The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 30 of 55

The first church was built as poorly as might have been expected of religious who came into the country as Christ our Lord in His gospel directed His apostles to go, without money, or bag, or treasure. In the course of time, when necessity required the building of larger churches, because the town was large and the population had almost all become Christian, they were all of wood and unfortunately burned. The religious afterward undertook to build one of brick or stone; and for this purpose they built a kiln in which to burn lime. When it was already full of stone and of the wood necessary to make a fire, there was a religious standing at the top of the arch over it, and there were some men and women at work on the side. The arch suddenly fell in, and all the stone was carried inward. One woman was buried in the stone, to twice her own height. The religious offered prayers for her to the Virgin; and when they uncovered her, which they did as quickly as possible, she came out, of her own accord, quite uninjured.]

When the first church in this village had been finished, the religious, seeing the manifest favor of the Lord in everything that had happened, undertook to build another in Camalaniugan, a village about a legua from the city. The Indians there are among the most intelligent in those provinces. They were very friendly with the Spaniards, and gave them great help in pacifying the whole country, by their great fidelity and continued assistance in the wars which took place. No falsehood or double-dealing was ever discovered in them; and they have always preserved this affection for the Spaniards, serving them much – as they were able to do, because of their proximity to the city. The chief and lord of this village was so rich that, if we are to believe his vassals, or even some of the old soldiers who were there at that time, he weighed the gold that he had with a steelyard, as iron is commonly weighed. Afterward, however, he suffered from the vicissitudes of fortune, and lost the greater part of his property. To this village father Fray Antonio de Soria went, with a brother of the order, to establish and erect a church. Though they were received without opposition, the Indians showed so little pleasure at having them in their village that no one visited them or spoke to them, except to ask when they were going to depart. Their answer was, that they would go as soon as the river ran dry. Now this river is so large that, because of its resemblance, the Spaniards called it Tajo [i. e., “Tagus”]. At this answer the Indians gave up putting that question, but they did not give up their wonder at seeing the religious among them, making a thousand guesses about the plans and purposes that the religious might have in maintaining a house and dwelling in their village. The women, though out of curiosity they tried to look at the religious, did so by stealth, glancing over their shoulders. If a religious happened to turn his head, they ran away like so many fallow-deer. If one suddenly came upon them when they were carrying water (which they drew from the river), they put it on the ground in order that they might better run away from him and from being seen by him. This was the way in which the religious were generally received in that and the other villages. However, as the story of the way in which they lived at Pata and Abulug had reached there, the Indians did not find the missionaries quite so strange, or treat them quite so badly, as they did at those places. What they wondered at most was their habits, which for such a hot country were very heavy, and which were very different from anything that they had seen on Spaniards, or on religious who had up to that time been in the city. A church was afterward built there – like the rest, poor and small, and with a roof of thatch. But it was built with great devotion on the part of the religious, and with great acceptance to our Lord, for whose glory it was built. Immediately afterward, they likewise built a church in Buguey, which was near that village and was closely allied to it. The church of Camalaniugan had the name of St. Hyacinth, and was dedicated to him. That of Buguei was dedicated to St. Vincent Ferrer; but afterward the name was changed, and it is now named for St. Anne. These churches were for the time annexed to the convent in the city, as its benefices, and as dependent upon it. The religious found much to occupy them while they were dwelling in those villages, as they were the first who preached there the law of the gospel; and as they had deeply at heart the purpose of overthrowing and casting to the ground the deceits which the Father of Lies had inculcated upon these tribes, and the diabolical customs in which they had been brought up. These evil ways of living had been sucked in by them with their mothers’ milk, and, having been continued by them all their lives, they had become second nature. As the Indians had inherited them from their ancestors, they observed them with the greatest accuracy, and took the greater pleasure in them because they were so closely conformed to their wicked inclinations and their evil training. Therefore to draw them forth from this condition, which was so contrary even to the law of nature, was a most difficult matter, and one in which success was not to be expected from natural forces. Hence the religious strove with all their hearts to obtain divine strength by means of prayer, fasting, and tears. By the aid of the Lord, which is never denied to those who thus seek for it, they went on and conquered all these difficulties; and in a short time they saw and tasted, to the great comfort of their souls, wonderful fruits from their labors. These had been accomplished by the help of God, to whose omnipotence there is nothing difficult. The Indians – who, because they did not know the religious, received them at first with so much disgust – soon came to see in what an error they had been, and how unfounded their fears were; for with the religious God sent to them light, teaching, true belief, healing for their souls, comfort in their sorrow, a wise rule of conduct, order and system in their manner of living, protection against those who wronged them, and, in a word, true fathers, not only in spiritual, but also in temporal matters. Hence within a few years, when the voluntary offer of their allegiance was asked for from them on the part of his Majesty King Felipe II,56 to satisfy a scruple which he had felt with regard to the conquest of that province, one of the leading chiefs of the province, Don Diego Siriban, responded for himself and for his subjects that he gave his allegiance to the king our lord with a very good will, because of the great blessing which he had given them by sending religious to them. He went on to say “If we had known earlier the good that was coming to us with them, we would have gone to their countries to seek for it, even if we had been sure that half of us were certain to perish in the quest.” The same thing was said by the whole village. Another village declared that they very readily offered their allegiance to his Majesty for having sent them Spaniards to deliver them from the tyranny of their chiefs, and religious to deliver them from the tyranny of some Spaniards. In general, the love that they feel for the religious is very great. Those who can have them in their villages are greatly pleased; while those who cannot be supplied, on account of the insufficient number, long for them. An evidence of this may be seen in the case of a great Indian chief named Bacani. Some years ago this man, who had no religious in his district, went to see the father provincial, and, falling on his knees, begged him with tears that he might receive some fathers. He offered in his own name, and in that of the other chiefs of his tribe, to gather in one village more than a thousand inhabitants, and for this purpose to leave his own villages and estates. The reason for this was that the villages were so small and scattered that it was difficult to give instruction among them; and hence the offer was made that many of them would assemble together in a new village, in some cases one or two days’ travel distant from where they had been living. The inhabitants of another region, called Malagueg, who had no ministers, and to whom none could be given, built a house for them and bought a boat in which they might travel – for people generally travel by the rivers – planning thus to make it easier for religious to be given them, as soon as there should be any. In the interim they did not cease to ask for them very humbly, and left no stone unturned to bring it about that the religious might be sent. They did all sorts of things to get ministers to live among them, offering to abandon their vices, and manifesting the greatest desire to become Christians (as at this time, by the grace of God, they are). The same desire was displayed by the Indians of the estuary of Yogan; but the father provincial did not dare to give them religious. A marvel followed, for while they were very urgently pleading for missionaries, two of the religious fell sick, and were so near to death that they were already despaired of. At that time a religious came in, who was much moved to pity when he saw the heathen asking for preachers with so much urgency. He told the father provincial, Fray Miguel de San Jacintho, that he ought to make a vow to send missionaries to the people of Yogan if the Lord healed the sick men; for, if the Lord did heal them, it was the same as to give him anew two missionaries, the number necessary for these Indians, for they were already mourning the religious as dead. The provincial made no vow, but promised to do so; and the Lord straightway fulfilled that condition by healing those whose life was despaired of, and the provincial sent religious to Yogan. Many other Indians of that same country have felt this same desire, wishing to enjoy the presence of the religious, because of the high regard that they feel for them and the great advantage which they receive from their presence. And the hearts of the religious have been not a little grieved at seeing the heathen coming to ask for preachers (which is the same as for them to come to preach to us), and themselves unable to help them. Since there are not religious enough for so many villages and districts, the religious have done all they could, and at times have done more than they could; so that, as a result of their excessive labor, they have lost their lives. Even so, there are many to whose succor it has not been possible to go; and they have failed to become Christians for lack of missionaries to teach them, baptize them, and keep them in the divine law.

(To be continued.)

1

The present document is taken from the Extracto historial, a work compiled (Madrid, 1736) by order of the Spanish government, for its information and guidance in the discussions then pending in the royal Council of the Indias upon the subject of the trade in Chinese silks between the Philippine Islands and Nueva España. The book is an historical résumé of that commerce, and of legislation thereon, from its beginning to 1736; it is composed mainly of important documents – decrees, memorials, etc. – from the original sources, and is divided into ten tiempos, or periods, of which the second (which covers the time from 1603 to 1640) is here presented, and the others will receive due attention in later volumes.

The title-page of the Extracto (of which a facsimile precedes the present document) reads thus in English: “Historical summary of the measures now under discussion in the royal and supreme Council of the Indias, at the instance of the city of Manila and the Philipinas Islands, in regard to the form in which the commerce and trade in Chinese fabrics with Nueva España shall be conducted and continued. And for the better understanding of the subject, the important events in that commerce are noted (distinguishing and separating the periods of time), from the discovery of the Philipinas Islands and the concession of commerce to them, with whatever has occurred up to the present in the operation and at the instance of the commerce of España and its tribunal [consulado]. Compiled and arranged by order of the king and the advice of the above-named Council, and at his Majesty’s expense, by an official of the [India] House, from the papers and documents furnished by the office of the Secretary for Nueva España, and [including] other special memoirs, which the said official has here set down for the greater completeness of the work, and to throw more light on the subject. At Madrid: in the printing-house of Juan de Ariztia, in the year 1736.”

The official there mentioned was Don Antonio Alvarez de Abreu; at the beginning of the work he mentions in a prefatory article the reasons for its compilation, and the plan he has followed; he claims to have reproduced accurately the documents presented therein, and to have regarded the interests of both sides in the controversy then being waged over the Philippine commerce. One hundred copies of the Extracto were printed.

2

Thus in the original; but in the following expansion of these points eight of them are enumerated, indicating an oversight on the part of the compiler. The sixth is there stated as the renown and profit accruing to the crown from the victories gained by its Philippine subjects; the seventh, the aid given by them to both crowns; the eighth, their protection of Chinese commerce.

3

According to Crawfurd (Dict. Ind. Islands, p. 38) this is the form, in the native languages, of the name that Europeans write Bantam, applied to the extreme western province of Java, and to an important seaport town in its northwest extremity. Most of the inhabitants of this province are Sundas, but along the coasts there is considerable intermixture with Javanese and other Malayan peoples. The port of Bantan was an important commercial center long before the arrival there of Europeans.

4

i. e., Hindostan (see VOL. XVII, p. 252). The grave accent is here used in the word Mogòr, simply as following the usage of the Extracto, which throughout prints the grave instead of the acute accent.

5

St. Martin, one of the Antilles, was a resort for French pirates and Dutch smugglers until 1638, when it was captured by the Spaniards. It was afterward recovered from them, and in 1648 was formally divided between the French and Dutch – a status that still prevails.

6

The alcabala, an excise duty collected on all sales of commodities, was derived from the Moors, and was more or less imposed in Spain from the year 1342 on. It was introduced in the American colonies in 1574, and for more than two centuries was a rich source of income for the Spanish crown and a heavy tax on the colonists. The rate was at first two per cent, but afterward this was doubled and trebled; and it was levied on every transfer of goods, taxing property over and over again. See Bancroft’s Mexico, iii, pp. 658, 659; and Recopilación leyes de Indias, lib. viii, tit. xiii, and lib. ix, tit. xlv, ley lxvi.

7

Raynal thus describes Acapulco, in his History of Settlements and Trade in Indies (Justamond’s translation, London, 1783), iii, pp. 378, 379: “The port of Acapulco where the vessel arrives, hath two inlets, separated from each other by a small island: the entrance into them in the day is by means of a sea-breeze, and the sailing out in the night-time is effected by a land-breeze. It is defended only by a bad fort, fifty soldiers, forty-two pieces of cannon, and thirty-two of the corps of artillery. It is equally extensive, safe, and commodious. The bason which forms this beautiful harbor is surrounded by lofty mountains, which are so dry, that they are even destitute of water. Four hundred families of Chinese, Mulattoes, and Negroes, which compose three companies of militia, are the only persons accustomed to breathe the air of this place, which is burning, heavy, and unwholesome. The number of inhabitants in this feeble and miserable colony is considerably increased upon the arrival of the galleons, by the merchants from all the provinces of Mexico, who come to exchange their silver and their cochineal, for the spices, muslins, china, printed linens, silks, perfumes, and gold works of Asia. At this market, the fraud impudently begun in the Old World, is as impudently completed in the New. The statutes have limited the sale to 2,700,000 livres, and it exceeds 10,800,000 livres. All the money produced by these exchanges should give ten per cent. to the government: but they are deprived of three-fourths of the revenue which they ought to collect from their customs, by false entries.” This passage is appropriated bodily – with a few changes, and an important omission – in Malo de Luque’s Establecimientos ultramarinos (Madrid, 1790), v, p. 220; and no credit is given by him to Raynal.

On the map of Acapulco in Bellin’s Atlas maritime (Paris, 1764), t. ii, p. 86, appears the following naïve item in the legend at the side: “Two trees, to which the galleon from Manila attaches a cable;” these trees are located directly in front of the tiny “city,” and between two redoubts.

8

Talinga is defined by Noceda and Sanlucar (Vocab. lengua Tagala, third ed., Manila, 1860) as manta de Ilocos (“Ilocos blanket”). It is apparently the same as terlinga, used by Mallat and Malo de Luque; and tarlinga, later in this document.

9

Encarnación (Dicc. Bisaya-Español, Manila, 1885) says, after defining the word as here: “The word lompot eminently signifies ‘piece;’ and the pieces in which the native women weave all their fabrics are regularly eight varas long and one wide.”

10

“An indiscreet or ill-directed zeal distracted from labors and persistent effort those colonists, who themselves were inclined to inactivity. Their exceedingly lucrative commerce and intercourse with America accustomed them to regard as intolerable and even disgraceful the most honorable occupations. If through any misfortune the rich Acapulco galleon could not be despatched, or was wrecked, the greater part of the inhabitants lapsed into fearful misery. Many became beggars, thieves, or assassins; it was customary for them to enlist as soldiers; and the courts were unable to check or correct the many crimes committed.” (Malo de Luque, Establecimientos ultramarinos, v, pp. 211–212.) Cf. this with Raynal’s Settlements and Trade in Indies, iii, p. 78, from which Malo de Luque has again borrowed without giving Raynal credit (see note 7, ante).

11

Silkworms and the cultivation of the mulberry tree, for both of which the country is naturally adapted, were introduced into Mexico by Cortés, and for a time the production and manufacture of silk there promised to become a source of wealth to the country; but it was practically ruined by the restrictive and unfriendly policy of the Spanish government and the competition of the Chinese silks sent to Nueva España from Manila. Mexico has several native species of silkworms, and trees on which they feed – not only of mulberry, but of other genera; and their product was used by the natives before the conquest, especially in Mizteca in Oajaca. For accounts of this product and industry, see Acosta’s Hist. Indies (Hakluyt Society’s publications, London, 1880), i, p. 269; Humboldt’s New Spain (Black’s translation), iii, pp. 57–60, 465; and Bancroft’s Hist. Mexico, ii, p. 292; v, pp. 612, 613; vi, pp. 524, 576.

12

On fol. 24 verso of the Extracto, the surname Barahona is added to this man’s name as here given.

13

Under the rule of Felipe III and Felipe IV, the economic and financial affairs of Spain fell into a ruinous condition. The indolence and incompetency of those monarchs, the influence exercised over them by unscrupulous favorites, the rapid increase of absolutism and bureaucracy, the undue privileges accorded to the nobility and clergy, costly and useless wars, the extravagance and corruption which prevailed in the court and in the administration of the entire kingdom and the expulsion of the Moriscos – all these causes quickly brought on an enormous national debt, the impoverishment of the common people, depopulation of large districts, almost the ruin of manufacture and the like industries, the oppression of the poor, the trampling down of the national liberties, the decline of Spain’s naval and military power, and many other evils. The treasures of the Indias did not suffice to maintain the nation, and even caused some of its woes; and the reckless mismanagement of its revenues caused enormous deficits, which its rulers attempted to meet by imposing more and heavier taxes, duties, and contributions upon a people already staggering under their grievous burdens. The impositions named in the text are but a few of those levied at that time; and the colonies were compelled to bear their share of the burden carried by the mother-country. See the excellent survey of this period in Spanish history, and of conditions political, administrative, social, and economic, with bibliography of the subject, in Lavisse and Rambaud’s Histoire générale (Paris, 1893–1901), v, pp. 649–682.

14

Marginal note: “It stands thus in the original” – referring to a doublet of three and a half (printed) lines, which the Extracto has reproduced from the text which it followed, presumably a manuscript copy of the decree.

15

A variation in Palafox’s title, apparently due to some clerical oversight. It is not, however, incorrect, since Tlascala was the earlier seat of that bishopric, and gave name to it – the bishop’s residence being afterward removed to the new city of Puebla, five leguas distant from Tlascala.

16

Apparently referring to the paper recording the composition of 1635; and the wording of this sentence in the decree would imply that the 600,000 pesos of that composition were at first levied in three annual installments, but afterward collected in advance.

17

Thus in the Extracto; but the statement appears to be a non sequitur, and suggests the probability of some words being omitted.

18

The various approbations at the beginning of the book are not here translated, as not being sufficiently important to justify such use of our space. The first of these is furnished by Governor Hurtado de Corcuera, and is dated at Manila, March 21, 1639 – in which he states that Fray Gonçalez has added matter which brings down Aduarte’s history to 1637, thus covering a period of fifty years from the foundation of that Dominican province. The request for permission to print the book is made by Fray Carlos Clemente Gant, prior-provincial of that order; and it is granted (for six years) by the governor, after favorable report on the book has been made by Fray Theofilo Mascaros, an Augustinian – this report, by the way, being dated at the Augustinian convent of Sancta Ana de Agonoy, August 29, 1638. Archbishop Guerrero also approves this publication (July 7, 1638); and, four days earlier, the Franciscan, Fray Juan Piña de San Antonio, at Sampaloc, does the same.

19

See account (mainly derived from Aduarte) of the foundation of the Dominican province of Filipinas, in Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 1–29. Fray Juan Crisóstomo was one of the Dominican friars in Mexico, and was sent to Spain and Rome in 1581 to make arrangements for the opening of the new Filipinas mission; no information is available regarding previous events in his life. Having assembled the members of his mission at Sevilla, he set out with them for Nueva España (July 17, 1586); but the hardships of the voyage made him so ill that he was obliged to remain a long time in Mexico, not being able to reach Manila until 1589. There he was so affected by age and broken health that he could do little; and finally disease carried him away, and he died probably late in 1590 or early in 1591.

20

The mission of the Jesuit Sanchéz to Spain, and its results, are described in VOLS. VI and VII of this series.

21

Juan de Castro, a native of Burgos, entered the Dominican order at that place, and soon after his ordination went to Nueva España, where he spent most of his life in Guatemala. Being sent to Madrid on business of his order, he encountered there Fray Juan Crisóstomo (1585–86), through whom he became so interested in the projected mission to Filipinas that for its sake he declined proffered honors and dignities. He conducted to Manila the mission of 1587, and was elected provincial at the first chapter-meeting (June 10, 1588). In May, 1590, Castro and Benavides went to China to preach the gospel, returning to Manila in March, 1591. The suffering and hardship which they endured in China broke down the health of Castro, who was already an old man; and he died in 1592.