memorial inour favor, in which he refuted the calumnies that a powerful enemyof ours had launched against us, and that had been the cause of thispersecution. And, although the king made no answer, by his silence heconsents to our fathers' remaining in China, for it was asked in thememorial that our fathers should not leave that kingdom; and sincethe mandarins know that the king has seen the memorial, and that hetacitly consents to it, they also, are satisfied with it. As this samememorial has been circulated throughout the whole of China, everybodyhas learned of our innocence and of the excellence of the law of God, which was dwelt upon at length in the memorial. Accordingly, as theyinform us from here, a great number of literâti and mandarins havebecome friendly toward Ours, and wish them to spread the holy gospelto the most interior parts of China. Hence it is believed that fromthis time on our holy law will take deeper root in this kingdom. 

The bishop of Japon, Don Diego Valente, of our Society, came thisyear to Macan, where he is detained because of the bloody persecutionin Japon. Because of the persecution, also, Father Matos, [7] whowent to Rome as procurator and took a number of our men for Japon, left part of them in India; while ten who went with him to Macan havebeen detained there. 

Father Nicolas Trigaucio [8] went to China as procurator, and returnedthis year with some of Ours. Some of them, for reasons unknown to me, he left in India, and seven he took with him to Macan. 

Of the members who came with these two father procurators, five diedduring the trip over, after leaving Lisboa. But if the persecutioncontinues in Japon as it is at present, they will not be missed. Indeedthere will be too many of Ours, for even now there is so great anumber in Macan that it is often said that there is not standing-roomin our college. 

Of the Kingdoms of Japon

I will begin my account of the affairs of this kingdom with the crueland bloody persecution against Christianity which is now at such aheight, and in which they put so many to death for the faith that, to me, it seems a picture of what happened in the primitive churchduring the early persecutions by the emperors. What I have said maybe realized from part of a letter dated in Nangasaqui October 14, 1619, from Father Matheo de Couros, [9] provincial of Japon, toFather Valerio de Ledesma, provincial of these islands. Translatedfrom Portuguese into Spanish it is as follows: "In regard to newsfrom Japon I will not write you at length, since I understand thatthe father visitor has done so. In temporal affairs everything isquiet. Persecution of Christians has been and is very severe in Meaco, where almost sixty are prisoners for the faith. Five or six of theseChristians died in prison there, thoroughly resigned to the divinewill. In this city of Nangasaqui there are twenty-eight imprisonedfor Christ, in three prisons. In Omura seven religious are imprisoned, four of the Order of St. Dominic, one of the Order of St. Francis, andtwo of our Society. With them are imprisoned ten other Christians. Ofthe inhabitants of the same city of Omura three were martyred--Lino, Pedro, and Thome--the first, because when he was guarding the prisonin which the religious I have mentioned were confined, he allowed toomuch food to be given to the holy prisoners, as he was a Christianat heart himself; the second, because from time to time he sent foodto them; and the third, because he carried the food. All three werepromised their lives if they would renounce our holy law; but theychose rather to die, in order that they might live forever in heaven. "

In another letter dated November 10, 1619, the same father writes:"On the sixth of October, Meaco offered to heaven the richest giftthat has ever been seen in that great and populous city. The giftconsisted of fifty-four Christians, who were burned alive for thefaith of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have already written how therewas in the public prison at Meaco a large number of the faithful, incarcerated because they would not bend the knee to Baal. Nineof these died in the prison on account of the excessive labors andhardships which they suffered there. They died thoroughly resigned tothe divine will, and rejoicing in their happy fate. When the emperorcame to the court of the Dayri, [10] the metropolis of the whole ofJapon, they told him of the imprisoned Christians; and since he is animplacable enemy of our holy faith, he ordered that they should all beburned alive. Thereupon twenty-six stakes were set up in a public placein front of the temple of Daybut, a large and magnificent building, at a distance from the river that flows by the place. On Sunday, the sixth of October, they took the holy prisoners from the jail, notsparing even the tender young girls nor the babes at their mothers'breasts. They marched them through the principal streets of Meaco, accompanied by a crier who announced that they had been condemned tobe burned alive because they were Christians. Most of the soldiers ofJesus Christ were dressed in white, and their faces were so happy andso resolute that the power of the divine grace which upheld them wasplainly shown. They encouraged one another for the trial, and withgreat calmness bade good-by to the friends and acquaintances whomthey met along the way. From time to time they proclaimed aloud thatthey were dying for the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. When they hadcome to the place where they were to offer their lives to the Lordas an acceptable sacrifice, they appeared more joyful, as does onewho is about to gain the eternal reward. Two by two they were nowtied to the stakes, the women with their babes in their arms. Someof our _daiicos_--people of our Society like lay brothers, who aidus in preaching [11]--as well as other Christians who went to theplace to encourage the martyrs, were present. But the servants ofthe Lord showed such remarkable strength that they really encouragedthe spectators. When the wood was finally set on fire, the majorityof these fortunate martyrs turned their eyes toward heaven, and, without moving them in the least, remained in this posture afterdeath. During the first few days a strict watch was kept over theblessed bodies to prevent the Christians from taking them away, butthrough the efforts of our fathers who live in that city some havealready been recovered. " So far I quote from the father provincial. Tothis I will add some points taken from other letters and relations. 

The above-mentioned father provincial is a strong pillar in Japon, andan excellent interpreter. He is director of the Christian communitythere, by virtue of a brief from his Holiness, which arrived lastyear, and in which, it is ordered that in default of a bishop injapon the provincial of the Society who may be in office at thetime shall rule that bishopric and Christian community. Therefore, although the bishop has come; the provincial has governed up tothe present time, and continues to govern, because, as I have said, conditions in Japon do not admit of the bishop's going there, sinceit is feared that the situation may be aggravated and persecutionincreased thereby. Consequently his Lordship is now in Macan. 

About two years ago our father general appointed Father FranciscoVieira as visitor of Japon. He is a man already past sixty, and, indeed, is nearing seventy; but in spite of this he is so vigorousthat when the persecution was at its height he, with great courage, went from Macan to Japon. He was often in imminent danger of beingimprisoned. He took refuge in Canzuça, a place in the lands of Arima, where he abode in a hut of straw. Here, on account of the hardshipshe endured, he was frequently attacked by a kidney disease whichcaused him great pain. Once he had so violent an attack that he sentin great haste to get holy oil in order that he might take the holysacrament. Again the same disease, accompanied by a severe pain abovethe heart, attacked him with such violence that he could scarcelybreathe. So he determined that extreme unction should be administeredto him; but, remembering that he had a written signature of our holyfather, he placed it with great devotion over his heart and commendedhimself to the saint [12]--through whose merits the Lord caused thepain to be assuaged within an hour, and he became entirely well. FromCanzuca the father visitor went to Nangasaqui, to take ship to returnto Macan. He was kindly received, and with due precaution taken intothe house of a certain Portuguese. But still he ran great risk ofbeing imprisoned by the servants of the heathen president, who weresearching for another religious, named Fray Bartholome Gutierrez, of the Order of San Agustin, who was wearing the Spanish dress. Theysuddenly entered three Portuguese houses, and the father visitorscarcely had time to retire from one house to another. In short, thelabors and dangers that he suffered in Japon were great. But theyhad no power to turn him from so glorious an undertaking until hehad been there fourteen months. During that time he had visited allthe Christians and all the posts that are ordinarily visited duringtimes of peace. He had to visit Macan, where most of our fathers weretaking refuge from the persecution; the missions of Cochin China, andof China, where there was also persecution, were likewise under hischarge. Moreover, the bishop of Japon and the two procurators of Chinaand Japon, who were returning from Rome, had arrived at Macan. Forall these and other reasons he was obliged to leave Japon with greatgrief in his heart, and even with copious tears. Accordingly, on thetwenty-sixth of October, 619, he embarked in a patache which went asflagship of five galeotas. He finally reached Macan, where, a fewdays after, on Christmas eve, he died. Father Geronimo Rodriguez, who was there, and who had been appointed by our father general inthe private assignment, succeeded him in office. 

Father Carlos Espinola, of our Society, is still in prison, waitingeach day for the crown. It has incurred to me to insert here aletter which he wrote to the father provincial of this province ofFilipinas. It reads as follows:

"The Lord so ordained it that at midnight after St. Lucia's day Iwas made a prisoner, together with Brother Ambrosio Fernandez, mycompanion, and Domingo Jorge, a Portuguese at whose house we wereseized. The soldiers told us that they wished us to go on board aship that was about to sail for the city of Manila. On the one hand Iregretted this, because I was being driven from Japon, and was losinga good opportunity to give my life for the service of God, which formany years I had desired to do. On the other hand, I was delightedbecause His most holy will was being fulfilled in me. We made a verydifferent voyage [from the one promised], for we were carried fromNangasaqui to this prison of Omura, in company with two religious ofSt. Dominic and three of our Japanese servants. They took us throughsome of the streets of Nangasaqui and finally embarked us for thisplace, handcuffed and with chains about our necks. It was daytime, and all the city turned out to see the spectacle and to take leaveof us with cries and tears. Father Fray Thomas, of St. Dominic, and father Fray Apolinar, of St. Francis, with six Japanese, hadalready been here for some time. Here we are in great concord, justas if we were of the same religious order. And although there is nolack of suffering, because the house affords us but poor shelter, and although at times the guards will not allow anything to come infrom outside except the little given us as rations (which is justenough to starve on), yet at times it is ordered by the Lord, in Hisfatherly care, that in the gifts sent us by the devout we have morethan we could desire. Above all, suffering for the love of God, and theexpectation of the happy fortune that may befall us, makes it all easyto us and hardships a source of joy. I am most content with the favorsreceived, and, although I fear that because of my sins--because I havenot worked in this vineyard as I should have done, and because of mygreat ingratitude for the many mercies that the Lord has bestowed uponme--I have been driven from Japon as useless, still I console myselfthat I have come to be manacled and imprisoned in the service of God, which is no small mercy. I also trust that His Divine Majesty, who inawarding these crowns sometimes does not consider the merits of men, but in His infinite mercy bestows them generously, will consider itright to reward this poor beggar as well as these holy religious thatdeserve more than I. I beg that your Reverence, _in visceribus IesuChristi_, will help me to give due thanks to the Lord, _quod dignusfactus sim pro nomine Iesu contumeliam pati_, [13] and to obtain forme my profession for this novitiate with holy sacrifices, etc. Fromthis prison of Omura, March 5, 1619. From your servant in the Lord, _Carlos_, a prisoner for Christ. "

This ends the letter of Father Carlos. I have nothing to add to itexcept that this Domingo Jorge, whom he mentions therein, was burnedalive, in November, in Nangasaqui, because he sheltered preachersof the holy gospel in his house. Brother Leonardo, a Japanese whohad been imprisoned for three years, and four others, were burnedwith him. After this, eleven other Japanese were beheaded. Later on, in January, 620, Brother Ambrosio Fernandez, a Portuguese who wasthe companion of Father Carlos Espinola, died in jail from hunger, and excessive cold, and the hardships and discomforts of the prison, and thus gained the martyr's crown. He was seventy years old. 

Although so many in Japon have thus become blessed martyrs, two personsbent the knee to Baal and miserably recanted for fear of torture. AJapanese religious who was in Rome and Spain, and who is now anapostate, did the same thing. He often says that when he was in Madridhe knew that certain religious were persuading the king to conquerJapon, but that our fathers dissuaded him from this. He adds that, although it is a fact that religion is our primary motive for enteringJapon, yet it is our intention through religion to prepare mattersfor conquering the country. With this and other lies this apostatehas done great harm to Christianity. The governors and principal menof Japon are so thoroughly convinced of our evil intentions that theysay that one of the principal reasons for keeping the Hollanders inJapon is for their own greater security and to annoy us. They evenhave begun to discuss the possibility of conquering the Filipinas, in order not to have the Spaniards so near. On the other hand, it issaid that in Japon they are thinking of driving out all Europeansfrom that kingdom--Spanish, Hollanders, Portuguese and English. Ifthis is done it will not be possible for any of our fathers to remainthere. At present they escape notice among other Europeans by wearingEuropean dress--I mean that of Castilians and Portuguese; but if theEuropeans are driven from Japon this will no longer be possible. 

Passing from spiritual affairs to those temporal affairs of Japon thatconcern these islands, let me say that on the twelfth of July, 619, there arrived at Firando, a port of Japon designated for the trade ofthe Hollanders, four of their ships, which, as I informed you lastyear, have been off the coast of Manila. When our fleet prepared tosally out, the Dutch ships withdrew in good order, carrying withthem a great many sick, beside the large number who had died fromdisease and from an infection which they say was given them in Bigan, a village on the coast of Manila. Since this is not known here, it mustbe their own imagination. Many of their people were drowned, also. Inone ship which sank suddenly many people were drowned, among them alarge number of Japanese, who were brought from Japon in the serviceof the Hollanders. These ships plundered nothing but three Chinesevessels of little value, which were coming to this city. A ship anda patache were sent from this coast of Manila to Maluco. It is wellknown that the ship was lost on the same coast by running aground, although the Hollanders hide the fact. The patache, driven by contrarywinds, soon put into harbor. It reached Firando on the fourteenth ofJuly; and as soon as it secured munitions, provisions, and people wassent to wait for the Portuguese galeotas which were going from Macanto Japon. But it was the Lord's will that it should not find them, and so it returned to Firando. On October 3, however, it was sent toPulocondor [_i. E. _, Condor Island], opposite Camboxa, with thirty men, fourteen pieces of artillery, munitions and provisions, to searchfor the crew and artillery of a ship that the Hollanders lost there. 

On the twelfth of October of the same year, 619, another ship, greatlyinjured and with its crew wounded and crippled, came to the same portof Firando from Patane, on the further side of Malaca. It, with twoother Dutch ships, had fought, in the port of Patane, two English shipsthat were there. Although anchored and unprepared, the latter fought tothe death, over the anchor-ropes. The smaller English vessel, seeingthat it could not defend itself, and that there was no help for it, blew itself up by setting fire to the powder. The larger ship, whennearly all the crew were dead, and the general himself had been killedby a ball, was overcome and boarded by the Hollanders. They say thatthey secured two hundred thousand pesos in that ship. It may be true, but I do not vouch for that. Two Portuguese had gone from the shore, on the preceding day, to see the English ships. They were seized by theHollanders, who carried them to Japon in the ship which I mentioned, together with some Englishmen. When the prisoners reached Firandothey formed a plot and escaped to land in that kingdom, where allthe world is allowed. 

The quantity of munitions and provisions which the Hollanders secureevery year from Japon for supplying all their fortifications is verygreat, and therefore if they were not harbored there, it would be agreat injury to them and of much benefit to these islands. 

Of the Islands of Maluco

With the lure of the cloves and drugs which are found in these MalucasIslands, more and more ships from foreign nations are continuallycoming to them; The French have built a factory in Macasar and haveat present four ships there. Between the English and the Hollandersthere is constant strife. In Jaba and Sumatra the English have twentygalleons; the Dutch general set out for that place with sixteengalleons which he had collected, but it is not known how the affairhas ended, although it is known that there has been war between thetwo nations. 

This year Don Luis de Bracamonte was sent from this city of Manilaas governor of the military posts in Maluco. He took with him twogalleys and four or five pataches, loaded with a great quantity ofsupplies and more than two hundred infantry. When the galleys and thepataches had entered our fortress of Terrenate, one of them, called the"Sant Buena Ventura, " remained behind as rearguard. A Dutch ship wellsupplied with artillery attacked it, and in sight of our own fortressoverpowered it. Our galleys then sailed out and attacked the Dutchship; but the wind arose, and thus the enemy had an opportunity totake shelter under their fortress at Malayo. This victory was feltby us, because the enemy took from the patache a quantity of money, three thousand fanegas of rice, and other provisions and munitionsbelonging to his Majesty. The worst of all is that they took overone hundred men--Spaniards and Indians--and the capture cost themnothing. May God remedy this by giving us some great victory by meansof which the loss may be repaired. 

On the way from India to Maluco two Portuguese galeotas encountered andconquered a good Dutch ship loaded with cloth and other merchandise;the Hollanders themselves escaped in the batel [_i. E. _, launch]. Inthe same way, one of our pataches took from the people of Terrenatea ship loaded with provisions. 

Of Eastern India

When Don Alonso Fajardo, governor of the Filipinas, saw the necessityfor having a strong fleet here for such troubles as might arisewith the Holland enemy, and that the impossibility of preparing ithere was as great as the necessity for it, he sent Captain Vidañato Eastern India to arrange with the viceroy that he should sendus some galleons to help us in the defense of this archipelago. Atthe same time he sent the viceroy a very rich present, consisting ofvarious articles of great value. In return, the viceroy sent a verycostly present to our governor, and also an urca, which may provevery useful when occasion arises, for it mounts twenty-four piecesof artillery. Thereupon the captain returned to Filipinas, becauseIndia will have little power to defend herself against her enemies, even without dividing her small force with other kingdoms. 

Of these Filipinas Islands

I will begin a discussion of this year's events in these islandswith an account of the solemn fiestas of the immaculate conceptionof the holy Virgin. Let me say that these fiestas have been such thatin the grandeur with which they have been celebrated, Manila has notbeen inferior to places in Europe and America. They lasted nineteendays. Leaving aside the celebration by the laity--the bull-fights, masquerades, etc. , and the many illuminations and fireworks whichtook place every night, and for which the Chinese are very famous--Iwill describe only the ecclesiastical part. The festivities were held[as a rule] in the cathedral. On the first day, which was Sunday, December 8, they were celebrated there with great magnificence. In theafternoon there was given a drama on the beauty of Rachel. On Mondaythe religious of St. Francis held their fiesta in the same church. Inthe morning one of the grandest processions ever seen in this vicinityset out from their house for the cathedral. First came the whole forceof Manila in perfect order, the arquebusiers and musketeers firingtheir pieces at intervals. Next came a rich standard bearing the imageof the conception of the Virgin, and at her feet Escoto [14] on hisknees, inscribed, _Dignare me laudare te_, etc. After the standard, which was borne by the father guardian, came a lay friar called FrayJunipero--who, like the other, is regarded as a holy and simple man;he was dancing, and calling out a thousand silly phrases about divinethings. [15] Now followed banners, crosses, and candlesticks. Afterthese came on floats eight saints of this order, so richly adorned thatthe people did not know whether to marvel most that there should beso large a quantity of gold, jewels, and precious stones in Manila, or that the fathers should have collected so many of them. Thesesaints were accompanied by eight groups of Indian dancers--one witheach saint, and each with its own device. One represented canons, one cardinals, another pastors, etc. The last sang while dancing. Theintercalary stanza was:

 Now we can speak aloud, And without fear; We can cry aloud to all the world, Without misgiving. 

The dancers repeated this aloud three times, and then danced withtheir timbrels in their hands until they were exhausted. Last of allcame the most holy Virgin of the conception. The procession reachedthe cathedral and the fiesta was held. In the afternoon they presenteda very devout drama, on the martyrs of Japon. 

On Tuesday the fiesta of St. Augustine began. In the morning thisorder likewise had a very grand procession, in which the soldieryled, as on Monday. There were many dancers, etc. In the afternoonthere were balls, Indian dances [_mitotes_], and a thousand otherlesser amusements. 

On Wednesday we of the Society began our festivities; and, although wehad no procession, as is our custom, the celebration at night was byno means inferior. On the contrary, there was burned a great quantityof illuminations--rockets, bombs, and other fireworks. Our peopleplayed a thousand musical instruments. During the day we held mass, in our impressive manner, and then had a sermon; and in the afternoonwe presented a remarkable drama on the conception. All the peoplesaid they had never seen anything like it. 

On Thursday the fiesta was again held in the cathedral. In theafternoon there was another drama, about the sale of Joseph. 

On Friday the Augustinian Recoletos began their fiesta. In themorning there was a great procession. First came all the soldiery--notonly the regular troops, as was the case on former days, but all thecompanies composed of citizens of this city as well. Master-of-camp DonGeronimo de Silva, who was on horseback, commanded the troops. Afterthe soldiery followed a very fine procession. In the afternoon waspresented the drama of the Prince of Transilvania, in which theybrought out our father assistant, Alonso Carrillo, in a long taffetarobe and a linen frill with points. In order to announce who he was, a person who took part in the drama said, "This is one of those whothere are called Jesuits, and here we name Theatins. " [16]

On Saturday there were two fiestas. One was held in the cathedral, asthe preceding ones had been, while the other was at our house--whereit seemed expedient to hold it in order that the cathedral and thereligious of St. Francis should not monopolize the entire celebration, and acquire such a right for the future. That night there weremany more illuminations and fireworks than there had been on theprevious Wednesday. At nightfall our collegians of San Joseph formeda procession remarkable enough to have appeared in Madrid. At the headwere three triumphal chariots. In the first were the clarion-players;in the second the singers, singing motets and ballads; and in thethird various musical instruments--harps, guitars, rebecks, etc. Nextcame the standard of the immaculate conception, carried by Don LuisFaxardo, a student and a brother of the governor. At his side came DonGeronimo de Silva, master-of-camp and general of the artillery, andDon Fernando Centene, general of the galleys. Then came the alcaldes, the regidors, and other gentlemen, all on horseback and very richlydressed. These were followed by all the collegians, also on horsebacktwo by two, wearing their usual robes of brown silk with facings madeof fine scarlet cloth, and with shoulder-stripes of lace. Their capswere a blaze of gold and precious stones. About their necks theyall wore many chains and jewels. Each of the prominent nobility ofthe city had ahead of him, as a body-guard, six or eight servants, with large tapers of white wax in their hands. They carried staffshaving upon them large placards with various pictures, letters, andhieroglyphics, all appropriate to the occasion. Next came a veryprominent collegian carrying a staff. Upon it was a placard withthe oath (which they took the following day) always to defend theimmaculate conception of the most holy Virgin. Finally came a verybeautiful triumphal chariot drawn by two savages, and decorated withmany arches of flowers and gilded figures of angels. In the midst ofthese and among a great number of lights went, enthroned, a beautifulcarved figure of our Lady of the Conception. Before the chariot wasa band of clarion-players. They followed eight children dressed insilk garments and carrying silver candles. They represented angelswith candles in their hands, singing and reciting in praise of theVirgin. After the chariot came Original Sin, tied with a chain, andso well made up for his part that he became a mark for the blows andpinches of the people. Next day there was another very magnificentfiesta, in which a dance was given by more than sixty Japanese, who danced and sang to the accompaniment of various instruments, according to their custom. 

After this, on Sunday, the Order of St. Francis began their eight-dayfiesta. Another was held at the port of Cavite, in which, as inManila, all the orders took part--except one, which during allthis time did not leave its house, enter the cathedral, nor displayilluminations. About this there was no lack of gossiping in the city. 

The effects of last year's comets have been very frightful this year, especially in two provinces of the Filipinas, Ilocos and Cagayan--theformer of which is entirely under the instruction of the fathers ofSt. Augustine. The earthquakes in Ilocos have been so violent and socontinuous that the people have gone about with severe headaches, asif seasick. At noon on St. Andrew's day, in the village of Batano, the church, the house, and the granary (a very substantial one)fell because of the vibrations. The friars cast themselves fromthe windows and thus escaped with their lives, although they werebadly injured. In Dinglas a large portion of the church fell, and theprior of the convent leaped through a window. In Sinai the church wasoverturned Great cracks have opened up in the ground in which men fall, but only one has lost his life in this way. In the mountains of Bigantwo distant ranges came together and caught between them two heathenvillages. All the people were buried, only one man escaping. In theprovince of Cagayan, which is included within the island of Manilaand which is under the instruction of the fathers of St. Dominic, the earthquakes were even more horrible. On the same day, that ofSt. Andrew, it seemed that the prophecy of the Evangel had cometrue. On the following day, which was the day of Judgment, the earthtossed the people with such violence that men were not able to keeptheir seats; and they walked about as dizzy and as dazed as if theywere intoxicated. In Nueva Segovia, the capital of that province, the church was demolished, as well as a part of the convent, whichwas a very handsome and substantial structure built entirely ofstone. The religious there were injured, although all escaped indifferent directions with their lives; only two boys perished. Thesame thing happened in the church of St. Vincent of Tocolano, whichalso had very strong walls. Many other temples and stone buildingsin this province likewise fell; but in order to make my story short, I will not mention them separately. Large forests were overthrown;great springs opened up; rivers changed their courses; and many othervery strange things occurred. 

The island of Jolo was at one time subject to the king [of Spain], but some years ago it rebelled; and now its natives, in company withsome other enemies of ours, the people of Mindanao, go about withlittle fleets committing robberies upon these seas and doing all thedamage in their power. This year they set out with only three caracoas, ships something like galleys. But when they discovered that an armedfleet of caracoas, which had been equipped in the city of Zebu, had set out on the eleventh of November in search of them, and thatanother fleet had set out from Oton on the same quest, they returnedto their own country, having committed almost no damage except thatthey captured some three Spaniards--of whom, they say, they killed two. 

This year there was completed in these islands one of the strongestand most remarkable galleons ever built here. It was at once equipped, along with another very large galleon, two [smaller] ones, and apatache. In March, 620, this fleet set out for the port where theyare accustomed to go to watch for the Chinese ships that bringmerchandise to this city. They went to protect the Chinese; for, although it was not known that there were Hollanders there, it wasthought best to take timely precaution, lest they come to commitrobberies, as they have done in previous years. The galleon which wentas admiral's ship sprang such a leak that it was forced to return toport, but when it had arrived there the rest of the fleet continuedtheir journey. They were in this place [where they meet the Chinese]until the beginning of May, when they returned to Cavite. Don LuisFajardo, brother of the governor, went as general of the fleet, and, as he was very young, other captains, brave and experienced in war, were assigned to him as companions and counselors. 

The number of ships which have come this year to these islands fromall parts of the world with rich merchandise has been great. Some fouror five have come from Japon, although some of them were lost on thecoast of Manila with all their large cargoes. Some of the Japanesein them were drowned, but others escaped to land. From Macan tenPortuguese ships have come with much valuable merchandise. 

Last year the governor of the Filipinas sent to Macan to buy avery handsome galleon which was there. Those who went for thepurpose bought it, loaded it with merchandise, and left Macan forthe Filipinas on July 2, 619. They encountered such violent stormsthat at the end of two months, after having been in great danger ofshipwreck, they returned to Macan without masts, and with a large partof their merchandise so wet and rotted that it was worthless--damagesfrequently sustained under such circumstances. They once more equippedthemselves, and this year left Macan in the month of May. They hada very difficult voyage, but at the end of more than twenty daysthey succeeded in making port in Cavite, on the seventh of June, the first day of Pentecost. The galleon is a very fine one, and itwill be very useful when occasion arises. It brought much very richand valuable merchandise. 

From Great China also have come many ships with silks and othermerchandise. All these goods have been necessary, and indeed theyhave not even sufficed to supply the lack of merchandise which, because of the wars of the past years, has been very extreme in thiscity of Manila. There have been, moreover, some losses. If the warswith the rebellious Hollanders should entirely cease, the wealth andgrandeur of these islands would be remarkable. Indeed, in spite ofthese wars and the losses that have been sustained, Manila is a verygrand city; and there are few cities in Europe that surpass it intrade and traffic, for almost the whole world comes to these islands. 

Since writing this, I have learned that a large junk (a certain kindof ship) set out from Japon with a large quantity of provisions andmunitions of war, and with five hundred infantry, whom the Hollanderswere bringing to supply and reënforce their strongholds in theMalucas. But God was pleased that they should run aground on the coastof Japon, where everything was lost, and nearly all the people weredrowned. A galleon likewise set out from Japon with a Dutch patacheto come to these coasts, to steal whatever they could, as they havedone in years past. But God frustrated their attempts by running thegalleon aground on Hermosa Island, which is between Japon and thiscountry. It is said that all those on board were drowned. Althoughthis is not known surely, it is a fact that many were lost. 

May God confound their arrogance, in order that this land may raiseits head; and that the faith of Christ may be spread throughout manyprovinces and kingdoms into which the holy Evangel would enter wereit not hindered by these heretics, who have hitherto been such astumbling-block and so great an obstacle in these parts. 

It has occurred to me to write this to your Reverences as a consolationto many people who wish to know about affairs here. May God keep allyour Reverences, to whose holy sacrifices and prayers I earnestlycommend myself. Manila, June 14, 1620. 

Compulsory Service by the Indians

_Opinion addressed to his Majesty by Fray Pedro de Sant Pablo, preacher and provincial minister of the province of Sant Gregorio ofthe discalced religious of the Philipinas Islands, of the Order ofthe seraphic Father St. Francis, for the increase and conservationof the said states of his Majesty, by reason of the building of shipsand repartimiento [17] for the service of his Majesty_. 

The native Indians of the Philipinas Islands enjoyed great temporalprosperity and peace until the year 1609, when Governor Don Juan deSilva established in these islands the shipyards for constructingthe fleets that he built. For that purpose he imposed the veryburdensome taxes, and made repartimientos among the natives of thesaid islands--not only personal, but for wine, oil, timber, and othersupplies and materials, in the greatest quantity. That has remainedand been established as a custom. Those materials and supplieshave been taken by some without payment, while others have paid thefourth or third part of the just and current value. Hence his Majestyowes them a great sum, but he cannot pay it, nor has he the moneyto pay it in these islands. When personal services are commanded, the Indian, in order not to go to the forests to cut and haul thewood, subject to the cruel treatment of the Spaniard, incurred debt, and borrowed some money at usury; and for the month falling to him, he gave another Indian six or seven reals of eight at his own cost, in order that the other should go in his stead. He who was taxed ashis share one-half arroba of oil went, if he did not have it from hisown harvest, to the rich man who gathered it; and, not having themoney wherewith to buy it, he became the other's slave or borrowedthe money at usurious rates. Thus, in the space of ten years, did thecountry become in great measure ruined. Some natives took to the woods;others were made slaves; many others were killed; and the rest wereexhausted and ruined: all of which is evident from the summary of theaccount that I send his Majesty with the present. There can this truthbe seen and recognized. In order that the injury committed may be moreclearly evident, it is to be noted that these Indians are in the depthof poverty, and have no possessions of value. Neither do they inheritanything save a little plot of land which they sow with rice--notto sell, but only for what is necessary for their families. Theirhouses are built on four posts; their walls are of bamboo and thatch, and are very small. Such was the spoliation committed on a peopleso poor and wretched that they would say: "Father, I will give theking twenty reals of eight annually, so that they will spare me fromrepartimientos;" but, having investigated, all their property is notworth an equal sum. This granted, request is made, by the commonopinion and consent of the governor, Audiencia, bishops, orders, the Spaniards, and the Indians themselves, for permission from yourMajesty for the following:

The Indians of all these islands are willing to contribute annuallyto his Majesty all the aid that may be necessary, and what theyare able to contribute, for the defense and conservation of theseislands, the building of ships, and all other things needful, in thefollowing manner. Every household and family will give, each year, such a sum as may be ordered and as shall appear necessary, in thismanner. The Indians living at Manila, inasmuch as they have moreproperty and money, will give one or two pesos per house; and thosemore remote the half or third part of that sum, or the fraction thatshall seem advisable, inasmuch as they are less established and arevery poor. This sum shall be collected and placed in one depository, which shall be in common for all the islands, and shall be in chargeof a faithful person; and it shall have three keys. This money havingbeen collected, whenever his Majesty may need one, two, or threevessels, more or less, in these islands, and shall choose either tobuy them in India or to build and construct them in these islands, he needs fifty thousand pesos for that purpose. After first takingfrom his royal chest and treasury the usual sum, the balance andremainder--which is generally levied from the Indians at very lowrates, or without paying them at all--let him get from that chest ofthe common fund of the Indians. Then the sum given by his Majesty andthe aid furnished by the Indians can be put together, and those boatsbuilt or bought without making repartimientos among the communitiesof the Indians. If common seamen be needed, then a proclamation can beissued to see if there are any volunteers who will sign the register;and surely there will be many, as usual. The number lacking [to serveas volunteers] shall be paid from that fund [_i. E. _, the natives'chest] and from what his Majesty usually gives them. The same shallbe done if soldiers are needed for Terrenate, or rice and any othersupplies. Thus will everything necessary be provided, and that withoutdelay; and the country will not be harassed or the Indians afflicted. 

Supposing that from the sum given this year by the Indians, thereshould be a surplus, because of no war or shipbuilding, then that sumwould be kept, and the following year there would be no repartimientonor would the amount be again collected. And supposing that the sumthat was collected should be insufficient because of the many expensesof that year, then the Indians would be again asked for what shouldseem necessary. If this were done with due system and method in usingthe chest, and in a Christian spirit, each Indian would be saved, besides his discomforts, persecutions, and afflictions, more thanfifteen or twenty pesos; his Majesty would be served better; andmany mortal sins committed by the officials--who rob the Indians onone side, and on the other defraud his Majesty's treasury--would beavoided; for (as has been experienced) the alcaldes-mayor or judgeswho go to get rice and the other things belonging to his Majesty sendit by the quantity of five hundred baskets at cheaper rates. They getanother equal amount for themselves, for which repartimiento is madeamong the Indians at the same prices [as for the king]. Many deathsamong the Indians in the shipbuilding would also be avoided; for, supposing that ships are to be built in the islands (which must beavoided as much as possible), they can he built by the Chinese forpay. Consequently the Indian will live comfortably, and will feelmore love toward the Spaniard and his king, and will attend better tohis soul and the service of God. He will become a man of worship anddevotion; while in temporal affairs he will become more prosperous, and will have something with which he can be of use to his Majestyin case of any necessity. 

Prostrate at your Majesty's feet, I desire to beg one thing, in whichlies the wealth and prosperity of this land, or its destruction. Yourroyal Majesty can remedy it--although it be at the loss of his officeto the governor of these islands; for in no other way is there anyrelief, either with royal decrees or orders from your Majesty--or inany other way--by your Majesty ordering the said governor that theships sail from this port for Nueva España by St. John's or St. Peter'sday; [18] for they can do it, as they used to do. In this way noshipwrecks will occur, just as there were none before. The lossesand shipwrecks caused by not observing this cannot be told, I willmention as an example only the case of the present year. Inasmuch asthey sailed late, two hundred and eighty persons died in the flagship, and all the rest arrived in a dying condition. They were over sevenmonths just now on the return trip, after their escape from the Dutchenemy then assembled where they fought. Because they were not able toenter the channel to go to their usual port, as they were late, andbecause the winds contrary to them had begun, they were driven ashoreand there the two hulls of the ships were wrecked. There was the onenoteworthy thing, namely, that with only six pieces they fought theenemy, who had three ships. The loss was immense; besides the hulls, a great amount of property was lost--more than four hundred thousandpesos--and it was a miracle that everything was not lost. Written inthis convent of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, at Dilao, outsidethe walls [of Manila], August 7, 1620. 

The most unworthy servant of your royal Majesty, _Fray Pedro de San Pablo_, provincial minister. 

Letter from the Audiencia of Manila to Felipe III

Sire:

At the end of last year, 619, this royal Audiencia reported to yourMajesty a portion of the numerous excesses and imprudent acts of DonAlonso Fajardo, governor and captain-general of these islands. Forthat purpose it despatched, by way of Yndia, Captain Pedro Alvares, government and War secretary of this kingdom, with the same documentthat is herewith enclosed. Although this despatch was attemptedtwice it did not succeed, because the governor, suspecting it, exercised great vigilance to prevent it--as in fact he did, a certainsailor revealing it while confused. But, although he made no littleinvestigation and practiced extortions to verify the matter, hewas unable to ascertain who the person was, or why he was going, because the matter had been managed by a priest. And although along relation can be made here of his objectionable acts, we shall, in order to excuse prolixity, touch on only a few of them. 

He continues his careless way of living with so little modestyand caution that scarce can there be found any action in which ismanifested the circumspection, gravity, and prudence required byhis office. 

In regard to the little esteem (or better, the great contempt) that heshows toward this Audiencia and its auditors, both in the court roomand in other public acts and meetings, what occurs is incredible. Forwithout any occasion for it, he shows that he delights in making useof all the abusive terms that can be imagined. And, in order that itmay be seen that this statement is not exaggerated, we shall mentionhere some particular instances. During the feast of the cross whichAuditor Don Antonio Rodriguez made this month of May at the convent ofSt. Francis, Auditor Don Alvaro de Mesa went to that convent after thegovernor and the Audiencia were in the church, and the royal carpethad been spread, immediately upon his arrival; the governor thereupontold him that he was a dirty, impudent fellow, and that he vowed to Godthat the first time when Don Alvaro should neglect to accompany him, he would take him by the collar and fling him out of court. This hesaid with so much heat, disturbance, and passion, that it was observedthroughout the church. When the auditors went for him on Easter day toaccompany him to prison inspection, they advised him with all courtesy(warned by what had happened on other inspections) to be kind enoughto allow the Audiencia to oppose privately the releases, when thesewere undesirable, that he intended to grant by his authority. To thatrequest he answered in great heat and fury that he vowed to God thatif any auditor contradicted him in the releases of prisoners thathe thought best to make during the inspection, he would break hishead with a club; and, after dashing out his brains, would scatterthem about the walls of the prison. Consequently, in order to avoidgreater evils that might result to the disservice of your Majesty ifhis conduct should not be overlooked until your Majesty hears of it, heis allowed to continue his releasing [of prisoners] here during prisoninspection, and out of it, at his will, without considering that theyare imprisoned by the Audiencia, or the gravity of the crimes, or anyother of very weighty circumstances. And so that [it may be seen] thatwe do not deceive ourselves in attributing to him these excesses inpardoning as being extreme, the same thing occurs in his sentences andpunishments. For he thus executes his sentences, however rigorous theybe (notwithstanding appeal, and without taking the trouble to presentthe criminals before the Audiencia), as if he were absolute lord ofthem, as is said to be the case in Japon. Consequently he followsand lets loose all the passions to which his taste inclines him, just as if he did not have to give account to God and your Majesty. 

One Gregorio de Saldaña, a sailor--against whom was executed asentence of stripes and condemnation to the galleys, without allowinga report of his appeal to be made to the Audiencia--having presenteda certain memorial of the frauds and trickery which he declared hadbeen practiced against the royal treasury and the natives of theseislands by the sargento-mayor, Estevan de Alcaçar (brother-in-law ofDon Juan de Alvarado, fiscal of this Audiencia, for he had marriedthe latter's sister), in the building of a galleon under his charge, about which there have been public clamors, an investigation wasbegun by Auditor Don Antonio Rodriguez, and the said frauds weredeclared by Saldaña, for which purpose the latter was taken fromthe galley. The governor took the cause away from the auditorand pigeonholed it, [19] without being willing to allow any moreinvestigations to be made upon it. On the contrary, to prevent that, he remanded the sailor from the prison where he was to the galleys, and thus prevented him from obtaining his appeal, as it was a matterthat touched the said sargento-mayor--to whom, for himself and forhis brother-in-law the fiscal, he has granted permission, as is said, for extortions on the Sangleys in the office of chief warden of theParián. He has exercised that office for more than a year, succeedingto Gonzalo de Ocampo, who married a cousin of the said fiscal. Ocampoheld the said office for two years, and the said sargento-mayor is nowsending him as admiral of the vessels about to be despatched to NuevaEspaña, with the title of general for the return trip, without takinghis residencia--notwithstanding that he was declared by an edict ofGovernor Don Juan de Silva to have fallen into condemnation and tohave incurred the loss of his encomienda and all of his property, because many others who were prepared for the expedition of Sincapuraran away, in imitation of his example. That edict or proclamation isin force today, for the royal Audiencia alone declared null and voidall that which was enacted after the edict. Although the governorhas been advised of this in writing, no reparation has been made;for, as it is a matter that touches the fiscal, he defies the lawsentirely. A few days ago Juan Cevicos, an ecclesiastic and presbyter, presented to the royal Audiencia a decree of your Majesty directedto the audiencias. In it you prohibit offices of justice to the sons, brothers, or brothers-in-law of auditors and fiscals, under penalty ofa fine of one thousand pesos in gold. He petitioned that, in observanceof it, the said sargento-mayor Alcazar should not exercise the officeof warden of the Parian of the Sangleys, or Don Fernando Centeno, [20] general of the galleys, also a brother-in-law of the said fiscal, that of alcalde-in-ordinary of this city. The Audiencia ordered thatthe decree be obeyed; and that the said governor be informed, so thathe might appoint someone to fill the office of the Parián. He was soangered by that, that he expressed himself in unmeasured language;and especially, in the meeting held July 23, did he treat the auditorsvery harshly, chiding them for having meddled in his government. Andinasmuch as they had ordered him by an act to fulfil the said royaldecree, [he said] that the Audiencia had exceeded their authority, since such action did not belong to their duties. He told them notto show thereafter similar discourtesy, for he vowed to God thathe would proceed against the auditors, and would not allow hisoffice to be taken from him before he had exercised it. He paid noattention to the said royal decree and act, or to the ordinance ofthe Audiencia that prohibits such appointments, because he [_i. E. _, Fernando Centeno] was an encomendero; there is, besides, anothervery great objection, namely, that the fiscal his brother-in-lawhas hitherto been protector of the same Sangleys, until now whenhe leaves it for the post of admiral. Luis Rivero having appealedfrom the sentence of death passed by the governor, and orders havingbeen issued by the Audiencia that he should appear to state his case(inasmuch as he had presented himself to the Audiencia), and that thewarden of the prison should not deliver the prisoner under penaltyof two thousand ducados--of which the warden himself took notice, andrefused to deliver him over--the sargento-mayor went with a detachmentof arquebusiers and, after taking away the keys from the warden, took the prisoner out by force and executed on him the sentence ofdeath. Auditor Don Alvaro de Messa having proceeded against the wardenby commission of the Audiencia, the governor suppressed the case, andhandled the auditor with rough speech. Without being ordered by theAudiencia, on his own authority he takes the prisoners from the jailand mans the galleys with them, even though their cases are actuallypending at the time in the Audiencia; and it has been impossible toconclude them, notwithstanding that it is the Audiencia that causesall criminals to be taken from jail and placed in the galleys forwhich authority is granted them. He suppresses the secular offices ofjustice at will, before their time-limit expires, without awaitingthe opinion of the Audiencia, or even communicating the matter tothem. He sends out investigators whenever he wishes, although thatis the proper business of the Audiencia. He appoints followersand kinsmen to posts of justice, in violation of your Majesty'sdecrees. He removed the former reporter, who was exercising thatoffice so that he might be given a post as alcalde-mayor (which wasthe usual practice), and appointed a reporter without an order fromthe Audiencia. He does the same with other offices which fall vacant, although the contrary is the custom. In the session of July 23, whilevote was being taken upon a certain petition presented by Captain PedroAlvarez, government and war secretary of these islands--which relatedthe insults put upon him by the governor and the master-of-camp inproceeding against him in a certain cause, which is declared by actsof trial and revision to be outside of the military jurisdiction--andafter Auditor Geronimo de Legaspi de Hecheverria had uttered his voteand opinion that a writ of your Majesty should be despatched againstthe said master-of-camp, since the acts of trial and revision wereincorrect, so that in fulfilment of such writ he might be prohibitedfrom trying the cause, under penalty of two thousand ducados andwarnings of greater: the said governor replied on the instant, withhis usual heat, that he vowed to God that he would choke and skinthe throttle of that auditor who should sign such a decree. "Whymust he be subject to three licentiates, each one of his own nation, and to have come to such a pass that a bandy-legged graybeard shouldorder him?" At this rate, blustering and snorting, he did and saidthings that made him seem out of his senses. The said Pedro Alvarezalso mentions in the said petition other insults that have been shownhim on account of taking away the licenses of the Sangleys and otherperquisites of his office; and concludes with requesting the Audienciato inform your Majesty of what is the truth in this matter. What theAudiencia has to report concerning it is that, besides, the governorand the master-of-camp refused to obey the acts of trial and revisionof this Audiencia, in which the said Pedro Alvarez is declared notto be included in the military jurisdiction. Supposing that he were, no guilt results from the allegation with regard to imputing to himthe purpose to go from these islands by way of Yndia to España, so that he could be arrested justifiably; and yet he has enduredmore than one-half year of prison closely guarded, and fearing (notwithout reason) new annoyances, he has retired into the convent ofSt. Francis. In respect to the licenses of the Sangleys--which hesays should be attended to before him, and states that the governorhas taken them away from him--although as yet no further statementthan the said petition has been presented to the Audiencia, it appearsthat Governor Don Juan de Silva declared, by act of November twelve, six hundred and twelve, that the issue of the said licenses (whichare given to the Sangleys who remain annually in this city and theseislands for their service) was annexed to and pertained to the saidgovernmental office, in accordance with its title; and he orderedthat then and thenceforth the issues of these licenses should bemade in the said governmental office. In conformity with that order, Secretary Gaspar Alvarez (uncle of the said Pedro Alvarez, by whoseresignation the latter succeeded to those offices) countersigned thesaid licenses from thenceforth until the year six hundred and eighteen, the first year of the administration of Don Alonso Fajardo. The latterbegan to take the licenses away from the said office last year, sixhundred and nineteen, when the said Pedro Alvarez began to exerciseit. In regard to his right to the conduct of other business, despatchedby the corresponding secretary, the most authentic thing that we cannow report is that the grudge held by the governor against the saidPedro Alvarez is well known, for he shows it on every occasion. 

He allows no testimonies to be given to the parties [in suits] inany case that does not suit him, even though the Audiencia orderit. Neither does he permit the causes to be prosecuted, for he takesand keeps them in his possession as long as he chooses. And inasmuchas the relation of all that occurs after this manner would mean that itwould never end, we avoid it--likewise considering that from the abovestatements, and from his often having said publicly that it would bebest not to have auditors or friars (of whom he talks scandalously)in the Philipinas, the rest can be inferred. 

In respect to military affairs, in addition to what the Audienciaformerly wrote to your Majesty: after our fear here that a numberof Dutch ships would descend from Japon--as we were advised fromthat kingdom--to await the Chinese ships along our coasts, a fleetwas prepared to go out to attack them. After very considerablesums had been spent on it, it was despatched at the beginning ofMarch, consisting of two galleons, one patache, and one galley--soill-prepared that the almiranta galleon began to sink in the port. Afew days after it had left this bay, it returned to port, becausethe pumps could not lessen the water, at great risk of the vessel'sfoundering. Thereupon the effort was made to prepare another shipto supply its lack; but so great unreadiness was found everywherethat that was impossible. In its stead sailed the other galleythat had been left behind. Finally, as they did not meet the enemy, the loss was less regretted. The fleet returned to port. Although, because of a second warning received from Xapon that two Dutch shipsand one patache were surely coming to our coasts, it was consideredby many to be advisable that the fleet should go to El Embocadero tosecure the safety of the ships from Nueva España, that was not done;but on the contrary the ships were immediately unrigged. That was asignal error, for within the few days necessary for its arrival at ElEmbocadero it would find the enemy's said two ships and one patachethere awaiting our ships from Nueva España, and those ships of theDutch would be taken or sunk. But this kingdom was relieved from theloss of this failure; and through God miraculously extending to it Hismercy, the silver and soldiers aboard our ships (the flagship and thealmiranta) escaped capture by the enemy. That capture would have meantthe total ruin and destruction of these islands. There was no littledanger of losing ships and merchandise by running aground. Inasmuchas the governor will inform your Majesty more fully and minutely ofthis event, the Audiencia will avoid doing so. We will only assureyour Majesty that not only was no preventive measure taken by thesaid governor for which thanks should be given him, but also thepreconceived idea of those who are soldiers has been confirmed--namely, that they considered him but little fit for so great matters, becausethey had seen the way in which he proceeded in the preparation of thefleet that he made ready, and with which he did not assail the enemylast year, as well as in the despatch of the fleet that he made thisyear to protect the Chinese ships. In the former matter, not only didhe equip the fleet so poorly, as above stated, but, leaving in Manilathe master-of-camp, the sargento-mayor, and captains of high standing, he sent as commander his brother, Don Luis Fajardo, a lad fifteenyears old. He gave the latter (as it were, for his tutor) Admiral JuanBaptista de Molina, who was then alcalde-in-ordinary of this city;while Don Fernando Centeno, the fiscal's brother-in-law, remainedas commander of the galleys, to whom the rod of alcalde-in-ordinarywas given in the stead of Molina, who had served in that capacityas citizen alcalde. Without receiving pay as such, and although hisgalleys went on the expedition, he remained as alcalde _ad interim_. 

In respect to the despatch of ships to Nueva España, although--onaccount of those of the preceding two years that have been in hischarge having sailed late--the governor had published that this yearthey would sail very early, they are now in Cavite. It is believed thathe will cause them to await his letters in Mindoro, which is thirtyleguas from Manila, all the month of August or but slightly less. Yetit is certain that, without changing things from their usual course, the ships could now be out of the channel. However, it appears thatall that may be a mistake, and that God is permitting it in order tocompel the inhabitants of these islands, after losing faith in human, to turn to divine means. 

In regard to greed for gain, no good rumor is current; and it issaid that of the loss therefrom no little share falls to the royaltreasury in paying orders that are bought at less than the fourth oftheir face value. Consequently at the same time while not one realof advance pay thereon is allowed to the owner of the order--whichis issued to him for his sweat and toil, or to his wife and childrenon account of his death while serving your Majesty in the war--it issold for one-fourth or a less part of its face value, and that ispaid in full to its purchaser by the governor's decree. A vast sumhas been used up in this, for the money brought from Nueva España, that derived from the Sangley licenses, the loans of citizens, andthat from other sources, have been spent in less than one year. Inorder that it may be seen that there is no way in which he does notendeavor to accommodate the fiscal, while the royal treasury waswithout one single real, and in debt many thousands to citizens wholent it money after the beginning of this year, the governor issueda decree in the month of June (but without it, notwithstanding anorder may be issued, he has ordered that nothing be paid) that adefinite warrant for three thousand and ninety pesos (of which someSangleys had made him a gift for three or four years) be given to thefiscal from the duties of the Chinese ships. But it was not advancedimmediately, because the officials of the royal treasury consideredthat the Sangleys who made the gift were not legally parties [to sucha transaction]. As these things are so public, and the citizens are sovexed with loans and ill-treatment, they resent these things greatly. 

The same irregular procedure that was followed last year in regardto taking the merchandise from the Chinese at their own weighing wasexperienced this year. Although the governor issued a proclamationordering all persons who should have the merchandise in theirpossession to return it immediately, so that it could be sold freely, and imposing severe penalties, they did not comply with it; as has beenevident from its results, that edict must have been only to caution oramuse, for they only sold openly those goods that they were unable tosell privately without these being taken from them. And then--when, with the delay of the ships from Nueva España, and the fear of thedanger that they ran of being captured by the Dutch; and the city, with having invested its share, was drained of money--those who hadretained the said goods in their possession made lower prices with themany Chinese than those prices at which the goods that were allowedto be sold had been given. In consequence there were public murmursfrom all classes. One Gonzalez, the governor's barber, and a primefavorite, whom he has made inspector of the Chinese ships--whichbecause of their late arrival remained this year for the most parton the coasts of these islands near China, from fifty to one hundredleguas from Manila, sending their goods thither in small boats--wentthere and bought and brought back a large consignment. Consequentlythat transaction, other things similar to it, and the appointments--or, as some say, sales--of offices and posts in the ships from Nueva Españain violation of your Majesty's decrees, are not well endured or wellspoken of, in regard to either his acts or his methods. May our Lordpreserve and prosper the royal and Catholic person of your Majesty, as all Christendom desires, and has need, etc. Manila, August 8, 1620. 

_Licentiate Hieronimo Legaspi de Cheverria__Licentiate Don Alonso Messa y Lugo__Doctor Don Antonio Piso_ de Villegas

Letter from Fajardo to Felipe III

Sire:

1st. While anxious, as may be understood, over the delay of the shipsfrom Nueva España, and the anticipated rise of the vendavals with theso great fury with which they began this year; and fearing on thataccount some disaster, or their making port in distress at Japon, where also there is cause for fear; and while considering the hardshipthat might result to this country from any one of those things: wehad news that three ships of the Dutch rebels were awaiting our shipsbetween the channel of San Bernardino and the Cape of Spiritu Sancto, where the latter had to come. Consequently our anxiety deepened, knowing that this country would necessarily be endangered if thoseships were driven from its coasts, with the men that we have for itsdefense, at such a season that, if they left the strait, they could notpossibly return here this year; or, if there were a failure to act, the people [of this city] must remain not properly cared for, muchless contented. Although it was evident that we might go out at a timewhen we could be of [no] use, and when the aforesaid danger would nothappen to the ships, with all the resources at my command, I had thegalleys and light craft manned, so that they might go out immediatelywith what advices and orders seemed advisable. While preparing theships, which were almost ready to go out, for whatever might arise, and in the midst of that anxiety, God was pleased to do us the favorof freeing us from it by the news that I received of our ships. Thatnews, thanks to His Divine Majesty, was most favorable, when oneconsiders what might have come. The news was that the flagship--a largegalleon, and, as its actions showed, not a very good sailer--happenedto encounter, without its consort (which was a bark), the three Dutchships. These approached the galleon, and ordered it to strike its sailsfor Mauricio. Captain and Sargento-mayor Don Fernando de Ayala, warderof the port at the point of Cavite (whom I had sent out in order thathe might return as commander of the said ships because the person whowent as commander from here was to remain in Nueva España--namely, DonLuys Fernandez de Cordova, a relative of the viceroy of that province)answered them, as a valiant cavalier and soldier, with his artilleryand firearms. He continued fighting and defending himself all thatday and part of the night, until under cover of its darkness and aheavy fog that settled down, pursuing their voyage, the Spaniardsleft the enemy with the intention of running upon the coast of anisland of the strait, called Ybabao. Our Lord guided them to a port, where a ship was never known to have entered. There they anchored, and fearing that the wind with which they entered might shift to thatwhich generally prevails in that season and with greater fury, theydetermined to run the said ship into the mud, and to cut away themainmast, in order to render them less liable to drag, and to leavethe port again and encounter the enemy. Accordingly, all possiblehaste was displayed in disembarking the men, and the silver andreals of your Majesty and of private persons, and the most valuablegoods; but scarcely was that done when the storm, coming down uponthe ship, drove it upon some rocks. There it foundered and sank, although in a place so shallow that but little of the ship's cargowas lost. For they continued to take out and use many things, exceptthe articles of luxury. Although no use could be made of the ship'shull, as it was entirely ruined, the resultant loss is almost nothing, and inconsiderable when one thinks what it might have been, and whatthis event has gained in advantage and reputation for these islands, and for your Majesty's arms herein. For, although your Majesty, thanks to God, has had excellent successes in the islands, still ithas all been by superiority of ships and men; and there is nothing, according to common opinion, so fortunate as this event, consideringwhat the enemy will have lost in all the aforesaid respects amongall the nations with whom they have relations--especially with thatof the Japanese, who place their honor and ground for self-praisein war. It would appear that they will not be well esteemed there, nor even pleasantly received by their creditors--with whom, as weunderstand here, they were indebted for about three hundred thousandducados for their preparations and the relief of their forts, havingassigned to the creditors their pay from a good prize that they wereto make, which must have been this galleon. 

Then, in order that everything might turn out well, our Lord guidedthe patache--which was coming as almiranta--without its meeting anenemy. However, from the severity of the weather, the same thinghappened to them as to the flagship; but they lost no cargo, forthat vessel was so small that I bought it for not more than onethousand pesos. 

Although some think that those ships did not have a more satisfactoryvoyage because they left Acapulco April 4, in my opinion that couldnot have been avoided; for they reached that port late becausetheir voyage thither was long and troublesome. Notwithstanding thatthey had been despatched, they would have found, when they arrived, vendavals already in these islands, as these commenced so early, asI have said. Although the viceroy wrote requesting greater haste inthose despatches, yet because they are sent late from there, they alsoarrive late here, even if no such events happen as the above. It isalmost impossible for the ships to leave here early, if the arrivalof those from Nueva España is delayed, unless no opportunity begiven the inhabitants to receive their share of money and letters, which is a thing that they would feel keenly. 

[_Marginal note_: "War. What you say in these sections is reducedto three points. Firstly, the thanks that you give and should havegiven to our Lord for the good success of the flagship, and the samehas been done here. May He be praised for all, and thus it is to behoped, in His divine mercy, that He will be in all other events; forthe just end and cause to which all is directed is His holy serviceand the extension of the holy Catholic faith. The second main pointis of the utmost importance, and is regarding what has been writtenyou, with the remonstrances required by the case--namely, that if theflagship and almiranta sail late, it is impossible that they can bedespatched early from Nueva España; and although we have written tothe latter country, giving the method that is advisable to be usedin that voyage and despatch, they always excuse themselves for thelate sailing of the ships by the risk of vendavals, as the violence ofthe weather is an unavoidable difficulty. We have also written to youthat the only cause of the delay is the waiting to lade those shipswith the commerce of Manila--which are detained for personal ends, by awaiting the merchandise from Japon, China, and the Orient. Thatis poor management; and the welfare of private persons must not havemore force than that of the public. For the customs duties received ondeparting and returning are not at all to be considered with the greatdanger of bad weather, in which everything is risked--especially sincethe only cause for the commerce between Nueva España and those islandsis not the benefit of the merchants, nor the lading of Chinese cloth, but the maintenance, succor, and payment of the military and of theministers who assist in the service and defense of that country. Ifyou should one year cause the ships to sail on time, those at Acapulco[_los terceros_] would be warned by it for the future, and wouldunderstand the diligence that they must use in their despatch. Itis said--and let this serve as caution and warning to you--that thechief officials who have in charge the despatch of the flagship andalmiranta are those most interested, as figure-heads for third persons, in what is laded. The third point is, that when those vessels (notonly of trade, but of war) sail, and since their risk of enemies isat the departure and return (but most on the return), you are advisedto take warning not to let the ships be so overladen that because ofthat they go ill equipped with seamen, and even worse defended. Inconformity with this we have written to the viceroy of Nueva España;and have stated that it would be a less disadvantage to increasethe number of ships than to overload those that are sent--to saynothing of the damage done to the hull of the ship by carrying soheavy a cargo. Also you are advised, on account of what you say inthis section--since you say that the Dutch get help in boats, money, ammunition, food, and men in Xapon--that it would be well, since thereis so continual communication between Japon and our government [inthose islands], that you endeavor--through an embassy, or in any otherway--to negotiate with any king of those of Xapon, or with the personwho is the cause of that [aid to the Dutch], and tell them that thoseenemies are pirates, and that they violate the laws of nations andthe public peace. Finally, since you have the matter in hand and knowthe importance of separating the Japanese and Dutch, you shall do thiswith such energy and skill as your prudence admits, doing all that youshall deem necessary and useful to attain that end. " _In another hand_:"A letter is being written to the viceroy of Nueva España, sending hima copy of his [i. E. , Fajardo's] clause, and what answer is made to it;and advising him, as here above stated, that an order has been givenso that they shall endeavor to have the despatch of the flagship andalmiranta of Filipinas attended to promptly and seasonably, as isnecessary for their voyage. Accordingly he shall again issue ordersto that effect, and advise us of what is done in this matter. "] [21]

2d. I am also writing to the viceroy not to waste time and money inmaking unnecessary repairs on the ships, and those for which theircaptains and commanders do not ask; for that is of use only for thosewho have slaves who act as calkers and as other kinds of mechanics, in which they sometimes gain more in such works than they are worth. 

In the same way [I have requested] that he shall not furnish riggingand other supplies unless they are requested; for I am sending thevessels from here already provided, for both going and coming, witheverything necessary (even the candles), in the endeavor to avoid theexpense caused to your Majesty in the past with such outlays as havebeen made, and with the things brought here. This can be very wellavoided, because there have been certain articles that can be obtainedhere for one-tenth as much as they cost in Nueva España, both riggingand other things that are not needed; while ammunition and arms are soextremely necessary. Of these, on the occasion that I have mentioned, there was known to be a very great lack. The mistake must have beenoccasioned by my saying, in regard to the arms that I requested, thatpowder-horns were unnecessary here (as is the fact). But it was not tobe understood by that that the arquebuses and muskets for arming theinfantry should come without powder-horns. That appears to have beenthe understanding, for on the said occasion not thirty pairs of themwere found, and very little powder. All that resulted from those whodespatched those ships not paying attention to what their commandersasked, while they supply them at times with what they do not need orrequest; and other things those persons furnish at their own pleasure, with no care whatever except for the bulk and lump--obliging themasters to receive them on faith, and even on appearances, according towhat is observed here. Those who have made those voyages think stronglythat the standards of measure there should be somewhat less. I hopefor a reform in all this, through the good management and zeal ofthe viceroy, and that he will set a limit to what those who attendto these despatches at the port of Acapulco have done--as also to thevexation and trouble caused to the sailors and workmen of those shipsby examining so minutely the wretched belongings that they carry intheir little chests, and by treating them with more severity in thisthan appears advisable for men so necessary and who work so hard. 

[_Marginal note_: "In the letters that were written you, in the nextto the last and the last despatch before this one, that discussedthis reform and the avoidance of expenses which were made and causedin Nueva España for those reënforcements, you were directed to tryto give special and minute information as to what you have there, and of its cost; and advised that, if prices are so much moreadvantageous than those of Nueva España, those expenses might beavoided. The same thing has been written to the viceroy, while theroyal officials there [_i. E. _, in Filipinas] have been notified tosend a detailed report of the matters of that sort [in which expense]could be avoided. If that has not been done, you shall do it; andwith it those in whose charge are the despatch and provision ofthe ships and the supplies, shall be convinced, and the losses andexpenses repaired. Since you have abundance of all kinds of riggingand sea-stores, and they are obtained so advantageously in the portsand regions of your archipelago, provision shall be made only in thesmaller firearms--that is, outside the _situado_. And inasmuch asthe Council should have the information that is desirable in regardto these matters, you shall always send us a copy of what you writeupon them to the viceroy and royal officials, so that observance ofwhat is enacted in this regard may be demanded from here, and thatthe account may be somewhat better regulated. The other things thatpertain to the excesses that you mention in the preparations in NuevaEspaña have been written to the viceroy, as per the enclosed copy, so that redress may be provided in what is so just. "] [Here followsa note, on a separate piece of paper. [22]]

3d. And inasmuch as I am not confident that the viceroy will bewilling to admit that the appointments of offices and officials ofthese ships from these islands do not concern him, when those who areappointed complete the exercise of their duties on their arrival atNueva España--as, for instance, Don Francisco de la Serna, who isgoing this year as commander; and Don Luis Fernandez de Cordova, who was commander last year, as they commenced to exercise thoseoffices from the time of their departure from those provinces andare returning in those functions through courtesy, and for justconsiderations--the viceroy undertakes to appoint men to those places, refusing to understand as he ought what your Majesty has ruled andordered in this matter. On the contrary, in order to establish himselfin this pretension, he has suppressed the appointments that I sentlast year. Indeed, although he deprived Don Fernando de Ayala of hisappointment, he did not make another appointment, but said that hewas satisfied for that time with that act of jurisdiction. He saidthat he would send me another as commander of the ships--a young man, like those whom he sends as captains of infantry. That would haveresulted in the disinclination of people in this country to send whatis of so much importance [_i. E. _, their cargoes to Nueva España], with the supplies and artillery which I sent--very differently fromthe usual practice, in charge of a man of action and valor, whohas fought very often. I cannot see why the viceroy should wonderat a thoroughly satisfactory person being appointed and sent fromhere, in order to return in such a post, since for a matter of sogreat consideration, value, and importance, it does not seem muchor hurtful that each ship should always have a captain, like thosewhom your Majesty appoints in the flagships and almirantas of thetrading-fleets, with the same preëminences and the right of successionto the responsibility and management of them, in case of the death orabsence of their commanders. For it would be a misfortune, in case oftheir absence, for the relief or the ruin of these islands to depend, on the occasion of a fight or other emergency in which there is needof a leader, on the direction of a pilot or a master, when suitableprovision can be made without any considerable increase of expenseto your royal treasury. If your Majesty be so pleased, and will giveme authority for it, I prefer to do this, even if, in order to givethem some pay, that of the commanders and officials be curtailed;or by seeking another plan and supplying them something with certainaccommodations in their vessels, as might be done better here. The menlevied in Mexico and those provinces might be delivered at Acapulco tothose captains, thus saving the pay granted to the infantry captainsand officers. For most of the latter are not usually very eager intheir service, while their persons and the troubles that they bringare of no little embarrassment to the governors; and perhaps it wouldbe advisable to do away with their banners and distribute the menamong the old companies. That has not been done at any time, bothto place the aforesaid persons under some obligations, and becausethey bring the pay for one year already paid to them. I petitionyour Majesty to order this matter to be examined and considered, and to command me what I am to do in regard to it and to order thesaid viceroy, in accordance with the above, to refrain from annoyingwith that pretension the respectable and deserving inhabitants whosail [on the ships] with appointments to such offices. For thereare men here who have merits and are old residents of the country, to whom these employments might well be given; and others who, although they are not of so much prominence in this country, havebeen and are engaged in the service of your Majesty. Consequently, both for that reason and because of their qualifications, no one oughtto be preferred to them--although there are, besides the aforesaidpersons (who are numerous), a much greater number of others who demandeverything, without right, reason, or justification, and assert thatthey deserve it. They must believe this, by the way in which they getangry about it; for it comes to such a pass that they do not treat oneanother well, as we have just experienced. For I appointed Captainand Sargento-mayor Esteban de Alcazar admiral of these ships that Iam despatching--a man of many years of service (some in Flandes), andmore than fifteen years of residence in this country, whither he cameas captain of an infantry company. He has also served in Terrenate, andreënforced those forts with the supplies that he took in his charge, in consideration of which your Majesty confirmed him in an encomienda, without debarring him therefrom because he was a brother-in-law ofthe fiscal. That relationship, however, no longer exists, becausethere is another fiscal, a man young in years and of little judgment, without services, merits, or any other qualifications to support hisclaims, not even for the office of government notary, which an uncle ofhis resigned. This man has tried to oppose my choice; he has had theaudacity to demand the place, trying to disqualify the appointee witha suit brought by my predecessor, from which the royal Audiencia freedand acquitted him. Although I am certain that he [Esteban de Alcazar]is one of the most deserving of those who might be employed in this, I have chosen to send a sworn testimony in the form of a report(in duplicate), so that your Majesty, if such be your pleasure, may order it to be examined. Although any one might resent havingto furnish an exoneration when there is no cause for the accusation, there is much more to resent here in the accusations which some arewont to write without any justification, and without the matter beingknown; for, by reason of the long time that must elapse before onecomes to have notice of it and the truth of the matter is made known, he has already suffered much in darkness from an evil and unauthenticrelation, and this is the truth. 

According to the news received here of what has come in the saidships, the aid in silver and reals that has come on your Majesty'saccount amounts to three hundred and fifty-two thousand pesos; whilethe supplies that I asked both this year and last come to less thanone-third of the amount that was generally brought in several formeryears--for I am very careful not to exceed what is actually necessaryand unavoidable, in order to save the so excessive expenses which weregenerally incurred in this; since other expenses are not wanting thatrender that saving very necessary. 

The infantry does not amount to two hundred men, in three companies. Ifthese men were that number, and Spaniards, it would not be so bad; but, although I have not seen them, because they have not yet arrived here, I am told that they are, as at other times, for the most part boys, mestizos, and mulattoes, with some Indians. There is no little causefor regret in the great sums that reënforcements of such men wastefor, and cost, your Majesty. I cannot see what betterment therewill be until your Majesty shall provide it, since I do not think, that more can be done in Nueva Spaña, although the viceroy must beendeavoring to do so, as he is ordered. 

[_Marginal note_: "Have the orders held by the viceroys regardingthis collected. All that he says for the benefit of the treasuryis good. Thus I am trying to do on all occasions. In regard to thequality of the soldiers, have the viceroy of Nueva España informedthat they must always be men who have served, and of the qualitydesirable. Those who were boys might be kept in presidios, and inplaces where there is not so great need of experienced soldiers. Byplacing them in other companies and in diverse services, they mightsupply the lack of other persons. Have a letter written to the viceroyof Nueva España, and a copy of this section and the answer to itsent to him. Have him advised to try, at the levy of these soldiers, that no places be given to any but persons who are suitable and usefulfor the Filipinas, for the contrary becomes a useless expense. "]

4th. I wrote to the viceroy last year that if, in any year in thefuture--through any misfortune, or for any other cause or obstaclethat might prevent it--no ships from this country should reach thoseprovinces, he should try to send what aid he could, as is usuallyrequested, especially that of money; so that in case of such a lack, the need should not increase, or the danger caused when ships ofthis commerce do not sail. According to his reply, it seems that theviceroy does not dare assure it, because he doubts whether he canfind ships in the ports of that country for that purpose. 

Desiring to find some plan for the greater facility and less cost ofsending these reënforcements, it has occurred to us here and has beenconsidered a reasonable and feasible means and expedient to have themcome by way of Panama. If your Majesty would be pleased to keep thereone of the two ships that leave these islands for Nueva España, thatwould have very good results, if no obstacles thereto arise which wehave not considered here. 

The advantages are, that what infantry your Majesty pleases can comefrom España divided among the vessels of the trading fleet of TierraFirme, that go to Puertovelo or Nombre de Dios. Their passage and thetransportation of their food would not cost much, and the owners of thevessels might even carry them free for the concession of the registeror permission for the voyage. If they left in due season, nothingwould be lost, nor any soldier either, in the short passage which mustbe made, in order to embark at Panama from Cruces, a distance of fiveleguas. One can reach that place in boats by means of a river. In thesame way, all the things shipped here from España can be transported, thus saving the vast sum generally incurred by the freight charges andcarriage of the goods in Nueva España. This expense is caused by thelong and dangerous road to Acapulco, and the rather long space of timefrom the arrival of the trading fleet at the beginning of Septemberuntil the departure of our ships at the last of March--both in whatthe infantry consume and waste, and in those men of it who are lost. 

There will also be another advantage if your Majesty should be pleasedto locate there [_i. E. _, at Panama] the reënforcements of moneyand provisions for these forts. For if the ships from this country, by any misfortune or other occasion for delay, should not arrive, as many ships as were needed could be obtained there, ready, in whichto send the ordinary and even extraordinary succor that your Majestymight despatch; while in Acapulco there would be no such facility, or even possibility, in addition to the long and most costly voyageof the ships despatched thence. And, according as the despatch fromPanama is considered and regarded, our ships, even if they shouldarrived there one month later, would leave the port earlier, and muchearlier than from Acapulco, since the journey thence here is so safeand short, as experience has already demonstrated. 

By dividing this commerce, and by one ship going to Acapulco andanother to Panama, one would think that, if the vessels' were notmore nor larger, the export or sale of Spanish merchandise would notbe checked; for inasmuch as Mexico would be abandoned in order togo to Panama, the former country would come to have need of España, and would consume as much and perhaps even more than the amount thatwas not used in Panama because of the departure of the ships of thiscountry. It is almost a certainty that no innovation would have tobe experienced because of the way in which, it may be understood, the Mexican merchants have communication with those of Peru and allthe Indias--avoiding the royal duties on what is smuggled. If eachship went publicly by permission from your Majesty to that region, as I have said, the increase of duties would be very great, and therewould be no difficulty in the way, according to the understandinghere--which, I have understood, is also the opinion of this city. Theypetition it from your Majesty, and I do the same, with the desire thatI have and ought to have for you royal service and the welfare of thiscountry. I find myself daily under new obligations to this country, which the inhabitants lay upon me by the willingness with whichthey respond to the service of your Majesty with their possessions, persons, and lives, as I have experienced from many on the occasionsthat have arisen. According to the limit of my understanding, andthat which I have been able to grasp with it in this particular, Iregard the aforesaid as so important to your Majesty's service that, considering the matter in case that it should be necessary for theships to go together, I would regard it as more advisable for both togo to Panama rather than to Acapulco--although I think that the saiddivision is better, and the advantage of the reënforcement of men, and that which that country [_i. E. _, Nueva España] can give easily;for thus results service to your Majesty and good to this country, and apparently not a little benefit to the commerce of España. Forthe products and merchandise of España that are esteemed here wouldbe bought and imported in a much greater quantity with the savingof the freight charges overland, which are so excessive from VeraCruz to Acapulco. The cost of those articles is also increased bythe profit of the merchants who buy and retail them in that country[_i. E. _, Nueva España]. If the merchandise were relieved from sohigh prices as it reaches to in this manner, and if the goods canbe so easily passed on from owner to purchaser without resale, theshipment here of a great amount of the said merchandise and products, and of money less that quantity, is certain. 

Likewise, in addition to the above, if the enemy should stationthemselves on that coast [_i. E. _, of Nueva España], to await the shipsthat sail to Acapulco (as they have already done at other times), where they have captured some of those that have sailed hence, notonly are there not ships at hand ready to go out to fight with themand to prevent them from making such attempts, but not one patachein which to send advice of it out to sea; while in Panama and on itscoast that danger would be more easily averted because there are plentyof ships and seamen there. Will your Majesty be pleased to have thismatter examined and considered so that, after understanding the prosand cons, what is most advisable to your service may be done. 

[_Marginal note_: "Note of what was decreed, on a separatepaper. " [23]]

5th. We are very happy at the good news that has arrived here ofthe favor that your Majesty concedes, to all of us who live inthis country, of sending us reënforcements of soldiers and ships bythe Cape of Buena Esperanza; and I more happy than I could express, because of my great desire for it and my great regret over its lack, in order to demonstrate effectively the desire that I have alwayshad, and have, of employing myself in your Majesty's service. MayHis Divine Majesty so well manage it that, if life does not failme, I shall, with the protection of God, endeavor to employ it tomy very utmost--without my promising more at greater length, for wecan promise much from the hands of His Divine Majesty, but from ourown but little. In order that the successful end of such intents maybe better attained, at the best time, without there being any lack, I petition your Majesty to the utmost of my ability that the sendingof this help, together with troops, be continued for some years--byway of Panama, or by whatever way your Majesty may please--so that theforces which might be assembled with such a fleet as is above mentionedmight not be weakened so soon because of the many men that die here;and that the provision of money be in proportion to the men, and forthe same time. I trust that, with the above, the cost and troubleincurred will succeed, without my endeavoring to excuse myself fromit, or failing to economize and well administer the revenues as wellas other things. The results certify it; for, with less money thanhas entered the royal treasury for many years, I have accomplishedso many works, and have built or bought, in two years only, as manyboats, provisions, and war stores as was done during many years inthe past, and at a much less cost. For I have paid for all these, and of the arrears of debt a very large amount--as, if time allowed, could be seen by the official statements that would be sent to thateffect. However, I shall try to do that on another occasion. I havecome to say this, because your Majesty charges me to be very carefulof your revenues, and as I have a bit of vanity in it, which seems tome not to be the most harmful vanity. I desire exceedingly that themanner in which I manage this matter be known, for there is a greatdifference in faithfulness, in good administration alone. 

[_Marginal note_: "Council. You have already been informed in anotherletter that God was pleased to let the reënforcement be lost becauseof a bad storm. Nevertheless, all possible care is being taken toprepare another. May our Lord be pleased to direct it, since it isso important for the things of His service. By the despatches thatyou will receive from the hand of the castellan Pedro de Heredia, you will understand about the two hundred infantrymen, with whichyour present need will be supplied, until the more important aid ismade ready. Inasmuch as you are advised of other things touching thismatter in the despatch of the said castellan, nothing more will betold you of it, as I refer you to what it contains. "]

6th. For this purpose, very acceptable aid has come to me with thearrival of the factor, Diego de Castro Lison. For the favor that yourMajesty granted him in this--both to him and to me--I kiss your royalfeet with the humility and acknowledgment that is fitting. 

It seems to me that with the commission borne by the above-mentioned, it will be very well if, during his execution of it, he be relievedsomewhat of the many onerous duties of the office of factor; and forthat purpose I shall endeavor to give him the aid and leisure thatshould appear necessary. If the treasurer--who has not yet arrivedand whom I do not know--is such as I believe and have proved thefactor to be, I shall have no need of carrying memoranda in my pocketof what is paid into the royal treasury, as I have done sometimes, even constraining this present treasurer so that he might ordainthat those warrants for whose despatch and payment he did not havemy decrees should not be honored. Consequently, I would not be sorryto see here two or three men for the accountancy of this treasury andfor that of Terrenate; but, although the governors are accustomed tomake that appointment, I cannot find many to choose here. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. With the arrival of the treasurer andthat of the treasury accountant, he is relieved of his anxiety aboutthe matter of accounts. "]

7th. I have equalized the pay of the captains, officers, and soldiershere and at Terrenate, by increasing that of some and diminishingthat of others, as your Majesty has ordered. In order that they mayhave an equal amount of work, and comfort also, I am having part ofthem changed every year, so that their exile may not be perpetual, nor desperation compel them to go over to the enemy, as many havedone. Accordingly, for this reason, and so that the smaller and largerboats, in which the reënforcements are conveyed, may go and come insafety, I cause some infantry to go in all of them. 

[_Marginal note_: "Council. It is well. You have already been informedin regard to this, and it was referred to your prudence and betterjudgment, as you are the one in direct charge of affairs. You shallgive licenses and shall arrange for the passage of the soldiers fromone part to the other in the manner most advisable. "]

8th. The last reënforcement that I despatched this year has beenthe most abundant that has entered those forts since their recovery, especially in money and men; for there were almost two hundred andfifty Spanish soldiers, besides the Pampangos and pioneers, and themen of the two galleys and four ships in which that reënforcementwas taken. Of the latter only one small patache was lost, which isconsidered miraculous here because of what has happened on otheroccasions. But I, although not neglecting to give thanks to God forit, cannot be well satisfied with the result, until I can ascertainwhether the galleys could have gone more quickly and efficientlyto the aid of the patache--although I am told that when they sailedthere was sufficient wind so that they could not fight with a galleoncarrying heavy artillery. I shall endeavor to inform myself of it, and of what the person in charge of the patache did, and what heneglected to do; and, punishing the guilt that I shall find, I shallinform your Majesty of everything. I do not see how the master-of-camp, Don Luis Bracamonte, who had charge of that reënforcement, can entirelyclear himself; for after I had appointed captains and private personsto whom the ships could be entrusted, he committed the one that waslost to an accountant, one Don Alonso Fajardo de Villalobos, whenneither he nor I knew that man sufficiently to entrust such a ship tohim. But until I have heard the reasons on which he based that action, I do not dare to blame him. 

[_Marginal note_: "What investigation you make in this will be verysuitable. You have also well understood the matter, and reason on itin such a manner that there is nothing to add to what you propose, except to await your reply with the suitable execution of it, forthe good example that must emanate from it in similar matters. "]

9th. I believe that your Majesty will already have learned of theoccasion for sending the said master-of-camp to those places, byletters that I sent via India. By them will be seen the causes thatpreceded, and the pressing efforts made by the castellan Lucas deVergara Gaviria, in order that he might be permitted to come here. Ason of Doctor Quesada, ex-auditor of Mexico, a man respected forhis learning and integrity, went to take his residencia. I gave himcharge of one of the companies that I sent to those places and whichhad to be reorganized in them, for that purpose, and because of hisrank, the services of his father, and his wish to follow a militarylife. When the residencia and acquittal are made, I shall informyour Majesty of that also. It will have so much that is good orevil, as the religious shall have aided or opposed him; since theirfriendship is the greatest advantage here, and their hostility thegreatest evil. For if they desire to grant honors, even to one whodoes not merit them, the documents, vouchers, and negotiations aredrawn up as may be desired; and the governor has to give in paymentwhat they demand, even if he be unable. If he do not act thus, woeto him; for they reach him in conversations and pulpit in his mostvulnerable spot, his honor. Consequently, as I know that to be usualhere, I am resolved not to credit what they have written of Lucas deVergara Gaviria; on the other hand, I am meanwhile not sure of thecontrary. I consider him a good soldier, although he has something ofthe harshness of temper that is reported. I also wrote to your Majestywhen I informed you of his coming and of the departure of Don Luisde Bracamonte, asking you to be pleased to send a governor for thoseplaces, for Don Luis said that he would remain there only until thearrival of your Majesty's appointee--a thing that was self-evident, even had he not said it. Had it not been for placing a captain beforeone whom your Majesty had honored with the title of master-of-camp, I would have given those forts in charge to Captain Don Andres PerezFranco, to whom your Majesty, while he was alferez, granted thirtyescudos' pay to induce him to come with me; and I would trust him notonly with those forts, but also with other things of importance thatyour Majesty has in these parts. But I considered the above facts, and his few years as captain, although he has spent many in service;and, on account of his popularity and the excellent proofs of hisintegrity and valor (as your Majesty can learn from the soldiers ofFlandes who know him), I am not sorry--although I would be glad tohave him in Terrenate--to detain him here, as he is one whom I valuemost highly. He has aided me in all that I am doing in your Majesty'sservice, and in the fulfilment of the duties of my office--which heaids in the building of ships and in the repair and equipment ofthem, in all the works and the despatch of ships that are carriedon at the point of Cavite, and in whatever else arises, very much tomy satisfaction and to that of all. That is not inconsiderable, andI assure your Majesty of this on account of my obligations to yourroyal service, and to inform you of those who aid in it, rather thanthrough my goodwill and affection for this gentleman, although theseare great. His mode of procedure constrains me to it. Although I haverelatives here, I shall not inform your Majesty of them, as long asthey do not merit my doing so by their time and experience here. 

If a governor is to be sent for Terrenate, your Majesty will notforget those persons whom I have proposed for that post. They areCaptains Don Diego de Salcedo, Joan Gonçales Corrilla y Santander, who were among the men of best judgment in Flandes when I was there, and of whom I would rejoice to hear news. But if, in another man, to such qualities were united some experience as a sailor, or a tastefor naval affairs, he would not be worse for that; for very gallantdeeds might he done among those islands. 

[_Marginal note_: "The points mentioned in this section are reducedto two. First, you will already have learned about the appointment ofPedro de Heredia as governor of Terrenate. It is thought that you willbe well satisfied with his person, and that he will suitably conductthe public service. Concerning the other persons of whom you adviseme, and especially of Captain Perez Franco, I am informed of his goodqualities. So long as nothing offers here in which to occupy him, you shall take charge of his person, and shall employ him for whatyou think him suitable, for the reputation of generals consists intheir efficient choice of persons, giving to each office what concernsit and what it needs. The second and chief point is concerning thereligious who through their favors and friendships affect the standingof officials, and by altering the truth impose blame on the latteror injure their reputation--reducing [public] affairs to their ownmethods, which has pernicious and evil results. Since you see that, and have experienced it, as you say, it would be your own fault ifyou did not remedy that matter. I leave it to you to do what is mostfitting. What occurs to us to advise you is, not to allow any religiousto make charges or prove the innocence of any government official, unless it should be in some very special and particular case, in whichhis act may have occurred with the knowledge of such religious, andcan be investigated in no other way. You shall observe the same rulein official investigations, in which if the religious do not form apart of the court, certainty may thus be felt that affairs will proceedwith sincerity and truth, as justice requires. This that is told you, you shall impart to the Audiencia in your meeting. You shall endeavorto have the same course followed in the case of the government agentsand other persons who shall conduct similar investigations. Inasmuch asthe interpositions generally made by religious are usually effective, as well as the means by which they intimidate some and encourageothers, you shall take measures, immediately upon receipt of this, to inform the superiors of those religious, so that they may bewarned and advise their subordinates of it, so that they may notperplex themselves or meddle in any case of these secular judicialproceedings, or with claims of third parties. For their occupationdoes not consist in this, but in the contemplative life, and in theexercise of the spiritual activities; and, moreover, the gravestdisadvantages to the service of our Lord result from the contrarycourse. You shall advise me of what you shall do and what you shallhave put into execution, so that I may know what occurs. "]

10th. I have had no other advices of anything new, or of matters ofgreater importance, in those forts [of Maluco] than the above-mentionedentrance of the reënforcements. From the people sent thither, and fromthose who wrote me from Japon, I have learned that the reënforcementwas very timely; for the Dutch had crews of Japanese, whom they hiredwith the intention, as was understood, of attempting with them somedeed of arms in that place, or something else that would have meantevil to our forces and fortifications. 

I was also advised from Japon that a squadron of Dutch ships was tosail thence to run along these coasts, in order to hinder the commerceof the Chinese ships, awaiting and robbing them on their way. In orderto obviate this mischief, I prepared two strong ships, one patache, and two galleys, with which to make the said coast safe. I gave warningto China; and thus, in consequence, many ships and merchants of China, thanks to God, have arrived in safety. That squadron is in charge ofAdmiral Joan Baptista de Molina, a man who has served many years, andwho has served here with especial courage and good fortune. And sinceevery one in this country considers that he is the one who deservesmost, and in order to avoid the punctilios of those who hesitated inembarking and in taking charge of those vessels--desiring, perhaps, under pretext of this to remain ashore--I gave out that the squadronwas to be in charge of Don Luis Fajardo, my brother. Thereupon allfollowed him, and he obeyed the orders of the said admiral, JoanBaptista de Molina, like the meanest soldier of those who embarkedwith him. The enemy must have heard of it, or they must have had moreimportant business to look after, for they did not approach thesecoasts. On the contrary, it has been learned that they lost one oftheir large vessels (than which never better sailed), at the head ofthe island of Hermosa; and that, for the last two years, they haveobtained nothing from this coast beyond the destruction of what hadbeen made for equipment of our vessels, and the loss of the shipsthat have been wrecked. I am thoroughly convinced that opportunitieswill not be lacking in which, coming to blows, they will lose more, if God help us; for their attachment is strong to the profit thatthey claim from these pillagings, as well as from those that theymade in former years. 

Had not the Dutch been so embarrassed by the so ruinous wars that theyhave had with the English, beyond doubt a greater number of vesselswould have come here. According to what I have just heard from aSpanish pilot, whom the Dutch held prisoner, and who escaped fromthe ships that fought with us, those two nations [_i. E. _, the Dutchand the English] were negotiating a peace, in order to be able tocome here with a great number of vessels, or for other advantages tothem. If the ships that I am awaiting with the reënforcements arrive, by God's help, I shall not care when the enemy comes. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. Through your diligence and zeal forthe affairs of my service, I hope that our Lord will grant very goodresults in everything, since the expense and care incurred by thoseregions are known. "]

11th. That ship that I bought at Macan has come, with some freightcharges and duties on goods that it carried. That goes a goodway toward aiding the cost of its purchase and the expense [ofmaintaining it]. The price was eleven thousand pesos, with sails, rigging, seven anchors, and four good cables. I am satisfied with it;and it appears at least to be made of better woods than those here. Itwas made in India, and its burden is more than six hundred toneladasof the Northern Sea. [24]

Contract and agreement have been made to build another ship in Sasima[_i. E. _, Satsuma?] a province of Japon near here. I am assured thatit can be built there very well, and it will be strong and of goodtimber, and very well-proportioned and suitable as is needed for thisline and trade with Nueva España. 

[_Marginal note_: "Since the counsel that you have taken in this matteris very prudent; and since you have been advised in your despatches(which you have already received) as to what you shall do; and sincethe benefit to the royal treasury and the quality of the vessels is sowell known: you shall continue the same plan for the vessels that mustbe built, since, as you have seen in other despatches, the vexationsto the natives occupied in this shipbuilding and the heavy expensesincurred by that construction, are thus avoided. Since you alreadyhave plans for the factory at Terrenate and for the cloves and drugsthat you may get at Terrenate and its adjacent islands, it will bea very efficacious means, in order that the vessels may be cheaper, to send the cloves and drugs where they may have greatest value, sothat with that profit the vessels may be built more cheaply. Afteryou shall have more fully established that advantage to the royaltreasury, you shall endeavor to put into practice the building ofsome boats for the service of the South Sea in Callao, Panama, andthe other ports of Tierra Firme. This alone I refer to you, so thatyou may endeavor from now on to lessen as much as possible the profit[made by others] in this, both in material and construction. "]

12th. The vessel that went to Goa with a quantity of cloves, which Ihad traded for in Maluco and sent there on your Majesty's account (aswill be done whenever possible), arrived safely; and in the same way, was despatched and returned here (thanks to God), bringing slaves forthe galleys and other supplies for the magazines, and the provisionsand articles necessary for your Majesty's service. 

[_Marginal note_. "It is well. In this way continue. In every despatchthat you shall send, you shall not advise in general terms of matterslike this, nor summarize; but shall send a copy of the list of whatcloves and drugs you shall have or obtain in trade; their cost, aswell as the expense of sending them; the price and method of sale; thetransfer that was made, and in what articles and at what price. Andin order that we might have as exact information and account of itas is advisable, you shall inform us, especially and in detail, ofall the aforesaid, so that things of this kind may not be furnishedfrom Nueva España or any other region. "]

13th. I thought that I would send them to those kingdoms, so that yourMajesty might see some cloves from Maluco. Although they are not cheap, they would be a product not often seen in the ports of Castilla, andnot often carried from here. But the majority of the auditors opposedme, thinking perhaps that an oral or written relation would be sentwith them not greatly to their favor. However, the one that I havealready given your Majesty is not favorable to them. I suspect thatthey have learned of it; but I am not sorry for that, as I considerit correct. Or [their opposition may have been] for other reasons, and for private ends. They do not desire me to achieve success, andI would not wonder at that so much, if I alone were the interestedparty. But where your Majesty and your royal service are concerned, such a thing appears incredible of any one who has a good heart andsoul, and is under the obligations of honor. Therefore I would beashamed even to think this, were there not many other causes like thatmentioned, that are similar to it. I could send an account of themin authentic documents, had I more time and fewer occupations. Buthaving to attend to these, not only can I not do more than I am doingin this, but I cannot even attend continually to the Audiencia, or consider many things that they have tried and attempted in itcontrary to the authority and preeminences that your Majesty has givento this office. Many of them I must swallow, in order not to fail inthe affairs of your Majesty's service--which could not be conductedas their importance demands and compels, if one were to give muchattention to these matters which concern personal grudges. For ifone did that, he could necessarily attend to nothing else, becauseas the auditors here have few important matters that oblige them toclose application, they must apply the greater part of their time todevising petty tricks on the president in order to vex and weary him, until [as they hope], not only will he allow them to live according totheir own inclination, but also their relatives and followers shall, in whatever posts they desire, be employed and profited. And sinceharmony has never been seen here without this expedient, one wouldthink it easy to believe such a supposition. Regarding what yourMajesty writes in this matter of posts being given to the relativesor followers of the auditors, there is not much to amend. Perhapsthat is the reason that some are ill satisfied and to such an extentthat they show it not only by inflicting annoyances on the personswho aid me in the obligations of my office and in your Majesty'sservice--because they know that I esteem such men for that reason, and see our gratefulness for it--but in doing whatever can causeinjury, and also in any acts of discourtesy, which are much to beregretted. Such has been the demonstration that they made by publicact when, the chairs of this Audiencia having been carried in order togo to one of the sermons and festivals to which they go here; and thechair of my wife, Dona Catherina Maria Çambrana y Fajardo, having beenplaced behind them--just as is the custom in other places, and as wascontinued here, without exceeding in anything what is permitted to thewife of a president--the auditors voted that my wife's chair shouldbe placed outside, or that they would not take theirs, as did DoctorDon Alonso de Mesa and Doctor Don Antonio Rodriguez. It is a matterwhose telling even causes me shame. Were it the resentment and sorrowof another, I could set it right, by the mildest and most advisablemethod possible. But as it is my own affair, and a matter akin tovanity (from which I believe myself quite free)--for when I havefinished the public acts of pomp and display in my office, I returnto that of sailor, which is the chief thing of this government--Ilay it before your Majesty, so that you may be pleased to provide inthis matter and in other things touching auditors, as may best suityou. [I ask that your Majesty act] without greater inclination to oneside than the other, since this office is yours, not mine; and sinceI shall live in the same manner with or without it, without covetinggreater honors than your Majesty (may God preserve you for us) hasgranted me and grants me in employing my services. 

[_Marginal note_: "After considering what you mention in this matter, it is reduced to the following points. The first and more essentialis that which you mention (although in ambiguous terms) regardingthe trading of the auditors and government employees there, for whichreason they prevented the sending of the cloves. The testimony thatyou send of it does not concern this matter, but only that of thegoods and money that were to be sent to Terrenate for trading. Thatindeed was done in accordance with your opinion. The opinion that youshall hold in matters so worthy of reform you must always send to medistinctly and clearly expressed; for if there are such officialswho commit illegal acts--not only in trading, but in hinderingthe profit of the royal treasury--it is advisable not only for thegreater security of the treasury, but also for the administration ofjustice, that such persons be punished with the rigor that the caserequires. Consequently, you shall do this, sending me informationof what is done in this matter. If any proven guilt results youshall sequester the property of offenders, in order to assure thejudgment. In accordance with this, we are writing to the Audiencia, advising it of what it must do. In order that no official may haveany cause to think that you, of your own accord, are trying to provehim guilty in a matter so grave, you shall be accompanied, in whateverconcerns the sequestration of goods, by the archbishop resident there, in whose person we have the necessary confidence. The second point isthat you will have been informed of all the things that concern theadvantage of the royal treasury. You shall accordingly declare thosethings in the tribunal of the treasury and in the assembly. Thisreply by letter will be your authority, so that you shall neednothing more special than this for whatever may be to the benefitof my royal treasury, and shall procure that benefit by all and anyjustifiable means. The third point is--as you have been informed andinstructed in other letters concerning the purpose of the factory atTerrenate--that all the benefit received from the islands of Maluco bythe enemy is by way of barter; and that so vast profits are obtainedby them in this that these enable them to be on the offensive anddefensive, and convey to their own country the wealth that we see inthe Malucas, the value of which is evident in the armies and otherexpenses that are incurred. From this example, since the expenses ofmy royal treasury are so heavy--inasmuch as the trade is carried ononly by conquest and force of arms--everything is reduced to expense, and nothing to gain. In order to make profit you are advised that thefactory of Terrenate should barter and negotiate, in order that theprofit obtained by the enemy might follow, and more if possible. Andif the natives of those islands see that their property is not takenfrom them, and if they are paid in the ordinary form, they willgrow fond of us and become converted to our friendship. From thatit will be possible to pass to other objects, the chief one beingthe evangelical preaching. Consequently, setting aside the universalgain that might come to the royal treasury for the gain in a specificcase, the chief thing, and one which you are to push thoroughly (orrather two things), is the operation of mines and of factories fortrade. Fourth, that since you have already experienced the utilitythat follows from sending those cloves to the East, and using thismerchandise for other purposes and trade, you shall continue todo so. You shall always send the detailed account about which youhave been advised, of everything that will be of importance in thismatter. Whenever any case of doubt occurs to you in regard to theceremonious observance due your office, send the proposition thatyou shall have made in the assembly, together with what resolutionshall have been made regarding it, so that after examination here, just measures may be ordered; for in no other manner could anydecision be reached without depending on the Audiencia. In order togain time, letters are being written to the Audiencia ordering them, in accordance with what has been done at other times, to maintain withyou, in the condition of affairs at present, the amicable relationsand the respect due your office and person; and to observe toward youand your wife such ceremonies as have been observed hitherto, and asare the custom. When there is any doubt about the matter, I shall beconsulted, so that, having examined it thoroughly, I may provide whatis advisable for the public peace and for decorous relations betweenthe president and Audiencia. (Note for a separate paper. )" [25]]

14th. Although it is my desire to restrain myself in this particular, in order not to drag on this letter to greater length, and forother considerations, certain of my obligations move me to say thethings that I cannot avoid, because I have heard that the auditorsclaim that your Majesty should take from the office of governor andcaptain-general and president, the declaration and trial of suitsthat concern government and war--which your Majesty conceded to him, on account of those which were being tried then, and the disadvantagesthat were experienced in leaving them to the Audiencia. This is amatter from which--even if it pertained to them, by opposing whatyour Majesty has ordered in this matter--it is impossible to dissuadethem, seeking in such things any pretext or excuse to meddle in them, and to embarrass and hinder me in the exercise of my office. Thushave they endeavored to do in many things, especially in one trial, begun here by the master-of-camp against various persons employedfor wages in marine works (who were under the military jurisdiction)because of a conspiracy and desertion that they had planned, and whichthey were ready to execute if they had any one to get their pay forthem for that purpose. This occurred at a time when I, because of apressing need then of men for your Majesty's service, was compellingthe master-of-camp and Aclaras to restore all those to their places whofor ten years back had been removed from them. In their guilt PedroAlvarez, war and government notary, appeared to be implicated. Oneof his friends, an ecclesiastic, named Joan Çevicos, tried to provehimself leader of this affair, in order perhaps to clear him andthe auditors, according to what I understand and many believe. Incomplaisance to Doctor Don Alvaro de Meso, or for other objects, the auditors took it into their heads that the notary of war did notbelong to the military jurisdiction; and that the master-of-camp hadnot the right of first instance in his cause, but that it belonged tome, in order that appeals might go to them. Without what I declared, in accordance with your Majesty's royal decree (which I presented), being sufficient, they hindered me so in it that it was impossibleto administer justice. At last, as I thought that the notary'simprisonment had been long enough--although during his trial he hadno guards who could levy costs on him--at the news that the men andpossessions of your Majesty and of private individuals that we desiredfrom Nueva España were in safety, and that the enemy were waiting, I released him (in part as a demonstration of the thanks due ourLord), among other prisoners who had not been tried, and who had noone to plead for them, whom I also released. Such, then, is the endof that affair. 

[_Marginal note_: "Let them observe the laws and what I have commandedby the decrees that I have given. Advices are being sent to theAudiencia in accordance with this. " _In another hand_: "Have lettersof this tenor sent to the Audiencia, so that they may observe thedecrees of enforcement [_lo acordado_]. Let it be noted that sincethe distance from those islands to these kingdoms is as is known, and the delay and obstacles in the replies and receipt of lettersis the same and in some cases greater, it is commanded and orderedthat he who shall be guilty of opposing what is ordered for the goodgovernment of those islands, both in military and in civil matters, will be punished with the severity and example that the case requires;for it is not right that he who merits it be unpunished in mattersof such importance, involving loss and delay. "]

15th. Also the auditors claim the right of trial and jurisdiction inthe lawsuits of the seamen. That has come to such a pass that whenI ordered that a sailor, one Luys Rivero, should be hanged for anatrocious murder that he had committed--of whose trial and of whatpassed then I enclose a sworn statement--they actually ordered thathe be not executed. That happened on a day when I had left this city, on account of having ordered that on that same day a retired sergeantbe beheaded, who had deserted while under pay and after receivinghelp, and had abandoned his colors at the time of the embarcation;and in order to avoid the intercessions and importunities that theylavish in order that justice might not be done. But this is only apretext of mercy, since punishment, when deserved, is the greatestmercy--especially in this country, where the punishment of offenseswas so forgotten or almost never administered. For that reason, andto lessen my grief over the execution by being farther away from it, I left the city and went up the river. The proceedings of DoctorDon Alvaro de Mesa, in procuring the obstruction of what he and hisassociates had ordered, were of such nature that some clamor might haveoccurred, had not the people been satisfied at the justification of thecase, and had they not had some confidence in me, mixed with sufficientrespect not to lose it on similar occasions, even in my absence. 

[_Marginal note_: "Let what is provided in the preceding section beobserved, and whatever pertains to your office. Thus shall you declarein the assembly, and in like cases. Let the Audiencia observe thedecrees and ordinances given that order the captain-general to trymilitary persons and their criminal causes, just as and in the formruled by the said decrees. Let the Audiencia report why it preventedthe execution of the sentence against that man. "]

16th. If for such things, and others like them, the Audienciapetition (as they are doing) for power to convoke the people, sinceas yet has not happened, and, God helping, will not happen what theysuppose can occur--namely, that I will hinder them from the exerciseof their duties and the execution of such of their provisions asconcern them--let your Majesty determine whether their demand is welldirected. Let your Majesty also consider the evidence and rectitudethat I have, other than they have, for having the greater authorityin matters touching the Sangleys and their Parian; since for thisthey give as an argument that it would be advisable for them to havethat jurisdiction, in order to expel and drive out of the countrythose whom it will need for its quiet and security, so that no otherinsurrection might happen, as in the term of Don Pedro de Acuña--as ifthat did not even more concern the governor and captain-general. Theyhad resolved, a few days before, in the Audiencia, that my reason forordering certain Sangleys to be expelled should be explained beforethem--although I had told the auditors before that resolution thatthose Sangleys and others were known to be wandering and lazy people, without any trade or any other manner of living than that of sowingdiscord, causing uneasiness, and stirring up disturbances; and thatthey had other customs that were harmful and injurious to them andeven to us. I told them that in order to cleanse the country of suchpeople, who are wont to disturb it and even to endanger it on suchoccasions as those of insurrection, I had ordered them to go to theirown countries. Notwithstanding all this, the auditors perseveredin the said resolution. From that one can see what good results areattained with the intention that they show by such a demand; sincethe most certain thing is, that they wish to have the authority overthis people, who are wont to be useful and even profitable to himwho devotes himself to them. 

[_Marginal note_: "Let the ordinance of the preceding section beobserved. "]

17th. The said auditors also claim the right to fill the offices ofthe minor officials in the Audiencia and others, which may be filledin the interim until your Majesty grants them. These appointmentsusually belong to the president. In order to make those appointmentsI took the depositions that I enclose herewith; while they base theirclaim for this on a certain act of introduction which they had made inregard to this, at a time when there was no president. In the absencesof the president, and during the government of the Audiencia, theyhave disused or destroyed many preeminences and decrees in favor ofthe governors and captains-general and president. Finally, they seekall the methods of opposition that they can find, so that, if one wereto judge without looking for the best object, it might be thought thatthey are trying by this improper method and means to pass more speedilyto better employments. I do not know whether there is more than to addthe assertion that, when I called a council and asked their opinions, in order that an entrance might be effected into the province of theIgolotes Indians [26] (which is situated almost in the middle of theseislands), and that it might be pacified and reduced to the obedienceof your Majesty, for the greater service of God and the welfare ofits souls--and, what is more useful, the operation of those mines (ofwhich I shall inform your Majesty in due time)--Doctors Don Alvaro andDon Antonio opposed me; and the latter did so by a method that did notsatisfy all, proposing greater doubts as to whether it could be doneor no, as one can see clearly by the testimony. I am persuaded that, if his wishes and inclinations were not so biased and so ready notto become a good associate, even in what is just, many of the thingsabove mentioned and that I could mention would be avoided. For that andcomplete harmony, it would be of great importance if all the auditorswere not new, as they are. They make more trouble than even arisesfrom the ignorance of their duties, since that does not prevent themfrom presuming that they know everything. For lack of another andbetter remedy--and one from which no trouble would arise--it wouldnot be bad for those who come here to fill such places to be started[in their duties] and to be taught methods and usages by the auditorsof Mexico, at least during the time while they are detained there;for it is a pity to see their deficiencies in this regard, and evenmore the qualifications that I have mentioned in this and otherletters. The eye that was left to us in this Audiencia, whereby wecould see and direct ourselves to the light, God chose to take fromus, by the death of Andres de Alcaraz. We were left with very greatgrief at the loss of so wise and prudent an associate, and at his nothaving had so great prudence at his death (at which time one needsmore) as he showed during his life and government, and in governinghimself; for he died without receiving the holy sacraments. However, one who was sick so long, it is believed, would have often receivedcommunion, since at the end he did not do so. Neither did he disposeof his possessions, which were not few. Of that Doctor Don Alvarode Mesa, probate judge, will advise and inform your Majesty. May Godkeep him in heaven, as we scarcely doubt He will. 

[_Marginal note_: "This section is answered in the preceding ones. Withyour prudence you shall try to direct affairs so that the service ofGod our Lord shall be accomplished, and that the good results thatare demanded shall be secured by your person. "]

18th. With this reason, I again represent to your Majesty and laybefore you, as I have done at other times, that I may die; for evenif my subjection to death were not so natural, and more liable toaccident, as in one who holds offices exposed to the dangers of seaand war, I suffer at times from lack of health; and no matter howpoor may be the head, it leaves a lack in any body. Your Majesty hasno auditors here who can govern, even in affairs of only justice andpeace; for at times they prove deficient therein. Had Don Hieronimode Silva been absent at such a time--as he has told me that he desiresand has requested leave of your Majesty for it--I do not know to whomI could leave the charge of military matters, who would bind himselfto such trouble (and even impossibility) as would be the necessityof obeying, pleasing, and satisfying such leaders. 

Until your Majesty shall appoint persons to the government ofTerrenate or to the position of master-of-camp of this place, who, in such case [_i. E. _, the death of the governor], might act in thiscapacity--providing for it by the usual methods and appointments, or as might be more pleasing to your Majesty--I cannot find here anyperson whose ability for this is equal to that of the archbishop. Heis a man of force, system, and executive ability; and, in my opinion, he will lose nothing of the authority and preeminences of the office, or of the jurisdiction and power that your Majesty might grant him;for I regard it as certain that he would not err in his governmentthrough having less knowledge than the auditors, and in it would makearrangements for greater efforts and aid to military affairs and thosewho engage therein. The latter would be advantaged by him, for evenin this, although it is not his profession, I consider him as havingmore decision and effective energy than the said [auditors] have. 

And that it may not appear that I am in every case speaking of themin general terms (my intention being to tell the plain truth, withoutreserve or any other consideration than the telling of it), I declarewhat I believe: namely, that if Doctor Don Antonio Rodriguez--who isthe latest auditor, and has not much health or maturity of years--hadresided here longer I would trust his executive ahility in preferenceto that of the two others here, whom I do not consider very capable, for the reasons explained in other letters and in this; for as hasbeen seen by experience, he shows himself to be a man of greaterknowledge and prudence, and of great sagacity. However, for a longtime there have been rumors (and not few) that he has been the onewho has disturbed the minds of his associates, writing, advising, and counseling them secretly. But by his not approving the objectof such things, and by his keeping aloof from the others, for thatreason and something of this having been well understood, I do notconsider it as certain or sure; and in other things outside of this(except that it seems to me that he is anxious to grow rich quickly)I consider him as a man of good method, very prudent and well informed, and one who takes pride in appearing to be a good judge. 

[_Marginal note_: "Council. May our Lord be pleased to grant youhealth, so that, having finished your term of office and fulfilledthe hopes that are entertained of your service, you may be promoted tobetter things. Although what is advisable is decreed in this matter, you will accordingly take all the care possible in it. It is to behoped, in our Lord, that He will give you the health that you desireand the fortunate success that is so important. "]

19th. Consequently, I have requested him to take charge of the causeof one Joan Mohedano who was arrested ten days ago for the accusationmade against him of having entered the seminary of Sancta Potenciana;and because there are so few here who could act as judges--some nothaving authority to try this cause, and others having been refusedtherein--it has not been possible to finish it hitherto, which DoctorDon Antonio will do. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. Take special note that such crimes andacts of sacrilege as this demand their punishment in the presenceof our Lord. Accordingly it is advisable, and I order and chargeyou, that in this crime and in others similar--may God forbid theircommission--you shall show yourself, as shall the judges who takecharge of these causes, as severe and rigorous in judgment, and promptin their despatch, as the cause requires. You shall advise me fully, in a short account, of what should be done in this matter, and thesentence and execution of justice therein. "]

20th. As for the other two causes similar to the above, of which I havealso informed your Majesty, I remitted that of Captain Don FernandoBezerra to Licentiate Legaspi; for certain persons, on seeing justicedone in this land, say that it is not justice, but only passion, whileothers say that it is cruelty. Accordingly he concluded and judged it, and freed him. For the same reason, I committed to him the appealto the Audiencia in the other cause of Don Joan de la Vega. Whilethe latter, on my conscience, was more than guilty enough to sufferdecapitation (to which I sentenced him), the same auditors so managedthe cause that at last they did the same thing; they set him free, and condemned Captain Lucas de Mañozca, formerly alcalde-in-ordinaryof this city--who aided me in this cause and others to the service ofyour Majesty--to the sum of five hundred pesos and other penalties, and caused him to suffer a considerable time in prison, and to spendfor other particular objects much time and money. 

[_Marginal note_: "You and the Audiencia have already been answered inregard to this matter, as to what must be done. Now you are ordered tosend a copy of these processes and acts--so that, having been examined, the satisfaction that is proper may be obtained--and of the justicethat has been administered in like matters. " [27]

21st. I am accustomed at times, for the sake of greater assurance, to refer to the Audiencia certain causes and matters that areof importance to your Majesty's service and the obligation ofmy office--some, to one of the auditors, who consults with me inthem; and in some, according to their nature--to ask them for theiropinions. They are generally accustomed to excuse themselves fromall of these, if they do not care to attend to them, and argumentsor reason do not suffice for it. I cannot tell how they are to becompelled to act if reason does not move them, or unless your Majestybe pleased to order a reform in this matter, with the orders thatconcern each one, and what is to be done both in the above and inthe declaration of jurisdictions--concerning which I wrote to yourMajesty quite fully in letters of last year. 

[_Marginal note_: "Observe the ordinances according to the despatchesthat have been sent you regarding this. "]

22d. I have committed the inspection of this country--which yourMajesty ordered to be made by one of the auditors for the consolationand relief of its miserable natives, and of which no memorandumexists as to when it must be made--to Doctor Don Alvaro de Mesa, as he is in better health and more suitable for that purpose thanare his other associates. Although he resisted (even saying that Icould not appoint him), and even gave me other excuses, I think thathe would do it after the conclusion of this despatch of ships, hadnot the commissions come for the residencias that your Majesty hasentrusted to him. Consequently, when he concludes these, if there isnothing else to hinder, or another associate who may then be regardedas more suitable for it, he will have to do it. Yet I petition yourMajesty to have him advised of his obligation in this matter. 

[_Marginal note_: "These inspections are very essential, since theyare based on the relief of miserable persons, and in no way can thecondition of affairs be fully ascertained unless by means of theseinspections; and the most advisable measures can hardly be wellunderstood, if the condition and facts of what ought to be remediedand can be bettered are not known. Hence I again charge you to payespecial attention to these inspections. The Audiencia is commanded toobserve the orders that you shall give in your capacity as president, so that each auditor, when it concerns him, may observe his obligationsand go out on the inspections. " [28]]

23d. On receiving your Majesty's despatch, in observance of your royalorder that was directed to me, I gave his despatch to the fiscal, Don Joan de Alvarado Bracamonte, ordering him to refrain from goingto the Audiencia and from the exercise of such office, and that heget ready to embark. He did so, and when he was ready for his voyageand had placed on board what he had for it, and while he was makinghis farewells preparatory to embarking: he was arrested by the judgeof his residencia, in order that he might give bail for the claimsand appear before the judge; and the property found to be his wassequestered. Thereupon, what he had aboard ship was taken ashore. Icommunicated to the Audiencia your Majesty's royal order to embark, that he had received. It appeared right for him to give bail. Thatand other things were referred to the said judge, to whom I alsoshowed the decree, so that he might facilitate the preparations ofthe said Don Joan and act according to justice. But it must be thathe could not do so until now; for yesterday, when I had come fromCavite, and the ships had sailed--even being outside the bay, sincethey are not seen inside it--the notary of the residencia came to meto say that the judge had now remitted the imprisonment and removedthe guards with whom he had arrested the said fiscal. As if now therewere any resource for his embarcation; or as if one could send him, with his goods, household, and sea-stores, overland on the shouldersof Indians, in order to intercept the ship at the landing-placewhere these letter packets go out! I am sending a statement of thetime when I was informed of it, lest the matter should be forgotten, or in case he should not choose to make this report. As I know him, and here are now recognized the unjust complaints that he makes, that the Audiencia have hindered him in part from the exercise ofhis commission, I deem it advisable that the truth be recounted, without leaving it solely to his relation; for I am sure that hehas not been restrained in anything, and that in this regard theAudiencia has proceeded with circumspection and particular care, asthey also know him. Although to all there his ancient hostility tous was apparent, for which reason the fiscal challenged his judge, the only provision made in the matter was that he be accompanied asshould be deemed advisable by the acts. From them likewise will beapparent the certainty of the guilt of which he has been accused. 

[_Marginal note_: "Have this section filed with everything touchingthe causes of this fiscal; and should there be any letter from thelatter that discusses this point, let a report of it be made whenthis section is examined. Have the governor answered, that we areadvised of this; and that he will be answered in a separate letterregarding this particular. "]

24th. Answering the letters and decrees that I received from yourMajesty just now, in those matters that I shall not have answeredand satisfied in the course of this letter, I declare that I havedone or arranged most or a great part of what your Majesty ordersin them. For I have always been careful to do all that I knew withcertainty; or should consider to be advantageous to your Majesty'sservice, the efficient management of your royal treasury, and thewelfare of this land, without halting therein because of the lackof such royal commands and orders, but not exceeding those given tothis government. Consequently, when I received the said letters, Ihad already suppressed the repartimiento of rice, a thing so unjustand harmful, as they informed your Majesty and as I wrote last year. 

[_Marginal note_: "In regard to what you say in this section, you areto note that, for the better understanding of the correspondence thatis maintained with you, you observe in the future the order that isalways followed. You shall always advise us of the receipt of thedespatches, with the day, month, and year of their date, and alsothe dates of your receipt of them. In its order you shall insert thesection written you; and, after answering it, you shall go on to thenext, observing the same order. By that means, what you have receivedand what you have answered to that particular case can be separatelyand explicitly ascertained, and although, with your good prudence, you shall have enacted certain things beforehand, which are alreadyexecuted, in whole or in part, at the time of their ordering, or youshall have been intending such action, yet you shall advise us ofwhat is ordered and of its fulfilment. That concluded, in a separateletter you shall report, as you are doing, of the other matters thatit is advisable should be understood, in the department and officeto which your correspondence goes, of what is ordered you, and whatyou have done, and the notice of what you say, so that you may beanswered and what is advisable be provided. "]

25th. In the same manner, I have reduced the pay that it has beencustomary to give, of all those who came here with me. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. "]

26th. In Terrenate there are four salaries of thirty pesos. Those whoenjoy them are men of service and merits, both for aiding the governorand for their ability to enter and supply the lack of any captain, orto be entrusted with any post or affair that demands such a person. Iam ignorant of the assignment and origin of these salaries, and bywhom they were made. I shall inform myself of it from the documentsof those forts, and ascertain what people are sufficient for them. Ishall give your Majesty a full account of everything, so that youmay take what measures you deem best. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. Observe what is ordained. "]

27th. The expense incurred in Terrenate, both in the pay and in thereënforcements and other extraordinary demands, is of such naturethat it is very heavy, although according to the account, not veryadequate; and as yet I have not made it so large as your Majestyhas been informed. It is a fact that, without that drainage of menand money, the expenses here would be much less; and we would getalong and live with very small expenditures, and much better. Butit must also be considered that if the enemy enjoy Maluco in quiet, their profits and gains would be very great; and I think they couldconsequently succeed in whatever plan they wished, and whatever theydid would result well. But because they do not possess it, thereis war--in which he will prevail and succeed better who has moretenacity and force, especially on the sea. He who will remain lordof them will be lord of many profits and riches, which can be takenfrom these districts. Inasmuch as this is a matter that demands amore orderly and full treatment, in regard to experience and certainwell considered relations, I shall not involve myself further in it, until I shall be able to do so with these necessary conditions. ButI shall endeavor to do it as soon and as much better as possible. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. Endeavor will always be made toreënforce and protect those islands and your government with theforces possible. But as these are limited, and consumed in so manydiverse occasions and armies in Germany, Flandes, and Ytalia, andother places, it is highly advisable, as has been written you, to becareful in your expenses and in the accuracy of their account. It isalso desirable that you endeavor to work the mines of the country, and to carry on a factory and the trade of cloves and drugs as muchas is possible, so that you may sustain yourselves and may not proveso expensive, as has been represented to you in preceding clauses. "]

28th. I shall also endeavor to tell your Majesty what I shall ascertainand hear about the duties on the cloves of Terrenate and the factory, taking for that the depositions of the Audiencia and of the royalofficials--which I shall not do now, for want of time. In the opinionthat I asked from them some days ago in regard to sending [a vessel] totrade for cloves on your Majesty's account with goods and money that Ihad for that purpose, Don Alvaro opposed me so strongly in everything, that one would think that he considers that the risks are mine andthat it is done on my account (as if the gains were mine), ratherthan for your Majesty's service. However, I sent the goods necessaryfor this trading, because of the gain that results from it and itsinvestment to the royal revenues and the provisions brought from India. 

[_Marginal note_: "Council. You have already been answered as tothis. "]

29th. If it is true, as has been said in regard to these despatches ofships from Terrenate, India, and Nueva España, that the relatives andfollowers of him who made and managed them have profited, now, thanksto God, things are run more openly and honestly, at least in so far asI have authority, and in matters that I can prevent or remedy. That Ido, in such manner that well do my condition and that of my servantsattest it; for the latter live on the rations and clothes that Igive them now, and they will do so until they be entitled to more ascitizens, and not by serving me, or by other merits. Consequently, I can affirm that the offices that my predecessors have given to thecitizens, in fulfilment of your Majesty's orders, I have granted inthe same manner; and have even given them others to which they hadno right, either by custom or royal decree. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well, and I trust that you will governyourself in all matters as I expect from your person. "]

30th. In regard to preferring one's relatives, I have thus far notdone anything that is not strictly in accordance with your Majesty'sservice. Two companies are under one of my cousins and a cousinof my wife, because of their many years of service when I gavethose companies to them. One of them I entrusted with the officeof alcalde-mayor in a place where he was, for an interim of fourdays. Outside of that I remember nothing more in this particular. 

I shall not neglect to tell your Majesty what occurs to me in thismatter, so that you may take what measures in it are deemed fitting:namely, that eight out of ten of the influential men that come herecome with the governors, and the other two in various ways and throughvarious causes, and with honorable intents. Of those other and commonmen who came to retail what they bought there [_i. E. _, in España], those who established a place in order to gamble, and those who cameunder sentence (and these men are numerous), some, because of havingacquired money, try to imitate the men of rank and merits here. Ofa truth there are many of the latter to esteem, and I shall do it, employing each one as he deserves and for what he is suitable. Forthat reason, however, it is not advisable that the number of theinfluential, good and useful men should not continue to increase. Iassure your Majesty that not a few of those whom I brought with mewere such, and some of them of qualities no less excellent than thoseabove mentioned possess. I believe that their deeds will remain andtestify as to that. 

[_Marginal note_: "Observe in this matter what has been writtenyou; and whenever there is any occasion for any of these persons tobe employed, advise us of their qualities, and answer will be maderegarding them. In the meantime, furnish a good example, in your goodlife, discipline, and manner of governing, so that the other people, imitating you, may live as is proper and may obey and observe thecommands given them. " _In another hand_: "It is well. "]

31st. The deeds of Don Luis Fajardo, my brother, will, I trust in God, judging from the road that he is taking, merit not only the honorand favor that your Majesty has given him, with the pay of thirty[pesos?] that he now enjoys (for which we both kiss your royal feetin all humility and acknowledgment), if not even greater favors, such as we his brothers receive and his father received. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. In everything that pertains to you, account of your person shall be taken, as well as just remembranceof the services of your father. "]

32d. In one of the letters and decrees of your Majesty, to which I amreplying, was a memorial signed by Joan Ruis de Contreras, concerningposts, pay, and other things which were represented to your Majestyas unnecessary. Because of it you ordered it to be sent to me forthe restriction of those things. I shall endeavor to observe itwith the circumspection and consideration that is advisable to theservice of your Majesty, consulting on the matter with the Audiencia, the master-of-camp, and the royal officials. Whatever expense theyshall find that can be reduced will be reduced. If I believed thatit could be done throughout without any disadvantage, it would allbe done. But for greater justification I shall make this effort;and if your Majesty shall yet order, notwithstanding what seemsbest here, that it is more advisable to retrench everything, thatwill accordingly be done. Security will at least be given for thesalaries that are not reduced, by the persons who should enjoy them, so that they would be returned if your Majesty did not consider itfitting; or if not, I shall pay them, although I should not do sowillingly. Inasmuch as the salaries of those of all the posts andoffices were not stated in the memorial I shall do so here. 

The sargento-mayor of this camp and city of Manila receives fortyducados of ten reals each per month. 

There are three adjutants, two of whom receive pay of twenty-fourducados per month; while the other serves in the ordinary post ofsoldier, waiting until one of the two paid offices becomes vacant, and on account of meriting more. All are necessary. 

The captain of the guard receives twenty-four ducados of ten realsper month. 

The companies have their two drummers and the ordinary additionalpay but not all of them. 

The reduction will include the companies that lately came new, as that is more proper, in order not to cause the old colors to bedisbanded. But they will not be greatly restricted, if the captainsand officers with their staff have brought a year's advance pay fromNueva Spaña. 

The castellan of Manila enjoys eight hundred pesos per year, orfifty-three ducados of ten reals, and three and one-third reals permonth. If he has an encomienda, in addition to this, as your Majestyhas been informed, it is a very small one. 

His lieutenant receives twenty-eight ducados of ten reals. 

The other lesser officers and soldiers receive the pay of those ofany company of the army. 

The commandants of the forts of Nueva Segovia, the town of Arebalo, and the city of Cibu, receive each thirteen ducadoes of ten reals, plus three and one-third reals per month. Will your Majesty decide, according to the clear statement of this relation, what you desireto be reduced, and the reduction will be carried out, in accordancewith your royal order; and the said effort will be made immediately, in order to assure this expense, as it certainly shall be reducedfrom now on. 

[_Marginal note_: "Join to this section what was written to him, andbring them here this afternoon. What you write in this section hasbeen caused by some misunderstanding. In order that you may understandit better, and that what is advisable be done, three points are to benoted by you. The first is in regard to the number of men who have thetitle of officer. If such offices are those of the old men--that is, those offices that were introduced, and which have always existed, since the creation of the infantry [there], and which have always beenfilled by such men--there shall be no innovation. In case that otherand supernumerary offices shall have been added, this is what you areto reduce, because this number of officers is costly and only servesfor expense and the ambition that there be many to command, and thatthe infantry be in charge of many superiors. All that is contrary togood military discipline. Such is usually tolerated in temporary armieswhen they go out on a campaign, because of the special achievementsand undertakings in which they are occupied, all of which is usualin the training of the militia. In the reductions ordered or made inthe armies of Flandes and other places, this order has always beenobserved. The contrary is bad government, and means debt where thereis no revenue, and causes the accounts to be always in arrears andto be never entirely paid--especially to the common soldiers, to whomthe officers are always preferred. The second point concerns the pay, and what was ordered you by a section of the letter of December 19, 618, and what is contained in the relation of the secretary Juan Ruisde Contreras. The pay of the ordinary officers shall not be entirelysuppressed but only lessened and reduced in accordance with the oldlist; and the increase of pay that has been granted them shall bereduced for the just causes contained in the despatches where thisis ordered to you. In this consideration, also, you are ordered, byvirtue of what has been given you in the said despatches, that if, besides what there might be of this reduction of pay, you should findany pay, even though of those long in service, that is not strictlynecessary, and that will not detract from the necessary defense, it shall also be lessened and reduced, cautiously, as is advisable, in order that the service be made effective, that as much expense aspossible be avoided, and that there be sufficient revenue with whichto pay the active and serviceable soldiers. The third point is whatyou mention concerning consultation with the Audiencia and with otherpersons, in order to avoid difficulties. If this cannot be securedin executing what has been ordered you, and in the rest, it will beadvisable that you speak clearly and not in ambiguous and generalterms--especially stating what those difficulties are, what injurythey cause, and whether they concern the public, or only the privateaffairs of certain interested parties. For to the latter no attentionis to be given, since it is certain that every one is working for hisown interest and profit. Whenever these reductions have been made inarmies and militia, they are resented at the beginning. Everythingis assured, as is advisable, with good management and the executionof what is ordered. Hence I again charge you most earnestly that, inasmuch as this matter of the expenses and revenues of those islandsis paramount and cannot be overlooked, you shall endeavor to preservewhatever is possible, paying heed that the expense of what you shalltake upon yourself does not prove of greater harm than what you aretrying to remedy thereby. "]

33d. I shall endeavor to have the same done in all the expenses thatshould be increased, when their utility and necessity should not beclear and evident, if they are not approved and confirmed by yourMajesty. I shall exercise constant care that the expenses do notincrease in the treasury sessions. I have also tried and shall try tolessen the expenses of the articles that are generally requested fromNueva Spaña, and that can be avoided; for never have fewer things beenrequested than now, as will be seen by the enclosed certifications. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. "]

34th. The most considerable and valuable part of the abundant aid thatyour Majesty was informed was given me in Nueva Spaña, when I camehere, was the soldiers; and of them the most and best, and those whomade the best appearance, were the men that I brought from Spaña. Thegreater part of these, or nearly all, came aided and helped with mymoney, and even with the plate and silver pieces of my household. Ido not know that notice of it should have been given to your Majesty, for one should not charge to you so slight a service to whom all hispossessions, his blood, and his life are due. Consequently, I am notsurprised that this should have been passed by for another. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. "]

35th. The number of tributes will be placed in the titles of theencomiendas, what they pay, the value of their products, and in whatdistrict they are located, as your Majesty orders. 

Your Majesty has some encomiendas apportioned to your royal crown, some distance from here and in a district where their products cannotbe used. That is the most serious thing; for the collectors generallydefraud [the royal officials] by saying that it was a bad year, and that they collected in money. If they confess to have collectedsomething in kind, they say that it was too great trouble to bring it;and they sell it there, as they wish--perhaps selling it at retail toone who immediately returns it to them, and, besides this, harassingthe Indians. On account of the distance, that is not often discovered, and less often can it be proved. And so that your Majesty might havemuch greater benefit from another equal number of tributes, I thinkthat, as the encomiendas of private persons of La Pampanga and thosein other districts near here, which yield a good harvest in products, continue to fall vacant, they should be exchanged for the said distantones; for the latter will not be unsuitable with which to rewardservices. If they have a private person as encomendero, the Indianswill be much better treated, and the tributes will be well collectedand administered, with more justification and mildness. The tributesnear here will result well for your Majesty through the profit on thosepaid in kind, which can come from this bay overland and by rivers, straight to the door of the magazines. It would be better for yourMajesty to have charge of them than the encomenderos, for they areso near the Indians that they never fail to gather in a harvest ofsome kind--either in services, or some other thing. Being so near thegovernor, no collector would dare to treat the Indians badly. Forthe above reasons I think that I shall place this in execution asopportunity offers, unless I am so strongly opposed in this as inother things, that I would be embarrassed in it--although I cannotsee what arguments they would have for doing so. 

[_Marginal note_: "Council. This scheme and method of management thatyou present is excellent, and thus you shall do. In the council of thetreasury, you shall always continue to deliberate on what could be ofgreater advantage to my royal revenues. Thus shall you do and advise, since it will all be so proper and justifiable, as I expect fromyou. You have noted one matter of unjust government, namely, excess[in the collections. ] Accordingly, you ought to censure and punishit, and not permit any officer of justice or collector, whether forhimself or for third persons, to be able to collect in public auction, or secretly outside of public auction, any products or articles thatare owed by tributarios, landlords, Indians, or debtors. For greatfrauds are wont to ensue in that, and the laws punish and prohibitsuch acts as you are advised. For greater justification in the matter, the above shall be set forth as a clause in the patents made out foreach one of these collectors, with a penalty of four times the amountof any excess that they might obtain. "]

36th. All the letters and decrees directed to this royal Audiencia, and your Majesty's orders therein, will be punctually fulfilled, although in the sale of offices, the city declares that it has senta petition to your Majesty with representations of the justice innot diminishing here the little that there is with which to rewardservices. However, those that might bring a considerable price willbe sold, and likewise those that might cause no great difficulty. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. In these matters of difficulties, you shall observe the order written to you in the preceding section. "]

37th. I have heard that some of the reports of services and meritsthat are generally made by order and officially, which your Majestycommands and orders to be made, as is fitting and as is ordered, have been too much exaggerated and favored by the opinions of theAudiencia. By this new system, and by what I am attempting and shallattempt to fulfil, I hope this will be corrected--although sincethe making of these reports is usually divided among the auditors, each one appears to be favorable to his own client. If they agree intheir opinions, this difficulty would scarcely intervene. 

Among the reports made and despatched this year are three, seeminglymost justifiable. One is that of Captain Francisco Moreno Donoso, a man of honorable character, and who, as I have understood, hasfulfilled his obligations as he should--both in peace, where he hasbeen esteemed and honored; and in affairs of war that have occurredand have been entrusted to him. If your Majesty be pleased to occupyhim in one of the posts that he desires, and of which the Audienciaexpresses its opinion, my opinion is that he deserves it, and willgive excellent service. 

I cannot refrain from saying the same in the second report, that ofAdmiral Rodrigo de Guillestegui, for many reasons, especially thosethat have moved me to what I have written your Majesty in otherletters, because of his honored abilities, services, and merits. 

Admiral Joan Baptista Molina has no less, but as much as he whodeserves them most. He is an old soldier, having served from hisyouth, and is as obedient and attentive as when a youth. He deservesthoroughly what is said in the opinion, but I would be sorry to havehim go from here before me, for I am glad to have the aid of soldierswho have always professed the trade of arms. On that account yourMajesty should not neglect to concede him the favor that he requests, for he has also deserved it, as appears from his papers. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. In these relations and reports made bythe Audiencia, charge them in the assembly that they try to make themwith the exactness and integrity that the case requires. Inasmuch asthe importunity and presumption of the parties necessitates at timesthat unsuitable things be said or done, the remedy for that will be foryou to send--in a separate letter, that treats only of this matter--anannual relation of the persons who have had their reports taken undercolor of remuneration for services. You shall say of each one whateveroffers; and here the necessary secrecy will be maintained. Althoughyou have been informed at length regarding this matter, inasmuch asit is an essential point you are again charged with it. "]

38th. On finishing the present despatch, I shall do what your Majestyorders me to do, together with the archbishop, both of us summoningthe provincials of the orders who reside here, and charging them withthe reformation of the matters contained in the section that treatsof this. 

He who made such a relation to your Majesty might have made it morecomplete by saying what is so true, that there are in these orders(in which also there are those of every sort, as in all countries), religious so virtuous and exemplary that if laymen did not divert andengage them in their affairs, they would, I believe, work miracles. Butthey are so importuned that many cannot stay in their cells; nor dothose who go to their cells to disturb them leave them until theynegotiate with them what they desire. It might easily happen that anyone who had received an unmerited favor from their hand, gave pay forit by such a relation, which is the one practiced here. The relationthat I can make for your Majesty is, that there are among them men verypentitent and of most exemplary life, and of great utility for souls;and also others who render vain any merits in one who does not fulfiltheir command and will. If it has been said that they distress theIndians, this is not to be believed of all of them, for most of themat most times respond with great charity and love to the defense ofthe natives of their districts, even when the latter are of such anature that almost all do not care to have this protection. 

In what pertains to your Majesty's service, according to what Ihave experienced, I can say that thus far all the orders--each onein what concerns it generally--have often responded well, for whichI render them many thanks. The fact is, that since that does notkeep them satisfied in all matters (for that is impossible), I havefound the secret for this particular, namely, to refer everything tothe religious of the district where such [_i. E. _, personal, by theIndians] service is rendered to your Majesty, making them masters andintermediaries in the pay, which takes precedence of all else, as Ihave done. Everything is executed in a wonderful and perfect manner;but without this expedient, there is nothing to hope, but rather thereverse. For anything that the religious do not wish cannot be done, by any means or method; for no one has any influence without them, except themselves. In my opinion, and that of many, they are lordsin the temporal and spiritual affairs of the Indians, both men andwomen, and even of the Spaniards. There is no one who can opposeor who does oppose them, for there is no one from whom to obtainredress, not only in such things, but in regard to the complaints ofIndians. For the provincials and superiors have before their eyesthe end of their offices, and the necessity of their returning tobe inferiors. Consequently, so long as your Majesty furnishes noremedy--either by your order that some superior should be sent whowould not have to remain here afterward without acting as superior;or by giving authority to the bishops of those districts over theministers of the missions--it must continue forever as hitherto. Wellmight Maestro Don Fray Diego de Guevara tell the little rigor thatthe provincial of St. Francis displayed toward certain friars wholost respect for him--among whom was one who went for the bishop witha sword and dagger, as if the right of each one was to lie in sucharmor. I have heard that he drew up a testimony in order to give yourMajesty an account of it, and also of what little need there is fora bishop in his bishopric. 

I can also tell what happened to me with this same provincial, when, on the arrival of the morning of holy Thursday, I freed Pedro Alvarez, government notary--who is said to be some relative of his, and whowas arrested on the charge of that desertion of which I have alreadywritten your Majesty in the present letters, telling you that I wouldhave recourse to the judge who tried his cause. He succeeded in makingthe provincial resolve, and decide obstinately as to what he had to dofor him, or had to preach of me, just as he pleased. He fulfilled it, as a man of his word. Although it was not much, it was so uncertain, that his conscience obliged him, according to what the other religioussay, to retract it publicly in another sermon. This is Fray Pedro deSant Pablo, one of those considered here as a most holy man. I thinkthat he must be one. 

As appears, by his protection and by that of Fray Joan Baptista ofthe same Order of St. Francis, Pedro Alvarez resolved to have me toldthat, unless I determined to give to his office the distribution ofthe Sangley licenses, he would write [information] against me. Thatthreat did not give me any anxiety, but such audacity made me angry, as did the fact that those fathers had given hospitality in theirhouse for it, if not for my being a magistrate, at least for what Irepresent, and since this is the royal patronage. But the latter ishere regarded by them as nothing. Then they draw copies of what mypredecessors in this government thought. 

[_Marginal note_: "Ecclesiastical council. In regard to this matterof the religious, in another section what has been written you isthe order that you must observe; and to the Audiencia, so that theymay order that in no case shall religious be admitted as witnesses, except in the manner ordered. The same has been said in regard tothe insertions, so that like things or matters may be embarrassed inno manner. Thus shall you fulfil the order. In accordance with this, general letters are being written to the provincials of the orders, which will be given them by your hand. In regard to what you say hereof the sermons, and that the religious reserve approbation or reproof, with censure or gratefulness, for the persons whom they wish, this isprohibited by different general laws, councils, orders, etc. In someof their own special rules, a penalty is assigned them, among others, of reserved excommunication [29] to the [_MS. Holed_]lation. Thus shallyou be advised of this, so that you may govern yourself accordingto the matters that arise; and you shall inform those fathers. Youshall endeavor to avoid the trouble caused you by what you say inthis section, and shall reduce matters to plain and open terms, sothat what you say at the last shall not contradict what you say inthe beginning. Have general letters written to all the provincialsof the orders, who already know that it is forbidden under the mostsevere penalties by divers councils, canonical rules, orders, laws, etc. , and by our decrees, for preachers to censure the governmentin the sermons that they give to the people or in conversation withprivate persons, or to speak evil of their ecclesiastical or secularsuperiors, by censuring their management or action, in order that thepeople or private persons may not cast discredit on their superiorsand be scandalized. Neither shall they meddle or interfere in secularaffairs; but shall continue in their seclusion, and in the observanceof their vows, as they are obliged. Inasmuch as it has been learnedthat, contrary to the tenor of all this, and to the serious harm of theadministration of justice, many religious and preachers, and otherswho hold special offices transgress against the above rules, fromwhich results odium cast on the religious, factions, the intimidationof justice, the reduction of affairs to their way of thinking and totheir will, and other great annoyances, which they cause continuallyunder pretext of insertions, importunities, and impositions hiddenunder the name of charity: I charge and warn you to take particularcare that the religious of your order and you, in what concerns you, observe the aforesaid, and they likewise. They shall not transgressin proceedings of that sort, for such things being so, it will benecessary to use other and more special remedies, as has alreadybeen called to your attention by the said decrees despatched to theviceroys, audiencias, and governors of their districts. I expect fromyour devotion, and from your obligation for the continued kindness thatis shown you, that you will endeavor to inculcate the reform and propermethod of procedure in this that is required for the good governmentof those islands, and the preservation of the public peace. "]

39th. In order that your Majesty may know what this Pedro Alvarezdemands, I shall relate it here as briefly as possible, referring youto the report made concerning it (which is enclosed with the licensesof the Sangleys), since these licenses have been given in writing here, many years since [30] the imposition or tax of the eight pesos, fordistribution by different persons to whom the governor committed it, or whom he appointed. Of these the Sangleys paid two reals for thecost of the document, whether printed or written. The notary, judge, interpreter, and other agents who made this distribution, accordingto the order of the judge himself or of the governor, were ordered todistribute them. In this the government notary never had any hand, share, or participation. Many years after the payment of the eightpesos which were collected for it, and slightly before the death ofDon Juan de Silva, Gaspar Alvarez, then government notary, petitionedthe governor to allow him to countersign them after the former hadsigned them, in order to get hold of it. This is the same thing thathis nephew demands now. Don Juan, who was under many obligations tohim, and was by nature very liberal, did not hesitate to concede itto him. Consequently, Gaspar Alvarez countersigned the licenses bydeclaring that he did so. I do not know why so special a commissionas this should belong to the government notary--especially when, because he may be busy or for just reasons, the governor does notsign them, and entrusts them to a trustworthy and qualified personwho signs them. For if this had to be given to the charge of thegovernment notary, although from the division of the two reals hewould get only the third, which would amount to five hundred pesos, besides another four hundred that he demands annually from the royaltreasury, by arguments that moved them at a meeting of the treasuryto concede them to him--but which I abrogated because it did not seemproper, as I have advised your Majesty before now, from which hasresulted that anger of his--the whole would amount to nine hundredpesos of sure income, which means a principal of eighteen thousandpesos, although it only cost seventeen thousand, for which yourMajesty sold the office to him. The office yielded [_MS. Holed_:last?] year, without counting these nine hundred pesos, more thantwo thousand five hundred. In other matters pertaining to this, I refer to the report that, as above stated, in enclosed herewith. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. Have the fiscal examine thissection. " _In another hand_: "It was taken to the fiscal. "]

40th. I had already made a beginning in what your Majesty orders tobe done in the opening and working of gold mines, as I was desirousof obtaining such an order by authority, with excellent news. What Ican impart of it is the news written me by Captain Garcia de Aldana, to whom I entrusted it. [31] Consequently, I am sending his letterand a copy with this, and his duplicate, in which he adds that theyhave greater hopes than those that we promised ourselves from themines, since we had to continue the entrance into those provinces, and endeavor to enjoy the fruits of our labor, with the pacificationand reduction of so many people to the service of your Majesty, and their souls to the service of God (which is the thing ofchief importance). If all cannot be obtained at once, it is wellto have already made a beginning, and that it shall continue toadvance. Touching the gold, it cannot be little, since those Indianswho are called Ygolotes do not extract more than what they needfor trade and barter--for cattle, salt, and iron--with our peacefulIndians with whom they trade. One year ago, from that province alone, according to the report here, the latter brought for sale to thiscity about twenty thousand taes, each of which is equivalent toa peso of ten reals. When we secure efficient management of thesemines and the duties from them, it may be that they will help inmany expenses. That I shall do this with as great energy and force aspossible, there is no doubt. The fathers of the Order of St. Dominichave assisted me greatly in this; and those of St. Augustine, in thisand in whatever has offered in the service of your Majesty. For whatI owe in all this, and in order to declare the truth in all things, I certify this to your Majesty. 

Although the fathers of the Society have no missions in those provincesnear there, they supported very well by writing and speech the reasonsand just rights that we had for making this entrance, so that no onedoubted them--not even the members of the Audiencia, as I have writtento your Majesty in this letter. What I can say of the Jesuits and theirdevotion, system, procedure, and prudence, and their gain of souls, isthat they differ in no wise from what they are and do in those kingdoms[_i. E. _, España and Portugal], and in those where they exert themselvesin the conversion of new Christianities. For that reason, and becausethey do not return [to Europe] daily, as do others, it will be a goodthing for your Majesty to grant them the religious that they request. 

The discalced Recollects of St. Augustine also help toward the sameend of the pacification of the said provinces. I have known naught buthumility among them in all things hitherto, and they do not meddlewith the government of what does not concern them; nor do they doanything else outside their profession--offering to take charge ofcertain missions on the entrance into Ytuy, which lies on the otherside next the missions of the Ygolotes. I bear them in mind and willtry to act in concert with them by this same path, God helping. MayHis Divine Majesty, as He is able, bring it to pass so that they mayknow Him as their God, and your Majesty for their as well as our king. 

[_Marginal note_: "Ecclesiastical. "]

41st. Thanks to our Lord, this country is peaceful and prosperousin other things. The native vassals are orderly and full of courage, and those who were living in the forests have been reduced to theirsettlements and missions, being very confident that their possessionswill not be taken from them, and that no repartimiento or [_MS. Holed_:edict?] will be made among them, or that any other service willforce them to flee or to be made slaves, in order to make them renderservice, as has happened to innumerable of these poor wretches; forthey hope that what I have done hitherto to relieve them from so manyburdens will be continued. If I avail myself of their services in anyunavoidable and necessary labor, I do so, by paying them beforehand, saving the money from other things for it. Consequently, they nowrather desire the opportunity to earn money by their services or theproducts of their fields, which now they reckon and hold as theirown. I trust that, with divine favor, this will go daily from goodto better, and that everything will succeed in the same way, untilacts of injustice to these poor wretches will be avoided. AlthoughI was taking delight in doing thus, now I am very happy, for I havelearned what your Majesty desires, and that you commit this to me. 

They and we are so well supplied with churches that inside thiscity and about one legua around it, there are thirty of them, unlessI have counted wrong; and of those not three are of other materialthan stone, nor are there as many others that fail to cause expenseto your Majesty and labor to the natives--and this in one legua aboutthe city as I have said, in a semicircle, which is even not entire, for the other half falls within this bay. I have not resolved beforenow to inform your Majesty of it, because I hesitated, on the groundsthat our Lord would be just so much better served by the increase ofchurches, and these Christians would be better governed. But since yourMajesty is discussing the limitation of this, I cannot refrain fromanswering you with the plain and naked truth. Well do I know that thisand the other things that I have related have not [_MS. Holed_] me, because I am already advised of it; and [_MS. Holed_] resolution andexecution of many, among whom are some who have issued a proclamation[for the services of the Indians?], while it was prohibited, for anyonein the world, not only of their profession but also for seculars, to issue one. But considering as surely slight any peril that willresult, if revenge is to be taken on truth as truth, while, on thecontrary, the neglect to tell the truth will result in great risk, I am convinced that I am doing my duty in this. [32] If they shouldsay that I am a very good governor, your Majesty does not excuse mefrom my residencia for that reason. If they should say that I am veryevil, I petition you to hear us all, and that you will pardon me forsaying this which was unnecessary. 

[_Marginal note_: "Ecclesiastical government. You mention somethings in this section which it is advisable for you to understandthoroughly because of their gravity and for their better management, as follows. What you say of the good treatment of the natives, andof the burdens and evils that come upon them, is excellent. Endeavorthat what you think best be carried out in regard to their services, relieving, consoling, and comforting them by good works, equity, andadministration of justice, taking their cause _ex officio_ against themore influential and powerful who [_MS. Holed_: oppress?] them. This, being to the service of our Lord and good government, will give a mosteffective example and method for the reduction of the rest of thenatives of those islands, and their incorporation into the Catholicchurch and our government. Accordingly endeavor to do what you haveso thoroughly understood, and live with the prudence that the matternecessitates. Inform yourself by all means of what is being done, and of the fruit that results from it. No church or convent, noteven a chapel, ought to be, or can be, founded unless concurrentwith your permission, and that of the Audiencia, together withthat of the ordinary. You shall demolish and reduce to its formerstate what should be done in violation of this, for the contrary isdisobedience, spoliation, and offense; and it is not proper thatreward, or permission to contradict what is proper, should followfrom such assumptions, and that the insolent shame by their licensethose who are obedient and modest. The number of churches that youmention seems great, and there is excess in that, about which it isproper to be cautious. For few churches, well served and endowed, are advisable and are sufficient, while from a great number of themsignal disadvantages arise. You shall take note of all this, forreligious zeal, when unaccompanied with the knowledge and prudencenecessary, becomes excess and disorder, and a matter for troubles, which will be avoided by seeing that the churches are established inthe manner above mentioned. "]

42d. One of those of this profession, named Pedro Leussara, has beenarrested on the petition of parties whom he has greatly offended, by word and writing, in the most vital part of their honor--andwithout proof, as will be seen by the writ. In this matter, if naturalinclination frees from guilt, he will have to remain free. 

[_Marginal note_: "It is well. "]

43d. A ship just now in from Malaca brings as news that it was knownthere that the Dutch and English were already allied; but when therelief that we are awaiting arrives, I hope, with Divine favor, for better results. May our Lord give them to us, as He is able;and may He preserve the royal Catholic person of your Majesty, asChristendom needs. Manila, August 15, 1620. 

[_Marginal note_: "War. It is well. You have already been advisedconcerning this. "]

44th. While about to direct these despatches, so that they might crossover to Mindoro--where the ships generally stop in order to lightenand get sailors for their voyage--I am told that the ships had noteven been able to double the island of Fortuna, because of the violenthead-winds, which have continued there with so great force; and alsothat [_MS. Holed_] from China, which, although it is more than onemonth since they left, have not had the weather to enable them toget entirely free of the shoals and promontories of this bay, whichis in [_MS. Holed_] the greatest difficulty. I trust, God helping, that the weather will moderate, for the sake of all. 

_Don Alonso Fajardo de Tença_

[_This belongs to the second section_: "Have a letter written tothe viceroy of Nueva España, enclosing a copy of this section, and advising him at the same time of what is being written to thegovernor. Having informed himself of these disorders and lack ofgood management that have been observed in the government agentsand persons who take part in that despatch of ships, he shall beadvised that he must investigate and punish it. What results fromthat is being awaited for public example, which is so necessary, and for the better despatch of those ships. Inasmuch as both theremedy and the punishment are to be included in this investigation, you [_i. E. _, the viceroy of Nueva España] shall endeavor to procurethe execution of this with the earnestness demanded by the matter. Inthe future very trusty men shall be appointed, namely, men who donot commit the offenses and disorders so strongly prohibited. Thevessels particularly shall sail very lightly laden, and in the ordermentioned in the preceding section. Inasmuch as I understand that whatthe governor notes in his letter about sending unnecessary and costlythings has been remedied, you are again charged to send a detailedrelation every year to the Council of everything sent [to Filipinas], so that we may know what articles and products are sent, their prices, and whether they contain any things mentioned by the governor. Itis a serious matter, and one that heavily charges your conscienceand the reputation of the officials--who in that matter are awarethat it is declared that in order to burden the royal treasury andto give advantages to third persons, opportunity is given for suchactions. The service that you would perform would be very gratefulto us, if you would advise us immediately of the condign punishmentof any official guilty of such an offense; for it is a great offensefor those who are placed in offices to protect the royal treasury, and to benefit the public cause, to convert the exercise of theiroffices into all manner of wrongs like this. "]

[_Note to section 4_: "Have a copy of this section sent to the[India] House of Trade. State that although the matter there mentionedhas always been considered harmful to the general commerce of thesekingdoms; and although the silver which must come here from Peru wouldin great part, if not all, be taken to Eastern Yndia, and deliveredto our enemies, whereby two wrongs would ensue, since the Filipinasserve only as a station and bridge: still we have considered whetheradjusting the matter in the following manner would be a suitableexpedient, and one that would avoid all the troubles mentioned. Thatthe reënforcements be sent straight to Filipinas from Panama, sinceit is a road so sure and favorable; and also, as pointed out in thissection, one could take the merchandise from España that would beuseful and valuable in Filipinas, with which the blessing of thistrade could be enjoyed; and that the soldiers could sail from Españauntil they should disembark for the short journey from Chagre River toPanama. In order to avoid any silver from Peru being taken in thesevessels on their departure to Filipinas and so that the merchandiseof those islands might not be brought to Peru on the return trip(which is forbidden), it shall be ordered that the return tripof those ships be to Acapulco, as now--prohibiting them under anycircumstance from returning to Panama, Callao, or any port of TierraFirme; and so that these boats should not remain [idle] in Acapulcowithout making a voyage, they might be used for the voyage to Peru, because of the permission that has been decreed for the preservationof mutual correspondence and trade between Peru and Acapulco. Theyshall advise us of their opinion, so that all expedient measuresmay be taken. Likewise have all the matter bearing on this in thePeruvian secretarial office collected, so that, upon the arrival ofthe relation from Lalasa, the most expedient measures in all thingsmay be taken, and the [present] section of this letter answered. "]

[_Note to section 13, which these decrees concern_: "Have a letterwritten to the Audiencia telling them that inasmuch as it hasbeen learned that some government officials, both lawyers andclerks, notwithstanding the prohibition decreed by royal acts, laws, and decrees--forbidding them to trade or engage in business, buy, sell, or lade vessels, themselves or through intermediaries, under the penalties contained in the said laws, acts, and decreesagainst all the aforesaid--secretly and clandestinely, under cover ofintermediaries, make confidants of certain persons, so that, by meansof the said trade, they not only become rich but prove an obstacle tothe benefit of the royal revenues, besides causing other evils whichare not mentioned because they are well known: for the correction ofall this it has been commanded and ordered that if any of the saidofficials should be guilty of like transgressions, the president andgovernor and captain-general of those islands shall investigate andverify the aforesaid and send us a report, so that, after examiningit, justice may be meted out and the fitting remedy applied. Whenthe said investigation shall prove guilt, we have ordered the saidpresident by an act, to sequester property, and to be rigorous inthe sentence of this execution, according as we decreed it, and inthe form ordered. In order that you understand this, this decree isdespatched. " _In another hand_: "Despatch a decree to the Audiencia, so that if there should be any mutual doubt--whether any on the partof the president toward the Audiencia, or on the part of the lattertoward the president, concerning the matters of ceremony that must beobserved toward the said president and governor and captain-generalof those islands and his wife--in such case, the claims of eachside shall be considered with the modesty, gravity, and promptnessthat are desirable; and I shall be advised of the result, so thatafter examining it I may decree what is expedient. And inasmuch astime spent in such matters is not only the loss of time necessary forother things, but also the causing of certain rivalries harmful to thecommon welfare; and inasmuch as under this pretext they are accustomedto revenge themselves for certain causes of anger: in order to avoiddisturbances from persons who are obliged to give so good an example, I thus also order and command, and desire that you understand that, together with decreeing what shall be expedient in such matters, Ishall order that he who shall be at all guilty of this, or who shouldviolate customs or make any demonstration at public celebrations thatis observed, or who leaves the body of the church or the public placewhere he ought to be, be punished severely and exemplarily; for thatvery thing serves as a scandal to the public, and a bad example toall, and these acts would arouse mutual enmities, to the harm of theroyal service. "]

[_Note to section 20_: "Have a letter written to the Audiencia sayingthat inasmuch as letters were sent to them in regard to these mattersin the despatch of a former year, on such and such a day of such amonth and of such a year, a section to the following effect (hereinsert the section). And now it has been learned by a letter fromDon Alonso Faxardo, present governor of those islands, that thosecriminals have been set at liberty; and, in order that what happenedin this matter may be understood, it is ordered that you send acopy of the records, together with the part of the fiscal, with amemorial collated by him of all that results from the deed; so that, having examined it, the expedient measures may be taken, and thatthe condition of everything may be understood. The memorial and therecords which shall be remitted shall be communicated to the governor, so that if there should be anything of which to advise, he may do it. "]

[_Note to section 22_: "Have a letter written to the Audiencia anda copy of it sent to the governor, in which mention shall be madethat although it has been ruled by royal ordinances and decrees, andby other divers letters and orders, as to those things which must beobserved, and the official visits to the natives in all and whatsoeverparts where there are missions and where justice is administered, this is not obeyed with the exactness required by the case; andon that depends the relief and compensation of the poor, and thepunishment of those who live licentiously, or make bad use of theiroffices. The visits were introduced for the consolation and relief ofthe natives--not only on that account, but in order to ascertain thecharacteristics of each region, and the products and articles that canbe produced in them and carried in case of need to any other region;and in order to take what measures may be advisable for justice andgood government. It has been learned that this has not been done withthe exactness required, and that on account of the personal occupationand toils that generally accompany it, you excuse yourselves and stateother objections, in order not to make those visits; but I order youto busy yourselves in them, in accordance with the order that shallbe given you by your president, Don Alonso Fajardo, who shall adviseme of what shall be done in this. You shall take very special careto send a minute copy of the findings for the districts visited; forthus it is advisable for the good government and for the informationthat must be had of affairs there; and so that what has been orderedfor the benefit of the natives may not be converted into mischiefand burdens for them, especially since that land is pacified. It isordered to you that, in going to make the said visits, you observethe order decreed, avoiding followers and retainers. And in orderthat we may have the satisfaction necessary from this, when you senda relation of the said visits, you shall send one of the men whomthe visitor took with him, and an account of what occurred in this. "]

Letter from Felipe III to Fajardo

The King: To Don Alonso Faxardo de Tenza, my governor andcaptain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royalAudiencia residing there. The letter which you wrote me on the tenthof August of the past year has been received and examined in my royalCouncil of the Yndias; and the resolutions adopted in regard to thematters discussed therein will be explained to you in this. 

You say that Francisco Lopez Tamayo, on account of his many years andill health, has left the office of accountant which he occupied, andthat you have appointed in his place Pedro de Lenzara, as he appearedto you a suitable and intelligent person. In filling this office youhave used the care and attention which the matter demands; accordinglythe appointment will remain with [him as] a person competent forthis employment. 

You inform us that in a council held in the time of your predecessor, which consisted of himself, the auditors of the Audiencia there, and the officials of my royal exchequer, it was decided to give, distributed among them and the archbishop of the metropolitan church ofthat city, and other officials of the said Audiencia, three thousandfour hundred fanégas of rice at the price at which my tributes aregiven to me; and when you saw that they had not my order for this, you ordered that the said grant of rice should not be continued, andthat what had been received should be restored if I did not decreeotherwise. In this order, and in discontinuing the four hundred pesoswhich were given to the governor's secretary, you have done well, and this action was advisable, and conformable to justice; and youare to understand that, if there are other affairs of this kindbeside those which you have pointed out, they are to be corrected, and an account of everything given to my fiscal, so that in respectto them he may fulfil the obligation of his office. 

You have done well in having ordered that the money from the treasuryof property of deceased persons in that city--which used to be takento the treasury at Mexico without benefit in the property for theirsouls or their heirs, being divided or invested by order of the courthaving the jurisdiction in such matters--should be placed in my royaltreasury and be paid in the said treasury of Mexico from the moneywhich on my account is to be sent to those islands. What you havedecreed in regard to this is just and expedient; and as for whatyou mention in regard to the proceeds of the bulls, you will do thesame if the circumstances and conditions of their collection allowof it. You will act according to previous directions. 

You say that the licentiate Andres de Alcaraz, my auditor in thatAudiencia, wished to go to Mexico last year in the ships which leftthose islands for Nueva España; and that, he did not do so becausehe was sick, and because of your urgent request that he should notdesert the Audiencia until the other auditors thereof should becomeproficient in the despatch of business and the duties of their offices, on account of the lack of harmony among them. As it is fitting thatthose things which you mention in general terms should be explainedin detail, you will advise me what they are, and in regard to whatpersons, since as president of that Audiencia you are in duty bound togive the information, so that, having been considered, provision may bemade according to justice; and in the meantime you ought to correct andwarn them in such manner that all shall be peaceful and that scandalshall cease--for this is the sole cause of bad government, of justicelosing its prestige, and of those who are appointed to remedy evilsbeing the authors thereof. In order to do away with this, I have hadletters written to the other auditors (a copy of which is sent you), warning them that they must be subject to your person, and maintainthe respect and ceremony due to you by virtue of your office. Of therest which you mention in that clause I have been informed. 

As for what you say in regard to not considering it expedient for myroyal service that the order which I have given should be executedwhich directs that, on the death of the governors of those islands, the duties of the office of captain-general should be exercised bythe oldest auditor of that Audiencia; and what seems best to youto provide in this matter in order to do away with the difficultieswhich might be feared if, the licentiate Andres de Alcaraz being gone, the licentiate Jeronimo de Legaspi should enter upon the said office, as he is the next oldest auditor, considering the scandal and evilexample with which he and his son, Don Antonio de Legaspi, are living:may God be pleased to grant you health, so that this thing will nothappen which you wish to anticipate; and for this office there arealways persons appointed, and therefore you need not be anxious aboutthis. Since you show so much dissatisfaction with the said licentiateJeronimo de Legaspi, and he and his son have conducted themselvesill, you will make such investigation as seems most fitting to you;and with the results thereof you will prefer charges against him, together with his answers thereto, and send them to my Council, sothat, having examined the documents, they may provide a remedy. I sendyou a commission for this with this letter, and you are warned thatyour principal duty as president is to watch and be attentive to themethod of procedure of every one of the officials who are dependents ofthis government. With which I charge your conscience, and warn you ofthe account which you have to give to our Lord therefor, that you mayproceed in a manner not to intimidate justice, nor to propose anythingwhich shall not be purely for the service of His Divine Majesty, andthe relief of your conscience and mine. Accordingly, let it be notedthat you favor your friends with commendatory reports, or injure thosewho are not so well disposed to you by accusing or censuring them;for, considering that there is no other person there in whom thistrust can be placed except yourself, this warning is necessary. 

You recount the service of the licentiate Don Juan de AlbaradoBracamonte in the office of fiscal of that Audiencia, and theconfidence that you have in him. As I have decreed what has appeared tobe expedient in regard to this man, and you will have heard thereof, I have ordered him to be investigated on account of the continualcomplaints I have received in regard to him. I warn you, as in thepreceding clause, that you shall proceed in these reports as justlyand cautiously as is necessary, considering the account which you mustgive to God of them; and before you make them you should considerthem with the great attention which I confidently expect from you, on account of the injuries which would follow if this were not done, both to the welfare of the people and to yourself. 

What you say in regard to the affair at the seminary of SantaPotenciana, and the investigations which were made in regard to it bythe licentiate Jeronimo de Legaspi, concerning the persons who wereguilty, and the state in which its lawsuits were, may be reduced tothree points. The first, which concerns the seclusion which ought tobe maintained in this seminary, is of the gravest importance; and itis necessary that there should be special care exercised in regardto its prudent management, its reception-rooms, and doorkeepers, and especially the porters. To this end it would be desirable toinspect the said seminary often, and that its superior should placeonly approved persons on guard in the house and residence of thosewho are inmates, so that it may be as well secured and safe as isright; and that with its inmates, if they are guilty, the measuresprovided for by the sacred canons and councils should be taken. Forit is not right that a house of prayer, seclusion, and retirementshould be an offense, and scandal, and a cause for sacrilege. As forthe secular persons concerned, I charge and order you to inform themthat the crime which they have committed is one of the greatest whichcry out before God our Lord, defy justice, and offend the nationsand the public cause. And a severe example must be made of them, not only in the maintenance of justice but in the prompt despatch ofthe suits and cases of those who were implicated in so vile a deed;accordingly you will advise me fully, at all opportunities, of thecondition in which they are, and of the execution of penalties, and of the corrective measures that have been applied to the saidseminary. The second point concerns the complaint which you present inregard to the appeals from your decisions which are interposed. Thisis so well provided for by the laws that merely by commanding thatthese be observed you will have at your disposal all that can be usedfor good of justice and of your government; for, in spite of theappeal of the parties, you can execute the sentence when the guiltof the accused and the gravity of the case require it. It cannot bepresumed that the Audiencia will hinder you in its execution in suchcases; for what is permitted to an ordinary judge could not justly behindered in you, being the person that you are, and the head of thatgovernment. Accordingly, for the fuller justification of the case, I have ordered that the letter which goes with this be written tothe said Audiencia, and by the copy [sent to you] you will be awareof its tenor. The third point concerns the lack of obedience inmilitary matters, and the hindrance to punishment therein. This evilwill be charged to you if you do not exercise in it the most thoroughvigilance, in punishing not only insolent and lawless acts, but eventhe appearance of them, and all that would approach either possibleor actual disobedience. For you know that without such strictnessthere can be no military discipline, nor any successful result; andthe arms which are borne for the defense of the commonwealth will beturned to its damage. Accordingly you must treat such cases summarily, in such manner that there shall be no delay permitted in the punishmentof the act, so that it shall not cause an evil example or scandal. Asfor what you mention concerning appeals in this regard, a decisionis sent in the said letter to the Audiencia, as you will there see. 

You inform us that the king of Japon and several private persons--greatvassals, and lords of ports of that kingdom--have usually had presentsand valuable articles sent to them from your city at my expense, everyyear when a ship went to that country; and for several years thishas not been done, and various religious persons have considered thematter, and say that those Japanese have observed this, and attributedit as a lack of esteem for their friendship; and this has aroused themto resentment, and to prefer the friendship of the Dutch, on account ofthe many presents which they give to the Japanese from the spoils theyhave taken. You say that since there are some advantages in retainingfriendly intercourse with that country, and for other reasons, yougive me an account of this that I may order what is most fitting for myservice. This consists in the measures suggested by your own prudence, with the information that you have of the present state of affairs, and the ordinary relations with Japon; and to whom, how, when, andin what quantity it is best to make these gifts, in such manner thatthey shall only serve to win back their friendship, and not appear aregular and settled thing, in the manner of an acknowledgment [_i. E. _, of subjection to them]--for that, in the course of time, might betroublesome in other matters. Accordingly, examining into this inconformity with your obligation for the benefit of my royal estate, you will do in this matter what, considering the time and occasion, you shall judge suitable for the interests of our religion, which isintroduced into Japon, and for peaceful intercourse and friendship, and the greatest benefit to the traffic and commerce of those islands. 

All you say in regard to the affection with which the citizensof that city came forward to serve me on the occasion of the lastyear--offering not only their persons and servants, but lending theslaves that they have and a hundred and ninety-five thousand pesos--isvery gratifying. To these persons in especial, and to all generally, you will show this reply, that they may understand how grateful Iam for their loyal service and fidelity; and that on occasions whichmay arise for their advancement and benefit in property, they will beremunerated, as will be seen in future. As to what you say in regardto Don Juan Ronquillo no resolution will be adopted in regard to himuntil the termination of the suit in which he is engaged. The affairwill be settled as soon as possible after the arrival of the papers, and on that will depend what shall be done with this person--of whoseservice and their good results I am well informed, and for which Iwish to show him favor. In regard to Rodrigo de Guilestegui you willadvise me more fully in what way provision can be made for him. Ihave been advised of the good qualities and merits which you say aredisplayed in Don Fernando Centeno Maldonado. You mention likewisehow little justification there is for some of the informationswhich have been made by that Audiencia concerning the merits andservices of those who claim that I should favor them. This has beenso understood in my Council of the Yndias; and, for its remedy, youwill so conduct this matter in the session of the Audiencia that noinformation shall be despatched, notwithstanding that it shall havebeen reviewed by an auditor, without its being again looked over bythe whole Audiencia in its entirety--you being present as president, governor, and captain-general--and in no other manner; and each onegiving his opinion, even if he alone should think that the merits ofthe person are insufficient because, on account of favor or by othermeans, they are presented when not based upon adequate services. In thecase of Gonzalo Bazquez de Lara, notary, what you have done is proper;and you will advise me in detail of the execution of sentence in thiscase, as you know the great evils which this would cause in the future, and which have come from it in the past, and how important it is topurge the commonwealth of such persons. 

The orders of the Society and St. Dominic have been provided withthe persons whom their superiors asked for, as you will be aware;thus your suggestion in regard to this has been carried out. 

Since you say that the Order of St. Augustine has taken in its chargewith great zeal to facilitate and execute all which has been and isnecessary to accomplish in my royal service--and especially FrayAlonzo de Baraona, the provincial, and the definitors have doneso--it will be very desirable that you should therefore conferwith them, and likewise with the provincial and definitors of thediscalced [Augustinians], and give them to understand my gratitudeto them. You will especially express to them the pleasure which Ihave experienced in learning their good reputation for procedure, religion, and prudence, and suggest that they should continue this, as I trust they will; and say that I shall always remember, both ingeneral their order in those islands, and themselves individually, as they shall see by the results. And you shall take care to encouragethem to the preaching of the gospel, and the benefit and enrichment ofsouls, so that the public welfare shall not suffer for lack thereof;for it is my intention to aid them so far as possible; and the affairsof those islands, although they lie so far distant from my court, arevery near to my thoughts. I trust through our Lord that, He lendingyou His divine favor, and you meriting it by your good government, you may put all in such good order that it will be preserved andadvanced, and the enemy shall lose more. 

There are none of your letters which have not been answered, and thesame may be said of those from the Audiencia, the officials of myroyal estate, and other officers. Madrid, December 13, 1620. 

_I The King_

By command of the king, our lord:

_Pedro de Ledesma_

Memorial, y Relacion para sv Magestad

By, Hernando de los Rios Coronel. Madrid: Fernando Correa, 1621. 

_Source_: This is translated and synopsized from the copy of theoriginal printed work owned by the Library of Congress. 

_Translation_: The translation and synopsis are made by RobertW. Haight and James A. Robertson. 

_Memorial_, _And Relation_

_For His Majesty, of the Procurator-General of the_

Filipinas, of what it is advisable to reform, and of the wealthcontained in them, and in the Islands of Maluco. 

In the year 1621. 

_Madrid_

By _the widow of Fernando Correa_. 

Memorial and Relation of the Filipinas

Sire:

I, Hernando de los Ríos Coronel; an ordained priest, andprocurator-general of the Filipinas Islands, Maluco, and all thatarchipelago, declared that, about thirty-two years ago or more, I went to the Filipinas Islands, where I lived a considerable timein the military habit and exercise, and as a citizen of the city ofManila, but with greater desires than strength to serve your Majesty, and endeavoring to give indications of this to all the inhabitantsof that kingdom. On that account, they charged me with, and loadedupon my shoulders, in the year 1605, the weight of their cares andtroubles. I came to this court, where I prostrated myself many timesbefore the royal feet of his Majesty who is in heaven, and gave himan account of those things. I returned to that kingdom in the year1610, to give account there of myself, and of my mission, undergoingmany hardships and perils. Although such might have been avoided, and I could have made stipulations for my comfort and rest, as I hadopportunity to do in your royal Council of the Indias, I confess thatI know not what interior force and natural inclination has alwaysinduced me to prefer the service of your Majesty, and the welfare andincrease of that kingdom, to my own rest or comfort--which, in orderto follow your service, I have never regarded as important, or givenit any care. Inasmuch as times change affairs, and considering the manycasualties caused by the enemy from Olanda, things have come to a verydifferent pass from that in which I then left them. For that reason, that entire kingdom and its estates resolved that I should return againto confer with your Majesty and your royal councils concerning what wasmost advisable for your royal service and the welfare and relief ofthat land. And although I found that I needed some rest in a corner, and it was a severe trial for me to consent again to undergo morearduous labors, and difficulties so much greater as are the gravity ofaffairs in those islands and the multitude of the enemies with whom theseas are infested, yet that desire and inclination [for your Majesty'sservice] had so much power over me that I postponed all my rest. 

I offer your Majesty this relation, which, when I came to this courtabout three years ago, [33] I gave to his Majesty who is in heaven, so that he might be informed, as was desirable, of that kingdom soremote from his royal eyes. I felt now that I was obliged to presentit to your Majesty, and on this occasion I have taken the opportunityto extend it to greater length, and to give your Majesty a fulleraccount--being encouraged to do so by seeing the glorious beginningsthat your Majesty has given to your monarchy, on which, in the nameof that kingdom, I give your Majesty a thousand congratulations, and may you enjoy it very many years, with the greatest happinessand increasing prosperity. I have written this relation with entireexactness and truth regarding all the facts that I have collectedduring so many years--and thus as well as was possible to me--withoutconsidering any human respects, which are what usually obscure suchmirrors, in order that they might not give the light that is desirablein such an account. I relate, then, what has occurred in Filipinas, from the time of their first discoverers; their tendency toward, advancement; and the mildest and most advisable measures for theattainment of admirable ends. I trust, through God our Lord, that, if this child and offspring of my intellect has the good fortuneto pass before the royal eyes of your Majesty, it will be of greatimportance to your royal service. 

[The present book is divided into three parts. Part first, consistingof ten chapters, is a short résumé of Philippine history from theearliest discoveries until the naval battle at Playa Honda withthe Dutch. The second part, consisting of seven chapters, dealsmore intimately with the needs and resources of the islands, andthe importance of their conservation--that is, of matters that fellparticularly to Los Rios in his capacity of procurator-general. Thethird part, in five chapters, relates to ecclesiastical matters in thePhilippines, and contains brief remarks on the Moluccas. The first sixchapters of part first are here only synopsized, with some extracts, as they deal with matters rather fully presented heretofore in thisseries. All the remainder of the book is translated in full. ]

Part First

[Chapter I treats "of the first discoverers of the Filipinas, and oftheir location. " In rapid survey Los Rios sketches the expeditions ofMagalhães, Loaisa, Villalobos, and Legazpi, although wrongly placingthe latter's death in 1574 instead of 1572. The location of the islandsis briefly described and the names of some of the principal ones given, among them "Mindanao, which is the largest, and with which we are atwar, although it had formerly rendered your Majesty homage. " Continuinghis narrative, the governorships of Guido de Labaçares (whosedeath is wrongly stated as occurring in 1575), Francisco de Sande, the two Ronquillos (who are mentioned as brothers), and Santiagode Vera, are lightly mentioned. Limahon's expedition against Manila(wrongly ascribed to the period of Legazpi's governorship), and Sande'sexpedition to Borneo are particularly mentioned. The latter sacked theBornean king's city "with but little justification. " In his time alsothe Chinese trade begins to be steady. Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosaon coming to assume the governorship, according to the terms of hiscontract, brings a number of colonists, "who were called _rodeados_[34] because they had come by way of Panama . .. He was a peacefulman, although--because he had brought two sons with him, besidesother relatives, whom he allowed to live with considerable laxity;and because numerous complaints had been written from the city tohis Majesty--his Majesty, seeing the great trouble experienced inpreaching the gospel, the evil example that those sons and relativesfurnished, and the harm that this would cause unless it were stopped, removed Ronquillo from his governorship, and sent the royal Audienciato govern, and as governor and captain-general its president, oneSantiago de Vera. " On the latter's arrival he finds Diego Ronquillogoverning because of Gonzalo's death. An Indian, in snuffing thecandles on the latter's catafalque, accidentally sets fire to somerich draperies. The fire remains unnoticed and smoulders until, thefriars in attendance having left the church, it bursts into flame, and the city is entirely burned, and the site of the fort, Santiago, becomes a lake. Tomas Vimble (Candish), who captures the Santa Ana nearCalifornia in 1587, sets all its crew ashore, with the exception ofa priest whom he hangs. Alonso Sanchez's voyage to Spain and Rome asprocurator-general is influential in the suppression of the Audienciaand the election of Gomez Perez Dasmariñas as governor. Sanchez"wrote some treatises about the justification of the kings of España, and their right of title to the Filipinas, which merit that time donot bury them, although they exist in the archives of the Councilof the Indias. He seems a prophet in many of his statements in thosetreatises. " [35]

In Chapter II some of the leading events of the term of Gomez PerezDasmariñas are noted, and his unfortunate death. Such is his activityand care "that he alone aggrandized that city more than had allhis predecessors, or his successors to this time. " Negotiationsare opened with Japan, and the embassy from Camboja begging foraid against Siam is received at Manila. "I believe, " says Los Rios, "that if he had done it, it would have been a great stroke of fortune, and your Majesty would justly be lord of that kingdom and of Sian, which is very wealthy. That is the only thing in which I believe thatGomez Perez erred. "

The succession of Luis Perez Dasmariñas to the government of thePhilippines, and the designs of the Chinese to capture the islands, form the subject matter of Chapter III. By virtue of his father'swill and a royal decree empowering the latter to name his successor incase of absence or death, Luis Perez takes over the command from Pedrode Rojas, who has been elected by the city, with which "all the cityreceived great happiness, both because of what they owed the father, and the love that they bore the son, of whose heroic virtues muchmight be said. " The Chinese send a vast fleet to Manila in charge of anumber of mandarins, in order to conquer Luzón, because they fear theSpaniards, and "would much rather see us very far from their kingdomthan to have the gain derived from us . .. The governor received themandarins and their embassy, who pretended that they came to trade, and asked us not to receive the Japanese in our ports, who are theirmortal enemies; and taking farewell of them with a good countenance, he sent them to their own country. The next year one of those mandarinsreturned disguised, in order to act the spy, but as I was inspectingthe ships, I noticed and arrested him; but such is the cunning ofthose people, that he was able to clear himself, so that it seemedbetter to the governor and to Doctor Antonio de Morga, his lieutenantof justice, to allow the mandarin to return to his own country. "

The expedition to Camboja by Gallinato, and events there, and thearrival of Mendaña's ship at Manila are told in Chapter IV. BlazRuyz, Diego Veloso, and Pantaleon Carnero, having seized the vesselon which they were being carried as prisoners to Siam from Camboja, arrive at Manila, and induce the sending of the three vessels underGallinato. [36] The latter, however, is blown out of his course asfar as the strait of Sincapura. The other two vessels under Blas Ruyzand Diego Veloso reach Camboja, but the ship of the latter is wreckedon the coast. "A relative of the legitimate king was then ruling, one Nancaparan Prabantul, " whom their arrival does not please. Thetrouble with the Chinese follows, of the three thousand of whom, theSpaniards kill five hundred, and the consequent embassy of Blas Ruyzwith forty men to Sistor. The king's refusal to treat with them unlessthey make reparation to the Chinese, and his evident preparationsto seize their small body of men, lead to the attack on the palace, the killing of the king and one of his sons, and the flight to theSpanish ship, leaving three killed--one Indian, one Japanese, and oneSpaniard--but with many wounded. Gallinato's arrival at this junctureputs an end to affairs there, and all depart for Cochinchina, whereBlas Ruyz and Diego Veloso go to find the legitimate king of Cambojaat Laos, "crossing those kingdoms for more than two hundred leguas, through territory where a Spaniard had never been seen . .. I haverelated this event because of the many fictions that were toldhere about Captain Gallinato, who, although a good soldier, didnothing else in the kingdom of Camboxa. Of it Fray Diego Duarte, a Dominican, now residing at Alcala de Henares, procurator of hisorder in the Filipinas Islands, who was one of those who were presentat the death of the king of Camboxa--and not the least importantone there--and Captain Don Miguel de Xaque de los Rios, now at thiscourt, are witnesses. " The arrival at Manila of "Doña Isabel Varreto, "wife of "Alvaro de Amendaña, " is chronicled. The discovery that theyattempted to make from Peru can be made better from the Philippines, and at less cost, because of its proximity to those regions. 

Chapter V treats of events during the term of Francisco Tello, the mainpart of the chapter being devoted to Louis Perez Dasmariñas's ill-fatedexpedition to Camboja. Tello "began to govern with forbearance, although one thing that he did before reaching the city seems to havepresaged the evils of the future. " This was in his detention of theship bound for Nueva España, until he could reach Manila and makea report to the king. As a consequence the vessel, sailing late, experienced so great storms that it was compelled to put in at aJapanese port, "and King Taycosama took their goods away from them, andit was the cause of the martyrdom of twenty-six Franciscan religious, and of the ruin of Manila . .. Don Francisco began his government, inamusing himself with his authority and abundance, and in neglecting todespatch the ships on time; of which he should have taken warning bythe loss of which he had been the cause, in the wreck of the galleon'San Felipe' as above stated. But he did not amend his ways, andfor that same reason other vessels were wrecked later--one called'Santa Margarita, ' which was wrecked among the Ladrones Islands;and another called 'San Geronimo' which was wrecked at the island ofCatanduanes, . .. And another which sailed from Cibu, called 'JesusMaria, ' which was seen no more. And the worst of all was that suchneglect became so firmly established, that it would not have beenremedied later, and the same troubles would have occurred, unless wehad made use of two royal decrees that his Majesty, King Don FelipeThird, conceded to me in the year of 68; [37] and on account of thatneglect great need has come upon that kingdom. " The expedition ofOliver van Noordt is very lightly touched. Luis Perez Dasmariñas fitsout an expedition of three ships for the relief of Camboja at his owncost, and Los Rios sails in the flagship. Misfortune follows them, and the flagship is lost on the Chinese coast. Such is the hatredof the Portuguese at Macao to the Spaniards "that as soon as theyheard of our disaster, they issued an edict that no one should aidus under penalty of confiscation of his property, and three years inthe galleys. " Los Rios with eight men lands in order to seek a pilot, and after various adventures is granted audience by the Chinese, whooffer asylum to the Spaniards and rebuke the Portuguese. Continuing, a short description is given of Macao, which has about five hundredPortuguese inhabitants; its duties and other gains, however, belong tothe Chinese monarch. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is theraw-silk trade with Japan. For the benefit of trade and religion, LosRios thinks it advisable to depopulate Macao and suppress it. Indeedthe hate of the Portuguese goes so far that they attack the remnantsof Luis Perez's expedition as it is about to return home. All theirhostility they clinch with "a royal decree given more than thirtyyears ago, in which your Majesty [38] orders Castilians not to go tothat port to trade. It is very important for your Majesty to order thePortuguese not to use that decree for the evil that they do us--notonly those of us who go there to trade (which was the reason of itsbeing granted), but also to those of us who make port and arrivethere wrecked. "

Events of Pedro Acuña's government occupy the sixth chapter. "DonPedro was a restrained and absolutely uncovetous gentleman, and livedtemperately. He was affable and open to all; but signal disastersoccurred during his term. The Indians of Mindanao ruined those islands, carrying away many captives and quantities of wealth, burning churches, and injuring images, to the great loss of our prestige. Also more thantwenty thousand Chinese revolted in the city; and because the warningsof the archbishop and many other persons were not believed, the remedywas not applied in time, which would have been easy. However, althoughwe prevailed against them (with evident miracles), the kingdom wasruined. " This neglect of Acuña results in the massacre of Luis PerezDasmariñas and more than one hundred and fifty men, only one of thecompany escaping. To neglect Los Rios charges "the greatest ills" thathave happened in the Indias. The expedition made to Maluco by royalcommand succeeds well. The victory reacts on the Spaniards, however, because of the ill-treatment inflicted by the latter on the king ofTernate, whom they take captive to Manila; and the Moluccans allythemselves with the Dutch. Los Rios begs that good treatment be givento the captive king, who is still in Manila, who, although well treatedduring Acuña's life, is afterward neglected and uncared for. [39] LosRios asks that good treatment be accorded to the king "for the sakeof your Majesty's reputation with those nations; for they will thinkthat you order your ministers to inflict that ill-treatment. .. . DonPedro de Acuña died when he was beginning to open his eyes, and togovern very acceptably to all. It is rumored that he was poisoned, although I cannot persuade myself of that fact. " As governor _adinterim_ the viceroy of Nueva España sends Rodrigo de Vivero, whogoverns until the arrival of Juan de Silva, when he sets sail in theship "San Francisco, " but is wrecked at Japan, because it sailed late. ]

Chapter VII. Of the government of Don Juan de Silva, and events withthe Dutch. 

On the death of Don Pedro de Acuña in the year 606, your Majesty sentDon Juan de Silva to govern. 

Upon his arrival at that kingdom, he was given an opportunity to puthis wishes into effect. A Dutchman arrived there with four ships andone patache, and, having stationed himself at the entrance of thebay of Manila, remained there six months, capturing and pillagingall who came to the city. Don Juan de Silva had no ships ready togo out to drive the Dutch from that port; but, with the stay of theenemy, he set to work to repair four ships that were there, and tofinish another that was being built in a shipyard. He made haste, and used the iron gratings from the houses of the citizens for thenails that he needed, which the people gave willingly, as well aswhatever else was necessary. Further, he also cast five large piecesof artillery, with which, and with the artillery in the forts, he madeready and equipped five ships with high free-board, and three galleys, and manned them with the most valiant of the soldiers and citizens, among all of them more than one thousand men being Spaniards alone. Hefound the enemy very careless, his ships filled with wealth frommany rich vessels that they had pillaged, belonging to the Chinesewhich were coming to Manila, laden with the merchandise that cameyearly. He found only three ships, and attacking and grappling withone of them, it was blown up because of a fire that unfortunatelycaught. The other two surrendered, although the victory was notbought cheaply, for many people were killed. It had been stated twomonths before that that victory would be gained on St. Mark's day, [40] as happened, and, as he recounted one night, had been told tohim. But who would say that that victory was to begin his perdition, and so many troubles as I shall relate?

Don Juan de Silva was made very rich by that victory, for the fifthof the booty which your Majesty conceded to him was worth more thantwo hundred thousand pesos, as I learned from his own mouth. Besidesthat, the victory induced in him thoughts for great undertakings, and he did not stop to compare the wealth of that kingdom with hisdesigns. He discussed building a fleet to go to Terrenate, and put thematter into execution. Although he was greatly opposed by the entirecity--and especially by the royal Audiencia and royal officials, whojudged from their experience that the plan was not advisable--yet heacted in defiance of them, and left Manila with his fleet, leavingthe natives grievously burdened with taxes, your Majesty's treasuryindebted to a vast amount, and the city without artillery. He wentto Maluco, and not only did he not accomplish any good result, buthe even returned with little reputation derived from that expedition, as all had foretold. 

He desired to correct that mischief, and determined, without anyone's counsel, to build seven galleons, which, with the three thathe had, would make ten in all, and also six galleys. That was anundertaking disproportionate to the possibility of his forces, andinnumerable evils resulted from it, just as they generally result tohim who does not proportion means to ends, and who does not measuredesires with strength. When he fought at Playa Honda with the Dutch, as he grappled he recognized the advantage that the larger ships hadover the others. Consequently, he determined to build his ships solarge that they should be superior to any ship that the enemy wouldbring. For that purpose he made them of one thousand, one thousandfive hundred, and nearly two thousand toneladas. He began to makearrangements for putting his desire into execution, and at the sametime to write to the viceroy of India to send him ten more galleonsand six galleys, so that the forces of both governments being united, they might at the same time complete the expulsion of the Dutch fromthe archipelago and seize their forts and factories. That idea wouldhave been very commendable, and the most efficacious means of all, if he could have carried it out as he conceived it. I believe that, in order to facilitate that, he wrote to your Majesty, whereupon thiscourt was filled with hopes. But to place it in execution, he hadas much foundation as will be seen here. The forces of India are sofew, that, although Silva was told that the viceroy could not sendhim six ships--and those that could go would be poorly equipped;and that if he did send them, the coasts of India would be leftunprotected, which were daily being infested; and, besides, that theyknew by experience--the little love that the Portuguese bear to theCastilians and that he should not trust in them--still by sending moneyto build galleons and for the men, of which at least one-half million[pesos] would be necessary, the viceroy would send that fleet. DonJuan de Silva was without funds; on the contrary, the royal treasurywas deeply in debt from the expedition to Maluco. Still, in orderto forward his designs, he sent his master-of-camp, Christoval deAzqueta, with pledges and securities made out by the royal officials, binding your Majesty's royal treasury in order to get the moneythere from merchandise, and paying interest on them--a transactionwhich was considered ridiculous to those who knew India. He gave themaster-of-camp sixteen thousand pesos which he borrowed in gold fromthe inhabitants of Manila, in order that he might bring back somenecessary things. The master-of-camp sailed in a ship accompanied byforty Spaniards to indicate his authority. As yet, not one of themhas been seen; and it is considered certain that all were drowned, since no further news has been heard of them. On the other hand, Silvawrote to the viceroy of Nueva España that he was building that fleet, and requested money, men, and ammunition from him. He despatched solate the ships, which had arrived on time, that although the viceroymade his utmost exertions he could not perform the friendly officesthat Silva desired. 

He began to place the said galleons on the stocks, and, as theywere so large, scarcely could he find the necessary timbers inthe forest. Consequently, he had to have them sought under greatdifficulties, and by penetrating the thicker recesses of thewoods. There having found them, it was necessary, in order to dragand carry them to the shipyard, to depopulate the surrounding villagesof the Indians, and to drag the timbers with immense labor, hardship, and cost to the Indians. The masts of one galleon cost the Indians, asis affirmed by the religious of St. Francis, and as I heard declaredby the alcalde-mayor of the province where they were cut--namely, LaLaguna de Bay--the labor of six thousand Indians for three months todrag them over very rough mountains. They were paid by the villagesat the rate of forty reals per month apiece, but were given nothingto eat, and therefore, the wretched Indian had to look for food. Ishall not relate the cruel and inhuman treatment of the agents, andthe many Indians who died in the forest. Had those galleons been ofmoderate size, and twice as many, they would not have cost one-half asmuch. Neither shall I tell your Majesty of the Indians who were hanged, those who deserted their wives and children and fled exhausted to themountains, and those sold as slaves to pay the taxes imposed on them;the scandal to the gospel, and the so irreparable wrongs caused by thatshipbuilding; and with how great inhumanity they passed sentence on andexecuted on the poor Indian not only what was necessary, but also whatthe lawless greed of agents took from him. In short, the hardships, injuries, and harm inflicted upon the Indians were vast, and therewas no remedy for it. And hence those ships had so disastrous an end;for all were wrecked in a storm, and all those in them were drownedforty leguas from the city--divine permission, which is so offendedat injuries done to the poor, exacting those lives in order to makereparation for such wrongs. Now more than one million [pesos] is dueto the Indians and there is no hope of recompense. From that may beinferred how great should be the trustworthiness and Christian spiritof those persons who are to govern the Filipinas, since they have noone to restrain them for the injuries that they commit. Besides thesaid wrongs, those that I shall now relate were no less. 

When he discussed building those ships, three years before that fleetshould be taken out, he ordered all the soldiers of the islands tobe collected, and the forts and important posts to be abandoned, especially a fort in the city of Cibu. He took all the artilleryand carried it to Manila, which was the cause of the Mindanaosdestroying those islands when they learned that, without any oneopposing them. He also ordered that no one leave the city without hispermission, under serve penalties. On the one hand, he kept the menthere desperate, who could not go out to find food; and on the other, gave them nothing. Therefore, many men fled through those surroundingkingdoms. And, when he most needed sailors, more than two hundred ofthem fled because of ill treatment and because they were deprivedof one-half their rations. He imposed many taxes upon the Indians, with great oppression to them on account of the food that was ruinedbecause it was not needed so early. As a result, he brought the countryto the extreme of poverty, even worse than if the enemy had sacked it. 

On the other hand he sent to Japon for metals with which to castartillery, and for saltpeter for powder; and they brought him whathe had sent to ask. In two years he cast one hundred and fiftylarge pieces of artillery; but he had no master who understood it, and consequently the pieces were so poorly made that none of themstood the test. I saw twenty pieces out of thirty-six burst at thefirst shot, as the gunner, one Pedro Castaño, who is in this court, will tell; consequently they did not dare to test the cannon with theroyal test. There was an excellent founder there, named Don Diego dePrado, who had made considerable artillery in Lisboa. Silva refused toaccept him, but on the contrary let him go to España by way of India, although he should have diligently looked for him. He is a friar herenow, named Basilio. They were unable to get a piece that could beused, although they tried in various ways. They continued these effortsuntil certain Japanese built some ovens, in their own fashion, and madesome bellows which forced in a great quantity of air. Those producedbetter artillery, although some of these pieces also burst, for theydid not hit upon the alloy of copper in accordance with its quality. 

Don Juan de Silva persisted in his intentions; and, seeing after twoyears had passed that the master-of-camp Azqueta had not arrived, and that it must be believed that he had been drowned, he sent afather rector of the Society of Jesus, named Juan de Ribera, [41]and Captain Don Diego de Miranda, a Portuguese, to Goa, so that, in his name, they might ask the viceroy for the said galleons; andthey did so. Although with great objection and opposition from thecity of Goa, the viceroy gave them four galleons and four galliots, with very few and badly disciplined crews. What took place in Indiain regard to that matter is a pity. Your Majesty needs to make manyreforms there, because of the danger of losing that country throughthe poor discipline of the soldiers, as they themselves confess, and warning of this has been given in many memorials. 

They started for Manila, and arrived at Malaca and at the Strait lateand in bad weather. The commander did not dare pass on, although hewas urged and pressed to do so by the rector of the Society. Matterscame to such a pass that the commander told the father that he wouldput him below decks, and the soldiers tried to kill him, for theysaid that he was going to drown them. Thereupon they remained, andreturned to Malaca, advising Don Juan de Silva that they were thereawaiting his order. 

Don Juan de Silva learned the news of the galleons and determined tosend a patache to Macan, and as its commander, Pilot Juan Gallegos, in order to purchase some ammunition and to go thence to Malaca. Heordered the four galleons to await him in the Strait, saying that hehad resolved to pass there, and that all would go together to attackthe factory of Xava, the chief factory of the enemy, which had nofortress; thence they would go to Banda and to Maluco. That wouldhave been a very suitable idea if it could have been executed duringthe season for navigation. Juan Gallegos went to Macan, and thenceto the Strait of Cincapura, where he found six Dutch galleons andone patache. They seized him, and learned from him of the coming ofDon Juan de Silva with so large a force. They did not dare await thelatter and so left the Strait. Shortly after Don Juan de Silva arrived, two ships of Goa came from China with the goods and merchandise fromIndia, which it was our Lord's will to save in that way. 

Before the enemy happened to seize the patache of Juan Gallegos, they had negotiated with the king of Hachen, a country located in theisland of Samatra, near the Strait, in regard to uniting with themto attack Malaca with more than four hundred craft, that would holdmore than forty thousand men. That king fought with the galleons, andhis presence there was of great importance. He burned one galleon, but returned without accomplishing any other exploit, although hecarried a quantity of large artillery. After the king had gone, the Dutch arrived. What they did was to burn the three remaininggalleons in the river of Malaca. Then they went to the Strait, wherethey captured Juan Gallegos, as above stated. The Portuguese gainedlittle reputation--or to say better, lost much--in not defendingthemselves. But since it is not my intention to meddle with anotherjurisdiction, I shall not discuss that. 

Don Juan de Silva left Manila with ten galleons--larger than havebeen seen in Europa--and four galleys, on February 28, 1616. He laidhis course toward the Strait, as he thought that he would find therethe four galleys from Goa, in accordance with the order that he hadsent. He learned what had happened in the Strait; and although hemight have gone to Bantan, in Xava Major, to avenge the injury, sincehe might expect to find the enemy there--and he might at least havedestroyed that factory and exacted satisfaction for what had beendone--he did not choose to do so, but left the galleons anchoredin the Strait, while he went to Malaca with the galleys. There hewas received under the pall with great solemnity, honored with greatfestivities, and called that city's savior, since the ships had takenflight because of his coming. Don Juan became sorely perplexed, andcould not come to a decision as to whether to careen his vessels andwait until the following year for the viceroy of Goa, or whether toreturn to Manila. Death overtook him in that perplexity, on April 19of the same year. 

He left orders for the fleet to return to Manila, and to convey thitherhis embalmed body. Thereupon our fleet returned. It was in as bad shapeas if it had been a year at sea; for at that part of the Strait whereit was anchored the air was so unhealthful and the water so poisonousthat the soldiers began to sicken immediately, and to die swollen upand yellow; and some days forty or fifty of them were thrown into thesea. All asserted that had they remained there one fortnight longer, not enough men would have been left to manage the sails, nor couldthey have brought back the galleons--which returned without anchors, for the few that they carried were lost in the currents, which are verystrong. And had they not found nineteen anchors, which they bought, they would have perished. 

Chapter VIII. Of the opposition to Don Juan de Silva from all the city, and the opportunity that he lost by not taking the advice that theygave him. 

Strange are the judgments of the Most High, and nothing happens bychance that His infinite providence does not register. The Portugueseregarded as certain the coming of Don Juan de Silva to the Strait withhis fleet, and attributed to him, as was evident, the saving of theirpossessions. But he who regards the opportunity that Silva lost, andhow much more important it would have been not to have left Manila, but to have been there when the enemy (who passed through the Straitof Magallanes) arrived, will see how unsatisfactory was the Malacaexpedition. 

Don Juan de Silva had already prepared his fleet, and his yardswere already squared, when a discussion arose as to whether it wasadvisable for him to go in search of the enemy, for which purposehe had prepared it. A general meeting of ecclesiastical and secularcabildos, the bishop, and the orders, was called, together with theroyal Audiencia. Silva made them a harangue, and showed a royal decreethat he had received shortly before, in which it was ordered thathe should make the expedition. He read what was most suitable to hispurpose, whereupon Doctor Vega, your auditor, asked him to give it tothe secretary to read publicly, as they wished to know its contents. Itwas read, and your Majesty ordered in it that the viceroy of Indiabe advised, so that both should join forces and go in pursuit of theenemy with their fleets, and that the viceroy should act as superiorofficer if he came in person. From this, they took occasion to opposeSilva, and said that he was not obeying your Majesty's orders. Theyreminded him that he did not have sailors, because while the fewestnumber of sailors necessary for ten galleys amounted to fifty, he didnot have twelve effective ones, because they had fled, as above stated. 

_Item_: That he was only carrying two iron anchors for each galleon, disproportionate to their size, besides two others of wood, whichare called _cenepites_; and that he was going into seas with strongcurrents and shoals, where he had to anchor every day, with evidentperil and known danger of losing his fleet. 

_Item_: That he was not carrying suitable rigging or sails. At thesame time they told him that he was leaving the city depopulated ofthe men who might defend it in any sudden need. 

_Item_: That he had dismantled the forts and walls of artillery, andhad left no good piece, contrary to the ordinances of your Majesty, and to all good government. 

_Item_: That it was easy for the enemy, knowing the route that hewas taking, to attack the city, which was surrounded by more thanfifteen thousand Chinese, and a considerable number of Japanese, all of whom were angered by the many annoyances and injuries thatthey had received; especially the natives, of whom it could be fearedthat they would revolt at any news of an enemy, and what would mostencourage them would be to see the city without defenders or artillery. 

_Item_: That he was taking a route very foolishly chosen, because theseason and monsoon (as it is called) for seeking the enemy was alreadypast; and he was going with a known risk of suffering shipwreck, or of accomplishing nothing. 

_Item_: That it was advisable for him to inform the viceroy of hisexpedition, as your Majesty ordered, and in the meanwhile to continueto provide himself with everything necessary. The following year hecould leave, as was advisable and as your Majesty ordered. In short, they reminded him of many other difficulties; but none of them wereable to make him postpone his purpose. Doctor Vega gave him a memorialwhich is printed, in which he declares all the above and many otherarguments; and the fiscal issued many injunctions and protests againsthim. They became so angered that he tried to arrest the fiscal, whoabsented himself, together with many influential persons. The citywas very much in danger of being lost, and was divided into factionsand different opinions; although it is true that all desired Silva'sabsence. After so many difficulties, and after having defied them all, Silva left the city with his fleet, leaving the walls dismantled, as above stated. When he embarked, many men of those that he hadprovided from the inhabitants of the city, and single men, were notto be found, for they had run away. 

Scarcely had he left Manila when news came that a Dutchman with fiveships was coming, and within one week he came to anchor at the mouthof the bay of Manila. It was our Lord's pleasure that the Dutchdid not learn the city's condition, which would have placed us inthe greatest embarrassment and danger. The Dutch remained there onefortnight, and then, learning that Don Juan had gone toward theirforts and factories, they set out for them. In the opinion of allit was the greatest misfortune that the news had not arrived sooner, so that our fleet could have gone to meet it; for not a single shipwould have escaped; and, had he followed them to Maluco, he would havedestroyed their forces without difficulty--as Don Geronimo de Silva, his cousin, wrote to him, whose letter I have. I heard afterward fromthe same man that he had made a treaty with all of them to surrendertheir forts to him if Don Juan arrived. God did not so ordain it, for our sins or for His secret judgments. So great an opportunity, which might have ended the war, was lost, for all the natives wereresolved to become our friends; for they always cry "long live theconqueror!" Sections 1, 9, and 15 of Don Geronimo's letter are ofthe following tenor. 

Letter of Don Geronimo de Silva, Governor of Maluco

I am replying to the duplicate of your Lordship, which I received bythe hand of Captain Juan Cutirez Paramo and Sargento-mayor Don PedroTellez, dated at the Strait of Sincapura, March 15, in which yourLordship gives me advice of the resolution that you took in Manilato make your voyage to Malaca, expecting to find there the viceroy ofIndia, or at least the squadron of galleons from that state--a thing asgenerally desired by all as it is deemed difficult by me. For I couldnever persuade myself that the viceroy of India would decide to senda larger fleet this year than the four galleons; and, supposing this, I would have been glad had your Lordship not gone in search of theviceroy this year. For, as I understand the decree of his Majesty, the preparations were for the coming year; and by that time matterswould have been suitably arranged, and, both powers having united, his Majesty's will would have been realized, without the possibilityof any fears of danger. But if the resolution taken by your Lordshipto go out with your fleet, because of the great expenses incurred, had been taken then to come to employ that fleet here, it would havearrived at so good a season and opportunity, that all these islandswould have surrendered to you. I could answer with my head that hisMajesty would possess them without your Lordship's needing to fire asingle shot, for the material for this truth was very well arranged. Ialone was unfortunate in that your Lordship did not come directly herewhen you left Manila. I would give you as a witness of that the king ofTidore, only he cannot declare it in writing; but he will be a witnesson that day that our Lord brings your Lordship to these islands. 

Your Lordship orders me at present to despatch to you what galleys arehere. In fulfilment of that order Don Pedro Tellez is returning in thegalley that brought him, for Captain Juan de Guassa's galley was suchthat it could not be repaired at all, although I summoned the royalofficials, and persons who understood it, to examine it. To my summonsthey replied that it absolutely had nothing of use on it but the nails;accordingly, with their advice, it was beached. I have only the galliotleft here and that is as free from iron and rigging as the galleyshere have always been. The galliot is the feet and hands of theseislands, and that which serves as a caracoa; for, glory be to God, the Meldicas [_sic; sc. _ mestizos] and native Christians are wantingto me. The reason that moves me to this will be told your Lordship byDon Pedro Tellez, whom I wished to make a witness of this unfortunatestate of affairs, and of what the service of his Majesty suffers. 

Will your Lordship advise me of your resolution to come to these forts, and whether the viceroy of India is coming now with the squadron thatyour Lordship has built. What I can say is that your Lordship's speedyarrival here matters so much, although it be with only your galleys, that on that alone depends the restoration of these two islands, which will be maintained with the hope that your Lordship will comehither in the time above stated. If you do not come, the islands andthe Spaniards who inhabit them will certainly perish; for although theking of Tidore is our friend, he is the only one, and he does not havethe same assurance of his island as hitherto. For that reason, it isadvisable for me always to keep in this island the greater part of theinfantry of this camp, divided among the fort of Santiago, the fortof Principe Tomanira, and Socanora. From the above your Lordship willinfer that I have need of protecting myself not only from the Dutchbut also from the natives and our intimates; for things are very muchchanged from what your Lordship is informed. Tidore, July 29, 1616. 

_Don Geronimo de Silva_

Chapter IX. Of the coming of the Dutch to Manila in search of DonJuan de Silva. 

It was learned in Maluco from the Dutch commander who passed throughthe Strait of Magallanes and infested the coasts of Piru and NuevaEspaña--the same one who arrived at Manila just after the departureof Don Juan de Silva--that Don Juan had laid his course toward Malacaand thence to Maluco. Immediately all their ships were collected, and, repairing many, they equipped the ten best ones, taking thebest artillery and men from their forts for that purpose, with thedetermination of awaiting Silva. But when they saw that he delayed solong, and that he could not come to Maluco now, because of bad weather, thinking that he would have returned, they went to try issues withhim at Manila. On reaching the island of Mindanao, they learned ofhis death from the Indians. They made a compact with the latter thateach side should go to destroy the islands, even as far as the city ofManila. The Mindanaos set out with a fleet that they had prepared, ofseventy caracoas, which resemble galliots. They anchored with them inthe province of Camarines, where they had heard that one ship and twopataches were being built for your Majesty. They killed and capturedabout thirty Spaniards and many Indians, set fire to the ships, andpillaged whatever they could lay hands on. That disaster, which wasvery great, was the result of neglecting to send there fifty pickedsoldiers to guard the shipyard. The chiefs of those caracoas dividedinto two parties because of disputes between them. One party wenttoward Manila in search of the Dutch. The other went to the island ofPanay. Captain Don Diego de Quiñones, who was stationed in that islandas commandant and captain of the Pintados Islands, hearing of this, sent Captain Lazaro de Torres with seven caracoas in pursuit of them;he defeated them, and captured four caracoas. The rest took to theopen sea in flight, and, those vessels being small, all of the menwere drowned; for no news that they have reached their country hasbeen heard here since. 

That island of Mindanao is the farthest of the Filipinas Islands, and is about twenty leguas from Cibu. That part that faces Cibuis pacified, and the Indians pay tribute, and there are a numberof Christians. The entire island formerly rendered homage to yourMajesty. It extends east and west, being somewhat inclined tothe northeast and southwest. It is more than three hundred leguasin circumference. The southern part lies in six degrees of northlatitude. It has many gold mines, as those say who have seen them, although they are but little worked, and many cinnamon trees andmuch civet. 

Captain Estevan Rodriquez de Figueroa went to pacify it in 1596 at hisown cost, with the title of governor and captain-general of the islandconceded by your Majesty. But he was so unfortunate that, the firsttime when he set foot on land, he was killed by an Indian concealed inambush. Captain Juan de la Xara, who was master-of-camp, continued theenterprise; but as he, like his master, died, the whole enterprisewas destroyed by accidents that came upon them. Consequently, notonly were the natives not pacified, but more angered and desirous ofvengeance. For that reason, they began to build vessels and to makeinroads among those islands during the term of Don Francisco Tello, to commit depredations. They captured many Indians and their wealth(for the latter had considerable gold) through the fault of thecaptains and alcaldes-mayor who were governing those islands, andwere not punished for it. And although punishment is one of the twoarms of justice that preserves states, there has been so great lackof it in Manila, that signal injuries have thereby resulted. 

The Moros became excited by those captures, and through the exerciseof war they became more skilful and daring. To such a height hastheir boldness reached, through the carelessness and neglect of thegovernors, that all those islands have been destroyed and ruined. Theycould very well have been restrained, but the reasons why theyneglected to do that cannot be explained here, because the case inhand demands that many things be passed by; but if your Majesty caresto know, I will explain them. 

Those Indians [_i. E. _, the Moros] are so vile and cowardly that theyhave never engaged in close combat with the Spaniards, very fewof whom have dared to resist vast multitudes; yet the Moros haveinflicted signal injuries. The worst is that these last few yearsthey have committed greater ones, so that there is no Christian orfriendly Indian who is safe in his house or country. These, althoughIndians, set forth arguments that must have shamed your Majesty'sgovernors considerably; since, although the latter are so carefulnot only to collect their tributes, but to impose continually somany taxes, and to cause the Indians innumerable troubles, yet theydo not defend them from their enemies. Consequently the Indians say, "Let us be free, and let us have arms, and we shall be able to defendourselves, as we did before the advent of the Spaniards. " And, surely, did not the religious--especially those of the Society, who instructnearly all those islands--entertain them with hopes and fair arguments, they would all have revolted, as some have done. I have related this toyour Majesty so that you may order your governor to remedy that matter, which is so incumbent upon your Majesty's royal conscience. But howpoorly he informs your Majesty; since at the very moment when thosepeople were destroying your churches, the governor wrote that theywere all peaceful and quiet. It is very easy to conquer that island, ifits inhabitants are made slaves, as I have said in special memorials. 

Chapter X. Of the result obtained by the coming of the Dutch to theFilpinas Islands and the city of Manila. 

The enemy learned from the Mindanao Indians, as above stated, of thedeath of Don Juan de Silva, whom they had intended to go to seek. Theywent to the island of Panay, to a port called Yloylo, with the designof building a fort there, in order to gain possession of those islandsand to get the quantity of food that was stored for the relief ofTerrenate. (whence the forts of Maluco are chiefly maintained), andat the same time to make themselves masters of the island. For, twoyears before, and during Don Juan de Silva's term, another Dutchmanhad arrived at that island at a Spanish town called Arevalo, burnedit, seized its provisions, made quantities of dried beef at stockfarms near there, and then returned, without any one having daredto fire a shot, although there was a captain there with two hundredsoldiers. Then he made a pact with the natives of the country, bywhich they were to render him homage. 

Three or four days before the arrival of the enemy, the news reachedthe ears of Captain Don Diego de Quiñones, who was there with aboutseventy soldiers. He resolved to die there or to prevent the enemyfrom following out his designs. As hastily as possible, he threw upa redoubt, or small fort of fascines, stakes, and gabions, which hefilled in with earth. Then having assigned his men to their positions, he awaited the enemy's arrival. The Dutch arrived with their tengalleons and went to anchor within musket-shot of the small fort, which they began to bombard with their artillery, and with musketryto pick off those who showed themselves. But seeing that they weredefending themselves, and that so great a multitude of balls couldnot dislodge them, they threw seven companies of infantry ashore, and assaulted the fort twice with the batteries which were free;but the infantry, getting the worst of it, had to retire. Don Diego, although shot through the thigh by a musket-ball, was encouraged;and had sent Captain Lazaro de Torres outside with forty soldiers tomake an ambush. He pressed so heavily against the enemy that they hadto embark hurriedly, leaving on the field and taking away many deadand badly wounded, while we suffered in dead and wounded twenty ora few more. Thereupon the enemy weighed anchor and left the port ingreat ignominy and sorrow. That feat of arms was of great importanceas can be understood from the condition of the country and of thenatives of that island and others near by. I cannot keep silent onone thing that happened through the fault of him who was governing, since my intention is to make your Majesty understand the state ofthat kingdom. The building of a fort in that port of Yloylo, and thesending there of six pieces of artillery and one engineer to Don Diego, had been discussed in Manila. But there was the utmost remissnessand neglect in sending those pieces, for it was considered certainthat if the enemy came he would manage to make himself master of theport. And although they could have been sent him one month before, they reached him one week after the opportunity was gone--when, if DonDiego had had them, he would have sunk half the enemy's fleet. Suchinjury is done by the remissness and neglect of him who governs. 

The enemy thought that they would make little from Don Diego, andconsequently left that place, and went to anchor in the mouth of thebay of Manila. They reached an island which is situated in the middleof the entrance, called Marivelez, where a sentinel is always postedto give notice of the ships that come to the city. He made signals, and hence, as we had advices, their arrival was known. They anchoredtheir vessels at both entrances, so that no ship could enter or leavewithout being seen. They captured a few provision-boats, and on somedays they entered the bay with two or three ships to reconnoiterthe port of Cabite, with the desire of having an extended view, andthen returned. They had some communication with the Japanese, who, as arrogant and barbarous people, despised our fleet. Those peopleinformed the Dutch that they had nothing to fear, for we were unableto prepare our fleet because of the lack of many things, so that theycould be quite easy. Consequently they proceeded as would those whofeared nothing. 

Licentiate Andres de Alcaraz was then senior auditor, and wasexercising the duties of captain-general. At several councils of war, it was discussed whether it would be proper to prepare the fleetthat was in port, in order to drive the enemy away. Most were ofthe opinion that the fleet should go out, founding their opinion onthe ignominy and taunts that the enemy flung upon the Spaniards, thereputation that we would lose among so many nations who were watchingus, the need of provisions that the enemy were making them endure, and the design of the latter to await the ships from China in order toenrich themselves from the merchandise that the Chinese were bringingto Manila. Those vessels were to come by April, and, besides thegeneral danger of depriving the community of the necessities broughtto it by the Chinese, many of the inhabitants were interested in thesaid ships. Although this last could be obviated by sending advicesto China, the captain-general refused to do it, although he shouldhave done so, because of the harm that might ensue to your Majesty'sservice, the common welfare, and the great harm that would result tothe enemies. [42] For opportunity was given to the enemy to enrichthemselves exceedingly with the spoils [of the Chinese], at the expenseof the community; then, too, the Chinese were losing so much there byfavor of their friends, since they would be ruined. The cause of thaterror was that, in that former year when the other Dutchman came withfive vessels thinking to stay there until he pillaged the Chinese (forhe bore instructions to that effect), advice was given the Chinese sothat they should not come. They obeyed the advice and did not come, and as the enemy went away, the inhabitants conceived that they hadsignally erred, ruined the city, and deprived the royal treasury ofthe great sum that the duties on the merchandise brought by the Chinesewould be worth. For that reason Alcaraz neglected to do that, althoughit was so desirable, whence so great injuries have resulted. When hewho is governing heeds the murmurs that may be raised against him, and consequently neglects to take the measures that are advisableand to which he is obliged, such troubles generally follow. 

Returning to the case [under consideration], almost all the city urgedthe preparation of the fleet, and it even came to such a pass thatinjunctions and protests were served on him by means of the entireecclesiastical estate. Innumerable difficulties were representedto Licentiate Alcaraz: one that there were many repairs to make inthe fleet, which had come in quite bad shape; that it even lackedconsiderable of its sails and rigging, and what was left was rotten;that, as no ship had come from Nueva España that year, the royaltreasury was considerably in debt, and had no money with which toprepare the fleet; that for the same reason the citizens could notpossibly loan what was needed; that most of the artillery was undersuspicion, and it was necessary to recast it; and, above all, that ifit did not succeed well the entire kingdom was about to be endangered. 

While affairs were in that perplexity and confusion, the vessels thathad gone out laden with the goods of the kingdom returned to port;for, as they had sailed late, they could not make the voyage. Thatis a matter that is never remedied, although by its neglect thepeople are so heavily punished. They had some artillery, more thanone hundred and fifty sailors, and many passengers. That was veryimportant, and it was a fine piece of luck that the enemy did notknow it, for it would have been easy to capture them; for one ofthose vessels had discharged its cargo about twenty leguas from theenemy and transfered its goods overland to the city. The other wentto a port at a distance from there, at an island called Cibuian. 

At this same time, the Mindanaos who had remained with the othersquadron of caracoas came to the coast of Manila, to a village calledBalayan. The Mindanaos landed, and the inhabitants fled. They set fireto the village and to more than one thousand quintals of your Majesty'srigging, through the fault and neglect of him who was governing. Foralthough the master-of camp, Don Juan Ronquillo, had advised them--onaccount of the news that had come that the Mindanaos had burned theshipyard, and were pillaging--that fifty soldiers be sent to Balayanfor its defense, and because the alcalde-mayor had sent to request it, they did not do so, but postponed it from day to day; and consequentlythe enemy was able to destroy that place. But as the inhabitantswere warned, as soon as they saw the Mindanaos coming, they had achance to get into the place of safety that was being prepared forthem. Our Lord ordained that, although they set fire to the rigging, little of it was burned; for God kept it for the preparation of thefleet, without which that would have been impossible. 

At the news of the coming of the Mindanaos, two galleys were sentunder one commander, in order to prevent the junction of the Moroswith the Dutch, and to try to scatter them. Although the Mindanaoshad thirty-five caracoas, that would have been done without anydanger, as caracoas are vessels which can be sunk with only theoar of a galley. He went out to look for the Mindanaos; and as heleft by night, because of the proximity of the Dutch, he was notperceived, and found the Mindanaos in the best position that could bedesired. The Mindanaos were intent on, and desirous of, gaining honor, for they were stationed with all their fleet within a river calledBaco in the island of Mindoro. The galleys having been stationed atthe mouth of the river, it was impossible for even a single caracoato escape. Consequently when the enemy learned that the galleys werethere, they were disturbed, and let go their prize, and begged thecaptives to intercede for them. They were determined, on seeing thegalleys, to desert their caracoas, and to go inland into the forests, where not one would have escaped. But the courage to undertake themost glorious enterprise (and one of importance for all the kingdom)that could be offered was lacking; and, turning about, the galleyswent to another island, under pretense that there was a heavy wind, and that they did not dare enter until it ceased, in order not to runthe risk of losing a galley. However that withdrawal was not withoutprofit, for they met one of the ships that had sailed for Nueva Españafrom Manila, which was coming back to port; and had the latter not beenwarned it would have fallen into the hands of the Dutch, being ignorantthat they were at the mouth of the bay. Thereupon, although the windceased at midnight, the galleys did not return until the afternoon ofnext day, and were told that, just as soon as the enemy heard that theywere gone, they had very joyfully taken flight toward their country, and with so great fear, that they did not even wait for one another. 

One would believe that our Lord was doing everything necessary forthe preparation of the fleet in order to encourage them; for at thesame time came news that the two ships despatched that year from NuevaEspaña with the goods of the city and the reënforcements sent by theviceroy both in money and in men for Maluco, had been forced to putin at Japon in July because of the vendavals; and that the almirantahad been wrecked, although the goods and men had been saved. Havingawaited favorable weather there, the commander (one Don Francisco deSerna) had come, and had arrived on the coast of Pangasinan, twentyleguas from where the Dutch were stationed. Being warned of theDutch, the commander put into a port there, and with the help of thealcalde-mayor of that province they discharged the ship, removed theartillery, and fortified themselves with two hundred soldiers of thevessel, so that they could defend themselves if the Dutch heard ofthem. As quickly as possible they carried the silver and everythingelse to the city. The enemy were advised of it, but at a time wheneverything was safe except the ship, which our men had to set afire, so that the enemy could not take it. 

God was encouraging them in this way, and ordaining what wasto be done; they appointed Master-of-camp Don Juan Ronquillo ascommander, and he went immediately to the port to make effectivethe equipment of six galleons, for the others could not be madeready. Trustworthy persons were despatched in order that they mightsend what was necessary from the islands. In another direction, tests of the artillery were begun, and what burst was recast; andit all proved satisfactory, so that no piece turned out badly. Allwere encouraged--he who had means, to give what was needed, and allto go out to fight the enemy. The enemy, seeing that the season forthe coming of the Chinese merchants had arrived, left the mouth ofthe bay, and went twenty leguas away to a port called Playa Honda, where all the Chinese ships come to make land, and where the otherDutchman who surrendered to Juan de Silva was pillaging in the year1610. Thereupon, since the entrance of the bay was unoccupied, theysent for the almiranta, which had put in and had been unladed. It wasbrought to port, laden with the food that had been collected there forthe purpose of being brought by the said ship if the enemy gave anyopportunity for it, as they did. Everything resulted as we desired. Theship carried thirty pieces of artillery, with which they managed toequip it, for it did not have to be repaired. Seven galleons were madeready for sailing, and even the one that carried the least artillerynumbered thirty large bronze pieces. Then captains and commanders wereappointed for the galleons, and each of the commanders was given theduty of directing and conveying the soldiers and inhabitants who wereinclined to go with him; whereat each one labored to caress and attractnot only his friends, but others also. The commanders were as follows:of the galleon "San Juan Bautista, " Admiral Pedro de Heredia; of thegalleon "San Miguel, " Admiral Rodrigo de Vilastigui; of "San Felipe, "Captain Sebastian de Madrid; of "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, " CaptainJuan Bautista de Molina; of "San Lorenço, " Captain Azevedo; and commandof the galleon "San Marcos"--which was called the almiranta, as ithad been with Don Juan de Silva in the expedition which he made toMalaca--was given to Don Juan de la Vega, son of Doctor Vega, auditorof the royal Audiencia. There were many disputes over his appointmentas admiral, for many of the commanders to whom it was due claimed it, especially Don Diego Quiñones, who had been brought from Oton for thatpurpose, although he had not recovered from his musket-wound; alsoHernando Muñoz de Aramburo (who had come as admiral of the caravels), and Francisco de la Serna--who had gone as commander of the ships, and at the restoration of the country was a very great soldier, who, with twenty gentlemen, served in that expedition at his own cost. Alsofor certain reasons, which I can not well recount, those captainswere at odds, a mistake that caused much regret later, when therewas no remedy. It is certain that no one would have escaped who wouldcarry news of the enemy. Yet, so that it might not appear that theywere shunning the opportunity, they offered their persons. Aramburuwent as associate of the commander, being skilful in war. Don Diegowas given a galley and the title of _quatralvo_. [43] Don AlonsoEnriquez took another galley, with the title of commander [_general_];Don Pedro de Almazan, another. The galleon "Salvador" was flagship, the best and largest galleon ever seen in the sea. It carried fiftylarge pieces of artillery, many of them of twenty-five and thirtylibras' caliber, but most of them of eighteen. The fleet left porton the eighth of April, in pursuit of the enemy. That afternoon, which was Saturday, it anchored at the mouth of the bay in orderto ascertain the location of the enemy. They had heard already thatthe enemy had plundered many Chinese and had filled their ships withgreat riches. It was ascertained from a spy, who was the one who sentadvices of what the enemy was doing, that two ships were six leguasfrom there, and the rest at Playa Honda. That report was false, andwas the reason why the most fortunate victory that could be desiredwas not obtained without bloodshed, and without any one escaping, aswill be seen in this relation. On receiving this news the commanderbegan to trim his sails, in order to reach the two ships by dawn. Butfinding nothing, he passed on to Playa Honda, where he arrived late, more than two hours after the sun had risen. Had the spy not deceivedthem, they would have reached the four of the enemy's ships at dawn, and the commander with most of his men could have slept on shore, entertaining guests with the booty that had fallen into his hands. Butwhen they sighted our fleet, they were able to get aboard their vesselsand to join the other two, which were coming with two more very richChinese prize ships. They spread their sails and went away together, and the fleets did no more that day than to watch one another, but our fleet always kept very close to, and did not lose sight of, the enemy. Next morning, Friday, our fleet came up scattered, eitherbecause of their inability to follow the flagship, or through thefault of the pilots. What is the most certain thing is that faultsare not investigated in the islands, nor are they punished. Becausethere was no almiranta to collect the vessels, the flagship, the"San Miguel, " and the "San Juan Bautista" were very near the enemy, while the others were more than three leguas to leeward. Theenemy tried to improve the opportunity, and determined to grappleour flagship with all their fleet, which they had carefullycollected--thinking that if it surrendered the war would be ended;for they thought that ship alone carried force, and that the otherscould only be carrying the pretense of it. The enemy worked to getto windward of our fleet, and our flagship, which was an excellentsailer, did the same; but on tacking, the latter threw a rope to thegalley of Don Alonso Enriquez and towed it a short distance. Thatallowed the enemy time to get to windward, and they came down uponour fleet to attack it in the following order: their flagship camefirst and then the other vessels, the bow of one right against thestern of the other. Although they could have raked the "San JuanBautista, " which was astern of the flagship, or have borne down uponthe "San Miguel, " which lay to leeward, they cared only to defeat theflagship. Since our ships could not get to windward, they passed itvery closely, each ship raking it. But our flagship was not asleep, and kept replying in such a way that, although the enemy's vesselscame so close together, so great haste was made that it gave eachship a full broadside volley from that side, namely with twenty-fivepieces. With that they were so crippled that they did not dare returnthe fire, and so gained nothing. That night the enemy held a councilof war, as some prisoners reported. All advised flight, as they hadbeen surprised by our flagship. But their commander assured themthat there was nothing to fear, and that the flagship had all theforce, and he dared to defeat it. Don Juan Ronquillo collected hisfleet that night and sent an order by the galley of Don Diego deQuiñones for each vessel to grapple with the one that fell to itslot, and for the "San Lorenço" to act as a reserve in order to helpthe most needy. Next morning, Saturday, April 15, our fleet boredown upon the enemy and succeeded in getting to windward of it. DonDiego de Quiñones went with his galley to tell the commander that hewas waiting to attack the enemy. The commander gave the same order, and also to leave the enemy's flagship for him. Invoking our Lady ofthe most pure Conception, whom they had taken as patroness of thatundertaking on their departure, they attacked the enemy. The Dutchwere confident, when they were aware of the dash of the Spaniards, that our men would board their ships when they grappled. Accordinglythey prepared for it by so many stratagems that all who boarded wouldbe killed; but Don Juan Ronquillo, taking precautions against that, issued an order for no one to board until the galleon with which hewas fighting had surrendered. That order was obeyed; and our flagshipgrappled its adversary, and although almost all the latter's crewwere killed it refused to surrender. Finally it was reduced to sucha condition that it began to roll violently, a sign that it wassinking, whereupon our flagship drew apart from it, and it went tothe bottom. The commander and several who were left alive got intotheir small boat and escaped. It was said that the ship containedgreat wealth that had been pillaged along the coast of India, and thebest that they had pillaged from the Chinese. That galleon was called"Sol Nuevo de Olanda" [_i. E. _, "New Sun of Holland"], and it set verywretchedly for them that day. Captain Juan Bautista de Molina wasthe first to grapple another galleon, and the galley of Don Diegowent to his aid. It had already surrendered, and the Dutch had beenmade prisoners, when another galleon, all on fire, bore down upon twogalleons with which Rodrigo de Guillastegui had fought. It set fire toone of them, and it bore down ablaze upon the one defeated by CaptainMolina, so that he was forced to ungrapple. Those two burning vesselsbore down upon that of the Dutch admiral, with whom Pedro de Herediahad grappled, and whom he had already defeated and most of whose crewhe had killed. When he saw the two burning galleons bearing downupon them, they threw off the grapples and separated. Consequentlythe admiral had opportunity to escape, but in so bad a condition thathis vessel sank next day, according to the report of some Indians andChinese who saw it. Captain Sebastian de Madrid, on going to grapplewith another galleon, was killed by a musket-ball; and when hisvessel was about to grapple, Don Juan de la Vega, with the galleon"San Marcos, " came between. Those aboard the "San Felipe" thoughtthat he would grapple, but he made for the open sea, whereupon they onseeing it went after him. Captain Azevedo grappled the other galleon, and after fighting gallantly, the grapples were thrown off, whereuponboth Dutch galleons took the opportunity to escape. That battle wasthe most bloody ever seen, for all had come with the determination todie rather than surrender, and they did so. "San Felipe, " "San JuanBautista, " and "San Marcos" went in pursuit of the three galleons ofthe enemy; but since flight has so many advantages to the one escaping, the enemy threw overboard all their cargo into that sea, and, theirsails being wet, the sea became narrow for them, notwithstanding itwas so wide; and when dark night came, they changed their route andour ships lost sight of them. Thereupon the "San Juan Bautista, " the"San Felipe, " and the "San Marcos" changed their course, and returnedtwo days later for the evil result that disturbed that victory. 

The commander determined to return to Manila, for their drinking-waterwas gone, and the galleon "San Miguel" was leaking badly, and they wereunable to overcome the leak at the pumps, while the galleon of Pedro deHeredia arrived at the mouth of the bay in very bad condition. Next daytwo other galleons belonging to the enemy, which had not been presentduring the battle, reached the place where it had been fought. They hada Japanese prize-ship, laden with flour. Ignorant of the past event, they spied the "San Marcos" coming. One of them went to reconnoiterthe latter, and upon seeing that it was our vessel went to advise itscompanion. Both bore down upon our vessel, whereupon it turned itscourse to the shore. For reasons known to its commander--and I thinkbecause he was mainly influenced by cowardly advisers--the ship wasrun aground and burned, so near the enemy that the latter flung atthem innumerable insults. The largest galleon of the fleet, next tothe flagship, was lost. It had thirty-six large pieces of artillery, most of which have been taken out of it. The commander was arrested, as well as his associates Captains Pedro de Ermura and Salvador deOñate. The most notable thing is that that galleon was lost on thevery day of St. Mark, by whose intercession Don Juan de Silva hadobtained the last victory. 

Don Juan Ronquillo heard of the disaster of Don Juan de la Vega, andset out in pursuit of the enemy. He was unable, however, to overtakethem, for a Dutch lad aboard the "San Marcos" escaped by swimming andwent to the enemy, to whom he related what was happening. Thereuponthe Dutch returned to Japon, laden with spoils. 

Some have doubted whether the enemy had ten galleons, since onlysix fought, besides the two above mentioned, [and ask] what becameof them. I answer that doubt by saying that one fled on the day ofbattle, and refused to fight, for which reason its captain was hangedat Maluco. The Dutch commander sent the other vessel back with thewounded and some sick men, as soon as the engagement with Don Diego deQuiñones had happened, chiefly because that galleon was leaking badly. 

Captain Molina carried a carved image of our Lady in the galleon"Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. " It was kept in a little woodentabernacle. An eighteen-libra ball entered one of the ports, struck thetabernacle of the image, and knocked it into a thousand splinters. Isaw the latter and the ball with my own eyes. But the image remainedon its base, and not a hair of it was touched, which was obviouslya miracle. 

Pedro de Heredia was carrying another picture of our Lady, paintedon a board beside a crucifix, on the galleon "San Bautista. " Anotherball of twelve libras entered and struck it on the breast, withoutdoing it other harm than that the gold with which the drapery hadbeen made stuck to the ball, which fell there at her feet, while theboard was unbroken. I certify to that, for I saw it. 

An artilleryman went below decks to apply fire to a piece with whichhe had fired several shots. He applied the fire to it three times, although on similar occasions it was wont to catch without that, butit would not go off. The artilleryman was surprised and approaching toascertain what was the matter found the piece open. Had it taken fire, it would have caused a very great disaster, and perhaps have burnedthe ship. Whence one could clearly see that the Virgin, our Lady, was not slothful on that occasion. Neither was the city of Manilaslothful, for they carried our Lady of Guidance, which is outsidethe walls, in solemn procession to the cathedral, whose advocacy isof the immaculate conception; and all the people confessed and tookcommunion. Having exposed the most holy sacrament, all accompanied itduring all those days, making many prayers to God and to His blessedmother, which were also answered. May He be blessed forever. Amen. 

Part Second, Which Treats of the Importance of the Filipinas and ofthe Means for Preserving Them

Chapter I. Of the importance to your Majesty of preserving thatcountry. 

For many reasons, which those who do not possess thorough informationin regard to the Filipinas ignore, but which show how importantto your Majesty is the preservation and increase of those islands, I shall insert them here as clearly as possible. 

The first is the increase and extension of the holy gospel and theglory and honor of God, which is so incumbent upon your Majesty--inthe first place, because your Majesty has inherited from your blessedfather and glorious ancestors this pious and holy zeal for spreadingand extending the holy Catholic faith, by reason of which your Majestyenjoys the wealth of the Indias; in the second place, because itis so suitable to the greatness of your Majesty's sovereignty andyour reputation. For to leave this work when begun would be a greatscandal before the world, and the occasion of much complaint to allits nations--and especially to the heretics, who would say that yourMajesty was influenced not by the glory of God, nor the preservationof the Indias, but by private interest, since where you had not thatyou allowed Christianity to perish. 

The second concerns the peace of your royal conscience, if you shouldnot preserve those islands while possible. 

The third is for causes of state; for it would amount to giving yourenemies arms and forces against your Majesty, and encourage othersto the same enmity who are envious of your Majesty's greatness. Itmay well be inferred that since the enemy are attempting this withso great expense and labors, they have understood its importance tothemselves. The possibility of this can be easily understood, for theycould not persevere so long with their own forces only, if they werenot privily incited by the secret enemies of your Majesty, and thosewho are envious and fearful of your greatness--who clearly recognizethat, if they could possess that archipelago without opposition, it would be worth more to them than eight millions clear (as I willdemonstrate to whomsoever may be curious or may desire to know it), through the profit which they can make in spices, drugs, and thetrade with Great China, Japon, and the neighboring countries. 

The fourth is, because straightway the whole of Portuguese Indiawould be infallibly lost; and, if it is not lost, it is because weso harass the enemy from Filipinas that they need all their forcesin order not to lose what they hold. 

The fifth is the knowledge (as is evident) of the immense wealth whichlies in the Filipinas, as I shall explain further in this treatise, and which hitherto has been unrecognized. 

The sixth would be the loss of the most convenient and importantpost which your Majesty holds in all his kingdoms, not only for theextension of the holy gospel in so many kingdoms of idol-worshipers whoare capable of receiving it, but, as these are in the neighborhood ofthe Filipinas, the hope, consequently, of enjoying the immense wealthwhich they possess through their trade and commerce--not to mentionthe risk which is incurred by the Western Indias through the South Sea. 

Chapter II. Wherein those are answered who believe that the Filipinasshould be abandoned, or traded to the crown of Portugal for Brazil. 

The lack of knowledge regarding the Filipinas and the gains which maybe obtained with them has been the cause for many of the servants ofyour Majesty, and other prominent persons, having a poor opinion ofthem. Accordingly it has seemed to such persons more expedient to berid of those islands, and to others that they should be exchangedwith the crown of Portugal for Brazil. All the reasons which theygive for this may be reduced to five: The first is that there isa drain upon your Majesty's royal patrimony for their maintenance, and you derive no profit. The second is to avoid the flow, throughthat method of maintaining them, of silver from Nueva España to GreatChina, by cutting off commerce with the latter country. The thirdis on account of the troops that are there consumed. The fourth isthat since your Majesty is in such straits it is expedient to attendfirst to the relief most necessary, which is that of affairs here;and since you cannot attend to all, it is compulsory to abandon thatcountry. Finally, your Majesty's dominions are widely separated, and cannot be preserved except by withdrawing from those whichare least necessary, for power united is the stronger. Or it isargued that, even though it be expedient to maintain the Filipinas, the commerce should be changed from Nueva España to these kingdoms, and ships should be sent from the city of Sevilla to the Filipinas, as is done from Portugal to eastern India; and that for this tradethe ships should be laden with merchandise from this country [_i. E. _, España], and in exchange for that should bring back the wealth ofGreat China and those regions. 

In answer to the first, your Majesty expends much in the preservationof that country, it is true; but the objectors do not considerthat those expenditures which are made are not for the purpose ofpreserving the Filipinas--at least since Don Pedro de Acuña, yourgovernor, won the islands of Maluco, where cloves are obtained; forsince that time the expense has been to maintain the war against theDutch, who have been fortifying and making themselves masters there, and because we did not understand here, in the beginning and later, how important it would be to spend what was necessary to drive themout once for all, and to secure those regions. This has been thecause of spending so much in reënforcements, which have not served, and do not serve, more than to keep the forts which your Majestyholds in the islands of Terrenate and Tidore, and the friendshipof the king of Tidore; and this is the cause of the expenses whichyour Majesty makes in the Filipinas, while the Dutch are taking awayalmost all the profits--although it is true that, if your Majesty hadhad ministers there zealous in your service, you might have obtainedprofit enough to maintain those forts without drawing upon your royalexchequer. The same thing could be done at any time when you wish, butthe means for this are not at hand, and accordingly I defer them. Ifyour Majesty should wish to know them, I will inform you of them. Fromthis it may be concluded that the Filipinas are not the cause ofthese expenditures; and those which were made there before that time(as will be explained later, by themselves) exceeded the support withwhich your Majesty maintained the islands. This was done by the kings, your Majesty's father and grandfather, for two reasons: in the firstplace, by their aiming at the glory of God and the spread of Hisholy gospel, since they enjoyed the title of patrons of the church, upon whom it would seem this obligation rests; in the second place, on account of the favorable situation of that post for obtaining fromit more wealth than from all the rest of the Indias--and if this hasnot hitherto been enjoyed the blame is not upon the country, but, forreasons which cannot be here set down, upon those who have governed it. 

To the second reason--that, as they say, much silver passes to theFilipinas and does not come to España--it may be answered that thefact is that, to obviate this difficulty, your Majesty has ordered thatthe citizens of the Filipinas Islands, in order to support themselves, be permitted, in return for the merchandise which they send to NuevaEspaña, to have sent back to them 500U [_i. E. _, 500, 000] pesos of eightreals; and in the course of this, it is said, a much greater quantitypasses. As it is an easy thing to increase the zeros in an account, in this manner they have increased it more than double and triple, basing their figures on what was written to this court by an auditorof the Filipinas, who was alleging services so that favors might begranted to him. He said that when he was going from Nueva España ascommander, and the capitana in which he sailed was wrecked, he hadplaced the commercial silver in a place of safety, and there were threemillions of it. The truth is that he exaggerated this to enhance thevalue of his service, increasing the sum by more than half; for fromus, who were there, this matter could not be concealed, and therehas never passed so much silver as in that year. If this service wasplaced at such figures, it deserved a heavy punishment, and not thereward which he seeks. Since that time it is true that as much morepasses, to Filipinas, by the permission which your Majesty gives. Thecauses of this excess are two. In the first place, the necessity ofthe citizens, who are unable to support themselves with so small aquantity, or to gain profit in trade; since, if there are no more thanfive hundred [thousand pesos] they need all which is sent them fortheir living alone. Accordingly, even at a great cost to themselves, they seek means to get profits from their property. The limitation ofthis permission entails a difficulty which I have mentioned; for inthe first place measures must be taken to enrich them, since it isof so great importance to kings that their subjects should be rich, while the poverty of the latter causes such diminution of theirpower. If this reason holds in all the kingdoms of your Majesty, it does so much more in that one which is so distant, where, whennecessary, they lend to the royal treasury on occasions of need--asthey did last year to Don Alonso Faxardo de Tença, your governor, whom they lent 200U ducados to lead an army against the Dutch, andlikewise their slaves to man four galleys. They have done this samething on other occasions, and expose their persons in war and losetheir lives, as many of the best men of that city have done--theirmisfortune lying in this, that they were so far distant from the royaleyes of your Majesty, wherefore their services are not conspicuous. 

In the second place, there is the greediness of the merchants fromMexico, to whom the greater part of this silver which passes to theFilipinas belongs; if this could be remedied, the difficulty of somuch outflow of silver as is reported would be obviated. But theremedy is not to send thither judges and guards who are not to allowit to pass; for on the contrary, as our experience shows, they goto enrich themselves by the salaries which your Majesty gives them, and the profit which they there make. For in all countries ill-gainedwealth is thus christened. The silver which goes there is of no lessvalue to the royal exchequer than that which comes here, since theinvestment of it pays no fewer duties, but more; and at least itcomes finally into the hands of our friends, and is not like thatwhich comes to España--which for the most part is enjoyed by theenemies of your Majesty; and the fleets go more heavily laden withthe enemy's property than with that of your vassals. 

The merchants of Sevilla complain that the trade with China has beendestroyed by the Indias, but they do not understand the cause of itsruin. The Marquis de Montesclaros, who governed Nueva España and Piru, and understood this matter very well (as he did many things), wroteyour Majesty a letter from the Indias, which is in your royal Council, where he says with clear and evident arguments: "But what strikesme is, that as the commonest and most universal means of workingthe mines is quicksilver, this loss is caused by giving that metalat so high a price to the miners. For in the first place, as mostof them are poor, they cannot buy it, and therefore a great deal ofmetal is left unworked; and in the second place, because those whoare able to buy it cannot work poor mines (for they would be ruinedthereby), and as the greater part of those in the Indias are of thiskind, double the amount of silver [obtained] is left unmined. If yourMajesty would order the quicksilver to be given at cost and expenses, it would be of incomparably more profit than today; and the Indiaswould be in a better condition, more merchandise would be bought, the duties would increase, and the merchants would not feel the wantof the silver which goes to the Filipinas--as they did not feel itin times past, although there came much more merchandise from therethan at present. I would that there were so great an abundance ofquicksilver in the Indias, and so cheap, that it could be bought, not only by the miners, but by other Spaniards and Indians, who wouldthen have so much silver that their complaints would cease. "

If the trade were transferred to España, those who say that themerchandise from this country would be carried to Filipinas, to beexchanged for the goods of that country, are not aware that in thoseregions there is no one to use Spanish goods except the Spaniards, who with four pipas of wine, and other wares of little importance, would be quite sufficiently supplied; and that, if this were so, thePortuguese and Dutch would take the merchandise away, for nothingescapes their notice. Both of these take silver, and whatever elsethey take is of small importance; so that it would soon be necessary, in order to maintain the trade, to carry silver from España and riskit again. It is less trouble to carry it from the Indias, beside theincomparably greater risk from the sea and from enemies [by the otherroute]; and Nueva España would be ruined. 

To the third reason, in which they say that many troops are used up, I would say that it is true that there go each year sometimes twohundred men, and other years less, and again none at all; and ofthese more die from their excesses than from the war, and they do notcount those who return and go through India and other regions. Ifthose islands were to be abandoned on account of this difficulty, the same reason holds in Flandes and Italia, which use up more menin one campaign than do the Filipinas in twenty years. 

To the fourth, that because your Majesty is so hard pressed he needsmust attend to matters here, etc. , we could say that it is in no wiseexpedient that your Majesty should abandon that country, on accountof the dependence of all the Indias upon it; because if the Dutchpossessed themselves of that archipelago (which they are attemptingto do), they would draw from it resources sufficient to destroy theIndias--not only by the power which they have, but also through theopportunity of keeping an open port in those regions where your Majestycould not defend himself without spending much more than the profits ofthe Indias. For that reason it is necessary to preserve that country, as well as all the rest; for your Majesty is under expense for thesame reason in preserving Habana, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Jamayca, Florida, and the whole continent, without securing profit, merely onaccount of the damage which enemies could inflict upon the Indias. Notalone for this reason are the Filipinas important to your Majesty, but for another of no less consequence, and which these countries donot have, namely, the great profits which can be drawn from them. 

To the fifth I say that although this maxim, that united forces arestronger, is usually true, yet there are occasions when this unionconsists not alone in compressing them, but in conserving the partsof which the whole is composed, although these are distant from oneanother, as are those which your Majesty possesses in his monarchy. Atfirst, when the Filipinas were discovered, this might have been donewithout any harm while that country was new and strange, unknown tothe nations of Europe, uncultivated and in disorder. No one desiredit until Filipo Second of blessed memory brought it to notice; andat that time, even if it had been abandoned, there was no one whocoveted it; but now that the great wealth contained in it is wellknown, all are desirous of it, and are trying to take it from yourMajesty, so that they may thereby carry on their war. This was wellconsidered by the exceedingly prudent grandfather of your Majesty;for he considered not only the service which he was doing to our LordGod, by spreading His Catholic faith and bringing so many souls torecognize Him, but likewise that, at the rate at which it was growing, it would increase for his posterity with greater magnificence. He toldthose who were persuading him to abandon it that, if the silver of theIndias was not enough, he would send what was needed from España. Forif your Majesty possesses the Indias with so honorable a warrant asthat of the Catholic church for the purpose of converting souls, andthere has been and is being taken so much wealth from the Indias, where your reputation and royal conscience are to such an extentengaged, what reason can be so pressing that you should not attemptwith great care and energy the preservation of that country, wherethe obligation of your Majesty is so pressing? And what excuse wouldyour Majesty have before the Divine Majesty for not aiding it in time, if for this reason so many millions of souls should retrograde fromthe faith? Then, too, consider the great multitude who, it is hoped, will come to the knowledge of the true God, in whose hand, as Davidsays: _Domini est terra, et plenitudo eius, orbis terrarum, et omnesqui habitant in eo_. [44] Who but He gives kingdoms and monarchies? forhow could He be under greater obligation--if there is any way in whichto oblige Him from whom nothing is due--than to procure His own greaterhonor and glory in the salvation of souls, which cost him so much? Forthese services are paid for, both here and in heaven, bountifully, and the holy Scriptures are full of examples to this effect. How manyblessings did He shower upon Obededon for preserving the ark of thetestament, and what favors has the most fortunate house of Austria[45] received from His hand, which was presaged in that manna whichwas once sent! God is very generous, and knows well how to further theaffairs of him who charges himself with His; but as for those who, on the contrary, put temporal good before His service, what successcan they hope in this? I might well cite many examples which I do not, that I may not pass the bounds of my memoir. 

Although some give as an example the king of Great China, who abandonedmany kingdoms of which he was the lord in order to preserve his own, this is not suited to your Majesty's position; for Great China isvery extensive and holds as many people as eight Españas, and itsking has one hundred and fifty millions of revenue, or even more, and is made thoroughly secure by nature and art. What he abandoned, moreover, was not taken from him, nor was there any risk of puttinghimself in a position to make enemies--although where these reasonsare present, those who advised this are right. 

Chapter III. How the city of Manila at present bears the burden ofall this structure. 

I have already explained how the city of Manila is like the center ofa circle, whose circumference includes all the kingdoms mentioned. Itremains to explain how it maintains this structure and bears thewhole burden of it. 

In the first place, it maintains the war of Maluco and feeds it withtroops, supplies, and munitions continually, a thing which PortugueseIndia could not do. I argue the matter thus, that I may not seem tobe actuated only by affection for my own country, instead of making ajust estimate. It must be considered that people cannot go to Malucofrom India more than once a year, on account of the weather; this iswell known to all those who sail on those seas. From Manila the voyagecan be made almost the whole year; whence it follows that Maluco couldnot be reënforced so conveniently [if the Filipinas were abandoned], especially in cases of great need. 

_Item_: They cannot so well send news [to India as to Manila], orreceive advices, of the difficulties in which they find themselves, in order to seek aid; for they are very far away and there is nofavorable weather except during a certain monsoon of the year inorder to go to India, and still less to come from there. 

_Item_: On account of the lack of available funds in India, for it iswell known that that country is quite exhausted; and news is comingcontinually to Manila from, Maluco, for information comes and aid issent in a fortnight or less. Likewise on account of the abundance[in Filipinas] of provisions and other necessary things with whichyour Majesty provides them. 

_Item_: Because, beside the garrisons of troops which your Majestyhas in Maluco, you have ships of war which molest the enemies. It isnecessary, for the profit that they obtain, that they should not buy[46] cheaply, since they have to maintain, for the safety of the trade, a number of fortresses and armed ships on account of the Spaniardsof the Filipinas; but, if the latter were not there, there would beno enemy to cause them anxiety, nor occasion for expense. 

_Item_: Because the trade from Manila with Great China prevents theChinese from trading freely with the Dutch; but if they could do so, it would induce the former to drain from their country great quantitiesof merchandise, in order to satisfy their greed. 

_Item_: The check and apprehension which is imposed on the enemy lestthey extend their navigation farther, for fear of encountering ourpeople; accordingly they do not sail on those seas excepting withgreat caution. 

_Item_: In the city of Manila is a concourse and traffic betweenmany nations, by whom it is supported--which proves how important itis to maintain it for the greatness and reputation of your Majesty, with all those nations and with all the world. For they see with howfew vassals you subject and make so many nations tremble, with theaid of God, who protects them surrounded by so many enemies as youhave, even within the gates; and yet they live in as much security, but not heedlessness, as if there were no enemy. 

Chapter IV. Explains the error which is generally prevalent thatthe money for the reënforcements which your Majesty sends to theFilipinas, and other things, is spent for their maintenance; and ofthe resources which they possess available (if it were not for Maluco)for their own maintenance. 

Since your Majesty sent an order and command to Don Pedro de Acuña togo with a force of troops to recover Maluco, which the Portuguese hadlost, all the reënforcements of money, troops, and munitions whichhave since been raised here are spent in maintaining the forts ofMaluco; and the great quantity that Don Juan de Silva expended wasin the expeditions which he made. Not only has this been spent, butManila and all the islands are today almost ruined because of this, besides the embarrassment in which that placed your royal treasury, so that if it had to pay what is due to the Indians, excluding what itowes the citizens, that would be more than two millions. If it hadnot these calls upon its revenues, there would be enough to maintainit without your Majesty expending any more than the profits which heobtains from the islands, as may be seen by what follows, which iscopied from the royal books of the royal accountancy with all fidelity. 

 Pesos

There are assigned to the royal crown tributes amounting to36U516 and a half, of which 28U483 and a half of 8 realsare collected. The rest, amounting to 5U033 of 10 reals, which is the province of Ylocos, amounts to 39U807

There are in all the islands 130U939 tributarios inencomiendas, and those under the crown pay your Majesty tworeals of income 32U734

The tenths of gold are worth 2U000

The tenths on herds of cattle 2U500

The customs duties from the Chinese at six per cent onmerchandise 80U000

Licenses imposed by Don Juan de Silva on every Chinaman whoremains in the country, at 8 pesos 80U000

Duties on cloth belonging to citizens, which is brought inthe ships from Mexico. 2U500

Customs duties on ships that go to Mexico sent by citizensof Manila, at three per cent of the merchandise 12U000

Other items, 4U pesos 4U000

Total amount 255U541

In this way your Majesty has, from year to year, a little more orless than two hundred and fifty thousand reals of eight, and in thisthere are included neither the freight charges of the ships which goto Nueva España, amounting to more than 30U pesos, nor the twelve percent paid there on the merchandise which is sent, because this entersinto the royal treasury of Mexico. The expenses which your Majestyhas in these islands are not so great that, if it were not necessaryto furnish support for the war in Maluco with the Dutch, there wouldnot be rather some surplus than a deficit; and you could well maintainfour galleons and six galleys for its protection and defense. 

Chapter V. That your Majesty possesses in the Filipinas enormouswealth, even with the little effort made to realize it. 

What most discourages many servants of your Majesty, and even preventsothers who are striving to forward your royal service from givingcredence to great things, has been the incredulity which they displayregarding the greatness of the Indias. This has been true since thefirst discoverers, as is well known. For not only are we to believethat the Holy Ghost gave them that impulse to persevere in theirintention--even if that were not (which ought not to be believed)the glory of God and the saving of souls--but our Lord, who sought bythis means to accomplish His work, gave them so great perseveranceand fortitude in breaking through the midst of so many difficultiesand so much opposition and so many hard rebuffs that, indeed, ifone look upon and read the history of the Indias, it would seem thatmen would be unable to suffer so much. But God would encourage them, for whose cause they persevered in their projects, bringing so greatincrease of grandeur to the kings of España. Although since that timesome, more desirous of wealth and honor than moved by God, have triedto imitate those discoverers, and have had ill success, they oughtnot all for this reason to be condemned and reproved without firstexamining their intentions and objects, and the real nature of theaffairs which they are conducting. 

I have said this briefly, for in what I wish to say I think there willbe many of this sort mentioned; and, just as it is imprudent to believeall, it would be going to the other extreme to give credit to no one. 

In the Filipinas Islands, in so far as I have been able to learn (andI consider it certain), your Majesty has, without going to conquerforeign kingdoms, the greatest wealth which has been found in theIndias; [47] and I base this upon these arguments, for in all thoseislands it is well known and established. 

After the Spaniards founded the city of Manila and reduced thatisland to peace, they learned that in some mountainous regions whichlie about forty leguas from the city, in the province of Pangasinan, there were many mines of gold, according to the information whichthe Indians gave them; but that they were inhabited by warlike andbarbarous Indians, who never permitted those of the plains to go upthere. This was known because they came down at certain times ofthe year to buy a quantity of cattle, and brought a great deal ofgold. On this information, although it was somewhat indefinite, Guidode Labaçares, who governed at that time, sent a number of soldiers toclimb up the mountain. [48] These, being unprovided with necessities, and fewer in number than were needed, encountered much resistancefrom the natives. As the country is rough, and their food soon failedthem, they went back, many of them ill. Although they brought someinformation, it was not sufficient to encourage the governor or tocause him again to further the enterprise. Therefore, little by little, this knowledge was fading away among the Spaniards, notwithstandingthat the religious who ministered in the neighboring provinces werewell informed, and certain Indians told them of it. Accordingly, considering the host of vexations, injuries, and losses, and thediminution of numbers that are suffered by the Indians in all theWestern Indias on account of the labor in the mines, the Order ofSt. Dominic especially, who administer the province of Pangasinan, have tried with all their might to cover up this information, onaccount of this fear which possesses them. 

Many years ago I learned something of this, but I sided with theothers who gave little credit to it, owing to the little knowledgethat we had. But as time is a great discloser of secrets, while Iwas discussing with some religious the difficulties of the futurewhich the kings of España, the successors of your Majesty, must meetin maintaining this country if there were in the country itselfno wealth or sources of profit which would oblige them to do so, I succeeded in securing a great deal of information concerning thewealth which is there. Particularly, he who is now archbishop [49]told me that a religious of St. Dominic--the vicar of a village namedVinalatonga, who was named Fray Jasinto Palao, and who at that timehad come from Luzón to this kingdom [_i. E. _, España]--had shown himsome rocks which an Indian had brought him from a mine, and whichappeared extraordinarily rich, beyond anything that had been seen. Buthe enjoined the bishop to secrecy, because he himself had heard itin the same manner. I, who desired the preservation of that country, took occasion to make friends with that religious, in order to informmyself the better under pretence of curiosity. I asked him to tellme what he knew of those mines, whereupon that religious (who wasalready en route for the return to the islands) told me that what hehad said was true; and further he said: "No one knows as much aboutthose mines as I, because some Indians came down from the mountainsand I entertained them. They told me that there was a great deal ofgold up there, and that of what they took from the mines, half theore was gold. " And he said that when one of them, who was alreadysomewhat versed in our tongue, saw reals of eight, he said to him:"We have much of this metal there, Father, much in the mines; butIndian wants nothing besides gold. " I conferred with the bishop ofNueva Segovia (as that province falls under his jurisdiction), who wasDon Fray Diego de Soria, a Dominican, and with another religious, theprovincial of the same order, named Fray Bernardo de Santa Catalina, in regard to this matter; and I gave them so many arguments to inclinethem to my plan that they were brought to my way of thinking. Themost convincing argument which I used was to persuade them thatthe same reason did not hold there as in Nueva España and Piru, for ill-treating the Indians; for there are so many Chinese who areraising their hands to God to find something to work at--as many asare necessary, as was well known by them. Thereupon they told me allthe information that they had for certain from various Indians--notonly from the Christians, some of whom had gone up peacefully to trade, but likewise from those from above who came down to the province. Thebishop certified that there was the greatest wealth in the world;and that they had brought him from one hill a little red earth, ofwhich the whole hill is composed, which was as much as they couldput upon a silver platter. They washed it, in his presence, and tookout seven taes of gold, which amount to forty-four castellanos. [50]He asserted that in every part of the hill the earth was all of thisrichness. With all this information I went to Don Juan de Silva andtold him what had happened, and how I had pacified the friars. Heagreed that we should go and discover it and said that he would go inperson when he finished that expedition. He was overtaken by death, as has been said, and accordingly the matter has remained in thiscondition. And even if there were not in these mountains the wealth ofwhich we are told, it seems that the obligation to pacify these Indiansexists, and that the holy gospel ought to be preached to them--in thefirst place, because your Majesty has undertaken so just and holy anenterprise; and second, because they are in the same island [with ourSpaniards]. It is a shame that, being in the neighborhood of Manila, they do not enjoy the blessing that the others do. Beside this, thereis the fact that these as well as their neighbors will not allow otherpeople to trade in their territory; by the law of nations, therefore, the Spaniards have a right of action. 

The ease and little cost connected with this enterprise are suchthat if the governor would send a single person suitable for it, withtwo hundred soldiers from the garrison of Manila, and levy a thousandIndians from the two provinces to help them and transport the supplies, they would subdue those savages without difficulty, if the man who doesit is prudent and has ambition to make the enterprise a success. Thisis not the place to discuss the other measures and affairs in detail;but if your Majesty should be pleased to have this done, I offer togive information of all that is necessary to provide, and to solve anydoubts that may arise. I protest before the divine Majesty that I amnot moved by covetousness, nor by desire that your Majesty should grantme any favor for this, nor am I trying to secure favors by this means;but I am only seeking the glory of God, the service of your Majesty, and the welfare of that land. 

Chapter VI. Of the persons who are needed in the government of theFilipinas. 

One (and the most important) of the matters which are necessary for thepreservation and growth of that kingdom--whereon depends, as it were, the attainment of its object--is that the governors should be such menas are suitable for that post, and have the requisite qualificationsdemanded by that government. As so few have hitherto gone there whoare thus qualified, the hindrance to the growth of that country hasbeen much more than can be understood here. 

For thirty years I have been a resident in the Filipinas, and havenot seen one governor such as was needed there, excepting Gomez Perezde las Marinas, who improved and bettered that land in only the threeyears during which he governed, more than all together who had gonebefore or have come since have done. The reason for this is, thatthose who have succeeded since that time either had not had experiencein government, or did not possess the divine gift which is necessaryfor this so delicate task. Over there, although a soldier is neededwho understands matters of war and knows how to regulate and directthem as they should be, yet he should be receptive of instruction;and he would learn much more there through the counsel of those whohave broad experience, and through what experience can teach him, than through any knowledge that they can carry from here. This is thereason why matters there are very different from those in this kingdom, as if we were speaking of different species--not only of people and oftheir opinions, but of their modes of life and their natures. From thisit has resulted that those who have undertaken to conduct affairs bythe rules current here have committed irremediable blunders. But theprincipal thing which is necessary there is that he should be a goodpublic man, for the basis and fundamental need is good government, and efforts for the increase of the land, and directing all one's caretoward its welfare, according good treatment to the citizens, showingkindness to foreigners, and attracting and winning the affectionsof all. Great care should be taken to despatch the ships from NuevaEspaña promptly, and with proper supplies. All the people should beencouraged to go to trade with the neighboring countries, to buildvessels, to extend their interests, and to bring wealth from thoselands. They should be not only governors, but fathers and protectorsof the Indians. This land, I assure you in all truth, if it had beenthus governed, would be the best and richest in the world, and yourMajesty would possess many sources of profit. Thus all the misfortunesand losses of property that have occurred there (which have been verygreat), have resulted by reason of and through the fault of thosewho have governed it, without any one thus far having been punishedor his residencia taken thereon. If Gomez Perez was successful, itwas because he already had had experience in governing, and had beencorregidor many times, in which capacity he was obliged to considernot only affairs of government but also those of war. Above all, he was a very good Christian and desirous of doing right, which isthe basis on which is founded all that is good. Accordingly, at hisdeath, that country lost the special character that he had given it;but his memory will endure for many years in that city, as that ofthe father of the country. About the city of Manila he built a wall ofgreat strength, fortified it, cast artillery, and performed many otherworks with no ado, nor cost to your Majesty. He took to Maluco thechoicest fleet which has ever been collected in the Indias, withouthaving used for it the thousands from Mexico which your Majesty hasordered to be carried to other governors; and all this he did by hisprudent plans and energetic action. Hence may be seen the importanceof sending a governor there who is possessed of the traits that I havementioned; for, besides so many advantages and good results as he cansecure, and the evils which he can obviate, he will be able to savefor your Majesty many ducados. Indeed, if the money which could havebeen dispensed with this year had been saved, your Majesty would beable to accomplish many military works and gain much wealth. And sinceyour Majesty entrusts to him more than to all the other governors ofthe Indias, it is right that you should seek more carefully for sucha man in that place than for any of the others; since not alone doesyour Majesty entrust him with a kingdom, but with your reputation andrenown, which among so many different nations is only known throughyour governors for your Majesty. I even dare to say that hence alsocomes their knowledge of God. For to him is principally confided thehonor of God and the conversion of so many souls, since we have seenso plainly how important is his good example; and, on the other hand, he will abolish evil and scandal not only there, but that which isspreading in Great China and other nations. They believe that our kingis such a one as they see reflected in him who represents him. Whatis still more to be deplored is that, within the last few years, there has arisen blasphemy against God and derision of your Majestyamong those infidels, on this account. So great is the importanceof your Majesty sending a person such as I have here described;for those who have not these qualities will destroy rather than build. 

Chapter VII. Of the measures which should be chosen for the growthand preservation of that kingdom. 

The first thing which offers under this heading is the considerationof the matters pertaining to the war with the Dutch, which is thebasal and fundamental question for all the rest; for the enemy ismaking such efforts and using so many measures to get control of thatarchipelago, and drive out the Spaniards. 

Three ways and means present themselves to the mind, beside which Ifind no other one, although I have considered it well. 

The first, if it be possible for your Majesty, is to manage to havean armed fleet sent. If, when Don Alonso Faxardo was already yourgovernor, he had taken the one which had been made ready, the timewas opportune so that he could have driven out the enemy from theirposts, together with the fleet which was in the Filipinas, whichwas weakened in men and artillery by its loss at Manila. On accountof this, the natives of the island of Maluco, fearful of the powerof your Majesty, entered our service. This fleet, which I say yourMajesty should have despatched, should have been sent with a previouswarning to the governor of the Filipinas so that he could collectthere as great a force as possible, and provisions with which toresupply the fleet which would go thither from here, the money forthis purpose to be sent him from Piru or from Nueva España. 

Yet besides this, on account of the straitened circumstances ofyour Majesty, and the need of attending to other pressing matters, it is indeed true, in view of the great importance to your Majestyof not allowing the enemy to get possession of that archipelago (forhe would infallibly become master of the whole of India, and becomemore powerful than can be understood here), that there appears tobe another measure less costly in the meantime; although it will notresult in dislodging them, at least it will give them such diversionand do so much damage that the profit which they will secure will bedearly bought. This is, that your Majesty should command the governorof the Filipinas to build eight galleys, and keep them in Terrenate;I will explain what their cost would be, shortly. These would beof great importance, as can be readily seen here, if one considersthese reasons and the letter which Don Geronimo de Silva writes tohis cousin, and another from Master-of-camp Lucas de Vergara to thedean of Manila, and to myself--the originals of which I possess, and which, as they explain the situation of those islands, I placeat the end of this relation. 

In the first place, the enemy has no ports in those islands in which totake refuge; and ordinarily his fleet goes about, one way and another, among the coasts there. 

Second, every day in the year (or almost every day) there are sixor eight hours of dead calm, at which time galleys never meet agalleon under these circumstances without taking it or sending itto the bottom; for it has been seen by experience with a galleon anda galliot which the Spaniards possess there, what excellent resultsthey have produced. 

Third, on account of this expedient of the galleys the enemy will notdare to divide their forces among the factories to carry on theirnegotiations; and, as they will have to go together, the cost willbe so great that they cannot support it. 

Fourth, the supplies will be taken away from their fortresses;for they have nothing wherewith to support themselves except it bebrought from other islands. This would be very easily accomplished, and the enemy would have no means to remedy it. The natives who aredevoted to them would be so terrorized that they would be obligedto come over to our side. If they accomplish that in this way andthrough the effective plans of whomsoever shall govern there, and thenegotiations which he would conduct with them, it is quite certainthat the enemy would be ruined, and could not maintain himself ayear in his forts; for it is the natives who aid and sustain him, and furnish the cloves for his profit. 

Fifth, it would be easy to make an invasion with the galleys on allthe factories where they have not fortresses--and especially in Bantan, which is in Greater Xava, whither they carry all the spices which areshipped to Holland--and then to gain them all and burn them. They haveno port there for large vessels, but only a bay where vessels whichanchor there are kept at a distance from the land in the mud, aground, so that they cannot make use of them when they wish. Accordinglythe galleys could easily burn those which lie there. If Don Juan deSilva had adopted this measure, the enemy would already be subdued;and your Majesty would not have spent so great sums of money, and soexhausted the Filipinas Islands. 

Sixth, the forces which your Majesty possesses in Maluco wouldbe maintained with much less cost than at present by means ofthese galleys. For as there are no supplies in those islands itis necessary to send them from the Filipinas, which entails threedifficulties. The first is that prices are thus made higher inthat country, and the natives thereof are oppressed; the second, that it costs your Majesty a great deal, with the ships and men thatare needed to man them; and the third, that the enemy gets a greatdeal of the aid which is sent. All this would be obviated by keepinggalleys there; for it must be understood that the island of Macaçaris very large, rich, and abundantly supplied, and lies a two days'journey from Maluco. The king there is desirous of friendship withus, and has even sent to the governor of Terrenate to seek religious, as he says in the letter which is at the end of this relation. Lastyear he wrote a letter to the governor of the Filipinas, offeringto furnish him all the supplies that he might need for the forces inMaluco; and saying that, if he had not the money to pay for them, hemight have them on trust until the money came. Things are very cheapthere, costing less than half as much as in the Filipinas, and thesaid galleys could transport them easily, without the danger whichthey now encounter of being taken by the enemy. Rather, on the otherhand, those which the enemy carry from there could be taken away withease, and they would be caused to perish with hunger. If an ordinaryamount of care were taken in negotiating with this king, he would, as he is so well disposed to the Spaniards, be so devoted to yourMajesty that he would not allow the enemy to enter his port. Besides, his friendship with them is already greatly strained; and there isa great disposition among all that people to receive the gospel. 

Seventh, as those islands have no posts where cloves may be laded, the Dutch send their ships far from the artillery of their ownforts, which they cannot approach; and it will be easy to secure thevessels, or not allow them to lade anything. Considering the calmswhich prevail, even if there were many ships they could not aid oneanother, whatever injury the galleys were inflicting upon them--theleast being to dismantle them, so that they cannot sail, for thereis nothing there with which to make a mast or rudder. 

Eighth, as they have a number of posts where they only keeptwenty-five or thirty men with a squadron commander, and the fortshave no ditches or drinking-water, they could be deprived of these atany time with ease. Galleons would be of no use in such engagements, as they cannot vie with galleys, which can get under cover wheneverthey wish. Likewise it must be understood, as their forts are in suchdanger, they will need so many men to keep them from being taken, and so much to maintain them, that their profit will be so smallthat it will be gain for them to abandon it. This would indeed bemaking a pretty game of war, and cutting their throats with a woodensword. And I assure your Majesty that this idea is not only my own, but that of all experienced men in Maluco There resides at this courtJuan Gomez de Cardenas, who gained considerable experience in Japonwith a Dutch factor, who never thought that this man was a vassal ofyour Majesty. The latter made known to him the said reason, and saidthat they feared nothing until your Majesty should send there six ormore galleys. 

It now remains to tell the ease and little cost with which yourMajesty could maintain these galleys and man them; and if this isexplained for one, it holds in regard to all. The hull of a galleyof twenty-four benches, put together and fitted for sailing, costsin the Filipinas four thousand ducats. The gang to man it must besecured in this manner. The governor of the Filipinas should send toMindanao three hundred soldiers, by whom--besides setting free morethan ten thousand Christian captives, vassals of your Majesty in theFilipinas--sufficient men could be captured to man the galleys. Ifthis measure be not sufficient, a frigate or two should be sent toMalaca for cloves on your Majesty's account, which would bring backnegroes at two hundred reals, more or less, with which to man them;these oarsmen are very satisfactory, as experience has shown. In orderto maintain the crew and replace those who die, men could be capturedcontinually from our enemies, on a thousand occasions, without fail. 

The support of the galley slaves is inexpensive, for they live on rice, fish, and a little jerked beef--which, besides, is often captured fromthe enemy there; and is very low in price when it has to be bought, as, at present, in the island of Macaçar. 

The third and last measure is, if these two fail, such that I durenot write it, for that is not expedient; but I will explain it toyour Majesty, if you are pleased to learn it. I shall not go intothis matter any further, nor explain the reasons more in detail, as this is not to be long; but if your Majesty should be pleased tocarry out any of the suggestions here made, I shall explain away thedoubts which may present themselves. 

In the second place the person who is to govern should have the saidrequisites, for he is the soul of the undertaking; and it is he whomust execute whatever your Majesty orders and commands. Whatever heis, such will be the rest. That this may not appear an exaggeration, I will prove it by evidence. 

There are dependent upon the governor not only the secular Spanishresidents of those islands, but the ecclesiastics; also war and peace, and the royal Audiencia, the archbishop, the bishops, and all theother soldiers and citizens; for it is he who must reward and honorthem with offices of peace and war. He must assign the cargoes ofthe ships, the profits and advantages. The royal Audiencia, becausehe appoints their relatives and constituents to offices of profit, must needs keep in his graces. The archbishop and bishops, if they donot conform to his will, may have their temporal support taken fromthem; for if he cannot do it with good cause, he can easily do it inother ways. In a thousand things which occur, too, they need him forthe direction of their affairs; and he can inflict on them so manyburdens and annoyances that they realize how dearly they are buying theprivilege of opposing him or contradicting his wishes. The chapter ofthe church is the same, or worse; for he makes appointments, as yourMajesty is patron, and orders the stipends to be paid. Accordingly itis necessary to be in his good graces. The cabildo of the city dare notdo anything against his will; for those who oppose him or say anythingin the sessions which is contrary to his wishes, it costs dear, and, besides, he is aware of whatever they do there. They dare not writeto your Majesty, without taking to him the letters so that he mayexamine them; and there have been times when he has had these tornup, and ordered them to write others. Consequently, the religious whoare teaching, and those of the convents, are all dependent upon him. 

The royal officials do no more than he wishes, and, besides, theyhave the example of former ones, who for not acting thus were removed, and held prisoners for three years until your Majesty learned of it, and ordered their offices to be returned to them, and perchance themany hardships and afflictions which the governor inflicted uponthem, and caused them to suffer, cost two of them their lives, andlost for your Majesty, in the factor, one of the best servants whomyou had in the Filipinas. Accordingly, what I promised to prove iswell established; for the complaints were so long in arriving, andthe redress in returning, that he who awaited them was already dead. 

In the third place, it is essential that he should not be excessivelygrasping; and that your Majesty should give him such expectations, if he conducts himself well, that his profit will rest more on themthan in what the government is worth to him. He should be of matureage and great experience in handling the affairs of the commonwealth, such as some knights possess who hold offices of corregidor on thecoasts of España, and who govern in peace and war, as they never lackexercise for these abilities on the coasts. For if they were onlyrequired to be expert in war, the country would be in ruins beforethey became capable of governing it--as, for our sins, we have seenin past years. They should not come burdened with debts, which aredemoralizing in a thousand ways. Notwithstanding that your Majestyhas issued decrees which prohibit them from giving offices of profitto members of their households, rather than to the worthy persons ofthe kingdom, these decrees are the least complied with; nor is thereany one who dares to interfere in this. If any one should make boldto put the bell on the cat, as the adage says, who would make himcomply with it? By no means the royal Audiencia. At one time when Iwas petitioning for the execution of a royal decree of your Majestythere, an auditor, a friend of mine, said: "You should not do this;for, besides not accomplishing anything by it, you will get yourselfinto difficulty with him. "

With this in view, it is very important to forbid these offices topersons who are under obligations, which induce an insatiable greedand presumption; and, to fill that yawning void, the wealth of allthe Indias is insignificant. The worst is, that they pervert a man, and lead him astray by their influence. If I were to recount herein detail all the difficulties which they occasion, I should haveto take twice the space. In short, everyone there is lamenting; andthese people come in smiles, and even negotiating for the honorswhich belong to others, with crass insolence; and, worse yet, itseems to the governor that his own people alone deserve all there is, and the rest are of no account. To give color to their impudence, one of them has dared to write to your Majesty that there was not aperson in all your kingdom who could in the least be trusted. Themistakes of these people are never punished, nor is there any onewho dares to demand an investigation against them, even when theyhave done a thousand injuries. In short, he must be such a one asthe emperor Theodosius spoke of to St. Ambrose, when he sent him togovern Milan: "Go; and, look you, I send you not to act as governor, but as bishop. " Such must be the governors of the Filipinas, if yourMajesty would have them succeed. 

And on this account I have no fault to find with Don Alonso Faxardo, whom your Majesty has sent at present to govern. On the contrary, Ibelieve that he will conduct himself there as befits the service ofyour Majesty and the welfare of your kingdom. For I recognized suchdesires in him in the little intercourse that I had with him in Mexico, where I was acquainted with him. I am therefore very thankful to Godto see him so desirous of serving you, and may He give him grace tosucceed. As for the persons who are sent to that Audiencia, they shouldbe in a degree like the governors; for your Majesty places as muchconfidence in them--although I think it would be more to the purposeto discontinue it, for the reasons which are given by most people inthat country, in which matter I will give your Majesty a memorial. 

The affairs of that kingdom are in such disorder, and move in soirregular channels, that people ask for an inspector to reform andadjust them and put everything in its place, redressing injuries andpunishing wrong-doing. The country is much in need of this; but thatit may not be like the frogs who asked Jupiter for a king, and weregiven one that devoured them, it will be best for your Majesty toappoint some one from that country, who, through his great experienceand knowledge, cannot be deceived, and knows what must be reformed, andwho is possessed as well of the prudence and tact which are necessaryin such a new country. And on the other hand, on account of the riskswhich exist in sending anyone from here who does not understand theaffairs and conditions which must be remedied, and knows not how toproceed, it would be wiser to send no one, on account of the dangerwhich exists of ruining the city. 

_Item_: The governor should not consent to Japanese living in thatcountry, as they are a great trouble and danger to the country, and the city is continually in danger from them. 

_Item_: The Chinese should be very carefully restricted, so that nogreater number of them than your Majesty has ordered be [allowed toremain there]; for they are permitted [to enter the country] withoutany exercise of caution, and we know by experience what this costs. 

_Item_: Your Majesty should command the governor finally to reduce theisland of Mindanao to obedience to your Majesty; for those islandsare so infested that they hinder the carrying of reënforcements toMaluco. And as they are in league with the Dutch, we have a perfectright to make war upon them and subject them to slavery. All this iseasy for the governor if your Majesty command it, and is so necessaryfor the security of your Majesty's vassals, as I intend to explainto your Majesty more at length in a separate memorial. 

_Item_: There is an island which lies about twenty leguas from Maluco, called Macaçar, which measures about two hundred and fifty leguasaround; it is very rich and well supplied, and from it the forcesin Maluco could be supplied with ease and at little cost. It willbe necessary for your Majesty to order the governor to negotiatewith the king there for friendship and commerce. For the latter hasalready sent and written, saying that he desires it and that he willfurnish all the supplies that are desired, and, if there is no money, will give credit for them until it is procured; and he has sent toask for religious to preach the faith. They are a capable people, of good disposition, and are disposed to receive the gospel. As thisdistrict lies nearest to that which the fathers of the Society hold, it would be of much importance to send a few religious assigned tothat island; and for your Majesty to be pleased to have their generalrequested to give them, which is of much importance even for temporalobjects, besides the great service which they can render to God. Andthe Dutch could not get supplies from there, which would take awayfrom them much of the previsions with which they are supported. Twofathers of the Society have been there, and have written that theywere very well received; and it is highly expedient to encourage them. 

_Item_: Your Majesty should order the governor to attend with muchdiligence to the despatching of ships which go to Nueva España, for upon this so much of the growth of that kingdom depends; andsince he is so good a sailor and prides himself upon it, he shouldregulate that in the proper way, for at present it proceeds withgreat disorder and even recklessness, as I shall explain to yourMajesty in a separate memorial. 

_Item_: Your Majesty should command that the garrisons of thatkingdom be made open, on account of the fact that experience hasshown that more men would go, if this were the case. Those in Malucoshould be exchanged with those in the Filipinas every three years, for otherwise so many refuse to go to Maluco, and the forts there arein such ill-repute, that those who are taken there are discontented, asif they were being sent to the galleys; but if they are exchanged, as Ihave said, they will go willingly. Beside, they would become experts, and the soldiers from Maluco are worth more than those who have notbeen there, on account of their constant exercise in war and labor. 

_Item_: Your Majesty should command that the city of Manila be madean open garrison, like San Juan de Ulua and Habana; for in this waythe men will go to the Filipinas willingly. As Don Juan de Silva hasdone otherwise for years past, this country has become depopulated, and they have fled to various parts from time to time, no one daringto go there on this account. 

_Item_: Concerning the treatment of the Indians, and what it is well toinform your Majesty in this regard, as well in what concerns your royalconscience as the good of the country, a separate memorial is required. 

_Item_: As to the manner of governing them and collecting theirtributes, as has been seen by experience, the religious have donea great deal of harm by preventing the Indians from paying tributeson the fruits which they harvest; because the religious have not theinclination or sense to leave many things free--as will be seen inthe account I shall give your Majesty in regard to this, all of whichhas been taught by experience. 

_Item_: Finally, it is very necessary that your Majesty should considerthat that country is very new, and that your Majesty should desireits growth; and because, likewise, it was not so much in need of yourMajesty's protection and favor in the beginning as it is now--when sofew wish to go there on account of ill-treatment, many misfortunes, and the fear of enemies--your Majesty should protect it so that theymay be encouraged to go there. For this your Majesty should commandyour ministers to give those who wish to go a comfortable passage. Forif in early days the king our lord, the father of your Majesty, whoso greatly favored and loved that land, not only furnished a passage, but likewise the necessaries for their journey, to those who wished togo, and even freed them from duties and imposts, that aid is much morenecessary today; and at least they should be given some exemptions, and should not be treated with such harshness as they now are. ThisI can affirm as an eyewitness, that when we arrived at the port ofCapulco, after having been on the voyage five months, and a great manyof our people had died, and God had brought us through such boundlesshardships and dangers to the place where we were to refresh ourselves, they treated us worse, indeed, than they did the Dutch; for to thelatter they gave food there, and sent them away satisfied, and tous they acted as they should have done to the Dutch. Since a properremedy for what happened at the port of Capulco, which I am bound tosuggest to your Majesty, and for many other matters concerning yourroyal service, cannot be suggested in this place, I shall give it inother memorials. 

_Item_: The encomiendas which your Majesty used to grant were formerlyfor three lives; and a short time ago your Majesty ordered by aroyal decree that they should be, and it should be so understood, for two lives. This is a great difficulty in the preservation of thatcommunity, and especially so as your Majesty has granted the favorto Nueva España of giving them for four lives; and as the Filipinashave been, and continue to be thus far, the colony of Nueva España, and almost governed by the royal Audiencia thereof, it is a greathardship that they should enjoy no more than two lives. In thefirst place, because many are discouraged from serving your Majesty, and even from remaining in that country, when they learn that theirsons and grandsons must be reduced to the greatest poverty, the saidencomienda expiring with the holder's first son or his wife, as atpresent happens; in the second place, because four lives are shorterin the Filipinas than two in Nueva España. The reason for this is themany occasions for war and naval expeditions, wherein men are easilykilled or drowned, leaving their successors in the hospital--as isat present the case with many, which makes one's heart ache with pity. 

In answer to the tacit objection which might be brought up that it isbetter to have the encomiendas vacated quickly, so that others maybe rewarded with them, and with this hope will go to serve there, Iwould say that the important matter is to make a compromise--namelythat your Majesty should concede the said encomiendas not for fourlives, as in Nueva España, nor for two as at present, but for three, as formerly, which is a very necessary measure for the relief of some, and the encouragement of others to the service of your Majesty. 

Letter from Master-of-camp Lucas de Vergara, written to Don FranciscoGomez de Arellano, dean of Manila, which is the last that came fromMaluco in the past year. 

By the ship "San Antonio, " which I despatched to that city on thethirteenth of May last, I informed you, with other matters pertainingto me, of my health, and my arrival at these forts safely with thethree ships in which I took the reënforcements; and of how well Iwas received by everyone, and everything which had occurred to meup to that time. What I have to say to you since that time is that, from the persons who have come to me from the forts of the enemy, bothnative and Dutch, and from other inquiries that I have made, I havelearned that of the ten Dutch ships which were at the harbor-mouthof Marivelez only four have come back to these islands. One of thembrought the wounded men from Oton; a second one, when our fleetwent out to seek that of the enemy, was going out to sea, picking upSangley ships. When it saw our fleet, without going back to theirs, it cast loose a very rich junk which it was towing astern, and tookto flight. The captain of this vessel, they tell me, the Dutch putto death for having fled. Two other vessels arrived at the port ofMalayo on the eighth of June. These had found occasion to fight withour fleet; and accordingly they arrived dismantled by cannon-shots, and with many wounded men. These brought the news that only six oftheir vessels had fought with eight of ours and three galleys; andthat their commander's ship and two others were lost, one going tothe bottom and the other two being burned. Their commander escaped ina boat which they saw was being followed by two of our galleons and agalley--although they did not know the result, since neither this one, nor two others that are lacking from the ten, have appeared here thusfar. Of six hundred men whom they took from the forts which they haveon these islands to put in the ten boats, when they were at Manila, only a hundred came back alive. These two damaged ships are beingput to rights, and in all they have five at present in these islands, with few men; so that if a part of our fleet had come, and followedup the victory, they might all have been captured. This loss has madeboth the Dutch and those of Terrenate very sad and cast down, for theywere in hopes to come back rich and victorious. A few silks and othergoods were brought in the ships which escaped and they sold them tous very dear, although not so dear as they cost them. What they areconsidering now, and urge for the consolation of those of Terrenateand the other nations friendly to them, is that they are going tocollect a great fleet which they have in Ambueno, and in the Sunda;and with the whole fleet they are to attack the forts of his Majestybefore our fleet arrives from Castilla and from the Filipinas. Thisyou already know of. Beside this, they are putting their fortressesin the best state of fortification possible, together with the postswhich they hold; for they see that the natives here are very lukewarmin their friendship, and they fear that when they see our fleet morepowerful than theirs, the natives will drop their friendship and tryto win ours. The king of Tidore and I consider it certain, judgingfrom what we have heard from themselves, and particularly from thoseof the island of Maquien, that that alone is richer in cloves andnative inhabitants than are all the others there. Their Sangaje, who went there to treat of this matter, was taken and killed in thefort at Malayo, which irritated the natives of that island very much. 

By a caracoa which I sent to Ambueno, to get word of what was doingthere, I learned that the Dutch have seven ships in that island, andthat they sent one ship laden with cloves to Holland. The natives thereare, for the most part, at war with the Dutch, as are likewise thoseof the islands of Banda, where there are two or three English shipsfortifying themselves with the permission and aid of the natives. TheDutch and the English have fought over this and the Dutch hold fortyEnglish prisoners--all of which is very good for us. It is rumoredthat in the Sunda there are twenty Dutch ships, but I do not know whattruth there is in this. I am at present getting ready and fortifying, as well as I can, the forts which his Majesty has in these islands, sothat they may be ready at any juncture; although there is a great lackof men for the necessary work, because there went this year to Manilamore than came out, and some are sick, and there are many places toguard. Particularly there are three situated in the island Batachina, which, as they are in an unhealthy country, exhaust the troops moreby death and sickness. They are passably supplied with provisions atpresent, owing to the care which I take to seek out what is in thecountry; and thus, with the rice which I brought, and a little whichwas here, I have managed to get along. I shall have enough provisionsfor the whole of October, and if I am sent those that I await fromthe island of Mateo I shall have enough for November. By that timeI hope to get aid from those islands, for I am very confident thatthe lords there will aid me as ever; and the lord captain-general, being a man of so much experience, as he suffered so many needs inhis own time, will aid in this with the expedition and care which arenecessary for its preservation, since everything is and continuesto be for that object. In whatever may happen which concerns this, I beg of you to further it as far as possible, as I shall take it asa great favor, besides being a service for God and for his Majesty, and as you are so zealous. I beseech you to be pleased to advise meof what may occur there and I shall do the same always here. 

By the last despatch I sent you three birds of paradise, and thebearer of this, Sergeant Romero, brings you two more. I wished thatthere were more, but I assure you that they were not to be found, as the boats which usually bring them have not arrived. 

While I was writing this a Dutch trumpeter arrived from the forts ofthe enemy, and gave the same report as another who came two days ago, and whom I send by this ship, so that he may tell the whole thingthere--for, considering the news and the state of affairs, it is ofthe highest importance that our fleet should come here by the monthof December. If those ships alone came which his Majesty has in thoseislands, it would be superior to the enemy's fleet; for with this theycould be kept from taking to Holland this year the great quantity ofcloves which they will harvest. This is the greatest loss which canbe inflicted upon them at present; since with the profits from thisthey are waging war upon his Majesty in these parts with such greatfleets. This is the opinion of those who have most at heart the serviceof his Majesty in these regions. I am writing, above all, to the lordsthere; and you will do me the favor which you always do in such cases. 

Although I do not know what new things there may be there, I leaveit all to your good opinion and intelligence and that of Señor CanonGarcetas, as I know, since you are such friends of mine, that youwill give the most fitting counsel. May our Lord protect you for thegreatest possible number of years. I kiss your hands. Tidore, July 5, 1617. Your humble servant, _Lucas Vergara Gaviria_

Part Third. Wherein is Given Information of Other Matters Concerningthe Filipinas, the Islands of Maluco, and Others of the Archipelago;of Their Riches, and of the Forts and Factories Which the Dutch Hold;and of the Wealth Which is At Present Secured from Them. 

Chapter I. Of the prelates and their districts in the islands, andof certain curious things. 

The island called Luçon, which is the most important, has two bishopsand an archbishop. The archbishopric has jurisdiction in the vicinityof the city of Manila, the capital of that country. Toward the eastit reaches as far as the village called Calilaya, forty leguas fromthe city on the same island. It has four offices of alcalde-mayor, which is the same thing as a corregimiento--namely those of LaLaguna de Vai, La Laguna de Bonvon, another in Valayan, and thatof Calilaya. In this there are many Indian villages administered byreligious of the Augustinian order, and still more by the discalcedof St. Francis. Toward the west of the jurisdiction is that of theprovince of Pampanga, which is fertile and well-peopled, and thatof Bulacan, and the Cambales. These are not Christians and cannot bereduced to conversion, but are negroes who go about like wild beaststhrough the inaccessible parts of the mountains. They are given tocutting the heads from other Indians, and no woman will marry a Cambalunless he has cut off a head; accordingly, in order to be married, he will cut one off, even though it be that of his own father when hefinds the latter in the fields. If these had been given into slaverythey would have been already reduced; but, although I have advisedit many times in the Council, no measures for this have ever beentaken. As the matter stands, they will never be pacified except bythis means. The reason for this is that, if they were given intoslavery, the Indians of Pampanga, with their great desire to holdslaves for the managing of their crops, would have reduced them. Theydo a great deal of damage, so much that no Indian dares go out aloneto work in his field, because they kill him merely for the sake ofcutting off his head. They live upon roots and fruit from the woods, and have no houses, nor possessions, and go about naked. Towardthe east this jurisdiction takes in all the island, and toward thewest lies the sea. Several islands are joined to this jurisdiction, as are those of Lioban and Mindoro. In these are a number of treesresembling cinnamon [_canela_], which I have shown to our physicians, who say that it is the Cinamomo. [51] Then there is the island ofMarenduque, where there are mines of copper; and other islands, of little importance and sparsely peopled. 

Northward from this jurisdiction begins the bishopric of NuevaSegovia, starting from the province of Pangasinan, where end theCombales and the province of Ilocos--wherein are situated themountains of the Idolotes [_sic_], and where are so rich mines, asI have explained. They are all Christians. The Dominican religiousminister to the province of Pangasinan, and the Augustinians to thatof Ilocos. Farthest to the north lies the province of Nueva Segovia, which is administered by Dominican friars. These three provinces arevery fertile and well peopled, and to the north of this district thereare several islands called Vabuianos, where the Indians raise swine ofremarkable size. Throughout the whole island [of Luzón] there are manywild swine. They are not fierce, like those in España, and accordinglyare easily killed. There is a great number of large, fierce wildbuffaloes. They are killed with muskets, and on one occasion theywere unable to bring down a buffalo with twelve musketshots. If theman who is shooting misses, and does not get quickly under cover, hewill be killed. The Indians catch them as we do partridges here, and itis a remarkable thing, wherefore I shall now explain it. They make avery strong stockaded enclosure [_corral_], and on either side of thegate they move out, carrying with them palm leaves of a certain kind, touching one another. They keep spreading out the line until it isabout a quarter of a legua long, more or less. When they find a herd, for the animals go many together, they frighten and follow them, and, driving them along, continue with shouts; and as they are running andstriking with the said leaves, the buffaloes will not pass throughthe line of men if they are excited. Thus little by little they enterinto the narrowest part until they are compelled to enter into thegate of the enclosure, which is then barred. There the Indians, bytheir devices, catch the animals one by one, tie them, and put themeach one in a small enclosure of strong stakes so narrow that theycannot turn around, so that they have no chance to struggle. Therethey keep them without food for a fortnight, until they are so feebleand thin that they cannot stand. Then an Indian comes with a wisp ofhay, and although angry, they needs must eat; and within twenty daysthey are so tame with the person who gives them food, that they letthemselves be scratched. Iron rings are put in their noses, and theyare led anywhere with a rope, like a beast of burden. I have seen oneof these buffaloes with a negro who had fed him, seated on his head, and he played with the negro like a dog, but was a lion for those whomhe did not know. This jurisdiction is fifty leguas long on the seaside. The interior of the island remains unpacified, as it consistsof the said mountains. The bishopric of Las Camarinas [_sic_] is themost easterly on this island, and extends more than sixty leguas, including several adjacent islands, such as Burias, Ticao, Capul, and Catanduanes. There are many nutmeg trees in this bishopric, thefruit of which no one gathers. There is in this province a springfrom which flows hot water, and if anything is placed in it it turnsto stone. [52]

The bishopric of Cibu has the largest jurisdiction, as it includes allthe islands to the east, such as Leite, Babao, Maripi, Tinagon, Panaon, the island of Negros, and that of Oton. Westward are Cebuyan andRomblon; and to the south the island of Mindanao, which is almost aslarge as that of Luzon. There is in it a great deal of cinnamon, richgold mines, and considerable civet; and so large a number of civet-catsthat they do no more than catch them with snares, take the civet outand set them free again, and thus profit by them without furnishingthem with food. There are many other islands, and from there to theMalucos it must be about eighty leguas. In all these islands thereis collected a great deal of wax and honey, which is produced in thewoods, and which, accordingly, the Indians do not cultivate. The beesare small and dark-colored, and do not live in the hollows of trees androcks, but build their nests among the branches--using on them a dark, coarse wax, which is so strong that, even though it rains hard, not adrop of water enters. So much is gathered there that not only are weall supplied cheaply, but there are sent to Nueva España, Japon, andChina more than two thousand quintals each year. There are many deer, not so slender as are ours; and there are no other animals. Thereare many wood-fowl, smaller than ordinary ones, but more palata le;and which have breasts like partridges. There are in the forestscertain shoots called _bejucos_, which they use as we do osiers here;but they are much better, some of them being as thick as one's thumb, and even larger, and six or eight brazas long. When they are thirsty, the Indians cut off a braza, and a quartillo of fluid runs out of it, which is good and healthful. There are certain canes [_i. E. _, bamboos], some of which are as thick as one's thigh, and others smaller, and fiveor six brazas long; of these the poor Indians construct their houses, without other material--walls, floors, roofs, posts, and stairs. 

There are certain palms which bear a fruit called cocoanuts (which areordinarily brought to España from Guinea); these are such an aid tohuman life that from them, or rather from the cocoanuts, they obtainthe commonest oil of that country, which is as excellent for wounds, even though they be deep ones, as that of _aparicio_. From this treethey obtain wine which is the common beverage of that country; strongvinegar, which is good for the table; and milk like that of almonds, to serve with rice, and which curdles like real milk. When it is softthe fruit is like green hazel-nuts in taste, and better; and there isa serum for many ills and infirmities, which is called whey, as itlooks much like that of milk. It is there called _tuba_. They makehoney from this tree; also oakum with which to calk ships, whichlasts in the water, when that from here would rot. Likewise theymake rigging, which they call _cayro_; and they make an excellentmatch for arquebuses, which, without any other attention, is neverextinguished. The shoots resemble wild artichokes while they aretender. There is a plant with leaves after the shape and fashion ofthe ivy, which is a certain species of pepper which they call buyo, the use of which is common throughout the whole archipelago; andit is so excellent a specific against ulcerated teeth that I do notremember ever having heard it said that any native suffered from them, nor do they need to have them pulled. It is a good stimulant for thestomach, and leaves a pleasant odor in the mouth. 

There is a bird which they call _tabon_, a little larger than apartridge; and it buries its eggs, which are as large as goose eggs, to the number of eighty or a hundred, half an estado deep in the sandof the bays of the sea. They are all yolk, without any white, which isan indication of their great heat. Accordingly, the mother does not situpon them, and they hatch, and the birds scratch their way out from thesand. When the bird has come out it is as large as a quail, and goesabout picking up its food as other birds do after they are grown. Ihave seen this with my own eyes, and there must be other eyewitnessesof it in this court. So marvelous is the character of these birds. Ipass over many other peculiarities for fear of tiring your Majesty. 

There are many good and savory wild fruits there. The ordinary foodin those islands is rice, as it is over all Asia and the neighboringislands; and I dare assert that more people are supported in theworld by rice than by wheat. There is a great deal of sugar, which isusually worth four reals the arroba, or less; and the Chinese bringso much rock sugar, which they call _cande_, that it is ordinarilyworth eight reals an arroba, or less. 

In that part of the island of Mindanao which faces the south, as Ihave said above, the Indians are rebellious; and it is they who havedone, and still do, great damage to the others. They have taken up thedoctrine of Mahoma and are friendly with the Dutch. As they have notbeen given into slavery, they are not pacified; and this is one of themost important matters there, and deserves the application of a remedy. 

Chapter II. Of the ministers and religious instruction in the islands, and those who have been converted to our holy Catholic faith, andthose who pay tribute. 

The island of Luzon, in the archbishopric and the two bishoprics, hasfifty-nine encomiendas, and in that of Nueva Segovia, which is the mostnortherly, there are twenty-six; in that of Camarines, which is themost easterly of the islands, there are thirty--in all, one hundred andfifteen. In the bishopric of Cibù there are seventy-one, which make, inall, one hundred and eighty-six encomiendas of Indians. They comprise130U938 tributarios in all; each tributario includes husband and wife, and thus at least four persons are reckoned, including children andslaves (as they have no others to serve them except slaves); there are, then, 523U752 Christians in these encomiendas. There are assigned tothe royal crown 33U516 tributarios, and the rest are assigned andgranted to deserving soldiers. This is exclusive of the people whopay no tributes, that is, the chiefs. There are, in all these onehundred and eighty-six encomiendas, the same number of monasteriesand churches. Some of them have two monasteries each as they are toolarge to be administered by two religious; ordinarily, to each oneare assigned five hundred tributarios. There are other encomiendaswhich have one monastery between two of them. Averaging these, I suppose there are about three hundred and seventy-two priests, besides the laymen. In the city there are about eighty or ninety, in four monasteries--one of St. Dominic, another of St. Francis, another of St. Augustine, another of the Recollect Augustinians--andthe cathedral. These places of worship have as handsome buildings asare those of the same class in España; and the whole city is built ofcut-stone houses--almost all square, with entrance halls and modern_patios_ [_i. E. _, open courts]--and the streets are straight andwell laid out; there are none in España so extensive, or with suchbuildings and fine appearance. The city has as many as five hundredhouses; but, as these ate all, or nearly all, houses which wouldcost 20U or more ducados in this court, they occupy as much spaceas would a city of two thousand inhabitants here. For the wall, asmeasured by me, is 2U250 geometrical pasos in circumference, at fivetercias for each paso, which makes three quarters of a legua. [53]In all these islands there are none unconverted except the Zambales, as I have said above, and those in the mountains where the mines are, and a few villages behind these same mountains, which are calledthe province of Ituri--so called because it was discovered by DonLuys Perez de las Marinas, in the time of his father, who sent himthere. For lack of religious, the gospel has not been preached tothem. They are a peaceable people, and make no opposition. In NuevaSegovia, which is under the charge of the Order of St. Dominic, thereare some to be converted, who have not yet been settled peacefully, as they are warlike and restless Indians. On the contrary, they haverebelled several times; but it has always been on account of injurieswhich the Spaniards have inflicted upon them. 

Chapter III. Of the islands of Maluco, and others adjacent to them;and of the spice and other articles that are contained in them. 

The Malucas Islands, commonly so called, where, of the spices, clovesare obtained, and so named from this drug, [54] are five. Theybegin at that of Bachan, which is on the equinoctial line, andextend north and south. The farthest north is that of Terrenate, which is six or seven leguas in circumference. It consists entirelyof a very high elevation, on the summit of which is a volcano, whichsends forth fire. In the medial region of this mountain they raise theclove-trees, which are like laurel trees, the leaves being a littlenarrower and longer. This island has five fortresses; the principalone is called Talangame, and another San Pedro. The Dutch have three:that of Malayo, which is the principal one; another called Tacome, and another Tolecò, which is of little importance. 

The island of Tidore is distant about two leguas from this, and, although smaller, has about the same aspect. Your Majesty has a fortthere, and the king of Tidore has another. The Dutch have two others, which they call Great and Little Mariaco. In the island of Motiel, farther south, the Dutch have a fort. 

In that of Maquien there is a fort. Directly beyond this is another andsmaller island, called Cayoa; and that of Bachan, with several othersof little importance, lies near. To the east of all these islandsis one called Vatachina, or Gilolo, lying two or three leguas fromthese--a very large island, where your Majesty has two forts. Thisisland extends so far that it makes a strait with the island of NuevaGuinea on the eastern end, according to the relation of Fray Diegode Prado, of the Order of St. Basil, who, while he was a layman, coasted along this island on the southern side, of which nothingwas then known. This is the largest island in the world, and wasdiscovered from the northern side. It extends from the equinoctialline. No one has thus far examined what is in the interior, althoughit is known that it is well peopled, some of the natives being black, and some of the ordinary color of Indians. There are indications ofmuch wealth. More to the east, there are the islands of Salamon nearby. The blacks are sold among the Indians, as in Guinea, and they havefairs at set times. The Indians buy these people to cultivate theirlands. Beyond these Malucas Islands there are some to the southward, of little importance, as far as that of Ambueno, which is seventyleguas distant from them. The Dutch have a fort there, which theytook from the Portuguese, and a port where abundance of cloves aregathered--which, transplanted from the Malucas, have grown in thisisland alone and in no other. Eighteen leguas farther east lies theisland of Banda, where nutmeg is gathered; and the Dutch have anotherfortress there. 

Westward from the Malucas Islands, about twenty leguas distant, is an island called Macasar. It is more than two hundred and fiftyleguas around, and is very fertile and rich, being inhabited by thebest people in those islands; their king is friendly, very peaceful, and glad to trade with the Spaniards. He used to receive the Dutch, and let them provide themselves from his country with provisionsfor all their forts. He does not now admit them, and has sent to askfor religious to preach the gospel; and two of the Society and twoDominicans have been sent to him. The friendship of this king is veryimportant for the preservation of Maluco. 

Next, farther to the west, lies the island of Borney. It is 400 leguasin circumference. On the side which faces the south the Dutch maintaintrade, and through it they obtain the finest diamonds. 

In Greater Java, which is the island that forms a narrow strait withthat of Samatra, they have a factory (without a fort), to which theybring the cloves and nutmeg and pepper which they buy there, whichamounts to a large quantity. They trade there, and a few years ago theJavans drove them out. Since the English have become their allies, they are able to keep the natives in subjection, and are buildinga fortress. 

They have other factories in the kingdom of Patan, at one of whichthey buy a great deal of pepper. Patan lies more to the north ofthe strait of Sincapura (which others call the strait of Malaca);and further north lies the kingdom of Sian, which is very rich inmany kinds of merchandise, and in rubies. They have another factorythere. In the kingdom of Cambosea [_sic_; _sc. _ Camboja] they haveanother, and still another in Cochinchina. They are not allowedto enter China, but rather, on account of the robberies which theyhave perpetrated, they are held to be enemies of the country. In theislands of Japon they have another factory, from which they procuresupplies and military stores, and which is of much importance tothem. Of the other islands of this archipelago no mention is made, to avoid being prolix, although there are a great number of them. 

Chapter IV. Wherein are considered the riches of the spice trade ofthese Malucas Islands and the others. 

These Malucas Islands give from year to year four thousand four hundredbares of cloves in clusters, which are called "selected, " accordingto the relation which is made and the information given by Don Juan deSilva, knight of the habit of Santiago, when he governed the FilipinasIslands. Others say that there are eight thousand, and still others, six. The first statement is the most accurate, and agrees with anothernote made by Captain Gregorio de Vidaña, a citizen of Manila; he wasa person very learned in manuscripts, who spent many years there, and sought to inquire into the matter out of curiosity. 

Four thousand four hundred bares of cloves, each bare containing 640libras, amount to 2, 816, 000 libras--which at one ducado, the priceat which they are sold [in Europe] will bring the same number ofducados. All this can be bought for a hundred thousand ducados. [55]It is not bought with money, but with cloth purchased in India and inChina; and what in those countries costs ten is sold in the Malucasat fifty. This profit is at present possessed by the Dutch, who buyon the coast of Caramendel, and from the Chinese in Cochinchina andJava, whence they take the merchandise which they trade for clovesin Maluco. The nutmeg, according to Don Juan de Silva, is worth 500Uducados, when transported to these parts. 

The cloves gathered in the island of Ambueno amount to a great deal, although I have no exact account of the quantity. 

The pepper which is taken from Greater Java is much, although Ido not know the exact quantity. They likewise have a factory and atreaty friendship with the king of Achen, in the island of Samatra, where there is much merchandise. He is an enemy of ours, as well ashe who attacked Malaca in the year 16, and burned a galleon of thefour which were awaiting Don Juan de Silva. Soon afterward seven Dutchgalleons arrived to aid him, and burned the other three. Malaca is avery important place, and it is very necessary that your Majesty shouldpreserve it, as it is the passage to all the kingdoms and districtsof that archipelago of San Laçaro, where there is so much wealth. 

Chapter V. Of the expense incurred by your Majesty to maintain thefortified posts of Tidore and Terrenate in the Malucas Islands. 

I said in the second part of this relation that the reënforcements ofmoney and men which are brought from Nueva España to the Filipinaswere not to preserve those islands, but were occasioned by the warwith the Dutch. I shall now set down here a memorandum of the expensesof those forts, without the many other requisites. 

_Relation of the salaries and expenses which your Majesty has to payin the Malucas Islands_

 Pesos

A warden and commander of the troops, with two thousandducados of salary each year, which at eleven reals to theducado, makes 2757 pesos, 2 tomins, and 9 granos 2U757

Seven captains of Spanish infantry, with 990 pesos of salarya year, amounting to. 6U930

Seven alferezes of these companies, with 412 pesos, 4 tominsof salary each per year. 2U887

Seven sergeants, with 206 pesos, 2 tomins, apiece each year, amounting to. 1U443

Fourteen drummers, at 171 pesos each per year, amounting to. 2U394

Seven fifers, at 165 pesos a year, amounting to. 1U155

Seven shield-bearers, at 103 pesos each, amounting to. 0U721

Seven standard-bearers, at 115 pesos per year each, amounting to. 0U815

Two adjutant sargentos-mayor, with 412 pesos, 4 tomins, each per year, amounting to. 0U825

A campaign captain, at 330 pesos of salary per year. 0U330

A captain of artillery, with a salary of 480 pesos per year. 0U480

A constable for land and sea, with 300 pesos per year. 0U300

Twenty artillerymen for land and sea, at 200 pesos each peryear, amounting to. 4U000

There are continually 600 soldiers, and at times more, seldomless. These usually earn 115 pesos per year, amounting to69U000 pesos. 69U000

Of this number 140 are musketeers, who get 36 pesos each peryear beside their ordinary salary, amounting to 5040 pesos. 5U040

Thirty ducados of eleven reals each as extra pay to eachcompany each month, amounting to 2520 ducados, which makes3465 pesos. 3U465

Twenty-eight squadron leaders, with three pesos of extra payeach month, amounting in a year to 1008 pesos. 1U008

One accountant of the royal exchequer, with a salary of 800pesos per year, and 50 fanégas of cleaned rice. 0U800

One superintendent of supplies and munitions, with 500 pesosof salary and rations. 0U500

One secretary of mines and registries, who serves on a salaryof a major official of the office of accounts, with 400 pesos;and one minor official with 150, which amount to. 0U550

Two secretaries, one of war and one of magazines, with200 pesos apiece per year of salary, and rations for themagazines secretary. 0U400

One engineer and one surgeon, with 600 pesos each year, amounting to 1200 pesos. 1U200

Two Pampango captains, with 120 pesos; two ensigns, with 96pesos; two sergeants, at 72 pesos; four drummers, two fifers, two shield-bearers, two standard-bearers, at 48 pesos each;and 200 soldiers, at 48 pesos of salary per year, amountingto 10717 pesos. 10U717

A Spanish smith, with a salary of 300 pesos per year, and oneIndian with 48 pesos; another, with 42 pesos; ten others, with 30 pesos; one keeper of arquebuses with 42 pesos andall his rations, which will be mentioned in their place, amounting in money to 732 pesos 0U732

Two Spanish carpenters and 20 Indians--the Spaniards with300 pesos each per year, and the 20 Indians at 48 pesos andtheir rations--the money amounting to 1560 pesos 1U560

One Spanish stonecutter, with 300 pesos; and twelve Indiansat 24 pesos, amounting yearly to 588 pesos 0U588

Two calkers and one cooper, Spaniards, at 300 pesos each peryear, amounting to 900 pesos 0U900

A hundred Indian pioneers, at 48 pesos each per year andrations, amounting to 4800 pesos 4U800

An alguazil of the royal exchequer, at 150 pesos per year 0U150

Ten religious, of the Society of Jesus and the Order ofSt. Francis, and the vicar, at 100 pesos; and thirty fanégasof rice each, the money amounting to 1000 pesos 1U000

Commander, captains, pilot, masters, and other officials ofthe two galleys, besides rations, have each year in salaries5643 pesos, 4 tomins 5U643

Four substitutes, [56] who are about the person of the governorof those islands, at 30 ducados of eleven reals per month each, amounting each year to 1U980

Each year presents are taken to the king, his son, and thechiefs, worth 2000 pesos 2U000

The hospitals expend each year in medicines, food, cloth, and service more than 10000 pesos 10U000

There must be used powder, balls, iron, steel, pikes andboats for minor service, costing for their manufacture orconstruction more than 10000 pesos 10U000

The expenses of the vessels which bring reënforcements; thegalleys which are kept there; the salaries of the captains, pilots, masters, officers, and sailors; the careening; andother smaller expenses for their construction and voyages, amount each year to more than 40000 pesos 40U000

A purveyor, who is present in the province of Pintados, earns each year 700 pesos of salary; and there areothers--commissioners, a storekeeper, and a secretary--inall amounting to 1300 pesos per year 1U300

The rice, wine, meat, fish, vegetables, and other minorarticles used by the persons who are supplied with rations--asare the sailors, artillerymen, carpenters, smiths, pioneers, commanders, and rowers of the galleys; the religious, andothers--will amount in Terrenate to more than twenty thousandpesos per year 20U000

 218U372

Beside what has been mentioned, attention must be given to what hasbeen spent on the fleets which have been collected since the yearone thousand six hundred and six, when Don Pedro de Acuña recoveredit--both in ships and on casting [of artillery], soldiers' hire, and that which has been lost at different times, which has amountedto a large sum each year; and little or no income has been securedfrom the Malucas, for in nine years they have not brought in 20Upesos. This has been due to negligence; for if there had beena faithful administrator posted there, and his accounts had beenaudited, and affairs had been orderly and regular (as they are withthe enemy), your Majesty might have secured [sufficient] profit tomaintain those forces without expending anything from your royalexchequer, as you now do. The same argument applies from now on. Onthis account it is very important to your royal service either thatcorrection be applied to this, or that some means be considered, which it does not appear to me expedient to place in this relation, tospare your Majesty so great an expense. When those islands are securefrom the Dutch enemy, your Majesty will suffer no expense, and willbe able to further the working of the above-mentioned mines which lienear Manila. From them, with the favor of God, so great wealth may belooked for as will suffice to clear your Majesty from debt, and thiscan be accomplished in no other way; for with the ordinary practice, which has prevailed thus far, there is no more hope than for a sickman declared past recovery, to whom the physicians give no remedies, and whom they declare to be at the end of his life. 

Bibliographical Data

The documents of the present volume are from various sources (allmanuscript except No. 9). The following are from the Archivo generalde Indias, Sevilla:

1. _Reforms needed_--See Bibliographical Data, _Vol_. XVIII, No. 12. 

2. _Decrees ordering reforms of religious_. --"Audiencia de Filipinas;registros de oficios y partes; reales ordenes dirigidas á lasautoridades y particulares del distrito de la Audiencia; años 1605á 1645; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 12. "

3. _Compulsory service_. --"Simancas--Eclesiastico; Audiencia deFilipinas; cartas y expedientes de religiosos misioneros de Filipinasvistos en el Consejo; años 1617 á 1642; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 38. "

4. _Letter from Audiencia_. --"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinascartas y expedientes del presidente y oydores de dicha Audienciavistos en al Consejo; años 1607 á 1626; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 20. "

5. _Letter from Fajardo_. --"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas;cartas y expedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo;años 1600 á 1628; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 7. "

The following are obtained from MSS. In the Real Academia de laHistoria, Madrid; all are in the collection "Papeles de los Jesuitas:"

6. _Letter to Escovar_. --"Tomo 129, num. 153. "

7. _Relation of 1619-20_. --"Tomo 112, num. 55. "

The following is from the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid:

8. _Letter to Fajardo_. --"Cedulario Indico, tomo 38, folio 101, núm. 80. "

9. _Memorial, y relacion para sv magestad_ (Madrid, 1621), by Hernandode los Rios Coronel. --This is translated and synopsized from the copyin the Library of Congress. 

Appendix: Buying and Selling Prices of Oriental Products

[The first list of prices that follows is from a compilation by theprocurator of the Philippines, Martin Castaños, and is taken from arelation of Governor Juan de Silva entitled:]

_Relation of the importance of the Filipinas and Terrenate_

The Malucas Islands yield from year to year four thousand fourhundred bars of cloves. Each bar is six hundred and forty libras. Ifhis Majesty would make himself master of this, as well as of thenutmeg and mace, and establish his factories--in Yndia, in Ormuz, [57] for the nations who come from all Asia to trade for it; and inLisboa, for Europa and the Yndias--it would be worth [from one yearto another?] three million seven hundred pesos at the least, as Ireckon it; because in India each libra of cloves is worth at Ormuzone peso, and in Lisboa a greater sum, while in the West Yndias itis worth more than two pesos. [58] Averaging them all together, itwill be equivalent to ten reals per libra, which will amount to threemillion five hundred and twenty thousand pesos. .. . It will cost hisMajesty to buy the cloves, in cloth, silks, and other things whichthe natives value, eighty thousand pesos; while the navigation andthe pay of the factors will amount to one hundred and twenty thousand, all amounting to two hundred and thirty thousand pesos. Consequently, there will be a clear profit on the cloves of three million twohundred and ninety thousand pesos. 

The nutmegs and mace when delivered in Europa cost the Dutchfive hundred and twenty thousand pesos annually. The purchase, navigation, and [pay of] factors amount to one hundred and tenthousand pesos. Consequently, the net gain on the nutmeg and mace isfour hundred and ten thousand pesos. That added to the profit of thecloves amounts to three million seven hundred thousand pesos. 

His Majesty can make a profit of two millions annually on the silksof China in this way--that a ship of two hundred toneladas' burden goeach year with the ships from Filipinas to Nueva España, with thesesilks, which cost the following prices. 

One thousand picos of spun and raw silk of Changuei, [59] each picocontaining one hundred and thirty libras, and costing two hundredpesos, amount to two hundred thousand pesos. 

Ten thousand pieces of Canton satin, at a cost of five pesos, amountto fifty thousand pesos. 

Ten thousand pieces of damask, at four pesos, amount to fortythousand pesos. 

Twenty thousand pieces of gorgoran, at a cost of one and one-halfpesos, amount to thirty thousand pesos. 

Thirty thousand varas of velvet in colors, at one-half peso, amountto fifteen thousand pesos. 

These silks cost three hundred and thirty-five thousand pesos. Theywill, with the condescension of his Majesty, be taken to Perú (as isdone, that other silks of China may not be taken from Nueva España), and are sold at Lima at the following prices. 

Each libra of silk of the quality named in the first item, at fifteenpesos, the one thousand picos amounting to one million nine hundredand fifty thousand pesos. 

Each piece of Canton satin at fifty pesos, the ten thousand piecesamounting to five hundred thousand pesos. 

Each piece of damask at forty pesos, the ten thousand pieces amountingto four hundred thousand pesos. 

Each piece of gorgoran at ten pesos, the twenty thousand piecesamounting to two hundred thousand pesos. 

Each vara of velvet at four pesos, the thirty thousand varas amountingto one hundred and twenty thousand pesos. 

Taking from this amount the three hundred and thirty-five thousandpesos that those goods cost in China, and eight hundred and thirty-fivethousand pesos for the cost of factors and of navigation, and whateverelse their handling may cost, there is a net gain of two million pesos. 

In that way his Majesty can obtain every year from Filipinas fivemillion seven hundred thousand pesos net, after deducting the entirecost. 

[The following list is from an undated memorial of probably theearly seventeenth century which treats of the merchandise that thePortuguese were wont to take from China to Japan. The memorial firstdefines the value of certain coins and weights and measures. ]

First, the _tae_ is equivalent to a ducado of ten reals of gold orsilver; a _maz_ is equal to one of our reals. One _maz_ is equivalentto ten _conderins_; each _conderin_ being valued at six maravedis, is divided into ten _caxes_, each _cax_ [_i. E. , _ cash] being a roundbrass coin half the size of a half cuarto [60] pierced with fourholes, and with certain characters around the edge. One hundred ofthem make one maz; and it is the only coin that is stamped with a die, for all the others circulate by weight. 

_Ranquel_ are ten pieces of plate or crockery-ware. 

_Pico_ is equivalent to one quintal, but has one arroba more thanours. _Cate_ is a weight of twenty onzas. 

The ship of the Portuguese carries from five to six hundred picosof white untwisted silk. It costs at Canton eighty taes per picodelivered in Macan, and is sold in Xapon for one hundred and fortyor one hundred and fifty taes. 

Laden with _retros_ (the fine red silk), of four or five hundred picosof all colors, at a cost of one hundred and forty taes, it is soldin Xapon at three hundred and seventy and sometimes four hundred taes. 

The common assorted _retros_ costs from fifty-five to sixty taesin Canton, according to its quality, and is sold in Xapon for onehundred taes. 

The silk of the _darca_, of all colors, is worth forty taes in Canton, and is sold by the libra in Xapon at nine maçes per cate. 

The said ship will also carry from one thousand seven hundred totwo thousand pieces of a certain silk worked with birds, and otherpictures done in silk and unwoven silver. [61] Each piece is worth upto eleven maçes, and the fine ones up to fourteen. They have seven, eight, and nine gaxos, and they are sold in Xapon for about two andone-half or three taes apiece. 

It will take three or four thousand taes of gold. The tae of commongold is worth about four or five maçes per tae, and it is sold inXapon for seven taes and eight maçes. 

Fine gold is worth in Canton six taes six maçes, and seven taes pertae of common gold. It is sold in Xapon for eight taes and three maçes. 

Moreover, two picos of musk will be taken. It costs eight realsper cate in Canton, and is sold in Xapon at fifteen and sixteen, according to its quality. 

It will carry about five hundred picos of white lead. It costs atCanton two taes and seven maces per pico; and, delivered at Macan, three. It is sold in Xapon for six and one-half and seven taes. TheJapanese use a considerable quantity of it. .. . It is brought refinedfrom there and is carried by way of Yndia to Portugal, where eachba[r?] is worth six [maçes?] seven conderins. 

The ship will carry, moreover, two hundred or three hundred picosof cotton thread. It costs seven taes per pico delivered in Macan, and is sold in Xapon for sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen. 

It will carry three thousand _çangalas_ [_i. E. _, pieces of buckram], which are pieces of cotton, most of them white, while the restare black and in colors. They cost various prices, the large piecescosting twenty-eight taes per hundred. It is sold in Xapon at fifty andfifty-four taes per hundred. These çangalas are made of cotton. Thosefrom Lanquin [_i. E. _, Nankin], which are half cotton and half rawsilk, are worth one tae three maçes per piece of ten varas. Othersmaller ones cost twelve taes per hundred in Canton, and are sold inXapon for twenty-three and twenty-four. The red ones cost eight andone-half taes, and are sold for sixteen and seventeen taes. 

The ship will carry one hundred and fifty or two hundred picos ofquicksilver. It costs forty taes at Canton, and fifty-three deliveredat Macan. It is sold in Xapon for ninety and ninety-two, and at timesfor less than ninety. 

It will also carry two thousand picos of lead, at a cost of threetaes per pico delivered in Macan. It is sold in Xapon for six taesfour maçes, and the money doubled. 

It will also carry five or six hundred picos of tin. I do not rememberits buying or its selling price. 

It will carry besides five or six hundred picos of China-wood, [62]at a cost per pico of one tae or twelve maçes. It is sold for fouror five taes in Xapon, and the money doubled. 

It will carry about two thousand ranquels of crockery-ware at thevery least. These goods are bought in Canton at many prices, and themoney doubled two or three times in Xapon. 

It will carry one hundred picos of rhubarb, which costs two andone-half taes, and is sold for five, thus doubling the money. 

It will also carry one hundred and fifty picos of licorice. It costsdelivered in Macan three taes per pico, and is sold in Xapon for nineor ten taes per pico, thus tripling the money. 

It will also carry about sixty or seventy picos of white sugar. Itcosts fifteen maçes per pico, and is sold in Xapon for three and fourand one-half taes. However, little of it is used, and the Japaneseprefer the black. The latter kind costs from four to six maçes inMacan, and is sold for four, five, or six taes per pico in Xapon. Itforms an excellent merchandise, and the ship will carry one hundredand fifty or two hundred picos of it. 

The captain of the ship will ask, for carrying the silk, ten per cent;and in order that the freight on the remainder of the merchandise maynot be raised, five hundred dead taes are given him, besides sixtypicos sold at its value there per pico. That which is sold, and allthe bulk of the silk that is unsold, and the five hundred taes aregiven him beforehand; while on the other merchandise mentioned abovehe is given ten per cent. 

The said ship takes, on its return to Yndia, the aforesaid merchandiseof loose white silk--one thousand picos at the abovesaid prices. Theyare sold in Yndia at about two hundred cruzados [63] per pico. 

It will carry about ten or twelve thousand pieces of silk damasksand taffetas of all shades, bought at different prices. The commonprice of the fine pieces of damask is five taes, and the very fine, six and seven; and the pieces are four varas long. There are alsosome at four taes. These damasks are also sold at various prices. Thegreater part of them are sold among the natives. The same is to besaid of the pieces of taffeta as to their purchase and sale. 

It will carry three or four picos of gold, bought in the manneraforesaid. A profit of eighty or ninety per cent is also made on thisamong the natives. 

It will carry five or six hundred picos of wrought and unwroughtbrass. The money invested in this is doubled. It is used among thenatives. 

It will carry six or seven picos of musk, which is used by the peopleof the country. The money will be gained once and a half over. 

It will carry one hundred picos of quicksilver, which will gainseventy or eighty per cent. 

It will carry five hundred picos of vermilion, which will gain asmuch as the quicksilver. 

It will carry two or three [hundred?] picos of sugar, and the moneywill be gained once and a half over. 

It will carry one or two thousand picos of China-wood, the moneyinvested for which will be increased two or three times. 

It will carry two thousand picos of brass bracelets, which cost fivetaes six maçes, and seven taes per pico delivered in Machan. Themoney is doubled. They are used in Bengala. 

It will carry about two hundred picos of camphor, which goes toPortugal. 

It carries a considerable quantity of earthenware of all sorts. Themoney is gained once and a half over. 

It carries a great number of gilded beds, tables, and writing desks. 

Much fine colored unwoven silk. It costs eighteen and nineteen maçesand two taes per cate. Some of the gilded beds are generally sold forthree or four hundred cruzados. It carries many coverlets worked onframes; canopies, bed-curtains, and hangings; short cloaks of thesame handiwork, made by the same Chinese; besides other trifles, and many gold chains exquisitely wrought. 

The Portuguese pay duties at Malaca of seven and one-half per centon the merchandise which they carry from China, without selling orunloading anything in that city. 

They pay two or three thousand cruzados at Zeylao [_i. E. _, Ceylon]for the support of the garrison stationed there. For that purposetwo or three fustas go to the ship and take it, in spite of itself, to the port, whence it does not sail until it pays that sum. Thereason given by the captain of that fort is, that the viceroy of Goadiscounts that money from the duties. The same is done with the shipswhich come from Bengala, as well as from all other parts from which itis necessary to pass that island (which is the island for cinnamon)in order to get to Goa. They pay eight and one-half per cent at Goa, both for entrance and for clearance; and the same is true at Malaca, going and coming to [India?] But they do not pay in [Macan?] becausethey return thither. 

When the ship sails from Goa to China, it carries silver in moneyand in wrought pieces (as I saw), of these two or three thousand;ivory, velvet from España and other places, and fine scarlet cloth[_grana_]; one hundred and fifty or two hundred pipes of wine; aboutsix other pipes of oil; also olives, and capers. One is surprisedat the cheapness of these things in Machan since they are broughtfrom España to Goa, and thence to China, a distance of more than onethousand leguas. What most surprised me was to see that a cuartoof wine is worth one real, which is about its worth in Lisboa. Ajar of oil at eight or ten reals, or at the most twelve, is worth atMachan when it comes from España five, six, or eight pesos per botija, counting eight reals to the peso. A cuartillo of wine at four reals, is sold at little or nothing. The Portuguese say that they do notcare to make their principal good in China, but to invest in China, as their interest lies in the investment. 

Ivory is sold to the Chinese at fifty taes per pico for the whiteand even ivory. It is understood that this must be in exchange forother merchandise, and not for money or silver; for silver that entersChina does not go out again except in merchandise. 

Velvet costs six or seven cruzados per codo in Goa. The codo is apalmo less than our vara. It is sold among the Portuguese at Machanfor seven or eight taes, according to its quality. 

Grana costs five or six cruzados per codo at Goa, and even sevenand eight. 

A pipe of wine is generally worth forty or fifty cruzados at Goa, and the fine and good wines ninety-five. However, the latter is nottaken to China; and that of the first-named price is sold in Machan, where it is worth eighty or ninety cruzados per pipe. 

One million of gold and upward enters China yearly through thePortuguese alone. 

The Portuguese pay anchorage at Machan according to the beam andlength of their ships, and whether they enter light or laden. Thelength is measured from the mizzenmast to the bow, and the beam fromedge to edge. According as the ship is larger or smaller it pays. The[standard of] measure is one _caña_, and so much is paid for eachmeasure. Consequently, a ship of three hundred toneladas will paythree or four thousand taes of silver. The Portuguese formerly paidthe said anchorage in brasil-wood and in other merchandise whichthey carried; but for two or three years past they have had to payit in silver. They do not like that as well as the other method. If, perchance, the ships have to lay up for the winter, even if they arethe ships of the inhabitants of Machan themselves, they have to paywithout any remission. 

_Memorandum of the retail selling prices of wares in Canton_

The tae of fine gold is equivalent to seven of silver. One cate of muskis sold for eight taes. Raw silk at eight taes per pico. The contrarykind, or twisted silk [_sirguin_], which is the best of the country, one hundred taes per pico. Good pieces of damask, seven taes; a piececontains fourteen varas. Other pieces of common silk, ten varas forone tae three maçes. Vermilion, forty taes per pico. Copper, seven andeight taes [per pico]. Quicksilver, forty taes per pico. Herd-bells, eight maçes per pico. White lead, two and one-half and three taes perpico. Cotton, eight taes per pico. Fine powdered vermilion, seventymaçes per cate. One ranquel of fine porcelain, one tae two maçes;fine dishes, fifteen maçes per ranquel. Large fine dishes, five maçesapiece. Medium quality earthenware is worth one and one-half maçesper ranquel, both chinaware [_porcelana_] and dishes. Fine piecesof taffeta of all colors, from Lanquin, each piece containing abouttwelve codos, are worth two and one-half and three taes. Large piecesof certain damasks, which contain sixteen varas, are worth twelvetaes at the least and fifteen at the most. Common earthenware isworth less than one real per ranquel, either dishes or jars. Wheatis worth four maces per pico, and eight in flour. Rice is worththree and one-half and four maçes per pico. One cow is worth fourtaes in Macan. One pico of flour, delivered in Macan, one tae twomaçes. Pork is worth two taes in Macan and one and one-half taes inCanton, per pico. Fowls, two taes per pico. One pico of salt fish, two taes and more--or less, according to the fish. Two cates of freshfish, one conderin. One pico of sugar, two taes, or, at the least, one and one-half taes. One pico of the finest iron, which resemblesa _manteca_ [64] is worth two taes, and in nails two and one-half, and three taes. One pico of Chinese camphor is worth ten taes. Onepico of cinnamon, three taes. Rhubarb, at two, two and one-half, andthree taes; and there is an infinite amount of it in China. Piecesof thin, fine silk, which contain about twenty varas, arc worth threeand one-half and four taes. Red silk headdresses for women, four andfive maçes apiece. One pico of licorice, two and one-half taes. Onepico of China-wood, at eight maçes, and one tae. 

The merchandise brought by the Portuguese in their ships from thedistricts where they trade and traffic is as follows. 

First, they carry from Malaca to Goa a great quantity of cloves, nutmeg, and mace; also tin--which is the finest that is obtained fromthose parts, and which they also carry to China, for the tin of thatcountry is not so fine. They carry tortoise-shell and many pearls. 

From Zeylao, a great quantity of cinnamon, the finest of diamonds, and other precious gems. 

From Bengala, abundance of very fine cotton; quantities of sugar androck sulphur; and a quantity of rice--for which, if it were not forBengala, Yndia would suffer. 

From Moçambique, ivory and brasil-wood. 

From Ormuz, which is in Persia, they bring excellent horses, and veryfine carpets; many larins, [65] each one a trifle smaller than oneof our reals; many clusters of dates; camlets, [66] and many agras;and benecianos, [67] each of which is worth about one of our escudosof eleven reals. 

From the kingdom of Pegu, they carry a quantity of fine lac in loaves, and other things. 

From Siam, excellent silver, and arquebus-balls; much and very finebenzoin; almond cakes; a quantity of oil of ginger, and of cocoa, and brasil-wood; lead; and a quantity of rice. 

From Conchinchina, aguila-wood, [68] and another wood called_calambac_, [69] which is very valuable. It is black and containsoil, and is worth fifty cruzados among the Portuguese; while in itsown kingdom, it passes weight for weight with silver. [The ship alsocarries] lead, pepper, and some yellow silk. 

From the kingdom of Champa is brought the abovesaid wood, and it iseven finer than that of Conchinchina. They carry another kind of blackwood from which the Chinese make certain little sticks one cuarto[_i. E. _, one-fourth vára?] long with which they eat. This kingdomhas nothing else [to trade]. 

From Cambay, they bring the finest incense that those districtsfurnish. It is worth three taes per pico. They bring it from Far, which is Arabia the Blest [_la Felice_], and also from the island ofSamatra, which the Portuguese call by another name Dachen. 

From Timor, white sandal wood, which grows in no other part, whilethey bring the red from Santo Tome. 

From Borney they bring camphor, which is the best which is usuallyfound. It passes in its own kingdom weight for weight with silver. Theyalso bring a great quantity of wood of the same tree for tables andwriting desks, and it is very beautiful and sweet-smelling. 

From the islands of Ternate, Tidore, and three or four others, thespice of the clove. 

From the island of Banda, and from other islands, nutmeg and mace. Fromthe same island they bring certain very beautiful birds which have nofeet or claws. They have a very long tail with very beautiful feathers, and resemble young herons. 

From Xapon a great quantity of silver; [abundance?] of tunny-fish;certain catans (which resemble cutlasses, and are very large), anddaggers wrought very richly in gold; and other things. 

From Sunda and many other places they bring various other articles. TheSpaniards take from the Philipinas many pieces of cotton of veryfine quality, and many pieces of various-colored damask; all kindsof taffeta, in greater or less quantity; much spun and loose silk ofall colors; a great quantity of earthenware--which, together with thesilk, is all brought to Manila by the Chinese themselves, who alsobring a great amount of gold, wrought and unwrought, and of differentcarats. The following are the names of the gold in the Philipinasand their carats: first, gold of _ariseis_, of twenty-three caratsthree granos, and worth per tae in the said islands, nine eight-realpesos; gold of _guinogulan_, of twenty carats, worth seven pesos;gold of _orejeras_, of eighteen or nineteen carats, and worth five andone-half pesos per tae; gold of _linguin_, of fourteen or fourteenand one-half carats, and worth four or four and one-half pesos;gold of _bislin_, of nine or nine and one-half carats, and worththree pesos; gold of _malubay_, of six or six and one-half carats, and worth one and one-half and two pesos. [70]

NOTES

[1] The twelve-year truce between the States-General and Spain, signed in 1608. 

[2] This squadron was sent for the succor of the Philippines, in December, 1619; but soon after its departure it encountered asevere storm, which compelled the ships to take refuge in the portof Cadiz. Learning of this, the royal Council sent imperative ordersfor the ships to depart on their voyage; the result was that theywere driven ashore and lost on the Andalusian coast, January 3, 1620, with the loss of one hundred and fifty lives. Among the dead was FrayHernando de Moraga, O. S. F. , who had come to Spain some time before toask aid for the Philippine colony and the missions there. A councilassembled by the king, after discussing the matter, recommended thatSpain abandon the islands as costly and profitless; Moraga's entreatiesinduced the king to disregard this advice, and to send a fleet withtroops and supplies, in which embarked Moraga with thirty friars ofhis order. See La Concepción's account, in _Hist. De Philipinas_, v, pp. 474-479. 

Another letter from Otaço, dated February 18, 1620, says: "Therehas been a very heated discussion (which still continues) regardingaid for the Philipinas, between the lords of the Council and all theprocurators and agents of those islands. "

[3] Translated: "[This blow upon us], beyond measure, still we arethe Lord's and He is just, and His judgment is upright. "

[4] So in the MS. , but apparently a copyist's error for Leatum, theform given in later pages; apparently a phonetic blunder for Liao-tung, the name of the province where the contest between Russia and Japanis now centered (May, 1904). 

[5] W. Winterbotham gives, in his _View of the Chinese Empire_(London, 1796), ii, pp. 6-8, an interesting account of the "mandarinsof letters, " the chief nobility of the empire. He says: "There areonly two ranks in China, the nobility and the people, but the formeris not hereditary . .. China contains about fifteen thousand mandarinsof letters, and a still greater number who aspire to that title. .. To arrive at this degree, it is necessary to pass through severalothers; such as that of Batchelor (_sie_, or _tsai_), of licentiate(_kiu-gin_), and of doctor (_tsing-tssëe_). The two first, however, are only absolutely necessary; bur even those on whom the third isconferred obtain for a time only the government of a city of the secondor third class. There are eight orders of [these] mandarins . .. Inshort, the whole administration of the Chinese empire is entrustedto the mandarins of letters. "

[6] Referring to the Manchu chief Noorhachu (see _Vol_. XVIII, note 63). His grandfather was named Huen. 

[7] Gabriel de Matos was born at Vidigueira, Portugal, in 1572, andentered the Jesuit order at the age of sixteen. He spent twenty yearsin the Japan missions, and later was provincial of Malabar; and hefiled in January, 1633, either at Cochin or at Macao (according todiffering authorities). 

[8] Nicolas Trigault was born at Douai, France, in 1577, and becamea Jesuit novice when seventeen years old. As a student, he madea specialty of Oriental languages, and in 1610 entered the Chinamission, of which he was long in charge--meanwhile becoming versedin Chinese history and literature, concerning which, as well as theJesuit missions there, Trigault wrote various books and memoirs. Hedied November 14, 1628, at either Nanking or Hang-tcheou. 

[9] Matheo de Curos was born at Lisbon in 1568, and became a Jesuitwhen fifteen years old; three years later, he left Europe for Japan, where during many years he occupied high positions in his order. Hedied at Fuscimo (Fushimi?), October 29, 1633. 

[10] _Dairi_ ("the great interior"), an appellation of the mikadoof Japan, also of his palace in the city of Kiôto (anciently calledMiako), The temple referred to is the Daibutsu ("great Buddha"), located not far from the palace. See Rein's _Japan_, pp. 442-470, for account of Buddhism and other religions in Japan, and descriptionand plan of Kiôto. 

[11] Cf. _Jesuit Relations_, (Cleveland reissue) xxvii, p. 311, and xxxv, p. 277 (and elsewhere), for mention of these helpers(Fr. _dogiques_) in the Jesuit missions of New France. 

[12] Probably referring to St. Francis Xavier, who had been, seventyyears before, so prominent a missionary in Japan and India. The word"saint, " however, is here used by anticipation, as Xavier was notcanonized at the time of this document. That ceremony was performed, for both Xavier and Ignatius de Loyola, on March 12, 1622; they hadbeen beautified on July 27, 1609. 

[13] The two Latin phrases read thus in English respectively: "inthe bowels of Jesus Christ, " and "that I may be counted worthy ofsuffering reproach [or ignominy] for the name of Jesus. "

[14] This is a reference to the celebrated scholastic Duns Scotus. 

[15] The text reads thus: _Junto al estandarte que lleuoua el PeGuardian yba un fraile lego llamado fr. Junipero y es tenido por sto_sencillo como el otro vaylando y diciendo mil frialdades a lo diuino. 

[16] The Order of Theatins was founded in 1524, by St. Cajetan ofChieti or Teate (whence Theatinus) and three others, one of whom laterbecame Pope Paul IV. Their vows were very strict, for they were evenforbidden to solicit alms. They were the first congregation in theChurch of regular clerics or canons regular (_clerici regulares_or _canonici regulares_). On account of the early renown for pietywhich they acquired, it became usual to style any devout person aTheatino or Chietino. They were also sometimes called Tolentines, from the name of their principal church dedicated to St. Nicholas ofTolentine. Their dress being similar to that of the Jesuits, theywere through ignorance often mistaken for them. The term was alsoapplied to some of the Jesuits who had been in Florida and afterwardwent to Manila; to the Jesuit missionaries in Japan; and to the firstJesuits in the Philippines. Paul IV wished to unite his order with theJesuits, but his request was not acceded to by St. Ignatius Loyola. TheTheatins were never widely known outside of Italy. --The editors areindebted for this note to Revs. José Algué, S. J. , Manila Observatory, E. I. Devitt, S. J. , Georgetown College, and T. C. Middleton, O. S. A. , Villanova College. See also Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dict. _, pp. 792, 793. 

[17] The preachers of Charles V said to the Council of the Indias, in speaking of the repartimiento system in America: "We hold thatthis most great sin will be the cause of the total destruction ofthe state of Spain, if God does not alter it, or we do not amend itourselves. " See Helps's _Spanish Conquest_, ii, p. 56. 

[18] St. John's day is June 26, and St. Peter's June 29. 

[19] Span. , _La puso en el cofrecillo secreto del acuerdo_; literally"placed it in the secret drawer of the assembly. "

[20] In 1621, the flagship of which Fernando Centeno was commander, "Nuestra Señora de la Vida, " was wrecked in Isla Verde. See Colin, _Labor evangélica_, p. 159. 

[21] One may see in this and subsequent marginal notes of this nature, in this and in other documents, the possible working of the Spanishgovernment offices. The memoranda thus made on the margins of thedocument by the council or government representative in the king'sname, evidently formed the basis of the various decrees and ordersdespatched to the colonies, in regard to points brought out inthe document that needed legislation. The document would probablybe then turned over to the clerk or notarial secretary, who wouldhave the decrees filled out properly, and in the stereotyped form, from these memoranda. Lastly, they would receive the king's signature(_rubrica_). Each of the marginal notes on this and other documents, when made by king or council, is generally accompanied by a rubrica, which attests its legality. These notes often consist of two distinctparts, one of matter to be addressed to the governor, in which thesecond person is used; the other, directions to clerks in regardto what should be done on points called up in the document. Thesedistinct parts have each their rubricas. 

[22] See this note at end of the document, p. 167. 

[23] See this note, _post_, p. 168. 

[24] See _Vol_. XII, pp. 53, 54, "four hundred short toneladas ofthe Northern Sea, which amount to three hundred [of the Southern Sea]. "

[25] See this note, _post_, p. 169. 

[26] The report of this expedition, which was effected, will be givenlater, in a document of 1624. 

[27] See a further note to this section, _post_, p. 171. 

[28] See a further note on this section, _post_, p. 171. 

[29] The reservation signifies that absolution from the saidcensure is reserved exclusively to a superior, as the prior of aconvent, a provincial, or general, or even to the supreme pontiffhimself. See Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dict. _, pp. 135, and 717and 718. --_Rev. T. C. Middleton_, O. S. A. 

[30] The original reads "_despues_" ("since"), but the sense seemsto require "_antes_" ("before"). 

[31] An account of this expedition will be presented in a laterdocument. 

[32] The words lacking in the above, due to the dilapidation of theMS. , render it impossible to translate this passage clearly. 

[33] Cf. The three documents (1619-20) by Coronel, on "Reformsneeded in the Filipinas, " begun in _Vol_. XVIII, and concluded inthis volume. Felipe III died on March 31, 1621, and was succeeded byhis son, Felipe IV, to whom this "Memorial" is now addressed. 

[34] That is, "those who had come by a round-about way. "

[35] Various MSS. By Alonso Sanchez are to be found in the archivesof different countries, and will be mentioned in the bibliographicalvolume of this series. 

[36] See, however, Morga's account of this in _Vol_. XV, pp. 79-92. SeeMorga also for a full account of the Camboja expeditions. 

[37] Thus in the original. A marginal pen correction in faded ink, inthe copy from which we translate, reads 608. The _Cedulario Indico_, consisting of forty-one manuscript volumes of decrees, for the variousparts of the Indias, which is preserved in the Archivo HistoricoNacional in Madrid, contains a number of decrees of 1608 in regardto the ships from the Philippines. 

[38] The decree was of course granted by Felipe II, "your" being usedmerely as a set phrase to indicate the royal source of the decree. 

[39] See _Vol_. XVI, p. 60, note 31. 

[40] April 25, 1610, the fight with Wittert, _q. V. _ _Vol_. XVII. 

[41] See an account of his voyage in _Vol_. XVII. 

[42] Thus in the original, but evidently an error for "Chinese. "

[43] _Cuatralbo_: the commander of four galleys. 

[44] Translated: "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof:the world, and all they that dwell therein" (Ps. Xxiv, v. 1). 

[45] In the margin is written, in an ancient hand: "For the singularveneration which the archduke of Borgoña showed to the most holysacrament of the eucharist. "

[46] Thus in the text (_comprar_); but the context would suggest thatthis was a slip for "sell. "

[47] In this connection may be cited the following statement fromSawyer's _Inhabitants of the Philippines_, p. 129: "The great wealthof the Archipelago is undoubtedly to be found in the development ofits agriculture. Although the Central and Ilocan Mountains in Luzonand parts of Mindanao are rich in gold, it is the fertile land, the heavy rainfall and the solar heat, that must be utilized topermanently enrich the country. The land is there and the labour isthere, and all that is wanting is capital, and a settled government. .. The sun, the rain, the soil, and the hardy Philippine farmerwill do the rest--a population equal to that of Java could live inaffluence in the Philippines. "

See also Sawyer's remarks (pp. 145-152) on gold and gold-mining inthe islands. 

[48] See the document, "Expeditions to Tuy, " at end of _Vol_. XIV. 

[49] The Augustinian Fray Miguel Garcia Serrano. 

[50] An ancient Spanish coin, which in the time of Ferdinand andIsabella was worth 14 reals 14 maravedis of silver; but its valuevaried in subsequent reigns. See the work of Fray Liciniano Saez, _Monedas que corrian en Castilla durante el reynado del Sr. D. EnriqueIV_ (published by the Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, 1805), pp. 408-426. 

[51] In Spain the name _cinamomo_ is popularly given to the _Meliaacedarak_; but now in Manila that name is applied to a species of_Lausonia, L. Inermis_. This latter grows in Arabia and Egypt, andis cultivated in Europe; it is there called _alchena_ or _alhena_, and its root is employed as a cosmetic by the Turks, and a paste ofits leaves, known as _henna_, is used by them to dye the teeth orhair. See Blanco's _Flora_ (ed. 1845), pp. 206, 241. 

[52] Probably referring to the springs at Jigabo, province of Albay, the waters of which carry in solution a gelatinous silica, whichis quickly incrusted on any object placed therein. See _Report_of U. S. Philippine Commission, 1900, iii, p. 222. 

[53] The "geometrical pace" is, in English measure, roughlyestimated at five feet; in Spanish measure, according to Los Rios'sreckoning--the tercia (or "third"), being one-third of a vara, isequivalent to 11. 128 English inches--the geometrical pace would be55. 64 English inches. The length of the wall, accordingly, would bea little less than two English miles. 

[54] Of this name Crawfurd says (_Dict. Indian Islands_, p. 283):"The collective name, which the Portuguese write Maluca, and iscorrectly Maluka, is equally unknown, although said to be that of aplace and people of the island of Gilolo. No such name is, at present, known to exist in that island . .. All that De Barros tells us of thename is, that it is a collective one for all the islands. " He cites(pp. 101, 102) various names for the clove that are current in theIndian islands, and some found in early writers but among them isnone resembling Maluca. 

[55] See the detailed description of the clove tree, its product, the mode of gathering cloves, their properties, and the extent ofthe trade in this spice in _Recueil des voiages Comp. Des IndesOrientales_, i, pp. 503-507. The price at which the Dutch boughtcloves from the natives (in 1599) is there stated at fifty-four realsof eight. The extent of the crop is thus stated: "According to whatthe inhabitants of Ternate say, the Molucca Islands produce annuallythe following quantity of cloves: the islands of Ternate and Tidore, each 1, 000 bares; Bassian Island, 2, 000 bares; and Motier Island, 600 or 700 bares. " Crawfurd says (_Dict. Indian Islands_, p. 503):"In England, before the discovery of the passage by the Cape of GoodHope, a pound of cloves cost 30_s. _, or 168_l. _ per cwt. "

[56] Spanish, _entretenidos_; persons who were performing certainduties, in hope of obtaining permanent positions, or waiting forvacancies to occur in certain posts. 

[57] The ancient city of Ormuz was on the mainland, but was removed tothe opposite island, Jerún, because of repeated Tartar attacks. Itsfame almost rivaled that of Venice from the end of the thirteenthto the seventeenth century. It was owned by the Portuguese during1507-1622, when it was taken by Shah Abbas, with the aid of the EnglishEast India Company. It was next to Goa the richest of Portuguesepossessions. See _Voyage of Pyrard de Laval_ (Hakluyt Society'spublications, London, 1888), ii, p. 238, notes 1 and 2. 

[58] The editors of _Voyage of Pyrard de Laval_ (ii, p. 357, _note_)say of the clove: "It is curious that this spice seems not to havebeen known to the Romans, nor to any Europeans till the discovery ofthe Moluccas by the Portuguese. " Duarte Barbosa, in _East Africa andMalabar_ (Stanley's trans. , Hakluyt Society edition, London, 1866), pp. 219-220, quotes cloves from Maluco as worth per bahar in Calicut500 and 600 fanoes; and, when clean of husks and sticks, 700 fanoes, 19 fanoes being paid as export duty. At Maluco they were worth from oneto two ducats per bahar, and in Malacca as much as fourteen. CaptainJohn Saris (see Satow's edition of _Voyage of Capt. John Saris_, Hakluyt Society publications, p. 33) bought cloves for "60 rials of8 per Bahar of 200 Cattyes. "

[59] See Satow's _Voyage of Capt. John Saris, ut supra_, pp. 224, 225, 228, 229, for names and prices of various kinds of silks. 

[60] _Cuarto_: a copper coin worth four maravedis. 

[61] Saris (_Voyage_, pp. 216, 225) mentions the following Chinesegoods: "Veluet Hangings imbroydered with gold, eighteene Rialls;vpon Sattins, fourteene Rials. " "Imbrodered Hangings, called Poey, the best ten Rials the piece. "

[62] Spanish, _palo de China_; also known as "China root;" the rootof _Smilax china_. It is not now used, but formerly had great reputefor the cure of venereal diseases as well as for gout. Linschoten hasa long account of its virtues and mode of use, in _Voyage_ (HakluytSociety's edition), ii, pp. 107-112; see also i, p. 239. Cf. Pyrardde Laval's _Voyage_, i, p. 182. 

[63] The cruzado was an old coin of Castilla and Portugal. TheCastilian coin was of gold, silver, or copper, and of differentvalues. The Portuguese coin, evidently the one of our text, was worthten reals de vellon in Spain. See _Dicc. Nacional . .. De la lenguaEspañola_ (Madrid, 1878). 

[64] So in the copy which we follow. Literally translated this is"butter, " which causes doubt as to the correctness of the copy. 

[65] The _larin_ was a silver coin that takes its name from the cityof Lar in Persia. It has been current in a number of eastern countriesand districts, among them Persia, the Maldives, Goa, and the Malabarcoast, Ceylon, and Kandy. It has gone out of circulation, althoughthe name is preserved in certain copper coins at the Maldives. Theancient coin was of various shapes, that of the Maldives being aboutas long as the finger and double, having Arabic characters stamped onit; that of Ceylon resembled a fishhook: those of Kandy are describedas a piece of silver wire rolled up like a wax taper. When a personwishes to make a purchase, he cuts off as much of this silver asis equal in value to the price of the article. Its probably firstmention by an European writer occurs in the _Lembranças das Cousas deIndia_ (_Subsidios_ iii, 53), in 1525, where the following table isgiven: 2 fules = 1 dinar; 12 dinars = 1 tanga; 3 tangas 10 dinars =1 new larin; 3 tangas 9 dinars = 1 old larin. At Cambaye (p. 38)1 tanga larin = 60 reis, and 45 larins weighed 1 Portuguese marco, or 50 grammes. Antonio Nunes (1554) in his _Livro dos Pesos_, says:"At the port of Bengala, 80 couries = 1 pone; 48 pones = 1 larin. ThePortuguese marco of the time of João III, being equivalent to 2, 500reis, would make the larin worth 51, 012 reis. " Davy says that thelarin of Kandy was worth about 7d. In English currency. For detailedinformation about the larin, see _Voyage of Pyrard de Laval, ut supra_, i, p. 232 and note 2; and ii, p. 68. 

[66] "Next, many watered camlets of Persia and Ormus, of all colours, made of the wool of large sheep that have not curled fleeces likeours. Of it they make also good store of cloaks and capes, calledby the Indians _Mansans_, and by the Portuguese 'Ormus _cambalis_;'they are made of the same wool, in bands of different colours, eachfour inches wide. Everyone takes these to sea for a protection fromthe rain. The tissue is the same as of cloth. " It was called "camlet, "because made originally of camel's hair. See _ut supra_, ii, p. 240. 

[67] The Venetian sequin, worth about 50 sols, which was silver moneyand circulated at Goa. See _ut supra_, ii, p. 69. 

[68] Crawfurd (_Dict. Indian Islands_) says that this is theeagle-wood of commerce. Its name in Malay and Javanese is _kalambak_or _kalambah_, but it is also known in these languages by that of_gahru_, or _kayu-gahru_, gahru-wood, a corruption of the Sanscrit_Agharu_. This sweet-scented wood has been used immemorially as anincense throughout eastern countries, and was early introduced intoEurope by the Portuguese. The perfumed wood is evidently the resultof a disease in the tree, produced by the thickening of the sap intoa gum or resin. The tree is confused with the aloes, but properlyspeaking has no connection with that tree; and the word _agila_has been wrongly translated into "eagle" [see above "_aguila_"]. Thetree probably belongs to the order of _Leguminosæ_. The best perfumedor diseased wood is found in the mountainous country to the east ofthe Gulf of Siam, including Camboja and Cochinchina. Castenheda saysthat at Campar, on the eastern side of Sumatra, are "forests whichyield aloes-wood, called in India Calambuco (kalambak). The treeswhich produce it are large, and when they are old they are cut downand the aloes-wood taken from them, which is the heart of the tree, and the outer part is agila. Both these woods are of great price, but especially the Calambuco, which is rubbed in the hands, yieldingan agreeable fragrance; the agila does so when burned. " See Crawfurd, _ut supra_, pp. 6, 7, and Yule's Cathay, ii, p. 472, note 1. 

[69] _Calambac_: the kalambac, or normal form of the wood called agila, is evidently meant here; see preceding note. 

[70] See _Vol_. IV, pp. 99, 100. 

All the old books of voyages of eastern countries contain much on thebuying and selling prices of various commodities. See especially thenotable Hakluyt Society publications.